The Mysteries of the Court of London — page 25: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

THE MARRIAGE 9 Ff image of Venetia; and he even reproached himself fre- quently during the remainder of the day for allowing the incidents of the morning to divert his thoughts at all from the painful topic on which they were hitherto wont to be settled, namely, the unaccounted-for disappearance of his father, Sir Archibald. With regard to the happy couple, we might record all the tender and interesting things which they said to each other during the ride to Brighton. We might say how they reached that fashionable watering-place at a late hour in the evening, how they took up their quarters at the principal hotel, and how they both longed, with a secret rapture which they mutually concealed, for the arrival of the moment that was to crown their wedded bliss. But we must not dwell upon those details, nor prolong unnecessarily this portion of our narrative. If, however, we may penetrate for a single instant into the nuptial chamber, where Jessica hastily divested her mistress of her apparel, we might observe that never, never had Venetia appeared more transcendently lovely than when, with blushing cheeks and heaving bosom, she heard her faithful attendant expatiate upon the hand- some appearance of the bridegroom. We might add that in the meantime Horace himself was waiting with all possible anxiety in an adjacent dressing-room; and we might close our observations by stating that when at length Jessica had withdrawn, and the happy pair were clasped in each other’s arms, they both forgot any disagreeable circumstances which pertained to their union, and abandoned themselves to those delights which Milton did not deem unworthy to be apostrophized and honoured in his immortal verse. SS (CO) mM COMME DOO