The Mysteries of the Court of London — page 276: what you’re looking at

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

256 THE COURT OF LONDON dignity, she said, in a tone of forced calmness, ‘ But I am nerved to hear the worst, after all the terrible things that your lordship, with so much disinterested and indeed paternal kindness, has told me.”’ While giving utterance to this latter portion of her sen- tence, with a frank and artless confidence in what she believed to be the good feeling of the Marquis of Leveson, the maiden fixed her blue eyes mournfully upon him; and then she turned those plaintive regards upon the prefect, with a look that seemed to implore him to state all he knew at once with as much brevity as possible. “Young lady,” said the prefect, now also thinking it right to play the paternal, and therefore assuming an air and a tone which seemed to imply that he was performing a very painful task and accomplishing a most disagreeable duty, ‘ young lady,” he repeated, “it is better that you should hear at once the real character of him who has gained your affections than that you should make so important a discovery when it has become too late to retreat from an unfortunate marriage. The plain truth is, that you have been wooed and your heart has been won by a mere adven- turer living under a feigned name, and pursuing a career of reckless extravagance, deep dissipation, and inveterate profligacy.”’ ‘““O God! have mercy upon me!’’ murmured the unhappy Louisa; and then she compressed her lips forcibly to keep back the scream that rose up from her anguished heart to the very tip of her tongue. ‘“‘ But pray go on, sir, go on,”’ she cried, with nervous trepidation, as she once more wrestled successfully against the harrowing poignancy of her feelings, or, rather, fortified herself with the unnatural composure of despair. “Tt is too true, then, Miss Stanley,’’ said the prefect, encouraged by the significant signs and nods which the marquis gave him, unperceived by the unfortunate girl whom the two wretches were thus basely torturing, “ it is too true that Jocelyn Loftus has conducted himself in such a manner since his arrival in Paris as to scandalize society; and the strong arm of the law has been compelled to interfere to punish him for his excesses. Not that he has committed any positive crime; but his debaucheries, his seductions, and his moral offences have brought dishonour GOmiGcdooks (E(0)