The Mysteries of the Court of London — page 256: what you’re looking at

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| | 242 at all events assist me to escape, you must Con- trive to remove a portion of the wainscot.” Jocelyn at once gave the lady such assurances that must have satisfied her both as to his own desire for self emancipation and his readiness to succour all her heroic attempts. He then drew forth the bedstead from the alcove; and by means of the knife which had been left with his supper- tray, he speedily loosened a panel of the wood- work and lifted it from its setting. He now per- ceived that an excavation had been made of nearly two feet square through a wall upwards of a foot thick. “Take all these implements—haste !—quick !” said the lady in the adjoiming room: and as she thus spoke impatiently, but with the rich melody of youthfulness in her voice, she thrust several articles through the opening. These consisted of a ladder made of twisted sill and pieces of fire-wood—two or three files— a bottle containing a yellow fluid—three or four skeleton keys—and a very diminutive crowbar, the whitened end of which showed that it had been the instrument principally used for making the opening in the wall. The articles were speedily taken charge of by Jocelyn; and the appearance thereof instantaneously confirmed his former sus- picion that an escape was to be attempted that night. But he had little leisure for reflection, in- asmuch as everything was now haste, bustle, and impatience with the heroic lady. Indeed, no sooner had he removed the above-mentioned ar- ticles from the opening through which she had thrust them, than in the hurried but harmonious accents of her voice, she said, ‘ Now help me to pass into your chamber.” At the same time a pair of well-rounded, plump, and snow-white arms were thrust through the aper- ture: immediately afterwards came a head covered with a thick black veil—followed by a bust whose proportions were fraught with all the first freshness of youth. In fine, our hero taking hold of the lady’s aris, assisted her as well and as delicately as he was able to pass her entire form through the opening, When this was done and the heroine of the ad- venture, being raised upon her feet, stood before Jocelyn, the rapid glance which he threw upon her naturally expressed a certain amount of curiosity. He observed that she was of the middle height— with a form of youthful appearance, perfectly sym- metrical in shape and characterized by much lady- like elegance. But her head, as already stated, was closely enveloped in a thick black veil; and al- though she could no doubt see perfectly well from behind the invidious screen, yet it was not equally easy for the eyes of an observer to penetrate through to her own countenance. ‘That she studied Jocelyn earnestly and attentively for several moments, he could judge from the steadiness with which her veiled countenance was fixed towards him: but on his side he could positively distinguish neither trait nor lineament of her countenance at all. We should add that the dark veil, two or three times folded, was not merely thrown loosely over her head, but was tied in such a way round her neck that it served as a perfect mask and was not liable to be displaced by any motion or gesture on her part. “You are doubtless astonished to see my counte- nance thus veiled?” said the lady, in the softest and most melting tones of her musical voice: but it is ne res oe ee. THE MYSTERIES OF THE COURT.. in consequence of a solemn vow which I have | made.” “ A vow!” exclaimed Loftus, in astonishment, and almost with an accent of incredulity and suspicion, — “.Yes—it is a vow,” answered the lady, with a cer- tain dignity in her tone and a drawing up of her form as if she resented the incredulous manner of our hero :—“ a vow rashly and precipitately made, it is true—a vow pledged in the moment of despair—but to which [ am not the less bound to pay implicit de- votion.” ‘But wherefore so singular a vow?” inquired Jocelyn, now fancying that if the Jady were not some adventuress, she was probably of unsettled intellects, “You think that Iam mad?” she said, thus evi- dently penetrating his thoughts once more, but now speaking in a milder and mournfuller tone: “it would be perhaps a blessing for one so profoundly acquainted with sorrow as I am, to sink into the oblivion of a benighted intellect, or become a prey to the fanciful vagaries of dreams! But, alas! alas! | life has already been and still is too stern a reality | forme. Under such circumstances, and consider- ing the absolute necessity which exists for me to give you some explanation,—so as to convince you that you are not embarking in this night’s enterprise with — either an adventuress imprisoned for wrong-doing, or — a mad woman confined on account of her malady,— for these reasons, I say, you will not deem me vain or frivolous in declaring that it is the beauty of this now veiled countenance which has been the cause of all my misfortunes! Yes—that beauty which, I — solemly declare, I myself value not, has rendered me the object of persecution and even of vengeance on the part of a host of great, noble, and powerful admirers to whose honied words I would not listen, Being my own mistress—or I should rather say, being a friendless Englishwoman, thus tormented by | a hornet’s nest of French princes, dukes, marquises, counts, viscounts, aud barons—aye, and by even the very Prefect himself,” she added with a bitter signi- — ficancy of tone and with a gesture of deep meaning, —“T have passed through an ordeal a * Ah! then it is because you would not listen to the overtures of all those great personages—but the Prefect especially,” exclaimed Loftus, now be- lieving the tale and becoming indignant at the Outrage thus offered to a lady and a country- woman,—“ it is for all this, I presume, that you have been imprisoned here?” “ Such is indeed the truth,” answered the lady. * And now can you wonder if, when snatched from my home, and brought a prisoner hither three weeks ago, I should in my rage, my fury, and my despair, have made a vow to the effect that never, never again will I reveal my countenance to a being in the form of man! 4 No—never, never, she exclaimed, with a sort of frenzied petulance, * until I encounter some one who shall have learnt to love me, not for the beauty of my countenance, or the magnitude of my fortune, but for those gentle, endearing, and more sterling qualities which as a woman I possess. Now therefore,” she added with the hurried tone of one who was well pleased at having finished a most painful explanation, “ now, therefore, let us to work—and endeavour to insure our escape !” | “ That is, after all, the essential point,” said Jo- | celyn, not thinking it worth while to trouble himself ,