The Mysteries of the Court of London — page 311: what you’re looking at

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

——- ee te A te LLG LES LL A CC eer a iy A me a ter eR ed et i i a ee ee ee ee re ere tee THE MYSTERIES a er Se \ } } Pree —— | ' ' si Viill | | ' r heA, t] wh I "I TT | i YF | Hh | thi fot y ty | ' ott) “i fAZ ZEA Lex come —— —— —— SS — — —= ee ee ee OF THE COURT, mm ig rt re ee eS een > ee re ee -_—— eee 0 ee a ee 297 —oOo Ss wanna i ih | | Hf My Ni f Won M aN NX a 0 { I inl was ae Wt) SI Wa 22 NU) UIA a WES W) ANY \ \ \ NRE details of all that she had heard or seen at the Prefecture of Police, and which are already well known to the reader. “My dearest girl,” said Clara, “I have already told you that your intended husband does really bear a false name, but that he has assumed it through no dishonourable motives. Therefore, the entry in the Prefect’s Black Book is virtually nothing more nor less than a record of a base pretext for a most arbitrary arrest. That the Prefect should have repeated to you the calum- nies previously levelled against Jocelyn by the Marquis of Leveson, can be explained either by supposing the French functionary to be as vile as the English nobleman himself, or else to have been easily misled and deceived by that nobleman. Then, with regard to the third incident which appeared to you a corroborative proof of Jocelyn’s perfidy —namely, the occurrences of the prison-chambers, —all this doubtless arose from circumstances pur: v5* ee ee ar posely arranged and cunningly combined at a special moment to produce particular effects. There was an aperture, you say, in the wall between two chambers, and you were led to believe that this aperture had been formed as a means of commu- nication and intercourse between Jocelyn and the female captive who was his neighbour. But, Ah! Louisa, did you pause to ascertain that Jocelyn was a guilty wretch instead of a victim—the creator of the circumstances in which you found him placed, or the victim of them? In fine, had he invited that female to his chamber ?—or had she forced herself upon him? You tell me that when you heard him speak within that second chamber whence the light streamed through the aperture, his words were an ejaculation to the effect that he should be driven mad. But was that the cry of love or of despair?—was that the language of a passion traitorous to you, or of a bitter persecu- tion endured by himself? Aud then, that response — _<seetas sE — i eee a SS NOOLKS (CO)