The Mysteries of the Court of London — page 337: what you’re looking at

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

AR a A ee oS Se ee LL LLBRBBDBD LL LT TI, | EE ne I re eee ee er how many people slept in his house, and in which rooms they were. In a moment lie was overwhelmed with multitudinous questions and bewildered with conflicting counsels. Then camea couple of watch- men springing their rattles: next appeared three or four hulking fellows bearing along a ladcaer and knocking down all who got in their way—and all this while the crowd was collecting and the flames were bursting forth with increasing fury. But Sir Douglas Huntingdon soon recovered his presence of mind: and rushing back into the house he raised the fearful alarm of fire, which did not appear as yet to have reached the ears of any inmate save himself. In a few moments all was bustle, confusion, and dismay within the walls of the mansion. Mrs. Baines came rushing down in her night-clothes; and overcome with terror, she fainted mm the hall. Some of the other servants soon made their appearance also; and as the flames had now spread from the coach-house to the man- sion itself, several active persons amongst the crowd began rapidly to remove all the most port- able articles of furniture into the street. The ladder was raised against the front of the house in case of need, to facilitate escape trom the upper storeys: and messengers were despatched for a fire-engine. Meantime the Baronet, struck with horror at the idea that his groom slept over the coach-house, —and having satisfied himself that the other servauts were all sate,—rushed to the back of the premises and opened the door leading from the yard to the stable. Several persons followed him: but the instant that stable-door was opened, two or three of the horses sprang madly forth, trampling down those who were in their way. Sir Douglas himself was thus much hurt by one of the af- frizhted animals: but rushing forward, he sought to penetrate into the stable. A volume of. flame, bursting forth, drove him back ;—and to his horror he heard the piteous sounds of dying agony which proved that several of his horses were perishing in the flames. But the groom—the poor unfortunate groom—where was he? Again did Sir Douglas _ sprivg forward in order to penetrate into the coach- | | | _ partment from the mansion itself. house: but again did a volume of smoke drive him back. A third time did he make the attempt ;— and now the ceiling of coach-house and stable fell in with a terrific crash; and if two of the men who had followed the Baronet hither had not sud- denly pulled him back as they heard the rafters giving way, he would have been buried in the ruins. ! For a few moments the flames seemed stifled in this part of the premises: but asa long tongue of fire suddenly shot up, lambent and lurid again, the Baronet observed by the light that the fall of the ceiling had brought down with it a considerable por- tion of the partition-wall separating the stabling de- A large portion of the interior of the dwelling-house was thus re- vealed, including a back-staircase leading up to the bed-chambers. At this moment the recollection flashed to the Baronet’s mind that he had not ere now seen Ariadne Varian amongst the other inmates of the mansion whose safety was assured. Indeed, the poor girl had been forgotten; Mrs. Baines had swooned, as already stated, and had been borne toa neighbour’s house where she feil into alarming hys- THE MYSTERIES OF THE COURT. ee —_—_—— terics: and, on the other hand, Sir Douglas Hun- tingdon’s attention had been mainly directed towards the coach-house and stabling. Thus was it that the only two persons who were likely to think of poor Ariadne, were prevented by circumstances from do- ing so, until the sudden laying bare of the private staircase to the view of the Baronet, led him to pass in rapid array in his mind every chamber to which that staircase led. The instant that the image of Ariadne thus flashed to his recollection, he gave utterance to a cry of mingled anguish and despair: then springing for- ward, he clambered through the vast aperture which the falling in of the partition wall had caused; and he thus gained the interior of the dwelling-house. Passing into the hall, he found his servants and many strangers busy in removing the furniture. He made rapid inquiries concerning Ariadne; but the servants had forgotten her, and the strangers had seen no young damsel answering to her description descend the stairs. Horrible uncertainty ! All the upper part of the house was in a perfect conflagration: the street was as light as if it were daytime ;—and one wretched engine was making the most ineffectual attempts to quench the fire. The ladder itself had caught the flames gushing forth from the upper windows. And here we may observe that the crowds augmented: and amongst them were the Hangman, Bencull, and the Buttoner, all three hovering about to see what piece of good luck the chapter of accidents might throw in their way. From all that has been said, hurried and brief though the description be, the reader will understand that the flames had spread like wild-fire in an inere- dibly short space of time. Catching the chambers above the coach-house, they had thence burst into the mansion, all the upper part of which was now enveloped in aterrific blaze. To ascend therefore to the rooms above, appeared an act of frenzy or of desperation. But Ariadne’s life was at stake: and this thought was sufficient to nerve the Baronet with the strength and courage of a thousand! Retracing his way fromthe hall to the back staircase, he rushed up it. It was the same asa besieger scaling the walls of a town, while all kinds of igneous missiles and combustibles are showered down upon him. Sir Douglas had literally to ascend through gushing flames and volumes of smoke,—flames that scorched and smoke that blinded: but he was resolved to rescue Ariadne, or perish in the attempt! In a few seconds he reached her chamber-duor. Bursting it open, he beheld her lyiuy senseless on the carpet. Throagh the waiuscotted wail the flames were already gush- ing: the heat was intense—the smoke stifling. In less than a minute the maiden would have been suffocated—whereas she was as yet unscathed by the fire, and had most probably fainted through terror when endeavouring to escape from her root on the first alarm of fire. ‘Yo suateh her up iu his arms and bear her forth, was the work of. a moment. Her head drooped back upon the Baronet’s shoulder; and she con- tinued senseless as he rushed with her down the staircase. Jiushed indeed !—it was plunging as it were into a fiery furnace: aud rapid as the: light- ping-flash did the thought sweep through the Barovet’s mind that it would be a miracle if he and bis fair burden reached the street in safety. Vast ECOMICLMOOkKS (CO)