The Mysteries of the Court of London — page 200: what you’re looking at

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

$$ 194, THE MYSTERIEZ OF THE COURT. form of Letlice Rodney was stretched out in a | affair down at Oaklands took place pretty nearly voluptuous abandonment, which, though at the at the same time. Now, Eveleen knew certain moment unstudied, gave a more luxurious effect to things about the counterpart dresses; and she the rich contours of her shape. Linda, the Ger- | knew also that you were going off to the neigh- man girl, was seated upon the sofa: Armantine, | bourhood of Oaklands 4 the French one, occupied a chair opposite to Let- “And therefore it is only reasonable to conclude,” tice ;—and both were all attention to some very | exclaimed Lettice, “that Eveleen, the traitress! pathetic love-passage which Lettice was at the time | gave that mysterious stranger certain information reading to them. Presently the door opened | which put him on the watch and led him to inter- somewhat abruptly; and Madame Angelique made | cept me.” her appearance. “Should you like a trip to Ireland, my dear “What do you think, my dear girls?” she | girl?” inquired Madame Angelique, patting Lettice exclaimed in considerable excitement: “that trea- | caressingly on her bare shoulder. cherous wretch, Eveleen O’Brien, has gone back to “That I should!” exclaimed the young woman. her parents !” 3 “Then you shall go,” responded Madame An- Lettice started in astonishment: but both Linda | gelique. “You can throw yourself’ in the way of and Armantine sighed audibly, as they inwardly | Eyeleen—you can affect to be very penitent, and wished that they possessed homes to which they | to haye left my establishment altogether s dared return. | “Oh, leave me to manage it!” cried Lettice, “Yes—it is true!” cried Madame Angelique, | already exulting in the prospect of success. “I who was too much excited to observe the half- | will worm myself into Eveleen’s confidence—I will subdued evidences of compunction and regret, as | get everything out of her. When shall I de- well as of wistful longing, which the two foreign | part 2” girls had displayed. ‘And what is more, she has| ‘* To-day, if you will,” rejoined Madame Ange- had the impudence to write tome!” lique: “no time need be lost! And remember !— “And what does she say P” asked Lettice, full of | if you can entice Eveleen back again, so much the curiosity. | better. . She is much too beautiful to lose; and be- “She says that through the generous interven- | sides, it would be a glorious triumph for us to tion of a friend whom heaven sent her, she has | accomplish.” been snatched away from a life of infamy. Only| The preparations could not however be made think of this! She, who—as well.as you, my | for Lettice Rodney’s departure on that same day: dears—revelled in every luxury, eat and drank! but at nine o’clock on the ensuing morning she of the best, and wore the handsomest clothes ” took her place in a first-class carriage at Euston “But does she threaten you?” inquired Let- | Square, her destination being Liverpool by way of tice. | eens hae There was only one other passen- “No: and that is the only consolation in the | ger in the same compartment; and this was a lady matter,’ responded Madame Angelique, somewhat | of nearly the same age as Lettice herself, as well as softened as she thought of it. “She says that her | being by no means unlike her in personal appear- parents received her with open arms—and that as ance. She was almost of as tall a stature and of they at once assured her an everlasting yeil should similarly well developed contours of shape: she be drawn over the past, they pressed her for no | was decidedly handsome too, though not of so explanations in respect to her career since she had | remarkably striking a beauty as the other. She left them.” was well dressed: her appearance was genteel, and ‘* And of course she does not want to make a indicative of the well-bred lady. As the train noise about it?” observed Lettice, ‘“ But why did | started, Lettice suryeyed her companion, and was she write to you P” | Surveyed by this companion in return. They were “To state that as she is disposed to practise the | the only two occupants of the compartment; and utmost forbearance, and never allude to me or my being of the same sex, it was but natural that proceedings, she stipulates that on my part I will they should soon get into conversation. Lettice refrain from ever mentioning Eveleen O’Brien as Rodney assumed, a8 a matter of course, as modest having been an inmate of this house.” and retired an air as possible, in order to be con- “Ab! I suppose she means to become respect- | sistent with the part of a respectable lady which able now !” interjected Lettice, with a contemptuous she was playing, as well as to obyiate any suspicion smile. | | that might arise asto her truecharacter: for there “And perhaps she hopes to marry!” exclaimed | are thousands of people in this world—especially Madame Angelique. “But perchance things | among the female sex—who, though displaying a won’t go on quite so pleasantly as she anticipates. | bold hardihood and brazen effrontery when in the Look here, my dear Lettice!—it is of the utmost | midst of scenes of vicious dissipation, are never- consequence we should discover who the man was theless anxious enough to cloak their true charac- that extorted those revelations from you the other ters when beyond the sphere of their irregularities. day, down in the country. It is dangerous that In the same way that the poor often struggle and there should be a person knowing so much about | strive to put on the appearance of ease and com- you as he evidently did—and therefore about this petency, so do the immoral endeayour to apparel establishment—and we on the other hand not to themselves with the raiment of morality, and the have the slightest conjecture who he is!” ‘immodest to assume the air and complexion of “‘ Perhaps he is the same kind friend,” observed | modesty. Lettice, sneeringly, “ whom heaven sent to restore | During the first half-hour the discourse was Eveleen to her parents ?” limited to the mere exchange of. those casual “That’s exactly what I think!’ exclaimed observations and indifferent remarks which, with Madame Angelique; ‘because her flight and that persons meeting for the first time, are the neces- COMICMOoOlKS.e©