The Mysteries of the Court of London — page 366: what you’re looking at

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

360 o’clock in the evening—and in a short time the Princess would retire to her couch. Sagoonah had the principal charge of her mistress’s bed-chamber; and she knew perfectly well that the English maid- servants would not enter it after she herself had performed the last offices there. She likewise felt tolerably certain that the cobra when once placed in the bed, would be too well satisfied with its warm comfortable quarters to leave them speedily. At all events when the door should be closed, Sa- goonah knew full well that the snake could not possibly get out; and therefore even if it should leave the bed and coil itself up in any other part of the room, the ayah calculated upon the hideous certainty that the Princess must become the victim of its fangs. She was all: the more confident in this respect from certain little circumstances which we may as well mention. Indora’s dressing-room joined the bed-chamber: there was, as a matter of course, a door of communication between them ; but the dressing-room was likewise entered by a door from the passage. It was by this latter door that the Princess was wont to seek her dressing- room of an evening; and Sagoonah’s presence was never required for any length of time in aiding the Princess with her night-toilet. Thus, by keeping the door of communication closed, Sa- goonah knew that the snake would be confined to the bed-chamber, and that she herself would incur no danger, while in the dressing-room, of becoming its victim instead of her mistress. Such were the cold-blooded, fiendish, diabolical calculations which the vile Hindoo woman weighed in her mind while pondering the fearful deed of iniquity that she contemplated. It was close upon ten o’clock when Sagoonah had completed the wonted arrangements in the dressing-room and the bed-chamber. She was careful to place in the dressing-room every article that her mistress might need in order that there should be no chance of requiring anything to be fetched from the bed-chamber. ‘The arrangements being completed, Sagoonah ascended to her own room—unlocked her box—and stood carefully back for a moment to convince herself that the deadly reptile had not by any means escaped from the leathern bag. Nor had it. Then Sagoonah ace- quired the further certainty that the strings of the bag were tight; and concealing it beneath the folds of her white drapery, she descended to In- dora’s chamber. Approaching the bed she drew down the clothes, and with exceeding caution she relaxed the strings of the bag somewhat,—keeping her eyes riveted with scrutinising intentness upon the opening thus made. In about a minute the hideous reptile began to protrude its head; and just as the commencement of its neck was visible, Sagoonah grasped it with the forefinger and thumb of her right hand—so quickly, so nicely, and with such admirable expertness, that the snake had not time to plunge its fangs into her flesh. She now drew it completely out of the bag: again was her arm quickly encircled by its dark slimy folds: but she speedily disengaged the coils from that arm— and with one dexterous effort threw the serpent into the middle of the bed. It instantaneously sprang up to dart at her: but she commenced a low yet quick half-humming, half-singing strain. The reptile was charmed—and its head gradually sank down amidst its coils. Then she covered it rr ee ee er er ee a THE MYSTERIES OF THE COURT. up with the bed-clothes, and retreated towards the door of the dressing-room—but never once avert- ing her eyes from the couch, lest the deadly ser- pent should be gliding after her. It did not make its appearance: she entered the dressing-room ; and the door closed between herself and the chamber in which she had left the venomous cobra. Ascending to her own room, she depo- sited the leathern bag in her trunk, which she relocked ; and then proceeded to join her fellow- domestics, with an air as settled and composed as that which she had worn when overtaking her mistress and Christina in the Zoological Gardens after her final issue from the snake-house. Meanwhile the Princess Indora and our heroine were seated together in the elegantly-furnished drawing-room; and the time-piece on the mantel proclaimed with its silver tongue the hour of ten. Searcely had it finished striking, when the sounds of a vehicle stopping at the garden-gate were heard ; and these were immediately followed by the loud ringing of that gate-bell. The summons was answered; and the Princess Indora expressed to Christina her wonder who could possibly be coming at that hour of the night. In a minute or two Sagoonah made her“appearance; and having performed the wonted low salutation, she stood in the attitude of a slave in the presence of the Princess, waiting to be questioned. * What is it, Sagoonah ?”’ asked Indora, who, since Christina had been with her, was accus- tomed to speak to her ayah in the English lan- guage when in the young lady’s presence—not merely because she was unwilling to seem to have any secrets with our heroine, but likewise because she wished to enable Sagoonah to have as much practice as possible in that tongue in which Chris- tina was her tutoress. ; - “ May it please your ladyship,” answered the ayah, “‘two messengers from your royal father humbly solicit an immediate audience.” “ Messengers from my dear father?’ said Indora, clasping her hands with a gush of filial emotions. ‘* Let them at once be admitted.” Sagoonah bowed and withdrew. Christina rose from her seat, and was likewise about to retire from motives of delicacy—when the Princess re- tained her, saying, “Sit down, my dear friend. These messengers can have no secret to communi- cate which you may not hear; and evenif they had, they would converse with me in a language which you cannot understand.” Our heroine accordingly resumed her seat; and in a few moments Sagoonah introduced the two messengers from the King of Inderabad. The ayah retired ; and the messengers prostrated them- selves at the feet of her who was heiress to the crown of their royal master. Both were of the dark Hindoo colour; and both were handsomely dressed in their native oriental garb—the chief material of their raiment being a dark velvet em- broidered and laced with gold. One was a fine tall man, of portly form and commanding presence : his age might have been about fifty—and he was the senior in years as well as in rank, His com- panion was short of stature—slightly made and thin—with an angular profile, and restless eyes of exceeding sharpness. He was scarcely forty years of age; and Christina perceived that his garb, though handsome, was in seyeral respects —-~ eer CONNIE O) S (¢(0)