The Mysteries of London; or, Lights and Shadows of London Life — page 63: what you’re looking at

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

LLL LE LIGHTS AND SHADOWS OF LONDON LIFE. — — oo 55 ence of stage fright acting upon an ardent and sus- ceptible temperament. I told you so at the moment, _and encouraged you to proceed, with an asstrance that it would be dispelled by further practice, and that I had myself suffered from the same cause under similar circumstances.” “ The cause was not that which you surmised,” con- tinued the opera-dancer; “ would that it had been! for then I should not have dreaded its recurrence, as I do now. At this moment I feel the horror of the spell that was upon me,” “The spell! You alarm me. To what do you refer?” _ ] had nerved myself for the trying ordeal through which I had to pass. y absorbed in the character I was about to portray, I should have felt ‘Rot the fearful timidity of a debutante, even though conscious that years of future misery or happiness might depend upon the failure or success of that single instant. Ithrew my utmost energy into the first impulse with which I bounded on the stage, and, full of the excitement of the scene and the illusion at- g it, I felt my heart glow with the acclamations “It was truly a brilliant reception,” interrupted the vocalist ; “ proceed.” “Thad turned to acknowledge the app.ause,” re- emotion as she approached the more exciting part of her narrative, “when amidst the sea of heads that seemed to float around me, I saw one face emerge from the cloudy indistinctness of the rest, and turn visibly towards mine. In a moment I became speech- less, my tongue clove to the roof of my mouth, and all x of motion seemed to have fled. My eyes were fixed that glare of snake-like fascination that had : _ “ The mere trick played by the imagination of a novice,” said Madame Romani, as she forced a smile at the recital, although the cheek of Celestine, paling under the remembrance of the event, still betrayed evident signs of the reality of her alarm. “ Such was the idea I fancied you would entertain,” she continued; “and, for that reason, I remained silent respecting it. Indeed, I began almost to con- sider myself that it arose from the same source, par- arly as, during the remainder of the evening, I saw it not again, and, for several succeeding nights, | enjoyed a similar immunity from its presence. But I made my dédét in a new character, the cause of my fright returned; and, from that time, throughout all the great continental capitals where I have performed, I have never ceased to be persecuted by this remarkable apparition,” “Psha, Celestine!+you are too easily terrified by what, after all, may be resolved into’ the effects of either chance or imagination,” responded the prima- Here have | been intently listening to a story at I anticipated would at least have something super- atural to turn upon, and now I find that there is not sven A supposed ghost about it, but only a look to exciting terror, and which, after all, may be not directed to yourself, You have been dreaming of the ‘ Evil peal fancied that you had become the victim “Ah,” sighed Celestine, “I was prepared for your ridicule of what you think my foolish fears, b have not yet heard all.” " Pe epee “Indeed !”” cried the other, in a bantering tone, J : ee _—_—- ee “Ts there, then, a delightful discovery to be made in the sequel? And pray what remarkable individual, after all, turned out to be the hero of this adventure ?”’ “] see,” said Celestine, with a reproachful appeal to her companion, “ that you are not at present disposed to listen to my story with that serious attention which, to me, it seems to deserve.” “ Forgive me, child,” apologised Madame Romani; “TI had hoped to rally you out of a melancholy that seemed to me so strangely disproportioned to its cause. But let me hear the remainder, and I promise you I will then deliver my opinion with due solemnity.” Celestine resumed :— “JT have told you that at Milan, Naples, Berlin, Vienna, Paris, and, in short, wherever I have yet appeared, this horrible phantasm has been the con- stant attendant upon my most brilliant successes; and so accustomed was 1 to anticipate its presence, that at last I began involuntarily to seek out the face from the rest, and confront it directly on my first entrance, Strange as it may appear, by this method I found the terror it occasioned in mé decrease, and I was able to trace distinctly the lineaments of that countenance that, haunting me so closely and continually, had appeared at first to possess a more than natural power of riveting my gaze. It was the face of an Italian, whose dark penetrating eyes were rendered additionally noticeable by the black massive eyebrows by which they were overhung. The expression was frightfully vindictive ; but as it was associated with features that I had either never known or could not recognise, the only feeling I began to experience was one of annoy- ance that the man should purposely adopt a position that could not fail to catch my observation, and that he should apparently so tenaciously follow on my route whteever my engagements were formed.” “ An enthusiastic admirer of yours, of course,” sug- gested the listener.”’ « Yon shall judge by what has followed,” murmured the danseuse. “Last evening, as I was waiting at the wing, listening for the change of music to take place that was to be my signal for entrance, I thought of the usual companion of my début, and hoped that, as I had left the continent, I should escape his obser- vation. The moment I appeared, 1 was convinced of my error. Without daring to risk the Jook that should set at rest my doubts, I felt those fiery orbs were still intent upon me. I hazarded one glance at random, and there, as usual, in the only prominent position which the stalls afforded, was my relentless persecutor fixing his unswerving eyes upon my own.”’ , * Still the freak of an impassioned admirer,” ob- seryed the vocalist, “who hopes, by continually ac- customing ycu to the sight of his disagreeable phy- siognomy, to make you at last believe that there is nothing so very repulsive about it after all.” ‘‘ Take this and judge,” said Celestine, as shecréssed the room, unlocked a small portfolio that was on the side table, and handed to her friend a folded slip of letter-paper, which for pe “ How did you become possessed of this?” she in- quired, as soon as the contents were read. “It was thrown through the carriage window into my lap as I left the theatre last evening,” replied Celestine, “ and in the crowd that awaited my depar- ture, I am convinced that I caught sight of the now too familiar countenance of the Italian.” “ Let me see it once more,” sail Madame Romani; “it has been hastily written in pencil, and has at least the negative merit of being concise and to the e Romani instantly opened S “Comnieoool (E() m