The Mysteries of the Court of London — page 315: what you’re looking at

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

284 THE COURT OF LONDON said Florimel. Then, after a brief pause, he added, ‘‘ Pauline and I are reconciled, and she has told me everything relative to the part which she was induced to play so painfully in the masquerade.”’ “Tam glad that you are reconciled, sincerely, unfeignedly glad,’’ observed the dying girl, in a voice expressive of deep feeling. ‘‘ May you be happy together, oh, may you be happy together!’’ and the tears rolled down her pale cheeks. ‘You performed the part of a Gipsy on the occasion to which we are alluding,” said Florimel, after another pause, which was longer than the previous one. ‘“ But let us not dwell upon this subject — ” ‘You understand that my motive was to estrange you completely from Pauline,” resumed Caroline, with the abruptness of one who seeks to dispose as quickly as possible of an unpleasant explanation which it is nevertheless req- uisite to make. ‘I saw that you loved her — loved her devotedly; and as the consummation of your unhappiness was then, alas! my fixed, my inveterate, and my implacable aim, I had greedily seized upon the incident of the mas- querade to cause a breach between yourself and that amiable, unoffending young lady. But, oh, this was not all the mis- chief which I worked against you, Gabriel,’ continued the dying girl, her cheeks faintly flushing for a moment with the excitement of her feelings. ‘‘ I entered your chamber by night, I took your keys from beneath the pillow while you slept, and I purloined the documents from the tin case under the bed. Those deeds I conveyed to Rigden, who did not hesitate to receive them at my hands. Ah! my vindictive hatred toward you then was fierce, ferocious, intense, diabol- ical. I would have sold myself to Satan in order to wreak upon your head a vengeance more refined, more excruciating, more torturing than any that unassisted human nature could devise. And do you not recollect the day when I told you the fabricated tale of a seduced and deserted sister? Oh, I saw you writhe and wince beneath the scourge of scorpions with which I was then lashing you so mercilessly! ” “And, by Heaven,’’ exclaimed Florimel, ‘‘ I suspected at the time that there was something sinister in the meaning of the tale, — something darkly and terribly significant in your looks and words— _ Oh, yes, I did indeed writhe and CORNIELIOOLKKS (E()