The Mysteries of the Court of London — page 169: what you’re looking at

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

CHAPTER XVII THE WITNESS On this same evening Miss Bathurst gave an entertain- ment at her house in Stratton Street, and amongst the guests were Lord and Lady Sackville, the former, as the reader will remember, being the nephew of the hostess. Mrs. and Miss Arbuthnot were staying with Miss Bathurst, and consequently they were of the party. Lady Curzon was also present, and if Venetia had not been there, the diadem of beauty’s queen might have been placed upon the brow of Editha. But every star of fashion, every luminary of the aristocratic world of female charms, was eclipsed by the brilliant Venetia; and while she enjoyed the universal homage of the male sex, she was at once the object of envy and adoration on the part of the ladies. In the former instance her beauty was the principal talisman of her more than imperial sway; in the latter, the secret of her power was the fact that she was the royal favourite. _ But while Venetia, immediately after her arrival at Miss Bathurst’s, became the radiant centre of an adoring group, her husband had engaged the Countess of Curzon for the first dance. Until this evening, Horace and Editha were not particularly well known to each other. They had often met in the reunions of fashion, it was true, but when the young man was plain Mr. Sackville he had attracted no special notice on Editha’s part. Now, however, that he was Lord Sackville, the case was mighty different, and as he accosted her on the present occasion, she greeted him with her sweetest smile. He sat down by her side, and as he gazed furtively upon her, it struck him that she was assuredly a most beauti- ful creature; while, on her part, Editha wondered that she should never have before noticed how exceedingly handsome 148 Gomicbooks (E(@)