The Mysteries of the Court of London — page 327: what you’re looking at

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

294 THE COURT OF LONDON features of this nobleman, because it was precisely he whom she had come thither on purpose to meet, in whose behalf she had really been stricken with a passionate sentiment, and to whom she had freely and intentionally made an avowal of love. Conceive, then, her terror and dismay when, on raising her veil and revealing her own face, she saw in a moment, by his astonishment, that it was not she herself but another whom the earl had come thither to meet; and then, before she was able to regain her composure, up stepped Editha, whom she immediately recognized, to overwhelm her with reproaches. Insulting, cutting, goading as the language was which the Countess of Curzon had addressed to her, how could she possibly feel otherwise than that she deserved it all? No wonder, then, that she cowered beneath the fiery glance and writhed under the torture of the lashing words which Editha poured upon her; no wonder that she was unable to give any reply or attempt a syllable either of bold denial or self-exculpation, in respect to the charges made against her by the indignant countess. We have paused to chronicle these few explanations in order to fill up any blanks with regard to emotions or inci- dents that may have occurred in the hasty outline which we sketched of the scene at the foot of the staircase. We now take up the thread of the narrative at the moment when Editha, speeding away from the presence of her husband and Lady Prescott, left them stupefied with what had just occurred, and overwhelmed with confusion. The earl was the first to regain his composure, and, putting on his mask, he said, in a quick tone of excitement, ‘“‘ Resume your veil, dear lady, and let us seek some nook where we can converse together. I will give you the fullest explanations.” Lady Prescott drew down the veil over her countenance, upon the brunette complexion of which sat a deadly pallor; and as she again took the earl’s arm, he could feel the glowing volume of her bosom swelling and sinking with tumultuous heavings, like the waves of the sea. After she had drawn down the veil, she cast a terrified look around, as if fearful lest the Countess of Curzon should reappear and commence another scene; but her courage, and therewith her com- posure, began to revive, when on glancing upon the three or four groups of masques scattered through the spacious hall, she saw by their manner that they had not taken Gomicbooks (E(0) mn