The Mysteries of the Court of London — page 338: what you’re looking at

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

THE PEARLS 305 her elegant couch, with the ornaments on her hair and the tears in her eyes, a touching monument of the moral that the symbols of triumph and of sorrow, of worldly pride and of heartfelt pain, are singularly united in the destiny of mortals. At length, slowly awakening from that painful reverie, — Venetia folded up the letter which had produced such a change in her mood, and carefully deposited it under her pillow. Then, as her eyes fell upon the jewel-case, the gift of the pearls was suddenly recalled to her memory, and snatching them from her head, she flung them with a sort of frenzied impetuosity across the room, exclaiming, ‘“‘ Be- gone! in this moment of my deep humiliation, thou seemest a mockery and a reproach.” She then slowly reclined her head upon her pillow, and gave way to the train of thoughts which the letter from Jocelyn Loftus had conjured up. Sleep gradually stole upon her eyes, and her sorrowful feelings, whatever their nature might have been, were soon steeped in oblivion. At nine o’clock on the following morning Jessica softly and slowly stole into the room. Her mistress was still sleeping, the cheeks gently flushed as if with the soft excite- ment of some vision, her head resting upon one naked arm plump to the eye and brilliant in its alabaster fairness, while the lips, slightly apart, revealed the pearls within that mouth which seemed formed only to breathe the most fra- grant sweets or to receive the delicious kisses of love. Stealthily, for fear of awakening her, was Jessica about to - retire.from the boudoir so as to allow her mistress to sleep on, when she suddenly beheld the string of pearls lying upon the carpet. She stooped down and picked them up, and while she was contemplating them with admiration, Venetia awoke. ‘What a splendid gift, my lady!’ exclaimed the abigail. “Might I inquire from whom it comes? ”’ ‘“T know not,” answered Venetia. ‘‘ Was there any letter accompanying the jewel-case that contained the pearls? ”’ “To be sure, my lady,” returned Jessica. ‘‘ The hall porter gave both the case and the letter to me last night, and I brought them into the boudoir along with all the other correspondence which had arrived for your ladyship during the day. I stole in while you slept.” ‘Yes, I awoke in the middle of the night,” observed Gomicbooks (C(O)