The Mysteries of the Court of London — page 398: what you’re looking at

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

ANOTHER SCENE IN THE GARDEN 365 what it was you had thus to communicate, you preferred that we should meet expressly for the purpose this evening.”’ “True, dearest girl,’ answered the earl, with his arm thrown around her slender waist and her head pillowed upon his shoulder, so that her brow rested against his cheek. ‘Because I wished by such an intimation to prepare your mind for the very serious subject whereon it now becomes necessary that we should discourse.”’ ‘“‘ Proceed, my dear Charles,’”’ said Julia, now gazing up into his countenance, ‘‘ for I see by your looks that you have no evil intelligence to impart.” “TI am not so sure that you will think so, Julia,” replied the earl. ‘ At all events listen.”’ ‘What! is it indeed so very serious?’ she exclaimed, now showing signs of uneasiness. ‘‘ Oh, am J about to waken from a delicious dream, a dream of love — ”’ “Only to make that dream a reality, if you choose,”’ interrupted Lord Curzon, once more straining her to his breast. “Oh, with this assurance I am already consoled, I] am already happy,’ exclaimed Julia, lavishing upon him the tenderest caresses, so that he would indeed have been but little experienced in the female character were he not able to comprehend that he had only to seek the crowning bliss when he chose in order to obtain it. _“ Two months have now elapsed, my dearest Julia,’ he resumed, as he retained her, all vibrating with desire, in his arms, “‘ since first we encountered each other. Beneath the glorious sun of Italy, in the peerless city of Milan, did I first meet you, and the moment my eyes singled you out, as it were, from the midst of the royal retinue, I thought to myself that 1t would be happiness supreme to win the love of such a bewitching creature as thou. You remember how I subsequently introduced myself, how you repulsed me at first, then how you were led to look more favourably upon me.” “Yes, because I saw that you were handsome, and that your manners were fascinating,’’ observed Julia, in a low tremulous voice. ‘“‘ From the very first moment I was interested in you, but I dared not all on a sudden receive the advances of a stranger. But when you told me who Cconnicloooks (C(O)