The Mysteries of the Court of London — page 381: what you’re looking at

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

300 REYNOLDS’ WORKS know not what torturing suspense I at this moment endure, for all my happiness hangs upon the next word that may fall from your lips.” ‘‘T will soon explain myself, dear Constance,” replied the marquis, his countenance brightening up somewhat, or, at all events, losing a portion of the melancholy cloud which had been hanging upon it. ‘‘ But ere I make known the meaning of those words which I spoke just now, and of which you have reminded me, it is necessary I should’ enter into a few more particulars respecting myself. For you must not think, Constance, that the large sum of money which I received in such a manner and for such a service made me happy. No, no, far fromit. It was the utter desperation of my circumstances which induced me to render that service and take the reward. Heaven knows that by nature I am not mean, nor mercenary, nor dishonourable. Nothing of the reckless adventurer is there in my character. I was the creature of circumstances; it was an imperious necessity that ruled me. But when it was all over, I felt as if I had committed a crime and done a dishonourable action, and within twenty-four hours of that solemn mockery which gave me a wife and her dower, but deprived me of the former and made me unhappy with the latter, I sped to the hotel to return the money and insist upon steps being taken for the annulment of the marriage. But the Englishman and his companions had gone. ‘In order to banish the unpleasant reflections which now haunted me by day and by night, I embarked in commercial speculations, not so much in the hope of increasing my means as of amusing my mind. For three or four years they pro- gressed favourably enough, but at length a sudden panic paralyzed all my schemes, and the failure of a bank threat- ened me with ruin. Day and night did I toil to disentangle my affairs from the vortex of difficulty and embarrassment in which they were plunged, and I succeeded so far that I paid my liabilities with honourable exactitude, and found a surplus of a few hundreds of pounds remaining for my own use. ‘““ Sick of commercial pursuits and financial speculations, I came over to England. Then was it, dearest Constance, that I became acquainted with you, and as to know you 1s to love you, I learned to love you fondly. Oh, I need not ECORNIClIOOKS (E(@)