The Mysteries of the Court of London — page 249: what you’re looking at

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

CHAPTER XVII INDORA Ir was the eighth evening after that interview between Mr. Redcliffe and the Princess Indora which has been de- scribed in a recent chapter, and we must revisit the secluded abode of that Oriental lady. On this occasion we shall find her in the drawing-room, which was furnished with a min- sled sumptuousness and elegance corresponding with the species of boudoir where we first beheld her. The draperies were of the costliest description; the sofas and ottomans were covered with a dark green velvet, of so rich a texture and with such a gloss, that it appeared almost a sin for a human form to press upon it. There were chairs in this room, made of some precious wood inlaid with mother-of- pearl, and having luxurious cushions of the same material as that which covered the ottomans. The ornaments upon the mantelpiece, the knickknacks upon the tables, the vases filled with flowers, or whence perfume exhaled their fragrance, were all of the costliest and most curious Eastern description, A mellowed lustre, but quite sufficient to flood the apart- ment, was thrown out by superb chandeliers; a fire burned cheerfully in the grate, and its blaze was shrouded from the eye by screens curiously painted, and the framework of which was elaborately as well as delicately carved. Fans, formed of the feathers of tropical birds, lay within the reach, wheresoever the princess might choose at the moment to seat herself, and a large cage, standing on a table near the window, contained within the sphere of its golden wires a dozen or so of birds of the most diminutive size, but in every variety of beautiful plumage. The Princess Indora was reclining upon a sofa at about 218 CORNICIOOKS (E()