The Mysteries of the Court of London — page 107: what you’re looking at

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

88 REYNOLDS’ WORKS interpreter who had accompanied the two messengers to the villa. Mark, as the reader will remember, had himself been in India, and he was therefore well pleased to fall in with a fellow countryman who had just arrived from that Orient clime, and who could tell him all the news. Mark’s presence in the hall had been productive of one beneficial effect, although he little suspected it, for it prevented the ayah from stealing up-stairs to listen on the landing at what was taking place in the drawing-room, — a proceeding in which the wily Hindu woman was very likely to have indulged, were it not that she dreaded the idea of exciting Mark’s suspicion. She had already said in the servants’ room that her work was all done up-stairs; no bell summoned her, she had no excuse for ascending those stairs, and they were so situated with respect to the entrance-hall and the landing above that if she had gone up and loitered on the latter, she would have stood every chance of being detected by Mark, who was stationed in the former. But to resume the thread of our narrative. Mark an- swered the summons given by the double ringing of the drawing-room bell, and the princess hastily explained to him the strange but serious apprehension entertained by the Hindu messenger. The faithful domestic was himself some- what staggered, though it was certainly singular for an Eng- lishman to be told that there was a venomous reptile of India within the walls of a dwelling on the outskirt of London, but still he was staggered, because he beheld the excessive agitation of the Hindu, and his experiences of Indian life were sufficient to convince him that it was a real terror under which the emissary was labouring. Besides, Mark was prudent, and he knew full well that as an apprehension was created, it would be better to have it dispelled as soon as possible, no matter whether it should be proved groundless or else justified by the result. ‘““Say not a word to the other domestics,” observed the princess, hurriedly, though not for an instant did she lose her presence of mind; “ it will be useless to terrify them — ”’ ‘“ But Sagoonah and Tippoo, my lady, will hear the music,” suggested Mark, ‘‘ and they will know what it means.” ‘ True,” ejaculated the princess; then, after a moment’s reflection, she added, “‘ Go you first and fetch the flageolet, then return to the servants’ hall, see that all the domestics CORMICLIOOKS (E(0)