The Mysteries of the Court of London — page 186: what you’re looking at

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

THE YOUNG BARONET 159 with mingled surprise and indignation; he was about to bid her begone, when she conveyed to him that indication of silence, and therefore the word to which he was on the point of giving utterance remained unspoken. ‘You are surprised, perhaps you are shocked, Mr. Ash- ton, at this proceeding on my part,’ began Mrs. Oxenden, her looks expressing the most languishing entreaty as she accosted our young hero, ‘‘ but I beseech you to hear me with patience.”’ “It were well, madam,” he coldly responded, “if you had chosen a more suitable time and place for any com- munication which you may have to make me,” and he glanced significantly toward the door. “Mr. Ashton, I am the most miserable of women,” quickly resumed Mrs. Oxenden, with a look and tone of passionate entreaty. ‘‘ I implore you to listen to me.” “Not here — not now,” ejaculated Christian. ‘I insist that you leave me.” “IT cannot —I will not!” she rejoined, as if she were half-frenzied. ‘‘ Ever since your return from the town in the forenoon, I have endeavoured to find an opportunity to speak to you alone, but you would not afford it to me; you seemed to conjecture my object and purposely to avoid me.”’ “It may be that I did so,’’ answered Christian, ‘‘ but if you have really anything to say to me, you must postpone it to the morrow, when I will not refuse you the opportunity. But to-night, and here— No, it is impossible, and you do your cause no good, Mrs. Oxenden, by coming to me in such circumstances. I now insist that you leave me.” She turned away from our hero for an instant as if about to seek the door, when suddenly bending her looks upon him again, she said, with so peculiar an expression of counte- nance that it well suited the words she uttered, ‘“‘ Yes, I will leave you, but it will be to quit the house likewise, — the sea flows at no great distance beneath the cliffs, and it is deep enough to engulf even a miserable woman who has no longer any reason to cumber this world with her presence.”’ “Wretched creature, what do you mean?” exclaimed our hero, clutching her by the wrist as she appeared about to retreat precipitately from the chamber. ‘‘ Would you to your other misdeeds add the still greater one of suicide? Would you crown all your past iniquities by so heinous a EOMINGIOOKS (CO)