The Mysteries of the Court of London — page 259: what you’re looking at

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

232 REYNOLDS’ WORKS covered! It turns out to be that infamous hypocrite Make- peace who went on so at the time about his poor dear lord — ”’ ‘““T will go to the drawing-room, I tell you,’’ interrupted Ethel, still more impatiently, “‘and do you request his lordship the earl — or Mr. Slater — his lordship will perhaps be better — to come to me there as soon as possible. Go quick, girl, quick!” Ethel was very much excited, as the reader may judge from her unguarded as well as rien sentences; and the maid, at first astonished, came to the very natural conclusion that the excitement of all these proceedings had produced a somewhat hysterical effect upon her mistress. She therefore hastened away to do her ladyship’s bidding, and returning to the vicinage of the deceased earl’s chamber, she reached the dressing-room door just as Makepeace was proclaiming the illicit loves of Ethel and Adolphus. The maid — who was a pure-minded, artless, inexperienced girl enough, and who had never previously suspected that which she now heard — was transfixed with a stupefying consternation. In a few moments, however, she heard the footsteps of Mr. Slater and the two domestics who had accompanied him, descending the upper flight after their successful search for the crock of gold, and the maid, not choosing to be deemed a, listener there, hurried away. But she had not acquitted herself of the mission she had received from Ethel, and when the next minute she thought of it, events were hurrying on with too much rapidity to furnish an immediate opportunity for the delivery of her ladyship’s message either to Mr. Slater or the Earl of Las- celles. The officers of justice were coming to take the mur- derer into custody. Again was the tale of the illicit amour vociferously proclaimed, Makepeace was borne off, some of the domestics dispersed to their own chambers, others continued grouped together upon the landing outside the dressing-room door, to discuss the fearfully exciting inci- dents which had just occurred, and the lawyer, deeming it better to leave the young earl to himself after the over- whelming exposure, retired to a bedchamber, where, how- ever, as the reader has seen, he was presently aroused to receive the. confession of the murderer at the neighbouring station-house. ECORMICLIOO KS m