The Mysteries of the Court of London — page 392: what you’re looking at

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

CHAPTER XXX ATALANTA Turn we now to the lodgings of the Honourable Augustus Softly, the young officer to whom Madame Angelique, on breaking up her establishment, so generously bequeathed Mademoiselle Armantine. _ Very beautiful was the French girl, yet far from being so little frail as the milliner had chosen to represent her. Of a fascinating style of loveliness, with all the first freshness of youth sufficiently well preserved, and indeed still youthful, for she was not yet twenty-two, Armantine was fully calcu- lated to make a powerful impression on such a mind as that of Mr. Softly. Her manners were captivating; she had all those little bewitching arts which specially characterize the females of the nation to which she belonged. She was far from deficient in accomplishments, she could draw, play, and sing, and as for dancing, she was a veritable proficient in the art. Thus altogether the Honourable Augustus Softly found her a very enchanting mistress. Several days had elapsed since the commencement of his acquaintance with Armantine, and one afternoon, at about two o'clock, she arrived at his lodgings, according to an appointment made on the previous day. He purposed to regale her with a champagne luncheon, and he had risen at least an hour earlier than usual for the purpose. The apart- ment where he received her was decorated in true bachelor fashion: foils and boxing-gloves, hunting whips and fire- arms, fishing-tackle and other accessories to field sports, were scattered about, though Mr. Softly had never angled but once in his life, on which occasion after a whole day’s fishing he caught a minnow; he was an execrable shot, and as for hunting, he had not sufficient courage to follow the 36] CORnnICLOOOKS (CO)