The Mysteries of the Court of London — page 52: what you’re looking at

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

EDGAR BEVERLEY dod morning, before Mr. and Mrs. Maxwell were up. Louisa, with tears in her eyes, assured me that she had suffered much on my account, for that her sister was always accusing her of exchanging significant looks with me whenever we happened to pass. Delicacy forbade me from explaining to Louisa the cause of Mrs. Maxwell’s rancorous and un- forgiving animosity against me, but I made the most solemn protestations of imperishable affection. In short, Mr. Ash- ton, I spoke as I believe all lovers do speak to the objects of their regard. I told her that I would write to my uncle and beseech his assent to our union, in which case she might act in total independence of her sister’s imperious authority; but Louisa, timid and bashful, and trembling at the idea of flying openly in her sister’s face, besought me to wait yet awhile, and trust to a favourable change in existing cir- cumstances. I assented, on condition that she would suffer these meetings to be renewed as often as was possible, and I wrung from her a timidly and tremblingly uttered pledge to this effect. Again did weeks pass on, and we met fre- quently. Oh, the joy of those meetings, when from two fond hearts commingled the transfusing feelings of purest, holiest love! ”’ Edgar Beverley paused for upwards of a minute, and with a pensive air evidently dwelt upon the happiness of those interviews to which he had just alluded, —a happiness the experience of which he no doubt feared must be regarded as belonging only to the past, and never to be resuscitated. ‘My narrative is drawing to a close,” he at length re- sumed. ‘“ But before I proceed with it, I ought to inform you that on several occasions during the months which had now flown by since I was first quartered in Brighton, I heard vague whispers to the prejudice of Mrs. Maxwell’s character. It was stated that previous to her marriage, which had taken place some few years back, her conduct had been characterized by something more than mere levity, that there was also something mysterious attached to her earlier history, and I remember that on one occasion the opinion was expressed that she had actually been the kept mistress of some very rich man, and that in order to obtain a position she had accepted the offer made to her by the infatuated and doating Maxwell. Whether these rumours were true or not, I was then unable to discover; at all events CORnnicloookKkSs (CO)