The Mysteries of the Court of London — page 65: what you’re looking at

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

46 REYNOLDS’ WORKS the morning, the wind is moaning around and through the old chateau, and when the mind is attenuated by sorrowful thoughts — ”’ ‘Oh, I have no superstitious terrors!” ejaculated Clarine, quickly. ‘‘ A thousand thanks, my dear friend, for your kindness —a thousand thanks, but I will pass the night alone. And perhaps to-morrow — to-morrow,” she repeated, with a singularly anguished and abstracted look, ‘‘T shall be more resigned —I shall be all the better pre- pared to meet my sad, sad destiny.” For an instant it struck Zoe that there was something peculiar, something unnatural or at all events incompre- hensibly mysterious in Clarine’s look and manner, as well as in her tone, but when Mademoiselle Volney had embraced her and hurried forth from the apartment, Lady Octavian thought within herself, ‘‘ It is the bitterness of her affliction which renders her thus strange. Alas! grief does indeed at times produce eccentric aberrations of reason, and, poor Clarine! she has not the same fortitude as myself in yielding to that which she so piteously described as a sad, sad destiny.” On quitting Zoe, Clarine proceeded as usual to Monsieur Volney’s study, to imprint the wonted kiss upon his brow and receive that nightly benediction which he never failed to give. Oh, how tumultuously did poor Clarine’s heart beat as she approached that study-door; with what a sense of anguish did she stop to press her hands against her heaving bosom, as if she could thereby silence the palpitations of that heart of hers; and how painfully for a few instants did she find herself compelled to lean against the wall for support. But it sometimes happens that at the very crisis of the most torturing ordeal a preternatural fortitude suddenly seizes upon those who are to go through it, nerving them with the requisite amount of courage. And thus was it now with Clarine. She regained a degree of outward composure which astonished herself, and the next instant she stood in her father’s presence. ‘Sit down, Clarine,” said Monsieur Volney. ‘‘ I would speak to you a few words.”’ Fortunate for her was it that his countenance was half- averted, and that he completely shaded his eyes with his hand as he thus spoke, for if he had only happened to glance toward her at the instant, he would have seen that all her EORNICLIOOKS (E(0)