The Mysteries of the Court of London — page 102: what you’re looking at

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

REMORSE 85 Mark promised to do the bidding of his royal mistress in all things, and, furnished with a letter, he lost no time in taking his departure. When he was gone the queen sought Christina. Our youthful heroine was overwhelmed with grief on ac- count of Sagoonah’s flight, inasmuch as Indora had given her to understand that the direst calamity to Mr. Redcliffe might be the result, for Christina had yet to learn that her brother’s benefactor bore a lordly title. The queen had assured Chris- tina that she acquitted her of all blame in reference to Sa- goonah’s escape, but still the maiden reproached herself for not having exercised a sufficient degree of vigilance. Indora found her weeping in her chamber, and before she broke the fatal tidings, she renewed her declaration that Christina was utterly absolved from all blame on the one point which so sorely troubled her. Then the sad intelligence was im- parted, and Christina learned for the first time all the mys- teries which had hitherto attached themselves to him whom she had only known as Mr. Redcliffe. Wild was the anguish of our heroine on hearing how terribly the queen’s presenti- ment was fulfilled, and how stupendous was the mischief which had resulted from Sagoonah’s escape. Christian Ashton now arrived at the villa. He had been passing some hours with Isabella Vincent; he had returned to Mortimer Street at the usual hour for dinner, and there he learned from Mrs. Macaulay the terrible event which had taken place, and the rumour of which had just reached the landlady. MHalf-frantic on his benefactor’s account, and firmly convinced of his innocence, — although until this moment he had ever believed in Bertram Vivian’s guilt, — Christian sped to Bow Street; but the case was over, and Lord Clandon had been removed to Newgate. Christian, in a state of mind bordering upon frenzy, proclaimed his inten- tion of hastening to the prison to see his benefactor, but he was assured that it was too late that day to obtain admit- tance. He therefore sped to the villa, which he reached at the moment when the queen had finished her sad narrative to Christina. The three, namely, her Majesty and the twins, were now grouped together in an apartment on the ground floor, and they were conversing in deep mournfulness on the one en- grossing topic. | } CoOnnicloookKks (C(O)