The Mysteries of the Court of London — page 206: what you’re looking at

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

DEATH 181 over the countenance of the latter; its paleness grew corpse- like, the eyes appeared to sink deeper into their sockets, some words to which he could not give audible utterance wavered upon his lips. Then came a low moan, followed by a gasp, and next by a strong spasm, which seemed to thrill painfully through the penitent’s form, and then all was over. There was a profound and solemn silence for the space of several moments, but Lavinia appeared uncertain relative to the supreme fact. She gazed with a dismay, half-wild, half-awefelt, upon the countenance of her husband; then she swept her looks around upon those who stood with her by the side of the couch, and she read in their faces the truth to which she had striven to close her convictions. A piercing cry burst from her lips, and whether she fell forward or threw herself upon the corpse, was not apparent, but there she lay, motionless as he upon whose form hex head rested. For several instants those who beheld the unfortunate Lavinia fancied that she was abandoning herself to a pro- found and absorbing woe which had supervened on that sudden access of wild despair; but as she moved not, and as not so much as even a sob or a sigh was wafted to their ears, they grew alarmed. They raised her; there was a small pool of blood on the counterpane at the spot where her mouth had rested, and the physician pronounced her to be a corpse. Deeply, deeply affected were the twins as they suffered themselves to be led forth from that chamber of death. They rejoined the queen, to whom they communicated the details of the sad scene they had witnessed, and Indora mournfully remarked that it were better for Lavinia to have died thus than to have lived to deplore a husband who was unworthy of her lamentation. Her Majesty and the twins retired to their respective chambers to rest for a few hours, but sleep closed not the eyes of either of them. The man who had so long borne the title of the Duke of Marchmont was now no more; he had passed beyond that sphere in which his crimes would have rendered him amen- able to human laws; he had gone to that other world, in which he was to appear in the presence of a more dread tribunal. But his wife, who had been an angel on earth, had gone at the same time to be an angel in heaven, and it COnnicloooKs (S©@)