The Mysteries of the Court of London — page 31: what you’re looking at

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

14 REYNOLDS’ WORKS in unto his mind, “is it possible? But no! What does it all mean? This is not —”’ “Yes, father,” said the damsel, quietly, ‘this is De Margaux. Bind him, he is your prisoner. You alone have captured him; there is none to dispute your right to the reward, nor to demand a share of it. And it will enable you to take possession of the shop to-morrow.” Finette’s father listened in mingled astonishment and joy at these words which flowed from her lips, and he lost no time in fastening around the limbs of the unconscious De Margaux the cord which he had brought. ‘“Now, Finette,’” he exclaimed, half-wild with delight, ‘let me embrace thee, girl, and you shall never hear an- other syllable of reproach from my lips. No, you have atoned for your faults. Forsooth, after all, 1 am glad that it has happened. We shall be better off than ever we were.” He embraced his daughter, but. she rather submitted to his caress than received it with satisfaction, and he ex- claimed, ‘‘ Why, what ails you, girl? You do not seem happy.” ‘‘ Father,” she responded, with a strange seriousness of countenance, a seriousness which even appeared to have something sinister and ominous in it, ‘‘ I have done some- thing which will for ever prevent me from knowing what happiness is in this life. I have betrayed a fellow creature to the scaffold for the sake of gold. All murderer though he be, I would not have done this were it not that I had an atonement to make unto yourself. My conduct toward that man has this day been fraught with a degree of dissimu- lation and treachery which, all murderer though he be, I repeat, 1 am utterly ashamed of, and for which I loathe myself. However, you, father, will now reproach me no more. The idea has been hovering in my mind from the very first moment that I read the placard offering a re- ward for that man’s apprehension. It was when we were journeying in the diligence, and when I was nearly driven to madness by your reproaches. Oh, then I said to myself, ‘If I could surrender him up to justice!’ Ah! the idea was then vague and shadowy enough, but it has been ful- filled. It is done, father, the atonement is made, and you will be enabled to settle yourself in life. Hark! a vehicle is passing. I will return in a few moments.”’ Gomiuicbdoc <S (E(0)