The Mysteries of the Court of London — page 88: what you’re looking at

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

THE PRISONER IN THE DOCK 71 to minister unto him, a guard of honour to attend him, and riches were showered upon him. Those around him were ex- pressly ordered by the king to address him with the respect due to a noble of the highest rank. He was the preceptor of the Princess Indora, whom he instructed in all European accomplishments, and whom he converted to Christianity. He was likewise the king’s privy councillor, and was the means of introducing a multiplicity of reforms into the in- stitutions of the country. All these were of the most liberal tendency, and thus, although he was known to be an English- man and a Christian, he was a universal favourite with every grade of society in the kingdom of Inderabad. He was always addressed as if he himself were a prince, and it was generally believed that he would espouse the Princess In- dora, and become monarch of the country whenever the old king should die. It must be observed that Sagoonah related these facts in order to give her narrative as much precision as possible; but that likewise much of the information she imparted was elicited from her by questions, while the rest was sponta- neously afforded from her lips. She proceeded to depose that the Englishman Clement Redcliffe frequently implored his freedom, but could not obtain it. Thus years passed on. At length, in the year 1845, an incident occurred which made Sagoonah acquainted with some portion of his former history. It appeared that an English traveller was found murdered in a wood in the neighbourhood of the capital, and amongst the documents discovered on his person was a London newspaper. ‘This newspaper fell into the hands of the Englishman Clement Redcliffe. On that very same day Sagoonah was walking in the Court of Fountains belonging to the palace of Indera- bad, when she was the unseen witness of a meeting on the part of the Englishman and the Princess Indora. The Eng- lishman threw himself at the feet of her Highness, imploring that she would intercede with her royal father to procure his freedom. He said that everything which regarded his native country had hitherto been a perfect blank to him, but that the newspaper which had now fallen into his hands con- tained a paragraph bearing allusion to his own family, and to his horror tending to criminate him in respect to a murder which he never even knew had been committed at all. He GomilGaooks (S©)