The Young Apprentice; or, The Watch-Words of Old London — page 330: what you’re looking at

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

pering with the wainscot walls of the old house ; but he had no time even for conjectures as to what it could ibly mean, but applying his ear to the panel of the door, he listened intently. Not a sound came upon his senses, and in some alarm, lest there might be a mistake after all, he tapped gently at the door. There was a rustling movement within the room, and the door was thrown open. Alicia, then the wife of a few hours only, stood in her bridal dress upon che threshold of the chamber, Alicia was eighteen years of age, fresh as a ‘rosebud, and beautiful as an angel. Her dreas was of white satin, and in her hands she held a silver chaplet of vine leaves, which had been the only ornament she wore in her hair. The disguised Leicester slowly dropped upon one knee, and holding up the glass of drugged wine, he said, ‘“‘ Sie Henry, who is one of my best and oldest friends, desires me to express to you his regret that it will be some short time before he can wait upon you, but begs, if you would do him a gratefal favour, that you would partake of this glass of wine.” ‘‘ Sir, I know you not.” “No, my lady, I am an old friend of Sir Henry's, and hope to be a new one of his lady’s.” “ Your voice seems——” “‘ Familiar to yon,I daresay, It is a common enough voice, lady. Shall I say to Sir Henry that you will take the wine he sends you ?” “‘ Certainly, sir, and yoa may add that perhaps his attendant, Margaret, would have been a more fitting messenger of his wish.”’ ‘*T will not fail to do so, but —buat——” ‘* What more have yon to say, sir?” “Only that Sir Henry has laid a wager.” ‘A what, sir {” ‘A simple, and perhaps, a silly wager, that although you might be repugnant to doing so, you would drink the wine that ho now sends you, with his love, and requests that you would O 80,’ “The wager is with you, sirrt” ‘Oh, madam, I——”’ ‘‘ Enough, sir ; I now comprehend the reason why you are the cupbearer in thisinstance, You can tell Sir Henry, that notwithstanding the task that subjects me to this trial, he has worn his wager.” As she spoke, she drank the wine, and then dropped the glass to the floor, as she placed her hand to her brow and staggered a pace or two into the chamber. . “ Oh, Heavens !’’ Leicester sprang to his feet. ‘You are indisposed, madam—you feel a con- fusion in the brain, a kind of—of——”’ “ Oh, what is this? Death—death—” Leicester made a dart forward, and was just in time to save her from falling by catching her in his arma, “Help!” she said, faintly. “Help! Oh! Heavens! Husband !—uncle !—Rupert! Oh! Rupert, where are you?” “Lady Alicia, lovely and accomplished being. Ab | she droops ; yes, she no longer hears me. By THE WATCHWORDS OF OLD LONDON. jove! the old wizard's potion has done the 309 work quickly. But I tremble at the idea that I may have given her an over-dose! How pale she is, and yet how beantiful !—how more than beautiful! Alicia, you are mine, and mine only. Oh! what joy! Ha, ha! From here we must away, charming Alicia !” He placed her gently upon a couch in the room, and then ran to the window, and flinging it epen, for it was a French casement, he was in tke act of stepping out on to the balcony, when he drew back, and in a voice of undissembled ch cried, “This isnotthe room! Hlowisthis? That is not the balcony. There is no rope ladder there, Confound it! Aye, stop abit. There isa door, It is the next room, perhaps. To be rure—to be sure. Ha, ha! this is not the chamber at all. It is here—here, of course.” Leicester darted into an adjoining room, which was fitted up with great taste and magnificence as a sleeping chamber, Vases full of flowers were scattered about the place, Upon the toilette table were magnificen jewels, which had formed part of the trousseau of the young bride, The centre of the room was ocoupied by a mag- nificent bed and bedstead, at the corners of which were plumes of scarlet feathers. A wood fire, that by the fragrant odour it sent forth, was certainly of cedar, smouldered upon the hearth. “ Ah ! this is the chamber,” cried Leiceater, ashe ranto the window which yielded to a touch. “All's right, here is the balcony, here the rope ladder, ‘and there the garden. Now love, assist. I am urged on by two reasons now—Cupid and cupidity. a! ha! love and a fortune. Bravo! I wonder what the bridegroom is about, now? Ha! ha! capital this, Why, the old fool, I suppose, feels so sure that all is right, that he will stay down stairs gossiping with Rupert an hour longer, [ should not wonder, Oh, oh! would I? Well, it don't matter. How atill the house is, to be gure ! Leicester tripped back to the room where he had left Lady Hastings. She laid upon the couch perfectly insensible from the effects of the powerful narcotic that had been administered to her, ' The silver chaplet was upon the floor at her e et. “Ha! ha!” laughed Leicester, “ when Sir Henry comes for his bride, he will find the silver chaplet vacated. Well, he bad no business to wed such q dainty piece of workmanship as this, I hope all is quiet below.” Leicester stepped from the room on to the corridor, and so to the top of the staircase, and lent over the balustrade to listen. The murmur of voices below came upon his ears for a moment or two, and then the door of the room in which Sir Henry and young Rapert were sitting, was opened, and they both came forth into the hall. “ All is well, my dear young friend,” Leicester heard Sir Henry say. “ Yea, all 4s well, I think,” muttered Leicester, “but not in the way you think. I have no time to lose. I must be in the garden with Alicia in another minute. Another minute takes me to CC. - ~ 5) GOVE OOO eS CO