The Young Apprentice; or, The Watch-Words of Old London — page 361: what you’re looking at

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

be seen on the starboard bow of the boat, Lord Lovaine began to breathe a little more freely, with the thought that he would soon now be able to place Alicia in a situation of safety, and a smile came across his face at the idea of how clearly he had outwitted Lord Leicester. “ Pall in, John,” he said, “pullin to the gar- den gate. Iam much your debtor for this night's work.” Don't say that, my lord, Iam only too happy to be of service.”’ “ And J, too,” said Darvil, for he thought it was just as well that while the earl was talking of his gratitude, he should not forget him. ‘“‘T shall not forget you, Darvil,’’ said the earl. “ Now for it, John.” ‘Yes, my lord.” “ Just look behind yon ‘andjtell me what you think of that wherry.” John did so, and saw a boat with an awning over a portion of it, coming along in a slanting line towards the one he and the earl occupied, “JT don’t know what to think, my lord.” he said, “but I don’t think that it will catch us,” “Ts it trying ?” ‘¢'Yes,”’ said Darvil, A dark shade passed over the face of the ear] and he knitted hia brows as he said, “ Who will dare, in all England, to interfere with us? Ah! J] thought as much, It is some mistake. The wherry alters its course. Pull now, John, pull away, and we are home.” With a dull, grating noise, the head of the boat reached the landing place at the back of one of the stately houses of Whitehall. The wherry with the canopy had altered its course, and went right away up the river, and was soon out of sight. The spot upon which Lord Lovaine landed, was at the garden gate of a house that he occu- pied only occasionally in London. To all appearance it would seem as if the gar- den gate must be the river entrance to one of the stately mansions of Whitehall, but such was not the case. The mansion fronting Whitehall, to which the garden belonged, was certainly the property of Lord Lovaine ; but he had let it to the Lord Chancellor, and had, by a tall and strong pali- sade, cut off about fifty feet of the garden front- ing the river, which he had retained for himself. In this piece of garden ground he had built a kind of cottage, or little kiosk, as it was then called, where he kept a snug little eatablishment, and whither he could take any one whom he pleased should be in his kind care for a time, without the great world being any the wiser concerning the little transaction. A lady of the name of Oarton, who was cele- brated for her size and her evil disposition— perhaps we should ratber say cunning—was the housekeeper at this place, and her niece, or a young woman whom she chose to dignify with that title, was the only female domestic. There was a couple of stout, well-made lackeys always in attendance, who had a v idle life of it, and who were considered to be the body guard of that establishment. A boy, in the dress of an oriental page, was the personal attendant upon Lord Lovaine when he came to the cottage, and these persons, all extravagantly paid out of the plunder that Lord < - wm oe ee ene THE YOUNG APPRENTICE; OR, Lovaine procured from the English exchequer, formed the whole of the household at the cottage. . | Tt was to this place, then, that Lord Lovaine conducted the insensible Alicia, with a full and perfect feeling of the security she would be in. What precise intentions he had beyond trying what his solicitations might effect with her, and raising the thousand pounds of the king and the thousand pounds of Lord Leicester, perhaps he would have found it difficult, at that time, him- self to say. - There were some circumstances that militated, to a certain extent, against the idea that any very scandalous outrage would be perpetrated, and the principal one of those circumstances was to be found in the fact that it was the unsafest thing in the world even for Lord Lovaine to embroil himself with a class so nearly equal to the state of society in which he himself moved. If Alicia had been a daughter of some trades- man, Lord Lovaine would bardly have admitted to himself that he was doing other than an honor to her and her family by taking so much | trouble about her, Then, again, he believed her to be the wife of Sir Henry, and Sir Henry was the most eminent lawyer of his time ; so that from him there might arise a considerable amount of trouble in tbe matter. Taking all this into consideration, it is doubt- ful if Lord Lovaine, with all his unscrupulous vil- lany, had any other intention as regarded the fair Alicia, than that of trying the seduc'ive eloquence of bis fascinations, and satisfy him- self, if that failed in shaking the virtue of Alicia, by winning the thousand pounds each of the king and Leicester. We shall, perhaps, find though, that even in that limited view which he was disposed to take of his success, he was doomed to a little dieap- pointment in the affair. After the boat had once touched the shore at the garden gate, Lord Lovaine felt quite safe from either pursuit or interruption, and taking Alicia in his arms, he sprang out of the wherry with her. Clasping her, then, with one arm, he took from his pocket a heavy purse with the other hand, and handing it to John, he said— “Give Darvil twenty gold pieces.” “ Yes, my lord.”’ . The waterman was profuse in bis thanks for this munificent largess. But when Lord Lovaine got his purse back again, it was lighter than the abstraction of only twenty gold pieces could have made it, but then it had passed through the hands of John. It was not long before the insensible girl was carried into the house. A horrid house it was, It had seen many a scene of disgrace and shame. Many acry from an injared maiden had rang, out on the night air. Many a ruined gambler had staggered out of the place in despair. Lord Lovaine, on entering the house, pro- ceeded to a room, gorgeously appointed, and hung all round with pale pink eatin, and placed Alicia upon a couch in the centre of it. GOVE OO © SS) | mes AKT y | CO a, - tt 4