The Young Apprentice; or, The Watch-Words of Old London — page 380: what you’re looking at

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

men—shall we indeed see the fair one of the park to-night ?” ‘‘ T aay yesa,’’ replied the colonel. ‘And so do I,” said Sir Robert; “for what, after all, will not love adventure, and that she is desperately enamoured of your royal highness there cannot be the shadow of a doubt upon any of our minds.” ‘‘ Not the least,” said the colonel. “‘ Well,” said the prince, drawing a long breath, “there is certainly something in that ; but as itis now near the time, I think it but civil that I should be by the door opening from the court, to receive her when she does come,” ‘‘ Be it so,” said the colonel ; “‘ and while you | are gone we will get ready for the parts we are about to play. By-the-bye, which room will you take her into?” * The room next to this,” “Weil, perhaps it will be better to do so ; and yet the next room, that opens to the garden, is most private, is it not?” “Not so; lighta oan be seen through its win- dow. But that, to be sure, would not matter thuch. Hark!” “ It is the old clock.” St, James’s clock chimed the three-quarters past eleven. The prince, waving his hand to his friends, left the room, and took his way through a suite of chambers, and along a corridor, till he came to the staircase that led direct to the court-yard in the palace. The prince sheltered himself from the rain and wind a few paces under cover of the little doorway. Here he waited patiently. At ten it was the custom of the sentinels on duty to challenge all strangers with the words, ‘ Who goes there ?”’ Very few persons had entered the park that night, and these few had pemsed away almost without question. About ten minutes to twelve another person entered the gate. | She was attired in‘a clowk of bite cloth, but the head-dress was evidently feminine, and the reply made to the setitinel was in a female voice. This person was Mercy Marner. There was s0 much grace about the walk of the young efrl, and there was such a world of melody even in the two wotds that she pro- nounced, in atiswer to the soldier's challenge, that the sentinel looked after her with andia- sembled admiration, before he resumed his solitary walk, “A pretty young creature that,” he said, * Ill be bound. Ah, it strikes me that she won't get further than the palace. It was but a month ago that two of ’em were seen to go in at the garden gate, and they do sky that that old colonel showed them the way, and held an um- brella over their heads, because it rained ; but it’s no business of mine,” The soldier resumed his watch. Mercy walked very rapidly after she had passed the sentinel, and would soon have reached the garden gate of the palace, whither, contrary to the arrangement made, she seemed inclined to take her way, but just as she was passing the opening amid the trees, a tall man THE WATCHWORDS OF OLD LONDON. $59 omerged from rather a ‘gloomy spot, and otied out— “‘ My love, where are you going f” That this was one of the many loan who infested the park after nightfall, to the danger and detriment of respectable females, Mercy hardly knew, for to tell the trath she was too ignorant upon the subject to come tosuch a conclusion, but that some intrusion was intended, was sufficiently evident, so she quickened her “ Oome, come,” said the stranger, as he soon reached her side again ; come, come, don't think to outrun me. That, you know, will never 0.” “Sir, I do not desire your company.” “Well, but I desire yours.” The cool impertinence of this speeth, com- bined with an attempt upon the part of the stranger to take hold of her arm, induced Mercy to stop for a moment, and in & calm, firm voice, she said— “Sir, for your own sake, for your own safety’s sake, I beg of you to leave me.” ‘Safety; well, that is a good one, You threaten me, @o you, my Hittle heroine of ro- mance? Ha, ha, that is capital; Tam used to passions and tears, and reproaches, and all that sort of thing, but threats I certainly never before met with from a pretty girl, who comes alone into such a place at midnight,” “Sir, —I—” “Well, goon, I know what you &re going to gay quite well, Yon mean, that you have an appointment with somebody else, and ro don't want to be bothered with me; bat you must break your appointment.” “ Must, sir?” ‘Yes, and I wiil tell you why. I hhve buen jilted and made a fool of by one of your sez already to-night. She promised to meet me in the park, but it is a hoax, and therefore, if { get you, which I fally intend to 4, to break your appointment in my favour, I equalise the thing, you see, and all is right aguin.” Again, the stranger made an attempt to catch Merey in his arms, bat she evaded him, ant ran across the promenade towards the enclosure of the park. “ Help, help,” she said. In a moment, from the shadow of some treek, there sprang a couple of men, who iritercepted the ~ stranger. One of them, with the speed of thought, plunged a poinard up to the very hilt in his bosom, and the other caught him in his arms as he was falling, and with great strength, carrying him to the enclosure, cast him ovet in & moment. He who had stabbed the atranger as he passed her, merely said to her— “Go on and prosper ; you will not be inter- ruptéd more.” Terrified at the interraption to her progress, and mote terrified still at the sammary way in’ which it had been set aside, Mercy ran tn the direction of the garden wall of the palace. By the time she got near to where the two sentinels were on duty, she was compelled to pause for breath, and as she leant aghinst a tree, a man stepped up to her, and in a low voice, said— ‘“ The ninth of May.” est ol , - ONS ‘ <SmGonnm GOVE OO ©