Agnes, or, Beauty and Pleasure — page 235: what you’re looking at

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

> ~ © J ry _ his way; and on making an inquiry at the porter’s | “ You would not wish to be a wedded wife we ‘ AGNES; OR, BEAUTY AND PLEASURE. 22 livig at an hotei chiefly frequented by travellers demanded our young hero, astonished and even of distinction. To that establishment Charles bent | distressed at the singular speech he had just heard. >” lodge, he learnt that the gentleman was out, but “T did not say so,” interrupted the lady—‘“I that the lady was in her apartment. A bell was | did not even give you to understand thus much. rung—a waiter answered the summons—and our | But what [ meant—what you may understand— hero was conducted to that lady’s sitting-room. and what I ewphatically proclaim, is that I have He found her alone: she was reclining loung- | no wish to be the wedded wife of Theodore Clif- ingly upon a sofa; and as he entered she partially | ford.” raised herself, extending her hand, and saying “ Floribel, you pain me infinitely !” said Charles; with a half-smile and with a slight blush, “I was | “and if your cousin Agnes were present, she would not altogether unprepared, Mr. De Vere, for this | be profoundly distressed to hear you thus speak.” visit.” * But Agnes is noé here,’ answered Floribel ‘Charles took the hand thus proffered him: but | flippantly ; “and even if she were, I should tell the he did not immediately speak. He bent upon the | truth if the topic arose; for I cannot control lady a look of mingled commiseration and sorrow; | my own sentiments, and I care not to conceal and then he placed himself in the chair which she | them.” indicated. The confusion on her part was tran-| “Ah!” ejaculated Charles, “I understand !”— sitory : or at least whatsoever she might have in- | and now the feeling of commiseration on Floribel’s ternally felt, soon ceased to be betrayed by the | behalf again took possession of his soul. “ You expression of ber countenance; so that Charles | are not altogether happy with Mr. Clifford = could not help sighing as he thought that there| “Listen to me, Charles!” said Floribel: “ for was a certain degree of hardihood in the de-| as we have met, I will be frank and explicit with meanour which she was thus so quickly able to| you. For a moment I would have avoided this assume. She was dressed with exceeding rich- | meeting; yet it was only a transient feeling of ness—indeed almost with a splendour which rose | weakness on my part—because as I knew you were predominant above elegance and taste; and there | at Naples, I should not have consented to come was a slight savour of meretriciousness in her | hither at all if [had been tvo bashful and diffident, toilet. The low corsage displayed somewhat too | or too shamefaced to encounter your looks. But much of the luxuriant contours of the bust; and | listen to me! I thought, when I elopea with Mr, there was altogether a voluptuous abandonment in | Clifford, that I loved him; and theregwere doubt- the way in which she resumed her lounging, half- | less all the elements of love in my beart—but they reclining position when she had shaken hands with | required to be fostered, to be evoked, and to be De Vere. A tincture of sensuousness mingled | developed by the genial warmth of kindness on with the natural glowing richness which charac- | his part. He began by deceiving me. That inci- terized her whole person: there was a certain | dent was alone sufficient to throw an ice-chill upon boldness in the expression of her large dark eyes, | the feelings which were merely nascent and ger- the luminousness of which seemed to swim in a | minating in my bosom. He continued his course soft languor: and the skirt of the robe was | of deception—he assured me that he would speedily drawn just high enough—it might be by acci-| obtain the consent of his father to our union,— dent, or it might be by a studied coquettish | until wearied and rendered suspicious by his ex- design—to display one exquisitely-shaped foot | cuses, I took the matter into my own hands and and symmetrically-rounded ankle. Her taper| wrote to Lord Windermere. The answer which I fingers were resplendent with rings; the diamond | received convinced me of all Theodore’s perfidy. In ear-drops flashed forth their jets of light from | short, Charles, from this and various other instances amidst the heavy tresses of her glossy raven | I discovered that he had never intended to bestow hair; and a superb necklace defined, so to speak, | upon me the sacred title of wife; but that it was the swell of the bosom. Altogether, in that| all along a studied seduction, and that I was there- attitude of soft sensuous abandonment—with | fore a victim and adupe! Do you suppose that I those looks—and in that garb,—reclining upon| can love such a man as this ~or that I could desire the Juxurious cushions of the sofa, in a hand-| our destinies to be indissolubly linked?” somely-furnished apartment, where the atmosphere Charles made no answer: but his looks cons was warm and perfumed,—this lady was a being| tinued to indicate mingled commiseration and full well calculated to make an impression upon | distress. the passions, if not actually upon the heart of any “ But this is not all,” proceeded Floribel. “ My man whose affections and allegiance were not| connexion with Theodore Ciifford—I mean from already most faithfully devoted to another. the date that I was foolish enough to elope with “You say, Floribel,” said Charles, at length | him—has only lasted exactly six weeks; and during breaking silence, and speaking in a grave tone,| these six weeks I have as completely fathomed “that you were not altogether unprepared to meet | his character as if we had been intimate for as me in Naples: and yet just now you avoided me—| many years. He is selfish, deceitful, and unprin- you retreated into a shop in company with him|cipled. I do not hesitate to add that he is 6 whom I wish to God that I might call your hus- | thorough villain band!” ** Good heavens, Floribel |” said Charles, in as- “T am very mueh obliged to you, Charles,” re- | tonishment and even with terror; “ what a picture sponded Floribel, with a haughty sarcasm in her | are you drawing of this young man! And yet you accents, “for expressing this wish, but perhaps| still live with him ?” it is not altogether consistent with my own “T have two answers to give to these observa- feelings.” tions on your part,” replied Flaribel. “ First, in “Good heayens! what mean you, floribel ?”| reference to the picture which lam drawing of a ee CoOMmiclooolkks