The Young Duchess; or, Memoirs of a Lady of Quality — page 47: what you’re looking at

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

THE YOUNG DUCHESS; OR, MEMOIRS OF A LADY OF QUALITY, 33 Gg Po a > it Ww Ae MS 1 vf th \ ; hour passed, during which the disguised lady was almost completely absorbed in her reflections, and she oceasionally acknowledged with « mono- -syllable the remarks which the man went on. making in « garrulous strain upon the weather, the crops, the horse that he was driving, and all the other horses that he had ever had anything to do with in the course of his life—and they were not a few. The idea presently began to creep into the mind of the disguised lady that the road was narrower and more lonely than when she had pursued it on coming from Maidstone two or three hours pre- vious. She therefore began to look about her; and as the moon was now coming out with all its argentine brilliancy, the landscape was sufficiently lighted to enable her to contemplate all objects within a certain distance. The longer she sur- veyed the features of the scene, the more was she convinced that it was a different route which was No. 5.—TuHEe Youna DUucHEss. en Connicloooks being taken, from that by which she had been brought to Addington. But then, might it not be a nearer one? She was determined to put the question. . ‘“‘T suppose,” she said, with an assumed air of confidence, ‘‘ that this bye-lane affords a shorter cut than the regular road ?”- ‘‘Eh >” said the man, eyeing the lady askance. “ Ain’t this the main road 2” She felt as if her heart were leaping up into her mouth as the conviction smote her that the man had some nefarious purpose in view; and she now for the first time remarked the sinister expression of his countenance. She swept her eyes around: she beheld some building in the distance ahead—and her resolve was in a moment taken. She would wait till she got opposite that building, and then she would suddenly throw her- self out of the gig—or else desire the man to stop on some pretext—anything, in short, so as rf Colin