Ellen Percy; or, The Memoirs of an Actress — page 210: what you’re looking at

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

ce ELLEN PERCY; OR, THE She then took her departure ; aud when she was gone, I reflected upon all that had taken placo be- tween us. While riding home to Hunter Street, I resolved upon carrying into effect the very idea which I had merely adopted as an artifice and as a tale to frighten St. Clair at the farm-house. Ac- cordingly, on the following day, immediately after breakfast, I committed to paper everything that I knew or suspected in reference to St. Clair and Lady Lilla Essendine ; and this statement, together with the fragment of the letter, I enclosed in an envelope, which I carefully sealed. But when my task was thus far accomplished, I knew not to whom to entrust the packet, with the requisite in- structions for making use of it in case of neces- sity. Mr. Norman was indeed the only friend to whose hands such a duty could with propriety be assigned; and if I were to speak to him on the subject, it would necessitate explanations to ac- count in some way or another for a request that would otherwise appear most singular. And then, too, I remembered that the adoption of such a course would be to a certain extent a violation of the pledge of implicit secrecy that I had given to Zarah ; while the very result itself, in case of the extreme emergency, would be seriously compro- mising both the gipsy and her grandmother. LBe- wildered therefore how to act, I locked up the packet in my desk, determining to reflect more seriously on the matter before taking any decisive step—and at all events to consult Zarah in the first instance. In the afternoon I proceeded to visit the Mar- chioness of Campanella; and I found—as I had only too sadly expected—that she was utterly without tidings of Beatrice. The advertisements had appeared in the newspapers of that same day only ; and thus there was no time as yet to judge whether they were likely to produce any effect. The Marchioness was in exceeding low spirits; for she was fondly attached to her sister Beatrice, and she was filled with apprehensions lest the unhappy young lady should in her despair have put a period to her existence. I was introduced to the Mar- quis of Campanella—a fine, tall, handsome man, of distinguished appearance. He treated me with the utmost courtesy, and expressed his gratitude for my kindness towards his unhappy sister-in- law. “There was one little incident,” I said in the course of conversation, “ which I omitted to men- tion to your ladyship when we previously spoke together upon the circumstances of her in whom we are all interested.” I then proceeded to explain how Beatrice had suddenly encountered that cloaked individual, of whose features I had obtained so imperfect a glimpse by the gas-light near the private entrance to the theatre. “Tt must have been the Count himself!” ejacu- lated both the Marquis and Marchioness of Cam- panella, as if speaking in the same breath. “ And yet,” added the Marquis, “I was utterly ignorant that the Count of Carboni was in London !” “The ejaculations which burst from the lips of Beatrice and of that cloaked individual,” I pro- ceeded to remark, “were in the English lan- guage.” “They habitually spoke English,” replied the OE eee Ne eee MEMOIRS OF AN ACTRESS. 197 Marcb‘oness; “fur I think I told you, my dear Miss Trafford, that the Count of Carboni had dwelt some time in England; and he speaks your native language with the same Avency as bis own. Yes— from all you have told us, that person- age could have been none other than the huse band of Beatrice! His age is about forty; his complexion is dark, even to swarthiness; his eyes are brilliant, flashing with a peculiar light, and with an expression that some may deem sinister.” “Then, my lady,’ I responded, “that indi. vidual whom your sister Beatrice encountered, could have been none other than her husband.” “He must know that we are in London,” ob- served the Marquis of Campanella; “and why should he thus avoid us? Perhaps it is that he fears lest all his harrowed feelings should be ex- cited in their intensity, by encountering the sister of the wife of whom he was so proud, and whose frailty he has had to deplore ?” “Or perhaps,” I added, “ he is indeed conscious of wrongs towards Beatrice —those wrongs to which she alluded in such terrible terms, but of which you yourselves have hitherto remained in ignorance? After all there may be more extee nuation for the unhappy Beatrice than you, my lord—or yourself, my lady, have suspected ?” The Marquis of Campanella only shook his head gloomily: but the Marchioness ejaculated with fervour, “ Heaven grant that it may prove so!” I now took my leave; and having an hour or two of leisure, I thought [ would call upon Zarah, to inquire her sentiments with regard to the plan I was wishful to adopt in respect to the sealed pack+t. She had hired apartments in a re- spectable street in the neighbourhood of the Lon- don University, and therefore at no great distance from Hunter Street. I found her seated in a well-furnished parlour, at a table covered with volumes which she had lost no time in procuring according to the list I had given her on the pre- ceding evening. She did not so soon expect a visit from me, and my presence therefore afforded her all the more pleasure. She was apparelled in a morning deshabillée, which, though plain, was of @ neatness that in itself constituted elegance. It set off her fine person to the utmost advantage : her hair, of ebony blackness, and which had no natural curl, fell in heavy masses upon her shoulders; and now that she had thrown off the gipsy garb and appeared as a lady in a well- appointed room, she m*zht be taken for a woman of Italian or Spanish origin,— unless indeed, @ careful and experienced observer should have noticed in the eyes that peculiar lustre—wild and vivid in its brightness—which is so strong a chae racteristic of the Zingari race. I spoke to her of her studies, and gave her a variety of useful suggestions. I found that she had succeeded in obtaining the services of a master to instruct her in those elements of education of which she only had an imperfect knowledge; and she had likewise engaged a professor of music. She had thus lost no time in entering upon the new course which she had resolved to adopt. She spoke with hope and enthusiasm: she was full of confidence in respect to the issue of her endeavour to acquire the polish, the gloss, and the refinement, not merely of civilized life, but also of genteel society. nr rt ne ee ee ee aT rm i Se Gomichboo .S Com