Her Royal Lover: A Novel — page 308: what you’re looking at

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

300 . “ HER ROYAL LOVER. The empress, with a superb disdain, shrugged her shoulders: “Come! the only thing which remains to me is to seek how I may be able to extricate you from this ugly business. Leave me alone an instant. It is the hour for the audience that I give to my minis- ter; I must compose myself.” When Lord Selfish, who had accompanied her majesty on this journey entered, he found her so pre-occupied that the old and intimate servant ven- tured to ask her the cause of it. The empress, so strict in all that which touched on the respect due to her rank, did not think, however, to be offended at this familiarity, which was excusable, moreover, by long years of entire devotion. She hesitated, at first, to respond to him; then, knowing that after all he was her best adviser, she reconsidered and related to him the little hope which remained to her since her interview with the judge of the supreme court. “Nevertheless, your majesty, I catch a glimpse of a slight glimmer of hope, in that which you have been so kind as to confide to me.” “In what? Speak—speak quickly! It is always reserved for you, then, to revive my drooping cour- age.” “Has not the judge said that the marriage became illegal if one of the contracting parties had con- cealed some impediments provided for by law, or if they married with irregular papers?” “Yes, but what are you coming at. For my part, I do not see there a circumstance to give occasion to hope.” “But, bless me! it is not so rare a thing to find illegalities in actions. A woman born upon the bor- cComicbooks com