Her Royal Lover: A Novel — page 311: what you’re looking at

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

HER ROYAL LOVER, 303 circulating, there was'so much of it in all these mouths. If all the evil that they said of the absent ladies had been true, Thessaly had been worse than Sodom and Gomorrah. In haste and considerably fatigued by all these extremely aristocratic but overpowering ladies, to abridge his visit he went straight to his object. Scarcely had he mentioned the name of Haller than Madame de Langweilig and her neighbors had nothing more urgent to do than to relate to him the silly but obstinate love affair of Walpurga de Heiligenthal with the presi- dent’s son. Notwithstanding the disgrace of Wal- purga’s brother, we know that the Heiligenthals none the less declared that they would never con- sent that their daughter should marry a commoner. “And the king,” triumphantly exclaimed Madame de Langweilig, “has too much dignity to ever be willing to ennoble President Haller, son of a petty merchant married to the daughter of the court pharmacist !” And this certitude delighted Madame de Lanxg- weilig, who thought with asigh of her two faded flowers, so sadly forsaken, withering upon their - stems. Lord Astucio Selfish had learned enough. Taking leave of the son of feminine onions he quickly re- turned to the palace and requested another audience with her majesty, in order to impart to her his dis- covery of the vulnerable point in the president. “Ah! Selfish! brave—brave Selfish! how prompt and expeditious you are! Quick, order Haller to appear again before me!” Lord Selfish had a good deal of trouble to persuade her majesty that it would not be diplomatic to act so hastily, Having known, however, since a long Eomicbdoo <s)