The Mysteries of the Court of London — page 121: what you’re looking at

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

108 means to surrender up his half of the paper, since he re- | hinted—he and you are so useful to each other and se fused to do so by fair means. T. M. has procured a cop who employs Kim in the business: and thus it rans :— may concern, and know ye, all the undersigned, George Prince of oknowledge that I do now take wife in the sight of an all-sesing undersigned Miss Hannah owise nderly and devotedly love with ul, and who fully as sin me in return, with all her true w likewise, all persons whom niy and sacredly bind and pledge ght of an all-secing/ heaven, that shall so dispose the heart of my as to grant his royal and paternal asion to the proper celebration signed Miss Hannah Lightfoot,— et refusal which so very sorely gion to the royal throne of se (which God long prevent !) lay, make her my wife and Queen : dy consider ourselves to be tly and severally set our hands sence of a competent witness, ousand seven hundred and fifty- seven. Gronesz P. LIGETFOO?. Such is the copy of the fragment in the possession of the person whe employs T. M. in the matter: bat who that person is, you must not expect to learn. Indeed, it can have nothing to do with the share which you are required to tale in the matter. You sawnsthe othes day that Light. foot was obstinate : it is therefore useless for T. M. and me to negotiate with himany more. But you told me when I saw you last nigh¢@hat you had many and cogent reasons for not coming to a rupture with the old man. Surely the thowsand guineas T. M. offers you through me—and with the chance of two thousand— will amply remunerate you for any loss you may sustain in conse. quence of a quarrel with Lightfoot. Besides, if—as you copy | mixed up in several matters, he will forgive you in the of the half which is in the possession of the individual a enahehebera teri Aen half in Lightfoot’'s handa, can now the document as a whole. This we must leave te you = because, inasmuch as the obstinate eld fellow would net even allow me and JT. M. a sight of Ais moiety, we are utterly unable to form an opinion of the tenour of the paper when read ahd viewed in its complete state. But now observe :—if the document, when read as a whole, eonfesees marriage—then it is of first-rate importance, and the reward given to you for what we require of you, shall be two thousand guineas. But ff the document should be found to contain only a promise of marriage, the sum shall be one thousand guineas, as originally pro. posed by T. M. Thus standsthe matter. If we hear no nmiore from you, we shall conclude that you decline pro. ceeding farther in it: if the contrary be the case, yeu can write to me at my own honse. In this latter alterne- tive, you will do weil to use the invisible ink: fer although Sir J. would never dream of opening any correspondence addressed to me, it is as well to guard against impertinent curiosity on the part of menials. | told you in my note of this morning that I shall see T. M. to-morrow evening: I hope to Bear from you by that. time. “ZL. L.” “ Now, then, all mystery is cleared up in respect to the certificate.” exclaimed Page, when he had brought the perusal of this letter to an end; “and does mot prove a marriage. On the contrary, it shows that the present King and your aunt were never united by any legal ceremony—at least up to the period when that paper was signed.” “ Let us put our original half against the copy of the other one,” said Julia, “and see how the whole reads.” “We will,” returned Page: and, having followed his wife’s suggestion, he found that the memorandum or certificate ran in the ensuing terms :— “T,aue notice, all ye whom it may concern, and know ye, all men, by these presents, that I the undersigned, George Prince of Wales, do hereby deciare and acknowledge that I do now take and solemnly consider to be my wife in the sight of an all-seeing heaven and before God, the likewise undersigned Miss Hannah Lightfoot, whom I sincerely, and devotedly love with tenderly all my heart and with all my soul, and who fully as sincerely, tenderly, and devotedly loveth me in return, with all her true heart and all her soul : and know likewise, all persons whom ig may concern, that Ido solemnly and sacredly bind and pledge myself, before God and in the sight of an all-seeing heaven, that Las when the will of the Almighty shall so dispose the heart of my rr > gugust and well-beloved father as to grant his royal and paternal : assent and most gracious permission to the proper celebration / of my marriage with the undersigned Miss Hannah Lightfoot,— or, in ease of perseverance in that refusal which so very sorely een on ay my accession to the royal throne of these realms, on my sire's demise (which God long prevent) © i declare that 1 will, without delay, make her my wife and Queems consider —and in token that we do already ourselves to be husband and wife, we have ‘ointly and severally set cur hands to this document, in the presence of a competent witness, this third day of April, One Thousand seven hundred and fifty seven. « Witness, © Wim StamvorD, Bart. “ Well,” remarked Page, as soon as he had read aloud this singdlar document, “it is no wonder that ‘the King is sometimes crazy. A pretty load of per- Grores P. Hannan Lieurroor.” “And what do you propose to do” inguired Julia. “There are two distinct lines of action open to Jury he has got upon his conscience. The whole| us,” answered Page, after a few minutes’ deep country would raise its voice in execration of such a! cogitation. “One is to sell our half of the ocerti- man, were this document made public. But that is} ficate to that Mr. Meagles of whom you spoke this not our game. We care nothing about the morality morning: the other is to try and get the re of the thing: all we want is to make money.’ half into our possession, and then dispose of the COMIC NO© @