The Mysteries of the Court of London — page 270: what you’re looking at

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

— 7 THE MYSTERIES OF THE COURT, tad % solutely necesssary—or at least, to all appearances —that Laura should remain until dawn in his spartment, he again rose as it were superior to the perplexities of his situation; and in the calm and courteous tone of a gentleman who wisbes to show that his aim is to observe the most delicate consideration towards a female-companion, he said, “Miss Linden, I pray you to use my coucli as a sofa—and I will envelope myself in my cloak and repose in the arm-chair between the windows.” This observation was significant enough; inas- much as the position which Loftus thus specified, and to which he at once felt his way in the dark, placed the whole length of the room between him- self and Laura Linden. Accordingly, enveloping himself in his mantle, Loftus threw himself in the arm-chair: and for a few minutes a profound si- lence reigned in the apartment. “Is not this a most yomantic and singular ad- wenture t” said Laura at length—in that low, tre- 83 * 257 mulous, and half plaintive voice which is oft-iimes woman’s most dangerous weapon, inasmuch as it steals insidiously into that heart from which the more boldly played artillery of other charms has innocuously rebounded. Q “Itis one of those incidents which are more fre~ quently encountered in novels than in real life,” answered Loftus, sorry in his heart that the pre- viously prevailing silence was thus broken by re- newed discourse: and at the same time it struck him that the young lady's voice had undergone some slight change since she had Jast spoken ;—in- - deed a vague and undefined suspicion stole gradually into the breast of our young hero, that this voice, as he had last heard it, was not altogether unknown to him. “ What would the world think if it knew of thia adventure?” continued Laura, her voice appearing asif it were passing from a previously feigned to a now more natural tone—as if she either forgo —. comliclbooks.com