The Mysteries of the Court of London — page 337: what you’re looking at

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

CO Aree 5 A a a O24 masses of the partition wall kept falling in; and it seemed as if the whole building were about to give way and bury himself and Ariadne in the smoking, burning rains. Great pieces of timber—eepecially rude planks belonging to the lofts above the stables THE MYSTERIES OF THE COURT. ing to the coachman who stood at the door, and thrusting some ailver into his hand, Daniel Coffin ordered him to drive to Albemarle Street. In a few minutes the vehicle stopped af the door of Leveson House: and it happened that —eame crashing down: aud thus, in the space of | just at the sane moment Brockman, the favourite three or four short minutes, did the Baronet and the unconscious Ariadne pass through countless perile of an appalling character. Bat at length the damsel’s brave deliverer reached the foot of the ataircase: and as he rushed with his burthen through the hall and appeared with her at the atreet door, a tremendous shout of applause arose from the assembled multitudes. At the very instant that Sir Douglas Hunting- don thus resched the threshold of the mansion with the still inanimate Ariadne in his arms, and in the strong glare of the terrific conflagration, the maiden was recognised by Benoull. This dis- covery of the fair stranger of the hut was in a moment communicated by the ruffian in a hurried whisper to the Buttoner and the Hangman: and they all three instinctively pressed forward towards the front-door steps. At that very lostant Sie Douglas Huntingdon felt a sudden faintness come over him,—doubtlees in consequence of the tre- mendous excitement as well as painfal exertions through which he had just passed. “Who will take care of this young lady f” he oried, as one of his footmen threw an ample cloak over the half-naked form of Ariadne. But scarcely were the words spoken by the Baronet, when some large portion of the interior of the mansion fell in with sach a terrific crash that the crowd retreated in sudden dismay and with cries of alarm: while those who were remov- ing the furnitare, rushed out of the house with such haste that the Baronet was thrown violently for- ward. Inuthat moment of confusion, Benoull caught Ariadne Varian in ‘this arms: and as if it were written in the Douk of destiny that circum- stances were to favour the raffisn's designs in car- rying off the sti]] inanimate maiden, the whole roof of the house fell ix at the very instant that he seized upon her. The consequence was that the fire was extinguished, or rather smothered, for the moment as completely as if a deluge of water were poured upon it: and darkness fell upon the scene —a darkness all the more intense through suo- ceeding the giare of the conflagration. Confusion became worse confounded amongst the crowd : and while the whole living mass fell back from the vicinage of the falling house, as the sea sweeps away from the shore upon which it has just dashed its boiling billows, it was no difficult matter for Bencoli to hurry away with Ariadne in his arms. The Hangman and the Buttoner kept close at his heels—an empty hackney-cosch was encountered at the corner of the street—and the three villains entered it with their lovely burden. But when the driver asked whither he was to go, the men were thrown into a suddon perplexity. Bencull, however, hastily whispered, * Didn't Nell Gibson talk of a certain Marquis of Leveson who was Mrs. Gale’s best customer?” “To be sure,” whispered the Buttoner. * Why not take her direct to him ?” “Ah! do you think of selling her to that Mar- quis?” said the Hangman. “Well, I know where he livee—I have been in his house :”—then turn- valet of the Marquis, was entering the mansion. Seeing the hackney ooach stop, he inguired of those inside what their business was: and as it was pitch dark within the vehiole, the valet did not observe how villanous were the countenan- ces of the fellows whom he thus addressed. “The fact is,” said the Hangman in a rapid whisper, “we have got a young gal that is in- tended for his lordship. She's in a fit: and se you can just lift her into the house without fear- ing any noise—and one of us will call for the re- compense the first thing to-morrow morning.” Brockman @aturally concluded from this state- ment that the fellows had been hired by his master, or else by some one in his lordship’s interest, to perform this particular service: and he therefore at once consented to receive the maiden without asking another question. The housekeeper who was sitting up for Brockman, was summoned: aed with hee aid the valet lifted Ariadne out of the coach and carried her into the mansion. The vehicie then drove away, the three ruffians congratuating themselves not only on having done something to annoy Sir Douglas Hunting- don, whom they regarded as a sort of enemy, but likewise on having adopted so bold a etep as to convey the damsel direct to the spot where her charms were marketable, instead of conducting the bargain through the medium of a middle-womas, such as Mrs. Gale. Bat not fora moment did those ruffians experience the slightest remorse for having caused so terrible a conflagration in that house beneath the ruins of which the charred and blackened remains of the unfortunate groom were indubitably buried. . Meantime Sir Douglas Huntingdon, who had been thrown down and stunned by the rush of people from the front door of his mansion, was borne to a neighbour's house, where immediate restoratives were applied. On coming to himself his first inquiry was for Ariadne: but those by whom he was surrounded, could give him no in- formation on the subject. Supposing that she had been taken to some other house in the vici- nage, he sallied forth into the street again to make farther inquiries on the subject. But nei- ther from his own servants, who were watching over the property removed out of the house—nor from any of the crowd—could he obtain a satis- factory answer. In fact, no tidings could he glean of Ariadne from the moment that he sank down insensible in front of his own door. Tortured with cruel misgivings, he sped from house to house prosecuting his inquiries, up and down the street—but all in vain. At length he was compelled, through sheer exhaustion, to aban- don any farther research for the present, and retire to a neighbooring hotel where he took up his temporary quarters. COMME lOO©