The Mysteries of the Court of London — page 281: what you’re looking at

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

THR MYSTERIES OF THE COURT OHAPTER CXXXVIT. THE TREACHEROUS HINDOO WOMAN. Wuer last we spoke of the ayah Sagoouah, it was to describe her lying in her couch et Queen In- dora’s villa, and making unconscious revelations respecting the past. During the night of the day which followed, a gleam of intelligence came back into Sagoonah’s mind: it faded away—presently it returned—it subsided again—and then it came beek with increasing power. She was altogether recovering her consciousness. Long before morning dawned on that night of which we are speaking, Sagoonah was in complete poeseessian of her mental facultics ; and though she uttered not a word, she was now aware of her position and of the frightful calamity which had befallen her. Collecting her ideas, she settled them upon that memorable evening when disguised in the apparel of her mistress, and laden also with the treasure plundered from the Queen, she had intended to essape from the villa, but only to be stricken down by an assassin’s dagger ! By the bedside she perceived an elderly woman whom she had no difficalty in recognising as e nuree; and presently the Queen herself entered the chamber. Sagoonah closed her eyes; and appeared to be sleeping profoundly. The nurse quitted the room for some purpose: Indora bent over the ayah; and entertaining not the slightest suspicion that the treacherous Hindoo was now in possession of her reasoning faculties, her Majesty gave audible expression to the thoughts that were uppermost in her mind. “O Sagoonah !” she murmured ; “how could you have been so wicked—you whom I Joved and trusted ?” No change upon the ayah’s countenance denoted that she heard or comprehended what was thus being said; and Indora, wiping away the tears which had trickled down her cheeks, retired to an ottoman at a little distance from the couch; and seating herself there, she fell into a profound re- verie. Shortly afterwards Christina Ashton entered the chamber; and having bent over the ayah, whom she believed to be still steeped in unconsciousness, she gazed on her countenance for a few moments. Then, heaving a profound sigh, Obristina turned towards the Queen; and said in a half-bushed voice, “ Think you, dear lady, that Sagoonah will ever recover ?” “Yes -~she will recover,” responded Indora 3 “sho is evidently much better. This much I can tell by her countenance. But perhaps, my dear Christina, it were better for her own sake that she should sever recover!—for if she have any good feeling left, the remainder of her life must be spent amidst the agonies of remorse.” “Oh, yes, dear lady !” continued Christina ; “ so much wickedness is incomprehensible! There was such refinement in it that one is almost justified in fancying that the spirit of a fiend must have in- spired her for the time! The snake———O heavens ! I shudder when I think of it!” “ And well may you shudder, dear Christina,” rejoined the Queen; “for it was terrible! Even while the reason of that wretched girl had lost its guiding power, yet was conscience at work, and in a her dreams did she make those revelations whieh have conveyed to our knowledge all the wickedness of her conduct. But she will recover, Chris- tine———”” “And i¢ is you, lady,” answered our heroine, “who will have saved the life of her who sought to take your own!” | * Yes—she will recover,” continued the Queena, in a musing manner, yet speaking audibly; “and she will have leisure for repentance, if her heart be susceptible thereof!” “ Have you decided, dear lady,” asked Chris- tina, “ upon the course which you intend hereafter to adopt with regard to her?” * Yon know, Christina,” replied Indora, “ thas it is my hope and expectation to be in a short time enabled to return to my kingdom ; and if no fresh cireumstances transpire to alter my plan, I shall take Sagoonah with me. But never again can [ give her my confidence—much less restore ber the love which, all menial though she were, I was wont to bear towards ber! The remainder of her life must be passed iu strictest eeolusion at Inder- abad. If she be truly penitent she will not grow impatient of that compulssry retirement to which it is my purpose to cunsign her: but if, on the other hand, her soul shall continue to cherish ran- corous thoughts, it will be all the more necessary that she should be deprived of the powee of doing mischief.” “Ob! lot us hope that she will be penitent !° ssid Christina ; “let us hope it, chiefly for her own sake |” Here the conversation terminated : but not one single syllable thereof had been lost to Sagoensh. She now comprehended that all her iniquity was known; and that even the most terrific episode of her criminal proceedings—namely, that of the cobra di capello—had ceased to be a mystery. She saw too that an eternal imprisonment in her own native land was to be her doom—unless n- deed she herself should be enabled to frustrate the designe of the Queen. But that this impriscm- ment was intended to be associated with the most lenient cireumstances, Sagoonah comprehended, not merely from the way in which her Majesty spoke, but likewise from her knowledge of that royal lady’s disposition. Nevertheless, the thought of such compulsory seclusion was sufficient to fill the soul of the ayah with dread and consterne tion. We have seen how conscience had been actively at work when reason’s governing power was ab- sent ; bat now that the intellect had recovered its balance, and thatthe mental faculties hed resamed their empire onvte again, the evil passions of the ayah enabled her to stifle all those reproaches of the monitor within her bosom. Her crimes were known; and never again could she look her mis- tress in the face! Besides, to become a prisoner for the rest of hor days—this was intolerable ! And to know that Indora would enjoy happiness in the love of Clement Redoliffe—this likewise wes more than the jealous 8 could possibly make up her mind to contemplate! She loathed the very idea of the kindness which she must have been experiencing at the Queen’s hands since the evening when the cagger of the assassin struck her down ;—and thus her soul was in every sons filled with gall and bitterness. Penitence and re- EO loo @ (CO