The Mysteries of the Court of London — page 148: what you’re looking at

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

THE MYSTERIES. CHAPTER XXXVII. ANOTHER MESBTING. Iv was not without an emotion of anneyanee that Qectavia Clarendon had found herself escorted by Harriet to the same room whese she had met her lover on the two previous occasions, and frem which the bed-cham ber : for it shocked and pained her to think that the lady of the house and her ser- vant must fancy that ahe came thither only aa the mistress of Mr. Harley, and not in the quality of his destined wife. She dared not however make an eb- servation upon the subject te Harriet: for shame sealed her lips;—but when the domestic had with- drawn, tears started to the long black lashes which shaded the lovely creature's deep bine eyes. For a few moments she remained pensive and welanchely—more than half repenting of having of ber own accord made this appomtment. But when she recollected how ardently she had longed to meet ber lover again, and that this desire was now on the paint of being gratified, a smile played upon her red liza like a sunbeam kissing a rosebud~—aand she hastily wiped away the traces of her tears. Scarcely had she thus composed herself, when the door opened—and the next instant she was clasped in the arms of her lover. “Oh! my sweet Octavia,” exclaimed the Prince, pressing ber again and again to his bosom, “ how traly elysian is the happiness which you have thus afforded me! Never, since we parted the last time, hes your worshipped image been absent from my mind: but now the radiance of your loveliness re- news the flood of intense delight which the rentem- brance of all that glorious beauty has poured inte my soul” “Deerest George—I also have thought of thee without ceasing,” murmured Octavia, all her senses appearing te dissolve into softness beneath the melt- ing influence of the insidious language which the melodious yet manly voice of her lover breathed in her ear. “Yea—my angel,” continued the practised and io deceiver, having conducted her to a seat, and placing himself by her side,—“I have not for a single moment proved unfaithful to thy sweet image. It has been my contemplation by day—and has ren- dered my dreams delicious at night. But when thou art not with nie, it seemsas if a strain of exquisite music had passed away, leaving only the faint pro- longation of the duloet sounds in the ears.” “These assurances create an ineffable joy within my heart,” said the enraptured young lady, suffering the Prince, without a remonstrance, to remove her bonnet and ample shaw],—while the very soul of her i love breathed upon him through the words which she uttered, and shone upon him in her heaventy looks and her sunny smiles. “You eannot conceive the delight which your letter gave me,” continued his Royal Highness, whese princely rank was so little suspected by the confiding Ostavia. “Itissaid that Poetry wafts the soul of the bard into an elysian realm of his own creating, where thoughts and images appear as in 6 celestial temple full of music and incense, and whence his beatific spirit bears them back to the earth to weave them in immortal verse. But, oh! how much more truly may all this be said of Love, ae a ee 131 which wafts the soul to no ideal world, but into a heaven having a real and palpable existence, and from which there is no awaking to find it all a dream !” “ And shall you ever entertain these thoughts which infuse so much delight into my heart?” murmured Octavia, who could not possibly have understood, even if a saint had risen from the dead to proclaim the fact, that her lover experienced not a particle of the postic sentiment which he described in such glow- ing terms, but that his passion was a mere gross sensuousness. “ I shall never cease to adore and worship you, my angel,” he replied, straining her to his breast, and lavishing upon her the warmest caresecs. “Yon are aware that my father bas returned—and you will now esek as early opportunity to form his acquaintance?” said Octavia, thus delicately re- minding the Prinee of all the pledges and vews which he had made her on previous oecasions. “ When he shall have become settled in his new abode, dearest,” was the specious answer, “I shall obtain an introduction to him. He now stands every ehance of shortly becoming heir te the Marchmont peerage.” “ Unless some favourable ehange should take place in respect tothe Houourable Mr. Arthur Eaton, who, as I informed you in my letter, is wasting away visibly. Seme frightful and unknown malady has fallen upen him,” added Octavia, in a tone of deep com miseration. “ And isno cause allozed for this strange indispoai- tion f” inquired the Prince, who was toying with his lovely mistresa while thus conversing. “ My father was speaking of the matter again this morning,” answered Octavia; “and it appears that some time ago the Honourable Mr. Eaton was sup- posed te be deeply enamoured of the orphan niece of a rich nobleman: but he suddenly discontinued his visits to her, without any ebvious reason. Her nodle uncle brought her with him from Derbyshire to London—and sinee that time the mysterious sick- ness has stricken the young man. Nevertheless, my father deolares that it is net a mental malady—but a physical one: he is not pining away through dis- appointed hope and blighted afféction—but is gra- dually perishing as if all the elements of existence Were sapped and undermined.” “This is most extraordinary,” said the Prince, on whoee breast Octavia’s head lay reclined, while from time to time he imprinted burning kisses upon her brow, her cheeks, and her lips. “But since we are thus discoursing for a moment—and observe, it shall not be for long,” he added tenderly,—* upon various and comparatively indifferent matters, let me ask you something more than you have already yet told me relative to those two ladies whose travelling-chariot broke down in front of your house, the very first evening that I was eo fortunate—so truly blest as to heoome acquainted with you. On the last two ocea- sions that we met here, I have been going to speak to you abont them: but subjects of a nearer and dearer interest so much absorbed my attention that I lost sight of the matter.” “Do you not remember that my sister and I in- fermed you thoee ladies were a Mrs. Mordaunt and Mrs. Smith—and that we fancied they were travel- ing incognito °” said Octavia. “ But you yourself declared that they did not deceive us in respect to their names ;—and yet my father shares the suspicion COMGROO S COMM