The Mysteries of the Court of London — page 59: what you’re looking at

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

THE UNWELCOME VISITRESS 41 ignorant of that one event which had connected her at any period and even for a single day with the infamous woman. The excuse which Venetia made, as the reason for requiring the money, satisfied Horace, who was, moreover, in too great a hurry to dress, he being already late, to remain conversing unnecessarily, and Venetia sped back to the boudoir with the bank-notes for five hundred pounds crumpled up in her hand. On again entering into the presence of Mrs. Gale, Venetia offered the money as an earnest of her good faith, but this very proceeding on her part only tended to confirm the woman’s belief that she would raise heaven and earth to obtain the entire sum rather than incur the risk of the threatened exposure. Mrs. Gale accordingly refused the instalment, and reiterated her determination to abide in that, boudoir until the whole sum, in good bank-notes or in gold, was placed in her hands. This decision she made known with a voice and manner still further proving how inexorable she was, and how useless it would be to argue with her. Again, therefore, was Venetia in despair. What could she do? To leave herself at the mercy of this low, brutal woman, would be the same as suicide, for indeed, if once exposed, nought but self-destruction would remain for her. Never, never could she, the magnificent, the proud, the worshipped. Venetia, endure to behold the lips of other titled dames curling with scorn, and their looks beaming with contempt. upon her. Any sacrifice, yes, any, must therefore be made in order to avert the impending danger. For a moment she thought of amassing all her jewels and diamonds, and sending them by Jessica to be pledged, but she remembered that the very next day she was to entertain a select party at luncheon, and she could not possibly appear without her usual em- bellishments. Not that her beauty required these auxiliaries, but it was the fashion of the day which rendered a profusion of jewelry the indispensable requisite for every toilet. What was to bedone? There was one course to be adopted, and from this she recoiled with a cold shuddering. Yet where was the alternative? It were useless to apply to the prince; she knew that at the moment he was entirely without funds. She had plenty of friends to whom she could address herself, but it would be such an exposure of poverty to them, and, if the circumstance were whispered abroad, would prove (C(O) nn) GDoOo “Si in