The Mysteries of the Court of London — page 61: what you’re looking at

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

CHAPTER V THE LAST PEARL As she rolled along in the slow, lumbering hackney-coach, Lady Sackville was a prey to a variety of the most dis- agreeable, indeed, painful reflections. Since the month of December till the present time, it now being July, no less than ninety-nine thousand pounds had been squandered between herself and her husband. Of this enormous amount he had monopolized seventy thousand; the remainder she herself had made away with, Curzon and Malpas having received the greater portion of the sum. Now, out of the hundred thousand pounds which Lord Leveson had for his own special purposes placed at her disposal, but one thousand remained to be yet drawn. In addition to the immense sum of ninety-nine thousand pounds thus scandalously lavished, thus infamously made away with, were to be reckoned the emoluments of Lord Sackville’s office and the pecuniary presents which Venetia had received from the prince, and although the latter were not large, still they formed an item not to be omitted in a general reckoning up of all sources of revenue. As she con- templated the frightful waste of money which had thus taken place, Venetia was absolutely dismayed, and she thought to herself that if these extravagances were to con- tinue, Heaven alone knew whence the means of ministering to them were to come. _ Bitterly, bitterly, did she repent having so far yielded to her husband’s demands as to supply his wants so readily. Had she refused to do so, she would not at this moment be at her wits’ end for a paltry fifteen hundred pounds to make up the amount demanded by the extortionate Mrs. Gale. But these are always the lessons which a reckless extravagance has to learn, 43 (C(O) nn) GDoOo <Si nin