The Mysteries of the Court of London — page 315: what you’re looking at

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

300 ee Se THE MYSTERIES. “ Not a syllable, sir !” was the response, delivered even in a Stern tone, *“ Nay—then you must hear me perforce,” ex- claimed his Royal Highness, leaning his back against the door. Camilla, astonished at this hardihood—for she could scarcely have believed that any man would have been guilty of such cowardly brutality towards a defenceless female—gazed upon the Prince with a stupefaction which, coming suddenly upon her, struck her speechless and motionless. “ My dear girl,” resumed the Prince, hastily tak- ing advantage of the pause, “ you must be made to understand how matters exist between us. The truth is, then, that you are ravishingiy beautiful, and I am desperately enamoured of you: you are at present nothing but a poor seamstress, and | will elevate you into a fine lady: instead of plying the needle all day, you shall ride in a earriage— have servants to wait upon you—and dwell ina nice house of your own. All this will IT do for you, Camilla—if you only consent to my wishes. And if not, then shall 1 compel your stubborn virtue to surrender: for your strength against mine will be as that of the infant child in the grasp of a giant— and to your screams no succouring voice will respond.” His Royal Highness paused in the expectation that Miss Morton would voachsafe some reply : but though her lips were apart, yet they did not even quiver as if about to speak—a spell seemed to hold her tongue in thraldom. And, with eyes that al- most glared wildly, did she continue to gaze upon the countenance of him who had thus deliberately made known to her his fiendish resolves : but her manner—her air—her looks were those of a young creature on whom a tremendous consternation has fallen, paralyzing every organ—stupefying every sense—retaining every faculty in abeyance. Gloatingly over her slight but exquisitely mo- delled figure, wandered the eyes of the Prince; and although the body of her dress was so mo- destly fashioned, that not even a glimpse could be obtained of her bosom, yet did the shape of the closely-fitting corsage afford an external indication of the firmness and roundness of those globes which imagination could not err in depicting ot snowy whiteness. “ Sweetest—dearest—loveliest girl,” exclaimed the Prince, maddened with desire, as he glanced from Camilla’s fascinating form to the bed which stood near,—“delay not in rendering me com. pletely happy—and my life shall be devoted to your service !” At that instant the girl awoke as it were from the stupefaction of a dream to complete consciousness— and with the vividness of lightning did a thought strike her. “Mr. Harley,” she said, forcing herself even to smile faintly, “ you expect too easy a conquest—and you will not value it.” “Oh! this is indeed an unexpected bliss—to hear you talk thus—to find that you do not repnise me any longer!’ exclaimed the Prince, intoxicated with delight. ‘“Camilla—sweetest Camilla ‘ “If you really love me, Mr. Harley,” said the young girl, bending down her looks, while her cheeks became flushed with the deepest crimson, — “you will retire immediately—and to-morrow I shall be happy to listen to you a —_——__- —_—— ee se ener ee eee reer erence ccc rncc ccc cccn ccc cccccc ccc nccccccccnnnccccennn JV — “ No—no—we cannot separate thus, dear crea- ture!” ejaculated his Royal Highness. “I beseech you—I implore you to render me completely happy this night——” “Leave me, then, for half-an-hour — twenty minutes—or even ten minutes,” interrupted Camilla, speaking in a low tone but with rapid utterance. “ Have pity upon my shame—my confusion ——” “Yes—for ten minutes will I leave you, sweetest girl,’ said the Prince, imagining that she did not choose to lay aside her apparel in his presence. “* One kiss first— only one kiss as a foretaste of the inde- scribable joys ——” “ No—not now—not now!” cried the orphan hys- terically, as he approached her with outstretched arms. “If I must surrender myself to you, let it be in total obscurity—utter darkness ; “ It shall be as you desire,” exclaimed the Prince, sweeping his eyes around the small but neatly- furnished chamber to assure himself that there was no second door by which the beauteous bird might take wing into a place of security: then, satisfied that escape was impossible and that she was com- pletely in his power, he said, “Ten minutes only, my angel—ten minutes of mortal delay—and at the ex- piration of the interval, I shall return to find you ready to clasp me in your arms.” And glancing significantly towards the couch, he quitted the room, retiring into the ante-chamber. The moment he had crossed the threshold, Camilla locked the door behind him and extinguished the light. Then, without an instant’s delay, the heroic girl noiselessly but speedily commenced the execution of the plan which had struck her as the only alter- native to be adopted for the purpose of rescuing her- self from the power of a man so resolutely bent upon sacrificing her to his brutal passions. Armed with a desperate courage — that courage which could alone have prompted her pure soul to have recourse to the stratagem of appearing to yield to the villain’s wishes in order to induce him to quit the room—Camilla Morton addressed herself to the task which she had in hand. Stripping the sheets from the bed, she rolled them up in a suitable man- ner and fastened them together; then she took the scissors which were suspended to a riband beneath her apron, and in a few minutes the bed-curtains were cut down. ‘The window-drapery was next called into requisition; and with all these materials, Camilla speedily made a long, stout, and efficient rope. ‘The ten minutes had now expired—and the Prince knocked impatiently at the door. But solightly had the young girl moved about the room—so cautiously bad she conducted her operations—so skilfully had he hushed even the sounds of the scissors, that the feir-apparent entertained not the slightest suspicion of her design or the faintest idea of her proceedings. His desires—heightened by the gloating revels of his own sensual imagination—alone rendered him im- patient: for he pictured to himself the sweet virgin charms, which he conceived to be by this time di- vested of their apparel, in readiness to be offered up as a rich banquet to his salacious appetite. Impatiently, then, did he knock at the door; and the sweet voice of the orphan murmured from the other side, “Only another minute, Mr. Harley, and you may enter!” The Prince was in raptures: he already felt as i/ (C 6)(0)(©) m (Cl 0) CSE (C(O)