The Mysteries of the Court of London — page 394: what you’re looking at

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

—_— ss ___sssss_s_ nie THE MYSTERIES OF THE COURT. $79 rrr rr ey harshly to them, they raised such a storm of crying, very same day an impertinent minx of a housemaid shrieking, screaming, and yelling, that the whole refused to do something I bade her, [ bestowed upox house grew alarmed, and I was blamed for their her such a sound box on the ears, that she was as ill-conduct. In short, I soon found that I had | much dismayed as hurt. She did not any ilouger entered into a kind of purgatory, and that the life if | refuse to follow my orders; and during all the rest of had led at the Southampton school was paradise the time I was in Sir John Marston’s family, J ex- compared to it. Sir John Marston often scolded _perienced no overt impertinence on the part of ius me most brutally: Lady Marston treated me with domestics. the supremest contempt: indeed, she was kinder far to her menials than to myself. Mrs. Lloyd, as I have already said, was constantly finding fault. lf I corrected the children when they did wrong— or if I let them have their own way—lI was equally liable to blame; and thus I found my situation rapidly becoming intolerable. The domestics, see- ing how I was treated by their master and the two | I disliked and a family that I detested. “ The effect which all these various proceedings produced, was perfectly astonishing: the treatment I subsequently experienced was widely different from that I had before known. I was left to man- _age the children as I thought fit; and the domestics obeyed my orders. But still I was resolved to take the earliest opportunity of quitting a situation which I secretly ladies, followed their example; so that I could | made inquiries if other English families living in acarcely get even the most necessary services per- formed, and had to a great extent to do menial things for myself. I wrote frequently to Frank: but I never in my letters mentioned to him how thoroughly unhappy I was. “Thus some months passed away; and at length, as my ideas began to grow enlarged and my expe- rience of the world increased, I began to ask myself why I should put up with suv much ill-treatment? I reasoned that if my qualifications were such as to enable me to obtain my bread at all, they-would avail for the purpose in some other family than Sir Yohn Marston’s; and inspired by these reflections, I felt a certain independence of spirit growing up within me. When once this spirit had sprung into existence—or rather, when the natural strength of my mind began thus to develop itself—I assumed a leftier hearing towards those around me. Oue day, whon the children had been guilty of some exceed- ing act of rudeness, I chastised them with great severity. Their cries brought up their mother Mrs. L .yd; and she began abusing me with her usual Havre, required a governess—but could hear of nothing satisfactory. At length I resolved to give Sir John Marston notice to leave him, and wend my way back to England. Thereupon he gave me to understand that I was bound to him by those who had the power to bind me, until I should attain the age of twenty-one. It only wanted three months of that period; and I therefore determined to await it patiently. But still I wondered who the persons could be that exercised this invisible but powerful influence over my destinies. * About two months after that conversation wit Sir John Marston the family removed from Havre to Pafis; and we took up our abode at an hotel, the Baronet alleging that he purposed to look out for a suitable residenee, as he meant to fix himscl? permanently, or at all events for some time, in tho French capital. I cared nothing about his arrange- ments—looking forward to the end of another month as the period of my emancipation. And now I come to the most extraordinary incideat ia my chequered life. It was on the morning after tha violence: I desired her not to address me in such | attainment of my twenty-first year, that I requested language—told her that she was no lady, but only | &n interview with Sir John Marston in order to re tit for a fishwife—and gave her plainly and frankly | ceive whatsoever amount of money was due to me to understand that so long as I had the charge of and take my leave. The request for an audience her daughters, I was thenceforth determined to | was granted; and when I repaired to the room in punish them whenever they deserved it. She has- | which he was seated alone, he manifested the most tened away to tell her uncle Sir John Marston, who extraordinary courtesy. Desiring me to be seated, rushed up to the nursery furious with rage. When , he addressed me in such a tone of urbanity and he began storming at me, I told him he was a_ kindness that I could scarcely believe he was the cowardly bully, and that he would not dare behave | same individual who used to treat me with such thus to one of hisown sex. He blustered and fumed, | ruffian brutality. He commenced by stating tnat endeavouring to break my spirit; and he even he was sorry if any past circumstances had cva- raised his hand to strike me—when I snatched up a dered me unhappy while in his family, but at. footstool and hurled it at his head. It struck him tributed them all to hastiness of temper—for which a severe blow, but tranquillized him in a moment; aud he quitted the nursery without another word. Thus far I was victorious. But presently I had to encounter the self-sufficient insolence of Lady Mar- ston; for as I passed her on the stairs, she turned up her nose, muttering something about ‘a beggarly upstart.’ I at once told her that I had not the alizhtest doubt she was precisely what she had dared co call me; and white with rage, she hurried away. { was now perfectly triumphant. I felt glowing within me a spirit such as I had never known before; and the consciousness that I possessed it, made me happy. I suddenly felt myself above all petty tyrannies, and totally independent of my tyrants. I was therefore encouraged to prosecute the warfare against the servants; and when that —. i a he professed a profound sorrow. He then ques- tioned me—as indeed he had often done befure— very minutely relative to my reiminiscerces of the earlier portion of my life ; and thinking that now [ had attained my majority, and was going to leave him, he might have something Important to com- municate, L spoke without reserve, Ile then pro- ceeded to make me the most extraordinary proposal; and although he opened his mind with cautious slowness—feeling lis way as it were with the most wary circumlocution—yet the pruposition, when fully developed, struck me speechless with wonder for some minutes. It was to the effect thatif I would consent to marry a certain person whom he had selected, he would present me with a sum of five thousand pouuds; but that he did not require nn ECOMICcloookxs (CO)