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.

ee a ee eee ee ———— ee —— eee 42 ——— — Mightily pleased with thie scheme he had thus ing with grey. Her features were strongly mascu- resolved upon, and the dramatic results to which he had made up his mind it was to lead, Edmund lost no time in putting his most sapient project into execution. It was rather late in the afternoon when he bad finally digested all his plan of pro- ceedings; and being Sunday, he did not exactly know where to obtain such a dress as he required. But it struck him that there would be no harm in a i SS a proceeding at once in his wonted apparel to the , neighbourhood of the villa,in order to reconnoitre it from a distance. He need not approach near enough tothe windows to be noticed in such a way as to endanger future recognition ; and at the same time something might be gained aud the first | step taken by ascertaining the exact whereabouts | of the beautiful creature's abode. sallied forth; and not choosing to afford any of the domestics the slightest clue as to his proceed- ings, he did not order either horse or carriage to be prepared for his use on the occasion. ‘Taking a cab from the nearest stand—in spite of his de-- He accordingly | nunciation of street-vehicles in the presence of | Mr. Gunthorpe—Lord Saxondale directed him- self to be driven to the Seven Sisters’ Road; and —— - —— -. - ——- THE MYSTERIES OF THE COURT ——S =e MT _—_ line in their outline, harsh and coarse; her dark eyes shone with an exceediugr brightness; and her brows, which were very thick, met above the nose. Her look was alike bold and repulsive; and the lines upon her countenance seemed rather to have been traced by strong passions than to be the wrinkling effects of time. Her apparel was of a humble and sordid description ; she had a dirty white cap on her head; and her appear- ance altogether was negligent and slovenly. On opening the door the woman said nothing but seemed to wait until the visitor should explair the object of his presence there; but she gazed upon him with mingled astonishment and curio- sity, evidently wondering that so well-dressed a young gentleman should have called at her abode. Saxondale himself knew not exactly what to say ; for previous to kuocking at the door ne had pre- pared in his mind no excuse for stopping at that wretched-looking place. However, being of an effrontery and a self-possession which with such individuals and in such cases often serve tho purpose of ready wit, he said in as civil a tone as "he could assume, but still witha patronizing kind in about three-quarters of an hour he was get | down at the place of destination. of air, “ My good woman, I have been rambling about here till I am tired; and with your per- Dismissing the calman, hé walked up the road _, Mission will walk in and sit down a little.” | till he came within sight of the villa which Lord Harold Staunton’s valet had described. It wasa pretty little cottage-residence, very recently built, and standing about thirty yards back from the road, the intermediate space being occupied by a flower-garden. It had also a garden in the rear of larger extent; and had coach-house and stables | attached to the buildingitself. Several branching evergreens, tastefully arranged, formed a just suf- ficient screen to prevent passers-by from being able to peer into the ground-floor rooms; and altogether it was a picturesque little dwelling, isolated enough to be quite in the country, and ‘yet not too far from the houses in the Hornsey Road to be altogether lonely. Having made these observations from a short Histance, Lord Saxondale struck into the adjacent | flelds, so as to ascend a gentle eminence—tbe same on which ornsey Wood Tavern is situated—and whence he might contemplate at his ease the abode of his charmer. But as he was proceeding thither, he observed a cottage at a little distance, and it occurred to him that he would proceed thither to make some few inquiries relative to the Signora,—such as how long she had lived at the villa, how many servants she kept, and such other natters as he was interested in knowing. The cottage stood completely away from all the sther habitations thinly scattered about in that neighboughood. It was old, dilapidated, and poverty-stricken,—standing in the midst of a littie garden showing bui small signs of culture, and surrounded by a low fence broken in many places. “ There is Hornsey Wood Tavern over yonder,” she replied ina harsh voice; “not much more than half a mile distant, and there you can be ac- commodated better than you can here.” “ But {am too tired to walk even that half nile.” said the young nobleman. “ Besides which, I gee a lot of working-class folks all in their Sunday gear, wending their way in that direc- tion, and Ican't bear to mingle with such vul- garity.” = “And yet you seek cut a miserable-looking place like this?” the woman at once answered, fixing her dark eyes keenly upon Lord Saxondale; then as a thought seemed to strike her, inspired perhaps by something which she read upon bis countenance, while thus scrutinizing him, .she added, But I suppose you have some object in view ? and therefore you can walk in.” Thus speaking, she threw the door wide open, ‘ and stood aside for the young nobleman to enter On reaching the door, Edmund knocked ; and ere | the summous was answered he observed that the “lingy blind was partly drawn back from the little window, and some one looked through the dirty panes for an instant. But almost immediately afterwards the door was opened by a woman of not very prepossessing appearance. She was of middle stature, and seemed about ‘orty-five years of age. Her hair had evidently noe been of jetty blackness ; but it was now turn- the habitation. It consisted of two rooms on the ground-floor, divided by a little passage, and the same number of rooms above, which were reached by what might by courtesy be termed a flight ~ stairs but was in reality only a dilapidated ladder The room into which the woman conducted ner visitor, was furnished in the most wretched man- ner—a crazy table, three or four chairs the rush bottoms of which were broken in, and somé few articles of crockery upon a shelf, constituting the principal features of that part of the dwelling. A glance into the other ‘room as he entered, had shown Edmund a seanty bed upon the floor, and cne or two chairs almost as useless as those in the room to which he was introduced. The Woman appeared to be alone in the house—at Ivast Lord Saxondale saw no other person in either of the two reoms on the ground-floor, nor did he hear any one moving overhead. “ You see the place into which you have invited yourself,” said the woman: “ but such as it is you are welcome to makeita convenience for resting in. For what other purpose you have sought the YL —_—_—_—_—_—_—_—_- Sa /- e CORNIECLOOOKS (E() ~ : «