The Mysteries of the Court of London — page 180: what you’re looking at

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

154 THE COURT OF LONDON suspected anything more than what she had gleaned in the neighbourhood. ‘“‘] will answer your ladyship’s question,” returned Miss Walters. ‘‘ From the communicative shopkeeper I learned that Lord and Lady Holderness dwelt in this house, that Lord Holderness has two daughters, the Honourable Misses Clarendon, who do not live with him, and that Lady Holder- ness was the Honourable Miss Fernanda Aylmer, niece of the Earl and Countess of Desborough.”’ “Is that all? ” inquired the patrician lady, fixing her eyes intently upon the countenance of the disguised female. ‘‘ Not quite,’’ responded the latter. ‘‘ Some time ago it -was whispered that the Honourable Arthur Eaton, Lord Marchmont’s son, and Miss Fernanda Aylmer were engaged to be married, but the match was broken off, Mr. Eaton became a prey to what was deemed an incurable malady, and Miss Aylmer was reported to have gone upon the Continent. But Miss Aylmer did not visit a foreign clime,”’ proceeded Caroline, with emphasis; ‘‘ on the contrary, she retired to an establishment of mingled mystery and horror in Fore Street, Lambeth, where I formed her acquaintance. Ah! and she told me many, many things which were incomprehensible then, many, many things relative to her vengeance, which was progressing with a certainty as terrible as its nature and its origin were alike unsuspected by its victim. But now, lady, now,” exclaimed Caroline Walters, ‘‘ I am enabled to understand all that was incomprehensible then. Having learned who you are, and recalling to memory everything you told me at the midwife’s house, I cannot possibly ex- perience any difficulty in reading your history. It is clear to my mind as the noonday sun is bright to the eye. Arthur Eaton seduced you, and he therefore was the victim of your vengeance. He was perishing by a slow and mysterious malady that defied all the wisdom of the physician, all the skill of the surgeon. That was the dark and deadly nature of your revenge. But he suddenly gets better, the spell is lifted from his existence, and in a short time he recovers altogether. Ah, lady, that was because you failed, for some reason or another, to carry out your vengeance to a full consummation! But, behold! the invisible hand of an unrelenting and remorseless persecution still follows him. He recovers from that malady which appeared to be a Gomichboo <S m