The Mysteries of the Court of London — page 76: what you’re looking at

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

60 THE COURT OF LONDON and in the evening at Beaumont, to take an early supper. The journey was then speedily continued; and once more did the shades of night envelop the landscape in obscurity, and plunge the interior of the carriage into almost utter darkness. Jocelyn actually drew himself into as small a compass as possible, so as not to encroach in the slightest degree upon the space allotted to his fair companions on the same seat; but he soon became aware of certain little tacit overtures from either side, — a pressure of the knee against his own, or the heaving of a bosom against his shoulder. He felt that his position was alike false and ridiculous; and he became dispirited and even gloomy. He was sur- rounded by temptations which he had ample strength of mind and rectitude of principle to resist; and yet he had embarked in an enterprise which compelled him to remain in this very position and subject to these temptations. That the little overtures, sly, artful, and tacit as they were, were intentional and deliberate, he could no longer doubt; and it became a question whether he was not compromising himself too far, and entering upon the verge of outrage against the pure love which he felt for Louisa Stanley, by remaining any longer in the company of these sirens whose temperaments were evidently so warm and whose morals were becoming every instant more open to the gravest suspicion. Finding that. they received no encouragement from the young gentleman, Agatha and Emma presently desisted from their tacit approaches and silent demonstrations, of tenderness toward him. The discourse grew languid, and soon dropped altogether, every one, save Jocelyn, falling off into a doze. But he himself continued to meditate upon the perplexing situation in which he was placed; and there were but two alternatives for him to choose between. He must either withdraw himself from the company of the siren sisters, and thus break the promise he had pledged to Mary that he would endeavour to rescue them from their present career; or he must remain with them, even at the risk of encountering overtures which pained, insulted, and shocked him. In the former case, he would have nothing more to do than hasten on to Italy and give the necessary warning to the princess, leaving the three sisters to fulfil their ignoble destiny; in the latter case, he might perhaps CORNICLOOOKS LEO