The Mysteries of London; or, Lights and Shadows of London Life — page 140: what you’re looking at

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

134° sufficient to éncounter the exposure that would take place on the following night, if she still remained an occupant of the villa, Celestine resolved to plunge beneath the surface of society, and obtain an obscurity in its depths, which would elude even the persevering search of the man who had, by some unknown means, traced her to the mansion where she thon resided. Passionately as she loved Walsingham, ardently as she believed herself to be loved by him in return, she could not hazard the chances of a discovery so pain- fully embarrassing. ‘She pictured to herself the mingled amazoment and mistrust with which he would listen to the details of her early life—the aversion that he might feel towards her, engendered by the sight of the man whom she had been driven to consider her father, and she dared not stop to ex- perience the change. The window through which Bazzini and his conipanion had passed was still open, It seemed to her to point out the means of escaping unobserved. The two female domestics, who were sitting up for Lord Walsingham in the wing of the building that was used as the servants’ offices, would not notice her departure. The outer gate would be left unlocked till his return, and she began to look upon the accident that had caured his going, and the delay that had impeded the fulfilment of his promise, as being most fortunate circumstances in her favour. Materials for writing were within her reach, and she hastily penned a brief note to account for her sudden and compelled absence. ‘The note ran thus :— “My DEAR WALSINGHAM, “An unfortunate combination of events will force me to resign, in this abrupt and most unex- pected manner, the kind hospitality which you have so generously shown me, With the sentiments of my own heart unaltered, I am likewise forced to relin- quish all claims upon your affection—a still more painful sacrifice. A mystery hangs over me, and governs my actions, which I cannot now explain— time alone may withdraw the veil. To-night you took a farewell that must be considered final. I am henceforth as one dead to the world. Forgive the hasty determination that a true appreciation of your honour and character has caused, and forget, in the attraction of a more deserving woman and a happier alliance, the unhappy being that has still the pre- sumption to sign herself * Your own devoted CELEsTINE.” Hastily sealing the letter, she left it upon the table in such a manner that it could not fail to attract his notice immediately upon his entrance; and with no other preparation than her bonnet and shawl, hurriedly thrown on, Celestine stepped out upon the lawn, glided like a shadow across the pathway, and in another moment was beyond the outer gate. Scarcely had she turned into the road than the whir- ring sound of carriage-wheels, and the distant tramp of horses’ feet approaching nearer, made her aware of Lord Walsingham’s vicinity. She stepped aside into the shade of a projecting porch, and she saw the vehicle drive up to the gate through which she had just emerged, and rattle through the avenue that led up to the villa. Without daring to pause in her flight, she quickened her pace onward, glad to have thus narrowly escaped his notice, and never relaxed her speed until she had gained the neighbouring residence of Madame Romani, to whose friendship she was indebted for an asylum for the night, THE MYSTERIES OF LONDON, LN parture, but the curprise thus created was soon after changed to a feeling of more harrowing a a more perplexing nature, when, on passing to his of apartments above, he found a robvery had been committed on the premises, and that a quantity of plate and valuable jewellery had disappeared. Link« ing the ambiguous tenor of Celestine’s own letter with the information she had communicated of such a pro ject being in contemplation, and coupling the fact of her leaving with the earnest manner in which she had persuaded him to comply with the request conveyed in the letter, that he had subsequently found to be forged, he was irresistibly led to one afilicting, but unavoidable conclusion. Celestine was either herself the originator of the robbery, or had connived at its perpetration, and it was thus that he fancied the letter furnished a confirmation of his belief, as he miscon- strued her equivocal meaning into an acknowledgment of her guilt. To clear up a portion of the mystery that attended this daring exploit, we must now retrograde in our narrative to explain the causes that led to Bazzini and his companion acting thus unexpectedly in con- cert, and then bring up the chain of events to the time when they appeared at the villa. After the*’murder of the Sayoyard had taken place, the Italian accompanied Borelli to the door of the lodging-house down the court in Leather Lane, A mutual suspicion derived from the subtle watchfulness of Bazzini had led to their tracking the footsteps of Jacopo in the manner that has been narrated, and an investigation into the boy’s conduct brought to light such evidence of the sly duplicity he had practised, that the revengeful disposition of the padrone had been only satisfied with the infliction of the most summary vengeance, Lest those to whom he was suspected of giving information relative to the move- — ments of Borelli should anticipate the robbery that had been planned, it was arranged between them that the burglary shoulé be undertaken the same night, and that the plunder they obtained should be shared together. With this understanding they reached, aoout an hour afterwards, the grounds of Lord Walsingham’s villa, and, favoured by the darkness of the night, they | had no difficulty in climbing over the wall and drop- ping down quietly among the foliage of the shrubbery on the opposite side. To decoy the noble owner from the villa, should circumstances render it necessary, the Italian, assisted by the letters of the Earl of Winter- ton, that he had obtained from Jarvis, had prepared a dexterous imitation of that nobleman’s handwriting; and to Borelli he gave the note that was delivered in the manner we have seen. How the bait was suc- cessful, and how the real indisposition of the earl realised the account that was fabricated by Bazziui, and caused his lordship’s detention, are events that have been already described. As soon as they had watched Walsingham off, the Italian obtained a view of Celestine, who, to his delight and amazement, he found a resident in the building, and, determined to seize this additional advantage, he conferred with his associate, and they altered their original plan, The alarm he purposely created by his slow and silent entrance produced the effect he had expected on the nervous temperament of the affrighted girl, and gave him the opportunity ef abstracting all that was valuable or portable in the rooms. The rest of their proceedings—the triumphant manner in which Great was the grief and astonishment of Walsing- | they carried off their booty—the stipulation agreed bien . im —_—— bam when he found the letter thut announced her de- | upon by Celestine, and their final arrangement for the | ——_ = ee _ -——— — — — oe — ee. ee ee a OO _—- GoOmiichdoo . ; com XS