The Mysteries of London; or, Lights and Shadows of London Life — page 61: what you’re looking at

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

LIGHTS AND SHADOWS OF LONDON LIFE. friend of mine, who is one of my most generous vice was still left unremoved upon the table, and it was evident that morning repast had only been re- cently concluded. The young mistress of these signs of wealthy in- dulgence, and who had thus, in the very heart of the contrived to encircle herself with the associations of the country, was apparently yet sufler- ing from the languor and depressing lassitude of the system, induced by the mental and physical excite- ment she had experienced, and the reaction of a night that had inaugurated i whispered was one of an unparalleled bril- This was the cause of her present indolent position; and to the same source the un- wonted pallor of her cheek, and the dimmed brilliancy likewise to be attributed. y recumbent, was attired in a manner that is so usually associated with the vocation she followed. Whatever these reflections were, they were now interrupted by the entrance of the servant, who an- nounced that Madame Romani was in waiting to learn if the debutante was yet visible, An intimation in the affirmative was conveyed in return, and slightly altering her position on the couch, but yet not rising from it, the young opera-dancer prepared to receive her visitor. Madame Romani, the prima-donna of the Opera, was 4 fine, commanding woman, who, as she ap- proached the apartment, exhibited the dignified de. meanour of one who was thoroughly conscious of the prominent place she held in her profession, and was determined to maintain her station by a manner cal- culated to inspire deference and respect. This assump- tion of austerity was, however, abandoned in the society of her most intimate friends; and then, the restraint being thrown off, her real disposition was found to be most agreeable and conciliatory, and the innate warmth of her heart made itself manifest in innumerable kind attentions. On this occasion she appeared to have bestowed more than ordinary care upon her toilette. Her dress, consisting of a costly robe of plum-coloured satin, fitted closely up to her throat, and displaved her majestic figure to the fullest advantage, whilst a rich mantle drooped gracefully from hey shoulders, and her head, shaped as though the Grecian statue of Diana had served for the model, was surmounted by a small plume of feathers that, in their waving, seemed to simulate the elegant undula- tion that characterised her movements. When the door had closed, and the vocalist and the danseuse were left together, the former approached the recumbent beauty, who smilingly acknowledged : her first salutation, and, taking her kindly by the hand, exclaimed in a voice strongly marked by the fereign accent : . Bf 7 Sp pwene how sad you that expected to have found this morning elated with the triumph you have gained. I was on my way to pay a morning visit to a nobleman, a - wew ee — you appear, my child ; — —_—- ————e — ee _ patrons, and I could not resist the pleasure of calling upon you, first for the purpose of complimenting you your company on the occasion.” “Still as ever, my dear Romani, the foremost to 53 ASE breathe encouragement ; the first to point the way to | win applause, and the first to congratulate me when that applause is gained,” responded the young girl, | warmly, and returning a grateful pressure to the hand that clasped her own; “oh! that all were like your- self! how free would be our vocation from the bane of professional jealousy !” “But we, who are not thus affected, can under- — stand each other’s sympathies,” rejoined the prima- donna, significantly; “ we are competitors, not rivals, in our emulation, and we may, therefore, preserve our friendship unimpaired by these wretched whisperings of envy. branches of the sister arts, we have each a different sphere for action; and it would be hard indeed if, in our mutual flight towards the goal of our ambition, our aspiring wings should jostle on the way. Last night I gloried in your success as much as if it had been my own.” “You were present, then?” inquired Celestine, mournfully, “ Present!” echoed the fair vocaliet. “Think you I could have been elsewhere on such an occasion as that, and within the reach of seeing you? No, it was a delight that I could not deny myself. Although we met not at rehearsal, you were never absent from my thoughts from the moment that I heard of the arrangements for your appearance being satisfactorily concluded; and though I abstained from greeting you when the opera was over, lest it might flurry you in the moment of your anxiety, I had no sooner witnessed the triumphant termination of the ballet, than I hastened to the manager, eom- plimented him on his acquisition, and ascertaining where you had taken up your residence,I resolved to be your first visitor and renew our old acquain- tance, that had so auspiciously commenced abroad.” “ And to none other but yourself, Romani, the kind. hearted friend of my youth, should I have been at home,” added the danseuse; “but to you, who possess the key of my heart, if would be but churlish usage to deny myself at any time. Your visits are ever welcome.” “Now that your celebrity has become so univer- sally recognised, now that your well-merited fame has been so brilliantly acknowledged,” resumed the prima-donna, with a look of piquant archness, “I am afraid that my intimacy with you will be sus- pected of being less disinterested than before. Once if was my place to be the patroness; now the scale of fortune is turning, and I shall have to seek perhaps favours from yourself,” “fT could hardly wish a greater pleasure than to grant them as liberally and readily as you have granted mine,” answered Celestine; “but seriously now, have I failed to do credit to your kind recom. mendation ?” “ Failed!” exclaimed the vocalist; “never was a triumph more genuine, more deserved. In these elo- quent eulogiums passed upon your performance by the critics, do you not feel that you have already been elevated to the summit of your ambition? Are not these laudations of the journalists sufficient to gratify the most exorbitant desire for praise?” and as these words were spoken Madame Romani playfully referred ee eee ——- ee ECORNICLOO Having devoted ourselves to separate | | | | <S) (CE) m -