The Mysteries of the Court of London — page 185: what you’re looking at

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

158 THE COURT OF LONDON ‘“Lady, your proposal has come too late,” responded Caroline, with a sinister and gloomy solemnity. ‘“‘ Your patrician arrogance sought to trample me underfoot, your aristocratic presumption endeavoured to crush me beneath its heel. But the worm— ay, the humble worm — has turned, and has already frightened you. Beware lest it change into a serpent and sting you to the quick.” Fernanda fell back in dismay at the terrible threat which was thus proclaimed, and at the flashing looks of scorn and ferocious triumph which accompanied the menace; and Caroline Walters, availing herself of that opportunity, rushed from the room and quitted the house. Well and truly indeed had she declared that the occurrences of the last hour had turned her thoughts into an entirely new channel, or rather, had opened to them an avenue along which they might travel with some degree of certainty and clearness relative to the course which they were thus taking. She had suddenly been led to contemplate many things in a new light. It appeared to her as if she had all in an instant and most unexpectedly emerged from a dense fog in which she had hitherto been walking, and the result was that she had become inspired with a hope that changed the entire aspect of her destiny. She longed to be alone in some room where she could sit down and ponder upon all these matters; and so impatient was she to carry her new thoughts into some solitude where she might open this suddenly found budget of ideas and weigh them one by one without. hindrance and free from observa- tion that she could not wait to search for a lodging. She accordingly retraced her steps to the coffee-house already mentioned, and on entering the public room, she found it well-nigh filled with customers who were engaged in discussing the particulars of Mrs. Brace’s examination at Bow Street. Caroline paused for a few minutes to listen to the details which the topic thus evolved; and she thence learned that Harriet the lady’s-maid had appeared as a witness and was included in the committal to Newgate. Something was also said about the anonymous letter; but the information which those present in the coffee-room had obtained on this head was too vague and slight to furnish any accurate notion of what had really taken place at Bow Street in connection therewith. Gomicsooks (E()