The Mysteries of the Court of London — page 58: what you’re looking at

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

THE TOKENS 41 The prefect of police made no reply to this language of rebuke and remonstrance uttered with dignity rather than with passion; but waiting until Jocelyn had ceased, his Excellency merely bowed and then quitted the room, to which the physician and the nurse soon afterward returned. A week now passed away, thus making up the three weeks which at the commencement of this chapter we stated to have elapsed since the memorable night of Julia Owen’s adventures. During those seven days which thus succeeded the interview with the prefect, Jocelyn Loftus became pretty well restored to health. But his mind remained a prey to cruel misgivings and incessant anxieties. That the Marquis of Leveson had interfered in his affairs, he had not the slightest doubt. «In the first place, it was the marquis who had been instrumental in nominating the Owens to their present mission; in the second place, he was in- terested for his own reputation’s sake in preventing any exposure of the conspiracy thus in progress against the Princess of Wales; and, thirdly, it was perfectly intelligible to Jocelyn wherefore the marquis sought to prevent his union with an obscure and portionless girl such as Louisa Stanley. Arguing, therefore, from all these circumstances that Lord Leveson had been busily engaged against him, Jocelyn was fearful that the marquis might by some means or other have gained the confidence of Louisa; and although the young lover had too sublime a faith in the purity and chastity of the damsel’s soul to imagine for an instant that she would lend an ear to any overtures which the veteran debauchee might choose to make, yet knowing full well how unprincipled and unscrupulous was the character of that nobleman, Jocelyn could not help fearing for Louisa as one may tremble for the lamb in the power of the wolf. Thus did the week following the interview with the prefect pass unhappily enough for Jocelyn Loftus; but still he was determined to endure any amount of persecution and un- dergo any extent of adversity rather than submit to the terms dictated by his enemies. | At the end of the week the physician pronounced his patient to be so far recovered as not to require his services any longer. Jocelyn saw that it was of no use to endeavour to interest the medical man in his behalf; for though full of that courtesy which seems innate with every Frenchman, CcoOnnicloooks (C(O)