Latest / Mysteries of London Vol. I part 1 / 62 - Mysteries of London Vol I part 1 by George W M Reynolds

Transcript

62 - Mysteries of London Vol I part 1 by George W M Reynolds · Mysteries of London Vol. I part 1

0:00
Speaker 1: Chapter fifty nine. Holford awoke with a start. At that moment,
0:05
Speaker 1: the time piece upon the mantel struck five. It was
0:08
Speaker 1: still quite dark. The young man felt cold and nervous.
0:13
Speaker 1: He had dreamt that he was discovered and ejected from
0:15
Speaker 1: the palace amidst the jeers and taunts of the servants.
0:18
Speaker 1: He now suddenly recollected that the domestics would most probably
0:22
Speaker 1: soon arrived to clinse and arrange the apartment, and detection
0:26
Speaker 1: in that case must be certain. It struck him that
0:29
Speaker 1: he had better endeavor to escape at once from the
0:31
Speaker 1: royal dwelling. Then he thought, and fondly flattered himself, that
0:35
Speaker 1: the same good fortune which had hitherto attended him in
0:38
Speaker 1: this adventure would still follow him. This idea has caused
0:42
Speaker 1: many a hesitating mind to decide upon pursuing a career
0:45
Speaker 1: of crime or folly or peril. So it was with Holford,
0:49
Speaker 1: and he resolved to remain in the palace at least
0:51
Speaker 1: a short time longer. But he perceived the absolute necessity
0:55
Speaker 1: of seeking out a secure place of concealment, and had
0:58
Speaker 1: struck him that the high the stories of the building
1:01
Speaker 1: were those best calculated for this purpose. Leaving the apartment
1:05
Speaker 1: in which he had availed himself of the friendly sofa,
1:07
Speaker 1: and which, as before stated, was in the immediate vicinity
1:11
Speaker 1: of the Sculpture Gallery. Upon the ground floor. He passed
1:14
Speaker 1: through the library and returned to the Great Hall. Ascending
1:18
Speaker 1: a magnificent marble staircase, he reached the Picture Gallery. Every
1:23
Speaker 1: here and there lamps were burning, and thus he was
1:25
Speaker 1: enabled to inspect all the scenes of magnificence and splendor
1:29
Speaker 1: through which he passed. The Picture Gallery in Buckingham Palace
1:33
Speaker 1: is immediately over the Sculpture Gallery and forms a wide
1:36
Speaker 1: passage separating the Green Drawing Room, the Throne Room, and
1:41
Speaker 1: other state apartments from the Roman, the Yellow and the
1:44
Speaker 1: Little drawing rooms. The Yellow Drawing Room is the largest
1:48
Speaker 1: and most splendid of the suite. The furniture is all
1:52
Speaker 1: richly carved and is overlaid with burnished gilding and covered
1:56
Speaker 1: with yellow satin. The wall is surrounded by polished pillars
2:00
Speaker 1: of sinite marble, and on each panel is painted a
2:03
Speaker 1: portrait of some royal personage. The Dining Room also leads
2:08
Speaker 1: out of the Picture Gallery. This gallery itself is decorated
2:11
Speaker 1: and adorned upon classic models. The frames of The pictures
2:15
Speaker 1: are very plain, but neat and appropriated to the style
2:18
Speaker 1: of the architecture. There is nothing gorgeous in this gallery.
2:22
Speaker 1: Everything is in good taste, and yet the moldings and
2:25
Speaker 1: fretwork of the feeling are the most elaborate description. The
2:28
Speaker 1: pictures in the gallery are all originals by eminent masters,
2:32
Speaker 1: and are the private property of the Sovereign. It may
2:36
Speaker 1: here be observed that the Queen is passionately attached to
2:39
Speaker 1: the fine arts, in which indeed she is a proficient.
2:43
Speaker 1: In every room of the palace, there are some excellent
2:45
Speaker 1: paintings in each apartment occupied by the Queen, with the
2:49
Speaker 1: exception of the throne room, there is a grand pianoforte
2:53
Speaker 1: with a lamp in his hand. Henry Holford proceeded through
2:56
Speaker 1: those magnificent apartments which communicated with the picture games. He
3:01
Speaker 1: was astonished at the assemblage of wealth and splendor that
3:04
Speaker 1: met his eye on every side. From time to time,
3:07
Speaker 1: he seated himself upon the softest ottomans and in the
3:10
Speaker 1: gilded chairs, in every place where he deemed it probable
3:14
Speaker 1: that the Queen might have rested. At length, he reached
3:17
Speaker 1: the throne room, the Imperial seat itself was covered over
3:21
Speaker 1: with a velvet cloth to protect it against the dust.
3:24
Speaker 1: Halford removed the cloth and the splendors of the throne
3:27
Speaker 1: were revealed to him. He hesitated for a moment, he
3:31
Speaker 1: felt as if he were committing a species of sacrilege. Then,
3:35
Speaker 1: triumphing over his feeling, a feeling which had appeared like remorse,
3:39
Speaker 1: he ascended the steps of the throne. He placed himself
3:43
Speaker 1: in the seat of England's monarch. Had the scepter been there,
3:46
Speaker 1: he would have grasped it. Had the crown been within
3:50
Speaker 1: his reach, he would have placed it upon his head.
3:53
Speaker 1: But time pressed and he was compelled to leave those
3:55
Speaker 1: apartments in which a strange and unaccountable fascination induced him
4:00
Speaker 1: to linger. He ascended a staircase leading to another story,
4:04
Speaker 1: and now he proceeded with extreme caution, for he conceived
4:08
Speaker 1: that he must be in the immediate vicinity of the
4:10
Speaker 1: royal sleeping apartments. He hastened up to the highest story
4:14
Speaker 1: he could reach, and entered several passages from which doors
4:17
Speaker 1: opened on either side. One of these doors was ajar.
4:22
Speaker 1: The light of a lamp in the passage enabled him
4:24
Speaker 1: to ascertain that the chamber into which it led was
4:27
Speaker 1: full of old furniture, trunks, boxes, bedding, and other lumber.
4:31
Speaker 1: This was precisely the place which suited the adventurous pot boy,
4:35
Speaker 1: and he hastened to conceal himself amidst a pile of mattresses,
4:39
Speaker 1: which formed a secure, warm and comfortable birth. Here he
4:43
Speaker 1: again fell asleep, and when he awoke the sun was
4:46
Speaker 1: shining brightly. He partook of his provisions with a good appetite,
4:51
Speaker 1: and then deliberated within himself what course he should pursue.
4:55
Speaker 1: He felt madly anxious to be near the person of
4:57
Speaker 1: the Queen once more. He longed to hear or her
5:00
Speaker 1: voice again. He resolved to risk everything to gratify these inclinations.
5:05
Speaker 1: He began to understand that the vast extent of the palace,
5:08
Speaker 1: and many different ways of reaching the various floors and
5:12
Speaker 1: suites of apartments, constituted the elements of his safety and
5:16
Speaker 1: greatly diminished the risk of encountering any of the inmates
5:19
Speaker 1: of the royal dwelling. He was insane enough, moreover to
5:23
Speaker 1: believe that some good genius or especial favor of fortune
5:26
Speaker 1: protected him, and these impressions were sufficiently powerful to induce
5:30
Speaker 1: him to attempt any fresh enterprise within the walls of
5:33
Speaker 1: the palace. While he was debating within himself how he
5:36
Speaker 1: should proceed in order to satisfy his enthusiastic curiosity, the
5:41
Speaker 1: door suddenly opened and two female servants of the royal
5:44
Speaker 1: household entered the lumber room. Holford's heart sank within him,
5:49
Speaker 1: his limbs seemed paralyzed, his breath failed him. The entertainment
5:53
Speaker 1: takes place in the Yellow and Roman drawing rooms this evening,
5:56
Speaker 1: said one the princes expected at five o'clock, observed the other.
6:01
Speaker 1: He and his father, the Duke of Saxe Coburg Gotha,
6:03
Speaker 1: are to land at Woolworth between two and three, so
6:07
Speaker 1: I heard. The royal carriages have already left to meet
6:10
Speaker 1: Her Majesty's guests. Have you ever seen the Prince once
6:14
Speaker 1: he was in England? I remember a short time previous
6:17
Speaker 1: to the ascension of Her Majesty. Is he good looking? Very?
6:22
Speaker 1: Of course? You believe as I do, and as everyone
6:25
Speaker 1: else does, that Prince Albert Saxe Coburg will soon be
6:30
Speaker 1: Prince of England. Hush, the walls have ears. The servants,
6:35
Speaker 1: having discovered the article of furniture, which was the object
6:38
Speaker 1: of their search left the room greatly to the relief
6:41
Speaker 1: of Henry Holford, whose presence they never for a moment.
6:44
Speaker 1: Suspected Halford had thus accidentally learned some information which served
6:49
Speaker 1: to guide his plans. The evening's entertainment was to take
6:52
Speaker 1: place in the Yellow Drawing Room, an apartment which he
6:54
Speaker 1: could not fail to recognize by the color as one
6:58
Speaker 1: which he had visited before daybreak the way morning he
7:01
Speaker 1: had heard of Prince Albert, whom Rumor had already mentioned
7:04
Speaker 1: as the happy being who had attracted the Queen's favor.
7:07
Speaker 1: Every circumstance now lent its aid to induce the enthusiastic
7:11
Speaker 1: lad to resolve upon penetrating into the Yellow Drawing Room
7:14
Speaker 1: by some means or another. During the afternoon. It struck
7:18
Speaker 1: the intruder that if the Queen intended to receive company
7:20
Speaker 1: in the Yellow Drawing Room in the evening, she would
7:23
Speaker 1: most probably welcome her illustrious guests from Germany in some
7:26
Speaker 1: other apartment. He knew from the conversation of the two
7:30
Speaker 1: female servants that the Grand Duke of Saxe Coburg Gotha
7:34
Speaker 1: and Prince Albert were to arrive at five. He presumed
7:38
Speaker 1: that the inmates of the Palace would assemble in those
7:40
Speaker 1: points where they could command a view of the ducal coltage,
7:44
Speaker 1: and he came to the conclusion that the coast would
7:46
Speaker 1: be most clear for his purposes at five o'clock. Nor
7:50
Speaker 1: was he wrong in his conjectures, for scarcely had two
7:53
Speaker 1: minutes elapsed after the clock had proclaimed the hour of five,
7:56
Speaker 1: when Henry Holford was safely ascounced beneath the sofa in
8:00
Speaker 1: the yellow drawing room. At eight o'clock, the servants entered
8:04
Speaker 1: and lighted the lamps. The color of the paper and
8:07
Speaker 1: the satin of the furniture enhanced the splendor of the
8:10
Speaker 1: effugens thus created in that magnificent salon. At half past nine,
8:15
Speaker 1: the door opened again, and Holfort's heart beat quickly, for
8:19
Speaker 1: he now expected the appearance of the Sovereign in her guests.
8:23
Speaker 1: But no, not yet. Two ladies attached to the court
8:26
Speaker 1: entered the drawing room and seated themselves upon the sofa
8:29
Speaker 1: beneath which Holford had lay concealed. Well what do you
8:33
Speaker 1: think of the young prince? Said one. Your grace was
8:36
Speaker 1: seated next to him. Very handsome and so assuming was
8:40
Speaker 1: the reply, Does your Grace really believe that her Majesty
8:43
Speaker 1: is smitten, no doubt of it. How fortunate for the
8:47
Speaker 1: family of the Grand Duke of Saxe Coburg. Yes, fortunate
8:51
Speaker 1: on that score of alliance, and in a pecuniary point
8:55
Speaker 1: of view, not so much as your Grace thinks. There
8:59
Speaker 1: has been an abs report in circulation that the Grand
9:02
Speaker 1: Duke's revenues are so small none of his family could
9:05
Speaker 1: venture to appear at the court of Vienna, and also
9:08
Speaker 1: that the means of education for the younger branches were
9:11
Speaker 1: always excessively restricted. And are not these reports correct contests
9:17
Speaker 1: by no means, Your Grace probably is aware that the
9:20
Speaker 1: Earl and myself visited Germany the year before last, and
9:24
Speaker 1: we remained six weeks at Gotha. The Duke of Saxe
9:27
Speaker 1: Kolberg possesses a considerable civil list and a large private fortune.
9:33
Speaker 1: His brother Ferdinand espouse the wealthy Princess Kohari of Hungary,
9:37
Speaker 1: and another brother, Leopold, married our lamented Princess Charlotte. It
9:42
Speaker 1: has been stated that the Prince Leopold himself was a
9:44
Speaker 1: simple major in the Austrian service, with nothing but his pay.
9:48
Speaker 1: When he was fortunate enough to obtain the favor of
9:51
Speaker 1: the Princess Charlotte. This is so far from being correct,
9:55
Speaker 1: that he never was in the Austrian service at all,
9:57
Speaker 1: but was a general officer in the Russian arts, me enjoying,
10:00
Speaker 1: in addition to his full pay, a princely allowance from
10:03
Speaker 1: his country. Your Ladyship has greatly pleased me with these elucidations.
10:09
Speaker 1: Your grace honors me with this marcus satisfaction. Prince Albert
10:13
Speaker 1: was educated at Bonn on the Rhine. His mental qualifications
10:17
Speaker 1: are said to be of a very high order. His
10:20
Speaker 1: disposition is admirable, and he has obtained the affections of
10:23
Speaker 1: all who know him in Germany. It is to be
10:26
Speaker 1: hoped that her most gracious Majesty will enjoy a long,
10:29
Speaker 1: prosperous and happy reign, said the Duchess, in a tone
10:31
Speaker 1: of unfeigned sincerity. Long and prosperous, it may be returned
10:35
Speaker 1: the Countess, with a strange solemnity of voice and manner.
10:39
Speaker 1: But happy for her, happy for the sovereign whom we
10:43
Speaker 1: all so much love. Know that is impossible, alas I
10:47
Speaker 1: know to what you allude, observed the Duchess, her tone
10:50
Speaker 1: also changing, Merciful heavens, is there then no perfect happiness
10:55
Speaker 1: in this world? Where shall perfect happiness be found? Exclaimed
10:59
Speaker 1: the count in a voice of deep melancholy, with a
11:02
Speaker 1: profound sigh. Never did any sovereigness send her own under
11:06
Speaker 1: more favorable circumstances. In Victoria, enshrined in a nation's heart,
11:11
Speaker 1: beloved by millions of human beings, wearing the proudest diadem
11:15
Speaker 1: in the universe, and swaying in the sulter of dominion
11:18
Speaker 1: extensive as that of Rome in her most glorious days. Oh,
11:22
Speaker 1: why should not Victoria be completely happy? Alas she can
11:26
Speaker 1: command the affections of her people by her conduct, The
11:29
Speaker 1: valor of her subjects, the prowess of her generals, the
11:31
Speaker 1: dauntless courage of her admirals, can preserve her empire from
11:35
Speaker 1: all encroachment, all peril. Wealth can surround her with every luxury,
11:39
Speaker 1: and all the potentiates of the earth may seek her friendship.
11:43
Speaker 1: But no power, no dominion, no wealth, no luxury, no
11:46
Speaker 1: love can exterminate the seeds. A countess, for God's sakes,
11:50
Speaker 1: talk not in this manner ejaculated the duchess. You make
11:53
Speaker 1: me melancholy, so melancholy that I shall be dispirited. The
11:57
Speaker 1: entire evening. Pardon me, my dear friend, but I know
12:00
Speaker 1: not how our discourse gradually turned upon so sad a subject.
12:04
Speaker 1: And yet the transition must have been natural, added the Countess,
12:08
Speaker 1: in mournful and plainful voice. For most assuredly, I should
12:12
Speaker 1: not have voluntarily sought to converse upon so sad a theme. Sad,
12:16
Speaker 1: cried the Duchess. It is sufficient to make one's heart
12:19
Speaker 1: bleed to think that a young creature whom millions and
12:23
Speaker 1: millions of beings idolize, and a young creature whose name
12:26
Speaker 1: is upon every lip, whose virtues and qualifications are the
12:30
Speaker 1: theme of every pen, whose slightest wish amounts to a command. Oh,
12:34
Speaker 1: to think that this envied and admirable being should be
12:37
Speaker 1: haunted day and night alone, or when surrounded by all
12:41
Speaker 1: that is most noble or most lovely in England's aristocracy,
12:45
Speaker 1: haunted by that dread fear, that appalling alarm, that dismal apprehension.
12:50
Speaker 1: Oh it is intolerable. Alas said the Countess, What poor,
12:54
Speaker 1: what miserable creatures? We are the hand of the deity,
12:58
Speaker 1: mingles gall with the cup of nectar which is drunk
13:01
Speaker 1: by his elect There is no situation in life without
13:04
Speaker 1: his vexations. Yes, vexations of all kinds, echoed the Duchess,
13:08
Speaker 1: for those annoyances which are mere trifles to the lower classes,
13:12
Speaker 1: or grievous afflictions to us. But at that moment the
13:15
Speaker 1: time piece upon the mantle proclaimed the half hour after ten,
13:18
Speaker 1: and the two ladies arose from the sofa, observing to
13:22
Speaker 1: each other that it was time to hasten to attend
13:24
Speaker 1: upon the person of the Royal Mistress. They then withdrew.
13:28
Speaker 1: It may be supposed that Holford had not lost one
13:31
Speaker 1: word of the above conversation. He had greedily drunk in
13:34
Speaker 1: every word. But the concluding portion of it had filled
13:37
Speaker 1: him with the most anxious curiosity, and with wonder to
13:41
Speaker 1: what did those dark, mysterious hints bear reference, and how
13:45
Speaker 1: could the happiness of the sovereign be incomplete? Those two
13:49
Speaker 1: noble ladies had detailed all the elements of felicity which
13:52
Speaker 1: formed the basis of the Queen's position, and surely sufficient
13:55
Speaker 1: had been enumerated to prove the perfection of her happiness.
13:59
Speaker 1: And yet allusion was made to one source of perpetual fear,
14:02
Speaker 1: one cause of unmixed alarm, one object of ever present dread,
14:07
Speaker 1: by which the Queen was haunted on all occasions. What
14:10
Speaker 1: could this be? Conjecture was vain imagination could suggest nothing
14:15
Speaker 1: calculated to explain this strange mystery. Shortly after eleven o'clock,
14:19
Speaker 1: the doors were thrown open, and the royal train made
14:21
Speaker 1: its appearance. On the Queen's right hand walked Prince Albert,
14:25
Speaker 1: the Sovereign, leaning gently upon his arm. He was dressed
14:29
Speaker 1: in a court garb, and wore a foreign order upon
14:31
Speaker 1: his breast. Of slight form and slender make, His figure
14:35
Speaker 1: was wanting in manliness, but his deportment was graceful. His
14:39
Speaker 1: eyes beamed kindness, and there was something peculiarly sweet and
14:42
Speaker 1: pleasant in his smile. His countenance was expressive of intellect.
14:47
Speaker 1: His conversation was amusing. He was evidently a very pleasant companion,
14:51
Speaker 1: And when Victoria and Albert walked down the saloon together,
14:55
Speaker 1: there appeared a certain fitness in their union which was
14:58
Speaker 1: calculated to strike the most common beholder. The Queen and
15:01
Speaker 1: Prince seated themselves upon the sofa beneath which the pot
15:04
Speaker 1: boy was concealed, and their conversation was plainly overheard by him.
15:09
Speaker 1: The noble and beautorous guests, the lords and ladies of
15:12
Speaker 1: the court withdrew to a distance, and the royal lovers,
15:15
Speaker 1: for such already were Victoria and Albert enjoyed the pleasures
15:20
Speaker 1: of tete a tete. We shall not record any portion
15:23
Speaker 1: of their discourse, and aimde it interesting and tender, though
15:26
Speaker 1: it were suffice to say that for a short time
15:29
Speaker 1: they seemed to forget their high rank and to throw
15:31
Speaker 1: aside the trammels of court etiquette, in order to give
15:35
Speaker 1: vent to those natural feelings which the sovereign has in
15:38
Speaker 1: common with the peasant. This tete a tete lasted for
15:41
Speaker 1: nearly an hour. Music and dancing then ensued, and the
15:44
Speaker 1: entertainment continued until two o'clock in the morning. The company retired,
15:49
Speaker 1: and the lights were extinguished in the state apartments, and
15:52
Speaker 1: profound silence once more reigned throughout the palace. Wolford paid
15:56
Speaker 1: another visit to the larder, and then retraced his steps
15:59
Speaker 1: on obsors to the lumber room, where he slept until
16:02
Speaker 1: a late hour in the morning. End of Chapter fifty nine.
16:07
Speaker 1: Recording by Judy Geyning