Ada, the Betrayed; Or, The Murder at the Old Smithy. A Romance of PassionRymer, James Malcolm
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Ada, the Betrayed; Or, The Murder at the Old Smithy. A Romance of Passion
Rymer, James Malcolm
English fiction -- 19th century; Penny dreadfuls
Many an admiring glance was cast upon the beautiful Ada as she slowly
took her uncertain way beneath the tall ancient trees which have now
given place to young saplings, the fall beauty of which the present
generations will never enjoy. The cool air that blew across the wide
expanse imparted a delicate bloom to her cheeks, that many a court
beauty would have bartered a portion of her existence to obtain. The
hat she wore but partially confined the long dancing black ringlets
that fell in nature’s own freedom on her neck and shoulders; and,
withal, there was a sweet pensiveness in her manner, and the
expressions of her face, which greatly charmed and interested all the
gentlemen, and greatly vexed and discomposed all the ladies, who, with
one accord, voted it to be affectation.
How little they dreamt of the deep sorrow that was in the young girl’s
heart.
She walked on till she reached the Great Mall, and then, feeling
somewhat weary she sat down on one of the wooden seats, and seeing
nothing, hearing nothing, she gave herself up to her own thoughts, and
tears trickled slowly from her eyes, as all her meditations tended to
the one conclusion that she must starve or go back to the lone house
and Jacob Gray.
She was aroused from her reverie by some one repeatedly, in an affected
drawl pronouncing the word,—
“Delicious: de—licious; oh, de—licous!” immediately in front of where
she sat.
Ada looked up, and balancing himself before her, nearly on his toes,
was an affectedly dressed person who was staring at her through an
opera-glass, and repeating the word delicious, as conveying his extreme
admiration of her. When Ada looked up he advanced with a smirk and a
bow, and laying his hand on his embroidered waistcoat, said, in the
same drawling, affected tone—
“My charming little Hebe—what unearthly change—what glorious
concatenation of sublime events have procured St. James’s Park the
felicity of beholding you? Eh, eh, my delicious charmer?”
“Sir,” said Ada, annoyed by the tone of the remarks, the substance of
which she scarcely heard or comprehended.
“Charming simplicity!” cried the beau; “permit me.”
He seated himself with these words by the side of Ada, and attempted,
by an affected, apeish manner, to take her hand.
Ada shrunk from his touch, and rising with an innocent dignity, that
appalled for a moment the fine gentleman, she said—
“I do not know you, sir,” and walked onwards, leaving him the
questionable credit of having turned her out of the seat.
“Charming! charming!” she heard him say, after a few moments, as he
pursued her along the Mall.
Ada was excessively annoyed at this most disagreeable intrusion, and
she quickened her pace in the hope of distancing the gallant; such,
however, was not the event, for he was nearly close to her when she
arrived at the next seat, which was occupied but by one gentleman, who
was reading a book.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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