She had just concluded that it
was better to remain in her chair than incur the risk
of fainting in the passage, when he entered,
preceded by Charles. His upper, and part of his
lower lip, were clean shaved; a small part of one
cheek and his nose were to be seen; all the rest of
his face was covered with hair, or hid under the
patch. An enormous coloured handkerchief was tied,
in a particular manner, round his neck; and his coat,
made of plain materials, and somewhat tarnished
with service, was buttoned as close to his throat as
the handkerchief would allow. In short, his whole
attire was that of a common driver of a hack
carriage; and no one who had not previously
received an intimation that his character was
different from his appearance, would at all have
suspected the deception.
"Your name is Anthony?" said Miss Emmerson, as
he bowed to her with due deference.
"Yes, ma'am, Anthony--Tony Sandford," was the
reply--it was uttered in a vulgar nasal tone, that
Julia instantly perceived was counterfeited: but
Miss Emmerson, with perfect innocency, proceeded
in her inquiries.
"Are your horses gentle and good, Tony?" adopting
the familiar nomenclature that seemed most to his
fancy.
"As gentle as e'er a lady in the land," said Tony,
turning his large black eye round the room, and
letting it dwell a moment on the beautiful face of
Julia--her heart throbbed with tumultuous emotion
at the first sound of his voice, and she was highly
amused at the ingenuity he had displayed, in
paying a characteristic compliment to her
gentleness, in this clandestine manner--if he
preserves his incognito so ingeniously he will never
be detected, thought Julia, and all will be well.
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