Miss Egerton was not so tardy in the use of her eyes and ears; and
stretching out her hand to the back of the box, where Thaddeus was
standing by Lady Sara's chair, she caught hold of his sleeve.
"There, Mr. Constantine!" cried she; "look at Adelbert! that is
exactly the figure you cut in your outlandish gear two months ago."
Thaddeus bowed with a forced smile, and glancing at the stage,
replied--
"Then, for the first time in my life, I regret having followed a
lady's advice; I think I must have lost by the change."
"Yes," rejoined she, "you have lost much fur and much embroidery, but
you now look much more like a Christian.'"
The substance of these speeches was not lost on Mary, who continued
with redoubling interest to mark the changes his countenance
underwent along with the scene. As she sat forward, by a slight turn
of the head she could discern the smallest fluctuation in his
features, and they were not a few. Placing himself at the back of
Lady Sara's chair, he leaned over, with his soul set in his eye,
watching every motion of Mr. Charles Kemble.
Mary knew, by some accidental words from Lady Tinemouth, that
Constantine was a Polander, and the surmise she had entertained of
his being unfortunate received full corroboration at the scene in
which Adelbert is grossly insulted by the rich merchant. During the
whole of it, she scarcely dared trust her eyes towards Constantine's
flushed and agitated face.
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