some impenetrable men on whom looks produce no impression. Mr.
Romsey was one of them. He turned to his wife, and said, quietly:
"What I mean is, that I know more of Mrs. Norman than you do. I
have heard of her--never mind how or where. She is a lady who has
been celebrated in the newspapers. Don't be alarmed. She is no
less a person than the divorced Mrs. Linley."

The two ladies looked at each other in blank dismay. Restrained
by a sense of conjugal duty, Mrs. Romsey only indulged in an
exclamation. Lady Myrie, independent of restraint, expressed her
opinion, and said: "Quite impossible!"

"The Mrs. Norman whom I mean," Mr. Romsey went on, "has, as I
have been told, a mother living. The old lady has been twice
married. Her name is Mrs. Presty."

This settled the question. Mrs. Presty was established, in her
own proper person, with her daughter and grandchild at the hotel.
Lady Myrie yielded to the force of evidence; she lifted her hands
in horror: "This is too dreadful!"

Mrs. Romsey took a more compassionate view of the disclosure.
"Surely the poor lady is to be pitied?" she gently suggested.

Lady Myrie looked at her friend in astonishment. "My dear, you
must have forgotten what the judge said about her. Surely you
read the report of the case in the newspapers?"

"No; I heard of the trial, and that's all. What did the judge
say?"