loveliest of women, the sweetest of women, the innocentest of women.
Oh, my wife! my wife!" He suddenly threw his handkerchief to the other
end of the room, and burst out laughing. "Ho! ho! Mountjoy, what an
infernal fool you must be to take me seriously. I can act, too. Do you
think I care about my wife? She was a fine woman once: she's a bundle
of old rags now. But she has her merits. Hush! I want to know
something. Have you got a lord among your circle of acquaintance?"

Experience made Mountjoy more careful; perhaps a little too careful. He
only said "Yes."

The doctor's dignity asserted itself. "That's a short answer, sir, to a
man in my position. If you want me to believe you, mention your
friend's name."

Here was a chance at last! "His name;" Mountjoy began, "is Lord
Harry--"

Mr. Vimpany lost his dignity in an instant. He struck his heavy fist on
the table, with a blow that made the tumblers jump.

"Coincidence!" he cried. "How wonderful--no; that's not the
word--providential is the word--how providential are coincidences! I
mean, of course, to a rightly constituted mind. Let nobody contradict
me! When I say a rightly constituted mind I speak seriously; and a
young man like you will be all the better for it. Mountjoy! dear
Mountjoy! jolly Mountjoy! my wife's lord is your lord--Lord Harry. No;
none of your nonsense--I won't have any more wine. Yes, I will; it
might hurt your feelings if I didn't drink with you. Pass the bottle.
Ha! That's a nice ring you've got on your finger. Perhaps you think it