The Evil Genius: A Domestic Story — page 148: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

THE EVIL GENIUS. 137 Mr. Romsey persisted in being satirical. ‘‘Connected with her husband ?” he asked. Lady Myrie entered a protest. She was a widow, and it was notorious among her friends that the death of her husband had been the happiest event in her married life. But she under- stood her duty to herself as a respectable woman. ‘I think, Mr. Romsey, you might have spared that cruel allusion,” she gaid, with dignity. Mr. Romsey apologized. He had his reasons for wishing to know something more abuut Mrs. Ormond; he proposed to with- draw his last remark, and to put his inquiries under another Rie Might he ask his wife if anybody had seen Mr. Ormond ? 66 O. > ‘Or heard of him ?” Mrs. Romsey answered in the negative once more, and added a question on her own account. What did all this mean? ‘‘]t means,” Lady Myrie interposed, ‘‘ what we poor women are all exposed to—scandal.” She had not yet forgiven Mr. Romsey’s allusion, and she looked at him pointedly as she-spoke. There are some impenetrable men on wnom 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. Ormond 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. Re- strained by a sense of conjugal duty, Mrs. Romsey only indulged in an exclamation. Lady Myrie, independent of restraint, ex- oressed her opinion, and said, ‘* Quite impossible!” ‘The Mrs. Ormond 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 Gis- closures. ‘* Perhaps the poor lady is to be pitied?” she gently sugecsted. 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 ?” ‘« Say ?” Lady Myrie repeated. ‘* What did he not say? His lord- ship declared that he had a great mind not to grant the divorce at all. He spoke of this dreadful woman who had deceived us in the severest terms: he said she had behaved in a most im- proper manner. She had encouraged the abominable governess; and, if her husband had yielded to temptation, it was her fault. And more besides, that I don’t remember.” COMMICLOO S (CO) im