recovered her
self-possession, 'it surprises me rather that Mrs. Markham should invite
such a person as Mrs. Graham to her house; but, perhaps, she is not aware
that the lady's character is considered scarcely respectable.'

'She is not, nor am I; and therefore you would oblige me by explaining
your meaning a little further.'

'This is scarcely the time or the place for such explanations; but I
think you can hardly be so ignorant as you pretend--you must know her as
well as I do.'

'I think I do, perhaps a little better; and therefore, if you will inform
me what you have heard or imagined against her, I shall, perhaps, be able
to set you right.'

'Can you tell me, then, who was her husband, or if she ever had any?'

Indignation kept me silent. At such a time and place I could not trust
myself to answer.

'Have you never observed,' said Eliza, 'what a striking likeness there is
between that child of hers and--'

'And whom?' demanded Miss Wilson, with an air of cold, but keen severity.

Eliza was startled; the timidly spoken suggestion had been intended for
my ear alone.

'Oh, I beg your pardon!' pleaded she; 'I may be mistaken--perhaps I was
mistaken.' But she accompanied the words with a sly glance of derision
directed to me from the corner of her disingenuous eye.

'There's no need to ask my pardon,' replied her friend, 'but I see no one
here that at all resembles that child, except his mother, and when you
hear ill-natured reports, Miss Eliza, I will thank you, that is, I think
you will do well, to refrain from repeating them. I presume the person
you allude to is Mr. Lawrence; but I think I can assure you that your
suspicions, in that respect, are utterly misplaced; and if he has any
particular connection with the lady at all (which no one has a right to
assert), at least he has (what cannot be said of some others) sufficient
sense of propriety to withhold him from acknowledging anything more than
a bowing acquaintance in the presence of respectable persons; he was
evidently both surprised and annoyed to find her here.'

'Go it!' cried Fergus, who sat on the other side of Eliza, and was the
only individual who shared that side of the table with us. 'Go it like
bricks! mind you don't leave her one stone upon another.'

Miss Wilson drew herself up with a look of freezing scorn, but said
nothing. Eliza would have replied, but I interrupted her by saying as
calmly as I could, though in a tone which be