half the night, with a restless and fretful patient. It was _this_
Sophy who conferred so long and earnestly with Lily ayah, respecting
methods to be adopted, pretences effected, infinitesimal doses
exchanged for the usual amount, and the patient craftily beguiled--but
it is almost impossible to beguile a person who is suffering from the
fierce craving for a drug; and the want of her normal supply soon began
to make itself apparent in Mrs. Krauss, and there were not a few
exhausting scenes.

Sophy found it necessary to take her ayah Moti into her confidence--a
humiliating obligation (as it happened, Moti had always been in the
secret), and among the three it was arranged that the mistress of the
house was to be watched and never left alone. Occasionally Mrs. Krauss
had disputes and dreadful altercations with Lily; but by degrees she
appeared to acquiesce; her strength was unequal to a prolonged
struggle, and the victim of cocaine would throw herself down on her bed
and moan like some dying animal. These moans pierced the heart of her
unhappy niece.

Herr Krauss was seldom at home, but, when in residence, his personality
obtruded itself in all directions, and it was surprising to Sophy that
he never noticed any cause for anxiety in his wife's appearance, she
looked so ill and emaciated; it was true that he was preoccupied with
important affairs, and that he only saw her of an evening when the
lights were shaded. She still appeared in the afternoon and at dinner,
particularly if they were alone. When she received visitors,
especially her German neighbours, Sophy felt exceedingly uncomfortable.
It seemed to her--although this might be imagination--that the ladies
exchanged coughs and significant glances, and noticed the trembling
hand with which Mrs. Krauss helped herself to cake, her sudden lapses
into silence, her abrupt interruptions and cavernous yawns. For years
Mrs. Krauss had been at home once a week to her German neighbours.
They are a gregarious nation, and the "Kaffee-Gesellschaft"--an
afternoon affair, beginning at four o'clock--is greatly beloved by
German women. Here they enjoy strong coffee, chocolate flavoured with
vanilla and whipped cream, and every description of rich cake. These
coffee parties are generally an orgy of scandal, and that at
"Heidelberg" was no exception. Whether Mrs. Krauss was well or ill,
the guests never failed to arrive. It was a standing institution and
enjoyed their app