he case of another
person: secondly, that he had an interest (of what nature it was
impossible yet to say) in satisfying his own mind that "his friend" was,
by the law of Scotland, indisputably a married man. Having penetrated
to that extent the secret which Geoffrey was concealing from him,
he abandoned the hope of making any further advance at that present
sitting. The next question to clear up in the investigation, was the
question of who the anonymous "lady" might be. And the next discovery
to make was, whether "the lady" could, or could not, be identified with
Anne Silvester. Pending the inevitable delay in reaching that result,
the straight course was (in Sir Patrick's present state of uncertainty)
the only course to follow in laying down the law. He at once took the
question of the marriage in hand--with no concealment whatever, as to
the legal bearings of it, from the client who was consulting him.

"Don't rush to conclusions, Mr. Delamayn," he said. "I have only told
you what my general experience is thus far. My professional opinion on
the special case of your friend has not been given yet."

Geoffrey's face clouded again. Sir Patrick carefully noted the new
change in it.

"The law of Scotland," he went on, "so far as it relates to Irregular
Marriages, is an outrage on common decency and common-sense. If you
think my language in thus describing it too strong--I can refer you
to the language of a judicial authority. Lord Deas delivered a recent
judgment of marriage in Scotland, from the bench, in these words:
'Consent makes marriage. No form or ceremony, civil or religious; no
notice before, or publication after; no cohabitation, no writing, no
witnesses even, are essential to the constitution of this, the most
important contract which two persons can enter into.'--There is a Scotch
judge's own statement of the law that he administers! Observe, at the
same time, if you please, that we make full legal provision in Scotland
for contracts affecting the sale of houses and lands, horses and dogs.
The only contract which we leave without safeguards or precautions of
any sort is the contract that unites a man and a woman for life. As
for the authority of parents, and the innocence of children, our law
recognizes no claim on it either in the one case or in the other. A
girl of twelve and a boy of fourteen have nothing to do but to cross the
Border, and to be married--without the interposition of the slightest
delay