“It is false!  It is false!  It is false as—­Oh!  Heaven of Heavens!” cried Salome, wildly, throwing back her head and hands, and then dropping them again with a low, heart-broken moan.

“I am cut to the soul, my lady, to say this; but I must say it, even for your sake, my lady, and I only say what I can easy prove,” spoke the woman, humbly.

“Go on, go on,” moaned Salome, without lifting her head.

“Well, my lady, after their marriage, they came to my house to live, which this was the way of it; I had a three-story brick house on Westminster Road, and I took lodgers.  But what between getting only a few lodgers, and them being bad pay, I got myself over head and ears in debt, and was in danger of being sold up by my creditors, when a certain person, as called hisself Mr. John Scott, come and took the whole house right offen my hands just as it was, and engaged me as his housekeeper, telling of me as he was just married, and was agoing to bring home his wife.  Well, my lady, he advanced me money to pay my debts, and then he fetched Mrs. John Scott, which was no other than Rose Cameron, my lady, as I soon after found out from herself.  Well, he fetches Mrs. John Scott to look at the first floor which he was agoing to refit complete for her, and according to her taste.  Well, your ladyship, she, having of a very glarish sort of her own, she chooses furniture all scarlet and gold, enough to put your eyes out.  And when all was fixed up onto that first floor, then he brought her home sure enough.”

Without lifting her face, Salome murmured some words in so low and smothered a tone that they were inaudible to her visitor.

“I beg pardon, my lady.  What did you please to say?” inquired the woman, bending toward the bowed head of the bride.

“I asked how long ago was it?” she repeated, in a faint voice.

“Just about a year, my lady.”

“Go on.”

“Well, then, my lady, first along he seemed very fond of her, seemed to doat on her, and loaded her with dresses, and trinkets, and sweetmeats, and nick-nacks of all sorts, and never came home without bringing of her something.  And she never got anything very nice but what she would call me up and give me some; for she made quite a companion of me, my lady.  But after a few weeks, Mr. John Scott was frequent away from home for days together.  But this didn’t trouble Mrs. John Scott much.  I soon saw as she wasn’t that deep in love with him as she couldn’t live without him.  And so he kept her well supplied with finery and dainties, or with the money to get them, he might go off as often, and stay as long as he liked.  She lived an idle, easy, merry life, and frequent went to the play-house, and took me.  ‘And all was merry as a marriage bell,’ as the old saying says, until this summer, when Mr. John Scott went off, and stayed longer then he ever stayed before.  Well, my lady, while he was still away, one morning in last