No.
But you were on a friendly footing?
I was amused by her society, and she could see that I was amused.
Her father is very rich?
He is said to be the richest man on the Pacific slope.
And how did he make his money?
In mining. He had nothing a few years ago. Then he struck gold,
invested it, and came up by leaps and bounds.
Now, what is your own impression as to the young lady s your wife s
character?
The nobleman swung his glasses a little faster and stared down into the
fire. You see, Mr. Holmes, said he, my wife was twenty before her
father became a rich man. During that time she ran free in a mining
camp and wandered through woods or mountains, so that her education has
come from Nature rather than from the schoolmaster. She is what we call
in England a tomboy, with a strong nature, wild and free, unfettered by
any sort of traditions. She is impetuous volcanic, I was about to say.
She is swift in making up her mind and fearless in carrying out her
resolutions. On the other hand, I would not have given her the name
which I have the honour to bear he gave a little stately cough had I
not thought her to be at bottom a noble woman. I believe that she is
capable of heroic self-sacrifice and that anything dishonourable would
be repugnant to her.
Have you her photograph?
I brought this with me. He opened a locket and showed us the full
face of a very lovely woman. It was not a photograph but an ivory
miniature, and the artist had brought out the full effect of the
lustrous black hair, the large dark eyes, and the exquisite mouth.
Holmes gazed long and earnestly at it. Then he closed the locket and
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