"If it had been Molly, instead," he said to himself; "I can't be at
all sure how she would have behaved. Religion and the proprieties
might have been too much for her good nature; yes, they _would_ have
been. After all, these emancipated women are the most trustworthy,
and Mrs. Wade is the best example I have yet known."
When Mrs. Liversedge welcomed her sister-in-law at luncheon, she was
stricken with alarm.
"My dear girl, you look like a ghost! This won't do," she added, in
a whisper, presently. "You _must_ keep quiet!"
But the Liversedges' house was no place for quietness. Two or three
vigorous partisans put in an appearance at the meal, and talked with
noisy exhilaration. Tobias himself had yielded to the spirit of the
under his notice that morning. One of these concerned hour; he told
merry stories of incidents that had come a well-known publican, a
stalwart figure on the Tory side.
"I am assured that three voters have been drinking steadily for the
last week at his expense. He calculates that delirium tremens will
have set in, in each case, by the day after to-morrow."
"Who are these men?" asked Lilian, eagerly. "Why can't we save them
in time?"
"Oh, the thing is too artfully arranged. They are old topers; no
possibility of interfering."
"I can't see"----
"Lilian," interposed Mrs. Liversedge, "what was the material of that
wonderful dress Mrs.
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