le pleasure which Mrs.
Gallilee had betrayed in profaning the memory of Carmina's mother, had
so shocked and disgusted him, that he recoiled from the idea of holding
any further intercourse with her, no matter how pressing the emergency
might be. It was possible, after what had passed, that Carmina might
feel the propriety of making some explanation by letter. He decided to
wait until the next morning, on the chance of hearing from her.

On the Monday, no letter arrived.

Proceeding to the office, Mr. Mool found, in his
business-correspondence, enough to occupy every moment of his time. He
had purposed writing to Carmina, but the idea was now inevitably pressed
out of his mind. It was only at the close of the day's work that he had
leisure to think of a matter of greater importance--that is to say,
of the necessity of discovering Benjulia's friend of other days, the
Italian teacher Baccani. He left instructions with one of his clerks to
make inquiries, the next morning, at the shops of foreign booksellers.
There, and there only, the question might be answered, whether Baccani
was still living, and living in London.

The inquiries proved successful. On Tuesday afternoon, Baccani's address
was in Mr. Mool's hands.

Busy as he still was, the lawyer set aside his own affairs, in deference
to the sacred duty of defending the memory of the dead, and to the
pressing necessity of silencing Mrs. Gallilee's cruel and slanderous
tongue. Arrived at Baccani's lodgings, he was informed that the
language-master had gone to his dinner at a neighbouring restaurant. Mr.
Mool waited at the lodgings, and sent a note to Baccani. In ten minutes
more he found himself in the presence of an elderly man, of ascetic
appearance; whose looks and tones showed him to be apt to take offence
on small provocation, and more than half ready to suspect an eminent
solicitor of being a spy.

But Mr. Mool's experience was equal to the call on it. Having fully
explained the object that he had in view, he left the apology for his
intrusion to be inferred, and concluded by appealing, in his own modest
way, to the sympathy of an honourable man.

Silently forming his opinion of the lawyer, while he listened, Baccani
expressed the conclusion at which he had arrived, in these terms:

"My experience of mankind, sir, has been a bitterly bad one. You have
improved my opinion of human nature since you entered this room. That is
not a little thing to say, at my a