e. Thomas, for all his luxuriant whiskers and dash,
was, she reflected sadly, "nothing but the outside shell of a man,
with neither a brain that she could respect nor a heart she could
love." A sorry awakening from the dreams in which she had indulged. As
a matter of fact, they had nothing in common. The husband, who was
sixteen years his wife's senior, cared for little but hunting and
drinking, and Lola's tastes were mainly for dancing and flirting.

It was in Dublin, where, much to her satisfaction, her spouse was
ordered on temporary duty, that she discovered a ready outlet for
these activities.

"Dear dirty Dublin" was, to Lola's way of thinking, a vast improvement
on Rathbiggon. At any rate, there was "society," smart young officers
and rising politicians, instead of clodhopping squireens and village
boors, to talk to, and shops where the new fashions could be examined,
and theatres with real London actors and actresses. If only she had
had a little money to spend, she would have been perfectly happy. But
Tom James had nothing beyond his pay, which scarcely kept him in
cheroots and car fares. Still, this did not prevent him running up
debts.

The Lord Lieutenant of Ireland at that period was the Earl of Mulgrave
("the Elegant Mulgrave"), afterwards Marquess of Normanby. A great
admirer of pretty women, and fond of exercising the Viceregal
privilege of kissing attractive debutantes, the drawing-rooms at the
Castle were popular functions under his regime. He showed young Mrs.
James much attention. The aides-de-camp, prominent among whom were
Bernal Osborne and Francis Sheridan, followed the example thus set
them by their chief; and tickets for balls and concerts and
dinner-parties and drums and routs were showered upon her.

Thinking that these compliments and attentions were being overdone,
Lieutenant James took them amiss and elected to become jealous. He
talked darkly of "calling out" one of his wife's admirers. But before
there could be any early morning pistol-play in the Phoenix Park, an
unexpected solution offered itself. Trouble was suddenly threatened on
the Afghan frontier; and, in the summer of 1837, all officers on leave
from India were ordered to rejoin their regiments. Welcoming the
prospect of thus renewing her acquaintance with a country of which she
still had pleasant memories, Lola set to work to pack her trunks.

If she had followed the advice of a certain "travellers' handbook,"
written by M