Building up her attributes on a splendid climax, he declared she was pious, charitable, witty, and really an extraordinary artist.

He laid particular stress on her artistic qualities, describing her power with the brush, her water-colour sketches, and also some immensely clever caricatures.

As he talked of no one else, his friends heard enough of Lady Camper, who was anything but a favourite.

The Pollingtons, the Wilders, the Wardens, the Baerens, the Goslings, and others of his acquaintance, talked of Lady Camper and General Ople rather maliciously.

They were all City people, and they admired the General, but mourned that he should so abjectly have fallen at the feet of a lady as red with rouge as a railway bill.