A third print showed the foundling hospital of old
Paris, with the turning cage in the wall, and the bell to ring when the
infant was placed in it. The next and last subject was the stealing of
a child from the lap of its slumbering nurse by a gipsy woman. These
sadly suggestive subjects were the only ornaments on the walls. No
traces of books or music were visible; no needlework of any sort was to
be seen; no elegant trifles; no china or flowers or delicate lacework
or sparkling jewelry--nothing, absolutely nothing, suggestive of a
woman's presence appeared in any part of Mrs. Farnaby's room.
"I have got several things to say to you," she began; "but one thing
must be settled first. Give me your sacred word of honour that you will
not repeat to any mortal creature what I am going to tell you now." She
reclined in her chair, and drew in a mouthful of smoke and puffed it
out again, and waited for his reply.
Young and unsuspicious as he was, this unscrupulous method of taking
his confidence by storm startled Amelius. His natural tact and good
sense told him plainly that Mrs. Farnaby was asking too much.
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