“Mrs. Harrison often spoke to you of this Mr. Barron?” “Yes, sir.” “Of late Mrs. Harrison had complained to you of Mr. Barron being unkind to her?” “Yes, sir.” “She told you that he had even threatened to leave her altogether?” “Yes, sir.” “When you first knew her, Mrs. Harrison seemed attached to him?” “Yes, sir.” “That is to say, she never complained about him?” “Yes, sir.” “But when latterly he grew unkind to her she became very unhappy?” “Yes, sir.” “And was it not at such times that she was inclined to drink that extra glass to forget her great unhappiness?” “Yes, sir.” “Yet it was only under these conditions, when a stimulant had excited her feelings, that she was heard to complain against him?” “Yes, sir.” “And then it seemed to you no more than the legitimate complaint of a highly emotional and affectionate nature which was suffering deeply?” “Yes, sir.” “You remember, Mrs. Walsingham, that on one occasion she made a reference to her previous history?” “Yes, sir.” “It was to the effect that this Mr. Barron and herself came from the same village in the north of England?” “Yes, sir.” “That they had been intimately acquainted in her youth?” “Yes, sir.” “That as a young girl she had been in domestic service at the house of Mr. Barron’s mother?” “Yes, sir.” “That Mr. Barron seduced her under a promise of marriage?” “Yes, sir.” “And it was the fact that that promise had not been kept which led directly, in the first instance, to the ruin of this young girl?” “Yes, sir.” “And Mr. Barron having accomplished her ruin, fled from the house of his parents to London, to escape his duty?” “Yes, sir.” “And this girl, dismissed from her situation, disgraced in the eyes of her friends, followed in her despair to this huge city, in the slender hope of finding the man who had ruined her?” “Yes, sir.” “Yet for many years she was unable to find him?” “Yes, sir.” “And during those years of inexpressible bitterness, in her ignorance of life, her helplessness, her friendlessness, in the abasement of her spirit, she sank deeper and deeper into degradation?” “Yes, sir.” “The pure-blooded north country girl became a harlot by the force of circumstances?” “Yes, sir.” “And then after many years of misery one evening at a music hall, in the pursuit of her calling, she chanced to meet the man who had been the first cause of her ruin?” “Yes, sir.” “And when he renewed a proposal that he had made years before, which as a young girl she had scornfully repudiated, that she should dwell in his house, not as his wife, but as his mistress, the pressure of her circumstances forced her to accept this proposal almost with a sense of gratitude?” “Yes, sir.” “And, Mrs. Walsingham, you do not believe for one moment that any thought of vengeance ever suggested itself to her mind?” “Yes, sir.” “You are prepared to swear that?” “Yes, sir.”