“It is sometimes a good deal more difficult to do so than you could imagine,” replied the Governor. “I used to think that I could determine this point by the character of the letters; the most earnest letters--those that were the most loving--the most full of endearment--were written by the woman to her lover; the tamest--the most formal, with a touch of nasty upbraiding, came from the legal wife to her legal husband. That was the general principle on which I drew my conclusions; but I soon found out how easy it was to make a mistake by building on such foundations only. You see, women differ so amazingly in temper and in temperament, leaving education and ‘the complete letter-writer’ out of the question altogether, that a wife who is not quite a wife may be carried away by her feelings of the moment, and say something so bitter that you could only believe it to come from a true wife, and the true wife may be really in love with her husband, and ready to condone his lapses without a word of reproach. That is how it is quite easy for one to make a mistake in trying to differentiate on the basis of correspondence only.” “Quite so,” muttered Jack. “I can quite believe that,” said Priscilla. “But about these particular letters?” She thought it quite as well to bring back Major Crosbie from his consideration of the abstract to that of the concrete. She could see that Jack was becoming slightly impatient at the somewhat cynical expression of the Governor’s experiences. “I was just returning to the letters written to Marcus Blaydon,” said he. “It was necessary for me to state to you the difficulty which I find in the way of coming to any legitimate conclusion on the point which concerns you most, in order to prevent you from falling into the mistake of believing that you are quite safe, when investigation may prove that you have assumed too much.” “Of course--quite right,” said Jack. “But you believe that the woman was his wife?” The Governor caressed his chin with a neat forefinger. “I think, after going very carefully once more over the copy of the letters, that there would be sufficient in any one of them to allow a Grand Jury to bring in a true bill,” he replied. Jack saw that the man described very neatly what was in his mind. But Priscilla had never served on a Grand Jury. She required further explanation. “What I mean to say,” resumed Major Crosbie, “is that the letters suggest a relationship which may prove on investigation to be a legal union contracted three years ago in Canada. You observe how cautious I am?” “I do indeed,” replied Priscilla, and she did not acquiesce merely out of politeness. “I should be reluctant to say one word that might lead you to expect too much,” said he. “My experience leads me to look for the worst and not the best in men; but I should be reluctant to say that the letters signed ‘Lucy’ did not come from a woman who was the legal wife of Marcus Blaydon.”