Everybody seems to be a hermit hereabouts, thought Mr. Heard. And yet this place is seething with people! Aloud he said: "So my cousin lives up in the fog. And does it always hang about like this?" "Oh dear no!" replied the Duchess. "It goes away sometimes, in the afternoon. The sirocco, this year, has been most exceptional. Most exceptional! Don't you think so, Denis?" "Really couldn't say, Duchess. You know I only arrived last week." "Most exceptional! Don Francesco will bear me out." "It blows," said the priest, "when the good God wishes it to blow. He has been wishing pretty frequently of late." "I am writing to your cousin," the Duchess remarked, "to ask her to my small annual gathering after the festival of Saint Dodekanus. To-morrow, you know. Quite an informal little affair. I may count on you, Bishop? You'll all come, won't you? You too, Mr. Keith. But no long words, remember! Nothing about reflexes and preternatural and things like that. And not a syllable about the Incarnation, please. It scares me. What's the name of her villa, Denis?" "Mon Repos. Rather a commonplace name, I think--Mon Repos." "It is," said Keith. "But there is nothing commonplace about the lady. She is what I would call a New Woman." "Dear me!" Mr. Heard was alarmed at this picture of his cousin. He did not altogether approve of New Women. "She has long ago passed the stage you have in mind, Bishop. She is newer than that. The real novelty! Looks after the baby, and thinks of her husband in India. I believe I have many points in common with the New Woman. I often think of people in India." "Such a dear little child," said the Duchess. "Almost as round as myself," added Don Francesco. "There goes the Commissioner! He is fussing about with the judge, that red-haired man--do you see, Mr. Heard?--who limps like Mephistopheles and spits continually. They say he wants to imprison all the Russians. Poor folks! They ought to be sent home; they don't belong here. He is looking at us now. Ha, the animal! He has the Evil Eye. He is also scrofulous, rachitic. And his name is Malipizzo." "What a funny name," remarked the Bishop. "Yes, and he is a funny animal. They are great friends, those two." "A horrible man, that judge," said the Duchess. "Only think, Mr. Heard, an atheist." "A freemason," corrected Mr. Keith. "It's the same thing. And ugly! Nobody has a right to be quite so ugly. I declare he's worse than the cinematographic villain--you remember, Denis?" "It is a miracle he has lived so long, with that face," added Don Francesco. "I think God created him in order that mankind should have some idea of the meaning of the word 'grotesque.'"