And do you know that from the moment this married lady steps into your confounded Court, the happiness, the contentment of a doting husband, become a confounded wreck and ruin? MR. POSKET. Then, sir, let it be my harrowing task to open the eyes of this foolish doting man to the treachery, the perfidy, which nestles upon his very hearthrug! LUKYN. Oh, lor'! Be careful, Posket! By George, be careful! MR. POSKET. Alexander Lukyn, you are my friend. Amongst the personal property taken from you when you entered these precincts may have been found a memorandum of an engagement to dine at my house to-night at a quarter to eight o'clock. But, Lukyn, I solemnly prepare you, you stand in danger of being late for dinner! I go further--I am not sure, after this morning's proceedings, that Mrs. Posket will be ready to receive you. LUKYN. I'm confoundedly certain she _won't!_ MR. POSKET. Therefore, Lukyn, as an English husband and father it will be my duty to teach you and your disreputable companions [_referring to charge-sheet_], Alice Emmeline Fitzgerald and Harriet Macnamara, some rudimentary notions of propriety and decorum. LUKYN. Confound you, Posket--listen! MR. POSKET. I am listening, sir, to the guiding voice of Mrs. Posket--that newly-made wife still blushing from the embarrassment of her second marriage, and that voice says, "Strike for the sanctity of hearth and home, for the credit of the wives of England--no mercy!" MR. WORMINGTON. It is time to go into Court, sir. The charge against Colonel Lukyn is first on the list. LUKYN. Posket, I'll give you one last chance! If I write upon a scrap of paper the real names of these two unfortunate ladies, will you shut yourself up for a moment, away from observation, and read these names before you go into Court? MR. POSKET. Certainly not, Colonel Lukyn! I cannot be influenced by private information in dealing with an offence which is, in my opinion, as black as--as my cravat! Ahem! [_MR. WORMINGTON and MR. POSKET look at each other's necktie and turn up their collars hastily._ LUKYN. [_To himself._] There's no help for it. [_To MR. POSKET._] Then Posket, you must have the plain truth where you stand, by George! The two ladies who are my companions in this affair are---- MR. POSKET. Sergeant! Colonel Lukyn will now join his party. [_LUGG steps up to LUKYN sharply._ LUKYN. [_Boiling with indignation._] What, sir? What? MR. POSKET. Lukyn, I think we both have engagements--will you excuse me? LUKYN. Posket! You've gone too far! If you went down on your knees, which you appear to have been recently doing, and begged the names of these two ladies, you shouldn't have 'em! No sir, by George, you shouldn't. MR. POSKET. Good morning, Colonel Lukyn. LUKYN.