"She was always a strong character," said old Randall rather huskily; "and had the best brains of any of us. Of course poor Mandeville was never on her level in education and so on; but she always did her duty splendidly. It was quite pathetic the way she would sometimes say she wished she had more intellectual life; but Mandeville—well, nil nisi bonum , as they say." And the old gentleman went away wagging his head sadly.
" Nil nisi bonum indeed," said Jarvis grimly. "I don't think Randall at any rate has heard of the story of the strange lady visitor. By the way, don't you think it probably was the strange woman?"
"It depends," said the priest, "whom you mean by the strange woman."
"Oh! I don't mean the Italian woman," said Jarvis hastily. "Though, as a matter
