"It is curious that he should have been so ready to swallow it."
"There must have been something peculiarly persuasive in the letter."
"But we have heard that he was much distressed, or annoyed, at receiving it."
"Persuasive in a good or bad sense—probably the latter. At any rate, it was sufficient to lure him on shore."
"Of course there is something beneath all this: some intrigue, perhaps."
"The old story, 'who is she?' I suppose."
"But I thought he was devoted to his cousin, the fair Mrs. Wilders."
"Is she still in Constantinople?"
"Yes, I think so. Still at Misseri's, I believe."
"I wonder whether she has yet heard about this horrible affair. Some one ought to break it to her."