"In accordance with instructions, I have to report--
"The name of the man is Seth Dumbrick. He is a cobbler, and lives in Rosemary Lane.
"Rosemary Lane is in one of the poorest quarters of London. All the people who live there are poor.
"Seth Dumbrick is a single man, and has never been married--either directly or indirectly.
"He has two persons living with him--both young women, whom he has brought up from childhood. They are not his children. One is Sally Chester. Her parents, when she was a child, lived in Rosemary Lane; they fell into misfortune; the father died in the hospital; the mother took service in the country. They had another child, a son. His name is Edward, or, as he was familiarly called, Ned. This son was a thief; he went, or was sent away, to Australia. Upon the precise manner of his going my information is not clear.
"The other person living with Seth Dumbrick goes by the title of the Duchess of Rosemary Lane; she has no Christian or surname. Nothing is known of her parentage.
"Sally Chester is a plain person. The Duchess of Rosemary Lane is a beautiful woman.
"It is whispered about in the neighbourhood that the Duchess of Rosemary Lane will one day marry a gentleman, and that she will become a fine lady. She herself has this anticipation; I had it from her own lips.
"Seth Dumbrick is very poor, and Sally Chester takes in work to help to support them. The Duchess of Rosemary Lane does not work.
"I have nothing further to report at present."