"'How did you make him confess?'
"'Only by wallowing on the wall a little.'
"'How could that make him tell?'
"'He knows.'
"He was silent; and the king turned to another.
"'I made a fashionable mother repent.'
"'How?' broke from several voices, in whose sound was mingled a touch of incredulity.
"'Only by making a little coffin on the wall,' was the reply.
"'Did the fashionable mother then confess?'
"'She had nothing more to confess than everybody knew.'