She laughed at them to their faces, and mimicked them behind their backs.
Their friends said it was clever.
"One year there arrived a young English engineer, who had come out to superintend some canal works.

He brought with him satisfactory letters of recommendation, and was at once received by the European residents as a welcome addition to their social circle.

He was not particularly good- looking, he was not remarkably charming, but he possessed the one thing that few women can resist in a man, and that is strength.

The woman looked at the man, and the man looked back at the woman; and the drama began.
"Scandal flies swiftly through small communities.

Before a month, their relationship was the chief topic of conversation throughout the quarter.
In less than two, it reached the ears of the woman's husband.
"He was either an exceptionally mean or an exceptionally noble character, according to how one views the matter.