This was the only part of the character in which
it had been possible, with her physical peculiarities, to produce an
imitation of Miss Garth; and here the resemblance was perfect. The harsh
voice, the blunt manner, the habit of accompanying certain phrases by an
emphatic nod of the head, the Northumbrian _burr_ expressing itself
in every word which contained the letter "r"--all these personal
peculiarities of the old North-country governess were reproduced to
the life. The personal transformation thus completed was literally
what Captain Wragge had described it to be--a triumph in the art of
self-disguise. Excepting the one case of seeing her face close, with
a strong light on it, nobody who now looked at Magdalen could have
suspected for an instant that she was other than an ailing, ill-made,
unattractive woman of fifty years old at least.
Before unlocking the door, she looked about her carefully, to make
sure that none of her stage materials were exposed to view in case the
landlady entered the room in her absence. The only forgotten object
belonging to her that she discovered was a little packet of Norah's
letters which she had been reading overnight, and which had been
accidentally pushed under the looking-glass while she was engaged in
dressing herself.
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