having firmly established myself once again in her mind as a pitiable creature , i turned the conversation to a more cheerful contemplation of mrs. farriss recent poor luck with cards , and over the course of the next hour managed , by incremental degrees , to lower my unconsumed glass of selenite-and-chalybeate-impregnated-waters behind the leg of my chair , where it was happily forgotten as we moved down the room to join those shocking late-comers , mrs. belmar and mrs. ashford .