the nobleman swung his glasses a little faster and stared down into the fire. "you see, mr. holmes," said he, "my wife was twenty before her father became a rich man. during that time she ran free in a mining camp and wandered through woods or mountains, so that her education has come from nature rather than from the schoolmaster. she is what we call in england a tomboy, with a strong nature, wild and free, unfettered by any sort of traditions. she is impetuous—volcanic, i was about to say.