Again Madame Merle was silent while her thoughtful smile drew up her mouth even more charmingly than usual toward the left corner. "Let us distinguish. Gilbert Osmond＇s certainly not the first comer. He＇s a man who in favourable conditions might very well make a great impression. He has made a great impression, to my knowledge, more than once.""Don＇t tell me about his probably quite cold-blooded love-affairs; they＇re nothing to me!" Mrs. Touchett cried. "What you say＇s precisely why I wish he would cease his visits. He has nothing in the world that I know of but a dozen or two of early masters and a more or less pert little daughter."