"I knew that I could rely upon you, my lord, as a fellow-soldier," Lieutenant-General Ewell Throwley went on. " ’Tis well. For there is a certain matter never spoken of in polite society, and yet known to all, which will, if we ignore it—pretending that it does not exist—turn what should be a pleasant social occasion into an insufferable ordeal. You do know—or as you would say, ‘ken’—what I speak of, my lord?"