'A Blot in the 'Scutcheon' is a tragedy in blank verse by Robert Browning. The story is as follows: Mildred Tresham, only sister of Thorold, Earl Tresham, has been seduced by Henry, Earl Mertoun, whose lands adjoin those of her brother. Anxious to repair this wrong he formally requests her in marriage. Thorold, who knows nothing of his sister's fall, readily consents. But a retainer sees Mertoun climb to Mildred's chamber and informs his master, without being able to identify the intruder. Questioned by her brother, Mildred admits the truth of the story, but refuses to divulge her lover's name or to dismiss Earl Mertoun. Deeply wounded in his family pride, which is morbidly intense, Thorold is too emotionally stirred to infer that Mertoun and the lover are the same. Denouncing Mildred as a shameless woman he rushes into the park, where he wanders until midnight.
