In this scene, one of the characters- Mrs. Jamieson- is relating to Lady Glenmire an incident involving her treasured lace collar and her cat. Mrs. Jamieson cares for her lace by soaking it in milk, presumably to whiten it, and is doing that one day when the cat walks in and spies the pan of milk. She begins drinking the milk and ends up consuming the lace as well, to the horror of Mrs. Jamieson, who sees what's happening too late to save her collar. Never at a loss, Mrs. Jamieson sends her maid Jenny to borrow a men's boot in which they place the cat. Mrs. Jamieson spoons an emetic (purge) into the cat's mouth and then waits for her lace to, er, reappear. It does, and Mrs. Jamieson reports proudly to Lady Glenmire that her lace collar (which she is wearing) was unharmed and, now that it's been thoroughly cleaned, one would never guess that it had been inside her cat.