His Other Wife: A Novel — page 273: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

MORAL LEPROSY. 255 shapely feet, beautiful and delicately kept hands, that were white as a girl’s, and a proud calm of manner when he wished. Each and all of his personal advantages were displayed to the best effect on the present occasion, and he sax paring his pointed nails with a slender pen-knife as the clock near by chimed the hour of ten. Half an hour went by, and Mr. Croft was growing white and nervous. Still fifteen minutes more, and he rose and paced the narrow space fretfully. Eleven o’clock struck, and shortly after steps approached his cell. This time it was the jailer proper who entered, and pre- sented, not the expected personage, but a small sealed en- velope. Mr. Croft read the inclosure: ‘‘ May sth. ‘¢MATHEW CROFT, EsQ.:—Permit me to express my regret at the disappointment which this note will doubtless add to your already disagreeable position, but I find myself obliged to relinquish the idea of defending your case. ‘¢ Yours, etc, JAMES E. PEARSON.”’ Without looking up from the letter, Mr. Croft madea sign to the jailer to depart, saying, quietly: «“No answer.” What did it all mean? Was the brand of Cain upon him, so that every man’s hand was against him? — Had the awfulness of the crime with which he was charged ren- dered his very name an abomination, and so polluted the atmosphere about him that no living creature, save the functionaries whose business it was, came nigh his dismal dungeon? Comicbooks: (E(0) m —)