In Sight of St. Paul's — page 218: what you’re looking at

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

WOMAN AGAINST WOMAN. 213 moreover, many of them were indebted to Cynthia, and many more of them hoped to be. It was the gratitude for favors to come which impelled them to stand by her, and this, a cynical, clever writer has declared, is the only genuine gratitude which exists. It was a strange scene. ‘The pure, sweet-faced girl who had known no evil, standing in the midst of these superbly dressed, bejeweled women who knew so well all that can be offered by “‘the world, the flesh, and the devil.’’ But Cynthia, who, in her indomitable pride, felt herself able to cope with any contingency that might arise, without outside help, turned with a command- ing gesture to her friends. : ‘Silence!’’ she ordered, and the women fell back. And then turning toward Aileen, she repeated, with redoubled force: ‘‘Silence!”” But for once she had met her match. ‘No!’ cried Aileen, determined to defend the man she loved—and there is no courage equal to that of the woman who loves. ‘‘No! I will speak! I’m de- fending an innocent man from. a wicked charge! And nothing can frighten me!’’ She paused a mo- ment, and then went on, addressing Cynthia, who was speechless and trembling with rage. ‘‘When you met Harry Chichester, he was a boy with the world before him; he was weak, but he was not corrupted. Your mercenary hands took hold of him, and molded Gomicbooks:co