During the succeeding five days she coiled herself slowly and silently round the poor sleeping victim; soon he would be quite encircled in those horrible folds which embraced before they killed.
During those five days she matured her observations of the intricacies of his character, and obtained a certain mastery over him by her prodigious penetration into the meaning of the sacred writings, and by her eloquent and exalted language.
These he ascribed to divine inspiration instead of the human intelligence.
There are men so superstitious upon the problem of faith and inspiration, that they are unable to see things in a practical light.
Without knowing it he already venerated her, for in acuteness and powers of perception she was more than a match for him; and he never for a moment suspected that she was playing a part with one special object.
This gained, she would relapse again into the unscrupulous and sinful woman she had been all through her life.
The warders congratulated him upon the good effects of his ministrations.
“No. 43 was quite a different person now from what she used to be,” said one of them to Laura Stanbridge’s pastor.
“I believe and hope she is,” observed Mr. Leverall.
“Oh, dear me yes, sir,” cried the woman, “quite different. When she first came here she’d howl to herself when she thought no one was by, and answer us so surly when any one of us spoke to her, it made a body loathe to go anear her. But now it is quite different. When we go in she’s meek and mild, and is always a reading a good book, and she speaks so beautiful, makes use of such soft and loving expressions that it does one’s heart good to listen to her, poor soul! I do hope she’ll get through the bit of trouble she’s got into.”