“Me! look at me, with my torn gown and my black eye; I should scare the soul out of the likes of her,” said Poll, sighing.
“Bosh! she wouldn’t see ’em; ’sides, if all’s true as is said of her, she aint easy scared. Howsoever, and whatsoever she has done, I am sorry for her, seeing as she is in about the deepest trouble as any woman could be in! so let’s both go and comfort her.”
One touch of sympathy as well as nature makes all the world of kin.
Eudora’s heart was touched; but though purity cannot do otherwise than shrink from the contact of impurity, and though Eudora still shuddered as these women approached her, yet she put aside her veil and looked gratefully towards them.
“Come, lass, don’t be downcast; keep up a good heart in your bosom. There’s many a one locked up here, and comes afore the beak, as is never sent up to the ’sizes; and many and many tried at the ’sizes as are never conwicted, and more conwicted as are never exercuted. So you see, my poor dear, as there are ten chances to one in your favor.”
“And I am not guilty; that also should be in my favor,” said poor Eudora, glad of any sympathy.
“To be sure you arn’t, my dear! You arn’t guilty, even supposing you did poison your uncle’s family! We arn’t any on us guilty of anything in particular, no matter what we do. It’s SOCIETY as is guilty of everything, as I myself heard well proved by an philanthrophysing gemman as spoke to the people on Fledgemoor Common,” said the enlightened Poll.
“But I did not poison my uncle’s family. Oh! my God! how can anyone think I could do such a thing,” said Eudora, shuddering.
“Well, dear, I don’t ask you to confess, which would be unreasonable; but I do tell you that it makes no difference to me; I pities you all the same whether you did poison ’em or not. For, maybe, you couldn’t help it; and maybe they deserved poisoning, ’cause why? some people are more agrowoking nor rats and mice, as everyone allows it to be lawful to poison. And maybe they trampled on you being of an orphan niece. And leastways—it aint you, it’s society as is to blame for it all, as the philanthrophysing gemman said at Fledgemoor Common. So, my darling, you just keep up your heart. And here, take a drop of comfort to help you to do so. Here is some rale ‘mountain dew’ as will get up your spirits just about right. Take a sip,” said Poll, diving into the depths of a capacious pocket and drawing forth a flask, which she unstopped and offered to Eudora.
But the fumes of the gin were so repulsive to the latter that she waved it away, saying: