[168] The enclosed letter is "Letter V." of "Time and Tide."
[From "The Daily Telegraph," January 22, 1868.]
AN OBJECT OF CHARITY.[169]
To the Editor of "The Daily Telegraph."
Sir: Except in "Gil Blas," I never read of anything Astræan on the earth so perfect as the story in your fourth article to-day.
I send you a check for the Chancellor. If 40, in legal terms, means 400, you must explain the further requirements to your impulsive public.
I am, Sir, your faithful servant,
J. Ruskin.
Denmark Hill, S., Jan. 21, 1868.
FOOTNOTES:
[169] The Daily Telegraph of January 21, 1868, contained a leading article upon the following facts. It appeared that a girl, named Matilda Griggs, had been nearly murdered by her seducer, who, after stabbing her in no less than thirteen different places, had then left her for dead. She had, however, still strength enough to crawl into a field close by, and there swooned. The assistance that she met with in this plight was of a rare kind. Two calves came up to her, and disposing themselves on either side of her bleeding body, thus kept her warm and partly sheltered from cold and rain Temporarily preserved, the girl eventually recovered, and entered into recognizances, under a sum of forty pounds, to prosecute her murderous lover. But "she loved much," and, failing to prosecute, forfeited her recognizances, and was imprisoned by the Chancellor of the Exchequer for her debt. "Pity this poor debtor," wrote the Daily Telegraph, and in the next day's issue appeared the above letter, probably not intended for the publication accorded to it.