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20 A HOUSE OF MERCY.
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
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Transcript
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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
Additionally, when viewing full transcripts, extracted text may not be in the same order as the original document.
. At A Few This High Days Institution Ga...
stood wide open , and the street was before her . The most agonizing cry burst from , her , as if it would rend her frame ; such a cry as
that I never heard before ; a cry that was unearthly , it seemed stifled in her throat , yet as if it burst forth through every pore of her
skin . She threw herself from before the door against the adjoining fence , clutched at her clothes , buried her face in them , and stood
convulsed from head to foot . " I instantly closed the gate , and , after standing for a short time ,
took her by the arm and led her back into my room . There I placed her upon a chair , and without speaking let her grief have full
vent ; when it had somewhat subsided , I told her that I would offer her three things : Free liberty to leave the Penitentiary , permission
to return into her class as before , or retirement for a season , in order that she might have time for reflection . She readily accepted
the last proposal . " She has been since then very quiet . She does not leave her
room , but works there alone all day . I hope she may gain the victory . Hers is one of the worst cases I ever came across—a case so
bad that I believe most persons would despair of it . She -was sent here by Mr . , one of the visiting justices of the Prison .
He heard a tremendous row in one of the cells , and , entering , saw this girl struggling with two of the jailors . She burst away from
them , seized a stool , and defended herself with it . Aiming a lusty blow with it , the stool flew from the leg by which she held it , and
lodged on the farther side of the room , the leg only descending upon the jailor ' s head—with anything but an agreeable effect .,
however . Had the stool itself descended upon the man , it might have killed or seriously injured him , for she wielded it with enormous
strength . " Mr . ' s presence made the combatants pause , and either his
words or his manner acted like a charm upon her . He showed her the narrow escape she had Had of committing murder , speaking to
her as though she "were a reasonable being . She listened to him attentively , saying , ' How oddly you talk ! I never heard such talk ! '
She promised him that she would be quite calm if force were not used with her . And she kept her word . Mr . subsequently
became much interested in her , and , after her term of imprisonment expired , obtained her admission here after a short time of necessary
probation in a London Refuge . He has indeed been a most kind friend to her . "
I would willingly have listened much longer to the sad recitals of the Warden , but 12 o ' clock was now upon the point of striking ,
and at that hour there is a service of about ten minutes in the chapel . I was glad to be allowed to be present at this service . To
me it was singularly impressive and affecting . The chapel is one of the large rooms of the house , small as a chapel , though amply
large enough to contain its unhappy penitents—yet happy penitents
20 A House Of Mercy.
20 A HOUSE OF MERCY .
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Citation
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English Woman’s Journal (1858-1864), March 1, 1858, page 20, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ewj/issues/ewj_01031858/page/20/
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