Great Britain -- Social conditions -- 19th century -- Fiction
This is how Susan Merton came to visit Robinson. One day, seeing his
great interest in all that concerned the prison, and remembering there
was a book addressed to one of the officers, Susan, who longed to do
something, however small, to please him, determined to take this book
to its destination. Leaving Mrs. Davies with a strict injunction not to
stir from Mr. Eden's room till she came back, she went to the prison and
knocked timidly at the great door. It was opened instantly, and as Susan
fancied, fiercely, by a burly figure. Susan, suppressing an inclination
to run away, asked tremulously:
“Does Mr. Fry live here?”
“Yes.”
“Can I speak to him?”
“Yes. Come in, miss.”
Susan stepped in.
The man slammed the door.
Susan wished herself on its other side.
“My name is Fry. What is your pleasure with me?”
“Mr. Fry, I am so glad I have found you. I am come here from a friend of
yours.”
“From a friend of mine??!!” said Fry, with a mystified air.
“Yes; from Mr. Eden. Here is the book, Mr. Fry; poor Mr. Eden could not
bring it you himself, but you see he has written your name on the cover
with his own hand.”
Fry took the book from Susan's hand, and in so doing observed that she
was lovely; so to make her a return for bringing him “Uncle Tom,” and
for being so pretty, Fry for once in his life felt generous, and repaid
her by volunteering to show her the prison--indulgent Fry!
To his surprise Susan did not jump at this remuneration. On the
contrary, she said hastily:
“Oh! no! no! no!”
Then, seeing by his face that her new acquaintance thought her a
madwoman, she added:
“That is, yes! I think I should like to see it a little--a very
little--but if I do you must keep close by me, Mr. Fry.”
“Why of course I shall keep with you,” replied Fry somewhat
contemptuously. “No strangers admitted except in company of an officer.”
Susan still hung fire.
“But you mustn't go to show me the very wicked ones.”
“Why they are all pretty much of a muchness for that.”
“I mean the murderers--I couldn't bear such a sight.”
“Got none,” said Fry sorrowfully; “parted with the last of that sort
four months ago--up at eight down at nine you understand, miss.”
Happily Susan did not understand this brutal allusion; and, not to
show her ignorance, she said nothing, but passed to a second
stipulation--“And, Mr. Fry, I know the men that set fire to Farmer
Dean's ricks are in this jail; I won't see them; they would give me such
a turn, for that seems to me the next crime after murder to destroy the
crops after the very weather has spared them.”
Fry smiled superior; then he said sarcastically:
“Don't you be frightened, some of our lot are beauties; your friend the
parson is as fond of some of 'em as a cow is of her calf.”
“Oh! then show me those ones.” Fry took her to one or two cells.
Whenever he opened a cell door she always clutched him on both ribs, and
this tickled Fry, so did her simplicity.
At last he came to Robinson's cell.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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