Page:The Praises of Amida, 1907.djvu/111

 she was known to have had intercourse with him, she was at once suspected of the crime of murder, and, though innocent, had been arrested, and brought up for trial on the very day of which I am now speaking. When Nehrodoff heard all this, he was almost stupefied with fear and astonishment, and the trial proceeded without his taking any active part in it, the prisoner being eventually found guilty, in spite of the efforts her lawyer made to save her, and condemned to penal servitude in Siberia. Nehrodoff trembled all over as he listened to the sentence. Poor Cassia! She had just received sentence for a crime of which she was not guilty, and was banished to a distant country thousands of miles away! And who was the cause of all tins misery? Nehrodoff knew that it was himself, his guilty conscience told him that the poor woman was being sacrificed for his sins, and how could he dare to look on in silence? He felt that he must make an effort to save Cassia from her Fate, and with that thought he suddenly awoke