Theman-trapwasthrown；andbetweenitsjawswaspartofawoman’sclothing——apatternedsilkskirt——grippedwithsuchviolencethattheironteethhadpassedthroughit，skeweringitstissueinascoreofplaces。Heimmediatelyrecognizedtheskirtasthatofoneofhiswife’sgowns——thegownthatshehadwornwhenshemethimontheverylastoccasion。
FitzpiershadoftenstudiedtheeffectoftheseinstrumentswhenexaminingthecollectionatHintockHouse，andtheconceptioninstantlyflashedthroughhimthatGracehadbeencaught，takenoutmangledbysomechancepasser，andcarriedhome，someofherclothesbeingleftbehindinthedifficultyofgettingherfree。
Theshockofthisconviction，strikingintotheverycurrentofhighhope，wassogreatthathecriedoutlikeoneincorporalagony，andinhismiserybowedhimselfdowntotheground。
OfallthedegreesandqualitiesofpunishmentthatFitzpiershadundergonesincehissinsagainstGracefirstbegan，notanyevenapproximatedinintensitytothis。
“Oh，myown——mydarling！Oh，cruelHeaven——itistoomuch，this！”