"
"Signor Marchese, prepossessions, and previous notions of what might
have been expected to be possible, are of no value in such a case as
this against the logic of facts and circumstances. Other young
women, who seemed as little likely to be capable of such a deed as
this Signorina Foscarelli, have committed such--and have done it
under the pressure of motives exactly similar to those which we know
with certainty to have been vehemently operative in the heart of the
Venetian."
"Motives! What conceivable motive could have existed to--"
"What motive? The most powerful of all the passions that ever drove
a woman to become guilty of crime--jealousy; jealousy, Signor
Marchese, has been the motive of this murder. Look at the facts as
they stand: we know that this Paolina Foscarelli was in the
immediate neighbourhood of the spot where the deed was done, and as
nearly as possible at the time when it was done; we know--excuse me,
Signor Marchese, for speaking very plainly; it is absolutely
necessary to be plain--we know that this girl had great reason to
feel jealous of La Bianca. Remember that she saw you and the singer
driving tete-a-tete together in that solitary place at that unusual
hour. I leave it to your own feeling to estimate the degree of
jealousy which such a sight, together with other previous
circumstances, was calculated to produce in this girl's mind; but,
if that be not enough, we know, as a matter of fact, that she had,
even previously to seeing what was, so calculated to drive her
jealousy to a pitch of fury, expressed jealousy, animosity and
hatred against the woman whom she considered as her rival.
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