His letter was a moderated and correct account in which all emotion, however keen it might have been, was discreetly controlled so as not to disorganize the sweep of a majestic style.
He began by explaining that his professional duty had made him decide to defend this spy.

She was in need of a lawyer; she was a foreigner; public opinion, influenced by the exaggerated accounts given by the newspapers of her beauty and her jewels, was ferociously inimical, demanding her immediate punishment.

Nobody had wished to take charge of her defense.

And for this very reason he had accepted it without fear of unpopularity.
Ferragut believed that this sacrifice might be attributed to the impulse of a gallant old beau, attracted to Freya because of her beauty.

Besides, this criminal process represented a typical Parisian incident and might give a certain romantic notoriety to the one intervening in its developments.
A few paragraphs further on the sailor became convinced that the _maitre_ had fallen in love with his client.