what is more to the purpose

Hola. ¿Qué significa "more to the purpose" en el texto siguiente?: it melted out of my sight, it faded into nothing in a second of time, and what was more to the purpose, my hand passed through the spectre as if it had been composed of nothing more tangible than a fog spray.
Este texto procede de la novela The haunted house at Latchford, publicada en 1872.
Gracias por vuestra ayuda.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Antonio J.

It melted out of my sight, it faded into nothing in a second of time, and what was more to the purpose, my hand passed through the spectre as if it had been composed of nothing more tangible than a fog spray.

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I don't believe that "what was more to the purpose" has any real meaning in the above text -- it's just antiquated filler.

I suggest that you simply translate it as "además" or "de hecho".

"More to the purpose" may work as a way of confirming what happened. What about "a modo de confirmación"?

I agree with Luther Gaylord.

"and more to the purpose" is lenguaje florido and in context the phrase could be replaced with "and in fact" (y de hecho ) without losing any meaning.

However, the suggestion by Estefania is also valid in the same context. It's a matter of choice.