CHAPTER VI.
She knew the poor of the place well, and took a lively interest in all
that concerned them; and occasionally she would confide some of her own
odd observations and reflections to me.
"On Sunday morning all the women wash their doorsteps," she told me; "I
think it is part of their religion."
And on another occasion she said: "They have such lovely children here,
and such swarms of them. I am always hard on the women with lovely
children. People say it is envy, hatred, malice, and all
uncharitableness, that makes me so; but it really is because I think
women who have nice children should be better than other women. It
would be worse for one of them to do a wrong thing than for poor
childless me."
This conclusion may be quarrelled with as illogical, but the feeling
that led to it was beautiful beyond question; and, indeed, all her
ideas on that subject were beautiful.
She went once, soon after she came among us, to comfort a lady in the
neighbourhood who had lost a baby at its birth.
"It is sad that you should lose your child," Ideala said to her; "but
you are better off than I am, for I never knew what it was to be a
mother.
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