CHAPTER XVI

THE COUNTRY GIRL'S WAGE

"To preserve as things above all price The old domestic morals of the land, Her simple manners and her stable worth That dignified and cheered a low estate, ... the character of peace, Sobriety, and order, and chaste love, And honest dealing, and untainted speech, And pure good-will, and hospitable cheer; That made the very thought of country life A thought of refuge, for a mind detained Reluctantly amid the bustling crowd."

_Wordsworth._