Page:An address delivered by the Hon. Mrs. Welby to the married women of Newton on the first Thursday in Lent, 1872.djvu/9

5 well known that there is far more carefulness on these subjects (in spite of destitution and overcrowding of which we in the country have no idea) than there is in rural districts. Also in Ireland, in some parts of which the most miserable poverty prevails, and where people live in mud hovels shared with animals, the girls are almost always as pure and virtuous as the daughters of the rich could be. In London, if a girl misbehaves she is said to have "lost her character;" she is shunned by relations and friends, and often falls into the most dreadful misery in consequence. The fear of this of course acts in a very wholesome manner, and often keeps a thoughtless girl from sin. Among the Irish, it is well known that the girls, however poor they may be, always keep their characters above reproach; at least it is the rarest thing possible for an Irish girl to misconduct herself.

Now therefore, I will tell you why I have asked you all, without exception, to meet me here; it is to implore you, in the name of our