Page:On the Hill-top (1919).pdf/31

 The child touched her cheek softly against the hand that held hers, and then the girl turned to Marjorie. "Her mistakes show how young she is, don't they? Mistakes and wrongs are always because one doesn't know, or because one doesn't understand."

"But—but aren't some wrongs done on purpose?" asked Marjorie.

"Perhaps they may seem so when you just glance at them; but can't you see that if the people knew and understood great things, they could not do wrong on purpose? The more things that they understood, the more things they couldn't do wrong about. Can't you see that?"

"Yes," said Marjorie slowly. "Yes, if they really fully understood all that it meant, they wouldn't want to do wrong things; and even if they wanted to, they wouldn't dare. I see that. And then I suppose that it is for every one of us to try to help everybody else to know and to understand as much good as we know and understand ourselves. Is that what you mean? But how can we, without seeming to—to 'preach'?"

The girl looked at Marjorie again with very level eyes. "Just by living it," she said gravely, "and by having your hand always ready."

Marjorie looked down at the hand holding that of the little child. "I suppose," she said, "that if we keep our own clothes as clean as we can, and are as wise as we know how to be, then people who need our help will just naturally gravitate toward us and we will have a chance to do the