They would have been added to the perilous swarm of the wild, the
lawless, the wretched, and the ignorant, instead of being, as by
God's blessing they are, decent and comfortable, earning an honest
livelihood, and adorning the community to which they belong."
Dickens believed, first of all, in teaching children cleanliness and
decency before attempting anything in the form of education. "Give
him, and his," he said, "a glimpse of heaven through a little of its
light and air; give them water; help them to be clean; lighten the
heavy atmosphere in which their spirits flag and which makes them
the callous things they are . . . and then, but not before, they will
be brought willingly to hear of Him whose thoughts were so much with
the wretched, and who had compassion for all human sorrow."
CHAPTER VIII: _Ministering Women_
Honour to those whose words or deeds
Thus help us in our daily needs;
And by their overflow
Raise us from what is low!
LONGFELLOW
No account of the reign of Queen Victoria would be complete without
some reference to the achievements of women, more especially when
their work has had for its chief end and aim the alleviation of
suffering. Woman has taken a leading part in the campaign which has
been and is now being ceaselessly carried on against the forces of
sin, ignorance, and want.
In the early years of Victoria's reign the art of sick-nursing was
scarcely known at all.
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