"It's six I have," the mother answered; "and it's a fine lot they are altogether, though I say it that shouldn't."
The lady put her hand in her purse again.
"Buy something with this for the others," she said, placing a bank-note in the Irishwoman's hands. Then she raised her voice and added, "You may drive on, John!"
As the victoria rolled away to the westward the fruit-vender courtesied, and the children all looked after the carriage with interest.
"That lady must be very rich," said the eldest boy, the one who had the lozenges for sale. "I shouldn't wonder if she had two millions of dollars!"
"She must be very happy," the eldest girl added. "I suppose she can have ice-cream every day, and go to the Seaside Home for two weeks whenever she wants."
"It's a kind heart she has anyway, for all her money," was the mother's comment, as she unfolded the bank-note and saw the X in the corner of it.
Meanwhile the lady in the victoria was eaten with bitter thoughts as the carriage rattled along in the brilliant sunshine beneath the unclouded sky.
"Six children!" she was saying to herself. "That Irishwoman has six children! Why is it that some women have so much luck?"
(1893.)