Molly was genuinely delighted to see her visitors. She pointed out the view from the windows to Marigold, where beyond the chimney-tops could be seen pleasant fields, and hills dotted with green woods.
"The stairs are rather a trial to me, sometimes," she said, smiling, "but to be high up above the squalor of the street makes up for that, in my opinion. I always think I can smell the flowers in the fields yonder whilst I sit by the window working, and that keeps me in good spirits."
"I think this is a delightful room," Marigold remarked, "it is so sunny!"
"Yes. In summer it is rather too hot, though, because it is close to the roof; but I like to hear the sparrows twittering under the eaves, and to watch them bringing hay and dried grass to make their nests. I should miss the birds if I lived on the ground floor!"
"I think you're the most contented person I ever met, Molly!" Miss Holcroft exclaimed.
"God has given me so many blessings," the lame girl responded, "that it would be a shame if I was discontented. When I compare my lot to others in this very house, I see how much I have to be thankful for!"
[CHAPTER VI]
THE LACE-MAKER'S STORY, AND MARIGOLD'S
CONFIDENCES WITH BARKER
MARIGOLD was sorry when she and her Aunt Mary at last said good-bye to Molly Jenkins, for she had been deeply interested in the lame girl's work and conversation. She was silent for a while as she walked soberly along by Miss Holcroft's side, and it was not until they had left the poorer parts of the city behind them that she began asking questions.