Strange vision! Surely, said I to myself, this 
kind of poverty, if poverty there be, would not 
tolerate sordid economy; so noble a counte-
nance is the guarantee of that. Why then does 
she remain willingly in a set of surroundings 
where she makes so startling a stain? 
But my curiosity leading me to pass close to 
her, I thought that I could guess the reason. 
The tall widow held by the hand a child, 
clothed like herself in black. However moderate 
might be the charge of admission, it might 
perhaps be sufficient to pay for one of the ne-
cessities of that tiny being, or better still, a su-
perfluity, perhaps a toy. 
And no doubt she went home on foot ever 
meditating, ever dreaming, alone, always 
alone; for a child is troublesome, selfish, with-
out sweetness or patience; and could not even, 
as a dog or a cat could, serve her as the confi-
dant of her solitary sorrows.