that
by whatever means the thing is to be accomplished, the bounden duty of
Church and State to give themselves to the task of solving the problem
is clear.

For in the midst of every problem--political, social, economic,
religious, there stands _The Handicapped Girl._ God help her--and
us--for until we have gained the wisdom to remove her handicap the whole
problem will remain unsolved. We are learning--every year shows a gain
and in this fact lies our hope.

III

THE PRIVILEGED GIRL

One finds her in all sorts of unexpected places. Last summer I saw her
in a home of wealth and luxury. She was fifteen, the eldest of a family
of four children. Behind her was a long line of ancestry of which anyone
might rightfully be proud. Her face was pure and sweet and her eyes
revealed the frankness and honest purpose of past generations. After
breakfast she played for the hymns at prayers and in a clear, true,
soprano led the singing. A twelve-year-old brother had selected the part
of the Bible to be read and the eight-year-old sister had chosen the
hymns. The father's prayer was simple and sincere and some of its
sentences were remembered for many a day. After prayers the girl
attended to the flowers. This was her work for the summer. I saw her
gather from their lovely garden dainty blossoms and sprays of green,
making them with unusual skill into bouquets for the Flower Mission in
the city. Then three small baskets were filled with pansies. These went
to three old ladies in the factory section of the village. She told me
they were "the sweetest old ladies" and "dear friends" of hers. She
seemed to take real delight in making the baskets beautiful. I saw her
later in the day galloping off through the woods on her horse, her face
glowing with health and happiness. In the afternoon she spent an hour on
German which she said was her "hopeless study," but I found her reading
German folk lore with ease. She was familiar with the best things in
literature, was intensely interested in art and revealed unusual
knowledge without any evidence of precociousness. She was just a normal,
healthy, natural girl, well-born, well-bred, a girl with every
advantage. When I said good-night to her in her lovely room and thought
of her protected, sheltered life, I wondered how she might be helped to
know into what pleasant places her lot had fallen and how she might come
to understand and do in later years her full duty toward the other
fi