In relation to Mare Street Shelter, it is good to know that it is held in the memory of very many with affectionate gratitude. And, once more, I take pleasure in dealing with an argument the ignorant are continually advancing. It is often said that a girl who has “fallen”⁠—most hideous and obscene description⁠—once, will “fall” again, and that the majority of unmarried mothers find their way to prostitution. This is contradicted alike by figures, facts and experience. My little Madonna of the club foot, about to have her second baby, will remain the same brave, kindly and hardworking woman should she have twenty illegitimate children rather than two. According to the matron, the majority of unmarried mothers who have been through their hands are doing very well, earning enough to keep their child at a foster mother’s or even, in many cases, getting enough to make a home for them both.

Something of what these girls feel is expressed in a letter I received when I was writing an account of my experiences for a Sunday newspaper. I had many letters, but this, I think, was the most poignant and revealing.