a day for?" Then I mumbled thanks, and reached wearily for
my washcloth. But a little later I tackled her about it.

"Do you always wash your face as often as this?"

"Why, of course!" was the quick reply. "All clean people do! And I was
brought up in a very clean family."

I let the matter drop, and washed my face (and my feet) as often as
she thought best for the rest of the trip.

* * * * *

Grandmother Bay's little granddaughter had just come back from
Shanghai. Grandmother Bay proudly appeared at church accompanied by a
prettily dressed, well-behaved child of about nine. After the service
several of us sat chatting. One old lady looked at the child's pretty
frock, and then gave a quick glance at her grandmother.

"I suppose that's the Shanghai style," was all that she said, but
Grandmother Bay divined her meaning.

"Just what I thought myself!" She quickly caught up the remark. "It's
pretty material, and nicely made--cut a bit closely, but I suppose
those Shanghai tailors do it that way. But the sleeves! Practically no
sleeves at all! It's almost indecent! But you know, she has hardly a
scrap of the material, and I haven't been able to match it. Otherwise
I should have lengthened them immediately. It's too good a garment to
throw away. I don't know what in the world to do about it!"

I sat listening with my mouth open. The child was little enough so
that I would hardly have been surprised to see her running around the
yard with nothing on but a pair of trousers, as many smaller girls
did. (The boys needed still less!) The objectionable sleeves were just
long enough to cover her shoulders. What was wrong with that for a
child of her size?

I looked at the two women, trying my best to understand their point of
view. What I saw made me gasp. In that area the older women all wore
thigh-length loose jackets, and loose trousers, as their regulation
attire. It was warm, and one of the two women had just pulled up her
trouser legs. Her short stockings reached about eight inches above her
ankles, and were held in place by tight round garters. She vigorously
fanned her bare knees as the two, with serious, troubled faces,
continued the conversation about the "indecent" dress.

* * * * *

What is decency anyway? In certain groups in India it is not decent
for a woman to show her face, but her bare feet peep from beneath her
long robes. Things that look