Whenever she crossed the road on returning from some errand, she lingered to smile at her home.

From a distance her shop appeared light and gay with its pale blue signboard, on which the word "Laundress" was painted in big yellow letters, amidst the dark row of the other frontages.

In the window, closed in behind by little muslin curtains, and hung on either side with blue paper to show off the whiteness of the linen, some shirts were displayed, with some women's caps hanging above them on wires.

She thought her shop looked pretty, being the same color as the heavens.
Inside there was more blue; the paper, in imitation of a Pompadour chintz, represented a trellis overgrown with morning-glories.

A huge table, taking up two-thirds of the room, was her ironing-table.