Orphans
Joan Aiken, 17 July 1980
“... Rhymes of Childhood in 1890.) It contains, as well, an implicit threat – the orphan’s sinister power: An orphan’s curse would drag to hell A spirit from on high. Orphans can cast the evil eye on us; their bad luck may be communicable. But what Riley was primarily saying was then considered perfectly acceptable: the poor and unfortunate were put here by ... ”