there were no exceptions , not even for laurence 's offers of gold , not even in houses where the children were too thin and scantily dressed against the coming winter ; and once , in a small cottage little better than a hovel , when in exasperation he doubled the gold in his palm and held it out again with a pointed look at the baby lying scarcely covered in its cradle , the young matron of the house looked at him with mute reproach , and pushed his fingers closed over it before she pointed at the door .