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74 ANNALS OF NEEDLEWOMEN.
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
Additionally, when viewing full transcripts, extracted text may not be in the same order as the original document.
_ Chapter I. That Tlie Realities Of Life...
One morning a very faint tap at tlie door of my room , an for apartment Needlewomen appropriated in Hinde to business Street connected being responded with tlie to Institution a poor
woman presented herself in a state , of great agitation , , her tears not allowing her to speak ; before she could recover her composure >
she was followed by an official carrying an armful of soldiers' shirts , who begged to know If I would tell her what was to be done
with Mrs . M ; she had brought back all her shirts made up ' with the fronts behind / and they could not pass inspection . " This was
indeed a serious offence , causing much trouble . Turning to reprove the woman for her carelessnessI saw she was trembling so much ,
and looked so illthat I was convinced , some great trouble lay behind , the work in questionanddismissing the inspectorI addressed a
, , , few kind words to her , inquiring if she "were not accustomed to such work ; she replied , as well as her sobs permitted , " Yes ,
she had lived for years by her needle , but somehow the shirt pieces had got mismatched , and she had not , till too late , discovered the
mistake . " Her great fear was lest she should not be allowed to receive any
more work , and , clasping her hands in distress , she exclaimed , "If 'll onlforgive mema ' amthis onceI'll sit up all night to alter
youy , , , them—only pray , ma ' am , pay me something in advance , my children are starving at home—they had no food all yesterday . " The poor
woman ' s whole appearance besj _> oke such respectability , and her address and manner were so above the common , that I felt at once
this was no tale of imposition ; and relieving her present need , I smoothed the difficulty of the shirts . As we became better
acquainted , little by little I drew from her the history of the gradual decline of her humble fortunes . Her mother had died when she
was an infant , but her father , being well to do in the world , was careful to have her sent to school and trained in good habits .
At the age of fourteen , however , she -was left an orphan , and then entered service , where , giving satisfaction , she gradually rose in her
employer's favor and secured good wages ; after nine years' service , " a good chance" as she imaginedcombined with loveinduced her
to change her , condition , and she , married . There seemed , every reason for her friends to deem her selection a wise one ; her
husband was a steady artisan , employed in the making of iron houses—a business which brought him from £ 3 to £ 4 a week : no
rashness , could therefore be laid to the charge of the young couple in their union . During the next few years of her life , Mrs . M . —
enjoyed as much happiness as falls to the lot of most human beings , foras she said" while her husband livedshe never knew either
, , , sorrow or want ; " they had comfortably furnished rooms , and not only paid their way , but laid by a few pounds every year in the
savings' bank . They had been married seven years , three children Jiad increased their circle , and Mrs . M was again near her
confinement , yet no debts were incurred , when one evening Mr .
74 Annals Of Needlewomen.
74 ANNALS OF NEEDLEWOMEN .
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Citation
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English Woman’s Journal (1858-1864), April 1, 1862, page 74, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ewj/issues/ewj_01041862/page/2/
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