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218 ANNALS CXF 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 Iii. Poyebty Is, At All Times,...
respectability , and many a poor lady who lias sought employment at " Needlewomen ' s Hall "—for so the Home is sometimes termedtended to crush her
has told me with tearful eyes , that what _joiost fireless spirit in grate her altered nor the fortunes absence was of rich , not attire the meat but - the less coarse meal , or atmo the
here into which , her circumstances had driven , her . sp Small houses or low-rented apartments and provisions are not to
be met with in the best neighborhoods of London , and to be forced into cheap lodging-houses and garrets , driven to
pawnbrokers' shops , and low costermongers' stalls for the necessaries the of life , to s continuall be exposed to offended the contag b ion coarse of dirt sihts and and foul the air , ears to have by
eyey y g , revolting sounds—this is what tends , more than anything else , to engender a heaviness of spirit that nothing but faith in the power
of One an Almi or two ghty Father can remove cases . of a similar nature which have many
enlisted my sympath , among y , I now purpose to detail . One morningsoon after the formation of our Societya woman ,
who bore upon , her countenance unmistakeable traces of , _tlie Lady , notwithstanding the rusty black of her attire , applied for permission
to come and work in the rooms . Requesting her to be seated , I remarked that she looked very delicate , and added _, " I hoped she
was not entirely dependent on her needle for support . " She coloredas if I had touched a sore pointbut after a moment ' s
hesitation , , replied , " Not entirely , Ma ' am , , my son-in-law pays my rent ; but my health is very bad , and for days together I can do
nothing . " " Are you strong enough , " I then asked , " to come here to work ? " "I live nearMa ' am" she said ; " but I think it
, , would do me good to come—I am so lonely at home , that I make myself worse by thinking of my troubles ; perhaps I might he
cheered up here— -I am not naturally low-spirited . " Without then entering farther into her history I gave her a ticket
of admission , and dismissed her . The next day Mrs . D took her place in the workroom , where she very shortly became a great
favorite with the matron and others . There were few visitors _wio ¦ came to the place that failed to notice the old ladyand to say a
, kind word to her . A seat had been assigned to her at the top of * the room near the window , and she generally attended about four
days out of the six ; but on account of her state of health the matron had orders to be very lenient with her as regarded hours .
_^ Sometimes she would only come for half a day , and then be obliged to leavebeing seized with attacks of pain which compelled her to lie
iiat on her , back on the floor . Her earnings were very small certainly , not exceeding four shillings a week ; but she always expressed
herself grateful when paid , and acknowledged the Hand that had led her to the houseas she said . " The regular employment and society
it gave her had , made her feel better and happier than she had
done for many a year . " I frequently heard her singing over her
218 Annals Cxf Needlewomen.
218 ANNALS CXF NEEDLEWOMEN .
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Citation
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English Woman’s Journal (1858-1864), June 1, 1862, page 218, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ewj/issues/ewj_01061862/page/2/
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