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152 ON THE CHOICE OF A BUSINESS.
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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Transcript
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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.
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a needlewoman ' s life would-be freer / and prefer it on that account - It is true that it is freer in some waysbut the ireedom is often
dearly purchased . In dressmaking establishments , the hours of work are fearfulllong " frequently lasting frorn . eight in the
naorniug till eleven y at nig , ht , with only the necessary intervals for meals . No time for taking a walk on week days , and no holiday
but Sunday . This discipline soon destroys the health , and a girl with a strong constitution is often the first to fall ill .
Those however who prefer this trade in spite of its drawbacks , should take care to sew pretty well before they are apprenticed , or
they will not give satisfaction . Parents who intend their daughters to be dressmakers should send them to schools -where needlework is
made a great object , that they may start with every advantage . It is hard on the head of a dressmaking establishment to be provided
with an apprentice who eannots ew tolerably , and such incapacity is likely to make her not a little severe towards the unfortunate
girl Plain . needlework done at home is so ill-paid that almost the
worst kind of servant ' s place is preferable to this employment . The following is a list of the usual prices paid for needlework by
the great shops and the contractors . Ordinary gentlemen's shirts 1 Od . a piece ; ( it takes twelve hours
to make one ;) common men ' s shirts from 4 . \ d . to 3 d ., one firm ives only 2 \ d . ; ( two shirts may be made in ten hours ;) for heavy
g corduroy trousers , 6 d . ; ( a pair can be made in twelve hours ;) greatcoats 7 d . or 8 d .
No , class of needlework ( except dressmaking ) can be named which is not paid at the same inadequate rate , and 30 , 000 women
live by this trade in London alone . Thus the better class of workers receive lOd . a day . the inferior 8 d ., and the lowest , 6 d .
out of which thread has to be found . Life on these terms is not lifebut a slow death .
No , one can live long on the diet necessitated by a remuneration of 8 c ? . or 6 d . a day , when lodging , clothes , fire and candles have to
be found as well . A strong person may perhaps exist for a year or two , then a cold or some slight ailment turns to consumption
or low fever , and they die , and are entered on the death-rate as dying of these diseasesbut the real cause of death was the previous
, low living and want of the comforts of life . That women do so die instead of earning their living by
wickedness is very wonderful , and much to their credit ; that with the doors of a comfortable prison open to them if they steal , that they should
not steal , speaks highly for their good principles ; they are as truly martyrs as those who perish for their religion by the hand of the
executioner ; in truth , their trial is longer and more severe , for who would not find it easier to die a public and speedy
deathsup-, ported by the admiration of friends and sympathisers , than to
perish slowly and obscurely as these poor creatures do ? That
152 On The Choice Of A Business.
152 ON THE CHOICE OF A BUSINESS .
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Citation
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English Woman’s Journal (1858-1864), Nov. 1, 1862, page 152, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ewj/issues/ewj_01111862/page/8/
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