The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1850-11-13

tAere are as many chars as the room Will hoid, all
hlled with young ladies working at the tables.
These young ladies' are generally short. II there
Is a tall one amongst them she is usually an I'M
proven, and has grown up before she learned her
1s we formed they 50
thin and pale looking that their appearance Is not
very progressing. The first hand comes IN with
the dress and throws it down on the hrst taoe she
domestic. The young ladies look upro see what's
the matter At last one ventures to ask, Who is
il fer z sOh,' the first hand answers, II is for Lady
or Mrs. So-and-so. and she wants 1t tomorrow
morning Tomorrow morning. cry half dozen
voices, how is il possible, when we have 30 many
other dresses to do Why, she has kept us up
three nights this week already Well, It's of no
use replies the first hand, she must have ID; 80
we must all sit up to- night again.
" Shortly afterwards one OF the porters GENES to
the door and says, Please Miss - have you got
any skirts 7 Mrs. IS boy has called to know il
you have any. Yes, wait minute, have one,'
and gives him the skirt OF the dress. He takes it
down, and in an obscure corner of the hall stands
Mrs IS boy, ragged dirty little creature, about
his to mother snd tel her she
ii done by nine o'clock tomorrow morning she will
get more work from this house. Il will be sure
TO tell her, sir, the boy replies, taking the skirt.
He goes his way with the magnificent Genoa
velvet under his arm, and walks slowly along
until he comes to a dirty narrow street, in the
neighborhood of Carnaby Market, Golden-square.
He stops at a house, pushes open the door, for II
has no fastening, and mounts to the top of the
house. On the landing place there are washing
tabs and sop pals full of dirty water, saucepans,
trying-pans, and old stumPs OF brooms. lie makes
his way through these with the 'velvet skirt
and enters a room To the ieft--there being four
families living on this story. The garrett he enters
is scrt of triangular shaped room, about twelve
feet square; the window Is near the ceiling. In
corner of the apartment there is a small Skele
ton stove; iii the opposite corner stands an old
broken bedstead and In one an old rckety CHAIR.
In the middle of the room is deal table, and
around This are seated seven women. dirty, thinly
clad with pale and hollow eountenances, weak,
red-looking eyes, and lean emaciated frames. The
one working at the head of the table is Mrs. =,
the boys mother. Her husband is dead; she is
about The middle age. She rises and takes the
skirt from the boy, and demands OF him when it
lie wanted lie answers that IL IS to go home at
ni,e Nine in the morningr shs exclaims.
why, have got six from the city, 10 go home at
eight How DO you know inquiries one of the
work people, "shat il is the lady's fault dare
say the lady who this dress is for knows nothing
about how it is made. She pays very high price
to the French people whom you have IL fro a
{" | must now return to the work. room at the
d;essmakers, where the bodies and sleeves of the
iady's dresses are made. few minutes after the
lorter goes away with the skirt, a bell rings on
hearing which the first hand gets up to 90 down TO
tt a, and all the others follow her. All who are
employ ed in the house take their meals together
Ia the class of houses speak OF, there is a superin-
tepden at the head of the table, and in Others
the m tress of the establishment serves at the
meals. When there is superintendent, the mis-
;Tess does pot appear. The tea consists of bread
and butter and tea of very good quality, and all
have as much as they wish. After tea they 90 up
TO woIk again until ten o'clock, when they go
down TO supper, and partake of cold meat, cheese,
and table ale. They then 60 up to work again,
and work probably until four the nee morning.
Perhaps one of them may faint, and ask if she may
leave of and go TO bed, as she feels too i'll to con-
tlnue working. The first hand says il is quite inn
possible, as If she did allow her to go TO bed, the
work could not be done. So the poor creature sits
down 20 work again. AT four in the morning they
leave of, and retire to rest. The first hand has
har rnic axf Iha
room in which the young ladies' sleep is at the top
OF the house-abouI nifty feet long and forty feet
wide, but no carpet on the floor, and neither draw
ers nor wardro5es. The young people keep their
Thugs in the boxes they bring with them. There
are two or three dressing tables with looking
& asses, and few chairs. There are eight beds in
II, and two sleep in each bed. AT halfpast seven
the young ladies' are obliged 10 assemble to b.eak
fast. They have tea and bread and butter of very
good quality, aid as much AS they wish to eat.
They go up to the work-room at eight !; and AT
ten the lady's dress is finished The first hand
ines n on one OF the young ladies, aad looks
Il IL then packed up ia a wicker basket,
lined with ollskiD, and one of the porters (of
whom there are generally four or five kept ia
the large houses) is called up, and the dress il
given him to take home. The brougham is thea
called out, and the first hand, who went 10 take
the measure, goes again TO Try on the dress. Per-
haps the customer is not easy TO please, aud requires
all sorts of needless alterations, in which thu
dress is altered, and, of course, viii not do then
having fitted before. IL Is sometimes altered az ain
and again, until it is, comparatively, spoiled. la
come cases, TO my knowledge, dresses are not
altered at all, bat are kept day or two, and then
sent back, when they are frequently found I'd nc
beautifully. At one, the young ladies' dine GA roast
or boiled meal, with bread ald potatoes the al
is OF the best kind.
"In large house, they keep five or six show
room women, SIX or seven hrst hands, and from
fifteen TO twenty young people as second aud third
hancs. The tIst hands have from Go 10 100
a year, AMI the Others from el2 TO G21, ant their
board and logging. Besides these, they employ IN
the sc aeon, from sixty 10 eighty day workers.
Thee large and very fashionable houses, seldom
take more than four apprentices, and two or three
improyers, as they do not take them for the sake OF
the premium, Ike others. In some OF the large
bosses, there are eight or ten domestic servants"
shali now add, first the opinion OF a highly
respectable lady, who had herself been an EN-
ployer, aud then the statements of the several
classes of workwomen themselves, Concerning
their earnings and condition =
"They are generally considered too dressy," she
said, T" and think they are so bat IL mus. be re-
collected that they can only indulge in their inery
one day in the week, namely, Sunday. Then, GER
tainly, their stuff skirts Guido our very customers
whom they rub against at church. l am sorry for
this, because censorious people, who may not know
the earnings Of some 81 these young people, will be
oensonous about u. But, then, egail, they are so
constantly among dresses, and hear 90 much about
dress, hat we can hardly wonder they think more
Of that than OF anything else. There are many OF
them, | am sure, who would not 70 20 church If
they were not handsomely dressed ! think the
plaatr looking girls are the dresslesl, and dress in
the worst taste."
Frem first hand in one OF the best houses had
the following statement;-
81 have been five or six years a first hand in
dresemaking IN different houses. In my recoec-
ton there has been an Improvement in the ire at
rnent Of young women IN the superior houses. The
hours are not so long as they were, add more time
Is given for meals and far better meals. IclnnOt
say that the sleeping rooms are better venu ued
than they were, bat they are less crowded. Where
there might he eight, there are now six. | attri-
butte thus Improvement good deal to the Associa,
ton. | have nothing % do with il myself, so
seek inpartaliy. Ia a bad case, the manager will
call on the proprietor end eSpOsula'e, or, pcrh Ups
ne fnf mher ct The committee val cil aud Oh a.
has great tiisct. Tse pites aud prodts OF the
busnrss aye not what they were. / have known
great shabhnee3 prlctised by great people, even on
"A diinr Occ ssiOn; and yet they wanted every.
thpg IN The beet style. have waited up0a very
ln.nY L..Ins and hove rsnsri llY. bnt NOT al RlYs