Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1855-12-07
EVENING STAR.
THE SEAMSTRESS.

Is il sin to be young to have good teeth?
a graceful carriage intelligence and ease, if
not absolute elegance Of expression! In a
word, to have all lady-like aualitis of youth,
beauty, and person, Except a hundred dollar
Cashmere, and rich husbands bank account
| TO draw upon st pleasure OF how many
persons describable like this, does our Chris
tiaz reader suppose the question is discussed
IN this free land, in this republican city, every
morning, whether she shall take her meals
with the family or after them? We cannot
tell him the hundreds-they may even count
them by thousands. And in how many is the
| question decided against the young, fair and
accomplished beneficiary! Three out Of ev-
cry four VIC will venture on our lives. It IL
this for a woman to, get aliving by honest
handiwork in America, and it is this to be
called q seamstress. Now We would like with
| out invidicus hostilities between rich and
poor, to ascertain where, how, and how
efficiently the line is drawn by which the la
borer is separated from her mistress.
Which shall beget larger soul-to be born
the pale daughter OF nabeb, talked nonsense
to by hirciing nurses from infancy, conducted
straight from the parlor to the fashionable
boarding school stopping to sec OF know no
thing of humanity or nature by the way,)
there shut Up with hundred or moro Of ilka-
| faced pale creature, 20 near the twaDging of
piano for an hour, the parrot;ng Of French
adyerbs for another, the pirouet.ing Of pair
of thin fr nch legs for another; 10 20 from
this at eighteen 70 talk TO coxco,a5s and drink
| light wines ct parties, till midnight or two
! ne xt morning-or, being the child of q dasky,
strong-Eorking mechanic. talked with as
thing ot sense, by fnotneT who must use her
wits to bring the day about; to be pitched 10,
head foremost mot to speak profsnely,l at a
! public school among several hundred bustling
girls, To make her way as bes. she can, in her
4 AZ e .t,o q L., L
and 70 count how much il comes TO per day
and Per week, at sixteen years, when she
1 quits school; to buy books for her own reading;
! To live on al the bolydays in the open air. in
pie Eic on Long Island, or an cxcu rsiou down
| the bay. or a singing anniversary OF one of
| tho churches, If which she is a director
! " hich Of these is most likely to be a woman?
| 70 have q heart and soul? an intelligent
| judgment! an oJservsnt eye? We know
very we'll how the fashionable young lady,
coming Of age, disposes of Herself. She mar
| ries broken down foreign Couat, and in
! about ten years bitter experience has - ~
| the nonsense taken cut # her." or, IL she es-
| capes that. lives al inanity, and begets inani-
| ties to the end Of tire. Let US look little
more closely into toe career OF cur scarastress
TIE ceanistress generally lives in sU1se tive
| story wooden tenement in Last Bowe-v ltha is
! the r. ;;on lyiDg On the eastern eide OK tIat
| great thoTYug ghfare,l with her mother, aunt
! grandmother, or Sometimes with fellow Scam
stress. She has room, often few flowers in
| pts At tho "inaow, colorel pIint of Paul
| 4Gd Virgins IN frame against the wall,
! and perhaps bid the bird rarely. for there
| mny ba no one 10 lock after him during the
| day, while she is absent at work She Sob
| scEibes 10 Gre Of he magazines with fashion
| plates, aud otter invaies tho small h0urs af-
| ter her return from her task, hanging In
| breathleSs suspense over the romantic advon-
| iuros Of Sir Philip De Grey; OF weeping, as if
see would break h2r heart over tho loves and
crosses OF ! certain " liam Hamilton, au ex-
ceiient youth, and Clara Howard. y young lady
Of peerless beauty. We state, with some re-
luctaIce, that our undetermined Searastress
has I, rather undue admiration of the roan
! palfrey which igGres freely in tho novels II
Mr.. James. On Sundays, aTrayed in her best
hat and gown, cur young lady makes her way
for the nearest Methodist church-of which,
niue times cut Of ten, she is a member-and
there her voice il heard in praise and thanks.
giving among ALL for she is not little proud
Of her voice, and she is not ashamed. like the
fEo lady, II ke heard singing aloud in the
presence e her MsEer. She puts silver In the
plate ofJsner than Dives.
But what l. The course of her daily, work-a.
! day lie! Ia tie morning she rises bstim es.
Ii she works for the down-tDwn shops she pre-
pares treakfast ard cisp ltches it promp ly
and a cup OF cJfee; but ws'H engage. at all
; ha zard. there a pickle somewhere on the tl-
bic. She then taxes from the great heap on
the chair apl dsp, ses over her left arm a .uf-
ficient pile OF pea CO Its, or cheap waistcosts,
or summer pants, or whatever the goods just
then III request, 70 break the back Of a small
mule. With these she NAL kes for the BOwery
| ponderiIg as she goes with all the power Of
| thUu sht, a most important question. Whether,
firstly, she can afford sixpence in an pnni-
bus ride on the present Job? Secondly whethtr
she shall take the ride down or up? Tor re-
member she il TO come back freighted with an
equal weight of luggage from the shop. The
omnibus Is c0minS-she gives 1t glance
spies John Harrison, the young printer, g ing
down to goTk-and that settles the point. Ii
she carries down no work, made at home, she
may, being cap-maksr, or some thing of the
sort, DO seen with nothing but a small parcel,
"a slice of bread and meat.) and re.ugniu.
there is a presumption thot some friendly John
Harrison or other, viii prcvident ~ appear
at a corner where she must pass, and accom-
papy her home II she is a house seams .fess,
She takes it little more Ieisurely, and eneum-
bers hcrself no further than with pair If
scissors and thimble Her arrival is cener-
ally the cue tor d good deal Of whispered con-
versation through the house. GLOW late Miss
Smith comes to work." ''Ralf the day is gone
already" "We shall make q precious time
Win lne dress at tnls rdie-lt VIII never DC
ready" 1t being taken for granted, invari-
ably that the seamstress is an enormous swind.
ler, and that her showing herself at that hoar
is deliberate fraud. The day 6 work over,
she begins TO make motion for departure, by
n gathering up the odds and ends, sticking toe
needles in the cushion, sheathing her scissors,
&c, at which the mistress always expresses
vast wonder and astonishment.
"Why, Miss Smith, 1t isn't anything like
dark yet; you can work a good bit yet-at
least hail an hour" .ssr-
= It's seven O'Clock by my watch -
We suppose no such wcDder-no such unbs-
lievirg horror-was ever before expressed on
human counteEance az showed itself the first
time q seamstress in this oity (it is something
like eight years ago. announced this senti-
ment and oonfrme1 it by the exhibition OK O
real little bona fGs gold watch The appeal
was acknowledged by al the upper CLASSES
the very first circles of sooiety-t0 be the most
sublime display Of piebeian etfrontery N re-
cord The seamstresses, however, "stil keep
! it up" as many Of them, at least, as can az
ford watches. .- .-f