Daily Los Angeles herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1876-1884, 1879-10-14
The Wlckedest Man.

garments the wretched person
called on every lady in three con-
tiguous counties, and, representing
himself to be the agent of u new
stocking manufacturing company,
secured hundreds of orders and
measurements before he was final
ly detected and exposed. One
would naturally have supposed
that wiclSedness could sound no
deeper depth than this, but it now
appears that still more wicked
young man has recently been dis
covered in Boston. The Pennsyl-
vania miscreant did not collect
payment for his mythical stockings
in advance, and hence, as he made
no money, no conceivable object
can be assigned for his villatny.
The Boston wretch, on the other
hand, added black mailing to his
other crimes, and is unquestiona-
bly, the wickedest man on record.
About q year ago, so runs the
story, a fashionable Boston dress
maker took into her employment
an attractive young woman, who
soon became extremely popular
among Boston ladies. 1t was Miss
Annie's business to call at the
houses of ladies who employed the
fashionable dressmaker, and to cut
and fit their dresses-a task which
she performed with wonderful and
really unparalleled skill. 1t was
universally agreed that there never
had been such dressmaker's as
sistant. "Miss Annie,n the Bos-
tonian ladies were accustomed to
remark, "displays an altruism in
her professional cognitions, of
which the average dressmaker, who
never comprehends the distinction
between the ergo and the non-ergo,
is incapable.n There is no doubt
that in her way Miss Annie was a
true artist. She possessed rare
imaginative powers. She often
said to her patrons, with a gentle,
musical voice. that not even
mouthful of professional pins could
mar, "rhe fault with most Boston
dressmakers is that they cannot
rise above the dead level of realism,
and their work is there
fore fiat and commonplace. The
true artist should be full of imagi-
nation, and should illustrate in her
work the ideal curves and pictur-
esque inequalities of surface which
constitute the highest type of full
dressed beauty.n Thus combining
in her conversation philosophy,
poetry, and thorough kno Wedge
of her art, Miss Annie would so
tighten the labor of being "fittedn
that her patrons regarded it as a
positive pleasure 20 place them
selves in her def hands and under
go the usually prosa ic process of
pinning or unpinning, of being
"taken inn here or "let out" there.
1t was noticed with much admira-
ton that she always carried with
her note. book in which she made
careful memoranda. This was
done, as she explained, because, as
a conscientious artist, she felt a
pride in her work, and was unwil-
ling that she should lose the recol-
lection of any sudden inspiration
as to the delicate insertion of a gus.
set, or the bold cutting of q shout
der piece on the bias.
The business of the worthy dress
maker who had the good fortune to
employ Miss Annie increased rap
idly. 1t soon became q test of true
culture among Boston ladies' to
have their dresses made exclusive
ly at her establishment. The re-
suit was an apparent increase of
Bostonian beauty, for which the
local scientific persons could find
40 sufficient reason. 1t was not
that the average weight Of the
feminine Bostonian philosopher
had increased to any marked eX-
tent, but there was manifest in
crease in breadth and thickness.
For the first time since the plant
ing of the Colony of Massachusetts,
Bay, it was noticed that a Boston
lady, when standing with either of
her edges to the sun, frequently
cast well defined shadow. No
change had been made in the diet
of the intellectual 7ses. The la
dies of Boston s. .. IN EN-.
erson and bake r4 9
them who hao h.l i
Ami had o. Hal am
the accepteo ... Dbl Hr
ton unde
had hithe 1aa. IG
of seven pa. l5....
parts of spectacles, I9.-
flesh and blood.
One dark and dreadful day
week each of the ladies who had
employed the services of Miss An
ME received that young PERSONS
card, with the accompanying state
ment that young gentleman
awaited them in the drawing
room. The first lady who received
this announcement laid aside her
copy of Emerson, put on her best
hair, and went down to meet the
unknown visitor, Him she in
stantly recognized as the hitherto
Miss Annie, and was, of course,
terribly surprised. The wicked
young man, who had so successfully
masqueraded as dressmaker's
assistant, explained with much APP
parent penitence that he had been
detected and discharged, and that
his sole desire was to hide himself
in California. To do this, however,
he required money, and he, there
fore, felt that he would be eXcusa-
BILE in presenting small bill for
the dressmaking materials which,
as he alleged, he had furnished at
his own expense. He was sorry to
say that, owing to the failure of
the crops, both whalebones and cot
ton were extremely dear, but he
had, nevertheless, charged only IS
per pound for the former, and So
for the latter. On payment of bill
for these articles he would Instant