The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1885-06-05
THE pRessMAkER.
An Individual Of the Female Persuasion Of
uncerfsasn A IN and NIi&TafaTx Hahits

THE DRESSMAkER.
An Individual Of the Female Persuasion Of
Uncertain Age and Migratory Habits.
Come, children. put away your play.
things, and 1 will tell you about the
dressmaker; q creation which you have
all heard of. no doubt, but of which il
is not possible you can be fully in
formed.
A dressmaker, then, is an individual
of the female persuasion; age, uncer-
tain; habits, migratory.
1t is the custom of the dressmaker to
roam about from house to house, os-
tensibly for the purpose of fitting
dresses to her victims; but this is an
error. The dressmaker was never
known to be guilty of such an indis-
erection. They who have spread the
report have injured her grossly.
No; the dressmaker does not fit
| dresses She has better business. on
her hands than any such trifiing affair
as that. Her mission is high and en-
nobling one. All such commonplace
matters as cutting and fitting dresses
she relegates to the inferior intelligence
OF her customers.
But let me tell you just what the du-
ties Of the dressmaker are.
To-day she is engaged to spend the
day with Mrs. Smith. Mrs. Smith re-
ceiveS the dressmaker with open arms
and some twenty or thirty yards of
silk. The dressmaker is kind enough
to look at the silk. and kinder still to
sit down and cut it into patches emil
nently suitable for insertion in q crazy
quilt; in the meantime RECALLING Mrs.
Smith with full and accurate account
OF domestic economy as practiced at
Mrs. Browns.
While the drpssmaker is engaged in
this two-fold operation of dissecting
Mrs. Smiths silk and Mrs. Brown s
household affairs, Mrs. Smith is kept
very busy. Listening to recital of
ones dear friends eccentricities-
ways delightful occupation-and
experimenting the preparation of din
ner are quite strain upon even the
strongest constitutions.
But in process of time dinner is ready,
the silk is divided and subdivided to
the satisfaction of the dressmaker, and
the whole story Of Mrs. Browns
domestic economy has been told.
That is to say, it seemed to have been
told. But the appearance of the sew
eral articles of food upon Mrs. Smith
table reminds the dressmaker that she
has omitted some very important items,
and straightway she proceeds to COM
pare the respective bills of fare pro-
vided by her hostess and by Mrs.
Brown, much to the disadvantage of the
latter.
Dinner over, the dressmaker pins and
bastes and ties upon Mrs. Smith all the
pieces of silk, big and little. that come
convenient; all the while, of course, en-
tertaining her hostess with most i'm
proving conversation upon variety of
subjects, embracing almost everything
under heaven, from the last novel up to
the way Mrs. Gray's servant acted when
Mrs, Gray's baby came down with the
measles.
The afternoon is consumed in this
way, and supper time and Mr.. Smith
come before the trying-on process is
fairly completed. Mrs. Smith retires to
make herself presentable. the dress
maker meanwhile gracefully flirting
with the lord of the manor.
At the tea table, the dressmaker,
now having an enlarged audience, re-
peats with additions and Improvements,
her essay on the comparative merits of
the Smith and the Brown cuisine, and
ut the close of the meal the dressmaker
hn FOL ,,fh nd
satisfaction that she has shed radi-
ance over the Smith household for one
day at least, besides amply earning the
five dollar gratuity for her distinguished
services
The dressmaker and the dress have
no interest in one another from this
moment, but during the ensuing three
weeks that Mrs. Smith is engaged in
sewing, ripping, re-sewing, undoing,
rearranging and altering that dress, it is
to be presumed that the dressmaker is
ever present 10 her thoughts.
How pleasant it is thus to live in the
memory of those whom you have bene-
fitted!
1t is needless to follow the dress
maker on her mission of love and use
fulness. Tomorrow she will be irradi-
ating the household and severing the
silk of Mrs. Black. The only difference
in the days duties will be that, instead
of Mrs. Browns domestic affairs and
Mrs. Browns cookery, it will be Mrs.
Smiths home economy and Mrs.
Smiths cuisine which pass in review.
think have sad enough, children,
to show You that the dressmaker does
not tit dresses much less make them.
If you have any doubt about the truth
of what l have told you, however. you
would better ask your mammas. who
are amply able to satisfy your uncer-
tainity. Boston Transcript.
VALUABLES IN TRUST.