The united opinion. [volume] (Bradford, Vt.) 1881-1970, 1886-11-12

vIOUSLY OUT.
who cannot support her. She may have so
been "rcturned with thanks on her family'S
hands, like rejected essay from the popular
magazine office. She may be single, and
past 30 or s.. The position and social stand.
ing of the family require that she should
have as many costumes per year as the
girls, her more youthful sisters, who are now
taking their first society headers. But some
body must pay for the merchandise She
can't She cannot earn so much as a bread
and water living. Somebody grumbles be.
hind the scenes, and the poor surplus girl
must hear this grumbling, and must bear it.,
because her own pride and the family pride
and all of the azure tinted blood of the Amer.
lean Caesars demand that she must dress up
to regulation rules, visit tho summer water.
ing place, and move first class" in every
direction. Perhaps the misery of obligation,
OF dependence, and of splendid helpless
ness is in cases greater than that Of the lily
paid and overworked waiter or factory girl,
who may have the satisfaction of feeling that
her own hands and brain bring her own
money.
There is one type here of surplus girl who
says openly that she will marry anything
or anybody" young or old, handsome or
ugly, providing the 'thing" has money. A
former landlady Of mine had two girls of this
order of mind and intent. l think that in
such declaration they meant business. Life
with them had always been hard, meager,
stunted affair-a mixture from their youth
up of hard work, hurry, debt and anxiety.
They had seen mostly the back door and
kitchen side of it. They waited on the table,
performed the chamber work and in leisure
intervals sat in the windows to watch with
envious and covetous eyes the spring, sum-
mer and fall dresses go by which they could not
afford; to see their wealthy sisters roll by in
their carriages rolling in a world they could
never reach So had they sat for years. So
had combined envy and desperation grown
on them and over them. Little wonder.
They slept in the attic and lived in the kitch-
en-. for the best rooms must be reserved for
others; were snubbed by the boarders and
weighted down by a shiftless mother who was
ever in debt, ever borrowing in advance from
the dodgers, and ever tearing down with her
gossiping tongue whatever luck or good will
from others her spasmodic and lily regulated
industry had built up for herself.
A story current here runs thus A young
woman, bred in circle of wealth and refine
ment, is suddenly reduced to poverty She
is obliged to explore for herself that unknown
world where a living must be earned She
must look for something to do" She offers
at last to stand behind the counters of
wealthy retail merchant before which in her
day of prosperity she had so often stood and
made expensive purchases. "How much
would she receive per week. "Four dollars"
was the answer. Four dollars! She was UNI
astoni he'd. This was her first
view of the wide chasm between the world OF
work and the world of leisure to which she
had been accustomed.
"But how am to pay room rent, board,
car fares and dress myself out of 81 per week|
she managed at last to ask.
II don't know" was the merchants reply.
II have nothing to do with that; you must
do as the rest do"
l find this an oft-told story in Boston,
and also find that the Interpretation given
the clause, "doing as the rest do" to be an
unsavory one. have heard also this same
story applied to two well known merchants
here For such reason take the liberty Of
doubling the story as told with its most UNI
favorable application and at the same time
believing in the event that gave it a founda-
lion. The story involves phase Of life that
belongs to its own time. 1t will in one sense
apply to hundreds of stores and places Of
business 1t is the embodiment of ruling
sentiment here-the sentiment of getting as
much as possible, and giving for labor, in
skill or material as little as pos
'ible But common sense and self-interest
would deter any business man from giving
'uch reply to a young woman under the
i'll its lower application. And
again, it is sometimes an unfortunate ten
lency in some people to ferret out the lower
application and motive in the words where
uch spirit was never intended. And yet
he story may be true-and it may not.
PRENTICE MILFORD.