The Mt. Sterling advocate. (Mt. Sterling, Ky.) 1890-current, 1899-01-17
SEW ON SUNDAY.
A Practice Of Women That Seems to BE
Growing Common.

the maN WHO uds u LOIl-llOOI IfOu
room in a residence district, particu
larry if the house happens to be 1
story higher than those opposite, hal
a rare chance to study his neighbor'i
habits" said Mr.. Seeitall. every.
body sits BY the window so as to catch
all the light there is, and behind the
broad panes life as it is lived, not
merely in one or two families, but in
6 dozen, goes on right under his eyes
What struck me most in this pan.
oramic view Of my opposite neigh.
bors' habits and customs is the mum.
Der of women who sew on Sunday
The church bells ring, ard the sound
of the churchgoers' footsteps comes
from the street below; but there sit
the sewers, stitching away as placidly
as if the hour were 1890 of Tues
day, or a Wednesday, or a Saturday
morning, instead Of the set-apart Sab
bath. Two women in adjoining
houses overlooking my windows en-
broider all Sunday morning. You
can see them set their stitches, slow
" and diligently for awhile, and then
clip off the thread and hold the linen
square to the light to see the effect.
One of them makes a practice Of
biting off her thread, and / often
think that the dye in the colored floss
is not good for her.
even if / could not distinguish
the colors | can tell from the motions
Of a worker whether she il doing or
namental fancy work or merely plain
sewing. One young woman whom
have noticed seems to keep a supply
of small white garments ON hand to
sew on Sunday. j make her out to be
a self-supporter who is employed on
week days and devotes Sunday to do
ing her sewing society work. un-
derstand that great many women
belong to church societies and take
home garments to make up. These
when completed and re-
turned, are sold, and in that way
many girl who has not money to give
may contribute to the charitable fund.
! know that the young woman who
sews on the thin-looking little white
garments on Sunday is employed dur
ing the week, because / see her go
out of the house at a certain hour
each morning and return at certain
hour each afternoon. Some of the
women whom / see sewing on Sunday
i've in luxuriously furnished apart
nents. On Sunday evening, when
the occupants of such q room had
omitted to draw the shades, ! looked
INTO an interior refined and homelike.
Two men, one of whom seemed to be
l caller, sat talking, and near them
we're a couple Of children discussing
juvenile books. Close to the lamp,
It side table, woman sat embroid-
.ring, an expression of pleased inter
st on her face as she listened to the
''Now, | don't mean to say that
here is any harm in a womaB's sew
ng on Sunday, whether she darns
tocEings, as | understand a good
many of them do, or embroiders, or |
ews on her sewing society work. / |
would never have thought Of men
Joining it at all if i had not CHANGED
his winter to see how many do it, |
md how common a custom it has
,ome TO be. Owing to my bringing
Up, the six days thou shalt labor, and
10 all that thou hast to do theory |
vas dyed in the grain. The flavor Of |
clings to me still. know that there |
Ire women in many parts of the union |
o-day who are so deeply imbued with
his traditional idea of Sabbath OBJ
ervance that they would blush to be |
aught with needle >and scissors in
and on the Lords day, and never on
ny account would they take a stitch
fter IL o'clock on Saturday night I'M
ess pressing en- Urgency demanded it.
Bearing this in mind, the sight of
,hese comfortable, happily circum-
tanced women sewing away placidly, |
Then other people are going to
hurch and the church bells are ding |
longing a reminder, makes me think
hat a considerable leavening of the
'ld-time rigor has taken place. / am
old, also, since my attention has been
Irawn to the subject, that there are
women who do not hesitate to sew on |
he machine on Sunday-clatter, clat-
er, clatter the whole morning |
hrough--when there is a dress to
make or a couple of bodices to be
titched. A fair neighbor of mine in
lodging house confded to me that
he was forced to give up her apart
nent because a woman in the room
lext to her "a well-appearing person,
4 \ ~