Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1905-03-04

NIF mi ana the ufOODlng, SQulnt-
9ll ing, strained motion of her
eyelids indicated a granu-
lntad affnntin,,.-- IL. i-o.s.S was a niue,
three-room tenement, high up in one
Of those old double-decker tenement
houses which abound in New York.
There are thousands upon thou
sands of these hulks Of tenement
houses, the construction of which far
antedated the enactment of the present
Tenement House law, and the house
she lived in was but a routine specimen
of vast blocks of the same type. Two
stores on the ground floor and four
families TO floor, two in the front and
the same in the rear-for five stories
skyward, that is the rule. You found
yourself in dark hallway, and by the
aid of the balustrade you CROPPED up the
uncertain stairway until you reached
the fourth story front to the right
There were no names downstairs to
show where each family lived, and in
luiries had to be made as you as
cended.
There were 10 superfuities about her
home. One room served the combined
purpose Of kitchen, dining sitting and
work room; the other rooms for sleep
Ing. A stove, table, sewing ma
chine, and few chairs were the outfit
Of the main room, with its many pur-
poses, and some cheap pictures hung
On the green painted walls, and bits of
crockery such as are given for trading
stamps or for certain purchases Of tea,
adorned the mantel.
She lived there with her husband and
their boy of four years. Back time,
when girl of fifteen years, she had
begun working in box factories. She
had made all kinds Of pasteboard boxes
handkerchief boxes, shoe and cigar
stte boXeS-bOXes for all manner of
hhinsS. F'or--ctgrTC years she worked
thus; and by being nimble and sticking
at her task from i'll the morning until
3 at night, with a half-hOur intermis-
sion at noon for lunch and a half-hour
at night for supper, she had managed
20 make q living. In the busy season,
rom July TO September, she made from
FLO to SO week. After September
!he slack season would set in. She
would work eight hours n day then,
and made 81 week. Later, in the
winter months, rush of orders would
come in, and the factory would run
lwleve hours a day again.
A FAMILY'S EARNINGS.
She thought herself well off. There
we're fully 5000 box-making girls in
New York, and not many of them could
excel her in quickness of work and in
amount of wages. The pay was by
piece work; the best pay went to the
best workers. She considered the lot
Of most of the other girls. Many of
them earned only So or Sc week. On
This sum they had TO live. How they
managed to do it she didn't know. She
lived at home with her father, her four
brothers, and sister. The combined
earnings Of all amounted to $40
week. The family had pleasant fiat,
md Tessie-for that was her name-al-
ways had money enough for dresses,
Gnery and amusements.
Tessie sympathized deeply with most
If the other girls. How could they pay
BOARD, buy apparel, and live decently in
general OH So or Sc n week? Many
Of them had no families, and most of
them were in debt to the instalment
dealers. They would buy their dresses
and coats from these dealcrs-cheap
garments at eXorbitant prices-and pay
twenty-five or fifty cents n week on
account. But those girls never could
succeed in clearing off their debts. The
nstalment men were always dunning
Them. As for hats and shoes, the girls
hadn't much to spend A quarter was
the limit for hat, and forty cents for
ribbon to adorn ii. TO may more than
S1.25 for pair of shoes was an I'M
heard-of extravaganza; the shoes, with
care and periodic mending, would be
pressed into service for a year at least
Tessie was fortunate girl compared
to the most of them. At least she
priced her lot so. Now and then she
would deicately make presents of her
old dresses and coats to some of the
most needy.
Tessie was favOrite at dances. She
was a pretty girl. and always had at
tractive clothes. 1t followed, of course.
that there We're not wanting suitOrs
for pretty, well dressed girl with
pleasant home and ability to make n
good living, was dazzling star in
the neighborhood in which she lived.
THINGS THAT APPEALED TO
TESSIE.
There were rivals. Jessie chose
good-lookng young fellow. True, he
did not make as much money as Tessie
did. He was an assistant porter in
a cloth store. and his wages were so a
week. But Tessie thought him an eX-
ceedingly pleasant fellow. He was
always neatly dressed. his hair was
faultlessly oiled, his handkerchief was
perfumed. and lie wore scarfpin that
caught Tessic's fancy. The big ruby
and. the diamonds surrounding 1t were
glass-and not the finest at that-and
the gold was brass, but Tessle didn't
know. 1t was real enough dnzZler
to her. Tim, also. could spiel better
than the other fellows, she thought,
and he could sing the latest popular
songs with what seemed to her perfect
art.
Tim Jecame Tessie's STEADY" The
engagement was brief. Presently, Tim
and Jessie set up in housekeeping.
The three-room flat cost them $3.50 n
month rental. They just managed to
live on Tins 80 week. But they
were II happy pair. Tessic eyed Tim
more fondly than ever, and when he'd
come home and after n hard days
work sing You're Only Teasing Me-