waiting their turn, and around them elegant, well-to-do women looking them over. An elderly lady in a black silk dress came up to her and said:
— Are you looking for work, my dear? I like your looks — won't you work for me? I need a companion more than I need a maid. After you finish tidying the house you will read books and magazines to me, and you shall have room and board with me, and I will pay you thirty dollars a month!
...the feeble-minded. Think, my girl, before you touch the price of candies stuffed with spirituous liquors!
And Elsie said sorrowfully:
— I didn't know that! But... I have to live! Good Lord, what am I to do?
The lady answered:
— Leave this work now and come with me, and I will show you!
After Elsie had told the shopkeeper of her intention to leave the work, she put on her coat and followed the lady to the street, where the latter stood beside a luxurious carriage.
— Look for other work, my girl, and do your part in the war on strong drink. Then the lady climbed into that luxurious carriage and quickly disappeared.
Elsie set off walking, saying to herself: "I suppose I shall ask Mr. Otter for help in the end, and I am sorry for it... but... what is to be done?... I had wished not to ask help of anyone..."
She stopped speaking, for she had caught sight of a sign near one of the doors that read:
"Fifty girls wanted to sew theatrical costumes at good wages."
Before she could go in, a man
dressed in black, dignified in bearing, blocked her way and said to her:
— I beg you, my dear daughter, do not enter this house of the Devil!
Elsie, her patience worn out, said:
— Good heavens, it seems the Devil is behind every job in New York!
The solemn man replied:
— He is here in the guise of costumes. The theater is the road to ruin and destruction. Will you expose your soul to perdition by helping others to destroy themselves? Do you know where the theater leads the actors and actresses once the curtain falls?
Elsie answered:
— To the revues, sir... but... what crime do I commit by earning money from my skill with the needle? I must find work, or else...
The man cut her off, saying:
— I beg you, my little child, keep away from the house of sin and evil.
She said naively:
— I care nothing for this work if its results are as you say... but... I must find work to live by!
He said to her:
— God does not forsake His servants! Come, my daughter, and attend our religious lessons every Sunday afternoon. May the Lord keep you, and may God's peace be in your heart. Farewell.
She continued on her way and entered the industrial district, where she saw on one of the brick walls "The Artificial Flowers Company," and beneath these words, on a fresh additional sign: "Five hundred girls wanted to learn the trade. Good wages. Apply on the first floor."
She approached the door, around which a crowd of women had gathered, when one of them, wearing a straw hat, came up to her, saying:
— Listen, my girl, do you want work?
— Yes, I must find work...
— And I tell you: no!... I am the head of the labor-boycott committee here! We are 400 girls thrown out of work because we asked for a raise of 50 cents a week and that the overseer shave off his mustache! Your looks show you are a gentle sort, and it would be a shame for you to face the
Cussons Imperial Leather
The luxurious toilet soap
Cussons
Imperial Leather
Blue Hyacinth
London Blossom
Apple Blossom
CUSSONS
IMPERIAL LEATHER