The Seamstress; or, The White Slave of England — page 16: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

me a i ek ee ee ee ee tee ee te | | | THE SEAMSTREES. ‘and narrow-minded females of rank and fashion are duped by shaw-foreigners and pseudo-continentals. But to resume the tiread of our narrative. Inte the splendid establishment of Madame Duplessy and Ca.—the “Company,” by the way, being as fictitious as the milliner’s French name and natural- ization, —did Virginia Mordauut enter with a timid step; and her glance was rapidly thrown around the elerantly-appomted shop—or rather magasin, as Madame Duplessy styled it. One handsome young woman was busily engaged im putting it in order for the day—that is to say, arranging a few bonnets, caps, and turbans upon stands: another was measuring out a costly silk for a dress;—a third was packing up a box. to be sent off into the country; and a fourth was sorting feathers and artificial flowers upon the counter. These proreed- ings were taking place under the inspection of Miss Duleimer, the forewoman—a middle-aged person whose Janus-face could wreathe itself into the sun- niest smiles fora patrician customer, and assume the most chilling look for a shop-girl or a seam- stress. “Well, and what do you want?” demanded this icoat-suthority, flinging the question as it were across the shop at the younz maiden who was entering with such respectful timidity. Virginia stated in a few words the object of her mission; whereupon the forewoman bade her open the box. This order was immediately obeyed ; and Miss Dulcimer proceeded to inspect the velvet dress with the most critical eye. There was really no rogm for the faintest cavil: the work was perfect ;— but Miss Dulcimer was the last person on the face of the earth to bestow praise where the spite of a peity tyranny might be safely vented. She accord- ingly found several faults, the glaring injustice of which made poor Virginia’s beart swell almost to bursting. “And the invoice ?” demanded Miss Dulcimer, with harsh ebruptness, as if she secretly hoped that it really had been forgotten, so that she micht have @ justifiable and plausible ground for giving vent to ber natural peevishness. “Here it is,” said Virginia, presenting the bill which Mrs. Pembroke had charred her to deliver. “ Fourteen shillings, eh?” ejaculated Miss Dul- cimer, looking very much as if she longed to fly into arage. “Now I told Pembroke the other day that she must take such things as these at thirteen and six——-But, however, I'll settle that with her /’ she added in a determined tone. “Stopa minute, young woman.” This command was addressed to Virginia, who had already begun to feel very uneasy in the pre- sence of such a harsh-speaking and cross-looking lady as Miss Dulcimer. She was however com- pelled to remain, while the forewoman walked with the air of a tragedy-queen to a little desk at the end ofthe sbop. There she wrote out a bill—enclosed it | in a cream-laid envelope, as the fancy stationers call it—sealed it with perfumed wax—and addressed it in a handwriting as fluid as the blue ink itself. “Now, young woman,” said Miss Dulcimer, returning to the spot where she had left Virginia standing, “ you must have the goodness to take the dress and this note along with it, to the Duchess of Belmont’s in Grosvenor Square. I-can’t spate any of our young people this morning—we are so busy. ae => Xo. 2.—Tue SraMsreess. 9 The note contains the bill—and you will wait for the money, mind. Her Grace already owes Ma- dame Duplessy upwards of six hundred pounds ; and it is an understanding that she is to pay cash in future, on consideration of the old debt not being pressed for. So, if you wait, her Grace will be sure to send down the money, which you will bring straight back here to me. And now look sharp, and don’t be mvre than e quarter of an hour getting to Grosvenor Sguare—for we promised that her Grace should have the dress to try on by ten o’clock this morning, in case of aiterations being required. Ah! things are going gueer, I fancy, at the Bel- monis’,” added Miss Dulcimer, in an ejaculatory style, as she turned away from Virginia and ad- dressed the observation to the young woman who was arranging the artificial flowers. “So I have heard, ma’am,” was the reply. “But how is it that neither Madame Duplessy nor your- self ever go to try on her Grace’s dresses ?” “Oh! because her Grace has got fhat French minx of a lady’s-maid who always will take that duty upon herself,” responded Miss Dulcimer, in a tone of deep disgust. “But, as I live, there’s the Duke’s son—the Marquis of Arden—passing by at this very moment !—and didn’t he stare in at the window !” “Ts that the Marquis? Oh! what a handsome young man!” exclaimed the young woman to whom Miss Dulcimer had been addressing those Jast ob- servations. “I just caught a glimpse of him as he passed by. But I believe his lordship is the Duke’s son by a former marriage, and that the present Dachess is only his step-mother ?” Virginia did not hear the reply which Miss Dulcimer gave to this query on the part of the shop- woman: for at that precise moment the young maiden had finished her task of carefully re-consigning the velvet dress to the box ;—and resuming her burthen, she sallied forth once more. The tall, elegantly-dressed stranger was watching ata little distance: but the maiden did not observe him ;— and, still utterly unconscious of the fact that her footsteps were thus dogged and followed, she pur. sued her way towards Grosvenor Square. But why had the pensive expression of Virgiuia’s| countenance deepened into a positive mournful. ness from the moment that the door of Madame Duplessy’s establishment closed behind her? Be- cause she had there received a farther insight into the circumstances connected with her own toil: she had seen the value of fourteen shillings set upsa her labour—whereas this same labour had only benefited her to the amount of three shillings and sixpence ! Without pausing, however, for the present to examine into the system and trace it step by step from its basis of selfish rapacity to its coloasal beight of tremendous injustice—and, without even upon this occasion stopping to chronicle the thoughts which new experiences were engendering in the mind of the poor scamstress,—we will at once conduct her to the mansion of the Duke of Belmont in Grosvenor Square. The elegant young stranger was still fol- lowing her at a short distance; and still also did his | pertinacious adherence to the track which she was pursuing, remain unnoticed by herself. On reaching the ducal abode, Virginia was at loss whether to ascend the area-steps or to Eo oOo (S —— af SS ee _—_————— + ee S