. All sorts and conditions of men : an impossible story . xperiment on avery humble scale. If I were to go among the people in myname, most of them would try to borrow or steal from me ; as Iam only a poor dressmaker, only those who have business with metry to take me in. I do not go on a platform and lecture thepeople: nor do I open a school to teach them ; nor do I print andcirculate tracts. I simply say, My dears, I am going to danceand sing, and have a little music, and play lawn-tennis; comewith me and we will dance together. And they come. Andthey behave well. I think it is a strange til
. All sorts and conditions of men : an impossible story . xperiment on avery humble scale. If I were to go among the people in myname, most of them would try to borrow or steal from me ; as Iam only a poor dressmaker, only those who have business with metry to take me in. I do not go on a platform and lecture thepeople: nor do I open a school to teach them ; nor do I print andcirculate tracts. I simply say, My dears, I am going to danceand sing, and have a little music, and play lawn-tennis; comewith me and we will dance together. And they come. Andthey behave well. I think it is a strange tiling that young womenof the lower class always prefer to behave well when they can,while young men of their own station take so much pleasure innoise and riot. We have no difiiculty in our drawing-room,where the girls behave perfectly and enjoy themselves in a sur-prising manner. I find, alreay, a great improvement in the have acquired new interests in life ; they are happier: con-sequently, they chatter like birds in spring and sui^shine; and. ALZ SORTS AND CONDITIONS OF MEN. 108 whereas, since I came into these regions, it has been a constantpain to listen to the querulous and angry talk of workgirls inomnibuses and in streets, I rejoice that we have changed all this,and while they are with me my girls can talk without angrysnapping of the lips, and without the sezi and sezee andsezshee of the omnibus. This is surely a great gain for them. * Next, I observe that they are developing a certain amount ofpride in their own superiority: they are lifted above their neigh-bours, if only by the nightly drawing-room. I fear they willbecome unpopular from hauteur: but there is no gain withoutsome loss. If only one felt justified in doubling the number ofthe girls I But the Stepney ladies have hitherto shown noenthusiasm in the cause of the Association. The feeling in theseparts is, you see, commercial rather than co-operative. The dinner is to me the most satisfactory as well
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