The Argosy — page 290: what you’re looking at

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

The House of Halliwell. 2609 “The ladies meets at his house once a week, miss, and makes clothes for the poor.” The door was flung open by a middle-aged woman in black, with spectacles on her nose, and grey hair sticking out. Mr. Halliwell appeared behind her. And then Hester found there had been a mistake, either in her mother’s wording of her letter, or in his reading of it, for he had not expected her till the evening coach at nine o'clock. The luggage was put in the passage, a very narrow one, and then Mr. Halliwell introduced her to the parlour. fifteen or sixteen ladies, of various ages, up to five-and-thirty, sat round a table, which was piled up with calico, flannel and coloured prints. ‘‘ My eldest sister,” said he. ‘‘ Mrs. Zink, Miss Dewisson, Miss ——— ” Hester heard no more. She thought she should have been smothered. ‘The whole bevy started up, and fell upon her. She had a great dislike to being kissed, but what was she to do? Mrs. Zink, a stout lady, rising fifty, the wife of a professional man in Chelson, was the only married lady present. She offered to chaperone Hester upstairs, and Alfred thanked her. It was a poor, old-fashioned house, containing five rooms besides the kitchen, which was built at the back. The ceilings were miserably low: Hester could touch the beams with her hand. ‘There were two parlours, one on either side the door; two bedrooms over, Mr. Halliwell’s, and the one meant for Hester; and one room above, in what Hester would have called the roof, but which she there heard styled the ‘‘ cock-loft.” “What a number of bonnets!” exclaimed Hester, when she came in view of her bed. “My dear Miss Halliwell, I hope you will excuse it,” said Mrs. Zink—it struck Hester as being the oddest name she had ever heard. ““We have been in the habit of putting our things here, on the Tuesday afternoons, and although the room was made ready for you, we did the same to-day. Indeed there was no other place. The second parlour has the tea laid out in it, and of course the young ladies would rather be skinned than invade the privacy of the Vicar’s bedroom. Did you wonder at seeing so many here, all at work ?” “A little, at first,” answered Hester. “Ah! your dear brother has had the labour of a horse before him. ‘The parish was in the most neglected state when he came to it ; religion and morality were not thought of amongst the poor, and the children were a race of heathens. What Mr. Halliwell would have done without us, I don’t know. We have organised everything for him: schools and book-clubs, and district-visiting ladies, and coal-and-provident meetings, and sewing-for-the-poor societies, and all else requisite, so that he really has no trouble, except his Sunday duties.” | ‘ But—pardon me—if the lady-parishioners are so very kind as to GomiilGaooks (CO) im