, we descend a flight of steps into the
spacious dressing-rooms, with vistas of wooden screens, filled on each
side with numbered hooks. Here every morning the thousands of girls
not only divest themselves of their outer garments, but change their
dresses for washing frocks of white holland. The material for these is
provided by the firm, free for the first, and afterwards at less than
cost price, and the girls are required to start work in a clean frock
every Monday morning. It will be seen at once how this helps them to
keep neat and respectable; their strong white washing frocks only
being soiled by their work, after which they change back into their
own unstained clothes, and turn out looking as great a contrast to the
usually pictured type of factory girl as can be imagined. The
forewomen also conform to this arrangement, but wear washing dresses
of blue cotton to distinguish them from the girls. Round the walls of
this vast dressing-room hot-water pipes are placed, and over these are
shelves where on a rainy day wet boots can be deposited to dry.
Specially thoughtful is the provision of rubber snow-shoes, imported
from America for their use, and supplied under cost price. Beneath
each stool, too, is a shelf for heavy boots, which can be replaced in
the factory by slippers.

[Illustration--Drawing: BOOT-SHELF ON STOOL.]

Mention has already been made of the provision for illness or
accidents, and of the care shown in the many arrangements for
maintaining and improving the health and physical development of the
girls. Further evidence of this is found in the airy and well-lighted
work-rooms, from which funnels and exhaust fans collect and carry off
all dust, and improve the ventilation, so that in spite of the
multitudinous operations in progress, the whole place is kept as
"spick and span" as a ship of the line. But another aggressive sign of
the firm's belief in the motto _mens sana in corpore sano_ is the
presence of a lady whose whole time is devoted to the physical culture
of the girls. Trained in Swedish athletics, this lady and her
assistant undertake the teaching, not only of gymnastics, but of
swimming and numerous games. Every day drill classes are held, an
opportunity being thus provided for all the younger girls to attend a
half-hour's lesson twice a week.

The result of all this thoughtful care is abundantly evident in the
general air of health and comfort which pervades the whole factory,
and in th