CHAPTER LVII.

Otago Witness, Issue 1866, 26 August 1887, Page 9

CHAPTER LVII.

AT THE AGRICULTURAL HALL. After answering every advertisement, probable or improbable, in every newspaper, and all in vain, Mrs Langworthy one morning, while glancing over the advertisement columns of tho ' Daily Telegraph,' saw an advertisement " for a young lady " of good personal address. She answered it listlessly, stating the old hackneyed phrase that she was " a lady by birth and education," etc. Tn the afternoon of next day she was' surprised by receiving a letter, dated from Limehouse, Poplar, asking her to give the advertiser an interview, namin Cannon street station as the place, and suggesting, for the sake of identification, that she carried a folded newspaper in her hand. The letter was signed Stuart and Co., granolithic agents. Not caring for the "folded paper," and somewhat dubious about the nature of the place, Mrs Langworthy went to "Cannon street at the appointed time, merely holding conspicuous the blue envelope of the firm. A gentleman soon joined her, and statedthat Messrs Stuart and Co. required a lady to 1 take charge of a stall for a fortnight at the Exhibition' of the' Building Trades at the Agricultural Hall, Islington, to commence Monday, March 14, till Monday, March 28 ; salary LI per week. She said she was willing to take charge of it if they thought she would suit, and^ a few days, later Messrs Stuart ans Co. wro^e stating they «had selected her, and though pthers only asked 15s per week they would give her LI Is, her duties being to dust exhibits and solicit orders during the hours of 10 a.m. — 9; 30 p.m. c Mrs Langworthy winced a little, with the timidity which is always natural . when one

is confronting the unknown. She knew nothing of granolithic or cement., She had never been in the Agricultural Hall since 1882, when she had been taken there to inspect the models of a yacht. To stand all day at a stall, of the contents of which she knew nothing, in the midst of a curious crowd, had its terrors, but beggars must not be choosers, and 21s a-week decided the question. On Monday morning, March 14, she set out for her new duties, trying to comfort herself by remembering all the heroic sentiments about the dignity of honest labor, etc., but in reality anything but elated. She blushed hotly as she asked the overseer for Messrs Stuart's stall, which was No. 16 Avenue A.

It was intensely cold weather. In her little room in Keppel street she had no fire, and in the vast Hall she shivered, as with chattering teeth she sat in the background, while men warmed themselves by thrusting their hands in their pockets and beating a tattoo with their feet. But as time wore on her misgivings ceased ; she received nothing but courtesy from all around.

Among other experiences she was interviewed by a member of the staff of a technical paper, a dapper little gentleman, who was doing the Exhibition for his journal. The condescending kindness with which this good interviewer brought! down his talk to the intellect of the stall attendant was edifying. First he chaffed Mrs Langworthy and called her " lucky girl " ; next he said he would write to Messrs Stuart and tell them how much he was gratified with the " charming young lady" at the stall; then he informed her that, as the Exhibition would be open on Saturday afternoons, she would thus lose her " Saturday afternoon's walk." After which he mercifully passed on. She did her best to learn a little about Portland cement, granite, and granolithic, but made little progress. When the jury came round they asked her a few questions, but she was utterly at sea. She had received practically no instructions, and she floundered desperately in her answers as to whether the granite was from Devon or Aberdeen, and how much the stairs were per square foot or yard, and how much color was burned on the slabs, or they were shaped in a mould, and a hundred other questions. They smiled very indulgently and said : "Ah, we see you know nothing about it, but we'll give you a good notice."

Men stared and hung round sometimes, but once only did she experience any annoying incident. A neighbor exhibitor, red and irate as an angry turkey, accused her loudly of copying his model in a red chimney piece. It was most offensive to himself and clients to see his original mantelpiece now exhibited by her. In vain she tried to see the offence. At last, "forgetting her place," she burst out impatiently : " Well, I'm sure I don't see any thing original in it." For a minute the man seemed struck dumb at such a lack of perception, and then relieved his feelings by denunciation. To this moment Mrs Langworthy cannot understand what it was all about. Messrs Stuart had placed a red brick mantelpiece in the stand, and this man, it seemed, imagined that she had stolen the design ! Mrs Langworthy's attendance at the Agricultural Hall was interrupted by the necessity of returning to the Courts on a dilatory motion made by Messrs Bircham on behalf of the^r client, Mr Langworthy.