Page:A tour through the northern counties of England, and the borders of Scotland - Volume I.djvu/64

 number of women, who soon change the dull surface of the gold into a most brilliant appearance, by rubbing the gilt part of the pattern with little instruments pointed with blood-stones and other polishing substances. They are now ready to be introduced into the world, and are sent forth, to gratify vanity, decorate splendour, or accommodate luxury; to ornament the tea-table of high-life, the dressing-room of fashion, and the boards of the great; for the Worcester manufactory soars above the humbler articles in use amongst the happier tribes of common life. It would surprize a modern fine lady, were I to tell her, that the cup from which she sips her tea had been through the hands of at least twenty-three dirty workmen, before it met her lips ; but such is the fat, for if we retrace the process, we shall find the following croud employed for the purpose: the man who grinds the articles for the composition; the man that mills them; the person that calcines them; the grinder of the lumps; the sifter; theattender on the vats; the temperer; the thrower; the drier; the turner; the spout-maker, who forms the spouts and handles; the handler, who puts them on; the biscuit fire-man; the blue painter; the dipper, who immerses them in the glaze; the trimmer, who clears them from