Page:The cutters' practical guide to the cutting of ladies' garments.djvu/117

 life, and I believe others did the same. This was only natural in such a number of young men all having the same object in view, especially when their views on religious, social, or political subjects were much in common. There were very few of them who went in for politics, but many a discussion took place on religion and temperance ; and very instructive they frequently were, too, carried on as they usually were in the best of humours whilst we were busy with our drawing books, drafting models, &c. Young men from all parts of Great Britain were there, Welshmen, Irishmen, Scotchmen, Yorkshiremen ; and not only from our own little island, but there was a Canadian, an American, a New Zealander, an Australian ; and I heard from the secretary it was no unusual occurrence for them to have 6 or 7 different nationalities represented there at the same time, Russians, Frenchmen, Germans, Swedes and Jews often forming part of the company. Sometimes they could speak English, sometimes they could not and it was astonishing how well they could be taught without the use of the tongue. This reminds me that whilst I was there, we had a deaf and dumb fellow student ; and he really got on well, for though only there for a month, yet he thoroughly mastered Coats, Vests, and Trousers, and successfully passed his examination. I soon felt at home with them all, for they were jolly fellows and

I began to feel myself an old stager, for I had seen many come and go in that time. Some cutters in actual practice would get a week's holiday, and come up to learn a little about their weak points ; with some it was breeches, with others it was ladies', and I often envied the speed with which they acquired the knowledge in their special branch they had come up to study. I had, as I have stated, come for three months, and the plan followed with long term Students, is to thoroughly ground them in each garment as they proceed, so that I had not advanced very far at this time, though there is many a man holding a cutter's position, that knows no more than I did at that time, for I had thoroughly mastered the cutting of Trousers, Breeches, Gaiters, Vests, Lounges, Morning and Frock Coats, Overcoats, dec., and had begun the study of disproportion. I knew how to provide for stooping and erect figures, long and short necks, and was dealing with hump backs, &c., when Was given on this very subject. One of the Students consented to have his body made up by padding, &c., to represent a very bad case of disproportion ; one of the teachers being deputed to do this, and the form he produced, was such that I think I should shudder to see enter my cutting room now. I will try to describe it ; There was a large hump on the right side, with a corresponding depression on the left, the right shoulder was at least 2 inches higher than the left, and though the chest was 36 yet the measure across was only $6 3⁄4$, that is $13 1⁄2$ from arm to arm. The senior teacher then commenced operations. He took the measures, cat the pattern, marked it on the cloth, cut it out, basted it up, all the while explaining every detail as he proceeded and answering the hundred and one questions asked him as he went on. Sometimes I wondered at the patience and good humour shown by the teachers, and I can only say they are indeed men well qualified for their position. The one special note I made on the subject of deformities was : " Don't try to exactly fit, but to hide the deformity." I have many others, but this was the special teaching on that occasion, and I must say the result of the try on was a great success. About this time there were several leaving, their terms of tuition having expired, and they asked to be taken over the premises, so I joined them in their

We started at the basement, and as we got to this we could see the engine puffing away, and very quickly we were amidst the noise and din of four large printing machines, all busy at work. One was printing Fashion Plates, another was printing a portion of a New Work in course of preparation, and the other two were occupied with the Tailor and Cutter and the Ladies' Tailor. In the corner of one of the large printing rooms was the guilotine, which cuts and trims the edges of the journals, &c., before they are sent out. After watching with interest the various processes in operation in the basement, we came up to the ground floor ; here the Clerk's Office is situated, together with the Secretary's Room, a stock room and the shop. Around the walls of the latter large cupboards are fitted up, these are fitted with pigeon-holes, which are fitted with the various kinds of Model Patterns supplied. In a glass case were displayed samples of Shears, Scissors, Squares, &c., and in another the various works on cutting published by the company. On the walls were hung specimens of Fashion Plates, including Military, Naval and Livery Plates ; and I could not help thinking how nicely they would show off the walls of any cutting room. We then ascended to the Cutting Rooms on the first floor, which I have already described ; by the side of this is placed the Editor's Room, which forms a centre of the establishment, and from whence instructions for each department emanate. Above this is a room I hear the company are specially fitting up for Ladies, in addition to a small room on the first floor. By the side of this is another Stock Room, where piles of Books, Plates, Trouser Stretchers, &c., were to be seen. Back we came through the Lavatory, into the upstairs Cutting Room, and then at the back of this we were shown the Model Pattern Cutting Room, where the world-famed Models are ranged round the walls, and from which copies are cut by the score. It was very interesting to see the knife at work in the hands of a skilled cutter, and what struck me. most was the accuracy and care with which every detail was attended to, in order to make these model patterns models indeed. On the third and top floor we found the compositors busy with their formes and type. There we were shown the engraved blocks of diagrams, the method by which they were produced was explained, and so on till a good quarter of an hour had been spent in a most instructive manner. To the right of the compositors room we were ushered into the folding room, where we found four young ladies, busy at work, folding the journals ; how nimbly their hands manipulated the sheets, how quickly and accurately it was all done ; truly practice makes perfect. Ere descending the stairs we were shown the lift, by which all the heavy forms of type, &c., are transported from the compositors to the printers. This brought our tour of inspection to a close, a tour that demonstrated to me how necessary co-operative effort was to produce anything of benefit to the world at large, and I think there are few indeed but will readily acknowledge the Tailor and Cutter is a benefit to the tailoring community in particular, and through them to the world generally. I now began to think of serious I was supplied with a list of questions which seemed to me to embrace every phase of tailoring— practical, scientific, and artistic. I was told to study them all, to be capable of answering every one, though I should only get a small selection from them to answer in my examination. Having got this list, I cut the sheets up so that each question was separate, and these I pasted in a twopenny exercise book, allowing some five or six lines to write my answer in. Having done this, I was ready to start. There is no key book from which to crib the answers from ; each has to be carefully studied out ; still I did not find them particularly difficult, though some of them were what I should call "tricky