Manchester, with its forest of tall chimneys pouring forth volumes of
black, sulphurous smoke, holds the fate of the cotton trade in its
hands.

It is quite a sight to see the Manchester factory hands rushing out of
the mills, hundreds strong, at the noon hour.

Our own factory hands are, as you well know, neat, tidy, and well
dressed girls. As soon as they turn off from the stream of their
fellow-workers, as they leave the mills, it is hardly possible to tell
whether they are factory girls, shop girls, servants, or young ladies.

The English mill girls are quite different.

They have a distinct dress which points out their occupation wherever
they may be.

To begin with, they never by any chance wear hats. Winter and summer
they go bareheaded.

They one and all wear short skirts which reach to the tops of their
boots; these skirts are always made of cotton goods, and their boots are
thick, clumpy, laced affairs, heavier than those worn by the workmen in
this country--very often they have wooden soles. As you may imagine, the
appearance of these girls' feet is something appalling.

The factory girl's costume is completed by an apron and a small square
shawl of bright plaid, which is worn over the shoulders, or shifted to
cover the head in wet weather.