she would never have thought possible till the knowledge stared her
in the face. To begin with, she believed that the shabby treatment,
in the way of food and accommodation, that the girls suffered at
"Dawes'" would bind them in bonds of sympathy: the contrary was the
case. The young women in other departments looked down on and would
have nothing to do with girls, such as she, who worked in the shop.
These other departments had their rivalries and emulation for social
precedence, leading to feuds, of which the course of action
consisted of the two opposing parties sulking and refusing to speak
to each other, unless compelled in the course of business. The young
women in the showroom were selected for their figures and general
appearance; these, by common consent, were the aristocracy of the
establishment. After a time, Mavis found that there was another
broad divergence between her fellow-workers, which was quite
irrespective of the department in which they were. There was a type
of girl, nearly always the best-looking, which seemed to have an
understanding and freemasonry of its own, together with secrets,
confidences, and conversations, which were never for the ears of
those who were outsiders--in the sense of their not being members of
this sisterhood. Miss Potter, Miss Allen, and Miss Impett all belonged
to this set, which nearly always went out after shop hours in evening
dress, which never seemed to want for ready money or pretty clothes, and
which often went away for the weekend ("Dawes'" closed at two on
Saturdays). When Mavis had first been introduced to the three girls with
whom she shared her bedroom, she had intuitively felt that there was a
broad, invisible gulf which lay between her and them; as time went on,
this division widened, so far as Miss Impett and Miss Potter were
concerned, to whom Mavis rarely spoke. Miss Allen, who, in all other
respects, toadied to and imitated Miss Potter, was disposed to be
friendly to Mavis. Miss Impett, who on occasion swore like any street