CHAPTER XXVIII 410 articles would be accepted : probably they would not ; but I must try .
I entered the shop : a woman was there . Seeing a respectably-dressed person , a lady as she supposed , she came forward with civility . How could she serve me ? I was seized with shame : my tongue would not utter the request I had prepared . I dared not offer her the half-worn gloves , the creased handkerchief : besides , I felt it would be absurd . I only begged permission to sit down a moment , as I was tired . Disappointed in the expectation of a customer , she coolly acceded to my request . She pointed to a seat ; I sank into it . I felt sorely urged to weep ; but conscious how unseasonable such a manifestation would be , I restrained it . Soon I asked her " if there were any dressmaker or plain-workwoman in the village ?"
" Yes ; two or three . Quite as many as there was employment for ."
I reflected . I was driven to the point now . I was brought face to face with Necessity . I stood in the position of one without a resource , without a friend , without a coin . I must do something . What ? I must apply somewhere . Where ?
" Did she know of any place in the neighbourhood where a servant was wanted ?"
" Nay ; she couldn ' t say ." " What was the chief trade in this place ? What did most of the people do ?"
" Some were farm labourers ; a good deal worked at Mr . Oliver ' s needle-factory , and at the foundry ."
" Did Mr . Oliver employ women ?" " Nay ; it was men ' s work ." " And what do the women do ?"