Lee attracted great attention at the dinner-party, and her elegant dress proved a good card for me. The dress was done in time, and it gave complete satisfaction. Harper allowed me a commission of twenty-five dollars on the purchase. Related: 10 Moving Biographies and Memoirs I often recall them, for they are associated with the dawn of a brighter period in my dark life. It was pleasant to be spoken to thus, and I shall never forget the kind words of Mr. When I reminded him that I was a stranger, and that the goods were valuable, he remarked that he was not afraid to trust me-that he believed my face was the index to an honest heart. Lee, in order to learn whether she could approve my selection or not, he gave a ready assent. When I asked permission to carry the laces to Mrs.

Harper waited on me himself, and was polite and kind. With the money in my pocket I went out in the street, entered the store of Harper & Mitchell, and asked to look at their laces. Lee the next day, her husband was in the room, and handing me a roll of bank bills, amounting to one hundred dollars, he requested me to purchase the trimmings, and to spare no expense in making a selection. Miss Ringold recommended me, and I received the order to make the dress. The silk had been purchased, but a dress-maker had not yet been found. was in a state bordering on excitement, as the great event of the season, the dinner-party given in honor of the Prince of Wales, was soon to come off, and she must have a dress suitable for the occasion. While in this situation I called at the Ringolds, where I met Mrs. It is true, the bills were small, but then they were formidable to me, who had little or nothing to pay them with. Work came in slowly, and I was beginning to feel very much embarrassed, for I did not know how I was to meet the bills staring me in the face. EVER SINCE ARRIVING IN WASHINGTON I had a great desire to work for the ladies of the White House, and to accomplish this end I was ready to make almost any sacrifice consistent with propriety.

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