stool exactly similar to those I had noticed before. Each stool bore a letter and a number. On coming closer to the figures, I saw that they were all women. They were dressed in the same light sort of silky material, and appeared intent on their work. They were of various ages, some had dark, others light hair, but the majority had grey. One stately personage sat on an elevated stool, and directed the entire operations in this department. The younger girls were many of them pretty, but the large heads, big chests and long small bodies gave them a curious uncouth look. There was, however, one thing that impressed me greatly, the brilliancy of their eyes. The expression of their faces struck me as sad, but when the Recorder spoke to them their faces brightened up, and their smile was most fascinating. That they were intelligent beyond any women that I had had experience of, there could be no doubt. Intelligence was depicted in every line of their features. The Recorder spoke to them in an unknown tongue, so I did not understand
