But this fact does
not always prevent such a woman from trying to help others by sending
young girls who have recently taken to the trade to the Titchfield
Street Refuge in the hope that they may be induced to abandon their
evil courses.
Occasionally the Army has midnight suppers in its Regent Hall for
these women, who attend in large numbers, perhaps out of curiosity. At
the last supper nearly 300 'swell girls' were present and listened to
the prayers and the exhortations to amend their lives. Sometimes, too,
the Officers attend them when they are sick or dying. Once they buried
one of the women, who died whilst under their care, holding a midnight
funeral over her at their hall in Oxford Street.
It was attended by hundreds of the sisterhood, and the Major described
the scene as terrible. The women were seized with hysterics, and burst
into shrieks and sobs. They even tried to open the coffin in order to
kiss the dead girl who lay within.
Amongst many other cases, I was informed of a black girl called
Diamond, so named because she wore real diamonds on her dresses, which
dresses cost over L100 apiece.
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