The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1847-02-09 00:00:00

THE LIVERPOOL STANDARD.

THE SERVANT THAT WAS " SUCH A TREA-
SURE," AND IHE CHERRY BRANDY.

(From '

The Greatest Plague of Life,! or, the

4dren-

tures of a Lady in Search of (loud Servant.")
I don't suppose I could have finished a quarter of an
hour before the first double-knock came at the door, and
that slut Mary not down stairs to answer it. So I rushed
up to her room and bundled her down as quick as I could ;
though she had been at her old tricks again, I could see,
and wasn't really in a fit state to be trusted to go to the
door; but what could Ido ? They had knocked again,
and I had only just time to sit myself down, and take up
one of the books off the drawing-room table, when the
street door was opened. And then, to my great horror, I
heard Mary talking, at the top of her voice, to the visisors
in the passage ; and demanding to shake hands with them,
and calling them a set of stuck-up things, because they
wouldn't. So I ran down as fast as my legs would carry
me, and looking at her as if I could have eaten her, told
her to go doWn stairs directly, and remember who she
was, and what she was, and where she came from.
I found it was poor Mrs. B—yl—s and her lovely girls
that Mary had been insulting in this dreadful manner, and
who were quite flurried at her strange goings-on. Luckily,
Edward was up-stairs dressing, or there's no knowing
what he wouldn't have done. And I declare, there was
not a single person that came into the house that day that
she didn't insult, in some way or other; and twice I had
to go down to her ; for she would go, singing and dancing
about, like A downright maniac, and.it was only by pro-
mising her some warm spirits and water in the evening,
that I could in any way get her to keep her tongue to herself.
I was so upset, that instead of• my friends congratulat-
ing me on my improved appearance, they did nothing but
tell me that they could perceive Mary was worrying me
dreadfully, and that they had never seen me look so bad
before. And they kindly advised me to get•the jade out
of the house as soon as possible, saying, that if she were a
servant of theirs, they should expect to be burned alivein
their beds, for that drunken people were always so care-
less with their candles. While dear mamma (who is na-
turally, a long-headed woman,) said, that every morning
she confidently expected to find the place destroyed by
.na that. 11Pr dear children had perished in the flames.

iirct iIIIU itanu lava UGC,a k
which took such a hold on my mind, that I couldn't
get a wink of sleep for a week afterwards, and was always
fancying I could hear the boards crackling, and kept get-
ting up and going over the house, shivering, in my night
dress, to satisfy myself that all was•safe.

W% were, at one time, as many as fourteen in the draw-
ing-room, and all of them highly-desirable acquaintances,
being people very well to do in the world : when mamma,
who is so proud of her cherry brandy, would persuade our
friends to take some—if it was only a glassful. So (bother
take it !) I had
`° stupid cherry

t my k€

and trot downstairs for her

want of, forlithert

y of red and whi

I enough for any
_one any day 1

should thin],

my mind upon keeping

the cherry brandy quietly to myself, .as there were only;
two bottles of it, and Edward had just laid in several dortn
of port and sherry. However, Ireturned with one of the
bottles and an agreeable smile on my countenance to the
.drawing-room, little thinking that I was about to present
some of my best friends with a glass of that horrible wash
that that tipsy, thieving Mary had filled up the bottle
with. Then giving it to mamma, I told her pleasantly
that she should fin the classes. and have all the credit of

Iservcd to Sirs. L—ck---y,
best client, and of highly
should like her to try that ;