The Union and eastern journal. [volume] (Biddeford [Me.]) 1854-1858, 1856-01-25

day by day for such carelessness, you have
not improved in any one respect.
"when dinner IL to be thought Of, I must
hasten to the kitchen, and ask; Bridget
have you put your beef in to roast''
"' Yes, ma'am, I'm just doing It, you
reply; though it is half an hour beyond the
time / told you.
"' Put your potatoe water on at twelve
O'Clock, and your potatoes in ut half past
twelve, being sure the water boils. VIII
you remembcr?"
"'Yes ma'am, certainly will
"At halfpast twelve again 60 the kitch-
en-, and find the potatoc kettle standing on
the stove hearth.
Bridget, how is this-did you not prom
ise the water should certainly be boiling"'
"'And, troth, ma'am, 20 It did boil and
took 1t off to wait for the time!
"No, Bridget, am not going to pay
you any more than at present, until my
timo can be at my disposal III have not
explained clearly how little use you arc to
me, despair Of doing 20. If it were not
necessary that you should keep doing, in or
der to learn, rshould vastly prefer doing it
all. will pay you what you earn, willing
ly; and shall rejoice for your sake and my
own when the time comes that can give
you as much as Margaret gets"
II is no less an error for ladies to withhold
Q fairly deserved increase ofwuges. Ifa girl
has, from the beginning, eyinced a desire to
learn and oblige, and has constantly improv-
cd, until by her quickness and industry, she
relieves you of much Of your care, and per-
haps saves the board and wages ofa second
girl, does she not earn and deserve an in
crease of the pay YOU first stipulated to give?
Sclfintcrest, IL not sense Of justice, will
suggest to most ladies the propriety and ne
cessity of judicious increase of wages, IL
they would retain reliable and trusty help.
The ladiesof village will sometimes make
a rule among themselves that they will not
pay to exceed six dollars month to any girl,
and call any lady to an account who tran
scends this arbitrary yand absurd rcgularation.
It is quite rs sindiscriminating as for oil girls,
good, bad and Indifferent, to claim the same
amount of wages. II either rule were to OBJ
tain permanency, there would be an end to
any inducement for the trustworthy and ca
pablc to maintain their good reputation by
continuing to do well, or for the ignorant
and careless to endeavor to improve.
1t is manifcstly just to pay higher wages
to capable girl, who does the work for
a family of eight or ten persons, than could
be afforded to one who performed the same
Offices for three or four only.
Said neighbor to me the other day: "Is
it possible you pay Hannah Peck half dol
lar week every week for doing your wash
ing, when she goes only at eight o'clock,
and gets done by noon? Why they say she
goes in the afternoon of the same day and
does Madam Grey's ironing, and gets half a
dollar more! That's equal to mans
wages"
"Yes; and she has a mans energy and
powers of endurance. She knows how to do
her work well and quick, and spends no idle
moments, indulges in no gossip, finds no
fault with the number of pieces, expects to
wash dirty clothes, not all clean ones, wastes
no soap, burns only enough wood to do her
work, waits upon herself instead Of calling
upon the kitchen girl to spend half her time
running for her and instead Of bling all
day in the suds, keeping the kitchen drench-
ed in slops and uninhabitablc steam, as you
say, she is done by noon, her floor washed,
her dress changed; and having had her din
ner, she says goodbye, with pleasant smile,
and goes to Madam Grcy's where she bakcs,
and irons, and accomplishes more than many
n girl would with the whole day before her,
1.-TWO weeks ago Hannah could not come
to do my washing, as she had her sister,
sick child to nurse.
81 sent for widow Town. She came al
six. Had an early breakfast prepared cx'
pressly for her. She could not drink coffee
must have fresh meat (at Judge Jones' they
generally had broilcd chicken y asked fol
cheese (they always had cheese at Judg'
Joncs'.) She started her fire, using ncarl..
Ms much wood for her first kettle us HANNAH
would for her whole wash soap, ditto
She complained Of the tubs, and of the harc
water; said she was sure the clothes hat
been worn fortnight that 1t must he WI
had two weeks washing; our wash-bencl
was too high; our clothes basket was to'
old to be decent our clothes-line was in NJ
awful unhandy place and ended by won
dering why girls would live with pcoplcwh
kept two tables, and said she knew lots o
girls who had good wages, but had little b
do, and could run in the streets half tn
time.
She wanted lunch at ten, with old ny
son tea, (only mean, stingy people dranl
black) dinner at one, a cup of tea at thre
lat her regular washing places they kept th
tea hot for her all the time,) supper at five
and then asking for some sweet milk and
few slices of bread, as she had no time L
cook ut home (Nls. Judge Jones often CAV
her whole loaf,l she took her departure
without having washed the floor.
"The washing was the same in size tha
Hannah gets out by noon. Ineed not asl
which Of the two is best worth the half dol
lar"
This same Hannah lived with me scvera
year. ago. She is an american woman
the thirty, strong, health, good tempered
busy rs bee from morning till night, oblis
l.