The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1864-11-26

leave witlou wrrning. Their convictions in
regard to The price Of coal arc not always
deep-seatei and they have luxurious tastes
in the way Of butter and gas.
A very great deal depends upon the servtut
ol a house Her sphere ia not duly appre-
ciatcd. Upon her the happiness Of a house
hold in a great measure, depends. II has
passed into a proverb, that IL is not great
troubles which fret us, Il is the small anxieties
Of life Frivolous annoyauccs, which, placed
on paper, seem even less important than they
are, chaie the most generous spirit. 1t is tho
servants place, i'm many cases, to make them
grow small by DEGREES and beautifully less,
until they reach the vanishing point. The
household-world is full oclittlc troubles, which
the good servant, anticipating, can avoid. or
course, much depends upon the mistress. But
extensive as is her realm, she cannot be cx-
pectcd TO Con1nc herself exclusively to its less
attractive requirements. A wit-the hus-
bands helpmate-should be something more
than a mere housekeeper. There i5 a world
Of ofmind, as well "a a world Of matter, TO which
she should attend.
Connubial happiness is not conditional upon
having the front door-steps immaculate, and the
handles of bath tub pipes in the highest state
Of polish A woman is not better wife for
having a scrubbing brush in her hand from
morn to night. She does not make a better
companion for her husband because the chief
duty Of her life is TO anOint the bricks In the
back garden with vcrmilion varnish, or to
keep the kitchen oil cloth as polished as the
parlor mirror. 1t is the duty Of the mistress
TO understand how everything is to be done
and TO do a fair share in the transaction of TO-
In the few cases where her position removes
her from taking an active part in the manage
ment of the house, home is never made less
happy because she understands how home
comforts are to be secured, and the annoy
ances Of ignorance remedied. Comfort Is
the essence of happiness. Il is another name
for what home should mean, and she is the
best wife who thoroughly employs its prin-
ciples.
Every household has its skeleton and If we
are TO believe the asseryerations OF house
keepers, the family skeleton at present is the
servant. Across the water comes the same
cry. For the past year or two several of the
| principal London journals and magazines have
ylClutu no olulll hIldCt W LlNt dLlOu VI
the servant question. In our suferiHgs we
are not alone. Culinary crimes are not con-
fined to American kitchens. My Lord this
and my Lady that have probably experienced
as much aiilcton in this respect as any
American aristocrat, and even FRANCATELLG,
perhaps, has lamented The necessity of agile
and impudent auXiliaries, who, next to himself
are chief cooks and bOttle-Washers.
To solve the problem, the trite theory must
| be adopted of faults on both sides. Does not
I the mistress sometimes forget that she is the
absolute centre of the household, whence all
happiness must radiate? Is the conviction
always present with her that, charming as she
may be in the drawing-room or the assembly,
she was made for higher, though she may
count them meaner things? Does she ever
apply the moral of CHARLOTTE BRoNTE's
dropping the ardor of composition to peel
potatoes, with attention especially directed to
their "eyes ?" Is she thoroughly convinced
that clean carpets, dustless furniture, regular
meals, general neatness, all adorned with the
| light of her own countenance, contribute very,
very much to the comfort of home2 In the
conceptions she has ofthat ideal servant which
shall some day exist, does she remember that
the model upon which that perfect pattern is
to be constructed must be found in herself?
The requirements of duty are symmetrical.
I They all dove-tail. 1t is true of the brilliant
woman Of society no less than of the daily
drudge whose whole world is comprised in the
limits of the threshold, that her first duty is
to her husband children, home.
1t is only by educating girls to housekeep-
ing that the ideal servant can hope to be
realized. When that event takes place-the
epoch of domestic millennium-then butter
will always be brought upon the table hard in
summer and gently yielding in winter.
Potatoes will have an inevitable fouriness of
flavor, and lamb-chops will forget what it is
to be muttony Castors will ever be clean,
and table cloths cease to be linen Saharas,
spotted with gravy-drop oases. All the fret
ting annoyances of domestic life shall vanish
under the magic touch of decency and order
The servant shall be the angel ei the house
2 hold, and not the terror, and the mistress
@ shall be the kind genius by whom the glaC
- change has been wrought.
4