The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1867-09-04

there they are accustomed A. seasons OF 4
family pressure to bring out their little |
boards, " their Ife's savings, and with 'It |
amt much, miss, but, such as 10 is, you |
are welcome to it, press their assistance on |
the young daughter of the family This is |
the theatrical view; but some of these ancient |
retainers have their Inconvenience. They |
are the true old men of the sea--never to be |
parted with save under conditions OF a hand
some pension, whose amount is an indigntty
and cause of injury Their redeeming merit
is a strict honesty; they viii not wrong you
in what they call "a pins point But they
are more passive where others are concerned.
They think something is due to the credit of
the house, and rather stand up for all IMPOSE
tions. They keep us in decent bondage, the
ladies in a sort of terrorism; and grave con-
sultations have to be held, and mutual sup
port conceded, before 'John" or civilian"
| can be asked to go out on some message, or
worse, have the news broken to him that Mr.
and Mrs. Brown are coming to dinner. Din
| neTs, teas, messages, are all so many syno-
nyms for trouble. The face of the ancient
retainer, as he opens the hall door to admit
| some new modern 'notion''-say fern
case, carried in by two men - is worth
| studying, bearing an expression compounded
| of disgust, wonder, contempt, and anger.
| lie looks after the object with a NUT
| tered "Well well after that! Now this ends
| it ~ As for the ''ROoshian" system as applied
| to dinners, that "goes beyond the beyOnds."
In his eyes, it is next to sitting down like the
| savages and pulling the meatwith our fingers.
| The idea Of a dinner that is no dinner, table
| with nothing to eat upon it That in its own
| way Wds going beyond the beyOnds. But
when the retainer gets sick and is prOstrated
| and near his end, as he, but no one else,
| thinks; when he means and crOnes over him
| self, and more than hints in taltering accents
| that it is the overwOrk of the cruel family
who have brought him to this sore pass, but
rrJl,p ho ira1 UJifh ms oogB
dating it all from the night of the party, when
all that weary, "weary work" was laid on his
back. Everything on his back. 1t is we who
are in the service of these treasures" " not
they in ours.
They do not consider, too, how often they
bring US to shame 10y their free-and-easy bear
| ing, their volunteer conversations at the hall
door. With persons of condition and acute OBJ
servation they talk on perfect equality 1t was
an old Irish retainer who was on duty in the
hall of, of course, an Irish family, on the
night of party, and called after some of the
company who were going in a wrong direction
to take off their clOaks, etc.-"COme back,
will ye Come back, say. IT'S an here gees
to Sthrip % And yet, take them for all in all,
with all their failings and bemishes, and the
slavery into which they sell us-still after
line of monsters, who drink and steal, or are
impudent, or quarrelsome, or idle, the eye
looks back wisttully to the honest imperfec-
J0nS OF JQ6 'Olu retainer D6JWe6n Lu6m
both there is not much to choose. Yet the alb
sence of vices is a recommendation.
Still it is always good to see masters and
servants grow old tOgether even better to see
hereditary service kept up-where there is a
lineage of service in the servants halls as well
as lineage recorded in Burke, where the son
of the late Sir Johns old butler ministers to
Sir Johns successor. 1t is in such houses that
every kind of menial Office is best performed.
Such families have their systems and tradi-
tions, in which there are traditions of service
that cause every new servant, when new SER
wants are required, to fall into the ways of the
house-ways of too old growth, and too firmly
established, to be lightly thrown out of order.
To govern a large establishment well requires
an education, just as much as teaching and
training are required to make efficient servants.
A good servant is pearl of great price, and
| yet somehow, there are few who would like to
have Mr.. Joseph Andrews for their footman
The notion of pious man-servant is, some
how, offensive, possibly from a suspicion
of insincerity, though this seems a rather
harsh idea. more reasonable eXplana
ton is the perpetual reminder of our OWL
interiority to one who should be inferior
in all things, even in piety. We have
sneaking preference for the man who had nc
objection to attend family prayer, but hoped
1t would be considered in the wages; there was
frankness in this declaration which com
AiOAOCu lyHCll tlI OlC6s mere We were Sup6IlOI
We could reason-drop the word-and bring
him back to right courses. But with Mr.
Joseph Andrews it is different; be he ever sc
respectful or so modest in his piety, we do MOI
like it, But this is opening chapter il
human nature; for, perhaps, we do not like
superior piety' in others, even in our equals
} What does all this point to 4? Whittier are
we to tuInP There must be relief some
where. The evil is beginning to excite the
= consideration of thoughtful men,
1t is, indeed, a Judgment on our vanity. Tc
! gratlty the wretched pomp of having what MIR
= Justice Blackstone calls one of ''the worthie
! blood to open our door when Mr. Jones calls
7 we suffer actually at home, and lay down oul
unresisting bodies to be driven over again anc
I. again by vile Juggernaut butler or fOotman
y away with the nuisance, l say The rea
); remedy is not so far off. There is neat-handeC
u Fhylhs, trim-perhaps pretty-smart-hgh
% of touch, soft in walk, nimble. brisk, and
+ above ALL willing. Her shoes do not creal
!; IKE that sot's whom we had to send away
q last week, having been reused, by strong
- smell OF burning, to go down pantry wards
y ana having there found a lighted candle unde
u shell, which was slowly ''charring" away
,te whle the wretch was lying on his bed will
y ms clothes on, and bottle of our best brand.
.0S beside hlm. She does not clatter among you
u silver at the sideboard, or take an hour get
> tlng round the table In the value of her at
= tendance she is worth two of the chartered
- prutes, especially to those who have no legitl
~ mate estate to keep up. An attentive, quiet
GNygfn = 10 .