The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1869-09-28

conducted him TO Flanders with a musket on his /
shUu ders, aud doubtless will promote him to go-
rOus halberd even TO the gallOws; and why does
this GIRL his full sister, Jenny RintherOut move in
the same vocation with safe and noseess step, shod
unshOd, soft the paw of cat, and docile as a
sraniel? Why But because she Is in her vOca-
ton"
This might seem to degrade the virtue of
which we speak in quite modern spirit, but
that we are informed economical considera-
tions preiudiced the speaker; and besides, all
boys occupy distinct place in fiction The
boy is universally thrown over, and is quite
the reverse of the father and the man. Even
Bailey Junior has no attachments, but trans
fers himself from mistress to master solely
for his own pleasure.
1t is interesting to observe how fascinating
this absolute disregard of personal interests,
which we understand by Fidelity, is to Anne
rican writer's. The New England help knows
nothing of it, of course, and never will. The
best white servant there avowedly considers
her own convenience and prospects first, and
will leave her employer at any pinch
when her end is served but fiction has
the negro-has had, we should rather say
in whom to personify an entire self-abne-
CATION Old Tiff, one of Mrs. Beecher Stoves
best characters, though not quite so familiar
to English readers as Uncle Tom, has no
private feelings of pleasure, pain, or pride.
1t is impossible to please or hurt him in his
own person. He lives in the consequence of
the "Peytons, one of the fustest families in
Old Virginny," to whom he had belonged; he
has no sensitiveness that is not connected
with them; he works and slaves for their de-
scendants, and teaches their children man
ners by setting himself up as a scarecrow
and warning; and we should feel it quite a
falling-off if he expected even thanks in re-
turn for this wholesale self-dedication.
Mr.. Wendell Holmes has very picturesque
old negress of the same type, grand
daughter of a cannibal chief, who worships
with SOUL body, and instinct the mysterious
Elsie Venner, living in her movements watch
ing her night and day with lynx-like obser-
vance, and dying on her grave, as part of her
duty, when her task was done. In contrast
with this standardization the same story
gives us in Abel respectable representative
of the New England ''hired man., who, hav-
ing sold his time to the doctor, took care to
fulfil his half of the bargain, but could never
stand the word servant, or consider bimself
the inferior of the ''high contracting parties
making up his mind to dismiss the old
gentleman (his master) if he did not behave
himself.
There is a sympathy between this view of
the subject and that taken by the disciples of
progress amongst ourselves. With them the
virtue of fidelity takes but low stand: sub
servience to one person being supposed to
dilute to nothing the sense of duty we owe to
society at large, whether that one be husband
or master The author of ''Felix Holt" gives
us an unsympathizing but very clever
analysis of a retainer's fidelity in Denner. the
miserable Mrs. Transomes devoted servant;
one of those "faithful creatures" whom the
| aristocracy of mankind find so useful to their
needs
The physical contrast between the tall eagle-faced
dark-eyed lady, and the little peerng waiting wo-
man, who had been round featured and of pale
meay complexion from her youth up, had doubtless
mad strong influence in determining Denner's
feeling towards her mistress, which was of that
thought necessary or likely GODDESS should be
very moral. There were different orders OF beings
so ran Denners creed-and she belonged to an
other order than that to which her mistress be-
longed. She had mind as sharp as a needle, and
would have seen through and through the ridicu-
lous preteneions Of bora servant who did not
missively accept the rigid fate which had gwen
her born superiors.. Denner identified her own dig
nifty with that of her mistress She was hard
headed goddess little woman, but with a character
to be reckoned on as you reckon on the qualities Of
iron."
The same almost animal inferiority of ma
| ture make Harold Transome's Dominic in this
story the valuable servant he isl
"Ohhe is one of those wonderful Southern fellows
| that make ones life easy. He's of no country in
particular. l don't know whether he's most of a
| jew or Greek, or Italian or Spaniard He speaks
| five or six languages, one well as another. He's
cook, valet, major-domo, and secretary all in one
and what's more he's an atfectionate fellow. can
|
We can understand how all this must offend
| the advocate of progress, to whom such one
| is creature" as that word used to be ap-
piled by historians-a thing rather than a
| mana civilized, modernized edition of
| Front de B9uf's Saracens who knew no will
| or conscience but their masters, and had no
choice in executing his behests, whatever
these might be. In fact it must be observed
that domestic service is represented in favor
able colors or otherwise, according to the
political and moral leanings of the writer
If we recollect rightly, Miss Edgeworth and
her school, representing the new lights OF
their day, are all hard upon servants as a low
venal, corrupting, and corruptible race. II
is their aim to separate the young from al
| intercourse with them. Rousseau was for doing
without them altogether. Men were to be
waited ON by their wives; they were to have
no other dependents. People who resented
all this flying in the face of social order ex
alted service on principle as nursery of the
humber virtues. An authoress of high aims
amongst ourselves, whose stories are largely
accepted by readers who like q strong infu
sion of moral in their fiction, has actually
made one of her heroines descend to it from
no other necessity than the call of friendship
She is the daughter of a leading tradesmal
and the humble friend of lady of rank, ant
for the sake of serving her friend more eff
fectively she renounces her home for tn
society of ladies' maids and buffers; she take
, her seat in the rumble and frequents tn
backstairs, and gets into and surmounts tn
difficulties incident to such places and scenes
Mr.. Trollope has some good servant
among his characters. He makes them faith
full, for he always likes to make his reader