The herald and mail. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 1873-188?, 1875-07-02
The Servant Question.

[By the author of "John Halifax, Gentlemen
Few will deny the melancholy fact
that the servant question is growing
more difficult year by year. Perhaps
naturally so, since every class is rising
and trying to force itself into the class
above it-a not ignoble aim, if it at the
same time educates and fits itself to
enter that class but it mostly does not
do this. Therefore continual struggle
goes on, continual pushing up of the
heterogeneous elements into the already
wildly seething mass, and the result is
chaos Let us hope not. Let us
trust that all will settle in time. Provi-
dence knows its own business much
better than we do.
Those who remember the servants oil
even twenty-five years ago cannot fail
to discover a great change in the whole
class as a class; for less work is done
by each individual, and far more wages
expected. The most faithful, intelli-
gent, and clever servant I ever knew
began life at thirteen years old as maid
of-all-work in the family of a gentle
mana poor one certainly, still it was
gentleman's family consisting of
himself, his wife, and three children.
Her wages the first year were three
pounds per annum. What would be
thought of such "place" nowadays?
Yet it turned out not a bad one. The
girl was taken literally as zone of the
family" The mistress trained her the
little ones loved her the eldest daugh-
ter educated her-ay, up to point that
even the most exacting would approve,
for she could read and understand
Shakespeare, and write as good a letter
as most young ladies when they leave
school and marry. She never married,
but she remained faithful to the family
in veal and woe-far more woe than
veal, alas until she died, but not
until she had served two generations.
Her grave has been green now for many
year, yet the last remnant of that
family never hears the sound of her
name-a very common one, "Bessy -
without thrOb of remembrance too
sweet for tears.
This is what servants used to be, as
many an old family tradition will prove.
What are they now?
AS an answer I could put forward two
illustrative auecdotes-of the but
Ter who threw up his place because he
had always been accustomed to have
a sofa in his pantry" and the parlor
maid who, having accepted situation,
declined to go because she and her
luggage were to be fetched from the
station in a spring cart, whereas in her
last place they had sent the carriage
and footman to meet her. These are,
1 hope, exceptional instances, but we
all know what orr own and our friends
servants are in the main.
The formality of "getting a charac-
ter has often seemed to me one of the
most curious delusions that sensible
people labor under. When written it
is almost valueless; anybody can forge
it, or, even giving it bona tide, may ex-
press it in such a way as to convey
anything but the real truth. Besides,
is that truth the real truth2 When we
consider the prejudices, the vexations,
on both sides, which often arise in part,
ing with a servant, can we always de-
pend upon the faithful statement, or
upon those who make it? have often
thought that instead of inquiring any
servants character, we ought rather to
inquire the character of the late mis-
ress.
DeSIu6Ss dtS n Iuits d I6dily 6LlCl6uJ
servant needs no character at all. Such
a one on leaving a situation is sure to
have half a dozen families eager to
secure so rare and valuable a possession.
A good servant never lacks place
good master or mistress rarely finds
any want of good servants. Temporary
difficulties may befaIl both but in the
long-run it is thus. Even as-if one
carefully notices the course of the world
every man, be he religious or irrelig-
ious, will come, at the middle or end of
life, to the same conclusion as David {:
I have been young, and now am old ;
yet have not seen the righteous for
saken, nor his seed begging bread"
Not that all is smooth, or easy, or
fortunate; on the contrary, Many are
the troubles of the righteous :" but the
Lord deIivereth him out of them all.