The Republican journal., 1882-01-12
The Servant Question IN tie Pettlbon Q
Family.

Naturally, have prejudces in favor of
my wife. Doubtless she has her faults
we all have. But her eXcellencies are to
her faults what the sun is to the smallest
tWlnkling star. One of these eXcellencies
is her housekeeping. In this respect, she
has no superior | doubt if she have an
equal i'll the hemisphere. She belongs to
30 particular school Of housewives; she
is a law unto herself Heigho. | only
wish she might be content with that.
But not 10 dIgress, Jane puts her he art
into her work. She Sights nothing, from
darnlng stocking to making a Christ
mas pie. There are no loose ends about
her household. Everything has its time
and place, and work is, as Jane emphat
ically says, kept up"
There may be higher aims in life than
keeping house that's a matter Of opin-
| ion. At any rate, that is an aim high
| enough for Jane, She has aimed at this,
and this alone, with characteristic per
sistency for some Years, and may be ex-
cused for saying that she has hit the
mark. Her life has been a crusade against
shittlessness, dilatorlness and dirt, and
she regards these various evils as practi-
cally upon the same level. Dirt may be
more concrete, but it is not whit more
real OF more obnoxious 10 Jane than what
| she calls 'slip- -shOd-i-ness" in methods
and action.
| Naturally after so much experience and
50 much success, Jane has ideas OF her
! own us to means and ends; has, so to
| speak, her "ways" Some of her WAYS
would perhaps be thought little peculiar
10y other people, but they are approved
hy experience, and they are dear to Jane,
and it is One of the trials of her life-one
OF the trials, do | say2 1t is her great
chief paramount trial that she can not
get these ways" adopted by her help.
1t was little fit of desperation on this
account that, after she had been plagued
with a succession of experimental only
wish YOU could hear Jane pronounce that
word .-servants, she one day declared
She would get greenhorn.
"Not a hait-and half greenhorn." she
sald, but an out andout know nothing !;
something next door to an IDIOT"
"Ihere are plenty OF the sort you want,
ma'am,' said the facetous intelligence
officer, ''if you could only pick EN- out"
Safe enough taking 'em at hap -haz-
! ard, muttered wife sarcasticallv. under
/ be? breath.
And indeed she met with a success be-
| you'd ner expectation, for one day there
| came up from the office a broad shou-
dered, rubcund young woman with
deep llch voice, a magnificent brogue,
ref eslling candOr, and a tlead like Ajax.
felt a pricking in my thumbs at sight
ct her. had d presentment that ia. es
long expected opportunity had come. |
\ happened to be in the room when she
/ Was cross examined. Jane elaboratelv
and needlessIy wiped her eyes-a trick
she has to gain timc-regarded the sub
ject critically from head to foot and began:
"What is your name ?"
"kate Donnegan MA am"
"llow long have you lived in this
country ?"
Tin days, Jest"
"Have you ever lived out ?"
IL did all MY life, num-"
James face fell and she said =
Then | don't want YOU"
"Eh T.
Il want a girl who has never been in
service"
"The sOrra a service | was iver in,
num-
You said you had lived out all your
/ life"
"Shure it's out o doores mane.'
"D0 You know how to cook ?"
"No-a."
"Do you know how to wash and iron ~
II do-ant"
''Do you know how to make beds ?"
continued Jane, her spirits rising
"Not jest right, num-"
''D0 you know how to sWeep9'
Hath gi' me a broom an won't say
| couldn't push the DIRT av the tlure,
mum"
''DO you know anything at all, then ?"
'Not a CRATE dale, Pm thinkin"
"And have you never done any work
in your life p
'ls it wur-rk? Deed an | did, an
! plenty av it,
"What kind of work can you do"
II can dig pertaties can rub down a
har-rSe an haven't me aiquil for mind
ing goa'."
"Well, Kate, | think you'll do"
(Which ~
Il think You'll suit me-"
'Faith an think yourself II suit me,
num-"
And so she came, and Jane INDUCED in
a little satisfied cough and preparatory
rubbing OF the hands in prospect of see
| Ing at last the Indication of her method
aud household ordered in all respects
aS it should be. And Miss Donnegan
certainly was virgin soil; nothing more
green could have been desired by mortal
| heart.
The first morning after her advent, at
early dawn she came tearing pell-mell
down the attic stairs, waking everybody
in the house, and tlinging herself into our
room in an agony of fright
Good gracious, Kate is that you"
"Ugh ugh-Oh, it is mum"
"What are you doing here9"
"Oh, I'm kilt: Tm dead entirely"
'What is the matter?"
"The basic above
"Beast? What beast 2"
"Oh, it's little KNOWN, mum"
"Where is itW
above in the small bit av room
where slept"
"Pooh, nonsense there's no beast
there.'
''As thrue as | drew my breath before
le, mum, but there's some frightful thing
in it,"
"What does it look likee"
"Arrah, an it's short stop l made
to look, afther the Mise the crayther
made "
"Fiddlestick Go back to your room
you silly girl, it was only the alarm !"
"Alar-rum. An ye may we'll say that
same, mum; sorra sech an alar-rum iver
got before; faith it I'D fraze the blood
av stone"
'Pooh, pooh; it's only clock !"
"a time-pace
"Yes."
"Wid vice like that ?"
eyes; it was made On purpose to wake
you up"