Mountain Home bulletin. (Mountain Home, Idaho) 1888-1889, 1888-08-25
WOMAN AND HOME.
eOMe POINTS WHICH TOUCH ON
THE SERVANT GIRL QUESTION.

THE SERVANT GIRL QUESTION.
Proper Way for Women SC walk-Cars
Of . Pug Des - Esononiea, Hints.
Onton.-Childrsn with Cold re~t-ln-
iroducttons-Houa ouashold Itema.
Several years ago found myself-a
stranger in q strange place-obliged to
change help besauss Of the poor health Of
my valued. valuable and we'll proven Esther
Many candidates for the place appsared, but
1t seeine.i that my choice lay. II not between
evils, at least between undesirables There
seen,ed to be the fswest outs in q short stat
uresi, soft voiced colored girl Shs proved q
fairly good cook and laundren, OF docile
temper. willing to labor and to learn. but
almost wholly unframed Left motherles at
an early age. like 1otsy she had ''growed,"
picking up bits Of. household skill o. she
drifted from one home to another. In this
way she had gathered enough wisdom to Sc
cure food, shelter and clothing. but remained
a very child in the management Of her own
affairs. Her wardrobe was Of the scantiest.
One or~ewo little bundles comprised the whole
Of it. While there was dearth Of underwear.
print dresses and good, warm wraps, a poor.
old silk skirt. bought Of some former mis-
tress, made an important item of her outfit
As the days passed, revealing more fully
her utter destitution. my heart sank within
me, for read in it not poverty SO much a.
shiftlessneSx Then came the reflection:
"BeSsie IL not responsible for all Of thisl
How could she know what to do il no one
ever taught her" Swiftly followed the
query "What are you going to do about
it, II you turn her away from her sit
uation because she b poorly equipped for
the battle Of life, where will she got Who
will teach her What will the end BET" For
answer saw this waif trial to one mistress
after another, brief seasons of wage earning
alternating with dependence on friends as
poor as herself, the thin. blasted ears Of idle
,iess ever devouring the full ears Of her
plenty saw her the mistress Of some poor
hut, and surrounded by u rapidly multiplying
group OF little Bessies, who would be sent
forth later, upkempt and untutored, to DO
the disgust and despair Of another generation
Of housekeepera And thcns Well, the pic
ture was without an end unless somebody
laid hold Of the machinery and changed its
working. Why should that somebody not
be II How should know | was not being
priest or Levite il | passed this neglected
SlSteT UyF ~ bculSu q liCIle Olt u miSoAOudIy y
work that the Lord had set down within my
doors, and believe he meant me to do 1t.
SO, doing az to the Lord and for one Of
his little ones, and remembering that my
daughter might have been homeless and in
need of rnothering. began my work. There
was little difficulty in winning Besse's con
fidence sufficiently to make counsel as to her
wardrobe kindly received 1t was easy t.
,ug .Nst the need Of new working gowns and
aprons when the suggestion took the form OF
all offer of help as: "Bessie, il you like tC
get you a new print dress. will stitch the
seams for you" Moreover. she soon found
that that was not all there sure to be help
full hints as to cutting and planning. Then
when she came to that bete noir, the button
holes, patient repeated Iensnps helped her u
fashion tidy slit4 unIt as possible the
Ugly ellilses t1aS va done 4uty in the past
Sometimes, returning from down town,
/ would'say; ''f3essie, saw such and suct
goods of very. very ,pFetty pattern, at low
epstsss, syo0 would find this good time Z
fsssa aia at OK Would you r pleas,
Exit fsi . Gs III II isss s'siss Sssa u saa,
toh, 70, the working gear and underwear
! there was pretty jersey jacket, a heav,
cloak, a woolen shawl, and a well made blacl
cashmere dresa This latter was a source o
special pride as being "my Boston Dress" D
calleti because it was purchased at the Hui
by special commission. As possessions in
creased, 80 did her self respect The poo
girl had evidently fancied that good an,
abundant clothes were SGT apart for an orde
OF beings quite remote from her, and will
whom she could not expect to have anythin,
IN common.
Of course there were some drawbacks an,
discouragements. Sometimes a few dollar
would be expended foolishly for articles NOR
snowy than pretty, durable or suitable, o
s,me nice. pretty garment would be wor
/. when about rough and dirty work, to tn
great detrlInent Of the garment and the dis
heartening of the mistress Sometimes goo
materials would be "witched" distressingly
Again, the seams would be long and numel
GUS. and the button holes would need after
tion when more pleasant occupations wer
inviting pursuit But there was a rewar
and good cheer in seeing tidy handmade
and in listening to the delighted exclamation
II didn't think could ever have anythin
like thisi"
By and by. another way to partial releas
Tor me, and self help for 6er, suggested itsel
This was neither morn nor less than the pun
chase OF . sewing machine. II you hav
never dealt In second hand machines, yo
would never dream what good one can
bought for ten dollarx Having occasion I
exchange my old machine for one Of modes
make asked the agent II It would he wort
Hesies while to buy mine at the price b
offered for II, or could she do betteri Ha,
ing beard the story briefly. he said that
could find among his exchanges somethjn