The Saline County journal. [volume] (Salina, Kan.) 1871-1893, 1888-02-02
DOMESTIC SERVICE.
The Experience o. an irish Girl in
the United Statoa
Instructivs Fsets nom an Indisputalis
Soures-Hou Kitchen Girls Are Trrai-
ed b. Their mistrrsses 80 Their
Wages and Rooms

Sourus-IEou Kitchen Girls Are Truaf-
ed b Thrlr mistrrsses Their
WAGES and Raaiu~-
An Irish servant girl who has b'ru "a thi
United States FOR period OF SIX yCars cOn
tributes the following arfiri- o. d rss,enl
issue Of the Enoci. have lived ont 10 tai.
country for six years ! have had very
good p,aci-s. bat Do NOT f,.cl .-lniented hers
and I wouid b. glad 10 81 back q Ireland
] think most 0f the girls think the samG
way. have always male god wages. bul
money Is not every thing ! save mY money
and 50 do most % abe girls I know. for lFe
never know when W. mat have 90 send u
home 10 help the OH folks r.gies are hard
over there. Aud sometimes q Eirl NIL
want to bring out a hrafhrr,r sister Whon
she thinks can b. i-.ffer over here. They
mostly don't ans wish thy were back but
we try 10 help ths-in all il ,a.nr. As a gen.
eral thing. girls SIRE satisfied with then
wages. IL b easy .-iitnFe lf they are not
for there art plenty us niaces
Some girls ID not save much bat speud
most all their wages Too uurrV I do not
think they know how tn sh1p very well
They think more % how q thing looks than
OF the quality. I have lived wh-rr thers
was cook. but never hear,l u her taking
any money from the storc p,..li,... Tor gettms
them % serve food o the house do not
believe u IS a general thing The misfres,
attends 20 all those thin p her-.if 10 nav
be the case In very rich families. Where the
lady does not want tobe kniLrrcd with see.
ing 20 any thing a. the c,,il Is more like 4
housekeeper
We get every other SUNDAY and every
other Thursday OF forourScives. frrrn after
dinner or lunch IN thr usiil'c of the day till
ten O'clock ] think ten a'rioc, is late
enough for a girl o. DC out. think thrv
are mostly all satisfied wish their lime a
You see we arr better un than shop girls
and factory girls. who have Go work al The
time, and only have jh.Ir evenings g. them
selves. Besides. I duni Think hIusewlrk
80 tiresome a. standing all d1y Or running
. machine. ant g. is healthier.
In most houses girls are allowed - SEQ
their friends q. suitable times. Int very few
ladies like 10 have meu hanging around the
kitchen. | don't wonder 40 o. I am sure
The lady mostly cume- dawn the last thing
~ night 90 gave orders Tor breakfast. OF
about the washing or something aud 10 il
not very niece 20 meet a great hulklug nan
sitting there aud perhaps smoking. Tor they
are very free and easy.
have heard girls say that II they
wanted male company they had % see then
out OF the honsc. And that j. D a, too. for
Il keeps them up late
The food We CT Is mostly gold. plain. but
good; but ! have heard girls tell about
places where they have been where they
scarcely got enough lo ca. bad As 10 Vas,
and that. ton. in houses where YOU would
think TINT there WAS thu best OF every
th ng and plenty Of b. Some people want
20 put al their money on their backs. aud
so, Of course, the table suffers
! have known OF people who had = spleu-
did house and furnished elegant anu a.
ways dressed IN the height 81 the style and
yet the table was the mcancsi You ever
saw. II they have such poor iOol them
selves % course the girl can't expect any
better. There was one family who chgngei
girls four or i've times month. and o. last
they couldn't get any boIy % i've With
them except grecnhOrn right 0ff the vessel
There Is good deal Of gossip goc5 on be-
tween the girls about the people they live
with. All their Affairs arr pretty well
known. You see The girls don't have much
b interest them. and 40 thcy sort u take an
interest IN the concerns Of the family they
live with. That Is sociabie girls do. Some
girls don't care a brass BUXTON about Tie
people 50 long As they gel their money all
right German aud SWcJe girls are ike
that. Irish girls are more warm hearted,
and II pr0plc are kind o. thrm they Ike
them ami viii d. a great dD.l flr them. I
don't mean tu say that % is rlshi 90 talk about
the family outside. bus sometimes a girl
don't think. ami % Gomez out before she
knows O. She dvu't nl--.4u au, A..rm. It's
very hard for people % secp things from
the girls. lnry are around al he time, and
see aud hear every thing almost They gen
orally like thu gentleman OF the house best,
bs-c1tIse hc don't mt, rfcrc with them
Girls don say much about getting mar.
ried even d each other. suese the most
Of them think they would have idsl as hard
work then as they do now. and poorer places
~ d. q ga. When they DO marry sometimes
they do well. but often they have % get q
place after awhile. Sometimes girls so 70
the country with family aud before they
come back get engaged 10 marry q farmer
That generally dos very well
Girls do not care much 70 take second
hand clothing from mistress unless Il is
pretty nice. They may take IL. but they
won't wear 10
Wages arr better than they have b,.n for
some years, a Rold girl Of an work gets
twelve dollars month n Sine can make
desserts she gets fourteen dollars A good
cook who can do every thing gets twenty,
and q French ,u0k thirty dollar, There Ia
always gUOd help to TO- had Of people want
10 pay for IT, The Trouble Is. some people
think they Eau get a good giri for most
nothing Il Is cheaper Tor them 10 nav
more and get good u,,c. forthe cheap ones
waste and break MORE than their wages
worth every uir-i,h
A gooi giri nmkrs a settled home. ghs
dues not like i0 change round q Is only
the pOur trash who want % change In hops
OF beticring then.eite. I think the girls
would b. better and take more interest In
their work o. il.r itdfH- treated them better.
They generally g'f miserable little room
~ the tOpo ihe house with scarcely any
thing iu o. hui 900 simmer and cold in win
ter, uud uub ,iy t.'ke- uuy l,.. erect Ia them.
not even 90 sees that they Keep their room
clean. 4 ;isl can have a. lgne Telling
where sh'' - i.esr,i b. .e i.a..
II Is very So du-I iilt a -irI lIrs % any
amusement. " l..u -lr dl--. 90 is general
y going O" q r,l,- Girls thai live out are
a class bS iiem-e.vss They visit one an
other, but ip n1t l--,-i4ft. Nlth .hOp-girls
Or girls tina, wu. ui sewing They have
. easy When Gee Iamiiy a-e away Tor the
summer. Ih'r- i- -..ir,r.iy aar Thing % do,