Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1889-11-16
SERVANTS IN ENGLAND.
MRS. MOSES P. HANDY WRITES ON
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housekeepers, ip that. .aaa{a whaSh =,
the soul Of managehasnt. are far aAl'
away ahead Of their>sA AmericNa- sister&
An Englishwoman, a. q rule, Whtk kthc
has any accounts to. keep, keeps them
with an exactness which Is, os ought 10
be, an example to the rest Of the world.
The questions which an. English cook In
search Of a place asks about dripping,
broken bits, cold victtals and the like,
are apt to be Hebrew to the American;
indeed, English servants have como TO
understand this, and demand perquisites
and privileges from American mistress
CO which they wouh never think Of asks'
ing Of an English one. II you have been
well coached by your English friends,
and stand up for your rights, your ser
wants will have much greater respect
for you than II you give into them. II
you are wise, however. you will not cn-
gage an English cook.
Good cooking q not m English talent,
though the Briton is firmly persuaded
that Of all nations Of the earth his own
Is the only ono which understands the
first principles Of gastronomy. To Q
French or Americanfpalats all English
dishes, excepting cdrry, which, by the
wayA is an importation from India, are
nearlS Ntasteless, and 1t Is safe 70 add salt
70 any dish Of meat or Vegetables served
you at an English table. Tho best lfes.
taurants in London, from foreign stand
point, are the Italian; indeed, IL was Q
great day for the English when the Ital-
ians, who in the first place taught the
French to cook, came over to open eat
ing houses In London. There are several
such, IL you know where to find them,
where you can get good dinner la
carte at an even lower price than you
would pay IN America; where, too, the
service is good and the napery clean.
II you do get an English cook, try to
have "blue ribbon" not Gordon bleu
that is, but a member of the temperance
band, who will drink nothing stronger
than tea or ginger ale. Tho first caution
given you on arriving In London Is TO
drink anything rather than water; and
the people, in this respect, carefully
practice what they preach. Every serv-
ant, man or maid, exacts an allowance
Of beer, or its equivalent in money, and
drunkenness Is the national vice. The
fundamental point to be ascertained in
the character Of your cook is, is she
sober? Else, some day, when you have
a dinner party on hand, she will absorb
the wine intended for the sauces, and he
found dead drunk on the kitchen floor
while your guests wait in vain for their
(. dinner.
1t is rather comforting to find that
after all English servants are good and
bad, just like ours. n, however, you
get good one, you have o treasure; q
well trained English servant Is a bit Of
perfection. Good or bad, whatever their
virtues or failings, they know their place,
and their respect for you Is in exact
ratio rs you keep them in it. No Eng
lish mistress ever permits servant to
sit down in her presence under any cir
cumstances, and il you care for the good
opinion Of your lodging house keeper
you will never condescend to offer her
chair.
The chief way in which English ser.
wants rob their employers is In the tolls
which they exact from tradesmen. In
great houses where the upper segvants
: ss-'er the various supplies they hte. or
are supposed to have. controLSof the
patronage Of the household, and in order
to keep tho custom and gain their good
will, each tradesman gives his especial
patron q rebate on the amount OF his
bill. Thus the butcher fees the cook, tho
grocer stands in with tho steward, the
dealer in hay and corn makes present
to the coachman, and so on through the
whole establishment. Naturally, the tax
SO paid is added to the original amount
of the bill, and thus in the end comes out
of the masters pocket.
Ouida's sketch Of the American born
duchess, who, by ordering all supplies in
person and auditing all accounts, saved
her noble lord from penury and recouped
his bank account, is scarcely so much OF
an exaggeration as 1t seems. and has
been paralleled in some degree by more
than one prudent woman In late years.
Wages are considerably smaller with
us. Ten shillings week is the price OF
plain cook "a French man cook will
charge G2), from $50 to $40 q year that
of good housemaid. and for twenty
shillngs you may command the services
of an accomplished valet. One OF the
best walters in Regent street restau-
rant told me that he received no wages,
and was required to pay for his meals;
lodging being furnished him, he was ex.
pected to find his compensation In the
tips OF his customers; and in London,
except from an American, fourpence Is
fully an average tip.
People change servants much less
often than with US, for there is nothing
which good servant SO breads as a
"short character" anything under year
being considered as prima facie evidence
against the person who has been unable
to keep place longer. The servants In
household are pretty good index to
the social status of the household, and
for this reason society climbers, who
abound in England, as elsewhere, spare
no pains to secure servants who have
lived with great people, and are charmed
with the reversal Of ladies' maid from
the Countess Of Comeupstairs, or foot
man who can tell how things are man
aged in the ducal mansion Of Pinnacles.
The number Of servants and retainers
employed in great families is something
to marvel at--a reminiscence Of the
feudal period.
Wewere talking of the four rich dukes,
and somebody mentioned the exact
amount of the income Of the Duke of
Westminster. "Myw exclaimed an un-
sophisticated American. "what on earth
does he do with IL" The answer came