Morning journal and courier., 1889-12-28
WITHOUT FRINGE
Some Peculiar Specimens of English
Advertisements.

Some Peculiar specimens of English
Advertisements.
The English seem to possess a remarkable
faculty for inditing peculiar advertisements,
writes the Boston Herald's London cores
pondent. From the business manager of q
public amusement company, who premises
are illuminated by an electric light and a
great organ of 20, 000.candle power" to the
matron who is constantly asking, in the
Daily Telegraph, for ga single-handed house.
maid" and SO cook without fringe" there is
great deal of vastly diverting matter fur
nished by the advertisers In ones morning
paper. It is difficult for o stranger to un-
derstand why any one should prefer ''a sim
gle-handed house-maid" to a serving woman
equipped with two hands and the usual
digits, and, lest You may innocently imag-
inc that the advertiser IL kindly lady who
is willing to 60 out OF her way and give en-
ployment to girl who has lost an arm, and
who therefore finds it no easy matter to earn
q hving-lest you may imagine something of
this kind, 1t Is we'll that you should at once
be told that "a single-handed housemaid" is
merely English for q handmaiden of inferior
grade.
| There are few persons in the United
States who do not understand what 10 meant
when Brown says that Jones has "n0 frills''
about him, but it does not follow that in an
English "want" column the words emo
fringe" are meant to convey in equally fgur-
alive fashion sense of becoming modesty.
"Wanted, a housemaid with no fringe" is
the formula for expressing in London what
a housekeeper in Boston or New York would
mean, If equally particular, by "a house,
maid who does not wear a bang."a case in
which there is little to choose as between the
English and the American mode of express
| sion
Here is something from my morning pa
per: GAS housemaid, 80; can wait; respect
able, tall, good appearances; no fringe; II
months personal character" You are not
to rashly suppose that the young woman in
| this case is in no haste to obtain employ
msnt. By de Wing that she ''can wait"
| she means this can wait at table, q duty
housemaid." You note that the young
woman is respectable, although her "char-
acter" does not antedate the last II months.
She is not, however, as bad case as you
may think at first sight, although she has
adopted q rather odd mode of saying that
she can bring . reference from an employer
hse served for something less than year.
You will observe that she 10 "tall, as we'll
as "respectable,n and that she is also inno-
cent of ''frings." She is thus commended to
i the average mistress of domestic establish-
ment. All English housemaids must be
"tall, /" or SO one judges, on the evidence of
the advertisements. How excellent, then, 10
the chance of q young woman who announces
herself as "tall, single-handed housemaid,
with superior manners. neat, no fringe, and
obliging."
AS all housemaids must be "tall," and
many of them 'single-handed," 90 most
cooks must be "plain." You may think
this Q contradictory advertisement: "Want-
ed: plain cook of nice appearance and
three years. character" but 1t is quite clear
enough If once you become accustomed to
English modes of expression. As the cook
in this instance must have "a three years.
character" it is highly probable that the
master of the house does not contemplate q
kitchen Irritation with her on the strength
of her "nice appearance" Nor il II to be
understood that the lady of the house,
through Jealousy of her lord, insists that the
applying servitor must be tsplain"; and we
are to understand that the advertiser be
lieves that cook who has been three years
in one place is likely to minister to his ap-
petite with proper regard for his digestion.
That the cook should have ga nice appear.
ancs" is only another way of saying that the
advertiser is particular man or woman, and
will have no slattern about the premises.
WANTED: A general, age II to 20; tall
willing and strong" This is not an applica
ton from the war Office, it is only an adver.
tisement for general servant" she mus
take low wages, and she must cook, wait or
table, mend, make the beds, and, in briel
combine the offices of cook, scullery maid
chambermaid and housemaid, butler and
boots; she must be high private as well al
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