Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1890-05-11


Ihe anguish of an unsh ared grief to know
Darling, which one?
Zone of US. darling it must be;
II may be you will slip from me-
Or, perhaps, my life may Just be done
Which one%'
Is IT ALL ON ONE SIDE?
Servants are so much discussed and
complained of nowadays that one feels
almost inclined to believe in the outcry:
"There are no good servants now.n But is
this true? And, if so, where does the
fault lie? Are the mistresses all good
and the servants all bad? Is there not,
perhaps, some solution to this problem in
the mlstresses' character? Why should
we think the fault is all on one side? 1t
is not. We do still meet with old servants
who have served their masters and mis-
tresses through long periods of their lives.
But was this owing only to the servants
good qualities of character? Certainly
not. A good servant and good mistress
will agree; but get bad one on either
side and there must be a rupture. Bad
mistresses cannot keep good servants, even
if they get them. know at the present
time a thoroughly good servant, possess
ing all the necessary qualifcations-hon
esty, steadiness and great industry; but she
has been unfortunate in her last two places.
In one she staid two years, but in the last
she could not remain longer than seven
months, and she feels disguised with serv-
ice and would like to find some occupation
where she would not be treated altogether
like a slave. Yet these were both
considered good places = the first a
retired wealthy tradesman, the second
one of the leading professional men
OF our town. The fault, believe,
at the root of it all is want of considera-
tion. Many will sneer at this and say it is
mistake to consider your servants, they
y presume upon it; but are these the
lie who keep their servants? / say,
emphatically, no. l do not mean
rvants should be petted and PAM
:. taken out of their position: but
certain tact in consideration,
ot only helps to make good serv-
keeps them with you.
much less straining after effect and
Nv there would be if it were perfectly
understood that to have work properly
done there must be plenty of hands to do it.
SOME OF THE CAUSES.
In fair-sized house where, besides the
master and mistress. there are several
children and governess, the usual custom
Is to keep three servants-cook, house
maid and nurse-and if only the mistresses
of such establishments would be content
to live the quiet, methodical lives their
grandmothers lived before them such a
staff would suffice. But NOWADAYS such
ladies must have numbers of callers, visit
ors staying in the house constantly, hot
luncheons, afternoon teas and late dinners.
And one delicate housemaid is certainly
expected to do most of this. The silver
must be faultless, the meals punctual, the
rooms In perfect order, whereas the poor
girl has barely time from early morning
till late at night to do more than scramble
through her work in a superficial way.
Then she goes to bed at night with the
unsatisfed feeling of having worked he.
hardest, but having failed to complete her
task. And so it goes on day by day. Her
clothes are ruined She has not mo-
ment to spfre to put stitch in them, but
that is not considered by the mistress.
The good habits she has been trained to
she is gradually losing, for there is no
time to do anything thoroughly. Soon,
of course, she becomes disgusted with the
weariness and irritation of such a place
and tries to find e more congenial situa-
tion, while the poor, foolish mistress, who
cannot understand that she is striving
after what she cannot attain to, is kept in
the perpetual worry of engaging and part
ing with servants. Some mistresses may
keep plenty of servants to do their work,
but fail to keep them any length of time,
simply from their own manner toward
them. They adopt
THE sLEDGE-HANsfER STYLE
Down on the servant at once for every
mistake or failure, however small. What
want of management this is. How GER
tain to disgust and spoil servant. So
many things are occurring to prevent the
wheel of domestic felicity from revolving
In a perfectly smooth and comfortable
way. Some little ailment may have inter-
fered or extra work may have been called
for, or trying east wind may make even
the mistress herself look on the worrying
side of everything. How much better it
is on such occasions, instead of working
ones self into temper and giving the un-
fortunate maid the benefit Of this turn of
mind, to sit down quietly and try to look
all around the difficulty, not only from
the mistress point of view, but also from
the servants. And how often can rea-
sonable excuse be found for the failure.
And then quiet reminder, such as go
and-so was not quite right to-day, but
then | remember what you had TO do.'
etc., is far more likely to produce good
result than stormy attack. 1t is good
plan, also, if anything goes wrong in the
household arrangements, to talk il over
quietly with the servant who is at fault
and hear her excuses-she has a right to
offer them, We like our own respected
then point out remedy. If YOU do not
know of any, try TO find one before you
speak. Always have suggestion ready.
1t may not be a perfect cure, but your
servant will understand that YOU are not
satisfied and will try more another time.
and with a good spirit TO succeed, for
servants, l am sure, thoroughly esteem a
mistress who has perfect control over her
self, and who can, in spite of provocation,
point out with clear head and kind man
uel WHcTc tue uilsttkc udS Deen.
This, indeed, requires skilled manage
ment, but it is not beyond the attainment
of all, and if by the careful training of
lrselves We can secure steady, trust
,rthy devotion of good servants, we shall
living better lires, filling our places
ter in the world, than If we can merely
re a Gever score at tennis or grace the
Z Of q dinner table, for we shall secure
the greatest of our domestic COM
and we shall win the blessings of the
roman of old, who Cooked we'll to
US of her household" There is no
FOE To DOMESTIC PEACE
comfort like that of filssiness. 1t
5es chiefly from lack of system or plan
.nd a too great attention to minor detail.
Some housekeepers have way of stirring
up everything at once. They begin their
days work anywhere, without any relation
to what is most urgent or necessary TO be
ACCOMPLISHED. They lose sight of the al
WAYS excellent axiom-one thing at
time and that first which most needs at