Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1890-11-01

do not talk long before they branch OF and get
onto the merits or demerts-mostly the latter
of their hired help. When the girl is good and
all that is needlul to make the hou.ckeeper's
burden light and the yoke easy which domc1-
! ties usually force them to wear, the fact VIII
find Its way at once into conversation. and
/ contra. when she 10 bad and horrId and screws
| the yoke down tightly on the poor employer.
| neck the tale of woe Is sure to be promptly
| poured into willing and sympathetic ears.
| GOING THE ROUNDS.
housekeeper may imagine there can be
nothing worse than an incompetent IRISH girl
until she gets free-and-eAsy-go American
one. The Swede. who follows the latter, is
| good as long AZ she i. fresh. three months be-
| ing the allotted time for her to be- ONE initi-
| ated into the ways OF her predecG sos. The
! French maid, with her aggravatins ,priGhtli-
re.s. is unsuitable as the .tolid German, and
| the sable African Is practically no better than
| the others. and often worse than all. As
matter OF fact no question Is
MORE PERPLExISG TO THE HoUsEKEEPER
than those OF hired help and none has been or
| is being more thoroughly sifted and discussed.
| Indeed II may be truly said that the question
| il becoming more perp!oXing than ever, for
| there has been for tbs past few years IL grow
| ing tendency to establish new lines in the du-
| ties of domestics by themsel cs to Gr.n. about
| conditions unprOpItous and undesirable to
| hOusekecpers. The full intent is to limit du-
| ties to certain classes of WORK and under the
guise of professional accomplishments to
| demand increased wages. or instance, here Is
| a girl whO all her life Las been doing general
| homework. which includes chamber attention.
| kItChe work. sweeping, securing. answering
| the door bell. table service, locking after the
| furnace-ln fact doing any OF the many neces-
sary household services belonging admittedly
| to her line of work. DGt suddenly sne an
| nounces her conclusion to coniIne her labOrs
| to a certain portion only of these thinGs-that
| the butler. coachman, or cook must here
| after do this that-the work is too
| hard and that other girls at other places are
making similar demands and SO must she. My
| ladys maid will not sweep stroke or make
| bed-it Is unprofessional-thc cLambermaid
| will not do thing in the kitchen. while cook
sticks closely TO her realm. monarch of her sur
roupdings. doing only that which is in har-
mony with her queenly preference.
THIS NEW PHASE IN AFFAIns
may be, possibly is. to a certain degree, due to
the talk among and steps taken by labor Or
| CARNATIONS for shorter hours andhigher wages.
! Such ideas doubtless find ready credence in
| the kitchen and other departments of house
hold work. In all probability. however. do
Eestcs have been led to look for and accept
! such theories by n want of good management
on the part of a large majority of housekeep-
| ers-a lack OF understanding OF the business
| methods necessary to obtain efficient service
There is often, too, and too often a natural
| gentleness OF feeling which induces an other
| wise excellent manager to temper justice with
unnecessary mercy, or accompany Instructions
with apologies, either of which invariably lead
to a complication OF relations between mistress
and maids to sucn extent to make 1t a
question which Is which. While it is neces-
| sary, very necessary, TO remember the
golden rule it is equally important, especially
under the growing new order of things, to bear
! In mind that cardinal principle i'll dealing
| with help Is to establish at the beginning of
! service and maintain the complete supremacy
| of the employer. Too many housekee pers
the younger ones particularly, are apt to
| STAND IN AWE OF THE DOMESTIC
from the outset, in employing them to gloss
matters over to a ridiculous degree, Offering
them privileges which cannot be wholesome
and displaying general eagerness to please
| them which they are sure to take adj
vantage OF. But few servants resist
such temptations-the majority are spoiled
! for all time to come and in turn IN
| nOculate all others with whom they come in
| contact. The evil resulting from such unfor-
| tunate methods is Internationally good
servants arc ruined and good housekcepers
| forced to combat difficulties not of their own
making. What IS the relief? Good jud Sment
coupled with frmness, would have obvIated
the trouble. To lay down
FIXED SET OF RULES
| would be impossible, as each household must
| be a law unto itself and allowances must be
made for many diverse conditions There are
two elements necessary to success, however at
| all times. from which none are exempt. especi-
| ally when the employe Is either young and in
experienced or a hardened sinner full of high
| strung idiosyncTasies-one is patience such az
can sit on q monument and not bulge for the
| first month at least and the other is vigilance
| Patience tempered with frmness will ulti-
mately succeed; constant vigilance is the price
| OF comfort IN every home.
| TEACHING A DOMESTIC.
As a rule servants expect to be taught the
individual methods Of the newly employing
mistress. The best Of servants expect this, and
III any case if the employer proceeds properly
there Is some hope that even the worst of them,
| with all their shortcomings, may be made
| laborers worthy OF their hire. The majority of
girls going out to service know not the half of
their duties, though they firmly believe they
| know 1t all. Those seeking positions as
Mattresses, for instance, will learn, in ten
cases out OF twelve, something they
do not know when they are taught that
the setting of table can make frugal meal
success; that they should be as particular in
the laying Of the sideboard and side table as of
the table itself; that they should keep watch
full eye on every person at the table, SO as to
supply their needs without the necessity of
being told; that they should watch the glance
of my lady and, following the direction
of her eye, need no further order in
waiting upon guest; that they should
go to the left of persons in serving
but to the right with wines; that tidiness IL
next TO obedience and that a willingness to do
other things than waiting upon a table when
called upon is absolutely essential Indeed,
the teaching Of servants and the methods Of
instruction employed in the beginning is a
matter OF the most serious importance and one
so often underestimated and sadly neglected IL
is astonishing that there are as many good SER
wants as there are
| THE ITEM OF wAaRs.
The item Of wages 10 ono over which many
Engagements take place and one not always
understood by either marty AZ IL ahonld he A