The record-union., 1891-04-12

L
never leaves his hands or sight, as he not
only delivers to, and receives from, the
| hands OF the butler all pieces used, but
| washes, pollshes, and sleeps alongside
their receptacle-caSes in the pantry.
! during seasons of unusual entertainment
ne also assists the head butler at meals,
Ihere are generally also a first, second
and third footman. These receive about
the same wages as the under butler.
| They clean milord's clothing. which q
! valet scorns to do save when his master
travels, assist at meals as walters, wash
glass and sllverware, are regarded as
| general help under the butler, and are
properly speaking, only footmen when
on duty as such with the carriages.
Among the other male servants is mi
/ 1ord,s s valet, with well-known duties, A
bright one receives $40 per year and will
easily manage to secure as much more.
/ Then there are tho head cooks, to none of
whom are paid one-tourth the price
gwen by the American nouVeau-riches
TO their recently imported chefs, who re-
celVe from &l25 to 9l50, with perquisites
OF ABOUT 450 from the sale of drippings
and fats. There is also head coachman.
at ECO to $50, under whom are a second
coachman at 925, stud-groom at SO
and grooms, stablemen and helpers at
from El0 to 920 each, and one or two odd
men" who attend the servants hall, carry
baggage, clean boots and are a sort of
| ShS1y DOU men TO ali DGlOW-StalrS.
The whole number of servants at one
of these princely houses is therefore very
large. have only enumerated those di-
! rectly serving the household itself. whose
members may not number half dozen,
and IN seasons of entertainment will not
average more than two dozen souls.
Among all these house servants there
are what might be called an upper and q
| lower house. Precedence is as severe a
master and scourge here as with the no.
blllty themselves. The hours for SER
| wants meals are: Breakfast s; lunch,
II; dinner, 1; tea, 5; and supper from 0
to 10. The upper house includes the
steward, butler, housekeeper, the head
cook, the Wallets and the ladies' maids.
These usually take all their meals by
themselves, in either the stewards or
| houSekeeper'S room, where they occa-
| Sionally lounge and do their necessary
| correspondence. In some houses all the
servants dine together; the upper serv-
ants assembling in the housekeeper's s
room, from which they solemnly march
to the servants dining hall, the lower
servants remaining standing until their
betters are seated, the butler at the head
| OF the table. No conversation whatever
is permitted while the joint is being par
taken of. The lugubrious silence and
auSterlty OF this gathering are inconceiv-
| ably ludicrous. When the meat course
is finished the upper servants rise. The
! lower servants follow with military alac-
ritY. The former, in their proper order
of precedence, like automatic puppets,
then march back into the stewards s room,
where, in the greatest punctillio, pudding
and dessert are served.
| Meanwhile the lower servants. relieved
of the presence of these their severest
masters, fall to small talk, cheese and
small beer to their hearts content. Other
groteSque forms among these folk are
! noticeable. Guests servants invariably
take the rank of their visiting master or
mistress. The valet of a lord is seated
next the butler, and is often housed and
"entertained' by the steward. The maid
| of a countess, or duchess, is "handed in
to dinner, below stairs with all the cere-
mony which her titled mistress may re-
ceive one story higher. But an ordinary
servant or footman must accept rigorous
| 'pot-luck' with members of the lower
house. Again, the upper servants must
always be addressed by the lower, as
Mr." Mrs" or Miss" But among
footmen and housemaids in general. dig
nifty often gives way to alacrity, which,
in turn, imposes the highest honors. For
| instance, above tho clamOr of morning
bells viii be heard such startling exclam-
ations as: 'DunraYen, there's yer mans
bell!" Marlborough, be lively now ~
Manchester, yer oP boys movingp' or.
'"Tweedmouth, yer vally wants ter groom
Yer
Besides the thirty or forty servants
employed about the household and
stables, the larger establishments require
an equal number out of doors in various
capacities about the demesnes. First
| there is the agent who has general
charge of the estate, indeed often the en-
tire control Of the property. Frequently
| with him are a half dozen accountants
and clerks. The next man below him is
the bailitf. His province is to look after
| the home farm and cattle. This is no
| sinecure, for on some of the greatest es-
| tates farming and grazing are conducted
on a large scale; and this entirely eX-
| elusive of the fancy farming and garden
| ing in which nearly every one of the no.
| bility INDUCES. Sometimes inclosed by
! the inner walls surrounding the hall it
SELF though Oftener at some little distance
away in well-Ordered arrangement, will
be found out-buildings, granaries, ma
chinery storage house, mill-houses where
| grain is thraShed, logs are sawed and feed
is ground by steam, and covered inclos-
ures for young stock, in number and ca
paciOuSnesS quite surprising to even one
accustomed to the provisions for the
same by the most noted American farm
ers. host of hangers-on find lazy en-
| ployment here. Then upon deneSne of
several THOUSAND acres there will be a
| head gamekeeper, who will be allowed a
| dozen men to assist him in breeding and
caring for the game and protecting it
| from the inroads of poachers. Some of
the finest forests in the world are upon
these estates. Each requires head for
ester with a half dozen men under him.
New trees are being constantly planted
| Too heavy growths are thinned out
| Every sound tree-trunk is sold to be cut
in deals; every unsound one finds ready
sale for fuel. If a river runs through a
demesne, several men are required for
constantly identifying its banks, and
| keeping the poachers away from its fish,
/ The roads and driveways of. a fine
demesne require very great attention.
Then there is q master sawyer and his
men for cutting posts, for repairing gates
and fences. There are painters, glaciers,
carpenters, number. of whom are kept
in service, and busy, the year round.
The head gardener requires several assist
ants. And, if a guest, your coaehman's
call of "Gate! Gate ~ will, in a ride
about an ordinary estate, bring to the
lodge gates at different entrances fully a
half-doZen bronzed old lodge-keepers
from out of fdower-imbedded iYy-covered
lodges. Every one of these are "army
pensioners" heroes bold, at their British
army pension and e10 year. whose lives
fade out here in these shadowy hooks
among the hares and pheasants, with per-
haps one gate-call and pot of beer day
to keep their scattering useless wits to-
gether.
In England servants are precisely what
ten centuries of masters have wished
them to be. English servants in America
are miserable beings, giving the worst of
service. They are outside of England;
they have lost the pose and poise of their
rock-rooted home regime, while they are
bewildered by the eccentricities of many
of orr anatallr Tobi lity w hO iTl1pOrt them