Evening journal., 1893-08-26
THE ENGLISH GIRLS.
DUTIES THAT DEvoLvE ON MOST
HEADS OF HOUSEHOLDS.

Affect Poorer Girl,
There are tourists and tourists. Some |
will come home and be able TO tell only /
that they have seen the Alps and been to |
Paris, while others viii have done" Rome |
in a day, and as an English lady wonder |
inely narrated OF one such American who |
had performed the feat got wonderfully |
clever idea of il at that Nevertheless |
the most persistent and observant tourist |
would find il herculean task 60 penetrate |
into the English home unless furnished |
with exceptional letters Of introduction or
possessed Of exceptionally fascinating man
ners and exceptionally rare advantages Of
meeting people who are exceptionally UNI
preiudiced.
can Englishman's house is his castle" is
phrase familiar to us all, but to those I'M
familiar with the survival of feudal ideas
the full force Of the saying is lost. From
the noble lady who graciously accepts
American hospitality on this side Of the
water and then forgets TO extend an invita-
ton for a return visit TO the slovenly wife
Of the green grocer who slams the door Of
her back parlor when she enters the shop
to serve a customer, the privacy OF the
home is jealously guarded.
Novelists have introduced us to the draw
ing rooms Of the great and the sitting rooms
Of the humble, but a discreet silence has
been maintained concerning the house
holds of the shopkeepers, and it may be re-
membered that England is nation Of
shopkeepers. So, after all, the stranger
forms an idyllic conception of the English
| home, which, while it may fatter the Eng
| fish and satisfy those who never learn to
the contrary, by no means represents the
/ true state of affairs.
Il may be well before entering further
upon the subject TO explain exactly what is
meant by shOpkeeper. The entire BUSH
ness of the country is divided into three
classes and Is conducted in warehouses,
which is the name given to buildings de.
voted TO wholesale trade; offices, where
goods are sold from samples, and shops,
which last is synonymous with our retail
store. A man keeping either a warehouse
or an Office is a tradesman, but he is not
a shopkeeper, though a shopkeeper is a
tradesman, petty" or otherwise. A shop
girl is not factory hand; neither is she a
"saleslady." Her highest title is that con-
ferred upon her by act Of parliament in re-
cent enactments, shop assistant"
These young persons lead very differ
ent lives from those in similar positions in
this country. In the first place, for the
: most part they leave home and live in the
house of their employer. This is of course
survival Of the old apprentice system.
Even In warehouses Il is quite common for
those learning the business to live sin
DOORS" and many prosperous tradesmen
have their homes over their shops and Of
} fees In rooms fitted not For family com.
fort, but the idea of accommodating small
army of assistants.
The kitchens and larders Of such estab
| lshments resemble those Of our hotels
| When It Is remembered that the trades
! | mans wife has to superinteud such a house
! hold, the life OF an American boarding
house keeper looms up as elegant leisure il
comparison with her lot, not 20 mention
> that the American woman has the handling
Of money, whereas the tradesman's wifi
receives no reward save the consciousness
p OF having done her duty. Men who hav
incomes ranging as high as $4,000 a yea
do not employ housekeepers, but impos
i households of 20 OF more strangers upol
: their wives. These young people" hav
to be lodged, fed and in many cases uni
formed, and the mistress must see that n
4 waste takes place in any directions tina
! the health and morals of her charges ar
: carefully guarded, and if consideration
y / woman she frequently performs the dutie
far from home or who have no home say
that OF their employer.
In IL would seem impossible with the STRIFE
y surveillance to which all those in respect
/. able house arc subjected for serious evil Z
Il creep In, but there are sad tragedies COZ
Is | tinually taking place in those vast hous,
a holds which only show that the gentle, re
checked English girl is no stronger mora
"a " than her American sister, who has NOR
' freedom, but possibly no greater temptt
/, ton.
N Mich has been said and written abou
titled ladies going into trade and recen
articles in the English press declare tina
the daughters of professional men are mo-
y entering west end establishments an
ts taking their places behind the counters an
IN IN the workrooms. All this tells ga
Be story to those who read between the line
s. While we admire the pluck and energy
l. a woman who puts pride behind her an
n works bravely to earn her living, one car
he not but remember that the entrance
d titled milliners and dressInakers has RUNE
many a respectable shopkeeper whose mo,
- est bank account would not pay for the a
tistic signs and expensive fittings Of Ia
noble competitor. And as TO the daugl
tiers of professional men going behind Il
counter, what is TO become of them wht
the upward pressure bursts all bound
That pressure is increasing with evel
class that leaves the board schools. &c
help those who seem doomed to be caugl
beween the upper and neither millstones
We, as Americans, must rejoice thu
England Ia fast becoming n demoorac
Nevertheless, those OF us who know Il
feudal system only through poem and 7
nance, who have never suffered from Il
tyranny arising from the survival of ii
idea that the sovereign owns the lord, Il
lord owns the knight, the knight d
squire, and so on down to the beggar, ma
be permitted one little sigh over the loss
chivalry, but sober second thought max
US rejoice that England is becoming Am,
icanized," that the rights of the individu
are more and more recognized. But viii
we look az the rapidly dissolving views
olden times would it not be well to bear
mind that well developed systems as w
as human beings have in them some ger
of good worth rescuingg
We are rubbing up the old andirons al
polishing the worm eaten furniture of o
ancestors because they have beauty
modern work can attain Surely, the