Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1893-07-23

Two years knero j 8nOulu nave known
every back fence ia that little island"
The remark was made By a returning
tourist Eho had asked for information
concerning which the one questioned
was ignorant
There are tourists and tourists. Some
Will come home aud be able 70 tell only
that they have seen the Alps and been
TO Paris, while others will have done
Rome in a day, and, as an English lady
wonderfully nsrrated Of one such Amer
lean who had performed the feat, "got
wonderfully clever idea OF IL az that"
Nevertheless, the most persistent and
Observant tourist would hud 10 hercu-
lean task to penetrate into the English
home, unless furnished with exceptional
letters OF introduction or possessed or
. exceptionally fascinating manners and
Exceptionally rare advantages Of meet
ing people who are exceptionally I'M
prejudiced.
An EngHshman's house IS his castle
isa phrase familiar 90 US all, but 70
those unfamiliar with the survival OF
feudal ideas the full force Of the saying
Is lost From the noble lady who grac-
iOusly accepts American hospitality on
this side OF the water aud then iorgets
TO extend an Invitation for reSurn
visit, to the slovenly wife OF the green
grocer who slams the door Of her back
parlOr when she enters the shop TO
serve q customer, the privacy OF the
home is jealousy guarded
Novelists have introduced Us TO the
drawing rooms Of the great and the sit
ting rooms Of the humble, but a discreet
silence has been maintained concerning
the households OF the shOpkeepers, and
10 may be romem bsred that England is
& nation OF shOpkeepsrs. So, after all,
the stranger forms an idYllic con-
ceDtion OF the English home, which,
while IL may fatter the English and
satisfy those who never learn to the
contrary, by no means represents the
true state OF affairs
It may be we'll before entering fur
ther upon the subject 10 explain exactly
what is meant by a shopkeeper. The
entire business Of the country is divided
into three classes and is conducted in
warehouses, which is the name given 70
buildings devoted 10 wholesale trade;
Offices, where goods are sold from sam
pies, and shops, which is synonymous
with our retail store. A man keeping
eth or a warehouse or an Office Is
tradesman, but be Is not a shopkeeper,
though q shOpkeeper is a tradesman,
petty" or otherwise. A shop girl is
not a factory hand, neither Is she a
'saleslady." Her highest title Is that
conferred upon her by the act OF Parlia-
ment in recent snactments, "shOp assls-
tant;" but she is advertised for under
various name as witness the following,
clipped from a London paper Of recent
date:
Bakers-ShoD woman, respectable per
son about sixteen 70 assist in shop"
Corn Trade.-YOung woman wanted
for counter and TO sell bread, &c"
Some third rate shopkeepers occa-
si0nally advertise for young ladies',
but the very phrase condemns them,
and no frst-class shop assistant would
apply.
These young persons" lead very dii-
fcreut lives 20 those IN similar positions
in this country. In the first place, for
the most part, they leave home and live
IN the house with their employers. This
is, OF course, a survival OF the old APP
prentice system. Even in warehouses
it is quite common for those learning
the business 70 live Indoors" and
many prosperous tradesmen have their
homes over their shops and Offices, ia
rooms fitted, not for family comfort,
but with the idea Of accommodating
] sUall army OF assistants.
The kitchens and larders OF such es-
adjustments resemble those of our no.
tells. When 10 is rememb ered that the
tradesmans wife has 20 superiutend
such q household, the life Of an Ameri-
can boarding house keeper looms up as
elegant leisure in comparison with her
. lot, not 90 mention that the American
woman has the handling Of money,
whereas the tradeSnan's wife receives
no reward save the consciousness OF
having done her duty. Men who have
incomes ranging as high as $4,000
year do not employ housekeeperS, but
impose households OF twenty or more
strangers upon their wives. These
"young people" have 20 be lodged, fed,
aud I'm many cases uniformed, and the
mistress must see that no waste takes
place in any direction, that the health
aud morals OF her charges are careful
ly guarded, and, II n conscientious
woman, she frequently performs the
duties OF nurse in serious Illness for
those who are FAR from home or who
have no homo save that Of their en-
p'oyer
To would seem impossible with the
strict surveillance 90 which all those Ia
esDectabie houses are subjected for Sc
rious evil TO creep in, but there are sad
tragedies continually taking place in
those vast households which only show
that the gentle. red checked English /
cir. "a no stronger morally than her
American sister, who has more freedom
but possibly no greater temptation. I II |
the enthusiasts for CO-educatiOn could |
but know the inner history Of young |
lives passed ia English business houses, !
their views might be essentially mOdi- |
fed.
Where the establishment Is so large !
or circumstances are such that the wife !
cannot manage, hOuSekeepers are en- |
gagged, whose positions are similar to |
those Of matrons 10 public institutions. !
Whteley, the universal provider, pro- !
prietor of the largest shop In the world, !
rents 25 houses for his assistants and |
employs IS h0usekeepers 20 look after |
them Each house contains from - 20 |
rs rooms, and not less than 1000 per- |
sons sit down SO every meal. The total |
number in his employ Is $500, but this, |
Of course, includes many who are mar
ried and live 10 their own homes.
Order Bnd system are absolutely es- |
senral 90 the conduct OF such large |
concern, and 10 facilitate matters set |