The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-11-07
SERTANT
Maids and Buticrs Put Through Their PAGES
for EnEiish Employ era.

sxilc with an air OF CONVICTION, what Impressed |
me most was not their chilly cathedrals, ~intoler.
ably bad food, and very much o]verratod bicycle
roads, but tho mastery manner In which they
are graphing with tho servant question. Being
n bousekceper in my native land, and dying
daily in tho cause Of providing decent hired
help for my family's needs, 1 decided to look
into British methods Of domestic service, while
I stopped in that island.
"What I saw, I am free to say, filled me with
awe, envy, and admiration. l am not going to
tell you that there arc not poor servants In Eng
land, but the good, even tho perfect footman
and butler, coachman, cook, and maid, does
still. exist, and they arc taking every procau-
ton to preserve the species, and members of
that class are not hard to find in London. There
are three ways Of discovering him and her.
One, and the cheapest, plan Is TO secure what
you want through the advertising sheets of the
important daily papers; another, and moro cost
~ process, is to go for your man or maid to one
of tho department stores. while a third, and
most fashionable resources. ia tho very up-to-
date employment agency. The only domestics
who do not advertise and are not advertised for
In the papers are the East Indian servants.
They are becoming moro and more popular
with British householders. A dozen years ago,
30 I was told. there were not ten Of these tall,
dark, capable creatures TO be found in oil Lon
don; but nowadays they are much sought after,
promising to be as common in English house,
holds as negroes are in our Southern homes.
'Only recently 1t occurred to a number Of
British matrons that so long as Queen Vic
toria had found her Indian servants useful,
they. too, might try the experiment, and now in
the season there Is scarcely q smart London
house that has not one Indian servant In its
employ. They nre usually utilized as buffers N
tho houses of titled people, and are obliged to
retain their native costume, dressing all in
snow white with huge turbans wound around
their heads, gold rings or buttons in their cars,
and bare brown feet thrust into embroidered
heelless slippers. The Duchess Of Devonshire
employs an East Indian butler who stands on
bare heels 6 feet 9 inches, and who occasion
ally rides on the box beside her powdered
But l was informed that only a Duchess or
q millionaire's wife could afford to keep q man
like that, because the Mohammedans are hated
by the English servants, for on account Of their
religion. they have, to he provided with fire,
g siSn ds lUGe, am" ana q i, IaGis Se e%inv To e't tRe fact That
one Indian will take no larger wages than q
white butler or valet, while his accomplish
ments are simply innumerable. 10 never COS:
homage. and in. one household / visited the In:
dining room, valeted the master of the house
and any male guests, kept the accounts. poured
in the table linen When needed, decorated the
menu cards In water colors. and at q PINCH;
when the lady's maid went away in a huff, did
his helpless mistress blonde locks into the most
fascinating hCaddress ever seem.
Naturally you can understand why n woman
will brave the rage OF her white dolnestics To
secure one of these treasures. who will do all
mentioned and more for the magnificent sum OF
$50 a month. To secure such IL paragon, though
you must go to q department store or an EN-
ployment agency. At one Of the stores, there
Is really nothing in the way of a domestic you
cannot get, usually good servants at that, and
this branch Of the business ls conducted on an
admirable scale. Everybody, from a cover,
interviewed and Investigated. You can find
cockney English to Hindoostanee. who are
manent servants. and are ali vouehed for by the
head Of the domestic service department.
Duchesses for maids. and rich people for private
employees of all kinds, is the great employ
house on a prominent street, with a very ele:
giant entrance, and q carved. oak. and polished
naI Of the proprietor. Within the house is
fitted as a model English home OF the very
"On entering q tiny office on the first floor the
would be employer states to the head Of the
establishment just what she wants. and on
presses a button. speaks through a tube. there
Is q wait Of ten minutes, and then. y it is a
weight. height. and age she desires. arrayed in
immaculate livery, presents himself. AT a nod
from the proprietor he opens and closes the
ushers the woman herself into the drawing
room. goes out and returns with a pretended
announces fictitious arrivals. draws back the
porticres, and announces a meal.
found, and here the butler goes through all tho
forms of serving a meal. pouring wine. and di,
recting the servants under him. He sets and
clears n table, arranges n bowl of flowers, COM
poses a salad, Indicates his knowledge OF wines
on descending to tho cellar; In fine, goes actu;
ally through every duty that could be exacted
II a Dutler. II a parlor, bedroom, ~scullery, nurs.
cry, or lady's maid, footLnan. coachman.. page,
head t cook, valet d or sta Il BILE hoy is wanted Tamtfd. he is
series of living and bed rooms, and a stable be.
and maids are put through their PAGES, for no
hiring in the dark is done here. Only the high
est and most carefully Investigated references
are offered the patrons OF the house. The rec.
ord Of every servant is taken and hunted up.
from the time he or she entered service, with
the names OF employers. trainers, &C., 80 that
none but the most perfect flowers of English
domestics over cross these portals:
maids Of all work are for hire in this establish.
ment, SO no housekeepers of modest means need
but The man who has built up the business as
sured me the demand for such servants as he has
Is ever ahead OF the supply and IKE a bric-a.brac
good domestics. He gets buffers from Russia,
Austria. India, France, and Scotland. His most
many and Ireland, his lest Wallets and coachmcn
are English, while German or French women are
MS prize lAdy 9 maids. III any servant ne rec
ommcnds and places in Il woman house plays
her false, he guarantees TO make good any dam.
age within the first year OF the man or woman's
employ and replace tho culprit satisfactorily.
'Those women of easy means who live in the
country In England get their best servants
through the, newspaper columns. Very rarely
will an English woman answer a servants adj.
ycrtisement. She believes it's Improbable and
beneath her dignity unless the servant comes
because of breaking up n household, a number
OF servants are about to he turned out Of theiI
nj Al fhav am 40 THAR Mat raAa aud hAU hAI
to recommend them in the want column. II
she can conscientiously do so he will write out
an advertisement saying that Lady Brown
Jones wishes to recommend a good parlor maid
good character, 25 years old, attentive, obliR
Ing, no beer, no fringe, no followers, able L
valet, and does not object to dogs; wages, e.:
o year. This paragon OF a parlor maid woult
come for q little over SO a month. and YOU ma,
laugh at all those items set down In the adver
tisement, but ! assure you that is "the thorough
English way of doing IT.
HOECAKE AND COREDODGERS.