The Bryan daily eagle. (Bryan, Tex.) 1895-1898, 1898-04-20
MISTRESS AND MAID.
The SERVANT QUESTION: CAN
OFTEN BE SETTLED.
Familiarity Breeds Contempt Lack Of
sincerity on the Fart OF the House
holder GENERALLY ENDS ln DsmersIlssd
Domestic service.


After all have done for them" n
pretty sure 10 sum up the long tale Of
a housewives griefs. says a writer In
the New York Post on al the de-
lightful Inconsistencies that grace the
female mind this latter point Of view
always strikes me as being the most
complete. So I artfully lead my fair
friend on to tell me all about her woes,
for she is sure TO be exqulsitely one
sided and quite unconscious Of her
position. They are so extrayagant,
take so little interest In my things and
leave me at a moments notice II they
set an idea I am going 10 break up.
Horrid thingsl wish could do with
out them. They cause me more worry
and annoyance than any other thing In
my life" The conditions were bad
enough years ago. when.seryants we're
kept In the same family for years. de-
scending like heIrlooms from father
to son. often (abroadl being the foster
sisters or brothers OF their masters,
and bound TO the household by a hun
dTed ties Of sympathy and tradition.
But In our day and 10 America. where
there Is rarely even common langu-
age or nationality 10 form a bond. and
whore households are broken up with
such facility. the relation between mas
ter aud servant g. often go unpleasant
and 30 strained that we risk becoming
(what foreigners rcpr0ach us with be-
insl @ nation Of hotel dwollers Nor Is
this class-foelIug greatly 90 lc Won
dered at For. from the primitive
household where a poor ncighbor
comes IN as help" 10 the smart"
establishment whore the butler and
housekeeper eat apart and q group Of
plush-clad nunkles adoFns he entrance
hall. nothing could well be c0ntriyed
more sure 10 set one class against an
other than domestic service. Proverbs
have grown out OF u In every Ian
guage. NO man Is hero 10 his
valet" and familiarity breeds con-
tempt are clear enough. and are not
our comic papers full Of The mIaunder-
standings and absurdities Of the siiua-
tom Yet one rarely sees a joke made
about any other way that the poor
earn their living Think OF II Tor a
moment To be- Obliged 10 attend 9th.
or persons NJ the times Of day when
they are least attractive. when from
fatigue or temper they drop the mask
that society CLUES 10 their faces 10
many hours IN twenty-four. 10 see al
ways the seamy side Of lie. the small
expedients the aids 10 nature. 10 stand
behind @ chair and hear fun made OF
an acquaintance who has Just been
warmly praised 10 bis face. 10 see a
hostess who has just guclously urged
her guests mot 70 go 30 soon" blurt
ont all her boredom and "thankfulness
that those tiresome so-and- SOS" are
paid on at last" almost before the
door has closed on them. must needs
give @ curious bent 10 a servants mind
They see their employers inslncere and
they naturally copy them. Many a
mistress who has ius, been smillngly
assured by her maid how well her dress
suits her and how young she D. look
ing would be- ihundcntruck 20 hear
herself laughed at aud criticised five
minutes later In that servants talk
They are trained from their youth ND
never 10 show their true feelings for
"a servant who said what she thought
would Doe pretty sure 90 Jose her place
Frankly. is % not asking "a good deal 10
expect a maid 10 De very fond OF lady
who has her 80 mp night after night
into the small hours TO unlace her
bodice or take down her hair. or 10
imagine a man can be- very devoted TO
a master he has 10 get into bed as best
he can because ho l. too tlpsy 10 get
there himself? There L. a saying that
horses corrupt whoever live with
them Il would be- more correct 10
say that domestic service demorallzes
alike both master and man. Bad
masters are the cause Of 10 much suf.
fering that. 10 protect themselves. this
great brotherhood has imagined sys-
tom OF keeping run Of places" and civ.
ing them a character which an as
plrant can find out with little trouble
This II so complete and 30 well carried
out that a household where the lady
has a temper" the food ls poor or
which breaks up often can rarely get n
hrst-class domestic. The place" has
been boycoitcd and a really good ser.
want will sooner remain idle than en-
ter u. Or. II circumstances are too
much for him and he accepts thi situa.
ton, II IL with his eyes quite open.
knowing Infinitely more about his new
employers and their faillngs than they
dream Of. or than they could possibly
find out about him. One thing can
never be- sufficiently impressed on pco.
pie VIZ. that we are forced 10 live
with detective always behind us In
cap or dress suit. ready 10 remember
every careless word. every lucautlous
criticism Of friend or Acquaintance
their money matters on their love af-
fairs-an who has nothing more In.
teresting 10 do than TO quickly repeat
what he has heard with emblolderies
and additions Of his own. Considering
this and that nine people ont of ten
salk quite obllvious Of their presence.
It Is to be wondered NJ that so little
land not 80 muchl trouble o. made. II
always amusos me. when I ask friend
n she is thinking of going abroad In
the spring TO have her say Hushi'
with q frightened glance toward the
door Il am; but | do not want the
servants to know. or the horrd things
would leave me-" Poor. simple lady!
They knew II almost before You did
and had discussed the whole matter
over their tea" while Il was an almost
unuttorod thought In your mind and II