The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1898-04-05

visit her she tells as Il great JoAe ~"
the mistress hoped 10 make her I'VE
a. 81. wanted her to. Perhaps YOU not
OILY gave your time IN your very
self. but YOU spent a great deal OF
| money on this woman who was III
| v,len she came TO You. Two weeks af-
Ter. when YOU We're tired out from
| General nursing and hoped TO be able
| to rest a little, this young Woman ap-
rcarcd and informed you that she in
tended to leave chat afternoon. You
said: What, Maggie. Leave me now
when | took as good care Of you when
vcu were i'll as if you had been my W
sister, And Maggie, with that won
derful GOODNESS that belongs 10 her llk
and that still more wonderful lngratl-
tude, answered: Yes, ma'am, that Is
just the reason why. If YOU had been
the lady | thought you YOU would not
have done So"
Now, what is to be done: You and l
are tender hearted Women. and when
trouble comes to some one who Is III
our kitchen our hearts 90 out to the suf-
fcrer, and we give of our best i'll every
way. only to be hurt afterward- Have
you and |, who count ourselves and are
good mistresseS, ever know a mad to
say, BY doing thus and 50 | can save
- cents!' Oh. no. If YOU and | see
TIE great need to economic and go into
the kitchen and insist upon 1t, we are
spoken Of as 'mean." Care as to the
amount Of food used. the quantity Of
coal burned, of gas lighted or cOnsldera-
ton given to clothes IS never proper III
the eye of a domestic servant. tits SIM
ply an evidence or close ~fistedness. Care
for something because it is beautiful, be-
cause it was given to you by somebody
you loved, is Greek to the average ser
want. Dishes and glasses were made to
break, and if you bother people to dust
br;c-a-brac YOU must expect 1t TO suffer.
The average ma:d-servant not only be-
Iieves hat dust is the bloom of time,
but also that it should be u never fading
blossom.
II is all wrong. But how are we going
to s~traighten it: Sometimes You do meet
Il domestic servant who cunts her word
IS worth something and who does not
claim to be able to do everything. But
why is ii that all are 50 positively I'M
willing to learn: Ii yOu and | We're to
go out as cooks. we would make an eff
fort To he the very best of cooks so
that we might make the greatest amount
of money. / fear that too often the
elnployc does bad work because the en-
l!oycr accepts IL. Too often, the en-
ployer pay high wages for work that Is
done in the most slovenly manner. the
idea seeming to be that to get the work
done. TO matter how, is the acme of
happiness. To do it well is counted rs
OF 100 worth. You know perfectly we'll
that. although Caroline. Maggie. or Jane
may have five tall feathers in her hat
and Il frock of the newest fashion. her
underwear is torn. tattered. miserably
lnpar and ,snSitivnlv nntiHv Won lISn
al your diplomacy in trying to frame Il
sentence THAT VIII suggest to Caroline
or Maggie or Jane the desirability Of a
bath at least once in awhile, and yet
little Miss Industry, who Is busy down
town. is only too glad to walk home one
day in the week that she may give 10
cents to the chamber maid in her board
ing house to get the bath washed out
So she can use it. But Caroline. Mag.
gle or Jane dose not appreciate the bless
ing of personal cleanliness. She thinks
1t AL nonsense.
Perhaps you think this is severe, you
who have not been the mistress of a
manse or Il fat. But to wrestle. literal
~ and physically, day in and day out.
with Ignorance, ingratitude, laziness and
sloyenliness and Il certain particularly
impertinent self-satisfaction is more
tAdl LtSItIS dIIIICttlt. II Is llIllt Soule-
body spoke for the mistress. What can
you or |, We who are just ordinary wo-
men. do? III tell you what l do-just
make the best of Il bad bargain. [
realize that the maid in my kitchen is
capable of just so much that is good and
of much that is Indifferent. l nave long
ago learned that if j allow myself to
have Il feel:n. Of friendship for any
special maid / am going to rave my
heart hurt. But | would rather have
my heart hurt than allow myself to grow
hard~heartcd. You and 1. who try to
live good lives, never refuse to allow a
maid to so to whichever church she
pleases or to have time to give proper
attention to her religious duties, but
when she claims to be Il church member
surely we have Il right to expect some
thing that is good from her. We must
set the example: but, that given, Ger
talnly there should be enough womanli-
ness IN her to follow in the right path.
Drudgery can be made divine. but
then it ceases to be drudgery. There
are good servants, as there are bad mis-
tresses, but one is as few as the other.
Away down in the southland there was
for many years Il dear old colored mann
my who nursed three generations OF
babes ana then in her old age mad q
little home. wherein she was supported
by the youngest members of her flock.
She had known the skeletons in the diff
ferent households. She always appeared
IN trouble or illness or in some great
Joy. She sleeps at the foot of her mis-
treSs-the mistress who owned her ab-
s~'oiutely and the mistress who gave her
freedom, the freedom which she never
wanted and refused to take. | do not
believe that in the hereafter she will be
happy unless she is serving some OF
those she loved. and on the little tomb
stone that marks her grave are cut
these words: "She Served Well" Win
that be said of you or Bah.
POOR FO\SIE