The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1899-02-13
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WOMAN'S WORLD.
IS 8 500 q :

It seems funny in these days, when SO
many jokes are made on the subject Of
women turning their backs upon all house
hold em~ploymepts and going out into the
world to engage in business pursuits, that
the art of housekeeping is receiving SO
much attention. AS a means of livelihood
it bids fair to be one of the most lucrative
business ventures that a woman can en-
gage in, and there are many smart women
who realize this and are being trained or
are training others 10 be proficient in it.
The enormous households that are con-
sidered necessary to the we'll being of ev-
cry fashionable woman demand that there
should be some one in charge the entire
time. Better servant are obtained now
than a few years ago, but we are rapidly
following on the English lines, and serv-
ants are trained for different work. A
housemaid does not feel that she can be
anything but a housemaid; a parlor maid
can never interfere with the housemaid;
q fourth man must not, encroach upon the
duties of the second man, and SO on.
Wages are high in this country, but the
people who pay them demand good service
and take no excuse for bad work. To secure
good work there must be a daily watch
over a large staff of workpeople, for they
are one and all impressed with the idea
that to do as little as possible for the
money received is the cleyerest thing that
can be done. To watch over all these de-
tails would not be possible for a woman
who has her social duties to look after,
and she therefore must employ a house,
keeper, whose duty in life will consist in
seeing that nothing is left undone in those
immense establishments.
The duties of a ho~usekeeper are many,
and there are at least two kinds of house
keepers. The visiting housekeeper must
not live in the house, but is none the less
responsible for what goes IN there. She
must be on hand early in the morning, in
terview the cook and all the other servants,
write out the menu for the day, which is
sometimes submitted to the lady of the
house for her approval, must then give or
ders as to the work that shall be don't and
90 to market. If there is to be a luncheon
or dinner given, she must see that the
flowers are ordered and that the table is
correct in all its appointments before the
guests arrive and in many INSTANCES must
remain in the pantry while everything is
being served. IT a servant is derelict in
duty, she must discharge that servant and
replace him or her and generally without
any consultation with her employer. In
other words, the responsibility of the house
is on her shoulders, and it is for her to see
that all arrangements for the comfort OF
the family shall be carried on correctly
and satisfactorily.
That this position is no sinecure goes
without saying. 1t is a position that
calls for a considerable knowledge of how a
fashionable household should live accord
ing to the social law of the day. There
have been tive or three instances where
this position has been held for several
winters and the h~ousekeeper and her en-
ployer nave not met more than two or
three times in the course of the winter. 1t
must not be forgotten that the h~ousekeeper
must keep all the ccounts and pay the
bills, and for this purpose a cheGAris sent
her every month, which includes her own
salary. As yet there is no fixed rule as to
what a visiting housekeeper shall receive
for salary. Anywhere from $25 to 500 is
given, and often the employer does not
hesitate to say that the housekeeper's sal
airy is paid from the difference in the bills,
the oversight of the servants and expenses
producing such remarkable results.
In all the large households a suit of
rooms is set apart for the resident house,
keepers use, and one or more servants are
detailed to wait upon her. She has her
own dining room and sitting room, as well
as of course her own bedroom, and she is
at liberty to receive her own friends as she
wills, it being of curse understood that
there are no men among the callers. The
life is lonely; there is absolutely no inter-
course with the family, but the position
requires constant carefulness and a good
business head and is interesting.
The absolute independence of it has its
good points. There is always money to
be made out Of it, for the resident house
keeper receives as much pay as the visit
ing housekesper, and has, besides, her
board and lodgings. On tho other hand,
the visiting housekeerer can take charge
of one or two households at the same
time, and in that way increases her in
come. The housekeeper has entire charge
of the domestic staff, and dismisses or en-
cages the servant at will. Her employer
asks no questions-in fact, turns over the
entire business of the household to her.
She is supposed to see that every detail Of
the enormous establishment is in thorough
order. This necessitates early rising to
oversee the work that is done the first
thing in the morning, and then the super
Intending of the different breakfast trays
that are q up in the large country
houses where house parties are the rule is
no light task. If she has succeeded in OBJ
tanning a good butler and a staff of men
servants, all she will have to do is to see
thai the table is in order before the lunch
con and dinner are served, for she can de-
pend upon them to a certain extent
New York Press.
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