The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1899-12-24
THE AMERICAN noUsEKEEpER.
Her Merits and Her Shortcomings From n
Foreign Point of View.

III you want TO know why We have no FIRST
class professional housckcepers in this country.
volunteered the importer OF an English specimen
1T Is because the American woman Is too proud
and far too independent to allow an employee
TO manage her home That IL also the reason
why VIC with the best ordered most luxurious
homes in the world suffer from criminally wasteiul
domestic management, and the worst service
Of any highly civilized people In France or
England where half as much money is spent
where there Is twice the work Tor the servants
10 do and a third Of the cOnycnienccs hctc>arc
put at their disposal. the fashionable country
or city house is conducted with noisclcss rcgu
lariy that fills the American visitor Win nothing
short Of amazement. In houses where the IN
comes are by no means large a corps Oi hhiShcd
servants viii be found that only miIlionafes
over here can Afford.
Just so long AZ the american woman is head
Of a modest household she is the most all around
capable housckecpcr in the world. she can lace
siiiTer odds and rout them more utterly Than any
French or English woman living. We are the
only women in the world who, when deserted
at u critical moment, can cook n meal and yet
sit at the head Of the table, while that same
meal is being served In fetching froCk carrying
on n conversation as though nothing had hap.
pened II is a charming faculty, but when she Is
put at the head Of corps ~ twenty servants and
| great country house her system fails.
"A big, fashionable household IL Just like n
! big ship US got 10 have captain to direct l,s
! course and an engineer 10 run the machinery
| and in the foreign countries they realize and
provide Tor this In France IL is usually a mai,rc
dhotcl who shoulders the domestic burden. Tie
| has worked up in the service and his word liz law
| 10 the servants. He hires and dismsscs them,
plans their work sees that IL il done and he guar
| antces to keep tho men and maids we'll fed on
| stated allowance Tho mistress gives him
| nxcd sum ever month and ON this he caters
| for the servants table that is by no means sup
| piled from the larder that feeds the family Every
servant is entitled 10 the scraps he or ale leaves
&c, and when a meal il over these are washed
and set away by their owners in their SPECIAL
cupboards Scraps are AN important item To
| the thrifty French domestic
| In England there is woman who docs this
and every handsome English house IL built with
| and bedroom. Some American houses arc nov
being provided with thes" special two rooms;
| My housekccper il OF the typical sort. She
| is about forty, plump, pleasing and SETTLED
widow who entered service at sixteen as a scullCry
the ho H as Mrs Brown. and every aftSf
noon her tea is served in her sitting room at
| o'clock by a maid She drinks tea and cats her
dinner alone, later wearing plain black silk
/ gown, muslin wreath cap and a small lawn
I apron Ever, servant in the house. with the
| exception OF the butler, IN under her direct con
troll, and for the good or evil that every servant
does she is responsible.
decayed genlewnman would show, and with q
rcspectfuness no confidential lhdy's maid ever
feels She gets $50 month and an allowance
for paying the servants wages and catering To
their table and she II is who sees that no waste
goes on in my house
With prayer Of thanksgiving and a quiet
mind can now nightly lay my head on my pillow
and don xpect TO come dow n with nervous pros
tration at the end Of the season. The storm and
stress Of housekeeping has passed me, and no
longer must cooly count OIL 5000 month 10 waste
| az most fashionable hosiesses do; no longer do
haunt intelligence Offices when a dozen engage
ments press and no longer do sit down To weep
on coming home from a hard afternoon = calling
10 hear that the cook has left in rage. the paror
maid has smashed my best bric.a -brac and tho
laundress scorchrd hole In my best tahlccloth.
But let me tell you what lots Of our rich women
do. They don't mind handing their babies into
the care OF kindcrgartners but they deeply resent
sharing tho command Of their households with
q competent woman. For my part think every
| big American household where there is a great
| corps Of servants should have one ot these com
pctent women at the head, and very soon. in con-
sequence, we would see a marked improvement
| In the American maid servant for training dnmcS.
tics is one Of the important missions Of the
English housekeeper. She takes in ignorant girls
| and teaches them FIRST 10 bc competent kitchen
| maids and then promotes them as their value
and knowledge increase and thus the generation
Of English maid servants. the deftcst, most accom-.
plished domcstics In the world. trained in their
profession. Clever and versatile as the American
woman may be when thrown on her own resources
| she has no gift for educating crude talent, When
she has wealth and luxury she simply solves
the difficulty by paying fabulous wages, over.
| looking good deal Of ncompetcncc and retiring
TO a hotel every now and then to recover from the
| battle with servants"