The Winslow mail., 1900-07-26
FOR YOUNG HOUSEWIVES.
Some Good Advice for Those Who
Employ Help About the
House.

One of the main difficulties that con-
front the young housekeeper is the
servant problem; and to the young
or inexperienced housewife it is very
serious matter for consideration; for
the home comforts and the family's
health depend to large extent on
what sort of servant or servants are
employed and the way they do their
work, says Blanche Gillette, in Amer
lean Queen.
In large number of instances it
lies with the mistress herself as to
what results are obtained; one woman
will manage to get more and better re-
suits from one maid than another will
obtain from two. This is primarily
due to method and tact. In engaging
a servant it is most important to have
a clear understanding on both sides as
to wages, work, holidays, etc. Of
course, the usual references and in
quiries as to character have to be
made, and it is worth putting ones
self to considerable inconvenience to
obtain a personal interview with a
former employer. Many people will
tell you plainly what they would not
care to write.
After engaging a servant, two i'm
portant things must be insisted upon
cleanliness and punctuality. The
distribution of the work must be eX-
planned, and, to save trouble and mis-
understanding, it is well to have a
schedule of the weeks work carefully
and clearly written out and hung up
where both mistress and maid can re-
fer to it.
If on fair trial servant is found
to be hopelessly incompetent, the only
thing to be done is to get rid of her;
but as each person is cut on a differ
ent pattern, and the best can only be
obtained by studying and understand
ing her character and handling her ac-
cordingly, she must be given fair
trial By the exercise of patience and
common sense many an apparently
worthless servant has turned out a
"jewel."
In apportioning the work certain
things should be done on certain days,
and whatever is planned should be ex-
ecuted. If work is neglected and the
attention of the maid is called to it,
and the offense is repeated after one
or two warnings, then the only thing
| to do is to "give notice" at once, for
| it is useless to make rules and regula-
tions and then take no notice if they
are broken; on the other hand, it is
| poor policy to be too severe; no one
is perfect, and eternal fault-fnding
about trifes is fruitful source of do
mestic misery, and does much to dis
courage young girls and make them
| impertinent and ugly
In reprimanding a servant, never
lose your temper or speak in loud
tone; few decisive words will have
far more effect than a torrent of
| abuse. Never find fault in the pres
ence of third person; never listen to
| tales, or send a message of reproof
through one servant to another-it is
bound to arrive with variations.
With regard to the cleaning, do not
insist that your methods only should
be employees; if the work is satisfac-
| toriIy done within the time limit, let
| her use what methods she pleases. 1t
is not always an easy task to unlearn
one method and pick up another in
stantly-and her methods may be bet
| ter than your own. However, if the
work is not done according to your
liking, show her how you wish it done
and be sure that she understands you
for, though she may be very willing to
| please, she may not know how to &C
| about the work If a little trouble is
| taken in the first instance to impress
the maid with the proper care to be
bestowed ron everything she under
takes to accomplish, much subsequent
worry will be avoided.