The Caucasian. (Shreveport, La.) 1900-192?, 1900-11-25
MISTRESS AND MAID.
The UItimatum Versus Diplomacy In
the Household.

Luminous and inspiring as were the
utterances of the ladies of the National
Household Economic association, who
met in Toronto recently to wrestle with
the great servant girl problem. one can
but regret TO notice that they missed the
chief trick in the game, after all-that
is, diplomacy. The real reason so many
mistresses are persona non grata with
their hired girl is because women have
not yet found out that there Is just as
much scope for diplomacy in the kitchen
as there is in the parlor.
Both sides are too fond of presenting
utimatums. "Shure an if the policeman
that is me own cousins cousin can't
dhrop in for a bit of tay, an to pass the
time of day, once in awhile, III be Law
in" Really, Bridget, unless you can
have dinner at the proper time, much as
| dislike to do such a thing, ! will have
to dismiss you when your month is up"
Now, an ultimatum is thing that rolls
the blood Of nations and individuals. 1t
means fight or back down, and either
contingency is full of unpleasantness.
The servant girl, as we know her in the
average American family, is as full of
complacency and as resentful of advice
as bride. She has the touchy vanity Of
a collegan in his first year at the var
sity. when it is mortal insult to recOg-
nize him for what he is. She bristles
with feeling as a porcupine does with
quills. She lOathes the cap that is the
badge of her servitude and rebels at the
name that designates her occupation.
Under the demure black frock of every
-, 81 h,r i bn Of q
anarchist, and she is doing her daily best
to assassinate her employer by the slow
and agonizing process of UNDERGONE bread
and overdone meat and lukewarm gravy.
Into this hOtbed of discomfort with her
lot the mistress brusque order and I'M
chastened criticism fall like a lighted
match in a powder magazine, and in the
explosion that results homes are wrecked
and entire families blown into hotels and
boarding houses. Yet the catastrophe
may be averted, and since all other
known methods of settling the servant
problem have failed it is up to women to
try the effect of diplomacy on their do
mestics and to recall the ancient truism
that no woman ever yet lived who was
case hardened against a compliment jul
diciously applied.
This has no reference to commentator
of their work. The hired girl having no
pride in her occupation is Indifferent to
your opinions as to whether it is well
done or ill 1t means the compliment, di-
rect, personal, eternally gratifying, that
extols her face or figure. A feminine
diplomat who is worthy to tread a
measure with Ii Hung Chang assures me
that this is a device that never fails.
For instance, she had a girl who was
manifestly sulky about having to wear
cap. The first time she appeared in it
her mistress raised her lorgnettes. Upon
my word, Julia" she exclaimed in an en-
raptured tone, 81 must have you photo
graphed in that cap. It's altogether the
most fetching and picturesque thing I've
seen in an age in the way you have it
on" and that closed the cap incident. On
another occasion she was afflicted with a
maid who was the sort of person you
would like to send for death, secure in
the fact that you would have lived as
long as you wanted to before she got
back. Neither tears nor prayers nor
brides ever hurried her one iOta. She
seemed hopeless, but this Talleyrand in
petticoats was equal to the situation.
"Of course" she said sweetly to the
maid, lit doesn't matter to me how long
you take to do your work. but should
think as pretty a girl as you are would
hurry through with her tasks so she could
dress up and go out where she would be
seen" The reformation was instan-
taneOus and complete.
These are but a few Illustrations that
point the way and show what a field for
the diplomatic talents of women is open
ed up in the servant question. The hired
girl has proved beyond all possibility of
doubt that she cannot be coerced into the
path Of duty, but she can be jollied along
it. What she pines for is not an eight
hour day or more afternoons out, but gilt
edged compliments and lattery adroitly
applied. And in this she shows she is
merely human and woman.-Dorothy Dix
in New York Journal