The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1903-10-18

Among the newer occupations to
which an age and a city Of luxurious
living have given birth is that of the
visiting housekeeper. New York seems
to be the inventor of the visiting
housekeeper. San Francisco, Chicago,
St. Paul Charleston and Boston never
heard of her apparently, or if they
have, prefer to continue on the every
lady of the house her own hous ekeep-
er principle. Not that New York has
many followers of the new craft, not
enough to constitute a class or form
type. 1t is doubtful if even New
York could muster a score of visiting
housekeepers, yet the visiting house,
keeper is an interesting sign of the
times.
There are several kinds of visiting
housekeeper," said one of them the
other day "Some simply plan the
menus and do the catering; others en-
gage servants; others oversee the care
and cleaning of the house, and still
others combine these offices. If a wom-
an attempts to cover all these func-
lions 1 do not believe she can attend
faithfully to more than three or at the
most four houses at one time. This is
one of the limitations which visiting
housekeepers labor under-their busi-
ness cannot go on expanding and
growing to any extent, but is perforce
confined to the ground which they per-
SonalIy can cover. And a Woman'S
strength has limitations, even if her
time has not.
IF a woman added to her duties of
housekeeper those of the secretary and
could do this work at her own hours
in her own apartment, she would in
crease her income appreciably and
would fill up a part of the day that
could not be utilized for housekeeping.
Making Out of Menus.
'"The making out of the menus is an
important part of the work. A visiting
housekeeper needs to know her cook
book pretty thoroughly-that is to say,
she must be acquainted with a large
repertory of dishes, so as to be able to
suit every taste and introduce variety
into the bill of fare.
Generally, the lady of the house
one must use that hackneyed term for
lack of a better-likes to look them
over, but sometimes you find one who
will tell the housekeeper to go ahead.
/ make out the menu for the entire day
and invariably a day in advance, and
then the first thing [ do the next
morning is to order everything for the
day. The morning hours being exceed
ingly precious, the visiting housekeeper
SIS o'clock. One can place the orders
with the firms with which each indi-
Vidual family trades, or with firms of
ones own choosing. The visiting
housekeeper makes no commission
through bringing the trade to her own
firms, only it is much easier to give
the order for several households at
one time tic one man.
Last winter l found it more conven-
lent to deal with grocers and provision
stores in the neighborhood of each
house, as if there is a change in the
menu or the number of people to cater
for is SUDDENLY increased, or any
thing of that sort happens. 1t is much
easier and quicker to communicate
with the base of supplies if this is only
q block or two away. Sometimes the
mistress of the house does not know
what is going on the table till the
dishes are placed before her.
Soon Learns Family Tastes.
'You might think that a stranger
coming into a family in this way would
be like the fifth wheel of a coach, but
after a week or two one ceases to be a
stranger. Very soon one learns the
tastes of each family and every mem
beI in each family, and if one orders
a vegetable or a dish that certain per-
sons won't touch or that a family
agrees in detesting, you don't do it a
second time, that's all.
LAS a rule the housekeepers employ
er trusts her to do the ordering without
supervising the accounts, except Wher
oEce month the books are sent up te
her. If the meat bill has been too large
foI the month or the grocery business
runs too high, she says so, and the
.housekeeper retrenches. 1t does not
take so long as one might think tc
grasp these details of family taste and
family expenditure. 1 never yet found
q family so aff1uent that the amount OF
the grocer's and butchers bills was
not matter of Importance to them.