Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-02-07

Then sat down and wrote and begged and
entreated our Rosalie Eulalie Eustis John
son to come over here to u.s. offered her
&lS month. We only paid her SO in
Washington, you know, and she thought
that was doing fne-and told her would
M up nice servants room right OF the
Kitchen of our fiat for her, and-I just
fairly groveled in that letter I wrote to
Resale Eulalie beseeching her to come over
to New York and help me attend to the
light work OF fiat Well, she held on for
three months, and then she announced that
she would come. sent her the money. and
was over In Jersey City to meet her.
All Right for Short Time.
she was all right for the first month or
so. and then she began to make the ac-
qtrantance Of the New York brand Of coll
ored girls. The ideas they did put into the
woolly head of my Rosaiie Eulalie! First
she began to wear her wool in roll down
on the back Of her neck, like she had seen
the chorus women OF the Williams and
Walker show wearing theirs. Then she
began to copy my clothes with great ex-
actness. adding bizarre effects Of her own,
thus making me laughing stock IN the
nat: Then she began to neglect her work
and to become saucy. She had been con-
taminated and ruined, you see. by contact
with the black servant girls over here. She
Joined a social club down In the 9Th
avenue black belt, and began to practice
cake-walk steps in the kitchen instead Of
attending to her work. Then stream Of
hot sport darby youths In checked clothes
and big yellow diamonds began to come to
the fiat and call for my Rosalie Eulalie
when she was In the midst of her work,
whereupon she would become so excited
that she was worse than useless. Finally
had to tell her that would have to send
her home.
"'Sen' nothin', was the impertinent re-
ply that my Rosalie Eulalie made to me-
Dis heah town Is good ernouf To- mel! and
she packed her box and moved down to the
black belt.
New York will ruin any colored servant
girl that comes over here from Washing
ton In two months at the outside, and
know whereof 1 speak. They want to be
'uh chorus lady, or something to that eff
fect-what are the words of the ragtime
song?''
Then another Of the young Washington
matrons chimes in to tell OF the different
experience she had in sending to Washing
ton for an old servant
She was my nurse when I was q baby,
you know, and when was married she
came to us to live. We begged her to ac-
company us to New York when We moved
over here, but she wouldn't consent. say
Ing that she had heard too much about the
trashy, no-'count Moo Yawk nigguhs' to
think OF doing any such thing. After we
had been over here for year. however.
and had had such an unspeakab1e time
trying to get hold Of good servant,
wrote my old nanny such a pleading let
ter that she had one Of her daughters write
word over to me that she would come over
to New York to try She stayed Just two
weeks, and then one morning found her
packing up. There are no cozy darby al
leys here in New York, you know-aIid she
was homesick for Washington. Moreover.
she expressed Unreasonable contempt for
the New York black folks-'Ah amt havn'
no truck wifi desc heah common, onnehy,
spohtin' nigguhs-no, andeed, ah'm not,
Miss Helen!' she told me. turning up her
% fh4 too md A01 - IA
her back to Washington. I went over to
Jersey City to put the old nanny on the
train-and how did long to get on the
train and go down to Washington with her,
and how did envy her!'
The Old Story.
Thus the women of this little Washington
coterie talk forever and forever OF the
difficulty, not exaggerated by them in tho
least, of getting a passable servant girl
In New York, and of the comparative ex-
cellence Of the most ordinary of the black
servants of Washington. Another OF their
favorite topics is the lack of difference
shown to women in public by New York
men.
II went down to the Aquarium this after
noon to see the new fishes" says one of
them, land then I came up town to do a
little shopping. I got on 9th avenue sur
face car at 18th street, and of course .uere
dozen women were packed in the aisle Of
the ear. And counted exactly seventeen
huge louis OF men, some of them nicely
dressed, too, and with the eXteriors of gen.
tlemen, who were calmly seated back, with
their legs crossed, reading their evening
papers. And several Of the huge ruff1ans
looked up when I came In and almost
smiled, as much as to say that they were
just glad that l was not going to have a
seat. Not one of them offered to get up
even when, a few blocks further on, several
car. They just sat there and grinned, with
their legs crossed and their muddy shoes
mussing up the women's skirts-brutes!
Could you imagine anything like mat hap
pening in Washington? Why, 1 never had
to stand for an entire square in a Washing
ton street car dn my life, even during In
auguration times. Even the toughest look
ing men down there always give up their
seats to women, and they don't do 1t for
effect, either, but because it's in them to do
It; its the custom, and the man who would
sit while women stood In Washington car
would be scowled at so by the other men
In the car that he would feel unpleasant -
The other women, all of whom had been
in New York for several years, laughed
merrily at the arraignment of New York
manners made by this one, a comparative
newcomer.
Courtesy Soon Wears Of.
'sWait till you have lived in New York a
year and you will forget ali about such a
thing existing as masculine courtesy to-
ward women" says one of them. I'VE don't
even look for it any more, and when. few