Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-09-15
INDEPENDENT MAIDS.
English View Of Servant Question ir
Australia.

From the London Mall
The Australian domestic servant Is typi-
cally representative OF her country. To un-
derstand and appreciate her one must re-
gard her In the light OF her china tic and So
cial environment
l. She Is essentially democratic loves pleas
| IRE and freedom. is adaptable and capable,
and knows 1t. have never found her at a
loss; 1t Is In the unexpected, perhaps, that
she shines most. as 1t Is here that she has
the best opportunity Of exercising her pow
ers OF initiative as well as her common
sense
For the daily routine and drudsery of
homework she cares iittle-to get through
| 1t quickly and easily is her chief aim
But outside the sphere of Homework pure
and simple she often exhibits unexpected
powers. l have known q general seryan,
who at first surprised her new English mis-
tress by sauntering into the garden during
the morning, sun bonnet on her head and a
large basket on her arm, which she would
presently bring In filled with flowers These
she would arrange with charming taste in
the sitting rooms. evidently delighting In
her seif-chosen occupation. 1t is unfortu-
nate to be obliged to add that the same ser
want strongly objected to sweeping a sitting
room more than once a week
another general servant was most helpful
with the children's home-iessons I have
had one servant who read Tennyson, an
other who enjoyed and could crtticise intel
! ligently a good play; Others who wrote a
| really good letter. Indeed. one may say
that the Australian domestic servant al
most always gives evidence of better edu-
cation than an English girl OF the same
class.
Undoubtedly she has her faults and her
prejudices. and one Of the latter must early
be taken into account in the interests of
domestic peace. She must never be allow
| ed to hear the words master" mistress -
servant" indeed. the Englshwoman about
to visit Australia will do we'll to leave the
very recollection Of these words behind,
along with other unnecessary impedimenta.
Nor Is she likely to hear the words sir
ma am or m until she returns home
again. Wen do 1 remember a small do
nestle crisis. acute in It's way, brought
about by an inadvertent use of the express
sion servants bed ROOM" The difaculty
Is to hnd satisfactory equivalent for these
| words.
1t is easy enough for master or mistress
| to speak of each other as Mrs A." Mr..
A., but one hesitates ewkwardly when
ABOUT q to say your last mistress" or Mrs.
clumsy expressions as 'the lady you lived
with last" 1.-The girl who lives at Mrs
BIS" The word "girl' is always inofren-
sive IN this connection. and is the usual
word employed by one domestic servant in
speaking Of another. Age or condition has
nothing to do with 1t.
Once In temporary servant difficulty 1
was only able to procure the services Of a
very eiuerly woman, Verg1ng on decrepitude,
and a bright little maid of fourteen. and IT
was very amusing to hear the latter speak
quite naturally Of "the other girl"
And this Is one respect in which AustraI-
Ian servants differ as a class from English
ones: there Is no stereotyped uniformity
about them. Here, II one advertised for q
nursemaid. housemaid or general servant
one would expect to receive applications
from young single women. Indeed. one Is
tempted to ask what becomes Of all these
younger servants in later years; are they
prematurely worn out. or is domestic serv-
ice the one vocation that leads Inevitably to
matrimony?
Now In Australia there Is more elasticity
OF age and condition. In q not very Ione
experience have employed the two widely
differing specimens mentioned above. a
widow who was grandmother and a young
married woman with husband and children
The last-named persuaded her husband to
go to sea and her mother to look after the
children while she had a change"