The Washington herald., 1908-02-23

the notice agreed upon at the time she
was hired. and a servant is prevented
from leaving her employer for some silly
whim- In a small-that is. three or four
well-Ordered family of comfortable
means three servants suffice IN this part
or the world. while In Europe four or five
servants would be required Tor the same
menage. A cook. laundress (who either
takes her work home or comes in for the
three or four days necessary To dispose of
/ the family laundry, a maid. and a man
10 keep the front In order and attend TO
the furnace. are quite equal TO the care of
a house Of ten or twelve rooms occupied
by three or four people In Europe an
other maid and a general utility man
would be added to this list.
The duties Of a cook are so obvious that
il would be scarcely necessary to refer to
them here II the ordinary cook under
stood what her duties were or how to
perform them: but the wages OF a prop
erly trained cook reach such a figure that
only the very rich can afford 10 employ
/ them: so. II she belongs to the class OF
moderate means, a mistress must steel
| herself 60 suffer in silence and invite dys-
pepsia or offend against the old adage
that cooks are not 10 be taught in their
own kitchens and whip her raw material
into Gordon bleu. This is not so difficult
task as II would seem II the mistress
herself is a master OF the culinary art
and has a few of the good cook books
that now abound upon most kitchen
shelves. 1t requires. indeed. only large
fund Of patience and a willing pupil
You must have a fine chef" said
member of the diplomatic corps 10 his
hostess. who has not the purse OF For
tunatus and whose entertainments are
than magnificence. at dinner the other
evening His entertainer laughed mer-
rily. MY chef is q Biddy. who came from
Erin only three years ago and as raw a
girl as I ever encountered. although she
insisted she was a frst-class cook. The
first time ! ordered her 10 serve raw
oysters she sent then 10 the table with
both shells on. and she gave a bushel OF
sweet potatoes TO the ash man because
she said they had gone bad she 'niver
saw yellow pertatees before. but now
she is as good plain cook as one can
find. and l expect every moment 20 have
her give notice and go 10 a place where
she can get triple the wages
Such a girl as Biddy. however. is willing
20 do much more in a household than the
so-called perfectly trained coOk-so-called
because none OF them are perfectly train
ed-who insists on all her prerOgatives
1t is pleasant TO have the bell promptly
answered when all the other servants are
out 70 have little extra washing done
in the house without grumbling Ii is
therefore often worth ones while 70 train
an inexperienced girl. and IT, when she
is properly trained, she takes herself Off
for triple the wages you can AFFORD. why
that is Fate. than cannot be reckoned
with The cook is not expected TO wear
a uniform. as are the other servants but
she should be required 70 dress in wash
prints and ginghams. and 10 cover her
skirts in the kitchen with large gingham
aprons A white apron should be kept
on handy nail for service upstairs
when it is required.
In a house where no butler Is kept the
maid is the most important person below
stairs, and above stairs. too for that mat
ter, for her duties take her into every
nook and corner of the house. and the
domestic machinery runs smoothly or
roughly. as she is competent or incom-
petent, and things are agreeable or dis
agreeable as she is pleasant or suuen. a
sullen maid is not TO be tolerated. and her
character in this particular should be we'll
weighed before she IS engaged. No house
keeper worthy OF the name wants her
door opened with a grumpy face her tele-
phone answered rudely. and service re-
luctantly given. 1t is difficult TO select
from the material available exactly what
one would desire In an upstairs servant.
but there are a few attributes that a
competent maid must possess. 1t IS not
necessary that this household goddess
should be a beauty. but she should be
pleasant TO look at because Of her good
natrred. smiling face and her absolute
neatness. Stray locks, befrizzled hair.
tawdry jewelry. which are supposed TO
accentuate prettiness. are not 20 be toll
Grated. She should be trig Of figure. swift
Of foot, low voiced. nimble fingered. and
she should possess. If not a New England
conscience, then a conscience that forces
her to do her work thoroughly and cheer
fully
Her uniform consists of colored ging-
hams-solid pink, blue, or lavender are
the most attractive-skirt and waist made
in one piece. with a large white apron
that envelOps her skirts. white linen col
lar, fastened with small white bow. and
cuffs for the morning. Some mistresSes
insist on their maids wearing muslin
caps. but that is matter Of taste; pretty
hair smoothly and neatly dressed is very
attractive Her afternoon toilet. which Is
put on for the serving Of luncheon and
worn for the remainder OF the day. is a
perfectly plain black alpaca dress, the
waist closely fitting, with white collars
and cuffs rs in the morning and a white
apron with breteles. The duties OF 4
maid have much Increased in the past
few years. She must now not only un-
derstand the serving at table chamber
work. and how 10 answer the bell. but
she must be able 10 decorate the table.
10 arrange and prepare fruit, to make
salads. TO care for and serve wines: in
fact, an up-to-date maid must know all
that the old-fashioned butler. whose place
she has in a measure usurped. knew and
a little more There are schools for the
training of maids, but the young women
come out of them with their heads packed
with theories and with little or no practi- |
cal knowledge. The best way for a maid
TO learn her profession is TO place herself !
in some large fashionable household and /
work at anything for small wages until |
she is well equipped for the line Of work |
she has chosen.
In wealthy and fashionable houses a |
is generally kept-and should |
be always kept. for no woman can be in |
society and look after her household and |
children at the same time; IL she attempts /
ii. she will inevitably fail. and dissatisfac-
tion and discomfort will be sure to follow /
Besides the housekeeper, the corps of |
servaRts in a fashionable home-if such |
an establishment can be called a home /
numbers lady's maid for each one of /
the grown-up women, a housemaid. a par !
Tor maid. pantry maid. a valet, butler. /
q chef. second cook. a sculiOn. a gen /
eral utility man (whO does all of the /
rougn work.. as many nurses as there are
chhdren not 10 mention the coachman, /
footman, stable boys. and chauffeur.
We are going to economize this sum-