The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1917-09-12
A Phase Of the
Servant Question
BY ELINOR MARSH


man in the world. He was CONSTANT
making deductions with regard to then
For instance, If lie saw woman pas
I mirror. glance at her reflection, ad
Just her hat or some other portion o
her apparel he would assume that sh
was vain. When he married me b.
took especial pains to discover whethe
was popular with my own sex. q.
wouldn't give fig for woman whom
women don't like" he said in telling
me of his precaution after we war,
married and In doing so paid me the
compliment to say that In my case the
report was favorable. ! didn't consider
1t compliment, for my very best wo
man friend had never been, popular
with women simply because they didn,i
understand her.
We lived in town on the Pacific
roast where the only servants to be had
were Chinese. We went to housekeep.
Ing as soon as we were married, and
hired cook named Charlie Lee Charlie
agreed to give me months notice be-
fore leaving, but some one offered him
So month more than | was paying
him, and without either giving me the
stipulated notice or the privilege even
of raising his wages he left me the day
before was to have friends In for din
ner More than this, he demanded
wages for two weeks when he had been
with me only eight days. l paid him
for one week and told him to go, and
20 quickly, and never show his face In
my house again.
When John came home and I told
him what had happened | saw by the
wrinkle in his forehead that he consid-
cred me in some way to blame, but he
said nothing. secured another China
man as cook, but was astohished when
he told me at the end of the first week
that he would stay with me no longer.
Are you sure" asked John, that
you have said or done nothing to ruffle
him?"
I'm sure I've neither said nor done
anything that should ruffie him."
John turned to the evening paper
that he had brought home with him,
and / knew he considered there was
something wrong with me or l would
not have lost two servants within
The third Chinaman stayed
with me just two days.
John had refrained from speaking his
mind on the servant question till this
third cook left me. Then we had our
first spat.
"You must admit, my dear" he said, |
that there is some reason for the de- |
parture of all your servants"
You mean that | don't treat them
kindly"
'Not that, but perhaps your manner
May be trife dictatorial"
Il should have supposed" | retort-
ID. that you would have inquired be-
ore marrying me whether my manner
% servants was deferential enough"
You misunderstood me. Our man
Ter is something for which we are
lot responsible, being born to it. can
eadily understand how these simple
chinese, exiles from their homes. may
lave sensitiveness to kindness that
/ heard no more, for / went out of the
DOM, and | fear I shut the door after
ne trife harder than was necessary.
determined that | would find out
What was preventing my keeping a
ervant If had to send to the Flowery
Kingdom for a native detective. / went !
0 a friend, told her the circumstances
nd asked her advice.
These Chinese are very clannish,"
he said. "What one does they all do" a
But how do they all know enough to t
o the same thing? Those | have had G
urely were not acquainted"
~ have had one of them for years"
be said. "I'll ask him If he can ex-
lain"
Chang Wing, her servant, was called a
and the case put to him. He said he :
'ould go to see me the next day after
Is work was finished He came. as he II
greed, and walked straight into the f,
Itchen, where he commenced to exam n
e the furniture and cooking utensils. a
hen he looked into every creviee and I
,rner. 1t struck me that he was search al
& for evidence of the presence of mice n
the house, for ] had heard of the ft
hinese appreciation of this delicacy. g
Id informed him that there were none u
Id | wouldn't have them on my prem u
es on any account. He paid no atten- ~
Dn to the Information, keeping on ;,
lth his ransacking. He looked on the -
'ttoms of the chairs and the pots and r.
tiles, turned up the oilcloth on the f.
'or, removed every article in the tn
tchen closet and examined 1t as well sb
the walls and the shelves. Finally TO
took down the clock and looked st ia
back Then | knew from the Celes- ce
i look ON his face that he had found co
hat he had been searching for. m
What is 1t ?" l asked eagerly. Sc
lie pointed to some Chinese charac- sn
IS chalked on the back of the clsck
d translated them: ne
Very bad woman. Doesn't pay the "a
lges." -
Charlie Lee, my first cook, was the All
" one Of the lot / had had any diff on
-ence with about money, and, OF wi
lrse. it was he who had passed the wi
nd to his successors. de-
When John came home that evening of
old him that thought had discOv- an
d the cause OF my trouble with cooks ag
L..