Five Mile Beach weekly journal., 1917-11-30
A Phase Of the
Servant Question
By ELINOR MARSH
By ELINOR MARSH

married an old bachelor who thought
he knew more about women than any
man in the world. He was constantly
making deductions with regard to them.
For instance, If he saw a woman pass
a mirror. glance at her reflection, adj
just her hat or some other portion of
her apparel he would assume that she
took especial pains to discover whether
l was popular with my W sex. 81
wouldn't give a fig for a woman whom
women don't like" he said in telling
me of his %precaution after we were
married and in doing so paid me the
compliment to say that In my case the
report was-favorable. | didn't consider
it a compliment, for my very best wo-
man friend had never been popular
with women simply because they didn't
understand her.
We lived In a town or the Pacific
coast where the only servants to be had
were Chinese. We went to housekeep-
ing as soon as we were married, and I
hired a cook named Charlie Lee. Charlie
agreed to give me a months notice be-
fore leaving, but some one offered him
So a month more than l 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 l 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. I paid him
for one week and told him to go, and
go quickly, and never show his face In
my house again.
When John came home and / told
him what had happened l saw by the
wrinkle in his forehead hat he consid-
cred me in some way to blame, but he
said nothing. I secured another China
man as cook, but was astonished 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 ruff1e
him?"
I'm sure I've neither said nor done
anything that should ruff1e him."
John turned to the evening paper
that he had brought home with him,
and l knew he considered there was
something wrong with me or l would
not have lost two servants within a
month. 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
first spat-
"You must admit, my DEAR" he said,
shat there is some reason for the de-
parture of all your servants"
"You mean that I don't treat them
kindly"
"Not that, but perhaps your manner
may be a trife dictatorial."
81 should have supposed" l retort-
ed, "that you would have inquired be-
fore marrying me whether my manner
to servants was deferential enough"
"You misunderstood me. Our man.
ner is something for which WI are
not responsible, being born to 1t. I can
readily understand how these simple
Chinese, exiles from their homes, may
have a s%ensitiveness to kindness that
/ heard no more, for l went out of the
room, and l fear l shut the door after
me a tri1e harder than was necessary.
l determined that / would find out
what was preventing my keeping a
servant if I had to send to the Flowery
Kingdom for a native detective. l went
to a friend, told her the circumstances
and asked her advice.
'"These Chinese are very clannish,"
she said. "What one does they all do"
"But how do they all know enough to
do the same thing? Those l have had
surely were not acquainted"
II have had one of them for years."
she said. "Tn ask him If he can ex-
plain"