Servants and service

By Ruth Lamb

The Project Gutenberg eBook of Servants and service
    
This ebook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and
most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions
whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms
of the Project Gutenberg License included with this ebook or online
at www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States,
you will have to check the laws of the country where you are located
before using this eBook.

Title: Servants and service

Author: Ruth Lamb

Release date: January 7, 2026 [eBook #77633]

Language: English

Original publication: London: The Religious Tract Society, 1902

Credits: chenzw and The Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by the Toronto Public Library)


*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SERVANTS AND SERVICE ***




SERVANTS AND SERVICE.




[Illustration: THE GIRL’S OWN BOOKSHELF]




  SERVANTS AND SERVICE.

  BY
  RUTH LAMB,

  _Author of ‘Only a Girl Wife,’ ‘Girls’ Work and Workshops,’
  ‘One Little Vein of Dross,’ ‘Her Own Choice,’ etc., etc._

  London:
  THE RELIGIOUS TRACT SOCIETY,
  56, PATERNOSTER ROW; 65, ST. PAUL’S CHURCHYARD;
  AND 164, PICCADILLY.




  BUTLER & TANNER,
  THE SELWOOD PRINTING WORKS,
  FROME, AND LONDON.




PREFACE.


Some years have elapsed since these chapters on ‘Servants and Service’
were first issued as a series in the _Girl’s Own Paper._ I have reason
to know, from many subsequent communications, that they have not been
written in vain, but have proved useful to, and been highly commended
alike by, mistresses and maids. Members of both classes have borne
testimony especially to the fairness with which a somewhat difficult
social question has been treated therein.

Whilst rejoicing over the good results which have already followed the
serial publication of these papers, I hope and pray that their re-issue
as a volume may greatly increase their usefulness.

I must not omit to mention that I am not the author of the appended
chapter, No. XI., on ‘The legal rights of employers and employed.’ It
contains most valuable information, but is contributed by a writer much
better informed on legal subjects than I can claim to be.

                                                              RUTH LAMB.




CONTENTS.


  CHAP.                                                       PAGE

     I. INTRODUCTORY                                             9

    II. HONOURABLE SERVICE                                      20

   III. ‘HAIR-SPLITTERS’                                        32

    IV. IN THE NURSERY                                          44

     V. INFLUENCE OVER CHILDREN. BEAR AND FORBEAR               55

    VI. THOROUGHNESS. ECONOMY OF TIME. CARE
        OF PROPERTY. PUNCTUALITY                                68

   VII. ON FAULT-FINDING, GIVING NOTICE TO LEAVE,
        AND GIVING CHARACTERS                                   81

  VIII. DRESS. VISITORS. SYMPATHY IN CHRISTIAN
        WORK                                                    96

    IX. FOLLOWERS AND FRIENDS. HELPS TO YOUNG
        SERVANTS. GIFTS FROM VISITORS                          108

     X. THE ONE SOURCE OF STRENGTH                             135

    XI. THE LEGAL RIGHTS OF EMPLOYERS AND EMPLOYED             145




SERVANTS AND SERVICE.




CHAPTER I.

INTRODUCTORY.


A little while ago I was wandering from factory to factory, watching
girls at work amongst whirling spindles, clattering machinery, and
clinking hammers; wondering often that the young creatures were not
bewildered or permanently deafened by the ceaseless noise which
accompanied their hours of toil; wondering still more at the varied
articles produced by girl-hands, and at the way in which the comfort of
persons in every rank of life seems to depend upon, and be ministered
to, by what they do as outdoor workers.

The comfort of the world at large, of the great human family, is very
greatly influenced by the girl-toilers in these hives of industry. But
how much more is the happiness of all the separate families which go
to make up the vast total, influenced by the lives and conduct of those
who actually serve in the home itself, who fill the _honourable_ and
_responsible_ position of domestic servants.

You who thus serve will, perhaps, think that I use strong terms
respecting your work and the place you occupy. I mean to justify these
expressions, and to show you how truly important is that work, how high
is your position, when measured by the vast trust which employers are
compelled to repose in the girls whom they receive into their homes as
servants.

I have been the mistress of a house for a great many years, and yet,
considering that I have usually had four female servants at once, I
have not had a large number in the whole time. The reason is that very
few have left our home except to start in houses of their own, or from
some equally satisfactory cause, and usually after a long term of
service. Also, that when circumstances have rendered it necessary for
a servant to leave us, it has been the rule for the family and herself
to part with feelings of mutual regret and goodwill. It is always a
pleasure for us to welcome under our roof those who have served us
faithfully, and to hear of their well-being.

I have had only one thoroughly bad servant--but she was a
systematically bad woman, who would have wrought mischief in whatever
position of life she might have occupied. Ignorance of household
routine, and inexperience in the performance of certain duties, may
easily be corrected wherever a servant is able and willing to learn,
and a mistress to bestow time and pains in teaching her.

It makes me glad as I write to think that I both have had, and
still have, servants whom I regard as dear friends; who have proved
themselves sympathetic and self-devoting in various seasons of
sickness, and when extra labour and watching were needed; who have been
true helpers and comforters to all around them.

Some, too, have been associated with me in Christian work, and have
deemed themselves more than repaid for any additional labour which has
thus devolved upon them, by the happiness that accompanies the very act
of good-doing for Christ’s sake.

I think of such servants as these not only with pleasure, but with the
deepest thankfulness. With all my heart I desire to thank God for such
service, and for the sense of family comfort and safety which has been
one of its happy consequences in my own home.

I am sure every girl who occupies the position of a domestic servant
will agree with me, that it is a good thing when a mistress can kneel
down and thank Our Father in heaven, for the great family blessing He
has sent her in the shape of a faithful servant. Equally so when a
girl, coming a stranger into a new home, can thankfully feel that she
too is regarded, not as a human machine to be sent away as soon as she
breaks down, and, once out of sight, out of mind also; but as a member
of the family, to be cared for by the rest both in regard to health of
soul and body--and most of all by the mistress as ‘house-mother.’

I wonder whether servants and mistresses generally understand what the
word ‘family’ means. I have alluded to each servant as a member of the
family, but I know that people usually take a much narrower view of
its meaning, and think it should be confined strictly to those who are
united by the ties of kindred.

The word is used in several senses in our language, but the one which
takes the lead is as follows:--‘Family. The collective body of persons
who live in one house and under one head or manager of a household,
_including parents, children, and servants_.’

So you see, dear girls who serve in other homes than those of your
parents, you are none the less members of the family into which you
enter, though your actual place and work in it differ from those of the
parents and children. But if you claim to be of the family, you must
remember that the very privilege brings also responsibility.

It forbids the putting of self in the first rank, and binds you to
consider the well-being, convenience, and comfort of every member of
the household, at least equally with your own; to work and think for
the common good, _because you also are of the family_.

Notice how the Bible recognises this. Read through the Ten
Commandments, and see what individuals are named in those rules given
by God Himself, for the government of the human race. Here they are,
following each other: Father and mother, son and daughter, man-servant
and maid-servant.

Not many pictures of girl life are to be found in the pages of Holy
Writ. We catch glimpses now and then of Rebekah and Rachel and the
daughters of Jethro tending their flocks, and watering them from the
precious and jealously guarded wells. These show us something of their
occupations out of doors, of their readiness--ladies though they
were--to serve the stranger and wait on the weary traveller. But the
curtains of the tent are rarely lifted sufficiently to give us even a
peep at the girls within, whether young mistresses or waiting damsels,
when employed in household duties.

Ruth has a whole book given to her and her family. But we only see her
for the first time in her widowhood, and when she has been ten years a
wife. Esther has a still longer book, but in her story is involved the
fate of a nation of captives.

But there is a little picture given in another place, and I never read
it without thinking how delightful it must be to every young servant,
to look upon this word-sketch of the little captive maid who waited
upon Naaman’s wife.

It tells so much in so few words. It shows us the girl, far away from
her home and her kindred, a stranger in a strange land--yet full of
sympathy with her mistress, realizing that she is one of the family,
and anxious to do good to its afflicted and suffering head.

Putting away the memory of her own wrongs, she would fain direct her
master to him at whose word, she believed, the loathsome disease would
vanish and Naaman be made whole.

This little servant maid must have remembered her own home and friends,
because she could speak of the miracle-working prophet in her own land.
A revengeful girl would have rejoiced in her master’s affliction.
A selfish one would have made terms, and only told of the healer on
condition of being restored to her own friends.

This young servant girl did neither. She uttered a wish which was also
a prayer on behalf of him who held her captive: ‘Would God my lord were
with the prophet that is in Samaria! for he would recover him of his
leprosy.’

Though she was in such a humble position, she had gained a character
for truth. Her mistress durst speak after her! A king durst write a
letter, send an embassy, and despatch an offering of enormous value, in
sole reliance on the word of the little foreign servant.

Her master, a great and powerful general, the mighty man of valour, and
conqueror in many a battle, set out on a journey with a heart full of
hope, because he could believe the wish she had uttered was sincere,
and that she was convinced of the prophet’s power and will to heal him.

Only a story contained in three verses of the Bible, but how much
it tells! What a beautiful character it reveals! A young servant
girl, truthful and trusted; forgiving and doing good to her captors;
realizing that she was one of that family in which she served;
forgetting self in her sympathy with suffering; repaying the kindness
and confidence of her mistress, not merely by faithful service, but by
heartiest goodwill.

Ah! you who serve in the homes of others, well may you rejoice to
think that one in a like position is the heroine of this delightful
Bible story. May you in reading it take home all its sweet lessons,
and in your own narrower circle, and perhaps a far humbler household,
imitate the example, and reproduce the disposition shown by the little
Israelitish maiden when a captive in a strange land.

       *       *       *       *       *

Probably many a young, ay, and old woman too, looks back upon her
girlish days in service, and recalls the period she spent under one
particular roof as a turning-point in her life for good or evil. If the
former, she will lift up her heart in thanksgiving as memories of wise,
loving counsel and patient teaching come before her mind’s eye.

Some, perhaps, are still in situations, and regularly and habitually
doing their daily work as if the eye of the mistress was always
present. Each thinks of one who, in bygone days, was the means of
making her the valuable servant she is, by dint of much careful
training and painstaking when she went, a mere girl and very
ignorant, to her first place. She knows that the seeds sown by that
hand have brought forth in herself the fruits of regularity, order,
neatness, cleanliness, and punctuality; and that truth and honesty,
if not planted, were fostered and encouraged by that true friend and
experienced mistress.

Perhaps she remembers, too, that in those early days the patient
teacher did not always find a patient scholar; that the lessons which
were given for her good were often little valued--sometimes even
resented as the acts of a fidgety, worriting, too-particular mistress
whom nothing could satisfy.

She knows better now, and rejoices that she fell into hands equally
firm and kind. But the memory of her own little tempers and impatience
under training makes her, let us hope, more patient and forbearing with
other young girls who are in turn placed under her, to be similarly
instructed.

I fancy I hear a chorus of young voices cry out, ‘It is all very well
for you to say we should be particular about the places we take, but we
cannot always choose from a number. Often our very bread depends on our
getting a situation. If we are unable to get what we want, we must take
what we can get.’

Quite true. Yet it is not often that a girl who is worth having has to
leave a situation at less than a month’s notice, so that she has always
some time to look about her and make inquiries.

Shall I tell you my recipe for getting a good servant? It will be just
as useful to you in securing a good place. _It is prayer_, as well as
the use of ordinary means. Whenever a servant has been about to leave
us, it has been the custom for my husband and myself to kneel together
and ask God to guide us in the choice of a successor. We felt that
the peace of our home, the well-being of our family, and perhaps even
more than all, that an important influence on the minds and manners
of our little ones would depend upon the new-comer. Was it not, then,
worth while to ask God’s guidance and blessing? If good for master and
mistress, surely it must be equally so for the girl who seeks work and
a home amongst strangers.

Do not take a place where you cannot have Sunday privileges. A widowed
mother, herself in service, applied for a situation for her young
daughter. She returned disappointed in one sense, but not in another.

‘Jane could have had the place, and good wages; but when I named the
going to church on Sundays, the lady said Sunday was always her day
for company, and she could spare none of her servants to go out. She
would give her another day instead. I told her this would not suit
my girl,’ said the poor mother, who had much cause for anxiety about
employment for her child. ‘I had all my life tried to train her in the
faith and fear of God, and specially taught her to value and remember
to keep holy the Sabbath day. I dare not go against my own teaching and
conscience, come what may. I must trust; the Lord will provide.’

And He did provide. The mother’s prayers were not in vain; her faith
was not disappointed. Pray, then, for guidance, dear girls. You will
not ask in vain; but I believe you will be answered by having good
homes and good mistresses, as my husband and I have been, in having
good servants sent to us from time to time.




CHAPTER II.

HONOURABLE SERVICE.


In my former chapter I called the position of a domestic servant an
_honourable_ and _responsible_ one, and I will now give my reasons for
using these two words. I wonder whether many young girls who serve
in the household have considered how very much they are trusted.
Perhaps they never crossed the threshold of the home in which they
have obtained a situation until the very day on which they enter upon
its duties; and yet from the very moment that the young stranger girl
enters the house, she is of necessity taken more into the family
confidence than any outsider can possibly be.

She knows all about the going out and coming in of every member of
the family. In many cases she sees and hears what even the children,
especially the younger ones, are not permitted to know.

In the performance of her various duties, when waiting at table and
elsewhere, she overhears conversations which speakers would not like
to have repeated. She cannot help, in like manner, being acquainted
with numbers of little family secrets that are never intended to pass
beyond the walls of the home--things that would not be told even to
friends, except in the strictest confidence.

Yet the master, mistress, and children receive the stranger girl,
often knowing very little about her family and of herself, only so
much as can be gleaned during half an hour’s talk, or, it may be, a
short letter from a former employer--just a sheet of paper with a few
formally written answers to a few set questions, such as relate to the
work of that particular situation she wishes to undertake. The future
mistress has probably asked how the girl has done her work in her last
place; whether she is cleanly, honest, truthful, obliging, and so on.

In many cases the information is given by one of whom we know little
more than we do of the girl respecting whose character we inquire. And
there are always far more important questions than those alluded to,
which are never asked, and if they were, would seldom be explicitly
answered. Yet, on the strength of that brief written recommendation, or
after half an hour’s conversation, we take a girl into our home, and
place in her hands a very large share of its comfort and safety. She is
allowed to see and to know all the little household details which are
hidden even from our nearest friends.

We exact from our girl domestics no pledge of confidence, no promise
not to betray our trust by gossiping about what they hear or see;
what, indeed, they _must_ witness, unless we are to live in a state of
unnatural restraint, and make the entrance of our servants a signal for
silence! Such a state of things would be equally trying to them, to our
guests, and to ourselves.

If I were a girl in a situation, I hope I should feel ‘upon honour’
with regard to these things. I should like to be able to say, ‘I am
glad and thankful to be trusted, and, by God’s help, I will try to
merit the confidence which my master and mistress place in me. I may
not be bound by any promise to them, but I am bound far more firmly by
my sense of what is right, by the witness of my own conscience, and by
the thought of what I should like if I were in their places. No one
shall ever be able to blame me for tale-telling, or gossiping about
their concerns. I may be a young servant, but if I am a Christian girl,
the same spirit should animate me that inspires the greatest lady in
the land. I, if I understand the teaching of God’s Word aright, am
bound by the same laws in my position as my mistress is in hers.’

To be above the meanness which would screen itself from blame as a
tattler, because no promise of silence has been given, is as becoming
to the servant as it is to the mistress. To be true, not merely in
word, but in heart and in act, is as incumbent upon the servant who
professes to be a Christian as it is upon the heads of the household,
and why?

Because in God’s Word you are bidden to perform your duties ‘in
singleness of your heart as unto Christ; not with eye-service as
men-pleasers, but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from
the heart; with goodwill doing service as to the Lord, and not to men.
Knowing that whatsoever good thing any man doeth, the same shall he
receive of the Lord, whether he be bond or free.’

Employers are also reminded that their ‘Master also is in heaven,
neither is there respect of persons with Him.’

The same law, you see, both for employers and employed. All have to
give an account to the same Master, before whom neither rank, riches,
nor position will avail anything. The question which concerns all of us
alike is this, ‘What sort of an account can I give of the way in which
I have done my duty in the place which, in the good providence of God,
I have been called on to fill?’

If it becomes the mistress to be above tattling and meanness, to
be true in word and deed, to be self-denying and considerate of the
feelings of others, to be pure in speech and in life, to be careful as
to the persons with whom she associates, surely all these things are
equally essential to the young servant! To the latter it often happens
that her good character is her fortune, that on it she depends for the
very bread she eats and the roof which shelters her. Even if she did
not, ‘A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches, and loving
favour rather than silver and gold.’

People say there is a skeleton in every house; it is the same thing as
saying that there is no home without some secret sorrow that the owner
would shrink from letting the world see. Well, if any of you dear girls
know where the skeleton is, say to yourselves, ‘My hand shall never
draw the curtain that hides it, or open the door of the cupboard in
which it is concealed.’

This is the right way in which to look at one of the responsibilities
of your position. You may make it doubly honourable by your own
conduct, and by the manner in which you show that you not only _must_
be trusted, but that you deserve to be.

Unfortunately we do not find that all girls act up to such a high
standard as this. We have all known some who have been faithful
enough so long as a thoroughly good understanding existed between
them and their employers. But perhaps something has gone wrong, and a
disagreement has arisen between the girl and her mistress.

A sharp reproof has called forth an angry retort, and the
‘I’m-as-good-as-you’ sort of spirit has got into the young mind.
Either mistress or maid gives a month’s notice, and with the prospect
of parting comes an entire change in the relations of the parties
concerned.

Sometimes the girl acts defiantly and disrespectfully. She forgets the
many marks of kindness and confidence she has received, the peace and
comfort she has enjoyed under that roof, and acts with a meanness and
littleness that are unworthy of any girl, especially one who calls
herself a Christian. In the spirit of revenge, and with a desire
to ‘serve out’ her employers, she will call to mind all the little
domestic matters which she knows they would least like to have gossiped
about, and will prove equally false to them, and to the pleadings of
her own heart and conscience.

When the fit of temper is over, probably the girl sees the ugliness
and treachery of her conduct, and would fain stop the ball she has set
rolling. But this is not easy. It continues to roll, and increases with
every turn. She has done an amount of mischief which she can scarcely
calculate, has broken faith, destroyed the effect produced by years of
faithful service, and is branded as deceitful and ungrateful by the
mistress who may have reproved with sharpness, yet who heartily wishes
well to her young helpers in the household.

I will not dwell upon this picture. I do not like it, and I hope that
every girl who reads this paper will think it as ugly as I do, and
resolve that it shall never be reflected in her own conduct.

I have a few more words to say both about entering on situations and
engaging servants. Indeed, these chapters relate equally to employers
and employed; for while I commenced by addressing myself especially to
those who serve, I cannot write of them without including those who
rule, and more especially the young mistresses. These have frequently
nearly everything to learn when they assume the reins of domestic
government at the commencement of their married life.

To the mistress I would say, ‘Try to ascertain something not only about
the girl you think of engaging, but about her parents, her home, and
general surroundings.’

I one day heard a gentleman speak of the manner in which he engaged a
very young girl to fill a vacancy caused by the marriage of an old and
much-valued servant. He lived at a distance from town, and had a very
delicate wife, who was unequal to the task of seeing and choosing from
amongst the many candidates for the vacant post.

The place was known to be a good one. The home was delightful in
itself, the habits of the family were regular, wages satisfactory, the
servants enjoyed many Christian privileges, and master and mistress
took a warm interest in their welfare. There was rarely a vacancy, and
on this particular occasion there were many very experienced servants
amongst the applicants. Yet the gentleman who saw them at his office
in the city, and made all the inquiries, finally decided on engaging a
girl of eighteen to fill the place of one who had been more than half
that number of years in the situation.

Much surprise was expressed at his decision, but he was quite able to
justify it.

‘I was struck,’ said he, ‘with the beautiful neatness of the girl’s
dress. I was sure that she was not got up for the occasion; but all
about her was suggestive of habitual purity and tidiness, and her
clothing, though good and clean, bore traces of careful wear. It
had evidently been used for some time, but well used. I was further
struck with her modesty of manners and propriety of speech. She told
me frankly that she had no one but her mother to refer me to for
her character, as regarded the work itself. She was the eldest of a
family, and had never been in service; but the second girl would now
be able to take her place, and there were too many of them for all to
be maintained at home by the father’s earnings. She knew things would
be very different in such a house as mine; but mother had always made
her do her work well, and she was willing to learn. Would I try her
and give her wages according to what she was worth? Father and mother
were much more particular about the family she went into than about
the money. Would I see “mother” before I fixed on any one, and her own
Sunday-school teacher too?

‘I could not help thinking, whilst the girl spoke--pleaded indeed, in
her honest, innocent way, for a trial--that she had in her the making
of a first-class servant. I agreed to see “mother,” but fixed no time
for my call, and I made it during the morning.

‘The sight of that orderly home and its busy occupants was better than
any number of written characters. There was no running away to make
herself presentable, but the girl came forward with a smiling face,
and looking just as neat in her working dress as she had done in her
outdoor garments.

‘I had made some inquiries about the family, and found that the parents
were God-fearing people, and extremely particular about the training
and associates of their children. So I engaged Eliza, aged eighteen, to
fill the place of the departed Anne, aged thirty; and I and mine had
cause to be thankful for the decision which brought into our house an
excellent servant, a warm-hearted, pure-minded girl. She was thorough
in her work, and what she did not know at first she was quick to learn,
because her heart was in it, and she honestly desired not only to do
enough to satisfy, but her very best.

‘The mother made one remark which amused me a little at the time. “I am
so glad you are willing to engage Eliza,” she said. “I am quite content
for her to come to you, for I made most particular inquiries about your
place before I sent the girl to see about it.”

‘The good woman meant it as a compliment, and I understood and
appreciated it. I like “my place” to have a good name; but some lady
friends tossed their heads, and said, “What an impertinent speech! to
intimate that she had inquired into your character!”’

And very proper too. Every girl that values her own character should be
anxious to serve under the roof of a master and mistress who fear God,
and who, caring for their own immortal souls, are likely to care for
the bodies and souls of all around them also.

I had two sisters from one family, and when, after seven years’ united
service, the second left by her father’s wish to learn a business, I
wrote and asked for the only remaining daughter, a girl who had never
left home to take a situation, and whom I had never seen. I frankly
told the parents that, after my experience of their mode of training
daughters, I would rather take one who had thus been brought up in the
faith and fear of God, though comparatively ignorant, than the most
accomplished servant without such home-training.

I received a grateful reply, accepting the offer and returning hearty
thanks for the comforts and Christian privileges enjoyed by the elder
sisters whilst under our roof.

Number three duly arrived, and--well, perhaps if I say that she came
more than fourteen years ago, and is here yet, nothing more need be
added. To the act that we have considered Christian training as of
greater importance than mere skill in household duties, my husband and
I attribute much of the comfort and happiness we have enjoyed in regard
to those domestic arrangements that depend upon our servants’ work and
character.

To you, dear girls, I would say, ‘Be more anxious to serve those who
themselves serve the Lord Christ,’ and will allow you the religious
privileges of which they know the value, than to obtain a situation
where a mistress is indulgent because indifferent, or for the sake of
easy work or high wages.

In seeking employers, determine to put your Heavenly Master’s service
first of all. If you serve Him well, no fear that you will fail in
your duty to them. Remember that He said, ‘I am among you as He that
serveth;’ that He found His joy in doing the will of the Father, and
that He ‘who, being in the form of God,’ yet, for our sakes, ‘took upon
Him the form of a servant, humbled Himself, and became obedient unto
death.’




CHAPTER III.

‘HAIR-SPLITTERS.’


I have alluded to the fact that the word ‘family’ includes the servants
of a household; but I am inclined to think that they are more slow to
realize their position as such than even their employers are.

When inquiring about the work pertaining to a situation, they are often
so very particular to have the duties of the place defined with the
utmost exactness. ‘Shall I be expected to do this?’ or, ‘In my last
place, I was never asked to do that;’ ‘I like to know what my work is
to be, and then I’ve no doubt I shall do it to the satisfaction of all
parties,’ are expressions common enough when mistress and maid are
arranging terms.

It is no doubt advisable so to plan the work of a house that each
servant, where there are two or more, may know what is her share,
and do it. The wheels of the domestic chariot would soon stick fast,
and confusion reign instead of order, if things were left to arrange
themselves.

There is, however, a vast difference between taking and doing the work
allotted to us in a narrow, selfish spirit, or with the large-hearted
kindness which should distinguish the servants of Christ. In the
one case there is a continual hair-splitting going on, and when the
smallest service which was not actually bargained for is required, we
hear that hateful expression, ‘_It’s not my place._’ ‘I came here to be
housemaid--not to do cook’s work.’ Or, ‘If you had mentioned that, when
Sarah has her day out, you would expect me to look after the children,
I should have known what to do,’ is said to the mistress in an injured
tone, or, worse still, _at her_, as the damsel goes grumbling about the
house.

These ‘hair-splitting servants,’ as I cannot help calling them, who
are always stickling for ‘rights’ and going more than half-way to meet
wrongs and grievances, know nothing of the true family feeling, and
are equally unpleasant people for mistresses and fellow-servants to
deal with. The former are wearied with perpetual complaints--the latter
are often rendered so uncomfortable by the nagging, exacting, and
self-asserting spirit of the individual who is always on the bristle
in defence of her _place_ and her _right_, that they will leave a good
home rather than endure her companionship.

I will try to make my meaning plainer still.

The ‘hair-splitter’ has perhaps been called into the sitting-room to
speak to her mistress. She leaves it again whilst the parlour-maid is
clearing the table. She _could_ save the latter a journey by carrying
out one or two of the heavier articles, and would cause herself no
extra trouble by so doing. But, ‘No thank you,’ our ‘hair-splitter’
knows her place. Let the waitress mind her own business--she will not
be asked to do any part of hers. And so she marches out of the room
empty-handed, and is satisfied that in so doing she is keeping her
place.

Perhaps some one in the house is an invalid, and requires to be waited
on in her own apartment. All who know anything of sick-nursing can tell
how many journeys up and down stairs are necessarily made, how many
weary steps must be taken by those who minister to a sufferer’s comfort.

Usually, I believe, the servants are found willing to take a full
share of the extra work entailed by illness, and manifest their
sympathy in the most practical way, by doing it ungrudgingly and
uncomplainingly. Often they will voluntarily give up all the little
privileges so precious to those whose work lies wholly indoors,
and ‘stay in when it is their turn to go out,’ rather than cause
inconvenience--all but the ‘hair-splitter.’ She has bargained for
certain things, and she will have them. She never came to be a
sick-nurse, but to do regular work in her own place. She will go up and
down stairs with empty hands, though it would be no effort for her to
carry up the box of coal which she knows to be wanted, or to bring down
little articles which the attendant in the sick-room has put outside on
the landing, until she can leave the invalid for a few minutes to carry
them down herself.

Our ‘hair-splitter’ disdains to lend a hand outside her own circle,
and, let who may give up the day out, she will exact hers and
every other privilege that she can claim, no matter who may suffer
inconvenience.

‘I keep to my bargain; let other people keep to theirs. I do my work
that I engaged for; that is enough for me. I keep my place; let the
rest keep theirs,’ says the ‘hair-splitter;’ and she holds up her
head, and defies anybody to say a word to the contrary.

Perhaps she speaks the literal truth, and she may be a thorough servant
in her own department; but she is only a hireling, and has no part or
lot in or with the family in that higher sense to which I have alluded.
And, oh! how little does such a one realize the yet deeper, holier
union and sympathy which must subsist between those who are members of
the family of God, who, like the Divine Head, Christ Jesus, find it
their joy to help the helpless, comfort the sorrowing, to strive, in
ever so humble a way, to bear one another’s burdens, and so to fulfil
the law of Christ.

If a member of the family, she will ‘rejoice with those who do rejoice,
and weep with those who weep.’

There will be no ‘hair-splitting,’ no talk about rights; but the
true-hearted servant, who in all her dealings with earthly employers
acknowledges her Divine Master, will above all things strive to follow
His example. It will not be a question, ‘How little can I do?’ but,
‘How can I best contribute to the happiness of each and all under the
roof? How can I lighten the load of, or make the work easier for, my
fellow-servant?’

In numberless ways the willing mind and kindly heart will find that
this can be done without any additional effort or weariness to the
thoughtful helper. But even if it do cost an extra effort or a few more
steps to save still more of both to a tired fellow-servant, never mind.
They will be well bestowed. And if done for the Heavenly Master’s sake,
the reward will come in the present happiness which a consciousness of
doing right always brings with it. Those who practise self-devoting
kindness in their intercourse with others experience a joy unknown to
the ‘hair-splitter,’ who triumphs in having successfully claimed her
‘rights’ and in keeping her place.

Now for a few words on the subject of good manners.

I have said that a servant may be as truly a gentlewoman in manners as
the mistress she serves; but in order to merit the name, she must never
forget the respect and obedience she owes to those who employ her. The
‘I’m-as-good-as-you’ sort of spirit is always a mark of--I was going
to say--a vulgar mind. I will take higher ground. It is unworthy of
the disciple of Him who said, ‘Learn of Me, for I am meek and lowly in
heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.’

The injunctions in God’s Word with regard to the manners and conduct
of servants towards their employers are particularly plain and
unmistakable. Fidelity, honesty, hearty service, and obedience are
enjoined again and again. Equally so good manners, though not in these
exact words.

It is no doubt very trying for a grown-up girl or woman to be reproved
in sharp, unmeasured terms, and more especially in the presence
of others. But if (by God’s grace) she is enabled to conquer the
inclination to reply rudely and to give, instead, the soft answer which
turns away wrath, even when she feels that she has been unreasonably
dwelt with, she gains a double conquest. She vanquishes the rising of
sinful passion, preserves her own self-respect, and probably wins the
goodwill of her mistress also, besides knowing that she has remembered
the Divine rule: ‘Servants, be subject to your masters with all fear;
not only to the good and gentle, but also to the froward. If, when ye
do well, and suffer for it, ye take it patiently, this is acceptable
with God.’

You see, then, dear girls, that you are not to forget, even under
difficult and trying circumstances, the respect due from those who
serve to those who rule in the house. The tossing of the head, the
heavy or bouncing step, the loud or pert answer, the slamming of
doors, the throwing things violently down, and the going grumbling
about the house, saying things _at_ the mistress which you would be
afraid or ashamed to say _to_ her, are all marks of vulgarity and
little-mindedness, which every girl who has any self-respect will
avoid. And, whilst rather calculated to inspire contempt for the
childishness of those who act in this unreasoning, foolish fashion,
than to produce any effect on those whom they are intended to annoy,
they are also utterly unworthy of every girl or woman who professes to
be a servant of Christ.

The commands, ‘Be kind, be pitiful, be courteous,’ were not meant for
mistresses only, or for the rich and those who fill high places in
this world, but for people of all ages and of every position. It is
not the possession of riches, which perhaps those who own them have
done nothing to win; or the bearing of an old name, ennobled by the
grand lives of those who bore it in bygone ages; not the high position
occupied in this world, or even all three combined, which can entitle
any human being to the name of gentleman or gentlewoman.

Thank God! those who occupy the humblest positions can _merit_ the
names, though they may not claim them. If, in fulfilling our various
duties, we yield ourselves to the guidance and teaching of God’s Holy
Spirit, and strive by our lives to adorn the doctrine of God our
Saviour in all things, living soberly, righteously, and godly, showing
ourselves kind, forbearing, tender-hearted, forgiving, observing the
golden rule, spreading as much happiness and saving as much pain as we
can, we shall reap a glorious harvest of peace within and goodwill from
all around us.

Believe me, dear girls, none so well deserve the names of gentleman and
gentlewoman as do those whose lives best reflect that of their great
pattern, Christ Jesus. And better by far than all the other books in
the world is the Bible itself for teaching good manners.

Before concluding this chapter, I will briefly suggest a few of the
_advantages of domestic service_. Some girls think that the privileges
are all on the side of the outdoor workers, that the mill-hand,
machinist, the dressmaker, and the young shopwoman have an amount of
freedom from personal restraint which those in service cannot enjoy.
Let us look more closely into this, as also into the matter of wages.

Really the outdoor worker has in many cases less time at her disposal
than the domestic servant, and her average gains are less also. A
servant with good health and character need never be unemployed, as
the demand for such is generally in excess of the supply. She has no
slack times, like nearly all other workers, employment and wages being
regular the year round in her case.

Her situation is not affected by a sudden change of fashion, which
will often throw nearly all the workers in a particular branch out of
situations, and compel them to learn some new business by which they
may earn their bread.

The domestic servant has in many cases the advantage of living in a
far more comfortable home, and of being better fed and cared for. She
has less anxiety about ways and means than the outdoor worker. For the
latter a slack time indicates the loss of wages, perhaps for weeks
together; and unless girls have been very prudent and careful, it means
also a season of privation to themselves, if they cannot turn their
hands to something else in the meanwhile.

The wages may seem less. Are they really so?

Supposing an outdoor worker has sixteen shillings a week, and this is
a very high average, and that she does not lose a day’s pay in twelve
months, she is certainly no better off than the domestic servant with
six shillings. Out of the sixteen the outdoor worker has to pay for
lodgings, food, and fire. Could she for ten shillings a week live in
the same comfort as does a domestic servant in a well-ordered home?

Then the latter has no coming through the streets unprotected, and
in all weathers; and, in the quiet round of household duties, she
is exposed to far fewer temptations than the outdoor worker. (The
exceptions are in the cases of girls who live under their parents’
roof, and are cared for by a watchful, loving, and judicious mother.)

Moreover, the employment of the domestic servant is not nearly so
monotonous as that of the factory hand, or so wearying as that of the
young shopwoman who stands behind the counter for many hours at a
time. She has less anxiety than even those under whose roof she lives,
knowing nothing of consultations about making ends meet, or of fears
when quarter-day comes round.

       *       *       *       *       *

Lastly, the domestic servant is not the ‘hand’ of whom often the
employer knows less than he does of the machine she tends, but one who
is in constant communication with father, mother, and children under
the roof--in short, as I have already asserted, she is one of the
family, and necessarily trusted as such.

I may add that the law affords the latter very special protection in
the matter of wages, domestic servants being paid in full when other
creditors often have to accept only a portion of what is due to them,
or what is called a composition.




CHAPTER IV.

IN THE NURSERY.


It is a somewhat remarkable fact that the younger the servant employed,
the greater and more precious is the first charge usually placed in
her hands. I mean, of course, the baby, with occasionally two or three
other small children in addition.

To nurse the one and keep the other out of mischief is generally deemed
the fitting occupation for the little maid, herself a mere child when
she first goes out to service. The young hands that are too unsteady to
be trusted with such fragile articles as glass and crockery, lest these
should suffer damage, too unskilled in household matters to be esteemed
of much value in the cleaning and scrubbing department, are deemed
quite competent to hold the baby and act as caretaker to the whole
juvenile brood.

Often the busy, notable mother of a family will say, when speaking of
a child-servant, ‘I cannot let her help in the house-work. She would
only make more labour than she would save; would dirty more than she
would clean; break more things by clumsiness and carelessness than her
wages would pay for. I can get through much more quickly by myself,
and nothing will need doing over again. But she _can_ nurse the baby
and look after the children, which will set my hands free to do the
house-work.’

So the house-mother bustles from place to place and does the work
herself. In the meanwhile, the inexperienced hands which must on no
account be trusted with the crockery, the chairs, and the tables, have
the sole charge of what should be to every mother the most precious of
helpless treasures--her infant.

In the comparatively poor districts of large towns, chiefly inhabited
by working people and small shopkeepers, it is no uncommon thing for
a little maid, barely in her teens, to go out nursing by the day--and
generally a very long day. She comes home to sleep, the small place
where a business is carried on being often filled to overflowing by the
shopkeeper’s actual belongings. It is probably fortunate for the small
servant that she does go home to sleep, or her day’s work might come to
an end even later still, or last all night, should the baby sleep with
her.

Numbers of little maidens make their start as domestic servants in
this way, and rise by gradual steps to what is considered a position
of greater trust and responsibility. I have been in a tiny shop when
a dot of a girl, pinafored and with a cotton hood or woollen kerchief
on her head, has entered. Dropping a little bob of a courtesy, she has
announced that she is seeking her first place by the question, ‘Please,
ma’am, do you want a girl to help to nurse the baby?’

It is often the case that these little maids, the eldest of large
families, have served a seven years’ apprenticeship at home nursing
before they are twice that number of years old. They are frequently far
more handy with babies than much older people, and the very small folks
always like a girl-nurse, who is not too old to romp and play, and who
enjoys the games as heartily as do her little charges. These mites love
to see a merry face, to hear a good ringing laugh, and to listen to the
nonsense rhymes and nursery jingles which come pattering from the still
childish lips of their young guardian.

I do not know a greater affliction in a nursery than a nurse, no matter
how good and conscientious she may be, who goes through her duties in
a grave, stolid, unsympathetic way; washing and dressing the children,
tidying and stitching in a mechanical, plodding fashion, and doing
her duty faithfully, according to her light, but forgetting, in her
dealings with children, that she was once as young as they are.

The nurse who worrits over a soiled pinafore or rumpled hair, who
is for ever straightening up, and putting the toys and litter which
children delight in and ought to have around them on high shelves
and in out-of-the-way places, may have a tidy nursery, but she will
certainly have a brood of unhappy youngsters around her.

There are nurses who are old in years, but young in heart, bright,
cheerful, and abounding in love for children, and who come second only
to the good mother in the affection of the small people. And there are
others who are by no means old counting by years, but who left their
youthful spirits behind them, if they ever had any, when they began to
run alone.

I once heard a lady speaking of two girls, of only eighteen and twenty,
who had the care of her three children. ‘They are both good girls,’
she said; ‘truthful, conscientious, well-behaved. I have no fear that
the children will ever learn anything wrong from them. But they are so
stolid and dull that they seem to take all the brightness out of the
lives of the little ones. One sits like a lump at her stitching; the
other, like a second lump of human material, keeps the children out of
mischief, and takes care that the nursery is in a painful state of
order, and that smeared faces and soiled pinafores are things unknown.

‘Let a child leave a toy for a moment, it is seized and put carefully
away. These nurses never can be made to understand that, what would
appear untidy and disorderly in a drawing-room, is the proper and
necessary state of things in an apartment dedicated to the use of
little ones. If children are to be happy they must be occupied, and to
find them employment a variety in books, toys, and pictures must be
within their reach.

‘A childish mind does not fix itself upon any one thing for a length
of time. But though Jack may have become weary of the pursuit of
architecture, and may demolish with one stroke the castle he has spent
half an hour in building, he does not want the materials packed away,
in case he should determine on erecting a church somewhat later in the
day. He likes to have his bricks within reach, even while he is looking
at pictures, and to be able to turn from his book to his wheelbarrow
without asking nurse’s leave. Then the children want some one to laugh
with them, to sing, to lead their games and teach them new ones; and
when they go out they do not want to be led solemnly along as if they
were attending a funeral.

‘I am sorry to part with two thoroughly good girls,’ added the
speaker, ‘but I cannot bear to see the children growing up such little
sobersides, so unnaturally grave and old before their time.’

‘What shall you do then?’ asked the friend to whom the lady was
speaking.

‘Oh, I have engaged a cheery, middle-aged widow to do the sewing and
superintend generally. She is to have a little girl of fourteen under
her as her messenger and the children’s playfellow. I fell in love
with the little maid when out district-visiting, through seeing the
delightful way in which she managed to keep her own small brothers and
sisters amused and happy, with next to nothing in the way of materials.
I am quite reckoning on litter and laughter in my nursery, in place of
unvarying tidiness and dulness.’

Do not imagine that this lady would have tolerated any lack of real
cleanliness in the persons or surroundings of her children. She
estimated at their full value the neatness and particularity of her
maids; but she felt that, while the young bodies were admirably cared
for, the nursery atmosphere was cheerless and depressing. It was
deficient in human sunshine and sympathy.

Instead of being merry and childlike, her youngsters were becoming
staid, prim little men and women; their very games were made a serious
business; the care of their toys was a matter of grave responsibility.
The children could hardly have had more upright and careful attendants;
but the mother saw that spotless pinafores, constant supervision, and a
tidy nursery were not in themselves sufficient for happiness.

I have given this little sketch from life because I want to impress
upon my girl readers who think of offering themselves to fill the
situation of nurse, that something more is required to make a good one
than a mere knowledge of nursery work.

If I were engaging a nurse for young children, I should not only
inquire about the experience she had gained in caring for their bodies,
her cleanliness, truthfulness, honesty, and general trustworthiness.
I might be satisfied on these points, and the applicant might also be
one of the best seamstresses that ever took needle in hand, and yet I
should want something of more importance than all these.

I should need to be convinced that she was not taking a place as nurse
merely as a means of breadwinning, but because she honestly loved the
helpless little ones, and was sufficiently young-hearted to feel for
and with them in matters that are trifles to grown-up people, but great
things to children.

I should want to study her face a little, to find that it was bright
and happy-looking, and that her voice had a cheery ring in it. To be
convinced that, when the laughing, crowing baby looked up in its glee,
it would see a responsive smile on its nurse’s countenance, and that
her presence would be likely to make the nursery not merely a cleanly
but a happy place for the children.

So I say to my readers, never take a place as nurse unless you can
carry with you a heart large enough to hold all your little charges,
and warm enough to pay back with interest the love they are so ready
to give to those who sympathise with and are kind to them. You will
need patience to bear with them, and firmness to check what is wrong;
you will need constant watchfulness and prayerful self-examination in
order that, by God’s grace, you may be enabled to subdue in yourselves
whatever might set a bad example or produce a bad impression on the
children intrusted to your care.

Next to the mother, probably no human being has so great an influence
over the little ones for good or evil as the nurse. Take care that
yours shall be for good. There is no lesson more quickly learned by
a child than that of trying to hide a fault by telling an untruth.
Perhaps curiosity has led to meddling, meddling to an accident and a
breakage. To cover this and escape punishment, the child deliberately
plans concealment, and tells its first lie.

The same teacher--fear of consequences--often finds an apt pupil in
the nurse as well as in her young charges, and she tells, or it may be
only acts, a falsehood in their presence. Who can estimate the mischief
done, or the fruit produced from the seed of that evil example? Young
eyes are quick to see,--young minds to receive impressions. Not so
quick to lose the effect, or get rid of the consequences, of a single
lesson in deceit.

Dear young nurses, let me plead with you for the sake of the immortal
souls of these precious little ones; be true in word and deed. Strive
to lead them gently and lovingly; set them a good example. Ask strength
from God to overcome the temptations to anger and falsehood. Be
careful, too, that no profane or impure expression ever passes from
your lips, to defile the ears and corrupt the minds of the children
committed to your care. Let not those young eyes witness any action
that you would be afraid or ashamed for a grown-up person to see.

Nay, let your thoughts soar still higher, and remember the Eye that
never slumbers nor sleeps, the Ear which hears equally the prayer and
the wrong or idle words of which we often think so lightly.

Should any accident happen to an infant either through inadvertence
or want of care on your part, be brave and true. Go at once to the
mother, and, even at the risk of losing your situation, or of a
severe reprimand, tell about the fall or the blow which the child has
received, and ask that means may be used to prevent any permanent harm
resulting from it. I have known two cases of life-long deformity and
lameness, both of which might have been prevented had the nurses told
of comparatively trifling accidents when they occurred, but which were
rendered serious for want of immediate attention.

The little creatures had wailed and cried,--their only mode of
telling that they were in pain. The tears were put down to teething,
crossness--anything but the real cause. Had the truth been told and a
doctor sent for, the experienced professional touch and eye would have
discovered the injuries, the joints would have been replaced, and two
fine girls saved from lasting disfigurement.

Better, far better endure displeasure or even the loss of a place,
than carry the life-long memory that, through your want of courage
and candour, a young creature’s existence has been blighted, or its
activity and usefulness impaired. Ay, and what is of still more
importance, better be the humblest drudge at the roughest of household
work, than undertake the charge of children without a deep sense of the
solemn responsibilities belonging to the nurse’s office.

If you cannot carry into the nursery loving hearts, patience,
self-control, cheerfulness, courage, truth, pure speech, propriety of
manners, and tender sympathy, work elsewhere in the household. Remember
that it is not only the bodies of the little ones for which you have to
care, but that you will have to answer for the influence you may exert
on their minds and souls. Are they not the lambs whom Jesus loved and
blessed? Do they not belong to that flock for which the Good Shepherd
laid down His life on Calvary?




CHAPTER V.

INFLUENCE OVER CHILDREN--BEAR AND FORBEAR.


There are some servants, and particularly those who are beyond
girlhood, who regard the children of the household with anything but a
kindly feeling, who bitterly resent the planting of a young foot on the
kitchen floor, and deem the appearance of a curly head in its doorway
as an unwarrantable intrusion.

‘Now you go out of my kitchen this minute,’ cries the ruling genius.
‘You know you’ve no business here. Be off! Quick! or I’ll tell your ma.’

The curly head vanishes. The youngster, perhaps, only came to make a
private inquiry as to the forthcoming pudding, or something equally
innocent. But after his disappearance, cook will probably further
remark, ‘I hate to have children poking and prying about. They always
tell tales and make mischief.’

I can understand the existence of such a feeling if any mistress is so
injudicious, any mother so unwise towards her children, as to permit
them to act the part of spies over her servants and tattlers towards
herself. It is as lowering to her own dignity as it is insulting to
those who serve, and injurious to her children to encourage such
practices.

On the other hand, the upright, conscientious servant has no need to
care who looks on whilst she is engaged about her daily duties. If she
reverently carries in her mind this one thought, ‘Thou God seest me,’
and acts as in that presence, she has no occasion to trouble herself
about other observers.

As a mother, I feel even more strongly than as the mistress of a
home. However accomplished a servant might be in the duties of her
department, I would not keep her if I thought that the morals and
manners of my children would suffer by contact with her.

Speaking to servants in every department of service, I say, ‘Be kind to
the children, dear girls. You can, if you are Christians, give many a
hint for their good. You may whisper a word in season which may make
the angry boy ashamed of his senseless passion. You may show the little
one who is inclined to deceive the beauty and bravery of truth.’

Children are often inclined to gossip. They perhaps overhear something
which was never intended to reach them, and, big with the thought of a
discovered secret, are eager to share the newly-acquired knowledge with
somebody else. A young servant is the nearest individual to the little
personage who is inclined to be confidential, and to her the tale is
told, if she will listen.

This gives a right-minded girl an opportunity of showing her own
uprightness and honourable disposition by refusing to listen, and of
pointing out to the child the impropriety of repeating what has been
said by parents or guests who had either not noticed or forgotten the
presence of the ‘little pitcher.’

Imagine how sweet it was to a mother’s ears when one of my children,
after speaking of happy talks she had enjoyed on Sunday evenings with
a young servant, said, ‘I always feel better after a conversation with
her, more anxious to love and serve God, and to be good and do what is
right to everybody.’

After such an instance as this, dear girls, you cannot imagine that a
servant’s influence is to be lightly thought of or carelessly used. I
have known an instance in another home where the religious training of
the parents was rendered useless, their boy’s faith undermined, and the
man’s future career hopelessly changed, by the contrary influence of an
old and much-trusted domestic.

Again, if servants wish to find a common bond of sympathy between
their mistresses and themselves, the little ones will furnish it. When
riding in a tram-car, I one day sat opposite to a young mother, who was
accompanied by a girl-nurse with a baby on her lap. It was evidently
the first, and all its clothing bore traces of tasteful, industrious
fingers, rather than of great expenditure. The child was a lovely
creature, and its young mother and younger nurse seemed unconscious
of everything else. The three made a charming picture; for the little
maid, her face lighted up with love, told how her charge had been
admired by different ladies, who had even stopped her in the street to
look at and praise the bonny baby. The mother listened with eager ears
and happy face, and I left that tram-car with unwilling feet, because I
thought that in the popular carriage I had seen two human beings united
by perfect sympathy, the bond between them being a few weeks’ old
infant.

I had a cook once who was very difficult to manage. She was extremely
clever in her own department, but determined to have her way and
to rule instead of obeying a mistress who was then comparatively
inexperienced in household management, and many years younger than
herself. I thought I must part with her; but cook had a vulnerable
point. She almost worshipped babies, and being shown into the room
where I sat with a month old infant on my knee, when she first came
about the place, she implored me to let her hold it whilst we talked.

‘Being in the kitchen, I hardly ever get a baby into my arms,’ she
said. ‘I’m fond of cooking, but if I had to start again, I’d be a
nurse.’

I am sure the baby was an unconscious source of strength to our
warm-hearted, self-willed cook; and for the little creature’s sake she
would often battle against a temper which was most trying to every
one else in the house. Her stay was prolonged far beyond any person’s
expectation, and her darling was two years old before Sarah left us.
She had rendered the kitchen too hot to hold any one but herself, and
it was a question of parting with her or the other three servants.

But I was almost unnerved at the sight of old Sarah weeping over the
child whom she had nursed since she was in long clothes, and who was
clasping her neck with one arm, while with the other hand she wiped
away the tears from her friend’s face, making her pinafore corner do
duty for a handkerchief!

I had done what I could to obtain a situation for Sarah in which I
thought she would be as little tempted as was possible to give way to
her besetting sins, and I thankfully remember that she did well in it.

Here let me say a few words about the need for _mutual forbearance
in the household_. There is a very old story of an aged couple whose
quarrels had been for many years the talk of the neighborhood, when, to
the surprise of everybody, the disturbances ceased. The gossips lost
their regular excitement and wonder, and curiosity took its place.
Somebody at last mustered courage to ask the old man the secret of
the unwonted peace. He replied with a smile, “My old woman and I have
got on all right since we got two bears to live with us.” This only
increased the curiosity; but it turned out that these were named ‘bear’
and ‘forbear.’

Ah, the presence of these two bears is absolutely essential to the
happiness of every home. They are as much needed in the kitchen as
in the drawing-room, and I would say to every young candidate for a
situation, ‘Whatever else you may leave behind, take the two bears
along with you.’

Mistresses often complain that one of their most serious difficulties
arises from the disagreements amongst the servants themselves. One
lady, when telling me of this domestic trouble, was ready to cry,
because her efforts to induce her servants to be kind and friendly with
each other had utterly failed.

‘Two of them,’ said she, ‘are pleasant-tempered enough; but the cook
and nurse are always either squabbling or sulking. We have had an
interval of peace recently, for these two gave up speaking to each
other about a fortnight since, and both are too proud to make any
advance towards resuming friendly relations. The others are made
extremely uncomfortable, and the children cannot help observing what is
going on. It is a shocking example for them.’

‘And are these quarrelsome girls good servants in other respects?’ I
asked.

‘Excellent. Indeed, all four fulfil their duties to my entire
satisfaction, are respectful to their employers, attentive to guests,
good to the children. If it were not for the wretched contrariness
of the cook and nurse towards each other, I should esteem myself
uncommonly fortunate.’

In this case, you see, the comfort of a home was largely interfered
with, and not only the offenders themselves were miserable, but every
member of the family suffered, more or less, for want of a little of
the ‘bear and forbear spirit’ in two of the household.

As a rule, servants are extremely reluctant to tell tales of, or to
lodge complaints against, one another. This is much to their credit;
though amongst such a numerous class there are sure to be some
tattlers. All honour to those who, in things which affect their own
comfort only, show that ‘charity which suffereth long, and is kind.’

But there are cases in which it is right both to speak and act promptly
and boldly. For instance, when the conduct of one makes all the rest
miserable, as in a particular instance which occurs to my mind as I
write.

A cook in a family where several servants were kept, was for years
feared and disliked as a perfect tyrant in her own domain. She was so
jealous and suspicious, that an expression of kindness and approval
from the mistress to one of the other servants was resented as a
personal injury to herself. The recipient would be harassed with
taunts, accused of hypocrisy, and of wanting to undermine her in the
good opinion of their mutual employers. Or, as the others remarked,
‘Let the mistress praise one of us, and cook will blaze like her own
kitchen fire, and give us a hot time of it for days to come.’

This mistress was particularly anxious for the comfort and happiness
of all under the roof. She was careful to have respectable servants,
and to satisfy herself also about the character of their friends and
connections. This done, she personally invited them to visit their
young relatives and friends, and never had to complain that the
privilege was abused.

But, to her surprise, visitors rarely came a second time during the
reign of this kitchen tyrant. It was only after long endurance, and
when a new cook had succeeded, that the mistress, who wished her
house to be a home to her servants, found out why it was not so.
Simply because they could not endure that their friends should be made
uncomfortable by taunts and rudeness, and they preferred to send them
from the door, or to see them anywhere or nowhere, rather than under
the roof of their employers.

The cook was an excellent servant in other respects, but for years
she nullified the efforts of her employers for the comfort of her
fellow-servants by her jealousy, and by practicing all the petty
tyrannies which a mean and suspicious nature, combined with fertility
of invention, could contrive.

How much the servants endured would be difficult to tell. But they did
bear, and in silence, rather than be blamed for tale-telling. They
would not complain, lest their unkind fellow-servant should lose her
place; though she had not scrupled to rob them of comfort, domestic
peace, and the family intercourse which the mistress both permitted and
encouraged.

In this case too much forbearance was shown. I think that the right
thing would have been for the servants, first, to join in remonstrating
with the kitchen tyrant, stating at the same time their intention of
laying the matter before their mistress should cook still refuse to
hear reason. By such a course they would have saved great discomfort to
themselves, have taught a much-needed lesson to one who was not fit to
be trusted even with kitchen government, and they would have prevented
the commands of the mistress from being a dead letter in her home.

Perhaps some of you may like a little advice as to when it is right
to appeal to the mistress, and when it is wise to be silent. In this,
as in every other difficulty, you will find all the guidance you can
possibly need in the Bible. Go on the grand principle of doing what
God’s Word and your own conscience impel you to do.

If you are aware of a wrong done to your employers, or have good cause
to suspect that they are being robbed or wilfully deceived by those in
whom they place confidence, you ought to speak. If through your silence
the innocent would be blamed, or the guilty escape detection, you
should tell what you know.

The person who, seeing wrong done, keeps silence, and lets another
be injured, becomes a partaker in evil-doing. Sooner or later those
who, by hiding the wrong, tacitly consent thereto, will certainly be
involved in the blame also. Some may blame you for speaking; but it is
better “that ye suffer for well-doing than for evil-doing.” So mind you
suffer as a Christian should, for doing right, if you must be blamed at
all.

Take another piece of advice from St. Peter’s first Epistle, which is
full of practical teaching for the guidance of Christians in their
relations one towards another, and to their Divine Head. ‘But let none
of you suffer as a thief or as an evil-doer.’

Remember the value of a good name. If yours is unjustly attacked,
spare no pains to remove the false impression, and to regain the good
opinion of those who have misjudged you.

‘Or as a busybody.’ See how carefully both sides are given! We are
warned against keeping silent, where doing this would injure others,
hide wrong-doing, or hurt our own good name. We are equally warned
against tattling or busying ourselves about what does not concern us.
In so many cases where a mere love of gossip would induce us to speak,
it is wiser, kinder, more becoming a Christian, to be silent. A few
sentences from God’s Word will be the best comment on this side of the
subject, and show us the propriety of silence where we should serve no
good end by speaking.

‘He that coveteth a transgression seeketh love.’ ‘He that refraineth
his lips is wise.’ ‘He that uttereth a slander is a fool.’ ‘The words
of a tale-bearer are as wounds.’ ‘A tale-bearer revealeth secrets, but
he that is of a faithful spirit concealeth the matter.’ ‘A whisperer
separateth chief friends.’

To what does all this advice tend? Surely to teach us that, as
witnesses, we should be faithful ones, telling the simple, unvarnished
truth. That our lips should be ‘righteous lips.’ That we should not
gossip about the faults and failings of others, from a love of talk,
and that our daily and hourly prayer should be:--

‘Set a watch, O Lord, before my mouth; keep the door of my lips!’




CHAPTER VI.

THOROUGHNESS--ECONOMY OF TIME--CARE OF PROPERTY--PUNCTUALITY.


Most mistresses are anxious that household work should be well and
thoroughly done. I am, however, bound, in common fairness, to say that,
while many servants are careless and slippery--spending the time that
ought to be occupied about their work in dawdling and gossiping--there
are also mistresses who are unreasonable in their requirements. They
demand impossibilities, because they have no idea of the time that is
needed to ensure thoroughness in any branch of household work.

‘There is nothing I like so much as a mistress who knows what work is,
and who, having done it herself, can tell how long it takes to do it
real well.’

These were the words of a bonny, bright-faced young housemaid who had
lately entered upon a new place. She loved cleanliness, and did not
consider that her duty was done when the ashes were removed from under
the grate, and a duster lightly whisked over the tops of the tables and
the seats and backs of chairs.

‘I’m not afraid of the chairs being turned round or my mistress looking
into corners, or that if you lift up a book or an ornament, the shape
of it will be left clear on the dusty top of the chiffonier. I like
things to be just as clean and as bright all over as hands can make
them. But it takes time to make them so, as well as good rubbing.’

The girl was right. And it is a great blessing to the employed when the
employer has a practical knowledge of the work her servants have to do.

I rejoice to think that the cookery and domestic economy classes are
doing good service in this direction, by making girls, the future
mistresses of homes, acquainted with the details of household work.

‘She is cleanly, but dreadfully slow,’ is no unfrequent character
from an active bustling mistress, when parting with a servant, who is
perhaps less slow than thorough.

On this subject, let me say to servants, If you are not allowed the
time to do your work well, take care that you spend upon it every
minute that you have allotted for the purpose. Let no one catch you
gossiping or idling away your time, when you have complained that it
was already insufficient for the task to be properly performed. And if,
after having done your best, you are still found fault with, ask your
mistress, in a respectful manner, if she will, just for once, look on
whilst you do this piece of work, and note how long it takes you to do
it well.

If instead of scolding on the one side, and flying into a temper
and answering impertinently on the other, there were to be a fair
consideration and a reasonable test such as the above, we should have
fewer hasty warnings ‘to leave at the month’s end;’ less frequent
changes, and longer and more valuable service from our domestics.
These, too, would not pay us less respect or care less for our
interests, because they found us willing to listen patiently to a
well-grounded complaint, and to redress any real grievance.

From the subject of economy of time and thoroughness in the quality
of work we turn naturally to that of care in the use of the property
entrusted to you who serve in the household. In respect to work there
can be no better advice than this: ‘Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do,
do it with thy might.’ So, in using the property of others, use it as
though you had earned the money which bought it.

Accidents will occasionally happen in spite of care; but numberless
things are mutilated or destroyed by the want of a very little
precaution. A window and door are both left open on a windy day.
The blind is next seen flapping to and fro outside, and unless some
watchful eye notices this, the crash of glass announces that the lath
has been driven through a pane or two, valuable papers have been
carried into the fire or up the chimney, a tablecloth and a number of
fragile ornaments swept on to the floor, and everything that would
break amongst them smashed to atoms by a little act of thoughtlessness.

Who can truly say, ‘I could not help it,’ when an indignant mistress
reproaches the author of such waste and ruin? She may not have done it
on purpose, but destruction which is caused by utter carelessness is
scarcely less blamable than wilful waste.

A great deal of harm is done to furniture by rough, bouncing servants,
who bang articles down on floor or table, who rush about like a
whirlwind, under the impression that hurry and bustle mean industry and
earnestness, who seem to think that noise is an essential accompaniment
to work. These are the people under whom the edges of our tumblers
are chipped, until they become dangerous to those who use them; in
whose hands crockery is perpetually ‘coming in two,’ and handles as
constantly ‘coming off.’

Chairs are recklessly brought in contact with side-boards, and the
veneering is chipped, or smooth, polished surfaces are mercilessly
rubbed with rough dusters, with the result of leaving the same covered
with all sorts of fine lines and scratches. Under such treatment the
polished top of, say, a grand piano, assumes the appearance of an
immense outline map.

All such injury to furniture and utensils becomes a double source of
annoyance from the fact that a little care would have prevented it.
Hurry, bustle, and bounce always hinder real work. It is the steady,
methodical servant, whose work is done with the least apparent effort,
but which entails the smallest amount of destruction to property and is
most satisfactory in the long run.

I often think of a little figure familiar under our roof for nearly
ten years, who was an admirable illustration of the value of method
and of forecasting the work. Slight in frame, short in stature, and
by no means strong, in many respects she was a living example of what
could be effected by steadiness and a thoughtful planning of her work.
Nobody ever saw her in a hurry, or with a smutty face or untidy hair.
Her gowns looked less soiled and tumbled at the week’s end than those
of many wearers would be after a few hours’ use.

All cooking materials that could be properly prepared beforehand
or over-night were always ready for use when wanted. A glance at
the spotless dressers and the floors, from which, to use a popular
expression, ‘you might have eaten your dinner without a plate,’ gave a
sufficient pledge of the exquisite cleanliness of everything prepared
in that kitchen and by those hands. Yet all this beautiful order and
purity were the result of quiet, steady work, carefully planned and
carried out regularly and methodically.

There is no department in which cleanliness can be of more importance
than in that of the cook. A careless, muddling cook will use her
utensils indiscriminately. She will boil her onions, for sauce, and
then, after a mere wash out, will make sweet sauce for pudding in the
same pan--we all know with what result. A fine, subtle flavour of
onions will run through the second preparation, and will, in turn,
spoil both the sauce and the pudding it is intended to improve. And
yet, when fault is found, the offender will perhaps stoutly insist, and
with a certain measure of truth, that she had washed her pan quite
clean. Washing will not remove strong flavours, and especially the
taste of onions. A pan should be kept for these alone, and no other
sauce should ever be prepared in it. It would take too much space were
I to attempt to enter fully into the many little details connected with
a cook’s duties, so I will make my advice very brief.

Be very cleanly in kitchen utensils, person, and dress. Be specially
particular about the neat arrangement of your hair, so that it may
not be loose and straggling. Few things are more disgusting than the
sight of hairs amongst food. Scour and scald--in addition to merely
washing--all utensils. Let crockery be thoroughly cleansed from grease
and brightened in the drying. Fill milk bowls with boiling water, and
let it stand in them until it is cold before drying for use again. This
will tend to make the milk keep better.

In using the articles of food and preparing them, avoid all waste, and
be ready to render an account of everything that is entrusted to your
care. There are some cooks who use articles lavishly and wastefully,
and who give away what is not theirs to bestow. They have no anxiety
about providing the food, no occasion to consider how bills are to be
paid, and often do not know the price and value of what they waste.
They will throw bread and odd pieces amongst the swill, and let food
be cast away to nourish swine, which many a widowed mother and hungry
child would be thankful to receive and make use of.

Remember, you are accountable--and not to earthly employers only--for
every wasted bit, whether of food or fuel. You are stewards in your
position, as your master and mistress are stewards in theirs. And there
is another thought I would bring before you. Every housekeeper knows
that meat is daily growing dearer, and a sufficient supply becoming
less and less attainable. Consider, then, that a lavish use or waste of
meat helps to make it dearer still, and life harder for the poor. Out
of the very scraps and crumbs, if you will only collect them, thousands
of birds may be fed and the lives of the dear little songsters
preserved through the cold blasts and pinching frosts of winter.

Every morning at my home, one of our kindly domestics may be seen
sallying forth with a plate on which all these fragments have been
collected by their united efforts. Half of the store goes to the birds
in the front, half to their brethren in the back garden; and the daily
scene at feeding-time is well worth watching for. I feel sure if you
were to begin to care for these little feathered pensioners on human
bounty, you would find so much pleasure in doing it that nothing would
induce you to give up the practice.

As I have advised nurses on no account to conceal any accident that may
happen to the children under their care, so I would earnestly urge all
servants to tell, and at once, of any breakage or injury to furniture.
I say at once, because delay in telling always makes the task more
difficult.

It is a mean thing, and an acted untruth, for a servant to hide away
the fragments of broken articles, conceal the mischief done, and,
perhaps, leave the place without telling what has happened. Two
unpleasant results are likely to follow. A fellow-servant may be blamed
for that of which she is innocent; a mistress may be put to serious
inconvenience for want of an article which she believed to be safe and
sound, though really it had been long broken.

Very often she will be met with a look of combined protest and mock
astonishment when she asks for particulars. ‘Oh, that was done months
since,’ is the reply given. As though the length of time which had
elapsed made the loss less annoying, or the concealment less to be
condemned.

Two wealthy bachelors, whose establishment was nominally under the rule
of a cook-housekeeper, were one day surprised to find that out of a
large and fine set of cut wine-glasses, none remained but those they
were using at the moment. The waitress was considered responsible for
the safe keeping of table appointments, and she had gone on breaking
and hiding, until, when a visitor came, there was no spare glass to
place for his use.

The wrath of the masters may be better imagined than described. It was,
however, less the loss of their property than the deceit and consequent
annoyance which caused them to arrange for the prompt departure of that
waitress.

So again I say, tell and at once of any accident to your employer’s
property. At the moment, perhaps, vexation at the loss may try your
mistress’s temper, and you may be sharply reproved. Express your
sorrow, if you have been careless, try to be more careful in the
future. Bear the reproof meekly, and, when the first irritation is
past, you will find that the prompt confession has helped to build up
your own character for truthfulness and straightforwardness. It is not
unlikely that the mistress will afterwards say something of this kind:
‘I was vexed at the moment, but I am glad you told me the truth.’ And
in speaking of you to others she may blame you for carelessness; but
she will be able to say, ‘I can trust her word.’ At any rate, your own
conscience will tell you that you have not added a wilful sin to an
unintentional error.

And the ladies who rule in the house should encourage their handmaidens
to tell the truth in any and every case of accident. It is rather hard
to keep from speaking sharply when some fragile but much-valued article
has been smashed to atoms by careless hands. But if the culprit’s
confession and expressions of sorrow are met with scolding and harsh
words, the offender is very likely to hold her peace and hide the
fragments, should she meet with a second mishap of the kind. Not that
it would be right to do so; but the temptation to take such a course
would be vastly increased.

Where, however, a mistress has her patience tried by repeated acts
of carelessness, and the almost wilful destruction of property, she
has the remedy in her own hands. She must either have a distinct
understanding that whoever breaks pays, or she must part with the
author of the mischief.

Punctuality in carrying out household arrangements is valuable in every
home, as tending to make the domestic machinery run smoothly. In some
houses it is of vital importance. Yet, all the members of a family
depend more or less on each other for the power to be punctual with
comfort--the children who have to go to school, the father who must be
at his place of business, the servants whose work should be completed
by a given time.

A lady who was about to engage a cook was extremely particular in her
inquiries about the habitual punctuality of the applicant.

‘I can be punctual if the family can,’ was the answer. ‘I like to be
regular and orderly about my work, and am prepared to be so. But my
difficulty has mostly been to get other people to be the same.’

The girl spoke respectfully, and was quite in earnest. The lady
she addressed felt a guilty flush creeping over her own face as
she listened. She knew very well that, whilst professing to exact
punctuality in others, she was often sadly deficient in the practice of
that virtue.

There is no doubt, however, that a punctual mistress will make her
servants keep to the proper time; but it is by no means equally sure
that punctuality in the employed would have the same effect on the
employers. These will sometimes say to servants, ‘You must have the
meals on the table at the time. Never mind whether any one is there
to eat them or not.’ But this would be a most unsatisfactory state of
things. The cook would grieve over spoiled dishes; the waiting damsel
would be uncomfortable; and, depend on it, the blame would be placed on
clocks, on servants, on anything and anybody rather than applied to
themselves by those who grumble over a cold or lukewarm dinner.

I shall not soon forget my return from town on one occasion. I was
half an hour late, and after I came into the house I stopped on my way
upstairs to speak to a seamstress about some working materials which I
had brought back with me. On finally descending I was met in the hall
by that methodical cook of whom I have already written.

‘Ma’am! Are you aware that the dinner is starving?’ (meaning, ‘getting
cold,’) she asked with a reproachful look on her face.

I hope I felt properly guilty. I know I blushed and said,
apologetically, that if such were the case I was to blame, and not she.
And I hurried to my place at table, convinced that punctuality ought to
be an all-round thing, and, if exacted from servants, should also be
practised by all the members of the family.




CHAPTER VII.

ON FAULT-FINDING--GIVING NOTICE TO LEAVE--AND GIVING CHARACTERS.


There are two practices not altogether unknown amongst servants
against which it is hardly possible to protest too strongly. I allude
to those of listening, in order to find out things never intended for
their ears, and of prying into odd papers or letters, accidentally or
trustfully left within reach. No right-minded girl, no person deserving
the name of Christian, would be guilty of either practice.

If employers leave their letters and papers lying about, this certainly
implies trust in their servants, and that they believe them to be too
upright and honourable to be guilty of prying into their contents. If
they speak of private matters in such a place and tone that their
servants could hear if they were mean enough to listen, it is a proof
that they do not think them capable of such an underhand proceeding.
Deserve their good opinion, dear girls, and preserve your self-respect
by scorning to do, when unseen, what you would be ashamed of if
detected in the act.

Servants sometimes complain that mistresses are unreasonably
suspicious, and act as though they expected to be cheated at every
turn--that, like Dickens’s Miss Sally Brass, they would padlock
everything, down to the very salt-box, until ‘there was nothing that
a chameleon could lunch upon’--and manifest to those whom they employ
a prying spirit which they would be the first to complain of in their
servants. This spirit is, however, often the harvest reaped by an
upright girl from the seeds sown by a deceitful and dishonest one.
When a mistress has trusted and been deceived, she is apt to become
suspicious where there is no occasion to be so. The only remedy is for
the new-comer so to act as to show that the more her conduct is looked
into, the better _she_ will be satisfied, as well as her mistress.

If, however, after a fair trial, the habit of locking up every little
thing and incessant mistrustfulness should continue, a girl would be
right to try for another place, where truth and honesty were better
understood and appreciated. Were I a servant, I could not endure the
harass of being constantly suspected and misjudged, any more than as a
mistress I would, after a fair trial, keep a servant whom I could not
both trust and respect.

People tell us that now-a-days there are no old servants--that where a
seven years’ character used to be a common thing, one for twelve months
or two years should be reckoned very good indeed. I do not agree with
these sweeping statements, and my own home experience contradicts them.
But I am well aware that, in many households, there is a perpetual game
of Marjory-move-all going on. I believe this is for want of a little
more reasonableness on both sides.

Small difficulties, which might be got over by a little patience, twist
themselves into a knot which is summarily cut by the usual month’s
warning. If I could only persuade you never to give warning on the day
that something has occurred to irritate you, I should save many of
you from throwing away a good place. But if, yielding to a momentary
irritation, you have done this, and are sorry for it, do not be too
proud to own that you were wrong, and ask forgiveness and permission
to withdraw the notice. Your mistress will respect you and value your
services all the more after such a display of right feeling and good
sense.

To young mistresses I venture a word of advice. If you have
something to complain about, always call your servants into your own
sitting-room, after the day’s work is over, and point out the fault
kindly and reasonably. Say what is wrong and how it is to be amended,
and be firm in exacting attention and future obedience to your orders.

Never squabble with or rate your servants. By doing so you lose your
own dignity and their respect. Never reprove them in the presence of
visitors. Few things are more calculated to irritate, or to provoke a
disrespectful reply; besides which, it renders the guests extremely
uncomfortable.

I once saw a lady who had a very _correct eye_, and who was very
particular about her table arrangements, seize upon a young servant,
whisk her round as she was about to leave the room, and angrily direct
her attention to a dish which was the least bit awry. The girl, a
new-comer, young, inexperienced, and fresh from the country, blushed,
trembled, and seemed ready to sink through the floor, had it been
possible. Frightened at the angry looks of her mistress, and confused
at being made a centre of observation to all those strange eyes, she
was, moreover, unable to comprehend what was amiss. By the time the
lady had, by shakes and jerks, aroused her to a sense of the mistake
she had committed, the poor girl was hopelessly unnerved and in tears.

One blunder followed another. She handed dishes at the wrong side,
spilled the liquids when attempting to pour them into glasses, was
glared at by the mistress, secretly pitied by the guests, and occupied
herself between times in furtively using her handkerchief to wipe away
the tears which, once set flowing, were not easily stopped.

Yet an unnoticed touch from the deft hand of the lady would have
straightened the dish. A few kind words and a little lesson in
private, instead of the course pursued, would have revealed a
disposition willing to be taught and led in the servant, and have
shown the capability of the mistress to model her into a first-class
parlour-maid. As it was, the girl left as soon as possible, and the
mistress had to seek another maid--a difficult matter, for she had got
the character of being perpetually changing her domestics. This is a
real picture, and one which, with trifling variation in actual detail,
I have seen enacted again and again.

‘Masters, give unto your servants that which is just and equal, knowing
that ye also have a Master in heaven.’

This advice or command, given by the hand of an inspired apostle,
applies to all who bear rule over servants, whether in the place of
business or the home--to mistresses as well as masters. And surely in
giving that which is just and equal, we have to think of more than a
mere question of wages. We should be just in our acts, reasonable in
our requirements, and even in our tempers, to those who serve us.

I know one lady who, when the smallest portion of the household
machinery went wrong, would fly into a violent passion and say all
sorts of unjust and harsh things to the author of the mishap. Being,
like most hasty people, very generous, she would next lavish gifts on
those to whom conscience told her she had been too severe. Her maids
calculated on this result, and one was heard to say that she enjoyed a
‘flare-up’ with the mistress. Her temper was soon up, but as soon over.
It was worth while to put up with it quietly, ‘it paid so well in the
end.’

‘Be just and equal.’ A short sentence, but how much it says! Give
praise heartily where it is fairly earned. Be equally just in pointing
out what is wrong, and firm in enforcing obedience, but do it in a
reasonable way--not in the heat of passion or in the presence of
others, but so as to convince your servants that you know both your
own place and their duty.

Young wives, who in their early married life are often much alone,
sometimes make the mistake of first being over-confidential and
familiar, and then of going into the opposite extreme. They have
fault-finding fits, and the damsel who has been treated as a friend and
_confidante_ on one day cannot understand why her girl-mistress should
on the next be sharp in speech and distant in manner. If we mistresses
wish to be respected, we must, as I have said, be equal in temper,
reasonable in our requirements, and just in our judgments.

I have alluded to the giving of hasty notices by servants, and
suggested how these should act if they feel they are likely to throw
away a good place, and are sorry for it. As a mistress, I would not
advise another to ask a girl to withdraw a notice given in a fit of
temper. However valuable her services might be, she had better be
allowed to go unless she herself asks to stay, and owns that she has
been wrong.

Were the mistress to ask the servant, the latter would probably get it
into her head that she was too valuable to be spared, and the notice
would be repeated whenever she was found fault with, until a separation
became inevitable. Reasonable Christian girls have too much common
sense and right feeling to act in this foolish manner.

On the other hand, if the mistress has been the one to give a hasty
warning, and conscience tells her that she has acted on impulse and
without a fair consideration of the grievance, I do not think she would
lessen herself, or lose the respect of her servant, by frankly saying
so, and asking the latter to remain. A good servant would show no
foolish triumph, and would give herself no airs. On the contrary, she
would manifest her sense of her mistress’s fairness by extra gentleness
of speech and manners.

It is good alike for mistress and maid, for the mother of the family,
and the young people, down to the little one who is only able to lisp
out his request, to practise always and under the home-roof the same
politeness that we take with us into the outer world.

There is an old saying, that ‘No man is a hero to his valet.’ The
meaning is plain. The outside world too often gets the best side of us
all. At home, we give way to little tempers, use hasty words, and act
towards those whom we profess to love best as we would not do in the
presence of strangers. Sometimes the mistress who is admired and sought
after, the girls who are called charming in society, even the little
children who have two sets of manners, one for home and the other for
company use, have different verdicts passed upon them by those who
serve in the house.

‘She’s no lady, or she wouldn’t speak to a servant worse than to a
dog,’ is not an uncommon expression with regard to a mistress. Or, ‘If
some of these fine young gentlemen could see our pretty young miss in
one of her tempers, she wouldn’t be so run after,’ etc., etc.

Dear young mistresses, dear girls who look forward to being such, let
me give you a hint or two. Be loving, kind, considerate, courteous,
sympathetic, thoughtful for others, careful not to wound the feelings
of those who dwell under the same roof with you. _Practise true
politeness there, every day and to every one with whom you have to do._
Teach it to the little children, both by precept and example, and you
will be doing them an inestimable service and yourselves also. That
which is learned in childhood abides. That which is in hourly use is
not likely to be forgotten. Those who are loved for their own sakes in
the home, and whose manners are admired there, are certain to win love
and to be charming when outside that hallowed circle and under other
roofs.

It is next to impossible for a servant to treat a mistress rudely
if the latter carries her own politeness and good manners with her
wherever she goes. And the real daughters of the family will lose
no dignity, but gain much love, if they, too, thoughtfully strive
to lighten the work of servants by giving no needless trouble--if,
thankfully remembering the goodness of God in giving them many
advantages of education and surroundings not possessed by their toiling
sisters of the household, they try to make the lot of these brighter
and happier. They may do this by kindly consideration, feminine
sympathy, pleasant words and looks, by imparting useful information,
by lending suitable books; by acting in accordance with the spirit
and teaching of our Divine Lord and Master; in short, by obeying His
command, ‘Love one another.’ ‘Whatsoever ye would that men should do to
you, do ye even so to them.’

We must show that we do not wish to exact all, and give nothing. We
must manifest an interest in our servants, and in those near and dear
to them. We must give a tender, womanly thought to the little, lonely
lassie who, having come to her first place, is frightened at the sight
of so many strangers, and yearns for the familiar faces she has left
behind.

Our responsibilities extend beyond the threshold. If a mistress is
a mother also, surely the thought of her own daughters will make
her anxious to preserve every girl from what is impure or morally
injurious. The young mistresses, in their turn, will feel anxious for
the well-being of their domestics, and will strive to guard them from
all evil influences, as they themselves have been guarded in their
girlhoods’ homes.

We mistresses, each and all, should assure ourselves that our girls
pass their Sundays as God’s children should spend His day. We should
give them opportunities of enjoying the fresh air, which is as needful
for their health as for our own. But if the girls are at a distance
from their own homes and friends, we should ascertain what associates
they have, and where and how a holiday is likely to be spent. We shall
feel that it is our bounden duty to guard from contaminating influences
these girls--the daughters of other mothers, who have been intrusted to
our care, as well as to work for us and under our rule.

We shall encourage them to consult us in seasons of doubt, difficulty,
or temptation. We shall help them to decide on taking the right course,
and cheer and strengthen them in their efforts to resist evil.

We, too, shall have our reward; though we work not with any thought of
benefit to ourselves, but with a single-hearted desire to do good to
others. There are certain tasks and duties the performance of which can
be bargained for, certain work that can be paid for in current coin of
the realm. But there are numberless services, labours of love, which we
cannot demand and money cannot buy. In such as these we shall reap an
abundant harvest.

There is another matter in which we should be just and equal; namely,
in the giving of characters. Alike for the sake of the servant herself
and the future mistress, we should be equally frank and impartial. Few
mistresses willingly give the worst side of a servant’s character.
There is always the feeling that a girl’s bread depends on her
obtaining a situation, and that ill-success may drive her to evil
courses. So, whilst no untruth is told, the whole truth certainly
is not. All that can be said for the departing servant is said, the
damaging circumstances are glossed over or wholly suppressed, and
perhaps the lady comforts herself with the thought that she has done a
kind act.

Some much-pressed house-mother takes the girl. She has probably been
unsuccessful in obtaining one, and the domestic emergency is great.
Too soon she finds out how one-sided was the character given--out of
kindness, or from fear of consequences it may be--and she feels that
she has been cruelly deceived.

Ah, these half-truths! What mischief they do! I have always felt the
importance of being just and equal in this respect, and that I owed a
duty to the mistress in search of a servant, as much as to the girl
in want of a place. ‘The truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the
truth,’ should be our motto in character-giving.

That one and only bad servant I ever had would never have crossed our
threshold but for the written character sent by her then mistress.
When, after a few weeks of bitter experience, I came to analyse it, I
wondered that I could have been deceived by such evasive answers to my
queries, such self-evident half-truths.

That very servant, finding that no one would engage her, after an
interview with me, wrote one of the most remarkable letters it was
ever my lot to receive. Without for a moment professing regret for her
wrong-doing, or a desire and determination to amend, she asked me to
tell a falsehood in order to hide her untruthfulness and dishonesty,
and obtain for her another place in which to resume her career of
wickedness. What I did was to visit the different register offices at
which she had entered her name, and warn those who kept them not to
send to me for a character, as I would only tell the truth, and this
would prevent any lady from engaging her.

Occasionally one finds that an employer will give a tolerably
favourable character, but accompany her words with looks and manner
which seem to say, ‘I could tell more if I chose, but I will not;’ or
will merely state that the servant herself gave notice, and left by her
own wish. This is neither fair to employer nor servant. A girl may have
many excellent qualities, yet not prove equal to the duties she has
undertaken. In such a case, I should, were I her mistress, look round
for a vacant niche which she was likely to fill, and help her to obtain
it. I have done so more than once with most satisfactory results. But
I would never allow an inquiring mistress to be deceived, or to take
into her house the seeds of trouble in the shape of an untruthful or
impure-minded girl, for lack, on my part, of courage to speak of such a
one as she is.

Let us, by all means, help the fallen to rise again, and stretch out
the hand of love and pity to the penitent. But let us, mistresses,
young and old, be true to others and to ourselves, and not show our
compassion by concealing the truth, or help the wrong-doer to obtain a
place by sacrificing the peace of our neighbour’s household.




CHAPTER VIII.

DRESS--VISITORS AND SYMPATHY IN CHRISTIAN WORK.


Formerly, there was such a decided difference between the dress of
mistress and maid that there was no mistaking the one for the other.
Now, much greater latitude is permitted; and it is sometimes said that,
if we wish to distinguish the mistress, we must look for the more
plainly dressed of the two when the maid is also present. Some ladies
do not interfere in the matter so long as their domestics dress quietly
and neatly when on duty.

Without going far into the question, let me give you a little advice
on the subject. It will be just the same as I would offer to my own
children or to any other girl who might wish for it. Regulate the
amount you spend by your actual requirements. Do not spend all you can
upon dress just because you have the money. Remember there are other
ways in which your spare wages may be wisely and well laid out or laid
by. I say laid by, because, whatever be your income, you should try to
save something out of it for the proverbial rainy day. There are plenty
of ways by which thrifty people may save and invest even very small
sums, and by a penny at a time, if they can afford no more.

For instance, the post office will supply you with a form on which you
can stick a new postage stamp, bought with a spare penny. When twelve
stamps have thus been affixed, you can take them to the post office,
receive back their value in the shape of a shilling, and make that your
first deposit in the savings bank there. Make a beginning, and you are
almost sure to go on. If you can spare a shilling at a time, you need
not buy stamps, but become a savings bank depositor at once.

It is a pleasant thing to have a little money, your own honest
earnings, to fall back upon if sickness should come or you are out of
place. Or you may help the good father and mother to whom you owe so
much, or, if they do not need it, in due time spend your earnings on
furnishing your future home. Which of us at some time has not known a
girl who, having spent all her means on ‘fine feathers,’ has had to be
a burden on hard-working parents in such seasons of trouble as come
with sickness or want of employment?

Then, beside laying by money, you should have some to lend or lay out
in our Master’s service. Because you are young girls in situations, are
you to have no share in Christian work, to do nothing for love of that
dear Saviour who gave His life for you? You would be very angry indeed
if any one were to say that you should have neither part nor lot in
sending missionaries to the heathen, at home and abroad, in spreading
the written Word of God, so that all may possess a copy, or in caring
for the sick and suffering in homes and hospitals.

My own experience shows me that many amongst you give almost beyond
your means, and contribute nobly and lovingly to many a good work. If
some have not done so, they will, I trust, take this reminder in good
part, and spare a trifle, remembering that most of our great societies
owe more to the small contributions of the many than to the larger ones
of the few.

Going back to the subject of dress, let me advise you to choose quiet
colours and as good a material as you can afford. Such will never
become conspicuous, they will wear double the time, look well to the
last bit, and cost no more for making than the commonest stuff you
could purchase; so there would be a real saving, to begin with, in this
last item.

Have your gowns made well, but in a simple style. There is no reason
why you should not display excellent taste in this matter. But good
taste never chooses staring colours or extreme styles which are likely
to attract notice and encourage rude remarks on the _fast_ appearance
of the wearer. Good taste never loads poor materials with tawdry
trimmings, which only make a dress look shabby the sooner, and are
equally costly and useless. Good taste and good sense alike suggest
that our clothing should be in accordance with our means, and fitted
for the work we have to do and the position we occupy in the world.

The above rules apply equally to every article worn. Never sacrifice
the comfort of having a good supply of warm, well-made underclothing,
and of being neatly and strongly shod, for the sake of mere outside
finery, such as you are perhaps half-ashamed to wear, knowing that it
is unsuitable, and wholly afraid to be seen in by your hard-working,
sensible mother.

Lastly, save the money to pay for what you buy at the time when you
get it. Those who have to run into debt usually pay dearly for the
accommodation, and especially those who can least afford the extra
price. Tradesmen know quite well that they run some risk in trusting
young girls, who generally have nothing but their wages to fall back
upon, and whom sickness might deprive of the power to earn any. Extra
risks must mean the putting on of extra profits, and thus those who run
into debt pay a higher price for their articles than those who go money
in hand.

Now a word about visitors. Some mistresses draw a very hard-and-fast
line on this subject, and will allow none. Servants may visit their
friends at stated intervals, but they are forbidden to receive even
those nearest and dearest to them under the roof which shelters
themselves. Most mistresses, I believe, act differently from this, and,
considering what their own children would feel if they were amongst
strangers, allow all reasonable liberty in this respect. A right-minded
girl will never abuse this privilege, or try to introduce into the
house of her employers any person of whose presence they would be
likely to disapprove.

Remember, it is your duty to fall in with the rules of the household in
which you serve, and employers have often very good reasons for such as
may appear too strict in your eyes. In this, as in all your dealings,
act straightforwardly, and never bring in a visitor by stealth, or
in the absence of the family. Many a robbery has been successfully
carried out through the folly of young servants who have listened to
the flattering words of chance acquaintances whose real object was to
obtain a knowledge of the premises, and to find out where the valuables
were kept. Through such visitors a servant’s character has been lost,
and a girl who would not have taken a farthing dishonestly has been
suspected of being an accomplice of thieves, and punished as such.

When visitors come by permission of the mistress, I think the latter
should always see them, say a few words of kindly welcome, ask after
the other members of the absent family, and thus manifest her interest
in what gives pleasure to her maid. She will not be the worse served
for doing this, and for showing that, amid her own household cares and
occupations, she has a heart large enough and warm enough to sympathise
with the joys and sorrows of all around her.

But there may be, and I trust there often is, a far stronger bond of
union between mistress and servant than any which could result from the
mere fact of being placed in these relations one towards another. It is
not work well done and wages regularly paid--not the mere ministering
on the one hand and being ministered to on the other--not the being
members of the same household band and dwelling under the same roof,
which can create this bond of union to which I have alluded.

No, there is something better still. It is the recognition of the great
truth that, while there may be a difference in our social positions and
duties here, we are alike servants of a Heavenly Master. If we are both
Christians we are sisters in Christ, members of one body, and looking
to one glorified Head, children of the same family, with God Himself
for our Father.

Some years ago I read a brief extract from an article which was
published in one of the reviews--I think the _Nineteenth Century_--and
by a lady writer. Though I never read the whole article, I remember
the little portion I did see, and how the author suggested that we
mistresses should give our servants a share with ourselves in some
special Christian work, such as visiting and relieving the sick poor,
etc. She also stated her belief that no lady’s work could have its
full value unless united with such help, and no relations with outside
helpers could equal those which might subsist between Christian
mistress and maid, living under one roof, knowing each other’s
weaknesses, and engaged in a work where the one who in other respects
was first might be last, and the last first.

I have no copy of the words, and do not profess to quote them
literally. But I remember the impression they produced on my mind,
because they agreed not only with my own opinion, but with my practice
and the experience of years. I read the words aloud to a young girl
who was at the moment preparing the table for dinner, and, as I
finished them, said,--

‘We realized the truth of what this lady has written a long time ago,
did we not?’

‘Yes, indeed,’ she said, her face glowing with honest pleasure, for
she was and is my willing and capable helper in the conduct of a large
mothers’ meeting--entering heart and soul into the work, respected and
loved by the members of the class.

And those who are at home whilst she and I are at the class help
also, for they take the share of work which does not belong to their
departments during her absence. I am thankful to say that we never hear
any one of them say, ‘It is not my place,’ but that they work together
as members of a family, and, above all, as God’s children.

Years before, another girl who is now a happy wife and mother, rendered
me the same kind of help at the class, and with equal interest and
heartiness.

Going further back still, there comes before my mind’s eye the picture
of a bright young face, that of a housemaid then in our service. I was
ailing for some time and unable to go out on Sunday evenings; and when
it was this girl’s turn to stay in the house, I always called her to
sit with me, that we might talk, read, and pray together. I do not
remember ever spending evenings at home with more true pleasure and
spiritual profit than these.

The girl was such a bright Christian; and when she began to speak of
the way in which she had been led to realize the great love of our
Father, God, in giving His dear Son to die for sinners, and of her
share in that finished work, I used to think her dear, earnest face was
one of the sweetest pictures that my eyes ever rested upon.

I never think of her without remembering the happy seasons of truly
Christian communion we enjoyed, and offering a prayer that her
influence in her own home may always be an equally blessed and useful
one to what it was in ours. She would teach our children sweet hymns,
both words and tunes, and it used to be delightful to hear her rich,
full voice mingling with their childish ones in songs of praise to God.

At that time a very dear friend, a clergyman, was a frequent visitor
at our house. None of our servants attended his church, but he never
crossed our threshold without saying a few kind words to whichever he
happened to see. He would ask after their health with the same courtesy
that he manifested towards the heads of the family, and contrive, in
a few syllables, to show them that he was ever solicitous to leave a
little message from his Divine Master, to sow a little seed which might
produce fruit to His glory, and for the good of an immortal soul.

How this was appreciated by our girls, and especially by the dear
lassie to whom I have alluded! How she would try to repay the interest
thus manifested by the most thoughtful attentions that she could show
when waiting at table! The clergyman’s health was failing at the time,
and he was ordered to winter abroad. On his return, the young waitress
was the first to see him approaching the house, and, noticing that our
dear friend was looking weaker and more worn than when he left England,
she came to me sobbing and with her good, true face expressing the
deepest sorrow.

I thought she must have received bad news from home, but as soon as she
could answer she explained the cause of her tears. ‘It is not that,’
she said. ‘_They_ are all well; but Mr. ---- is coming up the walk, and
he is looking worse than ever. He is stooping like quite an old man.
I am so sorry, I am so sorry. He is so kind and good.’ Some one else
had to answer the door to our friend, who, not seeing the usual face,
inquired after the girl. He was deeply touched on finding that her
tears and trouble on his account had made her absolutely unable to meet
him.

During dinner, when the girl was in attendance, it was pleasant to see
the manner in which she showed her grateful sympathy by anticipating
the clergyman’s slightest want, by offering a little dainty dish in a
sort of beseeching way, and venturing to hint that it was ‘very nice,’
as she lingered a moment to see if he would recall his first refusal.

Our friend’s wan face lighted with a kindly smile as he said, ‘I _must_
taste this, as you say it is so good;’ and he helped himself to a small
portion, to the girl’s great delight.

Afterwards he spoke of this little incident, and of the true sympathy
with his weakness and suffering which she manifested in every word and
act.

‘In these days,’ he said, ‘a kind of stony unconsciousness is generally
required in table attendants. But for my part, I would rather have your
bright-faced waitress, whose countenance is perpetually reflecting the
quick sympathies of her true, warm heart, than a whole regiment of
well-drilled waiting machines.’

Do not imagine for an instant that this sympathy in work and
consequent familiar intercourse ever made our servants less obedient
or respectful. The contrary was the case. Communion in Christian work,
life, and aim, whilst it will bring about frequent and close familiar
intercourse between mistress and maid, would be the last thing in the
world to engender the sort of familiarity which ‘breeds contempt.’

No. This kind of union will be productive of mutual and ever-growing
affection and respect, and will alike tend to the well-being of the
family itself, and of all who are brought within the sphere of its
influence. Those who are Christ’s servants are always more faithful to
their earthly employers than are any others. Those who, filling the
place of mistresses, most earnestly desire to serve the Lord, are ever
the most patient in dealing with others, and most truly reasonable in
their requirements.




CHAPTER IX.

‘FOLLOWERS’--HELPS TO YOUNG SERVANTS--GIFTS FROM VISITORS.


‘No followers allowed.’

These words form no unfrequent ending to an advertisement in that
column wherein the wants of mistresses are specially set forth. The
expression is very comprehensive, and no doubt intended to take in
visitors of every class that might be likely to inquire for a servant.
But in most minds the word ‘follower’ has its particular as well as
its general meaning, and one always associates it with a masculine
hanger-on.

In a former chapter of this volume I said a few words about general
visitors, and what should be the conduct both of mistresses and maids
with regard to them. Now we will consider the ‘follower’ who may be
trying to gain the affection of one of our servants, or be actually
engaged to her.

We who are mothers know by experience how deep is the interest excited
throughout the whole family by the engagement of a much-loved child,
especially that of a daughter. Perhaps it is even greater than in the
case of a son, though our boys and girls are equally dear to us. But
there is a difference in the way we look at them when the time comes
for marrying and giving in marriage.

Probably for years before our son takes such a step he has been going
in and out in the world, playing the man’s part, and fighting its
battles side by side with other men. From protecting them as she used
to do, the gentle mother has learned to look up to her stalwart sons
as the ones on whom, next to the father, she might herself lean. And
when one of her boys goes out from the old roof to a home of his own,
it is to take under his firm, but, we trust, tender guardianship, the
daughter of some other loving mother. The son leaves father and mother,
and cleaves to the wife whom he is pledged to protect, to comfort, to
cherish, and to keep while life lasts.

But the daughter’s out-going is different. She leaves the shelter of
her old home, and the loving arms of the parents whose tender foresight
has hitherto anticipated her wants and shielded her from every blast of
trouble or temptation that human guardians have power to turn aside.

The boy went out years ago, rejoicing in his youth and masculine
strength, and proud to put it to the proof. The girl, when she passes
from the roof of her parents to be mistress under that of a husband,
often goes out to act an independent part for the first time in her
life. Feeling doubtful as to her perfect fitness for the solemn duties
before her, she looks back for counsel and guidance to the one who, if
a true mother, has ever been ready with both. And the mother, if she
is also a wise one, will advise without interfering, and influence for
good without intruding on the almost sacred independence of her child’s
new position and the privacy of her home.

Naturally, from the very instant that the daughter is sought, the
mother is on the alert to satisfy herself as to the worthiness of
him who seeks to win her child. The subject is all-important, for it
involves the happiness or misery of her darling’s future life, and, as
a matter of sympathy, will seriously affect her own. Should she believe
the individual unworthy, what efforts will she not make to shield her
child from the evil which would result from a connection with him? If
otherwise, how the mother’s memory goes back to her own young days,
and, in the happiness of her daughter, lives them over again. Her heart
expands to take in another son, her mind is full of plans on behalf of
her darling, and she rejoices over her and with her with exceeding joy.

Why have I written all this about mother and daughter, and of the days
when the girl is sought, wooed, and won? What has this to do with the
little maid in the kitchen, or the neat-handed Phillis who waits so
deftly at table, and who, while constrained to look unconscious, is
very wide awake as to what is going on, and, for reasons of her own,
very full of sympathy? Why? Because surely the mother whose interest
in her own daughter’s welfare is so deep and absorbing, should have
a little care and sympathy and interest to spare for her young
kitchen-maid or pretty waiting damsel, whose circumstances are in some
respects similar to those of her darling girl.

These have had to leave their mothers very early in life. Often when
they are still children, barely in their teens, the young creatures
have begun breadwinning, and learned to shift and act for themselves
when they most needed the mother’s eye to watch over them, and the
wise word which might have kept many a wanderer from straying into
dangerous paths. Surely, when we take these girls to be members of our
households, we should try not only to guard the safety of our homes,
but the safety and purity of these daughters of far-away mothers.

The rule, ‘No followers allowed,’ carried out with rigid particularity,
may preserve our houses from idle or dangerous intruders; but, on
the other hand, it throws our young servants more into the power of
worthless and dissolute young men, who seek their company with no good
intentions towards them. Sometimes, perhaps, such followers may only
want to while away an idle hour in the company of a bright girl with
a pretty face, and the girl may think no harm can result from merely
talking to, or walking out with, one of whom she knows almost nothing,
and whose acquaintance she has made in the street.

But the end of such intercourse is often very sad, too sad to say much
about in these pages. Often the young, ignorant country girl, new to
town service and city ways, is induced to accompany her ‘follower’
to some objectionable place of amusement. She stays out later than
the appointed hour for her return, and gets into disgrace with her
employers, who threaten dismissal should the offence be repeated.

Perhaps the ‘follower’ next waylays the girl as she is going on an
errand, hears the story of her mistress’s displeasure, laughs at it,
and encourages the foolish young thing to ‘give it her back.’ The
girl believes what she is told, that she can get as good a place any
day, for there are more places than servants to fill them. She likes
the flattery which praises her pretty face, and carries out the evil
counsel of the wily tongue.

Again the mistress has to chide her for her lagging steps, having been
kept waiting whilst her young messenger spent her time in gossip. The
lady has cause for complaint, and the girl knows it. But she has been
incited to rudeness and rebellion, and instead of expressing regret,
or promising amendment, she is saucy and defiant at first, then sullen
and disobedient. So begins the trouble which too often ends in loss of
place and character to the girl herself, and of life-long sorrow to the
mother in her country home.

This is one instance where a little motherly oversight and a few wise
words spoken kindly and in season might have saved a young life from
blight and sorrow. I say might, I dare not say would, because there are
girls who are too headstrong to permit the interference of a mistress
in matters with which they consider she has nothing to do.

Perhaps the mistress is too much put out by the girl’s conduct to take
this trouble. She sees her wilful, pert, or sullen, and concludes to
let her take her own way, saying to herself, ‘She will rue it before
long. She will have to pay for her folly and impertinence, and wish too
late that she had valued the home she now enjoys under this roof.’

Dear mistresses, let me plead with you on behalf of these wilful young
creatures who rush headlong into the society and the paths which cannot
tend to good. Do not let their folly influence you to loose even the
weak hold you may have upon them, without an effort to save them from
themselves. ‘Be not overcome of evil,’ but strive ‘to overcome evil
with good.’ You are older, have greater experience, and should also
have more self-control. So conquer the inclination to be angry, though
you may be justly displeased. Think of your own young days, when
you had, and most likely needed, constant oversight, patience, and
forbearance from a tender mother. Think how you were guarded all round
from the risks which your young handmaiden, so early sent out into the
world, has to encounter at every step of her way, and how in turn you
guard your own more favoured children from the chance of temptation.
And thinking of all these things, lay a kind hand upon the girl’s
shoulder. Look into her face with an expression on yours which shall
tell her that it is because her well-being is dear to you that you seek
her confidence, and desire to restrain her steps and influence her in
the choice of her companions.

If you succeed in convincing the girl of your anxiety for her real
good, and save her from the probable consequences of her giddiness and
folly, she will bless you, and most likely repay you by future faithful
service. And if not, you will have done what you could; and while you
may grieve over your ill success, conscience will approve, and the
effort that sprang from a loving motherly heart will not be forgotten
by the Master you have striven to obey and imitate.

As your true friend, dear girls, let me urge you to receive in a
right spirit the advice of your employers, even in things which you,
perhaps, think outside their province. The daughter, though out of a
mother’s sight, would not say that she was for that reason freed from
a mother’s authority. If, therefore, a mistress interests herself in
your well-being when you are outside the home, is desirous that your
companions should be of the right kind, and inquires especially into
the character, conduct, and prospects of any one who may seek you for a
wife, be thankful. Do not think that she does it out of a prying spirit
or to serve any selfish end. Remember, it is just what she has done in
the case of her own child, and rejoice that she cares enough for you to
be anxious, not only for your present comfort, but for your life-long
happiness.

Mistresses should encourage, and servants should practise, perfect
openness with regard to ‘followers’ or engagements. Yet there are
faults on both sides, faults of concealment and of selfishness which
ought not to exist.

For instance, a young girl engaged herself as parlour-maid to a
lady who was accustomed to keep her servants a long time and to be
most considerate in her treatment of them. This girl went with an
excellent character. She had given up her place only because her late
employers were removing to a distance, and she did not wish to leave
the neighbourhood. Her parents’ home was near, and this seemed quite a
sufficient reason why she did not choose to quit it.

The girl’s conduct fully justified the character given, and the lady
congratulated herself on having so easily filled the vacancy caused by
the marriage of a much-valued servant. At the end of two months, she
was amazed at receiving the usual notice from Hannah that she was about
to give up her place.

‘Leave in a month!’ said the lady. ‘You cannot mean it. You are only
just settled, as it were, and I am thoroughly satisfied with the way in
which you do your work. I looked forward to keeping you for years. What
is your reason for wishing to go?’

The girl hesitated, blushed, and at last owned that she was going to be
married at the month’s end.

Thinking that Hannah must have entered into the engagement very
suddenly, the lady asked her if she were well acquainted with the
character of the man to whom she was so soon to be united.

‘Oh dear, yes, ma’am,’ replied Hannah cheerfully. ‘We went to school
together when we were quite little children. We have been engaged five
years. It was because he lived here, and we were going to be married
so soon, that I would not leave this neighbourhood. I wanted to see to
things for our house, and to help George to choose what was wanted. I
couldn’t have done that if I had been at a distance, so I took your
place just for the three months, as I didn’t want to be idle or lose
that much of wages.’

The lady was justly annoyed at the girl’s selfishness, and said, ‘You
ought to have been frank with me, Hannah, and told me exactly how you
were situated. I little thought, as you went about doing your duties so
well, that all the while you were simply making a convenience of me and
my place to suit your own.’

Hannah looked a little ashamed, but, I am afraid, was better satisfied
at having gained her end than sorry for the annoyance caused to an
excellent mistress.

Another instance of selfishness which came under my notice was on the
mistress’s side. Her children’s nurse, who had been most devoted to her
young charges, and stayed several years in her place, gave notice to
leave. She, too, was going to be married.

‘How very tiresome!’ said the mistress, with a look of annoyance and
without one sympathetic word. ‘I never thought you would leave us.
But it is always the way with you servants. You never think of the
inconvenience a change may cause, and specially in the nursery. There
is Harry, poor child! you know he is so used to you that he will not
even let me attend to him. I wonder you have the heart to leave him.’

And the lady left the nursery with an injured look, to pour out her
grievances in the ear of her husband.

The nurse had been allowed no chance of reply, or she could have told
that love for the invalid boy had induced her to put off her marriage
for a year, in order that she might watch him through a critical
period. That her devotion to Harry had supplied the maternal care the
boy needed, but would never have received from the selfish mother,
who would say, ‘I trust you thoroughly, Jephson.’ Then, with scarcely
a glance at her boy’s face, she would leave him to the care of the
faithful nurse, whilst her evenings were spent amid gay scenes and
under other roofs than her own.

No wonder that Jephson felt bitterly the selfishness and want of
sympathy in her butterfly mistress, and left that house and the
children she had tended with a sore heart and a sense of injustice.

‘After the way I was treated, I could not have said another word about
my own affairs for the world,’ she remarked. ‘I just stayed my time,
did my work same as usual, held my tongue, and left when the day came.
And the mistress sent my wages to me, and never came near to say
“good-bye,” or “I wish you well, Jephson.” It was hard to leave Master
Harry, bless him! and I don’t suppose his mamma will let him be brought
to see me. But I could not go to that house again, even for the child’s
sake, though I had lived so many years there.’

No wonder that even love for her nursling was insufficient to conquer
the faithful woman’s sense of his mother’s selfishness. In this case
the servant would have been only too glad to make her mistress fully
acquainted with her position. But, while the lady trusted the servant
with the care of her children, she neither felt nor manifested any
interest in the person who had so long relieved her conscience of a
sense of motherly responsibility towards her invalid boy.

I turn gladly from the last-quoted instances of selfishness in both
mistress and maid, to recall much more agreeable pictures. I have
pleasant memories of good and modest girls, who gladly appealed to
the older and wiser heads of those they served, for the advice these
were willing to give. Memories, too, of employers who, having first
made careful inquiries into the characters of their servants’ suitors,
and satisfied themselves of their respectability, have given them
the privileges of seeing the girls at home, at reasonable times and
intervals.

Surely this is the best way of protecting our young servants from
becoming a prey to the influence of bad or merely idle hangers-on,
whose acquaintance could not possibly be beneficial. For, consider, it
is no more unsuitable for our servants to look forward to marriage, as
a woman’s natural vocation, and a fitting end to service, than for our
daughters to expect that they will be wives and mothers in their turn.
Should we like our own girls to meet their lovers or affianced husbands
in the streets, or in the houses of persons other than parents, and who
have no power to influence them in any way?

If our servants have parents living in the neighbourhood, the
responsibility naturally rests upon them. If not, a mistress can
scarcely rid herself of it, with respect to the young girls in her
service. I acknowledge that there are many drawbacks to the admission
of the servant’s suitor to the master’s roof. One is often found in
the shyness of a kindly, true-hearted young fellow himself, who means
nothing but what is honourable and right to the girl who has won his
affections. He has, perhaps, never crossed the threshold of such a
house as she inhabits, and he fears that he should feel very bashful
and awkward, especially in the presence of her fellow-servants.

As a rule, the girl’s manners are superior to those of her suitor. She
may have come from a home like his own, and be the less educated of
the two, and yet he is sensible of a difference vastly in her favour,
because daily contact with persons of superior learning, position, and
refinement has effected a great improvement in her speech and manners.
So he is often the one to shrink from subjecting his country ways to
the scrutiny of city eyes.

Again, as the kitchen is common ground for all the servants, there
is often a difficulty about the apartment in which a girl may see
her visitor. All such matters are for separate consideration, and
fellow-servants may act with kindly sympathy and true delicacy towards
each other under such circumstances.

I have seen difficulties overcome, opportunities a little out of the
common afforded for the young people to meet respectably. Even an
occasional avoidance of a portion of the grounds by the family has
given Robert an opportunity of enjoying a pleasant stroll with Mary, or
an hour of blissful quiet beneath the friendly shelter of the little
summer-house, whilst the girl was actually within call the whole time.

I have seen mistress and maid go out together when the latter was about
to begin housekeeping, that the former might give her the benefit of
her greater experience in making purchases for the future home. I well
remember one girl who said, ‘My bit of money would not have gone nearly
so far, if it had not been for my mistress’s kind advice. I had never
bought things for a house before, and I should have thought more about
looks than service in my purchases. But she knew all about the quality
and what would suit best, and she was so careful to see that I got my
money’s worth. I don’t know how to thank her.’

Was not this a pleasant experience both for mistress and maid? Was the
lady less honoured for her womanly and motherly conduct by the rest of
her domestics? Or did she receive less willing service, because she
had devoted a portion of time to promote the comfort of the girl after
she had passed from under her roof? Assuredly not. Every act that
shows recognition of one common humanity, and sympathy with its best
and holiest feelings, not only diffuses happiness, but brings it to
ourselves, and wins for us more hearty service.

I never like to turn from a pleasant picture to an ugly one, but I
feel bound to give both sides. The rigid rule, ‘No followers allowed,’
is very often made and enforced, because the confidence of employers
has been abused and kindness encroached upon. Trustworthy domestics
pay penalty for the faults of others; and those who think the rule too
severe, and are too upright to attempt evasion, will not take service
where it is in operation.

I knew one young girl who applied for a situation, and was told by the
mistress that no servants’ visitor, male or female, was ever allowed
under her roof. ‘Then I need not trouble you any further, ma’am,’ said
the girl very respectfully. ‘I have been engaged for three years to
a young man whose character will bear looking into. We cannot marry
for years to come, unless some change should take place, for he has
a widowed mother to help, and two of her boys are not old enough to
earn anything yet. But I am going to wait for him, if it be for ten
years more. In my last place, James was allowed to come and see me at
suitable times. He wanted nothing else, and he never had a crumb in
the house except the lady herself wished him to stay to a meal, and
asked him. My own parents live a long way off, and James’s mother too
far for me to go to her house. He must come to me, and I have too much
respect for him and myself to have a meeting-place, like many girls do.’

‘What do you mean by a meeting-place?’ asked the lady, interested by
the girl’s frank words and honest face.

‘You know, ma’am, that young people may meet in the street, but they
can’t stop there in all weathers, they must be under cover; and if they
have no proper friends, they perhaps go to a public-house, or some
place of amusement. It must be a cheap one, as they cannot afford to
spend much money, and sometimes it is not a very good one, either for
young men or girls. But what else is there? Well, some woman--maybe
your charwoman, or laundress, or greengrocer’s wife--lets the young
people have a place to sit and talk in, and they pay her for it, often
enough with food or odds and ends that belong to their mistress.’

The lady reflected for a moment. She remembered instances of mysterious
disappearances and extravagances which could never be accounted for,
and then began to ask herself whether it might not be worth her while
to relax the rule about visitors. She had taken servants before, who
professed to agree to everything and promised everything; but the
result had been deceit and frequent changes. Here was this girl, who
brought a good character, whose honest face commended her at once, but
who would not promise observance of the rule, ‘No followers allowed.’
Surely she would be better worth having than many plausible but
unreliable applicants for the place, who professed to look shocked at
the very suggestion of male visitors.

‘I think I will see your late mistress,’ she said; ‘and if I find that
you have never abused the liberty she allowed, I may give the same.’
The girl’s face brightened, as she replied,--

‘I shall be very glad, ma’am. You will find I have told you the truth.
I should not be seeking a new place, but my mistress is giving up her
own house to live with two unmarried sons at a distance.’

Inquiry satisfied the lady, and she engaged the girl, who years
afterwards married from the house, and carried with her to her new home
many marks of goodwill from her employers.

In the matter of ‘followers’ I do not for a moment presume to say
that one rule could possibly apply in all cases. I merely give real
instances and experiences, and leave mistresses and maids to act and
judge for themselves. Only to the former I would say again, ‘Remember
your own young days. Think of your own daughters, and, as you would
lead them aright and shield them from evil, strive to advise and
influence your servants. Not by continual preaching. Say the word in
season, and say it in such a manner that the girls may be convinced
that you speak from a real desire to benefit them, not yourselves.’

And, dear girls, be true. Do not make promises for the sake of securing
a place, when you never intend to keep them. But if the rules of a
house are such as you could not conform to, follow the example of
the girl I have told you about. Explain your position candidly and
respectfully, and leave the lady to decide whether it is worth her
while to relax a rule in favour of you or not.

I might suggest one or two safeguards to young girls fresh from the
country. Many of you have been Sunday scholars, and some would like
to continue such, were the opportunity allowed you. Ask for it, and
probably you will find that mistresses will make a little sacrifice, in
order to promote what must tend to their servants’ benefit. If girls
of their own accord ask for continued opportunities of instruction in
God’s Word, and prefer the Sunday-school or adult Bible-class to the
streets when it is their day out, I think most mistresses would gladly
encourage such a preference.

Young Welsh girls, in particular, will often sacrifice something in
order to be near a place of worship where service is conducted in
their native tongue, and they show how they value the Sunday-school
by continuing as scholars years after the usual age of leaving. Since
those whom they meet must have similar tastes, this fact secures for
them the kind of associates that Christian employers would choose for
their servants.

The Girls’ Friendly Society (see No. 168 of _The Girls’ Own Paper_)
offers great advantages to such as are at a distance from home
and friends. It is for the benefit of young persons in business,
mill-hands, and even workhouse girls, as well as domestic servants; and
I would advise all who are eligible to join it. It is for young people
of all religious denominations.

Above all other guides and helpers, however, let me impress upon you,
dear girls, the importance of seeking the aid of the Holy Spirit at
every step of your way. If there is one act which is all-important,
surely it is that which links your fate and your future life with that
of a partner who must be yours for better for worse, for richer for
poorer, in sickness and in health. Do not, then, begin an acquaintance
without considering the end, and asking yourself whether it will tend
to your spiritual good; whether it will merely give you a husband, or
unite you to one who will walk with you on the narrow path that leads
to everlasting life, will strengthen your steps, and help you, day by
day, to love God more and serve Him better. Marriage is either the best
and holiest of earthly ties, or it differs widely from what our loving
Father in heaven meant it to be.

May all who read these chapters be kept from entering on such solemn
obligations without earnest thought and prayer, and, whatever be the
worldly advantages, may they only contract such marriages as they feel
that God will indeed own and bless!

I have been much touched by the conduct of girls, themselves quite
young, towards the still younger sisters left in the old home. The
eldest of a family who gets a situation and does well, frequently sends
for her sisters in turn, and helps them to obtain employment. Sometimes
a first place has not been a success, or the younger girl has not had
sufficient experience to fill it properly, and leaves after a brief
term of service. Then the elder has a painful sense of responsibility,
lest the young one should come to harm. I have known mere girls watch
over such juniors with a tender care exceeding that of some mothers.
Sometimes, they have deprived themselves of really needed articles to
help out the new-comer’s wardrobe; they have paid for decent lodgings
for her, and even undertaken to settle the doctor’s bill in a case of
sickness.

I once remonstrated with a young girl about doing too much, as I feared
that her sister did not appreciate her self-denial. ‘Had you not better
send her home again?’ I said. Tears came into the girl’s eyes as she
said, ‘There are so many of them at home, and I brought her here to
relieve father and mother. I will not send her back to them if I can
help it.’ I admired the self-devoting goodness of this dear girl, and
rejoiced with her when she at length saw her young sister in a good
place and under the wise supervision of an excellent mistress.

In such a case as the above, a lady might render a real service to a
good servant by allowing a young sister to spend a few days in her
house, whilst on the look-out for a fitting situation. A mistress might
also assist her servants to save out of their wages by allowing a
sewing maid to cut out a bodice pattern, and show a girl how to put the
parts of a plain frock together.

I have been urged to add a few words on the subject of visitors’
presents, or I scarcely think I should do so. The word ‘vails’ is
little used now, but it was common enough when I was a girl amongst
people older than myself. I cannot tell why it was applied in such a
manner, but, as ‘to vail’ or ‘veil’ means to hide, I think the name
must have been given to visitors’ presents, because the money was
generally slipped quietly from hand to hand, so that no bystander would
see the coin in its passage. We use a much less pretty word now, and
speak of giving ‘tips’ to porters at railway stations, or any persons
whom we wish to receive recompense for personal service.

I would first say a word on this subject to servants. When you are
engaged, it is an understood thing that visitors under your employers’
roof shall receive during their stay all the attention that would be
expected were they members of the family. They are such for the time,
and as the master and mistress generally show particular anxiety for
the comfort of the guests, the right-minded, unselfish servant will do
the same. She, too, will be extra attentive, if she only realizes that
she is a member of the family herself, and should act as entering into
the feelings of those who fill the highest places in the common home.
And if it should happen that in the end she receives no gift from the
parting guest, surely she will not feel quite unrewarded? She will
have pleased her employers, done as she would be done by when under
a roof not her own, and added much to the comfort of the temporary
sojourner.

I do not for a moment intend to suggest what amounts should be given,
or to which servants, when presents are made. But it often happens
that, when leaving, a visitor only sees one servant, yet feels that
more have contributed to her comfort. Perhaps she does not like to ask
for the others, or they are so engaged that she cannot see them, and
she gives the amount she intended to divide to the one only, without
expressing any wish as to its being shared with the rest.

Under such circumstances, whilst no one could deny a servant’s right to
keep what was given, I do think that a conscientious, unselfish girl
would share it with such other members of the household as she knew had
shared the extra work caused by the presence of visitors.

It is quite a different matter where unusual services have been
rendered by one above the rest, or in cases of illness, where the
attendance has quite exceeded that to be expected under ordinary
circumstances.

I can say, with true pleasure, that I have often seen these
extra services rendered with such single-hearted kindness, such
self-forgetfulness and devotion, that no one could imagine the thought
of fee or reward to be associated with them.

And I have also seen a miserable spirit of jealousy amongst
fellow-servants at any little preference shown, even when the recipient
had well merited it by her thoughtful attentions. I have seen kitchen
servants come forward when a visitor was leaving, and ostentatiously
profess to help with the luggage, when any one could see that such aid
was not necessary. I have noticed others push to the front, and give
some little, quite needless, touch to a visitor’s wrap, in order to
attract attention and gain a coveted ‘tip.’

These are little meannesses, dear girls, against which I would warn
any who may be guilty of them, and say: ‘Act fairly and unselfishly to
each other when you receive gifts. Render service as if you found a
pleasure in making all around you comfortable, and not as if your eye
were directed towards the possible “tip” whilst the hand ministered to
the visitors’ wants.’

I have delightful memories of very different conduct: of smiling faces,
feet quick to run, and willing hands; hands, too, that, instead of
being eagerly outstretched to receive, have shrunk from receiving, and
kindly tongues which have said, as if they meant it, ‘Indeed, ma’am, I
don’t desire anything. It has been a real pleasure to do anything for
you, and I hope I shall soon have it again.’

Sometimes, however, servants can hardly have such a feeling towards
guests, because they do not act so as to deserve it. If servants can
display little meannesses, so do those who ought to set them a better
example. They will not only receive, but exact, many extra attentions;
and when the time comes to say ‘good-bye’ to their entertainers, they
will not notice those who have ministered to their comfort, or even
give what costs nothing--a word of thanks.

Now I hold that a true lady will show her good breeding all round, and
that a true Christian will show consideration for the feelings of all
with whom she has to do. When she is leaving a place, she will say a
farewell word to the servants; and in bestowing her present, whether
little or much, she will add to it the thanks for kind attentions
which by a right-minded girl will be valued more than the money. Even
if the parting guest’s circumstances are such that she is unable to
bestow money, do not let her on that account omit the thanks which show
that she appreciates and is grateful for attentions received. By such
neglect she would give pain, and probably be set down as ‘no lady;’
not because of her want of money, but of the kindly courtesy which is
equally becoming to those of high and low degree.

Servants should also remember that a small parting gift is often no
gauge of the giver’s generosity or good-will. It probably costs the
person of small means far more self-denial than does the lavish gift of
some richer guest, who can bestow it without any personal inconvenience
or being conscious of a difference.

To sum up the matter, let me repeat, ‘Care for your employers’ visitors
in the best way possible to you, and so give them increased comfort
and yourselves the pleasure of contributing to the brightness of
their sojourn.’ If you receive no other reward, you will have the
satisfaction which generous, loving hearts always experience in having
given good measure, whether it be of merchandise or of work. For,
remember, ‘With what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you
again.’




CHAPTER X.

THE ONE SOURCE OF STRENGTH.


I have made no attempt to define the duties of any special household
department, or to suggest what share of work should fall to each
servant. Details must vary a good deal according to the number
employed, and the habits and rules of each family.

My object in writing has been to offer such advice to servants, and
particularly to young ones, as may help them to take a higher view of
their position, its trusts and responsibilities. To show them first how
great is the influence they possess, and, secondly, how they may use it
for good.

Such little word-pictures as I have drawn, by way of illustrating my
meaning, are all from real life and personal experience. I trust they
may serve either as examples or warnings to those who look on them with
an understanding eye.

I have wished to show girls in service that the very simplest
household work may be performed in such a manner as not only to please
your earthly employers, but to glorify your Master in heaven.

What must you be in order to do this? Faithful, obedient, honest, and
upright, true in word and deed; forbearing, kind, ready to forgive;
unselfish in your dealings with your fellow-servants, loving to the
little ones of the household; merciful to the dumb animals which depend
on human care, careful of the property committed to your keeping; doing
whatever you find to do in a large-hearted, loving spirit, so that
those who see you will acknowledge that thus you are striving to adorn
the doctrine of God your Saviour in all things.

Not in great things only. To do great things is the lot of but few.
It is the doing well the work belonging to our own place in the world
which alone is required from us. Remember the words used by Jesus in
the parable of the talents. To the servant who had received but two,
yet had turned them to the best account in his power, they were spoken,
the same as to him who had received five:--

‘Well done, good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a
few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into
the joy of thy Lord.’

I fancy I hear some young voices addressing me thus:--‘You set before
us a high standard; how shall we reach it? You own that we have
difficulties to struggle with; that we have many things to hinder
us, and so much both to learn and to unlearn. Some of us come from
poor homes at first, and have had very little training to fit us for
service. We have idle and careless habits to amend, self-indulgent ones
to fight against.

‘Many of us have been little used to think before speaking, or to fight
against hasty tempers.

‘Perhaps we do not think as kindly of our mistresses as we ought; but
consider them more our enemies than friends, and that their object is
to get as much work out of us as they can, and return us as little.

‘We have heard people talk of servants as domestic plagues, and the
“servants’ question” is often discussed as though we had no feelings at
all, or else all the bad ones.

‘No doubt we often try the patience of our mistresses by our mishaps
and mistakes. But if only they would not expect us who have not had
half their advantages to be perfect, to begin with, we should not get
disheartened and careless about pleasing, as we often do. We want to do
right, but----’

And the speakers pause, as travellers sometimes do at the foot of
some lofty mountain, in doubt whether it will be worth their while
to toil onward and upwards to the summit. Ah! the climber may not be
sure whether, after all his weary steps, the view will repay him. He
may reach the top, and find himself wrapped in a veil of fleecy mist,
through which his eyes cannot pierce, and he descends sorrowful and
disappointed.

But those who are toiling heavenward, no matter how rough the path by
which they follow Jesus, can never be disappointed. Each step made sure
renders the next easier; each fault conquered makes the victory over
another a something to be counted upon. Was the path of Jesus a smooth
one? Had He no cross to carry before He won the victory over sin,
Satan, death, and the grave, and returned in triumph to take again the
crown eternally His own?

What was our Master’s source of strength? Was it not found in frequent
prayer, in communion with God, in being armed with the sword of the
Spirit, even the revealed Word of God, and ever ready to use it?

Again I think I hear some of you say, ‘We have very little time or
opportunity for private prayer. We seldom have even a bedroom entirely
to ourselves. At night we are often up late; we must rise before the
rest of the family to prepare what is needed for their comfort. We
feel too tired to rise earlier still, in order to get the time for
prayer. During the day, if we think we will get a spare half-hour,
we are liable to many interruptions, and the sound of a bell may call
us from our knees almost as soon as we have bent them at our Father’s
footstool. Much cannot be expected from us--the time we have for prayer
is so short.’

True; and what a comfort to think that we can always count on being
judged according to our opportunities by Him to whom all hearts are
open and all desires known! And how sweet to remember that it is not
only our prayers which find utterance, but the very desires of our
hearts which are known to God! So the longing, earnest wish to be His
child, and to do His will, can be read as plainly as the expressed
petition can be heard by Him.

Let me ask you: Have you used all the opportunities you have had? If
you have only been able to call a few moments your own, have you spent
them in asking for the guidance of God’s Holy Spirit, who will lead
you to see your need, sinfulness, helplessness, and weakness; who will
reveal to you that dear Saviour in whom your wants will be supplied,
your sins pardoned, and strength given you for every good word and
work? Your hands may be busy, but you may lift up your heart in prayer.
You may be working for an earthly employer, yet holding sweet communion
with your Heavenly Father, God, and King.

It is not a long prayer that is needed. But in asking, you must want
also; in coming to God, you must believe in His will and His power to
hear, answer, and save to the uttermost all who approach Him in the
name of Jesus.

A short time since, I read the following anecdote:

‘At the battle of Edgehill, brave Lord Lindsay, with his son, Lord
Willoughby, headed the royal foot-guards. Immediately before charging,
he prayed aloud in these words, “O Lord, Thou knowest how busy I must
be this day. If I forget Thee, do not Thou forget me.” Then turning to
his men, he said, “March on, boys.”’ I cannot tell you how often this
little story has come into my mind since I read it, or how frequently I
have repeated, from my heart, the substance of that short prayer, ‘If I
forget Thee, O Lord, do not Thou forget me.’

And though you and I are placed in very different circumstances from
those in which the brave old soldier who uttered it found himself, we
also must march to battle every day and hour of our lives--the world,
the sinful desires of our own hearts, and the temptations of Satan,
being the foes we have to face, and, in God’s strength and by His
grace, to overcome.

We can go to the Bible for samples of short prayers, which obtained
sufficient and speedy answers. ‘God be merciful to me a sinner,’
gained one with enough of comfort to send home justified the penitent
publican. At the cry, ‘Lord, save, or we perish,’ Jesus arose, rebuked
the winds and waves, and there was a great calm. ‘Lord, remember me
when Thou comest to Thy kingdom,’ called back the assurance from the
dying Saviour to the sinner, enduring a punishment which he owned to
be the just reward of his deeds, ‘This day shalt thou be with Me in
paradise.’ Short petition, and what a brief reply! but enough to take
away the load of guilt, the dread of coming judgment, and the sting of
death itself from the thief upon the cross.

Let these examples cheer and comfort you when, amid the daily
occupations of a life of service, you lament that you have so little
time for prayer or quiet communion with God. If you are in earnest in
wishing for them, you will find more opportunities for both than you at
first imagined to be within your reach.

I remember being much struck with a prayer of which I can only recall a
few words, but these always remain and often recur to my mind: ‘O God,
when Thou comest to number up Thy jewels, do not forget that I cost
Thee as dear as any.’

Surely if we think what a price has been paid to redeem a sinner from
death, we shall have boldness to ask that, with His dear Son, God will
also, for His sake, freely give you all other good things. Do not be
cast down: the way is open, the invitation is for you, the welcome
is certain, and none need be discouraged. Come in heart, though your
hands may be busy and your feet running to and fro. Lift up your voice,
or your thoughts only, in prayer to God, though you cannot bend the
knee. You will never come to the Source of strength and be sent away
without a supply, for the fountain of God’s love is alike eternal and
inexhaustible.

Before I finish this chapter, let me suggest a few short prayers for
your use. We are told ‘in everything, by prayer and supplication with
thanksgiving,’ to make our requests known unto God. We can bring the
little matters as well as the great things of our daily life, and
these words encourage us not only to ask but to supplicate, or beg
in earnest, that God will undertake for us. Also in asking for new
mercies, to remember past blessings, and to thank God for them, whether
spiritual or temporal ones.

When we are dressing in the morning, we may say,--

‘O God, I thank Thee for quiet sleep and rest; for health, strength,
safety, friends, food and shelter; but most of all for the gift of Thy
dear Son, my Saviour.’

When commencing our daily work,--

‘O Lord, help me to do everything as for Thee.

‘To take everything as from Thee.

‘To use all I have for Thy glory.’

Through the day, and when in company with others,--

‘Help me to act as remembering that Thou God seest me.

‘To speak as knowing that Thou hearest every word.

‘Create in me a clean heart, O God, for Thou knowest my inmost thoughts
and desires.’

In time of temptation,--

‘Help me, O God, to be true and just in all my dealings, not forgetting
that for all my actions I must give an account unto Thee.’

If unjustly blamed or provoked,--

‘O blessed Saviour, help Thy servant to copy Thy example, and to be
like Thee, meek, lowly, patient under provocation, kind and ready to
forgive.’

If feeling helpless and ignorant,--

‘What I know not, teach Thou me.’

If disheartened at the commonness of the work we have to do,--

‘O my Father, if I can do but little, help me to do that little well.
If I have but one talent, enable me to use it for the good of others,
the welfare of my own soul, and, above all, for Thy glory.’

Then we should not only pray for ourselves, but as members of the
family we live in, for the parents, children, our fellow-servants and
absent friends, and as God’s children for all His family everywhere.

However weary we may be at night, we may say these few words,--

‘O God, for Jesus’ sake forgive all I have done wrong during this day.
I thank Thee for all Thy good gifts, and pray that Thou wilt keep
me and all dear to me in peace and safety, through the hours of the
darkness.’

As a last thought, I would suggest that if the mistress will kneel with
her maid, and offer their united requests to God, incalculable benefits
would result to themselves and to the household in which they rule or
serve.




CHAPTER XI.

THE LEGAL RIGHTS OF EMPLOYERS AND EMPLOYED.


According to a learned writer the relationship of master and servant
is one founded on convenience, whereby a person is directed to call in
the assistance of others where his own skill and labour will not be
sufficient to answer the cares incumbent on him. It is a relationship
which has existed from time immemorial, though in olden times the
respective positions of a master and his servant were much more akin
to each other than they are in the present day. Of old the servant was
more in the position of a slave, whose life and body were entirely at
the disposal of his master, but as the age became more enlightened his
position improved. All traces of slavery in England vanished by the end
of the sixteenth century, and thenceforth the relation of master and
servant became one of pure contract.

In the present day a servant may, therefore, be defined as ‘a person
who voluntarily agrees, either for wages or not, to subject himself
at all times during the period of service to the lawful orders and
directions of another in respect of certain work to be done.’ It
follows from this that a master is a person who is entitled to give
such orders and to have them obeyed.

From the foregoing definition it will be seen that the term ‘servant’
has a very extensive meaning, and includes every person who is under
the orders of another, no matter what his duties may be; but the
following lines have reference to domestic or household servants only.
Domestic servants are sometimes called menial servants, but there is a
distinction in the meaning of the two words. The word ‘menial’ has a
wider signification than the word ‘domestic,’ and includes it. Every
servant who at all times during the service is under the immediate
control, discipline, and management of his or her master or mistress,
and is liable also to attend their persons, is a menial servant;
whereas those only who form part of the family household are domestic
servants. There is no hard-and-fast rule as to who are domestic or
menial servants, but each case depends on its own circumstances. All
indoor servants whose duty it is to attend on their masters and perform
household acts are clearly menial and domestic servants, and this will
include a coachman or gardener living in a lodge or other separate
cottage, but it will not include a farm bailiff, though living in the
house. Neither is a governess a menial servant, from the position she
holds in the family of her employer and in society generally.

The contract for the hire of a servant by a married woman as mistress
of her husband’s house is a good and binding one, and her husband will
in most cases be bound by it to pay the servant’s wages; for, although
it is the wife who actually engages the servant, and who will during
the service probably be the person to whom the servant will look for
her orders, still the wife only acts as her husband’s agent and by his
authority. This authority may be given expressly or may be implied by
circumstances. A servant, suitable to their degree in life, engaged and
hired by the wife can recover wages from the husband. Where a husband
and wife do not live together, it depends on the circumstances of the
case whether or not the husband is liable. For instance, if when living
apart the husband allows the wife sufficient means to enable her to
maintain herself in her proper position, he cannot be made liable for
the wages, nor can he where he has expressly forbidden his wife to hire
a servant, if the latter is aware of the fact.

[As this chapter appears in a book devoted to matters of feminine
interest, the word ‘mistress’ will be used throughout the rest of it
instead of master, though the latter must be understood to be included
and for the same reason the servant will be referred to by words
indicative of the female sex, although the law laid down is equally
applicable to males.]

With regard to the duration of the period of service, the contract of
hiring between a mistress and servant is deemed to be a general one,
and to last for the period of a year; and where there is no express
mention made of the time for which the hiring is to continue, or of
the time for giving notice, it is understood that the hiring is for a
year, but may be determined at any moment by either party giving to
the other a month’s notice, or warning, or a month’s wages in lieu of
notice. Where, however, the duration of the engagement is expressly
mentioned, the presumption that it is for a year is rebutted; and
where there is nothing to show that it is not intended to be a yearly
hiring, the payment of wages at short intervals, such as a fortnight
or a month, will not make it less a hiring to last for a year, nor
even the payment of wages by the week, where the engagement was to be
determined by a month’s notice. As before stated, it is a well-known
rule--founded solely on custom, however--that a contract of service may
be determined by either the mistress or servant giving to the other a
month’s notice, and at the expiration of this month, on the servant’s
leaving, she must be paid her full wages up to that time.

The service may also be determined at a moment’s notice on payment
by the party giving the notice to the other of a sum equivalent to a
month’s wages. (These remarks do not apply to the case of a mistress
summarily dismissing a servant for misconduct, which subject will be
mentioned later on.) If a servant gives notice and leaves there and
then, she is entitled to be paid a proportionate part of the wages
accrued since the last day of payment up to the time of leaving, but
in return she must pay her mistress a month’s wages as compensation
for not serving the month out. If, however, a servant packs up her
boxes and goes away without saying anything about it, she utterly
forfeits all claim to any wages which have accrued since the last day
of payment, and cannot, after wilfully violating the contract according
to which she was hired, claim the sum to which her wages would have
amounted had she kept her contract, merely deducting therefrom one
month’s wages.

Some persons may perhaps think this somewhat harsh, but it is
nevertheless the law, and, moreover, it is more consistent with honesty
and common-sense than to allow a servant to break a contract, and
at the same time claim a benefit under it, when upon simply giving
notice to the mistress and paying, or agreeing to allow the mistress
to deduct from the amount due to her, a month’s wages, she can leave
at any time. The distinction between leaving at a moment’s notice and
leaving without notice at all may seem to some perhaps rather fine, but
the practical effect of adhering to the strict letter of the law is
merely to compel a servant to give her mistress notice when she wants
to leave, which can be but little trouble to the servant, and will, in
most cases, save the mistress a good deal of unnecessary trouble and
inconvenience, and perhaps loss. So that if a servant is paid on the
first of each month, and on the fifteenth of the month she gives notice
to leave, she may go there and then, and the mistress must pay her the
amount of wages earned in those fifteen days; but the servant must pay
the mistress a full month’s wages as compensation for not staying the
month out. But if, instead of giving notice, the servant simply goes
away without saying a word, in that case the wages which had accrued
between the first and the fifteenth would be absolutely forfeited.

The service is also put an end to by the death of the employer, and,
of course, by the death of the servant. If, therefore, a servant be
discharged on the death of the employer, she can claim and must be
paid wages from the time of the last payment up to the death. If,
however, the servant is kept on by the representatives of the deceased
to look after things, she will then be their servant, and they must pay
her. If a servant dies during the service, all wages due to her up to
the time of her death must be paid to her representatives, who may sue
for the same if withheld.

One of the cases in which erroneous impressions frequently exist is as
to what will justify a mistress in summarily dismissing a servant. The
following are the principal grounds which will justify the discharge
of a servant at a moment’s notice:--1, Wilful disobedience to any
lawful order; 2, gross moral misconduct; 3, habitual negligence; 4,
incompetence or permanent incapacity from illness.

As to wilful disobedience, if a servant will not obey a lawful order
she must suffer for her obstinacy. If a servant will persist in going
out, or standing at the street door, and such like, after having been
forbidden to do so, such conduct will justify instant dismissal. In one
case a female servant persisted in going out against her mistress’s
orders, though it was to visit a dying mother, and she was thereupon
dismissed. It was subsequently decided by the judges that such summary
dismissal was justifiable. This case is not quoted as an example to
others to do likewise, but simply to show under what circumstances
summary dismissal is justifiable. The mistress’s orders must be
confined to those services for which the servant was hired, and a mere
obstinate refusal to do some particular act will not justify dismissal,
the refusal must be persistent.

Again, theft, immorality, drunkenness, and such like, all constitute
good grounds for discharging a servant. If a servant is grossly rude
and insolent, she may be at once dismissed; and if she is violent, and
uses abusive language to her mistress or one of the family, the latter
may send for a policeman and give her into custody.

If a servant will not do her work, or is habitually negligent in it,
she may be sent away at once; but mere occasional neglect, which
does not cause injury, does not justify instant dismissal without
compensation. And, again, if a servant is hired for a particular
purpose, and proves utterly incompetent to perform it, this is a
good ground for discharge. For instance, if you engage a cook who
represents herself to be thoroughly proficient and highly trained
in the culinary art, and you pay her high wages, you will be quite
justified in dismissing her if she altogether fails to redeem her
profession in any essential particular. As a rule, however, it is
not safe to dismiss ordinary domestics without notice or payment of
wages for incompetence, for it is common knowledge that a great number
of servants offer themselves, and are hired to perform, services
which they are utterly incapable of rendering. Want of experience,
clumsiness, absence of skill and finish about their work must be
expected when untrained servants at low wages are hired, and must be
taken as part of the bargain, and it would be safe to dismiss only
in the higher branches of domestic service, when special knowledge
and skill are necessary, but are not forthcoming in the servant who
professed them, as in the case of the cook just mentioned. Of course,
when a servant is dismissed for any of the above offences, she forfeits
all claim to any wages which have accrued since the last day of
payment, in the same manner as if she left without notice.

A temporary illness, with incapacity for work, is not a good ground
for discharging a servant unless the contract has been rescinded; but
permanent illness is a good ground for dismissal. The wages that have
been earned by the servant up to the time of the illness must be paid,
because it is no fault of hers that she cannot continue the service;
and unless the contract is put an end to, there is no suspension of the
right to wages because of her illness and incapacity to work. It may as
well be stated here that a servant cannot legally compel a master or
mistress to find her medicine when she is sick, or surgical attendance
when she has met with an accident, unless the illness or accident is
the direct result of fulfilling a lawful command. However, very slight
evidence will fix the master or mistress with liability, and it is
probable that if a servant were ill and sent for a medical man with the
master’s knowledge, the latter would have to pay for the attendance.
Indeed, in one case a servant was suddenly taken ill and sent for a
doctor, and on the matter subsequently coming to the master’s knowledge
he sent his own doctor. It was held that he was liable to pay the
surgeon called in by the servant, simply because his wife knew that he
had been called in, and did not express any disapprobation.

Now as to character. No mistress is legally bound to give her domestic
or menial servant a character. It is, however, the duty of a mistress
to state fairly and honestly what she knows of a servant when applied
to by any one who may be about to take the servant into their employ;
and those who are about to employ them have a corresponding interest in
knowing the truth concerning them, so that they may be rightly informed
as to those who are coming to form part of their domestic household.
Masters and mistresses should be freely, unreservedly, and truthfully
out-spoken as to their opinion of those servants who have left their
service, not keeping back that which is unfavourable, nor speaking ill
of them, nor recklessly exaggerating their faults and shortcomings.
For while the law in the interests of society holds the communication
of the character of servants privileged, yet a deliberately stated
falsehood would be evidence of malice, and would tend to deprive the
communication of its privilege, and render the person making it liable
to an action at the suit of the servant. The mistress is in duty bound
to state not only what she knows of the servant at the time of her
discharge, but if she knows of any circumstance subsequently happening
of which the inquirer is entitled to be informed, also to tell further
what she conscientiously believes to be the case; therefore, if a good
character is at first given, and the mistress subsequently finds out
things unfavourable to the servant, it is her duty to communicate the
discovery to the person to whom the character has been given.

Any communication made by a mistress as to the character of a
servant--no matter how damaging such a character may be--if fairly and
honestly made, is a privileged communication; that is to say, that
such communication will not render the mistress liable to any action
by the servant for slander. This privilege arises from the duty which,
as before stated lies upon all mistresses to state fully and fairly
the truth about a servant, whether in her favour or against her; and a
mistress, so long as she does not go out of her way to injure, need not
be afraid of telling the truth about the real character of any servant.
Any person knowingly giving a false character to another person about
to hire the servant, if the latter subsequently robs or injures his or
her master or mistress, is guilty of a criminal offence which renders
him liable to a penalty of £20, or three months’ imprisonment with hard
labour. But a false character _bonâ fide_ believed to be true will not
render the giver so liable.

When a servant enters into the service of a mistress, it is her duty
to fulfil the engagement to the best of her ability; to be honest,
respectful, and diligent, to take due and proper care of her mistress’s
property, and to obey all lawful orders. These orders must be lawful
and within the scope of the employment for which the servant was hired;
and no servant is obliged to obey an order attended with risk; for
instance, a lady’s-maid would not be obliged to clean the scullery, and
such like.

It is the duty of a master to supply a servant with proper food and
shelter, and to pay the wages agreed on between them.

A master may not under any circumstances chastise a servant, no
matter how incorrigible. If they cannot agree, the servant must be
discharged. A master is not liable to a servant for any injuries
inflicted by fellow-servants in the ordinary discharge of their duty;
for a servant, when he or she engages to serve, impliedly undertakes
as between himself or herself and the employer to run all the risks of
the service. This branch of the law is, however, somewhat complicated,
and in case of an accident happening, the liability or non-liability of
the master or mistress would depend so much on the actual circumstances
of the particular case, that it is impossible, in a chapter of this
nature, to lay down any general rules bearing on the subject; and the
only safe course under such circumstances would be to lay the case
before a solicitor, and be guided by his advice.

Lastly, as to the liability of a master or mistress for the acts of the
servant.

The principle on which a master or mistress is liable for the actions
of their servant is that of agency. The mere relation of master and
servant does not invest the latter with a right to pledge the master’s
credit; and if the servant purchase goods on credit without the leave
of the master, no liability attaches to the latter. But if a master
holds out a servant as his authorized and accredited representative,
it is only right and just that he should accept responsibility for his
acts. For instance, where the master is in the habit of sending the
servant to buy goods upon credit, and is not in the habit of paying for
such goods at the time of buying, but on a particular occasion does
furnish the servant with money to pay for such goods, and the servant
either loses or steals the money, but orders the goods, the master is
liable, because the tradesman has been in the habit of supplying goods
on credit. But when the master is in the habit of supplying his servant
with money to pay cash down for the goods he orders, and the servant
steals or loses the money, but orders the goods, the master will not be
liable, because he has always been in the habit of sending the servant
with the money, and nothing but the master’s express authority to the
tradesman to supply the goods on credit will render him liable.

In conclusion, it may be stated generally that a master is liable for
all the acts of a servant which come within the scope of the latter’s
employment, however wrongful and negligent such acts may be, but is
not responsible for the wrongful act of a servant unless that act be
done in the execution of the authority given by him in the course of
the employment, for beyond the scope of his employment he or she is as
much a stranger to the master as to any third person, and his or her
act cannot, therefore, be regarded as the act of the master.


THE END.


Butler & Tanner, The Selwood Printing Works, Frome, and London.




TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES


Adding missing closing quotation mark on page 117, after
“of wages.”

Inconsistencies in hyphenation have been left unchanged.



*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SERVANTS AND SERVICE ***


    

Updated editions will replace the previous one—the old editions will
be renamed.

Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright
law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works,
so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United
States without permission and without paying copyright
royalties. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part
of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project
Gutenberg™ electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG™
concept and trademark. Project Gutenberg is a registered trademark,
and may not be used if you charge for an eBook, except by following
the terms of the trademark license, including paying royalties for use
of the Project Gutenberg trademark. If you do not charge anything for
copies of this eBook, complying with the trademark license is very
easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose such as creation
of derivative works, reports, performances and research. Project
Gutenberg eBooks may be modified and printed and given away—you may
do practically ANYTHING in the United States with eBooks not protected
by U.S. copyright law. Redistribution is subject to the trademark
license, especially commercial redistribution.


START: FULL LICENSE

THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE

PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK

To protect the Project Gutenberg™ mission of promoting the free
distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work
(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase “Project
Gutenberg”), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full
Project Gutenberg™ License available with this file or online at
www.gutenberg.org/license.

Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg™
electronic works

1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg™
electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to
and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property
(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all
the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or
destroy all copies of Project Gutenberg™ electronic works in your
possession. If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a
Project Gutenberg™ electronic work and you do not agree to be bound
by the terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person
or entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8.

1.B. “Project Gutenberg” is a registered trademark. It may only be
used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who
agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few
things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg™ electronic works
even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See
paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project
Gutenberg™ electronic works if you follow the terms of this
agreement and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg™
electronic works. See paragraph 1.E below.

1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation (“the
Foundation” or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection
of Project Gutenberg™ electronic works. Nearly all the individual
works in the collection are in the public domain in the United
States. If an individual work is unprotected by copyright law in the
United States and you are located in the United States, we do not
claim a right to prevent you from copying, distributing, performing,
displaying or creating derivative works based on the work as long as
all references to Project Gutenberg are removed. Of course, we hope
that you will support the Project Gutenberg™ mission of promoting
free access to electronic works by freely sharing Project Gutenberg™
works in compliance with the terms of this agreement for keeping the
Project Gutenberg™ name associated with the work. You can easily
comply with the terms of this agreement by keeping this work in the
same format with its attached full Project Gutenberg™ License when
you share it without charge with others.

1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern
what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are
in a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States,
check the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this
agreement before downloading, copying, displaying, performing,
distributing or creating derivative works based on this work or any
other Project Gutenberg™ work. The Foundation makes no
representations concerning the copyright status of any work in any
country other than the United States.

1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg:

1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other
immediate access to, the full Project Gutenberg™ License must appear
prominently whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg™ work (any work
on which the phrase “Project Gutenberg” appears, or with which the
phrase “Project Gutenberg” is associated) is accessed, displayed,
performed, viewed, copied or distributed:

    This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most
    other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions
    whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms
    of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online
    at www.gutenberg.org. If you
    are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws
    of the country where you are located before using this eBook.
  
1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg™ electronic work is
derived from texts not protected by U.S. copyright law (does not
contain a notice indicating that it is posted with permission of the
copyright holder), the work can be copied and distributed to anyone in
the United States without paying any fees or charges. If you are
redistributing or providing access to a work with the phrase “Project
Gutenberg” associated with or appearing on the work, you must comply
either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 or
obtain permission for the use of the work and the Project Gutenberg™
trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.

1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg™ electronic work is posted
with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution
must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any
additional terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms
will be linked to the Project Gutenberg™ License for all works
posted with the permission of the copyright holder found at the
beginning of this work.

1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg™
License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this
work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg™.

1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this
electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without
prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with
active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project
Gutenberg™ License.

1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary,
compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including
any word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access
to or distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg™ work in a format
other than “Plain Vanilla ASCII” or other format used in the official
version posted on the official Project Gutenberg™ website
(www.gutenberg.org), you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense
to the user, provide a copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means
of obtaining a copy upon request, of the work in its original “Plain
Vanilla ASCII” or other form. Any alternate format must include the
full Project Gutenberg™ License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1.

1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying,
performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg™ works
unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.

1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing
access to or distributing Project Gutenberg™ electronic works
provided that:

    • You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from
        the use of Project Gutenberg™ works calculated using the method
        you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is owed
        to the owner of the Project Gutenberg™ trademark, but he has
        agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the Project
        Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments must be paid
        within 60 days following each date on which you prepare (or are
        legally required to prepare) your periodic tax returns. Royalty
        payments should be clearly marked as such and sent to the Project
        Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the address specified in
        Section 4, “Information about donations to the Project Gutenberg
        Literary Archive Foundation.”
    
    • You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies
        you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he
        does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg™
        License. You must require such a user to return or destroy all
        copies of the works possessed in a physical medium and discontinue
        all use of and all access to other copies of Project Gutenberg™
        works.
    
    • You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of
        any money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the
        electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days of
        receipt of the work.
    
    • You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free
        distribution of Project Gutenberg™ works.
    

1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project
Gutenberg™ electronic work or group of works on different terms than
are set forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing
from the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the manager of
the Project Gutenberg™ trademark. Contact the Foundation as set
forth in Section 3 below.

1.F.

1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable
effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread
works not protected by U.S. copyright law in creating the Project
Gutenberg™ collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg™
electronic works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may
contain “Defects,” such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate
or corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other
intellectual property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or
other medium, a computer virus, or computer codes that damage or
cannot be read by your equipment.

1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the “Right
of Replacement or Refund” described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project
Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project
Gutenberg™ trademark, and any other party distributing a Project
Gutenberg™ electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all
liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal
fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT
LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE
PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE
TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE
LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR
INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH
DAMAGE.

1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a
defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can
receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a
written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you
received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium
with your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you
with the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in
lieu of a refund. If you received the work electronically, the person
or entity providing it to you may choose to give you a second
opportunity to receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If
the second copy is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing
without further opportunities to fix the problem.

1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth
in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you ‘AS-IS’, WITH NO
OTHER WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT
LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE.

1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied
warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of
damages. If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement
violates the law of the state applicable to this agreement, the
agreement shall be interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or
limitation permitted by the applicable state law. The invalidity or
unenforceability of any provision of this agreement shall not void the
remaining provisions.

1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the
trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone
providing copies of Project Gutenberg™ electronic works in
accordance with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the
production, promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg™
electronic works, harmless from all liability, costs and expenses,
including legal fees, that arise directly or indirectly from any of
the following which you do or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this
or any Project Gutenberg™ work, (b) alteration, modification, or
additions or deletions to any Project Gutenberg™ work, and (c) any
Defect you cause.

Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg™

Project Gutenberg™ is synonymous with the free distribution of
electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of
computers including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It
exists because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations
from people in all walks of life.

Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the
assistance they need are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg™’s
goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg™ collection will
remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project
Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure
and permanent future for Project Gutenberg™ and future
generations. To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary
Archive Foundation and how your efforts and donations can help, see
Sections 3 and 4 and the Foundation information page at www.gutenberg.org.

Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation

The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non-profit
501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the
state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal
Revenue Service. The Foundation’s EIN or federal tax identification
number is 64-6221541. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg Literary
Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent permitted by
U.S. federal laws and your state’s laws.

The Foundation’s business office is located at 809 North 1500 West,
Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887. Email contact links and up
to date contact information can be found at the Foundation’s website
and official page at www.gutenberg.org/contact

Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg
Literary Archive Foundation

Project Gutenberg™ depends upon and cannot survive without widespread
public support and donations to carry out its mission of
increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be
freely distributed in machine-readable form accessible by the widest
array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations
($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt
status with the IRS.

The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating
charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United
States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a
considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up
with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations
where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To SEND
DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any particular state
visit www.gutenberg.org/donate.

While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we
have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition
against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who
approach us with offers to donate.

International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make
any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from
outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff.

Please check the Project Gutenberg web pages for current donation
methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other
ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations. To
donate, please visit: www.gutenberg.org/donate.

Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg™ electronic works

Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project
Gutenberg™ concept of a library of electronic works that could be
freely shared with anyone. For forty years, he produced and
distributed Project Gutenberg™ eBooks with only a loose network of
volunteer support.

Project Gutenberg™ eBooks are often created from several printed
editions, all of which are confirmed as not protected by copyright in
the U.S. unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not
necessarily keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper
edition.

Most people start at our website which has the main PG search
facility: www.gutenberg.org.

This website includes information about Project Gutenberg™,
including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary
Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to
subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks.