Trouble With Servants
"OH, dear Mrs. Graham!" said my neighbour Mrs. Jones to me one day,
"what shall I do for good help? I am almost worried out of my
senses. I wish somebody would invent a machine to cook, wash, scrub,
and do housework in general. What a blessing it would be! As for the
whole tribe of flesh and blood domestics, they are not worth their
salt."
"They are all poorly educated," I replied, "and we cannot expect
much of them. Most of them have nearly every thing to learn when
they come into our houses, and are bad scholars into the bargain.
But we must have patience. I find it my only resource."
"Patience!" ejaculated Mrs. Jones, warmly. It would require more
patience than Job ever possessed to get along with some of them."
"And yet," said I, "we accomplish little or nothing by impatience.
At least such is my experience."
"I don't know, ma'am," replied Mrs. Jones. "If you go to being
gentle and easy with them, if you don't follow them up at every
point, you will soon have affairs in a pretty condition! They don't
care a fig for your comfort nor interest--not they! In fact, more
than half of them would, a thousand times, rather make things
disagreeable for you than otherwise."
"I know they are a great trial, sometimes," I answered, not feeling
at liberty to say to my (sic) visiter all I thought. "But we must
endeavour to bear it the best we can. That is my rule; and I find,
in the long run, that I get on much better when I repress all
exhibition of annoyance at their carelessness, short-comings,
neglect, or positive misdeeds, than I do when I let them see that I
am annoyed, or exhibit the slightest angry feeling."
Not long after this, we accepted an invitation to take tea with Mr.
and Mrs. Jones, and I then had an opportunity of seeing how she
conducted herself towards her domestics. I was in no way surprised,
afterwards, that she found difficulty in getting along with
servants.
Soon after my husband and myself went in, and while we were sitting
in the parlour, Mrs. Jones had occasion to call a servant. I noticed
that, when she rung the bell, she did so with a quick jerk; and I
could perceive a tone of authority in the ting-a-ling of the bell,
the sound of which was distinctly heard. Nearly two minutes passed
before the servant made her appearance, in which time the bell
received a more vigorous jerk. At last she entered, looking flushed
and hurried.
"What's the reason you did not come when I first rung?" inquired our
lady hostess, in a severe tone.
"I--I--came as quick as I could," replied the girl, with a look of
mortification at being spoken to before strangers.
"No, you didn't! It's your custom to wait until I ring twice. Now
let this be the last time!"
And then, in a low voice, Mrs. Jones gave the direction for which
she had summoned her.
"Such a set!" ejaculated the lady, as the girl left the room. Her
words were intended to reach other ears besides ours; and so they
did. "That girl," she continued, addressing me, "has a habit of
making me ring twice. It really seems to give them pleasure, I
believe, to annoy you. Ah, me! this trouble with servants is a never
ending one. It meets you at every turn."
And, for some time, she animadverted upon her favourite theme--for
such it appeared to be,--until her husband, who was evidently
annoyed, managed to change the subject of discourse. Once or twice
she came back to it before tea-time.
At last the tea bell rung, and we ascended to the dining-room. We
were but fairly seated, when a frown darkened suddenly on the brow
of our hostess, and her hand applied itself nervously to the
table-bell.
The girl who had set the table came up from the kitchen.
"There is no sugar in the bowl," said Mrs. Jones sharply. "I wish
you would learn to set the table while you are about it. I'm sure I
have spoken to you often enough."
As the girl took the sugar-bowl to fill it, the frown left the face
of our hostess, and she turned to me with a bland smile, and asked
whether I used sugar and cream in my tea. I replied in the
affirmative; but did not smile in return, for I could not. I knew
the poor girl's feelings were hurt at being spoken to in such a way
before strangers, and this made me extremely uncomfortable.
"Do you call this cream?" was the angry interrogation of Mrs. Jones,
as the girl returned with the sugar, pushing towards her the
cream-jug, which she had lifted from the table as she spoke.
"Yes, ma'am," was replied.
"Look at it, and see, then."
"It's the cream," said the girl.
"If that's cream, I never want to see milk. Here! take it away and
bring me the cream."
The girl looked confused and distressed. But she took the cream-jug
and went down-stairs with it.
"That's just the way they always do!" said Mrs. Jones; leaning back
in her chair. "I really get out of all patience, sometimes."
In a little while the girl returned.
"It's the cream, ma'am, as I said. Here's the milk." And she
presented two vessels.
Mrs. Jones took both from her hands with an ill-natured jerk. Sure
enough, it was as the girl had said.
"Such cream!" fell from the lips of our hostess, as she commenced
pouring it into the cups already filled with tea.
The girl went down-stairs to take back the milk she had brought up,
but she was scarcely at the bottom of the stairs, when the bell was
rung for her.
"Why don't you stay here? What are you running off about?" said Mrs.
Jones, as she came in hurriedly. "You know I want you to wait on the
table."
And so it was during the whole meal. The girl was not once spoken to
except in a tone of anger or offensive authority.
I was no longer surprised that Mrs. Jones found it difficult to keep
good domestics, for no one of feeling can long remain with a woman
who speaks to them always in a tone of command, or who reproves them
in the presence of visitors.
My husband was very severe upon Mrs. Jones after we returned home.
"No lady," said he, "ever spoke in anger or reproof to a domestic
before a visitor or stranger. Nothing more surely evinces a vulgar
and unfeeling mind."
I did not attempt to gainsay his remark, for he expressed but my own
sentiment. So far from uttering a reproof in the presence of a
visitor, I am careful not to speak to my domestics about any fault
even in the presence of my husband. They have a certain respect for
themselves, and a certain delicacy of feeling, which we should
rather encourage than break down. Nearly all domestics are careful
to appear as well as possible in the eyes of the head of the family,
and it hurts them exceedingly to be reproved, or angrily spoken to,
before him. This every woman ought to know by instinct, and those
who do not are just so far deficient in the aggregate of qualities
that go to make up the true lady.
I was by no means surprised to hear from Mrs. Jones, a few days
afterwards, that the "good-for-nothing creature" who waited upon the
table on the occasion of our taking tea at her house, had gone away
and left her. I thought better of the girl for having the spirit to
resent, in this way, the outrage committed upon her feelings.
Domestics have rights and feelings; and if people were to regard
these more, and treat them with greater kindness and consideration
than they do, there would be fewer complaints than there are at
present. This is my opinion, and I must be pardoned for expressing
it.
-THE END-
T S Arthur's short story: Trouble With Servants
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