DOMESTIC SERVICE.
(To TER EDITOR OF TNE "SPECTATOR.")
have been reading with interest the letters in the Spectator on "Domestic Service," and as a servant of thirty-five years' standing (over twenty years in present place, during which time I have visited in many houses with the lady, and have gained knowledge of many households, small and large) I would like to give my opinion on the servant problem. I agree with "F. M." that service in many ways is much better for a girl than work in shop or factory, providing, of course, that a girl gets a com- fortable place and a good mistress. There are good places and mistresses, and there are good servants, who thoroughly appre- ciate suoh, to the extent of doing their utmost to carry out a lady's wishes, and who find it a pleasure to keep her house nice and save her trouble and annoyance in every possible way. But unfortunately there are also servants who, however much their comfort may be studied, will take it as a matter of course, and will take no real interest in anything, but will "get through" their work anyhow, with as little trouble to themselves as pea, sible. They will take all regular outings, and, if let out to post or shop whenever they like, will be gone for hours regardless of the fact that another has to do their work, as is the case in small households—in fact, will act on the principle, "It doesn't matter about anybody else 90 long as I get all I want." At the same time, there are places where a servant's comfort is never thought of, or a servant considered in any way, however much -she may study a lady's interest and faithfully carry out her work. That, too, is taken as a matter of course by the lady, and if occasionally she forgets some little thing the lady will at once start making much of it among her friends—" How tiresome servants are!.' And on one occasion I heard a lady remark to another : "That — fool has forgotten to give me .o-and-so." Yet I know that maid slaves for and studies that lady's interest in every possible way. I have heard so much of that sort of thing during the last few years (and .of course many others hear it too). There is the feeling with servants that they are the topic of conversation among ladies—any little failing made the most of, and any good points left out, or only lightly touched on. Can one wonder that respect for mistresses is fast becoming a thing of the past, as I fear it is? And where there is no respect there is not so likely to be any great effort to please. As regards the "loss of social status," I think the fact that servants know they are so spoken of by their employers, who, after all, are very glad to employ them, is far more galling to them than the feeling that they are "looked down on" by shopgirls or the general public.
It seems to me reform is needed on both sides. Let servants realize that it is their duty to do faithfully the work they are engaged for and paid to do, and seek to act fairly towards their fellow-workers. Let mistresses realize that they, too, have a duty, not merely to provide a comfortable home, but to treat their servants as human beings, with feelings and failings the same as themselves, not as machines that never get tired or weary, and I think soon we should have a better feeling between mistressee and servants in general (as already exists in a few cases), which will go a long way towards making servants and service more of a success than "early cups of tea," "Mistresses' Unions," "Gold Medals," or "an eight-hour day" will ever do. Let there be co-operation, not merely as regards work, but also as regards the happiness and comfort of each other; there would then soon be a feeling of friendship between them which would make a servant think less of high wages, knowing her employer values her efforts and is her friend. After thirty-five years I am content to remain in service, while I have to earn my living, and would like to
know others were content also.—I am, Sir, C. C.
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