The Lady Servant.

Oamaru Mail, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 10604, 5 November 1910, Page 4 (Supplement)

The Lady Servant.

I ■, .While -it is -pretty evident ?that tlio orduiarywagq-earning girlwill prefer to take-up factory, shop, or, any like kind of work rather than that,of domes-, tic help, the more educated- young wo- : man who has to earn, a living is turning, to housework as a sufficiently remunerative occupation. The inducements in that direction are worth more than a passing thought, as a very mild statement of the case will show. Even a weekly wage of 10s in a service which includes hoard and lodging is about equal to even £1 a week without, for the last-mentioned items must be regarded as highly important to those in that, or, indeed, almost any other rank of life. In England the "lady servant," as she is called, is becoming a b\ no means negligible unit in the community. The number'of actual gentlewomen who have gone into domestic service during the last year or so is said to be quite

astonishing. Many of them belong to distinguished- hut poverty-stricken old families, and others are daughters -at doctors, lawyers, clergymen, and such like." Under these circumstances a- little more than a month ago there was announced as about to be opened m London, for this class of enterpirsinE women, a quite luxurious club, to be conducted (of course on a suitable scale) on much the same lines as most feminine clubs. This idea- proved so attractive that long beforehand the list of would-be members became a fairly large one, so that it is confidently expected that when the- intended joint institution gets into full swing there will be a large increase in the number 01 "lady servants," seeing that one serious drawback to the '-'profession" has been the lack of congenial company alter working hours. Naturally, the club is to be a purely social one, the members being privileged to ask their male and other friends to visit there, and perhaps join in a game of bridge or some other such amusement.