THE TOILERS OF THE HOUSEHOLD.

Otago Witness, Issue 1897, 12 June 1890, Page 37

THE TOILERS OF THE HOUSEHOLD.

Dear Alice, — Why has there been no reply from the mistresses on this difficult question ? It is surely evident, despite the complaints that are heard from them, that they are quite satisfied with the present class of general servants, or are they afraid of the disclosures that would be made by the girls in reply ? You, dear Alice, speak of the comfort and protection that is offered them in their masters' heme. If you knew of the licentious men, who often are our masters, who come to the lonely girl in the kitchen and insult her, you would be persuaded there is less protection for the servant than you imagine, to pay nothing of being thrust out aloneafter dark to seek a little recreation. And as for the comfort-, I am sure you have never been in .any of the kitchens where in the home there is a miserable struggle to keep up appearances for the outside world. In these homes there is an elaborate display in the drawing room ; but in the kitchen two chairs are seen, one three-legged and the other with the seat worn through. Everything there is equally matched. The girl has the same worn out and spiritless look that the kitchen furniture has. Yet she is expeoted to do good service with the worn-to-the-stump brooms and brushes, accept gratefully the cold remains that come from the dining room table, cheerfully toil on with no change in her programme whilst the family are enjoying their evening amusements. Domestic service might be compared to "imprisonment with hard labour." The rigid rule that confines a girl to the house every day of the week, except on a certain night and at a certain hour, causes a dislike to the work. It is a want of freedom that often makes a girl leave her situation and enjoy for a little time at any rate the free air of heaven. Do mistresses forget that in the usual servant's life there is very little to keep her cheerful 1 Do they remember she is alone at her meals and alone in the evenings, the very times other people have most pleasure 1 lam convinced that until domestic service is made more happy in its surroundirgs a better class of workers will not take the work up. Carlyle said : " Give us the man who sings at his work. He will do more in the same time, he will do it better, he will persevere longer." The same thing applies equally to the girls. Then why not try to make the servant's life more happy ? What is wanted is competition in the work. Just now the work is avoided instead of being sought after. Personally, I never disliked the work in itself ; indeed, I preferred it to the trade I learnt, and will always believe that it is the most useful occupation for girls. In fact, there is no other woik done that holds the key to a happy home so much as the work that is given to the domestic servant. But when girls get haughty mistresses like the cne I shall give an instance oF it will be easily seen what is driving (hem out of the field. On one occasion I told this lady that "Mrs Blank had invited mo to spend the Thursday evening with her." " Oh, dear me," she replied, "Invited you; you only a servant. Why, Mrs Blank calls here." There was no need to remind mo I was "only a servant." I was made to feel the situation very keenly in her house. I ventured to ask her, however, if she thought it a disgrace to

be "only a servant"? "Not a disgrace, perhaps," she replied, v but it is considered a low ocupation, and Mrs Blank should place a distinction between a lady and a servant." This lady advertised for a respectable girl, and yet would hardly allow her to asociate with respectable people. It is senseless mistresses like the above who make the girl feel that domestic service is looked upon as a badge of disgrace ; that cause her to leave the work probably just as she is getting proficient. It takes a great deal of experience to make a good general servant — lar more practice than is wanted for the most of trades. Servant girls will have to form a union too. Mistresses have abused the right they have to call on us to perform work at whatever hour they please. It is almost a usual custom for girls to finish work after returning from a run out after 10 p.m. There is too much to get through before going out to allow a girl to get out in respectable time. When she only gets a couple of hours in the week I think it is nothing better than slavery for a girl to have to work up the time after she returns, when these hours rightly belong to her. Working machines get oiled to keep the machinery working smoothly, but the oil a domestic servant gets is called " bounce." — I am. &c. Mary. June 2.