ome knowledge and experience of
the different branches of housecraft. And right here we encounter
another difficulty: ways of living and methods of household management
are so diverse that a girl might be considered competent by one
mistress and entirely the reverse by another. Our servants are more or
less as we make them, and it is frequently the case that the mistress
herself needs a course of instruction before she is capable of rightly
instructing her maid--a course which shall embrace not only
housewifery, but the cultivation of self-command, patience, wisdom,
consideration, and that power which comes only with knowledge. The raw
foreigner with whom she often has to deal is so entirely ignorant of
life as we know it; her training in field and peasant's cottage has in
no way prepared her for the refined home with its dainty furnishings
and food, and the difficulty of understanding and being understood adds
to the perplexities of the slow and undeveloped mind. Such a servant
is really nothing but a child, so far as her faculties are concerned,
and should be treated as one until experience and training shall enable
her to put away childish things. Like most children, she is an
imitator; let it be our care that we set only a worthy example before
her. She is quick to recognize inconsistency or unfairness, and to
seize an opportunity to get the upper hand. Try to treat her with a
firmness which is not arbitrary, and a kindness and consideration which
are not familiarity. Make her feel that she is an entity, a person of
place and importance in making home comfort, and a good bit of that
subtle antagonism which seems to exist between mistress and maid will
be gradually smoothed away. Don't wonder if she has the blues
occasionally; you have them yourself. Don't be worried if she is a
trifle slow; help her to systematize and so shorten her labors. If she
cracks and breaks your dishes show her how to handle and care for them,
with a timely word about avoiding undue haste. If she wants to do
certain things in her own way, let her, provided it is not a bad way,
until you can prove to her that yours is better. You know there are
other ways than yours--good ones, too. Study her as you would a
refractory engine; if she runs off the track, or doesn't run at all, or
has a hotbox or any other creature failing learn the cause and remedy
it if you can. She is human, like yourself, and young too, probably,
and needs dive