. The best gifts in the world are love, kindness,
faithfulness, sincerity, and purity. It is through our relations with
other human beings and our love for them that we begin to understand the
love of God.

CHAPTER VII

THE HOUSE WORKER--DOMESTIC SCIENCE

A young woman who is now the author of two successful novels earned the
money she needed to attend a teachers' training school by working as a
domestic servant. It was the quickest and most convenient way for her to
earn a certain sum of money. Her decision and independence of character
kept her from hesitating for a moment to make use of this employment. One
young woman who is a capable real estate agent takes a position as an
experienced general servant when her usual business is slack. A woman at
the head of a large business, which she originated and developed herself,
earned her living as a domestic until she was twenty-five years old. There
is no reason why any of us should be kept from doing good domestic work if
it is the most suitable and convenient employment for us.

The disadvantages of domestic work, as it is generally arranged at present,
are that the house worker is required to live away from home; her own
special sleeping and living accommodation is sometimes not of the best; she
has comparatively little time that is absolutely her own; she feels that
she is placed at a social disadvantage as compared with other girls who are
her friends and who are earning a living in other paid work, and she may be
lonely, as a consequence of being often the only paid worker in the
household. These are facts to be considered. But it is possible that a
re-arrangement of household work, undertaken by modern employers and clever
modern girls, who have a gift for household management, as well as
character and initiative, may provide a solution for these disadvantages.

The advantages of domestic work include good wages, and more comfortable
living conditions than the average paid worker can secure for herself. The
house worker has also variety in work, freedom to move about at her work,
and freedom from the rigid rules necessary in big business establishments.
She is afforded an opportunity to become a highly skilled worker, and she
can find a permanent position if she is competent and wishes to remain in
one place. Above all, the house worker is getting the best training for
home-making.

The wages of the house worker include board, lodging, and washing, and