under the
most favorable circumstances. No girl gets fond of it, and a desire to
be mistress of her own house--however small it may be--is not a very
shameful kicking against Providence.

The carrying out of three points, would probably revolutionize the
whole condition of service:--

_First._ The relation should be put upon an absolutely commercial
basis; and made as honorable as mechanical, or factory, or store
service.

_Second._ Duties and hours should be clearly defined. There should be
no interference in personal matters. There should be no more personal
interest expected, or shown, than is the rule between any other
employer and employee.

_Third._ If it were possible to induce yearly engagements, they should
be the rule; for when people know they have to put up with each other
for twelve months, they are more inclined to be patient and
forbearing; they learn to make the best of each other's ways; and
bearing becomes liking, and habit strengthens liking, and so they go
on and on, and are pretty well satisfied.

Extravagance

The Anglo-Saxon race is inherently extravagant. The lord and leader of
the civilized world, it clothes itself in purple and fine linen, and
lives sumptuously every day, as a prerogative of its supremacy.

This trait is a very early one, and the barbaric extravagance of "The
Field of the Cloth of Gold" only typified that passion of the race for
splendid apparel and accessories which in our day has reached a point
of general and prodigal pomp and ostentation.

No other highly civilized nations have this taste for personal
parade and luxurious living to the same extent. The French, who
enjoy a reputation for all that is pretty and elegant, are really
parsimonious, and it is as natural for a Frenchman to hoard his
money as it is for a dog to bury his bone, while a Dutchman or a
German can grow rich on a salary which keeps an American always
scrambling on the verge of bankruptcy.

Some time ago Lord Derby said: "Englishmen are the most extravagant
race in the world, or, at least, only surpassed by the Americans." And
the "surpassing" in this direction is so evident to any one familiar
with the two countries that it requires no demonstration,--an American
household, even in the middle classes, being a model school for
throwing away the most money for the least possible returns.

American women have a reputation for lavish expenditure that is
world-wide, but they are not more