THE GREATEST PLAGUE OF LIFE. business, as servants, demand from a dollar The sauciness of these "helps" is wonder- Ir is the habit to complain that the servants in this country are about the worst in the world. They are very bad, at times, we grant; but in England the same complaints of them are made with no less justice. There has been a book written about them by Mr. Mayhew, illustratedful. by George Cruikshank, in which they are is the servant who hires the master, and not spoken of as "The Greatest Plague of Life." the master who hires the servant." AccusWe have before us an English journal called tomed in their own country to the humblest The Detective and Public Protector, in which food-many of them only tasting meat two or this great social evil is fully discussed. three times in the year, (at Christmas and Easter,) no sooner are in service here than they turn up their noses at food which is good enough for their employer, and-like Mr. Whifflers, the Bath footman mentioned in Pickwick," who resigned because asked to eat cold meat two days in succession-they sometimes leave their situations because the delicacies of the season are not provided for them! 66 "There is no doubt," says this authority, "that servants are, in the main, just what mistresses make them. The raw material, it is true, is none of the best, but it is not turned to the best account, except by a few strongminded women." Is not this asserting too much? At any event, the first declaration here will not hold water. The mass of servants, in this country, are Irish, because the American girls are generally too proud and "sassy" to become domestics. In England, not one-third of the female domestics are Hibernian. The other two-thirds are chiefly supplied from the rural districts of Scotland and England, and may readily be trained into great helps and comforts in a household. The Scotch are the best, we think, and the Irish the worst, among the female domestics of England. Here, as we have said, the majority of female domestics are Irish. A few Ameri-interest alone actuates the servant now. cans, some Scotch and English, and a larger proportion of Germans, make up the whole complement-but as the Germans chiefly reside in German families, they are not to be taken into account here. A With such servants, who will leave a family which has treated them with the utmost kindness and consideration, provided the change will, in the slightest degree, augment their emoluments, it is almost impossible for masters and mistresses to have much sympathy. Time was when female domestics became attached to families, and would remain with them from that attachment, even under worldly reverses. That has greatly changed. Self Female education, which professes so much and performs so little in this country, is much to blame for most of the discomfort afflicting households by reason of servants' misconduct. A young lady--the future mistress of a house The Irish remit, as the Parliamentary statis- and mother of a family-is taught a great ties of Great Britain show, not less than many useless and unprofitable things. What $5,000,000 a year for the purpose of enabling use algebra, mathematics, natural philosophy, their relatives and friends to come over into and such fancy attainments may be for such a this land of Goshen. Of the female immi-young woman, we never could discover. In grants (not emigrants) who are thus brought over, two-thirds become domestic servants. very few of these have previously been in service in Ireland, and have learned something in that capacity. The remainder, in all probability, have never been a dozen times in their life in a carpeted room, and have seldom indulged in the luxury of wearing shoes and stockings, before their arrival here. The wages of domestic servants, in Ireland, run from $5 to $15 per annum. But the rawest of the Irish girls who hire themselves into domestic service here, will not commence at less than $1 per week, or $52 per year, and as soon as ever they learn anything of their Germany, where the people are practical, these " higher" branches are not taught, but every young woman, from the highest rank to the lowest, is taught how to keep a house, how to cook, how to spin, how to cut out and make her own clothes. Add these essentials to the accomplishments- music, singing, drawing, dancing, languages-which also form part of this education, and you see, at once, why German women generally make good wives. They can do everything in their houses which they expect their servants to do, and therefore their servants cannot impose upon them. To some extent this is also the case in England, where the female head of the house sometimes is a brothers. I often pity, now, the humble waiter who stands behind the chair of the epicure, with a great heart, perhaps, beating in his bosom; and the tired nurse, as she patiently watches over some restiess child, while the handsome and admired mother is out practical housewife, and, when she is, the business of that domicil goes on with the regularity of clockwork. These are the houses, par excellence, in which servants who neither impose nor are imposed upon, remain for a considerable time-until they marry, or after they settle down into established single-bless-at the midnight dance, or loitering in the paredness. lor with the gay and trifling. When the young housekeeper—the algebraic and mathematical prize pupil of the female "college" or "institute "-is ignorant of her business as mistress of a household, and pain- 3 fully helpless from that ignorance, she is wholly at the mercy of the kitchen despots. Of course, waste and robbery then come into play, and domestic comfort, under the tyranny of the Biddies, is not to be looked for. The cases in which the domestic servants discountenance their mistresses' visits to the kitchen are not rare, even in this well-regulated city. Nine-tenths of the domestic unhappiness of families is caused by the blundering ignorance, dishonest rapacity, and audacious tyranny of our domestic servants: but, primarily, by the imperfect education of the wives and mothers themselves, who can work a problem in Euclid, but cannot tell how long a boiled leg of mutton ought to be on the fire. And why do good people despise the early and beautiful morning light, and waste their powers over the lamp, because to go early t bed is not elegant enough for them, and quite out of fashion? Do, dear ladies, read what Dr Franklin says about the discovery of that great luminary, the sun. I like old Franklin, and I do wish he was alive now. I certainly would invite him here to supper, for the sake of his good common sense, the most uncommon thing in the wide world. Dress, too; oh! I am sick thinking of its abuse. How much good might be done with the extravagant sums of money folks carry about on their shoulders. Why don't they wear calicoes and ginghams? Just because their neighbors don't. But I will, just as truly as my name is Hannah Spectacles. Supposing the ladies should agree, in any A correspondent suggests that it would be a town, to dress simply, neatly, and cheap'y. decided improvement to introduce female Coolies The money saved in this way alone, would do as domestic servants, and he assures us that, oh! so much for the poor and ignorant, and fir within his own knowledge, the Chinese are their own self-culture! I have a good mind easily trained into habits of service, and soon to set Sister Honeybee out on such an attempt become real "helps" in a household. TheShe has more influence in her quiet way; and idea is original, but the drawback would be I never care who does the good, seeing it is the difficulty of teaching these people to speak done; which, I notice, is the great fault of English. They readily pick up several words philanthropists, for they want the credit of of the language, but scarcely sufficient. At what is done. Owing to my spectacles showthe same time, the experiment may be worthing the causes and consequences of things, I making, for any change must be for the better. have really cured this propensity of my nature. Philadelphia Press. WORDS FROM MY CHIMNEY CORNER. DEAR LADIES: I do not see, and I never could see, even with my excellent spectacles, why people should not try to live just right. Even when I was a little child I used to ponder over those stories in the Bible, where all in the highways and byways of society were invited to come in to the feasts of rich men to share their hospitality, and those remarks in James, rebuking pride, for I saw among devout and earnest Christians that, though they might be very charitable and benevolent, still, the poor did not meet the wealthy on common ground-as All I ask of the world is to be rational, dear ladies. They have mostly lost their true reason, or never had any; and all this is not so much from depravity, as from rank carelessness and thoughtlessness. Men, too, are much to blame for the folly and expensiveness of women. A sensible man knows that satins and silks pull the money just as straight out of his pocket, that money which should be given to God, as if any pickpocket in the land had stolen it; and he knows, or might know, if Le would only look at our Kate, that a pretty calico at home, and some simple thing abroad, is quite as becoming as anything else can be. But, as the book says, "There's no use crying," and I suppose people will jog on pretty much so till the millennium, notwithstanding me and my spectacles. I wish I could afford to in a most uncomfortably cramped position while lend them my spectacles; but I suppose they riding-and, leaving the horse to follow me to wouldn't know how to use them, and their loss the block, I hastened in to get my hat and might be fatal to me, to say nothing of the in-habit, and, as it was only six o'clock, I vendirect injury to society at large. tured to take my portfolio, hoping to catch in Now, dear ladies, if I throw down my penspiration from a sunset scene which I knew and go out milking, for the "men folks" are awaited me, and resolving to take my own time all gone, this afternoon, after the milk is for bringing up the cows. strained and put away, I may feel like writing something more; but, on the whole, I believe the safest way is to clap my letter into one of these yellow envelopes, and send it to the Post Office by the first opportunity, as it is one of the peculiarities of my nature that there is no peace nor rest to my soul till my letters are in the Post Office. 46 Yours truly, HANNAH SPECTACLES. GOING AFTER THE COWS. BY MRS. NELLIE C. FENN. “MAY,” said my uncle, as he passed his cup to be filled the third time, "we're all busy this evening; don't you want to ride down to the bottoms after supper, and bring up the cows?" 'Certainly! I will go with pleasure," I replied, pouring the fragrant tea into the mixture of cream and sugar which I had measured out with scrupulous exactness-for Uncle Zeke was very particular about the seasoning of his favorite beverage. “That's a good gal—I knew you'd go, and I reckon we'll get that piece of corn hoed before dark, if we don't have to stop to do chores," was his congratulatory rejoinder, and, having finished his meal, he shoved back his chair, and, with a "come, boys," donned his slouched straw hat, and led the way to the cornfield. It did not take me long to put away the china, and get the sitting-room in order; and, bridle in hand, I set forth to capture Flash, as I called the spirited black pony that was kept up, most of the time, for a saddle-beast. "Now, Flash, for a merry, rollicking gallop! We know how to have our fun when we get into the free, glad wildwood, don't we? Goodby to old Father Long-face; I shall breathe freely when I get out from under those spying eyes of his. Welcome, saucy zephyrs; kiss me all you like, and toss my curls till you make a gipsy fright of me-I care not, your cool caresses are delicious. Oh! what odors you bring me! and listen, hear that oriole, will you? Sing away, darling, your heart is no lighter than mine-As free, as free as the winds are we!' Whoop! Away with you, Flash!" and chatting to myself, my pony, the birds, and the breezes, I dashed exultingly down the winding forest path that led to the river. Now, then, I know you wish to be informed concerning the individual from whom I was so glad to escape; and, therefore, I will satisfy your curiosity in as few words as possible. Two weeks before, my uncle, with whom I had lived since early childhood, and whose faithful care of the lonely orphan had been as tender as a parent's, had received a letter from a young lawyer in St. Louis, requesting the privilege of becoming a boarder at our house during a short sojourn in our romantic region, for the purpose of restoring his health, which was suffering from too close an application to business; and, as Aunt Becky was one of the easiest, best-natured souls in the world, Uncle Zeke declared that, although he didn't much like them city chaps, he reckoned he'd let him come, as there didn't seem to be any other place for him; and so, two days after, the best room was given up to Mr. Merton. He heard my voice, and anticipating some tit-bit from my outstretched hand, came trot- I confess that I was considerably interested ting, with a tremulous neigh, toward me. in him at first-that is, before he came. I had "There, let that stay your stomach for a short drawn my own picture of him, and, with a canter!" I exclaimed, giving him a piece of naturally lively imagination, which had been bread and butter, and holding him by the fore-cultivated a little by a smattering of novel lock till he had devoured it, I slipped the hit into his mouth, pulled his pretty ears tarough the head-stall, buckled the throatlatch, and, leading him around to the stable dor, I adjusted the saddle and padding, carefully let down the stirrups, for Aunt Becky had used it last, and she always persisted in sitting VOL. XV.-28 reading, I had fancied him possessed of my ideals of manly beauty. I was sure that he was tall, slender, and graceful-that his hair and eyes were as black as midnight, his smoothly-shaven cheek “interestingly pale," his lips curved in a fascinating smile, and his teeth of pearly whiteness: "WOULDN'T I make ? Jim Harris wish he hadn't gone home from that sugar party with my blue-eyed Cousin Anna-as I rode, and walked, and seemed on very friendly terms with my town acquaintance;" and many were the plans I laid for flirting, or seeming to flirt, with the expected stranger; for, if the truth must be told, I had had my little dream of school-girl love, and Jim Harris, with his bright black eyes, and merry voice, not to mention the fine farm that his father had promised him, possessed many attractions for me, and I did not fancy his apparent preference for Anna Fielding. same, my tasks; he persisted in carrying up the pails of sour milk, though assured that Dinah would come for them—he liked the exercise, he said, and, not until I had informed him that no one about the place was permitted to interfere with the butter-making, which I had undertaken to superintend for the summer, would he believe that I was in no need of assistance in dairy matters. If I sewed, he watched me nervously-as if fearful that I had not sense enough to keep from pricking my fingers; if I walked in the garden he was there, always ready with his knife to sever a rose for me. and I could not arrange a tasteful bouquet to save my life, under the supervision of those criticising eyes. His dignified, fatherly watch me. And now you know why I congratulated myself upon the prospect of one of my free forest rambles, as I set forth with Flash after the cows. But what an awakening from my visions when their hero arrived. Tall enough he was, surely, but, almost aldermanic in breadth of shoulders and expansion of chest. "Mightyfulness had become a perfect restraint upon delicate he must be to need rest and country air," Aunt Becky said; and I thought the for he ate our corn bread, and drank milk, with rather too much of an appetite for an invalid. And then, his eyes were blue, and Oh, that ride! how I enjoyed it! My steed his hair a light brown, while the lower part of and I seemed one, a being possessed of unseen his face-lips, teeth, all-were concealed by wings, floating, and rocking, and bounding horrid whiskers, and an ugly moustache, most along with thistle-down motion, as we sailed unpoetically verging upon a sandy shade. upon the fragrant waves of air. I could have Bah! I could not flirt with him, even to tease wept in my excess of happiness, as, wearied Jim Harris. with talking and laughing, and singing and Then, he invested himself with such a pro-shouting, my full heart swelled with its sense voking dignity; never laughing at any of my of beauty and joy, till it actually ached with gay sallies, never noticing my kittens, but its imprisoned ecstasy. "Oh, if I could only always gazing at me with such a look of com- { embody the beauty, the music, the poetry of miseration that I fancied he was thinking-nature upon canvas, and impart to a kindred "You poor, silly child you, how ignorant you heart, by my glowing touch, a tithe of the are." I could hardly keep from crying when rapture I feel while gazing upon such scenes, I I thought of my folly in permitting myself to could indeed be happy!" I thought; but I associate him with anything like romance; HES banished the theme, for it always brought twenty-eight and I seventeen, how ridiculous! vague dreams and discontent; and so, shaking I grew to dislike him, to answer his kind, the reins, and patting my pony's neck, I patronizingly simple questions pettishly, and to cheered him on, conscious only of the enjoyshun the gaze of his great blue eyes, that ment of a most exhilarating exercise. seemed to haunt me at every turn. I could never look up, while at table, without encountering their melancholy look of dreamy absence, and they were always pursuing me as I fled to my domestic duties. Just as sure as I went into the cellar with sleeves rolled up and my churning apron on, just so sure would "Father Longface" follow me there to get a glass of milk, a dish of clabber, or a little sweet cream to dip over a saucer of strawberries; and it was very embarrassing to be obliged to hold a conversation while engaged in skimming milk, turning the churn-crank, or working over butter. I couldn't frighten him away by spattering cream or butter-brine over his broad-cloth, in my energetic application to We reached the "bottoms," as the river banks were called, and, seeing at a glance that among the drove of full-fed, sleek cows before me were those I came to seek, I stopped upon the bluff, slipped from the saddle, and opening my portfolio, prepared to sketch a scene upon the opposite bank. gentle, and lovable, like Cousin Anna," I continued, almost fiercely regarding the emerald framed image before me. That dear little pool—what a silvery, moss-encircled mirror it was; every night the stars peeped into its limpid depths, and perhaps the eyes of my angel mother smiled upon it sometimes-it was a soothing thought, and, bathing my glowing cheeks, and dipping my brow into the crystal fount, I shook down my jetty ringlets, all sparkling with the gems that dripped from them, and stooped to take a draught from the little rill which came laughing down from a cleft in the rock above, and fell with soft murmurs into the tiny lakelet below. "Primitive fashion, I declare!" and a low, musical laugh startled me from my devotional attitude, and, looking up toward the head of the gorge, I saw-oh, misery!—my tormentor, "Father Longface." kneel to quaff the waters of this gushing spring, like a true forest maiden; and, if I have been betrayed by the vision and what followed into too warm an expression of my feelings, you will forgive me, will you not, my little friend?" and he extended his hand with an air of frank sincerity, while an ingenuous blush mantled his cheeks and brow, and a light beamed from those hitherto disagreeably-blue eyes that thrilled me with its soft radiance, and invested them with a strange fascination. Before I knew it I had grasped his hand, laughingly assuring him of forgiveness, and thanking him for his kind interest in such a worthless little baggage as myself. "I was not aware till this evening that you painted, Miss May; I knew, from your physiognomy, that you had a taste for the fine arts, but I did not suppose that you had ever had an Now, in contemplation of such an event, I opportunity for its cultivation," said Mr. Merknow I should have fancied myself putting onton, as we walked up the gorge. pieces are imperfect, of course, but they show a true eye, a fine conception, and a skillful hand; you will make an artist, May, with proper advantages, and you must go where those advantages can be enjoyed." an air of dignity, assuming chilling tones, and "Oh, I hope you did not see those daubs? a haughty glance, and possessing the power of I have never had any instruction. My mother nearly annihilating the presumptuous Mr. was fond of painting and drawing, and I have Merton, just as you, gentle reader, are doubt-copied some of her pieces, and made a few atless thinking you would have done; but, some-tempts at sketching from nature, but I would how, I couldn't summon my heroics, but, taken not for the world submit them to criticism," I altogether by surprise, I blushed, laughed, replied in confusion. and then, as a sense of my awkwardness and Nevertheless, I have been rude enough to embarrassment, my disappointment and cha-look at them, and shall take the liberty of grin overcame me, I dropped my face forward {criticising them, too, believing that by so doing into my hands, sank to a seat upon an old I shall only act the part of a friend. Your gray rock, and sobbed like a detected truant. "May! darling! what is it?" and I knew that he was beside me; and, as he drew my head upon his bosom in his tender, brotherly way, I was weak enough to let it remain there, just a moment, till I had controlled my foolish tears; and then, vexed at my lack of decision, I raised it, and sweeping back my disheveled hair, recalled some of the half-smothered fire to my eyes, and asked, indignantly"Mr. Merton, why do you follow me so?" "You must pardon me, May-Miss Leslie, I mean; I did not follow you this evening; I believe I set out first, but took another path to this favorite retreat of mine; I have visited it often, and had not the slightest idea that your search for the cows would lead you here; but, seeing your horse grazing riderless upon the bluff, and finding your portfolio open, and its He was an artist, then; I felt a suddenly contents scattered upon the ground, I became inspired reverence for him. "Thank you, Mr. alarmed about you, fearing you might have Merton; you are very kind, but you would find been thrown, and, dismounting at the headme a troublesome pupil, I fear; and I think it of the ravine, I ran down just in time to would only make me dissatisfied with my see you turn from your quaint toilette, and humble efforts, while it gave me but little "Will" and "must"-how he talked; just as if he had a right to pass his judgment upon me, and direct my future course; and yet, I rather liked it; it was so different from the coaxing tone and flattering language usually adopted by my uncle and aunt when they addressed their wayward pet; so I replied"Indeed, sir, I don't think I am likely to improve much by any teaching I shall get in this out-of-the-way place." "I shall be most happy to assist you while I remain, if you will permit me to become your teacher." |