Mrs. F pays full wages to her inexperienced “help,” fifteen years old, because the latter has an invalid mother dependent on her.
Mr. G, with a family of two, prides himself on paying the highest wages in the place to his cook, second girl, and coachman.
Mrs. H, who has inherited a large family homestead, which she occupies with her sister, provides her three employees each with a separate bedroom, a special dining-room, a sitting-room well furnished, and grants many personal privileges, as the use of the horse and carriage for early church. She does not understand how any housekeeper can have trouble in securing and retaining competent employees. She often quotes to her nearest neighbor, “A good mistress makes a good servant,” her neighbor being obliged to use her back parlor with a mantel bed as a guest-room and therefore to limit somewhat the accommodations granted her employees.
Mrs. I gives each of her employees a key to the side door and makes no inquiries as to the hours they keep.
Mrs. J gives her servants her discarded evening dresses because “it keeps them in good humor.”
Mrs. K, the wife of a millionaire, “burns all of her old finery,” and makes it a special point to teach all of her twelve employees how to dress well and economically within the wages they receive.
Mrs. L does not permit her employee to wear frizzes or bangs, disapproves of her having company, and will not tolerate a young man caller under any circumstances.
Mrs. M, a lifelong invalid whose physician has prescribed absolute rest two hours every afternoon, reasons that her employee who rises two hours earlier than herself must need the same rest and therefore sends her every afternoon to take a nap. The latter thus never works afternoons and is able to attend more evening entertainments than other employees in the neighborhood.[233]
Mrs. N assists her husband in his business six hours each day and gives her employee full control of the house during her absence.
Mrs. O requires all her employees to perform their work according to minute directions laid down by herself and is constantly present to see that these are not deviated from in the slightest degree.