CHAPTER XXXVII
MISTRESS AND MAID
THEY were not foreordained from all eternity to be sworn enemies. Could that fact be impressed on the mind of each, there would be less friction between them.
Where, in this day and in this country, is found the family servant who follows the fortunes of her employers through adversity and evil report, asking only to be allowed to live among those who have shown her kindness, who have taught her all she knows, and who have been kinder to her than her own family have been? She may exist in the imagination of the optimistic novelist,—but not in reality. Once in a great while such a servant, well-advanced in life, is found,—but she is a rara avis.
On the other hand, it should be remembered that the burden of blame and of responsibility for improvement rest with the woman of larger opportunity. If we heard considerably more of “the mistress problem,” we should probably hear less of the servant one.
BOTH MUST HELP
It is trite to say that in this country the servant matter is all askew. We know that, and it is incumbent on us to make the best of matters as we find them. To do this both mistress and maid should be impressed with the fact expressed in the opening sentence of this chapter. As matters now are, the maid sees in the mistress a possible tyrant, one who will exact the pound of flesh, and, if the owner thereof be not on her guard, will insist on a few extra ounces thrown in for good measure. The mistress sees in the suspicious girl a person who will, if the chance be offered her, turn against her employer, will do the smallest amount of work possible for the highest wages she can demand; break china, smash glass, shut her eyes to dirt in the corners, and accept the first opportunity that offers itself to leave her present place and get one that demands fewer duties and larger pay.