"All paint on stairs, hall, gentlemen's cloakroom black. Electric light everywhere.
"The house now consisted of a double drawing-room, dining-room, smoking-room, five bedrooms, kitchen, pantry, servants' hall and workroom combined, gentlemen's cloakroom and two bathrooms.
"The income did not permit of more than two servants being employed, namely, single-handed cook and house-parlourmaid; wages £26 each. In addition they arranged two days a week for a charwoman. One week, on Wednesday, she turned out the drawing-room, which contained valuable glass, furniture, and china (not at all a labour-saving room!); the other week turned out the dining-room and tidied the drawing-room. In the afternoon she washed and ironed blouses, handkerchiefs, etc., which had already been put to soak, and in some cases washed, by one of the girls. On Friday she turned out the hall and cloakroom, and scrubbed out the basement, and did the cook's work, that being the cook's day out. The dinner, of a suitable order, was left ready by the cook. The regular work of the house was arranged thus:
"Cook.—Clean doorstep, do hall and dining-room and cloakroom, all kitchen work and sweeping and dusting of servants' hall, clean boots.
"House-parlourmaid.—Do smoking-room and drawing-room and first flight of stairs before breakfast at 8.45. Bedrooms, etc. Dressed for lunch at 1.30; usual parlourmaid's duties. Each Wednesday fortnight, as she has nothing to do in the drawing-room, turns out smoking-room before breakfast. Special work: Monday, silver; Tuesday, one bedroom; Wednesday, silver; Thursday, one bedroom; Friday, silver; Saturday, stairs and bathrooms.
PLATE XXII
