Motherly talks with young housekeepers / embracing eighty-seven brief articles on topics of home interest, and about five hundred choice receipts for cooking, etc.

by Mrs. H. W. Beecher

The emigrant ships which come to New York land their passengers at Castle Garden. “The Labor Bureau of the Commissioners of Emigration” is under the supervision of Eugene Casserly, and we are told by reliable authority, that unless friends have secured employment for them before they reach our shores, their names, if they come seeking work, are registered in an intelligence office there. For any one proposing to seek servants from among those just landed, it may be well to go to that office, when these ships first land their passengers, and endeavor to form as correct a judgment as is possible, before actual trial. We are also told that some little conversation with the officers of the ship will sometimes make the selection easier or more satisfactory. During the tedious passage the officers have many opportunities of seeing their passengers under circumstances that can, if they choose to notice, enable them to form a reasonably correct idea of their character and capacities; though we fear that officers on board emigrant ships seldom give much heed to those under their care.

A reader inquires “if it would be safe for a young housekeeper to attempt to train a ‘raw recruit,’ and, if so, from which of all the countries whose people flock to our land we would advise her to seek for a good, reliable servant.”

It requires much patience and no small degree of skill to take a girl from another country, whose whole life and associations have been entirely different from our own, and bring her into a new life by teaching her to forget all her early habits and modes of working. It is a great and uncommon gift to be able to do this with patient kindness, and yet with such authority as insures obedience. Success in such an undertaking is a blessing both to the teacher and the pupil. Now and then we find one who, under such teaching and benevolent guidance, has fully repaid all the thought and care which has been bestowed upon her, and who, by her fidelity and unwearied energy, has won the love and grateful appreciation of all, and is looked upon as the good angel of the family. But we regret to say such characters are rare; and though, in some instances, the impatience and irritability of the mistress may repress much of good which, under better auspices, might have been developed, yet we do not believe as a general rule that the chief blame should rest with the mistress. Not one in a hundred—and that we fear is a high proportion—of all the Irish that come to our country can, by any amount of care, patience, or indefatigable teaching, be transformed into a neat, energetic, faithful, truth-telling servant; and as for gratitude, once in a while you may find one who remembers your faithful teaching, your kindness and care in times of sickness or trouble, who cannot be turned from her fidelity and attachment to you; but for the most part all this vanishes like the morning dew, at the first chance for easier work or higher wages.

The English and Scotch, as far as our observation goes, are more inclined to make their employers’ interest their own. They labor as faithfully, and watch with an eye to economy quite as earnestly, when left in charge alone, as when the master and mistress are near them. Of course there are exceptions to every rule; and we speak more from our own experience than from what others say.

The Swiss and Swedes are usually smart and capable; but their inability to understand our language when they first come to us, makes their instruction difficult and tedious, unless the mistress is well versed in foreign languages.

A good Welsh girl is one of the best,—usually neat, active, and quick to learn; and as the pastors of the Welsh churches hold it a part of their duty to exercise careful supervision over those under their charge, that acts as a great safeguard.

There are no better servants to be found than such as come from Canada and Nova Scotia, if one can secure such as bring from their own country a genuinely good character. Naturally hardy and industrious, they are not the kind of girls who begin by asking, “How many in the family? How large is the washing? Have you stationary wash-tubs? What privileges do you allow your girls?” But whatever they are told to do, if within the compass of their ability, they do it more willingly and cheerfully than most. But there are not a large number of the Swiss, Swedish, Welsh, or Nova Scotia girls to be had, nor are all who come to our country of the better sort; so that whichever way we turn for domestic help, one is almost compelled to feel as if buying tickets in a lottery.

LXI.
THE GUEST-CHAMBER.

IT is the prevalent opinion among housekeepers that the guest-chamber, or “spare room,” must, in every respect, be the best and most desirable chamber in the house. We think this a mistaken idea. Of course the room should be pleasant and inviting, furnished as tastefully and with as many conveniences as can be afforded, without curtailing the comfort and pleasures of the family, and with such regard to comfort that a guest, on entering, may feel at once not only at home, but as if surrounded with kindness and thoughtful care. All this can be accomplished without appropriating the largest and most commodious room for that purpose. The chambers most used, and, after the sitting-room, most necessary to the comfort and happiness of the family, to whom the house is home, and not a mere transient stopping-place, should be the best ventilated, the largest, and most convenient. The mother’s chamber and the nursery—if there must be two apartments, they should be separated only by a door, that the mother’s care may be near at hand—ought to be chosen with reference to the health and enjoyment of those who are expected to occupy them for years. The “spare room” should be a secondary consideration, for our guests are but temporary residents of our rooms, to whom, indeed, must be given all the time and attention that family cares will allow; while to the permanent inmates the house is a resting-place from hard labor, a refuge from outside care for some of the family, and to make it such to husband and children, the housekeeper has a daily routine of duties which can be wonderfully lightened by pleasant surroundings. And thus, for reasons having a bearing on every member of the household, it seems to us very desirable that more thought, care, and expense be given to secure a pleasant outlook, a thorough ventilation, and attractive and convenient furniture for the family rooms, than for the one set apart for those who, however honored and beloved, can of necessity remain but a few days.

We would by no means leave the impression that a family should selfishly retain their regular apartments when so many guests are present that several rooms are needed. In times of large gatherings it is very delightful to see each member of the household contribute some part of his or her rights to the free and cordial entertainment of friends. On such occasions, if they are not too frequent, it is quite amusing and conducive to much sport and cheerfulness to meet in family council and discuss the ways and means that may be employed to stretch the house, so that twenty people can be comfortably lodged in a space where usually eight or ten have only sufficient room. This, for a short time, is no hardship,—it is like a picnic,—and every child, from its earliest years, should be taught there is a pleasure in giving up rights, whims, and fancies, connected with its own special apartments, for the accommodation of others. The lesson is very easily taught, when they see that this is only a temporary thing; knowing this, when the pressure abates, they will return to their rooms better prepared to estimate and appreciate the care and affection which has so pleasantly consulted their taste and comfort in arranging the apartment which is set aside for them.