[LETTERS FROM A LAWYER.]
PART III.
The Temple.
My dear Dorothy,—So you have decided on commencing your married life in a flat—a very wise decision on your part. In the first place, in a flat you know exactly what your position is as regards rent, whereas a house entails constant expense for repairs, to say nothing of rates and taxes.
It is true that, if the people on the floor above you indulge in clog-dancing all the day whilst the occupiers of the floor below practise the cornet à piston half-way into the night, you might find that the drawbacks of a flat were unendurable; but I do not think that you are likely to suffer quite such a terrible experience as I have depicted.
Another advantage of a flat is that, if you want to run down to the country or the seaside for the week's end, or for even a longer period, you can lock up your flat and start off gaily; but with a house on your hands it is a very different matter.
But perhaps the greatest attraction of a flat is the reduction in the number of the necessary domestics. In a small flat like yours, you ought to manage very well with one servant, provided she is capable and attends to her work.
Whatever you do, don't engage a "treasure," unless you happen to know all about her. If one is recommended to you by an acquaintance, you may be quite sure that the "treasure" has some great drawback; otherwise, why should her mistress be so anxious to part with her? Ask yourself that question before you burden yourself with a "treasure" that you may have great difficulty in getting rid of, especially if she turns out to be a tyrant like some "treasures" I have known. Remember my warning, beware of "treasures." Get a servant that you can instruct, not one that will order you about and make your life a burden to you.