This circumstance was rejoiced in by no one so much as by Mrs. Rutherford; and would have gone far toward compensating her for the want of silver forks, except that it made her feel the need of them so much the more; because, “how could she invite Mr. and Mrs. Garrison to dine without them?”
She lost no time in calling upon her new neighbors, choosing for that purpose the latest hour compatible with the country dining hour. She had previously arrayed herself in the manner she deemed most befitting the occasion; that is, most calculated to recommend her to Mrs. Garrison as a person of undoubted gentility, viz: with a dress of Gros de Berlin, a French cape, silk stockings, etc., etc.
To her surprise, she found Mrs. Garrison in a simple gingham morning dress, superintending the nailing down of a carpet; for her house was not yet in order. She received Mrs. Rutherford, however, in a very easy manner, conducting her to an adjoining apartment; and thus, after the usual preliminaries, was the turn given by the latter to the conversation.
“I quite pity you, Mrs. Garrison, for having chosen a residence in the country.”
“Pity me, indeed! I thought all people who lived in the country were fond of it. Is it not so with you?”
“O yes! I am very fond of flowers, and I think the country more healthy than town; but then we have such trouble with our servants. Such a thing as a man-cook is quite out of the question. I often tell my husband that there would be some sense, and some pleasure in having one’s friends to dine with you, if one could have a man-cook.”
“A man-cook, indeed!” replied Mrs. Garrison. “I did not know that such an appendage was ever thought of in the country. It is far from being common in town; and for myself, I have never employed one. If I can get good women I shall be entirely satisfied.”
“Well, ma’am, you cannot be sure even of that; and then, if your servants happen to leave you, it is so difficult to supply their places. Really, Mrs. Garrison, to be left as we are exposed to be occasionally, almost without any help at all, is a calamity almost too great to be borne. Housework is so odious, so disagreeable, I almost loathe myself when I am obliged to take hold of it.”
This last expression led Mrs. Garrison to suspect that she had been quite accustomed “to take hold” notwithstanding.
“But your country ladies, in spite of these difficulties, have more leisure than we in town. You are not obliged to keep one servant to answer the bell, and to spend the best part of the day yourself in receiving visits from a set of idlers, as formidable, to those who really value their time, as the unproductive consumer to the political economist.”