DINNER ETIQUETTE

Directions for a ceremonious dinner naturally include those for the family table, as much form in serving being kept as may be convenient.

The number of guests for a state dinner, even such as are given by the President and Secretary of State, at Washington, rarely exceeds twelve.

Written invitations are always complimentary and in finer style than any other for small parties, but persons who entertain often, have engraved cards with blanks left for the name of guest, and date, for convenience. The following is the form adopted by Tiffany & Co. for dinner cards, a large, nearly square form being used :

Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Hoyt, Request the pleasure of

Company, (name.)

date and No.

— o'clock.

The favor of an answer is requested. (or) R. s. V. p.

For a gentleman's party the host's name alone appears on the invitation. An early answer must be sent in all

34 THE HOME COOK BOOK.

cases, either to accept or to decline. Not to do so, is the grossest rudeness.

Invitations are always sent to persons in the same town by private messenger. Outside envelopes are necessary only when sent by mail to another city. No particular excuse need be sent. It is enough to say " Mr. and Mrs.

regret that they are unable to accept Mr. and Mrs.

kind invitation for the date named." When the

dinner is to meet any particular guest or distinguished person, it is made known by the words, " To meet So and So," at the head of the invitation, or after the name of the invited person before the date.

Written invitations are on note sheets of mill-finished paper with side fold, the fancy rough and the highly glazed papers of eccentric shapes and fold being out of use. The large envelope, nearly square, allows the sheet to be doubled once to fit. Cards have the same finish, neither dull, nor highly polished. The cipher of initials entwined is preferred to the iiionogram, and occupies the corner of the note sheet

Guests arrive at any time during the half hour before dinner, and after leaving wraps in the dressing room, are met by the host and hostess at the door of the drawing- room. Introductions follow if the guest is a stranger. If the party is given in honor of any distinguished person, or favorite visitor, the other guests are brought up to him or her, and presented. It is an omen of success for her evening if the hostess can make conversation general before dinner. To this end, have some novelty at hand, either in the shape of a personage whom everybody wants

DINNER ETIQUETTE. 35

to meet, or a new picture, a grotesque group, a rare plant in the drawing-room, the latest spice of news to tell, or a pretty girl to bring forward. Whatever the attraction, bring it on at once, to prevent that very stupid half hour. At the hour, the servant comes in and tells the hostess dinner is served. The arranging of the guests has all been considered beforehand. If she wishes people to think her dinner a pleasant one, the hostess will see that the likings of her guests are consulted in pairing off for the table. Host and hostess intimate to the gentlemen whom they are to escort. " Mr. Lance, will you be kind enough to take Miss Dart in to dinner.? Mr. Curtis, be so good as to see to Mrs. Vane. Jermingham, I know you'd prefer Miss Olney, she's such a good listener. Mr. King, if you want to finish telling that story to Mrs. Capron, suppose you give her your arm," and so on. If the guest to be honored is a lady, the host offers her his arm and goes out first, the hostess last. If a gentleman, he escorts the hostess and the host follows the company. Before dinner is announced, after the guests have arrived, the host has the names of each person written on a card and laid on the plates at the place where he or she is to sit. This does away with that awkward moment when the guests are in the dining room waiting to be told their places. The method long used at public dinners is now adopted for private ones in the best circles here and abroad.

The standard size for dinner tables is four and-a-half feet wide, by any length desired. Round tables for gen- tlemen's dinners, where all are wanted in the conversation

86 THE HOME COOK BOOK.

are made seven feet across. For the costly dinner parties given in his white marble mansion, Mr. A. T. Stewart has a dining table five feet by twenty, and there are one or two larger held by dinner givers in the city. For his intimate parties, Mr. William Butler Duncan has a round table seven feet across, and we hear of English tables of twelve feet, the napery for which has to be woven to order. Dining chairs should have cushioned seats covered with fine leather, but no arms, or very low ones that will not impede the flow of ladies' dresses. People who make a study of entertaining are particular on such points. Each gentleman offers his right arm to the lady he takes to dinner and seats her on his left, which gives occasion for a pretty piece of attention on his part. On reaching their places, he draws out her chair for her, and as her hand leaves his arm he takes the tips of her fingers and hands her to her seat, relinquishing his touch with a slight bow or glance of acknowledgement. Of course, the honored guest, if a lady, takes the right hand of the host ; if a gentleman, he is at the right of the hostess.

Small can-shaped pitchers of engraved crystal, holding about a quart, are placed with ice water between each pair of guests. The napkins are folded flat, with a thick piece of bread on each, a cruet-stand and silver salt cellar is at each corner, and a silver butter dish at each end. The small individual salt cellars and butter plates, have an air of hotel arrangements which it is desirable to avoid at home dinners, though entirely admissible and convenient at breakfast. If wax lights are used, there should be as many candles as guests, according to the old rule. These

DINNER ETIQUETTE. 37

are in branches held by Sevres and Dresden figures, above the heads of the guests. Nor are wax lights by any means the extravagance they seem. Dinner napkins are from three-quarters to seven-eights of a yard square, and should match the cloth, for which Greek, Moresque, and Celtic filigrees and diaper patterns are preferred to large arabesques and fruit pieces. French napkins of fine fringed damask, with crimson figures of lobster and craw- fish woven in the centre, are sometimes used at first and removed with the fish. Decorations must be choice and used with discretion. Flowers should be fine but few, for cultivated senses find their odor does not mingle pleas- antly with that of food. All artificial contrivances, like epergnes and show-pieces, tin gutters lined with moss and filled with flowers for the edges of a table, or mirror plates to reflect baskets of blossoms, are banished by the latest and best taste. The finest fruit grouped in the centre of the table, set off with leaves, the garnished dishes, the lustre of glass and silver, and the colors of delicately painted china, need no improvement as a picture. A low silver basket of flowers at the sides, and a crystal bouquet holder with a delicate blossom and leaf, sparingly intro- duced, are all that is allowed for ornament's sake. Large dinner services of one pattern are no longer chosen. The meats and large dishes are in silver or electrotype ware, the sweets come in heavy English cut crystal, and each course brings with it plates of a different ware.

The order of wines is sometimes perplexing, and the novice should remember that Chablis or Sauterne comes with the small oysters before soup, and that Sherry

38 THE HOME COOK BOOK.

is drank after soup and with fish. Claret may be taken by those who prefer it during a whole din- ner with entire propriety. Champagne comes with the roast, and Burgundy with game. The French and Ger- mans reserve champagne for a dessert wine, but we drink it with both roast and dessert. After dessert comes coffee, which with us is served at table, not in the drawing-room. Fingerbowls with warm water are placed on the napkin on the dessert plate, and removed by the guest to the left, to be used by dipping the fingers in lightly and drying them on the d'oylay. When the ladies are quite through with dessert the hostess catches the eye of each or raises her gloved hand slightly, as a signal, and they leave the table, the oldest lady going first, the youngest last, followed by the hostess — the youngest gentleman, or the one near- est the door, taking it on himself to hold the door open. After half an hour a guest is at liberty to withdraw, but a dinner party rarely breaks up till half past ten or later, if cards and dancing follow.

As to the individual etiquette of the table, on seating himself a guest draws off his gloves, and lays them in his lap under the napkin, which should be spread lightly, not tucked in the dress. The raw oysters are eaten with a fork ; the soup, only a ladleful to each plate, is sipped from the side of the spoon, without noise, or tilting the plate. The head should never stoop toward the plate or cup, but the shoulders be kept straight and the food lifted to the mouth, the head being naturally bent a little. A quiet celerity in eating is preferable to the majestic deliber- ation which many people consider genteel. Bread should

DINNEK ETIQUETTE. 39

be broken, never cut at table, and should be eaten morsel by morsel, not crumbed into soup or gravy. Food should not be mixed on the plate. Sweet corn is brought on, tied in its husk by a strip of leaf, and should be eaten from the cob, breaking the ear in two, and holding the piece in the left hand. Asparagus should not be touched with the fin- gers, but the tender part cut up, and eaten with the fork. Fish is eaten with the fork, asssisted by a piece of bread in the left hand. Maccaroni is cut and taken with the fork, unless served with the tomatoes, when a teaspoon is allowed, as with green peas, and stewed tomatoes alone. Cheese is crumbled with the fork and eaten with it, never touched by the fingers. Pastry should be broken by the fork without the aid of a knife. Game and chicken are cut up, never picked with the fingers, unless in the indul- gence of a family dinner, when the bone may be held in one hand and eaten. Pears are held by the stem to be paired, and then cut and eaten like apples, beginning to remove the skin at the blossom end. Oranges are held on a fork while peeled and divided without breaking the skin. Cherries in pie, or natural, should have the stones passed to the napkin held at the lips and returned to the plate, and grape seeds and skins are disposed of in the same way. Salt is left on the edge of the plate, not on the table. Ladies take but a single glass of wine, at most having their glasses half-filled with champagne a second time. It is beginning to be the custom to take soft bread as well as ice cream with cake. Cocoanut pudding looks like pie, but is helped and eaten with a spoon. Small meringues are best eaten with a spoon, though the prac- J

40 THE HOME COOK BOOK.

Nothing at the table is so indicative of ill-breeding as loud or boisterous talking. It is the height of impro- priety for one guest to monopolize the attention of all the others. Conversation should ordinarily be confined to one's immediate neighbors and should be conducted in a natural and sincere manner. Between courses the conversation may with propriety be made more general.

MARKETING.

Every lady, whatever her position in life, ought to understand how to select and purchase such stores as are needed in her family. Possibly she may never be called upon to put this knowledge into practice. No matter. It is surely worth knowing; and if never brought into active use, it will do its possessor no harm. This kind of knowledge, more than almost any other of practical worth, must be acquired in girlhood.

All knowledge, and every acquirement for daily use, will be better and more thoroughly established through the mother's teachings and under her immediate super- vision. As far as possible, let the daughters accompany their mother in their marketing, and watch her proceed- ings. Let the mother explain, as they pass from one stall to another, examining the various articles needed, the reasons that lead her to reject one while she accepts another of the same kind of article, but differing in quality. Domestic economy — that part of the daughters* educa- tion which is of more importance than almost any other, and on which they will be most dependent when called upon to build up a home of their own — is the one we are all most inclined to neglect or put off till a more *' con- venient season." " We are too much occupied," or *' There is time enough by and bye," is an oft-repeated excuse, when in truth the real motive for procrastination is the

4H THS HOME COOK BOOK.

mother's own disinclination to take up this duty, because she thinks such teaching will be irksome.

To be of lasting benefit, or at all effective, instruction of this kind should not only commence early, but be systematically carried out, or else, before she is aware, the mother will find the little girl has discarded her dolls, and stands by her side a lovely woman; but, through that mother's neglect, utterly ignorant of the duties that are rising up before her.

Many wives leave all household purchases, and among them all the marketing, to their husbands. It is because we do not think this a wise arrangement that we would so earnestly enjoin on all mothers to give their daughters a perfect knowledge of the duties they must understand, if they expect to become the true mistresses of their own homes — the real " helpmeets " for their husbands. There are some articles, doubtless, that a man can buy for the family with better judgment than his wife will exercise ; but this is seldom the case, and ought not to be. As he is not expected to superintend the use of the materials to be sent home, how is it possible that he can judge as correctly as the mistress of his house as to what and how much is needed, or what articles are best suited for each meal? To be sure, his wife may prepare a list of what she needs ; but is she safe in trusting to his taking such a list for his guide in his purchases .i* Is there not danger that some conversation with a friend, in going to the market, may put these instructions entirely out of his mind ? These are but a small part of the many reasons why the housekeeper should, as far as possible, keep all that belongs to her special department in her own hands.

In the evening it is a good plan to take a few moments

MARKETING. 43

of quiet, before retiring, to arrange the work for the coming day, and decide what must be done in the way of marketing the next morning.

As far as practicable, buy all imperishable stores by the wholesale. If tea, coffee, sugar, flour, spices and sea- soning, salt beef, pork and hams, coal and wood, soap and starch, are bought in wholesale quantities, and paid for as soon as delivered, much money will be saved in the course of a year. If nothing more, one saves the retail commission by wholesale purchases, beside many small items, which in the course of a few months would amount to a larger sum than one could know until she had tried the experiment. The extra price charged, where small parcels are bought at retail, for the wrapping paper used, small as it may seem on first thought, will prove no trifling addition to the sum total at the end of a year. There need be no trouble in managing to buy by wholesale everything that will keep well, if one is blessed with suitable storage rooms; or, if thus favored, in securing many kinds of vegetables and fruit by this same practice. Of course, in this advice, it must be understood that to be truly eco- nomical everything must be paid for as soon as the articles are delivered and carefully examined, to be certain that the order has been correctly filled. This should never be neglected, for any error can be more readily righted if noticed at once, and before payment. By paying in this way, one has the benefit of the lowest market, and many other advantages which we have not space to enumerate.

All marketing, especially of vegetables and perishable articles, should be done early in the morning, because the earlier this work is done the surer are the prospects of securing what is needed in the best and freshest condition.

We should not advise roaming from store to store, or

44 THE HOME COOK BOOS.

from one market stall to another, after having become well acquainted with what the city or village has to offer, and having formed as correct a knowledge as possible of the character of the vender and the quality of the goods offered. Until this knowledge is well established, it is of course necessary, for one's own security, to make a fair trial of all , but having done this, we think it wise to hold fast to that which, all things considered, is best. The grocer, butcher, fish and poultry dealer, as well as the dry goods merchant, will take greater interest in faithfully serving a regular customer, at the most reasonable rates, than one who may not buy of him again. This much is certainly gained, aside from a great saving of time and fatigue to the purchaser. If those you thus patronize or trust cannot supply your present needs, it is for their interest to send out and procure what is needed ; and this they usually do with great cheerfulness, and with a hearty wish to give the best they can. But, having decided with whom you think it most desirable to trade, do not feel that you can lay on them the responsibility of selecting the articles you need. Accept gratefully such hints as may be given, and which may be valuable, because of the vender's larger experience ; but every housekeeper should know how to choose the best and most economical articles herself, and to feel so certain of the correctness of her judgment as to decide for herself. We are sorry to say that very few modern housekeepers do understand how to select wisely, or how to buy economically, particularly when buymg meats, poultry, fish, etc.

It is not a difiicult thing to secure such knowledge as will make imposition almost impossible. Careful obser- vation, knowledge of certain rules to be observed in selections, with some experience secured before marriage,

MARKETING. 45

should enable any one to buy economically, as well as correctly.

Talking impatiently to and scolding those with whom one trades, aside from being unlady-like, is very poor policy. If not satisfactorily served, or if mistakes occur, seek an explanation at once. Name the grievance quietly, but so clearly that there can be no misunderstanding. Listen calmly to whatever excuse may be given, and, if possible, have it rectified. Firmness and gentleness can work together, and with more lasting effects than irrita- bility and scolding. If the same mistakes occur a second time, probably it is from ignorance, or inability to supply the demand ; and this being so, it will be advisable to transfer your custom elsewhere. But this can be done without argument or severity. Tradesmen who do a large business usually furnish articles of the best quality; and, as a general rule, they are not likely to charge exorbitantly. Their own interest, if no higher motive, will prompt them to supply their customers with the best, and at the most moderate rates.

There is no economy in buying an inferior article. Get the best, and let the economy be shown in the way it is used. Let no part that is suitable for use be wasted. What is left from the first serving of a piece of meat can be made into soups, hashes, ragouts, or croquettes, and be a most acceptable addition to the bill of fare.

This is not exactly the place to furnish rules for select- ing the diiferent articles needed in the household ; but it may not be amiss to mention concisely some few points to be remembered when marketing, particularly in pur- chasing meat, fish, etc., although almost all books on domestic affairs are full of such directions. The "line

46 THE HOME COOK BOOK.

upon line, and precept upon precept " principle is nowhere more needed, or more effective, than in domestic economy. In choosing fish, of every variety, bear in mind that if they are perfectly rigid, and the eyes bright, there is no fear of their being stale. Fish that live chiefly or alto- gether on the surface of the water will keep but a very short time. They die almost as soon as they are taken ; and the change is so sudden that they lose their best flavor in a very few hours. Mackerel and herring are of this class. The fish that lie near the bottom of the water, like the cody can be kept alive longer after being taken from the water, and their flesh keeps fresh longer than those first mentioned. Some think the flesh better if kept a day or two. Crabs, lobsters, etc., are worthless if they are light and watery. When they feel solid and heavy, they are good. One will soon learn to judge of them by comparing the weight. If oysters are in the least degree open, discard them ; they are always good when the shell is tightly closed. Ox beef is the best. The animal should be five or six years old. If well fed, the flesh will be fine-grained, of a bright red color, with plenty of yellow fat running through it, and sufficiently elastic to rise up quickly when pressed by the fingers. If this is not so, it will be tough and of poor flavor. Cow or heifer beef is paler than ox beef, the fat a clear white, firmer grained, and the bones smaller; but it is not so rich or juicy. Veal should be small and white, the kidneys well covered with fat, and the flesh dry. If coarse-grained, moist and clammy, have nothing to do with it. Mutton must be dark color and fat ; the color determines the age,

MAKKETING. 47

the veins in the neck will be bluish ; if stale, greenish. Never buy pork except from a butcher whose honesty is undoubted, and who knows where the animal was fattened. When good, the skin will be thin and smooth. Reject it if the flesh be flabby or clammy to the touch ; and if there are kernels in the fat, it will be dangerous food. As soon as meat is brought in from the butcher's, wipe it dry with a clean cloth. Common fowls will be plump on the breast and fat on the back if good ; when young, the legs and combs are smooth. Turkeys, when fresh killed, will have clear, full eyes and moist feet. In old birds the legs are rough and reddish ; in the young, smooth and black. When geese are old, the bills and feet are red; when young, yellow. If fresh killed, the feet will be pliable; if too long kept, they will be stiff". Ducks and pigeons, when in good condition and fresh, will have plump breasts and pliable feet.

These are simply general directions, but quite necessary if one would be an expert in marketing. Without some guide, by which to judge of the quality and value of articles needed in the home department, and especially of the food, on which so much of health and comfort for the family depends, the most experienced would often find their duties very trying ; but for those just entering the field, and too poorly fitted for the work before them, there must be something definite and reliable, to assist while learning the way.

There is, in this country, a foolish prejudice against the term "Servant." Why? What is the true meaning of the word ? A slave ? No. An inferior ? Not necessa- rily. The definiton is very simple : " One who serves or labors for another." What is there degrading in that ? Every one is, or should be, laboring for or serving others. That there are different degrees of servitude, no one will deny. The rank or position of each one who serves must depend largely on the ability of the servitor, and the qual- ity or character of the work he offers to his employer. The President is the " servant " of the people ; the law- yer, of his client ; the physician, of his patient ; the cler- gyman, of his church and congregation; the mechanic, of those needing his special services ; the laboring man, of the farmer; and the cook, of the mistress of the house. Each receives compensation in accordance with the importance of the services rendered, and the terms mutually agreed on.

This is true in every profession, in all business, from the highest to the lowest. In every department there are cer- tain stipulations to be accepted before service is rendered, and each party, employer, as well as employee, is bound to fuUfil his part of the contract — the lawyer who demands and receives his fifty thousand dollar fee, as much as the cook in the kitchen, who has such wages as she herself demands;

8EKVANTS. 49

not such as her mistress may be pleased to give. One is just as much the servant of the employer as the other, dif- fering in degree and honors, according to the market value of the skill or talent they are able to bring to the market, and in nowise controlled by the caprice of the employer. If this is a correct rendering of the term " servant," we fail to see any degradation in it. It is a more convenient* and, to our thinking, a more respectable term, than " Do- mestic " or " Help." It may have just as much honor in it as those to whom it is applied please to secure for it by their own acts ; and with this explanation of our rendering of that word, we propose to say

A FEW THINGS ABOUT " SEEVANTS."

The best way to select, and the surest way to secure, honest and faithful servants, is a matter which has always perplexed housekeepers, and seems to be a growing trouble. It must be remembered, however, that poor work is as often the fault of the mistress as of the maid. It is more com- mon, of late years, than formerly, for young people to assume the cares and responsibilities of a home, when totally incompetent to superintend and secure the correct performance of domestic duties, and still less prepared to perform these duties themselves. To increase the per- plexities of this class, they are met by like inefficiency on the part of many of those whom they employ. To moth- ers, chiefly, we must look for a more perfect system by which to secure more efficient service. If mothers could be made to see the importance of training their daughters to be conscientious, systematic housekeepers, as well as to excel in the less practical parts of an education, full one-half of our troubles would be mastered. This would

(JO THE HOME COOK BOOK.

be more effective in training good servants than anything which could be devised. Let our daughters be taught that, as none are " fit to command until they have learned how to obey," so none are prepared to assume the care of a household or charge of servants until they are able, not only to arrange the work, and superintend its performance, but also able themselves to do all they would delegate to others.

In cases where several servants are employed, each one should have her appropriate work assigned, but with the full understanding that, if needed, she is to be called upon for work outside that which she considers her own. For this reason it is desirable that each one should have been early taught to be at home in all parts of household labor. No judicious housekeeper will be inclined to call a girl from her own regular work, unless there be real necessity for so doing. She will or should study the comfort of her servants, and exact from them no extra labor but such as under pressing circumstances they will see she is herself willing and capable of doing. If the mistress of the house shows herself ignorant of any of the duties belong- ing thereto, she has no reason to look for or expect satis- factory service from those in her employ. A firm, but kind, government, judicious rules, requiring implicit obedi- ence, give larger promise of faithful and prompt work, and far more respectful service than an ignorant but exacting housekeeper can ever expect to find. While demanding prompt attention to the work to be done, those employed should receive such kindness and watchful care for their interest and comfort as employers would wish their chil- dren to have if similarly situated. Make their rooms as pleasant and comfortable as is possible. If the arrange- (nents of the house will permit, see that those who have

SERVANTS. 51

the hot and dirty work to do have the means for daily or frequent baths, which is as much for the employer's com- fort as for theirs. Ample time should be allowed them for keeping their clothes in order. These things should be urged upon them for their own sakes ; but if not attended to, should be required for the sake of their employers, and to secure the comfort of the family.

In making a contract with a girl for any position in the family, the mistress of the house should very carefully explain the rules by which she regulates the time and labors of those she employs, stating definitely in what part of the Sabbath each girl can go to church, or if they go on alternate Sundays, as must often be the case in large families. Then define exactly what privileges each may expect — how often they can visit their friends, and how late they may remain out. Give every privilege that can be allowed consistently with the duties to be performed, and for the girl's own best interests. These rules having been so distinctly stated that there can be no misappre- hension, let it be as clearly understood that from these rules and regulations there can be allowed no deviation, except with the knowledge and consent of the mistress. One afternoon and evening of leisure each week is all tha time that can be spared conveniently from household duties, and as much as the servant can have, and attend faithfully to her own sewing and keep her clothes in repair. All the other evenings, after the ordinary work is over, will be needed for this important attention to her own garments. Except in extreme cases, such leisure evenings as they can command should be scrupulously reserved for their social enjoyment and their personal affairs. To allow them more time would lead to idle

62 THE HOME COOK BOOK.

habits, which those who must labor for their living can ill afford ; while to give them less time would be unjust. When two, three, or more girls are needed in one house, the question of how much company they can be allowed at the house is important. If one girl has the privilege of allowing her friends to call when they choose, the others will expect the same privilege, and justly. This will cause confusion and disorder in their regular duties. We think it should be settled, that visits cannot be per- mitted till after the day's important work is over, and that by ten o'clock visitors must leave, the kitchen and range be put in order, and the girls all in and ready to retire to their needed rest. Nor should a kitchen full of visitors be allowed at any time, nor the dining room be used for their guests. Their friends can easily be made to under- stand this. The kitchen ought to be in order before friends begin their calls, and the dining room carefully arranged for the morning's meal, the windows fastened and the doors closed. We do not approve the policy which permits the many visitors that naturally call where there are two or three girls, to be invited or expected to take their meals with them. On the contrary, it should be distinctly forbidden. If one feels at liberty to ask her friends to stop to meals, the others have good grounds for expecting the same privilege. If they may ask one, they must ask others, or act with great partiality. At first sight it seems mean and miserly to refuse this privilege to servants, but it is easy to see to what it leads, — a room full every night. Simply in view of the expense of this kind of hospitality, it is a matter of grave consideration. It is

^ERVA'MTS. 58

we did not find it either pleasant or profitable. It is bad every way, and no kindness to the servant. In all that increases the real comfort of those who labor, or tends to make them better and wiser, every housekeeper is bound to be as generous and thoughtful as circumstances will permit.

In engaging help, be slow to decide. Seek all the information possible. Be sure of substantial, reliable cre- dentials, as to their worth and honesty ; then, this once settled, let them see that it is the wish of their employer to trust them. Locking up closets where the food is, or putting aside the best part of the food from the first table, is a good recipe for making crafty, dishonest ser\'ants. If treated with kindness, courtesy and uniform gentleness, there are not many so rude and so low as not to be more faithful for these tokens of interest in their welfare. We recognize, to the fullest extent, the doubtful, unsatisfactory materials all housekeepers are exposed to have on their hands, if they are compelled to depend in any degree on "hired help." But the treatment which we have here recommended is, we believe, the surest way to transform them into useful, competent and honest friends.