Mrs. Server

“ The server continues to serve until two chases be made, or one chase when the score of either player is at forty or advantage (see law 25) . The players then change sides, the server becoming striker-out and the striker-out becoming server.
11. The return is good if the ball in play be struck with the racket so that it pass the net without touching a gallery post or anything fixed or lying in an opening on the side from which it is struck, and without going out of court. ”

“ His adversary, called the "striker-out," must return the ball before it touches the ground a second time; and the server must similarly return it again; and so on, until one or other player fails to return it over the net so that it shall drop on the ground anywhere on the side of the net furthest from him, and within or upon any of the lines which bound that space, technically called his adversary's court. When one player thus fails, he loses a stroke, which the other is deemed to win, and it is added to the score of the latter. The score is kept as at tennis, but there are no chases. ”

“ In the average American household, where there is only a small domestic force, the mistress should always show the servant what are her duties or direct how these are to be performed. In large households, where there is a housekeeper, the training of the new servants may be delegated to her, but these establishments are too few to be weighed in making up the main account. As soon as the maid comes the mistress should direct her or show her to her room, and tell her to change her street garb for her working-dress and then to report herself to the mistress. ”

“ When you are ushered into the reception-room, should the lady of the house be absent, the head servants will not only serve you with tea and refreshments and offer you hospitalities in their mistress's name, but may, if no one else be there, sit with you in the parlor, entertaining you with conversation until the return of the hostess. ”

“ If the waitress does not help with the chamber-work, this duty falls entirely upon the chamber-maid. She must make the beds, sweep and dust the bedrooms, and keep them immaculate. The mistress should inspect the chamber-work occasionally for servants must not be permitted to feel that carelessness in details will be overlooked. And the mistress should also take care of her own linen closet, unless she has a very trustworthy and competent servant; for linens should be worn alike, and not some worn constantly and others allowed to lie forgotten in a corner of the closet. ”

“ After the mistress and maid have reached some kind of an adjustment that makes them feel the relation of employer and employed would be desirable to both, it is time for the housekeeper to make special inquiry about the maid's references. If the office is a reputable one it may be taken for granted that the servants' characters are in the main what they should be, but the mistress will wish to go into details and either see the former employer or write to her. ”

“ She was a servant herself, just now out of place, given to spend all her wages upon finery, and coming to grief perpetually with her mistresses upon the score.
“Many of ’em goes out,” was the satisfactory reply of Brother Jarrum. “But servants here are not servants there. Who’d be a servant if she could be a missis? Wouldn’t a handsome young female prefer to be her master’s wife than to be his servant?” ”

“ She should also be able to do washing and ironing, have some knowledge of chamber-work and of waiting, and be willing to learn. There are so many qualifications for the general-housework girl, who must be a sort of Pooh Bah in petticoats, that it is no wonder the supply is usually inadequate to the demand.
There should be no attempt on the part of the mistress to make things in the place she offers seem better than they are. A servant who is brought into a house under false pretences is never likely to do well. ”

“ It is not a good principle for the mistress to fall into the habit of bestowing tips for any extra service. If matters were conducted on a purely business basis this might be desirable, but, as I have said before, in the relation of mistress and maid there are too many opportunities for mutual accommodation for either to stand upon a point of a kindliness granted by the other side.
When it comes to tips from guests it is another matter. If a visitor feels more comfortable to offer a gift to a servant on leaving, there is no reason why it should not be done. ”

“ In answering the mistress or master of the household, it is customary for the servant to say, "Yes, madam," or, "Yes, sir." Old servants, who have been for many years in the employ of the same people, may omit the "madam" and use the name, in this manner,—"Yes, Mrs. Brown." Such slovenly expressions as "No'm" or "Yessir" show lack of good training on the part of the servant, and poor judgment on the part of the mistress.
Brevity and civility are the two most important virtues of the speech of the man or maid servant who answers inquiries at the door, admits guests and takes messages. ”

“ For instance, she should not choose the time for her morning visit to the kitchen when the maids are at their breakfast. In fact, she should be punctilious not to call her servants from their meals except in cases of absolute necessity. They have a right to take their food undisturbed, and this right the mistress should respect. Nor should the housekeeper choose the cook's busiest day for doing cooking on her own account, if this is going to add to the sum of the servant's labors. It is lack of consideration on these points that gives a house the reputation of being a "hard place." ”

“ One primal law we must mention—a hostess should never reprove her servants in the presence of her guests; it is cruel both to guest and servant, and always shows the hostess in an unamiable light. Whatever may go wrong, the lady of the house should remain calm; if she is anguished, who can be happy?
We have not here, nominally, that helpful treasure known in England as the parlor-maid. We call her a waitress, and expect her to do all the work of one floor. Such a person can be trained by a good housekeeper to be a most admirable servant. ”

“ But, fortunately, all humanity are not cliff-dwellers. There are plenty of homes where it is possible for the maid to have a light, airy bedroom, which could be made attractive at a small expenditure of time and money. Yet it is seldom that a servant's room has anything pleasing about it. The mistresses defend themselves by saying that the servants are heedless with good things, that they do not take care of what is given them, and any mistress can cite facts to prove this position. ”

“ Untidy, noisy, ill-trained servants reflect upon the manners and conduct of the mistress herself.
The most common method of engaging a servant is through an agency. here different types of men and women can be found, and the mistress of the household may be fortunate enough to find one suited to her requirements. Sometimes she secures a maid or butler by the recommendation of some other housekeeper. ”

“ A neat-handed Phyllis will have a clean gown, cap, and apron hanging in the kitchen closet, and slip them on before she carries in the breakfast, which she has cooked and must serve. Some girls show great tact in this matter of appearing neat at the right time, but many of them have to be taught by the mistress to have a clean cap and apron in readiness. The mistress usually furnishes these items of her maid's attire, and they should be the property of the mistress, and remain in the family through all changes of servants. ”

“ But in a very large house with numerous rooms, where many social functions are held and many house parties are given by the hostess a full corps of servants is required. Each one should have certain, definite tasks to perform every day.
In the luxurious American home, seven servants are usually employed. They are a butler, a chauffeur, a parlor maid, a cook, a laundress, a nurse-maid and a chambermaid. A lady's maid and a valet are sometimes added. A footman, laundry-maid and scullery-maid are also added, sometimes, to the corps of servants. ”

“ Levis, am I to have no duties in this house? none of the cares and labors that the mistress of an establishment is usually expected to assume?"
"You shall have no care of housekeeping that I can save you from," he said. "I undertake that, with Christine as my head assistant; though you, of course, are mistress, with the right to give orders and directions whenever you will—to housekeeper, servants, children, even to your husband if you see fit," he concluded with a humorous look and smile. ”

“ In this point the woman without a domestic has the advantage over the woman with a servant, and she with one maid-of-all-work is better off than she who keeps two. Every extra mouth counts, and the waste caused by each added Bridget or Gretchen is incalculable. The only redress which the housekeeper with a servant has, is constant vigilance and personal supervision, and even then she is the loser. At the South the servants are used to having provisions kept under lock and key. Each day the mistress deals out the requisite flour, butter, eggs, etc., and the cook is perfectly satisfied. ”

“ After the servant has been in the household three weeks or a month, the mistress has every right to expect him to carry out his duties correctly. But we are all human, and we all make mistakes. When a servant blunders through carelessness a reprimand may be necessary, but to scold in loud, angry tones is most ill-mannered. The well-bred woman will never forget that there is as much demand for courtesy and kindliness in her relations with her servants as in any other relation in which she is placed. ”

“ From the fact that we need so many more servants than formerly, to care properly for our establishments, the servant here is becoming more and more of a machine. That is, she is in nearly the same category with the electric light and the furnace. We expect him or her to be as unobtrusive as possible, to perform work without a hitch, and not to draw upon our sympathies unnecessarily. The mistress of one or two girls is sure to grow friendly and concerned as to their outside welfare, but when she has a staff of five or six, she is thankful if she is not obliged to know anything [66] about them. ”

“ Nothing is more discouraging to a servant than to come into a place that is dirty from the carelessness of the former occupant, or untidy and topsy-turvy. The maid is as susceptible to first impressions as the rest of us, and the moral effect of bringing her into a dirty and disorderly kitchen is distinctly bad. The mistress should have had the kitchen and pantries cleaned by the outgoing maid—and it should have been done under her own supervision or else thoroughly inspected after the work is finished. ”

“ It is easy for the best employées to drift into careless habits, and the details of bed-making are too often neglected. Under no circumstances should the mistress delegate the care of her linen-closet to a servant. She herself should lay out the linen that is to be used, taking it out in a certain routine so that it may all be worn alike. On the days when the beds are to be changed, she should select the sheets, pillow-slips, spreads, etc., before she goes down to breakfast, that the chambermaid may not be hindered in her work. Clean towels should also be given out by the mistress. ”

“ Since the duties of the maid-of-all-work are what they are, the mistress should make a stipulation at the time of the engagement that the employée should be ready to "turn her hand to anything." For it is fatal if she once begins to say that this or that is not "her work." That phrase is reserved for the use of the specialist. The general servant should understand that one of the conditions of her position is the necessity for making herself useful in every department of the household. ”

“ Who is in the kitchen and who is in the parlour does not alter that.”
“No servant gets her name prefixed with ‘Mistress’ except housekeepers in great mansions,” asserted Mrs. Brand.
Lucy laughed in her turn. “Then, instead of her being general servant of my house,” she said, “we will say she is the housekeeper in my little mansion.”
Mrs. Brand took no notice of her sister’s words, but went on: “And those housekeepers themselves are called ‘mistress’ only by convention, not because they have been married. They are generally really ‘miss.’”
“I know that quite well!” cried Lucy. ”

“ General Observations on Domestic Servants, and on the Duties of the Butler, Footman, Page, Coachman, Groom, Stable Boy, Chauffeur, Valet, Lady's-maid, Parlour-maid, Housemaid, General Servant, Dairy- maid, and Laundry-maid.
Masters and Mistresses.—It is said that good masters and mistresses make good servants, and this to a great extent is true. There are certainly some men and women whom it would be impossible to train into good servants, but the conduct of both master and mistress is seldom without its effect upon these dependents. ”

“ Betty, "first catch your fish," is a golden rule for a cook, and first catch your situation is a very necessary piece of advice to be given to servants in general. The choice of a mistress requires as much judgment as the choice of poultry; and you should be careful not to pick out a very old bird in either case. The best market to go to in order to suit yourself is a servants' bazaar—as it is called—where mistresses are always on view for servants to select from. On being shown up to a lady, you should always act and talk as if you were hiring her, instead of wanting to be hired. ”