114 



The Country Gciitlcivomaii 



not be satisfied with the arrangements made ; 

 they will see a thousand things that must be 

 done — they have no patience to wait and let 

 each be done in its oivn time — all must be 

 done immediately, and so the poor servants 

 are hurried fi-om one thing to another till 

 their strength and patience are equally ex- 

 hausted. Such a procedure is unjust to ser- 

 vants ; their health and strength forms their 

 sole fortunes, and the mistress has no right to 

 rob them of it. Even though not carried to 

 this excess, the overcrowding of work into one 

 day, instead of spreading it more equally over 

 a longer time, discourages them on the one 

 hand, or stirs them up to rebeUion and dis- 

 content on the other. Indeed, no thoroughly 

 good servant, who knows her place and her 

 l^ower, will submit to such capricious manage- 

 ment. And, however desirable may be the 

 qualification of method in a servant, it is in 

 vain for the mistress to expect it if she does 

 not practise it herself How, for example, 

 can she expect her breakfast to be ready at a 

 specified time if she herself is rarely, if ever, 

 prepared at that time to partake of it ? — how 

 expect her dinner to be on the table at the 

 hour, if, when it should be in process of cook- 

 ing, the materials have to be procured and 

 the markets made ? — how expect her servants 

 to get on with their work Avhen, ever and 

 anon, they are interrupted in it, to render 

 trifling personal services, or to go on errands 

 that a little thought and foresight would 

 have rendered unnecessary? For method 

 and management in the servant, Avhen 

 there is none in the mistress, it is in vain 

 to look. Be, then, a pattern to your servants 

 in this — fix the hour for every meal, and let 

 it be kept to a minute. If your husband has 

 been for hours at his desk or fann, he will 

 return weary and faint, and in need of re- 

 freshment ; do not keep him waiting for it. 

 Remember the Scotch proverb, " A hungry 

 man's an angry man." A popular Transat- 

 lantic writer says that the way to a man's 

 heart is through his stomach, and that a 

 woman who cannot roast a turkey will never 

 retain the affections of her husband. With- 

 out going to such a ridiculous length, we may 

 safely affirm, that if you neglect your hus- 



band's wants, or even supply them irregularly, 

 you will soon exhaust his patience and irritate 

 his temper. And when there are children, 

 method is even of more importance. Regu- 

 larity in their hours of rising and retiring to 

 rest, in their meals, in their recreations, will 

 be found conducive both to their health and 

 cheerfulness ; and, above all, habits of order 

 formed in youth will likely be permanent and 

 prove invaluable in after life. And in the 

 country and farm method is doubly neces- 

 sary. Here the oversight of the mistress is 

 not confined to the house, but extends to 

 out-door arrangements. Here the Dairy, the 

 Poultry-yard, the Piggery, claim her attention ; 

 and, without entering into details, hereafter to 

 be mentioned, we may merely say that regu- 

 larity in supplying food to the dumb creatures 

 (quantity and quality being understood), with 

 systematic attention to their differents wants, 

 will not be without its reward. The rich 

 cream, the abundant milk, the full egg baskets, 

 and the savoury hams, will amply repay the 

 housewife for all the care and attention she 

 may bestow. 



A steady adherence to the procedure advo- 

 cated above will doubtless involve a consider- 

 able amount of self-denial — duty will fre- 

 quently call in one direction, inclination and 

 sloth in another. Let duty ever prevail. 

 When the time arrives for a specified work, 

 do it punctually, however great your disin- 

 clination. Without self-denial nothing great 

 or good can be accomplished, and the woman 

 who cannot exercise it need never assume the 

 position of mistress of a family. Here, pre- 

 eminently, is room for self-renunciation, for 

 in caring for the members of her household, 

 she must necessarily lose sight of herself, and 

 sink her interest in theirs. Still, it must be 

 remembered that the executive is not generally 

 the chief duty of a mistress ; to her the ad- 

 ministrative specially belongs. She it is that 

 must assign to every part of the household 

 machine its proper work, set it in motion, and 

 watch over its working. And she must be 

 absolute here — any interference is fatal. One 

 hand moves the helm and directs the ship — 

 so one mind must guide the house. And it 

 is wonderful how much can be accomplished 



