HOUSEHOLD HELP. 353 



She departed the next day, a much-abused victim. 



Our next servant could cook plain dinners, with some 

 superintendence; but we "wore her heart out a-washiu' 

 dishes," and she soon vanished. 



** Mighty kind folks," was the verdict reported to us; 

 "but, they'se got too much style for me; big plates for 

 dinner, little plates fer termaterses, and more plates fer 

 pudden ; it jest Avore the heart out o' me." For a family 

 of four members, her heart appeared easily " wore out." 



Our next cook really was a cook, and had acted as such 

 in a Jacksonville hotel kitchen, and was competent to do all 

 and more than all that was required of her, so we did not 

 grudge her the $10 a month she asked, albeit her predeces- 

 sors had been content with $S — and well they might ! 



So we drew a long breath of delighted relief; but, alas! 

 it was short-lived. 



A cook we had, it was true, but also an invalid; fully 

 one third of the time she was in bed, with her work left 

 for us to do, and herself to be waited on in addition. 



She occupied the " servants' quarters," a detached room 

 back of the kitchen ; and the groanings and gruntings that 

 issued thence were simply a^^palling. They were intermit- 

 ting too ; we soon discovered that when no one w^as sup- 

 posed to be near the groans ceased, but were resumed the 

 moment our footsteps proved us to be within hearing. 



While remonstrated with concerning these unpleasant 

 noises, her reply was, "The Lawd made some folkses to 

 grunt when theyse sick, and some folkses not to grunt. I'se 

 one o' the gruntiu' sort. Must grunt — oh, Lawd ! oh, oh ! " 



And she did, there was not the least doubt of that; she 

 was a proficient, even a razor-back would have retired into 

 a corner, disgruntled. 



This was one of the crosses we had to bear with our new 

 cook, and another was — her pipe ; we succeeded in exiling 



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