Campaigns of Curiosity. By Elizabeth L. Banks. (Cassell.)— The chapters
in this most readable book have appeared as separate articles, but it would have been a serious loss to the public if they had not been collected together. The " In Cap and Apron " series should really be read by everybody. Miss Banks, be it remem- bered, went into service, and places therefore the hardships and amenities of domestic service in a light which no housekeeper could fail to find interesting and instructive. The keynote of the matter was of course " consideration ;" where this was shown by the lady of the house, burdens were easier. It is remarkable that in the house where Miss Banks found the almost ideal mistress, she also found the ungrateful, wasteful, and dishonest servants. "Consideration therefore, and discipline, should ba the watchword of the housekeeper." The experiences in laundry work, and as a flower-seller, are only second in intern t to those in "In Cap and Apron." She also tried a crossing, but her attire was too interesting. In these chapters the meanness of the average public is brought home to us, but of course there is another side to the question. When our American lady posed as an heiress seeking social advancement, she received answers to her advertisements that betrayed the great vice of social position in England. She also roused a hornet's nest ; and no wonder. She did not find young women of fair education inclined to enter domestic service; indeed, their abhorrence of it was unconquerable. Eighteenpence a day and stitch all day, was preferable. Yet, if they could find the right mistresses, life . as a domestic servant would not be so oppressive. Miss Banks is capital reading, and we hope those who have not read her articles will lose no time in studying with her one of the social problems of the day.
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