LADIES IN SERVICE.
[To THE EDITOR Or THE "SPECTATOR."] SIR,—I have read with interest your article on " Ladies in Service," in the Spectator of July 16th. May I be allowed to make a few remarks on the subject, especially on the sugges- tion at the end of the paper ?—" Why should there not be organised a body of women-servants, who would in effect be lady-charwomen ? " It seems to me if the suggestion were reversed, and the resident servants were ladies, and the non- resident of the lower class, the plan would be workable. Take, for instance, a household of four servants,—parlour- maid, housemaid, cook, and scullery-maid. The fourth, who has principally the rough work of the house, might be much more easily non-resident than the first three; and even were the fourth resident, a young woman trained under a lady, and only in the society of ladies, could hardly be objected to, neither do I think the girl herself would feel inconvenience. Ladies are just the class who would value the protection of a home, and being resident in it. It is the lower class who wish so much for freedom, and who, therefore, seek their livings otherwhere, if possible, than in domestic service. The question is, are there ladies capable of filling good cook's places ?—house and parlour work is more easily acquired—and are there mistresses brave enough of making the experiment of trying a household of ladies ?—I am, Sir, &c., A PRACTICAL MISTRESS.
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