27 OCTOBER 1917, Page 13

(To THE EDITO1 OF THE " SPECTATOR.") Sie.—To reduce an

establishment is not no easy as the writer of the letter in your impression of October 20th seems to think. Is most eases it is not a question of doing part of the work oneself. Ifone has four maids and desires to work the house with two, all four almost certainly give notice and two have to be fulled loot easy in these days) who will do the work of a house that has previously had four. The writer reduced her establishment is the first year of the war by closing the house for several months and reopening it with an entirely fresh reduced staff and eliminating men-servants.—I am, Sir, de., A HOCSCITIFE OF FORTY YEARS' ERPa:RIES(E.