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Show jf K241 3CES Domestic I Blunders I of Women I ByAIVlEREMArM 8 THE HIGHLY RESPECTABLE PERSON. WHILE theso articles arti-cles have been appearing I havo received a largo number of letters. Among theso Is ono which I feel I must mention, us lt has made mo pause nnd consider carefully whether I Bhould continue this series, or drop tho wholo subject, nnd let tho world contlnuo In tho snmo hnphazard way that women havo reduced It to. The lottcr runs ns follows: "I wish when you wroto that artlclo nbout women thnt you (sic), somo ono, had strangled you; you hnvo mado my life a burden to mo (through my Ldsband), what with your hnr-ness hnr-ness nnd your bran-mash, etc.. nnd your mutton chops, and bo on. Thcro are no words In tho English lnnguago bad enough thnt I could throw at you; ploaso close your soiles at once, ns thoy won't Io good nt all, nnd nro only ranking strlfo In r.nce pencoful homos." This Is signed "An Angry Wife," nnd I sparo my readers tho "P. S." It would bo easy to sneer at this blotted nnd Illiterate lottcr; but I nm not so hard-hearted ns snmo of my readers may Imagine, nnd I can see thnt this badly written letter Is stained with tears. There Is even a pathos for mo In tho vulgarity of tho postscript, and I nm deeply sory If uny words of inlno havo led somo foolish mn to npply them too nenr homo for his own nnd I1I3 wlfo's comfort. My mission Is not to make discord, hut to preach peaco. I want to show women where they fall, so that they may mend their manners, man-ners, and, If thoy will only take heed, and their husbands will only bo a llttlo llt-tlo pntlont with thorn, though there may bo little storms, I nm sure tho Btinshlno will succeed. With theso fow words, nnd In this hope, I contlnuo, nnd I tnko for my subject women's Idea of a good servant, serv-ant, or nt least their Idea of a servant serv-ant thoy ought to put up with. Sho Is common to ull homos, nnd I nm Bttro nil my renders will recognize her under tho title of "Such a highly ro-Bpectahlo ro-Bpectahlo person!" Sho Is a very tidy person. Sho always al-ways carefully puts away anything you want, and you Bee, by tho way your papors aro turned over, that our desk haB been thoroughly dusted round tho edges. And sho Is handv withal. If tho chair In broken, you will not find It out nt onco, ns Bho will mako It hold together till you sit Oown by tying It with string, or driving dri-ving a tenponny nail through tho hack, which Is "so brlttlo and old" thnt It splits. If sho has any washing to do, bIio mnkes no fuss nbout lt. Sho wnlts till you nro out, and does It In tho " nil-room, and when tho wnsto won't net, nnd tho plumber comes nnd pulls up half tho floor, and tho forco-plpo forco-plpo smothers tho celling with semi-decayed semi-decayed soap and dirt, you can satisfy yourself that tho mischief was ns much duo to tho fluff nnd hair which Bomobody put In the bnth ns tho fnct that "tho highly respectablo person" forgot thnt hot water will molt a bar of soap In tlmo If allowod to stand. But this is only Indoors. If n slato Is blown off tho house, "thu highly respectablo person" will clamber up through tho trap-door, and march about without fear of slipping with hor thick boots on tho roof, nnd when sho comes down you will know exactly ex-actly how many Blates aro brokon. If you send hor to tho butcher's, you may bo suro sho will pick tho meat sho thinks Is best for you, and If you happen not to llko It an much as usual, you will nt least know that sho did hor best In your Interests, by finding thnt sho has saved you a quarter. If her mlstross vnnts a certain kind of stuff, and sonds hor for It, sho will Sfokatto read her mittress'i Ittttrs. i novor coino back empty-handed. If tho storekeeper has not tho rleht material ma-terial or color, sho will bring back tho next best thing to It, nnd if' you aro so particular as to object to mixing satin nnd silk, or pink and magenta, why, tho shopkeeper will gonornlly allow al-low you to "tnko it out" in something ho has got, and you don't wnnt, Bay, In six dozen of glnss cloths, or Bomo-thing Bomo-thing useful, which nro auro to como in handy In a year or two. But what "tho highly respectablo person" Is most caroful of, Is "Mas-tors' "Mas-tors' things." Sho always: knows where his nocks can bo bought cheaper cheap-er than ho can buy thorn for himself, and sho has endless suggestions ia to whnt to dt with his clothe off H tics and scarfs, which he bo foolish- H ly treasures abovo much nowcr fash-' H ions nnd colors which can bo picked H up at H It Is needless to say that such a H clover, useful person, who Is bo care- jH ful ot the Interests of her mnstor nnd H mistress, Is not adored by tho other H sorvnnts. They, of course, not bolng H "nlghly respectable persons," haro to iH bo carefully wntched. Their lottera 1 hnvo to bo carefully scrutinized, and, jH If possible, read. Their conversations jH nt tho kitchen door with the milkman, H or baker, and at tho hall door with H the postman, nro duly noted; their H mnnncr of addressing ono another, jH and any words which they may drop H hnvo a terrible eignlflcanco when ro- H ported nt appropriate moments, nnd, 9 thnt they nro very foolish persons, Is ILI proved by their objecting to bo Inter- UH fcrcd with on every point, mid by nl- jl lowing themselves to bo exasperated H Into telling "(he highly respectable ufjH person" to mind her own business. fl That such a ttr.to or open revolt Kl should ho allowed to contlnuo is, of ffisfl course, Impossible. Having nwakone'd SIH to tho fnct thnt "the highly respect- siH able person" Is trusted nnd honored XLfl In the eyes of her nominal mistress, fljl tho rest of the sen nuts, fearing a 91 month's tiotlco nnd n bad character, jial take the unfair ndvnntago of protect- Has! Irg themselves, nnd glvo wnrnlng. It Bl Is thus thnt "tho highly respectablo IfH perron' prevents her master and mis- Wsfl tress from being served by had sorv- HkH At llu dm- tcitk IU mUmn utltd. tf'H nnts, for overy ono must admit that IHH It In much better not to ho served at Sl all than by bnd Horvants. Kll But tho greatest of all tho quail- ) tics of "tho highly respectable por- aH son" Is tho fnct that sho is a dragon lifl of virtue Sho has no followers that H anybody ovor saw or heard of. No- IH body calls and nsks to see her; she al rocclves no lottera thnt nro not in an Hl unmistakable feminine hand; nobody IH hangs nbout the gate and whistles, ' P nnd nobody hns ever bcun scon to lisssssl rnlso his hat to her, look niter hor, 2H or pass her the tlmo or liny, In going H by. Perhaps, howovor, nn evon great- 91 cr quality Is that sho wants no Sun- jjLifl days or week dnys out, except to go 11 to church, nnd, although sho Is strict- MJH ly religious, she sets her duty nbovo sH all things, and never demands hor 59 right wlion sho thinks it would bo In (hM any way Inconvenient to her mistress. PiH Her mission In llfo Is to stick to hor 91 mistress as long as her mstrcss will &fl stick to her. To do this thoroughly, H sho hns to read her mistress' letters, H and woo botldo tho mistress who, not H bolng nil thnt sho might bo, attompta H to part with "tho highly respoctablo H person," for "tho highly rcspocatble H person" Is as'srillcltous of tho wolfare H of hor mistress ns sho Is of her fol- liH low Rorvnnts. To nttaln this and, sho 111 Is careful to keep her mistress up to IH her mark. Iu tho present doplorabl Iffl state to which generations of womoa ! have brought tho Servant Markot, th I'fl mistress Is bound, If not to shut her B9 eyes, at any rnto, not to look too closo- $: ly for faults. But this laxity does not gM rult "tho highly rospoctablo porson." fjfl Hor motto Is, "Whom tho Lord lovoth 19 Ho chastonoth," nnd "tho highly ro- fl spcctnblo porson" has aggrcgatod to Wm herself tho role of social blister. She mm tells hor mistress nil she does not ! wish to know, but, knowing, must no- ujjfl tlco. Sho Instructs her when tho II sieves wero not scalded, when tho mM potB nro not cleanod, when tho brond- JmW pan has been allowod to grow over- H full, whero Imlf a pound of buttor has H been put away ami forgotten, and she H leads her around tho houso to point H out whoro tho dusting has boon WM sclmpcd, and turns up tho rugs nnd KB enrpots whero yesterday's dust has (ifl been hastily hidden. In this way sho K,H fnr.s her mlstross Into porpetual war- jfjfl fnro with her sorvents, and posos, H with virtuous prldo, ns "a highly ro- H spectablo person" Is ertttled to poso, II ns being caroful of tho wolfaro and. tf M rectltudo or her follow crentures. flJ Men, who nro unroasonnblo, nnd 'l know nothing of what Is good for isl them, ns opposed to tho luxury of J peaco and quiet, nro no rcspoctoro of km Eorvnnts who aro "highly rospoctablo," IM and net as firebrands. Thoy ndvocnto III tho casting out of tho ono "highly vm respectablo person," nrd tho keeping H of tho majority, who nro merely hu- ll I man bolngs, who hnvo "folio wors," UM nnd who wnnt to go out rogularly, as fffl thoy nro entitled to do, and they enro Sifl llttlo how Bcrvants behnvo when they HI aro away from homo. Theso nro tho jjN lines upon which mon couduct tholr 'fSB businesses, nnd this Is posg'bly why tm tholr mnnngors, tholr clerks, nrd oth- pi or employos romnln for years In tholr 4m sotvlco and work together In haraiony. H Women aro nlwaya crying out ngalnst 'HI tholr ser -ants Does tiny lady or gon- ' j tlomnn want a "highly rospoctablo I porson" with all tho abovo ndvau- IS tares? I know ono, nt least, whom I sl'nll bo only tro pleased to recom- V mend to nry master or mistress who fl has not oxporlccnd suck a luxury, Mm ar.d I promlso to nBk no questions. fl (Copyright by Tunk & Wngnalls Co.) H |