house on fire. A fit of passion may give you cause to mourn all the days of your life. Never revenge an injury. He that revenges, knows no rest: The meek possess a peaceful breast. Whatever you do, do it willingly. A girl who is beat at school, never learns her lesson well. A servant that is compelled to work, cares not how badly it is performed. She that pulls off her shawl cheerfully, turns up her sleeves in earnest, and sings while she works, is the girl for me! "A cheerful spirit gets on quick: A grumbler in the mud will stick." Servants' Magazine. KEEPING IN PLACE. MANY thoughtless girls can see no benefit in keeping their places; they "like a change," they say. But can any servant ever rise in the world, establish a character, and become respectable, who is frequently changing her places? In general, families object to hire servants if they find they have not lived long in a place. Now, I want you to see that it is likely to be a great advantage to you to keep your places as long as you can; that is, if you do not find things so disagreeable and inconvenient that you cannot possibly bear with them. A sensible girl will not suffer every trifle to unsettle her, nor expect to find every thing just as she could wish it. What appears to you unpleasant in a house at first, may be so only because it is new; and you should not therefore leave till you have given it a fair trial. Persons who are continually changing, are constantly beginning the world afresh; they are always dissatisfied themselves, and fail to give satisfaction to their employers: they seldom obtain real friends willing to help them. Recollect that frequent change is loss of time, loss of money, and loss of character. "A rolling stone gathers no moss." Remain, therefore, as long as you can in one service; cultivate a spirit of contentment with your station; watch for and improve every opportunity of gaining knowledge, whether in your own department or in any other; endeavour to live peaceably with fellow servants, but not at the expense of truth or integrity; bear and forbear; assist and forgive. Every situation has its difficulties, and they are never lessened, but are often increased, by discontent. The often-changing servant neither makes friends, nor establishes a character, nor can save money. A servant's respectability is often measured by the length of time she has kept her place; but if circumstances compel you to leave, give a fair warning respectfully it is your duty to do so; and do not neglect your business, nor behave ill, in order to provoke your mistress, for this will be a great blemish in your character, which you must always have from the last place you served in. Remember that health and a good character, with God's blessing, are a fortune to every one. Servants' Magazine; and The Young Servant. WHAT'S THE VALUE? Mary. "I say, Elizabeth, just bring me a sheet of writing paper, will you? for I want to write a letter." Eliz. Certainly; but where shall I find it, Mary?" Mary. "In the small drawer in the parlour, to be sure; you will find plenty there." Eliz. "Yes, Mary, there is a quantity of writing-paper there, but it is neither yours nor mine." Mary. "I know that, but it will not be missed." Eliz. "Perhaps not; but, whether it is missed or not, the paper is not ours, and therefore it would be dishonest to take it." Mary. "Dishonest, indeed! It's the first time I was accused of dishonesty. I lived four years in my last place, and, though I and my fellow-servants did not scruple to use a trifling thing now and then, my mistress gave me a good character for honesty when I left her." Eliz. "But, Mary, did your mistress know that you were in the habit of taking what you call 'trifles' from her?" Mary. "I can't say she did." Eliz. "I thought not, for no conscientious mistress could give a pilfering servant a character for honesty." Mary. "But we never took anything of value; and mistress could well afford it." Eliz.. "The value of the thing taken signifies but little, Mary; the real question is, whether the article I take is my property or not. If it is not mine, I have no business to touch it; and if we take a little thing because we think it will not be missed, it is a sign that we only keep our hands from greater things because we think they will be discovered." Mary. "You are too hard, Elizabeth: I would not take a valuable article from any one. Eliz. "Why not, Mary?" Mary. "Because because I would not.” Eliz. "Depend upon it, Mary, that if we have a right honest principle, it will keep us from small crimes as well as great ones. Those servants who take little things, always contrive to take them when they think they will not be seen by their employer; which is a proof that they know that they are doing wrong." Mary. "That's true, but still I think you are too particular. It was but the other day that you refused to give me even a bit of cake, though there was so much left at table." Eliz. "I would not allow you to take it, Mary, for the same reason that I did not taste it myself; that was, because it was not mine. Have you not heard how Sarah Wilson lost her place and her character?" Mary. "No, I have not." Eliz. "Well, then, I'll tell you. Her master, thinking the biscuits disappeared very quickly, counted them one day, and Sarah was detected as the thief. He immediately discharged her; not,' he said, 'because he valued the biscuits, but because he felt he could not trust her.' And so it will be with us, Mary; if our mistress finds that she cannot trust us in small matters, she will not trust us in great ones." Mary. "And where is Wilson now?" Eliz. "I do not know, but I have heard that she is now a friendless, miserable, and guilty wanderer of the streets." Mary. Oh, how very sad! Eliz. 66 دو "It is indeed, Mary; and such a sad result of loss of character, following dishonest practices, should make us frequently pray, in the words of a hymn we both learnt at school, "Guard my heart, O God of Heaven! Lest I covet what's not mine: Guard my heart and hands from sin." Aunt Deborah, in "Servants' Magazine." LAW AND CAUTIONS. THE term, "a month's warning or a month's wages," does not entitle the servant to a month's wages when she is dismissed for improper conduct. GIVING CHARACTERS TO SERVANTS. As much misapprehension prevails, and some annoyance has been experienced, by parties on this subject, it may be useful to state, in accordance with our best legal authorities, that the character to be given of a servant must accord with the strict truth; for if a good character be given falsely, and the servant afterwards rob her new master or mistress, the person who gave such false character is liable to an action and to compensate for the entire loss, and is also liable to punishment in case of false character. For the protection of masters and mistresses it has been legally decided that they are not obliged to give a discharged servant any character, and no action is sustainable for refusing to do so. When a servant has proved unfaithful, the safest and best course to adopt is for the master or mistress to decline answering any inquiries about them. CAUTION. By the laws of our land, any servant, through whose carelessness or negligence a house or an outhouse is set on fire, is liable to a penalty of one hundred pounds, and, if not immediately paid, to be sent to some house of correction for eighteen months, and there kept to hard labour. CAUTION TO FEMALE SERVANTS. At the assizes at Stafford, a female servant was committed to the house of correction for three months, to be kept to hard labour. Her offence was that of admitting to her master's house, and regaling at his expense, but without his permission, a young man with whom she kept company. Various. WHAT IS "A CHARACTER?" "a MANY servants are exceedingly mistaken in their idea of “ character." They think that a character is a sort of complete recommendation, a general passport to a place; to which every one who is "honest and sober" is entitled as a matter of course. And it sometimes happens that a mistress may even be insolently upbraided by servants for denying them "a character," when the inquiries have been such as could not be answered favourably. Servants cannot too clearly understand that ladies are in the habit of asking very many questions respecting the domestics who apply for situations; and though it is not customary for ladies to give information they are not asked for, it is perfectly understood that every inquiry made is to be replied to; and that where an inquiry is not replied to, that means that the lady cannot give a favourable answer on that point. I will explain this by a few characters: "Mrs. Parker presents her compliments to Mrs. Martin, and will feel greatly obliged if she will inform her if Mary Smith, who says she lived with her as housemaid two years, is honest, sober, steady, clean, active, and good-tempered, and competent for that situation in a large family." |