In small families where only one female servant is kept, the servant
of all work will be required to do all the work of the house, which in
large establishments is very properly divided into several departments.
This description of servant is usually taken from the industrious and
labouring classes of the community, who are bred up with a view to the
situation, having no other prospect or dependence; and are taught,
from their earliest age, to assist in the management of the house, the
care of the younger children, preparing the meals, making the beds,
scouring, washing, and in every other branch of domestic business:—In
short, no girl ought to undertake, or can be qualified, for such a
situation, who has not been thus bred up. And if, in addition to these
preparatory qualifications, she comes from a sober, well-disposed
family, and is of a tractable disposition, there can be but little
doubt of her acquiring the good-will of her master and mistress, of
qualifying herself for a superior service, and of finally succeeding in
her sphere of life.
She will receive her first instructions from her mistress, or probably
from the former servant, as to the peculiarities of the house, and will
very soon, with attention, become versed in all.
Industry and cleanliness, with a determination to be useful, and to
please, will speedily overcome all difficulties.
To rise early is indispensably necessary. “Those who would thrive, must
rise by five.” And, recollect, that “the servant who begins her work
late, will have to run after it all the day, but will never overtake
it.”
Every morning, the first business will be to light the kitchen fire,
brush up and clean around the grate and fire-place, take up the ashes,
sweep the floor and hearth, and having made all quite clean, rinse
out the tea-kettle, and set it on the fire, with clean spring water,
preparatory to the family breakfast; and also another kettle to heat
water for household purposes. She next takes the tray, carpet-broom,
hair-broom, hearth-rug, a clean dry duster, and the basket or box,
containing the brushes, rags, leathers, brick-dust, scouring-paper, and
other things for cleaning the grate and fire-place, and proceeds to the
parlour, or sitting-room, to get that in order, before the family comes
down to breakfast. She begins there by clearing away the candlesticks,
dirty glasses, and such other things as may have been left there the
preceding night. She then rolls up the hearth-rug, so that no dirt or
dust may drop from it, as it is carried out to be shaken; she next
turns back the carpet, with the drugget, baize, or other covering, if
any, and lays down a piece of canvas, or coarse cloth, to keep the
place clean; after which she rakes out the ashes from the grate, takes
them up, and brushes up the dust and dirt; then rubs the bright bars of
the grate, and the fire-irons, with emery paper, No. 3, or brick-dust;
or if there be very fine steel stoves, fenders, &c. they should be
first rubbed with oil, then with emery, till clear and bright, and
afterwards with scouring paper, which is an excellent article to use
every second or third day in summer-time, when stoves are not in
constant use, as it will take off all the spots they may have acquired.
After the stove and fire-irons are cleaned, and the back and sides of
the hearth are washed over with black-lead mixed with water, and rubbed
dry and bright with a hard brush, light the fire, and proceed to wash
the marble hearth.
For this purpose, take a piece of flannel dipped in a strong, hot,
lather of soap and water, and having washed off the dirt, wipe it dry
with a clean linen cloth. The jambs and chimney-piece need only be
cleaned thus, once or twice a week, or as the custom of the family
may be. Soap and sand, with cold water, will answer for washing
free-stone hearths, &c. which must be afterwards wiped dry with a
clean house-cloth. The next business will be to clean the brass locks,
finger-plates, and other brass furniture; for which see the receipt.—If
the locks are stiff, or hang, put a very little sweet oil on the bolts
with a feather; the same ought to be done occasionally to the hinges,
latches, bolts, and locks of every door in the house. A few minutes
thus employed, when necessary, will prevent most of the disagreeable
noises of creaking hinges, rusty bolts, and useless locks.
For the finger-plates, and other brass ornaments about the room, you
must have pieces of pasteboard, with holes cut in them of the size of
the respective articles, to prevent soiling or rubbing the door or
furniture to which they are fixed.
The carpet next requires attention; this must generally be swept with
the carpet-mop, to clean off the lint and dust, but, occasionally with
the carpet-broom, or long hair-broom, first strewing it over with a
few damp tea-leaves, (which should always be saved for the purpose,
when the tea-things are washed up.) Then remove the chairs, and other
furniture, to the middle of the room, turn up the sides of the carpet,
and sweep up all the dust and flue round the sides of the room before
replacing the carpet.
Always rub and dust the chairs, tables, and other mahogany furniture,
in the middle of the room, and return them to their places, one by one,
as you finish them; this will prevent your scratching or soiling the
walls or wainscot. The window-curtains and hangings may not require
to be shaken and brushed every day, but the windows should be brushed
with the long hair-broom, and cobwebs and other filth, on the ceiling,
and upper corners of the room, should be occasionally sought for,
and removed. When she has swept the room, and rubbed and dusted the
furniture, she must dust the window-frames, ledges of the wainscot, and
doors, chimney-pieces, glass, china, and other ornaments, and having
seen that every article is in its proper place, stir the fire, and
taking all her brushes, &c. leave the room perfectly clean, and fit for
the reception of the family at breakfast. She next proceeds (if the
parlour be up stairs) to sweep and dust the stairs, which she does one
by one, sweeping the dust from each into the dust-pan, and afterwards
dusting the windows and balustrade as carefully as she had done the
room.
She should also sweep the passage in the same way. The floor-cloth in
the passage, for the daily cleaning, need only to be swept and rubbed
with a damp flannel first, and afterwards with a dry one. The steps, at
the front door, should be cleaned every morning, after the passage is
swept out, and the street-door and the knocker, &c. must be cleaned or
polished. The kitchen stairs also, and the steps at the back-door, if
any, are to be cleaned. Above all, the kitchen must now be put in order.
She then washes her hands and face, and puts on a clean apron, &c.
so as to be cleanly before the parlour bell rings for breakfast.
Directions for setting out the breakfast table will be found in the
Instructions to the Footman, as well as for dinner, lunch, tea, &c.
As soon as the family is seated at breakfast, she throws open the
bed-room doors and windows, and uncovers the beds to be aired, and
placing the bed-clothes across a chair at the foot of the bed, leaves
them in that state till breakfast is finished, when she proceeds to
make the bed.
On going down, she takes the slop-pails, night-candlesticks, and the
water-ewer and carofts to be filled with fresh water, and brought up
again immediately, lest they should be wanted. When she goes up after
breakfast, if there have been fires, the fire-places must be swept
up, the fires laid, and before she makes the beds, she should wash
her hands and put on a clean apron. Every bed should be well shaken
daily, and the mattresses turned, at least, once a week. The head of
the bed, the curtains, vallance, &c. will often require attention;
when they should be brushed with a whisk-brush, and well shaken, the
bed-side carpets having been first taken up. After she has made the
beds, and before the carpets are laid down again, the chairs, glasses,
and other articles of furniture in each room are to be properly rubbed
and dusted, and the floors swept clean. The sleeping rooms being thus
prepared, and the stairs swept down, she will scarcely have occasion to
go up again till evening, when she turns down the beds, lets down, or
draws the curtains, and puts the rooms in order for the night.
At intervals, she will, perhaps, be called to bring coals for the
parlour fire, in the winter time; (see directions to the footman;) but,
in addition to this, little will occur to take her from the regular
routine of the morning’s work, till the preparation for dinner requires
her attention. She will find ample instructions for the care of the
kitchen and larder, and for dressing dinners, under the directions to
the cook.
If she is required to wait at table, she will find instructions for the
purpose in the directions to the footman. After the dishes, &c. and the
cloth and table-cover are removed, when there is no company present,
her mistress will, perhaps, require her to bring a piece of cloth, with
bees’-wax on it, and a hard furniture brush, to rub the dining-table,
and take out the stains of the hot dishes.
When all things are set right in the parlour, as her mistress may
direct, she will get her own dinner, (which she will contrive to keep
as warm as circumstances will allow;) meanwhile the water must be
heating to wash the dishes, and all the kitchen utensils, which being
washed, and the several articles (particularly the tinned ones) wiped
out clean and dry, they are to be put away, always in their proper
places, in the cleanest and nicest order, and fit for immediate use.
This done, she is to make up the fire, (having due regard to the
very expensive article of coals) and put on the kettle for tea. The
kitchen is next to be set to rights, and every article in and about
it is to be made quite clean, and disposed in perfect order. In fact,
the cleanly and orderly state of the kitchen ought, at all times, to
claim her utmost attention, as it is there that all the food of the
family is prepared, and nothing does, nor, indeed, can, more deservedly
contribute to the good character of a servant, than the well-regulated
state and cleanly appearance of her kitchen.
The situation of a servant of this denomination is, as we have seen,
one continued round of activity, but industry becomes habitual, and she
will reap the benefit of it throughout life. To be content is the main
thing, and others, seeing her good tempered, and disposed to be happy,
will study to make her so; while experience and habit will greatly
contribute towards it, by daily rendering the routine of the service
more familiar, and consequently, more easy.
There are times, however, when the regular course of business will
be interrupted. Once a week is the appointed day for a thorough
scouring and cleaning, viz. Saturday. But even this day is rendered
less formidable by an attentive servant, and by a little charitable
consideration in the mistress, (which is generally the case) who
will contrive that there shall be less of the ordinary business of
the family to be done on that day than on any other. The maid will,
perhaps, manage to get the bed-rooms thoroughly scoured on Friday. This
should be done as early in the day as possible, and in the winter,
fires should be made in the rooms, in order that they may be quite dry
and safe by bed-time. For cleaning calico and other bed-furniture, and
for scouring rooms, see Head House-Maid. The Sitting-room, and the
spare rooms, if any, instead of the usual every-day cleaning, should
now be thoroughly cleaned, the floors scoured, the grates, hearths,
chimney-pieces, carpets, curtains, and furniture rubbed, scrubbed,
dusted, and otherwise cleaned in the best manner; the kitchen, it is
presumed, is already clean—_always clean_; the pots, pans, kettles,
and every other culinary utensil being _always cleaned as soon as done
with;—scoured, wiped out dry, and put away in their proper places,
fit for use at a moment’s notice_. However laborious the work of the
Saturday may appear, it is but getting up an hour or two earlier, and
setting about it with a good heart, and all the extra business of the
house, in every part, is completely finished, and you sit down, in the
evening, to tea, rejoicing that all is comfortable, and in order.
Another, and more laborious deviation from the regular routine of
family business is—the appointed “_Washing-day_,” which is, indeed, a
day of bustle and activity; perhaps the only one that can be called
a hard day’s work, from one washing-day to another. But, here also,
if the intervals between the washings be long, a washer-woman will be
hired, and the mistress will probably lend her aid, in sorting the
clothes, getting up the small linen, ironing, &c.
In proportion to the arduous and active duties of a situation, is the
satisfaction to be enjoyed from a regular and attentive discharge of
those services: hence no servant has it in her power to render herself
and her employers more comfortable, than the maid of all work. By a
methodical division of her time, she is enabled to keep in order every
apartment in the house, from the kitchen to the attic, all of which
may be accomplished without any extraordinary effort on her part: and
while she thus promotes the comforts of her master and mistress by her
industry and regularity, they will not be backward in rewarding those
meritorious qualities. Wages from 8 to 12 guineas.