Part 24

Are entirely under the direction of the Upper House Maid, and are chiefly employed in cleaning and scouring the stoves and grates, scouring the coal skuttles, kettles, and fire-irons, beating and cleaning the carpets—scouring the floors, stairs, and passages;—washing the dishes when there is company, &c. &c.; besides assisting to make the beds, and carrying up the coals and water. In the afternoon, evening, or at leisure time, they are engaged with the _Upper House Maid_ at their needle-work, in making and mending the household, bed and table linen,—mending stockings—washing and mending their own linen, and occasionally, assisting in the laundry. When there is no still-room-maid, the Under House Maid has to wait at table in the house-keeper’s room. Wages 10l. to 12l. per year.

THE SERVANT OF ALL WORK.

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.

TO LIGHT AND MANAGE A PARLOUR FIRE.

There is more art, perhaps, and more economy than is considered necessary in making well, and managing a fire.

First rake out all the ashes, quite clean, leaving in the bottom of the grate a few light cinders, through which the air, from beneath, may pass freely; upon these lay shavings, or waste paper, and then the wood, the smaller pieces under, of course, and the whole crossing each other promiscuously, and in all directions; throw cinders behind, and some at the sides, to fill out the grate, and in the front, betwixt the bars, put small knobs of fresh coals, with some larger knobs at top, and a little small coal behind, but not so much at first as to prevent a draft of air through the grate at the top. The fire, thus prepared, may be lighted with a match, and will kindle well of itself, whilst the ashes are taken up, and the fire-place cleaned. When it is found necessary to blow a fire, do not thrust the nose of the bellows between the bars, but keep it at an easy distance from the fire, and rather below the centre of the fire, that so, the air may be dispersed around to a considerable distance in front of the fire. When you stir a fire, always put the poker between the second and third bars.—After you have stirred the fire, rake out the ashes at the bottom of the grate, and sweep up the hearth.

THE LAUNDRY MAID.

This Servant washes all the household and other linen belonging to her employers, and is assisted, generally, by the housemaids; or the house maids, kitchen maids, and scullery maids wash for themselves. All the men servants find their own washing, except the footmen’s aprons and jackets.

The foul linen is given out to her on Monday morning, and returned clean, on Friday night or Saturday morning.—Wages from 8l. to 15l. a year.

Two ounces of pearl-ash, to a pound and a half of soap, will make a considerable saving. Soda, by softening the water, saves a great deal of soap. It should be dissolved in a large jug of water, some of which should be poured into the tubs and boiler, and when the lather becomes weak, add more.

The use of soft soap, saves nearly half in washing.

Good new hard soap contains full half of oil, one-third water, and the rest soda.

TO MAKE TOWN-WASHED LINEN WHITE.

In large towns, where linen cannot be exposed to the air and sun upon the grass, let it be steeped, for some time before it is washed, in a solution of oxymuriate of lime. Let it then be boiled in an alkaline ley. Linen or cotton thus treated will not become yellow by age.

TO TAKE OUT IRON MOULDS FROM LINEN.

Hold the iron mould on the cover of a tankard of boiling water, and rub on the spot a little juice of sorrel and salt, and when the cloth has thoroughly imbibed the juice, wash it in ley.

TO SCOUR THICK COTTON COUNTERPANES.

Cut a pound of mottled soap into thin slices; and put it into a pan with a quarter of an ounce of pot-ash. Pour a pail of boiling water on it, and let it stand till dissolved. Then pour hot and cold water into a scouring tub, with a bowl of the solution. Put in the counterpane, beat it well, turn it often, give it a second liquor as before, and then rinse it in cold water. Then put three tea-spoonsful of liquid blue into a thin liquor; stir it, and put in the counterpane: beat it about five minutes, and dry it in the air.

TO SCOUR FLANNELS OR WOOLLENS.

Cut ½ a pound of the best yellow soap into thin slices, and pour such a quantity of boiling river water on it as will dissolve the soap, and make it of the consistence of oil. Cover the articles about two inches with water, such as the hand can bear, and add a lump of American pearl-ash, and about a third of the soap solution. Beat them till no head or lather rises on the water; throw away the dirty water, and proceed as before with hotter water without pearl-ash.

TO TAKE MILDEW OUT OF LINEN.

Rub it well with soap: then scrape some fine chalk, and rub that also in the linen; lay it on the grass; as it dries, wet it a little, and it will come out after twice doing.

TO TAKE OUT SPOTS OF INK.

As soon as the accident happens, wet the place with juice of sorrel or lemon, or with vinegar, and the best hard white soap.

THE DAIRY MAID

Manages the dairy, milks the cows, makes the butter, cheese, wheys, syllabubs, &c. attends the poultry, picks and prepares them for trussing, makes bread and fresh butter for the parlour every morning, and bakes all the bread of the family.

The greatest possible attention must be paid to the Dairy. Cleanliness being the primary object, all the utensils, shelves, and the floor, should be kept perfectly neat, and cold water should be frequently thrown over it.—There should be shutters to the Dairy to keep out the sun and hot air.

The cows should be milked at a regular and early hour, and their udders should be _perfectly emptied_, else the quantity given will be diminished. When you go to the cow, take with you, _cold water_ and a sponge, and wash each cow’s udder; bathe it well with cold water, both in winter and summer, as that braces them and repels heat. But, if any cow has sore teats, let them be soaked in warm water twice a day, and either dressed with soft ointment, or bathed with spirits and water. In either case, the milk should be given to the pigs.

When the milk is brought into the Dairy, it should be strained and emptied into clean pans, immediately, in winter, but not till cool, in summer. Suffer no one to milk the cows but yourself, as much depends on their being _dripped quite clean_, particularly after a calf is taken away.

The quantity of milk given by cows, will be different according to their breed, health, pasturage, the length of time from calving, and other circumstances. Change of pasturage will tend to increase the quantity.

In good pastures, the average of each cow will be about three gallons a day from Lady-day to Michaelmas; and thence to Christmas, one gallon a day.

Cows will be profitable yielders of milk, to fourteen or fifteen years of age, if of a good breed. They should be fed well two or three weeks before calving, which will increase the quantity of milk. In gentlemen’s Dairies, more attention is paid to the beauty and size of cows, than to their produce.

It is absolutely necessary that the cows should be kept feeding whilst you are milking them.

It should be contrived that cows kept for a gentleman’s family, should calve at different seasons, and, particularly, that one or two should calve in August or September, to insure a supply of milk in winter.

When there is not a great demand for cream in the family, the Dairy-maid will take that opportunity to provide for the winter store. She should keep a regular weekly account of the quantity of milk given by each cow, and the quantity of butter she pots. The average of a good fair Dairy cow, during several months after calving, will be seven pounds of butter a week, and from three to five gallons of milk per day; afterwards, a weekly average of three or four pounds of butter, from barely half that quantity of milk. On an average, three gallons of good milk, will yield one pound of butter. The annual consumption of a good cow, turned to grass, is from an acre to an acre and a half in the summer, and from a ton to a ton and a half of hay, in the winter. Each cow should be allowed two pecks of carrots per day. The grass, if cut and carried to the cows green, will economize full one-third.

Alderney cows yield rich milk, upon less food, than larger cows, but are seldom large milkers, and are particularly scanty of produce in the winter.

Wages from 8l. to 12l. a year.—Perquisites, 1d. per pound for butter; 1½d. for each chicken, or fowl killed; 2d. each, for ducks, geese, and turkeys; and 3d. a score for eggs.

TO PRESERVE MILK.

Provide bottles which must be perfectly clean, sweet, and dry; draw the milk from the cow into the bottles, and as they are filled, immediately cork them well up, and fasten the corks with pack-thread or wire. Then spread a little straw on the bottom of a boiler, on which place the bottles with straw between them, until the boiler contains a sufficient quantity. Fill it up with cold water; heat the water, and as soon as it begins to boil, draw the fire, and let the whole gradually cool. When quite cold take out the bottles, and pack them with straw or saw-dust in hampers, and stow them in the coolest part of the house. Milk preserved in this manner, although eighteen months in the bottles, will be as sweet as when first milked from the cow.

TO MANAGE YOUNG CHICKENS.

The chickens first hatched, are to be taken from the hen, lest she be tempted to leave her task unfinished. They may be secured in a basket of wool or soft hay, and kept in a moderate heat, if the weather be cold, near the fire. They will require no food for 24 hours, should it be necessary to keep them so long from the hen. The whole brood being hatched, place the hen under a coop abroad, upon a dry spot, and, if possible, not within reach of another hen, since the chickens will mix, and the hens are apt to destroy those which do not belong to them. Nor should they be placed near young fowls, which are likely to crush them, being always eager for their small meat.