Carlisle Patriot, 17 Sep 1825 - Maid of All-work (2)
petra.mi...@doctors.org.uk
Saturday 17 Sep 1825 (p. 1, col. 5-6)
MAID OF ALL-WORK.
[continued]
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 beds.
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 room 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 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 washerwoman 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.