4.  Say that a young woman well brought up undertakes to do chamber-work; she is obliged to associate with the other girls, no matter how uncongenial they may be, what may be their language or personal habits or table manners.  If she tries to keep to herself, the rest think she is taking airs, and combine to make her life unbearable.

     5.  Or say she takes a place for general housework; to be alone in
     the midst of others is crushing,—­quite different from being alone
     in one’s own lodgings.

6.  I suppose a soldier doesn’t mind being ordered around by his captain; but in a family the mistress and maid are so mixed up that it is much harder to keep the lines from tangling.  It takes a very superior person, on both sides, to do it.

7.  I knew an educated woman—­a lady—­who tried it as a sort of upper housemaid.  The work was easy, the pay good, and she never had a harsh word; but they just seemed unconscious of her existence.  She said the gentlemen of the house, father and son, would come in and stand before her to have her take their umbrellas or help them off with their coats, and sometimes without speaking to her or even looking at her.  There was something so humiliating about it that she couldn’t stand it, but went back to slop shop sewing.

8.  Many mistresses have no standard of the amount of work a girl ought to do.  They know nothing about housework themselves.  If a girl is deliberate and saves herself, they call her slow; if she is ambitious, and gets her work done early, and they see her sitting down in working-hours, they conclude that she is not earning her wages, and hunt up some extra job for her.  No matter if you can’t find anything undone, if she is found sitting about she must be lazy.

9.  Some employers think that after the more violent work is done, it is only a rest for the girl to look after the child awhile.  They don’t seem to realize that if the mother finds it such a relief to get rid of her own child for an hour or so, it is likely to be still less interesting to take care of somebody else’s child.

10.  Many people think the position of a child’s nurse is very light work indeed,—­mostly just sitting around; so they don’t hesitate to give her the care of one or two children all day, not even arranging for her to get her meals without the oversight of them; and then most likely put the baby to sleep with her at night.  Any one minute of such a day may not be heavy, but to have it for twenty-four hours is enough to wear out the strongest human being ever made.

11.  I knew a school-teacher who thought more active occupation would better suit her health; she took a place as child’s nurse.  She loved children, and found no objection to the work; but soon the employer concluded to put her in a bonne’s cap and apron.