All house servants who assist in waiting on the table come under the
direction of the butler, and are known as footmen. One who never comes
into the dining-room is known as a useful man. The duties of the footmen
(and useful man) include cleaning the dining-room, pantry, lower hall,
entrance vestibule, sidewalk, attending to the furnace, carrying coal to
the kitchen, wood to all the open fireplaces in the house, cleaning the
windows, cleaning brasses, cleaning all boots, carrying everything that is
heavy, moving furniture for the parlor-maids to clean behind it, valeting
all gentlemen, setting and waiting on table, attending the front door,
telephoning and writing down messages, and--incessantly and ceaselessly,
cleaning and polishing silver.
In a small house, the butler polishes silver, but in a very big house one
of the footmen is silver specialist, and does nothing else. Nothing! If
there is to be a party of any sort he puts on his livery and joins the
others who line the hall and bring dishes to the table. But he does not
assist in setting the table or washing dishes or in cleaning anything
whatsoever--except silver.
The butler also usually answers the telephone--if not, it is answered by
the first footman. The first footman is deputy butler.
The footmen also take turns in answering the door. In houses of great
ceremony like those of the Worldlys' and the Gildings', there are always
two footmen at the door if anyone is to be admitted. One to open the door
and the other to conduct a guest into the drawing-room. But if formal
company is expected, the butler himself is in the front hall with one or
two footmen at the door.
_The Footmen's Livery_
People who have big houses usually choose a color for their livery and
never change it. Maroon and buff, for instance, are the colors of the
Gildings; all their motor cars are maroon with buff lines and
cream-colored or maroon linings. The chauffeurs and outside footmen wear
maroon liveries. The house footmen, for everyday, wear ordinary footmen's
liveries, maroon trousers and long-tailed coats with brass buttons and
maroon-and-buff striped waistcoats.
For gala occasions, Mrs. Gilding adds as many caterer's men as necessary,
but they all are dressed in her full-dress livery, consisting of a "court"
coat which comes together at the neck in front, and then cuts away to long
tails at the back. The coat is of maroon broadcloth with frogs and
epaulets of black braiding. There is a small standing collar of buff
cloth, and a falling cravat of pleated cream-colored lace worn in front.
The waistcoat is of buff satin, the breeches of black satin, cream-colored
stockings, pumps, and the hair is powdered. It is first pomaded and then
thickly powdered. Wigs are never worn.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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