In part, no doubt, these ceaseless annoyances spring from the heedlessness or ignorance of the servants, but more frequently, we think, it is because the mistress herself does not understand the cause of the difficulty, or how to point out and remedy the mistakes. It is impossible to expect a girl will be successful in managing the fire and stove unless you are competent and willing to give her full instruction, and are also ready to follow this up with constant daily supervision, until time and a faithful trial convince you that the subject is fully understood, and your injunctions regularly followed. Even then _watch_, with all kindness and patience, not with a fault-finding spirit, but because carelessness and forgetfulness are bound up in the heart of almost every servant, and ceaseless vigilance is your only protection from mistakes of the most mortifying and vexatious character; and do you not know that such trials always come at the most unexpected and inconvenient time? No doubt there are occasionally servants found, or heard of, who are faithful, careful, competent, and safe to be trusted in every particular; but they are, “like angels’ visits, few and far between”; and it is wise for every housekeeper to be as exact in her explanations, and as watchful in seeing them executed, as if she knew her girl was totally ignorant of everything about the stove or range, until well convinced that she fully understands and regularly carries out her mistress’s lessons. Then, if she fails, it is safe to look upon the failure as culpable negligence, for which it would be very difficult to find a reasonable excuse.