VI. “PUT YOURSELF IN HIS PLACE” 121 VII. OUR KITCHEN 133 VIII. AN ILLUSTRATED EDITION 145 IX. THE WOMAN’S EXCHANGE 159 The author takes pleasure in acknowledging the courtesy of _The Atlantic Monthly_ for permission to print the chapter on “Recent Progress in the Study of Domestic Service;” of the _New England Magazine_ for that on “Education in the Household;” of the _Boston Cooking School Magazine_ for the chapter on “Sairey Gamp and Dora Copperfield;” of _The Chautauquan_ for that on “Economics and Ethics in Domestic Service;” of _The Outlook_ for that entitled “Put Yourself in his Place;” of the _Craftsman_ for the chapter on “Our Kitchen;” and of _The Forum_ for that on “The Woman’s Exchange.” The author also acknowledges the kind permission of The Macmillan Company to reprint several passages from her work on _Domestic Service_. RECENT PROGRESS IN THE STUDY OF DOMESTIC SERVICE A lady recently called at the house of a friend who answered in person the ring at the door. With careworn expression and flurried manner she apologized for the confusion that apparently reigned in the house, saying: “My parlor maid is upstairs ill,--not ill enough to go to the hospital, too ill to work, too far from home to go there, yet needing attention from me. My waitress is having a fit of the sulks, and I have sent her out to do an errand and get some fresh air. The cook is just now not on speaking terms with her husband,--the coachman,--and is seeking a divorce, so that one or the other must go. The footman came home drunk last night, and had to be discharged this morning. My house is at sixes and sevens, my husband lunched downtown, my mother has taken the children and the nursery-maid home with her, guests arrive this evening, and I have spent the day in a vain search for help in the house. I belong to a club studying household economics, and have allowed it to turn a search-light on all my household affairs in the interests of society at large. I am now ready to call a halt, to refuse to have my domestic arrangements considered a hunting-ground for theorists, to pronounce all such clubs vain mockeries, snares, and delusions, inventions of the enemy for squandering time, and showing the bitter contrast between abstract theory and concrete reality. The only club I am interested in must provide on tap maids who never get ill or sulky, cooks without a temper, and coachmen and footmen of unimpeachable habits.”