Whilst waiting in the House of Commons, as alluded to in the foregoing, the footmen used to form a parliament of their own, and discussed politics like their masters. As a joke upon the poverty of the Scotch lords, it used to be said that, in the footmen's House of Lords, many questions were lost to the court party, which were carried in the real House, owing to there being so few footmen belonging to them. Swift alludes to this practice[100]: 'Pompey, Colonel Hill's black, designs to stand speaker for the footmen. I am engaged to use my interest for him, and have spoken to Patrick to get him some votes.' [Footnote 100: _Journal to Stella_, letter 10.] 'Give you a lucky Hit' shows that the spirit of Chawles Jeames Yellow Plush was then in existence, and that he sometimes speculated; and, if the following newspaper paragraph is reliable, he sometimes won: and would be in a position to realise the last line in the prologue: 'The Ticket which entitled the Bearer to 10,000_l._ drawn in this present Lottery, belongs to a Brewer's Man and Maid Servant.'[101] [Footnote 101: _Postboy_, Jan. 21/23, 1714.] The accomplishments of male servants seem to have been varied. Addison says,[102] 'I remember the time when some of our well-bred Country Women kept their _Valet de Chambre_, because, forsooth, a Man was much more handy about them than one of their own Sex. I myself have seen one of these Male _Abigails_ tripping about the Room with a looking glass in his Hand, and combing his Lady's Hair a whole Morning together.' And another of the fraternity advertises thus: 'A likely sober Person, who can give a very good Account of himself, by several Gentlemen and others: He has a Mind to serve a Gentleman as a _Valet de Chambre_ or Buttler; or to wait on a single Gentleman in Town or Country; he is known to shave well, and can make Wigs; he well understands the Practice of Surgery, which may be of great Use to a Family in the Country or elsewhere; he is a Sportsman; he understands shooting flying, Hunting and Fishing, and all other Sports relating thereunto; he well understands a Horse.' [Footnote 102: _Spectator_, No. 45.] But (and it is a curious little revelation of social life) men did not monopolise the position of body servants to their masters. Steele, writing as Isaac Bickerstaff, about his club, says:[103] 'This may suffice to give the world a taste of our innocent conversation, which we spun out until about ten of the clock, when my _maid_ came with a lantern to light me home.' [Footnote 103: _The Tatler_, No. 132.]