The complete servant: Being a practical guide to the peculiar duties and business of all descriptions of servants, from the housekeeper to the servant of all-work, and from the land steward to the foot-boy. With useful receipts and tablesAdams, Samuel, servant
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The complete servant: Being a practical guide to the peculiar duties and business of all descriptions of servants, from the housekeeper to the servant of all-work, and from the land steward to the foot-boy. With useful receipts and tables
Adams, Samuel, servant
Home economics; Household employees
On going down, she takes the slop-pails, night-candlesticks, and the
water-ewer and carofts to be filled with fresh water, and brought up
again immediately, lest they should be wanted. When she goes up after
breakfast, if there have been fires, the fire-places must be swept
up, the fires laid, and before she makes the beds, she should wash
her hands and put on a clean apron. Every bed should be well shaken
daily, and the mattresses turned, at least, once a week. The head of
the bed, the curtains, vallance, &c. will often require attention;
when they should be brushed with a whisk-brush, and well shaken, the
bed-side carpets having been first taken up. After she has made the
beds, and before the carpets are laid down again, the chairs, glasses,
and other articles of furniture in each room are to be properly rubbed
and dusted, and the floors swept clean. The sleeping rooms being thus
prepared, and the stairs swept down, she will scarcely have occasion to
go up again till evening, when she turns down the beds, lets down, or
draws the curtains, and puts the rooms in order for the night.
At intervals, she will, perhaps, be called to bring coals for the
parlour fire, in the winter time; (see directions to the footman;) but,
in addition to this, little will occur to take her from the regular
routine of the morning’s work, till the preparation for dinner requires
her attention. She will find ample instructions for the care of the
kitchen and larder, and for dressing dinners, under the directions to
the cook.
If she is required to wait at table, she will find instructions for the
purpose in the directions to the footman. After the dishes, &c. and the
cloth and table-cover are removed, when there is no company present,
her mistress will, perhaps, require her to bring a piece of cloth, with
bees’-wax on it, and a hard furniture brush, to rub the dining-table,
and take out the stains of the hot dishes.
When all things are set right in the parlour, as her mistress may
direct, she will get her own dinner, (which she will contrive to keep
as warm as circumstances will allow;) meanwhile the water must be
heating to wash the dishes, and all the kitchen utensils, which being
washed, and the several articles (particularly the tinned ones) wiped
out clean and dry, they are to be put away, always in their proper
places, in the cleanest and nicest order, and fit for immediate use.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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