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
History
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
As sugar is an article of considerable expense, it is to be understood
that, of the _white_ sugars, the most refined goes furthest and
sweetens best. Chuse those that are close, heavy, and shining.—The best
sorts of the _brown_ have a bright gravelly look. The coarser sorts are
strongest and fittest for wines, sweetmeats, &c.
The only certain road to regularity, is to do every thing in its proper
time—keep every thing in its proper place—and apply every thing to its
proper use.
The great Dutch statesman, De Witt, attributed the whole art of
dispatching a multitude of business, to the _doing of one thing at a
time_.
The want of regularity gives to families the appearance of chance and
confusion; on the contrary, order in a family is productive of much
happiness.
Accustom all the servants under your direction to _rise early_, and
let them breakfast at an early hour. If orders be given betimes in
the morning, there will be more time to execute them,—servants will
perform their work with more ease,—and less hands will be required. If
the economy of time were duly considered, and a regular plan of daily
employment laid down, much business may be effected without hurry or
fatigue.
As some preparation is necessary in all families for accidental
visitors, care should be taken to have things in readiness for lunch,
chocolate, sandwiches, &c.
An inventory of furniture, linen, china, plate, &c. should be kept,
and the articles examined by it twice a year, at least, or oftener if
the servants be changed, and a correct list of the articles delivered
into the care of the new servants should be kept.—House-cloths,
knife-cloths, &c. should be numbered, and always be accounted for,
either whole or in part—which would be done if a note were inserted at
the top of the list of the articles delivered out.
Tin fenders, and other things that are painted, should be painted every
year or two.—Tin vessels, if suffered to become damp, soon rust, and
are eaten into holes.
The best way to scald fruits or to boil vinegar is, to put it in a
stone jar on an iron hearth—or to put the jar in a saucepan of boiling
water, called a _water bath_.
THE STORE-ROOM AND STILL-ROOM.
These rooms are entirely under the management of the housekeeper.
The STORE-ROOM is appropriated as a depository for such imperishable
articles of household consumption as are in continual request, and may
be laid up, when purchased in quantities,—at times when cheapest,—most
in season, or best—to be ready at hand when wanted.
☞ Let every thing, not only here, but all over the house, be kept in
its _proper place_, applied to its _proper use_, and _replaced_ when
worn out or destroyed.
_N. B. To save the trouble of referring to different places, for the
several methods of storing or preserving many articles which are
proper to be kept, we shall insert under this head every thing of this
description that may occur to us._
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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