parish, one of
the churchwardens of X complained to the churchwardens of Y that his
late importation from the Y pulpit was not very satisfactory. 'And
yet,' he said, 'you all cracked him up enormously.' 'Yes,' replied the
churchwarden of Y, 'and you will have to crack him up too before you
get rid of him.'

Now, it is only ignorance which causes ladies to believe that there is
any necessity to 'crack up' the character of a servant. They are not
obliged (though, of course, if the servant has behaved well it would be
infamous to withhold it) to give her any character at all, and they may
state the most unpleasant truth (if they are quite certain of the fact
and can prove it) without the least fear of an action for libel. The
law does not punish them for telling the truth about their servants,
and in another matter also it is more just than it is supposed to be.
There is a superstition among servants that when leaving their
situations before their time is out they have a right to claim board
wages, and that even when dismissed for gross misconduct they have a
right to their ordinary wages for the remainder of the month; but these
are mere popular errors. The only case with which I am acquainted where
neither of these dues was demanded was rather a curious one. A widow
lady advertised for a cook and a housemaid, and procured them by the
first cast of her net. They came together with an open avowal of their
previous acquaintanceship; they were attached to one another, they
said, and did not wish to be in separate service, and wages were not so
much an object to them as opportunities of friendship. The lady, who
had an element of romance in her, was touched with this expression of
sentiment; it was also a great convenience to her to be so quickly
suited; and, their characters being good, she engaged them. They had
come from a house of much greater pretensions than her own, and had
taken higher wages, which might have attracted her suspicions; but she
had very little work for them to do, and she concluded that 'an easy
place' had had its attractions for them. Her servants were well treated
and well fed, and were allowed to see their friends; but she objected
to evening visits, and required the back door to be locked and the key
placed in her possession at nine o'clock every evening. If the front
door was opened she could hear it from every part of her modest
residence (and, being very nervous, she used often to fancy that it