opened when it did not), while a wire for the use of the policeman
connected the ground-floor with an alarm bell in her own room in case
of fire or other contingency. The two servants had been six days with
her when this alarm bell was pealed one night with great violence. She
looked out of window, and beheld a cab laden with luggage standing at
her door. She expected nobody; but whoever had come was more welcome
than 'thieves' or 'fire,' and she went up to the maid's room to bid
them answer the door. She found to her great astonishment--for it was
two in the morning--the apartment empty, and while she was there the
alarm-bell sounded again with increased fury. Looking over the
balusters, she perceived a light in the hall and inquired who was
there. 'Well, it's us two,' returned the cook, 'we're just agoin, so
good-bye. It ain't at all the sort o' place for us, and you ain't the
sort o' missis.' Then there was a shout of laughter, the front door was
opened and slammed to, and the cab drove off with its tenants, leaving
their mistress to her lonely meditations. The two friends had come on
trial, it seemed, and had had enough of it.

That they made no claim for wages of any kind seems quite curious when
one considers what sort of servants, and in what sort of circumstances,
do demand them. And, as a rule, masters and mistresses give in to the
extortion. Yet the law is on their side, nor have they any reason to
complain of it in other respects. The improvement that is needed is in
themselves, and in their relations to those in their employment. Our
young ladies are so engaged in their accomplishments and their
amusements that they have no time to acquire a knowledge of domestic
affairs, so that when they marry they know no more of a housewife's
duties than their husbands. No wonder men of moderate means shrink from
marriage when wives have become a source of discomfort and expense,
instead of their contraries, and have lost the name of helpmate. How
can they be in a position to teach their servants when they themselves
are grossly ignorant of what they would have them learn? There are
certain village schools, indeed, which profess to train their pupils
for domestic service, but they only teach them to be maids-of-all-work,
the least remunerated and the hardest-worked of all the daughters of
toil. They offer no premium to diligence and perfection.

This state of things is very hard both upon mistresses and servants,
but it