latter and
thunder of machinery, inhaling an atmosphere loaded with wool and
machine grease, and keeping on the feet for twelve hours, nearly
continuously! Think of its being called drudgery to take care of a
clean, light, airy nursery, to wash and dress and care for two or
three children, to mend their clothes, tell them stories, make them
playthings, take them out walking or driving; and rather than this, to
wear out the whole livelong day, extending often deep into the night,
in endless sewing, in a close room of a dressmaking establishment! Is
it any less drudgery to stand all day behind a counter, serving
customers, than to tend a doorbell and wait on a table? For my part,"
said my wife, "I have often thought the matter over, and concluded,
that, if I were left in straitened circumstances, as many are in a
great city, I would seek a position as a servant in one of our good
families."

"I envy the family that you even think of in that connection," said I.
"I fancy the amazement which would take possession of them as you
began to develop among them."

"I have always held," said my wife, "that family work, in many of its
branches, can be better performed by an educated woman than an
uneducated one. Just as an army where even the bayonets think is
superior to one of mere brute force and mechanical training, so, I
have heard it said, some of our distinguished modern female reformers
show an equal superiority in the domestic sphere,--and I do not doubt
it. Family work was never meant to be the special province of untaught
brains. I have sometimes thought I should like to show what I could do
as a servant."

"Well," said Bob, "to return from all this to the question, What's to
be done with her? Are you going to _my_ distressed woman? If you are,
suppose you take _your_ distressed woman along, and ask her to try it.
I can promise her a pleasant house, a quiet room by herself, healthful
and not too hard work, a kind friend, and some leisure for reading,
writing, or whatever other pursuit of her own she may choose for her
recreation. We are always quite willing to lend books to any who
appreciate them. Our house is surrounded by pleasant grounds, which
are open to our servants as to ourselves. So let her come and try us.
I am quite sure that country air, quiet security, and moderate
exercise in a good home, will bring up her health; and if she is
willing to take the one or two disagreeables which may come with all
this,