re used the case of a man carrying on a business and having employes
under him, to illustrate my subject. Suppose a merchant or a bank should
allow all their clerks free access to the safe or till, they knowing no
cash account was kept. If some of these boys or young men were tempted
to steal, would not the blame lie chiefly at the door of those who,
having it in their power, yet did not remove the temptation?

Having now given a few rules for the improvement of servants, which are
easily tried, and which I know from observation of their practical
working are _worth_ a trial by every housekeeper, I wish to add a few
words concerning the material of which, our present supply of servants
consists, and to offer some observations upon the question of a
prospective supply of possibly a better material.

It is probably no exaggeration to say that four fifths of our female
servants are Irish. I have already given several reasons why this class
are more intractable and difficult to manage than any other. To apply
the rules I have given to this class will be more difficult than to the
domestics of any other nation. But, as I have said, I have seen them
enforced with success even in cases where an Irish domestic was the
subject. And here let me repeat that almost everything depends upon the
_starting right_. No Irish girl ever yet went to a new place perfectly
sure of her ground, although they generally can measure the quality of
their mistress during the negotiations which precede the engagement. In
starting with a new servant, it is emphatically the first encounter that
must decide who is to be the ruler. Dignity, coolness, and decision,
upon the first attempt to 'put on airs,' will generally bring you off
permanent conqueror.

By some housekeepers German domestics are preferred. They are naturally
less impulsive and more amenable to control than the Irish. Their class
prejudices are not so violent; there is less unity of purpose among
them, and they are, in consequence, more favorable subjects for the
application of the rules given than are generally the Irish. It is,
however, difficult to assimilate the German girls to American customs.
They are not apt to learn, and great patience is required in teaching
them. The virtues of order and cleanliness seem to be not only rare in
them, but exceedingly difficult to graft upon them. Their cooking,
especially, is generally execrable. But once properly trained, they make
the best of