The work seemed to be
all gone. Every thing was nicely washed, brightened, put in place, and
staid in place; the floors, when cleaned; remained clean; the work was
always done, and not doing; and every afternoon the young lady sat
neatly dressed in her own apartment, either quietly writing letters
to her betrothed, or sewing on her bridal outfit. Such is the result
of employing those who have been brought up to do their own work. That
tall, fine-looking girl, for aught we know, may yet be mistress of a
fine house on Fifth Avenue; and if she is, she will, we fear, prove
rather an exacting mistress to Irish Bridget; but she will never be
threatened by her cook and chambermaid, after the first one or two
have tried the experiment.
Those remarkable women of old were made by circumstances. There were,
comparatively speaking, no servants to be had, and so children were
trained to habits of industry and mechanical adroitness from the cradle,
and every household process was reduced to the very minimum of labor.
Every step required in a process was counted, every movement calculated;
and she who took ten steps, when one would do, lost her reputation for
"faculty.
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