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the church were observed by Margarete by bouts of home-sick

Curious slow Gregorian-like chantings emanated from the kitchen; and there Margarete would be discovered, prone on the table, chanting the hymns of the Vaterland,' sobbing out at intervals, “Oh, my parents are so happy to-day. To-day dey are boozing wiz der friends; dey are all boozy togezer. I do vish I vas dere!' Her familiar nod and Gut Tag,' if by chance she met anyone on the stairs or in the passages was a source of much amusement. On Sundays she was a sight to behold. She insisted on wearing a very loud checked tweed dress and decorations of coral en suite, or it might be a blue velveteen dress and amber necklace, &c. One day I expected Lord E. to luncheon. Now I feel sure

Ι that in her heart of hearts Margarete was a Socialist; her lips were tightly pressed together while I was ordering luncheon for this occasion. After a while, in a most nonchalant manner, she remarks, Ven zat man kormes to lunch-Margarete!' I interrupt, 'how often am I to remind you to say “Ma'am,”

" when you speak to me? and you must speak of Lord E. as his Lordship, not as "zat man.” Ach, ven I say Lord to Gott, I cannot say it to man.' It was not easy to persuade Margarete to keep up any regular church attendance. On being expostulated with, she announced, “In my country, we can be gut wisout always running to church !! She told me one morning that to make a certain pudding she required 'two eggs and one joke;' she never could distinguish between the letters y and j. As I had suffered from the constant amours of previous cooks, I was glad to ascertain, when she entered my service, that Margarete had a lover in her beloved Germany, to whom she professed the sincerest constancy. I understood a little of the solemnity of a German betrothal, and felt much relieved that the knot was practically tied; but observing the undue attentions of 'de postemans,' 'de butchmonger,' and other males necessary to our daily civilised existence, I ventured to remind Margarete of her betrothed so far away, at which she promptly exclaimed, 'Vat is de good of a lover wid de sea between ?'—what indeed! A holiday sufficiently extended to enable Margarete to revisit the “Vaterland' was accorded soon after this; and equipped for the voyage, in 'yachting costume’ if you please, braided sailor collar and all, Margarete tearfully came to wish me good-bye, begged our photographs, placed them inside her bodice next to her heart, and departedfor a month ! On her return she confided to me that she had

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changed her views about men, wished to have nothing more to do with them, had broken off her engagement, and henceforth would devote herself to her profession and never think of marrying.

I remember about this time an agitation was got up among philanthropists in our neighbourhood, on behalf of postmen, and the hardship of their having an hour or two's walk on a Sunday morningbefore the hour of Divine service, mind you! I did not sympathise with that agitation, for who knew better than I of the abundance of leisure that a postman can give himself? I know that mine had a splendid time, and throve on it, and I soon deemed it wise to take the matter into my own hands and announce 'that a marriage had been arranged, and would shortly take place, between Margarete and "de postemans.”'

On visiting Madame Postemans in her own home, I observed that she must have found it a little difficult to get into the habit of early rising, so as to give her husband his breakfast before he started for his work. The answer was characteristic. · Ach! I do know better zan zat; he do get his breakfast on his rounds.' Subsequently, during a cookless interval, Margarete came to 'oblige' for a few weeks. I neglected to state that I did not invite the whole family; but it was understood that the paternal grandmother could mind the home during Margarete's absence on duty, and it was only when startled out of a light sleep (there was illness in the house, and I was rather overwrought) at dead of night by terrific howls, that I discovered the presence of the ' baby postemans,' who had been for several days successfully secreted within cupboards while I was likely to be about. His mother said that the child was 'all right,' but wanted to 'yump,' as he was stiff. When once the child's presence was disclosed, there was no longer any reason for shutting him up in the kitchen dresser; but imagine my feelings (he was at the slobbery stage of babyhood) on finding him supplied with the patty-pans and other smaller culinary articles as toys! Ugh! He was also taught to salute us as 'Onkel' and Tante.' Yes, Margarete certainly had a Socialistic vein in her. Finding the scale on which I was entertaining angels unawares, I speedily terminated Margarete's term

Ι of assistance. I tried a one-legged cook; but apparently her temper had gone with her leg, and though she was a good honest servant she looked so sour, and alarmed me so much, that I used . to be 'all of a tremble' when the time came to order dinner. I engaged a woman from up the country, who arrived looking

respectable and promising enough, and went upstairs to settle into her bedroom, but returned downstairs bonneted, and explained that she could not think of staying in a house where the lady did not provide beds for her servants.' 'But not only has each servant her own bed, but a room to herself. What do you mean?' I had much to learn; nothing less than a feather bed could be described as a 'bed' by this good woman, and as my furnishing was in advance of that order of things, we saw no more of her.

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The Irish cook was a strange experience. I knew that she had not had a servant's training; but she was strongly recommended as a born cook, and, being a farmer's daughter, and nearly related to a member of Parliament, I was in hopes that a very little time would suffice to get her into our ways; for I argued that of course she was used to a good home as a farmer's daughter, and I must own that I, in my innocence, was impressed by her relationship to an M.P., even though a Home Ruler. Kathleen O'Flinn wrote a good hand, and after some correspondence with her, and having received assurances of her respectability and suitability for a post in any lady's house, I decided on engaging her, and she came. I made great allowances for the long journey; but it was soon patent that the first thing needful was a bath, and I quietly but firmly desired Kathleen to take a hot bath without delay. She stared, and seemed at a loss to understand me; so when the necessaries were prepared I proceeded in pantomime to illustrate the proceeding. I must say that this Irishwoman was obedient, if nothing else; she did her best, and came to me later, looking decidedly lighter of complexion, but still-streaky! 'Turn up your sleeves, please.-No, you must go back and wash again.' After three protracted immersions she was passed,' and allowed to sit in a corner of the kitchen.

The next day I could not understand how it was that my Irishwoman was for ever walking up and down the stairs, holding on to wall and banister with both hands for dear life-up and down, over and over again. I spoke to her, and the answer, 'Shure and it's a beautiful house, m'lady, and I've never seen the loike of it before,' betrayed the fact that this was the first house she had lived in, and the first staircase she had mounted, and she was practising walking upstairs. Obviously the M.P.'s relative was unfitted for any but the meanest work, so she was set to do a little scrubbing, &c., to eke out the necessary month;' but 'Faith,' she had never seen a floor washed like that before; it

would all come up!' Her method was to sweep and collect the sweepings under some convenient mat. Of course she was an R.C. and dévote, and she assured me that her religion forbade her to do any work on saints' days. I never before realised that five out of six days are feast days in the R.C. Calendar; to us they would have been fasts but for the timely charwoman, as Kathleen spent the whole day at the nearest church. Her return ticket was presented to her, and my Irish experience made me now wish to procure as ordinary an Englishwoman as possible. I succeeded in securing a very commonplace sort of person, who represented herself as engaged to a steward on board one of the great American liners. So far, so good; but I was yet to have another illustration in the futility of a lover across the sea,' as this woman made a dead set at the youthful gardener, ten years her junior, and gave piquancy to her courtship by an occasional heave of crockery at his head. I myself was an unseen witness. of a pie-dish skimming in his direction! She soon broke off her engagement, and told me that it was owing to her intended giving way to drunkenness ashore; he was all right during a voyage, but when in port never sober. But, cook, you had given me to understand that he was such a very respectable man.' 'And so he is, mum, a most respectable man, I'm sure, in every way. I've always said so, and I always shall say so; but he's something dreadful when he gets at the drink.' So much for 'respectability.' I still puzzle over what that word represents to such classes; and, as I and they certainly see a different meaning in it, I have ceased to use it in my dealings with them.

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For these sketches of character in that all-important functionary of every house, the cook, I have not had to draw on my fund of imagination; every circumstance is absolutely fact. My consolation in my domestic ups and downs' has been that though one cannot always get good service from those who offer themselves in the capacity of domestic servants, one may generally get a little amusement out of them-and why not?

THE CASTLE INN

BY STANLEY WEYMAN.

CHAPTER XXVII.

MR. FISHWICK'S DISCOVERY.

LET us return to Sir George Soane and his companions, whom we left stranded in the little alehouse at Bathford; waiting through the small hours of the night for a conveyance to carry them forward to Bristol. Soap and water, a good meal, and a brief dog's sleep, in which Soane had no share-he spent the night walking up and down-and from which Mr. Fishwick was continually starting with cries and moanings, did something to put them in better plight, if in no better temper. When the dawn came, and with it the chaise and four for which they had sent to Bath, they issued forth haggard and unshaven, but resolute; and long before the shops in Bristol had begun to look for custom, the three, with Sir George's servant, descended before the old Bush Inn, near the Docks.

The attorney held strongly to the opinion that they should not lose a second in seeking the persons whom Mr. Dunborough had employed; the least delay, he urged, and the men might be gone into hiding. But on this a wrangle took place, in the empty street before the half-roused inn; with a milk-girl and a couple of drunken sailors for witnesses. Mr. Dunborough, who was of the party will-he, nill-he, and asked nothing better than to take out in churlishness the pressure put upon him, stood firmly on it, he would take no more than one person to the men. He would take Sir George, if he pleased, but he would take no one else.

'I'll have no lawyer to make evidence!' he cried boastfully. 'And I'll take no one but on terms. I'll have no Jemmy Twitcher with me. That's flat.'

Mr. Fishwick in a rage was for insisting; but Sir George stopped him. On what terms?' he asked the other.

'If the girl is unharmed, we go unharmed. One and all!' Mr. Dunborough answered. 'Damme!' he continued with a great

Copyright, 1898, by Stanley Weyman, in the United States of America.

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