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mistress does not put out all her washing: besides, lodgers generally make a little present if the servant-girl is civil, which I hope I shall always be. I was very glad of the half-crown, for I wanted to buy a little worsted to set on some stockings for winter, because I can knit while I am watching Miss Fanny play about in the back garden. But I hope I shall be able to keep one-and-sixpence towards the saving bank; for I must begin this year, you know."

I have mentioned that these two girls continued in their places a second year; but you may like to glance through their account books with them at their next meeting, when each had received their first year's wages. So here are the

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THOUGH small be my portion, and humble my birth,
And laborious and lowly my station on earth;
Though my name in the annals of fame be unknown,
Nor splendour nor gaiety call me their own;

Yet I'm sure (though the great ones may reckon it strange)
I would not my lot with a monarch exchange;
For I've often been told, that a king on his throne
Has vexations and toils which to me are unknown;

And pleasure's a phantom, and honour's a name,
And slander's shrill blast drowns the echo of fame;
And the cares and the sorrows attendant on wealth
Oft mar the enjoyment and ruin the health.
Now I'll tell you my habits, and then you may see
Who on earth may be blither and happier than me.
I rise with the lark-this conduces to health,
As well as to cheerfulness, wisdom, and wealth;
Thus my plan, and my work, and my time, are my own,
And all is in order when mistress comes down :

I should hate, when I heard her, to hurry and run,
As if this were untidy, and that were undone.
Her kind spoken orders with ease I fulfill,

For labour is light when perform'd with good will.
I would wish to avoid what might grieve or offend;
If reproved, hear with meekness, and strive to amend ;
If aught I've neglected, or injured, or broken,
'Tis but right that the truth be immediately spoken:
Thus I 'scape the temptation to falsehood and shame,
And establish my credit, respect, and good name.
My apparel is plain, yet decent and good;
I would not be tawdry and fine, if I could;
Nor would I be dainty and choice in my fare,
Though the cost and the payment are none of my care.
I'm thankful for plenty, but waste I abhor,

'Tis a robbery, methinks, of the sick and the poor;
For oft a nice morsel that mistress bestows,

Were I wasteful and careless, 'tis they that must lose.
The work of each day, be whatever to do,

I like to go quickly and steadily through;
Nor leave things half finish'd, or half clear'd away;
Nor burden to-morrow with cares of to-day :
And on Saturday evening I love to forecast
How the Sabbath in sacred repose may be pass'd.
But when all is done, I can sit down and rest,
To sewing or reading, as pleases me best;
My mind to improve, or my garments to mend ;
Or some little kindness perform for a friend,-
Till the parlour-bell rings at the hour of prayer:
This ended, in peace to my bed I repair,
With no cares to disturb me, no wants to annoy ;
And how sweet and refreshing the sleep I enjoy!
And what though my wages are not very high,
I find them sufficient my wants to supply.

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I have bought a new Bible, for that you, no doubt,
Will allow is a treasure I can't do without.

And then, 'tis but right I should send a small part
To my dear aged parents, to comfort their heart:
While a snug little sum, in the saving-bank placed,
To myself may prove useful when labour is past.
Yet enough still remains to provide me, with care,
In all that's befitting a servant to wear:
Come morning, come evening, I'm fit to be seen.
If so happy a maiden, then who'd be a queen?

-

Servants' Magazine.

FRIENDLY HINTS TO SERVANTS.

ON ANSWERING THE DOOR AND THE BELLS.

Be attentive and quick. Never suffer any one to stand long at the door, especially in wet, or cold, or very hot weather; do not oblige them either to knock or ring twice.

Be civil in your treatment of all comers. Civility is as cheap as it is pleasing; pertness is both odious and inexcusable.

Be cautious whom you admit into the house in the absence of the family. If a stranger call, however plausibly he may speak, do not admit him to any of the rooms, or leave him to fetch pen and ink, or comply with any other request he may make, unless some of the other servants are in the way; and by no means inform him of any of the circumstances of the family, as to who may be out, or who at home, &c.

In receiving a message or name, be careful to take it exactly, and deliver it punctually. Do not give an answer without authority, especially to a person in the habit of calling it is easy to say, "I will inquire," and much better to do so; the member of the family about whom inquiry is made, though absent, may have left a message for the

inquirer. If your employer is at home, but does not wish to be seen, say at once, "that he is engaged;" but do not say that he is not at home when he is.

Servants should accustom themselves, on all occasions, to answer a bell immediately. A household servant having had an accident, which disabled her arm, took her tinderbox into the nursery, and requested the nurse-maid to strike a light for her, which she did; and by some accident a spark communicated to the clothes of a bed, where two children were asleep. After this the nurse-maid remained half an hour in the nursery, and then went down to prepare for her morning duties, without perceiving what had happened. On her opening the door, the air fanned the spark, and in a few minutes the slumberers were awakened by the flames which surrounded them. The mother, who was confined to her bed by sickness in an adjoining room, heard the children calling, "Jane, there's fire in the bed!" but she thought they said, "a spider in the bed;" without, therefore, being alarmed, she rang the bell, which Jane immediately answered, and reached the spot just in time to snatch the two babes from their perilous situation. Had Jane reasoned one minute, as is often done,—“ No doubt that bell is for me, to dress the children; I will just finish what I am about," or, "I will just fetch their shoes," or, "just fill this water jug, and then go,"- that minute would have rendered her assistance useless; the children would have perished, without the possibility of approaching to save them.

I cannot refrain here from warning young girls of the frightful consequences that too often proceed from the carelessness of servants; such as leaving little children alone in a room with fire or candles; carrying the bed-candles about the house with long wicks, that actually drop fire about; putting a light into a closet, or on a shelf, near linen or papers; or, as I have often seen, a shelf above the candle, where the flame reaches so as to char the wood in a very short time; or, as was probably the case in the accident I have related, heedless scattering of lucifer-matches, which are very convenient articles, but highly dangerous in the hands of careless servants.

Servants' Magazine; Faithful Servant; &e.

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