380

DOMKSTIC MANNEliS OF THE PKUSSIAKS.

in the course of her day's work; and yet, poor soul, she hassix children to keep at home."

That this is no extreme view of the hardships that theRhenish domestics have to endure at the hands of many oftheir mistresses, we may cite the fact, which all who were inCoblenz at the beginning of the year 1855 will well remember,that at the time of the visit of some eminent Catholic mission-aries to the town, they made the want of charity displayed bythe German mistresses to their servants the subject of one oftheir discourses at the church.

Now, domestic servitude, especially with maids-of-all-work,is no very pleasant lot, even in the best of houses; —to have tobear the tyranny of every burst of temper, without exhibitingeven the least sign of displeasure; — to be upbraided in novery measured terms, and yet not permitted to say a wordeven though the accusation be iinjust; — to be doomed to thealmost solitary confmement of a kitchen, and yet allowed tospeak to no one, even on the doorstep of an evening; — toknow no rest from labour, not even of a Sunday, except forone day in each month; — and to feel that your very breaddepends lipon the caprice of mistresses, who may object to giveyou a character immediately the least ill-feeling arises in theirminds; — all these, surely, would be feit as severe trials, evenby the most philosophic of mankind. But when we add tothe above list of hardships that of coarse, ungenerous food,as well as utter neglect at the time of illness, and the con-tinual dread of the police for the least offence — togetherwith such a mere pittance in the shape of wages for the work,that nothing but beggary seems to await the poor things intheir old age, and that too in a land where begging is " beiStrafe verboten;" — surely even a " stone-heart" would besoftened, and show some littlc consideration for the sufferingsof these wretched " braves Mädchens " of Deutschland,