Miscellaneous Sketches.
BY NELLIE BLY.
TRYING TO BE A SERVANT.
MY STRANGE EXPERIENCE AT TWO EMPLOYMENT AGENCIES.
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NONE but the initiated know what a
great question the servant question is
and how many perplexing sides it has.
The mistresses and servants, of course,
fill the leading roles. Then, in the
lesser, but still important parts, come
the agencies, which despite the many
voices clamoring against them, declare
themselves public benefactors. Even
the “funny man” manages to fill a a
great deal of space with the subject.
It is a serious question, since it affects
all one holds dear in life—one’s dinner,
one’s bed, and one’s linen. I had
heard so many complaints from long-suffering mistresses,
worked-out servants, agencies, and lawyers, that I determined
to investigate the subject to my own satisfaction.
There was only one way to do it. That was to personate
a servant and apply for a situation. I knew that there
might be such a thing as “references” required, and, as
I had never tested my abilities in this line, I did not
