Biddy or Gretchen unless there is more to do than one pair of hands can accomplish.
The practice of these domestic exercises has also an important influence upon household service. The mistress who understands all the work required by her, and performs part of it herself, rarely has any trouble with servants. But, in order to attain this result, she must know more than the manner in which any piece of work is to be done; she must know how long it takes to do it, and in order to estimate this justly she will need to make practical trial of it herself without assistance. The knowledge and skill she gains in this way will also enable her often to suggest an easier method or better arrangement of work. The ridiculous requirements made in some households where there is a lack of service, and which result in frequent changes, would not be possible if the mistress had learned this lesson in its entirety.
Can it be repeated too often that it is the sign of ignorance to scorn any work well done, or the doer of it? Only when the dignity and importance of labor are rightly estimated can we hope for any well-founded social prosperity. While it is not suggested that wealthy women should discharge their servants and undertake their own domestic work, it may be urged that only good can come from their personal performance of some share of it—physical benefit to themselves and a more wholesome feeling for the labor of their necessitous sisters. Between the small minority who suffer from too easy living and those whose days are overburdened with care, there exists, especially in cities, a large class of women in moderate circumstances whose health would be greatly benefited by more physical exercise. These need not rashly bestride the bicycle, nor rush through the nonproductive drill of the gymnasium as an only means of grace. They may garner their resources, develop their muscles in walking and in reconquering a world of flexibility and strength which lies within their own thresholds.
