Woman's Humor — "Looking For a Maid"

1905

Mrs. Mary E. Wilkins-Freeman was discussing, at her home in Metuchen the popular fallacy that woman has no sense of humor.

"Woman," said this powerful writer, "has a keen sense of humor, and of this fact I am continually hearing excellent proofs. Often it is a sad and bitter humor. But I do not like it less on that account. "From a friend in Exeter I heard a good specimen of woman's humor the other day.

"An old bachelor of Exeter had advertised for a maid of all work. A robust woman of middle age answered his advertisement. The bachelor told her that her appearance, her look of strength, pleased him, and then he proceeded to enumerate the duties that would be required of a maid of all work in his house.

" 'To suit me,' he said, 'a maid will have to do the cooking, the washing and ironing, the sweeping, the cleaning and the marketing. She will have to tend to the garden. She will have to look after my clothes, pressing my trousers once a week, sewing on my buttons, mending my shirts, darning my stockings and so on. She must pay all the bills, and she must keep an account book to show where the money goes. She must—'

"But the woman of middle age held up her hand to interrupt the old bachelor, and his flow of talk ceased.

" 'Well?' he asked.

" 'You,' said the woman, 'don't want hired girl. You want a wife.'

"And with a grim smile — the smile, maybe, of a widow who knew whereof she spoke — she walked away."