The bearer should be the head servant, and the greatest
care should be exercised in engaging one who is honest and
resiiectable. Being his master’s valet, the other servants
give weight to his opinions, and follow his lead, knowing
that he has opportunities for private communication with tlie
authorities. Ear-wigging, it must be remembered, is supposed
by the Oriental to be all-powerful. The discipline and re-
spectability of the servants’ quarters dejiend to a great extent
on the character of the bearer, who should be held responsible.
Housekeeper and Cook 57
The bearer must be an early riser. He has charge of every
single thing in the house, save those in the dining-room and
])antry, and any loss or breakage has to be accounted for by
him ; " therefore it is to his own advantage that he should
keep an eye on the under-servants. In addition, one of the
greatest alleviations of Indian discomfort lies in his hands ;
that is, keeping the house free of mosquitoes. To do this
he must in the hot weather shut every window before dawn.
They may be opened afterwards ; but if they are not shut be-
tween four o’clock and six o’clock mosquitoes will come in.
His next duty is to remove the lamps used the night
before to the lamp-room, taking those used in the bedrooms
from the ayah or Ichilmufgar, as the case may be, whose duty
it is to bring them out to the bearer. This should be done
at the opportunity afforded by the taking in to the bedroom
of the early cup of tea. He should also call upon the hhit-
viuigdr to remove coffee cups, tumblers, &c., that may have
escaped notice. He should not remove them himself.
When the sweejjer has swept the outer verandahs, the
upper and lower windows should be thrown open, but not
till then, or the dust will come in.
One day a week the drawing-room should receive a
thorough cleaning, summer and winter ; and after a dust-
storm a complete tuniing out is also necessary ; but on other
days the sweeper should, with a soft brush and dustpan,
sweep over the whole room, shaking mats, &c., outside, as
they are apt to harbour vermin. The bearer meanwhile
should remove the flower-vases and place them on a table
in the verandah, fold up newspapers and put them in a
certain fixed receptacle, replace books in the bookshelf,
restore chairs to their proper place, and sort everything up
as far as possible. It is a good plan to have a separate basket
for all papers, envelopes, &c., found on the floor anywhere
about the house, as it is then a sure find for lost letters or
memoranda. Punkahs and thermantidotes often blow scraps
of paper off tables.
When this is done thewhole room should be carefully dusted.
'Hie weekly turn-out should include a polish to all articles
of fui-Tiiture, a smart beating of the backs of the carpets, and
a cleaning of windows. Dirty windows are the sign of a bad
bearer. If the bearer is valet also, he should now attend to
58 The Complete Indian
his master’s room, brusliing and folding the clothes used the
day before, tidying the dressing-table, and not forgetting to
dust the mirror.
Page 38
Presented as published in 1898. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
AI-modernized reading of the original text
The bearer should be the head servant, and the greatest care should be exercised in engaging one who is honest and respectable. Being his master’s valet, the other servants give weight to his opinions, and follow his lead, knowing that he has opportunities for private communication with tlie authorities. Ear-wigging, it must be remembered, is supposed by the Oriental to be all-powerful. The discipline and respectability of the servants’ quarters depend to a great extent on the character of the bearer, who should be held responsible.
Housekeeper and Cook 57
The bearer must be an early riser. He has charge of every single thing in the house, save those in the dining-room and ])antry, and any loss or breakage has to be accounted for by him ; " therefore it is to his own advantage that he should keep an eye on the under-servants. In addition, one of the greatest alleviations of Indian discomfort lies in his hands ; that is, keeping the house free of mosquitoes. To do this he must in the hot weather shut every window before dawn. They may be opened afterwards ; but if they are not shut between four o’clock and six o’clock mosquitoes will come in.
His next duty is to remove the lamps used the night before to the lamp-room, taking those used in the bedrooms from the ayah or khilmutgar, as the case may be, whose duty it is to bring them out to the bearer. This should be done at the opportunity afforded by the taking in to the bedroom of the early cup of tea. He should also call upon the khitmutgar to remove coffee cups, tumblers, &c., that may have escaped notice. He should not remove them himself.
When the sweeper has swept the outer verandahs, the upper and lower windows should be thrown open, but not till then, or the dust will come in.
One day a week the drawing-room should receive a thorough cleaning, summer and winter ; and after a duststorm a complete tuniing out is also necessary ; but on other days the sweeper should, with a soft brush and dustpan, sweep over the whole room, shaking mats, &c., outside, as they are apt to harbour vermin. The bearer meanwhile should remove the flower-vases and place them on a table in the verandah, fold up newspapers and put them in a certain fixed receptacle, replace books in the bookshelf, restore chairs to their proper place, and sort everything up as far as possible. It is a good plan to have a separate basket for all papers, envelopes, &c., found on the floor anywhere about the house, as it is then a sure find for lost letters or memoranda. Punkahs and thermantidotes often blow scraps of paper off tables.
When this is done the whole room should be carefully dusted.
'Hie weekly turn-out should include a polish to all articles of furniture, a smart beating of the backs of the carpets, and a cleaning of windows. Dirty windows are the sign of a bad bearer. If the bearer is valet also, he should now attend to
58 The Complete Indian
his master’s room, brusliing and folding the clothes used the day before, tidying the dressing-table, and not forgetting to dust the mirror.