There were three little boys, under ten years of
age, who had their nursery governess, said lessons to her regularly, and
were led out decorously to walk by her at appointed seasons, like all the
rest of good little English boys in well-regulated families; and yet the
mother of these children came to the door of our parlor each morning, with
the respectful air of an old family housekeeper, to ask what we would have
for dinner, and was careful and exact in buying "three penn'orth" of herbs
at a time for us, to season our soup. I ought to mention that in both
these places we made the greater part of our purchases ourselves, having
weekly bills sent in from the shops, and in our names, exactly as if we
were living in our own house. All honest lodging-house keepers, we were
told, preferred this method, as leaving no opening for any unjust
suspicions of their fairness in providing. But, if one chooses to be as
absolutely free from trouble as in boarding, the marketing can all be done
by the family, and the bills still made out in the lodgers' names.
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