I don't think the presence of a servant proves much--I suspect the "hired girl" got a roof over her head and her bread and tea and not much more. (I read a comparison not only of the price of the first edition of Jane Eyre to governess' actual salaries, but to the 4 pounds a year deducted from the 20 pound per annum salary, with the net described as "four times the cost of laundering a governess' not very extensive wardrobe."
Family legend has it that the reason I have a bunch of relatives named Gordon because there was an Gordon advertisement painted on a brick wall visible in Ellis Island, so it was a default value when the immigration Babel fish was taking a lunch break. I have *no* idea what the name was originally.
no subject
Date: 2006-01-20 06:06 pm (UTC)Family legend has it that the reason I have a bunch of relatives named Gordon because there was an Gordon advertisement painted on a brick wall visible in Ellis Island, so it was a default value when the immigration Babel fish was taking a lunch break. I have *no* idea what the name was originally.