Yesterday the parcel containing my maid’s uniforms was delivered to our door. There were two black dresses down to my ankles, two white aprons, two frilly caps, two pairs of black stockings and one pair of black shoes. I would have to carry the shoes back and forth, since I needed my boots for walking the four miles between home and my employment.
“You can be sure the cost of all this will come out of her wages”, I heard my mother mutter to my Da as I stored the package under my bed in the kitchen. Later my brother Henry teased me about having to wear a uniform, as we were both lying in bed. There is a knothole in the boards that separate our two box beds. “At least I can wear my own clothes when I go to be apprenticed next year”, he whispered. We have to whisper so Mam and Da won’t hear us in the next room. “Aye, but you’ll have to live in a bothy with the other ’prentices,” I told him, “ and fend for yourself. You’ll have to learn to cook and mend your own clothes. Doesn’t sound so grand to me.” That silenced him.
We all have kist boxes under our beds for storage. Henry’s is used for the pots and pans, as well as extra blankets for the cold weather. He will take the kist with him when he leaves, and it will have to do for his clothes, dishes, pots and pans and anything else. We moved the extra raw wool and knitting things out of my kist so I could store my uniforms in it. Ma set them all in a big basket by her spinning wheel. My parents still store our old cradle under their bed, and I suppose it will be mine some day.
But before I ever marry I want to see as much of the world as I can. Mr. McKellar used to show us pictures of different parts of the world – China, India, and the Americas. Some of the lads from around here have emigrated to Canada for better work and pay. I think I just want to travel and see it all.
No comments:
Post a Comment