Let us trace this from the beginning, and suppose a person has a servant-
maid sent him out of the country, at fifty shillings, or three pounds a
year. The girl has scarce been a week, nay, a day in her service, but a
committee of servant-wenches are appointed to examine her, who advise her
to raise her wages, or give warning; to encourage her to which, the herb-
woman, or chandler-woman, or some other old intelligencer, provides her a
place of four or five pounds a year; this sets madam cock-a-hoop, and she
thinks of nothing now but vails and high wages, and so gives warning from
place to place, till she has got her wages up to the tip-top.
Her neat's leathern shoes are now transformed into laced ones with high
heels; her yarn stockings are turned into fine woollen ones, with silk
clocks; and her high wooden pattens are kicked away for leathern clogs;
she must have a hoop too, as well as her mistress; and her poor scanty
linsey-woolsey petticoat is changed into a good silk one, for four or
five yards wide at the least. Not to carry the description farther, in
short, plain country Joan is now turned into a fine London madam, can
drink tea, take snuff, and carry herself as high as the best.
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