Since you were fourteen, you have been trained in domestic service, but it seemed as long ago as you could remember. You began your official employment and training as a scullery maid, although since turning twelve, you assisted the seamstresses. A scullery maid was absolutely the worst job. As the lowest ranked and youngest of the female servants, you were an assistant to a junior kitchen maid. One might think that the cleaning and scouring in the kitchen was the worst part of your job, but what you hated most was the plucking of fowl and the scaling of fish. You were not allowed to eat with the other household servants but as a privilege you were sometimes allowed to serve them. By fifteen, you were fortunate to be promoted to laundry maid; the best part of that job was that you didn’t smell like fish and meat all day long. You would wash, dry, fold or iron every piece of clothing, towel, bedlinen, tablecloth and napkin used by the family and all the servants. At sixteen, you were finally allowed upstairs, where you entered a world you had not even imagined in your fantasies. As an ”upstairs maid,” you started as a chambermaid responsible for maintaining the family’s bedrooms and keeping the fireplaces lit. At seventeen you became a parlor maid, cleaning reception and living areas and serving afternoon tea. Finally, last year you were promoted to housemaid, reporting to the head housemaid, who reported to the housekeeper, who reported to the butler, who reported to the lady of the house. However, when you entered service at the Breakers, you had to return to serving as a chambermaid. (Mrs. Vanderbilt Volume One - Primogeniture)