footman to the mistress when she goes riding in the afternoon. An
important duty of the butler is to answer the door bell whenever it
rings. He must see that the front door and the hall is in order and
well-swept, and that the drawing-room door is locked every night after
the family has retired. A great deal of the comfort and pleasure of the
family depends upon the manner in which the butler attends to his duties.


CORRECT DRESS FOR THE BUTLER

Neatness of attire is extremely important. The butler should be
clean-shaven, and he should not fail to be fresh-shaven every day. His
hair should not be closely cropped, but cut loosely, and it should be
well-brushed at all times. Well-kept nails are, of course, very
important not only for the butler but for anyone who serves at the table
or has anything to do with the food. As nearly as possible, the butler's
costume should parallel the following description, but each passing
season finds some minor detail slightly changed, and each new season
finds a slight variation from the costume of the season before. So the
best thing to do is to find out definitely from a reliable clothier or
from the men's furnishing department of a large department store, just
what the butler's costume of the present time consists of. Ordinarily,
the butler wears white linen in the morning, with black or dark gray
trousers, a black waistcoast that buttons high, and a swallow-tail coat.
It is also permissible for him to wear a short roundtail coat in the
morning hours; it is similar to the gentleman's tailless evening coat,
but it is not faced with silk. A black or dark tie and black shoes
complete the outfit, which is worn until after the midday meal. If
guests are to be entertained at luncheon, the butler wears his afternoon
and evening livery. Otherwise he dons it only after luncheon or about