Tag #113875 - Interview #102857 (Boris Lesman)

They had a housemaid. Oh, no: they had a servant! At that time there were no housemaids, only servants, and I do not remember her name. She was Russian, she had lived at them for hundred years (from her childhood to her death). By that time she was already very old: a good bit older than both my uncles (and they were about seventy or even older …). But she was full of mischief! I remember her, when she was younger. I knew her for about ten years: possibly from 1930s. And I do not remember when she died. She was very slim, short, but full of mischief! She practically became a family member. She cooked, washed, and cleaned, and also helped me to take a bath. She used to heat the bathroom and say ‘Let’s go! Let’s take a bath!’ She was there to order about; she was the mistress of the house. She was paid for her job, moreover: when we came back or left the house, uncle Abram always told my father ‘Moissey, have you given money?’ It was always an extra sum of money. And my father used to leave money somewhere on the table (he never delivered anything into anybody’s hands). Uncle Abram kept vigilant watch over it.