A man-servant receives from four to eight dollars a-month, and female servants nine or ten dollars, as Chinese women will not wait upon a European unless greatly overpaid.

In addition to all this, there is a custom prevalent here, of having a separate person for each branch of household duty, which renders a large number of servants indispensable.
A family of only four persons requires at least eleven or twelve domestics, if not more.

In the first place, every member of the family must have an attendant especially for his or her use; then there is a man-cook, a number of nursery-maids, and several coolies for the more menial duties, such as cleaning the rooms, carrying the wood and water, and so forth.

In spite of this number of servants, the attendance is frequently very bad; for, if one or other of them happens to be out, and his services are required, his master must wait until he returns, as no servant could ever be prevailed upon to do another's duty.
At the head of the whole household is the comprador, who is a kind of major-domo.

To his care are confided all the plate, furniture, linen, and other effects; he engages all the servants, provides for their board, and anything else they may require, and answers for their good conduct, deducting, however, two dollars a-month from the wages of each, in return for his services.