Thissomewhatidealizedanddiagrammaticoutlineofthedevelopmentandnatureofdomesticservicecomesnearestbeingtrueforthatculturalstagewhichwasherebeennamedthe“quasi-peaceable“stageofindustry。Atthisstagepersonalservicefirstrisestothepositionofaneconomicinstitution，anditisatthisstagethatitoccupiesthelargestplaceinthecommunity’sschemeoflife。Intheculturalsequence，thequasi猵eaceablestagefollowsthepredatorystageproper，thetwobeingsuccessivephasesofbarbarianlife。Itscharacteristicfeatureisaformalobservanceofpeaceandorder，atthesametimethatlifeatthisstagestillhastoomuchofcoercionandclassantagonismtobecalledpeaceableinthefullsenseoftheword。Formanypurposes，andfromanotherpointofviewthantheeconomicone，itmightaswellbenamedthestageofstatus。Themethodofhumanrelationduringthisstage，andthespiritualattitudeofmenatthislevelofculture，iswellsummedupundertheterm。Butasadescriptivetermtocharacterisetheprevailingmethodsofindustry，aswellastoindicatethetrendofindustrialdevelopmentatthispointineconomicevolution，theterm“quasi-peaceable“seemspreferable。SofarasconcernsthecommunitiesoftheWesternculture，thisphaseofeconomicdevelopmentprobablyliesinthepast；exceptforanumericallysmallthoughveryconspicuousfractionofthecommunityinwhomthehabitsofthoughtpeculiartothebarbarianculturehavesufferedbutarelativelyslightdisintegration。
Personalserviceisstillanelementofgreateconomicimportance，especiallyasregardsthedistributionandconsumptionofgoods；butitsrelativeimportanceeveninthisdirectionisnodoubtlessthanitoncewas。Thebestdevelopmentofthisvicariousleisureliesinthepastratherthaninthepresent；anditsbestexpressioninthepresentistobefoundintheschemeoflifeoftheupperleisureclass。Tothisclassthemoderncultureowesmuchinthewayoftheconservationoftraditions，usages，andhabitsofthoughtwhichbelongonamorearchaicculturalplane，sofarasregardstheirwidestacceptanceandtheirmosteffectivedevelopment。
Inthemodernindustrialcommunitiesthemechanicalcontrivancesavailableforthecomfortandconvenienceofeverydaylifearehighlydeveloped。Somuchsothatbodyservants，or，indeed，domesticservantsofanykind，wouldnowscarcelybeemployedbyanybodyexceptonthegroundofacanonofreputabilitycarriedoverbytraditionfromearlierusage。Theonlyexceptionwouldbeservantsemployedtoattendonthepersonsoftheinfirmandthefeeble-minded。Butsuchservantsproperlycomeundertheheadoftrainednursesratherthanunderthatofdomesticservants，andtheyare，therefore，anapparentratherthanarealexceptiontotherule。
Theproximatereasonforkeepingdomesticservants，forinstance，inthemoderatelywell-to-dohouseholdofto-day，isostensiblythatthemembersofthehouseholdareunablewithoutdiscomforttocompasstheworkrequiredbysuchamodernestablishment。Andthereasonfortheirbeingunabletoaccomplishitis1thattheyhavetoomany“socialduties“，and2thattheworktobedoneistoosevereandthatthereistoomuchofit。Thesetworeasonsmayberestatedasfollows:1
Underthemandatorycodeofdecency，thetimeandeffortofthemembersofsuchahouseholdarerequiredtobeostensiblyallspentinaperformanceofconspicuousleisure，inthewayofcalls，drives，clubs，sewing-circles，sports，charityorganisations，andotherlikesocialfunctions。Thosepersonswhosetimeandenergyareemployedinthesemattersprivatelyavowthatalltheseobservances，aswellastheincidentalattentiontodressandotherconspicuousconsumption，areveryirksomebutaltogetherunavoidable。2Undertherequirementofconspicuousconsumptionofgoods，theapparatusoflivinghasgrownsoelaborateandcumbrous，inthewayofdwellings，furniture，bric-a-brac，wardrobeandmeals，thattheconsumersofthesethingscannotmakewaywiththemintherequiredmannerwithouthelp。Personalcontactwiththehiredpersonswhoseaidiscalledintofulfiltheroutineofdecencyiscommonlydistastefultotheoccupantsofthehouse，buttheirpresenceisenduredandpaidfor，inordertodelegatetothemashareinthisonerousconsumptionofhouseholdgoods。Thepresenceofdomesticservants，andofthespecialclassofbodyservantsinaneminentdegree，isaconcessionofphysicalcomforttothemoralneedofpecuniarydecency。