6 A.M.
Only newcomers ever think , of trying to economize on servant bills . The record of the thermometer is too appalling , and you speedily become too dependent on their attentions . The Chinese `` boy '' -- he is always the `` boy '' until he dies -- is the presiding genius of the house . He it is who brings your tea and fruit to the bedside at 6 A.M. , and lays out your evening suit ready for dinner , puts your studs in your clean shirt , brings your slippers , knows where each individual article of your wardrobe is kept , and , in fact , thinks of a hundred and one little comforts you would never have known of , had he not discovered them . He is your valet de chambre , your butler , your steward and your general agent , your interpreter and your directory . He controls the other servants with a rod of iron , but bows to the earth before the mem , or the master . For his ten Mexican dollars a month he takes all the burdens from your shoulders , and stands between you and the rude outside polyglot world .