She was always performing little acts of conscientiousness, little
as we guessed it.
Thus though her unremitting care saved my life, and was such that
she finally brought on herself a severe and dangerous illness, she
kept me in order all the time, never wailed over me nor weakly
pitied me, never permitted resistance to medicine nor rebellion
against treatment, enforced little courtesies, insisted on every
required exertion, and hardly ever relaxed the rule of Spartan
fortitude in herself as in me. It is to this resolution on her
part, carried out consistently at whatever present cost to us both,
that I owe such powers of locomotion as I possess, and the habits of
exertion that have been even more valuable to me.
When at last, after many weeks, nay months, of this watchfulness,
she broke down, so that her life was for a time in danger, the lack
of her bracing and tender care made my life very trying, after I
found myself transported to the nursery, scarcely understanding why,
accused of having by my naughtiness made ray poor mamma so ill, and
discovering for the first time that I was a miserable, naughty
little fretful being, and with nobody but Clarence and the housemaid
to take pity on me.
Nurse Gooch was a masterful, trustworthy woman, and was laid under
injunctions not to indulge Master Edward. She certainly did not err
in that respect, though she attended faithfully to my material
welfare; but woe to me if I gave way to a little moaning; and what I
felt still harder, she never said 'good boy' if I contrived to
abstain.
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