introduced in the last chapter.

Tom, as has been already said, was a robust and combative urchin, and at
the age of four began to struggle against the yoke and authority of his
nurse. That functionary was a good-hearted, tearful, scatter-brained
girl, lately taken by Tom's mother, Madam Brown, as she was called, from
the village school to be trained as nurserymaid. Madam Brown was a rare
trainer of servants, and spent herself freely in the profession; for
profession it was, and gave her more trouble by half than many people
take to earn a good income. Her servants were known and sought after for
miles round. Almost all the girls who attained a certain place in the
village school were taken by her, one or two at a time, as housemaids,
laundrymaids, nurserymaids, or kitchenmaids, and after a year or two's
training were started in life amongst the neighbouring families, with
good principles and wardrobes. One of the results of this system was the
perpetual despair of Mrs. Brown's cook and own maid, who no sooner had
a notable girl made to their hands than missus was sure to find a good
place for her and send her off, taking in fresh importations from the
school. Another was, that the house was always full of young girls, with
clean, shining faces, who broke plates and scorched linen, but made an
atmosphere of cheerful, homely life about the place, good for every one
who came within its influence. Mrs. Brown loved young people, and in
fact human creatures in general, above plates and linen. They were more
like a lot of elder children than servants, and felt to her more as a
mother or aunt than as a mistress.

Tom's nurse was one who took in her instruction very slowly--she seemed
to have two left hands and no head; and so Mrs. Brown kept her on longer
than usual, that she might expend her awkwardness and forgetfulness upon
those who would not judge and punish her too strictly for them.