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employed to effect her purpose, and she did effect it; for she had contrived to make my lady think, that I set my judgment above hers, and boasted of having more authority in the nursery than her ladyship had, and that all the people in it were my servants. My lady was too indolent to make strict enquiry into the truth. Mrs Dickens had made herself agreeable by flattering her about the children, whom she praised as if they had not been more than human creatures: while I, wishing my lady to throw her praise and blame into the proper scales, was at pains to point out their faults, as well as their perfections. Still, however, my lady had too much regard for me to hurt my feelings.
In order to gratify Dickens, without appearing to blame me, she, on our going up to town, told me, that my lord and she had resolved to make an alteration in the establishment; to place the two young ladies under my care, and the
