I was not altogether cut off from home,
for my faithful Nicolas, though uncertain whether he had been secured
from the contagion, declared that where his mistress went he went.
Tryphena would have come too, but like a true old nurse she had no
confidence in Mistress Nan's care of my brother, or of the child, and
it was far better as it was, for the old women whom the doctor found
for us were good for nothing but to drink and to sleep; whereas
Nicolas, like a true French laquais, had infinite resources in time
of need. He was poor Madame's only assistant in the terrible nursing
of her husband; he made the most excellent tisanes and bouillons for
the patients, and kept us nurses constantly supported with good meats
and wines, without which we never could have gone through the
fatigue; he was always at hand, and seemed to sleep, if he slept at
all, with one ear and one eye open during that terrible fifteen days
during which neither Madame van Hunker, he, nor I, ever took off our
clothes. Moreover, he managed our communication with my family.
Every day in early morning he carried a billet from me which he
placed in a pan of vinegar at their door; and, at his whistle, Annora
looked out and threw down a billet for me, which, to my joy and
comfort, generally told me that my brother was no worse, and that the
little maid was quite well, and a great amusement to him. He was the
only one who could speak any Dutch, so that he had been able to do
more with her than the others at her first arrival; and though she
very soon picked up English enough to understand everything, and to
make herself understood in a droll, broken baby tongue, she continued
to be devoted to him.
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