She had always thought children important , however , and the Darlings had become acquainted with her in Kensington Gardens , where she spent most of her spare time peeping into perambulators , and was much hated by careless nursemaids , whom she followed to their homes and complained of to their mistresses . She proved to be quite a treasure of a nurse . How thorough she was at bath-time , and up at any moment of the night if one of her charges made the slightest cry . Of course her kennel was in the nursery . She had a genius for knowing when a cough is a thing to have no patience with and when it needs stocking around your throat . She believed to her last day in old-fashioned remedies like rhubarb leaf , and made sounds of contempt over all this new-fangled talk about germs , and so on . It was a lesson in propriety to see her escorting the children to school , walking sedately by their side when they were well behaved , and butting them back into line if they strayed . On John 's footer -LSB- in England soccer was called football , `` footer '' for short -RSB- days she never once forgot his sweater , and she usually carried an umbrella in her mouth in case of rain . There is a room in the basement of Miss Fulsom 's school where the nurses wait . They sat on forms , while Nana lay on the floor , but that was the only difference . They affected to ignore her as of an inferior social status to themselves , and she despised their light talk . She resented visits to the nursery from Mrs. Darling 's friends , but if they did come she first whipped off Michael 's pinafore and put him into the one with blue braiding , and smoothed out Wendy and made a dash at John 's hair . No nursery could possibly have been conducted more correctly , and Mr. Darling knew it , yet he sometimes wondered uneasily whether the neighbours talked . He had his position in the city to consider . Nana also troubled him in another way . He had sometimes a feeling that she did not admire him . `` I know she admires you tremendously , George , '' Mrs. Darling would assure him , and then she would sign to the children to be specially nice to father . Lovely dances followed , in which the only other servant , Liza , was sometimes allowed to join . Such a midget she looked in her long skirt and maid 's cap , though she had sworn , when engaged , that she would never see ten again . The gaiety of those romps !
And gayest of all was Mrs. XXXXX , who would pirouette so wildly that all you could see of her was the kiss , and then if you had dashed at her you might have got it .
Darling George Michael Nana Wendy bath-time footer nursemaids rhubarb romps