s of
the East, and is learned as soon as papa and mamma, being equally easy
of articulation. The origin of the word is probably either Portuguese
or Spanish (_aya_), although it has now become common to all classes,
Christians, Mohammedans, and Hindoos alike. The Hindostanee word for
nurse is _m[=a]m[)a]-jee_, or _daee_; the Bengalee, _doodoo_, or
_dye_.

[Transcriber's Note: Two diacritical marks are found above
the letter "a" in the word "mama-jee" in the previous
sentence. They are a macron diacritic, a dash-shaped symbol
and a breve diacritic, a u-shaped symbol. These letters are
indicated here by the coding [=a] for a macron and [)a] for
a breve above the letter "a".]

The ayah is frequently a fixture of long standing in a family,
descending from mother to daughter; and when this is the case, she is
no doubt a valuable possession, and is consulted in all the momentous
matters connected with the nursery. However, at the birth of the first
baby, she is of course spick-and-span new; and in comes the dusky
stranger, all pride and expectation, all hope and joy. It is fortunate
that there is no difference in young babies--that the one is as ugly a
little thing as the other--and so she is not disappointed: on the
contrary, she sees with one glance of her dark glittering eyes, which
have their source of sensation in her woman's heart, a thousand charms
that distinguish _her_ baba from all the other babies in the universe.
With something akin to a mother's feelings, she takes the infant in
her arms, which seems incontinent to become a part of herself, lying
all day on her knees, and sleeping all night in her bosom; and from
that moment the nurse, the child, and the paun-box are always
together.

As the ayah is exclusively attached to the nursery, and has nothing to
do with household affairs or the laying out of money, she is generally
a favourite with the other servants, who seem to look upon her as
holding an intermediate station between them and the mistress. Should
any of them require leave of absence, for the purpose of attending a
funeral or a wedding, he applies first to the ayah; or if a little tea
is wanted for a sick wife or mother, through her also he obtains the
simple, though to him expensive, restorative. If a pedler comes to the
door with his box and bundles, he looks up, and spying the ayah in the
veranda or at the window, he calls out: 'Is anything wanted for
Mem-Sahib or t