This reference to personal appearance, at first sight, perhaps, seems trivial, but any one who has seen much of children cannot fail to have noticed how a young child will crow and hold out its arms to the bearer of a placid, comely and smiling face, and turn away from one that wears a sombre and unsympathetic expression. Much is said about the magic of touch in managing young children, but I have observed that their eyes always seek the face and eyes of those about them, and that it is what they see there that guides their instinct for like or dislike. Children resemble dogs and horses so far as the instinct of knowing those who love them is concerned, and the element of love toward babies is, as already hinted, the most important feature in the disposition of a nurse. A woman having this quality will never be cross or impatient, and, by the very contagion of her good nature, prevents her charges from being fretful and makes her nursery happy. Besides love, with the patience and consideration it implies, truthfulness is a most important trait of character, not only for the physical welfare of the child, but also that, since children are such imitative creatures, the bad habit of lying may not be formed.
Gentle speech is also a desideratum.
The nurse-maid should have a sufficiently developed mind to follow out and remember general directions, whether given by the physician or mother, and to do routine work without constant supervision. A certain amount of experience is a good thing, and on this account it is a recommendation for a woman to have had a partial hospital training, to have nursed children before, or to have been a mother. On the other hand, one must beware of the self-opinionated maid, who, having cared for several children, thinks she knows everything, and will be controlled by neither professional nor maternal directions. Such women are as ignorant and inefficient as they are common. Cleanliness is essential in a nurse.