E. Cobham Brewer 1810–1897. Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 1898.
Red Cap (Mother).
An old nurse “at the Hungerford Stairs.” Dame Ursley or Ursula, another nurse, says of her rival—
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“She may do very well for skipper’s wives, chandlers’ daughters, and such like, but nobody shall wait on pretty Mistress Margaret … excepting and saving myself.”—Sir Walter Scott: Fortunes of Nigel.
