---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Mrs. Pocket was at home, and was in a…"
description: "\"“Mrs. Pocket was at home, and was in a little difficulty, on account of the baby's having been accommodated with a needle case to keep him quiet during..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e32/charles-dickens-34_baby_mrs-pocket-was-at-home-and-was-in-a-litt_2506935.jpg"
---

#  Mrs. Pocket was at home, and was in a little difficulty…

![“Mrs. Pocket was at home, and was in a little difficulty, on account of the baby's having been accommodated with a needle case to keep him quiet during the unaccountable absence (with a relative in the Foot Guards) of Millers. And more needles were missing than it could be regarded as quite…” quote by Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e32/charles-dickens-34_baby_mrs-pocket-was-at-home-and-was-in-a-litt_2506935.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e32/charles-dickens-34_baby_mrs-pocket-was-at-home-and-was-in-a-litt_2506935.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e32/charles-dickens-34_baby_mrs-pocket-was-at-home-and-was-in-a-litt_2506935.jpg)

> ““Mrs. Pocket was at home, and was in a little difficulty, on account of the baby's having been accommodated with a needle case to keep him quiet during the unaccountable absence (with a relative in the Foot Guards) of Millers. And more needles were missing than it could be regarded as quite wholesome for a patient of such tender years either to apply externally or to take as a tonic.””

[Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

A child's health was jeopardized by a makeshift quieting method, highlighting neglectful care.

**In simple terms:** Improper care can harm vulnerable children.

Key Takeaway

Ensure safe, appropriate care for children.

Themes

child welfare neglect caregiving

Mood

critical concerned

Type

social commentary historical

When to use this quote

- pediatric care
- parenting
- hospital policy

Key Concepts

medical ethics historical context social criticism

Questions to Reflect On

- What responsibilities do caregivers have to protect children?
- How do we balance comfort and safety?

A Different Perspective

Historical practices may differ from modern standards.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Baby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/baby/) [Great expectations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-expectations/) [Tonic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tonic/)

## Related quotes

> [“A little toxin is the best tonic.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-p-gontar/a-little-toxin-is-the-best-tonic/)

David P. Gontar

> [I grew up with my mother as a Tonic Shaman.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/borns/i-grew-up-with-my-mother-as-a-tonic-shaman/)

[Borns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/borns/)

> [Two-gun game, all-black Ferrari. His and her Armani, put it in a tonic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/2-chainz/two-gun-game-all-black-ferrari-his-and-her-armani-put-it-in-a-tonic/)

[2 Chainz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/2-chainz/)

> [“she shook me to the core. She was an earthquake, and I was changed forever because of her.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/staci-hart/she-shook-me-to-the-core-she-was-an-earthquake-and-i-was-changed/)

[Staci Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/staci-hart/)

> [“She sipped the tonic. Her face puckered again. She gagged, covered her mouth and mumbled in disgust, "Oh my God!" "I said it tasted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/devon-ashley/she-sipped-the-tonic-her-face-puckered-again-she-gagged-covered-her/)

[Devon Ashley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/devon-ashley/)

> [When I think of Canada I think of tonic water.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dudley-moore/when-i-think-of-canada-i-think-of-tonic-water/)

[Dudley Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dudley-moore/)

> [“Hastra handed him a blanket. "Shouldn't you take off her knives?" "There's not enough tonic in the world to risk it," said Kell.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/v-e-schwab/hastra-handed-him-a-blanket-shouldn-t-you-take-off-her-knives-there-s/)

[V.E. Schwab](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/v-e-schwab/)

> [Christmas is a tonic for our souls. It moves us to think of others rather than of ourselves. It directs our thoughts to giving.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-c-forbes/christmas-is-a-tonic-for-our-souls-it-moves-us-to-think-of-others/)

[B. C. Forbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-c-forbes/)

> [That's why I wrote this book: to show how these people can imbue us with hope. I read somewhere that when a person takes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/studs-terkel/that-s-why-i-wrote-this-book-to-show-how-these-people-can-imbue-us/)

[Studs Terkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/studs-terkel/)

> [“Tanqueray &amp; Tonic: It’s like you…only better!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hosho-mccreesh/tanqueray-tonic-it-s-like-you-only-better/)

[Hosho McCreesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hosho-mccreesh/)

> [We need the tonic of wildness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/we-need-the-tonic-of-wildness/)

[Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/)

> [Adversity is, to me at least, a tonic and a bracer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-scott/adversity-is-to-me-at-least-a-tonic-and-a-bracer/)

[Walter Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-scott/)

> [For watching sports, I tend to drink Guinness; early evenings always begin well with a Grey Goose and tonic with plenty of lime; and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-bashir/for-watching-sports-i-tend-to-drink-guinness-early-evenings-always/)

[Martin Bashir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-bashir/)

> [I really need a gin and tonic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camilla-duchess-of-cornwall/i-really-need-a-gin-and-tonic/)

[Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camilla-duchess-of-cornwall/)

## More by Charles Dickens

> [“All other swindlers upon earth are nothing to the self-swindlers, and with such pretences did I cheat myself. Surely a curious thing. That I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/all-other-swindlers-upon-earth-are-nothing-to-the-self-swindlers-and/)

[Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/)

> [... Arthur Gride, whose bleared eyes gloated only over the outward beauties, and were blind to the spirit which reigned within, evinced - a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/arthur-gride-whose-bleared-eyes-gloated-only-over-the-outward/)

[Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/)

> [There can be no disparity in marriage like unsuitability of mind and purpose.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/there-can-be-no-disparity-in-marriage-like-unsuitability-of-mind-and/)

[Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/)

> [I have tried to resign myself, and to console myself; and that, I hope, I may have done imperfectly; but what I cannot firmly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/i-have-tried-to-resign-myself-and-to-console-myself-and-that-i-hope-i/)

[Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/)

> [A new heart for a New Year, always!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/a-new-heart-for-a-new-year-always/)

[Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/)

> [“The suspense: the fearful, acute suspense: of standing idly by while the life of one we dearly love, is trembling in the balance; the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/the-suspense-the-fearful-acute-suspense-of-standing-idly-by-while-the/)

[Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/)

> [“Mrs. Joe was a very clean housekeeper, but had an exquisite art of making her cleanliness more uncomfortable and unacceptable than dirt itself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/mrs-joe-was-a-very-clean-housekeeper-but-had-an-exquisite-art-of/)

[Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/)

> [There seems a magic in the very name of Christmas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/there-seems-a-magic-in-the-very-name-of-christmas/)

[Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/)

> [“evening, they began to think that although he could never hope to be an Englishman, still it would be hard to visit that affliction…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/evening-they-began-to-think-that-although-he-could-never-hope-to-be/)

[Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/)

> [“Besides which, all that I could have said of the Story to any purpose, I had endeavoured to say in it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/besides-which-all-that-i-could-have-said-of-the-story-to-any-purpose/)

[Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/)

> [“The wheels rolled on, and rolled down by the Monument, and by the Tower; and by the Docks; down by Ratcliffe, and by Rotherhithe;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/the-wheels-rolled-on-and-rolled-down-by-the-monument-and-by-the-tower/)

[Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/)

> [“The three customers pulled off their hats to Madame Defarge, with three flourishes. She acknowledged their homage by bending her head, and giving them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/the-three-customers-pulled-off-their-hats-to-madame-defarge-with/)

[Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/)

> [“What a situation!' cried Miss Squeers; '...What is the reason that men fall in love with me, whether I like it or not, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/what-a-situation-cried-miss-squeers-what-is-the-reason-that-men-fall/)

[Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/)

> [I admire machinery as much is any man, and am as thankful to it as any man can be for what it does for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/i-admire-machinery-as-much-is-any-man-and-am-as-thankful-to-it-as-any/)

[Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/)

> [“Mr. Pickwick was a philosopher, but philosophers are only men in armour, after all.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/mr-pickwick-was-a-philosopher-but-philosophers-are-only-men-in-armour/)

[Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/)

[Explore all 2,309 Charles Dickens quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/)

## More Baby quotes

> [I would have done well as a gypsy child, I think. A circus baby. I coulda played a great street urchin or ragamuffin. Or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natasha-lyonne/i-would-have-done-well-as-a-gypsy-child-i-think-a-circus-baby-i/)

[Natasha Lyonne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natasha-lyonne/)

> [“I looked down into my baby’s beautiful green eyes and ached inside. She looked up at me with wide-eyed innocence. I kissed her warm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bella-forrest/i-looked-down-into-my-baby-s-beautiful-green-eyes-and-ached-inside/)

[Bella Forrest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bella-forrest/)

> [I've retired my sneakers for stilettos, baby!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vivica-a-fox/i-ve-retired-my-sneakers-for-stilettos-baby/)

[Vivica A. Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vivica-a-fox/)

> [I didn't expect to be so comfortable handing my child off to a nanny without getting any of her information. As soon as she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ali-wong/i-didn-t-expect-to-be-so-comfortable-handing-my-child-off-to-a-nanny/)

[Ali Wong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ali-wong/)

> [And I gave you my all, now baby be mine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashanti/and-i-gave-you-my-all-now-baby-be-mine/)

[Ashanti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashanti/)

> [Parents who are stressed or disturbed will have more difficulty in meeting their children's needs. Parents who have little support--from friends, relatives, neighbors, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheila-kamerman/parents-who-are-stressed-or-disturbed-will-have-more-difficulty-in/)

Sheila Kamerman

> [Shhh.” He put a finger to her lips. “Hear me out. I cannot deny that I would've liked to have made babies with you.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-hoyt/shhh-he-put-a-finger-to-her-lips-hear-me-out-i-cannot-deny-that-i/)

[Elizabeth Hoyt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-hoyt/)

> [I'm so happy baby.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashanti/i-m-so-happy-baby/)

[Ashanti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashanti/)

> [Weezy F. Baby. F. is fo' finisha:)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lil-wayne/weezy-f-baby-f-is-fo-finisha/)

[Lil Wayne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lil-wayne/)

> [Baby, I love you. We argue about the stupidest shit then we turn around and laugh about it. I'm obsessed with you and you're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lindsay/baby-i-love-you-we-argue-about-the-stupidest-shit-then-we-turn-around/)

Lindsay

> [My dad's Israeli. He was born in Baghdad to Iraqi Jews. Then, at age two, his parents wanted to move to their homeland and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliott-yamin/my-dad-s-israeli-he-was-born-in-baghdad-to-iraqi-jews-then-at-age-two/)

[Elliott Yamin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliott-yamin/)

> [Michael Jackson has a new baby boy; no word yet who the father is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-leno/michael-jackson-has-a-new-baby-boy-no-word-yet-who-the-father-is/)

[Jay Leno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-leno/)

> [I always wondered why babies spend so much time sucking their thumbs. Then I tasted baby food.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-orben/i-always-wondered-why-babies-spend-so-much-time-sucking-their-thumbs/)

[Robert Orben](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-orben/)

> [If all fooles had babies, wee should want fuell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-herbert/if-all-fooles-had-babies-wee-should-want-fuell/)

[George Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-herbert/)

> [My baby girl Bella is growing up so fast I remember when she was soo tiny, it shows how much she has been loved…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/crystal/my-baby-girl-bella-is-growing-up-so-fast-i-remember-when-she-was-soo/)

[Crystal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/crystal/)

[Browse all 5,822 Baby quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/baby/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“Mrs. Pocket was at home, and was in a little difficulty, on account of the baby's having been accommodated with a needle case to keep him quiet during the unaccountable absence (with a relative in the Foot Guards) of Millers. And more needles were missing than it could be regarded as quite wholesome for a patient of such tender years either to apply externally or to take as a tonic.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Charles Dickens"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/mrs-pocket-was-at-home-and-was-in-a-little-difficulty-on-account-of/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Baby"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/mrs-pocket-was-at-home-and-was-in-a-little-difficulty-on-account-of/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e32/charles-dickens-34_baby_mrs-pocket-was-at-home-and-was-in-a-litt_2506935.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e32/charles-dickens-34_baby_mrs-pocket-was-at-home-and-was-in-a-litt_2506935.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e32/charles-dickens-34_baby_mrs-pocket-was-at-home-and-was-in-a-litt_2506935.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Mrs. Pocket was at home, and was in a little difficulty, on account of the baby's having been accommodated…” — Charles Dickens",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Charles Dickens",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“Mrs. Pocket was at home, and...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/mrs-pocket-was-at-home-and-was-in-a-little-difficulty-on-account-of/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/mrs-pocket-was-at-home-and-was-in-a-little-difficulty-on-account-of/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
