In teething even, aggravating beyond experience, and afterwards suffering from the whole list of juvenile evils, in such a way as boy never did before; coming out of these troubles too, with a captious, disagreeable temper, jealous in the extreme,--not a member who, on the whole, adds much to the pleasure of the little household,--yet, with the blindest passionate love towards some folks.

Instance his mother, Thomas Troubridge, and Sam Buckley.
For these three the lad had a wild hysterical affection, and yet none of them had much power over him.

Once by one unconsidered word arouse the boy's obstinacy, and all chance of controlling him was gone.

Then, your only chance was to call in Miss Thornton, who had a way of managing the boy, more potent than Mary's hysterics, and Tom's indignant remonstrances, or Sam's quiet persuasions.
For instance,--once, when he was about ten years old, his mother set him to learn some lesson or another, when he had been petitioning to go off somewhere with the men.

He was furiously naughty, and threw the book to the other end of the room, all the threats and scoldings of his mother proving insufficient to make him pick it up again.