in order to keep the cottage for her family, where did mrs. Peacful work in private peaceful

The Colonel offers a solution: if Mrs. Peaceful comes to work for his wife as her lady’s maid, the family can remain in the cottage. As the Colonel leaves, Mrs. Peaceful cries, and the children gather round to comfort her, singing “Oranges and Lemons” loudly so that the Colonel can hear them.

an expression designed to call something to mind without mentioning it explicitly; an indirect or passing reference.

he believed if we do not fight back the britins would be in every household