The Dark Period in Nursing 107 first deaconess. Other young women entered, all carefully chosen. They might come from plain families, but all were required to be of blameless life and upright character. When six had been chosen the work of the tiny establishment was divided among them in departments. One had the cooking and housekeeping, another the laundry and the linen, another had charge of the women's ward, and so on. After a certain time in each service, they were changed about so that expe- rience should be uniform. They received theoreti- cal and bedside teaching from physicians, studied pharmacy, and passed the state examination on this subject. Pastor Fliedner taught them ethics and religious doctrine, and his wife practical nursing. The Kaiserswerth experiment was suc- cessful beyond the fondest hopes of its friends. An extensive hospital grew up there, with de- pendencies and auxiliary buildings, and many related institutions were developed under the wise rule of the Fliedners, especially one for the insane, who were treated with great kindness and remark- able intelligence. As the reputation of the dea- conesses spread, applications came in from other places, and groups of them were placed in other hospitals, and taken to other countries. In time the Kaiserswerth Motherhouse developed so many
