The Dark Period in Nursing m After the dissolution of the monasteries in Eng- land there were heard, from time to time, com- plaints made by progressive men of Protestant the lack of any worthy career for un- orders in married women. Not a few observers England noted the sad condition of the sick, and bewailed the fact that the AngHcan church had no such body of workers as the Sisters of Charity. The first effort to meet this need was made under the inspiration of Elizabeth Fry in 1840, and a group of women were organized who were at first called Protestant Sisters of Charity, but later "Nursing Sisters." They received some training in Guy's hospital and were prepared to be sent to private duty. This Institute still exists and special- izes successfully in private work. The Anglican church next developed Sister- hoods, not primarily for nursing, yet with all of them nursing became a prominent interest and some of their members reached a distinguished place in the care of the sick. Epidemics were frequent in those days, and the Sisters courage- ously nursed smallpox and other infectious diseases. First of these orders was the Park Village Com- munity, initiated by Pusey in 1845. Its members had no training in nursing, but did friendly visiting among the poor and the sick.
