364 A Short History of Nursing in our country but there are still a few traces of the servile spirit which need to be watched for and stamped out. It is seen sometimes in the subservient attitude to those in authority and to persons of influence and wealth. It is seen occasionally in the homes of the rich, where a nurse may accept an easy and luxurious life in the position more or less of a highly paid lady's maid, rather than struggle for success and independence in the legitimate practice of her profession. The constant acceptance of gifts of food, cloth- ing, etc., from patients cannot be looked upon as materially different from the acceptance of tips by servants and whether we realize it or not, such gifts are usually intended as a means of securing special favours or better service. It was because of the horrors of the old tipping systems in hospitals, and the necessity of convincing the public that nurses were no longer to be considered as servants, that Miss Nightingale and her followers made such rigid rules against the acceptance of tips or presents by nurses. 1 The vulgar sins of Sairey Gamp and all her tribe — their greediness and gluttony, their pilfering of hospital supplies and truckling for favours — may be excused somewhat because of their ignorance
