1824, "Homes" or "Shelters" were opened at Dublin, Liverpool, and many other places in England, Scotland, and the Continent. Tothill Fields Asylum, a small Home for some of the most hopeful of the discharged prisoners, was opened at Westminster. Miss Neave, a charitable Christian lady, was fired with some of Mrs. Fry's enthusiasm, and devoted both time and money to the carrying out of the project. She relates that the idea first entered her mind when out driving one morning with Mrs. Fry. That lady, speaking of her work, said, in somewhat saddened tones: "Often have I known the career of a promising young woman, charged with a first offence, to end in a condemned cell. Were there but a refuge for the young offender, my work would be less painful." As the result, Tothill Fields Asylum was opened, with four inmates. Very soon, nine were accommodated, and within a few years, under the new name of "The Royal Manor Hall Asylum," it sheltered fifty women of different ages.
Another class of discharged prisoners, viz. little girls, were also provided for by this Society. To these were added destitute girls, who had not yet found their way into prison; and the whole number were placed under judicious training in a "School for Discipline," at Chelsea. This institution became most successful in training these children up in orderly and respectable habits. At one time Mrs. Fry endeavoured to get this Home under Government rule, but Sir Robert Peel considered that the ends of humanity would be better served by keeping it under the control of, and supported by, private individuals.
A temporary stay at Brighton suggested the formation of the District Visiting Society. This aimed, not
