one which offers to those who undertake it in the right spirit the very highest gratifications, and the peace of mind which is granted to those who truly labour for their Divine Master.
At a time when the subject of the employment of women is pressing upon us on all sides, we ask with astonishment why comparatively few are found to undertake this most urgent and pressing duty of caring for the sick? We fear that one answer may be found in the love of liberty and the love of dress which are now so fatally prevalent amongst the young women of the lower and middle classes of society, both of which are felt to be utterly inconsistent with the office. We are far from supposing that every woman is fitted to undertake it. Even a kindly heart and disposition alone are not sufficient, indispensable as they may be to the character of a nurse. The Notes on Nursing, lately published by one who has had a larger and more extensive experience of the subject on which she writes than any other woman, tells us what these trials and difficulties of the life are, as well as the various qualifications which are essential to the nurse's character.[1] Many of us who have been accustomed to look upon the nurse's occupation as one that may be undertaken when all other means of subsistence fail, without pre-
- ↑ See Notes on Nursing for the Labouring Classes. By Florence Nightingale. 6d. London: Harrison, 59, Pall-mall.
