27 MAY 1899, Page 3

We published last week a letter signed "K." suggesting a

restrained and yet poignant inscription to commemorate the courage and devotion of Mrs. Rogers, the stewardess of the 'Stella,' and this week Mrs. Marston gives us the more diffuse but touching inscription written by Miss Cobbs which has actually been adopted. The interest excited by the pro- posal to commemorate noble deeds by fitting public inscrip- tions is a very wholesome sign, and we hope that the sug- gestion may be carried out practically. Why should not some suitable portion of the walls of St. Paul's Cathedral be set apart to record such acts of piety and valour as that of Mrs. Rogers No great plates of marble or brass would be required, but merely a piece of stone, or better, metal, some twenty inches square. The entry of a name upon this roll of honour should only be given after careful inquiry and a close consideration of the claim. The duty of selection could be safely left to the Dean and Chapter. Cromwell buried Blake in Westminster Abbey with the deliberate intention of inciting the sailors of the Commonwealth to great deeds, and so began a noble and fruitful national custom. Why should not we incite to civic virtue by inscriptions in St. Paul's ? Nothing could be more appropriate to a Christian Church than the commemo- ration of self-sacrifice and of the laying down of life in the service of one's fellows.