is, by the trial of " Alloard Skinner "—to tell
the history of the Sisterhood of St. Mary-at-the-Cross. And he has done this in a most 'satisfactory way, by publishing a number of letters written from time to time, and printed for private circulation. His book is, therefore, not an apology written after the occur- rences which seemed to make a defense necessary, but a re- publication of narratives written at various intervals without any thought of publicity, but simply with the idea of giving to those interested in the work an idea of what was going on. And a good thing it is that such a work should be more widely known and appre- ciated, especially as we can tenet workers who have gone on quietly and unpretendingly for many years not to be spoilt by any publicity that may come to them. A profoundly interesting volume it is that we thus get, full of pathos, not without humour, and certainly not without some matter for grave thought for all English people. " The real danger for England lies," writes Mr. Nihill (p. 67), " not in the poverty of its poor, but in their recklessness, extravagance, and want of any kind of thrift; in the ease with which they can obtain plenty at times, and their utter inability to do anything bat squander it when they got it." The clergy, too, will do well to ponder what Mr. Nihill has to say about the necessity for an absolute separation between spiritual ministration and temporal help. As for the details of the Sisters' work, they are as instructive as -they are interesting. As the money test is rightly considered a very good one, it may be well to quote from Mr. Nihill'e account of a summary of the coat of the Sisters' hospitals. Briefly, then, sixty beds are kept up at a cost of £22 13s. 4d. per bad. The figure is extraordinarily low, even when it is stated that large gifts in kind are not included in the reoaipts. Unpaid service is really the item on the credit side which makes the difference. Briefly, the items may be thus exhibited : —Rent, £313 Ile. Id.; provisions, £522 18s. 81d.; everything else, £523 14s. 2d. Management, noreing, advertising, &c., do not occur. Hence a result surprisingly different to the £115 8a. 8d. per bed of one hospital, the £00 ills. 8d. of another, and the £80 of a hospital for children. We do not say that these are extravagantly managed ; but it is clear that Mr. Nihill is right in objecting to Dr. West's sweeping assertion that the'' cost of a hospital is high in almost exact proportion to the degree in which a Sisterhood, or an association similar to a Sisterhood, bears sway."
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