THE SERVICE OF THE POOR.* Tiffs book is an inquiry

into the foundation of the claim of religious sisterhoods to make better provision for the service of the poor than secular associations or individual effort. It touches incidentally, and with much wisdom and tenderness, on so many of the relations of women, particularly of single women, with society, that it may be read with advantage by many who have never thought of entering a sisterhood.

The first part of the book is a narrative account of several Catholic and one Protestant religious association ; also of one secular association, the Liverpool Nurse-Training Institution, and the district nursing connected with it ; it also contains a chapter on the place taken by sisters of charity in France, which is so involved with the whole question of the relation of the State to its poor, that it can scarcely be held as an illustration of the position open to charitable sisterhoods in this country. It does appear, however, that sisters of charity in the French hospitals occupy a position rather resembling that of head nurses or superintendents than of under-nurses.

The second part of the book is that which contains the argu- ment, of which we shall try to give a short sketch, though perhaps taking up the separate portions in a somewhat different order from that in which Miss Stephen has dealt with them. She has care- fully treated many topics which we cannot even attempt to touch, but we can honestly recommend the book to all who are interested in the subject. Miss Stephen does not even try to convert those who differ from her on the fundamental point at issue, viz., the theological differences between what, in a broad sense, she calls the ecclesiastical and the secular theory of religion. Those who hold ecclesiastical views are also frequently termed the religious party, and thus arises the common, and not unnatural mistake, that secularists undervalue, and leave out of account, religious feeling. This is not the true state of the case. The relative positions of the ecclesiastical, or so-called religious party, and the secular party towards religion may be briefly explained thus :—Religious associations claim to promote the salvation of souls better than others would do, and it is plain that this claim implies the belief that this power of im- parting salvation is one which can be produced, or at least ascer- tained under certain conditions of life. But there is no gauge of personal holiness, beyond the very insufficient one of obedience to certain definite rules of conduct. Even if there were such a gauge, at what height should the standard of qualification to impart Sal- vation be set? and might not the measure vary in the same person as successive stages of development were reached ? Such religious life, then, as we can definitely ascertain and measure can be only the assent to certain doctrines, the acceptance of certain rites, and the observance of certain rules of conduct. That salvation, or the true relation of man to God, the state beyond all others to be desired by men, is a necessary consequence of the acceptance of certain rites, doctrines, and rules of conduct,— is, in short, the position of the ecclesiastical party ; and, believing this, they are undeniably right to set in motion whatever machinery seems best adapted to obtain this acceptance, even though it should carry out leas perfectly, or with greater sacrifices, * The Service of the Poor ; being an Inquiry into the Reasons for and against the Establishment of Religious Sisterhoods for Charitable Purposes. By Caroline utnoup, Stophon. London: Macmillan.

the minor and more immediate objects for which it works, which are, in fact, only means to an all-important end.

The secularist party, on the other hand, look upon salvation, or the true relation of man to God, as the most perfect friendship, in fact, the closest communion into which human nature can enter with the divine. This communion, which is varied and manifold in its forms as human powers and perceptions, they cannot limit, either for themselves or others, and therefore do not feel that it can be communicated in any given formula. It finds its expression in a good life, but only a life absolutely perfect on all sides would express perfect communion, and, as was pointed out above, no gauge of the measure of holiness can be applied. Therefore, all that the Secularists aim at in joint action is to remove obstacles to the growth of this communion, to prune, and water, and let in air and light, and leave individual holiness to deliver its own message, in proportion to its own measure.

If the theory of the ecclesiastical party be correct, then, and then only, is the claim of religious sisterhoods as a class to be most capable of imparting spiritual benefits established. If this fails, the claims of supplying the necessary guarantee for the fidelity of their members, and affording them training, direction, protection, centralization of authority, and the society of sym- pathizing equals, remain to be answered.

Miss Stephen considers that the burden of proof rests with the supporters of religious associations, because they propose an in- novation which, considering the sacrifices it involves—sacrifices not of pleasure, but of helpfulness in other directions, and of that education which the natural circumstances of life supply—is abso- lutely hurtful and in itself unnecessary, unless it be proved to work better than secular associations can be made to do. Of the three branches into which the service of the poor may be roughly divided, nursing, teaching, and relief, nursing is the one in which fidelity is most severely tried by hard duties and propor- tionate temptations. The chief of these, owing to the sometimes unavoidably exhausting and anxious nature of the employment, the tendency of patients to bribe 'by means of fees, and the cir- cumstances of much of their work, are drunkenness, dishonesty, and impropriety of conduct. These temptations are, no doubt, surmounted where the conventual ideal towards which all religious sisterhoods more or less aspire is fully carried out.

But besides being sober, honest, and modest, a nurse must be kind to her patients, watchful, intelligent, and physically strong. All these qualifications she may well possess without strong or definite religious feeling, still more, without strong or definite religious belief, so that the class of good nurses excludes many religious women, while the class of women fit for religious sister- hoods excludes many good nurses ; and thus, by applying a double standard of competency to the profession of nursing we should lessen our available staff of workers,—an evident evil, unless no other certain guarantee of professional fitness can be found. That this is not the case is proved by the success of the Liverpool Nurse- Training Institution, and other similar institutions. The same reasoning applies to the work of education, only the temptations surrounding it are less strong. Under the head of administration of relief, Miss Stephen includes all systematic visitation of the poor, and all attempts to improve their circumstances, pecuniary or not. This work is generally undertaken from motives of bene- volence, and brings with it no special temptation requiring any guarantee of conduct. The moral and religious influence of the district visitor, unless she becomes an intimate and trusted friend, which can happen only in a few cases, can be but very small. She is involved in all the difficulties of seeing immediate distress which it lies in her power easily to remove, and yet perhaps in doing so she is but saving dependence, want of forethought, and vice from their natural consequences ; in fact, only staving off an evil that it may recur with greater force. The real good that she can hope to do ts that of serving as a connecting-link between the comparative want of knowledge (professional, economical, and sauitary) of the poor, and the comparative knowledge of the rich. The poor will seek information which the rich can supply, through her, and her own friends may learn from her the facts concerning those wants of the poor, to which remedial measures, instead of mere palliations, can be applied. This work is better fitted for iudivi- -dual than associated effort. It needs no training save that of

4' a clear head experience of life on one's own account, and that wisdom which results from wide views of things,—from the habit of taking into account past and future, as well as present time, and remote as well as immediate interests." Moreover, private benevolence may make experiments in indivi- dual cases, without raising future expectations. It is almost worthy of becoming an axiom in philanthropy, that that charity does the

most good which is the least expected. An association is never formed to meet one particular case, but a certain class of cases, and therefore does raise expectations in those who believe them- selves likely to come within the scope of its ministrations.

All these facts seem to show that relief, in Miss Stephen's sense of the word, except on the plan of the parish allowance, which aims at being suicidal, is better done by individual than by asso- ciated work. The gain is more certain, and the dangers less. To these inherent dangers religious associations add temptations to insincerity in religious professions. The plea of religious associa- tions to be the only or at least the best guarantee of fidelity in charitable work, having been answered, that of affording training, direction, and protection remains to be considered.

The training of teachers has long been provided for in other ways, and of late years the training of nurses has been carried on successfully in secular institutions, such as St. Thomas's Hospital, the Liverpool Nurse-Training Institution, Sm. A well-managed general hospital, to which a healthy, comfortable, and as far as possible, pleasant, Nurses' Home is attached, is the best of training- schools. The probationers act as under -nurses, thereby overcoming a want greatly felt in French hospitals, and still more so in English workhouse hospitals, which do not train their own probationers. We think, however, that more provision is still needed for the training of superintendents and hospital matrons, It is found that this work, which requires a faculty of organization and com- mand, is that part of the work of nursing, which is really better done by women of more education than is requisite for the work of ordinary nurses, and ladies have hitherto found the easiest access to such training as they need for these posts by entering religious sisterhoods. Many women feel that without such a thorough understanding of the work as is to be attained only by having clone it themselves, they are not fit to undertake its organi- zation. One great difficulty in going through the ordinary nurse's training is that the physical strain of the work is at first very great, even to those whose course of life has included much standing and active employment, such as domestic servants, attendants in shops, and factory workers, the class from which many nurses come. Besides this, nurses and probatiouers are usually expected to take some portion of house-work, and this does appear an unnecessary addition to the fatigue which a superintendent has to go through in training. It need scarcely be said that women whose pride would keep them from doing such work, or from associating, so far as the rules of the institution may require, on equal terms with the other nurses, would be no gain to the profession. But it does seem unnecessary to add the fatigue of housework to the nurse-traMing of those who probably already know enough about it to dispense with going through the details, or if they do not, can easily learn it at some other time and in a much shorter period than that of their term as probationers. Would it not be possible to set aside some portion of a Nurses' Home for pupils who should receive no salary, like the other probationers, or even pay a small sum towards the expenses of the home, being spared all fatigue which would not make their future career more efficient, and which, from previous habits of life, is more likely to tell upon them than on the ordinary probationers.

Another advantage, at present in the hands of religious sister- hoods, is the centralization of authority. When an extra supply of nurses is required in cases of war or epidemics, it is easy to apply to the superior of a religious order, who has at her imme- diate disposal the required number of trained nurses. But it is obvious that if the supply is to be equal to times of great demand, it is greater than is wanted in ordinary times, and therefore many reserve nurses must be kept from other occupations. Miss Stephen proposes that this difficulty be overcome by keeping a register of all women, whether ready to act as simple nurses or superintendents, who have gone through some preliminary training, and are willing to be called upon in emergencies. This seems an excellent sug- gestion. The mere sense of readiness and capability to servo would save many women living at home from the feeling of a want of definite purpose in life, which is not to be overcome even by the faithful performance of chance duties. The training gone through would probably be useful to a woman in her relations both with rich and poor. We would suggest, however, that she should re- tain the power to refuse the call, if, at the time it came, incom- patible with other claims. Few objections, we fancy, would be made by anyone to women joining Buck an army of reserve, while the distinct engagement entered into would save them from the persuasions of others and their own consequent hesitation.

In a very good and thoughtful chapter on the interests of charitable womeu, Miss Stephen discusses the need of such pro- tection. Eutrauee into a sisterhood does give to charitable work the stamp of official duty, does protect from conflicting claims, from hindrances, and the constant trifling interruptions to business, which form a vexatious element in the home life of most women, does save from the pain of a perpetual reconsideration of the value of work, does to some extent settle life as no other contract but marriage does. The absence of vows scarcely makes the engagement less binding where it is considered emphatically "the service of God." As a sister of charity, too, a woman gains an occupation in which the fact of being unmarried enables her to widen rather than to contract her sympathies and affections. To herself this is probably the greatest gain of all.

On the other hand, to gain these advantages she sacrifices much the greater part of her power of helpfulness towards those with whom she is most closely bound by nature. There is no special want of the poor as a class, which the rich as a class can supply, but that of relief. The needs of nursing and teaching are common to both, and people need helping in their work and their prosperity as well as in their sickness and sorrow. There seems to be no special reason why the single woman who takes the poor into the sphere of her affections and duties need leave out the rich. Five courses are open to her :—(1) Entering a religious sisterhood ; (2) living at home and working as a member of a religions associa- tion; (3) living at home and working independently ; (9) going to live in a secular institution ; (5) living at home and working as a member of a secular association. The two latter courses will afford most of the protection of religious associations, while the third gives perhaps the largest scope for individual influence. Secular association does not debar from the exercise of personal religious influence. Probably, indeed, those who most deeply feel what great possibilities of love and goodness lie undeveloped in human spirits will be the most anxious to remove all obstacles to such development ; but if they look on men's nature as a whole, and not as mapped out into separate departments, through only one or two of which God can awake the sleeping spirit, they are content to do only that portion of work of which they are capable, and leave him to draw thence what corollaries he will.

And hero we come to one of the greatest drawbacks of retire- ment to a religious community, viz., the limitation of sympathy and influence to one side of human nature. The sympathy, free- dom from contradiction, and peace of mind which it offers to its members are an attraction, dangerous, if not positively hurtful, on any other ground than the assumption of having already attained to absolute truth and goodness. This assumption, in regard to religious truth at least, is in fact that, and that only, upon which the real claim of religious associations to be able to impart spiritual- benefits rests. If this be so falsely made, we think the argument in favour of retirement to religious com- munities must fall through.

The perfect mind is certainly a peaceful one, because there is no struggle, but the peaceful mind is not necessarily perfect. We should even say that to be content with imperfection is a bar to the attainment of perfection. Association with inferiors or like- minded equals only, has a tendency to produce certainty of belief and satisfaction in attainment, and to these may be sacrificed growth in wisdom, truth, and goodness. Women, especially young women, have much to learn, and it is a pity to shut themselves out, however large-hearted they may be, from the teaching of thoughtful men, and of all the varied experience of life, though sometimes the price to be paid for it be doubt, and contradiction, and loneliness. The true attitude of mind from which both to give and to receive seems to us that of Chaucer's clerk of Oxenford "And gladly wolde he lerne, and gladly teobe."