Memories of the Crimea. By Sister Mary Aloysius. (Burns and
Oates.)—Sister M. Aloysius writes under date December 1st, 1854: " We travel in our veils, in the face of England,—no disguise whatever." She expects her correspondent to be astonished ; that, anyhow, is changed for the better. She and her fourteen companions reached Constantinople a day or so before Christmas, and were greeted by the message, " Not wanted at Scutari." This meant " no room," for wanted they were very badly. The difficulty was overcome. Five of the Sisters, the author among them, were sent to Scutari. She gives a heart- rending account of what she saw there. The cholera was of the very worst type. Few cases lasted more than five hours ; and very few indeed were saved. Two of the Sisters died, one of cholera, the other of typhus. It is lamentable to read how these devoted women, were slandered by bigots who, it is needless to say, were not by any means careful to find out facts before they spoke. Still, there are relieving circumstances. A Protestant chaplain brings them " a princely present of eggs tied up in a
handkerchief." and they make him a return by washing his neck-
ties," a process performed under difficulties, the teapot filled with boiling water doing duty as a smoothing-iron." Then we hear of Miss Nightingale nursing a Sister through a dangerous attack of fever. " One night, while watching by the sick bed, she saw a huge rat upon the rafters right over the Sister's head, and taking an umbrella she knocked it down and killed it without disturbing the patient."
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