street and Sing Sing, they are many of them in a fair way to make a
fortune. One young man who was brought up there, and is now thriving,
lately called at the office to make arrangements for placing his two
younger brothers in the House, they having got into bad company since
their father's death. A very remarkable occurrence took place at the
institution not long ago. A gentleman and his wife, apparently occupying
a good position in society, called at the Refuge and asked to be allowed
to go over it. Having inspected the various departments, just before
leaving, the gentleman said to his wife, 'Now I will tell you a great
secret. I was brought up in this place.' The lady seemed much
surprised, and astounded all by quietly observing, 'And so was I.' So
strange are the coincidences of human life."

The institutions on this island controlled by the Department of Public
Charities and Corrections, are the "Nurseries," the "Infant Hospital,"
and the "Idiot Asylum."

The Nurseries consist of six large Brick buildings, each three stories in
height, arranged without reference to any special plan, and separated
from each other by a distance of several hundred feet. Each is in charge
of an assistant matron, the whole being under the supervision of a Warden
and matron. These nurseries are devoted to the care of children over
four years old, abandoned by their parents, and found in the streets by
the police, and children whose parents are unable to care for them.
Wherever the parent is known the Commissioners afford only temporary
shelter to the children, requiring the parents to resume their care of
them at the earliest possible moment. Three months is the limit for
gratuitous shelter in such cases. Where the parent is unknown, the child
is cared for until it is of an age to be apprenticed, or until some
respectable persons take it for adoption. Only healthy children are
received into the nurseries, and none may remain in them after reaching
the age of sixteen years. The average number of inmates is about 2400
per annum.

The Infant Hospital is for the reception of children under the age of
four years, for foundlings, for children whose parents are too poor to
take care of them, and for the sick of the Nurseries proper. The
children are divided into three classes: I. The "Wet nursed:" II. The
"Bottle fed:" III. The "Walking Children." They are retained here
unless claimed by their parents until they attain th