houses set
apart for them in different quarters of the city; fifteen Officers
being the usual complement to each house.

The particular dwelling of which I write is a good specimen of them
all, and from it the Sisters and Nurses who live there work
Shoreditch, Bethnal Green, Whitechapel, and the Hoxton and Hackney
Road districts. It is decently furnished and a comfortable place in
its way, although, of course, it stands in a poor neighbourhood. I
remember that there was even the finishing touch of a canary in the
window. I should add that no cases are attended in the house itself,
which is purely a residence.

To this particular Settlement two qualified midwives and a nurse are
attached. While I was there one of the midwives came in, very tired,
at about half-past eleven in the morning. Since three o'clock on that
same morning she had attended three confinements, so no wonder she was
tired. She said that one of her cases was utterly unprovided with
anything needful as the father was out of work, although on the
occasion of a previous confinement they had all they wanted. Now they
lived in a little room in which there was not space 'to swing a cat,'
and were without a single bite of food or bit of clothing, so that the
baby when it came had to be wrapped up in an old shawl and the woman
sent to the Infirmary. The Sister in charge informed me that if they
had them they could find employment for twice their strength of nurses
without overlapping the work of any other charity.

The people with whom they deal are for the most part those who have a
rooted objection to infirmaries, although the hospitals are much more
used than was formerly the case. The system of the Army is to make a
charge of 6_s_. 6_d_. for attending a confinement, which, if paid, is
generally collected in instalments of 3_d_. or 6_d_. a week. Often,
however, it is not paid, and the charge remains a mere formality. She
added that many of these poor people are most improvident, and make no
provision whatsoever for these events, even if they can afford to do
so. The result is that the Army has to lend them baby garments and
other things.

The Sister said in answer to my questions that there was a great deal
of poverty in their district where many men were out of work, a number
of them because they could find nothing to do. She thought that things
were certainly no better in this respect; indeed, the state of
depression was chronic. Owing to the bad sum