Do we want gratitude and appreciation? We get it very often, and
very often we do not; and when this last is the case, we may
reflect that we are in very good company. How did the French
reward Joan of Arc? The warmth of their gratitude led her to the
stake. Galileo, as reward for his discovery, was put into prison
and loaded with chains, as were also Christopher Columbus and Sir
Walter Raleigh, a notable company these, and every one suffered
from the ingratitude of their fellow-men. Many more examples you
must call to mind, of ingratitude more base than any thing we
shall ever be called upon to bear.

The profession of nursing is still one of the most recent that
women have engaged in. The world had until the past few decades
been so used to being nursed by the old-fashioned nurse, who was a
servant, and who never expected any treatment but that of a
servant, that it has taken some years to always remember that we
are not servants, in the usual acceptation of the term; but no one
will be convinced of the fact that we are ladies by our
_telling_ them so. If you are a lady, with a lady's
refinement, every one in the house will know it, will feel it, and
you will never mention the subject; they must feel it, then there
will be no arguing on the subject. It must be demonstrated by your
deftness, your quietness, your cheerfulness, your education, your
intelligence, your quick appreciation of other good qualities. We
must all of us show the world that it is being nursed by its
compeers, that a lady can do even the most revolting service in a
way that robs it of its difficulties; and when the hard part of
the illness is over, when your patient is ready and anxious to be
entertained, you can show that you are not a machine for carrying