could only suppose that its author was unaware of its insulting character, or of the effect that such a letter delivered to a French gentleman by a young unknown woman was likely to produce. I never again presented a sealed letter of introduction. Some years later, when the distinguished physician who had sent it called upon me in New York, I returned the letter to him, with a few words of very serious remonstrance.
On June 1 one of my sisters and a friend came to Paris, and we moved into pleasant lodgings in the Rue de Fleurus overlooking the Luxembourg Garden. Whilst there I attended lectures at the Collège de France and the Jardin des Plantes, and earnestly sought for admission to some of the hospitals for practical instruction. It seemed, however, that an entrance into La Maternité would be the most direct first step in obtaining the practical instruction needed, and although regretting the delay in my surgical studies which would be involved in such a course, I finally resolved to pursue the courses of that great institution.
The following letters refer to this period of effort.
My dear Cousin.—I find that I cannot enter the
Maternité at present for want of an acte de naissance. I
am trying to get over the difficulty, but French regulations
are so strict that it is still uncertain whether I can
succeed. Would it be possible to secure in Bristol a
copy of my register of baptism, with a statement of my
birthday and my parents, certified by the mayor or some
proper authority? I was baptised at Bridge Street by
