members. The Government is proceeding with a high hand. I see that to-day even the Conservative press is putting in a feeble protest.
You would be amused to see how universally politics are discussed: the boy who arranged our rooms, the market-women at their stalls, everyone finds time to read a journal and give some opinion about it.
On June 30 I entered La Maternité; my residence
there was an invaluable one at that stage
of the medical campaign, when no hospitals, dispensaries,
or practical cliniques were open to
women. La Maternité was a great State institution,
where young women to be trained as midwives
were sent up from every department of France.
The system of instruction, both theoretical and
practical, was a remarkable illustration of that
genius for organisation which belongs to the French.
Every moment of time was appropriated; no distraction
of books, newspapers, or other than medical
works were allowed; lectures, wardwork, drills, and
cliniques were arranged from morning to night with
no confusion, but no pause; and the comprehension
and progress of each pupil was constantly tested by
examination.
The institution occupied the old convent of Port Royal, and the discipline was monastic in simplicity, regularity, and seclusion.
Stirring events were occurring in Paris during my residence in the Maternité, but only vague rumours reached us, as no newspapers were allowed within the old grey convent walls.
