One criticism which is often heard of present day nurses in training is that they so quickly get into ruts in the matter of observation--that they see so much in a hospital ward which they fail to _perceive_--that they fail to gather practical knowledge pertaining to their work which is all around them waiting to be picked up. If Florence Nightingale had been the type of woman who had to have all the nursing knowledge which she obtained duly imparted to her by somebody else appointed for that purpose, her influence on the conditions which then prevailed would have been small indeed. Instead, she was constantly getting hold of facts, reading medical books, continually studying into the “why” of things, and how they might be improved, so that better general results might be obtained in the care of the sick. Her private notebooks were filled with facts, ideas, and suggestions gathered here, there and elsewhere, which she was later to use in laying broad foundations for the improvement of nursing, and of hospital management in general. Her attention to small details, as found in her notebooks preserved to the present day, was characteristic of all her work, and accounts in no small degree for its success. TACT AND SENSE OF HUMOR. Among the indispensable qualities for successful nursing, we place “TACT” very close to the top of the list. To get along with people without friction, to get needful things done without arousing antagonism, to have that keenness of perception, that ready power of appreciating and of doing or saying what is most fitting under the circumstances; to maintain, withal, that quality of mind which enables one to see the humorous side to otherwise difficult situations, are qualities to be coveted by every nurse. How Florence Nightingale succeeded in managing committees with whom she had to work, as well as the sense of humor which helped to carry her over difficult situations, are admirably shown in extracts from her private letters, written soon after she returned from Kaiserwerth. She had been importuned to undertake the management of an institution known as an “Establishment for Gentlewomen During Illness,” which had been started, but had been so grossly mismanaged that it had been threatened with closure. A change of location had finally been decided on when Miss Nightingale agreed to undertake its management. One of the first difficulties which confronted her is described in the extract from a private letter to a friend which follows: