No one who studies Miss Nightingale’s life and ideals can be left in doubt, that, in her mind, in the choice of nurses, the first and greatest thing to be considered was the character of the applicant. She did not undervalue education but she believed that the spirit of the woman was of supreme importance. It is absolutely certain that it was not her medical or surgical knowledge, (though this was in advance of the times) that accounted for the remarkable and enduring influence which she exerted, _and is still exerting_--even though we may seem to have shifted the emphasis from some things which to her were of tremendous importance, and placed it on other things which, to her mind, were of secondary consideration. It is an interesting exercise to analyze the varying qualities in her great and beautiful life which still exerts its influence on countless other lives. But after all, the secret of her success must be summed up in that combination of qualities, that subtle something which we call Personality. Her studious avoidance of honors of all kinds, her purity of motive, the absolute lack of self-seeking, of honor, prestige or profit for herself, her courage, tact and quiet perseverance are qualities on which nurses of the twentieth century may wisely meditate. Nothing is more needed among nurses today, than that her spirit, her ideals of life and character, may be perpetuated. Few of us can render any greater service to our generation than to exert ourselves to keep her spirit alive in the nursing profession. Author’s note.--For many of the facts, which form the foundation of this sketch, the author is indebted to the authorized biography entitled “The Life of Florence Nightingale,” by Sir Edward Cook, published in two volumes by the McMillan Co., 1913. Quotations have been made from clippings, in several instances, in which the name of the journal in which they first appeared has been lost. Grateful acknowledgment is hereby made for all such unknown sources of aid used in preparing these biographical notes. Transcriber’s Note: Words may have inconsistent hyphenation in the text. These have been left unchanged, as were obsolete and alternative spellings. The book uses spaced asterisks as ellipses. Words and phrases in italics are surrounded by underscores, _like this_. One footnote was moved to the end of the related citation. Printing errors, such as partially printed letters and punctuation, were corrected. Final stops missing at the ends of sentences and abbreviations were added. The following items were changed: “witnesseses” to “witnesses,” ... shame other witnesses. “nuse’s” to “nurse’s” ... which a nurse’s attention...