A great deal has been said by the Roman Catholics about the _large_ sum of money the church paid me after I left the sisterhood. I will agree with my Roman Catholic friends that the amount I received from the community was a magnificent sum, when seen in _silver dollar pieces_. But, if they will consider the thirty-one years' service I gave them, they will very readily see that I received just about one dollar and eighty-six cents ($1.86) a week, most of the time nursing and managing one of the floors of St. Vincent's Hospital. A nurse in the world ordinarily is paid twenty-five dollars a week; now my good Roman Catholic "knocker," compare that with the "large" sum I received. If the service of a nurse is worth that amount, why is a sister-nurse not worth just as much, if she does the work required or more? I am not complaining about the pay I received. I feel that I am repaid, _not in dollars and cents_, but in experience. I am only too thankful to think that I saw the folly of the whole system in time to be free before I would be called upon to face my Maker, and I trust and pray that in His great judgment, He may give me strength and health and wisdom for many years to come that I may be able to tell my story to those in darkness and indifference. [Illustration: _Fac-simile of Check I Received from Attorneys for Sisters of Charity, as Payment for Thirty-one Years' Service Rendered to Them._] CHAPTER XV. MY RECOMMENDATION FROM THE DOCTORS OF PORTLAND--THE GOOD SAMARITAN--I AFFILIATE WITH A PROTESTANT CHURCH--MY NEW WORK. When I came to Portland, and before I had settled with the community, I decided that I would try to make my living by nursing, as that was practically all I knew. I had my diploma to show that I was a graduated nurse, that is, so the diploma said, and in addition to that I received the signatures of eighty-eight physicians of Portland, recommending me as an efficient nurse, so I thought I had sufficient proof that I was capable to do at least ordinary nursing. My recommendation from the physicians was as follows: Portland, Oregon, July 31, 1912. THIS IS TO CERTIFY that we, the undersigned, physicians and surgeons in the City of Portland, Oregon, have been well acquainted for many years with Elizabeth Schoffen, otherwise known as Sister Lucretia, and have been thoroughly familiar with her work as a nurse and member of the order of Sisters of Charity of Providence at St. Vincent's Hospital in the City of Portland; that in our opinion she is a thoroughly competent nurse;