NURSING PIONEER

Taranaki Daily News, 21 January 1933, Page 5 (Supplement)

NURSING PIONEER

ITALY’S FLORENCE NIGHTINGALE. HOMAGE TO HER MEMORY. A Requiem Mass was solemnised in Rome on October 24 in the ancient church of San Clemente for the soul of Miss Dorothy Snell, an English woman well beloved and honoured in Italy. She was the pioneer of modern nursing services in Italy, and revolutionised the training system of Italian sisters. The. Requiem Mass marked the end of a series of religious services held since .her death, all of which were attended by representatives of the Italian Royal Family, the British Embassy, the Italian Government, Italian and English medical and nursing institutions, and large numbers of the general public.

Miss Snell, who was 62 year of age, was called by Queen Elena of Italy in 1910 to undertake the task of training Italian girls as nurses. With sixteen English nurses and twelve Italian pupils, Miss Snell inaugurated at the Rome General Hospital her training college, which grew under her care into one of the foremost institutions of its kind in Europe. Miss Snell was originally at the London Hospital and the Military Hospital, Aidershot, and served in the Boer War and throughout the Great War on the Italian front.

At her funeral service, after she had lain in state in her matron’s uniform, the nurses' of Rome were drawn up in a hollow square outside the General Hospital. Before her bier, covered with flowers and surmounted by wreaths oi English roses from the Queen of Italy, the director of the hospital, Dr. Gallo, delivered a funeral oration in which he said: —“Her life was devoted to one end in Italy—the training of nurses in the world-renowned English way. She represented the great qualities of her race, and these she dedicated to a foreign country. We are deeply grateful, and give heartfelt thanks for her life of service.” ■ As the funeral procession moved away all present raised their arms in the Fascist salute, and a procession of mourners more than half a mile long, representing all grades of society, from the Queen to humble patients, followed the coffin to its last resting-place in the Campo Santo. FAMOUS PASTE JEWELS. If is difficult to think of any race without including their jewels, for jewels are an indication of character and civilization. Material value had little to do with the more famous jewels of the distant past. Worth in the form of actual money value was not • generally considered till about the Middle Ages when, in many cases, jewels formed the fortune of the individual. Then they were worn in war and in peace, for no man cared to be separated from his fortune when times were unsettled. Virtue and beauty were the two first qualities of the ancient jewel. Skill and workmanship were next considered. A jewel that was difficult to obtain was necessarily costly. And to-day these ancient jewels are priceless, though they are often merely paste, beautiful in colour, exquisite in design. The Egyptians probably invented the paste jewel, and the Phoenicians certainly traded it all over the known world of their day. It was not artificial in the modern sense, because precious stones were rare, and so was glass. Thus these paste jewels were valued just as much as true stones for their beauty. In the first place, they were religious charms to protect their owners from eviL They were also objects used for religious purposes. By degrees they became personal ornaments, and found their way into the common life of the people in the shape of ceremonial cups and platters. As all ancient races believed in life after death, jewels were buried with the barbarian and the civilised man alike, and it is from the tombs that many of these treasures come. Museums are so rich in magnificent paste jewellery that it is unnecessary to describe it. It was found on the actual persons of kings and queens—who were considered partly divine—so no shadow of scorn can be attached to it. Herodotus tells us that the Egyptians adorned their tame crocodiles with ear-rings made from melted stone. These creatures were sacred, and would therefore be given the best,, so coloured glass must have been highly valued. The beautiful blue beads of the Egyptians were jewels. Not long ago, four magnificent gold bracelets set with turquoises were found in the tomb of an Egyptian princess. The colour of the stones attracted much notice, yet not even the experts could decide whether the turquoises were real or paste. Coloured paste was traded from Egypt to Greece and Rome, and soon the barbarian of Central Europe began making it for themselves. Even the Druids made and wore glass jewels. The famous snake stones of the past—little beads supposed to cure snake bites and to give their owners easy assess to Royalty—were often made of coloured glass, and they may have been invented as a kind of charm by the cunning Phoenicians who catered for all tastes. Enthusiastic Hiker. The Countess of Seafield, who is of some interest to New Zealanders from her family’s connection with the Dominion, is an enthusiastic hiker (states ah English exchange). Lady Seafield likes hiking alone over the moorland roads—a pastime to which she has been devoted for many, years. On such occasions she puts comfort before everything else, and, discarding stockings, sets out wearing serviceable clothes and stout shoes. She certainly looks the part oi the hardened girl hiker, and there is a good story arising out of this. One recent trek took her over the lonely Dava moor, and on her homeward journey she was overtaken by a farm servant on a motor-cycle. He offered hefr a seat on his pillion, which she accepted. It was not till he had almost reached the castle that Lady Seafield revealed her idenity, and it was a very embarrassed cyclist who finally pulled up before the front door. Castle Grant is the ancestral home of the Seafields in the heart of the Clan Grant country in Strathspey.