The Life of Clara Barton. By Percy H. Epler. (Macmillan
and Co. 10s. 6d. net.)—There are many things in Clara Barton's " Life " to interest us, but naturally just now it is her nursing work, her labours on the battlefield as the " Florence Nightingale of America," that hold our attention most. It was at the fight at Cedar Mountain that she first went to the firing line, and after that she was constantly with the Union forces. Some idea of the primitive conditions of Red Cross work at that time may be gathered from a letter written by her after the second Bull Run fight : " After gathering up every available implement or con- venience for our work, our domestic inventory stood-2 water buckets, 5 tin cups, 1 camp kettle, 1 stewpan, 2 lanterns, 4 bread knives, 3 plates, and a 3-quart tin dish, and 3,000 guests to serve." Mr. Epler has drawn largely on Miss Barton's letters and diaries for his book, and we get many interesting sidelights, not only on the Civil War, but also on the Franco-Prussian War and the Spanish-American War. To Miss Barton belongs the honour of founding the Red Cross Society in America, and she was its first President.
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