AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 53 



volent" only; but of late years the proceeds have been 

 divided between the three charities named. 



In the Kingsbridge Gazette of June 21st, 1862, a letter 

 appeared, the principal part of which is here copied. 



" Sir, 



Of all the ' wants ' of Kingsbridge set forth of 



late by yourself and your zealous correspondents, you have, 

 I conceive, overlooked the greatest want of all, namely, a 

 sanatorium, or hospital (none being nearer than Plymouth) 

 for bodily injuries, difficult operations, and for such 

 diseases as require special treatment, dietary, baths, &c. 

 Places of worship, schools, reading rooms, a Town Hall, 

 a popular Gazette, and improved walks round the Quay, 

 you have already; and the time may not be far distant 

 when you have a line of healthy, convenient dwellings for 

 the labouring classes, a railway station, and even a park. 

 But the town, with its populous district of six miles round, 

 without a sanatorium, scarcely deserves the name of a 

 town. A sanatorium must surely be regarded as the next 

 want to places of worship (of which you have already 

 seven), for it is certain Our Lord, in His Divine mission 

 to this our fallen and suffering world, next to the salvation 

 of souls, devoted much of His time in ministering to 

 the bodily afflictions of our race; and, with his first 

 commission to his disciples to preach the gospel, com- 

 manded them to heal the sick, and as freely as they had 

 received, freely to give. * * * Any Christian, there- 

 fore, having the means, and daily receiving God's blessings 

 of life, health, and comfort, who would 'pass by on the 

 other side,' and evade the claims of suffering humanity 

 (we are assured by our Lord Himself), is not worthy the 

 name of neighbour, much less of a Christian brother. But 



