Mademoiselle Nicolle teaching her class of' Idiot Children' at La Salpetrière Hospital, Paris(engraving)

'La Classe des Petites Idiotes à la Salpetrière; Mlle Nicolle (d.1895) was described in the Goncourt Journals as a 'saint laïque' ('lay saint); she had engineered her entry into the Salpetrière Hospital to be able to look after her demented mother and after her mother's death, she remained at the hospital and started looking after and teaching children who suffered from mental illness and autism; her devotion was recognised by the Académie Française , who awarded her a Prix Montyon of 1,000 francs and later by the French Government who named her a Chevalier of the Légion d'Honneur';