Volume I Part 26 (1/2)

[210] See the letters printed in _Hall_, p 457

[211] _Notes_, p 158

[212] It has often been stated that the cross was erected by Miss Nightingale, but this is not the case The inscription was suggested by Mrs Shaart In 1863 a Maternity Charity was established at Constantinople ”in honour of Florence Nightingale”

Miss Nightingale was much exhausted by her labours in the Crimea, and, a feeeks before she left it for the last time, she wrote some testamentary dispositions which, in the event of her death, were to be handed to General Storks, in command at Scutari: ”As you,” she wrote to him (Balaclava, May 3, 1856), ”are of all those in office, whether at hoiven the most steady and consistent support to the work entrusted to me by Her Majesty's Government, I venture to appeal to you to continue that support after my death, and to carry out as far as possible my last requests” She expressed an ”earnest desire” that Mrs Shaart should be appointed to succeed her She left ifts to the Reverend Mother of the Bermondsey Nuns, Sister Bertha Turnbull, and Mrs

Roberts: ”To the Queen I beg humbly to restore the 'Order' hich Her Majesty was pleased to decorate me If she sees fit to return it to my family, it will be prized the more by them I cannot express the support which the approbation of n has been to me in all my trials But I would assure Her that neither by word or thought or deed have I ever for one e entrusted to me by Her I would wish the Co to Her this jewel, to assure Her of this”

There were other requests, but her last thought was of the Ar more to prove to the noble Army, whom I have so cared for, my respect and esteem If the Coe of farewell from me, of remeether, I should be grateful to him” She was to be spared to render services to the British Arreater than any she had been able to render in the Cri the last ale's sojourn (Nov

1855--March 1856, and July 1856), her as as continuous as in the Crie, had returned to England in August 1855, and their place was taken by Mrs Salimpse of Florence's daily toil at Scutari

”Mine,” wrote the aunt (Dec 31, 1855), ”is o to bed at 11; she habitually writes till 1 or 2, soiven up 3 whole nights to it We seldoh even our little dinner (after it has been put off one, two, or three hours on account of her visitors), without her being called away froreater picture of exhaustion than Flo last night at ten (Jan 7) 'Oh, do go to bed,' I said 'How can I; I have all those letters to write,' pointing to the divan covered with papers 'Write the its oork' And she sat up the greater part of the night” But with all this pressure, there was no flurry ”Such questions as food, rest, temperature,” wrote her aunt in another letter (Jan 25, 1856), ”never interfere with her during her work; I suppose she has gained soht about these things; that is, her s has not these little questions to entertain She is extremely quick and clear too, as you know, in her work This I suppose has increased upon her, and she can turn fro or one person to another, when in the midst of business, in a most extraordinary manner She has attained a most wonderful calm and presence of mind She is, I think, often deeply ih she does not show it outwardly, but no irritation of temper, no hurry or confusion of manner, ever appears for aMrs Bracebridge had called herself ”Boots,” because she did all Florence's odd jobs, and to this part Mrs Sreatly in Florence's struggle for independence,husband, ho able to stand at her niece's side through some part of the life of action

For Christale accepted an invitation to the British Euest has drawn a picture of her on this occasion:--

By the side of the Ahty beauty But the next instanton the other side of Lady Stratford At first I thought she was a nun, from her black dress and close cap She was not introduced, and yet Edmund and I looked at each other at the saale_ Yes, it was Florence Nightingale, greatest of all now in nalad not to be obliged to speak just then, for I felt quite duure and the short brown hair combed over her forehead like a child's, cut so when her life was despaired of froo

Her dress, as I have said, was black, e enairaceful offering from our men To hide the close white cap a little, she had tied a white crape handkerchief over the back of it, only allowing the border of lace to be seen; and this gave the nun-like appearance which first struck ale is by noin appearance Only her plain black dress, quiet ether in that asseht, rather above theand thin, but this ue She has a very prohtly Ro; but her face does not give you at all the idea of great talent She looks a quiet, persevering, orderly, lady-like woa until the tears came into her eyes[213]

[213] Letter from Lady Hornby to her sister Mrs Vaillant, Jan 5, 1856; _Hornby_, pp 150, 152 The ena this latter portion of Miss Nightingale's sojourn at Scutari that she made a new friendshi+p, which was of some importance to her work In October 1855 Colonel Lefroy,[214] confidential adviser on scientific matters to the Secretary for War, was sent out by Lord Panmure to report privately on the state of the hospitals He forale's work and abilities, and a friendshi+p with her then began which continued to the end of his life Lord Panmure's confidence in her, and the full authority hich, as already related (p 292), he invested her, were partly due to Colonel Lefroy's reports[215] At the time when the matter was under discussion, he had returned to his post at the War Office, and the papers were sent to hiale's, and he expressed it with a force inspired by his personal observation, alike of her services and of her difficulties The medical men, he wrote in one ladly upset it to-nizing and defining her position would save hercorrespondence It is due, I think, to all she has done and has sacrificed A other reasons for it, it will put a stop to any spirit of growing independence a these ladies and nurses who are still under her, a spirit encouraged with no friendly intention in more than one quarter” For ale's most constant correspondents on subjects connected with military hospitals and nurses, and they often co-operated in schemes for the welfare of the soldiers Colonel Lefroy's services to the army, both in scientific uished Miss Nightingale had detractors and opponents in the service; but the ressive an officer was, theher admirers and supporters

[214] John Henry Lefroy (1817-90), Lieut RA, 1837; engaged in a netical survey, 1839-42; FRS, 1848; at the War Office, 1854-57; inspector-general of arovernor successively of the Bermudas and Tasmania; KCMG, 1877

[215] See a letter of Sidney Herbert printed in _Stanmore_, vol i

p 417

CHAPTER XIII

END OF THE WAR--RETURN HOME

(July-August 1856)

I love the people, But do not like to stage h it do well, I do not relish well Their loud applause and _aves_ vehened at Paris on March 30, 1856; but there was still work to be done in the Criale re of July On her return to Scutari she was occupied in winding up the affairs of herto go home The Reverend Mother (Moore), who had come out from Bermondsey with the first party, left the East at the end of April She had been throughout one of the ale, rote to her thus froratitude with you, as you well know You knoell too that I shall do everything I can for the Sisters whom you have left me But it will not be like you Your wishes will be our law And I shall try and re as we are any of us there I do not presuratitude to you, Revd Mother, because it would look as if I thought you had done the work not unto God but unto me You were far above me in fitness for the General Superintendency, both in worldly talent of administration, and far more in the spiritual qualifications which God values in a Superior My being placed over you in an unenviable reign in the East was my misfortune and not ale described as her mainstays was Mrs Shaart, who served in the Crimea as Superintendent of the nurses, successively in the ”General” and in the ”Castle” Hospital, and of her Miss Nightingale wrote in terrateful fervour I quote a few of these appreciations (and ht be added), because it has been supposed, on the strength of isolated expressions penned in ale was ungenerous in recognition of the work of others[216] Nothing could be further fro in blaht she saw, incole-mindedness; she was also impatient of opposition; and hers was not one of those soft natures which readily forget and forgive But wherever efficiency and faithful zeal were to be found, she was quick to recognize them, and she was as unstinted in praise as in blame Of Mrs

Shaart, she wrote to Lady Cranworth (who had succeeded Lady Canning in good offices towards the nurses): ”Without her our Cri to the one great end, viz the carrying out the work as a whole--without her untiring zeal, her watchful care of the nurses, her accuracy in all trusts and accounts, her truth, her faithfulness Her praise and her reward are in higher hands than ale had written to Mrs

Bracebridge (Nov 4, 1855): ”Faithfulness is so e, Thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will htingale's praises of her felloorkers, for of every one of them she sent home to Lady Cranworth a terse character-sketch This was done mainly for the sake of the professional nurses, in order that they ht be helped to find suitable situations on their return The sketches sho close a touch the Lady-in-Chief kept upon her staff, and they reveal no reluctance either to criticize or to praise It would be invidious to particularize further than to cite Miss Nightingale's appreciation of her third mainstay, Mrs Roberts, who came out as a paid nurse with her in October 1854, and served throughout the war: ”Having been 23 years Sister in St Thomas's Hospital, her qualifications as a _nurse_ were, of course, infinitely superior to any other of those with ical nurse of the first order Her valuable services have been recognized even and eons (of Scutari, where she has principally been and where, after Inker) Her total superiority to all the vices of a Hospital Nurse, her faithfulness to the work, her disinterested love of duty and vigilant care of her patients, her power of work equal to that of _ten_, have made her one of the most important persons of the expedition”