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NOTABLE WOMEN. FLORENCE NIGHTINGALE, THE SOLDIER'S FRIEND. " The dying Looked up into her face, and thought, indeed, to behold there Gleams of celestial li ht encircle her forehead with splendour, Such as the artist paints o'er the brows of saints and apostles, Or such as hangs by night o'er a city seen at a distance. Unto their eyes it seemed the lamps of the city celestial, Into whose shining gates ere long their spirits would enter." LONGF'ELLOW. IN the year 1323, in Florence, that lovely city, " where earth and sky Are picture both and poetry," was born the younger of the two daughters of William Shore Nightingale, Esq.; and, in memory ofher birth- place, its beautiful name was given to her who will be known to all time as FLORENCE NIGHTINGALE. Her father, William Shore Nightingale, son of William Shore, Esq., of Tapton, is a descendant of the ancient Derbyshire family of Shore-of which Lord Teignmouth is the representative of another branch. He assumed the name of Nightingale by the Prince Regent's sign manual in 1815, in accor- dance with the will of his maternal uncle, Peter Nightingale, whose niece and sole heiress his father A
u FLORENCE NIGHTINGALE, had married. In early life, in 1818, he married Frances, daughter of William Smith, Esq., formerly M.P. for Norwich, a zealous labourer in the cause of Slave Emancipation, and a benevolent, earnest man. By inheritance, Mr. Nightingale possessed large wealth, and the ample estates of Embley Park, Hampshire, and the Lea Hurst, Derbyshire. The earlyyouth of Florence Nightingale was passed under circumstances well calculated to foster an ele- gant mind and a tender heart. The child of affluent and intellectual parents, surrounded by all that is beautiful in nature, and rich in art, and beloved by all who came in contact with her, her heart and mind developed their rare qualities together. Under the guidance of her father, she attained considerable proficiency in the classics, and in mathe- matics-studies which are rarely pursued by ladies in these latter days. Nor were the more feminine accomplishments neglected by the ardent student. She became an excellent musician, and conversant with most of the modern languages, speaking French, Italian, and German with fluency and purity. During the course of her studies she travelled ex- tensively, visiting most of the cities of Europe, and penetrating even to the remotest cataract of the Nile. While in Egypt, it is said, she tended the sick Arabs with whom she came in contact, and frequently, by judicious counsel and advice, rendered them im- portant services. The favourite homeof MissNightingale's childhood
THE SOLDIER'S FRIEND. -LeaHurst, Derbyshire-is a most picturesque and romantic spot. The quiet and secluded hamlet of Lea abounds in lovely scenery, and in interesting historical and literary associations. Lea Hurst is beautifully situated on rising ground, "in one of the most charming and extensive of the Derbyshire valleys, and surrounded with hills and mountains, rocks and woods of majestic and gigantic proportions, and watered by the winding Derwent and its tribu- tary streams." Of the hall itself, where the greatest part of Florence Nightingale's early life was passed, we cannot resist quoting this graphic description :- " The Hall, erected in the Elizabethan style, is most enchantingly situated on an expansive sloping lawn on the outer edge of an extensive park, and is surrounded and overhung with luxuriant trees. It is built in the form of a cross, with gables at its ex- tremities and on its sides, surmounted with hip knobs, with ball terminations; the windows, which open beneath the many gables, are square-headed, with dripstone and stone mullions, and the general contour of the building is much heightened by the strongly-built clustered chimney-stacks which rise from the roofs. At the extremities of the building, large bay windows stand out in the grounds, and are terminated with balustrades and battlements. The hall, with its out offices, gardens, and shrubberies, &c., is enclosed from the general park by a low fence, and is approached by a gateway, whose massive posts are terminated by globes of stone. The whole 7
FLORENCE NIGHTINGALE, place, embosomed as it is amid a profusion of beau- tiful trees, in an extensive park raised up on a kind of table land in the midst of one of nature's choicest valleys, and from which a long series of exquisite views of the surrounding country are obtained, sur- rounded by its gardens and shrubberies, and the walls covered with a profusion of ivy and creeping plants, is one of the most charming and poetic spots we have ever visited, and one which seems to be pecu- liarly well suited to be the home of such a pure and holy character as Miss Nightingale." From her earliest childhood, Florence Nightingale displayed a constant and active sympathy with the suffering, the desolate, and the distressed, among the poor around Lea Hurst and Enabley. As a friend, a benefactress, and a consoler, she was daily welcomed in manya cottage; and to the alleviation of pains and sorrows she devoted her personal energies, and her large fortune. She was for many years, as a voluntary teacher, the principal support of the schools for the poor in the neighbouring villages; for she never wearied of well-doing. Having attained the age when young ladies of birth and fortune generally " come out," and partake of the brilliant gaieties of society, Florence Night- ingale visited London. But it was for the purpose of frequenting and studying the hospitals, schools, and reformatory institutions of the metropolis, a self-imposed duty, which she performed with an un- tiring energy and diligence. Yet she did not neglect 8
THE SOLDIER'S FRIEND. to fulfil the more immediate duties of her station, with grace and propriety, even to a presentation at Court ; which proved that she was not one of those who devote themselves to the cause of charity in order to avoid the onerous claims of social life. From London, Florence Nightingale went to Edinburgh, and to the Continent, intent on perfect- ing herself for a high and holy mission, and gather- ing up stores of knowledge for present, as well as for future use. In the memorable year 1851, when all Europe held festive holiday in honour of the Great Exhibition, when " the highlands of Scotland, the lakes of Switzerland, and all the bright spots of the Continent were filled with parties of pleasure," Miss Nightingale-so well fitted by birth and educa- tion to shine a star in her own proper sphere -took up her abode in a hospital at Kaiserwerth on the Rhine, where Protestant Sisters of Mercy are trained as nurses for the sick ; and for three long months within the walls of this institution, she remained in daily andnightly attendance, unwearyingly expending her health and strength in the cause of benevolence. Here she made herself thoroughly acquainted with all the rules and regulations required in the manage- ment of a hospital. The Pasteur Flieaner, director of the Establishment, affirmed that during the pro- gress of the Institution, no one had ever passed so distinguished an examination, or shown herself so thoroughly mistress of all she had to learn, as the young, wealthy, and graceful Englishwoman. With 9
FLORENCE NIGHTINGALE, the Institution she was so favourably impressed that she afterwards returned to it, and subsequently pub- lished a little book containing an account of its origin and management. The history of its origin is indeed exceedingly curious and interesting, as forming one of those generally invisible links in the golden chain of bene- volent and philanthropic efforts. " IKaiserwerth is a small Roman Catholic town, near Dusseldorf on the Rhine; amanufactory having been begun there, a little colony of mechanics, chiefly Protestants, settled near to it. Their young pastor, M. Fliedner, was much beloved by them, but mis- fortunes came, and there were no longer any funds to support him in his duty. This good man, how- ever, would not consent to quit his little flock, and he determined to visit Holland and England, and try to raise, among the Protestants, sufficient funds to maintain his small church, and enable him to remain with his beloved people. He succeeded in his object ; but when he set out on his journey, to try and interest the religious feelings of strangers, in behalf of a small unknown community, he little hoped for the other great results that would arise from this visit. In England, he became acquainted with the inestimable MRS. FRY ; together they talked over and consulted on matters relating to prison discipline, and on his return to Dusseldorf he formed the first German society for improving prisons. He felt deeply the desolate lot of women 10
THE SOLDIER'S FRIEND. released perhaps from punishment, but thrown upon the world penniless, and with the hand of crime upon them. He determined to aid and improve them. He accepted the help of a volunteer, a friend of Madame Fliedner, and the good work was begun in the summer of 1833. Before the year ended he had received nine penitents ; and three years later a hospital was established in the manu- factory which had first attracted the small flock of Protestants to Iiaiserwerth, and which was then vacant. The beginning of this Institution that was destined, through the Divine blessing, to be of so much benefit, was but small; one patient, one nurse, and a cook. In the first year seven nurses volun- teered to give their services, and they were submitted to a trial for six months ; during this year sixty patients were taken care of, and the women were thus trained in the treatment of various maladies by experience." From Germany Miss Nightingale returned to the happiness of home, the love of her parents and sis- ter, and to the fresh, free air of Derbyshire and Hampshire, in order to recruit her health. But her sympathy and energy were speedily enlisted on be- half of the Hospital for Sick Governesses, established in Harley Street, London, which was languishing for want of proper management, and judicious support. She was appealed to for aid. Most young and wealthy ladies in such a case would have given a handsome donation to assist the institution. With 11
FLORENCE NIGHTINGALE, the heroism of pure benevolence Florence Nightin- gale gave-herself. She took the active and entire superintendence of the Sanatorium, devoting herself with indefatigable energy to place it on a firm basis. Derbyshire and Hampshire were exchanged for the narrow dreary establishment ih Harley Street, to which she devoted all her time and fortune. " While her friends missed her at assemblies, lectures, concerts, exhibitions, and all the entertainments for taste and intellect with which London in its season abounds," says one writer, " she, whose powers could have best appreciated them, was sitting beside the bed, and soothing the last complaints of some poor, dying, homeless, queru- lous governess. The homelessness might, not im- probably, result from that very querulousness ; but this is too frequently fomented if not created by the hard, unreflecting folly which regards fellow creatures entrusted with forming the minds and dispositions of its children as ingenious, disagreeable machines, needing, like the steam-engine, sustenance and covering, but, like it, quite beyond or beneath all sympathy, passions, or affections. Miss Nightingale thought otherwise, and found pleasure in tending those poor destitute governesses, in their infirmities, their deaths, or their recoveries. She was seldom seen outside the walls of the institution, and the few friends whom she admitted found her in the midst of nurses, letters, prescriptions, accounts, and interrup- tions. Her health sank under the heavy pressure, 12
THE SOLDIER'S FILIEND. but a little Hampshire fresh air, restored her, and the failing institution was saved." About this time-1854-Florence Nightingale also took an active interest in the Ragged Training Schools, and several similar institutions. She felt, with Hannah More, that " the care of thepoor is the profession of women," and all her talents were un- ceasingly employed in the amelioration of their miseries. But while Miss Nightingale was recruiting her health and spirits in her beautiful home at Embley, a cry of dire distress and bitterest agony came from the East, piercing England nearly to the heart. It arose from our wounded brethren, huddled together lan- guishing in their rough beds, destitute of comforts or even necessary accommodations, crushed by the cold unfeeling iron heel of Routine, and by the heavy murderous hand of Mismanagement. An enthusiastic desire to respond to it instantly sprang up in the breasts of all who heard it ; and suggestions were offered from all quarters by warm and willing hearts. Undisciplined zeal, however, could do little towards supplying the wants of those dying heroes who were uttering themournful cry for help ; and it was feared lest the ardent feelings which had been roused might flag or be misdirected for lack of some systematic arrangement. Wealth was poured forth to aid, and food, clothing, medicines, and other necessaries were shipped in abundance ; but something more was needed. A proposition, originated by Lady Maria B 13
FLORENCE NIGHTINGALE, Forester, to form a band of female nurses, to be dispatched to the seat of war, was started, and fount favour with the government, and the majority of the public. The idea being propounded, the chief difficulty was to carry it out; and there was a fear "lest a noble impulse should fail for the want of a head, a hand, and a heart to direct it." But, having engaged three nurses, Lady Maria Forester waited on Miss Nightingale, and entreated her to take the direction andentire control of the nursing establishment for our sick and wounded soldiers and sailors on the distant shores of the Levant. LadyMaria's request, earnestly seconded by that of the Right Hon. Sidney Herbert, then Secretary-at-War, induced Miss Nightingale to yield a generous consent to undertake the manage- ment of the expedition. It is, indeed, affirmed by some, that by a strange coincidence the noble woman had herself written to Mr. Herbert on the very same day, volunteering her services where they were so direfully needed. Immediately on her intention becoming known, horror thrilled the souls of those humane and wise Gradgrinds who, comprehendingno " facts "but those which had undoubted precedents, had laughed aloud when Elizabeth Fry proposed to cleanse Newgate, and had coldly sneered when Hannah More hinted at Sunday Schools. But, upheld by her noble and compassionate heart, and resolved to follow humbly and reverentially in the footsteps of ONE who had 14
THE SOLDIER'S FRIEND. suffered from evil tongues, Florence Nightingale calmly held on her way up the steep and rocky road, nor heeded the discordant cries which would have called her back. Not a moment was lost in unnecessary delay, or in preliminary preparations. Miss Nightingale formed, from some hundreds who offered, a band of thirty - seven nurses-many of them like herself, volunteers from the higher ranks of life, gentle ladies, accus- tomed to ease and luxury, but not unused to tend the suffering or the dying, nor to lead lives of charity and self-denial. Twelve nuns from the Convent at Norwood, under charge of their superioress, an Irish lady, proffered their services, and were gladly included in the noble corps; for the holy leader of the band was no narrow-minded bigot, and did not doubt but that a basin of gruel, a glass of wine, or a cup of medicine, might perhaps be administered as tenderly by a hand which clasped a missal, as by one which touched a Testament. When everything was ready, Florence Nightingale bade farewell to her fond parents and her affectionate sister, renounced her friendships and her intellectual pleasures, and quitted the comforts of her home, the quiet liberty of dear old England, for a perilous journey to a land teeming with danger and disease. She and her sister-labourers, prompted by the most sincere, charitable, and religious feelings which can inspire the human heart, and undaunted by the 15
FLORENCE NIGHTINGALE, length of thevoyage, the strange and distant country before them, the awful scenes they would encounter, or the privations they would have to endure, started for their destinationon Tuesday, the 24th of October, 1854. Surely, if there was heroism in dashing up the heights of Alma, seeking glory at the cannon's mouth in defiance of death and of all mortal opposi- tion, amid the shouts of the victors and the cries of the vanquished; there was heroism unparalleled in calmly volunteering to minister to the fever-stricken and the dying in a place reeking with deadly disease and polluted air, where "wounds almost refused to heal, and where the heavy smell of pestilence could be perceived outside the very walls," and surrounded by sights and sounds calculated to appal the stoutest hearts. They were accompanied by Mr. and Mrs. Brace- bridge; a clergyman; and a courier. On their arrival at Boulogne, the self-devoted band was hailed with demonstrations of sympathy and respect by a crowd which assembled to welcome them on their way, and bid them " God speed." In passing through France, they were received with the utmost enthusiasm; hotel-keepers refusing payment for their accommodation, servants declining the customaryfees, all emulating to evince admiration and sympathy. One of the Paris journals, on Miss Nightingale's pass- ing through the French metropolis, observed of her that "her toilette was charming, and she was almost 16
THE SOLDIER'S FRIEND. as graceful as a Parisienne." On the 27th, they sailed from Marseilles in the Vect'is steamer, for Constantinople. The " silver city" of Scutari-the ultimate des- iination ofthese brave, noble-souled women-situated exactly opposite to the graceful City of the Sultan, the glittering and poetical Stamboul, is very beau- tiful; its gleaming houses and sparkling minarets causing it to " shine like a pearl" on the rocky coast. Till within a few months of the War in the East, Scutari had been insignificant, and interesting only to the traveller or the merchant. But at that time, how changed was its aspect ! Motley and ever- varying groups were thronging the streets and ferry, vessels crowded the waters of the Bosphorus, sol- diers, boatmen, donkey-boys, fruit and fish-vendors, together with the usual component objects to be seen in a busy town, formed a striking and animated scene. Standing on the ferry, the spectacle was peculiarly singular. " Immediately before us," says the author of 'Scutari and its Objects of Interest,' " glide the sunny waves of the Bosphorus, hurrying into the Sea of Marmora. Across these glittering waves, and washed by their current, rise the castled walls of Constantinople, mingling with and lost amid graceful kiosques, shadowy plane trees, weeping acacias, and that favourite of the Moslems, dark cypresses. Islands lie sleeping on the bosom of the waters, and the extent and variety of wood, water, 17
, FLORENCE NIGHTINGALE. minarets, domes, and buildings cf every kind, glit- tering\in the sunshine, almost bewilder the senses: The waves of the Bosphorus are now enlivened by crowds of shipping. Here we see the gigantic steamers hurrying on, crowded with their living freight ; there the transport ships, carrying ammu- nition, food, and clothing to the troops ; nearer still, perhaps, other transports, or merchant ships, unload- ing stores for the hospitals or, bringing down the wounded ; while amid all these gigantic monarchs of the wave may be seen the graceful Turkish caique, laden perchance with the veiled beauties of a harem, or with officers in splendid uniforms, stealing grace- fully and quickly along, its white sail bending to the breeze that sweeps up from the Euxine." Scutari contained two principal hospitals,-the General Hospital, and the Barrack Hospital, which had been given up by the Turks to the English for their sick and wounded. The condition of these hospitals was so appalling, so frightful, that the mere recital thrills one with horror. Neglect, mis- management, disease, had united to render the scene one of unparalleled hideousness. Fever and cholera rioted ; there was a miserable scarcity of medical aid, of accommodations, and even of food. The beds were placed on the cold stone pavement ; and there, day after day, their occupants, officers and men, . destitute of every comfort or kindly sym- pathy, laygroaning in helpless anguish, or speechless from exhaustion. " Nearly all," wrote one, " are 18
THE SOLDIER'S FRIEND. lying on their backs, and most are evidently in fearful pain. Of the few who are not, one is whitt- 1Mg a stick, some are reading books or scraps of newspapers, and one, whose eyeballs are nearly starting out of his head, is devouring, rather than perusing, a letter from home." The scenes of agony and misery which were of hourly occurrence in the hospitals are ghastly and sickening in description ; what must they not have been to witness ! On the 5th of November, Miss Nightingale, ac- companied by Mr. and Mrs. Bracebridge, and her nurses, arrived at Constantinople, and the whole party was speedily established at their new quarters in the Barrack Hospital at Scutari. This was a handsome building, capable of holding an immense' number of soldiers, the court-yard alone being suf- ficiently large to afford space for exercising twelve thousand men, and the corridors, running the whole length of the barrack, being estimated to comprise four miles in extent. On three sides of the building were galleries, in which were ranged, in double rows, the beds of the patients. Five rooms which had been set apart for wounded general officers, were happily vacant ; and thesewere assigned to Miss Nightingale and her friends. The appearance of the delicate, tender, thoughtful nurses was hailed with delight and raptures of grati- tude by the objects of their sympathy and devotion. One poor fellow burst into tears, and exclaimed, "I can't help crying when I see them. Only think of lo
À nORE`_v'CE NIGHTINGALE, Englishwomen coming out here to nurse us ; it is so homely and comfortable ! " The heavy cares and duties which awaited them were terribly increased within a few hours of their coming by the arrival of six hundred wounded, sent down after the battle of Inkerman. The over -worked surgeons, " one and all," acknowledged that their services, at such a juncture, were invaluable ; even the most " hard-headed old Scotch surgeons," whom some of the croakers had feared would be constantly resenting raps from the scented fan of Miss Nightingale, admitted that the tender nurses "were not in the way except to do good." " Miss Nightingale," says one letter, in Novem- 'ber, " appears eminently qualified for the noble work she has undertaken. Her labours will spare the clergy many a sad sight of men sinking for want of proper nursing, and because food cannot be adminis- tered often enough. This is impossible with only hospital orderlies, but with the nurses, all who need will be supplied." But food, clothing, medicines, and extra medical aid were wanting ; and the men were constantly sinking through exhaustionwhen, if it had been at hand, a timely stimulant administered might have saved them. A letter, dated November 11, from one of the lady-nurses shows the terrible des- titution. " I have come out here as one of the Government nurses, and the position in which we are placed in- duces me to write and ask you at once to send us 20
THE SOLDIER'S out a few dozens of wine or, in short, anything which may be useful for the wounded or dying, hundreds of whom are now around us, under this roof, filling up even the passages to the very rooms we occupy. Government is liberal, and for one moment I would not complain of their desire to meet all our wants, but, with such a number of wounded coming in from Sebastopol, it does appear absolutely impossible to meet the wants of those who are dying of dysentery and exhaustion ; out of four wards committed to my care, eleven men have dieci in the night, simply from exhaustion, which, humanly speaking, might have been stopped, could I have laid my hand at once on such nourishment as I knew they ought to have had. It is necessary to be as near the scene of war as we are to know the horrors which we have seen and heard of, and I knew not which sight is most heart-rending-to witness fine strong men and youths worn down by exhaustion and sinking under it, or others coming in fearfully wounded. The whole of yesterday was spent, first, in sewing the men's mattresses together, and then in washing them, and assisting the surgeons when we could, in dressing their ghastly wounds, and seeing the poor fellows made as easy as their cir- cumstances would admit of, after their five days' confinement on board ship, during which space their wounds were not dressed. Miss Nightingale, under whom we work, is well fitted in every way to fill her arduous post, the whole object of her life having 21
FLORENCE NIGHTINGALE,. hitherto been the superintendence of hospitals abroad. Wine and bottles of chicken broth, preserved meat for soup, &c., will be most acceptable. We have not seen a drop of milk, and the bread is extremely sour, the butter is most filthy; it is Irishbutter in a state of decomposition, and the meat is more like moist leather than food. Potatoes we are waiting for till they arrive from France." Linen, flannels, stockings, and other necessary articles of clothing were not to be obtained; the vast freights which had been sent from England were either rotting under the snow at Ealaklava, or hidden in the mud outside the custom-house at Constanti- nople. The strength with which Miss Nightingale supported the difficulties and duties of her position surpassed even the expectations of those who were best acquainted with her character and the resources of her nature. Every day brought some new com- plication of misery to be unravelled. "Each day," observes a qualified witness, " had its own peculiar trial to one who had taken such a load of respon- sibility in an untried field, and with a staff of her own sex all new to it. She has frequently been known to stand twenty hours, on the arrival of fresh detachments of sick, apportioning quarters, distri- buting stores, directing the labours of her corps, assisting at the most painful operations where her presence might soothe or support, and spending hours over men dying of cholera or fever. Indeed, the more awful to every sense any particular case 22
THE SOLDIER'S FRIEND. might be, the more certainly might be seen her slight form bending over him, administering to his ease by every means in her power, and seldom quitting his side until death released him " Yet the difficulties of Florence Nightingale's position were increased tenfold by the continual struggles which she was obliged to undergo with System and the prejudices of individuals. By petty -daily-contests she was compelled to extort from the authorities a scanty allowance of the necessary materials required by her and her band of nurses. Etiquette and " service " regulations impeded her movements at every step ; " indolence, indifference, and incapacity " combined to clog her exertions ; for " no one would take ` responsibility' upon himself, even to save the lives of hundreds." Happily, the presence and able co-operation of Mr. Macdonald, the distributor of ` The Times' Fund,' enabled her at length to lay in stores, to institute proper culinary and washing departments, and to introduce some order and comfort. Had it not been for their mutual exertions, a large proportion of the poor prostrate sufferers must have been condemned to wear the tattered filthy rags in which they were brought down from the Crimea. A washing contract had, it is true, existed, but it was totally inoperative, and the beds and habiliments of the men had been in a condition loathsome and foul beyond description. A house, well supplied with water, close to the Barrack Hospital, was engaged at the charge of the Fund, 23
FLORENCE NIGHTINGALE, and here the clothing supplied by Miss Nightingale was washed and dried. In ten days after her arrival an impromptu kitchen was fitted up, from which eight hundred men were daily supplied with well- cooked food and other necessary culinary comforts in abundance - beef-tea, chicken-broth, rice pudding, jelly, chickens, and numerous delicacies. Hereto- fore the cookery, performed by soldiers, without any superintendence, and of course without any system, had been most detestable, when the sickly, fastidious appetite of a fevered or consumptive patient is con- sidered. Meat and vegetables had been boiled in one large copper, the separate portions enclosed in nets, and served up either done to rags or half raw ; and the delivery had been as devoid of system as the cookery. Sometimes it would be six or seven o'clock in the evening before, in individual cases, things ordered could be supplied, and then the means of cooking would be at an end. In subordinate, as well as in leading points of arrangement, the same feminine directing hand was now to be traced. With rare thoughtfulness, the nurses were em- ployed in making up needful articles of bedding or surgical requisites, stump pillows for amputation cases, and other things of a like nature. One "rule of the service" was in existence which alone exemplifies the system bearing so heavily upon the helpless invalids, and which it required all the tact and firmness of Miss Nightingale to stand against ; it demanded that all articles needed even 24
THE SOLDIER'S FRIEND. far present use should be procured from home through the Commissariat ; and there was likewise a regulation appointing that a " board " must judge stores already landed, before they could be given out. On one occasion, the " board " not having completed its arrangements, and the men languishing for the stores sent from England, Miss Nightingale insisted that they should be at once dispensed. Red Tape, shocked at the audacity of such a singular propo- sition, interposed ; woe betide the man, amenable to martial law, who should dare to touch even the cordage of one box. The noble- spirited woman, conscious that determination must effect what en- treaty had failed to do, had the store -house broken( open, on her own responsibility, and its contents dis- tributed through their proper channels. But on all other occasions, she paid the most scrupulous deference to the existing laws. Her name and angelic ministerings were the theme of frequent, ( grateful praise among the men in the trenches ; and it was remarked that she made the Barrack Hospital so comfortable, that the convalescents began to display a decided reluctance to leave it. Not only in the scene of her arduous labours, but at home, was the self-dedicated Samaritan assailed by jealousies and suspicions. The circumstance of her having accepted the services of some Sisters of Charity from the nunnery at Norwood, and from St. Stephen's Hospital, Dublin, drew down upon her, in December, so invidious an attack from a clergyman 25
FLORENCE NIGHTINGALE, of the Established Church, that the Hon. Mrs. Sidney Herbert was obliged to step forward and defend her absent friend, and show " how cruel and unjust " were the aspersions thrown upon her. " It is melancholy to think," she wrote to the wife of the Rev. gentleman, " that in England no one can undertake anything without the most un- charitable and sectarian attacks ; and had you not told me, I should scarcely have believed that a clergy- man of the Established Church would have been the mouth -piece of slander. Miss Nightingale is a mem- berof the Established Church of England, andwhat is called rather Low Church. But ever since she went to Scutari, her religious opinions and character have been assailed on all points :-one person writes to upbraid us for having sent her, understanding she is a Unitarian;' another,' that she is a Roman Catholic,' and so on. It is a cruel charge to make towards one to whom England owes so much. As to the charge of no Protestant nurses being sent, the sub- joined list will convince you of its fallacy. We made no distinctions of creed ; any one who was a good and skilful nurse, and understood the practice in surgical wards, was accepted, provided, of course, that we had their friends' consent, and that they were, as far as we could judge, of unexceptionable character." Mr. Sidney Herbert, on a subsequent occasion, said, in allusion to the same subject, "I recollect an excellent answer being given to a query of this kind 26
TIDE SOLDIER'S FRIEND. by an Irish clergyman, who, when he was asked to what sect Miss Nightingale belonged, replied : ` She belongs to a sect which, unfortunately, is a very rare one -the sect of the Good Samaritans.' " The Hon. and Rev. Sydney Godolphin Osborne adds his testimony to the pure religion of the object of these animadversions :-" ` I found her myself to be in her every word and action a Christian; I thought this quite enough. It would have been in my opinion the most cruel impertinence to scrutinize her words and acts, to discover to which of the many bodies of true Christians she belonged. I have conversed with her several times on the deaths of those, who I had visited ministerially in the hospitals, with whom she had been when they died. I never heard one word from her lips, that would not have been just what I should have expected from the lips of those who I have known to be the most experienced and devout of our com- mon faith. Her work ought to answer for her faith ; at least none should dare to call that faith in question in opposition to such work, on grounds so weak and trivial as those I have seen urged. . . . . If there is blame in looking for a Roman Catholic Priest to attend a dying Romanist, let me share it with her - I did it again and again." Early in January, 1855, the executive strength at Miss Nightingale's disposal was increased by the arrival of Miss Stanley, with fifty more nurses, who were terribly needed, for there were then on the Bosphorus and Dardanelles no less than eight 27
FLORENCE NIGHTINGALE, hospitals, containing an aggregate of nearly five thousand sick and wounded, while there were eleven hundred more on their way from the Crimea. In the Barrack Hospital alone there were about three thousand patients, all of them severe cases. How- ever, having proved herself so vigorous a reformer of hospital misrule, Miss Nightingale, through the tacit oppositionof all the principal medical officers, found it almost impossible to turn the service of even a portion of the newly - arrived nurses to any account. Cabals, ill-feeling, partydifferences, passive resistance in every shape, met her on all sides, her reforms were treated as unwarrantable interferences, and dis- countenanced as far as possible. She held, in the General Hospital, a very insecure footing ; and found her efforts crossed at every turn. Towards Mr. Macdonald the jealousy of the ,officials extended itself; in distributing ' The Times' Fund' he was most ungraciously treated, and his assistancedeclined whenever it could be dispensed with. But as Florence Nightingale was struggling against the disgraceful jealousy of hospital officials, her heart was cheered and encouraged by a glorious letter filled with true English warmth and sympathy, written by Queen Victoria ; " not a letter stiff with gold thread and glittering with gems," but womanly and queen-like, "with nothing of the ermine about it but its softness and purity." " Would you tell Mrs. Herbert," wrote the Queen of England to Mr. Sidney Herbert, " that I beg she 26
THE SOLDIER'S FRIEND. would let me see frequently the accounts she receives - fromMiss Nightingale or Mrs. Bracebridge, as I hear no details of the wounded, though I see so many from officers, &c. about the battle-field, and naturally the former must interest me more than any one. Let Mrs. Herbert also know that I wish Miss Nightingale and the ladies would tell these poor noble wounded and sick men that no one takes a warmer interest, or feels more for their sufferings, or admires their courage and heroism, more than their Queen. Day and night she thinks of her beloved troops. So does the Prince. Beg Mrs. Herbert to communicate these my words to those ladies, as I know that our sympathy is much valued by these noble fellows." It is easy to imagine that this letter so gracious, kind, and tender, must have strengthened the heart of the noble Florence Nightingale in her arduous work. Touching and simple, those words of sym- pathy, " spoken right nobly as a Queen, right affectionately as a mother, right eloquently as a woman," are worth a thousand times the brave speeches or heroism of any of the Queens of " the Jewel set in a golden sea." But her Majesty has proved by many good deeds that she can feel for suffering and want ; and has always evinced, more especially, a strong interest in her wounded or dis- abled soldiers, visiting and cheering them on many occasions. Upon the departure of the chief medical officer of D 29
FLORENCE NIGHTINGALE, the General Hospital, the dire emergencies of the hospitals, and the continued deficiencies of the pur- veying department, induced the authorities to "relax their petty restrictions sufficiently to enable Miss Nightingale, in February, to extend her sphere of usefulness. Eight nurses were dispatched to Bala- klava ; while a number were placed, under the supervision of Miss Emily Anderson, in the General Hospital. Meantime, disease continued its ravages. Cholera, and malignant fever, bore more and more heavily upon the wan and wasted victims crowding the hospitals. Among other sufferings endured by the men, frost-bite in its most aggravated form assailed them. The medical officers spoke of the appearance which the patients afflicted in this way presented as being most terrible ; " and even their professional stoicism seemed to be overcome by it." By February, the great increase of fever was the chief point of remark ; it raged destructively, and in less than a month it swept away no fewer than seven surgeons, leaving eight more, and three of the nurses, danger- ously ill. Indeed, at that time there was but one medical attendant well enough to wait on the sick in the Barrack Hospital ; and his services were required in no less than twenty-one wards. Drs. Newton and Struthers were tended in their last moments, and had their dying eyes closed, by Miss Nightingale. For "wherever there is disease in its most dangerous form," wrote Mr. Macdonald, in February, "and the 30
THE SOLDIER'S FRIEND. hand of the despoiler distressingly nigh, there is that incomparable woman sure to be seen ; her benignant presence is an influence for good comfort, even amid the struggles of expiring nature. She is `a ministering angel' without any exaggeration, in these hospitals, and as her slender form glides quietly along each corridor, every poor fellow's face softens with gratitude at the sight of her. When all the medical officers have retired for the night, and silence and darkness have settled down upon those miles of prostrate sick, she may be observed alone, with a little lamp in her hand, making her solitary rounds. The popular instinct was not mistaken which, when she set out from England on her mission of mercy, hailed her as a heroine ; I trust that she may not earn her title to a higher, though sadder, appellation. No one who has observed her fragile figure and de- licate health can avoid misgivings lest she should fail. With the heart of a true woman, and the manners of a lady, accomplished and refined beyond most of her sex, she combines a surprising calmness of judgment with promptitude and decision of character." Of the sublime courage whichmust have supported her during these solitary nocturnal rounds we may judge by the slight sketch given in another place. Speaking of the frightful and sickening sounds and sights in the wards and corridors he says : -"During the day little of this is heard, but when all is silent, and sleep has settled down upon the occupants of each ward and corridor, then rise at intervals upon 31
FLORENCE NIGIITINGALE, the ear sounds which go straight to the heart of the listener. Now, it is a wasted skeleton of a man who fancies himself in the trenches, or on the blood- stained ridges of the Inkerman valley, contending for dear life, and tue honour of his country. That ceases, and through the stillness comes the heavy moaning of another sufferer at gripswith death. By and by a patient in deep consumption has a fit of coughing; and so through the dreary hours the ear is arrested by expressions of suffering, which, heard in these huge establishments, have a terrible sig- nificance." Merely to see her pass along was an inexpressible comfort to the men. " She would speak to one," said a poor fellow, writing home, " and nod and smile to a many more ; but she couldn't do it to all, you know. We lay there by hundreds ; but we could kiss her shadow as it fell, and lay our heads on the pillow again, content." In her rounds, to one she would administer words of consolation and hope, to another teach resignation, now cheering with a smile, or sympathizing with a sigh ; minis- tering to the necessities both of mind and body of the sufferers who, following her light, soft footsteps with their tear-brimmed eyes, bent to " kiss her shadow as it fell !" Such was her influence, that when men, frenzied by their wounds and disease, had worked themselves into a passionate refusal to submit to necessary operations, a few calm sentences of hers seemed at once to allay the storm ; and the 32
THE SOLDIER'S FRIEND. men would submit willingly to the painful ordeal they had to undergo. Of Florence Nightingale's personal appearance the author of " Scutari and its Hospitals " gives a most interesting description. " Miss Nightingale," he says, " is just what you would expect in any other well-bred woman, who may have seen, per- haps, rather more than thirty years of life ; her manner and countenance are prepossessing, and this without the possession of positive beauty ; it is a face not easily forgotten,-pleasing in its smile, with an eye betokening great self-possession, and giving, when she wishes, a quiet look of firm determination to every feature. Her general demeanour is quiet, and rather reserved ; still, I am much mistaken if she is not gifted with a very lively sense of the ridiculous. In conversation, she speaks on matters of business with a grave earnestness I would not expect from her appearance. She has evidently a mind disciplined to restrain, under the principles of the action of the moment, every feeling which would interfere with it. She has trained herself to com- mand, and learned the value of conciliation towards others, and constraint over herself. She seems to understand business thoroughly. Her nerve is wonderful. I have been with her at very severe operations ; she was more than equal to the trial." In April, Miss Nightingale lost a very dear per- sonal friend, one of the nurses, a young and amiable lady named Miss Smythe. This ladyhad commenced 33
»>>» FLORENCE NIGHTINGALE, her occupation as nurse at Scutari, but being re- quested to join Miss Bracebridge, at Kululee-which was on the Asiatic side of the Bosphorus, five miles from Scutari-she left for that place, much regretted by Miss Nightingale, who said she hoped that they would have laboured together in the same hospital. Shortly after her arrival she was attacked by fever, and died deeply mourned. Miss Nightingale's firm, systematic, and energetic thoughtfulness at length gained its way, and she had the satisfaction of seeing that the most important part of her work at Scutari was accomplished. She accordingly repaired to Balaklava, with theview of inspecting its hospitals, arriving there May 4, 1855. There she examined the general state of affairs, had newhutserected, kitchensbuilt, andvigorous organiza- tion instituted; but no sooner were all these matters arranged, than the long -continued arduous exertions which she had undergone told on her system. Her delicate and fragile frame was attacked by Crimean fever ; and completely prostrated, she was carried up to the hut-hospital on the heights. For a fortnight the fever continued its hold ; but at the end of that time Florence Nightingale rose, weak, yet pronounced out of danger, from her sick bed. She was earnestly entreated to return to Eng- land ; but no persuasion could induce her to quit her post, or to proceed further than Scutari. Too well she knew that her presence on that sad spot was still urgently needed. She left Balaklava for 34
THE SOLDIER'S FRIEND. Scutari, June 6, Lord Ward placing his steam yacht at her disposal, that she might have the advantage of change of air in sea excursions to recruit her strength. So exhausted was she, that she had to be carried down to the vessel, tenderly and re- verently in the arms of the men, amidst their heart- felt prayers for her speedy recovery. Miss Nightingale's efforts for the poor fellows in the hospitals did not terminate with their death ; for on her return to Scutari she originated a scheme for erecting a monument to the brave men who had died during the winter. This memorial has been only recently completed, and now towers in gloomy gran- deur above the surrounding graves of our British heroes. It is simple and massive ; a square base, surmounted by four figures of angels with drooping wings, who support a tapering shaft, which rises towards the sky. In four different languages on each side of the base is this inscription :- " THIS MONUMENT WAS ERECTED BY QUEEN VICTORIA AND HER PEOPLE." The cemetery at Scutari, which possesses such a melancholy interest as the last resting-place of so many heroicBritish soldiers, is picturesquely situated, and one of the most celebrated, extensive, and beautiful of any of the cemeteries in the Ottoman Empire ; and truly a " place of a thousand tombs," there being, it is 'said, tombstones enough within it to rebuild the city. It is enclosed by a dark funereal mass of cypress-trees, the sombre shade of which 35
FLORENCE NIGHTINGALE, the smiling Eastern clime, the festal sunshine, or the beaming moonlight, are alike powerless to dispel. The Turks view the spot with great veneration as the consecrated ground of Asia, whence the founder of the Ottoman Empire sprung and spread his power in Europe. " In that wide solitude at Scutari a feeling of deep, solemn awe creeps over you, as you gaze around, while the strong aroma from the cypress and tur- pentine trees fills the air, and sometimes nearly overpowers the senses with its aromatic odour. But though the scene is one to strike the mind with a reverential feeling at all times and seasons, it is during the brightest moments of gay summer sun- shine that you are the most impressed with it. The soft beams of the moon and the bright stars that look down from above, seem to belong to those cold marble columns, and to shine gently through the branches of the cypresses, as though fearful of awaking the dead that sleep beneath. You feel comforted by their mild influence, and you wander around, tracing, perhaps, fanciful legends of those who once lived to walk there, and who are now departed. It is in the brilliant summer sunshine that you are overpowered by the deep solemn gloom of this cemetery. As you step under the dark cypresses you feel as though you left light and life behind you ; the joyous song of the birds, the merry hum of insects, the distant echo of the surging sea, all seem swallowed up in death; while the strong 36
THE SOLDIER'S FRIEND. shadows, with here and there bright sun -gleams, sometimes though but rarelypierce the gloomyshades, give an awful and startling effect to the scene." One tomb amid the crowd attracts attention by its beauty ; it is a canopy, supported by six columns, marking the last resting-place of Sultan Mahmoud's favourite horse ! There is a poetical legend connected with this cemetery which is most romantic. " Myriads of birds, about the size of a thrush, frequent the dark shades, and hover over the tombs, or flit noiselessly from that ' sea of storms,' the Euxine, to the fairer sea of Marmora, where they turn and retrace their flight, often touching the masts of the vessels that sail beneath them. They have never been seen to stop, or to feed, and they have never been heard to sing ; all their life seems past in flitting from one sea to another. No one has, as yet, discovered exactly what kind of bird these phan- tom wanderers are, for it is asserted that a dead one has never been seen, and the Moslems hold them in so much veneration that they will not permit one to be killed. All that is known of them is, that they have a dark plumage, andblue feathers on the breast. During the tempestuousweather which so frequently disturbs the waves of the Bosphorus, when these birds can no longer flit in mid air, they desert the sea for the land, and take shelter in the cypress groves. At these times, when the storm rages, and Boreas himself seems unchained, and to be pouring E 87
FLORENCE NIGHTINGALE, destruction on the many vessels that crowd the sur- rounding waters, the birds emit a loud sound ; not a melodious note, or a soft warble, but a shrill, sharp cry, as of agony. This thrilling sound has caused the Turks to declare that they are the condemned souls who, having lived an evil life in this world, are not permitted to rest quiet in the tomb, by the side of their holier brethren; and as the Turk loves quiet, no greater penance could be laid upon his spirit." By December, 1855, the greater number of the hospitals were closed ; the Barrack Hospital was again used for its original purpose; and all seemed hopeful and invigorated. Her Majesty, to mark her warm appreciation of the inestimable services of Miss Nightingale, presented her with a beautiful ornament, adapted to be worn as a decoration of the most elegant and costly description. It was formed of a St. George's Cross, in ruby-red enamel, on a white field, representing England; this was encircled by a black band, typifying the office of Charity, on which was inscribed the legend "Blessed are the merciful." The letters Y.R., surmounted by a crown in diamonds, were impressed upon the centre of the St. George's Cross, from which emanated rays of gold. Wide - spreading branches of palm, in bright green enamel, tipped with gold, composed a frame- work for the shield, their stems being banded with a riband of blue enamel, inscribed with the word " Crimea." At the top three brilliant stars of diamonds illustrated the idea of the light of Heaven
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