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
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