■i 
 
 m-' 
 
 THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 PRESENTED BY 
 
 PROF. CHARLES A. KOFOID AND 
 
 MRS. PRUDENCE W. KOFOID 
 
Digitized by tine Internet Archive 
 
 in 2007 witii funding from 
 
 IVILcrosoft Corporation 
 
 ^littp://www.arcliive.org/details/easternliospitalsOOtaylricli 
 
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EASTERN HOSPITALS 
 
 ENGLISH NUKSES; 
 
 THE NARRATIVE OF TWELVE MONTHS' EXPERIENCE 
 
 IN THE 
 
 HOSPITALS OF KOULALI AND SCUTAEI. 
 BY A LADY TOLUNTEEE. 
 
 " They are the patient sorrows that touch nearest."— Ion. 
 
 SISTKBS' HUTS. 
 
 ^^^ 
 
 ^ffixiJ miiio% B,ebigEti. 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 HURST AND BLACKETT, PUBLISB^ffRS, 
 
 SUCCESSORS TO HENRY COLBURN, 
 
 13, GREAT MARLBOROUGH STREET 
 
 1857. 
 
J. Billbig, PriBter, 103, Hatton Garden, London, and Guildford, Surrey. 
 

 TO THOSE OF 
 
 36ritisfe gLrmj, 
 
 WHO DISPLAYED THEIE HEEOISM 
 
 NOT ONLY ON THE BATTLE-FIELD, 
 
 BUT IN THE 
 
 PATIENT ENDUEANCE OF SUFFEEING, PEIVATION, AND NEGLECT, 
 
 IN THE WABDS OF EASTEBN HOSPITALS, 
 
 THIS WOEK 
 
 IS DEDICATED. 
 
PREFACE 
 
 TO THE THIRD EDITION. 
 
 Since the publication of the First Edition of 
 " Eastern Hospitals and English Nurses," a very- 
 great change has taken place in the state of affairs 
 in the East. The War has ceased — the aUied forces 
 have returned to their homes — the Hospitals on 
 the Bosphorus, in which the Writer spent much of 
 her time, have been handed over to their rightful 
 owners, and are once more occupied by Turkish 
 soldiers ; and now nothing is left behind to tell the 
 future traveller of the occurrences in which this 
 country took so important a part, but the conse- 
 crated spots of ground, dotted with monuments 
 and grave-stones, under which he the remains of 
 so many thousands of brave soldiers. 
 
VI PREFACE. 
 
 No doubt much of the interest and excitement 
 felt, during the War, in every thing relating to the 
 East, have passed away. But notwithstanding, the 
 Writer of the following pages ventures to offer to 
 the Public a revised Edition of her Work, at a price 
 within the reach of all, believing that the subject of 
 which it treats is not of an ephemeral nature, but 
 one which, with the British PubKc, will ever be con- 
 sidered with deep interest. The establishment of 
 a proper system of Eemale Nursing, whether for 
 the bed-ridden poor at their own homes, or for the 
 sick in Civil and Military Hospitals, is indeed a 
 desideratum devoutly to be wished ; and it will be 
 to the Writer a cause of much thankfulness, if the 
 contents of this Work should have the effect of 
 drawing public attention more and more to this 
 deeply-felt want, and eUcit a scheme which will have 
 for its object the alleviation, in some measure, of the 
 hidden sorrows and sufferings of the helpless poor, 
 by sending to them Nurses who will, from the 
 principle of love, minister unto them as unto Christ. 
 The narrative of the experience of the Author will 
 point out at least to some extent the rocks and 
 
PREFACE. Vll 
 
 difficulties which lie in the way, and which it will 
 be necessary to avoid. It will, probably, satisfy 
 those who are anxious for the adoption of a proper 
 Nursing system, that the plan of employing hired 
 Nurses only, and these, too, without careful refe- 
 rence to their moral and religious character, is not 
 the one that will meet the much-felt want. There 
 must be a higher principle at work than that of 
 gain or applause — one of simple duty in the fulfil- 
 ment of a great command is required — an ever- 
 present realization of the fact that, " Inasmuch as 
 ye have done it unto one of the least of these, ye 
 have done it unto Me." That principle alone will 
 sustain the sympathising tenderness so necessary to 
 efficient Nursing, and so greatly endangered by the 
 constant contact with suffering and distress. If 
 hired Nurses are to be employed, it should alone 
 be under the direction of those who, from higher 
 motives, have devoted themselves, for a time at 
 least, to the work in question. 
 
 The Writer, in conclusion, begs to offer her 
 thanks for the very favourable manner in which the 
 early Edition of her Work has been received by 
 
Vlll PREFACE. 
 
 the Public, and for the courteous and considerate 
 way in which it has been reviewed by the Press, 
 notwithstanding its many imperfections and errors, 
 in part owing to the haste with which it was ori- 
 ginally prepared. Some of the more apparent of 
 these have now been corrected; and a Narrative 
 has been added of the work of the Sisters of Mercy 
 at Balaclava, during the six months they were em- 
 ployed in the General Hospital there, with so much 
 good to the soldier, so much benefit to the Hospi- 
 tal, and so much satisfaction to all in authority in 
 the Crimea. 
 
 London, January, 1857. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTEE I. 
 
 PAGE 
 Bi-TTLE OF THE AlMA. — FOEMATION OF THE I^UBSING 
 
 System . . . . . . .1 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 JOUENEY.— AbEIVAL AT CONSTANTINOPLE ♦ . 10 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 Theeapia. — ^Naval Bueying Geound . . .20 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 SCUTABI ....,., 37 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 ZOULALI . . . . . , .58 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 Death op the Czab ..... 68 
 
 CHAPTER Vn. 
 Miss Smythe's Death . . . . '81 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 New Aeeivals . * .• . , ,93 
 
X CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 ^ PAGE 
 
 EOUTINE OF WOEK ..... 105 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 Anecdotes of Patients ..... 119 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 The same continued ..... 134 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 Stabving System ... ... 145 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 The Sistees of Meecy ..... 150 
 
 CHAPTER XIY. 
 Night Watching ...... 160 
 
 CHAPTER XY. 
 The Febnch S(eues di la Chaeite . , ,169 
 
 CHAPTER XYI. 
 Impeovements ...... 180 
 
 CHAPTER XYn. 
 ExTEA Diets ...... 193 
 
 CHAPTER XYIII. 
 
 Busy Scenes ....... 202 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 Ebbs Gifts ...... 209 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 Baibam . . . . . , .215 
 
CONTENTS. JX 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 PAGB 
 
 Cholbba ....... 229 » 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 The Queen's Gifts , , . . . .240 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 Religion in the Aemy ..... 248 
 
 CHAPTER XXIY. 
 Fall op Sebastopol : . . . . 255 
 
 CHAPTER XXV. 
 Depaetueb of the Sistbes op Meecy foe Balaclava 263 
 
 CHAPTER XXYL 
 Stamboul ..,,.,. 272 
 
 CHAPTER XXVII. 
 Santa Sophia ...... 286 
 
 CHAPTER XXVIII. 
 Beeaking up Koulali ..... 300 
 
 CHAPTER XXIX. 
 NuEsiNG AT Balaclava . ; . , . 310 
 
 CHAPTER XXX. 
 Conclusion ...••,. 339 
 
EASTERN HOSPITALS 
 
 AND 
 
 ENGLISH NURSES. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 " The joy bells rang, 
 But there were bursting hearts that waited long 
 That battle day's dread tidings, and they came 
 A tale of patient suffering : — 
 "Words of love—spoken by dying lips." 
 
 There are few who will not remember the intense ex- 
 citement which was roused in England when the news- 
 papers of October the Ist, 1854, announced the battle of 
 Alma, fought on the 20th of September. Many anxious 
 hopes and fears had been with the army since it left 
 England in March ; but months had passed away, little 
 had been done, and expectation had almost ceased, 
 when, like the blast of a trumpet, the news of battle 
 and victory rang through the land. 
 
 The first burst of exultation had hardly passed away 
 when the lists of killed and wounded arrived, and then 
 the realities of war were brought to almost every En- 
 glish home. The '' Gazette " office in London on the 
 8th of October was crowded with inquirers, pale with 
 
 B 
 
S A GRAVE DEFICIENCY. 
 
 anxiety, who grasped the printed list with trembling 
 hands ; and it needed no words to tell the tale revealed 
 to each by the absence or presence of the well-known 
 name in the fatal column. The official list announced that 
 we had lost 26 officers, 327 non-commissioned officers and 
 men killed in action ; and that 73 officers, 1557 non-com- 
 missioned officers and men were wounded. The '^ Tele- 
 graph " office was crowded by friends anxious to convey 
 the glad tidings to country homes, that much-loved names 
 were not included in the list. All who had letters 
 hastened to communicate their contents to those who 
 had none. The common bond of sympathy spread 
 through the land ; England was like one great family. 
 The friends and relations of some one or other in an army 
 of 26,000 British troops in a foreign and unhealthy land 
 were to be found in every corner of the kingdom, and the 
 ravages of cholera, and the loss of 1000 men in Bulgaria, 
 had already added to the general anxiety. The lists 
 were followed by the harrowing details of the battle 
 field, the embarcation of the wounded, and their arrival 
 at the imperfectly prepared hospital at Scutari. 
 
 On the 22nd of September, three days after the battle, 
 800 sick and wounded men were sent to Scutari in the 
 Yulcan and Andes : these arrived on the 24th, and 
 were landed on the 26th. 900 were sent two days after 
 in the Orinoco and Columba, including 60 or 70 Rus- 
 sians ; they arrived on the 26th at Scutari, and were 
 landed on the 27th. 
 
 The newspapers were filled with complaints, and 
 their statements produced the same effisct everywhere. 
 The first cry was, that the wounded had arrived, and 
 there was no lint or linen to dress their wounds with. 
 The papers were instantly filled with letters offering 
 
THE FIRST VOLUNTEERS. 3 
 
 both. From house to house, parish to parish, lint was 
 collected in bales and tons, till the public were assured, 
 on official authority, that a further supply was not needed. 
 
 But the lint letters were succeeded by others, stating 
 a grave deficiency. The medical men were overtaxed ; 
 the orderlies were ill-suited to attend in sickness. 
 To meet the emergency, and to attend to the wants of 
 more than 2,500 men, sick and wounded, there were 
 at Scutari only 10 working medical officers, each of 
 whom would thus have had 250 patients daily to attend 
 to. The other branches of the service were equally ineffi- 
 cient in numbers. All, or nearly all, the medical officers 
 were in the Crimea with the army at the time, and 
 there must have been more than 450 regimental and 
 staff medical officers there, many more than could have 
 been needed for the sick of 23,000 men, being equal to 
 one doctor for every 50 men, effective and non-effec- 
 tive. 
 
 Now arose the cry for nurses. Why were the En- 
 glish soldiers to be deprived of the comforts enjoyed 
 by the French ? On the first appearance of sickness at 
 Varna, they had sent for Sisters of Charity, and the 
 summons was instantly obeyed, and in bands of twenty- 
 five they went as they were wanted. Why, it was said, 
 are there no such nurses in England ? Surely there are 
 women in England as well as France, who would go 
 forth and minister to the wants of the sick and wounded 
 soldiers ! And English women were not wanting. 
 Many were the individuals who, in their secluded 
 homes, determined to offer their services for this pur- 
 pose, and applied for information and permission to the 
 official authorities. 
 
 Amongst other volunteers was the widowed daughter 
 
 B 2 
 
4 ' ST. John's house, Westminster. 
 
 of an Irish nobleman, Lady M E . She en- 
 gaged three nurses, furnished money for their outfit 
 and expenses, and on the 11th of October she went to 
 Miss Nightingale, then in Harley Street, and requested 
 her to take them out to the East, or to recommend some 
 one else, failing which she was ready to go herself ! 
 Subject to the approval of her parents — which was 
 giyen — Miss Nightingale consented to go, and every 
 preparation was made for her departure on the 17th. 
 Her letter to Mr. Sidney Herbert— asking for govern- 
 ment protection— was crossed by one from him, ear- 
 nestly requesting her to undertake the task, and select 
 her own band. 
 
 The scheme from this moment became a public one ; 
 and though every day's delay was to be deprecated, it 
 was thought desirable to attempt to procure a larger 
 staff of nurses, and therefore Miss Nightingale's de- 
 parture was delayed for several days. She appointed two 
 ladies to assist her in the selection of nurses ; and while 
 they dealt with individuals, she dealt with institutions 
 and communities. From the beginning it was deter- 
 mined that all party feeling was to be jnerged in the one 
 common object of alleviating suffering ; and in the se- 
 lection of nurses few questions were asked, and no ob- 
 jections made, on the ground of differences of creed or 
 shades of opinion. 
 
 The only point on which any stress was laid — and it 
 was laid equally on all — was, that proselytising was 
 strictly forbidden. 
 
 The Master of St. John's House, Westminster, ap- 
 plied to the Bishop of London, on the loth, saying he 
 was ready to go out and take seven nurses. The Ca- 
 tholic Bishop of Southwark made a similar application 
 
THE SELECTION OF NURSES. 5 
 
 to 'the War-office on the same day, having completed 
 arrangements for five Sisters of Mercy to start imme- 
 diately; which they did, but were stopped in Paris, and 
 desired to wait for the whole band, then being or- 
 ganised under Miss Nightingale. All were to be 
 subjected to her in matters relating to the hospital. 
 With the approval of the Catholic Bishop of Southwark, 
 rules were issued to the Sisters of Mercy for this spe- 
 cial service — the first of which was, that the sisters should 
 attend to the corporeal wants of the soldiers, but that 
 they should never introduce religious subjects, except 
 to patients of their own faith. The Master of St. 
 John's House accepted Miss Nightingale's terms, after 
 two days' consideration. 
 
 The institution founded by Mrs. Fry was the first 
 to which Miss Nightingale applied, laying before the 
 Lady Superintendent the terms offered by government; 
 i, e. their not being for the time in connection with any 
 other institution. She replied that none of the nurses 
 would consent to go under such conditions, and the 
 proposal therefore at once fell to the ground. Miss 
 Sellon applied towards the middle of the week, and 
 Miss Nightingale consented to take out eight of her 
 sisters. 
 
 Between sixty and seventy nurses offered to go out 
 — owing to the active kindness of friends who searched 
 London for the purpose. Out of this number only eleven 
 were selected, and that with great difficulty, the appli- 
 cants being generally of a doubtful character. By Sa- 
 turday, October 21st, the band was completed as follows : 
 Ten Catholic Sisters of Mercy ; eight of Miss Sellon's 
 sisters ; six nurses from St. John's ; three selected by Lady 
 M. F ; eleven selected from applicants ; in all, 38. 
 
6 TIDINGS FROM THE EAST. 
 
 The only additions were Mr. and Mrs. Bracebridge, 
 who most kindly, at the last moment, offered to go with 
 Miss Nightingale ; and on Monday, this expedition 
 left England, under their escort. At Boulogne they 
 were met on landing by the fish-women, who, hearing 
 of their mission, insisted on carrying their luggage, 
 gratis, to the Hotel des Bains, where the landlord pro- 
 vided a sumptuous luncheon for the whole party, 
 for which neither he nor any one in his establishment 
 would accept any remuneration ; he repeated his libe- 
 rality on the succeeding occasions when other bands of 
 nurses passed through on their way to the East. 
 
 They proceeded to Marseilles, where the "Vectis" 
 awaited them, and conveyed them, after a stormy pas- 
 sage, to Constantinople, at which they arrived on Satur- 
 day, November 4th, and were at once allotted the quar- 
 ters in the Barrack Hospital at Scutari, which were thus 
 occupied until the closing of the Hospital in August, 
 1856. Meantime the selection of nurses for future 
 bands was left in the hands of Mrs. Sidney Herbert, 
 Miss Stanley, and Miss Jones, Superintendent of St. 
 John's House, Westminster. Each post, each hour, 
 brought fresh offers; and, as a test of the qualifica- 
 tions of the applicants, it was agreed that, with few 
 exceptions, all should go through training at some of 
 the London Hospitals, and, to facilitate this, St. John's 
 House and St. Saviour's Home, Osnaburgh Street, 
 were opened to receive probationers ; and latterly a third 
 institution was established for the same purpose, under 
 the patronage of the Earl of Shaftesbury, in Charlotte 
 Street, Fitzroy Square. 
 
 Tidings from the East were eagerly looked for. At 
 last they came. The nurses had arrived and been well 
 
THE SECOND BAND OF NURSES. 7 
 
 received ; and letters were seen from soldiers, and from 
 medical and military officers, all speaking in grateful 
 terms of what women's care already W'-^s and would be 
 to them. Many comforts were said to be wanting, 
 and English hearts and English purses were opened to 
 remedy the deficiencies. 
 
 The battles of Balaclava and Inkermann sent down 
 hundreds of sufferers. The medical men in England 
 said the numbers of nurses already gone were but as 
 a drop in the ocean amidst the thousands now in the 
 Eastern hospitals ; a second band was desired to be in 
 readiness to go, if sent for. The summons came in a letter 
 from Mr. Bracebridge to Mr. Herbert, who, anxious 
 that as many sick as possible should benefit by the care 
 of nurses, determined to send out as many as were 
 ready. With as much care as practicable, a selection 
 was made from the registered candidates. Nine ladies 
 and twenty-two paid nurses were chosen ; fifteen Ca- 
 tholic Sisters of Mercy, collected from various convents, 
 under the charge of the superioress of the Convent of 
 Kinsale, placed themselves at the service of the Go- 
 vernment ; and thus the party was composed. Miss 
 Stanley was requested to go out in charge of them, and 
 place them under Miss Nightingale's care, after which 
 it was her intention to return home. The Hon. Mr. 
 Percy and Dr. Meyer were to accompany them, to make 
 arrangements. 
 
 On the 1st of December the party of nurses and ladies 
 assembled at Mr. Sidney Herbert's house in Belgrave 
 Square, and the scene which then presented itself was 
 extraordinary; the rooms on the ground floor were turned 
 into a fair, and that not a fancy one — boxes of all sizes^ 
 goloshes, cloaks, bonnets, jackets, gowns, collars, caps. 
 
8 THE TERMS OF AGREEMENT. 
 
 lay in admired confusion in all directions. In one room 
 a group were receiving their dresses, and of course 
 the long ones fell to the share of the short people, and 
 vice versa. 
 
 I had better here describe our " Costume." It con- 
 sisted of a loose wrapping gown of dark grey tweed, 
 a worsted jacket, plain linen collar, and thick white 
 cap ; passing over the right shoulder was a broad strip 
 of brown Holland, embroidered in red worsted with 
 the words *^ Scutari Hospital." A short grey worsted 
 cloak, brown straw bonnet, and veil, completed the 
 dress. 
 
 The party were now summoned to stand in a circle, to 
 be addressed by Mr. Sidney Herbert. He told us how 
 useful Miss Nightingale and her party were then 
 making themselves in the hospital; he warned us to 
 expect many hardships and discomforts, and to be pre- 
 pared to witness many scenes of horror ; he impressed 
 upon us the necessity of strict obedience to our supe- 
 riors, and begged us to remember that we all went out 
 on the same footing as hospital nurses, and that no one 
 was to consider herself as in any way above her com- 
 panions. 
 
 We were now summoned by Mrs. Sidney Herbert 
 to sign our agreement, of which the following is a 
 copy: — " Memorandum of agreement made this 1st day 
 of December, 1854, between Miss Nightingale, under 
 
 the principal medical-officer at , on the one part, 
 
 and of on the other part. Female nurses 
 
 being required for the sick and wounded of the British 
 Army serving in the East, the Secretary-at-War has 
 
 agreed to employ the said in the capacity of nurse 
 
 at a weekly salary of , and also to provide board 
 
THE LAST EVENING. 9 
 
 and lodging ; also to pay all expenses attendant upon 
 the journeying to or from the present or any future 
 hospital that may be appointed for the accommodation 
 of the sick and wounded of the said army ; and to pay 
 all expenses of return to this country, should sickness 
 
 render it necessary for the said to return, save and 
 
 except such return shall be rendered necessary by the 
 
 discharge of the said for neglect of duty, immoral 
 
 conduct, or intoxication, in which case the said 
 
 shall forfeit all claim upon the said Miss Nightingale 
 
 from the period of such discharge. And the said 
 
 hereby agrees to devote her whole time and attention to 
 the purposes aforesaid, under the directions and to the 
 satisfaction of the said Miss Nightingale, the whole of 
 whose orders she undertakes to obey, until discharged 
 by the said Miss Nightingale. Witness , De- 
 cember 1st, 1854.^^ 
 
 In the case of volunteers, the sentence respecting 
 payment in the agreement was erased. 
 
 The last evening was come. Few of those concerned 
 in the morrow's departure slept that night. Last things 
 were to be packed, last words spoken, and ere these 
 were finished it was time to prepare for departure. 
 
10 
 
 CHAPTEE 11. 
 
 " The city of the Constantines, 
 The rising city of the billow side, 
 The city of the Cross— great Ocean's bride. 
 
 « * * # j^Q reared on high 
 
 The Crescent blazes, while the Cross must bow." 
 
 The Last Constantine. 
 
 Long before dawn on that dark December morning, 
 cabs might have been seen in the silent, empty streets, 
 all converging to one point, the London Bridge Station. 
 In the large waiting room at the station the singular 
 party assembled all in costume, and attended by innu- 
 merable friends ; and when the long train of fifteen nuns, 
 in their black serge dresses, white coifs, and long black 
 veils, joined the party, we formed a group such as was 
 never before seen at London Bridge Station. 
 
 Mrs. Sidney Herbert, with thoughtful kindness, 
 brought last gifts and encouraging words to cheer all on 
 their way. Gentlemen perambulated the room with 
 '' Illustrated News," " Punches," and table-spoons, 
 which latter article seemed to be the last thought for 
 our comfort. We had been informed that whatever 
 luggage we required besides our one box each (which 
 we were never to open from London to Constantinople) 
 we must carry in our hands, consequently we were lite- 
 rally sinking beneath the weight of cloaks, shawls. 
 
DOWN THE RHONE TO VALENCE. 11 
 
 railway wrappers, baskets, and carpet bags ; and when 
 the cry, " Nurses for Scutari, move on," came, it was 
 with difficulty that many obeyed the summons. 
 
 We started about six, heartily cheered by the kind 
 friends who had come to bid us good-bye. We reached 
 Folkestone in two hours, and went straight on board 
 the steamer for Boulogne. It was a lovely morning for 
 the time of year, and old England's white cliiFs stood 
 out brightly in the morning light to receive our looks 
 of farewell. We had a quick but very rough passage, 
 which, with its attendant miseries, there is no need to 
 describe. At Boulogne we were received by the fish- 
 women, who insisted upon carrying our luggage from the 
 boat to the station. We partook of the excellent luncheon 
 kindly provided for us at the Hotel des Bains, after 
 which we immediately left for Paris, where we arrived 
 late at night. Sunday was spent at Paris without inci- 
 dent. Monday we travelled to Lyons. December the 
 5th, early in the morning, we went on board the steaiRer 
 to go down the Khone to Valence. A dense fog came 
 on almost immediately after we went on board, in which 
 the steamer ran aground, and delayed us two hours. 
 
 When we were once more on our way the fog cleared, 
 and the day proving lovely we greatly enjoyed our 
 voyage down the many windings of the beautiful river. 
 The Alps in the distance were clearly to be seen. We 
 reached Valence in the afternoon ; found, as we expected, 
 that our morning delay had caused us to lose the express 
 train to Marseilles, resolved to proceed by the next train 
 to Avignon, and telegraphed to the hotel there that fifty 
 beds should be prepared. We heard afterwards that 
 the hotel-keeper looked upon it as a hoax ; however, he 
 discovered his mistake when the fifty actually arrived. 
 
12 MAKSEILLES. 
 
 The hotel was a very old-fashioned one, and the win- 
 dows of our room looked into a dark and narrow street* 
 so narrow that the houses almost seemed to meet. It 
 was a fete-day, the peasants were dancing by torch- 
 light, and beautiful was the effect of the dark shadows 
 of the houses, and the brilliant glare of light falling on 
 the picturesque dresses of the peasants of Provence. 
 
 As we had only to proceed next day to Marseilles, 
 some of our party, by rising early, managed to visit the 
 Cathedral. It is handsome, but very small in compari* 
 son with many in England. It stands in a fine situa- 
 tion, and we were told commands a beautiful view. The 
 
 ... ^ 
 
 pouring rain hid this from our eyes. We arrived at Mar- 
 seilles at noon, and proceeded to the Hotel de I'Europe. 
 There was much to be done at Marseilles by those in 
 charge of the party ; bed and bedding had to be bought 
 and packed, and taken on board ship. The arrange- 
 ments for the journey through France were made with 
 the utmost liberality, and were carried out with the 
 greatest consideration for the comfort of the party. 
 
 At Marseilles the English consul and chaplain were 
 prompt in their offers to render any assistance in their 
 power, and all through France the officials had been 
 most courteous and attentive. We went out shopping 
 for " last thoughts," in spite of the rain, and visited the 
 flower-market, which looked as lovely as if it had been 
 summer. 
 
 It was in the afternoon of December the 7th that the 
 party embarked in the " Egyptus," one of the French 
 mail steamers. She was carrying between two and 
 three hundred French soldiers and officers to the seat 
 of war, and was consequently very much crowded. The 
 nurses expressed great dissatisfaction when they first 
 
A STORMY NIGHT. l5 
 
 saw their accommodation in the fore-cabin. The Sis- 
 ters of Mercy were offered a share of first-class berths, 
 but declined them, preferring to be all together in 
 two of the fore-cabins. The ladies were all in saloon 
 cabins. 
 
 The very first night was stormy, and it appeared 
 the "Egyptus" was out of repair; but for the great 
 demand for troop ships, she would have been in the 
 docks six months before. Her decks required caulking, 
 and nothing was secure. She was driven by press of 
 weather into Hyeres, and remained for several hours. 
 Towards evening of the 8th the gale went down, and we 
 proceeded on our way. The French soldiers all slept 
 on deck, and they used to go to sleep at dusk ; so after 
 dinner, the favourite time on board ship for taking a 
 walk, one could not pace five yards without stumbling 
 upon a Frenchman wrapped in his grey coat : he never 
 seemed to mind it, or even to wake. A miserable- 
 looking set of boys were those poor French soldiers. 
 
 "We had rather rough weather until the night of 
 December 11th, when the sea became quite calm, and 
 not long after midnight the announcement was made 
 that we were passing Stromboli. Many of us went on 
 deck. We passed close by the island, which is like a 
 rock glowing with fire in the midst of the ocean. Every 
 now and then a bright flame burst out, blazed for a 
 moment, and then disappeared; and then the rock 
 glowed again so intensely, as if it would almost burn 
 and consume itself; and yet there it has burnt from age 
 to age, and will still burn on. 
 
 At daylight we anchored off" Messina; and shortly 
 after, finding there was no quarantine, most of us 
 went on shore. The Sisters of Mercy remained on 
 
14 MESSINA AND ITS SCENERY. 
 
 board — they considered it contrary to their rule to leave 
 the vessel except on business. 
 
 Great was the enjoyment of that day. Winter seemed 
 to have vanished. It was like the loveliest summer's 
 day — so bright, and fresh, and sweet. Groves loaded 
 with oranges and lemons, the bright blue Mediterranean 
 calm as a lake, the mountains of Calabria in the dis- 
 tance, and the picturesque town of Messina itself, — all 
 this lay spread before us as we stood on the steps of the 
 church of San Angelo. 
 
 We went into the church, and there the beauty of 
 art tried hard to rival that of nature. The church is 
 very small; but the interior is entirely of mosaic, in 
 excellent preservation ; the roof fresco. It was a spot 
 in which one could have spent hours, in delight and 
 wonder at its marvellous beauty; but our time, of course, 
 was short. We went further up the hill, to the Capu- 
 chin monastery, into the garden of which the gentlemen 
 of our party were admitted, and they brought from it 
 handsful of oranges, given by the good monks to comfort 
 the ladies for not being permitted to enter. We saw 
 their chapel, however, which was poor and small. 
 
 Descending the hill into the town, we visited the 
 Cathedral. Over the west door is a most beautiful 
 piece of sculpture. Over the high altar is a small pic- 
 ture of the Madonna and Child, believed to have been 
 painted by St. Luke, and accordingly preserved in a 
 silver case, set with precious stones ; so carefully pre- 
 served is it, that we could hardly see the picture. 
 Leaving the Cathedral, we walked through the streets 
 to regain the shore. They were filthy beyond descrip- 
 tion. It is said to be one of the dirtiest towns in Europe ; 
 but even the dirt does not take off the picturesque 
 
A SECOND STORM. 15 
 
 effect. The very tall white houses, with draperies of 
 the brightest colours hanging out of the windows ; the 
 shops, also hanging out their goods of various hues ; 
 the costume of the people, and the glimpses, as we turned 
 down every strada, of the lovely bay, made our walk 
 through Messina a delightful one. 
 
 Towards evening we went on board, and soon after 
 sailed. A second storm occurred after leaving Mes- 
 sina, and a terrible night and day followed. For those 
 who never moved from their berths in the saloon 
 cabins it did not much signify, but the unhappy occu- 
 pants of fore-cabins were far worse off. In the middle 
 of the night the skylight was torn off, and the sea poured 
 into the cabins occupied by the nuns and nurses. The 
 nurses on this occasion behaved extremely well, no 
 murmurs escaped their lips. Gratefully they received 
 every attempt to better their condition ; and the en- 
 suing night, of their own accord, they offered up a 
 thanksgiving to Almighty God for their safe deliver- 
 ance from the perils of the storm. 
 
 The scene of the storm was past description; the men 
 darted in to bale out the water ; some of the nurses were 
 too sick to care for anything, some called ^^ gar con ^^ and 
 others began to prepare for instant death. Sisters and 
 nurses were to be seen, ankle deep in water, assisting the 
 bare-legged sailors to bale out their cabins, in which 
 were floating oranges, books, clothes, &c. When daylight 
 came, the poor sisters found that the sea had penetrated 
 into their trunks ; and books and clothes, and ornaments 
 for their chapel, were entirely spoiled. The misery 
 the poor sisters endured, and most patiently, during 
 this voyage, bafHes description. No breakfast could be 
 got that day ; -so sick and well fasted till dinner time. 
 
16 LES SCEURS DE LA CHARITE. 
 
 when the storm began to abate, and the night of De- 
 cember the 11th was spent in the harbour of Navarino. 
 
 On December the 15th we anchored off the Piraeus ; 
 and on the night of the 16th we reached Galipoli, having 
 passed the plains of Troy at sunset, (they were covered 
 with indescribably lovely tints of soft lilac : that is the 
 only expression which seems to describe it, but it was a 
 colour rarely if ever seen before by any of us), and 
 entered the Dardanelles. 
 
 We anchored for several hours at Gallipoli, and 
 two French Soeurs de la Charite came on board to pro- 
 ceed to Constantinople. Many of us had never seen 
 les Soeurs de la Charite before ; we found on inquiry 
 that they belonged to the order of St. Vincent de Paul, 
 and are bound only by annual vows. The order was 
 founded two hundred years ago, and they wear the 
 peasant dress of that period, consisting of grey serge, 
 with jacket and loose sleeves, and a large stiff white 
 peasant cap, of which it is said one of the kings of 
 France invented the shape by folding his dinner napkin 
 into it. 
 
 The ship was so crowded that there was not a single 
 berth for the soeurs, and they were quite contented to 
 sit up ; but they received a warm welcome from the 
 Sisters of Mercy, who invited them to share their 
 small cabin for the night. Next morning, some of our 
 party, who could converse in French, were anxious to 
 talk to them ; but they were prevented. The French 
 officers and soldiers on board evidently looked upon les 
 soeurs as their exclusive property, and treated them 
 with affectionate respect ; immediately they made their 
 appearance on deck, they were surrounded by their 
 countrymen, who did not relinquish them until we ar- 
 
THE GOLDEN HORN. 17 
 
 rived at our destination. The last day of the voyage had 
 come; Sunday the 17th found the "Egyptus" rolling 
 through the Sea of Marmora. 
 
 About noon the first haze of Constantinople appeared 
 on the horizon, and every eye was fixed in that direc- 
 tion ; but the distant view disappointed us ; for it is 
 only on rounding Seraglio Point, and entering the 
 Golden Horn, as the eye slowly gathers in the wonder- 
 ful extent of mosques and minarets, the varied ship- 
 ping, the palaces, and the groves of cypresses, that the 
 marvellous beauty of the imperial city bursts forth. No 
 travellers had before, we supposed, so quickly called off 
 their attention from the beautiful panorama of Constan- 
 tinople, to gaze on objects possessing no beauty in them- 
 selves, but full of interest to us — the hospitals of Scutari, 
 the goal of our long travel, and our future home. Both 
 Hospitals stand in commanding positions near the edge of 
 the cliff overhanging the Sea of Marmora on the Asiatic 
 side, looking down upon the Golden Horn, Seraglio 
 Point, and the city in the distance. How our hearts 
 yearned to be in those hospitals, to be accomplishing 
 the object for which we had left our dear country and 
 our loved homes, to be soothing in some small degree a 
 portion of the mighty mass of suffering collected in 
 those wards. Such were our thoughts, as we slowly 
 passed Scutari and anchored in the Golden Horn. 
 
 The vast collection of shipping which fills the bay 
 adds greatly to the extraordinary beauty of the scene. 
 At this time the flags of all nations, except the Russian, 
 were flying. The fairy-like caiques shot rapidly by 
 (even the commonest of these boats were richly orna- 
 mented with carving) ; then came the pasha's caiques 
 with their bright cushions and carpets, their six rowers 
 
18 SISTERS OF CHARITY. 
 
 all dregsed in white, with the crimson fez — the pasha 
 himself sitting in state with his pipe-bearer behind him; 
 then came the heavy passage boats, loaded with pas- 
 sengers and luggage, among the former numbers of 
 Turkish women, closely wrapped in their feridgee and 
 yashmac ; the rowers of these passage boats rise from 
 their seats each time they raise the oars, so that their 
 progress is slow and tedious. These were some of the 
 strange sights we watched that Sunday afternoon from 
 the deck of the '' Egyptus." 
 
 One of the gentlemen of our escort went in a caique 
 to Scutari to announce our arrival to Miss Nightingale. 
 All agreed it was necessary we should sleep on board 
 that night. The passengers who were not of our party 
 soon went on shore, while w^e sat watching the sunset, 
 as its golden light fell upon tower and minaret, and 
 shed a sort of halo over the queenly city. We watched 
 till the stars came out ; then the moon rose, and beau- 
 tiful indeed looked Constantinople, bathed in its soft 
 silver rays. 
 
 Mr. Bracebridge came on board in the evening, and 
 brought news that the next morning the admiral's small 
 steamer would be alongside to convey us, not to Scu- 
 tari, but to a house belonging to the ambassador at 
 Therapia — a village fifteen miles up the Bosphorus, on 
 the European side — the reason of this change being 
 that there was no room for us at present at Scutari. 
 
 This news insensibly cast a damp over our spirits, 
 although it seemed but reasonable that we should be 
 delayed for a few days. The French Sisters of Charity, 
 who have a large convent in Galata, sent to offer to re- 
 ceive the Sisters of Mercy for a short time ; for it being 
 the Christmas holidays, and their boarding-school having 
 
THE PASSAGE. 19 
 
 broken up, they were enabled to spare them a room in 
 their generally well crowded convent. 
 
 As we all looked forward to a week's delay as the 
 longest possible time, this offer was accepted, and next 
 morning the party separated. The nuns proceeded to 
 Galata ; the ladies and nurses, under Miss Stanley's 
 charge, to Therapia ; the gentlemen to an hotel in Pera. 
 On December the 18th, with thankful hearts for our 
 merciful preservation through a perilous voyage, we 
 quitted the " Egyptus," and the little steamer quickly 
 conveyed us to Therapia. It was a pleasant passage : 
 the banks of the Bosphorus are thickly crowded with 
 houses, which often overhang the waters : small Turkish 
 cemeteries, with their dark cypresses and gaily-coloured 
 tombstones, or a Sultan's palace, with its terraced 
 gardens, or mosques and minarets of snowy whiteness, 
 diversified the scene ; on the high points of the hills 
 are the picturesque kiosks, or summer houses : the many 
 windings of the Bosphorus, the dark hills and valleys 
 between, the varied colouring of the wooden houses on 
 either side, made our passage up to Therapia seem like 
 a series of pictures. 
 
 t 
 
CHAPTEK m. 
 
 " Go, stranger, track the deep, 
 
 Free, free tbe white sail spread ; 
 Wave may not foam, nor wild wind sweep 
 Where rest not England's dead." 
 
 ^. Felicia Hemans. 
 
 We reached Therapia'about eleven in the morning ; 
 and the steamer anchored at the quay immediately before 
 the house we were to occupy, which was the summer 
 residence of the attaches of the British embassy. The 
 quay, between the house and the Bosphorus, is about 
 four yards wide. Entering the garden, and ascending 
 a long flight of steps, we were led into a long hall, 
 from which various rooms opened. All the rooms 
 were on this floor ; the kitchen, as in most Turkish 
 buildings, separate from the house. The house was 
 only partially furnished, but all deficiencies were supplied 
 that afternoon from Constantinople, and the evening 
 was spent in arrangements. 
 
 Miss Stanley refused assistance from the English hotel 
 in Therapia, thinking it preferable to employ the paid 
 nurses in the household work which had to be per- 
 formed. But now the evils of the equality system be- 
 gan to appear. The ladies had suffered from it during 
 the journey j for having no authority to restrain the 
 hired nurses, they were compelled to listen to the worst 
 
THERAPIA. 21 
 
 language, and to be treated not unfrequently with coarse 
 insolence. Whispers were heard amongst them on the 
 first evening, that they had come out to nurse the sol- 
 diers, and not to sweep, wash, and cook. 
 
 The following morning, after breakfast. Miss Stanley 
 assembled the whole party, and after returning thanks 
 for the termination of the long and stormy voyage, she 
 addressed the nurses, stating to us all, that she could 
 not tell how long we might be delayed at Therapia, but 
 whether for a long or short time she trusted we should 
 live together in peace and harmony, " serving one 
 another by love," each of us assisting to the best of our 
 power in the work of the house, as she should allot to 
 us. She reminded us of the serious and important 
 work we had come out to perform, and how much de- 
 pended on our own conduct. She then assigned to 
 each her work. 
 
 The discontent was not altogether quelled by this 
 kind address ; most of the paid nurses performed their 
 work with an air of infinite condescension. One was 
 asked, what she could do in helping the work of the 
 house ? Could she wash '■ No ! Iron ? No ! Then 
 what could she do ? '^ Make a poultice !" she replied ; 
 
 but as there were none to make, Mrs. retired to 
 
 her room, and employed herself about her own devices 
 as long as we stayed at Therapia. Some few of the 
 nurses worked hard and willingly for the public good. 
 
 Therapia is the summer residence of the English and 
 French ministers ; a good many country houses, and a 
 large hotel, complete the fashionable part. All these 
 are built on the quay. The British embassy stands a 
 little further back, with a beautiful terraced garden, 
 ascending from which one reaches a high point, on 
 
^2 CHRISTMAS DAY IN TURKEY. 
 
 this is planted the flag staflf. From here there is a 
 magnificent view: one can see the entrance to the 
 Black Sea ; the village of Buyukdere, round the point; 
 the many windings of the stream ; the dark hills on the 
 Asiatic side ; and the Giant's Hill just opposite, the 
 highest point of this part of the country. 
 
 Hills rise so immediately behind Therapia^thatit would 
 be a very warm situation in summer, were it not for the 
 north breeze from the Black Sea, which renders it the 
 most delightful atmosphere in Turkey. 
 
 Around the house in which we lived was a large 
 garden, at the extreme end of which, quite hidden 
 among the trees, was a small building, the summer resi- 
 dence of Lord Napier, Secretary to the Embassy ; the 
 use of this house also was offered to us by Lord Strat- 
 ford de Kedcliffe, and it was assigned by Miss Stanley 
 for the use of the nuns, after they had been a few 
 days at Galata. After passing the Hotel d'Angleterre 
 the stone quay ends, and the village begins, which con- 
 sists of a few wretched shops, several cafes, a French 
 magasin, and a small Greek church. 
 
 After passing through the village the quay recom- 
 mences, there are a few better sort of houses, then two 
 large buildings, which were at that time converted into 
 British and French naval hospitals, and the Sultan's 
 palace ; eventually, this last became the British naval 
 convalescent hospital, but at the time we were at The- 
 rapia they possessed only the one building. 
 
 On Christmas-day there was no English service, the 
 chaplain being indisposed. Prayers were read at home, 
 and we adorned the rooms with green, sang carols, and 
 tried to make ourselves believe it was really Christmas^ 
 day. The joyous sounds of an English Christmas were 
 
SERVICE IN A GREEK CHURCH. ^3 
 
 ringing in our ears ; and it was an oppressive thought to 
 remember, that through the length and breadth of the fair 
 land we were then in, save from the few bodies of stran- 
 gers who dwelt in it for a time, there went up no sounds 
 of rejoicing for the glad tidings of great joy. No bells 
 rang out their welcome to the birthday of the King of 
 kings.* 
 
 Therapia is quite a Greek village. The services at 
 the Greek church were most curious and picturesque. 
 The church itself is small and common-looking outside, 
 inside much decorated with pictures, chandeliers, great 
 candlesticks, and painted pillars, all rather tawdry when 
 looked into, except the rood screen, which is one of the 
 most beautiful pieces of carving I ever beheld; it 
 reaches entirely to the ceiling, and it is only in the space 
 above the door which admits the priest into the chancel 
 that you catch a view of the altar. This space is gene- 
 rally covered with an embroidered curtain, only with- 
 drawn at mass. The service was most extraordinary. 
 Two priests stood in stalls in the nave with large books, 
 out of which they chanted (at least I suppose it was 
 intended for such), but it sounded like the most dismal 
 howling. It was an indescribably discordant noise. The 
 congregation employed themselves in walking up to two 
 or three little pictures, and kissing them repeatedly. 
 They then crossed themselves a great many times, and 
 lighted the smallest wax tapers in the world, which, they 
 stuck by the side of the same little pictures. Then the 
 curtain before the altar was drawn back, and the priest 
 appeared in an under robe of dark brown and fur, and 
 an outer one of crimson and gold. He was an old man, 
 with a long white beard. He brought with him a 
 
 * The Greek Church celebrates Christmas twelve days later. 
 
24 VIEW FROM THE GIANT's HILL. 
 
 censer, with which he incensed the people ; then the 
 host was carried round the church, the people forming 
 into two lines as it passed — the men bowing the head, 
 the women bending down till their hands touched the 
 ground — they never kneel. We could not understand 
 the service ; it did not seem like the celebration of mass. 
 The priest at the altar was saying prayers ; but the two 
 in the nave would not let his voice be heard : they con- 
 tinued their dissonant sounds so as to drown all others. 
 
 It was certainly a most striking scene. The Greek 
 men are a handsome race, very different to the women, 
 who are extremely plain ; even the common class of 
 men are all like pictures — the dress doubtless has some- 
 thing to do with it. On Sundays and fete-dsijs it is so 
 picturesque ; the full trousers gathered in at the knee, 
 the tunic of the same colour, perhaps of deep blue, 
 showing the embroidered vest, the bright-coloured scarf 
 round the waist, and the crimson fez. 
 
 Miss Stanley found it necessary to be very strict in 
 not allowing the nurses to go out into the village, and 
 confining their walks to the Embassy grounds ; but on 
 two occasions she allowed the party to make an excur- 
 sion. The first was to the Trafalgar man-of-war, then 
 lying off Therapia. Captain Greville kindly sent his 
 boats for the party, who were shown over the vessel, 
 which is an extremely fine one. They were then rowed 
 back again to the Embassy. The second excursion was 
 to the Giant's Hill ; it was taken under the escort of the 
 medical authorities of the Naval Hospital, who lent their 
 boats for the excursion. The Giant's Hill is on the 
 Asiatic shore. It is the highest point of the hills of the 
 Bosphorus, and from its summit there is a fine view of the 
 Black Sea, the Golden Horn, and the Sea of Marmora. 
 
SILENT BARGAINING. 25 
 
 Our life flowed on monotonously enough at Therapia, 
 — ironing the clothes which the nurses condescended to 
 wash for us, taking a walk on the quay when weather 
 permitted, and writing home, were our employments day 
 after day. How long the weeks seemed ! The constant 
 expectation contributed to heighten this feeling. Every 
 Sunday we hoped the next would see us at work, and 
 Sunday after Sunday brought disappointment. 
 
 Miss Stanley answered all our inquiries as to the 
 delay by stating that, in consequence of the arrival of 
 eight hundred sick from the camp, there was no room 
 for us at Scutari, and we were to remain where we were 
 till arrangements were made for our employment. 
 
 The occasional amusement to some of us was shop- 
 ping. We not understanding a word of Greek, and the 
 shopkeepers knowing no English, the bargain was con- 
 ducted entirely by signs ; for instance, the supply of flat 
 irons being very insufficient, one of the party volunteered 
 to buy one ; the others said she would never find it. 
 She resolved to try, so she pointed to article after article 
 to try and represent what she wanted, but in vain. At 
 last she laid one end of her cloak on the counter, and 
 ironed it with her hand. The Greek clapped his hands, 
 while his eyes sparkled, and away he rushed into some 
 back region, and brought out the oldest, rustiest affair 
 in the shape of an iron ever beheld— a treasure to us, 
 however ; he asked thirty-four piastres (95,), and took 
 eighteen piastres (Ss.), of course a great deal too much 
 for it. 
 
 Then we discovered an old tin-man ; he was a Turk, 
 by-the-bye (and he lived in a barrel), and he made 
 vessels in tin, which articles it was advisable after buy- 
 ing not to place too near the fire, as their construction 
 
^ ATMOSPHERE OF THE HOSPITALS. 
 
 was not very strong. The old Turk made treasures for 
 us in the shape of tin pots or jugs, which would hold 
 about a pint; in these we could boil water. 
 
 The Protestant afternoon service on Sunday (there 
 were no morning prayers) was in one of the wards of 
 the naval hospital. We suppose no other place could 
 be found ; but it was a trial to go there — the smell and 
 atmosphere were both so unhealthy. This condition 
 of the atmosphere of these hospitals arose from the 
 number of cases of frost-bite then under treatment. 
 The arrangements for ventilation were good, and every 
 possible care and attention were shown to the patients. 
 
 The Catholic services were performed in a ward of 
 the French naval hospital, the atmosphere of which was 
 even worse than the British. Every morning the long 
 train of the fifteen Sisters of Mercy was seen slowly 
 wending their way thither ; they never, except for this 
 purpose, went beyond the grounds of the embassy. 
 
 Our services as nurses were offered to the authorities 
 of the British naval hospital, but were declined, in 
 consequence of their then expecting a party of their 
 own, sent out, of course, by the Admiralty. In the 
 mean time the surgeons said that, if any of the nurses 
 could wash for their hospital, they would be very 
 thankful, as their washing was three months in arrear. 
 It is a matter of great difficulty to get washing done in 
 Turkey. The surgeons had hired two Maltese women 
 to wash, but both soon ran away. 
 
 Miss Stanley appointed some nurses for this work, 
 and requested a lady to take charge of them, which she 
 thankfully accepted, saying that as she could not nurse 
 soldiers she would wash for sailors, and for about a 
 month from morning to night she fulfilled her task, which 
 
WORK FOR THE NURSES. 27 
 
 was not a light one. There are few ladies whose 
 health would have enabled them to undertake such a 
 labour. Two or three of the ladies daily visited the 
 naval hospital to talk to the men, and write letters for 
 them. 
 
 They also sent large baskets full of the patients' linen 
 to our house to be mended, and in the evenings we sat 
 round the table in the hall at our work, while one of 
 the party read aloud. Sometimes such a treasure as an 
 English newspaper fell into our hands. It was asto- 
 nishing how precious a scrap of home news became. 
 We were quite sorry when the mending was done, but 
 with so many hands it did not take long. 
 
 Our spirits were beginning to rise at the prospect of 
 work, for negotiations were opened for nurses to be 
 sent to Balaclava; and we heard it was intended to 
 remove the Russian prisoners from the barracks at Kou- 
 lali, and to occupy that building as a British hospital. 
 There was a good deal of sickness among us, not of a 
 serious character, but climatising. The naval surgeons 
 attended those who were ill, and never can we forget 
 the friendly kindness and attention which we received 
 from these gentlemen. In them we indeed found friends 
 in a foreign land. 
 
 The weather continued very variable ; sometimes the 
 cold was intense ; snow would lie on the ground for 
 several days. We suffered much from cold, not that it 
 was so intense as some of the severe frosts in England, 
 but the want of means to warm oneself added so greatly 
 to it. In our large house were two stoves only, which 
 gave but little heat. In the house occupied by the 
 Sisters of Mercy there was but one stove, and a few 
 charcoal brasiers. It should be remembered that these 
 
28 ALARM OP FIRE. 
 
 houses are built solely for summer residences, and are 
 never inhabited in the winter. Blankets we did not 
 possess, only the quilts used in Turkey, which by no 
 means supply their places, so that railway wrappers and 
 cloaks were useful beyond expression. One stove was 
 supposed to warm the long hall, which it certainly did 
 not do. 
 
 One night some one sitting beside the stove in the 
 hall saw smoke issuing from under the stove plate ; she 
 gave the alarm, and we discovered that the plate was 
 laid upon the floor, the woodhouse being underneath. 
 In half-an-hour more the whole would have been in 
 flames, and we turned out on a bitter cold winter even- 
 ing. As all the houses were built of wood, and there 
 were no engines, the destruction would have been 
 great. Fortunately we were in time to stop it, the only 
 disagreeable result being that we were forbidden to have 
 any fire in it at all till the plate was raised on stones 
 from the flooring, This simple operation taking a long 
 time in Turkey, we were for several days in the coldest 
 weather without any fire save a charcoal brasier. 
 
 Sometimes, after a severe frost, would come a day of 
 spring more bright and lovely than any in England. 
 One Sunday was like this ; we watched the fishing from 
 the window. A number of caiques all darted to one 
 particular spot just before our windows, where shoals 
 of fishes happened to be at little distances ; a caique or 
 two were scattered here and there, but the group in the 
 midst was the most remarkable : they struggled and 
 fought who should throw in their nets. It seemed as 
 if they would overturn the caiques. At last in went 
 net after net, and up they came brimful of little silver 
 fishes; they emptied their nets into the bottom of 
 
THE NAVAL BtJRYING GUOUNDS. 29 
 
 the boat, and plunged them in agam. The heap of 
 fishes glistening in the sunshine, the bright blue Bos- 
 phorus smooth as a lake, the dark hills in the distance, 
 the curiously shaped boats, and the picturesque dress of 
 the boatmen, their shrill Voices, rapid actions, and 
 foreign language, made a picture not easily forgotten, 
 and brought to mind the celebrated cartoon of the mira- 
 culous draught. We pleased ourselves with comparing 
 the scene before us to that of the blue lake of Galilee, 
 the eastern hills and Hebrew fishermen. 
 
 Immediately behind the Barrack Hospital, quite at 
 the foot of the hills, almost secluded from sight, is the 
 British naval burying ground. It looked a dreary spot 
 then; the grass had not grown over the graves, the 
 rain had made the clay mould wet and muddy. No 
 stone marked who rested there-^no sign that they whose 
 remains slept there lay down in a better hope than the 
 poor Turks who were buried close by ; no sign that the 
 sleepers were enshrined in the hearts of their country, 
 and died in her service* 
 
 About halfway up the hill was the French naval 
 burying ground, almost every grave marked by its 
 little wooden cross, with the name of him who was 
 buried there, the ship he belonged to, and the date of 
 his death written on it. True, the wood would in time 
 sink into the earth, but it was pleasing to see the care 
 and thought bestowed. We did not like the contrast 
 between the countries, and the ladies of our party de- 
 termined to raise a monument to the memories of the 
 sailors and marines who were buried in our burial 
 ground. We had to ask permission for this from the 
 Admiralty, and therefore we could not see our wish 
 carried out before we left Therapia. It was our unani- 
 
so OUR SUPERINTENDENT. 
 
 mous wish that it should be a cross to distinguish the 
 burial ground as a Christian one. It now stands in 
 Therapia's British naval burying ground. We after- 
 wards heard that it was badly constructed, and badly 
 placed by the sculptor ; nevertheless, we trusted the 
 friends of those whose bodies rest beneath that foreign 
 sod would not despise our oifering. The stone is in- 
 scribed with these words : — 
 
 " This stone is raised to the memory of the sailors 
 and marines buried in this graveyard [their names are 
 then inscribed in order] by their countrywomen.^^ On 
 the arms of the cross are engraven the words : " I am 
 the Resurrection and the Life." 
 
 Miss Stanley was frequently absent from us for a day 
 or two at a time ; her anxiety to have us released from 
 our very unpleasant position was very great. She went 
 frequently to the British embassy at Pera, and met there 
 with much kindness from Lady Stratford, who inte- 
 rested herself warmly in procuring employment for our 
 band. Miss Stanley also went often to Scutari, to try 
 and make arrangements for the reception of some more 
 of her nurses. 
 
 During Miss Stanley's absences our anxiety to know 
 our fate grew very intense, and we used to watch for 
 the steamer by which we expected her return eagerly. 
 Two steamers went daily from Buyukdere to Pera, 
 touching at Therapia ; one returned at four in the after- 
 noon, the other half-an-hour later. When it touched 
 the quay, loaded with passengers, we looked anxiously 
 for Miss Stanley, or Nicola, the interpreter, who would, 
 perhaps, bring us letters if she were not there. If she 
 were there, she was instantly surrounded by the num- 
 ber of expectant ladies. " Oh, Miss Stanley, what news ? 
 
MORTALITY AT SCUTARI. 31 
 
 Are we going away ? Are we to be sent home ? "What 
 can it all mean ?^" 
 
 Miss Stanley's unvarying answer was, that we must 
 be patient, that obstacles were in our way which must 
 be removed ere we could gain admittance to the hospi- 
 tal ; she would never say in what these obstacles con- 
 sisted, and very patiently withstood all our questioning. 
 She was deservedly much beloved by all for her just 
 government of the community, her uniform sweetness 
 of temper, and thoughtful kindness for all — but many 
 and bitter were the complaints made of her " vague- 
 ness." We could not find out from her why we were 
 detained, and whose fault it was, and this was a cause 
 of extreme vexation. 
 
 Wherever the fault lay, it was most unaccountable 
 that 47 women should be kept idle at Therapia, while 
 so much work was to be done at Scutari — when the 
 hospitals were crowded, and the numbers greater than 
 at any previous period. The deaths at Scutari had 
 been, in September, 165 ; in October, 256 ; in No- 
 vember, 388 ; in December, 667, and now they had 
 reached the frightful number of 90 per diem ; the 
 deaths in January having been 1473. There were, at 
 this time, only 10 nurses at the General Hospital, and 
 30 at the Barrack Hospital. If there were really no 
 room to be found for us at the Hospital, why were we 
 not accommodated with a house in Scutari ? There 
 could have been no difficulty in this, for houses in 
 Scutari were procured for other purposes. But there 
 were many strange things done at this period, and no 
 doubt many others strangely left undone. If we had 
 been only allowed to help in the cooking — there were 
 but 12 cooks for upwards of 3000 sick — it would no 
 
S2 THE PARTY BREAKS UP. 
 
 doubt have promoted the well-being, and alleviated 
 much of the sufferings, of the poor patients. 
 
 Great excitement was roused amongst us when the 
 summons came for one or two of the party to leave us 
 for Scutari. This happened twice. Two nurses who 
 were known as very good surgical nurses were sent for. 
 One of these women happened to be a soldier's wife ; 
 her chief motive for coming out was to be near her 
 husband. Her friends at home tried to dissuade her 
 from coming, pointing out how very unlikely it was 
 that she should be able to meet with him. She per- 
 sisted in her wish, and curiously enough, the day we 
 entered the Golden Horn, he among other sick came 
 down from the camp to Scutari. She did not know 
 this for a week after, and was then prevented by her 
 own illness from going to him for another week. She 
 went at length, and found him dying. She waited on 
 him the last two days of his life, and then, after his 
 death, remained as nurse for several months. 
 
 Next, one of the ladies of our party was sent for. 
 Miss Nightingale wishing her to take the office of su- 
 perintendent of the nurses in the General Hospital, 
 Scutari. Great was our anxiety to know what became 
 of our companions. As soon as they left us we heard 
 no more of them ; they wrote short notes, saying no- 
 thing of what we most wanted to know ; viz., their 
 work. 
 
 Next came a great move ; two ladies, five nuns, and 
 several paid nurses were sent for. We were told at 
 the time that this band composed the whole of those 
 who would be admitted into Scutari Hospital, the rest 
 of the party were to be divided between Balaclava and 
 Koulali, and we waited with as much patience as we 
 
EXPECTED DEPARTURE. S3 
 
 could for the conclusion of the arrangements which 
 would open these new fields of labour to us. Although 
 five of the nuns were to work in Scutari Hospital, and 
 the remaining ten were destined for Koulali, the com- 
 munity was not divided, but remained as one body in 
 the charge of the superioress under whom they had 
 left England ; and previous to the departure of the ^ve 
 sisters for Scutari the Rev. Mother made an arrange- 
 ment with Miss Nightingale that she should have the 
 right of withdrawing her sisters when it should seem 
 fit to her to do so. 
 
 Miss Stanley was requested to take the office of su- 
 perintendent of nurses at Koulali ; and she consented 
 to delay her return home for a time in order to start 
 the nursing there. » 
 
 About Balaclava there were many and conflicting opi- 
 nions ; some thought that the Crimea was not suffi- 
 ciently in the hands of the allies to make it safe for 
 women to go there ; that, in the event of an attack, they 
 would only be a burden ; while the hardships they would 
 have to endure would be too great. We were told 
 that, though Miss Nightingale did not forbid it, she 
 would not sanction it. The point was, I believe, de- 
 cided by Lord Raglan's expressed wish for the assist- 
 ance of eight nurses. 
 
 Miss Nightingale appointed, as superintendent of 
 the Balaclava nursing staff, one of Miss Sellon's sisters 
 under her charge ; her seven companions were to be 
 selected from those of our party who should volunteer 
 to go ; there were nine volunteers, seven were selected 
 by Miss Stanley, two ladies, five nurses. Great pre- 
 parations were made for their departure ; rumour (our 
 only source of information) said, that they would find 
 
34 EXPECTED DEPARTURE, 
 
 notliing but mifurnished huts at Balaclava ; and so tbe 
 village was ransacked for cooking utensils, as far as the 
 miserable shops of Therapia would furnish ; bedsteads 
 and bedding were packed, and all was ready. 
 
 A note from Miss Stanley (who was staying at the 
 embassy in Pera) announced, that passages were taken 
 on board the ^' Melbourne " for the party for Balaclava; 
 that the superintendent would go on board in the 
 Golden Horn ; that the " Melbourne '' would lie off 
 Therapia sufficiently long to allow the party to go on 
 board, but that all the luggage must be embarked in 
 caiques ; they were to lie oif the house, ready to start as 
 soon as the " Melbourne " should arrive. She was to 
 sail on the 15th of January ; early on that day the 
 caique, well-loaded with luggage, lay off the quay before 
 the house. 
 
 The party were all dressed and ready, and every eye 
 watched the vessels as they passed ; but the day wore on, 
 and no ship appeared off Therapia. When night came 
 on, a general sense of disappointment fell on all the 
 Balaclava party. We had grown so familiar with sus- 
 pense and disappointment, that they were not satisfied 
 with our assurances that ships hardly ever sailed on the 
 day they professed to do ; they could not be persuaded 
 but that some obstacle had arisen. When the next 
 morning came, six of the party declared they could not 
 bear to spend the day as they had done the preceding 
 one, with their bonnets on, watching the ships ; they 
 would employ themselves in some way, and be ready at 
 five minutes' notice. A lady of the party, the one 
 who had washed at the hospital, and who was especially 
 distinguished for her self-devotion, had been from the 
 first most anxious to go to Balaclava ; she was greatly 
 
AN INSTANCE OF ZEAL. 85 
 
 afraid some obstacle had arisen from the non-arrival of 
 the '' Melbourne," and would not wait like the others, 
 but dressed and was ready as on the day before. 
 
 The day was stormy, the Bosphorus very rough. 
 Nicola came directly after breakfast to say, that the 
 caiquejee declared it was too rough for him to lie off the 
 quay ; he must go into a little bay opposite the village. 
 Our friend would not lose sight of her boxes, so she 
 insisted upon going thither with him, and seated herself 
 among the boxes in the caique, and patiently kept her 
 place the whole morning. As little groups of our party 
 passed down the quay for pleasure or for shopping, there 
 they found her settled. How we laughed ! She did not 
 care a bit, but took it all in good part. To crown the 
 whole, early in the afternoon a vessel was seen in the 
 distance ; it would have taken nearly an hour to ascer- 
 tain whether it was the " Melbourne" — we could not 
 even see her colours ; but our friend could not wait, so 
 off the caique and boxes and lady went, over the billows 
 of the Bosphorus, which were many and fierce that day, 
 till it lay alongside the vessel. The lady boarded her 
 and found she was French ; the captain was very polite, 
 but could give her no information respecting the 
 *' Melbourne." Again she seated herself in her caique ; 
 watching from our windows we saw the little dark speck 
 dancing on the waves. " Surely she is coming home 
 now," we said. " She certainly will be drowned on 
 this rough day ;" and, exclaimed one of the Balaclava 
 party, " She has got all our boxes with her, and thej/ 
 will all be lost!" 
 
 Another sail was seen on the horizon, and we saw 
 the little speck turn in that direction, and soon lie 
 alongside this vessel. Though we were really alarmed 
 
 D 2 
 
36 THE 
 
 at the freak, it was impossible to help laughing at the 
 pertinacity with which she pursued her object. At this 
 juncture one of the naval surgeons came in and joined 
 in the laugh, but soon said, " Really it is too rough for 
 such an adventure. I hope she has two caiquejees with 
 her." "No, indeed; only one," we answered. He 
 instantly ran out, and ordered a caique with two rowers 
 to follow our adventurous friend. However, before it 
 could reach her, she had returned in safety, and her 
 mind at rest. The second vessel was English, and the 
 officer in charge knew the " Melbourne ^' was still in 
 dock, and had not finished coaling. So now all were 
 satisfied, and it was well, for three more days of suspense 
 were their portion. At length, on the 19th at noon, 
 the " Melbourne " lay off Therapia, and the party were 
 put safely on board. 
 
37 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 " And as she looked around, slie saw liow Death the consoler. 
 Laying his hand upon many a heart, had healed it for ever ; 
 Many familiar forms had disappeared in the night-time ; 
 Yacant their places were, or filled already by strangers." 
 
 Evangeline. 
 
 The day at last arrived when the establishment at 
 Therapia was finally broken up. Seven had gone to 
 Balaclava ; three hired nurses had been sent home (one 
 from ill-health, two from their habits of intoxication) ; 
 two more hired nurses had been sent to private cases at 
 Pera, while waiting for Government work (they after- 
 wards joined the Koulali nursing staff) ; eighteen were 
 received at Scutari, and the remaining sixteen under 
 Miss Stanley's charge, went to Koulali. We will now 
 follow the footsteps of those proceeding to Scutari. We 
 landed at the wharf, and climbing the steep hill, found 
 ourselves at the main guard or principal entrance to 
 Scutari Barrack Hospital. The hospital is an immense 
 square building ; long corridors run completely 
 round it, and it is three stories high. Numberless 
 apartments open out of these corridors, which are 
 called wards. At each corner of the building is a 
 tower. The main guard divides corridor A ; turning to 
 the left, after passing through one or two divisions, from 
 which the guard rooms open, we came to the sick. 
 
38 THE EXTRA DIET KITCHEN. 
 
 To avoid tlie cold air of the long corridor, wooden 
 partitions were put up, and the spaces between these 
 were called divisions. We made our way, through the 
 double row of sick, to the tower at the corner (Miss 
 Nightingale's quarters) ; the smell in this corridor was 
 quite overpowering — the cases were almost all surgical, 
 which, I suppose, was partly the cause. 
 
 On arriving at Miss Nightingale's quarters, we en- 
 tered the large kitchen or hall, from which all the other 
 rooms opened. There were four rooms on the lower 
 story, occupied as follows : — Mr. and Mrs. Bracebridge 
 in one ; Miss Nightingale in another ; the five nuns in 
 the third ; fourteen nurses and one lady in the last. A 
 staircase led to two other rooms in the tower ; the first 
 occupied by the sisters from Miss Sellon's, and other 
 ladies ; the second by the nurses belonging to St. John's 
 Training Institution. The kitchen was used as Miss 
 Nightingale's extra-diet kitchen. From this room were 
 distributed quantities of arrowroot, sago, rice puddings, 
 jelly, beef tea, and lemonade, upon requisitions made by 
 the surgeons. This caused great comings to and fro ; 
 numbers of orderlies were waiting at the door with 
 requisitions. One of the nuns, or a lady, received them, 
 and saw that they were signed and countersigned, and 
 then served them. 
 
 We used, among ourselves, to call this kitchen the 
 tower of Babel, from the variety of languages spoken in 
 it, and the confusion. In fact, in the middle of the day, 
 everything and everybody seemed to be there. Boxes, 
 parcels, bundles of sheets, shirts, and old linen and 
 •flannels ; tubs of butter, sugar, bread, kettles, saucepans, 
 heaps of books, and of all kinds of rubbish, besides the 
 " diets," which were being dispensed ; then the people. 
 
A SAD EVENING WALK. 39 
 
 ladies, nuns, nurses, orderlies, Turks, Greeks, French 
 and Italian servants, officers, and others, waiting to see 
 Miss Nightingale; all passing to and fro, all intent 
 upon their own business, and all speaking their own 
 language. 
 
 The ladies' quarter was the first room upstairs. It 
 was a good-sized one, with eight windows, and having 
 a fine view of the sea. A divan ran round the room, 
 covered with stuffed cushions, which, together with the 
 matting, were well furnished with fleas. A number of 
 rats also lived in the divan and wainscoting, and took 
 nightly promenades about the room. 
 
 On Friday mornings, a Turk came to hoist the Turkish 
 flag from the summit of the tower. He therefore passed 
 through our room at sunrise to put it up, and at sunset 
 to take it down : he always omitted the ceremony of 
 knocking at the door, and as he took off his shoes below, 
 it was not very easy to discern his approach. 
 
 Two days after my arrival. Miss Nightingale sent for 
 me to go with her round the hospital. (Miss Nightin- 
 gale generally visited her special cases at night.) We 
 went round the whole of the second story, into many of 
 the wards, and into one of the upper corridors. It 
 seemed an endless walk, and it was one not easily for- 
 gotten. As we slowly passed along, the silence was 
 profound ; very seldom did a moan or cry from those 
 multitudes of deeply suffering ones fall on our ears. A 
 dim light burned here and there. Miss Nightingale 
 carried her lantejn, which she would set down before 
 she bent over any of the patients. I much admired 
 her manner to the men — it was so tender and kind. 
 
 All the corridors were thickly lined with beds, laid 
 on low tressels, raised a few inches from the ground. 
 
40 INDESCRIBABLE SCENES. 
 
 In the wards a divan runs round the room, and on this 
 were laid the straw beds, and the sufferers on them. 
 The hospital was crowded to its fullest extent. The 
 building, which has since been reckoned to hold, with 
 comfort, seventeen hundred men, then held nearljr three 
 thousand. Miss Nightingale assigned me my work — it 
 was half of corridor A, the whole of B, half C, the whole 
 of I (on the third story), and all the wards leading out 
 of these corridors ; in each corridor there were fifteen 
 wards, except in No. I, where there were only six. 
 This work I was to share with another lady, and one 
 nurse. The number of patients under our charge was, 
 as far as I could reckon, about one thousand. 
 
 Miss Nightingale told us only to attend to those in the 
 divisions belonging to surgeons who wished for our ser- 
 vices. She said the staff-surgeon of the division was 
 willing we should work under him, and she charged us 
 never to do anything for the patients without the leave 
 of the doctors. 
 
 When we had gone round the hospital, we came out 
 of corridor A upon the main guard. The blast of cold 
 air from the entrance was refreshing, after the over- 
 powering smell of the wards. The corridors of the 
 lower story were under the charge of Miss E — , from 
 Miss Sellon's, assisted by nurses ; the remainder of A, 
 under Sister M. S — , of the Bermondsey nuns ; corridor 
 H, on the third story, under another nun. Several 
 nurses were engaged in different divisions of corridor C ; 
 the rest in the diet kitchen. 
 
 It seems simply impossible to describe Scutari Hos- 
 pital at this time. Far abler pens have tried, and all, 
 in some measure, failed ; for what an eye-witness saw 
 was past description. Even those who read the harrow- 
 
I 
 
 HOSPITAL RULES. 41 
 
 ing accounts in the ^' Times " and elsewhere, could not 
 have imagined the full horror of the reality. As we 
 passed the corridors, we asked ourselves if it were not a 
 terrible dream. When we woke in the morning, our 
 hearts sank down at the thought of the woe we must 
 witness during the day. At night we lay down wearied 
 beyond expression; but not so much from physical 
 fatigue, though that was great, as from the sickness of 
 heart occasioned by living amidst such a mass of hope- 
 less suffering. On all sides prevailed the utmost con- 
 fusion — whose fault it was I cannot tell — clear heads have 
 tried in vain to discover this : probably the blame should 
 have been shared by all the departments of the hospital. 
 It is necessary here to particularise some of the hos- 
 pital rules, to give an idea of our work. First, the diet 
 roll : — In London hospitals a diet card for each patient 
 hangs at the head of his bed, and any alteration in it is 
 generally, if not always, made by the house surgeon. 
 In military hospitals the diet roll is a book of foolscap 
 paper, with a sheet for each day, and small divisions for 
 each diet. Whatever is inserted in the diet rolls (as in 
 all hospitals), is not furnished till the next day. In 
 military hospitals a man is placed either on full, half, 
 low, or spoon diet. If a man is on full diet, one column 
 is sufficient, as by it is understood that he is to have 
 daily twelve ounces of meat, one pound of bread, and 
 one of potatoes, together with vegetables, tea, &c. Half- 
 diet consists of half a pound of meat, one pound of 
 bread, .half a pound of potatoes, &c. Low diet four 
 ounces of meat, twelve ounces of bread, eight ounces 
 of potatoes, &c. Spoon-diet is simply half a pound of 
 bread, and tea ; but it had this difference, that the sur- 
 geon could give a man on spoon-diet extras ; but for 
 
42 INEFFICIENT PURVEYING DEPARTMENT. 
 
 any patient on full, half, or low diet he could not : nor 
 could the surgeons order more than two or three extras 
 to the spoon diets — the extras at this time were fowls, 
 mutton chops, potatoes, milk, eggs, arrowroot, rice, 
 sago, and lemons for lemonade. There was an alter- 
 ation made before we left the East in respect to extras ; 
 they were, and are now, regularly allowed whenever a 
 surgeon may think them necessary, even in cases of full 
 diet. But the above allowance for the patient's diet, 
 though it may be amply sufficient in England, when 
 the quality of the provisions is good, was found quite 
 insufficient in Turkey, where the meat, &c., was at all 
 times wretchedly inferior. 
 
 Before the diet roll could be sent into the purveyor's 
 stores, it had to be signed by the assistant-surgeon in 
 charge of the patients, whose names were inserted on 
 it, and then it had to be countersigned by the staiF- 
 surgeon of the division. The staff-surgeon being the 
 assistant-surgeon's superior officer, and medical etiquette 
 entirely sinking in military discipline, it is quite possible 
 that an assistant-surgeon may be called to account for 
 any apparent extravagance in the diet roll; and this 
 sometimes happened, for extravagance seemed to be the 
 great bugbear of our Eastern hospitals. 
 
 The diet rolls were written by the sergeants or cor- 
 porals appointed as ward-masters; if they made any 
 mistake (which they very often did), there was no re- 
 dress. If they had forgotten to insert an extra to any 
 patient, he must have for that day gone without it. 
 
 The purveying department was at that time in a most 
 inefficient state ; constantly the requirements of the 
 diet rolls were not complied with, the stores were given 
 out most irregularly, the orderlies were often obliged to 
 
THE EXTRA DIET KITCHEN* 43 
 
 go down to the store-rooms at four a.m. to draw the 
 rations for breakfast ; the last of the band would not 
 be served till past seven a.m. The men^s dinners, 
 which ought to have come at twelve, often did not come 
 till five or six p.m. — three p.m. was excellent time. 
 Very often we sa,w the orderlies cutting up the carcases 
 of sheep in the corridor close by the beds in which 
 were men suffering from every form of disease. 
 
 Of course, many cases must arise in which the pa- 
 tients are in such a state that their diet must be altered 
 or added to that day. The means of doing this is by a 
 requisition signed by the assistant-surgeon. He must 
 write a separate requisition for each man ; and after he 
 has signed it, it is taken to the staff-surgeon to be 
 countersigned, and then to the stores. 
 
 This regulation, and indeed all others, were made for 
 military hospitals in an ordinary state, when the build- 
 ings only have the numbers they are intended for, where 
 every department is sufficiently supplied with people to 
 work it, where extreme cases are to be counted in each 
 ward by ones and twos, and can then of course receive 
 the full attention of the surgeon ; but these rules when 
 brought to bear in the Eastern hospitals, in that unpre- 
 cedented time of distress, became useless, nay, positively 
 injurious. Extreme cases in Scutari were counted by one 
 or two hundreds — it was a matter of impossibility for 
 surgeons to write requisitions enough for their patients' 
 wants, especially as they had to be countersigned by the 
 staff-surgeon, an officer having a large charge, besides 
 many other duties, and who was never sure of being 
 found in any one place after the regular hour of going 
 his rounds. The purveying department was also so 
 
 I 
 
44 DRINKS FOR THE FEVER PATIENTS. 
 
 utterly inefficient^ that constantly requisitions were 
 signed and sent in, and then not honoured. 
 
 Miss Nightingale's diet kitchen has been before men- 
 tioned : the articles supplied from thence were intended 
 for spoon diets only ; but Miss Nightingale enforced the 
 same rule, — i.e., that they could only be obtained by a 
 requisition signed and countersigned ; so that, though a 
 great number of requisitions were sent into her extra 
 diet kitchen, they fell very far short of the number 
 required. Another drawback to the efficient working 
 of this kitchen arose from its fixed hours for distributing 
 the different diets. Thus, arrowroot and sago could 
 be obtained only from ten to twelve in the morning, and 
 from five to nine at night ; rice-puddings at one o'clock ; 
 beef-tea at three o'clock. Now, it would repeatedly 
 happen that a requisition would be given for an article 
 just after the hour at which it was served ; and besides 
 the loss to the patient for that day, the medical officer, 
 on hearing of it, would be vexed and discouraged 
 from giving another for the following day. That the 
 requisitions sent into this kitchen were not nearly so 
 numerous as they ought to have been, will appear 
 from the following fact: — The surgeons would constantly 
 give us verbal permission to give a man nourishment or 
 stimulants. We never for an instant thought of giving 
 anything without this permission (I mean the ladies and 
 Sisters of Mercy, not the hired nurses, who in this, as in 
 many other matters, often could not be trusted). We 
 well knew that a man may apparently to us be sinking for 
 want of food or stimulants, while his medical attendant 
 would know that such were the very worst thing for him ; 
 but when we received this verbal permission, we had no 
 means of getting anything for the patients. We used 
 
THE ORDERLIES AROUSED. 45 
 
 to receive such orders as these : " No. 1, give him any- 
 thing you like. No. 2, he may have anything he can 
 fancy. No. 3, keep him up as much as possible ;" and 
 so on. Drinks for the fever patients were allowed in 
 quantities, could we only have had the materials to make 
 them with. We could not get the assistant-surgeons to 
 write out the number of requisitions which were neces- 
 sary in order to procure these materials. At last some 
 of us persuaded one or two of our surgeons to write a 
 requisition for tins of preserved beef-tea, and for lemons 
 and sugar to make lemonade. This was at first most 
 successful. Many of the assistant-surgeons gladly 
 accepted anything we prepared for the men. One 
 difficulty only remained, i.e. hot water. It was of 
 course necessary to make the beef-tea, and also for the 
 lemonade, as the water was so unwholesome it could 
 not be used without boiling. We contrived to boil 
 water in small quantities on the stoves in the corridors 
 and wards. It was a slow process, but still we suc- 
 ceeded. 
 
 The orderlies seemed roused from the state of apathy 
 into which the distress around, and the apparent impos- 
 sibility of getting anything for the patients, had thrown 
 them, and they assisted us in every possible way. Some 
 of the orderlies looked with eager eyes on us, as we 
 carried round the small quantities of beef-tea ; for it was 
 of course only to the patients belonging to the surgeons 
 who wrote the requisitions that we could give the ar- 
 ticles. One night a lady and her nurse were going 
 round with some beef-tea, when an orderly came up, 
 and in a tone of entreaty pointed to a poor man. He 
 was very bad, said he, " and some of that stuff would 
 do him good, and the doctor said he might have any- 
 
46 DR. cumming's new order. 
 
 thing he could fancy." The nurse turned round quickly 
 upon him. 
 
 " Orderly !" 
 
 '' Yes, nurse !" 
 
 '' What's the use of your asking impossibilities ? You 
 know very well that we can't give this beef-tea to your 
 men. You must get your doctor to write a requisition 
 for a tin of beef-tea." 
 
 " Oh, very well, nurse," said the orderly, " I will." 
 
 ^' But that is not all," replied she ; " at the same 
 time get him to write a requisition for hot water." 
 
 Our plan of thus helping the men was put a stop to 
 by an order from the inspector-general, that no cooking 
 was to be done in the wards, and thus our only means 
 of assisting the men was ended. 
 
 I have since been informed, that it was from no dis- 
 like to the nurses cooking, but from fear of fire, that 
 this order was given. The stoves were so built as to be 
 dangerous when the fire was large ; and the orderlies, 
 seeing the nurses were allowed to cook for patients, 
 thought there was no harm in- cooking for themselves. 
 But it is extraordinary that, while such a strong fear of 
 one evil in the shape of fire existed, there was none on 
 the score of the starvation of men sinking from exhaus- 
 tion and neglect. If it was so necessary to stop the 
 cooking in wards, why was not provision made for its 
 being done somewhere else ? 
 
 We seldom dressed the wounds, as there were dressers 
 who performed this office, and the greater number of 
 our patients were cases of fever and dysentery, who 
 needed constant attention and nourishment, frequently 
 administered in small quantities, and this we were now 
 unable to give. All the diets not issued from Miss 
 
I 
 
 THE GENERAL HOSriTAL, SCUTARI. 47 
 
 Niglitingale^s kitchen were of such a bad quality, and 
 so wretchedly cooked, that the men often could not eat 
 them. After a man had been put on half or even full 
 diet, the surgeons were often obliged to return him to 
 Spoon diet, from his not being able to eat the meat. 
 
 It was very sad work, after Dr. Cumming's order 
 had been issued, to pace the corridor, and hear perhaps 
 the low voice of a fever patient, " Give me a drink for 
 the love of God !" and have none to give — for water 
 we dared not give to any — [the water at Scutari was 
 so unwholesome, that it was never touched without 
 having been previously boiled ; it would otherwise bring 
 on diarrhoea ;] or to see the look of disappointment on 
 the faces of those to whom we had been accustomed to 
 give the beef tea. The assistant-surgeons were very 
 sorry for the alteration, but they had no power to help 
 it — their duty was only to obey. On one occasion an 
 assistant-surgeon told us, that Dr. Gumming had threat- 
 ened to place him under arrest for having given a man 
 too many extras on the diet roll. Amid all the confusion 
 and distress of Scutari hospital, military discipline was 
 never lost sight of, and an infringement of one of its 
 smallest observances was worse than letting twenty 
 men die from neglect. 
 
 The General Hospital, Scutari, stands about a mile 
 from the Barrack Hospital ; it is built close to the cliiF, 
 and commands a most beautiful view of Constantinople 
 and the Sea of Marmora. It is a very fine building, 
 not so large as the Barrack, and it holds one thousand 
 men, allowing room for doctors, chaplains, nurses, &c. 
 The nurses at the General Hospital were then super- 
 intended by Miss Smythe, who shortly afterwards went 
 to Koulali ; and assisting her were three of Miss Sel- 
 
48 THE BRITISH BURYING GROUND. 
 
 Ion's sisters, one lady, five nuns of the community called 
 the " Kinsale Nuns/' and I think about ten nurses. 
 The ladies had a diet kitchen, and the routine was the 
 same as at the Barrack Hospital. 
 
 When the nuns first went to live at the General Hos- 
 pital, the only room they could get was a small one, 
 near which were some drains ; the stench of this room 
 was perfectly awful, so that after going into it for a 
 few minutes I used to feel quite ill ; yet there the sis- 
 ters lived for several weeks^ waiting till another room 
 could be vacated for them. How they escaped fever is 
 perfectly wonderful. 
 
 "When we went out for a walk, it was generally to 
 this hospital, or to the cliff around it. On one side of 
 the General Hospital is the British burying ground — 
 a spot which we could never visit without emotion, for 
 there rested, oh ! how many of England^s noble sons ! 
 There had been buried in this spot already nearly three 
 thousand brave officers and men, who had left their native 
 homes but a few months before in the highest spirits. 
 Whenever we went, they were digging graves ; for from 
 fifty to sixty a day were interred. Once we saw the araba 
 loaded with the bodies coming slowly along ; but we 
 turned away, the sight was too much to bear, for the 
 bodies were only wrapped in canvas. Coffins were not 
 used, nor were there even proper covered coffin carts till 
 a much later period. The burying ground is beautifully 
 situated, just on the edge of the cliff — the sea lies spread 
 before it. On one side, in the distance, lies Constanti- 
 nople ; on the opposite side, far beyond where the eye 
 can reach, stretches the great cemetery of the Turks, 
 thickly studded with cypresses, and the strange tomb- 
 stones of various colours, with their different devices. 
 
THE ANGEL OF DEATH. 49 
 
 the turbarij the broken lily, and other heathen em- 
 blems. Dark and gloomy looks the vast cemetery whi- 
 ther the Turk prays to be borne, that, when European 
 Turkey shall become the property of the Christian, his 
 bones may rest with his fathers. 
 
 Brightly in the open sunshine, under no dark cypress' 
 shade, rest Britain's loved and lost. Here and there a 
 stone, or wooden cross, marks in "Whose name, and in 
 what hope, they were laid down. The blue waves sparkle 
 near their resting-place; the birds sing sweetly over their 
 graves ; the grass grows green upon the mounds, and 
 in their countrypeople's hearts the spot must ever be 
 sacred. 
 
 Returning from our walk over the large common 
 which lies between the two hospitals, one's heart was 
 weighed down by the thought of that mighty mass of 
 suffering inside the barrack walls, the sounds of which, 
 though unheard by men, went up to the ear of Heaven. 
 The thought of its immensity and apparent hopelessness 
 was oppressive beyond description. All that was done 
 for relief seemed but a drop in the ocean, and ere 
 things could get to rights, or order be restored, how 
 many hundreds of precious lives would have passed 
 away ! 
 
 Day succeeded day with little variation, and suffering 
 and agony went on and on, and the angel of death 
 stayed not his hand, but went swiftly day and night 
 through the corridors and wards, and took hundreds 
 with him as he passed. In the morning, when we 
 entered our wards, sad it was to see the numbers of 
 empty beds, but it was seldom that they were not filled 
 again before night. 
 
 Among the numerous cases in corridor B at this time. 
 
50 THE VALLEY OF THE SHADOW OF DEATH. 
 
 were two in a very bad state of fever. The orderly 
 attending them was a brute ; he never did anything for 
 them unless desired by the surgeon or nurse, and all 
 the poor creatures did in the wildness of their delirium 
 he treated as done on purpose. He declared that they 
 would tear the wet rags from their heads, and it was no 
 use to put them on again, and he never replaced them 
 unless we obliged him ; he used to put down their food 
 by their sides, just as if they were strong and sensible, 
 and able to help themselves, while their poor hands 
 were lying helpless by their sides, or clutching and 
 picking the bed clothes, the unerring sign to those who 
 know sickness well, that their days on earth were num- 
 bered. 
 
 Poor fellows ! their passage through the valley of the 
 shadow of death was hard indeed. They lingered many 
 days. Among so very many others we could not give 
 them much time. One day, passing by their beds, I 
 saw one of them was near death. I was obliged to go 
 to our quarters on an errand for another patient. I 
 made all possible haste, and in a quarter of an hour 
 returned to the bed of death, but it was vacant — he had 
 died in the interim, been wrapped in his blanket, and 
 carried away to the dead house — the other died that 
 night. 
 
 Death indeed became familiar to us as the ordinary 
 events of life. Among one thousand sick committed 
 to the care of three women, it was impossible to at- 
 tend to the greater number, and it was grievous to be 
 obliged to pass by so many on whom we longed to 
 wait — cases like some of spotted fever in corridor A — 
 and see the poor hands grasping the sheets, and the 
 sufferer in his delirium refusing the medicine on which 
 
THE FREE-GIFT STORES. 51 
 
 his life hung. Once, in corridor B, I was passing along, 
 when an orderly called me to the bedside of a patient. 
 He was in his last agony, and he eagerly attempted to 
 speak to me. Some request was evidently hovering on 
 his lips, but, alas ! he tried in vain. I knelt close beside 
 him, but could catch no articulate sound — human speech 
 was over with him. He saw it was useless, and, making 
 a last effort, pointed to his pillow and expired. We 
 lifted the pillow, and found beneath it a letter from his 
 mother. It was one that touched me deeply, so full of 
 loving anxiety for him, " not knowing where he was, 
 but trusting no news was good news." Her love was 
 at least rewarded, that his last thought had been of 
 her. 
 
 The want of clean linen was bitterly felt at that time 
 in Scutari. How it was issued from the stores was a 
 mystery no one could ever unravel. If things were 
 sent to be washed, they never returned ; and there was 
 not the slightest order or regularity in the issue of linen, 
 either sheets or shirts. Towels and pocket-handker- 
 chiefs were both considered unnecessary luxuries for 
 the soldiers, and could be obtained only from Miss 
 Nightingale's free-gift store ; and, generally speaking, 
 only from it could flannel shirts be had. Orderlies 
 thought nothing of taking off a soiled flannel from a man 
 and giving him a clean cotton one in exchange. 
 
 Confusion, indeed, so prevailed in all quarters at that 
 unhappy time, that though quantities of things were 
 sent to Scutari, but few ever reached the sufferers for 
 whom they were destined. Every ship that came in 
 brought to Miss Nightingale large packages of every 
 imaginable article of wearing apparel ; great, numbers 
 of bales of old linen and lint also arrived ; and these 
 
 E 2 
 
52 
 
 SICKNESS AMONGST THE NURSES. 
 
 last were quite useless, as both were amply supplied 
 from the medical stores of the hospital. 
 
 The packages were unpacked and put into Miss 
 Nightingale's free-gift store, which was a large shed 
 outside the hospital. It was impossible for Miss Night- 
 ingale, with her numerous and arduous avocations, to 
 find time even to look at them ; and she had placed no 
 one in regular charge of them ; nurses, and sometimes 
 ladies, when they had time, went to assist at the endless 
 task of putting them to rights. There was another 
 store inside the hospital, which was under the charge 
 of the Superioress of the Sisters of Mercy. This store 
 was kept in beautiful order, but was quite full. From 
 neither of these stores of Miss Nightingale could any- 
 thing be procured but on the same plan as the diets, — 
 i. e., a doctor's requisition, signed and countersigned. 
 It was even more impossible to get such stores than those 
 for diets, from a feeling amongst the surgeons that 
 clothing for the men ought to have come from Govern- 
 ment stores, and they disliked fully to acknowledge the 
 gross neglect of the purveying department. So we 
 only saw how miserably the men were off, and were 
 obliged to leave them so. 
 
 It was a common thing to find men with sheets and 
 shirts unchanged for weeks. I have opened the collar 
 of a patient's shirt, and found it literally lined with ver- 
 min. It was common to find men covered with sores 
 from lying in one position on the hard straw beds and 
 coarse sheets, and there were no pillows to put under 
 them. Pillows were unknown to the Government stores, 
 and we could not get requisitions for them from the 
 surgeons on Miss Nightingale's free-gift store. The 
 only exceptions to this rule were, that some articles 
 
DETAILS OF OUR DAILY LIFE. 53 
 
 which, were given to the nurses they gave away to the 
 patients. Mrs. Bracebridge gave away numbers of 
 things, for their personal use, from the free-gift store, 
 to those who assisted in the unpacking of them. By 
 this means we sometimes gained possession of shirts, 
 pocket handkerchiefs, or towels, and they were much 
 prized by the men. 
 
 A great deal of sickness prevailed among ourselves ; 
 two nurses at this time were lying ill with fever, one 
 not expected to live ; two out of the five nuns were in 
 the same state — they both lay for days at the point of 
 death, but ultimately recovered. During the whole of 
 their illness, they remained in the room where the three ' 
 other sisters slept and ate ! There was no infirmary to 
 remove the sick ladies to ! The sick nurses were taken 
 to a room outside the hospital. Among those of ladies 
 and nurses not ill with fever, many were laid up for a 
 day or two at a time, from over-fatigue and want of 
 proper food. 
 
 Our life was a laborious one ; we had to sweep our 
 own room, make our beds, wash up our dishes, &c., 
 and fetch our meals from the kitchen below. We went 
 to our wards at nine, returned at two, went again at 
 three (unless we went out for a walk, which we had 
 permission to do at this hour), returned at half-past five 
 to tea, then to the wards again till half-past nine, and 
 often again for an hour to our special cases. We had 
 prayers read by Mr. Bracebridge at eight in the morn- 
 ing, and at nine at night one of the chaplains came ; 
 but at that time they were often prevented from press 
 of work. We sufiered greatly from want of proper 
 food. Our diet consisted of the coarse sour bread of 
 the country, tea without milk, butter so rancid we could 
 
54 EASTERN AND ENGLISH HOSPITALS. 
 
 not touch it, and very bad meat and porter ; and at 
 night a glass of wine or brandy. It was an effort, even 
 to those in health, to sit down to our meals ; we forced 
 the food down as a duty, but some of the ladies became 
 so weak and ill they really could not touch it. For one 
 in particular we tried to get a little milk or an egg, but 
 both these articles were scarce. A small quantity of 
 both was regularly taken into Miss Nightingale's and 
 Mr. and Mrs. Bracebridge's rooms, but they were not 
 furnished to the rest of the party. Occasionally Miss 
 Nightingale kindly sent some light dish from her own 
 table to the sick ladies. The nuns took all their meals 
 in their own apartments, the nurses in theirs, the ladies 
 in theirs : Miss Nightingale and Mr. and Mrs. Brace- 
 bridge in their own sitting-room. 
 
 The quantity of vermin in the wards was past con- 
 ception. The men's clothes and beds swarmed with 
 them, so did every room in the hospital. Our clothes 
 had their full share, and the misery they caused us was 
 very great : we never slept more than an hour at a time 
 because of them. We much rejoiced, on reaching Scu- 
 tari, to find plenty of blankets, which we never had at 
 Therapia, and the want of which there we had been 
 feeling in the cold winter nights ; but when we found 
 that the surface of the blanket was closely dotted with 
 tiny black spots, our joy somewhat diminished. The 
 poor men felt this very much, but, of course, without 
 clean linen it could not be helped. 
 
 People have often spoken of the patience, courage, 
 and endurance of the sick in English hospitals ; but there 
 they have only pain to endure, and doctors are busy to 
 alleviate this, and careful to give them all necessary 
 comforts. It was in the Eastern hospitals that the true 
 
SAD REFLECTIONS. 55 
 
 heroism of patient courage was pre-eminently displayed. 
 We have attended many hundreds of the sick of the 
 British army suffering under every form of disease — 
 the weary wasting of low typhus fever or dysentery, or 
 the agony of frostbite — and they were surrounded by 
 every accumulation of misery. For the fevered lip^ 
 was there no cooling drink ; for the sinking frame no 
 strengthening food ; for the sore limb no soft pillow ; 
 for many no watchful hands to help ; but never did we 
 hear a murmur pass those lips. We have seen the 
 brave and strong man laid low ; have seen him watch 
 death coming, and meet it calmly, for he died in doing 
 his duty. Oh! that they who speak harshly of the 
 British soldier had been with those whose privilege it 
 was to nurse him — had witnessed that wonderful spec- 
 tacle of woe during the winter of 1854-5 — had seen the 
 obedience to orders, the respectful gratitude, the noble 
 qualities there displayed ! 
 
 Often did our hearts burn within us as we passed 
 along, and heard the thanks and blessings poured upon 
 those who were doing, oh ! so miserably little for so 
 great affliction ; or as we knelt by the dying, to hear 
 his last request to write home and tell them all about 
 him ; or as we watched the death-struggle, and saw one 
 noble heart after another cease to beat. 
 
 The sick came in almost daily, so that the beds which 
 death had emptied during the night were sure to be 
 filled again in the course of the day. Sad it was to see 
 the sick coming in — the orderlies putting down the 
 stretchers, and looking round in despair for a bed on 
 which to lay the poor sufferer : a low moan was the 
 only evidence of the torture he was enduring, or how 
 he longed to be laid in any place where he could die 
 
56 HOW THE STORY SHALL BE TOLD. 
 
 ill peace. Then, again, they hastily raised the stretcher 
 on their shoulder, giving frequent jerks to the agonised 
 frame, and turned down another corridor in search of a 
 bed. Patience, deeply-suifering ones, we whispered 
 to ourselves, all is not forgotten, every drop in this 
 most bitter cup is portioned out for you, and as you 
 drink it, will be treasured up in heaven. You have 
 followed bravely an earthly captain to victory, through 
 wounds and over dying comrades ; follow now the Great 
 Captain of your salvation, through the dark valley. 
 
 Sickness is sad at all times — sad is it to languish and 
 suffer on our English beds, with skilful physicians full of 
 anxiety, with tender nurses and loving friends, with every 
 comfort earth can give ; but only those who witnessed 
 them can enter into the dreariness of those sick soldiers* 
 beds. It was sad to see them die one after another — we 
 learned to love them — ever ringing in our ears seemed 
 the anxious hopes and prayers of the fond hearts in Eng- 
 land. The mother's only stay was there, or the loved 
 husband or brother ; and they were dying, not in the 
 glory of the battle-field, but in these dreary corridors. 
 They who had fought so bravely, suffered so nobly ; 
 they who, if they had lived, would have been honoured 
 by a nation's gratitude — they were passing away by 
 hundreds — no name would mark their graves, and they 
 would, save in the loving hearts at home, be soon for- 
 gotten. 
 
 No, not forgotten, either. Surely, when the tale of 
 that memorable winter shall be told, when future gene- 
 rations shall hear how they stormed at Alma, charged 
 at Balaclava, and held their ground at Inkermann ; 
 how they resolutely waited before the walls of Sebas- 
 topol, till at length the gallantly-defended city yielded 
 
THE TENDERNESS OF BRAVE HEARTS. 57 
 
 to her dauntless foes — England will not forget those 
 who shed their blood for her sake, though no glory- 
 hovered round their death-bed, save a ray from His 
 glory who first taught us to be " obedient unto death." 
 Sad it was to hear the tales they would tell, such mere 
 boys as some of them were ; how they had enlisted in a 
 moment of folly, and bitterly regretted it ; or to listen to 
 their long accounts of friends at home ; how they would 
 describe every little incident relating to them, as if it 
 were engraven on their hearts. 
 
 Very often we wrote letters home for them from their 
 dictation ; we sat on their beds to do it, for there were no 
 other seats of any kind. It was remarkable to see the 
 eagerness with which they accepted our offer to write a 
 letter for any of them — they hardly ever asked us to do 
 so — they seemed to be so resigned to everything, that 
 it was quite a surprise to them to be able to have a 
 sheet of paper and an envelope placed at their disposal, 
 still more a friend's hand to write for them; and then 
 they were so full of solicitude — " Were we not too 
 tired to do it ? or was it not uncomfortable sitting oa 
 that there bed?" 
 
68 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 " It is little : 
 But in these sharp extremities of fortune, 
 The blessings which the weak and poor can scatter, 
 Have their own season." — Ion. 
 
 After a fortnight had been spent among these scenes, 
 a change occurred in the nursing arrangements. Miss 
 Stanley at Koulali was in great want of additional hands, 
 as she found her staff inefficient for the work of the 
 British hospitals there, and requested help from Miss 
 Nightingale. Miss Nightingale said, that any lady who 
 preferred going to Koulali might do so. Miss Smythe 
 and myself, therefore, went, and another lady followed 
 Tis in a few days. 
 
 Before giving an account of my own experience at 
 Koulali, it will be well to return to Miss Stanley and 
 her party of sixteen, i. e. three ladies, four nurses, and 
 ten sisters, who proceeded there on the 27th of January, 
 the same day on which ten others and myself went to 
 Scutari. 
 
 They arrived about noon, when a large steamer was 
 unloading her melancholy cargo, and every hand was en- 
 gaged. The apartments selected for the nurses were at the 
 south-west corner of the barracks — five small rooms, an 
 ante-room, and a small kitchen — three ladies, four nurses, 
 and ten sisters of mercy were the party. Patients had been 
 
^,.- 
 
 ""^^^ 
 
ARRANGEMENTS AT KOULALI. 59 
 
 very recently moved from these rooms. They had been 
 whitewashed, but not cleaned. The kitchen range was not 
 complete, the stoves were not put up. The ante-room 
 was piled up with luggage and furniture, and it was with 
 great difficulty that any one could be spared to assist 
 in unpacking and arranging what was necessary before 
 night set in. The following day was Sunday. No chap- 
 lain waa at that time appointed to Koulali ; the patients 
 were dependent upon the services of the chaplains from 
 Scutari. It is not to be wondered at, if the newly-arrived 
 band of nurses felt a doubt as to how far they would be 
 welcome after the long delay at Therapia, owing, as they 
 were told, to their not being required at Scutari. Miss 
 Stanley's first step was to send for Dr. O'Connor, the 
 medical ofiacer then in charge, and request him to give 
 his own orders as to what he wished the nurses to do. 
 He informed her, that there were at the present time 
 about 500 patients, that there were five doctors, and he 
 thought it would be best to place two nurses under 
 each doctor — reserving the remainder for the upper hos- 
 pital, which would be opened the following week. 
 That they could be of the greatest use in attending to 
 the diet-rolls, cooking what was ordered, and seeing it 
 properly administered at the night times. On Monday, 
 January 28th, the nurses were appointed to their re- 
 spective work. There were scarcely any wounded men. 
 The patients were chiefly fever, dysentery, frost-bites, 
 &c. " It is not the surgical cases," said one of the 
 doctors, " for which we require your assistance : they 
 are as well or better dressed by the regular dressers ; 
 but it is the medical cases which require watching and 
 feeding, and just that care which nurses can, and we cannot 
 give ; and a large proportion of the present cases require 
 
60 NUMBER OF NURSES INSUFFICIENT. 
 
 good nursing more than medical skill." The morning 
 rounds with the doctors, to receive their directions, oc- 
 cupied from two to three hours. The afternoon was 
 occupied in preparing the extra diet, and going round 
 with it ; and the nurses went a third round in the 
 evening. It was found no easy matter to manage the 
 cooking, with an imperfect kitchen range of small di- 
 mensions, and a very limited supply of kitchen utensils. 
 It required good management to keep the respective 
 diets of each ward apart, and many were the amicable 
 dissensions amongst the nurses over cans of rice, portions 
 of arrowroot, and jugs of lemonade. On February 1st, 
 the upper hospital, which had only been vacated by the 
 Turks a week or two before, was occupied by a fresh 
 cargo of sick. When they were ready to land, but few 
 beds were up, and there was no kitchen range. Wood fires 
 were lighted, and large copper cauldrons of hot water 
 prepared ; all the nurses that could be spared from the 
 lower hospital were sent up; arrowroot had to be made 
 and served to the poor exhausted men as they were brought 
 up. " Give them whatever you can," was the doctor's 
 order to the nurses. While some nurses fed the men, 
 others washed their hands and faces, and cut off their 
 long matted hair, after which the orderlies put them on 
 clean shirts. Many were the affecting expressions of gra- 
 titude poured forth by these poor sufferers to the nurses. 
 The Sisters of Mercy were allowed two rooms at the 
 upper hospital, half of the sisters came down every 
 day to their duties in the lower one. But as the num- 
 ber of patients had now increased to about 1000, the 
 number of nurses was found quite insufficient to carry 
 out the orders and wishes of the medical men. " There 
 should be at least one nurse to twenty-five patients. 
 
ILLNESS OF THE NURSES. 61 
 
 besides the orderlies," said they. The hospital at this 
 time was in a very sickly state. Dysentery turned to a 
 malignant kind of low spotted fever. It was impossible 
 to do the work properly ; and application was made by 
 Miss Stanley to the authorities at Scutari for a reinforce- 
 ment from thence, or for leave to apply to England to 
 have more sent out. Both applications were refused, 
 and the nurses worked on, braving all difficulties. Some 
 portions of the free gifts sent out from England to the 
 soldiers were forwarded from Scutari. 
 
 The unpacking of these boxes was an affecting 
 sight ; and many a wish was expressed that the kind 
 contributors could know the pleasure their gifts gave. 
 There were packages of lint, of mittens, of comforters, 
 made up and enclosed as the gift of the poor. There 
 was one packet of sugar-candy, with a note in a large 
 round hand, " For the sick soldiers, from a little 
 girl." The rule adopted by Miss Stanley for the dis- 
 tribution of these gifts, was to ascertain the amount of 
 gifts, and then divide them in equal portions to the 
 nurse of each ward, who distributed them, as she, from 
 her knowledge, saw fit. Order was being gradually 
 established in the nurses' quarter, when sickness broke 
 out amongst them. The Greek servant was the first 
 seized, and he died after a few days' illness. 
 
 The following day. Miss E. A. was taken ill, and 
 fears were entertained that her malady would prove 
 to be fever. Arrangements were made for removing 
 her from the unhealthy apartments at Koulali to The- 
 rapia or Buyukdere. At this juncture. Miss Smythe 
 and myself joined Miss Stanley and party. The day 
 after our arrival Miss K. A. complained of illness, and 
 it was fixed she should accompany Miss E. A. Thus 
 
62 KOULALI BATIIIACK HOSPITAL. 
 
 Miss Smytlie and myself, instead of increasing the num- 
 ber of nurses as Miss Stanley hoped, only took the 
 places of those removed by illness. She, however, 
 arranged that Miss Smythe should take charge of the 
 fever ward, which had been without a regular nurse. 
 One of the surgical wards, which had been attended by 
 Miss E. A., was assigned to me ; while Miss Stanley her- 
 self undertook the one thus left vacant, in addition to the 
 countless and wearying duties that must necessarily fall 
 to the share of a superintendent. 
 
 Koulali is about five miles north of Scutari. I once 
 went there from Scutari in a Turkish carriage ; the 
 drive was for some distance through the Turkish 
 cemetery, which, as I said before, extends for miles 
 round Scutari. There are no roads in Turkey worthy 
 of the name, nor have the carriages any springs ; be- 
 tween these two misfortunes, one runs a chance of being 
 jolted to death. Certainly, I never expected to reach 
 Koulali with whole bones, and firmly determined, as it 
 was my first drive in a Turkish carriage, it should be 
 my last. 
 
 Koulali barracks are built on the banks of the 
 Bosphorus, a few yards from the quay ; the depth 
 of water allows steamers to come alongside, therefore 
 its facility for landing the sick is very great. The 
 hospital is a square red building, three stories high in 
 front, very much smaller than Scutari, but a large 
 building nevertheless. The principal entrance is raised 
 a few feet from the quay, ascending which you then pass 
 under the archway into the barrack-yard. Apartments 
 are built over the archway, called the Sultan's apart- 
 ments, at that time occupied by the commandant, chap- 
 lains, and medical officers. Standing under the arch- 
 
KOULALI BARRACK HOSPITAL. 63 
 
 way, to the right and left, were the wards, which 
 extended more than halfway round the square, two 
 stories high. Opposite were stables, which were then 
 about to be made into wards. 
 
 The wards were of a very peculiar construction, a 
 long corridor, with a gallery over it ; the doors of almost 
 all open upon the diiferent entrances of the hospital, 
 which have all archways. This made the wards seem 
 like separate buildings, though on the upper story, by 
 passing through rooms, we could walk from one end of 
 the hospital to the other, only descending at the differ- 
 ent entrances. The three entrances were all guarded 
 by sentries. Built in continuation of the hospital on 
 the quay are more rooms and stables, occupied by the 
 Turkish soldiers ; beyond this is the riding-school, 
 which was just then converted into the convalescent 
 hospital : a most delightful one it made. It was divided 
 into twelve wards, partitioned off by wood-work about 
 eleven feet high ; the roof was high with open beams. 
 This hospital was well warmed and ventilated ; there 
 was an apartment for the surgeon in charge — and the 
 surgery and kitchen were built off. 
 
 The situation was delightful, as all patients able to walk 
 could get outside the. hospital and catch the fresh breeze 
 from the sea. Hills arose immediately around Koulali ; 
 it was literally shut in on all sides between hills and 
 water. Great fears were entertained at that time that, 
 in the heat of summer, this would render it unhealthy ; 
 these fears were, however, happily never realised. On 
 the first hill above the Barrack Hospital, on the Scutari 
 side, was built the General Hospital : the Turks 
 always appear to build an hospital close to their bar- 
 racks. Both buildings were now British hospitals. We 
 
64 CLASSIFICATION OF WARDS. 
 
 distinguished them as Barrack and General Hospitals, 
 or sometimes upper and lower. It was a good climb 
 up the hill to the General Hospital, but one was 
 rewarded by the fresh air and lovely view. 
 
 The General Hospital was built on the plan of the one 
 at Scutari — three stories high, corridors running round, 
 and wards out of them. It held with comfort two hun- 
 dred and fifty men, with apartments for medical officers 
 and nurses. Of course at that time many more were 
 obliged to be accommodated. 
 
 In the hospitals of Koulali there were then very few 
 wounded. The wounded of Alma and Inkermann had 
 either recovered or died. It was the sick from the 
 trenches who poured down upon us. Fever, dysentery, 
 diarrhoea, and frost-bite, were our four principal diseases; 
 and the sufferers were those who, having struggled with 
 disease to the last, came down with their constitutions 
 broken, and needing careful nursing. We were received 
 and treated from first to last with the utmost cordiality, 
 courtesy, and kindness, by the army surgeons. Dr. Tice 
 was the principal medical officer, and was succeeded 
 shortly after by Dr. Humphrey. The principal medical 
 officer was, of course, the one under whose immediate 
 orders we were placed. By these, gentlemen we were 
 treated with uniform kindness; they instructed us in 
 what way we could be most useful, and always spoke 
 warmly of the assistance we rendered them. 
 
 The wards of Koulali hospital were classified : No. 
 2, surgical ; No. 3, fever ; No. 4, dysentery ; No. 5,diar- 
 rhoea ; No. 6, dysentery. Every ward was full. We had 
 by this time one thousand men, with very few exceptions 
 all confined to bed, and hardly a case not a most serious 
 one. Our duties were, to accompany the surgeon round 
 
SICKNESS AMONGST THE NURSES. 65 
 
 the ward to receive his orders for the day, then attend- 
 ing to the food and medicine, seeing to the linen, and 
 feeding those too weak to feed themselves. (For this pur- 
 pose, if for no other, nurses are required to carry out the 
 surgeon's directions. A patient may be ordered medicine, 
 wine, and nourishment, and the article may be furnished, 
 but the orderly sets it down by the patient's side, and 
 thinks no more about it, whilst the patient is perhaps 
 weaker than an infant, or unconscious of what he is doing.) 
 Then came writing letters, procuring books for those 
 who were a little better, and able to read — newspapers 
 were always precious, but at that time an untold boon. 
 
 Our plan was to receive the surgeon's verbal orders 
 for the men's food ; and if there were any difficulty about 
 the requisitions, or, when the requisitions were procured, 
 having them honoured by the purveyor, we supplied the 
 comforts out of our own kitchen. The doctors constantly 
 left numbers of cases in our charge, to be fed as we 
 thought best. Whenever a verbal order was given, the 
 lady or sister wrote her own requisition on the ladies' 
 diet-kitchen, and it was immediately attended to, as far 
 as our Free Gift Store would allow. In the evenings 
 the surgeons visited their wards ; then came the night- 
 drink distribution, sorely needed by all, for thirst was 
 acutely felt by the frost-bitten and dysenteric, as well 
 as the fever patients. Late at night, very weary, we 
 sought our quarters. Gladly would we have undertaken 
 night-work, but our numbers were far too inadequate 
 for the labour of the day. All had a far larger portion 
 than was commensurate with their strength, and it was 
 only by God's especial help that we kept up at all. 
 
 The two ladies who were ill were removed to the 
 Hotel des Croissants, Buyukdere, twelve miles up the 
 
 F 
 
66 AN ALARM OF FIRE. 
 
 Eosj^horus, on tlie European side. The next day their 
 illness proved to be typhus fever. One paid nurse 
 accompanied them. One of the nuns fell ill with fever ■ 
 the following day, so our number was reduced to 
 eighteen for both hospitals. 
 
 The same day, the Misses left ; we had hardly 
 
 seen them off in a caique, when an alarm that our 
 quarters were on fire burst upon our ears. It proceeded 
 from the kitchen, and it was discovered that the flue of 
 the chimney had been so built, that if it got heated it 
 must catch fire. This was a common specimen of 
 Turkish building. In five minutes the engineer officer 
 and his men were on the spot ; and by their prompt and 
 vigorous efforts the fire, which was now bursting out, 
 was arrested. Two engines played for five hours before 
 danger was over, and then what a scene ! The kitchen 
 unroofed, the wall of one bedroom broken in, and the 
 corridor a floating mass of mud, water, and stones — 
 another room so stuffed with furniture we could not 
 move. 
 
 The frost was just beginning to set in. We stood in 
 the barrack-yard, watching the devastation with resig- 
 nation, and wondering where we should sleep that night. 
 We did not wonder long, for the officers and chaplains 
 with ready kindness offered us the choice of their quar- 
 ters. We accepted the principal room in the Sultan's 
 quarters, which the commandant vacated for our use ; 
 two of the bedrooms in the old quarters were sufficiently 
 habitable to accommodate the three nurses. 
 
 From this time the whole party of ladies ate, drank, 
 and slept in one apartment. We felt that Miss Stanley, 
 who filled so arduous and responsible a position, needed 
 a separate room, and more tempting food than at that 
 
67 
 
 time fell to our lot ; but although her health suffered 
 from these causes, she resolutely refused to have any 
 luxuries or comforts of which all those about her could 
 not partake. 
 
 To add to our troubles, the next day one of the three 
 nurses sickened with fever. Of course, each separate 
 case of fever among ourselves not only caused the loss 
 of the invalid from the nursing staff, but the principal, 
 if not the whole, services of another to attend upon her. 
 
68 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 ** What was their prosperous estate. 
 When high exalted and elate 
 
 With power and pride ? 
 What, but a transient gleam of light, 
 A flame which glaring at its height, 
 Grew dim and died." 
 
 Longfellow's Translations from the Spanish. 
 
 How were we to supply our '^ extra diet" kitchen, 
 how prepare the food on which so many depended ? 
 The erection of a shed in the barrack-yard was imme- 
 diately set on foot ; but it took ten days ere we gained 
 possession of it, and our only resource was three or four 
 small charcoal brasiers. As charcoal always draws 
 much more quickly in the open air, we placed them in 
 the barrack-yard. 
 
 *' Misfortunes never come singly ;" so we thought 
 when John, the soldier cook, fell sick, and had to go 
 into the fever ward. Then the thaw came, and the 
 yard was a mass of snow and black mud ; then it alter- 
 nately froze and thawed, making our weary hours in 
 the barrack-yard seem long indeed. Our cook ill, we 
 did his work ourselves — our only staff being Henry, a 
 sailor lad, and the Greeks, who had not the slightest 
 conscience as to appropriating anything that pleased 
 them ; serious, indeed, was our loss when they did, for 
 
A CHANGE OF QUARTERS. 69 
 
 our *' free gift" store was very scanty, and of course we 
 could only draw the exact quantity allowed by the diet 
 roll, so that an egg once lost was not easily replaced ; 
 an ounce of arrowroot or sugar was worth more than 
 its weight in gold, while a saucepan to boil it in, or a 
 spoon to stir it with, was guarded by its fortunate pos- 
 sessors with a dragon-like vigilance. 
 
 After ten days we gained possession of a kitchen, 
 which was in two divisions, one was in the sultan's 
 quarters, the other the shed in the yard ; John reco- 
 vered and took charge of the first, Henry of the shed ; 
 part of the cooking was carried on in one, and the rest 
 in the other. Great joy was caused by the purchase 
 by the government, through Lady Stratford de Ked- 
 cliffe, of a large stove for charcoal, upon which we 
 could fry as well as boil. It had been bought some 
 time before, but it could not be used till it could be 
 placed in a kitchen. 
 
 Our quarters, which had been burned, were now 
 refitted ; and we should have returned thither, had not 
 the officers most kindly insisted upon making the ex- 
 change, thus relinquishing the best rooms to our use. 
 
 Lady Stratford frequently visited the hospitals, and 
 sent, at the government expense, a quantity of jelly 
 and beef tea, which was very valuable, but would have 
 been much more so had it been made on the spot as it 
 was wanted ; for any one who knows hospital work, can 
 understand that on one day there would be many cases 
 requiring jelly, while on another there would be few, 
 and the jelly would often arrive on one of these latter 
 occasions ; besides, the expense of sending it down the 
 Bosphorus, owing to the high price given for boat hire 
 and porterage, was very great. 
 
70 FEVER PATIENTS. 
 
 Four rooms in the Sultan's quarters were to be given 
 up to us. We could only take immediate possession of 
 
 three, because in the fourth Dr. G was lying ill. 
 
 His illness was not considered serious, and we hoped 
 he would be able to move in a day or two. Before 
 that time had arrived, his illness proved to be typhus 
 fever, and very soon his life was despaired of. He 
 was quite delirious, and the only hope for him, humanly 
 speaking, was incessant watchfulness, giving him stimu- 
 lants, &c. Mrs. Tice, with her maid, undertook to 
 nurse him by day, and we were asked whether we 
 would watch him by night. Miss Stanley did not 
 know how to comply with the request ; she said she 
 could not ask her overworked nurses to undertake 
 night work : however, we begged her to let us try, and 
 for ten successive nights three of us took it by turns 
 to sit up. There was another nurse who was able to 
 sit up ; but we dared not leave her alone in the room 
 with the brandy, which had to be used in large quan- 
 tities for fomentations. The saddest part of these 
 night watchings was, not the listening to the ravings of 
 the poor sufferer, as we heard him wander back to his 
 home, and call beseechingly for his mother, nor the 
 keen anxiety with which we watched every symptom, not 
 knowing whether he might last till morning ; but the 
 knowledge that in that very building there were many 
 dying who might be saved if we could have given each 
 the care we were bestowing on one. 
 
 We saw plainly what a fever patient required, when 
 we received the minute directions of the medical men for 
 
 the treatment of Dr. G . During the whole night 
 
 our attention could not wander from him for even five 
 minutes without risk ; and yet at that time, when fever 
 
ROUGH DELICACIES. 71 
 
 cases were counted by hundreds, both at Koulali and 
 Scutari, it was said by one who should have known 
 better, " Fever and dysentery patients do not require 
 nursing." 
 
 We were very thankful that our care was rewarded 
 
 by Dr. G 's recovery, which was very rapid : he was 
 
 sent to Therapia as soon as he was able to be removed ; 
 and we took possession of his room, but only to move 
 into it another sufferer from fever among our own 
 party. 
 
 Dr. and Mrs. Tice, and the two Church of England 
 chaplains, occupied the remainder of the rooms on the 
 left side of the archway. The Bey, who commanded 
 the Turkish troops, lived on the right side ; and we 
 had a room to keep our stores in, instead of a dark 
 closet. 
 
 By very strenuous efforts we gradually, but slowly, 
 improved the state of the kitchen. We were able, by 
 means of our stove, to fry a small quantity of chops. 
 In one of the boilers in our kitchen shed we boiled 
 fowls, and then cut them in half for the patients. An- 
 other boiler contained water for arrowroot ; everything 
 was on the roughest scale ; the orderlies brought large 
 cans or wooden buckets, put their arrowroot and cold 
 water into them, and stirred it up with a bit of stick ; 
 then Henry dispensed the boiling water, and of course 
 the orderlies fought as to who should get it first. The 
 lady in charge put in the wine, and the arrowroot was 
 carried to the sister or lady in charge of each ward, 
 and distributed to the men. Persons accustomed to 
 make delicate food for some dear invalid, or who have 
 watched the beautiful order of the kitchen of a London 
 hospital, will smile at our extra diets for the sick; 
 
/.-i AN UNFORTUNATE AFFAIR. 
 
 nevertheless, they werfe gladly received by the poor 
 sufferers, who thought them a decided improvement 
 upon nothing. 
 
 But the labour of life was lemonade. The patients 
 suifered much from thirst, and those who were ordered 
 lemonade were very numerous. The sight of a lemon 
 squeezer (no such article could be furnished from the 
 stores) would have been very gratifying, the cutting 
 and squeezing were so long and tiresome. We em- 
 ployed the Greeks upon it, but their help was not to be 
 depended on ; sometimes they would work, at others 
 suddenly depart for hours ; and they would, moreover, 
 pocket lemons, or other things, to any extent. Besides, 
 all the Greeks in Government employ went home at 
 sunset ; and the chief call for lemonade was in the even- 
 ings. One evening a lady made a large pailful, and 
 went into the " dark closet" for sugar ; she put it into 
 the lemonade, stirred it up, and tasted it to see if all 
 was right — but salt had been put in instead of sugar, 
 and wearily did she set about the task of making more ; 
 cutting more lemons, and getting more water — all the 
 water came from a tank at the extreme end of the 
 barrack yard, and had to be fetched by Greeks, who 
 took an enormous time about it, so that water became 
 very precious. 
 
 Our difficulties daily increased ; the two sick ladies 
 at Buyukdere were so alarmingly ill that the surgeon 
 attending them required another nurse. We sent one 
 of the hired nurses, but she returned the next day, 
 having been found by the surgeon in a state of dead 
 intoxication in the room of one of the ladies, then 
 trembling between life and death ; of course the nurse 
 had to be sent home. One of the ladies of our party 
 
THE ACCENTS OF REMORSE. 73 
 
 went to nurse the two others ; another, whose duty it 
 was, in addition to the care of her ward, to superintend 
 the kitchen department, was suffering so much from 
 inflammation and weakness as to be often unable to 
 leave her bed for a day or more. 
 
 The light conduct of another of the hired nurses, 
 even at this time of distress, necessitated her dismissal. 
 The one who had been intoxicated was to accompany a 
 lady to Scutari, from thence to take her passage to 
 England. She went down quite quietly to the water's 
 edge, put one foot into the caique in which the lady was 
 sitting, and, then jumped into the water, running the 
 narrowest chance of upsetting the boat, in which case 
 the lady must have been lost, as the strength of the 
 current was fearful : the unfortunate woman was drag- 
 ged out, and immediately went into what was apparently 
 an epileptic fit. She was carried to her bed ; there she 
 would not lie, but got up, broke the windows, tore the 
 matting from the floor, and her hair from her head. 
 Poor woman ! she had before that openly avowed her 
 belief that there was no God! After some days she 
 recovered, was sent home, and, I believe, is now a nurse 
 in a London hospital. Many similar tales could be told 
 of those who came from, and returned to nurse the poor 
 of England. 
 
 March opened with variations of cold, and days of 
 spring-like loveliness. Once, as a great event, we took 
 a walk to the Turkish cemetery. The lady superintend- 
 ent, fearing that our health would completely give way, 
 desired us to do so— how we enjoyed the fresh air and 
 lovely view, after our long confinement in the wards ! 
 
 Our next trouble was the sickening with fever of the 
 third lady, who had gone to nurse the two others at 
 
74 MORE THAN A PHYSICIAN. 
 
 Buyukdere, and also of the nurse who had been sent to 
 assist her. There were now at Buyukdere four in bed ; 
 the two first were out of immediate danger, but in a 
 most^precarious state. Miss Nightingale kindly sent a 
 nurse from Scutari, for from our now limited staff we 
 knew not how to spare one. 
 
 It was a sad sight to see these ladies lying in a foreign 
 hotel, far from friends and home, and suffering under a 
 deadly disease, their companions unable to be with 
 them ; but a merciful Father raised up help as it^was 
 needed. One of the surgeons of the naval hospital, 
 Therapia (three miles from Buyukdere), attended them 
 all through their illness — twice a day, sometimes oftener, 
 did he come from his own arduous duties to their bed- 
 sides ; he was not only physician, but, as they after- 
 wards expressed it, "father and brother;" his kindness 
 was beyond expression. The ladies belonging to the 
 naval hospital also came forward with sisterly kindness 
 in this time of distress. One who had herself risen 
 from a bed of sickness took her turn to watch at night 
 by the bedside of those who were strangers to her. 
 
 At Koulali the work did not abate ; as quickly as we 
 sent home convalescents to England, so did others be- 
 gin to pour in from the camp. The Irish soldiers now 
 came down in shoals. We suppose this was caused by 
 their constitutions being more inured to hardships 
 than the English, and their having in consequence held 
 out longer, although now worn out. 
 
 Oh ! what grievous scenes was our daily life now 
 passed among ! The cases of frost-bite exceeded in 
 horror all one had ever imagined. Dressing wounds 
 was not our business ; there were " dressers*' who ful- 
 filled this office ; when the frost-bite had extended so far 
 
MEDICAL DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY. 75 
 
 up the foot that it could not be stopped, amputation 
 was the only means of* saving life, and that even was 
 but a chance, for their constitutions were so broken that 
 many were unable to rally from the shock. At this 
 time, in the surgical ward, were three men in this 
 state, named Fitzgerald, Flack, and Cooney, 
 
 Fitzgerald had lost a foot, so had the two others, and 
 some of the toes of the remaining foot. Cooney was 
 about eighteen or nineteen ; he was an Irish Catholic. 
 Poor fellow ! from being obliged to lie in one position, 
 he was covered with sores, and suffered intensely. He 
 was so thin, his bones seemed almost coming through his 
 skin ; and his state was such, that not even an orderly 
 was allowed to turn him from one side to another; 
 the surgeon had to do it himself, and Dr. Temple most 
 tenderly did it for him. Dr. Temple was one who al- 
 most lived in his ward, who thought no trouble too 
 much, no time too long, to be devoted to his men. 
 
 Severe things have been said of the medical depart- 
 ment of the army ; and its members were, apparently, 
 so despised that their work was taken from them in 
 some measure, and put into the hands of civilians. No 
 doubt some of the heads of the departments, who had 
 grown old under the old system of military hospitals, 
 and were unable to realise the necessity of a prompt 
 and immediate change, were obstinate and hard-hearted. 
 No doubt, among such a large body of men, many young 
 and careless ones, unfitted for the awfully responsible 
 charge then placed in their hands, were to be found ; 
 but in condemning such, the merits of others should 
 not be overlooked. Most ungrateful were it, if the 
 nurses should omit recording their experience of the 
 much-dreaded '^army surgeons." So misrepresented 
 
76 POOR COONEY. 
 
 had this class of men been, that it was with far more 
 fear of them than of the horrors 'of hospital life that the 
 ladies entered the hospital. They were told to expect 
 rebuffs, discouragements, and even insult. During a 
 year's residence among them, the writer and all her 
 companions never experienced from an army surgeon 
 other than assistance, encouragement, and gentlemanly 
 treatment, and from many of them the most cordial 
 kindness. 
 
 The tenacity of life in poor Cooney was wonderful ; 
 day after day, night after night, he lived and suffered 
 on; growing weaker and weaker. How his piteous 
 moans went through the hearts of his attendants, how 
 terrible was it to watch the distortion of agony on his 
 young face. Poor boy ! he was very patient, and he 
 said he knew " it was best for him, or the good God 
 would not send him such suffering, and his trust was in 
 Him, and he did try to be patient.*' We used to tempt 
 him with the best of the little at our disposal, for Dr. 
 Temple ordered him anything he could fancy. At 
 length eggs, beat up with wine, were the only thing he 
 could swallow, and until ten minutes before his death 
 his nurse fed him with this. He passed away as a child 
 falls asleep, and with intense relief did his attendants 
 watch the calm, peaceful look on those features so long 
 tortured with agony. In half-an-hour (and that was 
 longer than usual), he was wrapped in his blanket, and 
 carried to the dead-house. 
 
 Then there was poor Flack; he suffered, too, we 
 thought, the extent of human suffering. He was covered 
 with sores, one foot entirely off, and two toes of the 
 other ; he was ordered anything he liked, but in vain : 
 he was in too much pain to eat, he " cared for nothin' 
 
THE MEDICINE OF LIGHTHEARTEDNESS. 77 
 
 — nothin' would save him." One day he said, " Tell 
 ye what I could eat — a bit of apple-pudding !" How 
 was it to be got? how get the suet, the flour, and 
 the apples? and how get it boiled? Nevertheless, 
 it was made, but he could hardly touch it, though he 
 insisted on its being set down by his side. Another 
 man had the same fancy, and he declared it had " done 
 him more good than all the physic." Nothing, how- 
 ever, could save poor Flack. He died one night quite 
 peaceably. 
 
 Fitzgerald we watched by many an hour, expecting 
 it to be his last, he looked so like a corpse ; his strength 
 was utterly gone. Among many interesting cases, he 
 was one distinguished from all others, not only by his 
 patience, but his cheerfulness. He was an Irishman all 
 over, always merry, and making the best of everything ; 
 his gratitude for being waited upon was great. Even 
 when apparently in a dying state, he would look up 
 into our faces and smile. He lingered on, his doctors 
 having no hope of his recovery ; it seemed impossible 
 he could rally from such a shock. However, he did ; 
 his improvement at first was very gradual, but three 
 months afterwards we had the satisfaction of seeing 
 him leave the hospital for England, though of course a 
 cripple still, as stout and robust as one could wish ; his 
 face quite radiant with happiness at the thought of 
 going back to " ould Ireland." 
 
 Each ward contained at that time sixty beds ; and to 
 give an idea how crowded we were, it is enough to 
 say that the number was afterwards reduced to thirty. 
 Each patient lay on a low tressel bed, raised a few 
 inches from the ground. 
 
 The news of the death of the Emperor of Russia 
 
78 RUSSIAN HOSPITAL PATIENTS. 
 
 came upon us with startling effect. The news came at 
 noon. Miss S. went into the wards and told the men. 
 It was curious to see and hear the various expressions. 
 
 " The Emperor of Russia is dead ! Well, that's the 
 best news I've heard for many a day." 
 
 " Thank God ! All blessings be with you for bring- 
 ing such blessed news.'* 
 
 " Well, that's a lucky chance !" 
 
 " What ! Nicholas ! Nicholas is dead. Well, we 
 ought not to be glad at any one's death ; but we cannot 
 help it now." 
 
 " How did he die ? If he died by poison, we shall 
 have peace ; but if not, not." 
 
 " Pity he didn't die two years before." 
 
 " He's a deal to answer for ; he's been the death 
 of thousands." 
 
 One man burst into tears, and slowly raising his 
 hands, clasped them in fervent prayer. " Thank God ! 
 Lord have mercy on his sOul." 
 
 There was a sensation all through the wards ; — from 
 bed to bed in different tones you heard the news pass. 
 " Nicholas is dead ! Nicholas is dead !" 
 
 It was curious enough that the day of the death of 
 the emperor was signalised by an earthquake of a very 
 violent nature. That scene will never be forgotten by 
 those who witnessed it. It occurred about three o'clock 
 in the afternoon. The day previous, a heavy mist hung 
 over the Bosphorus — a very unusual thing for Turkey. 
 The hospital was shaken most violently ; an instant rush 
 was made by the nurses for the barrack-yard. Many 
 of the poor patients jumped out of their beds, and, for- 
 getting their sufferings in their terror, ran down the 
 wards with fearful cries, and when the immediate ex- 
 
A SAD STORY. 
 
 79 
 
 citement was over, were unable to return to their beds 
 without assistance. The clocks fell from the walls, and 
 innumerable articles rolled about in great confusion. 
 The extraordinary costumes of the patients, and their 
 extreme terror, made the scene, awful as it was, almost 
 ludicrous. 
 
 The lower division of the fever ward was occupied by 
 the few Russian prisoners who were too ill to be removed 
 when the hospital was given up to the British. They 
 were attended by our surgeons, and we occasionally sent 
 cocoa to them, but were forbidden by Lord William 
 Paulet to visit them. It has before been remarked, that 
 the upper division of each ward was like a gallery with 
 open palings. One of our patients, in a fit of delirium, 
 jumped over these into the ward below, and falling upon 
 one of the poor patients, broke his collar-bone. The 
 Russian never could be induced to believe but that it 
 was done on purpose. 
 
 The cases of delirium among the poor patients were 
 very trying. I remember one of the orderlies calling 
 upon me to persuade a man to go to bed ; his manner 
 and tone were those of a man completely in his senses, 
 but calmly and earnestly he assured me that he had com- 
 mitted the most horrible crimes, that justice was about 
 to overtake him, and that it was useless for him to go 
 to bed, as he was about to be plunged into a dark 
 dungeon. He continued in this state for days, and 
 could never be kept in bed except by force ; at last he 
 leaped over the palings into the ward below, and was 
 killed on the spot. 
 
 One poor patient among the frost-bitten attracted my 
 attention by his constant refusal to take any sort of food, 
 or to receive any kind of comfort that was offered to 
 
80 STATE OF THE NURSING STAFF. 
 
 him. For a long time he would not speak; but one day, 
 on my offering to write home for him, he burst into 
 tears, and told me his history. He had been attacked 
 by frost-bite in the camp, and had been placed on a 
 mule to go to Balaclava, there to embark for Koulali. 
 The mule on which he rode was fastened to another, 
 carrying baggage, which slipped and fell upon him. 
 None of the party conducting the sick possessed so much 
 as a knife with which to cut the straps connecting the 
 two mules, and so for many minutes the mule lay upon 
 him, till a sailor fortunately coming by, released him 
 from his dreadful position. He was brought to Koulali 
 hospital, and treated for frost-bite ; but when in a fair 
 way of recovery, and with the prospect of being inva- 
 lided home, it was discovered that he had sustained a 
 severe internal injury, from which there was but slight 
 hope of his recovery; the disappointment seemed to 
 make his cup of sorrow run over, and he lay there in 
 utter despair, not caring how soon death might release 
 him. He was a member of the Church of England, had 
 been religiously brought up, and was one of the many 
 who had enlisted in a moment of folly, and afterwards 
 bitterly lamented his rash step. We became great 
 friends from that day. He grew more cheerful, and 
 willingly took whatever I wished him, and his gratitude 
 was unbounded. He became much better, but was then 
 seized with typhus fever. He managed to rally through 
 this also, and was able to walk to church. That night, 
 however, poor fellow, he was seized with inflammation, 
 and died two days afterwards. 
 
 These cases I mention merely as specimens of the 
 kind then passing under our hands. The memory of 
 each lady and Sister of Mercy would supply many such. 
 
STATE OF THE NURSING STAFF. 81 
 
 Our occupations were so overwhelming, that those work- 
 ing in the Barrack Hospital had not time even to visit 
 the General Hospital^ but there was observed the same 
 routine as at the Barrack Hospital. The plan was, for 
 both hospitals to be served by sisters, ladies, and nurses ; 
 but of these the ladies were ill, and several of the nurses 
 had been dismissed for immoral conduct. The whole 
 burden, therefore, of the work of the General Hospital 
 fell upon the sisters, who admirably fulfilled their duties, 
 giving great satisfaction to the Lady Superintendent 
 and the medical officers. It would be only repetition 
 to describe their work in the General Hospital at this 
 juncture, as it was similar to that performed by the 
 ladies and sisters at the Barrack Hospital. 
 
82 
 
 GHAFTER VII. 
 
 " One wlio lias fled from the war of life. 
 Prom sorrow, pain, and tlie fever strife." 
 
 Baeey Cornwall. 
 
 Extraordinary were the scenes our one room would 
 witness in the course of the day. At the door would 
 appear successively on duty, a wild-looking Greek with 
 a message, a grave Turk with another, a Scotch orderly, 
 our Hungarian servant, his German wife, officers' French 
 and Italian servants,, an Irish nun, and an English lady. 
 
 On one occasion an orderly answered a lady imper- 
 tinently in the ward, refusing to attend to her directions 
 for the patients' comfort. It was necessary to show the 
 orderlies that we were instructed by the surgeons to 
 carry out their orders,^ and, accordingly, when the 
 medical officer in charge came his evening rounds, the 
 lady reported the circumstance to him. We thought he 
 would rebuke the man, and there would be an end of the 
 matter " Send him to the guard-room !" was the instant 
 order. We were sorry, but of course thought the affair 
 must end here. Next morning a tall corporal appeared 
 at our room door, demanding the lady's attendance be- 
 fore the commandant. He did not say what it was for, 
 and she was quite alarmed, and went in evident terror, 
 to the extreme amusement of her companions. The 
 commandant received her with his usual courtesy, and 
 assured her that he was determined no instance of dis- 
 
THE STRANGE INTERPRETER. 83 
 
 respect or disobedience to the orders of the ladies should 
 be suffered among the orderlies, and therefore he only- 
 wanted her evidence to dismiss the man from his post 
 of orderly. As the lady passed from the "order-room," 
 through the line of soldiers on guard, she firmly deter- 
 mined that the orderlies would behave very badly indeed 
 ere she would punish herself so much again for their good. 
 
 One of the minor trials of life was our want of a 
 female servant. With the severe pulls upon our time 
 and strength, the labour of tending our own room was 
 very great. On one occasion we were standing over 
 the brasiers, cooking in the yard, when a tall and re- 
 markable-looking foreigner abruptly walked up to us, 
 and began, in very broken English, to make remarks 
 upon the style of cooking, especially that of Henry, the 
 sailor. Poor Henry's was certainly an original style,, 
 particularly in what he prepared for our own table. 
 He always chose to think most of that branch of his 
 business, and his delight was to send up recherche dishes^ 
 in which grease was the largest ingredient. 
 
 The stranger informed us, that his name was Papafee ;. 
 that he had a wife and child ; that he was an Hungarian 
 refugee ; had been an officer in the Austrian service ; 
 had castles and untold riches in Hungary, but, having 
 taken the side of his country and Kossuth, had lost 
 them all, and was obliged to fly and earn his bread. 
 His wife was a German, and could, he said, do house- 
 hold and needle work : as to himself, he could do every- 
 thing according to his own account — he could " speak 
 nine languages, write, keep accounts, shop, interpret, 
 cook :" in short, he was perfect. 
 
 Notwithstanding these perfections, as far as himself 
 was concerned, we should have been unmindful of them;; 
 
84 THE INVALIDS AT BUYUKDERE. 
 
 but we gladly engaged him for the sake of his wife, who, 
 indeed, proved to us a treasure. Gentle, willing, and 
 industrious, little Rosalie was a ray of comfort in our 
 distress, though it was somewhat counterbalanced by 
 her husband, who did everything we asked him with 
 an air of infinite condescension, as if he were a monarch 
 waiting on his subjects, — to forget to ask him for every- 
 thing before he went downstairs was an offence not 
 easily forgiven. To request a spoon or glass more than 
 he allowed would bring down a severe rebuke on our 
 heads. He used to favour us with his opinion of thino-s 
 in general; whenever we offended him, he would 
 scold at us, not allowing our voices to be heard in self- 
 defence, and saying, " It ees veri difficulte to please 
 everybodie !" would fling himself out of the room. It 
 was, however, an amusement, and many a laugh did we 
 have over his eccentricities. 
 
 Our invalids at Buyukdere still continued very ill, 
 so did the sister and nurse of our party. Our whole 
 staff consisted of nine sisters, three ladies, and two 
 nurses, and now Miss Smythe fell ill. She had till this 
 time been the stay of the lady party, never having suf- 
 fered in the least from sickness : she had the charge of 
 the fever ward, and her labours there were great and un- 
 remitting : I never saw a person more zealously devoted 
 to her work. She, as well as the others, almost lived 
 in her ward ; her whole thought seemed to be for her 
 patients — she fed them, and waited upon them, with 
 most attentive care. She caught a violent cold, and 
 quite lost her voice. We begged of her to stay at home, 
 to nurse herself; but if she had, no one could have taken 
 her place in the fever ward, and leave her men she 
 would not. She went, and stayed all day as usual, but 
 came back at tea-time looking very worn and fatigued : 
 
MISS smythe's illness. SfJ 
 
 with difficulty was she persuaded to give up her even- 
 ing rounds, which another undertook to attend to in 
 addition to her own, while Miss Smythe went to bed. 
 
 After going round the long fever ward with night 
 drinks, this lady was about to return home, when a poor 
 man raised himself up, and said, " Is not that ere lady 
 a coming here to-night ?" She explained the reason of 
 her absence. " But is not she a cooking something for 
 me ?'* No, she was not. " Well,'^ said he, lying down 
 again with a resigned look, " I be very hungry." The 
 lady went back to her quarters, and asked Miss Smythe. 
 She said he was very weak, and ordered by the medical 
 officer any thing he fancied. It was so late, the kitchen 
 was closed ; however, we contrived to take him a little of 
 Mr. Gamble's soup, with which he was delighted, and 
 said, it was the " beautifullest" thing he had ever tasted. 
 
 For several days longer Miss Smythe struggled on ; 
 at length she gave in of her own accord, and stayed in 
 bed. On that day letters reached us, announcing that 
 in a fortnight or three weeks a staff of ladies and nurses 
 for Koulali would arrive. The news raised our fainting 
 spirits — poor Miss Smythe especially expressed much 
 pleasure. It was the last conscious thing we heard her 
 say. Next day fever attacked her, and delirium as 
 usual followed. She was placed in the room vacated 
 by Dr. G. A very excellent nurse attended her, and 
 most skilful surgeons : all that could be done for her 
 was done ; and though we knew her case was a most 
 severe one, still we hoped on, for up to this time all the 
 members of our staff attacked with fever had escaped 
 death, though they had hung for days at its very point. 
 
 On the 27th of March the chaplain of the Church of 
 England administered the Communion to her ; she was 
 partly conscious at the time. Throughout her illness she 
 
86 HER DEATH AND FUNERAL. 
 
 had alway displayed great patience ; but she seldom spoke, 
 and was constantly delirious. The doctors considered 
 her case a very bad one, but still we hoped against hope. 
 
 March 28th, I was in the act of distributing the din- 
 ners to the orderlies for their wards, when the news of 
 her death was brought to me : it fell like the shock 
 of a sudden death ; and yet, such was our strange life 
 at that time, I could not leave my employment, but was 
 obliged to count out mutton-chops and half fowls till 
 the hospital was served, and then went upstairs to the 
 room of death. She died without a sigh, and in a state 
 of unconsciousness. She had suffered from a malignant 
 form of typhus fever, and the surgeons said that im- 
 mediate interment was absolutely necessary. 
 
 Next day she was buried; the coffin was covered 
 with a white sheet ; the orderlies of her ward carried 
 her body up the steep path, which led from the hospital 
 to the grave-yard. All the convalescents wished to follow, 
 but the cold was thought too keen for them. Ladies, 
 nurses, and officers followed the coffin, and we laid her 
 on the green hill- side, far away from the old churchyards 
 of England ; but we felt the ground was in some sense 
 sacred, from the noble and brave who rested there. 
 
 The sudden chill which comes at sunset in the east 
 fell on us as we stood around her grave ; the sun was 
 sinking below the horizon, and lighting up distant Con- 
 stantinople, the blue Bosphorus, and the dark hills 
 around, with its last glow. On one side lay in shade 
 the Turkish Cemetery, the sad token that we were in 
 a strange land. 
 
 It was with a lonely feeling we laid her there, far 
 away from friends and home ; yet we knew God and His 
 angels were as near, perhaps even nearer, to the exiles. 
 
THE GRAVE IN A STRANGE LAND. 87 
 
 Slie was not forgotten in Koulali. Deep was the regret 
 expressed by the patients in the fever wards at the 
 sudden death of their kind attendant. Many tears were 
 shed for her ; they spoke of her with real affection, and 
 treasured up every instance of her kindness and self- 
 denial. We immediately placed a small wooden cross 
 at the head of her grave, and one of the soldiers carved 
 her initials on it. We put it there to mark the spot, 
 till we could learn the wishes of her relatives on the 
 point. At their desire her grave was afterwards covered 
 with a stone monument, bearing simply the inscription 
 of her name and date of her death. No word of praise 
 follows, and thus it is ever meet the Christian should 
 rest — he needs it not ; for her the world's applause has 
 passed away, as shadows fleet before the sun. But we 
 leave her in the humble hope that she will one day hear 
 the words, " Inasmuch as ye did it unto the least of 
 these, ye did it unto Me."* 
 
 * We have lately heard that both at Koulali and Scutari the 
 monuments placed over our dead show signs of wanton destruc- 
 tion on the part of the Turkish soldiery. This might be expected 
 from men who have no feeling of reverence for the remains of 
 any Christian, but is it not the duty of our Grovernment to see to 
 this ? Is it not worth the paltry expense that would thereby 
 be incurred ? Some one should be appointed to take care of the 
 grounds, and if he were not able himself to prevent ruthless con- 
 duct on the part of the soldiery, he could bring the matter before 
 the authorities, so that repairs might be effected at the expense 
 of that government whose subjects committed the destruction. 
 When the British in any way damaged a Turkish building oc- 
 cupied by them, it was repaired at the expense of the former; 
 and it will only be by requiring the Turkish authorities to pay 
 the expense of repairing the injury done by their own men 
 to the monuments in the English cemeteries, that their interest 
 will be enlisted in keeping the place sacred and in proper order. 
 And will England be content till this is done ? Shall wa be so ready 
 
88 MISS STANLEY LEAVES FOR ENGLAND. 
 
 Two days after the funeral, Miss Stanley left for 
 England. She had already, at Lady Stratford's earnest 
 request, delayed her departure for several weeks. Her 
 departure was deeply regretted by all, especially the 
 ladies and Sisters under her superintendence, who were 
 now deprived of her gentle and impartial government ; 
 by the medical officers, whom she had promptly obeyed 
 and cordially assisted ; and by the patients who regarded 
 her (as they did us all) with affectionate respect. The 
 day preceding her departure. Lord William Paulet's 
 aide-de-camp visited us, to express his lordship's sense 
 of the valuable services rendered by her to the hos- 
 pital in his command. 
 
 The day she left us was very stormy, so that she had 
 great difficulty in reaching the steamer lying in the Gol- 
 den Horn. All the patients in the convalescent hospital, 
 able to walk, came down to the quay to cheer her off 
 as she left ; the medical and other officers were assembled 
 to bid her good-bye, and with many a heartfelt good 
 wish and fervent blessing she was speeded on her way. 
 
 When she was gone, our next step was to prepare for 
 the new party of ladies and nurses. Before Miss Stan- 
 ley left we had decided on the necessity of finding new 
 quarters, for two reasons ; first, owing to the increased 
 staff of medical and other officers, there was not suf- 
 
 to feast those who have returned to our shores, and to decorate 
 them with the tokens of our gratitude, and yet quite forget the 
 many thousand brave men who rendered up their lives in a 
 foreign land P We need not fear for those who He in Russian 
 ground : our foes were Christians ; and wherever the memorial 
 cross is seen, the graves are known and honoured ; but for the 
 sake of the thousands of bereaved hearts, whose treasure rests 
 mouldering at Scutari and Koulali, we appeal ! England could 
 not succour them in life, let her at least protect their graves ! 
 
CHANGE OF QUARTERS. 89 
 
 ficient room in the hospital for their accommodation, 
 without the rooms we occupied ; secondly, our health 
 had suffered so severely from living and sleeping in the 
 hospital in which we were all day at work, that we felt 
 to have quarters outside would be far more desirable. 
 
 The first house beyond the E-iding School was ex- 
 amined, and found to answer the purpose very well, 
 but the Turk who owned it objected to letting it even 
 at an enormous rent. It was necessary to apply through 
 our embassy to the Sultan. Had we been French, we 
 should have gained possession in a few days, but British 
 negociations in the East are carried on with dignified 
 slowness ; so during the week that followed Miss Stan- 
 ley's departure, we were kept in daily expectation of get- 
 ting possession of the house, but were daily disappointed. 
 
 Two days after our superintendent left, one of the two 
 remaining paid nurses sickened with fever ; her com- 
 panion was required to nurse her, so that the whole 
 nursing work of both hospitals fell upon one lady and 
 the ten sisters, one of whom was still dangerously ill. 
 This lady can never forget the intense anxiety of that 
 week, short as the time was. Every day precious lives 
 hung in the balance ; never can she forget the in- 
 defatigable manner in which the Sisters of Mercy carried 
 on the work of the hospital. Already tasked beyond 
 their strength, they willingly and cheerfully took the 
 additional work which the departure, illness, and death 
 among the nursing stafi" had thrown on their hands ; and 
 so admirable was their method, so unremitting their 
 skill, that no patient in the hospital (it may be con- 
 fidently said) suffered from the diminution of numbers. 
 
 As now the arrival of the new party might be daily 
 expected, and there was still no intimation from the 
 embassy that we might have the house, matters looked 
 
90 CROWDED QUARTERS. 
 
 serious. We had especially shrunk from bringing those 
 fresh from sea air into rooms impregnated with fever. 
 In one the nurse was lying ill, in another Miss Smythe 
 had died. There appeared no choice. However, 
 Dr. Humphrey, P. M. O., gave us the temporary use of 
 a room at the end of the new and unoccupied stable 
 ward, situated at the extreme end of the hospital ; this 
 we made a dormitory for some of the paid nurses under 
 charge of a lady, the rest we prepared accommodation 
 for in our three rooms, the fourth having our invalid 
 and her nurse. 
 
 At the end of the week, a large number of invalids 
 went to England, which somewhat thinned the wards. 
 It always caused a great increase to our work when the 
 invalids went, as we had to give them articles of clothing 
 from our free-gift store. Sometimes we had not enough 
 to give. There was a great want of brushes and combs 
 among the men. Soldiers are generally supposed to 
 carry them in their knapsacks ; but almost all the sick 
 who passed through our hands in the winter and spring 
 had lost their knapsacks either in the camp or on the 
 passage down ; they were therefore quite destitute. 
 We applied to Mr. Stow, the " Times" Commissioner, 
 for brushes and combs, and many other articles we 
 required for the men. He sent them immediately. 
 
 Previous to this date, Mr. Stow had visited the Hos- 
 pital ; he informed us, that he had taken Mr. Mac- 
 donald^s place, and was ready to give us any help we 
 required from the " Times " Fund. We gladly availed 
 ourselves of the offer, and we can thankfully bear wit- 
 ness to numberless comforts and necessaries supplied 
 by the '^ Times'' Fund to the sick. Mr. Stow was a 
 gentleman admirably suited for his post. He visited 
 
A DANGEROUS PERSON. 91 
 
 the hospital constantly and thoroughly, gaining a com- 
 plete insight into its working. 
 
 There were other visitors to the hospital, who paid 
 their visits once a fortnight or so, attended by a long 
 train of authorities ; and though doubtless they were 
 meant for good, yet it was impossible for them to gain a 
 knowledge of the real wants of the hospital or the sick 
 equal to that gained by Mr. Stow. Great was my 
 astonishment upon being told one day by a distinguished 
 lady, that the " Times'^ Commissioner was a " dangerous 
 person." I made no answer to the remark. 
 
 Living as we then were, amid scenes of sickness and 
 death, tending the wasted forms of those whom want 
 and neglect had brought to this dire extremity — seeing, 
 as we hourly did, the flower of the British army cut 
 down in the prime of their youth and strength — finding 
 those cherished in the heart of their country lacking 
 daily the common comforts provided for the sick in En- 
 glish hospitals — my heart was too sad and weary to 
 enter into any controversy about the authorities and the 
 "Times" Commissioner. I only knew this — one let 
 the men die for want of things — the other provided 
 them ; the one talked, and the other acted. I could not 
 help thinking how little it signified to us where the 
 things came from, so that we had them for the sick. 
 Therefore, I went straight to the " dangerous person," 
 who was pacing up and down the barrack-yard, caring 
 very little what people thought of him, and laid a list 
 of our present wants before him. 
 
 " These things are promised," I said, " but we shall 
 have to wait very long for them, even if we do get them 
 at all." Mr. Stow wrote them down in his note-book ; 
 ere twenty-four hours had elapsed, they were in our 
 
92 DEATH OF MR. STOW. 
 
 possession. This energy was one of Mr. Stow's cha- 
 racteristics. A thing once mentioned to him, he never 
 forgot, and never rested till it was done. He was par- 
 ticularly anxious on the subject of washing ; it was a 
 great evil, but at that time there was no remedy. Mr. 
 Stow asked, if we thought washing machines from Eng- 
 land would be useful ; but we told him there was no 
 place to put them in, and besides that the plan would 
 require much superintendence, for which we had no 
 time to spare — we had not even time to search into the 
 full extent of the abuse itself. However, his attention 
 having been once drawn to it, he never lost sight of it. 
 As time went on, we used to laugh among ourselves, 
 and say, " Here comes Mr. Stow, and now we shall 
 have something about the washing." If Mr. Stow had 
 lived to return to Constantinople, he would have found 
 Koulali much improved in that as well as in all other 
 respects. 
 
 The last visit Mr. Stow paid us was when the fruit 
 was just coming into season, strawberries especially. 
 We told him how the men longed for them, and he 
 gave us leave to buy as many as we wanted. The new 
 Purvey or-in-Chief being then in office, Mr. Stow seemed 
 to feel his services were no longer wanted to the same 
 extent. He said he knew Mr. Robertson would see 
 that every requisite was furnished, and that matters 
 would soon be on a different footing. He went to the 
 camp ; and among the many who regretted the untimely 
 death of one so talented, were those at Koulali, who will 
 ever remember his untiring exertions in his country's 
 cause, his extreme courtesy, and the kind and friendly 
 manner with which he cheered on the sinking hearts 
 that had struggled through that time of misfortune. 
 
93 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 " Day after day and week by week past by, 
 In one unvarying round." 
 
 April tbe 8tli was Easter Sunday, but it, like joyous 
 Christmas, fell strangely on us. On that day I sent 
 Papafee, our interpreter^ to Constantinople to be on 
 the spot when the steamer was telegraphed by which 
 we expected our staff of ladies and nurses, that he might 
 go on board and bring two of the former to Koulali at 
 once, in order that I might have an hour or two's warn- 
 ing to complete our preparations for the large party. 
 
 The morning of April the 9th passed away without 
 Papafee's return, and I concluded the steamer had not 
 come in ; but at noon we were startled with the news 
 that the admiral's small steamer, with " nurses on board,'^ 
 was alongside. I ran down to the beach, and welcomed 
 the party to their strange home and untried work. My 
 first inquiry was why Papafee had not attended to my 
 directions, and brought me timely news. He, with 
 violent gesticulations, excused himself, declaring he was 
 the first who boarded the " Osiris ;" but shortly after he 
 had done so, there came a messenger from the embassy, 
 desiring the lady in whose charge the party had travelled 
 to proceed to Lady Stratford's immediately. This she 
 did, and stayed there to breakfast, and thus the delay 
 
 k 
 
94 NEW ARRIVALS. 
 
 had arisen ; and in the mean time, those on board the 
 Osiris were kept without breakfast until they landed, at 
 2 P.M., at Koulalij as nothing can be procured in a 
 French steamer after she has cast anchor. 
 
 The party had brought bedsteads and bedding with 
 them from Marseilles, and this, with the number of 
 boxes necessary for so large a party, was an inconvenient 
 addition to our already overcrowded rooms. The cor- 
 ridor was nearly full of presses, boxes, and large cases 
 of books, which could not be placed in the chaplain's 
 quarters opposite. At this time there was no library, 
 and the books were all carried to the chaplains, from 
 whom we received them for distribution. The new 
 party were twenty-five in number when they left 
 England; five were left at Scutari, so that twenty joined 
 our staff; they consisted of six ladies, and fourteen 
 hired nurses. 
 
 Before, however, they could enter upon their work, 
 it was necessary a Lady Superintendent, in the room of 
 Miss Stanley, should be appointed. Up to this time the 
 nurses in Koulali hospitals were nominally under Miss 
 Nightingale's charge, but only nominally, for she had 
 never visited Koulali, and of course the charge of the 
 large hospitals at Scutari was more than sufficient for 
 one person. She now resigned this nominal charge, 
 and we were informed of the fact by a letter to that 
 effect from Mr. Bracebridge, and afterwards by a verbal 
 communication from Lord William Paulet, who said, 
 that now the appointment of Superintendent of Nurses 
 would rest with him, and that she would be responsible 
 only to him, except in the details of hospital work, 
 regarding which she was under the orders of the prin- 
 cipal medical officer- 
 
RULES FOR HOSPITAL WORK. 95 
 
 Three days afterwards. Miss Hutton, one of the ladies 
 of the new party, was nominated as Lady Superin- 
 tendent, by Lord William Paulet. 
 
 Before the newly arrived nurses commenced their 
 work. Miss Hutton laid before Dr. Humphrey, the prin- 
 cipal medical officer, the rules for our work in the hos- 
 pital, which had been drawn up by Miss Stanley previous 
 to her departure. They were the following : — 
 
 1. The nurses in charge of the wards should take care 
 that the orders of the medical officers concerning venti- 
 lation are carried out, that everything should be clean 
 and in order, and they should see to the cleanliness of 
 the patients' beds. 
 
 2. They should see that the diet and medicine ordered 
 by the medical officers be given at the appointed times, 
 and that all their directions be strictly attended to. 
 
 3. The nurses will be in the wards when the surgeons 
 pay their morning visits, in order to receive any direc- 
 tions they may give. They will be ready to wash or 
 dress wounds, change poultices, apply fomentations, &c. 
 as may be required. 
 
 4. The strictest attention is to be paid to the orders 
 of the medical officers ; nothing is to be given to the 
 patients without their permission. 
 
 5. To each ward will be appointed a lady, a Sister of 
 Mercy, and a nurse. The lady and nurse will enter 
 and leave the wards together. They will visit the wards 
 morning, afternoon, and evening, as they are wanted. 
 
 6. One lady will undertake the charge of the store- 
 room, giving out whatever may be needed to the ladies, 
 sisters, and nurses for their wards. The same lady will 
 also superintend the giving out of the extra diets for 
 the patients. 
 
96 THE HOME ON THE BOSPHORUS. 
 
 7. Books shall not be given or lent to tlie patients by- 
 ladies or nurses, unless received for that purpose from 
 the chaplain of the communion to which the patient 
 belongs. 
 
 The superintendent then assigned to each person her 
 work, divided the wards between ladies and nuns, and 
 thereby released the overworked sisters from the double 
 charge they had had for some weeks. This week the 
 only lady left of Miss Stanley's band sickened, appa- 
 rently with fever, and the superintendent had her 
 instantly removed to the new house (which had been at 
 last obtained), but only one room of which was ready 
 for occupancy. She very much benefited by this 
 removal to a room where she could be quiet and alone. 
 The relief could only be imagined by those who had 
 passed many months, day and night, as we had, living 
 in large numbers in one room, in sickness and in health. 
 The change of air and other causes, by God's blessing, 
 gave the illness a favourable turn, and she resumed her 
 work in a fortnight. 
 
 Ere this the necessary repairs were completed, and 
 the whole body of ladies and nurses (with the exception 
 of the sick nurse, who had had a relapse, and could not 
 be removed) left their two rooms in the hospital, and 
 took possession of the house. It was a very pretty and 
 convenient one. We called it the " Home on the Bospho- 
 rus ;" but as this was rather too long a title, it always 
 went by the name of the " Home." Some apartments 
 in the right wing were occupied by Dr. and Mrs. Tice ; 
 two small rooms were allotted, by Lady Stratford's 
 express desire, to the senior chaplain of the Church of 
 England. The apartments occupied by Dr. Tice and 
 
PLAGUE OF EATS. 97 
 
 the chaplain adjoined our dining-room, all of which 
 were entirely separated from the rest of the house.* 
 
 The house was built in the usual Turkish fashion 
 — halls, or wide corridors, on every floor, with rooms 
 opening out of them ; the kitchen, separate from the 
 house, adjoined the bath-house. This was out of repair, 
 and it would have taken too much time and expense to 
 have put it to-rights. The front rooms quite overhung 
 the Bosphorus. We could see the water through the 
 chinks of the floor in the front part of the room. In 
 violent storms, which occurred more than once during 
 our stay in the East, when the quiet Bosphorus lashed 
 itself into fury, and when no caique would venture out, 
 our rooms rocked as if they were cabins on board ship. 
 The new party were at first alarmed, and expected to 
 be swept into the Bosphorus ; but those who knew the 
 climate comforted them with the assurance that it was 
 mild at Koulali, compared with the winter storms at 
 Therapia. Another earthquake occurred about this 
 time, but it was not so alarming as the first. 
 
 From the first, our house shared the fate of other 
 Turkish houses — it was overrun with rats. They gal- 
 loped about the ceiling with a sound like a squadron of 
 horse. When we opened the cupboards, we saw them 
 running into their holes. The devastation they made 
 in the store-room was terrible ; every morning beheld 
 the lady who acted as housekeeper mourning over her 
 losses, and with no prospect of redress. At night they 
 walked about our bedrooms, jumped upon our pillows, 
 
 * All Turkish houses are thus divided into two parts, each 
 •with a separate entrance, the lesser part generally being for the 
 men, the harem (which we occupied) being for the Turkish 
 women. 
 
 H 
 
98 ROUTINE OF HOSPITAL DUTIES. 
 
 and quite broke tlie stillness of night. They would 
 jump from step to step, sounding on the stair like a 
 heavy man's footstep ; they appeared to hammer and 
 drive in nails, saw and hack, till we could hardly 
 believe they were only rats. Often did we rise, thinking 
 there must be human beings moving about, but found 
 it was only our usual visitors. One night a lady left a 
 biscuit in the pocket of her dress ; in the morning the 
 dress was eaten through, and the biscuit gone. At 
 length we heard that rat-traps were in the stores. We 
 eagerly asked for some. The first night they were 
 used, three rats were caught in one room ; and from this 
 time the store-room was better guarded, as we put the 
 trap on the hole, and every night a rat came and was 
 killed. But nothing could entirely subdue the num- 
 bers. There is not a Turkish house which is not 
 overrun with them. Those we caught were like English 
 rats. 
 
 We will now give an account of the routine of our 
 life. When May opened, the sickness and death had 
 considerably abated, and our system had become more 
 organised, and our hours regular. It should here be 
 mentioned that on April the 21st, three ladies and 
 seven nurses from England joined us. Our numbers 
 were therefore twenty-three nurses (including the sick 
 one), ten ladies, and ten Sisters of Mercy. The Sisters, 
 as already mentioned, lived in rooms at the General 
 Hospital. 
 
 At the ladies' home we assembled at eight o'clock for 
 prayers, read by our superintendent; then followed 
 breakfast. At nine, when the bell for work rang, we all 
 assembled ; each lady called the nurse under her charge 
 to accompany her to her ward, or kitchen, or linen 
 
' 99 
 
 stores (we never allowed the nurses to go out alone, 
 unless under special circumstances) ; and in five minutes, 
 all the different groups were on their way to the hospital. 
 At two all the ladies and nurses returned home, unless 
 there were patients who could not safely be left altogether 
 to the orderlies' charge ; and then the lady, or sister, 
 in whose ward the case was, either stayed herself, or 
 appointed a nurse whom she could trust ; but, generally 
 speaking, we thought it better on all accounts to be 
 absent from the wards for an hour or two during the 
 day. 
 
 At half-past two we dined, the ladies in one room, the 
 nurses in another, with a lady at the head of their table. 
 One of the ladies each week, in rotation, agreed to 
 superintend the meals of the nurses, and sit at the head 
 of the table. At half-past four the bell summoned us 
 to return to the hospital. Some went sooner than this to 
 the kitchen and the linen store. At seven we returned 
 to tea ; then one lady — we took it in turns — went out 
 with the nurses for a walk ; now and then, for a treat, 
 in caiques, to the sweet waters, or Bebek. At nine, 
 the chaplain of the Church of England came and read 
 part of the Evening Service, Thus ended the work of 
 the day, and after supper we soon retired to our rooms. 
 Of course, such events as the arrival of sick, or extreme 
 sickness in the hospital, would sometimes break the 
 routine. So passed our lives for weeks and months. 
 
 We found our walks to and from the hospital rather 
 inconvenient in the wet weather, and also in the extreme 
 heat ; for the road to the hospital was on the banks of the 
 Bosphorus, and exposed to the burning sun. Umbrellas 
 were at a premium, for those bought in Pera were 
 made so slightly that they were continually breaking, 
 
 i 
 
100 * A TURKISH CEREMONY. 
 
 and then we had to wait till some one went to huy 
 some more. Those who possessed English umbrellas 
 treasured them with great care, but we had great 
 reason to be thankful for the good health that we all 
 enjoyed. We had only one case of serious illness 
 among either ladies or nurses. Exposed as we were 
 to contagious diseases, we greatly attribute this freedom 
 from sickness, under God's blessing, to our living out- 
 side the hospital walls, and also to the frequent exercise 
 we took. It was often very fatiguing, after a long day 
 in the wards, to escort the long train of nurses for an 
 evening walk. They were rather exigeant in their 
 wishes as to where they should go. Some wished to 
 climb the hills to catch the breeze, while others declared 
 they could only walk along the shore, while the oldest 
 of the party (and rather a character amongst us) had 
 yearnings after a krogue, as she termed a caique. 
 
 A favourite walk with all was, however, to a neigh- 
 bouring village called *^ Greek town." It amused the 
 nurses extremely to see the manners and customs of the 
 inhabitants. On one occasion we found the Greeks all 
 keeping festival; it was one of their numerous f6te 
 days ; and apparently the day's celebration had some- 
 thing to do with a well, the water of which possessed 
 some medicinal qualities. 
 
 One day, shortly after we had got into regular work, 
 our interpreter came running in and said, " Make haste, 
 and you will see a sight which no English ladies have 
 ever seen before !" Those of our party who happened 
 to be at home followed him, and he took us into the 
 next house, a few yards from our own. In the court- 
 yard we found a large assemblage of Greeks and Turks, 
 who all smiled, and seemed very much pleased at our 
 
THE FIRST DAY AT SCHOOL. 101 
 
 appearance^ and conducted iis into the house, and into 
 a large room on the ground floor. 
 
 What a picture it was ! On the cushioned divan, 
 which, as is usual in all Turkish houses, ran along one 
 side of the room, sat three venerable-looking Imaums, 
 in flowing robes, long beards, white turbans, and with 
 chibouques. On their right and left, upon the divan, 
 were seated a dozen boys, of ages varying from six to 
 twelve, whose dress marked them of high rank. In a 
 conspicuous position among these was a tiny boy, about 
 four years old. He wore a little coat of crimson vel- 
 vet, embroidered in gold ; trousers and vest to match ; 
 a leather band, richly worked, round his waist, from 
 which hung a tiny sword. On his head a velvet fez, 
 beautifully embroidered, with a heavy gold tassel, com- 
 pleted his attire. 
 
 On a small desk before the Imaums were several large 
 books in the Turkish language. One was lying open. 
 Below the divan were rows of little Turks, all dressed 
 alike in the coat and trousers and crimson cloth fez. 
 They sat in rows on the floor, like an English infant- 
 school, and their little red caps made them look at a 
 distance like a bed of poppies. Truth to say, they 
 behaved a great deal better than the same number of 
 little Britons would have done. Our entrance attracted 
 their attention ; only for an instant they gave us a 
 look, and then settled themselves again. And now an 
 Imaum called up one boy after another to read a sen 
 tence out of the great book. When he had finished 
 his sentence, all the school cried out, "Amen." At 
 length the little boy, whose dress we have described, 
 descended from his seat, and stood at the Imaum's feet ; 
 then slowly repeated each word after the Imaums. 
 
103 HAREEM HOSPITALITY. 
 
 When he finished a sentence, a very loud '^ Amen !" 
 followed, and a buzz and a smile on every one's face 
 succeeded, as if some feat had been accomplished. The 
 child returned to his place, and the other boys went up 
 in rotation for their lesson. 
 
 Now we were beckoned out of the room. Outside 
 we found two pretty Greek girls, who, by smiles and 
 signs, invited us upstairs to the hareem. We accepted 
 the invitation, and soon arrived at the upper corridor of 
 the house, from which numerous rooms opened. Here 
 we were received by a number of Turkish ladies, chil- 
 dren, and slaves, one or two other Greeks, as well as 
 our conductress. Here we for the first time saw the 
 Turkish women without their feridgees or yashmacs. 
 
 There was no furniture of any kind in the rooms but 
 divans ; the floors were matted, and everything looked 
 beautifully clean. We were seated on the divan, and 
 the ladies looked well at us, and inspected the textures 
 of our dresses. They treated us with the greatest cour- 
 tesy, and seemed delighted at the visit. Soon they 
 brought us pipes, and began to smoke themselves, and 
 evidently watched to see what we should do. We ac- 
 cordingly made an effort at smoking, but thought it 
 unnecessary to do more than smoke for a minute or two 
 for politeness' sake ; and when we laid down the pipes, 
 a general burst of laughter showed their amusement. 
 Then came coifee, in tiny silver cups, and after this we 
 rose to take our leave. But no, we could not go. A 
 small table and chairs were now brought in, and some 
 Turkish sweetmeats and pastry oflfered, which we were 
 obliged to taste, otherwise it would have been consi- 
 dered an affront. 
 
 After this we again prepared to take our leave. A 
 
DAXCING GIRLS. 103 
 
 great deal of talking went on between the Turkish and 
 Greek women. The result was, that when we reached 
 the courtyard, where our interpreter waited for us, the 
 Greek girls told him that the Turkish ladies hoped we 
 would honour them again that evening, and bring all 
 the others with us. We said we were too large a party, 
 but this made them miserable — so the superintendent 
 consented. 
 
 At seven in the evening, they sent in to know if we 
 were not coming. A large number of the nurses were 
 disengaged from work, and they went in. We were 
 received with great delight ; chairs were placed in the 
 corridors, and our Turkish friends seemed hardly to 
 know how to make enough of us. There were a large 
 number of Turkish women present, and many Greeks. 
 There were several of the former strikingly beautiful, 
 but a great number of the others had a sickly look, evi- 
 dently their beauty soon faded. Now they brought 
 two large brass candlesticks, six feet high, with candles 
 to match, and placed them in the centre of the room. 
 We sat near the wall on our chairs — the Turkish ladies 
 in groups on the floor. 
 
 Opposite the lights were three slaves with tambou- 
 rines, who now began a hideous kind "of music ; the 
 dancing-girls entered, and began to dance round the 
 candlesticks very gracefully ; but after a short time it 
 grew very monotonous to us, although the interest the 
 Turkish women took seemed not to flag for a minute. 
 When this was ended, they had some game among them- 
 selves, in which a key formed a principal part. We 
 could not make out what it was, further than that it was 
 some joke about the key of the hareem. 
 
 At the conclusion of this game, some of the ladies 
 
104 HAREEM FASHIONS. 
 
 approaclied us, and made signs that they knew we were 
 doctors, that they were very ill, and wanted advice — 
 they believed all the English were doctors. Of course 
 we made the most of our medical knowledge ; sent for 
 our little medicine chest, and prescribed some simple 
 medicines, which could do no harm, and which, with 
 so much faith, might prove as efficacious as Parr's Life 
 Pills, or other wonders in England. After this cere- 
 mony we took our departure. 
 
 This festival was on the occasion of the son and heir 
 of the house going to school for the first time ; the 
 father of the child being dead, the little boy was a per- 
 son of great importance. We should mention, that he 
 was brought into the hareem, and made a great pet of, 
 and much admired. He was a pretty, intelligent-look- 
 ing little fellow. The dress of many of the ladies was 
 very handsome ; silk, or gauze, with a great deal of 
 embroidery, and many jewels : the hair also much 
 dressed, with gauze, artificial flowers, &c. Gloves evi- 
 dently were considered the height of fashion among the 
 ladies. They were only worn by ladies of high rank, 
 who considered them a great ornament, and always 
 liked them of bright colours. 
 
105 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 ** I die not on tlie battle field. 
 But for England still I die ; 
 My life I for my country give. 
 My soul to God on high." 
 
 "VYe will now lead our readers through the wards, 
 and endeavour to describe their arrangement, and the 
 order of the work. Ward No. 1 was called the " De- 
 tachment Ward/' it having been occupied by the body 
 of men stationed at the hospital as a guard. No. 2 was 
 empty, the surgical patients having been removed there- 
 from till the horses could be dislodged from the stables 
 beneath, which had rendered the ward very unhealthy. 
 No. 3 was the fever ward ; both upper and lower cor- 
 ridors had been filled with British sick for some time, 
 the Russian prisoners (with the exception of two bad 
 cases left in the surgical ward) having been removed 
 towards the end of March to the arsenal at Constanti- 
 nople. 
 
 No. 3 lower ward was under charge of a lady and 
 nurse ; No. 3 upper under charge of a Sister and nurse. 
 The floor in the centre of No. 3 lower ward was brick, 
 a large stove stood in the middle, and one table, which 
 was, of course, not sufficient for the wants of the long 
 
106 THE JARRING QUESTION. 
 
 room. On each, side of the ward, under the gallery, a 
 wooden boarding was laid; on this were placed the 
 tressel bedsteads. The heads of these beds were open 
 bars of wood-work, on the top of which was a narrow 
 ledge, which held the medicine bottles, drinking cup, 
 and dish used by the patients (these two latter articles 
 at least ought to have been there, but there was a sad 
 deficiency of them in the hospital). Over the bed was 
 nailed a printed card, the blank spaces of which were 
 filled up in manuscript by the ward-master, with the 
 name, regiment, date of admission, age, disease, and re- 
 ligion of the patient — the last was inserted respectively. 
 Church of England, Roman Catholic, Presbyterian. 
 The benefit of the regulation requiring the patient's 
 religion to be stated on his card, was much felt in the 
 hospital by the chaplains, ladies, and sisters, as they, by 
 this means, readily found out those belonging to their 
 own faith without questioning them. 
 
 The card over their bed did not originally bear this 
 record of their faith, but the regulation was early en- 
 forced, on account of the mistakes, and almost absurdi- 
 ties, which the want of it sometimes caused. There 
 were few things so painful to us as that of constantly 
 being obliged to ask this question before we could lend 
 a book or speak a word of religious consolation to our 
 patients, and it did them no good— sometimes causing a 
 smile, and sometimes a look of annoyance on their 
 faces. 
 
 " I'm sick to death of that question," said a poor fel- 
 low, very wearily, one day to a lady ; he did not the 
 least intend it as rudeness, but the sergeant of the ward 
 unfortunately thought that it was so, and, after she 
 had left, reported to the medical officer that the patient 
 
DETAILS OF HOSPITAL WORK. 107 
 
 had spoken rudely to one of the ladies. The physician 
 was much displeased of course^ and immediately, as a 
 punishment, knocked oiF his " extras," i. e. reduced him 
 to his original diet of bread and tea. The next day, in 
 going my rounds, the poor man called me to his bedside, 
 and burst into tears, asking me if I could tell him where 
 
 Miss lived, as he wanted her to come and speak 
 
 to him. I replied that she lived in the same room as 
 myself, and I would tell her to come ; when she did so, 
 he again burst into tears, and humbly apologised for his 
 unintentional rudeness, saying, " It's not the extras I 
 care for, ma'am, but having been thought to speak 
 rudely to one of you kind ladies." She quite reassured 
 him that the sergeant had been entirely mistaken, and 
 that she never for a moment thought such a thing. 
 
 At one end of the ward was a long dresser, on which 
 plates and tins, knives and forks, were kept ; this dresser 
 possessed cupboards in the lockers, two of which were 
 assigned for the ladies' or sisters' use, to keep linen or 
 wine, and other articles, likely to be needed in a hurry. 
 The daily routine of the work was for the sister or lady 
 to go round their wards with the surgeon, and receive 
 directions, then give out the wine, which came in a 
 large pail. Port wine was much used, one or two gills 
 being given as directed; the other extras were then 
 distributed. The regular dinner hour was half-past 
 twelve, breakfast at seven, tea at four ; but of course 
 serious cases had to be attended to at all times, and food 
 given to them constantly in small quantities. 
 
 The work was laborious no doubt, but now the agony 
 of distress had passed away. Spring had come at last, 
 and the woe of that terrible winter was already becoming 
 like a dream. The party of ladies and nurses who 
 
108 GRATITUDE OF THE PATIENTS. 
 
 arrived on April 9th saw scarcely anything of that sad 
 distress, at least at Koulali. I am not aware whether 
 the change at Scutari took place at the same time, 
 though my impression is that it did ; certainly with us, 
 at Easter, the tide of death and disease suddenly turned, 
 after we sent home invalids in Holy week. We were 
 never again overcrowded; mortality began visibly to 
 decrease. 
 
 The unremitting exertions of the medical officer to 
 conquer the diseases by skilful treatment, better food, 
 and constant nursing, were blessed ; and those who had 
 passed through those dreary months felt as if they in- 
 deed heard the words, "It is enough, stay now thy 
 hand." No one can imagine, but they who experienced 
 it, the oppressive, hopeless feeling the sight of that 
 great mortality had left ; I suppose similar to that felt 
 by those who have been spectators of the destruction 
 wrought by the plague in foreign countries, and the 
 cholera in our own. 
 
 And now this emergency passed away, and our life 
 had become a regular routine of work and rest (except 
 on occasions of extraordinary pressure), following each 
 other in order ; but whether in the strain of over-work, 
 or the steady fulfilment of our arduous duty, there was 
 one bright ray ever shed over it — one thing that made 
 labour light and sweet, and this was, the respect, aifec- 
 tion, and gratitude of the men. No words can express 
 it fully, for it was unbounded ; and as long as we stayed 
 among them, it never changed. Familiar as our pre- 
 sence became to them, though we were in and out of 
 the wards day and night, they never forgot the respect 
 due to our sex and position. Standing by those in 
 bitter agony, at a time when the force of old habits is 
 
A GRATEFUL HEART. 109 
 
 great, or by those in the glow of returning health, or 
 walking up the wards among orderlies and sergeants, 
 never did a word which could offend a woman's ear fall 
 upon ours. Even in the barrack-yard, passing by the 
 guard-room or entrances, where stood groups of soldiers 
 smoking and idling, the moment we approached all 
 coarseness, if it existed, was hushed ; and this lasted, 
 not a week or a month, but the whole of my twelve- 
 month's residence ; and this experience is also that of 
 all my companions. 
 
 With some brilliant exceptions, the manner in which 
 the war has been conducted is a source of humiliation 
 to England ; but yet she has something left to boast of 
 in her noble sons — brave before their enemies, patient 
 in all their sufferings, gentle to their countrywomen — 
 yes, many a time have our hearts bounded with joyful 
 pride in our countrymen. Many instances of their 
 nobility of character might be given ; we select some of 
 these as we pass through each ward. 
 
 In No. 3 lower was M ; he was the only one 
 
 seriously ill in the ward ; a lady sat up one night on his 
 account only ; this he knew, and he was quite distressed 
 about it, and did nothing but cry, for he was very weak. 
 
 " Really, M ," said she, " it is useless for me to sit 
 
 up if you are going to make yourself ill about it in this 
 foolish way. I am quite strong enough to sit up till 
 the morning, when I shall go to bed ; but it is mere 
 waste of time to come, if you are going to cry in this 
 way all night." " I can't abeer it," said he, " to see 
 you running about and tiring yourself for me." At 
 length she succeeded in quieting him ; and when the 
 morning came, finding him better, she left him. Shortly 
 after, the lady of the ward came in to her daily work. 
 
110 THE LITTLE DRUMMER BOY. 
 
 when lie eagerly enquired after his night nurse ; and 
 though he was assured that she was none the worse for 
 her exertions, yet his tears began to flow at the remem- 
 brance of what she had done for him. He was an 
 orphan, and on his return to England had no home but 
 the workhouse ; his constitution being shattered, we 
 fear, for ever. Perhaps it was his lonely lot in this 
 world that made him cling to us, and seem so asto- 
 nished at any one caring for his comfort. It was the 
 look of surprise on his face, when he first came down 
 from the Crimea, at the least little act of kindness, that 
 affected one more than anything ; he had evidently not 
 been much accustomed to receive it through life, but he 
 always said, with a smile on his face, that it was '^ all 
 right — God knew best." 
 
 In this ward was Walter, a little drummer boy about 
 twelve ; he was a pretty child, with a remarkably clear 
 sweet voice, and had been admitted into the singing 
 class ; he was very much spoiled by the soldiers, and 
 had grown saucy and conceited. He caught fever, and 
 came into No, 3 lower. When he was getting better, 
 he said to the lady, 
 
 " I have been a very naughty boy before I was ill, 
 but I mean to change now. I promised father, when I 
 came away, that I would read the Bible every day, and 
 say my prayers, and I have kept my promise in a sort 
 of way, for I always did it ; but then I chose out the 
 very shortest chapters, and said my prayers as fast as I 
 could, just to get over it somehow ; but I sha'n't do that 
 again, if I get well." 
 
 Afterwards he used to bring the lady beautiful 
 flowers, as a childish mark of afiection and gratitude for 
 having nursed him. 
 
THE OLD AGE OF SICKNESS. Ill 
 
 Another patient in this ward had a broken jawbone, 
 which had been struck by a heavy blow at the taking 
 of the Redan ; and, consequently, though he recovered 
 his health, he could not eat the usual hospital diet, and 
 was dieted entirely from the ladies* kitchen with rice 
 pudding, beef tea, arrowroot, &c. He was very anxious 
 to be sent to England, but one day he said to the lady 
 of his ward, in a melancholy tone, 
 
 "•I shall never get sent home if you are so kind 
 to me, and feed me up like this, for my arms has 
 grown so fat ; and when the chief doctors come their 
 rounds to examine the men for England, they takes 
 holds of them and feels them, and then they don't think 
 I'm bad enough to be ^invalided home."' 
 
 " Well," said the lady, laughing, " I suppose I had 
 better leave oiF taking care of you !" 
 
 He did not seem at all certain whether it would not 
 be better to starve a little, for the sake of getting to 
 England. However, his wish was granted, and he was 
 invalided home. He told the lady, the night before he 
 set sail, that his widowed mother would pray for her. 
 
 The surgeons were, of course, anxious to keep the 
 men in the East as long as there was the least hope of 
 their recovery ; but it was weary work for them to be 
 kept waiting month after month, with their constitutions 
 so broken and shattered, that, in spite of all that was 
 done for them, both by doctors and nurses, they were 
 obliged to be dismissed home at last. The thought of 
 going to England again seemed to pour new life into 
 them for the time. Many of them came from the 
 Crimea looking so worn and so old ; it startled us some- 
 times, when we glanced at the card above their head, 
 to see their real age. 
 
11^ A CASE OF DELIRIUM TREMENS. 
 
 " You only twenty ?" 
 
 "Yes, that's all," was the answer; "but we had a 
 hard time of it up there !" 
 
 Our orderlies were a great help to us ; they were always 
 most respectful and obedient, though, of course, they 
 needed constant looking after. One of our nurses mis- 
 took their names, and always called them " Aldernies." 
 
 "Now, Alderney, run and get this beef tea warmed!" 
 
 " If you please, nurse, there's no fire, and the char- 
 coal is all gone, and the Greeks 'as run over the brasier 
 in the barrack-yard with their carts, and ^as knocked 
 off two of its legs !" 
 
 " Never mind that, Alderney, you can get a requi- 
 sition for charcoal, and you can put up the brasier with 
 stones, and get the water hot. If we want a fire we 
 must have a fire, so that's the long and short of it !" 
 
 One day a man was brought in to No. 3 lower from 
 the guard-room, where he had been confined for the 
 night, in consequence of having been found drunk on 
 duty. When in the guard-room, those who had charge 
 of the prisoners were so struck by the strangeness of 
 his manner that they thought it proper to watch him ; 
 and fortunately they did so, for he had loaded his 
 musket, and intended to destroy himself. It was a sad 
 case of delirium tremens — he never recovered his senses 
 while with us. He more than once rushed out of the 
 ward, managed to elude the sentries at the entrance, 
 and attempted to throw himself into the Bosphorus ; 
 but our orderlies followed and brought him back. 
 
 When in the ward he was very quiet, seldom spoke, 
 except to tell the lady that he was pursued by evil 
 spirits, and had sinned beyond the hope of forgiveness ; 
 in vain she tried to cheer and comfort him. The chap- 
 
THE GENTLEMAN PRIVATE. 113 
 
 lain, too did all in his power, and some of the patients 
 were very kind— trying to amuse and draw him out of 
 himself, and to persuade him to walk with them in the 
 barrack yard. He promised one of the lads that he 
 would go with him to church, but when he got to the 
 door he rushed back again, saying some one was going 
 to kill him ! Poor fellow, it was terrible to witness his 
 remorse, and listen to his bitter self* accusations. We 
 vainly assured him of pardon and peace ; he seemed to 
 have lost the power of believing. Sometimes he would 
 
 repeat the Lord's prayer after Miss , and listen to 
 
 a hymn, and say it was very nice ; but he soon relapsed 
 into his former despondency, and the doctors, after trying 
 all they could to restore him to health, were finally 
 obliged to send him to England under careful charge, 
 lest he should drown himself. 
 
 In the same ward there was also another very inte- 
 resting case — a young lad, with whose quiet and really 
 gentlemanly manners we were much struck. He seemed 
 much superior to those around him ; but was so reserved 
 that he rarely spoke, though he appeared unhappy* 
 and as if he needed sympathy. At last he confided to 
 us his history. He was the son of an English gentle- 
 man ; had been sent to school at E-ugby. In a way- 
 ward moment, he had enlisted and left England with- 
 out the knowledge of his father or friends. After a 
 little persuasion, the chaplain prevailed upon him to 
 write and tell his father the truth ; and we had the 
 satisfaction of knowing, before he left the hospital, that 
 he had obtained his father's forgiveness. We believe 
 he eventually went up to Sebastopol. 
 
 It was not unfrequent to meet with men of a superior 
 
 I 
 
114 MEN OF A SUPERIOR CLASS. 
 
 class of life. Some timep revious to the period of which 
 I am now writing, there was in the dysentery ward a 
 sergeant of the name of Hamilton. Sister M. S., who 
 nursed him, was much struck by the superiority of his 
 manner and appearance. He recovered from the dysen- 
 teric attack he had, and went out to take exercise in the 
 barrack yard. The doctor of the ward said, as soon as 
 he was well enough, he should make him ward master. 
 The poor fellow caught cold, fever came on, and in a 
 few days he died, to the real grief of the Sister who 
 attended him. Some time after, a letter came from his 
 relatives, begging for news of his last moments, to 
 solace his mother, to whom the shock of reading his 
 death in the paper had been so great. Many such 
 letters reached us, and often, alas, we were unable to 
 comply with their request, for in that time of confusion 
 the military register was kept so irregularly, and it was 
 impossible for us to remember the particulars of our 
 countless cases ; but when I enquired about Sergeant 
 Hamilton, I met with ready information from Sister 
 M. S., for his case had made too deep an impression to 
 be easily effaced, and we were able to give this comfort 
 to his relations. Answers were returned, both to Sister 
 M. S. and myself, full of the most touching gratitude ; 
 it brought the tears into our eyes to read them. After 
 my return to England I was anxious to see this family, 
 thinking they might like to hear more of their lost one ; 
 but on arriving at the direction they had given me, I 
 found they had moved their residence, and I could not 
 ascertain where to. 
 
 Another case was a young man with very bad typhus 
 fever. He was not expected to recover. His mind 
 coiitinur."!lv wandered, but he was verv obedient and 
 
A LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT. 115 
 
 docile. He used often to sing hymns, such, we would 
 fancy, as he had learned in his childhood at some vil- 
 lage church in England, for he was evidently a country 
 lad. He was extremely fond of repeating over and 
 over again to the lady and the orderlies, that God was 
 very good, very good indeed, and that he loved Him. 
 He found great relief from having large lumps of ice 
 applied to his head ; he was very grateful, telling the 
 lady that she was ^^ like a mother to him, and better 
 than a mother, for what he knew.'* Much to her sur- 
 prise he recovered, and slowly regained his strength. 
 He was so childlike in his obedience and affection, that 
 she felt quite sorry, for her own sake, to see him quit 
 her ward for the convalescent hospital. 
 
 Another poor fellow came down from the Crimea, 
 after some months spent in the hospital there, looking 
 utterly shattered and worn out, and apparently fifty 
 or thereabouts ; but on looking at his card we found 
 he was only twenty. He rallied for a few days, but 
 sank at last. The day he died he told the lady of 
 his ward that he had a little money, which he wished 
 to leave to some friend of his in Ireland, who had been 
 the same to him as a father. He had no near relations 
 living. The lady asked the commandant about it, who 
 said that, unless he made a will, his money would of 
 course go to the next of kin. 
 
 The soldiers have a little pocket ledger provided for 
 each of them by the quartermaster, in which they 
 keep their accounts, &c., and in which are printed se- 
 veral military regulations. At the end there is a form 
 for making a will. The corporal of the ward wrote 
 out, according to the commandant's order, a copy of 
 this, and then the poor fellow was required to sign his 
 
116 THE REFORMED CORPORAL. 
 
 name in the presence of the medical officer. But, alas ! 
 his mind was now wandering, and the death dew was 
 standing on his forehead. He just raUied sufficiently, 
 however, a short time after, to sign his name. It was 
 so touching to see the eager way in which the trem- 
 bling hand fulfilled its task. True, it was but a pound 
 or so he had to leave, but he seemed so anxious to 
 show this last little testimony of affection and gratitude 
 to one who had loved him, and had been kind to the 
 orphan boy, when father and mother were laid in the 
 grave. 
 
 In the intervals of reason during his last day, he got 
 the lady to write a letter for him to this friend, but she 
 was obliged to finish it after his death ; one sentence he 
 bade her write was, " I have gone through a power of 
 hardships up at the front." His worn face did indeed 
 speak of a power of hardships. 
 
 He was a Roman Catholic ; and the lady, therefore, 
 requested the Sister of Mercy in the gallery above to 
 come down and pray beside him, which she very often 
 did during his illness ; he died very peacefully, while 
 she was reading the last prayers by his bedside, and 
 without a groan. 
 
 Another man was quite an example to his regiment 
 for his good conduct and sobriety ; he had attained the 
 rank of corporal. He had a very pleasant manner of 
 talking to his fellow comrades, and persuading them 
 not to indulge in drink. He had been a long time in 
 the service, and, his health being shattered, was very 
 anxious to return home to his wife and child ; but he 
 always said, smiling, that he was ready to stay if neces- 
 sary : that he knew for certain all would be right, 
 whichever way it was. He told us so quaintly one day. 
 
117 
 
 that it was *' all through drink he came to be a good 
 man." It sounded a strange anomaly, and we almost 
 smiled, but the explanation followed. He had some years 
 back, when a very young man, got into trouble through 
 this habit ; good advice was offered him. The captain 
 of his regiment established a school, where those who 
 wished to escape the temptation to drink which idleness 
 offers, might find instruction and employment. He 
 entered the school, overcame his bad habit, and said 
 " he blessed God for the day he began to do so." 
 
 After his return to England, he wrote the following 
 letter to the lady of his ward : — 
 
 ** Dear Madam, — With gratitude to Almighty God I 
 arrived in dear old England once again, after a passage 
 of fourteen days ; beautiful weather the whole way ; 
 good accommodation on board the * Niagara' for the 
 sick and wounded. My pains are very troublesome at 
 times. I am afraid I am worn-out as far as military 
 duties are concerned. It will be a great disadvantage 
 to me to be discharged at the present time ; but if it is 
 so ordered, I am satisfied with my lot. I feel it my 
 duty as a Christian to submit to the Divine Providence 
 of God, for I can truly say I have been brought by a 
 way that I knew not, and by that same good Providence 
 I am restored to my dear wife and family. 
 
 *' I return you a thousand thanks for your kind care 
 over me in my affiiction. The Lord will reward you, 
 because He has promised so to do. He seems to raise 
 
 up friends for me in all parts. Please to tell Miss 
 
 that I can never forget her kindness in giving me the 
 advice, and the address of her relatives. How many 
 happy times have I spent in Koulali Hospital Church ! 
 
118 THE COHPORAl's LETTER. 
 
 the daily Morning Service was a blessing to me, and at 
 the table of the Lord He was always present with me. 
 
 " You will please to tell the Rev. Mr. Coney that I 
 return him my thanks for his spiritual care over my 
 soul there, and that I trust he will have many souls 
 for his care and labour, although discouragement is 
 around him. 
 
 " The joy and happiness of meeting my friends once 
 more, makes me almost forget what trials and hardships 
 I went through. I am thankful my life is spared. I 
 am content with my lot, but I am so much shook that I 
 am happy to say I shall not be sent out again. I am at 
 present attending hospital; I go for medicine three 
 times a day. If the weather was not so wet, it might 
 be better for me ; still I must not dictate to the Almighty 
 what weather we are to have. And now, dear madam, 
 you will excuse me if I have in any way transgressed 
 in freedom in writing ; my prayers shall ever be offered 
 up for you, and all who belong to you ; and you are a 
 treasure to your family and the British army in the 
 East. 
 
 " I remain your humble servant. 
 
 2nd Battalion Eifle Brigade, Aldershott Camp.' 
 
119 
 
 CHAPTEE X. 
 
 " I have never seen 
 So brave a patience." — Talfoued. 
 
 The extreme youtli of some of our patients, and their 
 childishness, were a great amusement to the orderlies, 
 especially the Irish ones, who delighted in having, what 
 they called, a spree with some of them. 
 
 "Now, Dick, my boy, what would you like this 
 morning — a bit of plum-pudding or a few sugar-plums ? 
 ask the lady for some, she's sure to get them for you if 
 you ask her." 
 
 " ril tell you what, my boy, you better had stayed 
 at home along with your mother than come a knocking 
 out in this country ; a bit of a chap like you ain't fit 
 for such rough work." 
 
 One of the No. 3 orderlies was quite a character, and 
 his eccentricities were a great amusement to us ; his 
 name was Rooke. Part of his business was to fetch 
 the extras from the ladies' store-room for his ward; 
 when he came back with a pail full of extras in each 
 hand, and his shirt-front remarkably enlarged from 
 the bottles of soda-water he had ingeniously filled it 
 with, he evidently considered himself of great import- 
 ance, making as much noise as he could in setting them 
 down, and calling out to the nurse — 
 
120 THE general's VISIT. 
 
 " Now, nuss, here they be, and I hopes you 'as got 
 enough to-day." 
 
 Whenever he had forgotten anything, he had a pe- 
 culiar way of rubbing his head, pulling his hair, and 
 trying to make excuses. He was nevertheless a capital 
 nurse, full of rough kindness to the patients. He was 
 generally so merry, and full of Irish fun, that it was 
 a surprise to us to find him one morning looking sad 
 and unhappy; on inquiry we found that he had just 
 received a letter, telling him of the death of his wife, 
 and asking what was to be done with his three little 
 children. 
 
 He still went on doing his hospital work as atten- 
 tively as before, but evidently with an aching heart. 
 He said that he had known his poor wife ever since she 
 was a little girl ; his mother and hers had lived in two 
 adjoining cottages, and they had been brought up and 
 played together as children, and now she had died far 
 away from him after a short illness. He used to save 
 his money to send home to her and the children, look- 
 ing forward with such hope to seeing them all again ; 
 and now he seemed utterly cast down, and the joking 
 with his patients was at an end for some time. 
 
 At length, however, he somewhat recovered his spi- 
 rits. In spite of his many good qualities, he was re- 
 markable for being as dirty and untidy in his dress as 
 he dared, without quite outraging military discipline. 
 
 One day Brigadier-General Storks and Mr. Stafford 
 came round the hospital — everybody was astir — I think 
 it was the general's first public inspection after he suc- 
 ceeded Lord William Paulet in command : such a clear- 
 ing of wards, and such a brushing up of everything took 
 place. The lady at the extras store-room was serving out 
 
AN IDLE WARD-MASTER. 121 
 
 requisitions as usual, when Rooke was the first on the 
 spot to get his, and to her astonishment he was dressed up 
 and in full regimentals. The expected visit had slipped 
 her memory, seeing it made no difference to her work. 
 
 *' Why, Rooke, what is the matter ?" said she. 
 
 " They've a dressed me up to see that big man as is 
 coming, if 5^0*1 please, miss." 
 
 Presently E-ooke walked into his ward with a pailful 
 of lemonade, and, setting it down by the lady, said — 
 
 '' There, miss, now we'll give him a drink when he 
 comes." 
 
 No sooner had the general's party left the hospital, 
 when Rooke, the smart soldier, returned, with evident 
 satisfaction, to Rooke the untidy orderly. 
 
 No. 3 upper ward was at first placed under charge of 
 
 Miss M , and also contained fever patients. It was a 
 
 long gallery, with tables and cupboards at the end. 
 The corporal, who was ward-master, was idle and inef- 
 ficient, and did not look after his orderlies, who, of 
 course, became a riotous set. Consequently, the ward 
 was dirty and neglected. Upon one occasion the ward- 
 master insisted upon giving out the wine himself, in- 
 stead of the lady ; this was, of course, altogether against 
 rules. The lady spoke to Dr. Beatson, who was staff- 
 surgeon of the division. He instantly came in and told 
 the ward-master, that if he disobeyed orders a second 
 time, he should go to the guard-room. 
 
 The superintendent, seeing the ward was one re- 
 quiring peculiar care from the lady in charge, appointed 
 
 Sister M A , considering her the best nurse in 
 
 the Barrack Hospital. 
 
 In a few weeks the whole aspect of No. 8 upper was 
 changed — it was clean and in order. The sister gained 
 
12^ 
 
 CARE AND TENDERNESS. 
 
 her usual influence over the orderlies — they loved and 
 respected her, and would do anything to please her, 
 and also soon after she had a better ward-master. 
 
 It was astonishing to observe the influence gained by 
 the ladies and sisters over the orderlies. Without their 
 superintendence they were an idle, useless set of men, 
 callous to the sufferings of those around them, not 
 caring to learn their business, which was of course new 
 to them, and regardless of carrying out the doctor's 
 orders, when they could do so without getting into dis- 
 grace ; but under the sisters' and ladies' charge, they 
 became an excellent set of nurses, forming that class of 
 men-nurses, of course, essential in a military hospital. 
 
 A great drawback to this was, however, the circum- 
 stance, that often when one had a good orderly willing 
 to learn, and had trained him into the way of waiting 
 on the sick, he would be sent for to his regiment, his 
 place supplied by another quite unused to hospital 
 work, and with* whom the teaching had to begin de 
 novo. 
 
 One day a poor fellow was brought into No. 3 upper, 
 from a ship proceeding to Balaclava. He was an Ita- 
 lian, and could not speak a word either of French or 
 English, and, although the surgeon of his ward could 
 speak Italian, we could gather little of his history from 
 his few dying words ; for he was in the last stage of 
 fever when brought into the hospital, and it was soon 
 all over. He seemed so grateful for all that was done 
 for him, and was so delighted to get a drink of lemon- 
 ade, with plenty of sugar put in it. 
 
 Another case in this ward was a poor little sailor, 
 who was also brought in from a ship going to Balaclava. 
 He remained for a long time, and was eventually sent 
 
LETTERS HOME. 123 
 
 to England witli the military invalids. He was such a 
 curious little man, very meek and quiet, but as fright- 
 ened and nervous as a woman, always thinking himself 
 much worse than he was in reality, speaking invariably 
 in a tone of deep despondency, much to the vexation of 
 the orderly, who was especially directed to look after 
 him night and day, and who was a great tall fellow, not 
 apparently much afraid of anybody or anything. He 
 was most kind and attentive to the small sailor, but 
 evidently much chagrined at his want of hope and 
 courage ; he also seemed to think it must be very dis- 
 couraging to the sister who attended to him ; so when- 
 ever he saw her going up to the sailor, he followed her, 
 and exhorted him very energetically to " spake up to 
 the lady ; don't be so down-hearted, man ; spake up, 
 man, spake up, she don't hear what you are a saying 
 of; why don't ye cheer up a bit? ye'll never get well 
 at that rate ; ye'll make yourself a deal worser being 
 so low-spirited." 
 
 • This was, of course, quite true ; but the poor sailor 
 did not seem much inclined, or, indeed, well able, to 
 follow the advice of his soldier friend, though at last we 
 did sometimes succeed in making him smile, by de- 
 claring we would ask the commanding officer to make 
 a soldier of him, and inquiring which regiment he 
 would like to be enlisted into, picturing to him how 
 brave he would look marching about with the coloured 
 ribbons in his hat. 
 
 Writing their letters home for them was most amus- 
 ing ; very often they had not a word to say, but trusted 
 entirely to the lady. 
 
 " What shall I say ?" we began with. 
 
 *' Just anything at all you like, miss — ^just the same 
 
124 THE AFFECTIONATE WIFE. 
 
 as you writes your own letters home. You knows how 
 to make up a letter better than I do 1" 
 
 "But how shall I begin?" 
 
 '' My dear Thomas/' the lady writes on, hoping dear 
 Thomas is well, and informing him of the illness and 
 whereabouts of his friend. 
 
 Then she inquires what relation the said " dear 
 Thomas'' is to him. 
 
 " Oh, he's just my father, miss !" 
 
 She suggests the propriety of addressing him by his 
 usual title. 
 
 " Oh, never mind, miss ; it's all the same — it will do 
 very well !" 
 
 One of the men received a letter from his wife, en- 
 treating him, in the most broken-hearted words, to 
 allow her to come out and nurse him — that she was 
 utterly miserable, could not sleep at night, thinking of 
 what he was enduring, and so on. The poor man very 
 likely felt more than he cared to express, but he chose 
 to treat it with apparent indifference, and almost amuse- 
 ment. 
 
 " That's just the way women talks — they're always 
 a-wanting to do unpossibilities. They fancies they can 
 do anything ! Oh, yes, they fancies it fast enough, but 
 then, you see, they can't, so what's the good of it ? I 
 should like to see her come out here, indeed ! A pretty 
 place for a woman by herself, and I shouldn't be able 
 to see after her. She's much better at home, and I'll 
 write and tell her once for all that it's impossible, and 
 no good whatever talking about it no more !" 
 
 Fortunately for the poor wife's feelings, his arm was 
 too stiff to write that day, as he evidently intended to 
 send her a severe reproof for her folly, rather forgetting 
 
LOWER STABLE WARD. 125 
 
 in his wisdom the deep afFection and anxiety contained 
 in her earnest pleading to come and nurse him. As 
 the post went out next day, he rather reluctantly ac- 
 cepted the sister's proposal to write in his stead, and 
 she, of course, took care to soften the refusal as much 
 
 as possible, and poor Mrs. was very likely rather 
 
 surprised at the unusually affectionate letter she received 
 from her husband by that mail ; which, we must hope, 
 in some little measure compensated for her disappoint- 
 ment, though, doubtless, a few stern lines merely 
 granting her request would have been far preferable. 
 
 Many of our patients could not read a word, and 
 were delighted when we had time to teach them, or to 
 read a few verses to those who were too weak to hold a 
 book or read long for themselves. They were grateful, 
 too, for slates to write and sum upon ; but talking of 
 home and bygone days, and then of their warlike ad- 
 ventures in the Crimea, was their chief delight. 
 
 The lower was the first of the stables turned into 
 a ward. When Turkish stables, they looked as if it 
 would be impossible to convert them into habitations 
 for Christians ; but when Dr. Tice was Principal Medi- 
 cal Officer, he designed the improvement, and the exe- 
 cution reflected great credit on him : it became the best 
 ward in the hospital, holding one hundred and fifty 
 beds. It was large and airy, and had the unusual 
 merit of being, in the noonday heat of a Turkish sum- 
 mer, perfectly cool, but was unfortunately not rain- 
 proof. 
 
 The surgical cases were moved into it, and Dr. 
 Temple was the officer in charge. It was entirely on 
 the ground-floor, and very much wider than the other 
 wards ; therefore, though no division was made in the 
 
126 ' THE KIND DOCTOR. 
 
 building, the superintendent divided tlie nursing be- 
 tween a lady and a Sister of Mercy, with nurses ; the 
 upper part of the ward, with its four rows of beds, was 
 
 under Miss , and the lower under Sister M 
 
 E . 
 
 Under them was a nurse, who was a member of the 
 Evangelical Alliance. She was an elderly person, and 
 very eccentric ; but a very good nurse, and a respect- 
 able woman, and gave great satisfaction to the sister 
 
 and lady under whom she worked. Sister M 
 
 E always spoke in high terms of her usefulness 
 
 and diligence, and she in her turn expressed the most 
 unbounded respect and affection for the sister, whom 
 she called an " angel upon earth." 
 
 In Sister M E 's division was a very inter- 
 esting case — a Scotch Presbyterian of the name of 
 Fisher. He came in to be treated with frost-bite, but 
 the seeds of consumption were sown, and when the 
 frost-bite healed he was evidently in a hopeless state. 
 Never was the deceitful disease more plainly displayed 
 than in that case. He lingered on month after month ; 
 now better, now apparently at the point of death ; then 
 the flame of life would suddenly spring up again, and 
 a feverish strength made him imagine he was getting 
 better. He wore away till his bones seemed ready to 
 come through the skin. He was generally hungry, and 
 very fanciful. 
 
 It is very affecting to watch by one who is hovering 
 on the verge of the grave, and in this case every one 
 united in doing their best to alleviate the sufferings of 
 his last hours on earth. Dr. Temple stayed long by his 
 bedside, endeavouring to find something to ease him. 
 Eisher insisted that no medicines did him r^ood but 
 
THE SICK MAN S HOME-SICKNESS. 127 
 
 those made by Dr. Temple's own hands ; and the kind 
 surgeon always humoured him, and when his rounds 
 were over, went regularly to the dispensary to make 
 up Fisher's medicines, together with a sweet effer- 
 vescent draught, which was Fisher's great delight. 
 
 By his bedside even the rough orderlies grew gentle ; 
 one in particular was a great favourite with the poor 
 sufferer, and Fisher was never happy when " Joe " was 
 away. Dr. Temple told us we might give him any- 
 thing he fancied ; nothing could do him harm. Oatmeal 
 porridge he used to long for very often, and Sister 
 
 M E made it strictly according to his own 
 
 directions, for he was very fanciful. He was always 
 longing for something or other, and as far as our means 
 
 allowed, we supplied his wants. Sister M E 
 
 w^as most unremitting in her care of him, and the atten- 
 tion he required was constant. 
 
 Fisher was a singularly rough, quaint man, not 
 given to many words of gratitude, but it was pleasing 
 to see the way in which his pale, wan face lit up when 
 
 Sister M E made her appearance. His eyes 
 
 followed her about the ward as she went to her other 
 patients ; and though he did not say much to express 
 his sense of her services, yet a few words from him 
 spoke a volume of the deep feeling that was in his 
 breast. When death came, he passed away without a 
 visible pang. 
 
 In the same division of the ward was Hickey, another 
 most interesting case. He suffered from the same disease 
 as Fisher, but its progress was far more rapid. Hickey 
 was an Irish Catholic. His great longing was to go 
 home ; he was haunted by a perpetual fever to see his 
 own TTccn land oiico more ; and wheii the deceitfal 
 
128 SERGEANT EVERETT. 
 
 rallyings of his complaint came, his eye glittered as 
 he talked of how soon he would be amongst his dear 
 friends in the " old country ;" but we who watched 
 beside him saw in the very glitter of the eyes, and flush 
 on the pale cheek, the signs that he no longer needed 
 an earthly home. The goings to and fro of this world 
 were soon to end with him. 
 
 To satisfy him, however, his name was put down in 
 the list of " invalided home ;" but ere the time for the 
 departure of the band came, the fever strength was 
 gone, and the death-struggle was at hand. The disap- 
 pointment was sore, but he bore it meekly : neither that 
 nor his severe sufferings elicited a murmuring word. 
 He was a deeply religious man, and attended to the 
 duties of his religion with fervour ; and though the love 
 of life was strong within him, he was " content to die," 
 he said, " as it was God's holy will;" when death stood 
 beside him, he passed away as a child falls asleep, and 
 on his pale face was that look which clings to the me- 
 mory for ever after, for it spoke of death without its 
 sting. 
 
 In the upper division under Miss , were many 
 
 cases somewhat similar ; but Fisher and Hickey were 
 among the most interesting cases that passed through 
 our hands. Another case, of a very different character, 
 was in this division. 
 
 Sergeant Everett was a ward-master when the hos- 
 pital was first opened. He had been at the Crimea, and 
 there lost one eye. He was discharged from this office 
 for drunkenness, in which he indulged to a fearful ex- 
 tent. He belonged to the Church of England, but the 
 chaplain was ignorant of his propensity. Sergeant 
 Everett had evidently got the right side of him, and 
 
CASE OF DELIRIUM TREMENS. 129 
 
 the clergyman, being convinced he was a very worthy, 
 religious man, appointed him Scripture-reader. 
 
 Everett had the Bible by heart. He could quote 
 texts for an hour without stopping, and his power of 
 talking on religious subjects was very great. He often 
 went round at night, and read the Holy Bible to the 
 soldiers, generally in a state of intoxication. Unfor- 
 tunately he contrived to do it at the time the ladies, 
 sisters, and officers were absent. 
 
 One night, however, he was reeling about Lower 
 Stable Ward, Bible in hand, desecrating the name of 
 Christ in an awful manner, when Dr. Temple unex- 
 pectedly entered. The doctor immediately reported 
 the circumstance to the chaplain, who, of course, dis- 
 missed him from his situation as Scripture-reader. A 
 week afterwards, he was brought into the Lower Stable 
 Ward raving in delirium tremens, brought on by his 
 habits of excessive intemperance. He was a fearful 
 case to attend. He used the words of Holy Scripture 
 in awful blasphemy ; he-would spring out of bed, and 
 knock down the orderlies, and it was with a great ef- 
 fort that the lady and sister approached him ; but they 
 had sufficient power to make him lie still and quiet 
 while they were there : when they were gone, he would 
 recommence, and at night his fearful shrieks would be 
 heard from one end of the hospital to the other. He 
 required much attention, as it was necessary he should 
 have a great deal of brandy given to him, and it was 
 to be administered in very small quantities at a time. 
 Often my hand shook at the glaring look of his one 
 eye, as he watched me measure out the brandy. At 
 length he recovered, and was invalided home. 
 
 To our astonishment, some months afterwards, a pa- 
 
 K 
 
ISO RUSSIAN PRISONERS. 
 
 ragraph appeared in tlie papers, stating he had per- 
 formed several feats of iinheard-of valour at the siege 
 of Sebastopol, which, as he left the camp immediately 
 after the battle of the Alma, must have been done in 
 his dreams. The paragraph stated, that he had received 
 presents from both Her Majesty and Miss Nightingale. 
 I am pretty sure he never saw Miss Nightingale at all, 
 and a statement he made regarding the.ladies at Koulali 
 was utterly untrue. 
 
 There were still in this ward the two Russian pri- 
 soners who had been too ill to be moved with the 
 others ; they were very gentle and submissive, and the 
 cheerful smile with which they greeted us was some- 
 what of a relief to the usual heavy cast of their coun- 
 tenances. They were, while in the ward, treated the 
 same as the other sick. They were the lions of the 
 hospital, and a great many sailors and others came to 
 see them, at which they appeared pleased. They talked 
 a great deal to each other, and had a Russian Bible, 
 which they read very constantly. Dr. Temple knew a 
 little E-usse, and when he made inquiries after their 
 health in their own language, their delight was very 
 great. 
 
 This ward, at a later period than this, v/as princi- 
 pally filled with patients who had been wounded in the 
 trenches, treated in the camp hospitals, and then sent 
 down to Koulali for change of air and nursing, before 
 they were invalided home. The lady of the ward often 
 remarked their great kindness to each other ; men who 
 had lost an arm would be seen helping ethers who had 
 lost a leg to walk, then these in their turn would cut 
 up the food, or help in other ways those who had lost 
 their arm, or the use of it, as the case might be. 
 
THE UNTAUGHT ARTIST. 131 
 
 The men were delighted with newspapers, and nine 
 or ten would assemble together while one read aloud. 
 It was very amusing to hear their remarks on the 
 things going on in the Crimea: they were so as- 
 tonished and vexed at the attack of the 18th of June ^ 
 " That was an unfortunate day, we did not gain any 
 honour." One man comforted them by saying, " But 
 no wonder it was not, as it was not men but hoys that 
 were driven back and behaved badly." 
 
 Some of the men were very clever at needlework, 
 and hemmed dozens of pocket-handkerchiefs and towels 
 to be given to the invalids when going to England, or 
 those going up again to the camp. They also mended 
 hundreds of the blue jackets and trousers, the hospital 
 outer clothing. There was one man six feet two high ; 
 he had been wounded in the foot, and was unable to 
 put it to the ground for a long time : he made a dress 
 for an officer's wife in the Crimea, and made besides 
 about thirty or forty sets of mosquito curtains. 
 
 We used to laugh among ourselves, and say, this was 
 the talented ward, for there were in it an artist and a 
 poet. The artist's name was West. He was a boy of 
 nineteen, and he had really a talent for drawing figures. 
 
 He Avas very diffident about his drawing, and for 
 some time practised in secret, without the lady or the 
 surgeon's knowledge ; but at length the admiration of 
 his fellow-patients was too great to be kept to themselves; 
 the sergeant also evidently thought it a pity a likeness 
 of him should be "wasting its sweetness on the desert 
 air ;" and so one day, when the surgeon and lady were 
 going the rounds, and standing by West's bed, the secret 
 was divulged, and how West blushed as he exhibited 
 his performances ! When the ice was once broken, 
 
 K 2 
 
l33 A NEW "SHELLEY."' 
 
 and he really found we admired his sketches, his pride 
 and pleasure knew no bounds. We supplied him with 
 j)encils and paper, and he whiled away many an hour 
 by making sketches of his companions. He was " in- 
 valided home." 
 
 Another man was in the ward at this time, called 
 Shelley ; he was the poet, and wrote very good lines 
 on the different battles, which I regret I cannot give to 
 my readers. 
 
 In this ward, too, was an orderly, who embroidered 
 a pincushion with beads, and it was really beautifully 
 done ; he gave it to the lady of his ward, as a token of 
 his gratitude. The men who were nearly convalescent 
 were often sent to watch by the bad cases that required 
 constant attention. There was one fine Highlander put 
 to this duty ; the patient in the next bed to him was 
 
 very ill, and Miss H gave him in special charge to 
 
 the Highlander at night. Going the night rounds 
 once, she found him lying on his bed, his face turned 
 towards the sick man, and one eye open watching him, 
 ready to spring out of bed at the slightest movement ; 
 the lady laughed and said, it was just like a cat watching 
 its kitten : this was heard by the others, and the pair 
 went by the names of cat and kitten among their com- 
 rades for a long time. 
 
 There was another instance of the extreme patience 
 of the men. One young man of the 9th regiment had 
 been in the attack of the 18th of June; soon after it 
 began, his foot was shot off; the spot where he fell was 
 so exposed to the fire of the Russians, he could not be 
 brought in ; he lay there the whole day — he tore up 
 his shirt to stop the bleeding ; and when the evening 
 came, and he was carried to hospital, he was delirious 
 
AN INSTANCE OF PATIENCE. 133 
 
 from the agony he had endured from thirst ; brain-fever 
 followed, and he had to undergo amputation of part of 
 his leg. 
 
 Soon after this he was brought down to Koulali. 
 The movement again brought on fever, and made his 
 leg very bad : the surgeons found another amputation 
 would be necessary, and they feared he would sink 
 tinder this. However, it was tried, and he survived. 
 His sufferings were very intense, beyond all expression, 
 but he never murmured. We never heard him even 
 groan, except in his sleep, and then his meanings were 
 piteous. 
 
 He was nineteen years old. His case was one which 
 required most careful nursing; all the surgeons said, 
 nothing but constant care and nourishment could save 
 him. Great judgment was required in the administration 
 of nourishment and stimulants, and great care also in 
 the preparation of the first, which could not have been 
 done except by the extra-diet kitchen. It was pleasant 
 to see his looks of delight when the ladies were waiting 
 upon him ; his eyes would sparkle, and many a time did 
 
 he take the food to please Miss H , which he would 
 
 otherwise have turned from in disgust, having completely 
 lost his appetite. At length he recovered, and was able 
 to walk on crutches. 
 
134 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 " There's many a harte 
 In dreary liospitalle on couch of pain, 
 That ne for fever's force or wounds dire smarte 
 "Will utter groan or spake in words of plain, 
 But still of courage high and pious hope full fain." 
 
 Old Poems. 
 
 No. 4 wards were exactly opposite No. 3, on the 
 other side of the barrack square ; their formation was 
 exactly similar to that of No. 3. No. 4 ward lower 
 was under Sister Anne (of St. Saviour's Home, Os- 
 naburgh Street, an Anglican Sisterhood). No. 4 upper 
 
 was under Sister M B . This sister was the 
 
 one who had been so seriously ill with fever in the 
 winter. She recovered, and resumed, her duties, and 
 jDerformed. them with the utmost zeal and devotion; 
 early in the summer fever again attacked her, and the 
 second attack was even more dangerous than the first. 
 For some days, her life was despaired of; but she survived 
 it, and on her recovery the surgeons declared it to be 
 essential she should go home, as it was evident she could 
 not bear the climate ; and to our deep regret, accompanied 
 by Sister M C , she left Koulali on July 2nd. 
 
THE FEVER PATIENT. 135 
 
 All the other Sisters of Mercy were fully occupied at 
 this time; and as the number of patients had diminished 
 so as not to render the charge too laborious, both wards 
 were assigned to Sister Anne. 
 
 This lady had a good deal of experience in nursing, 
 and gave great satisfaction to the superintendent by her 
 devotion to her work, while she was much and de- 
 servedly beloved by her patients. The surgeon in 
 charge of the ward was Dr. Watson. Both Sister 
 
 M B and Sister Anne spoke in the warmest 
 
 terms of his skill and attention to the men. No. 4 wards 
 were always kept in beautiful order. 
 
 There was a man in this ward named A . He 
 
 was in brain-fever, and perfectly unmanageable, both by 
 ward masters and orderlies, and even by the surgeon, 
 and they were forced to put on a strait-waistcoat to keep 
 him in bed. Whenever the ladies came near him, he 
 grew calm ; a single word seemed sufficient to compose 
 him, and while they were present he would lie as still 
 as a child. 
 
 A was a strong, powerful young man, doubly 
 
 strong from the fever ; his head required shaving, but 
 the operation seemed impossible. No persuasion of 
 doctor, ward master, or orderly, would induce him to 
 submit to it quietly. They told him, if he would have 
 it cut quite close to his head, it would do as well. No 
 — he raved furiously at the idea. It was night. Sister 
 Anne had gone home, and the lady appointed to the 
 night-watch came in, and, hearing of the difficulty, said, 
 
 '' Now, A , do let them do it." 
 
 " No one shall touch my head." 
 
 " That is very unkind of you, A , when I have 
 
 come so far to do it for you." 
 
136 A TERRIBLE CHOLERA CASE. 
 
 He looked at her and said, 
 
 " And please, ma'am, have not I come as far to let 
 you do it ;" and then, without another word, he sub- 
 mitted while she cut his hair off. 
 
 A ultimately recovered. 
 
 C was another case in No. 4 upper ward. He 
 
 was for a long time a patient from fever and diarrhoea, 
 but recovered ; and, after several months of illness, was 
 discharged to duty. 
 
 A few days after this. Sister Anne went up to the 
 hospital at half-past nine at night, as she wished to see 
 whether a patient, who was very ill, would require 
 sitting up with. "When she entered her ward, she was 
 astonished to find the state of confusion it was in. As 
 she stood in the doorway, a fearful cry of agony startled 
 
 her. What was the matter ? C had been brought 
 
 in, in a fearful state of cholera. 
 
 The information was given her by the ward master, 
 who was pale with terror, and trembled from head to 
 foot. Sister Anne begged him not to show such signs 
 of dismay, reminding him that fear would spread the 
 contagion among the others sooner than anything else. 
 
 She then approached C 's bedside, when she no 
 
 longer wondered at the alarm of the sergeant, and or- 
 derlies. It was an appalling sight. His face and hands 
 were of a dark purple, both contorted with cramps — his 
 whole frame convulsed ; while at intervals he uttered a 
 low moaning cry, between a scream and groan, scarcely 
 like a human being. So dreadful was the sight, her 
 first impulse was to turn away ; but on reflection she 
 thought, that what he had to bear she should not shun 
 to look on. 
 
 The surgeon entered, and Sister Anne was very glad 
 
THE convalescent's RELAPSE. 137 
 
 she was there, for brandy and other remedies were re- 
 quired immediately, and were furnished from her cup- 
 board in the wards. The purveyor's store and the 
 extra diet kitchen were both closed long before that 
 hour of the night ; and had they been obliged to send 
 to either of these places for what they required, nearly 
 an hour must have been lost ; and so violent was the 
 disease, and so rapid its progress, it might then have 
 been all too late. As it was, with the means they had at 
 hand for immediate use, and the energetic application 
 of proper remedies, with the Divine blessing, although 
 in the two days in No. 4 wards there were six cases of 
 cholera in its most malignant form, they only lost one ; 
 and that one had been ill with delirium tremens for 
 weeks previous to being attacked by cholera, so that 
 when it seized him, not a shadow of hope remained. 
 
 There was another case of a man named Ferguson. 
 He came down from the camp in June, and entered 
 No. 4 upper ward, was soon pronounced convalescent, 
 and put on the list to be invalided home. The day before 
 embarcation, the surgeon and Sister Anne went as usual 
 round the wards. The latter observed a marked change 
 in Ferguson, which had taken place in the course of a 
 few hours. Whether his excitement and joy at the 
 prospect of going home had produced fever, or whether 
 he had caught the disease from another, no one could 
 tell, but certainly the first symptoms of the fearful 
 disease were plainly visible. 
 
 The doctor had stopped at his bedside, as was the 
 custom, to say simply, " You go to England to-mor- 
 row," but his eyes fell on the fever-spot on his cheek. 
 He looked at him attentively, felt his pulse, and said — • 
 
 '^ Ferguson, I am very sorry, but I cannot decide 
 
138 THE PAIN OF GRATITUDE. 
 
 upon your going to England till I have seen you to- 
 morrow, or at least this afternoon." 
 
 Poor fellow ! he was so disappointed. With an ex- 
 pression of intense anxiety and sorrow, he rapidly 
 assured the surgeon, 
 
 " I am quite well to-day, only weak ; much better 
 than I was yesterday. I am quite ready to go.^' 
 
 Sister Anne's heart sank as she listened to his words, 
 for she felt assured his " going home " would not he to 
 England ; she was certain that he had no strength to 
 resist the fever now preying on him. After the doctor 
 was gone, in the bitterness of his great disappointment, 
 he wept like a child. 
 
 Sister Anne reasoned with him, reminding him how 
 impossible it was the doctor could have any motive for 
 detaining him but for his own good ; that he knew how 
 kind the doctor always was to him, and surely he could 
 trust her word. She begged him to keep quiet till the 
 morrow, and not exhaust his little strength by sorrow ; 
 for she assured him, if he were better to-morrow, he 
 should go. He grew calm and satisfied, consented to 
 go to bed, and see what to-morrow would bring forth. 
 Next morning, when Sister Anne entered her ward, her 
 first step was to hasten to his bedside, and it was touch- 
 ing to meet his look of quiet resignation. He said : 
 
 " Please, ma'am, I don't want to go to England. You 
 were quite right, I^m not fit for it. I am so glad to be 
 here while I am so ill, that you may take care of me as 
 you have done." 
 
 Every care was taken, everything that could be done 
 was done, but in vain. He sank rapidly, and in a few 
 days was numbered among the dead. 
 
 M was another patient in that ward ; he lingered 
 
PERSEVERANCE REWARDED. 139 
 
 for many months with dysentery, which was attended by 
 violent vomiting. This reduced his strength so much 
 that he became unable to feed himself, and for ten days 
 Sister Anne fed him with a spoon, giving him food con- 
 stantly in the smallest quantities. He used to entreat 
 her to give it np, saying — 
 
 " Please, it's of no use ; 'tis only wasting good food." 
 
 But of course she persevered in that, and in every- 
 thing else she thought could possibly conduce to his 
 benefit, and she had the satisfaction to see her efforts, 
 under God's blessing, crowned with success. He quite 
 recovered, and was invalided home. On leaving the 
 ward, he came up to her, and, holding out his hand, 
 said — 
 
 " Good bye, ma'am, and God bless you ; had it not 
 been for you, I never should have been home again.*' 
 
 Among the orderlies belonging to No. 4, was one 
 
 named N . When Sister Anne first took charge of 
 
 No. 4 lower ward, N was much addicted to swearing, 
 
 — so, at least, she was told, for the men were far too 
 
 respectful to swear in our presence. N was also 
 
 given to drinking. 
 
 Sister Anne told him that, if he continued in these 
 habits, she must ask for his dismissal from the wards. 
 He admitted the truth of all she said as to the sin and 
 disgrace, said he wished above all things to give her 
 satisfaction, and that he would do anything she asked 
 him to do. She said she expected him to give her his 
 promise never to bring brandy into the wards. To this 
 he agreed ; and during many months he faithfully kept 
 his word, infringing it only on the occasion of the anni- 
 versary of the battle of the Alma, when much feasting 
 was going on, and an allowance was of course to be 
 
140 A sergeant's letter. 
 
 made. He also very much conquered the habit of 
 swearing. 
 
 Another sergeant, who was in No. 4 ward, gave great 
 satisfaction to Sister Anne. He was an example to the 
 others. When he afterwards went to the camp he wrote 
 letters which cheered the heart of this lady, and which, 
 by her kind permission, we insert : — 
 
 " Camp, Sebastopol, 7tli Sept. 1855. 
 
 " Sister Anne, — I hope you will pardon me for not 
 writing sooner, but the truth is, I wrote a letter on the 
 3rd inst., but it was lost in the tent, and I waited until 
 to-day, thinking I might find it. The bombardment 
 commenced on the 5th. The French opened a terrible 
 fire on the enemy ; ours did not commence in earnest 
 until 4 A.M., the 6th inst. On the night of the 5th we 
 set fire to the large three-decker of the Russians (the 
 ' Twelve Apostles '), and to-day, the 7th, another large 
 ship set fire to also. The 28th lost one man killed and 
 wounded on the 6th inst. I do not know our loss to- 
 day as yet, but we are firing very hard all day. We 
 are to have three days' rations cooked in our havresacks 
 to-morrow, and to parade at 4 a.m., which looks pretty 
 like another attack on the Redan and Malakofi" by us. 
 We have no huts up as yet, so I think we will not 
 require them now, for we are all determined to go into 
 Sebastopol this time. We are getting fresh meat three 
 or four times a-week, bread sometimes too, and potatoes 
 occasionally ; so we are not so bad off* as you think, and, 
 thanks to your kindness, I am better prepared this win- 
 ter than I was last. Hoping this little account will not 
 displease you, and you will pardon errors, 
 
 " I remain your most obedient servant, 
 
 "J.J— ." 
 
THE SURLY ORDERLY. 141 
 
 Goody was another orderly, and he deserved his 
 name, for he was good. Every one in the hospital knew 
 him for his willing spirit, his sobriety, industry, and 
 constant good humour ; he was willing to help anybody, 
 grumbling did not seem at all natural to him, but he had 
 such a perpetual grin on his face, that we thought he 
 must go to sleep with it. Sister Anne talked to him 
 one day about saving his money. He thought it was a 
 capital idea, and he used regularly to bring it to her as 
 soon as it was paid to him. By the time he left the 
 ward, it had amounted to a large sum. 
 
 Goody and N were quite exceptions to the general 
 
 rule concerning orderlies ; they could be left and trusted 
 very much. Their affection and attention to their 
 patients were remarkable; they were as gentle as 
 women. Sister Anne suggested to them that, in the 
 case of patients who were much emaciated, it would ease 
 them to be lifted in sheets when their beds were made, 
 and they never forgot the hint. 
 
 There was one orderly in this ward who possessed 
 unfortunately a very surly temper. He did not venture 
 to show it to Sister Anne, but visited it upon one of 
 her nurses. 
 
 One day when she went to the orderly side of the 
 ward, to request him to do some part of the work which 
 was left for him to do, he answered her insolently, and 
 said, '^ she could do it herself." The nurse complained 
 to Sister Anne, who said : — 
 
 " This is the second time the complaint has been 
 made to me, and I have warned him that I would not 
 again allow it to pass." 
 
 She sent notice to the commandant. To her astonish- 
 ment, in a few minutes, he appeared at the door of the 
 
14^ A WARD MASTER UNDER ARREST. 
 
 ward with a Serjeant, corporal, and picket of men. The 
 commandant expressed his regret, that any soldier should 
 have spoken rudely to a lady. Sister Anne explained, 
 that it was not to herself he had done so ; but as the 
 nurses were under her protection, it was her duty to 
 see proper respect shown to them. In this he quite 
 agreed, and trusted she would complain to him at once 
 if any annoyance occurred, that it would be his pleasure 
 as well as duty to assist her. He then asked, if she in- 
 tended preferring a charge against this orderly. She 
 said, certainly not. She only wanted him removed 
 from the ward. This was done (the doctor's sanction 
 having been obtained before the complaint was made), 
 and another man sent in his stead. Thanking the com- 
 mandant for his kindness, this formidable aifair came 
 to an end. 
 
 On another occasion, on going to the ward in the 
 morning, Sister Anne saw something was wrong with 
 her ward master. He was one of the best in the hospital, 
 sober and attentive to his duty. He looked very 
 miserable, and came, and told her he was a prisoner. 
 
 She asked, " On whose charge ?" " That of P , an 
 
 orderly who had told the commandant that Sergeant 
 
 D had been out of the hospital after hours." She 
 
 said, " Were you so V 
 
 " No, indeed. I was not in my own room, but I was 
 not even out of this division of the hospital : I was in 
 another sergeant's room upstairs spending an hour. The 
 time passed on ; I had not told the orderlies where to 
 find me, but they all knew I was in this division." 
 Sister Anne first satisfied herself as to the truth of this 
 statement. She knew the orderly who had reported 
 him was one who was about to be dismissed that very 
 
EXTENUATING CIRCUMSTANCES. 143 
 
 day for bad conduct, and who had an ill feeling against 
 the sergeant. 
 
 She then went to the commandant, admitting the 
 sergeant was to blame in not being in his room, but 
 spoke of his general good conduct, the real loss it would 
 be to the ward, and begged he might be pardoned. 
 The commandant, as usual, listened kindly, but said it 
 was now out of his power to do anything, as it had 
 been referred to the Brigadier-general at Scutari, and 
 D must stand a court-martial. 
 
 This was sad tidings for the poor sergeant. He was 
 in despair at the very thought, and begged her to use 
 her influence at Scutari. She replied, that she could 
 do but little there, she feared ; she could only testify 
 to his good conduct, and she was sure both his surgeon 
 and staff-surgeon would bear her out — she would apply 
 to head-quarters, and plead for his return. Beyond 
 her expectations, the case was most readily attended 
 to, and within two days she had the pleasure of receiving 
 intimation that he was set at liberty without a court- 
 martial ; that he would have returned to Koulali at once, 
 but that the adjutant having seen him, considered him a 
 superior man, and as he wanted a clerk for his office, 
 said he wished to retain him for that, and hoped Sister 
 Anne would willingly part with him, as his pay would 
 be treble what he received as ward master, and the situa- 
 tion was, besides, a promotion. 
 
 She, of course, said she would not stand in his way, 
 and there it was thought the matter ended; but the best 
 
 was to come. The following night Sergeant D 
 
 came to the " Home," and begged to see Sister Anne ; 
 then told her he could not bear to accept the offer made 
 him without her consent and approval, and that he had 
 
144 MORE LETTERS TO SISTER ANNE. 
 
 told the adjutant so, for that he had received so much 
 kindness from this lady, he would rather give up the 
 post than displease her. Sister Anne assured him, she 
 had no wish to stand in the way of such an advantage, 
 and was very thankful it had happened. She was much 
 gratified by the good feeling displayed. 
 
 The following letter will show more fully the man's 
 character : — 
 
 " Adjutant-General's Office, Scutari, Nov. 25, 1855. 
 
 Sister Anne, — I know you will be pleased to hear 
 from me, and to know how I am getting on in my 
 situation. I can assure you, that I have made a good 
 exchange ; in the first place, I will improve myself 
 greatly ; and secondly, I am separated from a few people 
 at Koulali, who very probably would get me into an- 
 other predicament. I am quite by myself, and asso- 
 ciated with no one. I am very thankful to you for 
 allowing Sangers to go to my box to take some things 
 out for me. I hope you are quite recovered in health 
 again, and able to attend the ' hospital.' I will content 
 myself with the hopes of soon receiving a letter from 
 you; and trusting you are in the enjoyment of good 
 health, 
 
 " Believe me to remain yours, most respectfully. 
 
 " P.S. — Please remember me to F and 
 
145 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 '^ To tlie experienced clinical physician these well-known Patho- 
 logical inclinations as clearly and unmistakeably precluded the 
 idea of Anti-phlogistic and Depletory measures, which must be 
 regarded under such circumstances as worse than useless, for 
 in many instances they would not have been devoid of danger 
 to life." 
 
 De. Lyons' Report on the JPatJiology of the Diseases 
 of the Army in the JEast. 
 
 In another ward in the Barrack Hospital both upper 
 and lower divisions were under the charge of two Sisters 
 of Mercy and two hired nurses. Both wards were under 
 the same medical officer. Dr. , a civilian. 
 
 There were two civilians in Koulali Hospital, who 
 held about the same position as first-class staff-surgeons, 
 and were much better paid ; for the former had forty- 
 two shillings per diem, while the latter had only twenty- 
 two shillings. Their position was an anomalous one ; 
 they were nominally under the staff-surgeons and princi- 
 pal medical officer, but pretty much set them at defiance, 
 and sometimes the assistant-surgeons were forced to be 
 under them. The military surgeons, of course, chafed 
 at the intrusion of these gentlemen ; and I only wondered 
 how they bore it with any patience at all, for they cer- 
 tainly did not do credit to the civil branch of the pro- 
 fession. 
 
146 THE STARVING SYSTEM. 
 
 Dr. was a very eccentric person ; he had, 
 
 many years previous to the war, lived and practised at 
 Constantinople, and had now come out, he said, from a 
 purely benevolent desire to enlighten the military 
 medical staff upon the true mode of treating the sick. 
 We sometimes wondered whether the pay of two guineas 
 a day had anything to do with the benevolence. 
 
 Dr. chose to try experiments on the poor 
 
 men. He said their diseases ought to be treated as the 
 diseases of the inhabitants of Turkey were, by starving, 
 quite forgetting the difference in the constitution and 
 habits of the Turks, and also the labours and privations 
 our men had undergone in the camp, instead of spend- 
 ing their days cross-legged on a divan smoking a chi- 
 bouque. But Dr. had a profound veneration 
 
 for Turkey, its habits and customs — he maintained it 
 was the best governed, and most moral country in the 
 world. 
 
 He told us we were sadly wasting our time by not 
 using the privilege of our sex in seeking admission into 
 different harems, and cultivating the acquaintance of the 
 Turkish ladies, whose method of managing their house- 
 holds and children was so admirable. 
 
 In his ward the most exaggerated form of the starving 
 system was established. How any of his patients ex- 
 isted, we could not think — more died in his ward than 
 in any other. Here it is but fair to state that some of 
 the worst cases in the hospital were under his charge, 
 and that the doctor himself insisted his ward was not a 
 healthy one. 
 
 Nursing under his directions was a most miserable 
 work : it was the constant witnessing of suffering, with- 
 out the means of relieving it. The ladies, one and all. 
 
MISERABLE STATE OF NO. — WARD. 147 
 
 declared the impossibility of working under him. The 
 Sisters of Mercy made no remonstrance ; and for many, 
 many months, patiently and devotedly did they fulfil 
 their appointed duty, and that was one indeed arduous. 
 
 The comforts and encouragement which cheered on 
 the ladies and sisters in other wards failed here. They 
 who had been accustomed to courtesy and cordiality 
 from the army surgeons, were met with rudeness and 
 constant hard rebuffs. In other wards, if one committed 
 an unintentional error in carrying out, or omitting to 
 carry out, as the case might be, the doctor's orders, we 
 were sure of being treated leniently, and being taught 
 how to do better for the future. In this one no mercy 
 was shown to the offender. 
 
 The Government must have found in him one of their 
 penny wise and pound foolish economists. 
 
 The sisters attached to this ward saw other wards 
 gradually improving, while theirs remained in the old 
 state of dirt and neglect ; they saw in the extra stores 
 numberless comforts, which they knew their men lacked, 
 and they dared not procure them for the poor sufferers. 
 They saw the other sisters and ladies counting numbers 
 of convalescents in their wards, while their task was to 
 watch the slow progress of disease and death in those 
 committed to their care. 
 
 The depression of this was extreme — every one who 
 visited the ward even felt its influence. The superin- 
 tendent, who, of course, visited all the different wards, 
 often said, she could not imagine haw the sisters bore 
 up under their labour ; but they never complained, they 
 did all they were permitted to do for their patients, and 
 soothed them with kind and gentle words, and they were 
 not unappreciated. 
 
 L^ 
 
148 THE doctor's fad. 
 
 "Never mind, sister," said one, "we know you 
 mayn't give us extras as the others do, but we like to 
 see you smile." 
 
 An instance of the doctor's eccentricity may be given. 
 He had a great fancy for putting his men on milk diet ; 
 he said all doctors had their fad, and that was his. — If 
 he had given them enough of his " fad,'' it would have 
 been a different matter. 
 
 In the hot weather it was very difficult to get good 
 milk. There are hardly any cows in Turkey, and the 
 milk was a concoction of goats' and asses' milk, with 
 large proportions of chalk and water (beside it London 
 milk would have looked like country cream), and for 
 which we paid the moderate sum only of six piastres 
 (twelve pence) the quart. 
 
 In hot weather this milk would not stand boiling : 
 We tried heating without boiling ; it would not stand 
 that either. The first time this happened was at the 
 dinner-hour, when all the milk turned. A question 
 arose what to send instead of the milk diets ; a consul- 
 tation with the other ladies soon settled the point as far 
 as their patients were concerned, but the sisters of this 
 ward dared not give an opinion ; so the lady in charge 
 
 of the extra diet kitchen sent a message to Dr. to 
 
 know his orders. He immediately came to the kitchen 
 and said, 
 
 " How many of my patients are on milk diet to-day?" 
 
 Glancing at the diet roll, the lady answered, 
 " Eighteen : I was going to send you eighteen pints of 
 rice milk." 
 
 " I will have chicken broth instead," said he ; " send 
 »ie about one pint, or one pint and a half." 
 
THE SICK CHILD. 149 
 
 ** You mean that quantity for eacli pint of rice milk 
 which is deficient ?" 
 
 " No, ma'am/' with great emphasis ; " I mean one, 
 or one and a half pints of chicken broth. That, ma'am, 
 will make four or five ounces' allowance for each man ; 
 and you may also send them each one a captain's bis- 
 cuit," and he then departed. 
 
 A group of orderlies were standing by, waiting for 
 the ward dinners ; when the doctor was out of hearing, 
 there was a burst of laughter from them. 
 
 ^^Well, I never!" says one; "if that ain't a rum 
 notion, though ! — five ounces of chicken broth each for 
 eighteen soldiers ! Why, 'tis worse than the camp and 
 green coiFee." 
 
 In the lower ward was a very interesting case named 
 Algeo ; he was quite a boy, and was a great sufierer, 
 being covered with abscesses, and quite unable to move 
 
 himself at all ; but Sister used to say, she never 
 
 saw him without a smile on his face, and when he slept 
 it was touching to watch the look of calm endurance 
 which was still there. The orderlies often carried 
 him out on his bed, and laid him outside the hos- 
 pital, on the shore of the Bosphorus, that the sea breeze 
 might refresh him. It was obvious that he was passing 
 away from earth, and the orderlies and all were kind to 
 the poor suflferer, almost yet a child, whose young life 
 had been so strange and sad ; first the battle-field and 
 trench-work, then the bed of wasting sickness. 
 
 Sister tended him with loving care, and he re- 
 paid it with his deep gratitude and afiection. 
 
 An orderly in the ward was called Dick : he was quite 
 a character in his way — so rough and quaint, he looked 
 as if he were just made to knock down a dozen Russians 
 
150 THE FACETIOUS ORDEKLY. 
 
 at once ; but Dick was as kind to Algeo as if he had 
 been his own child, and poor Algeo was so fond of 
 him : it was strange to watch the affection between the 
 rough, hard soldier, and the dying boy. In the agony 
 of death, just before he passed away, he called for 
 Dick. 
 
 " Come here, Dick ; I want to kiss you, Dick.'' 
 
 And as Dick held him in his arms, the boy died. 
 
 When the rough orderly told Sister of it, the 
 
 tears stood in his eyes. 
 
 Dick was a strange character ; he was so remarkably 
 ugly, but evidently quite aware of the fact, and rather 
 proud of it. 
 
 " I be the best-looking man in the hospital," he used 
 to say. 
 
 ' One Sunday I called to him as he was passing, to 
 take a message for me to one of the ladies. " You are 
 the orderly from No. — they call Dick, I think V 
 
 '' Yes, Miss ; they calls me Dick on week-days, and 
 Richard on Sundays.'' 
 
 " Dick," said Miss , going into his ward to visit 
 
 a sick man who belonged to the Church of England ; 
 " do you know if the chaplain has been here to-day ? " 
 
 *^ I think I seed him a knocking through the ward," 
 was the answer. 
 
 There was another ward also, occupied by sick when 
 the hospital was crowded, but it was not considered 
 healthy, and was emptied as soon as possible, and turned 
 into a " detachment ward." Before we describe the 
 other buildings of the Barrack Hospital, we will visit 
 the General Hospital^ of which we were very proud. 
 
151 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 " Whose hallowed office is to tend the bed 
 Of pain and death, and soothe the parting soul. 
 Therefore are they called 
 Sisters of Mercy." 
 
 Felicia Hbmans. 
 
 The General Hospital, Koulali, has been mentioned 
 before. It was originally built as an hospital to the Turk- 
 ish barracks. Tradition says, that on or near to its site for- 
 merly stood a church dedicated to the Archangel Michael ; 
 exactly opposite, on the European side, stood another 
 church of the same dedication ; for it was the old 
 Christian belief, that the guardianship of all the fortresses 
 and buildings situated on the banks of the Bosphorus 
 was entrusted to the Archangel Michael. It is remark- 
 able that all ancient churches dedicated to St. Michael, 
 not only in the East, but in every other country, are 
 built on hills. 
 
 The Turks have one uniform plan^ for building their 
 hospitals. Koulali was a miniature imitation of the large 
 General Hospital, Scutari. The mode of building in 
 some respects was to be admired ; and with English 
 improvements, the Eastern plan would make excellent 
 hospitals. Koulali General Hospital was a q^uadrangular 
 
152 THE GENERAL HOSPITAL, KOULALI. 
 
 building, standing on the slope of a hill rising from the 
 Bosphorus. The side of the quadrangle towards the 
 Bosphorus was three stories high, opposite to which was 
 the main entrance on the top of the hill, where it was 
 only one story ; each of the other sides, from the gradual 
 ascent, being in part only two stories high. Lovely 
 was the view that one looked upon from the windows 
 of the different wards ; hill and water, trees and villages, 
 in one of the loveliest turns of the Bosphorus. In the 
 centre of the quadrangle was a garden, which was 
 planted with flowers : it was the great delight of the 
 convalescent patients to tend these, and cultivate 
 flowers to give to the sisters and ladies, and to adorn 
 their wards with. Here we could see the men, just able 
 to crawl out of their wards, basking in the sun, or trying 
 their returning strength in walking on the grass. In the 
 heat of summer a canopy was erected over the garden. 
 
 Round the quadrangle ran a corridor, which at the 
 time we are speaking of was full of beds. The wards 
 opened out of that corridor. Each ward held about 
 thirty beds. It would be needless repetition to describe 
 them, as their furniture was similar to that of the Bar- 
 rack Hospital. 
 
 The rooms were square, with no galleries above — a 
 stove in the centre of each. After passing through the 
 upper corridor, we descended a flight of steps to the 
 lower corridor, which ran round nearly three-fourths of 
 the quadrangle, with wards attached. One of these 
 wards was not considered healthy, and was therefore 
 disused when the press of work had ceased; below 
 this story, facing the Bosphorus, was one large ward, 
 intended for convalescents, but little used for that pur- 
 pose. Opposite the main entrance, in the court-yard. 
 
NURSING ARRANGEMENTS. 153 
 
 was a detached range of building, one story liigli, and 
 used for the extra-diet and general kitchens, stores, 
 guard-room, rooms for store-keepers, servants, &c. 
 
 The medical officer first in charge of this hospital was 
 Dr. Hamilton, whose skill and attention to the men 
 were remarkable. Early in the summer he was ordered 
 to the camp, and his departure was much regretted by 
 the patients, and by the Sisters of Mercy who worked 
 xinder him. He was succeeded by Dr. Guy. 
 
 The nursing of this hospital was under the charge of 
 the Reverend Mother of the Sisters of Mercy, she being, 
 of course, under the orders of the lady-superintendent 
 appointed by Lord William Paulet ; but as the super- 
 intendent could not be at the General Hospital so fre- 
 quently as she was at the Barrack Hospital, both Miss 
 Stanley, and afterwards Miss Hutton, left the arrange- 
 ments and direction of the nursing almost entirely to 
 the reverend mother. 
 
 The mother had four sisters, two ladies, and two 
 nurses, to assist her. She had had a long experience in 
 hospital work, and possessed a skill and judgment in 
 nursing attained by few. The hospital, from first to 
 last, was admirably managed. The medical officers, 
 both Dr. Hamilton and Dr. Guy, and the assistant- 
 surgeons, fully'appreciated her value, and there was a 
 hearty co-operation between them. When the means 
 of improvement were placed in her hands, they were 
 judiciously used, and the hospital so improved that it 
 became the admiration of all who visited it, and the 
 pride of the ladies and nurses who worked in it; we 
 used to call it " the model hospital of the East." 
 
 In the corridor, to the right and left of the main 
 entrance, were apartments; those on the right being 
 
154 THE sisters' community- koom. 
 
 occupied by the medical officers, the two rooms on the 
 left by the Sisters of Mercy. One of these formed their 
 community room, the other their dormitory, in which 
 the ten sisters slept for many months. Out of the 
 community-room opened a very small one, hardly more 
 than a large closet, which formed their oratory. When 
 the soldiers attended their service, they knelt in the outer 
 room. When one of the sisters was taken ill with fever, 
 the medical officers had her removed into a small room 
 in another part of the hospital. 
 
 The superintendent deeply regretted the insufficient 
 room given to the sisters, while we lived in a large 
 house ; but the matter of hospital quarters was one over 
 which she had no control. 
 
 Ultimately, however, three additional rooms in the 
 detached range of buildings were, with much difficulty, 
 procured from the authorities for the use of the sisters. 
 
 Visitors to the General Hospital usually visited the 
 sisters, for they were universally beloved and respected, 
 and they received all who called upon them with the 
 utmost courtesy and sweetness of manner. 
 
 Their community room was a tolerably-sized and 
 pleasant one, and furnished with the utmost simplicity 
 — Turkish presses, with glass doors, stood round the 
 walls, forming at once the sisters' hospital library and 
 free gift store, a portion of all free gifts sent to the hos- 
 pital being always forwarded by the superintendent to 
 the General Hospital ; a deal table, a few chairs, and 
 boxes for additional seats, completed the furniture of 
 the room, which, though occupied by so many, was a 
 pattern of extreme neatness ; and the warm welcome we 
 ever met there, made it a pleasant resting-place after 
 ascending the steep hill from the Barrack Hospital. 
 
THE CONSUMPTIVE PATIENT. 155 
 
 Few of us had ever visited nuns before, and we often 
 remarked among ourselves the bright, joyous spirit which 
 pervaded the sisters one and all ; in their work evidently- 
 consisted their happiness, and we often marvelled also 
 at their untiring industry. They never seemed to pass 
 an idle moment, for in their leisure time they were 
 always busy about some needlework or drawing. 
 
 The sisters never left the hospital (except when 
 business took them occasionally to Scutari) but in the 
 evening, when it was considered necessary for their 
 health to go outside the walls for a walk on the hills 
 around. 
 
 In No. 4 ward, upper hospital, was a poor boy who was 
 in the last stage of consumption. He was always crav- 
 ing for food, though it did him no good when he got it. 
 He gave much trouble to the orderlies, and from disease 
 was so very irritable to them, that they often com- 
 plained of his ill temper and ingratitude. But, poor 
 boy ! one could hardly blame him, looking on his thin, 
 wan face, whiter than the pillow he laid his head upon, 
 asking one minute to be turned this way, then that, 
 then begging for another and another pillow, till at last 
 he had so many, that the reverend mother, when going 
 her rounds one day, inquired the reason why he had 
 seven in use. 
 
 " Not one too many," said the poor boy ; " I don't 
 lay easy anyhow !" 
 
 The sisters were very kind to him, and attended to 
 his little fancies as if he had been a child. He was 
 always asking for sugar-plums and acid-dops to moisten 
 his parched mouth. 
 
 All these little things, sent out by kind friends from 
 England, were of much comfort, and were very superior 
 
156 GREAT TREASURES IN SMALL THINGS. 
 
 to those made in Turkey. We tried in vain to get 
 acidulated drops and good liquorice both in Pera and 
 Stamboul ; and when our English stock was exhausted, 
 we were obliged to content ourselves with the Turkish 
 sweets, finding them better than nothing to give to 
 those whose coughs not only kept themselves awake 
 hour after hour, but their poor companions also. 
 
 This poor boy was as pleased as a child with some 
 sugar-plums which Dr. Guy himself most kindly bought 
 for him at the little neighbouring village. He used 
 to keep them under his pillow, and the last thing the 
 sister did for him at night was to make sure he had 
 enough to last till morning. His first request in the 
 morning was generally to have a bit of buttered toast, 
 and to have his wine and water made boiling hot. 
 
 It was not at all easy, in the early days of the hospital, 
 to get either of these two requests attended to without 
 considerable trouble, as there was but one large fire for 
 the cooking of the whole hospital, and that at some dis- 
 tance from the wards ; and with so many needing the 
 sisters' attention, it was a trying task to go up and 
 down corridors, waiting, perhaps, an hour to get a slice 
 of bread toasted, and a drop of boiling water, while 
 others were also anxiously waiting their return. But 
 as soon as the sisters had their brasiers, this want was 
 supplied, and great was the rejoicing. 
 
 None but they who have worked in the Eastern hos- 
 pitals can imagine the unspeakable comfort a little char- 
 coal brasier and small saucepan became, or what a pri- 
 vilege it was to get ten minutes' use of a fire. 
 
 The poor boy died at last, after weeks and weeks of 
 weary, restless suffering. 
 
 At this time the patients sufiered sadly from chronic 
 
THE LARGE-HEARTED IRISHMAN. 157 
 
 rheumatism, and this often depressed their spirits more 
 than anything else ; they felt so hopeless of ultimate 
 recovery, or of ever being "any good again to any- 
 body," as they expressed it. 
 
 One tall, fine-looking man, in No. 4 ward, was often 
 seen with the tears rolling down his cheeks. He looked 
 quite well in the face, and could walk about, but his 
 left arm was utterly useless from long exposure in the 
 trenches. He was blistered, leeched, cupped, &c., time 
 after time ; but it remained immovable, and he was at 
 length obliged to be invalided to England. 
 
 He was evidently so superior to many of the others, 
 that we were surprised to see by his card that he was 
 only a private ; but one day he related his history. 
 Seven years ago he had been a corporal in his regiment, 
 and would probably ere this have obtained further pro- 
 motion, only that he had married without permission. 
 He asked leave to do so of his commanding officer, but 
 was refused, and, to use his own words, " she and I 
 were both very young and liked our own way, and so, 
 as we could not get leave, we married without, and I 
 was degraded immediately, and have not obtained pro- 
 motion since. She died," he added, " a few months 
 afterwards.^' He related his story with a half-sad, half- 
 proud smile, as if he thought the young wife now in her 
 grave, far away in England — for whose love he had 
 sacrificed his promotion — had been worth the sacrifice. 
 
 There was another, an Irishman, suffering from an 
 apparently incurable malady in his limbs. He looked 
 strong and hearty enough to have fought three or four 
 Russians single-handed ; but he was also invalided 
 home. His joy at going back to " ould Ireland'^ was 
 so great, that he thought it advisable to drink his own 
 
158 YEARNINGS FOR A WALK. 
 
 health, and those of the reverend mother and sisters, 
 and every one else in the hospital, before his departure; 
 so he persuaded one of the orderlies, who were some- 
 times open to temptation, to buy him some spirits ; and 
 when the reverend mother went in to give the invalids 
 some clothes for their voyage home, she found him 
 showering down blessings upon every one in such a 
 very excited tone, that, instead of thanking him for 
 those which, as soon as she appeared, he especially in- 
 voked on her own head, she very quietly went up to 
 him, and, taking the large scissors which hung from 
 her girdle, cut from his neck a ribbon, to which was 
 suspended a religious medal often worn by the Catholics. 
 This silenced him at once. She left the ward with 
 the medal in her hand, and poor Patrick was broken- 
 hearted. He said "he'd have no pleasure in going 
 home now," blamed himself for his folly in sending for 
 the unhappy drink which had caused him this disgrace. 
 In two hours they were to sail for England — what was 
 to be done ? One of the sisters advised him to go and 
 beg the reverend mother's pardon, and perhaps she 
 would forgive him. He seemed cheered by the hope, 
 took courage and went immediately, begged her very 
 humbly to forgive him this once, and he never would 
 take a drop o' drink again till he got to the " ould 
 country." Not liking to let him leave the hospital in 
 disgrace, she restored his medal, and forgave him with 
 many a word of good advice. 
 
 The patients often wished for a walk on the beautiful 
 hills round the hospital; but Dr. Guy was afraid to 
 give permission, as a few unruly ones might bring 
 trouble on the rest. The innocent, as usual, had to 
 suffer with the guilty, and that not a little ; for it was 
 
THE CONVALESCENT WARD. ' 159 
 
 most tantalising to sit at the gate of the hospital looking 
 out on the lovely country beyond, longing, as the sick 
 so often do, for the flowers and the fresh air, and yet 
 not able to stir a step. 
 
 If those who nursed them could have put on the 
 celebrated wishing-cap of Arabian Nights' notoriety, 
 their patients longing for the green hills would soon 
 have been gratified ; but as it was, they were forced to 
 console them with the hope of future walks in old 
 England : but it used to fret them sadly, and it was 
 difficult to make them understand, that it was at all 
 reasonable for one man to suffer for the fault of another. 
 
 The Sisters' influence over the soldiers was very great. 
 Earnest and touching were the blessings poured down 
 on their heads. 
 
 " I shall be a different man when I go out of this 
 hospital," said one. 
 
 " The prayers of my widowed mother in England will 
 go up to heaven for you," said another. 
 
 The Irish were, of course, vehement in their grati- 
 tude, and very amusing besides. " It's myself that's 
 proud to see you again this morning, sister ; and is not 
 it myself that knows who's the best doctors in the hos- 
 pitals now-a-days V And some added, " What you gives 
 us is better than all the doctor's stuff"." 
 
 Besides the two hospitals already described, there was 
 also a convalescent ward, or hospital, as it was some- 
 times called. It was situated between the Home and 
 the Barrack Hospital, and contained one hundred and 
 fifty beds. As an ordinary rule, patients from the Bar- 
 rack and General Hospitals were sent to the convalescent 
 ward to perfect their recovery and gain strength. It 
 was under the charge of a surgeon who lived in an 
 
160 ' GOOD MANAGEMENT. 
 
 apartment built on to the hospital ; a small kitchen arid 
 surgery were also attached, so that the patients lived 
 quite separate in every way from the other hospitals. 
 
 No nurses were required for this ward, as all the 
 patients were in a convalescent state. A few were now 
 and then in bed ; but if any serious illness arose among 
 them, the patients were sent back to the other hospitals. 
 The men were, however, visited occasionally by the 
 ladies and sisters. 
 
 "We generally went in the afternoon, taking books and 
 writing paper, and envelopes for their letters, and 
 talked to the men, which they always enjoyed; for an 
 hospital life, especially to a man, is a very monotonous 
 one, so they used to appreciate what they called " hav- 
 ing a bit of a chat." 
 
 The convalescent hospital was much admired ; it was 
 kept in beautiful order, and the men looked so well. 
 It was in Dr. Tice's division, as first class staff sur- 
 geon. Dr. O'Callaghan, for some months, and after- 
 wards Dr. Carolan, were the surgeons in charge. 
 
 Outside this hospital were always to be seen groups 
 of invalids, in their blue hospital dresses and white 
 nightcaps, inhaling the fresh breezes from the Black 
 Sea, and watching the vessels going up to and returning 
 from the Crimea. The rapidity and numbers of reco- 
 veries at Koulali were certainly greatly aided by the 
 establishment and good management of the convalescent 
 hospital. 
 
161 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 " Watchers by the sick, 
 The dying and the dead." 
 
 From the first day of our commencing our nursing at 
 Koulali, we much wished to have added night attendance 
 as well as day. We felt that the want of this rendered 
 our work imperfect. 
 
 During Miss Stanley's superintendence she had deeply 
 regretted that it was impossible with our limited num- 
 bers, weakened by illness, and inefficient for the daily 
 toil, to attempt it, except in such a case of emergency 
 as that of the medical ofiicer, whom we nursed at night. 
 
 When Miss Hutton had organised the work of her 
 new party, she became anxious to establish it; and 
 though the great sickness and mortality had passed away, 
 yet we felt satisfied that for a month or two there was 
 sufficient sickness in the hospital to make this useful 
 and beneficial. 
 
 While we were considering the expediency of the 
 plan, and the difficulties in its way, and especially whether 
 the medical officers would now like it begun (they*had 
 wished for it in the winter), the point was decided for 
 us. There was a serious case of illness in No. 4 ward. 
 One evening Sister Anne was standing beside the 
 
 M 
 
162 NIGHT-WORK ORIGINATED. 
 
 patient, considering what she could do more ere she left 
 him for the night, when the staff-surgeon of the division 
 came up and remarked, that this was a case requiring 
 watching every hour of the twenty-four. She assented, 
 and added, " Why is it not done V The surgeon asked 
 if she would sit up ? She replied, with all her heart ; 
 and explained to him that a strong wish for the esta- 
 hlishment of night- work was felt by all the ladies, and 
 how gladly we would undertake it. 
 
 Arrangements were soon made, and from that time 
 the " night-watching '* continued regularly for several 
 months. The first night was taken by the superintendent 
 herself, that she might more clearly lay down the rules 
 to be followed. She then settled that a lady and a nurse 
 should take the office each night, feeling convinced that 
 the nurses could not be trusted without the ladies' super- 
 vision, while the ladies needed a companion. If serious 
 cases of illness occurred, which required constant watch- 
 ing, the night nurses were to stay by their bedside ; but 
 the ordinary night-work was intended for the benefit of 
 those patients who ought not to be left for many hours 
 together without medicine or cooling drinks. 
 
 There was a small room opening from our free-gift 
 store, which was a shed in the middle of the barrack- 
 yard; this room was used in the daytime by the su- 
 perintendent to see any one on business. She gave it 
 up to us for the night- work. "VVe entered it at ten in 
 the evening, and then went our first rounds. 
 
 In each ward there was a table called the sister or lady^s 
 table; on it we kept books and stationery, flowers, &c. 
 On each of these tables, there was always left at night a 
 little book, in which was written the sister or lady's 
 orders to the night nurse, as, of course, the regular at- 
 
SLEEPY OTIDERLIES. 163 
 
 tendants knew more about the cases in their own wards 
 than those merely going in for the night. 
 
 It was a rule, that the orderlies should take it by turns 
 to sit up ; this, however, soon degenerated into the prac- 
 tice of one of them sitting up one hour, perhaps two, later 
 than the others, then going to bed in his clothes, which, 
 perhaps, he imagined would keep him awake; but it 
 certainly had not that effect, as he slept as soundly as 
 the rest. 
 
 On one occasion the night nurses could not find the 
 sister's book of directions : there was a patient who had 
 a blister on, and they wanted to know what time it had 
 to be taken off, and other directions about him ; so their 
 only resource was to awaken the orderly, to know what 
 he had done with it. The nurse touched, then spoke 
 to him, but it had no effect — he slept too soundly to 
 be easily awakened : at length she laid her hand on 
 his shoulder and shook him, and he opened his eyes, 
 but was some time before he was sufficiently awake to 
 answer her questions. He knew nothing about the 
 blister or the medicine ; but we made him find the 
 book, which he had been meddling with, and then we 
 let him go back to bed. 
 
 Generally speaking, we much preferred that the or- 
 derlies should be asleep ; for sometimes, after having 
 been, as we well knew, fast asleep till we came in, they 
 would stand up on our entrance, in order to make us 
 believe they had been awake all night ; and then they 
 would walk abou1> the ward, making such a noise. Besides 
 this, they had a peculiar art, practised only by them- 
 selves, of poking the candle almost into a patient's eye, so 
 that we soon established the rule of their leaving the 
 night- watching entirely to us. 
 
 M 2 
 
164 DROWSY SENTINELS. 
 
 The first round finished, we returned to our room^ 
 
 and remained there for an hour or two, according as our 
 
 cases required. Some of us were rather frightened at 
 
 first by the number of great dogs which' rushed at us 
 
 from the dark archways of the hospital, and also at the 
 
 loud voices of the sentries challenging us at the entrance 
 
 to each ward, with " Who goes there ?" However, in a 
 
 few nights, we grew accustomed to it ; and answered, 
 
 boldly, to the " who goes there ?"— " A friend." Then 
 
 came the reply, " Advance, friend, and say, all's well." 
 
 AVe pitied these poor sentries ; they had often only 
 
 just recovered from long illness, and were so weak as 
 
 at times to be quite overpowered with sleep. Knowing 
 
 that, if they were found asleep, they would undergo 
 
 severe punishment, we always roused them when we 
 
 found them in this state. Sometimes they would start 
 
 up, looking very much ashamed of our having caught 
 
 them ; but often, and especially if they had been patients 
 
 in our ward — they would thank us for our consideration. 
 
 One night we had just reached one of the archways, 
 
 and were about to enter, rather surprised at not having 
 
 been challenged as usual, when the sentry, quite a boy, 
 
 who had evidently dropped off to* sleep, sprang to his 
 
 feet, and presented his musket, shouting the watchword 
 
 at the top of his voice. We started back quite frightened. 
 
 " Why, sentry !" said the nurse, " are you going to 
 
 shoot us ?" 
 
 " Oh, no, miss," said he, lowering his gun, and looking 
 rather ashamed; "but I thought I heard some one coming." 
 It was rather a break in their monotonous night- 
 watch, to see the lady and nurse going their rounds 
 across the barrack-yard to the different wards, carrying 
 hot tea, &c. 
 
WOOD GATHERING. 165 
 
 In tlie intervals of our rounds we occasionally tried 
 to take a little rest ; but it was difficult to do so, often 
 impossible; for our enemies, the fleas, had a decided ob- 
 jection to our doing so : they never approved of it much 
 in the day time, but at night it was altogether against 
 their laws and regulations to allow us to rest for a 
 moment ; so we walked up and down, and did anything 
 to divert our attention from the misery they caused 
 us. 
 
 About twelve o'clock we lighted a fire, and put on a 
 kettle to make tea for our next round, and also a little 
 for ourselves. Sometimes we had no wood, and had to 
 go foraging for it in the barrack-yard with our lantern, 
 or by the light of the moon, which at times was dazzlingly 
 beautiful, cheered by the songs of the nightingales, who 
 warbled quite distinctly from the cemetery just above 
 the General Hospital. When we had collected enough 
 wood we returned, lighted our fires, boiled the water, 
 and had a cup of tea — all the more refreshing from 
 having had so much trouble about it. Tlie two Rus- 
 sian prisoners in the Stable Ward were very grateful 
 for a little tea at night, and told us so by expressive 
 signs. 
 
 There were sometimes cases which required unceasing 
 watching, and then some one was required to sit in the 
 ward where the sufferer was lying, putting a piece of 
 ice into his mouth every five minutes, or a spoonful of 
 wine or beef tea. No words can tell what heart-aching 
 work that night- watching was ; for though many of the 
 patients we watched recovered, it was mostly over the 
 dying that we kept vigil in those long, dark wards, lighted 
 |ft here and there by a dim candle, and with two long 
 Hi rows of slumberers. It was indeed awful to stand by 
 
 I 
 
1^6 RESTLESSNESS OF CHOLERA PATIENTS. 
 
 the wakeful^ restless sufferer, to mark the gradual but 
 too sure approach of that sleep from which there is no 
 awaking on earth ; to see the tossing of the aching head 
 backwards and forwards, from side to side, and be un- 
 able to rest it, and to listen to the low moan which 
 alone broke the stillness around. 
 
 This was especially the case with the cholera patients : 
 restlessness seemed one of their sufferings. One poor 
 fellow, dying of one of the worst forms of cholera, was 
 always entreating to be taken away. " Take me some- 
 where, lift me up, take me away." All through one 
 night this was his entreaty to the lady who watched 
 him. " Pray, pray, take me away, I cannot stop here." 
 She tried every means to soothe him, but in vain. 
 At last she softly repeated in his ear the words of some 
 familiar hymns, '^ Jesus, Thou our Rest shalt be ;" or, 
 " There is a happy land far, far away." It pleased him, 
 and he lay quiet for a time, and dozed a little, but soon 
 awoke again, with the old entreaty to be moved, to be 
 taken away. His prayer was answered ere next day's 
 sunsetting ; he was taken away, and to where " the 
 weary are at rest." 
 
 A Scotchman, who had lost a leg on the 18th of 
 June, was very wakeful at night. Sister Anne, when 
 it was her turn to take the night-watch, remarked upon 
 his extreme cheerfulness. He was in Lower Stable 
 Ward. She said she was glad to see how he kept up 
 his spirits. *' Why, .ma'am," he said, ''it would be 
 impossible not to be cheerful, situated as I am. In the 
 first place, I am going home with only the loss of a leg, 
 and I am doing very well at present. I am free from 
 great pain, and I ought to be cheerful and thankful when 
 we are cared for, and waited on, night as well as day." 
 
VIOLENT STORMS. 167 
 
 "We could say, with simple truth, that many lives, 
 humanly speaking, were saved by night-watching ; for, 
 had the care been relaxed, they must have lost at night 
 what they gained by day. 
 
 '' Oh !" some of the soldiers would say, ^' it makes the 
 long, long night seem shorter when you come your 
 rounds ; when we cannot get to sleep, we lie and watch 
 for the sound of your footstep.'* " Will you have some- 
 thing to drink?" we used to say to those we found 
 awake. *' Yes, and God bless you ! I am so very dry, 
 my mouth so sore." And the Irish said, they were 
 "just kilt with the drought." 
 
 In the summer the nights were oppressively hot, and 
 we often fanned the fever patients with large feather 
 fans, and so soothed them to sleep. If any bad case of 
 serious illness arose in the night, or if we saw any bad 
 symptoms appearing or increasing, we roused the 
 orderly, and sent him for the " orderly officer," one of 
 the assistant-surgeons who take it in turns to be orderly 
 officer; he never leaves the hospital during tw^enty-four 
 hours, and if any emergency arises he is always sent 
 for, instead of the regular surgeon in charge of the 
 ward. 
 
 Occasionally violent storms would occur in the night, 
 the rain would descend in ' torrents like water-spouts, 
 the gale would rise so high that it was impossible to 
 keep our lanterns alight, while the sky was so black we 
 could not see the glimmering of the lamps at the gate- 
 ways ; and then we really did feel nervous about the 
 challenging, for there were so many Greeks prowling 
 about the barrack-yard stealing wood or tools, or any- 
 thing left about, that the sentries were on the alert in 
 dark nights. However, we never did get shot, and the 
 
168 THE FAIR LIGHT OF DAWN. 
 
 storms did not occur very often. Soon after we com- 
 menced the night-work, the weather grew settled, and 
 it was charming till the intense heat came, and then the 
 nights, though hot, were a relief to the boiling heat of 
 the day. The moonlight nights were lovely, the sur- 
 rounding hills stood out so clearly, the barrack-yard was 
 still, and the distant Bosphorus was silvered over — all 
 spoke of rest and quiet, save those many restless suflferers 
 within the wards. 
 
 Beautiful was it to watch the morning break and the 
 sun begin to rise — the " dawning of the morning on the 
 mountains' golden heights ;" — the hills, lit up with rays 
 of gold, the bright-coloured clouds floating in the sky, 
 and making distant Constantinople seem like a city of 
 radiance. 
 
 The clear light air raised our spirits, but we were 
 not unthankful when the wards were all astir, and our 
 night-watching ended — for we are forced to confess that 
 the vision of bed, and a few hours' sleep therein, began 
 to have more charms for us than the lovely view around 
 us. We took our last round at five a.m. (the orderlies 
 were now wide awake, and able to attend to their pa- 
 tients) ; and about seven or eight o'clock we walked 
 along the shore, and reached home. 
 
169 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 " She heard of the daughters of Vincent de Paul ; 
 She felt in her spirit the summons of grace, 
 That called her to live for her suffering race, 
 And, heedless of pleasure, of comfort, of home, 
 Kose quickly, like Mary, and answered, ' I come.* " 
 
 Geeald Gbiffin. 
 
 It was sometimes necessary for us to pay a visit to 
 Pera, the French quarter of Constantinople, for the 
 purpose of shopping. We found that it did not answer 
 to send our interpreter for what we required. He would 
 return, saying such and such a thing could not be had. 
 An enterprising friend assured us that everything could 
 be procured in Constantinople, if we took the trouble to 
 look for it. We therefore determined to try, as we could 
 go down the Bosphorus in a steamer, two of which ply 
 daily between Constantinople and Buyukedere, touching 
 at different points on the banks. We had either to go to 
 Candilee or Greek town to embark. We landed at the 
 Galata side of the bridge, from which it is a weary walk 
 through the narrow streets up the steep hill to the Grande 
 B.ue of Pera. This E-ue was like an ever-moving pic- 
 ture. One saw every imaginable costume — a Turk, a 
 Greek, a Parisian lady; French, English, and Sardi- 
 nian soldiers and officers ; a pasha on horseback with 
 his train ; a group of Turkish women ; another of Greek 
 
ITO ' SCEUR BERNARDINE. 
 
 ladies ; a Greek priest in flowing robes, long beard, and 
 square cap ; a Greek Catholic priest, distinguished from 
 the other by the black gauze veil thrown over his cap ; 
 an Armenian priest in dark brown robes ; a group of 
 French clergy; an English chaplain; a Soeur de la 
 Charite ; a group of English sailors. 
 
 *' So went the scene — 
 So ran the din of many tongues." 
 
 The shops are kept chiefly by French, or Greeks who 
 can speak the language. The goods sold are of a very 
 inferior quality, and at an exorbitant price. We found 
 the greatest difficulty in buying the things we wanted ; 
 and we should never have succeeded, had it not been 
 for the kind assistance of Soeur Bernardino, one of the 
 French Sceurs de la Charite^ who, hearing of our diffi- 
 culty, offered either to do commissions for us, or to 
 accompany us through the streets of Pera and show us 
 the right shops. She had been many years in the East, 
 and spoke Turkish. We availed ourselves of her kind- 
 ness, and one day, under her escort, we traversed the 
 streets of Galata and Pera. Soeur Bernardino was an 
 invaluable cicerone. She knew the right price to be 
 given for every thing. She penetrated into streets we 
 had never heard of, and found shops hidden in corners, 
 as if their object was to keep out of the way. The very 
 shops that looked most unlikely to keep the articles we 
 wanted were found nevertheless to do so. We procured 
 that day large baskets, darning cotton, stockings, gill 
 measures, and many other articles for cooking, &c. 
 They had repeatedly been sought for in Pera before, 
 but in vain ; and we gained that day also much va- 
 luable information as to the shops at which to buy, and 
 the prices to give, from Soeur Bernardine. 
 
MISSION. 171 
 
 As we walked along the crowded streets, we met 
 among the motley throng, as usual, many French officers 
 and soldiers. They instantly drew back to let la Sceur 
 pass, and taking off their hats, bowed as if to a lady of 
 noble rank ; for throughout the French army there exists 
 a deep affection and gratitude towards the Sceurs ; and 
 well may they entertain both for those who have followed 
 wherever the flag of France has gone to strife and blood- 
 shed. Wherever her sons have lain languishing on 
 beds of sickness, when home and friends were far dis- 
 tant, one comforter was ever at hand, one well-known 
 form hovered by their side — la Soeur de la Charite. 
 
 Whenever the French armies, for the last two hundred 
 years, have gone out to battle, as surely as they have 
 taken with them weapons of war and destruction, skilful 
 generals to lead them to victory, gallant hearts to fight, 
 so surely have they also taken a gentle, holy band of 
 Sceurs de la Charite; and amid rough soldiers, and 
 among scenes of horror and distress, the vSoeurs move 
 fearless and unharmed. Around them is a shield which 
 insult dares not touch. As safe on the battle-field, or 
 in the hospital tent, or the " ambulance" in some foreign 
 town, are they as in their convent home ; the " wards 
 of the hospital, or the streets of the city, are their 
 cloisters, hired rooms are their cells, the fear of God is 
 their grating, and a strict and holy modesty their only 
 veil." No wonder the Frenchman pays them such 
 respect and honour, for they are worthy of it ten- 
 fold. 
 
 After we had finished our shopping, and were very 
 weary, Sceur Bernardino begged we would come and rest 
 at the convent. La Maison Notre Dame de la Providence 
 is situated in Galata ; it is not far from the situation of 
 
172 VISIT TO A CONVENT. 
 
 the British Admiralty Offices ; but though an extensive 
 building, and standing close to a Catholic church, it is 
 in such a narrow, dirty little street, that, unless guided 
 there by some one knowing the way, one might wander 
 about for an hour without discovering it. It stands in 
 the midst of the Frank population of the city, its most 
 filthy and abandoned haunts. 
 
 Arriving there, over a large door we found written, 
 Maison Notre Dame de la Providence, Ecole des Soeurs 
 de la Charite. Raising the knocker, the door opened 
 by a pulley from within, and we entered. This convent 
 is in itself a wonder ; on one hand is the reception par- 
 lour, which is constantly thronged. Persons of all 
 nations come here to ask information on various points ; 
 French officers come about their soldiers' wants. Here 
 throng the poor of all descriptions. Everybody in 
 trouble, distress, or perplexity, seems to come hither to 
 be relieved. We pass a little further on into the great 
 store-room; biscuits and wine, and such like articles, 
 are dispensed from this house to the " ambulances ;" the 
 ambulances are a sort of out-stations for the Soeurs de la 
 Charite, established near to each hospital ; a certain 
 number of Soeurs, under a Superieure, are sent to these 
 stations, and are supplied from this convent with stores 
 for their patients. This convent is the Maison Mere 
 for all the Soeurs scattered about the Turkish empire ; 
 here they return when they are ill, for rest and nursing. 
 There are one hundred Soeurs in the convent, exclusive 
 of those sent out ; and women of eight different nations 
 are in the community. 
 
 Leaving the store-rooms we visited the schools, which 
 contain many hundreds of children, of as many countries 
 as are gathered together at Constantinople — including 
 
THE orphans' dormitory. 173 
 
 almost all the countries of the known world — and the 
 children of this strange gathering are all taught one 
 common faith, gathered into one fold. It was a won- 
 derful'spectacle to look on the various faces of the little 
 maidens, the blue-eyed German, and dark Italian ; the 
 cunning face of the Greek, and stolid look of the Turk. 
 Next to the school we passed through the courtyard, 
 where the children play. 
 
 A door opening from this admitted us into the ad- 
 joining church, which belongs to the Lazarist Fathers. 
 It was very plain, and possessed no ornament worthy of 
 note, save one or two fine paintings. Ascending stairs, 
 we next visited the Sceurs' dispensary, which is kept in 
 the most perfect order. The Socurs are trained to make 
 up medicines ; and this is a most important branch of 
 their work in Turkey, as they are the only doctors for 
 large numbers of the poor, and among the poor of Con- 
 stantinople exists an amount of disease far exceeding 
 that of any other city of the same size and popu- 
 lation. 
 
 Ascending another flight of stairs, we came to the 
 orphans' dormitory. This we found in beautiful order ; 
 long rows of little white beds, and at each end, cur- 
 tained off, was the simple bed of a Soeur, who by night 
 as well as by day guarded, her orphan charge. Higher 
 still — we sighed at the number of stairs — and we 
 found the orphans — one hundred of them, such a happy- 
 looking set, sitting at work in a spacious room, Soeurs 
 being with them of course. At our request they sang a 
 hymn. We distributed some sweetmeats among them, 
 which gave great delight. The orphans do a great deal 
 of needlework towards their own support; they also 
 dress dolls, in the different costumes of the country. 
 
174 VIEW FROM A HOUSE-TOP. 
 
 and other articles of fancy work, wliicli can be purchased 
 in the parlour below. 
 
 The Soeurs have a boarding-school for girls of a higher 
 rank than the day-school. There was not sufficient 
 room for this in the convent, in consequence of the 
 number of Soeurs attending the different military hos- 
 pitals, and the boarding school had been moved to a 
 house in Per a. The Soeurs serve six or more military 
 hospitals in Constantinople. 
 
 When we had seen the orphans, we had not even then 
 reached the last story ; another flight yet, and we found 
 the children's chapel. It is merely a room set apart 
 for this purpose, and tastefully ornamented, though 
 with great simplicity. Stepping out from the chapel 
 we found ourselves on the house-top, which forms a 
 broad terraced walk, — and what a panorama was 
 before us ! — what pen could describe it ? The cu- 
 rious maze-like streets of Constantinople lay at our 
 feet. We were too distant to observe their drawbacks, 
 we only saw the picturesque. There was the bridge of 
 boats, with its thronging multitudes, whose forms 
 looked shadowy in the distance. The Golden Horn 
 and its shipping, the distant minarets of Santa Sophia, 
 Sultan Achmet's mosque, and many a mosque and 
 palace, besides cypress groves, the grand seraglio, and 
 the beautiful rounding of Seraglio point, the blue Bos- 
 phorus, the great cemetery of Scutari, the hospitals on 
 the cliff, the Sea of Marmora, the distant chains of 
 mountains, where the eye strives to distinguish the faint 
 outline of Olympus. All this can be seen from any 
 eminence in Constantinople. 
 
 The Soeurs, possessing no grounds to their house, 
 come here to catch the fresh air. Here every August 
 
FOUNDER OF THE '^ SCEURS." 175 
 
 they make, according to their rule, a week's retreat ; and 
 those at the different ambulances change and flock into 
 the convent for this end, during which retreat they 
 spend much of their time in this quiet house-top. Soeur 
 Bernardino said, in her pretty broken English — 
 
 " It is the time we love the best of all, for then we 
 come here, and we have nothing to do but to pray and 
 think of God. Last year," she said, " I was here, I was 
 so happy, but, alas ! the cholera broke out at Varna, and 
 they sent for us in haste, and I and some more had to 
 go so quickly." 
 
 The Sceurs de la Charite are those whom I men- 
 tioned as having met on board the " Egyptus.^^ They 
 were founded two hundred years ago by St. Vincent de 
 Paul, a man of whom it has with justice been said, he 
 " did more good in his single life than all the philoso- 
 phers the world ever saw/^ He thought that to effectu- 
 tually relieve the sufferings of the poor — besides the 
 religious orders established for the relief of particular 
 kinds of distress — there should be an order of women, 
 taken themselves from the poor, who would be thus 
 inured to the hardships they had to endure ; and he 
 ordained, that they should wear the peasant dress of 
 the period, that they should be sent to nurse the sick 
 at all times and in all places where they might be re- 
 quired, and that they should also educate young 
 children. 
 
 Persons wishing to enter this order were to pass five 
 years at least in the noviciate, after which they were 
 allowed to take the threefold vow of obedience, poverty, 
 - and chastity; but this vow was to expire every 25th of 
 March, and to be renewed or not at the Soeur's own 
 will. No instance, we believe, has ever been recorded 
 
176 Voltaire's opinion of the sceurs. 
 
 of a Sceur, after having passed through, the noviciate, 
 withdrawing. St. Vincent de Paul died in 1660, but 
 his work lived on. He called his daughters the ser- 
 vants of the poor ; but the people saw their deeds of 
 love, and they named them Sceurs de la Charite. 
 
 From France, its birthplace, this wonderful order — 
 wonderful in its extreme simplicity — spread into all 
 lands. They number now eleven thousand. Ladies of 
 high rank, even princesses, have laid down their rank 
 and wealth and entered the lowly order of the daughters 
 of St. Vincent ; but the greater mass of the Sceurs is 
 composed of the class for whom St. Vincent intended it 
 — the women who in England are hospital nurses and 
 schoolmistresses. 
 
 This is the order which made the infidel Voltaire 
 exclaim, that if anything could make him believe in 
 Christianity, it would be such deeds as those wrought 
 by the Sceurs de la Charite. 
 
 In the din of the French Revolution, even in the 
 Reign of Terror, the Soeurs won respect from those 
 fiends in human form. During the Peninsular war, in 
 one town, constantly taken and retaken by the French 
 and Spaniards, was a convent of Soeurs de la Charite. 
 Whichever army occupied the town sent sentinels to 
 guard the convent, for the influence of their gentle 
 deeds of love triumphed over the bitter animosity of 
 war. 
 
 The mission of les Soeurs de la Charite in Constanti- 
 nople was founded in the following way. Fifteen years 
 ago, a German lady came to Paris, and sought to enter 
 the order. On inquiry she was found to be above the 
 age at which the novices are received, which is either 
 twenty-eight or thirty. The disappointment was great. 
 
SWEET SCEUR BERNAUDINE ! 177 
 
 for it was the wish of her heart, and at length the su- 
 periors of the order agreed to receive her, should she 
 be willing to endure the test they would put to her. 
 They wished to found a house in Constantinople, they 
 said ; would she go there with one companion, establish a 
 school, and so make their footing good ? She consented. 
 
 Fifteen years ago, Constantinople was a very different 
 place to Constantinople now. The Christian's life then 
 was one, in outward things, not much unlike that of his 
 Divine Master — being pelted with stones in the street, 
 and suffering other insults, was the portion of these 
 holy women. They persevered. Sceur Bernardino (for 
 she was the lady we speak of) learnt the Turkish 
 language, established a school — Soeurs came from France, 
 and she entered their order. But so lovely have been 
 their deeds during this period, that they have won re- 
 spect from the Turks. 
 
 On one occasion a fire broke out in the vicinity of 
 their convent, and it was in danger. Directions were 
 instantly given by the Turkish authorities to save the 
 convent even should half a street be lost in conse- 
 quence ; and on another, parties having applied for a 
 house near the convent, and their occupations being 
 likely to prove an annoyance to the Sisters, they were 
 refused. Such is the Moslem's opinion of the Sceurs 
 de la Charite. 
 
 For a contrast, let us turn to'a Christian and enlight- 
 ened country, into which ten of these holy sisters only 
 set their feet to pass through it on their way to China 
 to meet there at least the risk, if not the reality, of tor- 
 ture and death ; and in the town of Liverpool hooting 
 and insults were showered on those whose life had been 
 a boast in Christendom these two centuries back. 
 
 N 
 
178 ' TURKISH COURT ETIQUETTE. 
 
 Sweet Soeur Bemardine ! my memory loves to linger 
 upon her. We shall never meet on earth again, but 
 never shall I forget that saintly face, or that winning, 
 loving manner, which spoke so plainly of the well of 
 love within her heart. The toil the Soeurs undergo 
 shortens their lives ; many have died of fatigue during 
 the present war — four at the convent in Galata, within 
 a few weeks of each other. A lady who had been 
 residing at the convent told me she never witnessed 
 such peaceful deathbeds. Humbly but joyfully they 
 went to Him they had so loved to serve on earth. 
 
 After leaving the convent, we descended the hill to 
 Tophana, on our return to Koulali. We were too late 
 for the steamer, and therefore took a caique. 
 
 As we were passing by the Sultan's new palace, we 
 saw he was about to enter. Our caiquejee said " Sooltan, 
 Sooltan," and rested on his oars. The royal caique 
 touches the marble steps, the iron gates are wide open, 
 the twelve rowers, all dressed in white, stand up, their 
 hands hanging down straight by their sides — the at- 
 tendants do so likewise. No one assists the Sultan to 
 rise or step from his caique. The slight, feeble-looking 
 man walks slowly up the marble steps and pathway 
 leading to his palace. His loose great coat and crimson 
 fez do not distinguish him from a pasha. He opens the 
 door himself, and walks quietly in ; not till he is fairly 
 out of sight do the attendants move from their statue- 
 like quietude, and prepare to follow their master. 
 Such is Turkish court etiquette. 
 
 Now we glide on, the sun has gone down, and the 
 delicious breeze from the Black Sea blows upon us, and 
 we are silent, and look around. The last rays of the 
 setting sun are lighting up for a few minutes mosque. 
 
AT HOME AGAIN. 179 
 
 dome, and minaret, and village, and the many sombre 
 groups of cypresses on either bank, and in the distance 
 the hospital of Koulali, the bright ,red colour of its walls 
 standing out against the dark hills beyond. 
 
 And now the sun sinks below the horizon, but we 
 are- not at home, for the current is strong, and our 
 caiquejees begin to pull more vigorously, for they have 
 a sort of superstitious dread of being on the Bosphorus 
 after nightfall; and they give us to understand very 
 emphatically in their broken English that they shall 
 expect more " backshish" on their arrival than they agreed 
 for at Tophana, pointing up to the sky, and saying : — 
 
 " Plenty dark"—" No plenty sun"—" English, ma- 
 dama, bono chok bono" — " No bono E,usse, no bono 
 Greek" — " Turk bono, English bono ; English, madama, 
 plenty money, plenty sovereigns — caiquejee chabouk 
 home, madama, give him more shillings." 
 
 " Chabouk (make haste), then, caiquejee,'^ we reply 
 *' sixpence more, caiquejee; shudi,shudi (quick, quick)." 
 
 And now the moon rises, and bathes all around in its 
 shadowy light, and we are thankful that earth is 
 so beautiful; and now our journey is ended — the 
 caique touches the threshold of our " Home on the Bos- 
 phorus " Georgi and Demetri, our Greek boys, fly down 
 to welcome us, and thus our day^s shopping in Pera 
 is ended. 
 
 N 2 
 
180 
 
 CHAPTEE XVI. 
 
 ** Each pictured page, 
 Quaint tale, or scene familiar brings to view 
 Treasured memorial." 
 
 Up to this period, the improvements in the hospital 
 had been slow and unsatisfactory, and resulted more 
 from the merciful diminution of death and suffering, 
 than from any exertions on the part of the authorities. 
 To this we must except the medical staff, who, as far as 
 our knowledge went, exerted themselves to provide all 
 the remedies, and create all the improvements, they 
 could consistently with the routine of their work. But 
 this routine was so rigid, that many necessary improve- 
 ments were left undone. 
 
 The two departments of the army who have most 
 concern with its hospitals, are the medical and the pur- 
 veying ones, the commissariat belonging only to the 
 effective army in the field. Up to May, 1855, the 
 purveying department continued in a most inefficient 
 state. Kequisitions on the stores for necessary articles 
 were constantly dishonoured, while anything out of the 
 common routine was never to be thought of. 
 
 Of course, in Turkey, there were all sorts of difficul- 
 ties in the way of procuring the usual comforts for the 
 
A REAL REFORMER. 181 
 
 sick, and up to this time every one, excepting the 
 " Times " Commissioner, looked upon a difficulty as an 
 impossibility. It was difficult to get wood, therefore it 
 was impossible to have tables or benches. It was diffi- 
 cult to get iron bedsteads, therefore the men must lie 
 on wooden tressels. It was difficult to get good washing 
 done, so it was left to go on as it best could. Cooking 
 utensils were scarce and dear, so the food must be 
 cooked without. The ladies' efforts were crippled by 
 their being wholly restricted to the use of the articles 
 furnished by the diet-roll, and all deficiencies were to 
 be supplied by our free gift store, which was small and 
 uncertain. 
 
 We continued to buy many things ourselves ; kind 
 friends sent us presents also ; but we felt the painful 
 uncertainty of this, and we also felt this was not the way 
 in which the army of England should be relieved. 
 Private charity had flowed forth in our emergency, but 
 it should not be overtaxed. The government of Eng- 
 land ought to be the source from which supplies should 
 permanently come. When Mr. Robertson, the new 
 Purveyor in Chief, came into office, this was realised. 
 The purveying department was soon in a very different 
 state — in working instead of idling order. What was 
 required in the hospitals was procured without delay. 
 First came iron bedsteads and hair mattresses ; next 
 tables and benches ; then a sufficiency of tins, out of 
 which the patients could comfortably eat their food. 
 
 Other improvements followed. The hospitals assumed 
 a different aspect ; now, indeed, were English soldiers 
 treated as they deserved. The just complaints began 
 to be hushed ; not that the improvements were wrought 
 at once, or without labour and difficulty; but Mr. 
 
182 CHARCOAL BRASIERS. 
 
 Robertson was an officer determined to overcome ob- 
 stacles. 
 
 It was now we gained possession of the charcoal 
 brasiers, of which incidental mention has been made. 
 These treasures deserve a more particular description. 
 They are small iron tripods, holding a few pounds of 
 charcoal. They are very difficult to light, and the fire 
 can only be kept alive by being placed in a draught. 
 In the winter, as already described, we did all our 
 cooking for ten days upon them, but those we then used 
 were borrowed for the emergency. All the ladies and 
 sisters complained of their not having any fire to go to 
 if they wanted, as so often happened, to make a cup of 
 arrowroot, or warm some wine or water, &c., and it 
 was very tiresome to have to send so frequently to the 
 diet kitchen for every little thing : first, it was such a 
 long way off, and in consequence the fetching and car- 
 rying took up more than double the time it ought ; 
 and, secondly, the cooks in the diet kitchen found it 
 almost impossible to keep it . in order, when orderlies 
 and nurses dropped in at all times asking for every 
 imaginable article. A charcoal brasier for each ward, 
 therefore, had long been one of the objects of our am- 
 bition ; and now we had but to write requisitions for 
 them, and they were procured immediately. They were 
 placed in the lobby of each ward, both that they might 
 have a draught, and also not be an annoyance to the 
 patients. 
 
 At night we used our "Etnas." These valuable 
 helps to those who nursed the sick were brought from 
 England by the ladies — they were given by kind friends 
 in England as a last thought for our own comfort, should 
 we be laid up. Little did the donors imagine the vicis- 
 
RIPE FRUIT FOR THE SICK. 183 
 
 situdes their Etnas would go through in an Eastern 
 campaign till they were fairly battered out. Before the 
 charcoal brasiers arrived, the Etnas were constantly 
 used ; but of course the spirits of wine required to light 
 them made them rather an expensive alternative. Still 
 they were our night companions, and many a little com- 
 fort did they enable us to give to our poor men, to 
 whom they were also an extreme amusement. They 
 would sit up in bed sometimes to watch us boiling an 
 egg or some arrowroot in one of them, saying one to 
 another — 
 
 " Ain't that a little beauty now ? It's as handsome a 
 little pot as Tve see'd since I left England. I wish 
 we'd had it in the trenches ; there were no such things 
 as them up there." Poor fellows ! they were easily 
 amused, and it was a real pleasure to us to hear them 
 laugh. 
 
 The next good thing that happened was the construc- 
 tion of the ladies' ward-rooms, which was simply a 
 small space divided off in each ward by means of can- 
 vas screens, in which were placed two or three chairs 
 and a table. This was a great boon to the ladies, who 
 could thus occasionally take a few minutes' rest, which 
 before they could not obtain except by leaving the 
 hospital and returning home. 
 
 The introduction also of canvas screens into the wards 
 was a great improvement. Now the delirious, or cho- 
 lera, or dying patients could be screened off from the 
 others. Before this, the sight of the very terrible cases 
 often had a sad effect on those around. 
 
 The fruit season had commenced, and every day the 
 caiques loaded with fruit dashed past the windows of 
 our home. Strawberries were first, through Mr. Stow's 
 
184 A BOX FROM ENGLAND. 
 
 kindness, introduced into the wards. Mr. 'Robertson 
 said the government ought to provide them, and we 
 had as many as we required. The strawberries were 
 very fine, though they did not seem to us to possess the 
 flavour of English ones. There were quantities of 
 melons brought in caiques for sale, but this was a fruit 
 very seldom wanted in the hospital, and the men did 
 not like green figs, of which there were plenty to be 
 had ; grapes followed, and they were much appreciated 
 by the fever patients. 
 
 Then came the astounding news that the soldiers 
 were to be supplied with pocket-handkerchiefs. Up to 
 this period none were given in the hospitals but from 
 the free-gift store, and it used to be amusing to hear 
 the ladies' urgent entreaties for them from their super- 
 intendent. They were so prized by the men, especially 
 when they were of some bright colour : in fact, with 
 very few exceptions, the men highly appreciated any- 
 thing which conduced to habits of cleanliness and neat- 
 ness. 
 
 One day a box for me arrived from England, upon 
 opening which I found the contents to be writing paper, 
 with views of the war, published by Messrs. Kock Bro- 
 thers, Walbrook. A kind friend had sent me a large 
 quantity, and Messrs. Kock themselves added a present 
 of more. Its arrival created a great sensation in the 
 hospital; and each of the ladies and sisters begged hard 
 for a share. It was impossible to^give to all; but I divided 
 the prize between the General and Barrack Hospitals. 
 It was a great pleasure to distribute the views. I spread 
 one of each on the table, and told the soldiers to make 
 their selection. Every one who could walk at all, crowded 
 round the table. Orderlies and sergeants left their work 
 
THE " FRESH ARRIVALS." 185 
 
 to have a look, and even the medical officer was at- 
 tracted by the crowd, and came to see and admire. The 
 different views were carried round to the patients in 
 bed. The business of choosing took a long time. Each 
 wanted some scene in which he had formed a part. 
 Some had been with Colonel Chester, when he so gal- 
 lantly led on the 20th; those who had been in the battle 
 of the Alma, wished for that ; those who had been at 
 Balaclava, another ; while those again who had fought 
 at Inkermann, another. Some had seen General Strang- 
 ways die, and wanted his last scene ; others were less 
 warlike, and chose the pretty views of the valley of the 
 Alma before and after the battle ; while the comic pic- 
 tures also had their share of admirers. 
 
 One sergeant was particularly struck by the '* Fresh 
 Arrivals" — two young officers fresh from England, in 
 all the pride of new uniforms and polished boots, meet- 
 ing an old campaigner on a mule, who had been out 
 foraging for the mess-table, and was bringing home his 
 purchases ; and this the sergeant held up for the admi- 
 ration of his comrades. 
 
 I much wish my friend, and Messrs. E,ock also, could 
 have seen the extreme pleasure these gifts were the 
 means of giving to the soldiers — the delight it afforded 
 some to write home on these sheets of paper, while 
 others were treasured up and gazed at and compared day 
 after day. Many a tale did the pictures elicit as they 
 brought back more vividly to mind past scenes of Alma, 
 Inkermann, &c. When I wrote home, saying how 
 grateful I was for the present, and how much it had 
 been valued, the same friend sent another packet, 
 which, however, shared the fate of but too many other 
 kind offerings — it was lost ! 
 
186 CONDUCT OF THE HIRED NURSES. 
 
 The soldiers were often fond of describing to ns the 
 engagements in which, they had taken a part. " Would 
 you like to see my battle ?" said a poor boy, who was 
 in hospital with frost-bite, having lost a bit of every 
 toe ; he could not read, but he took from under his 
 pillow a sheet of the " Illustrated News" of the Inker- 
 mann : " That was where I was knocked over," said the 
 lad with a broad grin of pleasure. He was a merry 
 Irish youth, but quite deaf, from the effects of severe 
 fever. When the lady of his ward last saw him, he was 
 on his crutches, going home to Dublin, but always with 
 "his battle" under his arm. 
 
 Stationery was very much prized. All we had was 
 supplied from our free-gift store, and up to this period 
 it had been very scarce ; but about this time a great 
 deal was sent out to us, sufficient to meet the demands 
 of the patients. Now we had plenty of tables in the 
 wards ; we had a store of paper, envelopes, pens, and 
 ink for all ; and in some wards a box to receive the 
 letters, which was emptied every Sunday and Wednes- 
 day evening, and the letters carried home by the ladies 
 and sorted. Those to the camp went free, those for 
 England were stamped by the chaplain, to whom we 
 gave them. Extraordinary were the directions and 
 spelling that used to occur in these letters — we often 
 wondered how they ever reached their destination. 
 A very common direction to the camp was " Sebastopol, 
 Russia, in Turkey." 
 
 One great trouble we began to feel at this time — 
 namely, the conduct of the hired nurses. We had, in- 
 deed, been tried by this from the beginning, and seve- 
 ral, as I have mentioned, were sent home on account of 
 bad conduct ; no doubt, the distress around them, and 
 
DISTINCTION IN DRESS. 187 
 
 the frequent sickness among their own numbers, kept 
 some sort of check upon them, but still, after several had 
 been dismissed for bad conduct, and others from sick- 
 ness, only two remained when the new party arrived on 
 the 9th of April. 
 
 The hospital costume in which Miss Stanley's party 
 left England was worn alike by ladies and nurses : this 
 was intended by the authorities to mark the equality 
 system; but soon after beginning hospital work we 
 found it impossible to continue wearing the same dress 
 as the nurses, and therefore discontinued it. When 
 the new party arrived, we were astonished to find that 
 those who at home had the selection of nurses for the 
 East had not accepted the advice, or listened to the re- 
 monstrance, of the ladies who had had to struggle with 
 difficulties on the spot, and knew, from painful experi- 
 ence, that similarity in dress was far from desirable, and 
 perfectly unnecessary for any good object. The ladies 
 and nurses all wore the government costume. When 
 we received them at Koulali, we expressed our surprise 
 at the circumstance, and our conviction that the ladies 
 would very soon follow our example, and make a dis- 
 tinction in dress between themselves and the nurses ; 
 and the sequel proved our expectations to be correct. 
 
 The ladies soon found it was necessary for their own 
 comfort, and for the good of their work, that in every 
 possible way the distinction should be drawn. None 
 but those who knew it can imagine the wearing anxiety, 
 and the bitter humiliation the charge of the hired 
 nurses brought upon us ; for it should be remembered 
 that we stood as a small body of English women in a 
 foreign country, and that we were so far a community 
 that the act of one disgraced all. After this period, it 
 
188 THE SCHEMER DISAPPOINTED. 
 
 is true, we had no longer to encounter the hardships 
 some had endured in the winter ; but as long as the 
 work in the East lasted, so long were there difficulties 
 to be surmounted, and trials to be borne, of no common 
 character. 
 
 On April the ^Ist, a second party of three ladies and 
 seven nurses joined us. They had travelled under the 
 escort of Mr. Wallace, a clergyman of the Church of 
 England. Immediately on their arrival, he informed 
 the lady superintendent that one of the hired nurses 
 had behaved so ill on the passage out that she ought 
 to be sent ^home ; it was determined that she should 
 return by the next ship. 
 
 Before the party of nurses he had escorted out went 
 to their work, Mr. Wallace wished to address a few 
 words to them ; but upon their assembling in the 
 
 sitting-room, one of the number, Mrs. , declared 
 
 she did not wish to hear it, as she did not intend to 
 stay. No, the life was " different to what she had ex- 
 pected" — she had been two days in the East — and the 
 nurses " were an ungodly set she could not live among. 
 She was a Christian, and Christians must not live among 
 the ungodly." Upon inquiry, we discovered that 
 
 Mrs. 's husband was a bandmaster, that she had 
 
 come out intending, as soon as she reached the East, to 
 leave the service of the Government and join him; but 
 on her arrival, she found he had been sent home, and 
 now she wished to go back. The superintendent said 
 she could go if she liked, but the Government would 
 not pay her passage home. This quite upset Mrs. 
 
 's calculations, as she had reckoned upon a free 
 
 passage to England. She became very insolent, and 
 was obliged to be reminded that, if she did not submit to 
 
A GOOD RIDDANCE. 189 
 
 the rules of the house, as we were in a military hospital, 
 we could call in the assistance of the authorities. The 
 vision of" arrest" rather frightened her, she contented 
 herself with warning us what we might expect when 
 she did get back to England — she would expose all our 
 doings. 
 
 One of the nurses came to report her threats in 
 terror. 
 
 " Oh 1 if you please, ma'am, she does say such dread- 
 ful things that she is a going to do. We shall be as 
 good as massacreed when she gets home !" 
 
 "Well, never mind," we said, "let her only go away 
 and get home, and we will see when the massacre 
 comes." 
 
 She left the house on the day the vessel for England 
 was to sail, went to the British Consul, and, I believe, 
 prevailed upon him to give her a passage to Malta. He 
 probably did not want her among the British subjects 
 at Constantinople. The other discharged nurse was 
 sent to Galata to embark for England, but contrived to 
 get away from the person in charge in one of the nar- 
 row streets of Constantinople. We never could trace 
 her afterwards. Such were the consequences of send- 
 ing out women of inferior character to such a work of 
 trial and temptation. We felt it bitterly, when we 
 wished so much that a good example should be set to 
 the men, and that we should raise and influence them 
 for the better ; it would have been all undone by these 
 women; while to them, poor creatures! a military hos- 
 pital was the very worst place that could be imagined — 
 rife with every sort of temptation. 
 
 A few weeks only had elapsed since the departure of 
 the two women I have mentioned, when disgraceful 
 
190 SCANDALOUS MISBEHAVIOUR. 
 
 misconduct caused the dismissal of a third. Ere a pas- 
 sage could be had for her, another was obliged to go, 
 from her habits of intoxication. She had been one 
 most highly recommended ; and to hear her talk, one 
 would have thought that she was a very religious per- 
 son. These two left together. The chaplain himself 
 offered to see them on board, and his task was no light 
 one; for during the whole caique voyage down the 
 Bosphorus, every sort of abuse and bad language were 
 showered down upon his head. 
 
 Our trials were not ended. A similar case of bad 
 conduct obliged the dismissal of one whom we had 
 looked upon as amongst the best of our nurses. Another 
 was found intoxicated in the wards ; these two, there- 
 fore, went a few weeks after ; and this source of an- 
 noyance continued till, after but a few months of the 
 arrival of the new party, we had only eleven nurses left. 
 To our utter astonishment we found that our sending 
 home so many gave great umbrage to the authorities^at 
 home ; for they demanded more particulars of the cases. 
 
 They were respectfully reminded that our superin- 
 tendent's duties did not include the reformation of 
 women of loose character and immoral habits, nor did 
 we imagine the authorities would require details which 
 were often too terrible to dwell on. We certainly did 
 expect that the ladies intrusted with the arduous charge 
 of controlling the nurses in our Eastern hospitals were 
 better judges of what class of persons were or were not 
 fit for that work, than those who, safe in English 
 homes, had perhaps never entered a hospital ward at all 
 — who certainly never toiled in a military one day and 
 night. 
 
 Of the remaining nurses, two were very unsatisfactory- 
 
AN EXCEPTION. 191 
 
 The others were all respectable and industrious, and, 
 under a lady's supervision, did very well ; but none, 
 with one exception, could be entirely trusted alone. 
 
 This exception was Mrs. Woodward, who came from 
 Oxford, and had been recommended by Dr. Acland. 
 She was perfectly trustworthy, and altogether a most 
 valuable person. Other six deserve to be mentioned 
 as having been of the greatest assistance to us, and as 
 having honestly performed the duty they had under- 
 taken. The fault with them was, that they woiuld either 
 give things to favourite patients without the surgeon's 
 leave, or would sometimes omit to carry out his orders 
 unless made to do it. 
 
 In ordinary hospitals the nurses constantly do this. 
 I have been told by medical men that, humanly speaking, 
 they have known lives among their patients lost by the 
 nurses' disobedience ; but in English hospitals the 
 doctors submit to this — they must have nurses, they can 
 get no better — ^ while in Eastern hospitals the nursing 
 was acknowledged .to be an experiment, and it was of 
 the greatest importance that strict obedience should be 
 paid to the commands of the surgeons, for we knew not 
 but that it might end in their refusing to accept our aid 
 altogether. It was no easy thing to introduce a new 
 element into the beaten routine of military hospitals, 
 and it required great care, skill, and prudence, in those 
 intrusted with its management, to do it successfully. 
 
 Still, as compared with those who were dismissed, 
 our remaining nurses should be spoken of with ap- 
 probation. It was not their fault that they were placed 
 in circumstances to which their previous life and training 
 had made them unequal. Mrs, Macpherson worked 
 during the greater part of the time in the General Hos- 
 
192 MANAGEMENT OF NURSES. 
 
 pital diet kitchen under the sisters ; and they always 
 spoke of her conduct in high terms. I should also mention 
 as approved of by us, Mrs. Grainger, Mrs. Montague, 
 Mrs. Howell, Mrs. Maloney, and Mrs. Stevens. Mrs. 
 Harding, who was at Koulali during the press of sick- 
 ness, and was sent home from fever (caught in the hos- 
 pital), gave much satisfaction as a respectable, indus- 
 trious, and kind-hearted nurse. 
 
193 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 " What has been the cost to this country of the men who died 
 in their tents or in hospital of exhaustion, over- work, and deficient 
 or improper nutriment ? It would have been cliea'p to have fed 
 those men who are gone, on turtle or venison, if it could have 
 kept them alive ; the poor fellows whom the battle spared, but 
 whom disease has taken from us. " — W. H. Eussell. 
 
 I WILL now speak more fully of what I can with 
 justice say was the most important part of our work. 
 
 We have described the first formation of the kitchen, 
 its gradual advance from charcoal brasiers to a shed in 
 the yard, and a kitchen in the Sultan's quarters of the 
 hospital. This latter we gave up when we left our 
 apartments there, as it was required for the ofi&cers' 
 use. The shed in the barrack-yard was enlarged and 
 improved, and all the extra cooking carried on there, 
 but still it was far from possessing every necessary 
 convenience. 
 
 At the General Hospital during all this time, the 
 sisters' extra diet cooking had been done on brasiers ; 
 they had no store-room, and were obliged to keep their 
 free-gifts in their own apartments. In the Barrack 
 
 o 
 
194 DESmABLE ADDITIONS. 
 
 Hospital we had a good- sized store-room, but it was 
 deficient in shelves and other improvements. There was 
 also a great hindrance which stood in the way of real im- 
 provement in this branch of our business ; the materials 
 for the extra diets were drawn daily from the purveyoi*^s 
 store by the orderly of each ward, according to the diet 
 roll, and then brought to the kitchen to be cooked. 
 Great waste was the necessary consequence of this. Small 
 quantities of sago, rice, arrowroot, were being cooked 
 for each separate ward, while, if all had been done at 
 once, half the quantity would have been sufficient ; and, 
 as I have before mentioned, for any mistake in drawing 
 the rations, or for any deficiency in the food, there was 
 no remedy except through private gifts, which were 
 quite inadequate to the claims thus made upon them. 
 
 "When the Purveyor-in- Chief visited Koulali, this dif- 
 ficulty was laid before him, and he remedied it at once 
 by giving the lady in charge of the store-room authority 
 to draw on the stores, and use the materials according 
 to her own judgment. Finding that the General Hos- 
 pital stood greatly in want of a kitchen and store-room, 
 he furnished them ; two small rooms in the building 
 fronting the quadrangle were chosen for this purpose, 
 
 and the Rev. Mother, assisted by Sister M J , 
 
 undertook the management. It was all that was wanting 
 to make the General Hospital perfect. The two rooms 
 were beautifully fitted up — the kitchen with oven and 
 boilers ; and brasiers were built into the wall where 
 frying and boiling could go on — the store room furnished 
 with shelves and drawers. When these arrangements 
 were completed, the kitchen was well supplied with 
 cooking utensils, plates, and dishes, and, what we ad- 
 mired most of all, small, round tins, with covers at- 
 
MR. gamble's presents. 195 
 
 tached to them by a chain — these were for the dinners to 
 be served in, and thus they were kept hot in their 
 transfer from the kitchen to the wards. 
 
 The store-room was filled with every comfort that 
 could be wished for. Preserved soups of all kinds — 
 we had never been able till now to draw these from the 
 stores — we had in the winter a large quantity of them 
 sent out by Mr. Gamble to Miss Nightingale at Scutari^ 
 and she sent a part to Koulali. They were much prized 
 by the men, and also by the then overworked nurses, who 
 at that time were very thankful for anything that enabled 
 them to procure a diet quickly : Mr. Gamble's pre- 
 served meat only requires to be heated, and hot water 
 add&d, and it is a most excellent soup ready at hand. 
 
 " It's the beautifullest thing I ever tasted," said one 
 patient. " That's the stuff to do us good," remarked 
 many others. 
 
 Now the store-room shelves had plenty of this soup, 
 and plenty of essence of beef (an invaluable thing in 
 sickness), sago, and arrowroot, rice, sugar, gelatine in 
 large quantities, wine and brandy, soda-water, eggs, 
 lemons, and oranges ; other comforts were afterwards 
 added. The diets were in a very different state ; the 
 fowls and chops did not look like the same, and the 
 men said they tasted quite differently. E,ice-puddings 
 were an important branch in the extra-diet kitchen. It 
 was difficult to make them good, owing to the inferior 
 kind of milk, rice, and eggs. The Eev. Mother solved 
 the problem, and rice-puddings as good as any one 
 could desire were sent out of her kitchen, and gave 
 great satisfaction. 
 
 We found it, however, quite impossible to make the 
 puddings properly without using more materials than 
 
 o 2 
 
196 LESSONS IN RICE-PUDDING MAKING. 
 
 "were allowed us by the diet-roll, so that we used our 
 privilege of drawing on the stores to make up the 
 deficiency. For all the expenditure of the store-room 
 an account was required to be kept and sent in to the 
 purveyor's ofhce. 
 
 Sister M J was an excellent accountant. It 
 
 was a pleasure to look at her books, and they gained 
 great commendationwhen they went in to the purveyor's 
 office to be checked. At the Barrack Hospital improve- 
 ments in the extra diets continued, the kitchen was en- 
 larged and furnished with fireplaces, additional ovens, 
 &c. The rice-pudding reform was introduced ; after 
 we saw the beautiful ones sent out by the sisters, we 
 were ambitious that ours should be equally good ; and 
 the superintendent, and the lady in charge of the 
 Idtchen, both begged the Eev. Mother to give them les- 
 sons in this branch of cooking, which she kindly did ; 
 they both went up to the General Hospital, saw how 
 they were made, watched the general routine of the 
 kitchen, and then tried to introduce it below — for the 
 sisters' long experience in all matters concerning the care 
 of the poor and sick gave them a great superiority over 
 us ; but they were ever ready to show us their method, 
 and to enter into our difficulties, which, in our extra- 
 diet-kitchen in Turkey, were not few. Milk that would 
 turn, eggs one half of which or more were rotten, rice 
 filled with dirt, were great obstacles in the construction 
 of puddings; so also were green lemons when we 
 wanted to piake lemonade. 
 
 Most of these articles were supplied to the hospital 
 by contract ; and when it was a little more difficult than 
 usual to get things — such as milk in the hot weather, or 
 lemons, when the season for them was past — the con- 
 
THE GELATINE DIFFICULTY. 197 
 
 tractor used to send anything he could get hold of, and 
 the purveyor would have kept all such inferior articles 
 had we not had permission from the Purveyor-in-Chief 
 to send them back; for he said the contractor was 
 well paid by Government, and ought and should send 
 articles fit for use. 
 
 We soon had excellent rice and rather better milk, 
 but it was impossible to get really good milk anywhere. 
 Lady Stratford de Redcliife sent about four gallons of 
 milk daily to the " Home," from Therapia,* which was 
 the best that could be had, and by heating this directly 
 it came in, we prevented it from turning ; but if this 
 precaution was neglected, in the middle of the day it be- 
 came sour. Good eggs were much sought after, but 
 could not be procured, and we were obliged to be con- 
 tent with breaking dozens of rotten ones to arrive at 
 the good. The green lemons we returned, and after 
 several battles with the contractor, we got others. 
 
 Gelatine was the next difficulty. There was a call 
 for jelly ; of course no calves'-feet could be had, so we 
 tried gelatine, one kind of which made it nicely, while 
 the other made it so very thick and bad we could not 
 send it into the wards. It was by no means sufficient 
 just to state this to the purveyor, and ask for it to be 
 changed ; he thought it would " do very well," so we 
 had to be very resolute to get our way. 
 
 The Barrack Hospital extra-diet kitchen had a civi- 
 lian cook (several of whom had been sent out by Govern- 
 ment). This was a great improvement, as it is difficult 
 to find cooks among the soldiers, and even when they are 
 
 * This milk was always understood to be a gift from Lady 
 Stratford, but I have since learned that it was paid for by the 
 Government. 
 
 k 
 
198 ROUTINE OF TPIE EXTRA STORE ROOMS. 
 
 found and trained, they are liable — as well as the order- 
 lies — to be ordered up to their regiment. At the 
 
 General, Hospital, however, Sister M J had 
 
 a soldier for a cook, who gave her great satisfaction. 
 
 The routine of the extra store-rooms was as follows : — 
 They were opened at nine in the morning ; the nurse 
 who assisted the lady, or sister, sweeping and dusting, 
 while the lady looked over the abstract of the diet Rolls 
 and ladies' requisitions. The former was made by the 
 purveyor's clerk, who examined the diet rolls of each 
 ward, and then made an abstract of the extras re- 
 quired, and sent it in to the lady or sister ; the latter 
 were for such articles as the ladies required extra to the 
 diet rolls, such as they had verbal permission to give, 
 and such as they wished to keep in their cupboards for 
 emergencies. They were like the following : — 
 
 (No. 50.) July 19, 1855. 
 
 Required for 3 Lower Ward, Koulali Hospital — 4 
 quarts lemonade ; S do. milk ; 4 do. arrowroot ; 2 doz. 
 eggs ; jelly for two ; h lb. of butter ; 2 doz. biscuits. 
 — (Signed) Sister M A . 
 
 Every lady and sister, if necessary, sent in a requi- 
 sition. Except in a case of great emergency, they were 
 permitted to send but once a day for all they wanted, 
 as otherwise confusion was occasioned. These requisi- 
 tions were then served ; the articles for each ward were 
 arranged in order, in addition to the requu-ements of 
 the diet rolls. Then the bell was rung, and in an 
 instant a group of orderlies rushed across the barrack- 
 yard to see who would be in time to carry off the extras 
 first. Requisitions from the medical officers came in at 
 all hours, and were instantly attended to. 
 
GREEK SERVANTS. 199 
 
 At 12.30 tlie bell again rang, and the orderlies as- 
 sembled to fetch the dinners of the patients ; for this 
 purpose they had wooden trays, on which were counted 
 out the number of fowls, chops, and potatoes required.; 
 then they returned again for the rice and maccaroni 
 puddings, and for rice or sago milk; in a quarter of an 
 hour all were served ; then came the diets of sick 
 officers, — for among the large body attached to the hos- 
 pitals, there were generally one or two on the sick list. 
 At two the store room was closed till four ; at five the 
 bell summoned the orderlies to fetch the night drinks 
 — lemonade, barley-water, or tea, as ordered ; arrow 
 root or beef-tea was again made, if required. 
 
 In the evening the lady in charge sent her requisi- 
 tions to the purveyor's stores for such articles as she re- 
 quired in her store room for the next day. On Sundays 
 the hours were slightly altered, owing to the arrange- 
 ment that every person in the store-room and kitchen 
 should attend Divine service ; but though each had this 
 opportunity afforded him, the patients wer<e in no way 
 neglected thereby. 
 
 Most amusing scenes went on at times in the extra- 
 diet-kitchen. The orderlies did not like the civilian 
 cook, and he returned the compliment ; they were per- 
 petually telling tales of each other. 
 
 There were a good many Greeks also employed in 
 the kitchen (for the labour of fetching water from the 
 extreme end of the barrack-yard required a good many 
 hands, and chopping wood was another piece of heavy 
 work) ; the Greeks were a great torment, they were 
 perpetually running off, staying away for a day or so, 
 then coming back, and quarrelling and fighting among 
 themselves ; they were also idle and disobedient. We 
 
200 M. SOYER AND HIS TEA. 
 
 had to send messages almost every day to the sergeant 
 in charge of the Greeks, " Wanted a Greek.^' 
 
 At last came an Italian, named Constantino. He was 
 an old man, but worth six Greeks. Always at hand, 
 willing, gentle, and obedient, he picked up a few sen- 
 tences of English very fast, and was very proud of his 
 acquirements. His favourite employment was to help 
 the lady engaged in serving out the stores, lifting the 
 heavy weights for her, and so on. He was quite honest, 
 but he and the cook could not agree, and there were 
 dreadful battles. Cook complained so much of his dis- 
 obedience in the kitchen, that Miss was forced to 
 
 remonstrate with him ; but it was very amusing, as she 
 could not speak either Greek or Italian, and had to 
 express her displeasure by signs, and by using the little 
 English that Constantino knew. Constantino, however, 
 understood quite well, and made a vehement defence ; 
 he danced about the room, and, with many gesticula- 
 tions, gave her to understand, that "Monsieur Cook" 
 was so unreasonable, he wanted Constantino to be in 
 the kitchen when he was helping madame in the store 
 room, and that he could not be in two places at once ; 
 and Monsieur Cook was so rough, he called out so loud, 
 and was not quiet like madame. However, the reproof 
 did good, and the kitchen was more peaceable. 
 
 Monsieur Soyer paid a visit to Koulali before the 
 improvements in the extra-diet kitchen had taken place. 
 He offered to show a better way of making the hospital 
 tea, i. €., that issued from the large general kitchen for 
 all the diets. There was room for improvement, for it 
 was the most wretched stuff possible. Monsieur Soyer's 
 was much better, and yet he made it, he said, with 
 exactly the same proportions as before, I do not think 
 
M. SOYER AND HIS TEA. 201 
 
 his improvements were long attended to at the kitchen ; 
 but as it did not come within our province, I cannot 
 speak with certainty. 
 
 Monsieur Soyer made his tea in the little kitchen 
 outside the Convalescent Hospital. The medical officers 
 and the ladies came to taste it, and it was an amusing 
 scene : the group outside tasting the tea, the tiny kitchen, 
 which just held Monsieur Soyer and his assistants, and 
 the patients of the Convalescent Hospital, looking on 
 and wondering what was to happen to their tea that 
 night* 
 
202 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 Brave hearts, to Britain's pride 
 Once 80 faithful and so true.'' 
 
 Campbell, 
 
 The routine of tlie hospital was often interrupted by 
 the arrival of sick, who came in numbers varying from 
 50 to 100. We seldom had more than a few hours' 
 notice, and often not that. Sometimes it was not till 
 the steamer was alongside the quay that we knew they 
 were coming ; this arose from all the sick from the camp 
 being sent to Scutari first, and then transhipped into a 
 small steamer, and sent up the Bosphorus again to Kou- 
 lali. "When they arrived there was a general commo- 
 tion ; the principal medical officer, the commandant, 
 and most of the medical staff, went down to the quay to 
 receive them, and see that they were carefully carried 
 up. Orderlies ran hither and thither, wardmasters and 
 nurses were in a bustle getting beds prepared. The 
 kitchen staff was hard at work to get fires lighted and 
 coppers full of hot water, in readiness for the doctor's 
 orders. Ladies and sisters were engaged in looking 
 after the clean linen. 
 
 A different scene it certainly was from that which 
 might have been seen a few months back, when the poor 
 sufferers came in, and no beds were ready, and no clean 
 
TOUCHING INCIDENTS. 203 
 
 linen, and no nurses tx) attend and watch by them. A 
 blessed change, indeed, it was. 
 
 The newly-arrived sick were divided between the two 
 Hospitals, part going to the Barrack and part to the Ge- 
 neral Hospital. All who were able walked, the rest were 
 borne on stretchers. As soon as the sick were in their 
 beds, requisitions began to pour in. For one ward was 
 ordered beef tea, for another negus, for a third good tea. 
 The orderly officer of the day was in great request, as 
 he had to sign the requisitions, or give the sisters and 
 ladies verbal orders, from which they might write their 
 own requisitions. 
 
 Very touching incidents often occurred among the 
 sick on their first arrival ; they were so astonished to 
 find so many comforts ready, and so many hands to 
 minister to them. The quantity of clean linen was a 
 great wonderment; they said they had more here in a 
 week than in the camp for months together. 
 
 The poor Irish soldiers were much charmed at the sight 
 of the nuns — " Our own sisters," they would fondly say. 
 
 I remember one poor man brought in who was a Eo- 
 man Catholic ; he was so ill he could not speak, could 
 neither ask for temporal comfort nor spiritual consolation, 
 but he looked up into the face of the sister who was at- 
 tending on him, and perceiving the crucifix hanging 
 from her girdle, he eagerly seized it with his dying 
 grasp, and pressed it fervently to his lips. 
 
 The national spirit of the Irish was very strong ; it 
 was pleasing to see their reverence and affection for 
 their priests and the nuns. The Irish orderlies were 
 delighted beyond measure to be allowed to wait on 
 the Catholic chaplain ; nothing was so great a treat as 
 to be doing something for *^ his riverence.'^ 
 
^04 DONATIONS FROM ENGLAND. 
 
 Amusing scenes sometimes occurred v^itli Irish sailors. 
 There was a wharf just below Koulali, where steamers 
 often came to coal ; on one or two occasions the crews 
 happened to be principally Irish. The sailors had 
 leave to go on shore, and dispersed themselves about 
 the country ; they went through the hospital wards, 
 evidently delighted at the comfortable appearance of 
 the men. They looked at and admired everything ; 
 but when they met their countrywomen, the Sisters of 
 Mercy, in the barrack-yard, they were quite overjoyed ; 
 and when they found that they lived at the General 
 Hospital, they all went to visit them, and attended 
 their chapel. Many who had not attended to their 
 religious duties for years, were persuaded to do so now. 
 They did not forget the ladies either, but were overheard 
 one night on the quay to be talking the matter over, 
 and saying, however those ladies could have come out 
 all this way with nobody to take care of them, was past 
 their conception. 
 
 Butter was a great treat to our men ; before the ar- 
 rival of the new Purveyor- in-Chief the bread was so dry 
 and sour, that it was difficult even for those in health 
 to force it down, unless very hungry. No butter was 
 at that time given on the diet roll. We asked leave 
 of the medical officers to give it to our patients. This 
 was granted, and we were enabled to obtain it through 
 the kindness of friends in England, who sent us money 
 for this and such-like purposes. It will gratify them 
 to know, that many and many a poor fellow had a com- 
 fortable meal through their consideration. 
 
 We are glad to take this opportunity of thanking 
 them for the warm, affectionate sympathy and ready 
 help they so often afforded us, not only in sending us 
 
GRATITUDE OF THE SOLDIERS. S05 
 
 money and other presents, but for the personal trouble 
 they took in the matter. We had but to write to 
 England, and say we wanted such and such a thing, 
 and it was sent by the first opportunity ; and not only 
 this, but we often received letters begging us to write 
 and say what things would be useful. Little school- 
 children sent us money — small sums they had saved, 
 and wished to be sent to the " ladies who nursed the 
 sick soldiers." 
 
 Could these friends have seen the glistening eyes 
 with which the poor men listened to- the account of 
 their kindness, and have heard their hearty " God bless 
 them ! — God bless them !" they would have been more 
 than rewarded. It would have pleased them to have 
 gone round thewards'with us at tea-time, accompanied by 
 our butter-bowl, and have seen the grateful look of 
 each patient as he received his small portion, and have 
 heard his exclamation, " Why, here's actually a bit of 
 butter — that is nice and homelike I" Many would 
 keep half their portions till next morning's breakfast. 
 It certainly was very unlike English butter, and we 
 sometimes wondered how they could eat it with such 
 evident enjoyment; but long months of hardship and 
 almost starvation, had taught them to be easily satisfied 
 with what many in England would have grumbled at. 
 Our means of procuring them this comfort of course 
 soon came to an end. . It was not fair to give butter in 
 one ward and not in another, and one £3 after another 
 was quickly spent in providing a whole hospital with 
 butter, even once or twice a week, as it cost from 3s. 
 to 45. a pound. 4s. we always paid for it when we bought 
 it at the canteens, but we could procure it at Ss. if we 
 bought kegs of £2 or £S value at Constantinople. 
 
206 BREAD CONTRACTS. 
 
 When Mr. Robertson came, he ordered butter to be 
 kept in the stores, and we drew it upon requisition, and 
 gave it when we thought the men really needed it. 
 We happened to be complaining to one of the offi- 
 cer's wives of the sour bread furnished to the hospital, 
 which also came to our own table. She said, it was very 
 strange, their bread was beautiful, as good or better 
 than English. We found this arose from the officers' 
 rations being drawn from the commissariat department, 
 while ours came, like the patients', from the purveying, 
 and that these two departments had separate contractors 
 for bread. Upon this being represented to the Purveyor- 
 in-Chief, he changed the bread contract at Midsummer ; 
 and from that time the hospital was supplied with ex- 
 cellent bread, the contractor being Mr. Hamelin, the 
 American Missonary at Bebec. From his bakery, long 
 previous to this, we procured biscuits which were very 
 good. They were twelve piastres the oke (an oke is 
 about two pounds three quarters,) so that they were 
 much cheaper, as well as better, than any we could have 
 procured in the French shops at Pera. 
 
 We spent a good deal of our free-gift money in pur- 
 chasing them, for we often found that men who were 
 very weak could eat biscuits when they could not swallow 
 or digest bread. Eventually biscuits, like every other 
 imaginable comfort, could be freely drawn from Govern- 
 ment stores. 
 
 The bad washing, and consequent deficiency in the 
 linen department, had been severely felt from the first, 
 but there was no remedy. At Scutari the washing, 
 we heard, was now well regulated, being done on the 
 spot by means of washing machines ; but this could not 
 be done at Koulali, as there was no building which 
 
WASHING DONE BY GREEKS. 207 
 
 could be made into a washhouse; all that could be 
 done was to place the linen stores under the charge of 
 the sisters and ladies. It was a point on which Mr. 
 Robertson was very anxious. He had rooms fitted up 
 for this purpose at both hospitals ; at the upper one, it 
 
 was under the charge of Sister J M , who 
 
 began hers first, and it was kept in beautiful order. 
 
 The linen stores of the Lower or Barrack Hospital 
 
 were under Miss M , and nurses assisted in both 
 
 stores. 
 
 The care of the linen stores was a very laborious 
 work. The lady superintendent, in addition to her 
 numerous duties, spent much of her time in those at the 
 Barrack Hospital ; she kept the accounts, and brought 
 the stores by degrees into perfect shape and order. 
 
 The linen was sent across to Bebec, to Mr. Hamelin, 
 at the Protestant Armenian College, who had the con- 
 tract for the washing. It was done by Greeks, who 
 sometimes thought fit to work, and sometimes not, so 
 that often the washing was in arrear. A great quantity 
 of linen had always to be returned to be washed again 
 — a momentary dip in the water evidently having been 
 the extent of labour bestowed upon it. 
 
 When the clean linen was sent in from the contractor, 
 it was taken to the Purveyor's general linen store, and 
 thence issued to the ladies' divisional linen stores upon 
 requisition. The ladies and sisters who worked at the 
 linen stores spent nearly the whole day there, only 
 leaving it for their meals. Twice a week they received 
 the clean linen, and, after selecting the good, and 
 sending back the bad, they proceeded to sort the former ; 
 then followed the folding, the mending, and the ar- 
 ranging and placing it on the proper racks. Twice 
 
208 ARDUOUS NATURE OF THE WORK. 
 
 a-week the ladies and sisters of the respective wards 
 sent in their requisitions to the ladies at the linen 
 stores, and the different articles were then put in bun- 
 dles for the wards, when the orderlies fetched them. 
 The sisters and ladies had in their wards small cup- 
 boards (under lock and key), where they kept a few ar- 
 ticles of linen and sheeting ready in cases of emergency 
 from new and sudden arrivals. 
 
 It took a long time before the linen stores were 
 arranged in a satisfactory manner, but we at length 
 succeeded, and had then the pleasure of knowing that 
 there was no comfort required in sickness which was 
 not supplied to the British soldier. He had the best 
 medical skill and attention, food as good as could be 
 had in Turkey, and linen as firequently as in hospitals 
 at home. 
 
 The work in the linen stores was so very arduous 
 that the other ladies, when their work in the wards was 
 lighter than usual, often dropped in to lend their as- 
 sistance towards reducing the interminable mending, 
 and in the evenings at our quarters we often were busy 
 mending the socks and other clothing for the patients. 
 
g09 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 •* Benefactors in the generous mother islands, whose care and 
 bounty have provided them with comforts and luxuries beyond 
 all price to the sickening and declining soldier." 
 
 W. H. EUSSELL. 
 
 The Free Gift Store has often been referred to. It 
 was the store supplied by the gifts of the people of 
 England, who generously and promptly sent them out 
 to their suffering army ; and although much disappoint- 
 ment has, I know, been experienced by many, on hear- 
 ing that numbers of these packages never reached their 
 destination, yet it will be a satisfaction to many to learn 
 the benefit given by that portion which did arrive. 
 
 The free gifts had to be carefully sorted, for often a 
 good many useless things were sent out. A small portion 
 of the free gifts sent to Scutari was forwarded to Kou- 
 lali. Others were sent straight to us, and some we pur- 
 chased with money sent out from England. Small- 
 tooth combs we bought in great numbers when the hos- 
 pital was crowded, for they were much needed. An 
 old Turk sat at the hospital gate with a stall of trifles, 
 and had some small-tooth combs — he looked so sur- 
 prised when we one day completely cleared his stall of 
 them. 
 
210 DEPARTURE OF INVALIDS. 
 
 At first we had no separate store to keep our free gifts 
 in. They were therefore placed in one of the purveyor's 
 rooms, and under charge of a sergeant. He was an 
 amusing individual, very unlike the soldiers in general, 
 and so very important that he thought it rather a con- 
 descension on his part to attend to us. 
 
 After a time a shed in the barrack-yard, previously a 
 canteen, was given up for our use, and was by the en- 
 gineer officer made into a nice little building in three 
 compartments : First, the superintendent's room ; se- 
 cond, the Free Gift Store ; third, for packing cases, &c. 
 As soon as we could carry our free gifts into this store, 
 the superintendent arranged them all in order on the 
 shelves, with which the room was furnished. Some- 
 times they looked quite full, but never remained so for 
 long together ; a party of invalids ordered home soon 
 made a clearance of the shelves. This store was under 
 the lady-superintendent's charge. She saw the things 
 unpacked and arranged, and received the requisitions 
 of the ladies and sisters in charge of wards for the ar- 
 ticles of clothing they considered their men needed 
 before going to England or to the camp. Quantities of 
 pocket handkerchiefs were sent; flannels. Jerseys, socks, 
 night-caps; some crimson pocket handkerchiefs gave 
 great delight, cotton shirts were also valued. 
 
 We found the free gifts principally useful as aiford- 
 ing us the means of giving necessaries to the men going 
 to England, for they would otherwise have often left 
 without a change of linen or any warm clothing for the 
 voyage. The men who came down in the winter and 
 spring had usually lost their kits in the camp, and so 
 were quite destitute. Subsequently, when the men did 
 bring their kits down with them, but which were fre- 
 
FAREWELLS. ^11 
 
 quently imperfect, we always enquired what was defi- 
 cient in them. After the quarter-master had given 
 what he thought requisite, we then gave them articles 
 from our store. It was thus always a very busy time 
 when the men were being invalided ; for it was a rule 
 not to give the things till they were just going away, 
 that they might have no temptation to sell their clothes 
 for drink. Consequently, all had to be done in a few 
 hours. The ladies prepared their list of what the invalids 
 wanted, and the superintendent gave them out, and as 
 soon as we had given them, the men went on board. 
 
 The scenes on these occasions were always very in- 
 teresting. Groups of poor fellows in each ward, just 
 risen from their beds and dressed in the uniform of 
 their different regiments, were to be seen packing up 
 their kits, and reiterating their thanks for the clothes 
 they had just received. Orderlies were running about, 
 trying to get the invalids' dinners a little sooner than 
 the usual hour, that they might have a good meal before 
 starting. Comrades who had fought together on the 
 field of battle, or suffered side by side in the trenches 
 before Sebastopol, were to be seen wishing each other 
 good-bye ; those who were left behind sending messages 
 to their friends in England. Chaplains giving away 
 Bibles and prayer books ; and as a last kind thought, 
 very often finding a quantity of tobacco for them to 
 smoke on the voyage. Sisters and ladies having a last 
 word with those whom they had long tended, and whom 
 in all human probability they would never meet again 
 in this world; many of the invalids with tears in their 
 eyes loading them with blessings, and earnestly pro- 
 mising (what they well knew would more than compen- 
 sate for any trouble they might have taken) that they 
 
 p 2 
 
S12 A soldier's petition. 
 
 would be diiFerent men henceforth to what they had 
 been before they came into the hospital. 
 
 And now the order is loudly given at the entrance of 
 each ward, " The invalids for England to proceed to 
 the shore," and they slowly depart — orderlies carrying 
 the kits of those who are too weak to do so themselves, 
 and some of the wounded and incurable being taken 
 down on stretchers. They all pass down the barrack 
 yard, and through the main guard entrance, which is 
 crowded with doctors and officers. One of these ac- 
 companies the invalids as far as Scutari, where they 
 embark in a larger vessel for England. And now the 
 little steamer is ready — the poor fellows are all on 
 board, and we watch them depart with a silent prayer 
 for their safe arrival in old England. 
 
 On Mondays and Thursdays patients were discharged 
 from the convalescent hospital to proceed to Scutari, 
 from thence to go to the camp ; and what we considered 
 deficient in their kits were made up from the Free Gift 
 Store, so that it had enough to do to supply all these 
 demands. Occasionally it did get alarmingly low ; but 
 somehow, by hook or by crook, it got up again, and we 
 always had enough to give. The men were so grateful 
 for these gifts, and so pleased with them. An amusing 
 letter was once sent to one of the ladies, which I insert 
 — the cotton shirts the writer speaks of had been given, 
 but not the rest of the free gifts, and he was very much 
 afraid none were coming. 
 
 '* Miss , — Please if in your power to let me have 
 
 the following articles, viz., one pair of slippers, for my 
 feet are very sore ; one red scarf; one night- cap ; one 
 pocket handkerchief. 
 
WIVES. 213 
 
 " N.B. — None of the above have I received, though 
 you have supplied me well with clean linen for the 
 voyage, for which I sincerely thank you, and your 
 kindness to me and to every one in the ward shall never 
 be forgotten or neglected in the prayers of your humble 
 servant. Corporal G . 
 
 " A flannel shirt and a pair of drawers would be most 
 welcome indeed, for I have one of each, and I'd like to 
 have a change. G ." 
 
 Occasionally soldiers* wives would be leaving with 
 the invalids. There were, however, very few of these 
 women at Koulali ; the greater number of them were 
 at Scutari, where, if they were deserving cases, they 
 received much kindness and assistance from Lady Alicia 
 Blackwood when they left for England. They also 
 received clothes for the voyage. She commissioned 
 Sister Anne to undertake the business for her at Kou- 
 lali. The women were often in great distress for clothes, 
 both for themselves and children ; and clothes were far 
 more valuable to them than money, owing to the great 
 difficulty in procuring, and the exorbitant price charged 
 for, such articles in the East. Lady Napier was also 
 very kind in sending clothes to Sister Anne to distri- 
 bute among them. 
 
 One poor woman, who washed for the officers, had 
 fallen asleep late one night in the wash-house, and her 
 clothes caught fire. She was frightfully burnt, and 
 was carried to a room over one of the wards, where 
 doctors and nurses attended to her. For eight or nine 
 months she lay there unable to move, her husband 
 
214 UNFORTUNATE ACCIDENT. 
 
 also in the hospital. They were both selected by a 
 medical board to proceed home, but she was not able 
 to undertake the voyage, and when we left Koulali she 
 was still there. 
 
215 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 " Where the gorgeous East with richest hand 
 Showers on her kings barbaric pearl and gold." 
 
 Paeadise Lost. 
 
 In June there were but 400 men on an average in 
 hospital. This diminished number, together with the 
 various improvements I have described, had completely- 
 altered the character of the work from that with which 
 this narrative began. Our work now was that of or- 
 dinary hospital attendance, and our staff was more 
 than adequate to its requirements. We had no thought, 
 however, of diminishing it, because we lived in daily 
 expectation that the number of patients would in- 
 crease; the attack on Sebastopol being constantly 
 expected to take place. We now, therefore, occasion- 
 ally saw some of the venerable objects with which Turkey 
 abounds, and the scenes of the^deepest historic interest 
 which lay close around us. There is scarcely a village 
 on the Bosphorus which, has not a tale to tell of the 
 stormy scenes a few centuries back. We never walked 
 far from Koulali, for it was not considered safe to do 
 so. We used to go to Candilee sometimes. This name 
 
216 FRENCH CATHOLIC COLLEGE. 
 
 signifies "hung with lanterns :" and the exquisite beauty 
 of the views cannot be conceived by those who have 
 not seen them. " Europe and Asia at one glance/' a 
 visitor to Candilee once said. 
 
 Opposite Candilee, on the European coast, is the 
 village of Bebek, with its lovely bay, a favourite resort 
 of Europeans. Here are several American families, 
 and also French and German. Here are also two 
 colleges — one a French Catholic, under the order of 
 Lazarist Fathers, the other a Protestant Armenian, 
 under the care of an American gentleman. There is 
 also a small convent and enfant trouveSj belonging to 
 the Sceurs de la Charite. We visited these three insti- 
 tutions ; the first contained about 500 boys, who were 
 all dressed like French' soldiers, part of their other 
 studies being military exercises, a French soldier being 
 their instructor. Boys of every nation are there — 
 Turks even send their sons, so that the facility of ac- 
 quiring languages is great. We counted ten that are 
 spoken in the house. 
 
 We were most courteously received by the superior, 
 and conducted over the college. We saw the library 
 and the laboratory, and the boys at their gymnastics, 
 and heard their singing in the little chapel. The 
 music was an improvement on the general character of 
 French music in the East ; but the chapel was so much 
 too small for the large body of voice, accompanied as it 
 by was an organ, that we could hardly judge of its 
 merits. We enquired whether the Turkish boys attended 
 the chapel. The answer was " seldom." It was entirely 
 voluntary ; if they wished for religious instruction they 
 had it, but they were not forced to hear it. 
 
 The superior himself conducted us to the Maison de 
 
HISTORICAL ASSOCIATIONS. 217 
 
 Saint Joseph, close by, belonging to the Sisters of 
 Charity; they are sent from the convent at Galata, 
 Their house is for sick children and the enfants trouvts ; 
 on a very small scale, however, in comparison to the 
 well-known institutions of Paris. 
 
 Here again the amalgamation of different nations 
 struck us, — a Soeur was standing at a window holding 
 in her arms a dark-eyed Italian baby, a fair-haired 
 German child was climbing up her knee, while a little 
 sickly-looking Russian sat beside her. Groups of other 
 little ones, some suffering from sickness, and others 
 the lonely and forsaken, played about the room. Four 
 sisters were in charge of them, gathering, as these 
 sweet sisters ever do, the most desolate and afflicted 
 of God's creatures into their loving care. The college 
 and sisters' house stand in a lovely situation, half-way 
 up the hill, looking down on the Bosphorus. 
 
 We visited the Protestant Armenian College, and 
 were most kindly received by the principal and his 
 family. We were conducted over the college library, 
 dormitories, &c. ; but it being the recess, we did not see 
 the pupils. The college is intended for young Armenian 
 men belonging to the body of Protestant Armenians. 
 
 The sweet waters of Asia are situated just below Ana- 
 toli Hissar, and thus exactly opposite to Humeli Hissar ; 
 these two fortresses are called by Europeans the Castles 
 of Europe and Asia, being built as defences for the 
 narrowest part of the Bosphorus. Here Darius crossed 
 with his army, with horses, elephants, and camels, on 
 his expedition against the Scythians. On a stone pillar 
 on each shore were inscribed the names of the nations 
 who crossed with him. Here was also the rock cut 
 into the form of a throne, where Darius sat and con- 
 
218 THE HEAVENLY WATERS. 
 
 templated the march of his army from Asia to Europe. 
 To the building of the walls of this fortress were applied 
 the pillars and altars of the Church of St. Michael, which 
 had been built at Koulali. The Castle of Europe was 
 built in 1451, two years before the Ottoman conquest of 
 Constantinople ; the Castle of Asia had been erected 
 some time previously. This latter was once called 
 Guzel Hissar, i. e. the beautiful castle ; but terrible tales 
 would be told could those ruined walls find a tongue, 
 for afterwards they named the castle the Black Tower, 
 as many hundreds met their death there from torture 
 and cruelty. Strange that in a spot which God has made 
 fair beyond the power of language to describe, mail has 
 delighted in the cry of agony. Many other armies have 
 followed the example of Darius, and crossed the Bos- 
 phorus at this point — Persians, Goths, Latins, and 
 Turks. 
 
 The Castle of Asia is entirely in ruins, but the Castle of 
 Europe is still standing. It was built with the intention 
 of forming the Turkish characters of M H M D, which 
 make the name of the founder Mahomet II. 
 
 After rowing three miles down, we came to the nar- 
 row creek leading to the sweet waters, about a quarter 
 of a mile in length ; the name of this creek or small 
 river is Gohsu, i. e. the heavenly water. It is considered 
 the most lovely spot on the Bosphorus — the water has 
 rather a sweet taste, from whence has arisen its name — 
 it is always called sweet waters. Each side is lined 
 with trees bending down to the water's edge. At the 
 end of the creek we generally landed and walked in the 
 green fields beyond. The pleasure of this excursion 
 principally consisted in our being well-nigh able to 
 fancy ourselves in England. On Friday (the Turkish 
 
RENDEZVOUS ON THE SABBATH. 219 
 
 Sabbath), the valley of the sweet waters is the favourite 
 rendezvous of the Turkish ladies. They assemble be- 
 neath some large green trees in a field on the banks ; close 
 by a new and handsome kiosk nowbeing built for the Sul- 
 tan. The windings of the Bosphorus, its hills crowned 
 with kiosks, and its banks crowded with houses, can be 
 seen for some distance from the valley of sweet waters. 
 The white and ivy-covered towers of the Castle of 
 Europe form a striking picture' in the landscape ; near 
 the banks is a marble fountain, richly ornamented with 
 carving ; but on a Friday the scene in the valley itself 
 almost distracted one's attention from the landscape. 
 
 Under the trees are spread carpets and cushions of 
 various colours ; upon these the Turkish ladies recline in 
 groups, clothed in dresses of every bright hue — green, 
 blue, red, pink, yellow, orange, violet, &c. Some are 
 smoking, some are drinking coffee out of their tiny 
 cups, some buying sweetmeats and toys — vendors of 
 these are to be found in all directions — children in their 
 quaint Turkish dresses, miniatures of their elders, are 
 playing about — heavy Turkish carriages, containing the 
 Sultanas and other ladies of high rank, drive slowly 
 round the field — Greek, English, Armenian, and French 
 ladies and gentlemen and children, were also there in 
 numbers. Here and there an Albanian diversifies the 
 scene. 
 
 As it grew dark, the ladies entered their carriages or 
 caiques to return home, and we, too, sought ours, and 
 were soon at home, for the current bore us swiftly along. 
 
 The currents of the Bosphorus are very strong, and 
 on some days, without visible reason, will be much more 
 so than on others. Immediately before our house was 
 one of the strongest ; it often drove quite large ships 
 
220 GAUDENS OF BEBEK. 
 
 back — indeed, the larger ships and vessels seemed more 
 under its influence than the small boats ; for these, after 
 two or three vain attempts to stem it, would go cau- 
 tiously into the middle of the stream, and so avoid some 
 of its fury. But the ships were helpless without the aid 
 of a steamer ; they turned round and round, and we 
 often expected to see the yards come through our win- 
 dows. In fact, it once happened that a ship did injure 
 one of the rooms, and another knocked down part of our 
 garden wall. 
 
 On one occasion, too, we witnessed from our windows 
 a sad accident. A poor man, owing to a concussion 
 between two boats, fell into the seething waters ; his 
 rescue was impossible, and he was drowned before our 
 eyes. This current is called " sheitan akindisi,'^ or 
 deviPs current ; and to it there belongs a legend. A 
 sultana in her caique was once proceeding down the 
 Bosphorus, when she met a number of persons going to 
 worship in a Christian church, upon which she ordered 
 the church to be pulled down. On her return, her 
 caique was seized by the current and upset ; but all the 
 attendants and boatmen were saved — the sultana only 
 was lost. Almost every spot in Turkey has some old 
 legend attached to it. 
 
 One of our favourite expeditions was to the lovely 
 gardens of Bebek. They belonged to the Sultan's chief 
 physician, who very kindly threw them open to the 
 English and French. It was refreshing, after a long, hot 
 day's work in the hospital, to row across, and wander 
 among the orange and citron groves, and sit under the 
 shadowy trees, while the air around was laden with the 
 sweet scent of innumerable flowers, the birds singing 
 over our heads the only sound, and everything above. 
 
RAMAZAN. * ^21 
 
 beneath, and around bright with beauty. "We could 
 have fancied ourselves in fairy land, — " And the fire- 
 flies glance in the myrtle boughs/' — completed the 
 dream-like loveliness of the whole scene. 
 
 The gardens are most beautifully laid out, terrace 
 above terrace, and bower succeeding bower, and many 
 a winding path, forming gradual ascents to the hills 
 immediately above, from whence can be seen, as usual, 
 an extensive and beautiful view. 
 
 Our last visit to these gardens was late in the autumn, 
 one evening at sunsetting ; their aspect changed, but 
 the golden tints on tree and bower, contrasting with the 
 deep crimson of the autumn roses, rather increased than 
 diminished their beauty. One night, too, we visited 
 them by moonlight, and the scene was one of unearthly 
 beauty. Bebek was so easy of access from Koulali that 
 we often went across, and the nurses were very fond of 
 visiting these gardens, and we were glad to find occa- 
 sional amusement for them. 
 
 Kamazan commenced in June ; it lasts thirty days. 
 The Turks fast till sunset, both from eating, drinking, 
 and smoking. The two latter privations make it very 
 hard work, as ordinarily a Turk seldom has his pipe 
 from his lips, and the heat causes great thirst. Shortly 
 before sunset the Turkish troops assemble in the bar- 
 rack-yard, with their large copper dishes ; rice is por- 
 tioned out to them, sometimes mixed with a sort of 
 gravy, and they stand still looking at it, till the welcome 
 sound of the sunset gun (which is fired the moment the 
 sun sinks below the horizon) is heard, and then they 
 set to with good appetites to enjoy their dirty-looking 
 dinner. 
 
 The caiquejees greatly object to taking passengers 
 
222 CEREMONIES OF BEIRAM. 
 
 ■when near sunset time ; but if persuaded to do so, and 
 the gun is heard, they will stop at the nearest village to 
 get their pipes lighted before they proceed further. 
 
 After sunset throughout Raraazan all peace and quiet 
 is over. When the Turks have done eating, they begin 
 shouting and dancing to what they call music, a sound 
 resembling that which would be produced in England 
 by one hundred hurdy-gurdies, all playing together. 
 About 12 or 1 at night, men parade through the streets, 
 beating Turkish drums. The noise is distracting, and 
 generally lasts until two or three in the morning. It 
 was annoying even to those in the Home ; but the offi- 
 cers, whose quarters were close to the Turkish barracks, 
 complained bitterly of the impossibility of sleeping in 
 consequence of the unceasing noise. All were thankful 
 when the fast drew to its close. 
 
 Some of the English residents advised us strongly 
 not to lose the sight of Bairam or Beiram, the Great 
 Feast which follows Ramazan. This was a matter of 
 difficulty, living the distance we did from Constanti- 
 nople ; but through the kindness of friends, some of our 
 party were enabled to see the grand ceremony. 
 
 The proceedings at the Beiram are as follows. The 
 Sultan rides on a fine Arab charger, with all the pomp 
 and ceremony of Turkish state, attended by his minis- 
 ters, from the palace of the Seraglio to Santa Sophia, 
 where he must be at sunrise. There are two feasts 
 called by this name commanded to be observed by 
 Mahomet — the first, or the Greater Bairam, is kept at 
 Mecca only when victims are sacrificed, and it is called 
 by the Arabs " Id al Korbam, il al adha," i. e., " The 
 Feast of the Sacrifice,^' which is celebrated in comme- 
 moration of the sacrifice of Abraham. 
 
A NIGHT VOYAGE. 22B 
 
 But the feast we were about to witness is called the 
 Lesser Bairam, or in Arabia, " Id al Feti." It is de- 
 pendent on the new moon ; if the sky is so cloudy that 
 she cannot be discerned, the feast is postponed for one 
 day ; but after that it proceeds, whether they see her or 
 not. Watchers are placed on the surrounding hills to 
 catch the first glimpse of her appearance, and then they 
 run to the city, crying, " Welcome news," and the fes- 
 tivity commences. 
 
 We were obliged to quit Koulali at two a.m., to reach 
 Stamboul in time. Caiques were engaged, and the 
 Turkish sergeant-major volunteered to go as inter- 
 preter. This worthy was a remarkable character in 
 the hospital. He prided himself on his knowledge of 
 English, small though it certainly was. He took the 
 opportunity of our row down the Bosphorus to inquire 
 into the manners and customs of England — to ask about 
 the pay of English sergeant-majors — to inform us that 
 his own was sixpence a-day — to say that he admired 
 the English more than the Turks, and intended to visit 
 that country and enter its service — indeed his anxiety 
 to visit England was so great, that he offered himself to 
 us in the capacity of cooh, if we would only take him. 
 The grimaces he made, his gesticulations, his broken 
 English, and his excessive amusement at our few Turk- 
 ish words, kept us in continual laughter. He would say, 
 " English very bono ; Turk no bono ; English soldier 
 how much? Turk soldier so much; I go you? hidi 
 England; I you cook; ship hidi Angieterre; very 
 bono." 
 
 The night was very dark ; but as our caiques glided 
 down the Bosphorus, there were continual illuminations 
 from the flashes of cannon, which were incessantly being 
 
2M THE 
 
 fired from the batteries on the hill and on the banks, 
 and from the Turkish and other ships-of-war. So con- 
 tinual was this discharge, that the Bosphorus was a 
 blaze of light. As one flash died away another sprang 
 up, and the hills gave back the echo of the cannon s 
 thunder. 
 
 As we approached Stamboul the morning began to 
 dawn. The first rays of the sun gilded the imperial 
 city. We passed through the Golden Horn, and disem- 
 barked near Seraglio Point. 
 
 "We left our caiques, and walked about a mile to the 
 open ground before the Seraglio, where the Sultan 
 was staying, and from whence he would pass to Santa 
 Sophia. Stamboul was all alive. Pashas with their 
 trains were busily riding hither and thither. Large 
 bodies of Turkish troops were drawn up in the square, 
 awaiting his Majesty. Visitors .of all nations swelled 
 the throng. 
 
 We waited here about an hour, amusing ourselves by 
 walking up and down, and watching the evolutions of 
 the Pashas on horseback. The enormous size of some 
 of the Pashas made the management of their steeds a 
 matter of difiiculty. They certainly gave one the im- 
 pression of a considerable falling ofi" from the courage 
 of their great ancestors. 
 
 Now the procession began to form. First came three 
 or four carriages, containing the Sultanas and other 
 ladies, very gaily attired. Now the Sultan's horses 
 were led out, with their trappings of embroidered silk 
 and jewels ; then came many a Pasha with his train. 
 At length the " Commander of the Faithful " appeared, 
 surrounded by his guards, and on horseback. He was 
 dressed in uniform, over which was thrown a cloak of 
 
i 
 
 SANTA SOPHIA. g25 
 
 dark blue cloth, fastened by a buckle of brilliants ; he 
 wore the crimson fez, in which was a plume of heron's 
 feathers, secured by a diamond clasp. The simplicity 
 of his dress formed a striking contrast to his magnifi- 
 cently-attired Pashas. 
 
 Slowly the procession passed to Santa Sophia — the 
 Turkish troops cheering the Sultan, as he proceeded 
 along the line, in deep solemn tones, very unlike the 
 hearty, joyous cheering of our own land. A dense 
 mass of people followed. We reached the entrance of 
 the mosque, and beheld the floor entirely covered with 
 Turks, all prostrate with their foreheads on the ground. 
 The Imaums at the door furiously refused admittance 
 to Franks. One naval officer had contrived to slip in, 
 and, in answer to all their violent gesticulations, held 
 up his shoes with an earnest look, to let them see how 
 much he had given way to their prejudices ; and he kept 
 his place, for they dared not lay violent hands on an 
 officer in uniform. 
 
 No wonder they did not want any Franks, if they 
 really followed the universal custom at Bairam, and 
 prayed either for the rooting out of all Christian princes, 
 or that they might quarrel among themselves. It 
 would be curious if they prayed in 1855 for the over- 
 throw of Queen Victoria, Louis Napole6n, and Victor 
 Emanuel; perhaps they thought, provided Alexander 
 went too, it did not much signify if the Allies accom- 
 panied him. 
 
 Our being accompanied by an officer gained us ad- 
 mittance to the Seraglio gardens, to see the Sultan pass 
 through them on his return to the palace. We waited 
 there about an hour, while he took some refreshment. 
 A throne was placed immediately before the palace, co- 
 
 Q 
 
226 THE RECEPTION. 
 
 vered with crimson velvet ; a carpet of the same ma- 
 terial at its foot. An open space was cleared, around 
 which were ranged troops. Opposite the throne was 
 the royal band^ and we and other strangers ranged 
 ourselves behind the soldiers. 
 
 It was a beautiful " presence chamber'' — the lovely 
 gardens, and beneath the shade of the old green trees 
 — the cloudless summer sky for his canopy — to receive 
 his court in. Several ladies, and numbers of French 
 and English officers, stood around. Conspicuous 
 amongst them was Monsieur Soyer, whose costume 
 always marked him out. 
 
 At last the Sultan appeared ; he walked up ungrace- 
 fully to his throne, and seated himself. We were in a 
 position to get an excellent view of him and of the 
 whole proceedings. He was a thin, pale, dark, wearied- 
 looking man, giving one the impression of a person 
 void of energy, and who would fain be rid of a heavy 
 burden. 
 
 As soon as he was seated, the Sheik-ul-Islam (chief 
 Imaum) advanced, and stood before him. The Sultan 
 rose at his approach, the Imaum kissed the hand of his 
 sovereign and retired ; next the Pashas began to walk 
 before him in procession — some kissing their sove- 
 reign's hand, others only bowing low to the ground 
 before him; then the Beys followed in order. The 
 Pashas and Beys were all in European dress, with the 
 exception of the crimson fez ; but their dresses were 
 covered with rich embroidery. Then came the Imaums, 
 hundreds of them, of different degrees and rank. All 
 bowed low before him, making the salaam — i. e., putting 
 their right hand first to their forehead, then to their 
 breast, and bending their heads nearly to the ground. 
 
k 
 
 THE DESCENDANTS OF THE PROPHET. 227 
 
 Some of these, apparently of higher rank or dignity, 
 kissed the Sultan's feet, or rather the hem of his robe ; 
 others merely kissed the fringe of a long scarf which 
 was passed over his shoulders, and held by one of his 
 chief officers at some little distance from the royal 
 person. 
 
 Whenever the Imaums, dressed in the sacred green 
 (the descendants of Mahomet), approached, the Sultan 
 rose and extended his hand for them to kiss, which 
 they did with the utmost reverence. He continued 
 standing quite erect till they passed out of his sight. 
 The whole scene was most striking, nearly all the 
 Imaums being dressed in different colours — white, red, 
 yellow, violet, or green, in all their shades — and the 
 last in blue, the only one wearing that colour. All 
 wore a high white turban, except the descendants of 
 the Prophet, who were dressed entirely in green, tur- 
 ban and all. 
 
 During the pauses in the procession, which some- 
 times occurred, the Turkish band played ; and, although 
 the music was very inferior to that heard in our own 
 land, yet it sounded rather sweetly that early morning 
 in the beautiful Seraglio gardens, and added greatly to 
 the romance of the whole scene. When they had all 
 passed, which was not till about eight o'clock a.m., the 
 Sultan rose and departed as ungracefully as he had 
 entered, not even bowing to those around. The fes- 
 tivity of Bairam lasts three days, and incessant firing 
 of cannon goes on day and night. 
 
 The assembly broke up, and we were not sorry ; for 
 the fatigue of six hours^ standing, after a sleepless 
 night, was very great. When we reached our caiques, 
 the sun had become glaringly hot, and made our 
 
S28 
 
 THE SERGEANT-MAJOR. 
 
 voyage home a most disagreeable one ; so that we could 
 hardly listen to the incessant conversation of the ser- 
 geant-major, who now quite changed his tone, and did 
 nothing but extol the greatness of Turkey, its Sultan, 
 and Pashas. 
 
229 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 " On the bed of sickness bound, 
 In swift delirious fantasies, 
 That changed with every sound. " 
 
 Felicia Hemans. 
 
 Papafee, our strange interpreter, who has been al- 
 ready mentioned, did not improve as time went on. 
 We were often on the point of dismissing him, and 
 seeking another servant ; but he went to Lady Stratford, 
 and talked her over, for, much to our astonishment and 
 vexation, she expressed her wish that he should remain. 
 He was a real annoyance, and, had it not been for the 
 sake of his wife, who was a great comfort in sickness, 
 we must have insisted on his removal. He used to 
 scold us, tell falsehoods, offer his advice when quite 
 unasked and unwished for; sometimes refused to do 
 what he was told, and, when he did condescend to be 
 obedient, made us fully understand that he was good 
 enough to bend his superior judgment to our want of 
 sense. 
 
 If we seriously offended him, he would threaten to 
 write to England, and report us to government. His 
 whole conduct was so utterly absurd, that we had many 
 
230 OUR interpreter's wife. 
 
 a laugli about it ; and had these scenes only occurred 
 now and then, they would have been rather an amuse- 
 ment than otherwise ; but with our various occupations 
 and many calls, both on time and patience, this could 
 not always be the case. 
 
 Papafee's wife was a little German woman, extremely 
 gentle and quiet, and was the very opposite of her 
 husband, who scolded her loudly and severely if she 
 the least displeased him, which was not a difficult mat- 
 ter to accomplish, and one of daily occurrence, though 
 it was generally quite unintentional on her part ; added 
 to which, she was much out of health, and needed kind- 
 ness and attention. One of our ladies remonstrated 
 with him on the subject. 
 
 " It ees very easy for you to talk," replied he ; " you 
 are an English lady, and it comes natural to you to be 
 verie gentle and quiet, and you do say 'pleese do 
 thees, and pleese do that,' but as for me, I am of a 
 deeferent deesposition. I was born in a deeferent 
 contree, and am verie passionate, and beesides I can 
 reed the Bible, and I do see there that the wife is to 
 obey her husband, and that he ees to rule over her." 
 
 " Yes," replied the lady, " but the Bible also says, 
 husbands are to be kind to their wives." 
 
 " Oh, veil," said he, " so I am — I am verie kind in- 
 deed to her. You should jist see what beauteeful 
 dresses I do give her. I do assure you they are verie 
 fine. In my own contree I am quite a gentleman, and 
 I could have married any lady I chose. My wife was 
 verie luckee to get me for her husband." This was an 
 opinion in which no one shared, however, not even 
 poor Rosalie herself. 
 
 Happily for us we heard one day that our interpreter 
 
OUR OLD FRIEND AGAIN. S31 
 
 was wanted by a gentleman proceeding to the camp, 
 who would give him better pay than he received from 
 us. We were only too glad to release him, and he ac- 
 cordingly went up to the front, leaving his wife and 
 child with us till he could make arrangements for them 
 to join him. 
 
 Two months passed away, when, one evening, as we 
 were all sitting at tea in our dining-room, which 
 opened to the garden, we saw coming down the path a 
 tall, distinguished-looking officer. We wondered who 
 it could be. To our surprise, instead of calling the 
 servant, he walked straight into the room, sans ceremonie, 
 I thought he was some official come on important busi- 
 ness from the Brigadier- General. Walking up to the 
 head of the table, and making a low bow to our superinten- 
 dent, he " hoped we were all well, and was glad to see us 
 again ;" and not till then did we recognise our former 
 plague and interpreter. Monsieur Papafee. 
 
 He then informed us that he was doing very well in 
 the camp, and had come to fetch his wife and child, 
 thinking Madame Papafee would make money there 
 cooking for the officers. His appearance altogether 
 was really so striking and elegant, that we asked one 
 another, was it possible he had ever stood behind our 
 chairs in white shirt sleeves and apron, or that we had 
 ever asked him for a plate ? 
 
 The next day, one of us, returning from the hospital, 
 saw a lady and gentleman walking arm-in-arm on the 
 quay, followed by a servant carrying a child. On ap- 
 proaching them, it proved to be Monsieur and Madame 
 Papafee, whom we imagined he had ordered to deck 
 herself for the occasion in one of the beautiful dresses 
 he had once alluded to, as proving his devoted affection 
 
2S2 SULTRY WEATHER. 
 
 for the poor little woman. He made a polite bow as 
 the lady passed. They went to the camp, but not long 
 afterwards, when walking in Pera, one of our party was 
 suddenly accosted by Papafee, who said he had left his 
 situation at Sebastopol, because, although it was very 
 nice to be well paid, it was anything but agreeable to 
 have a cannon ball coming into his tent at all hours 
 of the day or night ; and a shell having burst in close 
 proximity to his abode, he had forthwith packed up and 
 departed, and he was now anxious to resume his avoca- 
 tion as our interpreter ; but we declined this pleasure 
 very decidedly, and from that time lost sight both of 
 him and poor Rosalie. 
 
 At the end of July the heat grew intense, and con- 
 tinued so to the end of the following month. Up to 
 this time it had been like a very warm English summer ; 
 but now the Eastern sun poured down all its fury upon 
 us, and we were terribly exposed to its rays. No kind 
 of shade was at hand; there was hardly a tree in 
 Koulali. The five minutes' walk from our home to 
 hospital was along the quay. 
 
 The Sisters of Mercy, who came down from the Ge- 
 neral Hospital and returned thither twice a-day, had 
 to descend and climb the steep hill in the glaring sun ; 
 so, also, the ladies who worked at the General Hospital. 
 Our hospital duties obliged us to be walking about 
 during the greater part of the time when the inhabitants 
 of the country close their jalousies and take their siesta, 
 not venturing to move till sunset. 
 
 The heat was real suffering; it brought incessant 
 thirst, which nothing could quench. The quantity of 
 lemonade which was drunk during that time was some- 
 thing marvellous, and it seemed impossible to touch 
 
A CARGO OF ICE. 233 
 
 the meat of the country ; and yet too great a quantity 
 of acid, and the omission of strengthening food, was 
 considered very dangerous, as likely to bring on 
 cholera. 
 
 The inhabitants of Turkey never venture out in the 
 middle of the day in summer unless obliged ; but this 
 salutary rule we were unable to observe. Hospital work 
 went on, whether it were hot or cold ; and the hottest 
 part of the day was that at which we were the most 
 busily employed. 
 
 We feared that cholera would have been very pre- 
 valent in the summer — thank God it was not so ! — 
 only twenty at the utmost were attacked, and out of these 
 cases not more than half were fatal. At the General 
 Hospital were several bad cases, whose lives were saved, 
 humanly speaking, by the attention they received from 
 the nuns, who watched by them day and night. 
 
 A great blessing arrived about this period, in the 
 shape of ice ; it was sent out by Government. The ship 
 that brought it was called the " City of Montreal." Her. 
 captain was a Scotchman ; he purchased a cargo of ice 
 in North America at a venture, which proved a fortu- 
 nate one ; for, three days after arriving at Liverpool, 
 the whole was bought by Government, and he was in- 
 stantly despatched with it to the East. Part was left at 
 Scutari, part at Koulali, the rest went to Balaclava. 
 The captain reckoned he had made £500 by the en- 
 terprise. Thankful, indeed, were we that he had 
 made it. 
 
 There was an ice-house at the General Hospital, into 
 which the ice was put, and we used to send the Greeks 
 to fetch it down to the Barrack. Unfortunately the 
 ice-house was not a good one, and the ice melted faster 
 
234 SMOKING ALLOWED. 
 
 than it would otherwise have done ; so we were obliged 
 to use it as fast as possible ; but it lasted the exact time 
 the extreme heat did. I cannot think what we should 
 have done without it. Certainly we could not have 
 given '^ cooling drinks" any longer, for the lemonade 
 used to be quite warm till iced; it was also such a. com- 
 fort to the fever patients to lay ice on their burning 
 brows, and most useful in cholera ; in obstinate cases 
 of diarrhoea and dysentery, it checked vomiting, and 
 allayed the irritation of the stomach. 
 
 There were two cases of cholera in the Barrack 
 Hospital which were remarkable ; the patients were in 
 different wards— one in the surgical, the other in the 
 dysentery ; their symptoms were exactly similar, con- 
 sisting chiefly in extreme depression ; they resisted all 
 nourishment, and wept almost incessantly, and no one 
 could discover that they had any particular cause for 
 grief. Both these cases were fatal. 
 
 Smoking was ordered in the wards when cholera was 
 prevalent ; this was rather amusing to the men, as the 
 practice had been previously strictly forbidden, and it 
 had been a great deprivation to those not able to walk 
 into the barrack-yard ; for unless a man were in a dying 
 state, he had strength enough for his beloved pipe : even 
 while it was forbidden, they would smoke whenever they 
 could do so without being seen. 
 
 Another misery brought by the heat was the increase 
 of vermin. Mosquitoes began to pay us a visit ; they 
 never abounded so much as we expected, but they were 
 quite bad enough, and their bite was very painful and 
 disfiguring. We had mosquito-net from the stores^ 
 which we cut into squares, and threw it over the faces 
 of those who were very ill. Fleas abounded, and were 
 
VOYAGE IN THE ICE-SHIP. 2S5 
 
 very tormenting ; we used a powder, which can be 
 bought at Stampa's shop in Galata, and to all Eastern 
 travellers I would recommend it ; for though it does 
 not destroy these enemies, it stupefies them ; and one 
 has the satisfaction of seeing the sheets spread with 
 them fast asleep ; while otherwise the wretches are so 
 very rapid in their movements, that it is almost a hope- 
 less undertaking to wage war against them. From their 
 facility in making their escape, some one named them 
 the " light cavalry ;" while other horrors, which we oc- 
 casionally had the misfortune to encounter in the wards, 
 which were not so light of foot, were called " heavy dra- 
 goons." 
 
 The ice ship lay oif Koulali for several days. The 
 captain was good enough to send his boat in the even- 
 ing, to know if we would like to have a row ; and as it 
 held a great many, we were glad to take the nurses out 
 in it. When the " City of Montreal" was ready to 
 proceed to Balaclava, it was proposed that two or three 
 ladies should go on board of her as far as the entrance 
 to the Black Sea, and return in the steamer which was 
 to have towed her up to that point. She was to start 
 at six A.M. 
 
 We went on board one lovely morning ; the steamer 
 began to tow the vessel, but could not succeed. The 
 current was so strong that she was powerless, and after 
 trying for two hours in vain, she was obliged to give it 
 up, for the stream had carried both vessels some dis- 
 tance below the starting point off Koulali. The steam- 
 ers employed in towing vessels up the Bosphorus are 
 the small ones which ply upon the river, and are hired 
 by the Admiralty. The " City of Montreal" was towed 
 up next day by the " Ottawa,^^ a fine steam- transport. 
 
2S6 THE SICK DOCTOR. 
 
 We did not attempt to see the Black Sea a second 
 time^ having been so disappointed the first day, but 
 contented ourselves with having seen the Euxine from 
 Therapia, without actually passing into its waters. 
 
 One day a ship came alongside Koulali wharf to coal; 
 she had on board a Dr. Thompson and his wife. Dr. 
 Thompson was a civilian, who had practised for some 
 years in Antioch — before that, I think, in India — and 
 was well known for scientific discoveries. 
 
 It appeared that he had wished to visit Balaclava, 
 and had proceeded thither, accompanied by his wife. 
 While there, living on board ship, he was seized with 
 the Crimean fever. When the ship was ordered to 
 return, he was too ill to be moved, and indeed at Bala- 
 clava there was no place for him. The vessel came to 
 Scutari, and application was made to the authorities for 
 his admission into the hospital. 
 
 An unfortunate delay arose before leave was granted, 
 w^hich no doubt would have been ultimately given, but 
 the vessel could not wait. Having discharged her cargo 
 at Scutari, she came to Koulali, Dr. Thompson still on 
 board. The same application was made at Koulali, and 
 was instantly granted. Koulali being a much smaller 
 place than Scutari, the application had probably not to 
 go through so many hands before it was decided on. 
 At all events, he was admitted, together with his wife. 
 
 The heat was so intense that, though he might have 
 been removed from the ship at noon, they were forced 
 to wait till the cool of the evening before this could be 
 done, for he was in high delirium, and his fever was in 
 the worst stage. Meanwhile, an empty ward in the 
 General Hospital was prepared for his use, and every- 
 thing which the hospital possessed in the way of comfort 
 
CAREFUL NURSING. 237 
 
 was placed at his disposal by Dr. Humphrey, P.M.O. 
 Our superintendent appointed one of her best nurses 
 to aid Mrs. Thompson in attending on him, and com- 
 mitted him also to the care of the Rev. Mother. 
 
 From that day, for weeks, the chief topic of the hos* 
 pital was Dr. Thompson. If he had been a king, more 
 could not have been done for him. His delirium was 
 very violent, and he would take dislikes to the surgeons 
 and demand new ones. Accordingly almost every one 
 in the hospital went to him at different times, when he 
 chose to ask for them. He appeared to be fond of 
 music, and it was thought singing would soothe him. 
 One of the ladies accordingly went and sang to him for 
 hours. 
 
 The Sisters of Mercy were most unremitting in 
 their attentions, especially the Rev. Mother, who was 
 called up night after night, and who cheerfully hastened 
 to see if she could in any way relieve him. Fatigue 
 and distress had their effect upon poor Mrs. Thompson ; 
 her grief was violent, and she required much attention. 
 The Rev. Mother spent much time in soothing her, 
 sometimes reading a few verses of the Holy Scriptures 
 or a hymn. Mrs. Thompson spoke of her kindness 
 afterwards with much gratitude. 
 
 Dr. Thompson and his wife were members of the 
 Church of England. The chaplain visited them con- 
 stantly. By day and at night he was not unfrequently 
 called up, when the delirium was at its height, that he 
 might endeavour to quiet the sufferer. 
 
 There was at one time a slight hope of his recovery ; 
 but an abscess, which was a frequent result of the Cri- 
 mean fever, gathered in his neck, and death fast ap- 
 proached. The nurse who had been waiting on him^ 
 
THE CLOSING SCENE. 
 
 being worn out, returned to rest. Another, whom we 
 thought well of, took her place ; and a few hours after, 
 worse symptoms appeared. 
 
 Notice of this having been brought to the lady super- 
 intendent, she went at 11 p.m. to the General Hospital 
 to see him. Upon entering the room, the scene was 
 awful. He was in his last agony; his wife was by his 
 side, doing all she believed best for him. On a bed 
 near by, in the same room, lay the nurse in a state of 
 dead intoxication. She had, while passing from the 
 Home to the hospital (the emergency having obliged 
 her to be sent alone), purchased Turkish spirits (rakee), 
 which produce a perfect stupor. She could not be 
 awakened ; and the superintendent was obliged to call 
 four orderlies to carry her upstairs, where she lay for 
 hours in the same state. 
 
 The superintendent watched beside the sick bed until 
 the sufferer died. The chaplain came and read the 
 commendatory prayers, and finding reason was not 
 likely to return, then left him. At Mrs. Thompson's 
 desire, the Presbyterian chaplain afterwards came, and 
 prayed beside him. For a short time he lay quiet, but 
 the delirium returned with greater violence, and about 
 3 A.M. he expired. 
 
 His body was interred the following day in Koulali 
 British burying-ground. All the medical staff followed 
 in uniform. 
 
 Many of the ladies and nurses also attended to ac- 
 company his widow, whose wish it was to be present. 
 
 During life Dr. Thompson had often expressed a 
 wish to be buried beneath a tree, and in sight of a 
 beautiful view. There was but one tree in the burying- 
 ground. Under that they dug his grave, while all 
 
KINDNESS OF THE ARMY SURGEONS. 239 
 
 around lay spread one of the most beautiful scenes tliat 
 could be well imagined. 
 
 During the whole summer, only one case of serious 
 
 illness occurred amongst our party. Miss F lay 
 
 for many weeks ill with dysentery. She was attended 
 by Dr. Guy ; and to his extreme attention and skill, 
 under God's blessing, she owed her recovery. After a 
 time, she resumed her work. There was a great deal of 
 sickness amongst us, though not of a serious character, 
 but almost all suffered extremely from the heat. 
 
 In our illnesses we were attended only by the army 
 surgeons, and they were kind beyond measure. About 
 this time, to our great regret. Dr. Temple joined the 
 Turkish Contingent. There was great sorrow among 
 his patients at his departure, for he was one of the 
 kindest, as well as the most skilful, of the surgeons. 
 
uo 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 "He loved his people, deemed them all his children." 
 
 Thomson. 
 
 One day we received a letter from Miss Stanley, with 
 an account of an interview she had had with the Queen, 
 who sent for her, and inquired with the deepest interest 
 into the details of our work, and wished to know what 
 more she could send out to contribute to the comfort of 
 the sick, and to assure them of her continual sympathy. 
 The interview lasted nearly an hour, and at its close 
 her Majesty expressed her satisfaction at what she had 
 heard, and her thanks for the service rendered. Miss 
 Stanley also received the thanks of Prince Albert and 
 the Duchess of Kent on a subsequent occasion. 
 
 She transmitted the royal thanks to us, feeling, as 
 she said, she had only received them as the representa- 
 tive of all who had done the work. 
 
 In the royal gifts which came out a short time after- 
 wards, we recognised the articles which Miss Stanley 
 had named in answer to her Majesty's inquiries. The 
 pleasure these gifts of her Majesty gave was immense: 
 they consisted of 
 
 100 Red Flannel Shirts. 
 
 100 Red Flannel Jackets. 
 
THE ROYAL GIFTS. 241 
 
 100 Draught Boards. 
 
 100 Sets of Draughts. 
 
 40 Sets of Chessmen. 
 
 50 Backgammon Boards, with Men, &c. complete. 
 
 100 Sets of Dominoes. 
 
 20 Dozen Bottles of Pickles. 
 
 20 Dozen Bottles of Raspberry Jam. 
 
 10 Dozen Bottles of Marmalade. 
 
 40 Cans of Treacle. 
 
 2 Cwt. of Tamarinds. 
 
 170 Volumes of Books. 
 
 These gifts were divided between the hospitals at 
 Scutari, Koulali, Balaclava, and Benkioi, of which 
 Koulali received — 
 
 50 Red Flannel Shirts. 
 
 50 Red Flannel Jackets. 
 
 20 Draught Boards. 
 
 20 Sets of Draughts. 
 
 10 Sets of Chessmen. 
 
 10 Backgammon Boards. 
 
 20 Sets of Dominoes. 
 
 10 Dozen Bottles of Pickles. 
 
 10 Dozen Pound-Jars of Raspberry Jam. 
 
 5 Dozen Pound- Jars of Marmalade, 
 
 5 Cans of Treacle. 
 
 1 Cwt. of Tamarinds. 
 
 The gifts were valuable in themselves, but how much 
 more so the remembrance of the thoughtful sympathy 
 that had sent them out. 
 
 " Only to think of our Queen thinking of such things 
 for the like of us," said the patients. 
 
 R 
 
M2 DIVISTON OF THE ROYAL GIFTS. 
 
 But they had already grown familiar with the know- 
 ledge that the sufferings of the soldiers in camp and 
 hospital were no less remembered and sympathized with 
 in the palace than in their humble homes, and a sure 
 foundation of loyal love for years to come has the 
 Queen of Great Britain built in the hearts of her 
 army. 
 
 In all the wards was posted upon the walls the beau- 
 tiful letter written by Queen Victoria to Mr. Sidney 
 Herbert, in the month of December, 1854, and which 
 caused such a thrill of gratitude and delight among the 
 soldiers. 
 
 Copies of the "Illustrated London News," which 
 were distributed among them, had shown them how 
 their Queen " visited the sick." They saw her passing 
 through hospital wards, and speaking gentle words to ^ 
 the sufferers there. They heard of her warm interest 
 in all they did or suffered, and that no hand but her 
 own was allowed to decorate their comrades who had 
 returned home. 
 
 Pickles were only allowed by the medical officers for 
 the convalescent patients, for whom, doubtless, her 
 Majesty intended them. Jam and treacle were used in 
 all the wards ; the latter many men preferred to butter; 
 but the portion of the royal gifts which gave most de- 
 light were the chess, dominoes, and draughts. 
 
 The authorities, of course, informed her Majesty of 
 the gratitude and delight with which her bounty had 
 been received ; but those official letters told her but a 
 small part. We often wished the Queen could have 
 once seen what we saw daily ; the groups of men gathered 
 round the table at these games, the extreme pleasure 
 they gave them, the time they innocently employed, 
 
FIRES IN CONSTANTINOPLE. 243 
 
 and the temptations to drink ' and idle company from 
 which they kept them. 
 
 For ourselves, these royal gifts were not without a 
 peculiar pleasure^ as it showed us plainly that her 
 Majesty did not esteem common necessaries enough for 
 her gallant army, but was determined that comforts, and 
 even a few luxuries, should be poured upon them, and 
 that she approved of our efforts to bring these to the 
 men. Cheering to us in that far-off land, and amidst 
 our many difficulties, was the kind sympathy of our 
 beloved Queen. 
 
 Every traveller to Constantinople has spoken of the 
 frequent fires. I do not know whether they were more 
 numerous than usual this summer, but certainly they 
 were almost incessant. People said, that at times it was 
 done on purpose, the Sultan wishing to destroy "some of 
 the dirty wooden houses ; but I think this is improbable. 
 They generally occurred at night. We always knew of 
 their occurrence by the firing of seven guns from the 
 Turkish battery on the hill above Koulali. Sometimes 
 we rose to look at the sight, for it was generally very 
 fine ; but they were so frequent, that at last they hardly 
 roused us. 
 
 One night a discharge of cannon was heard. I had 
 grown so used to it, that^^I concluded it was the first 
 of the seven guns, and did not disturb myself. A noise 
 in the house attracted my attention. I rose, and, going 
 into the corridor, found the whole household assembled 
 and gazing out of the corridor windows with looks of 
 alarm. Apparently the General Hospital was on fire. 
 Our first thought was for the Sisters of Mercy : the 
 patients, we knew, would be carried to the Barrack 
 Hospital ; but the sisters would be homeless. 
 
 R 2 
 
244 A PALACE ON FIRE. 
 
 Two of US dressed in haste, and went out. As we 
 approached the foot of the hill, a body of troops rushed 
 down. They perceived us, and a sergeant stopped to 
 inform us that some gunpowder, kept in a shed not far 
 from the General Hospital, had taken fire and exploded, 
 which was the sound we heard. No danger had oc- 
 curred, [and no lives were lost, though, on the first 
 alarm, all the troops, British and Turkish, were turned 
 out ; and the sergeant declared he' was asleep, dreaming 
 Sebastopol was being taken, and when the sudden call 
 came, he thought it was to summon him to the assault. 
 
 We hastened home to quell the anxiety of our com' 
 panions ; and the alarm over, the amusement began, as 
 we who had been out declared they all looked like 
 Turkish ladies in feridgees, sitting on the divan of the 
 corridor. 
 
 When the day came, we went to congratulate the 
 sisters on their escape. They said they had been 
 much alarmed, the explosion being so very near their 
 apartments ; and when they were awakened by the sud- 
 den noise, and immediately afterwards the tramp of the 
 troops coming up the hill, one of them confessed, much 
 to our amusement, that she thought the Russians had 
 come to Koulali. 
 
 One morning, when we came down to prayers, we saw 
 a fire on the opposite coast. The villages are so thickly 
 joined together, that we could hardly distinguish where 
 it was. It was a palace of the Sultan, said to belong 
 to the Sultan's sister. If it was this palace, one was 
 not sorry to see it burnt down ; for horrible traditions 
 attach to the name of Asma, Sultan Mahmoud's sister ; 
 and it is said, from underneath a low arch, bodies were 
 often seen to fioat into the Bosphorus from her palace. 
 
THE HOSPITAL LIBRARY. 245 
 
 Whether it was her palace or not, the place was in 
 flames, and in half-an-hour was destroyed, for it was, 
 like others, built of wood ; a strong breeze blew from 
 the Black Sea, and the work of devastation was conse- 
 quently rapid. 
 
 Many houses stood near, whose owners were in great 
 alarm. Next to them came a grove of cypresses, and 
 higher up the hill stood a large villa. Curiously enough, 
 the flames did not touch the adjoining houses. We 
 thought, when we saw the palace falling to pieces, that 
 its fury was spent; when suddenly, behind the cy- 
 presses, the forked flames burst out, catching the villa 
 and destroying it. It is thus that the fires in Turkey 
 spread, so that when they once begin, the whole village 
 often falls. In this case, however, when the villa was 
 burnt the fire was arrested. 
 
 It was a striking sight to see the volume of bright 
 flame behind these dark trees, which it did not attempt 
 to touch, and lower down the hill the burning, black- 
 ened ruins of the palace, falling piece by piece into 
 the blue Bosphorus, while the lurid glare of the fire 
 mingled with the bright sunshine of that cloudless 
 summer morning. 
 
 During the summer, the hospital library was estab- 
 lished. A large room fitted with shelves was given for 
 this purpose. It v/as under the charge of Mr. Coney, 
 the Church of England chaplain. He requested the 
 ladies to assist him in getting it into order. 
 
 The superintendent had no one whom she could 
 send, so she added the charge to her own numerous 
 duties. The task of sorting and arranging was a long 
 and tedious one. Numbers of cases arrived and con- 
 tained many nice books; but a quantity of rubbish 
 
246 ADVANTAGES OF THE LIBRARY. 
 
 among them, such as reports of charities, old ency- 
 clopaedias, even the libretta of operas, &c. &c. Then 
 would come most provoking portions of books ; frag- 
 ments of all the Waverley novels, but not one com- 
 plete ; and odd numbers of ancient magazines. Next 
 would come a number of little books for Sunday scholars, 
 which we certainly deemed as much below the capacity 
 of the men, as^the number of essays on abstruse sub- 
 jects which were sent were above them. Of the former 
 description, we give the following verses as a specimen 
 sent : — 
 
 " Why should I care for plaited hair. 
 Or long and useless curls ? 
 Why gaudy clothes or ribands wear, 
 Or deck myself in pearls ? 
 
 The' Samson's strength was in his hair. 
 
 There's no such strength in onine ; 
 Why for its shortening should I care ? 
 
 Why murmur and repine ?" 
 
 A great many nice books, however, were received. Mr. 
 Albert Smith's handsome present had arrived months 
 before ; and of course many of his books furnished the 
 library shelves. 
 
 The arrangement of the library was a great comfort. 
 Before it was opened, the books were kept in the chap- 
 lain's quarters ; we had to go there and hunt through 
 the cases for the kind we wanted. Now, however, 
 they were all arranged in order. Bibles and prayer- 
 books by themselves, religious books in another part, 
 instructive works in a third, and the novels and tales 
 in a fourth ; magazines were kept by themselves, while 
 those who wished to read the mutilated Waverley, &c., 
 could find them on a top shelf. 
 
BOOKS SENT BY THE DUCHESS OF KENT. 247 
 
 There was a good store of Bibles and prayer-books, 
 but we were always asking for more from England^ as 
 the chaplains gave them to each man not possessing 
 them when he left either for home or camp. 
 
 The Catholic religious books were generally sent to 
 the Catholic chaplain or sisters. If they came into the 
 library, they were forwarded to them, Five hundred 
 Catholic Testaments were sent by kind friends, and 
 were much valued. Other packets of books arrived, 
 but many others shared the frequent fate of parcels to 
 the East, and never reached their destination. 
 
 Several hundreds of Scotch Bibles with the metrical 
 Psalms, as used in the Kirk, came to the general li- 
 brary, and were forwarded by Mr. Coney to the Pres- 
 byterian chaplain, for the exclusive use of his congre- 
 gation. 
 
 After the secular books had been sorted, the ladies 
 and sisters had free access to the library, and could 
 take as many as they pleased for their patients. How 
 the men did delight in those books ! Every ward had 
 a little lending library of its own ; books were taken 
 from the general library, and lent and changed from 
 one to another all round the ward. Books were also 
 sent out by the Duchess of Kent ; amongst them were 
 many copies of St. John's history of the present war, 
 which was a great favourite. 
 
248 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 *' Thy weal for tliia and higher worlds, and comfort in thy sick- 
 ness." 
 
 Proverbial Philosophy, 
 
 There were three chaplains appointed to Koulali — 
 the Church of England, the Catholic, and the Presby- 
 terian (sometimes there were two of the first-mentioned). 
 At first, when the wards were so crowded, no place was 
 set apart for public worship ; and the men being chiefly 
 in their beds or unable to walk, it was only the men on 
 duty who attended the services. At that time the 
 English and Scotch services were held at diflerent 
 hours on Sundays only, in the detachment ward in the 
 morning, and the convalescent hospital in the after- 
 noon. 
 
 The Catholic services were daily in the sisters* ora- 
 tory in the General Hospital, where the men could 
 attend, and on Sundays in the chaplain's own room in 
 the Barrack Hospital ; when the summer advanced, and 
 it became evident that the new wards which had been 
 fitted up in the spring would never all be filled, one 
 was given to the English chaplain, a room in the Gene- 
 ral Hospital to the Catholic, and another empty ward 
 in the Barrack to the Presbyterian. 
 
 The ward used for the English service was the one 
 
DAILY MORNING PRAYERS. 24:9 
 
 fronting the Sultanas apartments. The roof was sloping, 
 and not very high ; the building was very wide, and 
 would have made a fine ward. It was much too large, 
 however, as a place of worship : as the congregation only 
 filled half one side, although the numbers were fre- 
 quently upwards of two hundred. 
 
 Up to the time of Mr. Coney's arrival, the services 
 were only on Sundays (except Ash Wednesday and 
 Good Friday). Soon after he became the senior chap- 
 lain, he established daily morning prayers ; and the 
 communion, which had been administered monthly, was 
 now given every Sunday at 7.30 a.m. 
 
 The Purveyor-in-Chief had the ward furnished with 
 church fittings, and some of the ladies helped to beautify 
 it ; it looked very nice when finished, though, of course, 
 rudely adorned. The altar rails were of plain deal, a 
 red cloth covered the table, and the reading-desk was 
 hung with the same colour. A few benches were ar- 
 ranged on each side, some with backs to them were 
 also placed lower down for the invalids, and the wooden 
 trestles of the empty beds formed seats for the rest of 
 the congregation. 
 
 This congregation on Sunday presented a singular 
 scene. The dififerent groups : a number of men on duty 
 in their uniforms, then a group of blue dressing-gowns 
 and white nightcaps, another of nurses in grey, with the 
 ladies seated among them either in black or coloured 
 dresses ; on the other side, the officers, also in uniform, 
 one or two officers' wives ; and sometimes a few English 
 strangers, from the neighbouring village of Bebek, on 
 the European side — the only Protestant service there 
 being in the Protestant Armenian chapel, where the 
 singing was so atrocious, they said, that they preferred 
 
250 THE PRESBYTERIAN SERVICE. 
 
 coming across to Koulali, the singing witli us being very 
 good, considering its difficulties. There being no instru- 
 ment, it was led by one of the ladies, who had a singing- 
 class twice a- week, which the convalescent patients, and 
 some of the sergeants and detachment men, attended. 
 They were very fond of it, and took great pains to learn 
 the chants and hymn tunes ; those they had been accus- 
 tomed to hear in the churches at home pleased them most. 
 
 The Presbyterian service was at the same hour as the 
 English one. The members of this congregation were 
 fewer than either the English or Catholic churches. 
 Two of the ladies of our party and one of the nurses 
 belonged to it. Many of the Presbyterian soldiers ap- 
 peared to be earnest and religious men. The chaplain 
 was exceedingly active in visiting the sick members of 
 his congregation. 
 
 The Catholic chapel was arranged with great taste, 
 though, of course, with the greatest simplicity; the 
 altar was raised on the divan, which fronted the win- 
 dows. The room was furnished with benches, the 
 middle space left for the men and officers, the sisters 
 kneeling on each side. A few coloured prints hung on 
 the wall ; everything was very rough, but all the essen- 
 tials of Catholic worship were there. The services 
 were well attended by the men. The two masses on 
 Sundays (one at each hospital) were crowded ; the daily 
 mass had a good gathering, and so had the Sunday 
 benediction. 
 
 The chaplain for many months was Mr. Ronan ; he 
 was most zealous and devoted, beloved by his flock, 
 and respected by all. The improvement among the 
 Catholics in Koulali was very great. The soldiers had 
 been much neglected, and many had yielded to tempta- 
 
EARLY MORNING PRAYERS. 251 
 
 tion, contracted evil habits, and forgotten their religion, 
 but the eiForts made by the priests and nuns were 
 blessed. Those who had lived for years in sin, once more 
 sought their SaAdour— those whose last remembrance of 
 prayers and sacraments had been in days gone by, in 
 the shelter of their homes, now returned to the God of 
 their youth. 
 
 Were these pages the fitting place, many a tale might 
 be told of such ; but they are not. It will, however, 
 interest Catholics to hear that the Sisters of Mercy had 
 the satisfaction of knowing, that no member of their 
 church ever left the hospitals of Koulali without re- 
 ceiving the sacraments, nor did any die without their 
 consolations. 
 
 It will interest others to know, that among the mem- 
 bers of the Church of England, a marked improvement 
 took place — many turning from evil or careless lives, and 
 becoming earnest and zealous in their religious duties ; 
 thus rewarding their good chaplain's labours, who spared 
 no pains in the performance of his duty. When Mr. 
 Coney established the daily morning prayers, he ex- 
 pected them to be attended by about a dozen at the ut- 
 most. To his surprise and pleasure, he found more 
 than that number present even the first morning, and in 
 a week's time it had increased to thirty or more. The 
 time for prayers was half-past seven in the morning. 
 
 Beautiful indeed were those early mornings, before 
 the glaring sun attained its power ; the golden light 
 adorning the distant white walls and towers of Con- 
 stantinople with a crown of glory. It looked like a 
 visionary city, making one think of the one for which 
 " we seek," and which *^ is to come." The dewdrops 
 sparkled on the grass, the clear sweet singing of the 
 
252 RELIGION IN THE ARMY. 
 
 birds came through the open windows. The blue rip- 
 ples of the Bosphorus shone brightly, and our first 
 waking sensations were those of admiration at all this 
 wonderful beauty. When we went out the air was so 
 light and fresh and invigorating. 
 
 A little before seven in the morning a group of con- 
 valescents, dressed in blue, and soldiers in uniform, 
 were seen climbing the hill to attend mass. Many who 
 were very weak persisted in going, and counted the 
 fatigue nothing in comparison with the blessing they 
 received. At half-past seven another group wended 
 their way to the English prayers. 
 
 When the heat was gone, and the work had very 
 much diminished, the daily service was altered to nine 
 in the morning ; and when Dr. Freeth succeeded Mr. 
 Coney as chaplain, he established an evening one at six 
 o'clock. These services were well attended both by 
 officers and men, who chanted and sang very heartily 
 at each of them. The officers seemed to prefer the 
 later hour in the morning, as now that the brunt of the 
 work was over, they were not obliged to be in their 
 wards so early as in the summer .; this was also the case 
 with some of the ladies and nurses. 
 
 These, I think, are plain proofs that the spirit of real 
 religion is in the British army, and only needs culture to 
 bring it out ; and had not its spiritual wants been so 
 grievously neglected, it would not have become noted for 
 its irreligion, nor would English parents have had cause 
 hitherto to consider it a disgrace that their sons should 
 fill its ranks. The following anecdotes will show how 
 ready they were to amend. One orderly bore a very 
 high character, and was much liked by the sister of the 
 ward for his good conduct. One day he became in- 
 
253 
 
 toxicated ; when, he came to his senses, he hid himself 
 from the sister. However, she met him accidentally, 
 and expressed her sorrow and displeasure ; he had been, 
 a soldier for seventeen years, yet he blushed before her 
 as a guilty schoolboy, and exclaimed — 
 
 " Oh, ma'am, look it over this time, it never shall 
 happen again ; I'd rather be summoned before all the 
 doctors in the hospital, and be punished by them, than 
 that you should once reprove me." ^ 
 
 Indeed, the orderlies at the Upper Hospital felt the 
 sisters' displeasure much more acutely than being sent 
 to the guardroom. 
 
 One day, an orderly, who was partly drunk when the 
 Rev. Mother entered the ward, attempted to conceal 
 his state ; she turned away, and called another, bidding 
 the first go to bed at once. The next day the delinquent 
 was ready, as usual, to carry round the extras for her. 
 " No," she said, " you have disgraced yourself, I will 
 have another." He slunk away, ashamed. Some days 
 passed, and she took no notice of him. At last he way- 
 laid her in the corridor, where no one could hear him, 
 and said, with tears in his eyes, " Will you never for- 
 give me, E-ev. Mother ? I am so miserable to be in dis- 
 grace with you — indeed I will amend for the future." 
 
 " If you please, madam," said a poor soldier to Miss 
 
 W one day, " I wish to tell you how I became a 
 
 soldier — it was thus : — I had a horrid bad temper, and 
 even when all was bright about me, I could not curb it. 
 I had a fond wife — a sweet young woman — and a nice 
 little trade ; but one day, when out of sorts, I said I 
 would go for a soldier, and for my word's sake I went ; 
 and oh, I have suffered for it. I went without a kind 
 word to my wife, and how that's troubled me when I 
 
254 A soldier's tale. 
 
 was nearly dead. However, I have wrote and told her 
 I am changed, and I hope the Lord will send me home 
 to make amends to her. I wish you would write me a 
 pretty letter for her." He was, however, persuaded 
 that a few lines from him would please her best. He 
 was an odd and silent man, and the manner in which he 
 told his tale was touching. 
 
255 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 "ITow joy Old Eogland raise 
 Por the tidings of thy might ; 
 * # * 
 
 And yet, amidst that joy and uproar, 
 Let us think of them that sleep." 
 
 Campbell. 
 
 The numbers in the hospital had been gradually 
 decreasing, and the character of the cases had now 
 completely changed. Of course, there were exceptions ; 
 but, as a rule, those who came down from the front 
 were nearly convalescent, needing only nourishment or 
 change of air, and accordingly, after they had been a 
 few weeks in Koulali, they were either invalided home 
 or discharged to duty. When the attack of the 18th of 
 June took place, we looked for wounded and sick to come 
 down — but not one arrived ; and we then found that the 
 medical and other authorities at head-quarters had de- 
 termined to keep the sick as much as possible in the 
 Crimea, considering the air there best for them, and the 
 voyage down unadvisable. 
 
 The accommodation in the field hospitals had so in- 
 creased that they were able to admit a large number of 
 patients. There was a General Hospital in the camp 
 besides the General and Castle Hospitals, Balaclava, for 
 
256 APPLICATIONS FOR WORK. 
 
 the more serious cases. Besides, except from the at- 
 tack of the 18th of June, the health of the army was far 
 better than had been expected. 
 
 From these various causes arose the circumstance 
 that the hospitals on the Bosphorus were more than 
 half empty. Of course, this was a matter of great 
 thankfulness ; but the question arose whether our 
 nursing staff was not too large for our work. As time 
 went on, we became certain of this ; and the accounts 
 which the invalids and others brought from the camp, 
 convinced us that the brunt of the work had passed 
 from our hospitals to those in the Crimea. 
 
 We knew that there were but few nurses there, and 
 we were anxious that some of us should proceed to 
 Balaclava, if required — a point we resolved to ascertain. 
 Lord William Paulet was commandant at the time, and 
 he had requested Lady Stratford de Redcliffe to exer- 
 cise his authority over the nursing department. Our 
 superintendent intimated that she was ready to go to 
 the Crimea ; but Lady Stratford negatived it at once, and 
 in a decided manner. As no other lady of the party 
 was equal to the task of directing so untried and laborious 
 an undertaking, the idea was relinquished. 
 
 The E-ev. Mother soon after this, writing to one 
 of the chaplains, a friend of hers in the camp, told him 
 how little we had to do in the hospital, and that she 
 and the sisters felt an earnest wish to have work such 
 as they came to do. She read this letter to our super- 
 intendent, who agreed with its purport. The chaplain 
 wrote in answer, that if she would again write and re- 
 peat her statements more formally, he would show it to 
 Dr. Hall. The Rev. Mother did so, expressing in her 
 letter how willing she would be either to continue under 
 
A WELCOME DEPARTURE. 257 
 
 our present superintendent if it was thought desirable, 
 or to go alone with her sisters. 
 
 So the matter rested, and we lived on in the usual state 
 of uncertainty which attended British affairs in the East. 
 None but those who have experienced it could enter 
 completely into this feeling. We hardly ever knew 
 what had happened, or what was going to happen. 
 Rumours of all kinds so continually buzzed about, that, 
 at last, we learned to believe nothing till we saw it in 
 an English newspaper. The fall of Sebastopol we were 
 told every week had taken place. Every imaginable 
 tale was spread about. The only incident just at this 
 time was one which gave us some pleasure — ^the depart- 
 ure of the Turkish troops stationed at the hospital. We 
 were told their place was to be occupied by Sardinian 
 soldiers. A quantity of boats came to fetch the Turks' 
 baggage — there was a fine quantity of rubbish on the 
 quay. The Turkish soldiers were a miserable-looking 
 set, and we were glad to get rid of them ; especially as 
 we heard such a high character of the Sardinian 
 soldiers. 
 
 Away the Turks went, but days passed, and no Sar- 
 dinians appeared. Then came another tale. The Sar- 
 dinians were badly off for room, especially for their 
 sick. Three officers came one day, walked round our 
 hospitals, and said, on seeing the convalescent hospital, 
 " How happy we should be if we could only get this 
 hospital for our poor sick." 
 
 Eumour now said that Brigadier- General Storks, who 
 had by this time succeeded Lord William Paulet in 
 command, was obliged to give the Sardinians room, and 
 he was thinking of giving them our General Hospital '> 
 
258 THE FALL OF SEBASTOPOL. 
 
 at first we did not credit it^ but th.e story strengthened. 
 We knew the only Sardinian hospital on the Bosphorus 
 was one of huts at Yenikoi, and that long ago, when 
 Lord William held the command, he had offered them 
 the one at Abydos, which they had declined, as being 
 at so great a distance from the camp ; but thoughts and 
 plans were suddenly interrupted by the news that Se- 
 bastopol had fallen. There was no doubt now, for in- 
 formation from the embassy confirmed the report ; and 
 the cannon, at every fort on the Bosphorus, resounding 
 forth, made certainty doubly sure. Graphic accounts 
 from our soldier friends at camp soon arrived. We in- 
 sert a letter from one of the sergeants, who had been 
 Sister Anne's ward-master. 
 
 " Camp before Sebastopol, 16th Sept. 1855. 
 " Sister Anne, — Sebastopol has fallen ! The enemy 
 is in full retreat ! The town is in flames since the 8th. 
 The 2nd and Light Divisions attacked the Malakoff, and 
 took it without losing a man ; but in attacking the 
 Redan, the 88th, 55th, and 71st, and other corps of 
 these divisions, suffered severely in trying to take it. 
 Next morning (9th), we were in full possession of this 
 side of the town, and part of the north side too. I send 
 you a piece of Russian riband I found in the town (for 
 the French and English were in it plundering by eight 
 o'clock). I have some small oil paintings yet, but the 
 larger articles I gave them to officers of the corps. Such 
 beautiful furniture I never saw before in any town, and 
 it is a little dangerous to enter it as yet, for all the 
 houses are filled with powder. Perhaps we would be 
 ransacking a house, and the next one to us would be 
 blown up. Not many hurt in the town, after all. Hoping 
 
ILLUMINATIONS AND REJOICINGS. 259 
 
 the fall of this terrible fortress will put an end to the 
 war, and enable the soldiers of the army to go home to 
 see their friends — the wish of every one of us here, 
 ofEcers, soldiers, and sailors — and hoping you will ex- 
 cuse this scribble, 
 
 *' I remain your most obedient servant, 
 
 '' J. J., 28th Regiment." 
 
 The news seemed to cheer our men's spirits, who had 
 begun to think that, in spite of all they had done and 
 suffered, the great object of it all would never be accom- 
 plished, and that Sebastopol never would be taken. 
 They illuminated the hospital as well as they could, by 
 sticking innumerable pieces of tallow candles (which 
 they either bought, or asked the ladies to buy for them) 
 at every pane of every window, and in all other imagin- 
 able places ; they made candlesticks of common soap, a 
 piece of ingenuity which much amused us. 
 
 There were, of course, grand illuminations all down 
 the Bosphorus, and beautiful fireworks. The ships were 
 all gaily decorated with flags, and the firing of cannon 
 was tremendous. 
 
 In the evening, the soldiers made a bonfire outside 
 the hospital, into which they threw everything they 
 could lay their hands upon — old packing-cases, boxes, 
 chests, firewood, planks, and, lastly, a cart belong- 
 ing to a Greek, which happened to be near; they 
 seized upon it, first threw it into the Bosphorus to 
 see if it would swim, and then dragged it out amid 
 shouts of laughter, and threw it on the blazing fire, 
 round which they danced, and sang songs of battle 
 and victory, and " God save the Queen !" The com- 
 mandant and all the officers stood above, both sanc- 
 
 s 2 
 
260 ANNIVERSARY OF THE ALMA. 
 
 tioning and enjoying the festivities. We also looked 
 on at a little distance, accompanied by the whole staff 
 of nurses, who fully entered into the excitement of the 
 scene. 
 
 We could not help thinking, however, as we stood 
 listening to the sounds of rejoicing at the glorious vic- 
 tory, of the many aching hearts the news of it would 
 cause in England. Alas ! with what sickening suspense 
 would many and many a mother, sister, wife, and friend, 
 watch for the coming lists of killed and wounded ; and 
 how sadly to many of them would the fall of the great 
 Sebastopol be, the death-blow of their earthly happi- 
 ness ! True, their loved ones had died a glorious death, 
 in the flush and honour of victory ; but death, whether 
 on the battle-field, or in the silent chamber, is still 
 death ; and, as we watched the brilliant illuminations in 
 the evening on the shores of the Bosphorus, and listened 
 to the repeated hurrahs, we sorrowfully remembered 
 those who would weep to-morrow in England. 
 
 The 20th of September was the anniversary of the 
 Alma. The soldiers were anxious to keep the day with 
 honour, and there was a dinner-party organised in each 
 hospital: that at the lower consisted of the non-com- 
 missioned officers ; at the upper, the sergeants and 
 orderlies in charge, — for the latter plenty of plum-pud- 
 dings were made in the extra-kitchen, for we liked to 
 do anything to encourage the orderlies. 
 
 When they were about to sit down, the Reverend 
 Mother spoke to them, and begged them to observe 
 temperance, and not disgrace themselves. They pro- 
 mised faithfully they would, and when she had retired 
 they drank her health, with the toast, " Long may she 
 reign over us," and every man of the party went to bed 
 
A THIRSTY ORDERLY. ^61 
 
 sober. They were very much, pleased with themselves 
 next morning, when they found not one was in the 
 guard-room, while at the Barrack Hospital there were 
 several in confinement. 
 
 At the Barrack Hospital we gave our orderlies plum- 
 puddings ; but as they were not invited to the non- 
 commissioned officers' dinner, they had them for supper, 
 and enjoyed them very much; but, alas ! they did not 
 keep in such good order as their comrades on the hill. 
 Some of the ladies wishing, with, perhaps, rather more 
 kindness than wisdom, to treat their orderlies on this 
 occasion, gave them a little money, charging them not 
 to drink more than they ought ; they promised to 
 remember this, and many kept the promise, but there 
 were a few exceptions. 
 
 In No. S Upper Ward was an orderly who was 
 always too much inclined to drink ; in all other re- 
 spects he was very valuable, being extremely kind to 
 the patients, and attentive to orders. Sister M — A — 
 had charge of his ward. When she came next morning, 
 he was missing. She inquired again and again for 
 
 W , wanting him to fetch the extras, and attend to 
 
 various other matters, but no one would tell her where 
 her orderly was; there was evidently some mystery 
 connected with him, and at last she very gently, but 
 decidedly, insisted upon knowing it. 
 
 " Where is W ? " said she ; " I want him parti- 
 cularly, and cannot wait any longer." 
 
 " Well, if you please, sister, he's on the shelf in the 
 linen-press." 
 
 She went to the cupboard, and there, sure enough, 
 he was fast asleep on one of the shelves, where his com- 
 
262 AN AMUSIKG INCIDENT. 
 
 rades had laid him, hoping to shield him from punish- 
 ment. It was so utterly absurd, that she had difficulty 
 in looking grave, and thought it best to let the matter 
 pass ; but the ladies, on being told of the circumstance, 
 took care not to treat their orderlies in the same way 
 again. 
 
263 
 
 CHAPTER XXY. 
 
 " Wliere rings the loud musket and flashes the sword, 
 Unshrinking she walks, for she follows her Lord." 
 
 Geeald Geiffin. 
 
 Immediately after Sebastopol fell, we were told 500 
 sick, either Russian or British, most likely the former, 
 would arrive. This caused a great commotion — beds 
 were prepared, the new wards looked to, and it was 
 proposed to dismantle the church ward to make room 
 — fortunately it was decided to wait till the sick came 
 before this was done. Every day we looked out for 
 them, and yet they came not. At last we found it was 
 only an idle report ; indeed, it began to appear very 
 evident that the hospitals on the Bosphorus would 
 never, in all human likelihood, be filled again (for if 
 the fall of Sebastopol did not bring sick and wounded, 
 nothing else would) ; and the work in the trenches 
 being now at an end, the coming winter was not likely 
 to produce the miseries of the last. 
 
 Next came the news that Brigadier-General Storks 
 had decided upon giving up the General Hospital to 
 the Sardinians. It was a blow to lose our pretty model 
 hospital just as it was perfect — kitchen, stores, and 
 wards, each a pattern in its way, and all working so 
 
264 CATHOLIC CHAPLAINS IN THE CAMP. 
 
 well. Still we felt our regret was rather selfish. There 
 were not fifty patients in this hospital, and for these 
 there was abundance of room in the Barrack Hospital^ 
 while our gallant allies, it was said, were in distress. 
 
 Next came a letter from Dr. Plall to the Rev. 
 Mother, asking her and her sisters to come and take 
 the nursing at the General Hospital, Balaclava, which 
 had been previously under Miss Nightingale^s superin- 
 tendence, and had been attended through the summer 
 by one lady and three or four nurses belonging to her 
 staff; but from Dr. Hall's letter it appeared that Miss 
 Nightingale had resigned the charge of the nursing 
 department at the General Hospital, and placed the 
 matter into his hands, intimating that her nurses would 
 be withdrawn by the 1st of October. Dr. Hall, there- 
 fore, wished the sisters to come as soon as possible after 
 that day. 
 
 He wrote at the same time to our principal medical 
 officer, requesting him to make the necessary arrange- 
 ments for their departure, and to assist them in getting 
 passages. 
 
 The Rev. Mother asked our superintendent if she 
 could spare the sisters ; Miss Hutton expressed her re- 
 gret at losing them, but said, that as their valuable 
 services were evidently much more needed in the Crimea, 
 and as there would still remain at Koulali more nurses 
 than were sufficient for the work, she could not con- 
 scientiously hinder them, and, so far as she was con- 
 cerned, gave her permission for their departure. 
 
 A Catholic chaplain from the camp, Mr. Woolett, 
 came down to escort the sisters to Balaclava. Mr. 
 Woolett had visited Koulali several times previously. 
 He had been on board the same vessel which brought 
 
THE DAY OF DEPARTURE. 265 
 
 the ladies and nurses in April, and was therefore wel- 
 comed as a friend ; his name was also familiar to us, 
 being so often mentioned by the patients coming down 
 sick from the camp, who spoke with gratitude of the 
 attention he bestowed on them. He was, indeed, one of 
 the many excellent chaplains who distinguished them- 
 selves by their devotion to their sacred duties in the 
 camp. An interesting history the good they have 
 wrought would make — but most of them are unknown 
 to the world. 
 
 In the early spring the number of Catholic chaplains 
 fell far short of that allowed by Government, and the 
 work became very heavy. Mr. Woolett had toiled 
 almost day and night, so that none of the soldiers should 
 suifer from the deficiency in the number of priests. 
 
 Passages were taken in the " Ottawa," and prepara- 
 tions were made for the departure of the sisters. The 
 first week in October was a very busy one, for the 
 General Hospital had to be given over to the Sardi- 
 nians. Two days before the sisters left, the patients 
 were moved into Upper Stable Ward (one of the new 
 wards of the Barrack Hospital), stores and furniture 
 were packed up and sent to the purveyor, and numerous 
 packages prepared for the sisters. 
 
 It was necessary they should take a number of things 
 with them, for the accounts from Balaclava were so 
 various. Some said nothing could be had there ex- 
 cept at an enormous price. Mr. Woolett reported that 
 it was not so, but he had an unusual affection for the 
 camp ; and as we feared he made the best of things 
 whilst others made the worst, it was determined that 
 the sisters should take the middle course. 
 
 At length all was ready, and October the 8th was 
 
266 THE sisters' departure. 
 
 fixed for their departure. Lighters had been ordered 
 to come down from Scutari to take the luggage, but 
 none appeared. At eleven the sisters could delay no 
 longer, for fear of losing their passage ; they ordered 
 as many boxes as possible to be placed in the caiques, 
 which were to convey them to the Golden Horn, where 
 the " Ottawa " was lying. 
 
 The long train of sisters descended the hill, and 
 entered the barrack-yard. They stopped at the extra 
 store-room, to bid farewell to our superintendent and 
 the other ladies. The tears came to our eyes as we 
 parted from them. From first to last the utmost cor- 
 diality had subsisted between all the ladies and sisters, 
 and some of us felt we were parting from tried and 
 warm friends. 
 
 Passing down to the quay, they were again stopped 
 by the number of patients, orderlies, and soldiers from 
 the detachment, crowding to say good-bye, and to shower 
 dowm a last blessing on the heads of those who had 
 been so long their nurses and comforters. The quay 
 ■was crowded with soldiers and officers ; every one in 
 the hospital was sorry the sisters were going, for their 
 simple, holy lives had won the respect and goodwill 
 of all. 
 
 They embarked in caiques, and were soon on board 
 the " Ottawa." Among their fellow-passengers was 
 one going to the camp, whose departure we all deeply 
 regretted at Koulali. Mr. Coney, the senior Church of 
 England chaplain, was ordered to do duty at the General 
 Hospital at St. George's monastery. Our only con- 
 solation in this loss was, that he would have a wider 
 field of usefulness in the Crimea ; very much indeed 
 had he done at Koulali, and among those who differed 
 
OBJECTS OF THE SISTEKS OF MERCY. 267 
 
 from liim in religion, as well as those who agreed 
 with him, he was universally respected and beloved. 
 
 I took my last farewell of the sisters on board the 
 " Ottawa." There I met and was kindly greeted by 
 Miss Nightingale, who was also going np in the same 
 vessel, with two nurses, to the Castle Hospital, Bala- 
 clava. The Sisters of Mercy, from the General Hos- 
 pital, Scutari, also here joined their Superioress and 
 the rest of their community, as the whole number were 
 to proceed together to Balaclava. 
 
 The General Hospital, Koulali, was closed formally 
 the next day, and the Sardinians were daily expected. 
 Days passed into weeks, and yet no signs of their ar- 
 rival. The departure of the sisters made a very great 
 blank; it was now painful to go near the General Hos- 
 pital, where we had spent so many happy hours — now 
 gone for ever. Brigadier-General Storks expressed 
 his sorrow at their valuable services being lost to the 
 hospitals in his command, and the medical officers 
 spoke in the highest terms of the assistance they had 
 rendered while under their orders. One of them in- 
 quired into the peculiar rules of their order. He had 
 never met with nuns before, and fancied all religious 
 orders were cloistered, of which life he said he did 
 not approve, but thought an active order like this most 
 useful. 
 
 The order of the Sisters of Mercy is a modern one, 
 and was founded by an Irish lady. Miss Katherine 
 Macaulay, in the year 1831. Its members, after pass- 
 ing through two and a half years' noviciate, take per- 
 petual vows. The objects of charity to which they are 
 especially devoted are threefold — the education of the 
 poor, visiting the sick, and the protection of servants out 
 
268 DIMINUTION OF THE NURSING STAFF. 
 
 of place; to these are added others as circumstances 
 require, especially that of the care of hospitals. In 
 Dublin this work is carried on, and a hospital to be 
 placed under the care of the sisters is now in the course 
 of erection ; and a hospital for chronic and incurable 
 cases (the first ever opened in London), in Great Ormond 
 Street, is under the charge of Sisters of Mercy. 
 
 This order, founded in Dublin, has rapidly extended 
 into many parts of Ireland, England, and Scotland ; 
 from thence to Australia, New Zealand, America, Cali- 
 fornia ; and lately a foundation has been laid in Buenos 
 Ayres. 
 
 Invalids were sent home after the sisters' departure, 
 so that the number of the patients diminished more 
 and more, and twice a week, as usual, a number of men 
 were discharged for duty, while none came down from 
 the camp. We had now only one hundred men in the 
 Barrack Hospital, and another one hundred and ten in 
 the Convalescent Hospital, who were not under our 
 care. We began seriously to contemplate the advis- 
 ability of some of our party returning home, as it was 
 evident that the closing of the General Hospital and 
 the diminution of patients had more than counter- 
 balanced the loss of the sisters, and our staff was far 
 too large for our present work. 
 
 Those who had important duties at home, and who 
 had left them only because they were called out by a 
 great emergency, did not feel justified in remaining 
 when that emergency had passed. 
 
 One of us had almost made up her mind to leave, when 
 an alteration in the hospital routine at once caused her 
 and others also finally to decide on returning to England. 
 Dr. Humphrey had for some time past considered that 
 
RESTORATION OF ROUTINE. 269 
 
 the health of the patients had so amended, and the facility 
 of procuring things from the purveyor's stores so great, 
 that the old routine of the diet-roll should again be 
 revived. 
 
 An act of disobedience of one of the hired nurses 
 brought matters to a crisis ; and Dr. Humphrey issued 
 orders to the effect, that nothing was to be given except 
 in accordance with the diet-rolls. This order came so 
 suddenly, that we were dismayed by it. It was issued 
 to all on November Snd^ and carried into effect with 
 more than military rapidity. The ladies' plans of 
 nursing were upset, and they did not know what to do 
 with themselves, so they assembled in the store-room, 
 looking very blank, and complaining to our superinten- 
 dent. The lady in charge of the store-room, who had 
 been thinking of going home, now laughingly declared 
 the matter was settled, for her work was done. 
 
 In a few days the ladies saw the reasonableness of 
 Dr. Humphrey's regulation — hospital routine had been 
 infringed upon for many months. The infringement 
 began at a time of distress unknown in the annals of 
 military hospitals ; it had been carried on beyond that 
 period, and the time for its discontinuance had arrived. 
 
 A regulation once made for a military hospital should 
 not be broken. If it is not sufficient for the wants of 
 the men, it should be altered ; if it is sufficient, it should 
 be obeyed. 
 
 At the same time, when the authorities remembered 
 the total inefficiency of the regulation in time of emer- 
 gency, it was somewhat wonderful that an alteration 
 should not have taken place ; but the numbers of lives 
 sacrificed, seemed to make no impression on the iron will 
 of the rulers of British military hospitals. Another 
 
270 KESIGNATION. 
 
 reason which rendered the diet regulations so useless 
 in Turkey was, that the difficulty of procuring good 
 food was so great, it was absurd to suppose a man could 
 live on the same quantity of Turkish meat as he could 
 on English. An instance of this may be given. On 
 one occasion the purveyor sent into the wards, for the 
 use of the sick, 300 eggs. Six only were good. Of 
 course, the ladies of the wards returned the rotten eggs 
 and demanded good instead, but according to old re- 
 gulations they could not ; and thus, if one egg had been 
 ordered to each man, 294 patients would have been 
 left without any. 
 
 Another incident will serve to illustrate this point. 
 One day, Sister Anne, hearing that Dr. Humphrey, 
 P.M.O., was ill, went to see if she could do anything 
 for him. He replied that there was not much the 
 matter with him, if only he could get something fit to 
 eat, but he added, " I have sent in a requisition for 
 ten eggs ; I have broken eight of them, and there 
 they are," pointing to a basin on the table ; and then 
 probably remembering how the ladies had always main- 
 tained the impossibility of working efficiently with the 
 quantities prescribed on the diet rolls, more especially in 
 the matter of eggs, he remarked, " I suppose you think 
 you have gained a victory !'* Sister Anne confessed that 
 she did think so, and assured him that morning she had 
 sent back many articles to the stores to be changed for 
 better, and advised him to follow the example. 
 
 However, one evident conclusion arose from this 
 change. Some of us must return home, leaving a suf- 
 ficient staff for the hospital, should it ever happen 
 (which was unlikely) to be full again. The number of 
 nurses then at Koulali exceeded this. 
 
BREAKING UP. 271 
 
 Five of the lady volunteers sent in their resignations to 
 the Brigadier-General. He accepted them in the kindest 
 manner, regretting our intended departure, but agreeing 
 that our decision was a wise one. 
 
 The superintendent being among those who resigned, 
 Sister Anne, the only volunteer lady remaining, was 
 appointed to fill that office. There was, however, some 
 rumour of the Barrack Hospital now being emptied of 
 patients and given up to the German legion, for whom 
 room was wanted. Brigadier Storks did not wish to do 
 this, as he thought the landing-place at Koulali so con- 
 venient for the sick in the rough weather which was 
 expected in the winter, but he had to suspend his deci- 
 sion till he could communicate with the Government at 
 home; he therefore requested our superintendent to 
 remain in office till this point was decided. 
 
 The other three ladies and myself were set at liberty, 
 and able to enjoy some of the wonderful sights of the 
 East ere we returned to England. We much regretted 
 that our superintendent could not accompany us, espe- 
 cially as she had never, save on two visits of business 
 to Lady Stratford, left the hospital during her stay in 
 the East. 
 
272 
 
 CHAPTER XXVI. 
 
 *' The lieavens in still magnificence look down 
 On tlie liush'd Bospliorus, whose ocean stream 
 Sleeps with its paler stars ; the snowy crown 
 Of far Olympus in the moonlight gleam 
 Towers radiantly." 
 
 The Last Constantine. 
 
 Our first visit was to the far-famed bazaars of Stam- 
 boul. The contrast of shopping there to shopping in 
 Pera is striking. One hardly ever meets a Frank in 
 Stamboul ; few, if any, are permitted to reside there. 
 
 Disembarking at Galata, we traversed the bridge, 
 and on reaching the Stamboul side were assailed by a 
 group of worthies who called themselves interpreters — 
 their knowledge of the English and French languages 
 ranging from twelve to twenty words ; but they were 
 able to supply all deficiencies by their abundant use of 
 signs. It is an evil hour when an unfortunate traveller 
 engages one of these guides to attend him. The 
 presence of one entails that of a dozen others — they 
 declare they are all " brothers " — and they follow one 
 about like a pack of dogs. They only allow one to buy 
 at the shops they select, and at all these they have an 
 understanding with the shopkeepers, by which they get 
 
TURKISH BARGAINS. 273 
 
 a per centage on all one may happen to buy. They do 
 not allow you to speak; they surround you, and shout 
 in their own language — a mixture of Greek, Turkish, 
 and Armenian — till your head fairly swims, and you are 
 willing to buy the article at any price, to escape from 
 the noise. 
 
 Both Greeks and Turks always talk as loud as we 
 should shout, and jabber and gesticulate so as to make 
 one think they are on the point of proceeding to blows ; 
 but they are quite calm in reality all the time. When 
 we grew wiser, and came to Stamboul with our own 
 interpreters, it was a delight to walk through the 
 bazaars. True, they are dark, dirty, and narrow, and 
 paved as badly as the streets of Pera ; but one could 
 fancy oneself transported back to the days of child- 
 hood, and that the scenes described in the " Arabian 
 Nights,^^ to which we listened with rapt attention, were 
 now realised. 
 
 Here were the embroidered slippers, pipes, divans, 
 rich stuffs, bright colours, and all the wonders which 
 one's fancy had painted. Here were the jewellers and 
 the charm-makers, and there were Damascus scarfs and 
 Broussa silks, and glittering table-covers and bags, and 
 tobacco-pouches, of every shade of colour, and richly 
 embroidered, and at the corners of the streets were the 
 tables of the money-changers. Here, instead of counters, 
 were the divans, whereon the Turk sat quietly and 
 smoked his chibouque ; and when we wished to make 
 a bargain, we had to sit down also on the divan, and 
 gravely, by means of our interpreter, discuss the sub- 
 ject. We fix perhaps on a pair of Turkish slippers, on 
 which the interpreter advises us to give thirty piastres 
 (five shillings). We say '^ katch grosh ?" (how much?) 
 
 T 
 
274 
 
 the Turk informs us it is one hundred piastres ; the 
 interpreter says " Mashallah '/' throws up his hands, 
 and laughs scornfully. The Turk does the same. We 
 rise to go, and proceed on our way, but are sud- 
 denly recalled, and told we may have it for the thirty 
 piastres. 
 
 It has a singular effect to look down the streets of the 
 bazaars and see each long row of divans entirely furnished 
 with one particular article. One street of embroidered 
 slippers, another fezs, another bags, another jewellery, 
 another cashmeres, and so on. The extreme brilliance 
 and richness of colour of the Turkish manufactures, adds 
 much to the effect. The cashmere bazaar is beautiful.' 
 The blue and geranium colours are unequalled in their 
 peculiar richness ; while the soft texture of the materials 
 exceeds all English manufactures, which is the reason 
 why the dresses of a group of Turkish women fail to 
 produce the gaudy effect which such a variety of colours 
 would have in England. Each person's dress is always 
 of one colour throughout, but in a group one woman 
 will be in blue, another in green, another in geranium, 
 another in orange, another in yellow, another in lavender; 
 and the colouring of each is so exquisite, that they en 
 masse look more like a bed of flowers than anything else. 
 
 At times the bazaars are much crowded, and many 
 Turkish ladies may be seen, for shopping appears to be 
 their great amusement. Turkish carriages filled with 
 ladies occasionally pass through the bazaars, obliging 
 the foot passengers to climb on to the divan to escape 
 being trodden down. 
 
 Here and there vendors of lemonade offer refreshing 
 draughts to the weary traveller. Then, again, in small 
 white saucers, is a dainty, somewhat resembling blanc- 
 
THE CHIBOTJQUE BAZAAR. 275 
 
 mange, which the Turks seem to consider very inviting. 
 Tables and trays full of pistachio nuts, chesnuts, and 
 almond cakes, are also met with ; but if any other re- 
 freshment is needed, the traveller must wend his way 
 to Pera, for he will not get it in Stamboul, unless he 
 chooses to dine at one of the Turkish divans, or cafe 
 rooms. 
 
 Now we come to the chibouque bazaar, and find pipes 
 of every variety; the cherry- stick, either rough or 
 polished, or richly painted, the amber mouth-pieces of 
 all sizes — the imitation amber, and the commoner kind 
 of pipes. Then there are the shops, in which all sorts 
 of nicknacks are to be bought ; the beautiful amber- 
 bead chaplets, the same of red Jerusalem-beads ; also 
 sandal-wood, with its sweet scent. Almost every Turk 
 one meets with carries in his hand a chaplet, or string 
 of beads in three divisions — thirty beads in each divi- 
 sion, and divided off by larger beads — the whole finished 
 with a long shoot, of the same material as the beads. 
 Then there are the pastiles, wrapped in gold leaf, one of 
 which is sometimes put into the chibouque, to add to 
 the fragrance of the tobacco ; the coffee cup-holders, in 
 chased silver or carved wood; the tiny coffee cups, 
 themselves of china. The bracelet chains, and little 
 bags made of pressed rose leaves, coloured black. These 
 are the leaves of the roses, after the attar has been 
 pressed out of them. Then there is the celebrated attar 
 itself, with scents of all kinds, of which our interpreter 
 seemed to think the English were very fond, as he 
 always invited us to buy them, and was much surprised 
 if we refused. Then there are the little boxes of henna 
 and black paint, with which the Turkish women stain 
 
 t2 
 
276 THE LITERARY BAZAAR. 
 
 their finger-nails, and colour their eyebrows and eye- 
 lashes ; and the " mastic," which they constantly chew, 
 in order to add to the whiteness of their teeth. 
 
 Next come the large Turkish fans, some made of 
 straw, and the more expensive ones of peacocks' fea- 
 thers, with a small looking-glass in the centre. The 
 principal amusement of the ladies in the carriages 
 seemed to be, surveying themselves in this description 
 of glass, and arranging their yashmacs, which were 
 sometimes made of extremely fine transparent muslin, 
 especially when there was a beautiful face underneath. 
 Some of the cheaper fans, made of common feathers or 
 straw, we found very useful in the hospitals during the 
 summer. 
 
 Then there is the literary bazaar, where the Turk sits 
 cross-legged, looking very grave and very wise, writing 
 and transcribing Turkish characters, which we did not 
 understand, but were struck with the look of superior 
 intelligence, and extreme interest, displayed on the faces 
 of those thus engaged. Next the jewellers' bazaar, of 
 which they seem very proud. They think a gread deal 
 of jewellery, at least to judge from the quantity the 
 ladies wear, both on their hands and heads. The lower 
 class of women, also, are seldom seen without a large 
 jewelled ring on their finger, or brooch to fasten their 
 yashmacs. Then there is the tobacco, which is so much 
 prized in England, and which is less than half the price, 
 I believe, in Turkey, owing to the high duty to which 
 it is subject in this country. 
 
 There are also the sweetmeat shops, principally out- 
 side the bazaars, looking very gay with their bright- 
 coloured bon-bons, candied sugar, and white and rose- 
 coloured rahatlicoom, which is the principal Turkish 
 
' SULTAN MAHMOUD's TOMB. 277 
 
 sweetmeat, and of which it is reported the Sultan's 
 ladies eat so much, that he rather complains of the 
 expense. It is a sort of sweet gelatinous substance, with 
 either pistachio nuts or almonds stuck into it, and it is 
 somewhat expensive. The Turks sell this and the 
 tobacco, and several other things, by the " oke," which 
 is about two and three-quarters of a pound English 
 weight. The Turkish weights are different from oursj 
 their pound being about twelve ounces. The currency is 
 chiefly in paper. There are two notes in general use — 
 one ten piastres, another twenty. There are also gold 
 and silver pieces ; but the former are seldom received. 
 Bracelets are made of the Turkish silver or gold coins. 
 Large necklaces of coins are worn by the Turkish women 
 in humble life. The Turks always prefer English money, 
 and in making a bargain inquire whether you will pay 
 in that coin. 
 
 Passing through the bazaars, we soon came to the 
 building called the tomb of Sultan Mahmoud. It is a 
 circular, one, and contains his and two other tombs, of 
 which we only gained a sight by peeping through the 
 windows. They are richly ornamented with sculpture; be- 
 side them we saw an imaum at prayer. Within the outer 
 enclosure is a garden, in which is a fountain of water, 
 with iron cups fastened to it, so that all who choose may 
 drink. These fountains are generally found outside of all 
 large mosques, the provision of water for the poor being 
 considered a religious duty ; and a great boon it must be 
 to the poor Turks in the parching heat of summer. 
 
 Among the most curious sights of Constantinople are 
 the aqueducts. The first of these is Yere Batan Serai, 
 intended to supply the city with water in case of a siege, 
 as the soil of Constantinople does not produce drinkable 
 
278 THE MYSTERIOUS WATER-PALACE. 
 
 water. The water is conveyed to it from Belgrade, or 
 rather the great aqueduct six miles from that town, the 
 arches of which can be seen in the distance from Buyuk- 
 dere. Yere Batan Serai, or the swallowed-up palace, 
 is one of the most remarkable constructions ever known. 
 It would appear that nearly the whole of Constantinople 
 is undermined with it, for none can ever discover its 
 extent; different parts of the roof have fallen in, and 
 three accidents have occurred at quarters of the city 
 miles distant from each other. All these cisterns must 
 have been built in the first two centuries after the foun- 
 dation of the city. The roof of the mysterious water- 
 palace is supported by marble pillars, each formed of a 
 single block. 
 
 Bin Yebir Direg, or the cistern of the thousand and 
 one, is the next object of interest. The name implies 
 that the roof is supported by 1,001 columns, but in 
 reality there are but S36. There were three stories to 
 this cistern, though but one is now accessible. It has 
 been reckoned, that when these three stories were full, 
 they alone contained sufficient water for the whole in- 
 habitants of Constantinople for ten or twelve days. 
 The columns are formed of several blocks, and the 
 marble is much coarser than that of Yere Batan 
 Serai ; narrow windows closely grated, and built near 
 the roof, admit the light. The cistern is entirely filled 
 up. When Signor Fossati was repairing Santa Sophia 
 some years since, the soil taken out was thrown into 
 Bin Vebir Direg, . and the water courses turned off. 
 The immense space thus left vacant is now overspread 
 by silk-workers. 
 
 Descending a ladder, we found ourselves in this 
 mysterious subterranean palace; wending in and out 
 
A TERRIBLE EFFIGY. 279 
 
 among tlie columns were the long lines of silk, which 
 we could just distinguish in the dim light, looking like 
 magic threads ; while the strange beings at the works, 
 with their pale faces (for the atmosphere is most un- 
 healthy), their rapid movements at their weaving, and 
 the shrill tones of their voices, shrieking to us not to 
 injure their silk, which the hollow echoes repeated, 
 made the scene a most unearthly one. The air was so 
 stifling, that we hastened to quit this horrible place ; but 
 before doing so, were assailed by a group of the wild, 
 haggard-looking silk-workers, catching our clothes, and 
 begging vociferously for " backshish." We were, 
 indeed, thankful to gain the open air. 
 
 At a short distance from the Seraglio, a Greek gentle- 
 man, who was kindly escorting us, stopped at the door 
 of a large building guarded by sentries ; there was a 
 little demur as to our admittance, but the sight of the 
 uniform of an English officer, also of our party, and a 
 little additional backshish, as usual carried the day, and 
 the door flew open. Upon entering, I started back, for 
 just before me stood a Turk of enormous stature, fierce 
 countenance, and threatening gesture. A burst of 
 laughter from the sentry reassured me, and I disco- 
 vered the fierce-looking figure before me was made of 
 plaster. 
 
 We then entered a large hall, from which four rooms 
 opened, and we found ourselves in a Turkish " Madame 
 Tussaud's." All round these rooms were glass cases, 
 in which were ranged hundreds of plaster or painted 
 wooden figures larger than life. About the hall these 
 figures were placed in groups ; they were mostly ar- 
 rayed in the warlike costumes worn by the different 
 regiments of the once famous Janissaries, and were put 
 
280 THE ATMEIDAN. 
 
 there by order of Sultan Mahmoud, who, after he had 
 succeeded in destroying this formidable body of men, 
 was anxious that their dress should be perpetuated. 
 One specimen of the dress of each regiment was here, 
 and the eiFect of the many varieties of costume was 
 curious enough. The artist had succeeded admirably 
 in his work, for the various countenances of these gaunt 
 figures gave us a complete idea of the fierce race they 
 were intended to represent. 
 
 Besides those of the Janissaries, there was a repre- 
 sentation of each minister of state, and the principal 
 imaums. The turbans of some of the figures were very 
 singular, consisting of rolls of white calico, twisted till 
 they were five feet high; others had high felt hats, 
 either square or conical, about four feet high. One 
 case contained very different figures. They were made 
 of wax, and were representations of Circassian or Geor- 
 gian women, probably some beauties of the Sultan's 
 harem. Their soft complexions and beautiful, though 
 unintellectual faces, formed a strong contrast to the 
 ferocious warriors around them. 
 
 We were struck by the evidence aiforded of Sultan 
 Mahmoud's bold infraction of the command in the 
 Koran, forbidding all human representations. There 
 was something extremely painful in this sight. The 
 figures, though so rude, had a horrible lifelike look : 
 the fierce eyes seemed to glare at one, and it was with 
 a sensation of extreme relief that we quitted the Elbicei 
 Atika. 
 
 The Atmeidan, or ancient hippodrome, lies behind 
 the seraglio. Here is all that remains now of ancient 
 Byzantium, the obelisk of Theodosius and the serpen- 
 tine column. The last is inscribed with hieroglyphics : 
 
THE DANCING DERVISHES. 281 
 
 it is supposed to be at least 3000 years old. The ser- 
 pentine column consisted of three serpents entwined, 
 all of which have lost their heads long ago. It is nearly 
 in ruins, and the base sunk into the earth. Its origin 
 is quite uncertain. Some suppose Constantino caused it 
 to be transported from Delphos, but this is not authen- 
 ticated. 
 
 One great interest will ever attach itself to the great 
 plain of the Atmeidan, for here took place the massacre 
 of the Janissaries by Sultan Mahmoud. About 5000 
 Janissaries perished on that day, and the troop was 
 extinct. The Sultan's vengeance was not sated till the 
 turban on the tomb of every deceased Janissary was 
 knocked off, and many of their decapitated monuments 
 are to be seen in the great cemeteries. 
 
 Near the Atmeidan stands the Mosque of Sultan 
 Achmet. Its chief beauty consists in the colossal pro- 
 portions of the four columns which support the whole 
 weight of the building. Turkish relics, highly valued 
 by the nation, are kept here, but not exposed to view. 
 Like most mosques, it was without furniture or deco- 
 rations. 
 
 On the last Friday we spent in the East we intended 
 to have seen the dancing dervishes, and went to Galata 
 for that purpose ; but, to our great disappointment, the 
 Armenian gentleman who had promised to escort us, 
 informed us on our arrival that a fire the previous 
 night had burnt the Tehle or dervishes' house to the 
 ground. They would not, therefore, dance until the 
 following Friday ; and before that day arrived we had 
 left the East. 
 
 As we could not visit the dervishes, we proceeded to 
 the French hospital at Pera. Our kind Armenian friend 
 
282 THE FRENCH HOSPITAL AT PERA. 
 
 had procured for us the only two carriages with springs 
 to be hired in Pera. We drove to the hospital, which 
 is distant about two miles from Pera. This building is 
 a very fine one, admirably adapted for an hospital. We 
 proceeded to the apartments occupied by the Sceurs de 
 la Charitti twelve of whom are attached to this hos- 
 pital. By them we were conducted through the wards 
 — they were nearly empty. 
 
 Those who were wounded in the assault of Sebas- 
 topol had recovered, and from fifteen hundred the num- 
 bers had been reduced to five hundred. 
 
 We had long been anxious to visit this hospital, 
 having heard much of it from our very first arrival 
 in the East. During the time of distress in our own 
 hospitals, it had been spoken of in high terms as 
 possessing all we then so much needed. This w^as 
 probably the case ; but many months had passed, and 
 now certainly we had outstripped our allies in the 
 appearance of our hospital. However, it must be con- 
 sidered that during the summer, while our hospitals were 
 empty, theirs had been crowded. The wards for both 
 officers and men were inferior in cleanliness and general 
 appearance of comfort to those at Koulali and Scutari. 
 
 The French medical officers are, with respect to their 
 qualifications, a very superior class of men, and it is 
 mainly by their professional knowledge and skill that 
 they rise in the service. Their duties are confined to 
 the medical treatment of the sick, which is unfortunately 
 too little the case with the medical officers of the British 
 army. 
 
 The non-professional work of the French hospital is 
 performed by the constable, acting under the Chief 
 of the Intendance, who superintends all the arrange- 
 
DRIVE FROM PERA TO BEBEK. 28^ 
 
 ments, and conducts the administration of the hospitals, 
 leaving the medical officer his whole time to devote to 
 the care of his patients. 
 
 The French system, without doubt, works better than 
 ours ; yet it has been well remarked, that the perfection 
 of a hospital system would be found between the two. 
 
 "We give the medical officer too much of the actual 
 administration of the hospital, taking up his valuable 
 time in details. 
 
 The French give him too little. No doubt the pro- 
 fessional skill and knowledge of the medical officer 
 should influence all the arrangements of the hospital so 
 far as these relate to the well being of the sick, but they 
 should be carried out by an officer acting under the 
 authority of the commandant or head of the hospital. 
 
 Thus the inspector-general or deputy-inspector would 
 be enabled to visit the patients, instead of (as now) 
 spending nearly all the day at his desk, doing com- 
 paratively unimportant work. 
 
 If the principal medical officer, as the physician of the 
 hospital, were called in to serious cases, as a physician is 
 by a family surgeon, it would lead to the higher ranks 
 of medical officers making it a chief point to know their 
 profession, and excel in it, instead of, as the case is now 
 with many of them, almost, if not entirely, relinquishing 
 their professional duties, and letting the real labour and 
 anxiety fall on the younger officers, who gain no merit 
 by their exertions, from the insignificant position in 
 which they are placed. 
 
 We drove from Pera to Bebek, one of the few drives 
 which can be taken in an European carriage, the ground 
 being level : about a mile before we reached Bebek, 
 we stopped to visit some ruined towers of a castle of 
 
^84 A HOSPITAL OF HUTS. 
 
 the Janissaries. These ruins had been till lately long 
 deserted and silent^ but busy sounds were once more 
 heard among them. One of the numerous French hos- 
 pitals was erected among the ruins, which are fast 
 falling into utter decay. This hospital consisted en- 
 tirely of huts, which were neatly built, and had every 
 appearance of comfort. The wards were beautifully 
 clean, far more so than the stone ones at Pera. We 
 saw one hut raised on a mound of earth. On entering 
 we found it was the extra diet kitchen, furnished with 
 a charcoal stove and boilers; the flooring being the 
 uncovered ground. Several soldiers were very busy 
 cooking, and a Sister of Charity superintending. In 
 the centre of this hut was an immense space, boarded 
 round, and covered with planks. On inquiry we found 
 it was an old well, into which the Janissaries were 
 wont to throw some victims of their vengeance. Some 
 of the boards were removed to allow us to look down, 
 and the soldiers took brands from the fire, and cast 
 them into it, that we might see by the glare, as they 
 descended, the fearful depth, and the water at the bot- 
 tom; one brief look was quite sufficient, and the 
 boarding was replaced. 
 
 At this moment the French principal medical officer 
 of the hospital entered to give some directions to the 
 So^ur, and taste the soup, &c., which she was preparing 
 for the patients. We were struck by the extreme cour- 
 tesy of his manner to her ; for although she was evi- 
 dently not a lady, either by birth or education, her office 
 inspired more respect than if she had possessed both. 
 The French doctor spoke courteousl}'' to us, expressing 
 his pleasure at our visit to his hospital. Three huts 
 were set apart for the sisters' use, a fourth formed the 
 
BACK TO KOULALI. 285 
 
 chapel. There were at least one hundred huts alto- 
 gether. They appeared so securely built that we were 
 astonished to hear from Madame la Superieure that the 
 rain came through in torrents, so that in wet weather 
 the inhabitants were obliged to sleep under umbrellas. 
 After leaving the castle we drove about a mile further 
 on, and arrived at the summit of the hill above Bebek, 
 which is so steep that the carriages could not descend 
 without injuring their springs ; so we left them there, 
 walked down the hiU, and crossed to Koulali in caiques. 
 State prisoners were, in old times, confined in these 
 towers, and exquisite is the view which lay stretched 
 before them, of the blue Bosphorus, distant Constan- 
 tinople, and even (in a very clear day) the shadowy 
 outline of Mount Olympus. 
 
286 
 
 CHAPTER XXVII. 
 
 " They dreamt not of a perialiable home, 
 Who thus could build." 
 
 WoKDSWOKTH. 
 
 There is one spot in Constantinople to which the 
 heart of the Christian must ever turn with the most in- 
 tense interest. Old Homan and Byzantine remains, 
 records of the ferocious Janissaries, all fade away into 
 nothingness as we approach the door of Agia Sophia 
 (the Church of the Eternal Wisdom). This great edi- 
 fice stands at the north of the Atmeidan, on an elevated 
 ridge ; the northern end of which ridge reaches to Se- 
 raglio Point. 
 
 Close by Santa Sophia once stood the great palace of 
 the Csesars, divided from it only by the forum of 
 Augustus, which formed a common entrance to both 
 church and palace. The gardens and terraces of the 
 palace of the Caesars must have extended from the ridge 
 on which Santa Sophia was built to the sea-shore. We 
 stood before Santa Sophia at the principal entrance, 
 through which the Sultan had entered on the Beiram. 
 Here we were positively refused admittance. 
 
 We then proceeded to a side entrance, and on passing 
 within the porch descended a flight of stone steps and 
 
SANTA SOPHIA. 287 
 
 found ourselves in a portico amidst a host of imaums. A 
 few yards from us was a door covered only with carpet 
 hangings. To our left was another small door, made in 
 the wall, closely locked. Here ensued the usual quar- 
 rel with imaums about backshish. 
 
 I paid several visits to Santa Sophia, but shall con- 
 dense all that I saw and learnt about it in one account. 
 At these different visits we paid various sums for ad- 
 mission ; at the time of E-amazan it was very high, and 
 there was a great uproar before we gained admittance ; 
 we then paid one hundred piastres for a large party, at 
 other times we paid less. 
 
 At length this knotty point being settled,''one of the 
 imaums opened the door in the wall and made us follow, 
 carefully locking it behind him. A winding in- 
 clined plane led us up to the women's gallery ; in the 
 centre of this are some raised wooden steps, ascending 
 which we obtained a more extensive view of the 
 church. 
 
 The first feeling is that of admiration at the vastness 
 of this wonderful building, and not the least part of this 
 wonder is, that the whole extent of the dome flashes on 
 one at the first glance. We do not have to wait, 
 as it is said people do, when they enter St. Peter's 
 at Rome, to calculate the vastness ; for there, I have 
 heard, it is not till you walk under the dome you see it 
 to advantage. Standing on the threshold of Santa 
 Sophia, one sees the whole extent of the dome, as well as 
 the greater part of the interior, at a glance. 
 
 Santa Sophia, as a mosque, possesses neither orna- 
 ment nor decoration of any kind, save a number of im- 
 mense green shields engraven in gold, with sentences 
 from the Koran — ofifts from different Sultans — which 
 
1288 HISTORY OF A MOSQUE. 
 
 are hung upon the pillars covering the capitals ; a num- 
 ber of silver lamps are also hung around. The Nimber 
 and Mihrab or desk, from which the Koran is read, 
 stands in that part which was once the chancel. Oppo- 
 site to this is a gilded throne for the Sultan ; an^old car- 
 pet hangs at the east end, its only value consists in its 
 having come from Mecca. 
 
 Great care has the Mussulman taken to hide every 
 token of the former possessors of Santa Sophia; the 
 flooring is covered thickly with matting — plaster has 
 hidden the mosaic walls and roof. But the representa- 
 tion of it is still to be seen, though dimly, through the 
 paint. A few Turks,' both men and women, were pros- 
 trating themselves on the matting, and the monotonous 
 howl in which they pray was echoed up to the gallery, 
 sounding almost like the cry of evil spirits. The imaums 
 in the gallery eagerly pressed us to buy some little bits 
 of mosaic, which they are always pulling down from the 
 walls to sell. 
 
 And this was Santa Sophia in 1855; but thought 
 would not rest here. This was no mosque like Sultan 
 Achmet's, which one entered only to admire marble 
 pillars and vast proportions. This was a Christian 
 church, however desecrated. It was once the especial 
 dwd-ling of the Lord of Hosts, and memory carried one 
 away into those far-off years to trace the history of 
 Santa Sophia, and treasure up its wondrous annals. We 
 thought of its first building by Constantino, in S26. 
 Although this building — which was supposed to be of 
 wood — was destroyed by fire, the present church stands 
 on the exact site of the ancient one, and in the gallery 
 parts of the pillars of the first building have been used 
 in constructing the second, so that all the memories 
 
ST. JOHN CHRYSOSTOM. 289 
 
 ■whicli cling to the churcli built by Constantine attach, 
 themselves to the work of Justinian, and we gazed down 
 from the gallery and tried to forget the present scene, 
 and the false worship, while the visions of the past rose 
 ■up before the mind's eye. To follow the whole of that 
 long history would be impossible, but there are some 
 scenes written indelibly upon its pages. 
 
 Thought transports one back 1400 years. The vast 
 church is filled with an eager multitude ; the women's 
 gallery is crowded with noble ladies : among them sits 
 the Empress Eudoxia in all her pomp. The sounds of 
 Christian worship ring through those old walls ; bishops, 
 priests, and deacons stand around, and now arises one 
 from amidst their number — a man whose pale face tells 
 the tale of fast and vigil, and how in solitude he learned 
 the secret of that wonderful eloquence which shall make 
 the heart of that great multitude quiver as one man. 
 Yes, there he stands upon the altar steps, a man low in 
 stature, but great in soul, the patriarch of Constanti- 
 nople, St. John Chrysostom. 
 
 And now he speaks, and awestruck they all listen 
 to those words of fire. Are they words of burning 
 warning that he is pouring forth, or are they those ad- 
 dresses of ardent love, in which he told them that he 
 would lose his sight for their sakes, because sweeter to 
 him than all the sights of this fair world was the sal- 
 vation of their souls ?* and as he pauses there is a stir 
 in the vast assembly. According to the custom of the 
 age, their admiration bursts forth — they wave their gar- 
 ments and plumes, lay hands upon their swords and 
 
 * Life of St. Chrysostom. 
 
290 
 
 shout, " Worthy the priesthood : thirteenth apostle, 
 Christ has sent thee."* 
 
 But these sounds of praise — generally liked hy the 
 preachers of those days — had no effect on that stern 
 spirit. He knew the world's applause was fleeting, 
 and bids his hearers show, not by words of acclamation 
 but by tears of penitence, that he had touched their 
 hearts ; and he judged well. Not long was Santa So- 
 phia to be filled with admiring crowds, not long did the 
 haughty empress listen to his fervid words — truth was 
 not palatable to that luxurious court. 
 
 The scene is changed, no longer do they listen 
 within the church, and bend before the altar. — They who 
 had praised him rose up against him, and drove him 
 into exile. He crossed over to Asia, but his foes did 
 not triumph long. A violent earthquake shook the 
 city, and the aflfrighted people thought it was a judg- 
 ment upon them for the sin of his banishment. They 
 sent messengers to recall him, the whole city went out 
 to meet him. The Bosphorus was bridged across with 
 boats, and lighted up with torches. Two short months 
 passed by, while he prayed and preached within 
 Santa Sophia's walls, when the storm of persecution 
 recommenced. 
 
 A silver statue of the empress was placed before 
 Santa Sophia's doors, and around it the people danced 
 and feasted, and sounds of the wild revelry of a great 
 multitude pierced through the wall, and drowned the 
 songs of praise. Chrysostom thundered forth his stern 
 rebuke — though knowing that bitter persecution would 
 be his portion, fearlessly the bishop denounced their 
 
 * Characteristics of Men of Genius, 
 
BANISHMENT OF CHRYSOSTOM:. 291 
 
 impiety, and now tlie empress was resolved on a lasting 
 vengeance. Santa Sophia's floor was stained with blood, 
 for the emperor's troops came even on Easter eve, the 
 day of all the year of holy calm, to drive the people 
 from the church where St. Chrysostom was ministering. 
 
 A few weeks of struggle pass away — instead of the 
 songs of Whitsuntide which should be ringing through 
 the church, there are sounds of weeping and mourning. 
 Can we not fancy we see him now before the high altar 
 in Santa Sophia, praying the Eternal Wisdom to direct 
 his steps ? 
 
 They bring in the sentence of his banishment. No 
 more must he teach the flock, for whose salvation he 
 had so yearned; that tongue whose eloquence the 
 world has never equalled, was to be stilled for ever. 
 Perhaps before his eyes floated some vision of the woe 
 which was to fall over the city, and desecrate his loved 
 cathedral. 
 
 Around him gathered his bishops, and when he parted 
 from them his last words were, as if in prophecy, 
 " Farewell to the angel of this church.'^ Embracing 
 them with tears, and blessing the deaconesses who 
 flocked around him, and in touching words entreating 
 that they would ofier up prayers for their exiled bishop, 
 and then avoiding the attention of the multitude, he 
 went to his doom — to wander three years in the wilder- 
 ness, dragged about by brutal guards — rest at night, 
 clean water to drink, bread to eat, were often denied 
 to him whom once in Santa Sophia the people almost 
 worshipped. No murmur passed the saintly lips — they 
 led him through the scorching heats which poured 
 down their fury on that bald head — they led him out 
 in rains till he was drenched in streams of water. At 
 
 u2 
 
S92 Justinian's ambition. 
 
 last the hour of release was at hand ; he asks for rest, 
 for he knows death is near; the guards only drag him 
 on more violently than before. But there is a Power 
 stronger than they. At last they were forced to lay him 
 in a roadside chapel, and there he called for the white 
 garments of his priesthood, and saying in death that 
 which had been his song through life, " Glory be to God 
 for all things," went to his rest. 
 
 Thus died the great Patriarch of Constantinople ; his 
 memory is the principal interest which attaches to the 
 former church of Santa Sophia. 
 
 In 532 this temple was laid in ruins by fire. Jus- 
 tinian then sat on the throne. He was a great man, 
 and he conceived the mighty ambition to build a church 
 which should excel the temple of Solomon. The 
 foundation of it was laid forty days after the fire. In 
 less than six years his work was completed, and Jus- 
 tinian beholding it, exclaimed, " Solomon, I have con- 
 quered thee !" 
 
 During the reign of this emperor an earthquake did 
 great damage to the church. Its ravages were, how- 
 ever, perfectly restored ; and for 1300 years, though 
 countless earthquakes have shaken the city, not one 
 has touched Santa Sophia. Against fire Justinian care- 
 fully preserved it, for he ordered his builders to employ 
 fire-proof materials ; this has been carried out even to 
 the doors and windows — the tracery work of the win- 
 dows is of stone, and the doors either of bronze or 
 covered with it. Some of the windows, it is said, con- 
 tain panes of the oldest glass ever made, but the date 
 of their insertion is unknown. In the apse of the 
 eastern windows are inner windows of coloured glass, 
 which the Turks allow to remain as a curiosity. The 
 
DOORWAYS OF SANTA SOPHIA. 293 
 
 Imaums drew our attention to these, and pointed them 
 out with evident pride. The door-frames are of bright- 
 coloured-marble, except that which was the emperor's 
 entrance-door, and which was of bronze. Over all the 
 doors are large hooks, or rings, as it was customary to 
 suspend hangings or veils before the church-door. 
 This is now a universal custom in the Greek churches ; 
 the door curtain is always made of some heavy material, 
 with bars of wood placed in it, so that it is difficult to 
 lift. The emperor's entrance-door is adorned with a 
 bas relief: it consists of an arch supported by columns ; 
 beneath is a throne; over which is the Holy Ghost as a 
 dove descending from heaven, holding in the beak the 
 book of the Gospel, having written outside, " I am the 
 door of the sheep." 
 
 The other doors were not remarkable, except those at 
 the south end ; these are of planks of timber, four or 
 five times thick, covered with bronze. The ornamental 
 work of the door is so graceful and beautiful, that it is 
 supposed to belong to the most brilliant time of Grecian 
 art. 
 
 Sculpture was not much thought of in the way of 
 ornament in Santa Sophia, save in the employment of 
 rare and costly marbles ; these were brought together 
 by Justinian from every quarter of his vast empire. 
 Whole walls in the interior and the porches were co- 
 vered with these magnificent materials from floor to 
 cornice; masses of bright colours were arranged in 
 stripes, and bands, and patterns, interspersed with 
 white. 
 
 We left the women's gallery, and descending the 
 winding passage found ourselves once more in the por- 
 tico. Another uproar ensued before we were suffered 
 
294 SPLENDOUR OF THE DECORATIONS. 
 
 to cross the threshold. We were obliged to take off 
 our shoes, and then the curtain was lifted up ; and in a 
 moment we found ourselves on the floor of the far- 
 famed temple. The coup d'oeil was marvellous ; from 
 arch to arch as one glances up to the stupendous height 
 of the dome — what must it not have been in the days 
 of its glory and beauty ! There have been some for- 
 tunate enough within the last few years to have gained 
 some idea of it; for in 1847 the present Sultan, being 
 alarmed that Santa Sophia was falling to decay, deter- 
 mined on a complete repair, and engaged the services 
 of Signer Foscati, the celebrated Italian architect, by 
 whom it was most successfully accomplished. During 
 this restoration the marble of the floor, the mosaic, and 
 other beauties were uncovered ; and the Sultan even 
 allowed them to be copied, stipulating only that they 
 should be re-covered, as contrary to the law of the 
 Koran. 
 
 Upon Santa Sophia Justinian and his successors 
 poured every imaginable splendour — the old idol 
 temples were ransacked of their ancient treasures for 
 this purpose — they brought the dark red porphyry 
 from the Temple of the Sun at Rome, and dark green 
 from Thessaly for the columns, while the cornices were 
 of white marble, and on the white they carved the palm 
 leaf in deep relief, covering it with gold. The pillars 
 standing near the emperor's public entrance were carved 
 with four white doves, with passion-flower and cross 
 between; the flooring was all of costly marble; the 
 nave and women's gallery of white and grey, the rest 
 of bright colours, all bordered with verd antique. But 
 the great beauty of all was the mosaic. Walls and roof 
 were covered with it ; the whole grounding was of gold. 
 
PICTURES ON THE WALLS. 295 
 
 the pictures of saints and angels, groups of flowers, or 
 holy emblems in colours. 
 
 Silver mosaic was largely used, and it is believed to 
 have been almost the only church in the world where 
 it was so. The gold and silver mosaic had a peculiar 
 character — it was of glass mosaic, an art of which the 
 Byzantines were masters. On the roof of Santa Sophia 
 thin plates of glass were first fixed with cement, the 
 gold laid upon it, and then covered with a similar plate 
 of glass ; it is, therefore, almost imperishable. Neither 
 the dust of ages, nor the whitewashing efforts of the 
 Turks, have destroyed its brilliancy. 
 
 The most splendid mosaic in the church is that over 
 the Emperor's entrance — the representation of the Agia 
 Sophia himself. He is enthroned in glory. His robes 
 are of white and gold, His right hand lifted up as if in 
 the act of speaking ; in the left the gospels, on which is 
 written, '^ I am the light of the world." At His feet 
 is prostrated the Emperor, clad in his diadem and regal 
 robes, of blue, red, and gold, in the act meant to repre- 
 sent a vassal doing homage to his liege lord. This is 
 supposed to be Justinian himself. On each side of our 
 Lord are medallions of the Blessed Virgin and the 
 archangel Michael. 
 
 On the roof of the women's gallery is a representation 
 of the Day of Pentecost. On the west end are figures 
 of the Blessed Virgin, St. Peter, and St. Paul. These 
 are not in good preservation, for the figure of the Holy 
 Child, which was placed with His Mother, is gone — 
 only the crown of glory being left. Around this picture 
 is a rainbow. 
 
 On the walls are numbers of pictures of bishops and 
 martyrs, and also of six lesser and two greater pro- 
 
296 VANISHED GLORY. 
 
 phets. Isaiah is holding a scroll with the words — " A 
 virgin shall conceive and bear a child ;" and with his 
 right hand he points to the sanctuary. There are also 
 the cherubims with their six wings, and other pictures 
 in profusion. The centre picture of the dome is sup- 
 posed to have been Christ as the Judge of the world, 
 but it is gone. 
 
 The rood screen had twelve columns and three doors. 
 Over it stood an archangel with gleaming sword to 
 guard the holy place. The covering and ornaments of 
 the altar were all of gold. The ciborium had silver 
 pillars and veil of rich embroidery ; on it hovered the 
 dove, typical of the Holy Ghost. 
 
 The holy vessels themselves were one blaze of pre- 
 cious stones. When one reads and ponders over the 
 account of all the splendour of this church, which surely 
 must have been the glory of Christendom, we enter into 
 the feelings of its old historian, who said — " When one 
 once puts a foot in Santa Sophia, one desires never to 
 depart from it." 
 
 Again the vision of those old times floats before our 
 sight. One stands in Santa Sophia upon that marble 
 floor, under the shade of that great dome, the cande- 
 labra and crowns of light shed their rays on gold, and 
 silver, and pictured forms ; forth comes the long pro- 
 cession, the many bishops, the sixty priests, the hun- 
 dred deacons, and other officers, altogether four hundred 
 and twenty-five who served this church* — they come 
 to adore the Eternal Wisdom. 
 
 * Besides this large number, were 100 door-keepers. It is, 
 however, recorded in the old histories of Santa Sophia, that its 
 clergy served three other churches — the church of the Blessed 
 Virgin, that of the Martyr Theodore, and also that of St. Irene. 
 
HOPE FOR THE FUTURE. 297 
 
 "Anthems soaring loud ; 
 Incense curled up and wreathed on liigh. a cloud j 
 And all tongues choired adoring cup and host — 
 Glory to Father, Son, and Holy Ghost." * 
 
 But those days have long since passed ; the glory of 
 Santa Sophia was perchance too much for this poor 
 earth — it did not linger long. The church of Constan- 
 tinople was rent, Chrysostom's prophecy was fulfilled 
 — the angel departed from it. 
 
 Storms and dissensions shake the city, the sound of 
 woe is in the air ; beneath the Seven Towers the Greeks 
 resist the invaders. In a side chapel, near the women's 
 gallery, in Santa Sophia, an old priest is saying mass ; 
 they bring him news that all is lost. He believes them 
 not. At last the sound of horses' hoofs is heard ; Maho- 
 met II., flushed with victory, rides into Santa Sophia, 
 and dashing his hand, stained with Christian blood, 
 upon the walls, proclaims its fall. The old priest 
 pauses. The Turks rush upon him ; but the wall of the 
 chapel opening, he passes in, carrying the holy vessels. 
 They tried to break down the wall, but no power could 
 move a stone. The Greeks aver, that occasionally 
 through the walls come faint sounds of psalmody ; and 
 when, at length, the time of their captivity shall be past, 
 and Santa Sophia be restored to God's service, the wall 
 shall re-open of itself, the priest — who is now sleeping, 
 and chanting in his sleep — shall come forth and finish 
 the interrupted mass. Thus runs the old legend. 
 
 As we once more looked around, and realised the sad 
 knowledge that the Mussulman desecrated the holy 
 walls of Santa Sophia, earnest was the prayer we silently 
 
 * Moile. 
 
298 ST. IRENE. 
 
 breathed, that God would once more come to His tem- 
 ple, and that the wonderful events of the last few years 
 might be instrumental in paving the way for the resto- 
 ration of this beautiful cathedral to its former holy 
 purposes. We prayed the time might hasten on when 
 the white robes shall gleam as of old, the floor shall be 
 covered with worshippers among the faithful, and those 
 old walls which have seen emperors, sultans, and dynas- 
 ties flourish and decay through so many centuries, shall 
 again re-echo with the song of praise, — Te Deum 
 laudamus. 
 
 Near Santa Sophia stands the old church of St. Irene, 
 built by Justinian; razed to the ground, like Santa 
 Sophia, by fire, it was restored by Justinian. It was 
 served by the clergy of Santa Sophia, and shared its 
 title of patriarchal. It was destroyed by an earthquake 
 in the eighth century, and does not seem to have been 
 restored to its ancient beauty. It is now used by the 
 Turks as a store-house for weapons, and its ecclesias- 
 tical remains can only be conjectured. Whatever were 
 its beauties, they have now disappeared ; but it would 
 seem to have been built upon the plan of Santa Sophia. 
 In the hall, or portico, are deposited some ancient 
 remains of art. 
 
 The exterior of Santa Sophia presents nothing worthy 
 of remark ; it would appear originally to have had little 
 ornament bestowed upon it, and under the Turkish rule 
 has lost all. It is disfigured by four minarets, marking 
 its unhallowed use, and all round the church are thrown 
 large buttresses. On the western side is an outer court, 
 built of brick, but ornamented internally with marble 
 and mosaic work; in the centre of this stood a stone 
 vase for water. This court is now occupied by the 
 
299 
 
 dwellings of the Imaums, which are built in among the 
 old columns and walls. In place of the ancient holy- 
 water vase, is the fountain for the Turkish ablutions. 
 
 The old baptistry stood at the south-west angle of 
 the church ; it was octagonal, with eight windows and 
 a vaulted roof It was first converted by the Turks 
 into a store-room for oil, and then, at the death of Sultan 
 Mustapha, was made his tomb ; there also his brother 
 was buried. It is still used as the tomb of the Sultans, 
 and its memory as the Christian baptistry was utterly 
 lost, till Monsieur Salzenberg, in his researches, rescued 
 it from oblivion.* On the south of Santa Sophia also 
 stood the oratory of St. John the Baptist ; this was built 
 previous to the time of Justinian. 
 
 * In tlie account of the details of Santa Sophia, I have drawn 
 somewhat largely from the work of the learned Monsieur Salzen- 
 burg, Alt Christliche Bandenhmale von Constantinople, feeling 
 sure, that as this valuable work is difficult of access in England, 
 any information from it would be acceptable, more especially as 
 Monsieur Salzenburg enjoyed opportunities of pursuing his 
 researches in Santa Sophia, during the period of its restoration 
 by Signor Foscati, which will probably never again be afforded in 
 our generation. 
 
300 
 
 CHAPTER XXVIIL 
 
 ** Hame, hame, hame, 
 In my ain countrie." 
 
 It was at last decided that Koulali barracks were to 
 be retained for the present as a British hospital. General 
 Storks, therefore, appointed Sister Anne as lady-super- 
 intendent. 
 
 The general offered us passages in the " Hydaspes," 
 a vessel belonging to the General Screw Steam Com- 
 pany, and then in the employ of the Government, and 
 laden with shot and shell. She had been lying off 
 Koulali for some days to coal. 
 
 Dr. Humphrey wrote a letter expressing his thanks 
 for our services, and there was not one from whom we 
 did not receive good wishes. The " Hydaspes" sailed 
 on the 22nd of November; our preparations for de- 
 parture were quickly made, and our farewell said. 
 
 We went on board about four in the afternoon, and 
 we could have started immediately, but the captain was 
 waiting for the Duke of Newcastle, who did not arrive 
 for several hours afterwards, and so the moon rose before 
 the "Hydaspes" heaved anchor. Between our ship 
 and the shore lay a large coal barge ; over this one or 
 two of the soldiers chose to climb, that they might say a 
 
THE " UYDASPEvS." 301 
 
 last '^ good-bye." A group of them stood on the shore 
 and cheered us on.^ 
 
 The moonlight lit up every familiar spot, as we gave 
 a farewell look to dear Koulali, with which pleasant 
 memories must ever linger. It was some great Turkish 
 fete, and the Bosphorus was brightly illuminated as we 
 passed down to the sea of Marmora. 
 
 It would be a needless repetition to describe our route 
 as far as Malta. We found a most delightful change in 
 being on board an English vessel instead of the little 
 crowded French steamer in which we came. The 
 *' Hydaspes" is a beautiful ship ; it was such a pleasure 
 to walk on her broad smooth decks, and our cabins and 
 the saloon were most comfortable. We received much 
 kindness from all, and especially from Captain Baker, 
 who did everything in his power to make the voyage 
 pleasant to us. 
 
 The weather was favourable till we reached Malta, 
 with the exception of one night, in which a gale 
 arose, and the cargo of shell was in some way loosened, 
 and caused the vessel to roll sadly. 
 
 November 2Tth. — We anchored at quarantine har- 
 bour, Malta, and next day we went into the grand har- 
 bour. We remained a week at Malta; the captain's 
 orders being to discharge the cargo of shot and shell there. 
 
 During this week most of our party went daily on 
 shore, and visited the different parts of *' the island 
 called Melita." 
 
 We drove to Civita Vecchia, the ancient capital of 
 Malta, where now stands the Church and Cave of St. 
 Paul. Tradition says it is the one in which the apostle 
 lodged after his shipwreck, where he kindled the fire, 
 and where the viper fastened on his hand. 
 
302 
 
 A priest conducted us into the cave ; it was so dark 
 we could not see our way down the rugged flight of 
 steps ; but on arriving at the foot of them, we did not 
 want any other light than that which is well contrived 
 by a chink in the wall. This soft, subdued light falls 
 on the marble figure of St. Paul, one of the most beauti- 
 ful sculptures we ever beheld. He is extending the 
 right hand, evidently to show it is unhurt ; and the ex- 
 pression of the face is celestial. The spirit of self- 
 sacrifice, which characterised the great apostle, is written 
 in every line. One of our party remarked, one could 
 almost fancy that the lips would move and say, " I have 
 imparted unto you my own self also." 
 
 And daily did we visit the Church of St John the 
 Baptist — the great monument of the labours of the 
 Knights. 
 
 The flooring of St. John's is said to be perfectly 
 unique. It is of 400 slabs of mosaic, each slab forming 
 a monument to a Knight of St. John. 
 
 We were disappointed with the exterior of St. John's 
 church, but on our entrance were fully satisfied. What 
 must it have been in the days of old, when all the 
 colouring and gilding on the walls, and the frescoes on 
 the roof were fresh, and the choir was filled with the 
 knights in their robes, and their golden cross enamelled 
 in white, with its eight points, in token of the eight 
 beatitudes, and their glittering armour, and when their 
 full chorus rang out gloriously the vesper psalms ? Now 
 the beauty has faded, and a few priests and boys chant, 
 instead of that mighty peal of praise. 
 
 At one side of the Lady Chapel is a flight of steps, 
 descending which, we reach the chapel containing the 
 tombs of the Grand Masters. There is an altar here. 
 
VALETTA. 303 
 
 but it is evidently disused. Here, in different niches, 
 are the sculptured forms of some of the most celebrated 
 Grand Masters of the order, brass plates and inscriptions 
 to others covering the floor. The principal tombs are 
 of such as distinguished themselves particularly during 
 their government of this island. Here lie all the earthly 
 remains of those *' Champions of the Cross," before 
 whose dauntless valour the Saracen so often trembled, 
 and yet who still bore the lowly title of " Master of the 
 Hospital of St. John, and Guardian of the Poor of our 
 Saviour Jesus Christ." 
 
 Valetta possesses a great number of churches, most of 
 them raised by the knights, others belonging to religious 
 orders, of whom there are a great many. Numerous as 
 the churches were, they all seemed well attended. In 
 the morning, when service was going on, they were 
 thronged ; in the after-part of the day, as often as the 
 explorer entered any of the churches, scattered figures 
 here and there, in their picturesque black dress, were 
 always to be seen, apparently wrapt in prayer. Some- 
 times, when the church looked quite empty, and we 
 went groping through the side aisles, trying by the 
 failing light to discover the merits of paintings or archi- 
 tecture, behind some large pillar one was sure to stumble 
 upon a Maltese woman, looking so like a statue in black 
 marble, one could hardly believe she was not one. The 
 devotion of the people to their religion was very re- 
 markable. 
 
 We also visited the Military Hospital. The building 
 was erected by the knights, and is a large and commo- 
 dious one. Some of the wards are of great extent. It 
 seemed well arranged, but the medical officers told us 
 that, though standing apparently in so good a situation. 
 
304 GIBE ALTAR. 
 
 in reality it is one of the worst that can be conceived — 
 being damp and unhealthy. The Malta Hospital is a 
 regimental one, conducted on its routine, and therefore 
 not supposed to contain many serious cases ; but the 
 surgeons told us that they had had a great deal of sick- 
 ness since the war broke out; and we did not wonder at 
 this, when we saw the troops of young recruits from 
 England who thronged the stradas of Valetta — no won- 
 der they soon fell sick in a foreign country. There was 
 a review at Valetta one day, in honour, I suppose, of 
 the Duke of Newcastle, who had left the " Hydaspes " 
 on her arrival at Malta, and, after paying the Governor 
 a short visit, returned to England by the overland route. 
 The review took place in a large square, and was a very 
 pretty sight, though it made us rather melancholy to see 
 all the brave soldiers who were on their way to battle, 
 and perhaps to death. Sometimes, though, when walk- 
 ing in the stradas, we could hardly avoid a smile at the 
 pride with which the boy soldiers, both privates and 
 officers, walked about in their new uniforms, and we 
 thought how very dim their beauty would become after 
 a few weeks' roughing it in the East. 
 
 December 2nd we sailed from Malta, and on the 10th 
 anchored off Gibraltar. We saw the magnificent for- 
 tress under a most favourable aspect, for the last three 
 weeks before our arrival had brought incessant rain, so 
 that Gibraltar was covered with verdure, where generally 
 the rock is very arid and bare. We went on shore, and 
 climbed up the steep hill to the galleries of the fortifi- 
 cations. These are built in the solid rock. The stone 
 through which they are cut is so humid, that in wet 
 weather it drops with water ; thus we found ourselves 
 in a perfect shower of rain, and so put up our umbrellas. 
 
HOUGH WEATHER AT SEA. 305 
 
 and waded through it. We reached St. George's Hall, 
 which is a large space cut out of the rock, with cannon 
 ranged round it. All along the gallery are portholes 
 for pieces of ordnance. 
 
 From the upper part of the rock we beheld the dis- 
 tant mountains of Africa, and those of the Spanish 
 mainland, while, at the same time, we looked down on 
 the sea, the town of Gibraltar, and the neutral ground, 
 which, from the rainy weather, was quite a swamp. On 
 one end of this ground stand the English sentries, on 
 the opposite the Spanish. 
 
 We returned before dusk to the " Hydaspes,'* and 
 early next morning were once more on our way. We 
 encountered very rough weather ; the sea running so 
 high that the screw became perfectly useless, we were 
 consequently under sail for several days, and were 
 driven out of our course, never entering the Bay of 
 Biscay at all. During this time we could not stir from 
 our berths ; indeed, an attempt to cross the cabin was 
 quite dangerous. We again had good reason to con- 
 gratulate ourselves that we were on board so excellent 
 a ship as the " Hydaspes," which bravely withstood 
 the storm. 
 
 One night the gale was so strong that a sailor was 
 blown overboard, and any attempt to save him was im- 
 possible. At length fine weather returned, the screw 
 was put in motion, and we neared the end of our 
 voyage. 
 
 On December the 16th we were called on deck late 
 in the evening to see the Stayt Light, the first glimpse 
 of Old England. On December 17th the " Hydaspes" 
 cast anchor oif Spithead. A note of welcome from a 
 kind friend arrived immediately ; and, with his assist- 
 
S06 CHOLERA AT SCUTARI. ' 
 
 ance, our baggage was passed rapidly througli tlie 
 custom-house^ enabling us to leave Portsmouth by the 
 next train. It was on one of the coldest and dreariest 
 of winter days that we landed, but we still did not 
 regret the bright skies we had left behind. At Ports- 
 mouth the little party of ladies separated, and in a 
 few hours more, with very thankful hearts, some of us 
 were safely at our homes.. One short year only had 
 passed since we left England, but the events of many 
 had been crowded into it. 
 
 After our departure, the fate of Koulali was decided. 
 Sister Anne found the remaining staff of four paid ladies 
 and ten nurses more than sufficient for the work of the 
 hospital under its new regulations. All went on very 
 smoothly for about a fortnight, the only difference 
 being that the Turkish barracks were given over to the 
 Mounted Sappers and Miners, which added greatly to 
 the bustle of the scene — the once quiet road to the 
 ladies' home was now thronged with men, horses, and 
 waggons. 
 
 Before we left, a large portion of the German Legion 
 had arrived, and been quartered in one-half of Scutari 
 Barrack Hospital, where a few days after the cholera 
 broke out, by which numbers were daily carried off; the 
 troops were, therefore, immediately marched out again, 
 and encamped about three miles from Scutari, where they 
 remained ten days. When the wet weather commenced, 
 it was considered absolutely necessary that they should 
 have better protection than canvas, and accordingly, on 
 the 4th of December, the Purveyor-in-Chief rode over 
 to Koulali from Scutari with an order from the General 
 Officer commanding, for the breaking up of the Barrack 
 Hospital at Koulali, and the removal of the greater 
 
A VIOLENT STORM. 307 
 
 part of the British sick to Scutari to make room for 
 the Legion. The convalescent hospital was still re- 
 tained for the use of the patients who were unable 
 to be moved ; but these also, on their recovery, were to 
 join the rest at Scutari, it being intended to keep up the 
 convalescent ward for those patients only who should be 
 put on shore at Koulali, when it was impossible to land 
 them at Scutari, which was an event of common occur- 
 rence during the winter of 1854-5. 
 
 Three medical men were to remaiiji in charge of this 
 hospital, but the services of ladies and nurses being of 
 course no longer needed at Koulali, Major-General 
 Storks intimated that Miss Nightingale would make ar- 
 rangements with Sister Anne for engaging the ladies 
 and nurses who might feel inclined to accept her (Miss 
 Nightingale's) rules, and wish to join her staff at Scu- 
 tari, in preference to returning to England. This was 
 accordingly settled in the course of the day, and Sister 
 Anne sent a messenger immediately to the embassy 
 at Therapia, to inform Lady Stratford of the sudden 
 changes in the hospital. A violent storm, however, 
 which came on that evening, made it impracticable for 
 Lady Stratford to visit Koulali before the final closing 
 of the hospital. The storm commenced about eight 
 o'clock, and was one of the most magnificent sights 
 ever witnessed; the lightning was brilliant beyond 
 conception ; the night had become suddenly dark, but^ 
 as flash followed flash, not only on the Bosphorus, but on 
 the European coast also, objects were distinctly visible. 
 The light itself was of a peculiar dark crimson colour, 
 occasionally fringed with purple, and at times every- 
 thing became as distinct as by the light of day. 
 . Notwithstanding the beauty of the scene, however^ 
 
308 
 
 THE STORM CONTINUES. 
 
 it was impossible to help looking on the raging Bospho- 
 rus without great anxiety, when it was remembered that 
 Miss Nightingale, who had been at Koulali making 
 arrangements with the ladies, had left but a short time 
 before in the Purveyor's boat for Scutari, and who had, 
 in all probability, not arrived at her destination. On 
 inquiry, next day, it was ascertained that she had fortu- 
 nately got home just before the storm had commenced. 
 
 The next day the packing continued, on the suppo- 
 sition that in a day or two they would leave the Home, 
 Avhich was, on their departure, to be converted into 
 quarters for the British officers still remaining at Kou- 
 lali ; but" the Bosphorus continued to rage so violently 
 that no boat, lighter, or even steamer, could come from 
 Scutari ; and the lighters sent there with goods on the 
 Thursday before, were several days before they could 
 land their contents. The road to Scutari was almost 
 equally impracticable. It was difficult for a rider to 
 accomplish the journey, much less a vehicle of any kind. 
 
 In the meanwhile what was to become of the British 
 officers, who, by the arrival of the Germans, were now 
 turned out of their quarters? Sister Anne felt it 
 at once to be her duty to offer them some of the apart- 
 ments at the Home, reserving as few as possible for her 
 staff of ladies and nurses. This offer was gratefully 
 accepted; and accordingly Dr. Freeth, the English 
 chaplain. Father O'Dyer, the Catholic one. Major 
 Heaton, the commandant, and two or three of the me- 
 dical officers, took up their abode in our once quiet 
 Home on the Bosphorus. 
 
 The whole party dined together ; and as the storm 
 lasted the whole of the next week, and the work of the 
 Hospital was over, they were somewhat dependent on 
 
309 
 
 each other for amusement. Dr. and Mrs. Tice also 
 joined the party, and all did their best to contribute to 
 the general comfort, and to make the best of circum- 
 stances which were unavoidable. 
 
 At length, after ten days' duration, the storm ceased, 
 and the sun shone out with really summer-like splen- 
 dour. The next morning Captain Macdonald sent a 
 steamer to convey the ladies and nurses to Scutari. Sister 
 Anne returned to England in the " Cambria," under 
 the kind escort of Lord and Lady Napier. Several of 
 the other ladies and nurses also returned in a week or 
 two after, the others remaining with Miss Nightingale 
 at Scutari. 
 
310 
 
 qHAPTER XXIX. 
 
 ** They sleep in silence, side by side, far from their own dear 
 
 home; 
 They rest not in the cloister's shade, nor 'neath the convent dome ; 
 We may not kneel with beating hearts upon that lonely spot, 
 But our thoughts shall often wander there — they shall not be 
 
 forgot. 
 Though pomp and pride may pass them by, and never breathe 
 
 their name, 
 Oh ! dear to us shall be their deeds, and dear their well-earned 
 
 fame." 
 
 From Lines on Sister Elizabeth. 
 
 But some still lingered in Eastern Hospitals whose 
 labours well deserve to be recorded — the Sisters of 
 Mercy. In order to give a full account of these pro- 
 ceedings, and a^more accurate description of their work, 
 it will be better to commence the narrative from the 
 date (the 8th of October) on which they left Koulali. 
 On the morning of that day I accompanied them to the 
 Ottawa, in which transport passages had been taken for 
 them ; and in the afternoon the vessel steamed up the 
 Bosphorus. After a favourable passage, they arrived 
 off Balaclava on the morning of the 10th. Before the 
 Ottawa, however, could enter the harbour, a gale sprang 
 up, which, from the iron-bound coast, and the narrow- 
 
THE GENERAL HOSPITAL. 311 
 
 ness of tlie entrance to Balaclava, rendered it unsafe to 
 approach, and they were, therefore, kept tossing about 
 till the following day. On the llth, the Rev. mother 
 and Sister M. J., accompanied by Mr. Woolett and Mr. 
 Coney, landed, but not without great risk from the swell. 
 The rest of the sisters remained on board the vessel a 
 day or two longer, where they all received much kind- 
 ness and consideration. On the 12th, the Rev. mother 
 received a visit from Dr. Hall, the Inspector-General of 
 Hospitals in the Crimea, who gave her a kind welcome, 
 and placed her as superintendent of the nurses at the 
 General Hospital, Balaclava, under his orders and that 
 of the resident medical officers. He made every ar- 
 rangement in his power for the comfort of the sisters, but, 
 notwithstanding, things were in a very rough condition. 
 They had to climb a steep hill by a path which led from 
 the hospital to the huts allotted as their dwelling. Even- 
 tually they got possession of one room in the General 
 Hospital, which they used during the day, but always 
 retired to the huts at night. The General Hospital was 
 a stone building containing seven wards, one of these 
 being for officers. There were also fourteen huts occu- 
 pied by sick, consisting chiefly of civilians, who had been 
 all employed in some way or other with the army, such 
 as mule- drivers, men of the land- transport corps, &c. ; 
 and these patients were of all nations, Maltese, Greeks, 
 Italians, Americans, and Germans, and even negroes. 
 The attentions which in Balaclava were bestowed on 
 the soldiers were thought quite superfluous for this 
 medley of civilians, who must have been very glad 
 when the time came for them to be attended by those to 
 whom their greater loneliness and distress gave them 
 but the greater claim on their compassion. 
 
S12 WANT OF MANAGEMENT. 
 
 The sisters commenced their labours in the hospital 
 within a short time of their arrival. The scene was 
 a widely different one from Koulali. After having 
 for the last five months lived with the work of im- 
 provement daily going on, and with the certainty that a 
 deficiency once pointed out would be as far as possible 
 remedied, it must have been surprising to find themselves 
 under a regime similar to that at Koulali in early days, 
 and indeed rather worse. An example of this may be 
 given from the curious arrangement that existed in the 
 serving of fowls. Each orderly drew from the store, ac- 
 cording to the number on the diet roll, the fowls alive. 
 These were to be seen in each ward during the morning, 
 and orderlies of a kindly disposition occasionally fed 
 them with bread until they had leisure to kill them. 
 Sometimes, after killing them, to save the trouble of 
 plucking, they skinned the fowls, then cooked and served 
 them (often half done). About 1 p.m. all the cooked 
 extras were served together, the arrow-root, rice, &c., as 
 so often occurred in times gone by at Scutari. No oven 
 existed in the establishment. In short, all the diffi- 
 culties that had been long experienced in the hospitals 
 on the Bosphorus under the early management, flou- 
 rished here, and, as before, the fault could be charged to 
 no one.^ Each department blamed the other. If the me- 
 dical officer, in writing a requisition for a rice pudding 
 or a basin of arrowroot, should forget to put down each 
 ingredient, as milk, eggs, sugar, &c., none of the latter 
 would be issued. Thus, when the rice came in, the or- 
 derly had to run after the surgeon to get another re- 
 quisition for the ingredients, and then after the principal 
 medical officer, to get a counter-signature to the requi- 
 sition. Then at Balaclava (unlike the hospitals on the 
 
'sister winefrede. 313 
 
 Bosphorus) fresh cases were continually comihg in ; for 
 these, requisitions would be made out by the doctor, 
 and the orderlies have to pursue each time the principal 
 medical officer for his signature, before they went to the 
 stores to draw the ingredients, and take them to the 
 kitchen to be cooked. During the whole day little bits 
 of rice, and grains of sugar, were continually arriving, 
 to be made into rice puddings, or scraps of arrowroot 
 to be cooked ; and sometimes a fowl would be brought 
 to the cook crowing, shortly before the dinner hour, to 
 be prepared for dinner. The waste, inconvenience, and 
 unnecessary labour, caused by these senseless regulations, 
 or rather by this want of system, can be understood only 
 by those who have endured them. The linen depart- 
 ment was equally extraordinarily managed. To each 
 patient, on entering, was served a cotton or flannel shirt 
 (there was often a great difficulty in getting the latter) ; 
 the shirt he had on admission to hospital was supposed 
 to make the change ; and no second issue could be had 
 from the stores without a requisition, signed by the 
 surgeon, and countersigned by the principal medical 
 officer. Socks were never issued ; and if the patients 
 had none to wear, there was no remedy ; nor were there 
 any pocket handkerchiefs. One towel was issued daily 
 for each ward ; and in case any patient should think it 
 necessary to make a daily toilet, they had for the pur- 
 pose in some wards one washing basin, whilst the best 
 were furnished with only three. 
 
 Very shortly after the sisters commenced their work, 
 cholera broke out, and one of its first victims was chosen 
 from among their own number. Sister Winefrede was 
 seized with the fatal disease, and in twenty-four hours 
 she died. The medical officers spared neither care 
 
314 EXPERIMENTS WITH CHLOROFORM. 
 
 nor attention, but remedies were useless; the sisters 
 knelt around her bed, while the priest recited the 
 prayers for the agonizing. She was perfectly conscious 
 of her approaching end, and had received with fervour 
 the consolations of her faith for those in the hour of 
 death. So quietly did the spirit pass, that it was not 
 until the supplications changed into a requiem that the 
 watchers knew that the sorrows of earth for her were 
 over. Next day, a Sunday afternoon, they bore her 
 to her grave. For this a craggy spot on the hills, in 
 view of the huts where the sisters lived, was selected. 
 Priests bearing the cross and chaunting led the pro- 
 cession; the coffin was carried by the soldiers for 
 whose sake she had been content to die ; the long train 
 of sisters in white cloaks, and bearing tapers, followed. 
 Many other people joined them, to testify their respect; 
 and so they laid her body in its last resting-place on 
 earth. 
 
 The doctors were determined to try the experiment 
 of chloroform with cholera patients ; this outbreak of 
 that direful disease was more than usually violent, and 
 every case had proved fatal ; but they felt that it was im- 
 possible to try chloroform, unless they had nurses on 
 whose continual care and watchfulness they could de- 
 pend ; and they, therefore, gladly availed themselves of 
 the services of the sisters. Just as Sister Winefrede had 
 breathed her last, a request came for some of them to 
 sit up with a cholera patient. Two of them were ac- 
 cordingly appointed; and in the intervals of their 
 watching there was but one spot to which they could 
 withdraw — that spot was the hut, where lay the corpse 
 of their sister. 
 ^ It is strangely touching to think of their turning 
 
NIGHT WATCHING. 315 
 
 from the terrible scene of the cholera patients in their 
 agony, to the sight of her who lay so calmly there, 
 arranged for her burial, holding in her hands the 
 parchment on which were written the vows she had 
 made to devote herself to God and her suffering fellow- 
 creatures ; and which, according to the custom of reli- 
 gious orders, is always buried with them. She had 
 finished her work ; theirs yet lay before them. 
 
 After this night the night watching continued regu- 
 larly; it was arranged that the sisters should never 
 enter a ward after ten at night, except by the doctor's 
 special direction. A verbal direction to the sisters, or 
 a written application, was always obeyed. The latter 
 was frequently brought up to the huts long after the 
 sisters had retired, and were asleep, but they instantly 
 arose and attended to the call ; and thus, in the long 
 inclement winter nights of the Crimea, up and down the 
 weary hill-side, passed the two sisters on their errand 
 of love, protected by God and His angels : they felt as 
 peaceful and secure as if within their own cloister. 
 
 The requisitions for night watching give some faint 
 idea of the curious variety of patients whom the sisters 
 were called upon to nurse. 
 
 " Dr. L. requests that one of the sisters would sit 
 up with the Dutch patient to-night in No. 9 ward.'* 
 
 This and such like requisitions were brought to the 
 E,ev. mother, who entered the names of the sisters whom 
 she wished to sit up for the night, thus : — Sister 
 M. E , Sister M. A . 
 
 " Dr. L would feel much obliged if the sisters 
 
316 DAY NURSING. 
 
 •who attend No. 8 ward would sit up with the Maltese 
 and Arab to night." 
 
 Names entered — Sister M. P . 
 
 Sister M. S . 
 
 " The sisters are requested to attend to the boy 
 Keicher in ward 8 to-night ; he is to have a table- 
 spoonful of wine or brandy and water (equal parts) 
 every half-hour. The sisters are to remain up with 
 Jones to night. They are to give the alarm to Dr. 
 
 H in case of change. The stump is to be kept 
 
 moist. A little champagne and water to be given oc- 
 casionally during the night. Dr. M ." 
 
 Names entered — Sister J. M . 
 
 Sister M. A . 
 
 " The sisters are requested to remain up with 
 Jones this night. Their kind attendance will be ne- 
 cessary for him every night until a notification to the 
 contrary be given." 
 
 Names entered — Sister M. J . 
 
 Sister M. S . 
 
 " Blackman requires two gills more wine for this 
 night, or one gill of brandy beat up with an e^^y or 
 any other stimulant the sisters may suggest. 
 
 *^ Elliott will require to be watched all night, and 
 the powder continued every half-hour ; wine or brandy 
 being administered as necessary, in small doses." 
 
 Names entered — Sister M. P . 
 
 Sister M. A . 
 
 The regular day nursing commenced at nine a.m., 
 but the pressing cases were attended constantly; at 
 
IMPROVEMENT IN THE DIET KITCHEN. 317 
 
 ten the bell for " extras " rang, when the sisters all 
 came to the extra-diet kitchen, and received from the 
 sister in charge of it the amount of the articles on the 
 diet rolls, except those intended for the patients' dinners. 
 The first distribution of arrowroot, sago, warm milk, &c., 
 was then made, and this was much needed by the pa- 
 tients who, some hours before, had had only a breakfast 
 of indifferent bread, and tea without milk. The sisters 
 in charge of wards, after this distribution, received the 
 doctor's orders for the treatment of the patients, and 
 saw that the wards were in order, &c. The dinner bell 
 rang at twelve ; dinner was then served for each ward 
 as at Koulali ; the orderlies taking the meat to their re- 
 spective wards, where it was received by the sisters, and 
 distributed. In ordinary cases the sisters left the hos- 
 pital for the hut at half-past one, and returned at a quar- 
 ter to three, after which they remained as long as they 
 were wanted. At seven the bell for night drinks rang, 
 when arrowroot, &c., for those patients who required 
 such, were also issued. The sisters left the wards for the 
 night at half-past eight, except when night- watching was 
 ordered. It was not, however, until much time had been 
 spent, and many difficulties surmounted, that the diet 
 kitchen was in the state of working order described 
 above. When the sisters arrived, a wretched hut bore 
 the name of an extra-diet kitchen — it possessed but one 
 small stove, one brasier (placed in the open air), no 
 boiler, no oven. But after a time the authorities per- 
 mitted alterations to be made, and the old hut was 
 transformed into a nice little establishment, equal, 
 in the opinion of some, to the extra-diet kitchen of the 
 " model hospital." The hut contained a store room, a 
 scullery, a kitchen, and a waiting-room for orderlies, 
 
318 BAD PROVISIONS. 
 
 the kitchen was supplied with an oven, two boilers, six 
 brasiers, and one stove, and it was very well lighted. 
 
 The difficulty that next arose was that of meeting 
 the demands which were constantly being received from 
 the purveyors and medical officers in camp, and on 
 board ship, for medical comforts, such as jelly, &c., and 
 which also came in through the day from the wards for 
 extras for patients just admitted, such as rice puddings, 
 &c., which required time and a hot oven to prepare 
 them for use. This difficulty was represented by the 
 sisters, and the authorities were found most ready to re- 
 medy it. Sir John Hall permitted them to receive from 
 the stores each week a definite portion of such articles 
 as were necessary to meet all emergencies. Then they 
 had a small supply of free gifts ; and when any par- 
 ticular article was needed which these sources did not 
 supply, the principal medical officer was always ready 
 to sign a requisition for the quantity required — on no 
 occasion was a request of this kind ever refused by the 
 medical officers, so great was the confidence felt in the 
 sisters that they would not ask anything without a rea- 
 sonable cause. In addition to the care of the sick 
 soldiers and civilians, the sisters attended the officers in 
 the officers' ward in the hospital. There were also 
 numbers of officers belonging to the different depart- 
 ments — purveying, commissariat, and medical— who 
 were ill in their huts ; all the extras ordered for them 
 went from the extra-diet kitchen : from fifty to eighty 
 pounds of jelly were made and issued each week. The 
 treacle sent with the royal gifts helped to make ginger- 
 bread ; some biscuits were also made — both of which 
 were most acceptable to many a weak patient who could 
 not eat the hospital bread. 
 
WELL-BEHAVED ORDERLIES. 819 
 
 The same difficulty, of course, prevailed here as at 
 Koulali, from the articles of diet being inferior in 
 quality. Meat would be brought in the morning by 
 
 the orderly, with the announcement to Sister M 
 
 A as a greeting, that it " was bad luck." She 
 
 would tell him to take it back to the stores, and see if 
 he could exchange it for abetter piece, and, if unsuc- 
 cessful in that, to ask if the storekeeper had allowed 
 good weight, to make up for bones. He would, how- 
 ever, return, saying no better could be had, and that 
 there was about a pound over, assuring her, at the 
 same time, with perfect gravity, that even at home the 
 sheep always had bones. However, this would not 
 supply the patients' dinners ; and she, therefore, sought 
 for the orderly officer, and, after having shown him that, 
 instead of meat ordered by the rolls, she had received 
 bones, she procured from him a requisition for a few 
 pounds more. The only milk used in the Crimea was 
 the concentrated, which the orderlies called consecrated , 
 and declared it was ^' no go ;" a remark often too true, 
 and Sister M. A. had to change it for better from the 
 free gift store. 
 
 To assist Sister M A in the kitchen were 
 
 three orderlies, named James Brazil, of the 50th, Thomas 
 Brennan, of the 4th, and Peter Macliouglin, of the 
 14th Regiments. They all worked well together, and 
 never was there a dispute among them; they vied 
 with each other in gratitude and respect for the sisters. 
 Often, when a sister would be busying herself in the 
 kitchen, an orderly would say, " Musha, Miss, you'll 
 kill yourself — let me do it.** On Christmas Day the 
 medical officers allowed the sisters to give the con- 
 valescent patients and orderlies of the ward rice-pudding. 
 
820 A CLEVER ORDERLY. 
 
 This caused^ of course, a good deal of extra work to 
 
 the kitchen orderlies, and Sister M A thought 
 
 she would make a small pudding for them also. On 
 leaving the kitchen at mid-day, she told them it was 
 in the oven, nearly ready. To her astonishment they 
 looked displeased, and one muttered, " It's pretty work, 
 indeed!" She asked what he meant, and he said, " It's 
 pretty work to have ladies cooking for the like of us." 
 "But is it not our every>day work," she replied; 
 " why should you mind it ?" " Well, there is no use 
 talking about it. I can't stand it any longer." Among 
 the kitchen orderlies, Brazil was specially distinguished 
 by his excellent conduct. He was ever at work, and ap- 
 parently never tired — had always a pleasant, cheerful 
 word for every one ; to overcome any difficulty was his 
 determination, and his delight was to make matters 
 easy for those with whom he worked. Besides the 
 orderlies, four fatigue men were told off every morn- 
 ing to assist in the kitchen. There was a great dif- 
 ference in the amount of help given by these men ; 
 some, from their utter ignorance, doing more harm 
 than good. The orderlies considered it their duty 
 to try to get good fatigue men ; and, on one occasion, 
 when there was a good deal of extra work to do, 
 
 and Sister M A was expressing a hope that 
 
 they would have good fatigue men, one said, " Well, 
 I'll get the little man we had the other day — David, 
 the little Scotchman, that washed the dishes, and that 
 made the kitchen look so smart;" and off he went 
 to look for David, but returned, saying he could 
 not find him, but that he had asked, at all events, 
 for a little man, as they were always the best. — It 
 must have considerably lightened the labours of the 
 
ABSURD RUMOURS. 321 
 
 sister in charge to see the pleasure the orderlies took 
 in their work. Making the gingerbread was considered 
 so honourable a charge that it was given to one, while 
 the jelly was made the work of another. This was for 
 
 some time made by Sister M A herself; but 
 
 her health failing much, the 'Rev. Mother, anxious to 
 spare her a little, told her to try if the orderly could 
 not manage it — and very proud he was, when, after se- 
 veral failures, he succeeded ; amusing was it to see the 
 important look with which he used to turn out the shapes, 
 saying at the same time, " Oh, miss, it's not clear," 
 purposely to get the sister to praise it. The Irish 
 humour displayed by the men must have been a relief 
 during the weary hours of the extra-diet kitchen work ; 
 which, while possessing none of the interest of the work 
 within the wards, was even more laborious. At times 
 Sister M A would come in, and find the ginger- 
 bread maker and the floor both covered with flour ; when 
 asked why he was making the kitchen in such a state, 
 he would reply, " A little sprinkle of flour is no dirt.'* 
 If a messenger came down from the camp with a re- 
 quisition for jelly from the surgeon, a dialogue between 
 him and the orderlies would ensue. 
 
 " Any news knocking about up there ?" 
 
 " Why, there's not much." 
 
 " What are you doing with the Roossians 1" 
 
 *^Musha, I don't know. There was a settee last 
 night." 
 
 " Any news about peace ?" 
 
 " Oh, no ; there is more peace down here than there 
 is up there." 
 
 The soldiers were very much pleased at being sent 
 down as messengers to the hospital at Balaclava. '' Oh, 
 
 Y 
 
S22 CIVIL ORDERLIES. 
 
 sir," said one to a Catliolic chaplain in the camp, 
 " have you not a message j^ou'd mind to send to the 
 nuns, and then I'll get a sight of them ?" 
 
 Among the other absurd rumours that flew about, was 
 that an attempt to retake Balaclava would be made. 
 "And what would become of the poor nuns if they 
 did ?" said some one. " No fear of that," was the an- 
 swer. " Many a fine British soldier will be laid low 
 before one of them is touched." 
 
 One day, in the extra-diet kitchen. Sister M A 
 
 was burning rubbish, and in putting it on the fire, 
 something heavy dropped on the floor — it was a cart- 
 ridge of powder. "Oh!" she exclaimed, "perhaps 
 one has gone in already !" 
 
 '* No fear of that, sister," answered the orderly ; 
 " we'd all have been blowed up long ago if it had." 
 
 There was a signal made at the Castle Hospital every 
 day at noon, in order to regulate the time ; and there- 
 fore, though the dinners might be ready a little before 
 
 the hour. Sister M A would not allow the 
 
 bell to be rung till the signal was seen. The orderlies 
 sometimes grew impatient at the delay ; and, while 
 waiting for it, would remark, "They did not see as how^ 
 a handful of minutes made much difference any way." 
 The orderlies in the wards were chiefly from the Me- 
 dical StaflT Corps, which had been sent out just when 
 Koulali Hospital was breaking up. Their first appear- 
 ance in the wards excited a feeling of great contempt 
 from the military orderlies. They were all dressed in 
 light blue smock-frocks ; and the soldiers called them 
 a set of butchers. They did not turn out well— at least 
 they gave equally as much trouble as the others ; and 
 intemperance prevailed amongst them to quite as great 
 
A DRUNKEN ORDERLY. 323 
 
 an extent — twelve of them, from this cause, on an aver- 
 age, were each night placed in the guard-room at Bala- 
 clava. But there must always be an advantage in having 
 men who, when trained, will remain in their places, and 
 not be liable to removal, as I have mentioned before was 
 the case with soldier orderlies, who were often ordered 
 off to their regiments. The sisters soon found that a 
 little praise and encouragement did more good among 
 the orderlies than all the scolding they had from other 
 quarters. Praising one ward particularly, had the effect 
 of making all the other orderlies determine that theirs 
 should look as nice. 
 
 When the sisters first came, they found the patients had 
 a very insufficient supply of tins for their food. Upon 
 making application for more, they were assured that a 
 larger number would only create further confusion in- 
 stead of comfort — that the orderlies would never keep 
 them clean. The sisters begged that a trial might be 
 made ; and the result was, that on the shelf by each 
 bed-side there was ultimately placed a tin plate, basin, 
 tin drinking cups, knife, fork, and spoon, and the or- 
 derlies kept them all as bright as plate. 
 
 They knew that the sisters would never report 
 them to the medical officers, or have them punished ; 
 but this only made them more earnest in their efforts to 
 give satisfaction. The displeasure of the sisters was 
 their greatest punishment — they were heartily ashamed 
 at being seen by them nnder the effects of drink ; and 
 one of them, in this condition, seeing a sister approach, 
 called out, '' Oh I ma'am, don't come near me — I am 
 not fit for you to speak to me 1" 
 
 The Rev, Mother one night found an orderly intoxi- 
 cated ; he had been forgiven for the same offence more 
 
 Y 2 
 
324 GRATITUDE OF THE SOLDIEHS. 
 
 than once. She told another orderly to say to him, 
 when sober, that, as she did not wish to get him into 
 disgrace by requesting his dismissal, he must go himself 
 and ask to return to his regiment. He did so ; but before 
 leaving he begged to see the Rev. Mother, that he might 
 ask her pardon, and while he did so he wept like a child. 
 The medal with three clasps on his breast bore witness 
 he had been no fcoward. 
 
 The orderlies employed the sisters to keep their money 
 for them, and they each kept a book for the men, with an 
 account of all the sums placed in their hands. One night, 
 just after receiving his pay, an orderly drank a little 
 too much, and was sent to the guard-room. The other 
 
 orderly told Sister of it ; she desired him to go to 
 
 the guard-room and tell the prisoner, that she wished him 
 to send her all the money he had, as he ought not to 
 misspend what his wife and children required so much 
 at home. The orderly soon returned, and gave Sister 
 
 three pounds, which was given up without any 
 
 objection. Next day he was very thankful for what 
 had been done for him, and willingly, at her suggestion, 
 got a post-office order for the amount, and sent it home. 
 Many touching instances might be recorded of the 
 affection and gratitude of the soldiers, which came under 
 the sisters' observation at Balaclava. Whenever books 
 were given to the patients, they would open them to see if 
 their name, regiment, and the date, were written in them ; 
 and if this were not the case, they would remark, 
 " Why, then. Miss, I would rather have a bit of your 
 
 writing than the whole book." One day Sister M 
 
 S had occasion to find fault with the orderly of her 
 
 ward, and thinking he was vexed at her doing so, said, 
 "Well, Dogherty, I'll say no more on the subject; I 
 
GENERAL ESTIMATION OF THE SISTERS. 325 
 
 see you do not wish me to speak to you." " In throth, 
 sisther, I glory in your spaking to me," said he ; " it 
 shows me you take an interest in me ; and I declare to 
 you, the first day I came to Balaclava, when I saw the 
 Sisthers o' Mercy, I cried with joy." 
 
 Dogherty informed the sister, on one occasion, that, 
 though he was born in Scotland he was an Irishman, 
 for being " bairn in a stable did not make a man a 
 horse. ^^ A sister asking her orderly once, how such a 
 patient was, and whether his leg would be amputated, 
 had for answer, " Oh, Lord, no, ma'am ; it's a going to 
 be cut off!" The way in which they would use their 
 military technicalities on every occasion was amusing, 
 such as watching the flames in the oven, and telling them 
 to " keep in the ranks ;" congratulating the Eev. Mother 
 upon being " commander-in-chief." The 89th Eegi- 
 ment was stationed on the heights of Balaclava, not far 
 from the huts, and men from it were often sent on 
 fatigue parties ; there never was a disorderly man seen 
 on these occasions. A sergeant of this regiment came 
 to the Superioress one day, to say that the men had 
 deputed him to ask a favour of her. She replied, that 
 anything in her power should be done. " Well, ma- 
 dam, we want to have the honour of putting up a marble 
 cross over Sister Winefrede's grave." She thanked 
 them, and gave her consent, saying, that they for whom 
 she lost her life had the best right to do it. 
 
 All these instances of the value in which their services 
 were held must have been very consoling to the sisters ; 
 but it was not only from the soldiers that they met with 
 kindness and help : from Sir John Hall, from first to 
 last, they received the greatest consideration, help, and 
 kindness. Mr. Fitzgerald, Deputy Pur veyor-in- Chief, 
 
326 ANNOYANCE OF THE RATS. 
 
 also gave them very kind and constant assistance. The 
 medical officers, without one exception, worked most 
 cordially with them, and gave them their approbation 
 and confidence. Mr. Crozier and Mr. Parker were the 
 chaplains of the Church of England, appointed to Bala- 
 clava. None appeared to value the services of the sisters 
 more than they did, and they were on most friendly 
 terms with them. Never once was the harmony inter- 
 rupted ; and this kindness and confidence were fully 
 deserved. Of their own hardships they never spoke ; 
 but they were sufficiently apparent to make others won- 
 der how they were able to endure them. The huts in 
 which the sisters lived were, as already stated, at some 
 distance from the hospital, and the road was up a very 
 steep and fatiguing ascent, which in ■ bad weather be- 
 came almost impassable. English shoes were found 
 quite useless to withstand Crimean mud ; we sent them 
 out a packet of the strongest boots, and had the mortifi- 
 cation to learn that they would not keep out the wet a 
 single day. When the sisters first arrived, the only 
 furniture they had in the huts were bedsteads and small 
 tables ; at meals they used to sit on the floor, and hold 
 their plates in their hands; but all they did was cheerfully 
 to declare, that it was an Indian wigwam; the discomforts 
 of their own lot seemed to make no impression on them. 
 The rain came through the crevices of the huts, so that 
 often in the night the sisters were compelled to rise, to 
 avoid a wetting. The rats, which were bad enough at 
 Koulali, abounded here to a far greater extent, and 
 constantly deprived the sisters of their night's rest. In 
 vain was war waged against them; plan after plan 
 proved ineffectual. A brilliant thought struck one of the 
 sisters — to have a light in one of the large tin lanterns. 
 
STORY OF THE " DINNER-TINS." 327 
 
 to frighten them. By this expedient one night's rest 
 was secured ; but on the following night the rats were 
 determined to be revenged : they climbed up to a little 
 shelf at the head of the beds, and amused themselves by 
 jumping on the heads of the sleepers beneath. 
 
 The irregularity that, from the time the army first 
 set foot on the Crimean shores, had attended the trans- 
 port of goods to them, still continued, and the sisters 
 did not escape its inconvenience. I mentioned, that 
 owing to the non-appearance of the lighters which were 
 to convey their baggage from Koulali to the Ottawa, 
 they were compelled to leave the greater number of their 
 boxes behind. A few hours only after they had de- 
 parted, the little steamer came and took the baggage on 
 board, and we heard it was shipped that very evening for 
 Balaclava. Letters soon came from the sisters, entreat- 
 ing that their baggage might be forwarded. We wrote 
 back, saying it had been sent ; and were told in reply 
 that it had never arrived. Message after message was 
 sent to Scutari about it, and as usual it seemed impos- 
 sible to ascertain where it was, or on what ship it had 
 been placed. At length, after a delay of several weeks, 
 it was discovered at Balaclava ; it had reached that 
 place a day or two only after the sisters. A similar oc- 
 currence took place in reference to a supply of dinner 
 tins : they were the first things the sisters were anxious 
 to procure, for the dinners at Balaclava had to be car- 
 ried to different huts in uncovered dishes ; they were 
 thus fanned by the sea air, and rendered thereb}^ not 
 quite so warm as could have been wished when they 
 reached the patients. Now, the small tin dishes, with 
 the cover attached by a chain, which we had found 
 of so much use at Koulali, were the very things re- 
 
328 HARD WORK AT BALACLAVA. 
 
 quired ; and the sisters, knowing that the large number 
 formerly used by them at the General Hospital, Kou- 
 lali, were now lying in the stores useless, applied for 
 them.. They were packed and sent to Scutari, to be 
 shipped for Balaclava. After waiting a due time, an- 
 other letter begging for " dinner-tins " arrived, A 
 remonstrance, sent to Scutari, was answered by an 
 assurance they had been sent. Another and another 
 letter from Balaclava assured us that they had not ; but 
 at last the mystery was solved. The Eev. Mother, going 
 one day to the stores, asked the storekeeper whether 
 he was sure no tins had been received. " No, he was 
 certain none had come ; nothing but some camp-kettles." 
 "Let me look at them,'^ answered the Rev. Mother; in 
 a corner were pointed out to her the long-desired and 
 long-demanded tins ; and when she was speedily pro- 
 ceeding to lay hands on them, the storekeeper exclaimed, 
 " Oh, please don't do that, for they are so nicely 
 packed !" The Rev. Mother, however, persisted in 
 their being nicely wwpacked, and carried to the extra- 
 diet kitchen. To have plenty of articles in store, 
 '^nicely packed," seemed to be the highest point of 
 ambition at Balaclava. 
 
 The nursing work must have been extremely heavy 
 at Balaclava ; for though at first sight two hundred and 
 fifty patients may not seem a large number compared to 
 those under treatment in the hospitals on the Bosphorus, 
 it must be remembered that the character of the Bala- 
 clava hospitals differed from those at Scutari and Kou- 
 lali very considerably — first, that the serious cases were 
 much more numerous — acute diseases very frequent; 
 and secondly, that fresh cases were continually coming 
 in, keeping both doctors and nurses perpetually on the 
 
RUMOUTIS OF PEACE. 329 
 
 alert. At Koulali, as has been already described, the 
 arrival of sick was a very busy time ; the daily routine 
 was completely upset ; the nurses were in the wards all 
 day; the kitchen staff never knew when their work 
 was over. In a day or two the patients were in their 
 places, their diets on the rolls, and things resumed 
 their usual course ; but at Balaclava these interruptions 
 (on a smaller scale, of course) were continual. Besides 
 the daily work, the night watching was constant ; and 
 the sisters had no servants or laundresses ; the whole of 
 this labour fell upon themselves ; their cooking, indeed, 
 did not take long, for they maintained in the East the great 
 simplicity of diet usual in their convents at home; and as 
 in the East everybody thought it a duty to endeavour 
 to be comfortable as far as circumstances would allow 
 — this conventual rule appeared the more remarkable. 
 
 One morning the sisters were awakened by snow 
 falling on their beds from the apertures in the hut ; and 
 seeing the ground covered thickly with it, they wondered 
 how they should get to the hospital down the steep 
 path. Half-an-hour afterwards, about six o'clock, they 
 observed the orderlies and convalescents (without being 
 told) scraping away the snow, and making a path by 
 sprinkling sand for them to walk safely ; and this they 
 continued to do on snowy and frosty mornings, until, 
 by the kindness of Mr. Fitzgerald, steps were cut to 
 enable the sisters to go up and down in safety. 
 
 Already had the rumours of peace brought joyful 
 hopes to English hearts in the dreary Crimea; and 
 among others to the sisters, who now hoped to see once 
 more the convent homes so dear to them. Cheerfully 
 they wrote to their friends in Scutari, to be sure to 
 have twelve olive branches plucked from the hills at 
 
BURIAL OF SISTER MARY ELIZABETH. 
 
 Koulali to greet them when they passed through the 
 Bosphorus ; but soon after, one of the band was called 
 to go to a better home, and a surer resting-place — there 
 to be welcomed by angels, and to receive not the olive 
 of earthly triumph, but the palm of heavenly victory. 
 
 Sister Mary Elizabeth caught the fever then prevail- 
 ing in the hospital. She has been mentioned before in 
 these pages as having attended poor Fisher's dying-bed. 
 She was especially beloved for the sweetness of her 
 manner to every one. She was advanced in years, and 
 on her face was written the history of one who, through 
 a long life, had given herself to " God and the poor." 
 There was a holy calm about her which impressed every 
 one who drew near to her. "When she caught fever in 
 the wards, and had been ill for a week, she felt sure 
 that she was dying, and expressed a readiness and 
 longing to go. She was perfectly conscious, and re- 
 ceived all the last sacraments of the church. 
 
 On the 23rd of February a violent storm arose — every 
 moment it seemed as if the huts would be unroofed ; to 
 one within, the blast caused no disquiet ; it was the last of 
 life's storms for her — she was already near to the entrance 
 of the " haven where she would be." MingUng with 
 the tempest's roar went up the prayers for the dying ; 
 and as they bade the " Christian soul depart in peace," 
 she passed away — gentle in life, peaceful in death. The 
 day following was Sunday ; and in the evening they 
 bore away the mortal remains of Sister Mary Elizabeth, 
 to lay them by the side of Sister Winefrede. Before 
 the funeral commenced, some of the Soeurs de la Charite, 
 from the Sardinian camp, came with love and sympathy 
 to their sisters in Christ. Neither band knew the other's 
 language, but, united in the tongue of one common faith. 
 
TYPHUS FEVER. 331 
 
 they joined together in prayer. Soldiers of the 89th 
 Regiment carried the coffin, followed by the sisters — a 
 Sister of Mercy and a Sister of Charity side by side. 
 They proceeded through the double file of soldiers, who 
 uncovered their heads as the sisters passed. The coffin 
 rested in the chapel, which had been crowded two hours 
 previously. Seven priests chanted the burial service. 
 When the coffin was carried forth, the concourse was 
 immense. Medical officers, and the Lady Superintend- 
 ent of St. George's Hospital, attended. 
 
 It must have been pleasing to the sisters, under 
 their affliction, to witness the love and respect paid to 
 the memory of their lost sister. A strange resting- 
 place on the brow of that rugged hill is it for those 
 two gentle sisters ! Around them lie the bodies of 
 many who have died fighting for their country ; and 
 THEY, too, have fought a good fight, and have not been 
 afraid to lay down their lives in Christ's service. They 
 sought not the praise of men, and now they have found 
 their reward — 
 
 " For they beneath their leader 
 Who conquered in the fight ; 
 For ever and for ever 
 
 Are clad in robes of white." 
 
 Typhus fever was very prevalent, notwithstanding 
 the severe cold during the winter, and would have been 
 much more fatal but for the unceasing efibrts of the 
 medical officers. The sisters remarked the extreme 
 attention and kindness bestowed by these gentlemen 
 on the sick soldier. 
 
 A patient told them that an orderly medical officer 
 had been called up to him during the night, and after 
 
CHANGE IN THE NURSING DEPARTMENT. 
 
 prescribing for him, seeing he was restless, moved 
 him to another bed, put his own to rights, and then 
 laid him in it. Dr. Murray and Dr. Hamilton were 
 at Balaclava the whole time the sisters were there. Dr. 
 Beatson (formerly at Koulali) was at one time P. M. 0., 
 and was most kind to the sisters. Many other medical 
 officers came, but remained only a short time. Typhus 
 fever was raging in the French camp fearfully. 
 
 Many of the Soeurs de la Charite fell victims to it, 
 and also many of the French priests, so that the sick 
 and dying French would have been left without spiritual 
 consolation, had not the Jesuit priests attached to the 
 English army taken the charge in addition to their 
 own duties. One of them died shortly afterwards 
 from the fever ; and the other, Mr. Woolett, suffered 
 60 severely from it, as to be obliged to be invalided 
 home. 
 
 Rumours gathered day by day, and it soon became 
 evident that peace would be proclaimed ; the sick in 
 the hospital began to thin. The thought of going 
 home, no doubt, did a great deal more good than medi- 
 cine, so that, at last, no serious cases of illness remained 
 among the soldiers, and very few among the civilians. 
 Just at this juncture a change took place in the nursing 
 arrangements — the War Department instructed Miss 
 Nightingale to resume the charge of the hospitals. 
 Koulali no longer existed ; there were only Scutari and 
 Balaclava. At Scutari the sick had been reduced to 
 a mere bagatelle, and Miss Nightingale, accompanied 
 by sisters and nurses, came to Balaclava to take charge 
 of the hospitals; The Sisters of Mercy thereupon 
 resigned into Sir John Hall's hands the authority he 
 had entrusted them with. The warmest feeling was 
 
TESTIMONIAL TO THE SISTERS. 
 
 shown by all, officers as well as men, who, without 
 exception, regretted the cause of the sisters' departure. 
 Sir John Hall and Mr. Fitzgerald made every exertion 
 for their comfort. Mr. Woolett, just about to sail for 
 England, took charge of them. 
 
 The following letters will show in what high esti- 
 mation the sisters were held : — 
 
 " 5th April, 1856. 
 
 " My DEAR Madam, 
 
 " I cannot permit you, and the sisters under 
 your direction, to leave the Crimea, without an ex- 
 pression of the high opinion I entertain of your mi- 
 nistration, and of the very important aid you have 
 rendered to the sick under your care. 
 
 "I can most conscientiously assert, as I have on 
 other occasions stated, that you have given me the most 
 perfect satisfaction ever since you have assumed charge 
 of the nursing department in the General Hospital at 
 Balaclava. And I do most unfeignedly regret your 
 departure ; but after what has occurred, I would not, 
 even with that feeling uppermost in my mind, urge you 
 to stay. 
 
 " I enclose a letter from Sir William Codrington, 
 Commander-in-Chief, expressive of the sense he enter- 
 tains of your services, and of those of the sisters under 
 you, which I trust will be acceptable to your feelings ; 
 and I feel assured you must leave us with an ap- 
 proving conscience, as I know you do, with the bless- 
 ing of all those whom you have aided In their hour of 
 need. 
 
 " To Him who saw all our outward actions, and 
 knows our inmost thoughts and wishes, I commend 
 
334 TESTIMONIAL TO THE SISTERS. 
 
 you ; and may He have you, and those under you, in 
 His holy keeping, is the prayer of 
 
 " Yours faithfully, 
 " John Hall, 
 " Inspector-General of Hospitals." 
 
 *' Mrs. Bridgeman, 
 " General Hospital, Balaclava.'* 
 
 « Sir, 
 
 " I regret much to hear that circumstances have 
 induced Mrs. Bridgeman, the Mother Superior of the 
 E-oman Catholic nurses, to quit the General Hospital, 
 and proceed to England with the nurses who have been 
 so long associated with her. 
 
 " I request you to assure that lady of tlie high esti- 
 mation in which her services, and those of the nurses, 
 are held by us all ; founded as that opinion is upon 
 the experience of yourself, the medical officers of the 
 hospital, and of the many patients, both wounded and 
 sick, who, during fourteen or fifteen months past, have 
 benefitted by their care. 
 
 " I am quite sure that their unfailing kindness will 
 have the reward which Mrs. Bridgeman values, viz., 
 the remembrance and gratitude of those who have been 
 the object of such disinterested attention. 
 
 " Your obedient servant, 
 
 " W. CODRINGTON, 
 
 " General-Commander." 
 
 * Sir John Hall, 
 " Inspector-General of Hospitals." 
 
 Passages were provided for them on board the Cleo- 
 patra, and, on the 12th of April, they bade farewell to 
 
 i 
 
DEPARTURE OF THE SISTERS. 335 
 
 the Crimea, and to their Eastern labours. The orderlies 
 did their utmost to assist them in packing and removing 
 their luggage, as well as to leave the hospital in the 
 most perfect cleanliness and order for others to take 
 possession of. This done, with many a fervent prayer 
 and blessing bestowed on them, the sisters went on 
 board. Captain Paton, who commanded the Cleopatra, 
 was most considerate and kind to them, and the same 
 kindly feeling was shown by all on board. At Con- 
 stantinople the vessel remained a day, and the sisters 
 had visits and kindly greeting from Scutari and Koulali 
 friends of all creeds. After a few weeks' tossing on 
 the ocean, the Cleopatra arrived at Portsmouth, and on 
 the following day the sisters were in London, and hos- 
 pitably received by the convents of their order in Bland- 
 ford Square and Chelsea. They remained a short time 
 in London, and thereafter dispersed to their different 
 convents in Ireland, one sister being left at Liverpool. 
 From this convent three had gone on the mission of 
 charity — two now rest in a foreign land, and the third 
 has returned to resume her much-loved convent work. 
 The convents of Dublin, Carlo w, Charleville, Cork, and 
 Kinsale, were rejoiced by the arrival of their sisters 
 from the East. They were obliged to return without 
 letting the day be known, to avoid the ardent demon- 
 strations of affection that the warm-hearted sons of Erin 
 would have showered down upon them. Notwithstand- 
 ing this, however, as soon as their arrival was known, 
 bonfires were lighted, and shouts of joy were heard 
 for days. The Irish people perhaps suspected (rightly 
 or wrongly, let others judge) that in England, for whose 
 sons equally with those of their own island, the sisters 
 had toiled and suffered, no words of gratitude would 
 
be bestowed ; and that in Crimean banquets all names 
 would be mentioned with honour and praise but the 
 Sisters of Mercy. The Irish people, therefore, did 
 their part of welcome doubly. The approbation of 
 Government was, however, expressed. Lord Panmure 
 requested that the sisters " might be informed of his 
 satisfaction at the work which they had performed with 
 so much zeal and devotion ;" and his lordship desired 
 that the " expression of his thanks and of his cordial 
 approval of the services rendered by them to the sick 
 and wounded of our army in the East" might be con- 
 veyed to them. But more gratifying than this was the 
 affection displayed towards them by soldiers returned 
 from the war, who took every opportunity of showing 
 that they had not forgotten their kind friends. Cor- 
 poral Brazil, on hearing of the arrival of the sisters 
 at Carlo w, wrote to them as follows : — 
 
 "Cork Barracks, October 6th, 1856. 
 
 " Sister A , 
 
 ''^I received your kind letter. It is a great 
 
 pleasure to me that you and Sister S , and all your 
 
 sisters in religion, are in good health, as the date of 
 this letter leaves me at present — thanks be to God 
 for all his goodness to me. Sister, I hope I will be able 
 to go and see the happy convent of Carlow, before I 
 leave Ireland. Sister, I received the four half notes 
 — two of them corresponded. 
 
 " I thank you kindly for all your goodness to me. I 
 hope your reward is in store in heaven, for all you and 
 the remainder of your dear sisters that served God, and 
 with his help saved a many a poor soldier's life. When 
 he was far from a friend in a distant land, our meek 
 
th:e graves of the sisters. 337 
 
 sisters brought the heavenly smile and the Spirit of God 
 into the ward among the heart-broken soldiers. 
 
 " I thank you for your kindness. Sister A . 
 
 I cannot ever forget it. The Lord may reward you for 
 all your goodness and kindness to me. 
 " No more at present, but 
 
 " I remain, your Faithful Servant, 
 
 "Corporal James Brazil.^' 
 
 After the sisters had left Balaclava, one of the chap- 
 lains went to look at the graves of the two buried there. 
 The ground had been fenced round, bushes planted, 
 and marble crosses erected, all done by the voluntary 
 efforts of the soldiers. Fastened to the arm of the cross 
 the priest found a paper on which was written the fol- 
 lowing lines : — « 
 
 " Still green be the willow that grows on the mountain, 
 And weeps o'er the grave of the sister that's gone ; 
 More appropriate its lot than to droop by a fountain, 
 And bespangle its green leaves with gems not its own. 
 
 " Much more glorious its lot to point out to the stranger 
 The hallowed remains of the sainted and blest ; 
 For those angels of mercy had dared every danger, 
 To bring to the soldier sweet comfort and rest. 
 
 " They left their own homes when war's trumpet was blowing, 
 When hunger and cold laid our brave comrades low ; 
 Their pure hearts were filled with Heaven's brightest glories. 
 As they came here to banish fell sickness and woe. 
 
 " Still be hallowed their memories ! they'll ne'er be forgotten, 
 Tho' their bones lie so far from their green island home ; 
 And, should e'er these wild hills be by Erin's son trodden, 
 Thou'lt point out, green willow, who sleeps here alone." 
 
 z 
 
338 OTHER OCCUPATION FOR THE SISTERS. 
 
 It was found afterwards to have been written by one 
 of tbe orderlies of the Medical Staff Corps. 
 
 The omission of other praise was far from disturbing 
 the sisters. The happiness of returning home to their 
 loved communities was more than sufficient for them. 
 Expressions of their deep gratitude for God^s mercy in 
 preserving them, and in having smoothed down many 
 difficulties in their path, bringing them through so many 
 perils safe to their homes, together with loving thoughts 
 of the English friends who had done the very little in 
 their power to lighten the burden, were their constant 
 theme. So they resume their occupations, and their 
 task of serving the poor in another form than in military 
 hospitals, and go quietly on their way, working only for 
 God's glory, and looking only for that unfailing reward 
 given by the Father, who " seeth in secret." 
 
CHAPTER XXX. 
 
 " The slowly awakening sense of a great want, aching deep 
 down at the heart of society, throbbing upwards and outwards 
 with a quicker and quicker pulse." 
 
 Communion or Labour. 
 
 Having now finished, to the best of my ability, the 
 task of recording all that came under the observation 
 either of myself or of those on whom I can rely, regard- 
 ing English nurses in Eastern hospitals, it remains for 
 me only briefly to review that step which was justly 
 looked upon at the time as an experiment. Nursing in 
 the East was, undoubtedly, only an experiment — al- 
 though a great and important one. There is now time 
 and leisure for those engaged in it to look back on the 
 eventful history of the two-years' war, and from what 
 they have seen and done, to judge whether the attempt 
 at the introduction of female nursing into military hos- 
 pitals was a successful one. 
 
 Long since have the joyful sounds of peace rung 
 through Europe, and called back from Russia and from 
 the borders of Asia those who there toiled and suffered 
 for their country's sake. British hospitals on the Bos- 
 
 z 2 
 
340 DIFFICULTIES OF THE NURSES. 
 
 phorus and in the Crimea are tenanted by others. The 
 wharf at Scutari is no longer the scene of busy conten- 
 tion, and a Babel of tongues, in which the English was 
 the most predominant. The long corridors in the Bar- 
 rack Hospital no longer echo to the sounds of suffering, 
 and the sad processions to the burial-ground happily 
 wend their way thither no more. The Turks once 
 more reign undisturbed, and the only record left to 
 mark the history of the late conflict with Russia, are 
 those rows of curiously-shaped mounds with the me- 
 morial stones which point out the spot where so many 
 of our countrymen have been laid. 
 
 Let us now, however, return to the branch called into 
 existence by the war, with which we had to do ; and now 
 that the excitement, and the varied emotions with which 
 we contemplated its working while on the spot, and 
 even for months after returning to the quiet of our 
 homes, have died away, we can discuss with calmness 
 and fairness the bearings of the question. It will be 
 well to review the whole, to see what were its obstacles, 
 and also its encouragement. 
 
 I may say, indeed, that it had every obstacle to en- 
 counter. It is true, that at the departure of " nurses 
 for the East," a burst of popular enthusiasm was raised, 
 and continued during the whole time. People seemed 
 by no means to recollect, that succouring the afflicted 
 was an old command, promulgated some eighteen hun- 
 dred years ago, and which from that day to this had been 
 obeyed by many thousands of men and women, of whom 
 the world had taken no heed. Warm eulogiums were 
 lavished upon us, kindly feelings were cherished, and 
 then people thought their part was done. They never 
 enquii'ed into our difficulties ; never strove to under- 
 
GENERAL MISUNDERSTANDING. 341 
 
 stand the working of the plan; set it down as an 
 established fact that it was rights and consequently left 
 those who were engaged in it to struggle on as they 
 best might. '; 
 
 And when the paid nurses returned to their own 
 country, many of them broken in health from the hard- 
 ships they had undergone, they found their places filled 
 up ; and instead of their Eastern service being in any 
 way rewarded or recognised by the authorities at home, 
 they were, many of them, thrown into real distress, by 
 being refused employment because they had been en- 
 gaged in military hospitals. Rumours had reached 
 England of the little work they had to do at Scutari, 
 and matrons of English hospitals declined engaging 
 women who must in consequence have acquired habits of 
 idleness. Private families hesitated to employ nurses, 
 who (in many instances with unhappily too much truth) 
 they imagined must be demoralized by living in mili- 
 tary hospitals. 
 
 I have already dwelt upon the unfortunate mistake 
 made at first in establishing the equality system, which 
 caused us so much annoyance, and to some extent in- 
 jured the work. 
 
 Another of the evils we encountered, was the entire 
 misunderstanding between the authorities at home, and 
 those in the East. After the departure of the first band 
 of nurses, the names and qualifications of the candidates 
 for the work were received by those selected by Miss 
 Nightingale for this purpose ; and from this list a 
 selection was made. Mr. Sidney Herbert determined (in 
 consequence of the representations made to him of the 
 blessings likely to result firom the extension of female 
 nursing, and also in consequence of a request from Mr. 
 
34:2 GENERAL MISUNDERSTANDING. 
 
 Bracebridge) to send a second detacliment. The decision 
 was made ; the party under Miss Stanley was despatched 
 with the utmost haste ; telegraphic messages flew about 
 the country, and people hardly knew what they were 
 doing, till they found themselves half way through 
 France, with the probability of having left home and 
 friends for ever — the uppermost feeling in their hearts 
 , being a burning desire to arrive ere it was too late, 
 they impatiently awaited the will of the winds and 
 waves, which kept them from their work. At last they 
 arrived, and were greeted with the announcement that 
 there had been a great mistake — Mr. Sidney Herbert 
 had acted prematurely in sending us out; that Miss 
 Nightingale had no wish for more nurses, having nei- 
 ther room nor employment for them ; that it was impos- 
 sible for her to find work even for her own party of 
 nurses ; that the wounds, which were the only cases for 
 which women were needed, were now healed ; that the 
 medical cases required no nursing ; into the dysentery 
 wards no one was allowed to enter but herself and 
 one nurse ; and many of the nurses had to sit idle in 
 their rooms. The travellers, therefore, retreated to 
 Therapia. 
 
 Miss Stanley would not, however, so soon give up her 
 important charge. She determined on ascertaining that 
 none of the sufiering army required our services before 
 we returned home. She used every exertion to get em- 
 ployment for us. But weeks passed by ; life after life, 
 that by the doctors' account might have been saved, was 
 lost. At length her efforts were crowned with suc- 
 cess. The nursing at the hospital at Koulali was of- 
 fered to her, and some of her party were accepted for 
 Balaclava. 
 
GENERAL MISUNDERSTANDING. 343 
 
 "When the arrangements for Koulali were made, she 
 was told she could not possibly employ sixteen nurses 
 in that hospital ; but as the rooms given by the autho- 
 rities to the female staff were capable of accommo- 
 dating that number, (which was what remained of her 
 party, after Miss Nightingale had made her own selec- 
 tion of those she considered most fitted for hospital 
 work), Miss Stanley preferred retaining them with her, 
 to leaving any at Therapia, or sending any home untried. 
 A very few days^ experience proved, that the orders of 
 the medical men could not be carried out effectually 
 without an additional reinforcement of nurses. 
 
 When Miss Stanley found that the three ladies who 
 had come voluntarily from Scutari to help her, only 
 served to take the places of others struck down by fever, 
 she applied to Miss Nightingale for more. The answer 
 was, that none could be spared, for all the extra hands 
 were sick. Miss Stanley then proposed writing to 
 England for more. Miss Nightingale told her, that all 
 requisitions for more nurses from home must come from 
 Dr. Gumming, the Inspector General ; but that her opi- 
 nion respecting the number of nurses required for the 
 sick was unchanged. 
 
 Miss Stanley then wrote to the Inspector-General, and 
 told him that we were sinking under the weight of work, 
 and required more help ; but Dr. Gumming declined to 
 accede to her request; stating it as his opinion that 
 experience would prove to her that she was wrong. At 
 this moment some of us were lying at the gate of death. 
 Miss Smythe was, by over-work, and incessant exposure 
 to infected air, sowing in herself the seeds of the disease 
 which was to be her end ; and to add to our discom- 
 fort, we saw that the large Turkish stables were about 
 
344 GENERAL MISUNDERSTANDING. 
 
 to be made into wards capable of containing five hun- 
 dred patients — we had already one thousand ! 
 
 It seemed evident, that this expense would not be 
 needlessly incurred ; and it was thought, that owing to 
 the facility of landing patients, Koulali would become 
 one of the largest hospitals in the East. Finding that 
 all attempts to obtain help from the local authorities were 
 fruitless, and that her own health and strength were fast 
 failing under the double strain of mental and physical 
 exertion, Miss Stanley (who had already remained in the 
 East much longer than she had intended when she left 
 England in December, to escort the party), decided to 
 return home before she was added to the sick list. Dur- 
 ing the two months of her superintendence, it had been 
 impossible to carry on the work as it ought and might have 
 been done with more hands. The absence during that 
 time of the ordinary means of preparing the invalids' diets 
 caused a very considerable addition to the daily work. 
 It was impossible to attend to the washing department ; 
 it was impossible to attempt night-nursing. It is but 
 too certain, that many a brave fellow must have felt 
 himself neglected, in the very superficial attendance 
 which was all that that slender band could give. 
 
 Miss Stanley's private letters ultimately induced the 
 authorities at home to overrule the objections of those 
 on the spot ; and a few days before her departure she 
 heard, with thankful joy, that a band of twenty were on 
 their way to Koulali. Had these arrived two months 
 before, they would have done an incalculable amount of 
 good, and alleviated much suffering by careful nursing. 
 But from the time of the arrival of the new party, the 
 sickness began to decrease, and on an average continued 
 to do so, as the following table will show : — 
 
GENERAL MISUNDERSTANDING. 
 
 345 
 
 Month. 
 
 Average No. 
 of sick in hos- 
 pital. Daily. 
 
 Admitted 
 
 during the 
 
 Month. 
 
 Died during 
 the Month. 
 
 Discharged 
 
 during the 
 
 Month. 
 
 January 
 
 February . . . 
 
 March 
 
 April 
 
 450 
 
 1000 
 939 
 766 
 441 
 386 
 382 
 420 
 423 
 233 
 130 
 158 
 
 400 
 690 
 
 458 
 141 
 260 
 335 
 452 
 533 
 309 
 180 
 43 
 377 
 
 60 
 319 
 134 
 
 52 
 
 16 
 5 
 
 16 
 9 
 8 
 9 
 7 
 4 
 
 44 
 188 
 362 
 438 
 317 
 426 
 305 
 460 
 467 
 316 
 221 
 376 
 
 May 
 
 June 
 
 July *.... 
 
 August 
 
 September ... 
 
 October 
 
 November ... 
 December ... 
 
 Total 
 
 
 3088 
 
 260 
 
 3686 
 
 "^hen several months, therefore, had passed. Miss 
 Hutton and her nurses felt they had too little to do ; 
 this being in consequence of a new arrangement made 
 by the authorities in the Crimea, that as the fine weather 
 had arrived they would keep the greater number of 
 sick, and all their severe cases, on the spot, only send- 
 ing down to the Bosphorus small numbers of partly 
 convalescent patients. 
 
 To the Crimea, therefore. Miss Hutton was anxious 
 to send some nurses ; and the matter was referred to 
 Lady Stratford de Redcliffe. She, however, declared 
 that those who would have been efficient for Crimean 
 work, could not be spared from Koulali ; and as it was 
 of no use to send inefficient ones, the plan fell to the 
 ground. Thus, after Miss Stanley had gone through 
 the trial of overwork, the still more difficult one of em- 
 ploying all hands sufficiently and usefully fell upon her 
 
346 GENERAL MISUNDERSTANDING. 
 
 successor. Much, therefore, of the good that might 
 have resulted from female nursing was, I consider, pre- 
 vented by the obstacles thrown in the way by the au- 
 thorities on the spot ; first, in keeping for a month a 
 large number of women at Therapia idle ; secondly, in 
 not applying for more hands when, from sickness or 
 other causes, there were too few nurses for the work ; 
 and, thirdly, in objecting to send them to the Crimea 
 when the work had become so much reduced in the 
 Hospitals on the Bosphorus. 
 
 I have already adverted to the annoyance caused by 
 a misconception on the part of the ladies employed by 
 government to send out nurses to the East, regarding the 
 capacity of persons necessary for our work; and this arose 
 chiefly, I believe, from the utter impossibility of any one 
 in England entering into our difficulties. Letters could 
 give no adequate idea of them ; and such contradictory 
 accounts reached home that, doubtless, the authorities 
 were fairly puzzled : they, therefore, formed their own 
 plan, and we felt it was useless to attempt to overthrow 
 it; and thus we could do nothing but submit to the in- 
 conveniences it caused us. Lastly (and not the least), 
 were the obstacles thrown by the paid nurses them- 
 selves in the way of the success of their own undertak- 
 ing. 
 
 The life in the East was eminently calculated to 
 bring out the whole bent of a person's character, for it 
 was destitute of all the help and restraint which the 
 ordinary rules of English society afford. 
 
 A large number of persons of different ages, cha- 
 racters, and position in life, had to live and work to- 
 gether. And of necessity, in so large a party indiscri- 
 
' THE SISTERS OF MERCY. 347 
 
 minately collected, some must have been found who 
 came out with mixed motives, perhaps unconsciously to 
 themselves. Now, in the first outset of the work, the 
 scene of distress around was so awful and so thrilling, 
 every feeling of a woman's heart was so called into 
 action, the excitement so constant and absorbing, that 
 all elements of discord were kept under by that one 
 prevailing thought — how best to aid and help the suf- 
 fering. 
 
 Whether, if the emergency had lasted, this feeling 
 would have continued, of course I cannot speak with cer- 
 tainty, but my belief is, that it would ; that the best 
 and noblest part of our nature, which was thus drawn out, 
 would have continued equal to its task. However, it 
 was not thus put to the test ; the hospitals fell into the 
 ordinary routine, and with some exceptions, the feeling 
 of even the volunteers was, that willingness to help 
 was all that was required of them. The energy and 
 devotedness of early days had passed. But there were 
 exceptions to this state of things, where every effort 
 was bent to the furtherance of the object in view; these, 
 despite of discouragements from without, and want of 
 sympathy from within, worked bravely on, and set an 
 example of self-denial not easily to be forgotten. It 
 cannot but be remarked that the superiority of the 
 Catholic Sisters of Mercy shows itself over all other 
 classes of nurses engaged in the East. The statistics 
 would alone bear evidence of this fact ; but it was also 
 acknowledged by almost every one, by people of all 
 different creeds and opinions ; and the reason of this, as 
 well as the cause of the drawbacks to the system of 
 volunteer lady nursing, will be easily understood by 
 
348 THE SISTERS OF MERCY. 
 
 those who have studied hospital work, and its require- 
 ments. 
 
 To the Sisters of Mercy work among the sick and 
 suffering was no new thing undertaken in the heat of 
 senthusiam. To live for the poor had been for many 
 years the resolve of each heart amongst their band ; 
 for this they had gone through a long probation of 
 two years and a half; and during that time had been 
 content to learn all that they would hereafter be re- 
 quired to do, to guide, or to teach. Hence the per- 
 fect unity of their work, the facility that existed of 
 one taking up what another might be interrupted in. 
 
 Now, most of the ladies had had no experience what- 
 ever of nursing the sick and poor ; and those who had, 
 had learnt it in their own way, and only in that way 
 could they carry it on. 
 
 Again, with regard to the superioress of the nuns, 
 she was not one suddenly placed in a new and untried 
 position, incapable of entering into the difficulties of 
 those who were working under her : for, before elected 
 to rule, she had learnt to obey; and however great 
 were her natural talents for governing, and for organiz- 
 ing work, without that complete control she had so long 
 since acquired, there would never have been seen to so 
 much advantage the remarkable feature, that the act of 
 one was the act of all, which was so observable in the 
 community of the Sisters of Mercy. No one regretted 
 more than our superintendents themselves their want 
 of previous experience — their need of having learnt 
 practically the work of nursing, before they were called 
 upon to superintend a nursing staff. 
 
 Trained, by their vows, to a life of hardships, the 
 
EVIL HABITS IN THE PAID NURSES. 349 
 
 health, and strength of the sisters withstood the shocks 
 under which the health of the ladies sunk ; and they 
 could continue the strain of work, to which the latter 
 were wholly unequal. 
 
 Routine they were well accustomed to, and to the 
 absence of the comforts of life they had become in- 
 ured. Obedience was with them a habit, therefore 
 they were not likely to fail in the rigid obedience 
 required by the medical officers. 
 
 But having now gone through all the checks and 
 obstacles which nursing in the East had to encounter, let 
 us turn to its encouragements. At Koulali, I can wit- 
 ness to the success of the volunteer system over the 
 one of paid nurses. When Miss Stanley so much wished 
 to increase her staff of nurses, she understood from Miss 
 Nightingale that it was impossible to have a larger 
 number of nurses in military hospitals, because they 
 could not be trusted in the ward alone. Miss Stanley 
 had from experience become convinced of the justice 
 of this remark ; but it appeared to her that a remedy 
 might be found by placing each nurse under charge 
 of a lady or nun, and by sending out as many ladies 
 and sisters, instead of hired nurses, as possible. This 
 was also fully concurred in by Miss Hutton, who con- 
 tinued to carry it out. 
 
 By this means, although it was impossible to prevent 
 evil habits deeply rooted in some of the paid nurses from 
 manifesting themselves at times, yet, in a great measure, 
 much of what was the common report in the East re- 
 garding paid nurses in general, and, I fear, with too 
 much truth, was obviated at Koulali, for the simple 
 reason that the opportunities and temptations did not 
 
350 EVIL HABITS IN THE PAID NURSES. 
 
 exist ; and when cases of irregularity did occur, they 
 were necessarily and at once detected by the lady or 
 nun who had the charge of the nurse concerned*; and 
 the improper conduct was at once visited by dismissal. 
 It was not so, and could not possibly be so, however, 
 in hospitals where a system of lady nursing did not 
 exist — where the paid nurses were left necessarily very 
 much to their own devices in the different wards of the 
 hospitals. It could not be otherwise than that impro- 
 prieties should daily occur, and unknown to the one 
 lady superintendent, who could not have her eye con- 
 stantly on all her subordinates. Thus, no doubt, irre- 
 gularities became so very frequent before the nurse was 
 detected and dismissed, as to give rise to much of the 
 scandal whicli the experiment occasioned in the East, 
 and which, I fear, will ever attach itself to aU future 
 attempts at the introduction of female nursing in mili- 
 tary hospitals. Notwithstanding, however, that delin- 
 quents were dismissed from Koulali for the first serious 
 offence, the statistics will show a favourable result as 
 compared with the system which obtained at Scutari 
 or E-ankioi — viz., that of the employment, as a rule, of 
 paid nurses only. 
 
 Of the several bands of nurses previously mentioned 
 in this volume as having been sent to the Eastern Hos- 
 pitals, the following tables, which I have prepared 
 from my own notes, and those of others employed with 
 me, will show the numbers of vacancies caused by 
 misconduct, sickness, and other causes among them, 
 within six months after joining, together with the num- 
 ber of ladies, &c., who returned home within the same 
 time : — 
 
TABULAR STATEMENT. 
 
 351 
 
 SCTTTAEI, &C. PARTY, UNDER MISS NIGHTINGALE'S SUPERIN- 
 TENDENCE. 
 
 1854. 
 
 Nov. 
 Nurses . . 20 
 Nuns .. 10 
 Miss Sellon's 
 Sisters . . 8 
 * Dec. 
 Ladies . . 4 
 Nuns . . 5 
 Nurses .. 13 
 
 Total ... 60 
 
 VACANCIES IN THE PARTY. 
 
 tOf 
 
 these 
 
 one 
 
 died. 
 
 1st 
 Mon. 
 
 2nd 
 Mon. 
 
 3rd 
 Mon. 
 
 4th 
 Mon. 
 
 5th 
 Mon. 
 
 6th 
 Mon. 
 
 Total 
 
 ^h 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 3 
 5 
 
 2 
 
 4 
 
 
 2 
 3 
 
 3t 
 3 
 
 4 
 
 13 
 5 
 
 6 
 
 9 
 33 
 
 7 
 5 
 
 2 
 
 4 
 
 4 
 
 27 
 
 2 
 
 10 
 
 4 
 
 2 
 
 5 
 
 10 
 
 KOULALI PARTY, UNDER MISS STANLEY AND SUCCESSOR. 
 
 * Dec. 
 Ladies ... 5 
 Nuns ... 10 
 Nurses ... 6 
 
 April. 
 Ladies ... 5 
 Nurses ... 23 
 
 Total ... 49 
 
 VACANCIES WITHIN. 
 
 fOne 
 lady 
 died. 
 
 a 
 
 
 4 
 
 
 =1 
 
 if 
 
 «o o 
 
 2t 
 
 
 bOtn 
 
 .S| 
 a S 
 
 If 
 
 — 
 
 2 
 
 2 
 2 
 
 1 
 2 
 
 1 
 
 4 
 
 1 
 
 4 
 
 4 
 
 1 
 8 
 
 4 
 15 
 
 — 
 
 2 
 
 4 
 
 8 
 
 1 
 
 2 
 
 17 
 
 32 
 
 Total sent out in November, 1854, J oo 
 
 with Miss Nightingale, 5 
 
 Total joined her in January 22 
 
 Sent home, &c., in six months 33 
 
 B/emaining after do 27 
 
 -60 
 
 ■60 
 
 * Only 43 of the December party did duty in either Hospital, three Nurse.s 
 having been sent home on arrival for misconduct. 
 
 X These formed one party under Mrs. Bridgeman from the Kinsale convent, and 
 are referred to in these pages (Chapter 29) as employed afterwards at Balaclava Gene- 
 ral Hospital. 
 
352 GOOD FEELING AMONG THE NURSES. 
 
 Total at Koulali, in January, ) j,^ 
 
 under Miss Stanley, S 
 
 Joined in April 28 
 
 49 
 
 Left, &c., within six months 17 
 
 Eemained after six months 32 
 
 49 
 
 Thus of 33 paid nurses under Miss Nightingale, 22 vacancies 
 took place in six months ; and of 29 under Miss Stanley, 12 
 vacancies occurred. In the former case 66^ per cent., in the 
 latter about 37 per cent, of the paid Nurses were either sent home 
 for misconduct, incompetency, sickness, or other causes. 
 
 At Koulali there was always a large staff of unpaid 
 nurses, so that, on an average, they nearly equalled the 
 number of the paid. 
 
 At Scutari, after the arrival of the December party, 
 none but paid women, whether nurses or ladies, were 
 received as a rule. The Sisters of Mercy, and the few 
 ladies who had joined previously to this arrangement 
 being made, of course continued to give their unpaid 
 services. 
 
 I may also mention with gratitude the excellent 
 spirit of cordiality which existed at Koulali between all 
 classes of the nurses. The sisters and ladies worked 
 together with the utmost harmony and affection, having 
 perfect confidence in each other, and never failing, on 
 both sides, in due consideration and kindness for each 
 other; and though there were amongst us persons of 
 almost every creed and shade of opinion — (for among 
 us were members of the Presbyterian, Baptist, Ply- 
 mouth Christian, and other bodies, as well as members 
 of the Church of England) — there was never one word 
 expressed by any of us which could hurt the feelings of 
 others. 
 
 The respectable part of the nurses submitted wil- 
 
' EVILS OF LONDON HOSPITALS. 353 
 
 lingly to the restrictions placed upon them, irksome 
 though they were. They had the good sense to see 
 their necessity, and looked upon the ladies' surveillance 
 as a protection. 
 
 Last, but not least, is the reflection of the cordial 
 co-operation of the medical officers, the consciousness 
 which we have that all their wishes were carried out, 
 and their unasked-for testimony on our departure to 
 our obedience and usefulness — and, no matter who may 
 preside over hospitals, it is the medical men alone whose 
 approbation is really important. 
 
 Such was the experiment of nursing in the East, and 
 its history should be studied by those who are alive to 
 the great want in the present day of a proper system 
 of nursing for the poor. Years before the war with 
 Russia was dreamt of, the disgraceful state of nursing 
 the English poor was the theme. Many symptoms of 
 awaking from a great slumber were seen — the " aching 
 of a great want" was keenly felt. It was the slumber 
 of neglect of the poor — the want of some noble and 
 comprehensive plan of aiding them. 
 
 We went into our hospitals, and we saw that, with 
 one exception, we might have with justice boasted of 
 their arrangement. Lofty rooms, cleanliness, ventilation, 
 good food, the attendance of the first medical men of the 
 day, medicines and other remedies, at no matter what 
 cost, order and regularity, the free admission of friends 
 at the stated hours ; and all these are within the reach 
 of every poor man in England. And what was the 
 cloud which discolours the picture ! It was that, next to 
 the doctors, the rulers of the hospital were the nurses ; 
 and to such as know what this class of women are, there 
 needs no further answer. It has been ascertained by 
 
 z 
 
354 EVILS OF LONDON HOSPITALS. 
 
 those who have well and carefully studied the sub- 
 ject, that the best nurses, so far as medical attendance 
 and skill go, are the worst characters.* *^ If I can but 
 obtain a sober set," said a medical man in a large 
 northern hospital, *' it is as much as I can hope for. 
 Frightful tales of profligacy among the nurses have 
 been brought to light by enquiry. The patients' suf- 
 ferings are too often aggravated by rough treatment, 
 hard words, and the absence of that tender sympathy 
 which they might have had at home." Surely the 
 evidence from the East bears out these statements ; and, 
 were other needed, we could supply it. 
 
 Many who will read these pages have, perhaps, never 
 passed within hospital walls ; many more, if they have 
 done so, have paid their visit at appointed times, when 
 all looked its best. But others, as well as myself, have 
 learnt experience of hospital work from more au- 
 thentic sources. We have lived in hospital wards, going 
 there for the purpose of preparing ourselves — first, to 
 undertake the nursing of the poor at home, and again 
 when about to proceed to the East. 
 
 We placed ourselves under the hospital nurses, re- 
 ceiving our instruction from them, and, thus being pos- 
 sessed of no authority over them, were admitted behind 
 the scenes of hospital life ; and what we saw there — of 
 disobedience to medical orders and cruelty to patients 
 — would fill pages, and make those who read them 
 shudder ! shudder as we often have done when we saw 
 some little innocent child, who from some terrible acci- 
 dent had been brought into the hospital, exposed to 
 that atmosphere of evil. More evil was heard in one 
 
 ♦ Hospitals and Sisterhoods. 
 
CONCLUDING REMARKS* 855 
 
 hour in a London hospital, than would meet one's ears 
 during months passed in a military one. 
 
 One word must be said for the nurses. Their work 
 is no light one. The founder of the Sisters of Charity 
 deemed that the attendance on all the loathsome diseases 
 of mankind should exempt his daughters from practising 
 any of those austerities which are enforced on religious 
 communities. It is no easy task to bear with patience 
 the endless fretfulness of hundreds of sick — to listen to 
 long complaints with real sympathy, and speak soothing 
 words when body and mind are alike worn — to stand 
 by the suiferer when about to undergo some fearful 
 operation — to maintain a cheerful spirit, when the fami- 
 liar sounds are those of moans, of sufferings, or sharp 
 cries of agony, while the very atmosphere is impreg- 
 nated with disease — to be firm in carrying out the 
 doctor's commands when they are a torture to the pa- 
 tients, and yet gentle and self-sacrificing in all that 
 concerns themselves — while watchful care must be 
 taken that familiarity with the sight and sound of suf- 
 fering does not bring that hardening to it which is apt 
 to creep over even a naturally tender nature, and which 
 is one great cause of the cruelty and neglect practised 
 by hospital nurses. No; a good nurse must receive 
 every new case of affliction as though it were her first. 
 Yet all this and far more would be the portion of a 
 hospital nurse. Does it need further argument to prove 
 that paid nurses cannot do this ? 
 
 Then comes the question who can ? 
 
 The employment of ladies in this work has been 
 strongly recommended. The remarks upon those work- 
 ing in the East will apply to this subject, and, I trust, 
 convince most that the system was based on no per- 
 
356 CONCLUDING REMARKS. 
 
 manent footing. It is a work which cannot be performed 
 by ladies possessing home ties and duties. It can be 
 done rightly only by those . who can go through long 
 years of preparation, who can relinquish the fair things 
 of this world to attend upon the grievously afflicted, 
 who can oflfer body and soul as a daily sacrifice, and in 
 that offering find their joy and consolation, whose sole 
 desire is to follow His steps, who came " not to minister 
 unto, but to minister." 
 
 But it appears wrong to conclude, that because we 
 cannot have the best thing, therefore we cannot have 
 any at all. Much could be done in our Hospitals in their 
 present state — the tone of the nurses might be raised, 
 the system of lady visiting might be organised, and 
 though it wiU always have its evils and its failures, and 
 always look discouraging, because it falls so far short of 
 the work before it, yet it will do much good — it will be 
 a step in the right direction. Oh ! that some one would 
 rise up with burning eloquence enough to plead the 
 cause of English poor, especially London poor, and 
 awaken those who support Hospitals to a sense of their 
 wants and deficiences, and awaken in us all a spirit of 
 union and charity, that we may join in the great work 
 of succouring the poor, not only by doling out to them 
 alms of this world^s goods, but by those words and acts 
 which can make them feel we have alike one hope, one 
 end, one Master. 
 
 THE END. 
 
 J. Billing, Printer, 103, Hatt«n Garden, London, and Guildford, Surrey. 
 
13, GREAT MARLBOROUGH ST., LONDON. 
 
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HISTORY AND BIOGRAPHY. 
 
 MEMOIRS OF THE COURT AND CABINETS OF 
 
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 the DUKE OF BUCKINGHAM AND CHANDOS, K.G., &c. The 
 Third and Fourth Volumes, comprising the period from 1800 to 1810, 
 and completing this important work. 8vo., with Portraits. 30s. bound. 
 
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 former volumes a great amount of curious gossip, and of valuable information, was 
 contained relative to the formation of the Coalition Ministry, the King's illness in 1788, 
 and the early period of the war with revolutionary France. Volumes 3 and 4 take up the 
 tale where volumes 1 and 2 had left it ; and herein we find a connected narrative of the 
 many stirring historical events which occurred between 1800, when Lord Grenville and 
 Talleyrand were in correspondence respecting Bonaparte's proposals for peace, until the 
 return of the King's malady in 1810 and the debates in "Parliament relative to the regency. 
 The present collection is more valuable than the last, inasmuch as Lord Grenville, having 
 attained higher dignity and experience, is a more dispassionate observer of passing events. 
 Whoever would desire to read the running comments of so eminent and well informed a 
 man as Lord Grenville upon a decade .so interesting as that of 1800—10, would do well to 
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 his time j and to him, from the first, belongs the credit of appreciating truly Napoleon 
 Bonaparte's position and designs. He did so even to a higher degree than Pitt ; and it is 
 most remarkable how far his predictions have been verified by the event, even when 
 submitted to the sharp test of the judgment of posterity. The principal points on which 
 light is thrown by the present correspondence are, the negociations before and after the 
 Treaty of Amiens until the time of its rupture — the true character of Addington's Adminis- 
 tration, and the relations between 'The Doctor' and Pitt— the formation of the Pitt and 
 Sidmouth Cabinet, when the King's prejudices against Charles Fox were found to be insur- 
 mountable—the Grenville and Fox short Administration— the Duke of Portland's Cabinet— 
 the expedition to Portugal, with its climax at Cintra— the Duke of York's scandal with Mrs. 
 Clarke— Sir John Moore's retreat, with the earlier Spanish campaigns of Sir Arthur Wel- 
 lesley, and, finally, the disastrous Walcheren aflfair. There is much curious matter inter- 
 posed in the shape of precis upon the situation of affairs written from time to time by Lord 
 Grenville himself j and perhaps still more curious reports made to the Marquis of Bucking- 
 ham by a certain , whose name remains a mystery, but who seems to have been 
 
 tolerably well acquainted with the arcana imperii at the beginning of the century. There 
 is much in these volumes which well deserves perusal. There is a portion of their contents 
 which possesses nearly as high a claim upon our instant and careful consideration as the 
 Minutes of the Sebastopol Committee." 
 
 From the Athen^um.— " The present volumes exhibit the same features as the former 
 portion of the series. The general reader is entertained, and the reader for historical 
 purposes is enlightened. Of their value and importance, there cannot be two opinions. 
 There are abundant revelations of interest to arrest attention in many of these papers. On 
 the characters of George the Fourth and the Duke of Wellington there are some very 
 valuable letters. In Court scandals, the affairs of the Duke of York and Mrs, Clarke are 
 brought under notice j and in what we may designate as public scandals, the ' horrors of 
 routine' receive abundant illustrations in the letters about the Walcheren Expedition, 
 and on the Peninsular War. Our extracts sufficiently show the high interest belonging to 
 t!»eae volumes." 
 
HURST AND BLACKETt's NEW PUBLICATIONS. 
 
 EASTERN HOSPITALS AND ENGLISH NURSES; 
 
 The Narrative of Twelve Months' Experience in the Hospitals of Koulali 
 and Scutari. By A LADY VOLUNTEER. Third and Cheaper Edition, 
 1 vol. post 8vo. with Illustrations, 6s. bound. (Just Ready.) 
 
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 the purest and best evidences of womanly tenderness. What the nurses did for our sick 
 and wounded soldiers — how they ministered to their wants and assuaged their sufferings — 
 how that composite body of hired attendants, sisters, nuns, and lady volunteers, worked 
 together for a common object— how their duties were apportioned — and how, in health or 
 illness, their time passed away— are all faithfully and minutely detailed in these volumes. 
 •Eastern Hospitals and English Nurses' will, no doubt, command a good circulation." 
 —The Times. 
 
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 will never be more effectively told than in the beautiful narrative contained in these 
 volumes." — John Bull. 
 
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 labours."— Athenceum. 
 
 JOURNAL OF ADVENTURES WITH THE BRITISH 
 
 ARMY, from the Commencement of the W^ar to the Fall of Sebastopol. 
 By GEORGE CAVENDISH TAYLOR, late 95th Regiment. 2 vols, 
 post 8vo,, 21s. bound. 
 
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 embraced in it." — Examiner. 
 
 TURKEY: ITS HISTORY AND PROGRESS; FROM 
 
 THE JOURNALS AND CORRESPONDENCE OF SIR JAMES PORTER, 
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 with a Memoir of Sir James Porter, by his Grandson, SIR GEORGE 
 LARPENT, Bart. 2 vols. 8vo., with Illustrations. 16s. bound. 
 
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 and more life-like pictureof the present state ot the Ottoman Empire, than any other work with 
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HISTORY AND BIOGRAPHY, 
 
 THE LIFE OF MARGUERITE D'ANGOULEME, 
 
 QUEEN of NAVARRE, SISTER of FRANCIS I. From numerous original 
 sources, including MS. Documents in the Bibliotheque Imperiale, and the 
 Archives du Royaurae de France, and the Private Correspondence of Queen 
 Marguerite with Francis I, &c. By MISS FREER. Second Edition, 
 Revised, 2 vols, post 8vo., with fine Portraits, engraved by Heath, 21s. 
 bound. 
 
 OPINIONS OF THE PRESS. 
 
 •* This is a very complete and cleverly- written life of the illustrious sister of Francis I., 
 and it may be said of her that the varied and interesting stores of French history oflFer no 
 theme more worthy of research and study than the career of this great princess, who exer- 
 cised so potent an influence over the politics and manners of the age of which she was 
 herself the brightest ornament. The published and manuscript documents and letters 
 relating to the life of Marguerite of Navarre, and which are indispensable to a correct 
 biography of this queen, are widely dispersed. The author has spared no cost or trouble in 
 endeavouring to olUain all that were lil^ely to elucidate her character and conduct. She has 
 furnished us with a very interesting and graphic sketch of the singular events and the 
 important personages who took part in them during this stormy and remarkable period of 
 French and English history." — Observer. 
 
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 authoress is quite equal in power and grace to Miss Strickland. She must have spent great 
 time and labour in collecting the information, which she imparts in an easy and agreeable 
 manner. It is difficult to lay down her Look after having once begun it. This is owing 
 partly to the interesting nature of the subject, partly to the skilful manner in which it has 
 been treated. No other life of Marguerite has yet been published, even in France. Indeed, 
 till Louis Philippe ordered the collection and publication of manuscripts relating to the 
 history of France, no such work could be published. It is difficult to conceive how, under 
 any circumstances, it could have been better done." — Standard. 
 
 " There are few names more distinguished than that of Marguerite d'Angoul^me in the 
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 so copious and attractive. It is altogether an interesting and well-written biography." 
 — Literary Gazette. 
 
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 their own sex." — John Bull, 
 
 THE LIFE OF JEANNE FALBRET, QUEEN OF 
 
 NAVARRE, from numerous original sources, including M.S. Documents in 
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 MISS FREER, Author of " The Life of Marguerite d'Angouleme." 2 vols, 
 with Portraits, 21s. bound. 
 
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HURST AND BLACKETT S NEW PUBLICATIONS. 
 
 REVELATIONS OF PRISON LIFE; WITH AN EN- 
 
 QUiRY INTO Prison Discipline and Secondary Punishments. By 
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 THE OLD COURT SUBURB; OR, MEMORIALS OF 
 
 KENSINGTON; Regal, Critical, and Anecdotical. By LEIGH 
 HUNT. Second Edition. 2 vols, post 8vo. 21s. elegantly bound. 
 
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 THE LITERATURE AND ROMANCE OF NORTHERN 
 
 EUROPE ; constituting a complete History of the Literature of Sweden, 
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HISTORY AND BIOGRAPHY. 
 
 THE LIFE OF MARIE DE MEDICIS, QUEEN OF 
 
 FRANCE, Consort of Henry IV., and Regent under Louis XIII. 
 By MISS PARDOE, Author of "Louis XIV, and the Court of France, in 
 the 17th Century," &c. Second Edition. 3 large vols. 8vo. with fine 
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 MEMOIRS OF THE BARONESS D'OBERKIRCH, 
 
 Illustrative of the Secret History of the Courts of France, 
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 Grandson, the COUNT DE MONTBRISON. 3 vols, post 8vo. 15s. 
 
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 on the continent during the latter part of the last century. Among the royal per- 
 sonages introduced to the reader in this work, are Louis XVL, Marie Antoinette, 
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 Empress Catherine, the Emperor Paul, and his sons Constantine and Alexander, 
 of Russia — Frederick the Great and Prince Henry of Prussia — the Emperor 
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 Princesses de Lamballe, de Ligne and Galitzin — the Dukes and Duchesses de 
 Choiseul, de Mazarin, de Boufflers, de la Valli^re, de Guiche, de PenthiSvre, and 
 de Polignac — Cardinal de Rohan, Marshals Biron and d'Harcourt, Count de 
 Staremberg, Baroness de Krudener, Madame Geoflfrin, Talleyrand, Mirabeau, and 
 Necker — with Count Cagliostrc, Mesmer, Vestris, and Madame Mara ; and the 
 work also includes such literary celebrities as Voltaire, Condorcet, de la Harpe, 
 de Beaumarchais, Rousseau, Lavater, Bernouilli, Raynal, de I'Epee, Huber, 
 Gothe, Wieland, Malesherbes, Marmontel, de Stael and de Genlis ; with some 
 singular disclosures respecting those celebrated Englishwomen, Elizabeth Chud- 
 leigh, Duchess of Kingston, and Lady Craven, Margravine of Anspach. 
 
 PAINTING AND CELEBRATED PAINTERS, AN- 
 
 CIENT and MODERN ; including Historical and Critical Notices of the 
 Schools of Italy, Spain, France, Gefwany, and the Netherlands. Edited by 
 LADY JERVIS. 2 vols, post 8vo. 12s. bound. 
 
 ** This book is designed to give to the general public a popular knowledge of the History 
 of Painting and the characters of Painters, with especial reference to the most prominent 
 among those of their works which are to be seen in English galleries. It is pleasantly written 
 with the intention of serving a useful purpose. It succeeds in its design, and will be of real 
 use to the multitude of picture seers. As a piece of agreeable reading also, it is unex- 
 ceptionable.' * — Examiner. 
 
 " This useful and well-arranged compendium will be found of value to the amateur, and 
 pleasing as well as instructive to the general reader ; and, to give it still further praise, the 
 collector will find abundance of most useful information, and many an artist will rise from 
 the perusal of the work with a much clearer idea of his art than he had before. We sum up 
 its merits by recommending it as an acceptable handbook to the principal galleries, and a 
 trustworthy guide to a knowledge of the celebrated paintings in England, and that this 
 information is valuable and much required by many thousands is a well-proven fact." — 
 Sunday Times. 
 
8 HURST AND BLACKETT S NEW PUBLICATIONS. 
 
 MY EXILE. BY ALEXANDER HERZEN. 2 Vols. 
 
 post 8vo. 2 Is. bound. 
 
 " From these admirable memoirs the reader may derive a clear idea of Russian political 
 society. Mr. Herzen's narrative, ably and unaflFectedly written, and undoubtedly authentic, is 
 indeed superior in Interest to nine-tenths of the existing works on Russia." — AthencBum. 
 
 "The author of these memoirs is one of the most distinguished writers of his nation. 
 A politician and historian, he scarcely reached manhood before the Emperor Nicholas 
 feared and persecuted him as an enemy. He was twice arrested, twice exiled. In this 
 English version of his memoirs, he presents a highly characteristic view of Russian 
 official society, interspersed with sketches of rural life, episodes of picturesque adventures, 
 and fragments of serious speculation. We gain from this narrative of persecution and exile 
 a better idea of the governing system in Russia, than from any previous work. It is rich in 
 curious and authentic detail."— TAe Leader. 
 
 THE MOSLEM AND THE CHRISTL/!lN; OR, ADVEN- 
 
 TURES IN THE EAST. By SADYK PASHA. Revised with original 
 Notes, by COLONEL LACH SZYRMA, Editor of "Revelations of 
 Siberia." 3 vols, post 8vo. 15s. bonnd. 
 
 •' Sadyk Pasha, the author of this work, is a Pole of noble birth. He is now commander 
 of the Turkish Cossacks, a corps organised by himself. The volumes on the Moslem and 
 the Christian, partly fact and partly fiction, written by him, and translated by Colonel 
 Szynna, display very well the literary spirit of the soldier. They are full of the adventures 
 and emotions that belong to love and war j they treat of the present time, they introduce 
 many existing people, and have the Danubian principalities for scene of action. Here are 
 sources of popularity which the book fairly c\a.\ms."~- Examiner. 
 
 HOME LIFE IN RUSSIA. REVISED BY COL. LACH 
 
 SZYRMA, Editor of " Revelations OF Siberia." 2 vols. postSvo. 12s. 
 
 "This work gives a very interesting and graphic account of the manners and customs of 
 the Russian people. The most interesting and amusing parts of the work will be found to be 
 those interior scenes in the houses of the wealthy and middle classes of Russia upon which 
 we have but scanty information, although they are some of the most striking and truthful 
 indications of the progress and civilization of a country. As such we recommend them to the 
 study of our readers." — Observer. 
 
 REVELATIONS OF SIBERIA. BY A BANISHED 
 
 LADY. Third and cheaper Edition. 2 vols, post 8vo. 16s. 
 
 " A thoroughly good book. It cannot be read by too many people." — Hoiisehold Words. 
 
 " The authoress of these volumes was a lady of quality, who, having incurred the 
 displeasure of the Russian Government for a political offence, was exiled to Siberia. The 
 place of her exile was Berezov, the most northern part of this northern penal settlement ; and 
 in it she spent about two years, not unprofitably,as the reader will find by her interesting 
 work, containing a lively and graphic picture of the country, the people, their manners and 
 customs, &c. The book gives a most important and valuable insight into the economy o/ 
 what has been hitherto the terra incognita of Russian despotism."— X>ai/y Xews. 
 
 *' Since the publication of the famous romance the ' Exiles of Siberia,' we have had 
 DO account of these desolate lands more attractive than the present work."— 6r/o6e. 
 
HISTORY AND BIOGRAPHY. 
 
 THE JOURNALS AND CORRESPONDENCE OF 
 
 GENERAL SIR HARRY CALVERT, Bart., G.C.B. and G.C.H., Ad- 
 jutant-General of the forces under H.R.H. the Duke of York, 
 comprising the Campaigns in Flanders and Holland in 1793-94; with an 
 Appendix containing His Plans for the Defence of the Country in case of. 
 Invasion. Edited by His Son, SIR HARRY VERNEY, Bart. 1 vol. royal 
 8vo., with large maps, 14s. bound. 
 
 " Both the journals and letters of Capt. Calvert are full of interest. Sir Harry 
 Verney has performed his duties of editor very well. The book is creditable to all parties 
 concerned in its production."— il^en«tMa. 
 
 RECOLLECTIONS OF MY MILITARY LIFE. BY 
 
 ' COLONEL LANDMANN, Late of the Corps of Royal Engineers, 
 Author of " Adventures and Recollections." 2 vols, post 8vo. 12s. bound. 
 
 *' Much as has been written of late years about war and Wellington, we know of nothing 
 that contains so striking a picture of the march and the battle as seen by an individual, or so 
 close and homely a sketch of the Great Captain in the outset of the European career of Sir 
 Arthur Wellesley." — Spectator. 
 
 " The deserved popularity with which the previous volumes of Colonel Landmann's 
 adventures were received will be increased by the present portion of these interesting and 
 amusing records of a long life passed in active and arduous service. The Colonel's 
 shrewdness of observation renders his sketches of character highly amusing." — Britannia. 
 
 COLONEL LANDMANFS ADVENTURES AND Re- 
 collections. 2 vols, post 8vo. 12s. bound. 
 
 " Among the anecdotes in this work will be found notices of King George III., the Dukes 
 of Kent, Cumberland, Cambridge, Clarence, and Richmond, the Princess Augusta, General 
 Garth, Sir Harry Mildmay, Lord Charles Somerset, Lord Edward Fitzgerald, Lord Heath- 
 field, Captain Grose, &c. The volumes abound in interesting matter. The anecdotes are 
 one and all amusing." — Observer. 
 
 adventures of the connaught rangers. 
 
 Second Series. By WILLIAM GRATTAN, Esa., late Lieutenant 
 Connaught Rangers. 2 vols. 21s. bound. 
 " In this second series of the adventures of this famous regiment, the author extends 
 his narrative from the first formation of the gallant 88th up to the occupation of Paris. All 
 the battles, sieges, and skirmishes, in which the regiment took part, are described. The 
 volumes are interwoven with original anecdotes that give a freshness and spirit to the whole. 
 The stories, and the sketches of society and manners, with the anecdotes of the celebrities of 
 the time, are told in an agreeable and unaffected manner. The work bears all the character- 
 istics of a soldier's straightforward and entertaining narrative." — Sunday Times. 
 
 NARRATIVE OF A RESIDENCE AT NEPAUL. BY 
 
 CAPTAIN THOMAS SMITH, late Assistant Political-Resident at 
 
 Nepaul. 2 vols, post 8vo. 12s. bound. 
 " No man could be better qualified to describe Nepaul than Captain Smith ; and his 
 concise, but clear and graphic account of its history, its natural productions, its laws and 
 customs, and the character of its warlike inhabitants, is very agreeable and instructive 
 reading. A separate chapter, not the least entertaining in the book, is devoted to anecdotes 
 of the Nepaulese mission, of whom, and of their visit to Europe, many remarkable stories 
 are told." — Post. 
 
10 HURST AND BLACKETT's NEW PUBLICATIONS. 
 
 ART AND NATURE, AT HOME AND ABROAD. BY 
 
 G. W. THORNBURY. Esa. 2 vols, post 8vo. 21s. bound. 
 
 "This is the best book Mr. Thornbury has written. Being an artist, he writes about 
 art; as a Londoner, with quick eyes and a cultivated taste, he writes of London j as an 
 artist who has travelled he tells anecdotes and dwells on scenes of his past life abroad. All 
 this he does in a frank, genuine w&y."— Examiner. 
 
 "This is a book belonging to the tribe of which Geoffrey Crayon is patriarch. Mr. 
 Thonibury's drawing may be less accurate than crayon drawing, but it is richer in colour, 
 and wider and more versatile in the choice of subjects. As a whole, Mr. Thornbury's 
 Yolumes are lively, pictorial, and yarions. " —Athenaum. 
 
 " We have not met with so original a work for many a day as these two volumes by Mr. 
 Thornbury. They have the freedom and freshness of genius. Acute observation is com- 
 bined with great research; yet the style is so dashing, that the last thing vt^e think of is the 
 variety and the extent of knowledge which these sketches evince. Mr. Thornbury's volumes 
 contain matter to please all tastes. He is grave and gay, picturesque and reflective ; and in 
 all moods and on all subjects he is vivacious and amusing."— TAe Press. 
 
 " Of all Mr. Thornbury's contributions to the literature of the day, his Sketches 
 entitled ' Art and Nature ' are the best." — Morning Post. 
 
 CLASSIC AND HISTORIC PORTRAITS. BY JAMES 
 
 BRUCE, 2 vols, post 8 vo. 12s. bound. 
 
 This work comprises Bfographies of the following Classic and Historic Per- 
 sonages : — Sappho, ^sop, Pythagoras, Aspasia, Milto, Agesilaus, Socrates, Plato, 
 Alcibiades, Helen of Troy, Alexander the Great, Demetrius Pohorcetes, Scipio 
 Africanus, Sylla, Cleopatra, Julius Caesar, Augustus, Tiberius, Germanicus, 
 Caligula, Lollia Paulina, Caesonia, Boadicea, Agrippina, Poppaea, Otho, Commodus, 
 Caracalla, Heliogabalus, Zenobia, Julian the Apostate, Eudocia, Theodora, 
 Charlemagne, Abelard and Heloise, Elizabeth of Hungary, Dante, Robert Bruce, 
 Ignez de Castro, Agnes Sorrel, Jane Shore, Lucrezia Borgia, Anne Bullen, Diana 
 of Poitiers, Catherine de Medicis, Queen Elizabeth, Mary Queen of Scots,. 
 Cervantes, Sir Kenelm Digby, John Sobieski, Anne of Austria, Ninon de TEnclos, 
 Mile, de Montpensier, the Duchess of Orleans, Madame de Maintenon, Catherine 
 of Russia, and Madame de Stael. 
 
 " We find in these piquant volumes the liberal outpourings of a ripe scholarship, the 
 results of wide and various reading, given in a style and manner at once pleasant and pictu- 
 resque." — Athenceum. 
 
 SCOTTISH HEROES IN THE DAYS OF WALLACE 
 
 AND BRUCE. By the Rev. A. LOW, A.M. 2 vols, post Svo. 21s. 
 
 "We may say with confidence that it would not be easy to find a more enjoyable and 
 insti-uctive book in the whole range of biographical and historical literature. Never before 
 has full justice been done to the Scotch heroes of the days of Wallace and Bruce, and 
 there is not a southron among us who will not read with deep and sympathetic interest 
 this gralphic and authentic narrative of their gallant exploits." — Morning Post. 
 
HISTORY AND BIOGRAPHY. 11 
 
 MEMOIRS AND CORRESPONDENCE OF MAJOR 
 
 GENERAL SIR W. NOTT, G.C.B., Commander op the Army of 
 Candahar, and Envoy at the Court of Lucknow. 2 vols. 8vo., 
 with Portrait. 16s. bound. 
 
 " These highly interesting volumes give a valuable contribution to the history of India 
 a«d an admirable portrait of a most distinguished officer." — John Bull. 
 
 " The volumes form a valuable contribution to the biographical stores of the age. To 
 the young soldier, in particular, they will form a most valuable guide, worthy to be placed 
 by the side of the Despatches of the great Duke of Wellington." — Messenger. 
 
 " We know not a book, after the Wellington Despatches, more deserving of the study of 
 a young officer. It might be made one of the standard manuals of military education." 
 — Literary Gazette. 
 
 " One of the most interesting records of military life that we possess, and a genuine me- 
 morial of one who has achieved a right to be reckoned among England's greatest men." — 
 Daily News. 
 
 MILITARY LIFE IN ALGERIA. BY THE COUNT P. 
 
 DE CASTELLANE. 2 vols, post 8vo. 12s. bound. 
 
 " We commend this book as really worth perusal. The volumes make us familiarl) 
 acquainted with the nature of Algerian experience. St. Arnaud, Canrobert, Changarnier, 
 Gavaignac, Lamoricifere, are brought prominently before the reader." — Eiraminer. 
 
 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF AN ENGLISH SOLDIER IN 
 
 THE UNITED STATES' ARMY. 2 vols, post 8vo. 12s. bound. 
 " The novelty characterising these interesting volumes is likely to secure them many 
 readers. The author went through the Mexican campaign with General Scott, and his volumes 
 contain much descriptive matter concerning battles, sieges, and marches on Mexican 
 territory, besides their sketches of the normal chronic condition of the United States' soldier 
 in time of peace." — Daily News. 
 
 CANADA AS IT WAS, IS, AND MAY BE. BY THE 
 
 late LIEUTENANT-COLONEL SIR R. BONNYCASTLE. With an Account 
 of Recent Transactions, by SIR J. E. ALEXANDER, K.L.S., &c. 2 vols., 
 post 8vo. with maps, &c., 12s. 
 
 ATLANTIC AND TRANSATLANTIC SKETCHES. BY 
 
 CAPTAIN MACKINNON, R.N. 2 vols, post 8vo. 12s. bound. 
 ** Captain Mackinnon's sketches of America are of a striking character and permanent 
 value. His volumes convey a just impression of the United States. They are light, ani- 
 mated, and lively, full of racy sketches, pictures of life, anecdotes of society, visits to re- 
 markable men and famous places, sporting episodes, &c., very original and interesting." — 
 Sunday Times. 
 
 SPAIN AS IT IS. BY G. A. HOSKINS, ESQ. 
 
 2 vols, post 8vo. 21s. 
 
 HISTORY OF CORFU; AND OF THE REPUBLIC 
 
 OF THE IONIAN ISLANDS. By LIEUT. H. J. W. JERVIS, Royal 
 Artillery. 1 vol. post 8vo. 6s. 
 
12 HURST AND BLACKETT's NEW PUBLICATIONS. 
 
 OBIENTAL AND WESTERN SIBERIA. A NAR- 
 
 RATivE OF Seven Years' Explorations and Adventures in Siberia, 
 Mongolia, Daouria, the Kirghis Steppes, Chinese Tartary, and 
 Part of Central Asia. By THOMAS WITLAM ATKINSON. Dedi- 
 cated, by Permission, to His Imperial Majesty, Alexander II., Emperor of 
 All the Russias, &c. Preparing for Publication, in one large volume, 
 royal 8vo., Price £2 2s., elegantly bound. Embellished with numerous 
 beautifully coloured plates, and woodcuts, from drawings by the Author, 
 and a map. 
 
 Extract from the " Examiner," October 25, 1856. — " Mr. T. W. Atkinson, an artist 
 of extraordinary merit, in pursuit of the picturesque, has ventured into regions where, 
 probably, no European foot, save his, has ever trodden. Mr. Atlcinson's travels embrace 
 Oriental and Western Siberia, Mongolia, Daouria, the Kirghis Steppes, Chinese Tartary, 
 and portions of Central Asia, and occupied him for the space of seven years, time which he 
 has turned to admirable account. It argues no slight devotion to Art, to have undertaken 
 the task of giving to civilised Europe a transcript of what is at once most beautiful and 
 most wonderful in nature, in countries so remote, so difficult of access, and, in many 
 instances, so dangerous to the traveller, whose enterprise led him there. The public may 
 really feel grateful to Mr. Atkinson for thus widely extending our knowledge of this hitherto 
 unknown but most interesting part of the globe." 
 
 Extract prom the "Athen^um," October 11, 1856. — "Mr. Atkinson's sketches 
 were made by express permission of the late Emperor of Russia, during seven years' hunting, 
 sketching, and travelling in the plains and mountains of Oriental and Western Siberia, 
 Mongolia, Daouria, the Kirghis Steppes, Chinese Tartary, and Central Asia. Perhaps, no 
 English artist was ever before admitted into this enchanted land of history, or provided with 
 the talisman and amulet of a general passport; and well has Mr. Atkinson availed himself 
 of the privilege. Mr. Atkinson's encampments lead us away into forests, gorges of moun- 
 tains, where the thunder shakes the ground and the lightning strikes, like God's sword-blade, 
 among the trees— where the Tartars cower in their felt hut, and the tea-drinkers grow silent 
 round the red logs. Rivers to swim, torrents to pass, became trifles to this adventurous 
 traveller, who has brought us records of places never, perhaps, before visited; for no 
 Englishman has been there — no Russian traveller has written of them." 
 
 NARRATIVE OF A JOURNEY ROUND THE WORLD, 
 
 Comprising A Winter Passage across the Andes to Chili, with a 
 Visit to the Gold Regions of California and Australia, the South 
 Sea Islands, Java, &c. By F. GERSTAECKER. 3 vols. 3Is. 6d. 
 " Starting from Bremen for California, the author of this Narrative proceeded to Rio, 
 and thence to Buenos Ayres; where he exchanged the wild seas for the yet wilder Pampas, 
 and made his way on horseback to Valparaiso across the Cordilleras — a winter passage full of 
 difficulty and danger. From Valparaiso he sailed to California, and visited San Francisco, 
 Sacramento, and the mining districts generally. Thence he steered his course to the South 
 Sea Islands, resting at Honolulu, Tahiti, and other gems of the sea in that quarter, and from, 
 thence to Sydney, marching through the Murray Valley, and inspecting the Adelaide district. 
 From Australia he dashed onward to Java, riding through the interior, and taking a general 
 survey of Batavia, with a glance at Japan and the Japanese. An active, intelligent, observant 
 man, the notes he made of his adventures are full of variety and interest. His descriptions of 
 places and persons are lively, and his remarks on natural productions and the phenomena of 
 eirth, sea, and sky are always sensible, and made with a view to practical results. Those 
 portions of the Narrative which refer to California and Australia are replete with vivid 
 sketches ; and indeed the whole work abounds with living and picturesque descriptions of 
 men, manners, and localities."— G/o6e. 
 
VOYAGES AND TRAVELS. 13 
 
 LAKE NGAMI; OR EXPLORATIONS AND DIS- 
 
 COVERIES DURING FoUR YeARS' WaNDERINGS IN THE WiLDS OP 
 
 South-western Africa. By CHARLES JOHN ANDERSSON. 1 vol. 
 royal 8vo., with Map and upwards of 50 Hlustrations, representing Sport- 
 ing Adventures, Subjects of Natural History, &c. Second Edition, 30s. 
 handsomely bound. 
 "This narrative of African explorations and discoveries is one of the most important 
 geographical works that have lately appeared. It contains the account of two journeys 
 made between the years 1850 and 1854, in the first of which the countries of the Damaras 
 and the Ovambo, previously scarcely known in Europe, were explored; and in the second 
 the newly-discovered Lake Ngami was reached by a route that had been deemed imprac- 
 ticable, but which proves to be the shortest and the best. The work contains much scientific 
 and accurate information as to the geology, the scenery, products, and resources of the 
 regions explored, with notices of the religion, manners, and customs of the native tribes. 
 The continual sporting adventures, and other remarkable occurrences, intermingled with 
 the narrative of travel, make the book as interesting to read as a romance, as, indeed, a 
 good book of travels ought always to be. The illustrations by Wolf are admirably designed, 
 and most of them represent scenes as striking as any witnessed by Jules Gerard or Gordon 
 Camming."— Literary Gazette. 
 
 "Mr. Andersson has made no hackneyed excursion up the Nile and back again, but a 
 painful journey, something between a pilgrimage and a wild-beast hunt, which might have 
 tried the patience of a fakir and the pluck of a gladiator. Such narratives are agreeable 
 changes in our day, and take hold of attention like the old travels. Mr. Andersson is a 
 good-natured and cheerful writer; and his book may be read with as much pleasure as 
 profit. For the details of a romantic and laborious journey, — for particulars about the 
 ostrich, the hippopotamus, the lion, and the hyaena, — for cnrious illustrations of savage 
 life, — for that kind of interest which is awakened by dangers bravely, and by fatigues stoutly 
 borne — readers would do well to consult the book itself. The printers and engravers have 
 done Mr. Andersson justice j and we think the reading public will go and do likewise." — 
 Athenceum, 
 
 " This handsome book is one for everybody to read. As a record of travel, every page is 
 fascinating, while the naturalist and the geographer will be delighted with the new facts it 
 reveals. The sporting adventures of Mr. Andersson, too, are not less wonderful than those 
 of preceding African travellers. The plates are numerous and admirable." — The Press. 
 
 THE OXONIAN IN NORWAY; OR, NOTES OF 
 
 Excursions in that Country. By the Rev. F. METCALFE, M.A., 
 Fellow of Lincoln College, Oxford. 2 vols., post 8vo., with Hlustrations, 
 21s., bound. 
 
 "'The Oxonian in Norway ' is replele with interest, is written in an animated style 
 and is one of those books wliich cannot fail to be at the same time amusing and instructive 
 Mr, Metcalfe visited places where an Englishman was a rarity ; and all who take an interest 
 in customs practised by various peoples, will welcome his book for the accounts of Nor- 
 wegian manners and customs which have not been touched upon before. Nnmerous inte- 
 resting and exciting anecdotes, in connexion with the author's excursions in pursuit of 
 fishing and shooting, pervade throughout."— C/trowic/e. 
 
 "Mr. Metcalfe's book iaas full of facts and interesting information as it can hold, and 
 is interlarded with racy anecdotes. Some of these are highly original and entertaining. 
 More than this, it is a truly valuable work, containing a fund ot information on the statistics 
 politics, and religion of the countries nsited."— Blackwood's Magazine. 
 
14 HURST AND BLACKETT's NEW PUBLICATIONS. 
 
 SPORTING ADVENTURES IN THE NEW WORLD; 
 
 OR. DAYS AND NIGHTS OF MOOSE HUNTING IN THE PINE 
 FORESTS OF ACADIA. By CAMPBELL HARDY, Royal Artillery. 
 2 vols, post 8vo. with illustrations, 21s. bound. 
 
 " This book is replete with interest. The adventures, which are striking and romantic, 
 we most graphically described." — Bell's Life. 
 
 "A spirited record of sporting adventures, very entertaining and well worthy the atten- 
 tion of all sportsmen who desire some fresher field than Europe can afford them. The 
 forests of Nova Scotia abound in moose, cariboo, bears, wolves, partridge, snipe and wild 
 duck, while the rivers are teeming with salmon and other fish, so that Lieutenant Hardy's 
 sport was of the best kind, and in the details which he has given us there is much to 
 Interest and amuse. He is a thorough sportsman, patient, skilful, and active, and relates 
 his adventures with the gusto of a man who enjoys the life."— TAc Press. 
 
 TRAVELS IN EUROPEAN TURKEY: THROUGH 
 
 Bosnia, Servia, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Roumelia, Albania, and 
 Epirus ; with a Visit to Greece and the Ionian Isles, and a HoMEf 
 WARD Tour through Hungary and the Sclavonian Provinces op 
 Austria on the Lower Danube. By EDMUND SPENCER, Esa. 
 Autkor of " Travels in Circassia," etc. Second and Cheaper Edition, in 
 2 vols. 8vo., with Illustrations, and a valuable Map of European Turkey 
 from the most recent Charts in the possession of the Austrian and Turkish 
 Governments, revised by the Author, 18s. 
 
 " These important volumes describe some of those countries to which public attention 
 is now more particularly directed : Turkey, Greece, Hungary, and Austria. We cordially 
 recommend Mr. Spencer's valuable and interesting volumes to the reader." — U. S, Mag. 
 
 A TOUR OF INQUIRY THROUGH FRANCE AND 
 
 ITALY, Illustrating their Present Social, Political, and Religious 
 Condition. By EDMUND SPENCER, Esa., Author of "Travels in 
 European Turkey," " Circassia," &c. 2 vols, post Svo. 21s. 
 
 ARCTIC MISCELLANIES, A SOUVENIR OF THE 
 
 LATE POLAR SEARCH. By the OFFICERS and SEAMEN of the 
 EXPEDITION. Dedicated by permission to the Lords op the 
 Admiralty. Second Edition. I vol., with Illustrations. 6s. 
 
 " This volume is not the least interesting or instructive among the records of the late 
 expedition in search of Sir John Franklin, commanded by Captain Austin."— Times. 
 
 A HLGRIMAGE INTO DAUPHINE. BY THE REV. 
 
 G. M. MUSGRAVE, A.M., Oxon. Author of '' A Ramble through Nor- 
 mandy," etc. 2 vols, with Illustrations. (Just Ready.) 
 
VOYAGES AND TRAVELS. 16 
 
 A SUMMER IN NORTHERN EUROPE; INCLUD- 
 
 ING Sketches in Sweden, Norway, Finland, the Aland Islands, 
 Gothland, etc. By SELINA BUNBURY, Author of " Life in Sweden,'* 
 etc., 2 vols, post 8vo,, 21s. bound. 
 
 "All readers of the works of lady-travellers will be glad to know that they are favoured 
 again by Miss Bunbury with an account of her experience in Northern Europe, including 
 much of the seat of the late war — Finland, for example, and the Aland Isles. The book 
 is a very welcome contribution to the reading of the season." — Examiner. 
 
 "Avery lively and agreeable book of travels, full of sketches of national character and 
 deecriptions of scenery given in a pleasing and entertaining style. To all who wish for a 
 gay and varied panorama of northern life and scenery, and for a work full of information and 
 entertainment, we recommend these volumes as among the most lively and generally attrac- 
 tive travels that have lately appeared." — Sun, 
 
 THE WABASH; OR, ADVENTURES OF AN ENG- 
 LISH GENTLEMAN'S FAMILY IN THE INTERIOR OF AMERICA. 
 By J. R. BESTE, Esa. 2 vols, post 8vo. 21s. 
 •*Mr. Beste's book is interesting. In literary merit it is above the majority of books of 
 
 travel. It deserves consultation from all who may wish to receive a candid, sensible, and 
 
 fair account of the author's experience." — Athenoeum, 
 
 AUSTRALIA AS IT IS : ITS SETTLEMENTS, FARMS, 
 
 AND GOLD FIELDS. By F. LANCELOT, Mineralogical Sur- 
 veyor IN the Australian Colonies. Second Edition. 2 vols. 12s. 
 
 •* This is an unadorned account of the actual condition in which these colonies are found, 
 by a professional surveyor and mineralogist, who goes over the ground with a careful glance 
 and a remarkable aptitude for seizing on the practical portions of the subject. On the 
 climate, the vegetation, and the agricultural resources of the country, he is copious in iita 
 eKtreme, and to the intending emigrant an invaluable instructor. As may be expected from 
 a scientific hand, the subject of gold digging undergoes a thorough manipulation. Mc. 
 Lancelot dwells with minuteness on the several indications, stratifications, varieties of soil, 
 and methods of working, experience has pointed out, and offers a perfect manual of the new 
 craft to the adventurous settler. Nor has he neglected to provide him with information as to 
 the sea voyage, and all its accessories, the commodities most in request at the antipodes, and 
 a general view of social wants, family management, &c., such as a shrewd and observant 
 counsellor, aided by old resident authorities, can afford. As a guide to the auriferous regions, 
 as well as the pastoral solitudes of Australia, the work is unsurpassed." — Globe, 
 
 A LADY'S VISIT TO THE GOLD DIGGINGS OF 
 
 AUSTRALIA. By MRS. CLACY. 1 vol. 6s. bound. 
 
 " The most pithy and entertaining of all the books that have been written on the gold 
 diggings."— Lifffrary Gazette. 
 
 "Mrs. Clacy's book will be read with considerable interest, and not without profit. 
 Her statements and advice will be most useful among her own aex."—Atheneeum. 
 
 LIGHTS AND SHADOWS OF AUSTRALIAN LIFE. 
 
 By MRS. CLACY. 2 vols, post 8vo. 12s. bound. 
 "While affording amusement to the general reader, these 'Lights and Shadows of 
 Australian Life,' are full of useful hints to intending emigrants, and will convey to friends at 
 home acceptable information as to the country where so many now have friends or relatives." 
 — LiteiHiry Gazette, 
 
16 HURST AND BLACKETT S NEW PUBLICATIONS. 
 
 TRAVELS IN PERSIA, GEORGIA, AND KOOR- 
 
 DISTAN, WITH Sketches of the Cossacks and the Caucasus. By 
 Dr. MORITZ WAGNER. 3 vols., post 8vo. 
 
 " We have here learning without pedantry, acute and close observation without the 
 tedium of uninteresting details, the reflections of a philosopher intermixed with the pleasant 
 stories and graphic sketches of an accomplished traveller." — LUerarp Gazette. 
 
 " A book which abounds in varied and useful information. We doubt whether anywhere 
 the reader can find a more trustworthy and satisfactory account of the Koords of Persia, or of 
 the Cossacks of the Caucasus, than la these interesting volumes." — Post. 
 
 FOREST LIFE IN CEYLON. BY W. KNIGHTON, M.A., 
 
 formerly Secretary to the Ceylon Branch Royal Asiatic Society. 
 Second Edition, 2 vols, post 8vo. 21s. 
 
 " A very clever and>amusing book, by one who has lived as a planter and journalist many 
 years in Ceylon. The work is filled with interesting accounts of the sports, resources, pro- 
 ductions, scenery, and traditions of the island. The sporting adventures are narrated in a 
 very spirited munner."— Standard. 
 
 "We have no recollection of a more interesting or instructive work on Ceylon and the 
 Cingalese than that which Mr. Knighton has just given to the world. It displays a great deal of 
 acuteness and sagacity in its observation of men and manners, and contains a vast deal of 
 useful information on topics, historical, political, and commercial, and has the charm of a 
 fluent and graphic style." — Morning Post. 
 
 TROPICAL SKETCHES; OR, REMINISCENCES OF 
 
 AN INDIAN JOURNALIST. BY W. KNIGHTON, M.A., Author of 
 '* Forest Life in Ceylon." 2 vols, post 8vo. 12s. bound. 
 
 " When Mr. Knighton's pleasant volumes on Ceylon were published, we freely gave his 
 publication the praise which it appears to have well deserved, since another edition has been, 
 calledfor. Amongst the writersof theday,weknowofnone who are morefelicitousin hitting off 
 with an amusing accuracy, the characters he has met with, and his descriptive powers are first- 
 rate. Take his Sketches up and open where you will, he touches upon topics of varied 
 nature — now political, anon historical or commercial, interspersed with traits of society and 
 manners, every page teeming with information, combined with lively detail. His style, indeed, 
 is eminently attractive. There is no weariness comes over the reader with Mr. Knighton's 
 work before him — all is vivacity. The Tropical Sketches contains the result of the author's 
 experience in the East in various capacities, but he is chiefly at home when he enters upon 
 the narrative of his mission as a journalist. In short. Tropical Sketches may he set down 
 as the work of a man of education and refinement, gifted with a keen observation for all 
 that is passing around him ; such a publication cannot fail in being both amusing and in- 
 structive." — Sunday Times. 
 
 FIVE YEARS IN THE WEST INDIES. BY CHARLES 
 
 W. DAY, Esa. 2 vols, post 8vo. 21s. 
 
 " It would be unjust to deny the vigour, brilliancy and varied interest of this work, the 
 abundant stores of anecdote and incident, and the copious detail of local habits and peculiarities 
 in each island visited in succession." — Globe. 
 
VOYAGES AND TRAVELS. 17 
 
 THE WANDERER IN ARABIA. BY G. T. LOWTH, 
 
 Esa. 2 vols, post 8vo. with Illustrations. 21s. bound. 
 
 "An excellent book, pervaded by a healthy enthusiasm, novel and varied in it3 incidents, 
 picturesque in its descriptions, and running over with human interest." — Sun. 
 
 "Mr. Lowth has shown himself in these volumes to be an intelligent traveller, a keen 
 observer of nature, and an accomplished artist. The general reader will find in his descrip- 
 tions of his wanderings in Arabia, and among the most interesting monuments of old 
 Christian lands, a great deal that cannot fail to interest and amuse him. — Post. 
 
 *' Mr. Lowth's book is the work of a cultivated and thoughtful mind, and will give 
 pleasure to most people. His account of Arabia is full of interest."— G/ode. 
 
 EIGHTEEN YEARS ON THE GOLD COAST OF 
 
 AFRICA; including an Account of the Native Tribes, and their 
 INTERCOURSE WITH EUROPEANS. Bv BRODIE CRUICKSHANK, Member 
 OF THE Legislative Council, Cape Coast Castle. 2 vols, post 8vo. 21s. 
 
 "This is one of the most interesting works that ever yet came into our hands. It 
 possesses the charm of introducing us to habits and manners of the human family of which 
 before we had no conception. Mrs. Beecher Stowe's work has, indeed, made us all familiar 
 with the degree of intelligence and the disposition of the transplanted African ; but it has 
 been reserved to Mr. Cruickshank to exhibit the children of Ham in their original state, and 
 to prove, as his work proves to demonstration, that, by the extension of a knowledge of the 
 Gospel, and by that only can the African be brought within the pale of civilization. We 
 anxiously desire to direct public attention to a work so valuable. An incidental episode ia 
 the work is an afi"ecting narrative of the death of the gifted Letitia Elizabeth Landon (L. E. L.) 
 written a few months after her marriage with Governor Maclean." — Standard. 
 
 THE HOLY PLACES: A NARRATIVE OF TWO 
 
 YEARS' RESIDENCE IN JERUSALEM AND PALESTINE. By 
 HANMER L. DUPUIS. With Notes on the Dispersed Canaanite 
 Tribes, by JOSEPH DUPUIS, late British Vice-Consul in Tripoli and 
 Tunis. 2 vols, with Illustrations, 21s. bound. 
 
 "This book contains excellent matter, and as it takes the Holy Places in succession 
 giving of each a pretty full account from personal acquaintance with them, and the history 
 attached to them, is of a kind to be welcomed not only by the exclusively religious, but the 
 more miscellaneous class of readers in this country. There is in the second volume a good 
 deal of interesting information on the Tribes." — Examiner. 
 
 EIGHT YEARS IN PALESTINE, SYRIA, AND ASIA 
 
 MINOR. By F. A. NEALE, Esq,., Late Attached to the Consular 
 Service in Syria. Second Edition, 2 vols, with Illustrations, 12s. 
 
 KHARTOUM AND THE NILES. BY GEORGE MELLY, 
 
 Esa. Second Edition. 2 vols, with Maps and Illustrations, 12s. bound. 
 
 TRAVELS IN BOLIVIA; WITH A TOUR ACROSS 
 
 THE PAMPAS TO BUENOS AYRES. BY L. HUGH DE BONNELI,of 
 Her Britannic Majesty's Legation. 2 vols, post 8vo. 12^. bound. 
 
18 
 
 BULE AND MISRULE OF THE ENGLISH IN 
 
 AMERICA. By the Author of "SAM SLICK." 2 vols, post 8vo. 21s. 
 ** We conceive this worlc to be by far the most valuable and important Judge Haliburton 
 has ever written. While teeming with interest, moral and historical, to the general reader, 
 It equally constitutes a philosophical study for the politiciar\and statesman. It will be found 
 to let In a flood of light upon the actiial origin, formation, and progress of the republic of 
 the United States." — Naval and Military Gazette, 
 
 SAM SLICK'S NATURE AND HUMAN NATURE 
 
 2 vols, post 8vo. 24s. bound. 
 
 " Since Sam Slick's first work he has written nothing so fresh, racy, and genuinely 
 humorous as this. Every line of it tells some way or other ; instructively, satirically, 
 jocosely, or wittily. Admiration at Sam's mature talents, and laughter at his droll yarns, 
 constantly alternate, as with unhalting avidity we peruse these last volumes of his. They 
 consist of 25 Chapters, each containing a tale, a sketch, or an adventure. In every one of 
 them, the Clockmaker proves himself the fastest time killer a-going." — Observer. 
 
 SAM SLICK'S WISE SAWS AND MODERN 
 
 INSTANCES ; or, What he Said, Did, or Invented. Second Edition. 
 2 vols, post 8vo. 21s. 
 
 *• We do not fear to predict that these delightful volumes will be the most popular, as 
 beyond doubt, they are the best, of all Judge Haliburton's admirable works. The ' Wise 
 Saws and Modern Instances' evince powers of imagination and expression far beyond what 
 even his former publications could lead any one to ascribe to the author. We have, it is true 
 long been familiar with his quaint humour and racy narrative, but the volumes before us 
 take a loftier range, and are so rich in fun and good sense, that to offer an extract as a 
 sample would be an injustice to author and reader. It is one of the pleasantest books we 
 ever read, and we earnestly recommend it." — Standard. 
 
 " The humour of Sam Slick is inexhaustible. He is ever and everywhere a welcome 
 visitor ; smiles greet his approach, and wit and wisdom hang upon his tongue. The present 
 is altogether a most edifying production, remarkable alike for its racy humour, its sound 
 philosophy, the felicity of its illustrations, and the delicacy of its satire. We promise our 
 readers a great treat from the perusal of these ' Wise Saws and Modern Instances,' which 
 contain a world of practical wisdom, and a treasury of the richest fun." — Morning Post. 
 
 THE AMERICANS AT HOME; OR, BYEWAYS 
 
 BACKWOODS, AND PRAIRIES. Edited by the Author of "SAM 
 SLICK." 3 vols, post Svo. 31s. 6d. 
 " In the picturesque delineation of character, and the felicitous portraiture of national 
 features, no writer of the present day equals Judge Haliburton. ' The Americans at Home ' 
 will not be less popular than any of his previous works." — Post, 
 
 TRAITS OF AMERICAN HUMOUR. EDITED BY 
 
 the Author of "SAM SLICK." 3 vols, post Svo. 31s. 6d. 
 
 " No man has done more than the facetious Judge Haliburton, through the mouth of 
 the inimitable ' Sam,' to make the old parent country recognize and appreciate her queer 
 transatlantic progeny. His present collection of comic stories and laughable traits is a 
 budget of fun full of rich specimens of American humour." — Globe. 
 
HURST AND BLACKETT's NEW PUBLICATIONS. 19 
 
 THE DRAMATIC WORKS OF MARY RUSSELL 
 
 MITFORD. Author of " Our Village," " Atherton," &c. 2 vols, post 8vo. 
 with Portrait of the Author and other Illustrations. 21s. 
 
 " We recommend Miss Mitford's dramas heartily to all by whom they are unknown. A 
 more graceful addition could not be made to any collection of dramatic works." — Blackwood. 
 
 " Miss Mitford has collected into one chaplet the laurels gathered in her prime of author- 
 ship, and she has given it to the world with a graceful and loving letter of reminiscence and 
 benediction. Laid by the side of the volume of dramatic works of Joanna Baillie, these 
 volumes suffer no disparagement. This is high praise, and it is well deserved."— i4^/<en««7». 
 
 " Miss Mitford's plays and dramatic scenes form very delightful reading." — Examiner. 
 
 ** The high reputation which IMiss Mitford has acquired as a dramatist will insure a 
 hearty welcome to this collected edition of her dramatic works."— Jo/jn Bull. 
 
 THE MONARCHS OF THE MAIN; OR, ADVEN- 
 
 TURES OF THE BUCCANEERS. By GEORGE W. THORNBURY, 
 Esa. 3 vols, post 8vo. 15s. bound. 
 
 " An unwritten page of the world's history is not to be met with every day. The author 
 of these volumes has discovered one, and has supplied the deficiency. The deeds of alter- 
 nate violence and heroism of the wild adventurers, who soon after the discovery of America, 
 started forth in search of plunder, and sometimes of territorial conquest— now sweeping the 
 main with their piratical vessels — now surprising and sacking some rich and flourishing 
 town — now fortifying themselves in some strong island-hold, where they could bid defiance 
 to a world in arms against them — form the subject of a narrative rich in variety of incident, 
 and replete with striking exhibitions of life and character. To the lover of maritime ad- 
 venture, these pages offer a fund of infinite amusement, doubly attractive from the novelty 
 of the theme."— JoAra Bull. 
 
 DARIEN; OR, THE MERCHANT PRINCE. BY ELIOT 
 
 WARBURTON. Second Edition. 3 vols, post 8vo. 
 
 "The scheme for the colonization of Darien by Scotchmen, and the opening of a com- 
 munication between the East and West across the Isthmus of Panama, furnishes the founda- 
 tion of this story, which is in all respects worthy of the high reputation which the author of 
 the ' Crescent and the Cross' had already made for himself. The early history of the ' Merchant 
 Prince' introduces the reader to the condition of Spain under the Inquisition j the portraitures 
 of Scottish life which occupy a prominent place in the narrative, are full of spirit ; the scenes 
 in America exhibit the state of the natives of the New World at that period ; the daring deeds 
 of the Buccaneers supply a most romantic element in the story ; and an additional interest 
 is infused into it by the introduction of the various celebrated characters of the period, such 
 as Law, the French financier, and Paterson, the founder of the Bank of England. All these 
 varied ingredients are treated with that brilliancy of style and powerful descriptive talent, by 
 which the pen of Eliot Warburton was so eminently distinguished." — John Bull. 
 
 PEN AND PENCIL PICTURES. BY THOMAS 
 
 HOOD. 1 vol. with numerous Illustrations, by the Author, 10s. 6d. bound. 
 
 THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF A MISSIONARY. BY 
 
 THE REV. J. P. FLETCHER. 2 vols, post 8vo. 12s. 
 
 THE ANSYREEH AND ISMAELEEH : A VISIT TO 
 
 THE SECRET SECTS OF NORTHERN SYRIA. BY THE REV. S. 
 LYDE, M.A., Late Chaplain AT Beyrout. 1vol. 6s. bound. 
 
20 HURST AND BLACKETT's NEW PUBLICATIONS. 
 
 FAMILY ROMANCE; OR, DOMESTIC ANNALS OF 
 
 THE ARISTOCRACY. BY SIR BERNARD BURKE, Ulster King of 
 Arms. 2 vols, post 8vo. 21s. 
 
 Among the many other interesting legends and romantic family histories com- 
 prised in these volumes, will be found the following ; — The wonderful narrative 
 of Maria Stella, Lady Newborough, who claimed on such strong evidence to be 
 a Princess of the House of Orleans, and disputed the identity of Louis Philippe — 
 The story of the humble marriage of the beautiful Countess of Strathmore, and 
 the sufferings and fate of her only child — The Leaders of Fashion, from Gramont 
 to D'Orsay — The rise of the celebrated Baron Ward, now Prime Minister at 
 Parma — The curious claim to the Earldom of Crawford — The Strange Vicissitudes 
 of our Great Families, replete with the most romantic details — The story of the 
 Kirkpatricks of Closeljurn (the ancestors of the French Empress), and the re- 
 markable tradition associated with them — The Legend of the Lambtons — The 
 verification in our own time of the famous prediction as to the Earls of Mar — 
 Lady Ogilvy's escape — The Beresford and Wynyard ghost stories correctly told — 
 &c. &c. 
 
 "It were impossible to praise too highly as a work of amusement these two most in- 
 teresting volumes, whether we should have regard to its excellent plan or its not less ex- 
 cellent execution. The volumes are just what ought to be found on every drawing-room table. 
 Here you have nearly fifty captivating romances with the pith of all their Interest preserved 
 in undiminished poignancy, and any one may be read in half an hour. It is not the least of 
 their merits that the romances are founded on fact — or what, at least, has been handed down 
 for truth by long tradition — and the romance of reality far exceeds the romance of fiction. 
 Each story is told in the clear, unaffected style with which the author's former works 
 have made the public familiar, while they afford evidence of the value, even to a work of 
 amusement, of that historical and genealogical learning that may justly be expected of the 
 author of * The Peerage.' " — Standard. 
 
 " The very reading for sea-side or fire-side in our hours of idleness." — Athenmum. 
 
 THE ROMANCE OF THE FORUM; OR, NARRA- 
 TIVES, SCENES, AND ANECDOTES FROM COURTS OF JUSTICE. 
 SECOND SERIES. BY PETER BURKE, Esa., of the Inner Temple, 
 Barrister-at-Law. 2 vols, post 8vo. 21s. 
 
 PRINCIPAL CONTENTS :■— Lord Crichton's Revenge— The Great Douglas 
 Cause — Lord and Lady Kinnaird — Marie Delorme and Her Husband — The 
 Spectral Treasure — Murders in Inns of Court — Matthieson the Forger — Trials 
 that estabUshed the Illegality of Slavery — The Lover Highwayman — The 
 Accusing Spirit — The Attorney- General of the Reign of Terror — Eccentric 
 Occurrences in the Law — Adventuresses of Pretended Rank — The Courier of 
 Lyons — General Sarrazin's Bigamy — The Elstree Murder — Count Bocarme and 
 his wife — Professor Webster, &c. 
 
 '* We have no hesitation in recommending this, as one of the most interesting works 
 that have been lately given to the public." — Morning Chronicle. 
 
 " The favour with which the first series of this publication was received, has induced 
 Mr. Burke to extend his researches, which he has done with great judgment. The incidents 
 forming the subject of the second series are as extraordinary in every respect, as those which 
 obtained so high a meed of celebrity for the first. Some of the tales could scarcely be believed 
 to be founded in fact, or to be records of events that have startled the world, were there not 
 the incontestable evidence which Mr. Burke has established to prove that they have 
 actually happened."— Messenger. 
 
WORKS OF FICTION. 
 
 21 
 
 BY MRS. 
 
 FASHIONABLE LIFE ; 
 
 Or, PARIS AND LONDON. 3 vols. 
 
 " A very amusing novel." — Standard. 
 
 "The book has among its merits the 
 invaluable one of being thoroughly read- 
 able." — Examiner. 
 
 "These volumes abound with graphic 
 pictures of society." — U. S. Mag. 
 
 GERTRUDE; 
 
 Or, family pride. 3 vols. 
 
 " A wonderfully interesting and original 
 novel." — Herald, 
 
 " The publication of this work will add 
 to Mrs. Trollope's high reputation as a 
 novelist," — Post. 
 
 TROLLOPE. 
 
 LIFE AND ADVENTURES 
 OF A CLEVER WOMAN. 
 
 3 vols. 
 
 " The ' Clever Woman ♦ is of the same 
 class with the ' Vicar of Wrexhill,' and 
 • Widow Barnaby.* No person can fail to 
 be amused by it." — Critic. 
 
 UNCLE WALTER. 
 
 3 vols. 
 "An exceedingly entertaining novel. 
 It assures Mrs. Trollope more than ever 
 ill her position as one of the ablest fic- 
 tion writers of the day."— fos^. 
 
 BY MRS. GORE 
 
 A LIFE'S LESSONS. 
 
 3 vols. 
 •' ' A Life's Lessons ' is not exclusively 
 a tale of fashionable life. The romantic 
 element predominates in it, and in the 
 first volume especially we have sketches of 
 secluded village life and wild scenery 
 which Miss Bronte might have penned. 
 The spirit of the tale is admirable. Mrs. 
 Gore writes more like a woman who knows 
 the world, than a woman of the world. 
 Her literary talents, which are conside- 
 rable, and her social experience, which is 
 wide, are here combined to produce a 
 pleasing fiction, suitable to the taste of the 
 whole world of novel readers." — The 
 Press. 
 
 MAMMON ; OR, THE HARD- 
 SHIPS OF AN HEIRESS. 
 
 3 vols, 
 
 " Mrs. Gore has not produced a more 
 clever, sparkling and amusing novel than 
 * Mammon.' " — Critic, 
 
 PROGRESS & PREJUDICE. 
 
 3 vols, 
 
 " This entertaining and clever novel 
 is not to be analysed, but to be praised, 
 and that emphatically."— £;.raTOiner. 
 
 BY THE AUTHOR OF MARGARET MAITLAND. 
 
 LILLIESLEAF. 
 
 Being the Concluding Series op 
 "Passages in the Like of Mrs. Mar- 
 garet Maitland." 
 
 Cheaper Edition, 1 vol. 6s. 
 
 "The concluding series of passages in 
 the ' Life of Mrs. Margaret Maitland' is, 
 to our thinking, superior to the begin- 
 ning ; and this we take to be about the 
 most satisfactory compliment we can pay 
 the authoress. There is a vein of simple 
 good sense and pious feeling running 
 throughout, for which no reader can fail 
 to be the better."— AthencBum. 
 
 •*• Lilliesleaf ' is a sequel to the charm- 
 ing ' Passages in the Life of Mrs. Margaret 
 Maitland,' told also by herself in her own 
 quaint way, and full of the same touching 
 grace which won the hearts of so many 
 people, young and old. It is to be said 
 but rarely of a sequel that it possesses so 
 mnch beauty, and so much sus'ained 
 interest, as the tale of '* Lilliesleaf,"— 
 Examiner' 
 
 MAGDALEN HEPBURN; 
 
 a story of the SCOTTISH REFORMATION. 
 
 3 vols. 
 
 " ' Magdalen Hepburn will sustain the 
 reputation which the author of ' Margaret 
 Maitland' has acquired. It is a well 
 prepared and carefully executed picture 
 of the society and state of manners in 
 Scotland at the dawn of the Reforma- 
 tion," — Atheneeum. 
 
 HARRY MUIR. 
 
 Second Edition. 3 vols. 
 " We prefer • Harry Muir ' to most of 
 the Scottish novels that have appeared 
 since Gait's domestic stories," — Athe- 
 neeum. 
 
 ADAM GRAEME, 
 
 OF MOSSGRAY. 3 vols. 
 
 "A story awakening genuine emotions 
 of interest and delight by its admirable 
 pictures of Scottish life and scenery." — 
 Post. 
 
22 
 
 WORKS OF FICTION. 
 
 ROSA GREY. 
 
 By the Author of "Anne Dysart. 3 v. 
 
 ISABEL; 
 
 THE YOUNG WIFE, AND THE OLD 
 
 LOVE. 
 
 By J C. Jbaffreson, Author of " Crbwk 
 
 Risk." 3 vols. 
 
 WILDFLOWER. 
 
 By the Author of "The House of El- 
 AiORE." 3 vols. 
 
 THE GENERAL'S 
 DAUGHTER. 
 
 By Capt. Knight. 3 vols. 
 
 EDGAR BARDON. 
 
 By W. Knighton, M.A. 3 vols. 
 
 " The story of ' Edgar Bardon' is in every 
 way worthy of the author's reputation. It 
 is a remarkable performance, distin- 
 guished for beauty and freshness of style, 
 originality of conception and skilful con- 
 Btruction. It is full of exciting incidents, 
 romantic situations, and graphic descrip- 
 tions." — Post. 
 
 MR. ARLE. 
 
 2 vols. 
 
 '• ' Mr. Arle ' is a work of a very high 
 order, and we are offering it no light 
 tribute when we say that, in style and 
 conception, it reminds us of the writings 
 of Mrs. Gaskell."— Jo;i7i Bull. 
 
 "The book is much above the general 
 run of novels in thought and freshness." — 
 S2}ectator. 
 
 MARGARET 
 AND HER BRIDESMAIDS. 
 
 By the Author of " Woman's Dbvotion." 
 
 3 vols. 
 
 •• We recommend all who are in search 
 of a fascinating novel to read this work. 
 There are a freshness and an originality 
 about it quite charming, and there is a 
 certain nobleness in the treatment, both 
 of sentiment and incident, which is not 
 often found." — Athenceum, 
 
 HORATIO HOWARD 
 ; BRENTON. 
 
 By Capt. Sir E. Belcher, R.N., C.B. 3 v. 
 •' A naval novel of the most genuine and 
 natural kind. It bears throughout the 
 stamp of real life and actual character, 
 while the incidents with which it deals 
 are sufficiently interesting and exciting to 
 satisfy the demands of the most ennuyie 
 no^'el reader." — Chronicle. 
 
 JOHN HALIFAX, 
 GENTLEMAN. 
 
 By the Author of "The Head of the 
 Family." 3 vols. 
 
 "This is a very good and a very inte- 
 resting novel. It is designed to trace the 
 career from boyhood to age of a perfect 
 man — a Christian gentleman, and It 
 abounds in incident both well and highly 
 wrought. Throughout it is conceived in 
 high spirit, and written with great ability, 
 better than any former work, we think, of 
 its deservedly successful author." — Ex- 
 aminer. 
 
 THE YOUNG LORD. 
 
 By the Author of " The Discxphnb of 
 Life," &c. 2 vols. 
 
 " This new novel by Lady Emily Pon- 
 sonby is interesting as a story, and still 
 more to be commended for the profitable 
 lessons it inculcates." — Lit. Gaz. 
 
 EVELYN MARSTON. 
 
 By the Author of " Emilia Wyndham." 
 
 3 vols. 
 " The author has made in ' Evelyn 
 Marston ' a considerable advance over her 
 later fictions. She has chosen a new field 
 for the subject of her tale, and conceived 
 her principal actors with her pristine 
 skill, as well as executed them with her 
 pristine finish."— Spectator. 
 
 ARTHUR BRANDON. 
 
 2 vols. 
 
 " ' Arthur Brandon ' abounds in free, 
 vigorous sketches, both of life and scenery, 
 which are dashed off with a freshness and 
 vitality which the reader will feel to be 
 charming. The pictures of Rome and of 
 artist-life in Rome are especially good."^ 
 AtheucEum. 
 
 " This novel has merits of a very high 
 order. We bear willing testimony to its 
 fine wit and fervid fancy. The adventures 
 are narrated with spirit, and the interest 
 of the story is cleverly sustained through- 
 out."— Pos^. 
 
 OUT ON THE WORLD. 
 
 By Henry Owgan, L.L.D. 8 vols. 
 
 " The interest of the novel is kept up, 
 from beginning to end, without the 
 slightest intermission." — Post. 
 
 " The thoughts and observations of Dr. 
 Owgan's 'Out on the World,' are of a 
 fresh and racy kind, and very diflFerent 
 from the generality of novels."— Spec^ato?. 
 
 EUSTACE CONYERS. 
 
 By James Hannay, Esq. 3 vols. 
 " Mr. Hannay's ablest, wisest, and 
 maturest work." — Athenceum. 
 
WORKS OF FICTION. 
 
 23 
 
 RACHEL GRAY. 
 
 By Julia Kavanagh, 
 Autlior of "Nathalie," &c. 1vol. 
 
 '* Rachel Gray is a charming and touch- 
 ing story, narrated with grace and skill. 
 No one can read the story and not feel 
 a good influence from it. The characters 
 are vigorously sketched, and have a life- 
 like reality about them. We heartily re- 
 commend this story, and shall rejoice 
 when Miss Kavanagh will give ua an- 
 other equally good." — AthencBum. 
 
 LADY WILLOUGHBY; 
 
 Ob, the double MARRIAGE. 
 By Mrs. La Touchb. 3 vols. 
 
 "An exceedingly brilliant novel. Full 
 of interest." — Chronicle. 
 
 THE HOUSE OP ELMORE; 
 
 A FAMILY HISTORY. 3 VOlS. 
 
 •*A splendid production. The story, 
 conceived with great skill, is worked out 
 in a succession of powerful portraitures, 
 and of soul-stirring scenes." — John Bull. 
 
 MILLICENT; 
 
 Or, THE TRIALS OF LIFE. 
 
 By the Author of "The Curatk ov 
 
 Overton." 3 vols. 
 
 "This novel is one of the most beauti- 
 fully-written and powerfully-conceived 
 works that has ever come under our no- 
 tice."— HemW. 
 
 PERCY BLAKE; 
 
 Or, the young RIFLEMAN. 
 By Capt. Rafter. 3 vols. 
 " A capital novel, of the ' Charles 
 O'Malley ' school, full of dashing adven- 
 ture, with scenes of real history cleverly 
 introduced in the narrative." — Lit. Gax. 
 
 MODERN SOCIETY 
 IN ROME. 
 
 By J. R. Beste, Esq. 2nd Edition, 3 v. 
 " This work is singularly interesting. It 
 contains striking narratives of most of the 
 principal events that occurred from the 
 accession of Pio Nono to the occupation 
 of Rome by the French, with spirited and 
 truthful sketches of the leading characters 
 who took part in the politics of that metno> 
 rable period."— Li*. Gaz. 
 
 THE LADY OF FASHION. 
 
 By the Author of 
 "The History of a Flirt," &c. 3 vols. 
 "A striking picture of social existence. 
 The story has the merit of originality, and 
 talent has stamped it with an undeniable 
 impress. The field chosen is not a new 
 one, but the vigorous descriptions, the 
 brilliant touches, and the life-like por- 
 traits impart lustre to its pages."— S«». 
 
 THE SORROWS OF 
 GENTILITY. 
 
 By Miss Jbwsbury. 2 vols. 
 
 "A remarkably good novel." — Examiner. 
 
 " In a tale extremely simple in idea and 
 perfectly natural in execution, Miss Jews- 
 bury has contrived to exhibit a choice 
 moral with her accustomed grace and 
 power. We advise our readers to send for 
 * The Sorrows of Gentility." — Atherueum. 
 
 OUR OWN STORY. 
 
 By Selina Bunbury. 
 Author of " Life in Sweden." 3 vols. 
 
 "A work of unquestionable genius. Tlie 
 story is full of interest." — Chronicle. 
 
 "An exceedingly instructive and im- 
 proving book." — John Bull. 
 
 CONSTANCE HERBERT. 
 
 By Miss Jewsbury. 3 v. 
 
 "A powerful, highly interesting narra- 
 tive." — Times, 
 
 " ' Constance Herbert" is a poem in its 
 beauty and its lofty purpose; a romance 
 in its variety and fascination. The tale 
 as a tale, is deeply interesting, full of 
 quiet pathos, and a calm and beautiful 
 morality. It will be read with rare plea- 
 sure and remembered with healthful inte- 
 rest." — Atheneeum. 
 
 VEILED HEARTS. 
 
 By the Author of " The Wife's Trials." 
 3 vols. 
 
 " ' Veiled Hearts ' will be widely read 
 and immensely admire^."— Sunday Times. 
 
 THE NEXT DOOR 
 NEIGHBOURS. 
 
 By Mrs. Gascoionb. Author of " Temp- 
 tation, &c. 3 vols. 
 
 " The author has successfully por- 
 trayed the manners of the day in one of 
 the best novels that have lately appeared." 
 —Herald. 
 
 DIANA WYNYARD. 
 
 By the Author of "Alice WexVtworth." 
 3 vols. 
 
 " A powerfully-written tale, from which 
 useful lessons in life may be drawn." — 
 Lit, Gaz. 
 
 THE YOUNG HUSBAND. 
 
 By Mrs. Grey. Author of "The Gam- 
 bler's Wife," &c. 3 vols. 
 
 " In this fascinating novel Mrs. Grey 
 has surpassed her former productions, 
 talented and powerful as they were." — 
 John Bull. 
 
THE ARMY AND THE NAVY. 
 
 COLBURN'S UNITED SERVICE MAGAZINE, AND 
 
 NAVAL AND MILITARY JOURNAL. Published on the first of every 
 month, price 3s. 6d. 
 
 This popular periodical, which has now been established a quarter of a century, 
 embraces subjects of such extensive variety and powerful interest as must render 
 it scarcely less acceptable to readers in general than to the members of those pro- 
 fessions for whose use it is more particularly intended. Independently of a suc- 
 cession of Original Papers on innumerable interesting subjects. Personal Nar- 
 ratives, Historical Incidents, Correspondence, etc., each number comprises 
 Biographical Memoirs of Eminent Officers of all branches of service. Reviews of 
 New Publications, either immediately relating to the Army or Navy, or involving 
 subjects of utility or interest to the members of either, full Reports of Trials 
 by Courts Martial, Distribution of the Army and Navy, General Orders, Circulars, 
 Promotions, Appointments, Births, Marriages, Obituary, etc., with all the Naval 
 and Military Intelligence of the mouth. 
 
 OPINIONS OF THE PRESS. 
 
 "Th!a is confessedly one of the ablest and most attractive periodicals of which the 
 British press can boast, presenting a wide field of entertainment to the general as well as 
 professional reader. The suggestions for the benefit of the two services are distinguished 
 by vigour of sense, acute and practical observation, an ardent love of discipline, tempered by 
 a high sense of justice, honour, and a tender regard for the welfare and comfort of our soldiers 
 and seamen." — Globe. 
 
 " At the head of those periodicals which furnish useful and valuable information to 
 their peculiar classes of readers, as well as amusement to the general body of the public, 
 must be placed the ' United Service Magazine, and Naval and Mili^nry Journal.' It numbers 
 among its contributors almost all those gallant spirits who have done no less honour 
 to their country by their swords than by their pens, and abounds with the most interesting 
 discussions on naval and military affairs, and stirring narratives of deeds of arms in all 
 parts of the world. Every information of value and interest to both the Services is culled 
 with tile greatest diligence from every available source, and the correspondence of various 
 distinguished ofiScers which enrich its pages is a feature of great attraction. In short, the 
 ' United Service Magazine' can be recommended to every reader who possesses that attach- 
 ment to his country which should make him look with the deepeai. interest on its naval and 
 military resources." — Sun. 
 
 " This truly national periodicalis always full of the most valuable matter for professional 
 men*'— Morning Herald. 
 
 *' To military and naval men, and to that class of readers who hover on the skirts of the 
 Service, and take a world of pains to inform themselves of all the goings on, the modes and 
 fashions, the movements and adventures connected with ships and barracks, this periodical 
 is indispensable. It is a repertory of facts and criticisms — narratives of past experience, and 
 fictions that are as good as if they were true — tables and returns — new inventions and new 
 books bearing upon the army and navy — correspondence crowded with intelligence— and 
 sundry unclaimed matters that lie in close neighbourhood with the professions, and contribute 
 more or less to the stock of general useful information." — Atlas. 
 
 HURST AND BLACKETT, PUBLISHERS, 
 
 SUCCESSORS TO HENRY COLBURN, 
 
 13, GREAT MARLBOROUGH STREET. 
 
13, Great Mablbobough Street, London. 
 
 STMDARD WORKS 
 
 PUBLISHED BY 
 
 MESSRS. HURST AND BLACKETT, 
 
 SUCCESSORS TO HENRY COLBURN. 
 
STANDAED WORKS. 
 
 Now ready, the Second Part of a New and Revised Edition of the 
 
 HISTORY OF THE LANDED GENTRY, 
 ^ €Erenealogtcal Bicttonarg 
 
 OF THE WHOLE OF THE UNTITLED ARISTOCRACY 
 OF ENGLAND, SCOTLAND, AND IRELAND. 
 
 Comprising Particulars of 100,000 Individuals connected with them. 
 
 By SIR BERNARD BURKE, 
 
 Saister IKing of 'arms. 
 
 A new and thoroughly-revised Edition, to he completed ahout Easter, 
 1857, in a single volume, uniform with the Peerage and Baronetage 
 (divided into Four Parts, The Second of which is now ready, price 
 10s. 6d.). 
 
 N.B. — Communications and Corrections intended for this Work are 
 requested to be addressed as soon as possible to Sir B. Burke, care of 
 the publishers, 13, Great Marlborough Street, London. 
 
 The Landed Grentry of England are so closely connected with the 
 stirring records of its eventful history, that some acquaintance with 
 them is a matter of necessity with the legislator, the lawyer, the his- 
 torical student, the speculator in politics, and the curious in topogra- 
 phical and antiquarian lore ; and even the very spirit of ordinary 
 curiosity will prompt to a desire to trace the origin and progress of 
 those families whose influence pervades the towns and villages of our 
 land. This work furnishes such a mass of authentic information, in 
 regard to all the principal families in the kingdom, as has never before 
 been attempted to be brought together. It relates to the untitled 
 families of rank, as the " Peerage and Baronetage" does to the titled, 
 and forms, in fact, a peerage of the untitled aristocracy. It embraces 
 the whole of the landed interest, and is indispensable to the library of 
 every gentleman. 
 
 " A work of this kind is of a national value. Its utility is not merely tempo- 
 rary, but it will exist and be acknowledged as long as the families whose names 
 and genealogies are recorded in it continue to form an integral portion of the 
 English constitution. As a correct record of descent, no family should be without 
 it. The untitled aristocracy have in this great work as perfect a dictionary of 
 their genealogical history, family connexions, and heraldic rights, as the peerage 
 and baronetage. It will be an enduring and trustworthy record." — Morning Post. 
 
 " A work in which every gentleman will find a domestic interest, as it contains 
 the fullest account of every known family in the United Kingdom. It is a dic- 
 tionary of all names, families, and their origin, — of every man's neighbour and 
 friend, if not of his own relatives and immediate connexions. It cannot fail to be 
 of the greatest utility to professional men in their researches respecting the mem- 
 bers of different families, heirs to property, &c. Indeed, it will become as : 
 sary as a Directory in every office." — BeWs Messenger. 
 
STANDARD WORKS 
 
 THE PEERAGE AND BARONETAGE 
 
 OP THE BEITISH EMPIEE EOE 1857. 
 BY SIR BERNARD BURKE, 
 
 ULSTEE KING OF ARMS. 
 
 NEW EDITION, REVISED AND CORRECTED FROM THE 
 PERSONAL COMMUNICATIONS OF THE NOBILITY, &c. 
 
 With 1500 Engravings of ARMS. In 1 vol. (comprising as much matter 
 as twenty ordinary volumes), 38s. bound. 
 
 The following is a List of the Principal Contents of this Standard Work: — 
 
 I. A full and interesting history of 
 each order of the English Nobility, 
 showing its origin, rise, titles, immu- 
 nitita, privileges, &c. 
 
 II. A complete Memoir of the Queen 
 and Koyal Family, forming a brief 
 genealogical History of the Sovereign of 
 this country, and deducing the descent 
 of the Plantagenets, Tudors, Stuarts, 
 and Guelplis, through their various 
 ramifications. To this section is ap- 
 pended a list of those Peers and others 
 who inherit the distinguished honour 
 of Quartering the Royal Arms of 
 Plantagenet. 
 
 III. An Authentic table of Precedence. 
 
 IV. A perfect History of All the 
 Peers and Baronets, with the 
 fullest details of their ancestors and 
 descendants, and particulars respecting 
 every collateral member of each family, 
 and all intermarriages, &c. 
 
 V. The Spiritual Lords. 
 
 VI. Foreign Noblemen, subjects by 
 birth of the British Crown. 
 
 VII. Extinct Peerages, of which 
 descendants still exist. 
 
 Vni. Peerages claimed. 
 
 IX. Surnames of Peers and Peeresses, 
 with Heirs Apparent and Presumptive. 
 
 X. Courtesy titles of Eldest Sons. 
 XL Peerages of the Three Kingdoms 
 
 in order of Precedence. 
 
 XIL Baronets in order of Precedence. 
 
 XI I L Privy Councillors of England 
 and Ireland. 
 
 XIV. Daughters of Peers married to 
 Commoners. 
 
 XV. All the Orders of Knight- 
 hood, with every Knight and all the 
 Knights Bachelors. 
 
 XVI. Mottoes translated, with poeti- 
 cal illustrations. 
 
 " The most complete, the most convenient, and the cheapest work of the kind 
 ever given to the public." — Sun. 
 
 " The best genealogical and heraldic dictionary of the Peerage and Baronetage, 
 and the first authority on all questions aflfecting the aristocracy." — Globe. 
 
 " For the amazing quantity of personal and family history, admirable arrange- 
 ment of details, and accuracy of information, this genealogical and heraldic 
 dictionary is without a rival. It is now the standard and acknowledged book of 
 reference upon all questions touching pedigree, and direct or collateral affinity 
 with the titled aristocracy. The lineage of each distinguished house is deduced 
 through all the various ramifications. Every collateral branch, however remotely 
 connected, is introduced ; and the alliances are so carefully inserted, as to show, 
 in all instances, the connexion which so intimately exists between the titled and 
 untitled aristocracy. We have also much most entertaining historical matter, 
 and many very curious and interesting family traditions. The work is, in fact, a 
 complete cyclopaedia of the whole titled classes of the empire, supplying all the 
 information that can possibly be desired on the subject." — Morning Post. 
 
PUBLISHED BY HURST AND BLACKETT. 5 
 
 MEMOIRS OF THE RIGHT HONOURABLE 
 
 RICHARD LALOR SHEIL; 
 
 WITH EXTRACTS FROM HIS SPEECHES, LETTERS, AND 
 CONVERSATIONS, &c. 
 
 By TORRENS M'CULLAGH, Esq. 
 
 2 vols, post 8vo. 
 
 " We feel assured that Mr. M'Cullagh's work -will be received with general 
 satisfaction." — Literary Gazette. 
 
 " Such a man as Shell eminently deserved a biography, and Mr. M'CuUagh 
 has, we think, proved himself an exceedingly proper person to undertake it. 
 His narrative is lucid and pleasant, sound and hearty in sentiment, and sen- 
 sible in dissertation ; altogether we may emphatically call this an excellent 
 biography." — Daily News. 
 
 " In these memoirs ample justice is done to one of Ireland's most brilliant 
 worthies, by which it is shown that Richard Lalor Shell will ever hold a rela- 
 tive position with such men as Burke and Curran, Sheridan and Moore. The 
 volumes will delight the student and charm the general reader." — Messenger. 
 
 MR. SHEIL'S 
 
 LEGAL AND POLITICAL SKETCHES. 
 
 2 vols, post 8vo, 21s. 
 
 " We can cordially recommend these Sketches as interesting in matter and 
 brilliant in composition. Their literary merit is very great. The revelations 
 of the Jesuits are very remarkable. The sketches of the Irish Bar paint the 
 characters of the leading persons in Irish politics with graphic felicity — 
 Athenceum. 
 
 " Of the great power and brilliancy of these papers there can be no second 
 opinion. In the British senate, as in his own native land, the name of Richard 
 Lalor Shell will be long remembered in connexion with eloquence and learning 
 and with genius. In these volumes he has left a memorial of all the gems of 
 his rich and varied intellect — every phase and line of his versatile and prohfic 
 mind." — Dublin University Magazine. 
 
 " These volumes contain more matter of high and enduring interest to all 
 classes of readers than any publication of equal extent professing to illustrate 
 the social and literary position, or treat of the domestic manners of the 
 country." — Dublin Mail. 
 
6 STANDAKD WORKS 
 
 CHEAP EDITION OF MISS BURNEY'S DIARY. 
 
 In Seven Volumes, small Bvo, Embellished with Portraits, 
 Price only ds. each, elegantly hound, any of which may he had separately, 
 
 DIARY AND LETTERS 
 
 OF 
 
 MADAME D'ARBLAY, 
 
 AUTHOR OF "EVELINA." "CECILIA," &c. 
 
 INCLUDINQ THE PERIOD OF 
 
 HER RESIDENCE AT THE COURT OF QUEEN CHARLOTTE. 
 
 OPINIONS OF THE PRESS. 
 
 EDINBURGH REVIEW. 
 
 "Madame D'Arblay lived to be a classic. Time set on her fame, before 
 she went hence, that seal which is seldom set except on the fame of the de- 
 parted. All those whom we have been accustomed to revere as intellectual 
 patriarchs seemed children when compared with her ; for Burke had sat up 
 all night to read her writings, and Johnson had pronounced her superior to 
 Fielding, when Rogers was stillj^a schoolboy, and Southey still in petticoats. 
 Her Diary is written in her earliest and best manner ; in true woman's Eng- 
 lish, clear, natural, and lively. It ought to be consulted by every person who 
 wishes to be well acquainted with the history of our literature and our 
 manners." 
 
 TIMES. 
 
 " Miss Bumey's work ought to be placed beside Boswell's ' Life,' to which 
 it forms an excellent supplement." 
 
 LITERARY GAZETTE. 
 
 " This publication will take its place in the libraries beside Walpole and 
 Boswell." 
 
 MESSENGER, 
 
 "This work may be considered a kind of supplement to Boswell's Life of 
 Johnson, It is a beautiful picture of society as it existed in manners, taste, 
 and literature, in the reign of George the Third, drawn by a pencil as vivid 
 and brilliant as that of any of the celebrated persons who composed the circle." 
 
 " Miss Bumey's Diary, sparkling with wit, teeming with lively anecdote 
 and delectable gossip, and full of sound and discreet views of persons and 
 things, will bo perused with interest by all classes of readers." 
 
PUBLISHED BY HURST AND BLACKETT. 7 
 
 CHEAP EDITION OF THE LIVES OF THE ftUEENS. 
 
 Now complete, in Eight Volumes, post octavo {comprising from 600 
 to 700 pages each). Price only 7s. 6d. per Volume, elegantly hound, 
 any of lohich may he had separately, to complete sets, 
 
 LIVES OF THE QUEENS 
 
 OF ENGUm 
 
 BY AGNES STRICKLAND. 
 
 ©etficatelt Ibg lExprcss ^nmission to J)er iW;ajcstB. 
 EMBELLISHED WITH PORTRAITS OF EVERY QUEEN, 
 
 BEAUTIFULLY ENGRAVED FROM THE MOST AUTHENTIC SOURCES. 
 
 In announcing a cheap Edition of this important and inte- 
 resting work, which has been considered unique in biographical 
 literature, the publishers again beg to direct attention to the 
 following extract from the author's preface: — "A revised 
 edition of the * Lives of the Queens of England,' embodying 
 the important collections which have been brought to light 
 since the appearance of earlier impressions, is now offered to 
 the world, embellished with Portraits of every Queen, from 
 authentic and properly verified sources. The series, com- 
 mencing with the consort of William the Conqueror, occupies 
 that most interesting and important period of our national chro- 
 nology, from the death of the last monarch of the Anglo-Saxon 
 line, Edward the Confessor, to the demise of the last sovereign 
 of the royal house of Stuart, Queen Anne, and comprises therein 
 thirty queens who have worn the crown-matrimonial, and four 
 the regal diadem of this realm. We have related the parentage 
 of every queen, described her education, tf aced the influence 
 of family connexions and national habits on her conduct, both 
 public and private, and given a concise outline of the domestic, 
 as well as the general history of her times, and its effects on 
 her character, and we have done so with singleness of heart, 
 unbiassed by selfish interests or narrow views. Such as they 
 were in life we have endeavoured to portray them, both in 
 
8 STANDARD WORKS 
 
 LIVES OF THE QJIEE^S— continued. 
 good and 111, without regard to any other considerations than 
 the -development of the/acts. Their sayings, their doings, their 
 manners, their costume, will be found faithfully chronicled in 
 this work, which also includes the most interesting of their 
 letters. The hope that the * Lives of the Queens of England' 
 might be regarded as a national work, honourable to the 
 female character, and generally useful to society, has encou- 
 raged us to the completion of the task." 
 
 OPINIONS OF THE PRESS. 
 
 PEOM THE TIMES. 
 
 _ " These volumes have the fascmation of romance united to the integrity of 
 history. The work is written by a lady of considerable learning, indefatigable 
 industry, and careful judgment. All these qualifications for a biographer and 
 an historian she has brought to bear upon the subject of her volumes, and from 
 them has resulted a narrative interesting to all, and more particularly interest- 
 ing to that portion of the community to whom the more refined researches of 
 literature afibrd pleasure and instruction. The whole work should be read, 
 and no doubt will be read, by all who are anxious for information. It is a lucid 
 arrangement of facts, derived from authentic sources, exhibiting a combination 
 of industry, learning, judgment, and impartiality, not often met with in bio- 
 graphers of crowned heads." 
 
 MORNI1T& HERALD. 
 
 " A remarkable and truly great historical work. In this series of biographies, 
 in which the severe truth of history takes almost the wildness of romance, it is 
 the singular merit of Miss Strickland that her research has enabled her to throw 
 new light on many doubtful passages, to bring forth fresh facts, and to render 
 every portion of our annals which she has described an interesting and valuable 
 study. She has given a most valuable contribution to the history of England, 
 and we have no hesitation in affirming that no one can be said to possess an 
 accurate knowledge of the history of the country who has not studied this truly 
 national work, which, in this new edition, has received all the aids that further 
 research on the part of the author, and of embellishment on the part of the pub- 
 lishers, could tend to make it still more valuable, and still more attractive, than 
 it had been in its original form." 
 
 MOKNING POST. 
 
 " We must pronounce Miss Strickland beyond all comparison the most en- 
 tertaining historian in the English language. She is certainly a woman of power- 
 ful and active mind, as well as of scrupulous justice and honesty of purpose." 
 
 QITAETEELT REVIEW. 
 
 " Miss Strickland has made a very judicious use of many authentic MS. au- 
 thorities not previously collected, and the result is a most interesting addition 
 to our biographical library." 
 
 ATHEITJEUM. 
 
 ^ " A valuable contribution to historical knowledge. It contains a mass of every 
 kind of historical matter of interest, which industry and research could collect. 
 We have derived much entertainment and instruction from the work." 
 
PUBLISHED BY HURST AND BLACKETT. 
 
 CHEAP EDITION OF PEPTS' DIART. 
 
 Now ready, a New and Cheap Edition, printed uniformly with the 
 last edition of Evelyn's Diary, and comprising all the recent 
 Notes and Emendations, Indexes, Sfc, in Four Volumes, post octavo, 
 with Portraits, price 65. per Volume, handsomely hound, of the 
 
 DIARY AND CORRESPONDENCE OP 
 
 SAMUEL PEPTS, RR.S., 
 
 SECRETARY TO THE ADMIRALTY IN THE REIGNS OF CHARLES II. 
 AND JAMES II. 
 
 EDITED BY RICHARD LORD BRAYBROOKE. 
 
 The authority of Pepts, as an historian and illustrator of 
 a considerable portion of the seventeenth century, has been 
 so fully acknowledged by every scholar and critic, that it 
 is now scarcely necessary to remind the reader of the ad- 
 vantages he possessed for producing the most complete and 
 trustworthy record of events, and the most agreeable picture 
 of society and manners, to be found in the literature of any 
 nation. In confidential communication with the reigning 
 sovereigns, holding high ofiicial employment, placed at the 
 head of the Scientific and Learned of a period remarkable 
 for intellectual impulse, mingling in every circle, and ob- 
 serving everything and everybody whose characteristics were 
 worth noting down ; and possessing, moreover, an intelli- 
 gence peculiarly fitted for seizing the most graphic points in 
 whatever he attempted to delineate, Pepys may be considered 
 the most valuable as well as the most entertaining of our 
 National Historians. 
 
 A New and Cheap Edition of this work, comprising all the 
 restored passages and the additional annotations that have 
 been called for by the vast advances in antiquarian and his- 
 torical knowledge during the last twenty years, will doubtless 
 be regarded as one of the most agreeable additions that could 
 be made to the library of the general reader. 
 
10 STANDARD WORKS 
 
 CRITICAL OPINIONS ON PEPYS' DIARY. 
 
 " Without making any exception in favour of any other production 
 of ancient or modern diarists, we unhesitatingly characterise this journal 
 as the most remarkable production of its kind which has ever been 
 given to the world. Pepys' Diary makes us comprehend the great 
 historical events of the age, and the people who bore a part in them, 
 and gives us more clear glimpses into the true English life of the times 
 than all the other memorials of them that have come down to our own." 
 — Edinburgh Review. 
 
 " There is much in Pepys' Diary that throws a distinct and vivid 
 light over the picture of England and its government during the period 
 succeeding the Restoration. If, quitting the broad path of history, we 
 look for minute information concerning ancient manners and customs, 
 the progress of arts and sciences, and the various branches of antiquity, 
 we have never seen a mine so rich as these volumes. The variety of 
 Pepys' tastes and pursuits led him into almost every department of 
 life. He was a man of business, a man of information, a man of whim, 
 and, to a certain degree, a man of pleasure. He was a statesman, a 
 bel-esprit, a virtuoso, and a connoisseur. His curiosity made him an 
 unwearied, as well as an universal, learner, and whatever he saw found 
 its way into his tablets." — Quarterly Review. 
 
 "The best book of its kind in the English language. The new 
 matter is extremely curious, and occasionally far more characteristic 
 and entertaining than the old. The writer is seen in a clearer light, 
 and the reader is taken into his inmost soul. Pepys' Diary is the ablest 
 picture of the age in which the writer lived, and a work of standard im- 
 portance in English literature." — Athenaum. 
 
 " We place a high value on Pepys' Diary as the richest and most 
 delightful contribution ever made to the history of English life and 
 manners in the latter half of the seventeenth century." — Examiner* 
 
 " We owe Pepys a debt of gratitude for the rare and curious informa- 
 tion he has bequeathed to us in this most amusing and interesting work. 
 His Diary is valuable, as depicting to us many of the most important 
 characters of the times. Its author has bequeathed to us the records of 
 his heart — the very reflection of his energetic mind ; and his quaint but 
 happy narrative clears up numerous disputed points— throws light into 
 many of the dark comers of history, and lays bare the hidden substratum 
 of events which gave birth to, and supported the visible progress of, the 
 nation." — Taifs Magazine. 
 
 " Of all the records tliat have ever been published, Pepys' Diary 
 gives us the most vivid and trustworthy picture of the times, and the 
 clearest view of the state of English public affairs and of English 
 society during the reign of Charles II. We see there, as in a map, 
 the vices of the monarch, the intrigues of the Cabinet, the wanton follies 
 of the court, and the many calamities to which the nation was subjected 
 during the memorable period of fire, plague, and general licentiousness." 
 — Morning Post. 
 
PUBLISHED BT HURST AND BLACKETT. H 
 
 CHEAP EDITION OF THE 
 DIARY AND CORRESPONDENCE OP 
 
 JOM EYELYN, F.E.S. 
 
 COMPRISING ALL THE IMPORTANT ADDITIONAL NOTES, LETTERS, AND OTHEB 
 ILLUSTRATIONS LAST MADE. 
 
 Now completed^ with Portraits, in Four Volumes, post octavo, price 6s. 
 each, handsomely bound, 
 
 " We rejoice to welcome this beautiful and compact edition of Evelyn. It is 
 intended as a companion to the recent edition of Pepys, and presents similar claims 
 to interest and notice. Evelyn was greatly above the vast majority of his con- 
 temporaries, and the Diary which records the incidents in his long life, extending 
 over the greater part of a century, is deservedly esteemed one of the most valuable 
 and interesting books in the language. Evelyn took part in the breaking out of 
 the civil war against Charles I., and he lived to see William of Orange ascend the 
 throne. Through the days of Strafford and Laud, to those of Bancroft and Ken, he 
 was the steady friend of moderation and peace in the English Church. He 
 interceded alike for the royalist and the regicide ; he was the correspondent of 
 Cowley, the patron of Jeremy Taylor, the associate and fellow-student of Boyle ; 
 and over all the interval between Vandyck and Kneller, between the youth of 
 MUton and the old age of Dryden, poetry and the arts found him an intelligent 
 adviser, and a cordial friend. There are, on the whole, very few men of whom 
 England has more reason to be proud. We heartily commend so good an edition 
 of this English classic." — Examiner. 
 
 " This work is a necessary companion to the popular histories of our country, 
 to Hume, Hallam, Macaulay, and Lingard."— »Sm». 
 
 LIYES OF THE PRINCESSES OF ENGLAND. 
 
 By MES. EVERETT GEEE:N^, 
 
 In 6 vols., post 8vo, with Illustrations, 10s. 6d. each, bound. 
 Any of which may be had separately. 
 
 " This work is a worthy companion to Miss Strickland's admirable ' Queens 
 of England.' That celebrated work, although its heroines were, for the most 
 part, foreign Princesses, related almost entirely to the history of this country. 
 The Princesses of England, on the contrary, are themselves English, but their 
 lives are nearly all connected with foreign nations. Their biographies, conse- 
 quently, afiord us a glimpse of the manners and customs of the chief European 
 kingdoms, a circumstance which not only gives to the work the charm of variety, 
 but which is likely to render it peculiarly useful to the general reader, as it links 
 together by association the contemporaneous history of various nations. We 
 cordially commend Mrs. Green's production to general attention ; it is (neces- 
 sarily) as useful as history, and fully as entertaining as romance."— -Sim. 
 
12 STANDARD WORKS 
 
 SIE B. BTJEKE'S DICTIONAET OF THE 
 EXTmCT, DORMANT, AM) ABEYANT PEERAGES 
 
 OF ENGLAND, SCOTLAND AND IRELAND. 
 
 Beautifully printed, in 1 vol. 8vo, containing 800 double-column pages, 
 21s. bound. 
 
 This work connects, in many instances, the new with the old nobility, and it 
 will in all cases show the cause which has influenced the revival of an extinct 
 dignity in a new creation. It should be particularly noticed, that this new work 
 appertains nearly as much to extant as to extinct persons of distinction ; for 
 though dignities pass away, it rarely occurs that whole families do. 
 
 THE ROMANCE OF THE ARISTOCRACY ; 
 
 OR, 
 
 ANECDOTICAL EECORDS OF DISTINGUISHED FAMILIES. 
 
 By SIR BERNARD BURKE. 
 
 New and Cheaper Edition, 3 vols., post 8vo. 
 
 " The most curious incidents, the most stirring tales, and the most remarkable 
 circumstances connected with the histories, public and private, of our noble houses 
 and aristocratic families, are here given in a shape which will preserve them 
 in the library, and render them the favourite study of those who are interested 
 in the romance of real life. These stories, with all the reality of established fact, 
 read with as much spirit as the tales of Boccaccio, and are as full of strange 
 matter for reflection and amazement." — Britannia. 
 
 SKETCHES OF THE IRISH BAR; 
 
 INCLUDING 
 
 A JOURNAL OF CONVERSATIONS WITH CHIEF-JUSTICE 
 BUSHE, NOW FIRST PUBLISHED; 
 
 WITH OTHER LITERARY AND POLITICAL ESSAYS. 
 
 By WILLIAM HENRY CURRAN, Esq. 
 
 2 vols, post 8vo, 21s. bound. 
 
 " Mr. Curran's sketches have many claims on our attention. The conversa- 
 tions with Chief-Justice Bushe — a charming collection of curious anecdotes — are 
 full of interest, and are now printed for the first time. Mr. Curran's own recol- 
 lections of celebrated persons are just as striking as those of Chief-Justice 
 Bushe." — AthencBum. 
 
 " These papers will be welcomed anew for their animated style, their graphic 
 and sometimes romantic narratives, for the pictures they give of many famous 
 men now passed away, and for the conscientious accuracy and perfect good taste 
 which has governed the writing of them." — Examiner. 
 
PUBLISHED BY HUBST AND BLACKETT. 13 
 
 REVELATIONS OP PRINCE TALLEYRAND. 
 
 Second Edition, 1 volume, post 8vo, with Portrait, 10s. 6d. bound. 
 
 " We have perused this work with extreme interest. It is a portrait of Tal- 
 leyrand drawn by his own hand." — Morning Post. 
 
 THE LIFE AND REIGN 01 CHARLES I. 
 
 By I. DISEAELI. 
 
 A NEW EDITION. REVISED BY THE AUTHOR, AND EDITED BY 
 HIS SON, THE RT. HON. B. DISRAELI, M.P. 2 vols., 8vo, 28s. bound. 
 
 " By far the most important work on the important age of Charles I. that 
 modern times have produced." — Quarterly Review. 
 
 HISTORIC SCENES. 
 
 By AGNES STEICKLAND. 
 
 Author of " Lives of the Queens of England," &c. 1 vol., post 8vo, 
 elegantly bound, with Portrait of the Author, 10s. 6d. 
 " This attractive volume is replete with interest. Like Miss Strickland's 
 former works, it will be found, we doubt not, m the hands of youthful branches 
 of a family as well as in those of their j)arents, to all and each of whom it 
 cannot fail to be alike amusing and instructive." — Britannia. 
 
 THE QUEENS BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 
 
 BY MES. MATTHEW HALL. 
 2 vols, post 8vo, embellished with Portraits, price 21s. bound. 
 
 MEMOIRS OF A HUNGARIAN LADY. 
 MADAME PULSZKY. 
 
 WKITTEN BY HERSELF. 2 vols., 12s. bound. 
 
 MEMOIRS AND CORRESPONDEICE OF 
 SIR ROBERT MURRAY KEITH, K.B., 
 
 Minister Plenipotentiary at the Courts of Dresden^ Copenhagen^ and Vienna, 
 from 1769 to 1793 ; mith Biographical Memoirs of 
 
 QUEEN CAROLINE MATILDA, SISTER OF GEORGE IIL 
 
 Cheaper Edition. Two vols., post 8vo, with Portraits, 15s. bound. 
 
14 STANDARD WORKS. 
 
 THE CRESCENT AND THE CROSS; 
 
 OR, ROMAi^CE MD REALITIES OF EASTERN TRAVEL. 
 
 By ELIOT WARBURTON. 
 
 Twelfth Edition, in 1 vol., with 15 Illustrations, 6s. bound. 
 
 " Independently of its value as an original narrative, and its useful and inte- 
 resting information, this work is remarkable for the colouring power and play of 
 fiuicy with which its descriptions are enlivened. Among its greatest and most 
 lasting charms is its reverent and serious spirit." — Quarterly Review. 
 
 " A book calculated to prove more practically useful was never penned tban 
 the ' Crescent and the Cross' — a work which surpasses all others in its homage 
 for the sublime and its love for the beautiful in those famous regions consecrated 
 to everlasting immortality in the annals of the prophets — and which no other 
 modern writer has ever depicted with a pencil at once so reverent and so pic- 
 turesque." — Sun. 
 
 THE MODERN ORLANDO. 
 
 By Dr. CROLY. 
 
 1 vol. post 8vo, 5s. 
 
 " By far the best thing of the kind that has been written since Byron." — 
 Literary Gazette. 
 
 ADVENTURES OF A SOLDIER. 
 
 WRITTEN BY HIMSELF. 
 
 Being the Memoirs of EDWARD COSTELLO, of the Rifle Brigade, 
 and late Captain in the British Legion. Cheap Edition, with 
 Portrait, 3s. 6d. bound. 
 
 " An excellent book of its class. A true and vivid picture of a soldier's life." — 
 Ath&nxEum. 
 
 " This highly interesting volume is filled with details and anecdotes of the most 
 startling character, and well deserves a place in the hbrary of every regiment 
 in the service." — Naval and Military Gazette. 
 
 HIJEST AND BLACKETT, PTJBLISHEES, 
 SUCCESSORS TO HENRY COLBURN, 
 
 13, GREAT MARLBOROUGH STREET. 
 
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 APR 1 2 1957 
 
 
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