Would he be ready himself for a meeting, if Miss Nightingale could get the other members of the board together? Well — of course — he would be delighted, but he could assure Miss Nightingale that everything would be all right, without her having the trouble to
The board met; pen, ink and paper were ready. Would they kindly sign the order? Many thanks! Good morning!
And the warehouse was opened, and the goods on their way to the hospital, before the astonished gentlemen had fairly drawn their breath.
*' But what kind of way is this to do business? " cried the slaves of Red Tape. " She doesn't give us time! The moment a thing is wanted, she goes and gets it!!! The rules of the service "
But this was not true; for, as methodical as she was wise and generous. Miss Nightingale was most careful to consult the proper authorities, and, whenever it was possible, to make them take the necessary steps themselves. Once, and only once, did she absolutely take the law into her own hands. There came a moment when certain stores were desperately needed for some sick and wounded men. The stores were at hand, but they had not been inspected, and Red Tape had decreed that nothing should be given out until it had been inspected by the board. (This was another board, probably;
their name was Legion.) Miss Nightingale tried to get the board together, but this time without success. One was away, and another was ill, and a third was — I don't know where. The clear grayblue eyes grew stern.
" I must have these things! " she said quietly. *' My men are dying for lack of them."
The under-official stammered and turned pale; he did not wish to disobey her, but — it meant a courtmartial for him if he disobeyed the rules of the service.
" You shall have no blame," said the Lady-in- Chief. '' I take the entire responsibility upon myself. Open the door! "
The door was opened, and in a few moments the sick men had the stimulants for lack of which they were sinking into exhaustion.
When Miss Nightingale arrived at Scutari, the death rate in the Barrack Hospital was sixty per cent; within a few months it was reduced to one per cent; and this, under heaven, was accomplished by her and her devoted band of nurses. Do you wonder that she was called " The Angel of the Crimea? "
CHAPTER XI.
Whene'er a noble deed is wrought,* Whene'er is spoken a noble thought,
Our hearts, in glad surprise,
To higher levels rise.
The tidal wave of deeper souls Into our inmost being rolls.
And lifts us unawares
Out of all meaner cares.
Honor to those whose words or deeds Thus help us in our daily needs. And by their overflow Raise us from what is low!
Thus thought I, as by night I read Of the great army of the dead. The trenches cold and damp. The starved and frozen camp, —
The wounded from the battle-plain,
In dreary hospitals of pain. The cheerless corridors, The cold and stony floors.
*" Santa Filomena," by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.
Lo! in that house of misery A lady with a lamp I see
Pass through the glimmering gloom,
And flit from room to room.
And slow, as in a dream of bliss, The speechless sufferer turns to kiss
Her shadow, as it falls
Upon the darkening walls.
As if a door in heaven should be Opened and then closed suddenly,
The vision came and went,
The light shone and was spent.
On England's annals, through the long Hereafter of her speech and song,
That light its rays shall cast
From portals of the past.
A Lady with a Lamp shall stand In the great history of the land,
A noble type of good.
Heroic womanhood.
Nor even shall be wanting here The palm, the lily, and the spear,
The symbols that of yore
Saint Filomena bore.
[fragment illegible in the scan of the first edition]
[fragment illegible in the scan of the first edition]