Chapter I: Preface

Men and women are divided, in relation to their papers, into hoarders and scatterers. Miss Nightingale was a hoarder, and as she lived to be 90 the accumulation of papers, stored in her house at the time of her death, was very great. The papers referring to years up to 1861 had been neatly done up by herself, and it was evident that not everything had been kept. After that date, time and strength to sort and weed had been wanting, and Miss Nightingale seems to have thrown little away. Even soiled sheets of blotting-paper, on which she had made notes in pencil, were preserved. By a Will executed in 1896 she had directed that all her letters, papers, and manuscripts, with some specific exceptions, should be destroyed. By a Codicil executed in the following year she revoked this direction, and bequeathed the letters, papers, and manuscripts to her cousin, Mr. Henry Bonham Carter. After her death the papers were sorted chronologically by his direction, and they have formed the principal foundation of this Memoir.

Of expressly autobiographical notes, Miss Nightingale left very few. At the date of the Codicil above mentioned she seems to have contemplated the probability of some authoritative record of her life; for in that year she wrote a short summary of what she called "My Responsibility to India," detailing her relations with successive Secretaries of State, Governors-General, and other administrators. Her memory in these matters was still accurate, for the summary is fully borne out by letters and other papers of the several dates: it adds some personal details. In private letters she sometimes recounted, at later times, episodes or experiences in her life, but such references are few. Nor, except for a few years, did Miss Nightingale keep any formal diary; and during the Crimean episode she was too incessantly busy with her multitudinous duties to find time for many private notes.

The principal authority for Miss Nightingale's Life is thus the collection of papers aforesaid, and these are very copious in information. The records, in one sort or another, of her earlier years are full. The papers relating to her work during the Crimean War are voluminous, and I have supplemented the study of these by consulting the official documents concerning Miss Nightingale's mission which are preserved, among War Office papers, in the Public Record Office. Her papers relating to public affairs during the years 1856 to 1861 are also very voluminous. After the latter date she seems, as already stated, to have kept almost everything, even every advertisement, that she received. She often made notes for important letters that she sent, and sometimes kept copies of them. Of official documents, of printed memoranda, pamphlets, reports, and returns, she accumulated an immense collection. And though she was not a regular diarist, she was in the habit of jotting down on sheets of notepaper her engagements, impressions, thoughts, meditations, as also in many cases reports of conversations.

* * * * *

The collection of letters received by Miss Nightingale, and of her notes for letters sent by her, has been supplemented, through the kindness of many of her correspondents or their representatives, by letters which were received from her. I am more especially indebted in this respect to the care of the late Sir Douglas Galton, whose docketed collection of letters from Miss Nightingale, taken in conjunction with a long series of his letters to her, forms a main authority for much of the record of her activity in public affairs. Her letters to Julius and Mary Mohl, returned to her after the death of the latter, are, in another way, of peculiar interest. I am particularly indebted, among the lenders of letters addressed to nursing friends, to Miss Pringle and to the father of the late Mrs. Daniel Morris (Miss Rachel Williams). Miss Pringle has also favoured me with personal reminiscences.

For permission to print letters written to Miss Nightingale, I am indebted to many of her relations, friends, and correspondents, or their representatives; to so many, indeed, that I ask them to accept here a general acknowledgment. I am especially indebted to the King, who has been pleased to permit the publication of letters from Queen Victoria and some other members of the Royal Family. The German Emperor has graciously given a like permission in the case of correspondence with the Empress Frederick. The Dowager Grand Duchess (Luise) of Baden has allowed me to quote from a long series of letters addressed by her to Miss Nightingale.

* * * * *

Next to the letters and other papers, above described, the most valuable material for the Life of Miss Nightingale is contained in her own printed writings--many of them published, some (and these, from the biographical point of view, the most important) privately printed. In the case of the Crimean War, material under both of these heads is particularly abundant. Her published _Notes on Hospitals_ and _Notes on Nursing_ and other works relating to those subjects, together with her privately circulated _Addresses to Probationers_, supplement her private records. For her inner life, her privately printed book, Suggestions for Thought, is of special importance.

A List of Miss Nightingale's Printed Writings (whether published or privately circulated) is given at the end of the second volume (_Appendix A_). My purpose in compiling this List was biographical illustration, not bibliographical minuteness. I have not included every scrap from Miss Nightingale's pen which has appeared in print, but have given every piece which is directly or indirectly referred to in the Memoir, or which is of any importance. The List will, I hope, serve a double purpose. It enables me to abbreviate in the text the references to my authorities; and it provides, in chronological order, a conspectus of Miss Nightingale's varied activities, so far as they were reflected in her printed writings.

Lastly, there is much biographical material, not only in Blue-books and official reports, but in writings about Miss Nightingale. Except in the case of the Crimean War, where many eye-witnesses recorded their observations or impressions, this material is not all of great value. Throughout her subsequent life, Miss Nightingale was screened from the public gaze; a somewhat legendary figure grew up, and it is that which for the most part appears in books about her. This, however, is a subject fully dealt with in an Introductory chapter. In _Appendix B_ I give a short List of Writings about Miss Nightingale. Here, again, the purpose is not bibliographical. There is a great mass of such writing, and a complete list would have been altogether outside the scope of a biography. I have included only first-hand authorities or such other books, etc., as for one reason or another (explained in the notes upon each item) seemed relevant to the Memoir. This second List also serves the purpose of simplifying references in the text.

In a third Appendix (_C_) I have enumerated the principal portraits of Miss Nightingale. Notes on those reproduced in this book will there be found. I am indebted to the kindness of Sir William Richmond and Sir Harry Verney for the inclusion of the portrait which forms the frontispiece to the second volume, and to Mrs. Cunliffe for the frontispiece to the present volume.

* * * * *

To Miss Nightingale's executors I am indebted for the confidence which they have shown in entrusting her Papers to my discretion. A biography is worth nothing unless it is sincere. The aim of the present book has been to tell the truth about the subject of it, and I have done my work under no conscious temptation to suppress, exaggerate, extenuate, or distort. From Miss Nightingale's executors, and from other of her friends and relations, I have received help and information which has been of the greatest assistance. More especially I am indebted to her cousin, Mrs. Vaughan Nash, who has been good enough to read my book, both in manuscript and in proof, and who has favoured me throughout with valuable information, corrections, suggestions, and criticisms. This obligation makes it the more incumbent upon me to add that for any faults in the book, whether of commission or of omission, I alone must bear the blame.

CONTENTS

PAGE

INTRODUCTORY xxiii

PART I
ASPIRATION (1820-1854)

CHAPTER I
CHILDHOOD AND EDUCATION
(1820-1839)

Name, ancestry, and parentage. II. Her father's circumstances
--Her early homes--Lea Hurst (Derbyshire)--Mrs. Gaskell's
description--Embley Park (Hampshire). III. Early years--Country
life--Domestic interests--A morbid strain. IV. Mr. Nightingale's
education of his daughters--History, the classics, philosophy
--Anecdotes of Florence's supposed early vocation to nursing--The
date of her "call to God" (1837). V. The Grand Tour (1837-9)
--Interest in social and political conditions--Italian refugees at
Geneva--Talks with Sismondi--Visit to Florence--Gaieties and
music. VI. A winter in Paris (1838-9)--Friendship with Mary Clarke
(Madame Mohl)--Madame Récamier's _salon_. Social "temptations" 3

CHAPTER II
HOME LIFE
(1839-1845)

A struggle for freedom. Life in London--Music--The Bedchamber Plot.
II. Country-house life--The charm of Embley--Contrast between
Florence and her sister. III. The family circle--Florence's "boy"
--Florence as "Emergency Man"--Her old nurse--Letter to Miss Clarke
on the death of M. Fauriel--Theatricals at Waverley Abbey--Florence
as stage-manager. IV. Friends and neighbours--Lord Palmerston
--Louisa Lady Ashburton--Mrs. Bracebridge. V. Florence's
conversation--Social attractiveness--Personal appearance:
descriptions by Lady Lovelace and Mrs. Gaskell. VI. Dissatisfaction
in social life--Desultoriness of a girl's life at home--The misery
of being read aloud to--Housekeeping. VII. Increasing sense of a
vocation--Private studies--Thoughts of nursing--A first dash for
liberty (1845): failure 23

CHAPTER III
THE SPIRITUAL LIFE

Dejection. Friendship with Miss Nicholson: religious experiences
and speculations--Letters to Miss Nicholson and Miss Clarke. II.
The reality of the unseen world--The conviction of sin--The pains
of hell--Hunger after righteousness--"All for the Love of God."
III. Independent development of Miss Nightingale's religious
thought--The service of God as the service of man--Her testing of
religious doctrine by practical results--Her attitude to Roman
Catholicism--Desire for a church of works, not doctrines 46

CHAPTER IV
DISAPPOINTMENT
(1846-1847)

"Disappointment's dry and bitter root." Pursuit of her ideal
--Obstacles to her adoption of nursing--Social prejudices--Low
esteem of nurses at the time--The Kaiserswerth "Institution for
Deaconesses." II. Increasing distaste for the routine of home
life. III. Social distractions (1847)--Jenny Lind--The British
Association at Oxford--Marriage of Miss Clarke--Country visits 59

CHAPTER V
A WINTER IN ROME; AND AFTER
(1847-1849)

A tour that confirmed a vocation. Sight-seeing in Rome--Admiration
for Michael Angelo--The revelation of the Sistine Chapel--The
obsession of Rome. II. Italian politics--Pio Nono as Patriot Hero.
III. The convent of the Trinità de' Monti--Study of Roman doctrine
and ritual--Friendship with the Madre Sta. Colomba--A retreat in
the convent--The secret of devotion. IV. Meeting with Mr. and Mrs.
Sidney Herbert and with Manning--The London season--Friendship
with Lord Shaftesbury--Self-reproaches. V. A projected visit to
Kaiserswerth (1848): disappointment again--Acquaintance with
Guizot--Ragged school work in London 69

CHAPTER VI
FOREIGN TRAVEL: EGYPT AND GREECE
(1849-1850)

Another fruitless distraction. A winter in Egypt--Thebes
--Condition of the people--Impressions of Egyptian scenery. II.
Athens--Doric architecture--Greek scenery. III. Political affairs
--The "Don Pacifico" crisis--The Ionian Islands: a day with the
High Commissioner. IV. American missionaries at Athens--Dresden
--Visit to Kaiserswerth. V. The literary "temptation"--Her view
of literary art--Her _Letters from Egypt_ 84

CHAPTER VII
THE SINGLE LIFE

The three paths. Why Florence Nightingale did not marry--Her
criticism of Dorothea in _Middlemarch_. II. Offers of marriage--Her
ideal of marriage--The threefold nature. III. Self-devotion to her
vocation--Determination to throw open new spheres for women 96

CHAPTER VIII
APPRENTICESHIP AT KAISERSWERTH
(1851)

The struggle for independence resumed. Want of sympathy between
her and her parents and sister--Unhappiness at home--A "starved"
life. II. Growing spirit of revolt--The need of apprenticeship.
III. Second visit to Kaiserswerth--Origin of the Institution
--Account of its work--Her life there. IV. Craving for sympathy
from her relations--Their hope that the apprenticeship would be
only an episode 104

CHAPTER IX
AN INTERLUDE
(1852)

The turning-point. Patience and serenity: waiting for an
opportunity. II. With her father at Umberslade--The water cure
--Death of her Aunt Evans--Meeting with George Eliot and Mrs.
Browning--Visits to Dublin and to Birk Hall (Sir James Clark).
III. Literary "Works"--Converse with her "Aunt Mai"--A new
religion for the artizans. IV. A little piece of diplomacy
--Florence to be free at some future specified time. V. A last
attempt to keep her at home 116

CHAPTER X
FREEDOM. PARIS AND HARLEY STREET
(1853-OCTOBER 1854)

Visit to Paris--Study in the hospitals--Return to England: death
of her grandmother. II. Miss Nightingale invited to take charge of
an institution in Harley Street. III. Return to Paris--Study with
the Sisters of Charity--Illness. IV. Superintendent of the Harley
Street "Hospital for Gentlewomen"--The gentle art of managing
committees--Her vocation found--A last attempt to call her back.
V. A holiday at Lea Hurst--Visit from Mrs. Gaskell--Outbreak of
cholera: return to London. VI. Limited scope at Harley Street
--Proposal to Miss Nightingale to become matron at King's College
Hospital--Lady Lovelace's prophecy 127

PART II
THE CRIMEAN WAR (1854-1856)

CHAPTER I
THE CALL
(OCTOBER 1854)

The Battle of the Alma--The _Times_ special correspondent--State
of the hospitals at Scutari--Popular indignation--An appeal for
nurses. II. Answer to the appeal--Lady Maria Forester and Miss
Nightingale--Sidney Herbert and Miss Nightingale. III. Letters
that crossed--Miss Nightingale's offer: Sidney Herbert's
suggestion--Miss Nightingale's official instructions. IV.
Co-operation of the _Times_ Fund--Selection of nurses for the
expedition. V. Miss Nightingale's demeanour--A pocket-book and
some letters 145

CHAPTER II
THE EXPEDITION--PROBLEMS AHEAD

Start of the expedition--Failure to obtain Sisters of Charity in
Paris--Reception of the expedition in France--Departure from
Marseilles. II. Popular enthusiasm in England--Account of Miss
Nightingale in the newspapers--Public subscriptions--Other nurses
volunteering. III. Miss Nightingale's plans--Importance of her
experiment--Difficulties ahead--Military prejudice: Sir Anthony
Sterling's letters--Medical jealousy: Sir John Hall's letters
--Religious rivalries--Miss Nightingale's policy 162

CHAPTER III
THE HOSPITALS AT SCUTARI

Arrival at the Golden Horn. The Scutari hospitals--The General
Hospital--The Barrack Hospital: quarters of Miss Nightingale and
her staff--The Palace Hospital--The Koulali Hospitals. II. State
of the hospitals when Miss Nightingale arrived--Report of the
Roebuck Committee--Terrible death-rate--The root of the evil:
division of responsibility--Need of individual initiative 171

CHAPTER IV
THE EXPERT'S TOUCH

The Battle of Balaclava. Miss Nightingale's reception at Scutari:
letter from Lord Raglan--Difficulties with the doctors--Miss
Nightingale at work in the wards--Difficulties with the nurses.
II. Dispatch of a second party of nurses under Miss Stanley,
accompanied by Mr. Jocelyne Percy--Miss Nightingale's indignant
surprise--Mr. Herbert's promise not to send out more nurses except
at her requisition--Danger of ruining the experiment--Medical
opposition--Aggravation of the religious difficulty--Arrangements
for placing the Stanley party--Significance of the episode in
relation to the novelty of the experiment. III. Deficiency of
requisites in the hospitals--Miss Nightingale's appeal to the
British Ambassador--Her washing reforms--Her "Extra Diet" Kitchens
--Alexis Soyer--Sorry plight of the camp-followers--Establishment
of a lying-in hospital--Dr. Andrew Smith and the female eye 181

CHAPTER V
THE ADMINISTRATOR

Miss Nightingale's varied functions. Purveyor-Auxiliary to the
hospitals--Ignorance of the Ambassador as to the true state of
things--Deficiencies in the stores--Miss Nightingale's caravanserai
in "The Sisters' Tower"--Her supplies issued only on medical
requisition--Delays in obtaining access to Government stores--Miss
Nightingale's resourcefulness in obtaining supplies--Her gifts to
the French and Sardinian hospitals--Absurdities of the purveying
regulations. II. Clothier to the wounded--Cause of the deficiency
of shirts: 50,000 issued from Miss Nightingale's stores. III.
Builder--Miss Nightingale's preparation of new wards for additional
patients from the Crimea. IV. Her shouldering of responsibility
--Strictness of her administration--Almoner of the Queen's "Free
Gifts"--Rules and exceptions--Value of her initiative--Sidney
Herbert's approval--Mr. Kinglake and "the woman's touch" 199

CHAPTER VI
THE REFORMER

Miss Nightingale as an inspirer of reform--Sources of her influence
--Favour of the Court--Letter from Queen Victoria: her gifts to the
soldiers. II. Miss Nightingale's reports to Sidney Herbert
--Character of her letters. III. Her urgent appeals for stores
--Dispatch of an executive Sanitary Commission--Miss Nightingale's
reforms in the handling of Government stores--Other reforms due to
her. IV. Her suggestion for systematic reorganization--Suggested
improvements in the medical service. V. Miss Nightingale's
demeanour at Scutari--Description by S. G. O.--Range of her
influence--The efficacy of "going to Miss Nightingale" 213

CHAPTER VII
THE MINISTERING ANGEL

Dual position of Miss Nightingale: administrator and nurse.
Prodigious power of work--Her attention to the sick and wounded
--Her midnight vigils--The famous lamp--The soldiers kissing her
shadow--Idolization by the men. II. Correspondence with relatives
and friends of the wounded soldiers. III. Strain upon Miss
Nightingale's powers--Burden of correspondence--Her helpers--Mr.
and Mrs. Bracebridge. IV. Schemes for helping the soldiers--Mr.
Augustus Stafford--The Orderlies and Miss Nightingale 233

CHAPTER VIII
THE RELIGIOUS DIFFICULTY

Nature of the religious difficulty. Rivalry between the churches
--Various claims for "representation" among the nursing staff--
"Anti-Puseyite" attacks. II. Miss Nightingale's attitude in the
squabble. III. The difficulty increased by the advent of Miss
Stanley's party--Charges of proselytism--Lord Panmure's
instructions misinterpreted. IV. Aggravation by the religious feuds
of the difficulty of obtaining efficient nurses--Worry caused to
Miss Nightingale 244

CHAPTER IX
TO THE CRIMEA--ILLNESS
(MAY-AUGUST 1855)

Siege of Sebastopol. The hospitals in the Crimea--Miss
Nightingale's authority there not explicitly defined--Her arrival
at Balaclava. II. Visit to the front--Sir John McNeill. III. Work
in the hospitals--Attacked by "Crimean fever"--Anxiety in England
and in the hospitals--Visit from Lord Raglan. IV. Miss Nightingale
advised to return to England--Her refusal--Return to Scutari--
Gradual recovery--"The heroic dead" 254

CHAPTER X
THE POPULAR HEROINE

Sympathy in England caused by Miss Nightingale's illness. The
popular heroine: letters from Lady Verney. II. The poetry of Seven
Dials, verses, songs, lives, portraits, etc.--Miss Nightingale's
view of it all. III. Public memorial to her--The Nightingale Fund--
Speeches at the public meeting--Nature of the memorial--
Subscriptions from the army--Medical jealousy--Presentation of a
jewel by the Queen 264

CHAPTER XI
THE SOLDIERS' FRIEND

Miss Nightingale's ministrations to the moral welfare of the
soldiers--Her belief in the possibility of reforms. II. Her letter
to the Queen on drunkenness in the army: considered by the Cabinet
--Miss Nightingale's Money Order Office at Scutari--Government
offices opened--The "Inkerman Café"--Sir Henry Storks--Miss
Nightingale's influence with the soldiers. III. Establishment of
reading-rooms and class-rooms 276

CHAPTER XII
TO THE CRIMEA AGAIN
(SEPTEMBER 1855-JULY 1856)

Fall of Sebastopol: Miss Nightingale's second and third visits to
the Crimea. Hardships of her work in the Crimea--Her "carriage"--
The hospital huts on the heights above Balaclava--Her Extra Diet
Kitchens. II. Opposition to her in military and medical quarters--
Sir John Hall's opposition--Difficulties with the nuns--Miss
Nightingale's authority disputed. III. Her appeals to home for
support--Correspondence with Sidney Herbert--Dispatch from the
Secretary of State defining her full authority in the Crimea
promulgated in General Orders--Exhausting labours in the Crimea:
testamentary dispositions. IV. Hard work at Scutari--Letters from
the aunt who was with Miss Nightingale--Christmas Day at the
British Embassy--Colonel Lefroy 283

CHAPTER XIII
END OF THE WAR--RETURN HOME
(JULY-AUGUST 1856)

The Peace. Return of the nurses--Miss Nightingale's tribute to her
"mainstays." II. The Government's thanks to Miss Nightingale--
Gratitude of the soldiers--Offer of a man-of-war for her return--
Lord Ellesmere's speech in the House of Lords. III. Return of Miss
Nightingale--Publicity avoided--Her "spoils of war." IV. Her
Crimean work a starting-point 299

PART III
FOR THE HEALTH OF THE SOLDIERS
(1856-1861)