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proprieties would admit of her giving evidence; and at last; as a

compromise; her modesty only allowed her to do so in the form of

written answers to written questions。 At length; the grand affair

was finished。 The Commission's Report; embodying almost word for

word the suggestions of Miss Nightingale; was drawn up by Sidney

Herbert。 Only one question remained to be answeredwould

anything; after all; be done? Or would the Royal Commission; like

so many other Royal Commissions before and since; turn out to

have achieved nothing but the concoction of a very fat bluebook

on a very high shelf?



And so the last and the deadliest struggle with the Bison began。

Six months had been spent in coercing him into granting the

Commission effective powers; six more months were occupied by the

work of the Commission; and now yet another six were to pass in

extorting from him the means whereby the recommendations of the

Commission might be actually carried out。 But; in the end; the

thing was done。 Miss Nightingale seemed; indeed; during these

months; to be upon the very brink of death。 Accompanied by the

faithful Aunt Mai; she moved from place to placeto Hampstead;

to Highgate; to Derbyshire; to Malvernin what appeared to be a

last desperate effort to find health somewhere; but she carried

that with her which made health impossible。 Her desire for work

could now scarcely be distinguished from mania。 At one moment she

was writing a 'last letter' to Sidney Herbert; at the next she

was offering to go out to India to nurse the sufferers in the

Mutiny。 When Dr。 Sutherland wrote; imploring her to take a

holiday; she raved。 Rest!'I am lying without my head; without

my claws; and you all peck at me。 It is de rigueur; d'obligation;

like the saying something to one's hat; when one goes into

church; to say to me all that has been said to me 110 times a day

during the last three months。 It is the obbligato on the violin;

and the twelve violins all practise it together; like the clocks

striking twelve o'clock at night all over London; till I say like

Xavier de Maistre; Assez; je sais; je ne le sais que trop。 I am

not a penitent; but you are like the R。C。 confessor; who says

what is de rigueur。 。。。'



Her wits began to turn; and there was no holding her。 She worked

like a slave in a mine。 She began to believe; as she had begun to

believe at Scutari; that none of her fellow…workers had their

hearts in the business; if they had; why did they not work as she

did? She could only see slackness and stupidity around her。 Dr。

Sutherland; of course; was grotesquely muddle…headed; and Arthur

Clough incurably lazy。 Even Sidney Herbert 。。。 oh yes; he had

simplicity and candour and quickness of perception; no doubt; but

he was an eclectic; and what could one hope for from a man who

went away to fish in Ireland just when the Bison most needed

bullying? As for the Bison himself; he had fled to Scotland where

he remained buried for many months。 The fate of the vital

recommendation in the Commission's Reportthe appointment of

four Sub…Commissions charged with the duty of determining upon

the details of the proposed reforms and of putting them into

executionstill hung in the balance。 The Bison consented to

everything; and then; on a flying visit to London; withdrew his

consent and hastily returned to Scotland。 Then for many weeks all

business was suspended; he had goutgout in the hands so that

he could not write。 'His gout was always handy;' remarked Miss

Nightingale。 But eventually it was clear even to the Bison that

the game was up; and the inevitable surrender came。



There was; however; one point in which he triumphed over Miss

Nightingale: the building of Netley Hospital had been begun under

his orders; before her return to England。 Soon after her arrival

she examined the plans; and found that they reproduced all the

worst faults of an out…of…date and mischievous system of hospital

construction。 She therefore urged that the matter should be

reconsidered; and in the meantime the building stopped。 But the

Bison was obdurate; it would be very expensive; and in any case

it was too late。 Unable to make any impression on him; and

convinced of the extreme importance of the question; she

determined to appeal to a higher authority。 Lord Palmerston was

Prime Minister; she had known him from her childhood; he was a

near neighbour of her father's in the New Forest。 She went down

to the New Forest; armed with the plan of the proposed hospital

and all the relevant information; stayed the night at Lord

Palmerston's house; and convinced him of the necessity of

rebuilding Netley。 'It seems to me;' Lord Palmerston wrote to

Lord Panmure; 'that at Netley all consideration of what would

best tend to the comfort and recovery of the patients has been

sacrificed to the vanity of the architect; whose sole object has

been to make a building which should cut a dash when looked at

from the Southampton river。。。  Pray; therefore; stop all further

progress in the work until the matter can be duly considered。'

But the Bison was not to be moved by one peremptory letter; even

if it was from the Prime Minister。 He put forth all his powers of

procrastination; Lord Palmerston lost interest in the subject;

and so the chief military hospital in England was triumphantly

completed on insanitary principles; with unventilated rooms; and

with all the patients' windows facing northeast。



But now the time had come when the Bison was to trouble and to be

troubled no more。 A vote in the House of Commons brought about

the fall of Lord Palmerston's Government; and; Lord Panmure found

himself at liberty to devote the rest of his life to the Free

Church of Scotland。 After a brief interval; Sidney Herbert became

Secretary of State for War。 Great was the jubilation in the

Nightingale Cabinet: the day of achievement had dawned at last。

The next two and a half years (1859…61) saw the introduction of

the whole system of reforms for which Miss Nightingale had been

struggling so fiercelyreforms which make Sidney Herbert's

tenure of power at the War Office an important epoch in the

history of the British Army。 The four Sub…Commissions; firmly

established under the immediate control of the Minister; and

urged forward by the relentless perseverance of Miss Nightingale;

set to work with a will。 The barracks and the hospitals were

remodelled; they were properly ventilated and warmed and lighted

for the first time; they were given a water supply which actually

supplied water; and kitchens where; strange to say; it was

possible to cook。 Then the great question of the Purveyorthat

portentous functionary whose powers and whose lack of powers had

weighed like a nightmare upon Scutariwas taken in hand; and new

regulations were laid down; accurately defining his

responsibilities and his duties。 One Sub…Commission reorganised

the medical statistics of the Army; another established in spite

of the last convulsive efforts of the Department an Army Medical

School。 Finally; the Army Medical Department itself was

completely reorganised; an administrative code was drawn up; and

the great and novel principle was established that it was as much

a part of the duty of the authorities to look after the soldier's

health as to look after his sickness。 Besides this; it was at

last officially admitted that he had a moral and intellectual

side。 Coffee…rooms and reading…rooms; gymnasiums and workshops

were instituted。 A new era did in truth appear to have begun。

Already by 1861 the mortality in the Army had decreased by one…

half since the days of the Crimea。 It was no wonder that even

vaster possibilities began now to open out before Miss

Nightingale。 One thing was still needed to complete and to assure

her triumphs。 The Army Medical Department was indeed reorganised;

but the great central machine was still untouched。 The War Office

itself! If she could remould that nearer to her heart's desire…

…there indeed would be a victory! And until that final act was

accomplished; how could she be certain that all the rest of her

achievements might not; by some capricious turn of Fortune's

wheela change of Ministry; perhaps; replacing Sidney Herbert by

some puppet of the permanent official gang be swept to limbo in

a moment?



Meanwhile; still ravenous for yet more and more work; her

activities had branched out into new directions。 The Army in

India claimed her attention。 A Sanitary Commission; appointed at

her suggestion; and working under her auspices; did for our

troops there what the four Sub…Commissions were doing for those

at home。 At the same time; these very years which saw her laying

the foundations of the whole modern system of medical work in the

Army; saw her also beginning to bring her knowledge; her

influence; and her activity into the service of the country at

large。 Her 〃Notes on Hospitals〃 (1859) revolutionised the theory

of h

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