The Press. — London, England, 1857-07-18 00:00:00

them, knowingly and foreseeingly all the way ; and if you get the thing once wrong, there is no hope fcr you but in washing or scraping boldly down to the white ground, and beginning again. Mr. Buskin concludes his letters by an ex position of the various points which are to be attended to in composition. As he truly says, composition, in its highest sense, is a gift, and it is as impossible to teach it in drawing, as in music to teach a man how to compose an opera like Mozart or an oratorio like Handel. But there are certain laws which should not be violated ; and these are—the laws of princi pality, of repetition, of continuity, of curva ture, of radiation, of contrast, of interchange, of consistency. and of harmony. For the full exposition of these the reader must be referred to the book itself ; and it would be equally impossible within our present limits to inquire whether they are capable of being reduced to a smeller number, or, if not, whether they all stand on the same level of importance. We have but one remark to make in conclusion— viz., that it is impossible unreservedly to recommend any course of instruction till you hare seen what it produces. We have carefully studied Mr. Ruskin's drawings in the third and fourth volumes of " Modern Painters," but we have never been so fortunate as to see any of his coloured sketches, and before doing so we could hardly presume to recommend his present volume without entering a caveat against the possible result of what seems to tie a most excellent system. We have little doubt, ho,vever, that his practice is of com• mensurate merit with the precepts we have just discussed. And, at any rate, the nook is pleasant reading, oven for those who may not wish to use it as an artistic manual. Thet Autobiography of Elizabeth Davis, a Beaklava Nurse. Edited by Jane Williams. Two Vols. London: Hurst and Blackett. WE are informed by the editress of this narra tive that the heroine of it, "in the decline " of life, and with broken health, is left unpro " vided for." We know of nothing more likely to check the flow of public benevolence towards her than the publication of these volumes. A more injudicious proceeding, or ono charac terised by worse taste, it is difficult to con ceive and we are strongly inclined to suspect that the poor woman herself has been made a tool of by interested persons, who have led her on to talk thoughtlessly and carelessly of her own experience, and, under cover of an appeal to the public in her behalf, have dis suminated the promptings of private malice and jealousy. We should observe, too, that the work in its present form is as great an imposture on the public as its contents are slanderous and spite ful Of two good-sized octavo volumes, con taining together 606 pages, only 110 (!) are the autobiography of a Crimean nurse. The first volume and a half is occupied with Mrs. Elizabeth Davis's early life, which is of no earthly interest whatever, and would have been equally useless but for ithe evidence it affords of her total unfitness to form a trust worthy judgment upon persons placed in authority over her. Mrs. Davis seems to have been "spoiled" from the first moment of her going out to service. She happened to meet with masters and mistresses who smiled at her eccentrici ties, and encouraged her in an insubordinate and flighty disposition which it would have been kinder and wiser to correct. She was at Paris with a baronet's family in 1814, and she and a lady's maid disported themselves as follows : Flyn Madrid, Sir George - took us back to Paris. The dal/ afterwards, May :I, 1814, I was on the bridge of St. Denis anti saw Louis XVI 11. come into the city. One night the king gave a grand entertainment at St. Cloud, to celebrute his restoration. Six George and Lady were invited and went to it. After their carriage was gone, the lady's maid expressed to me her eager desire to go too, adding that nothing should prevent it, if she had but a proper man to accompany her. "If that is all," said I, " you shall soon have oue, fur I will myself be your beau, and we will both go." We held ourselves muc h t oo high on a ll occasions to associate with the men-servants. The valet had gone out I knew where our master's things were kept, went to his dressing.room, took out his Spanish uniform, put it on, and also his moustache and whiskers, took his hat, and sword, and cane, and set off with Owen to St. Cloud. We gained admission withogt difficulty, and I made my way THE PRESS, JULY 18, 197. through the crowd with an air of authority. We walked about among the company, enjoying ourselves extremely. I amused myself by flu-tin.; with some young ladies, who were evidently gratified by my attentions. We went to the saloon for refreshments, and passed so close to Sir George and Lady - that we were very much frightened, but fortunately escaped their notice. They got home before us, however, for our cab did not go so fast as their car riage. The lady's maid was missed, and did not dare to meet her master and mistress. I took courage, and went to show myself just as I was, so that they laughed so much that they could not be angry with either of us. On another occasion, at Milan. they " made " two young students of the University pro " vide them with fine clothes and a carriage " for the Opera ;" and once when Mrs. Davis, being engaged as a laundry-maid in a family, was irritated by the frequency of her ink tress's visits to the laundry, she went upstairs to the parlour. while her mistress was below, and seated herself at the head of the dinner table. The only consequence of this proceed ing was that her wages were raised, and the lady of the house snubbed. Our readers will now be able to form an opinion fin• themselves of the sort of woman by whom Miss Nightingale; has been assailed. The charges here brought against her may ho divided into three heads—self-indulgence, incapacity, and disregard of religion. Our readers will stare at these words, but we shall make them all good by extracts : Every day, during my stay at Scutari, I, and the other nurses, dined on the filaments of the meat, which had been stewed down all night long to make soup for the patients. Miss Nightingale bad a French cook, and three courses of the best of every kind of food were served up every day at her table for Mr. and Mrs. Bracebridge, and her friends. The " free-gift " stores were said to be freely used there, but my informants believe that she knew very little about where things came from—even what were on her own table—or how other delicacies were disposed of. The excuse here offered is only a shade less malicious than the charge itself. Again : He °penal all the bales, of which Mrs. Shaw Stewart had paid the freight, before he conld find linen fine enough for Miss Nightingale's use on her ♦oyage to Scutari. He took out table cloths—one being an Indian damask, four yards long—sheets, pillow•cases, linen chemises, long nightgowns, fine towels, and stockings, of which some were of lambswool, and others of cotton. On her return to Scutari, she sent Dr. Hadley and Dr. O'Connor to superintend all the hospitals in the Crimea. They tried her system, and it came into operation there on the 15th of July, 1855. The pitiful quantity of three quarters of a pound of arrowroot was sent to me as the allowance for the supper of eighty-three men : before it came, however, I had fortunately made preparations for that meal in my uaual way. The next day I received a hundred and thirty-five screws—little paper parcels such as grocers put up—they contained rice, arrowroot, sago, sugar, and such things, and were sent to me from the stores under the new system adopted by the medical staff. I arranged all the little packets on the table, and was going out to call Mr. Fitzgerald to come and look nt them, when I saw Dr. Hall and two other gentlemen riding up the bill. asked him to come in. He did so, and his corn. panions, Dr. Taylor and Dr. Hadley, who were then strangers to me, came in also. He inquired, " Mrs. Davis, who has put your Welsh blood up today? " I answered, " It would have been enough to put your Scotch blood up, too, if yon had been here." I showed him the " screws," and declared, as to this ne'v plan, that I would not put up with it, and that I re• fused to obey such orders. Dr. Taylor said it wonld never do, and Dr. Hall promised that things should be altered. There are repeated allusions to the discomfort and in:ionvenience of Miss Nightingale's system : It is a melancholy fact that the Superintendent of the Female Nursin; Staff did not recognise any religious in tercourse between the nurses and patients. Whatever did take plice was without her authority, ani in most instances without her knowledge. _ The principle of having nothing to do with their souls was avowed. That care was wholly left to the few chap. lains and priests. _ _ _ The instructions from the War•ofiice accorded with this practical exposition of the system of noninterference. And very right too. The specimens of Mrs. Davis's eonversa tions with Miss Nightingale are extremely offensive:— She said that I must not prejudice her nurses, and added— " I want to know your opinion of them—l have sent the best here." _ answered—" Yon know more about them than I do." She inquired--" 1)o you think the reports about them are true ?"_ " I have heard no reports ; but all I can say is they nre very fond of drinking; and if these arc your b:st, ruar nurses are not good for rotten." 705 " Whose fault is it ?" Miss Nightingale asked. I replied, that I supposed drinking too much must be their own fault; and said— _ . " You know nothing about me. I don't want you to place eon ti•lenee in me." She said—" I have heard a great deal about yon. About Mrs. did you see anything wrong? She is one of my best nurses." I only wish you had never sent her here ; and if you wish to know more, you must apply to Miss Wear." One day about twelve o'clock, which was the dinner time, ➢liss Nightingale and her maid came in from the Castle. I was busy sending out the extras for the patients on half-diet. I was irritated at being interrupted, and said, " You must please to walk out. I don't want petticoats here." There were perhaps as many as thirty ordeliies in the kitchcn, and I was cutting up fowls and putting things rea.ly for them to carry away. Seeing the necessity of the case she went away; and when the burry was over she came back again, and said, " You were in a had humour, Mrs. Davis." I denied it, for I did not consider just displeasure as bsd humour. She said, " I thought you were. You spoke very sharply." I told her that I was very busy, and thonght that she would not like to be there among the common men. So she went away again. Nobody can read these two latter extracts without seeing at once that the conversation was in each case between two persons one of whom was keeping her temper while the other had lost it Nothing can prove more clearly the vulgarity and ignorance of the complain ant's mind, nor can Miss Nightingale desire a more complete vindication than is thereby afforded. ON THE PAY OF MINISTERS OF THE CROWN. Journal of the Statistical Society. Vol. R.Y. Part 11. June, 1857. " WANTED, a few great statesmen, who can " make themselves generally useful," is a cry that has been heard repeated in various forms for some little time past. The maxim that a demand creates a supply appears to have failed in this instance, so that various persons liave come firward with various theories to account for the phenomenon. It was not to be wondered at that this fact should be accounted for upon statistical grounds, as all the world knows that figures are not such stubborn things as facts, and will prove any thing. Accordingly, an eminent professor of this occult science has come forward to show by the help of tables of dates and of official salaries, and by a neat application of the doctrine of chances and the integral calculus, how it is that the right man is not in the right place. Our author (Dr. Farr, of the General Regis ter-office, Sotnerset.house) approaches his subject according to the rules Marc. He shows that the average duration of a Ministry since the revolution of 1688 is three years and a quarter, and by calculations, through which it is not necessary to follow him, shows that " a person " aged twenty one, and certain, should he live, " to be Prime Minister, who wished to purchase "the salary of his future post, and to make "three per cent. by his investment, would only " be required to pay 7,4321.," and similarly for other of the great offices of State. Hence he contends, that the country is served for less than the average earnings of persons in trades or pro fessions by the First Ministers of the Crown. Nor does he confine himself to calculation : he cites the cases of the two Pius, and the statement made by Lord John Russell tha those First Lords of the Treasury who bad not large private estates had died in debt. He enumerates the various branches of know ledge which should be possessed by a public man—economic science, statistics, mathema tics, geography, history, eloquence. He de mands, that, since the political profession is one that demands all the time and all the energies of a class of the ablest men in the country, these men should be as well paid for their services as their contemporaries in other professions. He therefore suggests that the Superannuation Act should be so modified " that, including the Ministers and ex Ministers, eighty or a hundred of the work " ing political men in the Legislature should " enjoy either half pay or salaries, never, in " the highest offices, exceeding the amount " which the country may find it necessary z to "-give to secure the services of the judges.