The Sun.
London, England, 1854-10-06 00:00:00

SOLDIERS WIVES at VAIN A.

Mr. Ray, formerly the active and intelligent Inspecting Officer of
.his Association, writes from Varna to the following effect :
" Varna, August 4, 1854.

" Sir,—l beg to draw your attention to the condition of the poor
women here. Many of them have died, and others are dying ; others
who are in a state of convalescence, are not able to proceed further
with their regiments, and the men are expectgd .0 leave this in
about 14 days; and these poor creatures, emaciated and dried with
the sun, will be left in a foreign land without any protection or
home whatever. What I thought of was, to provide a house and
food for such as have none ; most ofthein have blankets, but to those
who have not I would propose lending them some, and to encourage
those who are able to get about to wait on the sick, cook, and wash.
If your Committee is pleased to approve of this plan, I shall be most
happy to superintend the whole mater, and I am quite sure it
would relieve many a poor man of intense anxiety. The cold wea-
ther will be soon setting in, then what will these poor women do?
If the ladies in England would send us a little flannel, a few blankets,
and left-off garments, they iwould be rendericg us a great service,
Sec. The great work that is going on for the wives and families of
the so diers by means of the Association in which you take so pro-
minent and energetic a part, causes abundant joy to the husbands
and fathers here; and When I remind them of what is doing, they
seem overjoyed, and many thanks are expressed both to yourself,
and the Committee, and benevolent friends, for the sympathy shown
them. Numerous are the deaths from cholera and fevers, and doubt-
less many who are cared for by your Association aro really widows,
but news of the fact may not have reached them. They hive not
yet entered the field, but every day the order for embarkation for
the Crimea is expected, ,where doubtless many will fall, and these
poor fellows have their eyes upon your Association to protect their
wives and children. I am happy to say I have been well re-
ceived by the men generally; to point them to the " Lamb of
God that taketh away the sins of the world,' is my ostensible
work, and to tell them of the great work going on in England
for the good of those who have been.left behind, is in perfect keeping;

itis indeed good news. The poor women who have followed theiihui-
bands to this placa are in a most pitiable condition, and when the ex-
pediation sails for the Crimea taey will be left here. Wont.' that we
had an Association here for these poor objects ! Yarns is in perfect
confusion; how could it be otherwise with such a congregation
of nations, tierce, wild, desperate-looking fellows, armed to the
teeth, anxiously waiting fur the signal to summon them to the fight.
May you long be spared in your gloriouS work, of all works the
most enviable, to care for the poor, &e."
Immediately on the receipt of these letters the Committee met,
and decided that a donation of blankets, shawls, &C., should imme-
diately be sent to Varna, and the sum of 1001. should be granted for
the use of these women. On the Ist September goods to the amount
of 341. were sent by steam to Constantinople. addressed to the care
of the Consul-General, who was requested to use his discretion in
forwarding them to Varna. A bill of exchange for 1001. was also
sent to the same authority, with instructions and authority to Mr.
Ray to act as the almoner of the Association.
Private letters received by the Committee ftilly corroborate the
fact of tile distress of these poor women, for though they receive
what are called rations,"ho other female comforts can be provided
for them.

"Camp near Varna, August 24, 1854.

"Dearest,—Tours dated August 3, came to band on the 16th. I
have received all your letters except one. You did tell me, my
dear, that7s. a week was what you received from the Association ;
and although that is a mere trifle in a place like London, yet we
ought to be very thankful for it. You say you deeply regret you did
not go with me; indeed, my dear wife, much as I desire to be with
you, I think it one of the most providential things ever happened for
you to be where you are, instead of being here ; badly off as you are
now, you would be utterly miserable here. We have lost already
two married men of cholera. I sleep in the staff tent ever since I
got better of the cholera. Everything is enormously high here ; a
mouthful of white bread and cheese for supper costs Id. One thing
lately we can always get, a pint of ale for 2d., or porter ie.; in fact,
it is the only thing we relish ; for the bread is very bad, and we get
nothing but the nasty beef, which we cannot eat, but boil down and
make soup of. I get, as I said before, Is. 10d. a day pay. Out of this,
4 56 d. is stopped for rations, and 2d.a-d ay for mess-money, so that by the
time I pay for something fit to eat, there is not much left; still I shall,
please God, send you all I can, &c. The women here have no way
of making money by washing, the water is too far off, &c.
" I am sorry to say I have been very ill, and as it is far the best for
me to let you know the whole truth, I must inform you that 1 have
had the cholera; I was very bad while it lasted, but thank the God
of all goodness for his great mercy, lie has restored me. The doctors
have been very kind indeed to me; everything I could wish for was
got for the ; almost all the ail :era and the colonel came to me and
inquired about me constantly. Poor L. M. J. M. and E.
and Mrs. L., have all died since my last; also R. and IS. F. In-
deed, my dearest wife, I rely iu perfect confidence in my Redeemer,
and feel myself quite unworthy of Ills mercy ; and during the worst
of my illness, I felt humble before Him in whom alone my salvation
is sure.

" Your ever loving husband,
~ E. R."

The wife of the writer of this letter (a most excellent non-com-
missioned officer) was left nearly Best tote with five young children.
She bears a most irrepr ,achable character, and is most anxious to
exert herseif to obtain her own livelihood; but what can she do with
live young children? Her two eldest girls are entirely provided for
by the Association, and she receives a weekly allowance of 7s.
The Committee perceive with pleasure that the authoi Kies are
gradually sending them home from the East. Three arrivals of sol-
diers' families have alrready been brought before the Committee,
for no sooner do they land than they apply to the Association, and
it is needless to add how readily their application
ii always re-
sponded to.

The first efforts ofWthis O
AlDWssociat S and
io n Owere limited to the immediate
RPHANS.
relief of the wives of soldiers ordered on active service,
consequence of their having families, were left behind utterly destl-
tutepf all means of existence, save the temporary outdoor parish
people
relief. since that time, the sword and the pestilence have too fa-
tally done their sad work, and many of these poor who, in
have be-
come more hopelessly destitute by the death of their husbands.
The Committee, however, encouraged by the magnificent contri-
butions received trout all parts of the world, have found themselves
in a position to make the following scale of donations for widows,
which is the same that was adopted by the administrators of the
Waterloo Fund, iu 1815 _

net exceeding the and rmentioned sums,
.. _
Unanimously resolved,—" That relief in the shape of a donation
being the same as agreed to
by the Waterloo Committee on the 28th of June, 1815, be adopted as
a scale for the widows of non-commissioned cancers and soldiers
now serving against Russia.
" A pension may be granted in the place of the whole or part
of such donation, should it appear expedient to the Committee."
Scale of Donation for Widows and Children De
port : Dependent for Sup-