Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1894-08-09
THE TRENCH ANGEL.
norsnce nightingale, tho Heroine Of Tho
Cfimea, III.
WHAT SHE ACCOMPLISHED.
A Useful Life Filled with Devotion to
High Ideals and Humanity, CLOS
ing in London.

Qondon Correspondence. Phila. Press)
have just seen one who was 'he
most famous woman in England, the
Queen excepted, and I have found thaI
In addition TO having been the most IA
NOUS, she II personally the least known
woman In Great Britain. This woman IL
Florence Nightingale. the heroine OF the
Crtmea. the Angel OF the Trenches" as
the French termed her, the woman who
revolutionized hospital methods not only
in England, but throughout the world.
II ia now a trlfe more than seventy
four years ago that this woman was born
IN sunny Florence. from which city her
name was taken, and England has just
been celebrating the anniversary. Gu
rious to see this famous woman i sought
some local authorities. and was told that
she was TO be found at Lea Hurst, Der
byshre. A trim, intellgent-appearing
guard was walking up and down In front
Of the station at the little hamlet near
Lea Hurst when I arrived there. Him
I asked for directions as to how l should
find Miss Nightingale.
me I've heard the name, but i don't
know where she lives. I'm new man
here. Some of the farmer folk might set
you right"
This was discouraging to say the least
But the farmer folk. they. cf course.
would give me the needed information.
A quarter OF a mile from the station l
ltok. t1n1HinR
along the road. l repeated my inquiry
after Miss Nightingale.
"Noightingale? l know nowt o no
Noghtlngales hereabouts In my tonne
was the staggering answer. Still l kept
I'D the search. and after a time succeeded
In finding the former home OF the Night
ingales It's In the possession now or
a comparatively prosperous family, VINO
rent II from Miss Nightingale. The
buxorn farmers wife received me cor
daily and gave me this information:
A DIFFICULT SEARCH.
"Yes." said the good natured matron.
'this be Miss Nightirgale's estate roight
enough. But bless you we Know nowt
OF Miss Nightingale. She's never been
here in my tonne. We rents from
lawyer up London way
4
even have the address OF this lawyer.
II is his custom to make halfyearly Wis
its to Lea Hurst to collect rents. but he
has never seen fit to give the address OF
his London office TO Miss Nightingae's
tenants.
The day after this futile visit to Derby
shire / hunted up St Thomas's Hospital.
in London with which is connected the
Nightingale Home and school for train
pleasant-faced attendant admitted me. l
asked for Miss Nightingale.
Miss Nightingale" the young woman
repeated in a tone OF surprise. why do
YOU not know that Miss Nightingale has
not been here for years? ! have been
here zeveral years and all have ever
seen of her is that bust there" and here
she pointed to bust that stood on a
pedestal near by. 1t represented wo-
man with n strong, clear-cut. calm race.
that was evidently the countenance of a
strong and resolute woman. but no beauty
i'm the ordinary sense of the term.
you see." the attendant went on, Miss
Nightingale has been an invalid for many
years and Is not able 20 go about. l do
not even know her address, but i VIII
speak to the matron."
This she did. and returned with the ad-
dress of the famous woman. She lives
in quiet spot in the west OF London.
but even the ncighboTs about her do not
seem to know anything of her. n neat
maid took my card. and in a few mo-
ments later | was shown into the pres
ence of a woman whom had had so much
trouble In locating. / found her reclining
on n couch with books about her and
writing tab beside her. Her appearance
came as a sort of shock 10 me. For some
reason / had expected TO see slender
ervously-organized woman, quick ana
energetic ] saw instead a woman enor-
mously stout-unweldly, In fact. | found
also. that she cannot walk without as
sistance even about her own room.
looked for some resemblance to the face
shown in the bust In st. Thomas Hos
pital but could find scarcely any. The
accumulated flesh on her face made her
all unlike the woman who sat for the
original of that. | found later that the
bust had been made from photograph
taken of Miss Nightingale after she re-
turned from the Crimea. For some reason
she had since refused to have any pic
ture of herself taken.
GRATEFUL FOR RECOGNITION.
My interview with Miss Nightingale was
brief. She was too Ill to talk much. She
expressed her thanks for the many kind
letters that she is constantly receiving
from America, and she mentioned espe-
cially the testimonial presented to her by
the American Government in return for
her advice with regard to improving our
hospital service at the time Of the civil
war. She has similar testimonial from
France and has tributes from individuals
from all over the world. Her rooms are
fairly filled with pictures. books. medals.
and bits of bric-a-brac that have been
presented TO her from time to time.
Il am certainly being remembered by
kind friends, who are personally unknown
to me, but whose kindness touches me
more than j can say. / wish you would
thank my American friends for their
kind words that are constantly coming
to me. II T have done good in my life
am being fully rewarded now. What
gratihos me above all is that all my
hopes have been Il filled. The hospital
service of to-day is in no way to be COM
pared. In the old days ignorance and
carelessness prevailed 1t still horrifes
me when | think Of how our men were
treated when they were Ill or wounded
at the time OF the Crimean war. To-day
what with improved hospital service with
trained nurses. with such organizations
as the Red Cross and others, our sys-
TEN is well nigh perfect"
could not help after leaving this wo-
man. who had just celebrated her 7ith
birthday. dwelling on her remarkable ca
Aicer There be few left now who fought
In the Crimea. In the one war Of the GEN.
tu.y an whict England and Frante were
allie}. IL was war that destroyed the
reputation of many generals and made
the reputation Of almost none. The grim
cynic OF the day was half right who said
that the allies had no generals save
General Canrobert the Frenchman, and
that the Russians had none save Generals
January and February. during which
months men were frozen on post and in the
trenches. Kinglake and Mccarthy tell
US that the contractors who rJppned the
English troops with food fur nished tainted
meat that caused disease and led Lon
don Punch" TO print savage satirical
attack on the London contractors under
the caption, "One Mans Meat, Another
Mans Poison"
MISS NIGHTlNGALE'S WORK.
II was at this juncture when men were
dying about Sebastopol and other points
like sheep at the shambles, that Florence
Nightingale came 10 the front and
brought into the terrible game Of war as