The Washington herald., 1910-08-21

splints. liniments, instruments spring up
in the wilderness. performing miracles.
Ike the saints, march directly into the
enemy camp and demand the best for
her boys" bat then she had no enemies
and nursed the Southerners with equal
tenderness as the Yankees. There was
no blue nor gray TO her, only suffering
humanity
As for the great men Of the day. they
failed 10 impress her with their dignity.
grandeur, or wisdom save so far as they
contributed 10 the comfort Of her boys"
She invariably referred 20 Vice President
Hamlin. who was the personifcauou Of
dignity, as an "old dear and TO his col
league, Senator Morrill,. OF Maine. as a
sanity darling, because they ever
turned a ready ear 20 her demands and
hurried on the supplies she needed with
little regard to red tape. 1t is impossi-
bic 20 give an idea Of Mrs. Sampson
Quaintness which. united 70 a heart 50
big and a soul so noble. made her stand
out at an extraordinary time as an ex-
traordinary figure.
Her Requests Always Granted.
-
her words, and with a pronounced lisp.
yet she never told story. even TO men
hardened TO such stories. that she did not
succeed in inspiring and convincing her
hearers. Looking back and recalling her
personality and her peculiariues / have
Cftened wondered what qualities made
her such a compelling force, what subtle
traits rendered her so invinclbIe, for II IS
told Of her that she never failed in
anything she started out 70 do. and I
have come TO the conclusion that Il was
her guilelessness; the fact that having
nothing but kind and good impulses. she
looked for only kindness and goodness
in others. When she approached people
she expected and received the same re-
ception she would have accorded them,
without the remotest doubt that any re-
guest she might make would be refused.
and II would have been a cross old
Serooge indeed, who would have refused
her anything.
Such women as Miss Barton and Mrs.
Sampson might have gone 10 the front
had Florence Nightingale not set them
an inspiring example. but there were many
who did go and did valiant service. who
yet lacked the courage Of pioneers. tho
initiative, and who would never have
gone had not their English sister pointed
the way. She. too. enabled her followers
70 carry 10 their wounded heroes more
than mere pity and sympathy a knowl-
edge Of nursing. Of hygiene. and the ca
pacity Of endurance and self control. for
they carried welI-thuinhsd copies Of her
notes on nursing and they had always her
splendid example before them.
student Of Natural LaEVs.
Florence was much more than a bril-
liant. devoted. and capable nurse: she
was a deep student Of natural laws. physi-
cal conditions. and a reformer. The last
fifty years has witnessed a marvellous
progress in medical science. old ideas
have been abandoned for new, and. in
some directions. there has been a revo-
luton. but If one viii have the patience
10 read Florence Nightingale he VIII hnd
that nearly all of the rules regarding
hygiene and the care Of the sickroom in
Sisted upon to-day were first recommended
and advocated by her. Although written
a half century ago some Of her papers,
notably the one on ventilation and warm
ing, could not be improved upon in the
light OF the science Of the day, and fifty
years ago she began to plead for what
doctors are still pleading for. that moth
ers should study the laws governing the
human body. that through this knowledge
infant mortality. which was at that time
in England one in seven. might be re-
duced
The elements Of astronomy are now
taught 10 every school girl" she SAYS:
neither mothers OF families Of any class.
nor schooImistress of any class. nor
nurses Of children, nor nurses of hospi-
tails are taught anything about those
laws which God has assigned 10 the re-
lations Of our bodies with the world in
which He has put them. In other words.
the laws which make these bodies into
which He has put our minds healthy or
unhealthy organs OF those minds. are all
but unlearned. Not but these laws-the
laws OF nfe-are in a certain measure
understood. but not even mothers think
il worth while 10 study them-to study
how 20 give their children healthy ex-
istences, They call il medical knowledge
or physiological knowledge, fit only for
doctors.
Need Knowledge of Hygiene.
This is no longer as true to-day as
when these words were written. We do
aim nowadays to teach in the schools a
knowledge Of hygiene and Of the laws
that govern the body. but the majority
OF mothers. especially those removed from
the educational influences Of town. still
believe that the circumstances that gov
ern there children's health are beyond
their control; hence it would be well II
Nightingale's advice could be
sent as tracts broadcast through the land.
and her rules for nursing read in every
school in every country in tho
world. For Il is not alone the patient
and his symptoms. his comfort and care
with which she concerns herself. but with
the conditions Of the homes and surround
ings in which people live.
II every housewife Of this age would
model her Housekeeping according 70
Florence Nightingale's advice, there would
be few epidemics. few chronic invalids.
and one would hear lecs whining Of
there always seems 70 b, sickness in
our house" Go into a houss OF which
this is said. and invariably you will find
that IL is a dark house. that the blinds
are kept drawn, that carpets and cur
tains may not fade. and that calFets
are left on the floors from years end TO
years end, SO they may not be worn
out with cleaning and beating. Now.
Nightingale said fifty years ago
that: a dark house is always an uu-
healthy house ALWAYS an in aired house