The Life of Florence Nightingale Volume I Part 28

The two men who had thrown light most searchingly on the defects of the campaign, in the matter of supply and transport, were Sir John McNeill and Colonel Tulloch. Miss Nightingale arranged to see and confer with the former at Edinburgh on her way to Ballater. Colonel Tulloch, though he was far distant at the time, agreed to join the conclave, and, meanwhile, he wrote (from Killin, Sept. 6): "If H.M. should afford you an opportunity of telling the whole truth, as I think it likely she wishes to do from her desire to see you under another roof, without her enquiries being noticed, perhaps you might bring to her knowledge,"

etc., etc. [various points which he deemed of special importance]. Mr.

Herbert's advice was more general. "I hope," he wrote (Sept. 9), "that your Highland foray will do you good. I am sure it will, if you find help and encouragement for your plans. I hope you will talk fully, and ill.u.s.trate by facts and details. They explain best. Men and women require picture-books, just as much as children, when they are to learn something of which they know nothing previously." She armed herself, by study of statistics, by collection of her notes and memoranda, by inquiries on all sides, for every occasion which the sympathetic interest of the Queen or the Prince might give her. She felt, and others felt, that great things might turn on her use of such occasions. The fullest and most suggestive letter which she received was from Colonel Lefroy. He was employed at the War Office. He knew the weaknesses of his Chief. He knew also the strength of the Department to resist. He had been employed, as we have heard already,[234] on a confidential mission to the Crimea, and had formed the highest opinion of "the glorious fidelity, the self-sacrifice, the heroic courage, and single-minded devotion" with which Miss Nightingale had performed her duties in the East. He looked for great results from her visit to Scotland:--

(_Colonel Lefroy to Miss Nightingale._) _August_ 28.... I never had the good fortune to have an interview with the Queen, but I have had several with Prince Albert. The Prince exhibited such a remarkable knowledge of the subjects he was enquiring about, so strong and clear and business-like a capacity that you will, I think, find it both expedient and necessary, or rather unavoidable, to enter into a full and unreserved communication of your observations, and be tempted irresistibly to let fall such suggestions as are most likely to germinate in that high lat.i.tude.

If I am correct in this impression, a similar frankness with Lord Panmure follows. I was once amused by the Prince remarking on a point of military education, "I have urged it over and over again; they do not mind what I say," showing that even he cannot always overcome the _vis inertiae_ of Departmental indifference or prevail on people to move. It may be so in any question of medical reform.

Lord Panmure hates detail, and does not appreciate system. He can reform but not organise. It is organisation we want, but which arouses every instinct of resistance in the British bosom, and it is this which can be least influenced by H.M.'s personal interest in it. Like a rickety clumsy machine, with a pin loose here and a tooth broken there, and a makeshift somewhere else, in which the force of Hercules may be exhausted in a needless friction and obscure hitches before the hands are got to move, so is our Executive, with the Treasury, the Horse Guards, the War Department, the Medical Department all out of gear, but all required to move together before a result can be attained. He will be stronger than Hercules, who gets out of it the movement we require. I think I would recommend ... [a long statement of suggested reforms, including "a Commission to enquire into the existing Regulations for Hospital Administration"]. In some form or other we have almost a right to ask at your hands an account of the trials you have gone through, the difficulties you have encountered, and the evils you have observed--not only because no other person ever was or can be in such a position to give it, but because, permit me to say, no one else is so gifted. It will be no ordinary task; and no ordinary powers of reasoning, ill.u.s.trating, grouping facts will be requisite. Another might repeat what you told him, but the burning conviction, the _vis viva_ of the soul cannot be imparted.... It appears to me that either a confidential report addressed to Lord Panmure _upon a formal request_, or evidence before such a Commission as I have proposed above would be suitable means--the latter the most so, as I fear that more publicity than attends confidential reports will be necessary. I earnestly hope that your interviews with the Queen and Lord Panmure may be the means of leading both to interest themselves effectually in the vital reforms required. The axe has to be laid to the root of the tree yet.

[234] See above, p. 297.

Various friends tendered advice as to what Miss Nightingale should say if she were to be asked what the Queen could "do for her." She might pet.i.tion to be placed in charge of the new hospital about to be built at Netley, or to be appointed Lady Superintendent of Nurses in all military hospitals, and so forth. Her own ideas were on the lines of Colonel Lefroy's letter. She would, first, tell the whole truth of the campaign, so far as it had come under her personal observation. If given any encouragement to proceed, she would explain in general terms the kind of remedies which she deemed essential. She would offer, if the conversation took a suitable turn, to embody her observations and suggestions in a written report. If further honoured by any suggestion of Royal favour, she would ask--for herself, nothing but for the sake of the soldiers, a Royal Commission to inquire into the whole condition of barracks, hospitals, and the Army Medical Department.

IV

Thus armed, and thus resolved, Miss Nightingale set out for Scotland, under her father's escort. Between father and daughter there was genuine affection; but Mr. Nightingale was in indifferent health, and was const.i.tutionally of a retiring disposition. After a few days he beat a retreat. It had been supposed that the "foray" would be short. In fact it lasted for a month. Miss Nightingale reached Edinburgh on September 15, and, staying there a few days, took occasion to inspect the barracks and hospitals. She left for Birk Hall on September 19, and two days later she was introduced to the Queen and the Prince at Balmoral by Sir James Clark. "She put before us," wrote the Prince in his diary, "all the defects of our present military hospital system, and the reforms that are needed. We are much pleased with her; she is extremely modest."[235] A few days later (Sept. 26) the Queen drove over from Balmoral to Birk Hall, and Miss Nightingale had "tea and a great talk"

with Her Majesty. The impression made on the Queen has been already recorded in her letter to the Duke of Cambridge: "I wish we had her at the War Office." The Duke, who was not exactly a red-hot reformer, must have been thankful that the wish of his August Relative for a new broom did not extend to the Horse Guards. "My hopes were somewhat raised,"

wrote Miss Nightingale to Sir John McNeill (Sept. 27), "by the great willingness of the Queen, Prince Albert, and Sir George Grey, all of whom I have seen together and separately, to listen and to ask questions." "I have had most satisfactory interviews," she wrote to her Uncle Sam (Sept. 25), "with the Queen, the Prince, and Sir George Grey.

Satisfactory, that is, as far as their _will_, not as their _power_ is concerned." Miss Nightingale is not the only impatient reformer who has been tempted to wish that knots of red tape could be cut by a direct exercise of the Royal Prerogative. The Prince knew "in what limits" he and the Queen moved. Nothing could be done except through Ministers, and the Minister for War would shortly be in attendance at Balmoral. "The Queen," continued Miss Nightingale, "wished me to remain to see Lord Panmure here rather than in London, because she thinks it more likely that something might be done with him here with her to back me. I don't.

But I am obliged to succ.u.mb." So she stayed on at Birk Hall, her "command" visit to Balmoral being postponed till Lord Panmure should arrive. The Queen sent a good character of Miss Nightingale to the Minister in advance. "Lord Panmure," she wrote, "will be much gratified and struck with Miss Nightingale--her powerful, clear head, and simple, modest manner."[236] The Queen had "accepted with great grace" the suggestion that any letter of recommendations sent by Miss Nightingale to Lord Panmure should be sent also to Her Majesty direct.

[235] _Life of the Prince Consort_, vol. iii. p. 503.

[236] _Panmure_, vol. ii. p. 306.

V

The point of interest among Miss Nightingale's Reform "Cabinet" now shifted from the Queen to her Ministers. The Court had been won. "Lord Auckland says," wrote Lady Verney to her sister, "that he hears from Lord Clarendon that the Queen was enchanted with you." But what impression would she make upon the less susceptible "Bison" (for so the burly Scot, Lord Panmure, was called by Miss Nightingale and her friends)? She had reported herself to him immediately on her return from the East, and he had replied politely, but postponed the pleasure of an interview. Mr. Herbert was not sure that much would come of it even in the sympathetic air of Balmoral. "I gather," he wrote (Oct. 3), "that upon the whole you are pleased with the result of your conversations with the Queen and Prince Albert. I hope you will do equally well with Panmure, tho' I am not sanguine; for, tho' he has plenty of shrewd sense, there is a _vis inertiae_ in his resistance which is very difficult to overcome." Sir John McNeill was more hopeful. He attached great importance to the personal factor in Miss Nightingale's favour:--

"I antic.i.p.ate considerable advantage," he wrote (Sept. 29), "from your interview with Lord Panmure. He has seen your name in every newspaper, and probably has no very accurate, or perhaps a very inaccurate notion, of what sort of person Miss Florence Nightingale is. He may perhaps think that a lady whose name is so frequently mentioned can hardly be indifferent to popular applause and that with so strong a hold upon the feelings of the nation, she is not unlikely to use it for the gratification of personal ambition. If he has such notions, he will be undeceived. He will find that influenced by higher motives you have no desire to employ your influence for any other purpose than to do all the good you can in the work which you have chosen, and that the absence of personal motive it is which gives you the courage and the right to speak fearlessly the whole truth, and to persevere in the direct line of duty whatever may be the difficulties or the obstacles. He will see that you have no desire to become in any sense a rival, and that it rests with him to make you a co-adjutor or an opponent, as he may be willing or unwilling to promote the good which you consider it your plain duty as far as in you lies to carry out."

Sir John's att.i.tude to Miss Nightingale was always a little paternal, and I think that we may perhaps read between the lines of his well-turned sentences a hint and a caution, under the guise of an encomium. The hint was not needed. She was entirely free from any temptation to use her popularity for purposes of personal ambition; but she was to show considerable skill in the use of it, as a weapon in reserve, for furthering her public objects. Mr. Herbert and Sir John McNeill were both right. The personal factor prevailed, as Sir John hoped; and Miss Nightingale won the Minister, even as she had won the Court--or seemed to win him. He promised all she asked; but it was also as Mr. Herbert feared, and the force of pa.s.sive resistance was long maintained.

When Lord Panmure reached Balmoral, Miss Nightingale was commanded thither. The Court Circular (Oct. 6) chronicled her attendance at church with the Queen, and at the ball given to the gillies it was noticed that she was seated with the Royal Family. She had an opportunity to "tell the Prince the whole story" of her experiences in the East. Another side of her interests also came into play on this occasion. She had talks with Prince Albert "on metaphysics and religion." Then Lord Panmure, following in the steps of his Sovereign, went to see Miss Nightingale at Birk Hall, and they had long conversations. "You may like to know,"

wrote Mr. John Clark[237] (Oct. 13), "that you fairly overcame Pan. We found him with his mane absolutely silky, and a loving sadness pervading his whole being." "I forget whether I told you," wrote Sidney Herbert (Nov. 2), "that the Bison wrote to me very much pleased with his interview with you. He says that he was very much surprised at your physical appearance, as I think you must have been with his. G.o.d bless you!" Lord Panmure, I suspect, was one of those men who presume that any strong-minded woman will be physically ill-favoured. At any rate Miss Nightingale greatly impressed the Minister, even as the Queen had predicted. In general terms, Lord Panmure seemed very favourable to Miss Nightingale's suggestions. It was agreed that she should presently write out her experiences with notes on necessary reforms for the information of the Government, and in this request the Prime Minister, Lord Palmerston, a.s.sociated himself with Lord Panmure. The Minister for War seemed well disposed towards a scheme to which she attached great importance--the establishment of an Army Medical School. He agreed in principle to the appointment of a Royal Commission. So she had gained, it seemed, all she wanted, and the Minister threw in an additional point of his own.[238] The plans for the hospital at Netley--the first General Military Hospital--were at this time far advanced. Lord Panmure would send the plans to Miss Nightingale, and would be much obliged for her remarks upon them. Conversation on this and all the other subjects just mentioned was to be resumed when they would both be in London in November.

[237] Son of Sir James, whom he succeeded in the baronetcy; married to Charlotte Coltman. There was afterwards a family connection with the Nightingales, as Lady Clark's nephew, Mr. William Coltman, married Miss Nightingale's cousin, Bertha Smith.

[238] Which, however, may not improbably have been suggested to him by the Queen. For Her Majesty's initiative and keen interest in the matter of the Netley Hospital, see _Life of the Prince Consort_, vol. iii. pp. 227, 491.

VI

When news of the spoils, which Miss Nightingale had brought back from her Highland "foray," reached her little "Cabinet" of reformers, their hopes ran high, and arrangements were promptly made for meetings and consultations. The Lady-in-Chief broke her journey southwards at Edinburgh, in order to confer again with Sir John McNeill. On October 15 she was back at Lea Hurst, and entered into correspondence with other of the confederates. On November 2, she came to London, making her headquarters at the Burlington in Old Burlington Street, the favourite hostelry at this time of her family: a house which came to be known among those behind the scenes as "The Little War Office." She drew up lists of an ideal Royal Commission, and circulated it among her allies for their suggestions, and, in the case of those whom she proposed to nominate, for their consent. One of these latter was her friend and physician at Scutari, Dr. Sutherland. "I have just received your letter," he wrote (Nov. 12), "and am led to believe that there must be a foundation of truth under the old myth about the Amazon women somewhere to the East of Scutari. All I can say is that if you had been queen of that respectable body in old days, Alexander the Great would have had rather a bad chance. Your project has developed itself far better than I expected, and I think I see a way of doing good and therefore I shall serve on the Commission. _Get Alexander_. n.o.body else if you cannot. He is our man. I am to meet you to-night at Sir James Clark's to dinner, and shall be very glad to talk over the subject further." Dr. Sutherland a.s.sumed, it will be seen, that the Amazon would carry him in; and she did. Over Dr. Alexander there was a stiff fight. Miss Nightingale had been greatly impressed in the Crimea by his skill, fearlessness, and activity. He had now received an appointment in Canada, and Lord Panmure objected to recalling him; but Mr. Herbert made his own acceptance of the Chairmanship conditional on the appointment of Dr. Alexander, "the ablest and most effective man with our Army."[239] Sir James Clark's consent to serve was doubtless secured at the dinner just mentioned. Sir James Ra.n.a.ld Martin was also willing, and he had a candidate of his own.

"Farr," he wrote to Colonel Tulloch (Nov. 11), "ought to be a member. I wish you would take an early opportunity of bringing the question before Miss Nightingale with all the force of which you are capable."

She was already in correspondence with Dr. William Farr; they had a link in their common pa.s.sion for statistics. She did not succeed in carrying him on to the Commission, but they collaborated in the preparation of statistical evidence for it. Then she approached Sir Henry Storks, who was willing to serve. She hoped to be able to include her friend Colonel Lefroy also, but there she failed. That Sidney Herbert was the Chairman of her choice goes without saying. The other appointment to which she naturally attached vital importance was that of a secretary, and her choice fell upon Dr. Graham Balfour.[240] Having settled the Commissioners, Miss Nightingale proceeded to draft their Instructions, and this draft also she circulated for criticism and advice.

[239] _Stanmore_, vol. ii. p. 121.

[240] Thomas Graham Balfour (1813-1891), M.D. of Edinburgh; compiler of the first four volumes of _Statistics of the British Army_; a.s.sistant-surgeon to the Grenadier Guards.

She was now ready for the promised interview with Lord Panmure. On the morning of the fateful day, Sir James Clark wrote to her: "I think it would be well when you see Lord Panmure to make him understand that the enquiry is intended as, and must comprehend, an investigation into the whole Medical Department of the Army, and everything regarding the health of the Army." A needless reminder to her who had everything cut and dried in that sense long before! "I long to hear," wrote Mr.

Herbert, "what results you obtain from the Bison." Miss Nightingale preserved her note of the results written at the time, and it is so characteristic of her humour that I print it very nearly _in extenso_:--

[_Nov._ 16.] My "Pan" here for three hours. Wrote down--

_President_--Mr. Herbert } General Storks } Jury.

Colonel Lefroy }

Dr. A. Smith } Dr. McLachlan } Army Doctors.

Dr. Brown }

Dr. Sutherland } Dr. Martin } Civil Doctors.

Dr. Farr }

_Secretary_--Dr. Balfour Army Doctor.

Will have Drs. balanced. Not fair: two soldiers reckon as against Civil element. Whenever I represented it (I did not know old "Pan"

was so sharp), he offered to take off Col. Lefroy! So I had to knock under.

Won't bring back Alexander from Canada. Will have three Army Doctors. So, like a sensible General in retreat, I named [Dr.

Joseph] Brown, Surgeon Major, Grenadier Guards, therefore not wedded to Dr. Smith, an old Peninsular and Reformer. Left Lord P.

his McLachlan, who will do less harm than a better man. He has generously struck out Milton.[241] Seeing him in such a "coming on disposition," I was so good as to leave him Dr. Smith, the more so as I could not help it.

Have a tough fight of it: Dr. Balfour as Secretary. Pan amazed at my condescension in naming a Military Doctor; so I concealed the fact of the man being a dangerous animal and obstinate innovator.

Failed in one point. Unfairly. Pan told Sir J. Clark he was to be on. Won't have him now. Sir J. Clark has become interested.

Agreeable to the Queen to have him--just as well to have Her on our side....

Besides things Ld. P. finds convenient to forget, has really an inconveniently bad memory as to names, facts, dates, and numbers.

Hope I know what discipline is too well, having had the honour of holding H.M.'s Commission, to have a better memory than my Chief.

Pan has four Army Doctors really, therefore according to his principle I have _a right to_ four Civilians.

_Instructions_: general and comprehensive, comprising the whole Army Medical Department, and the health of the Army, at home and abroad. Semi-official letter from Secretary of State on Memorandum from President giving details. Smith, equal parts lachrymose and threatening, will say, "I did not understand that we were to inquire into this."

My master jealous. Does not wish it to be supposed he takes suggestions from me, which crime indeed very unjust to impute to him.

You must drag it through. If not you, no one else.

(1) Col. Lefroy to be instructed by Lord P. to draw up scheme and estimate for Army Medical School, appendix to his own Military Education.--_I won._

(2) Netley Hospital plans to be privately reported on by Sutherland and me to Lord P.--_I won._

(3) Commissariat to be put on same footing as Indian.--_I lost_.