Soyer's Culinary Campaign: Being Historical Reminiscences of the Late War.: With The Plain Art of Cookery for Military and Civil InstitutionsSoyer, Alexis
History
Soyer's Culinary Campaign: Being Historical Reminiscences of the Late War.: With The Plain Art of Cookery for Military and Civil Institutions
Soyer, Alexis
Cooking for military personnel; Crimean War, 1853-1856
It was at last settled that a berth in the first convenient ship leaving
the harbour for Scutari should be placed at Miss Nightingale’s disposal.
The _Jura_ was fixed upon, as she was then hourly expected, and had only
to discharge cargo and return immediately. She had four hundred horses
on board, and several hundred troops. The day before her departure Miss
Nightingale was brought from the Sanatorium upon a stretcher, carried by
eight soldiers, and accompanied by Dr. Hadley, the Reverend Mr. Parker,
Mr. Bracebridge, myself, and several Sisters of Charity. When we reached
the _Jura_, tackles were attached to the four corners of the stretcher,
and Miss Nightingale was slung on deck by means of pulleys. We found a
very disagreeable smell, caused by the great number of horses, which had
only been landed that morning. Miss Nightingale was carefully carried to
the chief cabin, a very comfortable one; yet even there the smell was
very offensive. This I mentioned to the captain, who agreed with me, but
said, “We shall no sooner get to sea than it will disappear.”
The invalid was therefore made as comfortable as possible, and the
doctors and every one left. No sooner were they gone than Miss
Nightingale fainted. I and the boy Thomas ran in every direction for a
doctor. Dr. Hadley, who had just arrived at his residence on the Genoese
Heights, came at once, and immediately ordered her to be removed to
another vessel. Not being able to find either Captain Heath or Admiral
Boxer, I thought of the _Baraguay d’Hilliers_, to which Miss Nightingale
was at once safely removed, and where I hoped she would be very
comfortable till we could get an order from the admiral for another
ship. The same evening Admiral Boxer came on board to say that he would
at once look out for one. The next afternoon Mr. Bracebridge and myself
went to head-quarters, to apprise Lord Raglan of the cause of Miss
Nightingale’s non-departure. His lordship was out, and Mr. Bracebridge
left a message to the effect that he hoped Lord Raglan would not trouble
himself about the matter, as Admiral Boxer would attend to it, and that
Miss Nightingale was quite comfortable on board the _Baraguay
d’Hilliers_. We then made a few farewell calls at the First and Third
Divisions, and also at the Guards’ camp, near Balaklava.
It was nearly midnight when we were shouting, pianoly, “_Baraguay
d’Hilliers_ ahoy!” No reply was made to either the first or second hail,
so I raised the dismal melody a few notes higher, which at last brought,
to our astonishment, a beautiful boat manned by six smart oarsmen. The
craft was handsomely painted, having a small red and white burgee at the
stern. At first I thought it was an optical delusion, or a fairy scene
raised by the magic power of Ondine, the queen of the waters. In less
than two minutes they neared the shore, and one of the fairies addressed
us thus: “Pray, are you the gentlemen who are accompanying Miss
Nightingale?”
“We are,” said I.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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