Often she herself had the painful duty of writing to wives and mothers to tell of the death of their dear ones, and several of these letters were published by the recipients in journals of the time, and are full of that thoughtful practical help which distinguished all the Lady-in-Chief’s efforts. She would send home little mementoes, the last book perhaps which the dying man had read, and would tell the bereaved women how to apply for their widow’s allowance, send papers for them to fill up, and in cases of doubtful identity would sift matters to the bottom to discover whether such or such a man was among the slain. Another matter of concern with Miss Nightingale was to induce the men to send their pay home to their families. For this purpose she formed at Scutari an extempore money order office in which she received, four afternoons in the month, the money of any soldier who desired to send it home to his family. Each month about £1,000 was sent home in small sums of twenty or thirty shillings, which were, by Post Office orders obtained in England, sent to their respective recipients. “This money,” as Miss Nightingale says, “was literally so much rescued from the canteen and drunkenness.” Following her initiative, the Government during the last months that the army remained in the East established money order offices at Constantinople, Scutari, Balaclava and headquarters, Crimea, and in the course of about six months, from January 30th to July 26th, 1856, no less than £71,000 was sent home by the men. “Who will say after this,” writes Miss Nightingale, “that the soldier must needs be reckless, drunken, or disorderly?” But it may be added that Miss Nightingale’s presence in the Crimea during the months which followed victory, when “Tommy” was in an exulting state of mind and ready to drink healths recklessly, and make each day an anniversary of the fall of Sebastopol, had a great moral effect on the men. The Treaty of Peace was signed at Paris on March 30th, 1856, and the final evacuation of the Crimea took place on the following July 12th, on which day General Codrington formally gave up Sebastopol and Balaclava to the Russians. Not until all the hospitals were closed, and the last remnant of the British army was under sailing orders for home, did Florence Nightingale quit the scene of her labours. Just before leaving the Crimea, she was amazed to find that some fifty or sixty women, who had followed their husbands to the Crimea without leave, but had been allowed to remain because they were useful, were actually left behind before Sebastopol when their husbands’ regiments had sailed. The poor women gathered around Miss Nightingale’s hut in great distress, and she managed to induce the authorities to send them home on a British ship.