Here we have the difficulty of the situation revealed. The nurses hitherto employed in military hospitals had been of a coarse, low character. They had neither education, training, nor sympathy for their work. To compare them to “Sairey Gamp” would be an insult to that immortal lady’s memory, for she had her good points and a certain professional knowledge and respectability to maintain, while the average soldiers’ nurse was little more than a mere camp follower. On the other hand were the good, kindly ladies who felt that they had a vocation for nursing, but, alas! were absolutely devoid of training and incapable of organising and controlling subordinates. Between these two impossible classes the war authorities had come to the conclusion that the army in the Crimea would be better without female nurses. The rousing appeal to the women of the country from Mr. Russell, _The Times_ correspondent, already quoted, had the effect of inundating the authorities with applications from women of all classes who, moved by the harrowing accounts of the suffering soldiers, were anxious to go out as nurses. The offers of help were bewilderingly numerous, but there was no organisation and no leader. Mr. Sidney Herbert was at the head of the War Department, and, in the midst of the excitement and general futility of things, his thoughts naturally turned to his honoured friend, Florence Nightingale. In his opinion she was the “one woman” in England who was fitted by position, knowledge, training, and character to organise a nursing staff and take them out to the aid of the suffering soldiers. He had, as we have already seen, an intimate personal knowledge of Miss Nightingale, was aware of the thorough and systematic study which she had for some years been giving to hospital nursing at home and abroad, and he knew also of the organising skill which she had been recently displaying in the management of the Harley Street Home for Sick Governesses. Mrs. Herbert, a lady of great insight and knowledge, felt with her husband that if Miss Nightingale could be induced to undertake the hazardous task of organising a band of military nurses, the success of the scheme would be ensured. But Mr. and Mrs. Herbert had a natural hesitation in making such a suggestion. It was tantamount to asking their dear friend to go out with her life in her hands, as well as to brave the adverse criticism of a large number of short-sighted but well-meaning people, who would lift up their hands in protest at the idea of a lady of birth and breeding going out to nurse the common soldier. Poor “Tommy” had a worse character then than now.