As the weather grew colder, all M. Casanova’s efforts to procure coal were unavailing, and very often there was not enough to maintain the supply of hot water. This was the case on one occasion when notice was received that eighty patients were arriving, and no hot baths were available; and much time and labour was spent in preparing gallons of hot water for toilet purposes over the gas rings. When the wards were very cold, the men were kept in bed with hot bottles and blankets; but obviously this plan could not be continued indefinitely, and as no help was forthcoming from ‘l’intendance militaire,’ the question of closing the hospital had to be considered. The French Red Cross had other hospitals in Paris, and many of these had not yet been opened. They were unwilling to close ‘Claridge’s,’ which had been very useful to both French and British troops; but they were helpless over the matter of fuel, and during the winter months the pressure of work was not very great. They regarded the hospital as their ‘meilleure installation.’ It had been a great interest and a great revelation not only to the officials of the Red Cross but to many people outside it, and they were reluctant to part with it. In addition, they began to have some difficulty with M. Casanova, and it was understood that he had offered the building without the authority of his Board of Directors, and that the presence of the hospital in the Hôtel was embarrassing to him. British officials were equally unwilling to lose the hospital. One wrote: ‘You have set a standard which is quite unknown even among auxiliary hospitals.’ And another said: ‘It would be a misfortune if you were to leave. You are such a good example of what a hospital ought to be.’ Nevertheless, it was decided in conference between M. Pérouse, M. Falcouz and Dr. Flora Murray that, in view of the circumstances, the hospital should be closed. The decision was reached after much consideration, and with deep regret the staff turned to the task of evacuation and packing. The hospital closed on the 18th of January 1915. The doctors and nurses proceeded to Wimereux to join forces with the rest of the Corps, bearing with them the good wishes and kind farewells of their many friends in Paris. The hospital in the Hôtel Claridge was the first effort of the Women’s Hospital Corps. It brought help to the wounded at a time when such help was greatly needed. It gave women doctors an opportunity of showing their capacity for surgery under war conditions. It was one of the outstanding pieces of work done by women in those first months of war, and it was a great success. CHAPTER XI THE CORPS IS OFFERED A HOSPITAL IN LONDON