Page:The invasion of the Crimea Vol 7.djvu/527

APPENDIX, 483 Note 25. — The kitchens she established were exclusively for the preparation of what in hospital language is called ' extra diet.' Note 26. — She established a laundry for the hospital. Until she interposed, the ' authorities ' — males — had only succeeded in washing seven shu-ts. Note 27. — See, for instance, the terms in which she speaks to Lord Raglan of Dr Macgregor: — 'I cannot mention ' [the name of Dr Macgi-egor] ' without expressing my sense of the obligations ' which this ' [the Barrack] ' Hospital is under to him as being ' virtually its founder, and still supporting it with unabated zeal, ' vigour, and assiduity.' — To Lord Raglan, 29th December 1854. Note 28. — This charge was so utterly without foundation as to be the opposite of the truth. The Lady-in-Chief used neither to issue her stores, nor allow any others to do so, until the want of them had been evidenced by a duly signed requisition. Proof of this is complete, and has been furnished even by adversaries of the Lady-in-Chief. Li eye-witnessing statements laid before me, the exceeding strictness with which she forbade the issues until duly signed requisitions had been produced was not only asserted, but made a subject of strong animadversion against her. Sir John Bm-goyne, when at Constantinople in the spring of 1855, became from some cause the recipient of statements adverse to the Lady-in-Chief (private letter to Lord Raglan, 27th March 1855) ; and it is upon his testimony that I rely for the fact of complaints such as those above mentioned having really, though baseless, been uttered. What Sii- John Burgoyne writes is this : — ' If anything is wanted for the sick, she will hurry ' [the italics are Sir John's] ' to provide it from her own funds and stock for ' fear ' [Sir John's italics again] ' it might be obtained in the ' regular course.' — Ibid. It is almost fortunate that a charge which, as we see, is refuted so conclusively, should have been made or rather mentioned by Burgoyne in the very plain terms above stated. I don't for a moment imagine that Burgoyne wrote from any ill will originating in his own prepossessions, but simply because chance had thrown him amongst cavillers — amongst cav- illers who, as we see, did not know enough of the facts to be able ■ to cavil effectively. Note 29.— Seb. Comm. Rep., 6010, 6011. Note 30. — The appeal at first seemed embarrassing, because it asked succour for men then in health, and ' the "Times" fund' was one provided for troops lying ' sick and wounded ; ' but, the surgeon showing that men without proper clothing, when all at once subjected to the severities of whiter, would be sure to fall