This extraordinary
composition, filling more than 800 closely printed pages, laying
down vast principles of far-reaching reform, discussing the
minutest details of a multitude of controversial subjects,
containing an enormous mass of information of the most varied
kinds--military, statistical, sanitary, architectural--was never
given to the public, for the need never came; but it formed the
basis of the Report of the Royal Commission; and it remains to
this day the leading authority on the medical administration of
armies.
Before it had been completed, the struggle over the powers of the
Commission had been brought to a victorious close. Lord Panmure
had given way once more; he had immediately hurried to the Queen
to obtain her consent; and only then, when Her Majesty's initials
had been irrevocably affixed to the fatal document, did he dare
to tell Dr. Andrew Smith what he had done. The Commission met,
and another immense load fell upon Miss Nightingale's shoulders.
Today she would, of course, have been one of the Commission
herself; but at that time the idea of a woman appearing in such a
capacity was unheard of; and no one even suggested the
possibility of Miss Nightingale's doing so. The result was that
she was obliged to remain behind the scenes throughout, to coach
Sidney Herbert in private at every important juncture, and to
convey to him and to her other friends upon the Commission the
vast funds of her expert knowledge--so essential in the
examination of witnesses--by means of innumerable consultations,
letters, and memoranda.
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