MISS NIGHTINGALE.
, ' - TO THE EDITOR. : '■ ; Sir,—. cannot ignore Dr. : Bakewell's request;that I should inform; him upon what grounds I supposed him to have disparaged
Miss Nightingale. It was not from anythine lie' said, but from what he left unsaid, that I thought myself justified in drawing that inference. The sisters of a religions Ser wore lavishly and justly praised, .whilst in the same connection Miss Nightingale name was mentioned without a word of appreciation, and this looked to me like disparagement. If it is possible to damn with faint praise, it may also be possible to damn with no praise at all. lam very pleased to find that Dr. Bakowell had no such intention, and I think he must be glad that I have furnished him with an opportunity of saying so. , .., , Whether Miss Nightingale had a very strong prejudice against the medical. stall is moro than I can say. I have never seen her reports, and she must doubtless be judged, by whatever she has committed to writing. But I certainly do not remember any manifestation of a hostile feeling on her part towards the medical staff, though I do remember much manifestation of such feeling in the opposito direction. Not that I meart to represent this as being universal, or even general, for sorao of the chiefs of the medical department worked most cordially with her ; but there were others who systematically set themselves against her, and declined the assistance which slio was ablo and willing to supply to the patients in their wards. I remember ward* from which she and ner staff were thus excluded, wards in which systematic symmetry was held in much more esteem than scientific surgery, and in which invalid cookery was of little account compared with an artistic arrangement of sheets and counterpanes. But Ido not mean to allege that Miss Nightinagle was above r.ll human infirmities of disposition or temper, though I never saw any signs of them.—l am, etc., J. Giles. Garston, Mauku, October 22, 1899.
Permanent link to this item
https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/NZH18991025.2.55.4
Bibliographic details
New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXVI, Issue 11203, 25 October 1899, Page 6
Word Count
335MISS NIGHTINGALE. New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXVI, Issue 11203, 25 October 1899, Page 6
Using This Item
No known copyright (New Zealand)
To the best of the National Library of New Zealand’s knowledge, under New Zealand law, there is no copyright in this item in New Zealand.
You can copy this item, share it, and post it on a blog or website. It can be modified, remixed and built upon. It can be used commercially. If reproducing this item, it is helpful to include the source.
For further information please refer to the Copyright guide.
Acknowledgements
This newspaper was digitised in partnership with Auckland Libraries and NZME.
Log in