“No, signor, never!” was the reply.
Rubbing his hands with delight, he ordered the captain to sail back at once, saying, “I have left some at home larger than these, and they will be spoiled if the wind is not in our favour.”[17]
The other dishes were eaten in the European fashion, with knives and forks. The fête was under the management of a gentleman I had the pleasure of knowing well, Mr. Ralli, a large proprietor at Kadikoi and a Greek merchant, who, to oblige the Pacha, took upon himself all the responsibility of carrying out his excellency’s liberal ideas.
London, or even Paris, could not have produced more effect or given more éclat to the entertainment, though, of course, in a different style. Healths were proposed, and toasts given. The speeches were short, but to the purpose. The music was very original; the fireworks were extremely bad, and the illuminations very tenebrous.
Names of Guests at the Dinner given by the Pacha of Scutari.—Brigadier-General Lord William Paulet; Hon. Captain Macdonald; Captain Seager; Major Sillery; Major Morris; Dr. Rowdon, civil surgeon, late professor of anatomy at Middlesex Hospital; W. Heaton, Esq., medical staff; Richard Ambler, Esq.; J. S. Robertson, Esq., purveyor-general to the forces; Rev. George Lawless, senior chaplain; Rev. Hugh Drennan, chaplain; Rev. W. Fergusson, chaplain;—Hawkes, Esq., barrister-at-law; Eustatio S. Ralli, Esq., sen., Greek merchant; Etienne Eustatio Ralli, jun., Esq.;—Dixon, Esq., first-class interpreter to Lord William Paulet;[18] Monsieur Soyer, &c. &c. Indisposition prevented the attendance of his Excellency Omer Pacha.
After five hours of eating and drinking, we returned thanks to our illustrious host, and rose to retire. He accompanied us as far as his Scutari residence. The evening was very dark, and the horses were mixed together, so that we had some trouble in finding our own. At length we started. I was the last to quit his pachaship. As I lived in Cambridge-street, I was a near neighbour of his, and he kindly escorted me to my door, followed by his men bearing lanterns. He would not leave me till the door was opened, and I had entered the house. We then parted, and I shall never forget the generous reception I received from our worthy Mussulman ally, the governor of Asia Minor.
Before my departure, I took Lord W. Paulet, Dr. Cumming, Mr. Robertson, and Miss Nightingale’s orders, which were numerous; said farewell to all, and left everything in a most satisfactory state. I requested Sergeant Thompson to send me a weekly report of the proceedings in the kitchens at the various hospitals. Mr. Robertson, the purveyor-in-chief, also promised to keep a sharp look-out himself, and acquaint me with anything important which might occur. I spent a few days with Dr. Humphrey at Kululee Hospital, then under the admirable management of Miss E. Hutton and the Sisters of Charity. Mr. and Mrs. Bracebridge, after exerting themselves to the utmost, during the hardest time of all, in the Scutari hospitals, had left for England: important family affairs, I believe, required their presence at home. Miss Nightingale had quite recovered; and she proposed to visit the Crimea again in less than a month, and had requested me to attend to various matters before she arrived. Of these, as they were numerous, I made a list, saying, “I shall be happy to attend to your commissions even if you tripled the number.” As my twelve field-stoves had been sent to the Crimea, I knew that my time would be principally taken up by field-cookery, and that I should only be able to give a casual look through the various hospitals.
I was anxious to obtain an insight into the culinary arrangements and system of management in the French hospitals. This I effected by the aid of Dr. Pincoff, who had frequently brought French doctors to visit my kitchens, and taste my new diets—of which they seemed to approve. Some of them would say, “They are too good and expensive for our hospital;” others, “Your diets are excellent; but our soldiers would not like them, not being used to that kind of food.” This, probably, might at the commencement have been the case; but a man soon gets accustomed to a good thing. I had tried this upon several hundred English soldiers, who never refused it, but, on the contrary, did not like to return to the old system of diets. I had not the slightest doubt they would like the change, but it could not be effected. At all events, this increased my curiosity. Dr. Pincoff, a friend, and myself, determined to go at six o’clock in the morning (the time of their first rounds) to visit the Great Hospital of Pera.
This early hour of visiting patients I cannot but give my disapproval of, as it is the time they are likely to repose, or at all events feel more languid than any other part of the night; which disturbance reminds me of the anxious servant, who being requested by his master to awake him at an early hour, knocked at his room-door four or five times during the night to apprise him of the number of hours he had left for sleep. Indeed, even more than this, they actually ask the patients, at that early hour, what they would like for dinner?—the patient, instead of the doctor, prescribing. We arrived at half-past five A.M., through a burning sun, which I consider, at that hour and that time of year, more oppressive in the East than at ten, eleven, or even twelve in the day, when the sea-breeze refreshes the Oriental atmosphere. We were immediately introduced to the medical gentleman on duty, who had just commenced his rounds. He was attended by two orderlies and a Sister of Charity; one of the former carried a tray, upon which the Sister seemed to have placed articles of food belonging to her department: she was also noting down on a tablet the orders of the doctor as to a few articles of extra diet. We watched the proceedings closely, which lasted nearly an hour: each doctor had two wards to attend, and each ward contained about sixty patients.
Having made several remarks on the various subjects to the doctor, and thanked him for his attention, I promised to forward him a book of the new dietaries I had so successfully introduced in the hospital at Scutari. Though far from anticipating that any eminent member of the French faculty would change his system, and adopt mine in preference to the French medical régime, still, as I have learnt a great deal from the system pursued in the French hospitals, I should feel very proud if any of my receipts proved acceptable. In fact, I should be delighted to show my gratitude for the generous reception afforded me when I applied for leave to visit the French hospitals upon my passage through France on my way to the Crimea.