Russian.
The Russian system can scarcely bear a comparison with ours; because their Regiments are Divisions. They had a regular system of transporting the sick and wounded upon the North side of Sebastopol, then upon Mackenzie’s Heights, then upon Bakschi-Serai, and lastly upon Simpheropol.
Female Nurses.
The adaptation of Female Nursing to the different systems in the
- French,
- Sardinian,
- Russian, and
- English Armies
has now to be noticed.
Sardinian and French Female Nurses.
The Sardinians had Sisters of Charity, both in the General Ambulances in the Crimea, and in the General Hospitals on the Bosphorus.
The principal duties of these admirable women appear to have been the care of the linen and small stores, and the cooking, much of which they did with their own hands, for sick officers and men. These duties were admirably performed. They appeared, besides, to have a certain charge in the wards, the power of giving “douceurs,” the administration of extras, the seeing to the cleanliness of beds and patients, and something more precise with regard to sick Officers; but their duties seemed to be somewhat undefined in their relation to the Infirmiers. Whether the Sœur or the Infirmier Major were in charge, to see the duties about the patient properly executed, was rather a problem.
This was still more the case in the French Hospitals, where the “Sœur” in the wards appeared more of a “consolatrice” and an administratrix of extras: although, out of the wards, her admirable housekeeping, both in the kitchen and the linen-store, was predominant.