Her heart it means good—for no bounty she’ll take,
She’d lay down her life for the poor soldier’s sake,
She prays for the dying, she gives peace to the brave,
She feels that a soldier has a soul to be saved.
The wounded they love her, as it has been seen,
She’s the soldiers’ preserver, they call her their queen.
May God give her strength and her heart never fail!
One of Heaven’s best gifts is Miss Nightingale.
Ballad of the Time.
After Miss Nightingale’s return from the Crimea it was expected that she would become the active leader of the nursing movement which her brilliant example had initiated. “We intend to be merciless to Miss Nightingale in the future,” said Mr. Sidney Herbert, “and see that her abilities are not allowed to slumber. The diamond has shown itself and must not be allowed to return to the mine. Miss Nightingale must be chained to the oar for the rest of her life. It is hers to raise the system of nursing to a pitch of efficiency never before known.”