At the residence of Sir Harry Verney, Claydon House, Buckinghamshire, a deputation from the Working Men’s Club of Whatstandwell, Derbyshire, recently waited on Miss Florence Nightingale, for the purpose of presenting to her an oil painting, by Mr. E. Crosland, of her late home, Lea Hurst, as a token of their esteem, and in recognition of the great interest taken by her in that institution. The deputation, consisting of Mr. F. C. Iveson, Mr. Crosland, the artist, and Mr. W. Peacock, assured Miss Nightingale of the love felt for her by all classes of people at Whatstandwell and in that district, and of their gratitude for her kindness and help in every good work. Miss Nightingale, in thanking them for the present, which she admired very much, expressed her continued great interest in the institution and its members, and assured them of her hopes for its welfare. The deputation were entertained at Claydon House by Sir Harry and Lady Verney. We are permitted to copy the picture of Lea Hurst in our engraving, using a photograph taken by Mr. J. Schmidt, of Belper.
LEA HURST, DERBYSHIRE, THE HOME OF MISS FLORENCE NIGHTINGALE.
Miss Florence Nightingale is a lady whose name has been deservedly honored in England since the Crimean war and has become the symbol of a particular type of personal efforts in the service of afflicted humanity. She was born at Florence, in May, 1820, youngest daughter and coheiress of W. E. Nightingale, Esq., of Lea Hurst, Derbyshire, and Embley Park, Hampshire. She devoted her attention to the working of schools for the poor, juvenile reformatories, and hospitals, inspecting many such institutions on the Continent, and residing, in 1851, with the Protestant Sisters of Mercy at Kaiserswerth, on the Rhine. She next bestowed her care and gifts of her money on the London Governesses’ Sanatorium in Harley street. During the Crimean war, in 1854, when the inefficient state of our military hospitals in the East demanded instant reform, the hospital at Scutari, opposite Constantinople, was established for the relief of sick and wounded British soldiers and prisoners. It was resolved to form a select band of volunteer lady superintendents and female nurses for this and other army hospitals. At the request of the Secretary of State for the War Department, Mr. Sidney Herbert, afterward Lord Herbert of Lea, Miss Nightingale undertook the task of organizing and directing this service, which she performed in a manner universally admired, and which earned her the personal friendship of the Queen, with many public and private expressions of gratitude and esteem. A testimonial fund amounting to $250,000 was subscribed in recognition of her patriotic and benevolent work, and was, at her special desire, applied to create and maintain an institution for the training of nurses. Miss Nightingale’s impaired health, for many years past, has debarred her from active public exertions but she has continued to study the plans and operations of those charitable agencies on which she is a high authority, and has written brief treatises on subjects of much practical importance. Her “Notes on Hospitals,” printed in 1859; “Notes on Nursing,” in 1860; and “Notes on Lying‐in Institutions,” and on the training of midwives and midwifery nurses, in 1871, were of considerable utility. She also wrote, in 1863, valuable observations on the sanitary condition of the army in India, and has furnished to the War Office useful reports and suggestions concerning the army medical department.—Illustrated London News.
Painting.
In order to use paints and oils economically, a clear understanding of their purpose and action is absolutely necessary. Linseed oil is said to “dry” after being applied. That is only partially true. It rather oxidizes and changes to a tough, gummy substance not unlike hard glue. This action is accelerated by the use of “driers,” as they are called. But in no case does it give the same results as when left to dry of its own free will. The carbonate of lead or mineral which is added to the oil gives the color and assists in making up the body. The life of the paint is the oil, and when it is oxidized, it alone is the binding element. Upon it depends the durability of the paint. A piece of wood dipped in linseed oil and hung up to dry, or oxidize, in the air, will soon become covered with a beautiful translucent film of oxidized oil, which grows harder daily. It will take a high polish and preserve the wood. Another piece dipped in carbonate of lead, or mineral, mixed in turpentine, or any fluid to allow it to spread evenly over the surface, will when dry have a dead or flat color without polish or body to bind it together, and the slightest abrasion will remove portions of it. All painting is done either with pure oils or with the admixture of a fluid like turpentine, which assists in the distribution of the mineral, but does not add to the body. When the surface of wood has been covered with a thick coating of oxidized oil, it can be washed and rubbed to look clean and polished. Boats, when of a light color, are often painted with a mixture containing much turpentine, in order that all marks may be removed with a little beach sand, by rubbing off the mineral, which is not bound together securely by oil, but only loosely by turpentine. Car builders now often paint their cars or varnish them a second time soon after the first, say after about six months’ run. This gives them a good coat of oxidized oil to withstand the weather and preserve the wood. A few coats applied within short intervals produce a fine covering which is very durable and will take a polish after washing.—Master Mechanic.
Removal of Chimneys.
An interesting scene was caused recently by the blowing up of the two immense chimneys on Borsig’s machine works in Berlin. A large number of spectators were present to witness the ceremony, including several officers of the army, the trustees of the Borsig estates, and the employes of the works. Punctually at five minutes past six P. M., the signal to “Look out!” was given; then came the word of command, “Fire!” and at this moment the vast chimney, towering to a height of say 120 feet 9 inches, quietly collapsed. The noise occasioned by the fall was not very great, ditches two meters in breadth having been dug all round the chimney and filled with straw. For blowing up this colossus, which consisted of 98,000 bricks and was topped with a heavy iron cap weighing twenty‐five centners, only 24 kilos of dynamite were employed. Photographs were taken of the chimney before it fell, and also as it was in the act of falling, by an officer of the Commission for Experimenting with Explosives. The second chimney standing about 80 feet high, was blasted with gun cotton, of which 35 kilos were required.