Original subtitles

~To those of you who ask who was this Florence Nightingale$

~and what did she do$

~you would have to understand the world into which she was born$

~It was England, Dickens' England,$

~where the people were divided into two classes,$

~the very rich and the very poor$

~But whether rich or poor, it was a time of great medical ignorance,$

~when to fracture an arm or a leg was to lose it$

Look at her, William, the prettiest girl in the room

No wonder Henry is so smitten

Our other daughter does not appear to be enjoying it quite so much

Sisters are natural rivals, all women are

That's why you men are so conceited

Poor Parthe will have a much better chance with Florence out of the way

You still haven't answered my question, Flo

But, Henry, I have

I've told you time and time again

Yes, but you never tell me the same thing twice

Dash it all, Flo, I have loved you for so long

Ever since we were children

And I've told everyone we were going to be married

Henry, no

Is it because we are cousins?

Now, many cousins marry, Florence

My love will sweep away your fears about that

Henry, you deserve more than a bride full of doubts and dreams

All the same, I won't stop asking you till you say yes

Now, what more could you possibly want from life than what I will offer you?

Love, honor, comfort, a beautiful home

What man in this room, in this world, could offer you more?

Mr Milnes, you are admiring my almost sister-in-law

She and my brother, Henry, are about to be engaged

Could you be warning me off, Miss Nicholson?

You are a gentleman, I believe

Take it as a piece of advice to save you possible trouble in the future

Trouble, my dear, is the most interesting thing about the future

Would you

Yes, of course, Flo Excuse me

Richard Monckton Milnes, at your service

We've not been introduced

Now, these are modern times, Miss Nightingale

The 1840s are not the 1700s

However, if you feel the tradition is important to you,

I can arrange a formal introduction

through your almost sister-in-law, Miss Nicholson

I'm not exactly known as traditional

Well, neither am I, Miss Nightingale

When I'm not attacking my fellow parliamentarians

on their indifference to the plight of the poor,

I'm working on an edition of the collected poems of Keats

And you?

When I'm not pursuing the more womanly arts,

I'm learning, trying to learn opera

Opera?

If it's your passion, it becomes you, Miss Nightingale

And in womanly arts, you are clearly second to none

Would you care to dance?

Yes Yes

WILLIAM: Fanny, are both the girls going to join us for this ride?

Florence isn't even down yet I think she's trying on her new outfit

No, not Flo She's not interested in such things

She has a man's brain She thinks

She does not, Papa

For a girl who complains about the idleness of the leisured class,

I think she's the idlest of us all

Am I then?

Good morning, Papa

Good morning

Good morning, Flo You look absolutely lovely

Thank you Breakfast is finished

Never mind She can still have some tea

Good heavens, what gall

Henry, what's wrong?

Why, that Monckton Milnes fellow is here

But who could have invited him?

I did

You? But you mean you invited him here yourself?

No, he's my guest I invited him Such a charming man

I'm sorry, Henry, I simply neglected to tell you

Oh, Henry, do sit down Control yourself

Florence

Good morning, Henry

William

Good morning, sir Good morning

I understand Mrs Burbage is in a bad way, sir

Indeed

She got burned last night, sir, while she was helping over at Winston's place

I'm so sorry

I'm so glad you could join us, Mr Milnes

I hope the ride pleases you

Everything about this day pleases me, Miss Nightingale

FLORENCE: This way

Miss Florence?

Williams told us about your accident

I came to see if I might be of help

That's so kind

May I see the burn?

No, dear

It's a terrible burn I've got You don't want to see it

It is fearful, ma'am She screams if you even touch it

But her wound has to be kept clean and changed

Would you please bring me some butter?

Oh, no No, you mustn't

Don't be afraid

No, it isn't that, it's just

Pretty eyes like yours should never have to see such a thing

It's just a burn

Just a hurt that needs healing, nothing bad It will heal

There There now

Forgive my curiosity,

but when you left the ride I couldn't help but wonder

You spoke of womanly arts, Miss Nightingale,

but I had no idea they encompassed such a range

It seems you enjoy making fun of people's feelings, Mr Milnes

Only when I'm fond of them

How could you possibly be fond of me? You don't know me

You only see that side of me that everyone can see

Then tell me about the rest

That's impossible Why?

Because it is

Well, try to explain it then

When I was 17, I heard a call from God

He spoke to me, Mr Milnes

Now you can laugh if you like

And what precisely did God call upon you to do?

I don't know That's what torments me

Something more To be more than a pampered, wealthy little girl

Somehow, to use the gifts I have to serve,

instead of going dancing and to parties

Does that sound strange?

Florence, listen to me, it is not strange

that a strong, intelligent girl who was blessed by fortune

should wish to be more than just an ornament to society

Remember you're not alone

There are many gifted people who believe they should use their talents

in the service of others

Besides, I'm sure Joan of Arc enjoyed dancing, too, you know

Now you are making fun of me

Florence,

my greatest wish would be to see you every single day

Charles Florence

Selina It's so good to see you

I didn't know you were friends of Richard Milnes

Well, nor did we until he invited us

It seems that anyone who's a friend of yours is a friend of Mr Milnes

Marianne, I'm so happy to see you Is Henry here?

Do you think he has no pride? I only come out of curiosity

What kind of man is this Richard Monckton Milnes

to court a young lady under the very nose of her intended husband?

Marianne, I'm not engaged to Henry and I hardly know Mr Milnes

From the way he looks at you, if you knew him any better

you would be ruined if he did not marry you

Florence

Dr and Mrs Samuel Howe from the United States

Florence Nightingale

Miss Nightingale

Hello

Hello

Mrs Julia Ward Howe is famous in her own right

She composes books and poetry, and Dr Howe works with the blind in Boston

With the blind, Dr Howe?

But what can one do with the blind?

Why, he teaches them, Miss Nightingale

Dear friends, it's time for breakfast

Do you really think it's possible?

Oh, Selina, if only She's already 22

She's so beautiful, so accomplished

Many men admire her

But she does not admire them

She's so strong-willed

Where would I be now if I'd been as stubborn as that?

You used to be, didn't you?

Age does wonders for a woman's sensibilities, you know

Dr Howe,

you said you worked in a hospital helping the blind

Well, we do more than just help them, Miss Nightingale

We teach them to read

To read?

But how is that done?

Allow me to show you

But first, I have to ask

that you pretend to be blind

I always thought that would be horrible

That is exactly why what we are doing is so exciting

Now, Miss Nightingale, you are blind, you cannot see a thing,

so if I were to give you a piece by William Shakespeare

and ask you to read me a few pages, what would you say?

I would say you were mad, Dr Howe

So, if I were to give you another book

and asked you to read to me what would you say?

Why, I would still say the same thing

Now, Miss Nightingale, I'm going to give you this

FLORENCE: What is this?

This is what we have devised in the Perkins School in Boston

Do you feel anything?

Yes Paper There's a small bump on it

That, Miss Nightingale, is the letter "A"

Here is the letter "B"

And here is "C"

Now, Miss Nightingale, you are totally blind,

you cannot see a thing

yet can you tell me what letter this is?

B

Totally blind

C

Cannot see a thing

A

You see,

Miss Nightingale, if you have a passion,

I would suggest the only way to satisfy it is to pursue it

~Florence knew it was considered unthinkable$

~for a lady of quality to enter a hospital alone$

~But what she didn't know$

~was that when she crossed the threshold of Middlesex Hospital,$

~she would be changing her life forever$

Yes Begging your pardon, what do you want?

I just wanted to know

This is a men's ward

They don't want the likes of you here

anymore than you want to see the likes of them

Didn't you hear what she said?

Now what you want is the hospital for the deaf and dumb up Blackfriars

I told her

Help me Help

Help me

Did you say the Middlesex Hospital?

Yes

You mean, inside the hospital?

Not much to see on the outside

You, without asking our permission, went alone into all that filth and squalor

That's a fair description of it, Mama How did you know?

How dare you address Mama in that fashion?

Would you have me contradict her and say that it was beautiful?

Or that the doctors and nurses were sober?

Or that the floors were sparkling and clean instead of filthy and verminous?

And that the stench was almost enough to make

Florence, that's quite enough

Florence, if there is one thing that we have taught you, it is good manners,

which you seem to have lost for the moment

Good manners demand that we never make anybody feel uncomfortable

And I cannot help but believe that a lady of your bearing and class

made many people in that hospital feel very uncomfortable indeed

So dreadfully posturing

So precious, meddling about in a place like that

Florence

You have a kind heart and mean well

Visiting a cottage in the country is one thing,

but visiting a public hospital in London is another matter entirely

Unfortunately, Mother, you are quite right

"Still as an island stood our ship

"The waters gave no sound

"But when I touched her quivering lip

"I felt the world go round"

You wrote it?

Mmm-hmm

I like it

All but the "quivering lip"

Why are women's lips supposed to quiver and not men's?

I don't know

I love you, Florence Will you marry me?

Richard, I'm always so happy when I'm with you

You know that, don't you?

Isn't it wonderful, on a day like this

to know that Flo is going to make the perfect marriage

Of course, the Nicholsons will never talk to us again

Marianne cut me dead yesterday And Henry

A whole branch of the family gone

But Florence is happy, surely that is the most important thing

Richard, something happened the other day

I think I learned something about myself I didn't know before

I went to Middlesex Hospital

I was drawn there

I wanted so much to learn how to heal the sick

Instead of learning anything or seeing anything

I was frightened and ran away

I want to be brave I don't want to be a coward

I don't want to be sheltered from the other side of life

I used to think I was called to heal, now I'm certain of it

But I have to learn

Your friend from America, Dr Howe, told me about a place called Kaiserswerth

where they train women, mostly nuns, to become nurses

But my family will be horrified and forbid it

Will you help me?

Will you be my friend, my ally?

Florence, you must believe me

While others may oppose you in what you wish to do,

I promise I never, never shall

Then you will help me?

Of course, in any way that I can

But you still haven't answered my proposal

Oh, Richard, hold me

Tell me that I'm not mad or morbid and that if I succeed,

you won't stop loving me

WILLIAM: Richard, this is serious

Do not let your love blind you to a very real danger

I love my daughter, too And I'm proud of her accomplishments

But this business of hospitals

Tenacity has always been her downfall

Well, I'm sorry, William,

but that is a quality I especially admire in her

You have not yet tried living with it

You know, to be frank, my wife and I are appalled by this hospital idea

We had hoped that when she actually went to one

she would see how unsuitable it is

Thank heavens that she's agreed to this idea in Europe with the Bracebridges

Florence is not in Rome or Paris eating bonbons or buying frocks, William

She's in Germany at the Kaiserswerth Institute

She's trying her best to learn to be a nurse

What the devil do you mean?

When Florence has an idea that's very strong in her

she's like a mother with a newborn child and hates to see that idea die

And I, perhaps just as much, would hate to see that idea die in her

That's understandable, you're in love with her

~In Germany, Florence learned about hygiene and nutrition$

~But above all, at Kaiserswerth she learned that nursing was more than just caring$

~It was a science$

You love children, yes?

Yes

You have children of your own?

No Not yet

But surely some day

If God wills

Tell us, what were you trying to achieve in Germany?

In London, one sees the poor everywhere

Here, all we look out on are lawns

and beautiful trees, but behind them

Come to the point

What I mean is, Papa,

that none of the people we know do anything to help the poor, those in need

Florence, do you know what goes on in those hospitals?

I didn't know, but I know now

I mean, what goes on between the nurses and the medical students

And the doctors As far as they're concerned, nurses are just harlots

Parthenope, will you be quiet?

If I were a fainting woman, I would faint

Well, you're not

Don't you see? We have to change our attitudes towards the poor and the sick,

and towards women who would go among them and help them

Yes, but how do you propose to do that?

By example, my own example

To give, not just money and things, but to give of one's self

Are you trying to tell us that you wish to leave Embley Park

and go and work inside a hospital?

No one seems to mind the idea that I go and leave them

to marry Richard Milnes and live inside his house

Look Please, now listen

Do you realize what you're proposing?

You're proposing to give up everything

Papa, don't you see, it's everything that I want to use,

not throw away or waste on endless luncheons and teas

Florence, all we ask is that you not throw away the chance

to make a happy and successful marriage

Yes, yes, yes Well, you settle it amongst yourselves I'm off to London

to get some peace and quiet Papa

Oh, William, please

It's not, truthfully, that I do not care I do

I will not be part of any more family rows

See what you've done?

You can't come in here, miss This is a gentleman's club

I know that My father, Mr Nightingale, is a member

All I want to know is, is he here? Because if so, I must see him

I'm not permitted to say, miss, or madam, as the case may be

It's a rule of the club If you'd care to leave a note,

I'll see that Mr Nightingale receives it when he is next on the premises

If I were a gentleman, you'd be able to tell me if he was inside

Ah, if you were a member, which is to say a gentleman,

that would be a different matter, madam, I agree

And were a member ungentlemanly enough not to wish his daughter to see him,

would he cease to be both a member and a gentleman or neither?

You've got me mixed up, miss

Or madam, as the case may be

I say, William There's a young woman outside

making an awful fuss about having to see you

Oh, now, now, WEN, what have you been up to, dear boy?

Florence Thank goodness

Oh, my dear, you know better than to come looking for me here

Papa, since this is the place where you are,

surely looking for you anywhere else would be rather stupid

Women are not allowed in the club and you know that

But I'm not in the club, I'm in the lobby

Anyway, you look radiant

Papa, there's something I must discuss with you

Unless I have your understanding and help,

especially with Parthe and Mama What I mean is

I have reached the conclusion that neither your mother, Parthe,

nor anyone else for that matter,

is capable of moderating or controlling your interests,

which will free you from all feeling of responsibility toward them

As for me, I am now totally on your side

Papa

But, for goodness sake, don't tell your mother or your sister

or the rest of my life will be made even more unbearable than it already is

Papa

Now, remember, we are in the club, not too much affection in public

Lord and Lady Ashcroft, Florence Nightingale

Lord and Lady Breerly, Florence Nightingale

Lord and Lady Monteagle, Florence Nightingale

Lady Monteagle is on the committee for the institution

you may have heard of, Florence

The Hospital for Distressed Gentlewomen

Yes And I heard of Miss Nightingale from Miss Marianne Nicholson

Come, dear

Mr Gregory Hello

Florence Nightingale

Look at him When will Flo put all this nonsense out of her mind

and make up her mind to marry him?

Never I'll wager that she never does

Richard is a very patient man

Parthe, what was that you just said?

Ever since Flo was a little girl,

she has always done precisely what she wanted and only what she wanted

She'll never do things his way And after all, that is what marriage is all about

Oh, really? I'd never noticed

You know it's true, Papa

A woman may say what parties to go to or how a gown should be cut,

but the real decisions are made by the man

Florence will accept that She will have to

Of course, she will marry and so will you

If I had Richard Milnes paying court

Now there's the man I want you to meet, Florence

Sidney Herbert, the most gifted and influential man in England

Secretary at War, a brilliant parliamentarian, vastly rich

He lives at Wilton, to my mind the most beautiful house in England

Newly married, so you needn't make eyes at him,

and very interested in hospitals

And why do you care so much about nurses and hospitals, Miss Nightingale?

What do you hope to accomplish?

Women should have some alternatives to just being wives, Mr Herbert

Alternatives?

Yes Now they have none

Not in England None they can be proud of

Nursing in a hospital is considered disgraceful

when it should be just the opposite

For the good of hospitals and the good of women

But to change the condition of the one

it is necessary to change the condition of the other

Bravo, Miss Nightingale

There's a hospital that needs a new administrator, Mr Herbert,

the Hospital for Distressed Gentlewomen

If I could just be considered for the post, I would attempt to do the rest on my own

How do I look? Am I dressed all right?

You look wonderful, as always

I mean, mature, serious, sober enough to be an administrator?

I must be mad to even try

Well, Sidney Herbert doesn't think so

And he's an excellent judge of horses, wine and sober, serious women

Please don't tease me, I'm frightened to death

What if they laugh at me?

What if they ask me questions I can't answer?

Richard, you know that Lady Monteagle is a friend of the Nicholsons

and is clearly against me for rejecting Cousin Henry

Well, I clearly am for you

Richard, I am serious

Now, darling, those biddies couldn't think up a question you can't answer

Now what's the worst that could possibly happen?

You'd be turned down for this post but be offered another, Mrs Monckton Milnes

It's bad luck to try and read the future

Florence

Please, help me, advise me

Tell me to be brave, but don't ask me to make decisions about us now

I was going to say

that you mustn't let them think for a moment that you're their servant

Now, I know these committees

They'll only respect you if they think they're serving you

Richard, you have that sort of confidence

but I'm so afraid I'm going to fail

I'm not frightened of that, Florence

What scares me is, what if you succeed?

I have tried to present the reasons I believe I would be a good administrator

and the ways I feel I can improve hospital conditions

LADY MONTEAGLE: Miss Nightingale

Yes, Lady Monteagle

Your qualifications are well set out in Mrs Herbert's letter of recommendation

But your ideas, I believe, are quite unrealistic

Which ideas do you mean?

Well, for one, your suggestion to

"install mechanical lifts for food delivery"

Well, our nurses have always brought the patients their food

Well, of course they have

These lifts can save much time and effort

But bedside bells for summoning nurses

Why, patients will be calling every moment for all sorts of silly things

Not at all I feel

What about your suggestion for piping hot water to the rooms?

We have cold water piped to the rooms and that is quite enough

Hear, hear

When hot water is required, the nurses carry it in jugs, as they always have

You speak of these women as though they were just pairs of legs, madam

They have a higher calling than that

Do they, indeed? A lower calling, perhaps

My nurses will be dedicated to healing

The health and care of the patient is the important thing

Your nurses?

They are not your nurses yet, Miss Nightingale

Quite, quite

Frankly, my dear, you seem too young to take on these high responsibilities

as evidenced in these well meaning but quite impractical demands

Ladies, please, these are not demands,

but ideas for bettering the lot for both the nurse and the patient

Miss Nightingale, you have had only a few short weeks of training

Yet you come here, you want to change everything

I feel that this is

I have come here in good faith to say I want to work with you,

to make this hospital an even finer institution than it now is

If you agree, I would be proud to be its administrator

And if you choose me, I will put into effect any good ideas I have

to make the sick more comfortable and the nurses more efficient

Thank you

~On July 23, 1853,$

~Florence Nightingale was declared superintendent of nursing$

~for the Harley Street Hospital for Gentlewomen$

I must say you're looking far less "not too bad, miss" on the whole

than you were this morning

You do make me laugh sometimes, Miss Florence

No No, like this, Miss Stewart

Remember? One arm under the head and shoulders,

the other in the small of the back

Nurse Davis, would you come here, please?

This bottle is labeled "Spirits of Balsam"

Luckily, I smelled it before it was administered

It is muriatic acid

Well, that can't be

From whom did you order this bottle, nurse?

From the usual chemist He gives us the best price

No matter what the price,

I want you to tell that man that we will not use him again

I will not have my patients at the mercy of a careless man,

no matter what the price

Your patients?

I were a nurse before you were born, and a good one, too

I worked for pennies, 'cause I cared whether the sick got well

You just ask anyone about me And now you come accusing me

like I were a common cheat that took money from the chemist

You're accused of nothing, nurse I too care

There's a sick patient in that room,

who trusts us and could have died from this medicine

We will not use your man again, ever

Is that clear?

What if it's not?

Nurse, you're experienced and well respected,

I had hoped to have your support in my work here

But I am the administrator,

and it is my job to protect and help the patients get well

We'll hire our own chemist

and have a dispensary right here on the premises

That way, there will be a check on all medications

Now, if that is not agreeable with you, then just as we will hire a new chemist,

we will hire a new head nurse

Now, do you understand?

Yes, Miss Nightingale

Good

This difficult job needs both of us Let us try to do it together

My dear, your success at the hospital is the talk of London

You've become a sort of heroine

You've achieved what you set out to do

Now, I really don't begrudge the fame,

but, quite selfishly, I wonder about our plans for the future together

I need to ask you now, finally, will you be my wife?

Richard, you've been so kind and patient with me for so long

Florence

Please, I beg you, don't force me to an answer now

I must

I always believed we had an understanding

But if you don't love me enough to want to marry me now,

why should you in the future?

Richard, I've only just escaped one kind of domestic life,

the life of family, and I don't want to be nailed to it again so soon

You're making excuses, Florence

Have I ever tried to nail you down?

I have loved you truly as a friend,

but I have a passionate side of my nature, too

And that side of me has to have an answer

If you tell me again that you want more time, you're saying no,

and I must take that "no" as final

You choose to make it final, not me

Very well, then, if it has to be now or never, then let it be never

And I shall never marry

You're talking like a child, Flo, and a spoiled one

Of course you will marry

I, too, have a passionate side to my nature

And perhaps I shall satisfy it outside of marriage

But I shall never marry

Florence, don't say you'll never marry

Say rather that

you and I will never fully part

I love you

When I say it,

I'm saying goodbye to one whole side of life and all of youth

Past and future, being torn apart, right here

And I'm doing the tearing

And now it's done

~While Florence's fame grew in the world of British medicine,$

~England found itself entangled in a war with Russia$

~The glow of pride which followed the first victories on the Black Sea$

~was soon to be replaced by a feeling of national shame$

~as over half the Army's casualties occurred$

~not on the battlefield, but in its hospitals$

But if the medical supplies were left behind at Varna and Calamita,

why in heaven's name haven't they been shipped

to the main body of the Army since?

They've had five, six weeks to do it in

Surely something so obvious,

something calling for no more than a simple shred of common sense,

doesn't require a direct order from London

Well, I wouldn't believe everything that this chap, Russell,

writes in the ~Times, you know$

In fact, I do believe it

And even if only half of it's true, it's still an outrage

And one which the whole country will be reading about

and justly feeling incensed about from this morning onwards

Yes, sir

Miss Nightingale is here to see you, sir

My dear Florence, what can I do for you?

Sidney, I would like to help at the hospital in Scutari

Scutari? Florence, there's a big difference between

running a women's hospital in London

and trying to merely survive in a pest-hole in Turkey

Here you're respected, practically a celebrity

There, well

Have you any idea what life might be like for a woman?

Women are strong, stronger than you think

I bow to no man in my respect for women, but Scutari is a living hell

Besides, it is a British Army installation

No woman would be allowed to enter

And even if she were, what could she possibly do?

Exactly what the wives and mothers and sisters of those young men would do

Clean them, take care of them, nurse them back to health

Florence, I don't think you understand the scope of this tragedy

But I do, Sidney

I want to raise a corps of nurses, the best that can be found

Pay them out of my own pocket, if I have to

Take them to Scutari with bandages and shirts and medical supplies,

pound down the Army's doors if they won't let us in,

and take care of those wounded heroes

This whole war is a monumental embarrassment

We wouldn't even be in it

if the Russians didn't believe that on land we are vulnerable

as opposed to our might on the seas

And to make matters worse, the ~Times sends William Russell$

to record all of the Army's blunders and the mishandling of the wounded

Florence, what do you suppose will be the reaction of the military

if they heard that a woman, worse, a band of women,

is on its way to rescuing the British Army?

Give me permission to try And if you can, give me funds

Enough funds to show the world

that we won't let our soldiers rot away in some foreign land for lack of care

Sidney, our soldiers are dying needlessly What you're talking about is pride

What I'm talking about is saving lives Will you help?

Florence, you can't The boat sails in 10 days

You'd have to leave London in less than a week

And if I tried, and if I succeed,

you would be going to a country so vastly different from England,

you'd be in the most horrible of circumstances

No, Sidney, the most horrible of circumstances would be to do nothing

Experience?

MRS BRENT: Nursed all me own family

Spent four years in St John's

And I've done scrubbing and washing, too, to raise me kids

That's perfect experience for Scutari Sister, sit down

Do you know where Scutari is?

Some heathen place?

Near Constantinople in Turkey

Are you married, Mrs Brent?

I never exactly married

I can go where I please, and I please to go to wherever it is

Why do you please to go?

For the money, miss Eighteen shillings a week

I just always liked nursing the sick It's a sort of calling I have

At least, I think I have

I don't really know much about it, nobody taught me,

but I just seem to know how to make people feel better

And I love it You know what I mean, ma'am?

Yes

Just call me Iris

Have you had any experience in nursing, Iris?

Well, I sure like soldiers Known a lot of them, too

I don't like to think of any I've been with lying in that awful place,

wanting a human hand to hold,

or a woman to sponge them off and make them better

I feel the same way myself, Iris

I thought my calling was to be a nun

I tried, but it was wrong for me

So my parents arranged for me to marry an Englishman

He's in the Army somewhere in the Crimea

Perhaps in Scutari

You look surprised

I am

Please sit down, Nurse Davis

It's the end of a long, hard day and I'm sure you're tired, too

I want to volunteer

To tend the wounded soldiers in Turkey? Are you sure?

Why me less than those others?

I've watched them in and out of here all day Am I any worse than them?

No Of course not

You're a competent, experienced nurse I'm just surprised that

Surprised I want to go with you? Well, don't be

What do you say, Miss Nightingale? Will you take me?

TRUDE: Miss Nightingale?

Trude?

Why, I can't believe my eyes

What are you doing in England?

I have been here doing work for Dr Fleetner

I am a nurse, I come to serve

You want to go to Scutari?

Where you go, if I can be of help, Miss Nightingale

If you can be of help?

If you only knew how I've prayed for someone like you

Someone who understands, who doesn't have to be taught

Trude, I'm taking 40 women halfway around the world,

nearly all with little training

And I'm terrified I won't be equal to the task

You will You will be equal to anything

I hope so, I pray so

And those boys, they pray, too, I think And look, we are coming

Sometimes I think prayers are answered

Yes Yes Yes

There she is, over there

But where are the Bracebridges?

All these women traveling to the continent unescorted

I'm so relieved Charles has agreed to go with them

Otherwise, I'd never have allowed her to go

How could anyone have stopped it?

Charles, we're here

Hello

Does Florence know you're here?

No, we cannot get near her

She really is remarkable

I never would've imagined she was capable

of organizing and carrying out a venture like this

Hereditary, I expect

I am so grateful that you and Selina have agreed to go with her

She'll need to be among friends, however strong she appears to be

There's not a lady in that company, apart from Selina

No one of our class would go, Mama I certainly wouldn't

Florence

I'm so glad you've come to see me off

Flo, do be careful

Turks do not respect women the way English gentlemen do

I will be careful, Mama

PARTHENOPE: Florence

My sister, my little sister

Flo, I'm so afraid for you

This all sounds so horrible I could not bear to

Parthe

I want to go, I'm not afraid

I know what I'm doing

Of course you do, Flo

Father, I hope you understand

Don't ask me that, I shall never understand

But I shall always marvel, with pride,

with awe, at the brave, noble girl

that we raised in our family without ever realizing that she was different

Godspeed, my gallant daughter

Richard

I had to be here

I'm so pleased

You really are the most adorable patriot I've ever seen

I've missed you, Florence

Richard, I'm happy to hear that, and to know you're not angry at me any longer

Will you write?

Of course

And expect answers

And I will send them

I I am afraid of what's ahead,

but this is what I was always meant to do

I believe that, and I want you to believe it

I do, Florence

CHARLES: All nurses stay together No wandering off, please

~Florence, my dear$

~Hold your head high$

~How many of us in our lifetime can ever say, "I have made a difference"?$

~You are one of those rare ones, Flo$

~As for us,$

~I have no regrets for what is,$

~only selfishly at times$

~for what might have been$

~Love, Richard$

~The journey to Turkey took nearly a month$

~By ferry from England to France$

~By train to the port of Marseille$

~And by ship to Constantinople$

~Florence, Bracebridges, and her group of 40 nurses$

~arrived at the base hospital, Scutari, on November 4th, 1854$

I'm Charles Bracebridge, sir My wife, Selina

This, of course, is Miss Nightingale

I'm Dr Clarke Welcome to Scutari, or as much welcome as it offers

This is where you'll be Barracks Hospital

This used to be a Turkish barracks, now it's a British hospital

Strange, this war

Good God This way

We have at present some 2,000 cases

The wounded, some cholera, some simple dysentery

Hard to tell the difference, really

You'll be staying in the Barracks Hospital, if you stay

And I apologize in advance for the stench,

but, well, these are rough military quarters, you know

I'll escort you to Dr Menzies' office, if you're ready

Now this Dr Menzies, sir, just who is he precisely?

Our chief medical officer, sir

He will give you your instructions

Our instructions, Doctor, come from the Secretary at War, Mr Sidney Herbert

Certainly Dr Menzies knows that

With all due respect, Miss Nightingale,

you and your party are a long, long way from home

Dr Menzies gives the orders at Scutari

Who is that?

That, Miss Nightingale, is the man

who gives Dr Menzies his orders

Dr John Hall, the man in charge of all medical services for the Army

He is here on a tour of inspection He just arrived from the Crimea, actually

Doctor, please, don't let us disturb your dinner

You've had your dinner, madam?

No, sir

I'll see that a meal is laid out for you and your ladies

Later on, when you've rested, perhaps tomorrow or the next day,

we'll have time to talk

Thank you, Doctor, but we rested quite enough on the ship

We are eager to begin our work

Perhaps tomorrow, Miss Nightingale, or the day after,

something can be arranged for you to do

Something can be arranged for us to do?

Miss Nightingale, our problems here are enormous

We're already overloaded with patients and are about to receive more

There's been a big battle at Balaclava near Sebastopol, with a great many wounded

That means a mountain of administrative work

We're literally snowed under as it is with forms,

indents, purveyor's warrants, accounts to the paymaster general

Now if you'd brought us 40 clerks

instead of 40 nurses, we could've put them to use

Sir, we are not clerks

We've come a long way to tend the sick and wounded

who, by your own description, need us very badly

DR HALL: Miss Nightingale,

let me make myself very clear

Why ever you've come, you are now under my command

What you suggest is, of course, quite impossible

No female has ever been allowed to nurse in the British Army,

and that is that

Have I made myself plain?

Florence, we're wasting our time

Dr Menzies, I understand all too well the restrictions of the British Army

However, common soldiers who have fought with uncommon courage

are lying just a few steps away from here,

suffering for the lack of what I have brought with me,

medical supplies and dedicated nurses

Surely you wouldn't let your feelings about women

prolong the suffering of wounded soldiers?

They are not my feelings alone, Miss Nightingale

There's a good deal of opposition, prejudice, if you will,

among my divisional officers against female nurses going into the men's wards

Well, in that case, sir, what the devil have we come here for?

I would ask you the same question, sir

Doctor, when can we at least get acquainted with the hospital?

We are medical persons, as you are Tending wounds is our profession

Very well, Miss Nightingale Your curiosity shall be satisfied

Immediately after dinner, my aid, Dr McGregor, will escort you himself

But, Major, it will be dark at that hour

The wards will be as black as pitch

Miss Nightingale will light them up with her presence, no doubt

Or better still, bring a candle

And Miss Nightingale,

I wouldn't eat too much beforehand, if I were you

Chloroform

Don't you know, sir? I gave orders

No chloroform to be used in any hospital under my command

But this man's leg's in a terrible way, sir, mangled to the thigh

He's got to lose it, sir

Smart use of the knife, sir, is a powerful stimulant

For it's far better to hear a man bawl lustily

than to see him sink silently into the grave

Sir

Gag

I've got him, sir

12 of us in here?

We've only been allotted these three rooms

Mrs Bracebridge, would you mind coming here, please?

My God, what is that?

A dead man from the look of it Russian, and a general, I should think

Would you mind giving me a hand with him?

God, I can't I can't

Well surely you can try Come on Come on, take some of the weight

Come on, lift him

Come on, help me That's it, that's it Sit him up, sit him up, sit him up

Right, Trude, we're gonna need help

Charles

Help us lift

Got him? Now, lift Yeah, yeah

All right

He's so heavy

All right, got him

You got him? Yes

Dr McGregor, be frank with me, please

Why are you doctors so frightened of letting nurses into the wards?

What do you imagine we can do?

It isn't a question of being frightened,

it's just that women tending common soldiers in the army,

it's not done

Doctor, have you ever done things in your life that aren't done?

Of course

So have I That's why I'm here

Now, please show me the wards

Have mercy

What's that sound?

It's rats, madam

I see they lie here for the most part just as they were brought in

No sheets or blankets?

None

They're left where they landed

Shirts?

What they've got on

Laundry?

There is none

Dr McGregor, we have clean shirts and bedding with us

Please help us distribute them to the men

It would seem simple, wouldn't it?

But the purveyor must approve it

The truth is, if your shirts were for the officers there would be no problem

But for the common soldier

Well, you've already had some introduction to the prejudice of the British Army

Yes

Water

Are the windows ever opened here? Floors ever cleaned?

No

Are the dressings ever changed?

Are the wounds ever cleaned at all?

Are the men ever cared for in any way

Doctor

or are they just brought in here to die?

Doctor

Have you finished?

No, I have not

Ma'am Yes?

Have you come to look after us then?

What's your name?

Tom Tom Miller, ma'am

Where are you from, Tom?

Cornwall, ma'am

Cornwall is beautiful, isn't it?

Tom, we will be coming to look after you Try to get some sleep now

I'll come to you soon Yes

I don't want to die here

That boy's wound is infested

Most of them are

Better maggots than gangrene

What are you going to say?

"You ought to be ashamed of yourself"?

Would that help?

Miss Nightingale, I do the best I can

Believe me, if I worked night and day,

if I begged and fought for medical supplies

If I killed myself fighting conditions here,

do you think it would help these poor wretches one bit?

No, they would simply be worse off, with one less doctor

So I do my best to live with it, and I stay

Dr McGregor, I beg of you, please help me to do the work I came to do

Madam, there are centuries of prejudice to overcome

Only one thing has ever changed anything in the British Army

And what is that, Doctor?

Disaster

My God, isn't this disaster enough?

~FLORENCE: Dear Sidney,$

~the conditions of the sick and wounded arriving from the battlefront$

~are even more appalling than this hospital itself$

~Tragically, most never survive the 12-day journey from the Crimea$

~across the open sea$

~Those that do are so ravaged by gangrene, cholera and exposure$

~that there is little anyone can do for them$

~Surely, someone must appeal to Dr Hall$

~about this inhumane treatment of our wounded boys$

~For the most part, they are just boys$

Where's Mrs Bracebridge?

Gone for her morning walk, I shouldn't wonder

Why must you always pick on her?

Because she deserves it

She's got no stomach for this kind of work and you know it

When do we start work, Miss Nightingale?

We can hear the men on the wards, miss, calling out they are

The stench in this place is enough to give a man a fever,

let alone cure him of it And there are rats I saw them

Why can't they give us decent quarters?

I just bet the officers don't live like this

Ladies, hear me out Mr Herbert is thousands of miles away

Our patients are here

If we are to be allowed to help them,

then we must bite our tongues, do as we are told,

and show the Army that we, too, can endure suffering without complaint

But I never came all this way to sit and sew blankets

while men are dying for want of care

If you can't make them let us work,

why don't we just pack up our things and go home?

Nurse Davis, you signed an agreement to accept my orders

My orders are to be patient, silent and dedicated as a nurse should be

I'm as good a nurse as any, better than most

But I'm not here to waste my time

I hear the men crying out in there, and my stomach turns

Get us in there, or let's be gone

You want to do what?

We want to clean your floors

There are no brushes

We have 200 in our store

If we may not cleanse and disinfect the men,

may we not at least go in and scrub and disinfect the floors?

And throw open the windows to stop the spread of cholera and typhus?

We have four miles of beds Four miles of floors

And do you realize how filthy they are?

Do you, Doctor?

It seems such a disgrace to let the women do it by themselves

We're not asking to do it all by ourselves

That's why we have 200 brushes, Major

DR MENZIES: Very well, Miss Nightingale Go ahead

Miss Nightingale, there's been a heavy battle at Mount Inkerman above Balaclava

I've been told to expect over 1,000 wounded here

within the next seven days

A thousand? But the wards are hopelessly overcrowded already,

and the deaths from cholera are still rising

I was hoping we could improvise something

If your good ladies would help out, as they did in the wards

In the past several weeks, your nurses have done tremendous work

Really

Few men would have the courage to do what you have

Dr Menzies, we can help you

But only if we are allowed to attend to the wounded

Is this a bit of blackmail, Miss Nightingale?

Furthermore, we want the purveyor's permission

to distribute free all the shirts that we brought with us

And your permission to hire enough Turkish workmen to help us

We have not got the funds

We have Over 29,000 pounds raised by the ~Times$

Well, in that case,

if you could do all that, my dear lady, it would be something like a miracle

The miracle, Dr Menzies, will not be what my nurses can do

but that we will finally be allowed to do it

This man's shoulder looks to be shattered Place him over there, please

Up the stairs, please

Yes, ma'am

This way, bring him through

Over there

I shall look after him now

You've had a long journey

Now you're going to stay here with me, and I'm going to be beside you all the time

And you're going to rest

That's right Close your eyes and rest

Keep holding my hand

Do you have a family?

I have a wife

If she were here, she'd want to hold you as I am

Care for you and help you to get well

I'll help you write a letter to her

and you'll see how much better you'll feel

~During that terrible year of 1855,$

~over 2,000 soldiers wounded in the line of duty$

~died in the arms of Florence Nightingale$

Florence It's us, Selina and I

Come in

Selina has something to say to you

Flo, I've asked Charles to take me back to England

Which, well, I suppose I have no choice

It seems like such a betrayal of you, Florence

Selina, why?

I'm not a nurse I have no purpose here

What possible reason can there be for me to stay?

For that matter, Charles, what possible reason can there be for you?

I resent that We are here to support Florence

SELINA: We're not supporting her, she's supporting us

Flo, I know it's you who's had to cover up for all our inadequacies

Selina, you have not been

I am not as strong as you

I cannot suppress my feelings the way that you do

Suppress them?

Is that how you see me?

How else have you managed to survive and do what you have done?

Nearly a score of nurses that you brought with you have gone down with cholera

Half a dozen have died And yet you go on

It requires a hardness, Flo

You're different from us, different from what you were

I wonder sometimes how you'll manage to go back

Well, at least she's not going back until she's done what she set out to do,

which is more than you can say for us

I mean, ever

To that world we all once knew

I suppose the answer is you'll manage to do without it perfectly well,

as you'll manage to do without us perfectly well

For God's sake, Selina

I'll say goodbye now, Flo

I'm sorry I failed you

Goodbye, my dear

Goodbye, Flo

Safe journey home

Miss Nightingale

That patient, the gangrene on Ward Two, I'm going to amputate shortly

I shall be there, Doctor

I'll need the chloroform

Dr McGregor

You should know the symptoms by now

For God's sake, for the sake of this whole bloody hospital,

stay away or you'll catch the cholera, too

Stop You will please treat these men with dignity

God bless you, miss Are you Miss Nightingale, miss?

Yes Nurse, will you please see to this man?

Everybody knows your name, Miss Nightingale

What the world has not yet seen is your face

And who are you, sir?

William Russell of the ~Times$

And you are Florence Nightingale

I'm honored to meet you at last

I can't believe the change you've made here

In the three months since you came here,

you've brought some sense of order, where before there was only chaos

I have not been alone, Mr Russell

Do you know that the soldiers speak of you in hushed voices,

almost as if you were an angel?

At the front, you're all that they talk about

What's been done here was done by ordinary people doing ordinary things

It's the work of my nurses that has made the difference, Mr Russell, not mine

And how do you explain the quiet when you pass?

I can't Sometimes, listening to that quiet, I'm amazed,

because of the suffering, the squalor,

and because in the middle of it all,

there is this extraordinary gentleness among men

And they're the ones the grandees of the Army call the scum of the earth

I've got to know a lot of them since I've been out here

And you're right They're brave and they're good

But I know no one who's braver or better than the woman I'm looking at now

That sounds like newspaper talk, Mr Russell

No, it's not Indeed, you are brave

And important to the British people You deserve the credit

And it's my job to see that you get it

So you're attempting to make me a hero?

I'm just trying to describe the truth, Miss Nightingale Only the truth

I have to leave for the Crimea in the morning

Could we go somewhere and talk?

A man is about to have his leg amputated I promised to be by his side

Well, maybe afterwards I could wait for you

May not be an afterwards, Mr Russell

That man's probably going to die by morning No man should die alone

By tomorrow, you'll be gone

If you're ready to wait all night with that man,

I'm ready to wait all tomorrow on the off chance that you might be free,

even for an hour, Miss Nightingale

All right

~Now William Russell knew what Florence had told me years ago,$

~that she had a calling$

~This lady, who carried herself with such dignity$

~This lady, who carried herself with such grace$

~that men kissed her shadow as she passed$

~This lady with the lamp$

WILLIAM: Fanny, here's another article from Mr Russell on conditions in Scutari

Oh, read it, Papa Please, read it

"Due to the heroic exertions of Miss Nightingale and her nurses

"conditions of the Barracks Hospital, so catastrophic but for a few months ago,

"have improved out of all recognition and are still improving"

What an amazing girl

Yet I shouldn't be surprised Her whole life has been leading up to this

I am so proud of her

Robert Robert Robert

Oh Oh, no Oh, Mother of God

My darling My darling No

No

I know I had given him up in my heart

I began to think I'd never see him again

And I did see him again

~FLORENCE: Richard, though I am hardly ever alone in this place,$

~I feel very much alone Everyone here has felt the strain$

~If there is a hell on earth, this must be it$

~And when I think of you and what our life would be together$

~I feel I must be mad or possessed by the devil himself to be here$

~I miss you, Richard I love you, Richard$

When did that bed become vacant?

Early this morning, ma'am, took him away

Isn't he the third man to die in that bed in two weeks?

That's right, ma'am

It's kind of a hard-luck bed I'm glad I'm not in it

It smells bad down there, too

Nurse, Doctor

Nurse Davis, take Tom out of that bed Put him into the far end of the ward

Don't put any new patients in this area

But we're so short of space

Nurse, please Do as I say It may save lives

So, Dr Clarke, how long have you been out

in this infidel wilderness?

Too long, sir, I assure you

What is that?

I believe it is Florence Nightingale

The lady with the lamp

May I present Dr John Sutherland,

Dr Hector Gavin and Mr Rawlinson of the special commission

Gentlemen, you could not have chosen a more opportune moment

When I explain to you why, it will explain to you my appearance

I think your appearance is just grand, Miss Nightingale

You do? Then please follow me, Dr Sutherland Gentlemen

My God

DR GAVIN: Shocking

Doctor, this entire building is a veritable death trap

The gases from the sewerage channels are killing our men

That's impossible

Dr Menzies

What you have down there beneath this imposing structure

is a sea of decaying filth

The sewerage channels are hopelessly blocked

by the bodies of dozens of dead animals

Every breeze, every puff of wind

blows poisonous gases into the air works,

killing all those whose beds are near the vents

Worse yet, Doctor, it appears your water supply

passes right through the carcasses of two dead horses

Dr Menzies, we will hire workers to clean these channels right away

or I am telegraphing London to demand your immediate resignation

Is that clear?

Miss Nightingale, there's a soldier asking for you in Ward B

She just left She should be there by now

She's doing too much She'll wear herself out

I can't bear to see how pale she looks

No paler than us, locked up in this dungeon 18 hours a day

Oh, I'm sick of your complaining

Why don't you leave then and go home where you belong?

Who are you to say where I belong?

You're no nurse, you're just a common thief, a slut,

here to collect your 18 shillings It's easier than earning them on your back

Why, you

Iris

Let go

Oh, my God

Go

Go from here You disgrace your calling

Wait

She called me names, Miss Nightingale Terrible names

Ask the others if it ain't the truth

And I'll say them again Thief Woman of the streets

Don't you dare

Nurse Davis

Why do you torment your sisters so? You're a fine nurse,

but ever since we came here your hand that is so gentle with the soldiers

seems to be set against us

Not against them, against you

But why?

If I'd been born in your place, I'd be the leader here

Shame on you For shame

You think that's such an enviable job? Then take it

If it were in my power alone, I would gladly give it to you

This has been a terrible burden on all of us

Let us all try to get some sleep now

"It is Christ that died, yea rather that has risen again

"Who was even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us

"Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?

"Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine,

"or nakedness or perils?

"As it is written, for thy sake, we are killed all the day long,

"we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter

"Nay, in all these things, we are more than conquerors through him that loved us

"For I am persuaded that neither death nor life,

"nor angels, nor principalities,

"nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come

"nor height, nor depth

"nor any other creature shall be able to separate us from the love of God"

~On September 7th, 1855,$

~John Sutherland wrote Sidney Herbert in London,$

~"You little know what daily anxiety it causes me to see her dying by inches$

~"This woman, who tends to the soldiers and to her nurses$

~"This woman tends to everyone but herself"$

Miss Nightingale, since I arrived, I've done everything you asked me to True?

Yes, Doctor True And more than true

Well, now I want you to do something for me Will you grant it?

Hadn't I better know what it is first?

And what if when you'd ordered me down the sewers I'd said,

"I think I'll have to know what's down there first"?

I trust that's not a strict parallel, Doctor?

Far from it, I'm hoping

Tell me, how long is it since you enjoyed a decent meal,

served on china plate,

with knives and forks that weren't bent out of shape, and a good-sized glass of wine?

I can't even remember

Well, there's a small cafe down in Scutari, I'm told

Now you need, in fact, we both need a few hours outside of this place or we'll go mad

And then what use will we be to anybody?

Dr Sutherland, is that an invitation to dinner?

If you prefer, not so much an invitation as a prescription

You persist in calling me doctor Well, what if I said in that capacity

that your work is suffering from a lack of recreation?

Is that true?

No But what if I were to say it?

Then I suppose I would have to do what you want me to do and come

Dressed What?

None of that nurse's garb The real benefit only comes when you're all dressed up

At 8:00, Miss Nightingale, if you please

And by the way, thanks very much for the honor

~"My dear friend,$"

~"I hesitate to write this, yet I know I must$

~"I hesitate because I sense that in the turmoil that surrounds you,$

~"you are much alone and face many problems$

~"Yet, and before anyone else knows about it,$

~"I feel in duty bound to tell you that I'm going to be married$

~"If, my dear Florence, we could live forever,$

~"I would wait for you to come to me$

~"But I cannot make time stand still for either of us$

~"I love you and will always Richard"$

To the future and us To us tonight

Somehow this makes me feel silly

It's good for you to feel silly once in a while, Florence

You've been cooped up in that place for far too long

I was joking earlier about being your doctor, but your hand is trembling

Is there something wrong with you, Florence?

Nothing

You must tell me, you know

Nothing that as a doctor you'd need to know about I promise

Then perhaps, may I ask not as a doctor?

Today I received a letter from the man I once thought I would marry,

only he's going to marry someone else

Forgive me

He has every right to marry, and I have no right to shed a single tear

You loved him?

Yes, I loved him

But when he proposed, I could not say yes

I put him off again and again

I think I knew even then that if I gave myself to him wholly and completely,

I could not do my work One passion would cancel out the other

One of the reasons I invited you here with me was that,

even though I see you surrounded by people, I feel you're very lonely

One has to be alone to be able to think in the midst of all this turmoil

I don't mean being alone to think

I mean, it's as though the path you've chosen in life is lonely

I am lonely, but I don't want to be

Sometimes, in the middle of the night, I long to cling to someone

But then I get frightened and I

I feel that if I give myself to someone, I'll lose my way altogether

It seems the only thing you're afraid of is love

Dr Sutherland Florence

Do you really believe that a love will take you away from your work?

That will never be

Florence, you're a divinely gifted healer

Whatever you want to do, you'll do

Wherever you want to go, you'll go

And I would be most grateful if in any capacity you choose

you would allow me to go with you

Forgive me, John, I must get back

Florence

It won't help those people hungry at the hospital if you eat well tonight

I know that, but don't you see? I can't swallow it down

I don't choose to be as I am This is not what I wanted

This, it is kind of a curse

I can never have a life like other women

When I was 17 I heard a call from God

I hear that voice still

Go your own way, John

Don't ask to go at mine

~As Florence's fame continued to grow,$

~a vengeful Dr Hall took steps to relieve her of her command$

~Left with no other choice,$

~Florence made preparations to confront the man who clearly was her enemy$

Miss Nightingale, before you leave,

I should like to take this opportunity of wishing you a safe journey

Thank you, Dr Menzies

I also want to tell you that I owe you an apology,

and not just because you're to see the Inspector General

We did not receive you very graciously when you came

I'm the first to acknowledge that

But your pluck and persistence,

well, those virtues are two I particularly admire

Every soldier does No man could have shown more

That's what I wanted to say

And you saying it means a great deal

~Of the original 40 nurses that Florence brought to Turkey,$

~only 12 had survived when she left Scutari$

~Now, sick with fever, Florence led her small band of travelers to Russia$

~for her meeting with destiny$

God bless you, ma'am You're a saint

Florence, you look exhausted The journey was far too long

I am a little tired but pleased by our reception

The men seem so encouraged that we're here

You're like a miracle to them, Flory

Is that you, Miss Nightingale?

Yes

How long ago were you wounded?

A couple of hours Stray bullet it was, miss

This man's wound should have been cleaned on the spot

and the clothing round it cut away

Why has this not been dealt with immediately?

Well, do it Don't you have orders to do that as soon as the man is found wounded?

Yes, ma'am Very good, ma'am

Florence, gently does it

You told me that when I was so angry with Menzies I wanted to hit him

because of the conditions of the sewer Remember?

I remember, John Yes

You Miss Nightingale, ma'am?

Yes, I am

Where's Dr Hall, please?

His tent is just over there, ma'am

Thank you

Bless you for coming, ma'am

Miss Nightingale, sir

Ah

Miss Nightingale A pleasure, indeed

Forgive me, Doctor But there was a wounded man being brought in

They said he was picked up over two hours ago,

but in those two hours his wound had not been cleaned,

the clothing round it had not even been cut away

lsn't it possible that In that case,

I trust you gave the orderly in charge a thorough dressing down?

Dr Hall, we've sent so many letters and reports

imploring your men to take these elementary measures at the frontlines

Do you know how many hundreds and hundreds

of cases of gangrene we've had at Scutari?

Miss Nightingale, I do not intend to be subjected

to a harangue by a hysterical woman

If that's the method that got results at Scutari,

then I must warn you that I'm a much sterner man than Dr Menzies,

and far less susceptible to the wiles of a woman

Miss Nightingale, are you quite all right? Would you like tea?

Yes, please

Orderly

Sir

Tea for Miss Nightingale

Sir

Oh, well, you feeling better?

Yes

Yes, you're a frail little thing I can see that now

I'm not trying to belittle your work, Miss Nightingale

But when I read the papers,

with the magnificent achievements attributed to you and you alone at Scutari,

it does grit one's teeth a bit

Believe me, Dr Hall, I have never made any such claims for myself

Well, you do not appear to disavow them, all the same

You have no real authority here at all, I've told you that before

Your report states that you're the superintendent in charge

of the female nurses at Scutari That's Turkey, this is Russia

British-occupied Russia, but Russia nonetheless

I did not come to exercise any authority, Dr Hall, but to discuss my ideas with you

And to try, with your help,

to prevent the tragedies of last winter from happening again

Dr Hall, much has been accomplished at Scutari

I had hoped to ask your permission to stay on there

But I see

Oh, how softly you speak now, Miss Nightingale

Well, you may visit my hospitals, if you wish

It's the least you deserve But I shall need no help from you or your nurses

I have a well-trained staff, thank you, who don't coddle our soldiers

We are not interested in your wildly applauded ideals on morale

We do not have a little girl's army

We have come here to gain a victory, madam We're interested in glory

Men who can bear pain without flinching, obey orders without question

Something you might think about My advice to you would be

to spend a few days here, enjoy our hospitality, and then go back to England

But, Dr Hall, I

Miss Nightingale,

the British Army has a long, long history

And it will flourish long after you and your nurses have disappeared and left

Dr Hall, don't speak to me of the British Army

The army is men, sir

Unless we see every soldier, every single one, as a human being

deserving of proper treatment, medical or otherwise,

deserving equally, whether he be of high or low degree

Unless we do that, Dr Hall,

your British Army will become what it was but a few months ago,

an army of well-fed officers who make wars,

and dying soldiers who have to fight them

I am interested, not in prejudice,

and certainly not in conceit,

but in proper treatment of human beings,

bodies and even minds

I have come here to ask you to help me,

not to learn the rules of the British Army, but to change them

Or the proud, great country that we both love will one day be humbled

and lost because of men like you

Miss Nightingale

She will get well, she must

It is in God's hands

Aye If we can only bring the fever down

We have done all we can What is there left now but to pray?

Like us, all the soldiers, they are praying, too

I've come to relieve you

No, no I'll stay a little longer

You'd best get some sleep

What good is it if you get cholera, too? Who'll take care of her then?

She is right, Doctor You are exhausted

I sleep to get strength to serve her

Without us, she's helpless now

I will sleep for an hour

I'll be here when you get back

You're on fire

Well, little Nightingale,

you're brought low now, aren't you?

Not so pretty now

Sickness can do that, can't it?

To the rich and the poor alike

One thing to do they haven't done

They'd never believe it weren't for spite, though

What would you do if you were me?

What would I want if I were you?

I'd want to live, little lady

I'd want to bring that fever down

You heard the news? Miss Nightingale's been taken very bad

Go on

They think she'll die

Dear Mother of God

Don't say it's that cholera

They said it was the Crimean fever,

that's what they said

Richard It's all right, Flory

It's all right

My hair

It had to be done to break the fever, Flory

And it is broken You'll get well

Who?

Nurse Davis and Trude

They've been in here, faithful as mother hens, tending you

and coaxing you back to life

You, you look like a Madonna

Beautiful lady

The lamp shines on your hair,

on your gentle, sweet face,

on your eyes

Let me comfort you now

Let me love you now

Come on, pick them up there, pick them up Left, right, left, right

It is Lord Raglan to see you The commander-in-chief, Miss Nightingale

Major Sutherland

Lord Raglan

Miss Nightingale

I'd heard you were better, but I had to come and see for myself

Very kind of you, Lord Raglan

I should've come sooner, but I've had a message from the Queen

From the Queen?

Asking me to make sure that "that excellent and valuable person, Miss Nightingale",

"is making a safe recovery"

I should like to telegraph her tonight

that you have indeed made the recovery which she and all of England prays for

May I?

Yes

I'm also giving you a copy of today's general orders, signed by me

Because it concerns you

I have also sent a copy to Dr John Hall, whom I believe you know

"Miss Nightingale is recognized by Her Majesty's Government

"as the general superintendent of nursing of all military hospitals of the Army

"The principal medical officer will, therefore, communicate with her

"on all matters connected with that establishment

"and will give and receive orders only through that lady"

Miss Nightingale, I believe this is also for you

This brooch was created in your honor by Her Majesty, Queen Victoria

I've been asked to present it to you on her behalf

The inscription reads, "Blessed are the Merciful"

~Six months later,$

~the war with Russia was finally over$

~Though a hero's welcome awaited her,$

~Florence chose to slip quietly back to England$

~Back to her home$

Florence

Mama

Florence

Florence

I'm home

I'm home

my darling Florance