lying with closed eyes, too feeble to make moan or sign, the hospital spoon was put between his lips, with the mouthful of strong broth or hot wine which rallied him till the watchful nurse came round again.  The meat from that kitchen was tenderer than any other; the beef-tea was more savory.  One thing that came out of it was a lesson on the saving of good cookery.  The mere circumstance of the boiling water being really boiling there made a difference of two ounces of rice in every four puddings, and of more than half the arrowroot used.  The same quantity of arrowroot which made a pint, thin and poor, in the general kitchen, made two pints, thick and good, in Miss Nightingale’s.

Then there was the difference in readiness and punctuality.  Owing to cumbrous forms and awkward rules, the orderlies charged with the business were running round almost all day about the food for their wards; and the patients were disgusted with it at last.  There were endless orders and details, whenever the monotonous regular diet was departed from; whereas the establishment of several regular diets, according to the classifications in the wards, would have simplified matters exceedingly.  When everything for dysentery patients, or for fever patients, or for certain classes of wounded was called “extra diet,” there were special forms to be gone through, and orders and contradictions given, which threw everything into confusion, under the name of discipline.  The authority of the ward would allow some extra,—­butter, for instance; and then a higher authority, seeing the butter, and not knowing how it came there, would throw it out of the window, as “spoiling the men.”  Between getting the orders, and getting the meat and extras, and the mutual crowding of the messengers, some of the dinners were not put on the fire till an hour or two after the fainting patient should have had his meal:  and then, of course, he could not take it.  The cold mutton-chop with its opaque fat, the beef with its caked gravy, the arrowroot stiff and glazed, all untouched, might be seen by the bedsides in the afternoons, while the patients were lying back, sinking for want of support.  Probably the dinners had been brought up on a tray, cooling all the way up-stairs and along the corridors; and when brought in, there was the cutting up, in full view of the intended eaters,—­sometimes on the orderly’s own bed, when the tables were occupied.  Under such a system, what must it have been to see the quick and quiet nurses enter, as the clock struck, with their hot-water tins, hot morsels ready-cut, hot plates, bright knife and fork and spoon,—­and all ready for instant eating!  This was a strong lesson to those who would learn; and in a short time there was a great change for the better.  The patients who were able to sit at table were encouraged to rise, and dress, and dine in cheerful company, and at the proper hour.  It was discovered, that, if an alternation was provided of soups, puddings, fish, poultry, and vegetables, with the regular beef dinner, the great mass of trouble about extras was swept away at once; for these varieties met every case in hospital except the small number which required slops and cordials, or something very unusual.  By this clearance, time was saved to such an extent that punctuality became possible, and the refusal of food almost ceased.