Letter to Jane Senior
1870-12-31

[Page 1 of 2]
35 South Street,
Park Lane,
W.
Dec 31/70
Returned - this beautiful & spirited
& mournful letter - with very
many thanks.
It seems a mockery to
wish her & you a happy New
Year - tho' I do with all my
soul & strength. At least
it is a relief that this terrible
& dreary & bloody & wicked
Old Year is over, laden with the
sorrow & agony of millions,
which, alas! are not over.
People tell me to be thankful
that we are "not in it". And
so I am, most deeply thankful
that our country is not "in it" -
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but that I am not in it is
the bitterest regret of my life.
My whole heart & soul are
longing to be with those
wretched sufferers of the Loire.
I am very sorry that you
have an anxiety about "a
child". I trust it is nothing
serious.
In haste
yours overflowingly
Florence Nightingale
Mrs. Nassau Senior