To the Reader

1 min

I should have thought that no preface would have been required to introduce Mrs. Seacole to the British public, or to recommend a book which must, from the circumstances in which the subject of it was placed, be unique in literature.

I would have thought no preface was needed to introduce Mrs. Seacole to the British public. Nor should one be needed to recommend this book. Given the circumstances of its subject, it must be unique in literature.

If singleness of heart, true charity, and Christian works; if trials and sufferings, dangers and perils, encountered boldly by a helpless woman on her errand of mercy in the camp and in the battle-field, can excite sympathy or move curiosity, Mary Seacole will have many friends and many readers.

A helpless woman faced trials, suffering, dangers, and perils bravely on her mission of mercy in the camp and on the battlefield. If her sincerity, true charity, and Christian deeds can stir sympathy or curiosity, or if her courage in facing those hardships can do so, Mary Seacole will have many friends and many readers.

She is no Anna Comnena, who presents us with a verbose history, but a plain truth-speaking woman, who has lived an adventurous life amid scenes which have never yet found a historian among the actors on the stage where they passed.

She is no Anna Comnena, offering a wordy history. Instead, she is a plain woman who speaks the truth and has lived an adventurous life. The events she witnessed have never yet been recorded by someone who took part in them.

I have witnessed her devotion and her courage; I have already borne testimony to her services to all who needed them. She is the first who has redeemed the name of “sutler” from the suspicion of worthlessness, mercenary baseness, and plunder; and I trust that England will not forget one who nursed her sick, who sought out her wounded to aid and succour them, and who performed the last offices for some of her illustrious dead.

I have seen her devotion and courage. I have already testified to her service to all who needed her. She is the first to rescue the name “sutler” from associations with worthlessness, greed, and plunder. I hope England will not forget her. She nursed England’s sick, sought out her wounded to help them, and cared for the bodies of some of her illustrious dead.

W. H. RUSSELL.