It
involved close and unremitting attention from morning till night, and
this not for one week, but for many months; and yet no detail was ever
momentarily shirked by one who loved an outdoor life. Lady Georgiana
realized to the full the responsibilities of having this vast sum of
money entrusted to her by the British public, and not wisely, but too
well, did she devote herself to discharging it.
Her services to the country were as zealous as they were invaluable. By
her quick grasp of the details of administration, by the marvellous tact
and skill she exercised, and by the energy she threw into her
undertaking, every difficulty was mastered. At this present time many
hundreds of men, who were ten years ago facing a desperate foe, can
reflect gratefully, if sadly, that they owe their lives to the generous
and unselfish efforts of a brave woman who is no longer with us; for,
after all, Lady Georgiana Curzon was human, and had to pay the price of
all she did. Her great exertions seriously told upon her health, as was
only to be expected, and long before the conclusion of her strenuous
labours she felt their effects, although she ignored them. Lady Chesham
was no less energetic a worker, and had as an additional anxiety the
fact of her husband and son[42] being both at the front. It was
imperative that one of these two ladies, who were responsible for
starting the fund, should personally superintend the erection and the
opening of the large base hospital at Deelfontein, and as Lady Georgiana
Curzon had made herself almost indispensable in London by her adroitness
in managing already sorely harassed War Office officials, and in
keeping her committee unanimous and contented, it was decided that Lady
Chesham should proceed to the scene of the war.
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