CHAPTER I

CHILDHOOD AND EDUCATION (1820-1839)

Name, ancestry, and parentage. II. Her father's circumstances --Her early homes--Lea Hurst (Derbyshire)--Mrs. Gaskell's description--Embley Park (Hampshire). III. Early years--Country life--Domestic interests--A morbid strain. IV. Mr. Nightingale's education of his daughters--History, the classics, philosophy --Anecdotes of Florence's supposed early vocation to nursing--The date of her "call to God" (1837). V. The Grand Tour (1837-9) --Interest in social and political conditions--Italian refugees at Geneva--Talks with Sismondi--Visit to Florence--Gaieties and music. VI. A winter in Paris (1838-9)--Friendship with Mary Clarke (Madame Mohl)--Madame Récamier's _salon_. Social "temptations" 3