With everyone predicting a quick end to the War in the wake of the allied victory at the Alma, Mary must have felt that her long journey was to be in vain. But as news came through of setback at Balaklava, and of heavy casualties in the course of pyrrhic victory at Inkermann, the public elation deflated, and turned to anger when the Times reported the chaotic state of the medical services in the war theatre. To Mary her way forward suddenly became clear; she would join Florence Nightingale's band of nurses who had already left for Scutari.
And so, armed with her file of references, she marched into the War Office and requested to see the Secretary at War. Unsurprisingly she got nowhere, although with characteristic determination she refused to be fobbed off and gave a good few staff officers a hard time. In the end she decided to lower her sights and approach the Quartermaster General's department, where she obtained an interview but felt she was being treated as a bit of a joke. Of course, as Mary understood, it wasn't every day that a 'motherly yellow woman' as she described herself turned up on their doorstep, rendered more colourful by her bright Caribbean dress and forceful manner, offering to go the Crimea for them. She was good-humouredly advised to try the Medical department. In the course of time, having still made no progress despite repeated visits to the United Services Club and other officers haunts to try to canvas support, she resigned herself to the fact that the official approach was not going to get her a job.
So she switched to the unofficial. Having popped in to Cox's, the army agents, who obligingly gave her Sidney Herbert's private address, she camped out on his doorstep - well not quite, as they let her sit in the hallway, although the result was no more positive. A note at last arrived from Mrs Herbert stating that there were no vacancies for nurses. This was probably true at the time. The first party were strictly limited in numbers, and politically the whole project was on very thin ice.
Mary states that later she had an interview with 'one of Miss Nightingale's companions'. This may have been just within the time when the second party which left late in November was being recruited. Mary was turned down, and in her disappointment wondered whether it had been on account of her colour. It may well be that the individual concerned was prejudiced, although she would have been an exception - colour prejudice was uncommon in mid-19th Century Britain. But the second group, which was sent out unknown to Florence Nightingale (Much to her dismay!),was itself composed of three distinct groups - society ladies, nuns and what passed for 'nurses' pre-Nightingale, very few with nursing experience. Mary did not fit into any of the three, and in addition would have been greatly overqualified. Assuming she was seen before the party left, it was just as well that she was not selected. Her independant spirit would have had severe problems in dealing with the restrictions, haughty disparaging attitudes, functional jealousies and pettyfogging regulations that Flo and her nurses had already reported that they were having to cope with.
