Central Library of Rochester and Monroe County · Historic Serials Collection THE HOSPITAL REVIEW. DEVOTED TO THE INTERESTS OF THE SICK AND SUFFERING AT THE BOOHESTEE CITY HOSPITAL, " I WAS SICK AND YE VISITED ME." VOL. XXV. ROCHESTER, N. Y., AUGUST 15, 1888. No. 1. The Burden. And whether it be sorrow or defeat, Or pain, or sin, or care, O leave it calmly there. To every one on earth It is the lonely load God gives a burden to be carried down That crushes out the life and light of Heaven; The road that lies between the cross and crown; But, borne wiih Him, the soul restored, forgiven, No lot is wholly free ; Sings out through all the days He giveth one to ihee. Her joy, and God's high praise. —Mai ianne Farningham. Some carry it aloft, Open and visible to any eyes ; And all may see its form, and weight, and size ; THE BATTLE OF THE FLOWERS. Some hide it in their breast, And desm it thus unguessed. How Nino Came to America. Thy burden is God's gift, And it will make the bearer calm and strong ; By Margery Deane. Yet, lest it press too heavily and long, He says : Cast it on Me, The Carnival is a festival which for And it shall easy be. many, many hundred years has been cele- brated in all Roman Catholic countries. And those who heed His voice, And seek to give it back in trustful prayer, The word carnival means farewell to meat, Have quiet hearts that never can despair ; and the festival occurs in the weeks before And hope lights up the way Lent, during which the Catholic region Upon the darkest day. forbids the eating of meat. It is the mad- Take thou thy burden thus dest, merriest time you can imagine, espec- Into thy hands and lay it at His fett, ially in Italy. Central Library of Rochester and Monroe County · Historic Serials Collection THE HOSPITAL RI But the most delightful of all days is baskets or long boxes, full to overflowing that of the " Battle of the Flowers," a with flowers. But prettiest of all was the merry fight in which flowers are used as effect of long, bright, streaming ribbons missiles. Dr. Powers and his twin little fastened to slender poles like fishing-rods. girls, Dora and Cora, were in Naples just Each lady held a pole, and on the end of in time for this battle. They were Ameri- the ribbon was a willow basket, which was cans. Wherever Dr. Powers business or lowered to the street, or swung to other pleasure took him, the twins and their good balconies, and drawn up laden with a nurse went also. Thoughtless people said bouquet, and another sent down in ex- that he would " spoil " his children, as if change. It was lawful to steal wherever love and kindness could " spoil " any one, you could reach. A beggar might toss his big or little. Their mother was in heaven, stolen bouquet to a princess on a balcony, and she had taken with her their dark-eyed and she would throw him another. baby brother. The golden haired, blue- Our little Americans were soon wild with eyed seven-year-old twins were all he had. excitement. Full of glee, they tossed their They were to be ready when the car- flowers right and left, seized those lowered riage came at two o'clock. What wide to them from the balconies, refilling the eyes looked down upon this carriage when pretty baskets which swung upward so that it drew up under their windows ! Was all the air seemed full of bright ribbons there room for any one in it ? It seemed and flowers and perfume. It was a battle. hardly possible, for it looked like a great Everything was fair in this war, and it did load of beautiful, freshly picked flowers— not trouble Dora and Cora in the least that violets, roses, camellias, pansies and wild- they were aimed at from a dozen different flowers. All the spokes of the wheels and directions at once. To some of the bou- the thills were wound with smilax, and quets sent into their carriage were tied the horses, coachman and whip were also pretty bon-bons. decorated. From the time they turned into the Via When they turned into a large square Roma until the fun was over and they they found it full of carriages, laden with drove away, a little ragged Italian boy had flowers also, and filled with a great crowd kept close to them. He was not more than of people on foot, all going toward the Via five years old. His curly hair was in a Roma. For a moment the children were tangled mass about his head, and his face terrified. Men in masks threw them kisses was not over-clean. But it was very beau- and roses ; a big officer with1 a sword took tiful, with its clear dark skin and great a bouquet from their hands and gave them black eyes, which seemed to be fascinated his own. They could not understand the by the golden-haired Americans. The big strange cries and greetings, all in Italian, eyes grew bigger and the little face radiant and they clung closely together. But Dr. with delight when they threw him, now Powers explained that they had nothing to and then, a rosebud. Good-natured men fear. They were to give and to take smiles would lift him on their shoulders where he and flowers ; that no one would harm them. could almost reach the balconies, and Dr. Very soon they laughed at the punchinello Powers had once let him stand upon the with the big wax nose, and took his violets carriage step and help himself to violets. and tossed flowers back to those who As they turned out of the Via Roma to pelted them; and they watched their go home, there came a sudden cry and a father with delight as he threw lovely bou- hush of the laughing voices. Dr. Powers quets straight into the laps of pretty ladies, was quickly out of his carriage. He had who laughingly aimed others at his head. seen the little ragged boy pushed under But when they came to the Via Roma ! the horses, and one of them had cruelly Oh, how can I describe it to you ! It is a hurt the poor bare ankle so that it was lqng, narrow street, with very high build- bleeding. He took him in his arms, for the ings on either side. Every window opens child had fainted with pain, but in a mo- on a balcony, and every balcony was ment he opened his eyes and seeing who trimmed with pink, and white and yellow held him he shut them again and nestled bunting and the green twigs of trees, and closer. Dr. Powers hesitated an instant each was full of gaily dressed ladies and only, and then lifting him into the carriage children. To every balcony were tied drove to his hotel. There he laid him in Central Library of Rochester and Monroe County · Historic Serials Collection THE HOSPITAL REVIEW. a bed, the first one little Nino had ever pleading faces, and beyond at the lovely touched, and soon the bruised ankle was dark head on the pillow, and thinking of bandaged and a soothing medicine had the dark-eyed boy with his mother, said, put him to sleep. He had told the good " Yes, there is plenty of room. Nino ' be- doctor that he had no name but Nino ; longs to nobody,' and he shall belong to us. that he belonged to nobody and lived in We captured him in the Battle of the the Via Giacome. In Naples, as in no Flowers !" other city, people live in the streets. A The next winter in America in the old poor family may have one room, and that homestead, which seemed like a palace to half underground often, but they cook, and Nino, one of the children one day ex- eat, and sew, and sleep in the street. claimed, " O papa, I think the most beauti- Many times I have walked over tiny child- ful flower that fell into our carriage at the ren peacefully sleeping on the pavement at Carnival was Nino, don't you ?" midnight. And Dr. Powers drew all three close to When the excited little golden heads him and patted the little dark head as lov- were also soundly sleeping, and dreaming ingly as he did the others, and replied, " I that the sky rained flowers, Dr. Powers certainly brought from Naples the sweetest went to the Via Giacome to ask about bouquet possible." Nino. It was one of the crowded streets of the very poor. It was true that Nino lived there, and that he belonged to no- Letters to the Girls. body. Both parents were dead, but the little fellow seemed to be a great favorite. SPECIALTIES. Everybody gave him food ; and a little macaroni out of everybody's dish fed him DEAR GIRLS—Do not be weary if I ask well, and his ragged clothes were also given you to think about another phase of work. to him. I doubt if, in any city but Naples, Because I have lived more years than you a five-year-old child could so exist and know something of the emergencies of Strangely enough these poor, ignorant, rag- life, I should be glad if I might help you ged people of the streets seem content, and to meet them better when they arise.