The Washington herald., 1914-06-04
The Lady Of the Lamp.
ny EMORY .. HAYNES.

Florence Nightingale was born in Florence, Italy,
nnetyfour years ago May IS. Though Of English
Eparentage, beautiful is her character that the
Italians allowed Sargent, the sculptor, to place a
marble memorial figure of her in the cloister of Santa
Croce, which has been called the Westminster Abby
! of Italy.
No doubt, also, the honor to the name of their
city her birthplace, appealed to the Italian admirers
of this English girl But no painting nor sculpture,
nor other form of for which Florence is famous,
will transcend the virtues for which Florence
Nightingales name will ever stand.
My friend describes the Sargent marble 1t is not
portrait of Miss Nightingale, nor reproduction
of her person. But it is in memoriam of what she is
in the history of the worlds works of mercy.
Beneath it is cut the legend. which, when one reads
it aloud, sounds like the far-off echo of many
soldiers sigh as she passed from cot to cot of
battlefield hospital "Flt on cheering angel" 1t is
the figure of woman in such dress nurse would
wear about her duties and carrying lamp. The
Lady of the Lamp"
How far the beams of her lamp have penetrated
All the modern training of hospital owes its
impetus to this gracious and self-denyng woman
The product of her intelligent portrayal of cruel
faults, the inspiration of her wise and womany
teachings, are working all the world. Like
handful of corn that grows great harvest Nor
one think of any art worthy of her the art
of mercy in which she excelled
The shock of battlefield strewn with suffering
men, among the CHASTITY piles of our dead is said to
be the severest that be endured The unharmed
soldier shrinks back from the detail to 60 out upon
such duty and often the sights under the stars un-
nerve strong men. There are many they tell US, who
faint.
But the English girl, on the bate6elds of the
Crimean war, never tainted, failed. She
showed unexampled executive abilities amid these
scenes OF carnage. He skill improvised newer and
better field hospitals than were ever known before
She had her mission in this world direct from heaven
and performed it we'll The call had never been so
sounded in womans ears before. But since that
day many lovely women have been shown the way to
mitigate the horrors of war
Heed it, the whispers of womens prayers that there
be no war. Measures somehow, the force of thesss
prayers today that they powerful enough to re-
tard all this nation Slowly, never before so slowly
do the wheels of the engines turn. They creak
upon their axle-trees. There is an unknown deter
renee so that this republic is far from the 4uickstep
and the gallop. Unseen fetters bind us il we reach
to unsheath the sword. Weeks pass and we are not
yet engaged in contest Who shall say what legions
OF angels these women have assembled SO that they
fill all the air about us and bride the horsess
If Florence Nightingale were in command of these
angels. or if she aid the staff of Lucifer
son OF the morning, commandant of seraphs, we
should expect just about this ghosy hindrance and
restraining of war.
Women are the best of economists. They would
save the wound rather than bind it up II is the
Nightingale idea When man puts his reason to
work upon it, the logic is irresistible that to prevent
the wound is better than to cure it A bshop has
asked vast commission to observe the day in prayer
that arbitration prevail Women are the tremendous
majority in the churches
1t would not be possible to know who was sent
to this earth in answer to that prayer. But may be
that the Lady of the Lamp who was at Balaklava is
among the restraining immortais. If asked she
would come. Nay, rather, if permitted let us say
would not she hasten to chain the dogs of war?
What an infinite future has the Florence Niphtn-
gale idea. What measureess superiority it has over
the Napoeonc idea. Mercy is SO much greater than
glory than even justice itself Every day we each
OF US need more mercy than justice
There is no beauty that surpasses mercy There
is none so intense trial of courage as mercy
Bravest of the brave the Lady of the Lamp For
the battehelds were dark and the eyes to which she
lifted the lamp were closing fast. The path was OBJ
scure among the heaps of slain. Most apt is the
inscription that the sculptor put the marble in the
Florentne cloister, "The Lady of the Lamp" and
"F1it on, cheering angel"