PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS OF RIO DE JANEIRO. 471 
out make even this part of the hospital attractive and cheer- 
ful ; but one feels at once the difference between the high, 
' D " 
airy rooms and open corridors of the new building and 
the more confined quarters of the old one. In both parts 
of the hospital the mingling of color impresses the stranger. 
Blacks and whites lie side by side, and the proportion of 
negroes is considerable, both among the men and women. 
The charity of the Misericordia is a very comprehen- 
sive one ; it includes not only maladies susceptible of 
cure, but has also its ward for old and infirm persons, 
who will never leave it except for their last home. The day 
before our visit a very aged woman had been buried thence, 
who had lived under this roof for seventeen years. There 
is also a provision for children whose parents die in the 
hospital, and who have no natural protector. They remain 
there, receive an elementary education, being taught to 
read, write, and cipher ; and are not turned into the world 
until they are of age to marry or to enter into service. 
There is a chapel connected with the hospital, and many of 
the wards are furnished with an altar at one end, above 
which is placed a statue of the Virgin, a crucifix, or a pic- 
ture of some saint. I could not help asking myself if regu- 
lar religious services would not be a wise addition to all 
charitable institutions of this kind, whether Protestant or 
Catholic. To the respectable poor, their church is a great 
deal. Many a convalescent would be glad to hear the 
Sunday hymn, to join in the prayer put up for his re- 
covery ; and would think himself the better, body and 
soul, because he had listened to a sermon. To be sure, 
in our country, where creeds are so various, and almost 
every patient might have his own doctrinal speciality, there 
might be some difficulties which do not exist where there 
