The Progress Magazine

The Road to Paradise This serial by Eleanor M. Ingram depicts the romance between Florio, an Italian-American street musician operating a barrel organ, and Emilia, the beautiful daughter of a prosperous farmer named Martini in the Ramapo region. Florio, orphaned and weakened by factory work and urban hardship, travels the roads playing classical selections—Cavalleria Rusticana, Carmen, Il Trovatore—hoping to regain strength for western farmwork come spring. After sheltering from a thunderstorm at Martini's cottage, Florio reveals his background: vineyard-owning parents who emigrated, dreams of rural life thwarted by city factory labor. He visits repeatedly, drawn to Emilia despite her father's hints of her betrothal to the wealthy Celso Lucca. In October, believing her lost, Florio performs a moonlit serenade before the cottage. A passing automobile with wealthy travelers rewards him with five dollars, which he defiantly throws through Emilia's window as a love token before fleeing, abandoning his piano.