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* * * * *
The Man with the Book;
OR,
THE BIBLE AMONG THE PEOPLE.
BY
JOHN MATTHIAS WEYLLAND,
AUTHOR OF
"ROUND THE TOWER," "A THOUGHT FOR THE WORLD,"
ETC., ETC.
"Oh, blest the land, the city blest,
Where Christ the Ruler is confest!
Oh, happy hearts and happy homes,
To whom this King in triumph comes."
_Weiszel._
INTRODUCTION BY THE RIGHT HON.
THE EARL OF SHAFTESBURY, K.G.
TENTH THOUSAND, ENLARGED.
LONDON:
S. W. PARTRIDGE & CO., 9, PATERNOSTER ROW.
EDINBURGH & GLASGOW: J. MENZIES & CO.
DUBLIN: GEORGE HERBERT.
_Butler & Tanner,
The Selwood Printing Works,
Frome, and London._
To
HIS BELOVED WIFE
AND
UNWEARIED HELPER IN CHRISTIAN EFFORT
THIS VOLUME IS DEDICATED
BY
THE AUTHOR.
INTRODUCTION.
To all who desire to obtain an accurate knowledge of the inner life of
London, and probably of all our large towns, and would ascertain, by
studying the results of experience, the best mode of grappling with its
evils, the following pages will be deeply interesting. They give the
history and fruits of many years' labour among the most filthy,
destitute, and degraded classes of the whole Metropolis. Yet these
classes are by no means the most hopeless. A grand aggressive movement
of Christianity against those strongholds of vice, disease, and misery,
would end in a larger victory than in one of equal vigour against the
obstinacy and self-satisfaction of the great body of the skilled
artisans.
The publication of such papers is very important in these days, when
inquiry and discussion are busy to discover the true secret of what is
required at the present crisis for dealing with the vast masses of the
people. So far as I can see, they have as yet reached no other
conclusion (whether it be avowed or not) than that all existing
arrangements and organizations, singly and collectively, are inadequate
to the task. The Established Church, by itself, is feeble; the
Non-conformists still more so. The two, working together in harmony,
might attain some happy issues; but, even on the supposition of their
cordial union, a new machinery must be devised, as an adjunct to all our
actual systems of operation.
It is vain to conceive that bricks and mortar, and the multiplication of
churches and chapels, would accomplish the purpose. The sudden
exhibition of many places of worship would rather avert than attract the
people, who, through our long neglect of them, are full of prejudices
and superstitions about such matters. The money laid out on these
edifices would be better expended on an increase and maintenance of
living agents of every sort and degree, as manifold, as various, and as
special, as the wonderful congeries of human beings to whom their
efforts would be addressed.
All the several agencies now at work have their merits, and the
conductors of them can recite many instances of real success. But there
is a lower depth into which we have to descend, and descend, not by fits
and starts, but regularly and systematically. It is the steady
continuity of the effort, and not its occasional vigour, that will make
the profound and lasting impression. And this continuity cannot be kept
up by the committees and directors alone. It must draw the main force
of its life from the zeal, the fervour, the hearty feeling, and
class-experience of the workers themselves. They must be numerous and
active, and not a few of them be drawn from the very ranks they are
enlisted to assail. The first movements must be made on individuals, or
at most on twos and threes. Every filthy court must be invaded, the dark
and terrible retreats be disturbed and enlightened. Such labours may
be--nay, will be--oppressive and revolting, but perseverance will drive
away discouragement. Doubtless it is a fierce trial to stand day by day,
and hour by hour, face to face and hand to hand with the inhabitants of
these pestilential and gloomy recesses; but patience for a while, and
they may be brought from the private conversation to the cottage
lecture, from the lecture to the mission-room, from the mission-room to
the church or chapel, from unqualified misery to comparative joy. The
condition of their dwellings is an awful impediment; but even this, in
many instances, may be partially overcome. The cause is great; and the
blessing of God has ever rested on the prayers and labours of those who
have sought to comfort and instruct the most suffering and degraded of
the children of men.
That such men are to be found, and that their efforts enjoy no small
success, is proved by the narratives of this book. These excellent men
have established the principle, they have produced the results. It only
remains that many should arise to imitate their good example, and
extend, far and wide, the operation of this wise and solid benevolence.
And why should they not arise, and in sufficient numbers?
It is a remarkable fact--but fact it is--that, by the special mercy and
Providence of God, a due supply of agents, able and effective for such a
career as this, can ever be found by those who diligently seek them. Men
and women of true hearts, of earnest piety, and of adequate powers,
spring in abundance out of the less affluent classes of society, and are
trained for the highest and noblest purposes. In what other way can we
account for the array of some 450 men of the London City Mission, men
with special zeal and special fitness to go among the masses? How else
for the peaceful army of Bible-women and Bible-nurses? That such large
numbers should answer to the call, and that so few, after trial, should
be found unworthy of their vocation, is a positive marvel, and proves
that the slow diffusion of what is good and restorative is due, not to
the lack of qualified agents, but to the parsimony of those on whom God
has bestowed the means of putting His gifts into life and motion.
It is so--for these people, who thus devote themselves to the cause of
our Lord, must be fed and clothed with the rest of mankind. "They that
preach the gospel, must live of the gospel;" and the rich of the earth
should be told that if the first and highest motive be wanting in their
hearts, the second one may be deserving of their serious consideration.
These agencies tend to the tranquillization of society; and as a
tranquillizing influence, they tend to the security of property. Look at
the results of the efforts of Miss de Broen among the Communists of
Belleville, and it will be seen that by the spread of the gospel among
those terrible masses, a beginning has been made more likely to
establish a happier order of things than the indefinite multiplication
of soldiers and _gendarmerie_.
I know not how far these suggestions may recommend themselves to the
judgment of the public at large. I offer them simply as the conclusions
of long observation, backed by the judgment of many far more experienced
than myself. It is at least worth while to make the effort, and try to
what extent we may rouse and utilize the dormant qualities of the
poorest ranks of society. We may oftentimes discern delicacy of feeling,
honesty of character, and vigour of resolution, among these degraded but
immortal beings. With many terrible exceptions, their parental
affections are strong; and it is touching to observe how even poverty,
weariness, and disease, are all, as it were, forgotten in their
desperate struggles to maintain their children. Hidden beneath these
sentiments there is a mighty engine wherewith to begin the work.
Well, here they are! and here they will remain! Will you leave them
alone to fester and to die? But in festering and dying they will breed
a moral, and a political, if not a physical, epidemic.
Will you advance on them in their swarming retirements of profligacy and
pestilence? Why, then, there is a hopeful promise that the Word of God
shall not return unto Him empty; and as the High Priest bore on his
turban, "Holiness to the Lord," so may the missionaries--the agents, the
men, the women, all who go forth to this great enterprise--bear
imprinted on their foreheads, a motto of no inferior power, "_Christo in
pauperibus_."
SHAFTESBURY.
PARIS, _May 12, 1878_.
PREFACE.
This book was written in detached papers, for _Evening Hours_ and other
Journals, without any intention to republish them in the form of a
volume. Meagre details and want of connection will thus be accounted
for. The narrative extends over a period of many years, and is
substantially true, although the writer had to depend upon memory aided
by a few notes: verbal accuracy cannot therefore be expected. The
difficulty of recording the histories of individuals and families in a
few paragraphs, without their connecting links, was felt, and this may
have given a touch of the wonderful to some incidents, which a more full
account would have avoided. The object of the work, even in its detached
papers, was to illustrate the mode of Missionary visitation among the
very poor and the depraved classes; and to show the power of simple
teaching from the Word of God among them.
The kindness of Lord Shaftesbury in writing the Introduction, and of
Mrs. Mary Sewell, in decorating each chapter with extracts, is
acknowledged with much gratitude. Their assistance has enriched the
volume, and the writer has an impression that many will regard it as an
indifferent picture beautifully framed. Be this as it may, he commits it
to the indulgence of his readers, and to the blessing of _Almighty God_,
by the power of whose Word alone the good narrated was accomplished.
ST. JOHN'S WOOD,
_December, 1871_.
PREFACE TO THE TENTH EDITION.
The favour accorded to this book has taken the author by surprise, as
the issue of nine editions of a thousand copies rapidly succeeded each
other. The truthfulness and simplicity of the narrative has no doubt
promoted this result, but the secret of its success is not in the book
itself, but in the deep interest taken by Christians generally in effort
to evangelize the people of London.
To many the difficulty of uniting disciples of various names in hearty
co-operation appeared to be insurmountable; and the gaining of access to
and influencing the "lapsed masses," the ungodly and criminal, to
religion and virtue seemed all but hopeless.
This simple record of mission work has had its influence in removing
such difficulties from the minds of many, and in enlisting the sympathy
of persons who were previously uninformed as to a Christian union which
is auxiliary and helpful to all the Churches.
At the time the narrative commenced there were only one hundred and
twelve city missionaries employed in London; but, through the blessing
of Almighty God and the confidence of His people, the increase of their
number has been steady and support increasingly generous. The mission
staff now numbers 448 effective men with 30 veterans upon the retiring
fund; these, with the committee and their officers, examiners of
candidates and local superintendents, number upwards of one thousand
men, who prayerfully and with great activity seek the spiritual good and
general uprising of the poor of the great Metropolis.
Much remains to be done. In many parishes extending to the distant
suburbs there are numerous poor districts, inhabited by myriads of
perishing souls, to each of which the appointment of "A MAN WITH THE
BOOK," charged to read and bring its life-giving power to bear upon each
man, woman, and child within his influence, would indeed be a blessing
conferred.
Charged with the duty of providing for many of these "waste places" in
the east and west of the City, the writer will gladly welcome the
friendship and aid of those who, realizing the preciousness of personal
salvation, from the abundance of the heart deviseth liberal things.
With the committee there is one strong conviction, and it is this, that
their work, which commenced in obscurity and feebleness, by three men
without name, influence, or money, but who were strong in faith, prayer,
and holy zeal--that the effort though now exceeding large--can only be
continued and extended in the same spirit of simple trust and devotion,
"glory" being rendered "in the Church by Jesus Christ, unto Him that is
able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we can ask or think,
according to the power that worketh in us."
LONDON CITY MISSION HOUSE,
BRIDEWELL, E.C.
_May, 1878_.
CONTENTS.
THE BOOK IN THE COURT.
ITS INTRODUCTION.
PAGE
Description.--The strange visitor.--Translators.--The chanter
and dog-nurse.--Thieves.--Beggars.--Prize-fighter.--A
widow indeed.--The power of prayer 3
THE BOOK IN THE COURT.
ITS INFLUENCE.
A fight between women.--Turning the fever out.--Speech
from a barrow.--Drunken Sammy.--A Wonderful tea-pot.--Dust-man
and scavenger.--Lady power 25
THE BOOK IN THE COURT.
ITS POWER.
Black Poll.--Niggers.--Rescued.--Tom and Bess.--Costermonger's
wedding.--A baptism.--Pledge taken.--The
prison gate.--The Bible on the housetop.--The convict's
widow and son 43
THE BOOK IN THE COURT.
ITS AUTHORITY.
A black leg.--Miniature altar.--The peacemaker.--The wafer.--An
animated sandwich.--Saved from error.--The
travelling tinker.--The dying child 65
THE BOOK IN THE COURT.
ITS TRUTH.
Roley-Poley's opinions.--The bus-washer.--Communism. An
infidel club-room.--Philosophers.--Conflict with infidelity.
The 'strology woman.--Bible answers.--Imp woman.--The
converted infidel 81
THE BOOK IN THE COURT.
ITS CERTAIN GOOD.
A praise meeting.--Death of the widow.--Joy of the blessed.--Out
of the prize ring.--A farewell speech.--A fagger.--A
strange preacher.--Dusty and the fiddler.--Praying in the
cell.--Indian girl.--Genesa.--Infidel society dissolved.--Works
following.--The banner of love 103
THE BOOK IN THE BARS.
ITS LIGHT.
Between the barrels.--The true light shining.--A danger.--Light
in the club-room.--The change wrought.--Victory
gained.--Evil resisted.--Good advice.--A white sergeant.--A
wise removal.--The good increased 129
THE BOOK IN THE BARS.
ITS SPIRITUAL POWER.
The clock going wrong.--Men of the fancy.--The rat-pit man.--Child
on the barrel.--Ticket of leave man.--A rough.--A
drunkard's home.--A fall and rise 151
THE BOOK IN THE BARS.
ITS RECEPTION.
A strange request.--Touching the sceptre.--Sunday drinking.--Closed
on Sunday.--Pleasant opposition.--Guilty tongues.--A
sharp rebuke.--Uglier than a gorilla.--A knotty question.--Potman's
letter.--The pugilist's ring.--The beauty
of age.--Resting in peace 169
THE BOOK IN THE DEN.
ITS MAJESTY.
The sleepless city.--Teddie's den.--A strange invitation.--The
tea.--A midnight visit.--A visit to Rag Fair.--Many
rescued.--Smashers.--The better part chosen.--Dreadful
death-bed scene.--A stronghold destroyed 195
THE BOOK IN THE STREETS AND NIGHT-HOUSES.
ITS SILENT FORCE.
A gilded saloon.--A pigeon plucker.--Discouragement.--The
Coffee Man.--Destitute.--The solitude of the city.--Madness
of disgrace.--The beggar and his boy.--The "Traveller's
Rest."--The sleepless Church.--Coffee stalls and
booths.--The covert from the storm.--Bible power 219
THE BOOK IN THE HIGHWAYS.
ITS FETTER-BREAKING.
To and from the city.--Our omnibus.--Box and monkey board.--The
lost day.--Crape on the whip.--Night gathering of
bargemen.--Fetters broken.--The silent water-ways.--Bible
in cabin.--The bargeman's hope 247
THE BOOK FOR ALL.
ITS UNIVERSAL GOOD.
Christian responsibility.--Faith.--The machinery man.--Man's
inner world.--Sin reproved.--Converse upon an omnibus.--The
influence of truth.--The Bible only.--Communication
established.--Brought nigh, very nigh 267
APPENDIX.
Can You Influence the World for Christ? 287
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
PAGE
NIGHT MEETING WITH CABMEN _Frontispiece_
THE DOG NURSE 11
AN UNWELCOME VISITOR 16
A SPEECH FROM THE BARROW 28
DRUNKEN SAMMY 32
SANITARY SUCCESS 37
UPON THE HOUSETOP 59
INFIDEL CLUB 88
BEFORE THE BAR 131
THE BACK ATTIC 162
CARD FOR PUBLIC-ROOMS 180
THE MIDNIGHT VISITOR 199
DARK ARCHES 205
IN DANGER 223
ALONE IN THE CITY 231
THE COFFEE STALL 240
OUTSIDE PASSENGERS 248
THE MONKEY BOARD 252
SABBATH OUTCASTS 257
THE MACHINERY MAN 273
The Book in the Court:
ITS INTRODUCTION.
"High up a dark and winding stair,
From floor to floor I went,
And heard sometimes a woman swear,
Or beaten child lament.
"Upon the topmost flight I found
A close and wretched room;
Alas, that any human soul
Should call such place a home!
"No fire was burning in the grate,
The walls were damp and bare;
The window-panes were stuffed with rags,
No furniture was there."
_Mrs. Sewell._
CHAPTER I.
DESCRIPTION--THE STRANGE VISITOR--TRANSLATORS--THE CHANTER AND
DOG-NURSE--THIEVES--BEGGARS--PRIZE-FIGHTER--A WIDOW INDEED--THE
POWER OF PRAYER.
THE BOOK IN THE COURT:
ITS INTRODUCTION.
"He that hath my Word, let him speak my Word faithfully."
JER. xxiii. 28.
Why the inhabitants called their place of residence Paradise Court was
never clearly understood. The parochial authorities substituted for the
name of the garden of primeval beauty that of a lovely southern county
of old England, and on their official papers styled it Devonshire Place.
Many would question the propriety of the Court bearing either name, as
it forms the centre of a labyrinth of dirty overcrowded streets. It is
not a blind alley, as it is of elbow shape with two entrances connecting
streets, though only used by persons of profound local knowledge. The
houses are so ill-shaped and dilapidated as to prejudice the mind
against London of the past generation; while the murky atmosphere--the
cloud of ragged yellowish garments suspended from the upper windows by
pole and line--the narrowness of the passage-way, which increases the
thick darkness of night--the constant noise made by the drunken and
quarrelsome, render it a place to be avoided by the respectable, however
poor.
There were, however, at the time our narrative commences, respectable
visitors to the Court, and foremost among them for intimate acquaintance
with the community was that valuable official the Relieving Officer.
His approach was by some mysterious means instantaneously known, and
produced wonderful effects; unruly sounds were hushed, quite a number of
poor creatures were taken suddenly ill, and a most appalling condition
of poverty was created. Strange however to say, his exit was marked by a
revivifying influence,--low muttering occasionally burst into storms of
abuse, but not until he had turned the corner; we may therefore suppose
that he was in happy ignorance of the strong feeling which existed
against him.
The policeman on duty used to pause, as from professional instinct, when
he passed each narrow entrance, and at night had been known suddenly to
turn his bull's eye upon persons approaching or leaving the Court.
Occasionally a visit was paid by that dreaded person, the Inspector:
which event was always unexpected. Intelligent members of the force at a
given moment took their position at either end, while the Inspector
marched with several officers to a particular house, and then marched
off with the somebody he wanted. Next morning a company of the
inhabitants used to return the compliment, by going in a body to the
Police Court, and for days after, the subject matter of conversation in
the Court was, "How the 'spector got that ere hinformation what he
received."
The postman occasionally entered the place, and when he did so he
grasped his letters firmly,--while in order to effect a proper delivery
he deciphered strange hieroglyphics. Of course those true friends of the
poor, the parish and dispensary doctors, were frequently to be seen in
the place. They knew it well as a pestilent spot, and, while
alleviating suffering, gave many certificates for the burial of the
dead. As regards the living there was scanty record: the name of the
place being rarely if ever written in the Vestry Register. A few out of
the swarm of dirty, shoeless, tattered little heathen (heathen in the
sense of being unbaptized and untaught in the Christian religion) were
occasionally hunted for by their warm-hearted friend, the Ragged School
teacher, who had entered their names in his class book. With two
exceptions these were the only respectable visitors to Paradise Court;
and the exceptions only came on Black-Monday morning. One was the stern
broker-man, who represented the landlord of half the houses, and whose
terrible utterance, "Pay the rent, or I will chuck your sticks into the
Court," had a money-producing effect. The other Monday visitor was a
lady of peculiar style, who entered the place from her suburban
residence exactly at nine o'clock. Though shabby in dress, it was
believed by her thirty-four miserable tenants that she was a real lady
at home. She was fluent of speech, and gave many reasons why it would be
wrong of her to let the rent run on. She had never been known to
comprehend an excuse; and it was an established fact that business
friendship existed between her and that dreadful broker-man.
To this succession of official and other visitors another was to be
added. The Paradise people knew it not; and, if they had, he would not
have been received with demonstrations of joy; indeed the few persons
who one March morning noticed two men in conversation at the narrow
entrance of the Court, were made uncomfortable, as they could not
comprehend what was meant. "I wonders if they are a coming down here,"
observed one woman to another. "They aint mendicities," she replied; and
hastened to inform her companion lodgers "that something was up, as two
men, one of them an old-un, with a brown coat, and the tother a young-un
nearly all black, was a talking and looking down." A rush to the doors
and windows took place, but they only saw the two men part company. The
eldest walked away and the other entered the open door of the first
house.
To remove all mystery,--the old gentleman was the training
Superintendent of the London City Mission, and his companion a young
Missionary whom he was placing upon the district. They had walked round
it together, and stopping at the Court, the Superintendent said to his
young friend, "You will find this the most trying part of the district,
as the people are in a bad state, and have never as yet been visited.
Enter the first house, make your way to the top back room--visit as you
come down, and in this way press through the place. Remember it is your
duty to make the acquaintance of every man, woman, and child, for the
purpose of bringing them to a knowledge of salvation by our Lord Jesus
Christ, and of doing them good by every means in your power: go, and may
the Lord prosper you."
A poet would have called that a sublime moment for the young Missionary:
he was in possession of that which had for three years been the desire
of his heart--the office of accredited visitor to the poor. For this he
had prayed, studied, and passed the required examination; and it was
with grateful heart and elastic step, that he made his way up the
rickety stair-case, and approached the room to the occupiers of which he
was first to deliver his message. A noise,--the beating of leather upon
lapstones, required that a second and harder tap should be given at the
door. It was suddenly opened by a middle-aged man, of ruffianly
appearance, with a long black beard. In his hand was a large flat
hammer, and in his mouth a short black pipe. With a sharp look at the
stranger, he inquired, "Do you want me, Master?" "I am a Missionary,"
was the reply, "and am come to make your acquaintance. Will you accept
one of these tracts?" The man threw open the door, and said to his
companions,--"This is a religious chap, and wants to know me." The
visitor stepped in and gave a curious glance round the room. It was an
attic of about ten feet square, with a low roof. In the centre was a
heap of old boots and shoes, rubbish of the kind collected from dust
heaps; round them were six men of various ages, and offensively dirty;
beside each were several rows of restored articles. It was evident that
the men were "translators,"--cobblers, who by marvellous skill in their
art were turning destroyed shoes into articles fit for use. "If he's
religious," exclaimed a man of diminutive stature, "I'm the customer for
him;" and facing the visitor, demanded "Do you believe in a Supernatural
Being? because," he continued, "if you do, I don't. He is a fool who
says in his heart there is no God, and he is a fool who says there is
one, because there is no proof." "Nature and the Bible"--replied the
Missionary; but he could get no further, as at the mention of the Book
exclamations of doubt and of abuse were uttered. He tried to proceed,
but was cried down. As he turned away, the man who opened the door,
said, with angry looks, "Now mind, Guv'nor, I am master here, and I live
in the next room, and my children knows nothing of superstition, and if
you come here with your cant I'll pitch you down." There was a momentary
pause, which enabled the visitor to exclaim in a clear ringing voice,
"This day has salvation come to this house," and he then descended to
the next landing.
Upon the back-room door was a rusty old padlock, showing that the
lodgers--costermongers--were out; but the front-room door was partly
open. "Come in," said a feeble voice; and the visitor, though nearly
stopped by the offensiveness of the room, stepped in, and found it a
death chamber. A woman and child were upon the bed in a high state of
fever; and stark upon the floor, with face uncovered, lay the body of a
boy of six years. The scene so shocked the inexperienced visitor, that
he with sorrow expressed his regret at finding them in such a position,
and inquired about the husband. "He is a chanter, sir," she replied,
"and is out in the streets singing about the man who was hung on Monday
morning. He was cut up when Bobby died in the night, and said that he
would leave off singing when he had got half-a-crown, and come home."
While words of consolation were being read, the "chanter" entered the
room: his clothes were threadbare, his face pallid, and his voice husky.
The stranger put his hand kindly upon the arm of the poor man, and
expressed his sympathy for the bereavement he had suffered, and added,
"I have read to your wife from the Bible, and am about to pray: let us
kneel down." At the mention of prayer an expression of contempt passed
over the man's face, and he hurriedly left the room. Prayer was however
offered, and the visitor descended to the parlours: oh, such parlours!
The back was occupied by an aged woman, who no doubt collected bones and
rags from the streets, as the floor was nearly covered with them. She
was frying fish which was partly putrid, and was so earnest in declaring
her poverty (no doubt truthfully) that the visitor had to assure her
that he had no temporal relief to bestow. The same plea of poverty was
urged by three drunken-looking women who stood at the next door; upon
his telling them that he had no money to give, but that he hoped to make
them happy with the true riches, they shut the door in his face; and
stepping out he breathed the refreshing air of the Court.
Two more houses were passed through with varied success, and the visitor
left for rest and refreshment. Upon his return it was evident that his
fame had spread, as there were groups of persons ready to look at him,
and in that look there was a hostile expression. True to his
instructions, he merely gave tracts to several women who asked for them,
and then made his way to the fourth house. Though all the front doors
were open, and had the appearance of never being closed night or day,
that door was shut and fastened, and peals of laughter could be heard
inside, while the Missionary in vain knocked for admission. He went to
the next house, but was brought to a pause while ascending the upper
stairs by the barking of dogs. The door of the front attic was opened by
a woman: at the sight of the stranger she screamed her command for
silence, and the brutes became dumb. As she opened the door half way a
curious sight presented itself: upon the bed were five or six puppies
of various breeds, and chained to the floor was a white bull terrier of
savage mien, while an ugly cur raised his nose to the edge of the basket
in which he was reposing, and sustained a growl of low note. Bobbing a
curtsey, she said in a plaintive tone, "I can't ask you in, sir, as the
dogs are werry savage; but though I does try to get a honest living, a
ticket is as acceptable to me as to them wretches what has got into the
first floor." In answer to the inquiry, "How do you live?" she replied,
"I brings up little dogs for fancy men, and takes in sick uns to nurse,
and I earns my money I can tell you: why that ere bull-dog has the
mange, and I have to rub him in with doctor's stuff, and if I didn't
muzzle him, and pull his chain tight to the floor, he'd tear me to
pieces; and then I have to get up in the night to feed the puppies with
milk." When the matter of religion was referred to, she in an angry tone
said, that she "knowed what was right, and didn't want to be preached
at." The sagacious friends of man understood that altered tone of voice,
and recommenced growling and barking. As it was hopeless trying to make
himself heard at the next room, the visitor descended to make
acquaintance with the abused in the first floor.
[Illustration: "I brings up little dogs for fancy men, and takes in sick
uns to nurse."]
Both doors were open, and the lodgers were in evident expectation of a
visit. In the front room were three men and four women: the men had
cotton handkerchiefs of a reddish colour about their necks, their hair
being arranged in the peculiar curl round the ear known in their circle
as the Newgate cut. One of them, with an air of blandness, offered the
visitor a chair, and said, "I am always glad to see a Missionary gent.
Where I comes from, near Petticoat Lane, is one of them, maybe you knows
him: he's werry good to chaps that gets into trouble. Now this woman
has got a boy as is always unlucky: he went a lifting and got nabbed
first time, and got a week, as he wasn't known; after that he hopped
over a wall for something, and a Bobby was down on him, and for that he
got a month; and then he relieved a gent of his ticker, and for that
he's doing four months upon the mill, and I think that he ought to be
reformed. He'll be out on Monday, and if you will tell me where you
live, I will bring him to you, and you can put him somewhere. If you
doesn't he'll be into trouble again, because, as I says, he's unlucky."
The reasons given were not likely to stimulate zeal, but the Missionary
arranged to see the young thief immediately after his discharge from
prison. A friendly conversation, followed, and several young girls and
juvenile thieves, who came in from the other room, remained to hear the
Bible read. The evil consequences of sin were pointed out to them, and
the way of salvation was explained. Deep emotion was expressed by
several of these depraved persons, and there was a friendly parting.
Upon the ground floor a fragrance redolent of sea-weeds filled the air,
and was a pleasant relief from the state of the atmosphere upstairs. The
cause of this strange perfume was apparent upon the door of the back
room being opened by an old man, who appeared as if he was undergoing a
salivating process. The floor was covered with baskets and trays with
piles of whelks upon them, some of which were cooked and some were not.
As the man was rather deaf, it was difficult to make him understand the
object of the visit; but when he did so, he asked the stranger in. He
refused an offered tract, with the remark, "I ain't got no larning,
Mister, and I burns every bit of paper I gits, so it 'ould be smoke if
you comed for it. I cooks these whelks for chaps and women as stands
with stalls, and gets a penny a kettleful." When told "that at his age
the great matter was not his business, but his fitness for a better
world," he laughed and said, "All I want is to die easy, so I moves the
things, and puts my mattress the right way, as we never knows what may
be, and they says as it's hard to die the cross-way of boards." He was
told that "to pray to the great God in the name of Jesus for pardon and
His Holy Spirit, was the way for old people to be made happy, and to die
easy." But he looked vacant, as though the subjects of pardon and
immortality were strange to him. Upon his saying that cooking was over
early in the evening, the visitor showed him the Bible, and said, "This
was written by the good Father in heaven, and I will come some evening
and read out of it." He looked pleased as he approached his fish-kettle,
and the visitor was then glad to make his escape from a kind of warm
sea-fog.
The next house was filled with beggars. The rooms were filthy; and upon
entering them in succession, the women and children commenced in the
cadgers' whine to beg. "Why don't you wash your children?" was inquired
of a mother, whose four little ones were as black as sweeps. "We haven't
a penny," was the reply, "to buy soap with, and the little dears are so
uncomfortable like when they wakes up, until they rubs their faces well
with their hands, which freshens them up." Their hard begging prevented
religious conversation. In the front parlour a man, clothed in filthy
raiment, was smoking his pipe, while the wife was engaged in sweeping
with an almost hairless broom. An attempt to speak to them upon the
Gospel message provoked an outburst of low abuse from them both: the
woman, who was evidently from the Emerald Isle, followed the visitor to
the door, giving a long sweep with her broom; and then flourishing it
over his head as he stepped into the Court, exclaimed, "Och, and sure
and that's the way I sweep out rubbish!" After failing to convey
religious instruction to the people at the next house, where the woman
and youth abused, and the children yelled as he passed out, the young
Missionary left the place in a state of mind exactly opposite to that in
which he had entered it in the morning. A sense of inefficiency, of
utter disqualification for the work, had taken possession of his mind
and damped his zeal. To have instructed the respectable poor--to have
removed the difficulties of men in error, would have been a pleasure;
but to evangelize such a people as the dwellers in Paradise Court and
its surroundings seemed hopeless. Besides the offensiveness of the
work--the thought of spending six or more hours daily in those wretched
dwellings, subjected to risk of contagion, insult, and personal
violence, and that with such feeble hope of benefiting the people,
produced a sense of regret that the effort had been made. So powerfully
did these reasons act, that the Missionary availed himself of the
consideration that Saturday would be an inconvenient day for the people,
and stayed away; but on Sunday afternoon, about three o'clock, he
approached the Court with a faint heart, and a bundle of tracts in his
hand.
[Illustration: "Where the woman and youth abused, and the children
yelled as he passed out."]
At the entrance a group of about fifteen roughs were talking together.
Tracts were offered to each. One of them, a man of heavy frame and
unprepossessing countenance, arising from the circumstance that it was
deeply scarred, and had the bridge of the nose broken, approached the
Missionary. With a smile more awe-inspiring than ordinary frowns, he
inquired, "Are you the chap what's coming to all our rooms to make us
religious?" To so direct a question only one reply could be given, which
was hopefully in the affirmative. "Then," he continued, that dreadful
smile deepening into an expression of malice, as he raised his huge
fist, "then don't come to my room; which is good advice, cos I does
three things at once when I'm up. I'm known in the ring as a hard
hitter, and I've fixed the ring stakes for lots of battles,--and this is
what I does: I deposits my fist on the top of the nose, which leaves a
mark, and shuts up both peepers for a week or two." "Well, but members
of the prize ring are honourable in this," was the prompt reply: "they
never strike men who cannot box." The man seemed pleased with the
compliment, but his companions gave an incredulous look, as much as to
say, "We, alas, know better!"
Friendly words were spoken, and tracts given to persons standing at
their doors. While thus engaged the Missionary was stayed by a sound
which proceeded from an upper room. It fell so strangely upon the ear
that he stood still and gazed up at the windows, with the exclamation
upon his lips--"Surely the Lord has His hidden ones in this place." An
effort was evidently being made in one of the rooms to sing a song of
praise. A cracked female voice was trying to lead other voices, not one
of which had been attuned to melody, in singing the hymn--
"Come ye that love the Lord,
And let your joys be known."
A woman at one of the windows, seeing the astonishment of the visitor,
said, "It's Widow Peters, Master having a meeting: she lives here in
the first back. She's a good un: the dear old soul is like a mother to
us." The visitor approached the room, and as the singing ceased, opened
the door. He saw at a glance that the company consisted of five very
poor women. Four were seated upon the frame of the bedstead, and another
at the table, upon which lay an open Bible and Hymn-book. "This is he,"
exclaimed one of the women. "This is the tract man, who is coming to
read to us out of the blessed Book." Upon this the widow rose, her
countenance beaming with holy joy, and with that graceful dignity which
religious life often confers upon the poor, offered her hand to the
Missionary, exclaiming, "Come in, sir, come in, and let us praise the
Lord together. I have pleaded with Him for poor souls in this place, and
now He has sent His messenger with glad tidings. May the Lord bless you
to many." This welcome was given with such genuine feeling that the
"messenger" was overpowered. The speaker was aged; quite seventy years
had whitened her few remaining hairs and given a decrepit appearance to
her slender frame; but under the influence of strong religious feeling
she stood erect, and the feebleness of her voice gave peculiar force to
words which entered the soul. The poor women felt it as they stood with
tearful eyes; and the young Missionary felt it, for his only answer was
an affectionate holding of that withered hand in his, and a reverential
gazing into the face of the old disciple.
The meeting was soon brought to a close, but the aged woman and the
young man remained in earnest conversation, as though they had enjoyed
years of friendship. How strong is that cord of love in the spirit,
which binds believers together because of union with the living Jesus!
"The poor creatures down here are in dreadful darkness, and many are
awfully wicked," observed the widow; "and my heart leapt for joy when I
was told that a tract man was trying to speak with people in their
rooms: it was such a faithful answer to prayer." "And who prayed for my
coming?" was inquired. "I had heard of missionary gentlemen visiting
other places," she replied, "and about two months ago it was laid on my
heart to pray for my perishing neighbours, and I cried day and night
unto the Lord."
"About that time," observed the visitor, "a few believers met in the
house of a Tunbridge Wells tradesman, to pray for a blessing upon the
poor of London. They then agreed to raise support for a Missionary to
one of the most necessitous districts, and wrote a letter to the
Committee of the London City Mission to that effect. While the gentlemen
were considering the matter they had their attention drawn to this
neighbourhood through the opening of an Infidel Hall just by. At that
time, after much prayer, I made application to be received as one of
their agents. They approved of me and sent me here. But how strange it
was, that in this place prayer should at that time have been offered for
the same object." "Oh, no! that was not strange," she replied; "for the
same Spirit dwells in all the disciples, and according to the Divine
Mind and Will, teaches them what to pray for, and now we must plead for
souls and these dry bones shall live." "After spending Friday at the
other end of the place," observed the Missionary, "I was led to despair
of doing any good here, as the people are so ignorant, hardened, and
offensive. I have thought that an experienced visitor ought to come
here in my stead." With a look of sorrow and reproof the old Christian
exclaimed: "The Lord has sent you here with the Gospel plough, and don't
look back. Go on, dear friend, and He will bless His faithful servant."
In answer to the inquiry, "How long she had known the Lord, and why she
was living in that place?" she replied, "I am the widow of a soldier:
thirty-six years ago I was abroad with the regiment, and was converted
at a soldiers' prayer-meeting. I then joined the Wesleyans, and have met
in class ever since. I had a daughter, who was married to a bricklayer
who took to drinking and used her badly. He brought her down here, and
then I took a room in the same house to look after her. She died two
years ago. I have three shillings weekly from the parish, and I make up
by doing a little washing for young people at a draper's. I stop here
now, as no one would rob or injure me; and many a poor creature will let
me nurse them a little when they are ill, and then I speak to them about
Jesus, and pray for their poor souls. Now you have come they must all
hear the truth. Don't, sir, leave the poor perishing souls." At parting
each offered prayer. The aged widow with tremulous voice and holy
earnestness pleaded with God for the young messenger, and for the
sinners around her, mentioning several by name. Her language was that of
one who for years had had free access to the Holy Place, and to whom
power had been given to wrestle with God and to prevail.
That prayer was blessed to the young Missionary. As he stepped into the
Court he felt that the coward spirit had left him, and that he had
received power to intercede with the Almighty for perishing souls. His
heart was too full to speak to the people; but, as he passed their
doors, a cry of holy desire for their salvation (that best preparation
for the work of an Evangelist) ascended to where Jesus the Mediator is
seated at the right hand of God.
The Book in the Court:
ITS INFLUENCE.
"You are needed, brave hearts, that are facing the toil,
And bearing unnoticed the wearisome moil
That presses on every day;
We want the great souls that will suffer and dare,
And all the inglorious martyrdom bear
Of poverty's dreary decay."
_Mrs. Sewell._