,note3 ,images of the original pages are available through ,internet ,archive_/,american ,libraries4 ,see https3_/_/archive4org_/details_/aboutmyf athersbu#ahgf;arch ,transcriber's note3 ,text enclosed by underscores is in italics 7italics74 ,small capitals have been replaced by full capitals4 ,,about ,,my ,,father',s ,,business4 7,the ,rights of ,translation and of ,reproduction are ,reserved47 ,,about ,,my ,,father',s ,,business ,work ,amidst the ,sick1 the ,sad1 and the ,sorrowing by ,,thomas ,,archer ,author of ,strange ,work1 ,a ,fool's ,paradise1 ,the ,terrible ,sights of ,london1 ,the ,pauper1 ,the ,thief1 and the ,convict1 etc41 etc4 ,henry ,s4 ,king ,co4 #ahgf ,,contents4 ,,page ,,the ,,rarity ,,of ,,christian ,,charity #a ,,with ,,the ,,children ,,of ,,the ,,stranger #i ,,with ,,the ,,children',s ,,children #ah ,,with ,,the ,,stranger ,,in ,a ,,strange ,,land #cd ,,with ,,those ,,who ,,are ,,left ,,desolate #dd ,,with ,,them ,,that ,,go ,,down ,,to ,,the ,,sea ,,in ,,ships #ec ,,with ,,them ,,who ,,were ,,ready ,,to ,,perish #fb ,,casting ,,bread ,,upon ,,the ,,waters #gd ,,with ,,the ,,feeble ,,and ,,faint-,,hearted #hd ,,with ,,the ,,little ,,ones #ajj ,,in ,,the ,,kingdom #aab ,,with ,,lost ,,lambs #abe ,,with ,,the ,,sick #ace ,,blessing ,,the ,,little ,,children #add ,,with ,,them ,,that ,,faint ,,by ,,the ,,way #aeg ,,in ,,the ,,valley ,,of ,,the ,,shadow ,,of ,,death #afe ,,with ,,the ,,halt ,,and ,,the ,,lame #agh ,,with ,,them ,,who ,,have ,,not ,,where ,,to ,,lay ,,their ,,heads #aij ,,taking ,,in ,,strangers #bjj ,,feeding ,,the ,,multitude #bji ,,giving ,,rest ,,to ,,the ,,weary #bbj ,,with ,,the ,,poor ,,and ,,needy #bbg ,,giving ,,the ,,feeble ,,strength #bdh ,,healing ,,the ,,sick #bfa ,,with ,,the ,,prisoner #bgc ,,about ,,my ,,father',s ,,business4 ,,the ,,rarity ,,of ,,christian ,,charity4 ,would it not be useful to ask ourselves the question whether we are forgetting the true meaning of charity in the constant endeavour to take advantage of organized benevolent institutions1 about the actual working of which we concern ourselves very little8 ,as the years go on1 and what we call civilisation advances1 are we or are we not losing sight of our neighbour in a long vista of vicarious benefactions1 bestowed through the medium of a subscription list1 or casual contributions at an anniversary festival8 ,at the speeches that are made on such occasions1 when the banquet is over1 and the reading of the amounts subscribed is accompanied by the cracking of nuts and a crescendo or decrescendo of applause1 in proportion to the liberality of the donors1 we are so frequently reminded of the good ,samaritan1 that we begin to feel that we may claim some kind of relationship to him2 and may shake our heads with solemn sorrow at the inexcusable conduct of the priest and the ,levite4 ,it would be worth while1 however1 to ask ourselves whether we quite come up to the mark of him who1 finding the man wounded and helpless by the wayside1 dismounted that he might convey the sufferer to the nearest inn2 poured out oil for his wounds and wine for his cheer2 left him with money in hand for the supply of his immediate needs2 and did not scruple--with a robust and secure honesty--even to get into debt on his behalf3 since the crown of good-will would be the coming again to learn of the patient's welfare4 ,the debt was a pledge of the intention4 ,that was the ,lord ,christ's way of looking at charitable responsibility1 and at benevolent effort2 and even granting that ,he illustrated the answer to the question1 ,who is my neighbour8 by an extreme case of sudden distress1 the longer we look at the peculiar needs of the man who was on his way from ,jerusalem to ,jericho1 the more perhaps we shall be convinced that there are greater1 far greater evils1 and more terrible accidents1 than to fall among thieves1 who temporarily rob1 strip1 and disable their victim4 ,the present fashion of dealing with such an unfortunate traveller would very much depend on which particular class of philanthropists the modern ,samaritan who found him by the road-side happened to belong to4 ,of course1 it would be a scandal to our ,christianity to follow either priest or ,levite1 although our cowardly sympathies might lie between the two2 so1 in order to make all safe1 we hit on a compromise1 and1 according to our circumstances1 try to find a medium line of conduct between ,samaritan and ,levite1 or ,samaritan and priest4 ,we are ashamed to pass on without doing something1 and so we call at the inn on our way1 and leave the twopence there1 in case anybody else should think fit to bring on the man who is lying1 stunned and bleeding1 in the roadway4 ,or else1 having contrived to rouse the poor fellow to a little effort1 we borrow an ass and take him back with us1 to find some organised institution for the relief of those who fall among thieves1 where the wine and oil are contracted for out of the funds4 ,and there we leave him1 without remembering anything whatever about the twopenny contribution which would represent our own share in the benefaction4 ,it is an awful thought1 and one which it may be hoped will soon become intolerable1 that1 with the mechanical perfection of means for relieving the necessities of those who are afflicted1 there seems to grow upon us a deadly indifference to the very deepest need of all--that personal1 human sympathy1 without which all our boast of benevolence is but as the sounding of brass and the tinkling of a cymbal4 ,can it be possible that we are approaching a condition when1 refusing to have the poor and the afflicted1 the widow and the orphan always with us1 we shut them away out of our sight1 leaving the whole duty of visiting them1 of clothing them1 of giving them meat and drink1 to be done by an official committee2 a charitable board1 distributing doles1 exactly calculated1 on a carefully devised scale1 and divided to the ounce or the inch1 in supposed proportion to the individual need of each recipient8 ,will there ever come a time when we shall persuade ourselves that we fulfil the law of ,christ by paying so much in the pound for a charity rate1 and leaving all the actual relief to be effected by an official department1 or a series of official committees8 ,the present aspect of charitable administration would be truly appalling if this were likely to be the result1 for there are far too many evidences of that deadly indifference which will get rid of all real personal responsibility by paying a subscription1 and will pay handsomely1 too1 at the same time smiling grimly1 and half satirically1 at the recollection that there are a number of people who always have on hand cases1 of whom they are anxious to rid themselves by placing them in any institution that will receive them without payment4 ,let it not be imagined that these latter words of mine are intended to apply to those workers among the poor1 who1 with small means of their own1 cannot do much more than speak words of advice and comfort1 and give their earnest help to better the condition of sordid homes and of neglected children4 ,there are scores of true1 tender-hearted women who1 spending much time amongst the sick and the afflicted1 feel their hearts sink within them as they see how much more might be done1 if they had but the wherewithal to appease the actual physical needs of those to whom they try to come spiritually near4 ,if but the miracle so easy to others were first performed1 and the five thousand fed1 then indeed might follow that still greater miracle1 the earnest listening of the once turbulent multitude to the words of the ,bread of ,life4 ,but there are those who pursue what they regard as charitable work as an excitement--an amusement--just as children are sometimes set to play with ,scripture conversation cards1 and puzzles out of the ,old ,testament1 with a kind of feeling that the employment comes nearly to a religious exercise4 ,there is as much danger of these persons missing the true work of charity as there would be in the employment of paid officials--indeed1 the latter would have one advantage2 they would be less likely to be imposed upon by those who to obtain some special advantage would cringe and flatter4 ,the first great difficulty in visiting and temporarily relieving the lower class of destitute poor1 is to disabuse their minds of an inveterate notion that the benevolent visitor and distributor is paid by some occult society1 of which the recipients of bounty know nothing1 and for which they care very little4 ,unfortunately1 the sharp determined amateur visitor1 who does a district as other people with leisure do a flower show or a morning concert----but1 alas6 these very words of mine show how common is that lack of true charity of which ,i designed to speak4 ,who am ,i that ,i should sum up the disposition and the heart of my brother or my sister8 ,only ,i would say that this suspicion on the part of the ignorant poor1 which is so often complained of--the notion that their interviewers are paid for the work of charity--can only yield to the conviction that the work itself is undertaken with warm living human sympathy4 ,before the true relief shall come to any man1 it must come by faith4 ,with the heart man believeth unto righteousness1 and in righteousness also4 ,the two tendencies that are driving us away from charity to a kind of selfish economy1 are the habit of relieving our overcharged susceptibilities by secreting a guinea1 and thinking we have thereby fulfilled the claims of religion and humanity1 and the practice of going about seeking where we may find candidates for other people's guineas1 and so becoming a kind of charitable detectives1 with an eye to reputation and advancement in the force4 ,we are forgetting that heartfelt sympathy1 that clasp of the hand and beam of the eye which will make even a cup of cold water a benefaction1 if we have no more to give1 or if the need goes no further than a refreshing draught1 that shall be turned from water into wine by the power of loving fellowship4 ,or we may be saying1 ,be ye clothed1 and be ye fed1 trusting to some other hand to do the necessary work1 without having ourselves first wrought for the means of taking our part in it1 either by a deep personal interest in the relieving institution or in the destitute recipient4 ,yet one thing thou lackest1--even though out of thy great possessions a large proportion is given to the poor2 follow thou me4 ,go about doing good1 do not think to have fulfilled the law without love--that which you call charity2 the mere giving--is but to offer a stone when bread is required of you1 unless it be done with love in your heart--personal1 human1 and therefore ,divine love4 ,if ye have not been faithful in that which is another man's1 who shall give you that which is your own8 ,use the benefits of institutions--even though you use them only for others--as you would use your own property4 ,recommend only cases that are known to you to be worthy and necessitous1 and1 should the institution depend on voluntary support1 let a contribution accompany your case1 if you can any way afford it1 as an act of justice as well as of mercy4 ,don't join in the traffic in votes1 and never go begging for proxies1 in order to have an exchangeable stock on hand1 that you may secure a candidate for any particular institution4 ,this kind of gambling is a cancer that is eating the heart out of genuine1 pure1 charitable effort1 and is making way for the cold impersonal system of distribution1 which is now being advocated by those who would make the relief of human wretchedness and distress a mechanical organisation without the soul of love4 ,at the same time1 let us not forget that no charitable effort which would be efficacious in affording relief to the widely-spread distress by which we are surrounded1 could be even so much as attempted without associations established for the express purpose of relieving particular forms of suffering4 ,this1 indeed1 is the glory of our country1 that humanity is so strong among us as to lead us not only to combine1 but to emulate4 ,the absolute concentration and centralization of charitable effort would be a calamity4 ,the breaking up of the best of our institutions1 which have grown from small beginnings in almsgiving into wide and influential centres of benevolent effort1 would be destruction4 ,if anything that may be written hereafter concerning some representative 7large and small1 but still truly representative7 efforts to do the work that ,christianity demands as its first evidence of reality1 should lead to a deeper and wider personal interest in their behalf1 it will be matter for rejoicing4 ,the larger the number of people who ask what is being done1 the greater will be the desire to continue the good work1 or to declare it4 ,the attention that might in this way be directed to the mode of affording relief would exercise so keen an influence in the reformation of abuses1 and the adoption of improvements1 that all our charities would soon become truly public4 ,with the more earnest conviction of the duty of personal inquiry1 and real sympathetic interest in the individual well-being of our poorer brother or sister1 would come the satisfaction that we belonged to an association1 or to a chain of associations1 which will afford to him or to her the very relief which otherwise we should despair of securing4 ,i purpose in another chapter to ask you to read the story of an institution that was in its day wonderfully illustrative1 and even now serves to take us back for two centuries of history4 ,only yesterday ,i was speaking to some of its inmates4 ,one of them had nearly completed her own century of life1 most of them had seen far more than the threescore years and ten which we call old age2 but they come of a wonderful race1 the men of fire and steel2 the women of silent suffering--the old ,huguenots of ,france4 ,,with ,,the ,,children ,,of ,,the ,,stranger4 ,a hundred and eighty-seven years ago a ,french army invaded ,england and effected a landing at various places on the coast4 ,smaller divisions of that army had previously obtained a footing in some of the chief towns of ,great ,britain2 and for about fifty years afterwards other contingents arrived at intervals to find the compatriots settled among the people1 who had easily yielded to their address and courage1 and by that time were apparently contented to regard them as being permanently established in the districts of which they had taken possession4 ,the strange part of the story is1 that for a large part of this time ,england was successfully engaged in war with the country of the invaders1 and not only with that country1 but with a discarded prince of its own1 who1 having received assistance from ,france1 strove to regain the throne which he had abdicated by raising civil war in ,ireland4 ,then was to be seen a marvellous thing4 ,a detachment of the ,french army of occupation in ,england went with ,king ,william to the ,boyne1 and when the mercenaries who were at the back of ,james in his miserable enterprise came forth to fight1 they beheld the swords of their countrymen flash in their faces1 and heard a well-known terrible cry1 as a band of veteran warriors cut through their ranks1 fighting as they had been taught to fight in the ,cevennes and amidst the valleys and passes of ,languedoc4 ,for the army that invaded ,england in #afhf1 and for four or five years afterwards1 was the army of the ,french ,huguenots1 against whom the dragoons of ,louis ,,xiv4 and the emissaries of ,pope and priests had been let loose after the revocation of the ,edict of ,nantes4 ,four hundred thousand ,french ,protestants had left their country during the twenty years previous to the revocation of that pact1 which had been renewed after the siege of ,rochelle1 and though the attempt to escape from the country was made punishable by the confiscation of property and perpetual imprisonment in the galleys1 six hundred thousand persons contrived to get out of ,france1 and found asylums in ,flanders1 ,switzerland1 ,holland1 ,germany1 and ,england1 after the persecutions were resumed4 ,comparatively few of the men who came in the second emigration had fought for the religion that they professed4 ,they had learned to endure all things1 and with undaunted courage many of them had suffered the loss of their worldly goods1 the burning of their houses1 hunger1 poverty1 and the imprisonment of their wives and daughters in distant fortresses1 because they would not forswear their faith4 ,hundreds of their companions were at the galleys1 hundreds more had been tortured1 mutilated1 burned1 broken on the wheel4 ,women as well as men endured almost in silence the fierce brutalities of a debased soldiery1 directed by priests and fanatics1 who had1 as it were1 made themselves drunk with blood1 and seemed to revel in cruelty4 ,with a resolution that nothing seemed able to abate1 pastors like ,claude ,brousson went from district to district1 living they knew not how1 half famished1 in perpetual danger1 and with little expectation of ultimately escaping the stake or the rack4 ,nay1 they refused to leave the country1 while in the woods and wildernesses of the ,gard great congregations of their brethren awaited their coming1 that they might hold services in caves and in the desert1 as they called that wild country of the ,cevennes and of ,lozre4 ,these men were non-resistants4 ,they met with unflinching courage1 but without arms4 ,those of them who remained in ,france stayed to see the persecutions redoubled in the attempt to exterminate the reformed faith4 ,they were the truest vindicators of the religion that they professed4 ,up to the time of the siege of ,rochelle1 and afterwards1 ,protestantism was represented by a defensive sword1 but these men discarded the weapons of carnal warfare4 ,only some years later1 when the persecutors 7rioting in the very insanity of wrath because their declaration that ,protestantism was abolished was falsified by constant revivals of the old ,huguenot worship7 directed utter extermination of the ,vaudois1 did the grandeur of the non-resisting principle give way before the desperation of men who came to the conclusion that1 if they were to die1 they might as well die fighting4 ,it must be remembered that some of them knew well how to fight4 ,some of their leaders--men of peace as they were1 and men of an iron determination1 which was shown in the obstinacy with which they refused to take up the sword--had come of stern warriors and were ,frenchmen--,norman ,frenchmen--,protestant ,norman ,frenchmen4 ,a rare combination that2--cold hard steel and fire4 ,but it was not till some time afterwards that these men became the leaders of the peasantry1 the chestnut-fed mountaineers who came down from their miserable huts and joined what had then become an organised army of insurrection4 ,before this time arrived a strange aberration seemed to move the people4 ,the old simple non-resisting pastors had been done to death by torture and execution1 and the people met1 it is true1 but often met amid the ruin of their homes1 or in desert places1 and as sheep having no shepherd4 ,then a wild hysterical frenzy appeared among them4 ,men1 women1 and even children claimed to be inspired1 and at length fanaticism leaped into retaliation4 ,on a ,sunday in ,july1 #agjb1 a wild mystic preacher1 named ,sguier went down with a band of about fifty armed men to release the prisoners4 ,they were confined in dungeons beneath the house of one ,chayla1 a priest1 who directed the prosecutions1 and invented the tortures which he caused to be inflicted for the conversion of heretics4 ,the ,protestants broke open his door1 forced the prison1 and ultimately set fire to the house1 in attempting to escape from which ,chayla was recognised and killed4 ,this was the beginning of a series of retaliations by the tormented people1 the success of which changed the whole attitude of the ,protestants of the district4 ,they had formerly endured in silence2 now they were desperate enough for insurrection4 ,and the insurrection followed4 ,sguier was captured1 maimed1 and burnt alive2 but others took his place4 ,the war of the ,camisards had commenced4 ,then it was that the leaders of the ,protestant army in the ,cevennes arose2--,roland and ,cavalier1 and the men who for a long time waged successful warfare against the royal forces1 till defeat came accompanied by a new rgime4 ,the rumbling of the revolutionary earthquake was already shaking the throne and the persecuting church4 ,voltaire1 educated by the ,jesuits1 and hating religion1 was helping to deliver the martyrs of the ,protestant faith even before he began to philosophise4 ,the struggle of the ,camisards can only be said to have ceased when the persecutions were nearly at an end1 and ,france itself was tottering4 ,but what of that great ,huguenot contingent which had invaded ,britain1 and was growing in number year by year as the migrs1 leaving houses and land1 shops1 warehouses1 and factories1 fled across the frontier1 or got down to the shore1 and came over the sea in fishing-boats and other small craft1 in which they took passage under various disguises1 or were stowed away in the holds1 or packed along with bales of merchandise1 to escape the vigilance of the emissaries who were set to watch for escaping ,protestants8 ,it is a little significant that of these non-combatant ,protestants eleven regiments of soldiers were formed in the ,english army2 but the truth is that of the vast number of migrs who left ,france1 some #cj1jjj were trained soldiers and sailors1 and doubtless a proportion of these came to ,england1 though probably fewer than those of their number who served in the ,low ,countries4 ,at any rate1 in #afhg1 two years after the revocation of the ,edict of ,nantes1 there arrived in ,england #ae1ejj refugees1 some of whom brought with them very considerable property1 and most of them were men of education1 or skilled in the knowledge of the arts1 or of those manufactures and handicrafts which are the true wealth of a nation4 ,at ,norwich and ,canterbury they quickly formed communities which became prosperous1 and helped the prosperity of the districts1 where they set up looms1 and dyeworks1 and other additions to the local industries4 ,in ,london they formed two or three remarkable colonies1 so that when ,chamberlain wrote his ,survey of ,london1 there were about twenty ,french ,protestant churches1 the greater number of which stood in ,shoreditch1 ,hoxton1 and ,spitalfields--in fact1 above #ac1jjj emigrants had settled in or near the metropolis4 ,the one ,french ,protestant church founded by ,edward ,,vi4 was1 of course1 inadequate to receive them1 and their immediate necessities were so great that a collection was made for their relief1 and a sum of #fj1jjjl4 was by this means obtained in order to alleviate their distress4 ,among these migrs were many noblemen and gentlemen of distinction1 who1 with their wives1 were reduced to extreme poverty by the confiscation of their property4 ,these had learned no trade1 but with characteristic courage many of them set themselves to acquire the knowledge of some craft by which they might earn their bread1 while some of their number learned of their wives to make pillow-lace1 and so continued to support themselves in decent comfort4 ,to those who knew the old ,french folk1 as they came to be called in after years1 when the later emigration had again increased the number of the weavers' colony in ,spitalfields1 nothing was more remarkable than the cheerfulness1 one might almost say the gaiety1 that distinguished them4 ,reading the account given by ,french writers of the old ,huguenots in ,france1 one might be disposed to regard them as stern and sour sectaries1 but that would be a very erroneous opinion4 ,perhaps the sudden freedom to which they came1 the rest of soul1 and the opportunity to endeavour to serve ,god with a quiet mind raised them to a tranquil happiness which revived the national characteristic of light-heartedness2 but however it may have been1 the real genuine old ,french weaver of ,spitalfields and ,bethnal ,green was a very courteous1 merry1 simple1 child-like gentleman4 ,the houses in which these people lived1 some of which are still to be seen with their high-pitched roofs and long leaden casements1 were very different to the barely-furnished1 squalid places in which their descendants of to-day are to be found2 and1 indeed1 the ,spitalfields weaver even of seventy years ago was usually a well-to-do person2 while in the old time he could take ,saint ,monday every week1 wear silver crown-pieces for buttons on his holiday coat1 and put on silk stockings on state occasions4 ,this was in the days when ,french was still spoken in many of the little parlours of houses that stood within gardens gay with sweet-scented blooms of sweet-william1 ten-weeks-stock1 and clove-pink4 ,when there was still an embowered greenness in ,bednall1 and ,hare ,street ,fields were within a stone's throw of ,sinjun--,st4 ,john1 or rather ,st4 ,jean ,street1--or of the little chapel of ,la ,patente1 in ,brown's ,lane1 ,spitalfields4 ,even in later times than that1 however1 ,i can remember being set up to a table1 and shown how to draw on a slate1 by an old gentleman with a face streaked like a ruddy dried pippin4 ,i was just old enough to make out that the tea-table talk was in a strange tongue2 but ,i can remember that there were evidences of the refinements that the old refugees had brought with them across the sea4 ,not only in their neat but spruce attire1 in their polite grace to women1 in their easy1 good-humoured play and prattle to little children1 in their cultivation of flowers1 their liking for birds1 and their taste for music1 but in a score of trifling objects about their tidy rooms1 where the click of the shuttle was heard from morning to night1 these old ,french folk vindicated their birth and breeding4 ,by tea-services of rare old china1 rolls of real point lace1 a paste buckle1 an antique ring1 a fat1 curiously-engraved watch1 a few gem-like buttons1 delicately-coloured porcelain and chimney ornaments2 by books and manuscript music1 or by flute and fiddle deftly handled in the playing of some old ,french tune1 these people expressed their distinction without being aware of it4 ,it has not even yet died out4 ,unfortunately1 many of their descendants--representatives of a miserably paid1 and now nearly superseded industry--have deteriorated by the influences of continued poverty2 and even so long ago as the evil war-time of ,napoleon ,i41 many of the old families anglicised their names in deference to ,british hatred of the ,french1 but there are still a large number of people in the eastern districts of ,london whose names1 faces1 and figures alike proclaim their origin4 ,but we must go back once more to the time when the great collection was made4 ,it is at least gratifying to know that the #fj1jjj soon increased to #bjj1jjj1 and was afterwards called the ,royal ,bounty1 though ,royalty had nothing to do with it during that reign4 ,in #afhf-g about #fjjj persons were relieved from this fund1 and in #afhh #bg1jjj applicants received assistance1 while others had employment found for them1 or were relieved by more wealthy migrs who had retained or recovered some part of their possessions4 ,but there were still aged and sick people1 little children1 widows1 orphans1 broken men1 homeless women1 and lonely creatures who had become almost imbecile or insane through the cruelties and privations that they had suffered4 ,for these a refuge was necessary1 and at length--but not till #agjh--;an institution was founded in ,st4 ,luke's1 under the name of the ,french ,hospital1 but better known to the old folks as the ,providence4 ,of what it was and is ,i design to tell in another chapter4 ,,with ,,the ,,children',s ,,children4 ,that great invading ,french army of nobles1 gentry1 artists1 traders1 handicraftsmen1 of which some account has already been given1 was added to from time to time1 even as lately as the ,revolution1 and the restoration of the dynasty after the downfall of ,napoleon1 when a strange reaction against the ,protestants was commenced1 partly as a pretence for concealing political animosity4 ,the department of the ,gard was once more the scene of horrible atrocities1 against which ,lord ,brougham invoked the aid of the ,english ,parliament1 and obtained the help of ,austrian bayonets to protect the people1 who were being murdered1 tortured1 or outraged1 in defiance of feeble local authorities4 ,but by this time there was a new generation of the first great ,anglo-,french colony in ,london4 ,spitalfields had grown to the dimensions of a township4 ,bethnal had begun to lose its greenness4 ,there was1 as there still is1 a remarkable settlement about ,soho4 ,petty ,france was as well known as the exhibition of needlework in ,leicester ,square1 or ,mrs4 ,salmon's wax figures in ,fleet ,street4 ,those poor refugees who fled to escape from the horrors of ,sainte ,guillotine1 or the ruthless cruelties at ,nismes1 came to brethren many of whom had never seen the glowing valleys and golden fields of ,languedoc1 whence their forefathers escaped only with life and hands to work4 ,they had preserved their national characteristics2 they attended churches and chapels where the pastors still spoke their native tongue1 and where they had established schools for their children2 but they had settled down to a quiet1 though a busy life1 in the heart of the great workshop of the world1 and only a few of them--principally the gentry1 some of whom had regained a portion of their property--felt frequent or urgent impulses to return4 ,more than a hundred and twenty years had elapsed since the ,royal ,bounty had been expended in the relief of the #bg1jjj migrs who yet were without any permanent refuge for the destitute1 the sick1 the aged1 and the insane among their number4 ,this was in #afhh1 and it was not till nearly twenty-eight years afterwards that any regular institution was organized4 ,the earlier refugees had become aged or had died1 after having obtained such temporary help as could be afforded by subscriptions or the large benefactions of their more wealthy fellow-countrymen4 ,still1 the later emigrations increased the number of applicants for permanent relief4 ,at last1 in #agah1 a great concourse of ,french refugees assembled in a chapel which formed a special portion of a building only just completed1 but which had already received the dignity of forming the subject of a ,royal charter granted by ,his ,majesty ,king ,george ,i4 to his right trusty and right well-beloved cousin1 ,henry de ,massue1 ,marquis de ,ruvigny1 ,earl of ,galloway1 and a number of trusty and well-beloved gentlemen1 all naturalized refugees1 who made the first governor and directors of the ,hospital for ,poor ,french ,protestants and their descendants residing in ,great ,britain2 otherwise known as the ,french ,hospital1 but soon to be spoken of with simple pathetic brevity as ,la ,providence4 ,the idea of founding such a charity was due to a distinguished refugee in ,holland--no less a personage than ,m4 de ,gastigny1 ,master of the ,hounds to ,prince ,william of ,orange2 a ruddy1 jovial-looking gentleman withal1 whose portrait1 should you go to see it1 will set you wondering whether he could ever have been classed among the sour sectaries to whom it was the fashion to attribute a disregard of social pleasures4 ,a bequest of a thousand pounds sterling from the bluff keeper of the kennels was to be divided into equal sums--#ejj for the building1 and the interest of the remaining #ejj to be spent on its maintenance4 ,not a very adequate provision1 truly1 for any such purpose2 but sufficiently suggestive to set the more prosperous members of the great ,anglo-,french colony to increase the amount4 ,the astute ,master of the ,hounds must surely have foreseen this result when he left this legacy to the management of the trustees of the already existing relief fund1 still miscalled the ,royal ,bounty4 ,they exhibited that prudence in money matters which is a ,french characteristic1 and let the thousand pounds accumulate for eight years1 after which a general subscription was invited from successful merchants and traders1 while with a just appreciation of the benefits which had been conferred by these good citizens on the land of their adoption1 some wealthy ,englishmen added their contributions to the general fund4 ,thus it came about1 that a piece of land was purchased in the ,golden ,acre--a queer old half-countrified precinct of ,st4 ,giles1 ,cripplegate--that a building was erected for the reception of eighty poor persons1 that a charter was granted1 and that the new charitable association was consecrated in the new chapel by ,philippe ,menard1 the minister of the ,french ,church of ,st4 ,james's and secretary of the enterprise4 ,this was1 indeed1 something worth working for4 ,the aged or afflicted poor among the refugees were no longer mere mendicants living on precarious alms4 ,out of their abundance the more prosperous gave cheerfully4 ,in #agcf another adjoining site was purchased1 and another side of the great open quadrangle of garden ground was built upon1 so that by #agfj the ,providence numbered #bcj inmates4 ,this1 however1 was its culminating point of usefulness4 ,religious persecution had diminished1 and at length may be said to have ceased altogether4 ,even as early as #agbj only #ejjj persons required relief from the ,bounty1 so that eventually the trustees were enabled to devote part of it to the assistance of those who fled from the ,revolution--many of whom were the descendants of those who had been the persecutors of the ,protestants4 ,the great industrial colony1 prudent1 temperate1 and industrious1 had almost grown beyond its earlier needs--and all that it required was that some adequate provision should be made for infirm or aged men and women1 who being widowed or unmarried1 and without means of support1 required a refuge in which they might peacefully end their days4 ,the same causes which had diminished the number of applicants had also reduced the amount of current subscriptions1 so that some portion of the building was removed1 as being no longer necessary1 and in order to secure a sufficient endowment an ,act of ,parliament was obtained1 empowering the directors to let their land on building leases4 ,by that time the neighbourhood was known not as the ,golden ,acre1 but as ,st4 ,luke's1 and on the ground once purchased by the ,marquis de ,ruvigny and his trusty and well-beloved companions1 grew ,radnor ,street1 ,galway ,street1 ,gastigny ,place1 and part of ,bath ,street1 while the number of inmates was reduced to sixty--that is to say1 about twenty men and forty women1 all of whom were to be above sixty years of age1 of ,french extraction1 and professing the ,protestant religion4 ,it was a queer old range of building1 that retreat2 pleasant enough1 perhaps1 when as a rather blank series of red brick houses1 it looked across its own formal walled garden to the pleasant fields and open country1 but strangely silent1 and with a crumbling1 dreary look about it1 when the lunatic asylum of ,st4 ,luke's dominated all the surrounding tenements of a crowded1 sordid neighbourhood4 ,only the initiated could easily find the little low black door that opened in the bare wall1 and led to the large irregular space1 which was laid out in weedy beds and stony borders1 distinguished by an air of decay rather than of production--especially where in certain dank corners a tangle of sapless stalks and tendrils indicated some faintly hopeful attempt to rear an arbour1 in which persons of robust imagination might fancy they were sheltered from impending blacks that issued from the manufactory chimneys close by4 ,the visitor to this out-of-the-way corner of the great city1 seeing the old people walking up and down the paved causeway in front of the row of crooked-paned lower windows1 or airing themselves at the doorsteps1 might be excused for the fancy that they had the imaginative faculty of children2 and were expected to make believe a good deal before they could quite reconcile themselves to the notion that this dingy area of quadrilateral plots and paths1 in which the wet stood in small puddles1 was ever a pleasaunce gay with garden blooms1 and smelling of knotted marjoram and fragrant thyme4 ,yet there were still evidences of the invincible cheerfulness of the old ,french nature1 among the old creatures with faces streaked like winter apples1 and hands which1 even though they trembled1 were swift of gesture and of emphasis4 ,there were old fellows there who had still about them indications of true comeliness and grace that distinguished them from all vulgar surroundings2--ancient gentlemen1 who would go out on wet days to sweep away any rainpools that might lie before the doors of the old ladies1 and so besmirch an otherwise immaculate shoe4 ,it should be remembered1 too1 that there was no livery there4 ,those who had some one to help them to the garb of gentility wore what pleased them2 those who were dependent on the charity for clothing1 were neither bound in one pattern1 nor condemned to the uniform of poverty4 ,neat or lively cotton prints1 or warm stuff gowns1 with proper hose and caps and kerchiefs1 for the women2 plain ,oxford mixture1 black1 steel grey1 or brown1 for the men1 and each one measured for his suit4 ,those who entered there were not the recipients of a dole grudgingly conceded4 ,it was no poorhouse1 but the ,providence4 ,only eleven years ago there were some evidences of the old meaning of the place in the remnants of the antique furniture which adorned the queer rooms4 ,they were not wards or dormitories1 but veritable bedrooms2 and each one had its own peculiarities1 even in the bedsteads with spindle posts and dimity hangings1 the boxes and cupboards1 and special chairs which distinguished it from the rest4 ,some of these things had evidently been heirlooms either of the institution or of the individual2 and1 indeed1 the preservation of individuality was a cheerful feature of the place1 despite its dim and somewhat dreary surroundings4 ,the ,board ,room was1 in its way1 one of the most extraordinary apartments in ,london3 with its tables supported by a tangled puzzle of legs1 its high-backed1 polished chairs with leather seats1 worn till they reminded one of the cover of an antique ledger bound in unfinished calf2 its wonderful old black-framed prints representing the meetings of the ,huguenots in the ,clerk's field in the times when men and women carried their lives in their hands1 and dragoons rode congregations down and slashed them with sabres as they fell4 ,its dimly-seen portraits of the noble1 broad-browed1 dark-eyed ,ruvigny 7the first governor71 who refused to go back to ,france even at the invitation of the ,king2 of the gentle ,pastor ,menard1 with high1 capacious forehead1 and calm1 strong mien2 of hale1 shrewd1 ruddy ,gastigny2 and of some men of later date1 with ,frenchman written in every line of their finely-marked faces4 ,the little room set apart as a chapel--a barely-furnished place enough1 with desk and raised platform and plain seats--was venerable because of all the meaning that lay in its studied absence of all ornament1 and because of the significance it must once have had to the sad-eyed men who crowded into it1 some of them thinking1 perhaps1 how it had come about that they could stand there in peace and without a hand upon the hilt of a sword4 ,there were1 even at that later time1 old men and women in the dim old building who could repeat family legends of the emigration--for they lived to a great age1 these ,french folk1 many of them being still alert of eye and ear1 and foot1 even though they had heard the click of the shuttle and the rattle of the loom eighty years before4 ,some of them have survived the old place itself2 for while they are in a new home1 the ancient building has changed1 if even it be not altogether dismantled4 ,the leases paid good interest1 and eight years ago a new ,french hospital arose--away from the dingy old precinct of the ,golden ,acre4 ,to see this later ,providence aright1 you must come through the very heart of that neighbourhood which was once the great ,silk ,colony1 thread the bye-ways of ,poverty ,market1 note the tall silent houses where the looms no longer rattle1 nor the sharp whirr of the shuttle stirs cage-birds to sing2 pass across the debatable land lying on the edge of ,shoreditch1 where human beings live in sties built in the backyards of other houses1 in streets that are still with the blank silence of misery and want4 ,you should walk amidst pigeon and dog fanciers2 call in at certain dingy1 slipshod taverns1 where at night a slouching company will meet to hear bullfinches pipe for wagers1 and where starving men and women stand and drink away the pence that are all too few to buy food for the starving brood at home1 and so are flung upon the sloppy counter in exchange for the drugged drink that feels like food and fire in one4 ,through ,bethnal ,green1 with its townships and its ,follies1 extending in sordid rows of tenements built to one dreary pattern4 ,over districts which1 only a few years ago1 were fields and open spaces1 leading to farm lands and hedgerows1 and so away to the great expanse of marsh land where the dappled kine wade knee-deep in the lush pastures1 and the stunted pollards stand like patient fishermen upon the river's brink4 ,yes1 the present ,french ,hospital--,new ,providence--was built ten years ago in the border-land beyond the ,weavers' ,garden1 that great garden and pleasure-ground known as ,victoria ,park4 ,it is the only garden left to the descendants of those old craftsmen who once dwelt in houses every one of which had its gay plot of flowers1 its rustic arbour1 or its quaint device of grotto-work1 built up of oddly-shaped stones and pearl-edged oyster-shells4 ,do you think there is now no remnant of the old ,french folk left8 ,come for a stroll among the grand beds and plantations of this ,east-end playground1 and you shall see4 ,on holidays and alas6 on those days when 7to use the expressive term handed down from prosperous times7 the weaver is at play--that is to say1 waiting for woof and weft1 and so wiling away the sad and often hunger-bringing hours--you will see him1 with his keen well-cut face1 his dark appreciative eye1 his long delicate hands1 his well-brushed1 threadbare coat and hat2 and the mark of race is plainly to be noted in his intensity of look and his subdued patient bearing4 ,he comes of a stock which had it not been of the hardiest and the most temperate and enduring in the world1 would have disappeared a century ago4 ,on ,sunday mornings1 when the bells are sounding round about him1 he is to be met with lingering 7with who shall say what inner sense of worship7 by the strange shrubs and flowering plants1 or standing with a pathetic look of momentary satisfaction on his lean1 mobile face1 to mark the rare glow and gush of colour made by the blooms in a ribbon device of flowers on a sunny border by a dark background of cedar4 ,but come and see what his forefathers might have called1 in their ,scripture phraseology1 the remnant of the children of ,israel2 the old inmates of that ,french ,hospital founded so long ago when ,de ,ruvigny was the beloved cousin of ,george ,i41 and ,philippe ,menard preached at ,st4 ,james's2 when the ,duchess de la ,force brought donation after donation to the work1 and ,philippe ,hervart1 ,baron d',huningue gave #d1jjj1 all in one splendid contribution1 to the building fund4 ,could they have seen 7who knows that they have not87 this great ,french chteau rising beyond the park palings in a neighbourhood fast filling with houses1 but still open to the air that blows from the ,weavers' ,garden and from the great expanse of land leading towards the forest1 they would have recognised the familiar style of those grand mansions which in ,france succeeded the castles of the feudal nobility when ,henry ,quatre was king4 ,the high-pointed roof with its irregularly picturesque lines1 the quaint towers and spires1 the slate blue and purple1 and rosy tints of colour in slope and wall and gable2 the various combinations of form and hue changing with every point of view1 make this modern copy of the old ,french chteau a wonderful feature in any landscape1 and the unaccustomed visitor seeing it as it stands there in its own ornamental ground1 surrounded by a quaint wall decorated in coloured bands1 wonders what can be the meaning of a building so full of suggestion2 while if he be of an imaginative turn1 he may fall into a daydream when he peers through the gate that stands by the porter's lodge4 ,but let us pass through this gate1 and so up to the entrance-hall1 and we shall seem to leave behind us not only the ,weavers' ,garden1 but most things ,english4 ,the hall itself1 paved with encaustic tile1 leads to a flight of broad1 shallow steps1 beneath an arched ceiling of variegated brick and two screen arches4 ,these steps conduct us at once to a central corridor1 extending for the entire length of the building1 and rising to the greatest height of the open roof of timber with its lofty skylights4 ,in front of us is a double stone staircase1 one branch being for the old ladies1 the other for the men2 and immediately at the foot of the former division is the entrance to the refectory1 a large handsome dining-hall1 where1 at two long tables1 this wonderful company assemble1 only the very infirm having their meals carried to the upper ward1 where they are waited on by paid attendants4 ,separate staircases are provided for the servants of the establishment1 whose rooms are in the tower above the main wards--or rather1 let us say1 principal apartments1 for they are not so much wards as a series of twenty-two large bedrooms1 linen-rooms1 and two bath-rooms4 ,the steward of the hospital1 a venerable gentleman with the courteous air and speech of some seneschal of olden time1 has also his own apartments1 reached by a third stair1 his sitting-room and office occupying a space close to the entrance4 ,on the right of the main staircase and at the end of the corridor is the ladies' sitting-room1 a fine high-windowed light and lofty place1 admirably warmed1 as indeed all the building is1 and so furnished that at each large square table four old ladies can sit and have not only ample space for books or needlework1 but on her right hand each can open a special separate table-drawer with lock and key1 wherein to keep such waifs and strays--shreds1 patches1 skeins1 and unconsidered trifles--as children and old women like to accumulate4 ,there is another day-room beside this1 and a similar1 though not quite so large an apartment is provided for the men1 both rooms being furnished with sundry books and a few sober periodicals of the day4 ,it must not be forgotten though that many of the old gentlemen have grown accustomed to the use of tobacco1 and here in the basement is a smoking-room1 quite out of the way of the ordinary sitting and dining-rooms1 and not far from the laundry and drying-rooms1 which form an important part of the establishment4 ,but1 hush6 there is a hymn sounding yonder in the refectory2 a hymn sung by voices1 many of which are yet fresh and clear1 though the singers number more than eighty years of life1 and of life that has often been hard and full of heaviness4 ,it is the grace before meat1 and the hot joints1 with the fresh vegetables from their own garden1 have just come up from the big kitchen by means of a lift to the serving-room4 ,there are no servants to wait at table1 and the family dinner-party is a private one1 inasmuch as it is the custom here for the most active of the inmates to agree among themselves who shall be butler1 or beaufetire1 for each day during the week4 ,so the dinner-time goes pleasantly and quickly1 the meat1 the vegetables1 and the capital household beer1 of which each man has a pint twice a day1 and each woman half a pint1 being the only articles that require serving4 ,the good old-fashioned family custom of everybody having his or her own teapot is observed here4 ,a great gas-boiler stands on one side the refectory1 and a row of convenient lockers on the other2 and each inmate has tea and coffee from the stores1 while bread and butter are also served out for consumption according to each individual fancy1 and not in rations at each meal time4 ,thus those old ladies and gentlemen who have spending money1 or friends to bring them some of the little luxuries that they so keenly appreciate1 can add a relish to their breakfast or to the evening beer4 ,we will not go in while they are at dinner1 for there are those here yet who might have been gentlefolk but for the mutability of mortal affairs4 ,stay6 here come the old ladies1 with old-fashioned curtseys1 which are more than half a bow1 and not a mere vulgar bob4 ,there is no mistaking some of their faces4 ,you may see their like in ,french pictures1 or in old ,french towns still4 ,some of them with eyes from which the fire had not yet died out2 with deftly-moving fingers2 with a quick1 springy step2 with an inherited remnant of the ,french moue and shrug1 as they answer a gentle jest about their age and comeliness4 ,eighty-four2 and ,i don't know how it is1 but ,i don't seem to see so well in the dark as ,i used4 ,when ,i went out to see my brother-in-law1 ,i was quite glad he came part of the way home with me4 ,turned eighty1 but ,i can't get upstairs as ,i used to do4 ,you speak ,french1 madame8 ,pas beaucoup1 monsieur2 this from one of the only two actual ,french women now in the establishment1 the rest being lineal descendants only4 ,the oldest1 who is now going quietly and with a very pretty dignity out of the refectory1 is ninety-four1 and can not only hear a low-toned inquiry1 but answers it in a soft1 pleasant voice4 ,she bears the weight of years bravely1 but the burden has perhaps been heavy2 and she speaks in a mournful tone1 as one looking forward to a mansion among the many--to a house not made with hands1 may sometimes speak when even the grasshopper becomes a burden4 ,as to a young person of sixty-five or thereabout1 nobody regards her as having any real business to mention such a trifling experience of life2 while of the men--most of whom seemed to have filed off for their pipe or newspaper--one remains finishing his dinner1 for he has been on duty for the day1 and is now winding up with a snack of bread-and-butter and the remainder of his mug of porter--a stoutly-built1 hale1 stalwart-looking gentleman who1 sitting there without his coat1 which hangs on the back of a chair1 might pass for a retired master mariner1 or a representative of some position requiring no little energy and endurance4 ,i fancy1 for the moment that he must be an official appointed to serve or carve and employed on the establishment4 ,eighty-four1 and one of the old weaving colony of ,bethnal ,green4 ,there can be no mistake about it4 ,every inmate provides certificates and registers enough to make the claim undoubted2 and as to the right by descent1 half the people here carry it in their faces1 and to the initiated1 are as surely ,french1 as they are undoubtedly weavers4 ,the morning here begins with family prayers1 which the steward reads from a desk in the refectory1 and so the day closes also4 ,the ,sunday services are in the chapel1 and such a chapel6 ,to those who remember the dim1 barely-furnished room in the old building at ,st4 ,luke's1 this gem of architectural taste and simple beauty at the end of the main corridor comes with no little surprise4 ,its beautiful carved stone corbels1 mosaic floor1 and charming ornamentation2 its broad gallery entered immediately from the upper floor1 so that the feeble and infirm may go to worship directly from their sleeping-rooms2 its glow of subdued colour and sobered light from windows of stained glass2 its simple decorations1 and its spotless purity1 are no less remarkable than the plainness which characterises the general effect4 ,it is to be noticed1 too1 that there is no altar1 but a table2 that neither at the back of the communion nor on the carving of the lectern1 nor even in the windows1 is there to be seen a cross4 ,where the ,maltese cross would occur amidst the arabesques of the stained glass1 we see the fleur-de-lis4 ,french ,protestantism1 has perhaps1 not yet lost its intense significance1 at all events here1 in this chapel where the service of the ,church of ,england is observed1 and an ordained clergyman ministers to the family of the children's children of the ancient persecuted people of ,languedoc1 the symbol under which the ,protestants were burned and tortured and exiled has no place4 ,this is probably in accordance with the traditions left by ,de ,ruvigny1 by ,gastigny1 by ,menard1 and by their successors1 whose portraits still hang in the fine board-room of the new ,providence4 ,of course1 no contributions or subscriptions are now asked for to support this old ,french charity4 ,with it are associated one or two gifts of money1 such as that of ,stephen ,mounier for apprenticing two boys2 and the bequest of ,madame ,esther ,coqueau for giving ten shillings monthly to ten poor widows or maidens2 but the directors do not seek for external aid4 ,to the charity when it was first chartered was added a portion of the accumulations of the benefactions of the ,french ,church at ,norwich1 and it may here be mentioned that at ,norwich1 where a contingent of the army of refugees had settled1 the ,society of ,universal ,goodwill was also established by ,dr4 ,john ,murray1 a good physician1 who strove to extend to a large organisation a plan for relieving distressed foreigners4 ,this was but ninety years ago1 and it was less successful than its promoter desired1 so that part of the funds accumulated were judiciously handed to another admirable society in ,london1 of which ,i shall have something to say1 ,the ,society of the ,friends of ,foreigners in ,distress4 ,,with ,,the ,,stranger ,,in ,a ,,strange ,,land4 ,do we ever try to realise the full meaning of the declaration that they who are afar off shall be made near by the blood of ,christ8 ,surely it does not stop at the nearness to ,god by redemption1 for the only true redemption is ,christ-likeness1 and nearness to ,god assumes nearness to each other in the exercise of that loving-kindness which is the very mark and evidence of our calling4 ,it would be well if we sometimes ceased to separate by our vague imaginations the next world1 or the other world1 from the present world1 which is1 perhaps in a very real sense1 if we could only read the words spiritually1 the world to come also2--as it is obvious that the world means the people around us--ourselves1 those who are near and those who seem to be afar off2 and no world to come that could dispense with our identity would be of any particular significance to us as human beings4 ,let us then1 for the present purpose1 try to see how effectually ,christ-likeness should bring near to us those who are afar off1 by taking us near to them2 how ,he who came not to destroy but to fulfil1 looks to us to entertain strangers2 and to be careful in the performance of that duty1 as to ,him who will say either1 ,i was a stranger1 and ye took me in1 or the reverse4 ,at the beginning of the present century1 with the exception of the ,french ,protestant organisation1 there existed in ,london no established association for the relief of destitute foreigners who1 having sought a refuge here1 or being1 as it were1 thrown upon our shores1 were left in distress1 hunger1 or sickness1--unheeded1 only obtaining such temporary casual relief as a few charitable persons might afford1 if by any chance their necessities were made known to them4 ,at that time the foreign ,protestant clergy1 to whom alone many of these destitute men and women could apply for relief1 were themselves mostly the poor pastors of congregations consisting either of refugees or of artisans and persons earning their livelihood by precarious labour connected with the lighter ornamental manufactures4 ,the means at their disposal for charitable purposes outside their own churches were consequently very small1 and they were unable to render any really effectual assistance1 even if they could have undertaken1 what would at that time have been the difficult task of verifying the needs for which relief was claimed4 ,some attempt had already been made by ,dr4 ,john ,murray1 a good physician of ,norwich1 to extend to ,london the benefits of his ,society of ,universal ,goodwill2 but the scheme had been only partially successful4 ,to him1 however1 the credit is due of having striven to give definite shape to an association which was afterwards to take up the good work of caring for strangers4 ,the foreign ,protestant clergy settled in ,london met to consider how they might best organise a regular plan for relieving the wants of those who had so often to apply to them in vain2 and having settled the preliminaries1 which were heartily approved by several foreign merchants1 and others1 who were willing to assist in any scheme that would include inquiry into the circumstances of those who sought assistance1 called a public meeting in order to found a regular institution4 ,this was on the #crd of ,july1 #ahjf1 and the result of the appeal was the formation of the society of ,the ,friends of ,foreigners in ,distress4 ,by the following ,april1 a committee had been formed and the ,charity was in working order1 nor were funds long wanting with which to commence the work in earnest4 ,the cases requiring relief were so numerous1 however1 and the demands on the society's resources were so constant1 that though some large donations were afterwards obtained from senates1 corporations1 wealthy merchants1 ambassadors1 noblemen1 and ,royal benefactors1 a considerable subscription list became necessary in order to enable the society to grant even partial relief to cases1 the urgent claims of which were established by careful inquiry4 ,there is a wonderful suggestiveness in the list of ,royal ,benefactors 7deceased71 headed by his late ,majesty ,king ,william ,,iv41 and her late ,majesty the ,queen ,dowager ,adelaide4 ,more than one of the ,royal donors themselves died in exile2 and several of those who shared their misfortunes1 and were their faithful followers1 have shared the small benefits which the ,society had to bestow4 ,his late ,majesty ,king ,charles ,x4 of ,france contributed #cjj2 ,his late ,majesty ,louis ,philippe1 #ajj guineas2 the unfortunate ,maximilian1 ,emperor of ,mexico1 #be2 and his late ,imperial ,majesty ,napoleon ,,iii41 #ej3 while their ,magnificencies the ,senates of the ,free ,german ,towns1 as well as the humbler companies of ,london's citizens1 appear to have given liberally4 ,notwithstanding all this1 however1 the ,society has not been able to retain funded property to any considerable amount1 and it is to the annual subscription list--to which our ,queen contributes #ajj1 the ,emperor of ,germany #ajj1 and the ,emperor of ,austria #ajj--that the charity must look for support4 ,unhappily there are evidences that these annual subscriptions are fewer than they should be4 ,there seems still to be some reluctance on the part of the general public steadily to support an effort which has a very distinct and pressing claim upon ,englishmen1 who pride themselves1 justly enough1 upon the free asylum which this country affords to foreigners1 and who appear ready to give largely in the way of occasional aid4 ,the disparity between the number of handsome donations and of very moderate annual subscriptions is a painful feature of the ,society's report1 and even public appeals have hitherto been followed rather by increased applications from persons recommending cases for relief1 without accompanying the recommendation with a subscription1 than by any decided augmentation of the funds4 ,the ,friends of ,foreigners in ,distress are principally to be found amongst prosperous foreigners in ,london1 and doubtless this is no less than just2 but until larger aid is given by the ,english public1 we have no particular reason to include this association in any boastful estimate of ,british charity4 ,that the committee does its work carefully1 and that cases of distress are relieved only after due inquiry1 and with no such careless hand as would encourage idle dependence or promote pauperism1 is evident enough to anybody who will take the trouble to inquire into the method of assistance4 ,let us go and see4 ,perhaps not one ,londoner in a thousand could tell you offhand where to find ,finsbury ,chambers4 ,it is probably less known even than ,prudent ,passage1 or what was once ,alderman's ,walk2 and may be said to be less attractive than either1 for it is a dingy1 frowsy1 little out-of-the-way corner in that undecided and rather dreary thoroughfare--,london ,wall4 ,it is1 in fact1 a space without any outlet1 and looks as though it ought to have been a builder's yard1 but that the builder took to erecting houses on it as a speculation which never answered1 even though they were let out as chambers2 that is to say1 as blank rooms and sets of offices1 the supposed occupiers whereof committed themselves to obscurity by causing their names to be painted on the doorposts1 and leaving them there to fade till time and dirt shall wholly obliterate them4 ,and yet it is in one of these lower rooms1 occupying the ground floor of ,no4 #aj1 that a good work is going on2 for here1 in an office almost representatively bare and dingy even in that place1 the ,society of ,friends of ,foreigners in ,distress holds its weekly meetings of directors1 and the secretary1 ,mr4 ,william ,charles ,laurie1 or his assistant1 ,mr4 ,c4 ,p4 ,smith1 gives daily attendance 7,saturdays excepted71 between eleven and one o'clock4 ,assuredly1 the funds of the charity are not expended in luxurious appointments for its headquarters4 ,even a ,german commission agent just commencing business could scarcely have a more simply-furnished apartment4 ,the objects which first strike the visitor's attention are a row of japanned tin candlesticks1 meant for the use of the board at any of their ,wednesday meetings which may be prolonged till after dusk4 ,the furniture1 if it was ever new1 must have been purchased with a regard for economy in the very early history of the society4 ,the work is evidently so organised as to require no long daily attendance4 ,the place is furnished only according to the temporary necessities of business quickly dispatched4 ,neither in official salaries1 nor in expensive official belongings1 are the funds of the institution wasted4 ,the system is1 in fact1 simple enough1 and is conducted on the principles laid down by the first meetings of the committee above seventy years ago1 with one important exception4 ,formerly1 applicants for relief must have been for some time resident in ,england2 but changes in transit1 and the more rapid intercommunication of nations1 have made it necessary that some ready aid should be granted to those who find themselves cast upon the terrible ,london wilderness without a friend to help them1 ignorant to whom to apply for help1 and little able even to make known their sufferings4 ,every ,wednesday1 then1 the directors meet for receiving applications for relief1 and reports of cases that have been investigated by the ,visiting ,committee4 ,the plan adopted is to issue to the governors of the charity a number of small tickets1 each of which1 when signed and bearing the name of the applicant for relief1 entitles the latter to apply to the weekly committee for an investigation of his case4 ,every subscriber of a guinea is regarded as a governor for a year1 and there are1 of course1 life governors also4 ,both these are entitled to recommend cases either for what may be termed casual relief1 or for election as pensioners to receive weekly assistance 7of from #bs4 to #es41 and in cases of extreme old age or great infirmity1 #gs4 #f;d4 a week71 sick allowances1 or passage money to enable applicants to return to their own country4 ,it may easily be believed how a small weekly contribution will often save a destitute man or woman1 or a poor family1 from that utter destitution which would result from the inability to pay rent even for a single room2 while in cases of sickness1 the regular allowance even of a very trifling sum will enable many a poor sufferer to tide over a period of pain and weakness1 during which earnings1 already small1 are either reduced or cease altogether4 ,in cases of urgent necessity four superintendents are appointed from the board of directors1 with the power to grant immediate relief2 and of course many applicants receive temporary assistance from the governor who recommends them1 until their case is investigated by the committee1 and they are on the list of the worthy and indefatigable visitor4 ,after the expulsion of the ,germans from ,paris during the late war1 that little dingy quadrangle in ,london ,wall was filled with a strange crowd of lost and helpless foreigners1 whose condition would admit of only a temporary inquiry1 and indeed needed little investigation1 since want and misery were written legibly enough in their faces4 ,for a large number of these1 passage money had to be paid1 and the relief was continued till the press of refugees from ,france abated4 ,there was a special subscription for the relief of these poor creatures1 raised chiefly among ,german merchants living in ,london1 and even now the ,society has to extend a helping hand to some who still remain4 ,any one wandering by accident into ,finsbury ,buildings on a ,wednesday forenoon1 would wonder what so many subdued and rather anxious-looking men were waiting about for in such an out-of-the-way locality--some of them leaning against the wall inside1 others sitting in the bare room1 just within the barer passage4 ,every one of these has had his circumstances carefully inquired into1 and is in attendance to receive what may be called temporary relief4 ,during the official year of my latest visit #aej homeward passages had been paid1 and in the two years from #ahga to #ahgc the number of persons who received relief was #ba1ccc1 who with their wives and families represented a considerable community of poverty4 ,during the year #a1ihc grants were made of sums varying from less than #ajs4 to #a1cbd persons1 #ajs4 to #dca1 #aes4 to #dg1 #a to #ace1 and so on to #e1 which was allowed in a few instances1 while sick allowances were granted in #bib cases4 ,one important and suggestive feature of this excellent ,society is that it numbers among its members not only subscribers to other charitable institutions1 but members of the medical and legal professions1 who frequently render their aid to applicants free of expense1 in order either to relieve them from suffering1 or to protect them from the errors or impositions to which their ignorance and helplessness might expose them4 ,there is no restriction either as regards creed or nationality1 and though each case is matter for inquiry1 the only persons disqualified for receiving relief are those who are detected as impostors--persons who are deemed to have sufficient support from any other source1 those who cannot give a good reason for having come to this country1 and proof of their having striven to obtain work and to labour for a maintenance1 those who are proved to have been guilty of fraud or immoral practices1 and beggars1 or drunken1 dissolute persons4 ,as regards the numbers of persons who have received relief since the institution was founded1 there is the tremendous total of #ba1fde applicants on behalf of #abi1bii individuals4 ,what an army it represents6 ,of these ,germany 7which till recently included ,austria1 ,hungary1 and ,bohemia7 represents #ga1iac2 ,sweden and ,norway1 #i1dbb2 ,holland1 #h1hgh2 ,france1 #g1cci2 ,russia1 #g1jjf2 ,italy1 #e1dae2 ,belgium1 #d1egh2 ,denmark1 #d1bae2 the ,west ,indies1 #a1gaf2 ,switzerland1 #a1fhe2 and so on in a diminishing proportion till we come to ,central ,africa6--a very recent case1 no doubt4 ,can any one question the good that has been effected by an institution so careful not only to relieve with rigid economy1 but also to do its work on so truly voluntary a principle8 ,if the temporary and comparatively casual aid afforded to poor and destitute strangers works so beneficially1 however1 the pensions1 to which only very extreme cases are elected1 are even still more in the nature of help given to those who are ready to perish1 ,here are some specimen cases3 ,a watchmaker of ,frankfort1 seventy-four years old1 and nearly seventy years in this country1 disabled by paralysis1 with a wife1 who is a waistcoat maker1 unable to compete with the sewing-machine2 one son1 twenty years old1 who1 having some small situation1 lives with them1 pays the rent1 and does what he can2 a boy of fourteen who works as an errand boy4 ,an ,italian looking-glass maker1 seventy-three years old1 and fifty-three years in this country4 ,has lately lived by making light frames1 but health and strength fail1 and he is suffering from asthma4 ,his wife1 an ,englishwoman1 and aged sixty-six1 works as a charwoman4 ,he has two sons1 each married and with large families1 so that they can do nothing for him4 ,a ,french widow1 sixty-seven years old1 and thirty-two years in this country1 and paralysed for the last thirteen years4 ,her only daughter who is in delicate health1 earns her living by needlework1 but can only gain enough for her own maintenance4 ,these are only three of the first cases in the official report of pensioners1 and they are not selected because of their peculiarly distressing character4 ,when it is remembered that this society has not1 in a general way1 sufficient means to grant more than two shillings a week in the way of relief1 and when we take the trouble to observe that in the majority of cases where a pension is granted the recipients have been so long resident here that they may be said to have lost their nationality in ours1 will it be too much to ask of ,england--alike the asylum for the persecuted and the teacher of liberty and of charity--that the ,friends of ,foreigners in ,distress shall be regarded as the friends of all of us alike in the name of ,him of whom it was said1 ,can any good thing come out of ,nazareth8 ,but ,i have not quite done with the pensioners4 ,i must ask the reader to go with me to ,lower ,norwood1 where amidst a strange solitude1 that is almost desolation1 we will visit three ladies of the ancien rgime1 one of whom1 at least1 began life nearly ninety years ago as a fitting playmate for the daughter of a king4 ,,with ,,those ,,who ,,are ,,left ,,desolate4 ,there is something about the aspect of ,nature as seen from the railway station at ,lower ,norwood on a damp and misty day which1 if not depressing1 can scarcely be regarded as conducive to unusual hilarity4 ,i speak guardedly because of my respect for the district1 and lest ,i should in any way be suspected of depreciating any particular locality as an eligible place of residence4 ,in the latter regard ,i may mention that the immediate neighbourhood of ,lower ,norwood ,station is not at present converted into a small township by the erection of long rows of tenements on freehold or long leasehold plots4 ,my remarks apply only to the general outlook from the road1 amidst an atmosphere threatening drizzle1 and beneath a sky betokening rain4 ,as far as houses are concerned1 there seemed to me1 on the occasion of my last visit1 far more probability of pulling down than of building4 ,in fact1 ,i went for the purpose of inspecting a whole series of very remarkable tenements which ,i had heard were soon either to disappear from the oozy-looking green quadrangle of which they formed three sides1 or were to be converted to another purpose than that of the dwelling-places of a few elderly ladies who occupied one dreary side1 whence they could look at the desolation of the closed houses on the other4#a ,it will not be without regret that ,i shall hear of this intention being carried out1 for the houses are devoted to the sheltering of alms-folk2 and the alms-folk are the elder pensioners of that admirable association1 the ,society of the ,friends of ,foreigners in ,distress1 which1 for above ninety years1 has been doing its useful work among those who1 but for its prompt and judicious aid1 would feel that they were alone in a strange land4 ,as a part of its original provision for the relief of some of the applicants who1 after long residence in this country1 had fallen into a distressed condition at an age when they were unable any longer to maintain themselves by their own exertions1 the society instituted the almshouses at ,lower ,norwood4 ,there is now an impression among the directors of the charity that their intentions may be carried out in future by some better method than placing a number of aged and frequently infirm persons in a comparatively remote group of dwellings1 where they are peculiarly lonely1 and lack frequent personal attention and general sympathy4 ,there can be no doubt that almshouses have frequently been associated a little too closely with that monastic or conventual practice with which they mostly originated1 and that the retirement1 almost amounting to seclusion1 into which the inmates of such places are removed1 may be very far from affording to the aged the kind of asylum which they most desire4 ,alas1 in many instances1 to be placed in an almshouse is to be put out of the way1--to be conveniently disposed of2 with the inference that every possible provision has been made for comfortable maintenance4 ,thus1 susceptibilities are quieted4 ,the aged pensioners are supposed to be periodically visited2 their wants attended to by somebody or other who sees that they are all right1 and the whole matter is conveniently forgotten1 except when a casual traveller passes a quaint1 ancient1 mouldy-looking1 but still picturesque block of buildings1 and inquires to what charity they belong2 not without a kind of uneasy fancy that there is a custom in this country of burying certain old people before their time--shutting them out of the light and warmth of every-day companionship2 or1 to change the metaphor1 making organised charity a kind of ,hooghly1 on the tide of which the aged1 who are supposed to be nearing the end of their mortal life1 are floated into oblivion until the memory of them is revived by death4 ,it is no part of my intention to represent that the almshouses at ,lower ,norwood bore such a significance1 but the conditions to which ,i have referred appear to be so inevitable where places like these are concerned1 that ,i cannot question the good sense of the directors of the ,charity in determining to supersede them1 and to carry on the work by annual or monthly pensions only4 ,on behalf of the few remaining inmates of these queer1 half-deserted1 and failing tenements1 it was desirable that the proposition should be acted on at once1 and a more comfortable provision be made1 at least1 for those who wait on1 with constantly deferred hope1 doubly heart-sickening when so little time is to be counted on1 in which something will be done before the houses themselves1 crumbling to decay1 become but a type of their own forlorn old age4 ,it is with some such thoughts as these that ,i stand at the entrance to the green1 with last year's weedy aftermath still dank and tangled with wind and rain4 ,the queer little one-storied dark-red houses of the quadrangle bear a melancholy resemblance to a set of dilapidated and discarded toys1 the box for which has been lost4 ,they are built1 too1 on a kind of foreign-toy pattern1 with queer outside staircases1 leading to street-doors under a portico1 which is the only entrance to the upper storey1 the lower doors in the quadrangle communicating only with the ground-floor4 ,the crunch of my footsteps along the moist path1 gives no echo2 the place seems to be too dull and lifeless even for that kind of response4 ,the left wing and far the greater portion of the centre block are still with the silence of desertion4 ,peering through the dim leaden casements1 ,i see only small1 bare1 empty rooms4 ,there is a sense of mildew and of damp plaster peeling from the walls1--of leaky water-pipes1 and a humid chill1 which no glowing hearth nor bright ,july weather could utterly subdue4 ,such is the feeling with which the whole place strikes me on this leaden wintry day1 when the vapour from the engine on the railway trails slowly upward to meet the ragged edge of the dun cloud that streams slowly downward2 when a big1 black dog crouches on the threshold of the village chandler's shop1 to get out of the drizzle2 and the butcher1 who has sold out1 closes his half-hatch1 with the certainty that he may take his afternoon nap by the fire1 undisturbed by customers4 ,even when ,i pause before one of the little narrow portals to which ,i have been directed1 there are few more signs of life1 except that at the same moment ,i hear other footsteps behind me1 and a baker stop to deliver a loaf4 ,this is promising1 as far as it goes1 and enables me to present myself unostentatiously1 under cover of the baker's basket1 to a lady who opens the door4 ,unless ,i am greatly mistaken1 that lady has a ,french face1 and as it is a ,french lady for whom ,i am to inquire1 ,i begin to think ,i have come to the end of my quest4 ,it is evident1 however1 from the surprised questioning look which greets my appearance1 that visits from strangers are not of very frequent occurrence there4 ,i can trace in the rather shrinking recognition accorded to my request to see the lady to whom ,i bring an introduction1 the sensitiveness that belongs to that kind of poverty which has learned to endure in seclusion reverses that would be less bearable if they were exposed to a too obtrusive expression of sympathy4 ,it is a positive relief to be left alone for a minute1 standing in that narrow lobby1 looking into a room which has the appearance of a disused scullery1 while my errand is made known in another room on the right1 to which ,i am presently bidden4 ,it is a poor little place enough2 poor1 and little1 and dim1 even for an almshouse1 and scarcely suggestive of comfort though a bright fire is burning in a grate1 which somewhat resembles a reduced kitchen-range1 and though the table which stands beneath the casement bears some preparations for the evening meal1 and the cheap luxury of a cut orange on a plate4 ,the walls are dim1 the ceiling cracked and discoloured by the evident overflow of water in the room overhead2 the furniture consists of a kind of couch which may do duty for a bed by night1 and of two or three ,windsor chairs1 one of which has already been placed for me4 ,it is a poor place enough2 and yet the lady to whom ,i am at once introduced is ready to do its honours with a grace and dignity that well become her appearance and her name4 ,madame ,gracieuse ,b----1 for more than forty years resident in ,england1 and speaking ,english with a purity of accent that is only rivalled by the more perfect music of the ,french in which she addresses me1 has passed the threescore years and ten which are counted as old age4 ,yet seeing her sweet1 calm face2 her smooth1 broad1 intelligent brow2 the mild1 penetrating scrutiny of her gentle eyes2 the soft hair put back under the quaint ,french cap1 shaped like a hood2 those years remain uncounted2 until1 with a pleasant smile1 only just too placid for vivacity1 she tells how she came to this country in #ahcj1 after the ruin of the fortunes of her house by the revolution which dethroned ,charles ,x41 and made her a governess in ,england1 where so many of the old nobility sought a refuge and a home4 ,but before this is said1 she has presented me to a third lady--to whom1 indeed1 my original introduction extended--already long past the limit of that short period which we call long life2 for she is more than eighty years old1 and by reason of the infirmity which has lately come upon her1 does not rise to receive me1 but remains seated in the couch by the fire4 ,it is a very limited space in which to be ceremonious2 but were this lady sitting in one of a suite of grand rooms in some aristocratic mansion1 with all the surroundings to which her birth1 her high connections1 and the recollection of her own personal accomplishments entitle her1 she might not lack the homage which too often only simulates respect4 ,it is possible that she may long ago have learned to assess it at its true value1 for she has seen it at a court where it could not save a king from banishment2 and if we may judge from a face with strong determined lineaments1 a brow of concentrated power1 and eyes the light of which even the recent paralysis of age has not extinguished1 she has been one who could undergo exile1 poverty1 and even the sadder calamity of being forgotten1 with a wonderful endurance4 ,yes1 ,madame la ,comtesse ,maria de ,comolra1 friend and fellow-student of that ,madame ,adelaide whose name has become historical1 when your father was ,monsieur l',intendant of the ,duc d',orlans1 and when you lived within the atmosphere of the ,french court1 spending quiet days at the easel in your painting-room1 or preparing the delicate pte of ,svres porcelain1 on which to paint the roses and lilies that you loved1 the grim visions of exile and poverty may never have troubled you4 ,when the house of ,bourbon crumbled1 and you escaped from the ruin it had made1 you had still your art left to solace1 if not to gladden you2 and for a time at least you lived by it1 and took a new rank by the work that you could do4 ,there were flowers in ,england1 and your hands could still place their glowing hues on canvas4 ,witness those pictures of yours that now hang on the walls of the gallery of the ,crystal ,palace1 or adorn some private collections4 ,witness1 too1 the recognition of some of our own painters when ,sir ,charles ,eastlake was president of the ,royal ,academy1 and when you found a friendly patron in ,queen ,adelaide of gentle memory4 ,alas1 the hand has lost its cunning2 and if its work is not altogether forgotten1 those who look upon it are unaware that you are living here in this poor room--pensioner of a charity which1 were it but supported as it might be1 could better lighten your declining years4 ,yet ,i will not call you desolate1 madame4 ,two faithful friends are with you yet4 ,the sunset of your calm life1 whereof the noon was broken by so terrible a storm1 is dim enough2 but it goes not down in complete darkness4 ,gentle and admiring regard survives even in this dull place2 and with it the love that can bring tears to eyes not over ready to weep on account of selfish sorrows1 and can move ready hands to tend you now that your own grow heavy and feeble4#b ,as ,i become more accustomed to the subdued light of the room1 ,i note that amidst the confusion of some old pieces of furniture or lumber there are pictures1 unframed and dim1 leaning against the walls4 ,one of them--a large painting of some rare plant1 formerly a curiosity in the ,botanical ,gardens at ,regent's ,park1 while the rest are groups of flowers and fruit4 ,just opposite me1 on the high mantel-piece1 the canvas broken here and there near the edges1 obscured by the dust and smoke that have dulled their surface1 are two oil-paintings which ,i venture to take down for a nearer inspection4 ,surely they must have been finished when madame was yet in the prime of her art4 ,exquisite in drawing1 delicate in colour1 and with a subtle touch that gives to each petal the fresh crumple that bespeaks it newly-blown1 and to fruit the dewy down that would make even a gourmet linger ere he pressed the juice4 ,it is almost pain to think that they are left here uncared for2 and yet1 who knows what influence their presence above that dingy shelf may have upon the wandering thoughts and waning dreams of her who painted them when every new effort of her skill was a keen delight8 ,nay1 even as ,i hold them to the light1 and in a pause of our chat 7wherein ,madame la ,comtesse speaks slowly and with some difficulty7 say some half-involuntary words of appreciation1 she has risen1 and stands upright by the fire with an earnest look in her face and a sudden gesture of awakened interest4 ,the artistic instinct is there still1 after more than eighty years of life1 and the appreciation of the work animates her yet4 ,not with a mere vulgar love of praise 7for ,madame is still la ,comtesse ,comolra even though she spends her days in an almshouse71 but with a recognition that ,i have distinguished the best of the work that is left to her to show4 ,i shall not readily forget the sudden look of almost eager interest1 the effort to speak generous words of thanks1 as ,i bow over her hand to say farewell1 and feel that ,i have been as privileged a visitor as though madame had received me in a gilded salon1 at the door of which a powdered lacquey stood to welcome the coming--speed the parting guest4 ,and so with some pleasant leave-takings1 and not without permission to see them again1 ,i leave these ladies--the fitting representatives of an old nobility and an old rgime--to the solitude to which they have retired from a world too ready to forget4 ,if by any means for the solitude could be substituted a pleasant retirement1 and for the sense of desolation and poverty a modest provision that would yet include some grace and lightness to light their declining days1 it would be but little after all4 #a ,since this was written the ,almshouses have been closed1 and their two or three remaining inmates lodged out4 #b ,since these lines were written1 ,madame ,comolra has gone to her rest4 ,,with ,,them ,,that ,,go ,,down ,,to ,,the ,,sea ,,in ,,ships4 ,it is possible that those portions of the sacred history which have reference to the association of our ,lord ,jesus ,christ with ships1 and the wonderful portions of the great narrative where the ,divine ,voice seems1 as it were1 to come from the sea1 may have a special attraction for us who live in an island and claim a kind of maritime dominion4 ,surely the words ,lord1 save me1 or ,i perish1 and the instant response of the outstretched hand of the ,saviour of men1 must have been read with an awful joy by many a ,god-fearing sailor on the homeward voyage4 ,it is ,i1 be not afraid1 must have come with an intensity of meaning to many a heart which has known the peril of the storm1 wherein the voice of man to man has been almost inaudible4 ,there is something very solemn in the prayers we send up for those at sea4 ,most of us feel a heart-throb when we lie awake listening to the mighty murmurs of the wind1 and waiting for the shrill shriek with which each long terrible blast gathers up its forces--a throb which comes of the sudden thought of lonely ships far out upon the ocean1 where men are wrestling with the elements1 and looking with clenched lips and straining eyes for the lingering dawn4 ,yet1 with all this1 it is a national reproach to us that until a comparatively recent date we have done little or nothing for our sailors--little for those who have been ready to maintain the old supremacy of our fleet--almost nothing for that greater navy of the mercantile marine to which we are indebted for half the necessaries and for nearly all the luxuries which we enjoy4 ,a national reproach1 because not only have charitable provisions for destitute1 sick1 infirm1 or disabled sailors been neglected1 but subscriptions demanded by the ,state from seamen of the merchant service were never properly applied to relieve the distress of those for whom they were professedly received4 ,considerably over a million of money has been contributed by merchant seamen1 by deductions of sixpences from their monthly pay for the maintenance of ,greenwich ,hospital1 and in addition to this there have been accumulated in the hands of the ,government the examination fees of masters and mates passing the ,board of ,trade examination1 and the penny fees paid by common seamen on shipment and unshipment1 while the unclaimed wages and effects of seamen dying abroad are calculated at about #hjjj a year4 ,now there can be no doubt that ,greenwich ,hospital was originally intended to include merchant seamen in its provisions1 for the preamble to the original scheme of ,william ,,iii4 recites1 ,whereas the ,king's most excellent ,majesty being anxiously desirous to promote the ,trade1 ,navigation1 and ,naval strength of this ,kingdom1 and to invite greater numbers of his subjects to betake themselves to the sea1 hath determined to erect a hospital1 c4 ,for this purpose sixpence per man per month was to be paid out of the wages of all mariners to the support of the ,hospital1 and every seaman was to be registered4 ,why8 ,that the charity might be for the relief1 benefit1 or advantage of such the said registered ,marines1 or ,seamen1 ,watermen1 ,fishermen1 ,lightermen1 ,bargemen1 ,keelmen1 or ,seafaring ,men1 who by age1 wounds1 or other accidents shall be disabled for future service at sea1 and shall not be in a condition to maintain themselves comfortably2 and the children of such disabled seamen2 and the widows and children of such of them as shall happen to be slain1 killed1 or drowned in sea service1 so far forth as the ,hospital shall be capable to receive them1 and the revenue thereof will extend4 ,so far as words went1 therefore--and subsequent ,acts of ,parliament confirmed them--,greenwich ,hospital was open to all registered seamen4 ,the fact has always been1 however1 that it was barely able to meet the claims made by the disabled and infirm sailors of the ,navy alone1 and therefore the mercantile marine was practically excluded1 while the payments were still demanded4 ,now let us see what past ,governments did for the relief of those old1 infirm1 or disabled men who having seen wonders on the great deep1 came home and sought help4 ,a charitable trust1 called the ,merchant ,seamen's ,fund1 had been established by merchants and shipowners of the ,city of ,london1 who gave large sums to it1 in order to try to make up for the injustice by which these sailors were virtually excluded from ,greenwich ,hospital1 to which the men of the mercantile marine still had to pay sixpence a month4 ,by a remarkably knowing piece of legislation1 an ,act was passed 7the #bjth of ,george ,,ii47 which incorporated the ,merchant ,seamen's ,fund1 appointed president and governors1 and gave authority to purchase land for building a hospital1 to help pay for which another sixpence a month was claimed from the pay of merchant seamen and masters of merchant vessels4 ,not till the year #ahcd1 by an ,act passed in the reign of ,william ,,iv41 were the merchant sailors relieved from compulsory payment to ,greenwich4 ,they had contributed to the hospital for #ach years without having derived any direct benefit from it2 and though they were not unwilling to subscribe for their brethren in the ,royal ,navy1 the injustice which demanded their contributions1 though their own fund was inadequate to pay for the promised building for which it was intended1 became too glaring to be continued4 ,it was therefore determined that a grant of #bj1jjj should be made to ,greenwich ,hospital out of the ,consolidated ,fund1 and that the merchant sailors should go on paying their shilling a month for their own benefit 7masters paying two shillings71 and that a provision for widows and children should be included in the charity1 the benefits of which were to be extended to ,scotland and ,ireland4 ,the hospital never was built4 ,the ,board of ,trade taking the management of the contributions1 appointed trustees1 who were altogether incompetent1 and did their duty in a perfunctory or careless manner4 ,in #ahej1 only #bj1jjj was distributed among old1 infirm1 and disabled seamen1 while #da1jjj was bestowed on widows and children2 the allowances varying at different ports from #a to #g1 each place having its own local government4 ,of course a collapse came4 ,the fund was bankrupt2 and in the following year an ,act was passed for winding it up--for1 says the ,board of ,trade ,report1 the ,government has had no control over the matter4 ,the ,london ,corporation and the trustees of outports could not by any management have prevented the insolvency of the fund1 as long as they were guided by the principles which the several ,acts of ,parliament laid down 444 the whole system was vicious4 ,by the winding-up ,act of #ahea compulsory contributions ceased2 but those who chose to continue to subscribe voluntarily might do so4 ,it is hardly to be wondered at that the merchant seamen lost confidence in the paternal protection of the ,board of ,trade4 ,a few thousand pounds were left from the compulsory contributions1 and when this came to be inquired for1 nobody knew anything about it4 ,it had somehow slipped out of the estimates1 and nobody could tell what had become of it4 ,that is what past governments have done for poor mercantile ,jack4 ,what has the great ,british public done for him8 ,not so very much after all4 ,the truth is1 that the sailor1 who has always been spoken of as so dreadfully improvident1 has been practically regarded as being most self-helpful4 ,all the time that we have been shaking our solemn heads1 and lifting up our hands at the improvidence1 the folly1 and the extravagance of these frequently underpaid and sometimes overworked men1 we have made even the help that we were willing to extend to them in their deeper necessities partially dependent on their own constant and regular subscription to the same end4 ,poor improvident ,jack6--poor thoughtless1 incorrigible fellow6--it was necessary for the ,government of his country to look after him1 in order to protect him against his own want of forethought1 and the result has been to run the ship into shoal water1 and go hopelessly to wreck without so much as salvage money4 ,jack ashore6 ,don't we all still look at the sailor in the light of the evil war-times1 when the king's men were said to draw pocketsful of prize-money and to spend it in low debauchery or wild wanton folly8 ,even now we repeat the stories of frying watches along with beefsteaks and onions1 or eating bank-note sandwiches4 ,nay1 to this day in the fo'c's'le of merchant vessels some of the melancholy old songs in which sailors are wont to satirise themselves are occasionally sung1 telling how ,when his money is all spent1 ,and there's nothing to be borrowed and nothing to be lent1 ,in comes the landlord with a frown1 ,saying1 ',jack6 get up1 and let ,john sit down1 ,for you are outward bound4' ,there's a world of meaning in that grim suggestive summary2 but1 thank ,god6 it has less meaning now than it once had4 ,until quite lately1 sailors of merchant ships could be kept for days waiting to be paid1 and1 sickened with lingering for long weary hours about the office of the broker or agent who withheld their money1 fell into the hands of the harpies who were1 and still are constantly on the look-out to plunder them4 ,men with all the pure natural longing for home and reunion with those near and dear to them1 were compelled to loiter about the foul neighbourhood of the dock where their ship discharged its cargo1 lodging in some low haunt with evil company1 and liable to every temptation that is rife in such places1 till too often so large a portion of their hardly-earned wages had been forestalled1 that in a dreary and desperate madness of dissipation they were tempted to fling away the small balance remaining to them1 and to awake to reason only when1 naked and nearly destitute1 they were compelled to go to sea again1 with a slender stock of clothes1 and a week's board and lodging paid for with advance notes4 ,from long confinement and monotony on shipboard1 the sailor even now comes to a sense of temporary freedom1 giddy with the unaccustomed sense of solid ground and the wild toss and uproar of the ocean of life in a great city4 ,what are still the influences which in many seaports await him directly his foot touches the shore1 and sometimes even before he has come over the vessel's side8 ,with a boy's recklessness1 a man's passions1 and the unwonted excitement of possessing money and boundless opportunities for spending it1 a shoal of landsharks are lying ready to batten on him4 ,the tout1 the crimp1 and all the wretches1 male and female1 who look upon him as their prey1 will never leave him from the time when they watch him roll wonderingly on to the landing-stage1 till that desperate minute when he flings his last handful of small change across the tavern counter1 and calls for its worth in drink1 since money is no use at sea4 ,this was far more frequently the termination of mercantile ,jack's spell ashore1 before the new regulations as to prompt payment of seamen's wages came into force4 ,at that time you had only to take a morning walk across ,tower ,hill1 where the bluff lay figure at the outfitter's door stands for ,jack in full feather1 and thence to ,america ,square1 or the neighbourhood of the ,minories and ,rosemary ,lane1 to see dozens of poor fellows lounging listlessly about the doors of pay-agents1 waiting day after day at the street-corners1 with an occasional visit to the public-house1 and the perpetual consumption of hard tobacco4 ,it was easy afterwards to follow ,jack to ,ratcliffe1 ,rotherhithe1 ,shadwell1 and the neighbourhood1 where his friends lay in wait for him to spend the evening2 in the tap-rooms of waterside taverns1 where he sat hopelessly drinking and smoking during a hot summer's afternoon2 to frowsy1 low-browed shops of cheap clothiers1 to hot1 stifling dancing-rooms1 to skittle-alleys behind gin-shop bars1 where a sudden brawl would call out knives1 and the use of a slung-shot as a weapon would make a case of manslaughter for the coroner2 to very minor theatres1 where he could see absurd caricatures of himself in the stage sailors1 dancing hornpipes unknown at sea2 to the dreadful dens of ,bluegate ,fields and ,tiger ,bay--to any or all of these places you might have followed ,jack2 and may even yet follow his fellows who have not yet been redeemed from the evil ways of those bad times1 when there were no homes for sailors amidst the bewildering vice and misery of maritime ,london1 and other seaport towns of this great mercantile island4 ,it so happened that ,i made my first intimate acquaintance with the one real1 publicly representative ,sailors' ,home in ,well ,street1 near the ,london ,docks1 after having seen ,jack under several of the terrible conditions just referred to1 so that1 with this painful knowledge of him and his ways1 it was with a kind of delighted surprise that ,i suddenly walked into the great entrance-hall of the institution1 where he and his fellows were sitting on the benches by the wall with the serious1 contemplative1 almost solemn air which is 7in my experience7 the common expression of sailors ashore1 and during ordinary leisure hours4 ,there they were1 a good ship's crew of them altogether1 sitting1 as ,i have already said1 in true sailor fashion--stooping forward1 wrists on knees1 lolling on sea-chests and clothes-bags1 taking short fore-and-aft walks of six steps and a turn in company with some old messmate1 smoking1 growling1 chatting1 and generally enjoying their liberty2 not without an eye1 now and then1 to the smart officer who had come in to see whether he could pick up a brisk hand or two for the mail service4 ,this was some five or six years ago1 and it is a happy result of the plan on which the ,home was first established 7which was intended ultimately to make the institution self-supporting1 if the cost of building were defrayed7 that the whole scheme has been so enlarged since that time1 that anybody who would see what our mercantile seamen are like1 may now go and see them1 in a largely increasing community1 in this great institution4 ,so many come and go and reappear at intervals represented by the length of their voyages1 that #aj1abj officers and men had partaken of its inestimable benefits during the year from the first of ,may1 #ahgb1 to the end of ,april1 #ahgc4 ,but the institution itself was founded in earnest faith1 and built with the labour that is consecrated by prayer4 ,both to the ,home and to its companion institution1 the ,refuge for ,destitute ,seamen--we will pay a visit on our next meeting4 ,,with ,,them ,,who ,,were ,,ready ,,to ,,perish4 ,on the #bhth of ,february1 #ahbh1 a very terrible calamity happened in the place known as ,wellclose ,square1 ,whitechapel4 ,a new theatre called the ,brunswick1 had been erected there on the site of a former building1 known as the ,old ,royalty4 ,it had been completed in seven months1 and three days afterwards1 during a rehearsal1 the whole structure gave way and fell with a crash1 burying ten persons amidst the ruins1 and fearfully injuring several others4 ,such a catastrophe was very awful1 and the people of the neighbourhood looked with an almost solemn curiosity at the wreck of an edifice in which they themselves might have met with death suddenly4 ,very soon1 however1 they began to regard the heap of ruins with surprise1 for early one morning there appeared two officers of the ,royal ,navy1 surrounded by a gang of labourers with picks and shovels1 and before these men 7some of whom were ,irish ,roman ,catholic7 began to work they listened attentively while one of the officers offered up an earnest prayer to ,god for a blessing on the results of the labour they were about to undertake4 ,morning after morning their labour was thus sanctified1 and evening after evening it was celebrated by the voice of thanksgiving1 till at length the ground was cleared1 and on the #ajth of ,june1 #ahcj1 the first stone of a new building was laid4 ,the building was to be a ,home for ,sailors1 and as a necessary adjunct to the ,home1 it was intended to establish a ,destitute ,sailors' ,asylum4 ,the two naval officers were ,captain 7now ,admiral7 ,george ,c4 ,gambier1 and ,captain ,robert ,james ,elliot1 now gone to his rest1 who with ,lieutenant ,robert ,justice afterwards ,captain1 and now with his old comrade1 in the heavenly haven1 had been seeking how to ameliorate the condition of seamen1 numbers of whom were to be seen homeless1 miserable1 and frequently half naked and destitute1 in that foul and wretched neighbourhood about the ,docks and beyond ,tower ,hill4 ,the task was a difficult one1 and might have daunted less brave and hopeful men1 for it was intended to demolish the piratical haunts where the enemies of the sailor lay in wait for his destruction2 where crimps and thieves and the keepers of infamous dens held their besotted victims in bondage1 while they battened on the wages that had been earned during months of privation and arduous toil4 ,it was necessary1 therefore1 first to provide a decent and comfortable lodging-house for the reception of sailors coming into port1--a place where they might safely deposit their clothes and their wages1 and where they could look out for another ship without the evil intervention of crimps or pretended agents4 ,it was a part of the intended plan also to establish a savings bank1 for securing any portion of their wages which they chose to lay by1 or for safely transmitting such sums as they might wish to send to their relations4 ,in short1 the design was to provide a home for the homeless1 and hold out helping hands to those who were ready to perish4 ,those ruins of the theatre stood on the very spot for such an establishment1 and the two captains1 ,gambier and ,elliott1 began by buying the ground and the wreck that stood upon it1 not by asking for public subscriptions1 but mostly with their own money1 to which was added a few contributions from any of their friends who desired to join in the good work4 ,it is impossible to use more earnest or touching words than those in which the late ,rear-,admiral ,sir ,w4 ,e4 ,parry spoke of the labours of his friend and fellow-supporter of the ,sailors' ,home1 in an address to ,british seamen at ,southampton1 in #ahec4 ,and now1 he said1 let me just add that1 from the first moment in which ,captain ,elliot stood among the ruins of the ,brunswick ,theatre1 till it pleased ,god to deprive him of bodily and mental energy1 did that self-denying ,christian man devote all his powers1 his talents1 his influence1 and his money1 to this his darling object of protecting and providing for the comfort of sailors4 ,connected with a noble family1 and entitled by birth1 education1 and station1 to all the advantages which the most exalted society could give hm1 he willingly relinquished all1 took up his abode in a humble lodging1 surrounded by gin-shops1 near the ',home3' denied himself most of the comforts1 it may almost be said some of the necessaries of life1 in order the more effectually to carry out his benevolent design2 and for eighteen years of self-denial and devotion1 made it the business of his life to superintend this institution4 ,for the noble officer lived to see the building for which he had wrought and prayed1 complete and successful4 ,in #ahce #cjj sailors could be received and welcomed there4 ,the piratical lairs began to empty of some of those who had been shown a way of escape1 and the good work went on4 ,in the adjoining ,seamen's ,church the congregation was largely augmented by the boarders from the ,sailors' ,home1 while the ,honorary ,chaplain and the ,missionary attached officially to the institution1 became not only parson and preacher1 but friendly adviser and instructor1 ready to speak1 to hear1 and to forbear4 ,the addition of a book depository1 where various useful publications may be purchased1 and ,bibles are sold at the lowest possible prices1 and in various languages1 was a valuable auxiliary to moral and religious instruction1 and at once increased the home-like influences of the place4 ,the institution having gone on thus prosperously1 under the direction of a goodly number of officers and gentlemen1 added to its possessions by acquiring other plots of freehold ground1 extending backward to ,dock ,street2 and in #ahfc ,lord ,palmerston laid the stone of an entirely new block of building1 which was inaugurated by the ,prince of ,wales in #ahfe1 since which time #ejb boarders can be received1 each being provided with his separate cabin4 ,since the opening of the institution in #ahce it has received #bdf1hee seamen of various countries and from all parts of the world4 ,of these #gb1bcd have been old or returned boarders1 and most of them have conducted their money transactions through the ,home1 and have made good use of the savings-bank4 ,there are #bgj inmates under that protecting roof as ,i step into the large entrance hall in ,well ,street to-day2 and the two hundred and seventy-first has just gone to look after his kit and sea-chests1 which have been carefully conveyed from the ,docks by one of the carmen belonging to the institution1 who has ,the ,sailors' ,home1 ,well ,street1 worked in red worsted on his shirt1 and painted on the side of the van from which he has just alighted4 ,it is evident that our friend ,no4 #bga has been here before1 for he knows exactly where to present himself in order to deposit some of his more portable property with the cashier or the superintendent4 ,he scarcely looks like a man who will want an advance of money1 for he is a smart1 alert1 bright-eyed fellow1 with a quiet air of self-respect about him which seems to indicate an account in the savings-bank2 but should he be hard-up1 he can ask for and receive a loan not exceeding twenty shillings directly his chest is deposited in his cabin4 ,just now the chest itself1 together with its superincumbent bundle1 stands against the wall along with some other incoming or outgoing boxes1 more than one of which are associated with brand new cages for parrots1 and some odd-shaped cases evidently containing sextants or other nautical instruments4 ,there is a whole ship's crew1 and a smart one too1 in the hall to-day2 while a small contingent occupies the clothing department1 where one or two shrewd ,north-countrymen are being fitted each with a new rig1 knowing well enough that they will be better served there than at any of the cheap outfitters 7or the dear ones either7 in the neighbourhood4 ,fine blue broadcloth1 pilots1 tweeds1 rough weather1 and petershams are here to choose from to measure1 as well as a wonderful collection of hats1 caps1 underclothing1 hosiery1 neckties1 boots1 and shoes so unlike the clumsy specimens that swing along with the tin pots and oilskins in some of the little low-browed shops about the district1 that ,i at once discover the reason for the smartness and general neatly-fitted look of most of the men and lads now pacing up and down1 talking and smoking4 ,it is quiet talk for the most part1 even when half a dozen of the inmates adjourn to the refreshment-room1 where they can obtain a glass of good sound beer 7though there is a much more general appreciation of coffee7 and sit down comfortably at a table like that at which two serious mates are already discussing some knotty point1 which will probably last till tea-time4 ,tea-time8 ,there is the half-past five o'clock signal gong going now1 and light swift steps are to be heard running up the stairs into the large dining-hall1 where the two hundred and seventy-one1 or as many of them as are at home1 sit down like fellows who know their business and mean to do it4 ,it is a pleasant business enough1 and one soon despatched2 for there are so many big teapots1 that each table is amply provided by the alert attendants1 who dispense bread-and-butter1 watercresses1 salads1 and savoury bloaters and slices of ham and tongue1 the latter having been already served by a carver who is equal to the occasion4 ,it is astonishing how quickly the meal is over when its substantial quality is taken into account2 but there is no lack of waiters1 the number of attendants in the building being sixty-five1 some of whom1 of course1 belong to the dormitories and to other departments4 ,the meals here are1 of course1 served with the utmost regularity1 and without limit to quantity4 ,breakfast1 with cold meat1 fish1 bacon1 and general relishes1 at eight in the morning2 dinner at one3 consisting of soup1 roast and boiled meats1 ample supplies of vegetables1 occasional fish1 stupendous fruit-pies and puddings1 and a good allowance of beer4 ,after tea comes a substantial snack for supper1 at nine o'clock1 and the doors of the institution are kept open to half-past eleven at night2 those who wish to remain out later being required to obtain a pass from the superintendent4 ,of course it is requested that the boarders come in to meals as punctually as possible2 but those who cannot conveniently be present at the regular time1 can have any meal supplied to them on application4 ,indeed1 two or three belated ones are arriving now1 as we go to the end of the long and lofty refectory to look at the crest of the late ,admiral ,sir ,william ,bowles1 ,k4,c4,b41 which1 supported by flags1 is painted upon the wall1 as a memorial of a gallant officer and a good friend to this institution and to all sailors4 ,leaving the dining-hall1 we notice a smaller room1 set apart for masters and mates who may desire to have their meals served here2 and on the same extensive storey is a large and comfortable reading-room well supplied with periodicals1 and containing a capital library consisting of entertaining and instructive books4 ,the board-room is close by1 and is of the size and shape to make an excellent mission-room1 where week-night services and meetings of a religious character are held1 and well attended by men who1 having seen the wonders of the ,lord upon the great deep1 join in ,his reasonable service when they are at home and at rest4 ,this vast floor also contains two dormitories3 but most of the sleeping cabins are in the second and third floors4 ,there are few sights in ,london more remarkable than these berths1 which are1 in fact1 separate cabins1 each closed by its own door1 and containing bed1 wash-stand1 chair1 looking-glass1 towels1 and ample space for the seachest and personal belongings of the occupant4 ,the cabins extend round a large area rising to a great height1 and surrounded above by a light gallery reached by an outer staircase1 round which are another series of berths exactly resembling the lower ones2 so that there are1 in fact1 double1 and in one or two dormitories treble tiers of cabins1 and the upper ones may be entered without disturbing the inmates of those below4 ,one of the three-decker areas is of vast size1 and1 standing in the upper gallery and looking upward to the lofty roof1 and then downward to the clear1 wide1 open space between the lower rooms1 the visitor is struck by the admirable provision both for light and ventilation2 the former being secured at night by means of properly distributed gas jets1 which are of course under the care of the night attendants1 who are on watch in each dormitory1 and may be summoned at once in case of illness or accident4 ,not only is there provision against fire by a length of fire-hose attached to hydrants on each storey1 but the water supply to lavatories and for other purposes is secured by a cistern holding #d1jjj gallons at the top of the building2 so that there is complete circulation throughout the various parts of the building4 ,it is time that we paid a visit to the basement of this great institution1 however2 for1 in more senses than one1 it may be said to be at the foundation of the arrangements4 ,yes1 even with respect to the amusements provided for the inmates--for while chess1 draughts and backgammon are to be found in the library and reading-room1 and billiards and bagatelle hold their own on the great landings of the first storey1 we have down here a skittle-alley of a character so remarkable1 that some of us who have read ,washington ,irving think of the reverberations of the giants' pastime in the mountains1 while we wonder where sailors can first have acquired a taste for this particular amusement4 ,it is a good and healthy one1 however1 and is wisely provided1 since it adds one more efficient inducement to the men to take their pleasure among their true friends instead of seeking it amidst the evil influences of a filthy tavern1 or in the garish heat of some vile ,ratcliff ,highway bowling-alley1 where men are maddened with drugged drink1 and greeted with foul imprecations by the harpies who seek to rob and cheat them4 ,there is much to see in this basement1 and to begin with here is ,no4 two hundred and seventy-one sending his chest up by the great luggage-lift to the second floor1 where he will find it presently in his cabin4 ,we cannot stay to speak to him1 however1 for we are on the very verge of the kitchen1 to which we are1 as it were1 led by the nose2 for wafted thence comes an appetising perfume of new bread just taken from one of the great ovens devoted to the daily baking4 ,there are lingering odours also of today's dinner1 though the meat ovens and the great boilers and hot plates are clean and ready for the morrow4 ,the pantry door1 too1 is open1 and there are toothsome varieties of plain-eating therein1 while the storerooms savour of mingled comforts1 to which the gales of ,araby the blest offer no parallel1 and the butcher's shop has a calm and concentrated sense of meatiness which is suggestive to a robust appetite not already satiated with a chunk from one of a whole squadron of soft1 new currant-cakes4 ,after a peep at the large and busy laundry with its peculiar moist atmosphere1 the coal and beer cellars1 the pumping machinery and boiler-room may be passed by1 and little curiosity is excited by this long and convenient apartment where hot and cold baths are prepared to order at a merely nominal charge4 ,there is a door close by1 however1 where we stop instinctively1 for there is a cheerful light inside1 and a sound of easy and yet interrupted conversation which can belong to only one department of society4 ,there can be no mistake about it--a veritable barber's shop1 and a gentleman with a preternaturally clean chin complacently surveying himself in a looking-glass of limited dimensions1 while another waits to be operated upon by the skilled practitioner who carries in his face the suggestion of a whole ropery of tough yarns1 and was--or am ,i mistaken--tonsor to the ,victory or to some ship of war equally famous when the ,british seaman shaved close and often1 and pigtails had hardly gone out of fashion4 ,there is no time for testing the great artist's skill this evening1 though ,i could almost sacrifice a well-grown beard to hear some rare old fo'c's'le story4 ,but no story could be more wonderful than the plain truth that for all the generous provision in this excellent institution the rescued sailor brought within its wholesome influence pays but fifteen shillings a week4 ,yes1 men and apprentices1 fifteen shillings2 and officers1 eighteen and sixpence4 ,the evening lowers over the outer world of ,mint ,street and ,leman ,street1 and the great blank void of the ,tower ditch is full of shadow4 ,standing again in the large entrance hall1 which reminds one more of shipboard1 now that the lights are dotted about it1 leaving it still a little dim1 ,i hear the trickling of a drinking-fountain1 and associated with its fresh plash hear as pleasant a story as any yarn that ever the barber himself could have spun for my delight4 ,the fountain1 which is of polished ,aberdeen granite1 was opened last ,november in proper style1 a platform being erected1 and the chair being taken by the ,secretary to the ,metropolitan ,drinking ,fountains ,association1 supported by several ladies and gentlemen4 ,mr4 ,lee made an appropriate speech1 and called attention to the gift1 and pointed to the inscription2 and it was quite an emphatic little observance for the inmates who had gathered in the hall on the occasion4 ,and well it might be1 for the fountain bears this modest inscription3--,the gift of ,william ,mc,neil1 ,seaman1 in appreciation of the great benefits he has derived on the various occasions during which he has made the ,institution his ,home1 for upwards of #be years4 ,i think very little more need be said for the ,sailors' ,home than is indicated by this plain1 earnest testimony to its worth4 ,yet it is necessary to say one more word4 ,this ,sailors' ,home is in a way self-supporting1 and at present seeks only the kindly interest of the public in case it should ever need another response to an appeal for extending its sphere of usefulness4 ,not a farthing of profit is permitted to any individual engaged in it1 and even fees to servants are prohibited1 though the crimps and touts outside endeavour to bribe them sometimes1 to induce sailors to go to the common lodging-houses1 where land-rats seek their prey4 ,all the profits1 if there are any at all1 are placed to a reserve fund for repairs1 improvements1 or extensions4 ,at any rate1 no public appeals are being made just now4 ,but there is another institution next door--another branch of the stem which has grown so sturdily from the seed planted by the good captain--the ,destitute ,sailors' ,asylum4 ,that is a place full of interest1 though there is nothing to see there4 ,nothing but a clean yard1 with means for washing and cleansing1 and a purifying oven for removing possible infection from clothes1 and a great bare room1 just comfortably warmed in winter1 and hung with rows of hammocks1 like the 'tween-decks of a ship4 ,that is all2 but in those hammocks1 sometimes1 poor starved and destitute sailors go to sleep1 after they have been fed with soup and warmed and comforted2 and in the morning1 when they turn out1 they are fed again with cocoa and bread1 and if they are naked they are clothed4 ,there are not very many applicants1 for1 strange as it may appear1 since sailors' homes have come in fashion there are but few destitute seamen2 but there need be no unrelieved destitute sailors at all in ,london1 for anybody can send such a one to the ,asylum in ,well ,street1 ,london ,docks1 and he will be admitted4 ,here then1 is an institution that may claim support4 ,,casting ,,bread ,,upon ,,the ,,waters4 ,one of the old ,saxon commentators on the ,holy ,scriptures1 in referring to the passage1 ,cast thy bread upon the waters1 and it shall be found after many days1 ventures to suggest as a meaning--,give succour to poor and afflicted seamen4 ,whatever may be the conclusions of critical ,biblical expositors1 there can be no doubt that the pious annotator was right in a true--that is1 in a spiritual interpretation of the text4 ,should it be necessary to appeal twice to the ,english nation--which has1 as it were a savour of sea-salt in its very blood--to hold out a helping hand for those who1 having struggled to keep our dominion by carrying the flag of ,british commerce all round the world1 are themselves flung ashore1 weak1 old1 and helpless1 dependent on the goodwill of their countrymen to take them into some quiet harbour1 where they may1 as it were be laid up in ordinary and undergo some sort of repairs1 even though they should never again be able to go a voyage8 ,it is with feelings of something like regret that an average ,englishman sees the old hull of a sea-going boat lie neglected and uncared for on the beach4 ,not without a pang can we witness the breaking-up of some stout old ship no longer seaworthy4 ,yet1 unhappily1 we have hitherto given scant attention to the needs of those old and infirm seamen1 who having for many years contributed out of their wages to the funds of the ,naval ,hospital at ,greenwich1 and having been again mulcted of some subscriptions which were to have been specially devoted to found an asylum for themselves1 are left with little to look forward to but the workhouse ward when1 crippled1 sick1 or feeble with age1 they could no longer tread the deck or crack a biscuit4 ,it is true that there are now hospitals or sick-asylums in connection with some of the sailors' homes at our seaports1 and to the general hospitals any sailor can be admitted if he should be able to procure a letter from a governor4 ,the 'tween-decks of the ,dreadnought no longer form the sole hospital for invalided merchant seamen in the ,port of ,london2 but even reckoning all that has been done for sailors1 and fresh from a visit to that great building where three hundred hale and hearty seamen of the great mercantile navy find a home1 we are left to wonder that so little has been accomplished for those old tars who1 having lived for threescore years or more1 going to and fro upon the great deep1 can find no certain anchorage1 except within the walls of some union where they may at last succeed in claiming a settlement4 ,surely there is no figure which occupies a more prominent place in ,english history than that of the sailor--not the man-o'-war's man only--but the merchant seaman1 the descendant of those followers of the great old navigators who were called merchant adventurers1 and who practically founded for ,great ,britain new empires beyond the sea4 ,in the poetry1 the songs1 the literature1 the political records1 the social chronicles1 the domestic narratives of ,england1 the sailor holds a place1 and even at our holiday seasons1 when our children cluster on the shingly shore or the far-stretching brown sands of the coast1 we find still that we belong to a nation of which the sailor long stood as the chosen representative4 ,nay1 in the midst of the life of a great city we cannot fail to be reminded of the daring and the enterprise which has helped to make ,london what it is4 ,the poet1 who1 standing on the bridge at midnight1 and listening to the chime of the hour1 found his imagination occupied with serious images and his memory with solemn recollections1 would have been no less moved to profound contemplation had he been a temporary occupant of one of the great structures that span the silent highway of the ,thames4 ,there is something in the flow of a broad and rapid stream which has a peculiar association with thoughts of the struggle and toil of human life1 and as we look on the ever-moving tide1 we ask ourselves what have we done for the brave old toil-worn men who have seen the wonders of the great deep for so many years1 and have brought so much to us that we can scarcely speak of food or drink without some reminder of their toilsome lives and long voyages8 ,well1 a little has been done1--very little when we reflect how much yet remains to be accomplished2 and yet much1 regarded as a fair opportunity for doing a great deal more4 ,i have already recounted some part of the sad story of what a provident ,government did when it thought to undertake the affairs of poor improvident ,jack4 ,how it collected his money1 and neglected to give him the benefit of the enforced subscription2 how it administered and laid claim to his poor little effects and arrears of pay1 if he died abroad and nobody came forward to establish a right to them2 how it demanded additional contributions from his monthly wages1 in order to show him how to establish a relief fund2 and how somehow the scheme went by the board 7of ,trade71 and the balance of the money was lost in the gulf of the estimates4 ,as long ago as #ahfj it became clear to a number of leading merchants1 shipowners1 and officers of the mercantile marine that nothing was to be looked for from the ,state when the subject of making an effort to provide for aged and infirm sailors was again urgently brought forward2 but it was determined to make a definite movement1 and ,the ,shipwrecked ,mariners' ,society1 which had then #dj1jjj officers and seamen among its subscribers1 was appealed to as a body having the power to form the required association4 ,it was not till #ahfg1 however1 that the actual work of providing an asylum for old sailors was commenced4 ,the society had then put down the sum of #e1jjj as a good beginning1 a committee had been appointed1 of which the late honoured ,paymaster ,francis ,lean was the indefatigable honorary secretary1 and ,captain ,thomas ,tribe the secretary1 whilst the list of patrons1 presidents1 vice-presidents1 and supporters included many eminent noblemen and gentlemen who took a true interest in the undertaking4 ,several public meetings were held1 and a ,pension and ,widows' ,fund was first established4 ,then the committee began to look about them for a suitable house in which to begin their real business1 and had their attention directed to a large building at that time for sale1 situated on the breezy height above ,erith1 and formerly well known as the residence of ,sir ,culling ,eardley1 who had named it ,belvidere4 ,the property1 including twenty-three acres of surrounding land1 cost #ab1adh1 and #e1jjj having already been subscribed1 the balance of #g1adh was borrowed at five per cent4 interest4 ,not till the #eth of ,may1 #ahff1 however1 was the institution inaugurated and handed over to a committee of management4 ,it is admirably suggestive of its present occupation1 this fine roomy old mansion1 standing on the sheltered side1 but near the top1 of the lofty eminence1 whence such a magnificent view may be obtained1 not only of the surrounding country1 but of the mighty river where it widens and rushes towards the sea4 ,here on the broad sloping green1 where the tall flagstaff with its rigging supports the ,union ,jack1 the old fellows stroll in the sun or look out with a knowing weather-eye towards the shipping going down stream1 or sit to smoke and gossip on the bench beneath their spreading tree opposite the great cedar1 while the cow of the institution chews the cud with a serious look1 as though it had someway caught the thoughtful expression that characterises turning a quid4 ,a hundred infirm sailors1 each of whom is more than sixty years old1 are serenely at their moorings in that spacious square-built house1 where the long wards are divided into cabins1 each with its neat furniture1 and many of them ornamented with the curious knick-knacks1 and strange waifs and strays of former voyages which sailors like to have about them4 ,there is of course a sick-ward1 where those who are permanently disabled1 or are suffering from illness1 receive medical attention and a special diet2 but the majority of the inmates are comparatively hearty still1 though they are disabled1 and can no longer hand reef and steer4 ,there are a hundred inmates in this admirable asylum1 and ninety pensioners who are with their friends at the various outports of the kingdom1 each receiving a pension of #a a month1 called the ,mariners' ,national ,pension ,fund1 the working management of which1 with the ,widows' ,annuity ,fund1 is made over to the ,shipwrecked ,mariners' ,society4 ,a hundred and ninety worn-out and disabled seamen now provided for or assisted1 and a total of above #cjj relieved since the opening of the institution4 ,a good and noble work truly4 ,but can it be called by so great a name as ,national1 when we know how large a number of old sailors are yet homeless1 and that at the last election there were #aec candidates who could not be assisted because of the want of funds to relieve their distress8 ,looking at the number of men 7#b1jjj to #e1jjj7 lost at sea or by shipwreck every year1 and at the inquiry which has been made1 through the efforts of ,mr4 ,plimsoll and others1 with respect to the conditions under which the service of the mercantile marine of this country is carried on1 is it not a reproach to us that during the nineteen years since this institution was founded1 so little has been done8 ,year by year it has been hoped that the ,board of ,trade would relinquish its claim to take possession of the effects of sailors dying abroad1 and would transfer the #a1bjj a year represented by this property to the funds of the society1 but hitherto the committee have waited in vain4 ,the donations from all sources are comparatively few2 and though the annual subscriptions are numerous1 they are rapidly absorbed4 ,many masters1 mates1 seamen1 engineers and firemen pay to this institution a subscription of five shillings a year1 for which they have a vote at each annual election2 or any such subscriber may leave his votes to accumulate for his own benefit when he shall have reached the age of sixty years1 and becomes a candidate for admission4 ,one-fifth of the candidates admitted are nominated by the committee on the ground of their necessities or special claims to the benefit of the charity1 while general subscribers or donors have privileges of election according to the amount contributed4 ,perhaps one of the most touching records of the subscription list is1 that not only did the cadets of the mercantile training-ship ,worcester contribute something like #ajj in one official year1 but that the little fellows on board the union training-ship ,goliath lying off ,grays1 have joined their officers and their commander1 ,captain ,bourchier1 to send offerings to the aid of the ancient mariners1 of whom they are the very latest representatives4 ,on many a good ship these small collections are made for the same object1 and at the ,sailors' ,home in ,well ,street there is a box for stray contributions2 but much more has yet to be done4 ,perhaps it is far to go to see this great house on the hill1 but most of us have caught a glimpse of its tall towers and its flagstaff in our excursions down the silent highway of ,london's river1 and it might be well to think how little effort is required to give to each cabin its inmate1 and to fill the dining-room with tables1 each with its mess of six or eight old salts1 who are ready to greet you heartily if you pay them a visit1 and to salute you with a grave seamanlike respect4 ,would you like to know how this rare old crew lives in the big house under the lee of the wind-blown hill8 ,to begin with1 the men who are not invalids turn out at eight in winter and half-past seven in summer1 and after making beds and having a good wash1 go down to prayers and breakfast at nine or half-past eight1 breakfast consisting of coffee or cocoa and bread-and-butter4 ,at ten o'clock the ward-men1 who are appointed in rotation1 go to clean wards and make all tidy1 each inmate being1 however1 responsible for the neatness of his own cabin1 in which nobody is allowed to drive nails in bulkheads or walls1 and no cutting or carving of woodwork is permitted4 ,the men not for the time employed in tidying up or airing bedding1 c41 can1 if they choose1 go into the industrial ward1 where they can work at several occupations for their own profit1 as they are only charged for cost of materials4 ,dinner is served in the several messes by the appointed messmen at one o'clock1 and consists on ,sundays of roast beef1 vegetables1 and plum-pudding1 and on week-days of roast or boiled meat1 soup1 vegetables1 with one day a week salt fish1 onions1 potatoes1 and plain suet-pudding1 and in summer an occasional salad4 ,a pint of beer is allowed for each man4 ,the afternoon may be devoted either to work1 or to recreation in the reading and smoking rooms1 or in the grounds4 ,tea and bread-and-butter are served at half-past five in summer and at six in winter1 and there is often a supper of bread-and-cheese and watercresses or radishes4 ,the evening is devoted to recreation1 and at half-past nine in winter1 and ten in summer1 after prayers1 lights are put out1 and every one retires for the night4 ,none of the inmates are expected to work in the industrial wards1 and of course there are various servants and attendants1 all of whom are chosen by preference from the families of sailors1 or have themselves been at sea4 ,the whole place is kept so orderly1 and everything is so ship-shape1 that there is neither waste nor confusion1 and yet every man there is at liberty to go in and out when he pleases1 on condition of being in at meal-times1 and at the time for evening prayers1 any one desiring to remain away being required to ask permission of the manager4 ,it must be mentioned1 too1 that there is an allowance of ninepence a week spending money for each inmate4 ,the men are comfortably clothed1 in a decent sailorly fashion1 and many of the old fellows have still the bright1 alert1 active look that belongs to the smart hands1 among whom some of them were reckoned nearly half a century ago4 ,the most ancient of these mariners at the time of my first visit was ninety-two years old1 and it so happened that ,i saw him on his birthday4 ,he came up the broad flight of stairs to speak to me1 with a foot that had not lost all its lightness1 while the eye that was left to him 7he had lost one by accident twenty years before7 was as bright and open as a sailor's should be4 ,this is a long time ago1 and ,william ,coverdale 7that was his name7 has probably gone to his rest4 ,significantly enough1 at the time of my latest visit1 the oldest representative of the last muster-roll was ,james ,nelson1 a master mariner of ,downpatrick1 eighty-five years of age2 while bo's'n ,blanchard is eighty-one2 able seaman ,john ,hall1 eighty2 ,william ,terry 7,a4 ,b471 eighty-two1 and masters1 mates1 quartermasters1 cooks1 and stewards1 ranged over seventy4 ,with many of them this is the incurable disability that keeps them ashore2 the sort of complaint which is common to sailors and landsmen alike if they live long enough--that of old age4 ,it will come one day1 let us hope1 to the young ,prince1 whom we may regard as the ,royal representative of the ,english liking for the sea4 ,for the asylum for old and infirm sailors at ,greenhithe has not been called ,belvidere for some years now4 ,prince ,alfred went to look at it one day1 and asked leave to become its patron1 since which it has been called ,the ,royal ,alfred ,aged ,merchant ,seamen's ,institution--rather a long name1 but then it ought to mean so much4 ,,with ,,the ,,feeble ,,and ,,faint-,,hearted4 ,is there any condition wherein we feel greater need of human help and true loving sympathy than in the slow1 feeble creeping from sickness to complete convalescence1 when the pulse of life beats low1 and the failing foot yet lacks power to step across that dim barrier between health and sickness--not far from the valley of the shadow of death8 ,in the bright1 glowing summer-tide1 when the sun warms bloodless creatures into renewed life1 our ,english sea-coast abounds with visitors1 among whom near and dear friends1 parents1 children1 slowly and painfully winning their way back to health and strength are the objects of peculiar care4 ,in all our large towns people who have money to spend are1 at least1 beginning to make up their minds where they shall take their autumn holiday2--in many quiet health-resorts wealthy invalids1 and some who are not wealthy1 have already passed the early spring and summer2--at a score of pleasant watering-places1 where the cool sparkling waves break upon the ribbed sea-sand1 troops of children are already browning in the sun1 scores of hearts feel a throb of grateful joy as the glow of health begins to touch cheeks lately pale1 and dull eyes brighten under the clear blue sky4 ,thousands upon thousands are then on their way to that great restorer1 the sea1 if it be only for a few hours by excursion train4 ,england might seem to have gathered all its children at its borders1 and very soon we hear how empty ,london is1 while a new excuse for a holiday will be that there is nothing doing and nobody is in town4 ,and yet throughout the busy streets a throng continues to hurry onward in restless activity4 ,only well-accustomed observers could see any considerable difference in the great thoroughfares of ,london4 ,shops and factories look busy enough1 and if nothing is doing1 there is a mighty pretence of work1 while the nobodies are a formidable portion of the population when regarded in the aggregate4 ,early in ,august the census of our large towns still further diminishes4 ,prosperous tradesmen1 noting the decrease of customers1 begin to prepare to take part in the general exodus4 ,gentlefolks have concluded bargains for furnished houses on the coast and put their dining and drawing-rooms into brown holland4 ,in ,west-,end streets and squares the front blinds are drawn1 and all inquiries are answered from the areas1 where charwomen supplement the duties of servants on board wages4 ,london is empty1 the newspapers say1 and in every large town in the kingdom the great outgoing leaves whole districts comparatively untenanted4 ,yet what a vast population remains2 what a great army of toiling men and women who go about their daily work1 and keep up the unceasing buzz of the industrial hive4 ,what troops of children1 who1 except for ,sunday-school treats1 would scarcely spend a day amidst green fields1 or learn how to make a daisy-chain1 or hear the soft summer wind rustling the leaves of overhanging trees4 ,it would perhaps astonish us if we could have set down for us in plain figures how many men and women in ,england have never seen the sea2 how many people have never spent a week away from home1 or had a real long holiday in all their lives4 ,it may be happy for them if they are not compelled by sudden sickness or accident1 to fall out of the ranks1 and to leave the plough sticking in the furrow4 ,it is not all for pleasure and careless enjoyment that the thousands of our wealthy brethren and sisters go to the terraced houses1 or handsomely appointed mansions1 which await them all round the ,english shore4 ,into how many eyes tears must need spring1 when the prayers for all who are in sorrow1 need1 or adversity are read in seaside churches on a summer's ,sunday4 ,by what sick-beds1 and couches set at windows whence wistful eyes may look out upon the changeful glory of wood and sea and sky1 anxious hearts are throbbing4 ,what silent tears and low murmuring cries on behalf of dear ones on whose pale cheeks the ,july roses never more may bloom1 mark the watches of the silent night1 when the waves sob wakefully upon the beach4 ,what thrills of hope and joy contend with obtrusive fears as1 the golden spears of dawn break through the impenetrable slate-blue sky1 and a touch of strength and healing is seen to have left its mark upon a brow on which the morning kiss is pressed with a keen throb that is itself almost a pang4 ,the first faltering footsteps back to life after a long illness or a severe shock1 how they need careful guidance4 ,let the stronger arm1 the helping hand1 the encouraging eye be ready1 or they may fail before the goal of safety be reached4 ,all that is now wanted is strength1 careful nursing1 plenty of nourishment1 pure air--the seaside if possible1 and perhaps the south coast would be best4 ,welcome tidings1 even though they herald slow recovery1 inch by inch and day by day1 while watchful patience measures out the time by meat and drink1 and the money that will buy the means of comfort or of pleasure1 becomes but golden sand running through the hour-glass1 which marks each happy change4 ,yes2 but what of the poor and feeble1 the faint-hearted who1 having neither oil nor wine1 nor the twopence wherewith to pay for lodging at the inn1 must need lie there by the way-side1 if no hand is stretched out to help them8 ,while at those famous health-resorts1 the names of which are to be read at every railway station1 and in the advertisement sheets of every newspaper1 hundreds and thousands are coming back from weakness to strength1 there are hundreds and thousands still who are discharged from our great metropolitan hospitals1 to creep to rooms in dim1 close courts and alleys1 where all the tending care that can be given them must be snatched from the hours of labour necessary to buy medicine and food4 ,how many a poor sorrowing soul has said with a sigh1 ,oh6 if ,i could only send you to the sea-side4 ,the doctors all say fresh air's the great thing2 but what's the use8 they say the same of pure milk and meat and wine4 ,it may be the father who has met with an accident1 and cannot get over the shock of a surgical operation--or rheumatic fever may have left mother1 son1 or daughter in that terrible condition of utter prostration1 when it seems as though we were in momentary danger of floating away into a fainting unconsciousness1 which not being oblivion1 engages us in a struggle beyond our waking powers4 ,alas6 in the great summer excursion to the coast these poor fainting brethren and sisters are too seldom remembered4 ,here and there a building is pointed out as an infirmary1 a sea-side hospital1 or even as a retreat for convalescents1 but the latter institutions are so few1 and the best of them are so inadequately supported1 that they have never yet been able to prove by startling figures the great benefits which they confer upon those who are received within their walls4 ,one of the oldest of these truly beneficent ,institutions1 ,the ,sea-side ,convalescent ,hospital at ,seaford1 has just completed a new1 plain1 but commodious building1 not far from the still plainer ,house which has for many years been the ,home of its grateful patients4 ,so let us pay a visit to the old place just before its inmates are transferred to more ample quarters1 to provide for which new subscriptions are needed1 and fresh efforts are being made4 ,the visit will show us how1 in an unpretentious way1 and without costly appliances1 such a charitable effort may be worthily maintained4 ,curiously enough1 ,seaford itself is an illustration of declension from strength to weakness1 and of the early stages of recovery2 for though it is one of the famous ,cinque ,ports1 it has for nearly #bjj years been an unnoted retreat4 ,but it is still a place of old1 odd customs1 such as the election of the chief of the municipality at an assembly of freemen at a certain gate-post in the town1 to which they are marshalled by an officer bearing a mace surmounted with the arms of ,queen ,elizabeth4 ,it is famous1 too1 for ,roman and other antiquities1 and its queer little church dedicated to ,st4 ,leonard1 has some rare specimens of quaint carving and a peal of bells which are peculiarly musical1 while the sounding of the complines on a still summer's night is good to hear4 ,in fact1 for a mere cluster of houses forming an unpretentious and secluded town1 almost without shops to attract attention1 with scarcely the suspicion of a high street1 and destitute of a grand hotel1 ,seaford is remarkably interesting for its legendary lore1 as a good many people know1 who have discovered its greatest attraction1 and take lodgings at the dull little place1 where even the martello tower is deserted4 ,the chief recommendation of the place1 however1 is its healthfulness1 and the grand air which blows off the sea to the broad stretch of shingly beach1 and the range of cliff and down-land which stretches as far as ,beachy ,head1 and rises just outside the town into one or two bluffs1 about which the sea-gulls whirl and scream1 as the evening sun dips into the sparkling blue of the water4 ,it is just at the foot of the boldest of these ascents that we see an old-fashioned mansion1 once known as ,corsica ,hall1 but now more distinctly associated with the name of the ,convalescent ,hospital1 of which it has long been the temporary home1 the ,london offices of the charity being at ,no4 #h1 ,charing ,cross1 ,london4 ,the institution1 which was founded in #ahfj1 has for its president the ,archbishop of ,canterbury1 and for its patronesses the ,duchess of ,cambridge and the ,duchess of ,teck1 and it has done its quiet work efficiently and well1 under difficulties which must have required staunch interest on the part of its committee4 ,it is difficult at first to understand that the big many-roomed house just by the spur of the cliff1 and peeping out to see over the shingle ridge1 is in any sense a hospital2 but here is a convalescent who will give us a very fair idea of the work that is being done2 a tall fellow who is but just recovering from acute rheumatism1 and is now able to go about slowly but with a cheery1 hopeful look in his face4 ,presently1 as one comes near the front door1 a lad1 who having come from a hospital where he has been attended for fractured ancle1 has been sent here to recover strength1 is hobbling across a poultry-yard1 where a grand company of black ,spanish1 ,polish1 ,cochin ,china1 and other fowls are assembled to be fed1 and beneath a pent-house roof in this same yard1 on a bench1 which would be well replaced by a more comfortable garden-seat if the funds would allow1 there is a sheltered and comfortable corner for the afternoon indulgence of a whiff of tobacco4 ,twenty-five men and twenty-four women are all the inmates1 besides attendants1 for whom space can be found2 and an inspection of the airy and scrupulously clean dormitories1 or rather bedrooms1 on each side of the building1 will show that all the accommodation has been made available4 ,it must be remembered1 however1 that as the period of each inmate's stay is but a month of twenty-eight days1 fresh cases are constantly admitted during all the summer months2 so that though as late as at the end of ,march only fourteen men and six women were distributed in the wards1 the average number admitted during the last official year has been #eaa 7an increase of twenty-four over the year before71 while the total number of cases received since the opening of the institution amounts to nearly #e1jjj4 ,there are evidences that in this old house1 with its long passages1 and little supplementary stairs leading to the bedrooms1 economy has been studied1 and yet all that can be done to adapt the place to its purpose has been effected4 ,the sense of fresh air and cleanliness is the first noticeable characteristic4 ,there are no slovenly corners2 in sitting-rooms1 corridors1 or dormitories1 whether the latter be little rooms with only two or three beds1 or either of the large apartments1 with their wide bay-windows looking forth upon the sea4 ,plainly and even sparely furnished1 they have an appearance of homelike comfort1 and it is pleasant to note that in the larger bright cheerful room devoted to women patients there are evidences of feminine taste and womanly belongings1 even to the egg-cups holding little posies of wild flowers and common garden blooms that deck the broad mantelshelf in front of the toilet glasses4 ,the same home-like influences are to be observed in other departments1 and though this old country house--of which the institution holds only a short term as tenants--is not altogether suited for the purpose to which it has been applied1 the arrangements are not without a certain pleasant departure from the too formal and mechanical routine which is observed in some establishments to have a peculiarly depressing influence on the sick4 ,the kitchen is like that of some good-sized farm-house1 with brick floor1 an ample dresser1 and a big range1 flanked with its pair of ovens1 and just now redolent of the steam of juicy ,south-down mutton and fresh vegetables about to be served for the patients' dinners4 ,it is a property of the ,seaford air to make even persons with delicate appetites ready for three plain meals a day1 with a meat supper to follow1 and the convalescents are no exception to the rule4 ,tea and bread-and-butter for breakfast1 bread-and-cheese and ale for the men1 and cake and ale for the women as a snack in the way of lunch1 good roast meat and vegetables for dinner1 with occasional pies or puddings1 with another half-pint of ale2 tea as usual2 and a supper consisting of a slice of meat1 bread1 and another draught of beer--this is the most ordinary diet2 but in many cases milk is substituted for ale1 and there is also a morning draught of milk1 or rum-and-milk1 a lunch or supper of farinaceous food1 and wine or special diet1 according to the orders of the house surgeon1 who visits the patients daily1 or as often as may be required4 ,following the odour of the roast mutton1 we see the male patients preparing to sit down to dinner in a good-sized room1 where1 to judge from the pleased and grateful faces of men and lads1 they are quite ready to do justice to the repast4 ,barely furnished1 and with table appointments of the plainest kind1 the dining-room is not indicative of luxury2 but the sauce of hunger is not wanting1 and as we bow our leave-taking1 there are signs that the money spent at this ,seaford ,hospital is well represented by the wholesome but expensive medicine of pure food and drink in ample quantities1 prescribed under conditions which build up the strength1 and restore life to the enfeebled frames of those to whom a month of such living must be an era in their history4 ,the women's dining-room is1 ,i am glad to see1 more ornamental than that of the men4 ,the walls are bright with gay paper1 containing large and brilliantly coloured scenery1 while the wide windows look seaward1 and fill the large room with cheerful light4 ,this is all the more essential as there is no other sitting-room for the female patients1 and the more convenient furniture1 especially a low wooden couch covered with a mattress1 is adapted to the needs of those who require indoor recreation as well as frequent rest4 ,the men have a separate sitting-room in the basement1 not a very cheerful apartment1 but one which in the warm summer-time is cool1 and adapted for the after-dinner doze1 or for reading a book when the weather is not quite favourable for sitting out of doors4 ,there is1 by the bye1 a very decided need of entertaining and pleasant books for the patients' library at ,seaford1 the few which are on the two or three shelves being mostly old1 and of a particularly dreary pattern4 ,it is obvious that1 in an institution where1 in order to meet the constant needs of those who seek its aid1 every shilling must be carefully expended1 only a small sum can be devoted to literature2 but it may only have to be made known that the convalescents really need a few cheerful volumes to help them along the road from sickness to health1 and out of the abundance of some teeming library the goodwill offering may be made4 ,it is time that we--that is to say1 the kindly and judicious secretary1 ,mr4 ,horace ,green1 the examining physician1 ,dr4 ,lomas1 and the present writer--should yield to the influences of the grand appetising climate of this airy nook of the ,english coast1 and after a short turn into the poultry-yard1 a glance at the deliberate cow1 and a passing greeting to the great black cat with collar and bell and a mew that is almost a deep bass roar1 and to the most exacting1 ugly1 and voracious pet dog it was ever my lot to encounter--we accept the invitation to test the quality of the ,southdown mutton and other ,seaford fare1 with a following of that delicately boiled rice and jam to which the healthy palate returns with childlike appreciation4 ,on hospitable thoughts intent1 the bright and active lady who is superintendent matron of the hospital1 has for the time adopted us into her hungry family1 and with the knowledge of the effects of the breeze blowing over that high bluff1 and curling the waves along the shingle ridge1 has set out a repast in her own pleasant parlour1 where she does the honours of the institution with a simple cheerful grace that speaks favourably for the administration which she represents4 ,but ,i should now be writing in the past tense1 for the larger building is completed4 ,the inmates will have a better appointed home4 ,in order to maintain the objects of the charity1 and to ensure the comfort of those for whom its provisions are intended1 some well-considered regulations have to be adopted and enforced2 and the most discouraging circumstances with which the committee and their officers have to contend1 are those which arise from the negligence of subscribers nominating patients1 or from the demands made on the charity by those who constantly expect more benefits from the institution than their contributions would represent even if they were paid three times over4 ,it is1 perhaps1 not to be wondered at that people1 anxious to secure for their protgs the advantages of such means of recovery as are represented by a temporary hospital where there has only been one death in five years1 should readily contribute their guinea for the sake of gaining the privilege1 even though they may add to that small subscription the five shillings a week which is the sum required with each patient4 ,what has to be complained of1 however1 is that constant attempts are made to introduce cases which are so far from being convalescent1 that they are still suffering from disease1 and require constant medical or surgical treatment4 ,in order to do this1 nominations are frequently obtained from country subscribers1 and it has required the constant vigilance of the examining physician and the committee to avoid the distressing necessity of obtaining for such patients admission to other hospitals1 or sending them back to their own homes1 not only without having received benefit from the institution1 but perhaps injured by the journey to and fro when they were in a weak and suffering condition4 ,it should be remembered that the ,seaford ,hospital is not for the sick1 but for persons recovering from sickness1--those for whom the best medicines are regular and ample meals1 grand bracing air1 sea-baths1 long hours of quiet and restorative sleep1 and that general direction of their daily progress towards complete recovery1 which will often make them strong and set them up completely1 even in the twenty-eight days of their sea-side sojourn4 ,to send patients who require the medical care and attendance which can only be provided in a hospital for the special disorders from which they suffer1 or who are afflicted with incurable diseases1 is unjust1 both to the poor creatures themselves and to the charity which cannot receive them4 ,for consumptive patients1 except in the early or threatening stage of phthisis1 ,seaford is unsuitable1 but a month at the hospital for patients of consumptive tendency has been known to produce remarkably beneficial results4 ,it is in cases of recovery after rheumatism and rheumatic fever1 or when strength is required after painful or exhausting surgical operations1 in nervous depression1 debility1 pleurisy1 and recovery from accidents1 that the fine air is found to be wonderfully invigorating2 for ,seaford is high and dry1 the subsoil being sand resting on chalk1 so that there is little surface evaporation1 while the shelter afforded by ,beachy ,head screens this little bay of the coast from the east wind4 ,it is not to be wondered at that the ,archbishop of ,canterbury1 the ,bishop of ,london1 and the late ,bishop of ,winchester should have joined many of the ,london clergy1 and more than eighty of the most eminent physicians and surgeons connected with metropolitan hospitals1 to recommend this charity as one especially deserving of public support4 ,those who are ever so superficially acquainted with the homes and difficulties of the poorer classes in ,london know that the period of debility after sickness1 when the general hospital has discharged the patient1 or when the parish doctor has taken his leave1 is a terrible time4 ,too weak to work1 without means to buy even common nourishment at the crisis when plentiful food is requisite1 and stimulated to try to labour when the heart has only just strength to beat1 men and women are ready to faint and to perish unless helping hands be held out to them4 ,try to imagine some poor cabman or omnibus-driver1 lying weak and helpless after coming from a hospital2 think of the domestic servant1 whose small savings have all been spent in the endeavour to get well enough to take another place2 of the poor little wistful1 eager-eyed errand-boy1 scantily fed1 and with shaking limbs1 that will not carry him fast enough about the streets4 ,try to realise what a boon it must be to a letter-carrier1 slowly recovering from the illness by which he has been smitten down1 or to the ,london waiter1 worn and debilitated by long hours of wearying attendance to his duties1 to have a month of rest and1 re-invigoration at a place like this4 ,in the table of inmates during the last few years are to be found a host of domestic servants1 mechanics and apprentices1 warehousemen and labourers1 #cf housewives 7there is much significance in that word1 if we think of the poor wife or mother to be restored to her husband and children71 #df needlewomen1 #ai clerks1 #ae teachers 7mark that7 #da school-children1 #i nurses1 #a policeman1 #c seamen and watermen1 #a letter-carrier1 #d errand-boys1 #g ,scripture-readers1 and others of various occupations4 ,it is no wonder1 ,i say1 that the general hospitals should regard this ,convalescent ,home at ,seaford as a boon2 but1 unfortunately for the charity1 the appreciation which it receives from some of those wealthy and magnificently-endowed institutions operates as a very serious drain on its own limited resources1 which are only supplied by voluntary subscriptions1 contributions1 and legacies4 ,every subscriber of a guinea annually1 and every donor of ten guineas in one sum1 has the privilege of recommending one patient yearly1 with an additional recommendation for every additional subscription of one guinea1 or donation of ten guineas4 ,the payment of five shillings a week by each patient admitted is also required by the guarantee of a householder written on the nomination paper1 and the travelling expenses of the patient must also be paid1 the ,brighton ,railway ,company most benevolently conveying patients to the hospital by their quick morning train1 in second-class carriages at third-class fare4 ,now it is quite obvious that the five shillings a week1 though it removes the institution from the position of an absolute charity1 goes but a very short distance in providing for the needs of the inmates1 and when the guinea contribution is added to it1 there is still a very wide margin to fill before much good can be effected4 ,let us see1 then1 what is the effect of every subscription of a guinea representing a claim1 as in the case of the patients sent from the general hospitals4 ,the cost of those admirable medicines1 food and drink1 wine1 milk1 and sea-baths1 together with the expenses of administration1 and the rental will represent at least #d #hs4 per head for each patient1 and as ,guy's1 ,bartholomew's1 ,st4 ,thomas's1 and the ,london ,hospitals1 each subscribing their ten guineas annually1 demand their ten nominations in exchange1 the account stands thus3-- ,for each case1 five shillings per week for four weeks1 and one guinea subscription #b #as41 which1 deducted from the actual cost 7#d #hs471 leaves #b #gs4 to be paid out of the funds of the ,seaford ,institution1 which1 on ten patients a year1 represents #bc #ajs4 as the annual contribution of this poor little charity to each of the four great charitable foundations of the metropolis4 ,but there is now an opportunity for acknowledging this obligation1 and for recognizing the useful career of this really admirable institution4 ,the lease of the present house has already expired1 and the committee have been obliged to give up possession4 ,it is therefore necessary to support the new hospital for those who need the aid that such a charity alone can give1 and the building has already been erected1 only a few yards further in the shelter of the bluff1 where it has provided another home4 ,with a commendable anxiety to keep strictly within their probable means1 the committee have decided not to imitate a too frequent mode of proceeding1 by which a large and splendid edifice would saddle their undertaking with a heavy debt1 and perhaps cripple resources needed for carrying on their actual work2 but they have obtained from ,mr4 ,grning1 the architect1 a plain building which will provide for their needs for some time to come1 and may be hereafter increased in accommodation by additions that will improve1 rather than detract from1 its completeness4 ,a great establishment1 with a hundred beds1 laundries1 drying-houses1 and hot and cold sea-baths on the premises1 would cost #ac1jjj2 and as the actually available funds in hand for building purposes were not more than #e1jjj1 with another probable #a1jjj added by special donations expected during the year1 the committee1 however reluctantly1 folded up the original plan1 and estimated the cost of a plain unpretentious building1 calculated at first to receive thirty-three male and thirty-three female patients1 but capable of additions which will raise its usefulness and completeness to the higher demand1 whenever there are funds sufficient to pay for them4 ,the expenditure for the new hospital was about #gjjj1 and1 should the anticipated donations be increased fourfold1 there will be no difficulty in crowning the work1 by such provisions as will include the full number of a hundred faint and failing men and women within the retreat where they find rest and healing4 ,,with ,,the ,,little ,,ones4 ,yes1 and amidst the mystery of suffering and pain1--the beginning of that discipline which commences very early1 and continues1 for many of us1 during a whole lifetime1 at such intervals as may be necessary for the consummation which we can only faintly discern when we begin to see that which is invisible to the eyes of flesh and of human understanding1 and is revealed only to the higher reason--the essential perception which is called faith4 ,i want you to come with me to that eastern district of the great city which has for so long a time been associated with accounts of distress1 of precarious earnings1 homes without food or fire1 scanty clothing1 dilapidated houses1 dire poverty and the diseases that come of cold and starvation4 ,the place that ,i shall take you to is quite close to the ,stepney ,station of the ,north ,london ,railway4 ,the district is known as ,ratcliff2 the streets down which we shall pass are strangely destitute of any but small shops1 where a front parlour window contains small stocks of chandlery or of general cheap odds and ends4 ,the doorways of the houses are mostly open1 and are occupied by women and children1 of so poor and neglected an appearance1 that we need no longer wonder at the constant demands made upon the institution which we are about to visit4 ,just here the neighbourhood seems to have come to a dreary termination at the brink of the river1 and to be only kept from slipping into the dark current by two or three big sheds and wharves1 belonging to mast1 rope1 and block-makers1 or others connected with that shipping interest the yards of which are1 many of them1 deserted1 no longer resounding to the noise of hammers4 ,the black spars and yards of vessels alongside seem almost to project into the roadway as we turn the corner and stand in front of a building1 scarcely to be distinguished from its neighbours1 except for the plain inscription on its front1 ,east ,london ,hospital for ,children and ,dispensary for ,women1 and for a rather more recent appearance of having had the woodwork painted4 ,but for this there would be little more to attract attention than might be seen in any of the sail-makers' dwellings1 stores1 and lofts in the district2 and1 in fact1 the place itself is--or rather was--a sail-maker's warehouse1 with trap-doors in the rough and foot-worn floors1 steep and narrow stairs1 bulks and baulks of timber here and there in the heavy ceilings and awkward corners1 not easily turned to account in any other business4 ,some of these inconveniences have been remedied1 and the trap-doors as well as the awkwardest of the corners and the bulks have been either removed or adapted to present purposes1 for the business is to provide a home and careful nursing for sick children1 and the long rooms of the upper storeys are turned into wards1 wherein stand rows of ,lilliputian iron bedsteads1 or tiny cribs1 where forty boys and girls1 some of them not only babes but sucklings1 form the present contingent of the hundred and sixty little ones who have been treated during the year4 ,not a very desirable-looking residence you will say1 but there are a good many inmates after all2 and the scrupulous cleanliness of the place1 as seen from the very passage1 is an earnest of that plan of making the best of things which has always been characteristic of this hospital at ,ratcliff ,cross4 ,some eight or nine grownup folks1 and from thirty to forty children1 make a bright1 cheerful home 7apart from the suffering and death which are inseparable from such a place7 in that old sail-maker's warehouse1 if brightness and cheerfulness are the accompaniments of good and loving work1 as ,i thoroughly believe they are4 ,it was during the terrible visitation of cholera1 nearly twelve years ago1 that this work of mercy was initiated1 and the manner of its foundation has about it something so pathetic that it is fitting the story should be known1 especially as the earnest1 hopeful effort with which the enterprise began seems to have characterised it to the present day4 ,among the medical men who went about in the neighbourhood of ,poplar and ,ratcliff during the epidemic1 was ,mr4 ,heckford1 a young surgeon1 who1 having recently come from ,india1 was attached to the ,london ,hospital1 and who took a constant and active part in the professional duties he had undertaken4 ,in that arduous work1 he1 as well as others1 received valuable and indeed untiring aid from the ready skill and thoughtful care of a few ladies1 who1 having qualified themselves as nurses1 devoted themselves to the labour of love amongst the poor4 ,to one of this charitable sisterhood1 who had been his frequent helper in the time of difficulty and danger1 the young surgeon became attracted by the force of a sympathy that continued after the plague was stayed in the district to which they had given so much care1 and when they had time to think of themselves and of each other4 ,they went away together a quietly married couple2 both having one special aim and object in relation to the beneficent career upon which they had entered in company4 ,knowing from hardly-earned experience the dire need of the district1 they at once began to consider what they could do to alleviate the sufferings of the women and children1 so many of whom were sick and languishing1 in hunger and pain1 amidst conditions which forbade their recovery4 ,if only they could make a beginning1 and do something towards arresting the ravages of those diseases that wait on famine and lurk in foul and ftid alleys2--if they could establish a dispensary where women--mothers too poor to pay a doctor--could have medicine and careful encouragement2 if they could find a place where1 beginning with a small family of say half a dozen1 they might take a tiny group of infants to their home1 and so set up a centre of beneficent action1 a protest against the neglect1 the indifference1 and the preventable misery for which that whole neighbourhood had so long had an evil distinction4 ,the question was1 how to make a beginning3 but the young doctor and his wife had been so accustomed to the work of taking help to the very doors of those who needed it1 that all they wanted was to find a place in the midst of that down-east district where they could themselves live and work4 ,out of their own means they bought the only available premises for their purpose--a rough1 dilapidated1 but substantial1 and above all1 a ventilable sail-loft with its adjacent house and store-rooms1 and there they quietly established themselves as residents1 with ten little beds1 holding ten poor little patients supported by themselves1 in the hope that voluntary aid from some of the benevolent persons who knew what was the sore need of the neighbourhood would enable them in time to add twenty or thirty more1 when the big upper storeys should be cleansed and mended and made into wards4 ,that hope was not long in being realised1 and on the #bhth of ,january1 #ahfh1 after a determined effort to maintain the institution and to devote themselves to its service1 a regular committee was formed and commenced its undertakings1 the founders still remaining and working with unselfish zeal4 ,from twenty to thirty little ones were received from out that teeming district1 where a large hospital with ten times the number of beds would not be adequate to the needs of the infant population1 the mothers of which have to work to earn the scanty wages which in many cases alone keep them from absolute starvation4 ,the struggle to maintain the wards in the old sail-lofts was all the harder1 from the knowledge that in at least half the number of cases where admission was necessarily refused1 from want of space and want of funds1 the little applicants were sent away to die1 or to become helpless invalids or confirmed cripples1 not less from the effects of destitution--the want of food and clothing--than from the nature of the diseases from which they were suffering4 ,the young doctor and his wife dwelt there1 and with cultivated tastes and accomplishments submitted to all the inconveniences of a small room or two1 from which they were almost ousted by the increasing need for space4 ,with a bright and cheerful alacrity they adapted those very tastes and accomplishments to supplement professional skill and tender assiduous care3 the lady--herself in such delicate health that her husband feared for her life1 and friends anxiously advised her to seek rest and change--used books and music to cheer the noble work1 and always had a picture on her easel1 with which to hide the awkward bulges and projections1 or to decorate the bare walls and brighten them with light and colour4 ,it was at ,christmas-tide seven years ago that ,i first visited the hospital1 and there were then very pleasant evidences of the season to be discovered in all kinds of festive ornament in the long wards1 and especially in the smaller rooms1 where this loving woman had attracted other loving women around her1 as nurses to the suffering little ones2 and was there and then engaged in the superintendence of a glorious ,christmas-tree4 ,but the time came when the hoped-for support having arrived1 ,mr4 and ,mrs4 ,heckford felt that they could leave the family of forty children to the care of those who had taken up the work with heartfelt sympathy4 ,they had laboured worthily and well1 but1 alas6--the reward came late--late at least for him1 who had been anxious to take his wife away to some warmer climate1 in an endeavour to restore the strength that had been spent in the long effort to rear a permanent refuge for sick children in that dense neighbourhood4 ,it was he who stood nearest to shadow-land1--he who was soonest to enter into the light and the rest that lay beyond4 ,mr4 ,heckford died1 ,i believe1 at ,margate1 after a short period of leisure and travel1 which his wife shared with him4 ,his picture1 presented by her to the charity which they both founded1 is to be seen in the boys' ward4 ,another portrait of him--a portrait in words written by the late ,mr4 ,charles ,dickens1 who visited and pathetically described the children and their hospital in ,december1 #ahfh1 conveys the real likeness of the man4 ,an affecting play was acted in ,paris years ago1 called the ,children's ,doctor4 ,as ,i parted from my ,children's ,doctor now in question1 ,i saw in his easy black necktie1 in his loose-buttoned black frock-coat1 in his pensive face1 in the flow of his dark hair1 in his eyelashes1 in the very turn of his moustache1 the exact realisation of the ,paris artist's ideal as it was presented on the stage4 ,but no romancer that ,i know of has had the boldness to prefigure the life and home of this young husband and wife1 in the ,children's ,hospital in the ,east of ,london4 ,what the hospital was then1 it has remained--but with such improvements as increased funds and a more complete organisation have effected4 ,it is still the ark of refuge for those little ones who1 smitten with sudden disease1 or slowly fading before the baleful breath of famine or of fever1 or ebbing slowly away from life by the fatal influences that sap the constitutions of the young in such neighbourhoods1 are taken in that they may be brought back to life1 or at worst may be lovingly tended1 that the last messenger may be made to bear a smile4 ,but the hope for the future of this most admirable institution has grown to fill a larger space4 ,it is indeed essential to any really permanent effort in such a district that it should be increased1 and the founders looked forward with earnest anticipations of the time when1 gathering help from without1 they could enter upon a larger building1 which will soon be completed1 and will be more adequate to the needs of such a teeming population4 ,the area embracing ,poplar1 ,mile ,end1 ,whitechapel1 ,st4 ,george's1 ,limehouse1 ,ratcliff1 ,shadwell1 and ,wapping numbers some #djj1jjj inhabitants1 and strangely enough--as it will seem to those who have not yet learnt the true characteristics of the really deserving poor--many of the distressed people about that quarter will conceal their poverty1 and strive as long as they are able--so that when at last they go to ask for aid the case may be almost hopeless1 and the delay in obtaining admission may be fatal4 ,there are already so many more applicants than can be received that it may be imagined what must be the vast amount of alleviable suffering awaiting the opportunity of wider means and a larger building4 ,it would be easy to shock the reader by detailing many of the more distressing diseases from which the poor little patients suffer1 but on visiting the wards you are less shocked than saddened1 while the evident rest and care which are helping to restore and to sooth the sufferers ease you of the greater pain by the hope that they inspire4 ,it is ,sunday noon as we stand here in the dull street where1 but for the sudden opening of a frowsy tavern and the appearance of two or three thirsty but civil customers1 who are not only ready but eager to show you the way to the ,childun's 'orsepital1 there would be little to distinguish it from a thoroughfare of tenantless houses4 ,ratcliff is at its dinner at present1 but we shall as we go back see the male residents leaning against the doorposts smoking1 and the women and children sitting at the doors as at a private box at the theatre1 discussing the sordid events of the streets and the small chronicles of their poor daily lives4 ,but we must leave the cleanly-scrubbed waiting-room and its adjoining large cupboard which does duty as dispenser's room4 ,it is dinnertime here too1 or rather it has been1 and there are evidences of some very jolly feasting1 considering that1 after all1 the banqueters are mostly in bed and on sick diet1 which in many cases means milk1 meat1 eggs1 and as much nourishment as they can safely take4 ,indeed1 food is medicine to those who are turning the corner towards convalescence--food and air--of which latter commodity there is a very excellent supply considering the kind of neighbourhood we are in4 ,here and there we see a little wan1 pinched1 wasted face lying on the pillow2 a listless1 transparent hand upon the counterpane--which are sad tokens that the tiny sufferers are nearing the eternal fold beyond the shadowy threshold where all is dark to us1 who note how every breath bespeaks a feebler hold on the world of which they have learnt so little in their tiny lives4 ,there are others who are sitting up with picture-books1 or waiting to have their abscesses dressed1 and arms bandaged1 or eyes laved with cooling lotion4 ,hip-disease and diseases of the joints are evidence of the causes that bring so many of the little patients here1 and there are severe cases of consumption and of affections of the lungs and of the glands2 but as the little fellow wakes up from a short nap1 or catches the eye of the lady nurse--a lively and thoroughly practical ,irishwoman1 who evidently knows how to manage1 and has come here1 after special training1 for the love of doing good--they show a beaming recognition which is very pleasant to witness4 ,with all the nurses it is the same4 ,they are young women who1 receiving small pay1 have come to devote themselves to the work for ,christ's sake and the ,gospel's--that is to say1 for the love of humanity and of the good tidings of great joy that announce the love of ,him who gave ,himself for us4 ,in the girls' ward there is the same freshness and cleanliness of the place and all its belongings1 the same wonderful patience and courageous endurance on the part of the baby inmates1 which has been my wonder ever since we went in4 ,here is a mite of a girl sitting up in bed1 holding a moist pad to her eye1 her poor little head being all bandaged4 ,she never utters a sound1 but the little round face is set with a determined endurance4 ,what is she sitting up for8 ,she is waiting to see muvver4 ,another little creature1 who is suffering from abscesses in the neck1 submits to have the painful place poulticed only on the condition that she shall decide1 by keeping her hand upon the warm linseed-meal1 when it is cool enough to put on4 ,these are scarcely pleasant details1 and there are sights here which are very1 very sad1 and make us shrink--but ,i honestly declare that they are redeemed from being repulsive because of the evidence of love that is to be witnessed1--the awakening of the tender sympathies and sweet responses of the childlike heart4 ,but for its being ,sunday--which involves another reason to be mentioned presently--the beds would be strewed with toys and picture-books1 while a rocking-horse1 which is a part of the hospital property1 and a fit kind of steed to draw the hospital-carriage1 which is represented by a perambulator--would probably be saddled and taken out of the stable on the landing4 ,on the topmost storey we come to the real infants1 the little babies1 one of whom is even now in the midst of his dinner1 which he takes from a feeding-bottle1 by the aid of an india-rubber tube conveniently traversing his pillow4 ,everywhere there are evidences of the care with which the work is carried on1 and as we descend to the waiting-room again we have fresh proofs of the benefits that are being effected in the great district1 by the provision made for the little creatures1 many of whom would otherwise be left to linger in pain and want4 ,for the waiting-room is filled--filled with mothers and elder sisters and little brothers1 tearfully eager and anxious for the weekly visit to the fifty children upstairs4 ,here is the secret of the brave little patient faces in the beds and cots above4 ,it is infinitely touching to think how the prospect of seeing muvver sustains that chubby little sufferer1--how the expected visit nerves the stronger ones to endurance1 and sends a fresh throb of life through those who are still too weak to do more than faintly smile1 and hold out a thin pale hand4 ,if ,mr4 ,ashby ,warner1 the ,secretary at this ,hospital for ,sick ,children at ,ratcliff ,cross1 could but send some responsive thrill into the hearts of those who1 having no children of their own1 yet love ,christ's little ones all over the world1--or could bring home to the fond fathers and mothers of strong and chubby babes the conviction that to help in this good work is a fitting recognition of their own mercies2 nay1 if even to sorrowing souls who have been bereaved of their dear ones1 and who yet believe that their angels and the angels of these children also1 do constantly behold the face of the ,father which is in heaven1 there would come a keen recognition of the blessedness of doing something for the little ones1 as unto ,him who declares them to be of ,his kingdom--there would soon be no lack of funds to finish building that great new hospital at ,shadwell1 which is to take within its walls and great airy wards so many more little patients1 to help and comfort by advice and medicine so many more suffering mothers and sisters than could be received in the old sail-loft and its lower warehouse at ,ratcliff ,cross4 ,for the hope of the founders and their successors has at last being realised--a larger building than they had at first dared to expect is to be erected on ground which has been purchased1 still within the district where the need is greatest--and when the time comes that the last touch of carpenter and mason shall have been given to the new home1 and the picture of ,mr4 ,heckford shall be hung upon another wall1 there may well be a holiday down east--as a day of thanksgiving and of gratitude1 to those who may yet help in the work by giving of their abundance4 ,,in ,,the ,,kingdom4 ,of such are the kingdom of heaven2 and whosoever doeth it unto the least of these little ones1 doeth it unto ,me4 ,surely there is no need to comment again on these sayings of ,him who1 in ,his infinite childlikeness1 knew what must be the characteristics of ,his subjects1 and declared plainly that whosoever should enter into the kingdom must become as a little child4 ,one thing is certain1 that those who are within that kingdom1 or expect to qualify themselves for it1 must learn something of the ,divine sympathy with which ,christ took the babes in his arms and blessed them4 ,thank ,god that there is so much of it in this great suffering city1 and that on every hand we see efforts made for the rescue1 the relief1 and the nurture of sick and destitute children4 ,would that these efforts could relieve us from the terrible sights that should make us shudder as we pass through its tumultuous streets1 and witness the suffering1 the depravity1 and the want1 that comes of neglecting the cry of the little ones1 and of those who would bring them to be healed and sanctified4 ,only just now ,i asked you to go with me to ,ratcliff to see the forty tiny beds ranged in the rooms of that old sail-maker's warehouse which has been converted into a ,hospital for ,sick ,children4 ,there is something about this neighbourhood of ,eastern ,london that keeps us lingering there yet2 something that may well remind us of that star which shone above the manger at ,bethlehem where the ,babe lay4 ,the glory of the heavenly light has led wise men and women to see how1 in reverence for the childlikeness1 they may work for the coming of the kingdom1 and those who enter upon this labour of love1 begin--without observation--to find what that kingdom really is1 and to realise more of its meaning in their own hearts4 ,to the cradle in a manger the wise men of old went to offer gifts4 ,to a cradle ,i would ask you to go with me to-day2 to a whole homeful of cribs2 which is known by a word that means crib and manger and cradle all in one--,the ,crche4 ,there is something1 as it seems to me1 appropriate in this ,french word to the broad thoroughfare 7so like one of the outer boulevards of ,paris7 out of which we turn when we have walked a score or two of yards from the ,stepney ,station1 or where some other visitors alight from the big yellow tramway car running from ,aldgate to ,stepney ,causeway4 ,the ,causeway itself is a clean1 quiet street1 and is so well known that the first passer-by can point it out to you1 while1 if the inhabitants of the district can't quite master the crunch of the ,french word1 they know well enough what you mean when you ask for the babies' home1 or for ,mrs4 ,hilton's nursery4 ,the home itself is but a baby institution1 for it is only five years old1 but it might be a very ,methuselah if it were to be judged by the tender1 loving care it has developed1 and the good it has effected1 not only on behalf of the forty sucklings who are lying in their neat little wire cots upstairs1 like so many human fledglings in patent safety cages1 and for the forty who are sprawling and toddling about in the lower nursery1 or for the contingent who are singing a mighty chorus of open vowels on the ground-floor2 but also in the hopeful aid and tender sympathy it has conveyed to the toiling mothers who leave their little ones here each morning when they go out to earn their daily bread1 and fetch them again at night1 knowing that they are fresh and clean1 and have been duly nursed and fed1 and put to sleep1 and had their share of petting and of play4 ,the sound of the forty singing like one is not perceptible as we approach the house1 which1 with its large high windows open to the soft1 warm air1 lies very still and quiet4 ,the wire-blinds to the windows near the street bear the name of the institution1 and over the doorway is inscribed the fact that the ,princess ,christian has become the patroness of this charity1 which appeals to all young mothers1 and to every woman who acknowledges the true womanly love for children4 ,each day1 from twelve to four o'clock1 visitors are welcomed1 except on ,saturdays1 when the closing hour is two o'clock1 as1 even in some of the factories down east1 the half-holiday is observed1 and poor women working at bottle-warehouses and other places have the happiness of taking home their little ones1 and keeping them to themselves till the following ,monday morning4 ,do you feel inclined to question whether these poor1 toil-worn women appreciate this privilege8 ,are you ready to indulge in a cynical fear that they would rather forego the claim that they are expected to assert8 ,believe me you are wrong4 ,one of the most hopeful and encouraging results of the tender care bestowed upon these babes of poverty is that of sustaining maternal love1 and beautifying even the few hours of rest and family reunion in the squalid rooms where the child is taken with a sense of hope and pride to lighten the burden of the day4 ,early each morning the little creatures are brought1 often in scanty clothing1 sometimes shoeless1 mostly with a ready appetite for breakfast4 ,then the business of matron and nurses begins4 ,but1 come1 let us go in with the children1 and see the very first of it1 as women1 poorly clad1 coarse of feature1 and with the lines of care1 and too frequently with the marks of dissipation and of blows upon their faces1 come in one by one and leave their little living bundles1 not without a certain wistful1 softened expression and an occasional lingering loving look4 ,the house--stay1 there are actually three houses1 knocked into one so as to secure a suite of rooms on each floor--is as clean as the proverbial new pin2 and as we ascend the short flights of stairs1 there is a sense of lightness and airiness which is quite remarkable in such a place1 and is by some strange freak of fancy associated with the notion of a big1 pleasant aviary--a notion which is strengthened by our coming suddenly into the nursery on the first-floor1 and noting as the most prominent object of ornament a large cage containing some sleek and silken doves1 placed on a stand very little above the head of the tiniest toddler there4 ,there is enough work for the matron1 her assistant1 and the four or five young nurses who receive these welcome little guests each morning4 ,the rows of large metal basins on the low stands are ready1 and the morning's ablutions are about to commence1 so we will return presently1 as people not very likely to be useful in the midst of so intricate an operation as the skilful washing and dressing of half a hundred babies4 ,there is plenty to see in the neighbourhood out of doors1 but we need not wander far to find something interesting1 for on the ground-floor of these three houses which form the ,crche--the babies' home--provision has also been made for babies' fathers1 in the shape of a ,british ,workman1 or working-man's reading1 coffee1 and bagatelle room1 with a library of readable books1 and liberty to smoke a comfortable pipe4 ,of the servants' home1 which is another branch of this cluster of charitable institutions1 we have no time to speak now1 for our visit is intended for the ,crche1 and we are already summoned to the upper rooms by the sound of infant voices4 ,doubt not that you will be welcomed on the very threshold1 for here comes an accredited representative of the institution1 just able to creep on all fours to the guarded door1 thence to be caught up by the gentle-faced young nurse1 who at once consigns the excursionist to a kind of square den or pound1 formed of stout bars1 and with the space of floor which it encloses covered by a firm mattress4 ,there1 in complete safety1 and with two or three good serviceable and amiably-battered toys1 the young athletes who are beginning to practise the difficult feat of walking with something to hold by1 are out of harm's way1 and may crawl or totter with impunity4 ,they have had their breakfast of bread and milk1 and are evidently beginning the day1 some of them with a refreshing snooze in the little cribs which stand in a row against a wall1 bright1 as all the walls are1 with coloured pictures1 while in spaces1 or on low tables here and there1 bright-hued flowers and fresh green plants are arranged1 so that the room1 necessarily bare and unencumbered with much furniture1 is so pleasantly light and gay1 that we are again reminded of a great bird-cage4 ,out here in a little ante-room is a connected row of low1 wooden arm-chairs1 made for the people of ,lilliput1 and each furnished with a little tray or table1 and1 drumming expectantly and with a visible interest in the proceeding1 sit a line of little creatures1 amidst whom a nurse distributes her attentions1 by feeding them carefully with a spoon1 just as so many young blackbirds might be fed4 ,already some of the little nurslings are sitting up in their cribs1 quietly nodding their round little heads over some cherished specimen of doll or wooden horse4 ,one wee mite of a girl1 quite unable to speak1 except inarticulately1 holds up the figure of a wooden lady of fashion1 with a wistful entreaty which we fail to understand1 till the quick-eyed lady who accompanies us spies a slip of white tape in the tiny hand1 and at once divines that it is to be bound about the fashionable waist1 as an appropriate scarf1 and at once performs this finishing stroke of the toilet1 to the immeasurable satisfaction of everybody concerned4 ,this is in the upper room1 the real baby nursery1 where the age of some of the inmates is numbered by weeks only1 and there is in each swinging cot a sweet1 sleepy sense of enjoyment of the bottle which forms the necessary appliance of luncheon-time4 ,at the heads of several of these cots are inscribed the names of charitable donors1 happy parents1 bereaved mothers1 sympathetic women with babies of their own1 either on earth or in heaven1 who desire to show gratitude1 faith1 remembrance1 by this token of their love for the childlikeness of those they love and cherish in their deepest memories1 their most ardent hopes4 ,in more than one of the little beds there are signs of the poverty or the sickliness in which the children were born1 and the effects of which this home1 with its freshness and light and food1 is intended to remedy4 ,no cases of actual disease are here1 however1 since a small infirmary for children suffering from more serious ailments has been added to the institution1 and the ,sick ,children's ,hospital is but three street lengths distant4 ,the first most remarkable experience which meets the visitor unaccustomed to observe closely1 is the freshness and beauty of the children in this place4 ,squalid misery1 dirt1 neglect1 starvation1 so disguise and debase even the children in such neighbourhoods1 that squeamish sentimentality turns away at the first glance1 and is apt to conclude that there are essential differences between the infancy of ,tyburnia or ,mayfair and the babyhood of ,ratcliff and ,shadwell4 ,yet ,i venture to assert that if ,mr4 ,millais or some other great painter were to select his subjects for a picture from these rooms of the old house in ,stepney ,causeway1 he would leave the galleries of ,burlington ,house echoing with little dears1 and what a lovely child6 and popular prejudice would conclude that from birth the little rosebud mouths were duly fitted with silver spoons instead of being scant even of the bluntest of wooden ladles4 ,at this ,crche at ,stepney ,causeway the reasons of the true childlike freshness1 alacrity1 and even the engaging impetuosity and loving confidence which characterise these little ones1 is not far to seek4 ,as you came up you noticed row after row of blue check bags1 hanging in a current of fresh air on the wall of the staircase4 ,those bags contain the clothes in which these children are brought to the ,home in the morning4 ,they are changed with the morning's ablutions1 and clean garments substituted for them until the mothers come in the evening to fetch away their bairnies1 and by that time they have been aired and sweetened4 ,it is noticeable that this has the effect in many instances of inducing the women to make praiseworthy efforts to improve the appearance of the children1 and1 indeed1 the whole tendency of the treatment of the little ones is to develop the tenderness and love which lie deep down in the hearts of the mothers4 ,even the endearing nicknames almost instinctively bestowed upon the tiny darlings have a share in promoting this feeling1 and the pretty rosy plump little creatures1 or the quaint expressive bright-eyed babies1 who are called ,rosie1 ,katie1 ,pet1 ,little ,old ,lady1 and so on1 all have a kind of happy individuality of their own in the regards of the dear lady who founded and still directs the institution1 and in those of the nurses who tend them4 ,sometimes the names arise from some little incident occurring when the children are first brought there1 as well as from the engaging looks and manners of the little ones themselves4 ,the ,king1 is a really fine baby-boy1 the recognised monarch of the upper nursery1 but his sway is strictly constitutional2 while a pretty little wistful1 plump lassie1 is good-humouredly known as ,water ,cresses1 and has no reason to be ashamed of the name1 for it designates the business by which a hard-working mother and elder sister earn the daily bread for the family4 ,did ,i say that the charge for each child is twopence daily8 ,nominally it is so2 and let those who desire to know something of the real annals of the poor remember that even this small sum--which of course cannot adequately represent anything like the cost--is not easily subtracted from the scanty earnings of poor women engaged in slopwork1 or selling dried fish1 plants1 crockery1 and small wares in the streets1 or going out to work in warehouses1 rope-walks1 match-making1 box-making1 and other poor employments1 where the daily wages will not reach to shillings1 and sometimes are represented only in the pence column4 ,let it be remembered1 too1 that the husbands of these women 7those who are not prematurely widows1 or whose husbands have not deserted them7 are employed as dock labourers1 and are often under the terrible curse of drink1 or are in prison1 while the women struggle on to support the little ones1 who but for this institution1 would perhaps be left--hungry1 naked1 and sickly--to the care of children only two or three years older than themselves2 or would be locked in wretched rooms without food or fire till the mother could toil homeward1 with the temptation of a score of gin-shops in the way4 ,each of the bright intelligent little faces now before us has its history1 and a very suggestive and pathetic history too4 ,look at this little creature1 whose pet name of ,fairy bespeaks the loving care which her destitute babyhood calls forth2 she is only ten months old1 and her mother is but nineteen1 the widow of a sailor lost at sea two months before the baby was born4 ,katie1 of the adult age of five years1 is the child of a man who works on barges4 ,rosie1 one of the first inmates1 has a drunken dock-labourer for a father1 and her mother is dead4 ,dicky represents the children whose father1 going out to sea in search of better fortune for wife and children1 is no more heard of1 and is supposed to be dead4 ,the ,king is fatherless1 and his mother works in a bottle-warehouse4 ,the pathetic stories of these children is told by ,mrs4 ,hilton herself1 in the little simple reports of this most admirable charity4 ,they are so touching1 that ,i cannot hope to reproduce them in any language so likely to go straight to the heart as that in which you may read them for yourself if you will either visit the ,crche1 or send ever so small a donation1 and ask for a copy of the modest brown-covered little chronicle of these baby-lives4 ,standing here in the two nurseries1 where the dolls and ,noah's arks1 the pictures and the doves1 nay1 even the baby-jumpers suspended from the ceilings1 are but accessories to the clasp of loving arms and the softly-spoken words of tender womanly kindness1 ,i wonder why all one side of ,stepney ,causeway has not been demanded by a discriminating public for the extension of such an institution4 ,loitering in the lower room1 where one little bright face is lifted up to mine1 as the tiny hands pluck at my coat-skirt1 and another chubby fist is busy with my walking-stick1 ,i begin to think of the workhouse ward1 where mothers are separated from their children night and day2 of a prison1 where ,i have seen a troop of little boys1 and a flogging-room provided by a beneficent ,government for the recognition by the ,state of children who had qualified themselves for notice by the commission of what the law called crime4 ,a pleasant odour of minced beef1 gravy1 and vegetables1 known as ,irish stew1 begins to steal upon the air4 ,the wooden benches in one of the rooms are suddenly turned back1 and like a conjuring trick1 convert themselves into tiny arm-chairs1 with convenient trays in front for plates and spoons4 ,the little voices--forty like one--strike up a fresh chant1 and a whisper of rice-pudding is heard4 ,so we go out1 wondering still1 and with a wish that from every nursery where children lisp grace before meat1 some gracious message could be brought to aid and strengthen those who believe with me that the most profitable investment of political economy1 the most certain effort of philanthropy1 is to begin with the men and women of the future1 and so abate the fearful threatenings of coming pauperism1 and the still more terrible menace of a permanent criminal class4 ,the policy of the authorities1 says ,mrs4 ,hilton1 in her interesting narrative of the ,crche1 in stopping outdoor relief to poor widows with children is causing much sorrow4 ,the #bs4 #f;d4 or #cs4 received from the parish secured their rent1 and they managed1 with shirt-making or trouser-finishing1 to earn a bare subsistence2 but now the battle for a mere existence is terrible4 ,doubtless1 the children would be better cared for in the ,house1 but mothers cannot be persuaded to give them up4 ,one such case has just passed under my notice2 but the woman shall speak for herself4 ',oh1 ,mrs4 ,hilton1 they have taken off my relief6--,i1 with four little ones who cannot even put on their shoes and stockings4 ,they offer me the ,house2 but ,i never can give up my children4 ,look at baby2 he is ten months old2 his father died of small-pox six months before he was born2 he was only ill five days4' ,i told her ,i was afraid she would not be able to earn enough to keep them all4 ',well1' she said1 ',i must try--,i will never go into the ,house4' ,but these women have very little feeling for their children1 they are so low and brutalised4 ,are they8 ,let those who think so visit this ,cradle ,home1 and witness the bearing of the mothers who come to take their little ones home1 or to nurse the sucklings at intervals snatched from work4 ,let them hear what such poor women will do for children not their own1 even to the extent 7as recently took place1 in one instance1 at least7 of sharing with their less necessitous babes the natural sustenance that the mother cannot always give4 ,sixty-five children received daily and a hundred or more on the books1 with space needed for many more than can be admitted2 children who1 some of them infants as they are1 have learned to lisp profane oaths and babble in foul language1 and to give way to furious outbursts of passion1 the result of neglect and evil example1 and the life of the street and the gutter4 ,it is but a short time1 however1 before this strange dreadful phase of the distorted child mind disappears1 and the pet name is bestowed along with the gentle kindness that obliterates the evil mimicry of sin4 ,the baby taken home from this purer atmosphere of love becomes a messenger of grace to many a poor household1 as the short annals of the ,crche will tell2 and even the pet names themselves are adopted by the mothers in speaking of and to their own children4 ,one short story from the first report sent out by ,mrs4 ,hilton1 and we will go our way with a hope that some words of ours may win a fresh interest for these little ones4 ,a precious babe died1 and the mother1 too poor to bury it1 sent for a parish coffin4 ,the child was very dear to us1 and we had named her our nursery ,queen which had degenerated into ',queenie4' ,it was a sore trial to us to see the golden curls mingled with sawdust1 which is all that was placed in the coffin2 and yet we could not spend public funds on the funeral1 and feared to do it privately4 ,in a few hours a mother came and said1 ',come and look at your ,queenie now4' ,we went and saw that loving hands had softened all the harsh outlines4 ,a little bed and pillow had been provided1 a frill placed round the edge1 and some children had lain fresh-gathered flowers on the darling's breast4 ,the cost had been #i;d41 paid for by those mothers1 and although so freely and lovingly given1 it was the price of more than a meal each4 ,if every mother in ,london with a well-stocked larder would give the price of a meal for the sake of a living child--but1 there6 my duty is not to beg1 but to describe4 ,,with ,,lost ,,lambs4 ,only quite lately ,i had to write about the old ,french colony in ,spitalfields1 and of the changes that have come over entire neighbourhoods which were once associated with what is now a failing industry1 or rather with one which1 so far as ,london is concerned1 has nearly died out altogether4 ,not that the public has ceased to hear sundry reports of those quarters of the metropolis of which the name of ,bethnal ,green is an indication as suggesting dire poverty1 neglected dwellings1 poorly-paid callings1 and constant distress4 ,some few years ago it became quite a fashion for newspaper special reporters 7following in the wake of one or two writers who had begun to tell the world something of the truth of what they knew of these sad regions7 to make sudden amateur excursions beyond ,shoreditch1 for the purpose of picking up material for lurid articles about foul tenements1 fever1 hunger1 want1 and crime4 ,bethnal ,green became quite a by-word1 even at the ,west ,end1 and certain spasmodic efforts in the direction of charitable relief were made by well-meaning people1 so that for a time there was danger of a new kind of demoralisation of the low neighbourhood1 and the price of lodgings1 even in the wretched tenements of its notorious streets1 were expected to rise in proportion to the demand made by emigrants from other less favoured localities1 to which the special correspondent had not at that time penetrated4 ,one good work was effected by the attention of sanitary authorities being called to the fever dens during a time of terrible epidemic1 and a certain provision of medical aid1 together with purification of drains1 whitewashing of rooms1 and clearing of sties and dustheaps1 was the result4 ,this was but temporary1 however2 and those who best know the neighbourhood lying between ,shoreditch and ,bethnal ,green1 and disclaimed by the local authorities of both because of its misery and dilapidation1 are also aware that in various parts of the whole great district from the ,hackney ,road to ,bishopsgate1 and so embracing ,spitalfields and part of ,whitechapel1 far away to ,mile ,end and ,twig ,folly1 there can be discovered more of want1 hunger1 and disease than could exist in any free city under heaven1 if men were not such hypocrites as to defy and disregard the laws which yet they claim to have a hand in framing1 and a power to enforce4 ,only those who are personally acquainted with such a district can conceive what is the condition of the children of its streets1 and yet every ordinary wayfarer of the ,london thoroughfares may note to what a life some of them are committed4 ,about the outskirts of the markets1 round the entrances to railway stations1 cowering in the shadows of dark arches1 or scrambling and begging by the doors of gin-shops and taverns1 the boys--and what is even worse1 the girls--are to be seen daily and nightly1 uncared for1 till they have learnt how to claim the attention of a paternal government by an offence against the law4 ,when once the child1 who is a mere unnoted fraction of the population1 has so far matriculated in crime as to warrant the interposition of the police1 he or she becomes an integer of sufficient importance to be dealt with by a magistrate4 ,let an infancy of neglect and starvation lead to the reckless pilfering of a scrap of food from a counter1 or the abstraction of something eatable or saleable from a market-cart or a porter's sack1 and the little unclassified wretch is added as another unit to a body recognised1 and in some sense cared for1 by the ,state4 ,as a member of the great criminal class1 the juvenile thief becomes of immediate importance4 ,even though the few juvenile criminal reformatories be full1 the gaol doors are open1 and the teachings of evil companionship are consummated by the prison brand4 ,the individual war against society gains strength and purpose1 for society itself has acknowledged and resented it4 ,the child has entered on a career1 and unless some extra legal interposition shall succeed in changing the course of the juvenile offender by assuming a better guardianship1 the boy may become an habitual thief1 a full-fledged ,london ruffian2 the girl----8 ,it was with a deep sense of the terrible significance of this question1 that a small party of earnest gentlemen met1 twenty-seven years ago1 in that foul neighbourhood to which ,i have referred1 to consider what should be done to rescue the deserted and destitute girls1 some of whom had already been induced to attend a ragged school1 which was held in a dilapidated building that had once been a stable4 ,these thoughtful workers included among them two men of practical experience2 one of them1 ,mr4 ,h4 ,r4 ,williams1 the treasurer of the present institution1 the other the ,rev4 ,william ,tyler1 whose bright genial presence has long been a power among the poor of that district1 where even the little ragged children of the streets follow him1 and lisp out his name as the faithful shepherd1 who both gives and labours in one of the truest cures of souls to be found in all great ,london4 ,to them soon came the present honorary secretary1 ,mr4 ,j4 ,h4 ,lloyd1 a gentleman already familiar with teaching the poor in a neighbouring district no less wretched and neglected4 ,they were the right men for the business in hand1 and therefore they began by moving sluggish boards and commissions to put in force the sanitary laws--and1 in spite of the opposition of landlords with vested interests in vile tenements let out to whole families of lodgers from garret to basement1 and of the malignant opposition of owners of hovels where every abomination was rife1 and pigs littered in the yards1 while costermongers shared the cellars with their donkeys--insisted on the surrounding streets being paved and drained1 and some of the houses being whitewashed and made weatherproof4 ,nothing less could have been done1 for the terrible cholera epidemic was already raging in that tangle of courts and alleys4 ,application was at once made for a share from the ,mansion ,house ,relief ,fund1 and the committee had to use every available shilling in order to supply food and medicine1 blankets and clothing1 to the wretched families2 to visit whom1 a regular relief corps was organised1 carrying on its beneficent and self-denying work1 until the plague began to be stayed4 ,then with scarcely any money1 but with unabated hope and fervid faith1 this little company of men and women began to consider what they should do to found a ,refuge for the children 7many of them orphans1 and quite friendless7 who were everywhere to be seen wandering about1 or alone and utterly destitute in the bare rooms that had been their homes4 ,there were already certain institutions to which boys could be sent1 for then1 as now1 the provision for boys was far greater than for girls4 ,this is one of the strange1 almost inexplicable conditions of charitable effort1 and at that time it was so obvious which was the greater need1 that the committee at once determined to commence a building on a waste piece of land which had been purchased close by1 and to devote it to the reception of thirty destitute girls1 who should be snatched from deadly contamination1 and from the association of thieves and depraved companions4 ,surely1 if slowly1 the work went on1 the plan of the building being so prepared that it could be extended as the means of meeting the growing need increased4 ,almost every brick was laid with thoughtful care1 and when subscriptions came slowly in1 the funds were furnished among the committee themselves rather than the sound of plane and hammer should cease2 till at last1 when the ,king ,edward ,ragged ,school and ,girl's ,refuge was completed1 a large edifice of three spacious storeys had superseded the old ruinous stable amidst its ftid yards and sheds1 and1 what was more1 the building was paid for1 and a family of children had been gathered within its sheltering walls4 ,at the time of my first visit to the institution no more than twenty had been taken into this ,refuge2 but every foot of the building was utilised until the money should be forthcoming to add to the dormitories1 and enable the committee to fulfil the purpose that it had in view4 ,in the large square-paved playground forty happy little members of the infant-school were marching to the slow music of a nursery song2 and the numbers on the books were #aif1 in addition to #cjd girls who came daily to be instructed in the great school-room1 where they were taught to read1 and write1 and sew4 ,a hundred and twenty boys were also being taught in the ,ragged ,church opposite1 while seventy children over fifteen years of age attended evening classes1 forty-two young men and women were in the ,bible class1 and a penny bank1 a library of books1 and a benevolent fund for the relief of poor children in the neighbourhood1 were branches of the parent institution4 ,this1 however1 was seven years ago1 and since that time so greatly has the work flourished1 that the ,ragged and ,infant ,schools have premises of their own on the other side of the way2 and the great building having been completed by the addition of an entire wing1 its original purpose is accomplished1 and it is ,the ,girl's ,refuge1 of the ,king ,edward ,certified ,industrial and ,ragged ,schools1 ,albert ,street1 ,spitalfields4 ,it is to the receipt of munificent anonymous donations that the committee owe the completion of the building1 and in order to extend the usefulness of their ,refuge they have certified it under the provisions of the ,industrial ,schools ,act of #ahff4 ,that this was in accordance with their ruling principle of making the most of every advantage at their command may be shown by the fact that when the ,school ,board1 almost appalled at the need for making immediate use of any existing organization1 began to send cases to existing ,homes1 only eight of these institutions could receive the children1 and in these eight no more than forty-four vacancies existed for ,protestant girls4 ,the consequence of opening the ,king ,edward ,refuge under the ,act was that it received nearly all the cases of the year1 and that in the twelve months it was certified ninety new inmates after found an asylum within its walls4 ,if you were to go there with me to-day1 you would not wonder that the supporters of this institution were anxious to erect another building in some part of ,london1 where another hundred lambs straying in this great wilderness could be taken to the fold4 ,passing through the neat dormitories1 with their rows of clean white beds2 peeping into the big toy cupboard1 where the kindly treasurer has recently placed a whole family of eighty dolls1 and other attractive inventions to induce children to play1 some of whom have never known before what play really meant2 looking at the lavatory with its long rows of basins let into slate slabs1 and each with its towel and clean bag for brush and comb2 noting the quiet ,infirmary1 with its two or three beds so seldom needed1 and remarking that from topmost floor to the great laundry with its troughs and tubs1 a constant supply of hot water provides alike for warmth and cleanliness1 ,i begin to wonder what must be the first sensations of a poor little dazed homeless wanderer on being admitted1 washed1 fed1 and neatly clothed4 ,why1 the two kitchens--that one with the big range1 where most of the cooking is done1 and the other cosy farmhouse-looking nook1 with its air of comfort--must be a revelation to all the senses at once4 ,then there are the highly-coloured prints on the walls1 the singing of the grace before meat2 the regular and wholesome food2 the discipline 7one little rebel is already in bed1 whither she has been sent for misconduct1 and an elder girl demurely brings up her slice of bread and mug of milk and water on a plate72 the provision for recreation2 the occasional visits of parents 7many of them unworthy of the name7 at stated seasons2 the outings to the park1 the ,bethnal ,green ,museum1 and other places2 the ,christmas treat2 the summer presents of great baskets of fruit2 the rewards and prizes2 the daily instruction in such domestic work as fits them for becoming useful household servants4 ,what a wonderful change must all these things present to the children of the streets1 whose short lives have often been less cared for than those of the beasts that perish6 ,everywhere there are marks of order1 from the neat wire baskets at the foot of each bed in which the girls place their folded clothes before retiring to rest1 to the wardrobe closets and the great trays of stale bread and butter just ready for tea4 ,everywhere there are evidences of care and loving kindness1 from the invalid wheel-chair--the gift of the treasurer to the infirmary--to the splendid quality of the long kidney potatoes in the bucket1 where they are awaiting the arrival of to-morrow's roast mutton1 three days being meat dinner days1 while one is a bread and cheese1 and two are farinaceous pudding days4 ,as we sit here and sip our tea--for ,i am invited to tea with the committee--and are waited on by three neat and pretty modest little women--one of them1 a girl of eight1 so full of child-like grace and simplicity1 that there would be some danger of her being spoiled if she were not quite used to a little petting--who can help looking at the inmates now assembling quite quietly at the other end of the room1 and thinking that in some of those faces their angels1 long invisible because of neglect and wrong1 are once more looking through1 calm1 happy1 and with a hope that maketh not ashamed4 ,do you see that still rather sullen-looking girl of thirteen4 ,she came here an incorrigible young thief--her father1 a tanner's labourer1 and out at work from five in the morning--her mother bedridden--her home was the streets--her companions a gang of juvenile thieves such as haunt ,bermondsey1 and make an offshoot of the population of a place till recently called ,little ,hell4 ,that girl1 aged ten1 was sent out to beg and to sing songs1 and was an adept in the art of pretending to have lost money4 ,there is the daughter of a crossing-sweeper1 who cut his throat1 and yonder a child of nine1 driven from home1 and charged with stealing1 as her sister also is1 in another ,refuge2 and close by are two girls1 also sisters1 who were found fatherless and destitute1 wandering about famishing and homeless1 except for a wretched room1 with nothing in it but two heaps of foul straw4 ,i need not multiply cases3 and but for the known power of love and true human interest1 in which the very ,divine love is incarnated1 you would wonder where some of these children obtained their quiet docile manner1 their fearless but modest demeanour1 their bright1 quiet1 sweet faces4 ,one case only let me mention1 and we will go quietly away1 to think of what may be done in such a place by the discipline of this love and true ,christian interest4 ,do you see that emaciated little creature--the pale1 pinched shadow of a child sitting at a table1 where some of her companions tend her very gently8 ,she is the daughter of a woman who is an incorrigible beggar4 ,she has never known a home1 and for four out of her eight years of life has been dragged about the street an infant mendicant2 has slept in common lodging-houses2 and in her awful experience could have told of thieves' kitchens1 of low taverns1 and of the customs of those vile haunts where she had learnt the language of obscenity and depravity4 ,but that has become a hideous1 almost forgotten dream1 and she is about to awaken to a reality in a world to which the present tenderness with which she is cared for is but the lowest threshold4 ,it is only a question of a month or two perhaps4 ,one more bright sunny holiday with her schoolmates in the pleasant garden of the treasurer1 at ,highgate--whither they all go for a whole happy day in the summer--and she will be in the very land of light before the next haytime comes round4 ,she wants for nothing--wine and fruit and delicate fare are sent for her by kind sympathetic hands2 but she is wearing away1 not with pain1 but with the exhaustion of vital power1 through the privations of the streets4 ,from the ,refuge she will go home--a lost lamb found1 and carried to the eternal fold4 ,but another building has been found2 a large1 old-fashioned mansion in ,st4 ,andrew's ,road1 close to the ,canal ,bridge at ,cambridge ,heath1 and there the more advanced inmates of this original home in ,spitalfields are to be drafted into classes whence they will go to take a worthy part in the work of the world1 so soon as the necessary subscriptions enable the committee to increase the number of lambs rescued from the wolves of famine and of crime4 ,,with ,,the ,,sick4 ,the memory of the pleasant summer holiday remains with many of us when we have come back again to the duties of the work-a-day world1 and it will be good for us all if the gentle thoughts which that time of enjoyment brought with it remain in our hearts1 to brighten our daily lives by the influences that suggest a merciful and forbearing temper4 ,it is perhaps remarkable that few of the charitable institutions at places to which holiday-makers resort are to any commensurate extent benefited by the contributions of those visitors who1 while they are engaged in pursuing their own pleasures1 seldom give themselves time to think that as they have freely received so they should freely give4 ,considering that while we are engaged in the absorbing business of money-making1 or in the exacting engagements of our daily calling1 we can afford little time for the investigation of those claims which are made upon us to help the poor and the needy1 it might not altogether detract from the higher enjoyment of a period of leisure if we devoted a few spare hours to inquiring what is being effected for the relief of suffering in any place wherein we take up our temporary abode4 ,with some such reflection as this ,i stand to-day on the spot which to ordinary ,londoners is most thoroughly representative of the summer outing1 without which no true ,cockney can feel that he is content--a spot1 too1 which has become1 for a large number of ,english men and women1 and notably for a whole host of ,english children1 the synonym for renewed health and strength--the head of ,margate jetty4 ,it is a strange contrast1 this moving crowd of people1 with their bright dresses and gay ribbons fluttering in the breeze2 the smiling faces of girls and women amidst a toss and tangle of sea-blown tresses2 the green sparkle of the sea beneath the shining sky2 the voices of sailors1 the shrill laughter of boys and girls coming from the sands below2 the gleam of white sails2 the flitting wings of fisher-birds2 the gay tumult of the ,high ,street2 the traffic of hucksters of shells and toys--a strange contrast to the scene which may be witnessed in and around that large building which we passed only yesterday as the ,margate boat stood off from ,birchington1 and passengers began to collect coats and bags and umbrellas as they saw friends awaiting them on the landing-stage of this very jetty4 ,it seems a week ago2 and just as these few hours seem to have separated us far from yesterday's work1 and the routine of daily life1 does the short distance along the ,high ,street and past the railway station seem to separate us by an indefinite distance from the sickness and pain that is yet in reality so near4 ,even as we think of it in this way1 the division is less marked1 the contrast not so strange1 for in that building ,faith1 ,hope1 and ,charity find expression1 and bring a cheerful radiance to those who need the care of skilful hands and the sympathy of loving hearts4 ,the name of the place is known all over ,england1 for within its walls are assembled patients who are brought from the great towns of different shires1 as well as from mighty ,london itself1 that they may be healed of that dread malady1 the most potent cure for which is to take them from the close and impure atmosphere of their crowded homes1 and exchange the stifled breath of courts and alleys for the boundless ther of the sea4 ,for the building1 to visit which ,i am here to-day1 is the ,royal ,sea-,bathing ,infirmary1 or ,national ,hospital for the ,scrofulous ,poor1 near ,margate1 and there are at this moment #bbj men1 women1 and children within its sheltering wards4 ,stay--let me be accurate4 ,i said within its wards2 but here1 as ,i pass the gates and the unpretentious house of the resident surgeon to the broad sea front of the building1 ,i note that under the protecting screen of the wall that bounds the wide space of grass-plot and gravel-paths a row of beds are placed1 and in each of them a patient lies basking in the warm sunlit air2 while a little band of convalescents saunter gently1 some of them with the aid of crutch or stick1 with the enjoyment of a sense of returning strength4 ,if ,i mistake not1 there are two or three ,bath chairs crunching the gravel paths a little further on1 and down below upon the space marked out and separated from the outer world upon the beach1 the two bathing-machines of the establishment are occupied by those for whom convalescence is growing into health4#c ,the full meaning of such a change can only be realised by those who know how terrible a disease scrofula becomes1 not only in the deadly insidious form of consumption1 but in the various deformities and distortions of the limbs of which it is the cause2 and in those cases where1 to the pain and depression of the disorder itself is added some terrible affection of the skin1 which the sensitive patient knows can scarcely fail to be repulsive to those who witness it1 unless1 indeed they have learnt to regard it only as a reason for deeper compassion and for more earnest consolation4 ,almost every form of the disorder is to be seen out here in the wide northern area of this inclusive building1 which has long ago been bought and paid for1 along with the three acres of freehold ground on which it stands4 ,of the deep sympathy with which it has been supported by those who early learned to take an interest in its beneficent work1 the fountain which has been erected in the centre of the green to the memory of the late ,rev4 ,john ,hodgson1 one of its trustees1 is a mute witness4 ,mr4 ,hodgson laboured earnestly to secure those casual interests which might be obtained from the vast number of persons who visit ,margate every year4 ,in order to make the most of small regular contributions1 he appealed for five shillings a year1 and since his death in #ahgj this fund has increased1 so that in one year nearly #f1jjj subscribers had contributed #a1dje #gs4 #d;d4 ,never was holiday charity more appropriately applied1 as anybody who will visit the institution itself may witness in those long wards beyond the open passage1 to which the card of ,dr4 ,rowe1 one of the three visiting surgeons1 has directed me4 ,since the first establishment of the institution1 seventy-seven years ago1 when sixteen cases were treated as a beginning1 above #bi1jjj patients1 from ,london and all parts of the country1 have received relief2 and to-day the number in the institution 7taking no account of a contingent of out-patients7 includes #db men1 #ej women1 and #abj children1 none of whom are local cases1 but all from other parts of ,england1 whence they come frequently from a long distance4 ,in each of the six wards1 of which four are on the ground floor1 there is a head-nurse and an assistant1 with six helpers for the children's1 and four for the adult department1 beside the night nurses1 who sit up in case of any emergency4 ,there is accommodation for #bej sufferers and for the #dj nurses1 attendants1 and domestics required for the service of the hospital2 so the #bbj patients there now1 represent the approaching period when a new wing will have to be added1 even if only the urgent cases are to be admitted4 ,the year's list of occupants of the #bej beds shows a total of #gba patients1 of whom #fad had been discharged in ,january1 #cii being either cured or very greatly benefited1 #aga decidedly benefited1 and only #dd obviously uncured2 a very large amount of actual gain to humanity1 when we reflect on the conditions of the disease to remedy which the institution is devoted4 ,if out of #gba cases #cii are either cured or have received such marked benefit as to render their ultimate cure highly probable1 it is an achievement worthy of the earnest work of which it is the result1 a contribution to beneficent efforts well worth the #g1iff which has necessarily been expended in the provision1 not only of the appliances which give comfort and rest1 but of the generous food and drink which1 with the glorious air from the sea1 is the medicine necessary to build up the feeble frames and renew the impoverished blood of those to whom meal-times come to be welcome events in the day1 instead of merely languid observances4 ,down in the kitchen1 with its great cooking range and its capacious boilers1 there are evidences of that full diet which is characteristic of the place2 and it is difficult to decide which are the most suggestive1 the long row of covered japanned jugs which hang conveniently to the dresser-shelf1 and are used for the conveyance of gravy1 or the mighty milk-cans standing in a corner1 ready to be taken away when the evening supply comes in from the ,kentish dairies4 ,half a pound of cooked meat for dinner is the daily allowance for each man and for every boy over fourteen years of age1 while women and girls receive six ounces1 and children four ounces4 ,breakfast consists of coffee and bread-and-butter1 varied in the afternoon by tea1 and supper of bread and cheese for adults1 and bread and butter for children4 ,roast and boiled meat is served on alternate days1 with accompanying vegetables1 and there are three pudding days for those who can manage this addition to the fare2 while every man and woman may have a pint of porter1 and each child a pint of table ale1 at the discretion of the doctors4 ,this1 of course1 represents the ordinary diet1 in which specific differences are made for special cases where other or daintier food is required4 ,perhaps ,i should have said that this is the scale adopted in the refectory1 a large airy room1 to the long table in which the patients who are able to get about are now advancing with a cheerful premonition of dinner4 ,there is no space to spare1 and there are at present no funds to spend in additional building1 so that this great airy refectory is used as chapel and assembly room4 ,the ,bread of ,life1 as well as the temporal bread1 is distributed here2 and those who would object to the necessity may either contribute to build another room1 or may come and learn how every meal in such a place1 and for such a cause as this1 should become a sacrament4 ,many varieties of the forms taken by scrofulous disease may be seen here2 and yet the hopeful looks1 the cheerful influence of the bright summer weather1 the green glimpses of the sea through doors and windows1 and the fresh bracing air1 impart to these sufferers an expressive lively briskness1 which somehow removes the more painful impressions with which we might expect to witness such an assembly4 ,it is so perhaps in a still greater measure in these large airy wards1 where children sit or lie upon the beds1 some of them wholly or partially dressed1 where the disease has produced only deformities under surgical treatment1 or such forms of skin disease as affect the face4 ,of the latter there are some very severe and obstinate cases1 and from these the unaccustomed visitor can scarcely help turning away1 but often only to re-turn1 and mark how cheerfully and with what a vivid alacrity the little patients move and play1 and look with eager interest on all that is going on4 ,for here--in the boys' ward--there is no repression of youthful spirits1 so that they be kept within the bounds of moderate decorum1 nor do the patients themselves seem to feel that they are objects of melancholy commiseration4 ,to speak plainly1 even the worst cases are not reminded that there are people who may be revolted at their affliction4 ,indeed ,i1 who am tolerably accustomed to many experiences that might be strange to others1 am rather taken aback by one little case1 whose face and limbs1 though apparently healed1 have been so deeply seamed and grooved by the disorder1 which must have claimed him from babyhood1 that he has evidently learned to regard himself as an important surgical specimen1 and1 on my approach to his bed1 begins with deliberate satisfaction to divest himself of his stockings1 in order to exhibit his legs4 ,hip and spinal disease are among the most frequent and often the most fatal forms of scrofula4 ,one boy1 with delicate and regular features1 his fragile hand only just able to clasp in the fingers the small present ,i am permitted to offer him1 shows the shadow of death upon his face4 ,in his case the disorder has shown itself to be beyond medical1 as it has already been beyond surgical aid1 and his short hurried breathing denotes that before the summer days have been shortened by the autumn nights1 and the leaves are lying brown and sere1 he will be in a better and a surer home1 and healed for evermore4 ,it will be a peaceful end1 no doubt1 and he will yet have strength enough to be taken home to die1 where other than strangers' hands will minister to him at the last1 but not more tenderly1 it may be1 than those that smooth his pillow to-day4 ,as we leave the boys' wards--clean1 and bright1 and fresh as they are--we encounter a cosy little party of juvenile convalescents1 who are comfortably seated on the door-mat1 engaged in a stupendous game of draughts4 ,there is more of beauty than deformity1 more of life than of death1 more perhaps of living eager interest than of sadness and sorrow to be seen here1 after all2 and this is particularly remarkable in the large-windowed spacious ward where the girls can look fairly out upon the gleaming sea4 ,properly enough1 the room occupied by these young ladies has been made more ornamental than that of the boys4 ,the walls are gay with coloured prints1 and there are flowers1 and a remarkably cheerful three-sided stove1 which gives the place an air of comfort1 though1 of course1 it has now no fire in it4 ,then some of the girls 7with those thoughtful delicate faces and large wistful inquiring eyes which are so often to be observed among lame people7 are engaged in fancy needlework as they lie dressed upon the beds to which they are at present mostly confined1 because of deformities of the feet or legs requiring surgical treatment4 ,there is a library 7which needs replenishing71 from which patients are allowed to take books2 and those children who are able to leave the wards1 and are not suffering from illness1 are taught daily by a schoolmaster and a schoolmistress1 while a visiting chaplain is of course attached to the hospital4 #c ,this was written in the latter part of ,july1 #ahgd4 ,,blessing ,,the ,,little ,,children4 ,i cannot yet leave that sea-coast where so great a multitude go to find rest and healing4 ,the ,divine ,narrative may well appeal to us in relation to such a locality1 for it was by the sea-shore that the ,gospel came to those who went out to seek ,jesus of ,nazareth2 it was there that the poor people heard ,him gladly2 there that the sick who were brought to ,him were made whole3 there that ,he fed the great company who lacked bread4 ,all the deeds of humanity were recognised by ,him who called himself the ,son of ,man4 ,the blessing of little children is one of those needs of true human life which the ,lord recognised gladly4 ,he recognises it still2 and ,his solemn mingling of warning and of promise with regard to its observance1 has an intensity that may well appeal to us all1 now that1 after eighteen centuries of comparative neglect and indifference1 we are discerning that the only hope of social redemption is to be found in that care for children which shall forbid their being left either morally or physically destitute4 ,there is a house1 standing high above the sea1 in that great breezy suburb of ,margate1 known as ,cliftonville--to which ,i want you to pay a visit when the bright1 cheerful1 airy wards1 the light1 spacious dining-room1 and comfortable1 home-like enlivening influences of the place will entitle it to be regarded as the fitting consummation of two other admirable institutions for the nurture and maintenance of orphan and fatherless children4 ,the modest little building referred to is named ,the ,convalescent and ,sea-side ,home for ,orphans1 ,harold ,road1 ,margate4 ,the parent institutions are ,the ,orphan ,working ,school1 at ,haverstock ,hill1 and that most attractive series of pretty cottages on the brow of the hill at ,hornsey ,rise1 which have been more than once spoken of as ,lilliput ,village1 but the style and title of which is ,the ,alexandra ,orphanage for ,infants--a name1 the distinguishing feature of which is that it is immediately associated with its first patroness1 the ,princess of ,wales4 ,of the ,home at ,margate ,i need not now speak particularly1 except to note that it is for the reception of the little convalescents1 who--suffering1 as many of them do1 from constitutional and hereditary weakness1 which is yet not actual sickness1 and recovering1 as many of them are1 from the feeble condition which has been to some extent remedied by the careful nurture1 good food1 and healthy regimen1 of the large institutions near ,london--are not fit patients either for their own or any other infirmary wards1 and yet require to be restored to greater strength before they can join the main body of their young companions in the school or the playground4 ,enough that it is picturesque and substantially pretty1 as becomes a place which is to become the home of thirty children1 taken from among nearly six hundred1 the parents of nearly half of whom have died of consumption1 and so left to their offspring that tendency to a feeble constitution which can be best remedied by the grand medicine of sea-air1 wholesome nutritious food1 and a judicious alternation of healthful exercise and rest4 ,it is to ,mr4 ,joseph ,soul--the late indefatigable secretary of the ,working ,school1 with which he has been connected for nearly forty years1 and the honorary secretary of the ,alexandra ,orphanage1 of which he may be regarded as the virtual founder--that the proposal to establish this ,convalescent ,home was due1 and its affairs are administered at the office of the two charities1 at #fc1 ,cheapside4 ,but it is necessary to tell as briefly as possible the story of the oldest of the two institutions of which this building is to be an accessory--not only the oldest of these two1 but probably the oldest voluntarily supported orphan asylum in ,london1 since it dates from #aaf years ago1 when ,george ,,ii4 was ,king1 when ,louis ,,xv4 was scandalising ,europe and preparing the ,revolution1 when ,wesleyan ,methodism was commencing a vast religious revival1 when ,doctor ,johnson had but just finished writing his dictionary1 and when ,william ,hogarth was painting those wonderful pictures which are still the most instructive records of society and fashion as seen in the year #ageh4 ,it was in that year1 on the #ajth of ,may1 that fourteen periwigged and powdered gentlemen met at the ,george ,inn1 in ,ironmonger ,lane1 in order to discuss how they might best found an asylum for forty orphan children--that is to say1 for twenty boys and twenty girls4 ,they soon came to a solemn decision that there was a sufficient subscription for carrying the scheme into execution1 and a record to that effect was soberly entered in the very first clean page of the first minute-book of the ,charity1 with the additional memoranda that a committee was chosen1 and a treasurer appointed to collect and take care of the money necessary to support the undertaking4 ,the early minute-books of this charity1 by the way1 are models of serious penmanship4 ,grave achievements of caligraphy1 with engrossed headings1 elaborate flourishes1 and stiff formal hedge-rows of legal verbiage1 suggestive of the fact that the secretaries were either attorneys or scriveners1 and regarded the entries in a minute-book or the opening of a new account as very weighty and important events not to be lightly passed over4 ,in this they were probably right3 and1 at all events1 just so much of the old methodical exactitude has come down to the present day in the history of the institution1 that the published accounts of the ,orphan ,working ,school have been referred to by the ,times as models of condensation with a clearness of detail1 which may be regarded as the best indication of a well-ordered and economical administration4 ,it might not be too much to say that the old principle of carrying a scheme into execution only when there are sufficient subscriptions still characterises the operations of the institution4 ,at all events1 ,mr4 ,soul had secured enough money for the completion of the new building at ,margate before the actual work commenced1 and his experience told him that funds would be forthcoming to maintain it4 ,the founders of the original ,orphan ,working ,school1 however1 laid their wigs together to obtain a house ready built1 and at last found one adapted to the purpose1 in what was then the suburban district known as ,hogsden--since gentilised into ,hoxton4 ,like all really good work1 the enterprise began to grow--there were so many orphans1 and this was still the only general asylum maintained by subscriptions--so that1 as funds came in1 two other adjoining houses were rented1 and in seventeen years the number of inmates had increased from forty to #afe4 ,reading the formal and yet most interesting records of this parent institution for the care of the orphan and the fatherless1 ,i fall into a kind of wonder at the enormous change in the method of nurture and admonition1 of teaching and training1 which has taken place in the past eighty years4 ,even in this house at ,hoxton1 whereof the founders appear to have been kindly old gentlemen1 the discipline was enormously suggestive of that stern restriction and unsympathetic treatment which was thought necessary for the due correction of the ,old ,adam in the young heart4 ,we know how great an outcry has quite lately been made at the discovery of the remains of that mode of chastisement which seems to have been abandoned almost everywhere1 except by a special revival in gaols1 and at two or three of the public schools to which the sons of gentlemen are consigned for their education4 ,the discipline at the ,orphanage at ,hogsden was cold and repellent enough1 perhaps--had very little about it to encourage the affections1 or to appeal to the loving confidence of a child--but it was less barbarous than the code which at that time found its maxim in the saying1 ,spare the rod1 spoil the child4 ,only very flagrant disobedience1 persistent lying and swearing1 were punished with public whipping4 ,but even in the case of ordinary falsehood1 a child was placed with his face to the wall at meal-time1 with a paper pinned to his back with the word ,lyar written on it1 till he was sufficiently penitent to say1 in the presence of all the rest of the children1 ,i have sinned in telling a lie4 ,i will take more care4 ,i hope ,god will forgive me4 ,the name1 ,working ,school1 was then interpreted so strictly1 that there was comparatively little margin for education4 ,arithmetic appears to have been regarded with peculiar jealousy by the founders of this institution1 who1 being perhaps bankers1 accountants1 and capitalists1 looked upon such instruction as calculated to give the poor little boys and girls notions beyond their station4 ,for ten years the teaching of figures was altogether ignored2 and it was only when some of the children1 having heard that there was a science called summing known to the outer world1 begged to be taught1 that a solemn meeting of the ,governors was called to consider the question1 when it was conceded1 after great deliberation1 and no little opposition from the anti-educational part of the ,committee1 that arithmetic should be permitted to be taught1 as far as addition4 ,thus1 to their few and rigidly ordered recreations1 their hours of manual labour in making nets1 list-carpets1 slippers1 and other cheap commodities1 to their instruction in plain reading1 and to their times for partaking of plain and even coarse food1 served in not too tempting a way1 was added the art of writing1 and of the first two rules of arithmetic4 ,this was the condition of the orphans in #agge2 but still the charity grew--grew out of house-room2 and as the funds grew also1 it was determined that it should have a building of its own1 on a plot of ground in the ,city ,road1 where1 improvements having set in1 the grand old charity moved with the march of modern improvement4 ,life became less hard1 and instruction more extended4 ,the influences of modern thought and education had superseded the old severity1 and new ,governors succeeded the bewigged and powdered founders1 who had1 after all1 so well ordered their work1 that it increased with the growth of intelligence4 ,during the seventy-two years from #agge to #ahdg1 the institution had received #a1abd orphans2 and again the dimensions of the house were unequal to the demands of the inmates2 while the house itself1 and the ground on which it stood1 had become so valuable1 that it was determined to buy a plot of land at ,haverstock ,hill1 and there to found a truly representative ,home for #bdj orphan boys and girls--a number which has now increased 7as the building itself has been extended7 till #djj orphans are taught1 fed1 and clothed in one of the most truly representative charities in all great ,london4 ,the obvious distress and suffering of those who are destitute1 and whose claims are constantly before us1 may lead us to forget the frequent needs of a large number of people who represent uncomplaining poverty4 ,there is a tendency to identify general appeals to benevolence with efforts for the relief of that extreme necessity which demands immediate and almost undiscriminating aid1 and requires the prompt distribution of alms or the provision of a meal1 warmth1 and shelter4 ,doubtless1 the actually homeless and destitute claim our first attention--especially in the case of deserted and neglected children--and ,i have tried to show what is being done for those little ones1 whose presence in the streets of this great wilderness of brick and stone should of itself be an appeal strong enough to move the heart of humanity in their behalf4 ,there is1 however1 another class of poverty1 which makes no sign1 and bears distress dumbly4 ,there is a need1 which1 without being that of actual destitution1 requires a constant struggle to prevent its representing the want of nearly all the luxuries1 and some of those things which most of us regard as the necessaries of life4 ,we find this among that large section of the middle class represented by persons holding inferior clerkships1 small official appointments1 and situations where the salaries are only sufficient to yield a bare subsistence1 and there is little or no probability of their improvement1 because1 among the number of candidates who are eager to fill such positions1 there exists a degree of distress not easily estimated1 even by the appearance of those who are the sufferers4 ,of course1 relief cannot reach such people through the poor-law1 or by any direct legislation4 ,they are far above the reach of almsgiving1 or even of societies for distributing bread and coals4 ,they have a just pride in maintaining a position of independence2 and though they may sometimes look with a feeling too near to envy at the more prosperous mechanic or the skilled artisan1 who can earn good wages1 dress in fustian or corduroy1 send his children to the ,board ,school1 and regulate working hours and weekly pay by the rules of a ,trade ,union1 they mostly keep bravely on1 hoping that as the children grow up1 they may get the boys into something1 and find some friend to help them to place the girls in situations where they may partly earn their own living4 ,with rent and taxes often absorbing a fourth part of his entire income1 with market cliques combining against him to keep up the prices of food1 with dear bread1 dear potatoes1 boots and shoes always wearing out1 and respectability demanding cloth clothes1 even though they be made of shoddy1 how is the clerk1 the employ1 the small tradesman1 the struggling professional man1 to follow the prudent counsel which wealthier people are always ready to bestow upon him--and lay by for a rainy day8 ,rainy day6 why his social climate may be said to represent a continual downpour1 so far as the necessity for pecuniary provision4 ,he lives 7so to speak7 with an umbrella always up1 and it is only a poor shift of a gingham after all4 ,the half-crown which is in his pocket to-night is already bespoken for to-morrow's dinner4 ,as he listens to the account of the week's marketing1 and knows that his wife and children have been living for three days out of seven upon little better than bread and dripping1 he feels like an ogre as he thinks of the sevenpenny plate of meat that he consumed at one o'clock1 because it was only a makeshift at home4 ,how is he to pay even the smallest premium to insure his life1 when he is obliged to meet ordinary emergencies by a visit to the pawnbroker after dark8 ,insure his life6 ,ah1 the time may come when the hand of the bread-winner is still1 when the little money left in the house is scarcely sufficient to pay for the respectable funeral which is the last effort of genteel poverty1 when the red-eyed widow gathers her fatherless children about her1 and wonders amidst her stupor of grief what is to become of the younger ones who yet so need her care that she will not be able to go forth to seek the means of living4 ,to what evil influences may they be exposed while she is absent striving to earn their daily food8--the temptations of the streets for the boys3 the certainty that the elder girls must either starve at home to mind the little ones1 or must become drudges before they have learnt more than the mere rudiments of what they should be taught4 ,it is then she feels that dread of degradation1 which is amongst the sharpest pangs of the poverty which would fain hide itself from the world4 ,it may be that the children are left a parentless little flock1 huddling together in the first dread and sorrow of the presence of death1 and the sense of utter bereavement1 and awaiting the intervention of those who are sent by the ,father of the fatherless4 ,then1 indeed1 prompt and certain help is needed--help efficient and permanent--and such aid can seldom be secured except by organised institutions4 ,but let us see to what that ,orphan ,working ,school1 established in #ageh1 has developed in #ahgd4 ,we have but to take a short journey to the foot of ,haverstock ,hill1 and there1 in that pleasant locality named ,maitland ,park1 part of which is the property of the ,institution1 we shall see the successor of the old house in ,hogsden ,fields1 while its plain but large and lofty committee room is the modern representative of the parlour of the ,george ,inn1 ,ironmonger ,lane1 where plans were first laid for the maintenance of forty orphan children4 ,this wide and lofty building1 with its handsome front entrance and its less imposing side gate in the wing1 is the home for nearly three hundred boys1 and nearly two hundred girls1 when its funds are sufficient to keep each of the long rows of neat beds in the great airy wards appropriated to a little sleeper4 ,i mention the dormitories first1 because both on the girls' and on the boys' side of the building these are illustrative of the complete orderliness and excellent management of the ,institution--illustrative of what should always be the first consideration1 namely1 to bring comfort to the child's nature1 to join to necessary discipline a sense of real freedom and happy youthful confidence without dread of repression and the constant looking for of punishment4 ,as to the appliances that belong to the building1 they are such as might almost raise a doubt in some prejudiced minds whether we are not doing too much for children in the present day1 and thinking too constantly of their comfort4 ,but1 alas6 it needs many compensations to make up for the loss of parents2 and in any such an ,institution where1 #djj children form the great family1 the arrangements must be on a large scale1 so that it is only a matter of experienced forethought to combine a generous liberality with the truest economy4 ,thus1 there are baths1 and long well-ordered lavatories1 to each wing1 even to a large plunge bath for each side2 and there is a great laundry1 where the girls are taught to wash1 clear-starch1 and iron1 not in the regular patent steam-heated troughs only1 but in genuine homely tubs4 ,there is a great handsome dining-hall1 with a painted ceiling1 wherein the vast troop of quiet1 orderly1 and happy-faced children sit down to well-cooked wholesome meals of meat and pudding4 ,there are two great school-rooms1 one divided into class-rooms for the girls1 and another wherein the boys assemble to be taught1 not in the narrow spirit of the first directors of the old building in the ,city ,road1 but with a full appreciation of the duty of giving these young minds and hearts full opportunity to expand4 ,next to the admirable evidences of family comfort1 and bright domestic influences1 which pervade this place1 we may regard the efficient education of the children as the truest sign of its liberal and enlightened management4 ,not only the three ,r's to the extent of practised elocution1 caligraphy worthy of the old minute books of the first scrivening secretaries1 and the lower mathematics1--but history1 geography1 the elements of physical science1 ,french1 drawing1 and vocal music1 are among the subjects thoroughly studied4 ,it only needs a perusal of the reports of the educational inspectors and examiners to see that the work of this great hive goes on healthily4 ,the boys have already achieved a great position in taking ,government prizes for drawing at ,south ,kensington2 and the girls are celebrated for their beautiful needlework4 ,there is but little time to walk through all the departments of this great home--the kitchens with their spacious larders1 and store-rooms1 and mighty cooking apparatus2 the great airy playgrounds2 the large and handsome room used as a chapel 7for those who do not go out to evening service71 and containing its convenient reading desk1 and sweet-toned organ4 ,let us not forget1 however1 that many of the things which add so vastly to the beauty and completeness of the building and its various departments are themselves gifts from loving and appreciative supporters of the ,institution4 ,but we are due at that ,lilliput village on the brow of ,hornsey ,rise--that series of cottage homes1 where1 on each lower and upper storey1 with their exquisitely clean nursery cots and cradles1 and their tiny furniture1 a neat nurse is to be seen like a fairy godmother1 with a family of chubby babies1 or a more advanced charge of infants able to run like squirrels round the covered playground or to spend the regulation hours in that great glorious school-room1 where learning is turned into recreation1 and lessons are made vocal1 gymnastic1 zoological1 picturesque1 or even fictional1 as the times and circumstances may dictate4 ,the ,alexandra ,orphanage for ,infants has become so well-known amidst the numerous institutions which have been established for the care of the orphans and the fatherless1 that one might think it would be full of eager admirers who on visiting days go to see the two or three hundred4 ,why are not all the cottages full1 and each little toy bedstead complete with its rosy1 tiny sleeper1 who1 from earliest infancy to the maturer age of eight years form the assembly for which ,mr4 ,soul set himself to provide by public appeal8 ,these1 then1 are the two institutions to which that modest little convalescent home in ,harold ,street1 ,margate1 is a worthy appanage1 and they may well find support among those whose maxim it is to do with all their might what their hands find wants doing4 ,,with ,,them ,,that ,,faint ,,by ,,the ,,way4 ,there are perhaps few conditions demanding greater sympathy and more ready aid than that of poor women who1 from temporary sickness or the weariness that comes of hope deferred1 are unable to follow the employments1 often precarious and yielding a bare subsistence1 by which they strive to be independent of charitable aid4 ,it is only those who know to what extremities of need they will submit for shame of making their poverty known1 and what mental suffering they will endure as they find their scanty savings dwindling day by day1 and their few household goods1 or even their clothing1 and the little family mementoes1 which they can only part with as a last resource1 going piece by piece1 who can fully realise all that is meant by the genteel phrase1 very reduced circumstances1 as applied to women of refined feelings1 and frequently of gentle nurture1 who find themselves without the means of obtaining necessary food and medical care when health and strength give way1 and they can no longer work at those few callings by which they can earn enough to enable them to avoid a dreaded application to friends4 ,quite lately1 the subject of some kind of provision for poor governesses who are sick1 or have to subsist during long holidays on the small balance of their quarterly wages1 has occupied public attention1 and it would be well indeed if means could be found for giving the healthy temporary employment1 and the weakly a quiet home where their strength might be restored without the sacrifice of independence4 ,there are others1 however1 for which such help is equally needed--the dressmaker1 or the shop-woman1 on whom long hours of tedious and often of exhausting toil in an unhealthy atmosphere1 has begun to tell too severely2 the servant of good character and respectable habits1 who is not so ill as to be admitted to a hospital1 and yet is breaking down in strength1 and regards with dread the necessity for going into some obscure lodging1 where her surplusage of wages will barely pay for rent and food during two or three weeks enforced idleness2 the girl who has learnt some ill-paid business1 which affords her no more than a mere contribution to the family funds1 and leaves no margin for extra food or medicine1 or the fresh air that is as important as either4 ,any careful observer standing at the door of a general hospital1 and watching the throng of out-patients waiting wearily to see the doctor1 will be able to distinguish a score of cases for which a temporary rest with wholesome food and the sympathy and loving-kindness that refresh the soul would bring true healing4 ,no large establishment in the nature of a hospital or a refuge affords the kind of help for such distress as theirs4 ,they cannot be dealt with as occupants of wards2 for they have either recovered from the actual crisis of some serious disorder1 or are pining in a depressed condition to which no definite name can be given to classify it for admission to any public establishment for the cure of disease4 ,to many of them the idea of entering a large charitable refuge--and ,i know of none in ,london adapted to such needs as theirs--would be repulsive1 as suggesting that horror with which persons even of a lower grade regard the union workhouse2 what they need is a temporary home1 and if ever the time should come when a well-supported scheme for such a provision should be adopted1 it will have to take the form of what is now known as the cottage system4 ,indeed1 in hospitals1 as well as in other large charitable institutions1 the defects of the old plan of maintaining a great number of adult persons in one vast building have been recognised4 ,the immense ward with its long rows of beds1 the divided and necessarily confusing duties of attendants1 the ill-served meals at a great dinner-table where there is no possibility of escaping from a too rigid routine1 the depressing1 not to say degrading1 influence1 resulting from the loss of individuality1 would make any vast institution for convalescents or invalids far less effectual in its operation4 ,i make this reference only with regard to the probable inauguration of homes for invalid women in or near ,london1 and because ,i have just visited one1 which1 although it is not on the cottage system1 but is established in a rare old mansion of the period of ,queen ,anne1 has yet the happy characteristic of being a family whose scanty means is largely increased by loving gifts1 instead of an institution every corner of which bears a reminder that it is supported by charity4 ,in the pleasant airy ,high ,street of ,stoke ,newington1 and within a stone's throw of the famous ,cedar ,walk of ,abney ,park--that locality made famous by the prolonged visit of ,dr4 ,watts1 who went to spend a week with ,sir ,thomas ,abney1 and remained for the rest of his long blameless life the honoured guest of the family--is the house ,i speak of1 ,the ,invalid ,asylum for ,respectable ,females in ,london and its ,vicinity1 superintended by a ladies' committee1 and with weekly visitors1 and a matron to carry on the practical work of the executive4 ,there is nothing remarkably picturesque1 nothing very striking about this home for thirty respectable invalid women employed in dependent situations1 to whom it affords a temporary asylum1 widely differing from the crowded receptacles for the sick in the metropolis4 ,one of its peculiarities is1 that the purity of the family circle is maintained1 by the fact that no patient is admitted without a certificate of conduct signed by two housekeepers or by an employer1 while her case is also recommended by an annual subscriber or life governor2 and there is a sense of repose and quiet confidence about the inmates which is particularly suggestive of the care taken to recognise their individual claims1 and the interest which is manifested in them during the time of their sojourn4 ,this very quietude and sense of rest1 and gradual renewal of health and strength in a serene retreat is1 in fact1 the feature which attracts my attention4 ,it is not too much to say that ,i am ready to attribute much of such influences to the fact that the institution was originally established by ladies representing the unobtrusive beneficent work of the ,society of ,friends1 and that the order and peace which is its delightful characteristic1 may in a great measure be traced to that foundation4 ,at any rate1 these qualifications so identify it that ,i feel justified in regarding it to some extent as a worthy example of the method to be adopted in any institution1 which1 without being altogether a free charity1 takes only such a small sum from the patient or her friends as suffices to keep away the degrading feeling of pauperism1 or of utter dependence on the bounty of strangers4 ,it is true that the principal life-governorships include the privilege of sending entirely gratuitous patients1 but in ordinary cases the annual subscriber of a guinea recommends the case1 and when the patient is admitted1 the sum of twenty shillings is received for the month's medical attendance1 lodging1 and full board1 including tea and sugar1 for a time not exeeding one month1 after which1 should the case require a longer stay1 the ticket must be renewed by the same or another subscriber1 on the further payment of twenty shillings4 ,if the patient be in the employment of the subscriber1 the payment of this sum will suffice1 without the renewal ticket1 an arrangement which should commend the institution to every benevolent employer of female labour4 ,it need hardly be said that no cases of infectious disease are admitted1 and that every applicant is examined by the medical attendant4 ,no patient is admitted who is not above ten years of age2 and neither private cookery1 nor the introduction of spirituous liquors by visitors1 is permitted1 any more than gratuities to servants of the ,institution4 ,it may be remarked that though a large number of cases are received during each year1 the very fact of contributions being made by the patients themselves1 who are thus relieved from the sense of utter dependence1 appears to have prevented the ,institution from receiving as large a degree of public support as it might command if it were an ordinary charity4 ,this is to be lamented1 for the ,institution is1 after all1 less a hospital than a temporary home1 and it appeals on behalf of a peculiar form of distress1 the claims of which are of a specific and none the less of a very urgent character4 ,but in order to realise the kind of work that is most needed1 and is here being accomplished1 let us pay a visit to the house itself4 ,we have been hitherto standing on the broad flight of steps inside the tall iron gates1 and have hesitated to sully their hearthstone purity1 for it is ,saturday1 and we may well have an inconvenient sense that the short hand of the clock is already close to the dinner-time of the institution4 ,with a long experience of paying unexpected visits1 ,i am prepared to encounter remonstrance1 even though it only take the form of a critical glance at my boots as a means of possible maculation of the newly-cleaned hall and passages4 ,conscious of having judiciously employed a member of the shoe-black brigade1 ,i can endure this scrutiny1 and1 with a few words of explanation1 am conducted1 by the matron herself1 over the grand old house1 whose broad staircase and elaborately carved balusters of black oak at once attest not only its antiquity but also its aristocracy4 ,i have already said that there is nothing here on which to found a picturesque description1 and yet the air of repose1 the sense of almost spotless cleanliness1 the freshness of the large lofty rooms containing from three to five or six comfortable beds with their snowy counterpanes1 the general order and pleasant seclusion1 are remarkably suggestive of the intention of the place4 ,two of the patients1 to whom ,i make my respects1 are not yet sufficiently recovered to join the daily dinner-party in the neat dining-room4 ,one of them1 an elderly lady1 who has only just been brought here1 is slowly recovering from very severe illness1 and cannot even sit up in the bed1 whence she regards me with an expression which seems to intimate that she has reached a haven of rest4 ,her companion1 a young woman--also in bed in the same room--is sitting very upright1 cheerfully engaged in some problem of needlework1 and responds with a hopeful smile to the declaration of the matron1 that they mean to make a woman of her if she is good4 ,close to this room is the neat lavatory with its bath1 supplied with hot and cold water1 and on the landing ,i note another bath1 on wheels1 for use in any part of the house where it may be required4 ,all the accessories are home-like2 and in the invalid sitting-room1 on an upper storey1 where two convalescents1 not yet able to get downstairs1 greet me from a pair of easy chairs1 there is the same pervading influence which distinguishes the house from those large institutions where everything is characterised by a depressing mechanical dead level4 ,the library--a pleasant cheerful room--is in course of refurnishing2 and ,i am glad to learn that our best known periodicals find a place there1 while the stock of books1 either gifts or loans1 are likely soon to be replenished1 a matter wherein extra aid would be appreciated1 and could readily be afforded by those who have volumes to spare4 ,already the cloth is laid in the dining-room1 and dinner itself consists of hot meat with the usual accessories every day1 except on ,sundays1 when there is a cold dinner1 while1 of course1 the invalids who are ordered medical diet have fish1 custards1 or other delicate fare specially provided4 ,each patient has a pint of ale or beer daily1 and wine as a remedial stimulant1 according to the doctor's orders4 ,there is just time before dinner is served to walk through the room into the grand old garden which extends from a pleasant sheltered lawn and flower-garden1 with a glorious fig-tree in full leaf and fruit against the sunny wall1 to a great kitchen-garden and orchard1 with a wealth of fruit and vegetables 7and notably a venerable and prolific mulberry tree71 and extending in a pleasant vista of autumn leaves4 ,on the other side of the high wall is the ,cedar ,walk already mentioned2 and the whole place is so still and balmy on this autumnal day1 that we may go away with a very distinct appreciation of the rest and peace which1 with regular nutritious food1 rest1 and medicine1 may bring restoration to the physical health1 just as the hopeful ministrations of good and pious women who visit the home daily may bring a sense of peace and comfort to many a weary spirit and burdened heart4 ,,in ,,the ,,valley ,,of ,,the ,,shadow ,,of ,,death4 ,there are some of whom we might be ready to say1 they dwell in that valley2--that the shadow of death lies darkling before them1 constantly enwrapping them1--enshrouding them in gloom4 ,we are accustomed to think so of persons suffering from what we call incurable diseases1 some of which are painful1 occasionally agonising1 others susceptible of relief from the suffering that attends them4 ,we are so apt to forget that we are every one of us incurable4 ,though we may not at present be aware of the disease that will bear us farther and farther into that valley1 where the wings of the great angel1 so seeming dark as to overshadow all things1 may yet be revealed to us as glowing with the brightness of the light which our unaccustomed eyes cannot behold1 we are none the less certain to succumb to it4 ,it may be that some of us will live to be conscious of no other than the most fatal of all diseases--because no mortal cure has been or ever will be found for it--incurable old age4 ,there have been those who lived long enough to look calmly at the slowly lengthening shadow in the valley1 and almost to wonder if ,death had forgotten and were departing from them1 leaving only the black trail behind2 but the time at last came1 perhaps when they had learnt to see more than shadow1 to catch the glint of the heavenly glory beyond4 ,it is a happy thought that many poor afflicted children of ,god have seen this too1 and continue to see it daily1 although1 like ,st4 ,paul1 they also die daily4 ,it is comforting to believe that many who know what their disease is--who are pronounced to be hopelessly incurable in a rather different sense to that in which we may all be declared to be hopelessly incurable also--do not dwell perpetually in the ,valley of the ,shadow4 ,christ has come to them and taken them out of it1 that even in this life1 where ,he is they may be also1 secure in the love of the ,father1 having already1 if one may so speak1 overcome death through ,him who is the ,resurrection and the ,life4 ,the great1 the essential difference between these sufferers and the rest of mankind is that they are almost always conscious of the disease which is incurable because of its accompanying pain1 and that they are disqualified for many of the ordinary uses1 and also most of the ordinary enjoyments of life4 ,perhaps the chief poignant sense of their condition is that they are no longer capable of fulfilling the ordinary duties of life either4 ,they must be dependent always2 and to many souls the suspicion that they may live only to be a burden on others1 to take instead of giving1 to lean upon instead of supporting1 is itself almost intolerable1 until they learn to look higher1 and acknowledge that not only all the things of the world1 but we ourselves1 they and theirs1 belong to ,god1 and that life and death1 height and depth1 principalities and powers1 are but ,his creatures1 incapable of separating us from ,his love4 ,the same reflection1 coupled with that of our own incurability and our own constant liability to be stricken down with hopeless and painful malady1 should surely lead us to recognise the duty of helping some among the thousands who have not only lost health1 but with it the means of maintaining life1 and1 more sadly still1 the hope of restoration to former strength1 or even temporary recovery4 ,i have already spoken of the work done by convalescent homes and hospitals2 but there are those who1 being sick unto death1 yet do not soon die--those who must be discharged from hospitals uncured1 in order to make room for the curable1 and who1 unable to work1 unaccustomed to beg1 and almost ready to meet death itself rather than sink into sordid abject pauperism1 know not whither to turn in their dire necessity4 ,it was to aid these that an appeal was written twenty years ago1 asking for funds to establish an institution for the reception of those suffering from hopeless disease4 ,it is to see what has been the result of that appeal that ,i visit the ,royal ,hospital for ,incurables at ,putney ,heath to-day4 ,it was in #ahed that ,doctor ,andrew ,reed--to whose indicating hand we are indebted for the installation of many of our noblest charities--made an urgent appeal on behalf of those who1 being discharged as incurable from various hospitals1 were left helpless1 and often destitute1 since1 amidst all the institutions which beneficence had founded1 there was none to which they could prefer a claim4 ,let us see what has been done in twenty years to alleviate what might seem to be almost hopeless suffering4 ,let us1 coming face to face with the mystery of pain1 and looking as it were from afar on that dark shadow which yet always lies so near to every one of us1 note how in the heart of the mystery there is hidden a joyful hope for humanity1 how in the very shadow of death there is a light that never yet has shone on land or sea4 ,it is a still autumnal day1 and1 as we turn up the wooded lane on the left of the hill leading from the ,putney ,railway ,station to ,wimbledon1 a tender gleam in the grey clouds betokens coming rainfall4 ,a light1 hanging drift descends upon the distant hills1 and breaks into pale vaporous shapes amidst the wooded slopes and valleys4 ,the yellow leaves that strew the ground lie motionless1 as though they waited for their late companions to fall gently from the branches overhead and join their silent company4 ,coming into a broader roadway1 and passing through the gate of a lodge1 we come almost suddenly upon a glorious sloping lawn1 adorned with goodly trees1 worthy of the great building--meant for a ducal residence1 and now put to nobler uses--which1 for all its stately look1 has about it a home-likeness that is full of promise4 ,even the matchless landscape lying around it--the expanse of wood and dale1 the soft slopes of ,surrey hills1 the deep-embowered glades where the bronze-and-gold of moving tree-tops takes a changeful sheen from slowly-drifting clouds1 or reflects strange gleams of colour from the glistening silver of the rain--will not hold us from the nearer glow of windows bright with flowers1 which give a festal look to the place1 although it is so quiet that we stand and imagine for a moment what it is that we have come to see4 ,for this great mansion1 with its long rows of windows and wide-spreading wings1 is the home of a hundred and fifty-four men and women1 some of whom have been suddenly stricken down1 others having slowly fallen day by day into a condition of incurable disease1 and1 in many cases1 also into a condition of utter bodily helplessness4 ,they1 and the attendants whose constant kindly services are essential for their relief1 constitute the family of what is known1 plainly enough1 as ,the ,royal ,hospital for ,incurables4 ,there are no distinctions among its members1 though in their previous lives they have belonged to various grades--no distinctions1 at least1 except those which arise from personal qualifications4 ,the claim for election to the benefits of the charity is the necessity which is implied in the name of the institution itself3 and once within its sheltering walls the patients1 whose failing eyes brighten1 and whose wan cheeks flush with every loving mention of it as their home1 are all alike sharers in its benefits4 ,not only the #aed at present within its walls1 however1 but #cbg of those who1 having family and friends with whom to dwell1 receive pensions of #bj a year each1 and so cease to be a heavy burden to others4 ,do you think at first sight1 and from the external appearance of the building1 that charity here has gone beyond precedent in providing such a place--a palatial pile standing amidst scenery that one might well come far to see8 ,remember what is the need of those who have to be lifted out of the dark1 hopeless depths of what is almost despair2 of those who1 finding themselves banished from hospital wards1 unable to earn their bread1 feeling themselves a burden upon those for whom they would almost consent to die rather than live upon their poverty2 of those who1 in the midst of hourly pain1 have the mental anguish of knowing that the long calendar of darkening days may find them utterly dependent on the toil of others most dear to them1 and whose few expedients can bring little ease1 and will not serve to hide the ever-present sense of disappointment and distress4 ,think how much wealth is wasted daily in the world1 and what a small part of it suffices to lighten by every available means the burden of such lives as these2 the sorrow of those who1 in the dreadful deprivation of what to us seems almost all that makes life dear1 have no resource between that provided for them in such a place as this and the infirmary-ward of a workhouse1 amidst sordid surroundings and the hard1 mechanical1 unfeeling officialism which in such cases is little more than organised neglect4 ,there are people who would reduce all charitable institutions--yes1 even such as this1 of which living personal interest and the care that comes of more than merely casual benevolence are the very foundation and corner-stone--to a dead level of official rule1 in which benevolence should be represented by a mechanical department1 and the sentiment of charity by a self-elected board of control1 dealing with public subscriptions as though they were a poor-rate1 and recognising neither individual interest nor the right of contributors to give it expression4 ,such a system would lack the very qualification most needed here1 and to be found only in that voluntary personal interest that brings to the recipients of bounty more than the mere bounty itself1 the heart-throb of sympathy1 the feeling that the gift means more than the cold official recognition of a national duty1 that it is the expression of loving-kindness ever active and living2 and so making for the helpless1 the destitute1 and the dying1 not a mere asylum1 but a home4 ,the entrance into the hall of a cheerful1 genial gentleman1 with a kindly1 brisk manner1 and a reassuring expression of deliberation and repose in his observant face and easy bearing1 rouses us from melancholy fancies1 and with a few words of courteous welcome we are at once conducted to the door that is to open to us the first scene in this wonderful visit4 ,a spacious assembly room--let us call it by the good old name of parlour1 for there is much quietly animated talk going on--talk1 and needlework of all kinds1 from the knitting of a warm woollen shawl to the manipulation of delicate lace1 and the deft handling of implements for making those exquisite tortures of society known as antimacassars4 ,with ever so wide an experience of halls1 salons1 suites1 or drawing-rooms1 the visitor can see nothing resembling this wonderful parlour elsewhere4 ,a room of noble proportions1 one end of which is occupied by an organ2 the great windows reaching almost from floor to ceiling1 and overlooking a broad expanse of lawn1 with a glorious view of hill and woodland beyond2 on the tables flowers1 books1 ornaments2 in every kind of couch and chair--many of which are comfortable beds on wheels and springs--a company of women1 with bright1 cheerful1 intelligent faces1 full of a recent interest1 and1 even in cases where some paroxysm of pain is passing1 with a certain serene satisfaction which it is infinitely good to see4 ,there has been a morning service1 conducted by a visiting clergyman1 and there is a general expression of approval which1 if the reverend gentleman himself were present to witness it1 would surely prove highly gratifying4 ,the congregation has settled down to easy talk1 and has resumed its occupation of plain and fancy needlework4 ,here is an old lady whose silver hair adds to her natural grace and dignity1 who is busy with wool-knitting1 and at the same time engages in a discriminating criticism of the address to one of the many visitors who sit and spend an hour of their afternoon in agreeable chat4 ,there is a pretty but rather sad-eyed mignon lady1 whose excellently-fitting silk dress1 delicate hands1 and general niceness of appearance1 quite prepare us to see the beautiful examples of all kinds of fancy work of which she never seems to tire4 ,every year1 in ,june1 they hold a grand bazaar at the hospital1 so that those who are skilful and capable are able to earn enough money to clothe themselves as they please--everything except clothing being found by the charity1 except to two or three inmates who are able to pay for their own maintenance4 ,now we hear the low tones of cheerful talk1 the pleasant ripple of laughter--note the brightening glance1 the quick smile1 the feeble but earnest finger-clasp which greets the cheerful salutation of the house governor1 ,mr4 ,darbyshire1 or the presence of his wife1 the lady matron of this great happy family of incurables1 we begin to wonder at our gloomy estimate of the place before this visit4 ,nor is the revelation of cheerfulness1 of light in shadow1 less remarkable in the dormitories themselves4 ,but then what rooms they are6 ,each bed is1 as it were1 set in an alcove of its own snow-white hangings1 relieved by bits of colour which would delight an artist's eye--pieces of embroidery1 framed illuminated texts1 bright flecks of ,berlin woolwork1 or glistening designs in beads1 or deep glowing knick-knacks wrought in silk and lace4 ,each little bedside table1 though it may hold medicine and diet--drink and requisites for the sick--is decked with flowers and little framed pictures1 gaily-bound books1 and bright-hued toys and trifles1 that make it look like a miniature stand at a fancy fair4 ,in some cases the sense of combined purity and glow of colour is so great1 that it is difficult to realise that we are in one or other of a series of sick-rooms4 ,everything is so spotless1 so exquisitely clean and orderly1 that nothing less than perfect nursing could explain it--for be it remembered that the place is open to visitors every day--and amidst some of the most terrible afflictions from which humanity can suffer there is nothing revolting4 ,expressions of pain and of utter prostration and weakness there are1 of course2 but even these are only alternative with the general placid contentment and thankfulness that is the prevailing characteristic4 ,even in two severe cases of cancer the terrible effects of the malady are less notable1 because of the surrounding conditions4 ,a sprightly and engaging girl1 with features and social life alike marred and obliterated by this dreadful malady1 is surely one of the saddest of all the sad sights in such an institution2 but here the brightness and genial influence of the place1 and of those who are its ministrants1 have had their effect1 and even the half-obliterated features gain a grateful1 loving1 cheerful expression2 the poor eyes beam with pleasure as the governor starts some reminiscence of that pleasant summer water-party of his1 in which one of the two sufferers had to be carried to the boat in his arms1 and both of them1 deeply veiled1 were rowed by those same guarding arms for a glorious voyage on the river1 where the summer's sunshine and gladness stole into the hearts of the sufferers1 and left a halo of remembrance that is not perhaps so very far from the anticipations of that stream which maketh glad the children of ,god4 ,here are rooms wherein only two or three beds are placed1 while few of them contain more than six1 but all of them are bright1 airy1 lofty1 full of space1 and with the same sense of purity4 ,and from every window some fresh and lovely view of the surrounding landscape1 with all its changeful aspects1 may be seen--the beds being so placed that every patient has her own special expanse of territory to solace her waking hours1 even though she be unable to go down to the assembly-room4 ,here1 in a room particularly bright and cheerful1 lies a young woman with a wealth of dark hair on the pillow where her intelligent face beams with a certain courage1 although her body and limbs have been for years immovable--only one arm1 for an inch or two1 and three fingers of the right hand1 can be stirred--and yet1 as we stand and talk with her1 some small simple jest about her own condition causes her to laugh till the bed shakes4 ,she has learnt to write by holding a pencil in her mouth1 and inscribes neat and legible letters on paper placed on a rest just in front of her face4 ,she is not only cheerful1 but actually hopeful1 though she has been for years in this condition2 and her relations1 great and small1 visit her1 to find her always heartily determined to look on the bright side4 ,at the foot of her bed1 near the window1 is a swing looking-glass on a pedestal1 and in this she sees reflected the distant prospect of autumn wood and field1 extending miles away4 ,judging from her nobly equable and smiling face1 she must be the life of the room of which she has been so long an occupant4 ,in another apartment a poor schoolmistress suffering from hemorrhage of the lungs lies reading for many hours a day1 her face bearing a painful expression1 her manner eager1 her constant craving to work on1 by the study of books concerning the problems of this earthly life and the sciences that strive to demonstrate them and yet only bring us to the barrier of the eternal world4 ,she yearns for one more day amidst her classes1 and for the opportunity of testing the results of sick-bed thoughts on a method of education which should adapt itself to the individual temperament and mental peculiarity of each child4 ,amidst a troubled tide of thoughts that are perhaps sometimes too much for the weary brain1 she may learn to recognise the rest that comes after hearing the ,divine voice say1 ,peace6 be still2 and so a great spiritual calm may fall upon her1 and give her rest4 ,yet another visit1 and we find a girl who1 from an accidental fall1 is as immovable as a statue1 her dark questioning eyes and mobile face alone excepted4 ,yet she is sometimes lifted into a wheel-chair that stands stabled by her bedside1 and joins the company in the great parlour downstairs4 ,there is another little parlour1 with quite a select coterie1 under the presidency of an elderly gentlewoman1 who is busily knitting at a table1 while her friends recline at the windows1 on their special couches2 and in several of the dormitories patients are sitting up1 reading1 working1 or looking at the fitful aspect of earth and sky on this ,october afternoon4 ,sufferers from heart-disease1 with that anxious contracted expression so indicative of their malady1 are numerous2 but the larger number of the patients seem to suffer from rheumatism1 or paralysis--among them one lady1 with silvered hair1 and yet with bright expressive eyes1 and still bonny face1 who was once a well-known singer in ,london4 ,she is unable to rise from couch or bed1 but the readiness of repartee1 the bright inquiring look1 the quick appreciation and retort1 remain1 as do a certain swift expressive action of head and hands1 which is marvellously suggestive of dramatic gesture2 for1 happily1 her hands and arms are still capable of movement1 and she has several periodicals on the coverlet--among them the latest monthly part of a magazine1 in one of the stories in which she is evidently interested4 ,she1 with two or three others1 are inmates of the hospital at their own charges4 ,we have but little time to devote to the men's side of this great institution2 but its dormitories and furniture1 its large day-room1 where daughters sit talking in low voice to fathers1 sisters to brothers1 wives to husbands--its pleasant out-door contingent1 who have just returned from slowly perambulating the grounds in wheel-chairs1 or sit basking outside in the latest gleam of sunshine--its club in the rustic hut especially appointed for this purpose--all might bear comment4 ,here is a sturdy youth1 who1 falling from a tree1 and alighting on his heels1 incurably injured his spine1 and now lies all day1 mostly out of doors1 and without a coat1 frequently engaged in knitting4 ,there is a poor gentleman1 who has for sixteen years been almost immovable1 from rheumatism1 even his jaw being so fixed that he takes food through an aperture in the teeth4 ,he has been through two or three hospitals1 and under the care of the most eminent surgeons1 and has come here now as to an ark of refuge1 where he can read and talk1 and be wheeled about the neighbourhood on occasional visits4 ,only one case of all those that we witness is startling in its melancholy sense of terrible loss and incurability2 that rigid1 grimly-set face1 in the ward where the corner bed in which the grizzled head lies is the only one occupied this afternoon4 ,the body belonging to that face is almost immovable--the ears are deaf1 the tongue is mute1 the eyes are nearly sealed--not by sudden calamity1 but by gradual yielding to decay or disease4 ,he has been an inmate several years1 and is the one case here before which we may almost quail in our solemn sense of affliction2 and yet1 to the touch of certain loving hands that dead face kindles2 that mind1 seemingly locked in stupor1 wakes to life2 that intelligence1 encased in a casket iron-bound and motionless1 can understand the signs that are made upon his own hands or forehead1 and interpret them so as to give some kind of grateful answer4 ,it needs the touch of the lady nurse to bring out this strange music from an instrument so unstrung2 but that it should be done at all is an evidence of the hold that loving sympathy and some subtle influence almost beyond mere bodily capacity of expression has taken in these dear souls of the sick and the afflicted4 ,that is where the shadow lifts1 even in the darkness of the valley2 that is how the ,spirit of ,christ may abound2 and the soul1 in recognizing the work of the disciple1 may recognise the ,lord therein1 and remember the ,living ,word--,though ,i walk through the valley of the shadow of death1 ,i will fear no evil1 for ,thou art with me4 ,,with ,,the ,,halt ,,and ,,the ,,lame4 ,i suppose there are few people in ,england1 who are at all accustomed to keep ,christmas amidst a loving family circle1 who have not during the sacred festivities of the season1 and all the household sentiments with which they are inseparably associated1 made some reference to the ,christmas ,carol1 that famous story of the great novelist whose presence in the spirit of his books has brightened so many a ,christmas hearth1 and moved so many gentle hearts to kindly thoughts and words of loving cheer4 ,amongst all the well-known characters to which ,mr4 ,dickens introduced thousands of readers--characters who1 to many of us1 became realities1 and were spoken of as though they were living and among our ordinary acquaintances--there have been none1 except perhaps little ,nell1 who have evoked more sympathetic recognition than ,tiny ,tim1 the poor crippled child of ,bob ,cratchit--the child1 the sound of whose little crutch upon the stair was listened for with loving expectation--the shadow of whose vacant chair in the ,vision of ,christmas1 gave to the humbled usurer as keen a pang as any sight that he saw afterwards in that strange dream of what might come to pass4 ,so completely do we share the anxiety of ,scrooge in this respect1 that we can all remember giving a sigh of relief when1 at the end of the story1 we learn that the poor crippled boy remains to bless the fireside where even his afflictions were felt to be a hallowing influence to soften animosities1 and to draw close the bonds of family love4 ,somehow he gets thoughtful1 sitting by himself 7says ,bob ,cratchit71 and thinks the strangest things you ever heard4 ,he told me1 coming home1 that he hoped the people saw him in the church1 because he was a cripple1 and it might be pleasant to them to remember upon ,christmas-day who made lame beggars walk and blind men see4 ,if ,i needed an excuse for so long an allusion to that pathetic story1 which has stirred so many hearts throughout ,england1 ,i might find it in the passage ,i have just quoted2 but ,i seek none4 ,i refer to the ,christmas ,carol1 because in it the figure of the crippled boy1 occupying so small a space1 yet is such a living1 touching influence as to be one of the household fancies that associate themselves with our thoughts of ,christmas-tide in poor homes2 because there are so many little crutches the sounds of which are heard--though fewer than there used to be before orthopdic surgery became a special branch of study1 and hospitals were founded for its practice2 because1 though ,tiny ,tim may represent so many crippled children who are the helpless members of poor families1 where they are tended with as kindly care as working fathers and mothers can find time for--there are hundreds of other deformed or maimed lads whose lot is made the harder because of the want of sympathy and ready aid that would lift them out of utter helplessness1 or give them such light labour to perform as would diminish their sense of dependence4 ,finally1 because ,i desire you to bear me company to one place in ,london where this last need is recognised1 and where forty crippled boys1 suffering from various incurable deformities1 which yet have left them the use of their hands1 are not only taught a trade1 but are encouraged1 fed1 and nurtured for the three years during which they are inmates of the home--,the ,national ,industrial ,home for ,crippled ,boys4 ,alighting from the railway carriage which conveys us from ,mansion ,house ,station to the pleasant old ,high ,street of ,kensington1 we are close to the place that we have come to see1 for the building itself--a quaint old house1 with a central doorway between two projecting deep bay-windowed fronts1 and built of the reddest of red brick--stands at the end of ,wright's ,lane1 looking us full in the face as we approach it to read the style and title plainly painted across its upper storey4 ,the house has good reason for looking the world thus bluffly in the face1 for it is an independent building1 bought and paid for3 hearth-stone1 roof tree1 and chimney1 freehold1 and without debt or mortgage4 ,till this was done1 all thought of considerable extension was put aside4 ,the question was how to provide1 out of voluntary subscriptions and contributions1 for the fifty inmates who could be admitted within those sheltering walls4 ,it must be premised1 however1 that ten pounds a year has to be paid for each boy who is accepted1 during the three years that he remains there1 to be taught in the evening school and in the workshop1 not only how to read and write and cipher1 but to become a good workman at tailoring1 carpentering1 or die-engraving and colour-stamping4 ,these are at present the only three trades taught in this truly industrial home1 but they appear to be very admirably suited to the cases of those who are deformed or crippled in various ways2 and they are taught well1 as an inspection of the work accomplished will prove4 ,for the workshops are real workshops1 where the boys do not play at work1 but are taught their trades in a way that will enable them when they leave the institution to gain a decent livelihood1 or even1 if they can save a little money1 to go into business for themselves4 ,this has been lately done1 in fact1 by two youths1 who1 having thoroughly learnt the relief-stamping process1 have contrived to buy a press and the materials for their trade1 and are now in partnership in a country town1 and earning a respectable maintenance4 ,of sixteen lads who left during the year1 twelve were doing well as journeymen at the industries they had learnt2 one had set up in business for himself 7the relief-stamping gives the greatest facility for this72 and two had returned to their friends because of ill health1 while one had not reported himself ,but during the same period forty of the former inmates had been to visit the old home1 and gave a very encouraging account of themselves4 ,let us add1 in a whisper1 that amongst these visitors were a team of old boys who had come to accept the challenge of a team of the new boys1 to play a match at cricket4 ,yes1 and that these teams of cripples have1 over and over again1 carried off their bats against opponents who1 if they expected an easy victory1 found themselves to have been most amazingly mistaken4 ,i don't think this is mentioned in the ,report1 but it is well to know it1 because it serves to prove how truly beneficent a work is being done here1 in removing boys from a too often almost hopeless condition to one of useful1 intelligent1 skilled labour1 and to healthy self-forgetfulness and association in the ordinary duties and recreations of their fellows4 ,it must be remembered that every boy there is1 in a certain sense1 incurable4 ,after having been nominated by the person willing to contribute the annual payment of #aj1 the medical officers of the institution 7or if in the country1 some qualified practitioner7 examine the candidate1 who must be above twelve and less than eighteen years of age1 and neither blind1 deaf and dumb1 nor without the use of his hands4 ,the name of the candidate is then added to the list of those waiting for admission--of whom there are now1 unfortunately1 above seventy--and when there is a vacancy1 and funds are sufficient to maintain the full number of inmates1 these candidates are taken in succession1 without voting1 by order of the ,committee of ,management1 of whom the ,president is the ,earl of ,shaftesbury1 and the ,honorary ,secretary ,mr4 ,s4 ,h4 ,bibby1 of ,green ,street1 ,grosvenor ,square4 ,there is also an efficient ,ladies' ,committee for the household management and for advising as to the education of the boys1 the visits of the friends of the inmates1 and the domestic affairs of the ,home generally4 ,there are some severe cases of deformity here--club-foot1 spinal curvature1 and various distortions of the legs--and in many cases instruments are worn1 but the ,institution does not profess to provide these4 ,frequently they are procured by special contributions1 and among the latest gifts of this kind is a serviceable wooden leg or two1 which have had the happy effect of relieving their recipients from the necessity of using crutches2 but it is distinctly insisted on that the ,home is not a hospital1 and is only curative in the sense of improving the condition of those who1 having been pronounced incurable1 are yet capable of greatly increased activity and strength by means of nourishing and regular food1 interesting occupation1 and healthy exercise with companions who themselves are to be numbered among the halt and the lame1 and yet are1 in a very certain sense1 made to walk and to leap and to praise ,god4 ,for see1 at the very moment that ,i am speaking1 a little figure darts out of the passage yonder and scampers across the large open green space at the back of the house on his way to the new range of workshops that are now nearly completed1 and are also paid for4 ,is it possible to apply the term cripple to such an elf1 who is out of reach before one can ask his name8 ,yes2 that very elf-like look is the result of a deformity which stops growth1 though it leaves the limbs as active as you see them4 ,but come up-stairs to the first of the present workshops1 and you may note among the colour-stampers1 sitting on their high stools before the dies and presses1 cases of more decided deformity or of crippling by accident4 ,these boys follow an artistic1 pretty business1 and visitors may do worse than give a small or a large order for notepaper and envelopes1 stamped with crest1 motto1 or quaint design4 ,so well is the work executed1 that the ,home has orders constantly in hand for the trade1 and some of the dies are really beautiful examples of engraving4 ,i think that in this long pleasant upper room1 with its high bench running along the window1 fitted with the presses and implements for the work1 there are more severe cases of deformity than will be seen in either in the tailors' department on the same floor1 or the carpenters' shop below4 ,one reflects on the numerous accidents to which the children of the poor are liable1 such as falls down flights of stairs2 to the inhuman neglect of old women who are paid as minders by mothers compelled to go out to work in neighbourhoods where no infant crche1 no babies' cradle home1 has yet been established1 or in country towns where such institutions have scarcely been heard of4 ,one remembers with pity the scores of poor little creatures who have to nurse and tend children almost as big as themselves1 so that they and their charges too often become deformed together1 the nurse with lateral curvature of the spine and the baby with vertical curvature or with deformities of the feet or legs4 ,one thinks1 in short1 of the many perils to healthy life and well-formed limb that beset the children of the poor1 and then coming back to the figures of this ,national ,home1 which yet1 with careful management and due economy1 can only receive forty or fifty crippled boys--wonders how long it is to be before the ruddy old house in ,wright's ,lane will expand its broad bosom and stretch out long arms on either side to embrace three-score more lads1 taken from present neglect and want and probable ill-usage1 to be fed and taught and nurtured for three years1 during which the whole future will be changed for them1 and their lives redeemed from the degradation that had threatened them just as their bodies expand with renewed health and strange developments of unsuspected strength1 and their souls are lighted with hope and the sympathy of loving words and hearty manly encouragement4 ,a beginning has been made already2 for that munificent anonymous benefactor1 whose thousand-pound cheques have helped so many of our deserving charities1 showed his usual nice discrimination by taking a walk in the direction of ,wright's ,lane4 ,the result of this has been the erection of those long workshops which extend across one side of the wide green area1 with its ornamental trees1 at the back of the building--an area which is a good part of the acre on which the property stands1 and forms a capital recreation-ground1 without quite leaving out of sight the pleasant kitchen-garden beyond1 or the little building in the further corner1 which is intended as a cottage infirmary in cases of sickness4 ,there are the workshops1 quite ready for another contingent of lads1 such as are now busily at work in the tailoring department1 where they are sitting on the board in the proper tailor-fashion1 sewing away at one or other of the many private orders for gentlemen's clothes1 or juvenile suits1 which are the better appreciated because they are hand-sewn1 instead of being made with that machine1 at the end of the room1 to learn the working of which is1 however1 a necessary part of the modern tailor's trade4 ,quite ready1 also1 for our friends the relief-stampers1 and for an additional crew of young carpenters to join those who are now busy below amidst a fine odour of fresh deal and the cheery sound of hammer1 chisel1 and plane4 ,one of our young friends of the wooden legs--a strapping fellow of seventeen--is just deftly finishing off a very attractive chest of drawers1 which will only need to be taken to the painting and varnishing rooms that form a part of the new building to be a very capital example of the workmanship of the establishment4 ,for it cannot be too strongly insisted on that the customers of the ,industrial ,cripples get value for their money1 whether it be in ornamental stationery1 in plain furniture1 packing cases1 boxes1 and general carpentry1 or in superfine suits to order1 or own materials made up and repairs neatly executed4 ,it is no sham industrial school1 but a real practical working establishment1 and when the new buildings are quite completed1 and the dwelling-house has that other wing added to it1 in order to provide proper dormitories and a school-room1 dining-room1 and lavatory1 at all in proportion to the number of boys who are waiting anxiously for admission---- ,ah6 but the question is1 ,when shall this be8 ,not till another #e1jjj is added to the funds1 ,i am told--about as much money as is sometimes spent in some public display which lasts three or four hours1 and going to look at which probably half a dozen men1 women1 or children are lamed and crippled in the crowd4 ,judging from the present arrangements1 with very little room to spare1 and a not very conveniently-adaptable space1 the money would be carefully spent2 for there is no tendency to undue luxury1 and the present household staff would still be sufficient for providing meals and looking after the family needs of these robust and independent young cripples4 ,that it would be a work all the more beneficial1 because of this very independence with which it is associated1 it needs few arguments to prove2 but1 should reasons be asked for1 let us take three cases for which the benefits of the ,home are earnestly sought1 and they will speak in suggestive accents of the need of that extension for which an appeal is being made4 ,i need not tell you the names either of those who nominate the cases or the boys themselves2 but be assured that the former would be sufficient guarantee of the need which it is sought to relieve3-- ,no4 #a4--,the father is paralysed1 and can do no work4 ,the mother is not a very satisfactory person4 ,family consist of-- #a4 ,the eldest1 a boy of twenty1 who does odd jobs4 #b4 ,the cripple4 #c4 ,boy1 works1 and gets #es4 #d4 ,boy1 sells lights in the ,city4 ,there are four little girls at home besides4 ,the cripple is in a very wretched state from want of food1 but he has the use of his hands4 ,no4 #b 7,,edinburgh74--,was never at school more than a year in his life1 and never attended regularly two months together4 ,he can neither read nor write1 and has been neglected and often half-starved by his dissipated parents4 ,his mother pawns everything she can get to buy drink1 and the boy has little benefit from the wages he makes1 which are about #es4 per week4 ,their house is miserably dirty1 ,mrs4 ---- 7the mother7 being always drunk or incapable on the ,saturday and ,sunday4 ,the boy works at ,mr4 ,b----'s ,pottery1 ,p----4 ,he is honest and industrious4 ,he is more miserable at home of late since he is left alone with his mother4 ,it would be a great advantage to the boy if he could be admitted to the ,industrial ,home at ,kensington1 where he would be well trained1 and where he would be quite beyond his mother's reach4 ,no4 #c 7recommended by a ,clergyman74--,has been very regular at our school1 and has been attentive and got on very well4 ,his mother1 a widow1 lives with her sons1 all of whom she has brought up well4 ,she is an industrious1 honest woman1 and receives no help from the ,board of ,guardians excepting an allowance made for the maintenance of the cripple1 and which1 in case of his being accepted at the ,home1 they have promised to continue to pay for his maintenance4 ,i may add that the ,board1 when he was called before them the other day1 gave great praise to his mother for the cleanliness and respectability of his appearance4 ,poor1 depressed1 starved1 neglected1 hopeless crippled boys1 how long will it be before they come here for shelter1 for hope1 and renewal of life8 ,i should ask the question--though the answer could only be a guess--but ,i am suddenly diverted by the tremendous ringing of a hand-bell1 on which one vigorous young cripple is ringing a peal1 which is almost loud enough to announce to all ,kensington that it is tea-time4 ,the sound has the effect of bringing all the forty from their work--a contingent of young carpenters staying behind for a little while to dispose of some waste shavings which have been swept out of some corner where they may have been in the way4 ,then they come trooping into the big room1 where they present so strange a variety of height and appearance1 and also so remarkable a diversity of twist and lameness and distortion1 that we are impressed at once with the melancholy fact that every boy there is in reality a cripple1 and yet with the cheering reflection1 inspired by some of the lively smiling faces1 that there are vast mitigations of such afflictions--mitigations that come so near to cures as to make our neglect of them a very serious evil1 when the means lie near at hand4 ,in this big room1 which is neither dining-room1 nor kitchen1 nor refectory1 but a homely combination of all three1 there is no ornament1 no sign of luxury1 or of unnecessary expenditure-plain deal forms or stools at plain deal tables1 on which are arranged a regiment of full-sized mugs of good sound tea1 and plates1 each containing a substantial half-pound slice of bread from a homely two-pound loaf1 spread with butter or dripping4 ,for breakfast the same quantity is provided1 with the substitution of coffee for tea2 and dinner consists of a half-pound of roast or boiled meat1 with plenty of vegetables1 and dumplings1 pies1 or puddings2 while bread and cheese1 or bread and butter1 is served for supper4 ,for it must be remembered that these are working lads1 and that they require to be substantially1 and1 from the nature of their bodily affliction1 even generously fed1 so that these supplies of pure plain diet are not by any means excessive2 and they are such as one very ordinary kitchen can supply--a kitchen1 by the bye1 which will probably be superseded by a more convenient one when the new wing shall be finished4 ,yet there is something in these unadorned1 bare1 almost too plainly appointed places1 which brings with it a reassuring conviction that the institution has never been pampered4 ,the dining-room1 which has to do duty for a school-room also--the play-room1 which is a rather dim kind of retreat on this ,november evening--and the plain1 rather bare1 but still clean and airy dormitories 7especially those in the big bay-windowed front rooms of the old red brick house71 are evidences that the place does not belie its name2 that it is really a home1 but essentially an industrial home1 where work goes on as part of each day's blessing1 and the title to play freely and with a light heart is thereby ensured4 ,,with ,,them ,,who ,,have ,,not ,,where ,,to ,,lay ,,their ,,heads4 ,there is a degree of poverty which1 while it is not absolute pauperism1 often has deeper needs than those which are alleviated by parochial relief--a destitution which is none the less bitter because those who suffer it cannot stoop to actual mendicancy1 and shrink from the degradation of the casual ward and its contaminating influences4 ,those of us who at this season of the year are surrounded with comforts1 and can meet together to enjoy them1 should feel that there is no sadder phase of the life of this great city than that to which our attention is called by the statistics of those same casual wards1 and the accompanying certainty that every night there are men1 women1 and children1 who1 amidst surrounding luxury and splendour1 have not where to lay their heads1 and for whom the repellent door of the nearest union workhouse is closed1 even if they could summon such courage as comes of desperation1 and dared to enter4 ,happily1 the numbers of those who seek what is called casual relief have diminished in proportion to the general abatement of pauperism2 and it is perhaps encouraging to know that the applicants for nightly shelter at ,refuges for the homeless and destitute are fewer than they were three or four years ago4 ,this is a fact which should be made public1 because some of these ,refuges have been accused of offering inducements to casual paupers to seek food and shelter provided by charitable subscriptions1 instead of betaking themselves to the night-wards provided for them at metropolitan workhouses4 ,the complaint was made on altogether insufficient grounds1 at a time when1 during a hard winter1 and with a fearful amount of distress among the poorest class of the community1 the workhouse night-wards themselves were frequently inadequate to the demands made upon them2 while1 apart from the persons who were known as casual paupers1 there were hundreds of unfortunates suffering from temporary starvation and the want of a place in which to find a night's lodging1 who yet were altogether removed from what is known as pauperism1 and dreaded the abject hopelessness which they associated with the ,union4 ,it should not be forgotten1 either1 that the task which is1 and was then1 imposed upon the pauper on the morning following his night's lodging and its previous dole of gruel and bread1 renders it almost impossible for the recipient to obtain work4 ,before his job of stone-breaking or oakum-picking is accomplished1 the hour for commencing ordinary labour outside the workhouse walls has passed1 and his hope of resuming independent employment1 and the wages that will provide food and lodging for the next four-and-twenty hours1 has passed also4 ,this alone is always sufficient to make a very marked distinction between the regular casual pauper and the temporarily unfortunate man or woman who1 having failed to get work1 and seeking only the aid that may give rest and strength for a renewed effort1 might look in vain for succour but for the existence of places like that admirable ,institution to which ,i wish to take you to-night4 ,the shameful spectacle of groups1 and1 in many instances1 of crowds1 of houseless1 starving1 and half-naked creatures huddled about the doors of casual wards1 to which they had been refused admission in direct defiance of legislation1 led to the establishment of ,night ,refuges4 ,there was then no time to dispute4 ,while boards and committees were squabbling and vilifying each other1 the poor were perishing4 ,but even now that a better system prevails1 and pauperism has so considerably diminished1 there is much necessity for the continuance of these institutions and their adaptation to the relief of that kind of distress which is all the more poignant because it is at present only temporary1 but would receive the brand and stamp of permanence if it could find no other mitigation than that secured by an appeal to workhouse officials1 the shelter of the casual shed1 the union dole1 and the daily task required in return4 ,at the time that ,night ,refuges were first founded1 in consequence of the failure of the ,houseless ,poor ,act1 there were one or two institutions which went on the plan of offering no inducement whatever to those who sought shelter within their walls4 ,the provisions were barer1 the beds harder1 the reception little less cold and unsympathetic than they would receive at any metropolitan union4 ,those of my readers who remember the ,refuge for the ,houseless ,poor which once stood in ,playhouse ,yard1 close to that foul tangle of courts that still exists between ,barbican and ,st4 ,luke's1 and is known as ,the ,chequers1 will understand me when ,i say that there were no alluring inducements for the houseless and the destitute to seek its aid4 ,i have seldom seen a more painfully suggestive crowd than that which waited outside the blank door of that hideous building on a cold drizzly evening when ,i paid the place a visit1 only a short time before it was finally closed4 ,i cannot deny1 however1 that the applicants for admission consisted of those persons for whom the institution seemed to be especially designed4 ,the very lowest class of poverty1 the representatives of sheer destitution1 made up the #cej men and the #aej women who were to occupy the bare wooden bunks in the two departments of the building that night1 and to accept1 as a stay against starvation1 the half-pound of dry bread and the drink of water4 ,what ,i would call emphatic attention to1 is the fact that this place was filled nightly at that time1 because the inmates could leave early in the morning to seek a day's work1 and so rise out of that depth of destitution which was represented by the nightly return to the casual ward4 ,but let us remember that1 though this ,institution could scarcely be characterised by the warm name of charity1 it received all applicants who were not suffering from infectious diseases1 and therefore its policy was deterrent4 ,in order to separate itself from the idle casual1 it made its provisions little short of penal1 and1 indeed1 very far short of those common comforts that are to be found in prison4 ,but the ,refuge in ,newport ,market was one of those which had been founded on a different principle4 ,it was never intended as a supplement to the casual ward1 or as having any relation to poor-law relief2 though1 during the terrible distress that overtook the houseless in that severe winter when our poor-law arrangements broke down utterly1 it was impossible for any place founded in the name of ,christian love and charity to be very particular in excluding famishing and frozen men and women on the suspicion that they had already somehow obtained parochial relief the night before4 ,this ,refuge was originally established by the influence and the personal exertions of ,mrs4 ,gladstone1 and a few ladies and gentlemen who1 knowing of the extreme distress that prevailed in all that poverty-stricken neighbourhood about ,seven ,dials1 around the alien-haunted district of ,soho1 and in the purlieux of ,drury ,lane1 and the courts of ,long ,acre1 set about providing some remedy for the misery that homeless1 destitute men1 women1 and children had to suffer during the bitter nights of winter4 ,first1 a regular mission was established in an ordinary room1 and1 after a time1 space was secured to make a ,refuge--first for six1 then for ten1 and afterwards for twenty of the most destitute cases which came under the notice of the mission-woman4 ,this went on till the funds were sufficient to warrant a very earnest desire to obtain larger premises1 and at last to make a bid for that queer ramshackle old slaughter-house1 which was the rather too indicative feature of the locality4 ,the landlords of this place were fully alive to the value of any property rising in proportion to the anxiety of somebody to become its tenant1 and they demanded a high rent accordingly4 ,still1 the work had to be done1 and the slaughter-house--cleansed1 repaired1 whitewashed1 and divided into several queer1 irregular-shaped wards and rooms1 which were reached by strange flights of steps and zig-zag entries--was opened with cheerful confidence and hope1 under the earnest superintendence of the ,rev4 ,j4 ,williams1 who was at that time incumbent of the parish of ,st4 ,mary1 ,soho4 ,it was at that period that ,i first made acquaintance with the ,institution1 and with the quiet1 undemonstrative work of charity which was carried on there1 and is continued to this day1 though it is less arduous now that the neighbourhood itself has felt the influence of such an organization--not so much in the diminution of actual poverty1 as in the humanising and constantly suggestive presence of men and women who have brought a gospel to those who were hopeless1 and seemed to have none to care for them4 ,the need to receive numbers every night to the utmost limits of the ,institution has passed now1 except occasionally during very severe weather2 and though the cases admitted are still those where deep1 and sometimes apparently almost fatal1 misfortune is the claim1 there is no longer the urgency which forbade a too discriminating selection1 and the regular casual stands no chance under the quick and experienced eye of the superintendent1 ,mr4 ,ramsden1 whose military tone and manner are1 by the way1 modulated so as to carry the sense of detection to the pretender1 and to support and give courage to the weak and faint-hearted4 ,the same complete1 quiet method of receiving applicants who await admission enables me to repeat the impression which ,i received during the time that the demands upon the night ,refuge were more urgent4 ,the experienced visitor who stands at the gate of this rehabilitated building that was once the old slaughter-house1 and who watches the people go in one by one1 and listens to their low-voiced pleas for food and shelter1 cannot mistake them for casual ward cases4 ,just as1 in some other ,institutions1 the pain of the spectacle is the degraded poverty of those who seek aid1 the most affecting element here is utter destitution1 without that accustomed debasement which would find a fitting resource at the workhouse door1 leading to the night shed4 ,these are broken-down men and women2 old men beaten in the battle of life1 and full of present sorrow2 young men who have fought and failed1 or who have eaten of the husks1 and seek occasion to rise to a better mind2 middle-aged men not altogether crushed or hopeless1 but in sore want1 and needing the sound of a kindly voice1 the touch of a friendly hand2 women who have lost youth and worldly hope together--women who1 more weak than wicked1 and without resource1 need some stay alike for fainting bodies and for wandering souls2 women worn and hungry1 because of the lack even of ill-paid work1 and asking for rest and food till they can seek employment3 some who will go forth in the morning and set out afresh2 others who1 if they can secure two or three nights' lodging1 with a mouthful of food and drink morning and evening1 have a good hope of doing better in the future4 ,to those who know how the demand for certain kinds of labour varies1 and frequently slackens towards the winter months1 when need is sorest1 this latter most merciful provision comes with a sense of truest charity4 ,tickets of admission are issued to friends and visitors of the ,institution 7and any one may be a visitor who chooses to ring at the bell of the old slaughter-house71 entitling the holder to admission after the regular evening hour of half-past five to six1 so that in bestowing one of these the judicious subscriber 7not necessarily1 but surely from sympathy a subscriber7 can be a true benefactor4 ,for these tickets will admit the really deserving nightly for a week1 with supper of bread and coffee or cocoa1 or occasional savoury soup1 and breakfast of bread and coffee4 ,and even this time is occasionally extended1 if there be a reasonable prospect of obtaining work4 ,not only ticket-holders1 but every applicant1 may have the same privilege1 if it can be shown that he or she is really likely to obtain employment4 ,but there is more than this4 ,there are men here--truest of gentlemen1 beyond that social stamp of rank which rightfully belongs to them--who1 with a real1 manly instinct1 know how to take poverty by the hand without offensive patronage or untimely preaching4 ,there are ladies who1 in their true womanhood1 can see the contrition in faces bowed down--the shame that is caused1 not by evil doings1 but by the feeling of dismay which comes of having to ask for charity--can sympathise with broken fortunes1 with gentle nurture--cast upon a hard1 relentless world1 with that poverty which is above the common4 ,more still4 ,among the supporters and the constant visitors are those who can use special influence for cases that need it most1 and obtain for them admission to hospitals and other asylums1 or introduce to situations those who by sudden calamity have been deprived of the means of living4 ,yes1 even in their deepest need1 poor1 wandering1 homeless women may come here and find help1 for in that large1 lofty1 yet warm and well-lighted room1 the women's dormitory--one side of which is composed of a series of niches where the comfortable beds are placed--there are to be seen a row of doors1 which seem to belong to a series of cabins1 as1 indeed1 they do4 ,each door opens into a small bed-room--small1 but with room for a chair1 a tiny table1 and the neat bed4 ,they are the lodgings set apart for women1 who1 in the midst of their poverty and destitution1 are looking forward fearfully to the time when children will be born to them1 and so to a period of weakness1 and of the sad mingling of maternal pity and desponding sorrow4 ,let me say1 in one line from the ,report1 that last year eight young women were received into the ,refuge some time before their confinement1 were passed on to ,queen ,charlotte's ,hospital1 and were helped until such time as they were able to help themselves4 ,i think the knowledge of this is so cheerful an instance of the value of this most representative ,refuge1 that even the sight of the bright1 warm1 glowing kitchen1 with its great boiler of hot coffee1 and its noble kettle of soup occupying the jolly range1 scarcely imparts an extra beam to the picture2 while the long rows of white mugs1 the pleasant1 clean1 fragrant loaves1 the big milk-cans1 the courteous chef1 who has a true and pardonable pride in his surroundings--no1 not even the cosy1 rug-covered berths and bunks in the dormitories1 nor the quaint little corner-room to which ,i have to climb a crooked staircase to shake hands with the sister who is in charge1 nor the equally quaint and cornery1 not to say inconvenient1 sitting-room of ,mr4 and ,mrs4 ,ramsden1 who have left their tea unfinished to do the honours of the ,institution--can suggest to me a better word to say than that which is suggested by the picture of the poor wandering1 weary1 fainting women1 who1 almost in despair1 not only for a real1 but for an expected life1 come here to find rest and peace4 ,stay2 one word more4 ,who are the class of people for whom the ,refuge doors are ordinarily open8 ,let us see what were the most numerous cases among the inmates who during the year received #f1ffi nights' lodgings and #af1hhi suppers and breakfasts4 ,among the men labourers1 of course1 are most numerous2 then discharged soldiers--poor fellows who have perhaps foolishly snatched at liberty when offered1 and foregone the advantages of re-engagement and a pension2 next in numerical order come clerks--a very painfully suggestive fact1 especially when read by the light of the advertisement-columns of our newspapers1 and the sad story of genteel poverty in that great suburban ring which encircles the wealthiest city in the world4 ,of house-painters there were #bd2 of servants1 #ba2 of tailors1 #ac2 of seamen1 #h2 and other callings were represented in remarkable variety1 including #a actor1 #f cooks1 #a schoolmaster1 #b surveyors1 and #a tutor4 ,among the women1 #aii servants--show sadly enough the truth of the old adage1 ,service is no inheritance2 while in numerical succession there were1 #ee charwomen1 #da laundresses1 #cg needlewomen1 #ca tailoresses1 #bg dressmakers1 #bf machinists 7alas6 how many women still utterly depend on the needle for a subsistence671 #bd cooks1 #bj ironers1 #af field-labourers4 ,there were #d governesses1 #a actress1 #a mission-woman1 and #a staymaker1 the rest being variously described4 ,from among these1 #id men and #aic women obtained employment1 #gg women having been sent to ,penitentiaries and ,homes1 while #ah were supported in the ,refuge or elsewhere by needlework1 #ac were sent to their friends1 #fj obtained permanent work1 and #ad girls of good character were sent to ,servants' ,homes4 ,but ,i have left out one thing now4 ,among this great representative company of refugees were #fj children1 of whom #cg were sent to nurse or to school1 while those who were old enough---- ,well1 just listen to that burst of military music in a distant upper-room of the old slaughter-house4 ,i must tell you something about the ,newport ,market boys in another chapter4 ,,taking ,,in ,,strangers4 ,yes2 listen to that startling clangour of military music coming from an upper room4 ,we are standing1 you know1 in the cheerful kitchen of that ,refuge for the ,homeless in the renovated old slaughter-house in ,newport ,market1 and ,i want you to come with me to see the boys' school1 which occupies a very considerable portion of that weatherproof but ramshackle building4 ,only those who are acquainted with the poverty and the crime of this great metropolis can estimate the deep and urgent need that still exists for refuges in which homeless1 destitute1 and neglected children can be received for shelter1 food1 and clothing4 ,only the practical student of the effect of our present administration of the ,education ,act can calculate how vast a necessity is likely to exist for the reception and instruction of the children of the poorest1 even when all the machinery of the present ,school ,board is put in motion for vindicating the compulsory clause4 ,let that clause be interpreted in the most liberal manner--which would be in effect to provide ,state education without cost to the parents--and the ,act will still leave untouched a vast number of children for whom nothing can be done until their physical necessities are provided for--children who are perishing with cold1 starving for want of food4 ,a visit to some of the big buildings recently erected by the ,london ,school ,board will reveal the fact that there are many such children now in attendance2 neglected1 barefoot1 half-clothed1 hungry1 and with that wistful eager look1 sometimes followed by a kind of stupefaction1 which may be observed in the poor little outcasts of the streets4 ,there is no reasonable hope of doing much with these little creatures till the soup-kitchen and the free breakfast are among the appliances of education1 where the necessity is most pressing1 and the children perish for lack of bread as well as for lack of knowledge4 ,as it is--,i need not refer again to the escape which is always open from the streets to the prison4 ,the few ,government industrial-schools to which magistrates occasionally consign young culprits brought before them are intended only for those who come within the cognisance of the law4 ,the operations of these reformatory-schools are successful so far as they go4 ,they represent seventy-five per cent4 of successful reformatory training as applied to juvenile transgressors committed by magistrates to their supervision4 ,perhaps1 when we are fully impressed with the meaning of the statistics which are published each year in the ,report of the ,inspectors of ,certified ,schools in ,great ,britain1 we shall begin to consider how it will be possible to regard destitute children in relation to the guardianship of the state before they qualify themselves for ,government interposition by the expedient of committing what the law calls a crime4 ,the last ,report states distinctly that the sooner criminal children are taken in hand1 the more complete is their reformation4 ,there are fewer criminals of less than ten years of age than there are hardened offenders of from twelve to sixteen4 ,this is1 so far1 satisfactory2 but when we consider that 7including ,roman ,catholic establishments7 there are but fifty-three reformatories in ,england1 and twelve in ,scotland 7thirty-seven of those in ,england and eight in ,scotland being for boys1 and sixteen in ,england and four in ,scotland for girls71 and that in #ahgc1 when the ,report was issued1 the sum-total of children in all these institutions was but #e1fbb1 of whom one-fourth were in the ,roman ,catholic schools--we cease to wonder at the vast number of homeless1 neglected1 and destitute children in ,london alone--a number which1 notwithstanding the efforts of philanthropy and the activity of ,school ,board beadles1 exceeds the total of all the inmates of the ,state reformatories throughout the kingdom4 ,this refuge at ,newport ,market had included destitute and starving boys among those who were brought to its shelter from the cruel streets1 the dark arches of railways and of bridges1 and the miserable corners where the houseless huddle together at night1 long before its supporters could make provision for maintaining any of the poor little fellows in an industrial-school4 ,but the work grew1 and the means were found1 first for retaining some of the juvenile lodgers who came only for a night's food1 and warmth1 and shelter1 and afterwards for receiving them as inmates4 ,some of these are sent to the ,refuge by persons who are furnished with printed forms of application1 or by mothers who can afford evident testimony that they can scarcely live on the few shillings they are able to earn by casual work as charwomen1 or by the no less casual employments where the wages are totally inadequate to support a family2 while a few lads have themselves applied for admission because they were orphans1 or utterly destitute and abandoned by those on whom they might be supposed to have a claim4 ,a portion of the old building1 which has been adapted to the purpose1 and has been added as the need for increased space became pressing1 is now devoted to the dormitories1 play-room1 and school-room of some fifty to sixty of this contingent of the great army of friendless children2 and at the time of the last ,report fourteen had but just left to be enlisted in military bands2 two had become military tailors2 situations had been found for others2 while one had been regularly apprenticed to a tailor in ,london4 ,there are frequently several boys ready for such apprenticeship1 for tailoring is the only regular trade taught1 the time of the lads being occupied in learning to read1 write1 and cipher1 to acquire the outlines of history and geography1 and to take a place in the military band which is at this moment making the cranky old building resound with its performance on clarinets1 hautboys1 cornets1 deep bassoons1 and all kinds of wind instruments1 under the direction of an able bandmaster1 who keeps the music up to the mark with a spirit which bespeaks confidence in the intelligence of his pupils4 ,this confidence is not misplaced1 for during the past year eleven youthful recruits have been drafted from among these boys into the bands of various regiments1 while there are above ninety applications still on the books for more musicians who have chosen this branch of the military service4 ,it is a matter of choice1 of course2 and there are some who prefer to become sailors1 or to go into situations and learn the trade of tailoring1 that their instructors may be able to recommend them to respectable masters as apprentices4 ,but let us walk through the kitchen1 and ascend the short zig-zag stairs which lead us by a passage to the school-room1 where most of the boys are at work with their slates4 ,very few of the little fellows are more than thirteen years old1 and some of them have been but a short time at school2 but even those who came here totally uninstructed have made admirable progress1 and some of the writing-books containing lessons from dictation are well worth looking at for their clean and excellent penmanship and fair spelling2 while in arithmetic the boys who have been longest under tuition have advanced as far as practice4 ,there is nothing superfluous in school-room1 work-room1 or play-room--indeed1 one might almost say that they are unfurnished1 except for desks and forms and plain deal tables4 ,the play-room is a lower portion of the old slaughter-house1 with a high ceiling1 to a beam in which is fixed a pair of ropes terminating in two large wooden rings by which the youthful gymnasts swing and perform all kinds of evolutions1 while a set of parallel bars are among the few accessories4 ,it is evident that nothing is spent in mere ornament1 and that the expenditure is carefully considered1 though recreation1 and healthy recreation too1 is a part of the daily duty1 which is regulated in a fashion befitting the rather military associations of the place4 ,even now1 as the cheery superintendent1 ,mr4 ,ramsden1 who was lately quartermaster-sergeant of the #afth ,regiment1 calls ,attention6 every boy is quickly on his feet and ready to greet us2 and what is more1 the boys seem to like this kind of discipline1 for it is kind in its prompt demand for obedience1 and the regularity and order includes a kind of self-reliance1 which is a very essential part of education for lads who must necessarily be taught what they have to learn in a comparatively short time1 and are then sent out where order and promptitude are of the utmost service to them4 ,economy is studied1 but the recollection of the cheery kitchen suggests that there is no griping hard endeavour to curtail the rations necessary to support health and strength4 ,in fact1 the boys are sufficiently fed1 warmly clothed1 and are encouraged both to work and play heartily4 ,breakfast consists of bread and coffee2 dinner of meat and vegetables three days in the week1 fish on one day 7,wednesday71 pudding on ,monday1 soup on ,friday1 meat and cheese on ,saturday2 tea or coffee with bread and dripping1 while on ,sundays butter is an additional luxury both at breakfast and tea2 and on ,thursdays and ,sundays tea is substituted for coffee at the evening meal4 ,all the boys are decently and warmly clothed1 and though only some of their number take to music as a profession1 and choose to go into the military bands1 they all receive instruction4 ,they are taught to keep their own bunks and dormitories neat1 and1 in fact1 do their own household work2 while1 morning and afternoon1 personal trimness is promoted by the military inspection which is part of the discipline4 ,there is half an hour's play after breakfast1 another quarter of hour before dinner1 three-quarters of an hour for washing and play after dinner1 a quarter of an hour before tea1 and from an hour and a half to two hours for boot-cleaning and play before bed-time1 besides out-door exercise daily1 except in wet weather1 when drill and gymnastics take its place4 ,they also go to ,primrose ,hill on ,tuesday and ,saturday afternoons1 there to run in the fresh air and disport themselves in cricket1 or such games as they can find the toys for1 by the kindness of the committee or generous visitors4 ,even with these recreations1 however1 they find time to go through a very respectable amount of work in the fourteen hours between rising and bed-time2 and the letters received from lads who have left the school are an evidence that they remember with pleasure and with gratitude the ,refuge that became a home1 and to which they attribute their ability to take a place which would have been denied to them without the aid which grew out of pity for their neglected childhood4 ,here is a short epistle from one of the juvenile band1 at ,shorncliffe ,camp1 written a year or two ago3-- ,i now take the pleasure of writing these few lines and ,i hope all the boys are all well1 and all in the school and please ,mr4 ,ramsden will you send me the parcel up that ,i took into the school it was laying in the bookcase in the school-room and ,i hope that all the boys are all getting on with their instruments and the snips with their work and ,i should like you to read it to the boys and ,i wish that you would let ---- answer it and ,i am getting on with my instrument very well1 and ,i will be able to come and see you on ,cristamas season4 ,this is a characteristic schoolboy letter1 which shows how much boys are alike in all grades4 ,the following is another letter from ,shorncliffe3-- ,dear ,sir1 ,i received your kind and welcome letter along with mothers1 and ,i wrote back to tell you we have all been enlisted and sworn in1 and we expect to get our clothes next week and we all feel it our duty to express our deeply felt gratitude to you ,mr4 ,dust and the ,committee1 and we are all very happy at present please give our respects to ,mrs4 ,ramsden ,sister ,zillah ,mr4 ,mc,derby ,mr4 ,mason ,mr4 ,goodwin ,miss ,cheesman and please remember us to all the boys4 ,leary is on sick furlough since the #aeth of ,decr4 and has not returned yet and ,brenan1 ,lloyd ,graham ,mc,carthy ,henderson and all the others are very jolly at present and been out all the afternoon amongst the snow4 ,so ,i conclude with kind thanks to one and all and believe me to be ,dear ,sir ,your late pupil ---- ,band ---- ,regt4 ,the following will show how the memory of the old slaughter-house and the school in ,newport ,market remains after the boys have left and have entered on a career4 ,it is addressed from ,warley ,barracks3-- ,dear ,sir ,i now take the opportunity of writing to you hoping you and all the rest of the school and the sister also4 ,it is a long time since ,i left the school now and ,i dont suppose you would know me if ,i was to come and see you ,i was apprenticed out off the school along of ,j---- ,r---- to ,mr ,w---- in #ahfi ,i think it was as a ,tailor4 ,i should like you to write and tell me if you know what rigment ,j---- ,h---- belong to his school number was #cd and mine was #ce me and him was great friends when we were in the school and ,i should like to know very much were he is4 ,when ,i left the ,school ,mr4 ,l---- was ,supperintendant and ,i dont suppose ,i should know you sir if ,i was to see you ,i shall try to come down and see the ,school if ,i can on ,christmas for ,i shall be on pass to ,london for seven days and ,i should like to know where ,j---- ,h---- is so as ,i should be able to see him4 ,i have a few more words to say that is the school was the making of me and ,i am very thankful to the school for it so with kind love to you all ,i remain your humble servant1 ,band ---- ,regiment1 ,warley ,barracks1 ,essex4 ,j---- ,h---- number was #cd and mine was #ce4 ,excuse me addressing this ,letter to you as ,i dont know anything about you sir4 ,there is something pleasant indeed in letters like these2 and ,i for one am not surprised that the boys should go to their musical practice with a will4 ,they are just preparing to play something for our especial delight now1 and so burst out1 in a grand triumphant blast1 with ,let the ,hills ,resound1 after which we will take our leave1 and1 we hope1 not without melody in our hearts4 ,just one word as we go through this kitchen again4 ,two ,west ,end clubs supply the ,newport ,market ,refuge with the remnants of their well-stocked larders4 ,did it ever occur to you how many hungry children and poor men and women could be fed on the actual waste that goes on in hotels1 clubs1 inns1 dining-rooms1 and large and ordinary households every day8 ,m4 ,alexis ,soyer used to say that he could feed ten thousand people with the food that was wasted in ,london every day2 and ,i am inclined to think he was not far wrong4 ,at all events1 an enormous salvage of humanity might be effected if only the one meal daily which might be made of refuse pieces of meat and bread1 bones1 cuttings of vegetables1 cold potatoes1 and general pieces--was secured to the thousands to whom enough would often indeed be as good as a feast4 ,to people who know how much that is really good for food--not the plate-scrapings and leavings1 but sound and useful reversions of meat and bread and vegetables1 bones1 and unsightly corners of joints--is either suffered to spoil or is thrown at once into the waste-tub1 both in hotels and private houses1 the additional knowledge that there are hungry children in every district in ,london to whom a bowl of nourishing soup or a plate of minced meat and vegetables would be a boon1 may easily be a pain1 because of the inability to suggest how to organise the means of utilising what one is tempted to call undeserved plenty4 ,,feeding ,,the ,,multitude4 ,i suppose there are people still to be found who have but a vague notion of what it is to be really hungry4 ,they may be conscious of possessing a good appetite now and then1 and having the means of obtaining food1 and to a certain extent of choosing what they will eat1 regard being rather sharp set as a luxury which gives additional zest to a dinner1 enabling them to take off the edge of their craving with a plate of warm soup1 and to consider what they would like to follow4 ,of course we most of us read in the papers of the distress of the poor during the winter1 of the number of children for whom appeals are made that they may have a meal of meat and vegetables once or twice a week1 of the aggregate of casual paupers during a given period1 and of cases where death accelerated by want and exposure is the verdict of a coroner's jury2 but we do not very easily realise what it is to be famished2 have perhaps never experienced that stage beyond hunger--beyond even the faintness and giddiness that makes us doubt whether we could swallow anything solid1 and would cause us to turn hopelessly from dry bread4 ,there is no need here to detail the sufferings that come of starvation4 ,they are dreadful enough2 but if our charity needs the stimulus of such descriptions we are in a bad way1 and are ourselves in danger of perishing for want of moral sustenance4 ,those who need assurance of the hunger of hundreds of their poor neighbours need not go very far to obtain it4 ,a quarter of an hour at the window of any common cook-shop in a low neighbourhood1 at about seven o'clock in the evening1 when the steam of unctuous puddings is blurring the glass1 and the odour of leg-of-beef soup and pease-pudding comes in gusts to the chilly street1 should suffice4 ,there is pretty sure to be a group of poor little eager-eyed pinch-nosed boys and girls peering wistfully in to watch the fortunate possessor of two-pence who comes out with something smoking hot on a cabbage-leaf1 and begins to bite at it furtively before he crosses the threshold4 ,of course1 according to modern social political economy1 it would be encouraging mendicity1 and sapping the foundations of an independent character1 to distribute sixpenny pieces amongst the juvenile committee of taste who are muttering what they would buy if only somebody could be found to advance a copper4 ,but it is to be hoped or feared 7which87 that a good many people yet live who would instinctively feel in their pockets for a stray coin to expend on a warm greasy slab of baked or boiled1 or on half a dozen squares of that peculiarly dense pie-crust which is sold in ha'porths4 ,this is a vulgar detail2 but somehow poverty and hunger are vulgar1 and we should find it difficult to get away from them if we tried ever so hard4 ,even ,school ,boards1 peeping out upon the children perishing for lack of knowledge1 find themselves in a difficulty1 because there is no provision under the compulsory or any other clause for the children who are also perishing for lack of food4 ,the ,board beadle does not at present go about with soup-tickets in his pockets2 and for the poor shivering shoeless urchins who are mustered in the big brick-built room where they assemble according to law there is no free breakfast-class4 ,it must one day become a question how they are to learn till they are filled4 ,grown people find it hard enough to fix their attention on the best advice or the most saving doctrine while they suffer involuntary hunger4 ,the multitude must mostly be fed before they are taught4 ,even disciples have had a revelation of the ,bread of ,life in the breaking of bread that perishes4 ,do we still need a miracle to teach us that8 ,happily1 efforts are made to give meat to the hungry4 ,during the winter weather food is distributed in various ways amidst some of those poverty-stricken neighbourhoods to which ,i am obliged to take you during our excursions2 but the demand far exceeds the supply1 and people suffer hunger at all seasons1 though most of all in the time of bleak winds and searching cold4 ,i want you to come to-day to a kitchen which is open all the year round--the only kitchen of the kind in ,london which does not close its doors even when the spring-tide brings buds of promise on the shrubs in ,leicester ,square1 and the ,london sparrow comes out from roofs and eaves1 and preens his dingy plumage in the summer sun1 as though ,great ,windmill ,street had something in common with its name1 and sweet country odours came from the region of the ,haymarket4 ,for1 you know1 we are still in the district of ,soho4 ,i have but just now brought you out of ,newport ,market1 and now we are in a very curious part of this vast strange city4 ,the streets are dim and dingy1 but not so squalid as you might have imagined4 ,they are still and silent1 too1 as of a neighbourhood that has seen better days1 and even in its poverty has a sense of gentility which is neither boisterous nor obtrusive4 ,you will remember that ,i referred to this neighbourhood of ,soho when ,i spoke of those old ,french refugees who came and made industrial colonies in ,london after the revocation of the ,edict of ,nantes4 ,this is the only really foreign quarter of ,london which has lasted until to-day2 but that is to be accounted for by the fact that it became representative of no particular industry1 and that1 probably from the fact of many of the patrons of literature and art having then town houses about ,leicester and ,soho ,squares1 the more artistic refugees took up their abode in the adjacent streets4 ,from the time when ,william ,hogarth painted his picture of the ,calais ,gate till only a short time ago1 when refugees fled from besieged ,paris to find some poor and wretched lodging in the purlieus of ,cranbourne ,street1 where they might live in peace and hear their native tongue1 this has been the resort of poor foreigners in ,london4 ,it almost reminds one of some of the smaller streets of a continental city2 and as we look at the queer shabby restaurants1 and the shops with strange names painted above them in long yellow letters1 we almost expect to find the pavement change to cobble-stones1 and to see some queer wooden sign dangle overhead1 so like is the place to the small bourgeois quarter that in our earlier days lay behind the ,madeleine and the ,porte ,st4 ,denis4 ,for here is an actual crmerie--a queer compound of cook-shop and milkseller's--with a couple of bright dairy cans outside the door1 and a long loaf or two amidst the cups and plates and sausages in the dingy window4 ,over the way you see ,blanchisseuse in large letters2 and next door is a laiterie1 which differs from a crmerie as a caf alone differs from a caf restaurant with its commerce de vins painted in big capitals in front of a long row of sour-looking bottles and a green calico curtain4 ,it is a quaint jumble1 all the way to ,dean ,street1 and till we reach the edge of the ,haymarket--a jumble of ,brown and ,lebrun1 of ,jones and ,jean1 of ,robin 7fils7 and ,robinson2 but for all the little musty-smelling cafs1 the blank bare-windowed restaurants1 the crmeries1 and the boulangeries1 there is nothing of a well fed look about the district1 especially just at this corner1 leading as it seems to a stable-yard or the entrance to a range of packers' warehouses4 ,there is one open front here--is it a farrier's or a blacksmith's shop8--where they appear to be doing a stroke of business1 however1 for there is a clinking1 and a fire1 and a steam2 but the steam has a fragrant odour of vegetables--of celery and turnips1 of haricots and gravy--the clink is that of basins and spoons getting ready1 and the fire is that of the boiler which simmers two mighty cauldrons4 ,step to the front1 and you will see in big white letters right across the house1 ,mont ,st4 ,bernard ,hospice4 ,you may well rub your eyes1 for you are in the heart of ,london1 and stand in ,ham ,yard1 ,leicester ,square1 before the soup-kitchen that is open all the year4 ,there is something very appetising in the steam that arises from both these huge cauldrons1 one of which is the stock-pot1 containing bones1 remnants of joints 7not plate-clearings71 and reversions of cold meat1 c41 from two ,west ,end clubs4 ,to this are added vegetables--celery1 haricot beans1 or barley--making it a fresh palatable stock1 not remarkable for meatiness1 but still excellent in flavour1 as you may find for yourself if you join me in a luncheon here4 ,but the real strengthening gravy has yet to be added1 and the cauldron on the left hand is full of it--real1 genuine gravy soup1 made from raw meat and bones purchased for this purpose4 ,as soon as this has simmered till it is thoroughly ready1 the contents of the two cauldrons are mixed1 and the result is a delicious stew1 which is ready to be turned out into these yellow pint basins1 for the hungry applicants1 who will sit down at one of these two deal tables1 each of which has its rough clean form1 or to be dispensed to those who bring jugs1 bowls1 cans1 saucepans1 kettles1 pipkins--any and almost every receptacle in which they can carry it steaming away to their families4 ,let us stand here and see them come in4 ,here is a poor famishing fellow1 who looks with eager eyes at the savoury mess4 ,he has evidently seen better days4 ,there is an unmistakable air of education about him1 and as he sits down with his basin and spoon1 and the handful of broken bread1 which is added to the soup from one of a series of clean sacks emptied for the purpose1 the superintendent1 ,mr4 ,stevens1 scans him with a quick eye1 and will probably speak to him before he leaves4 ,there is a foreigner--an ,italian1 by the look of his oval olive face--who takes his place very quietly1 and as quietly begins to eat2 and yonder a famished-looking1 rough fellow1 who has already devoured the basinful with his eyes1 and is evidently in sore need4 ,men1 women1 and children1 or1 at all events1 boys and girls1 come and present their tickets1 and receive this immediate relief1 against which surely not the most rigorous opponent to mendicancy can protest4 ,the cadger and the professional beggar do not go to the soup-kitchen where nothing is charged1 for they do not need food1 and will only see a ticket where it is likely to be accompanied by the penny which will buy a quart4 ,be sure that there are few cases here which are not so necessitous that they are not far from starvation2 and many of them represent actually desperate want4 ,the tickets for obtaining this prompt relief--often only just in time to save some poor creature from utter destitution and crime1 and as often administered when a family is without food1 and yet clings to the hope of finding work to prevent that separation which they must submit to by becoming paupers--are placed in the hands of clergymen1 doctors1 district visitors1 ,bible-women1 and those who know the poor1 and can feel for them when in hard times they pawn furniture1 tools1 and clothes1 and suffer the extremity of want1 before they will apply for parochial relief1 and have offered to them the alternative of going into the house4 ,the annals of the poor1 from which extracts occasionally appear in the newspapers in the accounts of coroners' inquests1 prove to what dreadful sufferings many decent but destitute people will submit rather than become recognised paupers2 and no system of charitable relief outside the workhouse walls will be effectual or useful which does not recognise and respect this feeling4 ,who would let the possible accident of some unworthy person getting a gratuitous pint of soup stand in the way of a work such as we see going on here1 where one year's beneficent action includes above ten thousand persons relieved8--a large number of whom are temporarily taken into the ,hospice1 as we shall see presently1 while a great contingent is represented by the family tickets1 which enable poor working men and women from various districts in ,london to carry away a gallon of strong nourishing soup1 and an apronful of bread to their hungry little ones4 ,you see that great heap of pieces of fine bread--slices1 hunches1 remnants of big loaves1 dry toast1 ,french bread1 brown bread1 and rolls--all placed in a clean wooden bin1 they also come from the two great ,west ,end clubs before mentioned1 and are so appreciated by the applicants for relief 7they being usually good judges of quality7 that you may note a look of disappointment if the stock of club bread has been exhausted1 and a portion of one of the common loaves bought for the purpose is substituted4 ,the small broken bread in those clean sacks is club bread also--the crumbs from rich men's tables1 but clean1 and thoroughly good1 fit for immediate addition to the soup1 which a hungry company of diners consume in a painfully short space of time4 ,they are not inhabitants of this district1 either2 comparatively few come from the immediate neighbourhood1 though1 of course1 some poor families of the adjacent streets and alleys1 and occasionally foreign workmen--many of them adepts in artistic employments1 who are in the land of the stranger and in want--come here and have not only the help of a meal1 but the kind inquiry1 the further aid that will sustain hope1 and enable them to look for work1 and find the means of living4 ,londoners from ,kentish ,town1 ,lambeth1 ,shoreditch1 and ,chelsea--poor hungry men and women from all parts of the great city--find their way here to obtain a dinner2 and it is extremely unlikely that they would leave even the least profitable employment and walk so far for the sake of a basin of soup4 ,food alone is offered1 not money1 and there is little probability of imposition when there is so little to be gained by the attempt4 ,but while the great cauldrons are being emptied1 let us hear what they do at this ,mont ,st4 ,bernard ,hospice at the ,christmas season4 ,here is a list of good things that were sent at ,christmas-tide for a special purpose3--,a noble earl sent a sheep1 if not more than one1 and other generous givers in kind--many of them manufacturers of or dealers in the articles they contributed--forwarded loaves1 biscuits1 hams1 rice1 flour1 currants1 raisins1 ale1 porter1 cocoa1 peas1 and other comfortable meats and drinks1 so that there was a glorious distribution to the poor on ,christmas ,eve1 when #icf families were provided with a ,christmas dinner1 consisting of #d lbs4 of beef1 #c lbs4 of pudding1 bread1 tea1 and sugar1 together with such other seasonable and most acceptable gifts as were apportioned to them in accordance with the number of their children and the quantity of miscellaneous eatables and drinkables available for the purpose4 ,but we have not quite done with it yet1 for it is a hospice in fact1 as well as in name4 ,just as in the ,newport ,market ,refuge1 the houseless and destitute are received with little question--the homeless and friendless are here taken in after little inquiry1 even the subscriber's ticket for admission being occasionally dispensed with1 when ,mr4 ,stevens1 the superintendent1 sees an obviously worthy case among the applicants who come to ask for a meal4 ,it must be remembered1 however1 that an experienced eye can detect the casual very readily1 and that ,mr4 ,stevens1 who served with his friend ,mr4 ,ramsden1 of ,newport ,market1 when they were both in the army1 is as smart a detective as that shrewd and compassionate officer4 ,it is so much the better for those who are really deserving--so much the better even for those who1 being ashamed to dig1 are not ashamed to beg--the ne'er-do-weels who1 even in the degradation of poverty brought about by idleness and dissipation1 come down to solicit food and shelter1 and find both1 together with ready help1 if they will mend their ways4 ,there are some such1 but not many3 more often a man of education1 broken by misfortune1 and perhaps by the loss of a situation through failure or accident beyond his control1 finds himself starving and desolate4 ,such men have come here1 and found1 first1 food1 then a lavatory1 then a bed in a good-sized room1 where only seven or eight persons are received to sleep1 then a confidential talk1 advice1 the introduction to people willing and able to help them among the committee and subscribers of the ,institution4 ,it may be a ,french tutor destitute in ,london1 but with his character and ability beyond doubt2 it may be1 it has been1 a young foreign artist2 a skilled labourer from the country1 who has come to ,london to find work and finds want instead2 a poor school-teacher who1 having lost an appointment1 and being unable to work at any other calling1 is in despair1 and knows not where to turn2 an honest fellow1 ready and willing to turn his hand to anything1 but finding nothing to which he can turn his hand without an introduction4 ,such are the cases which are received at this hospice in ,ham ,yard1 where they are permitted to remain for a day or two1 or even for a week or two1 till they find work1 or till somebody can make inquiries about them and help them to what they seek4 ,about seven men and eight women can be received within the walls1 but there are seldom the full number there1 because it is necessary to discriminate carefully4 ,the object is to relieve immediate and painful distress1 and to give that timely aid which averts starvation by the gift of food1 and prevents the degradation of pauperism by means of advice1 assistance1 and just so much support as will give the stricken and friendless men or women time to recover from the first stupor of hopelessness or the dread of perishing1 and at the same time afford the opportunity of proving that they are ready and willing to begin anew1 with the consciousness that they have not been left desolate4 ,,giving ,,rest ,,to ,,the ,,weary4 ,we have not yet done with this wonderful district of ,soho4 ,it is one of those attractive quarters of ,london1 which is interesting alike for its historical associations and for memorable houses that were once inhabited by famous men4 ,in essays1 letters1 fiction--all through that period which has been called the ,augustan age of ,english literature--we find allusions to it2 and after that time it continued to be the favourite resort of artists1 men of letters1 wealthy merchants1 and not a few statesmen and eminent politicians4 ,in ,leicester ,square1 ,hogarth laughed1 moralised1 and painted4 ,the house of ,sir ,joshua ,reynolds stands yet in that now renovated space1 and a well-known artist has a studio there to-day4 ,but the tide of fashion has receded since powdered wigs and sedan chairs disappeared4 ,the tall stately houses are many of them dismantled1 or are converted into manufactories and workshops4 ,the great iron extinguishers which still adorn the iron railings by the doorsteps have nearly rusted away4 ,it must be a century since the flambeaux carried by running footmen were last thrust into them1 when great rumbling1 creaking coaches drew up and landed visitors before the dimly-lighted portals4 ,silence and decay are the characteristics of many a once goodly mansion2 and the houses themselves are not unfrequently associated with the relief of that poverty which is everywhere so apparent as to appeal to almost every form of charity4 ,before one such house we are standing now1 its quietly opening door revealing a broad lofty hall1 from which a great staircase1 with heavy baluster of black oak and panelled walls leads to the spacious rooms above4 ,this mansion is historical1 too1 in its way1 for we are at the corner of ,soho ,square1 in ,greek ,street1 and are about to enter what was once the ,london residence of the famous ,alderman ,beckford1 and his equally famous son--the man who inherited the mysterious and gorgeously furnished palace at ,fonthill1 the author of ,vathek1 the half-recluse who bought ,gibbon's extensive library at ,lausanne1 that he might have something to amuse him when he went that way1 and afterwards went that way1 read himself nearly blind1 and then made a friend a present of all the books1 sold ,fonthill1 went abroad1 and set about building another mysterious castle in a strange land4 ,in that big committee-room on the first floor1 which we shall visit presently1 there was to be seen1 four or five years ago1 a stupendous chimney-piece of oak1 elaborately carved1 and said to have been a masterpiece of ,grinling ,gibbons4 ,it was taken down and sold for a handsome sum of money1 to augment the funds of the ,institution which now occupies the old mansion1 for the door at which we enter receives other guests than those who once thronged it--suffering1 depressed1 poverty-stricken1 weary men and women1 who come here to seek the rest that is offered to them in the quiet rooms--the restoration of meat and drink and refreshing sleep1 the comfort of hopeful words and friendly aid4 ,it is named ,the ,house of ,charity1 and the work that its supporters have set themselves to do is carried on so silently--,i had almost said so secretly--that the stillness you observe within the building1 as we stand here waiting for the lady who superintends the household1 is suggestive alike of the repose which is essential to the place1 and of a severe earnestness not very easy to define4 ,members of the same committee1 whose earnest hearty work is apparent at ,newport ,market and at the ,soup ,kitchen in ,ham ,yard1 are helping this ,house of ,charity1 which has the ,archbishop of ,canterbury for its patron and the ,bishop of ,london for its visitor4 ,here1 in the two large sitting-rooms opening from the hall1 we may see part of what is being done1 in giving rest to the weary and upholding them who are ready to faint4 ,one is for men1 the other for women1 who have been received as inmates1 for periods extending from a fortnight to a longer time1 according to the necessities of each case1 and the probability of obtaining suitable employment4 ,of course the aid is intended to be only temporary--though in some peculiar cases it is continued till the applicant recovers from weakness following either uninfectious illness or want4 ,there can be1 of course1 no actual sick-nursing here2 but in a warm and comfortable upper room1 near the dormitory1 which we shall see presently--a room which is the day-nursery of a few children who are also admitted--,i have seen young women1 one who was suffering from a consumptive cough1 another an out-patient at an hospital for disease of the hip1 and wearing an instrument till she could be admitted as a regular case4 ,they were both sitting cosily at their tea1 and were employed at needlework1 as most of the women are who find here a temporary home4 ,for it is one of the beneficent results of an influential committee1 that a number of cases are sent to hospitals or to convalescent homes1 and so are restored2 but till this can be done they are fed and tended--fed with food more delicate than that of the ordinary meal--and are allowed to rest in peace and to regain strength4 ,but we are still in the men's sitting-room1 where several poor fellows are looking at the lists of advertisements in the newspapers for some announcement of a vacant situation4 ,a supply of books is also provided both for men and women1 and the latter are just now engaged in mending or making their clothes4 ,between thirty and forty inmates can be received at one time1 and those who are in search of employment1 or who require to go out during the day1 may leave the house after breakfast1 and return either to dinner or to tea4 ,there are1 indeed1 few restrictions when once preliminary inquiries and the recommendation of a member of the committee result in the admission of an applicant2 and it is easy to see how deeply and thankfully many of these poor depressed men and women1 beaten in the battle of life1 with little hope of regaining a foothold1 weak1 dispirited1 destitute1 and with no strength left to struggle under the burden that weighs them down1 find help and healing1 food and sleep1 advice1 and very often a recommendation which places them once more in a position of comfort and independence4 ,a large proportion of those who are admitted are provided with situations either permanently or for a period long enough to enable them to turn round the difficult corner from poverty and dependence to useful and appropriate employment4 ,some are sent to ,homes1 hospitals1 or orphanages1 and many return to their own homes4 ,from those homes they have wandered1 hoping to find the world easier than it has proved to be1 and in going back to them they have fallen by the wayside4 ,there are sometimes remarkable varieties here--emigrants waiting for ships to sail that will bear them to another land2 men of education1 such as tutors1 engineers1 engravers1 and professional men1 who have been unsuccessful1 or have lost their position1 often through no immediate fault of their own4 ,of course1 the large class of genteel poverty is largely represented in the five or six hundred cases which make the average number of yearly inmates4 ,clerks1 shopmen1 and travellers are about as numerous as servants1 porters1 and pages4 ,poor women1 many of whom are ladies by birth or previous position and education1 find the ,house of ,charity a refuge indeed1 and feel that the person who has charge of the household arrangements1 as well as those who have charge of the inmates1 the accounts and correspondence1 may be appealed to with an assurance of true sympathy4 ,here1 beside the two sitting-rooms1 is a large room which we will call the refectory2 it is plainly furnished1 with separate tables for men and women1 and the quantity and description of the food supplied is such as would be provided in a respectable and well-ordered family--tea or coffee and plenty of good bread-and-butter morning and evening1 meat1 bread and vegetables1 for dinner1 and a supper of bread and cheese4 ,there are no rations1 nor any special limit as to quantity1 and if one could forget the distress which brings them hither1 the family might be regarded as belonging to some comfortable business establishment1 with good plain meals and club-room on each side the dining-hall for meeting in after working hours4 ,let us go upstairs1 and look at the dormitories1 which occupy respectively the right and left side of the building1 and we shall see that they are so arranged as to secure that privacy1 the want of which would be most repulsive to persons of superior condition4 ,each long and lofty room is divided into a series of enclosures or cabins by substantial partitions about eight feet high1 and in each of these separate rooms--all of which are lighted by several windows or by gas-branches in the main apartment--there is a neat comfortable bed and bedstead1 with space for a box1 a seat1 and a small table or shelf4 ,a resident chaplain or warden conducts morning and evening prayer in the chapel1 which is built on part of the open area at the back of the building2 and ,i would have you consider1 not only that to many of these weary souls this sacred spot may come to be associated with that outcome to renewed life for which their presence in the ,institution gives them reason to hope1 but that it is most desirable for the invalids1 who frequently form so large a portion of the congregation1 to be able to attend worship without practically leaving the house4 ,not only because of the sick and the physically feeble1 however1 does the ,house of ,charity represent a work that needs vast extension4 ,the case-book would reveal a series of stories none the less affecting because they are entered plainly1 briefly1 and without waste of words4 ,they need few touches of art to make them painfully interesting4 ,they tell of ladies1 wives of professional men1 brought to widowhood and sudden poverty2 of men of education cast adrift through failure or false friendship1 and not knowing where to seek bread2 of children left destitute or deserted under peculiar circumstances2 of women removed from persecution1 and girls from the tainted atmosphere of vice2 of weary wanderers who1 in despair of finding such a shelter1 and dreading the common lodging-house1 have spent nights in the parks2 of foreigners stranded on the shore of a strange city2 of ministers of the gospel brought low2 of friendless servant-girls1 ill-treated1 defrauded of their wages1 or discharged almost penniless1 and cast loose amidst the whirlpool of ,london streets4 ,but1 as ,i have already intimated1 it is not alone for its temporary aid in affording a home that the ,house of ,charity is distinguished2 it affords a good hope also1 by seeking to obtain situations1 for cases where peculiar circumstances make such a search difficult--for bereaved and impoverished ladies1 and for educated men1 as well as for domestic servants and ordinary employs4 ,its supporters give their special aid to the work1 and1 as they number amongst them many ladies and gentlemen of considerable social influence1 employment is frequently found for those whose misfortunes would otherwise be almost irretrievable4 ,,with ,,the ,,poor ,,and ,,needy4 ,all hope abandon1 ye who enter here1 would1 as we might fancy1 be an appropriate inscription for many a wretched court and alley in the greatest and most opulent city in the world--a city distinguished for its claims to be regarded as the centre of civilisation2 as the exemplar of benevolence1 and of active ,christianity4 ,it is one of the marvellous results of the vast extent of this metropolis of ,england that there are whole districts of foul dwellings crowded with a poverty-stricken population1 which yet are almost ignored1 so far as public recognition of their existence is concerned4 ,legislation itself does not reach them1 in the sense of compelling the strict observance of ,acts of ,parliament framed and presumably enforced for the purpose of maintaining sanitary conditions2 philanthropy almost stands appalled at the difficulty of dealing with a chronic necessity so widely spread1 a misery and ignorance so deep and apparently impregnable2 sentimentalism sighs and turns away with a shiver1 or is touched to the extent of relieving its overcharged susceptibilities by the comfortable expedient of the smallest subscription to some association in the neighbourhood4 ,true1 active1 practical religion alone1 of all the agencies that have operated in these places1 gains ground inch by inch1 and at last exercises a definite and beneficial influence1 by taking hold of the hearts and consciences of the people themselves1 and working from within the area of vice and misery1 till the law of love1 beginning to operate where the law of force had no influence1 a change1 gradual but sure1 here a little and there a little1 is effected4 ,we are continually hearing of the dwellings of the poor2 and can scarcely take up a newspaper without noting the phrase1 one of the worst neighbourhoods in ,london1 connected with some report of crime1 outrage1 or suffering2 yet how few of us are really familiar with the actual abodes of the more degraded and miserable of our fellow-citizens6 how quickly1 how gladly1 we dismiss from our memory the account of an inquest where the evidence of the cause of death of some unfortunate man1 woman1 or child1 without a natural share of light1 air1 food1 and water1 reveals hideous details of want and wretchedness1 which we might witness only a few streets off1 and yet are unconscious of their nearness to us in mere physical yards and furlongs1 because they are so far from us spiritually1 in our lack of sympathy and compassion4 ,even at the time that these lines are being written ,i have before me a report of an examination by the coroner into the circumstances attending the death of a woman seventy years of age1 who obtained a miserable and precarious living by stay-making1 and who was found dead in the back kitchen of a house4 ,her death was alleged to have been brought about by the unhealthiness of the house in which she lived1 although the landlord was a medical officer of health for one of the metropolitan districts4 ,in this case the alleged landlord1 who was actually a medical officer of health1 answered the charge made against him by the statement that he had only just come into possession of the property1 and had at once set about putting it in repair4 ,it is to be hoped that this was the case1 and1 indeed1 the evidence of the sanitary inspector went to show that it was so2 but the question remains3 ,how is it that dwellings are permitted to be thus overcrowded1 and to become actual centres of pestilence in the midst of entire neighbourhoods1 where1 for one foul tenement to have an infamous reputation amidst such general filth and dilapidation1 it must indeed be1 as one member of the jury said this place was1 so bad1 that no gentleman would keep his dog there8 ,keep his dog indeed6 ,why ,i know whole rows and congeries of intersecting courts and alleys where a country squire would no more think of kennelling his hounds than he would dream of stabling his horses6 ,there has during the past few years been a tolerably determined stand made against the introduction of pigsties into the back-yards of some of the hovels about ,mile ,end and ,bethnal ,green2 and though cow-sheds are not altogether abolished everywhere in close and overbuilt localities1 there are some precautions taken to diminish the sale of infected milk by an inspection of the laystalls1 and the enforcement of lime-whiting and ventilation in the sheds4 ,costermongers' donkeys are the only animals besides dogs and cats which are commonly to be found in ,london slums now1 and as these can be stowed in any shanty just outside the back door1 or can be littered down in a spare corner of a cellar1 they remain1 in costermongering districts1 without much opposition on the part of the local authorities4 ,for1 after all1 what can these authorities do8 ,under the #ceth section of the ,sanitary ,act1 power was given to them to register all houses let out by non-resident landlords1 who were under a penalty of forty shillings for not keeping their houses in repair1 well supplied with water1 drainage clear1 c4 ,to those who have an intimate acquaintance with the density of population in whole acreages of ,london slums1 there is something almost ludicrous in these words1 especially when they are read in the light of the fact that the landlords of such places are frequently parochial magnates or officials who know how to make things pleasant with subordinate sanitary inspectors4 ,what may be the ultimate result of an ,act of ,parliament for improving the dwellings of the poor it is not at present easy to say2 but assuredly any plan which commences by a general and imperfectly discriminative destruction of existing houses1 hovels though they may be1 will only have the effect of crowding more closely the already ftid and swarming tenements where1 for half-a crown a week1 eight or ten people eat1 live1 and sleep in a single apartment4 ,it was only the other day1 in a district of which ,i shall presently speak more definitely1 that a mission woman was called in to the aid of a family1 consisting of a man1 his wife1 his wife's brother--who was there as a lodger--and five or six children1 all of whom occupied one room1 where the poor woman had just given birth to an infant4 ,the place was almost destitute of furniture2 beds of straw and shavings1 coverlets of old coats and such ragged clothing as could be spared2 little fire and little food4 ,such destitution demanded that the maternity box1 or a suddenly-extemporised bag of baby-clothing and blankets1 should be fetched at once2 and though the mission there is a poor one1 with terrible needs to mitigate1 a constant demand for personal work and noble self-sacrifice1 such cases are every-day events1 such demands always to be answered by some kind of helpful sympathy1 even though the amount of relief afforded is necessarily small and temporary in character4 ,not in one quarter of ,london alone1 but dotted here and there throughout its vastly-extending length and breadth--from ,st4 ,pancras1 and further away northward1 to ,bethnal ,green and all that great series of poverty-stricken townships and colonies of casual labour1 on the east2 from the terrible purlieux of ,southwark1 the districts where long rows of silent houses1 in interminable streets1 chill the unaccustomed wayfarer with vague apprehensions1 where ,little ,hell and the knots and tangles of that ,thief-,london which has found a deplorable ,alsatia in the purlieux of the ,borough and of ,bermondsey2 and so round the metropolitan circle1 westward to the neighbourhood of aristocratic mansions and quiet suburban retreats1 where the garotter skulks and the burglar finds refuge2 further towards the centre of the town1 in ,westminster1 not a stone's-throw from the great legislative assembly1 which1 while it debates in ,st4 ,stephen's on sanitation and the improvement of dwellings1 scarcely remembers all that may be seen in ,st4 ,peter's1 about ,pye ,street1 and remembers ,seven ,dials and ,st ,giles's only as traditional places1 where modern improvements have made a clean sweep1 just as the ,holborn ,viaduct and the metropolitan ,railway swept away ,field ,lane1 and the new meat market at ,smithfield put an end for ever to the horrible selvage of ,cloth ,fair--and only left the legends of ,jonathan ,wild's rookery and the blood-bowl house4 ,but the very mention of these places brings the reflection that not in outlying districts1 but in the very heart of ,london1 in the core of the great city itself1 the canker of misery1 poverty1 and vice is festering still4 ,what is the use of eviction1 when the law punishes houselessness1 and the ,poor ,law cannot meet any sudden demand1 nor maintain any continuous claim on the part of the houseless8 ,summarily to thrust a score or so of wretched families into the streets is to make them either criminals or paupers4 ,they must find some place of shelter2 and if they are to live by their labour1 they must live near their labour1 the wages of which are1 at best1 only just sufficient to procure for them necessary food and covering for their bodies4 ,in the neighbourhood to which ,i have already referred1 four thousand evictions have taken place1 or1 at any rate1 the population has diminished from #bb1jjj to #ah1jjj1 because of a small section of a large puzzle map of courts and alleys having been taken down in order to build great blocks of warehouses4 ,the consequence is1 that in the remaining tangle of slums the people herd closer1 and that a large number of poor lodgers have gone to crowd other tenements not far distant1 and which were already peopled beyond legal measure4 ,for this acreage of vice and wretchedness of which ,i speak is close to the great city thoroughfares--almost within sound of ,bow ,bells4 ,it is about a quarter of a mile in extent each way1 lying between the ,charterhouse and ,st4 ,luke's1 close to the new meat market at ,smithfield on one side1 and ,finsbury ,square on the other4 ,one entrance to it is directly through ,golden ,lane1 ,barbican2 the other close to ,bunhill ,fields burial ground1 along a passage which bears the significant name of ,chequer ,alley4 ,it is a maze of intersecting and interlocking courts1 streets1 and alleys1 some of them without any thoroughfare1 some reached by ascending or descending steps1 many of them mere tanks1 the walls of which are represented by hovels inhabited by costermongers1 ,french-polishers1 dock-labourers1 chair-makers1 workers at all kinds of underpaid labour and poor handicrafts4 ,many of the women go out to work at factories1 or at charing1 and the children are--or at least were--left to the evil influences of the streets1 till another and a more powerful influence began to operate1 slowly1 but with the impetus of faith and love1 to touch even this neglected and miserable quarter of ,london with the light that lighteth every man4 ,in this square quarter of a mile--which1 starting from the edge of ,aldersgate1 stretches to the further main thoroughfare abutting on the pleasant border of the ,city ,road1 and includes the northern end of ,whitecross ,street--there are eighty public-houses and beer-shops6 ,i tell you this much1 as we stand here at the entrance of ,golden ,lane1 but ,i have no intention just now to take you on a casual visit either to the dens of wretchedness and infamy1 or to the homes where poverty abides4 ,i must try to let you see what has been done1 and is still doing1 to bring to both that ,gospel which is alone efficient to change the conditions1 by changing the hearts and motives of men4 ,i may well avoid any description of the places which lie on either hand1 for1 in fact1 there is nothing picturesque in such misery1 nothing specially sensational in such crime4 ,it is all of a sordid miserable sort2 all on a dreary dead-level of wretchedness and poverty1 full of poor shifts and expedients1 or of mean brutality and indifference4 ,there is no show-place to which you could be taken1 as it is said curious gentlemen were at one time conducted to the dens of the mendicants1 thieves1 and highwaymen of old ,london4 ,even in the tramps' kitchen the orgies1 if there are any1 are of so low a kind that they would be depressing in their monotonous degradation4 ,let us go farther1 and enter this strange wilderness by its fitting passage of ,chequer ,alley1 so that we may1 as it were1 see the beginning of the work that has been going on with more or less power for more than thirty years4 ,i think ,i have some acquaintance with what are the worst neighbourhoods of ,london4 ,i have made many a journey down ,east2 have studied some of the strange varieties of life on the shore amidst the water-side population2 have lived amidst the slums of ,spitalfields1 and passed nights ,whitechapel way2 but never in any unbroken area of such extent have ,i seen so much that is suggestive of utter poverty1 so much privation of the ordinary means of health and decency1 as on a journey about this district which ,i long ago named ,the ,chequers4 ,each court and blind alley has the same characteristics--the same look of utter poverty1 the same want of air and light1 the same blank aspect of dingy wall and sunken doorsteps1 the same square areas surrounded by hovels with clothes'-lines stretched from house to house1 almost unstirred by any breeze that blows1 shut in as they are in close caverns1 only to be entered by narrow passages between blank walls4 ,it is the extent of this one solid district1 almost in the very centre of ,city life1 that is so bewildering1 and wherein lies its terrible distraction4 ,the labour of reformation has begun1 but the labourers are few4 ,for more than thirty years some efforts have been going on to redeem this neglected and unnoticed neighbourhood1 which lies so near to1 and yet so far from ,london's heart4 ,let it be noted that this moral effort had gone on for nearly twenty-nine years before any very definite attempt was made to improve the physical condition of the place4 ,in #ahda a tract distributor1 ,miss ,macarthy1 began an organised endeavour to teach the depraved inhabitants of ,chequer ,alley4 ,in #ahfi1 a sanitary surveyor1 reporting on one of the courts of this foul district1 recommended that the premises there should be demolished under the ,artisans' and ,labourers' ,dwellings ,act1 because the floors and ceilings were considerably out of level1 some of the walls saturated with filth and water1 the others broken and falling down1 doors1 window-sashes and frames rotten1 stairs dilapidated and dangerous1 roof leaky and admitting the rain1 no provisions for decency1 and a foul and failing water supply4 ,the pulling-down remedy1 without any simultaneous building up1 has been extended since then in a locality where a model lodging-house1 which has been erected1 has stood for years almost unoccupied1 because like all model lodging-houses in such neighbourhoods1 neither the provisions nor the rentals are adapted to meet the wants and the means of the poorest1 of whom1 as ,i have already said1 a whole family cannot afford to pay more than the rental for a single room1 or two rooms at the utmost4 ,but we are wandering away from the work that we came to see4 ,look at that wistful young native1 standing there quite close to the mouth of ,chequer ,alley4 ,ask him what is that sound of children's voices from a casually-opened doorway1 and he will tell you ,it's our school2 yer kin go in1 sir1 if yer like--anybody kin4 ,as the name of the institution is ,hope ,schools for ,all1 his invitation is doubtless authorised1 and we may well feel that we have made a mistake in thinking of the ,italian poet's hopeless line1 for out of the doorway there comes a sound of singing1 and inside the doorway is a room containing fifty or sixty infants1 seated on low forms1 and many of them such bright1 rosy--yes1 rosy--clean--yes1 comparatively1 if not superlatively clean--little creatures1 that hope itself springs to fresh life in their presence4 ,it is thirty-four years since ,miss ,macarthy1 with an earnest desire to initiate some work of charity and mercy1 resolved to become a distributor of tracts1 and the district she chose was this same foul tangle to which ,i have asked you to accompany me4 ,bad as the whole neighbourhood is now1 it was worse then4 ,it was never what is called a thief-quarter1 but many juvenile thieves haunted it2 and the men were as ruffianly and abusive1 the women as violent and evil-tongued as any who could be found in all ,london4 ,instead of being paved1 and partially and insufficiently drained1 it was a ftid swamp1 with here and there a pool where ducks swam1 while the foul odours of the place were suffocating4 ,no constable dare enter far into the maze without a companion4 ,but the tract distributor ventured4 ,in the midst of an epidemic of typhus1 or what is known as poverty fever1 she went about among the people1 and strove to fix their attention on the message that she carried4 ,the religious services commenced in a rat-catcher's front parlour1 and at first the congregation broke into the hymns with scraps and choruses of songs4 ,the crowd which collected outside not only interrupted the proceedings1 but threatened those who conducted them with personal violence1 and even assaulted them1 and heaped insult upon them2 but the lady who had put her hand to the plough would not turn back4 ,in the midst of her patient and difficult work she herself was stricken down with fever4 ,she had visited and tended those who were suffering4 ,when the question was asked what had become of her1 the barbarous people learnt that she was like to die4 ,perhaps this touched the hearts of some of them1 for she had begun to live down the brutal opposition of those who could not believe in unselfish endeavours to benefit them4 ,she recovered1 however2 and supported by others1 who gave both money and personal effort1 the beneficent work went on4 ,in this large room where the children are singing we have an example of what has been effected4 ,some of the little creatures are pale1 and have that wistful look that goes to the heart2 but there are few of them that have not clean faces1 and who do not show in the scanty little dresses some attempt at decent preparation for meeting the guv'ness4 ,there is a school for elder children also2 and in the ramshackle old house where the classes are held there are appliances which mark the wide application of the beneficent effort that has grown slowly but surely1 not only in scope1 but in its quiet influence upon the people amidst whom it was inaugurated4 ,yonder1 in a kind of covered yard1 is a huge copper1 the honoured source of those penny dinners1 and those quarts and gallons of soup which have been such a boon to the neighbourhood1 where food is scarce1 and dear4 ,then there was the ,christmas dinner1 at which some hundreds of little guests were supplied with roast meat and pudding1 evidences of how much may be effected within a very small space4 ,indeed1 this ,hope ,school1 with its two or three rooms1 is at work day and night2 for not only are the children taught--children not eligible for those ,board schools which1 unless the board itself mitigates its technical demands1 will shut up this and similar institutions before any provision is made for transferring the children to the care of a ,government department--but there are mothers' meetings1 sewing classes1 where poor women can obtain materials at cost price1 and be taught to make them into articles of clothing4 ,there are also adult classes1 and ,sunday evening services for those who would never appear at church or chapel but for such an easy transition from their poor homes to the plain neighbourly congregation assembled there4 ,there are evenings1 too1 when lectures1 dissolving views1 social teas1 and pleasant friendly meetings bring the people together with humanising influences4 ,it becomes a very serious question for the ,london ,school ,board to consider whether1 by demanding that ragged schools such as this shall be closed if they do not show a certain technical standard of teaching1 the means of partially feeding and clothing1 which are in such cases inseparable from instructing1 shall be destroyed4 ,but here is a youthful guide--a shambling1 shock-headed lad1 with only three-quarters of a pair of shoes1 and without a cap1 who is to be our guide to another great work1 on the ,golden ,lane side of this great zigzag1 to the ,costermongers' ,mission1 in fact4 ,you may follow him with confidence1 for he is a ,hope ,school-boy--and that means something1 even in ,chequer ,alley4 ,still threading our way through those dim alleys1 where each one looks like a cul-de-sac1 but yet may be the devious entrance to another more foul and forbidding1 we leave the ,hope-for-,all ,mission ,room resounding with infant voices1 all murmuring the simple lessons of the day4 ,that room is seldom empty1 because of the evening school where a large class of older pupils are taught1 reading1 writing1 and arithmetic2 the adult class1 and the mothers' meeting1 to which poor women are invited that they may be assisted to make garments for themselves and their children from materials furnished for them at a cheap rate in such quantities as their poor savings can purchase4 ,the visiting ,bible woman is the chief agent in these works of mercy1 since she brings parents and children to the school1 and reports cases of severe distress to be relieved when there are funds for the purpose4 ,not only by teaching and sewing1 however1 are the hopeful influences of the place supported1 for1 as ,i have said already1 in this big room the people of the district are invited to assemble to listen to lectures1 readings1 and music1 to see dissolving views2 and in the summer1 when fields are in their beauty and the hedge-rows are full of glory1 there is an excursion into the country for the poor1 little1 pallid children1 while1 strangest sight of all1 a real flower show is1 or was1 held in ,chequer ,alley4 ,one could almost pity the flowers1 if we had any pity to spare from the stunted buds and blossoms of humanity who grow pale and sicken and so often die in this foul neighbourhood4 ,but we have strange sights yet to see1 so let us continue our excursion in and out1 and round and round1 not without some feeling of giddiness and sickness of heart1 through the ,pigeons--a tavern1 the passage of which is itself a connecting link between two suspicious-looking courts--round by beershops all blank and beetling1 and silent2 past low-browed doorways and dim-curtained windows of tramps' kitchens1 and the abodes of more poverty1 misery1 and it may be crime1 than you will find within a similar space in any neighbourhood in ,london1 or out of it1 except perhaps in about five streets down ,east1 or in certain dens of ,liverpool and ,manchester4 ,one moment4 ,you see where a great sudden gap appears to have been made on one side of ,golden ,lane4 ,that gap represents houses pulled down to erect great blocks of building for warehouses or factories1 and it also represents the space in which above #d1jjj people lived when the population of this square quarter of mile of poverty and dirt was #bb1jjj souls4 ,this will give you some idea of the consequences of making what are called clean sweeps1 by demolishing whole neighbourhoods before other dwellings are provided for the evicted tenants4 ,one result of this method of improving the dwellings of the poor is that the people crowd closer1 either in their own or in some adjacent neighbourhood1 where rents are low and landlords are not particular how many inmates lodge in a single room4 ,remember that whole families can only earn just enough to keep them from starving1 and cannot afford to pay more than half-a-crown or three-and-sixpence a week for rent4 ,they must live near their work1 or they lose time1 and time means pence1 and pence represent the difference between eating and fasting4 ,the model lodging-house6 ,see1 there is one1 and it is nearly empty4 ,how should it be otherwise8 ,the proprietors of such places1 whether they be philanthropists or speculators--and they are not likely to be the latter--can never see a return of any profitable percentage on their outlay while they enforce necessary sanitary laws4 ,the top-rooms are half-a-crown a week each1 and the lower sets range from about six shillings for two to eight-and-sixpence for three rooms4 ,the consequence is that the few tenants in this particular building are frequently changing their quarters4 ,some of them try it1 and fall into arrear1 and are ejected1 or want to introduce whole families into a single room1 as they do in these surrounding courts and alleys1 and this1 of course1 is not permitted4 ,imagine one vast building crowded at the same rate as some of these two-storeyed houses are6 ,ask the missionary1 whose duty takes her up scores of creaking staircases1 to places where eight or ten human beings eat1 drink1 sleep1 and even work1 in one small room--where father1 mother1 children1 and sometimes also a brother or sister-in-law1 herd together1 that they may live on the common earnings2 places where children are born1 and men1 women1 and children die2 and the new-born babe must be clothed by the aid of the maternity box1 and the dead must be buried by the help of money advanced to pay for the plainest decent funeral4 ,i do not propose to take you to any of these sights4 ,you could do little good unless you became familiar with them1 and entered into the work of visitation4 ,even in the published reports of the organisation to which we are now going1 the cases are not dwelt upon1 only one or two are given from the experiences of the missionary1 and she speaks of them simply as examples of the kind of destitution which characterises a district where deplorable poverty is the result sometimes of drink1 or what1 for want of a word applicable to the saving of pence1 is termed improvidence2 but frequently also1 because of sickness1 and the want even of poorly-paid employment4 ,in such cases1 says the report1 almost everything is parted with to procure food and shelter outside the workhouse4 ,one of the two ordinary cases referred to was that of a poor woman who was found lying on a sack of shavings on the floor1 with an infant two days old2 also a child lying dead from fever1 and two other children crying for food4 ,none had more than a solitary garment on4 ,the smell of the room was such that the missionary was quite overcome until she had opened the window4 ,clean linen was obtained1 and their temporal and spiritual wants at once looked after4 ,this was in the ,report of above a year ago2 but cases only just less distressing occur daily still4 ,this foul and neglected district1 which lies like an ulcer upon the great opulent city1 the centre of civilization and benevolence1 seems to be as far from us as though it were a part of some savage or semi-heathen land under ,british influence4 ,indeed1 in the latter case1 there would be a probability of more earnest effort on behalf of the benighted people1 on whose behalf meetings would perhaps be held1 and a committee of inquiry and distribution appointed4 ,still1 let us be thankful that something is done4 ,twenty-nine poor mothers have had the benefit of the maternity fund and clothing1 the ,report tells us4 ,they are very grateful for this assistance in their terrible need4 ,frequently the distress is so great that two changes of clothing are given to mother and babe1 or they would be almost entirely denuded when the time arrived for returning the boxes4 ,our lady subscribers at a distance may be glad to know that blankets1 sheets1 flannel petticoats1 warm shawls1 and babies' clothing will always be acceptable4 ,thus writes ,mrs4 ,orsman on the subject1 for the mission is known as the ,golden ,lane ,mission1 and more popularly as ,mr4 ,orsman's ,mission to the ,costermongers4 ,perhaps these words scarcely denote the scope of the work2 but costermongers must be taken as a representative term in a district where1 in an area of a square quarter of a mile1 there are1 or recently were1 eighty public-houses and beershops1 and a dense mass of inhabitants1 including street-traders or hucksters1 labourers1 charwomen1 road-sweepers1 drovers1 ,french polishers1 artificial flower-makers1 toy-makers1 with what is now a compact and really representative body of costermongers1 working earnestly enough to keep to the right way1 and1 as they always did1 forming a somewhat distinctive part of the population4 ,sixteen years ago1 ,mr4 ,orsman began the work of endeavouring to carry the gospel to the rough-and-ready savages of this benighted field for missionary enterprise4 ,he held an official appointment1 and this was his business after office hours4 ,about the results of his own labour he and his ,reports are modestly reticent1 but at all events it began to bear fruit4 ,others joined in it2 a regular mission was established1 and1 with vigorous growth1 shot out several branches1 so wisely uniting what may be called the secular or temporal with the spiritual and religious interest1 that the ,bread of ,life was not altogether separated from that need for the bread which perishes4 ,these branches are full of sap to-day1 and one of them is also full of promising buds and blossoms1 if we are to judge of the rows of ragged--but not unhappy--urchins who fill this large room or hall of the ,mission-house4 ,it is only the first-floor of two ordinary houses knocked into one1 but a great work is going on4 ,the parochial school was once held here1 and now the room is full of children who might still be untaught but for the effort which made the ,ragged ,school a first consideration in an endeavour to redeem the whole social life of the district4 ,wisely enough1 the ,school ,board accepted the aid which this free day-school for ragged and nearly destitute children affords to a class which the ,education ,act has not yet taught us how to teach4 ,in four years1 out of ninety-five boys and girls who entered situations from this school1 only one was dismissed for dishonesty1 and it was afterwards found that he was the dupe of the foreman of the place at which he worked4 ,well may ,mr4 ,harwood1 the school superintendent1 be glad in the labour that he has learnt to love in spite of all the sordid surroundings4 ,there is life in the midst of these dim courts--a ragged-school and a church1 which is poor1 but not1 strictly speaking1 ragged4 ,in fact1 the patching class for ragged boys1 which meets on ,thursdays1 from five to seven in the afternoon1 remedies even the tattered garments of the poor little fellows1 who1 having only one suit1 must take off their habiliments in order to mend them4 ,occasional gifts of second-hand clothes are amongst the most useful stock of the schoolmaster1 as anybody may believe who sees the long rows of children1 many of them1 like our juvenile guide1 with two odd boots1 which are mere flaps of leather1 and attire which it would be exaggeration to call a jacket and trousers4 ,the school-room is also the church and the lecture-hall4 ,it will hold #cjj people2 and the ,sunday-evening congregation fills it thoroughly1 while1 on week-nights1 special services1 and frequently lectures1 entertainments1 and attractive social gatherings bring the costers and their friends in great force4 ,the chief of the costermongers is the ,earl of ,shaftesbury2 and here1 standing as it were at livery in a quiet corner of a shanty close to the coal-shed1 is the earl's barrow1 emblazoned with his crest4 ,this remarkable vehicle1 and a donkey complimentarily named the ,earl1 which took a prize at a ,golden ,lane donkey show1 designate his lordship as president of the ,barrow ,club1 a flourishing institution1 intended to supersede the usurious barrow-lenders1 who once let out these necessary adjuncts to the costermongering business at a tremendous hire4 ,now the proprietors of the barrows1 going on the hire and ultimate purchase-system1 are prospering greatly4 ,there are free evening classes1 mothers' meetings1 a free lending library1 a free singing class1 a penny savings bank1 dinners to destitute children1 numbering more than #aj1jjj a year1 a soup-kitchen1 tea-meetings1 and other agencies1 all of which are kept going morning1 noon1 and night1 within the narrow limits of these two houses made into one4 ,it is here1 too1 that the annual meeting is held1 an account of which every year filters through the newspapers to the outer world--,the ,costermongers' ,annual ,tea-,party4 ,the records of this united and earnest assembly have been so recently given to the public1 that ,i need not repeat them to you as we stand here in the lower rooms1 whence the big cakes1 the basins of tea1 the huge sandwiches of bread and beef1 were conveyed to the #bjj guests4 ,but as we depart1 after shaking ,mr4 ,harwood by the hand1 let me remind you that it has been by the hearty1 human1 living influence of religion that these results have been effected4 ,the stones of scientific or secular controversy have not been offered instead of food spiritual and temporal4 ,the mission-hall has been made the centre2 and from it has spread various healing1 purifying1 ameliorating influences4 ,from this we may well take a lesson for the benefit of another organised effort which appeals to us for help--that of the ,london ,city ,mission4 ,this institution is trying to effect for various districts and several classes of the poor and ignorant in and about ,london that introduction of religious teaching which ,mr4 ,orsman began with amongst the costermongers and others in the benighted locality where now a clear light has begun to shine4 ,at a recent meeting of the promoters of the ,city ,mission work1 held at the ,mansion ,house1 it was stated that the #dbg missionaries then employed by the society were chosen without distinction1 except that of fitness for the office1 from ,churchmen1 ,presbyterians1 ,congregationalists1 ,wesleyans1 and ,baptists1 while the examining and appointing committee were composed of thirteen clergymen of the ,established ,church and thirteen ,dissenting ministers4 ,anybody who is accustomed to visit the worst neighbourhoods of ,london will know that these missionaries go where the regular clergy cannot easily penetrate1 and where even the parish doctor seldom lingers4 ,every missionary visits once a month about #ejj families1 or #b1jjj persons4 ,they read the ,scriptures1 exhort their listeners1 hold prayer and ,bible meetings1 distribute copies of the ,scriptures1 see that children go to school1 address the poor in rooms when they cannot persuade them to go to church1 visit and pray with the dying1 lend books1 hold open-air services1 endeavour to reclaim drunkards 7#a1edf were so restored during the last year71 admonish and frequently reclaim the vicious1 raise the fallen1 and place them in asylums or induce them to return to their homes1 and work constantly for the great harvest of ,god to which they are appointed4 ,then there are special missionaries appointed to visit bakers1 cabmen1 drovers1 omnibus men1 soldiers1 sailors1 and foreigners of various countries4 ,they also go to tanneries1 the docks1 workhouses1 hospitals1 and other places2 and there is a vast harvest yet1 without a sickle to reap even a single sheaf4 ,when will the time come1 that1 to the means for carrying the sustaining comfort of the ,word to men's souls1 will be added some means of helping them to realise it by such temporal aid as will raise them from the want which paralyses and the degradation which benumbs8 ,,giving ,,the ,,feeble ,,strength4 ,i have had occasion lately to take you with me to some of the worst parts of ,london4 ,the phrase has become so common1 that there is some difficulty in deciding what it means2 and we are obliged to come to the conclusion1 that in every quarter of this great metropolis1 large and lofty buildings1 splendid mansions1 gorgeous shops1 and even stately palaces1 are but symbols of the partial and imperfect development of true national greatness1 and can scarcely be regarded as complete evidences of genuine civilisation1 if by that word we are to mean more than was expressed by it in heathen times1 and amidst pagan people4 ,perhaps there is no more terrible reflection1 amidst all the pomp and magnificence1 the vast commercial enterprise and constantly accumulating wealth of this mighty city1 than that here we may also find the extremes of want and misery1 of vice and poverty1 of ignorance and suffering4 ,side by side with all that makes material greatness--riches1 learning1 luxury1 extravagance--are examples of the deepest necessity and degradation4 ,the rich and the poor do indeed meet together in a very sad sense4 ,it would be well if the former would complete the text for themselves1 and take its meaning deep into their hearts4 ,there is reason for devout thankfulness1 however1 that here and there amidst the abodes of rich and poor alike1 some building with special characteristics may be seen2 that not only the church but the charity which represents practical religion does make vigorous protest against the merely selfish heaping-up of riches without regard to the cry of the poor4 ,there are few neighbourhoods in which a ,refuge for the homeless1 a soup-kitchen1 a ragged-school1 a servants home1 an orphanage1 a hospital or some asylum for the sick and suffering1 does not relieve that sense of neglect and indifference which is the first painful impression of the thoughtful visitor to those worst quarters1 which yet lie close behind the grand thoroughfares and splendid edifices that distinguish aristocratic and commercial ,london4 ,i have said enough for the present about those poverty-haunted districts of ,shoreditch1 ,spitalfields1 and ,bethnal ,green1 to warrant me in taking you through them without further comment than suffices to call your attention to the poorly-paid industries1 the want and suffering1 and the too frequent neglect of the means of health and cleanliness which unhappily distinguish them and the surrounding neighbourhoods lying eastward4 ,the weaver's colony can now scarcely be said to survive the changes wrought by the removal of an entire industry from ,spitalfields to provincial manufactories1 and the vast importations of foreign silks1 and yet there is in this part of ,london a great population of workers at callings which are scarcely better paid than silk weaving had come to be1 previous to its comparative disappearance4 ,marvellous changes have been effected in the way of buildings and improvements during the last thirty years1 but much of the poverty and sickness that belonged to these neighbourhoods remain4 ,the looms may be silent in the upper workshops with their wide leaden casements1 but the labour by which the people live seldom brings higher wages than suffice for mere subsistence4 ,the great building in which treasures of art and science are collected is suggestive of some kind of recognition of the need of the inhabitants for rational recreation and instruction1 and what is perhaps more to the purpose1 it is also a recognition of their desire for both2 but it cannot be denied that the recognition has come late1 and has not been completely accompanied by those provisions for personal comfort1 health1 and decency1 which a stringent application of existing laws might long ago have ensured in neighbourhoods that for years were suffered to remain centres of pestilence4 ,the greatest change ever effected in this quarter of ,london was that which followed the formation of ,victoria ,park4 ,that magnificent area1 with its lakes and islands1 its glorious flower-beds and plantations1 its cricket-ground and great expanse of open field1 made ,bethnal ,green famous4 ,there had always been a fine stretch of open country beyond what was known as the ,green1 on which the building of the ,museum now stands4 ,a roadway between banks and hedges skirting wide fields led to the open space where a queer old mansion could be seen amidst a few tall trees1 while beyond this again1 across the canal bridge1 were certain country hostelries1 one of them with what was1 in that day1 a famous tea-garden2 and1 farther on1 a few farms and some large old-fashioned private residences stood amidst meadows1 gardens1 and cattle pastures1 on either side of the winding road leading away to the ,hackney ,marshes and the low-lying fields beyond the old village of ,homerton4 ,it was on a large portion of this rural area that ,victoria ,park was founded4 ,tavern and farmhouse disappeared2 the canal bridge was made ornamental2 and just beyond the queer old mansion that stood by the roadway1 the great stone and iron gates of the people's pleasure-ground were erected4 ,now1 the mansion1 to which ,i have already twice referred1 was in fact one of the few romantic buildings of the district1 for it was what remained of the house of the persecuting ,bishop ,bonner1 and the four most prominent of the tall trees--those having an oblong or pit excavation of the soil at the foot of each--were traditionally the landmarks of the martyrdom of four sisters who were there burnt at the stake and buried in graves indicated by the hollows in the ground1 which popular superstition had declared could never be filled up4 ,that they have been filled up long ago1 and that on the site of the ancient house itself another great building has been erected1 you may see to-day as we stand at the end of the long road leading to the entrance of the people's park4 ,the abode of cruelty and bigotry has been replaced by one of the most truly representative of all our benevolent institutions4 ,the graves of the martyred sisters might well take a new meaning if the spot could now be discovered in the broad and beautifully planted garden1 where feeble men and women sun themselves into returning life and strength amidst the gentle summer air blowing straight across from the broad woods of ,epping and ,hainault miles away4 ,the people's playground is fitly consummated by the people's hospital4 ,that the ,city of ,london ,hospital for ,diseases of the ,chest1 ,victoria ,park1 might well be called the people's1 is shown1 not because it is supported by state aid or by charitable endowment1 on the contrary1 it depends entirely on those voluntary contributions and subscriptions which have hitherto enabled it successfully to carry on a noble work1 but yet have only just sufficed to supply its needs1 from hand to mouth4 ,yet it is essentially devoted to patients who belong to the working population4 ,like the park itself it attracts crowds of visitors1 not only from the ,city1 from ,bethnal ,green1 ,mile ,end1 ,poplar1 ,islington1 ,camden ,town1 and other parts of ,london1 but even from distant places whence excursionists come to see and to enjoy it4 ,this hospital receives patients from every part of ,london1 and even from distant country places4 ,there were seven inmates from ,york last year1 as well as some from ,somerset1 ,hereford1 ,derby1 ,lincolnshire1 ,lancashire1 ,norfolk1 ,suffolk1 ,huntingdon1 ,northampton1 ,wiltshire1 and other counties2 so that in fact the districts of ,bethnal ,green1 ,spitalfields1 and ,shoreditch1 represented only a very small proportion of the #gha in-patients and the #ac1icg out-patients1 who were admitted to medical treatment during the twelve months4 ,more than this1 however1 amongst the contributions which are made for the support of this hospital1 there must be reckoned those collected by working men of the district in their clubs and associations1 in token of the appreciation of benefits bestowed by such an institution to failing men and women1 wives and shopmates and relatives1 who being threatened or actually stricken down with one of those diseases which sap the life and leave the body prostrate1 require prompt skill and medical aid1 even if they are not in absolute need of nourishing food and alleviating rest4 ,standing here1 in front of this broad noble building1 with its many windows1 its picturesque front of red brick and white stone1 its central tower1 its sheltered garden-walks1 and pleasant lawn1 we may well feel glad to hear that the work done within its wards is known and recognised4 ,what a work it is can only be estimated by those who remember how fell is the disease from which so many of the patients suffer1 and how great a thing it has been1 even where cures could not be effected1 usefully to prolong the lives of hundreds of those who must have died but for timely aid4 ,nay1 even at the least1 the alleviation of suffering to those on whom death had already laid his hand has been no small thing2 and when we know that of #bdj1jjj out-patients who have received advice and medicines1 and #aj1djj in-patients whose cases have warranted their admission to the wards1 a large number of actual cures have been effected since the establishment of this hospital1 we are entitled to regard the institution as one of the most useful that we have ever visited together4 ,let us enter1 not by the handsome broad portico in the centre of the building1 but at the out-patients' door1 in order that we may see the two waiting-rooms1 where men and women bring their letters of admission1 or attend to see one of the three consulting physicians4 ,of these three gentlemen the senior is ,dr4 ,peacock1 of whom it may be said that he is the organiser of the hospital1 the efficiency of which is mainly due to his direction4 ,this is no small praise1 ,i am aware1 but there are so many evidences of thorough unity and completeness in all the details of management that1 considering how great a variety of cases are included under diseases of the chest1 from the slow insidious but fatal ravages of consumption to the sudden pang and deadly spasm of heart disease1 and the various affections of throat and lungs1 it may easily be seen how much depends upon the adoption of a system initiated by long study and experience4 ,the perfect arrangements which distinguish this hospital are doubtless rendered easier by ample space and admirable appliances4 ,plenty of room and plenty of air 7air1 however1 which has been warmed to one even temperature before it enters the wards and corridors where the patients eat and drink1 sleep and walk7 are the first characteristics of the place1 while a certain chaste simplicity of ornament1 and yet an avoidance of mere utilitarian bareness1 is to be observed in all that portion of the structure where decoration may naturally be expected4 ,the board-room1 the secretary's room1 and the various apartments devoted to the resident officers on the ground-floor1 are plain enough1 however1 though they are of good size and proportions1 the only really ornamental article of furniture in the board-room being a handsome semi-grand piano1 the gift of one of the committee4 ,this is a real boon to such of the patients as can come to practise choral singing1 as well as to those who can listen delightedly to the amateur concerts that are periodically performed1 either in the hospital itself or in one of the wards4 ,for they have cheerful entertainments in this resort of the feeble1 where1 to tell the truth1 food is often the best physic1 and sympathy and encouragement the most potent alleviations4 ,as to the actual physic--the employment of medicines--it is only in some of the large endowed hospitals that we can see such a dispensary as this spacious room1 with its surrounding rows of bottles and drawers1 its two open windows1 one communicating with the men's and the other with the women's waiting room1 its slabs1 and scales and measures1 on a central counter1 where #chj prescriptions will have to be made up to-day before the alert and intelligent gentleman and his assistants who have the control of this department1 will be able to replace the current stock out of the medical stores4 ,these small cisterns1 each with its tap1 occupying so prominent a place on the counter1 represent the staple medicine of the establishment1 pure cod-liver oil1 of which #a1bjj gallons are used every year1 and they are constantly replenished from three large cylinders1 or vats1 containing #hjj gallons1 which occupy a room of their own adjoining the dispensary and the compounding room1 the latter being the place where drugs are prepared1 and the great art of pill-making is practised on a remarkable scale4 ,continuing our walk round the hospital1 we come to the consulting-rooms1 where the physicians attend daily at two o'clock1 each to see his own patients1 and the reception-room1 where an officer takes the letters of introduction1 and exchanges them for attendance cards4 ,this is the door of the museum2 and though we shall be admitted1 if you choose to accompany me1 it is1 like other surgical museums1 of professional more than general interest1 and not a public portion of the hospital4 ,turning into the great main corridor1 with its peculiar honeycombed red-brick ceiling and pleasant sense of light and air1 we will ascend the broad staircase to the wards1 those of the women being on the first floor1 while the men occupy a precisely similar ward on the second4 ,these wards consist of a series of rooms of from two to six1 eight1 and twelve beds each1 so as to afford opportunity for the proper classification of the cases4 ,a day-room is also provided for each set of wards1 so that those patients who are well enough to leave their beds may take their meals there1 or may read1 play at chess1 draughts1 or bagatelle1 or occupy themselves with needlework4 ,these wards and their day-rooms all open into a light cheerful corridor1 with large windows1 where the inmates may walk and talk1 or read and rest1 sitting or reclining upon the couches and settees that are placed at intervals along the wall4 ,all through these rooms and corridors the air is kept at a medium temperature of from fifty-five to sixty degrees1 by means of hot-air or hot-water apparatus1 the latter being in use as well as the former4 ,you noticed1 as we stood in the grounds1 a large square structure of a monumental character2--that was in fact the chamber through the sides of which draughts of air are carried to channels beneath the building1 there they are drawn around a furnace1 to be heated1 and to escape through pipes that are grouped about the entire building4 ,in order to ensure the necessary comfort of patients requiring a higher temperature1 each ward is provided with an open fire-place4 ,it is now just dinner-time4 ,the ample rations of meat and vegetables1 fish and milk1 and the various special diets1 are coming up on the lift from the kitchens1 and in the women's day-room a very comfortable party is just sitting down to the mid-day meal4 ,here1 as elsewhere1 greater patience and more genuine cheerfulness are to be observed among the women1 than is as a rule displayed by the men1 and there are not wanting signs of pleasant progress towards recovery1 of grateful appreciation of the benefits received1 and of a hopeful trusting spirit1 which goes far to aid the doctor and the nurse4 ,there are1 of course1 some sad sights4 ,looking into the wards1 we may see more than one woman for whom only a few hours of this mortal life remain2 more than one child whose emaciated form and face looks as though death itself could bring no great change4 ,yet it must be remembered that cases likely soon to terminate fatally are not admitted4 ,the severity of the diseases and their frequently fatal character under any condition will account for the large proportion of sickness unto death which finds here alleviation but not absolute cure2 though1 of course1 the sufferers from heart disease1 who are on the whole the most cheerful1 as well as those whose affections of the lungs can be sensibly arrested1 if not altogether healed1 are frequently restored to many years of useful work in the world4 ,on this second storey1 in the men's ward1 there are some very serious cases1 and some sights that have a heartache in them2 yet they are full of significance1 for many of them include the spectacle of ,god's sweet gift of trust and patience--the mighty courage of a quiet mind4 ,yonder is a courageous fellow1 who1 suffering from a terrible aneurism1 had to cease his daily labour1 and now lies on his back1 hopeful of cure1 with a set still face and a determined yet wistful look at the resident medical officer1 or the nurse who adjusts the india-rubber ice-bag on his chest4 ,here1 near the door1 is that which should make us bow our heads low before the greatest mystery of mortal life4 ,not the mystery of death1 but the mystery of meeting death and awaiting it4 ,a brave1 patient1 noble man is sitting up in that bed1 his high forehead1 fair falling hair1 long tawny beard1 and steady placid eye1 reminding one of some picture of ,norseman or ,viking4 ,lean and gaunt enough in frame1 his long thin hand is little but skin and bone1 but it is clasped gently by the sorrowing wife1 who sits beside him1 and glances at us through tearful eyes as we enter4 ,one can almost believe that the sick man who is going on the great journey whither he cannot yet take the wife who loves him1 has been speaking of it calmly1 there is such an inscrutable look of absolute repose in that face4 ,he is a ,dane1 and the doctor tells us has borne his illness and great pain with a quiet courage that has challenged the admiration of those about him--a courage born of simple faith1 let us believe1 a calm resting on an eternal foundation of peace4 ,here1 in the corridor1 is a party1 some of its members still very weak and languid1 who1 having just dined1 are about to take the afternoon lounge1 with book or newspaper1 and1 leaving them1 we will conclude our visit by descending to the basement1 whence the chief medicine comes in the shape of wholesome nourishing food1 of meat and fish1 of pure farina1 of wine1 and milk1 and fresh eggs1 of clean pure linen1 and even of ice1 for ice is a large ingredient here1 and several tons are consumed every year4 ,the domestic staff have their apartments in this basement portion of the building1 another division of which is occupied by the kitchens and storerooms1 while lifts for coal and daily meals and every other requisite1 ascend to the upper wards1 and shoots or wells from the upper floors convey linen and bedding that require washing1 as well as the dust and refuse of the wards1 to special receptacles4 ,the kitchen itself is a sight worth seeing with its wide open range1 where prime joints are roasting1 or have been roasted1 and are now being cut into great platefuls for the ordinary full-diet patients4 ,in the great boilers and ovens1 vegetables and boiled meats1 farinaceous puddings1 rice1 tapioca1 fish1 and a dozen other articles of pure diet are being prepared1 while a reservoir of strong beef-tea represents the nourishment of those feeble ones to whom liquid1 representing either meat or milk1 is all that can be permitted4 ,we have little time to remain in the separate rooms1 which are cool tile-lined larders1 where bread and milk and meat are kept1 but among the records of donations and contributions to the hospital it is very pleasant to read of the multifarious gifts of food and other comforts sent from time to time by benevolent friends4 ,they consist of baskets of game1 fruits1 rice1 tea1 flour1 books1 warm clothing for poor patients leaving the hospital1 prints1 pictures1 fern-cases1 all kinds of useful articles1 showing how thoughtful the donors are1 of what will be a solace and a comfort to the patients1 while not the least practically valuable remittances are bundles of old linen4 ,still more touching1 however1 are the records of gifts brought by patients themselves1 or by their friends4 ,i was a patient here four years ago1 says a man who has made his way to the secretary's room1 and ,i made up my mind that if ever ,i could scrape a guinea together ,i should bring it1 and now ,i have1 and here it is1 if you'll be so good as to take it1 for ,i want to show ,i'm truly grateful4 ,if you'll please accept it from us2 my husband and ,i have put by fifteen shillings1 and want to give it to the hospital for your kindness to our son1 who was here before he died4 ,these are the chronicles that show this to be a people's hospital indeed1 and that should open the hearts of those who can take pounds instead of shillings4 ,in such cases the secretary has ventured to remind the grateful donors that they may be unable to afford to leave their savings1 but the evident pain1 even of the hint of refusal1 was reason for accepting the poor offering4 ,poor1 did ,i say8 nay1 rich--rich in all that can really give value to such gifts1 the wealth of the heart that must be satisfied by giving4 ,there is one more adjunct to this great human conservatory which we must see before we leave4 ,down four shallow stone steps from the corridor1 and along a cheerful quiet sub-corridor1 is the chapel4 ,a very beautiful building1 with no stained glass or sumptuous detail of ornament1 and yet so admirable in its simple architectural decoration and perfect proportions1 that it is an example of what such a place should be4 ,it is capable of seating three or four hundred persons1 and visitors are freely admitted to the ,sunday services when there is room1 though of course seats are reserved for the patients1 who have elbows provided in their pews1 that they may be able to lean without undue fatigue4 ,the chapel itself was a gift of a beneficent friend1 and was presented anonymously4 ,one day an architect waited on the committee1 and simply said that if they would permit a chapel to be erected on a vacant space in their grounds1 close to the main building1 he had plans for such a structure with him1 and the whole cost would be defrayed by a client of his1 who1 however1 would not make known his name4 ,the gift was accepted1 and the benevolent contract nobly fulfilled4 ,i should be glad to hear that some other charitable donor had sent in like manner an offer of funds to fill those two great vacant wards which1 waiting for patients1 are among the saddest sights in this hospital4 ,,healing ,,the ,,sick4 ,amidst the numerous great charities which distinguish this vast metropolis1 hospitals must always hold a prominent if not preeminent place4 ,helpless infancy1 the weakness and infirmity of old age1 and prostration by sudden accident1 or the ravages of disease1 are the conditions that necessarily appeal to humanity4 ,the latter especially is so probable an occurrence to any of us1 that we are at once impressed by the necessity for providing some means for its alleviation4 ,helpless childhood has passed1 old age may seem to be in too dim a future to challenge our immediate attention2 but sickness1 sudden disaster1 who shall be able to guard against these1 in a world where the strongest are often smitten down in the full tide of apparent health2 where1 in the streets alone1 fatal accidents are reckoned monthly as a special item in ,registrars' returns1 and injuries amount annually to hundreds8 ,the great endowed hospitals1 therefore1 those magnificent monuments of charity which have distinguished ,london for so many years1 and the value of which in extending the science of medicine can scarcely be overrated1 are regarded by us all with veneration4 ,at the same time we ought to feel a certain thrill of pleasure1 a satisfaction not far removed from keen emotion1 when we see inscribed on the front of some building1 large or small1 where the work of healing is being carried on1 the words1 ,supported by ,voluntary ,contributions4 ,one other condition1 too1 seems necessary to the complete recognition of such a charity as having attained to the full measure of a truly beneficent work--admission to it should be free3 free not only from any demand for money payments1 but untrammelled by the necessity for seeking1 often with much suffering and delay1 a governor's order or letter1 by which alone a patient can be received in many of our otherwise admirable and useful institutions for the sick4 ,it should be remembered that immediate aid is of the utmost importance in the effort to heal the sick1 and that delays1 proverbially dangerous1 are in such cases cruel1 often fatal1 always damaging to the sense of true beneficence1 of the extension of help because of the need rather than for the sake of any particular influence4 ,it would seem that we have no right to hesitate1 or to insist on the observance of certain forms1 before succouring the grievously sick and wounded1 any more than we have to withhold food from the starving till ceremonial inquiries are answered1 and certificates of character obtained4 ,there are cases of poverty1 and even of suffering1 where inquiry before ultimate and continued relief may be useful1 and personal influence may be necessary1 but extreme hunger and nakedness1 cold and houselessness1 sudden injury or maiming1 the pain of disease1 the deep and touching need of the sick and helpless1 are not such4 ,prompt and effectual measures for relief1 and1 if necessary1 admission to the place where that relief can alone be afforded1 will be the only means of completely meeting these wants4 ,free hospitals1 freer even than workhouses1 are what we need1 and ,i am about to visit one of them to-day which rejoices in its name1 ,the ,royal ,free ,hospital1 now in its forty-seventh year of useful and1 ,i am glad to say1 of vigorous life4 ,to anyone acquainted with that strange neighbourhood which is represented by ,gray's ,inn ,lane and all the queer jumble of courts and alleys that seem to shrink behind the shelter of the broad thoroughfare of ,holborn1 there is something consistent in the establishment of such a noble charity as this hospital in ,gray's ,inn ,road4 ,its very position seems to indicate the nature and extent of its duties4 ,near the homes of poverty1 the streets where people live who cannot go far to seek aid in their extremest need1 it receives those who1 breaking down through sudden disease1 or requiring medical and surgical skill to relieve the pain and weakness of recurrent malady1 have no resource but this to enable them to fulfil their one great desire to get back to work4 ,the causes of much of the sickness which sends patients thither may be preventable3 they may be found in foul dwellings1 impure water1 insufficient clothing1 want of proper food1 alternate hunger and intemperance2 but whatever may be its occasion1 a remedy must be found for it4 ,till all that is preventable is prevented1 the consequences will have to be mitigated1 the fatal results averted where it is possible2 and when boards of health and sanitary measures have done1 there will still be sick men to heal1 failing children to strengthen1 weak and wasting women to restore4 ,it is well1 then1 that this ,institution should stand as a landmark of that free charity which takes help where it is needed most2 and this qualification is the more obvious when we turn from the sick wards to the accident wards1 and remember that three great railway termini are close at hand1 and others not far off2 that all round that teeming neighbourhood men1 women1 and even children1 are working at poor handicrafts1 which render them liable to frequent injuries1 and that in the crowded streets themselves--from the great busy thoroughfare of ,holborn1 to the bustle and confusion of the approaches to the stations at ,king's ,cross--there is constant peril to life and limb4 ,there is something so remarkable in the external appearance of the building1 such a military look about its bold front1 such a suggestion of a cavalry yard about the broad open area behind this tall wooden entrance gate1 that you begin to wonder how such a style of architecture should have been adopted for a hospital4 ,the truth is that like many--nay1 like most of our noblest work--this great provision for healing the sick began by not waiting for full-blown opportunities4 ,the need was there1 and the means that came to hand were used to meet it4 ,this building was originally the barracks of that loyal and efficient regiment1 the ,light ,horse ,volunteers1 and so excellently had those gallant defenders of king and constitution provided for their own comfort and security1 that when in #ahdb the premises were vacant1 and the lease for sale1 the governors of the ,royal ,free ,hospital became the purchasers1 the long rooms were easily turned into ample1 cheerful1 and well-ventilated wards1 and the various outbuildings and offices were quickly adapted to the reception of patients4 ,but the hospital had at that date been working quietly and effectually for above fourteen years4 ,fourteen years before its inauguration in ,gray's ,inn ,road1 this free hospital1 which was not then royal1 had been commenced in ,greville ,street1 ,hatton ,garden1 and the immediate incident which led to its foundation is so suggestive1 so inseparable from the recollection of the want which it was designed to alleviate1 and from its own generous recognition of the unfailing freedom of true charity1 that it might well be the subject of a memorial picture4 ,alas6 it would be a tragic reminder of those days before any provision was made for extending medical aid to sufferers who had no credentials save humanity and their own deep necessity4 ,it would be a grim reminder to us1 also1 that some of our great charities established for the relief of the sick are still trammelled with those restrictions which demand recommendations1 to obtain which the applicant is often condemned to delay and disappointment4 ,it would show us that our hospitals are not yet free4 ,those of my readers who can remember the entrance to the broad highway of ,holborn nearly fifty years ago--stay1 that is going back beyond probable acknowledgment1--let me say those of us who knew ,smithfield when it was a cattle market1 who had heard of ,cow ,cross1 and been told of the terrible purlieux of ,field ,lane2 who had occasionally caught a glimpse of that foul wilderness of courts that clustered about the ,fleet ,ditch2 had read of ,mr4 ,fagin1 when ,oliver ,twist was first appearing in chapters1 and had dim recollections of nursery tales about ,bartlemy fair and hanging morning at the ,old ,bailey2 those of us who remember the cries of drovers1 and the lowing and bleating of herds and flocks in the streets on ,sunday nights2 the terrible descent of ,snow ,hill2 the confusion and dismay of passengers and vehicles on the steep incline of ,holborn ,hill2 the reek of all that maze of houses and hovels that lay in the valley2 those of us1 in short1 who can carry our memories back for a few years beyond the time when the new cattle market was built at ,islington1 the pens and lairs of ,smithfield demolished1 the whole ,holborn valley dismantled1 only a remnant1 a mere corner1 of ,field ,lane being left standing after the great viaduct was built--can imagine what the church of ,st4 ,andrew was like when1 with its dark and dreary churchyard1 it stood on the slope of ,holborn ,hill1 instead of being as it now is in a kind of subway4 ,that churchyard1 with its iron gate1 was reached by stone steps1 which were receptacles for winter rain and summer dust1 the straw from waggons1 the shreds and sweepings from adjacent shops1 the dirt and refuse of the streets4 ,on those steps a young girl was seen lying one night1 in the winter of #ahbg--lying helpless1 lonely1 perishing of disease and famine4 ,the clocks of ,st4 ,andrew1 ,st4 ,sepulchre1 ,st4 ,paul1 had clanged and boomed amidst the hurry and the turmoil of the throng of passengers2 had clanged and boomed till their notes might be heard above the subsiding roar of vehicles1 and the shuffling of feet1 till silence crept over the great city1 and more distant chimes struck through the murky air1 tolling midnight4 ,still that figure lay upon the cruel stones1 under the rusty gate of the churchyard1 as though1 unfriended and unpitied by the world1 she waited for admission to the only place in which she might make a claim in death1 if not in life4 ,not more than eighteen years old1 she had wandered wearily from some distant place where fatal instalments of the wages of sin had done their work4 ,she had come to ,london unknown1 unnoted1 to die4 ,that she had come from afar is but a surmise2 she may have been a dweller in this great city1 lost amidst the stony desert of its streets1 friendless with the friendlessness of the outcast or the wretched1 to whom the acquaintances of to-day have little care or opportunity to become the solacers of to-morrow2 she may have crept to that dark corner by the churchyard gate1 amongst the rack and refuse of the street1 as a place in which she1 the unconsidered waste and refuse of our boasted civilisation1 could most fitly huddle from the cold4 ,she was not left actually to die there1 but two days afterwards she passed out of the world where she had been unrecognised4 ,not without result1 however4 ,among those who had witnessed the distressing occurrence was a surgeon1 ,mr4 ,william ,marsden1 who for some time before had repeatedly seen cause to lament1 that with all our endowed hospitals1 our great medical schools1 and the advance of scientific knowledge1 the sick poor could only obtain relief by means of letters of recommendation and other delay1 until the appointed days for admission4 ,the sight that he had witnessed awoke him to fresh energy4 ,he determined to establish a medical charity1 where destitution or great poverty and disease should be the only necessary credentials for obtaining free and immediate relief4 ,his honest benevolent purpose did not cool2 in ,february in the following year 7#ahbh71 the house in ,greville ,street was open as a free hospital1 and it was taken under the royal patronage of ,george ,,iv41 the ,duke of ,gloucester becoming its president4 ,king ,william ,,iv4 succeeded ,george ,,iv4 as the patron of this free hospital1 and one of the earliest manifestations of the interest of our ,queen in public charitable institutions was the expressed desire of her ,majesty to maintain the support which it had hitherto received1 and to confer upon it the name of the ,royal ,free ,hospital4 ,it need scarcely be said that the late ,duke of ,sussex took a very strong interest in this charity1 and at his death it was determined to erect a new wing1 to be called the ,sussex wing4 ,this work was completed in #ahef2 and in #ahfc1 by the aid of a zealous and indefatigable chairman of the committee1 above #e1jjj was raised by special appeal for the purposes of buying the freehold of the entire building1 so that it is now1 in every sense1 a free hospital1 with a noble history of suffering relieved1 of the sick healed1 the deserted reclaimed1 the sinful succoured1 and those that were ready to perish snatched from the jaws of death4 ,since the foundation of the modest house in ,hatton ,garden in #ahbh above a million and a half of poor sick and destitute patients have obtained relief1 and the average of poor patients received within its wards is now #a1ejj annually1 while #de1jjj out-patients resort thither from all parts of ,london4 ,the relief thus afforded costs some #h1jjj a year1 and this large sum has to be provided by appeals to the public for those contributions by which alone the continued effort can be sustained4 ,standing here within the ,moore ward1 so called after the energetic chairman before referred to1 ,i cannot think of any appeal that should be more successful in securing public sympathy than these two statements--,first1 that many of the inmates have been immediately received on their own application2 and secondly1 that1 bearing in mind the sad story which is1 as it were1 the story of the foundation of the hospital1 this ward is occupied by women4 ,many of them are persons of education and refinement1 who yet would have no asylum if they had not been received within these sheltering walls1 others may be poor1 ignorant1 and perhaps even degraded1 but divine charity is large enough to recognise in these the very need which such an effort is intended to alleviate4 ,here at least is a peaceful retreat1 where in quiet reflection1 in grateful recognition of mercies yet within reach1 in the sound of pitying voices1 and the touch of sympathetic hands1 the weary may find rest1 the throes of pain may be assuaged4 ,here are the two fundamental rules of the hospital1 and they form what one might call a double-barrelled appeal not to be easily turned aside3-- ,,in-,,door ,,patients4 ,foreigners1 strangers1 and others1 in sickness or disease1 having neither friends nor homes1 are admitted to the ,wards of this ,hospital on their own application1 so far as the means of the charity will permit4 ,,out-,,door ,,patients4 ,all sick and diseased persons1 having no other means of obtaining relief1 may attend at this ,hospital every day at ,two o'clock1 when they will receive ,medical and ,surgical ,advice and ,medicine free4 ,even while ,i read the latter announcement the out-patients are assembling in the waiting-room1 on the right of the quadrangle2 the dispenser1 in his repository of drugs1 surrounded by bottles1 jars1 drawers1 and all the appliances for making up medicines1 has set his assistants to work1 and is himself ready to begin the afternoon's duty2 the consulting-physician of the day has just taken his seat in one plain barely-furnished apartment1 the consulting-surgeon in another1 while the resident house-surgeon has completed his first inspection of in-patients1 and is ready with particulars of new cases4 ,these rooms1 where patients assemble1 and doctors consult1 are on the right of the pleasant quadrangle1 with its large centre oval garden plot1 containing a double ring of trees2 and here also is the reception room for accidents and urgent cases--a very suggestive room1 with styptics1 immediate remedies1 and prompt appliances ready to hand1 but like all the rest of the official portion of the building1 very plain and practical1 with evidence of there being little time to regard mere ease or ornament1 and of a disregard of anything which is not associated with the work that has to be done4 ,it is the same with other apartments1 where it is obvious that no unnecessary expenditure is incurred for mere official show4 ,the business of the place is to heal by means of food1 of rest1 and of medicine1 and there1 on the left of the quadrangle1 a flight of steps leads downwards to a wide area1 where1 in the kitchens1 the domestic servants are busy clearing up1 after serving the eighty-eight rations which have been issued for dinner--rations of fish1 flesh1 and fowl1 or those special diets which are taken under medical direction4 ,there is something about this kitchen1 the store-rooms1 and offices1 with the steps leading thereto1 and the cat sitting blinking in the sun1 which irresistibly reminds me of the heights of ,dover and some portion of the barrack building there2 the old military look of the place clings to this ,gray's ,inn ,road establishment still1 and the visitor misses the wonderful appliances and mechanical adaptations of some more modern institutions1 not even lifts to convey the dinners to the wards being possible in such an edifice4 ,there is some compensating comfort in noting1 however1 that the nursing staff is so organised as to secure personal attention to the patients1 and that the arrangements are touchingly homely1 not only in regard to the simple furniture1 the few pictures and engravings1 and the little collection of books that are to be found in the wards1 but also in the matter of sympathetic1 motherly1 and sisterly help1 which is less ceremonious1 but not less truly loving1 than is to be found in some places of higher pretensions4 ,here1 on the ground floor1 the twenty-two beds of the men's severe accident ward are always full1 and some of the cases are pitiable1 including maiming by machinery1 railway accidents1 or injury in the streets4 ,the ,marsden ,ward1 adjoining is devoted to injuries of a less serious kind1 so that there many of the patients can help themselves4 ,in the women's accident ward there are three or four children1 one of whom1 a pretty chubby-faced little girl of five years old1 has not yet got over her astonishment at having been run over by a cab the day before yesterday1 picked up and brought into this great room where most of the people are in bed1 only to hear that she is more frightened than hurt1 and is to go home tomorrow4 ,there are some other little creatures1 however1 suffering from very awkward accidents1 and they seem to be petted and made much of1 just as they are in the women's sick ward above1 where a delicate-faced intelligent girl1 herself improving greatly under prompt treatment for an early stage of phthisis1 is delighted to have a little companion to tea with her at her bed-side1 the child being allowed to sit up in a chair1 and the pair of invalids being evidently on delightfully friendly terms4 ,there is a lower ward1 with half a dozen little beds devoted solely to children1 who are1 ,i think1 all suffering from some form of disease of the joints4 ,alas6 this class of disease comes of foul dwellings1 of impure or stinted food1 of want of fresh air and water2 and it brings a pang to one's heart to note the smiling little faces1 the bright beaming eyes1 the pretty engaging grateful ways of some of these little ones1 and yet to know how long a time it must be before the results of the evil conditions of their lives will be remedied at the present rate of procedure2 how difficult a problem it is to provide decent dwellings for the poor1 in a city where neighbourhoods such as that which we have just traversed have grown like fungi1 and cannot be uprooted without pain and loss which social reformers shrink from inflicting4 ,thinking of this1 and of all that ,i have seen in this ,royal ,free ,hospital1 ,i am glad to carry away from it the picture of this child's ward and its two young nurses1 though ,i could wish that the walls of that and all the other wards were a little brighter with more pictures1 that a fresh supply of books might soon be sent to replenish the library1 and that the flowers1 that are so eagerly accepted to deck the tables of those poor sick rooms1 and carry thither a sense of freshness1 colour1 and beauty1 may come from the gardens and greenhouses of those who can spare of their abundance4 ,to keep the eighty-eight beds full requires constant dependence on public contributions1 and yet when we think of the work that is going on here1 not the eighty-eight only1 but the whole number of #ajb should be ready for applicants1 who would1 even then1 be far too numerous to be received at once in a hospital which1 with a royal freedom of well-doing1 sets an example that might be hopefully followed by other and wealthier charities for healing the sick4 ,,with ,,the ,,prisoner4 ,what is the first greeting which a convict receives when he or she is discharged from prison8 ,imagine1 if you can1 the shivering1 shrinking1 bewildered feeling of the man or woman who1 after1 undergoing a term of penal servitude1 some of it passed in hours of solitary confinement1 has all this great city suddenly opened again1 with its wilderness of streets1 its crowd of unfamiliar faces1 its tremendous temptations1 its few resources for the friendless and the suspected1 its great broad thoroughfares1 where on every side may be seen evidences of wealth and plenty2 where the tavern and the gin-shop offer a temporary solace to the wretched2 and where1 also1 in every neighbourhood1 there are evil slums in which vice finds companionship1 and the career of dishonesty and crime can be resumed without difficulty or delay4 ,those who have stood outside the walls of ,clerkenwell or ,coldbath ,fields prison1 and have watched the opening of the gates whence prisoners emerge into a freedom which is almost paralysing in its first effects1 will tell you how the appearance of these poor wretches is greeted in low muttered tones by silent slouching men and women who await their coming4 ,how1 after very few words of encouragement and welcome1 they are taken off to some adjacent public-house1 there to celebrate their liberation2 and how1 almost before a word is spoken1 the male prisoner is provided with a ready-lighted pipe from the mouth of one of his former companions1 in order that he may revive his sense of freedom by the long-unaccustomed indulgence in tobacco4 ,i should be very sorry to cavil at these marks of sympathy4 ,they are eminently human4 ,they do not always mean direct temptation--that is to say1 they are not necessarily intended to induce the recipient to resume the evil course which has led to a long and severe punishment4 ,that the result should be a gradual1 if not an immediate1 weakening of that remorse which is too frequently sorrow for having incurred the penalty rather than repentance of the sin that led to it1 is obvious enough2 but what else is to be expected8 ,not many men or women come out of gaol with a very robust morality4 ,without entering into the question how far our present system of prison discipline and management is calculated to influence the moral nature of culprits who are under punishments for various crimes1 scarcely ever classified1 and never regarded in relation to the particular circumstances under which they are committed or the character and disposition1 the social status1 or the mental and moral condition of the offender1 it may be broadly and barely stated that our penal legislation is not effectual in promoting the reclamation of the criminal4 ,even if some determination to begin life anew1 to avoid associations that have led to infamy and disgrace to accept any labour anywhere in order to obtain an honest subsistence1 has been working in the mind of a convict during the period of imprisonment1 and under the advice and remonstrance of the chaplain and the governor1 what is to sustain such half-formed resolutions8 ,supposing even that the discharged prisoner has been so amenable to the regulations of the gaol that he or she has had placed to the credit account that weekly good-conduct money1 which1 when the term of punishment has ended1 amounts to a sum sufficient to provide for immediate necessities1 where is employment to be looked for8 ,in what quarter is the owner of a few shillings--which may have to last a week or more--to seek a lodging and a meal1 and that companionship which must be one of the keenest longings of the newly-released and yet solitary and half-dazed creature1 who is ready to receive with grateful avidity any friendly greeting that promises relief from the long monotony of the gaol8 ,surely1 then1 there can be few conditions which appeal more forcibly to ,christian beneficence than that of the captive who is released after having undergone a sentence of penal servitude1 part of which has been passed in solitary confinement4 ,whatever may have been the impressions made upon the mind during the period of punishment1 and the influence exercised by instruction or exhortation1 the very fact of regaining liberty1 the excitement of freedom1 and the uncertainty of the first steps a man or woman is to take outside the prison walls1 will always involve a danger1 before which a very large proportion of released convicts will succumb4 ,what1 then1 is being done in order to extend a helping hand to these1 who are among the most destitute and unfortunate2 who1 even if they have relatives1 may be ashamed to seek their aid1 or are doubtful of the reception that awaits them1 while the only companionship which they can claim at once1 and without question1 is that which will surround them with almost irresistible incentives to a lawless life8 ,in the very centre of this vast metropolis1 at the point where its great highways converge1 and yet in a modest quiet house standing a little back from the roar and turmoil of the main street1 we shall find what we seek4 ,here1 on the doorpost of ,no4 #ci1 ,charing ,cross1 is the name of ,the ,discharged ,prisoners' ,aid ,society1 and in two or three offices on the first floor--one of which is1 in fact1 a reception-room for the discharged prisoners themselves--the work for which there is such a constant and pressing need is steadily carried on1 under the direction of a very distinguished committee1 of whom the treasurer is the ,hon4 ,arthur ,kinnaird1 and the first honorary secretary1 ,mr4 ,w4 ,bayne ,ranken1 who is assisted by ,mr4 ,s4 ,whitbread and ,mr4 ,l4 ,t4 ,cave4 ,in looking at the names of the gentlemen who are concerned in this admirable effort1 you will have noticed that some of them are also associated with other charitable organisations which we have visited together1 and notably with those of that ,soho district where we last joined in the musical diversions of the ,newport ,market ,refuge4 ,as we enter this front office at ,charing ,cross1 we have a pleasant reminder of that occasion1 for we are welcomed by the indefatigable performer on the cornet1 who1 when we last met him1 was making the hills resound in the upper room of the old slaughter-house1 and carrying all his juvenile military band with him in one resonant outburst of harmony that awoke the echoes as far as ,seven ,dials4 ,to-day he is carrying out his ordinary secretarial and managerial duties1 as officially representing the ,society1 about which he can give us some information worth hearing4 ,but there are other visitors for whom preparation has already been made in the next room--men dressed decently1 and yet having a certain furtive1 unaccustomed bearing1 as though they were not at the moment quite used to their clothes or to public observation4 ,some of them are not without a truculent half-defiant expression lurking beneath their subdued demeanour2 others have an open1 keen outlook2 and a few others1 again1 both in the shape of their head and the peculiar shifty expression of eye and mouth1 and one might also say of hand1 would at once be characterised by the experienced observer of ,london life as men who had been in trouble more than once4 ,on the table of the front office the object which has at once attracted our attention is a perfectly new carpenter's basket containing a decent set of tools1 and the man for whom it is intended will be here for it by-and-by to take it away1 just as the shoemaker who has just gone out has carried with him a kit1 with which1 in addition to a little stock of money1 he is about to begin the world afresh1 under the auspices of his friends1 one of whom--either a member of the committee1 or the secretary1 or one of the visiting agents--will keep him in view1 and give him an occasional encouraging call while he remains in the metropolitan district4 ,if a situation should be found for him in the provinces1 either the clergyman of the district1 or some other friend of the ,society1 is informed of his previous history1 and has a sincere interest in his well-doing4 ,in no case have the ,london police anything whatever to do with watching or inspecting discharged prisoners under the care of the ,society2 and1 on the other hand1 it is a standing rule that where situations are found for these men and women1 the employers are informed of their previous history1 though any recommendation of the ,society may be regarded as a strong inference that their protg is trying to redeem lost character4 ,it must be remembered that a report of each of those who are under the care of the ,society is made at the office once a month1 either by the man or woman in person1 or by one of the visiting agents or correspondents of the committee of management2 and that1 though the police are forbidden to interfere with them1 except on strong suspicion that they are about to commit a crime1 the most accurate and careful record of their mode of life and conduct is kept at the offices of the ,society4 ,should they fail to observe the regulations which the ,society demands1 they are liable to police surveillance instead of friendly1 encouraging1 and confidential visitation2 and it needs scarcely be said that this liability is often of itself sufficient to make them desire to retain the aid and protection which has been extended to them4 ,from a long and tolerably intimate observation of the lower strata of the ,london population1 and of the results of various methods adopted to check the progress of crime1 ,i am convinced that what is called police surveillance1 as it is conducted in this country1 is altogether mischievous in relation to any probable reformation of the offender4 ,even if it be denied 7as it has been7 that it is a practice of police-constables to give to persons employing a discharged prisoner1 information conveyed in such a way as to lead to the loss of employment and despair of obtaining an honest living1 it is quite certain that the constant dread of being branded as a returned felon1 and the hopeless dogged temper which such a condition produces1 must be enormous obstacles to true reclamation4 ,the man who could really surmount them must1 whatever may have been his casual crime1 be possessed of a hardy and indomitable desire for virtue which should challenge our profound respect4 ,but1 apart from what may be called legitimate surveillance of convicts by the police1 it is unfortunately notorious that members of the force1 who occupy positions as detectives1 or active and intelligent officers1 employ agents of their own to bring them information1 and that these agents1 being men of bad character--frequently thieves--are interested for their own safety's sake in providing charges1 or putting up cases1 by conveying information of suspected persons4 ,this is according to the old evil traditions that have descended to constables from the time of ,jonathan ,wild1 and probably earlier2 but it is obvious that where such nefarious tools are employed for obtaining evidence which will suffice to sustain a charge and convict a prisoner1 there is constant danger to those who1 having been once sentenced for crime1 are not only peculiarly liable to be drawn into fresh offences1 but are1 from their position1 easily made the victims of cunningly-laid traps for their re-arrest1 on a suspicion that is readily endorsed1 because of their previous conviction and the knowledge of all their antecedents4 ,it is the removal of discharged prisoners from this probability1 and from the kind of interposition that forbids their return to the paths of honesty1 and so actually produces a criminal class1 that is1 in my opinion1 the best distinction of a ,society like this4 ,some of the volumes of interesting records which are preserved here would probably doubtless confirm this view4 ,let us refer to one only1 where a nobleman residing in ,london had engaged a butler who went to him with a very excellent character1 and in whom he had the greatest confidence4 ,happening to have occasion to employ a detective constable on some business1 his lordship was dismayed at receiving from that astute officer the intelligence that his trusted servant had once been sentenced to five years' penal servitude for some dishonest act1 but had been liberated on a ticket-of-leave4 ,puzzled how to proceed1 the nobleman had the good sense to apply for advice to this ,society1 where it was discovered that the representation of the detective was true enough1 and that the man had been recommended to a situation by the ,society itself1 an intimation of his antecedents being given to the employer4 ,in that situation he had remained for several months1 without the least fault being brought against him1 and he then applied for and obtained the vacant and more lucrative appointment in the family of his lordship1 who1 though he acknowledged he should not have engaged him had he known of his previous fault and its punishment1 kept his secret1 and retained him in his service1 where he remained at the time of the last report1 respected by the household1 and faithfully fulfilling his duties4 ,probably this was one of those cases where1 yielding to sudden temptation1 a man incurs for a single crime punishment that awakens moral resolution2 and it must be remembered that there are many convicts who1 while in prison they are practically undistinguished from the habitual or the repeated criminal1 or from the convict of brutalised1 undeveloped1 or feeble moral nature1 are in danger of being utterly ruined because of a single and perhaps altogether unpremeditated offence1 of which they may bitterly repent4 ,the feeling of shame1 of humiliation1 of doubt as to any but a cold and deterrent reception by former friends1 the dread of scorn1 derision1 or abhorrence1 may lead such men or women to abandon as hopeless any expectation of resuming their former avocations1 or even of once more attaining a respectable position4 ,to such as these the ,society offers such aid as may keep them from the despondency that destroys2 and in every case1 even in that of the wretch who has been convicted again and again1 it holds out some hope of reformation4 ,that there is some such hope may be learned from the fact1 that even thieves--habitual criminals--do not1 as a rule1 bring their own children up to dishonesty1 and are often careful to conceal from them the means by which they live4 ,the ranks of crime are not so largely augmented from the children of dishonest parents 7though1 of course1 evil example bears its dreadful results7 as from the neglected children of our great towns4 ,but let us see what are the means adopted by the ,society for helping discharged prisoners4 ,of course the procedure must begin with the prisoners themselves1 in so far that they must express their willingness to accept the aid offered to them1 and make known their decision to the governor of the prison where they are confined1 and where the rules and provisions of the ,society are displayed and explained4 ,this refers to the convict prisons1 since only these are eligible1 the prisoners from county gaols being assisted by other organisations2 therefore1 discharged convicts from ,millbank1 ,pentonville1 ,portland1 ,portsmouth1 ,chatham1 ,parkhurst1 ,dartmoor1 ,woking1 and ,brixton1 are able to seek help2 and it is gratifying to know that1 according to the prison returns1 of #a1egi male prisoners discharged from these places in one year1 #gif sought aid from this and local provincial societies having the same object1 the number of applicants to the ,london ,society being #ebd1 or nearly two-thirds of the whole4 ,on any convict1 male or female1 accepting the offer of the ,society1 and making that decision known to the governor of the prison1 the latter forwards to this office at ,charing ,cross a printed document1 or recommendation1 stating full particulars of the prisoner's age1 date of conviction1 number of previous convictions 7if any71 degree of education1 religion1 former trade or employment1 ability to perform labour1 and general character while in prison1 together with the amount of good-conduct money which is to be allowed for work performed during the period of incarceration4 ,this good-conduct money may amount to a maximum sum of #c1 and the ,society takes charge of it for the benefit of the prisoner1 disbursing it only as it may be required1 and supplementing it1 when necessary1 by a further grant of money1 or even by advances or loans as may be deemed desirable in certain cases4 ,these reports from the prison governor reach the office about six weeks before the discharge of the convicts named in them1 and following them come other papers1 each of which contains a graphic personal description of the prisoner referred to1 and a fairly-executed photograph1 which is usually not without certain striking characteristics1 though you will be surprised to find how often you fail to discover the lineaments which you have associated in fancy with lawlessness and crime4 ,at the time of their discharge1 the men and women are conducted hither by a plainly-clothed messenger from the prison1 appointed for the purpose1 and take their places in yonder back room1 where they are immediately identified by means of the descriptions and photographs1 and are then questioned as to their capabilities and the particular employment in which they desire to engage4 ,it is manifestly impossible that the ,society can provide them with employment in the particular trades which they may previously have followed1 since there may be no openings in those industries1 or they may be such as would be obviously unsuitable for persons who are still on probation4 ,should the prisoner have friends or relatives able and willing to receive or assist him1 they are communicated with1 but should he be entirely dependent on personal exertion1 the agent or secretary at once procures for him a decent outfit of clothes1 and a lodging as far as possible from the scene of his former companions4 ,a small sum of money is advanced for immediate subsistence1 and he usually has employment provided for him1 either in a situation1 at manual labour1 or by being set up in a small way at shoemaking1 tailoring1 or carpentering1 either as journeyman1 or1 where possible1 on his own account4 ,from six to twenty prisoners at a time are discharged from one or other of the convict establishments and brought to the ,society's offices1 and of the younger men a considerable proportion are assisted to go to sea1 others--but1 alas6 too few--to emigrate1 while a number obtain work as builders and contractors' labourers2 and others again resume former occupations1 as potmen1 waiters1 or employs in various situations1 where the masters are always 7if they take them on the recommendation of the ,society7 fully apprised of their position4 ,a good many are set up again as costermongers1 and in that case the agent of the ,society quietly accompanies them to market1 and advances the money for their first purchases2 others go into the country and obtain work1 and not a few of the better-educated or more skilled soon obtain engagements of various kinds1 by personal application1 and without reference to the ,society1 though they continue to report themselves1 and to be kept in view by the agents1 and1 being separated from evil companionship1 and feeling that they are not altogether friendless1 retrieve their position and regain an honourable reputation4 ,of #ead men and women who were received by the ,society during the year1 #ahj obtained employment in ,london and are doing well2 #aef were sent to places beyond the metropolitan district1 and were placed under the supervision of the local police2 #cb were sent to relatives and friends abroad2 #eg obtained berths on board ship2 #ej had failed to report and notify their change of address as required by ,act of ,parliament2 #bc had been re-convicted2 #f were not satisfactorily reported on2 one had died2 and #i1 who had been recently discharged at the end of the year1 were waiting for employment at the time of the ,report4 ,to read the ,report ,book1 recording the visits of the agents or secretary to men employed in various avocations1 and to their friends or relatives1 is very encouraging1 for it shows that of a large proportion1 say seventy per cent41 there is a good hope of reclamation by their long continuance in industrious efforts to retain their situations and to work honestly in various callings2 while the reports of country cases by clergymen in the provinces is equally satisfactory1 especially as they frequently record the return of the former convict to his family and friends1 amidst whom he earns an honourable subsistence4 ,the female convicts1 who are also received at the office1 are1 if they cannot be sent to relatives and friends1 mostly taken to a ,refuge1 which has been established by the ,society at ,streatham1 where they find a home until situations can be obtained for them2 and it is to the credit of some earnest ladies who are willing to engage these discharged prisoners as domestic servants that the result is often most favourable4 ,a very large proportion of the women return to friends1 however4 ,of #ec who left the ,refuge at ,streatham last year1 #cj were received by friends1 #ah obtained situations1 #c returned to ,millbank ,penitentiary1 #a emigrated1 and #a died1 #be remaining at the ,refuge at the time of the report4 ,in the case of these discharged female prisoners1 as well as for the sake of those men who would eagerly seize an opportunity of beginning life anew in a new country1 it would be most desirable if greater facilities existed for promoting and assisting the emigration of such as gave satisfactory evidence of reformation of character4 ,the ,society finds its own funds1 supported by contributions from the public1 barely sufficient to maintain1 and insufficient largely to extend its useful work4 ,one of the committee1 a resident in ,canada1 has rendered invaluable assistance to emigrants recommended to his notice by the ,society4 ,the governor of ,dartmoor ,prison in his ,report1 says3-- ,i cannot too strongly again express my conviction that an emigration scheme connected with the ,aid ,societies would be an invaluable aid to the restoration of many casual criminals to a position of respectability and honesty4 ,it would be especially appreciated by those 7unfortunately a too numerous class7 who had incurred the shorter sentences of penal servitude as punishments for breaches of trust of various kinds4 ,these men are often cast off by their respectable friends1 and1 from the shortness of their sentences1 are unable to earn the additional gratuity4 ,with no lasting means of subsistence1 and an overstocked market for their labour1 it is not to be wondered at if such men speedily add a second conviction to their criminal career4 ,let us trust that practical steps will be taken to remove this difficulty4 ,,the ,,end4 ,,billing ,,and ,,sons1 ,,printers1 ,,guildford1 ,,surrey4 ,january1 #ahgf4 ,,an ,,alphabetical ,,list ,,of ,,henry ,s4 ,,king ,,co4',s ,,publications4 #fe ,cornhill1 and #ab ,paternoster ,row1 ,london1 ,january1 #ahgf4 ,a ,,list ,,of ,,henry ,s4 ,,king ,,co4',s ,,publications4 ,,abbey 7,henry74 ,,ballads ,,of ,,good ,,deeds1 ,,and ,,other ,,verses4 ,fcap4 #hvo4 ,cloth gilt4 #es4 ,,adams 7,a4 ,l471 ,m4,a4 ,,field ,,and ,,forest ,,rambles ,,of ,a ,,naturalist ,,in ,,new ,,brunswick4 ,with ,notes and ,observations on the ,natural ,history of ,eastern ,canada4 #hvo41 cloth4 ,illustrated4 #ads4 ,,adams 7,f4 ,o471 ,h4,b4,m4's ,secretary of ,embassy at ,paris1 formerly ,h4,b4,m4's ,charg d',affaires1 and ,secretary of ,legation at ,yedo4 ,,the ,,history ,,of ,,japan4 ,from the ,earliest ,period to the ,present ,time4 ,new ,edition1 revised4 ,demy #hvo4 ,in #b vols4 ,with ,maps and ,plans4 #bas4 each4 ,,adams 7,w4 ,davenport1 ,jun47 ,,lyrics ,,of ,,love1 from ,shakespeare to ,tennyson4 ,selected and arranged by4 ,fcap4 #hvo41 cloth extra1 gilt edges1 #cs4 #f;d4 ,,adon4 ,,through ,,storm ,,and ,,sunshine4 ,illustrated by ,m4 ,e4 ,edwards1 ,a4 ,t4 ,h4 ,paterson1 and the ,author4 #a vol4 ,crown #hvo4 ,price #gs4 #f;d4 ,a4 ,k4 ,h4 ,b4 ,a ,,scotch ,,communion ,,sunday1 to which are added ,certain ,discourses from a ,university ,city4 ,by the ,author of ,the ,recreations of a ,country4 ,parson4 ,second ,edition4 ,crown #hvo4 #es4 ,,allen 7,rev4 ,r471 ,m4,a4 ,,abraham3 ,,his ,,life1 ,,times1 ,,and ,,travels1 as told by a ,contemporary #chjj years ago4 ,post #hvo41 with ,map4 ,cloth4 ,price #ajs4 #f;d4 ,,amos 7,professor ,sheldon74 ,,the ,,science ,,of ,,law4 ,second ,edition4 ,crown #hvo4 #es4 ,vol4 ,x4 of the ,international ,scientific ,series4 ,,anderson 7,rev4 ,charles71 ,m4,a4 ,,church ,,thought ,,and ,,church ,,work4 ,edited by4 ,containing articles by the ,revs4 ,j4 ,m4 ,capes1 ,professor ,cheetham1 ,j4 ,ll4 ,davis1 ,harry ,jones1 ,brooke1 ,lambert1 ,a4 ,j4 ,ross1 the ,editor1 and others4 ,second ,edition4 ,demy #hvo4 #gs4 #f;d4 ,,words ,,and ,,works ,,in ,a ,,london ,,parish4 ,edited by4 ,second ,edition4 ,demy #hvo4 #fs4 ,,the ,,curate ,,of ,,shyre4 ,second ,edition4 #hvo4 #gs4 #f;d4 ,,new ,,readings ,,of ,,old ,,parables4 ,demy #hvo4 #ds4 #f;d4 ,,anderson 7,colonel ,r4 ,p47 ,,victories ,,and ,,defeats4 ,an ,attempt to explain the ,causes which have led to them4 ,an ,officer's ,manual4 ,demy #hvo4 #ads4 ,,anson 7,lieut4-,col4 ,the ,hon4 ,a471 ,v4,c41 ,m4,p4 ,,the ,,abolition ,,of ,,purchase ,,and ,,the ,,army ,,regulation ,,bill ,,of #ahga4 ,crown #hvo4 #as4 ,,army ,,reserves ,,and ,,militia ,,reforms4 ,crown #hvo4 #as4 ,,the ,,story ,,of ,,the ,,supersessions4 ,crown #hvo4 #f;d4 ,,argyle 7,duke of74 ,,speeches ,,on ,,the ,,second ,,reading ,,of ,,the ,,church ,,patronage 7,,scotland7 ,,bill ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,lords1 ,june #b1 #ahgd2 and ,earl of ,camperdown's ,amendment1 ,june #i1 #ahgd1 placing the ,election of ,ministers in the hands of ,ratepayers4 ,crown #hvo4 ,sewed4 #as4 ,,army ,,of ,,the ,,north ,,german ,,confederation4 ,a ,brief ,description of its ,organization1 of the ,different ,branches of the ,service and their rle in ,war1 of its ,mode of ,fighting1 etc41 etc4 ,translated from the ,corrected ,edition1 by permission of the author1 by ,colonel ,edward ,newdegate4 ,demy #hvo4 #es4 ,,ashantee ,,war 7,the74 ,a ,popular ,narrative4 ,by the ,special ,correspondent of the ,daily ,news4 ,crown #hvo4 #fs4 ,,ashe 7,t47 ,author of ,the ,sorrows of ,hypsipyle4 ,,edith2 ,,or1 ,,love ,,and ,,life ,,in ,,cheshire4 ,sewed4 #f;d4 ,,ashton 7,john74 ,,rough ,,notes ,,of ,a ,,visit ,,to ,,belgium1 ,,sedan1 ,,and ,,paris1 in ,september1 #ahgj-ga4 ,crown #hvo4 #cs4 #f;d4 ,,aunt ,,mary',s ,,bran ,,pie4 ,by the author of ,st4 ,olave's1 ,when ,i was a ,little ,girl1 etc4 ,illustrated4 #cs4 #f;d4 ,,sunnyland ,,stories4 ,fcap4 #hvo4 ,illustrated4 #cs4 #f;d4 ,being two of ,henry ,s4 ,king and ,co4's ,three and ,sixpenny ,series of ,children's ,books4 ,,aurora3 ,a ,volume of ,verse4 #es4 ,,ayrton 7,j4 ,c47 ,a ,,scotch ,,wooing4 #b vols4 ,crown #hvo4 ,,bagehot 7,walter74 ,,physics ,,and ,,politics2 or1 ,thoughts on the ,application of the ,principles of ,natural ,selection and ,inheritance to ,political ,society4 ,third ,edition4 ,crown #hvo4 #ds4 ,volume ,,ii4 of the ,international ,scientific ,series4 ,,the ,,english ,,constitution4 ,a ,new ,edition1 ,revised and ,corrected1 with an ,introductory ,dissertation on ,recent ,changes and ,events4 ,crown #hvo4 #gs4 #f;d4 ,,lombard ,,street4 ,a ,description of the ,money ,market4 ,crown #hvo4 ,sixth ,edition4 #gs4 #f;d4 ,,bain 7,alexander71 ,,ll4,d4 ,,mind ,,and ,,body4 ,the ,theories of their ,relation4 ,fourth ,edition4 ,crown #hvo4 #ds4 ,volume ,,iv4 of the ,international ,scientific ,series4 ,,banks 7,mrs4 ,g4 ,linnus74 ,,god',s ,,providence ,,house4 ,crown #hvo4 #cs4 #f;d4 ,one of the volumes of the ,cornhill ,library of ,fiction4 ,,baring 7,t4 ,c471 ,m4,p41 late ,fellow of ,brasenose ,college1 ,oxford4 ,,pindar ,,in ,,english ,,rhyme4 ,being an ,attempt to render the ,epinikian ,odes with the principal remaining ,fragments of ,pindar into ,english ,verse4 ,small quarto4 ,cloth1 #gs4 ,,barlee 7,ellen74 ,,locked ,,out2 ,a ,tale of the ,strike4 ,with a ,frontispiece4 #as4 #f;d4 ,,baynes 7,rev4 ,canon ,r4 ,h471 ,editor of ,lyra ,anglicana1 etc4 ,,home ,,songs ,,for ,,quiet ,,hours4 ,second ,edition4 ,fcap4 #hvo4 ,cloth extra1 #cs4 #f;d4 ,this may also be had handsomely bound in ,morocco with gilt edges4 ,,becker 7,bernard ,h47 ,,the ,,scientific ,,societies ,,of ,,london4 #a vol4 ,crown #hvo4 #es4 ,,bennett 7,dr4 ,w4 ,c47 ,,songs ,,for ,,sailors4 ,dedicated by ,special ,request to ,h4,r4,h4 the ,duke of ,edinburgh4 ,crown #hvo4 #cs4 #f;d4 ,with ,steel ,portrait and ,illustrations4 ,an ,edition in ,illustrated ,paper ,covers1 #as4 ,,baby ,,may1 ,,home ,,poems ,,and ,,ballads4 ,with ,frontispiece4 ,cloth elegant4 ,crown #hvo4 #fs4 ,,baby ,,may ,,and ,,home ,,poems4 ,fcap4 #hvo4 ,sewed in ,coloured ,wrapper4 #as4 ,,narrative ,,poems ,,and ,,ballads4 ,fcap4 #hvo4 ,sewed in ,coloured ,wrapper4 #as4 ,,bennie 7,rev4 ,jas4 ,noble71 ,m4,a4 ,,the ,,eternal ,,life4 ,sermons preached during the last twelve years4 ,crown #hvo4 #fs4 ,,bernard 7,bayle74 ,,samuel ,,lover1 ,,the ,,life ,,and ,,unpublished ,,works ,,of4 ,in #b vols4 ,post #hvo4 ,with a ,steel ,portrait4 #bas4 ,,betham-,,edwards 7,miss ,m47 ,,kitty4 ,crown #hvo4 ,with a ,frontispiece4 #cs4 #f;d4 ,one of the volumes of the ,cornhill ,library of ,fiction4 ,,mademoiselle ,,josephine',s ,,fridays1 ,,and ,,other ,,stories4 ,crown #hvo4 #gs4 #f;d4 ,,biscoe 7,a4 ,c47 ,,the ,,earls ,,of ,,middleton1 ,lords of ,clermont and of ,fettercairn1 and the ,middleton ,family4 #a vol4 ,crown #hvo4 #ajs4 #f;d4 ,,blanc 7,henry71 ,m4,d4 ,,cholera3 ,,how ,,to ,,avoid ,,and ,,treat ,,it4 ,popular and ,practical ,notes4 ,crown #hvo4 #ds4 #f;d4 ,,blume 7,major ,william74 ,,the ,,operations ,,of ,,the ,,german ,,armies ,,in ,,france1 from ,sedan to the end of the war of #ahgj-ga4 ,with ,map4 ,from the ,journals of the ,head-quarters ,staff4 ,translated by the late ,e4 ,m4 ,jones1 ,maj4 #bjth ,foot1 ,prof4 of ,mil4 ,hist41 ,sandhurst4 ,demy #hvo4 #is4 ,,boguslawski 7,captain ,a4 von74 ,,tactical ,,deductions ,,from ,,the ,,war ,,of #ahgj-ga4 ,translated by ,colonel ,sir ,lumley ,graham1 ,bart41 late #ahth 7,royal ,irish7 ,regiment4 ,third ,edition1 ,revised and ,corrected4 ,demy #hvo4 #gs4 ,a volume of ,henry ,s4 ,king and ,co4's ,series of ,military ,works4 ,,bonwick 7,james74 ,,the ,,tasmanian ,,lily4 ,cr4 #hvo4 ,with ,frontispiece4 #es4 ,,mike ,,howe1 ,,the ,,bushranger ,,of ,,van ,,diemen',s ,,land4 ,crown #hvo4 ,with ,frontispiece4 #es4 ,,boswell 7,r4 ,b471 ,m4,a41 ,oxon4 ,,metrical ,,translations ,,from ,,the ,,greek ,,and ,,latin ,,poets1 and other ,poems4 ,crown #hvo4 #es4 ,,bothmer 7,countess ,von74 ,,cruel ,,as ,,the ,,grave4 ,a ,novel4 #c vols4 ,,bowring 7,l471 ,c4,s4,i41 ,lord ,canning's ,private ,secretary1 and for many years ,chief ,commissioner of ,mysore and ,coorg4 ,,eastern ,,experiences4 ,illustrated with ,maps and ,diagrams4 ,demy #hvo4 #afs4 ,,brave ,,men',s ,,footsteps4 ,by the ,editor of ,men who have ,risen4 ,a ,book of ,example and ,anecdote for ,young ,people4 ,with ,four ,illustrations by ,c4 ,doyle4 ,third ,edition4 ,crown #hvo4 #cs4 #f;d4 ,,brialmont 7,colonel ,a47 ,,hasty ,,intrenchments4 ,translated by ,lieut4 ,charles ,a4 ,empsom1 ,r4,a4 ,with nine ,plates4 ,demy #hvo4 #fs4 ,,briefs ,,and ,,papers4 ,being ,sketches of the ,bar and the ,press4 ,by ,two ,idle ,apprentices4 ,crown #hvo4 #gs4 #f;d4 ,,brooke 7,rev4 ,stopford ,a471 ,m4,a41 ,chaplain in ,ordinary to ,her ,majesty the ,queen4 ,,the ,,late ,,rev4 ,f4 ,w4 ,,robertson1 ,m4,a41 ,,life ,,and ,,letters ,,of4 ,edited by ,stopford ,brooke1 ,m4,a4 ,i4 ,in #b vols41 uniform with the ,sermons4 ,steel ,portrait4 #gs4 #f;d4 ,,ii4 ,library ,edition4 #hvo4 ,two ,steel ,portraits4 #abs4 ,,iii4 ,a ,popular ,edition1 in #a vol4 #hvo4 #fs4 ,,theology ,,in ,,the ,,english ,,poets4--,,cowper1 ,,coleridge1 ,,wordsworth1 and ,,burns4 ,second ,edition4 ,post #hvo4 #is4 ,,christ ,,in ,,modern ,,life4 ,sermons ,preached in ,st4 ,james's ,chapel1 ,york ,street1 ,london4 ,eighth ,edition4 ,crown #hvo4 #gs4 #f;d4 ,,freedom ,,in ,,the ,,church ,,of ,,england4 ,six ,sermons suggested by the ,voysey ,judgment4 ,second ,edition4 ,crown #hvo4 #cs4 #f;d4 ,,sermons ,preached in ,st4 ,james's ,chapel1 ,york ,street1 ,london4 ,eighth ,edition4 ,crown #hvo4 #fs4 ,,sermons ,preached in ,st4 ,james's ,chapel1 ,york ,street1 ,london4 ,second ,series4 ,second ,edition4 ,crown #hvo4 #gs4 ,,frederick ,,denison ,,maurice3 ,the ,life and ,work of4 ,a ,memorial ,sermon4 ,crown #hvo4 ,sewed4 #as4 ,,brooke 7,w4 ,g471 ,m4,a41 ,barrister-at-,law4 ,,the ,,public ,,worship ,,regulation ,,act4 ,with a ,classified ,statement of its ,provisions1 ,notes1 and ,index4 ,third ,edition1 revised and corrected4 ,crown #hvo4 #cs4 #f;d4 ,,six ,,privy ,,council ,,judgments--#ahej-ahgb4 ,annotated by4 ,third ,edition4 ,crown #hvo4 #is4 ,,brown 7,rev4 ,j4 ,baldwin71 ,b4,a4 ,,the ,,higher ,,life4 ,its ,reality1 ,experience1 and ,destiny4 ,fourth ,edition4 ,crown #hvo4 #gs4 #f;d4 ,,the ,,doctrine ,,of ,,annihilation ,,in ,,the ,,light ,,of ,,the ,,gospel ,,of ,,love4 ,five ,discourses4 ,second ,edition4 ,crown #hvo4 #bs4 #f;d4 ,,brown 7,john ,croumbie71 ,,ll4,d41 etc4 ,,reboisement ,,in ,,france2 or1 ,records of the ,replanting of the ,alps1 the ,cevennes1 and the ,pyrenees with ,trees1 ,herbage1 and ,bush1 with a view to arresting and preventing the destructive consequences and effects of ,torrents4 #a vol4 ,demy #hvo4 #abs4 #f;d4 ,,the ,,hydrology ,,of ,,southern ,,africa4 ,demy #hvo4 #ajs4 #f;d4 ,,browne 7,rev4 ,marmaduke ,e47 ,,until ,,the ,,day ,,dawn4 ,four ,advent ,lectures delivered in the ,episcopal ,chapel1 ,milverton1 ,warwickshire1 on the ,sunday evenings during ,advent1 #ahgj4 ,crown #hvo4 #bs4 #f;d4 ,,bryant 7,william ,cullen74 ,,poems4 ,red-line ,edition4 ,handsomely bound4 ,with #bd ,illustrations and ,portrait of the ,author4 #gs4 #f;d4 ,a ,cheaper ,edition1 with ,frontispiece4 #cs4 #f;d4 ,,buchanan 7,robert74 ,,poetical ,,works4 ,collected ,edition1 in #c ,vols41 price #fs4 each4 ,vol4 ,i4--,ballads and ,romances2 ,ballads and ,poems of ,life1 and a ,portrait of the ,author4 ,vol4 ,,ii4--,ballads and ,poems of ,life2 ,allegories and ,sonnets4 ,vol4 ,,iii4--,cruiskeen ,sonnets2 ,book of ,orm2 ,political ,mystics4 ,,master-,,spirits4 ,post #hvo4 #ajs4 #f;d4 ,,bulkeley 7,rev4 ,henry ,j47 ,,walled ,,in1 and other ,poems4 ,crown #hvo4 #es4 ,,bunn,,tt 7,f4 ,e47 ,,leonora ,,christina1 ,,memoirs ,,of1 ,daughter of ,christian ,,iv4 of ,denmark2 ,written during her ,imprisonment in the ,blue ,tower of the ,royal ,palace at ,copenhagen1 #affc-afhe4 ,translated by ,f4 ,e4 ,bunntt4 ,with an ,autotype ,portrait of the ,princess4 ,medium #hvo4 ,a ,new and ,cheaper ,edition4 #es4 ,,linked ,,at ,,last4 #a vol4 ,crown #hvo4 ,,under ,a ,,cloud2 ,,or1 ,,johannes ,,olaf4 ,by ,e4 ,d4 ,wille4 ,translated by ,f4 ,e4 ,bunntt4 #c vols4 ,,burton 7,mrs4 ,richard74 ,,the ,,inner ,,life ,,of ,,syria1 ,,palestine1 ,,and ,,the ,,holy ,,land4 #b vols4 ,demy #hvo4 #bds4 ,,butler 7,josephine ,e47 ,,john ,,grey 7of ,dilston73 ,,memoirs4 ,by his ,daughter4 ,new and ,cheaper ,edition4 ,crown #hvo4 #cs4 #f;d4 ,,calderon4 ,,calderon',s ,,dramas3 ,the ,wonder-,working ,magician--,life is a ,dream--,the ,purgatory of ,st4 ,patrick4 ,translated by ,denis ,florence ,mac,carthy4 ,post #hvo4 #ajs4 ,,camden 7,charles74 ,,hoity ,,toity1 ,,the ,,good ,,little ,,fellow4 ,with ,eleven ,illustrations4 ,crown #hvo4 #cs4 #f;d4 ,,the ,,travelling ,,menagerie4 ,with ,ten ,illustrations by ,j4 ,mahoney4 ,crown #hvo4 #cs4 #f;d4 ,the above form part of ,henry ,s4 ,king ,co4's ,three and ,sixpenny ,series of ,children's ,books4 ,,carlisle 7,a4 ,d471 ,b4,a41 ,trin4 ,coll41 ,camb4 ,,round ,,the ,,world ,,in #ahgj4 ,a ,volume of ,travels1 with ,maps4 ,new and ,cheaper ,edition4 ,demy #hvo4 #fs4 ,,carne 7,miss ,e4 ,t47 ,,the ,,realm ,,of ,,truth4 ,crown #hvo4 #es4 #f;d4 ,,carpenter 7,e47 ,,narcissus ,,and ,,other ,,poems4 ,fcap4 #hvo4 #es4 ,,carpenter 7,w4 ,b471 ,,ll4,d41 ,m4,d41 ,f4,r4,s41 etc4 ,,the ,,principles ,,of ,,mental ,,physiology4 ,with their ,applications to the ,training and ,discipline of the ,mind1 and the ,study of its ,morbid ,conditions4 #hvo4 ,illustrated4 #abs4 ,,carr 7,lisle74 ,,judith ,,gwynne4 #c vols4 ,crown #hvo4 ,second ,edition4 ,,christopherson 7,the late ,rev4 ,henry71 ,m4,a41 ,assistant ,minister at ,trinity ,church1 ,brighton4 ,,sermons4 ,crown #hvo4 ,cloth4 #gs4 #f;d4 ,with an ,introduction by ,john ,rae1 ,,ll4,d41 ,f4,s4,a4 ,,clayton 7,cecil74 ,,effie',s ,,game2 ,,how ,,she ,,lost ,,and ,,how ,,she ,,won4 ,a ,novel4 #b vols4 ,,clerk 7,mrs4 ,godfrey71 ,author of ,the ,antipodes and ,round the ,world4 ',,ilam ,,en ,,nas4 ,historical ,tales and ,anecdotes of the ,times of the ,early ,khalifahs4 ,translated from the ,arabic ,originals4 ,illustrated with ,historical and ,explanatory ,notes4 ,crown #hvo4 #gs4 ,,clery 7,c471 ,captain #cbnd ,light ,infantry1 ,deputy ,assistant ,adjutant-,general1 late ,professor of ,tactics ,royal ,military ,college1 ,sandhurst4 ,,minor ,,tactics4 ,demy #hvo4 ,second ,edition4 ,with #bf ,maps and ,plans4 #afs4 ,,clodd 7,edward71 ,f4,r4,a4,s4 ,,the ,,childhood ,,of ,,the ,,world3 a ,simple ,account of ,man in ,early ,times4 ,new ,edition4 ,crown #hvo4 #cs4 ,a ,special ,edition for ,schools4 #as4 ,,the ,,childhood ,,of ,,religions4 ,including a ,simple ,account of the ,birth and ,growth of ,myths and ,legends4 ,crown #hvo4 #es4 ,,coleridge 7,sara74 ,,pretty ,,lessons ,,in ,,verse ,,for ,,good ,,children1 with some ,lessons in ,latin1 in ,easy ,rhyme4 ,a ,new ,edition4 ,illustrated4 #cs4 #f;d4 ,,phantasmion4 ,a ,fairy ,romance4 ,with an ,introductory ,preface by the ,right ,hon4 ,lord ,coleridge of ,ottery ,st4 ,mary4 ,a ,new ,edition4 ,illustrated4 #gs4 #f;d4 ,,memoir ,,and ,,letters ,,of ,,sara ,,coleridge4 ,edited by her ,daughter4 ,third ,edition1 ,revised and ,corrected4 ,with ,index4 #b vols4 ,crown #hvo4 ,with ,two ,portraits4 #bds4 ,cheap ,edition4 ,with one ,portrait4 #gs4 #f;d4 ,,collins 7,mortimer74 ,,the ,,princess ,,clarice4 ,a ,story of #ahga4 #b vols4 ,,squire ,,silchester',s ,,whim4 ,by ,mortimer ,collins1 ,author of ,marquis and ,merchant1 etc4 #c vols4 ,,miranda4 ,a ,midsummer ,madness4 #c vols4 ,,the ,,inn ,,of ,,strange ,,meetings1 ,,and ,,other ,,poems4 ,crown #hvo4 #es4 ,,the ,,secret ,,of ,,long ,,life4 ,dedicated by special permission to ,lord ,st4 ,leonard's4 ,fourth ,edition4 ,large crown #hvo4 #es4 ,,collins 7,rev4 ,richard71 ,m4,a4 ,,missionary ,,enterprise ,,in ,,the ,,east4 ,with special reference to the ,syrian ,christians of ,malabar1 and the results of modern ,missions4 ,with ,four ,illustrations4 ,crown #hvo4 #fs4 ,,conway 7,moncure ,d47 ,,republican ,,superstitions4 ,illustrated by the ,political ,history of the ,united ,states4 ,including a ,correspondence with ,m4 ,louis ,blanc4 ,crown #hvo4 #es4 ,,conyers 7,ansley74 ,,chesterleigh4 #c vols4 ,crown #hvo4 ,,cooke 7,m4 ,c471 ,m4,a41 ,,ll4,d4 ,,fungi2 their ,nature1 ,influences1 ,uses1 etc4 ,edited by the ,rev4 ,m4 ,j4 ,berkeley1 ,m4,a41 ,f4,l4,s4 ,second ,edition4 ,crown #hvo4 ,with ,illustrations4 #es4 ,being ,vol4 ,,xiv4 of the ,international ,scientific ,series4 ,,cooke 7,professor ,josiah ,p471 of the ,harvard ,university4 ,,the ,,new ,,chemistry4 ,second ,edition4 ,with ,thirty-one ,illustrations4 #es4 ,vol4 ,,ix4 of the ,international ,scientific ,series4 ,,scientific ,,culture4 ,crown #hvo4 ,cloth4 #as4 ,,cooper 7,t4 ,t47 ,,the ,,mishmee ,,hills3 an ,account of a ,journey made in an ,attempt to ,penetrate ,thibet from ,assam1 to open ,new ,routes for ,commerce4 ,second ,edition4 ,with ,four ,illustrations and ,map4 ,demy #hvo4 #ajs4 #f;d4 ,,cornhill ,,library ,,of ,,fiction1 ,the4 #cs4 #f;d4 per ,volume4 ,,half-,a-,,dozen ,,daughters4 ,by ,j4 ,masterman4 ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,raby4 ,by ,mrs4 ,g4 ,hooper4 ,a ,,fight ,,for ,,life4 ,by ,moy ,thomas4 ,,robin ,,gray4 ,by ,charles ,gibbon4 ,,kitty4 ,by ,miss ,m4 ,betham-,edwards4 ,,hirell4 ,by ,john ,saunders4 ,,one ,,of ,,two2 or1 ,the ,left-,handed ,bride4 ,by ,j4 ,hain ,friswell4 ,,ready-,,money ,,mortiboy4 ,a ,matter-of-,fact ,story4 ,,god',s ,,providence ,,house4 ,by ,mrs4 ,g4 ,l4 ,banks4 ,,for ,,lack ,,of ,,gold4 ,by ,charles ,gibbon4 ,,abel ,,drake',s ,,wife4 ,by ,john ,saunders4 ,,cory 7,lieutenant-,colonel ,arthur74 ,,shadows ,,of ,,coming ,,events2 or1 ,the ,eastern ,menace4 ,crown #hvo4 ,cloth4 #es4 ,,cosmos4 ,a ,poem4 ,fcap4 #hvo4 #cs4 #f;d4 ,subjects4--,nature in the ,past and in the ,present--,man in the ,past and in the ,present--,the ,future4 ,,cotton 7,robert ,turner74 ,,mr4 ,,carington4 ,a ,tale of ,love and ,conspiracy4 #c vols4 ,crown #hvo4 ,,cummins 7,henry ,irwin71 ,m4,a4 ,,parochial ,,charities ,,of ,,the ,,city ,,of ,,london4 ,sewed4 #as4 ,,curwen 7,henry74 ,,sorrow ,,and ,,song3 ,studies of ,literary ,struggle4 ,henry ,mrger--,novalis--,alexander ,petfi--,honor de ,balzac--,edgar ,allan ,poe--,andr ,chnier4 #b vols4 ,crown #hvo4 #aes4 ,,davidson 7,samuel71 ,d4,d41 ,,ll4,d4 ,,the ,,new ,,testament1 ,,translated ,,from ,,the ,,latest ,,greek ,,text ,,of ,,tischendorf4 ,post #hvo4 #ajs4 #f;d4 ,,davies 7,g4 ,christopher74 ,,mountain1 ,,meadow1 ,,and ,,mere3 a ,series of ,outdoor ,sketches of ,sport1 ,scenery1 ,adventures1 and ,natural ,history4 ,with ,sixteen ,illustrations by ,bosworth ,w4 ,harcourt4 ,crown #hvo4 #fs4 ,,rambles ,,and ,,adventures ,,of ,,our ,,school ,,field ,,club4 ,crown #hvo4 ,with #d ,illustrations4 #es4 ,,davies 7,rev4 ,j4 ,llewelyn71 ,m4,a4 ,,theology ,,and ,,morality4 ,essays on ,questions of ,belief and ,practice4 ,crown #hvo4 #gs4 #f;d4 ,d',,anvers 7,n4 ,r47 ,,little ,,minnie',s ,,troubles4 ,an ,every-day ,chronicle4 ,illustrated by ,w4 ,h4 ,hughes4 ,fcap4 #cs4 #f;d4 ,a ,simple ,chronicle of a ,child's ,life4 ,,de ,,kerkadec 7,vicomtesse ,solange74 ,a ,,chequered ,,life1 being ,memoirs of the ,vicomtesse de ,leoville ,meilhan4 ,edited by4 ,crown #hvo4 #gs4 #f;d4 ,containing many recollections of the ,first ,emperor ,napoleon and his ,court4 ,,de ,l',,hoste 7,colonel ,e4 ,p74 ,,the ,,desert ,,pastor1 ,,jean ,,jarousseau4 ,translated from the ,french of ,eugne ,pelletan4 ,in fcap4 #hvo41 with a ,frontispiece4 ,new ,edition4 #cs4 #f;d4 ,one of ,henry ,s4 ,king and ,co4's ,three and ,sixpenny ,books for the ,young4 ,,de ,,liefde 7,jacob74 ,,the ,,great ,,dutch ,,admirals4 ,crown #hvo4 ,with ,eleven ,illustrations by ,townley ,green and others4 #es4 ,one of ,henry ,s4 ,king and ,co4's ,five ,shilling ,books for the ,young4 ,,de ,,redcliffe 7,viscount ,stratford71 ,p4,c41 ,k4,g41 ,g4,c4,b4 ,,why ,,am ,i ,a ,,christian8 ,fifth ,edition4 ,crown #hvo4 #cs4 ,,de ,,tocqueville 7,alexis74 ,,correspondence ,,and ,,conversations ,,of1 ,,with ,,nassau ,,william ,,senior4 #b vols4 ,post #hvo4 #bas4 ,,de ,,vere 7,aubrey74 ,,alexander ,,the ,,great4 ,a ,dramatic ,poem4 ,small crown #hvo4 #es4 ,,the ,,infant ,,bridal1 ,,and ,,other ,,poems4 ,a ,new and ,enlarged ,edition4 ,fcap4 #hvo4 #gs4 #f;d4 ,,the ,,legends ,,of ,,st4 ,,patrick1 ,,and ,,other ,,poems4 ,small crown #hvo4 #es4 ,,de ,,wille 7,e47 ,,under ,a ,,cloud2 ,,or1 ,,johannes ,,olaf4 ,a ,novel4 ,translated by ,f4 ,e4 ,bunntt4 #c vols4 ,crown #hvo4 ,,dennis 7,john74 ,,english ,,sonnets4 ,collected and ,arranged4 ,fcap4 #hvo4 ,elegantly bound4 #cs4 #f;d4 ,,dobson 7,austin74 ,,vignettes ,,in ,,rhyme ,,and ,,vers ,,de ,,soci,t4 ,second ,edition4 ,fcap4 #hvo4 #es4 ,,donn 7,alphonse71 ,m4,d4 ,,change ,,of ,,air ,,and ,,scene4 ,a ,physician's ,hints about ,doctors1 ,patients1 ,hygiene1 and ,society2 with ,notes of ,excursions for ,health in the ,pyrenees1 and amongst the ,watering-places of ,france 7,inland and ,seaward71 ,switzerland1 ,corsica1 and the ,mediterranean4 ,a ,new ,edition4 ,large post #hvo4 #is4 ,,dowden 7,edward71 ,,ll4,d4 ,,shakspere3 a ,critical ,study of his ,mind and ,art4 ,post #hvo4 #abs4 ,,downton 7,rev4 ,henry71 ,m4,a4 ,,hymns ,,and ,,verses4 ,original and ,translated4 ,small crown #hvo4 #cs4 #f;d4 ,,draper 7,john ,william71 ,m4,d41 ,,ll4,d4 ,professor in the ,university of ,new ,york2 ,author of ,a ,treatise on ,human ,physiology4 ,,history ,,of ,,the ,,conflict ,,between ,,religion ,,and ,,science4 ,fifth ,edition4 #es4 ,vol4 ,,xiii4 of the ,international ,scientific ,series4 ,,drew 7,rev4 ,g4 ,s471 ,m4,a41 ,vicar of ,trinity1 ,lambeth4 ,,scripture ,,lands ,,in ,,connection ,,with ,,their ,,history4 ,second ,edition4 #hvo4 #ajs4 #f;d4 ,,nazareth3 ,,its ,,life ,,and ,,lessons4 ,third ,edition4 ,crown #hvo4 #es4 ,,the ,,divine ,,kingdom ,,on ,,earth ,,as ,,it ,,is ,,in ,,heaven4 #hvo4 #ajs4 #f;d4 ,,drew 7,rev4 ,g4 ,s471 ,m4,a4 ,,the ,,son ,,of ,,man3 ,his ,life and ,ministry4 ,crown #hvo4 #gs4 #f;d4 ,,drewry 7,g4 ,overend71 ,m4,d4 ,,the ,,common-,,sense ,,management ,,of ,,the ,,stomach4 ,fcap4 #hvo4 ,second ,edition4 #bs4 #f;d4 ,,durand 7,lady74 ,,imitations ,,from ,,the ,,german ,,of ,,spitta ,,and ,,terstegen4 ,fcap4 #hvo4 #ds4 ,,du ,,vernois 7,colonel von ,verdy74 ,,studies ,,in ,,leading ,,troops4 ,an authorized and accurate ,translation by ,lieutenant ,h4 ,j4 ,t4 ,hildyard1 #gast ,foot4 ,parts ,i4 and ,,ii4 ,demy #hvo4 #gs4 ,this is one of ,henry ,s4 ,king and ,co4's ,series of ,military ,works4 ,e4 ,a4 ,v4 ,,joseph ,,mazzini3 ,a ,memoir4 ,with ,two ,essays by ,mazzini--,thoughts on ,democracy1 and ,the ,duties of ,man4 ,dedicated to the ,working ,classes by ,p4 ,h4 ,taylor1 ,m4,p4 ,crown #hvo4 ,with ,two ,portraits4 #cs4 #f;d4 ,,eden 7,frederic74 ,,the ,,nile ,,without ,a ,,dragoman4 ,second ,edition4 ,crown #hvo4 #gs4 #f;d4 ,,edwards 7,rev4 ,basil74 ,,minor ,,chords2 ,,or1 ,,songs ,,for ,,the ,,suffering3 a ,volume of ,verse4 ,fcap4 #hvo4 ,cloth1 #cs4 #f;d42 paper1 #bs4 #f;d4 ,,eiloart 7,mrs47 ,,lady ,,moretoun',s ,,daughter4 #c vols4 ,crown #hvo4 ,,english ,,clergyman4 ,,an ,,essay ,,on ,,the ,,rule ,,of ,,faith ,,and ,,creed ,,of ,,athanasius4 ,shall the ,rubric preceding the ,creed be removed from the ,prayer-book8 #hvo4 ,sewed4 #as4 ,,eros ,,agonistes4 ,poems4 ,by ,e4 ,b4 ,d4 ,fcap4 #hvo4 #cs4 #f;d4 ,,evans 7,mark74 ,,the ,,story ,,of ,,our ,,father',s ,,love1 told to ,children2 being a ,new and ,enlarged ,edition of ,theology for ,children4 ,fcap4 #hvo4 #cs4 #f;d4 ,a ,,book ,,of ,,common ,,prayer ,,and ,,worship ,,for ,,household ,,use1 compiled exclusively from the ,holy ,scriptures4 ,fcap4 #hvo4 ,cloth1 #bs4 #f;d4 ,,eyre 7,maj4-,gen4 ,sir ,vincent71 ,c4,b41 ,k4,c4,s4,i41 etc4 ,,lays ,,of ,a ,,knight-,,errant ,,in ,,many ,,lands4 ,square crown #hvo4 ,with ,six ,illustrations4 #gs4 #f;d4 ,pharaoh ,land4 ,home ,land4 ,wonder ,land4 ,rhine ,land4 ,,faithfull 7,mrs4 ,francis ,g47 ,,love ,,me1 ,,or ,,love ,,me ,,not4 #c vols4 ,crown #hvo4 ,,farquharson 7,martha74 ,i4 ,,elsie ,,dinsmore4 ,crown #hvo4 #cs4 #f;d4 ,,ii4 ,,elsie',s ,,girlhood4 ,crown #hvo4 #cs4 #f;d4 ,,iii4 ,,elsie',s ,,holidays ,,at ,,roselands4 ,crown #hvo4 #cs4 #f;d4 ,these are volumes of ,henry ,s4 ,king and ,co4's ,series of ,three and ,sixpenny ,books for the ,young4 ,,favre 7,mons4 ,jules74 ,,the ,,government ,,of ,,the ,,national ,,defence4 ,from the #cjth ,june to the #cast ,october1 #ahgj4 ,the ,plain ,statement of a ,member4 #a vol4 ,demy #hvo4 #ajs4 #f;d4 ,,fisher 7,alice74 ,,his ,,queen4 #c vols4 ,crown #hvo4 ,,forbes 7,archibald74 ,,soldiering ,,and ,,scribbling4 ,a ,series of ,sketches4 ,crown #hvo4 #gs4 #f;d4 ,,fothergill 7,jessie74 ,,healey4 ,a ,romance4 #c vols4 ,crown #hvo4 ,,fowle 7,rev4 ,t4 ,w471 ,m4,a4 ,,the ,,reconciliation ,,of ,,religion ,,and ,,science4 ,being ,essays on ,immortality1 ,inspiration1 ,miracles1 and the ,being of ,christ4 ,demy #hvo4 #ajs4 #f;d4 ,,fraser 7,donald71 ,accountant to the ,british-,indian ,steam ,navigation ,company1 ,limited4 ,,exchange ,,tables ,,of ,,sterling ,,and ,,indian ,,rupee ,,currency1 upon a new and extended system1 embracing ,values from ,one ,farthing to ,one ,hundred ,thousand ,pounds1 and at ,rates progressing1 in ,sixteenths of a ,penny1 from #as4 #i;d4 to #bs4 #c;d4 per ,rupee4 ,royal #hvo4 #ajs4 #f;d4 ,,frere 7,sir ,h4 ,bartle ,e471 ,g4,c4,b41 ,g4,c4,s4,i41 etc4 ,,the ,,threatened ,,famine ,,in ,,bengal2 ,how it may be ,met1 and the ,recurrence of ,famines in ,india ,prevented4 ,being ,no4 #a of ,occasional ,notes on ,indian ,affairs4 ,crown #hvo4 ,with #c ,maps4 #es4 ,,friswell 7,j4 ,hain74 ,,the ,,better ,,self4 ,essays for ,home ,life4 ,crown #hvo4 #fs4 ,contents3--,beginning at ,home--,the ,girls at ,home--,the ,wife's ,mother--,pride in the ,family--,discontent and ,grumbling--,domestic ,economy--,on ,keeping ,people ,down--,likes and ,dislikes--,on ,falling ,out--,peace4 ,,one ,,of ,,two2 or1 ,the ,left-,handed ,bride4 ,crown #hvo4 ,with a ,frontispiece4 #cs4 #f;d4 ,being a ,volume of the ,cornhill ,library of ,fiction4 ,,gardner 7,john71 ,m4,d4 ,,longevity2 ,,the ,,means ,,of ,,prolonging ,,life ,,after ,,middle ,,age4 ,third ,edition1 revised and enlarged4 ,small crown #hvo4 #ds4 ,,garrett 7,edward74 ,,by ,,still ,,waters4 ,a ,story for ,quiet ,hours4 ,crown #hvo4 ,with ,seven ,illustrations4 #fs4 ,,gibbon 7,charles74 ,,for ,,lack ,,of ,,gold4 ,crown #hvo4 ,with a ,frontispiece4 #cs4 #f;d4 ,,robin ,,gray4 ,crown #hvo4 ,with a ,frontispiece4 #cs4 #f;d4 ,the above ,volumes form part of the ,cornhill ,library of ,fiction4 ,,gilbert 7,mrs47 ,,mrs4 ,,gilbert1 ,,formerly ,,ann ,,taylor1 ,,autobiography ,,and ,,other ,,memorials ,,of4 ,edited by ,josiah ,gilbert4 ,in #b vols4 ,post #hvo4 ,with #b ,steel ,portraits and several ,wood ,engravings4 #bds4 ,,gill 7,rev4 ,w4 ,w47 ,,myths ,,and ,,songs ,,of ,,the ,,south ,,pacific4 ,with a ,preface by ,f4 ,max ,mller1 ,m4,a41 ,professor of ,comparative ,philology at ,oxford4 #a vol4 ,post #hvo4 ,,godkin 7,james74 ,,the ,,religious ,,history ,,of ,,ireland3 ,primitive1 ,papal1 and ,protestant4 ,including the ,evangelical ,missions1 ,catholic ,agitations1 and ,church ,progress of the last half ,century4 #a vol4 #hvo4 #abs4 ,,godwin 7,william74 ,,william ,,godwin3 ,,his ,,friends ,,and ,,contemporaries4 ,by ,c4 ,kegan ,paul4 #b vols4 ,demy #hvo4 ,with ,portraits4 ,,the ,,genius ,,of ,,christianity ,,unveiled4 ,being ,essays never before published4 ,edited1 with a ,preface1 by ,c4 ,kegan ,paul4 #a vol4 ,crown #hvo4 #gs4 #f;d4 ,,goetze 7,capt4 ,a4 von71 ,captain of the ,prussian ,corps of ,engineers attached to the ,engineer ,committee1 and ,instructor at the ,military ,academy4 ,,operations ,,of ,,the ,,german ,,engineers ,,during ,,the ,,war ,,of #ahgj-ahga4 ,published by ,authority1 and in accordance with ,official ,documents4 ,translated from the ,german by ,colonel ,g4 ,graham1 ,v4,c41 ,c4,b41 ,r4,e4 ,demy #hvo4 ,cloth4 ,with #f large ,maps4 #bas4 ,,goodman 7,walter74 ,,cuba1 ,,the ,,pearl ,,of ,,the ,,antilles4 ,crown #hvo4 #gs4 #f;d4 ,,gosse 7,edmund ,w47 ,,on ,,viol ,,and ,,flute4 ,with ,title-page specially designed by ,william ,b4 ,scott4 ,crown #hvo4 #es4 ,,granville 7,a4 ,b471 ,m4,d41 ,f4,r4,s41 etc4 ,,autobiography ,,of ,a4 ,b4 ,,granville1 ,f4,r4,s41 etc4 ,edited1 with a brief account of the concluding years of his life1 by his youngest ,daughter1 ,paulina ,b4 ,granville4 #b vols4 ,demy #hvo4 ,with a ,portrait4 #cbs4 ,,gray 7,mrs4 ,russell74 ,,lisette',s ,,venture4 ,a ,novel4 #b vols4 ,crown #hvo4 #bas4 ,,green 7,t4 ,bowden74 ,,fragments ,,of ,,thought4 ,dedicated by permission to the ,poet ,laureate4 ,crown #hvo4 #gs4 #f;d4 ,,greenwood 7,james71 ,the ,amateur ,casual4 ,,in ,,strange ,,company2 or1 ,the ,note ,book of a ,roving ,correspondent4 ,second ,edition4 ,crown #hvo4 #fs4 ,,grey 7,john71 of ,dilston4 ,,john ,,grey 7of ,dilston73 ,,memoirs4 ,by ,josephine ,e4 ,butler4 ,new and ,cheaper ,edition4 ,crown #hvo4 #cs4 #f;d4 ,,griffith 7,rev4 ,t471 ,a4,m41 ,prebendary of ,st4 ,paul's4 ,,studies ,,of ,,the ,,divine ,,master4 ,demy #hvo4 #abs4 ,,griffiths 7,captain ,arthur74 ,,the ,,queen',s ,,shilling4 ,a ,novel4 #b vols4 #bas4 ,,memorials ,,of ,,millbank1 ,,and ,,chapters ,,in ,,prison ,,history4 #b vols4 ,post #hvo4 #bas4 ,with ,illustrations4 ,,gruner 7,m4 ,l47 ,,studies ,,of ,,blast ,,furnace ,,phenomena4 ,translated by ,l4 ,d4 ,b4 ,gordon1 ,f4,r4,s4,e41 ,f4,g4,s4 ,demy #hvo4 #gs4 #f;d4 ,,gurney 7,rev4 ,archer ,thompson74 ,,words ,,of ,,faith ,,and ,,cheer4 ,a ,mission of ,instruction and ,suggestion4 #a vol4 ,crown #hvo4 #fs4 ,,first ,,principles ,,in ,,church ,,and ,,state4 ,demy #hvo4 ,sewed4 #as4 #f;d4 ,,haeckel 7,professor ,ernst71 of the ,university of ,jena4 ,,the ,,history ,,of ,,creation4 ,a ,popular ,account of the ,development of the ,earth and its ,inhabitants1 according to the ,theories of ,kant1 ,laplace1 ,lamarck1 and ,darwin4 ,the ,translation revised by ,professor ,e4 ,ray ,lankester1 ,m4,a41 ,f4,r4,s4 ,with ,coloured ,plates and ,genealogical ,trees of the various groups of both plants and animals4 #b vols4 ,post #hvo4 #cbs4 ,,the ,,history ,,of ,,the ,,evolution ,,of ,,man4 ,translated by ,e4 ,a4 ,van ,rhyn and ,l4 ,elsberg1 ,m4,d4 7,university of ,new ,york71 with ,notes and ,additions sanctioned by the ,author4 ,post #hvo4 ,,harcourt 7,capt4 ,a4 ,f4 ,p47 ,,the ,,shakespeare ,,argosy3 ,containing much of the wealth of ,shakespeare's ,wisdom and ,wit1 alphabetically arranged and classified4 ,crown #hvo4 #fs4 ,,haweis 7,rev4 ,h4 ,r471 ,m4,a4 ,,speech ,,in ,,season4 ,third ,edition4 ,crown #hvo4 #is4 ,,thoughts ,,for ,,the ,,times4 ,eighth ,edition4 ,crown #hvo4 #gs4 #f;d4 ,,unsectarian ,,family ,,prayers1 for ,morning and ,evening for a ,week1 with short selected passages from the ,bible4 ,square crown #hvo4 #cs4 #f;d4 ,,hawthorne 7,julian74 ,,bressant4 ,a ,romance4 #b vols4 ,crown #hvo4 #bas4 ,,idolatry4 ,a ,romance4 #b vols4 ,crown #hvo4 #bas4 ,,hawthorne 7,nathaniel74 ,,nathaniel ,,hawthorne4 ,a ,memoir1 with ,stories now first published in this country4 ,by ,h4 ,a4 ,page4 ,post #hvo4 #gs4 #f;d4 ,,septimius4 ,a ,romance4 ,second ,edition4 ,crown #hvo4 #is4 ,,hayman 7,henry71 ,d4,d41 late ,head ,master of ,rugby ,school4 ,,rugby ,,school ,,sermons4 ,with an ,introductory ,essay on the ,indwelling of the ,holy ,spirit4 ,crown #hvo4 #gs4 #f;d4 ,,heathergate4 ,a ,story of ,scottish ,life and ,character4 ,by a ,new ,author4 #b vols4 ,crown #hvo4 #bas4 ,,hellwald 7,baron ,f4 ,von74 ,,the ,,russians ,,in ,,central ,,asia4 ,a ,critical ,examination1 down to the present time1 of the ,geography and ,history of ,central ,asia4 ,translated by ,lieut4-,col4 ,theodore ,wirgman1 ,,ll4,b4 ,in #a vol4 ,large post #hvo4 ,with ,map4 #abs4 ,,helvig 7,captain ,hugo74 ,,the ,,operations ,,oe ,,the ,,bavarian ,,army ,,corps4 ,translated by ,captain ,g4 ,s4 ,schwabe4 ,with ,five large ,maps4 ,in #b vols4 ,demy #hvo4 #bds4 ,this is one of ,henry ,s4 ,king and ,co4's ,series of ,military ,books4 ,,hinton 7,james71 late ,aural ,surgeon to ,guy's ,hospital4 ,,the ,,place ,,of ,,the ,,physician4 ,being the ,introductory ,lecture at ,guy's ,hospital1 #ahgc-gd2 to which is added ,,essays ,,on ,,the ,,law ,,of ,,human ,,life1 ,,and ,,on ,,the ,,relation ,,between ,,organic ,,and ,,inorganic ,,worlds4 ,second ,edition4 ,crown #hvo4 #cs4 #f;d4 ,,physiology ,,for ,,practical ,,use4 ,by various writers4 ,second ,edition4 ,with #ej ,illustrations4 #b vols4 ,crown #hvo4 #abs4 #f;d4 ,,an ,,atlas ,,of ,,diseases ,,of ,,the ,,membrana ,,tympani4 ,with ,descriptive ,text4 ,post #hvo4 #f #fs4 ,,the ,,questions ,,of ,,aural ,,surgery4 ,post #hvo4 ,with ,illustrations4 #b vols4 #abs4 #f;d4 ,,hockley 7,w4 ,b47 ,,tales ,,of ,,the ,,zenana2 or1 ,a ,nuwab's ,leisure ,hours4 ,by the ,author of ,pandurang ,hari4 ,with a ,preface by ,lord ,stanley of ,alderley4 #b vols4 ,crown #hvo4 #bas4 ,,pandurang ,,hari2 or1 ,memoirs of a ,hindoo4 ,a ,tale of ,mahratta ,life sixty years ago4 ,with a ,preface by ,sir ,h4 ,bartle ,e4 ,frere1 ,g4,c4,s4,i41 etc4 #b vols4 ,crown #hvo4 #bas4 ,,hoffbauer 7,captain74 ,,the ,,german ,,artillery ,,in ,,the ,,battles ,,near ,,metz4 ,based on the official reports of the ,german ,artillery4 ,translated by ,capt4 ,e4 ,o4 ,hollist4 ,demy #hvo4 ,with ,map and ,plans4 #bas4 ,this is one of the volumes in ,henry ,s4 ,king and ,co4's ,military ,series4 ,,holroyd 7,major ,w4 ,r4 ,m471 ,bengal ,staff ,corps1 ,director of ,public ,instruction1 ,punjab4 ,,tas-,,hil ,,ul ,,kalam2 or1 ,hindustani made ,easy4 ,crown #hvo4 #es4 ,,hope 7,lieut4 ,james74 ,,in ,,quest ,,of ,,coolies4 ,with ,illustrations4 ,crown #hvo4 #fs4 ,,hooper 7,mrs4 ,g47 ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,raby4 ,with a ,frontispiece4 ,crown #hvo4 #cs4 #f;d4 ,one of the volumes of the ,cornhill ,library of ,fiction4 ,,hooper 7,mary74 ,,little ,,dinners3 ,,how ,,to ,,serve ,,them ,,with ,,elegance ,,and ,,economy4 ,ninth ,edition4 #a vol4 ,crown #hvo4 #es4 ,,cookery ,,for ,,invalids4 ,crown #hvo4 #cs4 #f;d4 ,,hopkins 7,manley74 ,,the ,,port ,,of ,,refuge2 or1 ,counsel and ,aid to ,shipmasters in ,difficulty1 ,doubt1 or ,distress4 ,crown #hvo4 #fs4 ,,howard 7,mary ,m471 ,author of ,brampton ,rectory4 ,,beatrice ,,aylmer1 ,,and ,,other ,,tales4 ,crown #hvo4 #fs4 ,,howard 7,rev4 ,g4 ,b47 ,,an ,,old ,,legend ,,of ,,st4 ,,paul',s4 ,fcap4 #hvo4 #ds4 #f;d4 ,,howe 7,cupples71 ,master ,mariner4 ,,the ,,deserted ,,ship4 ,a real story of the ,atlantic4 ,illustrated by ,townley ,green4 ,crown #hvo4 #cs4 #f;d4 ,one of ,henry ,s4 ,king and ,co4's ,three and ,sixpenny ,books for the ,young4 ,,howell 7,james74 ,a ,,tale ,,of ,,the ,,sea1 ,,sonnets1 ,,and ,,other ,,poems4 ,fcap4 #hvo4 #es4 ,,hughes 7,allison74 ,,penelope1 ,,and ,,other ,,poems4 ,fcap4 #hvo4 #ds4 #f;d4 ,,hull 7,edmund ,c4 ,p47 ,,the ,,european ,,in ,,india4 ,a ,handbook of ,practical ,information for those proceeding to1 or residing in1 the ,east ,indies1 relating to ,outfits1 ,routes1 ,time for ,departure1 ,indian ,climate1 etc4 ,with a ,,medical ,,guide ,,for ,,anglo-,,indians4 ,by ,r4 ,r4 ,s4 ,mair1 ,m4,d41 ,f4,r4,c4,s4,e41 late ,deputy ,coroner of ,madras4 ,second ,edition1 ,revised and ,corrected4 ,in #a vol4 ,post #hvo4 #fs4 ,,humphrey 7,rev4 ,w471 of the ,congregation of the ,oblates of ,st4 ,charles4 ,,mr4 ,,fitzjames ,,stephen ,,and ,,cardinal ,,bellarmine4 ,demy #hvo4 ,sewed4 #as4 ,,hutton 7,james74 ,,missionary ,,life ,,in ,,the ,,southern ,,seas4 ,with ,illustrations4 ,crown #hvo4 #gs4 #f;d4 ,,international ,,scientific ,,series 7,the74 ,i4 ,,the ,,forms ,,of ,,water ,,in ,,clouds ,,and ,,rivers1 ,,ice ,,and ,,glaciers4 ,by ,j4 ,tyndall1 ,,ll4,d41 ,f4,r4,s4 ,with #ad ,illustrations4 ,fifth ,edition4 #es4 ,,ii4 ,,physics ,,and ,,politics2 or1 ,thoughts on the ,application of the ,principles of ,natural ,selection and ,inheritance to ,political ,society4 ,by ,walter ,bagehot4 ,third ,edition4 #ds4 ,,iii4 ,,foods4 ,by ,edward ,smith1 ,m4,d41 ,,ll4,b41 ,f4,r4,s4 ,profusely ,illustrated4 ,third ,edition4 #es4 ,,iv4 ,,mind ,,and ,,body3 ,the ,theories of their ,relation4 ,by ,alexander ,bain1 ,,ll4,d4 ,fourth ,edition4 ,with ,four ,illustrations4 #ds4 ,v4 ,,the ,,study ,,of ,,sociology4 ,by ,herbert ,spencer4 ,fourth ,edition4 #es4 ,,vi4 ,,on ,,the ,,conservation ,,of ,,energy4 ,by ,balfour ,stewart1 ,m4,d41 ,,ll4,d41 ,f4,r4,s4 ,with #ad ,engravings4 ,third ,edition4 #es4 ,,vii4 ,,animal ,,locomotion3 or1 ,walking1 ,swimming1 and ,flying4 ,by ,j4 ,b4 ,pettigrew1 ,m4,d41 ,f4,r4,s4 ,second ,edition4 ,with #aai ,illustrations4 #es4 ,,viii4 ,,responsibility ,,in ,,mental ,,disease4 ,by ,henry ,maudsley1 ,m4,d4 ,second ,edition4 #es4 ,,ix4 ,,the ,,new ,,chemistry4 ,by ,professor ,j4 ,p4 ,cooke1 of the ,harvard ,university4 ,second ,edition4 ,with #ca ,illustrations4 #es4 ,x4 ,,the ,,science ,,of ,,law4 ,by ,professor ,sheldon ,amos4 ,second ,edition4 #es4 ,,xi4 ,,animal ,,mechanism4 ,a ,treatise on ,terrestrial and ,aerial ,locomotion4 ,by ,professor ,e4 ,j4 ,marey4 ,with #aag ,illustrations4 ,second ,edition4 #es4 ,,xii4 ,,the ,,doctrine ,,of ,,descent ,,and ,,darwinism4 ,by ,professor ,oscar ,schmidt 7,strasburg ,university74 ,second ,edition4 ,with #bf ,illustrations4 #es4 ,,xiii4 ,,the ,,history ,,of ,,the ,,conflict ,,between ,,religion ,,and ,,science4 ,by ,professor ,j4 ,w4 ,draper4 ,fifth ,edition4 #es4 ,,xiv4 ,,fungi2 their ,nature1 ,influences1 ,uses1 etc4 ,by ,m4 ,c4 ,cooke1 ,m4,a41 ,,ll4,d4 ,edited by the ,rev4 ,m4 ,j4 ,berkeley1 ,m4,a41 ,f4,l4,s4 ,second ,edition4 ,with numerous ,illustrations4 #es4 ,,xv4 ,,the ,,chemical ,,effects ,,of ,,light ,,and ,,photography4 ,by ,dr4 ,hermann ,vogel 7,polytechnic ,academy of ,berlin74 ,third ,edition1 translation thoroughly revised4 ,with #ajj ,illustrations4 #es4 ,,xvi4 ,,the ,,life ,,and ,,growth ,,of ,,language4 ,by ,william ,dwight ,whitney1 ,professor of ,sanskrit and ,comparative ,philology in ,yale ,college1 ,new ,haven4 ,second ,edition4 #es4 ,,xvii4 ,,money ,,and ,,the ,,mechanism ,,of ,,exchange4 ,by ,prof4 ,w4 ,stanley ,jevons4 ,second ,edition4 #es4 ,,xviii4 ,,the ,,nature ,,of ,,light3 ,with a ,general ,account of ,physical ,optics4 ,by ,dr4 ,eugene ,lommel1 ,professor of ,physics in the ,university of ,erlangen4 ,second ,edition4 ,with #ahh ,illustrations and a table of ,spectra in ,chromolithography4 #es4 ,,xix4 ,,animal ,,parasites ,,and ,,messmates4 ,by ,monsieur ,van ,beneden1 ,professor of the ,university of ,louvain1 ,correspondent of the ,institute of ,france4 ,with #hc ,illustrations4 #es4 ,,xx4 ,,the ,,five ,,senses ,,of ,,man4 ,by ,professor ,bernstein1 of the ,university of ,halle4 ,crown #hvo4 ,,xxi4 ,,on ,,fermentation4 ,by ,professor ,schutzenberger1 ,director of the ,chemical ,laboratory at the ,sorbonne4 ,crown #hvo4 ,illustration ,,international ,,scientific ,,series 7,the74 ,forthcoming ,volumes4 ,prof4 ,w4 ,,kingdon ,,clifford1 ,m4,a4 ,the ,first ,principles of the ,exact ,sciences explained to the ,non-mathematical4 ,prof4 ,t4 ,h4 ,,huxley1 ,,ll4,d41 ,f4,r4,s4 ,bodily ,motion and ,consciousness4 ,dr4 ,w4 ,b4 ,,carpenter1 ,,ll4,d41 ,f4,r4,s4 ,the ,physical ,geography of the ,sea4 ,prof4 ,,william ,,odling1 ,f4,r4,s4 ,the ,old ,chemistry viewed from the ,new ,standpoint4 ,w4 ,,lauder ,,lindsay1 ,m4,d41 ,f4,r4,s4,e4 ,mind in the ,lower ,animals4 ,sir ,,john ,,lubbock1 ,bart41 ,f4,r4,s4 ,on ,ants and ,bees4 ,prof4 ,w4 ,t4 ,,thiselton ,,dyer1 ,b4,a41 ,b4,sc4 ,form and ,habit in ,flowering ,plants4 ,mr4 ,j4 ,n4 ,,lockyer1 ,f4,r4,s4 ,spectrum ,analysis4 ,prof4 ,,michael ,,foster1 ,m4,d4 ,protoplasm and the ,cell ,theory4 ,h4 ,,charlton ,,bastian1 ,m4,d41 ,f4,r4,s4 ,the ,brain as an ,organ of ,mind4 ,prof4 ,a4 ,c4 ,,ramsay1 ,,ll4,d41 ,f4,r4,s4 ,earth ,sculpture3 ,hills1 ,valleys1 ,mountains1 ,plains1 ,rivers1 ,lakes2 how they were ,produced1 and how they have been ,destroyed4 ,prof4 ,,rudolph ,,virchow 7,berlin ,univ47 ,morbid ,physiological ,action4 ,prof4 ,,claude ,,bernard4 ,history of the ,theories of ,life4 ,prof4 ,h4 ,,sainte-,,claire ,,deville4 ,an ,introduction to ,general ,chemistry4 ,prof4 ,,wurtz4 ,atoms and the ,atomic ,theory4 ,prof4 ,de ,,quatrefages4 ,the ,human ,race4 ,prof4 ,,lacaze-,,duthiers4 ,zoology since ,cuvier4 ,prof4 ,,berthelot4 ,chemical ,synthesis4 ,prof4 ,j4 ,,rosenthal4 ,general ,physiology of ,muscles and ,nerves4 ,prof4 ,,james ,d4 ,,dana1 ,m4,a41 ,,ll4,d4 ,on ,cephalization2 or1 ,head-,characters in the ,gradation and ,progress of ,life4 ,prof4 ,s4 ,w4 ,,johnson1 ,m4,a4 ,on the ,nutrition of ,plants4 ,prof4 ,,austin ,,flint1 ,jr4 ,m4,d4 ,the ,nervous ,system1 and its ,relation to the ,bodily ,functions4 ,prof4 ,,ferdinand ,,cohn 7,breslau ,univ47 ,thallophytes 7,alg1 ,lichens1 ,fungi74 ,prof4 ,,hermann 7,university of ,zurich74 ,respiration4 ,prof4 ,,leuckart 7,university of ,leipsic74 ,outlines of ,animal ,organization4 ,prof4 ,,liebreich 7,university of ,berlin74 ,outlines of ,toxicology4 ,prof4 ,,kundt 7,university of ,strasburg74 ,on ,sound4 ,prof4 ,,rees 7,university of ,erlangen74 ,on ,parasitic ,plants4 ,prof4 ,,steinthal 7,university of ,berlin74 ,outlines of the ,science of ,language4 ,p4 ,,bert 7,professor of ,physiology1 ,paris74 ,forms of ,life and other ,cosmical ,conditions4 ,e4 ,,alglave 7,professor of ,constitutional and ,administrative ,law at ,douai1 and of ,political ,economy at ,lille74 ,the ,primitive ,elements of ,political ,constitutions4 ,p4 ,,lorain 7,professor of ,medicine1 ,paris74 ,modern ,epidemics4 ,mons4 ,,freidel4 ,the ,functions of ,organic ,chemistry4 ,mons4 ,,debray4 ,precious ,metals4 ,prof4 ,,corfield1 ,m4,a41 ,m4,d4 7,oxon47 ,air in its relation to ,health4 ,prof4 ,a4 ,,giard4 ,general ,embryology4 ,,ignotus4 ,,culmshire ,,folk4 ,a ,novel4 ,new and ,cheaper ,edition4 ,in #a vol4 ,crown #hvo4 #fs4 ,,ingelow 7,jean74 ,,the ,,little ,,wonder-,,horn4 ,a ,second ,series of ,stories ,told to a ,child4 ,with ,fifteen ,illustrations4 ,square #bdmo4 #cs4 #f;d4 ,,off ,,the ,,skelligs4 7,her ,first ,romance47 #d vols4 ,crown #hvo4 #dbs4 ,,jackson 7,t4 ,g47 ,,modern ,,gothic ,,architecture4 ,crown #hvo4 #es4 ,,jacob 7,maj4-,gen4 ,sir ,g4 ,le ,grand71 ,k4,c4,s4,i41 ,c4,b4 ,,western ,,india ,,before ,,and ,,during ,,the ,,mutinies4 ,pictures drawn from life4 ,second ,edition4 ,crown #hvo4 #gs4 #f;d4 ,,jenkins 7,e47 and ,,raymond 7,j471 ,esqs4 ,a ,,legal ,,handbook ,,for ,,architects1 ,,builders1 ,,and ,,building ,,owners4 ,second ,edition ,revised4 ,crown #hvo4 #fs4 ,,jenkins 7,rev4 ,r4 ,c471 ,m4,a41 ,rector of ,lyminge1 and ,honorary ,canon of ,canterbury4 ,,the ,,privilege ,,of ,,peter1 ,legally and ,historically ,examined1 and the ,claims of the ,roman ,church compared with the ,scriptures1 the ,councils1 and the ,testimony of the ,popes themselves4 ,fcap4 #hvo4 #cs4 #f;d4 ,,jenkins 7,edward71 ,m4,p4 ,,glances ,,at ,,inner ,,england4 ,a ,lecture delivered in the ,united ,states and ,canada4 ,crown #hvo4 #es4 ,,ginx',s ,,baby3 ,his ,birth and other ,misfortunes4 ,thirty-fourth ,edition4 ,crown #hvo4 #bs4 ,,luchmee ,,and ,,dillo4 ,a ,story of ,west ,indian ,life4 #b vols4 ,demy #hvo4 ,illustrated4 ,preparing4 ,,little ,,hodge4 ,a ,christmas ,country ,carol4 ,fourteenth ,thousand4 ,with ,five ,illustrations4 ,crown #hvo4 #es4 ,a ,cheap ,edition in paper covers1 price #as4 ,,lord ,,bantam4 ,seventh ,edition4 ,crown #hvo4 #bs4 #f;d4 ,,jevons 7,prof4 ,w4 ,stanley74 ,,money ,,and ,,the ,,mechanism ,,of ,,exchange4 ,second ,edition4 ,crown #hvo4 #es4 ,vol4 ,,xvii4 of the ,international ,scientific ,series4 ,,kaufmann 7,rev4 ,m471 ,b4,a4 ,,socialism3 ,its ,nature1 its ,dangers1 and its ,remedies considered4 ,crown #hvo4 #gs4 #f;d4 ,,keating 7,mrs47 ,,honor ,,blake3 ,the ,story of a ,plain ,woman4 #b vols4 ,crown #hvo4 #bas4 ,,ker 7,david74 ,,on ,,the ,,road ,,to ,,khiva4 ,illustrated with ,photographs of the ,country and its ,inhabitants1 and a copy of the ,official ,map in use during the ,campaign1 from the ,survey of ,captain ,leusilin4 #a vol4 ,post #hvo4 #abs4 ,,the ,,boy ,,slave ,,in ,,bokhara4 ,a ,tale of ,central ,asia4 ,crown #hvo4 ,with ,illustrations4 #es4 ,,the ,,wild ,,horseman ,,of ,,the ,,pampas4 ,crown #hvo4 ,illustrated4 #es4 ,two of ,henry ,s4 ,king and ,co4's ,five ,shilling ,books for the ,young4 ,,king 7,alice74 ,a ,,cluster ,,of ,,lives4 ,crown #hvo4 #gs4 #f;d4 ,,king 7,mrs4 ,hamilton74 ,,the ,,disciples4 ,a ,new ,poem4 ,second ,edition1 with some ,notes4 ,crown #hvo4 #gs4 #f;d4 ,,aspromonte1 ,,and ,,other ,,poems4 ,second ,edition4 ,cloth4 #ds4 #f;d4 ,,kingsford 7,rev4 ,f4 ,w471 ,m4,a41 ,vicar of ,st4 ,thomas's1 ,stamford ,hill2 late ,chaplain ,h4 ,e4 ,i4 ,c4 7,bengal ,presidency74 ,,hartham ,,conferences2 or1 ,discussions upon some of the ,religious ,topics of the ,day4 ,audi alteram partem4 ,crown #hvo4 #cs4 #f;d4 ,,knight 7,annette ,f4 ,c47 ,,poems4 ,fcap4 #hvo4 ,cloth4 #es4 ,,lacordaire 7,rev4 ,pre74 ,,life3 ,conferences delivered at ,toulouse4 ,crown #hvo4 ,a ,new and ,cheaper ,edition4 #cs4 #f;d4 ,,lady ,,of ,,lipari 7,the74 ,a ,poem in ,three ,cantos4 ,fcap4 #hvo4 #es4 ,,laurie 7,j4 ,s471 of the ,inner ,temple1 ,barrister-at-,law2 formerly ,h4,m4 ,inspector of ,schools1 ,england2 ,assistant ,royal ,commissioner1 ,ireland2 ,special ,commissioner1 ,african ,settlement2 ,director of ,public ,instruction1 ,ceylon4 ,,educational ,,course ,,of ,,secular ,,school ,,books ,,for ,,india4 ,the following ,works are now ready3-- ,,the ,,first ,,hindustani ,,reader4 ,stiff linen wrapper1 #f;d4 ,,the ,,second ,,hindustani ,,reader4 ,stiff linen wrapper1 #f;d4 ,,geography ,,of ,,india2 with ,maps and ,historical ,appendix1 tracing the growth of the ,british ,empire in ,hindustan4 #abh pp4 fcap4 #hvo4 ,cloth4 #as4 #f;d4 ,in the ,press3-- ,,elementary ,,geography ,,of ,,india4 ,,facts ,,and ,,features ,,of ,,indian ,,history1 in a series of alternating ,reading ,lessons and ,memory ,exercises4 ,,laymann 7,captain71 ,instructor of ,tactics at the ,military ,college1 ,neisse4 ,,the ,,frontal ,,attack ,,of ,,infantry4 ,translated by ,colonel ,edward ,newdigate4 ,crown #hvo4 #bs4 #f;d4 ,l4 ,d4 ,s4 ,,letters ,,from ,,china ,,and ,,japan4 #a vol4 ,crown #hvo41 with ,illustrated ,title-page4 #gs4 #f;d4 ,,leander 7,richard74 ,,fantastic ,,stories4 ,translated from the ,german by ,paulina ,b4 ,granville4 ,with ,eight full-page ,illustrations by ,m4 ,e4 ,fraser-,tytler4 ,crown #hvo4 #es4 ,one of ,henry ,s4 ,king and ,co4's ,five ,shilling ,books for the ,young4 ,,leathes 7,rev4 ,stanley71 ,m4,a4 ,,the ,,gospel ,,its ,,own ,,witness4 ,being the ,hulsean ,lectures for #ahgc4 #a vol4 ,crown #hvo4 #es4 ,,lee 7,rev4 ,frederick ,george71 ,d4,c4,l4 ,,the ,,other ,,world2 or1 ,glimpses of the ,supernatural4 ,being ,facts1 ,records1 and ,traditions1 relating to ,dreams1 ,omens1 ,miraculous ,occurrences1 ,apparitions1 ,wraiths1 ,warnings1 ,second-sight1 ,necromancy1 ,witchcraft1 etc4 #b vols4 ,a ,new ,edition4 ,crown #hvo4 #aes4 ,,lee 7,holme74 ,,her ,,title ,,of ,,honour4 ,a ,book for ,girls4 ,new ,edition4 ,crown #hvo4 ,with a ,frontispiece4 #es4 ,,lenoir 7,j47 ,,fayoum2 or1 ,artists in ,egypt4 ,a ,tour with ,m4 ,grome and others4 ,crown #hvo4 ,a ,new and ,cheaper ,edition4 ,with #ac ,illustrations4 #cs4 #f;d4 ,,listado 7,j4 ,t47 ,,civil ,,service4 ,a ,novel4 #b vols4 ,crown #hvo4 ,,lorimer 7,peter71 ,d4,d4 ,,john ,,knox ,,and ,,the ,,church ,,of ,,england3 ,his work in her ,pulpit and his influence upon her ,liturgy1 ,articles1 and ,parties4 ,demy #hvo4 #abs4 ,,lover 7,samuel71 ,r4,h4,a4 ,,the ,,life ,,of ,,samuel ,,lover1 ,r4,h4,a42 ,artistic1 ,literary1 and ,musical4 ,with ,selections from his ,unpublished ,papers and ,correspondence4 ,by ,bayle ,bernard4 #b vols4 ,post #hvo4 ,with a ,portrait4 #bas4 ,,lower 7,mark ,antony71 ,m4,a41 ,f4,s4,a4 ,,wayside ,,notes ,,in ,,scandinavia4 ,being ,notes of ,travel in the ,north of ,europe4 ,crown #hvo4 #is4 ,,lyons 7,r4 ,t471 ,surgeon-,major1 ,bengal ,army4 ,a ,,treatise ,,on ,,relapsing ,,fever4 ,post #hvo4 #gs4 #f;d4 ,,macaulay 7,james71 ,m4,a41 ,m4,d41 ,edin4 ,,ireland4 ,a ,tour of ,observation1 with ,remarks on ,irish ,public ,questions4 ,crown #hvo4 ,a ,new and ,cheaper ,edition4 #cs4 #f;d4 ,,mac ,,carthy 7,denis ,florence74 ,,calderon',s ,,dramas4 ,translated from the ,spanish4 ,post #hvo4 ,cloth1 gilt edges4 #ajs4 ,,mac ,,donald 7,george74 ,,gutta-,,percha ,,willie1 ,,the ,,working ,,genius4 ,with ,nine ,illustrations by ,arthur ,hughes4 ,second ,edition4 ,crown #hvo4 #cs4 #f;d4 ,one of ,henry ,s4 ,king and ,co4's ,three and ,sixpenny ,books for the ,young4 ,,malcolm4 ,a ,novel4 ,second ,edition4 #c vols4 ,crown #hvo4 ,,st4 ,,george ,,and ,,st4 ,,michael4 #c vols4 ,crown #hvo4 ,,my ,,sister ,,rosalind4 ,by the author of ,christina ,north4 ,a ,novel4 #b vols4 ,,mac ,,kenna 7,stephen ,j47 ,,plucky ,,fellows4 ,a ,book for ,boys4 ,with ,six ,illustrations4 ,second ,edition4 ,crown #hvo4 #cs4 #f;d4 ,one of ,henry ,s4 ,king and ,co4's ,three and ,sixpenny ,books for the ,young4 ,,at ,,school ,,with ,,an ,,old ,,dragoon4 ,crown #hvo4 ,with ,six ,illustrations4 #es4 ,one of ,henry ,s4 ,king and ,co4's ,five ,shilling ,books for the ,young4 ,,maclachlan 7,archibald ,neil ,campbell71 ,m4,a4 ,,william ,,augustus1 ,,duke ,,of ,,cumberland3 being a ,sketch of his ,military ,life and ,character1 chiefly as exhibited in the ,general ,orders of his ,royal ,highness1 #agde-agdg4 ,post #hvo4 ,with ,illustrations4 #aes4 ,,mair 7,r4 ,s471 ,m4,d41 ,f4,r4,c4,s4,e41 late ,deputy ,coroner of ,madras4 ,,the ,,medical ,,guide ,,for ,,anglo-,,indians4 ,being a ,compendium of ,advice to ,europeans in ,india1 relating to the ,preservation and ,regulation of ,health4 ,with a ,supplement on the ,management of ,children in ,india4 ,crown #hvo4 ,limp cloth4 #cs4 #f;d4 ,,manning 7,his ,eminence74 ,,essays ,,on ,,religion ,,and ,,literature4 ,by various ,writers4 ,demy #hvo4 #ajs4 #f;d4 ,,contents3--,the ,philosophy of ,christianity--,mystic ,elements of ,religion--,controversy with the ,agnostics--,a ,reasoning ,thought--,darwinism brought to ,book--,mr4 ,mill on ,liberty of the ,press--,christianity in relation to ,society--,the ,religious ,condition of ,germany--,the ,philosophy of ,bacon--,catholic ,laymen and ,scholastic ,philosophy4 ,,marey 7,e4 ,j47 ,,animal ,,mechanics4 ,a ,treatise on ,terrestrial and ,aerial ,locomotion4 ,second ,edition4 ,with #aag ,illustrations4 #es4 ,volume ,,xi4 of the ,international ,scientific ,series4 ,,markewitch 7,b47 ,,the ,,neglected ,,question4 ,translated from the ,russian1 by the ,princess ,ourousoff1 and dedicated by ,express ,permission to ,her ,imperial and ,royal ,highness ,marie ,alexandrovna1 the ,duchess of ,edinburgh4 #b vols4 ,crown #hvo4 #ads4 ,,marriott 7,maj4-,gen4 ,w4 ,f471 ,c4,s4,i4 ,a ,,grammar ,,of ,,political ,,economy4 ,crown #hvo4 #fs4 ,,marshall 7,hamilton74 ,,the ,,story ,,of ,,sir ,,edward',s ,,wife4 ,a ,novel4 #a vol4 ,crown #hvo4 #ajs4 #f;d4 ,,marzials 7,theophile74 ,,the ,,gallery ,,of ,,pigeons1 and other ,poems4 ,crown #hvo4 #ds4 #f;d4 ,,masterman 7,j47 ,,half-,a-,,dozen ,,daughters4 ,crown #hvo4 ,with a ,frontispiece4 #cs4 #f;d4 ,one of the ,cornhill ,library of ,fiction4 ,,maudsley 7,dr4 ,henry74 ,,responsibility ,,in ,,mental ,,disease4 ,second ,edition4 #es4 ,vol4 ,,viii4 of the ,international ,scientific ,series4 ,,maughan 7,william ,charles74 ,,the ,,alps ,,of ,,arabia2 or1 ,travels through ,egypt1 ,sinai1 ,arabia1 and the ,holy ,land4 ,demy #hvo4 ,with ,map4 ,a ,new and ,cheaper ,edition4 #es4 ,,maurice 7,c4 ,edmund74 ,,lives ,,of ,,english ,,popular ,,leaders4 ,no4 #a4--,,stephen ,,langton4 ,crown #hvo4 #gs4 #f;d4 ,no4 #b4--,,tyler1 ,,ball1 and ,,oldcastle4 ,crown #hvo4 #gs4 #f;d4 ,,medley 7,lieut4-,col4 ,j4 ,g471 ,royal ,engineers4 ,,an ,,autumn ,,tour ,,in ,,the ,,united ,,states ,,and ,,canada4 ,crown #hvo4 #es4 ,,menzies 7,sutherland74 ,,memoirs ,,of ,,distinguished ,,women4 #b vols4 ,post #hvo4 ,,micklethwaite 7,j4 ,t471 ,f4,s4,a4 ,,modern ,,parish ,,churches3 ,their ,plan1 ,design1 and ,furniture4 ,crown #hvo4 #gs4 #f;d4 ,,mirus 7,major-,general von74 ,,cavalry ,,field ,,duty4 ,translated by ,major ,frank ,s4 ,russell1 #adth 7,king's7 ,hussars4 ,crown #hvo4 ,cloth limp4 #gs4 #f;d4 ,this work is one of ,henry ,s4 ,king and ,co4's ,military ,series4 ,,moore 7,rev4 ,daniel71 ,m4,a4 ,,christ ,,and ,,his ,,church4 ,a ,course of ,lent ,lectures1 delivered in the ,parish ,church of ,holy ,trinity1 ,paddington4 ,by the author of ,the ,age and the ,gospel3 ,hulsean ,lectures1 etc4 ,crown #hvo4 #cs4 #f;d4 ,,moore 7,rev4 ,thomas71 ,vicar of ,christ ,church1 ,chesham4 ,,sermonettes3 on ,synonymous ,texts1 taken from the ,bible and ,book of ,common ,prayer1 for the ,study1 ,family ,reading1 and ,private ,devotion4 ,small ,crown #hvo4 #ds4 #f;d4 ,,morell 7,j4 ,r47 ,,euclid ,,simplified ,,in ,,method ,,and ,,language4 ,being a ,manual of ,geometry4 ,compiled from the most important ,french ,works1 approved by the ,university of ,paris and the ,minister of ,public ,instruction4 ,fcap4 #hvo4 #bs4 #f;d4 ,,morice 7,rev4 ,f4 ,d471 ,m4,a41 ,fellow of ,queen's ,college1 ,oxford4 ,,the ,,olympian ,,and ,,pythian ,,odes ,,of ,,pindar4 ,a ,new ,translation in ,english ,verse4 ,crown #hvo4 #gs4 #f;d4 ,,morley 7,susan74 ,,aileen ,,ferrers4 ,a ,novel4 #b vols4 ,crown #hvo4 ,,throstlethwaite4 ,a ,novel4 #c vols4 ,crown #hvo4 ,,morse 7,edward ,s471 ,ph4 ,d41 late ,professor of ,comparative ,anatomy and ,zoology in ,bowdoin ,college4 ,,first ,,book ,,of ,,zoology4 ,with numerous ,illustrations4 ,,mostyn 7,sydney74 ,,perplexity4 ,a ,novel4 #c vols4 ,crown #hvo4 ,,musgrave 7,anthony74 ,,studies ,,in ,,political ,,economy4 #fs4 ,,naak 7,john ,t471 of the ,british ,museum4 ,,slavonic ,,fairy ,,tales4 ,from ,russian1 ,servian1 ,polish1 and ,bohemian ,sources4 ,with ,four ,illustrations4 ,crown #hvo4 #es4 ,,newman 7,john ,henry71 ,d4,d4 ,,characteristics ,,from ,,the ,,writings ,,of ,,dr4 ,j4 ,h4 ,,newman4 ,being ,selections1 ,personal1 ,historical1 ,philosophical1 and ,religious1 from his various ,works4 ,arranged with the ,author's personal approval4 ,second ,edition4 ,crown #hvo4 ,with ,portrait4 #fs4 ,a ,portrait of the ,rev4 ,dr4 ,j4 ,h4 ,newman1 mounted for framing1 can be had1 price #bs4 #f;d4 ,,newman 7,mrs47 ,,too ,,late4 ,a ,novel4 #b vols4 ,crown #hvo4 ,,noble 7,james ,ashcroft74 ,,the ,,pelican ,,papers4 ,reminiscences and ,remains of a ,dweller in the ,wilderness4 ,crown #hvo4 #fs4 ,,norman ,,people 7,the74 ,,the ,,norman ,,people1 and their ,existing ,descendants in the ,british ,dominions and the ,united ,states of ,america4 ,one handsome volume4 #hvo4 #bas4 ,,norris 7,rev4 ,a47 ,,the ,,inner ,,and ,,outer ,,life ,,poems4 ,fcap4 #hvo4 #fs4 ,,notrege 7,john71 ,a4,m4 ,,the ,,spiritual ,,function ,,of ,a ,,presbyter ,,in ,,the ,,church ,,of ,,england4 ,crown #hvo4 ,red edges4 #cs4 #f;d4 ,,oriental ,,sporting ,,magazine 7,the74 ,,the ,,oriental ,,sporting ,,magazine4 ,a ,reprint of the first #e ,volumes1 in #b ,volumes4 ,demy #hvo4 #bhs4 ,,page 7,h4 ,a47 ,,nathaniel ,,hawthorne1 ,a ,,memoir ,,of1 with ,stories now first published in this country4 ,large post #hvo4 #gs4 #f;d4 ,,page 7,capt4 ,s4 ,flood74 ,,discipline ,,and ,,drill4 ,four ,lectures delivered to the ,london ,scottish ,rifle ,volunteers4 ,cheaper ,edition4 ,crown #hvo4 #as4 ,,palgrave 7,w4 ,gifford74 ,,hermann ,,agha4 ,an ,eastern ,narrative4 #b vols4 ,crown #hvo4 ,cloth1 extra gilt4 #ahs4 ,,parker 7,joseph71 ,d4,d4 ,,the ,,paraclete3 ,an ,essay on the ,personality and ,ministry of the ,holy ,ghost1 with some reference to current discussions4 ,demy #hvo4 #abs4 ,,parr 7,harriett74 ,,echoes ,,of ,a ,,famous ,,year4 ,crown #hvo4 #hs4 #f;d4 ,,paul 7,c4 ,kegan74 ,,goethe',s ,,faust4 ,a ,new ,translation in ,rime4 ,crown #hvo4 #fs4 ,,william ,,godwin3 ,,his ,,friends ,,and ,,contemporaries4 #b vols4 ,with ,portraits4 ,demy #hvo4 ,,payne 7,john74 ,,songs ,,of ,,life ,,and ,,death4 ,crown #hvo4 #es4 ,,payne 7,professor74 ,,lectures ,,on ,,education4 #f;d4 each4 ,i4 ,pestalozzi3 the ,influence of ,his ,principles and ,practice4 ,,ii4 ,frbel and the ,kindergarten ,system4 ,second ,edition4 ,,iii4 ,the ,science and ,art of ,education4 ,,iv4 ,the ,true ,foundation of ,science ,teaching4 ,,pelletan 7,eugne74 ,,the ,,desert ,,pastor1 ,,jean ,,jarousseau4 ,translated from the ,french4 ,by ,colonel ,e4 ,p4 ,de ,l',hoste4 ,with a ,frontispiece4 ,fcap4 #hvo4 ,new ,edition4 #cs4 #f;d4 ,,penrice 7,major ,j471 ,b4,a4 ,a ,,dictionary ,,and ,,glossary ,,of ,,the ,,ko-,,ran4 ,with copious ,grammatical ,references and ,explanations of the ,text4 #dto4 #bas4 ,,perceval 7,rev4 ,p47 ,,tamil ,,proverbs1 ,,with ,,their ,,english ,,translation4 ,containing upwards of ,six ,thousand ,proverbs4 ,third ,edition4 #hvo4 ,sewed4 #is4 ,,perrier 7,amelia74 ,a ,,winter ,,in ,,morocco4 ,with ,four ,illustrations4 ,crown #hvo4 ,a ,new and ,cheaper ,edition4 #cs4 #f;d4 ,a ,,good ,,match4 ,a ,novel4 #b vols4 ,crown #hvo4 ,,peschel 7,dr47 ,,mankind3 ,a ,scientific ,study of the ,races and ,distribution of ,man1 considered in their ,bodily ,variations1 ,languages1 ,occupations1 and ,religions4 ,,pettigrew 7,j4 ,b471 ,m4,d41 ,f4,r4,s4 ,,animal ,,locomotion2 or1 ,walking1 ,swimming1 and ,flying4 ,second ,edition4 ,with #aai ,illustrations4 #es4 ,volume ,,vii4 of the ,international ,scientific ,series4 ,,piggot 7,john71 ,f4,s4,a41 ,f4,r4,g4,s4 ,,persia--,,ancient ,,and ,,modern4 ,post #hvo4 #ajs4 #f;d4 ,,poushkin 7,alexander ,serguevitch74 ,,russian ,,romance4 ,translated from the ,tales of ,belkin1 etc4 ,by ,mrs4 ,j4 ,buchan ,telfer 7ne ,mouravieff74 ,cr4 #hvo4 #gs4 #f;d4 ,,power 7,harriet74 ,,our ,,invalids3 ,,how ,,shall ,,we ,,employ ,,and ,,amuse ,,them8 ,fcap #hvo4 #bs4 #f;d4 ,,powlett 7,lieut4 ,norton71 ,royal ,artillery4 ,,eastern ,,legends ,,and ,,stories ,,in ,,english ,,verse4 ,crown #hvo4 #es4 ,,presbyter4 ,,unfoldings ,,of ,,christian ,,hope4 ,an ,essay showing that the ,doctrine contained in the ,damnatory ,clauses of the ,creed commonly called ,athanasian is unscriptural4 ,small crown #hvo4 ,cloth4 #ds4 #f;d4 ,,price 7,prof4 ,bonamy74 ,,currency ,,and ,,banking4 ,one ,vol4 ,crown #hvo4 #fs4 ,,proctor 7,richard ,a47 ,,our ,,place ,,among ,,infinities4 ,a ,series of ,essays contrasting our little abode in space and time with the ,infinities around us4 ,to which are added ,essays on ,astrology1 and ,the ,jewish ,sabbath4 ,crown #hvo4 #fs4 ,,the ,,expanse ,,of ,,heaven4 ,a ,series of ,essays on the ,wonders of the ,firmament4 ,with a ,frontispiece4 ,second ,edition4 ,crown #hvo4 #fs4 ,,ranking 7,b4 ,montgomerie74 ,,streams ,,from ,,hidden ,,sources4 ,crown #hvo4 #fs4 ,,ready-,,money ,,mortiboy4 ,,ready-,,money ,,mortiboy4 ,a ,matter-of-,fact ,story4 ,crown #hvo4 ,with frontispiece4 #cs4 #f;d4 ,this is one of the volumes of the ,cornhill ,library of ,fiction4 ,,reaney 7,mrs4 ,g4 ,s47 ,,waking ,,and ,,working2 ,,or1 ,,from ,,girlhood ,,to ,,womanhood4 ,with a ,frontispiece4 ,crown #hvo4 #es4 ,one of ,henry ,s4 ,king and ,co4's ,five ,shilling ,books for the ,young4 ,,sunbeam ,,willie1 ,,and ,,other ,,stories1 for ,home ,reading and ,cottage ,meetings4 ,small square1 uniform with ,lost ,gip1 etc4 #c ,illustrations4 #as4 #f;d4 ,,reginald ,,bramble4 ,,reginald ,,bramble4 ,a ,cynic of the ,nineteenth ,century4 ,an ,autobiography4 #a vol4 ,crown #hvo4 #ajs4 #f;d4 ,,reid 7,t4 ,wemyss74 ,,cabinet ,,portraits4 ,biographical ,sketches of ,statesmen of the ,day4 #a vol4 ,crown #hvo4 #gs4 #f;d4 ,,rhoades 7,james74 ,,timoleon4 ,a ,dramatic ,poem4 ,fcap4 #hvo4 #es4 ,,ribot 7,professor ,th47 ,,contemporary ,,english ,,psychology4 ,la4 post #hvo4 #is4 ,an analysis of the views and opinions of the following metaphysicians1 as expressed in their writings3--,james ,mill1 ,alexander ,bain1 ,john ,stuart ,mill1 ,george ,h4 ,lewes1 ,herbert ,spencer1 ,samuel ,bailey4 ,,heredity3 ,a ,psychological ,study on its ,phenomena1 its ,laws1 its ,causes1 and its ,consequences4 #a vol4 ,large crown #hvo4 #is4 ,,robertson 7,the ,late ,rev4 ,f4 ,w471 ,m4,a4 ,,the ,,late ,,rev4 ,f4 ,w4 ,,robertson1 ,m4,a41 ,,life ,,and ,,letters ,,of4 ,edited by the ,rev4 ,stopford ,brooke1 ,m4,a41 ,chaplain in ,ordinary to the ,queen4 ,i4 #b vols41 uniform with the ,sermons4 ,with ,steel ,portrait4 #gs4 #f;d4 ,,ii4 ,library ,edition1 in ,demy #hvo4 with ,two ,steel ,portraits4 #abs4 ,,iii4 ,a ,popular ,edition1 in #a vol4 #fs4 ,new and ,cheaper ,editions3-- ,,sermons4 ,vol4 ,i4 ,small crown #hvo4 #cs4 #f;d4 ,vol4 ,,ii4 ,small crown #hvo4 #cs4 #f;d4 ,vol4 ,,iii4 ,small crown #hvo4 #cs4 #f;d4 ,vol4 ,,iv4 ,small crown #hvo4 #cs4 #f;d4 ,,expository ,,lectures ,,on ,,st4 ,,paul',s ,,epistle ,,to ,,the ,,corinthians4 ,small crown #hvo4 #es4 ,,an ,,analysis ,,of ,,mr4 ,,tennyson',s ,,in ,,memoriam4 7,dedicated by ,permission to the ,poet-,laureate47 ,fcap4 #hvo4 #bs4 ,,the ,,education ,,of ,,the ,,human ,,race4 ,translated from the ,german of ,gotthold ,ephraim ,lessing4 ,fcap4 #hvo4 #bs4 #f;d4 ,the above ,works can also be had bound in half morocco4 ,a ,portrait of the late ,rev4 ,f4 ,w4 ,robertson1 mounted for framing1 can be had1 price #bs4 #f;d4 ,,notes ,,on ,,genesis4 ,uniform with the ,sermons4 ,,lectures ,,and ,,addresses1 with other literary remains4 ,a ,new ,edition4 #es4 ,,ross 7,mrs4 ,ellen71 7,nelsie ,brook47 ,,daddy',s ,,pet4 ,a ,sketch from ,humble ,life4 ,square crown #hvo4 ,uniform with ,lost ,gip4 ,with ,six ,illustrations4 #as4 ,,roxburghe ,,lothian4 ,,dante ,,and ,,beatrice ,,from #abhb ,,to #abij4 ,a ,romance4 #b vols4 ,post #hvo4 ,cloth4 #bds4 ,,russell 7,william ,clark74 ,,memoirs ,,of ,,mrs4 ,l,,titia ,,boothby4 ,crown #hvo4 #gs4 #f;d4 ,,russell 7,e4 ,r47 ,,irving ,,as ,,hamlet4 ,demy #hvo4 ,second ,edition4 ,sewed4 #as4 ,,sadler 7,s4 ,w471 ,r4,n41 ,author of ,marshall ,vavasour4 ,,the ,,african ,,cruiser4 ,a ,midshipman's ,adventures on the ,west ,coast4 ,a ,book for ,boys4 ,with ,three ,illustrations4 ,second ,edition4 ,crown #hvo4 #cs4 #f;d4 ,one of ,henry ,s4 ,king and ,co4's ,three and ,sixpenny ,books for the ,young4 ,,samarow 7,gregor74 ,,for ,,sceptre ,,and ,,crown4 ,a ,romance of the ,present ,time4 ,translated by ,fanny ,wormald4 #b vols4 ,crown #hvo4 #aes4 ,,saunders 7,katherine74 ,,the ,,high ,,mills4 ,a ,novel4 #c vols4 ,crown #hvo4 ,,gideon',s ,,rock1 and other ,stories4 #a vol4 ,crown #hvo4 #fs4 ,,joan ,,merryweather1 and other ,stories4 #a vol4 ,crown #hvo4 #fs4 ,,margaret ,,and ,,elizabeth4 ,a ,story of the ,sea4 #a vol4 ,crown #hvo4 #fs4 ,,too ,,long ,,untold1 and other ,stories4 #b vols4 ,crown #hvo4 ,,contents3--,too ,long ,untold--,the ,harpers of ,men-y-don--,ida's ,story--,little ,missy--,the ,shaken ,nest4 ,,saunders 7,john74 ,,hirell4 ,crown #hvo4 ,with ,frontispiece4 #cs4 #f;d4 ,,abel ,,drake',s ,,wife4 ,crown #hvo4 ,with ,frontispiece4 #cs4 #f;d4 ,these works form separate volumes of the ,cornhill ,library of ,fiction4 ,,israel ,,mort1 ,,overman4 ,the ,story of the ,mine4 #c vols4 ,crown #hvo4 ,,schell 7,major von74 ,,the ,,operations ,,of ,,the ,,first ,,army ,,under ,,gen4 ,,von ,,goeben4 ,translated by ,col4 ,c4 ,h4 von ,wright4 ,four ,maps4 ,demy #hvo4 #is4 ,,the ,,operations ,,of ,,the ,,first ,,army ,,under ,,gen4 ,,von ,,steinmetz4 ,translated by ,captain ,e4 ,o4 ,hollist4 ,demy #hvo4 #ajs4 #f;d4 ,these works form separate volumes of ,henry ,s4 ,king and ,co4's ,military ,series4 ,,scherff 7,major ,w4 von74 ,,studies ,,in ,,the ,,new ,,infantry ,,tactics4 ,parts ,i4 and ,,ii4 ,translated from the ,german by ,colonel ,lumley ,graham4 ,demy #hvo4 #gs4 #f;d4 ,this work is one of ,henry ,s4 ,king and ,co4's ,military ,series4 ,,schmidt 7,prof4 ,oscar71 ,strasburg ,university4 ,,the ,,doctrine ,,of ,,descent ,,and ,,darwinism4 ,second ,edition4 #bf ,illustrations4 #es4 ,being ,vol4 ,,xii4 of the ,international ,scientific ,series4 ,,handbook ,,of ,,comparative ,,anatomy4 ,crown #hvo4 ,,scott 7,patrick74 ,,the ,,dream ,,and ,,the ,,deed1 and other ,poems4 ,fcap4 #hvo4 #es4 ,,seeking ,,his ,,fortune1 and other ,stories4 ,,seeking ,,his ,,fortune1 and other ,stories4 ,crown #hvo4 ,with ,four ,illustrations4 #cs4 #f;d4 ,one of ,henry ,s4 ,king and ,co4's ,three and ,sixpenny ,books for the ,young4 ,,senior 7,nassau ,william74 ,,alexis ,,de ,,tocqueville4 ,correspondence and ,conversations with ,nassau ,w4 ,senior1 from #ahcc to #ahei4 ,edited by ,m4 ,c4 ,m4 ,simpson4 #b vols4 ,large post #hvo4 #bas4 ,,journals ,,kept ,,in ,,france ,,and ,,italy4 ,from #ahdh to #aheb4 ,with a ,sketch of the ,revolution of #ahdh4 ,edited by his ,daughter1 ,m4 ,c4 ,m4 ,simpson4 #b vols4 ,post #hvo4 #bds4 ,,seven ,,autumn ,,leaves4 ,,seven ,,autumn ,,leaves ,,from ,,fairyland4 ,illustrated with #i ,etchings4 ,square crown #hvo4 #cs4 #f;d4 ,,shadwell 7,major-,general71 ,c4,b4 ,,mountain ,,warfare4 ,illustrated by the ,campaign of #agii in ,switzerland4 ,being a ,translation of the ,swiss ,narrative compiled from the ,works of the ,archduke ,charles1 ,jomini1 and others4 ,also of ,notes by ,general ,h4 ,dufour on the ,campaign of the ,valtelline in #afce4 ,with ,appendix1 ,maps1 and ,introductory ,remarks4 ,demy #hvo4 #afs4 ,,sheldon 7,philip74 ,,woman',s ,a ,,riddle2 or1 ,baby ,warmstrey4 ,a ,novel4 #c vols4 ,crown #hvo4 ,,sherman 7,gen4 ,w4 ,t47 ,,memoirs ,,of ,,gen4 ,w4 ,t4 ,,sherman1 ,commander of the ,federal ,forces in the ,american ,civil ,war4 ,by ,himself4 #b vols4 ,demy #hvo4 ,with ,map4 #bds4 ,copyright ,english ,edition4 ,,shelley 7,lady74 ,,shelley ,,memorials ,,from ,,authentic ,,sources4 ,with 7now first printed7 an ,essay on ,christianity by ,percy ,bysshe ,shelley4 ,third ,edition4 ,crown #hvo4 ,with ,portrait4 #es4 ,,shipley 7,rev4 ,orby71 ,m4,a4 ,,studies ,,in ,,modern ,,problems4 ,by various ,writers4 ,crown #hvo4 #b vols4 #es4 each4 ,,contents4--,,vol4 ,i4 ,sacramental ,confession4 ,abolition of the ,thirty-nine ,articles4 ,part ,i4 ,the ,sanctity of ,marriage4 ,creation and ,modern ,science4 ,retreats for ,persons ,living in the ,world4 ,catholic and ,protestant4 ,the ,bishops on ,confession in the ,church of ,england4 ,,contents4--,,vol4 ,,ii4 ,some ,principles of ,christian ,ceremonial4 ,a ,layman's ,view of ,confession of ,sin to a ,priest4 ,parts ,i4 and ,,ii4 ,reservation of the ,blessed ,sacrament4 ,missions and ,preaching ,orders4 ,abolition of the ,thirty-nine ,articles4 ,part ,,ii4 ,the ,first ,liturgy of ,edward ,,vi4 and our own office contrasted and compared4 ,,smedley 7,m4 ,b47 ,,boarding-,,out ,,and ,,pauper ,,schools ,,for ,,girls4 ,crown #hvo4 #cs4 #f;d4 ,,smith 7,edward71 ,m4,d41 ,,ll4,b41 ,f4,r4,s4 ,,health ,,and ,,disease1 as influenced by the ,daily1 ,seasonal1 and other ,cyclical ,changes in the ,human ,system4 ,a ,new ,edition4 #gs4 #f;d4 ,,foods4 ,third ,edition4 ,profusely ,illustrated4 #es4 ,volume ,,iii4 of the ,international ,scientific ,series4 ,,practical ,,dietary ,,for ,,families1 ,,schools1 ,,and ,,the ,,labouring ,,classes4 ,a ,new ,edition4 #cs4 #f;d4 ,,consumption ,,in ,,its ,,early ,,and ,,remediable ,,stages4 ,a ,new ,edition4 #gs4 #f;d4 ,,smith 7,hubert74 ,,tent ,,life ,,with ,,english ,,gipsies ,,in ,,norway4 ,with ,five full-page ,engravings and ,thirty-one smaller ,illustrations by ,whymper and others1 and ,map of the ,country showing ,routes4 ,second ,edition4 ,revised and ,corrected4 #hvo4 #bas4 ,,songs ,,for ,,music4 ,,songs ,,for ,,music4 ,by ,four ,friends4 ,square crown #hvo4 #es4 ,containing ,songs by ,reginald ,a4 ,gatty1 ,stephen ,h4 ,gatty1 ,greville ,j4 ,chester1 and ,juliana ,h4 ,ewing4 ,,some ,,time ,,in ,,ireland4 ,,some ,,time ,,in ,,ireland4 ,a ,recollection4 ,crown #hvo4 #gs4 #f;d4 ,,songs ,,of ,,two ,,worlds4 ,,songs ,,of ,,two ,,worlds4 ,by a ,new ,writer4 ,first ,series4 ,second ,edition4 ,fcap4 #hvo4 #es4 ,,songs ,,of ,,two ,,worlds4 ,by a ,new ,writer4 ,second ,series4 ,second ,edition4 ,fcap4 #hvo4 #es4 ,,songs ,,of ,,two ,,worlds4 ,by a ,new ,writer4 ,third ,series4 ,second ,edition4 ,fcap4 #hvo4 #es4 ,,spencer 7,herbert74 ,,the ,,study ,,of ,,sociology4 ,fourth ,edition4 ,crown #hvo4 #es4 ,volume ,v4 of the ,international ,scientific ,series4 ,,stevenson 7,rev4 ,w4 ,fleming74 ,,hymns ,,for ,,the ,,church ,,and ,,home4 ,selected and ,edited by the ,rev4 ,w4 ,fleming ,stevenson4 ,the most complete ,hymn ,book published4 ,the ,hymn ,book consists of ,three ,parts3--,i4 ,for ,public ,worship4--,,ii4 ,for ,family and ,private ,worship4--,,iii4 ,for ,children4 ,published in various forms and prices1 the latter ranging from #h;d4 to #fs4 ,lists and full particulars will be furnished on application to the ,publishers4 ,,stewart 7,professor ,balfour74 ,,on ,,the ,,conservation ,,of ,,energy4 ,third ,edition4 ,with ,fourteen ,engravings4 #es4 ,volume ,,vi4 of the ,international ,scientific ,series4 ,,stonehewer 7,agnes74 ,,monacella3 ,a ,poem4 ,fcap4 #hvo4 ,cloth1 #cs4 #f;d4 ,,stretton 7,hesba74 ,author of ,jessica's ,first ,prayer4 ,,cassy4 ,twenty-fourth ,thousand4 ,with ,six ,illustrations4 ,square crown #hvo4 #as4 #f;d4 ,,the ,,king',s ,,servants4 ,thirtieth ,thousand4 ,with ,eight ,illustrations4 ,square crown #hvo4 #as4 #f;d4 ,,lost ,,gip4 ,forty-third ,thousand4 ,with ,six ,illustrations4 ,square crown #hvo4 #as4 #f;d4 ,also a handsomely-bound ,edition1 with ,twelve ,illustrations1 price #bs4 #f;d4 ,,the ,,wonderful ,,life4 ,eighth ,thousand4 ,fcap4 #hvo4 #bs4 #f;d4 ,,friends ,,till ,,death4 ,with ,frontispiece4 ,limp cloth1 #f;d4 ,,two ,,christmas ,,stories4 ,with ,frontispiece4 ,limp cloth1 #f;d4 ,,hester ,,morley',s ,,promise4 #c vols4 ,crown #hvo4 ,,the ,,doctor',s ,,dilemma4 #c vols4 ,crown #hvo4 ,,stubbs 7,lieut4-,col4 ,francis ,w471 ,royal 7late ,bengal7 ,artillery4 ,,the ,,regiment ,,of ,,bengal ,,artillery3 ,the ,history of its ,organization1 ,equipment1 and ,war ,services4 ,with ,maps and ,plans4 #b vols4 #hvo4 ,preparing4 ,,sully 7,james74 ,,sensation ,,and ,,intuition4 ,demy #hvo4 #ajs4 #f;d4 ,,taylor 7,rev4 ,j4 ,w4 ,augustus71 ,m4,a4 ,,poems4 ,fcap4 #hvo4 #es4 ,,taylor 7,sir ,henry74 ,,edwin ,,the ,,fair ,,and ,,isaac ,,comnenus4 #cs4 #f;d4 ,a ,,sicilian ,,summer ,,and ,,other ,,poems4 #cs4 #f;d4 ,,taylor 7,colonel ,meadows71 ,c4,s4,i41 ,m4,r4,i4,a4 ,,seeta4 ,a ,novel4 #c vols4 ,,the ,,confessions ,,of ,a ,,thug4 ,,tara3 a ,mahratta ,tale4 ,,ralph ,,darnell4 ,,tippoo ,,sultan4 ,a ,,noble ,,queen4 #c vols4 ,crown #hvo4 ,new and ,cheaper ,edition in one vol4 crown #hvo4 with ,frontispiece4 ,each #fs4 ,,tennyson 7,alfred74 ,,queen ,,mary4 ,a ,drama4 ,new ,edition4 ,crown #hvo4 #fs4 ,,tennyson',s 7,alfred7 ,works4 ,cabinet ,edition4 ,ten ,volumes4 ,each with ,portrait4 #bs4 #f;d4 ,,cabinet ,,edition4 #aj vols4 ,complete in handsome ,ornamental ,case4 #bhs4 ,,tennyson',s 7,alfred7 ,works4 ,author's ,edition4 ,complete in ,five ,volumes4 ,cloth gilt1 #fs4 each2 half-morocco1 ,roxburgh style1 #gs4 #f;d4 each4 ,,early ,,poems1 and ,,english ,,idylls4--,,vol4 ,i4 ,,locksley ,,hall1 ,,lucretius1 and other ,poems4--,,vol4 ,,ii4 ,,the ,,idylls ,,of ,,the ,,king 7,complete74--,,vol4 ,,iii4#d ,,the ,,princess1 and ,,maud4--,,vol4 ,,iv4 ,,enoch ,,arden1 and ,,in ,,memoriam4--,,vol4 ,v4 ,,tennyson',s ,,idylls ,,of ,,the ,,king1 and other ,poems4 ,illustrated by ,julia ,margaret ,cameron4 #a vol4 ,folio4 ,half-bound morocco1 cloth sides4 ,six ,guineas4 #d ,on and after the #ast of ,january1 #ahgf1 the price of this volume will be #gs4 #f;d4 cloth1 and #is4 ,roxburgh4 ,,tennyson',s 7,alfred7 ,works4 ,original ,editions4 ,,poems4 ,small #hvo4 #fs4 ,,maud1 and other ,poems4 ,small #hvo4 #cs4 #f;d4 ,,the ,,princess4 ,small #hvo4 #cs4 #f;d4 ,,idylls ,,of ,,the ,,king4 ,small #hvo4 #es4 ,,idylls ,,of ,,the ,,king4 ,collected4 ,small #hvo4 #fs4 ,,the ,,holy ,,grail1 and other ,poems4 ,small #hvo4 #ds4 #f;d4 ,,gareth ,,and ,,lynette4 ,small #hvo4 #cs4 ,,enoch ,,arden1 etc4 ,small #hvo4 #cs4 #f;d4 ,,selections ,,from ,,the ,,above ,,works4 ,square #hvo4 ,cloth1 #cs4 #f;d4 ,cloth gilt1 extra1 #ds4 ,,songs ,,from ,,the ,,above ,,works4 ,square #hvo4 ,cloth extra1 #cs4 #f;d4 ,,in ,,memoriam4 ,small #hvo4 #ds4 ,,library ,,edition4 ,in #f vols4 #hvo4 #ajs4 #f;d4 each4 ,,pocket ,,volume ,,edition4 #aa vols4 ,in neat case1 #cas4 #f;d4 ,ditto1 ditto4 ,extra cloth gilt1 in case1 #ces4 ,,poems4 ,illustrated ,edition4 #dto4 #bes4 ,,thomas 7,moy74 ,a ,,fight ,,for ,,life4 ,crown #hvo4 ,with ,frontispiece4 #cs4 #f;d4 ,this is one of the volumes of the ,cornhill ,library of ,fiction4 ,,thomson 7,j4 ,t471 ,f4,r4,g4,s4 ,,hakayit ,,abdulla4 ,the ,autobiography of a ,malay ,munshi1 between the years #ahjh and #ahdc4 ,demy #hvo4 #abs4 ,,thompson 7,a4 ,c47 ,,preludes4 ,a ,volume of ,poems4 ,illustrated by ,elizabeth ,thompson 7,painter of ,the ,roll ,call74 #hvo4 #gs4 #f;d4 ,,thompson 7,rev4 ,a4 ,s471 ,british ,chaplain at ,st4 ,petersburg4 ,,home ,,words ,,for ,,wanderers4 ,a ,volume of ,sermons4 ,crown #hvo4 #fs4 ,,thoughts ,,in ,,verse4 ,small crown #hvo4 #as4 #f;d4 ,,thring 7,rev4 ,godfrey71 ,b4,a4 ,,hymns ,,and ,,sacred ,,lyrics4 #a vol4 ,fcap4 #hvo4 #es4 ,,todd 7,herbert71 ,m4,a4 ,,arvan2 or1 ,the ,story of the ,sword4 ,a ,poem4 ,crown #hvo4 #gs4 #f;d4 ,,traherne 7,mrs4 ,arthur74 ,,the ,,romantic ,,annals ,,of ,a ,,naval ,,family4 ,crown #hvo4 ,a ,new and ,cheaper ,edition4 #es4 ,,travers 7,mar47 ,,the ,,spinsters ,,of ,,blatchington4 ,a ,novel4 #b vols4 ,crown #hvo4 ,,trevandrum ,,observations4 ,,observations ,,of ,,magnetic ,,declination ,,made ,,at ,,trevandrum ,,and ,,agustia ,,malley in the ,observatories of his ,highness the ,maharajah of ,travancore1 ,g4,c4,s4,i41 in the ,years #aheb to #ahfj4 ,being ,trevandrum ,magnetical ,observations1 ,volume ,i4 ,discussed and ,edited by ,john ,allan ,brown1 ,f4,r4,s41 late ,director of the ,observatories4 ,with an ,appendix4 ,imp4 #dto4 ,cloth4 #c #cs4 ,the ,appendix1 containing ,reports on the ,observatories and on the ,public ,museum1 ,public ,park1 and ,gardens at ,trevandrum1 pp4 xii4-#aaf1 may be had separately4 #bas4 ,,turner 7,rev4 ,charles74 ,,sonnets1 ,,lyrics1 ,,and ,,translations4 ,crown #hvo4 #ds4 #f;d4 ,,tyndall 7,j471 ,,ll4,d41 ,f4,r4,s4 ,,the ,,forms ,,of ,,water ,,in ,,clouds ,,and ,,rivers1 ,,ice ,,and ,,glaciers4 ,with ,twenty-six ,illustrations4 ,fifth ,edition4 ,crown #hvo4 #es4 ,volume ,i4 of the ,international ,scientific ,series4 ,,umbra ,,oxoniensis4 ,,results ,,of ,,the ,,expostulation ,,of ,,the ,,right ,,honourable ,w4 ,e4 ,,gladstone1 in their ,relation to the ,unity of ,roman ,catholicism4 ,large fcap4 #hvo4 #es4 ,,upton 7,roger ,d471 ,captain late #ith ,royal ,lancers4 ,,newmarket ,,and ,,arabia4 ,an ,examination of the ,descent of ,racers and ,coursers4 ,with ,pedigrees and ,frontispiece4 ,post #hvo4 #is4 ,,vambery 7,prof4 ,arminius71 of the ,university of ,pesth4 ,,bokhara3 ,its ,history and ,conquest4 ,demy #hvo4 #ahs4 ,,vanessa4 ,by the ,author of ,thomasina1 etc4 ,a ,novel4 ,second ,edition4 #b vols4 ,crown #hvo4 ,,vaughan 7,rev4 ,c4 ,j471 ,d4,d4 ,,words ,,of ,,hope ,,from ,,the ,,pulpit ,,of ,,the ,,temple ,,church4 ,third ,edition4 ,crown #hvo4 #es4 ,,the ,,solidity ,,of ,,true ,,religion1 and other ,sermons ,preached in ,london during the ,election and ,mission ,week1 ,february1 #ahgd4 ,crown #hvo4 #cs4 #f;d4 ,,forget ,,thine ,,own ,,people4 ,an ,appeal for ,missions4 ,crown #hvo4 #cs4 #f;d4 ,,the ,,young ,,life ,,equipping ,,itself ,,for ,,god',s ,,service4 ,being ,four ,sermons ,preached before the ,university of ,cambridge1 in ,november1 #ahgb4 ,fourth ,edition4 ,crown #hvo4 #cs4 #f;d4 ,,vincent 7,capt4 ,c4 ,e4 ,h471 late ,royal ,welsh ,fusiliers4 ,,elementary ,,military ,,geography1 ,,reconnoitring1 ,,and ,,sketching4 ,compiled for ,non-,commissioned ,officers and ,soldiers of all ,arms4 ,square crown #hvo4 #bs4 #f;d4 ,,russia',s ,,advance ,,eastward4 ,based on the ,official ,reports of ,lieutenant ,hugo ,stumm1 ,german ,military ,attach to the ,khivan ,expedition4 ,with ,map4 ,crown #hvo4 #fs4 ,,vizcaya2 or1 ,life in the ,land of the ,carlists4 ,,vizcaya2 or1 ,life in the ,land of the ,carlists at the ,outbreak of the ,insurrection1 with some ,account of the ,iron ,mines and other ,characteristics of the ,country4 ,with a ,map and ,eight ,illustrations4 ,crown #hvo4 #is4 ,,vogel 7,prof471 ,polytechnic ,academy of ,berlin4 ,,the ,,chemical ,,effects ,,of ,,light ,,and ,,photography1 in their application to ,art1 ,science1 and ,industry4 ,third ,edition4 ,the translation thoroughly revised4 ,with #ajj ,illustrations1 including some beautiful ,specimens of ,photography4 #es4 ,volume ,,xv4 of the ,international ,scientific ,series4 ,,vyner 7,lady ,mary74 ,,every ,,day ,a ,,portion4 ,adapted from the ,bible and the ,prayer ,book1 for the ,private ,devotions of those living in ,widowhood4 ,collected and ,edited by ,lady ,mary ,vyner4 ,square crown #hvo4 ,elegantly bound4 #es4 ,,waiting ,,for ,,tidings4 ,,waiting ,,for ,,tidings4 ,by the ,author of ,white and ,black4 #c vols4 ,crown #hvo4 ,,wartensleben 7,count ,hermann von71 ,colonel in the ,prussian ,general ,staff4 ,,the ,,operations ,,of ,,the ,,south ,,army ,,in ,,january ,,and ,,february1 #ahga4 ,compiled from the ,official ,war ,documents of the ,head-quarters of the ,southern ,army4 ,translated by ,colonel ,c4 ,h4 von ,wright4 ,with ,maps4 ,demy #hvo4 #fs4 ,,the ,,operations ,,of ,,the ,,first ,,army ,,under ,,gen4 ,,von ,,manteuffel4 ,translated by ,colonel ,c4 ,h4 von ,wright4 ,uniform with the above4 ,demy #hvo4 #is4 ,these works form separate volumes of ,henry ,s4 ,king and ,co4's ,military ,series4 ,,wedmore 7,frederick74 ,,two ,,girls4 #b vols4 ,crown #hvo4 ,,wells 7,captain ,john ,c471 ,r4,n4 ,,spitzbergen--,,the ,,gateway ,,to ,,the ,,polynia2 or1 ,a ,voyage to ,spitzbergen4 ,with numerous ,illustrations by ,whymper and others1 and ,map4 #hvo4 #bas4 ,,wetmore 7,w4 ,s474 ,,commercial ,,telegraphic ,,code4 ,post #dto4 ,boards4 #dbs4 ,,what ',,tis ,,to ,,love4 ,by the ,author of ,flora ,adair1 ,the ,value of ,fostertown4 #c vols4 ,crown #hvo4 ,,whitney 7,william ,dwight74 ,professor of ,sanskrit and ,comparative ,philology in ,yale ,college1 ,new ,haven4 ,,the ,,life ,,and ,,growth ,,of ,,language4 ,second ,edition4 ,crown #hvo4 #es4 ,copyright ,edition4 ,volume ,,xvi4 of the ,international ,scientific ,series4 ,,whittle 7,j4 ,lowry71 ,a4,m41 ,trin4 ,coll41 ,dublin4 ,,catholicism ,,and ,,the ,,vatican4 ,with a ,narrative of the ,old ,catholic ,congress at ,munich4 ,second ,edition4 ,crown #hvo4 #ds4 #f;d4 ,,wilberforce 7,henry ,w47 ,,the ,,church ,,and ,,the ,,empires4 ,historical ,periods4 ,preceded by a ,memoir of the ,author by ,john ,henry ,newman1 ,d4,d41 of the ,oratory4 ,with ,portrait4 ,post #hvo4 #ajs4 #f;d4 ,,wilkinson 7,t4 ,lean74 ,,short ,,lectures ,,on ,,the ,,land ,,laws4 ,delivered before the ,working ,men's ,college4 ,crown #hvo4 #bs4 ,,williams 7,rev4 ,rowland71 ,d4,d4 ,,life ,,and ,,letters ,,of ,,rowland ,,williams1 ,d4,d41 with ,selections from his ,note-books4 ,edited by ,mrs4 ,rowland ,williams4 ,with a ,photographic ,portrait4 #b vols4 ,large post #hvo4 #bds4 ,,willoughby 7,the ,hon4 ,mrs47 ,,on ,,the ,,north ,,wind--,,thistledown4 ,a ,volume of ,poems4 ,elegantly bound4 ,small crown #hvo4 #gs4 #f;d4 ,,wilson 7,h4 ,schtz74 ,,studies ,,and ,,romances4 ,crown #hvo4 #gs4 #f;d4 ,,winterbotham 7,rev4 ,r471 ,m4,a41 ,b4,sc4 ,,sermons ,,and ,,expositions4 ,crown #hvo4 #gs4 #f;d4 ,,wood 7,c4 ,f47 ,a ,,yachting ,,cruise ,,in ,,the ,,south ,,seas4 ,demy #hvo4 ,with ,six ,photographic ,illustrations4 #gs4 #f;d4 ,,wright 7,rev4 ,w471 of ,stoke ,bishop1 ,bristol4 ,,man ,,and ,,animals3 ,a ,sermon4 ,crown #hvo4 ,stitched in wrapper4 #as4 ,,waiting ,,for ,,the ,,light1 ,,and ,,other ,,sermons4 ,crown #hvo4 #fs4 ,,wyld 7,r4 ,s471 ,f4,r4,s4,e4 ,,the ,,physics ,,and ,,philosophy ,,of ,,the ,,senses2 or1 ,the ,mental and the ,physical in their ,mutual ,relation4 ,illustrated by several ,plates4 ,demy #hvo4 #afs4 ,,yonge 7,c4 ,d471 ,regius ,professor1 ,queen's ,college1 ,belfast4 ,,history ,,of ,,the ,,english ,,revolution ,,of #afhh4 ,crown #hvo4 #fs4 ,,yorke 7,stephen71 ,author of ,tales of the ,north ,riding4 ,,cleveden4 ,a ,novel4 #b vols4 ,crown #hvo4 ,,youmans 7,eliza ,a47 ,,an ,,essay ,,on ,,the ,,culture ,,of ,,the ,,observing ,,powers ,,of ,,children1 especially in connection with the ,study of ,botany4 ,edited1 with ,notes and a ,supplement1 by ,joseph ,payne1 ,f4,c4,p41 ,author of ,lectures on the ,science and ,art of ,education1 etc4 ,crown #hvo4 #bs4 #f;d4 ,,first ,,book ,,of ,,botany4 ,designed to cultivate the ,observing ,powers of ,children4 ,with #cjj ,engravings4 ,new and ,enlarged ,edition4 ,crown #hvo4 #es4 ,,youmans 7,edward ,l471 ,m4,d4 ,a ,,class ,,book ,,of ,,chemistry1 on the ,basis of the new ,system4 ,with #bjj ,illustrations4 ,,zimmern 7,helen74 ,,stories ,,in ,,precious ,,stones4 ,with ,six ,illustrations4 ,third ,edition4 ,crown #hvo4 #es4 ,,forthcoming ,,works4 ,,sir ,,thomas ,,munro1 ,,bart41 ,k4,c4,b41 sometime ,governor of ,madras4 ,a ,selection from his ,minutes and other ,official ,writings4 ,edited by ,sir ,alexander ,arbuthnot1 ,k4,c4,s4,i4 ,,aldyth4 ,a ,novel4 ,by the ,author of ,healey4 #c vols4 ,crown #hvo4 ,,ida ,,craven4 ,a ,novel4 ,by ,mrs4 ,m4 ,h4 ,cadell4 #c vols4 ,crown #hvo4 ,,scientific ,,introduction ,,to ,,greek ,,and ,,latin4 ,by ,ferdinand ,baur1 ,ph4 ,d41 ,professor at ,maulbronne4 ,translated and adapted by ,c4 ,kegan ,paul1 ,m4,a41 and ,e4 ,b4 ,stone1 ,m4,a41 late ,fellow of ,king's ,college1 ,cambridge1 and ,assistant-,master at ,eton ,college4 ,,too ,,long ,,untold1 and other ,stories4 ,by ,katherine ,saunders4 #b vols4 ,crown #hvo4 ,,contents3--,too ,long ,untold--,the ,harpers of ,men-y-don--,ida's ,story--,little ,missy--,the ,shaken ,nest4 ,,additional ,,notice ,,scientific ,,london4 ,by ,,bernard ,h4 ,,becker4 #a vol4 crown #hvo41 #es4 ,an ,account of the ,history and present ,scope of the following institutions3-- ,the ,royal ,society4 ,the ,royal ,institution4 ,the ,institution of ,civil ,engineers4 ,the ,royal ,geographical ,society4 ,the ,society of ,telegraph ,engineers4 ,the ,british ,association4 ,the ,birkbeck ,institute4 ,the ,society of ,arts4 ,the ,government ,department of ,science and ,art4 ,the ,statistical ,society4 ,the ,chemical ,society4 ,the ,museum of ,practical ,geology4 ,the ,london ,institution4 ,the ,gresham ,lectures4 ,,henry ,s4 ,,king and ,co41 ,london4 ,caxton ,printing ,works1 ,beccles4 99 99 99 99 99 99 ,transcriber's note3 ,apparent typographical errors have been corrected4 ,inconsistent hyphenation has been retained4 ,a notice of an unrelated book from the same publisher has been shifted to the end of the work4