Aahe Church of England's Working Men's Society at Paternoster Row. OME weeks ago, Mr. Powell, the Secretary of the C. E. Working Men's Society, called at our City Restaurant to inquire whether we would undertake to provide not only Sunday breakfast for the delegates assembled for their annual meeting, but any meals required during the three days' gathering. We very gladly promised to do our best, though feeling somewhat diffident as to our powers of catering satisfactorily for so many. However, with written lists of the probable numbers at each meal, and the hours at which they would be required, we trusted that all would go off well, and much looked forward to two days of real work for those who do so much for our Church, and her rights and doctrines. Saturday, August 5, was the first day, and our usually quiet little breakfast was much enlivened by a good sprinkling of delegates. One brought in a most beautiful bouquet, so fresh that even two evenings of gaseous atmosphere did little to fade it; and this first instalment was followed by many other gifts of flowers from kird friends to adorn the rooms. Tea-time brought a large number on their way to the meeting in Cannon Street Hotel, after which we prepared for supper, and then with some difficulty prevailed on our muchexcited little waitresses to go and lie down till 10.15, when the meeting would be over. Sleep, of course, was impossible, and long before it was necessary they were up and about again, and eagerly they announced the first supper guests. Punctually enough. the whole party poured in, and rapidly, we fear, they had to demolish their supper, for the Secretary was quite inexorable in dismissing his company by 10.45, out of kind consideration for our early habits. One was sung verse of Faith of our fathers before leaving; and as the whole party went out into the streets, instead of the ribald sounds which, alas! are too often audible at that nocturnal hour, the inspiriting strain was again raised, swelling out in manly, earnest tones till it died away in the quiet city. Next morning the delegates again assembled at the Restaurant after the eight o'clock service at S. Paul's, this time in large numbers. Just as breakfast began, the Dean was introduced by Mr. Powell, and said a few kindly words both in the upper and lower dining-rooms. After the meal was over, the whole party adjourned to our little chapel, which-in spite of clearing out all chairs and desks-was not large enough to contain everyone, so that many had to stand in the passage and on the stairs. The hymn 'Soldiers of the Church of England,' written especially for the Society, was sung to a most spirited tune, also composed specially for them. It is a fine hymn of some length, and few, we think, could fail on hearing it to catch somewhat of the loyal ardour which it breathes towards our dear Mother Church. Our friends had then to hurry off to catch the boat for S. Peter's, London Docks, where there was a special celebration for the Society, returning about two o'clock for dinner. Several priests were their guests at this midday meal, and after dinner, the President, Mr. Inglis, and Mr. Powell, thanked them in the name of the delegates for their company on the occasion, mentioning especially Dr. Belcher and Mr. Kirkpatrick, the latter having sacrificed part of his holiday rest on purpose to be present. 'These are the Priests,' said Mr. Inglis, 'who have raised the Church of England out of the mire and slough into which she had sunk in our fathers' days. These are the Priests who have made working-men into the Church of England W. M. Society, and we need more of such to raise her up to be a shining light instead of a butt for the finger of scorn.' Many very kind and grateful words were spoken for the use of our 'Work ing Men's Restaurant'; much satisfaction expressed both at the convenience thus afforded, and at the arrangements made for refreshment. Nor were our little waitresses forgotten, in praise of whom it was said -much to their delight-that they had waited like little ladies,' so quietly, civilly, and deftly had their serving been performed. Nor was this all; for during dinner one of the delegates rose and said that he knew the Sisters of the Church had an Orphanage at Kilburn, and that he was sure every one present would like to contribute to it. Accordingly a hat was sent round the room, and a collection of 17. 75. was handed over to the Sisters, coupled with the most unnecessary apology for the small amount, and pleading the fact of its being the offering of poor men. It would have been a pleasure could we have expressed then and there our gratification at being able to minister, however humbly, to the needs of a Society which works so well and so zealously for the Church we all love so dearly, and whose loyal enthusiasm should be a pattern for us all to copy. On the last morning, for over an hour we were busy frying bacon and eggs for those members still remaining in town; and, finally, about ten o'clock we said good-bye to the last of our friendly customers, looking forward to a similar meeting at their next annual gathering. albe Homeless and Friendless. WHO WILL HELP US TO GIVE THEM A HAPPY CHRISTIAN HOME? ND when will the new wing of your Orphanage be completed?' is a question that is daily put to us by visitors, as they stop to watch the workmen who are so busily engaged in laying deep the foundations of this extension of our Home. 'Next year, we hope,' is our reply, "though, of course, it must depend greatly on the amount of the funds we are able to raise for the purpose. We may have to stop halfway.' 'Oh, but what a pity that would be,' is the rejoinder,' when so many orphaned little ones are waiting for you to rescue them from want and misery. How we wish that we were wealthy enough to write you a large cheque, for all your children look so bright and happy, it makes us long to gather many more under your care.' As our friends know, we are given to hope, and we do not therefore for a moment allow ourselves to believe that the Orphanage building will be brought to a sudden stop for lack of L. s. d. We have so often gauged the kind heartedness of our countrymen, and never yet found it wanting, that we feel sure, when it is known that for the sum of 5,000l. one hundred of the most destitute and helpless little orphan girls in England will be received and provided for entirely free, funds will somehow or other be forthcoming. It is not for us to say whence these funds will come. As we said last month, we are far from wishing to divert sympathy and help from the Convalescent Home now building at Broadstairs. We should be sorry if even one person who is busy collecting for this were to set to work instead with a view to the benefit of the Orphanage fund. But are there not hundreds-nay, thousands of persons, with ample means in their power, who have not yet given to eithernay, who have not so much as heard of the undertakings which are the cause of so much anxiety to us? This is certain; for the 'Church Extension Association' and its works are known within a limited circle only. What, then, we would ask our friends to do is not so much to give of their own store -for we believe they are already doing their utmost; but to set themselves to bring this most deserving object forcibly before their wealthy friends. We entreat them to impress upon such of their relations, friends, or acquaintances, as have it in their power to help, the urgent claims which the fatherless and motherless children of England have upon all their more fortunate countrymen, and the absolute necessity which exists for a perfectly free Orphanage, where the entirely destitute can be at once received without payment, or votes, or interest of any sort. The rich are often deprived of the blessing of giving because they are, from their position, kept in ignorance of sad facts that are patent to everybody else. We firmly believe that if the upper classes of England could but see the things which we see, and hear the afflicting tales that we hear, there would not remain a want unrelieved in the country. It is, then, a real charity and kindness to bring before them-to force upon their notice-the cause which is so often pleaded for in the pages of this Magazine, and we trust that the friends of the Orphanage of Mercy will be bold to speak and write upon this subject until the desired object is attained. If they do this perseveringly, the question 'Who will help?' will soon be answered in the most satisfactory way, and the burden of anxiety and responsibility now laid upon us will be lightened. Since our article in the August number was written we have received about 80%. in aid of this special object-337. of which was begged from door to door by two of the Sisters. And though this may seem but a mere drop towards the 5,000l. required, yet the kind expressions of good-will that have accompanied the gifts have encouraged us greatly. The Sisters who made this personal appeal for funds give the following account of their little expedition : 'We reached our destination without any idea where we were to pass the night. However, after some hours of successful begging, a kind lady made room for us by taking her daughter to share her own bedroom for the night. We had still many houses to call at when the offer was made, and promised to return. This, however, was easier said than done. It was quite dark by the time our day's begging was ended, and how to find the house where we were to rest for the night was a difficulty. However, a kind escort was happily found, who did not leave us till we had reached the friendly shelter. 'The usual remark one hears in begging is- "You have come just at the wrong time of year." But this time people said instead "I am so glad you have come this particular week, as I am just about to leave home, and should have been so sorry to have missed you." 'One gentleman who takes great interest in all philanthropic works, when he heard. that we are building in two places at once, said—“Well, I like progress; things should never stand still," and immediately doubled his subscription. He added a friendly word of advice that he hoped when our Orphanage was enlarged we should not mass our girls together so that they would not have sufficient individual training; but we assured him this was not at all our plan, as our children are brought up on the family system. 'Several remarked to us-"You are doing a wonderful work by your Workmen's Restaurants." And great surprise was expressed when they learnt that one Sister and an orphan on some days last winter served three or four hundred men on the Dock with dinner. 'A father, whose child had just recovered from scarlatina, gave us 10l. for the Convalescent Home; but most of the gifts were for the enlargement of the Orphanage. 'Two little girls gave 6d. of their own pocket-money. A lady, a Roman Catholic, made us leave our little circular-" Orphans Indeed"-to show to her husband; and in the afternoon he called and left 10s. for us. An old gentleman invited us into his hall, and made us have a cup of tea while his wife found some money for us. It was a very hot afternoon, and this refreshed us greatly. The same evening we were returning very tired, and rather disappointed at having found so many people out, when a and kind greeting from the Vicar of S― his wife and a present of 57. seemed to reward us for our labours. 'We were much interested in seeing "Little Joey" mentioned some time back in Our Work. He has grown into a fine, intelligent child, after a year spent in the good air of Guildford. When Miss L-, his kind patroness, first took him in, he was like a child of six months old. 'At G- a member of the C.E.A. gave us a lodging and true hospitality, allowing us to drop in when we could for a little rest and refreshment, and letting us stop out late. We felt that much of our success was due to our hostess, for we started off each morning. feeling quite active and refreshed after our good night's rest. 'There was no one at our next restingplace who could take us in; but here, again, people were very kind, and interested in all the works of the society. Those who had already sent help to one of the secretaries gladly gave now towards this addition to our Orphan Home, and their many expressions of hearty sympathy cheered us. 'One lady suggested the idea of calling a particular ward of the new Convalescent Home after some county or town, and collecting specially for it in that locality. This would be, no doubt, an excellent plan, but would require, of course, that some resident with influence and energy should take it up and obtain the funds required. 'An invalid chair, which had belonged to the child of the donor, was given us for our sick children. 'The difficulty of finding the way among the hilly roads of Godalming is well known. to those acquainted with the place. The Charterhouse boys, however, came to our aid, and with much politeness seemed to delight in acting cicerone to the two tired strangers. 'We found that several servants were collecting; and 10s. was given us which had been collected by a Sunday class. 'Altogether we had a happy time, and came back thinking how many good kind people there are in the world, and reflecting thankfully on the unlooked-for encouragement we had received from many unexpected sources.' The letters which we received on the subject are also full of sympathy. A little girl writes: 'I send you 155. Some of my friends and I thought we should like to do something for the Orphanage, so we got up a bazaar on a very small scale in my school-room. I am only ten years old, and my work and that of my little friends is not worth much.' Another friend writes: 'I enclose 51. for the enlargement of the Orphanage. How delightful it will be when you are able to receive another hundred children !' For all this our friends must believe that we are not, indeed, ungrateful. Yet, when we have builders' bills coming in at the rate of 100% per week, it is, perhaps, pardonable if we cannot always at once crush out the faithless question-'How high will those walls be suffered to rise?' or, 'Whence will come the wherewithal to put on the roof and fit up the interior? ' We will now only repeat the advice we ventured to give our zealous friends at the beginning of this paper, that they should bring our great necessity, and the goodness of the cause we plead, before anyone likely to care for the work and help it, and to beg them to give bountifully and freely of their substance for the success of those who are homeless and penniless. Then before many weeks are over we shall no longer need to look round and ask-'Who will help us?' Contributions will be thankfully received by Miss A. M. THOMAS (or Miss HELEN WETHERELL), 29 Kilburn Park Road, London, N.W. Habe Martyrs of S. Sebaste. A.D. 320. In cold and nakedness.'-2 Cor. xi. 27. 'Sempronius the Centurion, touched by his comrades' fortitude, took his place on the frozen pool.' BROUGHT them here to die in cold and want Out here upon this lake. I saw them each With one accord kneel down upon the ice, And pray for fortitude to bear it all. That I received the Emperor's mandate, sent men, The forty soldiers from the "Thundering Band," Who own the sovereignty of JESUS CHRIST, And leave them standing out upon the lake, Exposed, at night, deprived of food and warmth. Then let them show allegiance if they will And let all those who leave the frozen lake The order was obeyed; aloud, 'LORD! forty wrestlers come to fight for Thee, Give forty wrestlers crowns of victory.' Or two and three together, whispering low The slopes of Caucasus with fury wild. 'They surely cannot bear this trial, too,' I thought-for I was quaking with the cold. Then once again, and mingling with the blast, That cry arose from forty freezing lips, 'LORD! forty wrestlers come to fight for Thee, Give forty wrestlers crowns of victory.' 'Twas midnight-more than one brave stead yell Of joy he gave when first he felt the warmth Stays in my memory still, a direful sound, Like some foul fiend filling his recreant soul. I left him there. I sought an inner room, Where, overcome by fitful sleep, I dreamed A wondrous dream. Methought I was outside A golden gate, where stood in patient love A Heavenly Form. Could this be He who died That cruel death three hundred years ago? His hands bore nail-prints and His feet the same, And round His head, now crowned with glory rare, The marks remained of agony and woe. It was the LORD! I could but own Him such, For every form fell down at His approach. |
