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We have sometimes referred to the popu larity of our Sales of old clothes' for the benefit of the Kilburn mothers. How great a privilege they are esteemed may be gathered from the following epistle, which has reached us from one who was formerly a resident in the parish, and whose little children had attended our schools. We give it verbatim :— 'From Mrs. L., late of Rudolf Road, Kilburn. 'Dear Sister C.,-I write to ask if you can let me come to your next sale of close, as I am Every Bad of for close for myself and five children, and one child who I have had under the Docker for A long time, and have got to get flannels for him and as I have save A few shillings if you will let me no the time and the day I shall be Every thankful to you, your truly, Mrs. L.

'58 C

Road, hammersmith.'

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NOTHER Christmas has come and gone, and again we have to thank our kind members and friends for their bountiful supply of Christmas gifts to those who, without their generous liberality, would know very little of Christmas fare or Christmas cheer.

When it is our delightful task to record that 'eleven' Christmas Trees were made bright and beautiful with toys and presents, that more than 1,200 children received bundles of clothing and other suitable gifts, while upwards of 200 women were supplied with woollen cross-overs (or pellerines, as the Shoreditch children delight to call them), besides pictures, needle-books, work-bags, and other useful and ornamental ‘sundries'—our readers will agree that we have indeed cause for gratitude.

During the fortnight before Christmas, at almost every hour of the day, a Parcels Delivery cart might be seen standing before the Orphanage door, adding its welcome contribution to the gradually increasing store. Indeed, during the latter part of that fortnight the parcels in the receiving-room very

nearly reached the ceiling, notwithstanding the diligent unpacking and sorting which was ceaselessly carried on.

As Christmas Day fell on a Sunday, the festivities proper to the day were postponed till Monday, and on that evening the various presents provided by the thoughtful kindness of their own ladies,' or their little ladies, were distributed among the orphans, causing many eyes to sparkle with delight. Bran pies were provided for those children who had not been so fortunate as to receive special presents, and into these, numerous hands were dipped, and all manner of delightful prizes and 'surprises' were drawn from them.

The evening closed with a festive supper -of sugared cakes, with an abundance of crackers, figs, almonds and raisins, &c., &c.

Three days in Christmas week were devoted respectively to the Kilburn Sundayschool Treat, the Ragged Schools Treat, and the Orphans' Treat, while the following week saw us busily engaged in providing entertainments for nearly 500 children belonging to the Shoreditch Sunday-schools.

Here a great difficulty presented itself. We have no school capable of accommodating such numbers, and no room suitable for such a purpose was to be found in the neighbourhood. The difficulty was at last happily overcome through the kindness of the School Board Committee, who put one of their large schools at our disposal, and the entertainment was a very decided success.

The juvenile party was succeeded the following night by a gathering of over 200 women attending the Bible classes. This was to many, more interesting than the children's treats.

The guests were certainly far less demonstrative. The cheers, and songs, and stamping of feet were no longer accompaniments of the entertainment, but their enjoyment and appreciation of everything provided for them was no less real and heartfelt.

How well they all behaved! How grateful they were for their presents! How lost in admiration of those wondrous fairy trees! What a delightful excitement it was to draw

for those tempting-looking bundles which were so soon to be unrolled and put round their own shoulders! What a pleasant surprise was the picture, or work-bag, or scrap-book which the woollen cross-over concealed!

Who would have guessed that those quiet, respectful, well-behaved women came, for the most part, from the very lowest courts in Shoreditch?

And then the dear old people, how they enjoyed it all! How delighted they were at seeing some of the orphans act 'Beauty and the Beast'! There were two rows of our old friends all above seventy, and some over eighty years of age, seated in the place of honour the infants' gallery, right in frontso as to see and hear everything.

What a sight it was to look up at that crowd of faces, and to see the depressed, hungry, anxious look, which is the habitual expression of so many, give place to a look of innocent, downright enjoyment just for one evening in the year!

As to the old people, many will tell you that when they 'gets a bit o' fire they sit over it thinkin' of last Christmas till Christmas comes round again.'

But there is yet one more Christmas gathering which deserves special notice.

Our kind friend Mrs. Kingham, the lady'smaid who for several years past has provided funds for supplying the poor in Shoreditch. with a Christmas dinner, this year sent us no less a sum than 97. for this object.

This sum, supplemented by a smaller contribution, enabled us to increase the number of dinners to 320-and such dinners! Such roast beef, potatoes, and plum pudding, with half a loaf to each person!

We only wish the kind donor could have seen the happy, grateful faces of the recipients of her bounty, as they carried away their portions, calling down blessings on those who had so kindly and generously provided for them such genuine Christmas fare. Yes, another Christmas has passed away; but the loving thoughtfulness for CHRIST'S poor and CHRIST'S little ones, of which we have had such abundant proof, and the self

denial which has accompanied the gifts, have not passed away; they have ascended with the grateful thanks and blessings of those who were benefited by these gifts, borne up and offered as sweet incense before GOD'S Throne, to return again in showers of blessing on those who did not forget to 'send portions to them for whom nothing was prepared.' For the words of the old carol are surely true:

Therefore Christian men be sure,
Wealth or rank possessing,
Ye who now will bless the poor,
Shall yourselves find blessing.

Mo-Day.

ORD, for to-morrow and its needs I do not pray;

Keep me, my GOD, from stain of sin,

Just for to-day.

Let me both diligently work
And duly pray ;

Let me be kind in word and deed,
Just for to-day.

Let me be slow to do my will,
Prompt to obey ;
Help me to mortify my flesh,
Just for to-day.

Let me no wrong or idle word
Unthinking say;
Set Thou a seal upon my lips
Just for to-day.

And if to-day my tide of life
Should ebb away,

Give me Thy Sacraments Divine,
Sweet LORD, to-day.

Receive and cleanse my parting soul;
Be Thou my stay ;

O bid me, if to-day I die,
Go Home to-day.

So for to-morrow and its needs
I do not pray;
But keep me, guide me, love me, LORD,
Just for to-day.

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one half of the world does not know how the other half lives.

But how does she manage?

In this way. She receives a weekly allowance ofcwt. of coals, a quartern loaf, 4 lb. of tea, and lb. of sugar, and a Sunday dinner; and the 3d. is judiciously laid out in sundry additions to this meagre fare.

But why does she not go into the House? At least she would get there sufficient food and clothing, which would surely be better than this semi-starvation.

If our readers could only take a peep into that little home, they would be able to answer this question for themselves.

Why, dear old lady, it would break her heart even to suggest such an asylum; for she is one of the many who have seen much better days, but who, in their old age, are nearly pushed out of this toiling world altogether in the struggle for existence.

First of all, look at her bed. 'Real mahogany, my dear; it was in 1851 Exhibition. My husband he made it all himself; he used to work for the big cabinet makers down here.'

And the white curtains, how clean they always look! Well, you see, my dear, they was my petticoats once; but I don't want white petticoats now, so I made 'em into curtains.'

Look, again, at the old worn-out horsehair sofa-a remnant of better days long since gone by-and at the chest of drawers, the top of which, together with the mantel-piece, is a perfect museum of curiosities, faded

photographs, memorial cards, and other ornamental sundries, each with its own special history, and each doubtless a fondly treasured memento of the past.

If you wish to please the old lady very much, you will not fail to admire her 'garden. Our old friend is a very successful window-gardener; a flourishing little geranium has been her faithful companion for years, and any plants that may be given her she cherishes as 'dear friends.'

Before you descend the narrow stair, we should also like to draw your attention to the floor. How scrupulously clean it is! She does all the scouring herself, notwithstanding a fearfully diseased leg, which, by the way, it will give her the greatest pleasure to show you.

She will explain that several months ago she was carrying her pail up the steep stair, when she fell and gave her leg a terrible bruise. She did not pay much attention to it at the time; but the pain increased, and the bruise became a wound, which spread rapidly, causing her great agony, and confining her for several weeks to her bed.

Now, however, she is thankful to tell you, she can crawl about a little ; and, at whatever time you may pay her a visit, we venture to say that, if she has strength to get out of bed, you will find her with flannel, soap, and pail, making an effort to wash her floor.

'I can't bear the dirt, my dear,' is her answer to your remonstrance. 'I've nothing else to do. I'm soon tired and then I sit down and rests a bit, and then goes on again, and so it takes me pretty nigh all day; but oh, thank the LORD that I can do it, for when I was lying there in bed I couldn't bear to see the state the room was in?'

There is one thing more which we must not omit to mention. Mrs. B. has for years been a weekly Communicant. Nothing grieves her so much as to be positively unable to manage the short distance that separates her from her parish church; and Sunday after Sunday, if she can but crawl there, she may be seen in her accustomed place.

Are the dreary wards, allotted to the aged and infirm in our workhouses, a suitable

refuge for such an one? What comforts would she find there that could compensate her for the loss of her home-humble though it be-and its treasured relics?

It is only since the last few weeks that our old friend has come to such sore straits. A daughter, lately dead, allowed her 1s. 6d. a week, and it is the loss of this weekly allowance that has almost reduced the old

lady to starvation. 'You see, dear, I must pay my rent; it would never do to get behind in that, so I manages now with two meals a day-a little bread and a little tea-and my threepence goes in a drop of milk. Sometimes I have to go without that, but the tea do seem to grip so without milk. Sometimes a lady (a neighbour) gives me a halfpenny, and then I get a ha'porth of butter, which just scrapes a little on the bread. I can't afford more, but I likes the relish of it.' So long as she received Is. 6d. a week from her daughter, she managed to provide herself with a dinner every day. It consisted either of a red herring or a quarter of a pound of sausages, which last generally served for two days!

This is her account of how she manages her washing. I keeps a little money-box, and if any lady gives me a trifle I drops it in and pays a woman out of it to wash my bits of things.' To judge from the appearance of the old woman's nightcap at our last visit, we are afraid the contents of the money-box must be at a low ebb!

Sometimes you may find her sitting up in bed, complaining of a bad pain in her head. and in her back, and when she feels very much exhausted she says she ties a handkerchief round her waist as a support!

You never hear her grumble at her lot; the exclamation continually on her lips is, 'How good God is !' She will tell you how grateful she feels that she has at least a good bed, and how she knows someone far worse off than she is, who has to pay 1s. a weekonly to lie on a mangle !

What lessons of contentment and patient endurance may we not gather from such a home! At the Last Great Day, when all things shall be made manifest, how many of

GOD's hidden Saints will come forth from some of 'life's stillest shades' and shine as the sun in the kingdom of our Father! 'They shall be Mine, saith the LORD, in that day when I make up My jewels.' This is but one out of many plain, unvarnished tales of sickness, want, and poverty we might lay before our readers. Surely such histories plead for themselves, and need no further

appeal on our part. Yet the low state of our Mission Fund fills us with great anxiety. The appeals we have made for this branch of the work have not been responded to with the liberality of former years.

In an exceptionally mild winter such as this, the needs of those who have none to help them, and who from one cause or another are unable to help themselves, are not realised in the same degree as when icy winds, and heavy falls of snow, and longcontinued frosts open the hearts and unloose the purse-strings of all but the most selfish of mankind. Yet there are chronic cases of old age and sickness which call urgently for help all the year round. It is for these we plead. We ask for funds to carry out the general work of the Mission, as well as for help for individual cases. "Whoso hath this world's good and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of GOD in him!' Please send contributions to The Secretary,

29 Kilburn Park Road, N.W.

What Others are Doing.

means

Under this heading we desire to introduce our readers to a variety of charitable and religious work which is being carried on for GOD in different parts of the world. It will be distinctly a record of work —charitable, philanthropic, and missionary—and we wish it to be understood that we by no commit ourselves to any approval of the religious views and opinions held by those who do such work. In this particular, great scope will be allowed, and we trust that our readers will understand and appreciate our motives. Our desire and hope is, that the papers

introduced into this section of the Magazine may prove interesting and instructive, both to those who are engaged in charitable and missionary enterprise themselves, and also to others, who, though unable to share actively in such undertakings, yet feel a keen interest in all that is being done with a view to the glory of GOD and the good of man.

No. I.

S. MARY'S HOSPITAL, BRIGHTON. ANY of the readers of Our Work who have visited Brighton may have noticed a large block of buildings situated in Queen's Square, near S. Nicholas Church, and known as S. Mary's Hospital;

but I believe that very few are aware of the real nature of the work which is carried on there. The great majority are under the impression that the institution merely consists of a Sisterhood and a Hospital, and that its work is entirely a local one-worthy no doubt of general sympathy, but having no special claim for support beyond the particular place which forms the supposed area of its operations.

The object of the writer is to remove this `most erroneous impression, and to claim for S. Mary's Hospital the widely extended support it deserves. For, indeed, its works are both manifold and widely extended. It is in many respects as national in character as any of the London institutions, and, like them, is entitled to national support.

The work of the Home, which was founded in 1856 as a House of Charity, includes :

:

1. The Reformation of Women who have lost their Character, of whom there are fifty in the house.

2. The Nursing of Orphan and Destitute Children.

3. The Training of Young Girls for Domestic Service.

4. The Education of Boys, who are eventually apprenticed or provided with situations.

5. An Infirmary for Aged Women.

6. A Dispensary for the Poor of the District. About 800 persons annually avail themselves of this.

7. Church Needlework.

8. A Lending Library.

9. A Guild for Young Women and Girls. 10. A Middle School for the Daughters of Gentlemen of small means.

The total number of persons at present in

the Home is over 200, of whom 112 are free cases; and since its foundation 2,844 cases have been admitted. The work is carried on by Sisters, assisted by ladies.

No one, surely, can read over the long list of the various branches of work carried on in this Home without recognising their extreme usefulness and practical value.

It will also be evident that so extensive an undertaking must entail a vast amount of labour and expense upon those who are responsible for carrying it on. As I said above, a large proportion of those received into the institution are taken quite gratuitously; and the small sum received from what are termed the 'paying cases' does not nearly suffice to cover the cost of their maintenance. There is no endowment, and so the Home is virtually dependent upon freewill offerings.

I may mention that I have no connection personally with S. Mary's Hospital; and the great interest I feel in the Institution, and my desire to promote its welfare, arise from the certain knowledge I possess, of the faithful way in which the holy work it professes to do is carried out in every detail. I also know that the work is accomplished under circumstances of peculiar difficulty, owing to the want of more extended help. It is with the hope of enlisting this help that I have written this short paper.

I entreat all who have the love of CHRIST in their hearts to co-operate in this CHRIST-like work, and to become partakers of its blessedness. Let no one, young or old, suppose that because he can do but little, that little is not worth doing at all. All who have the will have the power to further GOD's work in one way or another. Gifts of money are, of course, allessential; but those who cannot help much in this way can, at all events, contribute the labours of their hands.

For instance, fifty persons might engage each to give and make one dress annually; others might agree to knit so many pairs of stockings, or to collect old clothes, boots and shoes, books, &c., and transmit them regularly to the Home.

I would especially beg all who visit Brighton, and who profit by the clear, bracing air, and bright sunshine of this favourite seaside resort, to make themselves personally acquainted with S. Mary's, and to witness for themselves the entire devotion of those who carry on the work, and the blessed result of their labours. They would, I think, feel that they owed a debt of

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