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THE 
 
 APOSTLES OF THE SOUTH EAST 
 
yhe Apostles of the 
 
 South East. By Frank 
 T. Bullen, Author of 'The Cruise 
 
 of the Cachalot.' 'With Christ at Sea/ etc. 
 
 TORONTO 
 
 WILLIAM BRIGGS 
 
 LONDON: HODDER AND STOUGHTON 
 
 t 
 

 
PREFAr: 
 
 In the following pages it has been my endeavour to 
 present a picture of a phase of London life that is 
 not very widely understood, or indeed realised. The 
 AposMes of the South East have been drawn from 
 real laracters, only the usual literary licence being 
 taken with them. Due allowance must be made 
 for the difficulty of dealing with living characters, 
 especially when i jnging to a class that is keenly 
 sensitive to any remarks that it construes as ridicule. 
 It should not be necessary to say that no ridicule 
 has been intended. Nothing but an earnest desire 
 to set forth the difficulties, the dangers, and the 
 triumphs, attendant upon the labours of the humble 
 class of Christians mentioned has actuated the 
 Writer, and if any person feels that he or she has 
 been too closely depicted in these pages, they are 
 implored to believe that only the kindest motives, 
 and most sincere desire to advance the cause we all 
 have at heart, have h>^> ^ *^ -^>...;— 
 production 
 
vi THE APOSTLES OF THE SOUTH EAST 
 
 One word more. It has been suggested in various 
 quarters, without, I am bound to say, any adequate 
 reason, that ' Saul Andrews is intended to represent 
 the Writer. This is, of course, not so—' Saul Andrews' 
 was a far better man, and has long gone to his well- 
 earned reward. 
 
 F. T. B. 
 
 DULWICH: October \yai. 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTBR 
 I. 
 
 II. 
 
 III. 
 
 IV. 
 
 V. 
 
 VI. 
 
 VII. 
 
 VIII. 
 
 IX. 
 
 X. 
 
 XI. 
 
 XII. 
 XIII. 
 XIV. 
 XV. 
 XVI. 
 XVII. 
 XVIII. 
 XIX. 
 
 Th« Field . 
 
 '^'"' ^"""'"' o" THE Campaign 
 
 Bruasting the Tide . 
 
 The Daiiy Rodnd. 
 
 The Pleasdres of Service 
 
 A Sunday Morning 
 
 A Sunday Evening . . ' ' 
 
 Pmparing the Sanctuary . ' 
 
 A Bdsy Week . . ' 
 
 THE FIRST Sunday IN THE New HOME ■ 
 
 THE FIRST SUNDAY IN THE NEW HA..-APTER. 
 
 NOON AND Evening 
 Saul's Departure . 
 
 TheSealopApostleship. " ■ ■ 
 
 Progress . 
 
 A Baptismal Service. 
 
 Gathering Clouds. 
 Faith's Opportunity . 
 Calcutta and Home 
 Clouds and Sdn^i 
 
 rAoa 
 I 
 
 7 
 
 'S 
 19 
 
 36 
 3« 
 45 
 
 58 
 66 
 77 
 
 • 90 
 104 
 118 
 
 '33 
 146 
 
 'S9 
 17a 
 187 
 
 300 
 
viii THE APOSTLES OF THE SOUTH EAST 
 
 __ rACi 
 
 CHAFTm 
 
 XX. DiBPBR AND Deefbk Still *1 
 
 XXI. Saul's Return "^ 
 
 XXII. A Catastkophb at thb Mission . . • • »3S 
 
 XXIII. A Briohtbr Day Dawns 'Sf> 
 
 XXIV. Saul's Wooing and Wedding . . »63 
 XXV. Saul Descends into Dark Places . . . 2j6 
 
 XXVI. The Night Falls '9' 
 
 XXVII. The Mission Prospers 3PS 
 
 XXVIII. Saul Comes Home 3«S 
 
 XXIX. And Last • 3*7 
 
CHAPTER I 
 
 THE FIELD . 
 
 when slu„,„i„g was inX hStTf '" "^^ ^^^ 
 people in search of a new s2« ''°'"' ""°"g 
 discovered slum was imZJTT''''' '*"'^ * "^wly 
 
 Jadya„dgent]en,eTvfSf f i' r'™" '^'^ ««« 
 doubts whetheranyoHtenh k".""*^' ^''^ «« g,^ve 
 felt «'"channoyed';fsi4?„t™;^"°"^^ '«'*'-- 
 st««t wherein so many of tJer^Tw "^ ^^"" ^'^ the 
 Several of the courts and bHn7 ^, 'P^"* 'h'^'' ''ves. 
 >t. and ending abruption j^"*^ r'^' '"^'"g «« of 
 well, there couM l^Sodouhr?!?'' ^"I^^^''^'^'^ ^^^ 
 tut Lupin StrluX M-s"»;'^"'«'n^ slums; 
 wife, who lived at NoTw^, . u"' ^^ ^""^^^ 
 threedaughterswereasweTldr:^*' '^'^y- ^-"l her 
 as any Blackheath gentSlm^^'^Tr' "^V'*"^«' 
 Lupin Street was its mixture " nf ^^'""^'y °f 
 decidedly disrespectable nh/v. /*'P^*hle ^nd 
 witha„economy'^nthe^f^^'J"tf- The houses, 
 painfully evidenj^ wcTbo^d^d 3^.^?"^ ?^' "'^ 
 ment-you passed out of the fl^n'' "" *" P""*' 
 
 -".Honeofthesafd^rSrCLr/^S 
 
a THE APOSTLES OF THE SOUTH EAST 
 
 cupboard with a copper in it, usually known among 
 the population as the 'wash-'us.' At the back each 
 house was provided with a sort of gloomy bin which 
 was dignified by the title of the 'back-yard,' and 
 sometimes (by mild lunatics) as 'the garden.' It 
 was really about ten feet square, with walls six feet 
 high, and into it fell on most days a steady fine 
 shower of ' blacks,' which made all washing hung out 
 therein to dry to assume a speckled greyish colour 
 that no amount of blue could ever overcome. 
 
 Yet, in spite of the drawbacks incidental to living 
 in such'houses and in such a neighbourhood, of which 
 more presently, there were to be found sprinkled up 
 and down Lupin Street houses whose tenants would 
 not be defeated in their never-ending warfare against 
 dirt and gloom. Their windows were clean and 
 whole ; the curtains, cheap enough in all conscience 
 (you can get a very good curtaining, warranted to 
 wash at least twice, at the local draper's for a ' penny- 
 three ' a yard), were always white. They must have 
 been washed and dried indoors to keep them so. 
 Some plants, carefully attended, mostly geraniums 
 and fuchsias, formed a bright background to the 
 windows and hid the interior from prying eyes 
 whose owners thought nothing, bless you, of stopping 
 as they passed and flattening their noses against the 
 panes. The front doors of these houses were always 
 closed, and the threshold was as white as hearthstone 
 (three irregular fragments a penny) lavishly applied 
 every morning could make it. Inside those houses 
 the same determined warfare was waged against grime 
 and darkness. The threadbare carpets were neatly 
 patched, the worn oilcloth was kept as clean as soap 
 
THE FIELD 
 *nd water could make ,> ^ . ^ 
 
 Board School aWavslLlJ"^ *''^ children gofn.. .« 
 -ll^bnaahed ha^ri^d'Sea^ "--Clean pinaf^^^^^^^ 
 
 out of'';;! "^"^ ""y-t-oTous'^rS ?"" "'^''*^ "^''^ 
 out of them all ten were fl ^"P'" Street and 
 
 deanliness, the otLr fo^ "' conspicuous by th"r 
 
 "™ open, with a fc, ' ,"*?, SfreM <lo„„ ^^' 
 
 «nd dirty coot«„ ^^ ameli as of unaii«1 hfi j?^ 
 ft-,h k ««"t«y. lasaing to io.v ""'''red bedding 
 
 r^".r n.'s': £- "-^Ttott". 
 ^-''s:r;*"''-«^i*e'',:o?' 
 
 »ndo«btedly „' f ™ "<' "'P^abfe rS^''"'' 
 
 ^^ "5 rnd«^.'r "Ctr^':?.7 
 
 S?^s=^"sfSr^-^>^.o| 
 ■«»'««ry2T.f,::r/"*-^".e 
 
, THE APOSTLES OF THE SOUTH EAST 
 
 of Lupin Strert and *e ~^ J„ ^^ppUcd its 
 
 practice of <^'-^}ir'^,^^TAn^y,ioJ^cocc^^ 
 religioussavour. ThcSalvaU ^e eyes of Lupin 
 
 reason, had nev« ^d^J^ j^ ^^ the Roman 
 
 Streeters. The ^^''™" tut a very sVort walk 
 
 Catholic Chapel, bc^l«»° J J^ of its in- 
 distant from the '^-/'^-^^^rns. and the Rev. 
 habitants »'"°^8^"L!to?^ Established Church, 
 Andrew Mack, mcumben^: of « ^^^^ 
 
 put down L«P|n^t^J^,ol^,ntso. Itformed 
 was not, and the P«»P«»°' . , rt concerning 
 
 a special item in a «rU.n bjhops^ ^^ ^^ ^ 
 Godless Soud. London ^^X jo^ ^^ ^^ 
 fiercely ^««="*;1^J^°^ °orancc concerning the v«t 
 
 ru^ror^-"^^^^'^-^^^^^"^"^^' 
 
 therefore. **^ '«JXr^ad at one time been a large 
 down Lupm Street, there na ^^ ^^^^^.^^ 
 
 cowshed and stable combm^-iJJ . j 
 
 ,,d once shel^^ --J-tmadeagre^^^^ 
 dairyman in the High ^"ee ' ^^ 
 
 in his advertisements ^"^ ^'^ f tte^^^'y^ own cows- 
 windows of his vending only milk Uo , ^^^ 
 
 ' P-* ^"^ tXriTn *a"hS where the light 
 unhappy cows shut up m tn ^^^ ^^ 
 
 of day hardly P«jJjJ^.--f^^^"^^ 
 
THE FIELD 
 
 i-v Soft., •-S5,'.'>s; f™'b^"r' 
 
 was a preacher of r.>x! ^ hard-working man ; he 
 of no Std:"iJ?S'-'^«P-«- thereof 
 fellow worshipper had h^h 1 k^ ^'' ^^ *"'' ^s 
 their gospels2?Jres in th. "^^ •'^" *^"^''" *« hold 
 g~und n'TarTTsort „^^^^^^ """T " P'*'="f^-te 
 forum for all sSs of «lil • *",'^ °P"" *'««="^'°" 
 
 questions on .ZnLy S ^^ ^^ ' ""' ''""' 
 had been conduct^ Tn /''"'\°7 P">ate worship 
 
 wherein the do"el brethren'"''^^'^^^ ''""^ P*'^°"^ 
 the .Church'couSjus"maTa.e"tosr'" ^"'"^'"-^ 
 with a good deal of diL^St ^1'. h''"^';^^ 
 ever daunted these eam«f , ^^ • **' discomfort 
 physical condiS-Tt ttilTS ^It^ ''^^'^ "°^™»' 
 tical .people in Sadr L! ' '^.'r^ *°"'^' '''j' P'^<=- 
 were Jeady to av^'i tJ . "'^"' """P'^ ="'' they 
 
 that p-„^ted i?s:tnrpX°eith7thr^^^^ 
 
 or spiritual position if ft r«„u ^ ,5 ''^^"" ^"'"•dly 
 they considered to L a ChSf °"'^ ''''^°"'= '" ^^at 
 
 Therefore, when JemmyfrdTrTH 
 cowshed was goine a-En the quondam 
 
 nominal rent ds/ a yearW^K ?\f..*° ^P^*"^' ^^^ ^ 
 -«^£?'^s^^"^-^SS:^ 
 -thanthe^cqS^— rlsL^::-- 
 
6 THE APOSTLES OF THE SOUTH EAST 
 
 wherein the brethren might not only hold thdr 
 Sgs for worship.but where they might gaUver in 
 such as should be saved from among the.r open-a^r 
 l^diences; where they might in winter, when Ae 
 inclement weather forbade them from any lengAy 
 holding forth on the cc nmon, »n"°»"« *° *! 
 world that the Gospel of the grace of God should 
 be preached under cover. 
 
CHAPTER II 
 
 THE BEGINNING OF THE CAMPAIGN 
 
 The next morning Jemmy, with the clean face which 
 
 w«"S ^ ^T"u'^ °" ^""^'^y" '«'* ^^i'^es only, 
 WM abnormally busy hunting up »:,e brethren and 
 sisters wherever they might I* foMnd. It took some 
 
 i h ir" "i' .'^''^ ""'^ *•'" *«> '■"'■«* them 
 with his own enthusiasm on the subject of a hall 
 
 for they were all. like himself, obliged to look atboA 
 
 sides of a penny before spending it, and as for binding 
 
 Aemselves to make periodical payments, well, they 
 
 a school where it was accounted the last extremity of 
 
 f uJ? 1 1."° ^°' *" '^'^''- *»« n«t thus to be 
 choked off his. pet idea. He hammered away with 
 
 smilmg and voluble perseverance until he had actually 
 communicated some of his own enthusiasm to the 
 majonty of the brethren and all the sisters, and had 
 won from them a staid adherence to his scheme so 
 far as it came within the narrow compass of their 
 means. 
 
 Flushed with success, he had not noted the time 
 -what was time in comparison with eternity, that 
 roseate never-ending future to which he and all his 
 co-workers looked with a longing only heightened 
 eacn day by the hopelessness of their present sur- 
 
8 THE APOSTLES OF THE SOUTH EAST 
 
 foundings ? He strode towards his hoi ,ie, murmuring 
 softly to himself, 'They shall mount up on wings 
 as eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they 
 shall walk and not faint' The squalor of Lupin 
 Street had no power to make him miserable; his 
 body moved therein, but he, the inner rnan of him, 
 was uplifted, for the time supremely happy in his 
 vision. 
 
 So rapt was he, that a heavy hand smiting him 
 on the back brought him down to common things 
 with quite a jerk, and he neard, uncomprehendingly 
 at first, a cheery voice saying, 'What cheer, Jemmy, 
 old man? How's things?' A bep-^ai, stalwart 
 man of about thirty-five, with a fine flavour of briny 
 freshness abou i him, was standing by His Aide with out- 
 stretched hand and a merry twinkle in his dark eyes. 
 Knowing Jemmy of old, he was not surprised at the 
 dull, just awakened look on the worthy sweep's face. 
 It quic'Jy gave place to a wide smiie of glad recc^i- 
 tion as be said, ' Why, Saul, you're actually home 
 again, glory be to God ! ' 
 
 'Amen!' said the seafarer reverently. 'The 
 Lord's giv' me another look at the ole show, an' I 
 tell ye I am glad to be here. But how is it y' ain't 
 at work ? ' 
 
 Jemmy hooked his arm into Saul's, and knot- 
 ting his ten grimy fingers over it, burst out into 
 his absorbing theme— the conversion of the cowshed 
 into a sanctuary. Saul listened intently, and as soon 
 as Jemmy paused for breath, he burst in with : 
 
 •Why, that's what I call a great scheme. I'm in 
 it, an' don't you forget it. Lookyherel' And dis- 
 engaging himself with a jerk from Jemmy's ham- 
 
•H^n^tthfa^denedeyeL "'"^ ''°^" from 
 
 ^ fn your fn)„7piuu""t»r«I found the 
 •bout it; n,akc me Kwe?°"' ">' "° "ore 
 
 ■T:u«i;;r'"^/'^-"?nr ;. "^^^^-«^o,v 
 
 —^ jJ«;;:r; J.V- you steppe, .e. 
 stm-in- up th' cLi on thS"s'" "" *»>« «on«V 
 ; WU2 filled right up JS ,^'* .''«"<«. 'n' I thought 
 *e you did an' doing wot ^^l ^"' y°" ~"""' O" me 
 just damce I'ke Davfd *d^" *"! '^'^^' '^^'L I c'd 
 a-ninnin- over B«f / f''"* ^''^ A'i. mv cun'. 
 
 •'-^fus, , - „, ^"^t rjn fe''-« '" w ss: 
 
 ^" right. Jemtnv rn ""^ y'^'"' 
 
 ."o brekfuss. I^^i^^^^^^^ "« ^ don' want 
 Howj the missus, an' the C'T '^•' '"''^ S«"'- 
 
 We'v^h^""' «""'»• brother-ttat i, .^ 
 
 Weve had a goodish bit o' Jii^ "' .^^^^^ *« "ow. 
 
 »way_w'y, it „„3t . ^J> '"ness since you ben 
 
 -l^ I 'ad the w,-fe S Wa^L""""" '"^ •"-- 
 «"~but there, God's £ i ""P''' °' months 
 neve, wanted fur noS^vlo^f k^°^ *° "«• -e've' 
 »n ourwater'sben shore :^"'^/f''d's »^" g'Ve us 
 
 th promise, ain't it?' ^*^ *° "^ "-"ow ; there's 
 
lo THE APOSTLES OF THE SOUTH EAST 
 
 But the lart word* brought the pair to Jemmy'* 
 door, with Its .poUess iemlclrcle of white hearthstone 
 described on the pavement from door-post to d<»r- 
 post Over the lintel protruded despondently U»e sign 
 of Jemmy's profession-a cylinder-headed brush- 
 not at a fierce angle, as it usually l" H such cases, but 
 in consequence of the attentions p» it ^ the youth 
 of Lupin Street, drooping out of the horizontal. 
 
 The door stood wide open, revealing a dim passage 
 -quite dark. In fact, against the hot glare of morning 
 sun that was ruthlessly exposing all the «nlovellness 
 of Lupin Street. Carefully stepping over the whitened 
 patch. Jemmy and his visitor entered, but thejr 
 (tet were stayed on the mat Midway of the short 
 passage stood Mrs. Maskery, spotlessly clean to the 
 last observable detail of her poor dress. , , „ . 
 • I-ooky -ere, ole dear,' burst out Jemmy, ' ere s Sau 
 Andrews comet' see yer. On'y seems like larst week et 
 went away, does It ? Don't bother about any brckfuss 
 fur me I don't feel 'slf I could eat any this raornin , 
 an- -but by this time Mrs. Maskery had ^covered 
 her breath, and turn ng from her conciliatory husband 
 to Saul, took hhn into her confiden ■• 
 
 She concluded her harangue by looking ap^al- 
 Inely at Saul for confirmation of her views, and at 
 the same time handing him In after her husband 
 to the front parlour. That sanctuary was clean as 
 labour could make It, and as exquisitely uncom- 
 fortable as an utter absence of all lde« about 
 making a room habitable could effect. The floor w« 
 Covered by a cheap oilcloth, a rag hearth-rug stood 
 before the brunswlck-blacked fender, a bunch of 
 manlla fibre decorated the cold grate. For tU= rest. 
 

 THE BEGINNING OF THE CAMPAIGN „ 
 
 • smaU loo-toble covered with slippeiy America 
 doth «dg«rni.hed with gaudy booS^S^^u*^ 
 
 J^ m«^n at regular interval,, a honehair- 
 covered nofa, looking as if a vindictive antipathy to 
 reit was woven into its very substance, halfT dozen 
 angular 'occasional chairs,' prinly arranged so as t< 
 give the rocrni an appearance of being really furnished, 
 and over the baclcs of chair, and sofa neatly laid 
 snow-white oblongs of crochet work-antimacassars 
 by courtesy-that were ready to slide floorwards at 
 'J^ ,^' ** mantelpiece hung two perfectly 
 atrocious libels upon Jemmy and his wife-oil paint- 
 ings, if you please-misrepresenting that worthy pair 
 Mtwo beings of an imbecility beyond description, but 
 the choicest treasures of the household. Around the 
 other walls framed Christmas supplements-framed, 
 that IS, by a local tradesman at about a shilling each, 
 and looking as if they were all that money too dear. 
 
 But to Jemmy that room was a sacred apartment 
 to be entered only with a sense of Sundaj upon 
 one. Upon week-days it was never used except for 
 a mteting on Thumday evening, or when Jemmy, 
 with the last vestige of soot scalded off himself (ex- 
 cept, mdeed, that which still ornamented the ends of 
 his finger-nails), and a spotless white shirt on, came 
 in and sat solemnly down to the table to make certain 
 entries concerning the funds of the church within a 
 black-covered twopenny memorandum book. And 
 that, being in the worthy sweep's eyes a sacred 
 luncuon, did not ir the least alter the tabernacle-like 
 character of his besv parlour. 
 
 Having shown her guest in. Mrs. Maskery said, 
 with a significant toss of the head, 'You'll 'ave t' 
 
12 THE APOSTLES OF THE SOUTH EAST 
 
 excuse me, Saul. There's the boy's dinner t' get 
 An' don't you forgit,' turning to her husband, ' 'at 
 there's three orders in as you must attend to.' And 
 with this parting salute she departed. 
 
 ' An' now, Saul,' said Jemmy, as if in continua ■ 
 tion of a conversation that had only just been momen- 
 tarily interrupted, 'you know how, afore you went 
 away to the Heast Hinjies this voy'ge, we was alwus 
 a-strivin' with the Lord ter let us git inter a temple 
 of our own, where we could arsk in the sinners out er 
 the rain an' the cold. Well, some o' the brethring 
 do sef m to 'ave grown look warm in this matter ; but 
 1 ben a-believin' for it, an', praise the Lord, it's almost 
 come.' At the last word his voice rose ecstatically, 
 but suddenly he dropped his head upon his hand, 
 and said solemnly, almost wearily : 
 
 ' Saul, my son in the faith, I know how you love 
 the Lord's work and also His peepul— how ever 
 since you found Him at our open-air you've ben 
 our joy an' crown. I ain't got no fear but wot 
 you'll 'elp us all you know 'ow w'ile you're 'ome- 
 But we must pray in faith, nothin' doubtin', as well 
 as do all He shows us ter do. Let's 'ave a word o' 
 pray'r now.' 
 
 And without further preamble Jemmy dropped 
 from his chair to his knees, followed immediately by 
 the sailor, and thus raised his petition : 
 
 'Ho Gord, hour Father, Thou knowest 'ow our 
 'earts is set on 'avin' a place where we can come apart 
 an' rest awhile. Thou knowest 'ow 'ard it is in our 
 little 'omes to 'ave the quiet wusship we wants, the 
 separatin' of ourselves to Thee for the breakin' of 
 bread. An' Thou knowest, too. Lord, 'at we ain't 
 
THE BEGINNING OF THE CAMPAIGN ,3 
 
 do believe, ySu J rh!f- '"'""''""^«'^- But we 
 
 •0.y Na„e'-irU°strt SruVet^- J'' *° ^'^^^ 
 a place for to wusship hin I PfT.? ^ *•"' ^^^ "« 
 let it be soon. We donvV '"*= '°°"' "° Go«i. 
 
 we've got Ctain-rmul rr T " '°"*^ «^-^" 
 weVe got ai. a„ le^rfis xte'""^^^^' ^-'^)-" 
 
 an' love of Tb^ tl^^^Z 7 T T' ^'-"'t'' 
 a pillar in Thy 'ouse Ts ^11 ^"^^ *" ""^^^ '™ 
 cheerer-upof u^s a" Ho'^e" ' f"'*-- -' 
 us sp^deHy. fer Jees„s ChLts^^l;!: '™-' 
 
 waitS iler/t^a 1^^'^''"^'"'^ P^-^-t. 
 echo of JemmyV A " ^'"* " "^^ ^'^^^ h« hearty 
 up his vice? '"' ^'^ *^^" '■" Ws turn liftej 
 
 all ZZ^lV^^i^^'t't^f' ^ thank You with 
 
 worse than dead JL a "el '' ./ ^"' ^^^''' «"' 
 
 harm to everS.d?i r calkin' about doin' 
 
 You, through vSeLT"" ~"'"'* ^'*- An' 
 touched mfas S d J tt"i ''"' °^^°"^ '^^"^ «"■ 
 to life. You' male Je clean You^- """^ '""^'^' "^ 
 appetite, an' now I only I^^ IZh^vr'^Z ' ^^'^'^^ 
 me. All I am an- =11 ■ ^ *^ '''^ Y°u ve give 
 
 know its weight to a hTun'e «„• You'I, ""' ^T ^'°" 
 carried right to the journey's end Z """ ^^ '''' 
 who know an- love hirTto ,!« k "^ ^" "^ "^ 
 
 can't do weknow You'll Lkeun r "it'"' "^ 
 desire of 'is 'eart-a I^i^ • ^L ^'■*"* *""" the 
 eart a httle ouse, where we shall be 
 
14 THE APOSTLES OF THE SOUTH EAST 
 
 at 'ome with You and shut out from the hard world. 
 Tell him that it's all right, that You ain't likely to 
 let Your work suffer from want of anything, an' let 
 us see great things. Do, Father, for Jesus' sake. 
 Amen.' 
 
CHAPTER III 
 
 BREASTING THE TIDE 
 
 quiM way, roiero;! i,i„^f ^ '^ 
 
i6 THE APOSTLES OF THE SOUTH EAST 
 
 further exposition by Mrs. Maskety of the failings 
 of her husband. Yet after she had ' run on ' for a few 
 minutes, she suddenly seemed smitten with a sense 
 of having done her meek spouse an injustice, for, 
 leaning forward toward the listener, she said, 'Ye 
 know, Saul, if he has got aggravatin' ways, and I'd 
 like to know who hasn't, he's a good man. I'm sure 
 I try him enough, for I haven't got a bit o' patience 
 with people that's got so full of the next world that 
 they forgets this. But when I'm laid by and feels 
 ready to fret myself to death with the way things is 
 goin' on without me to manage 'em, it does put new 
 life into me to see his happy face as noth!"k seems 
 to darken for more than a minute or two at a time 
 'ceptin' the sut 'ee gets on it w'ile 'ee's at work.' And 
 a few big tears rolled silently down Mrs. Maskery's 
 care-worn cheeks. Wiping them away with her apron, 
 and by a strong effort subduing the working of that 
 rebellious mouth, she said, as she sprang to her feet, 
 ' There 'ee goes,' and rushin|: out into the passage as 
 he passed along it she called loudly, ' An' don't for- 
 get the Simmons's chimbley after you're done the 
 Williams's.' 
 
 But the last few words were lost upon Jemmy, 
 who was half-way up Lupin Street at his peculiar 
 shuffling trot, the uneasy gait of a man who can 
 always feel the chill or damp of the footway in con- 
 tact with his feet through the vacancies in his boot 
 soles. He was a quaint yet pathetic figure when 
 equipped for work. He always wore an old cloth 
 cap, tight-fitting, with a downward sloping leathern 
 peak, a cap that had served him so long and faithfully 
 that it was nov as shiny as a piece of oiled silk. A 
 
BREASTING THE TIDE ,, 
 
 S^n'Tolj„"''"'=''r'r ««• tightly round his 
 
 r^h the su„n,,t of any chimney in the neighbour! 
 Swhin:? i'"l'^ ^'"P^' ^ '■^^ fibres ofX 
 
 Sinrha^nXshi-vef ^t S^ f^--^^ 
 
 Jore the next momm'? Corse they wood I ' 
 
 beaf uZ a'tJ^ot""'^ "^'*- ^'^^ "^^"^^ "^"^ '"at 
 S buTr- ur " " P"''^^^ ''^'f compared with 
 
 may live their life •% „°'^"'ry> *■"*" or woman 
 j^ vc uieir me m London's poor streets ur,», 
 
 boldlv^r' '*'=" * ■"*" °^ ^oman comes 
 
 the Lr '' ' '"*"'^' '■"' ^'°^ ^'^ H'« t™th under 
 the same circumstances, eveo^ action of their Jves 
 
 c 
 
i8 THE A^-^STLES OF THE SOUTH EAST 
 
 immediately becomes a matter of public interest, to 
 be discussed with the most minute attention to detail 
 at every street comer, on every doorstep, over every 
 public-house bar; often with a wealth of lund em- 
 bellishment when those taking part in the discussion 
 are what they are pleased to call * a bit on,' otherwise 
 more or less drunk. 
 
 But, leaving Jemmy for a moment, let us re- 
 turn to Saul and Mrs. Maskery. The conversation, 
 momentarily interrupted by the passing of Jemmy 
 out into the street, was resumed with some difficulty. 
 
 And at last Saul said, rising, ' I got ter be on the 
 move. I've a-kep you talkin' quite long enough, but 
 don't you forget to let your ole fren' know if there's 
 a southerly wind in the bread-barge [if the cup- 
 board is getting empty]. If I was to give ye all I earn 
 I couldn't ever pay back wot I owe Jemmy. You 
 don't see it in the same light as I do, of course ; but 
 I can't forget that it was a-Hssnin' to 'im a-preachin' 
 the Word that set me free from the dreadful misery I 
 was in. God bless 'im an' you, and the kids, an' the 
 mission. So long fur the present,' and with a hearty 
 handshake Saul passed out of the little parlour and 
 set his face dockward. 
 
CHAPTER IV 
 
 THE DAILY ROUND 
 
 They were chapel pZe R T ^'"""^ ' '^«''- 
 consciousness of Lfe^n^K-^"^"!,''' ^^""^ P™"^ 
 daily performing, by tin/^^et'^ -"d ^ere 
 
 way and holding their ol /^''^,'='^*^'>'' P^^ng their 
 niarily far abovf the^ 'JJ Sf '' """^ ^^^P'' P^'^"" 
 them for the incessant' st^g^ ' t " «>"? *° --" 
 they professed. For it «nn^fi!. ^ '■^''8;«on that 
 
 large stratuip of oJrpl?,Sr«'^'''^ 
 toreligious bodies PrS:i^ tSlf 't.'jf'T"^ 
 who are consciously new creature K^ ' ^"* *°^'= 
 to be considered as Chri^f ' ^^''^ "° '^'l elaim 
 assuming, of c^rse that ^rr.^'^"*"^"'"- Always 
 from a professo^of' «lSiL ;r'''"' f '^'^*'"^«hed 
 the.essential requiLnenfof CM^ atd\'" '""'"^ 
 *gaia They have been hJL f/ ^ ''^'=°'"^ ^^ 
 respectability f^;%^P.^~"8,^^^ "P '" the aroma of 
 
 seat in the chapel „ostS£°^ "^'^ '^"^^ ^'"^ * 
 their level lives and thli^ " ''^ ^^«'- disturbed 
 -toimporta:^r;:"„'betof -^^ '"'"^"^ '^-<='°P«» 
 
 ^v.gonceas.edSrmi.fr.-Sr,uir; 
 
lo THE APOSTLES OF THE SOUTH EAST 
 
 ' Am I really acquainted with God ? ' Yet notwith- 
 standing all this, such people are a power for good. 
 Good citizens, good parents, good exemplars, how 
 shall anyone dare to cavil at them for their lack of 
 spirituality? Most of the loss is their own. They 
 feel heavily the obligations of religion without enjoy- 
 ing its consolations, the conscious delights that are 
 summed up in the personal friendship of the Son of 
 God. 
 
 Naturally, and very properly too, Mrs. Williams, 
 a fair example of this class, was a great stickler 
 for punctuality, the acciirate performance of engage- 
 ments made, and a due recc^ition of what wm 
 owing to herself and her husband as living embodi- 
 ments of these useful virtues. So when Jemmy, 
 panting with his haste, appeared at her door, she met 
 him with a countenance expressive of the most severe 
 displeasure. Ostentatiously rubbing his decrepit 
 shoes upon the door-mat until the soles of his feet 
 burned again, he said hurriedly, 'Good momin', 
 Misses Willyums, thenk yer, mum, kindly. 1 'ardly 
 know 'ow t' er 'poUergize fur my frightful bad memory. 
 I clean fergot all about your order, I did indeed. Ye 
 
 see ' But lifting a warning hand, Mrs. Williams 
 
 froze the rushing torrent of his eloquence by saying, 
 ' That will do, Mr. Maskery. Now that you are here, 
 pr'aps you'll be good enough to get t' - work done as 
 soon as possible.' 
 
 Meekly Jemmy replied, ' Yes, 'um, cert'ny, mum,' 
 following with bowed head as she led the way into 
 the living-room, where all had been ready for his 
 operations since six o'clock that morning. Down went 
 his bundle of canes on the bare boards with a crash, 
 
THE DAILY ROUND 
 
 *i 
 
 and hastily unfolding from his bae a «,..»« r 
 some mysterious material t- * square of 
 
 to pin it uTaTthl/ ~"P'« of forks wherewith 
 
 o«ifr thit VdterdSrso: t™'"^''::'"" '■" 
 
 should not fly about tl^^^rZ tT '^^''"""'^y 
 dcred hole in the n,idd e Tthis J^l' r' *"" 
 thrust the first joint of his rnll- J""™'' 
 
 a brief struggle amid a """^ "f hine, and after 
 screwing on ^t.Zll ^ ^S ^r^^' '" 
 vigorous thrust of the cane ntlJ^ ! ^^ ^y » 
 By the time hu .^n^ '^ ^^'^ "P *•»« chimney. 
 
 the passage as he w2" £„?r '/"'^ '"**""^ '»'™ '« 
 pa«&L o'tsWe fn thelln '" ^^"'"^'^ 
 benevolent smile. 'Won't Jofhr ""' '"''^ ^'* * 
 lunch. Mr Maske;yp Tfl rea^Hor^r '''"' °' 
 
 Pride rberi-tt^j '^r ^-^ ^^^ ^^ ^^^^ 
 
 from his hands hp f«ii^, j\ . "^ *^ s°ot 
 
 chair for his reeenf;«„ ,- I , , "^ Windsor 
 
 I 
 
It THE APOSTLES OF THE SOUTH EAST 
 
 together of the Lord's people, along with such u 
 should be saved, pointed to a bewildering condiUon 
 of things. Yet dimly and afar off, as it were, she 
 could not help realising that she was in the presence 
 of a rare and beautiful soul, shining superior to 
 its hampering, disfiguring environment. In some 
 non-expressible way she was aware that here was 
 one of God's chosen ones, possessed of the faith 
 that removed mountains and bridges and oceans, 
 the faith that refuses to recognise any hindrance 
 to God's work but sin among His own people. 
 
 It had been in her mind to read him a small 
 lesson upon minding his own business better, to 
 reprove him gently for his forgetfulness of mundane 
 affairs, but, somehow, the woridly-wise remarks would 
 not come, and when, his hunger satisfied, he lay back 
 in his chair, his eyes sparkling with enthusiasm, and 
 told her of how great things the Lord had done for 
 him, she was so moved that, forgetting her own 
 household duties, she listened spell-bound. And she 
 could not help contrasting his over-bubbling fervour 
 with < « sleek pomposity of certain deacons whom 
 she knew, greatly to their disadvantage. 
 
 At last, with a sudden start, he sprang to his feet, 
 saying as he did so, 'Please forgive me. Misses 
 Willyums, fur hindrin' ye from yer work. My head's 
 so gallus thick I k'n only think o' one thing at a time, 
 an' I'm so full of this here business that everythink 
 else's got ter take a back seat. The Lord bless ye, 
 mum, an' pay ye a thousan' times fur yer kindness.' ' 
 Her uplifted hand stayed his thanks until she pro- 
 duced half-a-crown from her purse, saying, ' There's 
 my mite towards your mission hall. It's all I can 
 
THE DAILY ROUND 
 
 queer patches upon hi, X t^Thc'^n^'i!'"'^ 
 away, and In a voice broken ^a ''^*'«^«^ *ein 
 
 good-bye. He%''";L?''„^'1-G"^,-«>ye, sister 
 
 another worf he madeTdaah 'for theT ^''^°"* 
 gon. hi h^art a nest of sin^^U^S^ '"'' '"'' ""» 
 
 ^ow"V' wh^a l^^^^tr ;nV *^" '^ 
 : Oh. Mr. Maslceo.. ou™thtb"Vr a^J^; '"r"^' 
 just a-runnine f yore hoii«. ""^^ ^"n. 1 wos 
 in such a way^ Off ?k ^°'"f »'°"g J mother's 
 than five n^inu^Js arriv^tt'thet"'' ""' '" '^ 
 poor woman. half-distSj by the° n*^ ""*« *« 
 gaping crowd outside w^tMn^KuJ"^''''' °f » 
 fe yellow smoke tg^t^^'^'' -""»« of 
 out of the chimney, arTdTdSi f *" P*'"""8 
 •~ring she could he«wal t^f?^ '""" '"* «>e 
 the soot in the chimn^ JTth^K m- '^''^'''"e: <■"•= 
 a pitiable condition Ch^e atl ^^ ''^''- """ ■" 
 violent activity lemZ «^ V^ "*=* '"to a state of 
 
 'los.-ngregilSJn'tnh^dSTbef'"/'"" *° '-- 
 and. almost stifl;d by the !„?« r^""^" *"' '"*"■' 
 Wnding a sack tightfy oL X , f' t"""«'^^ '" 
 fimney, thus efff ct^ sta^n JX *'' °''^"^'"^ 
 S-^-.^uch to the dissaKcJ^o^r^^""^*''" 
 -«>de. who seemed to consider ^LX '■«g'"nufBns 
 'heated out of a spectacle whfl ^^ ^^'^ •^ 
 
 I>escendi„g toStchl ^ """l^"'' "^^'■ 
 -^. Jemmy found thtmis^V'''*'''''"^'^"'^ 
 ^-'•na..Ieofcoli:jL.rd";^-;t^W 
 
14 THE APOSTLES OF THE SOUTH EAST 
 
 the congenial tuk ot comforting her. Here he 
 shone. In a very short time her cheerfiilness had 
 returned. But when she timidly asked Jemmy how 
 much she was in his debt, he with a quick apprecia- 
 tion of the circumstances, said seriously, ' Well, Mrs. 
 Fitch, the reglar price for puttin' out a chimbley 
 is 'arf-a-suvrin', but bless yer 'art, if I was to go 
 hinsistin' on my rights alwus I sh'd feel more un- 
 worthy of all the Lord's blessin's than I da Wot can 
 /afford?' 
 
 ' Oh, Mr. Maskery, I'm ashamed t' tell you that 
 I've only got eighteeiipence in the 'ouse, but if you 
 amid wait till Friday night w'en my 'iisban' get 'is 
 wages I'll pay / 'arf-a-crown an' be very thankful. I 
 can't pay any more than that, fur 'ee's only eamin' 
 twenty-five shillin's a week now, an' there's five of us 
 in fambly.' 
 
 ' Looky 'ere. Misses Fitch, don't you worry abou 
 that; you pay me w'en you can. I shan't lose 
 nothin", I know. Why, bless /r 'art, that's what the 
 Lord does with me hevery day of my life. I'm 
 always a-gettin' in His debt, I'm alwas 'avin' nothing 
 to pay 'im with, I'm alwus a-feelin' as if I was just a 
 wuthless loafin' rascal, but in spite of all that He' 
 always a-makin' me so 'appy I c'd damce for joy. 
 Now are / shore you're all right ? Cawse if y' are 
 111 get along 'ome. Yes ; well, good afternoon, an' 
 Gawd bless yer.' And shouldering his impedimenta, 
 Jemmy resumed his peculiar shuiHing trot, heading 
 straight for Lupin Street 
 
 When he reached his home he was overjoyed to 
 find waiting at his door a big van, the appearance of 
 which told him at once that a most welcome re- 
 
THE DAILY IIOUNU 
 
 plenWiment of hi. exchequer w«.tK ^ . '' 
 t»» waggon of • vx>t ZJ^.* "*"* ^' »«• 
 Jemmy, \ca,n.m.tio^*J"*^'""t «"« to carry 
 
 « Jemmy mouS^iit S^Zn't^"' "'^"^ 
 ter be; I „i„d ^^„ ^ «"^;^ Sut aJ„t wot It „,ed 
 
 *Q^«aHioj„gyvaft;„;7,/;'»'' f°*' **«y ««i»k» 
 
 • «ck,' yet. knoiini thThe hi'^ '^'''' ^'^ " »"'""' 
 W» back yaitl, and ^at the „^!^ *"" '"''' »*°«d •" 
 coming on th^ -pot he fSrir"'J!f '''"'>" '■°'^- 
 *«th great fervour Se 1^^™'""' '° ""'' '«'"" 
 f**-P«mo« fre^iemfyon W ''r' ""T^' *""' '^«'"' 
 
 endureth for eve" " «^ ' ^°' "» mercy 
 
CHAPTER V 
 
 THE PLEASURES OF SERVICE 
 
 SATURDAY evening in all the poor quarters of 
 London .s a time of tribulation, of hard Trk of 
 much anx.ety for the great „,ajority of housewives 
 For they are few indeed who do not adhere to Ihe 
 senseless, hateful custom of leaving all the rlsidle 
 of the week's housework, a sort of special prepSn 
 for Sunday, until Saturday; and fewer st« arTtSeJ 
 
 attemoon and evening, even if they have had th^ 
 gumption to keep their other work up to date Em 
 ployers of labour have done their be^to Sunte^a" 
 th.sg,ant evl of late Saturday shopping by pIX 
 wages to their workpeople on Friday but lil,; f^ "^ 
 spoken of by the po'et,^t has a^ S '^f emb'ce" 
 by .ts victims. And many of them even go to S 
 length of waiting until the wearied shopkeeper or 
 costermonger, unable to hold his or her poorbody 
 erect any longer makes a move to cease business for 
 the n,gh , or rather morning, as it is usually well afte 
 midnight. Then do these witlessly cruel on'ls descend 
 upon the over-borne tradesman in the hope of thereby 
 securing a bargain, and keep him wearily serSng 
 permyworths of this. that, and the other LtiloSf 
 
THK PLEASURES OP SERVICE 
 a nrpll.l..- » 
 
 jj . — "^ SERVICE 
 
 th'rty ; after the hL S" '^"^«" *« and eleven, 
 and IS usually a. ,>,s .,W ' ''"^^^ begins to freshen 
 « notthewom D .-,,;"?.? '"^"tmidn/ght Bu^f!"' 
 ^^Ithe poorer Ifasteru^;;^-;^^^^^^^^ 
 the poor quarters of London f^P*"'- ^" "-any of 
 practice to shop on Sundl" ' ^'^ ^''°'^^ a rlJar 
 gn^engrocers being the trad '"°''"'"^' ''"^^hers^aid 
 A"dthis is the vfriest JSor^" '='"'*=«>' ^ff^cS' 
 P'tiless oppression, not ofThe '''• ^* '^ the most 
 ^' poor by the p^or it ^S ''J' the rich, buTof 
 ^ said that the pSr wome„ 7" "" "''^" ^'^^^ 't wJl 
 these fames are not to Zm" 1°'"^ '^"^^ «hoppi„„ i*: 
 h-sbands, who, as soon ^ iJ'? " ^''^ '"^"Khe 
 « over, line the publfc h^, l"''^^ morning's work 
 ;P the wretched'remn?„rrf S '"' '° "°' <^S 
 Je.r waiting wives unrti £^1 ' """^^'^ '^ages to 
 dnnk,ngbarsatmidn?ght '1^"^ «J«<=ted fro^ th° 
 to a certain extent, bVt „/• . ""* *^ t™th of this 
 Recount for about twenti ^ ^'" **"* '* ^"l oX 
 Saturday and early IZt l ^' *=^"t. of the Z 
 - If in all thecie^^ibfetr"^ '''' '^ 
 th's cruel system of shoDDfnf '^ '' "° "^ed fori? 
 ;t -uld be pn.ctical,yS:j ^^^o be discontinue^ ■ 
 
 2 ''y"^S from hearsay, but fro ^"'^ '^'^ ^ am 
 
 B^rr-^"'^ -'Sof" ^^'"^^ ''''--tio^ 
 
 r^ -veSs tr:^ f ,' ^^e'metbTj oT^ 
 
28 THE APOSTLES OF THE SOUTH EAST 
 
 their fellow-citizens. 'How,' they ask, 'is a poor 
 tradesman who is on his feet from as early as four 
 A.M. till the following morning at one A.M. to summon 
 sufficient energy to come to meeting at eleven a.m. ? 
 How can any man or woman, compelled to crowd the 
 bulk of a week's work into one long, long day, be fit 
 for anything else on Sunday but to He in bed and 
 rest?' So they usually hold a little prayer-meeting 
 on Saturday evening about nine o'clock, whereunto 
 the bulk of the members gather and pray for grace 
 to use the day of rest well, for strength to go forth 
 among the pleasure-seekers and holiday-makers bear- 
 ing the glad tidings of the Kingdom of God. Many 
 mistakes are made, of course, much wild talk is in- 
 dulged in, many libels upon the character of our 
 loving Father given utterance to, but let it be grate- 
 fully recorded that all the efforts of these earnest, 
 simple souls make for the righteousness that exalteth 
 a nation. 
 
 So at the close of that ordinary Saturday Jemmy 
 might have been seen sitting in state at his own table, 
 his big Bible open before him, awaiting the coming of 
 the brethren and sisters, and hunting up a ' portion ' 
 while so doing. Thoroughly tired, Mrs. Maskerydid 
 not feel disposed to join in the exercises presently to 
 be engaged in by her husband and his guests in the 
 parlour, although she had a distinct feeling of pride 
 in being their hostess. Had she been able to express 
 herself she would no doubt have said that ' to labour 
 was to pray," or something of that kind, and that 
 having made ready the place of meeting she had done 
 her part— all that could reasonably be expected of 
 her. 
 
^ THE PLEASURES OF SERVICE 
 
 a high, do^e-h-keTad fSr^f^'T-''^^'"^ 
 prominent blue eyes and.t^ u ''""^'y- ""a^er 
 to the third buttroV h?s wiS'*'^^-^'' ^-'^-S 
 clad in an ancient bkrlT? 7 "^ "^^ "«% 
 
 that had prese^S^^he^tdTetrS ^"' ^^°"^^^' 
 through many years of m! . J of respectabihty 
 
 alone they ^r^ned 'iThf "'''■'=;? P^^'^ 
 slightly hesitating and ntvous i,T"'^ '^•^ "^ 
 sentences as if anxious to Z?' l-^ "-epeating his 
 been heard, and he wL ,1 ' ^'"'"'^ ^''^^ ^"^ had 
 the conflic between hi ir,'"'''""^ *°™ ^'th 
 stem, merciless Calvin 2 vkT"^ '^"^^' ^^d the 
 wife was a fem . upLTi^'l u" '"°'''''''- "- 
 
 virtues accentua. st t ' '^r'"''' "'**' ^" '>- 
 
 words, hovered aoout the outskirts Vth'"'""* 
 meeting, ready to press homl f ^^ ^P*"""*"" 
 
 the words of love orte'cnZT ^"^ ^'^''^l ''^art 
 before whose 2nTal visTo" 'radT"''*"^'' ^°"' 
 exhibited the eternal tlrmenfs of ^e T '"j;'''^ 
 practice much appreciated h,;7i! .. damned, a 
 For over thirty ^ars hi M '"*''" ''^^^r^"- 
 
 trodden the ru'ggJd "ays of [ '."' f^ ^^""°" 
 never with moreVan sTffic.ent ?o"r °^ •"' *°^^*^'' 
 needs-that is to sav • .1 *^"' ""mediate 
 
 with real pov 2° 'X, ^Jl^^^ "?«" '"timate terms 
 a large family^, J^ lo J ^""^^^f""/ reared 
 most creditaU; to°he?un h"'''^'" '"''*^^'' ^^^ 
 •^Ider girls had de^S Jnto £"^' "''"^ *^ *-° 
 who would have SaS 11 '"'^^*y°»nff women 
 
 Bot beyond and aC this r/"^ '**'^°" '" '•'■'=• 
 above this, this dear couple of hard- 
 
30 THE APOSTLES OF THE SOUTH EAST 
 
 working people had never faltered from their con- 
 sistent following of Christ. They were, in a word 
 eminent Christians in the true sense, although out 
 of their own tiny circle utterly unknown to the great 
 world that seethed around them. I speak feelingly, 
 or Mrs. Salmon has just gone to her reward, and I 
 know of a surety that many a -nan mighty in learn- 
 ing, m devoutness, and position in his Church will 
 hereafter rejoice if haply he may attain to a place 
 by her side. 
 
 Five more members followed. The tugboat skip- 
 per, a broad, led-faced man, bringing in with him a 
 breezy flavour of brine, his meek little wife, with a 
 wistful look in her eyes and her head always just a 
 little inclined to one side as if she were listening 
 for her husband's steam-whistle on his return, Saul 
 Andrews, Joseph Jimson the stevedore, and Peter 
 Burn the rigger-all of them possessing characters 
 well worthy of analysis, but willing, I know, to await 
 their turn until later on. To each of them Jemmy 
 gave a hearty handshake o: fellowship and a beam- 
 ing smile as he motioned them to a seat When it 
 appeared as if the full extent of the evening's congre- 
 gation had been reached, Jemmy rose and said 'We 
 will commence by singin' that beautiful lymn "O 
 Jesus, O Jrsus, how vast Thy love to m&' I don't 
 know the number, but some brother or sister please 
 give it out if they know it' Sister Salmon, who 
 was the 'memory' of the little gathering, immedi- 
 ately supplied the number, 68 in the appendix, and 
 Jemmy, with a courteous ' Thankee, Sister,' turned to 
 It and read the first verse. Then Saul, who was 
 shantyman ' of his ship, being possessed of a tuneful 
 
THE PLEASURES OF SERVICE 
 
 voice and a eood «, r 
 
 tune. ^*^ '" '^^ """^-c. at once raised the 
 
 A musical critic wouM i. 
 ^"Itant strains e^nadat' 7 P'°"°"'"=^ «^-e- 
 fe ^etto. Brother sZT^UT^^, "'* "- %h 
 mto byways of discord and <;t- "^'""^ ''""y^^S 
 Ws l^eculiar ideas of bass co„,n- •^^'' ^'"^^"« '-'th 
 strangest possible co^nZT'^^ '° '""^'"=' *« 
 these simple, fervent T^"sTL' '°""''^- ="* 'o 
 «"th the exception perhaps IT ^ ?'°" ^'^ '^^''^'^t. 
 
 considerably in his eaVbrf^fhlrH' ^'° ^"''^'•^'^ 
 The praise ended, ]^mrny\rih l u^"" *" ^e'"'^- 
 open Bible, lifted his fTce wS d ^''""'^ "P°" *he 
 Ho. hour Farther.give us Tn^ u'^t "^^^ ^"^ ^aid, 
 Word. We're vei^f 'un.^ to r'"''°'" ^V dear 
 ben a-feedin' on ThyZ^ Sl'7'''' ^i'^ough we've 
 nest o' young birds we've a«'^t '"'"''' ""^ "''^ ^ 
 open waitin' for Ye to rfro,, .u? , ""^ ™°"ths wide 
 he refreshed after our^/^f.;"";"! '"• We wants to 
 ;he flesh, an' the devT We " ^•'^' *^^ ^°^W, 
 
 fo^ -r meetin- arou"' ' T^i"*^, '' «- P-pared 
 "'Wts our faith stren'thenedonri *°-"'°"-^'-- We 
 JS °P«"ed Wider, ourrrt^uchr thaf "'' °"' 
 near Thy voice. An' wp t„„ ' "** "'^ may 
 
 things done for us only^p ThT ^" ^'"'* ^'' '^'^ 
 Spirit then take the Word l^T' T^ ^'>' ^'^J' ""'^ 
 f each of our needs, an^we T^a^ZVl "" ''^~^'^'"' 
 Jesus Christe's sake. Inre^ ' ^^ '"'^^'^- ^or 
 
 pC^n^hrsuSs^rti:'"''"^ *^ ^^^^^r 
 
 Hebrews. Kis readi^'tf to' '""''^ ^'P'«^ °f 
 ^' the best, even if cnL I, ° P"* '* «""ldly, not 
 
 "-cle^men;" LZ^.^^.Tch'''' °' ^°-"^ 
 sr!,i,shed Church, who supply 
 
3» THE APOSTLES OF THE SOUTH EAST 
 
 us with, probably, the very worst readers in the 
 world Nevertheless, as his hearers were not critics, 
 as they were all carefully following the words' 
 from their own Bibles, and, above all, as they were 
 each convinced of the absolute sincerity and love 
 of the reader, his quaint rendering of the Divine 
 Word gave them no pain. And when he had 
 finished, Skipper Stevens led in prayer. His deep, 
 hoarse tones, reminding one of the muttering of a 
 distant storm, his very conventional phraseology 
 and many repetitions, from his poverty of words 
 wherein to express what he felt, would doubt- 
 less have caused a sarcastic smiW to curl the lip of 
 many a cultured religionist, had such an one so 
 far forgotten himself as to be present at such a 
 humble meeting. But to those poor folks it was as 
 sweet incense ascending to the throne of the Most 
 High God, and by its means they became uplifted 
 energised, made glad. ' 
 
 For an hour the meeting continued, everyone 
 present joining in the service of prayer and praise 
 until Sister Salmon, who had hitherto held her peace' 
 supplied the closing petition. ' 
 
 • Dear Father,' she said, 'we've come again out of 
 the noise of the world and the struggle for daily bread 
 to You for that which we can't get anywhere else, 
 your smile. Your encouragement to go on. Your 
 words of joy, and peace and love, if it wasn't for 
 You, dear Saviour, there wouldn't be any sunshine 
 in our lives at all, for the sorrow of the world around 
 us IS very great But bless Your Holy Name, 
 You ve given us a sure and certain hope, a knowledge 
 that nothing can shake, of Your wisdom and low 
 
THE PLEASURES OF SERVICE 
 
 which sets our souls in a. mo „<• 
 
 kno,v that You wil^tali^^^^l"^ If we didn't 
 yet be acknowledge?a?^Z°"«'"8'>!.«jat You will 
 
 You,creatures.that Yo"^, J-°l.f <^''"y ^ «" 
 by Your Son7u7javiour^iH i.'"'*'.^"*^ '" *» *»&« 
 be able to go on seLw^J f"'^^' ^* ^J*""" "ot 
 
 up in Your wisdom our m.^? f ^" ^^^ swallowed 
 faith, our weakJSit e"S "'i''^"" ">' ^our 
 and so, in spite of all our LVnt °"' '*''^"&th ; 
 
 indeed happy with a ZnP^ ^ ""soundings, we are 
 
 -of. Bf5S14tJrrnk*^^rY"^--•' 
 
 to-morrow; give us each somlfu' '" ^°"' ««""'« 
 with grace sufficient forte dofnf- *° ''° ^°' ^ou. 
 tl>atinall work hones l^dotT^^^^ 
 guided and sanctified by Sr°iJ°%*^'''>*" be 
 rest to the wear^ ones arou^^ ^ ^^'"^ ^'^e 
 
 dirty, soberness tTthedru^ke^hn' ^'"""''"^ *° ">e 
 gentleness to the cruel. S to Jhef *° "''' *''^^«'' 
 among ourselves, for Jest^slkf l^' ^^ -V 
 
 sac4\th':;rrSc""'" ^'="^' ^- - ^ 
 
 of the Holy of HolUldT'^">'-:\h"«b like that 
 pain that they rose stiffl^r u" ""* * "'gh as of 
 of return to leTorSZ'^^'^''' '"^''' ^« P^i" 
 strident ydling of a riSl?*";; '^""'^"''"^ by the 
 and female royster^s ftat ^f^"? ^^ » ''*°d of male 
 comer into Lupi„1S ^^ '"'* ''^"^^ """^ the 
 
 JemmJ'^^frotrTLf "^ ^"^ *'••«'' -^X. 
 an- Sisten,. th' Lawd t^'"" '^'^' Bothering 
 about our 'all. ftZ ve t' ^If ""' *""«« f"' as 
 lorwud an- securin' th' place^^T ""^ "°'^ '" »°'" 
 P'ace afore somebody else 
 
 D 
 
34 THE APOSTLES OF THE SOUTH EAST 
 
 snaps it up. I ain't much of a business man, as ye 
 know, but I knows enough to feel shore 'at a place 
 like that there in the neighbourwood ain't agoin' 
 beggin' long. I've got the fust 'arf-year's r^t 'ere 
 [producing it], an' I ain't even 'ad t' ask for it. An' 
 I'm shore 'at th' Lawd's agoin' to do more 'n ever we 
 er.pect about it We sh'U 'ave t' wuk, of course. Our 
 Farther don't want any lazy children, an' 'e ain't got 
 'em, bless 'is 'oly Name, in this mission. Now wot I 
 arsks is this : You let me, in the name of th' Church, 
 go an' take th' place, and then promise, each one of 
 ye, t' be a shillin' a week to'rds the rent, 'sides wot 
 you've alwus been willin' t' give as y' could afford it 
 As fur wot it'll want doin' to : well, we're none of us 
 afraid of 'ard work, an' I perpose 'at we do wot's 
 wanted with our own 'ands, only spendin' wot's 
 necessary t' buy materials. Brother Jenkins and 
 Brother Soames ain't 'ere, but I feels shore we can 
 count on 'em fur all they can possible do in a matter 
 o' this kind. Wot d' ye say ? ' 
 
 He paused and lool^ed round upon the care-lined 
 faces somewhat anxiously, his whole heart shining 
 in his eyes. In reply, Saul Andrews spoke first 
 He said: 'Brothers an' Sisters, I'm only a child 
 among ye, but I feels very grateful fur wot the Lord 
 'as let ye do for me. I got a big ship t'-day fur a 
 Colonial voy'ge as bo'sun, an' th' wages is 4/. lor. a 
 month. As most of ye know, I ain't got a soul in 
 th' world but myself to pervide for, an' I'll leave my 
 'arf-pay, 2/. s*. a month, fur this voy'ge, anyhow. 
 I'm shore it'll be the 'appiest voy'ge I ever made. 
 Use the 2/. a month fur necessary expenses and 
 
THE. PLEASURES OF SERVICE 
 
 35 
 
 the 5^. fur my conterbution to the rent Gawd bless 
 th' Wren Lane Mission'AU.' 
 
 With such a lead as that, what could the others 
 do, even had they been lukewarm instead of full of 
 love to God and man? Their promises were soon 
 all made, Jemmy was fully authorised to proceed, 
 and with a sense of joy in service that an archbishop 
 might vainly endeavour to attain unto. Jemmy rose 
 again to offer a final word of praise. 
 
 ' Ho, Farther Gord," he sobbed, ' this is almost 
 more'n we c'n bear. We're all a-ninnin' over with 
 gladness of 'cart. Give us wisdom to walk worthy 
 of Your kindness, give us grace t'remember wot 
 You've bei>n, and done, to us. Accept hour praise 
 for all Thy wonderous love an' mercy in th' name of 
 Jesus. Amen.' 
 
 And then he burst into the Doxology of the 
 Brethren : 
 
 Glory, honour, praise, and power 
 Be unto the Lamb for ever. 
 Jesus Christ is our Redeemer ! 
 Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah I 
 Praise ye the Lord. 
 
■i 
 
 CHAPTER VI 
 A SUNDAY MORNING 
 
 Amid the enormous number of critical, cynical, and 
 earnest remarks that have been passed about the 
 British Sunday in general, and the London Sunday 
 in particular, I do not remember having seen one 
 that looked as if made with intimate knowledge of 
 the lives of the people about whom it was written. 
 And this is especially true of the great mass of God- 
 Tearing people in London who, being just below the 
 Class denominated ' respectable,' i.e. well-dressed, find 
 an infinite delight in offering up their lives on that 
 day in personal service to a loving Father. Herein 
 it is my inestimable privilege to offer a few personal 
 details in confirmation of the remarks I am maki- 
 For fifteen years I lived in London one of the rnosL 
 strenuous lives possible with pecuniary results the 
 most trivial. Employed from nine till fivt in a quasi- 
 Govemment oflice at a meagre salary, I tried to eke 
 out, in the hours that should have been devoted to 
 recreation and reading, that salary by working at the 
 trade of a picture-franser, a trade I had taught myself. 
 When business was brisk this often necessitated my 
 being in my workshop at 2 A.M. in order to fulfil the 
 contracts I had made to deliver frames at a certain 
 time. It also meant my working up till sometimes 
 
A SUNDAY MORKING 3, 
 
 u late «. II p.„. So that when Sunday came, with 
 ^pl«: d. restful morning, I always fel^^^ndj^ 
 patefu^ not only for the bodily rest, but for the wav 
 in which I was able to throw off th; meSl worteJ 
 of the week and let the sunshine of the fX^s We 
 .llummate the desert places of my hear? ^' 
 
 But r never felt the slightest desire to spend those 
 p«c.ous hours in bed. Feeling renewed irvrgo^S 
 rtren^, I was up at about seven, helping to pfepale 
 the dmner and doing such odd household joSw 
 would reieve my wife, and at ,0.30 away tTth^ 
 
 1.30. 1 spent the afternoon at home usually unlike 
 many of my brethren, who had their Sunday ^t 
 to attend. After tea. or say at 6 p.m.. I ^\T^^ 
 *e most eager, joyous anticipation to the open^S 
 
 S*a^Vh^ •^'' *•"' *•■* * P«a«thatwas dc^-^nl 
 hke a mighty river, at about 10.30 p.m. The idt- of 
 «lf-sacnfice never occurred to me. Nor did it I am 
 pe«uaded. to any of my colleagues, many of i^S 
 m^elf"' *°'"''" '■" '" humbler 'positions 'han 
 
 good"'ve.l"K "^^"""^ '° "^ that we were veo. 
 good very holy, because we did these things we 
 
 «hamed, because we knew full well that the W 
 soever; ™*" "P**" *"y terms 
 
38 THK APOSTLES OF THE SOUTH EAST 
 
 with the new wine of the Kingdom, heartening us 
 and uplifting us to meet the hardness of the new 
 week None of us felt any desire for a Continental 
 Sunday, neither, as far as I am aware, did the masses 
 of uoopl'e among whom we laboured The vast 
 majority of them did not go to any church or chapel 
 at all ; the constraint galled them, and something, 
 they could not explain what, made them feel that 
 the man who preached from a pulpit to rows of ex- 
 pensively clothed, decorous worshippers, was only 
 ^tradesman who was doing business under false 
 pretences. But for all that, there were none of them. 
 I am sure, who would not have fought with all their 
 might against such an abolition of one days rest m 
 seven as may be seen on the Continent. 
 
 Sunday morning, then, found Jemmy up at 7 a.m. 
 
 helping to prepare his numerous progeny for Sunday 
 
 school. And as the boys, who went to work, 
 
 could not be expected to sacrifice their one day 
 
 a week. Jemmy might have been seen, had anyone 
 
 popped in, busy peeling potatoes, cutting cabbages^ 
 
 boning and rolling flank of beef, so that .t should 
 
 look like ribs, &c. What, some of my readers will 
 
 say. this righteous man cooking on Sunday ! Oh, 
 
 yes. please remember that to the majority of poor 
 
 Londoners Sunday's dinner-table is a sort of fami y 
 
 altar Around it gathers once a week a united family 
 
 who look forward to it with pathetic interest as a 
 
 relief from scrambling meals at cook-shops or in 
 
 darksome comers off fragments they are shamed to 
 
 let their fellows see. It has often been said that the 
 
 cockney starves all the week so that he may gorge 
 
 on a Sunday. I don't admit its truth, but I do know 
 
A SUNDAY MORNING j, 
 
 that the Sunday dinner-table is a potent influence 
 In keeping unrelaxed the family bond, and I am a 
 determined opponent of anyone who would destroy 
 the institution. ' 
 
 But as the hands of the clock approached 10.30 
 Jemmy became noticeably perturbed. At last 
 Mrs. Maskery's voice rang out, ' I see wofs the matter 
 with ye. It's time you was off. Well, get alone 'r 
 else you 11 be late. You'll find a clean shirt and coL 
 an »ndkercher on th' bed. an' ycr close is all ready 
 bnwhed. Billy! did ye clean farther's best boots?' 
 Yes, muwer,' piped up Billy (aged eight), -an' 
 farver gimme a penny.' ' Did he ? ' said the prudent 
 mother, • then let me put it in yer money box an' I'll 
 give ye a beautiful orange, better'n old Walker 'd let 
 ye have for it' 
 
 Off darted Jemmy, and in a very short time 
 reappeared, clad in his well-known canonicals, a full 
 suitof black given to him years ago by a Christian 
 
 Tfy, ""w r^^J"^ '■°' **'" "'■'"P'" exposition 
 of the Word, and h,s sweet happy disposition, 
 tntenng his parlour with a reverent air, he went to 
 the couch, whereon lay a brown paper parcel con- 
 tainmg a carefully got-up table-cloth. This he spread 
 over the table with careful hands, and upon it 
 exactly m the centre, he placed a bottle containing 
 wine, a tumbler, and a loaf on a blue dinner-plate 
 Then around the margin of the table, at regular 
 intervals, he placed copies of the ' Hymns and 
 bpintual Songs with Appendix,' without which no 
 meeting of the 'Brethren' for worship could be 
 considered complete. And this holds good, no 
 matter how many slightly varying congregations 
 
40 THE APOSTLES OF THE SOUTH EAST 
 
 that decidedly fissiparous body becomes divided 
 inta 
 
 The chairs placed in position, all preparations 
 were complete, and Jemmy, a big Bible in hand and 
 collection box at his side, seated himself to await 
 the coming of the Church. The members dropped 
 in one by one until the little apartment was full, and 
 when it appeared that all were present who would 
 be that morning. Jemmy opened the meeting with 
 prayer. And now might be seen the secret of power 
 possessed by those humble, primitive followers of 
 the Humblest of Men. There were no adjuncts to 
 tickle the senses, no exteWial influences acting with 
 subtle force upon the worshippers and mislead- 
 ing them into the belief that their feelings were 
 evidence of their being truly in touch with the 
 invisible things of God. Jemmy's face was trans- 
 figured. Big tears rolled down his cheeks and 
 glistened in his russet beard like diamonds. His 
 voice shook, his body trembled, and when he sat 
 down, no one in the room had '»ny doubt whatever 
 that, as in the days of the Master upon earth, so He 
 was in very deed and truth present with them. Head 
 of this table spread in the wilderness. 
 A song followed the prayer : 
 
 Praise the Saviour, ye who know Him ; 
 Think, oh think, how much wt owe Him ; 
 Gladly let us render to Him 
 All we ue and have. 
 
 Then a reading by Brother Salmon of an appro- 
 priate portion. Then another prayer, another song, 
 and so on, without calling upon individuals, but 
 each one rising and doing his or her part spon- 
 
A SUNDAY MORNING 
 
 41 
 
 taneously until at last there was an expectant hush 
 For several minutes no one stirred, all sa^uS heat 
 
 stu^jstjS' '\*-^^-<=''- ~:rs 
 
 the Inaf o«j i-a- 7. . ' P'**^^ Ws hand upon 
 tte loaf, and hfbng his face with eyes fast closed! 
 
 your''Sle''?J„"',i"v' "«*'" ^'^'^ -»*"-"d 
 I our taoie r remember Your broken Jwi,, v 
 
 n.ui I ou, as uiis loaf is one now an' wb 
 
 sakes, was broken fur us. An- „ ? °"' 
 
 'an,» jf J . '^^ "°*^ we're a-eoin' t' 
 
 »d,t round an' eat of it accordin' f Thy^L 
 
 Tbs do m remembrance of Me ti'll I come? ' 
 
 ^^er Salmon, for f^ rbr^e o'^t", J,f 
 
43 THE APOSTLES OF THE SOUTH EAST 
 
 all ate— did not merely taste one crumb, but ate as 
 if they were actually consuming the sweetest morsel 
 they had ever tasted in their lives. When the plate 
 had completed its round there was another period of 
 solemn silence, during which each member either 
 communed with God in the secret places of his own 
 soul, or sat dumbly with his mind a blank, as many 
 dear earnest ones do who find it impossible to con- 
 centrate their thoughts on their petitions or praises 
 unless they utter them aloud. 
 
 Again Jemmy rose from his knees, and with 
 trembling hands took up the bottle and glass. He 
 poured out about a quarter' of a glassful, and then 
 gently replacing the bottle on the middle of the 
 table, held his hand over the glass and said, ' Lord, 
 knowin' that without sheddin' of blood there is no 
 remission of sins, we remember with thankful 'earts 
 'at Your Precious blood was shed for us. Don't let 
 us ever fergit fur one minute 'at it cost Thee Thy 
 'cart's blood t' redeem us from our sins. We re- 
 member, dear Lord, 'at You was just a 'ard-workin' 
 Man on earth like we are, only we're a great deal 
 better off than ever You was. An' please don't let 
 us fergit 'at although You did pour out Your soul 
 unto death, an' this wine, which is the type of life to 
 us, is also the type of death to You, the death of 
 Your 'uman 'ouse, yet Glory be toThy 'oly Name, the 
 grave could.i't 'old You, You made a show of it, an' 
 like Samson a-carryin' away the Gates of Gazer, You 
 took captivity captive, an' You're alive for evermore. 
 An' more 'an that, dear Saviour, we want alwus to 
 hold in our 'cart of 'carts 'at You're not a long way 
 away from us, but 'at here an' now You're wiv us 
 
A SUNDAY MORNING 
 
 43 
 
 a-sayin' unto us, « Lo, I am wiv you alwus.even unto 
 the end of the world." 
 
 ' The cup of blessin' which we bless, is it not the 
 communion of the blood of Christ? As often as ye 
 drink this cup in obedience to Christ's word an' ker- 
 marnment ye do show forf the Lord's death till He 
 come.' 
 
 Every member present murmuringly repeated 
 the solemn words, 'Till He come,' and the glass cir- 
 culated until all had taken a sip. Then with a 
 perceptible change, a manifest lightening of the 
 solemnity, Skipper Stevens gave out the much-loved 
 hymn, 'Come, ye that love the Lord, and let your 
 joys be known.' It was sung with most earnest 
 enthusiasm, if without much melody, and at its close 
 Brother Salmon rose immediately after all had re- 
 sumed their seats, and opening his well-worn Bible at 
 a place where several leaves had been turned down in 
 readiness, delivered a little sermon. Put him in an 
 open-air meeting, give him five minutes in which to te'l 
 the stoiy of thp Cross, and you would get a glorious 
 result But give him a chance to attempt oratory, to 
 essay exegesis, and presently you would, if you were 
 a stranger to such meetings, wonder which of you 
 were mad, the speaker or the listener. Still, there is 
 no doubt that such speeches do these simple souls little 
 or no harm. Having been bom again, their lives are 
 fruit.ul, not of words but of deeds, and they cannot 
 be injurtd by any floundering interpreter of difficult 
 passages in God's Word. 
 
 A few prayers and hymns followed in quick suc- 
 cession, until each member of the little gathering 
 bad spoken or read, and then came the Benediction 
 
44 THE APOSn.ES OF THE SOUTH EAST 
 
 from Jemmy, the sweet old form of words hallowed 
 by many centuries of use: ■ The grace of our Lord 
 jMUs Christ, and the love of God, and the fellow- 
 ship of the Holy Ghost, be with us all evermore. 
 Amen. The contribution box passed from hand to 
 hand, never without some addition to its store of 
 corns, and when it had made the circuit, Jemmy 
 emptied it on the table, counted it in sight of the 
 members as they were putting on their hats and 
 overcoats, and entered the amount in his little book 
 Meanwhile there was a pleasant clatter of talk • 
 absent members were discussed, the unpleasant 
 incidents of the previous evertitag up and down Lupin 
 btreet, of which a rank crop was always forthcoming 
 every Saturday night, were mournfully touched upon, 
 and the bright prospects of the new hall alluded to. 
 Then out into Lupin Street they drifted, not without 
 much warm hand-shaking, to enjcy their well-earned 
 Sunday dinner, and look forward eagerly to thv^ open- 
 air service of the evening. 
 
CHAPTER VII 
 
 A SUNDAY EVENING 
 
 sidcrcd anTndSetaKt^j?**^ not what they con- 
 Sunday schoS To" ttt S'""'r' ,f '""^^ ^°'^- «» 
 sion workers in Lond„„ ^ Z '^" '^^"' *" »" ««- 
 
 beutter,ygo<;?eir;;aS«^t^t^^^^^^ T^ 
 
 ^xto^sr'"^"-^^^^^-"^^^^^^^^^ 
 
 But if these humble brethren hoj 
 school of their own thJ "?f'*",'"^ "<> Sunday 
 Sunday sch^Js^het^^.h^"''^' '^.'^ '^'^' ''"'' """er 
 
 accept^. 07 h^ couwTndTr "'"* ^'^'^ 
 Mrmaries, hospitals ^^ J t """'* ^'O'khouse 
 bearing wiaSSeir^^"^"'*?""''' ^^^^i^^re 
 the blL of Chris? v^U^^' °'^^«°" *«"«» 
 tion of His proffiertovt^H- '^^**' °' «J'«- 
 tortures never- ndin?ofr7J^/''l? '^^'S^** *» *» 
 immediately Ift^r dfa* wT ' ""'"' ''•^" "^ «« 
 
 ^th their sU/r.oon:x-rt;:?s 
 
46 THE APOSTLES OF THE SOUTH EAST 
 
 not waste them, but strove earnestly to glorify the 
 God in whom they believed. 
 
 It was not, however, until after tea, that fa to say, 
 about 6 P.M., that they rose to the full height of 
 their enjoyment of God's service. Then they mustered 
 in full force at Jemmy's door, bearing with them 
 from Brother Salmon's house the most precious of 
 all their worldly possessions — ^a small portable harmo- 
 nium, carried l^ two sticks passed through rings on 
 its sides, as Levites carried the Ark. It represented 
 to them the self-denial of many weeks before the 8/. 
 which it cost could be collected, and in their eyes it 
 was a perfect instrument, specially made and dedi- 
 cated to the service of soul-winning from the begin- 
 ning of its career by the great Maker of all good 
 things. Its advent never failed to interest the youth 
 of Lupin Street and its vicinity, who, leaving their 
 elvish play, to the great relief of the householders 
 the front of whose premises they honoured with their 
 presence, disported themselves around the little pro- 
 cession and made swift occasional rushes behind to 
 touch the instrument, pleased beyond bearing if they 
 succeeded in so doing. Thus escorted, the band of 
 workers made their stately way towards the ' Waste' 
 whereon they held their evening service, taking no 
 notice of passing remarks by saunterers, but doing 
 nothing by voice or gesture to excite aggression from 
 malevolently disposed passers-by. 
 
 Arriving at their pitch, which, thanks to a local 
 guardian appointed by the authorities for the purpose 
 of keeping order, was reserved to them, they found 
 awaiting them a middle-aged, plainly dressed woman 
 who always attended for the purpose of playing the 
 
A SUNDAY EVENING ^ 
 
 u«^^ent a duty none of the other, were able to 
 perform. She was a member of a ' brethren ' meeting 
 
 s^ed h r.r^' *''•'* "*''^'"8 would have per^ 
 suaded h«a- to take any oart, even the smallest. in\he 
 worship of Jemmy's. Nor have I ever been able to 
 unde«tand how it was that she escaped Snl Id 
 
 a"Z?a. H^ ' '"°^'"''^- ^"""^^ she had S^ 
 u„S ."^T'°u*°P'*y''°'*'''''P°««es.'onthe 
 understandmg that she took no other part whatever 
 The nsason why I say this is because Imyself live 
 U«> warned off three ' gatherings ' where I wa?! 
 member, simply because I would reserve my right to 
 
 mvited at Umes when my own band did not require 
 
 nde more mflexible than that wielded by the elderaof 
 thosetinygatherings. If a member does not s2"ve 
 to jewith the ..al ruler of the meeting.^ ^ tC 
 must leave even when, as sometimes does happen thev 
 take half of the other members with them ' ^ 
 
 The harmonium having been up«ared and a camp- 
 gj srt for the player, a little hand-shaking e^S 
 teh^een the members and a few unattached sym- 
 P^tiusers whose habit it was to come to this piS- 
 
 &"Tr*'^'^'''^^"'"'«y- Thenarin^i 
 «S f ^'."""^ °'^"«' "P '^ ''hort. emS 
 ^Jton for guidance, for wisdom, for success. ThaS 
 «d«l. he looked round and said. 'Brother Saul 
 ^e g,ve out a 'ymn?' Immediately Sau 
 
 Sff^T";:- ' "^^ '" * *"* '«"■*«»>«' voice, with 
 ^^tt^book hjs whole face aglow, recited th'e fim 
 
 " « emphatic announcement of the number. One 
 
48 THE APOSTLES OF THE SOUTH EAST 
 
 chord on the hannonium, and all the memben struck 
 at once Into the song, the meeting waa fairly under 
 wdgfa. As each verse was sung Saul redted the 
 next, so that if by any chance the singing should 
 make the words indistinct, no one present might 
 have any excuse for saying they did not know what 
 they were singing about 
 
 Then Jemmy produced his b'g Bible and read 
 the 5SU1 chapter of Isaiah, It was a great mistake 
 which he always committed, but which nothing 
 would induce him to forego— a mistake because in 
 the first place it undid all that had been done in the 
 way of getting an audience together. At the com- 
 mencement curiosity had led a few passers-by to stand 
 and look on while the harmonium war '. -ing set up, the 
 singing of the first hymn had attracted more, and by 
 the time the singing was finished quite a compact little 
 crowd had gathered. But it is a peculiarity of open- 
 air audiences that you must not read to them. No, not 
 even if you be that very rare bird, a good reader. You 
 commence with a laige crowd of hearers, and when 
 you lower your book from your eyes they have melted 
 away. And Jemmy, as I have before noted, was not 
 a good reader. So that when he had finished, the 
 audience had departed as usual, and in order to 
 collect another it was necessary to sing again. Then 
 Saul, being again invited to give out a hymn, because 
 he would presently be gone from their midst for 
 another long voyage, volunteered to sing alone. He 
 chose that most touching and tender little song from 
 Sankey's collection, ' Jesus, Saviour, pilot me,' and 
 sang it with all his heart in his voice. The lovely 
 words might have been heard from end to end of die 
 
A SUNDAY EVENING ^ 
 
 ~mmon, so clearly were they enunciated. It wa. 
 «.y losee that the singer had no thought of paLZ 
 the beauty of his voice; .11 he desirSwM^ h! 
 WO.XJ. might sink into the souls^T^Z^^^, 
 .tone dropped into water. When he c«SS^"re 
 
 thousand people were standing spellbound listening 
 
 on^brother : speak to 'em now. Vile you've «^ thSr 
 'tenUoniinthenameofGod.' ""gotineir 
 
 inte^SoI: ^*^i"^ ^PP^^ntly token no notice of any 
 fater^ption. followed up his song immediately by 
 
 earllf r^M'"' '"*""' ^^'^ ^""^ ^'^ here on 
 earth, a poor Man among poor men, He went about 
 
 among the people doing good. He dS t^X 
 
 Jbem w,th much talk, but He was always ready to 
 
 JTh^; f ^'^ *" '»""e^' ^though to do this 
 
 K^had to put out all the power that wL in hLIs 
 God. When it came to gettin' food or lodgin' for Him- 
 ^f. He was always dependenton other pLple; yo"ll 
 tbSlfi."T\*'^ His mighty works'^^on^fo 
 
 ., i ™ *'»**'' '''hy I'm here to-night Jesus has 
 «ved me from my sins, has made me happy, though 
 « poor as any one of you. has comforted^meTn ^ 
 knehness. and is always teachin' me some new S 
 b«iut.ful way of happiness ; an' how canTnStquS 
 m .^boardin'-house or go out t' enjoy S^?'S 
 
 «>ousan s of men an' women an' children in this great 
 
50 THE APOSTLES OF THE SOUTH EAST 
 
 London of ours that's utterly cast down, hopeless and 
 despairin' because they don't know anyttiin' about 
 the love of God for them, as shown in the sendin' of 
 Jesus Christ His Son t' live and die for us ? Now, 
 what I want you t' listen to about my Master is this. 
 First of all. He loves you with an everlastin' love. 
 Next, He wants you to know that He does. He's 
 made all your sorrows His own ; there isn't anything 
 that you suffer, whether yca've brought it on youi- 
 selves or not, that He don't feel an' long t' help you 
 bear or get free from. He wants you to come to 
 Him ; He don't want you to go to a church or to a 
 clergyman — that'll come in its right place if neces- 
 sary ; but first of all He wants you to come to Him, 
 and if any or all of you are thinkin' as I did, " Ah, 
 that's all very well, but it don't mean me," I can 
 only tell jrou what the Master says Himself, " Come 
 unto Me, aU ye that labour and are heavy laden, and 
 I will give you rest" You all know very well that 
 I'm not talking about somethin' I ain't f< I'm one 
 of yourselves, a man that's been pretty . i\\ knocked 
 about, not only here in my n^i've towi., but all over 
 the world. I know what it is to b^ out of work an' 
 hungry, to be lonely an' ready to fling myself into 
 the river to get out of my misery. An' I know 
 somethin' about the lot of the poor woman that has 
 to toil early an' late to keep a lazy, drunken husband, 
 an' the \ildreii he's begotten as well. Besides all 
 these, I know what the life of a forlorn an' friendless 
 child itself is. But I don't know anjrlhin' about 
 these things like the Lord Himself does. I can't feci 
 anythin' like the sympathy that He feels for the 
 weary, the sick, an' the sorrowful. An' as to love. 
 
AJ SUNDAY EVENING 
 
 ^ the Ro„,a„ i" seSht "T^ u'"" ''^^' 
 His heart broke when hI '^"^}^ " *>*!> h« spear, 
 
 ones He ca«e to LTcI."!'*? ""' '^^'3' »"ff«rin' 
 fc,m Him, for. my di o„« ?i „ P^.'"™^'' **»y 
 verenceforHisaJi^SS ^ "^'^ *"* »" «>- 
 do He can't »ave"?„' ^„tj;;^;"'„r"«"!««'» 
 only one person stands bet" 1 " '"* "'™- There', 
 one here an' salvaSm ^Zt^^"!^ ^' ^'"derin' 
 111 go further tSn it ,„^''' ^'T'^ "^ h«"elt 
 that there's only one Zy into 7 *"^ *" "^ '»«« 
 utter sepa«Uon frem SS a^ t£^. °"'" I"'"''" °f 
 the crucified Son of God ' ****'«''«• th« body of 
 
 'But some of von L-.. i 
 gettin'savedmeanrw^fl.::'' T' "^''»* ''°« 
 man. wanting wo«is badly to Zl?lC ^'^""^^ 
 far as I've been able to^u^^ u ^y^^^' »>« " 
 Men an- women. WiX n T"' ^'"' '^''*'« <■««• 
 fond of talkin' liut^hS ^^"k'''""*'^' "» ^ 
 ""^n? I can see now ^L "f '^^ ''"* '^''»t do thej 
 ««« thing. and^Ck^l "T* ^^^^ ^ '"*' ^^e 
 0' felier. I meantT^ I " !^' *" °">«'^ Wnd 
 felt inclined to i th^ L^^ "^ *" ''^ '^''•t^ver I 
 
 an' I couldn't see^Z- Lh f" '""'" ""^'^y- 
 "ot only was IwS . ".^ 'T**"'* t^^t I was, that 
 
 ■ny own'^^vii d JreX thlr '^ '"''"* ^'^^-y ^ 
 "•bbin' ^v.rybo^yT^V' "om' so I would be 
 
 •'ftheirlibe^rTheSs J°"'r* '^'^^ °' «"»« 
 ,1^ fit to beTrusted JS SiZ'' "*"' **■"'* "°"« «f 
 '|8''t of God, unders^d J^r*" *'*' ^''t'^out the 
 
 Jfek&ramiUw^Sl L ' "^ ^^^JT ^*°P »"* 
 
51 THB APOSTLES OF THE SOUTH EAST 
 
 rulen an' overcome thetn do as soon as ever the 
 victory's won ? Why, choose another ruler. Because 
 they know that without some strong one to rule over 
 them, no one would ever dare to go to sleep, for fear 
 of what some of his unruled and unruly neighbours 
 would be up ta Now what Jesus means by salvation 
 U, first of all, being set free ' om the terrible slavery 
 of sin. An' He does this in the only possible way, 
 by puttin' His owi. life into you, His own nature, 
 which, instead oi lovin' sin and bein' its groanin', 
 achin', yet willin' slave, hates it, shrinks from it, can't 
 put up with it, can't allow of its presence any more 
 han light and dark can exist together. Next He sets 
 us free from the fear of life, thortal life. I useter 
 think that the fear of death was greatest, but when I 
 see how many men an' women fly to death because 
 they're afraid f live, I come to the conclusion that it 
 isn't dyin', but livin', that's the most terrible. As to 
 dyin', well, when we have been bom agen, death 
 becomes a word without any meanin' as far as we're 
 concerned, because we know that as soon as our little 
 bit of mortal life is done down here, and we're set 
 free from this poor shaky house of ours with all its 
 aches an' pains, ve shall enter upon a new career of 
 glorious usefulness fai the other world. 
 
 ' I put that side of salvation last because it right- 
 fully comes last There's no Christian worth callin' 
 one that comes to Christ for the sake of his or her 
 own safety, just because there's heaven on the other 
 side of the dark river. Christian, I believe, means 
 Christ's man, Christ-like, and if we are that, we want 
 to do the work among our poor brothers and sisters 
 down here, not because we're goin' to get paid for it 
 
A SUNDAY EVENING 
 
 with heaven, but becuM His love b .heH oK j / 
 our hearts, and we can no ™ c . "^"^ '" 
 
 "Other tin we r„SpWfr Him '^'T» ''"« 
 •nd gave Himself for J AnvLS, k'"''" ''^'■"' "» 
 self that they'll come toCl2t1^^u^T^ " '«"• 
 i. in a bad wa •. ?^£ S^ J" ^'»« ^''^X can get 
 
 byrepe„tance',brS^wCan'?h ' '^V^^'^^^ 
 long deaf to the call ot^SZu '^l^' ^'"« »" 
 take up any more le b^ul^,? "",»"'"'' 
 waitin' to tell ve hert«'n ♦•. , *' others a- 
 
 that Jesu. i.hjrdin-?ut to '" 'S"iu1t"'' ^T^^""- 
 ;^n. ye that If ye don't un^ersU^ TZ'i^^ 
 
 you should be^illing o forsakt 1^^-''""*'' " *^' 
 to Him. If you tell'nimTjnCk hLT "T 
 the way clear to ve H.'it - i • ., """ *o make 
 else caa The^rno 1^'' '""^^ '•""«'' ""^bod/ 
 
 ignorant or iZVt?edTat°i,e7ert "h''"" ^ 
 how to come to Jesus wh^ t "*'^„?" * understand 
 
 ^wtocom. iT:nt^}T^p^';'''^^^? 
 
 P«>p ecan do for.you is to point th ^^.'u^ « v °^' 
 He ,s the ^y an' the truth an' th, I-fr f/,. 
 man cometh unto the Father bu. n 
 
 S^cS.I'.^.-.-r- - "» »^ ■ . 
 
 Now while Saul had been speaking there h«H k-^ 
 
 v« «». p^« »^, .^ .» »o:^^„":^ 
 
 'hat 
 : 10 
 Afay 
 t on, 
 
54 THE APOSTLES OF THE SOUTH EAST 
 
 in what was being said, could nowhere have been 
 found. Upon these people the problems of life press 
 with an almost crushing weight, and it is one of the 
 most pathetic as well as one of the most hopeful signs 
 that tiiey are so eager to listen to the Gospel from 
 anyone in whom they feel confidence and who will 
 not talk dreary nonsense to them in a conventionally 
 lugubrious voice. But had it not been for Jemmy's 
 tact many of them would have edged away as soon as 
 Saul's address was over. That experienced tactician, 
 however, had, while Saul was speaking, chosen a 
 sacred song with a rousing chorus, and the moment 
 the speaker ended there was ah outburst of song 
 which held many of those who were minded to depcut 
 and attracted more from the steady stream of passers- 
 by. As soon as the last chorus died away Jemmy 
 sprang to the front, casting his hat recklessly upon 
 the ground at his feet, and cried, ' Glory be to God 
 for His precious promises, an' fur th' big way He 
 fulfils of 'em ! Don't go fur just a minute, w'ile I 
 tells ye somefink as'U interest ye. There's lots of ye 
 'ere as knows me an' my farver, knows what we useter 
 be. Knows, too, wot manner o' men we ben sence 
 Jesus saved our souls, an' 'ow we ain't never ben tired 
 o' comin' out 'ere t' tell ye 'ow great fings th' Lord 
 'as done fer us. An' I'm shore there isn't many of 
 ye wot thinks, after all these years, 'at we've ever 
 made any money out of our labours among ye. Well, 
 the reason w'y I says this is becos we're a-goin' t' 
 'ave a 'all, a place where, w'en it's a-rainin,' or too 
 cole f expect ye f stan' out 'ere an' lissen to us, we 
 k'n invite ye in aui' give y' a seat But we're all like 
 yerselves, pore workin' people, an' unless y' 'elp us, 
 
A SUNDAY EVENING 55 
 
 aioney. An if any of you can't afford even a oennv 
 wy come an' do a bite- graft. We're SnTS 
 so as there sha'n't be any money spem^?S laS' 
 ony matenal, an' we',1 give ye a'e^y J^f^m ^n" 
 
 Sild'^^er'' -- ^" ^-^- ^- t?em ^ca:? 
 
 h,lf^!l^ "?«'''" ha- hardly concluded before a brieht 
 
 half-crown cameflyingover the heads of those nearest 
 ^^e«,rsor of a shower of coins whose jSgle 3 
 
 TJ2t ^^"^ ^ ^*^"°"'' """P^. Women 
 and ch Idren on the outskirts of the crowd besought 
 
 no'sfn : • °^^y ^^ t''*" because they had 
 nohiagtog.ve. And when the hymn ceased ani 
 
 ^a. SifuiTe."""*"'' J"""'"^' "^ f-« ^-^t 
 
 ma joyful tears, announced to the crowd that 
 
 .ndth"«stofT.' '*"'*''°" ^""""^ ^« *''«^'"'=e. 
 and the rest of that meeting was a time to remember 
 
 Whi e one brother or sister was busy sinrin^ «; 
 ^k.ng of the boundless love of tTe Sef Z 
 ^r^ '" *'f """"'"^ "^ «'^ Son, the ofte« i^ 
 
 iSt'^^'^r" '" ''"'""^ "™«t appeal's 
 
 ^aJS^ " ** ^^y- °'°«' knowledge of this 
 wonderful salvation for all. And the S of it^ 
 
S6 THE APOSTLES OF THE SOUTH EAST 
 
 was the utter absence of noise, of factitious excite- 
 ment such as, alas 1 too often disfigures meetings of 
 the kind and b^uilesmen and women into mistaking 
 it for a change of heart And when, after nearly 
 three hours of preaching, prayer, and singing, the 
 almost exhausted little group invited all present to 
 sing ' Praise God, from whom all blessings flow,' there 
 was hardly one of all the great crowd assembled who 
 did not attempt to add his or her voice to the swell 
 of thanksgiving. But, better still, six new adherents 
 signified in unmistakable terms their willingness to 
 become members of the company of God's children, 
 only asking humbly for such help and teaching as 
 the preachers could give them. Their names and 
 addresses were teken. Alas ! there was no room in 
 Jemmy's little front parlour to invite them there for 
 further talk on the all-important subject, but that 
 hindrance only stimulated the resolve of all the dis- 
 ciples to spare no effort in order to get the ' Hall ' 
 ready soon for the reception of worshippers. 
 
 So the little band moved off the fast-darkening 
 common, weary almost to dropping in body, but 
 in soul so happy, so uplifted, that it may well 
 be doubted whether among all London's seething 
 millions there were aay hearts lighter than theirs. 
 When they reached Jemmy's door and shook hands 
 before separating for the n^ht, they were nearly 
 speechless, almost unable to murmur the usual 
 'Good-night, and God bless ye." And long after 
 they had departed little groups of their late hearers 
 still remained eagerly discussing the wonderful things 
 they had seen and heard. 
 
 Besides these things, there were in six poor homes 
 
A SUNDAY EVENING j, 
 
 adjacent that night to be found a man or woman to 
 whom the doon, of the Kingdom had ^n oZe? 
 who for the first time in their lives had rellisSZ: 
 franscendentfactofthe Fatherhood ^GSTh^! 
 mumate witi» them looked upon them cuS^sly ^r 
 ^Jng mightily what st^nge thing had come to Z^ 
 But to such mquiries as we« made-inquirL wC 
 
 returned brief, quiet answers, speaking like Jmi- 
 under tiie influence of a great a,^^ a f -T ^^ * 
 
 might weU do, seeing thatT;Sbutn.;ltt?r:j 
 
 one wh, more mysterious ti,an ordiniy bS and2 
 li^ul ''"""^ '" "*^"«^ "^^ as birthTs to th^ 
 
CHAPTER VIII 
 
 PREPARING THE SANCTUARY 
 
 Long and loudly knocked the policeman at Jemmy's 
 door the next morning before his assault upon die 
 knocker per.etrated the heavy slumbers of that 
 worthy disciple. For it had. l>een close upon mid- 
 night before he sought his bed, having sat long 
 over his frugal supper, telling enthusiastically to his 
 wife the glorious happenings of the day. It was a 
 peculiarity of Mrs. Maskery's that while, as we have 
 seen, occasionally sarcastic at her husband's expense 
 and a severe critic of his obvious shortcomings, she 
 yet took a certain proprietorial delight in his successes 
 in the Gospel field. Doubtless she felt in some dim, 
 indefinable manner she enjoyed a vicarious goodness, 
 that Jemmy's unquestionable merit in a Christian 
 direction partly communicated itself to her as his 
 wife. She listened with much interest on Sunday 
 nights to his fervent, joyful descriptions of the meet- 
 ing, putting in a shrewd remark at intervals, and 
 occasionally uttering some condemnation upon a 
 brother or sister whose proceedings had met with her 
 disapproval. About the new departure she offered 
 no opinion ; she was evidently taking time to con- 
 sider it in all its bearings. And this was rather 
 disconcerting to Jemmy, who was evidently anxious 
 
mPARmO THE SANCTUARY „ 
 
 Bang, bang, crash, crash, went th« u , 
 Jemmy ro led out of heA=.„^.V uf . "* ""locker, 
 throwing the lower sS T T^l*^ '° *' ^'''dow. 
 right. jL' 'ZiTiZ^f calh-ngsleepily, < All' 
 
 - • We,,, that's' a";X Tlc'^r ?rT 
 you was dead Tf. fi,„. . i . ' ' thought 
 
 much timeTo w«tl rvo„' °"''.^' y°" '^"'t got 
 boiler-tubes afor^^x G^'* ^"'i' *' ""'"P *««« 
 went the sp^ker to ^ "T'"*^" ^nd away 
 some other !S;y ^^^^7 ¥h '"""t •"-" 
 activity. Jemm/ was out S the J"' ^^ '''*° 
 minutes, and onlv ,torl- r ''°"'"' '" twenty 
 'or a h^'porth ys<:SSS"^co£e Utl?' *- 
 
 w^ IX;- -r- - tt cimt^ss; 
 
 thc.es. 4etitarar^-rt.ir^^ 
 
 bcfo«hTre^"i^rhTL'" ';"-■- •'-^«'*t 
 
 struck, and h^was K^lSf'T.''''^^^" **'''*^J' had 
 black that a pi^o{^fZ^''^L'^ ^^ '^'^' ^ 
 
 -k on him'; v<:;'ti:ed:"tutrtarSl V'"* 
 because, having done such a <,r^ - "^ J°y- 
 
 felt free to devote the^ J^, T""""^' '""^' ^^ 
 all. was the main busi^ „?? f7 '° what, after 
 the Master. Th" very S„fh. r "^'' ** ^'"•'=« ^^ 
 without waitingforM^Sn^^?f" "^^ '*'•»• ««d 
 of orde«, he ■ dSnS w™l!^*°"°P "P '" ^^''^^V 
 
 ciothes. TJZJ^TlXrs'^uV'' "^^ 
 out doing some small ,L- f' ^^^^''^'y was 
 
 ?«>»Ptiy'to The p.iUr or\'; "^^^ ^/ -y 
 
 in a voice unsteady ^^th .* ''°*'^^*'> «"d, 
 
 unsteady with emotion, professed his 
 
6o THE APOSTLES OF THE SOUTH EAST 
 
 readiness to become the tenant of the premises at 
 an annual rental of lil, payable quarterly, and to do 
 all that might be necessary to make the place fit for 
 his purpose. But at the outset of the nqrotiations 
 Jemmy's faith was put to a somewhat severe test 
 The landlord refused to listen to any less term being 
 entered upon than seven years, and he also required 
 two other persons to associate themselves with Jemmy 
 in the responsibility of finding the rent This latter 
 demand was made, of course, because he knew 
 Jemmy well, and did not for one moment believe in 
 his ability to pay another 15/. yearly. The strain 
 only lasted for a minute, thtn Jemmy's face cleared 
 again, and he agreed to the proposals, feeling sure 
 that he could find easily two brethren who would 
 become his co-trustees. Handsel money was at once 
 paid, and the bargain so far concluded. 
 
 Armed with the key of the place. Jemmy 
 hastened thither at once, as if treading the clouds. 
 We had better accompany him and view the premises. 
 In their entirety they consisted of an oblong brick 
 building with a slated roof, rising from both sides to 
 a ridge in the centre. One end of it abutted upon 
 the back-yard walls of the houses in Wren Lane, the 
 other was bounded by ao open yard fenced in by tall 
 palings and prolonged to a sharp angle. It was 
 approached on either side from Wren Lane by narrow 
 alleys, at the entrances to which rooms had been 
 built across from the adjacent houses, forming low 
 archways and making the place gloomy in the 
 extreme. Of course, it was no part of the Vestry's 
 duty to either clean or repair these alleys, equally of 
 course they did not need lighting out of the parish 
 
PREPARING THE SANCTUARY 6, 
 
 Attds. Inside, the buUding was divided by a brick 
 
 for aevend horses and a donkey. There ,JL at^! 
 door admitting into either sidT of the stebTrh^ T 
 one small door opening into the 'uli^^ ' ^"* °"'^ 
 
 ^ tte'swL^W !!i*u""''P^"^"'= «»•''*"« that 
 
 s^ anrs^;rTb'si'r'""«^ 'pp*'**"^ p™- 
 
 leaving the d^r^deoiL^ Sk"'''"' '■°' * *"'«• 
 able to enterTfonndXj'thrfl'" ^"^""^ ''^ "^ 
 the walls were SlXt S'^-^n'^"'"^ 
 
 powths of hideous apL«nce ^J.h ^^ ""^''' 
 «n ♦!._ „ r\ "f pcarance, and the one window 
 
 (m the roof) was so encrusted with dirt that it w« 
 "° *^y "«««• to distinguish it <« a wS?ow Tn 
 
 C £m?s- bJT "^^u"" ~"'^«^ »"J 
 
 , Jemmys. But he saw beyond the filth fK- 
 
 squalor, and the gloom. The oIa«. 1 '"'th the 
 
 as it woulrf r..^- *i V P *^* appeared to him 
 
6» THE APOSTLES OF THE SOUTH EAST 
 
 man, you got yer work cut aht for ye 'ere, an' no 
 mistake. Fust of all we mus' git this yere muck dug 
 aht from underfoot an' carted away somewheres ; 
 blessed if I know where ever we sh'll shoot it Oh, 
 yus I do, though ; Sammy Corkran, the gardener, '11 
 be glad of it if we'll shoot it w'ere 'e wants it, for it's 
 almost pure cowdung. These yere walls '11 'ave ter 
 be scraped right inter the very bricks, well lime- 
 washed, an' then, if it'll run to it, we mus' have 'em 
 clap-boarded. Cost about thirty bob at six bob a 
 square, I s'pose. Then we'll want a lot o' soda for 
 that there roof ; that'll be th' wust job of all, I reckon, 
 'cause it's reglar 'ung wiv dirt But, bless th' Lord, 
 if our 'earts is in th' work we'll soon alter the look o' 
 th' place. Lord, stir up th' brethring, yus, an' th' 
 sisters too, like Ne'emyer did of old, and don't let 
 there be any 'angin' back wotever. Now, lemme see, 
 I mus' go an' borry some barters, an' shovels, an' 
 scrapers, an' planks, an' buckets, 'an see about a 'orse 
 and cart for th' dung. Got no time t' mooch about 
 'ere any longer.' So saying he sprang outside, locked 
 the door and trotted off at his best gait 
 
 For the next two hours, then, Jemmy was full 
 • of business, borrowing such tools as he knew were 
 necessary, and ordering materials against the grand 
 onslaught to be made that evening. Anri it was not 
 until everything was fairly in train ; he was 
 suddenly aware of a certain vacant feeling, at the pit 
 of his stomach, warning him that his healthy body 
 required a little attention as well as his soul. Having 
 threepence of his own about him, he turned into a 
 coffee shop and ordered a 'pint o' corfee an' three 
 slices ' for his refreshment His order was filled by a 
 
PREPARING THE SANCTUARY 63 
 
 her hands? and shouted «rS!'^^ "P* *"«• 
 Lord !■ so loudfy STtlS; o^SL'Sr ""^ ** 
 
 .ho^.to,id J reedi„rin\t;jur^:,rr :: 
 
 Md peered over to see what the noise wT A^th^ 
 
 8irf felt full of cn-barrassm^^^^' PL^-- 
 certain ivii>f oi._ l ^ ' experienced a 
 
 «pSatiof ?,1°' 1'" ""'^ "P'^*^^^- ^^^i 
 sh™;t!!l u,? J^"""y' '*° customers and the 
 »hor?eeper. while disclaiming stoutly anv id«. «f 
 
64 THE APOSTLES OF THE SOUTH EAST 
 
 evening, and to acquaint them with the progress he 
 had made. By the time he had done so it was 
 six o'clock, and he must needs hurry home to change 
 his clothes and get some tea. During that meal 
 the happy little fellow heard his wife's conversa- 
 tion unheedingly— it might have been a bumble-bee 
 droning in his ear for all he knew of the import of 
 her words. Suddenly, as if awaking from a dream, 
 he said, 'Well, dear, I'm off. Gord bless ye, ole 
 dear, Gord bless ye;' and making a dash at the 
 door he vanished. 
 
 Straight as a homing bee, he made for the cow- 
 shed off Wren Lane, only stopping at an oil-shop to 
 buy a pound of candles. When he arrived he was 
 delighted to find, blocking up the door of the newly 
 taken premises, a collection of shovels, barrows, 
 buckets, and planks. Hardly had he noticed them 
 before several figures, four men and one woman, 
 emerged from the gloom and approached him, saying 
 timidly, ' We're come t' 'elp if there's anything we can 
 do.' 'Do!' shouted Jemmy, ' I should fink ye could 
 do somefink. You just wait till I gets inside an' 
 makes a light, an' then you'll see.' As he spoke he 
 was exceedingly busy unlocking the door, and having 
 gained admission he soon lit up the den with his 
 candles, stuck wherever a projection could be found. 
 Then mustering his forces, he set them to work 
 excavating the filthy flooring and wheeling it out 
 to where a waggon was waiting to receive it. The 
 helpers, both men and women, toiled like beavers, 
 and the work, unsavoury as it was, went on with 
 marvellous celerity, so tlat in less than two hours the 
 overlying mass of dung had been removed and a 
 
PREPAWNG THE SANCTUARY 65 
 
 the wall, as ifX ^oufd "nSeT'*^'' ""P'"^ 
 those who had any S ^T " "'^"''' ""^'^ 
 measuring the floJ? for " „, ?^"*'^ '""* '""V 
 matchboarding '** "''"'" '^'^ *« *»"» for 
 
 apparentir Bv J" !?7 ^*'*' *** *'''" ''"^^ delight 
 bSZught InTc Li^ ' *«'«"dous change had 
 the «moSo;tt!?r"^r.°^'^'=P'^« through 
 
 welLlhe^wa: a io^Srfl^' '* """^ ''" '^»>' -« 
 But just as some oTt^^ ^'"^ '" *«' '=«■"''*'• 
 
 thex^might n^J Xl'^.^ atthLr^ *•- 
 home, a crv 6f H»i;„k* ^^'"'*7*s at liberty to go 
 
 younger me^ml1teXn?f "' °"^ °' *'= 
 the neighbourine fish sh^!u •'""'**'>' ^o"" 
 stewed eels a I^H Sk • '^ ^"^ * *'" P*^' f"" of 
 of sTes of b^' 'l^^f'"^ '"'J ^P-ns.and a basket 
 
 up. and in fit^;„„t ST.^^t ^^^ .^^^^ 
 Saul's bounty A «h„^ 1 ^ • ^ ''"*>' enjoying 
 Jemmy folded Th^ ^«>Phftic thanksgiving from 
 and i r^^y h,^" *; ^'^^ Doxology was sung. 
 
 their several homes °'""*""" '''''P^'^d to 
 
CHAPTER IX 
 
 A BUSY WEEK 
 
 However Jemmy got through the week that followed 
 I cannot tell you. Never in all his life had he been 
 engaged in an operation of such magnitude before, 
 never had he realised how mlHaey melts away like snow 
 under a blazing sun when one is renovating the 
 interior of a long-neglected building, and transforming 
 it into something that it was never intended for. He 
 was up every morning at four, and from then until 
 he sank into his bed at eleven or thereabouts, he 
 seemed to be crowding into each hour ninety minutes 
 of hard labour. For although he did not dare to say 
 so to anyone— pooh-poohed the idea, in fact, when 
 other people only so much as hinted at it— he had high 
 hopes of seeing the sanctuary ready for worship by 
 Saturday evening. And by dint mainly of the self- 
 sacrificing labours of himself and Saul, it came about 
 that on Saturday the bright sunshine of the autumn 
 morning shone down through the limpid panes of the 
 roof window on to a place so transformed that one of 
 its ancient denizens would certainly have refused to 
 enter it, much less have given any milk there. 
 
 The once fetid quagmire of the floor, cleansed 
 even down to the gravel that underlay it, was neatly 
 boarded in with well-fitting planks, the aforetime 
 
A BUSY WEEK ^ 
 
 needed. As the ll^ *"*' " ^ 'Church' 
 
 Sounds rathe, cJp.lS?„t '" ^h"' °' """ "«"• 
 what I mean. That s.vnJrr ■' ^ ,"' ^°" *'*" «» 
 of pitch-pine by . ioc i cTrp 'n^:^,:^"^' ^^^'^ »««•'» 
 offering towards the rew i^ ^ ^^/^"«''* " W» 
 delight of Jemmy's h^u TL"h ' "'*''' "«• 
 forms for seats, four WinrfJ^ u • *'"* **« e'ght 
 « Uny erectio/Si^d 17 ''r '^'^ *« P'«tfo^. 
 'Table 'consistedlf half a do "«'■*'"''' *'»"« «" 
 joined and a couple of tin T" "'«'*'»»rds neat- 
 it could ^ly^p^o^^^:TV' "'P^"- T'' ^ 
 « .t o^lna^^ofpe, mLl'J^mr'" "°* "^-' 
 
 wwCsc.riXrjr-rd'"'^- 
 
 ■>•«. "'as, 11 must be admitteH tu/t. ^l- 
 
 'tem was a serious one after 7^^ k * **"" 
 Jemmy consoled himself with IheLr^"''^'' 
 outlay was well worth tL , /**''"& that the 
 ■"^ht gleam of X sec^LT !,f "" '"' »* *«= 
 
 door, and .pe,ledo*ttriyt^J'?P '''"''' ^^^ 
 Mnonncing to all who chtl t^ J^ "P**" ** 
 
 the ' Wren Une gTi^I m^- f*' '^** *« «^ 
 
 AfriendintheC^iSL^Sr J' M«keo., Supt' 
 
 «« Church a presSt^f tw!^J '" T** """^^ ""^e 
 
 present of two dozen Sankey's Hymn- 
 
 »a 
 
68 THE APOSTLES OF THE SOUTH EAST 
 
 books and a dozen Bibles, and behold, the 'Hall' 
 was an accomplished fact 
 
 Five shillings more than the whole amount which 
 had been collected was spent, but that deficiency was 
 made up by Saul with great goodwill, delighted, as 
 he said, to be able to put his money to so good a use. 
 I must not foi^et to state also that the first quarter's 
 rent, 3I i5f., had been paid in advance by the mutual 
 agreement of the three trustees. Jemmy, Brother 
 Salmon, and Jemmy's father, old Bill Maskery, 
 who now appears on the scene for the first time. 
 And as he and his brother are destined to play an 
 important part in our humble narrative, it may not 
 be amiss to devote a fw lines to describing them 
 upon their introduction to the reader. 
 
 Thirty-five years before the time of which I am 
 writing, there had been i. he purlieus of Walworth 
 an area of so vile a character that it was not sur- 
 passed in its bad eminence by any of the other 
 London Alsatias. Into its precincts a single police- 
 man never ventured ; even two did not dare to visit 
 its intricacies except by day. The inhabitants were 
 principally half-bred gipsies and Irish, with a sprink- 
 ling of low Londoners ripe for anything, from rat- 
 hunting to robbery and murder. I am not going to 
 specify its whereabouts particularly, but those devoted 
 missionaries by whose labours it has been greatly 
 altered for the better will know it full well without 
 my being more explicit. 
 
 Conspicuous among the inhabitants of this 
 terrible neighbourhood were the two brothers, Bill 
 and Jack Maskery. They were both undersized 
 men, Bill especiaHy, and, unless you were skilled in 
 
A BUSY WEEK 
 
 69 
 
 pfaysaognomy rather insignificant-looking. Now 
 w«e I to tell the stoo^ of these fonnidablf broS 
 as I have often heard it told by themselves .Vi S 
 
 ^u|d no doubt be intensely interesting, but Uie 
 ««tel nught prove to be highly inconvenient for me 
 since to this class of man the written word seems o^ 
 
 loS rX"""^'^'"^ "' '"'^'^^"^ -'- ^^^^ 
 
 It must then suffice to say that they were both 
 men much in need of regeneration, boTh f^S 
 own sakes and that of their children, and with ttL 
 mn^ous hint I must perfon:e be content. 
 chf.«n! *^'^.«'°rthies were sweeps-at least, 
 chimney sweepmg was their ostensible means of 
 hvelAood. Both had been climbing-boysT the 
 
 ^i«S"^''^T'"'='"**'"''>'*°*"^^<=h.?dre"wa; 
 penmtted, and both earned a great many pounds in 
 other ways than chimney sweeping 
 
 ta T,;Ji ^ Weaver came to conduct a mission 
 ui Penrose Street, Walworth, and was wonder- 
 ful Messed of God in getting hold of some T te 
 m^ dangerous characters in the neighbourhood 
 Tbs conversion of tigers into lambs, for it las noS 
 J^. caused «,me J,i„g like a panic to seize upon Sf 
 
 to Peckham. It was the theme of nightly discussion 
 m hundreds of low drinking dens, but the d1 JSe" 
 
 wrc gomg over to the enemy and becomine— well it 
 « .mpossible to set down here what Tdr I^y 
 
70 THE APOSTLES OF THE SOUTH EAST 
 
 chagrined fellows called them. At last, after a pro- 
 longed and lurid argument, in which Bill had dis- 
 tributed at least a dozen blue marks of his disagree- 
 ment upon the faces of his cronies, the two brothers 
 suddenly announced their intention of visiting the 
 scene of Richard Weaver's labours and putting a 
 complete stop to his strange doings. Fired by their 
 example, a large number of their acquaintances 
 followed them, and in due course, after refreshing 
 themselves at several public-houses in the Walworth 
 Road on the way, the company reached the hall just 
 as Richard Weaver was pouring out his soul in 
 prayer to the Most High God for the salvation of 
 the sinners that had gathered to hear. 
 
 The tumultuous entry of that ribald crowd created, 
 necessarily, a g^eat disturbance, but the speaker only 
 raised his voice and grew more emphatically fervent 
 in his petition, until, as at a master word, the uproar 
 died away, and the savages, for they were hardly 
 to be designated by any other name, wriggl6d un- 
 easily into seats and remained in stupefied silence. 
 Suddenly the speaker passed from a loud 'Amen' 
 into the announcement of a hymn : 
 
 Come, Thou Fount of eyery blessing, 
 Tune my heart to ang Thy pnue, 
 
 and, without waiting for any fumbling among hymn 
 books or preliminary playing of the tune, broke into 
 the song itself, being instantly joined by a large 
 number of his audience to whom both words and 
 music were quite familiar. Spellbound, the new- 
 comers sat and listened to the unfamiliar strains. 
 Apparently their purpose in coming was quite 
 
A BTT3Y WEEK y, 
 
 forgotten, and when the singing ceawd, and Ae 
 preacher immediately plunged into a red-hot ton^nt 
 of eloquence upon the subject of God's love for man 
 
 STe ^esSnr "^"^ ""^ '^''^'^^ ^'^^^^'^ ''V 
 For nearly an hour, the sweat streaming down his 
 shming face he pleaded, warned, exhoi^ed, until 
 suddenly as he had begun, he ceased his addr;ss aad 
 began to pn»y that his hearers might then and there 
 
 Everlasting Life. He did not finish that prayer 
 
 StYft' " *^ ««^-*"« °f 't - voice aK.se fZZ 
 midst of his audience, a curious hoarse cry of 'God 
 save my soul.' It was Bill Maskery, smitJn to tte 
 
 himself. Leaping to the occasion, the preacher spread 
 outh« arms, calling in tones of melting sweeSi^ 
 Come, my poor brother; come and be cleansed 
 God wants you, Christ died for you, heaven waits for 
 y|«.; come and be happy.' And. lite«lly obeying 
 
 which he had often shown in bursting through a race 
 
 owed by his brother, and. falling upon their knees 
 ^pair confessed their acceptance of the mercy of 
 
 Many more of their intimates followed their ex- 
 
 rwir .ITl*'?'^''' """^ '°"g *° ^ remembered 
 m Walworth, but of all the tn>phies of grace collected 
 
 Their desertion from the devil's army caused soml 
 
 wl^Jjh! ^ r!f ^ '^^ ^in-blighted neighbourhood 
 where they lived, especially when they both showed 
 
■J 2 THE APOSTLES OF THE SOUTH EAST 
 
 the same sturdy regardlessness of all consequences in 
 the New Way as they had always manifested in the 
 old. They were both of them utterly illiterate, unable 
 to read or scrawl so much as their own names ; but 
 what of that? They set about learning. But mean- 
 while they preached ; they gave evidence everywhere 
 of the great change that had come over them. And 
 before many days had gone by Bill had actually 
 rented a small iron building that had been erected as 
 a mission hall near his cottage, but had been given 
 up in despair, and in it commenced nightly services 
 on his own account, defraying all charges out of his 
 own pocket. This he was well able to do, since he 
 was a tremendous worker, besides being a bom money- 
 getter, and as his usual expenditure on drink had 
 been at the rate of nearly 2/. per week, he had nearly 
 the whole of that sum to devote to the purposes of 
 his new life. Jack, on the other hand, although 
 decidedly more intellectual than Bill, had never been 
 able to do more than make a bare living, no matter 
 how he schemed. So, unable to set up a place of his 
 own, and feeling for some reason that Bill ought to be 
 permitted his own sphere of labour. Jack went about 
 preaching independently wherever he was invited, and 
 invitations were soon so plentiful that he had much 
 ado to keep pace with them and to do his daily work 
 also. He developed a wonderful power of exposition. 
 Even before he had got into words of two ' sinnables,' 
 as he always called them, his handling of a Scripture 
 theme was the amazement of many of his hosts, who, 
 wiA all their education, could not come anywhere 
 near the utterly uneducated sweep. 
 
 But we must here leave these two worthies for a 
 
A BUSY WEEK 
 
 73 
 
 Lttle and return to Jemmy. When Saturday came 
 he found, to his almost speechless deUght, that all 
 thmgs bemg now ready the Saturday evening prayer 
 meeting could be held in the new sanctuary. As if 
 fatigue was a meaningless word, he rushed hither and 
 thither issuing invitations, his visage shining with such 
 joy that only to catch sight of it as he trotted past 
 made strangers feel a glow at their hearts. Eight 
 ©dock came, and with it the congregation. The 
 whole 'Church' turned up, as well as sufficient 
 visitors to fill the little place to its utmost seating 
 capacity, which was fifty-two. When all had found 
 seats Jemmy sprang to his place upon the platform 
 and, leaning over the reading desk, while the big tears 
 of perfect happiness streamed down his face, gave out 
 I i!?* **"'=-'*°no»"«d hymn, ' All hail the power of Jesus' 
 
 >^ame.' But it had no sooner been started than the 
 ^"^ accumulated strain deprived him of all power of 
 singing, and he could only cling to the reading-desk 
 and feebly murmur between his sobs, ' Glory I Praise 
 the Lord, praise the Lord ! ' I know how easy it is 
 to look down from a serene philosophic height and 
 analyse poor little Jemmy's ecstasy; so easy to 
 define it as a combination of fanaticism, nervous 
 excitement, and ignorance ; but it came as near per- 
 fect happiness as anything can do in this world. And 
 in spite of scofis, of disbelief in such heart-quaking 
 worship, the tremendous fact remains of the good 
 hves being lived behind it. Now and then we find it 
 spurious, now and then we find scoundrels, male and 
 female, simulating it for profit ; but what does that 
 prove? Only that cunning people consider it to be 
 well worth simulating. We do not make imitations of 
 
74 THE APOSTLES OF THE SOUTH EAST 
 
 the false, but of the true. And I have no doubt what- 
 ever that the superior persons who dislike any such 
 exhibition as Jemmy was making of himself would 
 have been highly offended at the self-sacrificing 
 enthusiasm of the martyrs, at the fellowship with the 
 Lord that has so often led men and women and 
 children to follow Him whithersotvtr He led. 
 
 The opening prayer was uttered by Bill Maskery, 
 who, with his brother Jack, had come in during the 
 singing of the hymn. He had a peculiar voice, that, 
 beginning quietly in the male raster, suddenly 
 jumped an octave as the speaker became mora fer- 
 vent, and remained in that wonderfully penetrating 
 falsetto until he had finished." ' Ho Lord,' he cried, 
 ' oo is like hunto Thee hin Thy 'oly Temple I 'Ow 
 marvellous are Thy works, arid Thy goodness to'rds 
 Thy people. Thou 'ast pemutted Thy children to 
 set hup hanother Tabbinacle hin the Wilderness. 
 Yus, even hout ov the dung 'caps they 'ave bin able 
 to build up a sanchuaty w'ere the light of Thy wus- 
 shup shall be kep' a-bumin'. May the door of it 
 ever be opened fur wusshup but wot Thy child'en 
 shall git a personal 'old of Thee ; may Thy glory 
 alwus be revealed unto 'em in 'ere, so as they sha'n't 
 faint by the way, a-knowing wot you've got in 
 store for them 'at loves Thee. Han' when the bread 
 is broke an' the wine poured aht, may those 'oo eat 
 an' drink know fur a certainty that You Yourself's ben 
 a-breakin' an' a-pourin' for 'em. May they see Thee 
 by the heye an' feel Thee by the 'and of faith so 
 astinckly 'at their faith shall become certing know- 
 ledge. May these yer doors never be hopened for 
 
A BUSY WEEK 
 
 75 
 
 the preacUn' hof the blessed Gorspel of Jesus wivout 
 sobIs bdn' bom again ; in the years to come may 
 thoosan's look back to ttua 'ere cow-shed as was an' 
 say this is none bother than the gate of 'eaven. An', 
 Lord, don't let anybody as works for Thee e'er do it 
 fur money. We knows an' luvs lots o* Your dear 
 child'en as do preach for money, but we don't want 
 'em 'ere. We all on us feels 'at we owes You all the 
 light of our lives. We're Yours fur service, an' if You 
 gives us souls for our 'ire we're mightily overpaid 
 Fill all Thy people 'ere so full of love that it'll keep 
 on a-bubblin' up an' runnin' over all round 'em. An' 
 don't let any of 'em be mean. Keep 'em all a-payin' 
 just a little more'n their share, so's t'elp any pore 
 brother or sister 'at's dahn on their luck. An' don't 
 let's 'ave no tattlin' er miscUef^naking 'ere. Do, 
 dear Farther Gord, keep Thy people sweet, keep "em 
 knit together in the bon's of love, and make this 'ere 
 little 'ouse a centre of sunshine for all Rovcrhive 
 For Christe's dear sake. Amen.' 
 
 His voice had hardly ceased when Saul's splendid 
 baritone rose with • Come, Thou fount of every bless- 
 ing,' and the volume of sound as all joined in was so 
 great that it seemed as if the walls must give way. 
 Then the old tugboat man prayed, and so without a 
 pause tte glorious spontaneous upheaval of praise 
 and pr^er went on until lasa And when the door 
 was opened to let the glad worshippers out, behold I 
 the lane was full of people, who, attracted by the un- 
 familiar sounds in such a place, had come to see what 
 it was all about, and stayed, unable to go away. 
 Then might you have seen Mrs. Salmon and the two 
 
76 THE APOSTLES OF THE SOUTH EAST 
 
 brothers Maskery, and Jemmy, intenKly busy. The 
 outsiders were almost dragged within, an impromptu 
 meeting was held, which lasted until midnight, and 
 four unhappy ones professed to be cut loose from 
 their sins and started on the starry way of Life 
 Eternal. 
 
CHAPTER X 
 
 THE FIRST SUNDAY IN THE NEW HOME 
 
 Hi:.iPPiNESS being an entirely relative expression, 
 meaning something diiTerent to almost every indi- 
 vidual who sighs for it, there may be little use in 
 attempting to explain how entirely happy were the 
 various members of the Wren Lane Mission when 
 they retired to their humble beds on that eventful 
 Saturday night or Sunday morning. Jemmy was 
 probably the happiest of all. First, because his sunny 
 soul seemed always capable of absorbing more delight 
 at any given time than the majority of his fellows ; 
 secondly, because the dream of his whole Christian 
 life had been realised, and he was nt w in charge 
 of an actual ' Hall,' wherein soul-saving and soul- 
 strengthening might be carried on free from the 
 hampering hindrances of a small home ; and thirdly, 
 because he honestly felt that he had been permitted 
 to occupy a prominent place among those shining 
 souls who loved God and panted to do Him service. 
 Perhaps it rather added to than detracted from 
 the intensity of his delight that when he returned to 
 his home at 12.15 on Sunday morning, Mrs. Maskery, 
 overburdened with her long day's struggle, met him 
 with foo! words. His bounding step and bright face 
 made her feel resentful. And we must sympathise 
 
7« THE APOSTLES OF THE SOUTH EAST 
 
 with her. Only those who have managed a small 
 house and a large family on a few precarious shillings 
 a week in a great town know how heavy is the 
 strain upon human endurance, to say nothing of 
 temper. And after a while even a good wonuui, such 
 as Mrs. Mask':^ undoubtedly was, is apt to forget 
 the vast difference between a husband that has been 
 out besotting himself at a bar and a husband who 
 has been spreading the glad tidinga of the Kingdom 
 of God. The one salient fact that the husband has 
 been out of the stuffy, work-full home enjoying him- 
 self amid congenial surroutgtflings overtops all the 
 others, and the resultant complaints, generally unjust 
 and always repented of, are of a severe character. 
 
 And on this particular Sunday morning Mrs. 
 Maskery, in addition to her physical wearine.ss, was 
 fiercely enduring the penalty of overtaxed nerves, 
 neuralgia. So that when Jemmy, all aglow with 
 heavenly enthusiasm, burst into their stuffy little 
 kitchen, ready to pour out his happy soul in glowing 
 words, Mrs. Maskery, looking straightly at him, 
 said: 'I sh'd like t' know w'ere you'vt been to 
 till this 'ere time on a Sunday momin'?' The 
 rest of the interview we must leave because of its 
 private character, but it bore hardly upon the two 
 actors in it 
 
 Old Bill Maskery had borne his cross, too, and 
 found it far heavier than hi? son's. He was eking 
 out a greatly lessened income in his old age by act- 
 ing as resident collector of rents and general care- 
 taker of a local slum, a cul-de-sac bdiind a great 
 flaunting public-house, consisting of about twenty 
 mean little dwellings, not one of which was ever 
 
THE flRST SUNDAY IN THE NEW HOME 79 
 
 wnpty for a day. The inhabitants, male and female, 
 were addicted to orgies, generally on Saturday nighte, 
 of a particularly unpleasant and bloodthirsty nature. 
 Hi^J'f'.'^r "^ »elf.contained as it were, they 
 i!^ !"''"'^' "• *** »*^« exercises without 
 
 i!?S^'l^ *' •*!''' '^ '*'"« " * fighting fringe 
 did not overflow into the main thoroughfare. All the 
 denizens looked to Bill as the arbiter of their dis- 
 putes, the visible maintainer of order; but alas I 
 only too frequently while he was endeavouring to 
 carry out his onerous and thankless duties he got 
 impartially banged and bruised by botii parties to 
 whatever fray was going on. So on tills Sunday 
 morning, when, with his heart as full of spring as his 
 I>oor lower limbs were of sciatica, he came limping 
 mto tiie court, he found it a seetiiing mass of riot, 
 made hideous by the shrieking blasphemies of 
 drunken women, tiie hoarse growHngs of dehumanised 
 men and the wailing of neglected and trodden-upon 
 duldren. His entrance was tiie signal for tiie atten- 
 tion of all to be turned upon him, and it was not 
 unhl he had received several ugly bruises and cuts 
 that the uproar died down, anu the listening police- 
 man m tiie street outside strode away witii a sigh of 
 relief. ° 
 
 Yet upon Bill's soul tiiese external troubles made 
 no impression. True, he had been used to such 
 scenes during the whole of his stormy career, and 
 was. therefore, perhaps less liable to be horrified at 
 them tiian even tiie most unsympatiietic outsider • 
 but apart altogetiier from tiiat fact, he had arrived at 
 ttat point of intimacy witii his Master when the 
 things tiiat are not seen are tiie only realities, and tiie 
 
»«'C»OeOfY UBOUmON tbt chact 
 
 (ANSI ond ISO TEST CHART No. 2) 
 
 
 /APPLIED IM^GE In 
 
 165 J Ent Main StrMt 
 
 Rpch««t»r. Ntm York 14609 USA 
 
 (716) 483 - 0300 - Phorw 
 
 (716) 288- 5989 -FoM 
 
8o THE APOSTLES OF THE SOUTH EAST 
 
 things that are seen and felt physically are mere 
 fleeting phantoms. 
 
 To none of the other brethren or sisters had it been 
 given to suffer in this wise on that Sunday morning. 
 Brother Salmon turned up at the door of the Wren 
 Lane Mission at about lOiS, a bottle of British port 
 sticking bulkily out at the tail of his frock-coat, a 
 newspaper-enwrapped bundle under one arm and 
 a broom and duster in one hand. His face wore 
 an expression of perfect contentment, of supremest 
 satisfaction. It was the face of one who had by the 
 sublime force of God's indwelling power completely 
 laid aside all the worrying hindrances of life that 
 affect the children of men from the gutter to the 
 throne, who moved serenely in an atmosphere of 
 eternity entirely permeated by the peace of God. 
 Unlocking the door, which he fastened wide open, so 
 that some at least of the stable smell mighi. exhale, 
 he carefully laid aside his coat, murmuring as he did 
 so, ' Must have some pegs put up for the brethren's 
 gstfmente.' Then, solemnly as any Levite cleansing 
 the sanctuary on Mount Zion, he plied broom and 
 duster until all traces of last night's occupancy 
 had disappeared. Carefully he arranged the forms 
 along the sides of the ' hall ;' then bringing forward 
 the trestles and placing them in position, he gently 
 laid the ' table' upon them, brought the forms up to 
 its sides, and, stepping back, contemplated the effect 
 with a face that positively shone. The table was 
 exactly similar to the arrangement he always erected 
 for the purpose of his business of paper-hanging in 
 any room that he might be decorating. But no 
 comparison between the two found a place m hts 
 
THE FIRST SUNDAY IN THE NEW HOME 8, 
 
 mind. ReverenUy he undid his newspaper parcel and 
 unfolded a snowy white tablecloth, which he spread 
 over the board. Upon it he placed the loaf he had 
 brought, a fat tumbler from his coat-tail pocket, 
 and the bottle of wine. Hymn-books were arranged 
 around the table's edge, and then, all preparations 
 completed, he resumed his co&t and fell upon his 
 knees to enjoy a restful time of silent communion 
 with his Master before the arrival of his brethren and 
 sisters. 
 
 Presently they began to come in, and at eleven the 
 whole congregation was there, fourteen of them. Jemmy 
 busUed in last, and after greetings had been exchanged 
 the humble worshippers settled down into their places, 
 with a feeling of much content, to commence their 
 first worship hour in a new building. But they were 
 not allowed to feel too complacent and comfortable. 
 During the giving out of the first hymn an uneasy 
 donkey in the adjoining stable lifted up his voice, and 
 for a time rendered the reader inaudible. His un- 
 tuneful vocal effort was almost immediately followed 
 by a tremendous crash, some mischievous urchin, 
 seeking an outlet for his superabundant energy] 
 having huried a huge stone at the door with all his 
 might The noise made all the worshippers jump 
 and feel uneasy, but except for the momentary and 
 mvoluntary movement not the slightest notice was 
 taken of the interruption, and the service proceeded 
 on the old familiar lines. 
 
 But no sooner had the solemn eating and drinking 
 ended than old Bill Maskery arose, with his well-worn 
 Bible open in his hand, and announced that he would 
 read a portion from the Word and say a word thereon 
 
 G 
 
82 THE APOSTLES OF THE SOUTH EAST 
 
 for the brethren and sisters' behoof. He chose the chap- 
 ter setting forth the dedication of Solomon's temple 
 (I Kings viii.), and in spite of his painfully manifest 
 limitations in the matter of reading, his extraordinary 
 floundering and belling over unfamiliar words, suc- 
 ceeded in riveting the attention of his hearers upon 
 the wonderful description of the coming of the Lord 
 God to His glorious habitation in Jerusalem. Then 
 laying down the book and taking off his spectacles, 
 the once truculent old man looked round upon his 
 fellows and said : 
 
 ' Beloved brethren an' sisters, we ain't got a temple 
 like Solomon's was, but we've a-got a better one. 
 Not, mind yer, as I means ter say anythin' agin 
 Solomon, or 'is temple either ; but you know as 'ow 
 we all believes as the day is jme w'en it don't 
 matter a row er pins w'ere we wusshups God, so long 
 as we does wusshup 'Im. I believe 'at we all feels 'at 
 if it wam't fur the cold an' th' wet we wouldn't want 
 no better templet' wusshup 'Im in than 'Is own great 
 temple out o' doors, the bootiful sky over'ead and th' 
 lovely green grass underfoot, an' th' sweet incense of 
 fresh growin"crbshof th' field a-blessin' our nosterels. 
 But seein' as 'Ee's placed us 'ere, thet cam't be— any- 
 ways, not in th' winter time ; neither, seein' 'ow 'Is 
 enemies feels tords us, can we remember th' Lord's 
 death till 'E comes, in public. There ain't no 
 shadder of doubt in our minds, though— is they ?— 
 that th' Lord 'Isself 'ave made 'Is temple in our 'earts, 
 our poor misbul little shrivelled-up 'earts, an' that 
 there temple 's as much more glorious than Solomon's 
 as a man's better'n a piece of hallybarster, er hany 
 bother precious stone. 'Nother thing, bless 'Is 'Oly 
 
THE FIRST SUNDAY IN THE NEW HOME 83 
 
 Name, 'Ee knows 'at we shouWn' be able to wusshup 
 Im in a bootiful buildin' at all ; we ain't ben used to 
 .t We sha be a-lookin' roun' at the fineo' an' 
 reckomn up ow many pore 'ungry people the cost on 
 It all ud feed, an wen we got over that we sh'd begin 
 to f^i stuck up corse we'd got such a grand place, 
 thmkm more o' wot we could see that was temporal 
 Osan wot we coodn't see that was eternal. Blesfthe 
 dear Lord, brethring an' sisters, 'at we've got a water- 
 tight roof ovei our 'eads, a snug place w'ere we can 
 all come apart an' rest a while 'thout a-disturbin' of 
 our pore little 'omes an' p'raps a-makin' unpleasant- 
 ness. We are thankful, ain't we?' (Loud chorus of 
 Amen 's and ' Bless the Lord 's.) 
 
 K i.f ?u"T ^ **"*^ *•"■ **" y« *^ot's in my mind 
 
 7^}J^ *'** P'*"*- ^ ^'P°^ "'"> "ke hall the rest 
 
 o th folks, more I gets more I wants ; 'n' it's bore in 
 
 on me at this place ain't a-goin' t' be near big 'nuf 
 
 !S w . ^^" *f .*''«=' "«t P»*« «^n- -Corse 
 ^yf Were a goin' f get the people in 'ere werry 
 noomrus,-an' lots on 'em '11 want baptisin', an' we'll 
 
 want our own pool, an', an' Oh, glory, Hi don't 
 
 see no end ner limit t' wot th' Lord's a-goin' t' do fur 
 us an' wiv us s'long-s we're faithful. That's it. Thet's 
 the word Hi ben a-wrastlin' fur. "Be ye faithful 
 unter death 'n' I will give ye a crahn o' life." Yus 
 ttat means as we've got ter be faUhful t' 'Im fust' 
 Uien t hour brethring an' sisters, then t' hourselves' ' 
 1 ve a-seen so many bright 'opes fade just 'cause men 
 an women wasn't faithful. They got 'fraid lest some- 
 bcdy else would be a-comin' th' double over 'em in 
 some way or other, 'r else they got some maggit 
 m their eads concerning justification er saactif5cation. 
 
84 THE APOSTLES OF THE SOUTH EAST 
 
 er somethin' with a long 'ard name 'at they didn't 
 know th' meanin' of, an' they went an' bu&ted up the 
 'ole meetin' 'cause they couldn't git other people ter 
 see same as they thought they did. Now, brethring 
 an' sisters, don't you get thinkin' 'at I'm a-losin' 'ope 
 'cause m talking like this. I ain't. I'm a-gettin' 
 old nah, an' fur many, many yeers th' goodness an' 
 mercy of God 'as foUered me all my ways. But I've 
 a-leamed 'at God's childun ain't never left to 'emselves 
 to do wot's wrong. They gits pulled up sharp w'en- 
 ever they makes mischief, an' if they ain't, w'y ter me 
 that proves as they ain*t God's childun at all An' so 
 I says ter you, dear ones, be keerful. Don't lissen t' 
 houtsiders, don't believe hany hevil hof a brother 'less 
 you can't 'elp yoreself, an' then go ter the brother fust 
 an' see wot 'ee's got ter say afore you makes a rah. 
 Don't be mean. God's genrus, an' God's childun 
 orter take arter their Farther. If yore mean, you 
 know very well wot'U 'appen ; two or free of us '11 
 'ave 'eaps o' truboel a-scrapin' the rent o' th' place 
 tergewer. You ain't got no minister t' pay, y' ain't 
 got no pew rents ter pay, y' gits yer Gospel mighty 
 cheap. Jist see t' it 'at y' don't try t' git it fur 
 nothink, 'cos y' know 'as well 's I do 'at wot don't 
 corst y" nothin' y' don't value much, unless it's the 
 salvation wot y' cam't buy. Don't think I'm too 'ard, 
 please don't, fur I love yer with all my pore 'art, I do 
 hindeed. An' p'raps all I've tried ter s'y might be 
 better said in th' words o' John, " Little childun, love 
 one another, fur God is love." ' 
 
 The old man sat down, tears flooded his scarred 
 and rugged red face, and even had there been any 
 resentment at his outspokenness, it must have been 
 
THEnKSTSUN..vXKTHB.HWHOMKs, 
 
 They all k„e. hfsTtoZtw"*,,^ !"'^ "^''"«- 
 his words were the outcome of 7' '^' '^'* ""« *«» 
 'edge ; and doubtless Ee we- ^'^f '''"^' ^"-^- 
 made that by thehelp o/gSS'^^""' "'«"^« 
 would never give God cause to"".*'"*' '''^"'^'"ff 
 them in their present Ssh.£,"'^'"'j"""&P'»«d. 
 mmutes „o„e of them^S"' "S" ^% '°'"'' ^'^ 
 diffidently to his feet said^.p P*" ^'*"'' "■*'"» 
 
 old brother's said we ™„sT?eckeS""' '" ""''*'«' 
 but wisdom. Anvhou, T. ^*''**"'"e as not only truth 
 
 'Vc got f leave ye'Sie'elcT"' *' *'^ " *' ''-^■ 
 a long voyage, but I've d?te™!^J^T "i^^' "^""^'fo^ 
 «y a word fur Him evet Tav no ^ ^'' ""'^P ^ 
 costes me. An' I'm a-eS t-7' r *"*"•"■ "''''t it 
 the little mission here aL \ ^"^^ '^' *" °^y°». an' 
 -know I've left it S; the^"' ^ half-pay, you k^oi 
 P'rap^Ioughttoivfor^' benefit of the mission, oT 
 ■•'-■iIdom'ehe%To'a°-„^"f.;causeIkC 
 come back terfind the W«„ ut J- •" ""'"■*' ^ '"'all 
 I'ke a green bay tree^ nl^ J*"''°" «-«°"rishin' 
 waters. An' if I don^ '^"1"', ''^ « ''"ver of livin' 
 claimed me for a part oJt^e ??'• """ ""^ ''«-'n* 
 workers-well, it's all ril. k. °" " '^''es of its 
 
 SO where I ca^ do ever fo'm 'S' /'' ''°^'' '^ ' ""-" 
 can do here.' """='* better than ever I 
 
 wusship by singin' 
 
86 THE APOSTLES OF THE SOUTH EAST 
 
 « All hail th' power hof Jesus' Name.'" Swiftly all 
 present sprang to their feet, and under Saul's leader- 
 ship sang the grand old hymn with tremendous vigour, 
 if with little attention to time or tune. Then old Bill 
 pronounced the benediction as solemnly, and doubt- 
 less as effectively, as if he had been the Archbishop 
 of Canterbury, and the first Sunday meeting in the 
 Wren Lane Mission Hall was over. The collection 
 from sixteen people amounted to twelve and sixpence, 
 half-a-crown of which came from Saul and two 
 shillings from Bill. 
 
 But the members ' could not so readily disperse. 
 They must needs discuss the establishment of a 
 Sunday school in the afternoon and a Band of Hope 
 for some week evening. There were no original 
 thinkers among them, and so, although perfectly 
 independent, they were compelled to proceed on 
 orthodox lines. And if any suggestion had been 
 made to Bill of innovation in any direction whatever, 
 he would certainly have discountenanced it vigor- 
 ously, having had some dire experiences in th?t line 
 during his Christian career. So it came co be nearly 
 one o'clock before they separated for their several 
 homes, that little band of worshippers, whose ideas 
 were as simple, whose motives were aa pure, as those 
 of the first disciples of our Lord. Not very respect- 
 able, not very knowing, but intensely in earnest to 
 know God and keep His commandments in Biblical 
 fashion. Moreover, all v :;re looking forward with 
 eager desire to the evening, when, in the strength of 
 this close communion of theirs, they should go out to 
 carry the war into the enemy's country, unaided by 
 man, ill equipped in every human detail, bat with at) 
 
THE „MT SO»MV m THE mw HOME ., 
 
 Most High God. '^"^ *^* '«""«' of the 
 
 -cc^mpaS^^rrLl^rnt ^^^ ^"""">'* ««" 
 
 odour of nMst.n^wL.S' ""^ '^'»'^ '>>' »« 
 Saul saad. wouId'alt^tX^^S m'"^ "''^' " 
 The passage was full of fount lS?i^ *^ ''PP**^'*'- 
 stages of growth h,,f =n ^?^,^ Maskerys in various 
 
 the darksome but JSesstvdernt^^^'"''"^"'*'""' 
 family spent most o^SS^Hl'^Mrf M " r'"*'" *" 
 her heated face from the To^L7!'h ^^"""^ ""'^^ 
 ing, and said : ^ '"* '^'^ '^'" diligenUy carv- 
 
 worZ°?hira;"ai:;?vnr"' J ^■'"' ^^ --^ 
 
 don't git none put aw^ t" rtmi^oh^T r'"'^^'^'' 
 "Otice yer; sit rieht do^l. ■0''.Saul, I didn't 
 
 •ome. No; the" SaSv «^' "" ""'' ^^^'^ «* 
 there was an fnit fih""; Se? 'r'^' ^"'^ 
 quite still in vrb^t.^%%^''l;^'^'^y'^''^ning 
 occupy at the moment Td M *^?' ,*='>«noed to 
 standing with one TnH^ .i*'"- ^^''*»y h^self 
 
 stuck in^theToinTa„d^L^h*^'"5.*' "^"^ ^rk 
 ' Thank (V^ f fte other shading her ey«, 
 
 ^-ugt^jL^^hS'tr'L^d "^J! ^ ^"^ "'■"-• 
 
 Sally, a mite of six^ and i.^'^i'- ^T""' ""mured 
 gan to circulate ^^i^erh^"-'*' *^ ^"'''^ '^■ 
 portion of beef. potato^V^i ^.f^"^ '*" ''"« P'o- 
 gnivy, whirthrSS^SM'^°^*^«)'^"n«a„d 
 
 younger could^n'puTatftitr J- "^ "^ *^* «^« 
 manipulate their portions with spoons. 
 
88 THE APOSTLES OF THE SOUT "^ 
 
 The plates were odd ones, the knives and . .ks we' r 
 of all shapes, sizes, and dates ; there was no cruet or 
 glasses, only mugs to drink water out of; but in spite 
 of all these drawbacks it was a good mea!, heartily 
 enjoyed, and served with as much care and neatness 
 as was possible under the circumstances. If only 
 some of our woU-fed clubmen could appreciate any of 
 their costly meals half as much as the Maskety family 
 and their guest did that day, I am sure they would 
 never Ix grudge a doubling of the fairly high prices 
 cLarged them. But enjoyment is not to be bought 
 
 A temporary diversion of a skirmishing kind 
 took place while the pudding, a I uge ball of dough 
 studded sparsely with raisins, succeeded the meat 
 and vegetables, for nearly all hands were pressed 
 into the service of clearing away, washing up such 
 phtes as were required for the second course, and 
 settling down into their places again. Bu' ->resently 
 that pleasant lassitude that succeeds a goud meal 
 supervened, while Jemmy mentally calculated how 
 much longer time remained to him before it would 
 be necessary to set out for the ' Hall,' to make ready 
 for the embryo Sunday school. Then up spake 
 Mrs. Maskery: 'You two men better git inter th' 
 f ont parlour w'tle we clear the things orf th' table ; 
 yore only in th' way 'ere, 's men gen'Uy are 'bout a 
 'owse.' But if her words were rough, her manner 
 was genial, bringing quick response from Jemmy, 
 whose sunny nature was always on the alert to re- 
 spond to a loving word or look from anyone. 
 
 So he and Saul removed themselves into the best 
 room, and there, to the unmusical accompaniment 
 of dish-clattering and incessant shrill orders to the 
 
THE i^IRST SUNDAY IN THE NEW HOME 89 
 juvenile wsfatants from Mrs. Maskery. they sat in 
 
 Jemmy suddenly sprang energetieallj to his Z 
 hej^ng the chimin? of the half-hou^ aSd n five 
 mnmes they were both making .apid way toward 
 
CHAPTER XI 
 
 THE FIRST SUNDAY IN THE NEW HALL- 
 AFTERNOON AND EVENING 
 
 Commencing the last chapter with the full intention 
 of living up to its title, and comprising within its 
 limits all the doings of this memprable first Sunday, 
 I soon found that, unless I made up my mind to 
 prolong it to a most inordinate length, my idea was 
 impracticable. For reminiscences of the period about 
 which I am writing are revived so rapidly by one 
 another that embarrassment of riches soon sets in, 
 and the difficulty of select'->n becomes even greater. 
 
 Howevrr, I am fntitetul to know that hitherto no 
 one has hirited at the possibility of my using padding ; 
 the complaint has always been that I have com- 
 pressed too much, and so I hope it will continue to 
 be. Therefore, let us at once repair to the ' Hall ' 
 with those two earnest apostles, Saul and Jemmy, 
 whose minds were full of the possibilities of extended 
 service opened up, of fresh opportunities of well-doing. 
 But they were hardly prepared to find their most 
 sanguine expectations overtopped. To begin a Sun- 
 day school v'ith about a dozen youngsters, and 
 gradually by careful working to increase the number 
 until tue < Hall ' should be full, had been their idea. 
 And lo 1 when they arrived, there were over thirty 
 
THE FIRST SUNDAY IN THE NEW HALL 9, 
 
 childrcj, clustered jiround the door waiting, not too 
 patiently, for it to be opened, although it wanted full 
 
 S^h2T', °^ ^^t "PP ''""^ time-three o'clock. 
 Delighted almost beyond bearing. Jemmy bunt in 
 among them, unlocked the door, and in five minute- 
 by the children's xwlling aid, he had got the t^Mo 
 cleared away, the forms set in order, hymn-bo, 
 given out. and the portable harmonium placed in a 
 promineiv position. Punctually to the moment 
 arrived the player, that willing worker whose pecu- 
 liar loyalty to her own people did not permit her to 
 u>crs*i/> with the Wren Lane folk, while leaving her 
 free to assist them in r ays like the present 
 
 Being the first o ision of the meeting of the 
 school, the accommodation was very incomplete- 
 but this, so far from causing the children any annoy' 
 an-e. only heightened their enjoyn it of the gip.y. 
 bke character of the proceedings. \ chapter from 
 Jemmy, a short prayer from Brother Salmon, and a 
 couple of hymns, with rousing choruses, made a 
 spinted opening to the proceedings, and then, step- 
 ping forward to the verge of the little platform 
 Jemmy said: 'Deer childun. I don' know 'ow To 
 tell ye ow gl«l I am ter see so many of yer a-comin' 
 ere this fust Sunday we've had the " 'All " It's like 
 the deer Farther 'Imself a-tellin' me 'at th' place wos 
 badly wanted. An', please Gord. we'll 'ave some 
 more forms by next Sunday. None of yer sham't 
 avet set on the flore (though I b'lieve ye likes it 
 better n a good seat). Nc, we'll 'ave heverythink 
 ngged up all right for ye be nex' Sunday. An' nah 
 our dear Brother Saul 'ere '11 tork f yer. Ee's agoin' 
 away acrost the great oshun, an' weny likely 'e wn't 
 
9a THE APOSTLES OF THE SOUTH EAST 
 
 be able to meet wiv any feller Chrischuns for r/usshup 
 until Gord brings 'im back agen safely t' bus. 'N so 
 I wornt ye t' lissen t' 'im wiv all yore 'earts, an' re- 
 member wot 'e sez t' ye. Bruwer Saul, will ye speak 
 nah?' 
 
 Saul in reply made one step from his lowly seat 
 on the floor to the platform, lifting with him the 
 fair-haired little son (four years old) of Jemmy 
 Maskery. For the child had gone to sleep, and Saul 
 would not relinquish him to his father. Thus he 
 stood before his expectant audience, his face shining 
 with love and sympathy for the youthful pilgrims 
 confronting him. When he spoke it was in a falter- 
 ing voice, for his feelings almost overcame his ability 
 to put them into words such as children use. At 
 last he b^an. 'Dear little boys an' gr'-, as your 
 Superintendent has said, I'm a-goin' at. ./ from ye 
 fur a very long time, perhaps for always. An' I 
 don't feel as if I could go 'thout sayin' a few words 
 t' ye fust For the chance of speakin' I thank your 
 Superintendent with all my heart. An' now, what 
 shall 1 say ? Shall I tell you to be good children, to 
 read your Bibles, and to come to Sunday school 
 reglar? Anyone can tell you to be an' do that, an' 
 you 11 feel that the)r're only a-tel!in' ye something y' 
 know all about as well as they do, ~n' that, try as 
 hard as ye may, ye can't do what they tell ye. 
 More'n that, y" don' believe, if ye think at all about 
 the matter, that they can do themselves what they 
 asks you t' do. But I want t' say this t' ye, that the 
 Lord Jesus Christ, the lover of little people like you, 
 wants, oh, so much, to make you able to do right, to 
 make you able not to do wrong. Only He can do 
 
THE FIRST SUNDAY IN THE NEW HALL 93 
 
 this for you. All kinds of people have tried to do 
 nght without Him, but they can't because we're all 
 bom with our hearts full of wishes to do wrong and 
 hate for what is right. And as soon as ever we're 
 old enough to do what we want, we begin to do 
 wrong if we're allowed to, and we never do anything 
 right unless we're made to. But if we only do rights 
 because we're made to, we're not a bit better than 
 those poor children who do wrong because nobody 
 makes em do right. Doing wrong, whether we're 
 beat for it or not, makes us unhappy ; but we can't 
 help ourselves, and we go on getting unhappier 
 because we do wrong more and more, until we feel 
 as if there was no hope that we should ever be any- 
 thing but bad. 
 
 • All over the ^yorid people have tried for thousands 
 of years all kinds of things to please the gods they 
 thought ruled over 'em, but usually only because they 
 were 'fraid of being punished for their wrong-doing 
 not because they wanted to be put right and made 
 better. And even now, when we think we're so wise 
 we often see men who have made lots of money by 
 all kinds of wickedness, when they come near their 
 time to die, they'll spend nearly all they've got on 
 building churches or something like that because 
 they re afraid they'll be punished after death But 
 they forget that God knows so well what they've been 
 doing all their lives, and that they never did a bit of 
 good with their money until they found that all the 
 pleasure of life was gone. And so we may be sure 
 that all the good they try to do with that wickedly 
 got money when it is of no more use to them will 
 not be of any benefit to themselves. Why, it's 
 
94 THE APOSTLES OF THE SOUTH EAST 
 
 just like the robbers in some countries I know of, who 
 always take some of the money they have stolen from 
 poor travellers and give some of it to their priests, so 
 that they may say some prayers for them to God, not 
 only to get them off proper punishment for doing 
 wrong, but what is much more silly, to imagine that 
 they may soon be able to steal plenty more. 
 
 ' Now, dear little people, God's way is so simple 
 that you will all be able to understand it ; more. He 
 has made it so plain that you can all, if you will, 
 walk in it and be Ij^py. First He sent His Son to 
 bear the punishment for the sins of everybody, then 
 He offers to all who believe in His Son Jesus the 
 power to do right and not to do wrong. He does 
 this by putting His Spirit into our hearts, the Spirit 
 that hates wickedness and loves good, so that we 
 poor helpless people shall find it easy to do right and 
 hard to do wrong. This makes us happy, it makes 
 us useful, and it makes dear gentle Jesus happy 
 too. Oh, children, never forget that God loves you ; 
 that He wants to see you good and happy ; that He 
 is able to do all for you that you want ; that He's a 
 Friend that's always near, so near that if you only 
 believe in His love you will never be lonely or forsaken 
 any more. 
 
 ' What I am telling you I am telling myself ; for 
 I, like you, forget so quickly, and presently, when I'm 
 out on the sea, and perhaps there may not be another 
 man on board my big ship that loves God, if I don't 
 remember His love and His promises, I shall feel very 
 lonely. But I sha'n't forget this afternoon and all your 
 dear little faces listening to what I've been able to 
 tell you about the dear Master. I shall think of you 
 
95 
 
 THE FIRST SUNDAY IN THE NEW HALL 
 
 And I hope thatVrwm rp:ajtt Z l""^^" 
 live a faithful hfe, doing what rlJ V ^ """y 
 and that if it may beTfhln L "*" ""*= '° '^°' 
 
 back and see you V'l! *'«^Pt™'«ed to come 
 
 lowing in theCsLs^f' *"'' ^."^ ''°" ^"■" '■°'- 
 
 Maiter Jesus ChStrLt/""'' ''"^^ ^"*="^ «'«1 
 Amen.' *" ^ W«s«youalI, for His sake. 
 
 floof irSdl "'* "^'^ ^'^^P'"S •'-den to the 
 
 Iustilysung,ofcourser„HH, ''"'?/='"'''«"•' It was 
 
 theiirt]eon';sisrsi?r„r^ts''' ^ 
 
 a pood HmI «f k "^^^ '"to the sunshme With 
 
 ap?e^a„t^„tl';Sett;'t;''^,*^'^P^»^ ^« ^^ 
 But thosewhohav«tSth,r^'.it'''""*"''^°f Saul 
 
 fully .mpressionsTthlt ea.^^^^^^^^ knowho. wonder- 
 
96 THE APOSTLES OF THE SOUTH EAST 
 
 good thing to have. It is so pleasant to see youngsters 
 polishing off slice after slice of the plain, profitable 
 food, that I make no apology for alluding to that im- 
 promptu tea-party. True the tea was not of the 
 strongest, Mrs. Maskery doled out milk and sugar 
 somewhat sparingly, but there was plenty of the 
 rather mawkish decoction to assuage thirst, and what 
 more did anyone there want? Nothing. By the time 
 the meal was over, so fast had the minutes flown by 
 tliat it was necessary for Jemmy and Saul to prepare 
 for the open-air meeting on the Waste. 
 
 Now, during the week the news of the establish- 
 ment of the Wren Lane Mission Hall had been widely 
 discussed in the immediate neighbourhood. A large 
 number of those who lived and worked around Lupin 
 Street and belonged to no place of worship whatever 
 had long felt a sort of proprietary interest in the 
 meetings of Jemmy's little crowd on the Waste, and 
 indeed it is not at all unlikely that they had some 
 dim and indefinite idea that the neighbourhood was 
 in some mysterious way bettered by the labours of 
 Jemmy and his helpers in its midst And now that 
 a definite forward movement had been made, and 
 that, too, upon such happily unorthodox lines as the 
 conversion of the cowshed, the interest was greatly 
 heightened, and in the queerest out-of-the-way comers 
 the work of the Wren Lane Mission was discussed 
 with much eagerness. Then, too, the weather of this 
 particular Sunday was perfect Even the mean houses 
 took on a tender glow from the declining rays of 
 the afternoon sun. The sky was of a sweet grey blue, 
 undefiled by thecloudsof smoke so heavily ascending 
 on, weekdays. And the glorious old river close at 
 
THE FIRST SUNDAY IN THE|NEW| HALL 97 
 
 hand lay basking, gilded and tinted by the slanting 
 rays, while every ugly corner, as well as eveiy curious 
 shape of vessel lying quieUy moored, was touched 
 and transfigured. 
 
 . IT ^.^T^i!*' ** '^ ^* *''°'* ^"'^ gathered at the 
 Hall, finding to their amazement and gratification 
 quite a crowd of interested folk waiting to accompany 
 them to the field. Less than ten minutes sufficed for - 
 the preliminaries, the brief, almost ejaculatoiy prayer 
 sent up for the souls of the hearers, for wisdom and 
 power to the speakers, and for a good upheaval all 
 round. Then the warriors sallied forth with bright 
 faces, all except Jimson the stevedore. Prob^ly 
 h« hver was out of order, or something of that kind, 
 for had anyone listened closely by his side they 
 would have heard mutterings and grumblings some- 
 thmg after this style : • Ho, yers, 'tsall very well, but 
 some on us s gitting stuck up, Hi think. Hi haint 
 been harsked t' speak, ner pray, ner do anyfing, in 
 fee Hi know the time when it was Bruwer Joe 
 here, aii' Bruwer Joe there, an' Hi was alwus busy 
 abaht somefing er anuwer. An' nah Joe Jimson's 
 only wanted when th' collection's a goin' on. Sham't 
 Stan' much more on it. Hi know.' Poor fellow h 
 was yielding to one of the commonest forms of temp- 
 tation used by the common enemy, in not merely 
 these gatherings, but large and influential churches. 
 Itis a disease of all the more dangerous character 
 becau^ it is a virtue becoming a vice. The surest 
 s«n of a hvmg diurch that is justifying its existence 
 is that Its members are all eager for service, all un- 
 wlhng to sit Idly by and let officials do all the work 
 of the chureh in a perfunctory, official way. And 
 
 H 
 
98 THE APOSTLES OF THE SOUTH EAST 
 
 yet how often it is seen that energetic brothers and 
 sisters are extremely prone to take a fit of the sulks 
 if any portion of the work they have been doing 
 (perhaps but poorly, owing to personal limitations) 
 is del^ated to another, very likely a newcomer. 
 Then they need special grace to overcome the temp- 
 tation to make things desperately unpleasant for 
 their friends and themselves. Jimson had been 
 somewhat shelved of late because of the fiery zeal 
 and energy of Saul, and his masterful mind (he was a 
 foreman stevedore) was hard put to it to bear what 
 he considered to be unjust neglect So he glowered 
 and fumed, making himself unhappy after our foolish 
 manner. Instead of putting the best construction 
 upon the actions of others whereby we appear to be 
 slighted or aggrieved, we hug our grievances, real or 
 fancied, to our hearts until we have reared them to an 
 abnormal g^rowth, and a matter that was really not 
 worth more than a passing thought becomes an 
 offence not to be pardoned. 
 
 Fortunately for the work this evening poor Jim- 
 son's mood passed unnot-'ced. The band arrived at 
 their pitch, a ring was formed, and a hymn given out, 
 ' Work, for the night is coming.' Before it was 
 started the audience numbered several hundreds, 
 all working men and women, indefinitely eager for 
 something, they knew not what Their care-lined 
 faces looked with pathetic earnestness at the speaker, 
 when, the ! ymn over. Jemmy came forward to tell 
 for the five-hundredth time the stories of his father's 
 conversion and his own. So mp.ny of them had 
 beard it before, but it never seemed to pall, and their 
 unuttered sympathy was so manifest that Jemmy 
 
THE nilST SOSDAV ra THE mw HAIL „ 
 
 and family, came forwani, as if drawn bvL™ 
 
 binkng upon his knees he said softly 'GoH £ 
 merciful to me a sinner.' The« w « i d^ . 
 
 t^nl . , • *" y°" " ''ne '!«», as I 'ave the 
 
 fe ^^^''''^'y ''ceding, the man n^e to hiTfee^ and 
 
 ttt^rrg^'':Sh-;^h"^r^°-^^^ 
 
 BiH^Harrop? bee^f Si^^--' '- ^ f^^ - 
 
 An bverybody thought I didn't care. Well ,r„t" 
 cause I couldn't I'd a liked to, and I did L t^^h 
 yuss, I did, 'underds o' times. Bu^ at iZ? ^^ 
 
 Kn ralf "° T ^"'' ^ ^■''^ '- -elflo'-eSon^^ 
 t ell as all on ye know. An' nah it's eotter tW ^ 
 
 «».«„«, I J„„ fifcve to tt., S ™ „T 
 
lee THE APOSTLES OF THE SOUTH BAST 
 
 old Bin Maskery was, but I do b'lieve I ain't too bad 
 to be saved. I blieve Gord 'as saved me.' 
 
 A long, loud cry, of 'Glory to God' arose from 
 the little gathering, and Mrs. Salmon, her worn 
 features all aglow with heavenly light, stole softly to 
 the side of the penitent and led him to the rear of 
 the meeting. For she, with a wisdom that is often 
 sadly lacking to earnest revivalists, dreaded intensely 
 the noisy outburst of religious excitement, a ftate of 
 mind contagious in the extreme among large masses 
 of people, and often as utterly destitute of the Spirit 
 of God as is a cratherifig of howling dervishes. 
 
 Saul the iook up his place es speaker at the beck 
 of Jemmy, who, with the keen perception bom of 
 long practice in these matters, saw perfectly how Saul's 
 utter unconventionality, deep Christian sympathy of 
 look and tune, and abundantly manifested love of 
 his fellow-n.en would appeal to an audience already 
 prepared for such a message by the solemn proof of 
 the Gospel's power which they had just witnessed. 
 
 ' Dear friends,' began the sailor, ' Jesus Christ is 
 longin' to bless ye. Just as a mother^s heart yearns 
 over her baby, only infinitely more tender, infinitely 
 stronger than that poor human effort, so does the 
 loving heart of God's Son yearn over ye now. He, 
 seein' into all hearts here, knows what we can only 
 dimly feel — that His Spirit is workin' mightily with 
 ye to bring ye to Him. Ignorance, shyness, fear, 
 shame — these are some of the things that's holdin' ye 
 back. But if ye have one thing, the desire to come 
 to Him, He can and will remove all these paltry 
 hindrances. If ye are ignorant. He is all-wise ; if ye 
 
 be cruel cross, before 
 
 ishy, 
 
 up 
 
THE FIRST SUNDAY IN THE NEW HALL ,o. 
 the tyM of a mocking world, for your sokes • if «. 
 «^afr.id of ridicule, of penecution'^ffZ^kehS 
 m^ and co.,que«d the most awful shapes^" fSJ 
 
 the^fht wjl tii, allTour"Ll"dow'„"S ^^^ 
 ^t^'^MvT ~v "^ '»«''^-t against Hi, 3^! 
 
 f^ after Se C* ?^ 'J^'^'" °"* "'""'^ "andsTd 
 
 fteHc^lt •"•■'J"^«^/°"Pany of heaven 4S 
 
 ?h"is Love J ,rreeSrL '^ ?"^""^ ^'^-- 
 Jesus as hT .„ffJl^ v *** "" S'"™"" <"*« from 
 wfr "" " V'^^d because your sin was laid uoon 
 Him, and who can sav whaf fi,<,f ~ T^ , *^" 
 Ali'fhi. . '^i say wnat that meant to Jesus? 
 
 " note^r;uX"ir f^^ ^^'^^'^ -•> 
 
 J. ^- , "npenect man can feel, to Durchav «. 
 
 AnH ♦K-T "^' '"*'*"*'''^" *at you should occudv 
 «e taKmg. He 11 provide all things— cleansing we^ 
 
 ""yiail Tli,t„,febfcpiM„„„fu„t^„j 
 
10* THE APOSTLES OF THE SOUTH EAST 
 
 of blessing Jesus his for you. h isn't only th«t there 
 is a well to which you may go whenever you like, 
 and draw as much as you like, out within your very 
 souls a fresh spring shall spout up, an inexhaustible 
 supply, not only for you, but all around. 
 
 ' You stond ready for this blessin', but you are in 
 much danger of losin' it For the tempter is whis- 
 perin', " Don't be rash, take your time, reflect" to 
 some ; while to others he imparts a certain stolid 
 attitude of dull wonder, against which the simple 
 mesjage of " Come to Jesus " beats vainly.' 
 
 Suddenly the speaker's voice ceased, his btmzcd 
 face took on a deeper flush, big tears burst irom his 
 eyes and rolled rapidly down his cheeks, as, with dumb 
 appeal, he spread out his arms to the people. He 
 saw how inadequate his words were to express what 
 was so apparent to his mental vision, he felt some- 
 thing of the Master's burden of the woes of others, he 
 heard reverberating through the air the cries of the 
 overloaded and hopeless victims of the world's harsh 
 ways. And these things overcame him, took from 
 him aU power of speech, but left him what, under 
 the circumstances, was far more effectual— the mag- 
 netic attraction of deepest sympathy with his hearers 
 plainly to be seen and felt by them alL 
 
 The results were amazing. Men and women in 
 dozens, their last defences of insular reserve broken 
 down, pressed forward claiming the gift of God. The 
 patch of shabby, hard-trampled common became a 
 sanctuary, r;here rows of returning prodigals were 
 embraced by the long-suffering Father, and the whole 
 atmosphere was surcharged with happiness. 
 
 A praise meeting was immediately h-Jd, in which 
 
THE nRST SUNDAY IN THE NEW HALL 103 
 
 many joiued who had never jpnisec' dod before, and 
 afterwards, breaking up into little groups, men and 
 women exchas J confidences and experiences with 
 a freedom and overflowing sympathy entirely new and 
 strange, while bursts of song aroite ftom hearts whose 
 music could not be restrained. Into those grey lives 
 the rainbow hues of the breaking of God's day had 
 penetrated, and like song-birds at sunrise they must 
 needs lift up their voices and welcome the light 
 
 Gladly would Jemmy have welcomed the con- 
 course into the 'Hall,' but it was impossible— there 
 was not room for the half of them. But, singing as 
 they went, the happy crowd accompanied the instru- 
 ments of their release to the door of the little place, 
 and there, with many handshakings and ' God bless 
 you' s, they parted for the night, each to go his or her 
 own way and meditate upon the wonderful work 
 wrought by the love of God 
 
CHAPTER XII 
 
 SAUL'S DBPARTURB 
 
 There was a touching little gathering in Jemmy's 
 parlour the next evening. All day long the hearts 
 of those concerned in the work of the little mission 
 had been like a choif of tiny angels, in spite of the 
 numberless fretting annoyances of their daii, life 
 Even Joe Jimson, the captious stevedore, found him- 
 self less disposed to feel aggrieved at th lall active 
 part he had taken in the recent open- work, and 
 occasionally moved to lift up his voice n strident 
 song, an inclination which he i anfuUy te^.essed for 
 fear of the eflTect which it might have upon his ir- 
 revere; t gang of cargo-handlers. Captain Stevens 
 of the tug started oft hat morning at 4 A.M. on a 
 seeking cruise down the river, with a face that fairly 
 glowed with delight, while from his bearded lips there 
 issued a strange series of sounds not unlike the buzz- 
 ing of a hive of itwarming bees under the hot sunshine 
 of a July noon. 
 
 But when the litMe parlour was full of all those 
 who could come to bid Saul Andrews farewell, there 
 was a notable fall in ;he spiritual barometer. They 
 all, not excluding Jimson, loved him well, and felt the 
 parting with him sorely. He was, they felt, one of 
 their own prizes, won fron out of the gape of the 
 
SAUL'S DEPARTURE ,05 
 
 dragon by thdr own humble InitrumentaHty. And 
 •fncehli conversion he had walked so humbly and 
 comjUtently with hi. God. hi. help and teaching had 
 
 good, that all felt en his departure a sen- of bereave- 
 ment that was very hard to bear. Jemmy, of course, 
 was hardest hit, for he and Saul had jrraoDlf^lel^h 
 ^ to thdr heart, with hoolc. S^rtS'a « 
 bond none the lew enduring becauK Saul was fully 
 •live to Jemmy*, many weaknesses 
 
 The pair Mt side by side, hand in hand at 
 Jemmy s ubie. while Saul haltingly uttered a f-w 
 
 fade when at daybreak the great portaU of the East 
 India Dock would open and let out the huge AstntM 
 ^ru '=?°!™"f«»«'t of her long voyage round the 
 world. Solemnly he exhorted his brethren to fight 
 •gainst the devil of envy, the dc i of jealousy, fhe 
 temptations to spiritual pride. Touchingly he be- 
 »ught them to abide in love one toward another, and 
 then inviting them all to kneel with him, he lifted up 
 Ws heart in tendcrest. simplest supplication that the 
 Loid would mightily bless each and all of them in 
 «U their ways. And then one by one they passed 
 out mto the gloom of Lupin Street, each leavinVS 
 
 m^^ '*"^'' ''*"d" """""^ ""J« token of regard 
 -^book, a pair of socks or mittens, a muffler, and 
 
 M«. Maskeiy. The latter, moved to tears, took hi. 
 few quietly uttered words in submissive silcnct 
 Jemmy s got his faults, like all of us,' he said- 
 
io6 THE APOSTLES OF THE SOUTH EAST 
 
 'but you know better'n any of us how close he 
 has got to the mind of our Father. Don't forget 
 that, specially when he tries your temper. God 
 bless you both, and make you very helpful to each 
 other, bearing each other's burdens and looking for- 
 ward to the glory a-foUerin'. I know I ain't very 
 clear in my expressions, but I believe you know 
 what I mean. Now I must go. I won't ask ye to 
 think of me, 'cause I'm sure y' always do, but I do 
 ask you t' pray for me, 'cause I've got a long heavy 
 job ahead, an' it cheers me to know 'at there's dear 
 ones at home liftin' up their 'earts t' God for me. 
 No' — as Jemmy made to get his coat and hat — ' no, 
 you musn't come with me. What's th' use of making 
 th' partin' any harder than it need be ? I'll say, God 
 be with you all evermore. Amen ! here.' And wring- 
 ing their hands, Saul stepped out into the night 
 
 I should like, if mental analysis were my forte, to 
 give a word-picture of Saul's feelings as he threaded 
 the squalid maze of streets that lay between him and 
 Rotherhithe station on the East London line : how 
 the foul language flowing so glibly between the 
 members of the various groups of boys and girls he 
 passed affected him; what his mental attitude was 
 towards the future — the long, long voyage, with all 
 its human loneliness, that lay before him ; how— for 
 he was naturally both sympathetic and imaginative 
 —he glanced up at the rabbit-hutches of houses he 
 passed and wondered what tragedies of life, death, 
 and resurrection were being enacted within ; — but to 
 what good end? Such subtle disquisition, even in 
 the most skilful hands, is of very little value, since 
 humanity, whether in its mental or physical aspects, 
 
SAUL'S DEPARTURE 
 
 107 
 
 is individually diversified, and the experience of one 
 is never the duplicate of the experience of another ; 
 neither can it be taken as a guide without danger. 
 Perhaps the best way in which to describe what was 
 in the mind of Saul would be to say that all these 
 external things were to him as the chips and straws 
 which float and whirl upon the surface of the swiftly 
 rushing river. The voyager sees them, apprehends 
 them more clearly than he does the deep resistless 
 force of the current beneaJi, but although they en- 
 gage his attention, they do not affect his purpose or 
 his destination. 
 
 Slinking forms, both male and female, waylaid 
 Saul without hindering him. Their muttered re- 
 marks passed his ears without entering, and one hour 
 after leaving his friends at Lupin Street he climbed 
 on board the Asteroid and entered the berth he was 
 to share for the voyage with the carpenter and sail- 
 maker. A feeling of disgust, immediately suppressed, 
 swept over him as he opened the door and struck a 
 match, for the atmosphere within was foul with the 
 horrible smells of drunkenness, his two berth-mates 
 being ' stretched, fully clothed, in their respective 
 bunks, stertorously exhaling the fumes of their last 
 debauch. And as he looked at them he remembered 
 how he, too, had so recently been as they were, tied 
 and bound by an awful chain which he had no power 
 to break, but which at the touch of the Loving One 
 had fallen from him as did Peter's bonds in the prison 
 of old. 
 
 Very deftly and quickly he arranged his sleeping- 
 place, and prepared his working rig for the morning ; 
 then lighting his own little candle-lamp that he had 
 
io8 THE APOSTLES OF THE SOUTH EAST 
 
 rigged up that day, he turned in, and with a sigh of 
 contentment as the sweetness of the rest to his body 
 stole over him, he opened his well-worn Bible at the 
 best loved chapter, i Peter i. Its clear-cut state- 
 ments of fact, its glimpses into the all-wise, all-loving 
 purposes of the Father, were to his soul like the tender 
 nursing motions of a mother to her babe, and a great 
 peace flooded his whole being. It is in this wise 
 that Goc often reveals Himself to the unlearned but 
 simply trusting children of His love. With every 
 mental hindrance, as well as physical disability, 
 arrayed against them, they are yet endowed with a 
 faculty of enjoyment in His presence ; thf hear the 
 accents of His voice far, far more clearly uian those 
 who have every external facility granted unto them. 
 It is the extension into the spiritual world of the 
 great law of compensation. 
 
 His eyes grew tired, and sleep came stealing 
 gently over him, so he laid his book upon the shelf 
 over his head, and in a few simple sentences claimed 
 once more his Father's blessing and protection for 
 the dear ones he was leaving, confidently asked for 
 grace and courage to fulfil his appointed tasks, and 
 offered up his glad tribute of praise. Then with the 
 murmured ' Thank God, thank God,' exhaling from 
 his bearded lips like sweet perfume, he sank into 
 child-like sleep, an utterly happy man. 
 
 Before the pale and cheerless dawn broke with an 
 accompaniment of furious squalls of bitter rain, Saul 
 started up from his pleasant, dreamless sleep at the 
 voice of the watchman, whose duty it was to rouse 
 the officers at the appointed time for getting under 
 weigh. With a cheery ' All right,' he sprang out of 
 
SAUL'S DEPARTURE 
 
 109 
 
 his bunk, ht his pipe, and dressed with marvellous 
 celerity, smoking vigorously the while. His move- 
 ments, no less than the bright cheerfulness of his face 
 made him a strong contrast to his two most wretched 
 berth-mates. For not only were their recent excesses 
 clamouring for renewal, but the sudden awakening 
 out of that deep slumber into which they had fallen 
 overnight with their brains all awhiri, had set all their 
 nerves jumping so that their fingers could hardly 
 fasten up their clothing. Their eyes were dim and- 
 gummy, their faces drawn and twitching, while every 
 few seconds their leathery tongues roamed fruitlessly 
 round their dried-up mouths, vainly seeking a little 
 moisture. With their energetic and cheery ship- 
 mate they exchanged not a word after the sullen 
 •Gmomin" with which they had replied to his first 
 salutation, and he, wisely, did not press conversation 
 upon them, seeing that it was almost necessary <br 
 them to keep their mouths tight shut lest groans 
 should escape and shame thrm. Suddenly Saul 
 laid down his pipe, completed lU rig by putting on 
 his soi,Vester, and stepped out into the tempestuous 
 morning. Making h ; way aft, he found Mr. Carroll 
 the mate, in his berth, taking a cup of hor coffee while 
 waiting for his bo'sun's arrival. 
 
 It is always rather an anxious time for such a 
 responsible officer as the mate of a ship, and especi- 
 ally a big sailing ship, the period of finding out what 
 kind of men his subordinates are. Especially is this 
 the case with the bo'sun. Upon this petty officer, 
 whose work is almost exactly comparable with that 
 of a foreman upon a building, depends very much of 
 the mate's comfort The second mate may be a 
 
no THE APOSTLES OF THE SOUTH EAST 
 
 duffer, but his deficiencies will be dealt with by the 
 master, who, in case of the second mate's utter useless- 
 ness, must keep that officer's watch. But the bo'sun, 
 who by the unwritten laws of sea etiquette takes his 
 orders from the mate alone, is the man, after the 
 master, who makes or mars the mate's happiness. If 
 he knows his work thoroughly, is a man of energy 
 and resource, gifted with the indefinable quality 
 which alone enables a man to command his fellows 
 without bullying or constant friction, he is a pearl of 
 price, and few indeed aie the mates who do not 
 recognise this to the full. Therefor" when Mr. 
 Carroll looked up from his table aixi saw Saul 
 standing in the doorway, his quick glance took in at 
 a flash the alert, upright figure, the bright, pleasant 
 face and keen eye, and he breathed more freely. 
 
 • Mornin', bo'sun,' said he. ' You're very punctual.' 
 
 • Good mornin', sir,' replied Saul. ' Hopes you'll 
 alwus fine me so, sir. Any special orders, sir ? ' 
 
 'No, not yet, bo'sun,' thoughtfully returned the 
 mate. 'Anyhow, not till we see what the crowd's 
 like. Most of 'em drunk, I s'pose, as usual. Turn 
 'em to as soon as you can, an' let's see how they 
 shape. An' keep the decks as clear as you can. If 
 there is one thing more than another that riles me, it 
 is seein' the decks all littered up goin' out o' dock. 
 It's bad any time, but then I think it's worst of all. 
 So do what you can, bo'sun, to keep things clear. 
 Rainin' pretty hard, ain't it ? ' 
 
 ' Yes, sir,' answered Saul dubiously ; ' looks 'sif 
 there's a lot o' dirt about But it's gettin' lighter, 
 that's one comfort. Well, sir, if you've no more 
 orders at present, I'll be gettin' 'em started." 
 
SAUL'S DEPARTURE „, 
 
 'Yes, do, bo'sun; an' I'll be along in about five 
 minutes. Oh, have a drink 'fore you start ? ' 
 
 * No, thank you, sir. I don't touch it,' said Saul 
 earnestly. 'I've a-had all I want I find I can't 
 take a little and done with it, and so I take none, an' 
 keep on the safe side. No offence, I hope, sir.' 
 
 'Not likely,' cheerily answered the mate. 'It's 
 mighty good news to me, I give you mj, word But 
 I guess you'll have a pretty tough time with Chips 
 and Sails. They've been in the ship three voyages, 
 and while they're as good men at their trade as ever 
 I want to go fishin' with, they are about the worst 
 kmd of soakers I ever came across. They just can't 
 take a nip an' done with it Well, start the boys 
 now, bo'sun, please.' 
 
 'Aye, aye, sir,' responded Sau!, and disappeared 
 Striding forward, he put his head in at the port 
 focsle door, and in his deepest tones of command 
 shouted, ' Turn to, there.' He then went to the star- 
 board door and repeated his order, noting as he did 
 so that four or five men were sitting under the dim 
 light shed by the miserable lamp drinking their 
 coffee, while the rest of the crew were either lying on 
 the deck in various limp and uncomfortable attitudes 
 or invisible in tbe gloom of tlieir bunks. But after 
 the immemorial custom obtaining in British mer- 
 chant ships he retreated to give them a few minutes' 
 P^ce m which to pull themselves together. In an 
 American or a Canadian vessel there would have 
 been no such latitude. Upon the word, those 
 ordered must jump or be jumped upon-assailed 
 with boot, fist, belaying pin, or handspike. And 
 knowing -his, men shipping on board these vessels 
 
iia THE APOSn^S OF THE SOUTH EAST 
 
 are disinclined to tempt fortune by dilatory behaviour. 
 Now while Saul was awaiting the pleasure of the 
 crew — for it amounted to that, and no less— his mind 
 was exceedingly busy. Tho old enemy was assail- 
 ing him with insidious suggestions of the difficulty 
 awaiting him should the men over whom he was placed 
 be, as is so often the case, sullen, unruly, and lazy. 
 Would he dare to use force, and, if not, how would 
 he get himself obeyed ? In either case, how would 
 his reputation as a Christian stand ? It was a stiff 
 problem, and for a motnent — but only a moment — it 
 stj^gered him. Then his heart went up in unuttered 
 request for assistance, for wisdom to do the right 
 thing at the right time, and while he was yet asking 
 the assurance came. 
 
 Ample time having been allowed the men to get 
 out, he stepped forward briskly, with a stentorian 
 shout of • Now then, all hands, out with you an' get 
 ship unmoored. Out with you ! ' Two or three 
 slouching forms lolled over the step of the fo'c'sle 
 door rather than stepped out, muttering hardly 
 articulate blasphemy on this rude disturber of their 
 peace who was actually daring to do his duty in 
 ordering them to do theirs. Immediately Saul 
 strode towards them, saying, sternly, ' Get to your 
 work at once. Inside, say what you like ; on deck, 
 you're under my command, and while I'm able lo 
 stand up I'll see you keep a civil tongue an' do what 
 you've signed for. See ? ' These words, uttered in 
 a firm, clear, and manly voice, brought all the rest of 
 the crowd on deck except those who were helplessly 
 drunk, and as they came Saul's orders flew like hail. 
 There were no pauses for consultation on the part of 
 
SAUL'S DEPARTURE ,,3 
 
 the puzzled crew, or for the formulating of hasty plans 
 
 \S^^T'. ^'^^ ^'^°'^ wentfteadilyfcS^' 
 without a hitch, and p^sently. in the midst o7S 
 driving ,«„, the bowling wind, and the shouting of 
 orders men found t:.ne to murmur to oneanoAer. 
 Say. thishyer bo'sun of ours do know 'is work, don't 
 CC r 
 
 He certainly did know his work, and. true to his 
 recent framing, did it with all his might, neither 
 sparing himself nor those under his order! And so 
 It came about that with far less trouble or confusion, 
 and far less expense to the owners for outside help 
 th«, usual. th^AsUroidv^as conveyed riverwards untij 
 at the outer lock gates, the big river tug Cestrian, with 
 Skipper Stevens m command, backed up and took 
 
 Ski »T''" I'^!!^- r'=*'f""y' '^' t"™«d, and then, 
 Ike a horse that has been fretted by constant wind- 
 ngs through the tortuous ways of a town, and has at 
 last emerged into the free, straight way of the 
 country road, the Astermd sped seaward under the 
 friendly stress of the powerful auxiliary ahead 
 
 Jhen as the stress of duty slackened somewhat, 
 Sauls tact needed all its exercise to keep the peace. 
 For. as always, there were some willing fellows 
 among the crew who. once -they were started, found 
 It not merely easy but pleasant to do what they were 
 told to the best of their ability ; and there were other 
 some who. no matter what the duties in hand might 
 be. would shirk them if they could, who would always 
 Step aside to let some one else do what should have 
 be«i done by them. And these fellows now. at the 
 nrst sign of the slackening strain, dodged into the 
 10 csle. leaving the willing ones to do whatever was 
 
it4 THE APOSTLES OF THE SOUTH EAST 
 
 to be done, while they, the lean kJne of the ship, 
 lurked in darksome comers, hugging themselves that 
 they were escaping some of the work at any rate. 
 
 It is hard to sit in judgment upon one's fellow- 
 men, especially when one has so often felt the com- 
 pulsion of the flesh oneself; but if ever there was 
 an excuse for so doing, I think it must be afforded to 
 those who have, by the force of circumstances, been 
 compelled to get out of unwilling men that which 
 they ought to give, or to put upon the shoulders of 
 their willing work-fellows a load far beyond that 
 which they ought to bear. I know of no conditions 
 where this problem presents itself as it does in the 
 merchant service ; for on board ship it will ever be 
 found that the good, earnest sailor will do far more 
 than he ought, while the loafing, blaspheming wastrel 
 goes easy. Quite naturally, because no officer likes 
 to be constantly wrestling with calculated rascality, 
 and will always, no matter how he feels, sooner or 
 later take the line of least resistance for his own 
 personal comfort The average man needs a certain 
 amount of compulsion, sometimes moral, mostly 
 physical; he needs to have some punishment ob- 
 viously before him, or he will not do that which he 
 should. On board British merchant ships— it is 
 grievous to have to say it— blackguardism is at a 
 premium, and if a man will only give his mind to 
 being truculent and disorderly, he "1 be sure, with 
 tlie rarest exceptions, of having an c»sy time, while 
 his shipmates, who have decent desires and a fellow 
 feeling for those whom accident has placed in authority 
 over them, will lead a very hard life. 
 
 On shore these difficulties present themselves, no 
 
SAUL'S DEPARTURE „j 
 
 doubt but in nothing like the same degree, because 
 
 TnH . I^"** u ' 7"° '^°*'' •*" *«'k ashore in wSlSr 
 and trustworthy fashion, loving it forits own salTe Su 
 surely find himself valued, psdd better riven onC 
 tun Ues of raising himself. 5v„d ^"SlfnreS;- 
 ^v n^^^^ T'' '^° "°» *>" '^'" work pr^ 
 ffi; a^ ^.-^^P' ^°'^""'''' ^"^ * "»" *i" find 
 Se t iC''"*''*''! *?P'°''*^ *° •''^ "W" detriment ; 
 he will have every inducement held out to him to 
 
 ^S'ti hi tr* ''"''• ""• '"*'=''g"-d'y. and if he 
 cnoose to be the reverse, he will not only find him- 
 
 £fo?slf °n^' f-t'.y the officers, buJhislifeTn 
 
 swakinf^hT >^'""' 1^' ""'^ wretched, humanly 
 speaking, that it is possible to conceive 
 
 of .™II ^'^!'"=^ «"»* Perfectly well known to Saul, 
 of course, and ever since his conversion he had been 
 promising himself that when, if ever, he attained To J 
 mT. °f "'""""*^- ^'^ «'°"''^' by God's help, usJ 
 
 f^\fr°''V'' P''""'^"* '^'^ * ^tate of £ings 
 from existing under him. This he resolved, being 
 
 ng that he would be guided aright as well as helped 
 
 Ir favoTSJ"'''''°"" *° '"' ■'■"'''■'^^ '^•■^hout fear 
 B.h^W i,-^**" ""^ *"'' "*" «"der his orders. 
 Behold him then, face to face with the facts ; and ?f 
 
 ho^r".' ^°' y°" ^''*' ^'''^ "I'^ltered Ives on 
 *ore to undersund something of his difficulties, you 
 
 anv2 ^?'\^"" y°" admiration and sympathy 
 
 ?efu J^T *\" ^'^ '■"""'^^ "* ^^"^ W,«n Lane Mission 
 
 ffis iT *^' '°"'' '"PP°" °^ "^'^'^ regular prayers. 
 His keen eyes soon detected the absence of 
 
n6 THE APOSTLES OF THE SOUTH EAST 
 
 certain members of Ws staff whom he had mentally 
 noted before as being ' sUck in stoys.' And leaving 
 those who were at work to get on with their tasks by 
 themselves for awhile, he went in search of the black 
 sheep. The first one he found was reclining com- 
 forUbly in a comer of the foVsle, with pipe in full 
 blast, and a look of utter indifference on his face. 
 To him Saul suddenly entered with the crisp remark, 
 • Now then, ;^unp man, you're in the wrong place, 
 I want the work i\nished, and -vhen it's knock-off 
 time I'll let you k.iow.' He was a big Liverpool 
 Irishman, a peculiar breed of men found in consider- 
 able numbers at sea, and hardly to be matched on 
 the wide earth's surface for truculencc, insubordina- 
 tion, or laziness when they give their minds to the 
 practice of these things, as so many of them do. He 
 looked up nonchalantly at Saul, sayirg, 'Me nairves 
 demand a verse o' th' poipe at regular intervals t' 
 kape em in orrdher, an' ef yez don't like me little ways 
 yez k'n just git t' 'ell out ov it, an' lave me recover. 
 Me name's Larry Doolan, an' I come from Scotland 
 Road, an' I don't take any nigger-drivin' frum any 
 
 limejuicer afloat, d'ye moind." Saul listened 
 
 patiently, and, when he had finished, for all answer, 
 took two steps towards him, seized him by waist and 
 neck, and hurled him on deck. He fell in a heap, 
 dazed. When he recovered he struggled to his feet 
 and made a blind rush at the quiet man before him, 
 his mouth full of cursing and red murder in his heart. 
 But he was met by two fists as grimly irresistible as 
 a stone wall would have been. And as he staggered 
 back once more, Saul's quiet certain voice penetrated 
 his ears. 'You'd better get on with the work, and 
 
SAUL'S DEPARTURE „, 
 
 I2S.I*"? 'H!^ *•? y°^ »Wpn«tes. You'll only 
 S^jLttJ''*^'''^°""'~"'~K«>"'8' This 
 r!S T ""• ~ "^ •=■'*' »« »''«' that, after 
 
 where a HtUe group of men were busy lashing some 
 ^ n the Starboard scupper,, and ith^l f„re 
 word he joined in the work. 
 
 r^f^Tu?^/^'^^/ "*""*• ^ «" »"<» ^^ for the 
 rest of his flock, Saul was confronted by the mate 
 his face bright with smiles. ' 
 
 in 1^'aT' t •*'.*'' 'y^"'" « •"««. If ever you are 
 in any difficulty with these chaps (but I don't th.-nt 
 
 don t know how the old man is, for this i, my fi,« 
 and I believe that you and he and I can make a- 
 
 zrhff:^?^-^*'^*^'-'-*"'-"-^'-^ 
 
 'Thank ye, sir,' replied Saul. ' I'll do mv h«t 
 ^•**h^ht°^^' *" "'»•'« things go smLS 
 • f hi °K''*i "" ^" *^»' '^^y^ things Xo 
 arou„r^ '\""' T'»««'««'°t'"orechfpslifiJg 
 «ound somewhere, I'm sure. I'm goin' f'look fof 
 em. An if you don't mind, sir, I'd like you just f 
 stand around and wait till they come out' 
 .•n» .u ^j"^"" J"^t "odded assent, and Saul dived 
 into the darksome den. Presently sounds of trouble 
 
 figures appeared, muttering cursesfbut making S 
 oobey. F-allySaulreappearedsmiling. ApprS 
 
 em, sir; an from what I can see they won't give 
 much more trouble.' *"^* 
 
CHAPTER XIII 
 THE SEAL OF APOSTLESHIF 
 
 By this time the AtUroid had halted at Gravesend 
 
 for the exchange of pilots, and there was a temporary 
 
 :m11 in the work, the decks being beautifully clean. 
 
 Saul's comprehensive glance having satisfied him that 
 
 he might safely allow it, he permitted his gang to go 
 
 and smoke while he himself mounted the top-gallant 
 
 fo'c'sle in the hope of getting a word with his fellow 
 
 Christian, the skipper of the tug. For the human 
 
 heart, whether it be icg urate or no, clings to its 
 
 affinities, loves fellowship with its like, and Saul 
 
 knew already that on board the Asteroid he was 
 
 utterly alone as far as Christian fellowship went So 
 
 he was intensely gratified when the tug drifted slowly 
 
 near enough for him to get speech of his brother 
 
 Stevens, and presently the passing watermen and 
 
 crews of barges were stiffened with amazement to 
 
 hear language being exchanged between two such men 
 
 as Saul and Skipper Stevens as they had hitherto only 
 
 associated with Hallelujah Bands or the Salvation 
 
 Army. The colloquy was brief but most valuable to 
 
 both, especially so to Saul, who, by the time Stevens' 
 
 parting 'God be with ye, brother, an' make ye' a 
 
 blessin' aboard yer ship,' had cose pealing across the 
 
 water, was ineifaceably stamped in the sight of all on 
 
THE SEAL OP AP08TLESHIP n, 
 
 boMd M a piufeuing Chrfatlan. And even while his 
 hMrt beat high with the knowledge that he had Just 
 taken the opportunity of most publicly confessing his 
 Master, he was being discussed in the foVsle under 
 his feet with a vigour of epithet and bitterness of 
 hatred that seemed as if nothing short of seeing the 
 tast drop of his blood drained from his body would 
 satisfy it 
 
 They were a mixed crowd, of course, but for a 
 wwider mostly British. And, as usual, it was the 
 British part that was most intractable, also that nad 
 been the worst for drink when turned out There 
 wwe a couple of Swedes who had been long in 
 British ships who were as drunken, as voluble, and as 
 truculent as any Briton could possibly be, but he who 
 knows much of the ways of men before the mast in 
 our country's ships will know that while the Scandi- 
 navian is usually the most tractable of men, a few 
 years of sailing in British ships under our peculiarly 
 soft system or want of system will often convert him 
 into as truculent a ruffian as can be found. It may 
 sound harsh and unpatriotic to say these things ; but 
 if one knows them to be true, as I certainly do, is it 
 not kinder to state the truth than to prophesy smooth 
 things falsely ? British seamen under proper con- 
 trol, firm and just, with every breach of discipline 
 followed with automatic certainty by its appropriate 
 punishment, have no equals in the worid. The proof 
 of this may be found by spending a few days on 
 board any man-o*-war. But where, a^ usual in the 
 British sailing ship on a long voyage, .i.en are really 
 too few for the work that is to be done, food is of 
 poor quality and without change, accommodation 
 
130 THE APOSTLES OF THE SOUTH EAST 
 
 much worse than that given in prison, and the main- 
 tenance of order and discipline is rendered impossible 
 by the state of the laws unless the officers choose to 
 risk their certificates by the use of physical force, 
 there the British seaman often deteriorates into an un- 
 tamable, worthless blackguard. His virtues of self- 
 reliance, courage, doggedness, and resourcefulness, all 
 become vices by being perverted to wrong uses, and 
 his hapless officers would be ready to exchange him 
 gladly for almost any other countryman whatever. It 
 is this general characteristic of crews which makes 
 the Christian teaman ache and long to relinquish a 
 sea-life. It is true that nowhere else in the world is 
 there such scope for really valuable missionary work 
 as may be found on board ship, but on the other 
 hand it is equally true that no other missionaries in 
 the world are made to live under such terrible con- 
 ditions. Therefore it would be unreasonable in the 
 last degree to expect seamen who have been converted 
 to remain willing denizens of a ship's fo'c'sle for one 
 day longer than they could help, or even to strive 
 very eagerly after an officer's position when they know 
 what manner of men they are expected to rule with- 
 out even the shadow of disciplinary force to aid them. 
 
 And so the very means that are taken by philan- 
 thropists ashore for the raising of the sailor become, 
 as did the late Mr. Thomas Gray's most admirable 
 ' Midge ' scheme of remitting money home from the 
 port of arrival, the reasons why life on board mer- 
 chant ships still remains of so pagan a character — 
 because the best men use their newly acquired freedom 
 from vice and waste to seek for occupation ashore. 
 
 But I fear I am leaving Saul too long. He was 
 
THE SEAL OF APOSTLESHIP 121 
 
 now by his own deliberate act stamped ,as I have 
 said, with the stigma of Christianity. For the time 
 eJnar he was the most discussed man in the ship. 
 The mat ; and second mate, having a little leisure as 
 the ship was being towed down the lower reaches of 
 the Tha.nes, held a most serious consultation about 
 him. • Well,' said the mate with a sigh, as if giving 
 up a too difficult problem, * I knew he was a " tote " 
 'cause I offered him a drink before " turn to " an' he 
 wouldn't have it, but after seein' him yank that long 
 beast out o' th' fo'c'sle, as if he'd been a truss o' straw, 
 an' block him like a prize-lighter when he tried to 
 rush him afterwards, I certainly wasn't prepared to 
 find him a Holy Joe. Must be a totally new kind 
 I've always had an idea that when a man got con- 
 verted, as they call it, all he was iit for afterwards was 
 goin' about with a face on him like a kite, moumin' 
 over everybody's sins an' preachin' all sorts o' funny 
 things that couldn't possibly be practised, besides 
 being so soft that he'd let everybody do just what 
 they lilced with him for fear of losing his character. 
 But if this chap's got a soft spot about him I ain't 
 seen it yet If he goes on as he's goin' I shall begin 
 to feel that there's somethin' more in the business 
 than I've got any idea of.' Mr. Kenton, the second 
 mate, gnawed his moustache awhile thoughtfully, 
 and then replied, ' I can't imagine how it is, but 
 although I know there are Christians ashore who ain't 
 soft a bit, that is silly soft, that kind don't seem to 
 thrive aboard ship. I remember when I was serving 
 my time our old man got converted one trip. The 
 previous voyage he was as good a man as I want to 
 be shipmates with. He got a little fresh now and 
 
133 THE APOSTLES OF THE SOUTH EAST 
 
 I 
 
 then, bnt never to do any harm, and he ruled the ship 
 in such a fashion that a man no more dare give 
 cheek to an officer than he dare jump overboard. 
 As for us boys, well, we did pretty much as we liked 
 below, but on deck he made us toe the mark, now 
 I tell you. An' he taught us our biz too — we wasn't 
 kept grubbin' about doin' all sort of dirty jobs be- 
 cause the men might growl at 'em. Then, as I say, 
 he got converted, an' you never saw such a change in 
 your life. He had a prayer meeting in the saloon 
 twice a week an' service twice on a Sunday, an' the 
 fellows, artfuf devils that they were, just played him 
 for all he was worth. They skulked and got saucy, 
 and when the officers tried to stop 'em they lodged 
 comnlaints with the old man, lying like clocks to 
 make their case good, and the poor old chap be- 
 lieved 'em and told the officers to deal gently with 
 'em. Result was there was anarchy aboard that ship, 
 and when we got to Melbourne she was so bad that 
 the mate and second mate left her. Owing to the 
 slack way things was done we made an awful passage, 
 both out and home, and when we did get back the 
 poor old fellow left, broken-hearted, I think, because 
 his system of brotherly love didn't work.' 
 
 Just then the steward called the mate to dinner, 
 and telling the second mate to see whether all hands 
 were getting their midday meal in proper order, 
 Mr. Carroll went below to renew the subject with the 
 captain. Mr. Kenton, having passed a word or two 
 with the pilot, strolled away forrard in obedience to 
 his orders, and as it happened passed the door of the 
 berth in which lived the bo'sun, carpenter, and sail- 
 maker. As he did so, his quick ear caught the sound 
 
THE SEAL OF APOSTLESHIP ,,3 
 
 of a hoarse voice raised in anger. 'Lookyhere' it 
 said, 'afore we goes any farrther, let's unnersht'an' 
 ance an' fur a', that thur's gaun tae be nae daum 
 ipocreetical carrins-on in this hauf-deck. Aam a 
 Scoetchmin masel', an' ma forbears, daft eedits, wur 
 Covenanters, sae ah ken fine the haill meseerable 
 peck o' shupersteeshun, idolatry an' humbug uts ca'ud 
 Christyaneety. I'll hae nane o't, I tell ye, whaur Ah 
 leev, an' it may's weel be settelt noo an' dune w'it as gae 
 ony farrther.' Interested in spite of himself, Kenton 
 paused just out of sight. He heard the strong clear 
 voice of Saul replying, ' Chips, my lad, you're making 
 a big mistake. If I hadn't felt that God's hand 
 would uphold me against the whole ship's company 
 if necessary, I wouldn't be here. I know very well 
 that when you do ^et a bad Scotchman, which isn't 
 often, you get a mighty bad man, but' (here his voice 
 rose a little) 'if you were twenty bad Scotchmen rolled 
 into one you wouldn't force me to do what I didn't 
 like as far as my conscience is concerned.' Crash ! 
 and the firm tones were succeeded by the panting of 
 two strong men fiercely struggling. Chips had flung 
 himself like a wild cat at Saul, and by the force of 
 impact unexpected had borne him to the deck But 
 Saul's muscles were not relaxed by weeks of dissipa- 
 tion, and slowly but certainly he twisted his body 
 round until he was uppermost. Then by a great 
 effort he rose, dragging with him his assailant, and 
 tt^ether sUU fiercely struggling they emerged on deck, 
 leaving the floor of their apartment bestrewn with the' 
 fragments of their dinner. The second mate, as in 
 duty bound, interfered, but Saul cried cheerily, ' Plea.se 
 let it go through, sir, it will save lots of trouble later.' 
 

 184 THE APOSTLES OF THE SOUTH EAST 
 
 But by this time the crew had left their dinner 
 and clustered aft, while hoarse voices among them 
 
 ejaculated, ' Kill the , Chips, knife him, cut his 
 
 liver out, choke the canting ,' and similar kindly 
 
 encouragements. Alas for their hopes, it was imme- 
 diately evident that Chips was but as a babe in the 
 hands of a giant. Suddenly his body, a confused 
 looking heap, flew across the deck, struck against 
 the bulwarks and lay there motionless. Without an 
 instant's pause Saul leapt in among the blaspheming 
 crowd, singling out the most eager potential murderer 
 of them all, 'and seized him by the throat with so fell 
 a grip that he hung limply backward on the moment. 
 The rest dispersed as Saul's voice rang out, 'Get 
 forrard every one of you an' finish yer grub ; ii'U be 
 turn-to time directly.' 
 
 By this time the skipper had arrived on the 
 scene. And as Saul, somewhat ilushed but still 
 smiling pleasantly, faced him, he inquired sternly 
 whot was meant by all this riotous behaviour. To 
 which question Saul answered, 'Sir, I shipped as 
 bo'sun of this fine ship of yours fully capable of 
 carrying on the work, and I'll abide by your officers' 
 evidence whether T have done so up till now. But I 
 am a Christian m;in, and can't bear injustice. So 
 because I've mad<; the loafers work in order that the 
 decent fellows sha'n't be worked to death, the loafers 
 want to kill me. Please take no notice of that, sir, 
 I'll look out for them and get plenty of .sleep. Then 
 because J thank my dear Father for my food in the 
 presence of my two berth-mates, the carpenter (poor 
 fellow, I'm afraid he's hurt) flings himself at me like a 
 wild beast That's all, sir, and if I have oflended you 
 
THE SEAL OF APOSTLESHIP „s 
 
 I am Sony. But I think you know as well as I do 
 
 sSbiJatr ""^ " ""^ «"' °^'- -- « '- o^ 
 
 The skipper, a hale bright-looking man of about 
 fifty years laid a hand upon Saul's shoulder, saying 
 Bosun, I m proud to have you on board my ship 
 and I'msu^ if all Christians were to behave as you've 
 done there d be more of 'em about than there are. I 
 don t profess to be a Christian myself, but I'll back you 
 
 HT "t!" 1. '" "^y P°*^'- Mr. Carroll, see that 
 Uie bosun has every assistance possible at all times.' 
 
 and Saul also finding that for the present things had 
 straightened themselves out somewhat, stepped into his 
 apartment to see if there still remained an^ wS 
 which to satisfy his legitimate hunger. He found the 
 ^rl-maker m an exceedingly amiable frame of mind, 
 ready to talk upon any subject whatever; but the 
 c^penter, poor man, sat upon the spars outside, his 
 headbuned m his hands in an attitude of dee^st 
 dejection. As soon as Saul had completed his i^al 
 ^ well as he was able.he lit his pipe and stepped out 
 
 IT T *'"P^"*'' '**• ^^y'"S his hand tenderly 
 upon the stooping man's shoulder, he said, 'Chips, 
 my boy, don't mind me, go an' get a smoke. Tm 
 
 done"?" *?t "^i"' ''''""' y^'- There's no harm 
 done « there ? Chips answered never a word, but 
 rwe to his feet and went into the berth, leaving Saul 
 sitting in the placid enjoyment of his tobacco, an 
 expression on his face as of a man who had not a 
 «^le care or worry in the worid, as the ship sped 
 steadily onward out to sea. *^ 
 
 In the fo'c'sle there was a great ferment For the 
 
ia6 THE APOSTLES OF THE SOUTH EAST 
 
 decent fellows, feeling that they had a powerful auxi- 
 liary in the bo'sun, began to assert themselves. In 
 many ships these willing workers lead a dog's life al! 
 the voyage through, for the sole reason that those in 
 authority do not do their duty. But in the fo'c'sle of 
 the Asteroid there was felt to be a new influence at 
 work, casting its weight on the side of right and 
 justice, and the men who under unjust conditions 
 would have suffered silently, now felt compelled to 
 take a firm stand. So, when the wastrels renewed 
 their curses upon the man whom they hated, dis- 
 sentient voices arose. One man in particular, a fair- 
 haired little Scotchman, boldly said, ' Weel, boys, I 
 don't know fhat ye think aboot this bizness, but ah'm 
 of opingon at if every men '11 dae fhat he signed fur, 
 we'll hae a daum comforrtable ship. Ah'm no vara 
 much in luve wi' nigger-drivin' masel, deed a'hm no 
 ower fond o' wark ava, bit the wark hes tae be dune, 
 an' if hauf o's hae made up oor min's ta dae's as 
 little's we can, an' th' ither hauf s tryin' to dae fhat 
 thae signed for, why 'tU be hard on the willin' anes. 
 Ah don't think yon bo'sun's hauf a bad yin. He on'y 
 seems tae want all hands tae hev aiqual richts, an' 
 ah'm with'm ther ivery time.' 
 
 At this outspoken speech there was a muttered 
 volley of cursing, amidst which various unprintable 
 epithets applied to sneaks, tale-bearers, toadies, &c., 
 were heard frequently. But there was no direct reply. 
 No man dared say boldly that for his part he had 
 shipped with the full intention of doing the least 
 possible amount of work quite regardless of the fact 
 that some of his shipmates must make up for his 
 deficiencies. No, all that was heard was a series of 
 
THE SEAL OF APOSTLESHIP nj 
 
 vague generalities, and it was quite a relief when in 
 the midst of it all Saul's clear voice was heard crying 
 * Turn to.' It was quite refreshing to see the alacrity 
 with which the time-honoured summons to labour was 
 obeyed. Even those who had growled the loudest 
 did not seem to think it expedient to hang back. So 
 within five minutes of the call having been given -ot 
 only were all hands on deck but they were at work 
 A^gorously engaged in making all things ready for 
 the sail-sctting that would presently be demanded. 
 
 The mate strolled about with an expression of 
 perfect contentment upon his face, watching with 
 calm delight the unerring certainty of all his bo'sun's 
 orders, the way in which one job fitted into another, 
 and the utter absence of that waste of time so often 
 seen where two men stand watching a third at work 
 because he in authority has not skill to keep them 
 all employed at once. And all the while through 
 gradually worsening weather the AsUrotd sped steadily 
 seaward through the intricacies of the Thames estuaiy 
 where to the uninitiated eye all seems such plain 
 and easy sailing, while in reality beneath that vast 
 extent of water surface the navigable channels run 
 like the paths m a maze, and great breadths of ever- 
 shifting sands lurk deadly for the hapless vessel that 
 chances to get out of one of those tortuous passages 
 of deep water. But in spite of the chill in the air 
 searching their impoverished blood, notwithstanding 
 uie steady downpour of sleety rain soaking their 
 poor garb and giving grim premonition of future 
 rheumatism, all hands felt hopeful, for they knew 
 Wat presently, once round the North Foreland, the 
 wind, now dead ahead, or due east, would be on 
 
1 38 THE APOSTLES OF THE SOXJTH EAST 
 
 the port beam, allowing them to Uke ful' -idvantage 
 of it, and the farther along they went thf. iiirer would 
 the wind be, until it was almost dead aft. This, of 
 course, owing to the configuration of the English 
 Channel. And a fair wind makes up for many other 
 drawbacks, more especially to the shivering outward- 
 bounder on board of a huge modem sailing ship. 
 
 Work was proceeding thu:; steadily when suddenly 
 there was heard a loud splash, and almost at the 
 same moment Saul's voice thunderously exclaimed, 
 ' Man overboard I ' With one gigantic leap from the 
 top-gallant fo'c'sle he reached the main deck far 
 abaft the foremast, and in half a dozen bounds, as it 
 seemed, he was on the poop, had torn a life-buoy 
 from its lashings, and hurled it with wonderful 
 accuracy of aim close by the side of Larry Doolan, 
 the recalcitrant A.B. of the morning, who was now 
 just on the edge of eternity's abyss. A sharp blast on 
 the mate's whistle had arrested the tug, which was 
 dropping astern fast, her skipper having a good 
 notion of what was the matter. But Saul and half a 
 dozen of his men were tearing like madmen at the 
 port quarter-boat, striving to free it from its paint- 
 encrusted gripes, trying to move the rusted-in chocks, 
 trying, in a word, to undo in one frantic minute the 
 results of months of neglect. Yet during these toils 
 Saul's keen glance never for a moment lost sight of 
 the struggling man in the wide waste of waters. He 
 was no great distance away, and yet to Saul it 
 seemed certain that before their boat could be lowered 
 he would be gone — he did not appear able to gain 
 the life-buoy. So seeing that the ship's way was 
 stopped, and that th^ tug was coming, Saul ripped 
 
THE SEAL OF APOSTLESHIP 129 
 
 off his oilskin coat and trousers, kicked off his boots, 
 and sprang from the quarter into the sea. With 
 bated breath his shipmates watched him as he swam 
 with splendid vigour towards the drowning man, 
 watched him tenderly handling him when he reached 
 him, saw the tug's handy little boat dropped from 
 her davits and pulled swiftly towards the pair, and 
 finally, with a rousing cheer that came from the very 
 depths of their hearts, they hailed the boat's return 
 with their shipmates both alive. 
 
 Wearily Saul mounted the side, for the physical 
 strain upon him had been very great. But his face was 
 bright with the consciousness of having nobly done a 
 Christian part, and a feeling he could not suppress 
 took possession of him, that he had been granted, 
 and had taken advantage of, an opportunity of 
 justifying his Christian standpoint, that would have 
 more weight with his shipmates than all the sermons 
 ever written. He was calling up his reserves of 
 strength to go on with his work, for there was much 
 . to be done in readjusting the great towing hawser 
 slipped by the tug, when Mr. Carroll peremptorily 
 ordered him below for a change of clothes and rest. 
 He made but a feeble remonstrance, for even his great 
 fresh strength had felt the strain upon it, and soon 
 he was in his berth, donning a suit of dry clothes 
 and softly crooning to hi.-nself one cf his favourite 
 songs, ' My Jesus, I love Thee, I know Thou art mine.' 
 And then sUnding by the side of his bunk with his 
 head dropped on his hands he unpacked his heart of 
 Its overload of thanks. Broken, ungrammattcal, dis- 
 connected ; as unlike ' made up ' praise as could well 
 be, but fragrant with the true incense of a grateful 
 
130 THE APOSTLES OF THE SOUTH EAST 
 
 soul. He lay down in great peace, and in two 
 minutes was asleep. 
 
 Meanwhile po<jr Larry, although tended most 
 carefully by the skipper, had been through a critical 
 time. His life-tides had run very low by reason of 
 his mad behaviour while ashore, and this tremendous 
 shock, coming as it did upon a frame so enfeebled, 
 was almost more than he could bear. So for a time 
 it was a matter for grave anxiety with the skipper, 
 who naturally was intensely desirous that his voyage 
 should not begin in so sad a fashion. He watched 
 breathlessly by the side of the almost moribund man, 
 administering from time to time such restoratives 
 as his scanty medical knowledge suggested to him, 
 until at last he was rewarded b-' seeing the poor 
 fellow's breathing become regular, his temperature 
 fall, and natural sleep ensue. Greatly relieved, the 
 old man left the spare berth in the saloon, where his 
 patient was lying, and reached the deck in time to 
 anticipate the pilot sending for him. 
 
 The ship was now well round the North Foreland, 
 and had ceased her rebellious buck-jumping motion 
 caused by the ruthless dragging of the tug through 
 the short Channel seas coming dead on end. Orders 
 were issued to set sail, and it did the skipper's heart 
 good to see how thoroughly his new bos'un under- 
 stood his work. For Saul, rested and refreshed, had 
 returned to his duty in spite of the mate's remon- 
 strances, and the mellow thunder of his voice rever- 
 berated through the ship as he ably carried out the 
 orders given him by the mate. There is to my mind 
 no better test of seaman-like smartness than the 
 setting of ^ big ship's sails from bare poles, such 
 
THE SEAL OF APOSTLESHIP ,3, 
 
 u 111.J' be seen when the tug is about to leave and 
 tne wind is fair. 
 
 At no time is a bungler so easily detected, and 
 the amateur sailor, who in the cosiness of his study 
 ashore writes glibly of the doings of the men of the 
 sea, would here come quickly and irremediably to 
 
 f?'!»K p"' "*'"«■ •* *''°"''' "'^^y* be remembered 
 that the sailing ship officer of the present day has 
 such a tiny handful of men with which to manipulate 
 the gigantic wings of his craft So that in the dis- 
 position of such forces ^s he may find at his disrK)sal 
 
 S"L!.^'""P^1°°'" '"r "'''" '" S«="«"l''hip, while 
 ZX 7^'^°" *^' ^"^^ ^°' "^^^ tiresome 
 members of a ship's company who have made a study 
 of the conservation of energy-their own energy oi 
 course-his eye must detect on the instant when a 
 man is not putting his full strength into a pull It 
 IS popularly supposed by those who kc interest in 
 the subject, and therefore should know somethine 
 about It, that the enormous sailing ships of modern 
 st«nir 'rT ST' ^''•'"'^'* '"^ supplement the 
 S^ . ^''^ "f "^^^ "°^ «> ""iversal. 
 Well, they have, most of them, a small steam engine 
 but Its use is confined to working cargo in port it is' 
 not used at all at sea The working of the ship is 
 now, as It always was, a matter of muscle. But this 
 is an old grievance, and one perhaps somewhat out 
 of place here 
 
 Feeling that they had a man over them, not only 
 one that would stand no nonsense, but one that knew 
 his business most thoroughly, the fast recovering 
 men worked well, even the duffers (about half 
 of their number) doing their best to gain, as they 
 
 xa 
 
t3* THE APOSTLES OF THE SOUTH EAST 
 
 snppoaed, hU goodwill. And when off DungeneM the 
 pilot left, and the tug, unable longer to keep ahead of 
 the stotely craft now asMrting herself, slipped the 
 hawser, all hands were in a much more comfortable 
 frame of mind than any of them, with the exception 
 of Saul, could have conceived possible four hours 
 earlier. Sail after sail was added until every avail- 
 able stitch was set, in spite of the threatening appear- 
 ance of the weather. For while the master was 
 undoubtedly a prudent seaman, he realised that this 
 splendid opportunity for getting out of narrow waters 
 must be utilised even at a little risk, and his evident 
 courage raised him greatly in the estimation of his 
 crew. And so it came about that when the hands 
 had been mustered, the watches set, and the true sea 
 routine entered upon, there were two men on board 
 the Asteroid who could safely count upon getting all 
 out of the crew they had to give, unconscious tribute 
 to real worth. Those two men were Saul and Cap- 
 tain Vaughan. 
 
CHAPTER XIV 
 
 PROGRESS 
 
 From Saul with hi, voyage well begun in a double 
 •ense. speeding westward for the bright braTn „ 
 ness of the deep blue sea. back to RolJh^t Tb^ 
 no means a pleasant transitm„ vr . ^ 
 
 adaptability to'h^„lo^r°Lk«\t^^^^^^ 
 sordid conditions of life endurabre n^d^en wLr 
 ful as ,t may seem, by some unna ural plrjS o^ 
 
 are accustomed to spend ^e most If'^i h.:^^^^^^^^^ 
 
 r"al°^"^"''^'""''™-''-.t'>--d7 a^^^^^ 
 ■ «llar »'Jh .Y ^'"' "'""" *'^'» ^ ''"fl'-ng as any 
 
 oti^Sfef' "'" '"'' ^^^" ^''"-^ the veof fS 
 What amount of loving, helpfol recognition, then. 
 
134 THE APOSTLES OF THE SOUTH EAST 
 
 can be considered too much to tender to the earnest 
 souls, of whatever church or no-church they profess 
 to be members, who live in the midst of squalor, air- 
 lessness,and riot, earning their own living, and devot- 
 ing all their scanty leisure to the Master's work in 
 the Master's way, as far as they are able to under- 
 stand it ? Yet by one of the strangest, most pitiful 
 perversions of good to evil which, alas I is so cha- 
 racteristic of humanity, an enormous amount of 
 energy generated among those humble servants of 
 God has been dissipated in squabbles with one 
 another about non-essentials. Not merely that one 
 ' gathering ' or ' chu^h ' squabbles with another, but 
 that internecine strife arises and often ends in 
 a disruption. This fissiparous tendency is almost 
 entirely confined to the smallest of conventicles, 
 which are, most of them, in turn, offshoots from that 
 body which is usually known as the 'Plymouth 
 Brethren.' The great bodies, such as the Baptists, 
 Congregationalists, Wesleyans, &c. (I do not mention 
 the Established Church or the Roman Catholics in 
 this connection for obvious reasons), have long re- 
 garded such small gatherings as I have described 
 with distrust and dislike, feeling, what is no doubt in 
 a certain measure true, that small bodies of unedu- 
 cated men and women like these, without any visible 
 head possessed of a certain definite knowledge of 
 theolt^y, are apt to drift into all sorts of strange 
 bye-paths of heresy from which a little grounding in 
 theology would have saved them. In other words, it 
 is felt that so long as they confine themselves to 
 preaching the Gospel that has been the Power of 
 God unto their salvation, they do a mighty work in 
 
PROGRESS 
 
 Sr.!!!t^!l-^?''''*' '^'y'- ''"' *«t*he„ they 
 take o expounding Scripture in the seclusion of the 
 Hall to members of the Church, they do a great dS 
 of harm, not merely by the dissemination^? faUe 
 doctnnes but by the generation of mudx he«S 
 angry feeling one towards another 
 
 anvothV" '°"^r^« ''fth». perhaps, more than for 
 any other reason, that gatherings like that of the Wren 
 Lane Mission have been so much ignored by the laS 
 Chnsuan bodies, who have been Tompell.^ to uS 
 the Salvation Army into serious account nS Sat 
 they love the Salvation Army methods more or te 
 at all impressed by its peculiar system o7aXratic 
 gov«.ment. sti 1 less do they admire the Se 
 
 ciIs. But Its organisation is so splendid, its discipline 
 so perfect, and so great the hold it hi obtSn^Ta 
 hold always making for righteousness.be rt Sed) 
 upon great masses of humble peoole thaf VfK 
 compell«i recognition which is dS 'to tt wea" 
 and scattered little conventicles such as I have I2n 
 attempting to describe. But a broader ^d mTre 
 an tianspint of toleration is manifest amo. r„s anj 
 Churehl^°""'"?'>'*^">'- T**^ Union of the Vr^ 
 Sn^fl'%*""^''*^ '*"■'•" *°*"''« *at concent r 
 tion of the forces of good against the forces of evH 
 
 l^^i7 S r^'^ '^ ^•^•' ^°*'- With this 
 s^motom, nf^ . '"°^""""* ™«"' pronounced 
 
 adopton of those first principlL inculcatS LVJesus 
 a«d the consequent cleansing of Christian tLihlng 
 
y6 THE APOSTLES OF THE SOUTH EAST 
 
 from the deadening incrustation it has gathered 
 through the centuries by the interested efforts of 
 professional religionists, until the Christ of the Gospels 
 had been entirely hidden away from the sight of the 
 common people unless they got outside of the 
 Churches and sought Him individually. 
 
 These matters, however, though entirely relevant 
 to my story, must not be allowed to hinder its 
 progress. Without touching upon thtm it would 
 be almost impossible to understand the position of 
 Jemmy Maskery and his adherents, who, as I hope 
 I have made clear, are typical representatives of an 
 enormous number of such bodies. So that in giving, 
 as I hope to do, a history of the Wren Lane Mission 
 over a goodly portion of its career, I hope to let that 
 great reading public which is interested in the uplifting 
 of the people have some reason to hope that even in 
 the darkest comers of our cities God has not left His 
 work to be carried on altogether by the overburdened 
 clergy, but that unpaid and unrecognised missionaries 
 are ever busy telling the story of the God-Man of 
 Nazareth, and by their lives endeavouring to commend 
 Him to their fellows. 
 
 After Saul's departure. Jemmy for a time felt as 
 if he had lost his main support For he, like most of 
 us, however strong our faiUi in God, loved to have some 
 visible friend in whose wisdom and love he had much 
 confidence, loved to look up to him, and unconsciously 
 lean on him more than was quite prudent or justifiable. 
 But, as Bill Maskery had foretold, the influx of those 
 who had been converted on the memorable evening 
 immediately before Saul's departure necessitated an 
 almost immediate enlargement of their premises if 
 
PROGRESS ,jy 
 
 S™.!^'""''^' """, '° ^ '^"'"^ *°^*''«- Besides. 
 Jemmy was a profound believer in and practiser of 
 baptism by immersion, and he wanted a pool of their 
 
 Tt^^' *" ! P"u'*- ■^''"*'"°« ""gotiations were 
 at once opened with the owner of the property for the 
 leasing of the adjoining stable. He, likeTpnident 
 
 more than double the rent he had hitherto received 
 stipulating, as before, that all alterations, repairs, &c ' 
 must be carried out by the lessees. This brought 
 toe rent up to 40/. a yea fortunately without taxes 
 teing a building for religious services only,andS 
 addition It meant at least another 20/. at onw being 
 laid out upon the necessa^^ alterations and cleansing 
 Now, trivial as these sums may sound to some of u! 
 they were to the restricted ideas of Jemmy and his' 
 fnends prodigious, and even Brother Salmon shook 
 his head despondently. But, as so often happens it 
 was tte new Wood that provided the needed sCiil 
 Bill Harrop. the new convert, whose sudden restora- 
 h6n had paved the way for such a great ingathering 
 on the night just referred to, rose in the Church 
 meeting and spoke for the first time. • Bruwers an' 
 
 I don t know whether I sh'l git much chance, but I 
 ope I shall. , don-t know W ter tell yer W glad 
 am an ow much good you've done me. but if Ly of 
 ?.Zwh" v":.^**" ^° ''"' a^k-nynissusan. 
 Id ony keep sober long enough-well, the bloke I 
 
 ^k) rir . '" ''^ \"' "" '°' y^'^ (-■-» J 'I'd 
 
 work;, ce ses t me on the Monday momin' arter I 
 
138 THE APOSTLES OF THE SOXTTH EAST 
 
 got converted, 'ee ses, ses 'ee, " I 'ear you've j'ined the 
 Salvation Army." " No, I ain't," I ses, ses I, « I've on'y 
 come t' Jesus, th' workin' man's Friend, an' I believe 
 'Ee's got 'old of me so solid 'at 'Ee'U never let me go 
 any more." « Oh, well, if s all the same," 'ee ses. 
 " Any'ow, I'm jolly glad f ear of it, 'cause I wants a 
 lot o' work done, an' if this ere business is goin' f 
 keep y' orf th' oozeboo, w'y I'll be delighted. An' 
 more," 'ee ses, ses 'ee, " I'll tell yer wot I'll do, jus' 
 for a lark ; every day 'at you keeps orf it, I'll give them 
 people wot's got 'old of yer a tanner." Well, all I got 
 ter say more is 'at as I useter spend at least three 
 bob a day in tiddley ' w'en I was at work, I think I 
 can spare a kiyah* a day t' make the governor's 
 tanner two c^.* An' I'll come an' do my bit o' graft 
 in the 'All too, w'enever I got any time orC Gord 
 bless yer.' 
 
 This was a clincher. It changed the tone of the 
 meeting directly, and it was at once liecided that 
 every brother and sister in the meeting should make 
 themselves responsible to God for a shilling a week 
 over their ordinary contributions. And as there 
 were now twenty-two members that meant twenty- 
 two shillings per week additional, for it was almost 
 certain that they would starve before allowing their 
 contribution to lapse. It is wonderful to see how 
 such poor people as these are not only pride them- 
 selves upon keeping their obligations, but in how many 
 little ways they are helped by one another to do so. 
 
 Jemmy and the brethren being thus reinvigorated 
 bestirred themselves mightily, and the begging that 
 went on at the bi-weekly open airs was phenomenal 
 
 ' Drink. * Eighteenpence. * Two ibillingB. 
 
PROGRESS ,j5 
 
 ♦^M '•t»Pf"«tency and its results. As Jemmy 
 told Ws auditors. 'Th' bad wewer '11 soon be 'J 
 w «. we sham't be able f git out f ye wiv th' glS 
 
 A' L^d^». ^ "^*''- ^'^ ^*'^«' a-promised 
 
 th Lord at we won't go back t' that state o' fines 
 cause we bin so blessed an' encouraged of late so 
 'ave anuwer feel rahnd in them thfre pocS ? 
 
 S'Ur r'''"^'' «'«*'"»'^«* stiverfput in 
 this bank. In response to his fervid appeals the 
 coppers simply rained in. but it was resei^^ for an 
 old seller of firewood, who had recently been brought 
 
 Woody -he was never called anything else and had 
 almost forgotten his real nanielhad been a con- 
 sistently walking Christian for many yTs. Sur^ng 
 
 the most severe pressure, entered a public-house, nor 
 
 told oT"^"^ '^ V *'* ^-^ "•'^^ '='="-"-'' ~"w "; 
 
 SaJ^ oW^h'!!"'"'"** "" *^" •'^""•"^ °f ">e same 
 aay, his o d horse, representing almost the whole of 
 Jus capital, died also. The t^o blows foUoZJng i 
 «P'dly upon one another must have temporarily un- 
 Junged h.s m,nd. for aftera period of dumVcrouching 
 Lt f^Lf I""*' '^ "^ "P' -^"* '''-g»>t to S! 
 nT^o S^. 1 r'*' *"'• ^°* ''™"''- A policeman 
 new to the beat arrested him and locked him up. 
 
 £l{ ■?• ^ '**^«»°'*' "^^ him being marched off 
 
 S aJSi ^;^'^'°^''' °»t'' »"d although Jimson 
 uThT ' "''"'''y P*^ •«* *"« "n«We to follow it 
 »P by pouring oil and wine into the wounds of that 
 
140 THE APOSTLES OF THE SOUTH EAST 
 
 poor bleeding old heart. And as he had thus openly 
 backslidden after being a shining light at open-air 
 meetings for so long, his fall was grievously felt and 
 the open hand of fellowship was tight shut against 
 him. Even Jemmy, though in open meeting he 
 always invited the general backslider to return, never 
 sought out this particular one who was so well known 
 to him, and indeed had never once shaken hands 
 with him since his fall. 
 
 It fell out, however, that on the great evening 
 above referred to, something— he did not attempt to 
 realise what — had drawn poor old Woody to the out- 
 skirts of the meetirfg. Things had been bitterly bad 
 with him. For six months he had hardly been able 
 to keep body and soul together by dragging his little 
 truck of firewood about the streets, and often he was 
 at starvation point because he would not make known 
 his need to anyone. While, then, he prowled around 
 the fringe of the crowd, one of the latest adherents to 
 the band, Mary Seton, the coffee-house waitress, saw 
 him, and catching his eye said, ' Oh, Woody, I am glad 
 to see you 'ere. You know I've joined 'em, don't yer ? ' 
 Woody shook his head but looked his astonishment, 
 while she in her eagerness and simplicity told him her 
 story. Now Woody had known her from a child, and 
 had often in his days of service for God warned and 
 advised her only to be roundly abused in the current 
 vernacular for his pains. It was the psychological 
 moment also, although of course neither of them was 
 aware of it At any rate the immediate and blessed 
 result was that Woody came back from his wander- 
 ings outside the fold, and at the first opportunity 
 confessed his wrongdoing in the sight of all assembled 
 
PROGRESS ,^, 
 
 on the Wwte. He made no excwes for himself w« 
 unsparing i„ his condemnation of his own tuy " 
 thus voluntarily shutting himself out from the Sw 
 ^.p W.U, tn. Father, and rejoiced exceedingly St 
 
 Sen^ontT'' "' * """' •^'^ •" Christ he ^ 
 been won back m sp.te of the shame that had so long 
 kept him away. After the meeting was over all the 
 meml^ ofthe Mission crowdedSound him and 
 Ranked God that they could have fellowsJip S 
 hin. once more; but everyone felt in greater or 1^ 
 Ll^' *^~^^> '- *«' capacity fof feeling i" 
 had they acted a brother or sister's part towards ^e 
 
 Thf mrht'^™^? '°"^ agohavrbeeSrll- 
 nay. he might never have backslidden. But he had 
 no reproach^ for them, his cup was brimmtg w^S 
 gladnes^ and as if to put the final touch u^n W^ 
 toy an old customer of his lent him a iny a^ ca^ 
 tin. next day telling him that he had^St'S 
 
 Of ht MLsrtrerwt,ri:^'°"^ "^•- 
 3iry-i:sj:-tt^ 
 
 as if thV ?^' ? *'" °<=<=asion, when it appeared 
 
i4» THE APOSTLES OF THE SOUTH EAST 
 
 before, of his falling away, and his recent retura His 
 words were of the roughest, his voice rusty and broken, 
 but his transparent sincerity was sc manifest that he 
 swayed the people as the wind sways the corn. And 
 when at last he drew out a crown piece knotted in 
 the comer of a piece of r.'\g, expectation, wonder, 
 ..iterest were almost painful in their intensity. 
 
 Holding the coin up between his right forefinger 
 and thumb he said, ' Dear peepul, this 'ere dollar's 
 my market-money. Most on yer know wot I means. 
 If I ain't got it I cam't buy no wood, an' kinsequontly 
 I cam't sell none. That means no grub for me nor 
 the pony neither. Means no ' t, too. But I'm so 
 shors 'at th' Lord loves me ter trust 'Im, I'm so shore 
 'at 'Ee womts me ter give yer a lead in this 'ere 
 bizness, 'at I'm a goin' f drop it right inter this ring 
 an' trost 'Im f pervide me wiv all I wants fer ter- 
 morrer. 'Ert it goes,' and he spun the coin into the 
 middle of the circle. ' Nah 'oos a-goin' t' foller suit ? ' 
 When you read of the effect of Girolamo Savonarola's 
 preaching in Florence your hearts are touched, the 
 glamour of mediaeval religion seizes upon your 
 imagination ; but in Rotherhithe in the nineteenth 
 century, in the midst of mean streets and sordid 
 environment, and above and beyond all in matters 
 contemporary with yourself, you may remain un- 
 moved. So did not Woody's hearers. They gave, 
 yes, they gave up all they had retained for what they 
 had considered essential necessaries, and those who 
 had nothing to give wept with vexation. And in 
 spite of the poverty of the neighbourhood, when the 
 meeting was closed 9/. i^r. had been collected by the 
 band, which, as Jemmy said exultantly, would go 'a 
 
PROGRESS ,^ 
 
 i^gKt^ finishin. the littic place if U didn't do 
 
 what you've done foi me. TT'hJ *"" * ^"°^ 
 
 * It's iust like n^-u . ™* *'™P'e remark. 
 
 ^^^the«d hps crooning the refrain of • The Pearly 
 
 the said p«mises for Tte1„*^of tfvm^^ '"''" 
 twenty^ne years cnv-„ ?^ ""' '<>"rteen. or 
 
 Iterations anHoTrS"^ '° "''^^ »^' »"^h 
 necessary. "^ "P*'" '«' "^ight be 
 
 when therecoS^rmTLttt^^ttti^ ''^"■«^" 
 more a swarm of m«„ '"^X was collected, saw once 
 
,44 THE APOSTLES OF THE SOUTH EAST 
 
 fitting matchboarding. But in the very nattre of 
 things such a task as this could not be earned through 
 in quite the same time as the previous one. For one 
 thing it was four times as heavy, without the addi- 
 tional labour of digging out the pool. 
 
 The ardour of the toilers, however, knew no 
 abatement, and on the third Sunday after the appeal 
 had been made the Wren Lane Mission was .n pos- 
 session of quite a large hall, seated for 30O peop^. 
 well ventilated, but not well warmed. Jhe walls 
 were matchboarded half-way up and prettily distem- 
 pered for the other half, while the overhead beams 
 were scraped and varnished, and the great centre 
 support was elaborately lettered by a brother from a 
 di^t^ce, who was a facia writer, v^th Ae tef Oh 
 enter into His gates with praise.' And,best of all.the 
 only bill left unpaid was for the torms. But they 
 had been supplied by a friend at -«t price, and as 
 he was in no hurry for his monc .le mmds of the 
 brethren were quite at ease. .u.h.H 
 
 There were no opening ceremonies when the Hal 
 was finished, only a meeting cf all those who had lent 
 a wilUng hand in the building of it, and a prolonged 
 service of the usual character. But all who took part 
 were really in earnest, and especially so the mmister 
 c- a Dissenting chapel some little distance away, 
 wno partly from curiosity and partly from goodwill, 
 S consented to be present and ^-^^"-y^'2' 
 He was certainly interested but undoubtedly some- 
 wUt chagrined also because his ««cfully Prepared 
 ;Sods fdV quite flat His auditory had b«.>me 
 Customed to a much more primitive style of dis^ 
 course, and did not appreciate his address at all. He 
 
PROGRESS ,^j 
 
 could not. however, withhold a tribute of admiwtion 
 for the way in which Jemmy and his coadjutors held 
 their audience, neither could he refrain from on- 
 trasting the whole-hearted service rendered by the 
 Church members here with the ulL-a-respectable and 
 to fact, condescending manner in which his own 
 deacons moved throughout the sc.Wces at his chapel 
 In fact, everything he saw impressed him with its 
 freshness and spontaneity, and from thenceforward 
 he was one of the Mission's heartiest Wends and 
 supporters. 
 
 Behold, then, the enlargement of the Wren Lane 
 Mission an accomplished fact, all in train for a really 
 grwt work to be carried on, and that too without the 
 subscnption of a penny from any external body of 
 Chnstians. It is true that the cost of the whole 
 affair was not very large measured by the expendi- 
 ture usually mcurred in such matte.^, but it was 
 large for the people who had carried it through and 
 every penny subscribed had been properly spent and 
 duly amounted for. And when at last the long day's 
 services were brought to a close. Jemmy made an 
 announcement in a broken voice from the platform 
 He was overcome because what he was saying repre- 
 sented the summit of his ambition. He gave out 
 among other notices the momentous one that on 
 Ihureday next a baptismal service would be held, at 
 which twenty believers had signified their intention 
 or being immersed and thus bearing witness to the 
 •aith they held, an announcement which was received 
 *rth the liveliest satisfaction by all present, but a 
 wscnption of which must be deferred until the next 
 chapter. 
 
CHAPTER XV 
 
 A BAPTISMAL SERVICE 
 
 It had always been one of Jemmy's favourite pieces 
 of eloquence, and one that never faUed to move a 
 crowd either to laughter or tears— the telling of the 
 story of his baptism. I am not going to attempt to 
 reproduce the story here for several reasons, the chief 
 one being that without his inimitable personality, 
 joined to the relation of it, most of its interest would 
 be lost, even to the most sympathetic reader. 
 
 But in spite of his joyful recollections he was 
 desperately dissatisfied at the idea of others going 
 through the same hole-and-corner business, neither 
 did he like appealing to Baptist hospitality ; and, 
 therefore, now that his great over-mastering desire 
 was about to be fulfilled, he seemed to grow visibly 
 dignified. There were still difficulties to be overcome. 
 In the first place the accommodation for dressing and 
 changing was exceedingly scanty, neither was there 
 much likelihood of the converts being able to provide 
 their own special robes for the occasion, whUe the 
 Church possessed none. And while the pool, as a 
 pool, through the labours of Jemmy and Woody, was 
 all that could be desired, being ten feet long by six 
 feet wide and five feet deep, carefully cemented all 
 round, and provided with a good set of steps at one 
 
A BAPTISMAL SERVICE 
 
 M7 
 
 *fter the filling of the pool there were , lean. of 
 drain ng it away, so that the men phy .. - ,abour of 
 canying backwards and forwards over a thousand 
 large paiis of water was sufficiently formidable to 
 have daunted less earnest souls than these. Needless 
 to say, perhaps, that to Jemmy and Woody the fact 
 of being able to render unto the Lord (as they be- 
 Heved) some bodily service, was entirely delightful, 
 rherefore, the service being fixed for a Thursday 
 evening, on the Wednesday at about 7 p.m., the day's 
 work being well over. Jemmy. Woody, and Bill made 
 their way to the < Hall ' provided with two buckets and 
 Krae cloths for wiping up the slop sure to be made. 
 Bill 8 presence was avowedly in the character of the 
 Indian ' shabash-wallah.' an indispensable adjunct to 
 all work carried on in India. He contributes no labour 
 himself, but wanders round among the workers 
 occasionally exclaiming 'Shabash hyj.' which may 
 be freely interpreted as, ' Coun>^. . ;,rxj . • ' or- Cheer 
 up. brothers,' or, indeed, an othc-r w. a rou may 
 fancy that would be likely , ,,. .,/ lagging 
 
 spirits of a gang of workers. So r.f„ ,r isthe 
 custom that it is almost impossible t- >■ ork done 
 
 without a ' shabash-wallah ' or • chee, !ng-up man.' 
 
 Now since Bill Maskery had fallen into the pain- 
 ful grip of sciatica it was as much as he could do to 
 hobble about with the aid of a stick, so that carrying 
 water was out of the question, although he did at 
 infinite pains, forcing many groans from his brave 
 Old heart, still go on with his business of chimney 
 •weeing. But that was really necessary for his living, 
 "e had made a business contract whereby in con- 
 
 L3 
 
m8 the apostles of the south east 
 
 sideration of handing over his long and hardly earned 
 connection he was to receive a stated sum per week 
 —enough to live upon. Unfortunately, he soon found 
 that if he did not wish to starve, by reason of his 
 share remaining unpaid, it would be absolutely neces- 
 sary for him to attend to business as usual, having no 
 means of coercing his partner, who would work or 
 not, and pay or not, as it pleased him. 
 
 In Christian work like the present, however, all 
 Bill's sympathies were engaged. His contributions 
 in money were only limited by the shallowness of his 
 purse, while ii gave him unalloyed pleasure to come 
 on such occasions and sit in the midst of the workers, 
 telling them story after story from his rich experience : 
 the moral of every one of which was that while nine 
 out of every ten men were sure to fail you at a critical 
 moment, if you put your whole trust in God you 
 were bound to be all right Your very mistakes 
 seemed to be the right thing unconsciously done 
 And so, while Jemmy and Woody toiled back and 
 forth to the adjoining stable bringing water. Bill sat 
 and 'shabashed ' them, so that when relief came m 
 the shape of Brother Salmon and Brother Burn, the 
 rigger, both of whom turned up at about 9.30, quite 
 two-thirds of the work was finished. Then, whUe the 
 two new-comers took up the task of water-canying. 
 Jemmy and Woody rushed off to borrow a portable 
 copper with which to temper the undoubted chill of 
 the water, lest any of the converts, not be>ng upheld 
 by sufficiently forceful faith, should catch a severe 
 cold and thereby have the edge of their new en- 
 thusiasm dulled. 
 
 So it came about that, in spite of the zest they 
 
A BAPTISMAL SERVICE ,^5 
 
 brought to their labours, it was past eleven o'clock 
 
 be put to what Jemmy grandiloquently called the 
 dressing-rooms, one of which was a sort of triangulat 
 cupboard -towhich four persons might with diffifJhy 
 
 ^hir* . 'J*"* *'" y°" '=°"""'' ^hut the doo^ 
 This was to be arranged for the sisters. The neSy 
 baptised bn^thren would have to change in a S 
 
 ^n" ^11"^ '"'° *■= "PP*' P"'* °f *« h^l by a 
 
 A?d1^; '"'./f * '""^ ''y ^° f"^ ^'^ wide 
 
 And great care would be necessary in using this place 
 
 U f^m TTIT' '''•«=^*«P"t'«on which diSded 
 It from the hall proper was so thin .Iwt leaning 
 ^nst .t unaware the neophyte would. bS 
 ^ugh. be precipitated among the spectetorrS f 
 sUte of extreme d^sAahm^d cause mVhconfu L 
 not to say scandalous hilarity, which would be Stel' 
 
 L^e'°^T"^*''*^*^P'°^'^'""S'^ These deSl 
 Brother Sdmon promised to attend to in time ^^d 
 
 then an adpumment to the neighbouring stew^llS 
 .hop was suggested by Bill for a little much-nS3 
 
 refreshmentbefore going home, heofferingatthe^ 
 time to treat the party, since he had not been ablHo 
 assist them at their labours. ° 
 
 »,hl^'^'!K*'?'^''°'*''^*"'*''«"'''*«t«^«'theplaindeal 
 table ,n the.r favourite shop, with a steaming pl^te of 
 stewed eels and mashed potatoes before each of tS.° 
 not much eel. but plentTof thick paisley sprfntled 
 aquor)w.th healthy appetites and keeTappStof 
 ?L^mT ?"'"'' Londoner's favourite sup^^. 
 
 a reminiscence of his first chapel (as A, called it> 
 
 At 
 
"^ 
 
 1 li 
 
 m 
 
 150 THE APOSTLES OF THE SOUTH EAST 
 
 the risk of stripping himself of all he pos'-csicd he had 
 fitted it up out of the ruins of a bankrupt carpenter's 
 workshop, had provided seats, platform, pool, hymn- 
 books, and all minor details. Then to his sorrow he 
 found that he was not able to provide all the preach- 
 ing required himself. So, in an evil hour, he was 
 induced to subsidise (at ten shillings weekly) an 
 eloquent man to take his Sunday evening services. 
 Let him give the sequel in his own words : ' Brevren, 
 •ee was the finest torker, that man, 'at ever I'yeard. 
 An' "is knowledge o* Scripsher, well I never knoo any- 
 fink like it 'Ee seemed Jer know 'is Bible frum 
 Genesis to Revelation by 'eart An' I thort, pore 
 innercent as I was (if it'd ben a 'orse deal er a corsin' 
 match I wouldn't a-thort so), 'at I'd a got a bargin 
 such as no missioner ever 'ad before. Well, I useter 
 lissen to 'im wiv such pleasure, I camt tell ye. An' 
 gradjuUy I let 'im 'ave more an' more control of it, 
 seein' as 'ow 'ee could do it so much better'n me, 
 w'ile I went to uwer places w'ere I was invited to 
 speak. I'd oughter known— only there's some kinds 
 er knowin' ye camt get wivout 'sperience— I'd oughter 
 known better'n ter leave me own gardin' an' go 'elpin 
 ter cultivate uwer peoples.' This kinder fing went 
 on fer abaht six monfs until one day, w'en I was 
 a-goin' frooth' accounts wiv 'im, 'ee ses, sorter bashful 
 like, " Mister Maskery " ('ee'd alwus called me bruwer 
 'afore), " Mr. Maskery," ses 'ee, " I got somefin' f say 
 t' ye." " Say away, ole man," ses I, quite cheerful, little 
 finkin' what wos comin'. " Well," 'ee ses, " th' congre- 
 gashun 'ere seems f fink 'at yore not quite orthydox 
 on several pints of doctrine ; an' 'sides, they've ccane 
 to th' conclushion 'at you an't a-doin' the right fing 
 
A BAPTISMAL SERVICE ,5, 
 
 by 'em. They're tnos'ly of opinion 'at yore a-goin' 
 abaht too much an' neglecktin' their sperritooal in- 
 terests." Then, brevren, I see it all in a minit My 
 ole bisness 'sperience come in straight, 'n I 'eld up 
 me 'and ter stop 'im 'cause 'ee was goin' t' say some 
 more. " 'Old on," ses I, « wos they a-perposin' t' make 
 you the parstor of this 'ere chapel 'n shunt me I " 
 'Ee didn't amser for a minit, but I waited till 'ec pulls 
 'isself tergeweran' ses, "Well, I don't quite like yore 
 way o' putten' it, Mr. Maskery, but I mus' say thet's 
 abaht wot it comes ter," ses 'ee. " Ha, I thort as much," 
 ses I ; " well, looky 'ere, Mr. Brahn, I'm a child of Gord 
 nah, an' so I camt take yer be the neck 'n fling yer 
 froo that there winder as me fingers itch ter do, but fur 
 Gord's sake don' you go 'n temp' me too fur. Now 
 lissen ; I ben pret^ sleepy I know, but I'm wide awake 
 nah. I'm payin' fur th' ole o' this show, 'cause I 
 love Gord 'n I want t' do for uwers wot uwers's 
 done fur me. 'N if I didn't see wot I do see, 'at yore 
 a mean sneak 'at wants ter get somefin' aht o' me 
 an' somefin;. aht o' th' people, 'n then w'en you've 
 got all you kin, do a guy somewheres else 'n begin 
 agen, I'd give the 'ole fing up an' feel 'at I was on'y 
 doin' wot wos right an' 'onest 'n true. But seein' 
 wot I do see, I tell yer wot I'm a-goin' t' do, I'm a- 
 goin' t' arsk you t' come dahn t' th' chapel a Sunday 
 night I'll git a lot er bills aht so's we can 'ave a 
 full 'ouse, an' then I'll put th' matter afore the people. 
 An' if they wants ter git rid o' me and 'ave you— all 
 right, they're welcome ; but you an' them '11 'ave ter 
 give me substanshul security fur repayment of all 
 I've a-laid aht on th" chapel." 'Ee didn't say any 
 more. Just walked orf, an' w'en Sunday night come 
 
i5» THE APOSTLES OF THE SOUTH EAST 
 
 'es didn't show up, an' in abaht five minits I found 
 'at the people was all sound enough — it was 'im as 
 wasn't sound. W'y, 'ee was a Shaker, er a Mormon 
 or somefin' o' that kind, or at least 'eed got a thin 
 varnish o' some kind o' tommy rot on top of a solid 
 foundation o' lookin' arter Number One. An' 'ee'd 
 faked the 'counts too, so 'at 'is ten bob a week come 
 aht nearer firty 'an ten. But I thenked Gord I'd got 
 orf as cheap as I did, an' ? thenked Gord a good 
 menny times 'at sech a wolf in sheep's dovin' 'adn't 
 ben able t' rooin the work I giv' not only me money 
 to, but me 'art's blood almost/ 
 
 ' Yes, brother,' said Brother Salmon, ' it was ter- 
 rible. I orfen feel as if we don't think half enough 
 about the way in which God keeps us from the harm 
 the devil's always a-waitin' to do us in them kind o' 
 ways. It's fairly easy to go on in the straight way o' 
 righteousness when once He's set our feet in it, but 
 when you think of all the pitfalls there is in our own 
 work for Him, not only dug by wolves in sheep's 
 clothin' but by our own sincere friends, our families, 
 an' even ourselves, it do seem wonderful 'at ever we 
 see any results from our work at all. But we do, 
 bless God, we do [hearty Amens from the others, 
 considerably disconcerting the shopkeeper]. I do 
 feel for that poor wretch though, he must have been 
 very near the Kingdom once. Did you ever hear. 
 Brother Maskery ? ' 
 
 ' Oh, yes,' chimed in Jemmy, ' 'ee 'eard all right 
 Mr. Brahn got 'auled up fur obtainin' money an' 
 goods under false pretences, an' farver went to try 
 an' git him orf. He wasn't able to do that quite, 
 although 'ee certinkly did get 'is sentence made less 
 
A BAPTISMAL SERVICE 
 
 an gets im a chamce to go aht ter <;„.,<• a m 
 
 ke^r. a «a„ whom he had known ly^^ ^T 
 moffensive respectable citizen who paid wrwaJc^d 
 his duty as far as could be seen n«« f^' ^ 
 
 to refuse a monger of fooTtrt^'er'' ^^ '"°'"" 
 lagged for it, but in eSurrS«i!"^'^ °"" '''*° 
 unknown quiL,titylS»LT ''*" ''"'**' ^" 
 Bill tackl<S hi^bo Jy^r "wh^L^r TT 
 apparently possessed all the attribut ' t r. . "^ 
 
 -.^»3«'rurjat^^^^^^ 
 
 •** -""riy n,«,ed by the defelcationfoTa ' «,„ 
 
,54 THE APOSTLES OF THE SOUTH EAST 
 
 high in office in a great Nonconformist church. TOs 
 dSdful experience caused him to *»thf raw h,m- 
 Sf from Christian work altogether and unUl the 
 Sme of his death, which took place shortly aft^ h» 
 liM were sealed upon the subject But just before 
 hU d^ hTsSd trWs eldest son. then an excellent 
 St^^ft^ "peter, mylad.trust Christ. but^U^njst 
 people who call themselves Christians^ Wo«h>p 
 ^ with your whole heart ; but remember that man. 
 ^Zl his professions may be. is a dece tfuHjmg 
 and keep your eye on him. especially if he holds 
 
 ^'^ The" 'outme'of this t^ble advice so utterly 
 wrong in its conclusions, yet. alas 1 so awfully natural 
 3the circumstances, was as ^^ ^l."^'^ 
 Sf^ ttiis statement poor old Bill retired discomfited. 
 Sg^nriowever that he might return to thesu^^ 
 o^ ^me future occasion, and bidding him good-n.ght 
 StTSe utmost heartiness, making the simple words 
 sound almost like a benediction. 
 
 News of the proposed ceremony had spreaa 
 throughout the neighbourhood with great thorough- 
 rieVs and the result was a state of things entirely unfore- 
 LenSanyofthebrethren. When Jemmy and Brothe 
 Smon Jrived at 4 p-M. to heat the water for the 
 S,ri^ey leading up to the « Hall ' was entody 
 S^Wed-indeed. it looked as if no one ever came 
 2^r But when at seven o'clock, thoroughly tir^, 
 SHwo workers opened the door to leave and sn^ 
 a hmSed meal, they found the narrow passage 
 ^aSS^tith e^gerl/ waiting folk who. as s^n a. 
 £^ saw the pair, clamoured for «imiss.on,jdtho^^ 
 Se time for commencing the cereihony was fixed 
 
A BAPTISMAL SERVICE ,55 
 
 at eight o'clock. Momentarily bewildered, Jemmy 
 stammered out an almost incoherent appeal to the 
 people to be patient. And as they listened to him 
 quietly enough he gathered confidence, and went on 
 to explam more lucidly that the preparations were 
 not yet complete, neither were there any helpers 
 present yet for the purpose of keeping order. With 
 a docility that surprised him they raised no objection 
 two or three would-be malcontents being speedily 
 silenced and allowed him and his coadjutor topass 
 out of the alley on their way home. 
 
 When thqr arrived they were almost too excited 
 to eat or dnnk, the possibilities of the evening seem- 
 ing so tremendous to them. Poor Jemmy kept 
 softly repeating to himself, • More than ye c'n arsk 'r 
 even think. Bless th' Lord, so it is, so it is.' And 
 after snatching a few hurried mouthfuls he started off 
 again, pursued by his eldest boy with a parcel It 
 contained a baptismal waterproof costume which he 
 had obtained the loan of from a friend who was 
 pastor of a sgiall Baptist congregation in the North 
 Of London, and although it is certain that the lack of 
 It would not have hindered him one moment from 
 going on with the ceremony, yet its possession would 
 doubtless add greatly to his comfort. Tucking the 
 parcel under his arm he hurried off again, finding 
 when he amved at the entrance to the alley that it 
 was a niatter of the greatest difficulty to force his 
 way in through the densely packed people. He was 
 
 rZ?!*" ^"«' *^°"^'*' *^* C'^P^" Stevens. 
 Bwjers Jimson. Bum, and Harrop, were there await- 
 
 ZiT'l'i'! *J^ *•''' '^^ "* ^*'* '^*" ^«''« t° ™«"t»in 
 «»nlw. AH the candidates for baptism had arrived 
 
,56 THE APOSTLES OF THE SOUTH EAST 
 
 observer »<^''"* " ^ ^ ^^^ emotions, 
 
 "^I'^^lS'eSatitraint And when the 
 working '« *e.f eflorts ^j^^ ,^tform, 
 
 ""L'out his ^ot^S grimy Lds an'd said brokenly 
 S Si liayrtS- w'as a'distinctly vjible v.ve^j. 
 
 "^se'rmo^ettrbutasimplefervent appeal to theGod 
 
 *^'^fa2uaintaSip with Himself. As soon 
 LTS SS anothef hymn was given out^d 
 5mmraft« a hurried conference with h« helpers. 
 
A BAPTISMAL SERVICE 
 
 '57 
 
 retired into the brethren's passage, from which he 
 presently emerged robed in what appeared to be a 
 diving-dress as far as the waist, but upwards had the 
 full sleeves and bands of the ancient clerical garb- 
 only in black waterproof. Giggles sternly ' s-s-shd ' 
 down were heard here and there, and no wonder, for 
 Jemmy was really a mirth-provoking figure. His very 
 self-consciousness helped the hilarity, so that even 
 those most impressed with the solemnity of the occa- 
 sion were hard put to it to keep their countenances. 
 
 Advancing to the brink of the pool, with his 
 friends close by him, Jemmy held up one hand and 
 said, ' Dear friends, it's easy to larf, 'specially w'en we 
 won't fink. You can't 'ardly 'elp larfin' at me, I know, 
 'n I don't feel quite comf 'ble meself. But if you'll 
 remember w-ot were a-goin' t' do, that all them that's 
 a-goin' dahn inter this water is professin' ter be buried 
 wiv Christ— that is, they're henceforf dead t' sin, an 
 as they come up that they're risin' wiv 'Im to a life 
 of righteousness, 'oliness, an' 'appiness— I'm shore 
 you won't feel inclined ter larf any more'n you 
 would at the funeral of yer muwer. Please, /&<«* 
 don't foi^et 'at if this is on'y a altered cowshed, Jesus, 
 th' King o* Glory, was homed in one, an' among 
 the hanimals too. Bless' 'Im, 'Ee's ere nah, may 'Ee 
 give y' all th' spirit of rev'rence an' godly fear." 
 
 All was now quite silent The ftrst candidate, 
 the waitress ftom the coflfee-shop, came forward 
 neatiy attired in a white robe, pale as chalk, and 
 visibly shaking. Jemmy descended into the pool and 
 helped her down the ladder. Then, as soon as she 
 had recovored the breath which the first chilly touch 
 of the water had taken away. Jemmy, pronouncing 
 
158 THE APOSTLES OF THE SOtJTH EAST 
 
 the solemn words which mean so much to the adult 
 being baptised, but which the sponsors of the infant 
 often hear quite unmoved, by a dexterous movement 
 immersed her entirely, and before she quite realised 
 what had happened, she was being assisted up the 
 ladder neatly covered, and was hurried out of sight 
 to change her garb. And so the whole ceremony 
 proceeded without a hitch, although the anxiety of 
 those behind to see was so great that at times 
 it appeared as if there would be trouble. It was 
 promptly prevented by Captain Stevens, who was in 
 his element ; and, indeed, s^ well was order kept that, 
 although one woman fainted in the pool, no one but 
 those handling her knew of it 
 
 And so the whole great business passed off satis- 
 factorily and in utmost decency and order, until in 
 an evil moment Jemmy essayed to ascend the ladder. 
 As soon as he did so he found that by some 
 unsuspected leak his waterproof dress had become 
 quite filled, and was so weighty that he could by no 
 means lift himself out of the water. It did not 
 occur to him to slip it off or to remain where he was 
 until the audience had gone, but asking for assistance 
 he was forcibly dragged up the ladder, and stood 
 there looking like a gigantic pair of sausages as to 
 his lower limbs. 
 
CHAPTER XVI 
 
 GATHERING CLOUDS 
 
 Poor old Bill was much cast down at the unfortunate 
 «,d.ng to the service. When the crowd had gone and 
 the few elders of the 'Church' were discussing the 
 evening's proceedings, he was moved to tears over the 
 peat opportunity lost and the figure cut by his son at 
 so critical a time. He said. • I looked thet we sh'd 
 old a service o' praise arter this mectin', an' stid o' 
 Hwt we must, yuss we must, 'old a service o' penitence. 
 1 Here s somethin' wrong somewheres. We ain't all 
 nght wiv Gord, I'm shore, 'r we shouldn't 'a ben let 
 go as wrong as we 'ave.' 
 
 Then suddenly, to the unmitigated astonishment 
 
 Of everybody present but himself, Jimson stepped 
 
 forward, his face fiery red, and stammered ou^ 
 
 Looky 'ere Mr. Maskery, I've 'ad enough o' yore 
 
 tlT *" '"'i!;'** "'^''"'^ ^ =''"'' '-goin't'sfand 
 «t no longer. If you've got anyfink agin me, ,y 
 don t yer say it out an' 'ave done wiv it ? I'm m 
 good a man as you are. an' I tell yer straight I don't 
 ke th «^y things -as ben a-goin' on 'ere fur some 
 
 iTf-n ,• ? '" ^'^ **'*^'''" '■""^ °' five year now, an' 
 up till a httle while ago I 'ad my share of the wnrk 
 itook my part in wotcver was goin' an' paid my bit 
 tords everythink like a man. an' that's more'n j^^I 
 
i6e THE APOSTLES OF THE SOUTH EAST 
 
 can say, Mr. Jemmy Maikery, an' well you knowi it. 
 An' then w'en^Mrchum comes along, a man like 
 me 'as t' get out of 'is way ; stan' back an' 'old my 
 peace, although I fink I 'as quite as much right 
 an' 'sperience, an'— an' goodness too, if it comes ter 
 that, as ever 'ee 'ad, or you either, fur the matter o' 
 that' The speaker, having now apparently accom- 
 plished his object of working himself up into a fury, 
 paused for breath and glared around into the blank 
 astonishment depicted on the faces he saw. For 
 a minute there was an uneasy surcharged silence. 
 Then Bill spoke slowly— thoughtfully, as one who 
 felt that upon him rested great responsibilities — ' Joe, 
 my lad, 'ow fur I'm ter blame fur wot you've jest 
 said, I don't know. I only know this, that if I've 
 said anythin', or done anythin', or even thought any- 
 thin' wrong to'rds you or any bruwer in this gavrin', 
 I arsks yoie pardin 'umbly as I arsks Gord's pardin, 
 too. I can say, though, 'onest an' true, 'at I never 
 meant any 'arm. An' if I was finkin' of anybody in 
 perticler w'en I spoke as I did, it wos my son Jemmy 
 Corse I knows 'im, p'rhaps, better'n any of yer. I 
 knows at 'ee's alwus a rushin' at fings like a bull at a 
 gate, an' 'ee don't often stop ter fink wot's a-goin' ter 
 'appen w'en 'ee's 'ad 'is way. But, in the sight of 
 Gord, my only feelin' was 'at we'd missed a grand 
 opportunity; th' henemy 'ad 'ad 'casion ter blars- 
 pheme, and th' cause we're all wishin' ter see go 
 forward as ben put back. An' I felt 'at per'aps th' 
 fault was in ourselves somewheres. Joe, Jemmy, and 
 brevren, if I've said wot I oughtn't to a-said, forgive 
 me, I didn't mean no 'arm.' 
 
 Upon Jemmy the effect of his father's appeal was 
 
GATHERING CLOUDS 
 
 h«had done what he ,houS ^^^Sll ""' "'»' 
 •poke, and when at la«t thJ.,. ,? ' """* "<> one 
 
 it was by the newly tpttd""i^^;^'«"« *" '»«"'«" 
 »t«ight.tJw/heS;;r.B,;t.,"„'7P- Looking 
 among yer, but it seems /u- m^TV, ""'^ ' ^'"^ 
 ^jnefin'. An' wot I w,u 1^.'^ ■^"?!''rr>' 
 arter wot Gonl'a let ye dc- fur ^' *^ , " "' ^' ' """^ 
 crn't undenund anyHt^el'^ r/" . "'" °^ """«• ' 
 
 or finks 'ee W whv let'. =.ii il • ~ ' '" ^^ «>H 
 
 Jore nobody intendeSriiSil^!!:!-- ,^'» 
 Jimson burst in with, 'Looky 'ere Z./* ^ ^"* •*"* 
 fcr all, don't you th nkl w.n? """■^' "»« 
 
 you, cause I don't iVasT^.l''?"'™'*'"' '"«»» 
 ">' I don't know w'ot Ti.'"'*"*'" * y°" an/ow, 
 "•marks to mt l ZjliT\^^. ^'^"^''*' y"'* 
 •fo«, an' nahyou ^e'T^w!-'' ** *' *"« '"''i"« 
 that feeds me Lp an' Tn, ^ff - w?k ? "^ ^''^~ 
 swiftly towanis the do^rU^^'^J". *"* '«' ''^e 
 expo,tulato^^,3:£5„-eSrrr;t'^ the 
 -M L : S:; 1^/-''' J'-^'^h^aWour 
 "^vesaid L^.^'S:,::^^^^;^^ wou^ 
 of capadty to do the LrkLf^ ^" °*" '^»"t 
 bitterly resentful o^Ae ^wX '"? '°"^' ^^^ 
 
 ^"^thNo„io4-and^£::b;s.s^i:re.-i: 
 
i6i THE APOSTLES OF THE SOUTH EAST 
 
 long as they hold some prominent position, occupy 
 some place that gratifies their self-love, they are, if 
 not content, not too discontented. But let any mem- 
 ber of the same Church by any exhibition of useful 
 qualities whatever come to the front, and imme- 
 diately whispers of disaffection, slanderous disparaging 
 rumours, and sometimes positively scandalous in- 
 sinuations, will begin to crop up concerning the 
 useful member. If these are traced to their source, a 
 matter requiring much patience and perseverance, 
 they will invariably be found to emanate from some 
 such individual as I have sketched. Alas I it is 
 almost always impossible ' to undo the harm thus 
 done — it has often been a cancer eating out the very 
 life of a most useful and flourishing Church. It 
 should be dealt with in the same way as cancer — ^the 
 knife should be used un ; -;ringly. This kind of 
 people is a curse to society generally, but within the 
 Church they are a greater curse than anywhere. 
 They are the devil's most potent agents. In the 
 world it is sometimes seen that one man will pursue 
 another with most malevolent designs, will strive in 
 every dark and detestable way to do him harm, not 
 because of any harm the object of his hatred has done 
 him, but because of envy — tliat hateful thing that 
 would, if it could gain an entrance there, make a hell 
 of heaven. I speak feelingly because I have mo.^t 
 intimate knowledge of a man, highly gifted, indus- 
 trious, and frugal, who, with splendid opportunities of 
 making a great name and every prospect before him 
 of being of immense service to his kind, has so 
 allowed himself to become possessed of this devil of 
 envy that he has alienated almost every friend he had, 
 
GATHERING CLOUDS 
 
 began his caree^ becls^t'^'' r'"* *' ''^'" ^e 
 
 sun„„g envy of any and everj bSf who H^ ' ~"- 
 thing successful. But h,. 17 . . , ^°^ *"y- 
 fession of religioa He t of "^ "'^^'' "° P^' 
 hypocrite for Sa, bets'" he wiHC '*'" °' ' 
 advocate of causes for which hJ P"** ** *" 
 
 ping of his fingers, h^s olty Jbfeet E^^i "^^ "^P" 
 he may possibly do to ^me ml 5 ^'^ '^*""«* 
 
 «t«>ng views upo^n the sam^TubS" '" '*'"" 
 
 of th";;2onTslt,,i'T 'r "«-" ^''^^ ^'<''' 
 the Christian SdeHtLT? *^ '"nportance of 
 holdly that whe«^eH^S "? t*' "" *''" '''>' 
 « found spread^ ™L£L.[f *"''' *" ""^'°"^ ""a" 
 worker, steps shoSd , ton« Z^^T *'^"* '>•" ~- 
 him if he be found « h ^*" *° ^ret rid of 
 
 impenitent or IZ^^ZLH"^' P™'^^'^ '^^ ^' 
 he is doine .An?^ • .^ ""'"'»« "f the evil 
 should n^i 4, S"7 °^ '^*^*» °f "i-ions 
 eminent necess ty ft ^sS If '""""*" *^ P^ 
 engaged in tiie work of the'^.K ""'t '"'°"& »" 
 the lowest ground . mil gathering. To put it on 
 ft«m its etSls^f ""'!"'""' "P*^ '''together 
 unbusinessSe "ra sh"'r " :''1 °' '''•"^' ^ 
 business of the Churdil ^ fiT" "^"""^S^- ^he 
 shapes and fo^s ; S .^tJf Ch^'t V '" «" 
 exists a canker-worm J> • , Church's heart there 
 
 What possib,;;es:rcar .^"^X Tori" H^ "' ^^• 
 pastor preach the sweet rf^^- / """'^^n the 
 
i64 THE APOSTLES OF THE SOUTH EAST 
 
 in his heart he knows that in the arcanum of his 
 Church there are brethren and sisters ready to bite 
 and devour one another ? The only answer is that if 
 he does continue to do so, it must be with a sense of 
 hypocrisy and unreality about him that cannot fail 
 to have a dreadfully demoralising influence upon his 
 own soul, like that of a man who, drinking in secret, 
 is at the same time an ardent advocate of the cause 
 of total abstinence. 
 
 Jimson's sudden exit seemed to lift the embargo 
 laid upon Jemmy's tongue. He sig^ heavily and 
 said, 'Well, farver an' brevren, we must go 'ome. 
 I'me a-goin' 'ome wiv a 'eavy 'eart, not 'at I c'n quite 
 understand wot I've done wrong. But after wot 
 farver 'as said, an' the way Bruwer Jimson's left erse, 
 I cam't feel 'appy. No matter ; my 'eart don't con- 
 demn me, an' if it did, I sh'd arst pardon an' be 
 fergiven, as I've b'en so many times. Good-night, an 
 Gord bless all of ye.' A general hand-shakii^ and 
 series of good-nights followed, and in five minutes all 
 had separated and gone to their several homes. 
 
 The Saturday evening prayer-meeting was marked 
 by a most unusual incident. As a rule no one ever 
 came to that meeting save the members of the 
 Mission, but on this occasion a man was present who 
 made all the members feel uneasy. He was a coster- 
 monger if he was anything, but neither as a street 
 tradesman nor a general labourer was he ever a 
 regular worker. Nowadays he would be called a 
 Hooligan, but then the only term that could be 
 applied to him with any sense of propriety was that of 
 ' rough.' He was undoubtedly rough, and wherever 
 any trouble was afoot it was alniost certain that 
 
GATHERINC CLOUDS ,65 
 
 Paterson would be found in the midst of it He was 
 6.Unctiy one of the da„ge„>us cla«e. of whom. aS^ 
 Acre are so many in our great towns, ^«d in Ae 
 fou ness of the slums and without any ^o^Jnse of 
 Ae.r duty towards their neighbour than a^imalTof 
 the fiercest type. He had been at the baptismal sef 
 v.ce. and was then ' spotted - by Brother Sa^^l who 
 fora moment felt full of fear lest he should h^ve ^ote 
 Aere to create a disturbance, but was consoS ^Z 
 he found that as the service proceeded pVt^Jl . 
 
 quite.«l,apparently.-mpre«eJby:h'a?JiSgr 
 W>en. however, he put in an appearance on S^ 
 
 -.Its of their preaching alXSsr/m^'.-SS 
 themselves, they were always received Jith wond« 
 ^.f results were the last thing they expected ThTs' 
 may seem a sort of acrid comment u^ the Sh 
 
 fidently. knowing its truth, and knowintr too h 
 ally all trulyhonest Christians wiFa^L' Z mT 
 It IS no matter for wonder that God shfuld kZ Su 
 wo^ to us but the great majority of us act ?if 
 were. And so, when the terror of Rotherh,>hr. 
 shamblingly forward at the close of the S.„T' 
 evening's prayer meeting and p^offsJl^'r^^J 
 terms h,s desire to seek the Lord, he was LZT^t 
 fi^t w.th a considerable amount of res^r^ ??/' 
 when the situation adjusted itself, all w7m tl^l 
 opposite extreme and vied with ol \u * 
 Jeir welcome to the new^mer Vtel^S'th "t 
 he was Ured to death of his way of liZgZZ 
 
 i.'A.-*W4 .1- 
 
i66 THE APOSTLES OF THE SOUTH EAST 
 
 words of Jemmy on the Waste the previous Sunday 
 evening had gone right home to his heart, and that 
 never again could he do or say or even think as he 
 had done. But specially he had been moved by the 
 baptismal service. That had settled the matter for 
 him, and he only longed for the time to come when 
 he, too, might testify in public that he was a lover of 
 the Lord. Much moic he said also in the same 
 strain, and at last, such was the agony of conviction 
 in which he found himself, that he burst into tears 
 and for some time refused to be comforted. Great 
 was the rejoicing among Ijhe brethren and sisters. 
 All felt, and justifiably so, that such a brand plucked 
 from the burning was worth any amount of labour 
 and pains to secure. They yearned over the re- 
 pentant one with an intensity of affection that can 
 nowhere else be witnessed in the world's scheme of 
 things. He was at once a trophy of grace, a proof of 
 their ministry, and a Divine sealing of their charter 
 of apostleship. When they left the hall that night 
 they trod the clouds, and for a little while even the 
 disquieting episode of Jimson's defection was foi^otten. 
 At the very time when this delightful season was 
 being enjoyed by the members of the Mission, Jimson 
 was closeted with three chosen chums, fellow foremen, 
 in the dim and somewhat strong-smelling little bar- 
 sanctum of one of those waterside taverns which still 
 survive on both sides of the Thames. A bottle of 
 rum stood on the rickety table, flanked by a sugar 
 basin and a plate containing a sliced lemon. Four 
 passes also, filled to the brim with a comforting com- 
 ponad, rtood one in front of each member of the 
 quartette. Each in turn gave his solemn opinion of 
 
GATHERING CLOUDS jgy 
 
 Ae state of affairs at the Wren Lane Mission. Forti- 
 fied as well as consoled by the potent spirit, the cronies 
 said many things without the least idea of the value 
 of words, but dMp down in the minds of every 
 TT-^' °^ *' ""'« company was a somewhat 
 devihsh satisfaction that at last Joe Jimson had seen 
 how narrow and unsatisfying was the way of a Holy 
 Joe, and had, gaining wisdom in time, returned to the 
 w»ys of wi«lom-wisdom, that is, in making the best 
 of the world which is, and leaving such esoteric con- 
 siderations as the comfort of others, to say nothing of 
 ones own comfort in the world which is to come 
 to take care of themselves. ' 
 
 Said Larkin Smith, as he cocked his opened 
 pocket-knife into the hollow of his thumb and pro- 
 ceeded to rub up the tobacco he had just shredded 
 from a plug into fitting filling for his pipe, < I alwns 
 dKi say as Jimson was aht o' place in that gang, didn't 
 ) ? There was no answer, but a series of solemn 
 nods, so he resumed. 'Vers, an' wot I say is, men 
 like e«e wots getter git their livin', an' git it mighty 
 ard too, ain't got no time fer fooUn' aroun' with biznew 
 wot b longs ter th' parson. Eveiy man t' 'is trade, 
 I ses. I don't go crabbin' no man's job, I don't ■ let th' 
 parsons look aht fer men's speritooal matters, w-ile the 
 men's a-doin' their bit o' graft ; an' s'longs they don't 
 interfere with me I ain't a-goin' t' interfere wi' them 
 Uye an let live's my motter. Wot do I know about 
 religion ? Nothin' at all, an' I don't want ter know 
 nothin, w'en I k'n get a man oo'se parients 'a' got 
 plenty of brass ter sen' 'im ter college an' learn all 
 Jcre ,s ter be lemed, t'U come round 'ere an' take 
 ail the sponsibility orf my shoulders, fll come in w'en 
 
i«8 THE APOSTLES OF THE SOUTH EAST 
 
 I peg aht an' read me the words wotll pars me froo 
 an' make me all right fer th' nex' world — w'y sh'd 
 I bother wr stoopid 'ead abaht things ? No, not me.' 
 And with a shake of his head woithy of a Solon, Mr. 
 Smith drained his glass and subsided into his chair, 
 puffing vigorously at his pipe like a man who, having 
 stated an unanswerable case, awaits a futile rejoinder 
 in order that he may with a sentence or so crush the 
 rash answerer into dust. No rejoinder came, how- 
 ever, for neither of the other two strangers took 
 sufficient interest in the conversation to rouse them 
 from the pleasant lethargy induced by rum and 
 tobacco, while Jimson himself, although passionately 
 argumentative, was actually too much ashamed to 
 say a word either against the faith he still secretly 
 held, or in its favour when he was engaged in acting 
 as if he had done with it for ever. And there for 
 the present we will leave him to find that the old 
 pleasures long desired in secret had somehow lost 
 t^jcir savour ; that there was a dull cold sense of dis- 
 :>atisfaction with everything and everybody, allied to 
 a constantly haunting fear of having done irreparable 
 injury to his chances of ultimate happiness, and an 
 aching desire to get back among the people he had 
 but recently been so eager to leave. 
 
 There was, as I have before noted, in the enlarged 
 ' Hall ' an angular cupboard-like apartment which was 
 used as a vestry, and in this tiny place Jemmy was 
 wont to keep in a little box the moneys collected 
 until the treasurer, Brother Jenkins, who was by 
 reason of his employment somewhat irregular in his 
 attendance, should come and take it. Jemmy had 
 adopted this plan since the amounts collected had 
 
GATHERING CLOUDS ,5, 
 
 pown in Importance, for, „ he said with a mero' 
 smile, he didn't want to be always under temptation 
 to pay his rent or have a good feed out of the Mission 
 money as he should if he kept it at home. On this 
 Saturday evening the little box contained over 11/. 
 tte proceeds of the baptismal service and the previous 
 Sundays collection, and sundry other sums which 
 were due to be paid away. But when Brother Salmon 
 came as usual to set the ' Hall ' in order for the break- 
 ing of bread on Sunday morning, he found to his 
 horror that some one had been before him, not through 
 the door but down through the skylight Further 
 mvesbgation revealed the startling fact that Jemmy's 
 
 Kh q'I'" ^°"' ' Q""^ *'"""«• by thediscoveor 
 Brother Salmon sat down and tried tocoUect himself 
 
 t„M »f°?!u °" .^'' ^"^ for his unfailing sotaceand 
 told the Father all about it. He rose comforted, and 
 M.d nothing to any of the brethren until Jemmy 
 amvrf when taking him into the vestry he told the 
 poor fellow the heavy tale. It was a crushing blow 
 to Jemmy, disabling him from conducting the service, 
 which was consequently left in the hands of Bajthe^ 
 balmon And, although none else but these two knew 
 of the loss, there was present to the minds of all 
 
 !„hT1/°°^*'^ ^""^ '"~"?'» l»=k of the joy 
 «id bnghtness usually felt at the Sunday morning 
 
 A^rL ^',^'1 "^ 't *« over Jemmy called all 
 fte brethren together who were, if one may call them 
 », his deacons, and laid the loss before them, taking 
 
 ^on. J^° "^ *° **''' *^" ™°"«y ^^-^y with him. 
 peculiarly British suggestion of locking the stable 
 
m 
 
 i>f 
 
 ■| ■! 
 
 I 
 
 170 THE APOSTLES OF THE SOUTH EAST 
 
 1 
 
 after the loss of the horse, but it was unanimously 
 decided that Brother Jenkins be asked to resign his 
 treasurei'ship as soon as he could be seen. All seemed 
 aAaid to suspect anyone whom they knew, and no 
 one had any suggestions to offer about raisit^ this 
 large sum. They felt they dared not make the 
 matter public, for they all knew how a censorious 
 world '"ould receive such a statement It would cer- 
 tainly be said that if any robberj' had been committed 
 it was by one of themselves, and those persons who 
 had not contributed a farthing toward the expenses 
 would be the loudest in *.jeir condemnation and 
 sinister suggestions of dishonesty. 
 
 So that it was with heavy hearts that the little band 
 prepared for the campaign of the evening, anticipating 
 much trouble during the approaching winter in keep- 
 ing out of debt, when open-air meetings could not be 
 held and the collections would be confined to their 
 own body. For they knew, none better, that in the 
 open-air meetings their strength lay, and that such a 
 congregation as they would get indoors during the 
 winter would be quite unlikely to contribute enough 
 to meet current expenses, much less make up such 
 a loss as they had just sustained. In the open 
 air that night a fairly good collection was taken, 
 amounting to 3/., but there were no conversians and 
 very little enthusiasm except on the part of Bill 
 Harrop, who proved himself a tower of strength. But 
 for him the meeting would have been dull indeed. 
 And if you, reader, feel inclined to blame these poor 
 apostles for their easily damped ardour, it will be well 
 for you to remember some of the occasions on which 
 ycHi have felt that, because some loss has confronted 
 
GATHERING CLOUDS ,,, 
 
 you, or some of your well^tfranged plans have gone 
 •gley, the sunshine of God's favour has been shut off 
 «>d your heaven has been overcast with lowering 
 clouds through which no gleam of blue has been dis- 
 cernible. Since(and before) the days of Elijah thesame 
 lAenomena have always been witnessed-Christians 
 nsmg to the most sublime heights of faith in the pre- 
 sence of truly terrible trials, and fainting before trifling 
 setback., meeting joyfully the tremendous frontal 
 assaults of the devil victoriously, and succumbing to 
 small temptations to evil most ingloriously. It has 
 ever been so, and presumably, unUl the day of God 
 shall dawti, it will, in spite of its apparent paradox, so 
 continue to be. «- ■-• 
 
CHAPTER XVII 
 
 FAITH'S OPPORTUNITY 
 
 From the hardly contested struggle of the brethren 
 in dingy Rotherhithe It is doubtless a relief to return 
 for a while to Saul, grandly justifying bis high calling 
 upon the wide sea. It is no exaggeration to say 
 that this one man's goodness of character, ability 
 in his profession, and courage to do what he felt to 
 be right, completely altered the lives of everybody on 
 board. For if it be impossible for seamen to withhold 
 their admiration for a brutal tyrant, providing he be 
 a first-rate sailorman, how much more must they, are 
 they, compelled to aidmire a perfect seamen who is 
 at the same time fearless, just, and untiring. Saul 
 dominated the whole ship, and although, as was 
 inevitable, there were some evil spirits who hated him 
 solely for his goodness, they did not dare to utter 
 their sentiments for fear of what the majority might 
 say or do. So the Asttroidvtas a perfectly peace- 
 ful ship. From day to day the routine went on lilce 
 clockwork, and there never was the slightest necessity 
 for either of the mates to interfere in any way. Not 
 only so, but the mate grew to repose such implicit 
 confidence in Saul's sailorising qualities that his 
 directions for work to be done only consisted of 
 the merest outline, and any suggestion of alteration 
 
FAITH'S OPPORTUNITY ,73 
 
 made by Saul always met with a moat coidial 
 welcome from him. 
 
 When the ship reached the steady fine-weather 
 region, Saul, having previously obtained the consent 
 of the mate, held a class three nights a week in the 
 second d<^-watch, to which he invited all the appren- 
 tices and those members of the crew whose seaman- 
 ship was of poor quality. At these times he taught 
 his pupils, with a thoroughness and assiduity beyond 
 ail praise, all the mysteries of knots, splices, seizings, 
 and fancy work, in either hemp or wire rope. And 
 this teaching business caught on so that soon you 
 might see all hands in their watch on deck at 
 night, or below in the dog-watches, busily engaged 
 in demonstrating some knotty point of sailorising 
 or arguing some detail of seamanship, such as the 
 sending up or down of mast and yards, the fitting of 
 rigging, &c. 
 
 Side by side with this educational process, which, 
 it may be remarked In passing, was not merely of the 
 highest value to the crew practically, but kept their 
 minds off the endless filthy gabble that is so charac- 
 teristic of ship's forecastles, another form of instruc- 
 tion was steadily going forward. None the less real 
 because it was unobtrusive, it was not confined to one 
 period of the day, but its beneficent influence was felt 
 all day long. In Saul's presence at first none of his 
 men dared to use bad language because of their fear 
 of the consequences, but as they grew to know him 
 better, they felt that it would be a much greater 
 offence to swear before him than it would be else- 
 ^re. As an instance of what I mean, the little 
 Scotchman of whom I spoke was doing a small job 
 
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174 THE APOSTLES OF THE SOUTH EAST 
 
 one day under the bo'sun's eye, when the marlinespike 
 he was using slipped and the point pierced his hand. 
 As ninety out of a hundred sailors would have done, 
 he uttered a fierce curse upon the tool. Saul gravely 
 said, 'Did sayin' that do ye any good?' Scotty did 
 not trust himself to answer, so Saul went on, ' I can 
 tell ye from experience that, as far as words go, 
 " Thank God " would have just the same effect on the 
 smart as that foul talk, and it would sound ever 
 so much better. But I can tell you more than that 
 I can tell you that while it's cowardly to swear at a 
 thing which you know can't give you back as bad as 
 you send, cowardly to swear at something else for 
 what is your own fault, it's bad for ye to give way to 
 temper like that If ye only keep a hand on your- 
 self and bridle your tongue, the good it'll do ye is 
 beyond all count But I'll admit that to do so fully 
 needs the grace of God, except one's born patient. It 
 does come easier then.' 
 
 Scotty looked up at the handsome grave face, his 
 memory ran back along the various incidents of the 
 voyage wherein what the bo'sun was now preaching 
 had been practised by him, and in spite of the 
 smarting of his injured hand he was convinced and 
 ashamed of himself. For herein lies the supreme 
 teaching value of a good man's life on board ship. 
 Men live there in an intimacy unknown elsewhere, 
 except in the family. All a man's faults and failings, 
 no less than his virtues, are brought under the mental 
 microscope, and every detail of his behaviour, even 
 if it is never discussed in speech, is noted, has its 
 influence. This it is that makes me so impatient 
 with the foolish talk of people who speak of the 
 
FAITH'S OPPORTUNITY 
 
 •7S 
 
 Christian as if he or she were a creature whose 
 mental and physical fibre were in some way relaxed. 
 In the nature of things one has always a battle to 
 fight when well-doing is his object, and even A-hen 
 surrounded by Christian friends full of sympathy and 
 willingness to help, that battle is a stem one, bringing 
 out all that is most heroic in man. But when, by 
 night and day, week in, week out, for months and 
 itionths at a time, a man is surrounded by th. .se who 
 are eager to trip him up, who would be delighted 
 beyond measure at his fall, and whose keenness of 
 criticism makes no allowances for temperament, or 
 indeed difficulties of any sort, then the grandeur of 
 the Christian character becomes manifest, the true 
 hero stands revealed. But verily he has his reward : 
 not merely in the contemplation of a theoretical 
 Heaven to be by-and-by attained as a payment for 
 patient endurance of sorrow, evil, and pain here, but 
 in the growth of love, the closer affinity of the 
 creature to the Creator, the gradual return to the 
 originally conceived man before by disobedience he 
 lost that fellowship with God wherein lay perfect 
 peace and happiness. 
 
 It was in this manner that Saul was silently edu- 
 cating the crew of the Asteroid. Except that he was 
 always ready with an encouraging or a warning word 
 where he felt it might be fitly spoken, as at such times 
 as I have just alluded to, he never attempted to preach 
 directly, preferring to let his life do that for him, and 
 fcelmg sure that if he only lived Christ, sooner or 
 later he would be asked to preach Him directly. 
 His two berthmates, Chips and Sails, were in great 
 straits. His presence in the half-deck exercised a 
 
176 THE APOSTLES OF THE SOUTH EAST 
 
 restraint upon them that often became intolerable. 
 
 Only his bright cheery presence, for never by a word 
 
 did he attempt to force upon them what he thought 
 
 they sorely needed. So, as a rule, whenever he was in 
 
 the house they went out and conversed at their ease. 
 
 They did not boycott him intentionally, feeling that 
 
 fuch a proceeding would be futile, but they simply 
 
 could not talk before him, their darkness could not 
 
 stand his light. Then Chips was taken seriously ill. 
 
 The food in the ship was of poor quality — poorer, so 
 
 the two petty officers said, than it had ever been before 
 
 and owing to a quantity of tinned fresh beef going 
 
 bad there was very littl^ change of diet from the 
 
 saltpetre-laden meat. This brought on an illness in 
 
 the carpenter's case which, partly the long-delayed 
 
 result of vicious habits, might have beer averted with 
 
 proper food. And now the sufferer realised with 
 
 many mental pangs how good a thing it was to have 
 
 a tender-hearted untiring shipmate. Saul nursed 
 
 him like a mother, prayed for him (but never intruded 
 
 his prayers upon him), read his favourite books to 
 
 him— for Chips, like most Scotchmen, was a great 
 
 reader — and generally did for him what such a man 
 
 might be expected to do. And at last, one Sunday 
 
 afternoon, as the ship was sweetly breasting the bright 
 
 waters of the Southern Ocean before a splendid 
 
 westerly breeze, with a regular rhythmical swing as of 
 
 an infant's cradle, although she was making a good ten 
 
 knots, Chips suddenly turned his weary eyes full upon 
 
 Saul as the latter sat by the bunkside reading the 
 
 ' Heart of Midlothian ' to him, and said, ' Bo'su.i, hoo 
 
 is ut ye've never offert tae read th' Bible tae me ? ' 
 
 •Chips, my boy,' replied Saul, ' I've been waitin' an' 
 
FAITH'S OPPORTUNITY ,„ 
 
 prayin- for ye f ask me. You know ^s well as I do 
 that if I had offered you would have been offended, 
 and perhaps scared as well, because some people have 
 a queer notion that to offer to read the Bible to a 
 man shows that you think he's goin" to die. Besides 
 I do try, as far as He gives me grace to do it, to 
 imitate my Master, Jesus Christ He was such a 
 gentleman as the worid's never seen before or since. 
 An He never forced Himself on people. When they 
 wanted Him, He was, and is, always ready, but to 
 come where He isn't wanted wouldn't be like Him 
 But He went on livin' His perfect life in the sight of 
 all men, and if that didn't make 'em love Him it 
 was because the devil had so blinded 'em that they 
 couldn't see the beauty of His splendid perfect man- 
 hood. But tell me, wouU you like me to read to 
 you ? Read the Bible, I mean.' 
 
 Chips, with closed eyes, murmured, 'Yes. Not 
 cause Ah think Aam gaein' f dee, fur Ah daen't. 
 Bit Ah wou d laik fine t' see, if Ah can. hoo it is that 
 a man can dae fhat ye'va ben daein' iver sin ye 
 «in aboord this ship. Mahn, Ah've niver sin ony- 
 thir -Ik ut in a' ma life. Mony an' mony a mahn 
 ah vc oeen acquent wi' wha"^ profest tae be unco guid, 
 bit thae wer a' rotten at hert an' ther professions but 
 lees But ye seem tae be wut ma idee of a Christen 
 mahn ought to be_read me some ooto'yer Bible, an' 
 Ahll listen wi' all ma hairt.' 
 
 Without another word Saul reached up for his 
 Bible and opened it at Luke xv. From lack of 
 «lucatjon many of his words were mispronounced in 
 a fashion to make a critic writhe, but he had that 
 supreme gift of a good reader, a sympathetic apprecia- 
 
 N 
 
178 THE APOSTLES OF THE SOUTH EAST 
 
 tion of what he was reading, that made his hearer feel 
 the words as the writer intended they should be felt. 
 And as Chips lay and listened to the sublime parable, 
 he saw, as if in a picture spread out before him, the 
 nine pieces of silver safe in the bag while the sorrow- 
 ing housev"'*"';, candle in hi>nd, swept and searched 
 diligently t. ' she found the piere which was lost. 
 He saw the ninety-nine sheep cosily nestling within 
 the fold, while up and down the bleak mountain side 
 the shepherd sought untiringly for the foolish straying 
 one. And his interest grew poignant in its intensity 
 as Saul, choking with emotion, reproduced the Divine 
 picture of the Father i>n His lonely watch-tower 
 straining His eyes out over the desert for the drooping 
 wayworn figure of his returning son. So great was 
 the power of sympathetic faith possessed by the reader, 
 that Chips was one of the company of publicans and 
 sinners drawn nigh to hear Him who spake as never 
 man spake before or since, and it was with a sense of 
 perfect realisation of that wonderful scene that he 
 said, as Saul looked up at the story's close, ' Thankye, 
 thankye, bo'sun, ye'll never know what ye've dune fer 
 me this aefthemune. May God repay ye, fer Ah niver 
 can. Noo Ah'U sleep, Ah think, fer Ah feel thet 
 comforted ye caent imagine.' 
 
 So Saul put down his book and went on deck, 
 where leaning over the rail his eyes feasted upon the 
 cool loveliness of the departing day, took in every 
 detail of curving wave, diamond spray, delicate play 
 of coloursabove and beneath, until his heart overflowed 
 witli its upspringing fountain of joy, and the big tears 
 of perfect happiness rolled ons by one down his 
 bronzed face. There ar^ many people who cannot 
 
FAITH'S OPPORTUNITY ,„ 
 
 dissociate the idea of tears from sorrow, many more 
 who feel that for a man to weep proves him unmanly 
 Poor people, what do they know of joy or manliness ? 
 Jesus wept, and no man ever attained to His over- 
 towering stature of true manliness ; while true full joy 
 must have tears or the heart will burst, the joyfu! one 
 will die. 
 
 But Saul's greatest blessing was found in the 
 transformation of the once truculent and worthless 
 Larry Doolan. Larry's experience the first day out 
 had been to him a revelation of what he was, and 
 what this strong brave man was who had first 
 mastered him and then saved his life. He was truly a 
 changed man. Very silent and reserved, scarcely ever 
 heard to speak unless absolutely compelled to do so 
 wlhng, teachable, and obedient in the highest degree' 
 Aere was as much difference between him and the' 
 UrryDoolan of former days as between light and 
 dark. And his dog-like affection for Saul was a 
 pathetic thing to see. A deep content seemed to fill 
 him if only he could work near his deliverer- he 
 followed him wistfully with his eyes, and at' his 
 lightest word the once dawdling loafer sprar.e to 
 execute the order as if his life depended upo; his 
 promptness. But speak to Saul, Larry could not 
 except in the way of business. All his native 
 voubihty seemed to have deserted him, and he could 
 only express what he felt by his looks. But once or 
 twice in the fo'c'sle, when some lewd fellow of the 
 baser fort ventured a disparaging remark about the 
 bosun, threw it out a sort of feeler like, Larry's dark 
 eyes flashed, his fists clenched them.se)ves and he 
 
i8o THE APOSTLES OF THE SOUTH EAST 
 
 growled out a fierce warning that might not be safely 
 disregarded. 
 
 And so the passage drew near its close. Chips 
 recovered, but was sadly altered in physique, from 
 the tremendous demand made upon his enfeebled 
 constitution. The sailmaker, a weak good-natured 
 fellow, taking his cue from the penitent carpenter, now 
 sat with him and listened while Saul read a chapter 
 every night out of his beloved Bible and haaarded a 
 few pithy comments at intervals. And then the trio 
 suddenly became aware that during the reading there 
 were listeners outside the ^oor. Some of the watch 
 on deck took to creeping aft and listening to Saul's 
 melodious voice as he read the Word. And presently 
 cime that for which Saul had hungered ever since he 
 came on board, an invitation to read to all hands that 
 could attend one Sunday afternoon, at which his heart 
 leapt for joy. Seated on the forehatch, with the chaps 
 picturesquely disposed about him, the bo'sun read 
 amid a silence so deep that you could almost hear the 
 deep breathing. The impression made was very great, 
 how great could only dimly be surmised; but the 
 immediate results were evident. Only four fellows 
 held aloof, men who had made up their minds to hate 
 Saul, and whom no amount of admiration for his 
 seamanship or manly character could alter, and Larry. 
 But the latter only kept away from the reading f .om 
 a mistaken idea that he would be held disloyal to his 
 religion if he listened to a here tc's reading of the 
 Bible. His conscience was becoming very tender, and 
 he longed to do right at whatever cost to himself, and 
 Saul, knowing his difficulty well, did not press him with 
 invitations. He only remained instant in prayer that 
 
FAITH'S OPPORTUNITY ,8, 
 
 ttis poor blind heart might be opened to receive 
 the hght and be led by the great Guide into the way 
 ofpeace. ' 
 
 The readings were so great a success that they 
 were renewed at every possible opportunity, and, 
 strange as it may seem, Saul had much difficulty in 
 remammg humble and not puffed up by this wonderful 
 result. But it has ever been so: the gentle souls 
 that could endure martyrdom, that under all adverse 
 circumstances only shine brighter and more stead- 
 festly, are often lulled to sleep or tempted to become 
 well satisfied with themselves when the sunshine of 
 Gods love beams upon them and their ministry is 
 being blessed and accepted by all around them. Of 
 course it is only a spiritual application of the uni- 
 versal rule that there be Jew mortals who can properly 
 endure success. Especially such as this of Saul's. 
 It surpassed his most fervent hopes that he should 
 find all hands, except of course the after-guard 
 •istening patiently while out of the Book of books he 
 read the grand old story in that language which is so 
 plam that a child may apprehend it. He felt sure 
 that tiiere would be a great ingathering presently, 
 lookedforward to it confidently, and uie contemplation 
 made him supremely happy. 
 
 After a smart passage of eighty-seven days the 
 Asttroid axrweA at Calcutta, and the way her crew 
 worked unbending and stowing away sails as she was 
 swiftly towed up the great river, extorted a few words 
 of wondering praise from the pilot— one of those 
 masterful chiefs of the piloting profession that only 
 SMims to attain its foil development in Calcutta, 
 f me crew you've got, Captain Vaughan,' said he, as 
 
t82 THE APOSTLES OF THE SOUTH EAST 
 
 that gentleman and he promenaded the dec 
 the sails fell around like autumn leaves. ' Ye' 'ou 
 may well say that,' answered the skipper. ' I don't 
 want a bett( r lot, more willing, or more cheerful. And 
 yet they're being so is a profound mystery to me. 
 Practically their smartness and willingness is the 
 result of one man's work, for a more miserable set of 
 wastrels than the majority looked like when first they 
 showed up leaving London, you could hardly imagine. 
 But that bo'sun of mine has workM miracles with 'em. 
 He's got religion, has that fellow, the righ: kind, and 
 he not only taught them to obey him, to look slippy 
 when they're called, an' tov>'ork without growling, but 
 he's got 'em to sit and listen to him while he reads and 
 expounds the Bible to "em. I tell you he makes me 
 feel mighty 'shamed of myself, especially as he's made 
 my life a very easy one. I haven't had a thing to 
 trouble my head about all the passage except the 
 navigation, neither hat the mate. That fellow's done 
 
 it all.' 
 
 Th; pilot listened gravely until the skipper hid 
 finished, and then -trith an air of wisdom such as might 
 become a man who was fully qualified to say the last 
 word on the _jbject, replied, ' Well, Captain Vaaghan, 
 what you say is very interesting as a study in super- 
 stitions. It :.. well worthy of attention, the manner 
 in which these lower intelligences blindly attach 
 themselves limpet-wise to some perfectly impossible 
 farrago of jumbled-up ideas, and the lengths to which 
 they will go in support of some theory for which they 
 could not, if their lives depended upon it, bring one 
 single reasonable proof But I confess that your tes- 
 timony to this man's behaviour is quite outside the 
 
FAITH'S OPPORTUNITY 
 
 .83 
 
 ordinary range of my experience. Religion, of what- 
 ever brand, I have always found unfits a man or 
 woman for the oidinary workaday business cf the 
 world ; makes then- in fact, more or less idiotic, while 
 endowing them with a plausible cunning that is a 
 very common feiture of idiocy in general. That you 
 should have a man here in such a positioii as bo'sun, 
 an open professor of religion and withal a man whc 
 can do his work and make others do theirs, can keep 
 his place and his preaching for its proper time, when- 
 ever that may be, and at the end of three months can 
 command your unqualified good word, is enough to 
 make one think that the age of miracles is not yet 
 past.' ' You've exactly expressed my feelings on the 
 matter. Pilot,' returned the captain, ' except that I de- 
 tect in your tone a touch of incredulity. But I swear 
 to you that I have studiously underrated the man to 
 you, and I believe if you'll keep a clore eye upon him 
 during the short time you are on board that you'll 
 find it easier to believe me. Mind, I do believe that, 
 whether he'd got religion or not he'd be a first-class 
 man, but he's compelled me to believe that he cer- 
 tainly is a v*ry much better man with religion than 
 he would be without it He tells tlie chaps that 
 before he was converted' — ' Bsfore he was rvhat}' 
 interjected the pilot. ' Nc ^, you know what I said,' 
 laughed the skipper ; ' I'r'i not responsible for his '.er- 
 minology, neither am I going to enter into any dis- 
 cussion as to tl.j meaning he attaches to the words 
 he uses. Before he wts converted he says he wasn't 
 anything like so good a workman as he is now, because 
 he didn't take the same interest in his work. He was 
 lazy and drunken whenever he could possibly indulge 
 
i84 THE APOSTLES OF THE SOUTH EAST 
 
 in either of those habits, and in fact he lived the I'tc 
 of an intelligent animal without the wise instincts 
 which prevent an animal from doing harm to its own 
 body. 
 
 < I see,' sighed the pilot. ' I shall have to take a 
 few days ofl* and study this phenomenon of yours, 
 Captain ; and then if I'm any judge of the workings of 
 a man's mind by what he says, I may as well study 
 you as well, for I believe if your bo'sun dared to tell 
 you what he's thinkin' about you he would say, " Thou 
 art not far from the Kingdom of God." ' 
 
 Startled beyond measure, the captain turned 
 sharply, his face flushing crimson, upon the pilot, as 
 if to say something in a hurry. But he could not find 
 words apparently, for a(ter a pause he murmured, 
 ' Ah, Pilot, although I am astonished to hear you 
 quoting Scripture, I've got to say this— if getting into 
 the Kingdom of God will make me half as good a 
 n<an as my bo'sun. 111 do all I can to get there. But 
 there's the luncheon bell. Can -ou come down with 
 us, or shall I have yours f^nt up here 7 ' ' Oh, I can 
 come down ; I think my leadsman is fully competent 
 to take her along for the next dozen miles.' And 
 they disappeared below. 
 
 As I write these few last lines I keep on thinking 
 of what their effect will be upon the minds of men 
 who may honour me by reading them, but whose 
 mental attitude is that of the pilot. Will they dismiss 
 them as invention, or will they give me the credit of 
 having stated what I know to be true ? I hope for the 
 latter, of course, because it is a great thing to get a 
 thinking man or woman to receive evidence which 
 they feePth^y can trust, even though it cuts across the 
 
FAITH'S OPPORTUNITY ,85 
 
 roots of many of their theories. As a piece of first- 
 hand e^ idcnce I do uot think its importance ^an be 
 exaggerated, and for this reason : To-day, wherever 
 educated people are discussing t. is pre-eminent pro- 
 blem of the effect of Christianity upon the world they 
 are seeking for results in men's lives. If they find them 
 to Ns good they must be con v meed, but if they find that 
 mediavalism is still nmpant among us in a modified 
 form, that the Christianity generally understanded of 
 the people is mer ■ / a matter of ceremonial, of exter- 
 nal compliance with certain forms, while the heart 
 the life motives, remain untouched— if they see in 
 'i*?' '.•"* *° *\^»»* '"•Jority of religionists among 
 us Chnst IS but the name of.- mysterious personage 
 far away m the eternities, or s awful image exfend«l 
 
 S-* 'Tu°^ f l^' ""''"'"«' '■" « magnificent 
 buildmg and bowed down to by troops of gomeously 
 bedight pi .ests doing by proxy that whic? God hw 
 said every soul must do for him or her self- < ,en thev 
 will turn sadly away, feeling certain that such a re- 
 ligion IS but one of the many which men have adopted 
 since the creation of the worid, for fear of what may 
 happen to them hereafter. 
 
 Let these thoughtful ones but be persuaded that 
 thnst IS as real to genuine Christians now as He was 
 to the twelve, that to men and women who entertain 
 Him without any man's intervention He is, as He 
 said He would be. a very present aid in time of trouble 
 and a wellspring of joy at all times. Let them' 
 devote as much time to the search for facts relating 
 to the lives of those who are acqu'-inted with God 
 as they would to the elucidation of some vexed 
 question concerning, say, the nervous system of the 
 
,86 THE APOSTLES OF THE SOUTH EAST 
 moUusca. and we shall have a freshness of preach- 
 ing, an outburst of conquering fa>* it.-^ • ^ 
 verities of life that is hid with Chnst .n Gk^. 
 such as the world has not witnessed smce Apostolic 
 days. 
 
CHAPTER XVIII 
 
 CALCUTTA AND HOME 
 
 The mooring of a big sailing-ship at Calcutta is 
 a most interesting process, and one that I have often 
 felt merited a detailed description. But I have grave 
 doubts whether this is the place to give it, much as I 
 should like to bring before my readers the natives 
 diving to hook on the gigantic chain-moorings lying 
 at the bottom, the great launches heaving those cables 
 up, and all the complicated business of securing 
 a huge ship fore and aft in such safety that when 
 the ' bore,' or tidal wave, sweeps diagonally up the 
 river, carrying devastation far and wide among the 
 native craft,..it may beat in vain upon the long 
 rows of Western ships riding near the banks of the 
 Hooghly. 
 
 As, however, the purpose of this history is con- 
 cerned with quite other matters, I must reluctantly 
 pass over so tempting a theme, merely pointing out 
 that now Saul was, to his great delight, in a position 
 to call in potent auxiliaries to complete the work he 
 had so nobly begun in the minds of his crew. The 
 behaviour of four of the latter gave him some little 
 trouble, for they neglected no opportunity of getting 
 fte worse for liquor ; but as they were discountenanced 
 ly all the rest of the hands, their folly was not nearly 
 
,88 THE APOSTLES OF THE SOUTH EAST 
 
 so harassing to Saul as it was to themselves. And 
 the change in Chips was simply bewildering to the 
 captain. He seemed to have lost all desire for a 
 debauch. Instead of, as in former times, seizing the 
 first opportunity to get ashore with the sailmaker 
 and return riotous with liquor as soon as his means 
 of obtaining any more were exhausted, he did not 
 now go ashore at all, remaining impervious to the 
 hints of the sailmaker, who, apparently, could not go 
 without him. Instead, he sought Saul's society as 
 much as possible when off duty, as if he felt that 
 he must draw strength fr6m him to resist the temp- 
 tation that assailed hire, continuously. 
 
 The ship was moored on Tuesday, and for the 
 remainder of the week no one went ashore except 
 the topers aforesaid ; and they, by the time Saturday 
 night came, had met with so much contumely from 
 their shipmates for the way in which they had earned 
 on that th<^ seemed to have lost all desire to go 
 ashore at all. Meanwhile Saul had been makmg 
 inquiries quietly, and hid found that there was being 
 conducted in the Radha Bazaar, at the Sailor's Rest 
 a special mission for seamen by some Americans. 
 Glowing accounts of their success among the sailors 
 reached his ears, and he determined upon a bold step, 
 having first long and earnestly besought God for 
 a blessing upon what he was about to do. On 
 Saturday night he sought the skipper privately, and 
 asked for a small advance upon account of his wages 
 earned. This the captain gave him readily, when he 
 further asked whether the captain would approve of 
 his taking all hands ashore in the afternoon to a me^ 
 and a meeting afterwards. The old man professed 
 
CALCUTTA AND HOME ,89 
 
 himself delighted, and Saul after thanking him went 
 forward and succeeded in getting the promise of all 
 hands but four to come and share his hospitality at 
 the Sailor's Rest at supper time, and stay to the 
 meeting afterwards. He told them that he had gone 
 bail, as it were, for their good behaviour, feeling sure 
 that none of them would slip away and go on a 
 private tear of their own, and so make him regret 
 having invited them ashore. 
 
 He was delighted at his success, and in the mom- 
 mg went ashore by himself and had an interview 
 with the Mission folks, finding to his intense satis- 
 faction that they were men after his own heart, men 
 whose company you could not be in five minutes 
 without finding that they were real Christians, but 
 whose particular denomination it would be quite 
 beyond your power to discover. When he unfolded 
 his plan they entered into the spirit of it at once, but 
 vainly endeavoured to induce him to allow them to 
 bear part of the cost There, however, he was im- 
 movable ; feeling, as he said, that it was in the nature 
 of a thankoffering for the wonderful way in which 
 God had honoured him by making use of him 
 throughout the passage. Then having made all his 
 arrangements he returned on board, and at five 
 o'clock the expedition set out from the ship, havmg 
 been preceded, all unknown to them, by the skipper, 
 who was simply burning with desire to know the 
 secret of Saul's hold over the men. Somewhat 
 sheepishly, with a feeling as if they were doing son.e- 
 thing derogatory to their manhood, the little band 
 rolled up the steps of the Ghat and across the 
 Maidaa But it was not until they reached the ' Rest ' 
 
t9o THE APOSTLES OF THE SOUTH EAST 
 
 and sat down to the lai^e table reserved for them, 
 that they b^an to shake off their shyness. Their 
 eyes brightened at the sight of the crisp green salad 
 lettuces, cucumbers, endive, and watercress; at the 
 tasty dishes of sliced ham and beef, and the dainty 
 rolls and pats of butter on ice. All sailors who have 
 known that overpowering hunger for green earth- 
 fruits bred of a long enforced abstinence from them, 
 will appreciate their feelings. For my part I know 
 that when I one morning went into the great bazaar 
 at Calcutta, and saw the piarvellously beautiful array 
 of green vegetables just down from the hills, I felt 
 positively ill with desire— a desire as overwhelming as 
 the traveller i.i the desert has for a drink of cool 
 fresh water, not to be understood by anyone who 
 has never been similarly placed. 
 
 Gradually their reserve thawed out, and they 
 laughed unrestrainedly at the quaint turns of speech 
 given utterance to by that grave pair of American 
 preachers who had sat down to supper with them. 
 Oh, that heavenly gift of humour ! When it is allied 
 to a sacred sense of the holiness with which God 
 invests His children, when the man or woman of God 
 is not afraid either to laugh themselves or to see 
 others laugh, how good and pleasant and potent 
 a thing it is to be sure ! Before the meal was ended 
 not a man present there but felt that he could 
 do anything for those two Americans. They were 
 acknowledged to be real good fellows that anybody 
 could feel at home with, and when at the close of the 
 meal the elder of the two, a slender dark-eyed man of 
 about forty with a flowing brown beard, stood up and 
 said, ' Waal, boys, if you don't mind I sh'd like just f 
 
CALCUTTA AND HOME ,5, 
 
 thank the dear Father for His abundant mercies' 
 every head was at once bowed, and not a heart 
 present but beat responsive to the short pithy thanks- 
 giving that was offered up. 
 
 Under these circumstances it was no wonder that 
 the little company went into the hall set apart for 
 the meeting with nearly all their shyness replaced by 
 an eager desire to hear what their new-found friends 
 would have to say to them from the vantage ground 
 of Uie platform. A splendid frame of mind in which 
 to find one's hearers, and one intensely helpful to the 
 speaker, who should be keenly sensible of sympathy 
 among his audience, should be able to see the heart- 
 hunger in the-:- faces, and at once become the medium 
 of communication between them and the Source of 
 all supply for such needs as theirs. Before the time 
 appointed for tiie commencement of the meeting 
 seven o'clock, the room was full of sailors, and a better 
 congregation it would have been hard to find. There 
 was plenty pf singing, conducted by a littie group at 
 the far end of the room remote from the door, and 
 led by a harmonium— rousing choruses in which all 
 could join and sing to tiieir hearts' content. 
 
 Then came the praying and preaching, both done 
 >n that eminentij common-sense way which seems 
 to be the birtiiright of Americans, most of whom are 
 bom orators. It was utterly impossible to suspect 
 those men of pose or cant. Their language was the 
 anguage of every day ; tiieir similes were drawn, like 
 their Master's, from homeliest things; tiiey spoke 
 with naked hearts to naked hearts ; and witii a full 
 tender appreciation of the needs and limitations of 
 Wieir hearers. And when they had delivered tiieir 
 
,9, THE APOSTLES OF THE SOUTH EAST 
 
 „>essage. while yet the interest oj ^"^'^"^^^ j! 
 highest tension, they paused, and in f"'^* ^«^^ 
 i„i tones implored all present not to allow th.s 
 prLLt opportunity of joining the noble army of 
 cSs waLrs against the evil of the world to sUp 
 away from them' There was - excitement no 
 frantic endeavours to work upon the feehngs of their 
 Us Tenertbut a calm, lucid, reasonable presentation of 
 thi S to be faced. And then when the inevitable 
 S iutoncameforallthosewho would decide to serve 
 the King henceforth to itand up, there was an im_ 
 m^iateresponse-not from scattered ones here and 
 SSI but from almost everyone in the room, to the 
 nSer of about one hundred and fifty. Then, when 
 I public confession had been made, the preacher, 
 Xr telling them all to sit down agam, said, Now, 
 m; det chaps, those of you who are absolutely sin- 
 Tere and who haven't risen because you saw others 
 do so you've just enlisted in a conquering army, and 
 5:5 h^ve to goon fighting till yourlives end. You 
 won't g't plain sailing on tha^ sea upon which you 
 W & embarked, any more than you get it now; 
 buirwhat kind of sailors would youbef the ocean 
 t^ Swiys as smooth as a miUpond. if there -as 
 Ilways just enough wind to fill your sails arid no 
 morand that wind was always fair? One of your 
 S:S friuently used words of praise is " He wa.. or 
 Ta mS" Well, men are bred, as you know, m hard 
 s^gde. in fierce fighting witii all the forces that to^ 
 Ser tiiem from their goal, to keep them from 
 Sven where they fain would be. Now I m going 
 
 your ships with a desire you never had before. 
 
CALCUTTA AND HOME ,93 
 
 determination to serve God and therefore your fellow- 
 men. And He, who is Almighty, will supply all 
 your needs in Christ Jesus. Good-night' 
 
 The words had hardly left his lips when a strong 
 voice arose from near the platform, ' Hold on a 
 minute, men.' All hands stopped in their tracks as 
 if turned into stone, while a burly figure mounted 
 the platform and faced them all. It was Captain 
 Vaughan. There was a silence that might be felt 
 as he said, ' Men, I very nearly lost an opportunity 
 through bein' a coward, that might never have come to 
 me any more. Some of you know me : I command a 
 big ship here, the Asteroid. An' on my passage out 
 from London :'ve seen a specimen ofwhat a Christian 
 can be and do, that has simply broken down all my 
 wrong ideas about Christians. Men, you all knawwhat 
 a bo'sun can make of a ship. Well, my bo'sun bein' a 
 Christian has made my ship one of the most com- 
 fortable on the high seas. He's a man, among all 
 ttie men I h^ve ever been shipmate with, the noblest. 
 Through his example I am here to-night, but less 
 brave than he, I nearly allowed my chance of stand- 
 ing up for God slip past me. Thank God, I didn't 
 do so. I call you all to witness that James Vaughan 
 master of the British ship Asteroid, has signed on to 
 serve God from to-night, come fair or foul ; and may 
 He give me grace so to live that I shall never bring 
 any discredit on His great cause.' 
 
 There was a breathless pause as Captain Vaughan 
 erased speaking, and then (who started it could not 
 be told) a tremendous round of cheering ensued. 
 • Hip, hip, hurrah I ' six times repeated, until the whole 
 building rang again, and men from coflfee-bar and 
 
 O 
 
,94 THE APOSTLES OF THE SOUTH EAST 
 reading-room came flocking in to see what strange 
 Sng had happened. Then all hand, dispersed into 
 Sight and ^ght their several ships singmg w.A 
 stentorian voices such choruses as <hey could re- 
 member of what they ^ad heard ; white ti»c dusky 
 denizens of che bazaar looked on astounded, and for- 
 bore to invite to ' Come see. plenty nice house me fine 
 for you ; neber mine money, can get from tailo'. bum- 
 boat m^. anybody.' No. though the HmdoodK not 
 
 savvy the meaning of this strange ou£"f °fr*"f; 
 he could not mistake it for the nteld mirthless 
 noises made by ....k*ds. and he stood back allow- 
 ing the joyful procession to pass, break up, and join 
 its several ships. 
 
 To all those who know what a great seaport 
 
 abroad is like i:-. the portionsof it affected by seamer^ 
 
 it will be unne ^ry to say how profoundly CalcutU 
 
 was affected by these marvellous proceedings, it is 
 
 hopeless to try and explain to those who do no^b^ 
 
 onfmayjust say that the wonderful work effected 
 
 by the spiiead of the Gospel among the sailors wa^ 
 
 the theme of every English-speaking person s taH. 
 
 To the masters of the ships it was, while the subjert 
 
 of many cheap witticisms, secretly a ™a"er for mudh 
 
 self-congratulation, as it might well be from the 
 
 ,r.arvellous way in which they found their latours 
 
 lightened, their troubles coming to an end. But ou 
 
 concern being with the AsUroid, at present we mu 
 
 leave all the other ships and those portions of thei 
 
 crews who had started on the upward way, to tne 
 
 struggle between light and darkness that such 
 
 change must inevitebly bring. 
 
 The remaining days in port were all too quicwy 
 
CALCUTTA AND HOME ,55 
 
 P«»Med by the Astir<ri<fs crew. With the captain 
 now taking the lead i.. all their effort, to acquaint 
 
 Sfr^H "* ?^ ^'^'^'^J *'* ^'^ ^^y °f «fc. those 
 who had entered upon that way were filled with self- 
 condemnation that they had not begun before. It all 
 
 ^lTJ^^h« Tm^"''*"^^'''"'- But they did not 
 realise how highly favoured they were in having so 
 ar?e a majority on board on the Lord's side. To 
 
 t^. t\^ ,"u*' *" '^ P"' •*• gone off their 
 heads the state of thmgs was anything but satisfactory. 
 The four foremast hands who spake thus found them- 
 selv^ completely isolated by their own act. since thTy 
 could not, or would not, take part in ]^y JZ 
 «hg.ous exercises of their shipmates, and because of 
 ^ inferior numbers they were afraid to take any 
 steps to show their disapproval of such proceedings. 
 Then there were the two officers, Messrs. Carroll and 
 Kenton, the apprentices. Uie sailmakcr and cook, all 
 of whom were anything but comfortable under the 
 
 ZZT- P"" ^""^ *'""' «8ain they murmu^ 
 among hemselves, ' A little of this kind o' thing "s all 
 v«y well, but this is canyin' matters too fLf Bu 
 t T *5«^ g""«Wing made no difference. That 
 *ey steeled their hearts against th. splendid influ 
 Wfi T r ** *°'^ "™""'' them, derided their 
 
 S^S. ^u^,'^"'"' °"'y ^''^ themselves harm 
 
 Sotl T. ' 'f * '"""''"*=* *°*«'1« hindering or 
 undoing what was being done. 
 
 iJ^ Z '^ ^ ^^^ ''"'"^' ^y *he beautiful 
 Srrn?^? "u''" ^^'"S all these new-born 
 
 w^Th ^^ ^^^ ^""^ ^" °^ ^^'^ fo' «"«« great 
 work by-and-by, the elements themselves seem^ ?o 
 
196 THE APOSTLES OF THE SOUTH EAST 
 
 favour them. ' Never.' said Captain Vaughan, 'had 
 such a summer voyage been made to the East Indies 
 in all his long experience.' Bright skies, fair wmds 
 work going en almost automatically :' even Mr. Carroll, 
 much as he grumbled in secret against the over- 
 godliness of all hands, was fain to admit that at 
 present it seemed as if the godly ones were being 
 iustilied by results. For some men must see materia 
 benefits accruing from the service of God, or they will 
 not believe. But when the ship iTived off the pitch 
 of the Cape, I-^rry Doolan, who it was noticed had 
 been getting very quiet "and delia^te-looking for some 
 time past, suddenly took to his oed and sent word 
 aft that he was sorry for it, but he could no longer 
 do his duty because he felt all gone inside. True to 
 •as dim belief, he had said no word about the way in 
 which the proceedings in Calcutta and since had 
 affected him, but he had listened to every prayer, 
 every reading of the Word, and his conduct had been 
 absolutely without reproach. As soon as Captain 
 Vaughan heard of his illness, he had him brought aft 
 into a sUte-room which was prepared for him, and 
 there he nursed him maternally, while Saul (whose 
 life was now one uninterrupted circle of peace) 
 visited him as often as his duties would permit. 
 
 The next Sunday morning, the ship having got 
 round the Cape, the skipper came in and told his 
 patient in true sailor fashion that ' At last they we« 
 homeward bound,' and Larry, turning his tired h<a^ 
 languidly towards the speaker, replied, 'Thank ye su^ 
 but I'm homev/ard bound be meself, an' I'll git th«e 
 quicker'n you will.' His meaning could not be mi^ 
 taken, and Captain Vaughan, touched to the quick, 
 
CALCUTTA AND HOME ,9, 
 
 replied, ' Don't talk like that. Larry, we",l all p .^ for 
 ye tills mornln' ; we'll pray right up that God '.I spare 
 ye for many years yet. -'-ere's a great deal for you 
 to do on the new lines of serving God while you're 
 serving men, you know, an' we can't sr>are you ' 
 Th-re was a last flash of energy in Urol's answer'- 
 V e mustn't do ut, sir, ye mustn't do ut. It's God's 
 great mercy t' me. I'm as wake as wather, an' He 
 knows ut; I haven't a friend on airth, nor anny place 
 i can call a home, an' He knows that too. An' I've 
 be'n a-layin' here askln' Him if in His great love fur 
 a poor crathur like me He'll Uke me out av it all. 
 There's some 'at could be of service to Him, like that 
 graand bhoy, th' bo'sun, but I'm not wan o' them ; an' 
 He, blessed be His Howly Name for iver, He knows 
 ut I'm not a bit o' good here, but I'll maybe alther 
 in the next worrld, whin He gits a closer howld an 
 me, or I can get closer t' Him. No. sor, don't ye 
 pray that I may be shpared for anny more av this 
 worrlti, I've had all I want a-ut; but pray, a v ye 
 plaze, that I .may have a good time goin' across. God 
 bless ye ail, I'm glad I lived t' come across the ship 
 an' all av yez. It's be'n a good time whoile ut lasted 
 but I know I'd do somet'in' to make me a dishgrace 
 to all of yez if I shtopped here, an' I'm hungry t' be 
 gone.' 
 
 For all answer the skipper pressed his hand and 
 humed on deck, going straight to Saul's berth and 
 asking him to come aft and see the sick man, I dare 
 not tell you what passed between them, more especi- 
 %asl feelthatperhaps you need -ie respitefrom 
 these high matters; but I may sa ;r Saul came out 
 ot the saloon with a shining face, us of one who had 
 
,98 THE APOSTLES OF THE SOUTH EAST 
 
 been lo clo«e to the Gate* u to catch iofne reflec- 
 tion of the glory streaming through. That morning's 
 service was a most memorable one to all there. 
 According to Larry's request no prayer* were put up 
 for his recovery, but very many for his abundant 
 entrance ; and when the . .per went to see him at 
 the close of the service he was no longer there : orOy 
 the perishable tabernacle he had left behind bore 
 upon its face the Imprint of a smile of complete 
 satisfaction. They buried the clay in the grandest of 
 all graves that evening, and as It sank »«««•»'»*« 
 bright blue waves every one of those who had held 
 out so long and sullenly against the sweet Influences 
 brought to bear upon them, yielded unconditional, 
 and announced that from henceforth they too wouW 
 serve the best of all masters and friends, ♦ ' -ord 
 
 Jesus Christ. .. «. w v. 
 
 The record of that passage thereafter m W M, 
 for some, very monotonous reading ' Happy 's the 
 nation that has no history,' says the proverb, and its 
 truth may e extended to the ship whose even, placid 
 course of duty and progi is docs not lend Itself to 
 lurid descriptions of mutiny, murder, fire, or ship- 
 wreck. These things make startling reading, no 
 doubt; but who among us is there who would not 
 rather see our lives free from such painful cato- 
 strophes, who would not raCier see the wheels of 
 life revolve in orderly fashion than be continually 
 breaking down or running furious, ungovernable, ana 
 spreading devastation ar .und ? Few indeed, smdj 
 thought the ciew of the Asteroid. Inst»d of thetf 
 former discussions of debauchery, of hardly earned 
 pay-days wasted in a few h..u«, of long months of 
 
CALCUTTA AND HOME 
 
 «99 
 
 rafierinK from diieue, of brutality tuch u men ushore 
 (peak of with bated breath, they tat In their night 
 watchet discussing the glories of sea and sky, the 
 mercies of God to His children, the good they would 
 do in the future if spared. And, perhaps sweetest of 
 all, there were several of them who recalled vivi'"v 
 that in distant country homes old parents whuui 
 they had not seen for many years, and whose eyes 
 had not all that time been cheered by a written line 
 from them, would be glad beyond measure to see them, 
 and they would, God helping them, surely go home 
 And Saul, as the good ship drew daily nearer and 
 nearer her port, found himself wistfully wondering 
 how Jemmy and the brethren had been faring in the 
 little Mission, for which he had never foi'gotten to 
 pray with all his heart almost without ceasing since 
 he had left Not one line had reachid him of their 
 welfare, but his hopes were high, his faith calmly 
 secure. 
 
CHAPTER XIX 
 
 CLOUDS AND SUNSHINE 
 
 Difficult, indeed, it has been to return from the 
 triumphant progress of God's work on board the 
 Asteroid, to the accumulating troubles of the Apostles 
 at Wren Lane. But it is filways salutary to remember 
 that the Way has the Valley of Humiliation as well as 
 the Delectable Mountains ; and especially to notice 
 how, even in the most earnest Christian work, com- 
 munities as well as individuals have their seasons of 
 depression, dullness, and even disaster. Such a sea- 
 son had now apparently set in for the Wren Lane 
 Mission. The loss of the money was a great blow 
 to so poor a gathering, for the reasons before given ; 
 but worse than even the loss of the money was the 
 suspicion, which would not be stifled, although none 
 of them expressed it, that one of their number was 
 the thief. Then on the Tuesday night after the loss 
 Brother Jenkins turned up most unexpectedly, and 
 as soon as ever Jemmy had put up the opening 
 prayer, he bounced to his feet and excitedly demanded 
 to know the name of the brother who had suggested 
 his resigning the treasurership. Evidently labouring 
 under an absurdly exaggerated sense of grievance, he 
 poured forth a multitude of bitter words culminating 
 in his flinging his book, vouchers, and money on the 
 
CLOUDS AND SUNSHINE 201 
 
 table and dramatically refusing to have anything 
 more to do with the Mission at all. In vain did 
 Brother Salmon endeavour to soothe him, in vain did 
 Jemmy, taking all the responsibility of having hinted 
 athisresignation.first,pointouttohim in the most 
 lovable way how impossible it was for them to go on 
 with a treasurer who only came on an average once 
 m three weeks. All would not do. There are some 
 people to whom the soft answer that turneth away 
 wrath does not seem to apply. The more gentle, the 
 tenderer the appeal made to them not to be angry 
 or unreasonable, the fiercer they fulminate, until, if it 
 happen that the appellant loses his temper and storms 
 m his turn, they curiously enough quieten down, and 
 often assume quite a bewildered air of injured inno- 
 cence. as if they were puzzled beyond measure to 
 know why they should be severely taken to task. 
 
 However, in Jenkins's case it was evident that he 
 considered his grievance so substantial that nothing 
 would appease him, and after repeated efforts, shared 
 by all except Skipper Stevens, the attempt was given 
 up. Thenand not until then did that old sea-dog 
 ^y a word that clinched matters. 'Looky here 
 Brother Jenkins,' he said, 'it's not a bit o' good you're 
 puttin' on frills over this matter. I seen at the out- 
 set of to-night's meetin' that you'd made up yer mind 
 t leave us, and all the appeals 'at was made t' you 
 only tickled yer vanity. You an' Jimson 's a pair, 
 and I think the Mission's well rid of ye. But, before 
 you go less have a look at yer book.' There was a 
 dead silence as Brother Stevens adjusted his spec- 
 tac.es and calmly lifted the uppermost document 
 One by one he looked at them, and then, opening the 
 
„2 THE APOSTLES OF THE SOUTH EAST 
 
 book, essayed to follow up their entry tiiere and find, 
 if possible, how the finances of the Mission stood. 
 But it was impossible. Between Jenkins s incapacity 
 and neglect there was a hopeless muddle, out of 
 which none of them were able to find what the con- 
 dition of things really was. 
 
 But Jemmy came to the rescue. In his penny 
 memorandum-book he had entered as of old the sums 
 received and paid, more as a matter of habit than 
 with any idea of checking the treasurer. Now. as it 
 turned out, his action had saved the Mission from the 
 very bad position of not knowing how the accounts 
 stood, for in his little booW was a perfectly clear and 
 lucid statement of affairs. This was the signal for 
 Jenkins to gather up his documents, and gabbhng 
 fiercely to no one in particular about the condition 
 of things that he foresaw overshadowing the Mission 
 he went out into the night without saying a word ot 
 farewell. And who should rise to console the gnet- 
 stricken brethren but Bill Harrop? 'Brevren he 
 said. ' don't take this 'ere fing so much t eart it is 
 'ard o' corse, f see a bruwer leave like that, specially 
 one'wofs be'n a-workin' wiv yer a long time Pore 
 chap, 'ee'U be the loser. 'Ee's gone aht inter the dark 
 wot I just come in from, an' gone knowin wot it is to 
 ■ave the light Gord 'elp 'im, I says. But don t let s 
 be discouraged. We ain't none of us puffick, ano. 
 likely ter be in this world. I s'pose, an any of erse 
 might backslide. That must make the backsliders 
 brevren sorry, but I 'umbly fink it orter make em 
 cling closer f the Lord wot never disappmts us or can 
 be anyfink else but the Lord ar Righteousness. Fur 
 my part, though Gord ferbid at sech a fing should 
 
CLOUDS AND SUNSHINE 
 
 203 
 
 I 
 
 'appen, if everyone of yer waster turn out wrong un's 
 ter-morrer,it wouldn't make no difference ter my faith ; 
 corse I ain't dependin' on yore keepin' faifful, but 
 on the Master wot saved me. Less pray fer pore 
 Jenkins wiv all ahr 'arts : ee'U need ahr pray'rs, 'im 
 an' pore Jimson will, afore they finds their way back 
 agen.' 
 
 But, as was only natural and to be expected, a 
 deep air of despondency was generally worn, and 
 when the meeting broke up, after it had been agreed 
 to commission Jemmy to pay all the outstanding 
 liabilities, as far as the cash in hand went, first thing 
 in the morning, each went his or her way heavily — 
 especially those who had made themselves liable as 
 trustees for all the payments due from the Mission. 
 Perhaps the most cast down was Jemmy himself. 
 He sighed heavily as he dropped the money into his 
 tropsprs pocket, and almost unconsciously murmured, 
 * If Saul was only back agen.' Almost instantly he 
 was conscience-stricken, and as he trottr ;il along home- 
 wards he said, ' Dear Lord, fei^ive me fer clingin' more 
 t' the creechur than the Creitor. I didn't mean t' do 
 it, Lord. I 'ave realised Yore Presence wor.-'.erful, 
 an' I can tork t' Ye as I can't even tork t' Saul ; but if 
 I could only touch Yer, shake hands wiv Yer, as I can 
 wiv Saul, I could face anyfink. That can't be, of 
 course, Lord ; but do make it up t' me. Lord. Make 
 me strong t' face trouble, make me feel Thy presence 
 wiv me all the time, more realler than anybody else's, 
 won't Yer please, dear Jesus ? ' 
 
 *I often wonder whether the people who write 
 what are known as ' Society ' novels and ' Society ' 
 plays have any idea of the tiiousands of unseen (save 
 
ao4 THE APOSTLES OF THE SOUTH EAST 
 
 by God) tragedies that are being enacted in the lives 
 of our respectable poor. Surely if they had, these 
 writers would, for very shame's sake, desist from 
 depicting the false, the shoddy scenes of sentiment 
 and so-called love where inane youths and lazy well- 
 fed young women, f'om sheer lack of wholesome 
 occupation, conspire together to make life one hideous 
 farce, usually degenerating into scarcely less hideous 
 crime. And they call these kve stories ! 
 
 Returning to Jemmy, when he ro'..e next morn- 
 ing very early, it occurred to him that it would be ' 
 comforting thing to go and spend a little time ii- 
 meditation at the ' Hall' tiefore going to his first job. 
 When he reached the street the thought was so 
 inspiring that he broke into a trot and soon reached 
 the ' Hall ' door. With trembling fingers he unlocked 
 it and went in, the solemnity of the quiet place 
 falling soothingly upon his fretted nerves ; until sud- 
 denly, with an accelerated heart-beat, he caught sight 
 of a man's body lying in an unnatural position on 
 the floor in the middle of the ' Hall.' Springing for- 
 ward. Jemmy laid hold of the body, which emitted 
 a low moan of pain as he turned it over. In the 
 strengthening light its face became visible, and 
 Jemmy saw that it was the latest convert, Jemmy 
 Paterson, the terror of Rotherhithe. Like a flash 
 all sorts of trifling evidential links connected them- 
 selves up, and Jemmy realised that this was the thief 
 that had broken in before and had robbed the 
 Mission of its sorely needed funds. But he had no 
 time to think of that now. The man was evidently 
 most seriously hurt, one of his legs being doubled 
 under him in such a way as showed that it must be 
 
CLOUDS AND SUNSHINE 305 
 
 badly broken. So Jemmy rushed to the door, and 
 darting out into the lane sought the nearest police- 
 man, telling him the story and begging him to bring 
 an ambulance at once, while he (Jemmy) returned to 
 look after the poor wretch until the help should be 
 forthcoming. When he got back he found the man 
 still insensible, except that when Jemmy tried to 
 move him a low sound of pain was heard. It was 
 evident from the fact of the skylight overhead being 
 open how he had got in, but not so easy to under- 
 stand how he could have been so foolish as to 
 imagine that he would find more spoil, assuming that 
 he had been tha original robber. 
 
 These speculations Jemmy dismissed at once as 
 beyond him, and kneeling by the side of the silent 
 figure offered up a fervent prayer that his life might 
 be spared for repentance, also that the temptation 
 assailing himself might by God's infinite grace be 
 removed. He had only just risen from his knees 
 when the door opened, and in tramped the two 
 policemeii, bearing the ambulance. Very quickly and 
 defUy they raised the poor wretch and placed him as 
 comfortably as might be ; then, curtly telling Jemmy 
 to follow, they bore the body out of the ' Hall ' and set 
 off towards the station. Upon arrival the presiding 
 inspector questioned Jemmy keenly, while the police 
 surgeon examined the poor broken wretch. And 
 when Jemmy's halting replies gave rise to a suspicion 
 that his kindliness wanted to shield the suspect from 
 the legal consequences of his act, the inspector, with 
 a merry twinkle in his eye belying the sternness of 
 Ws V % waiBf ; Jemmy that it would be a serious 
 offe, -gainst the law to endeavour to protect 
 
io6 THE APOSTL " OF THE SOUTH EAST 
 
 a criminal In any way. 'I know all about that 
 money you lost from the Mission a while back. 
 You thought you kep' it pretty quiet, of course, but 
 I know all about it, an' how much it was, an' I've 
 had a man givin' a eye to your place lately. HiU 
 be in considerable trouble this momin', too, 'cause I 
 sh'U want to know how it was he never see this man 
 a-clim'in' up on the roof or heard 'im fall. But that 
 don't matter to you. If you want f do this joker 
 any good, you'll 'ave t' do it before the magistrate. 
 I'm a-goin' to do my best to get 'im put away fur a 
 stretch or two. I can do without him in my district 
 very pleasantly, I give yi my word. Now run along, 
 Jemmy, like a good little man.' 
 
CHAPTER XX 
 
 DEEPER AND DEEPER STILL 
 
 By the next morning the strange occurrence at the 
 Wren Lane Mission Hall was the talk of the whole 
 district Policemen are good sort of fellows, but 
 they lead lonely lives, and a little conversation at 
 night with a man they know is a boon they are truly 
 grateful for. Thus it came about that the news of 
 Jemmy Paterson's adventure buzzed from street to 
 street, eclipsing in interest for the time that never- 
 failing topic of conversation in certain circles — the 
 winners. It was all the more interesting because 
 now, for the first time, the fact of tlie robbery became 
 generally known, and by common consent Jemmy 
 Paterson was judged and found guilty of that, as well 
 as of breaking into the • Hall ' the morning before. It 
 is pleasant to record that, apart from the injustice of 
 assuming his guilt while he was yet untried, his 
 methods were universally condemned. On the whole, 
 even men of the very lowest class shrink from pre- 
 tending to the possession of religion in order to 
 commit crime under its cloak. The men who do 
 that kind of thing, whatever their station in life may 
 b«^ are of an exceedingly bad kind— almost a special 
 criminal class by themselves. Of them, it may be 
 safely said, that they will stick at nothing. 
 
ao8 THE APOSTLES OF THE SOUTH EAST 
 
 So it came to pass that, when evening came and 
 with it the usual Thursday open-air »«t'n8; *"^ 
 was a far larger gathering than usual around the httlc 
 band on the Waste. And although the speakmg and 
 singing was very poor, all the brethren and sisters 
 being deeply depressed by recent evente, there w« a 
 deeply sympathetic attention evident m all the 
 hearers. This found expression at last when Bill 
 Harrop came out to say his little piece. He w« 
 deeply moved so deeply, that for some momenta, 
 although his lips worked, he was unable to arUculate 
 a sound. At last he sajd : ' Friends, it's no conjer t 
 •ave f speak f ye ter-night, knowin' wot we all know 
 abaht tbTfings wofs 'appened lately. 'Ere's a littie 
 band o- men an' women come all in the.r own t,me^ 
 at their own exes, f try an' do us good. Ow Gord s 
 blessed an- encouraged 'em we all know ; we ve seen 
 the Mission 'AH growin' up aht o' nothm, and weve 
 seen men an' women bein' brort inter the JCmgd""; 
 of Gord 'at we sh'd never athort 'd be worth a rotten 
 tater. I'm one of 'em, an' I feel as .f I m^ight be 
 some good some day, even me. Well, you all know 
 now how Jemmy Paterson's be'aved tords 'em ; yell 
 know now 'ow someuns pinched all the money they 
 ■ad c'lected to pay some 'eavy expenses-over nine 
 pound it was. An" it do seem 'ard 'at such a fing as 
 this sh'd 'appen f pore workm' people, sam- as you 
 In' me, b.KaSe they're a-tryin t' do their ov Jarse 
 eood 'Tain't like 'sif they was a big chutch wiv 
 lots o' wealthy people to gavver rahnd '<="' ^" Jf ^J 
 up all they've lost No ; unless we buck up an elp 
 "em, some on 'em 'U 'ave th' brokers in fur your an 
 ^ysakes. don't fergit it. Well, I tell yer wot Im 
 
DEEPER AKD DEEPER STILL 109 
 
 »-goin't' do : I'm goin' f live same's they do In quod, 
 and save the oof 'n give it to 'em t' make up wot's 
 been snavelled. Wot er you goin' t' do ? I know it's 
 Fursday.but you could all shake up th' price of arf o' 
 sherry if/ thort you'd 'ave it Well, aht wiv it, an' 
 come along Sunday night wiv a tanner each, two or 
 free 'undred of yer, an' we sh'll make it up. We're 
 none on us mean, are we ? ' 
 
 The response was instant and surprising. For 
 some minutes there was a perfect hail of bronze, with 
 not one piece of silver amongst it, and when it was 
 gathered up from the ground there was actually 
 i/. is. worth. Jemmy wept for joy. But even this 
 perfect proof of the hold that the Wren Lane Mission 
 had obtained upon the minds of those who lived and 
 laboured near, did not dispel much of the gloom that 
 hung over its members. They had been too deeply 
 stirred, the burden of responsibility, of possible failure 
 in schemes that seemed to them gigantic, had been 
 too heavy to be thus lightly shaken off, and it was a 
 very solemn row of faces that bent over the table at 
 the money-icounting. Old Bill Maskery looked in, 
 having been away at Margate for a few days on an 
 excursion for mission purposes which gave him a 
 holiday at a nominal cost And when he heard all 
 the news he looked grave, but soon brightened up, 
 saying, ' Jemmy, my boy, you're young yet, an' don't 
 know 'arf the tricks the devil get's up ter w'en 'ee 
 finks 'is kingdom's likely ter git a 'eavy knock. 
 That's wot I cam't ever understand. 'Ere we are in 
 these latter days wiv abaht a 'undred servants of the 
 •levil t' one real true servant of Gord, an' yit th' ole 
 demon seems just as keen, just as 'ard upon all them 
 
 P 
 
„o THE APOSTLES OF THE SOUTH EAST 
 
 •as is doin- anyfink .gin 'is kingdom as if "ee was 
 just a-startin- in bisness. Nah look 'ere. my boy take 
 it from yer ole farver wofs seen bofe sides-if you 
 wasn't a-doin- no good, the devil woodn't bother you 
 any Wy some o' the deadest Chutches I knows of 
 is th' wealthiest. It don't matter to them ow th 
 Chutch of Clirist is a-gettin- on, they "as spcculashms 
 abaht oo bilt the pyramids, an' whewcr they was any 
 people afore Adam, an' Were Cain got is wife, none 
 STich fings trubbles the dwil a little bit. So they 
 « gits on," that is, they gits p\enty o' mone, , an all .he 
 swells in the aayburwood fini:s as 'ow it s a bit of a^l- 
 Sht t' be amember of that there Chutch, cause Lady 
 tWs, an' Sir somebody that, goes theer. Ah well. 
 Jemmy, don't worry, verily they 'as their reward, an 
 vou'U 'ave youm, safe, shore, cam't miss it 
 
 The next morning Jemmy, having four or five 
 orders to execute, was up at three o'clock, and as m 
 the course of the morning he found severa^ more 
 dSmneys to sweep, it was ten o'clock before he 
 reached home for breakfast, very hungry and weary 
 3ut while he was resting and eating his plain and 
 scanty meal he remembered the plight of Jemmy 
 Paterson, the burglar, and he determined to go and 
 sihim in the infirmary. This resolve. uU of k.n ^ 
 ness and Christian spirit as it was. involved h.m m 
 severe trouble with his wife. who. as soon as she sa* 
 i,im nreoarine to go out dressed, demanded as usual 
 tokSow'here he was going. When he told he. 
 he was obliged to lay the whole story before her, and 
 tLprevlous^omission to do so filled her with anger 
 for she at once came to the conclusion that he must 
 have had some motive for concealment, as it was n- 
 
DEEPER AND DEEPER STILL m 
 
 usual practice to tell her all die news of the 'Hall ' 
 Then when she had exhausted her stock of vexation 
 upon that head, she found a new cause of offence 
 in Jemmy's going to visit the robber ; why, it is diffi- 
 cult to see, since he had often been to the infirmary 
 before visiting. But reason was never woman's strong 
 pomt If she thinks she does well to be angry she 
 IS angry, and with an ingenuity that compels the 
 admiration of everyone except the unfortunate object 
 she never fails to find, for her own satisfaction, suffi- 
 aent cause for anger. 
 
 Mrs. Maskery had never yet failed to realise, 
 however, that when once her husband had persuaded 
 himself that a certain course was right it was impos- 
 sible for him to be turned from it And as the storm- 
 wmd of winter tiirashing about tiie branches of the 
 young trees makes them sinewy and capable of sus- 
 taining the stress of coming storms, so these wrestlings 
 with his wife on points of duty doubtless did much 
 to harden Jemmy's moral gristle. It is true tiiat the 
 scene almost always ended in Jemmy's taking refuge 
 in flight, but tiiat is in no wise derogatory to him, 
 the only unwisdom he showed was in striving so long 
 to change her views when opposed to his own. 
 
 Upon reaching the infirmary Jemmy was at once 
 shown into the ward where Paterson lay, looking wan 
 with suffering. A compound fracture of the right 
 leg. also of the left arm, and tiie breakage of three 
 nbs, to say notiiing of many bruises, had brought the 
 burly fellow very low. So low, in fact, that when he 
 «w Jemmy he did what probably he had never done 
 before he blushed with shame. But when Jemmy 
 setued down by his side and said cheerily, ' Well ole 
 
,„ THE APOffTLES OF THE SOUTH EAST 
 
 •Thank ye. Jemmy. I am do.n weiw ev 
 better 'n I spected or desen^«. I w»h Id ^ 
 Willed. Now f "^,^„^:jy "^^Jo^.^^^^^^^ tm 1 
 
 K^r rm'eirJ y« or tha^th- mone^; 
 
 that wos s y » sw^t^ , . ^l -t^ff An 
 
 drum agcn. An' you know wot 'appen«l. I m gl 
 of it. Only thing I wisht'da-beenwuss. »'° / 
 
 Jit rn'r^' 'at Go^d-s got some great work fur y^ 
 SdoSnobodyelse can do. Now 3- you d.e« 
 up. We sham't appear agen ye. atle^^ '^ *^ „ 
 
DEEPER AND DEEPER STILL ,,3 
 
 'Im. We know 'at 'is punishment's quite 'eavy enough 
 gen'lly, wivout us a-puttin' more on it Wotever it is 
 they give yer fur wot ye did, don't >w fink as we 'ad 
 any and in it We'll do ahr best f make fings lighter 
 for ye.' • Oh, that's all right.' said Faterson, ■ I'm 
 a-goin' t' make a clean breast o' th' ole thing, an' take 
 wotever they gives me wiv a thankful 'eart I deserve 
 it all, an' it'll do me good t' git it Nah go away. 
 You're such a good little chap that I feel awful to fink 
 I ever did ye so much 'arm, an' I really cam't bear f 
 see ye a-sittin' there. Come agen, won't ye. sometime ? 
 P'r'aps w'en ye do I'll feet better able to speak t' ve 
 than I do nah.' ^ 
 
 So Jemmy bade him good-bye and went back to 
 his home with a light and gladsome heart, happy in 
 the consciousness that he had done his duty. When 
 Saturday night came he told the story in the prayer- 
 meeting ; told it, too, v.ith such graphic power that 
 everyone present was moved to tears and unanimously 
 agreed that this was the way that the blessed Master 
 Himself would have acted. Yet. strange to say, on 
 tiiat very night a gang of Paterson's wild associates, 
 having taken enough drink to make them reckless 
 came up the Lane and amused themselves by breaking 
 every window in the ' Hall,' utterly destroying the lamp 
 hung over the entrance, and battering both doors 
 with big stones until they looked more like a section 
 of road than anything else. It was a pitiful sight 
 that greeted Brother Salmon when he came on 
 Sunday morning, and naturally it cast a gloom ovei 
 *e Breaking of Bread; so much so that when 
 Jemmy was strolling homeward with Brother and 
 Sister Salmon after the meeting he said, in deepest 
 
„4 THE APOSTLES OF THE SOUTH EAST 
 
 depression, ' Bruvver Salmon, it seems 'sif we never 
 'ave such blessed seasons of refreshm' Sunday mormn s 
 as we useter. 'Sif nah we've got ahr 'All an a goodly 
 lumber's joined the Chutch. 'at th' dear Lord wasn 
 as comfble wiv erse as 'Ee useter be. Or is it, I 
 wonder, as farver ses, 'at we've got «°'"«",^»'' 
 midst as ain't right wiv 'Im ?-the Lord I mean. 
 
 ■Oh, don't think that, brother,' exclaimed Sister 
 Salmon, ' there's no need to, I'm sure. " Whom the 
 Lord loveth He chasteneth," you know, an besides 
 we've been permitted to do a great work among the 
 people here lately, and you don't suppose the devil s a- 
 ^n' to let us off without tryin' all he knows to make 
 us suffer for it, do you.> Bless His Holy Name / 
 ain't goin' to feel downhearted as long as I see souls 
 bein' saved an' added to the Church every week an 
 see how the young converts is a-comin on, too. That 
 young Jackson, did you notice how he prayed this 
 mon^n', and don't you remember how he spoke in 
 the open air last Sunday ? ' . ,• j 
 
 Temmy's face brightened up at once as he replied, 
 . Yers, sister, I should fink I did. 'Ee's a fine speaker 
 already, an' 'ow well 'ee knows 'is Bible ! W'y I cou d 
 almost leave 'im to conduck a meetin'. But then, ye 
 see 'ee's been well brort up, an' it's on'y sence ees 
 be'n in London 'at 'ee's run wild.' The man of whom 
 they spoke was a fine stalwart young policeman from 
 Yorkshire, who had been gathered in at the memor- 
 able meeting on the Waste when Bill Harrop was 
 converted. The ways of the Mission folk apparently 
 came quite natural to him, for he had never gone vety 
 far astray, and the memory of his qi-^et country home 
 and the serenity of his life there took but httle rt. 
 
DEEPER AND DEEPER STILL 215 
 
 viving. But there was one thing about him of which 
 these simple < ::i\s seemed quite unconscious. He 
 was a bom ader of m- r, and no subordinate position 
 could long co-tent hii .. Already he had visions of 
 the time v h'.n ht weald be the chief figure in the 
 Wren Lane Mission. It may be thought puerile to 
 aspire to such a lowly position as that ; but, dear 
 reader, remember that it was a leadership, a place of 
 authority, and such natures as his cannot but reach 
 out after power, even though it be over as humble 
 a band as this little gathering was. 
 
 And all unconsciously, by their praise of him, their 
 pushing him forward whenever possible, they were 
 feeding the flame of his ambition. (Should that 
 seem much too large a word wherewith to characterise 
 such aims as his, remember that the quality is the same 
 whether the object be great or small.) He it was who 
 boldly came forward, and, with the ever-willing Bill 
 Harrop's aid, determined to repair the extensive 
 damage done to the building by Paterson's friends. 
 In quite a patronising way he begged Jemmy not to 
 worry hiniself about it. He (Jackson), Harrop, and a 
 few others would do all that was to be done, without 
 troubling the outside public with any details. And 
 it was so. They worked like beavers, they stinted 
 themselves of common necessaries of life, and before 
 the next Sunday's meeting every broken pane had 
 been replaced ; the door had been taken off its hinges, 
 planed, and painted ; and the ' Hall ' looked quite fresh 
 and bright again. The joy of the brethren at this 
 energetic behaviour on the part of these new ad- 
 herents may be imagined. It was in nowise lessened 
 when, before the expiration of Paterson's short terra 
 
a, 6 THE APOSTLES OF THE SOUTH EAST 
 
 of imprisonment-short because of the absolute refusal 
 of the brethren to press any charge agamst him, and 
 their pleading that he might be given the benefit of 
 the doubt as to how he came to be on their premises 
 in such a condition-Brother Jackson proposed that 
 he should be met at the prison door, brought to the 
 Mission, and there presented with a new barrow and 
 donkey, as well as a sum of money to go to market 
 with, so that he might resume his real calling as a 
 costermonger with a fair chance of success 
 
 But I am anticipating somewhat. Before rater- 
 son's term had nearly expired Jackson had suggested 
 and succeeded in establishing a Tuesday evening 
 series of Bible readings and expoundings by himself. 
 At the first two or three, well attended as they were 
 Jemmy and his father were present, and were both 
 delighted at the way in which Brother Jackson 
 handled the sacred Word. Presently, however, they 
 were not so sure as to his perfect orthodoxy. It 
 seemed to them that he was straying away from the 
 old paths in which they had long trodden, into strange 
 no-thoroughfares of dogma. But as neither of them 
 was a very keen disputant or able to dissect a ques- 
 tion with any logical ability, they held their peace 
 for the time. . , 
 
 The finances of the ' Hall' did not improve, how- 
 ever, and as it became necessary to discontinue the 
 open-air meetings on account of the inclemency of 
 the weather, the falling-off in the revenue at once 
 developed into a matter for serious concern In vain 
 did each speaker within the ' Hall' warn all the con- 
 gregation of the danger of letting their contributions 
 dwindle. All those who have ever had anythmg to 
 
DEEPER AND DEEPER STILL J17 
 
 do with Church finances know how difficult it is to 
 arouse a sense of financial responsibility in the minds 
 of the individual members of the congregation. 
 Dimly, perhaps, they realise that they ought to give, 
 and that not spasmodically but methodically, and 
 that unless they do the Church will get into serious 
 difficulties. But that is where the majority stop. 
 The many warnings and entreaties addressed to them 
 by the pastor glide fruitlessly over their heads, and 
 the result is that a few members silently shoulder the 
 bulk of the burden that rfiould be borne by all ; and 
 the defaulters, I can call them nothing else, are well 
 content that it should be so. 
 
 Let it be recorded in justice to Brother Jackson 
 that he left no stone unturned to keep the contribu- 
 tions up to the required amount, giving himself really 
 more t, • - could afford. But ae did not fail to 
 drop hi.. casionally, to such as he thought dis- 
 posed to receive them, that the superintendent was 
 somewhat wanting in energy. 
 
 In this unsatisfactory way matters went on for 
 some weeks, until, Jackson having taken over the 
 treasurership meanwhile, the storm, which had un- 
 doubtedly been brewing for some time, suddenly 
 burst. At the Tuesday Church-meeting, which Jack- 
 son had taken care to have well attended, he suddenly 
 brought a charge against Jemmy of having neglected 
 his duty, or, at any rate, of having failed to perform 
 It. Moreover, he went on to say that while Jemmy 
 and his father were undoubtedly a draw in the open- 
 air meetings, and had been signally blessed in the 
 bringing in of such as should be saved, they were 
 quite incapable of managing the affairs of such an 
 
„8 THE APOSTLES OF THE SOUTH EAST 
 
 important gathering as the Wren Lane Mission had 
 become, or of teaching the young converts the doc- 
 trines it was so necessary they should know in order 
 to become in their turn spreaders of the Light 
 
 It was a long harangue, and it made a great 
 impression. But it did Jemmy good. Deep down 
 within him smoulderer. hidden fires of that dogged 
 energy that his father was so notable for m the bad 
 old days before his conversion. And this outspoken 
 attempt to oust him from a position that he occupied 
 by rir-ht divine, as he believed, aroused him effectually. 
 He sprang to his feet at the close of Jackson's speech, 
 and made so vigorous a« declaration of h.s views and 
 of his awakening to the real aims of Mr. Jackson, 
 as he called him now, that the audience visibly 
 wavered. But while they were wondering to what 
 this matter would grow, old Bill Maskery arose arid 
 said • Brevren an' sisters, less adjum the meeu.i till 
 Sunday night, tryin' then t' get all our members an 
 friends here, an' then we'll ask 'em w'lch they 11 ave, 
 my son or Bniwer Jackson fer superintendent We 
 must settle it some'ow ; it's gone too fur to be patched 
 ap it must be settled.' At that Brother Salmon at 
 once pronounced the Benediction, and the audience 
 dispersed to spread the news .>f the first split m the 
 Wren Lane Mission. 
 
 Meanwhile Jackson spent .ivery spare moment 
 calling upon possible adherents, discussing the roseate 
 prospects of the Mission under so energetic and 
 capable a superintendent as he should be, and dis- 
 mally dwelling upon the certain disaster impending 
 if Jemmy, good Christian but incapable busiress 
 man as he was, were allowed to continue in command- 
 
DEEPER AND DEEPER STILL 319 
 
 Altogether the very keenness of his interest and the 
 flow of his persuasive talk mightily impressed people, 
 and even those best affected towards Jemmy began 
 to shake their heads and say, ' Well, it would be a 
 pity to let the Mission run down, wouldn't it ? ' alto- 
 gether forgetting that the principal sufferers in such 
 an event would be the original members, who were 
 trustees, and who would, of course, be called upon to 
 find the rent for seven years in any event 
 
CHAPTER XXI 
 
 SAUL'S RETURN 
 
 In all the range of human experience I make bold 
 to say that there is nothing more beautiful, and at 
 the same time more W9nderful, to watch than the 
 behaviour of a newly converted man or woman. 
 They have a happiness far too deep for expression, 
 but they have also so sensitive an appreciation of 
 danger to that happiness through their failing to 
 maintain the high standard they have set before 
 themselves, that the way in which they walk through 
 the wilderness of this world is most pathetic to watch. 
 • Smit with a sudden and a sweet surprise,' they wel- 
 come every blessing with a profound yet glad humility, 
 and as in every circumstance of life, as far as it 
 affects themselves, they are able to find blessing 
 intended for them, their cup of thankfulness runs 
 over all the time. Like infants learning to walk, you 
 shall see the once selfish person totteringly practising 
 unselfishness; the once foul tongue almost silent 
 while its new language is being learned ; the flaccid 
 muscles of the once indolent impudent loafer being 
 braced to meet the new demands made upon them 
 by this mighty indwelling force, which no amount of 
 human reasoning or philosophy can ever satisfactorily 
 account for or explain away. 
 
SAUL'S RETURN »„ 
 
 But when, instead of an individual case, there is, 
 as in the case of the crew of the Asteroid, a company of 
 believers, all without the faintest tinge of hypocrisy or 
 cant, clustered together in their little floating world, 
 with an utter absence of all the evils by which folks 
 ashore are continually being tempted to forsake the 
 Lord, the sight is one that is as near an advance view 
 of the joys of Heaven as can be witnessed while yet 
 this hampering environment of flesh compasses us 
 about There is nothing monastic about such a life, 
 except in the enforced coarseness of the food. No rule 
 of silence, no formal routine of mechanical prayers, no 
 self-torture. His service is perfect freedom, because 
 the will of Christ has become the will of the Christian. 
 There is, however, deep down in every heart a dread 
 of the time swiftly approaching when the loving 
 company must separate, when new companions will 
 by every wile that the devil can suggest endeavour 
 to turn the released ones back into the loathsome 
 dungeons they have been delivered from, until the 
 trembling Christian is prone to pray that it may 
 please God to set him free from the burden of the 
 flesh, which he feels to be more than he can bear. In 
 other words, that he may receive the crown without 
 bearing the cross, a perfectly natural, and consequently 
 purely selfish, desire. 
 
 Therefore it was that, as the Asteroid, bounding 
 homeward before a strong westerly gale at the rate 
 of 300 miles per day, gave all her crew to understand 
 that their time of refreshing was drawing to a close, 
 they were one and all possessed by mingled feelings 
 of joy and dread. Everyone loves to see the termina- 
 tion of his long journey draw near, fervently desires 
 
,2, THE APOSIXES OF THE SOUTH EAST 
 
 the consummation of another voyage. So did theit 
 but they dreaded the beginning of the fight as well 
 as the parting from one another. Perhaps of all of 
 them Saul had the most single eye. He loved tiiem 
 all, as he was beloved by them, but upon his heart 
 night and day was the welfare of the brethren at 
 Wren Lane, and his impatience to be back again 
 with them grew almost painful in its intensity. 
 
 The cares of his position, however, kept him from 
 becoming too much absorbed in anticipation ; and as 
 they came into greener water betokening the shallow- 
 ing sea and their neameb to land, all hands found quite 
 sufficient in present duties and anxieties to occupy 
 their minds fully. For, as often happens in the early 
 spring, stormy weather unwilling to release its grip 
 upon the year made a final desperate spurt, bring- 
 ing dismay and much suffering to thousands of sea- 
 farers ; howling squalls of snow swept down upon 
 them from the leaden, low skies, enwrapping them 
 in a whirling smother of white cold that seemed to 
 freeze their very hearts. This is one of the greatest 
 hardships that the sailor endures, yet one that he 
 makes least fuss about The sudden leap out of 
 a tropical temperature into the rigour of English 
 Channel winter weather is so trying to that wonder- 
 ful piece of machinery, the human body, that it is no 
 wonder sailors become prematurely old. On shore 
 we complain if the weather shows those peculiar 
 vicissitudes and vacillations between heat and cold so 
 peculiarly characteristic of our islands. But we can 
 cope with it by sheltering ourselves, and by attention 
 to clothir^, diet, &c. Moreover, the range is never 
 very great But the sailor who for weeks has been 
 
SAUL'S RETURN 333 
 
 basking in tropical sunshine until his blood is thin as 
 claret, suddenly finds himself beset by Arctic weather. 
 He is wet and cannot dry his clothing. He is bitterly 
 cold and has no means of warming himself, for a stove 
 in his abode (a ' bogey,' as it is called) is said to be 
 very uniiealthful. And so he must shiver and suffer, 
 while from his food he gets no sensible degree of 
 comfort as far as the raising of his temperature goes. 
 As they drew nearer the land, and their deep-sea 
 lead smelt bottom, bringing up in its 'arming' of 
 tallow, sand, shells, and hake-teeth, down came the 
 fog in vast eddying wreaths like smoke. With it 
 came that terrible sense of proximity to danger which 
 is peculiar to seamen in a fog. Even in the Channel, 
 what is perhaps the most crowded arm of the sea in 
 the world, ships always seem to have so much room 
 when the weather is clear that the idea of collision 
 is scouted as ridiculous. But when the fog shuts 
 down, all those wide breadths seem to have closed 
 up. The eye vainly tries to pierce through the 
 dense yeil, the ear aches with listening for the hoot 
 of syrens or the wailing shriek of whistles, while 
 every fibre of the seaman's body tingles with ex- 
 pectation of being suddenly called upon to battle 
 for his life with the utmost energy. On board the 
 Asteroid, however, there was less of this waste of 
 nerve-force than usual, because all hands were imbued 
 with the idea that they were under the peculiar and 
 particular care of God. Whatever befell them would, 
 they were sure, be the very best thing for their 
 welfare. With this perfect panoply of faith to ward 
 off those infirmities of fear or apprehension that 
 so easily beset men engaged in dangerous callings. 
 
a»4 THE APOSTLES OF THE SOUTH EAST 
 
 they were wondetfuUy light-hearted, and sprang to 
 their duties in response to the calls made upon them 
 with a cheerful alacrity delightful to see. As 
 Captain Vaughan said to Mr. Carroll. ' I don t want 
 to meet trouble half-way, but these dear fellows are 
 spoiling me for the next lot I shall get^ I would to 
 God I could keep them by the ship. But that s out 
 ofthe question, of course.' 
 
 So the Asteroid, her home wind holdmg steadily, 
 ran swiftly up Channel in safety until she entered the 
 narrowing waters off Beachy Head. The skipper had 
 not taken steam becau^ he had not seen a tug. and 
 bein? anxious to shorten the anxious period of his 
 n-w ..4on was carrying a heavy press of sail, bud- 
 denly the fog seemed to grow solid just Jiead, and 
 out of that density leapt a huge steamship, her 
 electric mast-head light glaring like the solitar>' eye 
 of some suddenly awakened Cyclop. With both 
 helms hard-a-port the ships slowly revolved as if 
 upon an axis, but so close to each other that the 
 agonised passengers on board the steamer could hear 
 the dull booming ofthe sails of the Asteroid .is they 
 sullenly beat against the masts. A few moments of 
 terrible suspense and the ships swung clear of each 
 other, not a splinter or a rope-yarn displaced, and al 
 who thus escaped were entitled henceforth to say that 
 they had been suspended over the grave by a single 
 
 *' Owing to the smartness of the AsUroi^s crew 
 but a very few minutes elapsed before all sai^ 
 necessary was again set, and those no longer needed 
 were furled. Then shone out the familiar low beam 
 of Dungeness, invi ig the homeward-bounder to stay 
 
SAUL'S RETURN „, 
 
 awhile and receive a pilot from the cutter cruising 
 in the East Bay. Presently the burly form of their 
 new guide appeared at the gangway, welcomed as 
 a pilot always is by homeward-coming crews— as if 
 now. mdeed, the perils of the voyage were all at an 
 end. And hardly had the sails been filled and the 
 ship gathered way, before out steamed a tug from 
 Dover harbour and offered her services. They were 
 immediately accepted, and the joyful news communi- 
 cated to the watch below. There is no order more 
 cheerfully obeyed on board ship than that to pass 
 the hawser or tow-rope along to the tug, and it was 
 a heart-lifting sight to see those dear chaps move 
 Morning was just breaking, so that the pilot had a 
 fun view of their actions. As soon as the tug was 
 fast and steaming ahead, and the orders had been 
 given to clew up and haul down the sails, the pilo 
 turned to the skipper and said, 'Cap'n, you've got a 
 splendid lot o' fellows here. 'Tain't often nowadays 
 
 Tn ly, *^'' P'*»^"^« °f «««'■"' work done aboard 
 ship as these fellows are doin' if CPotain Vaughan's 
 face lit up with a proud smile as he' replied, ' Pilot 
 you never said a truer word In your life. But you 
 make me think of the last time such a remark was 
 passed to me. and the change that's come over me 
 !Zt?r; "^y'"?«>us got his opening theskipper 
 told the story of his conversion in Calcutta, of Sie 
 Wising Saul had been to them all, and the time o5 
 perfect peace they had all enjoyed since leaving port 
 He wound up with streaming eyes, his heart run!iing 
 over «,ntli gratitude as he remembered all the joys 
 of the voyage, and finally said, 'Now, pilot, I don't 
 know how you feel about it, but I feel that ^ith such 
 
 Q 
 
„6 THE APOSTLES OF THE SOUTH EAST 
 
 I K.«.. ffiven no sailorman ought to 
 a testimony as I have given, n° ^ Messing 
 
 hesitate for a moment ^'^^^ «"g"J.i2,y a pilot. 
 ™lorA^tS»te«.th.to(«nth.t«»thy"«" 
 
 M An- nVaos if you git half a chance before its 
 :i latfyoui give me an opportunity of tellin' your 
 S?e fellows as much before they go ashore. ' Im 
 S gS yo'mentioned that, pilot,.because 't's jus 
 
 SL'sSLraayspastthat^hasbip-s^ 
 ^:-^;i^CS^c;Sre.e^t. 
 
SAUL'S RETURN „, 
 
 enough up the river to be interrupted by visitor. 
 Mr. Carroll I' as that officer came in sight, «.s soon 
 a» the hands have had their breakfast let them 
 muster aft for a few final words-everybody in the 
 ship, ,f you please, and we'll gather on the poop, so 
 that the man at the wheel can take part at the same 
 
 xr..,. ' t^^' *''"• ""' ""^"'«''«' Carroll. ' I'll see to it. 
 They'll all be very glad of the chance, I know ' 
 
 All hands were sent to breakfast at seven bells 
 breakfast that the skipper had personally super- 
 mtended the preparation of, all that could be found 
 worth having in the cuddy stores. And when it was 
 over, the ship was steadily being towed up the Mouse 
 Channel, passing all the old familiar landmarks one 
 after the other, and overhead gleams of pale sun- 
 shme were just breaking through the greyness of 
 the overhanging clouds. At one bell (8.30) all hands 
 came aft, no longer shamefacedly and awkwardly 
 as would once have been the case, but brightly 
 cheenly, and all at ease, as men who resf^ct^' 
 themselves and knew the respect due to others 
 They grouped themselves all about the poop in 
 obedience to the skipper's gestures, and when all 
 hands were present Captain Vaughan stood out in 
 front of them and said, < My dear fellows, for the 
 very first time in my life my heart is heavy at getting 
 home. It's heavy in spite of the joy I naturally feel 
 at the prospect of meeting my dear ones. Heavy 
 because I am about to part with the best crew ever 
 
 T! t?' u"' f^" ""^ """'y '^'^''^^ conditions 
 o TT^"^' !?"'•"• ^'•"'^ •« "<' J^-'ble prospect 
 
 give a good percentage of my pay to know that 
 
 we 
 
 Q3 
 
„« XHE APOSTLES OF THE S0T3TH EAST 
 
 .ere all goin' to make anotijer^vc^^' J^J J^ 
 dear, but my »^«-* « r^m^fisfrm Lgettin' in 
 you all. But V^'^^^J'^^J^Mi^o^^^^^'^ 
 ^y desire for my ^'^"^.^'^^fZ real kitid should 
 ■A that all y-^ -- :;!;rLny ships as possible 
 be scatterco about ^^"e"*" ^^t {.^e called you aft 
 . An' that brings me to wmt ^^^ 
 
 for. Only as your ^^^^^,^'^^ J^X ^s subject 
 
 that has the ^st^nght to U^^^ ^ man to whom. 
 
 is the man we all love ana j „„, souk. 
 
 under God. we all ^^ ^J^^^fsaul Andrews, our 
 God Almighty bless a^JJ^cod bless him's and 
 bo-sun.- A b^kenjhomsj^ ^^^^^ ^^^ ^^^^ 
 
 . Amen's --^^^P;;;^;" :He lustre, the grateful tear 
 shone a jewel of incompa j^.^.^^ j^^^ 
 
 welling from a he«t ^^f^\ ^ear boys, that 
 The skipper r^m^ • J ^.^^^ ^j ^i those snares 
 presentiy we shall be in i ^^ ^^ j^t 
 
 Lt our co"'^^/"?". J' Now we must all freeze on 
 loose for a bnef ^^^^'^^-^.S^To be truly happy, not 
 to the fact that 'f*;:^*";fterwards. we must never 
 only while we're ashore bu ^ftej^^^ j^„ bought with 
 forget for one «notnent tii^t ^ ^^^ .^^_ 
 
 a price, we're «° ""^J . J'^f of the most difficult 
 Wre witnesses for God >« ^^^e to you 
 
 callings known to men. ^ ''^ , * ^omes aboard, 
 is when the B.T- [B°ard °f^Trade^ ^^^ .^ ^^^.^^ 
 
 all of you who ha'« » ^'^^J.e /most forgotten it. be 
 been so long awj *^C^., ,„yhome. go and get 
 
 :rS^f%-ttirrm;y bcthat we ^. all,or 
 
SAUL'S RETURN 
 
 999 
 
 nearly all, manage to make another voyage together. 
 But for the dear Lord's sake don't forget that all the 
 happy hours we've had since we left Calcutta have 
 only been to fit us for the fiery trial that's about to try 
 us. Now the pilot wants to say just a word or two 
 to you.' 
 
 Forthwith the pilot came forward and said, • Well, 
 Captain Vaughan, officers, and men of this fine 
 ship, I'm afraid I'm a bit tongue-tied. Ye see, I've 
 neglected my opportunities of sayin' a word for thtr 
 Master for so long that I don't know how to b^n 
 now. But one thing I can say, an' that is, that what 
 your skipper has told me about your wonderful 
 voyage has made me feel dreadfully ashamed of 
 myself, an' I take ye all to witness that from this out 
 I intend to say something for the extendin' of the 
 Kingdom of God in every ship I take out or bring 
 in. After the example you've all set me I feel right 
 down ashamed of myself And I must say this one 
 thing more, which is, that of all the crews I've ever 
 seen in my life you are the brightest, the smartest, 
 and the happiest lookin'. God bless every one 
 of ye,' 
 
 ' Bo'sun,' said the skipper, when the ringing cheers 
 which greeted the pilot's little speech had died away, 
 ' we should all very much like, I know, to have a final 
 word from you and also to have you give us a 
 closing word of prayer. I know you'll be glad of the 
 chance, so go ahead.' Saul, who had been drinking in 
 every word with feelings indescribable, sprang to his 
 feet and faced the ship's company. But for some 
 moments he was unable to get a word out because 
 of the hearty cheering of his shipmates. When at 
 
,3o THE APOSTLES OF THE SOUTH EAST 
 
 last their afifectionate tributes had subsided, he began 
 . Captain Vaughan, pilot, an' friends, what can I say ? 
 MvheirfssofuU I can't hardly speak Just thmk 
 ^f^t-Sd saved me, made my work a de ght to me 
 ?t Id of a weary way of gettin' a liWn'. « «> - » 
 full of His love that I had to show it. couldn t help 
 t An- then, all these things, all these blessm s that 
 would be well wuth any trouble or pains to get 
 blessL which I never did nothin' for are Ueated « 
 if they was good doin's o' mine, an' I m paid for em 
 ke thil What is the use o' me tryin' to talk to you 
 aSutit? I'msohappylcan'ttalk! If workin' chaps, 
 a?spec ally sailormen, Qnly knew how good a thing 
 t^waftoseL God. what an example to theChurches 
 Ss an' workshops would be. to be sure. But the« 
 ts one thing I'd like to say. an' that is that I m 
 Lnected ,1th a litUe Mission over in Rotherhifte 
 r I would dearly love for as many of you as am t 
 f^av n'Lndon to come over an' attend some o the 
 Sn's there. I promise ye a treat Besides that, 
 rruke a7many of ye as 'aven't got no regular good 
 placl to go to let me do what I can toget yerespect- 
 SlTelSgin's away from sailor-town, as the captam 
 says an' perhaps, if we keep in touch with Ae dear 
 nKo we may make another voyage m her. If 
 S S^eo^ four of us may get in a ship together 
 Jn-'l'll warrant the Lord 'd make use of us. An 
 now oh dear loving careful Father, do accep 
 ;,r&e thanks of our full hearts. You've done a 
 
SAXJL'S RETURN 
 
 «3> 
 
 one towards another, an' brought us safe home. 
 Now we're a-goin' into greater dangers than there is 
 at sea. Lord, keep us. We 'aven't got the strength, 
 we'll be just like children let loose, but You know all 
 about us : keep us from doin' any harm to ourselves 
 or anybody else, an' wherever we goes let us bear 
 witness for Jesus. God bless our dear skipper, our 
 officers, God bless us, every one, for Jesus Christ's 
 sake. Amen.' 
 
 It was all over, and back flowed the tide of work. 
 Ah, how they worked, those Christian sailors. Men 
 generally do put their backs into their duty when 
 coming up the river homeward bound, if thpy have 
 never done so all the voyage ; but these men, always 
 alert and willing, laboured to-day as if each were 
 a host in himself. Presently the ship reached 
 Gravesend, and with a perfect hurricane of farewells 
 the Channel pilot took his leave. He was succeeded 
 by the river pilot, a totally different kind of man, 
 who had not been on board five minutes before he 
 rapped out a tremendous oath at one of his boat's 
 crew who had in some way offended him. Captain 
 Vaughan, who was standing near him at the moment, 
 said, ' Pilot, that's the first swear-word I've heard for 
 five months. I'd almost forgotten that men were 
 such fools as to swear.' ' Look 'ere, cap'n,' retorted 
 the • Mudlark,' ' I ain't under yore commawnd, an' if 
 I feels like cussin' an' swearin' I'm a-goin' t' do it, 
 see? Pretty fine thing w'en a man cawn't swear 
 if he wants ta I wonder wot th' 'ell next.' ' Oh 
 certainly,' replied the skipper, ' swear if you want to 
 if you think it does you any good. I can't stop you, 
 of course, though I should like to. I only said that 
 
 I 
 
,32 THE APOSTLES OF THE SOUTH EAST 
 I'd almost forgotten that men were such fools as to 
 
 '"'Sow, strange as it may appear to those who kn««, 
 the painful and frequent and free language .ndulged 
 Tnby river workers on the Thames, that pilot d.d 
 not swear any more while he was on board the 
 Asteroid until she reached the dock. He caused a 
 good deal of harmless mirth among the crew^ by 
 fssuing his orders sarcastically, saymg 'Wouldjer 
 LTndly oblige me by trimmin- them yawds forrard? 
 o . Will somebody 'ave th' goodness t se« whether 
 the anchors is all clear for lettin' go? or Do yer 
 SgSher a little stawbud 'ellum ?' but^lthough 
 Tctxain must have b*en severe, not anoAer oath 
 Shaped his lips until, just as the ship's he^ was 
 Jeing pointed into the East India Dock basm a 
 Sterman. xvhose aim of getting pushed mo the 
 SsirXead of the Asteroid had been fn.st«ted 
 Shed a perfectly tropical squall of profanity at 
 STesuSring pilot. That burst the floodgates of his 
 fp^ech. and'for the space of about three mmutes he 
 ^e vent to his long pent-up feehngs. When f« 
 TZ lack of breath he paused, the lighterman looked 
 t at ht S a quizzical smile, saying. 'Lord love 
 ;L m" anybod^d fink you'd be'n dum for a w^k^ 
 I didn't fink you'd got it in yer. Yawt t keep a 
 Sunday school, you awt.' To this remark he made 
 Lt fy but ;Jth all the usual ^kUlo^^^^: -" 
 saw the ship safely moored in her berth. As soon 
 S'hewifLthefled ashore, muttering unmUn^iWy. 
 r man that had met with a problem beyond his 
 
 utmost skill to solve. ..no rar^ful 
 
 The decks cleared up neatly and all as a careful 
 
SAUL'S RETURN 833 
 
 mate would have it, Mr. Carroll sang out for all hands. 
 When they mustered he said, 'Boys, I'm goin' to 
 say the usually welcome words that'll do every- 
 body. But I feel I must say good-bye to everyone 
 personally. I do hope with all my heart, and so does 
 Mr. Kenton, that we shall all be shipmates again. 
 Of course Captain Vaughan had to go, but before he 
 went he told me he'd pay off at Green's Home the 
 day after to-morrow, in the afternoon, and if any of 
 you that are not goin' home by the Board o' Trade 
 scheme want any money I've got it to give you.' 
 Only four men stepped forward and asked for a 
 sovereign each, the rest had all accepted the most 
 welcome provision made by the laws for the pro- 
 tection of the poor sailor from the swarming villainy 
 along the river banks. The money was at once 
 handed over, and then each man stepped forward 
 and gave the two officers a hearty hand-shake and 
 good-bye. 
 
 On the quay there waited hungrily several in- 
 dividuals whose faces alone should have been as a 
 danger signal, warning homeward-bound sailors to 
 shun thpm as they would an infected corpse. A wise 
 law would not allow these fellows on board, but they 
 came as near as they dared, and whenever they saw 
 a face over the rail one of them would put on as 
 amiable an expression as he knew how, half with- 
 drawing a bottle from his pocket and beckoning the 
 owner of the face ashore. It is difficult to imagine 
 the chagrin experienced by these landsharks when 
 they found that of all the crew not one was at all likely 
 to fall into their nets. How savagely they cursed 
 as they saw the homegoers leave under the carefiil 
 
,34 THE APOSTLES OF THE SOUTH EAST 
 
 supervision of the Board of Trade ««'. «'«Lti|f 
 foiTremaining chaps sedately walk away wjth Saul. 
 They spat out their opprobrium at the departing 
 men as long as it was safe for them to do so. and 
 Sen. baffled at every point, slunk away to await the 
 coming in of another ship's company '^ho would ^ 
 less e«efully prepared to meet and withsUnd the.r 
 dUbolical wiles So happily ended the voyage of 
 the Asurcid, inauspiciously begun, but by the courage 
 ability, and Christian perseverance of one man brought 
 to so beautiful an issue-never to be forgotten by 
 anyone who belonged to her during that time. 
 
CHAPTER XXII 
 
 A CATASTROPHE AT THE MISSION 
 
 It is disagreeably necessary now to turn back for a 
 time from the peaceful happy condition of things 
 experienced on board the Asttroid to the turbid 
 waters rapidly rising around the Mission. It will be 
 remembered how high the tension had become on 
 account of the desire of Brother Jackson to oust 
 Jemmy from the position of superintendent On the 
 Thursday following, the usual mid-week meeting was 
 held— indoors, the weather being far too inclement 
 now for open-air work— and there was a fairly good 
 attendance. But the whole performance was perfunc- 
 tory in the extreme. There was no life, no spirituality 
 in the taeeting at all. How, indeed, could there be 
 under the circumstances ? Outwardly, at all events, 
 both parties observed the compact not to do anything 
 until the question should be put to the gathering, as 
 a whole, on Sunday night ; except, of course, the 
 issue of emphatic invitations to all members to attend 
 who possibly could. Yet it is undeniable that Jack- 
 son did do a great deal of underhand work, aided by 
 those who favoured his claims ; while Jemmy and his 
 party, as far as they could, dismissed the whole matter 
 from their minds for the present 
 
 On Saturday night, however, the prayer-meeting, 
 
,j6 THE APOSTLES OF THE SOUTH EAST 
 
 which had been exceptionally well attended of late, 
 was almost deserted. To the astonishment of Jemmy 
 only the old members of the Mission were presen^ 
 with the addition of Mary Seton, Woody, and Bill 
 Harrop-and the omission, of course, of the defaultew 
 Jimso^and Jenkins-and there was a no^^«»"e at. 
 sen. . of fervour, except in the case of Bill Harrop 
 and Woody. Indeed, the former bade fair to be one 
 of these wonderful spiritual prodigies that from the 
 outer darkness seem at once to s^ing into the most 
 perfect light, liberty, and usefulness. Woody was as 
 happy as usual, but., as he had ever been since his 
 re^rn to the fold, v^r penitential over his backslid- 
 ing, and overflowing with gratitude for tiie goodness 
 of God in permitting him to come back to peace. 
 But neitiier of these cheery souls made any allusion 
 to tiie impending crisis. From anything they said a 
 stranger might •-ave supposed that the affairs of the 
 Mission were profoundly peaceful and Prosperoi^ 
 Jemmy, for a marvel, prayed not at all. He wondered 
 at himself, and with reason, for his spiritual experiences 
 of late had been of a disturbing kind. Yet such is the 
 perversity of poor human nature, that even wiUi the 
 ^ospect before him of the work he had given so 
 laree a slice of his life to being broken down, he could 
 not bring himself to pray for the special Providence 
 of God to interpose and avert the calamity. 
 
 Just before the close of tiie meeting Jemmy's uncle, 
 old Jack Maskery. quietly glided in and took his seat 
 alongside of his brother. A whispered word or two 
 passed between tlie two old warriors, and presently 
 Jack stood up. There was a deep hush over all « 
 he b^an. 'Dear Farver, we've be'n arskm Ye fur ^ 
 
A CATASTROPHE AT THE MISSION tjj 
 
 blessin' on ahr comin' tergewer ter-morrer, arskin' 
 Yer ter bless ahr effits t' exten' Thy Kingdom. An' 
 all the Vile some on us 'at orter know better 'r feelin' 
 'fraid 'at, arter all these years o' blessin' th' wuk we 
 bc'n tryin' t' do fur Thee, Yore a-goin' t' let up on erse, 
 a-goin' t' let erse be put t' shame. No, Lord, that 
 You ain't You never done it yit, an' You ain't goin' 
 f begin nah. If there's goin' t' be a bust up 'ere in 
 this Mission, it's 'corse it's wanted. Any'ow, You 
 knows best. Lord, there ain't or ortn't t' be any doubts 
 abaht thet Gord bless erse all. Keep erse stead- 
 fast, unmovable, alwus abahndin' in th' wuk o' th' 
 Lord, forasmuch as we know ahr labur is not in vain 
 in th' Lord. Amen.' 
 
 Then Bill pronounced the Benediction, and the 
 little company passed out into the bleak night. All 
 except the three Maskerys, who remained behind to 
 discuss the situation. The two old brothers were 
 very emphatic upon the ' all-right-ness ' of the Mission, 
 while at the same time sympathising deeply with 
 Jemmyj They knew what he must be feeling, much 
 better than he thought they did — for had they not 
 often gone through much the same experience many 
 times ? But what they did not know was the suffering 
 he was enduring by reason of that evil suggestion 
 entertained about the money. The words of his 
 father concerning the possible presence among them 
 of one who was not all right with the Lord, clung to 
 him and would not be got rid of. However, to his 
 great relief the two rugged old Christians proceeded 
 to discuss ways and means in case of a split, and this, 
 turning his mind into another channel, did him good. 
 At last it was decided that in the event of the 
 
,38 THE APOSTLBS OF THE SOUTH EAST 
 
 impending split being of a serious nature and draw- 
 ing off a majority of the congregation, Bill and Jack 
 should beat up their friends and endeavour to persuade 
 them to Ude the little gathering over its temporary 
 troubles. And with this resolve they parted for thetr 
 several homes. 
 
 Sunday evening saw the ' Hall ' packed to over- 
 flowing, for not only were there no absentees among 
 the members, but, allured by the prospect of a row, 
 premonitions of which unseemly proceedmg had 
 somehow got circulated in the neighbourhood, there 
 was a goodly muster of those who had no Christian 
 feeling whatever, only a wish to see what they termed 
 a lark. After the preliminary hymn-singing and 
 prayers, Jemmy rose, and, taking for his text the 
 famUiar John iii. i6, launched into a fervent appeal 
 to those present to hear the voice -f God, to come 
 and be saved. Never had he spc .1 with so much 
 fire blended with so much pathos Never apparently 
 had his hearers manifesto.: such Keen interest in his 
 remarks. But had he been ten times as ferventiy 
 eloquent, it is doubtful whether he would have madt 
 any real impression, because the majority of his 
 audience, having come to hear something entirely 
 d'^^erent, had a certain sense of grievance at Jemmy 
 ui. Jarrantably taking up their time with what they 
 felt they could hear whenever they liked. So when 
 he suddenly brought his address to an end by an- 
 nouncing that after a hymn had been sung Brother 
 Jackson would address the meeting, there was per- 
 ceptible intensifying of interest, all faces lost their 
 somewhat dreamy look, and the hymn was sung with 
 great vigour. 
 
A CATASTROPHE AT THE MISSION 039 
 
 While the last verse was proceeding Broths' 
 Jackson made his way to the platform, being met at 
 its break by BUI, who whispered something in his 
 ear. He nodded and took a seat by Jemmy's side at 
 the rear of the platform. As soon as the congregation 
 had resumed their seats Bill limijed forward and 
 said, ' Brevren an' sisters, most on ye know what's in 
 the wind. I needn't remind ye of all that my son 
 'as be'n an' done in this 'ere nayburwood ; you all 
 knows it as well as wot I do. But Bruwer Jackson 
 'ee finks as 'ow us old 'uns at the work in this Mis- 
 sion's gittin' stale, an' that they ort t' be some fresh 
 blood in the conduc' of matters 'ere. 'Ee's nah goin' 
 f address yer on th' subjec', an' arterwards we'll 'ave a 
 show of 'ands to see oose in favior of 'im being 
 superintendent 'stead o' my son. I still 'ave a little 
 more t' say arter 'ee's finished, but at present it's 'is 
 show. Bruwer Jackson, will you Uke the mectin' ? ' 
 
 The attention was now earnest enough to satisfy 
 the most exacting speaker. Brother Jackson advanced 
 to the rail, moistened his lips with his tongue twice 
 or thrice, cleared his throat nervously, and at last 
 said, ' Dear friends, my task to-night ain't a easy one 
 God knows I shou'd be the last to say a word agen 
 Jemmy or his father, or anybody else connected with 
 Ais Mission. I owe 'em all too aiuch for that I 
 don't believe that you could find, if you searched 
 London through, a better lot than there is here. But 
 we've all gotter remember that a man may be very 
 godly, very lovable, and very kind, an' yet be a very 
 bad business man. An' in a Mission like this you 
 can't afford t' have a bad business man for a super- 
 intendent There isn't any outside help ; all the funds 
 
,40 THE APOSTLES OF THE SOUTH BAST 
 
 •a, got to come from the poorest of the P«>' ^^"^ 
 l"m^.wearin' my .hirts till they «'^»y f'^' ° Pj^ 
 >cLe of the drain the Mission is on me) an if these 
 S Je not carefully ursed -<* /\f ^ "'"ff^S 
 you know what-ll happen, don't you 1^ "f • » " »«j 
 „.. Befor- 11 i^ winter's gone you'll have the land- 
 S bundSn' ylu o^t and coUarin' the « Hall " that 'as 
 SS^omuSSur and money' (* Neither of t yours 
 ^tterS Jemmy). ' Well, what I propose U this, that 
 Sfai eSon for »uperint«.dent.treasu«. s«=re- 
 Zy, and deacons fa proper form, "^ery 'nember of 
 S^ gathering being entitled to vote, and wh«i t^ 
 election's over that we have a proper set of rules 
 d~wn up. and auditors appointed to «a«»'« /" 
 vSers'ind deeds and everything eUe Wo^g^JJ »^ 
 Ihc Mission. All of you who think that what I 
 prop! ought tobe done, please hold -P your^"^, •, 
 Lm^iatelv the hands of everybody in the Hall 
 iSirS only exceptions being the old members 
 ISven? Salmon. Bum. and their wives, aided by 
 Woody Bill Harrop. and the Masken^*- W'th J 
 
 WwTsSilwe^^cKrSI^Jio:^''" 
 
 '^'^^;m;:^lZT.^'^ front of the platform 
 
 and Sy said, 'My friends, ahr Bruwer Jackson 
 
 'i irSSS y "f electV brevren ye choose ter nin 
 
 ^i," rMlsion. But -ee's fergot ter men^n ^at 
 
 four on us 'as made ahrsclvcs responsible fur th place, 
 
 I7it falls f ahr lotf make up any deficits in pay me^ 
 
 SU Lt bein' th' case I got ter remind im-^ 
 
 t«r -at us four 'ave got the say in this matter. 
 
 ZTmL^ that any of them what's come 
 
 t^lt Mission sence we've borne th' burden an 
 
A CATASTROPHE AT THE MISSION ,4, 
 
 'Mt of th* day shall rob us of ahr interest in it We 
 think we've eamt ahr right, an' we mean » s.u , to it 
 Aw yore election if ye like, but understand, please, 
 at if ye de.K!e t' put us aht, yer decides ter put yer- 
 «lve. aht of this 'All-yer must go an' git som^ 
 elset wusshupia It's very simple. It almost breaks 
 my pore ole 'eart t' 'ave t' say this, but 'tain't th' fust 
 time I ve ad f face th' same kind o' fing. I ain't got 
 nuffink t say agin anybody ; I'm only a-tellin' yer th' 
 plain facts. Now go a'ed wiv ytr votin'.' 
 
 Jackson sprang to his feet instanUy, crving, ' I 
 thought as much. These 'ere Maskerys are runnin' 
 this place as a little private concern. I didn't say so 
 afore; but now it's been so plainly put afore us all, 
 that all weve got to do-those of us who don't 
 agree with having a matter like this made a family 
 affair of-is to go out an', as Mr. Maskery. senior, 
 wggesto, get a place of our own. All them as are in 
 favour of doing so, follow me onf A :, for the 
 fickleness of human nature I Ir r.'jite oi . 'hat had 
 gone before, notwithstanding t) bla. ,de.. .. ,rd of 
 the Maskerys and the history 01 t..u Mi . :on there 
 was such an exodus at Jackson's invi. r ( - Aat in 
 five mmutes only twelve persons remaint „ support 
 Je orjgmal members of the Wren Lane Mirsion. 
 Why struggle to find an explanation ? Many vastly 
 more important popular movements have been made 
 With just as slender a foundation to go upon, and the 
 ^rtue of true gratitude is one that is rarely exercised 
 ty communities, much more rarely than it is by 
 individuals. But what principally troubled Jemmy 
 *ere the msulting remarks passed by sundry people 
 as they passed out, reflections upon him which he 
 
,42 THE APOSTLES OF THE SOUTH EAST 
 SLSTai!^ p^ brfot. U» open J. »»p.«n 
 
 « S.CU u»i. '"^jr^^.i^^ ^ 
 
 in the Book "bout Gideon, an' I reckon ee ad a gooo 
 
 parts let me remind yer at inai pu* 
 
 Lmin- aht ---rrer-Jem ^t«soM -^^ ^N- 
 I serjests as Jemmy an « /»'^«=' ^^ .^ ^-t got 
 
 ■'•^ r tL" o'y°St efi- MiS funds, in sple 
 ;°S^s?i°u'w^ in^; ^otes they set3 'im up w^va 
 donkey an- barrer an' some market money Futy 
 S 'l abaht do it. an' I know it ort ter be done^ 
 
 "''*. s'y.'''almost shouted. Stevens, the tugboat s^p- 
 ^ . ihy I say certainly. An' wofs "OT-Jj*^^; 
 ^a^Z: flinU it on the platform. ' I brought 
 
A CATASTROPHE AT THE MISSION .43 
 it to-n.ght out of a bit of a bonus I had to make 
 
 S Jll • u "^"^"^ *"'' difficulties they prayed 
 with all their hearts that this man m.v,i,f vL ^ 
 
 might be added to their tr^wro" gS • for'hl .' 
 
 noted that, alt.ouga they^ould „orheIp\l' 
 
 S:d^r„grTherr^ tX'^ r^ 
 
 h^eT ^ *"'' '"P^'"* '° *•«'' ««P«tive 
 
 littu _ !• o •• "^ uicrc also and cause soni<> 
 r JoroTi'*'''"'- ?r ^^* ^"^•>* drawback to 
 *yLwLmtwr """' "*^ •^'"°^«' -hen 
 knew T,. hT %T^°"" P*"-**!'"? h« beat, and 
 X «?e ToT f ^'>'.^"'P'°y«' f°^ some hoii. at 
 c^b!ty.J^f r"^ J"'*'"' ''^ '••'' "°t know for 
 
 JidTcLe of tJ^F"'' '"^ '"•■"^ "•'=* ^"d 
 or hrinl ^- ,• ! '"'°" P^Pl** «ther forgetting 
 
,44 THE APOSTLES OF THE SOOTH BAST 
 
 SS that the bodily pain was not worth granting 
 ItoSs consideration if haply the soul might be 
 plucked from the everlasting buf'^p- . 
 
 When the two unconventional philanthropists 
 arril at Uie prison gates they found -uno" 
 Catherine. Salvationists and members of the f nson 
 Ste Brigade were tiiere. ready to welcome the 
 pu^ihed one and to let him see that to ti«m a ^y 
 Lehe was no pariah, that the P""' J"".*"* ^S 
 undergone should not. if they <=°»ld J^J **• ^, 
 nicrcilessly augmented by the prevenUon o * 
 penitent getting honest work I\'*^ °"" °' ^^o 
 Wackest blots on our police system, that a man who 
 has according to our laws expiated h« mme (and 
 legally no one can be punished tw'ce for the same 
 offence) should be hunted down when t^^ingto^^m 
 an honest living, should be shadowed by det«:tiv«, 
 'ie'o find hiS tripping, so that tiiey may be com- 
 Jnded for their vigilance, and should mshe« 
 
 despair of ever being able to ^^"^S^^^^^l*^ Till 
 back into criminal courses agam. Of course, it wu 
 SJ-it has been said-that this is an exaggerated 
 a dUtorted view of the case, but unhappily itj 
 nothing of the kind, and everyone who has ever had 
 ;:S to do with the attempt.^ rec^aUon J 
 discharged prisoners knows that it is not, to « 
 bitter, bitter disappointment .,.,-„„„ and 
 
 None of tiiese considerations tix,ubled Je'nmyaj 
 his father. They were on that spot for a definite 
 
A CATASTROPHE AT THE MISSION ,45 
 present purpose, and the possible future frustration nf 
 
 culations. They gazed understandingly upon HtUe 
 forbve groups or shrinking individualsluportSeS^J 
 
 her battery bo,on> with freest, fullest for^v^i" 
 
 ^L7!u°''^^' °^ *^ all-covering love^?^d' 
 Suddenly the small door, opening a little way al^«^^ 
 a man to slip out, and cIosS agfin He melt^T? 
 one of the groups and disappeS asTf hThl?.^ 
 spirited away. One after^Ser eme^.^l'^^ 
 
 -d^sWe for awhile the littirpiriLt^lVB-n.: 
 And then came Paterson, hearty and healthv 
 
 S^tfbv f .T^* ^>"=^ - S^e wisheS not £ 
 thJT «^ ^ °^ ••" °'** associates who might be 
 
 tTco^rS^i.T''''^:^'''''- ^-eTttem 
 rZ, J V- Jemmy, m his impulsive way sorancr 
 
 U)rd bless ye, ole man, yer look a fair t4.t Q' 
 
 tteybe'na-feedin'yeup^thMa^t^eSor'^o nC 
 mme come on outer this; ifs no plice foT'^pectbL 
 people like you an- mc Now I wants ter WlyeJ 
 
,46 THE APOSTLES OF THE SOUTH EAST 
 
 somefin',' talking very fast, and beckoning his father 
 Tnd the waif to come along, as if afraid he might not 
 L able to hold his prisoner. ' We've got a bU o stuff 
 Z yer. A friend of oum 'as put up abarrer an such 
 fslap-up moke ; if yer try at all you'd orter take fust 
 prize wiv 'im at the fust donkey show as ever is. An 
 Lre's a few 'og lef f-n- market money so yer won t 
 'ave ter run inter debt fur anyfink. An if ye dont 
 do wot you orter at fust, well come an' look us up 
 ae-in We can feel for yer. yer know.' 'Jemmy, said 
 the quivering man. ' I be'n tryin' f git a word m edge- 
 ways, but y« won't let me ; I cam't jine yoremeetm 
 'Weill' ejaculated Jemmy, 'oo wants yer to? 1 
 don't, / know. I woodn't 'ave yer if yer d.dn t come 
 free an' full o' yer own accord. Not me. No, you do 
 wSJe like,an'go Ware ye Uke,only we'll all pray 'at 
 ve may do wot's right, and go ware ye orter. That 
 stopped the conversation, for Paterson was chok.ng. 
 He Iw^ struck something quite beyond his compre- 
 hension, and its incidence deprived him °J ^?^ 
 And Jemmy was also much moved, for he felt in the 
 very marrow of his bones that in what he was saying 
 and doing he was most highly honoured, that his fall 
 from grace, all unknown to anybody on earth, had 
 b^n f^given and the joy of the reinstated ones 
 
 **'ln due time they reached the ' Hall.' where punc- 
 tually according to promise, Skipper Stevens had 
 cSthe donkey and barrow to be in read.^ 
 And then, handing over fifteen shilhngs for a nest-egg. 
 tmiS and his father shook hands heartily wiA 
 SnandbadeWm God-speed. Hedi^dnotr^y 
 Scause he could not. but his face told its own 
 
A CATASTROPHE AT THE MISSION 247 
 
 story as he flung himself into the barrow and drove 
 away. 
 
 'Jemmy, my son,' said Bill, 'the Lord's a-goin' 
 t bless us. I ain't be'n so 'appy fur a long time as 
 I am to-day. 'Ere we are, 'avin' been privileged to 
 do a bit of 'Is own work 'asmomin', a bit o' wuk as 
 ft bigges' Chutch on earth 'd be prahd f claim a 
 and m. An' nah you run along 'ome w'ile I take 
 ti»is pore lad t' my little drum an' giv' 'im somefink 
 r eat. an arterwards see wot can be done t' keep 'im 
 aht o trouble in th' future. Good-momin', boy, good- 
 momm', an' Gord bless yer.' Heart full, Jemmy 
 silently shook hands with his father and the boy, and 
 turned his steps homeward. When he arrived he 
 went straight in through the open door of his little 
 house to his parlour, hoping that his wife would be 
 too busy to notice his entrance and scold him for 
 wasting so much time on an object of which she 
 disapproved. And when he turned the handle of the 
 parlour door and strode in, there was Saul sit ng 
 m the arm-chair with Mrs. Maskery facing him on 
 another, her arms folded and a beaming smile on her 
 face. 
 
 It would be a hopeless task for me to attempt a 
 description of Jimmy's behaviour, much less his feel- 
 ings on thus beholding his friend, whose presence had 
 been so greatly longed for by him. The affection 
 that one man often bears to another is one of the 
 most sacred and beautiful things that it is possible 
 to witness on earth. But it does not lend itself to 
 writing about David's lament for Jonathan is the 
 most beautiful and wonderful attempt to describe 
 the glorious well-spring of pure love (nighest to 
 
,48 THE APOSTLES OF THE SOUTH EAST 
 
 God's) that one man may bear to another, but even 
 that is powerful more by reason of what rt suggests 
 than what it says. The story of Damon and Pythias 
 may be myth, but it does not in the least exaggerate 
 the depth of love felt and practised between many 
 men to-day-a love that rises high above all earthly 
 considerations, and touches the very heart of the 
 
 Most High God. ..... 
 
 For a few moments Saul and Jemmy stared at 
 one another speechlessly. Saul recovered himself 
 first, rose and seized Jemmy's outstretched hands m 
 both his own, saying, ' Dear old chap. I cam t tell you 
 how glad I am to see ye. I've been longm fur a 
 sieht of ye all until I was half crazy, and the voyage 
 wLn't a long one, either. How are ye ge"«n ^" ** 
 the Mission? Mrs. Maskery here's been a-tellm me 
 of yer health an' yer struggles, an' some troubles you 
 been havin', but I want t' hear all about U from you 
 •M right, Saul,' said Mrs. Maskery. 'I'll git yet 
 excuse me. I got my work f do',an' it won'tbe pu 
 orf like 'is will. 'Ee'U tork ye blind an' deaf if you 11 
 let 'im. But there, ye know 'ee will. HI see ye 
 later on.' As she departed. Jemmy, drawmg a chair 
 up to Saul's side, burst into a disconnected and no^ 
 very lucid account of the happenings of the last few 
 months. It is difficult to imagine the relief he felt 
 Sbeingabletodothis. It should be remembered 
 however, that since Saul's departure he had never 
 enS such an opportunity, he had never been m 
 any sympathetic person's company who did not know 
 as much about these matters as he did himself But 
 above all there was one matter which had long 
 Srfened his heart, about which he had been unable 
 
A CATASTROPHE AT THE MISSION .49 
 
 to speak to a soul— a matter which cannot be put 
 on record here. The recital made Saul's heart 
 bleed, and unable to say a word he could only grip 
 Jemmy's hand tighter and look into his face with 
 humid eyes from which beamed perfect love. 
 
 The story ended, Saul began Ais yam. His sole 
 auditor was entranced, astounded ; Jemmy's breath 
 came in short thick gasps, his mouth twitched with 
 uttermost sympathy, and occasionally a whispered 
 Bless the dear Lord ' broke from his lips. Such a 
 listener would have been a treasure to any speaker 
 but as a listener to such a story as Saul had to tell 
 Jemmy was pre-eminent. Both the men were lost 
 in the contemplation of what God had wrought, and 
 fte time flew by utterly unnoticed, until at last Mrs 
 Maskeiy burst in crying, 'There, Saul, wofd I tell 
 yer? Once git 'im started you'd never make 'im 
 leave orf 'cept by force. 'Ee's the orflest jaw-me-dead 
 
 I ever see an' ' • Excuse me, Mrs. Maskety,' inter- 
 
 poated Saul, 'let's be just I've be'n doin' all the 
 talkm fur a long time, an' a better or more patient 
 listener man never had. But let's see what tii' time 
 w. And, looking at his watch, Saul exclaimed, ' Why, 
 Jemmy, my lad, no wonder your wife got impatient 
 to know what was goin' on. We've be'n a-talkin' fur 
 three 'ours I ' 
 
CHAPTER XXIII 
 
 A BRIGHTER DAY DAWNS 
 
 Among the many interesting details which Saul 
 had acquainted Jemmy with, was the determination 
 of a portion of iht Asterwfs crew— those who had 
 no homes— to come over to Rotiierhitiie and lodge 
 with Saul for a time. To think that the little open- 
 air meeting on the Waste would be reinforced by such 
 a sturdy band of recruits to the good cause, won by 
 his own child in the faith, too, was for Jemmy most 
 delightful and uplifting. So much so, that he was 
 hardly able to contain himself for joyful antici- 
 pation of Sunday, or refrain from fear lest tiie 
 weatiier should be, as it had been of late, utterly 
 inclement He got the friend who had painted the 
 motto on the centre beam of the ' Hall' to draw up a 
 big flaring bill, which was stuck up outsH- the ' Hall,' 
 and notified all and sundry that a banc converted 
 sairjrs would be present at the meetings t .. Thursday 
 and Sunday, both of which would be held on the 
 Waste, weather permitting. And whereve. he went he 
 spread the news and begged his hearers to do the same. 
 In consequence of his efforts in this direction the 
 ' Hall ' on Thursday was fairly well filled, much better 
 indeed than he had hoped for. But many of the 
 audience came from local chapels, moved by curiosity 
 
A BRIGHTER DAY DAWNS ,j, 
 
 to see and hear a band of converted sailors. Saul of 
 course was quite in his clement, and sMe wiS his 
 usual fervour and force, but his friends C fte ,hfe 
 rr "™'' ""'^ ^hy-" »ight naturally bTexirt J 
 few of the malcontents who broke away with Jackson 
 
 iouWno?^' **? "«*•" «l"'«ly. hoping that th^ 
 would not bespoken to about their temporary diT 
 
 *t the back and looking wistfully at Jemmy The 
 U^r soon spied him, and at the firsi op^rtu Jt 
 made his way towards him and entreat.^ hVm^ 
 come to the front He firmly l^tld In r * 
 
 importunities, saying in e^JcVSt tht^Jrhad 
 proved by his life that he really was a ^h!noi 
 
 f need be, but at present he felt that his place was 
 J«t of one who was only just allowed Lide Th^ 
 
 orto1emr""'-'°""- "" "-"^^ «- !i^i4 
 
 over to Jemmy as part repayment of what had been 
 
 fhlttV^^HV^^'"'" '«*'■"•*"'' g-tefSy admS 
 that he had been doing very well """uca 
 
 Two incidents also occurred at this meeting well 
 worth recording, not merely fo, their Sg^^^ 
 
 importance. One was the coming out of a voun.r 
 
 rSn ?:'■ ^r* "p ■" *« ^trilis 
 
 ChnSiJl .;«"' ""'" **'^" "**^^'y case-hardenedT 
 
 lic?^ wS. f"."^ ^'''"'^tr^s, of unimpeachable 
 character, w,th baul. It may sound almostbrutally 
 P-^natur. to state this feet in such an abrupt mTnner^ 
 
as* THE APOSTLES OF TH^ SOUTH EAST 
 
 but I do not know that any good end would be 
 served by making a mystery of It, or drawing »* o"* 
 by slow degrees through half a dozen pages ; and of 
 the two incidents mentioned, I have intentionally 
 given it the second place, because I am as sure as it 
 is possible to be of such a thing, that the conversion 
 of that clerk had a far more widely reaching im- 
 portance than Saul's first (and last) love story. 
 Therefore I must go on to say that this young man, 
 in the full vigour of manhood (he had just come of 
 age), came deliberately forward and confessed his 
 faith in Christ, and announced his determination to 
 cast in his lot with God's people. And as an earnest 
 of his sincerity he then and there handed in a goodly 
 portion of his savings, five pounds, and offered to 
 serve in any capacity that might be required of him. 
 I do not wish to anticipate, but I feel compelled to 
 say that William Maylie was and is the most perfect 
 example of what the Grace of God can make of a 
 man that ever I saw. He now holds a fairly high 
 position in his business, worldly matters have pro- 
 spered with him, but he is just the same humble 
 Christian, eager to be doing good and caring not one 
 jot for authority or fame, as he was the first night of 
 his conversion. 
 
 As I write these words I cannot help wondenng 
 again how they will be received. Not that I should 
 fear the world's hostile criticism at all, but whether 
 impartial people will believe in the reality of the 
 characters I have vainly been trying to give an im- 
 ptession of Well, it is no wonder that, remembering 
 the strange monsters that have been limned by 
 p<^ular novelists of late and labelled ' Christians 
 
A BRIGHTER DAY DAWNS ,53 
 
 with or without qualifying prefixe., I should feel 
 doubtful .bout the recepUon of real Chri»tian.-not 
 Invented ones. All I can say is that if you who read 
 will not believe that there do exist such people a> 
 I have tried to portray, the loss will be yours, not 
 
 T*: ^ u ^*" "'*"■ *~^ "f "y'nft t™th is un- 
 'f-!!'^ ^ *'"'^""'" '■" '^ B"t the unbeliever Is 
 affected, for his disbelief in the truth may prevent 
 his attainment of happiness. 
 
 At the Saturday evening's prayer-meeting there 
 was full muster. All day Friday and a good deal 
 of Saturday. Saul and his four shipmates had been 
 doing the historic sights of London, soaking up with 
 a^ a novice's avidity the glories of South Kensington, 
 Westmmster, St. Paul's, and the Zoo. Oh, how 
 childish, some will say. Well, I can only reply. 
 Except ye receive the Kingdom of God as a little 
 child, ye can in no wistt enter therein.' And it is the 
 merest platitude to say that the majority of civilised 
 mankind deliberately shed their capacity for pure 
 enjoyment, condemning things as childish which be- 
 long to the highest development of man or woman 
 hood and batten upon paltry debasing pleasures that 
 the child would instinctively refuse, knowinp by Divine 
 intuition that there could be no satisfactiou therein. 
 
 Therefore these five came down to Wren Lane 
 Hall ready not only to pray but to praise. Their 
 tyes had seen many wonders of nature and art. and 
 their souls had prompted them to thank God ; which 
 >s as It should be, but, alas I seldom is. When they 
 ^ved they found that their fame had preceded 
 them (owing to the indefaUgable way in which 
 Jemmy had made known their historyX «id there was 
 
>S4 THB APOSTLES OF THE SOUTH EAST 
 
 a record attendance for a Saturday evening prayer- 
 meeting. There was also a swing, a go, in the pro- 
 ceedings that no one present could remember as 
 having obtained before. Now during the singing of 
 one of the hymns, Saul, who sat with Jemmy facing 
 the audience, suddenly caught the eyes of a young 
 lady in the congregation fixed upon him with so 
 earnest, so all-embracing a gaze, if I may use the 
 word, that he was dumbfounded. His voice faltered 
 and he ceased to sing^. That wistful beseeching look 
 awoke in him something that until then had been 
 in the chrysalis stage. For Saul, like many another 
 grand man, was exceedingly modest about himself, 
 and the idea of any woman loving him never 
 occurred to him. Moreover, in spite of his sad 
 experiences all round the world, he retained a most 
 whole-hearted reverence and admiration for woman 
 as a type of the higher aspects of humanity. To him 
 woman per st was a lesser angel, in whose presence 
 any decent man must be in something of the same 
 mental attitude as he remembers he preserved at his 
 mother's knee in early childhood. The poor debased 
 ones he had met he always regarded as the excep- 
 tions which proved the rule— they rather deepened 
 and confirmed than shook his opinion. 
 
 But now he could hardly help feeling, such was the 
 magnetic power of Elizabeth Carter's eyes, that there 
 might be a possibility of his being loved by some 
 sweet girl who would by-and-by consent to become 
 his wife. And he there and then determined to do 
 what in him lay to find out whether or not the owner 
 of those eyes really meant what he felt she did when 
 she looked at him like that So at the moment the 
 
A BRIGHTER DAY DA\ ,55 
 
 meetinK doMd he whispered ; > ' mmy « . ^stion u 
 to whethw he knew that yov .g lady, Minting a 
 quivering finger at her back. a. die pasKd down the 
 Hall toward, theexjt. No, Jemmy did not know her. 
 but he would try and find out And with that scant 
 oomfort Saul was rompelled to be content, and hope 
 that some fortun..t... accident would bring him and 
 the young wom:»r to^rether. H- -va., so wrapped in 
 thought as he and his fojr ccn.panions strolled home- 
 ward to their comJbrtihle 1 ^gii? through the crowded 
 streets, that the latter coi.;d net :.-|p remarking upon 
 his preoccupied air. So he shook it off and was soon 
 his own cheerful self again. He was my glad though 
 to be alone in his littie room, and there, in silent 
 meditation with his Friend, bring this new andstarK r 
 upheaval in the placid flow of his Christian life t : h" 
 testing touch. Do what he would, he could £n. „ 
 condemnation for the trend of his thoughts, and a '«• .^ 
 he sank on his knees and fervently asked God to 
 pude him. And if. he said, it was not contraiy to 
 God s will concerning him. he would well love to be 
 mamed, to look forward at his home-coming for a 
 dear human face whose eyes would beam for him 
 alone; who would wait for him, pray for him. and 
 — ye^ there was an exquisite thrill in tiie tiiought— 
 would perhaps give him a living pledge of love that 
 should bind him closer than ever to tiie Lord and 
 Giver of life, and enable him better to understand 
 the heart of the /?a/A«r. 
 
 Sunday dawned bright and clear. One of tiiose 
 Jovely days in tiiis much-maligned London winter of 
 ours that makes us wonder how far people are justified 
 m saying the things they do about it Not a breatii of 
 
 I 
 
 
<S6 THE APOSTLES OF THE SOOTH EAST 
 
 air stirring, a few fleecj- clouds sauntering across the 
 pale-blue sky, and a tender touch in the air that, 
 while not too mild for the time of year, had yet within 
 it a suggestion of summer. At the Breaking of Bread 
 the sailors' presence gave an added interest to the 
 weekly ceremony that brought quite a new flutter of 
 joy to the hearts of the faithful ones. What it meant 
 to the visitors no one could say. They would have 
 characterised it, had they been able to put their 
 thoughts into words las Jacob did the holy place of 
 Luz, ' This is none other but the house of God, and 
 this is the gate of Heaven.' As if unable to keep 
 away from the place, they came again to the Sunday 
 school, endearing themf '■is so much to the children 
 that school did not breax up till an unususdly late 
 hour, and then when the scholars had gone they (the 
 sailors) sat on with Jemmy and Brother Salmon dis- 
 cussing the finances and building of the ' HalL' When 
 they heard of the ebbtide in its prosperity which set 
 in with Patcrson's robbery, they were touched to the 
 heart and at once made up the amount needed to put 
 the Mission on a solvent footing. Then they went 
 joyously home to their tea, firmly refusing to burden 
 Jemmy's humble abode with their presence, with a fore- 
 thought for his comfort and a delicacy that would have 
 done credit to the best-reared gentlemen in the land. 
 
 The lovely day drew peacefully to its close, the 
 evening being calm, bright, and mild, with a glorious 
 full moon. And with thankful hearts the Mission folks 
 gathered together and marched to their old station on 
 the Waste, to enjoy a meeting in the open air snatched 
 out of the close season of winter. The wonderful 
 weather had, as it always does, drawn many people out 
 
A BRIGHTER DAY DAWNS ,5? 
 
 for a Httle fresh aJr and exercise, so that by the time 
 
 tad gathered Jemmy was in splendid form, all his 
 ^te despondency having vanished and Ws heS 
 bea^ngh.gh with hope. When he told the pLpS 
 
 tteiovsofi '""^^'* ^P"*= way had described 
 *i Thin .h ''°'"** "''*^ *^" ^"1 » =°°"n-nd of 
 
 bSl B r'w""* e"^''"'^"^ a good story for their 
 benefit But when Saul, whose face was familiar to 
 many m the neighbourhood from his former min"rl 
 tons m that place, stepped forward, the im^i wi 
 ^tense. Every word he spoke waslistened to «n 
 self, and that little deprecatingly 
 wheT^ bSi?' ^°"'''"*'' "'^ «"«- than remedied 
 upon them. One by one they eave thi-.V ..-^ i 
 t-^mony but none of them fai J to' t^S ^^ h a'S 
 
 made by Saul among them, they would never have 
 
 Z« ,," V '^ "*""* magnetic power people were 
 «»nbnually bemg drawn from unieen soured un^? a 
 
 waste was gathered around the speakers At th! 
 culmmating point of the meeting STeTl ^as f htt 
 bustie, a whispered consuludon, and forth stepwd 
 
 «SteLntT°"'r-'"'"^ "°'''^' ''*-''« »-^^S?f 
 Sf to H, ~"'^"'°« *hich at once communicated 
 
 «»» *>«». Looky 'ere, people, most on yer knows 
 
 s 
 
,S8 THE AKJSTLES OF THE SOUTH EAST 
 
 me, but there ain't many on ye knows any good of me. 
 
 I be'n a fair hot-un, I have, but I never done any- 
 
 fink quite so bad as I did w'en I broke into these 'ere 
 
 bloke's drum dahn Wren Lane an' pinched all tiie oof 
 
 they collected t' pay the landlord wiv. I robbed a 
 
 good many people that night, I know, but these poor 
 
 chaps 'ad t' put up wiv the consequences. An wot 
 
 did they do when I come agen an' broke meself all 
 
 up tryin' t' do anuvver grab ? W'y, they looked arter 
 
 me w'ile I was in th; Infirmary, they made it as light 
 
 as they could tor me 'fore the madg-strate, an wen 
 
 I come aht they met me at the gate o' th' jug an 
 
 welcomed me 'sif I'd a-be'n their long-lorst bruwer. 
 
 They set me up in bisness agen, an' I'll tell ye wot it is, 
 
 my bisness pays me nah. I fine 'at cause I've learnt 
 
 t' speak the trufe, to give good weight, an' be perlite 
 
 an' puncshal, I'm gittin' more an' more work every day 
 
 Th«e people put me on to that as a sorter reward 
 
 for 'avin' robbed 'em, an' made 'em dreadful dahn in 
 
 the mouth fur a time. 
 
 ■ Then w'en they see I was sorry fur wot I done (1 
 was, too), they arsked me ter come in wiv 'em an' serve 
 Gordsameastheydid. I ses " No." I ses « I don't feel 
 'sif I c'd stick it, an' I ain't a-goin' ter make a mock ol 
 you ner Gord neither, 'f I k'n 'elp it." But on the q.t. 
 I fort I would 'av' a try wivout s'yin' anyfink t any- 
 body, so I screws up me eyes tight an' I ses, " Ho Gord, 
 I don't know where Y' are, I carn't see Ye and feel Ye, 
 but I can see wot them people's like wot ses at You 
 makes 'em wot they are. Nah. I'm on'y a pore ignan 
 coster, a bit of a gun. an' in gen'ral "o good. Try l^er 
 'and on mc. I'm wiUin', s'elp me Gord., I m wilho^ 
 I'll put up wiv anyfink. go anywheres, do anyfink, ii 
 
A BRIGHTER DAY DAWNS ,59 
 
 on'y You'U make me as good as that lot wot's treated 
 me as they 'ave." An' then I went on wiv me job. 
 W en I was firsty I 'ad a drink er water ; w'en I was 
 a-buyin- I didn't tell the lies I useter. er giv a bloke 
 a pint t' rob his guvnor fur my benefit ; 'n w'en I 
 wos a-sellin' I didn't tell everybody I was a-sellin' 
 my goods fur less'n wot I giv fur 'em. At least 
 I say I did or didn't do all these 'ere fings. i don't 
 want f tell no lies, an'yit I cam't rightly 'splain t'yer 
 wot I mean. I don't feel 'sif I did 'em 't all. I feel 
 sif somefink inside of me wos a-doin' em w'ile J only 
 'ad f be quite still. Well, I fought I'd go on like that 
 quite quiet-hke, an' not a-syin' anyfink fur fear I *'d 
 break aht agen, until t' night I come dahn 'ere wiv . 
 bit er braM t' pay back som'er what I stole, w'en I 
 card that there bloke torkin' abaht wot 'ee calls bearin' 
 witness fur Gord. An' ses I t' meself. ses I, you ain't 
 a-dom' that, yore edgin', that's what yore a-doin' Yore 
 a-leavin' a back door f slip out on, case you shou'd 
 feel like 'avin' a fling bimeby. W'y you ain't arf a 
 man, I ses, jest like that, 'sif I was a-torkin' t' some- 
 body else Nah be a man, ses I ; wotever you do toe 
 the mark an' tell the people, so's if ever you do go 
 wrong arter this they'll be able to spot yer fer the 
 dirty dorg y'are. Thet's w'y I'm-a standin' up ere 
 I cam't tork t' yer like this fine bloke,' patting Saul 
 on the shoulder, 'but I can say this, that all rahnd 
 abaht everyone 'at wants to do right, be right, live 
 nght, there's 'elpin' 'ands, aht o' sight but real. ' An' 
 I believe they're the 'ands of Almighty Gord.' 
 
 There was an aws-stricken sileii.e as Paterson 
 retired. Such a frank outpouring of a man's inmost 
 soul-struggUngs must have an immediate effect upon 
 
ate THE APOSTLES OF THE SOUTH EAST 
 
 such a promiscuous crowd as was gathered on the 
 Waste that night. It is only in congregations case- 
 hardened by the constant receipt of undeserved bless- 
 ings that die most fervent outpourings of a man's 
 inmost boul are often received unmoved. So that 
 id-hen Bill Harrop took Paterson's place there were 
 many weary ones panting with desir« to obtain a 
 share of the blessings which the latter had indicated as 
 having become his. Bill began to speak, and as he 
 did so one of his heaiters whispered to his neighbour, 
 • It's a fair-knock aht, ain't it ? W'y I remember we'n 
 'ee was a scorcher, an' no mistake. You'd on'y gotter 
 look at 'im ter give 'im a wide berf. An' nah 'ee 
 looks quite the gentlemin.' All unconscious of these 
 remarks Bill was fervently inviting all and sundry to 
 come and make the acquaintance of his newly found 
 Friend. * If yer don't believe wot I say,' he cried, ' I'll 
 tell yer wot ter do. You go an' arsk my wife 'n kids. 
 They know the difference 'tween wot I was an wot I 
 am. An' I b'lieve they knows too the trufe o' wot 
 Bruwer Paterson's justbe'n a-tellin' yer— that I didn't 
 do it ner yet these dear people 'ere, it was th' 'and of 
 Gord wot did it, wot made me clean, 'onest,an' sober. 
 Let Him 'ave a try at yerselves, those of yer 'oo knows 
 'at yer needs il. Gord bless yer.' 
 
 Again there was a great scene. Unfortunately 
 it was impossible to avoid the awkward effects of 
 physical excitement altogether, and no doubt there 
 were some who professed to find Eternal Life who 
 were only temporarily carried away by the prevailing 
 imoression. That, however, was not for the preachers 
 to decide: theirs only to do as they were bidden, 
 and afterwards to look for the fruits of their labours. 
 •Blese Gord,' cried Jimmy, 'we got a 'All t'arsky 
 
 
A BRIGHTER DAY DAWNS 361 
 
 inter. Come along, all on yer, inter th' 'All. Less 
 ave a praise- meetin'. Less give Gord fanks for all 
 iie s done fur us. Praise 'Is 'Oly Name.' 
 
 So they went in a body, and foremost among them 
 went Miss Carter. Seeing that Saul was somewhat 
 overloaded with books, chairs, &c., she said, • Let me 
 take some of those books for you,' and that broke the 
 ice. All the way to the ' Hall ' they chatted about the 
 work that was being done, and before they parted they 
 had made arrangements to see more of each other. 
 
 This little episode must not, however, make me 
 forget another matter that showed how deeply the 
 words spoken on the Waste had struck home. After 
 as many as could find admission had crowded the 
 'Hall,' and the impromptu service of praise was in 
 full swing. Brother Salmon sidled up to Jemmy and 
 whispered : ' There's a gal here that's in trouble We 
 must 'elp er. My wife's just told me. She's under 
 qotice to leave 'er place of service, because there's a 
 baby comm' ; she's got nowhere to go, an' her friends 
 are all up in the North. Now don't you think we 
 must do something ? ' • Corse I do.' answered Jemmy ; 
 tell er to stop be'ind an' give us the perticlers. We'll 
 find 'er a place t' lie 'er pore 'ead dahn. Pore crechur, 
 shell be punished enough for wot she's done Pore 
 fing, pore fing.' So at the close of the meeting, 
 when many rejoicing souls had gone their several 
 ways, and many others, envious of the happiness they 
 saw manifested, but unable to grasp its secret, had 
 gone discontentedly homeward.s, there was a little 
 committee meeting held of the brethren, with the poor 
 shrinking girl sitting in their midst like one awaiting 
 sentence. ^ 
 
 In answer to questions, as delicately put as if 
 
i6> THE APOSTLES OF THE SOXTTH EAST 
 
 their propounders had belonged to the hig^iest rank in 
 society, she gave all the information required, and 
 being promised all the aid the brethren could give, 
 such as providing her with a retreat, fetching her box 
 away, Ike, she departed lighter in heart than she 
 had been for many a day. Then her new-found 
 friends went their several ways homeward, rejoicing 
 all in the blessed consciousness of a good day's 
 work done for God. In fact, it would have been hard 
 to find anywhere upoil earth so happy a lot of people 
 as had emerged from the Wren Lane Mission Hall 
 that night Obscure, unknown, unclassified among 
 religious agencies, it had yet done more to justify its 
 existence in that one day's work among the class that 
 the Lord of Light came down to minister unto, than 
 many a stately cathedral has done in all the centuries 
 of its existence. Its value was to them as life is to 
 stone. 
 
 I must not close this chapter without one word 
 about Saul. He had arranged to meet Miss Carter 
 on the next evening and take her for a walk. In his 
 own mind he had planned a course of action the out- 
 come of which you shall learn in due time. To say 
 that he was happy would be ineffectual. He was 
 almost always happy. But this night his happiness 
 had a special quality. His life seemed suddenly to 
 acquire a greater significance, a higher value than 
 ever before. In short, upon his placid pursuit of 
 doing good to all from love to God, had been super- 
 imposed the blessedness of doing good to one tor love 
 of !?erself. Not a totally different thing, but rather 
 an essence of the same, ' 
 
 
CHAPTER XXIV 
 
 SAUL'S WOOING AND WEDDING 
 
 Very punctually on the Monday, Saul was at the 
 appointed trysting-place. He had satisfactorily dis- 
 posed of his shipmates for tiM evening : not without 
 some qualms at tlMs leaving them to themselves. It 
 is a failing which most of us are prone to, an amiable 
 weakness if you will, but nevertheless somewhat 
 galling at times to the objects of our solicitude. I 
 mean the way in which we will persist in shepherding 
 pec^e who ought to be, if they are not, quite capable 
 of taking care of themselves. Had Saul but realised 
 it, those four fellows were rather relieved to be their 
 own masters for a little while. They loved Saul 
 intensely, but all the same the sensation of being con- 
 tinually in leading strings is not a pleasant one for 
 grown men -they love to feel that they are trusted ; 
 so that Saul's fears were quite groundless, it was a 
 little over-estimation of his own importance, not any 
 needed self-condemnation. 
 
 When he saw Miss Carter tripping along towards 
 where he stood expectant, he noted with an ac- 
 celerated heart-beat her fair fre«h face, her dainty 
 dress and graceful movements, and he felt an intense 
 delight that he was being thus favoured. Shyly he 
 
a64 THE APOSTLES OF THE SOUTH EAST 
 
 oflered her his ann and felt her little hand fall upon 
 his coat-sleeve with a sense of proprietorship — utterly 
 unjustifiable, of course, after so short an acquaint- 
 ance, but still most natural under the circumstances. 
 A few platitudes of the usual kind followed— those 
 con\ Lrsational vedettes that we all feel bound to throw 
 out before the main body of our thoughts, as we 
 skirmish for an opening through which we may 
 march the horse, ibot, and artillery of our pet ideas. 
 
 And now I feel a considerable difficulty con- 
 fronting me. If I were to faithfully set down Saul's 
 conversation here, most of my readers would call him 
 a prig. But no man was ever less of a prig than 
 Saul Andrews, and I dread to give a wrong impres- 
 sion of him. May I, however, remind my readers 
 of one essential fact — that the very core of Saul's 
 existence, the pivot upon which all his thoughts, 
 feelings, wishes, and wants revolved, was Christ I 
 speak with (I hope) a due and solemn sense of the 
 weight of my words, and I repeat that Saul Andrews, 
 like every other man who has been touched by the 
 hand of the Holy Spirit, could no more keep the name 
 of His Master out of his mind in business, or out of 
 his mouth in friendly talk, than he could help breath- 
 ing. Therefore, before he and Miss Carter had gone 
 a mile, he was telling her of his early pitiful struggle 
 for life, of that unseen Father who, he was sure, had 
 watched over him through all those trying days of 
 his godless youth, and his hairbreadth escapes from 
 death in many grim forms ; of his conviction and 
 conversion, and his new-bom longing to live for the 
 Lord who had bought him and was always training 
 bim up to do what He needed to be done in the 
 
SAUL'S WOOING AND WEDDING 
 
 »6s 
 
 sphere of influence controlled by the 
 
 particular 
 speaker. 
 
 It was an interesting, but to the great majority 
 of people an utterly incomprehensible sort of con- 
 versation to take place between a man and woman 
 who, if not yet avowed lovers, were both on the brink 
 of declaring themselves so. Miss Carter was. in some 
 sort, overcome by this outburst on the part of Saul 
 She did not understand it. She had, it is true 
 that tender yearning towards religious manifestations 
 which seems to be the special characteristic of women 
 of all ages and all nations. But like the majority of 
 women, also, she had not reasoned about these matters. 
 She had been impressed more or less superficially and 
 emotionally by what she had heard on the Waste and 
 in the 'Hall,' and all she needed was an abiding 
 influence, a Divine control over her thoughts, feelings 
 emotions, what you will, to make her a great power 
 for good, into whatever society she mi-jht be cast At 
 • this present time she felt that such a power was 
 needed by her, but made the perfectly natural mis- 
 take of supposing that Saul could supply it— only 
 another proof, by the way, of how frail human nature 
 clings to the seen and tangible, as compared with 
 Us difficulty of appreciating the unseen and spiritual 
 But what could Saul know of this ? Man-like, he 
 only saw a dainty, pretty young woman hanging upon 
 his words, he only felt that here was an extension of 
 his work for God into a pleasant region his access 
 to which had hardly been dreamed of before, and the 
 discovery wafted him into a very sea of delight. 
 
 So he talked on and on, looking down fondly 
 into those humid eyes that gazed up into his with so 
 
aM THE APOSTLES OF THE SOXJTH EAST 
 
 much apparent appreciation of what he was iaying, 
 although to tell the truth it was himself, not his words, 
 that was bringing that gaze of all-embradng affection 
 into them. Ey-and-by he said, ' Now, Miss Carter— 
 but may I call you Lizzie?' She did not answer 
 verbally, but her look and the slight pressure of her 
 hand upon his arm was sufficient ' Now, Lizzie, I'm 
 going to say to you, for you've encouraged me to, 
 what I never said to any woman before. I love you, 
 and if you can love me well enough to share my lot 
 with me, be my wife. You'll make me very happy, for 
 at present I have no home, and all my energies, almost 
 all my earnings, go to the Wren Lane Mission. And 
 I can't help feeling that God would like me to have a 
 dear little wife (like you) and a home of my own. 
 But, you know, I'm a sailor, earning my living away 
 from home, and sometimes not seeing England for 
 over a year. It's a poor lot I'm askin' you to share, 
 but I promise you tiiat I'll do my best to find work 
 ashore as soon as possible, if you'll only be my wife. 
 
 Will you ? ' , u u J 
 
 Of course he could not know how eagerly she had 
 
 been longing for him to ask her the question, any 
 
 mors tiian he could imagine how completely the 
 
 present occupied her mentol horizon ; and so he was 
 
 overjoyed, almost dizzy with delight, when she shyly, 
 
 murmured, ' Yes, dear.' They were in a quiet street 
 
 at the time, witii no passers-by, and witi» a sudden 
 
 movement their lips met in tive betrothal kiss ; an act, 
 
 to Saul's mind at any rate, as solemn and bmding as 
 
 his baptism had been. They walked on for a while 
 
 iii silence, till suddenly Saul broke it by saying, 'Tell 
 
 me Lizzie dear, have you no friends or parents whom 
 
SAUL'S WOOING AND WEDDING 167 
 
 I ought to Me ? Surely you ate not like me, quite 
 alone in the world except for my Lord's precious 
 company ? ' 
 
 ' Not quite, but very nearly,' she sighed. ' I have a 
 father and a mother, separated from each other as so 
 many are in this cruel London, and I do not Know 
 where either of them are just now. I haven't seen 
 mother for over six months I I live with an old cousin, 
 a dear old soul who's got a little private dressmaking 
 business, and we've been fairly happy together since 
 the awful day I came to what was home then, from a 
 machinist's place I'd got, and found the furniture all 
 cleared out, and father an' mother gone, nobody knew 
 where. She, my cousin Carrie, as soon as I went an' 
 told her what had happened, invited me to come to 
 her and share what she'd got, and as far as she could 
 she'd be a mother to me now my own had deserted 
 me. She has been all that ; I've been fairly fortunate 
 ii\gettin' work when she hadn't enough to keep us both 
 goin', and I've had no illnesses, thank God, or I don't 
 know what we should have done.' Saul's face grew 
 very grave as he drew a mental picture of what 
 friendless girls have always before them in a great city 
 when they can iind no work and no one feels that it is 
 any part of their duty to look aiter them, and he drew 
 the little hand, resting so confidingly upon his strong 
 arm, closer and more firmly to his side as he made a 
 vow to do what in him lay to be both father and 
 mother to its owner. 
 
 How very sudden, says some one, for such high 
 affection to develop. It may be, but then sailors must 
 be sudden in these matters, the time at their disposal 
 being so short Moreover, there are many hearts 
 
MKMCOrV HSOtUTWN TBT CHART 
 
 (ANSI ond ISO TEST CHART No. 2) 
 
 E^ i^ I 
 
 J. 
 
 /^PPLIEa IN/MGE In 
 
 1653 Eoal Main StrMt 
 S Rochmtar. Mw York 14609 USA 
 (718) 462 - 0300 - Phon* 
 
 (716) 2BB - 5989 - Fok 
 
368 THE APOSTLES OF THE SOXTTH EAST 
 
 wherein love has been long accumulating, like 
 waters behind a dam, until it only needs a touch 
 to release it and spread it in vast volume over all 
 obstacles. But Saul, being, like most iine, brave, and 
 gentle men, exceedingly diffident and modest as well 
 as thoughtful for others, now said what many would 
 consider a foolish thing, one at any rate quite uncalled 
 for on his part. After declaring that it gave him the 
 utmost joy to find that Lizzie could love him, he begged 
 her to consult her own happiness before his in this 
 wise : that if she should find during his absence that 
 she had made a mistake, she was to have no compunc- 
 tion in telling him so, since whatever pain it might 
 and would cost him then would be infinitely better 
 and easier to bear than the finding out of such a mis- 
 take after marriage would be. He found to his surprise 
 that such a view of possible change in her f)%lings 
 towards him was very distasteful. She looked upon 
 it as almost a personal slight, and with feminine in- 
 genuity sharply suggested that perhaps he wished to 
 leave a loophole for his own escape from an engage- 
 ment Mildly he pointed out to her how foreign such 
 an idea was to his mind, and reminded her that where- 
 as she would always be seeing fresh faces and might 
 easily find that her rapidly firing affection for him 
 was misplaced, through meeting some one whom she 
 loved better, he would be in quite a secluded position, 
 where, if he were ever so fickle, he would have no 
 chance of fixing his affections upon any other girl 
 for the simple reason that he would meet none. 
 
 Somewhat mollified, but still smarting from what 
 she considered an unmerited suggestion, Lizzie at last 
 consented to change the subject And Saul, suddenly 
 
SAUL'S WOOING AND WEDDING 
 
 169 
 
 conscience-stricken at the way in which he had walked 
 her on and on, forgetting how different her strength 
 must be to his, invited her to have a meal with him 
 in a quiet restaurant near by, for they were now at 
 Greenwich. The food was very welcome and the meal 
 to Saul was almost a sacred one, the first of the kind in 
 all his experience. His eyes, looking through love's 
 glamour, invested her with a holy light : she was trans- 
 figured, becomingabeing far uplifted from tne common 
 herd of mortals. And he ! why should he be privileged 
 to (delicious thought) kiss her .' Oh, meed past all 
 deserving, how humble it made him feel ! Well, love 
 (of this kind) and common-sense are seldom allied, 
 and Saul only made the old, old mistake of erecting 
 an impossible ideal, instead of the real woman before 
 him, with all the ordinary stock of imperfections and 
 weaknesses. Rather hard upon the woman to be 
 thus transformed, because it so often happens that 
 when the magic haze melts from before the lover's 
 eyes and he sees his sweetheart as she really is, he is 
 bitterly disappointed to find how far she is removed 
 from the being his fancy has created. And it is not 
 in any sense her fault. 
 
 When that happy evening drew to a close and the 
 lovers parted, Saul felt as if life, always holding a 
 sense of want before, had now completed its full circle. 
 Upon entering their snug lodgings hi.'; shipmates 
 {greeted him noisily, being unfeignedly glad ic see 
 him. They told him that they had visited the 
 Asteroid, and had been informed that she was going 
 round to Cardiff in a month's time to load coals for 
 Hong Kong. That the mate had given them to 
 understand that it was probable no one of her old 
 
270 THE APOSTLES OF THE SOUTH EAST 
 
 crew except the carpenter and sailmaker, who seemed 
 to be as much a part of her as her stem post, would 
 be likely to go in her again. For Captain Vaughan 
 had received an appointment already to a fine large 
 steamer, the mate and second mate had both been 
 transferred to other ships, and, consequently, none of 
 the day-dreams they had all indulged in about being 
 again a united and happy ship's company were likely 
 to be realised. For a moment, but only for a moment, 
 Saul was saddened by this news, as he realised that 
 he was, in place of tfce pleasant voyage he had looked 
 forward to, booked for another uphill fight ; but Faith 
 soon resumed her reign, and remembering his latest 
 joys he was cheered again. 
 
 While the five sat smoking and yarning happily, 
 as sailors will when they are well fed and housed, and 
 have nothing on their minds, Jemmy Maskery was 
 announced. He was received uproariously and made 
 specially welcome. He said he had only run over 
 for a few minutes to speak to Saul, and could not 
 stay. If Saul would come out with him for a few 
 minutes he'd be glad. Truth to tell, he was anxious 
 to escape from that tobacco-laden atmosphere, for in 
 days past he had been a passionate lover of the weed, 
 and having given it up because he thought it hindered 
 him in his Christian work, he dreaded the temptation 
 which the smell brought to bear upon him. Wherein 
 he showed his wisdom in one direction at any rate, 
 for no wise man courts temptation, however fortiHed 
 against it he may feel himself to be. 
 
 When he had got Saul to himself he told him 
 that arrangements had been made to bring the poor 
 girFs (she who had besought their help on the Sunday 
 
SAUL'S WOOING AND WEDDING 271 
 
 evening) box away from the place where she was in 
 service to the ' Hall," and that he had obtained for 
 her an order of admission into the infirmary for her 
 confinement. She had refused to go home, fearing 
 very naturally to face her poor parents under such 
 miserable conditions. Would Saul help him to carry 
 her box down to the ' Hall,' where it could rem^n in 
 safe keeping until she could come and claim it again. 
 Why, of course ; nothing could please Saul better 
 than so practical a demonstration of his willingness to 
 do all that a Christian man should da 
 
 The next morning, nine o'clock beheld Saul and 
 Jemmy (whose home crisis had happily ended during 
 the night in the birth of a little daughter) waiting at 
 the side entrance to one of those hideous suburban 
 villas with which utterly unprincipled builders have 
 defiled the beautiful outskirts of London : an erection 
 of no known order of architecture, whose tawdry out- 
 side ornaments of unseasoned wood were already 
 iecaying, and dowu whose walls great cracks were 
 already visible amid the dirty-green patches that 
 -showed where the shoddy walls were sodden with 
 damp. The door was opened to them by the girl, 
 her eyes inflamed with weeping ; for her mistress, an 
 ex-barmaid whose forenoons were spent in bed and 
 her afternoons in the pursuit of what she understood 
 as pleasure, had been venting upon her in no 
 measured terms the wrath and scorn she felt at a 
 creature ' like 'er, a low-Iyved drab like 'er, bringin' 
 disgrace upon a respectabel 'ouse.' How is it, I 
 wonder, that women whose past has been, to use a 
 hackneyed expression, somewhat shady, are usually 
 so merciless to any sister woman who has presently 
 
aya THE APOSTLES OF THE SOUTH EAST 
 
 been found sinning ? Perhaps it would be unprofitable 
 to inquire, but that such is the fact let all bear witness 
 who know anything about the matter at all. 
 
 Saul and Temmy lost no time in man-handling 
 the somewha. heavy box and staggering away with 
 it to the road, where a truck they had brought with 
 them was standing. With all possible expedition 
 they made their way to the ' Hall,' and brought the 
 box safely inside. The girl followed and there faced 
 these two men, the one long married and conversant 
 with all the mysteries and difficulties of female life, 
 the other just entering into that blissful condition 
 of life known as courtship, and, as has before been 
 noted, deeply imbued with the idea of female sanctity. 
 Jemmy it was that ended an awkward pause by falling 
 uf)on his knees and saying, as he did so, ' Less 'ave a 
 word o' prayer.' Saul immediately bent his knees, 
 and the girl, albeit somewhat surprised, followed his 
 example. Jemmy at once lifted up his voice in 
 supplication : ' Ho Gord, hour Farther, look dahn on 
 this 'ere poor gal. She's done wrong, an' she knows 
 it She don't make no excuse for 'erself, ?.n' we ain't 
 got no room t' condemn 'er. You knov/s all about 
 'er, bless Yore 'Oly name, an' k'n und»;rstan' as we 
 never can wot 'er temptashuns was, an' w'y she fell. 
 Forgive 'er, Lord, an' be with 'er in 'er time of trial. 
 Wen she's a-sufferin' comfort 'er, an' let 'er know 'ow 
 tender an' lovin' You can be, more tenderer an' loviner 
 than any of erse knows 'ow ter be. An', ho Grord, 
 w'en it's all hover an' she's back in the world agen,do 
 be wiv 'er an' make 'er Your child. Don't let 'er fall 
 agen, but make 'er way plain before 'er,an' give 'er grace 
 ter walk in it till 'er live's end, w'en she won't want 
 
SAUL'S WOOING AND WEDDING ,73 
 
 ter walk no more— she'll be able ter flv CcrA w 
 •er an' us, for Christ's sake, Amen.' ^' ""'"' 
 
 I dare not reproduce for you that noor .rirl', 
 prayer. She never remembered praying beC ^rL 
 in that invisible Prrsence brought si reafanH 
 to he, she could not restrain tsS^. Ihe p,a3 
 ^ally. No precedent shaped the form of her wofds 
 
 L""rs-;=t/tentt5^r-^ 
 
 her place amid the busy world R„r "^u" *'"'" 
 «>und«, the veo, depZ o7 Lis' r;7mfndlst 
 
 where would they bewecom^ Z u ^''f^'^^^^^' 
 hone to fin^ ^,u y^"""*' or where could they 
 
 S £dt and thrl°""' "T' " '"^^ ^*- f- 
 souls ? aS if fnv tel VI *^' f''*''' ''"^ *'»-' 
 
 irr,ngio«sorcol;S;/rLtltrgt:ir^^^ 
 knefs andTeS 'xEet*'"'" ^" ™^^ '^°'" «^- 
 
 |H to the iSX. :t;;ra.irrK^;it 
 ttv^hrfocS^satt-^jr-^-^ 
 
 e^ n 'L?r ""^ "^" '^^^' ^"'^ ^^^ -- '^^ on 
 
 never mi«ed 1 „ ?" P'r"=* °^ '^^ «^«o«. who 
 eve. missed a meeting, the attendance of Temmv 
 
 XS^intJr.'" T^"***'^ '=^'="» of Patersonl' 
 ""abined to keep the public interest up to fever 
 
 T 
 
274 THE APOSTLES OF THE SOUTH EAST 
 
 heat Day after day saw fresh converts pouring in, 
 for on the initiative of Saul a week's mission had 
 been entered upon with services every night, and the 
 fame of the Wren Lane services began to spread 
 abroad among the local churches and chapels, so 
 that their members were fain to visit the converted 
 cowshetl, and see if these things were really so. 
 Consequently Saul found little time for courting, but 
 such opportunities as came in his way he utilised so 
 well that, when he had been three weeks ashore, he 
 and Miss Carter hfA decided to marry at once at a 
 Registrar's office and have a little religious service 
 at the ' Hall ' in the evening. They had no one to 
 consult but themselves : Saul had engaged to go in 
 another ship, the Ftroupore, to Calcutta as bo'sun, 
 and would leave in a fortnight's time, so that their 
 decision not to delay their union any longer was an 
 utterly unblamable one. 
 
 Saul's four shipmates were unhappily not able to 
 wait and go widi him again, but they saw him 
 married, and in the evening at Wren Lane Hall there 
 was a meeting that no one who was present can 
 ever forget. Jemmy was, as the patriarch bestowing 
 his blessing on the newly wedded pair, beyond all 
 criticism. His transparent earnestness was so beauti- 
 ful that it compktely diverted the mind from any 
 sense of the ludicrous, a quality which was never 
 very far from anything Jemmy engaged in, owing 
 to certain peculiarities he possessed which were in- 
 separable from him, a part of his personality. 
 
 The evening ceremony over, Saul and his bride 
 retired to her cousin's humble home, where such pro- 
 vision as was possible had been made for the couple, 
 
SAUL'S WOOING AND WEDDING ,75 
 veiy plain and poor it Is true, ^ut not at all un 
 
 MuuLT- ^*^ '^" compelled to endure in their 
 childhood, .t was not very far removed fron. luxu J 
 
 Se airthr^ j!r "*''" !!*'"^°^ «"■'■ ^P-^tide^f 
 was bound ""^P'**'""" ^"""^ «ch knew that it 
 ^uIhT ^ ** exceedingly brief, and that it 
 would so soon be succeeded by a long long period 
 
 ■ ^tf ^T "'' *•* *'" ^"""»«'' «P '" the^ 3 
 separation when applied to those whom we love. 
 
CHAPTER XXV 
 
 SAUL DESCENDS INTO DARK PLACES 
 
 Not "'ishing to harrow my readers' sympathetic souls 
 unnecessarily, I pa^s over the pathetic parting scenes 
 between Saul and his wife. He had 'eft her in good 
 hands, and with his half-pay of 2I $s. per month 
 to supplement her own fairly good earnings, he was 
 not without hope that she would be fairly comfortable 
 until his return. In fact, like so many of us, he 
 unconsciously looked upon hope as a solid asset 
 almost as realisable as a banking account with a .ub- 
 stantii^l balance to credit It is sometimes seen, this 
 hopeful frame, in commerce, when company directors 
 divide their earnings up to the hilt and make 
 no allowance for depreciation or put anything to 
 reserve. When the almost inevitable crash comes, 
 everybody is loud in their condemnation of such 
 want of prudence. But among many Christians, 
 owing to a very prevalent but entirely mistaken 
 reading of the Scripture (Matt. vi. 25-31), such want 
 of forethought is looked upon as an evidence of faith. 
 Yet, if carried to its lexical conclusion, it would mean 
 that the perfectly faithful man might sit] quietly at 
 home and meditate, trusting the Lord to provide 
 himself and those dependent upon him with all things 
 needful. Of course there are instances when such 
 
SAUL DESCENDS INFO DARK PLACES 2;;, 
 
 behaviour is on,mendabIe. ,uy indispensable, to the 
 proper doing of exceptional Christian work, but thev 
 
 Tt'Tll't "^^^ '^"" •» *»>»' »''« Chrislian „u« 
 not only be harmless as a dove, but »ise as a serpent • 
 
 E ?i'" '*' "'*'"''' '^ condemned as worse tham an 
 infidel, he must provide by his honest labour for those 
 near and dear to him, not of course forgetting his 
 
 ^JV^^^'J- *"?.''°'"i^ *" unconscious injustice to 
 baul by makmg h.s sanguine behaviour a text where- 
 on to hang most of the preceding paragraph. And 
 yet I know how much sorrow, what awful heart pangs 
 would have been spared him. had he listenS fo 
 the voice of prudence. There never was a more 
 unw.se thmg done on earth than the leaving of ^ 
 young wife by a .ailor in one of our great sea^rts 
 practically friendless, and bound to su^p^mlThe 
 
 !nde«d. Where she has a home, a good mother 
 brothers and «isters, frien.!. matters L, veTdS 
 ferent. But whe.i you come to think of it, the 
 position of a yoang married woman whose husband 
 after l.ttle more than a week, say, of wedded bliss, has 
 left her for r year, and who has no friends who ca^ 
 properly hanten the loneliness of her life, is pe.ilous 
 m the extreme. V hatever may happen she nLs al 
 ^e consideration possible, the kindliest construction 
 that can be placed upon anv of her acts 
 
 But to return for a moment to the affairs of the 
 
 his half-pay, and commg as it did upon the top of 
 their catastrophe, could only be called a severe blow 
 
»78 THE APOSTLES OF THE SOUTH EAST 
 
 Yet such was the love they bore him that they 
 all rejoiced in his happiness, allowing no selfish 
 thought of their own impending troubles to creep in. 
 And there was certainly one bright spot in the gloom 
 ahrad ; it was that the latest convert/the young clerk, 
 had taken hold of things in so splendid a fashion that 
 already the members had begun to lean upon him in 
 all critical situations, to depend upon his calm clear 
 common-sense, and, above all, to feel that whatever 
 might happen to tl^e Mission he would strain his 
 resources to the utmost before it should come to grief. 
 But Brother Jackson and his band had set up a 
 Hall for themselves in a disused packing-case maker's 
 shop only a few rods away, and were carrying on so 
 vigorous a campaign that the funds at Wren Lane 
 were seriously affected. Rumour had it that already 
 stranfje doctrines were being taught at the new 
 conventicle, that Jackson hid Leen studying a batch 
 of books sent him from America, that land of strange 
 perversions of Protestantism. It was whispered that 
 he was determined to make a new application of the 
 old text, ' Prove all things, hold fast that which is 
 good,' by giving every new form of belief (rather 
 every old form of heresy in a nineteenth century garb) 
 which came along a fair trial, until some day, he hoped, 
 he should find one that would ultimately satisfy. 
 
 Meanwhile the novelty was attractive. Curiosity 
 led many strange visitors to the new conventicle 
 to hear men and women who could do little more 
 than read p'ain print and could hardly write their 
 own names, discussing among themselves, yes, and 
 expoimding from the platform, obscure points of 
 exegesis such as have puzzled the most learned, not 
 
SAUL i)ESCrNDS INTO DARK PL.\CRS 179 
 
 to say the wfsest, men of •'11 
 
 They 
 
 r-M^i. J It V — "■ " "»'■'• »"«:y quoted 
 
 lireek and Hebrew, questioned the translation of 
 I«ssages that did not happen to fit their theories of 
 the moment, and carri 1 themselves, these Ignorant 
 ones, as if upon them and them only had fallen the 
 Divine gift of speaking all tongues, knowing all 
 mysteries, anc* (this was the most dangerous phase of 
 all) exemptic. from such mortal frailties as sin and 
 dlsea^. Many worthy people who have all their 
 h/es dwelt quietly under the shadow o/one particular 
 Church, humbly grateful for its teaching, and never 
 presummg to question op of Its points of doctrine, 
 but domg that which tht hands found to do with all 
 their might, and, best of all, leading quiet consistent 
 Christian lives, will doubtless look upon my descrip- 
 tion 01 these seceders as caricature, id even that 
 vastly exaggerated. But all those w . have lived 
 and laboured in Christian ways among the lower 
 religious strata of our country, will know that it is in 
 nowise over coloured. So-called religious discussion is 
 usually tabooed among non-religious working people 
 on account of its usually leading to blows, but among 
 professing Christians of that class not only is religious 
 discussion continual, but some of the wildest theories 
 are, where possible, reduced to practice, and while one 
 particular heresy is in vogue woe be to him or her who 
 dares toquestion its absolute and final settlement of the 
 one great matter, the salvation of the individual soul. 
 But we must return to Saul. After a fortnight of 
 such happiness as he had hitherto only dimly imagined 
 to be possible on earth, came the day of his departure 
 for a vt^ge estimated to last at least nine months. 
 His bnde was inconsolable. With true feminine 
 
s8o THE APOSTLES OF THE SOUTH EASTV, 
 
 inconsistency she blamed Saul for leaving her, 
 bewailed her folly in marrying a sailor, scolded her- 
 self for even hinting at such a thing, and dissolved 
 in tenderest consideration for him in his coming 
 loneliness, by turns. She could not see him off, for 
 his vessel left at 4 a.m. So he bade her farewell at 
 their bedside on his knees, tenderly commending her 
 to the care of his Father, and humbly asking that he 
 might be spared to find her happy and hearty on his 
 return. So he departed to his ship, but in a very 
 different frame of njind to that with which he joined 
 the Asteroid nearly twelve months before. And 
 somehow he had not the same spring, the same single 
 outlook upon the future, the wide-eyed confidence, 
 that he had enjoyed. He felt himself more ready to 
 consider consequences, although he knew that »' t 
 he was doing was right. 
 
 When he arrived on board all was perfectly quiet. 
 A decrepit seaman, given the job as a pension, was 
 watchman. He informed Saul that he was the only 
 man on board, and that from what he had seen he 
 didn't expert she would leave at tide-time. But he 
 admitted that he did not know the 'old man,' upon 
 whom so mi'ch depends on board ship. Saul, however, 
 knowing fron experience what sort of a day awaited 
 him on the morrow, took one preliminary sur'ey of 
 his new home as he smoked his good-night pipe, with 
 the firm intention of getting all the rest practicable 
 while he had the opportunity. 
 
 She was what the modem sailor knows as a ' four- 
 poster,' viz. a four-masted sailing-ship. Really she 
 was just a square-rigged ship, that is one having three 
 maats with yards, into which a fourth mast had been 
 
SAUL DESCENDS INTO DARK PLACES 281 
 
 inserted because of her great length, making her really 
 a four-masted barque, the fourth mast only carrying 
 two fore and aft sails, no yards. She had been 
 badly neglected, Saul could see that even at night, 
 and badly found into the bargain. One or two blocks 
 and gipsies that he tried would hardly move, without 
 any suggestion of leverage being obtained by them 
 And he sighed as he thought of the wild work there 
 would be in Channel if they should encounter a 
 sudden gale, unless they were fortunate in havine a 
 niost extraordinary crew. Then, his pipe smoked out, 
 he sought h.s bunk and turned in, catching himself 
 sighmg heavily at intervals before he sank to sleep 
 quite a novel experience with him who had been so 
 evenly happy since his conversion. Had he been 
 a philosopher I suppose he would have endeavoured 
 toaccount for this by the action of some compensating 
 law : that, having been for a short time exuberantly 
 happy, he must now, to restore the needed balance of 
 fte human soul, be for a time unduly miserable. But 
 being only an ordinary human being, very tender- 
 hearted and sensitive to internal as well as external 
 impulses, and withal actuated by the indwelling force 
 of nghteousness, he pondered none of these things 
 He just blamed himself a little for ingratitude and 
 then took the matter to his Father in heaven, com- 
 mending to Him also his dear wife, who, he shuddered 
 to think, was to be so lonely in that great London until 
 his return. He was comforted and fell asleep 
 
 'Now then, bo'sun ; blank blank the man, is he 
 drunk, too, I wonder ? Here, bo'sun, turn out an' see 
 about gettin' th' ship outer dock. Y' oughter been 
 on deck long ago, y' know.' An angry voice in the 
 
38a THE APOSTLES OF THE SOUTH EAST 
 
 darkness, its owner invisible behind a bull's-eye lantern, 
 a sense of utter bewilderment as to why he was thus 
 assailed, a feeling of compunction that it should have 
 been found necessary — all these sensations flashed 
 through Saul's mind in less than half a minute. Then, 
 apologetically murmuring, he sprang out of the bunk ; 
 and the mate, for it was he, departed, the absence of 
 his body from the doorway permitting the entry of a 
 whirl of snow. One thing was plain to Saul as he 
 hurried on his clothes ; the old watchman had omitted 
 to call him, for never before had he lain down again 
 after having been pnce aroused. But it was of scant 
 use to know that, for in the first place the watch- 
 man had departed, and in the next if he were there 
 he would certainly declare that he had done his 
 duty. ■ 
 
 It was, but for the glimmering snow-flakes, pitch 
 dark when Saul came on deck. The sailor's eyes, 
 however, rapidly become accustomed to the dark, and 
 before Saul reached the forecastle head, where he hoped 
 to find the mate, he could see as well as possible. 
 Climbing to the upper deck he found the mate bawling 
 frantically to some invisible person on the quay, whose 
 answering yells came weirdly up through the dark- 
 ness. As soon as the mate turned, Saul confronted 
 him saying, ' Beg yer pardon, Mr. Jones, but I hope 
 you won't think me slack ; I was never called. I'll 
 take yer orders now, sir.' ' Never called, eh ? ' sneered 
 the mate ; ' seems ter me I've heard that yarn before. 
 An' as t' orders, d'ye know yer work er don't ye ? I 
 
 sh'd think any fool 'd know 'at the first thing 
 
 was t' git yer men together, an' the sooner y' see to it 
 the better. Just move lively now, or else you and 
 
SAUL DESCENDS INTO DARK PLACES ,83 
 
 me wont be friends veo' long.' • Aye, aye. sir,' rose 
 automatically to Saul's lips, but his heit was hot 
 within him. He controlled himself though, and de- 
 scendmg swiftly to the main deck began to look for 
 hiscrew. With great difficulty he found them, stowed 
 away in all sorts of comers in the two sides of the 
 forecastle. But his heart sank as one by one the^ 
 revealed their uselessness. There we^e negroeT 
 
 Bri on? orr^'' n "'^ Scandinavians, andThree 
 Bntons. Of them all only the three Britons were of 
 any use, and they were fairly fresh with drink. But 
 they were three splendid fellows with the old bull-doe 
 contempt for dagoes and square-heads, and in spite of 
 their potations they rose to the occasion. Not one 
 of the others could Saul get on deck. Some were 
 swinish y drunk, others were apparently nearly dead 
 with cold, but all were absolutely helpless. Ld at 
 last Saul, having done all that man could do, called 
 upon his three stalwarts.to follow him, and made his 
 way on to the forecastle, where he acquainted the 
 mate with the state of affairs. 
 
 huM^M °^rl "^^^ " ^°""^ man of great assurance 
 but httle abilrty, possessed of a fluent command of 
 
 hitherto by sailmg with a man who, being under great 
 obligations to his father, who had been part owner of 
 
 IV %K '""lV'l'"g^ veo.easyfor himas second 
 mate. This was his first voyage as mate, he was in 
 a strange ship, and he had a notion that a loud voice 
 and a bullying manner were all that was necessanr 
 ^nf\f 5 "l '"**^ °^* ^'S British sailing-shia 
 fn L'th *^'^t*'="'"g'y to Saul, and with many 
 
 an oath inquired whether he (the mate) was expected 
 
a84 THE APOSTLES OF THE SOUTH EAST 
 
 to do the bo'sun's work as well. Then, his voice rising 
 ever higher, he ordered Saul to go and turn the hands 
 out and act like a man, not like an adjective baby in 
 lot. J clothes. Saul waited respectfully until hn had 
 finished, his mind busy with the retrospect of the 
 Asteroid. Then he calmly said, ' I did my best with 
 'em, sir, before I troubled you. Perhaps you had 
 better just come and look at them. They may be all 
 right by the time we gets to Gravesen', though I doubt 
 it Anyhow, all there is to do between here and there 
 I daresay these thriee, the carpenter and sailmaker, the 
 apprentices and myself, can manage.' ' Oh, git out o' 
 my way,' stormed the mate, as he rushed down the 
 fo'c'sle ladder and aft to where the skipper stood 
 talking with the river pilot 
 
 Captain Fortescue was the very antipodes of 
 Captain Vaughan of the Asteroid. His idea of 
 maintaining discipline was to play one officer off 
 against the other, the crew against the officers, 
 enjoying as much the endless cabals that took place 
 and the general feeling of dissatisfaction as some 
 men enjoy a game of chess. At the present moment 
 he was in a very happy frame of mind. He was cer- 
 tainly not drunk, but he had been drinking freely, and 
 in some circles he would have been called pot-valiant 
 Having heard the mate's report he said gaily, ' Excuse 
 me, pilot, I'll have t' go an' see what I k'n do to git 
 my crew out You know, same old thing ; takes me 
 to see a job like this through.' So he strode jauntily 
 off, followed by the mate, who told him as they went 
 that the bo'sun was a poor thing, hadn't got a word to 
 throw at a dog. ' That so ? ' answered the skipper. 
 ' Well, Mr. Jones, I guess I've trained a few bo'suns in 
 
SAUL DESCENDS INTO DARK PLACES 285 
 
 my time; I'll have a look at him directly.' They 
 reached the foVsle and found, as Saul had said. tb7t 
 tte ^ was hopeless; they could do nothing with 
 
 stmT,7j""' ^'^.1,'°^' "^ "'^ "^^ '""-who 
 seemed ahke insens.ble to blows and abuse, and who 
 
 ie^TIf go.'° '"■ '"*' ~"^P^*"^ i-n-nedi^ely they 
 
 thJl *f ^"'""•Pu '"'^ •■''''nq"i''hed. a tacit admission 
 that Saul was right Yet such is the perversity of 
 
 H^n ^T.^ r""' ""^ "'*' "S'*t than they would have 
 done had they found him to be wrong. But the ship 
 M to go crew or no crew. So all through the bitter- 
 ness of th.t morning Saul, his three men, the appren- 
 tices and the carpenter (the sailmaker was speech- 
 lessly drunk m his berth), laboured to get things shin- 
 shape and Bristol fashion, and longed-for Gr" vesend 
 In due time they arrived there and anchored, the tug 
 sheenng off and anchoring near to await the pilot's 
 decision as to when the Ferozepcre would be ready 
 
 mlt'/^nH^l '"'"^^' throughout the day Saul, the 
 mate, and the second mat^ visited the fo'c'sle, always 
 S3l *^;if,w°^kerswith respect (which they 
 had well earned), but it was not until daybreak the 
 next morning that the polyglot crowd were available 
 for work. What sort of a fist would be made of 
 he vast ^.Is overhead no one knew-they must trust 
 to Providence. Ah, how many trust in Providence 
 because they must, not knowing what they are trust- 
 
 !i!ir;7 ^\ ^^ ™'^''* '™'* '" ^°^ °f their own free 
 wills and know in Whom they had believed 
 
 I may not draw the picture of that getting under 
 
 weigh : of how the mate and Saul were just police- 
 
 1^ 
 
286 THE APOSTLES OF THE SOXJTH EAST 
 
 men keeping a sharp eye upon the miserable men, 
 who were continually slipping away below ; of how 
 those two sorely worried oiBcers, of whom one had to 
 bear the burden of undeserved contumely from his 
 superior as well as that of his own work and his 
 private sorrows (but the capacity of the human brain 
 is mercifully limited, it cannot do too much thinking 
 at one time), had to bear the burden of the whole 
 ship's company and do their own work as well. No, 
 let me just in cowardly fashion slur over the miseries 
 of that bad day and hasten on to the time when, 
 the tugboat having slipped her hold, the huge 
 Ferozeport was 'blundering down Channel zigzag 
 fashion, the wind being almost dead ahead. Oh, 
 Channel passengers who, hastening to France, bewail 
 your sufferings on that brief passage measured by 
 minutes, think if you can what it must mean to be in 
 a mighty ship without steam-power, and a handful of 
 wastrels ill fed, badly housed, hopelessly battering 
 against a south-westerly gale down Channel. Think 
 if yot! can what it must be to handle such a ship as 
 an officer, and you won't wonder any longer that if 
 there should be a whisky bottle handy a man in such 
 a plight should resort to it 
 
 A detailed description of the Ferozepore's expe- 
 riences that night as she tumbled about in the ugly 
 cross-Channel seas would comprise a risutni of the 
 reason why we cannot get our countrymen to choose 
 the sea as a profession. I dare not comment upon 
 the subject here, h wing dealt with it so frequently in 
 other places. But I must point out that Saul, the 
 most blameless, the hardest working of ?J1 her crew, 
 was now by the irony of fate in aliaost the worst 
 
SAUL DESCENDS INTO DARK PLACES .87 
 
 position. He saw the officers ' freshening the nip/ ' he 
 saw his useless crew slinking away into hiding saw 
 
 JZ^T^ "^ r*"* °^ "'" *° ^^ *he work bore 
 r.S f?*, f'^f ""'*"'■"*' apprentices paying to 
 learn their profession and being used as substitutes 
 for men who must be paid, and he was very sad 
 But he kept going. Long after he was justly entitled 
 to rest ne might have been found examining running- 
 gear left unrove or wrongly rove by careless riggers 
 
 he diH° °"! K° '^^'^"' *'"'"'• And when at last 
 he did seek his berth, he first interviewed the mate 
 and informed him of the state of the ship as far as he 
 
 ^JT" \.' '^ ''''"°^"' '*• '^^^ "^te. '"Stead of 
 «cogt»s,ngthat he had a conscientious man in charge 
 
 tLn^^^'^T f™""^ so-ne unintelligible reply and 
 SSh-rbe^^- ^-•-•^.•Good-night.si^Jand 
 
 last2'Tnd*^r' ?T r*^ »onA-long days, this 
 S!^ ^ '''°' °^ Insistent hammering the 
 
 />r.^« was well outside the Channel. Saul 
 
 ^^Tc ^^'",^ *u. '"^**" '"°'^ fr'^'y- ""d. what wa 
 leisure to think upon how things might be going on 
 at home. Without saying one word to anticipate the 
 story I must write, well was it for him that he did 
 not know how widely the reality of what was taking 
 P^ce differed from his mental pictures of it. Many 
 people grumble very much because they cannot peep 
 
 XJt ^^^'^ou\d rather thank God on their 
 bended knees that these things are denied them. 
 However, before Saul sank to rest each night he 
 
 Drinking 
 
 eveiy now and then. 
 
«88 TttE APOSTLES OF THE SOXTIH EAST 
 
 lapped himself in a golden dream of heme, of his 
 beautiful bride kneeling by her solitary bed com- 
 mending him to the care of the Father. He pictured 
 to himself her mind being occupied each day, and all 
 day, with visions of himself and prayers for his welfare. 
 Poor Saul I 
 
 On the fcurth night out, the wind having freed and 
 freshened at the same time, all hands were detained 
 at eight bells (midnight) to trim sail. It was pitchy 
 dark and the air was filled with spindrift All ha; ds, 
 with the exception of the petty ofiRcers, slouched about 
 their work muttering curses in their various tongues 
 upon the hardslj' ^ accompanying the life ' of they 
 that go down to the sea in ships,' when the thickness 
 to windward suddenly materialised. It assumed a 
 gigantic, an awful shape. Forth blazed two terrible 
 eyes of red and green, and high overhead pointed 
 threateningly a i ng white finger. Then came a gr'»t 
 grinding crash, a piercing wail (albeit in many tone%), 
 and the Ferozepore turned on her side and sank, 
 another item in the tribute demanded by the sea from 
 its votaries. 
 
 At the moment of impact Saul was fast asleep. 
 Rudely awakened he leapt on deck, and seeing no one 
 imagined that all had sought refuge on board the 
 mighty hull that was boring its way steadily through 
 the ribs of his ship. Just pausing a moment to 
 awaken thoroughly his berthmates, the carpenter, 
 sailmaker, and cook, Saul ran up the main rigging 
 and leaped hazardously upon the deck of the steam- 
 ship.. There was no one there. He ran aft and 
 mounted the bridge — still no one. Then, as he was 
 about to descend, he was confronted by the captain. 
 
SAUL DESCENDS INTO DARK PLACES ,89 
 
 andtheChineseSewhidH" '='',ef officer missing 
 
 lust a ««, ' r * '"*''^*" '"'V n°one knew where 
 
 officer was a v^r„ fi„f i '""*' *"'^ •>" ^^'ef 
 
 Iter was a very first-class man. Thev were h^tu 
 
 Germans, and the steamer belonged tn japTn ^r 
 Saul had nothine to sav H-. t- J J^Pf" • ^oor 
 ti-rn-Ki- u V* ^' "'^ '""'d was full of the 
 
 mSl ^" '^^'^""^ ^"' himself. But w! 
 
 meditaUons were rapidly cut short tk» cz , • 
 
 coo. « from below, a hissing of escaping steam 
 Sten bfreV^ ' - P.geon-Engli^ las foT-' 
 
 I 
 
CHAPTER XXVI 
 
 THE KiGHT FALLS 
 
 How long Saul had floated thus ^i did not, and never 
 will, know. Mercifully, he had but just time to secure 
 himseli' with a» bit of hambro' line (it was always 
 his practice to carry serviceable pieces of spunyam, 
 hambro' line, marline, &c., in a big pocket he had 
 made for the purpose) when easily, as if he were just 
 falling into a gentle sleep, his senses left him. And 
 had he then died it would have been no more to him 
 physically than falling to sleep. Years afterwards, 
 when the stem battle seemed to be going almost too 
 hard for him, he used to look back regretfully upon 
 that time and wistfully wonder what joys would have 
 been his had he only not awakened then. When he 
 did return to consciousness his sufferings were great 
 The sun was at its meridian and shining strongly out 
 of a clear sky. There was but a slight air of wind 
 with a gentle swell, upon which his frail support rolled 
 slightly, so that the upper part of his body was dried 
 and encrusted with salt. His eyes smarted, burned 
 as he opened them once again to the light of day 
 with some difficulty, because the lashes were thick 
 with salt His tongue was like a piece of leather, and 
 his lips cracked and bled when he tried to moisten 
 them. Also every part of him protested painfully 
 
THE NIGHT FALLS ,„ 
 
 ■gainst this treatment But Biadual „ hi. .. 
 
 «j. It roused m him the natural desire nf lif- 
 
*9* THE APOSTLES OF THE SOUTH EAST 
 
 reeking with the fiimes of tobacco and garlic, but to 
 him a iweet haven of rest In a few minutes the 
 cook appeared bearing a pannikin of soup, which 
 seemed to Saul the most deliciously invigorating 
 food he had ever tutea le did not know that it 
 was made with wire instead of water, or he would no 
 doubt most foolis'oly have refused it He felt the 
 almost stagnant blood beginning to circulate again, 
 felt the glow of life returning, and his heart swelled 
 with gratitude. 
 
 Aficr anothei period of sleep and more soup he 
 felt sufficiently nivived to undertake the task of trying 
 to relate his adventures, as well as the much mo. . 
 important one of ascertaining his present destination. 
 As no one on board spoke any English anc* ' J was 
 no linguist this was somewhat exhausting .k, hut 
 at last to his horror he discovered that she wa bound 
 from Cardiff to Hong Kong with > sal, and tL .t she 
 had already been out of port a fortnight 
 
 With i '1 the energy he could muster he begged 
 the skipper to land him t:. the Western Islands, to 
 put him on board a homt./ard-bound vessel what- 
 ever port she might be going to ; bat for pity's sake 
 not to carry him away to the other side of the world 
 without his being able to earn anything. To all 
 his impassioned entreaties t!ie captain listened at- 
 tentively but obviously without understanding, and 
 evidently with a shrewd suspicion that the poor 
 fellow was out of his n.ind. The latter felt himself 
 that unless he fell back upon his faith, if he allowed 
 himself to look upon his po; ition purely from the 
 human side, he did run great risk of losing his reasoti. 
 For he knew full well that as s^a as the news of the 
 
THE NIGHT FALLS ,„ 
 
 Mm .; °' "*»'" «nd cleanliness of life saved 
 
 Wm. since the captain of the GiusfM^ n T 
 more what was the matter w.-fhT''^ f ' '*"*"' "" 
 cow. and In all P^SbS.^ vt ff hTS ?'" ' 
 what the malady was h- L.?m i. . "^ ''"**"'" 
 
 .lightest idea of L:" tan" ''" "'' ""' ">* 
 So Saul battled with death. No douhf fh.» • 
 
 down^ZdS X He S::„ 'r ^""''='' 
 more of h,m they speedily warmed towards him. 
 
294 THE APOSTLES OF THE SOUTH EAST 
 
 Probably none of them had ever seen so smart- a 
 sailorman before. They watched him with wide-eyed 
 amazement as he manipulated wire and rope, Avonder- 
 ing much however he did it, and giving all the hearty 
 admiration which sailors are capable of towards a 
 master workman in their own line. 
 
 Saul was always an industrious man, but he 
 worked double tides now, tc keep his mind off the 
 agony of his position. In the night watches, when he 
 had to stand at the wheel or on the look-out for two 
 hours at a time, he had need of all the training he 
 had received to l^eep from cursing his hard lot It 
 was so difficult to see how such a fiery trial as this 
 was to be of any use to him. No new discovery, many 
 will say : we never seem to appreciate trials at their 
 full value somehow. But with his mind busy all the 
 time with possibilities of suffering for his wife at 
 home, and the disheartening spectacle before his eyes 
 of the snail's pace made by the old barque, to say 
 nothing of the aggravating content that appeared 
 to rest upon everybody else but himself — these things 
 made his lot hard to bear indeed. The food suited 
 him very well, much better indeed than he could 
 ever remember having been satisfied with in the 
 fo'c'sles of his own country's sailing-ships, but the 
 horrors of the fo'c'sle were too great for him to endure. 
 So he lived a hermit's life in the longboat amidships, 
 with only memories to feed upon. No books, no 
 conversation, and no prospect of earning anything for 
 months. Poor Saul I 
 
 Here we must leave him to dree his weird and 
 return to London. As in the case of Job of old, it 
 seemed as if the universal enemy had obtained leave 
 
THE NIGHT FALLS ,,5 
 
 ofST'r''''^''' '"'"''"'*' ^^'^ '"^^ P'^'^tice against one 
 of the Lords servants who had been signally success- 
 fill in the never-ending war between good and evil. 
 For on the second day after Saul's departure his wife 
 was simply astounded to hear her cousin, without 
 any prel.mmary, say, 'Lizzie, my dear, we've always 
 been very happy together, and I like your society 
 very much, but now you're married things ain't quite 
 ^ hey used to be are they? An' to tell you the 
 
 «^M T r fl^ ^'^*'' ^"■' •=°'"'"S: in to do all I want, 
 and I shall be glad if you'll get another place to 
 lodge as soon as you can. You're a married woman 
 now and can look after yourself.' Poor Lizzie felt 
 crushed for a moment : then her native spirit came to 
 the rescue, and she said without a tremor, 'Very 
 well. Came. I s'pose you don't want to turn me out 
 right at once, do you ? Give me a little time to get 
 a place and I'll go.' ' Oh, certainly,' said her cousin, 
 
 take your time by all means, and ' but happily 
 
 there was a call at that moment, and the undignified 
 .spectacle of a quarrel between relatives on a mere 
 point of pique (for that was the whole of the cousin's 
 grievance) was averted. 
 
 So Lizzie went away from the house to begin her 
 search, very sorrowful. It never occurred to her to 
 seek out the members of the Mission and confide in 
 them. She knew that her husband would have 
 wished her to do so, but to tell the truth she was a 
 little jealous of the influence the Mission had over 
 him. She was not at all drawn to any of its 
 rnembers herself, and had already quite forgotten 
 that it was there she had met him she loved, or 
 thought she did. Now he was gone, her husband 
 
 fll 
 
 e 
 
 i 
 
a96 THE APOSTLES OF THE SOUTH EAST 
 
 she was not so sure whether she had not been too 
 precipitate ; whether she really was as fond of him 
 as she had believed while he was with her ; whether it 
 was worth while marrying a man of whose company 
 you could only enjoy three weeks or a month of each 
 year, just to give him an idea that he was worth so 
 much more to you than any landsman, that you could 
 bear the long absences for the sake of the week or 
 two of perfect happiness in his company. It is a 
 very difficult and delicate point to touch upon, but 
 there is no doubt that when a young woman gets 
 married she acquires a strong desire for a mar 
 company at all times. Naturally, and if she be le»L 
 alone, unless her love, her faith, and her virtue be all 
 firmly anchored deep down in the solid rock of God, 
 she is in very great danger indeed. I have always 
 felt that sailors' wives should receive special attention 
 from those interested in the sailor, whenever they 
 are liable to be left without friends near them to 
 keep them company and make the heavy hours pass 
 quicker. I could tell (but not in print) some terribly 
 trs^c stories of lives wrecked, of good beautiful 
 women going astray, simply and solely because their 
 lives were so dreary. And the first false step having 
 been taken, the successive downward stages follow in 
 horribly swift progression. 
 
 First of all Mrs. Andrews, to give Lizzie her full 
 title, found a serious difficulty in obtaining a room ; 
 a room, that is, in a decent house. Why, oh why, 
 should this be so? Why should it be made so 
 difficult for females to live unless they have friends 
 and a home, when men can get on so differently ? 
 A question like this cannot be answered hurriedly 
 
THE NIGHT FALLS ,,, 
 
 but I feel a deep personal interest in its solution 
 because my wife had to seek till she was heart-sick' 
 as well as foot-weary, before she found a place to lay 
 her lonely head, and then she was treated more like 
 a pauper than a solvent payer of rent Indeed, she 
 said that had she been single, it would have been 
 
 ^Z^r Vt "^"n.* '■°°'" ^^'''^ *^ proprietors 
 thereof would be willing to let to her than she found it 
 being married. At last, to her great relief, the young 
 wife succeeded in finding a room in the house of a 
 worthy couple who, when they heard her story, were 
 exceedingly sympathetic. But even they gave her 
 clearly to understand that if she could not pay her 
 
 fw S"" °"f ^^'^ ^^^ ""** e°- They were so poor 
 that they dared not run the risk of having the room 
 empty for a day, or of losing a day's rent, while as to 
 running up a bill it was not to be thought of Their 
 superior landlord called for his rent every Monday 
 morning, and it must be ready f ., him though the 
 whole family should have to go without food to 
 .obtain It Lizzie assured them that there was no 
 danger of her not paying, and proudly exh-'hited her 
 half-pay paper. Poor giri, she in her ignorance 
 imagined that the 2/. j,. per month it guaranteed 
 was something in the nature of Bank of England 
 dividends. The possibility of its failing never 
 occurred to her. And she got work, too-she had 
 a good sewing-machine-got work making ladies- 
 ulsters at 1 1^. 6d. per dozen. The handsome smirking 
 }ev, who gave them out to her assured her that he 
 had given her the best-paid work in the shop, but 
 when she found that even her deft fingers could 
 scarcely complete three of them by close application 
 
398 THE APOSTLES OF THE SOITTH EAST 
 
 for thirteen hours, she began to wonder what sort of 
 a life the women lead who made the cheaper ones, 
 down, for instance, to 4s. gd. per dozen. Spurred by 
 the fear of being left to want, she overworked herself 
 and fell ill. And utterly unable to work her machine, 
 she must needs send back the unfinished garments, 
 not, however, before she had tried to get them done 
 locally. That was hopeless unless she could have 
 found some one wo'king like herself. The first person 
 she asked was a private mantle-maker, who said that 
 as Mrs. Andrews was in the trade she would make 
 those three ulsters for 9s. 6d. each. When she was 
 told that the rate of pay allowed by Isaacstein &• Co. 
 was iiirf. eacl^, she simply sniffed derisively and 
 retired, not saying another word. 
 
 There is no feature of our commercial system 
 more damnable than this (and there are many really 
 damnable things in it), that every middleman through 
 whose hands a garment passes shall make more profit 
 out of it than the poor slave who produced the cloth, 
 or the still poorer slave who produced the garment 
 out of the cloth. Be you very sure, those of you who 
 buy cheap ' ready-mades,' that the wealthy merchant 
 who ' handles ' them gets far more profit out of each 
 piece than the poor creature who sits with her eyes 
 glued to her flying needle almost night and day. Do 
 not imagine that these things have passed away. It 
 is such a common retort, when one speaks of an abuse, 
 ' Oh, it used to be like that, but it isn't so any longer.' 
 But it is also a most dangerous one, because we wish 
 to believe it and often do, without troubling about 
 proof, while too often it is utterly untrue. But Lizzie 
 Andrews troubled h-^ :• head about none of these things. 
 
THE NIGHT FALLS 
 
 299 
 
 Being one of the suffering ones she suffered in silence, 
 feeling, if not knowing, the uselessness of complaint, 
 and comforting herself with the knowledge that at 
 any rate she could not starve whether she got work 
 or not, since she had her half-pay of is. 64. a day. 
 It is true that many of us would be able to see little 
 in such a sum but slow starvation, in London, where 
 rent alone is such an item. To Lizzie, however, it 
 was a veritable sheet-anchor by the help of which 
 she would weather the storm now upon her. Then 
 suddenly, as the stress of the ship plunging at her 
 cable in the teeth of the howling tempest and find- 
 ing a weak link in it snaps it and begins to drift 
 awfully on the jagged rocks gnashing astern, there 
 came to this poor soul the news of the loss of Saul's 
 ship with all hands, and the consequent stoppage of 
 his half-pay. 
 
 She lay down on her poor bed and moaned like 
 a hurt animal — inarticulately, hopelessly. For hours 
 she lay there, no one coming to see her ; and had she 
 died, as so many do, there would have been a long 
 and utterly unprofitable inquiry into her death and 
 an open verdict. At last to lier aid came one almost 
 as poor as herself in bodily needs, a poor girl who, an 
 orphan and friendless, was eking out a scanty living 
 by shirt-making. To her careful loving nursing and 
 self-sacrificing charity Lizzie owed her life. She it 
 was who obtained admission for Lizzie to the hospital, 
 for the shock the latter had received was the beginning 
 of a long illness. But when she came out of hospital 
 her poor faithful friend awaited her with warmest 
 welcome, took her home to her poor room, and put 
 her in the way of earning a crust. 
 
 'i 
 
 
300 THE APai.i.ES OF THE SOUTH EAST 
 
 Strangely enough, as we havesaid.it never occurred 
 to Lizzie to seek aid or comfort at the Mission. And 
 her Christian principles remained in abeyance, a dull 
 apathy to all except the most pressing needs of the 
 body taking the place of living faith in a living God. 
 Here we must draw a veil over the dull grey lives of 
 these two obscure women fighting for bare existence 
 in the heart of a great city. 
 
 And all this time, half a worid away, Saul was 
 steadfastly awaiting deliverance. When once the 
 battle with himself was won, patience and faithful wait- 
 ing upon God resumed their sway in his rested soul. 
 Even the hardship of being utterly without reading 
 matter, above all a Bible, became bearable after a 
 time. He had to learn the love of great silences. 
 Never acquiring sufficient Italian to converse with his 
 shipmates, he used to sit alone and fix his thoughts 
 upon unseens, or allow his soul to bathe itself in the 
 glories all around. But chiefly he loved to lie, in the 
 long calm nights of the tropics, on his back on the 
 fo'c'sle head with his eyes fixed upon the vast star- 
 besprinkled space above him, recalling all he could 
 of the words of the Bible and thinking upon the 
 glories of Heaven, until his cultivated imagination 
 almost made him see indescribable visions with the 
 outward eyes of sense. Doubtless in the perfecting 
 of this fine man's character these long long days of 
 almost monastic seclusion, as far as his mind was con- 
 cerned, played a most important part ; and, blessedly 
 for him, he did not know anything of what was going 
 on at home, neither did he permit himself any longer 
 to anticipate evil. He prayed without ceasing for 
 his darling, and was content to leave the answering 
 
THE NIGHT FALLS 30, 
 
 to God. That his prayers were not answered is 
 true, as « also the fact th_t it is impossible to see 
 wny. But, then, when we come to that we are at 
 once confronted with so great an array of similar 
 cases that we must, if we be indeed faithful believers 
 m the lovmg Fatherhood of God, fall back upon our 
 one great stronghold : • In that day God will be 
 justified m all things by His Son.' 
 
 At last, 198 days after Saul was picked up, 
 the GtuseppeB. lumbered slowly and clumsily into 
 Hong Kong harbour. Her paint, bleached nearly to 
 the wood off hull and yards Dy months of sun and 
 ram, her sails worn to muslin by their long profitless 
 slatting against the masts, all that part of her 
 beneath the water and much above encrusted with 
 stony sea-growths and festooned with dark black- 
 green moss that rose and fell with each movement 
 of the sea like a floating shroud, she looked as if 
 some long ago given-up derelict had been suddenly 
 .restored to the busy world of men. Saul's heart beat 
 high with thankfulness as the old ship sailed up the 
 well-remembered harbour into which he had so often 
 steamed in the old days when he was a quartermaster 
 in one of the ' Glen ' boats. Nor did even the know- 
 ledge that no news could be awaiting him from home 
 or that from him no news could reach home for nearly 
 two months, suffice to depress him. 
 
 No sooner was the anchor down and the decks 
 cleared up than Saul went aft and appealed respect- 
 fully to the mate, the captain having of course gone 
 ashore, to allow him to land. This, however, the 
 mate dared not do without the captain's permission, 
 and so Saul, comforting himself as best he could with 
 
30* THE APOSTLES OF THE SOUTH EAST 
 
 the reflection that it was past office hours, resigned 
 himself to another night on board the old hulk that 
 had, oh, so .slowly, borne him to this far-oflf part of 
 the world. Bright and early he sought the captain, 
 who, as well as he could, made him understand that 
 he was very well pleased with Saul's behaviour while 
 on board, that he was free to go whenever he would, 
 and that, but for the fact that he, the skipper, was a 
 very poor man, he would have been glad to give Saul 
 his monthly wage the same as the rest of the men 
 earned. As it jvas, all he could do, and that out of 
 his own pocket, was to give him twenty dollars. 
 With this pitiful sum Saul was obliged to be content, 
 knowing that he could get no more. So gathering 
 the few ragged garments together that had been 
 given him, he went ashore straight to the post-oflice, 
 and, writing a long and loving letter to his wife, he 
 sent her the whole of the money he had just received 
 except cost of postage and transmission. Then he 
 turned his steps towards the shipping-office and told 
 his story. He was listened to in silence, and then 
 asked if he would take a passage home in one of the 
 blue-funnelled boats to England as a distressed sea- 
 man. This he refused, not wishing to arrive at home 
 penniless. The official shrugged his shoulders and 
 replied, ' That's all I can do for you, then.' 
 
 Outside the shipping-office Saul stood awhile, 
 wondering what he should do now. Suddenly he 
 caught sight of a white policeman striding towards 
 him, and intercepting him as he was passing, he 
 asked him if there was in the place a Seaman's 
 Mission, and if so would he direct the speaker thereto. 
 Now the policeman was a Christian, and to receive 
 
THE NIGHT FALLS 303 
 
 such an application wanned his heart. So he led 
 Saul to the Mission, entered with him and introduced 
 him, and made arrangements for their meeting again 
 that evening. Now Saul's present troubles were all 
 overcome. In the first place he was in the midst of 
 a congenial environment, in the next all the help 
 that he so much needed in food, lodging, and clothing 
 was extended to him, and one gentleman, a merchant 
 who was a staunch friend of the Mission, even offered 
 to cable home to Saul's wife the news of his safety 
 at large cost. But this Saul refused, not seeing 
 where the benefit woula come, and feeling that it 
 was not right to waste so much of other people's 
 money. 
 
 One very happy week he spent in Hong Kong, 
 and then, not being able to get a berth as bos'un, he 
 shipped before the mast in a fine American ship 
 bound to Manila to load hemp for New York. When 
 he came on board he found himself, to his surprise, 
 .. in an almost palatial house on deck, with a table 
 running its whole length— light, clean, and well 
 ventilated. He found the food not only good in 
 quality and having plenty of variety, but excellently 
 cooked and served as if men were going so eat it, not 
 hogs. His shipmates were a mixed medley of races, 
 but principally Scandinavians, all well drilled and as 
 smart as could well be. As for brutality, there was 
 none ; there was no need of it An order sharply 
 given was obeyed with the utmost alacrity and 
 cheerfulness, for every man had learned that it is 
 just as easy to obey smartly and willingly where 
 obedience must be rendered, as it is to skulk and 
 scowl through one's obvious duties. In the delight 
 
304 THE APOSTLES OF THE SOUTH EAST 
 
 which Saul felt at being on board such a ship and 
 under such a system, he almost forgot the crushing 
 burden of his trouble. Especially as he received a 
 month's advance of another four pounds, which he 
 was able to send home intact to the poor girl whom 
 he saw, in his mind's eye, suffering and sorrowing for 
 him. 
 
 He left Hong Kong witi< the hearty good wishes 
 of all whom he had met tkere, well supplied with 
 clothes by their liberality, and with such a stock of 
 good reading matter as would last him all the way 
 home most comfortably. He felt as if, at last, the 
 long and dreary lane he had been travelling had 
 found its turning, and that the pathway before him 
 promised to be bright right to the end. He was in 
 a good ship, with smart officers and a well-disciplined 
 crew ; and having a joy in doing that which his 
 hand found to do with all his might, found life again 
 very pleasant. 
 
CHAPTER XXVII 
 
 THE MISSION PROSPERS 
 
 Meanwhile events at the Mission had been without 
 much stirnng interest to the little outside world "f 
 their immediate neighbourhood, though never lack 
 Ing m variety and fullness of marvel to thole who 
 were responsible for its maintenance and dir^on 
 Jemmy^r little man, had by reason of his wife^ 
 Illness been much away. i„ fact he had hardly^n 
 «en at the Mission for a month. But when 1 dTar 
 partner was pronounced out of danger he return J 
 bearing a sheaf of grateful messagfs from he^^to 
 •^ose who. she knew, had been praying for her in hir 
 s«kne« ; «t«med and found that for a Thursday 
 night there was a record attendance. During his 
 al«enceath.ssick wife's bedside there had bfen a 
 «>rt of dual control. Maylie, the young clerk and 
 Paterson. the coster, had been workfng ifke T^jans 
 
 he haJ H T^ 'T ^ ^^ supporting them, but 
 
 iaJ^er l"*^-,?' '"'' ^^"'^ °' "^^ Christian 
 character-the ability to stand aside and let the Lord 
 
 use whomsoever He will, so long as the K Lgdo^' 
 
 ou. the hymn-books, to sweep up the 'Hall' alter 
 everj-body had gone, to be first to'come and last to 
 
 X 
 
 W! I 
 
 
306 THE APOSTLES OF THE SOUTH BAST 
 
 go, these were Bill Harrop's ambitions, if by such a 
 name they might profwrly be called. When chaflied 
 about his earnestness he would say, ' Ar, if you'd 
 a-be'n dahn inter th' dirty 'ell 'at I 'ave, an' ,be'n 
 pulled erp agen inter th' clean 'eaven 'at I 'ave, you 
 wouldn't wonder at my be'avin' as I da I cam't 'elp 
 it, no I cam't, an' ' — here he whispered mysteriously — 
 ' I woodn't if I could. I like it too much. I sleeps 
 like a baby, I eats anyfink 'at comes along wiv a 
 " fank Go'd " for it, my wife an' kids fair wusships 
 the grahnd I walks on ; an' me I oh, you don't know 
 what a dirty dorg I was an' would be nah if it wasn't 
 fer 'Im, the Lord Gord AUmighty.' 
 
 In consequence of these labours, undertaken 
 mainly because they felt (the workers) that loyalty to 
 Jemmy in his deep trouble dc.-iia.'<'ed thciti, there 
 was a spirit of enthusiasm, of earnest attention in the 
 hope of getting more wisdom from above, abroad 
 than Jemmy ever remembered having seen before. 
 When he appeared on the platform, his face aglow 
 with thankfulness, there was a long-drawn breath, 
 and then, it would not be restrained, an uproarious 
 burst of applause. The leader of this welcome was 
 poor old Woody — at least, I call him poor, remember- 
 ing his much-patched garments, his thin pale face, 
 his rounded shoulders and thin grey hair. But he 
 would, I am sure, have fiercely resented any such 
 adjective being applied to him. How could any man 
 as happy as he be called poor ? So they clapped and 
 stamped and shouted till they were tired, and at last 
 Jemmy got a chance to say a word. Nothing would 
 give me greater pleasure than to reproduce for you 
 his speech, but I fear it might possibly pall upon 
 
THE MISSION PROSPERS 
 
 307 
 
 you. It must therefore suffice to say that he tnM 
 w.thmuch pathos the stoo^ of hisTif 's „„ess S 
 the passing of the poor girl who had been hei;^ 
 
 Sssibleal'^ *""''" P*'^"">' "''*"«' -"^nner 
 possible, and its effect was marvellous. Subject of 
 course, to correction. I feel that this is the seem of 
 J^lsucc«sful o«tory. whether in preaching or oThe" 
 wise, to give the listeners stories of such life « 
 
 tl w^ ;!!f"f' ""** " ''■'^'■"g application t wa^ 
 the way of the Lord, and there can be no better r„ 
 
 otr f:r:j"Z'"r ^"^ "''^^ "^"^"-^^^^^^ 
 
 mc laces of those who gaze. Befnro = i-. 1 
 
 rnXZ^l"""' "'' '''"^'^'^^ '-Ve GrS 
 mythology they gape unmoved, but let a nicture nf 
 
 sitife hr™ •" ''^^"»''' '-fo- thL'r;;:/ 
 
 Thi, T Z.T,^" '^"Pathy. the tears falling fast 
 
 with^an^^nTJ ^""""^l^ ""'^ ^"'y'^ as of old, but 
 with an added power that neither he nor his hearers 
 could have explained. He swayed them as the Xd 
 tte leaves, and when at last he sat down there waj 
 a long-drawn sigh of disappointment tha he had 
 ended so soon But it was soon made up for by tSe 
 fdlowing speakers. Harrop and Paterson^and MavHe 
 They, too, met with much acceptance for lu7. 
 knew how they had worked and^ay^d dur Ij the' 
 tt'r.l '•'r '»"<=h-loved superintendent "whe„ 
 they had finished their various speeches I^m.,, 
 
 wiers, 1 earn t leave 'ere ter-night 'athout tellin' v - 
 wots m my 'eart abaht some of these yer dear feller. 
 
3o8 THE APOSTLES OF THE SOUTH EAST 
 
 'ere. Y' all know how fings 'as ben wiv me lately, 
 'ow I ain't ben able to 'tend ter nufRnk along of 
 illness at 'ome, not even try own business. Well, two 
 dear fellers in this 'ere meetin' 'as kep things agoin 
 puffickly straight fer abaht six weeks. Yuss, an' I 
 arsks yer ter fank Gord fer senain' on earf two such 
 men as Willie Maylie an' Jemmy Paterson.' When 
 the wild outburst of appreciation had subsided, 
 Jemmy resumed his address for a short time, in order 
 to acquaint all his hearers with the flourishing state 
 of the Mission finances : a condition of things which, 
 he told them, wis almost totally due to the unre- 
 mitting energies of William Maylie, who had not only 
 worked hard to keep the subscriptions and donations 
 up to the high-water mark, but had by careful book- 
 keeping kept their accounts so clear that a child 
 could understand them. And besides all this, he had 
 paid in to the funds out of his own pocket a sum of 
 five shillings every week. Lastly, the speaker alluded 
 to the statements made by Jenkins, the late trea- 
 surer, as to his (Jemmy's) default in respect of sub- 
 scriptions. 'Brevren,' said he, 'I know I don't 
 put very much inter the Mission funds. I never 
 did. But then I ain't got it ter put in. That ain't 
 my fault, it's my farver's. Wot 'd 'ee bring me up 
 t' chimbley-sweepin' for? ' with mock indignation. ' I 
 ain't let none o' my boys go sweepin' chimbleys, no 
 feaj. W'y wot wiv the price er coals, an' all these 
 'underds o' thousan's er penny-in-the-slot gas meters, 
 they ain't scarcely no chimbleys at all ter sweep nah. 
 An' as ter beatin' carpets, wot used ter be a reg'lar 
 part of ahr business— most er th' people I know 
 don't have none, they uses linogleum. If they does 
 
THE MISSION PROSPERS 309 
 
 have a nice bit er carpet, w'y they sen's it ter a cum- 
 p'ny or r_'n/cr the cump'ny sen's an' fetches it in a 
 swai.ger van ar.' pair o' hosses. An' it's put in a 
 kinc e • wasbin' masheen that wallops all th' dust aht 
 of it q jicitei 15 you can say knife. I don't 'old wiv all 
 this 'ere masheenry, I don't. It'd be all right if we 
 c'd live by masheenry, I s'pose ; but there, it's no good 
 grumblin', I never fahnd that paid an/ow. Let's 
 sing. Sister, play us 
 
 * Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine ; 
 Oh what a foretaste of glory Divine.' 
 
 So they launched into song and sang the chorus, 
 * This is my story, this is my song,' three times to 
 each verse and five or six times to the last, and were 
 all very much uplifted and happy. And as they 
 were about to leave, just after the Benediction had 
 been pronounced, a wild-looking figure that had been 
 crouching in the doorway stood up and shuffled along 
 the aisle towards the platform. Paterson and Harrop 
 went to meet him and attend to him in case he 
 should have come to make any disturbance, when 
 the latter recognised him as Jimson. Truly he was 
 a sad spectacle. Filthy beyond expression, shoeless, 
 in scanty rags that hardly covered his nakedness, he 
 was an object-lesson in the highest sense on the fact 
 that the way of transgressors is hard. The people 
 waited to see ' what was up,' as they put it, and 
 presently the poor wretch was allowed to mount the 
 platform and tell his story. In effect it was this, 
 that although he had apparently left the Mission 
 through pique, it was really because he had never 
 honestly had his heart in it He loved to hold a 
 
310 THE APOSTLES OF THE SOUTH EAST 
 
 prominent place among his fellows and to pwsp as 
 respectable, because he found it paid with his employer 
 who was a very religious man. So he had joined the 
 Wren Lane band before it possessed the present ' Hall,' 
 and for a time found himself looked up to by Jemmy 
 and taking the part he loved — viz. that of a prominent 
 man. But when the Mission expanded he found 
 himself, as he put it, a bit crowded, and he aUo 
 found the work getting irksome. So he became a 
 backslider and immediately went back to the drink. 
 Curiously enough, before he joined the Mission he 
 was a very moderate drinker, but as soon as he left 
 it he became a drunkard. He went rapidly down, 
 down, down. Now his wife was dead, his children 
 were scattered, rnd he was, he hoped, in the last 
 stages of a disease that would carry him off very 
 speedily. He didn't want anything, for he was going 
 to the workhouse infirmary to die, but before he went 
 he wanted to ease his mind by confessing to all con- 
 nected with the Mission that no one was in any way 
 to blame for his going away but himself Also that 
 if anyone there had a mind to become a backslider, 
 he would tell them simply that they would never 
 have any enjoyment out of it. The devil was a great 
 promiser, but his performances were terrible to endure. 
 He, the speaker, asked them all to forgive him and 
 pray for him, and he bade them good-bye. Resisting 
 all efforts to detain him he hobbled slowly away, only 
 accepting the help of poor old Woody to enable him 
 to reach the infirmary. They took him in at once, 
 and in three days he was dead, having by his last 
 few words made a greater impression upon his hearers 
 than ever he had been able to in his previous Mission 
 
THE MISSION PROSPERS 31, 
 
 days, an impression that will never fade from some of 
 their minds while life lasts. 
 
 After the audience had dispersed the brethren 
 remained a little while to discuss the Mission affairs, 
 upon the reappearance of Jemmy. All felt that they 
 had deep cause for thankfulness in the steady solid 
 work that was going on, and the manner in which 
 they were paying their way. Although their numbers 
 had never since reached the total which they amounted 
 to before Jackson's defection, they had a very respect- 
 able roll of members— respectable, that is, in amount 
 and steadfastness of Christian life, not respectable 
 in appearance as compared with the ordinary church 
 or chapel goer by any means. At the early (8 A.M.) 
 Sunday morning prayer-meeting there was often an 
 att' nee of fifty, and at the Breaking of Bread 
 usb alf as many again. Their Sunday school 
 
 roll ..umbsred nearly three hundred, and already the 
 accommodation for the children was very restricted. 
 But no suggestion of enlarging their borders or 
 launching out into ambitious building schemes was 
 mooted, for all felt that such things in their position 
 were better left severely alone. As Jemmv tersely put 
 it, ' S'long-s we're 'umble the Lord '11 bless us ; w'en 
 we git too big for our boots 'Ee'll 'ave to set erse back 
 a bit, same's 'Ee done afore. That done erse good no 
 doubt, but I don't want any more on it, thank yer.' 
 
 Mr. Jackson had grown and waxed great, so Bill 
 Harrop reported. He had taken a large hall seating 
 eight hundred people at an expense of nearly 7/ a 
 week, he had got together a good-sized brass band 
 whereof every member had the privilege of finding his 
 own instrument, and he was now preaching a curious 
 
 ffii 
 
3" THE APOSTLES OF THE SOUTH EAST 
 
 blend of UniVersalism, faith heaKng, and Ritualism. 
 He had left the police force, donned a clerical garb, 
 and had cards printed with the words, ' Rev. Thos. 
 Jackson, Peniston Hall Gospel Mission.' He was 
 popularly supposed to be making between 200/. and 
 3CX)^ per annum. When Jemmy heard this news he 
 said with a sigh, • I s^.'d like fine ter be mykin' free 
 'underd a yeer, an' I 'opes I won't never be tempted ter 
 make it dis'onest But I do know 'at if I wos offered 
 right 'ear t' exchange wiv Jackson I wouldn't. He 
 must be un'appy inside, mustn't 'ee .' ' ' Well, I don' 
 know,' answered his father musingly, "ee may be 'ap- 
 pier 'n wot you think for. 'Ee may believe 'ee's all 
 right. Nobody knows wot they can do in the way 
 of deceivin' 'emselves till they begins ter try. If it 
 wasn't so I don't know 'ow we sh'd acahnt fur the 
 many jolly people we see aht of Christ, wivout any 
 'ope fur th' fucher— any well-grahnded 'ope that is. 
 By the bye, changin' the subjec' rarver quick, does 
 anybody know anyfink er Saul's wife ? ' 
 
 There was a oead silence for maybe half a minute, 
 and an uneasy guilty feeling among them quite un- 
 warranted by any action or want of action of theirs. 
 For none of them had known her address, she had 
 voluntarily withdrawn herself af -er Saul's departure, 
 and in this great labyrinth of London, more especially 
 among people whose hands wt.-e so full as these, it 
 was almost an impossibility to find a person who had 
 no desire to be found. But it spoke well for tho 
 brethren's hearts that they did feel like that. A 
 tender heart and a sensitive conscience is a good 
 thing to have, although at times an inconvenient one 
 if its owner wants a little self-indulgence. At last 
 
THE MISSION PROSPERS 313 
 
 Jemmy spoke and said, ' I've orfen thort abJit 'er, 
 but I didn't know wot'd become of 'er. I know she 
 didn't like erse very much, I c'd see that th' day we 
 eld th' weddin' service 'ere. An' I know this, that 
 arter Saul went she never come near th' place no 
 more. I yeerd somebody say, I donno '00 it could 
 a-be n nah, 'at she'd lef the nayburwocd. I trust in 
 Gord nuffinks 'appen'd to 'er. Let's 'ave a word o' 
 pray'r abaht er afore we parts, shall we ? ' A general 
 assent bemg heartily given, all present knelt and 
 Jemmy prayed : ' Ho Gord, hour Father w'ich is right 
 ertormongst erse, we're trubbled in mine abaht ahr 
 sister, Thy dear servant Saul's wife ; 'ee's aht on the 
 great sea far away from us. an' we feels as if we orter 
 a-looked arter th' one dearest to 'im in th' world But 
 she went away. Lord, an' we don' know w'ere she is 
 Oh Gord, You know. If she's in trouble, 'elp 'er aht 
 of It ; if It may be, bring 'er back ermong erse ; an' 
 any'ow, 'ave 'er in Thy most 'oly keepin'. An' bless ahr 
 dear bruvver Saul also. We dunno w'ere 'ee is, asept 
 at ees wiv You. Lord. Watch hover 'im, comfort 
 im, elp im f do the work You've giv' 'im ier do 
 an- bring 'im safe back t' erse agen. An' nah, please 
 bless ev^ry one on us. Lord. Bless my pore pardner 
 oose 'ad such a weary time o" sickness. Grant Lord 
 that the fiery time ov trial she's 'ad may be 'of the 
 werry gr'atest use t' 'er an' me too. Bless us all an' 
 take us t' ahr several 'omes in peace an' grateful love 
 to Thee, in the name of Thy dear Son. Amen ' 
 
 There remained only the good-nights to say and 
 hands to be shaken. So they parted, and Jemmy 
 hastened home, trotting all the way. When he 
 reached his bouse he rushed upstairs to find Mrs 
 
 'Ml 
 
314 THE APOSTLES OF THE SOUTH EAST 
 
 Maskery sitting up in bed eating a little beef-tea 
 brought her by Sister Salmon, who was sitting at 
 the other side of the bed. 
 
 Sister Salmon had risen to go when Jemmy came 
 in, but Mrs. Maskery held her tight while she told her 
 what was in her heart. And as soon as Mrs. Maskery 
 had finished speaking, that sweet saintly soul just 
 stooped and kissed the worn face all wet with tears, 
 saying only, 'Good-night, dear, an' God bless ye; 
 you've made me very happy.' Then she left the 
 room, Jemmy holding the candle high over the 
 banisters to light her way down, and hastened off to 
 join her faithfid spouse in their own peaceful home. 
 
CHAPTER XXVIII 
 
 SAUL COMES HOME 
 
 With something of a sense of dread at what we feel 
 awaits Saul, yet with a feeling of relief also that in 
 front of him still spreads a long peaceful road over 
 which he shall tread with firm unfaltering footfall 
 before he meets with the dread knowledge which 
 shall shake but not overthrow the firmly rooted 
 foundations of his faith, we must now return to where 
 he is patiently doing his duty on board the Colorado 
 in Manila harbour. Even with such a perfectly 
 disciplined crowd as there was on board this fine 
 ship, and the unsleeping vigilance of her officers, it 
 could not be but that, in harbour, occasions of dis- 
 agreement should arise, and if by any means drink 
 should become obtainable, a very slight matter ori- 
 ginally might suddenly develop into a condition 
 of great danger to all on board. Thus it happened 
 that, after a fortnight's uninterrupted peace in Manila, 
 during which time, as the shipment of the hemp only 
 demanded six of the ship's company, the rest of the 
 work of stowage being done by Filipinos and Chinese, 
 the whole ship was overhauled and painted, there 
 arose a longing on the part of the majority of the 
 hands for a final run ashore before the long passage 
 home began, ^ 
 
3i6 THE APOSTLES OF THE SOUTH EAST 
 
 Now Captain Peck had made a wise rule frr the 
 benefit of all hands, to the effect that he could be 
 interviewed every evening at eight bells, when he 
 was nn board, by any member of the ship's company, 
 either for complaints or requests, and this effectually 
 precluded any hole-and-corner work, since he would 
 not listen to anything but from the person directly 
 concerned. So one evening, a hrge Austrian, de- 
 puted by his comrades, slouched aft at the appointed 
 hour and proffered the usual request to the steward 
 that he might see the captain. This being granted, 
 he asked for a day's liberty on behalf of himself and' 
 the crew. Cajptain Peck listened in patience until he 
 had finished sfjeaking, then replied curtly, ' Certainly 
 not. You'll get leave finally in N' York, not before. 
 Anything else ? ' The man looked nonplussed for a 
 moment, then muttered surlily, • Whata for no givee 
 leava, capafta? Alia mans plenta work alia time, 
 neva geta drinka, that time fineesh work wanta a 
 leetta drinka.' He was, I should have explained, 
 from Trieste. 
 
 For all answer the captain pointed with his 
 right hand to the fo'c'sle and said sternly, ' Go for- 
 rard, and tell the rest of your shipmates not to come 
 aft with any such request to me.' The man slouched 
 off, black rage in his heart, and as soon &s he reached 
 the fo'c'sle began to detail all sorts of imaginary 
 insults hurled at him by the skipper. As most of 
 the palaver was in foreign speech which Saul did not 
 understand, its import troubled him not at all. But 
 during the next few days he could not help noticing 
 that something was afoot that seemed to menace the 
 peace and safety of the whole ship. Before he had 
 
SAUL COMES HOME 3,^ 
 
 time to realise what it was going to be, the storm burst 
 A large quantity of liquor suddenly made its appear- 
 ance and passed freely from hand to hand, refused of 
 course by him, but making him marvel mightily from 
 whence it had been obtained. Then to his horror he 
 hearo muttered outlines of a plan to murder all the 
 officers, fierce recallings of the way in which during 
 the early days of the voyage they, the speakers, had 
 been drilled into submissiveness and their sluggish 
 intelligences quickened by brutal application of force, 
 for all of which things they would now exact the 
 utmost reparation. 
 
 Saul's mind was quickly made up. As a keen 
 watch was being kept lest anyone should go aft, he 
 lit his pipe and strolled carelessly up on the fo'c'sle 
 head. There was no one watching there, so he 
 slipped over the head, down the cable, and swam aft 
 to the accommodation ladder, up which he ran and 
 presented himself breathless at the door of the 
 maters b-rth. That officer listened gravely to Saul's 
 warning— then, disregarding his dripping condition, led 
 him before the skipper, who as gravely thanked him 
 and offered him a loaded revolver. Saul refused the 
 weapon, thanking the captain for his confidence, but 
 saying that while he would do all that two honest 
 fists could do to maintain order, he did not feel like 
 taking life— he would rather lose his own. The 
 captain looked at him pityingly, as one not under- 
 standing such a condition of mind at all, and was 
 just about to discuss the matter with him, when a 
 patter of bare feet, a smothered oath, and a crackle 
 of revolver shots announced that the threatened 
 upheaval had begun. 
 
3i8 THE APOSTLES OF THE SOUTH EAST 
 
 Saul and the captain rushed up the companion, 
 hoping thereby to gain the upper ground, to have the 
 advantage over their assailants. But they were met 
 by the big Austrian and two other men, who had 
 dodged past the officers in the struggle on deck, 
 hoping to take them in the rear. Mattel, the 
 Austrian, flung himself at the captain, his uplifted 
 knife gleaming in the moonlight, and had it not been 
 for Saul there is no doubt the old man would have 
 been slain. But quick as thought Saul's left arm flew 
 across the captain's breast, receiving the vengeful 
 downward stab right through the fleshy part, while 
 his right fist shot out like a catapult, taking Mattel 
 on *He point of the chi.n and breaking his jaw. Down 
 ft'l -i: big man like a log, and across h.i prostrate 
 body the skipper and Saul fought shoulder to 
 shoulder against not only the two who had accom- 
 panied Mattel, but reinforcements that had arrived 
 from below. But no valour, however fired, can make 
 head against firearms in the hands of men unafraid 
 to use them, and in a very few minutes the discom- 
 fited crew were being driven ' forrard ' like a flock of 
 sheep, all save the luckless ones who lay groaning and 
 bl-icding on deck. 
 
 Now there have been cases where such treatment 
 of men by officers would have been wholly unjustifi- 
 able, where the men, goaded to madness by ill treat- 
 ment and overwork, deserved all the success in over- 
 coming and even slaying their persecutors that could 
 possibly become theirs ; but here it was not so. The 
 Colorado was a good ship, had been made so, indeed, 
 by the unremitting efforts of the officers at the 
 commencement of ^' » voyage, and only a sudden 
 
SAUL COMES HOME 3,5 
 
 upheaval of tigerish lust induced by drink had led to 
 what miBht, but for the courage and energy of Saul 
 have ended in a most terrible tragedy. When the 
 last of the wounded had been attended to and all 
 those of the crew who could stand were perched aloft 
 in various uncomfortable positions, Captain Peck and 
 his chief officer interviewed Saul and decided that he 
 must be the bo'sun, that is if he would accept the 
 office. His wages were at once increased by ten 
 dollars per month, and he was given plenary powers 
 of dealing with any man who should perchance 
 meditate revenge. 
 
 Saul however, was no coward, and moreover he 
 had so pleasant a way with him that it was almost 
 imposs.ble for a man to be under his orders and not 
 come to like him. And when that motley crowd 
 realised what a splendid specimen of mankind I v 
 nad got over them, when they found how utterly .... 
 capable he was of bearing malice or of abusing his 
 position in order to pay them out for what they had 
 done, they altered their bearing towards him, and no 
 • longer thought, as at first they did, of stabbing him in 
 the back and dumping him overboard the first chance 
 they got They grew to love as well as admire him, 
 before they were round the Cape he could do any- 
 thing with them, and it was admitted by all the officers 
 that a smarter crew or a better bo'sun it would be 
 almost impossible to find. 
 
 Thus it came to pass that, in solemn conclave 
 
 with ms officers, Captain Peck thus delivered himself- 
 
 Gentlemen, in common with most American seamen, 
 
 ive hiUierto had a mighty poor opinion of the 
 
 so-called superiority of the British sailor over every 
 
310 THE APOSTLES OF THE SOUTH EAST 
 
 other mariner that ever was. And I hold still, that 
 while he certainly is reliable when good, his smart- 
 ness requires considerable freshening up before it 
 reaches our standard. As a general rule his motto 
 is " Go slow," however good a man he may be. But 
 here we've got a man who's not only the best 
 all-round sailorman I've ever clapped eyes on in all 
 my fishing, but is in addition to that the sprjrest man 
 I've ever had under my command. You can't get 
 him rattled. The hotter the pace the cooler he 
 seems to be, and the very tones of his voice seem to 
 give men confiflence that all is going right Now 
 I've got a theory about this man. I believe he's a 
 Christian of the highest stamp, one of the kind that's 
 sent us occasionally to show what Christianity can 
 make of a man if he'll only let it have a fair show. 
 I've never heard him utter a swear-word, I've never 
 seen him out of temper, and yet, if you notice, there's 
 a look in his face as of a man that's bowed down 
 with very great sorrow. I'm afraid we shall lose 
 him in N' York ; I feel sure that he'll be off east as 
 quick's ever he can get, but I'd give big money to 
 keep him.' 
 
 The skipper having thus eased his mind, the 
 mate modestly took up the conversation by saying, 
 You're perfectly right, sir, in all you say. The man 
 is a Christian ; I've surprised him on his knees. An' 
 I've noUced that although he reads considerable, the 
 Bible's more often in his hands than any other book. 
 Another thing, whenever he's been below a little 
 while by himself he always comes on deck again with 
 his face all a-shine, as if he'd been having such a 
 bully time that the reflection of it on his face wouldn't 
 
SAUL COMES HOME 3,, 
 
 die away. Now with me that ain't so. When I'm 
 
 TirT t° '">' ^""y ' ^'-''y' have to just Thik^ 
 rny«=lf back to work again, an' I feel as u Ly ^ a 
 
 f„7'" ^'"'*'' ^""""" °f «««"' from skiplr 
 and second mate. < Yes. sir.' the mate wem on "^ rd 
 
 SisKc:„tt."-'^'^--^---'tii^ 
 
 The CoUrado made a wonderful DassA^e hn™. 
 and came into port looking like a new pt to th^ 
 deep measureless satisfaction of her officers t^ whom 
 
 tlitorsTet V' '^ ''^ P"°' -'^ -"^en" 
 As the T ''"'^'**'' '"""^^ '■" 'h«'> nostrils. 
 
 As the sh.p was towing up the East River the 
 captam sent for Saul and told him that if he wol 
 on y stay with him in the ship he should be kept on 
 full pay while in harbour, and anything in reason in 
 «^e way of wages that he liked to ask for should^ 
 
 .«atiTo^^''i^;lT£^St^t^ 
 
 nchly deserved, for which he'was%o7re! ^^^^tt^ 
 
 thS all hi T".r i' '^''''' '''^ ^^P^-" «"" -e 
 "^at all his kindly efforts would be in vain The 
 
 man before him had his face steadfastly it in one 
 
 as you flave. I ve only done what I ought but I 
 
 S of g'S.'"-'" ^""^ '° "' '■* *>"* <•- the contil 
 help of God, given to me without any deservin' of 
 
 aruH.^iritn^^lTl'^L--^'^^^^^^^^ 
 
 help feelin* too, 
 
 sir, that I 
 
321 THE APOSTLES OF THE SOUTH EAST 
 
 haven't been faithful as I ought to 'ave been aboard 
 here. I 'aven't preached as well as practised. By 
 the help of God I have practised Christianity, but 
 somehow I 'aven't felt able to do as I did on board 
 the last ship I made a voy'ge in as bo'sun. An' it 
 weighs on my 'eart very heavy, I assure you. As to 
 your offer, sir, I can't accept it anyhow. I was just 
 married before I came away. I was wrecked only a 
 few days out of port, picked up, an' carried off to 
 China. An' I've never heard of her since, an' don't 
 know whether ^he's heard of me or not ; although, of 
 course, I've sent on all the money I could get to her 
 from Hong Kong. But,' and here the poor fellow's 
 eyes shone with entreaty, ' do please let me know as 
 soon as you can whether there's a letter waitin' here 
 for me. Excuse me troublin' you, sir, but I am 
 almost sick with anxiety, and I have to keep on 
 praying to God to keep me from worrying myself 
 into another brain fever.' 
 
 ' My dear fellow,' answered the skipper, hard put 
 to it to keep the tears from his eyes, ' count on mi 
 to do all I can for you. I'll not say another word 
 about your coming with me, your duty's at home and 
 to get there with all possible speed. And as for your 
 letter, I'll do all I can to get it off to you at once. 
 I'll send a special messenger with it if it's there.' 
 Sure enough, as soon as ever the ship was secured, a 
 messenger brought Saul a letter which had been lying 
 in the owner's office for two months. Happily it 
 arrived only a few minutes before he was free to go 
 and devour its contents — happily, because he was so 
 violently agitated that his knees smote together and 
 the ganglions at the pit of his breast-bone felt as 
 
SAUL COMES HOME 3,3 
 
 if a^ nathless hand were wrenching then, round and 
 
 lea^s L J p^S' ^°" "J"'^ -" - thank God it 
 
 In J ^ *" ^ '""^ *° *^" y«" that your pore wife H!«i 
 Ind-^^heTi^n^IJj'Sj^^hadLn^Tj-Jtl 
 couldn't get thrSin'i'shT .rtolTveTd "rf 
 
 send where^^ou Lfif ^ "'" '°'' "'^'^'^ ^ -" 
 
 don't think she Ja^nteS to Z.^'^lZ stf i 
 she had lost all she cared to live for f f^^^^*^ 
 lonely Without her so I can sy.^IhS wii ';:1;'='^ 
 * Your obedient servant, 
 
 • '4 BerUu S., Upp„ S.,«e. Islington ' ^^"^ ^'^^"'S" 
 
 to return to Enrfand wVth !, ^" '"*^"'^ '^^^''^^ 
 
 i 
 
3»4 THE APOSTLES OF THE SOUTH EAST 
 
 and talk with him, pointing out that in any case he 
 could not go home until the ship was paid off, and he 
 would be far better off aboard than ashore. Saul 
 consented willingly, only stipulating that he should 
 go and ascertain when the first steamer left for 
 London. Having found that there was one going in 
 two days' time and secured a steerage passage in her, 
 Saul came back and was at once invited by the mate 
 into his berth. 
 
 When two men get together like Saul and 
 Mr. Fish, the relations that have subsisted between 
 them take some Nttle time to get broken down and a 
 condition of equality set up. But the mate was most 
 pathetically eager to learn the secret of Saul's efficient 
 happiness and Saul was equally eager to tell it, so 
 that in far less time than usual they came to closest 
 quarters over the one eternal question of man's 
 salvation. Here, however, all the conditions were 
 favourable. Tested to the utmost, Saul's Christianity 
 had proved its value, so that all he said came with 
 tremendous force. He was no mere theorist or 
 hireling who did not believe practically one of the 
 truths he was enunciating. Nor was he actuated by 
 any other motive than that inspired by the great 
 Friend of Man, the making of another man into a 
 more perfect pattern of what a man should really be, 
 the image of God : for his own greater happiness 
 and the eternal benefit of those with whom he should 
 come in contact. 
 
 Before they parted for the night Mr. Fish had 
 stepped out of his old self, had thrown in his lot with 
 the people of God, and had become a worthy disciple 
 of the greatest, bravest, happiest Man that ever lived. 
 
SAUL COMES HOME 3^5 
 
 And Saul, in spite of his gnawing desire to get home 
 was comforted. It is indeed a consolation to know' 
 that we are not standing all the day idle, but that 
 wherever we are, however long we may have to wait 
 between employments, we may redeem the time to 
 our souls mtense satisfaction and the benefit of 
 some poor soul for whose behoof that spare time 
 was allowed us. 
 
 Wednesday morning saw Saul on the deck of one 
 of the hners homeward-bound, his passage having 
 been pa,d by the grateful r^ptain P^^ho nevef 
 could forget that but for Saul he would have died 
 in Manila. Moreover, there had mysteriously appeared 
 m the handful of bills the skipper handed sSl 2 
 his pay, one for a hundred dollars which seemed to 
 
 thUo .^r5°* ^'''^ '" '"■°'- W''*=" he pointed 
 this out the skipper curtly told him that the money 
 
 was all nght,^ never made any mistakes in money 
 
 matters. And Saul's keen wit saw at once that Ms 
 
 was just a kindly unstrained way of making up to 
 
 him his great loss. He was very grateful, feeling 
 
 almost guilty at leaving so splendid an opening for 
 
 f^' tI "r'^h/''' ^'' ^''''' ^^« «'•*'" Wm as 
 ead. The short, fine passage ended, Saul hastened 
 to a quiet lodging m the East India Dock Road for 
 the night, and at once hastened to the address whence 
 he letter was written. He found Miss Wilkins just 
 hi iTndlifT' I"'' "^"^ '^^"■"gfi^tP^dentlyinvIted 
 
 tori n?l "^ -^ . PJ:"'""*' '°^'^ ^""^ '^^ *hole sad 
 stoiy of his wifes suffering, sorrow and death 
 
 talelf f r*" '* *°."''' ^ '""'"'>' *° *«» the sordid 
 Ser^ h1 ^ e^Penences which may be read almost 
 every day m our newspapers, and it is, therefore. 
 
3»6 THE APOSTLES OF THE SOUTH EAST 
 
 needless, especially at this last stage, to do so. Saul 
 sat during the recital as if carved in wood, a big tear 
 escaping at intervals from his tortured heart When 
 he rose to go he offered payment to Miss Wilkin»— 
 an offer firmly refused. But he obtained a promise 
 that in any time of trouble she would apply to him 
 at once. 
 
CHAPTER XXIX 
 
 AND LAST 
 
 The delight with which the next evening Saul was 
 received at the Mission was almost extrav^ant until 
 a closer look at his grief-lined face, and a short ex- 
 planation from him of the reason for it, quieted them 
 all. But a great content was manifested among them 
 when he told them that it was his intention to relin- 
 quish his seafaring career, if possible, and settle down 
 among them. 
 
 He immediately set about materialising his idea 
 but found it no easy task. ' 
 
 At last, when his stock of cash had dwindled to a 
 solitary pound, he met one day, in the West India 
 Dock Road, with his old skipper. Captain Vaughan. 
 Their greeting was most cordial, and turning into 
 Jie captains house, which was close at hand, they 
 enjoyed a long long exchange of experiences since 
 last they had parted. And presently it came out 
 that Captain Vaughan had retired from the sea and 
 was now the overiooker of a line of ships. When 
 Saul told him of his own earnest wish to get a job 
 ashore, he was, at first, disinclined to further Saul's 
 wishes, alleging as his reason that such a man as 
 Saul ought to remain at sea in view of the good that 
 he could do ther^far more, in proportion, than he 
 could do ashore. For Captain Vaughan was con- 
 vinced of the fundamental truth that the place to 
 
3a8 THE APOSTLES OF THE SOUTH EAST 
 
 missionise Jack successfully is at sea. But it is quite 
 impossible to do this in the Merchant Service unless 
 you can persuade converted sailors to continue their 
 career in the fo'c'sle. It seems hard that this should 
 be so, but men have made, men do make, similar 
 sacrifices for God every day, and that without any 
 trumpeting of their deeds abroad. However, when 
 Captain Vaughan heard Saul's side of the matter and 
 considered it fully, he altered his mind as far as Saul 
 was concerned, and almost immediately got him a 
 birth as a foreman rigger, a post he was eminenUy 
 qualified to fill. 
 
 Saul soon settled down to shore life, for sailors 
 are the most adaptable of men. His help now r^u- 
 larly given at the Mission was a most blessed boon to 
 them. Out of his wages, which averaged forty-five 
 shillings weekly, he set aside fifteen shillings for 
 the Mission. They were now, indeed, a stalwart 
 band, doing a splendid work in the midst of their 
 own people, a work that certainly could not have 
 been done so well by any other organisation what- 
 ever. And any one of the principal workers was 
 a host in himself. Jemmy, mellowing from day 
 to day under the sunny atmosphere of his happy 
 home life, was noticeably less insistent upon the 
 eternal damnation of literal fire awaiting those who 
 did not come to Jesus while here below. He 
 gave his loving humanity a chance, and began dimly 
 to recognise the great fact of the pre-eminence of 
 love over fear. This reacted healthily also upon his 
 treatment of those Christians who differed from him 
 on minor points of doctrine, softened the asperities 
 that often disfigure the characters of the most godly 
 men when discussing the things that do not matter 
 
CONCLUSION 3^ 
 
 Brother and Sister Salmon remained as they always 
 had been Je peaceful light-shedders of L S 
 band, looked up to and most tenderly loved by aS 
 the rest Skipper Stevens and Peter Bum also 
 remained as they were, in spite of the almost uS 
 versally held idea that in the Christian life the"e 
 
 Urge number of Church members, familiar to us aS^ 
 who are always in their places, always ready wS 
 their contnbutions. always leading week-day iL^ of 
 Eh-r^'' '"' ""='P°tt«dness from the worfd f 
 Unambitious to occupy office of any kind Sev 
 greatj, prefer to form part of the rank and file^ 
 
 Tumtlv w''.r""'"°" -'<^-'V-nd do their 1? 
 humbly Without any paltering with words mus^ 
 we not admit that these Christians are as station^ 
 m their spiritual career as is the good and fa tWuTS^ 
 vant m bus ness, who, having attained a certrL'l 
 maintains it a^ his life, doing his duty faithfuHy J 
 
 wdl-beloved work to his well-earned rest ? I thhS so 
 
 .s grateful for the knowledge that his congregS 
 
 bT mT °'."^"'= '""'^ '"" ^oundeToiS 
 But Mayhe, Paterson, and Harrop were Jhe 
 
 r-a-y-ix^-rorwtrx^a^i 
 
 ^•n they were told that they we^ bu,^^? ^hSr 
 talent in the earth, that they were wastirioSen 
 
330 THE APOSTLES OF THE SOUTH EAST 
 
 opportunities, and so forth. No such arguments 
 moved them one jot And without attempting to 
 decide whether they were right or not, I cannot but 
 admire their simple loyalty to Jemmy, their loving 
 forbearance with his undoubted limitations, their own 
 humbleness, which felt that its proper sphere was the 
 little lowly Mission where the Lord had found them ; 
 and where, untrammelled by the too often hampering 
 concomuants of belonging to a great society, they 
 had been the glad instruments of so much real good. 
 Maylie especially, although he was rising steadily to 
 the head of affairs in the great firm where he earned 
 his bread, and was now in a position that would have 
 made him a deciddd acquisition to the roll of officers 
 of any great Church, treated any suggestion that he 
 should go up higher in the world of Christian work, 
 as a joke. He would quietly say to any of his friends' 
 outside, when they in all seriousness remonstrated 
 with him for still remaining in such company, ' It's 
 of not the slightest use talking to me. I could not 
 be happy anywhere else. I believe that the work 
 God has given me to do here is exactly what I'm fit 
 for. I feel as if nobody could do it better than I can, 
 and I feel too, that it is a good thing in Christian work 
 to keep low down. The work of God has never been 
 better done than it was by the Apostles, and goodness 
 knows, as far as externals went, they were so low 
 down that they couldn't get any lower, right down on 
 the ground. No, put me up a bit, make me an office- 
 holder in some big Church, and I am afraid I should 
 get full of sinful pride. Anyhow, I'm not going to 
 run into temptation of that sort if I can possibly 
 avoid it I'll stick to the old Mission until God 
 Himself shifts me out of it' 
 
CONCLUSION 3j, 
 
 Bill and Jack Maskery still maintained their free- 
 lance connection witii die Mission. Bill being ex- 
 ceptionally happy and contented tiiere, especially as 
 the boy whom he had rescued from tiie prison gate had 
 turned out all right and a great comfort to him in his 
 fast-mcreasmg decrepitude. He had got the lad into 
 a large shop close by the court in which they lived 
 where he was always handy, where his hours weni 
 good, and he was greatly esteemed. And poor old 
 Bill was never tired of quoting that sublime line, 'At 
 event.de .t shall be light.' Woody, whose witiiered 
 old frame seemed to have in it sometiiing of the 
 gnarled and knotted fibre of the oak logs sawn from 
 broken-up ships tiiat he sold, still went on his way 
 rejoicmg. Never a member of tiie Mission-tiiat is 
 to say. inscribed on its books-he nevertheless came 
 and went freely and much more frequently tiian any- 
 where else. He was always most heartily welcome, 
 for he always brought with him a sense of power that 
 lifted whatever was being done at the time on to a 
 still higher plane. 
 
 Here stem necessity compels me to leave the 
 Apostles of the South East, not in a blaze of splen- 
 dour, but quietly doing tiieir appointed work for God 
 wuh all their might, happy in the doing of it, happier 
 when they see fruits forthcoming, happiest of all in 
 their acquaintanceship with God. 
 
 THE END 
 
WORKS BY TUB SAME AUTHOR. 
 THE CBUISE OF THE CACHALOT. 
 THE LOG OP A SEA WAIF. 
 THE KEN OF THE If ERCHAMT SEKVICE. 
 IDYLLS OF THE SEA. 
 WITH CHRIST AT SEA 
 A SACK OF SHAKIHGS. 
 DEEP SEA PLUNOEIUMGS. 
 WITH CHRIST IN SAILORTOWN. ' 
 
 ■a^BBKi 
 
WORKS BY THE SAME AUTHOR 
 
 WITH CHRIST AT SEA 
 
 A RBUGIOVS AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 
 
 Fifth Edition. Crown 8vo. doth, fo. 
 'There is not a dull page in the whole narrative.'— Times. 
 
 'Thoie who are acquainted with Mr. BuUen'i work will 
 blow that he cannot &il to compel the attention of his reader. 
 He wntes with a sincerity and a simplicity which lend a great 
 charm to aU he does. . . . He ha, much to say of the condi- 
 t.ons ^ the service in which he spent many years, and most of 
 what he teUs u, is extremely interesting. Moreover, to tho«i 
 who love the sea the book is worth reading for its description 
 of the vaned moods, the storm and stress, the cahn benignity, 
 the deliaite pUiy of the ocean on which this religious life is 
 spent'-DAiLY Telegraph. 
 
 Mr. Bullen has told the story of his imier life of faith as it 
 grew am.d the very real hardships and temputions of his life 
 at sea. And by doing so, we do not doubt that he will have 
 given to many men and boys the best help a fellow-man can 
 give m their own struggle with like circumstance. Had he 
 kept his book back for posthumous publication, he would pro- 
 
"*'OJtJI!S BY THi SAME AUTHOR. 
 
 brtly h.ve con«der.bIy le„«.ed, « wdj „ po.tpon.d^h[ 
 food ., .. ccutated .0 do, for U.e help .„ b , >, « of . bio- 
 «r.ph)r .. veor much i„cre.«d by .he con,empo™neou.n... of 
 »• exrci.eacn it record*.'— Spectator. 
 
 • We count thi. one of the most daring book, ever printed^ 
 - book m which a very powerful writer ha. Hiked a great 
 J^puution for Christ-, sake. ,. i, q„i.e a, fascinating J the 
 book that made him, only in another kind of way. For aimple 
 venty.for power to make the thing live before readers, few 
 autobiographies have the power of this. We could not put it 
 down until we were through with it, and as we ».ere going 
 through we could no, command our tears. The book will do a 
 world of good ; and, we say again, the witness is a very brave 
 one, manfully borne."— Methodist Times. 
 
 -A, a human document nothing more interesting of i„ 
 k.nd ha, appeared for many years. . . . No one can doubt on 
 r^mg this book that Mr. BuK.r. h , ,d hi, religion 
 There ., so little to be gained t -.^^ „ , christian 
 at sea that a man who doe, pro e » ■ a C' , „ „ probably 
 
 ■s a Chnsfan. If his rule is made applic b,.- o ,« author of 
 this book the present writer ™cords his i.-, . „ fo, ^^, -^ 
 
 ■s worth, that Mr. Bullen is one who ha, . .ea the Life, and that 
 h.s account of it is interesting and ma„ly..-DA.Lv Chronicle. 
 
 'One of the most popular books that he has written 
 Mr. Bullen. as usual, writes with considerable charm, and win 
 once agam elicit the sympathy and admiration of all who 
 peruse his pages.'-WESTMiNSTER Gazetti. 
 
 London: 
 
 HODDER & STOUGHTON, a, Paternoster Row. 
 
IfOJlXS BY TUB SAME AVTBOR. 
 
 u 
 
 WITH CHRIST IN SAILORTOWN 
 
 With Illustrations. Fcp. 8vo. cloth, is. 6d. 
 
 'It stand, apm from book, of a similar kind, not only 
 because of the writer's unique experience of the sailor's life^ 
 but because of the hi^h litentry gifts which he can bring to h,^ 
 task ; and .t will help the public to know more than they do of 
 an exceUent work which appeals, above all, to Englishmen.' ' 
 
 LlTERATtJRE. 
 
 'Never has the .pathetic side of sailor life been more 
 vividly presented'-BiRMmoHAM Daily Gazette. 
 
 'We congratulate the author without reserve upon the 
 judicious and generous use which he has made of his remark- 
 able ability and popularity.'-MANCHESTBR Guardian. 
 
 'Everybody should buy it, read, mark, leara, and inwardly 
 digest it, aad do all in his power to forward the amelioration 
 and Chriscianisation of our merchant seamen, which implies 
 the creation of an adequate Royal Naval Reserve.'-QUEEN. 
 
 'It is written with sympathy and vivacity; and is full of 
 inimitable touches which throw into relief the manly sympathy 
 and moral courage of the writer, as well as the peculiar needs 
 of the poor fcUows of whom he write, at once so wisely and so 
 well'— Leeds Mercury. 
 
 Ix«idoni HODDER & STOUGHTON, zj Paternoster Row. 
 
 Cp)