THE LIBRARY 
 
 fHE UNIVERSITY 
 
 OF CAL [FORMA 
 
 LOS ANGELES
 
 
 
 ! ; . 1
 
 IMilANDEL W1CHEPN
 
 SIX MONTHS AMONG 
 
 THE CHARITIES OF 
 EUROPE 
 
 BY JOHN DE LIEFDE 
 
 VOLUME I. 
 
 ALEXANDER STRAHAN, PUBLISHER 
 
 148 STRAND, LONDON 
 1865
 
 . 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 IN the autumn of 1862 I left my duties in Holland for 
 a short tour in England. The forenoon after my arrival 
 I found myself seated in the back parlour of Good Words 
 Office in Ludgate Hill, talking with my friend, the 
 publisher of this book. Our conversation happened to 
 turn upon some recent doings in the field of Philan- 
 thropy, and I expressed my admiration of the large- 
 hearted sympathy which the British nation manifested 
 for such labours, and of the interest it took not only in 
 its own Charities, but in philanthropic efforts on the 
 Continent as well. Indeed there is scarcely one of 
 the great Mother- Establishments across the Channel 
 which does not directly or indirectly owe its origin to 
 the influence which the practical spirit of England has 
 exercised upon the Protestant peoples of Europe. The 
 Charities of Germany alone may be counted not by 
 tens and scores, but by hundreds; and I believe that 
 Englishmen may rightly look upon these valuable 
 results as arising, to a considerable extent, from their 
 own liberality and intelligent sympathy. No wonder, 
 then, that accounts of what is being done for the poor 
 on the Continent are received with so much interest 
 in this country. It is only to be regretted that, owing 
 to the large extent to which the work has attained 
 VOL. I. I 
 
 83935O
 
 iv INTRODUCTION. 
 
 during the last thirty years, so much worth knowing 
 remains unknown. 
 
 " Well, could you not help to increase our knowledge 
 of continental philanthropy?" asked my friend; "you 
 are yourself a native of the Continent ; you are ac- 
 quainted with many of the men and their works. Could 
 you not pay a visit to some of the Institutions and tell 
 us what you saw and learnt ? " 
 
 The suggestion was congenial to me, and, on mature 
 consideration, I found it recommended itself too much 
 to my taste not to be accepted with pleasure. I have 
 always been of opinion that nowhere could a better 
 proof of the divine origin of Christianity and of the 
 truth of the Gospel be found than in the story, simply 
 told, of some charitable Institutions. Whatever the 
 Christian religion may apparently have in common with 
 other religions, this much is certain, that true, self- 
 denying charity, which seeks the lost, loves the poor, 
 and consoles the sufferer, is exclusively its own. There 
 never were such things as Charities known in heathen- 
 dom, however civilised ; nor were they even known in 
 Israel before He appeared who taught His people to 
 love their enemies, and to exercise charity towards the 
 harlot, the publican, and the sinner. 
 
 Moreover, the history of charitable Institutions is 
 important in helping to a knowledge of the various 
 stages of pauperism, and of the true principles of poor- 
 reform. It is a wise and just observation which 
 was recently made in the ' Saturday Eeview' * : " One 
 of the great books that might be written would con- 
 tain an, estimate of the condition, the hopes, and the 
 * May 20th, 18G5, p. 591.
 
 INTRODUCTION". v 
 
 dangers, of the poor of Europe. Any one who moves 
 much about England and the Continent finds, at every 
 turning, thoughts suggested to him that he cannot pursue 
 for want of leisure, and, still more, for want of know- 
 ledge. To get at the facts is a matter of the utmost 
 difficulty, and to appreciate them when arrived at is a 
 task which it would require very great practical and 
 speculative power to discharge adequately. The tra- 
 veller sees that everywhere there seem to be some 
 advantages and some disadvantages. In some respects 
 the poor of the particular country through which he is 
 passing appear to be fortunate, in others to be unfor- 
 tunate. But to strike the balance is as hard as to 
 discover the causes of this relative superiority or 
 inferiority." 
 
 I hope no one will accuse me of arrogance in claiming 
 to have brought together some information bearing 
 directly on the subject of the work thus proposed. But 
 no one can feel more than I do how unsatisfactory my 
 book is when looked at alongside of the ideal sketched 
 in the above extract. 
 
 During 1863 I began my visits to the Charities of the 
 Continent. It took me about two months to visit ten of 
 them, some of which were situated in remote corners of 
 Germany. I returned home with my memorandum- 
 book full of notes, and my portmanteau full of printed 
 reports. It took many a weary hour to peruse these 
 attentively, and to arrange the facts in such a way 
 as to enable me to draw up what I hoped would be a 
 correct picture of the several Institutions. I cannot say 
 that this preparatory work was the most agreeable part 
 of my task. We all know what it is to sit down to
 
 vi INTRODUCTION. 
 
 read a report. The subject may be interesting enough, 
 and have all our sympathy ; but to plod honestly through 
 hundreds of pages of administrative matter, financial 
 calculations, statistics, tables, names, and figures, is apt to 
 damp one's enthusiasm. Now I had not only to read one 
 report, but sometimes ten, fifteen, even thirty, succes- 
 sively, to learn the history of each Establishment from 
 its origin. I must confess that many a time, when 
 sitting between the piles of documents, I felt like the 
 boy in the fairy tale, who had to eat his way through an 
 immense rice-mountain before he could enter the land 
 where the golden apples blossomed. Then, again, after 
 having arranged the ten or twenty reports of a certain 
 Institution, I sometimes found that the third, or the 
 sixth, or the ninth was wanting. I then remembered 
 that, on receiving the documents from the hand of the 
 Secretary, I was told that, much to his grief, the missing 
 ones were out of print ; so nothing was left for me but 
 to try to weave my web from broken threads. Some- 
 times also I found that my written annotations clashed 
 here and there with the printed reports, and I had there- 
 fore to stop work till, through correspondence, the dis- 
 crepancies were rectified. Once or twice even a second 
 journey to the respective establishments was required to 
 arrive at the truth of the matter. And after having in 
 this way struggled through half-a-dozen of those pam- 
 phlets, I would sometimes discover that the Institution 
 to which they referred was less fit for my book than I 
 had at first expected; not because it was wanting in 
 importance, but because it presented nothing beyond 
 what other and still more important Institutions pre- 
 sented better. So, out of the ten Establishments which
 
 INTRODUCTION. vii 
 
 I visited on my first journey, only six were left, to 
 which I deemed it wise to devote the time and care of 
 a full account. Another couple of months were spent 
 in 1863 in visiting some Institutions in the middle 
 States of Germany and the North of France ; and two 
 months in 1864 were devoted to visiting the Eauhe 
 Haus, Kaiserswerth, the Deaconess House in Paris, and 
 a few Institutions in the South of France. I visited on 
 the whole twenty-six Institutions. Out of these I have 
 selected fifteen, the history of which I have now the 
 pleasure of bringing before the notice of my readers. 
 
 After I had returned from my first journey it was 
 clear to me that I would have to abstain from writing 
 critical essays upon the Establishments which I had 
 visited. Indeed, I have not allowed myself on any 
 occasion to pronounce a criticism either upon persons, 
 their ways of administration, or their methods of manage- 
 ment. I felt that a visit of only a few days to Institu- 
 tions, which were the result of the care and skill of men 
 who for years had devoted their life to nothing else, was 
 much too short to give me the right of censuring even 
 what appeared to me to be defective. To have that 
 right I ought to have spent six months at least in each 
 Institution, and to be possessed of a much riper experi- 
 ence in the sphere of philanthropy and poor-reform than 
 I can boast of. On the other hand, I have not hesitated 
 occasionally to express an opinion upon principles and 
 systems, because these are always open to discussion. 
 
 I trust no reader, when taking this book in hand, will 
 expect to find a model of good English writing. I feel 
 assured that scarcely a couple of pages can be perused 
 before it be discovered that the author is not an Eng-
 
 viii INTRODUCTION. 
 
 lishman. The book from which I obtained my first 
 lessons in the English language was the Bible. Indeed, 
 but for it, I should often have been at a loss to find words 
 to express what I wanted to say. No wonder, then, if 
 this book should appear somewhat biblical in its style. 
 I only hope that it will not prove less biblical in the 
 thoughts which it expresses and the principles which it 
 advocates. At all events, I can say that, while writing it, 
 I always tried to take my stand upon the Word of God. 
 This principle, even from the very first, guided me in 
 selecting the Institutions which I should visit. But 
 whatever there may be defective in my language and 
 style, if I have only succeeded in expressing myself 
 intelligibly enough to make my readers understand the 
 power of faith in God's Word, and the riches of the love 
 of Christ as manifested in the works of devout men, I 
 shall deem myself amply rewarded for the labour which 
 Providence has graciously enabled me to accomplish. 
 
 LONDON, October, 1865.
 
 Contents of Uol. 5, 
 
 THE EAUHE HAUS AT HOEN. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 I. HOW I FOUND THE RAUHE HAUS AND WHAT IT WAS 
 THIETY-TWO YEAES AGO WlCHERN AND HIS FIRST 
 FAMILY 3 
 
 II. THE SWISS-HOUSE THE GREEN FIB THE GOLD 
 
 BOTTOM THE CHAPEL 16 
 
 III. THE BEEHIVE THE SWALLOWS' NEST THE FISHERS' 
 
 COTTAGE THE VINE-HILL 28 
 
 IV. THE SCHO"NBURG THE SONG-FEAST THE LABOUR- 
 
 FEAST THE ORGANIZATION OF THE FAMILIES . . . . 41 
 
 V. THE BRETHREN OF THE KAUHE HAUS THEIR DIVISION 
 
 INTO SMALL FAMILIES CALLED CONVICTS THE CANDI- 
 DATE OF THEOLOGY 52 
 
 VI. THE WORK OF THE BRETHREN OUTSIDE THE KAUHE 
 
 HAUS THEIR UNION INTO A BROTHERHOOD .. .. 61 
 
 VII. THE INNER MISSION AND ITS RELATION TO THE EAUHE 
 
 HAUS BROTHERHOOD 72 
 
 < 
 VIII. FINAL GLANCE AT THE KAUHE HAUS FAMILY LIFE THE 
 
 FAMILY-WORSHIP AND LITURGY FAMILY DISCIPLINE 
 THE PATRONAGE ' 83 
 
 IX, KESULTS OF THE WORK, RULES AND REGULATIONS, STA- 
 TISTICS, ETC 92
 
 x CONTENTS OF VOL. I. 
 
 THE DEACONESS HOUSE AT KAISERSWERTH. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 I. A VISIT TO KAISEKSWEKTH GERTRUDE KEICHARDT, 
 THE FIRST DEACONESS A GLANCE AT THE ESTABLISH- 
 MENTS AT KAISERSWERTH 103 
 
 II. PASTOR FLIEDNER'S EARLY LABOURS 125 
 
 III. PASTOR FLIEDNEH'S LAST HOURS 134 
 
 IV. PASTOR FLIEDNER'S LIFE, CHARACTER, AND SPIRIT . . . . 142 
 
 V. DEACONESSES AND SISTERHOODS VIEWED AS CHRISTIAN 
 
 AND GERMAN PROTESTANT INSTITUTIONS 157 
 
 FATHER ZELLER'S SCHOOL AT BEUGGEN. 
 I. THE Two FRIENDS 179 
 
 II. How A HOUSE OF DEATH AND DESOLATION WAS CHANGED 
 
 INTO AN ABODE OF LIFE AND JOY 188 
 
 III. How MR. ZELLER MADE MANY RICH BY MAKING HIMSELF 
 
 POOR 197 
 
 IV. OBJECT AND ORGANIZATION OF THE BEUGGEN SCHOOL . . 206 
 V. A GLANCE AT THE HISTORY OF THE SCHOOL 218 
 
 VI. SOME FEATURES OF MR. ZELLER'S CHARACTER AS A 
 
 CHRISTIAN TEACHER 232 
 
 VII. MR. ZELLEH'S LAST DAYS THE PRESENT STATE OF THE 
 
 SCHOOL .. .. .. 249 
 
 THE DEACON HOUSE AT DUISBURG. 
 
 I. INTRODUCTORY 267 
 
 II. ORGANIZATION AND SPIRIT OF THE ESTABLISHMENT . . . . 281 
 
 III. SOME ACCOUNT OF THE LABOURS OF THE DEACONS IN 
 
 SDLESIA, BRANDENBURG, THE SOUTH OF KUSSIA, AND 
 SCHLESWIG 295 
 
 IV. THE SUNDAY JOURNAL KEGULATIONS AND STATISTICS 323
 
 CONTENTS OF VOL. I. xi 
 
 THE ASYLUM FOE DISCHAEGED PEISONEES 
 AND NEGLECTED MEN, AT LINTOEF. 
 
 PAGK 
 
 I. ORIGIN OF THE ASYLUM PASTOR DIETRICH'S TRIALS 
 
 AND SUCCESS . . . . 335 
 
 II. THE ORGANIZATION AND FAMILY-LIFE OF THE ASYLUM . . 348 
 
 THE ESTABLISHMENT FOE INDIGENT CHIL- 
 DEEN AT NEUHOF. 
 
 I. THE HISTORY OF PHILIPPE JACOB WURTZ, THE JOINER . . 3*39 
 III. THE FOUNDATION OE THE NEUHOF ESTABLISHMENT . . 378 
 
 III. ORGANISATION AND PROGRESS OF THE INSTITUTION . . . . 392 
 
 IV. KESULTS PRESENT STATE OF THE ESTABLISHMENT 
 
 STATISTICS .. .. 407
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS TO VOL. I. 
 
 Immanuel Wicliern Frontispiece. 
 
 THE EAUHE HAUS PAGE 
 
 The Old Kauhe Haus 7 
 
 The Swiss House 17 
 
 The Green Fir 19 
 
 The Gold Bottom 21 
 
 The Bookbinding Office 23 
 
 The Chapel 25 
 
 Interior of the Chapel 27 
 
 The Beehive 31 
 
 The Swallows' Nests 33 
 
 The Fishers' Cottage 35 
 
 Dr. Wichern's House 37 
 
 The Vine-Hill 39 
 
 TheSchonburg 43 
 
 Plan of the Kauhe Haus 99 
 
 KAISERSWERTH 
 
 Deaconess Institution and Hospital . . . . 105 
 
 The House of Best 107 
 
 Seminary for Schoolmistresses Ill 
 
 Institution for Insane Women 114 
 
 Salem, near Batiugen 116 
 
 The Orphan-House at Altorf 117 
 
 Theodor Fliedner 134 
 
 "BEUGGEN 
 
 The Poor-School 206 
 
 Christian Heinrich Zeller 232 
 
 LTNTORF 
 
 The Evangelical Asylum 347
 
 (NEAR HAMBURG). 
 
 VOL. I.
 
 I. 
 
 HOW I FOUKD THE KAUHE HAUS AND WHAT IT WAS THIRTY- 
 TWO YEARS AGO WlCHEKN AND HIS FIEST FAMILY. 
 
 IT was a pity I could not have visited this lovely 
 rural place in summer. Unexpected circum- 
 stances compelled me to delay my journey from month 
 to month till it was about the middle of November, 
 1864, when I found myself sitting in the omnibus 
 that regularly plies between Hamburg and the little 
 neighbouring village of Horn. It was a bright 
 autumn morning, and, what I observed from the 
 window of the clumsy but comfortable conveyance 
 convinced me that the road, lined on each side 
 with a row of now leafless trees, must be very 
 pretty in summer. After half an hour's drive the 
 coachman alighted from his box, and, courteously 
 opening the door, told me that the narrow foot- 
 path, at the entrance of which we stopped, led 
 to the Eauhe Haus. He also said something about 
 "steps," but, before I could ask particulars, he 
 had again enthroned himself. So the lumbering 
 vehicle turned its back upon me, and I found 
 myself alone at the bottom of a rising footpath, 
 which on the left was walled in by an elevated 
 
 B 2
 
 4 THE EAUHE HAUS AT HOEN. 
 
 field rising four or five feet above my head. 
 After having climbed up a few yards I noticed 
 some stone steps cut in this earthen wall; but, 
 as I did not know what the coachman had said 
 about them, and they looked rather dirty and 
 slippery, I preferred walking on by the footpath, 
 which I calculated must soon bring me to a level 
 with the field. And so it was. After a few minutes' 
 walk I found myself on a wide track of ground, 
 dotted here and there with farms and groves and 
 fields extending as far as my eye could see. But 
 the Eauhe Haus I saw not, at least there was no 
 building visible near or far that looked like a 
 reformatory or any such establishment. The nearest 
 house which I saw to my left seemed to be a farm- 
 house, with a garden and a barn. Behind it I 
 noticed the steeple of a church. This, I thought, 
 is, most likely, a hamlet of the village of Horn. 
 But where in the world is the Eauhe Haus ? 
 
 There were a dozen boys playing in a field at a 
 small distance. As they were the only human 
 beings to be seen within three miles round, nothing 
 was left for me but to consult them. 
 
 " Wo ist das Rauhe Haus?" I asked them. 
 
 They looked up rather doggedly, without stopping 
 their game, and gave no answer. 
 
 " Don't you know where the Eauhe Haus is?" 
 I repeated rather impatiently. 
 
 " No;" some voices cried, and on went the game. 
 
 "Did anybody ever see the like of this?" I
 
 THE EUGE Hoos." 5 
 
 said to myself. " It is really too absurd that I should 
 have to come all the way from London to tell 
 these boys that there is such a thing here as the 
 Eauhe Haus." 
 
 " But don't you really know the house where all 
 the boys are kept?" I cried. They must know that, 
 at any rate, I thought. 
 
 " Ah, you mean the Euge Hoos ! " several boys 
 cried in a strong patois accent. " Why, there it is, 
 just before you." 
 
 They pointed to the house which I had taken 
 for a farmhouse. I now saw that the mistake was 
 on my side. The name Eauhe Haus, which in 
 German means rough house, is an awkward trans- 
 lation of the original patois name into the more 
 aristocratic German. The house was built some one 
 or two hundred years ago, by a certain Mr. Euge, 
 who was, perhaps, as little of a rough fellow as need 
 be. The people knew it ever since by the name of 
 its founder, " Euge's house ; " but as the Platt-Deutsch 
 or Saxon word ruge is the same as the English rough 
 and the Dutch ruig, learned men thought that it 
 ought to be translated by the corresponding German 
 word rauh, just as the French tourist translated 
 " Coward House " by la Maison du poltron. The 
 boys, however, knew nothing of this scientific de- 
 velopment, and continued calling the house by the 
 name which good old Mr. Euge had thought proper 
 to give it. Sancta simplidtas ! 
 
 I retraced my steps to the gate which led to the
 
 6 THE KAUHE HAUS AT HORN. 
 
 supposed farmhouse. No sooner had I reached its 
 front door than a charming view presented itself 
 to my gazing eyes. An extensive garden, planted 
 with elms, chesnut-trees, old sturdy oaks, and other 
 trees and shrubs, and laid out like a park, was lying 
 within the range of a dozen houses of various 
 sizes and shapes, scattered over an area of about 
 twelve or fifteen acres. Broad well-hoed and 
 raked paths, covered with yellow sand; wound 
 elegantly round the green grass plots towards the 
 arable patches of land, whose dark-brown hue 
 loomed up in the distance. In the centre of this 
 little Eden a church-like building, of an elegant 
 but simple construction, stood out, pointing with 
 its slender steeple towards that world where a 
 still fairer Paradise blossoms. A perfectly still 
 autumn day spread its peaceful spirit over the whole 
 landscape, as if lulling it asleep after the fatigues of 
 a busy summer. Nor was there any living creature 
 noticeable at the moment The whole scene exhi- 
 bited such an image of peace and happiness as one 
 is prepared to enjoy when witnessing the wonderful 
 works of Christian faith and charity. 
 
 So this was the Eauhe Haus ; not one large build- 
 ing merely, but a number of buildings, with gardens 
 and woodland, and fields ; in fact, a whole colony. 
 Of course, I should have been prepared for this, 
 after having read Stevenson's admirable and detailed 
 description of the grand institution. 1 But, such is 
 1 ' Praying and Working,' p. 61-196.
 
 THE OLD EAUHE HAUS. 7 
 
 the power of words, that when hearing the name 
 Rauhe Haw, you cannot help thinking of one build- 
 ing only, until by sight you rectify the false im- 
 pression of the sound. Still, the original old Kauhe 
 House is there that venerable cottage, with the 
 thatched roof and wood-framed walls, sheltered under 
 the broad foliage of a gigantic chestnut-tree. It 
 is almost breaking down under the weight of 
 old age, although faithfully propped by the re- 
 pairing skill of grateful piety. For no Rauh- 
 hausler such is the name the denizens of this 
 colony go by from the first teacher down to the 
 smallest child, can forget that tin's was the roof under 
 which Dr. Wichern, then a young Candidat, 1 and 
 his mother, and the first boys whom he plucked out 
 of the fire of moral perdition, spent their happy 
 years, till the house was full, and a second and 
 a third, and a twelfth were built. In those days 
 this small farm -cottage was the only building 
 here. Surrounded by a few acres of ground, and 
 fenced in by a high earthen wall, it was dull, 
 gloomy-looking, and convent-like. And yet the 
 young Candidat thanked God that he had obtained 
 it, and was able to make a commencement of the 
 work, which he and his friends had so long and so 
 fervently prayed for, and which had cost him so 
 many a sleepless night, when dear hopes disap- 
 peared in clouds, and plans all but realised fell to 
 
 1 Candidat a theological student who has passed his examination 
 at the university, and is licensed to take orders.
 
 THE EAUHE HAUS AT HORN. 
 
 the ground. What a wonderful, irresistible power 
 of growth there is in even the smallest grain, 
 when sown in faith, dewed by prayer, and nursed 
 by love ! 
 
 Hamburg is well known to the merchant and the 
 banker, but not less to the spendthrift and the man 
 of pleasure. Statistics of 1848 show that out of every 
 five children born one was illegitimate. And the peep 
 into the condition of the lower and poor class, which 
 further statistics give, is something quite horrible. 
 Preparations for that great work of the Inner Mission, 
 of which Wichern was by Providence destined to be 
 the representative, if not the father, were already 
 made by such men as Falck at Weimar, Zeller at 
 Beuggen, and Count von der Eecke Volmerstein 
 at Overdyk. They had established Rettungshduser, 
 i. e., houses of refuge and redemption for the aban- 
 doned and neglected children, the offspring of sin 
 and profligacy, of misery and destitution. Their 
 example fired the mind of the young Candidat, so 
 that he could get no rest till a similar institution 
 was provided for Hamburg. Gold and silver he 
 had not, nor had he influence with the princes 
 of this world; but he had something better. His 
 was the faith that conquers the world, and the love 
 stronger than death. As a Sunday-school teacher, 
 and as a visitor of the poor, he had become ac- 
 quainted with the awful corruption that pervaded all 
 classes of society, but especially the lower. That 
 neither the Church nor the State was able to cure
 
 DR. WICHERN. 9 
 
 this frightfully increasing evil was at once clear to 
 him. Free Christian charity could alone be the 
 physician here. A Eettungshaus must be founded 
 for rescuing at least the children, since the case of 
 the adults was hopeless. Not in Hamburg, of course ; 
 for that would be keeping the children in the very 
 atmosphere they ought to be removed from, but near 
 Hamburg, somewhere down in the country, where 
 fresh air and wholesome labour would invigorate the 
 body, and a Christian family life, carried on with 
 patriarchal simplicity, would revive the spirit. 
 
 These were the thoughts which on one October even- 
 ing in 1832 he discussed with his friends, the mem- 
 bers of the Visiting Society men like himself, richer 
 in faith and love than in silver and gold. The im- 
 portance of the matter forced itself so mightily upon 
 their hearts that they solemnly promised one another 
 to give their minds no rest till the Rettungshaus 
 was prayed down from heaven ; for praying was the 
 only thing they could do for the present, but this they 
 did with all their heart. When meeting on the street 
 after this, they would whisper into each other's ear : 
 " You don't forget praying for the Rettungshaus, do 
 you ?" Such knocks at the door of the heavenly bank 
 were too telling not to be heard. One day a Govern- 
 ment secretary, who knew nothing of the matter, 
 handed 15?. to one of the friends. It was given to him 
 by a colleague of his, " to be spent for some charit- 
 able purpose ; if at all possible, for some establishment 
 yet to be founded." A few weeks later, a clergyman,
 
 10 THE BAUHE HAUS AT HORN. 
 
 to whom the distribution of a bequest for charitable 
 purposes was entrusted, assigned 1050?. to the pro- 
 posed Kettungshaus. Who can picture to himself 
 the joy of Wichern and his friends ? The case now 
 having become publicly known, gifts began to pour in. 
 Even servants gave their mites; and one mechanic 
 emptied his spare box on the table of one of the 
 friends, covering it with coins of every description, 
 gold, silver, and copper, the savings of many a year's 
 hard labour. 
 
 A few days later another table was covered, but with 
 a map instead of money. It was in the village of Horn, 
 and in the parlour of a wealthy landed proprietor, 
 Mr. Sieveking, the syndic. Wichern stood by the 
 table, and looked with a throbbing heart at the map 
 on which Mr. Sieveking pointed out a house and a piece 
 of ground, which he was willing to give for the esta- 
 blishment. Happier than a king, Wichern returned 
 to Hamburg to tell his friends the glad news ; but, 
 alas ! here he was to experience the truth of the pro- 
 verb, that between the cup and the lip there is many 
 a slip. The next week the clergyman informed him 
 that he could not pay the 1050/., as the bequest 
 was contested at law ; and upon further examination 
 it was found that Mr. Sieveking's house and land 
 were unfit for the purpose. People, upon hearing of 
 these disappointments, became discouraged, and many 
 a well-wisher withdrew. It was mooted that the 
 matter was a perfect failure ; and Wichern and his 
 friends were left alone, just at the point where they
 
 MR. SlEVEKING THE SYNDIC. 11 
 
 were two months ago, when they had plenty of wishes 
 but no money. 
 
 But their Heavenly Friend withdrew not. Nor 
 did they withdraw from His footstool. And soon 
 they were delivered from adversity and restored 
 to their former prosperity. The lawsuit ended 
 in their favour; nay, they even received a larger 
 sum than was originally assigned to them. And 
 Mr. Sieveking had no rest either. He looked again 
 at the map, and again, and his attention fell upon 
 another property of his, called Huge JSbos. But 
 there was no thinking of it, since it was rented for 
 many a year. Still he walked up to the house one 
 morning, only to look at it ; and, lo ! no sooner had 
 he reached its front door than its tenant met him, 
 with a humble request to be permitted to break the 
 lease and to leave. " Well, I will think over it," 
 Mr. Sieveking said ; and the next day Wichern was 
 on the spot, and two hearts were gladdened that of 
 the tenant by the permission to go out, and that of 
 Wichern by the permission to come in. 
 
 Courage now came flying back to the faint-hearted, 
 and the number of well-wishers again increased with 
 the day. Now that Wichern's faith had created money, 
 brick, and mortar money, brick, and mortar in their 
 turn created faith among his friends. It is the 
 old story : some men' see because they believe, and 
 others believe because they see ; and as soon as faith 
 obtains what it sees, both parties may in practice go 
 together a great length. Some say it is only a dif-
 
 12 THE KAUHE HAUS AT HOEN. 
 
 ference of taste or habit : very well, call it so. But 
 the former are, after all, the blessed ; l and rightly 
 so, for they do the best and chief part of the work. 
 
 A large meeting was held on the 12th of Sep- 
 tember, 1833, at which resolutions were carried with 
 enthusiastic applause, and a Society formed. On 
 the 1st of November, Wichern, his mother by his 
 side, entered the Rauhe Haus, to begin the great 
 work which the Saviour of the lost had prepared 
 for him. Before a week had elapsed three boys came, 
 and the year had not closed when there were twelve, 
 with which the little house was quite full. 
 
 This was the first family. Wichern slept with 
 them in the same bed-room, and took his meals with 
 them in the same parlour. It was not exactly the 
 most agreeable company one could wish for one's 
 pleasure. Eight of them were illegitimate; four 
 were brought up by drunken and criminal parents ; 
 one lad was known to the police for ninety-two 
 thefts ; one had escaped from prison. They were a 
 lot of young savages, accustomed to live upon rob- 
 bery, to amuse themselves with hazardous enter- 
 prises behind the policeman's back, to sleep under 
 a bridge or on a staircase, to curse their fathers in 
 return for parental curses, and to beat their mothers 
 when scolded for coming home with empty hands. 
 But Wichern and his mother were but too happy to 
 have them. Here was something for which to pray 
 and to suffer, to wrestle and to toil. And what could 
 
 1 John xx. 29.
 
 THE FIKST FAMILY. 13 
 
 love more delight in, provided there were some like- 
 lihood of saving a few ? Certainly it was an arduous 
 task for the young man, who never had such work in 
 hand before. But what he lacked in experience was 
 made up by his kind mother's wisdom. And true 
 genuine love imparts a wonderful talent for the work 
 of training, inasmuch as it is guided by the Spirit of 
 God, and draws every day fresh knowledge from the 
 inexhaustible wells of His word. The problem which 
 was to be grappled with was, how to win the con- 
 fidence of young liars and thieves who distrusted 
 everybody; how to make obedience a pleasure to 
 young rascals who were resolved to obey nobody ; and 
 how to reconcile with an orderly and decent life 
 young vagabonds who claimed the liberty of turning 
 day into night, of running half-naked about the 
 streets, and of dining off potatoe-skins and other offal, 
 with a pudding of tallow, such as is used for greasing 
 shoes, by way of an additional dainty. This problem 
 only faith in a Divine Saviour could solve. 
 
 The great love of God in Jesus Christ, who hates 
 sin but rescues the sinner, was the constant theme 
 of conversation in this family. It was exempli- 
 fied in the way in which Wichern dealt with 
 each of its members. The boys learnt from him 
 the existence of that love "which is plenteous in 
 forgiveness, which believeth all things and hopeth 
 all things, and endureth all things, and yet rejoiceth 
 not in iniquity but in truth." Regular labour in 
 the field and in the workshop soon came to be
 
 14 THE KAUHE HAUS AT HORN. 
 
 liked as a recreation, and the school-teaching as an 
 amusement. Freedom, too, was honoured as a queen. 
 That ugly earth-bank, which enclosed the place like 
 a prison, was dug away amidst loud hurrahs. Every- 
 body could run away now whenever he liked. But 
 nobody did, or the few who tried came back of their 
 own accord. They found, after all, that the Euge 
 Hoos was the best place anybody could dream of. 
 
 One of the most striking proofs that Providence 
 had gifted Wichern with an extraordinary genius for 
 administrative philanthropy, and with uncommon wis- 
 dom in the training of children, was afforded by his 
 adoption of the family system, which was afterwards 
 so successfully imitated at the French and Dutch Met- 
 trays. When the old Eauhe Haus was full with 
 its twelve children, he did not think of enlarging 
 it to hold more. He felt that this patriarchal 
 number was quite sufficient for a man to bestow his 
 parental affection and care upon. Though the 
 children never called him by the title of " father " 
 a hackneyed orphan-house term which he could not 
 bear yet nevertheless he loved them, and felt con- 
 cerned about them as a father. But he perceived, 
 too, that he would come to lose the feeling of a 
 father, if he allowed his family to swell beyond the 
 range which nature has drawn for the duties of a 
 parent. There was room enough for building a 
 house for a second family, and he had no objection 
 to enlarge the place for more houses ; but to enlarge 
 the house for more children never !
 
 NEW FAMILY-HOUSES. 15 
 
 Upon this principle several family-houses were 
 successively built in the course of the ensuing 
 years. They are very pretty little buildings, scat- 
 tered all over the place in a rather irregular order ; 
 because the one was built before it was known 
 where the next one was to be located. They take 
 their names from their peculiar form, or from some 
 peculiar event, or other circumstance. 
 
 And so there are " The Swiss House," and " The 
 Green Fir," and " The Gold Bottom," and The Bee- 
 Hive," and several others, all peopled Vvith little fami- 
 lies of boys or girls. The custom is introduced of 
 celebrating the anniversary of the foundation of each 
 house in a festival way. Then the house is adorned 
 with wreaths and flowers. The family has a holiday, 
 and a large cake for a treat. The families of the 
 other houses meet with that family at the prayer- 
 room to offer up thanks for the blessings which it has 
 been favoured with during the past year. The history 
 of the foundation, and of some events concerning that 
 house, are read ; and thus every family keeps up an 
 interest in its own dwelling place, while at the same 
 time all the children every year hear an account of 
 the origin and progress of the entire Institution. 
 The histories of these houses are collected into a book 
 called The Festival Book."
 
 II. 
 
 THE SWISS-HOUSE THE GREEN FIR THE GOLD BOTTOM 
 THE CHAPEL. 
 
 TTTHEN people in Hamburg heard that the young 
 Candidat and his twelve little savages were 
 really doing remarkably well, and that it was a 
 happy life over there at the Huge Hoos, many a one 
 came to admit that, after all, he must not be such 
 a fool as they had taken him for at first. Many 
 a poor parent, who was at a loss how to manage 
 his wayward boy, began earnestly to wish that he 
 were one of the twelve ; and many a philanthropist, 
 when falling in with a young wretch or vagabond, 
 could not help thinking, " What a blessing it would 
 be to take you to the Candidat!" So applications 
 without number came in during the winter, and had 
 there been ten houses like the old Euge Hoos, they 
 would all have been filled within a few months. The 
 matter was every day spoken of in the family, and 
 the boys longed for nothing more eagerly than to see 
 a second house rise. "Very well," Wichern said, 
 " but then you must live in it yourselves, and I will 
 take twelve fresh boys in your stead." This was, 
 perhaps, not exactly what they wanted, as they were
 
 THE Swiss HOUSE. 
 
 17 
 
 attached to him heart and soul. But an excellent 
 young teacher had recently arrived from Switzerland 
 and won the heart of the boys, and they thought 
 they would be very happy at the new house if he 
 would come along with them. So the work was 
 resolved upon, and when the mason and the car- 
 penter appeared with their tools and materials, the 
 
 The Swiss House. 
 
 boys stood ready, axe and spade in hand, to do their 
 duty with might and main. With merry, sportful ac- 
 tivity the whole band assisted, on the llth of March, 
 1834, in digging up the site of the new building; 
 and at one o'clock the good Syndic Sieveking laid the 
 foundation-stone. Now young and old worked away 
 from dawn till dusk, impatient to see the beautiful 
 plan of " The Swiss House " realized. It was as if the 
 VOL. i. c
 
 18 THE KAUHE HAUS AT HORN. 
 
 house grew up like a tree. On the 16th of April 
 the gable was finished, and the master-carpenter, 
 taking his place on an elevation before the house, 
 and doffing his cap, delivered the " Gable-Speech " to 
 his fellow-labourers. It was a piece of poetry, of 
 course, in which his Muse described the progress 
 of the work and the destination of the building. 
 It was joyfully responded to by a hymn of the 
 boys : 
 
 " Now praise ye all the Lord 
 With heart and mouth and hands." 
 
 On the 20th of July the house was ready, with 
 its picturesque outside staircase leading up to the 
 first floor, and its protruding roof and gable. Friends 
 came from Hamburg and other places to see the new 
 building, now adorned like a bride with wreaths 
 and flowery garlands ; and in its chief parlour 
 an organ, a present from a well-wisher, who could 
 not bear the idea that there should be no instrument 
 to accompany the merry songs of the happy Bauh- 
 hausler. It was a joyful festival. The clergyman of 
 Horn preached a sermon, and many friends present 
 added words of congratulation and encouragement. 
 The next day the twelve boys, their house-father 
 at their head, marched in solemn procession from 
 the old house to the new one. "A new house 
 a new heart," Wichern said to them on parting. 
 " May all things be new with you henceforth and for 
 ever."
 
 THE GREEN FIE. 
 
 19 
 
 Such were the ceremonies and festivals which were 
 afterwards observed at the construction of every new 
 house. More than thirty years have elapsed since, 
 and many changes have taken place in this Swiss 
 House. At present it is used as the printing-office, 
 with the exception of the first floor, which is in- 
 habited by two Brethren and a few boys. 
 
 The Green Fir. 
 
 It was not long before Wichern had his twelve 
 boys complete again at the old house; and even a 
 third family was springing up, which was tempo- 
 rarily located at the Swiss House, where there were 
 a few rooms unappropriated. But what was urgently 
 wanted was a house for girls. Hitherto none had 
 been received, and this solely from want of accommo- 
 
 c 2
 
 20 THE EAUHE HAUS AT HOKN. 
 
 dation. Besides, a large kitchen was wanted, and a 
 washhouse and an infirmary. It was therefore settled 
 that the best plan would be to build a large house 
 where these apartments could be combined, and which 
 would also have a spacious thrashing-floor, to serve at 
 the same time as a meeting-place for family worship 
 the inmates already amounting to fifty individuals. 
 Wichern could then settle in it with the boys, and 
 leave the old house to the girls. And what was 
 purposed was done. The foundation-stone was laid 
 on the 31st of May, 1835, and in October Wichern 
 removed with his family to the new spacious build- 
 ing, that, some years later, obtained the name of 
 " The Green Fir " (Die Grriine Tanne), in honour of the 
 Christmas-tree, which every year proves the centre 
 of such fraternal fellowship, and the source of so 
 much hallowed pleasure to the inmates of the Bauhe 
 Haus. 
 
 "Labour has a gold bottom," says an old well- 
 known German proverb. Wichern constantly in- 
 culcated this into the minds of his boys. To keep 
 them mindful of it he gave the name of "The 
 Gold Bottom" (Der Goldene Boderi) to the fourth 
 house, which was destined for workshops. That 
 there was urgent need of such an establishment 
 may be gathered from what Wichern said of 
 it in his festival address at the anniversary of this 
 building : 
 
 " I wish, my friends, all of you could have seen
 
 DR. WICHERN'S FESTIVAL ADDRESS. 21 
 
 how matters stood with us in the first winter 
 (1833), and in the spring of 1834. In those days, 
 when there was no other house than the old one, the 
 boys had to act all parts, and do everything. They 
 were, each in his turn, chambermaids and char- 
 women; they sewed, mended, and darned; they 
 were cooks and washerwomen. These kinds of work 
 
 The Gold Bottom. 
 
 done, they walked out to the garden and the field. 
 But what were we to do when wind and snow unmer- 
 cifully drove us out of the garden ? Early in the 
 morning, and late in the evening, the boys con- 
 tentedly put up with the school, but during the day 
 they wanted some work for their hands. But what? 
 And where? And how? We should have been at 
 our wits' ends had not our garden grown a relief.
 
 22 THE EAUHE HAUS AT HORN. 
 
 Near the pond, over where the silver-white birches 
 are, a large Canadian poplar, with an air of 
 self-complacency and arrogance, lifted up its tall 
 form to the sky. Who could love that tree? It 
 was such a fluttering, silly fellow, giving no shade 
 whatever, and looking like a living fright and an 
 embodied weakness. But its wood might be turned 
 to profit, and so we resolved to cut it down. What a 
 hurrah ! Axe and spade in hand, all pounced upon 
 him; and though some strokes came down rather 
 left-handedly, yet at length the old fellow had to bend, 
 and his high top to kiss the ground. And now de- 
 struction came down upon him in its full weight. 
 Saws ran through his body, and axes cut off his 
 members. Soon he was divided into large blocks. 
 Now secret thoughts as to what was to be done 
 with him were revealed. We had become aware 
 that shoes and boots are expensive articles, and 
 we thought wooden slippers or clogs would better 
 answer the purpose. That was why we wanted to 
 have that old fellow's flesh and bones. We borrowed 
 a chopping-bench and a large knife from a neigh- 
 bour, and our dear W was the first who tried to 
 
 fabricate a wooden slipper by means of these rusty 
 instruments. He made but a poor thing of it at 
 first, but at last he succeeded wonderfully well, and 
 
 all of us cried, 'Well done, W !' Now the 
 
 other boys were put to work, and soon we stood 
 in slippers like kings. Then other wants sug-
 
 DE. WICHERN'S FESTIVAL ADDEESS. 23 
 
 gested other labours. Our friends E and G 
 
 applied themselves to making matches; others cut 
 spoons, which we thought would be a great saving, 
 but it proved scarcely worth the trouble. Still 
 all this gave scope for exercise, and we went on 
 in this way, trying what our hands could do, till 
 
 The Bookbinding Office. 
 
 we succeeded better and better. It is true our 
 workshop at that time was only a miserable barn, 
 the walls of which threatened to collapse ; and 
 it was so wretchedly narrow, that every one stood in 
 the way of his neighbour. Still there was a good 
 germ in that ugly-looking hut, and it sprouted up 
 beautifully in the spring of 1834." 
 
 The speaker then related how one trade after
 
 24 THE EAUHE HAUS AT HORN. 
 
 another grew; how some boys gradually took to 
 joinery, and others to tailoring, and others to baking 
 the bread for the house, &c.; and how at length 
 necessity compelled the building of the Gold Bottom, 
 which was finished in 1836. It is an oblong build- 
 ing, twenty-four feet by eighty, and of two stories. 
 The upper one contains a garret, a dwelling for 
 twelve boys, and a dwelling for half a dozen of 
 Brethren, who, while assistiog in training the boys, 
 are themselves trained as agents of the Inner 
 Mission. The ground-floor contains three tailors' 
 shops, two shoemakers' shops, a slipper-maker's shop, 
 a wool-spinning shop for boys, and a joiner's shop 
 with benches. l 
 
 The thrashing-floor of the Green Fir soon became 
 too strait for the increasing number of attendants. 
 Between seventy and eighty people came, every 
 morning and evening, to family worship. A prayer- 
 house was urgently wanted; but where was the 
 money to come from ? Happily one day intelligence 
 arrived that some friends in America had sent a con- 
 siderable sum. This was the signal for the com- 
 mencement of the eagerly desired work, and on the 7th 
 
 1 The printing-office is on the ground-floor of the Swiss HousV. 
 A special house is built for the bookbinding. The labour of 
 the boys consists also in painting, building, and agricultural 
 work. The girls are trained as servants, washerwomen, cooks, 
 and seamstresses. The printing and bookbinding offices take 
 orders from the public, but as the Rauhe Haus has its own very 
 extensive publishing business, the greater portion of this work 
 is done for itself. All the other work is for the institution.
 
 THE CHAPEL. 
 
 25 
 
 of October, 1839, the little Chapel for such it may 
 be called with its pretty little spire and belfry, rose 
 at a few yards from the Gold Bottom, so that the 
 ora was placed in sight of the labora. The in- 
 side forms a square room, eighteen feet high, pro- 
 vided with a gallery opposite the pulpit, and capable 
 
 The Chapel. 
 
 of containing three hundred people. All the year 
 round it is adorned with green wreaths, festoons, 
 and garlands, symbolic of the continued freshness of 
 the everlasting life which should always live in our 
 hearts. The forms in the middle of the chapel are 
 occupied by the children, the girls sitting on the 
 right hand side, and the boys on the left. Bound 
 about are the places for the adult inmates of the
 
 26 THE KAUHE HAUS AT HORN. 
 
 establishment. The organ is placed in the gallery, 
 and peeps picturesquely through one of the seven 
 semi-circular festoons which stretch from the left 
 wall to the right. The corners of the balustrade are 
 adorned with the two well-known orphans' images of 
 Rauch. Under the one which holds a plate in its 
 hand, is the inscription, "Blessed are the merci- 
 ful." The other represents a praying boy, and bears 
 the inscription, "Pray, and it shall be given unto 
 you." Between them an angel (which, in fact, 
 is nothing else than Thorwaldsen's "Amor," pro- 
 moted to angelic rank) strikes a harp, with the 
 inscription, " Sing and play unto the Lord." The 
 balustrade is formed by twelve carved images, 
 representing the Apostles. On the opposite wall, 
 behind the desk or pulpit, an elevated crucifix 
 is visible between two images, the one of which 
 represents John the Baptist preaching repentance, 
 and the other, the Saviour inviting the heavily laden 
 to come. The desk, on which lies a splendidly bound 
 Bible, bears the inscription, " Jesus Christ is the 
 same yesterday, and to-day, and for ever." 
 
 When standing before the crucifix and looking 
 round at that collection of pictures and images, I 
 could not forbear saying to the young Candidat who 
 acted as my guide, that this chapel was the only 
 part of the establishment which did not quite please 
 me. I regretted the introduction of so much that 
 reminded cue of Popery into such a thoroughly Pro-
 
 THE CHAPEL. 
 
 27 
 
 testant place as this. I believe that hardly too 
 much of religion can be put into art, but it is easy 
 to put too much of art into religion. It exposes 
 religion to the danger of becoming artificial. 
 
 Interior of the Chapel.
 
 III. 
 
 THE BEEHIVE THE SWALLOWS' NESTS THE FISHERS' 
 COTTAGE THE VINE-HILL. 
 
 "ITEANWHILE the upper story of the Swiss House 
 -"-*- had become crowded. It lodged two families, 
 each of twelve boys. This was an anomaly opposed 
 to the fundamental principle of the establishment. 
 Want of money, however, had hitherto prevented 
 the building of a new house. But the thought oc- 
 curred to Wichern that the difficulty might be met by 
 the boys themselves. There were forty-three of them, 
 varying in age from ten to twenty-two years. They 
 had rendered practical assistance in the building of 
 four houses. Why could they not build the fifth one 
 with their own hands ? The experiment ought to be 
 made, and how glorious would it be if it succeeded ! 
 It would be a cheap house, and a monument of the 
 power of good training at the same time. 
 
 One summer afternoon Wichern was sitting with 
 two friends in an arbour. Their conversation, as 
 usual, turned upon the Eauhe Haus, and Wichern 
 mentioned the thought that had occurred to him. 
 
 " And how much do you think such a home-built 
 house would cost you ?" one of the friends asked.
 
 A JOYFUL SURPRISE. 29 
 
 " Why," Wichern answered, little dreaming of the 
 intention with which the question was put, " I think 
 it will come to something like 500 marks " (30?.). 
 
 " Very well, I will give that to you ; but mind, the 
 house must be built by the boys themselves, and by 
 nobody else." 
 
 " Of course, of course," Wichern exclaimed, joyfully 
 squeezing his friend's hand. 
 
 He hurried home happy as a king. But alas ! 
 when quietly sitting down with the master-joiner to 
 calculate, he found that he had underrated the cost 
 by ISL And, what was worse still, his benevolent 
 friend, on hearing that the house could not be built 
 for the 30?. might perhaps reckon himself free 
 from his promise. Happily this was not the case. 
 " Try to obtain the deficit," he said ; " I shall keep 
 faithful to my 500 marks." Now Wichern began 
 to hesitate as to whether he should commence to 
 build or not. He resolved at length to delay till 
 the deficit should be obtained. 
 
 "Do not plant vegetables at yonder spot in the 
 garden as yet," he said to the farmer of the esta- 
 blishment; "perhaps God will send us the money 
 in time, and then we shall want the ground for the 
 house." 
 
 Days and weeks elapsed, but no money came in. 
 At length the farmer one morning knocked at the 
 door of Wichern's study. Senator Fritze, of Bremen, 
 was then closeted with him. 
 
 " What about that piece of ground in the garden ?"
 
 30 THE KAUHE HAUS AT HORN. 
 
 the farmer asked : " It is full time now to plant the 
 vegetables." 
 
 " Well, I think you may as well take it," Wichern 
 said ; " for I do not believe our hopes will be realized 
 this year." 
 
 Off went the farmer, and soon he was engaged with 
 the boys turning up the ground. 
 
 " Without wishing to be intrusive," Senator Fritze 
 said, " may I ask you what those hopes of yours are 
 which you don't believe will be realized ? " 
 
 Wichern told his story. The senator humbly re- 
 quested to be permitted to make up the deficit. In 
 a joyful voice Wichern called a servant. 
 
 " Tell the farmer not to plant the cabbage, as we 
 shall have to put up a house: we have got the 
 money." 
 
 The farmer and the boys could scarcely believe 
 their ears when the servant brought them these 
 tidings. They burst out into a hurrah. The whole 
 establishment got into a merry stir when it was known 
 that all hands would be called out next day for the 
 building of the house. And how the boys did put 
 their shoulders to the wheel ! The house sprang up 
 as if by the stroke of a magic wand. 
 
 On the 3rd of October, 1841, "The Beehive" was 
 solemnly opened. It was so named, because the 
 twelve boys who entered it were compared to a 
 swarm of bees, flying from one hive (the Swiss 
 .House) into another. It is pretty, strongly-built, 
 and contains six spacious rooms. It is adorned by a
 
 THE BEEHIVE. 
 
 31 
 
 beautiful veranda, a present from two ladies, who, 
 after having inspected the house and learnt its story, 
 were pleased to give the boys this permanent token 
 of their esteem and satisfaction. 
 
 The next year, 19th October, 1842, we find 
 Wichern at a meeting of his committee in the 
 midst of the debris of Hamburg, which had just been 
 
 The Beehive. 
 
 burned down. The Eauhe Haus had not been be- 
 hind in coming to the rescue : it had proved a place 
 of refuge to many a helpless family, driven out of its 
 home by the raging flames. The fearful disaster had 
 greatly increased the number of destitute children. 
 Urgent applications came in on behalf of at least 
 twenty-four of them; but there was not room for 
 one. A new house ought to be built ; but could this
 
 32 THE KAUHE HAUS AT HORN. 
 
 be thought of in present circumstances ? There was 
 not a farthing left in the Eauhe Haus box, and it 
 was doubtful whether for a year or two to come one 
 farthing would be received, so much being required 
 to replace the damage of the fire. Still the cries of 
 the homeless and helpless children were too loud 
 for all such objections. The committee resolved 
 to feel the pulse of the public liberality at this 
 critical moment. An advertisement was put in the 
 papers asking 1507. for the building of a house for 
 twenty-four children, at a time when nearly the 
 whole of Hamburg required to be rebuilt ! It seemed 
 an injudicious if not an absurd appeal. The adver- 
 tisement was published on the 21st, and by the 27th 
 155/. were sent in ! It was a touching repetition of 
 the beautiful old story of Exod. xxxvi. 6 : " The 
 people brought much more than enough for the 
 service of the work." Another advertisement was 
 issued to stop the pouring in of the gifts ; but before 
 this had fully taken effect, the treasurer had 2007. 
 in hand. 
 
 Another festival period now came on for the Rauh- 
 hausler. No sooner had the breath of spring freed 
 the frozen fields from their winter-fetters, than the 
 boys rushed to the work, and on the 23rd of June, 
 1843, a large double house, capable of containing two 
 families, stood as a new monument of the power of 
 Christian faith and love. These two dwellings, being 
 on their rear as it were attached to the Chapel, and 
 facing the rising sun, obtained the name of " The
 
 THE SWALLOWS' NESTS. 33 
 
 Swallows' Nests " (Die Schwalbennester). They were 
 destined for two families of girls. So the girls who 
 crowded the Euge Hoos removed to their new 
 abode, and the old house was at once peopled with 
 a fresh supply of boys. The two houses have sepa- 
 rate entrances, and the interior construction is so ar- 
 ranged that each family lives entirely apart from the 
 
 The Swallows' Nests. 
 
 other. The dwelling-room and kitchen are on the 
 ground-floor ; the upper story contains two bedrooms, 
 a room for the two superintending Sisters, and a sick- 
 room. 
 
 Meanwhile the boys, who, after the removal of 
 their friends to the Beehive, were left behind on the 
 first-floor of the Swiss House, began to feel rather 
 solitary and uncomfortable. They could never look 
 
 VOL. T. I)
 
 34 THE KAUHE HAUS AT HORN. 
 
 at the Beehive without feeling tempted to transgress 
 the tenth Commandment, and frequent petitions 
 came to Wichern begging permission to build a 
 house for themselves. Indeed there was much that 
 made their present abode undesirable. Moreover, 
 the printing-office, which was on the ground-floor, 
 required more room, and apartments for the infirmary 
 were wanted. All this was perfectly true; but it 
 was equally true that there was no money. So the 
 petitions were put aside for the time, and the boys 
 had to console themselves with the hope of better 
 days. 
 
 Now it happened, one fine autumn day of 1844, 
 that a lady, a friend of the Eauhhausler, visited the 
 establishment, in the company of her parents. On 
 inspecting the Beehive they were quite astonished at 
 the small sum which the building of that house had 
 cost ; and the father of the lady could not help con- 
 fessing that the Hamburg builders might well come 
 here to take a lesson ; for though he did not exactly 
 recollect how much his house at Hamburg had 
 cost him, yet he thought he was safe in saying that 
 it had amounted to many Prussian thalers more. 
 
 " I think it has," the young lady said, with a smile ; 
 " aud if you should like to see, papa, how the boys 
 here manage to do it at such a cheap rate, I suppose 
 they will gladly show you, if you will give the 
 money." 
 
 " Undoubtedly," said Wichern. " The boys over 
 there at the Swiss House are quite ready for it."
 
 THE FISHERS' COTTAGE. 35 
 
 The next day the Hamburg post brought a letter 
 from the wealthy merchant, with 75?. for the build- 
 ing of a new house. The Swiss House resounded 
 with the applause of the boys. The winter, which 
 now seemed to them to creep like a snail, was allowed 
 to pass; but the first vernal sun put the whole 
 Rauhe Haus population astir. On the 12th of 
 
 The Fishers' Cottage. 
 
 October, 1845, the new house was opened. The boys 
 who entered it were looked upon as little fishes caught 
 in the net of the Gospel, and the house was accord- 
 ingly called " The Fishers' Cottage " (Die Fischer- 
 hutte). Meanwhile two other houses were built, viz., a 
 washhouse and a house for agricultural purposes, the 
 expense of which was met by a legacy, and by con- 
 tributions of the Brethren, who were being trained 
 
 D 2
 
 36 THE KAUHE HAUS AT HORN. 
 
 here as agents of the Inner Mission. Donations 
 also came in to enable the committee to purchase 
 considerable pieces of land, which, owing to the in- 
 crease of the population, were indispensable for the 
 support and labour of so many souls. A new house 
 was also built for the farmer, in 1851 ; and a new 
 bake-house was added to the number of buildings. 
 
 All this work was done on behalf of the poor and the 
 helpless. For himself, his wife and family, Wichern 
 claimed nothing but the love of those whom he cared 
 for as a father. But the public, which looked at the 
 Rauhe Haus with wonder and gratitude, thought 
 that something more substantial was due to a man 
 who, with such disinterestedness, devoted his life 
 and talents to the welfare of his fellow-beings. Some 
 friends put their heads together, and raised a fund 
 for building an excellent house on a free piece of 
 ground, close to the establishment, and surrounded 
 by a beautiful garden, which opens into one of the 
 main paths of the Eauhe Haus park. It is a 
 beautiful country-house of two stories, each with six 
 windows in front, built in an elegant style, and 
 adorned with a picturesque veranda. It was given 
 to Wichern as his own property, independent 
 of the establishment. To this building he removed 
 
 o 
 
 in 1851 ; and the house which he left was given 
 to the Eev. Mr. Riehm, who was engaged as " In- 
 spector" of the Establishment, under Wichern's 
 superintendence. The appointment of such an official 
 was urgently required to relieve Wichern of some of
 
 DR. WICHERN'S REWARD. 
 
 37 
 
 iiis arduous labours, which had increased very much, 
 especially since he became an authority in the work 
 of the Inner Mission, and was often called away from 
 home to preside over meetings, and to serve the Prus- 
 sian Government with his valuable advice in matters 
 of prison and poor-reform. The Establishment has 
 since been under the able control of Mr. Riehm, who 
 
 Dr. Wichern's House. 
 
 with his family continues to live in Wichern's former 
 house, which forms one building with the chapel; 
 and it is owing to that faithful Christian brother's 
 services that Wichern could some years ago accept 
 a call as Ober-consistorial-rath of the Prussian church, 
 in which capacity he acts at the same time as a 
 president of the Government office for the superin- 
 tendence of the moral and religious concerns of
 
 38 THE EAUHE HA us AT HOBN. 
 
 prisons, and of institutions for the poor. This high 
 and important position compels him to spend the 
 winter in Berlin, where the great Establishment for 
 training Christian young men as agents of the 
 Inner Mission, called the Evangelical Johannes- 
 stifttmg, which was founded under his direction, 
 enjoys the benefit of his valuable superintendence. 
 His summer-months, however, are spent at the 
 Eauhe Haus, where, in the midst of the children, 
 whom he continues to love as a father, he enjoys 
 that healthful relaxation which is so necessary after 
 a long winter spent in the cares of Church and 
 State. 
 
 The Fishers' Cottage was not long built before 
 hard times came upon the Establishment. The years 
 1852-54 were years of dearth. The prices of pro- 
 visions and other necessaries of life rose so high that 
 the Eauhe Haus could not possibly continue unless 
 assisted by help from without. For the second time 
 an appeal to the liberality of the public was made by 
 advertisement, and not in vain. Gifts to the amount 
 of 1200J. poured in, in 1853 ; and some well-wishers 
 raised, of their own accord, an additional sum of 4.801., 
 in 1854. Meanwhile, a plan which had been long 
 discussed was carried into practice, viz., that of build- 
 ing a School or Gymnasium for boys of the richer 
 class. This pensionnat, which is called " The Vine-Hill " 
 (Der Weiiiberg}, is the largest building of the place. 
 It measures 175 feet in length; consists of three 
 two-storied houses; and has cost the Establishment
 
 THE ViNE-Hi ; LL. 
 
 39 
 
 1800?. It contains spacious school-rooms and first- 
 rate accommodation for about twelve or fourteen boys, 
 who pay for their board, lodging, and instruction. 
 Besides the usual branches of school-science, Latin, 
 Greek, and Hebrew are taught here. Young Candi- 
 dats, who, under the title of Upper Assistants ( Ober- 
 helfer), are engaged as teachers at this school and 
 
 The Vine-Hill. 
 
 at the same time as teachers of the Brethren, find 
 here ample opportunity for exercising themselves in 
 the duties of the pastoral work, for which they are 
 destined. The rest of the premises is devoted to 
 the publishing-office J and the infirmary. 
 
 1 The Stock-catalogue of the publishing-office for 1861 contains 
 more than 200 titles of books, large and small, and about 30 titles 
 of engravings, photographs, &c. The publishing business, as well 
 as the printing and bookbinding, are conducted quite indepen-
 
 40 THE EAUHE HAUS AT HORN. 
 
 dent of the Eauhe Haus funds. They pay rent for the buildings 
 to the Eauhe Haus, although the annual clear profits of these 
 concerns flow into the Eauhe Haus box. The chief and most 
 generally known publication of this office is the ' Fliegende 
 Blatter ' (The Flying Leaves). This is a monthly magazine, which 
 appears in parts of 32 octavo pages, and has a large circulation 
 through the whole of Germany. It is the most complete magazine 
 of Christian philanthropy in that country, as it gives information 
 about all the societies and establishments for the rescue of the 
 poor, the abandoned, the prostitute, and the criminal. Connected 
 with it is a Supplement (Beiblatt^, which, being written in a very 
 popular style, gives, in the form of stories, letters, &c., interesting 
 details of the work of Christian charity. The ' Fliegende Blatter ' 
 cost 3. a-year, and the Supplement (which appears in monthly leaves 
 of 16 pages) costs 9d. a-year. The English literature of this sphere 
 of labour is duly taken notice of. The Eauhe Haus press has 
 printed a translation of Hedley Vicars' Life, a biography of Mrs. 
 Fry, of Wilberforce, &c. For the benefit of the English public, 
 a collection of metrical translations from the German of Goethe, 
 Schiller, Uhland, Heine, and others, is published at 3s. Qd.
 
 IV. 
 
 THE SCHONBURG THE SONG-FEAST THE LABOUR- 
 FEAST THE ORGANIZATION OF THE FAMILIES. 
 
 HPHE last house that was built is the pretty family- 
 -*- house, " The Schonburg," called after the Prince 
 of Schonburg- Waldenburg, who gave 240?. for its con- 
 struction. It was put up by the boys, and solemnly 
 opened on the 12th July, 1854. 
 
 On the afternoon of that day, more than a thou- 
 sand people, young and old, rich and poor, learned 
 and unlearned, councillors and clergymen, came 
 flocking together from Hamburg and the neigh- 
 bouring places, and assembled in the gardens of the 
 Kauhe Haus. The Chapel, of course, could not 
 contain one-third of them ; so, after prayer was 
 offered up in it, and the 103rd Psalm read, the 
 whole assembly proceeded to the new house, which 
 stood in the midst of young firs and fragrant apple 
 and nut-trees, and was adorned with wreaths and 
 flowers. t)r. Wichern, standing on the play-ground 
 of the house, first addressed the children, and 
 pointed them to Christ, who was the founder of the 
 building. Two family-Bibles were then produced, 
 one for the boys' family which was to dwell in
 
 42 THE KAUHE HAUS AT HORN. 
 
 it, and one for the Brethren who were to live witli 
 them. The name of " Schonburg " was then solemnly 
 given to the house, in grateful commemoration of 
 the princely donor. Thereupon the minister of Horn 
 led the way inside, with the family-Bible under his 
 arm, while twelve of the ladies present followed, each 
 leading a boy by the hand. Meanwhile the whole 
 of the other inmates of the place sang a hymn in 
 chorus. After that the twelve boys assembled round 
 the family-table, and through the open windows 
 their friends outside could hear the earnest prayer 
 with which the minister implored God's blessing upon 
 the house and its inhabitants. 
 
 Now, it was customary, if at all possible, to con- 
 nect the solemn opening of a new house with some 
 other festival, either ecclesiastical or social. So as 
 there was a labour-festival in honour of the various 
 trades taught and practised at the Establishment, 
 there was also a song-festival, in honour of the art 
 of singing. And it was on the song-festival that the 
 opening of the Schonburg took place. Accordingly, 
 after the above solemnities were finished, the song- 
 festival commenced, and the whole assembly walked 
 up to the singing-room, which was decorated with 
 festoons, garlands, pictures, flowers, &c. The singers, 
 125 in number, and all of them Kauhhausler, sang 
 four of the most classical masterpieces of sacred 
 composition. "First," Wichern writes, "came the 
 rhythmical choral for four voices, of the venerable 
 Goudimel, that soul-winning composition of the
 
 THE SONG-FEAST. 
 
 43 
 
 great teacher of the maestro Palestrina. Then fol- 
 lowed a vocal quintet of Michael Bach. Under the 
 leading of the tenor, the four voices united in pro- 
 claiming the belief of the saints, in the words, ' I 
 know that my Kedeemer liveth,' &c. On a sudden, 
 the treble, as fifth voice, struck in, joining the four 
 in their blissful contemplation of the rock-built sal- 
 
 The Schonburg. 
 
 vation ; then, rising higher, it sounded the trumpet of 
 victory. While the other voices repeated the consola- 
 tion in life and death, and still continued refreshing 
 themselves with the promises, the treble, as if it 
 were a saved soul, flapped the wings of everlasting life, 
 and soared upward, beholding Christ, whom she gains 
 through death, and who presses her to His bosom, to 
 lead her to the enjoyment of unspeakable happi-
 
 14 THE RAUHE HAUS AT HORN. 
 
 ness. To her the promises already blossomed into 
 realisation, and in the victorious tones of the 
 choral 
 
 ' To me to live is Christ ; 
 To me to die is gain ; 
 I fly away with joy ! ' 
 
 she sang the Amen of heavenly beatitude, while the 
 other four voices continued to repeat their hopes, and 
 burst out into the cry, 
 
 ' My eyes shall see Him, 
 And no stranger, no stranger ! '" 
 
 After this mottetto there was a breathless pause. It 
 was as if all hearts had been treading the paths 
 of death and life which the sacred song described. 
 With all the greater majesty, therefore, the full 
 chorus poured forth the grand doxology of Bortni- 
 ansky, 'Glory to God in the highest,' &c. It was 
 first raised by a few voices, then swelled by the union 
 of a hundred, praising the Triune One, and sealing 
 the whole with a threefold Amen. This Amen was 
 followed by the " vow and offering of grateful love " 
 of Paul Gerhard : 
 
 " I will sing of Thy loveliness ; 
 By day and night I will Thee praise ; " 
 
 an unparalleled rhythmic choral, which Tucher 
 brought to light again. 
 
 There was then a long breathing time. The 
 guests dispersed through the park and garden, the 
 first part of the song-feast being closed. On a sudden
 
 THE SONG-FEAST. 45 
 
 a loud-sounding trumpet was heard echoing over the 
 plains and fields. It was the signal for the com- 
 mencement of the second part of the festival. And 
 now all rushed towards the old colossal chestnut- 
 tree before the Huge Hoos. A numerous assembly 
 was soon gathered under its broad shade. But 
 where were the singers ? Wichern, as if he were a 
 conjurer, just gave the old stem a tap with his 
 hand, and in a trice a full chorus burst forth from 
 all its branches : 
 
 " Hark, how the quail strikes in the green : 
 Thank God ! thank God ! " 
 
 The whole tree teemed with boys and Brethren- 
 more than seventy in number hid amidst the thick 
 foliage. They sat high and low, to the right and to 
 the left, and swinging merrily to and fro on the 
 wide-spreading branches, sent forth song after song 
 in perfect harmony. And when once that old 
 grey-headed tree began to rain down its tunes, 
 there was no end of it ; and it would have carolled 
 and warbled till late at night had not the trumpet 
 sounded again, and called the birds down to the 
 " Green Place." In a merry bustle the whole com- 
 pany moved towards that lovely spot in the garden. 
 It is a large open grass-plot, kept especially for 
 large meetings like this. It is surrounded here and 
 there with groups of firs and fruit-trees. On the 
 north side it is hemmed in by a high oak-grove, out 
 of which one sturdy oak, which numbers many a
 
 46 THE RAUHE HAUS AT HORN. 
 
 century, rears itself as the prince and lord of all, 
 forming a worthy partner to the venerable chestnut- 
 tree of the old house. Towards the south and west 
 your eyes wander over an area of many miles down 
 to the valley of the Elbe, which teems with well- 
 watered pastures, rich cornfields, farms, mills, and 
 church-steeples. Two rivers, the Bille and the Elbe, 
 weave their silvery threads through this green carpet. 
 They bear upon their bosoms, bathed in streams of sun- 
 light, many white sails, floating on in long rows, like 
 gently-gliding swans. And far away in the distance 
 the " Black Mountains " offer a resting place for the 
 eye fatigued with gazing on this charming picture. At 
 this spot, with this scenery before them, the singers 
 gathered, each family with its banner floating aloft in 
 the gentle summer breeze. And now the fields and 
 woods echoed the melodies of the national songs of the 
 Deutsche Vaterland, till the evening shades, gently 
 alighting upon lea and lawn, drove the guests to 
 their homes, and the trumpet called the Eauhhausler 
 to their supper. Such a feast must have made an 
 impression never to be forgotten. 
 
 Upon looking at the table of instruction given 
 at the schools, and observing the limited number 
 of hours devoted to singing, I had no high ex- 
 pectation of the musical acquirements of the Eauh- 
 hausler. I must have dropped some expression that 
 led Mr. Riehm to guess my opinion, for he kindly re- 
 quested me to put his pupils to the test. Thereupon 
 the whole Eauhe Haus population, except those who
 
 THE LABOUR-FEAST. 47 
 
 were absent on business, assembled in the singing- 
 room. There were about eighty, among whom were 
 twenty adults. The Rauhe Haus collection of 
 songs was presented to me ; and out of this well 
 selected musical repertory I chose Bortniansky's 
 'Doxology,' Kreutzer's 'Shepherd's Sunday Song,' 
 and Mendelssohn's 'Hunters' Adieu to the Wood.' 
 The teacher added a few other songs. I must con- 
 fess that the performance completely disabused my 
 mind. Not only did each division keep faithfully 
 to tune and time (with the slight exception of having 
 sunk a semitone at the close of the somewhat 
 intricate Doxology), but the pianos and fortes, cres- 
 cendos and diminuendos, were rendered with a pre- 
 cision and a delicateness of vocalization which I 
 could not have deemed possible with children of 
 their age, and especially of their extraction. This 
 singing alone was worth a walk all the way from 
 Hamburg and back. 
 
 Another festival, which it must be very interest- 
 ing to attend, is the Labour-Feast, in honour of the 
 different trades which are taught and practised. It 
 is connected with the anniversary of the Beehive 
 (3rd Oct.). Then the various shops are tastefully 
 decorated, and a kind of exhibition takes place. 
 Above each shop sometimes above some piece of 
 workmanship a verse, mostly in funny doggrel, is 
 stuck, praising the trade, or the excellence of the 
 article. First the agriculturists exhibit their crops in 
 baskets: potatoes, and oats, and carrots are poeti-
 
 48 THE EAUHE HALTS AT HORN. 
 
 cally recommended ; and even over a new rake the 
 epigram is read 
 
 " I am a rake. Praise should be mine ; 
 My maker, Fred, who feeds the swine ; 
 He cut me from a forky tree, 
 And wants you now to look at me." 
 
 Then come the joiner, the turner, the slipper-maker : 
 
 " Slippers, slippers, slippers ! Who e'er of us did sing ! 
 Still many a stroke of the hammer we joyfully made 
 ring," &c. 
 
 And again the bookbinder, the shoemaker, the tailor, 
 &c. Last of all comes the baker, of whose poetical 
 effusion Stevenson gives the following translation : 
 
 " There's never a doctor can cure like me the ache of the 
 
 stomach and tooth ; 
 It's not by your clothes you grow tall and strong, but by 
 
 eating good bread forsooth. 
 
 The hunger-worm burns in my oven till he's dead, 
 While I bake for you all, boys, the sweetest of bread ; 
 And though you turn dainty and live upon cake, Sir, 
 You may bless all your days the Hough House and its 
 
 Baker." 
 
 The same spirit that characterises the feasts per- 
 vades the life of each family. Earnestness and cheer- 
 fulness, strict order and liberty, go hand-in-hand. 
 The Friedensknabe, or "Boy of Peace," who is 
 elected by the unanimous consent of all the mem- 
 bers of the family, is their leader, arlrtter, and 
 counsellor in the emergencies of their daily life. 
 Over him stands a Brother, a young man, who is the 
 house-father. He is one of a band of six or seven
 
 KAUHE HAUS LIFE. 49 
 
 young men who live with the family under the same 
 roof; he shares their meals and sports, and trains 
 them for an orderly life in the spirit of the GospeL 
 A Candidat of theology also lives with them, under 
 the title of Oberhelfer, or " upper-assistant." He forms 
 the link between the family and Wichern. Thus the 
 whole organisation assumes a pyramidal form; and 
 through the medium of all its intervening links 
 Wichern can exercise the strictest control over each 
 child, and send down his impulse to the most distant 
 member. While there is the greatest diversity 
 each family living apart, having its own house and 
 garden, its own habits and manners, its own history 
 and character unity is at the same time preserved, 
 lest it should be forgotten that each household is a 
 member of one large family, of which Wichern is 
 the head. It is astonishing how such a system of 
 supervision could be contrived as puts every child 
 day and night under the direct control of an adult 
 person, and yet has nothing about it of the surveil- 
 lance of the prison, and very little even of the 
 strict discipline of the boarding-school. When reading 
 Stevenson's account of the "somewhat complex 
 machinery" of the Eauhe Haus family life, with its 
 order of the day marked out from hour to hour 
 with its weekly meetings, its fortnightly conferences, 
 its journals and records kept by the Brothers, its 
 divisions of labour, and its various rules for regulating 
 each child's business at home, from the cleaning of 
 the bedrooms to the carrying of the Bible to the 
 
 VOL. I. E
 
 50 THE EAUHE HAUS AT HORN. 
 
 Chapel I could not but wonder how this com- 
 plicated clock-work kept going smoothly. The 
 secret lies in the thorough family feeling with which 
 each household is inspired. The Brothers, who 
 superintend and teach the children, live with them, 
 not as officers live with their soldiers in the bar- 
 racks, nor even as teachers and governors live 
 with their pupils at the boarding-school, but really as 
 elder brothers, as members of one family ; and when 
 at work with them, they do not stand by in the atti- 
 tude of overseers or instructors, but join as fellow- 
 labourers, who have one common task in hand. 
 This family feeling would be impossible were not 
 everything carefully avoided that could suggest 
 artificial association such as all the members 
 being of the same trade or of the same age. Nature 
 is followed as much as possible in the constitution 
 of a family. All trades, all ages, and all characters 
 are represented in each. When a child comes to 
 the establishment, it is not registered with a family 
 until after it has been duly tried and examined at 
 the novitiate-house, where it is kept till its nature 
 and character are ascertained. The elder children 
 have always some younger ones about them, who 
 need their help and indulgence. The younger 
 children, on the other hand, always see some elder 
 ones near them, whom they have to thank for 
 kindness, or to rely upon for direction. This en- 
 genders a feeling of cordial attachment. Each house- 
 hold is characterised by a family spirit peculiar to
 
 KAUHE-HAUS LIFE. 51 
 
 itself; and this causes a commendable ambition to 
 keep up the family honour and reputation. Nothing 
 is more dreaded by a family than to see one of its 
 members censured for laziness or bad conduct in the 
 weekly report, which is read in the presence of all 
 the inmates of the establishment. So every one of 
 the twelve is taught to feel an interest in main- 
 taining the rules and regulations of his family, 
 however multifarious these may be, and however 
 cumbrous they may seem to those who stand outside. 
 Such a thing as clannishness, however, is kept out 
 with might and main, sufficient provision being made 
 for the mingling of the families as one community. 
 At school the children are classed according to their 
 ages and capacities ; in the fields and the workshops 
 according to their trades. The family union there 
 completely disappears ; but no sooner does the bell 
 ring for meals than it is formed again, each one, 
 arranged in military file, marching to its own house, 
 to enjoy for an hour the benefits and comforts of a 
 happy home. 
 
 E 2
 
 V. 
 
 THE BRETHREN OF THE RAUHE HAUS THEIR DIVISION INTO 
 SMALL FAMILIES CALLED CONVICTS THE CANDIDATS OF 
 THEOLOGY. 
 
 TTTTHEN Wichern first mooted his plan for found- 
 ^ * ing a house of refuge for poor neglected 
 children, and sketched out on paper how they ought 
 to be divided into small families, and how they 
 ought to be taught in schools and shops, and how 
 they ought to be under permanent control, and how 
 their parents ought to be regularly visited, and 
 how a great many other things ought to be done, 
 there was scarcely any one amongst his friends who 
 could repress a smile at what they looked upon as 
 an educational Utopia. The scheme seemed to 
 suggest a band of house-fathers, teachers, and as- 
 sistants, almost as numerous as the children them- 
 selves. No doubt it would be very good, they said, 
 to have such a powerful staff at one's disposal ; but 
 where were the men to be got, and where was the 
 money to come from for their support? It was 
 quite absurd to expect that the contributions which 
 would be received for the maintenance of some fifty 
 or a hundred children, would be ample enough, in
 
 DR. WICHERN'S FIRST OBJECT. 53 
 
 addition, to board and pay two or three scores of 
 adult persons ! 
 
 These objections seemed to have some weight ; but 
 they could not dishearten Wichern. His plans were 
 much more comprehensive than any one of his friends 
 could imagine. The reclaiming of a few hundred or 
 thousand children was not the only nor even the 
 main object of his Christian philanthropic aspira- 
 tions. Hamburg and its paupers, of course, were 
 nearest to him ; but he was a thorough German a 
 true son of the great Deutsche Vaterland, which may 
 be said to wash its face in the Baltic and bathe its 
 feet in the Mediterranean. The miseries of Ham- 
 burg were but symptoms of the fearful disease which 
 pervaded and poisoned the body of the whole Ger- 
 man people. There was a general cry for help 
 rising from all the German States. Everywhere 
 strenuous efforts were being made to check the 
 alarming increase of pauperism and to dam up the 
 pestilential flood of wickedness. Governments built 
 prisons, communities built schools, poor-boards built 
 workhouses, philanthropists built reformatories. But 
 the prisons needed able governors and chaplains, 
 the schools teachers, the workhouses directors, and 
 the reformatories house-fathers. An immense field 
 for labour was thus thrown open ; but where were 
 the labourers ? 
 
 There were plenty; but they were not known. 
 There was a general revival going on among the 
 young men of Germany. The alarming increase of
 
 54 THE EAUHE HAUS AT HORN. 
 
 demoralization had opened the eyes of many seriously 
 minded members of the rising generation, espe- 
 cially artisans, teachers, and peasants, to the ne- 
 cessity of coming to the rescue of the lower ranks 
 of society. Young Christian men, who experienced 
 the quickening and saving power of the Gospel 
 in their hearts, perceived that they had received 
 the unspeakable gift of God for a higher object 
 than mere enjoyment. They eagerly looked out 
 for opportunities of doing something for the good 
 of others; for encountering with the sword of the 
 Spirit that foe, whom the police was powerless to 
 expel and the Church unable to defeat. There were 
 hundreds of such noble-minded young men scattered 
 all over Protestant Germany; but as those who 
 wanted them did not know where to find them, so 
 they did not know where they were wanted. More- 
 over, desirous as they were to do the thing, most of 
 them did not know how to do it. They pitied the 
 unhappy prisoners ; but compassion alone does not 
 make an efficient officer in a gaol. They loved the 
 poor children; but to love is one thing, and to be 
 able to teach is another. They felt they needed 
 instruction and training to be able to instruct and 
 train others. 
 
 Wichern was aware of this state of things, and he 
 perceived the cause of it. The great idea that filled 
 his mind was the forming of a link between the 
 labour and the labourers the establishing of a place 
 where the labourers could be gathered from all
 
 THE BKETHBEN'S SOCIETY. 55 
 
 quarters in order to be taught what they were in 
 need of learning, where they could be found when 
 wanted, and from whence they could disperse into 
 the various fields of labour which would be thus 
 opened up to their exertions. This idea gave birth 
 to the society called " The Brethren of the Rauhe 
 Haus." Young men of the artisan and teacher class 
 were invited to live with the children for two or three 
 years and to become their friends, their leaders and 
 teachers. Before their admission they required to 
 know some trade, which they could teach the 
 children. In each family-house accommodation was 
 made for six or seven of them. Here, while they 
 were teaching, they were to be learning how to 
 deal with the ignorant, the neglected, and the lost, 
 in order to rescue them from ruin, and to bring them 
 back to Christ. They were to be supported inde- 
 pendently of the children's establishment. Their 
 board and lodging was to be paid to the establish- 
 ment ; not out of their own pockets, of course, for 
 the pockets of most of them were empty. Sub- 
 scriptions and donations were solicited for the sup- 
 port of the Brethren's Institution as a separate thing 
 from the children's establishment. The appeal was 
 not based upon the ground of their being the super- 
 intendents and teachers of the children, but on the 
 ground of their being in the course of training for 
 the work of the Inner Mission at large. It was a 
 society not merely for the benefit of the Kauhe 
 Haus, but of the whole of Protestant Germany. Go-
 
 56 THE RAUHE HAUS AT HORN. 
 
 vernments were informed of the matter, and gladly 
 allowed grants for the training of gaol officers and 
 schoolmasters. Voluntary gifts also poured in from 
 all quarters. It was evident that the establishing 
 of this society was the timely and long-looked for 
 answer to the urgent prayer of many Christian 
 philanthropists. 
 
 To know what kind of people these Brothers are, it 
 may be well to hear what they have to say about 
 themselves : " We, the Brothers here assembled," 
 thus they speak in a paper which they issued " come 
 from all parts of our beloved fatherland. Our homes 
 are in Prussia from the Memel to the Rhine, in Baden, 
 Bavaria, Hesse, Wurtemberg, Thuringia, Hanover, 
 Mecklenburg, Holstein, Schleswig. There is not one 
 of us who was not in a position to earn his daily 
 bread. Want has brought none of us here. When, 
 in distant lands, we heard of the work which the Lord 
 had begun and is carrying on in this house, we prayed 
 that we might be sharers of the blessing and of the 
 work amongst the children. Our house-father called 
 us here to be helpers in the work, and not one of 
 us has obeyed this call without the blessing of his 
 parents. We bring neither money nor property ; 
 and if there were some of us able and anxious to 
 give of their substance, they were prevented by a 
 riper wisdom than their own. What we have we 
 freely give, namely, ourselves, as a thank-offering to 
 God for the good of the community. We are here, 
 with our house-father and the entire Eauhe Haus, in
 
 THE BEETHREN'S SOCIETY. 57 
 
 one faith in our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. We 
 are nothing but unprofitable servants. Christ is our 
 righteousness ; His word alone is a lamp to our feet. 
 In this faith and spirit we are one, and have one love 
 towards each other, as brothers in faith and in the 
 work to which we are called." 
 
 This is plain language, and, what is more, it is 
 sincere. There is always a little more sentiment 
 in a German than in an English society ; but the 
 sentiment of the Eauhe Haus Brothers does not 
 savour of weakness. Those of them, at least, whom 
 I met appeared to me to be manly, stalwart, and 
 straightforward. 
 
 They occupy the first stories of the houses, while 
 the children live on the ground-floor. Though ming- 
 ling with the children all the day in the school, the 
 workshop, and the field, yet they form separate 
 families by themselves. To distinguish a Brothers' 
 family from a children's family, the former is 
 unfortunately called by the monkish name of 
 convict. 1 Injudiciously chosen as the name may be, 
 still the thing which it denotes is all right. There 
 is nothing of a monk in a Kauhe Haus brother, 
 nor is there anything resembling a cloister in their 
 convicts. It is true they are not permitted to marry 
 as long as they are in the establishment; but the 
 reasonableness of this needs no defence. 
 
 Each convict bears its own name. As the names of 
 the children's families are taken from the form or the 
 
 1 From the Latin convive, to live together.
 
 58 THE EAUHE HAUS AT HORN. 
 
 history of the houses in which they live, so the names 
 of the convicts are taken from noted places in Pales- 
 tine. Thus the convict Cana lives with the family 
 of the old Huge Hoos; the convict Bethel lives at 
 the Beehive; and so on with the other convicts 
 Bethlehem, Nazareth, Emmaus, Nain, and Tabor. 
 They have their own household, which is regulated 
 by the same rules as regulate the household of the 
 families. One of the Brethren is appointed director 
 of the convict, and another house-father of the 
 children's family. The latter does not live with the 
 convict, but with the family downstairs, which he 
 never leaves, either by day or by night. He eats 
 and drinks, works and plays with them, and sleeps 
 with them in the same bedroom. The other mem- 
 bers of the convict, however, are not excluded from 
 the family ; they regularly assist the house-father in 
 its management. The chief part of their labour for 
 the good of the family, however, consists in visiting 
 the parents of the children, most of whom live at 
 Hamburg. Every Sunday they go to town, two 
 together, to tell the parents all about the children ; 
 and while finding a way to their hearts through a 
 confidential chat about Hans or William, whom 
 they know, the brethren at the same time find 
 an opportunity of speaking a word about Christ, 
 whom they do not know. Then, having returned 
 from their mission, they again find an open door to 
 the hearts of the children, who are anxious to learn 
 what father did and what mother said, and whether
 
 THE BRETHREN'S SOCIETY. 59 
 
 the dog is still with them. But on the first Sunday 
 of every month, the Brethren do not go to town, for 
 then the parents come to the establishment, being 
 permitted to visit the children. 
 
 Of the part which the Brethren take in teaching 
 the children their trades I have spoken already. As 
 the convicts consist of the representatives of various 
 trades, it is obvious that their division into convicts 
 cannot be observed when they are labouring with the 
 children. Thus the members of the different convicts 
 meet every day at the fields and shops. Besides, 
 there is a weekly conference of all the Brethren, 
 presided over by the Inspector, at which the con- 
 cerns of the families are discussed, and interesting 
 topics regarding education and teaching conversed 
 upon. And every fortnight Wichern unites the 
 convicts at a brotherly meeting, for confirming and 
 strengthening their mutual fellowship and inter- 
 course. 
 
 With each convict lives a Candidat of theology, 
 as an Upper- Assistant. He stays at least one, and if 
 possible two, years with the Brethren. He is their 
 teacher in such branches of education as they must 
 know in order to be fit for their future situations, 
 as for instance Biblical History, Universal History, 
 Geography, Natural Philosophy, &c. To this in- 
 struction twenty-five hours are devoted every week. 
 Besides, he controls the school-teaching of the 
 children. He receives a small stipend to provide his 
 clothing. His chief remuneration, however, is the
 
 60 THE EAUHE HAUS AT HORN. 
 
 immense amount of practical knowledge which he 
 obtains in pastoral and home mission labour. A 
 clergyman, who as a Candidat has spent a couple of 
 years at the Eauhe Haus, knows how to superintend 
 a popular school, how to deal with the poor, how to 
 help the wretched and miserable, and, above all, how 
 to do these things not as a police-officer, but as a 
 servant of Him, who is a Saviour not of the body 
 only, but of the soul. Many of these Candidats also 
 become directors of Charities, or chaplains of prisons. 
 Out of the sixty-five who had lived with the convicts 
 from the commencement of the Society till 1861, 
 twenty-eight entered upon situations of that kind.
 
 YI. 
 
 THE WORK OF THE BRETHREN OUTSIDE THE RAUHE HAUS- 
 THEIR UNION INTO A BROTHERHOOD. 
 
 WICHEEN is not too rash in admitting a young 
 man, as a Brother, since out of 846 who 
 applied during a period of twenty-five years (from 
 1836-61), 524 were refused. Nor has he any 
 difficulty in finding situations for them after the 
 expiration of their service at the Establishment. 
 During the above-mentioned period not less than 787 
 applications came in for Brethren. Two hundred 
 and fifty-two were wanted as house-fathers or assist- 
 ants in reformatories, 59 in workhouses, 57 as visitors 
 of the poor, 93 as teachers in popular schools, 40 as 
 house-fathers in orphanages, 170 for prisons, 36 for 
 hospitals, and 80 for various philanthropic purposes. 
 These applications came from all parts of the globe ; 
 most, of course, from Germany, but many also 
 from Holland, France, England, Switzerland, Italy, 
 Russia, Poland, the Danubian Principalities, Turkey, 
 America, and the Southern Asiatic Archipelago. 
 To supply all these demands was out of the ques- 
 tion; only the more important and urgent ones 
 could be attended to, as the number of Brethren
 
 62 THE KATJIIE HAUS AT HORN. 
 
 only amounted to 255, of whom 43 were required for 
 the service of the Establishment. Of the remaining 
 212, 42 became house-fathers and 19 assistants in 
 reformatories or orphanages ; 30 were employed as 
 teachers in schools, 68 in prisons, 4 in establishments 
 for released prisoners, 4 in workhouses ; 3 became 
 house-fathers in philanthropic eating-houses ; 10 in 
 hospitals and family sick-rooms, 1 in a Magdalen 
 asylum; 8 were engaged as preachers among the 
 emigrants in America (2 of these house-fathers in 
 schools), and 9 in sundry philanthropic purposes. 
 Geographically they were divided as follows : 124 
 in Prussia, 10 in Hamburg, 11 in Bremen, 10 in 
 Saxony, 9 in the United States, 8 in Mecklenburg, 
 6 in Hanover, 5 in the Baltic provinces of Kussia, 
 4 in London, 4 in Syria, 12 in Wurtemberg, Ba- 
 varia, Holstein, and Liibeck, 1 in Altenburg, 1 in 
 Hesse-Cassel, 1 in Nassau, 1 in Switzerland, 1 in 
 France, 1 in Italy, 1 in Serbia, and 1 in Turkey. 
 
 These figures are quickly written, and they are 
 read more quickly still, but each of them tells a long 
 and interesting story, which even angels must listen 
 to with wonder and pleasure. They tell us that 
 every day these Kauhe Haus Brethren instruct and 
 train more than 3000 children, most of whom, but 
 for their self-denying and devout zeal, would grow 
 up for the prison and the scaffold ; they lead us 
 into the cells of gaols, many of which, before they 
 were visited by these brethren, were horrible dun- 
 geons, scarcely habitable by human beings, but are
 
 THE BRETHREN'S WORK. 63 
 
 now turned into clean, well-ventilated, wholesome 
 places, where the cursing and swearing of inhuman 
 turnkeys are no more heard, but the voice of com- 
 passion whispers the blessed name of Jesus, and prays 
 the prisoners, in Christ's stead, " Be ye reconciled to 
 God." If the Acts of the Apostles could be con- 
 tinued up to our time as a record of the labours of 
 the Holy Spirit in a lost world, the history, travels, 
 and works of these Brethren would be sure to fill many 
 a page. And it would certainly not fail to strike the 
 reader of those pages as remarkable, that this noble 
 band of good men proceeded from that town which, 
 in point of morality and religious life, is one of the 
 worst in Germany. 
 
 One of the most striking proofs of the courageous 
 devotedness of the Brethren to the cause of hu- 
 manity and Christian charity was given when the 
 typhus fever, after a terrible famine, raged in Silesia 
 in 1848. There were thirty Brethren in the house 
 at that time. When the cry for help arose, all 
 of them, and two of the Candidats, offered their 
 services. A selection must be made. With ten 
 of them Wichern hastened to the abode of the 
 plague. Favoured by the Government, and strongly 
 countenanced by the noble Prince Von Pless, a 
 wealthy landed proprietor of the district, they ad- 
 dressed themselves to their dangerous and almost 
 superhuman task. At one place they found more 
 than one hundred dead bodies unburied. They lived 
 for months as it were in tombs, uncertain whether the
 
 64 THE EAUHE HAUS AT HOEN. 
 
 graves which were being dug were not destined for 
 themselves. The hand of the Lord of life and death 
 evidently protected them while they were fighting 
 the pest at the sick beds, and carrying its victims to 
 the cemetery. And when, after a loss of thousands 
 of lives, the plague at length subsided, other thou- 
 sands of poor helpless orphans swarmed round about, 
 crying for shelter and bread. -Several Protestant 
 orphanages were established in this Popish district. 
 Two of them (one was a gift of the Prince) were com- 
 mitted to the care and direction of the Brethren, and 
 are under their care and management still. 
 
 And in the Danish-German war of 1864 their 
 intrepid charity was again severely tested. Of the 
 37 Brethren who were in the house, 26 begged to be 
 permitted to hasten to the field of battle to nurse 
 the wounded and comfort the weary. Only 12 of 
 them could be permitted to go. Four Brethren of the 
 Berlin Johannesstiftung (the Brethren of this Insti- 
 tution belong also to the Society of the Eauhe 
 Haus Brethren) swelled the number to 16. Upon 
 finding that the hospitals were already sufficiently 
 attended to by the deaconesses of Kaiserswerth, by 
 the deacons of Duisburg, and by others, twelve of 
 them resolved to devote their charitable zeal to 
 the advanced guards, who, being placed at the most 
 remote and dangerous spots, were, more than any 
 other part of the army, destitute of comforts of all 
 kinds. With waggons expressly built for the pur- 
 pose, and laden with provisions, clothes, books.
 
 THE BRETHREN'S WORK. 65 
 
 refreshments, and all imaginable sorts of articles, 
 they drove, under showers of balls and shells, to 
 the perilous quarters. Of the set of three waggons 
 which each division possessed, two were of a light, 
 slender make, and were used for carrying the 
 wounded from the field of battle. The Supplement 
 to the ' Fliegende Blatter ' gave each month a copious 
 and graphic description of what these good men had 
 to go through, when between them and death there 
 was but one step. One out of the many entries may 
 be given. Though bearing the evidence of hasty 
 and abrupt composition, written in the bustle of 
 the battle, and reporting only bare facts, it tells a 
 most touching tale : 
 
 " The shells struck the ground before us, behind 
 us, and by our sides. They burst over our heads, 
 so that the fragments flew like partridges round 
 about our ears. But a mighty Hand protected us. 
 The most dangerous position was at the right-hand 
 wing, because there the famous Rolf Krake was at 
 its fatal work, and, steering as close to the shore as 
 possible, sent its murderous missiles into the flank of 
 the troops. One of its victims was lying just before 
 us, terribly wounded, and deprived of one of his 
 arms. Two of us, guarded by an almighty and 
 merciful God, dragged him out of the frightful fire 
 which the iron-clad monster was vomiting forth. 
 Eight above our heads, about ten yards high, a shell 
 burst, without striking either us or our burden. We 
 took other wounded ones from the hands of the 
 
 VOL. I. P
 
 66 THE EAUHE HAUS AT HORN. 
 
 military carriers, who were like to break down from 
 exhaustion, and carried them on our soft-cushioned 
 litters to the place where the surgeons were attending 
 to the wounded. The spectacle that here presented 
 itself to our eyes was heart-rending. It was a dark 
 night but we could not forget that it was Easter- 
 night. All round about us the moaning of the 
 wounded heroes was heard, breaking the silence. 
 Under all his misery one would call out the names 
 of his parents, another those of his wife and children, 
 while a third would bewail his brothers and sisters. 
 One Brother then opened his mouth and pointed 
 them to the only true Comforter in every need 
 Jesus Christ, who had died for sinners, and also for 
 them, 'his brethren,' whom He loved, and was as 
 willing as He was able to save. And the responses 
 that came from the mouths of many of them proved 
 that His word was not spoken in vain," &c. 
 
 It is not surprising that a feeling of cordial attach- 
 ment and fraternal fellowship should exist between 
 young men animated by the same principles, serving 
 the same Master, sharing the same dangers, and 
 enduring the same trials. And it is not surprising 
 that steps should be taken by them to keep up mu- 
 tual intercourse, even when they are separated by land 
 and sea. So the Brethren, whatever be the variety of 
 their characters and spheres of labour, continue one 
 in Christ, praying for each other, keeping up corre- 
 spondence, and promoting each other's interests 
 and prosperity. Wherever they may be, whether
 
 THE BRETHREN'S WORK. 67 
 
 in Constantinople or in America, they read every 
 morning the same portion of Scripture ; select the 
 same text as a motto for the day, the week, and the 
 year ; sing the same hymns ; and pray for one 
 another at the same hour. They despatch their 
 letters to the Eauhe Haus at regular times. These 
 are read at the conferences, and answered accord- 
 ingly. In all this there is not only nothing objec- 
 tionable, but, on the contrary, it is praiseworthy and 
 lovely, provided it be entirely a matter of free and 
 mutual agreement, compliance with which is per- 
 fectly optional. But Dr. Wichern, with the con- 
 currence of his committee, has deemed it necessary 
 to carry their union a step further, and to consolidate 
 it into a regular Brotherhood. He has not allowed 
 the fraternal bond to take its own free course, but 
 has taken its organization into his own hands, and 
 moulded it into such a form that, viewed from a 
 distance at least, it resembles a monastic order. 
 
 But there is much in the Brotherhood which makes 
 it impossible for any one to mistake it for a monastic 
 order. First, the Brethren are not bound by a vow, 
 every one of them being at liberty to leave at any 
 moment. Then, those who live without the Eauhe 
 Haus are permitted to marry, if in a position to 
 support a wife and family. They are also free as 
 to the choice of their dress, as they wear no uniform. 
 These three things are certainly of great importance, 
 and, if faithfully adhered to, will keep up a constant 
 distinction between a Brother and a monk. On 
 
 F 2
 
 68 THE EAUHE HAUS AT HOEN. 
 
 the other hand, there are things which, if that dis- 
 tinction should disappear, would prove a fit pre- 
 paration for a system of Protestant monachism. 
 Dr. Wichern and his Committee exact from the 
 Brethren such abject submission as even an abbot 
 would scarcely require from his monks. They are 
 not only the leading men of the Brotherhood, but 
 they are also its autocratic directors. A young 
 man who enters the House as a Brother, learns from 
 the regulations for admission that he is not to 
 consider the House as a school of training for some 
 future optional occupation in the sphere of missions, 
 but as the centre of a great work, into the service of 
 which he is taken from the moment he piits his foot 
 on the threshold. There are young men who stay 
 for one or two years in the House merely to learn 
 missionary duties, and then leave it to choose their 
 own field of labour; but such young men are only 
 guests they are not members of the Brotherhood. 
 A Brother is a person who is supposed to have re- 
 signed his own will as to choosing his field of 
 labour. Dr. Wichern and his Committee choose 
 for him. They may send him out as a schoolmaster, 
 or as a prison officer, or as a hospital nurse. They 
 may send him to the banks of the Vistula, of the 
 Tiber, or of the Mississippi. But in whatever capa- 
 city, or to whatever quarter of the globe they may 
 send him, he has no voice in the matter. When 
 sent out, he is, as it were, hired out by Dr. Wichern 
 to the party who is to employ him, and all contracts
 
 THE BKOTHERHOOD. 69 
 
 and future arrangements are settled between that 
 party and the Doctor. During the time of his 
 service, he is, of course, entirely under the direction 
 and control of those who employ him. Neither 
 Dr. Wichern nor his Committee claim any right 
 whatever of interfering with his work. But he 
 is not at liberty to give up his situation without 
 the permission of the Committee ; to whom also 
 his employers must give notice if they desire to 
 dismiss him. When he returns to the Kauhe Haus, 
 he is certain to find shelter and support till he is 
 sent out again. It stands to reason that this con- 
 nexion with Dr. Wichern and his Committee must 
 be desirable to many a young man. Not only is 
 he sure of constant employment in some sphere of 
 Christian labour, but also of assistance in case of 
 sickness, and of support for his widow and orphans 
 in case of death. His character stands fixed before 
 the public. He need not trouble himself about 
 obtaining introductions or recommendations. But 
 if any one of the Brethren refuses to obey the 
 Committee, all official connexion between him and 
 them is cut off; and, though they may continue to 
 keep up friendly intercourse with him, yet the 
 fact of his being separated from the Brotherhood 
 must have an unfavourable bearing upon the pro- 
 gress of his future single-handed enterprises. This 
 absolute dependence of the Brethren upon Dr. 
 Wichern and his Committee is the basis upon which 
 the Brotherhood, as a society, rests.
 
 70 THE KAUHE HAUS AT HORN. 
 
 Each Brother carries with him a document, with 
 the seal and signatures of the Committee, certifying 
 that he is a member of the Brotherhood, and men- 
 tioning in what capacity he is sent out. This is to 
 prevent impostors from applying for engagements 
 under the pretext of being one of the Eauhe Haus 
 band. A strong feeling in regard to the honour of 
 the Brotherhood is kept up by all its members. They 
 have the right of excluding from their number every 
 member whose conduct casts a slur upon the body ; 
 but such is the power of their esprit de corps, that 
 during the whole period of the existence of the 
 fraternity only one or two instances of this exercise 
 of discipline have occurred. 
 
 Now it cannot be denied that such a society may 
 be very useful to both the Church and the State. It 
 must be a convenient thing for both that there is a man 
 in the world who has at his disposal a band of from 
 250 to 300 able, well-trained, and well-principled 
 young men whom he can send where he chooses. If 
 the State wants a schoolmaster, a jail officer, or a 
 sick-nurse ; if the Church wants a colporteur, a cate- 
 chist, or a director of an asylum, they know where to 
 apply. It also stands to reason that absolute sub- 
 mission, on the part of the Brethren, is indispens- 
 able for the right working of the system. Were it 
 left to them to choose their own field of labour, the 
 proportionate distribution of work would be impos- 
 sible ; many a prison, perhaps, would be without an 
 able jailor, and many a young schoolmaster would
 
 THE BROTHERHOOD. 71 
 
 be without a school. Viewed in the light of expe- 
 diency, therefore, Wichern's scheme is worthy of 
 admiration. It really is a wonderful thing that a 
 man should have succeeded in forming a band of 
 young Christians, who, of their own free accord, 
 allow themselves to be disposed of like machines. 
 In England, we have no conception of this kind of 
 dominion over the mind. Here there is many a man 
 who has power over a thousand individuals ; but the 
 relation between them is one of pounds, shillings, 
 and pence. They are his servants, and he pays 
 them their wages. But of a Brotherhood of a 
 society of free Christian men, who rejoice in being 
 kings and priests to God, and at the same time 
 submit themselves to a man, who disposes of them 
 as if they were his servants, who fixes their work 
 and place of abode according to his opinion, and may 
 turn them to the left or to the right as he thinks 
 proper of such a society we have no conception. 
 The Brethren of the Eauhe Haus may assure us 
 that they feel as free and happy as kings that they , 
 rejoice in that man's wise directions that .they never 
 felt greater peace than since they entered that 
 Brotherhood ; all we can answer is, We believe it, 
 but we do not understand it. Viewed in the light of 
 expediency, Dr. Wichern's scheme is quite clear; 
 but viewed in the light of Christian liberty, it is a 
 perfect mystery, and its realisation is a miracle.
 
 VII. 
 
 THE INNER MISSION AND ITS RELATION TO THE KAUHE HAUS 
 BROTHERHOOD. 
 
 T>UT the Rauhe Haus Brotherhood has a con- 
 -^ nexion with, and in fact is only part and parcel 
 of, another and much wider scheme of Wichern's. 
 His great work is the Innere Mission, of which he is 
 the representative leader, if not the originator. This 
 Inner Mission is indigenous to Germany. It is not 
 exactly what we call a Home Mission: it compre- 
 hends the Home Missions, as the government of a 
 country may be said to comprehend the munici- 
 palities of the towns ; but it diifers from them as to 
 the extent of the field of its operations and as to the 
 form of its organisation. Long before Wichern there 
 were Home Missions in Germany. They were, as 
 they are with us, local missions, got up and carried 
 on by the union of Christian friends in order to 
 encounter, in a certain town or district, through the 
 power of the Gospel, ignorance and infidelity, and 
 their fruits, pauperism and immorality. Now, as 
 long as these evils are limited within the bounds of 
 a certain town or district, Home Missions may be 
 adequate institutions to remedy the evil. But what
 
 THE INNER MISSION. 73 
 
 if the evil extends over a whole country ? What if 
 the whole Church of a country is pervaded with a 
 spirit of infidelity and worldly-mindedness if whole 
 communities and districts have sunk into a state of 
 heathenism if hosts of homeless and godless paupers 
 and vagabonds wander through the land in its length 
 and breadth, threatening ruin to Church and State ? 
 Such was the state of things in Germany at the time 
 when Wichern founded the Eauhe Haus, and such 
 is the state of things there even still to a large 
 extent. In England, where the nation is ruled by 
 only one Government and united by only one reli- 
 gion, viz. the Protestant where prosperity blesses 
 all classes of society, and order is maintained every- 
 where such a state of things is comparatively un- 
 known, except in the larger towns. The same may 
 to a great degree be said of France. But in Ger- 
 many, whose sixty millions of people are ruled by 
 from thirty to forty Governments where Popery and 
 Protestantism are so nearly matched in numbers that 
 they are induced to unite in a latitudinarian compro- 
 mise at the expense of faith and principle where 
 whole districts and countries are scarcely able to 
 provide their inhabitants with the necessaries of life 
 where, consequently, a propensity towards wandering 
 about and emigrating, strengthened by an innate love 
 for the adventurous, often drives crowds of people 
 from one end of the world to the other in Germany, 
 I say, infidelity, pauperism, and immorality exist on
 
 74 THE RAUHE HAUS BROTHERHOOD. 
 
 a large scale. There Home Missions came far short 
 of meeting the evil : they were but drops in the 
 ocean. An institution was required of such dimen- 
 sions as to cover Germany with a network of mis- 
 sionary stations, each supplied with means sufficient 
 to follow the stray sheep even into their most obscure 
 hiding-places, and to provide them with places of 
 refuge, of correction, of repentance, and of conversion 
 to the only good Shepherd. 
 
 Such an institution the Church might have been ; 
 but the very fact that the evil had grown up not 
 only in the sight but in the bosom of the Church, 
 was sufficient evidence of her impotence to deal 
 with the matter. The great bulk of the paupers and 
 vagabonds, of the prostitutes and thieves, were mem- 
 bers, or at least children of members, of the Church. 
 There was no town, village, or hamlet all over Ger- 
 many, from the Baltic to the Danube, without a 
 church, and there was no church without a clergy- 
 man and a staff of office-bearers. Yet the paupers 
 multiplied like vermin, and the vagabonds like 
 caterpillars. 
 
 It was in 1849 that Wichern published his able 
 work, Die Innere Mission der Deutschen Evangelischen 
 Kirche (The Inner Mission > of the German Evan- 
 gelical Church), and some years later he published that 
 memorable and thrilling pamphlet, Die Nothstdnde 
 der Protestantischen Kirche (The Alarming Condition 
 of the Protestant Church), in which, with the irre-
 
 THE INNEK MISSION. 75 
 
 sistible eloquence of frightful statistics, he laid bare 
 the cancer that was gnawing at the heart of Chris- 
 tianity in Germany, and reducing both Church and 
 State to the brink of hopeless ruin. It could no 
 longer be denied that the Protestant Church had 
 grossly failed in her mission. Many causes had 
 contributed towards this failure; but one of the 
 principal was, doubtless, the spirit of autocratic cen- 
 tralisation, of bureaucratic hierarchism, with which 
 the Governments, and especially the Prussian Govern- 
 ment, had ruled the Church-Establishment. That 
 Government had kept everything relating to reli- 
 gion in its own hands, permitting no public preaching 
 of the Gospel except by its own clergy, although the 
 number of clergymen was in very great disproportion 
 to the mass of the people to whom they had to 
 minister. No wonder that thousands of sheep went 
 astray where four or five thousand had only one 
 pastor to look after them. Besides, the clergy, in 
 their character as State-officers, were burdened with 
 a heavy load of administrative labours in their 
 parishes and schools, which absorbed a considerable 
 portion of their strength and time. But the worst 
 of all was, that while the Government could give to 
 its officers titles, pulpits, and stipends, it could give 
 them neither love to Christ nor sympathy with the 
 lost. Many a clergyman had taken orders that he 
 might, as a gentleman, enjoy the company of gentle- 
 men, but not that he might spend an hour in the huts 
 of the poor, or show that the " heart of the wise is in
 
 76 THE EAUHE HAUS BEOTHEKHOOD. 
 
 the house of mourning," unless that house of mourning 
 happened to be the burgomaster's, the banker's, or 
 the baron's. Wichern was discreet enough not to 
 tell these sad truths in so many words ; but every one 
 who read his book could find the facts there. It 
 was obvious that the clergy, respectable and in- 
 fluential as they were, stood helpless amid the ruin 
 which they had failed to prevent. It was obvious, 
 too, that Gospel-labourers ought to be sought for 
 who were humble and self-denying enough to leave 
 title, pulpit, and stipend to the clergy, and zealous 
 enough to do their work among the lower classes. 
 But how were such to be obtained ? Two ways were 
 open either by the foundation of free churches, or 
 by the formation of a band of missionary-agents 
 within the Church. Wichern, who was himself a 
 clergyman, adopted the latter plan. The former 
 was not even so much as taken into consideration. 
 He, like all the leaders of Home Missions in Ger- 
 many, dreaded nothing so much as the rise of a Free 
 Church. To tolerate a religious movement of that 
 character was considered uncongenial to the na- 
 tional spirit, dangerous to the State, injurious to the 
 Church, and offensive to the clergy. Whatever 
 might be the faults of the last-mentioned body, it 
 was deemed wiser to secure their co-operation than 
 to rouse them to resistance. Indeed, there were 
 many excellent Christian preachers and pastors 
 amongst them, who certainly were not to blame that 
 matters had come to such an alarming state, and who
 
 THE INNER MISSION. 77 
 
 looked out for a remedy as seriously and prayer- 
 fully as did Wichern himself. At the Kirchentag, 
 held in September, 1848, at Wittenberg, under the 
 presidency of Bethmann-Hollweg and Stahl, and 
 attended by five hundred persons, mostly clergy- 
 men and University-teachers, Wichern's proposal of 
 forming a society for carrying on an Inner Mission 
 throughout Germany met with general approval. 
 He even published an entire plan of organisation, 
 which, like that of the Rauhe Haus, was character- 
 istic of his extraordinary administrative talent, and 
 of his not less extraordinary love for centralisation. 
 The whole gigantic society was mapped out on 
 paper, with its committees in each parish, its boards 
 in each district, its courts in each province, and its 
 central board, which should lead and control the 
 whole organisation. The central board was soon 
 formed, consisting of eleven members. Its president, 
 vice-president, and secretary were Bethmann-Hollweg, 
 Stahl, and Dr. Von Miiller, three distinguished mem- 
 bers of the Prussian Government. Another member 
 of the Government, two clergymen, a professor of 
 the University of Wittenberg, a count, a baronet, 
 and Wichern, formed the rest of the committee. 
 Thus the friendship of the three highest powers in 
 Church and State the Government, the aristocracy, 
 and the clergy was secured, while Wichern, the 
 popular director of the Eauhe Haus, formed the link 
 between them and the people. The ' Fliegende 
 Blatter' were adopted as the organ of the board,
 
 78 THE KAUHE HAUS BROTHERHOOD. 
 
 through which its proceedings up to the present time 
 have been made known to the public. Agents were 
 appointed, correspondents were chosen, and Home 
 Missionary Societies already in existence were in- 
 vited to unite their efforts with those of the Inner 
 Mission. 
 
 The sphere of labour which this Society has 
 chosen for itself is not within a certain church, nor 
 a certain country, but embraces the whole Christian 
 world. The individuals whom it considers as the 
 special objects of its care are not Jews, Moham- 
 medans, or Heathen, but members of baptized Chris- 
 tendom, 1 especially German Christendom, including 
 German Christians who live out of Germany. The 
 object of the Society is not to found free churches, 
 but to restore straying sheep to their respective 
 folds through the medium of the Gospel. 2 Of 
 
 1 "The Inner Mission does not concern itself with the unbap- 
 tised, whether Jews or Heathen. Its labours are confined within 
 the pale of the Church, within the reach (im Bereiche) of the 
 baptised. And it never considers the baptised as Heathen, for it 
 acknowledges the particular value of baptism as a very holy 
 Sacrament. It never forgets that it has to deal with individuals 
 towards whom the Lord has turned in person in the Sacrament." 
 Wichern, ' Die Inn. Miss.,' p. 9. 
 
 2 Of course the Inner Mission, being a Protestant institution, 
 cannot extend its operations to Roman Catholics with the inten- 
 tion of bringing them back to their church ; but it will not try to 
 convert them to the Protestant Church either. " A conflict of 
 that kind with the Roman Catholic Church must be avoided, and 
 on our part, as Protestants, this will be most strictly adhered to, for 
 we would regret any tendency of the Inner Mission which might 
 lead towards persuading members of one denomination to step over 
 into another." ' Die Inn. Miss.,' p. 10. Certainly this is tolerant
 
 THE INNER MISSION. 79 
 
 course those belonging to the higher and more re- 
 spectable classes are not overlooked in the endea- 
 vours of the Society to bring sinners back to Christ ; 
 but as such individuals are not easy of approach, the 
 operations of the Society are mainly directed towards 
 the lower classes. Viewed in this light, the Society 
 is the result of a tacit compact between the Chris- 
 tian philanthropists and the clergy, by which the 
 latter, while keeping the oversight of the higher and 
 more respectable classes for themselves, hand over 
 the care of the poor, the outcast, and the abandoned, 
 to the former. I will not enter here upon an exami- 
 nation as to how far such a division of labour, by 
 which the pastors are exonerated from the care of 
 their lost sheep, is in harmony with the picture of a 
 good shepherd as given in the Gospel. But this 
 much is certain, that it seems to be a measure which 
 is expedient for the present, since it serves different 
 ends at the same time, providing the Government 
 with spiritual policemen, 1 the Church with devout 
 deacons, the philanthropists with useful labour, and 
 the clergy with welcome leisure. 
 
 It is only when looked at in connexion with this 
 Inner Mission scheme of Wichern's, that the Eauhe 
 Haus Brotherhood can be properly understood. Its 
 
 enough, but it is not quite clear from Wichem's book what conduct 
 the Inner Mission pursues when it happens to fall in with Koman 
 Catholics. 
 
 1 The correctness of this expression may be proved from pp. 
 33-47 of Wichern's ' Inn. Miss.,' in which he traces the limits of 
 the Inner Mission within the jurisdiction of the State.
 
 80 THE BAUHE HAUS BEOTHEHHOOD. 
 
 foundation was the solution of the difficult problem, 
 how to form a band of well-trained able Gospel 
 labourers, who, while inspired by free Christian 
 charity, would submit to the various conditions which 
 the Inner Mission, according to Wicheru's plan, 
 would impose upon them. These were, to be content 
 with the humble work of evangelisation among the 
 lower classes ; to abstain from any attempt to raise 
 or conduct a free religious movement, or to establish 
 an independent mission-work of their own ; to place 
 themselves at the service of the Government, of the 
 clergy, or of whoever should want them, without 
 claiming any other title than that of being the ser- 
 vants of those parties for Christ's sake, or any other 
 privilege than that of being permitted to do the work 
 which other people had neither time nor fancy for. 
 It is obvious that the kind of men who would submit 
 to such restrictions are to be found chiefly among the 
 artisan and peasant class, which is nearest to the 
 lowest, and, respectable though it be, is accustomed 
 to live in the service of others. It is also obvious 
 that the liberty of choosing their own career, and 
 fixing their own field of labour, could not possibly be 
 granted to the Brethren; and that perfect submis- 
 sion to the Committee must be a cmditio sine qua 
 non of their admission. And it is also clear that, to 
 make up for their loss of liberty, and to guard them 
 against the spirit of servility which so easily creeps 
 into the souls of men who are kept in constant sub- 
 ordination, they must be united into a Brotherhood,
 
 THE INNER MISSION, 81 
 
 in which, through mutual Christian fellowship and 
 spiritual rivalry, strong enthusiasm would be main- 
 tained among them for their work, and high respect 
 for their right of membership in such a body. 
 
 Let it be understood, however, that the Eauhe 
 Haus Brotherhood is not a staff of servants of the 
 Inner Mission. They are just a body of Gospel la- 
 bourers, whom any Christian philanthropist, whether 
 a member of the Inner Mission or not, may take into 
 his service. When he founded the Brotherhood, 
 Wichern only meant it to be the precursor of many 
 similar societies which he hoped other men would 
 form at other places, for the objects of Christian 
 philanthropy at large. Indeed his example was soon 
 followed by Fliedner, who established the Deacon 
 House at Duisburg, of which a description will be 
 found in a subsequent part of this work. The 
 Duisburg Deacons, however, differ from the Eauhe 
 Haus Brethren, inasmuch as they devote themselves 
 specially to sick-nursing, whereas the others are 
 generally employed in prison and reformatory work. 
 Nor are the Duisburg Brethren formed into an 
 organised Brotherhood, not being trained under the 
 influence of that spirit of centralisation, which charac- 
 terises the originator of the Inner Mission system. 
 Still they are practically in connexion with the 
 Inner Mission. The fact is, that the term Inner Mis- 
 sion is applied? to a kind of missionary work which 
 has not yet assumed a regularly organised form, 
 and with which, consequently, everybody who carries 
 
 VOL. i. G
 
 82 THE KAUHE HAUS AT HORN. 
 
 on any kind of mission operations may claim con- 
 nexion. The system of organisation, which Wichern 
 mapped out on paper, has not yet been carried into 
 practice. It is true the Central Board was created 
 long since, but we have not yet heard of the 
 body of which that Board was to be the head ; the 
 Parish Committees, the District Boards, the Provin- 
 cial Courts, &c., do not yet exist. Here and there 
 small parts of the colossal body are seen, but the 
 body as a whole is invisible. If the Governments 
 would step in and take the matter into their hands, the 
 body would soon perhaps appear ; but they, it would 
 seem, have not yet found time or courage for such 
 interference. Perhaps Germany may be content with 
 this delay. A spirit without a definite bodily form 
 may, to us creatures of flesh and blood, be a difficult 
 object to grapple with ; but it is, at any rate, pre- 
 ferable to a body without a spirit. The Inner 
 Mission, as it exists at present in Germany, is, no 
 doubt, a great blessing to that country ; and it will 
 perhaps be a greater blessing still, if it grow into 
 some regularly organised form by dint of the free 
 development of its own vital power. But if its unity 
 should, through the interference of compulsory power 
 from without, be forced into a visible form, it would 
 soon degenerate into a political institution, which 
 would use the Gospel only as an instrument for 
 state purposes.
 
 VIII. 
 
 FINAL GLANCE AT THE RAXJHE HAUS FAMILY LIFE THE 
 FAMILY- WORSHIP AND LIT0RGY FAMILY DISCIPLINE 
 THE PATRONAGE. 
 
 TTTE will now take a final glance at the religious 
 * * life of the Eauhe Haus. We have already 
 pictured the Institution as a well-regulated organisa- 
 tion, with its Children-families, Brethren-convicts, 
 Candidats, and Teachers ; and we have observed that 
 it forms the centre of a numerous Brotherhood scat- 
 tered all over the world, as well as of a company 
 numbering a thousand individuals, who entered it 
 ignorant, wretched children, and left it orderly mem- 
 bers of society. From what we have learnt of the 
 spirit which animates its founder, we must have per- 
 ceived that nothing is left untried to keep up a union 
 between all those who are, or who may have been, 
 connected with the society. Nothing is more dis- 
 tasteful to such a mind as Wichern's than dismember- 
 ment; nothing more congenial than organisation. 
 And we must give him credit for having found out 
 a plan of union, which, while keeping the various 
 members of the Rauhe Haus community in spiritual 
 fellowship, savours as little of dead mechanism as is 
 possible in any system of the kind. 
 
 G 2
 
 84 THE EAUHE HAUS AT HORN. 
 
 The main-spring in this union-apparatus is the daily 
 family- worship. It assembles all the inmates of the 
 establishment, about two hundred in number, at least 
 once every day, in the Chapel or Prayer-room. They 
 are arranged in progressive order according to the 
 dates of their baptism and communion. The children 
 are seated on five rows of forms or pews facing the 
 House-father, who conducts the service. The form 
 nearest to him is occupied by the latest baptized ; the 
 fifth form by those who are about to take their first 
 communion. Behind and on both sides are the places 
 for the communicants. Each row of children is en- 
 trusted with a special part of the service, for every- 
 thing is contrived to give them as great an interest 
 in it as possible without causing confusion. A rich 
 though perhaps rather complex liturgy keeps up 
 the attention. This liturgy is interwoven with a 
 series of annual, weekly, and daily texts or sentences, 
 which are regularly repeated. It is made up of three 
 main parts. 
 
 The first consists of reading and praying, for which 
 Bunsen's 'General Evangelical Hymn and Prayer 
 Book' is used. A hymn being sung, the House- 
 father reads a text, which he draws by chance, after 
 the fashion of the Moravian Text-Lottery. Then three 
 boys read three other texts taken from that excellent 
 little book called Die Dreifaltige Schnur (The 
 Threefold File). Then the House-father reads a 
 prayer from Bunsen's book. After this the annual 
 texts are read. Each children's family, 'and each
 
 FAMILY WORSHIP. 85 
 
 Brethren's convict, has its own special text that stands 
 for the whole year ; and so also has the band of Can- 
 didats. These texts are communicated to the Brethren 
 who are labouring outside the House, at the beginning 
 of every year, and each Brother takes for himself the 
 text of that convict of which he was a member when 
 he lived in the House. Then two boys and two girls 
 repeat one of the five chapters of Luther's short Cate- 
 chism. This done the weekly text of each children's 
 family is read by one of the boys belonging to it. 
 While the text is being read, the whole assembly 
 unites in repeating it in a low. voice under the leader- 
 ship of the Brother whose office it is to conduct the 
 liturgical service. This is to express the union of 
 the whole household with the special family whose 
 text is being read. Nor is this text chosen at ran- 
 dom, for the family have selected it at a private 
 meeting convened for the purpose, and intend it as 
 an expression of their feelings on reviewing the 
 previous week. This reading is followed by a hymn, 
 and a short silent prayer closes the first part of the 
 service. 
 
 The second part consists of the reading and ex- 
 planation of a portion of Scripture by the House- 
 father. 
 
 The third part is devoted to the religious comme- 
 moration of certain anniversaries, and to the offering 
 up of prayers and thanks for present and absent 
 members of the household. First, all the birthdays 
 both of present and of absent members, that fall on
 
 8(> THE RAUHE HAUS AT HORN. 
 
 that day, are commemorated. And if it should happen 
 to be any of the children's, the House-father selects 
 a suitable text and writes it in a little memorandum- 
 book, which the child keeps for the purpose. Then all 
 the baptismal days are mentioned, and texts selected 
 and written for them. After these the anniversaries of 
 the days on which the children were received into the 
 House, or sent out of it, are remembered. A kind word 
 is then addressed to those who are present, and 
 some fit thought impressed on their hearts. After 
 prayers have been offered up for the persons whose 
 anniversaries were remembered, the service closes 
 with the Lord's Prayer, repeated by one of the 
 children, and with a hymn. On the first day of the 
 month special prayers are offered up for kindred in- 
 stitutions and for the absent Brethren. At the close 
 of each month those children whose birth or bap- 
 tismal day happened in it repeat before the whole 
 congregation the texts which they received. 
 
 This service, in its complete form, is held twice 
 or three times a week, at half-past 7 o'clock in the 
 morning. It lasts about an hour. On other days 
 the second part is omitted. The evening worship 
 lasts only fifteen or twenty minutes. It consists of 
 the reading of a portion of the New Testament, 
 preceded and followed by a hymn. 
 
 With these services at the Eauhe Haus, each 
 absent person, who ever lived at the Establish- 
 ment, whether as a child, a Brother, or a teacher, 
 is enabled to unite in spirit. Being provided with
 
 FAMILY DISCIPLINE. 87 
 
 the required liturgical books, lists of texts and 
 names, &c., he knows, whether he is in Syria or in 
 Denmark, what prayers are offered up on such and 
 such a day, and who they are for ; he knows that on 
 such a day he himself is prayerfully remembered before 
 a throne of grace, because it is his birthday, or his bap- 
 tismal day, or the day on which he saw the Eauhe 
 Haus for the first or for the last time. He is sure that, 
 though he may have been absent from the House for 
 years, he is not forgotten, but that his name is men- 
 tioned to those who came after him, and is kept in 
 the memory of all who lived there with him. When 
 he repeats his annual text, he knows that a thousand 
 friends repeat it with him. When he sings his hymn 
 he knows that his voice mingles with a chorus which 
 resounds from the Kauhe Haus all over the world. 
 To Germans, who are gifted with that particular 
 faculty of mind which they call Gremuth, for which, 
 by the way, there is no corresponding word in the 
 English language, not because Englishmen have 
 not the thing, but because they think proper to dis- 
 guise it; to Germans, I say, this form of enjoying 
 mutual spiritual fellowship is exceedingly welcome. 
 Much of it may be merely imaginary ; but still it 
 has a powerful influence upon the affections and 
 the heart. By instituting this system of intercourse, 
 Wichern has shown his knowledge of the spirit and 
 character of his nation. It may have its disadvan- 
 tages, inasmuch as it tends to sacrifice mental freedom 
 to the power of routine. But it doubtless has also
 
 88 THE KAUHE HAUS AT HORN. 
 
 its advantages, inasmuch as it surrounds the whole 
 man with a religious atmosphere, which helps to guard 
 him against bad influences from without. 
 
 Owing to the admirable division of so many per- 
 sons, both children and adults, into small families, the 
 Eauhe-Haus life has none of the monotony and 
 mechanism of a wholesale training-system. The 
 decided Christian spirit which breathes through the 
 whole Establishment, from morning till evening, 
 impresses the children with a feeling that their 
 teachers are really in earnest about their true wel- 
 fare, and serve them, not for profit but for Christ's 
 sake. True, there is an aspect of gravity, seriousness, 
 and sedateness about the entire household, which 
 causes it to be sneered at by the infidel and light- 
 minded part of the population of Hamburg. Accord- 
 ingly, the Establishment, ever since its commence- 
 ment, has had to bear many evil reports, which 
 slanderous tongues are always eager to spread about 
 those who do not believe that all religion is hypocrisy, 
 and that all devotion is fanaticism. But one day's 
 stay at the House is quite sufficient to show the im- 
 partial Christian visitor that the seriousness which 
 characterises the institution is not kept up at the 
 expense of the free development of natural human 
 life. There is strict discipline, but it seldom needs 
 to be supported by punishment. The self-respect 
 of the family supersedes the rod and the prison. 
 The severest chastisement inflicted is the practical 
 application of the text that he who does not work
 
 FAMILY DISCIPLINE.- 89 
 
 shall not eat, and this has but rarely to be resorted 
 to. When crime, such as theft, has been committed 
 by any member of a family, the whole family is 
 roused; and no higher authority is required to 
 settle the matter, and bring the guilty one to 
 a right state of mind. Along with this general 
 respect for order, however, there is plenty of sport 
 and fun and playful amusement. No inconsistency 
 is thought to exist in allowing the same lips to 
 pray to God at one time and to smile at a jest 
 at another ; or in permitting the same hands to be 
 folded in devotion in the morning and to spin a 
 top or to throw a ball in the afternoon. The children 
 are often at liberty to take a walk outside the House, 
 and look upon the charming rural scenery around ; 
 or to go to town, to visit their friends, or to look at 
 the ships, where they recognise many a Rauhhausler 
 among the sailors. They walk out, not in files, like 
 soldiers, but in perfect freedom, like the children of 
 any other family. 
 
 Moreover, there is a constant influx of strangers 
 from all quarters of the globe, to visit this cele- 
 brated trophy of Christian charity, this admirable 
 model of a Training-Establishment. The list of 
 visitors, which was begun in 1833, contained in 
 1861 nearly 16,000 names ; and it may be calculated 
 that this is not even one-fifth of the number of indi- 
 viduals who have really visited the place. There is 
 no institution in the world where a child can see more
 
 90 THE EATJHE HAUS AT HORN. 
 
 people or learn better how to behave itself in the 
 presence of strangers. 
 
 An excellent feature in the Eauhe Haus system 
 is the Patronage, which was established in 1857. 
 Its purpose is to form a link between the children 
 and society at large. Each family of children has 
 a Patron, who belongs to the richer class in Ham- 
 burg. He receives every month a written account 
 of the principal events that have taken place in his 
 family. At the close of each quarter the school- 
 reports of the conduct of the" children are sent to 
 him, and these he returns with his signature, often 
 bringing them back in person, and addressing a few 
 words to the children, with reference to the marks 
 against their names. When the family has a festival, 
 or when some important event happens among them, 
 the Patron is their guest. And once or twice a year 
 he invites them in return to his house, and gives them 
 an entertainment in the circle of his friends. On his 
 birthday, or on the birthdays of the members of his 
 family, he receives congratulations from the Eauhe 
 Haus family. When a child is going to be sent 
 out, it visits its Patron, and acquaints him with its 
 plans and wishes. Thus each child has a friend 
 among the influential men of the town ; and as 
 Hamburg, through its mercantile connexions, is in 
 correspondence with all parts of the world, this is of 
 great importance, especially for such children as go 
 to sea. A visit from the Patron is always a great
 
 THE PATRONAGE. 91 
 
 event in the family. When he makes his appearance 
 they are all immediately astir, and run out to meet 
 him. This feature in the system cannot fail to have a 
 beneficial influence upon the family-spirit. It greatly 
 promotes the feeling of self-respect, while it also 
 impresses the minds of the little outcasts and vaga- 
 bonds with the ennobling idea of a love which can 
 forget and forgive all that is past, which can raise 
 sunken ones to new life, and even inspire the hope- 
 less with fresh vigour and joyful expectation.
 
 IX 
 
 RESULTS OF THE WORK, RULES AND REGULATIONS, 
 STATISTICS, ETC. 
 
 TT is perhaps hardly necessary for me to say, after 
 *- the details which I have already given, that 
 Wichern and his committee take every possible care 
 to provide the children with suitable situations when 
 they leave the House. The boys are apprenticed to 
 master tradesmen, and the girls are sent to respect- 
 able service. 
 
 As to the results of the training of the children, 
 special statistics are not given ; but I will transcribe 
 Wichern's own words, in which he gives the impres- 
 sion which an experience of twenty-eight years has 
 left upon his mind : 
 
 "When we look round the circle of individuals 
 who as children were connected with our Eauhe 
 Haus, we find ourselves carried to all parts of 
 the world, even into the interior regions of Aus- 
 tralia, where some of the most energetic and
 
 RESULTS OF THE WORK. 93 
 
 faithful of our pupils have pitched their tents. We 
 also find them in all classes of society. One is a 
 minister, one a student of theology, one a law student, 
 several school-teachers. We find among them officers 
 of the German army, stewards of gentlemen's estates, 
 merchants who are heads of respectable firms, directors 
 of institutions for industry ; horticulturists, litho- 
 graphers, and xylographers ; many master-tradesmen, 
 scattered through many towns, and journeymen 
 mechanics, instructed in all sorts of handicraft. One 
 is a sea-captain ; others are mates and sailors, who 
 undertake voyages round the globe ; some are colonists 
 in America and Australia. We find amongst them, 
 both at home and abroad, happy heads of families, 
 fathers and mothers, who give to their children a 
 good education, and train them up in the way in 
 which they themselves were trained in our House. 
 There are also servants and day-labourers among 
 them. And while some are well-to-do people, others 
 are poor and pressed by heavy cares, and suffer sad 
 experiences. And there are also some upon whom 
 all the trials of life seem to be lost. Grievous, 
 however, as these things are, they ought not to 
 mar the picture of the whole, whicli gives us so 
 much reason to rejoice." 
 
 The admission of a child into the Establishment 
 is effected by a written contract between its parents 
 or guardians and a Board appointed for the purpose. 
 This Board consists of the Director (Dr. Wichern),
 
 94 THE EAUHE HAUS AT HORN. 
 
 the Inspector (Mr. Kiehm), a lawyer, and a medical 
 man. The terms of the contract are simple. The 
 parents or guardians of the child promise not to 
 interfere with its education, nor to visit it without 
 the permission of the Director. They cannot take 
 back the child before the expiration of its regular 
 time of pupilage, unless they repay what has been 
 expended upon its support. 
 
 The girls, who constitute one-third of the number 
 of the children and are divided into two families 
 at the "Swallows' Nests," are under the care of 
 "Sisters," who here find an opportunity of exercising 
 themselves as female missionary agents. The 
 Sisters usually number six. They are under the 
 direction of Mrs. Biehm, who, with their assistance, 
 teaches the girls all the work that is done in the 
 kitchen, the washhouse, the laundry, and the sewing- 
 room. They receive a salary with free board and 
 lodging. Before 1861, thirty-four of them had 
 been sent out, nineteen of whom continued to carry 
 on the same work as they had devoted themselves to 
 in the House. 
 
 The Brethren receive no salary, except a little 
 pocket-money, with gratuitous instruction, and board 
 and lodging. They stay three years at the House, 
 and during the first year they must provide their 
 own clothing. They must pay too a trifle on enter- 
 ing and leaving, and also the cost of their books, 
 which is from six to eight thalers (from eighteen to
 
 BALANCE-SHEET. 95 
 
 twenty-four shillings). They must be unmarried and 
 unengaged. 
 
 The Brethren are supported by a fund, raised 
 by voluntary contributions, and kept entirely sepa- 
 rate from the finances of the House. Of that fund, 
 as far as I could ascertain, no balance-sheet has 
 been published, but during the year 1863 it amounted 
 to about 4:501. 
 
 A copy of the balance-sheet of 1863 will enable 
 my readers to see at a glance the financial condition 
 of the Establishment. The figures represent Ham- 
 burg marks current. A mark, containing sixteen 
 Hamburg skillings, is equal to a little less than 
 1 s. 2^d. sterling, so that two and a half marks make 
 three shillings. 
 
 INCOME. 
 
 From parents, guardians, or friends of the children, M. S. 
 
 for board, &c 6,227 10 
 
 the Brethren, for ditto 7,488 10 
 
 the pensionat or boarding-school 6,456 13 
 
 the publishing-office, for rent and board .. 1,104 6 
 
 the printing-office, for ditto 900 11 
 
 divers repayments 891 8 
 
 the collecting-box at the house 633 10J 
 
 accidental contributions 4,188 00 
 
 annual ditto 4,773 11 
 
 interest of invested capital 1 , 986 14 
 
 balance of the stock of cattle 145 7 
 
 34,797 4J
 
 96 THE KAUHE HAUS AT HORN. 
 
 EXPENDITURE. 
 
 
 M. 
 
 s. 
 
 To repairs 
 
 1 ,865 
 
 3* 
 
 , , taxes, insurance, &c 
 
 842 
 
 5 
 
 ,, interest of mortgage 
 
 1,718 
 
 12 
 
 , , provisions 
 
 15,560 
 
 14 
 
 , , balance of the account of the cultivation of 
 
 
 
 the gardens and fields 
 
 928 
 
 Hi 
 
 , , light, cleaning, and washing 
 
 2,109 
 
 12* 
 
 , , fire 
 
 2,009 
 
 5 
 
 , , schoolbooks, &c. 
 
 342 
 
 81 
 
 , , clothing 
 
 2,439 
 
 3 
 
 , , furniture 
 
 1,136 
 
 11 
 
 , , salary of the Director 
 
 0,000 
 
 00 
 
 , , salaries of the Inspector, Upper Assistants, 
 
 
 
 and Sisters 
 
 2,575 
 
 00 
 
 ,, medicine and medical attendance 
 
 240 
 
 2* 
 
 
 545 
 
 00 
 
 ,, sundry expenses, postages, &c 
 
 402 
 
 6 
 
 32,715 15J 
 BALANCE. 
 
 M. s. 
 
 Total income 34,797 4J 
 
 Total expenditure 32,715 15 
 
 Surplus 2,081 4| 
 
 It will not escape the notice of the reader that 
 Dr. Wichem's salary is represented by ciphers. 
 
 The Direction, or Acting Committee of the 
 Eauhe Haus consists of twenty-three members, 
 including Dr. Wichern and Mr. Riehm. This body 
 is divided into four sections ; namely, the Committee 
 for the children's establishment, which numbers 
 eleven members ; the Committee for the Institution 
 of the Brethren and the Pensionat, five members ; 
 the Committee for the printing-office ; and the Com- 
 mittee for the publishing office. Dr. Wichern is a 
 member of all four. The examination of the books
 
 STATISTICS. 97 
 
 of each section is entrusted to one of the other 
 three. 
 
 The number of children living at the House during 
 1863 was on an average ninety-eight. On the 1st 
 of January there were one hundred and one, sixty- 
 seven being boys and thirty-four girls. Of these, 
 thirteen boys and six girls were sent out, but twelve 
 boys and six girls were admitted to take their place, 
 so that at the close of the year the number of pupils 
 amounted exactly to one hundred. 
 
 I have filled many pages with the description of 
 this excellent work of Christian charity, and yet 
 how imperfect is the picture which I have drawn. 
 To obtain anything like a complete idea of the 
 Bauhe Haus, one ought to see it with one's own 
 eyes. And what one will see even then, important 
 as it is, is but a small portion of the good work 
 which, spread all the world over, finds its central 
 point and mainspring at this wonderful spot. 
 
 The Rauhe Haus, though established after some 
 other reformatories or poor-schools, may yet be 
 considered as the parent of a large number of Chris- 
 tian Charitable Institutions in Germany and in 
 other countries ; and the day of its foundation may 
 be celebrated as the anniversary of one of the most 
 important events in the history of the Christian 
 Church during the present century. 
 
 VOL. I.
 
 NOTE. 
 
 The Establishment of St. John (Johannesstiftung} at Berlin is 
 especially connected with Wichern's Inner Mission system, and, 
 like the Rauhe Haus, owes its existence to his charitable activity. 
 Like it, too, it is an institution for training home-missionary 
 agents, prison officers, sick-nurses, &c. From the time of its 
 foundation in 1858, till May 1864, thirty-two of the Brethren of 
 St. John were sent out in the same way as those of the Rauhe 
 Haus, of whose Brotherhood they are also members. In 1864 
 the Establishment, through the interposition of the Government, 
 obtained possession of a large tract of wooded laud in the imme- 
 diate vicinity of the town, on which is being founded at present 
 a Protestant institution on the plan of Mettray ; not exclusively, 
 however, for young convicts, but also for young orphans and 
 other homeless and helpless children. I have not seen this 
 important institution, but, from what I learn about it, through 
 its printed reports and the communications of friends who 
 have seen it, I gather that it must be a great work, especially in 
 connexion with prison-reform.
 
 EXPLANATION OF THE PLAN OF THE RAUUE HAUS. 
 
 1. The old Huge Hoos, with the chestnut-tree. 
 
 2. An old building, formerly a hothouse. 
 
 3. The Bookbinding-office. 
 
 4. The Swiss House. 
 
 5. Dr. Wichern's house and garden. 
 
 6. Large garden-plots. 1 
 
 7. Pond in a chestnut-grove. 
 
 8. The Vine Hill. 
 
 9. The Infirmary for boys. 
 
 10. The Publishing-office. 
 
 11. Field belonging to the establishment. 
 
 12. House of the Vogt, or steward. 
 
 13. Bakery. 
 
 14. Stable and barn. 
 
 15. Sheds. 
 
 16. The Fishers' Cottage. 
 
 17. The Shepherds' Cottage, which is a little house used for 
 
 receiving novices or for accidental purposes. 
 
 18. The Gold Bottom. 
 
 19. The Beehive. 
 
 20. 21. The washing and drying houses. 
 
 22. The Swallows' Nests. 
 
 23. The Green Fir. 
 
 24. The Prayer-Eoom or Chapel, with adjacent rooms for in- 
 
 struction, and an infirmary for girls, 
 
 25. The Schonburg. 
 
 1 The gardens are mostly used for growing vegetables ; but there 
 are also 600 fruit-trees in them. Two ponds and six wells supply 
 the place with water. 
 
 H 2
 
 THE DEACONESS HOUSE AT 
 KAISERSWERTH 
 
 (EHENISH PRUSSIA).
 
 I. 
 
 A VISIT TO KAISERSWERTH GERTRUDE EEICHARDT, THE FIRST 
 DEACONESS A GLANCE AT THE ESTABLISHMENTS AT 
 KAISERSWEKTH. 
 
 TT7HEN, in November, 1864, 1 visited the Kaisers- 
 * ' werth Establishment for the second time, and 
 stood by the newly-made grave that contained the 
 mortal remains of its great and deeply -lamented 
 founder, I was so struck with astonishment at the 
 wonderful work which God, through the instrumen- 
 tality of a weak human being, had performed, that I 
 regretted that I could not stay six months at the 
 place, and write a special volume about what my 
 eyes saw, and my heart enjoyed. 
 
 As I stepped out of the stage-coach which had 
 carried me from the Calcum Railway-station (on the 
 Cologne-Minden line) to the little village of Kai- 
 serswerth, I remembered that I was at the place 
 where, exactly 802 years ago, Roman Catholic priest- 
 craft committed one of the grossest acts of cruelty 
 and violence which a priest ever had the daring to 
 perpetrate. It was in 1062 that the Archbishop 
 Hanno of Cologne, after having decoyed to Kai-
 
 KAISERSWEBTH. 
 
 sersvverth the young Emperor Henry IV., then a boy 
 of twelve, and his mother, under the pretext of a 
 friendly banquet, suddenly separated the child from 
 her by enticing him into his yacht that was lying 
 on the Klrine, with the view of carrying him to 
 Cologne. The poor frightened youth jumped over- 
 board to swim to his mother, who was standing on 
 the bank with outstretched arms and loosened hair ; 
 and he would certainly have been drowned, had not 
 one of the prelate's friends jumped after him and 
 brought him safe on board again. The manstealer 
 was little aware that, on the very spot where his 
 princely castle then stood, a less magnificent but not 
 less important building would rise in later days, 
 which would be inhabited by man-savers ; and as little 
 did the young Emperor think that here would be 
 seen one of the most wonderful results of that spirit 
 which fights the Pope of Rome with greater success 
 than he experienced in his terrible struggle with 
 Hildebrand. 
 
 Thoughts of this passed through my mind as I 
 found myself face to face with this wonderful insti- 
 tution. There it was lying before me, that humble 
 yet imposing building, now the silent yet eloquent 
 monument of the faith, the love, and the self-denial 
 of a man who is no more amongst us, but whose 
 name is written in the hearts of thousands who but 
 for him would be homeless, hopeless outcasts. 
 
 I entered one of the two main entrances of the 
 building, and found myself in a simple flag-paved
 
 MES. FLIEDNEB'S HOUSE. 
 
 105 
 
 hall or passage. A woman guided me across a 
 spacious garden to a row of buildings which ran 
 parallel with the main establishment. One of these 
 humble buildings is the dwelling of Mrs. Fliedner. 
 I was shown into a little front parlour, the wooden 
 floor of which was, after the simple German fashion, 
 only partly covered with a small carpet, upon 
 which a table stood. The walls were adorned with 
 
 Deaconess Institution and Hospital at Kaiserswerth. 
 
 several engravings, among which was a portrait of 
 Dr. Fliedner's first wife lying on her death-bed. A 
 bookcase was placed in a corner, containing publica- 
 tions, chiefly concerning the deaconess-work. 
 
 This worthy widow, the mother of ten children, 
 now the head of this immense establishment, soon 
 made her appearance. She seemed little changed
 
 106 KAISERSWERTH. 
 
 from what she was when I saw her seventeen years 
 before. Her tall dignified form still stood unbent 
 under the heavy burden which was pressing upon 
 her. Affliction marked her face, but dimmed not 
 her clear eye, which beamed with kindness and 
 benevolence. But it was soon filled with tears when 
 I took her hand and told her what I felt at the great 
 loss she and her children and the Church of God had 
 sustained. 
 
 " Alas ! " she said, " the heavy blow was long ex- 
 pected, yet when it came we felt as if it were 
 sudden. During the last eight years we were pre- 
 pared to see him depart from amongst us, and it was 
 marvellous in our eyes that he continued living and 
 labouring until now. But God strengthened him 
 with extraordinary power for the extraordinary work 
 He had entrusted to his hands. And that same God 
 strengthens us now. We are not left comfortless. 
 He who in his divine wisdom took my beloved 
 husband from my side, knows how to fill up the 
 empty place with his unspeakable grace and love." 
 
 Mrs. Fliedner continued a while speaking in this 
 tone, but our conversation could only be very short, 
 as pressing engagements called her away. I learnt 
 that the management of the whole concern was for 
 the present in her hands, in which task she was 
 assisted by her son-in-law, the Rev. Pastor Disselhoff, 
 superintendent of the asylum for female lunatics. 
 
 A deaconess guided me through the whole estab- 
 lishment. It took me three hours to walk over its
 
 THE HOUSE OF REST. 
 
 107 
 
 extensive premises, and to take a peep into the 
 principal apartments. At length, passing through 
 a beautiful garden, we arrived at the Feier-Abend 
 Hause a beautiful symbolic name for a " House 
 of Rest" for old deaconesses. Feier-Abend means 
 the evening which precedes a great festival. 
 
 Before proceeding to describe the buildings, I 
 would like to recount what passed at an interview 
 
 The House of Rest. 
 
 which I enjoyed with one of those aged servants of 
 Christ who here spend the evening of their lives in 
 quiet, hallowed preparation for their joyful reception 
 into the heavenly dwelling place of their divine 
 Master. I entered the place with a feeling of 
 deep respect and gratitude at finding myself so near 
 those venerable spiritual heroines, who had fought
 
 108 KAISEKSWERTH. 
 
 many a noble battle against sin, disease, death, and 
 misery, and were now about to receive the reward 
 which their chief Captain promised for their faith- 
 fulness. The deaconess who guided me opened one 
 of the cheerful-looking little parlours. I saw a little 
 old woman bent with age, her hymn-book on her 
 knee, reading the praises of Him whom she had 
 served long and expected soon to see in His glory. 
 It was Gertrude Keichardt, the first deaconess with 
 whom Fliedner commenced his work, and whose 
 brother, the Missionary, is well known to Christians 
 in England. 
 
 " Ah ! sir," she said with a smile, in which sadness 
 seemed to wrestle with joy, " ah ! sir, he is only 
 gone a little before, and old Gertrude will follow 
 him soon." 
 
 " And are you rejoicing at that prospect, dear old 
 mother ? " I asked. 
 
 " I am," she replied, with an expression of deep 
 earnestness on her countenance. " I am, sir, for I 
 long to see Him who has bought me with his blood, 
 and redeemed me as his property." 
 
 " Ay, that's right," I said ; " you have been long 
 enough in this wilderness to make you wish to get 
 home. I suppose you must be tired of your pil- 
 grimage, and feel that rest in the arms of Jesus 
 would be welcome." 
 
 " If it were the Lord's will to have me continue 
 labouring for Him many years to come yet," she 
 answered, " 1 should gladly submit, if only I could
 
 GERTRUDE BEICHARDT. 109 
 
 do the work, for it is a blessing, sir, to labour in the 
 service of such a Master. But my strength is gone. 
 During the last two years I have been compelled to 
 stop working. And now I feel that the time of my 
 rest has come. Still, the eye of my mind is not 
 always as clear as I should wish. Sometimes a 
 cloud comes between and hides my Saviour from me, 
 and then I feel distressed. Ah ! to be always sure of 
 truly being in Christ what a great thing it is, sir ! 
 what a great thing ! 
 
 " Still," she continued after a pause, " the Lord is 
 faithful and near to all who call upon Him. I am 
 old and weak ; but the consolations of the Lord are 
 always near and always strong. He will not forsake 
 me even in the valley of the shadow of death, as He 
 did not forsake Pastor Fliedner, who with joy has 
 entered into his rest." 
 
 Her eyes here assumed an extraordinary bright- 
 ness. She spoke of her near prospect of heavenly 
 bliss. It was plain that the clouds which she had 
 complained of had nothing to do with her heart, but 
 only arose from the infirmities of her body. I could 
 not help looking with a feeling of holy reverence at 
 that old servant of Grod, who, hid from the gaze of 
 the world, had spent her life in the most humble 
 services, suffering with the sufferers, weeping with 
 the weeping ones, denying herself for her Master's 
 sake the comforts and pleasures of this life, all 
 to be able to give comfort and pleasure to others 
 and to glorify her Saviour. And now she was about
 
 110 KAISEKSWERTH. 
 
 to receive that incorruptible and everlasting crown of 
 glory which, many a famous hero and many a mighty 
 king will fail to inherit. 
 
 The various buildings of the Colony of Kaisers- 
 werth are arranged in six groups, between which 
 are spacious and well-laid-out kitchen and flower 
 gardens. 
 
 First comes the chief building, the so-called 
 Mother-House, which contains the dwelling-rooms 
 and bed -rooms for the deaconesses, the hospital 
 for male and female invalids, the apothecary's 
 room, the writing-room, &c. At present 415 sisters 
 are connected with this Establishment, of whom 
 171 are probationers. They are divided into two 
 classes, Nursing and Instructing sisters. The 
 former attend to the various wards, and are, in the 
 men's ward, assisted by men-nurses. The latter, of 
 whom there are 31, with 43 probationers, are trained 
 for educational work. During the year 1863 not less 
 than 789 invalids were nursed, of whom 260 were 
 Koman Catholics and eight Jews. Protestant as the 
 Institution is, yet free admission is granted to the 
 Koman Catholic priest to visit the members of his 
 Church, and to administer extreme unction to the 
 dying. This act of toleration proceeds rather from 
 necessity than from a spirit of latitudinarianism. To 
 refuse the admission of the Koman Catholic priest 
 would be tantamount to refusing tbe reception 
 of Roman Catholic invalids, which is, if I am
 
 SCHOOLMISTRESSES' SEMINARY. Ill 
 
 rightly informed, a conditio sine qua non of the 
 sanction of the Institution by the Government. Nor 
 does the presence of Romanists hinder the mission- 
 work which the deaconesses, under the direction of the 
 Chaplain of the Establishment, carry on among the 
 sufferers. All the invalids, no matter what denomi- 
 nation they belong to, hear every day the Gospel 
 read and explained. And every annual report con- 
 
 Seminary for Schoolmistresses. 
 
 tains touching instances of the conversion of indi- 
 viduals, who entered the Hospital in a state of 
 ignorance or infidelity, and either left it, or died, 
 rejoicing in the God of their salvation. 
 
 The Instructing Sisters are again divided into two 
 classes, viz., Teachers of Infant-schools and Teachers 
 of Girls' schools and other educational establish-
 
 112 KAISERSWEKTH. 
 
 ments. When sent out to teach, two of them 
 always go together, "in the same manner as the 
 Lord sent out His disciples, so that they may 
 strengthen one another mutually in their weakness." 
 They exercise themselves in the practice of teach- 
 ing at the Infant-school of the Establishment (which 
 is attended by from seventy to eighty children), at 
 the Orphan-house, at the Town-school, or at the 
 Children's wards in the Hospital, and they receive 
 their theoretical training at the Seminary, which 
 is a spacious three-storied building with thirty-six 
 windows in front. 
 
 The view from this house is very picturesque, 
 having gardens on one side, and the Ehine on 
 the other. Of the pupils who are trained here 
 only a few are deaconesses, as most of them prepare 
 themselves for independent situations. At the 
 close of 1863, out of eighty-five pupils who were 
 in the house, only twenty-two were deaconesses. 
 The total number of teachers trained at this Estab- 
 lishment, since its commencement, amounts to 1 007, 
 who are scattered throughout the world, conducting 
 hundreds of schools, from those for more advanced 
 girls down to those for infants. It is gratifying 
 and often touching to read the letters in which these 
 teachers give an account of their work to Dr. Fliedner. 
 And the testimonies to their usefulness borne by 
 Christians, who live in the districts where they are 
 labouring, are very strtihg. For instance, a lady in 
 East Prussia wrote in 1863 :
 
 FEMALE ORPHAN ASYLUM. 113 
 
 "Nearly nine months have elapsed since your 
 deaconess came to us. It is not a very long period, 
 but what a change has taken place amongst our 
 children ! From being either absolutely stupid and 
 brutish creatures, who sat on their forms like senseless 
 lumps, or half-naked and dirty savages, who blus- 
 tered and bullied at their games, they have become 
 rational beings, who are ashamed of coming to school 
 unwashed or with torn clothes, who greet people 
 politely, and show a quickness of mind and a sharp- 
 ness of memory which really amaze us. Perhaps 
 you will suspect me of exaggeration, but you do not 
 know our people." 
 
 The Infant-school is the third building which 
 attracts our attention. Certain recent alterations 
 and repairs have made it an excellent, spacious, and 
 well-ventilated school-house. A large play-ground 
 gives plenty of opportunity for recreation to the 
 seventy or eighty children who here receive in- 
 struction every day. One of the deaconesses is 
 the chief teacher. Assisted by a male-teacher 
 she instructs her younger sisters in Infant-school 
 management. 
 
 Next comes the Female Orphan Asylum, which 
 receives girls under twelve, who have lost one or 
 both of their parents. They are not poor, but of 
 rather respectable families, and are mostly daughters 
 of clergymen and schoolmasters. This house is at 
 the same time intended to be a kind of training 
 school for future deaconesses. Ten of the present 
 
 VOL. I. 1
 
 114 
 
 KAISERSWERTIL 
 
 Kaiserswerth deaconesses were trained at this Orphan 
 House. The present number of pupils is twenty- 
 seven. 
 
 The oldest of the Kaiserswerth institutions is the 
 House of Refuge for released female Prisoners and 
 Magdalens. Since its foundation in 1833, 439 girls, 
 either discharged prisoners or fallen women, have 
 been received, and, after a residence of one or two 
 
 .Institution for Insane Women. 
 
 years, provided with suitable situations. The present 
 number of inmates is thirty. 
 
 The Institution for Protestant Insane Women 
 of the educated class is a magnificent building, 
 situated in a pleasant garden. It contains forty 
 rooms of various sizes, besides bath-rooms, halls 
 for ro^ial meetings and musical entertainments,
 
 THE HOUSE OF BEST. 115 
 
 passages for walking exercise, a covered arcade 
 used in wet weather, and a greenhouse which affords 
 an opportunity for gardening even in winter. The 
 medical direction of the House is in the hands of the 
 Hospital physician, and Pastor Disselhoff attends 
 to the spiritual treatment of the unhappy inmates. 
 The physician and the pastor are assisted in their 
 work by eighteen deaconesses. Of the fifty-five 
 ladies who were discharged during the last three 
 years, sixteen were perfectly cured, eleven were 
 much improved, eleven were sent back uncured to 
 their families, and twelve were removed to other 
 establishments. During the year 1863 the House 
 contained forty-one inmates, of whom twenty-six 
 were suffering from melancholia. 
 
 I have already mentioned the House of Eest. But 
 not only are the aged deaconesses cared for, there is 
 also a place of retirement and refreshment for those 
 who require rest and change of air. It is Salem, a 
 pretty-looking farmhouse near Ratingen, seven miles 
 from Kaiserswerth, situated at the foot of the woody 
 hills through which the beautiful stream of the 
 Anger flows. Here, in the midst of most charm- 
 ing and picturesque scenery, where in summer the 
 fragrance of field and forest soothes the mind, 
 and the freshness of mountain-air invigorates the 
 system, the deaconesses have an opportunity of 
 regaining the health which they have lost through 
 their arduous labours at the sick-beds and in the 
 
 i 2
 
 116 
 
 KAISERSWERTH. 
 
 schools of the poor. It is a true Salem, a house of 
 peace for the weary, who here, in the company of 
 their sisters, spend some time in quiet communion 
 with Him from whom they derive all their strength 
 for the holy work they have devoted themselves to. 
 A small Filial-orphan House, as it is called, is also 
 
 Salem, near Ratingen. 
 
 connected with this Establishment, and is under the 
 superintendence of two deaconesses. 
 
 Another Orphan House was founded at Altorf, near 
 Pless, in Upper Silesia. It owes its origin to the 
 typhus which raged in that district in 1848. The 
 noble Count and Countess Stolberg, residents of 
 Pless, impelled by compassion for the orphans of 
 those who fell victims to the epidemic, gave a 
 building for their use, and put it under Fliedner's
 
 THE OKPHAN-HOUSE AT ALTORF. 117 
 
 direction. The Government also sent a number of 
 orphans from the neighbourhood, to have them 
 trained in it as farm-servants. About a yearly 
 average of eighty children have been sheltered, 
 fed, clothed, and trained, at this excellent house of 
 charity. 
 
 The Orphan-House at Altoit. 
 
 So much for the institutions of Kaiserswerth. 
 And now, if we turn our eyes to the North, the 
 South, the East, and the West, we will see not less 
 than 96 stations, where 293 deaconesses are labouring 
 under the direction of the Committee. 1 Of these 
 stations 78 are in the kingdom of Prussia, 7 in 
 
 1 The Committee bears the name of " Direction of the Rhenish- 
 Westphalian Society for training and sending out (BescUaftigung) 
 evangelical Deaconesses." It consists of eight members. Dr. Fliedner 
 was its Vice-President and Secretary.
 
 118 KAISERSWERTH. 
 
 other German States, 4 in other European countries 
 (at Constantinople, Bucharest, Florence, and Geneva), 
 
 4 in Asia, 1 in Africa (Alexandria), and 1 in 
 America (Pittsburg). Eighty-six of them are In- 
 stitutions belonging to corporations, societies, or 
 communities, whom the Committee has agreed to 
 supply with deaconesses. Forty-four of these In- 
 stitutions are hospitals, or infirmaries; 11 schools; 
 
 5 poorhouses ; 2 orphanages ; 2 Protestant homes for 
 maid-servants ; 2 deaconess-houses ; 1 a school for 
 the blind ; and 1 a prison. The rest are local home- 
 missions, carried on by churches, which employ dea- 
 conesses as their agents. Most of these churches 
 have 2 deaconesses in their service. In some of the 
 hospitals from 3 to b* deaconesses are employed ; and 
 at the new Charity-house at Berlin there are 8 
 deaconesses. 
 
 During the Schleswig-Holstein war 28 deacon- 
 esses were engaged day and night in the hos- 
 pitals at Gottorf (in the town of Schleswig), 
 Apenrade, Hadersleben, Kolding, and Flensburg. 
 That such able and zealous sick-nurses would be 
 invaluable, every one can understand. They were 
 like consoling angels to the wounded Danes, as 
 well as to their own countrymen. One day General 
 Wrangel visited the Hadersleben hospital, where 
 the deaconesses had daily to tend from sixty to 
 seventy invalids. He here saw a Danish prisoner, 
 with whom he conversed, through an interpreter, 
 about the way in which he was taken prisoner, &c.
 
 THE SISTERS IN SCHLESWIG. 119 
 
 " And are you content with the treatment here ? " 
 the General asked. " Content ! content ! " cried 
 the Dane, in broken German, passionately rising 
 up in his bed, and allowing no time for employ- 
 ing an interpreter : " Ay, ya, ya, General ; thank, 
 thank!" "All right, my son," the old General 
 replied ; " but let these Sisters, not me, have your 
 thanks." And with these words he cordially shook 
 hands with the deaconesses. 
 
 The hardships and privations which these faithful 
 friends of the sufferers sustained were not few. 
 At Kolding, in Jutland, they had to wage a regular 
 war with mice and other vermin. On one occasion 
 a deaconess was summoned to some distant place at 
 the dead of night. She flung her mantle round her 
 shoulders, and took her seat in the post-chaise. At 
 daybreak the coachman told her that she could not 
 well go on in that strange dress : her mantle had no 
 back, the mice having eaten it away! One can 
 imagine what the sisters must often have suffered in 
 such a climate, especially with bad accommodation. 
 No wonder that one of them, though a woman in the 
 prime of life, and of a strong constitution, found her 
 grave in that inhospitable region. The manner in 
 which she was interred was a striking proof of the 
 high esteem in which the deaconesses are held. An 
 Austrian musical band walked in front. Then followed 
 the General, Count Gondrecourt. After him the 
 military commander of the town, and other officers 
 of high rank. Among these was Count Warschowetz,
 
 120 KAISERSWERTH. 
 
 Knight of St. John. The hearse was preceded by 
 three clergymen in canonicals, a Protestant, a 
 Catholic, and a Danish minister ; and it was fol- 
 lowed by six deaconesses, each holding a wreath 
 in her hand. Behind them came a company of 
 soldiers, and then a great number of the inhabitants 
 of the town. 
 
 The Kaiserswerth deaconesses kept up a cordial 
 correspondence with their colleagues the deacon- 
 esses of Copenhagen, who were ministering to the 
 Danish army. During the armistice two of them 
 accepted an invitation from their Copenhagen 
 sisters to favour them with a visit. The Queen, 
 having heard of their arrival, kindly invited them 
 to the palace, and expressed to them her gratitude 
 for the care and love which they had shown to her 
 wounded subjects. 
 
 Besides the six Institutions at Kaiserswerth, ten of 
 the above-mentioned stations are under the direct 
 control of the Committee as affiliated Institutions. 
 These are : 
 
 1. The Deaconess Educational School at Hilden, 
 
 in Khenish Prussia ; with 7 deaconesses. 
 
 2. The Protestant Home for maid-servants at 
 
 Berlin, with which an Infant School and 
 a School for older girls are connected ; with 
 14 deaconesses. 
 
 3. The Protestant Home for maid-servants at 
 
 Derendorf, near Dusseldorf ; with 4 deacon- 
 esses.
 
 AFFILIATED INSTITUTIONS. 121 
 
 4. The Orphan House at Altorf ; with 6 deacon- 
 
 esses. 
 
 5. The Deaconess Educational School at Florence ; 
 
 with 6 deaconesses. 
 
 6. The Deaconess Educational School at Smyrna ; 
 
 with 12 deaconesses. 
 
 7. The Deaconess House at Jerusalem; with 
 
 1 deaconess. 
 
 8. The Hospital at Alexandria ; with 5 deacon- 
 
 esses. 
 
 9. The Orphan House at Bairouth ; with 7 deacon- 
 
 esses. 
 
 10. The Boarding School at Bairouth ; with 4 dea- 
 conesses. 
 
 The Deaconess. Educational Schools are of a high 
 class. I visited that at Florence in lSu'3. It is 
 kept in a spacious house, which has a beautiful and 
 extensive garden attached. The property belongs 
 to Madame Eynard, of Geneva, who, in the most 
 liberal manner, allows the use of it rent-free. I 
 never saw better accommodation in a first-class 
 boarding-school. There are a great number of large 
 and well-ventilated apartments in the building, which 
 has room for fifty boarders at least. As it was but 
 recently opened, there were only thirteen; but in 
 the day-school there were sixty out-door pupils. Six 
 deaconesses give instruction in different elementary 
 branches. For French, Italian, English, music, &c., 
 the first teachers of the town are engaged. German
 
 122 KAISERSWERTH, 
 
 is taught by the deaconesses themselves. The import- 
 ance of such a first-rate Protestant School in the 
 centre of Roman Catholicism cannot be easily 
 overrated. The solidity of the training and teach- 
 ing is so generally acknowledged that pupils from 
 various countries and of all creeds come to the 
 school. While abstaining from anything like direct 
 doctrinal lessons, the deaconesses carry on their 
 educational labours on a thoroughly evangelical basis. 
 The Bible is the Book in all the classes, and the rule 
 ibr the family-life in the house. Nor is the secular 
 teaching in the least sacrificed to the religious. I 
 was present at a lesson in German literature which 
 the chief deaconess gave to the first class. One of 
 Schiller's masterpieces was read, and the pupils 
 examined upon it ; the pronunciation was so correct 
 that I could scarcely believe the readers to be 
 Italians ; and even a young Greek lady gave such 
 answers to a few questions which I put to her as 
 I could hardly have expected from a first-class pupil 
 in a German academy. 
 
 If abundance of contributions be a proof of popu- 
 larity, then the Kaiserswerth Institutions are ex- 
 ceedingly popular. Their list of donations and sub- 
 scriptions for 1863 contains sixty-six closely printed 
 pages, each of two columns. These gifts are 
 chiefly from Ehenish Prussia and Westphalia, being 
 the two provinces in which the greater number of the 
 deaconesses are labouring, and in which the Govern- 
 ment permits annual collections to be made at the
 
 FINANCE. 123 
 
 houses and in the churches. In this list there are 
 only four donations from London of 67. 2s. in all, and 
 one from Edinburgh of 15?. The King heads the list 
 with an annual subscription of 50 thalers (71. 10s.) ; 
 above which sum none of the annual subscriptions 
 go. The greater part of them are under one 
 thaler (3s.) ; and such an annual gift as 15 or 20 
 thalers rarely occurs. The donations, of course, 
 show higher figures. Still they do not go beyond 
 400 thalers (60/.), which sum occurs twice; and 
 there are whole columns whjch do not go be- 
 yond one thaler. This seems to prove that the 
 Kaiserswerth Institutions are mainly popular among 
 the lower and middle classes. Even out of the 
 400 donations that, were from Berlin, only 77 go 
 higher than one thaler ; and of these the greater 
 number do not exceed 2 thalers. Still, notwith- 
 standing the comparative smallness of these gifts, 
 the donations amounted to a little above 12,000 
 thalers (18007.), and the subscriptions to a little 
 under 3000 (4507.). The annual collection at the 
 houses and in the churches yielded 6507. The dea- 
 conesses earned 14907. by their services in the hospi- 
 tals and private families, and this sum, after the 
 deduction of 10127. for pocket-money, left a balance 
 of 4787. The whole income of the Establishment 
 amounted to a little above 55,000 thalers (82507.;, 
 which was 4672 thalers (7007.) less than the expen- 
 diture. 
 
 In the income-table a sum of 5618 thalers (8437.)
 
 124 KAISEESWERTH. 
 
 is set down as accruing from the sale of books and 
 engravings. There is a small publishing business 
 in connection with the Establishment." Its publi- 
 cations amount to between 50 and 60, large and 
 small, and excel by their amazing cheapness, as well 
 as by their thoroughly evangelical and popular 
 character. Among them a monthly journal, started 
 sixteen years ago, and called 'The Friend of the 
 Poor and the Sick' (Der Armen- und Kranken- 
 freund), ranks foremost. Its price is one shilling 
 a year, and it is conducted by Pastor Disselhoflf. 
 It is ably written, and gives full information about 
 the work of the deaconesses in particular, and also 
 regarding the social and religious condition of the 
 people, and mission-work in general.
 
 II. 
 
 PASTOR FLIEDNER'S EARLY LABOURS. 
 
 A T the time when Dr. Fliedner began his work, 
 fr* the Protestant Church in Germany was not 
 ripe for taking any steps towards employing an 
 official female agency. From the prisons, the hos- 
 pitals, and the abodes of misery, crime, and desti- 
 tution, Fliedner heard an alarming cry for help, 
 which male agents, however willing to go to the 
 rescue, could not respond to. A wise man once 
 laid, down this rule: "If a work must be done 
 and nobody is inclined to do it, I must." This 
 work had to be done ; and there was nobody willing 
 to do it, as it seemed. What then was left for a 
 heart like Fliedner' s, so full of sympathy with the 
 poor and lost, so grateful for its own redemption 
 through the blood of a sin-atoning Saviour, so 
 conscious. of its responsibility to God, but to exclaim, 
 " J must do it ! " 
 
 He resolved on trying to call forth a band of 
 Christian women, willing to devote their lives to the 
 rescue of the lost, to the nursing of the sufferers, to 
 the training of the neglected. Nor was the idea such
 
 126 KAISERSWERTH. 
 
 a novelty as German Protestants at first supposed 
 it to be. Vincent de Paul had set the example 
 two hundred years before, by founding his institution 
 of Sisters of Charity in the Roman Catholic Church. 
 And Mrs. Fry, whose celebrity had become Euro- 
 pean, gave proof that Protestant women did not 
 need to go to Eome to learn the practice of Christian 
 love. It was her example, indeed, which inspired 
 Fliedner. She showed that a Christian woman, 
 when fitly trained, is able to find access where the 
 way is closed to men ; that the gentle touch of 
 her finger may smooth roughnesses where the pres- 
 sure of a man's hand would fail. Love's voca- 
 tions are very diversified. It has alternately to 
 fight, to compel, to rule, to chastise, and to con- 
 trol. In its service the Christian man, whether 
 as a soldier, as a king, as a father, or as a steward, 
 will find himself in his right place. And not 
 the least honourable duty in love's service is to 
 suffer with the sufferer; to analyze suffering in 
 its minutest details, so as to find out the most 
 hidden fibre that needs support, and consolation ; 
 to bring comfort out of small things; to show 
 strength by becoming weak with the weak, and 
 vigour by becoming a child with children ; . to perse- 
 vere after every one else's patience has long died 
 out; and to continue working with undisturbed 
 calmness, when the whole world around is agitated 
 with political questions, ecclesiastical controversies, 
 or financial panics. And who are so entirely in
 
 DR. FLIEDNER'S EARLY HISTORY. 127 
 
 their right place at this work as women, who, 
 created as they are with a natural instinct for the 
 work of charity, have learnt from their Saviour 
 how to do it in the right spirit, and where to look for 
 the required strength and wisdom. 
 
 These are truths which have been admitted ever 
 since Christianity existed, nor could they be proclaimed 
 more eloquently than they were by the Eeformers 
 and the Protestant divines of the seventeenth and 
 eighteenth centuries. Yet the Protestant Church 
 forbore to carry them into practice. It seemed as if 
 the Lord, wearied with the drowsiness of the Church, 
 at length rose to take the work into His own hands, 
 as he did when He raised the young shepherd David 
 to put the whole army of Israel to shame. While 
 David followed the sheep, he little dreamt of such 
 an exploit as the killing of the great Philistine giant. 
 And as little did Fliedner think, when at the Uni- 
 versity, of founding the greatest institution of Pro- 
 testant charity in the world. He was a poor young 
 Candidat of twenty-two, when in 1822 he took charge 
 of the church at Kaiserswerth, which was one of the 
 smallest and poorest parishes of the Prussian Church. 
 He was scarcely settled in his new sphere when his 
 congregation was thrown into utter poverty, and 
 partly dispersed, by the failure of a manufacturing 
 firm which employed nearly all its members. The 
 presbytery offered the poor young minister another 
 church, but he declined to leave his flock. In this
 
 128 KAISEESWERTH. 
 
 he followed in a striking manner the example of the 
 " Good Shepherd," for Fliedner was no hireling. And 
 such men are the instruments which Christ chooses 
 for carrying out the great schemes of His love. 
 
 This was the pivot upon which Fliedner's life 
 turned. To be able to carry out the great work 
 which his Master had in prospect for him, he had 
 to see and to learn many things for which the small 
 village of Kaiserswerth afforded no opportunity. He 
 must be made acquainted with the wants of the suffer- 
 ing and neglected population of his country, and 
 then learn the way to supply them. His church 
 was in debt, and, owing to the above-mentioned cata- 
 strophe, his people were unable to pay it. Provi- 
 dence put it into his heart to make a tour of the pro- 
 vince in which he resided, with a view of collecting 
 money to make up the deficiency. So Fliedner be- 
 came a beggar for Christ's sake, walking from town to 
 town till the required sum was raised. On this journey 
 he made the acquaintance of the leading men in the 
 Church, and especially in the sphere of Christian 
 philanthropy. Their conversation enabled him to 
 cast a glance into the depths of misery which pre- 
 vailed among the lower classes, in the prisons, and in 
 the hospitals. He returned home to his flock with 
 the glad intelligence that he was able to pay their 
 most urgent debts. But fresh difficulties arose. It 
 was quite absurd to expect that these poor people 
 would be able to meet the annual expenditure of
 
 DR. FLIEDNER'S EARLY HISTORY, 129 
 
 their church and school ; so Fliedner resolved to 
 try to collect an endowment for both, and this 
 time he directed his steps to Holland and Great 
 Britain. 
 
 He set out on his travels in 1823, and he obtained 
 money in abundance ; but he carried back with him 
 a greater treasure than even the gold of England 
 or the silver of Holland ; and this was a thorough 
 knowledge of the chief philanthropic and charitable 
 institutions of the two countries. " On my journey 
 through those evangelical countries," he wrote some 
 twenty years ago, " I became acquainted with a 
 great many institutions for the cure both of body 
 and soul: schools and educational establishments, 
 poor-houses, orphanages, and hospitals, Bible and 
 missionary societies, &c. I at the same time ob- 
 served that living faith in Christ had called almost 
 all these institutions into existence and continued 
 to be their support. When I saw the fertility of this 
 faith in its works of love, I felt my own weak faith 
 greatly strengthened. In August, 1824, I returned 
 home full of admiration and gratitude, but at the 
 same time ashamed that we Germans allowed our- 
 selves thus to be excelled in works of Christian love, 
 and especially that we had hitherto cared so little for 
 our prisons." 
 
 It was precious seed which he brought home, and 
 he failed not to sow it as soon as he could, and with 
 all carefulness. " The smallness of my church," he 
 
 VOL. I. K
 
 130 KAISEESWERTH. 
 
 wrote, " allowed me more leisure time than my col- 
 leagues had at their disposal. My experience in 
 other countries had opened my eyes to discover the 
 faults of my own, and I felt it my duty to try to 
 redress them." 
 
 The populous town of Diisseldorf, not far from 
 Kaiserswerth, had a large prison, the inmates of 
 which were shut out not only from society but also 
 from all religious instruction. The young minister 
 obtained permission from the government to preach 
 every alternate Sunday afternoon to the Protestant 
 portion of the prisoners. His first sermon to them 
 was preached on the 9th of October, 1825. " My 
 chapel," he wrote, " was not very inviting : two 
 sleeping rooms with the bedstraw piled up in a corner, 
 and a doorway between them, where I stood, that I 
 might be heard by the women on one side and the 
 men on the other." 
 
 A society for prison reform was now established 
 after the English pattern; and those horrible jails, 
 which hitherto had been filthy dens and scenes 
 of the lowest immorality, were gradually turned into 
 places fit for the habitation of human beings, besides 
 being provided with sufficient means for making the 
 inmates better members of society. 
 
 Pastor Fliedner was the heart and soul of the 
 society. And in order still further to qualify him 
 for what was to be his life work, he undertook a 
 second visit to Holland in 1827, and another to
 
 ORIGIN OF THE INSTITUTIONS. 131 
 
 England and Scotland in 1832. Here he made the 
 acquaintance of Elizabeth Fry, of Dr. Chalmers, and 
 of many other servants of God, whom their heavenly 
 Master had gifted with rare talents, both of the 
 heart and of the head, for rescuing perishing 
 men. 
 
 He felt he was ready for his work now, and looking 
 up to God, he put his hand to the plough, never to 
 loosen his grasp till death slackened his fingers. An 
 asylum for discharged female convicts was the first 
 thing wanted. People laughed at the idea of 
 such a class remaining in a house, the door of 
 which would be open all day. Fliedner's excellent 
 wife, who, from love to the lost and the neglected, 
 taught some years in the reformatory of Diisselthal, 
 joined him with all her heart. Their little garden- 
 house was given up for the purpose. This happened 
 in 1833. The next year the garden-house was too 
 small. A larger place was procured, and friends sent 
 in their contributions for the work. But the garden- 
 house did not remain empty. The little children of 
 the factory people were invited to fill it during the 
 day. A good girl, a member of Fliedner's church, 
 offered her services as teacher. She began a knitting 
 school, which in 1836 was enlarged into an infant 
 school for poor children of all denominations, orga- 
 nised after the pattern of Wilderspin's Infant School 
 at Spitalfields. 
 
 But now the sick people were to have their turn. 
 
 K 2
 
 132 KAISERSWEETH. 
 
 An hospital was what was wanted, an hospital under 
 the control of Christian love and the care of Chris- 
 tian nurses. A large house was for sale. Fliedner 
 had no money, but he bought the building in faith. 
 On the day of payment some good friends advanced 
 the required sum. But the whole town was astir 
 when it was known that the premises were to be con- 
 verted into an hospital. Fliedner, however, allowed 
 the people to talk, and did his work, and the work 
 proved the best answer to all their complaints. 
 
 But no sooner was the hospital set agoing than 
 the want of fit nurses was felt. And where were 
 they to be got ? Of course there were nurses at the 
 different hospitals, but what sort were they ? They 
 were mostly persons who, after having failed at every 
 other employment, had taken to sick-nursing as a 
 last refuge from starvation. Fliedner perceived that 
 an institution for training females as sick nurses 
 was urgently wanted. Gertrude lieichardt, the 
 first Christian young woman who entered Fliedner's 
 deaconess-house, was the pioneer of a numerous band 
 of servants of God scattered over the world, who in 
 self-denying love and humble patience devote their 
 lives to the nursing of the sick, the instruction of 
 prisoners, the education of children, and the conso- 
 lation of the poor and the afflicted. 
 
 An asylum for discharged female convicts, an 
 infant school, an hospital, a deaconess-house those 
 four little seeds were sown in humility and weakness,
 
 ORIGIN OF THE INSTITUTIONS. 133 
 
 in fear and trembling, but not unaccompanied with 
 the voice of fervent prayer which rose up to God day 
 and night. And God heard that prayer and gave 
 the increase, and spread his protecting hand over the 
 tender little plants, so that they could defy the 
 summer's drought and the winter's frost.
 
 III. 
 
 PASTOR FLIEDNER'S LAST HOURS. 
 
 T)ASTOK FLIEDNER'S departure was like the 
 -*- quiet setting of the sun at the close of a 
 bright summer day. The disease from which he 
 suffered during the last ten years of his life, and 
 which at length carried him off, was a chest com- 
 plaint. Some weeks before his death he felt that the 
 last enemy was approaching with slow but certain 
 steps. On the night between the 20th and 21st of Sep- 
 tember, 1864, his children were assembled at his house. 
 As he could not endure a recumbent position, but 
 spent his nights in his arm-chair, they placed them- 
 selves according to their ages in a crescent around 
 him. " His face," an eye-witness reports, " beamed 
 with joy, while he thanked God with a loud voice 
 for His mercy which allowed him once more to 
 see us all assembled. He greeted us with the 
 greeting of peace in God, and requested us to sing 
 a hymn." After this affecting solemnity he revived 
 a little, and put his grown-up children to some 
 work, then dictated a few letters, and employed 
 himself in preparing for the approaching annual meet- 
 ing of the deaconesses, which was to take place on
 
 FLIEDNEE'S LAST HOURS. 135 
 
 the 4th of October, the day on which he died. He 
 generally slumbered during the early portion of the 
 day ; and his best hours were after three o'clock in 
 the afternoon. " Then he was himself again, taking 
 notice even of the most trifling things, reminding 
 others of the work they had to do, cheering up all 
 who were about him. It was a real blessing and 
 privilege to nurse him. His wife and children en- 
 joyed it with gratitude, though in tears. Nothing 
 like a complaint was ever heard from his lips, 
 though his bodily sufferings were often very heavy. 
 His mouth was only opened to praise and thank his 
 God." 
 
 Thus the 3rd of October came on, the day on which 
 three of his sons were to leave for the gymnasium at 
 Giitersloh. He stepped into his study at eight o'clock 
 in the morning, to take leave of them ; nay, of all. 
 Among other things he said, "This is likely to be 
 the last time I shall be permitted to see you all with 
 me, since three of you are going to depart, and I 
 grow weaker and weaker. Let us not try to disguise 
 from ourselves the fact, that within a few hours I 
 shall go into a happy eternity. What a serious, 
 momentous step ! When I look back upon my life, 
 how much reason have I for praise and thanks ! All 
 my heart feels is contained in these words: 'Were 
 each pulse of mine a praise and each breath a 
 hymn, I should never be able to praise my God as I 
 ought ! ' What happiness to serve such a Master, who 
 will abundantly pardon the multitude of my sins ; for
 
 136 KAISERSWERTH. 
 
 the blood of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, cleanseth 
 from all sins. To that I keep 
 
 ' Lord, a poor sinner comes to Thee ; 
 Oh, for Thy blood's sake, make him free ! ' 
 
 Only one thing is needful, that you be saved ; that 
 you strive to enter in at the strait gate. Then we 
 shall meet again above, where there will be everlast- 
 ing praise and thanks. Pray also for me, that God 
 may have mercy upon me and vouchsafe me a happy 
 departure to my heavenly home, that I may lay 
 down my old head in the dust, firmly confiding in 
 Him who is plenteous in mercy." 
 
 He then spoke to his wife, to each child separately, 
 and blessed them and his grandchildren. His fellow- 
 labourers in the good work and the deaconesses were 
 then addressed, and received his thanks for their love 
 and faithful assistance. 
 
 He requested his wife to repeat the Lord's Prayer. 
 Then he rose from his chair and blessed his three sons, 
 who were kneeling before him. Over each head he 
 pronounced the word " Peace ! " and fell back into 
 his chair exhausted. He appeared to feel this separa- 
 tion from his beloved ones with all the tenderness of 
 his heart. " Oh, Lord God of Sabaoth ! " he ejacu- 
 lated; "oh, Strong God, be my consolation!" He 
 slumbered a while, and with a soft voice whispered: 
 "No salvation for me any more!" But soon he 
 again strengthened his heart in God. " Sweet Jesus,"
 
 FLIEDNER'S LAST HOURS. 137 
 
 he said with a smile, and slept a couple of hours in 
 undisturbed peace. 
 
 About one o'clock he desired to be carried into the 
 garden. He walked down the staircase, placed him- 
 self in a seat, and was carried into the Sisters' Garden, 
 where the sunshine was bright and cheerful. He 
 spoke about his three sons who had left, gave his 
 opinion about the way in which the teacher should 
 begin his lessons with the little ones at home, and re- 
 minded his wife of some matters concerning the Esta- 
 blishment. Behind him the deaconesses were sitting 
 in the porter's lodge, singing with a soft voice, 
 
 " How precious art Thou to my heart, 
 My High-priest and my God ! " 
 
 The rays of the sun greatly refreshed and cheered 
 him. It was the last sunshine he saw here below. 
 He knew it was the last, and he enjoyed it like a 
 child. 
 
 The doctor came in the evening and found him 
 very weak. He said that the departure of his sons 
 had affected him very much. As it was now evidently 
 his last evening, the family assembled with the 
 greater attachment round their dying father. All 
 present vied with each other to make him as happy 
 as they could. Now one repeated a text ; another a 
 verse of a hymn ; while a third led the singing of a 
 psalm. After he had partaken of a little food his 
 wife read the 90th Psalm to him. On her coming 
 to the words, "Teach us to number our days," he
 
 138 KAISEKSWEKTH. 
 
 sighed, " Oh yes, teach us ! " "When the reading 
 was finished, he said, " How delightful is His word ! " 
 " True," his wife said ; "in the day of tribulation 
 we learn to understand that word. This is a time of 
 blessing for all of us." "Ay," he answered, "still 
 the cross is a blessing, though it pains us. Oh, it is 
 a blessing, a blessing ! " 
 
 There was a pause. 
 
 " Your life, too," his wife said, " was full of 
 labour and sorrow, yet its strength was great." 
 
 " It breaks doAvn now," he replied. 
 
 " No, no," she said, " that's not a breaking down ; 
 for everything which is done for God is done for 
 eternity." 
 
 A cheerful smile brightened up his face. " Now 
 let us sing the hymn in which that verse occurs, 'A 
 little courage still,' &c." 
 
 After this hymn was sung he gave out a well-known 
 hymn of Tersteegen's ; and when nobody could find 
 the required melody, he himself raised the tune. Mrs. 
 Fliedner then knelt down to pray. And she prayed 
 with all the power of her soul. God put the words 
 of the Holy Spirit in her mouth. They echoed in the 
 soul of the dying one, who burst out into praise and 
 thanks. All present felt that this was none other 
 than the house of God, the very gate of heaven. 
 
 After he had slumbered a little he requested a 
 hymn to be sung. The family sang two verses. 
 " What a delightful hymn ! " he said ; " please sing 
 another verse." His request was complied with.
 
 FLIEDNEH'S LAST HOURS. 139 
 
 But he was not yet tired of hearing. " Sing again," 
 he said ; " sing that hymn ' Where find'st thou, my 
 soul, thy home and thy rest ? ' " 
 
 This is the hymn which he used to give out at 
 funerals, before the corpse was carried to the church- 
 yard. While it was being sung he slept. It was deemed 
 desirable to carry him to his bed. His eldest son 
 remained with him. He awoke, and thoughts about 
 his approaching separation from his beloved ones 
 appeared to vex his mind. " how sad ! how sad ! " 
 he often cried. " Poor mother ! poor widow ! " 
 
 His wife came at five o'clock in the morning. He 
 could no longer endure his bed, but got up and 
 staggered to his arm-chair, from which he did not 
 rise again. His children assembled quickly. His 
 senses were already sunk into the slumber of death, 
 but his spirit was alive. Once more he settled 
 himself in his chair, poised his elbow on its arm, 
 and rested his head on the palm of his right hand. 
 His son-in-law prayed, and the dying one repeated 
 distinctly the words, " Conqueror of death ! " Mother 
 and sons now relieved each other in supporting 
 his head. The family sang: "0 Lamb of God, so 
 innocent.! " 
 
 " Amen ! " he whispered at the close of the hymn. 
 
 " Though I walk through the valley of the shadow 
 of death, I will fear no evil, for Thou art with me ! " 
 his wife whispered into his ear. 
 
 " Oh, yes ! " he answered. 
 
 All the inmates of the house, and some of the
 
 140 KAISEUSWEBTH. 
 
 members of the Establishment, now assembled noise- 
 lessly in the room, sang a hymn, and knelt down to 
 pray for his peaceful end. He often gave signs of 
 concurrence. The whole congregation of the Establish- 
 ment then assembled at the chapel to pray for him. 
 Those who remained with him felt as if his death- 
 chamber were the porch of heaven. The features of his 
 countenance indicated perfect peace. A little before 
 two o'clock in the afternoon his breath stopped. He 
 did not taste the bitterness of death. Nothing indi- 
 cative of agony was noticeable. He slept like a child 
 in the arms of Jesus. 
 
 Friday the 7th was the day of his burial. During 
 the preceding days his body lay, dressed in clerical 
 costume, under wreaths and palms, like the hero of a 
 glorious victory. His folded hands rested on an open 
 Bible, at 2 Cor. i. 12 : " Our rejoicing is this, the 
 testimony of our conscience, that in simplicity and 
 godly sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom, but by the 
 grace of God, we have had our conversation in the 
 world, and more abundantly to you-ward." 
 
 With prayers and hymns the precious remains of 
 this great and good servant of God were carried to 
 their last resting-place. While the Sisters sang, 
 
 " Set me free ! set me free ! 
 That my Saviour I may see ! " 
 
 the cortege was arranged. First came the children 
 of the infant-school and of the orphanage ; then about 
 twenty clergymen in their official costume ; after them 
 the hearse. Then came the family of the deceased,
 
 FLIEDNEK'S LAST HOURS. 141 
 
 the members of the board of the Ehenish-Westphalian 
 Deaconess' Society, the representatives of the ecclesi- 
 astical and civil authorities, the presbytery of the 
 town-church, the male inmates of the Establishment, 
 and a great multitude of male friends. After them 
 came the deaconesses, the female teachers, the pupils 
 of the female seminary, and the female inmates of the 
 Establishment, &c. The long train moved through 
 the chief building to the road that led to the 
 churchyard. When the foremost had reached this 
 place the hindmost had scarcely left the house. The 
 coffin was lowered into the grave which the deceased 
 had chosen for his last resting place. A weeping-ash 
 alone marks the spot. 
 
 Many addresses -were delivered on the occasion by 
 those who knew and loved him during his life. Pastor 
 Natorp, of Diisseldorf, preached the funeral-sermon. 
 It was a fit word spoken from heart to heart. But 
 the best memorial of this good man will certainly 
 be the record of his life ; and I was glad to learn 
 that such a record is in preparation. It will tell 
 the wonderful story of a man who, through simple 
 faith in a living Saviour, enriched thousands 
 with invaluable treasures ; who, though personally 
 destitute of earthly means, called into being a number 
 of Institutions, the value of which surpasses the 
 fortune of many a prince ; and who, though thousands 
 passed through his hands, bequeathed no property to 
 his wife and numerous family but a reputation such 
 as few leave behind them.
 
 IV. 
 
 PASTOR FLIEDNER'S LIFE, CHARACTER, AND SPIRIT. 
 
 "IT ANY readers will be glad to learn a few particulars 
 -L*-'- about Fliedner's early history and character, 
 which may help them to picture to themselves the 
 image of a man who was an evidence that God 
 sometimes does most by means of instruments from 
 which men expect least. A friend, who for years 
 enjoyed the closest intercourse with Fliedner, has 
 kindly enabled me to publish a few details, which, 
 now that this great man has left the world, ought 
 not to be allowed to fall into oblivion. 
 
 Theodor Fliedner was born on the 21st of 
 January, 1800, at Epstein, not far from Frankfort- 
 on-the-Main, in what is called Nassau Switzerland. 
 His father was a clergyman, whose family 
 amounted to the large number of twelve. Nor 
 was the spirit that prevailed in the family less 
 patriarchal than the number of its members. 
 Cheerfulness and hospitality characterised the happy 
 Epstein parsonage, which was often favoured with 
 visits of Frankfort guests, to enjoy a charming 
 country and the interesting conversation of a good 
 man. Death, however, put a stop to this happy
 
 FLIEDNER'S LIFE AND CHARACTER. 143 
 
 state of things. Young Theodor was thirteen years 
 old when he and his eleven brothers and sisters 
 carried their father to the grave. It soon became 
 known that the deceased had left more friends than 
 florins. Happily, however, these friends proved to 
 be of the right stamp. They took charge of the 
 numerous family, and enabled Theodor to con- 
 tinue his attendance at the gymnasium, and after- 
 wards at the Universities of Giessen and Gottingen 
 (1817-1819). Large as was the sum which the 
 liberality of the deceased pastor's friends had con- 
 tributed, it may well be imagined that, the twelfth 
 part of it must have left many a want of the young 
 student unsupplied. Indeed, he lived in very 
 straitened circumstances. Two journeys which he 
 made at this time are still known amongst his 
 friends by the names of the " florin-journey " 
 and the "plum-journey." The former was a journey 
 from Giessen to Niirnberg, a distance of one hun- 
 dred miles, which he performed with only one florin 
 in his pocket. The latter was a journey from 
 Gottingen to Hamburg, a distance of one hundred 
 and twenty miles, during which he chiefly fed upon 
 plums, as his purse, which only contained one Fried- 
 rich d'or on starting, could not afford to pay for the 
 luxury of bread. In this manner did Providence 
 train a young man who was one day to be a 
 comforter of the poor, and the dispenser of thousands 
 of pounds for their support. He learnt the nature
 
 144 KAISERSWERTH. 
 
 of poverty and the value of money from personal 
 experience lessons which he never forgot. 
 
 Having passed his examinations as a Candidat of 
 theology, he spent one year as tutor in the family of 
 Mrs. Mumm, a respectable widow at Cologne. At 
 that time the government of Diisseldorf wanted a 
 young preacher to take charge of the little Protestant 
 church of Kaiserswerth, which, being one of the 
 smallest and poorest parishes of the district, excited 
 the envy of no minister. It was clear that the man 
 who undertook the charge must console himself with 
 the promise that he who humbleth himself shall 
 be exalted. Fliedner accepted it, and in 1822 
 entered the little parsonage accompanied by his 
 sister, with a few pieces of furniture which he had 
 been able to collect. 
 
 The history of the subsequent years of Fliedner's 
 life is, in fact, the history of the Kaiserswerth estab- 
 lishments. Still, it may be mentioned that, when 
 he entered the paltry village, nobody thought less 
 than he did of the important work of which he was 
 destined to make it the centre. If any philan- 
 thropic ideas entered his mind, they certainly had 
 not much of a Christian character about them. 
 Owing to the spirit of rationalism and scepticism 
 then prevailing at the German universities, he was 
 trained in a system of cold and negative theology, 
 which could not exalt Christ as a Saviour, because 
 it could not recognise man as a ruined sinner.
 
 FLIEDNER'S LIFE AND CHARACTER. 145 
 
 It is true Fliedner never was a decided opponent 
 of the truths of the Gospel, but neither was 
 he their advocate. In reading the Word of God a 
 veil covered his heart which prevented him from 
 beholding the glory of God's love, as manifested 
 in the giving of His Son to be crucified for 
 the sins of the world. A visit to England was 
 the means, under God's blessing, of taking away 
 that veil. Here he witnessed a living Christianity 
 abounding in works of love towards the poor, the 
 lost, the prisoner, and the outcast, such as he never 
 saw before. This, which was quite new to him, 
 set him thinking seriously about the source from 
 whence these numerous streams of disinterested, 
 self-denying charity obtained their supply. He 
 remembered the words in which such Christians as 
 Eobert Hall, John Foster, William Allen, Dr. Stein- 
 kopf, Dr. Chalmers, and Elizabeth Fry expressed 
 themselves about the person of Christ. And it now 
 became quite clear to him that only living faith in a 
 divine, sin-atoning Saviour, could produce such works. 
 He returned to his country with the unspeakable gift 
 of God in his heart. What he had not been able to 
 read in the Bible the Spirit caused him to read in 
 His living epistles written in England. This teaches 
 us a great lesson. A true practical Christian is the 
 best commentary on the Gospel. 
 
 England was little aware of the great blessing 
 which it was about to confer upon Germany, nay, 
 upon the whole of Europe, when it infused its 
 
 VOL. I. L
 
 146 KAISEKSWERTH. 
 
 practical spirit into this young man's heart. But 
 we see 'that blessing now, when we stand by his 
 grave and look at the establishments of Kaisers- 
 werth; at the one hundred stations, all over the 
 world, where more than four hundred deaconesses 
 are doing their good work ; and at the Dea- 
 coness Institutions of Strasburg, Berlin, Stettin, 
 Breslau, Konigsberg, Halle, Paris, Stockholm, Copen- 
 hagen, &c., which either directly or indirectly owe 
 their existence to this good man's energy and 
 example. It is a remarkable fact that the poor young 
 minister who accepted the charge of the smallest 
 church in Prussia should have lived to become the 
 originator of the most extensive system of Christian 
 work on the Continent. When he entered JKaisers- 
 werth he found a poor church of two hundred people, 
 who were unable to support him ; and when he died 
 he left a colony of upwards of five hundred people, 
 who were all supported by him. And that same poor 
 student who had erewhile only one florin in his 
 pocket to carry him over a journey of more than 
 a hundred miles, and again was fain to stay his 
 hunger with plums, died the founder and director of 
 a number of establishments which were of the esti- 
 mated value of 512,996 thalers (76,949 8s.), which 
 sum being only chargeable with liabilities to the 
 amount of 136,514 thalers (20,477?. 2s.), left a clear 
 balance of 56,472 6s. Now when it is borne in mind 
 that he obtained by far the greater portion of this 
 large capital by personal solicitation, and that he
 
 THEODOR FLIEUNER
 
 FLIEDNEK'S LIFE AND CHARACTER. 147 
 
 provided besides 150?. every week for the support of 
 the work at Kaiserswerth alone, we must acknow- 
 ledge that the lessons which England gave to the 
 young German clergyman, not only in the principles, 
 but also in the practice of Christian philanthropy, 
 were not given in vain. One can scarcely imagine 
 the iron will and indefatigable energy which were 
 required to go through all the labour, one day's en- 
 durance of which might well make a common man 
 break down in utter despondency. Difficulties of 
 the most irksome and vexatious kind he had hourly 
 to surmount. He was in constant need of money, 
 and sometimes his wants were so urgent, that even 
 .his most sanguine friends deemed the failure of 
 the whole concern inevitable. But trying as such 
 moments were, yet still more painful to his heart 
 were his frequent experiences of the insincerity and 
 duplicity of his servants and pupils. Nor was his 
 correspondence with the societies who engaged dea- 
 conesses always agreeable. When engaged in his 
 arduous labour nothing was more offensive to him 
 than to be treated as a job-master, and to see his 
 pupils dealt with as beasts of burden. The most 
 grievous of all his experiences, however, often arose 
 from the ingratitude and perversity of those who 
 were intrusted to his care, and with whom that care 
 often ended in hopeless failure. 
 
 We are ready to suppose that a man who origin- 
 ates a great and extensive work must be gifted 
 with extraordinary physical strength ; that, at least, 
 
 L 2
 
 148 KAISEESWEKTH. 
 
 he must be a tall, stout man, whose imposing form 
 inspires awe, whose look beats down all resist- 
 ance, and whose voice silences every contradiction. 
 Many of the thousands of strangers who visited 
 Kaiserswerth to make the acquaintance of the cele- 
 brated Fliedner entered his house with the sure 
 expectation of seeing such a man. But they saw 
 almost the opposite of what they expected. Fliedner 
 was a meagre, simple, unassuming person of middle 
 stature, with thin fair hair, a high forehead, a long 
 straight nose, bright shrewd eyes, and sharply cut 
 lips. He was no orator, no poet, no bel esprit. In 
 short, he was not a man of words, but of deeds. But 
 when he spoke he always hit the nail on the head. 
 He was gifted in a high degree with the talent of 
 distinctness in speaking. He did not care much, 
 however, for the beauties of style. He spoke quickly, 
 with rather restless, stiff, angular movements of the 
 hands. On the whole his aesthetic sense was not 
 much developed. Among the many and large 
 buildings which he called into existence at Kaisers- 
 werth there is not one that rises much above the 
 barrack style, but they are all patterns of practical 
 arrangement and useful accommodation. 
 
 Undoubtedly the prominent feature in Fliedner's 
 character was the unflinching, indefatigable, faithful- 
 ness with which he threw himself body and soul into 
 what he considered to be his duty. He was a man 
 of "one casting," as the Germans say. From the 
 moment he was convinced of the necessity of the
 
 FLIEDNER'S LIFE AND CHARACTER. H9 
 
 Deaconess institution he had neither heart nor soul 
 but for that object. Wherever he was, whether in 
 the company of friends, at meetings of the Synods, 
 in the circle of his family, or at public assemblies, 
 the cause of the deaconesses was the only theme on 
 his tongue. Even if the Lord Himself had appeared 
 to him from heaven, and given him the choice of 
 what one thing he would do, that one thing would 
 have been the furthering of the deaconess work. 
 The anecdotes illustrative of this feature in his 
 character are as numerous as they are amusing and 
 instructive. 
 
 He was the first to rise in the morning, and the 
 last to go to bed at night. Of making himself 
 comfortable he had no idea, nor had he any 
 talent for sitting down and enjoying a quiet homely 
 chat. He never smoked, because it consumed too 
 much time and cost too much money. In this 
 respect he differed from good Father Zeller, of 
 Beuggen, than whom no German could more heartily 
 enjoy his pipe. "When I call upon a man of dis- 
 tinction to ask a favour," Zeller often said, " and I 
 notice a pipe or a cigar-box on the mantel-piece, my 
 hopes rise fifty per cent, at once, and I am almost 
 sure of success." Now, whatever may be said for or 
 against the habit of smoking, this much is certain, 
 that in Germany the use of the pipe is with many 
 persons the emblem of a cheerful, liberal disposition 
 of mind, of a certain bonhomie, which inspires con- 
 fidence and secures popularity. And in about the
 
 150 KAISERSWEKTH. 
 
 same degree as Zeller was popular, Fliedner was 
 unpopular. One needed only to see him at dinner 
 to perceive that he was a man who could enjoy no- 
 thing but hard facts. He would eat with the quick- 
 ness of passengers travelling by an express train 
 snatching a hurried mouthful at the railway refresh- 
 ment-rooms. He never knew what he was eating, 
 save when he got his favourite dish, potatoes with 
 the skins. During his meals he would read the 
 numerous letters which every post brought ; and he 
 answered many of them in waiting-saloons, and in 
 steamboats, for he always carried a complete writing 
 apparatus in his bulky coat-pocket. Still nobody 
 ever heard him complain of his "heavy engage- 
 ments." It never happened to him in his life to be 
 too late for a journey, though his journeys were num- 
 berless. Even the word which he always wrote 
 when trying a quill was characteristic. It was the 
 word hurtig (quick). And trying quills (he never 
 wrote with steel pens, as he could not get on quick 
 enough with them) was not an everyday business 
 with him. It was astonishing to observe the length 
 of time a quill would last him. He once wrote 
 nine months with one quill without its being ever 
 mended. I wonder how much time it would have 
 taken to read one of his letters ! He would 
 hurry with great swiftness through one. of his 
 establishments, and yet notice everything that was 
 wrong. His was the rare talent of not overlooking 
 small things while engaged in great ones. At the
 
 FLIEDNER'S LIFE AND CHARACTER. 151 
 
 period of his life when he was both director of a 
 large establishment and pastor of a parish, he 
 never neglected visiting his flock. Nay, he was 
 often found toiling through mud and snow to visit 
 one of the most distant members of his widely-scat- 
 tered charge. 
 
 This faithfulness and deep sense of duty, so charac- 
 teristic of the unwearied servant of God, is all the 
 more to be admired when it is remembered that 
 his constitution, tough as it was, had on his Eastern 
 journey sustained a shock from which it never 
 recovered. From that period he was attacked by a 
 severe illness every year ; and each time it brought 
 him to the brink of the grave. During the last ten 
 years of his life he was subject to decided consump- 
 tion of the lungs, which was accompanied by a 
 fearful cough that troubled him both day and night. 
 His life now hung, as it were, by a thread. All 
 who closely observed him looked upon its con- 
 tinuation as almost a miracle. He himself was quite 
 aware of his state, and submitted, from a sense of 
 duty, to all the means which were prescribed for 
 his recovery ; but he showed not the slightest sign 
 of anxiety, and went on labouring and toiling with 
 might and main. While in a condition in which 
 others would have taken to their easy chair, or 
 to their bed, he continued till the last day of his 
 life dictating letters when the intervals of the cough 
 would allow him. It was no use trying to per- 
 suade him to take rest. One ran the risk of receiv-
 
 152 KAISERSWEKTH. 
 
 ing an answer similar to that which Peter got when 
 he rebuked his Lord. 
 
 It may be easily conceived that a man who was 
 thus constantly at work would not permit his ser- 
 vants or fellow-labourers to take their ease. Many 
 could not continue with him, and among these some 
 who could hardly be called slow. His quick, impul- 
 sive disposition met with more admiration than imi- 
 tation. Those whose minds were like a fine-stringed 
 harp found it hard to stay with him, and soon left 
 him. He was a stern, sharp man, who would some- 
 times burst into a passion, and by his hasty judg- 
 ments hurt the feelings of others. Still, those who 
 were in right good earnest in the work could bear 
 with all this. His establishments were ruled by 
 severe laws, which admitted of no exceptions, and 
 would, to those who looked at them from a distance, 
 appear at variance with the spirit of grace. He did 
 not like to be contradicted, but he was not revenge- 
 ful. He was seldom loved, often feared, but always 
 highly esteemed. And every sensible person will 
 admit that with so many hundreds of women collected 
 from all quarters of the globe, committed to his 
 direction, order could not possibly have been kept 
 had not the reins been in the grasp of a firm hand. 
 
 Great men, especially when conducting a move- 
 ment of reform which requires considerable financial 
 support, seldom escape the serpent's bite of slander 
 and suspicion. To this rule Fliedner was an excep- 
 tion. However sneered at and criticised, especially
 
 FLIEDNER'S LIFE AND CHARACTER. 153 
 
 at the commencement of his career, his honesty 
 was never doubted. For this he was indebted to his 
 extraordinary disinterestedness and humility. His 
 mode of living was the most simple imaginable ; 
 it was perhaps even too little in keeping with the 
 dignity of his profession and the respectability of his 
 position in society. The cut of his dress was in- 
 variably of the fashion which prevailed at the begin- 
 ning of this century. His hat often showed serious 
 symptoms of decay before he thought of procuring 
 a new one ; and his good wife had always a hard 
 struggle before she could persuade him to part 
 with an old coat. He never allowed himself to 
 be the subject of conversation. Praise was per- 
 fectly disgusting to him. Those who praised him 
 he uniformly called poisoners. Once, when in com- 
 pany with a lady of high rank, who, despite his 
 repeated and sharp objections, continued to praise 
 him, he became so restless and nervous that he 
 jumped up and declared he would be obliged to 
 leave the room unless she desisted. But, notwith- 
 standing this spirit of humility, this feeling of his in- 
 significance in the sight of God, he had a strong feeling 
 of his dignity as a servant of Christ. He never de- 
 graded himself to become the servant of men. Even 
 in the highest circles he commanded respect. In the 
 palaces of kings, and in the halls of their ministers, 
 he moved with the same ease as in the cottage of the 
 peasant. Never forgetting himself, and always in- 
 spired by the consciousness of his speaking in the
 
 154 KAISERSWERTH. 
 
 name of the King of kings, he knew how to move 
 the consciences of the princes of this world without 
 hurting their feelings. He mostly entered the 
 mansions of the great as a beggar, and left them 
 as a conqueror. 
 
 He was an enthusiastic votary of music. A hymn 
 was always his first remedy when annoyed by care 
 or troubles ; and the most bitter experiences could 
 not cause such discord in his soul as a psalm 
 could not soothe into harmony. One may imagine 
 what a sore trial it must have been for him during the 
 last ten years of his life to be compelled by his cough 
 to abstain from this loved enjoyment. Upon those 
 who only knew him as the stern, severe ruler of 
 his establishments, his fancy for singing must 
 have made a strange impression. They must have 
 supposed that he sang from a sense of duty more 
 than from pleasure. Nevertheless his singing was 
 the effect of an inner joy that cheered up his soul. 
 There dwelt much tender feeling in Fliedner's heart ; 
 but such was his aversion to morbid sentimentalism 
 that only those who understood him thoroughly were 
 allowed to know the inner emotions of his soul. 
 
 He had a dislike to fictitious literature, especially 
 to historical novels, because they seldom give 
 truthful representations of the characters. But he 
 was exceedingly fond of biography. Zinzendorf's 
 life was his favourite book. And no wonder, for 
 Zinzendorf s faith and trust in God were his own. 
 He would often, at public meetings, relate wonderful
 
 FLIEDNEK'S LIFE AND CHARACTER. 155 
 
 instances of answers to prayer, just as if they were 
 only matters of course. One felt, when listening to 
 his simple, unsophisticated narratives, that such 
 extraordinary instances of Divine interference were 
 but events of daily occurrence with him. His faith 
 in his own work as divine, and in his personal call 
 to it was never shaken. This faith gave him an im- 
 movable peace, and a calm cheerfulness of mind, 
 which those who could see beneath his stern outward 
 appearance never failed to notice. His Bible 
 was his daily companion his daily bread. Every 
 morning, no matter what pressing business might 
 wait upon him, he went from his bedroom into his 
 study to spend half an hour in solitude with God and 
 His Word. He was a strict observer of the Lord's 
 day. When, during the last years of his life, he was 
 obliged to give up preaching, he devoted the time 
 before service to reading the Bible. To him the 
 Sunday was like a child's holiday, spent in the house 
 of his father; a day of recreation in the fields of 
 the heavenly Jerusalem. He was a man of prayer. 
 His wife would often find him in his room in 
 audible hallowed communion with God, just as if 
 he spake with a friend, regarding the concerns of 
 his mission. On such occasions she would notice 
 a wonderful expression of heavenly beatitude shining 
 from his eyes. Here lay the secret of that power 
 which carried on, almost single-handed, one of the 
 greatest works of the present century. 
 
 Fliedner was twice married, from 1828 till 1842
 
 156 KAISERSWERTH. 
 
 with Fraulein Frederica Miinster, who was a 
 tenderhearted and faithful helpmeet to him in his 
 labours; and since 1843 with Fraulein Caroline 
 Bertheau, of Hamburg, who survives him. A de- 
 scription of the share which this devoted Christian 
 woman had in her husband's labours would fill many 
 pages. But discretion forbids that these pages 
 should be written now, and I hope it will be long 
 before they are written.
 
 Y. 
 
 DEACONESSES AND SISTERHOODS VIEWED AS CHRISTIAN AND 
 GERMAN PROTESTANT INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 TT seems a strange and almost inexplicable fact that 
 *- the Beformers, and especially the great Luther, 
 paid so little attention to the importance of female 
 agency in the Church. This is the more singular, 
 as Luther could least of all be unconscious of the 
 great influence which the sisterhoods of the Church 
 of Kome had exercised upon the moral and intel- 
 lectual education of the people. True, those sister- 
 hoods, not being bound by vows and convent-rules, 
 had always been counteracted and thwarted by the 
 clergy, and especially by the monastic orders; but 
 this, it might be supposed, would have been rather a 
 recommendation in the judgment of a man who was 
 one of the fiercest opponents of monks and convents. 
 It is evident, however, that the great Keformer, 
 had he desired to introduce female agency into the 
 Church, would have had many obstacles to encounter. 
 Public opinion had become so averse to everything 
 resembling a nunnery, that any attempt to set apart 
 women for special religious purposes, however evan- 
 gelical, would have met with almost universal oppo-
 
 158 KAISERSWERTH. 
 
 sition. Moreover, suitable women for such a scheme 
 were wanting. The education of the people had sunk 
 to so low a pitch, that Luther often burst out into 
 loud complaints of the impossibility of establishing 
 anythiug like Church organisation in many parishes, 
 from the total want of fit persons to undertake the 
 work. He was but too glad to meet with proper 
 men ; of women he could not even think. 
 
 There can be no reasonable doubt that female 
 agency occupied a most honoured and prominent 
 place in the organisation of the Apostolic Church. 
 And that the deaconesses ranked foremost amongst 
 the women who were charged with special tasks in 
 the service of the Lord, is sufficiently clear from 
 the fact that Paul, in 1 Tim. iii. 11, mentions them 
 in the same breath with the bishops and deacons, and 
 puts them on a level with the latter. 1 What their duties 
 were is not stated in the New Testament, nor does 
 even the title " deaconess " occur in it, except once, 
 in Rom. xvi. 1, where Phebe is called a diakonos of 
 the Church at Cenchrea. The English version, and 
 also the Lutheran and the Dutch, have unfortunately 
 
 1 The English version, by inserting the pronoun their in italics, 
 makes the women of whom Paul speaks the wives of the deacons. 
 Mr. Ludlow, in his valuable book on ' Woman's Work in the Church,' 
 clearly shows from the context that this insertion turns the order of 
 the Apostle's thoughts into confusion. It is obvious that Paul does 
 not speak here of deacons' wives, but of women who occupied a posi- 
 tion in the Church parallel to that which was held by the men of 
 whom he had spoken in the preceding verses. The Lutheran version 
 makes the same mistake. The Dutch translators give the passage 
 correctly, without any supplementary insertion.
 
 DEACONESSES AND SISTERHOODS. 159 
 
 obliterated this title from the holy record, by trans- 
 lating it "servant of the church." This much, at 
 any rate, is apparent from Paul's description of 
 Phebe, that a deaconess was, or at least might be, a 
 woman of high standing in the Church and per- 
 haps in society, for he calls Phebe not merely a 
 "succourer," as the English version has it, but a 
 " patron " of many, and even of himself. 1 The fact 
 of her being called a diakonos gives ground for the 
 conclusion that her work in the Church must have 
 been similar to that of the deacons. The care for 
 the poor of the Church certainly constituted the first 
 and main part of that work. We learn from the Acts 
 that deacons were also engaged in preaching. This, of 
 course, could not be part of the work of deaconesses, 
 as it was contrary to the spirit of the Church to 
 allow women to preach. Nothing definite, however, 
 is stated in Scripture about the functions of the 
 deaconess. It is true, as we learn from the his- 
 tory of the Church, that in the second and third 
 centuries various duties devolved upon them, such as 
 assisting the women who were to be baptised, carry- 
 ing messages to foreign parts, &c. ; and we are even 
 told by the 'Apostolical Constitutions,' a work of 
 spurious origin however, that they were solemnly 
 ordained under the invocation of the Holy Spirit. 
 
 1 " Not irapdffTaTis, but Trpoff-rdns," Grotius rightly observes. Per- 
 haps the Apostle here indulged in a little play on words, as Tholuck 
 supposes, by contrasting irpoa-rdrts with the preceding irapatfT^vai ; 
 but if so, this just corroborates our opinion, that Phebe must have 
 been something more than a mere ira.pa.aTa.Tis, or succourer.
 
 160 KAISEESWEKTH. 
 
 But though these things show that female agency 
 was held in high esteem in the early Church, they 
 give us no ground for concluding what its duties 
 were. 
 
 On the other hand, it cannot be denied that by 
 choosing this title Dr. Fliedner seemed to assume 
 the right, which no private individual has, of creating 
 or restoring an apostolic office in the Church. 
 And this may account for the feeling of disappro- 
 bation which his work met with from some of the 
 clergy of the Prussian Church at the commencement 
 of his operations. Nor can it be denied that the 
 title of deaconess, customary as it has become, is one 
 which is not likely ever to be generally approved of. 
 One cannot help feeling that it is too grand a name 
 for the individuals who bear it. When you hear the 
 word " deaconess," you immediately think of a woman 
 of some distinction, who, as an office-bearer of the 
 Church, and invested with dignity, is entitled to 
 your reverence. But the deaconesses of Kaiserswerth 
 are something quite different from this. The only 
 thing that distinguishes them from the other female 
 members of the Church is their known devotedness 
 to the cause of the poor, the sick, and the neglected ; 
 certainly a distinction sufficiently honourable 
 to elicit our esteem and admiration. But we 
 cannot help asking, What has a pompous title to do 
 with this ? All their work is that of private indi- 
 viduals. Every Bible-woman, every Christian lady 
 who goes about visiting poor families, nursing the
 
 THE NAME A MISTAKE. 161 
 
 sick, or teaching the young, has as much, or rather 
 as little, right as the deaconesses of Kaiserswerth to 
 assume the name. It is true, the Kaiserswerth women 
 are solemnly ordained, but their ordination has no 
 official character at all. The Church of Prussia 
 knows nothing about it. It is merely a private act 
 of some individuals, which has no meaning, since it 
 is not authorised by any Christian Church. It might 
 have some meaning if Kaiserswerth were a Church by 
 itself. But Kaiserswerth is only a parish of the 
 Church of Prussia, and we have never heard that the 
 Prussian Church has restored the Apostolic office of 
 the deaconess. 
 
 The name is undoubtedly a mistake, but one of 
 not very great consequence. A mistake of much 
 greater importance is the attempt to impress the 
 system with an ecclesiastical stamp, by such means 
 as ordination, a sisterhood, a uniform costume, &c. 
 And upon this I should like to say something more 
 at large. 
 
 When one looks at this extensive work, which, 
 as it were, dots Europe with institutions of charity 
 and instruction, and spreads a numerous band of 
 nurses and teachers over the world, one cannot help 
 being struck with surprise and admiration, even 
 when viewing it merely as a product of adminis- 
 trative skill. If such a work were put into the 
 hands of a military bureau, or a government office, 
 what a staff of officials, inspectors, surveyors, clerks, 
 
 VOL. L M
 
 162 KAISERSWERTH. 
 
 and travelling agents would be required to keep it 
 going in order ! And how little progress would per- 
 haps be made after all! At Kaiserswerth a single 
 man, assisted by a few friends, ruled the whole 
 system. He stood, as it were, a Colossus, with one 
 foot on the shore of the Baltic, and the other 
 on the bank of the Jordan. He was able to do this 
 from the fact that the deaconesses are not the 
 dead parts of a clumsy machine, but the living organs 
 of an animated body. As in a Gothic building 
 each constituent part, from the largest window down 
 to the smallest rosette in the ornamental carving, 
 represents the spirit and form of the whole structure ; 
 so each member of this large sisterhood contains in 
 herself the ruling principles and methodizing habits 
 which characterise the whole body. Each one of 
 them is a Fliedner, so to speak, in her own sphere, 
 needing no control to secure honesty of principle, 
 and but very little to prevent rashness of practice. 
 In its main features, the work of each one of them 
 is recognisable at once as a fruit of the Kaisers- 
 werth tree ; yet it bears the special stamp of the 
 character of the individual who carries it on. There 
 is an agreeable unity, not uniformity a sweet 
 harmony, not monotony breathing through the 
 labours of all the sisters. This is the wonderful 
 effect of their conscientious moral and religious 
 training at Kaiserswerth, where the trainers and 
 teachers endeavour, as far as it is possible for one 
 human being to examine another human being's heart,
 
 THE SISTERHOOD. 163 
 
 to ascertain the inner relation in which the pro- 
 bationers stand to Christ before they are admitted 
 as deaconesses. Whenever it is doubtful whether 
 any one of them has really given herself up body 
 and soul to the service of Jesus whether she is 
 likely to do her work, not as hers, but as the 
 work of her beloved Saviour and Master, her 
 admission is refused, though her talents may be 
 ever so great. This is a fine sieve, it is true, and 
 it really sifts out more than 50 per cent, of the pro- 
 bationers, but it leaves the residue all the purer. 
 The Kaisersvverth deaconesses are, in Christ, one 
 heart and one soul. This makes them do one work 
 and live for one object, whether they be on the banks 
 of the Ehine or on the shores of the Mediterranean. 
 
 But besides this unity of spirit there is also a 
 unity of life. This is the natural consequence 
 of their training as one family, under certain 
 rules which continue to be observed as much as 
 possible by those who are labouring at distant 
 places. "They take their meals together, have 
 family worship twice a day, hold a fortnightly con- 
 ference, and a monthly meeting. Their birthdays 
 are kept, as in every German household, and also the 
 days of their confirmation to the diaconate. They 
 use a common psalm-book, tabulated for daily 
 reading, a Bible similarly and excellently arranged, 
 and a common hymn-book ; and have one of Scriver's 
 parables read at dinner. These are sufficient bonds 
 to link the absent with those in the house, and to 
 
 M 2
 
 164 KAISERSWEETH. 
 
 bring before them the reality of their being both 
 a separated and a united body." 1 
 
 In all this there is not much danger of turning 
 their sisterhood into a monastic order, though per- 
 haps some might ask why such care should be 
 taken to keep up unity in visible things? If it 
 be in order to strengthen their spiritual union, they 
 would perhaps say, that that spiritual union must 
 be rather weak. But I would not go that length. 
 True affection is sometimes pleased with visible re- 
 membrances of those whom it loves, and for some 
 minds there is pleasure in reading a chapter or 
 singing a hymn which they know is at the same 
 moment being read or sung by all their friends. 
 This may seem childish to others, but love is often 
 a child, and it may have its own way when there is 
 no harm in it. 
 
 And again take the question of dress. The 
 Kaiserswerth deaconess is everywhere recognisable 
 by her blue gown, white collar, and white cap. 
 This form of habit is not optional, but pre- 
 scribed by the rules of the establishment. To 
 those Protestants who believe that Christianity, 
 even when interpreted in its true evangelical and 
 spiritual meaning, admits of such things as sym- 
 bols, the Kaiserswerth deaconess uniform cannot 
 be at all objectionable. Dr. Fliedner was fond 
 of symbols, though he did not go so far as 
 
 1 Stevenson, ' Praying and Working,' p. 239.
 
 THEIR DRESS. 165 
 
 the late King of Prussia, who wished that the 
 deaconesses should wear a cross on their breasts. 
 But to other Protestants the uniform of the Kaisers- 
 werth deaconesses seems to betray a leaning towards 
 monasticism; and so also does the rule that they 
 must remain unmarried so long as they continue 
 in the service of the society. Still, resemblance 
 to the Eoman Catholic orders in outward things 
 does not necessarily include unity of principle. 
 The adage here may be applicable: Duo faciunt 
 idem, non faciunt idem. Both Protestants and Roman 
 Catholics in England have organs in their churches, 
 but no enlightened Scotch Presbyterian, though 
 ever so averse to organs in public worship, will aver 
 that in both cases the organ is an expression of the 
 same feeling. It is quite certain that with Dr. 
 Fliedner, however, the deaconess' uniform was more 
 a matter of expediency than of symbolism. This is 
 proved by the fact, among others, that he never 
 insisted upon the Duisburg deacons wearing a 
 special dress, though he was the founder of their 
 establishment, and continued for ten years to be its 
 president. 
 
 Dress forms a much more essential part of the 
 life of a woman than of a man. There is much 
 truth in the proverb, " Dress makes the man ;" 
 but there is more when we say, " Dress makes the 
 woman." What an amazing change a woman can 
 make in her whole appearance and in the impression 
 which she makes upon others, in what strangera
 
 166 KAISEESWEETH. 
 
 suppose her to be, and friends expect her to become, 
 by merely sewing a bright-coloured piece of lace on 
 her bonnet, or by cutting an inch off the body of her 
 gown ! The same person who yesterday passed along 
 unnoticed, may to-day, merely through a bit of 
 ribbon, become the subject of the town gossip ; and 
 the object of respectful veneration may, by means of 
 a change in her dress, become the object of ridicule. 
 Now the deaconesses, however sincere their love to 
 Christ, and for everything honest, pure, and lovely, 
 are, and will remain, human beings, partakers of flesh 
 and blood, and capable of committing serious mis- 
 takes in matters of taste and fashion, if left free in 
 the choice of their dress. Moreover, as some of 
 them come from the lower classes of society, and 
 others from the higher, and as the former may some- 
 times excel the latter in talent and ability, a source 
 of endless jealousy would spring up from the lower 
 putting the higher in the shade by the superiority 
 of her dress. To get rid of all such inconveniences, 
 certainly nothing could be better than the prescrip- 
 tion of a uniform which, while effacing every mark 
 of distinction arising from birth or education, at the 
 same time commands approbation by its simplicity, 
 and respect by its dignity. 
 
 Still, with all this, the question remains unanswered, 
 whether it is conformable with the spirit of the 
 Gospel to raise a band of female labourers in the 
 Church, united into a special society, marked out 
 from other Christians by the peculiarity of their
 
 Is THE SYSTEM SCBIPTUKAL? 167 
 
 dress, subjected to certain rules of living common to 
 them all, and bound to a state of celibacy so long 
 as they continue members? To say that this 
 is expedient is not an answer to the question, 
 is it scriptural ? Let it be granted that there were 
 deaconesses in the Apostolic Church who did the 
 same work which the Kaiserswerth females are per- 
 forming ; and also that those Apostolic deaconesses 
 were unmarried women, or, at least, widows without 
 families ; yet, it may be asked, were they united into 
 a society, into a sort of little church within the 
 Church ? And did they wear any visible sign, badge, 
 costume, or any other mark of distinction, by which 
 they were recognisable as members of that special 
 sisterhood? There is not one passage in the New 
 Testament that gives us ground even to suppose such 
 a thing. Nay, the strong words in which St. Paul 
 expresses his aversion to everything that might lead 
 towards splitting the members of the Church into 
 parties, prove that the formation of such a society 
 was incompatible with the principles and spirit 
 of the Christian Church, as declared by him. It is 
 true that the Church, a few centuries later, sanc- 
 tioned the foundation of such societies, and even 
 recognised monastic orders, with all the apparatus 
 of their rules and costumes, as holy institutions of 
 God. But history tells us plainly enough that these 
 fruits in the field of the Church never sprang from 
 the seed which the Apostle sowed, but from the tares, 
 which, even in his days, false teachers had begun to
 
 168 KAISERSWERTH. 
 
 spread, in their carnal attachment to the rites and 
 customs of the Mosaic dispensation. It stands to 
 reason that those who wanted to introduce circum- 
 cision into the Church of the Gentiles must also have 
 desired to see its preachers and elders dressed like the 
 priests of Jerusalem, and its minor officials separated 
 into a special tribe like the Levites. ' The system of 
 separating the office-bearers of the Church into a 
 kind of caste, and of symbolising their spiritual 
 position by their dress, belongs entirely and essen- 
 tially to the dispensation of the Law. The Gospel, 
 on the contrary, preaches the universality of our 
 priesthood and brotherhood; it teaches us that all 
 priestly vestments are insignificant, and that every- 
 thing which makes a separation between brother 
 and brother, and is an offence and a rock of 
 stumbling, should be for ever put away. 
 
 It is well known that the Fathers of the Eeformed 
 Church were more alive to this truth than those 
 of the Lutheran. German Protestantism has always 
 more or less evinced a tendency towards symbolism, 
 which could find no encouragement in the Churches 
 of Geneva and Dortrecht, and was emphatically repu- 
 diated by the Church of Scotland. This may account 
 for the fact that the Sisterhood of the deaconesses does 
 not thrive outside Germany. I differ from the author 
 of 'Praying and Working/ when he says that in 
 France, Switzerland, and Holland the system of 
 uniting Christian women in a society has been 
 welcomed as heartily by the Keformed Protes-
 
 EEFOEMED PROTESTANT SISTERHOODS. 169 
 
 tants as by the Lutheran. 1 It is true there are 
 deaconess-institutions in those Keformed countries, 
 and I have visited some of them ; but, when put 
 in juxtaposition with the German institutions, they 
 looked to me like pretty little yachts sailing along- 
 side three-decked ships. 2 They excel perhaps in 
 neatness and tidiness. Their buildings are more 
 elegantly constructed, and their members have a 
 more aristocratic look ; but they lack that power of 
 action, that instinctive impetus, that facility of 
 adjustment and accommodation to all the emergencies 
 of life, which characterise the German institutions ; 
 and, above all, they lack popularity. The deaconess- 
 system is not looked upon by the Eeformed Protes- 
 tants as a home-grown plant. Nor will it, in my 
 opinion, ever be naturalised in Eeformed countries. 
 It is true that the Eeformed Protestants in Germany 
 greatly sympathise with the Kaiserswerth Institutions. 
 But the German Calvinists are people of a somewhat 
 different stamp from their brethren in France, Hol- 
 land, and Scotland. The Lutheran Church has so 
 decidedly moulded and shaped the character of the 
 German Protestant nations, that even in the few 
 Calvinistic districts the tastes and habits of the people 
 savour more or less of Lutheranism. Now the 
 Lutheran Church has always modelled itself some- 
 what after the pattern of the Latin. 
 
 1 ' Praying and Working,' p. 243. 
 
 2 The Deaconess House at Strasburg comes nearest to the 
 Kaiserswerth Institution. But, though situated in France, it is a 
 German Institution.
 
 170 KAISEKSWERTH. 
 
 The doctrine that the Church is a visible insti- 
 tution of God on earth, destined to express and 
 symbolise invisible things through the medium of 
 things visible, has always been popular amongst 
 the Lutherans. The feeling of being a member 
 of the Church as an organised body, ruled by 
 authorities which have their power from God, is 
 common to German Protestants at large. To 
 this taste for symbolising, and to this fancy for 
 union in a visible form, such an institution as the 
 deaconesses' Sisterhood is perfectly congenial. Their 
 uniform dress and their monastic organisation are 
 deemed as little out of place as the beautiful fresco- 
 painting of the weary dove flying to the bosom of 
 Christ in the Prayer-house at Kaiserswerth, or as the 
 carved images of the Apostles, and the portraits of 
 beloved deceased friends adorning the walls of the 
 Eauhe Haus Chapel. 
 
 Besides, there is a feature in the national cha- 
 racter of the Germans, which peculiarly fits them, 
 and especially the female sex, for such work as the 
 deaconesses are called to. It is their innate sense 
 of the duty of subordination to authority. The 
 German is possessed of a natural proclivity to- 
 wards serving (Ich dien /), which does not proceed 
 from a spirit of slavish submissiveness, but from 
 a deep and truly moral sense of veneration for 
 the powers that be. So the German woman evinces 
 a natural talent for living and labouring under 
 the direction and control of others, for fitting
 
 REFORMED PROTESTANT SISTERHOODS. 171 
 
 herself into a plan of life mapped out for her by 
 those who have her confidence, for taking her place 
 in a body that marches in obedience to a superior 
 power, and for allowing her individuality to dissolve 
 itself to a considerable extent in that organisation. 
 If she is a Christian she can easily persuade herself 
 into the belief that the corporation to which she has 
 attached herself is a divine institution, a visible, cor- 
 poreal realisation of some plan of the Church's Head ; 
 and she will maintain that belief all the more, if 
 that corporation be in connexion with the Church. 
 In this state of mind she is ready for even the most 
 humble services, though perhaps she may have come 
 from a rank in life which entitles her to command 
 others; and she will, with devoted enthusiasm, 
 submit to sacrifices, privations, and hardships, which, 
 if labouring single-handed and unprompted by her 
 motive of obedience, she would most likely shrink 
 from. 
 
 The Keformed Protestant women, on the contrary, 
 grow up under the influence of notions which create an 
 antipathy to symbolism, and a disposition towards in- 
 dividualism. The Calvinistic doctrines point above 
 all to the relation of the individual to the invisible 
 Saviour, and say very little, comparatively, about his 
 relation to the visible Church. They have stamped 
 the national character of the Eeformed Protestants 
 with an instinctive aversion to embodying religion 
 in anything material and visible, and they have
 
 172 KAISEESWEETH. 
 
 imbued the national mind with something like dis- 
 like to systematic collective labour in spiritual 
 matters. In such an atmosphere a religious sister- 
 hood will never flourish luxuriantly. It may be tried 
 as an experiment ; it may be even allowed to be 
 expedient in some cases ; but it will never receive 
 a hearty welcome. 
 
 Nor is the Eeformed Protestant woman so well 
 adapted for a deaconess as the German. She is too 
 much trained in a spirit of independence of human 
 authority in matters of religious concern, and too 
 jealous of her liberty as a free child of God, who 
 has to obey but one Master, and to listen to no voice 
 but that of her own conscience. She, as well as the 
 Lutheran, is prepared cordially to devote herself even 
 to the most humble work, to sacrifice everything, to 
 suffer, and to endure hardships ; but she wants to 
 work and to suffer in her own way. She believes 
 not in the divinity of human institutions, nor in the 
 sanctity of visible authority concerning religious 
 affairs. She will de bond fide join in a scheme of 
 organised labour as long as it suits her ; but if any- 
 thing occurs at variance with her tastes or convic- 
 tions, no feeling of veneration will prompt her to 
 submit. 
 
 Moreover, among the Germans it is the feelings 
 which are especially developed ; but among the Ee- 
 formed Protestants it is the intellect. And intel- 
 lectual development, if ruled by the Gospel, cannot
 
 WANT OF ENCOURAGEMENT IN ENGLAND. 173 
 
 fail to raise a man's consciousness of himself as a 
 free-willed, rational, and responsible agent of God ; 
 and to foster an idea of dignity and self-esteem, 
 which, if not based upon the merit of works, but 
 upon the free gift of God's grace, ought to have 
 a due place amongst the attributes of a Christian. 
 This idea, which gives a certain dignified touch to the 
 character of the Keformed Protestant, recoils from 
 such a thing as wearing a prescribed costume, a 
 sort of livery which makes you a servant, not neces- 
 sarily of the Lord, but of a man or of a corporation 
 of men. 
 
 All this, along with other reasons summed up 
 by Dr. Howson, 1 such as the influence of party-spirit, 
 the love of comfort, &c., may account for the fact, 
 that a real Deaconess Institution, such as the Kaisers- 
 werth one, appears to meet with scanty encourage- 
 ment in England. There are a few comparatively 
 small Establishments for female agents in London, 
 Middlesborough, Exeter, Liverpool, &c. ; but valu- 
 able as these Institutions are in their own sphere of 
 labour, they are to be considered but as feeble at- 
 tempts to introduce official female agency into the 
 Church ; . and how far they will succeed in paving 
 the way for a regular Sisterhood the future alone can 
 show. I hope and trust they will not succeed. I hope 
 the Protestant Church of England will keep aloof 
 from schemes which would lead her to expand 
 
 1 P. 152, sqq., of his valuable book on Deaconesses.
 
 174 KAISEBSWERTH. 
 
 her limits to a wider range than God's Word has 
 appointed for the Church of Christ. That a Church 
 may raise a band of women from amongst her mem- 
 bers for visiting the poor ; that she ,may control and 
 pay them in the way the Bible-women are controlled 
 *and paid ; that if there should be women of the higher 
 classes who desire to devote themselves gratuitously 
 to the care of the poor, she may try to find a proper 
 place for such voluntary labourers in connexion with 
 the salaried ones ; that, finally, she may give the 
 name of deaconess to such Avomen, and acknow- 
 ledge them as office-bearers of the Church : all this 
 is quite compatible with the principles and spirit of 
 the Church of Christ, as laid down in the Gospels. 
 But that a Church should address herself to the 
 task of training schoolmistresses and sick-nurses, 
 and of founding normal-schools and hospitals for 
 the purpose; that is, in my opinion, a view of 
 church agency which goes beyond the limits pre- 
 scribed in the Gospel. If we once put our foot 
 across that line, we cannot tell how far we shall go. 
 We might as soon expect the Church to train young 
 men as preceptors and physicians. The case is quite 
 different when a Christian Church enters upon a 
 mission-work among savages. There she must do 
 everything, if anything is to be done at all. There 
 she must even teach the people how to make their 
 coats, and to build their houses ; and such a thing as a 
 church-smithy would not be at all absurd. But we are
 
 OBJECTIONS. 175 
 
 living in a Christian and civilised country. Amongst 
 us school-teaching, and even sick-nursing, are as 
 much professions as the practice of law or medicine. 
 That it is desirable that the members of all pro- 
 fessions should be true Christians is beyond a doubt. 
 A well-principled physician is not less desirable for 
 a poor invalid than a well-principled nurse. Still 
 the right way to imbue these professions with Chris- 
 tian spirit and principles is certainly not to make 
 the Church a teacher of physicians and nurses. If 
 the Church wants the sick-nurses of the country 
 to be Christians, let her preach the Gospel to them. 
 Or if the Church wants some of her deaconesses to 
 be well instructed in the art of nursing, let her send 
 them to a place where they can learn it. If it should 
 happen that there are no fit places to which a Christian 
 woman can be sent to learn sick-nursing, without 
 endangering her character, or exposing her to the 
 atmosphere of bad company, let the Church, through 
 her influence, induce some of her members to estab- 
 lish a private institution for the purpose. But let 
 no ecclesiastical character or official sanction be given 
 to it. If the individuals who start the establishment 
 are Christians, it is an institution of the Church of 
 Christ, and needs from the Church no other sanction. 
 It is, in my opinion, a pity that Fliedner did not 
 adhere to this simple view of the matter when he 
 founded his Institution. He started it as a private 
 society ; and so it is still to a certain extent But
 
 176 KAISERSWEKTH. 
 
 his eager attempts to connect it as much as possible 
 with the Church of Prussia, and to impress it with 
 an ecclesiastical stamp, by such means as ordination, 
 a sisterhood, and a uniform costume, have, I am 
 afraid, introduced a leaven which imparts a somewhat 
 unnatural taste and flavour to the excellent food he 
 has provided Christendom with.
 
 FATHER ZELLER'S SCHOOL AT 
 
 BEUGGEN, NEAB BASLE 
 (GEAND DUCHY OF BADEN). 
 
 VOL. I.
 
 I. 
 
 THE Two FRIENDS. 
 
 famous warrior, Bernhard Duke of Weimar, 
 who, at the close of the Thirty Years' War 
 defeated Johann von Werth and sent him a captive 
 to Paris, little thought that the place where he 
 fixed his head-quarters would, two centuries later, be 
 the abode of a band of happy little children. This 
 place is the Castle of Beuggen, now in the territory 
 of the Grand Duke of Baden, near the frontier of 
 Switzerland, and only ten miles distant from the 
 venerable town of Basle. It stands on a charming 
 spot on the right bank of the Khine, where that 
 magnificent stream flows with a sharp curve, 
 between Sackingen and Rheinfelden, two places 
 well known to those who have studied the history 
 of the great Thirty Years' struggle. It is the centre 
 of a ^uiet little valley, below the turnpike-road 
 which winds up to Constanz, overshadowed by a 
 verdant vine-hill. On passing one of the two bridges 
 which span the moat surrounding the Castle, you 
 walk through a gate of mediaeval structure into a 
 spacious yard or square, where stands a clump of ten 
 thickly-foliaged chestnut-trees casting their cool shade 
 
 N 2
 
 180 BEUGGEN. 
 
 over a large circular basin of water. To the right 
 you observe the half-decayed ruins of the old Castle, 
 built probably in the days of the Hapsburgs, and 
 contrasting romantically with the more recent archi- 
 tecture of the new Castle, which dates from the 
 commencement of the Seven Years' War. This 
 latter lifts its* gigantic form proudly in the midst of 
 the square, being in height only surpassed by the 
 steeple of the Castle-Chapel, which, though part of 
 the Castle, is not used for the same purpose, being 
 the property of the Eoman Catholic clergy of the 
 neighbourhood. The Castle itself has been selected 
 for a work intended to evince the wonderful power of 
 that exclusively Protestant maxim the Bible, and 
 nothing but the Bible ! Its thirty-two apartments, 
 large and small, are occupied by upwards of a hun- 
 dred individuals, adults and children, who, with the 
 spiritual sword of God's Word, fight the noble battle 
 against sin, and its fearful consequences degradation, 
 destitution, and misery, both temporal and eternal. 
 It is worth while to ascend the clean oak-steps of 
 the broad flight of stairs that leads up to the 
 spacious school and dwelling rooms on the first floor, 
 and to the bedrooms on the second. You \vilj enjoy 
 the roomy landing-places and wide passages, the lofty 
 ceilings of the apartments, the stream of light and 
 fresh air that pours in through the strong -framed 
 windows, and the cheerful aspect of the ensemble, 
 where the privileges of ancient princely magnifi- 
 cence are so happily turned to the profit of the
 
 THE Two FRIENDS. 181 
 
 needy, the neglected, and the outcast. And when, 
 after a little panting and perspiring, you have reached 
 the top of this grand building, you will find your 
 trouble fully repaid by an enchanting view of 
 the Rhine-valley, encircled towards the south by the 
 evergreen Jura Mountains, and towards the north by 
 the Black Forest. 
 
 But delightful as a visit is to this charming place 
 in the present day, it must have been very dismal 
 to those who visited it immediately after the War 
 of Liberation. At that period the Castle of Beuggen 
 presented an aspect of misery and desolation. For 
 three years, from 1814 till 1817, it was a hospital for 
 the wounded soldiers of the Austrian army. At the 
 close of the war it was abandoned by its numerous 
 inmates, who left eight thousand of their comrades 
 buried in the fields around the Castle-moat. It was left 
 as it stood on the last day it was occupied, uncleaned 
 and unswept, showing everywhere the disgusting 
 marks of the misery which thousands of wretched 
 creatures had suffered under the scalpel of the surgeon 
 and amid the agonies of death. In this state of filthi- 
 ness and desolation it continued for years, avoided by 
 everybody; or, if visited at all, only at night by 
 thieves, who carried off whatever booty they could 
 find. Its sole inhabitants were the owl and the 
 bat, who could here rear their young in peace. 
 And in such a condition this once attractive spot 
 might have continued till now, had it not become 
 the abode of Christian love, which, wherever it
 
 182 BEUGGEN. 
 
 comes, turns death into life, casts out everything 
 unclean, and calls up a fountain of pure living 
 water for the weary and the thirsty. 
 
 It will be interesting to learn the origin of this 
 remarkable change, with which a still more important 
 change, in the soul and life of many a lost human 
 being, is connected. 
 
 One autumn afternoon of the year 1816 two men 
 were walking up and down the spacious square yard, 
 which, planted with rows of beautiful trees, graces 
 the rear of the Miinster-Kirche at Basle. They were 
 evidently engaged in a conversation which engrossed 
 their whole heart and soul. Was it the somewhat 
 melancholy aspect of the withering creation around, 
 the crackling of the yellow leaves carpeting the 
 path on which they trod, and the chilly autumnal 
 blasts moving the tops of the trees to and fro, and 
 moaning through the leafless branches, that cast a 
 gloom over their minds and caused the serious ex- 
 pression of their countenances? Perhaps it was to 
 some extent. But the chief cause of the concern 
 which so deeply filled their souls was the thought 
 pressing upon them of a decay far more awful and 
 alarming than that of withering leaves and drooping 
 flowers. Their conversation ran on the dreadful 
 state of neglect and misery in which the greater 
 portion of Christendom was left by the recent 
 wars. The condition of the lower classes, and espe- 
 cially of the children, was distressing beyond descrip- 
 tion. " I visited a small district the other day," one
 
 183 
 
 of the two friends said, " where I found upwards of a 
 hundred children who were destitute of any instruc- 
 tion whatever ; and, upon entering the huts in which 
 they dwelt, I almost sickened at the spectacle of 
 misery and wretchedness I witnessed. One-sixth of 
 the children of our country are without shelter or 
 support, rambling about in perfect vagabondism. 
 Twice I saw some of these homeless creatures, driven 
 from, one canton to another, starving on the public 
 road. Two little boys were found crouching by the 
 dead body of their mother. What is to be done to 
 stop this fearful evil, which gnaws like a cancer at 
 the very root of our national existence ? If Christi- 
 anity is a power unto salvation, is it not here that it 
 ought to show itself, as the only agency which is truly 
 able to save human society from ruin ? " 
 
 The gentleman who gave this sad description of 
 the condition of the children of the lower class was 
 Mr. Christian Heinrich Zeller, then School-director 
 at Zofingen, a pretty town in the canton of Aargau. 
 He was little aware at that moment that this con- 
 versation with his friend Mr. Spittler, the celebrated 
 founder of the Basle Mission-House, was the first step 
 towards a work which would one day give to his 
 name a European celebrity, and serve as a monu- 
 ment of grateful love in the hearts of all Christian 
 philanthropists, as well as in those of thousands of 
 rescued children. The two friends had just returned 
 from a visit to the Mission-House, and thought with 
 pleasure of the resolute young men whom they saw
 
 184 BEUGGEN. 
 
 there preparing themselves to carry the Gospel to the 
 heathen world. Far below their feet, at the bottom 
 of the high wall from which they enjoyed the 
 charming view that stretched out before their eyes, 
 old Father Khine was rolling along, bending with a 
 graceful curve round the old town, and preparing 
 to take leave of his native land, to. carry his 
 fertilising blessings to France, Germany, and the 
 Netherlands. " Alas ! " said Mr. Zeller, " it seems 
 to me as if the blessed Gospel-river is also pre- 
 paring to leave our poor fatherland, to pour its 
 costly treasures over the fields of far distant coun- 
 tries. I cordially wish the poor heathen to drink 
 its quickening waters ; but why should our own 
 people, who are in no better condition than the 
 blind heathen of Asia, be deprived of these life- 
 giving draughts? We have just been visiting a 
 school for training teachers of the Gospel for the 
 inhabitants of Hindostan and Africa. What a bless- 
 ing this Institution would be, if, at the same time, it 
 were a school for training Christian School-teachers 
 for the poor people of Switzerland and Germany! 
 For they are the class of persons whom our sadly- 
 neglected communities are fearfully in need of. You 
 know how completely destitute of any Christian 
 school-teaching our poorer districts are, because no 
 teacher can be found willing to bury himself in 
 such abodes of neglect and destitution. If Christian 
 charity deems it necessary to train up young men 
 for work among the heathen, surely it cannot but
 
 THE Two FRIENDS. 185 
 
 desire that young men should likewise be summoned, 
 in the name of Christ, to devote themselves with 
 self-denying love to the rescuing of the perishing 
 children of our own nation. And if the Mission- 
 House, while fulfilling one part of its duty, does not 
 wish to leave the other undone, it must, it appears 
 to me, be thrown open to every Christian young man 
 who wishes to become a schoolmaster to the poor." 
 
 Mr. Zeller here took leave of Mr. Spittler, and re- 
 paired to his home, where he soon forgot all about their 
 conversation in the bustle of his schools and the 
 numerous occupations of his directorship. But his 
 words kindled a fire in the heart of the noble founder 
 of the Mission-House, which nothing could quench. 
 The winter passed on without Mr. Zeller hearing 
 anything about the matter ; but no sooner had the 
 spring returned to the valleys of the Alps than he 
 received a letter from Mr. Spittler, requesting him to 
 write down his thoughts on the institution of a Mis- 
 sionary Schoolmaster Establishment. This invitation 
 was as unexpected by Mr. Zeller as the voice must 
 have been by young Samuel which called his name 
 at midnight. He felt quite unprepared for it, and, 
 burdened with school-business and examinations as 
 he was, he could hardly find one moment to give his 
 mind to the subject. But it was with him as with 
 his friend some months ago. Mr. Spittler had now, in 
 his turn, thrown a spark into Mr. Zeller's bosom, which, 
 in spite of all his occupations, set his whole soul on 
 fire. The idea followed him into his school, and came
 
 186 BEUGGEN. 
 
 out with him again. It went with him to bed, and 
 awoke with him in the morning. One evening the 
 whole plan stood as clearly before his mind as if he 
 saw the proposed Establishment rising out of the 
 ground, and working in all the branches of its organi- 
 sation. He took his pen, and wrote down an elaborate 
 paper at one sitting. Mr. Spittler read it with enthu- 
 siasm, and caused it to be circulated among the 
 friends of the Mission. Among these, too, the plan met 
 with unanimous approbation. Letters were received 
 from different quarters promising every assistance 
 that could be afforded. The only objection which 
 was felt by any regarded the union of the Establish- 
 ment with the Mission-House. This part of the 
 scheme was dropped in consequence, and it was re- 
 solved to found a " Voluntary School for training 
 Schoolmasters for the Poor." The main features 
 of the plan were these : 
 
 " A number of poor, fatherless, and neglected 
 children should be taken into a spacious, well-ap- 
 pointed building, situated in the country, and not too 
 far from Basle, where they should be instructed in 
 the most important branches of elementary educa- 
 tion, in gardening and domestic labour, and in various 
 kinds of handicrafts. In connexion with this a band 
 of Christian young men should be trained as teachers 
 of poor children." 
 
 The idea was warmly taken up by many Christian 
 friends, and enthusiastically discussed in various 
 circles. On the evening of the 31st of Septem-
 
 THE Two FRIENDS. 187 
 
 ber, 1817, twelve individuals met at Basle, and 
 committed the matter in prayer to God. They took 
 one another by the hand, and solemnly pledged 
 themselves in the presence of God to do whatever 
 might be in their power, in order to carry their 
 hearts' desire into effect. They then united them- 
 selves into a " Society for training Voluntary School- 
 masters for the Poor."
 
 II. 
 
 How A HOUSE OF DEATH AND DESOLATION WAS CHANGED 
 INTO AN ABODE OF LIFE AND JOY. 
 
 ~Vj"0 sooner was this union of Christian friends 
 *' made public, than encouraging letters and gifts 
 poured in from different quarters. Among the latter 
 there was a pretty little case sent in by a lady whose 
 name is not recorded. It contained a costly gold 
 box, with a note saying, " Do with this box what 
 Mrs. von Oinhausen once did with a brilliant ring 
 presented to her that is, found a School; and 
 may the Lord vouchsafe His abundant blessing 
 upon it ! " Mr. Spittler set himself to work at once, 
 and wrote a hundred tickets, each valued at one 
 Louis d'or (18s. 4e?.), and distributed them among 
 his friends, in order that they might be sold as 
 shares in a lottery. The hundred tickets were 
 soon taken, chiefly by friends in Basle and the 
 neighbourhood, so that the Society had a capital of 
 91?. 13s. Id. to begin with. The box was drawn by a 
 Basle lady, who made the Society a present of it. 
 Mr. Spittler resolved to repeat the process, but in 
 a wider circle. Again a hundred shares were taken, 
 and a second time the box yielded a hundred Louis
 
 THE GOLD Box. 189 
 
 d'or to the Society. The person who was so fortunate 
 as to draw it this time followed the good example 
 of his predecessor, and restored it to Mr. Spittler. 
 Six years later Mr. Zeller opened his third Annual 
 Eeport of the Establishment with these words : 
 " That remarkable gold box, the present of a bene- 
 factress, whose heart God moved to consecrate it 
 to the foundation of a Poor-School, lies before my 
 eyes. Three times over it was presented to us; 
 and now it is kept as a remembrancer till the 
 Lord give us further hints about its destiny. What 
 recollections of the past are called forth by this 
 gold box, which is so charmingly connected with 
 the history of the first years of our Establishment ! 
 When I remember that at the beginning we had 
 nothing but this little treasure ; when I look at the 
 rich blessing of God, which, since this gift, has 
 poured down in full streams upon the Establish- 
 ment; and when I recollect the numerous and 
 never-to-be-forgotten evidences of Divine assistance, 
 preservation, guidance, and pardoning grace ex- 
 perienced in the inward and outward history of our 
 Institution, how can I but marvel, and adore the 
 great and living God, who quickeneth the dead, and 
 calleth those things which be not as though they 
 were ! " 
 
 And well might the Society raise their song of 
 gratitude, for gifts came flowing in, in continuous 
 succession. Among them was a promise from the 
 British and Foreign School Society, London, of
 
 190 BEUGGEN. 
 
 100?., payable on the day when the Establishment 
 would be opened. The first thing required now was 
 permission from the Government to build a house 
 on the Basle territory. The Government, however, 
 kept the matter so long under consideration, that 
 the whole of the year 1818 passed without any 
 result ; and, as the price asked by tlie owner of the 
 desired site was extravagant, the Society resolved 
 to leave Basle, and try its fortune in the adjacent 
 Grand Duchy of Baden. In the spring of 1819 a 
 friend, who had thrown her whole heart into the 
 undertaking, the widow of the late Professor Fasch, 
 and who had some influence in high circles, advised 
 the Society to apply to the Baden Government for 
 the use of the Castle of Beuggen. But it was 
 in vain : the Baden Government declined the request 
 at once. The Society then turned its attention to 
 another castle, likewise situated in Baden, at no 
 great distance from Basle. It happened that about 
 this time the Grand Duke Lewis, who had recently 
 succeeded to the throne, made a tour through his 
 territory, and was expected at Borrach, a town on 
 the Basle frontier. The Basle magistrates resolved 
 to send a deputation to congratulate His Royal 
 Highness. Among the deputies was a friend of the 
 Society, who availed himself of this opportunity to 
 present a memorial to the Duke, in which the plan 
 of the Establishment was briefly described, and 
 permission asked to buy or lease a suitable site on 
 his territory. The Duke received the petition with
 
 THE DEPUTATION. 191 
 
 great kindness, put some questions to the gentleman 
 who handed it to him, and said, " I would look upon 
 such an Establishment as a great blessing to my 
 country." He promised to send his decision in 
 writing in a short time, and the deputy returned 
 joyfully to Basle, to report the good news to his 
 friends. 
 
 But again the patience of the Society was put to 
 the test. The Duke had received such a heap of me- 
 morials and petitions that the Basle one disappeared 
 among them, like a grain of wheat in a bushel of 
 chaff. Week after week elapsed, but the post brought 
 no document graced with the ducal seal. The Society 
 then deemed it proper to send a deputation to His 
 Highness, to remind him of his promise. The two 
 friends, Messrs. Spittler and Zeller, were appointed. 
 They set out for Karlsruhe on the 16th of October, 
 1819. The journey from Basle to Karlsruhe, which 
 may now be easily performed in a few hours, then 
 took about two days and two nights. The two 
 friends had got by the stage-coach as far as the town 
 of A , when, to their vexation, they became aware 
 that in their hurry they had forgotten to take their 
 passports with them. What were they to do? To 
 go on and take their chance would be rather reck- 
 less. Fortunately they remembered that a friend 
 lived in A , who was widely known throughout 
 Baden. There was just time to call upon him and 
 to acquaint him with their predicament. He at 
 once got himself ready, and proceeded with them,
 
 192 BEUGGEN. 
 
 to act as their passport. This plan proved suc- 
 cessful; and the three friends arrived, tired, but 
 happy, at their hotel at Karlsruhe. Immediately 
 they set out to deliver their letters of introduction to 
 the influential men they were directed to. There 
 was the Minister of Finance, Herr von Fischer, and 
 the Councillor of State, Herr von Sensburg, and the 
 Minister of Outer and Inner Affairs, Freiherr von 
 Berstett, and several other Herr vons, who might 
 be able to throw a little influence into the scale 
 in favour of the Poor-School. The last-mentioned 
 gentleman, who had accompanied the Duke on his 
 tour through the country, and had been present 
 at the presentation of the petition, promised to 
 bring the matter before the Duke. To their great 
 joy, he informed them the next day that His 
 Highness wished to speak to them in person, and 
 that they were expected at the ducal palace at 
 four o'clock P.M. 
 
 The iron hammer of the belfry of the cathedral 
 of Karlsruhe was just about to give four strokes 
 on the gigantic bell, when the two Swiss friends 
 stepped into the hall of the ducal residence. A 
 valet-de-chambre made his appearance, and, in a kind 
 tone, told them that they had better come back 
 at five, since His Highness had not yet returned 
 from the chase. This advice was punctually attended 
 to, but the Duke was not yet at home. Sorely disap- 
 pointed, they returned to their hotel, and spent the 
 evening in painful misgivings. They committed
 
 INTERVIEW WITH THE DUKE. 193 
 
 the matter to the King of kings, and went to bed 
 to spend a sleepless night, brooding over what 
 might come in the way to frustrate their heart's 
 desire. Of course they awoke rather late, and were 
 just dressing, when a knock was heard at their bed- 
 room door, and in stepped an individual, clad in 
 crimson from top to toe. 
 
 " Are you the two gentlemen from Switzerland ? " 
 he said to the deputies, one of whom was engaged in 
 washing, and the other in shaving. 
 
 " We are." 
 
 " His Royal Highness invites you to call at half- 
 past nine. He wants to speak to you in person." 
 
 Off went the apparition, and the two friends 
 looked at one another thunderstruck. There was 
 not much time to spare, but punctually at the hour 
 they were standing at the door of the ducal mansion. 
 The affable valet-de-chambre of yesterday took them 
 into an ante-chamber, and left them alone. There 
 they stood with throbbing hearts. Steps were 
 heard. A door was opened, and in came the Duke, 
 clad in blue uniform, with red cuffs, laced collar, 
 and a star on his breast. Dignity and affability were 
 harmoniously blended in his countenance. He kindly 
 inquired after the object of their petition ; and 
 when Mr. Zeller had told him all about it, he said : 
 " I am very much pleased with this plan ; but by 
 what means do you propose to found and support 
 your Establishment ?" 
 
 "May it please your Grace," Mr. Zeller replied, 
 
 VOL. I. O
 
 194 BEUGGEN. 
 
 " we have no other fund than the mercy of God, who 
 is mighty to move the hearts of the friends and 
 benefactors of the poor. Indeed, we have already 
 received so much encouraging support from Switzer- 
 land, Germany, and England, and from so many 
 unknown friends, that we feel warranted to begin 
 the work in the name of God." 
 
 Mr. Zeller then told the Duke the story of the 
 gold box, which greatly pleased him. 
 
 " That's good," said the Duke ; " but I really am 
 puzzled as to what building I can offer you. Would 
 you like Beuggen ? " 
 
 This question was to them like a bright sunbeam 
 suddenly piercing through a fog. They had dropped 
 every thought of Beuggen long since. Undoubtedly 
 it was the best building for their purpose that could 
 be imagined ; far better than the Castle of Biirgli, 
 on which they had fixed their thoughts after Beuggen 
 was refused. 
 
 "To tell the truth," the Duke said, "I cannot 
 sell you Beuggen. It is, with some other valuable 
 property, destined as an indemnity to the Prince of 
 Thurn and Taxis, to cover his expenses in conducting 
 the post in these parts of Germany. But I may lease 
 the Castle to you. Only you must take it on mere 
 chance. You may have it for years ; but on the 
 other hand it may be taken from you within a short 
 time. If you have no objection to lease it under 
 these circumstances, I will let it to you at an annual 
 rent of 60 florins (5/), with six months' notice."
 
 STATE OF THE CASTLE. 195 
 
 " Most gracious Prince," Mr. Spittler replied, " we 
 are prepared to take it on these conditions, as we 
 undertake the whole affair, trusting in the merci- 
 fulness of our God ; and we give to your Royal 
 Highness our cordial thanks for this goodness and 
 grace, which we accept with joy." 
 
 The next day, being Friday, the 22nd of Oc- 
 tober, exactly the same day on which four years 
 before the two friends for the first time discussed 
 the matter behind the Basle Miinster-Kirche, they 
 found themselves at the Government-office, to receive 
 the required documents. They at once set out for 
 Basle, where they arrived on Sunday afternoon. 
 On the same evening a meeting of the Society 
 was called, at which Mr. Zeller gave an account 
 of their journey to the metropolis of Baden ; and 
 when he related their conversation with the Duke, 
 and Mr. Spittler produced the documents, with the 
 Duke's seal and signature, the whole company 
 burst out into general applause. All the friends 
 rose and embraced each other with tears of joy. 
 The President, who, in spite of indisposition, had come 
 to the meeting, felt all at once relieved by the glad 
 news, and engaged in prayer, thanking God for this 
 unexpected result. Mr. Zeller was then appointed. 
 to examine the Castle, and to report as to what 
 was required to put it in a state of repair. 
 
 He found it in a most miserable condition. There 
 was not one unbroken window in the whole building. 
 The fine brass-locks, which used to adorn the doors, 
 
 o 2
 
 196 BEUGGEN. 
 
 were all stolen, and so were the large iron stoves, 
 without which no German parlour is comfortable. 
 Heaps of straw were scattered through the rooms 
 and saloons ; and everywhere there was dirt, 
 and blood, and rubbish. The paper was torn 
 from the walls ; and even the iron hooks and 
 bolts, which had fastened the frame-work of the 
 roof, were carried off. Still the building could 
 be repaired, though not without considerable ex- 
 pense. The apartments on the ground floor were 
 designed for workshops, dining-room, and kitchen; 
 the large saloon, on the first floor, for a school- 
 room and a place for family-worship ; the other 
 rooms on that floor were partly assigned as a 
 dwelling for the house-mother, partly as bedrooms 
 for the girls. There was also a large apartment for 
 a storeroom, and another for an infirmary. The 
 Director was to have his dwelling on the second 
 floor, where there was also plenty of accommodation 
 for the female teachers. The rooms of the third floor 
 were appropriated as dormitories for the boys, and 
 for the young men who were to be trained as school- 
 masters. A numerous band of workpeople was then 
 engaged to put the building in order, according to 
 this plan; and on the 1st of November, 1819, Mr. 
 Zeller received a letter from the Society, in which he 
 was entreated to take the Directorship of the new 
 Establishment.
 
 III. 
 
 How MB. ZELLER MADE MANY RICH BY MAKING HIMSELF 
 POOR. 
 
 ~VT W, . a better man than Zeller could not have 
 **' been chosen. He was a born pedagogue. In his 
 youth his father designed him for the law, and sent 
 him to the university ; but no position in society, 
 however splendid, could, in his judgment, outshine that 
 of a good schoolmaster. It was therefore with joy 
 that he sacrificed the prospect of becoming a 
 Hofrath for the humble situation of tutor in a 
 private family. Here his talents as a teacher 
 gained him such reputation that a number of re- 
 spectable citizens of St. Gallen requested him to 
 take charge of a private school, which they had esta- 
 blished in order to provide their children with better 
 training and instruction than could be obtained at 
 the public schools of that town. This school be- 
 came, under Zeller's direction, a pattern of good, 
 solid, popular teaching ; and such was the effect of his 
 admirable labours that the town-council of Zofingen 
 called him, in 1809, to be director of the public 
 school there, while the magistrates of the canton 
 of Aargau appointed him Inspector of the Schools
 
 198 BEUGGEN. 
 
 of the district. At Zofingen, which is one of the 
 most charming spots in Switzerland, he passed a 
 happy life, in which the comforts of affluence were 
 combined with the privileges of intelligent social 
 intercourse and the blessings of a useful sphere of 
 labour. He was the centre and soul of the lively and 
 spirited educational life of the district. In addi- 
 tion to his directorship of the town-school and his 
 inspectorship of the district-schools he was head 
 teacher at the Latin school, and catechist of the 
 Church Vor dem Wold. He also conducted an even- 
 ing class for female teachers, at which he became 
 acquainted with Miss Sophie Siegfried, who was 
 teacher at the first ladies' school of the town. She 
 became his wife ; but being, like her husband, a 
 thorough teacher, she continued her labours at the 
 school, even when, as a house-mother, she had to care 
 for a family of fourteen children, five of whom were 
 her own, and the others boarders. Such an active, 
 useful, and in every respect blessed life, as Zeller's 
 could not fail to command the highest esteem of the 
 whole population, both in the town and district ; and 
 at the time when the call of the Basle Society came 
 to him he found himself surrounded by a multi- 
 tude of friends, of all classes of society, who vied 
 with one another to show the boundless admira- 
 tion, affection, and gratitude which they felt towards 
 him and his excellent partner. 
 
 Now the situation of director of a Poor-school at 
 Beuggen, supported only by voluntary contributions,
 
 OPPOSITION. 199 
 
 secluded almost entirely from society, and confined 
 within the narrow sphere of a family of neglected 
 children and uneducated young men, when con- 
 trasted with Mr. Zeller's position at Zofingen, must 
 have appeared most absurd and ridiculous in the 
 eyes of mere worldly men. Perhaps, not one person 
 in a thousand would have even taken the sub- 
 ject into consideration. Nor could Mr. Zeller, if he 
 had refused it, have been blamed. By accepting 
 the call, he would rest the future welfare of his 
 family on a basis which seemed very uncertain, 
 humanly speaking. He would also withdraw his 
 talents and influence from a sphere of labour in 
 which they had hitherto proved a source of extensive 
 blessing. Indeed, no sooner was it known that he 
 had received the invitation than the whole town was 
 astir. The whole of the school-teachers of the place 
 came in solemn procession to the town-council to 
 request its interference. Two members of the public 
 school-board were appointed to entreat Mr. Zeller, in 
 the name of the town-council, to decline the call, 
 the acceptance of which would be considered as a 
 great calamity to the town. Numerous friends, . 
 young and old, rich and poor, in town, and country, 
 poured day after day into his house, and overwhelmed 
 him with the entreaties, and sometimes even with 
 the menaces of alarmed affection. He would be a 
 fool, he was assured, if he would for one moment 
 take the subject into consideration. He would un- 
 doubtedly be acting in opposition to the will of God,
 
 200 BEUGGEN. 
 
 in leaving such a beautiful place, such a good income, 
 so many friends, relatives, and pupils, in order to 
 bury himself in a Poor-school, situated in a remote 
 corner of the world, destitute of any regular source 
 of income, unsupported by the State, and depending 
 only upon the sympathy of a few individuals, who at 
 any moment might change their mind, and drop the 
 whole concern. Suppose that were the case, where 
 then was he to go with his wife and family? Could it 
 be wise, could it be God's will, thus to throw away the 
 benefits which Providence had so abundantly bestowed 
 upon him, and to change his prosperity for poverty ? 
 Only a faith like Mr. Zeller's, that shrinks from 
 nothing, could stand the shock of such assaults, 
 prompted as they were by love and friendship. 
 He accepted the call, and he did so in the 
 firm conviction that it came not from man but 
 from God. People who weigh everything in the 
 scale of profit and loss, cannot understand how such 
 a decision could proceed from a wise and prudent 
 man. Nor is it intelligible even to those, who, 
 though taking higher ground than that of mere 
 financial calculation, yet know no other gauge for 
 their duty than what appears to them to be the most 
 expedient for the moment. Mr. Zeller's conduct can 
 only be rightly understood and appreciated by 
 those who know what it is to act upon principle. 
 There were many instances in the life of our 
 Saviour in which His conduct, viewed only in the 
 light of human wisdom, must have appeared very
 
 His DISINTERESTED CONDUCT. 201 
 
 foolish to His friends. What an excellent sphere 
 of useful and blessed labour did the great Teacher 
 of the ignorant, the Consoler of the mourning, the 
 Healer of thousands of unfortunate and wretched 
 sick persons, seem recklessly to throw away when, 
 of His own accord, He gave Himself up to His 
 enemies, to be put to death, and thus deprive a 
 whole world of the blessed influence of His wonderful 
 person ! Mr. Zeller's first question in the matter 
 now before him was not what appeared most useful to 
 himself or to his friends, but what was most conform- 
 able to the pattern of self-sacrificing love, which 
 the divine Kedeemer, by whose blood he himself 
 had been saved, had set before him. 
 
 His conduct in this matter had a close connexion 
 with his inward Christian life, with his soul's relation 
 to the person of Christ. During his stay at Zofingen 
 a great change had taken place in his heart. Before 
 that period he had always felt a certain emptiness in 
 his bosom, a want of peace and satisfaction which he 
 could not account for. In his childhood he had 
 been privileged with a religious education, which had 
 taught him to accept the narratives of the Bible with 
 all the simplicity of a child's faith. Even as early 
 as his fifth year, when lying one morning on his 
 back on the green flowery carpet of a hill side, and 
 looking up to the bright blue sky, he received im- 
 pressions of the greatness and omnipotence of God, 
 which he remembered even in his old age. Two 
 grandmothers, whose piety must have been exem-
 
 202 BEUGGEN. 
 
 plary, contributed greatly towards planting the first 
 feelings of love and gratitude towards Christ in the 
 child's heart. Even when an octogenarian he would 
 recall, with a feeling of holy emotion, how his 
 grandmother at Felbach used to put him to bed, 
 and pray with him till he fell asleep ; and how his 
 grandmother at Boblingen used to tell him about 
 the love of Jesus, the Saviour of the world. And 
 in the last year of his life one could hear the grey- 
 headed man often say to himself, as in benediction : 
 
 " Grandmother of Boblingen ! 
 Grandmother of Felbach ! " 
 
 But these tender impressions of piety and love were 
 buried under the rubbish of rationalistic theories and 
 infidel doctrines, which he acquired when a student 
 at the University of Tubingen. The light conversa- 
 tion which then prevailed among the students had a 
 sad effect upon his mind. It is true, his strongly- 
 developed moral character prevented him from 
 lapsing far into sin ; but his childlike faith was all 
 but torn to shreds, and scarcely anything was left 
 but the thought : " Still I am a creature of God, and 
 God pitieth all His works, from the beginning of the 
 creation." And God did pity the poor wandering sheep. 
 Through the instrumentality of some good friends, such 
 as Handel and Blumhardt, he was brought again to the 
 way of truth. But he still continued to experience 
 something of the deadening, paralysing effect which 
 infidel error leaves behind, even after it has been
 
 THE JOINER OF ZOFINGEN. 203 
 
 abandoned. He felt he had not yet regained the 
 good sound theology of his Boblingen and Felbach 
 grandmothers. In this state of mind he came to 
 Zofingen. There he was a regular attendant on 
 public-worship, and a faithful observer of family- 
 worship; he was considered to be a decidedly 
 Christian man; he was himself a teacher of the 
 orthodox doctrines of the Gospel ; he was the centre 
 and soul of an extensive sphere of usefulness, and the 
 cause of the conversion of many an erring fellow-sinner. 
 Yet, notwithstanding all these things, he felt inwardly 
 unhappy and unsatisfied. He felt he lacked some- 
 thing ; but \vhat that was he was unable to tell. 
 In this state of mind he fell in with a poor man, 
 a mechanic, a man who could neither read nor write, 
 but in whom he observed a profound knowledge 
 of the truths of God, a purity of heart, an amiable 
 simplicity of faith, and a constant joy in Christ, such 
 as far surpassed his conceptions, with all his 
 learning. An intimate friendship sprung up between 
 him and this good man. He soon perceived the cause 
 of the difference between them. Mr. Zeller at that 
 time knew Christ, and loved his doctrine ; but his 
 humble friend knew the doctrine, and loved Christ. 
 After this the unlearned joiner would often be 
 found in Zeller's study, engaged in studying the 
 Scriptures, and in prayer. The unlearned man was 
 the teacher, and the learned one his pupil. Nor 
 was this instruction in vain. Mr. Zeller learnt that 
 true Christianity does not consist in the knowledge
 
 204 BEUGGEN. 
 
 of a thing, but in the love of the heart for a living 
 Person, namely, Jesus the Son of God. 
 
 Now, this truth, so simple yet so rarely understood, 
 and still more rarely practised, no sooner sunk into 
 Zeller's heart than it made him perceive that Christ 
 is glorified most when love goes out to seek and to 
 save the lost, and bring them to Him. It is true he 
 saw plenty of lost people at Zofingen ; but he saw 
 plenty of able and right-minded teachers too, who 
 were prepared to take his place, if he left his situa- 
 tion. But who was willing and prepared to go to 
 the thousands of lost children that crowded the 
 hamlets of Switzerland, the back streets of the towns, 
 and the dens of the begging vagabonds ? Even the 
 opposition which his call to Beuggen met with on 
 the part of everybody proved that nobody wanted to 
 go there; and where nobody would go, there he 
 felt Tie must go. This, he was convinced, was the 
 course which Jesus would take, if in his place " He 
 who, though he was rich, yet for our sakes became 
 poor, that we through His poverty might be rich." 
 With this pattern of self-sacrificing love before him 
 he could not take up the scales to ascertain which 
 course would be the most profitable to himself. 
 He now saw clearly that his conversation with his 
 friend Spittler behind the Miinster-Kirche was no 
 mere accident. He also realized how his divine 
 Master had since then gently led him on, step by 
 step, in a way scarcely noticeable by himself, to this 
 arduous but noble and important task. And now
 
 THE CALL ACCEPTED. 205 
 
 that, without the slightest effort on his part, the call 
 came straight to him, and to nobody else, he could 
 not but discover the voice of the Lord whispering 
 into his soul : " Arise and go to that place ; for there 
 I have a work for thee to do. Be strong and of good 
 courage ; for I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee." 
 
 So he accepted the call with a joyful heart ; and 
 when asked by his friends what the capital was with 
 which the Institution was to be founded, he pointed 
 them to four Texts of Scripture, which he called his 
 school-fund. They were : 
 
 1 Timothy ii. 4. God will have all men to be 
 saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth. 
 
 Mark xvi. 15, and Matt, xxviii. 20. Go ye into all 
 the world, and preach the Gospel to every creature ; 
 and lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of 
 the world. 
 
 Luke xviii. 16. Suffer little children to come unto 
 Me, and forbid them not ; for of such is the kingdom 
 of God. 
 
 Matthew xviii. 5. Whoso shall receive one such 
 little child in My name receiveth Me. 
 
 He never repented the step. When an old man 
 he wrote: "Of the fifty-seven years which I have 
 lived as a teacher, the thirty-seven which I have spent 
 at Beuggen have been the happiest."
 
 IY. 
 
 OBJECT AND ORGANIZATION OF THE BEUGGEN SCHOOL. 
 
 the house-father for the new establishment 
 was found ; and so also was the house-mother. 
 The professor's widow, already-mentioned, Mrs. 
 Fasch, resolved to devote all her life and strength 
 to this work, to descend from her high station 
 in society, and take her humble place as a mother 
 among the children of the poor. Nor was she a 
 novice in this kind of labour. For some time 
 past she had been accustomed to assemble a 
 number of poor children at her country seat, to 
 train them for a useful life on earth, and a 
 happy one in heaven. On the 1st of April, 1820, 
 she left her charming grounds at Kiehen never to 
 return again, and entered the solitary castle of 
 Beuggen, which had now been made habitable. 
 Seventeen days after, Mr. Zeller arrived with his 
 family. Their first night was spent in a room where 
 the plague had raged most. Here he threw him- 
 self on his knees by the side of his wife, thanked 
 God with tears for His faithful and wonderful 
 leading, and prayed that He might turn this place, 
 once the abode of misery and death, into a house
 
 OBJECT AND ORGANIZATION. 207 
 
 of life, peace, and joy, to many lost and wandering 
 souls. 
 
 The society resolved to commence operations 
 with ten young men, and from twenty to thirty 
 children, all of whom were already chosen. School 
 instruction was begun on the 15th of May. The 
 pupils were of all ages, from the young man of 
 thirty to the child of six ; and of all descriptions 
 able and stupid, kind and cross, cheerful and de- 
 sponding, well instructed and altogether ignorant, 
 clean and dirty, grateful and insensible. It took some 
 time to examine them so as to be able to classify 
 them. They were then divided into two schools, 
 the upper one for the pupil-teachers and the elder 
 boys, and the lower one for the children. Mean- 
 while Mrs. Fasch had taken measures lest her 
 numerous and increasing household should be desti- 
 tute of furniture. She had opened a large room in 
 her house at Basle for storing gifts that might be 
 sent in, especially for articles of furniture. Gradually 
 a good collection was gathered, but numerous articles 
 were still wanting. Then Mr. Spittler stepped in 
 with his inventive genius. He made a little book of 
 blank leaves, with headings written on the top 
 of each page, such as Parlour -furniture, Kitchen- 
 utensils. Earthenware, &c. He sent this little beggar 
 from house to house, and each person wrote down 
 the name of the article which he was willing to give. 
 Thus every subscriber could see what had been 
 given already, and what was still wanting, and many
 
 208 BEUGGEN. 
 
 a one was thus reminded of gifts which perhaps he 
 would never otherwise have thought of. In many 
 houses the little book was sought for a second time, 
 and thus the good house-mother of Beuggen Castle 
 found herself in due time provided with all the 
 implements that were required for carrying on her 
 extensive household. Nor was Mr. Zeller overlooked 
 in his capacity of schoolmaster. There was a page 
 in the book set apart for school articles, and it was 
 soon sufficiently' filled to meet the wants of that 
 important department. 
 
 So the ark, with its various inhabitants, both clean 
 and unclean, was launched. And at the close of 
 the first year it still floated along as prosperous 
 as ever. "Twelve months ago," Mr. Zeller wrote 
 in his first annual report, " we had nothing but this 
 house with its empty rooms. It is now inhabited by 
 seventy persons, forty-seven of whom are .children, 
 and thirteen pupil-teachers. We have hired twelve 
 jucJiarten (about sixty acres) of land. One part of 
 it is in grass, a second is in potatoes, and the third 
 is an orchard. Thus we eat what the hands of our 
 pupil-teachers and elder children have cultivated, 
 and what God has blessed. We have now three 
 horned-cattle in the cowhouse, and three beehives 
 in the garden. Sixteen sheep, watched and cared 
 for by one of our children, wander about on heath 
 and meadow. Their wool clothes the brethren 
 and the children. The younger boys spin; some 
 of the brethren and the older bovs weave the
 
 OBJECT AND ORGANIZATION. 209 
 
 wool, and our tailors make coats of it. Some of the 
 brethren are our shoemakers, others our joiners. 
 Thus we labour together as one family. As to corn, 
 leather, flax, thread, linen, and timber, we must buy 
 them. But the expenses have been comparatively 
 little, for the Lord helped us in a wonderful and 
 glorious way, so that all could be covered by the 
 voluntary gifts of our friends. He has not for one 
 week allowed our box to be empty. In short, 
 we, the seventy inmates of this house, may in 
 truth say: 'The Lord hath done great things for 
 us, whereof we are glad.' " 
 
 These few lines give an interesting view of the 
 method of training and teaching which Mr. Zeller 
 adopted for the pupil-teachers. They received their 
 school-instruction in the forenoon, and their afternoon 
 was spent in farming, gardening, and handicrafts ; 
 while the children who had spent their forenoon in 
 labours of the same kind were taught at school. 
 Mr. Zeller wanted the young men to accustom 
 themselves to the most humble employments, and 
 sometimes even to hard work. They were thus ever 
 reminded that they were destined to be school- 
 masters of poor children, perhaps in the most 
 miserable hamlets of remote districts, where they 
 were to be poor with the poor, living upon small 
 salaries, and obliged to earn part of their livelihood 
 with their own hands; and where, perhaps, they 
 might have to thatch the roofs of their cottages, 
 repair their furniture, dig their potatoes, and mend 
 
 VOL. I. P
 
 210 BEUGGEN. 
 
 their coats. Thus at the outset they were inspired 
 with a spirit of humility. And this was in perfect 
 harmony with an article of the Beuggen programme, 
 which was as follows : " Young men who from 
 bodily or financial needs seek for a place of refuge, 
 or such as want to escape from toil through the 
 medium of a schoolmaster's situation, or such as 
 only want to obtain so-called accomplishments in 
 order to try their fortune as schoolmasters in the 
 world, are not fit for our establishment." 
 
 The principle expressed in these words was main- 
 tained by Mr. Zeller with iron perseverance dur- 
 ing his whole career. "We give them," he says, 
 " such simple teaching that no rich community shall, 
 by alluring offers, call them away from poor com- 
 munities." This method of training kept the little 
 band clear of unfit members. Their number seldom 
 surpassed fifteen. They came mostly from the farm 
 or the workshop. Mr. Zeller at first hoped that 
 Christian young men of the middle classes, and even 
 of still higher ranks, might come and devote their 
 lives to this humble but useful labour in the 
 vineyard of God. He soon gave up that hope, as 
 he found that rich young men preferred admiration 
 of his self-denying example to imitation of it. 
 So he was left with young men of the peasant and 
 operative classes. Now among these there were 
 not many who at once proved fit for the purpose. 
 It took a good deal of trouble to ascertain whether 
 they ever would be fit at all. Some came with
 
 OBJECT AND ORGANIZATION. 21] 
 
 hearts glowing with the love of Christ, but destitute 
 of any talent whatever for teaching. Others came 
 possessed of everything required for a good school- 
 master except a warm loving heart. Mr. Zeller 
 soon found it necessary to introduce a strict system 
 of probation, sometimes for an indefinite time, as 
 he had fallen into the mistake of accepting young 
 men too quickly. His motto was, "Better no 
 schoolmaster at all than a bad one." For providing 
 the poor people with bad teachers no establishment 
 was required. But if he could only bless a few 
 hamlets with well-trained, able, and truly Christian 
 schoolmasters, he thought it would be worth all the 
 trouble and sacrifice he was willing to undergo. 
 
 The working of the establishment, as organised by 
 Mr. Zeller, was characterised by activity, order, and a 
 thoroughly Christian spirit. Perhaps it will not be out 
 of place here to give a description of the proceedings 
 of one day, copied from one of Mr. Zeller's first reports. 
 .It will give the reader at the same time an idea of 
 the style of writing by which that highly gifted and 
 simple-hearted man made himself so popular: 
 
 " At five o'clock in the morning a hymn, sung by 
 some pupil-teachers, awakes the whole household. 
 Then the fifteen bedrooms are all astir. Ninety 
 human beings rise, and ninety beds are made. A 
 short prayer is offered up in each bedroom, and 
 each is ventilated and cleaned. The washing takes 
 place in divisions at the fountain in the yard. 
 
 "Precisely at six the bell rings for breakfast for 
 
 p 2
 
 212 BEUGGEN. 
 
 the pupil-teachers and the children. It consists of 
 warm soup. Half an hour later the bell rings the 
 servants of the house to their breakfast. If the 
 weather be fine, the elder and stronger boys go with 
 their overseer into the garden to work till seven. 
 The lesser boys and girls, divided into two rooms, 
 remain under the care of a teacher and learn their 
 lessons, or write, read, draw, and prepare themselves 
 for school. 
 
 " At seven the bell calls the whole household, 
 workpeople, pupil-teachers, children, and servants, 
 into the large schoolroom for family worship. We 
 sing a few verses; we offer up a prayer to our 
 common Father and Lord. Then we read a portion 
 of Scripture, from the Old and New Testaments on 
 alternate days. Sometimes opportunity is given for 
 confidential conversation; othertimes for a more 
 regular address. With a verse of a hymn and the 
 benediction we disperse each to his work. 
 
 "At eight, our overseer of the work collects, 
 twenty-five boys, and, having distributed the work 
 among them, he goes with them to the garden or 
 the field, where they labour till dinner-time. They 
 plant, sow, hoe, chop, dig, manure, weed, pick up 
 stones, clean the roads, and thus cultivate the land 
 in the sweat of their brow. Most of the boys like 
 work. They do it with joy, and make evident progress 
 in aptitude, adroitness, and skill. 
 
 "At the same hour, viz. eight o'clock, the two 
 female teachers assemble the band of girls in the
 
 OBJECT AND ORGANIZATION. 213 
 
 workroom, and form them into three circles for sewing, 
 knitting, and spinning. Here they labour to meet 
 the wants of the household by mending, and darning, 
 and cutting, and sewing, and preparing the material of 
 which our simple clothing is to be made. Meanwhile 
 other girls carry water, and perform various domestic 
 labours. During the work the girls sing their work- 
 tune, or a conversation is entered into about the 
 portion of Scripture that was read at prayers, or a 
 story is told, or every one works away in stillness. 
 
 "Meanwhile the house-mother goes to and fro, 
 up and down the stairs, from roof to cellar, and 
 from the kitchen into the garden and the washhouse, 
 and looks after the business of the great household. 
 Thus matters go on till dinner-time. 
 
 " Whilst everybody is engaged in the garden, the 
 field, and the house, the house-father assembles the 
 pupil-teachers and the elder boys in the new school- 
 room to teach them. In one class the German 
 grammar is taught, while in the other the pupils 
 are engaged in writing. Then arithmetic is practised, 
 either mentally in five or six circles, or with the aid 
 of slates in three classes. Further, the method of 
 country-school teaching is taught and discussed; 
 or the doctrine of the kingdom of God is treated 
 of; or spelling exercises are held in one class, and 
 the organ played in the other. Finally, geography 
 is taught, or singing is practised, either in united 
 or separate choirs, during which the written exer- 
 cises are perused and corrected.
 
 214 BEUGGEN. 
 
 "At last, a quarter before twelve the bell rings 
 for dinner, and the forenoon soon draws to an end. 
 This meal is preceded by a hymn. The guests, 
 large and small, are placed at four oblong tables. 
 A verse is sung to return thanks after dinner. Then 
 the pupil-teachers go with the elder boys to the 
 workshops, to the field, or to the garden till four 
 o'clock. The little children, boys and girls, have an 
 hour for playing in the spacious yard, under the 
 supervision of a pupil-teacher. 
 
 "At one, my friend, Mr. Earner, rings the bell, 
 and, accompanied by five pupil-teachers, who act as 
 monitors, and are changed each month, he proceeds to 
 the schoolroom, where all the little folks are assem- 
 bled. The teaching is opened with a hymn or a 
 prayer. Mr. Earner tells them a story from the 
 Bible, or some good book. Or the texts and hymns 
 which were learnt by heart are said in eight circles, 
 or grammar is taught, or a tune is dictated and 
 written in the books. This is the commencement 
 of the teaching of the children. Then writing is 
 practised on slates. The bigger children write letters 
 or exercises which are dictated to them; the lesser 
 ones copy the diagrams that are suspended on the 
 wall. They also exercise themselves in writing with 
 ink from copies. Then arithmetic is taught. Finally 
 the children are exercised in reading, each in their 
 turn : the younger ones from reading-tables ; the 
 elder ones read, in a separate room, the Book of 
 Sirach.
 
 OBJECT AND ORGANIZATION. 215 
 
 "At four, the bell rings for the Abendbrodt (afternoon 
 lunch). Led by their teacher, the children walk, 
 to the singing of a hymn, from the school to the 
 dining-room, and stand in order. After the hymn, 
 each one receives a piece of bread, often with some 
 fresh or dried fruit. The pupil-teachers receive 
 bread, with must or milk. 
 
 "At five, the bell rings again for labour, which 
 lasts till seven. 
 
 "At six, those children who, as catechumens, 
 are being prepared for their first participation of 
 the Lord's Supper, are called into the parlour of the 
 house-father, and receive, in a private class, but often 
 in the presence of some of the adult inmates of 
 the house, preparatory Biblical instruction. On 
 Wednesdays this hour is devoted to a Scripture- 
 reading meeting for the whole household. 
 
 "At seven, the bell rings for the supper of the 
 children. The house-father walks with the cate- 
 chumens to the dining-room. While passing the 
 various work-rooms the procession gradually swells 
 by the addition of the other children. After a 
 short prayer pronounced by the house-father, the 
 children partake of their broth, a verse is sung, 
 and they go to their bedrooms, under the charge of 
 the bedroom-superintendents. Each superintendent 
 prays with his children, who, tired with the day's 
 work, soon get into their welcome beds. 
 
 "At eight, the adult members of the household 
 partake of supper. ' After supper, the house-father
 
 216 BEUGGEN. 
 
 or his assistant reads a portion of ancient Church 
 history, or of more recent intelligence concerning 
 the progress of the kingdom of God. Sometimes also 
 a portion of some interesting book is read. During 
 the reading the hearers, seated round the table, are 
 engaged in various kinds of domestic labour. 
 
 "After nine, the members of the family are once 
 more assembled in the large schoolroom, where the 
 day is closed by a short word of edification and by 
 prayer. 
 
 "Such is the routine of one day amongst us. 
 Where there is so much labour day after day, 
 without the usual recreation which other families 
 may indulge in, where, from five in the morning 
 till half-past nine in the evening, there is continuous 
 work, the Word of God is like a refreshing and 
 cooling draught in hot summer weather, or a fer- 
 tilising shower on a parched field, or a light on 
 one's path. And where there are so many people 
 together, that Word is .an indispensable instructor. 
 I am sure our dear friends cordially wish us all 
 these mercies, and have no doubt that we, from 
 experience, know what they are." 
 
 So much for the order of the day as it was intro- 
 duced by Mr. Zeller forty years ago, and is observed 
 till the present time at the Beuggen establishment. 
 Certainly time is not passed there in idleness. Wliat 
 must, above all, strike the visitor, is the humble 
 simplicity that pervades the whole organisation. 
 There is not the slightest attempt at show. Nothing
 
 OBJECT AND ORGANIZATION. 217 
 
 but what poor children should learn to aim at is put 
 before them. Their education is confined to what they 
 will need in the humble sphere of life which Providence 
 has destined them for. Perhaps, in the opinion of 
 some, a little more time might be allowed for play. 
 But it is questionable whether it would be wise to 
 accustom children who will have to work hard in 
 later life to much recreation, especially as it certainly 
 is not required for health's sake, since they have 
 plenty of bodily exercise in their garden and field 
 labour. Their blooming countenances, and happy, 
 merry looks, tell that their day's work itself is their 
 pastime.
 
 V. 
 
 A GLANCE AT THE HISTORY OF THE SCHOOL. 
 
 second year of the Establishment's existence, 
 though gratifying as to its results, was marred 
 by a sad loss : the death of the excellent house- 
 mother, Mrs. Fasch. "How could I be silent," 
 Zeller writes, "about our dear, venerable house- 
 mother, who, notwithstanding her great age and 
 her weak body, would sit all day on a humble 
 bench, from love to Jesus, among a band of 
 little children, teaching them to work? She 
 has now left us to go to her happy home above. 
 For some days her love to the poor boys, and 
 her uncommon faithfulness to her duty, kept up a 
 strife with her increasing illness. At length pain 
 and weakness forced her to her sickbed, which soon 
 became her deathbed. But what a deathbed ! Such 
 quiet patience ; such gratitude for every trifling 
 service of love ; such bright, joyful faith ; such 
 divine peace in the reconciled heart ; such parti- 
 cipation of the love of Jesus; such home-sickness 
 towards the heavenly fatherland I never witnessed 
 before in a dying saint. My friends, I have seen 
 that it is worth our while to serve the Saviour
 
 DIFFICULTIES. 219 
 
 faithfully, to give up our hearts to Him in faith 
 and love, and to spend all our strength in His 
 service." 
 
 The place of this good and noble servant of the 
 divine Master was taken by Mr. Zeller's wife, who 
 henceforth extended her maternal care, hitherto 
 bestowed exclusively upon her own family, to the 
 whole household, and during a period of thirty-two 
 years proved a worthy successor of that rare pattern 
 of self-denying Christian love. 
 
 Though, on the whole, the forty years during which 
 Mr. Zeller conducted the Establishment were years 
 of prosperity and happiness, yet he had his share of 
 this life's thistles and briers, and sometimes it was a 
 hard task to drink the cup that was put before him. 
 The permanency of the Institution, occupying as it 
 did a building which might any moment be claimed 
 by the Prince of Thurn and Taxis, was very uncer- 
 tain. "We are like birds sitting in the branches," 
 Zeller used to say. Indeed, as early as the third 
 year, a report was spread that the castle was about 
 to be sold. It is hardly possible to describe the 
 anxiety that this rumour, which on examination 
 proved too well founded, caused to the poor friends 
 of Beuggen. They did not know where to go 
 with the eighty souls which were about to be de- 
 prived of shelter and food. "Our perplexity was 
 very great," Zeller writes ; " but the Lord heard the 
 cries of the poor." Owing to the kind moderation of 
 a princely benefactress the sale was put oif, without
 
 220 BEUGGEN. 
 
 Zeller knowing anything about it. Nor had he made 
 any effort to obtain that lady's interference. He ex- 
 perienced that his stay in the house was entirely de- 
 pendent upon the faithful watchfulness of his heavenly 
 Father ; and each time, when a similar rumour was 
 repeated, it only reminded him that every day he 
 had, as it were, to take the castle afresh from the 
 hand of God. His childlike confidence was never 
 put to shame. Up to his last moment he saw the 
 Establishment stand firm on the foundation he had 
 planted it upon; and it stands there still, after a 
 period of forty-four years, as a memorial of the 
 power of faith and of the blessing of love. 
 
 Sometimes the purse of the Establishment was all 
 but empty ; and it seemed as if the dark picture of 
 Mr. Zeller's future lot which his friends at Zofingen 
 had put before him was about to be realised. One 
 year the number of individuals who paid the board 
 of children was so small that more than half of 
 them were unpaid for; and out of the twenty- 
 two pupil-teachers who were in the house, only 
 two were paid for. Thus nearly two-thirds of this 
 numerous household were entirely on the funds of 
 the Establishment. Now, Mr. Zeller never went out 
 to collect money ; nor did he send anybody in his 
 place. In the forty annual Eeports which he wrote 
 there is not even one line in which he asks the public 
 for gifts. Such a thing as a list of regular annual 
 subscribers he had not. A capital fund at the credit 
 of the Establishment was not to be found in any
 
 SLANDER AND CALUMNY. 221 
 
 bank. It is true the Basle Committee greatly con- 
 tributed towards keeping up the sympathy of Chris- 
 tian friends ; but not one of its members had pledged 
 himself to pay a deficit ; and that there would be a 
 tremendous deficit this year was, humanly speaking, 
 all but certain. " We, too," Mr. Zeller writes on 
 this occasion, " were for some time in anxiety. Mis- 
 givings about God's careful love would darken our 
 hearts. But we were served aright, and put to shame ; 
 for unexpected gifts, contributions in kind, large and 
 small donations, poured in so abundantly that we 
 closed the year without owing anything to anybody, 
 except love and gratitude. Among these gifts of 
 love were the mites of the widows, the weekly sav- 
 ings of Christian industry, and the farthings of the 
 sympathising poor, as well as the greater donations 
 of liberal wealth. One benefactress sent us quite 
 unexpectedly 1000 francs; a female friend left her 
 gold chain in our box ; and another benefactor pre- 
 sented us with two superb milk cows." 
 
 Financial difficulties are like the sting of the mos- 
 quito. They are painful at the time, but are soon 
 forgotten. But the sting of slander goes deeper. It 
 is like that of the viper, poisoning the blood, and 
 aiming at the life itself. Even a man so simple, so 
 inoffensive, as Mr. Zeller, could not escape its mali- 
 cious assaults. One day in the year 1830 the Appen- 
 zeller Zeitung published an offensive article against 
 the Beuggen Establishment. It was copied by other 
 papers, both German and Swiss, and gave rise to a
 
 222 BEUGGEN. 
 
 series of calumnies and infamous reports which 
 put the Establishment in such an equivocal light 
 that the Government deemed it to be its duty to 
 step in and place it under strict surveillance. Con- 
 scious of his innocence, Mr. Zeller treated all this 
 very lightly, leaving truth to plead its own cause. 
 Instead of opening a battery of counter-articles, 
 he only expressed his joy "at the kind trouble" 
 which the Government was henceforth to take, of 
 inquiring into the state and proceedings of the Esta- 
 blishment, and thus putting the minds of the public 
 at rest. " The accusations," he wrote on this occa- 
 sion, " which several German and Swiss papers have 
 for some time brought against our Poor-Establish- 
 ment have had a much-desired and joyful effect. 
 By an order from the highest authority we shall 
 henceforth have the welcome opportunity annually 
 of receiving a visit from two honoured representa- 
 tives of the Government, a spiritual and a secular 
 one, as legal witnesses of our labours ; and through 
 the medium of organs which have the public confi- 
 dence we shall be able to carry the truth up to the 
 steps of the throne, in the shadow of which we 
 have, during ten years, enjoyed shelter, protection, 
 liberty, and nothing but kindness. God be praised 
 for this providential leading." The next year he 
 wrote : " The annual visitation, which was instituted 
 by the Government in consequence of the calumnies 
 and defamations of the Appenzeller, and other papers, 
 has proved a benefit worthy of our gratitude. Our
 
 SUCCESS. 223 
 
 object and proceedings have by it become better 
 known to our just and mild Government; and we 
 have met with an acknowledgment such as we never 
 had the pleasure of receiving before. The Oberampt, 
 in consequence, has requested us to take in some 
 scholars from a district where there are upwards of 
 fifty homeless children, who live solely by begging. 
 We have taken in two of them already. Thus it 
 has once more been shown that truth is stronger 
 than falsehood, and that rulers are not a terror to 
 good works, but to evil. How could it be pos- 
 sible, that, after a time, either longer or shorter, it 
 should not come to light where true honour is, and 
 where true shame ? Therefore nothing is more vain 
 than the praise, as well as the disdain, of the world 
 and its servants. One becomes gradually accus- 
 tomed to them, as people who live at the roadside 
 get used to the sound of the posthorn and the crack 
 of the whip." 
 
 These and similar trials and difficulties, which 
 reminded Mr. Zeller of the truth that to love is to 
 suffer, were, on the other hand, fully compensated 
 for by the heart-rejoicing experiences of the blessed 
 effect of his good work. During the long period 
 of his directorship the Establishment always con- 
 tained from 105 to 115 individuals, of whom there 
 were many who under his truly paternal, tender, and 
 cautious, yet firm and serious, guidance, found the 
 way from death to life ; and there were none, so far as 
 is known, who did not at least become better mem-
 
 224 BEUGGEN. 
 
 bers of society, if not of the Church. Zeller does not 
 say much in his Eeports about the results of his 
 labour on the hearts and conduct of his pupils. In 
 this respect he was like his friend Pestalozzi, who 
 dreaded publicity, and ascribed most of his errors to 
 his having too many panegyrists. Still grateful joy 
 impels him now and then to tell his readers that some 
 of the boys who are sent out are raised to higher situa- 
 tions, owing to their good conduct ; that one of the 
 girls has been appointed house-mother to an Esta- 
 blishment for the poor ; that other girls have married 
 respectable husbands ; that others, who, after they left 
 the house, had taken to a disgraceful life, unexpectedly 
 wrote him to express their grief and contrition, and to 
 ask his pardon. The tone of contentment, of enjoy- 
 ment, of gratitude, in which he from the first to the 
 last page of his forty Eeports speaks of his work and 
 pupils ; the undaunted enthusiasm with which he, 
 from year to year, continues to carry on his ar- 
 duous labours, and the urgency with which he on 
 every occasion presses the establishment of as many 
 Institutions for poor children as can be founded, 
 all this, together with the unanimous eulogy of 
 the whole band of German and Swiss Christian 
 philanthropists, shows that his labours, must have 
 been crowned with unquestionable success. This 
 may, at least, be said of his work among the pupil- 
 teachers: that they were spread through the whole 
 of the German population of Europe, from Cologne 
 to the Crimea, where, on the shores of the Black
 
 SUCCESS. 225 
 
 Sea, many a poor German and Swiss colony was 
 living in ignorance and misery. " Twenty-one of 
 our brethren," Zeller wrote as early as the year 
 1828, "are labouring among from 900 to 1000 
 poor children; while one of them, besides, is en- 
 gaged in teaching other young men as future school- 
 masters." At a later period some of them went to 
 the German colonies in America and Asiatic Kussia. 
 To many of those poor emigrants the Beuggen 
 schoolmaster combined in his own person the offices 
 of teacher, minister, burgomaster, notary, and phy- 
 sician. And while he was thus as a fountain of 
 light and life among them, he shared with them 
 the privations and trials of their desert-life, con- 
 tenting himself with a piece of dry coarse bread, 
 and a draught of cold water, which was the only 
 reward he could obtain for his self-sacrificing love. 
 " As to the children," Zeller writes, " which have left 
 our house and are scattered through the world, I 
 find that, on the whole, only the grateful turn out 
 well. Of course, I am not able to say how they 
 are all getting on, nor whether some of them get 
 on at all; but still I find, with joy and gratitude, 
 that by far the greater number of them walk in 
 the ways of usefulness, chastity, and honesty. It is 
 true they may not yet have entered on the way 
 of eternal life ; for mere civil honesty and morality 
 are not the righteousness which is of God. But 
 still it is a matter of paternal joy to compare the 
 
 VOL. I. Q
 
 226 BEUGGEN. 
 
 present condition of these children with the state of 
 utter neglect, ignorance, and misery they were 
 in when they entered our Establishment. God be 
 praised for every improvement, for every change for 
 the better, and for every good influence and stimulus. 
 A successful education cannot be brought about by 
 mere human wisdom and skill ; and perhaps no 
 phrase is more incorrect than ' the art of training ' 
 (Urziehunffskunst). Every one who has experienced 
 in the case of his own children how the success of 
 their education is owing to innumerable impressions 
 which are independent of parental, yea, of human, 
 influence in general, will admit that success in 
 the education of children who are not one's own, 
 is much more the work of Divine grace, and of 
 the Holy Spirit. I pray God to vouchsafe that 
 grace to the 2000 children, among whom our brethren 
 who have been sent out from this Establishment are 
 labouring. We receive from time to time written 
 and oral communications from those of our children 
 who are now adults, and engaged in the bustle of 
 life. They unanimously declare that they often 
 remember the warnings and exhortations which 
 they received at the Bible-class. Some urgently 
 entreat us never to stop our biblical instruction, 
 since they can assure us from their own experience 
 that it will not be fruitless, though we may not be 
 able to see the fruits at once. One of them writes, 
 that, being on the brink of despair, he was about
 
 EEFUSAL TO TAKE IN CONVICTS. 227 
 
 to commit suicide, when he was kept back by recol- 
 lecting what he had learnt from the Bible at Beuggen, 
 though at the time he disliked it, and tried as much 
 as possible to stay away when it was read. Another 
 writes that the Bible, which he always looked upon 
 with aversion at Beuggen, afterwards became a sting 
 in his bosom, which left him no peace when com- 
 mitting sin, and drove him at length to the 
 Saviour. Almost all of them agree that the 
 'third seven years' of their life have been the 
 worst and most dangerous. This reminds me of 
 that advice of my friend, Stephen Grellet, of Bur- 
 lington, New-Jersey, United States, which he gave 
 us at his last visit, viz., that we should try, if possible, 
 to keep the children with us till their twenty-first 
 year." 
 
 The good reputation which the Beuggen School 
 possessed induced several municipalities and con- 
 sistories to request Mr. Zeller to receive young 
 convicts. Now, though a child of convict parents 
 was sometimes taken into the Establishment, yet the 
 Committee, after serious consideration of the matter, 
 did not feel at liberty to admit children who had been 
 before the magistrates. Want of fit accommodation 
 was given as the chief ground of this refusal ; and 
 Establishments expressly organised for young male- 
 factors, such as that of Mr. Kopf, at Berlin, and of 
 Wichern, near Hamburg, were pointed out as more 
 suitable for the purpose. Still it appears to me that 
 
 Q 2
 
 228 BEUGGEN. 
 
 the Committee must also have been actuated by a 
 perception of the dangers to which the Establish- 
 ment would be exposed, if its youthful inmates were 
 brought into close contact with young criminals. 
 Not that Mr. Zeller doubted whether the power of 
 the Gospel would be strong enough to rescue these 
 deplorable victims of sin ; but he must have doubted 
 whether his pupils would have sufficient power to 
 resist the influence which intercourse with those 
 young "adults in wickedness" could not fail to pro- 
 duce. Besides, it was undoubtedly to be feared that 
 the Establishment would lose the sympathy and con- 
 fidence of the public, if it could be said that it had 
 become a reformatory for convicts. The Beuggen 
 School might have suffered the same calamity which 
 came upon General Van den Bosch's Dutch Agricul- 
 tural Colony for the Poor, when it agreed to receive 
 the paupers and beggars who were sentenced by the 
 police courts, and boarded out by the Government. 
 The number of its subscribers in one year dwindled 
 down from 21,000 to 4000; and the Institution 
 got into such disrepute, that, entirely abandoned by 
 the people, it was only saved from utter ruin by 
 enormous grants from the Government. In the sight 
 of God there is certainly not much difference between 
 private transgression and public crime ; but in the 
 sight of man there is a sharp line of demarcation that 
 distinguishes the one from the other. It would be 
 useless to try to efface that imaginary line ; nor would
 
 PROGRAMME. 229 
 
 it be wise. Society must have a boundary drawn, 
 beyond which evil may not go without incurring the 
 penalty of public contempt and shame. This limit 
 is essential to the existence of an orderly common- 
 wealth. To permit individuals who have gone 
 beyond that line freely and publicly to mix with 
 those who have not yet proceeded so far, is, in my 
 opinion, to give a dangerous blow to the foundation 
 of social wellbeing. It may be desirable and neces- 
 sary, of course, that convicts, after having served 
 out their sentence, should return to social life ; but 
 this should be effected through some unnoticed 
 channel, so that they may re-enter society in the 
 form of unknown strangers, not stigmatised with 
 the brand of public disgrace. And it is the noble 
 task of Christian philanthropy to found Institutions 
 where those dirty waters may be filtered before they 
 are allowed to flow again into the social river. But 
 such Institutions should be kept separate, lest the 
 infectious deposit be carried into streams of purer 
 water. 
 
 A glance at the programme of the Establishment, 
 as laid down by Mr. Zeller at the commencement of 
 its foundation, and carried out with faithful consist- 
 ency during his lengthened leadership, shows that 
 it was quite unsuitable as a reformatory for convicts. 
 It contains ten articles, from which the following 
 are extracted : 
 
 1. Our Establishment shall not be an Institution
 
 230 BEUGGEN. 
 
 merely for instruction, but a place for training 
 (Bildungs-Ansta.lt) in the form of a family, living a 
 real family-life. 
 
 2. Nor is it intended to be an Establishment for 
 mere civil or secular education ; but a Christian 
 school for training and instruction, on the founda- 
 tion of the Prophets and Apostles, of which Jesus 
 Christ is the chief corner-stone. 
 
 3. It is not a compulsory but a voluntary Esta- 
 blishment, founded by voluntary love, supported by 
 voluntary contributions, conducted by voluntary per- 
 sons, composed of voluntary human beings, destined 
 for voluntary young men, who, stimulated by the 
 free love of Jesus Christ, have resolved to devote 
 themselves to his service among poor children. 
 
 4. It is not an Establishment for rich or well-to-do 
 individuals, but for poor and indigent ones. Conse- 
 quently the terms are fixed very low, 6 Louis d'or 
 (about 51.) for a child, and 12^ Louis tfor (about 107.) 
 for a pupil-teacher. 
 
 8. The curriculum of the pupil-teachers is fixed 
 at three years. In the first year they learn with 
 the first or uppermost class of the children's school. 
 In the second year they continue learning in that 
 way, but at the same time begin to teach some of 
 the elder classes as assistant-teachers. In the third 
 year they continue teaching, and receive at the same 
 time a coherent methodical introduction into their 
 future profession as teachers of Poor-schools.
 
 PROGRAMME. 231 
 
 10. Finally, the Establishment does not seek its 
 own honour, profit, or comfort; but the honour of 
 the great Eedeemer, the profit of the Kingdom of 
 God, and the comfort and redemption of the poor. 
 Accordingly nobody will continue in it except such 
 as are willing to suffer privation, to sacrifice them- 
 selves, to suffer and endure, and gladly to give up 
 themselves to service in the vineyard of Jesus.
 
 VI. 
 
 SOME FEATUBES OF MB. ZELLEB'S CHABACTEB AS A CHBISTIAN 
 TEACHEB. 
 
 A N Establishment conducted in the spirit and for 
 *- the object described in our last section, could 
 not but obtain the protection, assistance, and guid- 
 ance of Him, for whose honour it was founded. But 
 to conduct it in that spirit a man was required like 
 Mr. Zeller, whose character and life cannot be enough 
 studied by those who want to know what it is to 
 be a truly Christian philanthropist and teacher. 
 
 One of the main features in Mr. Zeller's character 
 was his sincere piety, marked by a rare degree 
 of humility, and a deep sense of his own defective- 
 ness and utter dependence upon God. One need 
 only read his Eeports to be struck with the really 
 touching frankness and simplicity of heart with 
 which he every now and then speaks of his own 
 faults and failures ; and those who came into close 
 contact with him assure us that as he appears in his 
 writings, so he was in real life. " My friends," he 
 would write, "all human works are defective, and 
 marred by stumbling. I, alas! have to reproach 
 myself with many faults and mistakes. Always we
 
 CHRISTIAN HEINRIOH ZKLLER
 
 ZELLER'S PIETY. 233 
 
 have to learn the true thing, i. e. the meaning and 
 will of the Lord, by doing our work better to-day 
 than we did it yesterday; and by ourselves be- 
 coming better than we were before. When we are 
 inspired by the desire of learning, and by the wish 
 to mortify our own selves more and more, and 
 honestly to serve the best, kindest, and most gracious 
 of Masters, we always receive from His good hand 
 more good than we, unworthy creatures as we are, 
 are able to return to Him. But if we only come to 
 Him with repentance, we are already received. The 
 Lord resisteth the proud, but He giveth grace to 
 the humble; yes, to the humble and contrite spirit. 
 Oh, how often have I experienced that! May it 
 strengthen and encourage my fellow-labourers ! For 
 we should have to wait too long were we to post- 
 pone serving the Lord till we commit no more 
 sins. I could fill a whole Annual Keport with 
 a list of faults and failures. Nor will I promise 
 that I shall never tell them. An honest account 
 of our defects and mistakes might, perhaps, be the 
 most instructive part of a Eeport. But this time 
 we will rejoice and be glad, for we too have obtained 
 mercy," &c. 
 
 " I therefore bow down before the holy God, who 
 is adored with the greatest reverence by those who 
 stand nearest to His throne, before whose face they 
 cover their faces, and I confess that I have nothing 
 to boast of in myself. For He has sought and found 
 me a sinful man, who was sunk in the infidelity
 
 234 BEUGGEN. 
 
 and pride of our times, and lost in the vanity of this 
 world. He sent me among the poor youth, and has, 
 with a Father's love, kindly supported, protected, 
 and pardoned me and this great household for so 
 many years. And if I look at our natural dark- 
 ness, at the power and extent of our inward cor- 
 ruption, great God ! I cannot but acknow- 
 ledge and confess that it is only through Thy great, 
 all-exceeding grace that we still exist; that this 
 House, notwithstanding all its great defects, still 
 may be called a working-place of the Holy Spirit ; 
 that it still is a house of peace and not a hell," &c. 
 
 Even in his ripe age, when sixty-three, he refused 
 not to accept a rather sharp criticism of his Establish- 
 ment from a young acquaintance as " the smiting of a 
 friend." " At Beuggen," this critic said to him, " word 
 and action are often in contradiction. Superficial 
 broadness there is often called profoundness. People 
 there are anxious about forms before they have the 
 thing. They talk much about the true method of 
 proceeding, but proceed meanwhile very unmethodi- 
 cally." " Here," Mr. Zeller says, " our friend inter- 
 rupted his discourse with an et cetera. I have only to 
 say that, perhaps, much might have been added which 
 would have struck our consciences harder still. As far 
 as I am concerned, however, I am sincerely resolved 
 to try more and more to cure these evils. But faults 
 with which one has grown sixty-three years old do 
 not yield except through a constant renewing of the 
 mind."
 
 ZELLER'S PATIENCE UNDER ATTACKS. 235 
 
 Now such phrases would be simply disgusting, if 
 they served only as cloaks for want of energy and skill. 
 But Beuggen could, and up to the present moment 
 can, be quoted as a pattern of activity and able school- 
 training. Nor did Zeller fear to point to his work, 
 when he was attacked on account of his piety and 
 religious spirit. These attacks were not few, nor did 
 they always come from indifferent quarters. " Every- 
 thing at Beuggen," it was said by a certain party, " is 
 sacrificed to Mr. Zeller's hobby, viz. Biblical instruc- 
 tion. Secular teaching is very scanty there. If 
 matters continue in this way, the daily conversation 
 at Beuggen will be composed entirely of texts of 
 Scripture. The children will be able to tell every- 
 thing about Cain and Abel, Jerusalem and Jericho, 
 but nothing about Gessner and Tell, Basle and Bern. 
 The Beuggen thermometer stands far too high above 
 the freezing-point. Mr. Zeller and his friends are a 
 set of pietists, fanatics, mystical people, and metho- 
 dists." 
 
 Mr. Zeller used to bear up under these invectives 
 with the greatest tranquillity. When called a fanatic 
 or a pietist, he would say, with a smile, " It is not at all 
 uncommon in botany to see plants wrongly classified." 
 He even acknowledged the good intentions of some of 
 his antagonists. For them he had always an answer 
 ready. " Is it possible to be too pious ? Is it pos- 
 sible to be too faithful to God and His Word ? I 
 think not. In this respect we have not to regret 
 that we are doing too much, but too little. It
 
 236 BEUGGEN. 
 
 is true, experience teaches us that no human being, 
 no Establishment, no Church can be guaranteed 
 against the most deplorable decay, the most per- 
 nicious falling off in religion; and we too have 
 need to watch and pray. But after the most ac- 
 curate examination, I cannot see that there is too 
 much of Biblical teaching amongst us. For we 
 know in what condition and from what quarters our 
 children come to us ; but we cannot possibly know 
 whither they will be scattered abroad after having 
 left our Institution. And it is our dearest con- 
 cern, and our most holy duty, to take care that, 
 with reference to the one thing needful, they be 
 not neglected, but carefully taught from the Word 
 of God. There is no book in the world the contents 
 of which are so rich, so important, so indispensable, 
 and so applicable for the highest education of human 
 beings of every age and of every rank. It is the 
 compendium, the hand and house book of mankind. 
 An Establishment which lacks Biblical education 
 lacks what is essential to its object, that for which 
 nothing else can be a substitute. He that is able 
 to receive it, let him receive it. I cannot take back 
 these words. And as to scientific instruction, if some 
 should think that there is too little of it amongst us, 
 I pray them to remember that we never promised, 
 nor do we promise now, that we shall train up 
 scientific men. This was never the object of our 
 simple Institution. We would rather leave people 
 without science at all, than give them half-learning
 
 ZELLEK'S LEARNING. 237 
 
 and half-knowledge. Half-learned men are the worst 
 of all, and do the greatest mischief in the world." 
 
 To whatever cause this estimate of the value of 
 learning and science may be ascribed, it could 
 not be ascribed to want of learning and science in 
 himself. He was an excellent Greek and Latin 
 scholar, and his knowledge of history, both ancient 
 and modern, was as profound as it was extensive. 
 But this certainly makes his judgment about the 
 excellency, the indispensability, and the educational 
 power of the Bible all the more valuable. " When a 
 School-director," he writes, " I used to read with my 
 pupils the masterpieces of the Greek and Koman 
 authors, and I read them with the greatest interest. 
 But I cannot help declaring publicly that the plea- 
 sure of reading those heathenish authors cannot bear 
 comparison at all with that which both the under- 
 standing and the heart receive from the perusal of 
 the Holy Scriptures, if read with a thirst after truth, 
 and especially if read with a company of receptive 
 souls and in a circle of poor children. The best of 
 the classics is like moonshine, when compared with 
 the warming, penetrating, and illuminating sunlight 
 of Scripture. It has always struck me that those 
 amongst us who show no change or sign of improve- 
 ment, are just those, who, though they have ears, 
 yet use them not when the Bible is read. Many 
 little children with us, through listening attentively, 
 have received impressions which have caused them
 
 238 BEUGGEN. 
 
 to reflect seriously. Surely our daily reading of the 
 Bible with the children is not overloading them ; 
 but I am afraid it will prove an injurious over- 
 loading for young men to read the Greek and 
 Latin classics, not one, but four, or even five hours 
 a day." 
 
 Mr. Zeller's high estimation of the Bible and its 
 influence upon the school proceeded from relevant 
 causes. First, his experience of the insufficiency of 
 Pestalozzi's principle caused him to look to the Bible 
 as the only satisfactory corrective. Undoubtedly 
 Pestalozzi's system of teaching and training was 
 a great step between the unsubstantial and flippant 
 teaching of the eighteenth century and the more 
 solid, reasonable, and humane school-teaching of 
 the present time. The great love for the people, 
 "the poor people," which characterised Pestalozzi's 
 life and all his undertakings, however unsuccessful, 
 could not but deeply impress such a heart as Zeller's, 
 nor could he fail to admire the genius which knew 
 so well how to open up the Book of Creation to 
 the children, in order to impress them with true 
 ideas of the real nature of things. But a genius 
 like Zeller's could not fail to discover the defect that 
 lay at the bottom of Pestalozzi's system. Education 
 by the mere contemplation of God's works in crea- 
 tion, even though conducted in the most tender and 
 loving spirit, and by the clearest understanding, 
 will never suffice to bring a man to peace with
 
 PESTALOZZI'S VISIT. 239 
 
 God, with himself, or with mankind, so long as 
 the fearful and fatal disease of sin dwells and rules 
 in his nature. It will always prove insufficient to 
 produce the desired effect, just as the placing of 
 the most excellent and best-tuned organ before a 
 performer whose hands are paralysed, or whose ear 
 is untrue, will prove insufficient to bring forth har- 
 monious sounds. Mr. Zeller perceived that a power 
 was required mighty enough to enlighten man's eyes 
 and to purify his heart, so as to enable him to look 
 at creation in the true light, and to understand the 
 invisible things of God by the things that are visible. 
 This power he could only find in the Gospel of the 
 crucified, sin-atoning, and risen Son of God. Thus, 
 as Pestalozzi wanted the children, as it were, con- 
 tinuously to bathe in the rivers of creation, Zeller 
 wanted them at the same time to bathe in the ocean 
 of divine truth the Scriptures. Nor was Pestalozzi 
 opposed to this ; he only lacked the required sim- 
 plicity of sight to perceive how it could be effected. 
 But he saw it realised at Beuggen, and he marvelled 
 at it with joyful surprise. It was in July, 1826, that 
 the patriarch visited Zeller's Establishment. Upon 
 entering the House, his way on both sides was lined 
 by a row of children and pupil-teachers, who wel- 
 comed him with a hymn. Moved to tears the 
 venerable grey-headed man walked up the broad 
 flight of stairs to the large school-room, and took his 
 place at the teacher's desk. An oak-wreath was pre-
 
 20 BEUGGEN. 
 
 sented to him, bat he put it on the head of Zeller's 
 little son, saying in a voice almost stifled with tears, 
 " Not to me ! Not to me ! This wreath becomes 
 innocence ! " He stayed four days at the Establish- 
 ment, and inquired minutely into its organization and 
 the spirit in which it was conducted. And what was 
 the impression made upon his mind ? When walking 
 through the House he constantly said to himself, as 
 overwhelmed with surprise, " What a power ! What 
 a power ! " It is also asserted that, after having 
 seen Zeller's work, he said, " I wish I could begin my 
 labours over again." 
 
 This judgment of the grey-headed veteran in the 
 noble army of educational philanthropists, whose 
 whole life had been devoted to trying to reform 
 society, was undoubtedly the highest panegyric that 
 could be pronounced upon Zeller's work. It con- 
 tained a plain declaration by the best qualified 
 authority that Zeller had found the true principle, 
 the right motive-power of real reform. Nor was 
 Zeller himself unconscious of this fact. " My friends," 
 he wrote, after having described the seven causes 
 to which he ascribed the increase of pauperism in 
 Christendom, "this sevenfold corruption gnaws at 
 the moral and social well-being of millions of our 
 fellow-creatures. As long as it continues untouched, 
 no reform whatever will bring better times. Make 
 better men, and you will have better times. Three 
 hundred years ago the cry was for Church-reform.
 
 THE BIBLE IN SCHOOLS. 241 
 
 Nowadays everybody wants State-reform. Very 
 well. But what about heart-and-life-reform ? Would 
 to God there were as many life-reformers at present 
 as there are political reformers ! Various means for 
 improving the condition of society are proposed. I 
 expect greater results than all these plans will 
 produce, from the faithful imitation of that beautiful 
 example depicted in a picture on the right-hand 
 side of the main entrance to the Town-hall of Basle. 
 It is the example of Jehoshaphat, under whose 
 government 'they taught in Judah, and had the 
 book of the law of the Lord with them, and went 
 about throughout all the cities of Judah, and taught 
 the people.' " 
 
 Very touching is the humble confession with which 
 Zeller introduces his appeal to his fellow-labourers 
 among the poor people, not to suffer the Bible to be 
 taken away from the schools : " I must admit that 
 sometimes, in moments of despondency, I have been 
 tempted to exclude Biblical instruction from our 
 system. I confess this weakness with shame, hoping 
 that many of my fellow-labourers will be en- 
 couraged to read and to explain the Word of God 
 to the children, even should no fruit be per- 
 ceptible. Perhaps this despondency would not have 
 pressed so heavily upon me, had I not often, con- 
 fident in my supposed dexterity in teaching, neg- 
 lected to prepare myself for the Bible class by 
 secret prayer to the Saviour, who is the door of his 
 sheep. Consequently, the door-keeper, the Holy 
 
 VOL. I. R
 
 242 BEUGGEN. 
 
 Spirit, did not open the door, and I fell into un- 
 meaning verbiage and mere words, by which no 
 impression was made upon the heart, and the sheep 
 did not know the strange voice. The Word of 
 God is far too good and holy for such barren ex- 
 positions. But it is as a refreshing draught from 
 the everlasting fountain when it is administered pure 
 and clear, with a believing heart, sanctified and 
 strengthened by prayer. Deeply convinced of this 
 truth, I hereby declare that I know no substitute 
 for Biblical instruction; that I consider the with- 
 drawal of the Bible from the schools as a sin, and 
 that I look upon any school where such robbery 
 has been committed as stricken with the judgment 
 of God." 
 
 Another cause of Mr. Zeller's strong antipathy to 
 all teaching and training which were not based upon 
 Scripture, was his knowledge of the alarming con- 
 dition of the great bulk of the popular schools, 
 and of the godless spirit in which popular educa- 
 tion was conducted by the great majority of the 
 teachers of his time. "There are hundreds of schools," 
 he wrote, "from which the Word of God has dis- 
 appeared. In its room, the words of ancient and 
 modern heathen are heard, together with a number 
 of dry, poor stories, songs, fables, and 'Children's 
 Friends ; ' 1 but the Divine Friend of children is not 
 permitted to enter. Everywhere complaints are 
 
 1 A name for a certain class of school-books much used in German 
 schools at that time.
 
 INFIDELITY EAMPANT. 243 
 
 heard about the degeneration of youth into looseness 
 and irreverence. Can it be otherwise ? The person 
 of the crucified Saviour is caricatured ; His Word 
 is twisted ; His deeds are depreciated ; calling upon 
 His name is pronounced idolatry ; prayer is brought 
 down to a mere formal exercise, and the daily 
 reverent reading of the Bible is made impossible by 
 overburdening the school with an innumerable load 
 of sciences which must be taught. The poor children 
 are told to cover themselves from the terrors of the 
 last judgment with the ragged cloak of their own 
 virtues. Pride in their own strength is forced into 
 them, and self-reliance is praised as a virtue. They 
 are taught to despise what was counted holy by our 
 fathers, and never should have been counted unholy. 
 They are taught how to organise and govern States 
 before they know how to tame and control their own 
 lusts. They hear rebellion lauded, and murder 
 approved of. And this Babylonish kingdom is called 
 the kingdom of God ! " 
 
 "For thirty years," he wrote in 1831, "the youth 
 in many both of our higher and lower schools have 
 been defrauded of right teaching, and those who 
 have committed that outrage upon them have been 
 looked upon as the most distinguished teachers, and 
 have been the best remunerated. The most insipid 
 twaddle has been called moral and religious doctrine, 
 and schoolbooks, either with subtle omissions or im- 
 pudent contradictions, have been introduced by the 
 
 R2
 
 244 BEUGGEN. 
 
 Government. Instruction in history, that record of 
 Divine justice and human error, has been taken 
 advantage of to stir up the national pride, and to 
 disseminate the most pernicious maxims and most 
 alluring sophisms. And, to crown this teaching by 
 example, some teachers have even been found in the 
 ranks of the rebels against both Church and State, 
 whose benefits they had formerly enjoyed. Such 
 are the effects and fruits of a godless education, 
 and of an apostasy which destroys our domestic 
 life, desecrates the Church, and makes the kingdoms 
 shake to their foundations. And yet some laud 
 the 'beautiful time in which we have the privilege 
 of living ' ! Others, in their inconceivable blindness, 
 even liken the rebellious spirit, which at present 
 revolutionises so many countries, to the pentecostal 
 spirit. While others again are so impudent as to 
 exclaim in a public journal: 'Man should find his 
 consolation, his joy, and his strength, with Goethe 
 and Schiller, in the lively, joyful, and blossoming 
 world of poetry. For what Homer was to the 
 ancient Greeks, and what the translation of the Bible 
 by Luther was to our forefathers, Schiller and Goethe 
 must be to us. Let there be no thought found in 
 our literature which is not penetrated by their breath, 
 and let youth stammer its first feelings, its first 
 childlike resolutions in imitation of them.' " 
 
 Such doctrines Zeller calls " the evil spirits of our 
 age, which go not out but by praying and fasting. I
 
 A NOBLE HERO. 245 
 
 do not mean such fasting," he says, " as consists in 
 doing one's self bodily harm, or in bowing the head 
 as a bulrush, or in lying down in sackcloth and ashes. 
 I mean such fasting as consists in giving up one's 
 easy life for the cause of God, and in descending 
 to the spirits which are in prison, i.e., to the neg- 
 lected, degenerate children of poverty and misery, 
 in order to break to them the bread of God which 
 has come down from heaven, and to lead them into 
 the abode of peace and righteousness and joy through 
 the Holy Ghost." 
 
 Of course the man who preached such doctrine was 
 called a fanatic by men clothed in soft raiment. But 
 where the world at large, and the schools for youth 
 in particular, are in such an unchristian state, surely 
 a man who unfolds the banner of the cross as 
 the only safeguard, and holds up the Bible as the 
 only true weapon against imminent danger, must 
 be looked upon as a noble hero, whose " fanaticism " 
 is a blessing to his country. No wonder, indeed, 
 that Mr. Zeller, after having himself given the 
 example, left no opportunity untried to incite his 
 friends to found Christian schools, and, above all, 
 such establishments for poor children as his own. 
 Many a page of his writings is filled with urgent 
 exhortations to this. He describes in vivid colours 
 the utter destitution and ignorance of the poor 
 youth. He appeals to the consciences of preachers 
 and teachers to induce them to train and support
 
 246 BEUGGEN. 
 
 Christian young men as schoolmasters. He exults 
 with enthusiasm when he hears that, in any part of 
 the world, a reformatory, an asylum, a school for 
 poor children has been established in a Christian 
 spirit. He gives lists of them. He classifies them. 
 He beseeches the Christian public to increase their 
 number, and to support them liberally. Instant in 
 season and out of season, he leaves his friends no 
 rest till he sees them at work for the poor. A 
 German author, who published a book on crime and 
 criminals, stated, from official documents, that the 
 number of imprisoned malefactors in Germany at 
 that time amounted to 20,000. He proposed to 
 build a chain of establishments from the bank of 
 the Ehine to the shores of the Baltic, and to gather 
 into them the offspring of those wretches. This pro- 
 posal was enthusiastically received and seconded 
 by Zeller ; and he contributed not a little towards 
 its realisation. It is calculated that not less than 
 between forty and fifty establishments for the poor 
 have been erected in Switzerland and Germany, on 
 the model of the Beuggen school, in consequence of 
 Zeller's incessant exhortations and appeals. 
 
 Still the system was neither his hobby nor his 
 idol. If the poor children could have been rescued 
 without the aid of establishments, none would have 
 rejoiced more than Zeller. " I thank God," he wrote 
 in 1829, "that so many refuges have been opened 
 from the Baltic to the Lake of Geneva. But, dear
 
 CHRISTIAN FAMILY EDUCATION. 247 
 
 friends, the establishments are not sufficient, and 
 but for God's gracious care they might even turn 
 hot beds of corruption. I therefore beseech you 
 not to rely on them, and least of all on the large 
 ones. To strike at the root of the evil, the rescuing 
 of neglected children must become a concern of the 
 Christian family, and their education must be carried 
 on in the Christian family circle. If in each com- 
 munity only two or three of the poorest children were 
 trained by a Christian schoolmaster, or some other 
 head of a family, something good would be effected. 
 A married couple could easily, and without much 
 expense, take two or three children ; for their support 
 would not cost so much as the indulgence of a be- 
 setting sin. Only a few voluntary subscribers would 
 be required to enable a poor head of a family to share 
 his bread with the miserable. Thus gradually all 
 existing establishments for training poor children 
 would be superseded. What is the reason there are 
 no children from Steinthal in our establishment? 
 Because so long as the Spirit ruled in Steinthal, 
 through that man of God, Oberlin, no child was 
 neglected in the community. And how was it that 
 there were no neglected children at Steinthal ? Be- 
 cause there were always some married couples there 
 who voluntarily took the orphans of their deceased 
 neighbours." 
 
 These and similar hints were not without their 
 effect. Some time after this last appeal a Christian 
 family, not far from Ziirich, requested Mr. Zeller
 
 248 BEUGGEN. 
 
 to send them a child. One of the most wretched 
 children, a fatherless and homeless girl, was selected 
 from the Beuggen family, and transferred with joy 
 to her new home. " Would to God," Mr. Zeller wrote 
 on this occasion, "that fifty other families would do 
 the same ! The expense of a whole establishment 
 would be saved, and the work be, perhaps, better 
 done."
 
 VII. 
 
 MR. ZELLER'S LAST DAYS THE PRESENT STATE OF THE 
 SCHOOL. 
 
 SUCH was the work and such the spirit of a man 
 whose name is only known in the comparatively 
 small circle of Christian philanthropists, but who, had 
 he only served some earthly king on the field of battle, 
 would have earned a celebrity equal to that of the 
 greatest heroes. Nor did he limit his labours within 
 the narrow sphere of Beuggen. It sounds almost in- 
 credible, yet it is a fact, that this man, who had upon 
 his shoulders such a laborious work, could yet find 
 time to issue various works on education and school- 
 training, which are highly appreciated by teachers 
 of all classes and countries. His excellent little book, 
 'Lessons of Experience for Christian Teachers of the 
 Poor,' has been since 1854 recommended by the 
 Prussian Government in its regulations for the or- 
 ganisation of evangelical seminaries. But among 
 all his writings his excellent Monatsblatt von Beuggen 
 (" Monthly Journal of Beuggen ") undoubtedly ranks 
 foremost. This paper consists of eight quarto pages. 
 Various religious subjects, both doctrinal and prac- 
 tical, are discussed in it in a popular style. Mr.
 
 250 BEUGGEN. 
 
 Zeller conducted it for thirty-two years, chiefly with 
 the intention of making it serve as a medium of 
 correspondence between the establishment and the 
 brethren who were labouring in various parts of the 
 world. It is still continued by his excellent son 
 and successor, Mr. Keinhardt Zeller. Perhaps there 
 never was a periodical published in the German 
 tongue which had such an extensive and beneficial 
 influence upon school and family life. Wherever 
 there is a Christian philanthropic establishment, or a 
 Christian school, or even a Christian family taking 
 interest in philanthropic pursuits in the south of Ger- 
 many, Zeller's ' Monatsblatt ' is to be found in the 
 library, in the study, or on the book-shelf of the 
 parlour. 
 
 I am not able to give statistics of the income and 
 expenditure of the Beuggen establishment. It is, 
 so far as I know, the only charitable institution in 
 the world supported by voluntary contributions 
 which publishes no list of subscribers or balance- 
 sheet. Nor has a balance-sheet ever been asked for 
 during all the years of its existence. Mr. Zeller 
 himself, and the twelve worthy and venerable Basle 
 gentlemen who formed his committee, were the 
 balance-sheet. And so the establishment continues 
 to this day, cordially supported by voluntary gifts 
 from all quarters, while only a few know how much 
 comes in or how much is wanted. 
 
 Mr. Zeller's excellent wife was about ten years 
 younger than he, yet he survived her two years.
 
 ZELLER'S LAST DAYS. 
 
 She died in 1858, at the age of sixty-seven. She 
 had five children when, with joyful confidence in 
 God, she followed her husband to Beuggen. Here 
 she gave birth to other six. But the care of this 
 large family did not make her shrink from taking 
 the superintendence of a household of about a 
 hundred and twenty persons. "During thirty-eight 
 years," Zeller wrote after her funeral, "she fulfilled 
 her arduous task with such faithfulness and activity, 
 that she was the soul of the economical department 
 of our establishment. But she was more than that. 
 She also assisted in the education of five hundred 
 and seventy-two poor children, and two hundred and 
 forty poor pupil-teachers. She attended them both 
 in health and sickness, and stood by the death-beds 
 of many of them. Such was her self-sacrificing love, 
 that I may point her out as a blessed pattern of a 
 Christian house-mother." 
 
 "Kepent ye therefore, and be converted, that your 
 sins may be blotted out. This commandment of God 
 
 is chiefly " Thus ends a portion of an 
 
 article on Acts iii. 19-21, in the June part of the 
 'Monatsblatt' of 1860. They were the last words 
 that came from the pen of the venerable patriarch. 
 It was ever his prayer that God might spare him 
 the misery of decrepit old age, and permit him to 
 die in harness. This desire was vouchsafed to him. 
 On the llth of May, 1860, he conducted the morning 
 prayers of the whole establishment, and the Bible- 
 class of the pupil-teachers. This was his last work.
 
 252 BEUGGEN. 
 
 Inflammation of the lungs laid him on his dying- 
 bed. He was aware of his condition, but no fear 
 or doubt troubled the happy calmness of his soul. 
 During seven days he lay quiet and still as a child 
 on the bosom of its mother. But on his last night 
 he seemed to be inspired with a spirit from on 
 high. With extraordinary bodily exertion he spoke, 
 both consciously and unconsciously, words of spirit 
 and power, which made an undying impression on 
 the bystanders. "Do you know Jesus still?" some 
 one asked. "How can you ask that?" was the reply. 
 "I stand in a personal relation to Him, which has 
 lasted for years, and has never been interrupted. 
 Jesus Christ is the only true foundation. Whoever 
 lays another foundation cannot stand, he is con- 
 demned." He spoke a few words to the pupil- 
 teachers. He blessed the children. Once more he 
 opened his kind eyes. Then they were shut never 
 to be opened again. He died on the 18th of May, 
 1860, at the age of eighty-one. 
 
 It must have been a touching sight when, on the 
 20th of May, seventy children and fifteen pupil- 
 teachers, together with a band of more than a 
 hundred friends, gathered round his grave to bid tbe 
 last farewell to their beloved father and friend. The 
 late Professor Auberlen, of Basle, the intimate friend 
 and admirer of the deceased, pronounced the funeral 
 oration, which I would fain copy were it not too 
 long for the limits of this book. Still, a few sentences 
 must find place. "Zeller's greatness consisted in
 
 SENTENCES AND APHORISMS. 253 
 
 his keeping himself so humble With the most 
 
 simple means he accomplished great things 
 
 Beuggen was a light, especially for the neighbour- 
 hood round about. From town and country, souls 
 needing truth and salvation would come here to be 
 edified by the presence of this sterling servant of 
 God, who had a heart open and kind to people 
 of all classes, whether high or low. But Beuggen 
 was also a light for many travelling strangers, who 
 spent hours of refreshment and blessing here, and 
 gathered rich lessons of wisdom and experience .... 
 Zeller reminded one of such men as Boos and Flat- 
 tich. He had many features in common with both. 
 In theology he was a man of Bengel's school, espe- 
 cially in this, that to him the prophetic word was 
 essential to the right understanding of Scripture. 
 He liked to speak very much about the magnolia 
 Dei (the glories of God), and often in his own cha- 
 racteristic way he would change this word into 
 'hab&lia,,' adding, Have, have, we must have it!" 
 
 The 'Monatsblatt' of 1861 contains a list of sen- 
 tences and aphorisms of Zeller, collected from the 
 memory of his own children, of the teachers and 
 servants, and of the pupils. They are one hundred 
 and seventeen in number, and might form an excellent 
 tract to be used as a vade mecum during the day's 
 ' trials, and temptations. From those recollected by 
 his own children I select the following : 
 
 2. "We are all in the house of our heavenly 
 Father. The different countries and parts of the
 
 254 BEUGGEN. 
 
 world are but various rooms and storeys. When we 
 travel into distant countries, we are only going from 
 one room to another. Our Father is everywhere 
 at work, rules the whole, and we may approach Him 
 with all our concerns. 
 
 6. "Doubt everything round about you, except 
 the love of God. 
 
 8. "Only don't become a half-Christian !" 
 
 From those recollected by the teachers and ser- 
 vants : 
 
 11. "To him who for a long time will not, God at 
 length hardens the heart so that he can not. 
 
 13. "Jesus has humbled Himself lowest of all, 
 for he was the highest. 
 
 29. "Whoever is born only once must die twice, 
 but whoever is born twice must die only once. 
 
 31. "The sermon is only instruction in religion, 
 not religion itself. Not until you leave the church 
 does your religion truly commence. 
 
 50. "At the day of Pentecost three thousand 
 persons were converted by the sermon of Peter. 
 Now-a-days it is quite possible that by three thousand 
 sermons there is nobody converted. 
 
 52. "We ought to be startled every time we are 
 praised. 
 
 72. " Every human being has to fight three enemies 5 
 viz., the world, the flesh, and the devil. Now when 
 a teacher has a hundred children, he has to deal 
 with three hundred enemies, besides his own three." 
 
 From those recollected by the pupils :
 
 ZELLER'S SUCCESSOR. 255 
 
 81. " The Americans say, 'Time is money.' The 
 Christian says, 'Time is grace.' 
 
 94. "Thanking comes from thinking. He who 
 does not think, does not thank either. 
 
 96. "There are two sorts of avarice. The one 
 cries, 'More, more!' The other, 'Give nothing! give 
 nothing ! ' 
 
 113. "One day he smilingly held out a farthing to 
 the children. A boy jumped up and got it. 'We 
 should,' he said, 'take the Lord with as much 
 pleasure as we take a farthing.' 
 
 114. "In summer many people go to bathing- 
 places. We will go to the right fountain to Jesus. " 
 
 He used to teach in his characteristic way what a 
 life of prayer is, by giving a child an end of a thread, 
 and taking the other into another room : when the 
 thread was pulled tight, the slightest check could 
 be felt ; when it was slack, not even the hardest. 
 
 At the time of Zeller's death, the 593rd child 
 had just entered his establishment. On my visit 
 to Beuggen in December, 1863, I found the list 
 increased to 644. The number of pupil-teachers 
 who had been trained amounted to 270. 
 
 The Eev. Mr. Keinhardt Zeller, the present 
 director, who during his father's life was con- 
 nected with the establishment as his assistant, con- 
 tinues the work in the same spirit in which it 
 was conducted by his godly and venerable father.
 
 256 BEUGGEN. 
 
 He is faithfully assisted by his brother, Mr. Nathaniel 
 Zeller, who conducts the administrative department. 
 Mr. Eeinhardt Zeller is about thirty years of age, 
 and if he and his consort are permitted to equal 
 their predecessors in length of days, as they resem- 
 ble them in love and zeal, Beuggen has still many 
 a happy and blessed year in prospect. Christian 
 travellers, who may happen to be at Basle or its 
 neighbourhood, should, by all means, try to spend 
 a Sunday at Beuggen. If the Lord's day is kept 
 in a Christian spirit anywhere, it is at this quiet, 
 hallowed spot, where a little church of Christ, 
 secluded from the bustle of the world, and living 
 in all the charming simplicity of a patriarchal 
 household, stands as a marvellous monument of the 
 power of the Gospel, as a protest against sin, and 
 as a refuge from misery. I shall never forget the 
 impression which the sight of that little congre- 
 gation made upon me when I entered at half- 
 past nine A.M. the large school-room, where seventy 
 children were seated on benches before the desk at 
 which Mr. Zeller stood. Sixteen pupil-teachers, to- 
 gether with the other adult members of the house- 
 hold, sat behind them. The hymn, sung in four 
 parts with remarkable correctness, seemed almost to 
 transport the soul to the fields of Bethlehem on 
 Christmas eve. The prayers, short and pithy, 
 were simple enough to be the vehicles of children's 
 thoughts, and sublime enough to carry the minds
 
 SUNDAY AT BEUGGEN. 257 
 
 of all the audience up to the greatest heights. The 
 sermon, from Bom. xiii. 11-14, was as telling upon 
 the heart as it was quaintly divided. Each of its 
 three parts was headed by a preposition thus: Up! 
 (ver. 11, Awake out of sleep) ; Off! (ver. 12, Cast off 
 the works of darkness) ; On ! (verses 12 and 14, Put 
 on the armour of light ; put on the Lord Jesus Christ). 
 After the close of the service, the whole congregation 
 rose and remained standing. Mr. Zeller, leaving his 
 desk, took the two youngest girls by the hand and 
 walked out of the room, followed in orderly procession 
 by the other children, to tlie singing of a hymn. 
 This was a sight which it was impossible to witness 
 without being deeply moved. Half an hour later 
 I found the whole household assembled at dinner. 
 More than a hundred individuals were seated at four 
 long tables with an order and quietness which could 
 only be expected in a well-trained family of ordi- 
 nary size. The Grace was sung to a tune, which by 
 its sweet melody and correct harmony prepared 
 us thankfully to accept the bountiful gifts of a 
 merciful Giver. There is a special table-hymn for 
 each day of the week, but I think the Sunday 
 one excels them all, both in the beauty of its 
 tune and the homeliness of its words. I cannot 
 refrain from writing them down, hoping that those 
 of my readers who are fond of music will thank 
 me for this. What my translation may want in ele- 
 gance of language, will I hope be made up for by 
 correctness. 
 
 VOL. i. s
 
 258 BEUGGEN. 
 
 TABLE HYMN ON SUNDAY, BEFORE DINNEB. 
 
 
 1. As - sem - bled at this place are 
 
 2. Five thou - sand peo - pie once Thou 
 
 j \ A. A \ 
 
 -*- -&- ->- -& 
 
 J. 
 
 
 1 
 
 P 
 
 i 
 
 -0- 
 
 :g U 
 
 we ; Thanks Lord, for Thy kind bless 
 fed'st With lit - - tie bread and fish 
 
 J. 
 
 ^e 
 
 i. I ii 
 
 V-r*"-^- 
 
 ^M-f4=^^=^fy^ 
 
 f> i ' M i "r^f i^r^T^' 
 
 i 
 
 ing. When Thou dost give we take it 
 
 es ; Thou dost so still ; Lord, be our 
 
 I J J I i I I 
 
 -&- -*- -^s- -e>- -&- -*- -&- ->- 
 
 
 & 
 
 I 
 
 ^=$^ 
 
 free ; Thou art the poor re - fresh - ing. 
 guest, And bless our well- fill'd disb - es. 
 
 -9- 
 
 -= 
 
 AJA 
 
 : r 
 
 1
 
 KEGULATIONS AS TO ADMISSION. 259 
 
 On what conditions the children are admitted may 
 be learned from the following excerpts from the 
 Rules : 
 
 1. The children must be healthy, have the full use 
 of their senses, and be capable of being trained. 
 
 2. They must not be under eight, and not above 
 thirteen. 
 
 3. The annual charge is 150 francs (6?.), to be 
 paid either by parents, relatives, societies, friends, or 
 benefactors. 
 
 4. Admission is through the committee at Basle. 
 
 5. On admission the child must produce (a), a cer- 
 tificate of baptism ; (#), a certificate of domicile ; (<?), a 
 medical certificate as to health, and as to having 
 been inoculated for small-pox ; (d), a guarantee that 
 the annual charge will be regularly paid in advance. 1 
 
 6. On entering the house, the children must bring 
 with them (a), a Sunday and a working dress (if pos- 
 sible, one for summer and one for winter); (5), six 
 good shirts ; (c), six pocket-handkerchiefs ; (d), four 
 pair of coloured summer stockings, and two pair of 
 winter ditto ; (e), two pair of good shoes. The esta- 
 blishment provides for all other wants. 
 
 7. Admission takes place at Easter, and occa- 
 sionally during the three following months. 
 
 The education of the children comprises : 
 (A.) Instruction. (a), Biblical history, and a 
 short survey of church history ; (5), German gram- 
 
 1 It ought to be mentioned here that by far the greater portion of 
 the children are supported at the expense of the establishment. 
 
 s 2
 
 260 BEUGGEN. 
 
 rnar, along with writing, reading, &c. ; (c), some 
 knowledge of geography; 1 (d), arithmetic; (e), 
 singing ; (f), the weekly learning of Bible texts and 
 hymns ; (#), drawing (for the boys). 
 
 School time three, sometimes four hours a day. 
 Holidays three to five weeks in the year. 
 
 (B.) Labour. Consisting, for the boys, in (a) the 
 making of winter shoes ; (5) the making of brushes ; 
 (c) wool-spinning; (d) tailoring; (e) stable-work; 
 (/) garden and field labour. 
 
 For the girls, in (a) knitting and darning; (b) 
 fine knitting ; (<?) crochet ; (d) white seam-work and 
 mending; (e) washing and ironing; (/) kitchen- 
 work, &c. 
 
 The children leave the establishment after they 
 are confirmed (eight days after Easter), at the age 
 of sixteen, with a proper outfit. 
 
 From the regulations for the admission of pupil- 
 teachers I quote the following particulars : 
 
 They must have the written consent of their 
 parents. 
 
 They must have thoroughly learned some trade. 
 
 They must have retained the branches acquired 
 in childhood at school, and be possessed of gifts for 
 teaching. 
 
 They must, at least, be seeking after salvation 
 with decided earnestness ; they must find their plea- 
 sure in the Word of God, and consequently have 
 some knowledge of Scripture. 
 
 1 The boys get in addition a short course of general history.
 
 STATISTICS OF KESULTS. 261 
 
 They must, at the end of their curriculum, go 
 wherever the committee thinks proper : 
 
 They must be between twenty and twenty-five. 
 
 Applicants must, if possible, apply in person, and 
 give in a written account of their lives and testi- 
 monials from respectable persons. Besides these 
 documents they must produce a certificate of bap- 
 tism, of domicile, of health, and of inoculation. 
 
 I could find only one table of statistics in Mr. 
 Zeller's reports showing the condition of the children 
 both in and out of the house at a certain period. It 
 is in the report for 1843, when the institution had 
 entered the twenty-fourth year of its existence. The 
 total number of children admitted from the begin- 
 ning of the establishment was at that time 335. 
 Out of these there were : 
 
 Married 40 
 
 Master Tradesmen, and supporting themselves honestly 54 
 
 Servants and apprentices 77 
 
 Behaving badly 23 
 
 Dead 23 
 
 Little or nothing known of 52 
 
 Still in the house 66 
 
 335 
 
 Now, not taking into account the 66 who were 
 still in the house, and the 23 who had died, we 
 find that out of the remainder, 171 were known as 
 having been successfully redeemed for human society, 
 which is nearly 70 per cent. On the other hand, 
 only 23, i.e. 10 per cent., had turned out failures, 
 and the remaining 20 per cent, were unknown. This
 
 262 BEUGGEN. 
 
 really shows such a favourable proportion as few 
 establishments can boast of. 
 
 As to those who had turned out well, Mr. Zeller re- 
 marks that twenty-three of them had become instru- 
 ments in the hands of Providence of saving other poor 
 neglected children. Some of them were house-fathers 
 or house-mothers of establishments for poor children, 
 or teachers in schools for the poor. 
 
 An observation of Mr. Zeller's on this occasion is 
 worth notice. It is, that by far the greater number 
 of the children who turned out badly were illegiti- 
 mate. " We cannot be silent," he wrote, " as to 
 the fact, confirmed by long experience and observa- 
 tion, that children who are the issue of immoral 
 intercourse, and have consequently been neglected, 
 have received from their unhappy parents an injury 
 which often extends into eternity, and will only there 
 be fully brought to light." 
 
 In his report for 1855, when he had had thirty- 
 five years' experience, he once more rtecurs to the 
 same subject. His opinion had undergone no change. 
 "A third cause," he writes, "why we fail with many 
 children arises from the disposition (BeschafferiheiC) 
 of their parents, especially of the mother. Accord- 
 ing to my experience, which, however, I would like 
 to be tested by Christian friends, children of par- 
 ticularly lewd and vicious mothers, and children 
 who are the offspring of marriages which were con- 
 tracted in lightmindedness, or in a sinful way, 
 are much harder to be saved and trained than
 
 PARENTAL INFLUENCE. 263 
 
 others." After having pointed out the close con- 
 nexion between the child and its mother, Mr. Zeller 
 thus proceeds: "On the other hand, it is remark- 
 able that so many excellent men, of whom Scripture 
 bears record, and so many other eminent servants of 
 God whose lives the history of the church and of the 
 world relates, have had godly and excellent mothers. 
 God forbid that I should doubt whether the saving 
 grace of Christ be mightier than all the power of 
 hereditary sin, and all the pernicious influence of 
 wicked mothers ; but when this saving grace is not 
 desired, and entreated for, the natural influence of 
 the flesh, the world, and the devil will carry all 
 before it." 
 
 But however interesting and instructive Mr. Zeller's 
 observations are, I must abstain from quoting more. 
 I have learnt with great pleasure that an able hand 
 is preparing a biography of this good and great 
 man. That it has not been written sooner is a 
 loss to the educational literature of Germany ; and 
 its publication will not fail to prove a blessing to that 
 populous country, both by inciting to the improve- 
 ment of existing establishments, and by stirring up 
 many a good man to an imitation of Zeller's noble 
 example. 
 
 I finish my account with Zeller's own words, 
 written in 1853, at the close of his statistical review 
 of the 212 pupil-teachers and 488 children, whom
 
 264 BEUGGEN. 
 
 he had been permitted to train up from the com- 
 mencement of the Beuggen school : 
 
 "Such a tree, with its numerous branches and 
 twigs, has that little sprig become which was 
 planted at Beuggen thirty-three years ago, and has 
 lived through a series of fertile and of barren vicissi- 
 tudes. These thirty-three years are the most beau- 
 tiful and blessed period of my life. When looking 
 back upon them from this my seventy-fifth year, I 
 cannot but fall prostrate full of gratitude and adora- 
 tion, at the feet of the Lord, who is a father of the 
 fatherless, a judge of the widows, and a refuge to the 
 poor. We began here in April, 1820, without house 
 or field, or even funds of our own, and we have con- 
 tinued to live till this moment in a hired establish- 
 ment. But our heavenly Father has during these 
 many years provided for us, and preserved us ; He 
 mightily protected us at a time when we had no 
 Government protection; and He has so helped us 
 through, that we never lacked what we needed, were 
 always able to pay our rent and taxes, and were 
 never compelled to run into debt. Keeping in 
 mind that we have always had a household of about 
 108 persons, this is marvellous in our eyes, and to 
 me it is an experience which I shall never be able 
 sufficiently to praise my God for."
 
 THE DEACON HOUSE AT DUISBURG 
 ON THE RHINE-
 
 I. 
 
 INTRODUCTORY. 
 
 TN the early days of the Christian Church, when 
 -*- its members were comparatively few, and those 
 few united in the bonds of first-love, the care of the 
 poor and needy was an easy matter, because limited 
 within a small compass, and cordially joined in by 
 all. Seven men were then sufficient to carry out the 
 work of charity of the whole church of Jerusalem. 
 They were called deacons, i.e., servants, because it 
 was their duty to serve tables, and thus to provide 
 for the wants of widows and orphans. It may be 
 that the work scarcely occupied one hour of the day ; 
 and it may be, too, they were entirely supported by 
 the Church, and thus that part of their time which 
 the widows and orphans did not require, could be 
 devoted to preaching round about the city. 
 
 But times are now changed. The Christian Church, 
 which then comprised only some thousands, now 
 comprises millions. Whole nations and kingdoms 
 are found in its bosom. The number of widows and 
 orphans, of poor, indigent, and wretched, that dwell 
 under its shadow is incalculable. There are still, it
 
 268 DUISBURG. 
 
 is true, persons performing the same duties as the 
 deacons in the primitive church ; but what are they 
 in comparison with the work that lies before them ! 
 A drop in the ocean. They are excellent Christian 
 men. They regularly attend public worship. They 
 faithfully assist the minister in managing the affairs 
 of the church. They visit a mourning widow, or a 
 poor family, once or twice a week, provided they 
 have not too far to go. During the day they must 
 look after their own business. If they did not, they 
 would increase the number of paupers, instead of 
 lessening them. So they may be able to visit one, 
 perhaps two, perhaps half-a-dozen, poor individuals 
 a-week, but not more. It is impossible. 
 
 But there are hundreds and thousands of poor 
 people, who, if not cared for, will upset both the State 
 and the Church. Something must be done, whatever 
 it be. Let us not deceive ourselves with foolish illu- 
 sions. Christendom is full of thieves and robbers, of 
 prostitutes and vagabonds, as well as of saints and 
 believers. In spite of our numerous clergymen and 
 elders and deacons, the prisons, the brothels, and 
 the public-houses are crowded with baptised men 
 and women. Let us not say, " Oh, leave them to the 
 police," as if this settled the matter. The very body 
 we look to for tranquillity should rather cause 
 inquietude. How is it that police should be required 
 within the bosom of the Christian Church? Is it 
 not a proof that the officers of the Church have been
 
 ITS PURPOSE. 269 
 
 unable to prevent the evil ? And how is it that 
 every year the number of policemen must be in- 
 creased, new prisons built, and the old ones en- 
 larged? Is it not a proof that the State cannot 
 by the terror of the sword turn back an enemy whom 
 the Church has failed to keep out by the Gospel of 
 love? 
 
 Here the Inner Mission steps in with its seasonable 
 and beneficial services. Its object is not only to 
 diminish the number of the lost, but also to increase 
 the number of the deliverers. It tries to raise, to 
 train, and to organise a band of Christian labourers, 
 both males and females, who will stand by the side 
 of ministers, elders, and deacons, and assist them in 
 carrying the saving power of the Gospel to quarters 
 which lie somewhat beyond the reach of the regular 
 office-bearers of the Church. Thus Father Zeller 
 established his school at Beuggen for the training of 
 Schoolmasters for poor children. Thus Wichern 
 opened his Eauhe Haus, and Fliedner his Deaconess- 
 Establishment at Kaiserswerth ; and thus the Pastoral- 
 Aid Establishment at Duisburg was founded, of which 
 I now mean to give an account. 
 
 It is an Institution for training Christian young 
 men as Deacons, using the word in the same sense in 
 which Protestant Sisters of Charity are called Dea- 
 conesses. And who but Pastor Fliedner could be its 
 founder ? His deaconesses had just begun to spread 
 the blessing of their work of love throughout the
 
 270 DUISBURG. 
 
 Church, and to prove practically that no evil can be 
 too great for judiciously-directed Christian labour to 
 overcome. With the power of Christian love they 
 united the tenderness of the female mind. But 
 another band of labourers was required who would 
 unite with it the energy of manly strength. A vast 
 sphere of labour was only accessible to strong young 
 men, who, as good soldiers of Christ, could endure 
 hardships, bear the fatigues of long journeys, deal 
 with ruffians and vagabonds, live with criminals in 
 prison, and, irrespective of weather and climate^ 
 visit the lost and the cast-away, even in the most 
 dangerous places where they had their abode. 
 
 The pretty town of Duisburg, which, about half- 
 an-hour's ride by rail from Diisseldorf, stands on 
 the banks of the Ehine, seemed to be the best spot 
 where such an Establishment could be founded. 
 That town is well known in the history of the Pro- 
 testant Church as a centre and stronghold of religious 
 life in Ehenish Prussia. Perhaps its geographical situa- 
 tion, just at the point where the three principal dis- 
 tricts of Ehenish Prussia Berg, Mark, and Cleve 
 meet, may have contributed towards giving it that 
 important position among the Christian Churches of 
 the Ehine; but even a situation ten times more 
 favourable would have failed to raise the town to 
 its present rank in the estimation of German Chris- 
 tians. No, it is mainly indebted for this to a suc- 
 cession, for upwards of a century, of pious and
 
 ITS PURPOSE. 271 
 
 evangelical Gospel-preachers, such as Henke in 
 former, and Krummacher in latter days. 
 
 It was as early as the year 1843 that Pastor 
 Fliedner conceived the plan of founding a Dea- 
 con-house here. A friendly lady at Bremen assisted 
 him in the enterprise. She declared herself ready 
 to advance a sum of 6000 thalers (900?.) for the 
 purchase of a house. One was accordingly bought in 
 a central, though not conspicuous, spot, in the town, 
 and opened with solemn devotion on the 31st of 
 October (1844), the day on which Continental Pro- 
 testants are accustomed annually to commemorate 
 the breaking of the light of the Eeformation through 
 the mists of ignorance and superstition. 
 
 The name given to the house was Pastoral- 
 G-ehulfen-Anstalt (Pastoral- Aid Establishment). Its 
 object was expressed in the address with which 
 Pastor Fliedner opened it. It was to be for the 
 purpose of training assistants to the office-bearers of 
 the Church in their pastoral work ; and these were to 
 be of two kinds, viz. : 1, Lay-assistants, or assistant- 
 deacons ; 2, clerical assistants. It was intended that 
 the first class should be taken chiefly from the 
 poorer ranks of life, and that they should devote 
 themselves to the care of the sick, the needy, the 
 neglected, and the criminal. The clerical assistants 
 were to be licensed candidates for the holy ministry, 
 who, after having left the university, and before 
 taking orders, could here prepare themselves prac-
 
 272 DUISBUEG. 
 
 tically for their future pastoral labours. This branch, 
 however, though very important in itself, was to 
 be only a subordinate part of the Establishment's 
 work. Its chief object was the training of the lay- 
 assistants, who, for brevity's sake, were called simply 
 Deacons. Pastor Fliedner commenced the enterprise 
 in his own name. It was never, of course, his inten- 
 tion to be its director, as he had his hands full with 
 the work at Kaiserswerth. But it did not require 
 much superintendence for the first few months, as 
 five young men were the sole inmates. One of 
 these was appointed house-father, and a deaconess 
 came from Kaiserswerth to take the management 
 of the little household. Then a few fatherless and 
 friendless boys were taken in to begin work with. 
 Two of the young men, meanwhile, were sent to 
 Kaiserswerth to learn the art of tending the sick. 
 There were no funds as yet; but Fliedner was 
 sure that God would not allow the good work to 
 fail, as it was commenced in His name, and for the 
 good of the lost. 
 
 A head was now required for the infant Establish- 
 ment. It was requisite that he should not only be a 
 friend of the poor, and acquainted with the work of 
 the Inner Mission, but also a scholar, and a good theo- 
 logian, as he would have to instruct the candidates. 
 Such a man was found in Mr. Brandt, who for four years 
 had been chief assistant (Oberhelfer) at Wichern's 
 Kauhe Haus. The situation of Inspector of an Institu-
 
 MR. AND MRS. BRANDT. 273 
 
 tion like that of Duisburg could not but be attractive 
 to a man who knew from experience what fearful 
 injury the cancer of pauperism was causing to 
 society, and how great need there was of able and 
 faithful men to stay its progress. Mr. Brandt and 
 his excellent wife entered the Duisburg Establish- 
 ment in October, 1845, when it had just finished 
 its first year of existence. During that period the 
 seed sown by Pastor Fliedner had sprung up into 
 a little tree. The number of the deacons had in- 
 creased to sixteen ; that of the children to fifteen. 
 So Mr. Brandt found at once an excellent sphere of 
 labour to begin with. Some of the deacons occupied 
 themselves with teaching ; others visited the poor both 
 in town and country ; others sold Bibles, as colporteurs, 
 and thus tried to obtain an introduction into families. 
 Where there was a sick one the deacon would sit 
 down by the invalid's bedside, and smooth his pillow 
 or give him his medicine, at the same time addressing 
 him. in words of kindness and consolation, and some- 
 times remaining with him both day and night. This 
 work could not but send forth a good report amongst 
 men. The Duisburg Establishment soon gained the 
 hearts and confidence of the public. Gifts, both in 
 money and kind, began to pour in abundantly from 
 all parts. The first year of Mr. Brandt's adminis- 
 tration closed with 295Z. in donations, 467. in sub- 
 scriptions, and an immense quantity of gifts in kind. 
 This was nearly sufficient to cover the expenditure of 
 the year. The books closed with a deficit of only 217. 
 
 VOL. I. T
 
 274 DUISBURG. 
 
 As the deacons were mostly artisans, they taught 
 the boys their various trades ; but a special educa- 
 tional teacher was appointed who could train the 
 deacons to act as schoolmasters for poor children; 
 for it was the object of the Establishment to fit the 
 young men for every branch of Home and Inner 
 Mission work, whether it were nursing the sick, 
 superintending the prisoner, or teaching the ignorant 
 and the neglected. It was intended, in short, that 
 the Duisburg Institution should be able to supply 
 labourers for every department of the work of charity 
 and evangelization among the poor. 
 
 The Establishment was also intended to be a 
 blessing to young men. From this numerous and 
 interesting class the deacons had to be chosen ; but 
 how could this be done if the young men were not 
 known? And how could they offer themselves if 
 they were unacquainted with the object of the 
 Establishment ? Mr. Brandt thus perceived the de- 
 sirableness of making the Establishment known to 
 such persons. One day, in 1846, while journeying to 
 the neighbouring town of Miilheim, on the Kuhr, he 
 fell in with an apprentice tailor, who was on his way 
 to the market. The rain began to fall in heavy 
 showers, so that they had to take shelter in a poor 
 cottage at the side of the road. Here Mr. Brandt 
 took his Bible out of his pocket, and, after having 
 read a chapter, addressed the inmates of the cottage 
 and the young tailor, about the one thing needful. 
 His word went home to the young man's heart.
 
 CHEISTIAN YOUNG MEN'S ASSOCIATION. 275 
 
 An invitation to come to the Establishment, and 
 to make the acquaintance of the deacons who in- 
 habited it, was gladly accepted. This was the com- 
 mencement of a Christian Young Men's Association, 
 which henceforth assembled in one of the rooms of 
 the Establishment. The number of its members 
 soon increased to thirty, who, in the company of the 
 deacons, spent their evenings in agreeable and useful 
 conversation ; and who, instead of frequenting the 
 public-house on Sunday evenings, as they were wont 
 to do, now attended the Scripture-reading meeting, 
 which the Inspector of the Establishment held with 
 his family. 
 
 By these proceedings the Establishment grew in 
 the estimation of the public. The Government 
 granted free postage to all letters and parcels 
 sent to or from the Institution; and afterwards 
 allowed annual collections to be made for it in 
 all the parishes of Ehenish Prussia and Westphalia. 
 Charitable societies and corporations began to seek 
 the assistance of the deacons for their work among 
 the poor and the sick. One of the deacons was 
 called to be a nurse at the German hospital in 
 Home ; another left for London for a like purpose. 
 The Keformed Calvinistic Church at Gemarke, near 
 Elberfeld, engaged a third brother as "church 
 deacon," i.e. as a salaried assistant of the deacons 
 of the church. A fourth brother was appointed by 
 the Temperance Society at Barmen as its agent. 
 Thus the Establishment, while yielding such blessed 
 
 T 2
 
 276 DUISBURG. 
 
 fruits, struck deep roots into the national life. It 
 was evident that this Institution would be a real 
 blessing, not only to the people of Prussia, but to the 
 German nation at large. 
 
 Many of the deacons were farmers and gardeners 
 by profession ; and agricultural labour being an 
 excellent occupation for the boys, pieces of arable 
 land, situated in the vicinity of the town, were 
 bought or hired. This afforded an opportunity to 
 the deacons for exercising themselves in teaching the 
 children the art of husbandry. 
 
 In the sick-nursing department, there was, how- 
 ever, an important blank. An hospital was urgently 
 needed, where the deacons, under the superin- 
 tendence of an able medical man, could be taught 
 to assist in dressing wounds or in operations, and 
 to prepare or administer medicines in the proper 
 way. Favourable circumstances encouraged the 
 building of such an establishment. Soon a three- 
 storied hospital rose in the rear of the Deacon- 
 house, separated from it, however, by a spacious 
 garden, so as to render infection impossible. 
 
 The Institution had now reached such dimensions 
 that the assistance of a committee was required. 
 Pastor Fliedner committed the supervision of the 
 work to a board of twenty-four members, of which 
 he himself was president. To avoid any appearance 
 whatever of a separatistic tendency, this committee 
 was placed in the closest possible connexion with the 
 provincial Synods of the Ehine-province and West-
 
 ME. ENGELBERT. 277 
 
 phalia. The presidents of these Synods are ex officio 
 members of the committee ; and of the twenty-four 
 members of whom it is composed, not less than 
 sixteen belong to the clergy of the two provinces. 
 
 While the Institution was thus progressing, it was 
 threatened with a great injury in the loss of its 
 valuable Inspector. Mr. Brandt had accepted a call 
 to be a clergyman at Essen; from whence, a few 
 years later, he was called to Amsterdam, the place 
 of his present residence. Under the providential 
 leading of the Saviour of the lost, however, Pastor 
 Fliedner had become acquainted with a young Can- 
 didat, Mr. R. Engelbert, who for some years pre- 
 viously had proved an able and zealous labourer in 
 home-mission work, and who accepted the call to 
 be Mr. Brandt's successor with enthusiasm. In his 
 early youth he had shown great sympathy in the 
 work of improving and raising the artisan class, to 
 which he belonged by birth. His father was a tailor 
 at Barmen; and he brought up his son to his own 
 trade. But young Engelbert showed such talents at 
 school, that the teacher strongly advised his father to 
 prepare him either for the bar or the pulpit. This 
 was not, however, in accordance with the taste of the 
 young man, who wished rather to remain a tailor, 
 and in that capacity try to raise the artisan class by 
 his example and influence. But the advice of the 
 teacher, and the desire of the father, prevailed over 
 the inclination of the son. He attended the gym-
 
 278 DUISBURG. 
 
 nasium, and afterwards went to the University of 
 Bonn to study theology. At that time he had a 
 decided inclination towards Rationalism. The whole 
 Wupper-valley, where he had spent his childhood 
 and early youth, was notorious throughout Germany 
 for the staunch attachment of its inhabitants to the 
 orthodox creed. But in many quarters that ortho- 
 doxy had degenerated into a passive, and sometimes 
 even immoral pietism. This had inspired the young 
 student with an aversion to orthodoxy, which he 
 considered as the cause of those excesses. It is not 
 wonderful, then, that he entered the University of 
 Bonn with a prejudice against the theology which 
 was then taught by Nitzsch and Sack. He accord- 
 ingly repaired to Halle, where he hoped to meet 
 with a teacher more congenial to his own ideas. 
 Tholuck, who taught there, was certainly not less 
 orthodox than Nitzsch; but he seemed to be pos- 
 sessed of the gift of reaching the understandings of 
 the young men by first bringing the truth home to 
 their hearts. Mr. Engelbert here learnt to distin- 
 guish between a mere formal orthodoxy and a real 
 heart-belief, and to observe the Scriptural foundation 
 upon which the latter is based, as well as its tendency 
 towards quickening the believer with love and joy. 
 He also became acquainted here with those small 
 societies of well-principled students which, by means 
 of friendly intercourse, tried to inspire themselves 
 and others with Christian life. This was a sort of
 
 MR. ENGELBERT'S HISTORY. 279 
 
 home-mission in which Engelbert now took a hearty 
 delight. He then returned to Bonn, now fully 
 understanding the meaning of Nitzsch's theology. 
 Under the influence of that great and learned man 
 he was entirely gained to the heart-quickening truths 
 of the Gospel; and it became henceforth his earnest 
 desire to carry the knowledge of these truths to the 
 young, and especially to the uneducated and igno- 
 rant. He became a tutor in an excellent Chris- 
 tian family at Barmen, where he found ample oppor- 
 tunity for exercising himself in the art of teaching 
 and training. Here he made the acquaintance of 
 Pastor Fliedner, who used frequently to visit the 
 family. He afterwards accepted a call to be assistant 
 to a clergyman at Herdecke, the centre of a populous 
 manufacturing district of Ehenish Prussia. In this 
 place he found full scope for his missionary enter- 
 prises. A remarkable revival had just then begun 
 among the people. Mr. Engelbert held Scripture- 
 readings and prayer-meetings nearly every evening 
 of the week, which were attended by crowds. The 
 blessing which God vouchsafed to this work was most 
 remarkable. Notorious drunkards and profligates 
 were converted. Families which were known to be 
 bitterly hostile to the Gospel were overcome by the 
 power of the Word, and became disciples of Christ. 
 Mr. Engelbert was so struck with all he witnessed 
 that he resolved to devote himself entirely to Home- 
 Mission work. He had just prepared himself for a
 
 280 DUISBURG. 
 
 journey to Wichern's Rauhe Haus, where he hoped 
 to fit himself for his new career, when, in 1847, in 
 his twenty-seventh year, he was invited to become 
 Inspector of the Deacon-house at Duisburg. He 
 could not doubt that the call was from God. 
 He therefore accepted it with joy ; and to this day 
 he is the happy and prosperous Director of the 
 Establishment.
 
 II. 
 
 ORGANIZATION AND SPIRIT OF THE ESTABLISHMENT. 
 
 TTTHEN Mr. Engelbert entered on his duties he 
 found such an amount of work awaiting him, 
 that all the energy and talents of both himself 
 and his wife were required. The number of the 
 "brethren" or deacons had increased to twenty- 
 nine ; that of the boys to twenty-four. Two candi- 
 dates had also been admitted to receive instruction 
 in the branch of practical theology which belongs 
 to the sphere of the Inner Mission. And, in addi- 
 tion to all this, the hospital was just finished, and 
 already gave shelter to three invalids, whose number 
 would no doubt soon be increased from the bands of 
 navvies who laboured at the railroads and river- 
 works in the neighbourhood. It was a fine building, 
 capable of accommodating from fifty to sixty patients 
 in twelve sick rooms and three large saloons. It 
 also contained dwelling-rooms for the house-father, 
 apartments for the nurses and the servants, a 
 spacious kitchen, a bath-room, and an apothecary's 
 shop. In the course of a few years, however, it 
 proved far too small, for nearly as many invalids 
 had to be refused from want of space as were
 
 282 DUISBURG. 
 
 admitted. This circumstance made the committee 
 welcome an opportunity, which occurred in 1862, 
 of purchasing premises and grounds adjacent to 
 the Establishment's property. A new hospital was 
 founded on this site, but it was not finished when 
 I visited the place in 1863. What a blessing this 
 hospital must -be to the town, which has no hos- 
 pital of its own, and to the surrounding district, 
 may be gathered from the fact, that every year 
 from 250 to 300 invalids are nursed and pro- 
 vided with medical treatment under the superin- 
 tendence of a doctor specially engaged for the 
 house. The terms are one shilling per day, which 
 covers everything except extraordinary expenses for 
 clothes, artificial apparatus, crutches, et cetera. A 
 subscription of eighteen pence a quarter, or six 
 shillings a year, secures gratuitous medical treat- 
 ment and nursing during a period of three months. 
 The number of patients in 1862 was 297, of whom 
 78 were Eoman Catholics all denominations being 
 received. The diseases treated were, nervous fever, 
 11 ; ague, 16 ; consumption, 11 ; gastric fever, 20 ; 
 itch, 42 ; syphilis, 28, et cetera. A complete surgical 
 apparatus for the greater operations is provided by 
 the Government Male patients only are received ; 
 and cases of epilepsy, insanity, and chronic diseases 
 are excluded. 
 
 Here the brethren have an opportunity of becom- 
 ing acquainted with man's misery in its worst forms, 
 and of learning how to assuage it by that tender
 
 THE HOSPITAL. 283 
 
 self-denying love, which knows how to press sweet 
 drops into the bitter cup of suffering. Here, too, 
 many a heart which has been for years closed to 
 the voice of the Gospel, opens, under the pressure 
 of misery or in the prospect of death, to receive 
 an admonition to repentance and conversion, from 
 the lips of a Christian nurse while smoothing a 
 pillow or dressing a wound. But to speak a word 
 in season to the weary, wisely to address a hardened 
 sinner on the brink of the grave, or to console one 
 who trembles at the approach of the king of 
 terrors, is an art not understood by every one. 
 Certainly it is not a mere trade, which can be 
 taught like joinery or masonry. If the knowledge 
 and love of Christ be not in the heart of the nurse, 
 however well trained he may be, little true con- 
 solation for a suffering or dying soul is to be ex- 
 pected from his lips. But, on the other hand, to 
 be possessed of the great treasure of Christian con- 
 solation is one thing, and to be able to impart it to 
 others at the proper season, and in the right way, is 
 another. It cannot be denied that Job's friends, who 
 visited him in his affliction, knew and said a great 
 many true and beautiful things. Still they were 
 miserable comforters. It is to be feared that their 
 example has since been followed by many good men, 
 who with ill-directed though well-intentioned zeal, 
 have poured vinegar instead of oil into wounded 
 souls. The Committee of the Duisburg Establish- 
 ment, therefore, deemed it judicious to provide the
 
 284 DUISBUEG. 
 
 deacons with practical instruction, at the sick-bed 
 itself, as to the proper way of tendering the Gospel 
 medicine to the souls of the patients. This im- 
 portant task was ultimately committed to the Rev. 
 Mr. Bleibtreu, an experienced pastor of the church, 
 who was appointed second Inspector, and received the 
 charge of the spiritual concerns of the Establishment. 
 He regularly visits the patients every day in the 
 presence of the deacons, and shows them how a 
 faithful messenger of God can speak the truth with- 
 out frightening the mourning or encouraging the 
 presumptuous. 
 
 It is not to be marvelled at that Christian young 
 men, trained in this way, are eagerly sought for. 
 Both private families and hospitals apply for their 
 valuable services. For a shilling a day such a deacon 
 becomes your sick-room friend both by day and night. 
 If you are too poor to pay, he serves you for Christ's 
 sake. If you are able to pay more than one shilling, 
 you may make a present, not to him, but to the Es- 
 tablishment. Nor will he leave you sooner than is 
 proper. He is prepared to stay with you two or three 
 months if necessary. On an average, from sixteen 
 to twenty of the brethren are thus engaged in pri- 
 vate families in the course of a year. In 1862, 
 seventeen were engaged in forty-nine cases of dis- 
 ease. The number of days on which they served 
 was 1557 ; so that, on an average, from four to five 
 brethren were constantly employed in private nursing. 
 Another band of from seventeen to twenty was en-
 
 CHUKCH-DEACONS. 285 
 
 gaged at different hospitals, of which one was situated 
 as far north as Stettin, and another as far south as 
 Darmstadt. During epidemics, their services have 
 proved of incalculable value, as will be shown from 
 a few instances in the next chapter. 
 
 Those of the brethren who have a disposition 
 and talent for controlling and influencing the poor 
 are sent out for employment by Poor-Boards, 
 philanthropic societies, home missionary societies, 
 churches, asylums, poor-houses, &c. In this capa- 
 city about twenty brethren were employed during 
 1862. They laboured at different places, of which 
 Antwerp was the farthest west, and Berlin the 
 farthest east. The house-fathers of many Christian 
 philanthropic establishments scattered through Ger- 
 many are pupils of the Duisburg deacon-house. 
 Indeed, you may find them everywhere : here as 
 colporteurs in the service of some Bible or tract 
 society, there as Scripture-readers in the service of 
 some church or religious association. You may find 
 them even in North America, as preachers of the 
 Gospel to the German colonists. In order that they 
 may preach that Gospel to every creature they are 
 willing to go into all the world both into the dark, 
 dirty, back streets of the crowded town, and across 
 the boundless Western prairie. 
 
 To give an idea of the work which a church- 
 deacon (Gremeinde-Diacori), i.e. an assistant deacon 
 in the service of a church, has to perform, it may
 
 286 DUISBDRG. 
 
 not be superfluous to copy the report which one of 
 them gave of his work in 1854 : 
 
 " I will try to give a short account of what I have 
 done here during the past twelve months, by sum- 
 ming up my various occupations as follows : 
 
 "1. The assistant-deacon must visit the poor who 
 receive support from the church fund. Their number 
 was this year eighty-one, who live scattered all 
 over the town. 
 
 "2. He receives orders from the ministers and 
 deacons, which must be carried out immediately, 
 to visit backsliding catechumens, to carry relief 
 to such or such a poor man, to inquire into some 
 one's circumstances, &c. 
 
 " 3. He must also visit the families and individuals 
 whom the Ladies' Society has taken charge of. In 
 these cases he usually has only to carry out certain 
 orders, to make inquiries, to apply more efficient 
 measures for assistance, &c. 
 
 "4. Some benefactors of the poor sometimes favour 
 him with commissions, which he must not leave 
 unattended to. 
 
 "5. A multitude of bashful poor people apply to 
 him for his interference in order that they may obtain 
 secret alms. 
 
 "6. He is expected to take part in the different 
 societies for home and foreign missions, and it is his 
 duty to attend the meetings of the Christian Young 
 Men's Association.
 
 THE BOYS' SCHOOL. 287 
 
 "7. He is often requested to hold Bible-reading 
 meetings, and to lecture on religious topics to poor 
 people who desire it. 
 
 "8. He conducts a Sunday-school for eighteen 
 boys." 
 
 Certainly a church which has a man in its service 
 who faithfully does such an amount of work, may 
 be called highly privileged ; though undoubtedly it 
 would be more highly privileged still if it did not 
 require such a servant at all. It is a sad truth, 
 indeed, that in Christian churches, if it were not for 
 the appointment of salaried agents, such work would 
 be left undone. When one looks at these eight 
 heads, one cannot help being reminded of a busy 
 shepherd's dog, who runs everywhere ; and one cannot 
 help asking, What in all the world are the shep- 
 herds doing? But let us not scan too minutely. 
 Where the work must be done, and nobody can be 
 found to do it, we may be thankful that there is 
 an establishment which supplies able and willing 
 assistants, who are prepared to do what others leave 
 undone. 
 
 The training and instruction of poor neglected 
 boys is another branch of the work of the deacons. 
 On an average, from twenty-five to thirty such boys 
 are constantly in the house. They are divided into 
 two or three families, each of which is superin- 
 tended by two deacons as house-fathers. Each family 
 has its own dwelling-room and dormitory, but they 
 take their meals with the other inmates of the
 
 288 DUISBURG. 
 
 house. The separation into families is for the sake of 
 order ; the union at meals for the sake of mutual 
 fraternal intercourse. As far as possible the feeling 
 of being members of one family, of which Mr. Engel- 
 bert and his wife are the heads, is kept up among 
 the children and the deacons. The latter teach the 
 former from dawn till dusk. Fifteen, on an average, 
 are employed in this work. There are workshops 
 connected with the establishment, where the deacons 
 teach the boys tailoring, joinery, and other trades. 
 Some go out with them to the garden and the fields ; 
 some assist them in preparing next day's lessons 
 for the school ; and some assist the schoolmaster in 
 teaching them. To school teaching from four to five 
 hours a day are devoted ; to labour from five to six. 
 The instruction is purely elementary, and is entirely 
 based upon the Bible. A considerable portion of 
 the school-time is devoted to instruction in Bible 
 history, to learning by heart and repeating texts, sen- 
 tences, and hymns, and to singing. As to secular 
 instruction, no more is given than is desirable for 
 boys who are intended for a humble farmer's or 
 artisan's life. Play and bodily exercise are con- 
 sidered as an essential part of the training. After 
 meals half an hour is spent in the spacious play- 
 grounds of the establishment. The deacons play 
 with the children, and thus guide them in their 
 recreations 'as well as in their labour. When they 
 have learnt the rudiments of some trade in the esta- 
 blishment, the boys are apprenticed to masters in
 
 THE BOYS' SCHOOL. 289 
 
 the town. After confirmation they are dismissed, 
 but still continue in friendly relationship with the 
 establishment and its inspectors. 
 
 The boys' school is not intended to be simply a 
 sort of experimental school for the deacons. It is 
 also a refuge for poor, neglected children. Boys 
 from the very lowest class, and even juvenile con- 
 victs, are found among its inmates. It would not, 
 therefore, be wise to admit into it orphans and 
 deserted children whose moral character is unim- 
 paired. It is rather intended for such boys as are 
 refused at common orphanages. Neither is there 
 any limit as to age. Big boys of from fourteen to 
 sixteen are taken in. Their training may be difficult, 
 nay, almost hopeless, but it ought not therefore to 
 be left untried. The terms for a boy's board, 
 clothing, and teaching are 36 thalers (5L 8s.) a year. 
 For some, 50 thalers (71. 10s.) are paid. But many 
 are taken gratuitously, the committee preferring to 
 lose a little money rather than run the risk of losing 
 a soul. 
 
 But the school serves two ends. While the children 
 are taught and trained, the deacons are exercised in 
 the art of teaching and training ; and as they have to 
 deal with the worst characters, they are sure to learn 
 how to manage better boys. Thus they are pre- 
 pared for situations as house-fathers of orphan-houses, 
 as directors of reformatories and asylums for poor 
 children, and as teachers of schools for the poor. 
 From fifteen to twenty deacons, on an average, are 
 
 VOL. I. U
 
 290 DUISBUBG. 
 
 constantly engaged in such employments outside the 
 establishment. In 1862 .three officiated as house- 
 fathers in the orphanages of Iserlohn, Kreuznach, 
 and Mulheim on the Ruhr ; some laboured as fellow- 
 artisans and assistants in the reformatory of St. 
 Martin, near Boppard; in the idiot asylum of He- 
 phata, at Gladbach; and in the establishment for 
 poor neglected children, near Bernburg. Others 
 were school-teachers at orphan houses, and at schools 
 for destitute children. 
 
 The training of the brethren as prison officials 
 forms the fourth branch of the work of the esta- 
 blishment. To this department comparatively few 
 devote themselves. In 1862 two laboured as super- 
 intendents in the prison for criminals at Spandau ; 
 one as head-superintendent, and another as house- 
 father in the prison for labouring convicts at Plotzkau, 
 near Bernburg ; and a third brother assisted these 
 last for a portion of the year. Other two were in 
 the asylum for returned convicts at Lintorf. Little 
 known as this portion of the work of the Duisburg 
 establishment is, yet it is of inestimable value to 
 society. Much has been done of late years for the 
 moral improvement of prisoners, by their being 
 more frequently visited by the chaplains, and by 
 their being provided with Bibles, tracts, and useful 
 literature. But what fruit can be expected from such 
 measures if the governor and turnkeys, who are in 
 daily intercourse with these unhappy beings, are 
 either harsh and inhuman, or light-minded and un-
 
 PRISON OFFICERS. 291 
 
 principled? No one has a better opportunity of 
 speaking to "the bound" about "the opening of the 
 prison-doors" than the person who has to bring 
 them their meals, watch their movements, and pre- 
 vent their escape; and it is a real blessing when 
 such a person is a good man, who pities the prisoner 
 as a fallen brother, tries with love and kindness to 
 open his heart to the softening and consoling in- 
 fluence of the Gospel, and, himself a saved sinner, 
 points his fellow-sinner to the only Kedeemer who 
 can give peace to the soul. The Duisburg esta- 
 blishment has, under God's blessing, been the means 
 of providing many a prison in Germany with such 
 officers, to whose credit it may be said that, of all 
 the works of Christian charity, they undoubtedly 
 perform that which requires the greatest amount of 
 self-denying love and unflinching perseverance. 
 
 The candidats, who spend six or twelve months 
 at the establishment, enjoy privileges which must 
 be of great value to them. Their number averages 
 about six. They pay their own board and lodging, 
 but three of them receive 100 thalers (15?.) each from 
 the Government towards their support. An oppor- 
 tunity is given them in the establishment of seeing 
 all that is going on in the sphere of the Inner Mission, 
 and of exercising themselves in such labours as will 
 afterwards devolve upon them as pastors of churches 
 and superintendents of schools. First, each candidate 
 devotes twelve hours a week to teaching the children 
 and the deacons in certain branches of instruction, 
 
 u 2
 
 292 DUISBURG. 
 
 Then they exercise themselves in holding Scripture- 
 reading meetings, under the superintendence of Mr. 
 Engelbert. One of them conducts worship every 
 morning at the hospital, and visits the patients. 
 Others go in the evening to villages in the neigh- 
 bourhood of Duisburg to hold prayer-meetings, and 
 to explain the Scriptures to the people. On Sunday 
 they supply vacant parishes, or officiate for ministers 
 in the vicinity. During their stay in the House, 
 the whole establishment life is thrown open to them. 
 Its numerous concerns and all the important ques- 
 tions relating to the training of children, or the treat- 
 ment of the sick, or the dealings with the poor, are 
 discussed with them. On two evenings in the week 
 they assemble with the inspector and the deacons 
 as a family circle (AbendJcranzcheri) for free and 
 friendly conversation about all that has been going 
 on during the previous days in the different depart- 
 ments of the establishment. One tells his ex- 
 periences in the hospital ; another relates what 
 occurred at his visits among the poor; a third 
 gives an account of what he witnessed during his 
 stay in a prison, from which he has just returned ; 
 and a fourth communicates the difficulties he has 
 recently met with, or the pleasures he has en- 
 joyed among the children of the house. Opinions 
 are exchanged, questions are broached, advice is 
 asked and given. Thus the candidates are enabled 
 to gather an invaluable amount of practical know- 
 ledge, which cannot but yield good fruits in those
 
 ITS SPIRIT. 293 
 
 churches which they will soon have the charge of. 
 "My residence in the Duisburg establishment," one 
 of the candidats wrote some time after he had left 
 it, "forms an epoch in my life. I there gained 
 experience and self-control. I there acquired sym- 
 pathy and interest in the principal work of these 
 latter days, viz., the Inner Mission. My insight 
 into the various duties and functions of the practical 
 work of the ministry, and my fitness for that work, 
 have been increased. The remembrance of my stay 
 at the establishment will always fill me with the 
 most sincere gratitude." 
 
 This is the fruitful tree that has sprung up 
 from the little seed which Pastor Fliedner sowed 
 nearly twenty years ago. Owing to his innumerable 
 occupations at Kaiserswerth he resigned the presi- 
 dency of the Duisburg establishment in 1856. But 
 the institution was quite safe under the superin- 
 tendence of such a man as Mr. Engelbert. To 
 a Christian who loves order, activity, and simpli- 
 city, it is really a treat to spend a day at it. A 
 kind and cordial tone prevails among its inmates, 
 showing that nobody thinks himself shut up as in a 
 convent. Indeed, far from feeling as if one were 
 excluded from society, one rather feels as if in the 
 centre of popular life. The world without streams 
 in, as it were, with a constant change of flood and 
 ebb. Every day one or other of the brethren is 
 sent out to his work and makes room for one who 
 returns from it. Every day strangers arrive, either
 
 294 DUISBURG. 
 
 as patients for the hospital, or as applicants for pas- 
 toral advice. Every Sunday those boys who are 
 apprenticed out of doors come to spend their day 
 of rest in the happy circle of the establishment 
 family. The house is the parental home for all its 
 inmates, whether old or young, whether constantly 
 dwelling under its roof, or labouring at distant 
 places.
 
 III. 
 
 SOME ACCOUNT OF THE LABOURS OF THE DEACOKS IN SILESIA, 
 BRANDENBURG, THE SOUTH OF EUSSIA, AND SCHLESWIG. 
 
 good which those who are in trouble derive 
 -^- from the Duisburg establishment cannot, per- 
 haps, be better seen than by looking at the 
 valuable assistance which the deacons have rendered 
 in times of epidemic diseases or calamitous cata- 
 strophes. Even as early as the year 1848, these 
 noble friends of humanity found an opportunity of 
 giving proof of their faithful and courageous sym- 
 pathy in places where but few ventured to risk their 
 life. A terrible plague, caused by famine, broke 
 out in Upper Silesia, on the frontiers of Poland. 
 No sooner did the report of the fearful misery that 
 afflicted those districts reach the people of Rhenish 
 Prussia, than four deacons at once set out for that 
 distant abode of death and destruction. Day and 
 night they stood between the living and the dead, 
 fighting the terrible foe with unflinching courage, 
 till typhus caught hold of them and dragged them 
 to the brink of the grave. Their lives were spared, 
 however, but one of them had a paralytic stroke 
 while in the height of the fever, and was obliged
 
 296 DUISBURQ. 
 
 to return to Duisburg, where he continues to reside 
 as an invalid, revered and loved by all the inmates 
 of the house, a living monument of one of the 
 earliest exploits which the noble band of Duisburg 
 heroes can boast of. His three companions, after their 
 recovery, found themselves surrounded by thousands 
 of poor, fatherless children whom the plague had 
 bereaved. They travelled through the country in all 
 directions seeking shelter and bread for those pitiful 
 creatures. Nor were their efforts unsuccessful. The 
 noble Count Frederic zu Stolberg, struck by their 
 unparalleled zeal and disinterested love, permitted 
 them to found an orphan-house for Protestant children 
 on his grounds near Pless, on the banks of the 
 Vistula. Thirty poor little creatures found both 
 shelter and food under its hospitable roof. But here 
 the three brethren encountered a number of diffi- 
 culties. They had to be father, mother, and teacher 
 to these children. And this in a country where 
 the Polish language is spoken, of which they scarcely 
 understood one syllable ! Then the children were 
 dreadfully neglected and stupid, almost verging 
 upon idiocy. And to complete their trouble, a 
 fever common to that marshy climate attacked 
 them, as it were, regularly by turns, and seemed 
 determined to keep one of them at least inactive. 
 Still, with prayerful perseverance and inexhaustible 
 patience, they at length overcame all these diffi- 
 culties, and the prosperous Stolberg orphanage is a 
 striking proof how true Christian charity may sue-
 
 LABOUES AT LUTTE. 297 
 
 ceed, even when thwarted by adverse circumstances, 
 and unsupported by the usual means of assistance. 
 
 At that sad time when the cholera visited Europe 
 with its fatal scourge,' the Duisburg deacons were 
 found both in the hospitals and in the families where 
 it exerted its utmost violence. The towns of Elber- 
 feld and Osnabriick were greatly blessed with their 
 labours of love. Alternately at the deathbed and the 
 grave, it was a marvel to their friends that their 
 lives were spared in the midst of such a fearful mor- 
 tality. But this was more remarkable at Lutte, a 
 village in the vicinity of Berlin, than anywhere else. 
 Two deacons were sent there in 1855 at the request 
 of the Government. On their arrival, they found 
 that a great portion of the population had already 
 been carried off by the plague. Sixty patients were 
 still hovering between life and death. The dread of 
 infection was so great that nobody could be found 
 willing to tend them. Even the dead bodies remained 
 unburied. Here there was an immense amount of 
 work for the deacons. They had to clean the sick- 
 rooms, to disinfect the houses, to provide food and 
 cook it for the patients, and to see the orphans 
 sheltered and provided for. The Lord blessed their 
 indefatigable zeal with a speedy cessation of the 
 plague. The Government commissioner declared 
 in his Eeport that "it was owing to the activity of 
 the deacons that the spread of the epidemic was so 
 soon put a stop to." And the clergyman and the 
 provost looked upon the arrival of the deacons as a
 
 298 DUISBURG. 
 
 striking proof of the love and faithful care of the 
 Lord during this period of trial and affliction. 
 
 But, in addition to their labours among the sick 
 the services of the deacons were of incalculable value 
 to the navvies who laboured at the Oder works, in 
 Brandenburg, from 1853 to 1859. From 2000 to 
 5000 people were at work. They lived in rough 
 wooden huts, slept on the ground, and cooked their 
 dinner on bricks before their doors. There were an 
 eating-house, a shed for a church, dwellings for the 
 surveyors, the police-officers, the minister, and the 
 physician ; and an hospital. Nor was the latter super- 
 fluous. It was full all the year round with patients 
 suffering from gastric and low fever, caused by the 
 evaporations from the river. The Government had 
 to appoint an additional medical man to meet the 
 wants of these poor people. But what was most 
 painfully felt was the lack of able and faithful nurses. 
 There were some nurses, but their conduct was most 
 scandalous. Of course, respectable persons could 
 not be found to accept a merely temporary situation 
 in the midst of a desert, and where an epidemic was 
 continually raging. Those who could be obtained 
 were just people who could get nothing better to 
 do : returned convicts, vagabonds, and thieves. The 
 poor patients were nursed and robbed at the same 
 time. The nurses, to save themselves the trouble of 
 administering the medicines at the prescribed times, 
 either poured them down their patients' throats at 
 one gush, or threw them out of the window. Patients
 
 LABOURS IN BRANDENBURG. 299 
 
 who were hovering between life and death were 
 made drunk with brandy. All this was very well 
 known to the medical men, and the guilty ones 
 were duly punished ; but their successors were no 
 better, and perhaps worse. In this dismal state of 
 things the minister of the place wrote to Pastor Flied- 
 ner. "We want able nurses," he said, "and it is 
 admitted even by our officials that in our case the 
 love of Christ is, above all, an essential qualification. 
 I therefore put the question to you : Have you no 
 nurses who, for the Lord's sake, and for the sake of 
 their poor, homeless, sick brethren, are willing to 
 come to us ? The Sisters of Mercy of the Eomish 
 Church would certainly, if applied to, have been 
 here long since ; and if our Church is not able to 
 send help, we shall be compelled to apply to them. 
 How great my anxiety is for the souls of the 
 patients in these circumstances you may picture to 
 yourself," &c. 
 
 This cry for help was not left unanswered. 
 Fliedner, of course, could do nothing, for this was 
 not a case for deaconesses, but he sent the letter 
 to Mr. Engelbert, who at once replied to it. "It 
 gives me unspeakable pleasure," he wrote, "to be 
 able to tell you that our Church is no longer power- 
 less in this matter. She has apt men and women 
 for the hospital, who, from love to God, care 
 for their brethren, and desire nothing but to see 
 them helped both as to body and soul." An arrange- 
 ment was then made with the officials of the place 
 by which the hospital was entirely given up to the
 
 300 DUISBURG. 
 
 care of the Duisburg brethren. In the worst months 
 of the year from seven to nine were employed. Mr. 
 Engelbert appointed one of them to be chief, upon 
 whose shoulders the whole management rested. . He 
 discharged his duties so well, that at the end of five 
 years, when the works on the Oder were completed, 
 he was honoured by the Government with the situa- 
 tion of governor of the prison for criminals at Bran- 
 denburg. The number of patients often amounted to 
 190 at a time, so that the hospital could not contain 
 them. Auxiliary hospitals had therefore to be fitted 
 up. On some days from fifteen to twenty patients were 
 brought in. In most cases these new comers had to 
 be cleaned from top to toe, and their clothes sub- 
 mitted to a boiling process. At times, when there 
 was a relaxation of disease, the deacons devoted 
 their spare time to visiting the navvies in their huts, 
 distributing tracts and Bibles, and speaking to them 
 about the only Physician who can cure both body 
 and soul. 
 
 A commission was sent by the king to inquire into 
 the progress and state of the works. In its report 
 the following statement occurs: "The conduct of 
 the deacons has been perfectly irreproachable and 
 inoffensive, and they have shown in their work among 
 the sufferers, which they have performed with patient, 
 persevering, and tender-hearted love, that they have 
 always kept in mind their life's task, viz., to serve 
 Christ in His suffering members. By prayer and 
 earnest addresses, they have tried to maintain order 
 and discipline on a religious basis among those who
 
 LABOURS IN BRANDENBURG. 301 
 
 were entrusted to their care, and their efforts have 
 been crowned with gladdening success." 
 
 Very gratifying also is the opinion of the doctor. 
 I give it for two reasons : first, that my readers 
 may have a correct idea of the ability of these 
 Duisburg deacons ; and, secondly, as a testimony to a 
 truth which is sometimes doubted, that a good 
 Christian may be also an able labourer. The doctor's 
 testimonial runs as follows : 
 
 "The deacons who were sent here have always 
 distinguished themselves by their attachment to 
 their work, their love towards the patients, and their 
 knowledge of their duties. That portion of their 
 work which recurred at regular intervals they have 
 always punctually performed, without requiring to 
 be put in mind of it. Under this head I include 
 the cleaning and ventilating of the rooms, the 
 looking after surgical bandages, and the adminis- 
 tering of medicines. The lower operations in 
 surgery, which were committed to them, were per- 
 formed with dexterity. They evinced the most 
 satisfactory knowledge of cupping, bleeding, leech- 
 ing, and applying clysters. In the art of tooth-ex- 
 traction, however, only the upper nurse, Mr. W , 
 
 has acquired the desired dexterity. They have made 
 such progress in the knowledge of the medicaments 
 and the preparation of the prescriptions, that all of 
 them are able to prepare the simple recipes which 
 are here used. And as to the knowledge of the 
 action of such medicaments as required peculiar ob- 
 servation, they have proved all that could be desired.
 
 302 DUISBTJRG. 
 
 " In consequence of the excellent services of the 
 deacons the operatives not only lost their former 
 dread of the hospital, but the patients showed 
 greater obedience to the regulations. 
 
 " In an economical point of view the deacons 
 have caused considerable saving to the funds of the 
 hospital." 
 
 But perhaps the most interesting, and also the 
 most beneficial, of all the services of the deacons was 
 that which they performed in 1860 to some hundred 
 German colliers who emigrated to the south of 
 Russia, and who would, humanly speaking, but for 
 their indefatigable activity and faithful assistance, 
 have perished from starvation and ill-treatment. 
 
 It was in June of that year that two young 
 Germans appeared at the town of Essen, on the 
 Ruhr, calling themselves agents of Eussian coalpit 
 proprietors, and wanting to engage Prussian colliers 
 for the pits near Nowa Tscherkask, the capital of 
 the free state of the Don Cossacks. They came 
 just at a time when there was a spirit of discontent 
 among the Essen colliers, owing to a reduction of 
 wages that had recently taken place. The prospects 
 which the two strangers held out were most fasci- 
 nating. The district of Nowa Tscherkask, they said, 
 was another Canaan, a land flowing with milk and 
 honey, where almond-trees, bearing fruit all the year 
 round, adorned the public roads, and vines, covered 
 with grapes, studded the evergreen hills. The police 
 had some misgivings as to the honesty of the two 
 individuals ; but as they produced documents which
 
 THE GERMAN COLLIERS. 303 
 
 attested the legality of their mission, and defied 
 anybody to prove that there were no vines and 
 almond-trees in Nowa Tscherkask, they succeeded in 
 gaining the confidence of the people, so that their hotel 
 was soon besieged with applicants eager to exchange 
 the fields of Khenish Prussia for the paradise of the 
 Ukraine. About 400 colliers, many of whom were 
 married, resolved to follow the two messengers to the 
 land of promise ; and such was the enthusiasm that 
 a band of music joined them to cheer them on their 
 way through foreign countries, across tempestuous 
 seas, and to enable them to enter their Dorado amid 
 the flourish of trumpets, and the clang of drums. 
 Nor did the musicians inquire what their business at 
 the coalpits would be ; for in a country so happy as 
 that to which they were going, of course even the 
 coal would dance up from the bowels of the earth to 
 the measure of music. 
 
 So about 500 souls, including women and children, 
 left Essen on the 3rd of August in a special train for 
 Trieste. As they passed each station, with their band 
 playing, they were received with loud cheers by the 
 curious crowds. 
 
 At Vienna they were hospitably treated by the 
 inhabitants, and enabled to see some of the curiosities 
 of the town. At length, after an uninterrupted 
 journey of four days and four nights, they reached 
 Trieste, thoroughly knocked up with fatigue, but in 
 good spirits from the recollection of the charm- 
 ing scenery through which they had travelled, and 
 from the enchanting prospects they had before them.
 
 304 DUISBUBO. 
 
 The four days which they had to spend at the 
 seaport preparing for their embarkation were passed 
 in pleasure and recreation. The good Trieste people 
 left nothing untried to cheer r their minds. Feasts, 
 public' dinners, and popular sports were got up in 
 their honour ; and when, on the fifth morning, the 
 steamer dashed out to the blue deep, the quays were 
 black with thousands of well-wishers, who flourished 
 their hats and waved their handkerchiefs, and made 
 the hills re-echo with their endless "Hurrahs!" as 
 if a band of kings and queens were setting out for a 
 country where thrones awaited them. 
 
 But here their pleasure ended and their misery 
 began. No proper accommodation was provided for 
 them on board the steamer. With the exception 
 of a few women and children, who were permitted 
 to sleep in the hold of the vessel, all the rest had to 
 remain on deck, day and night. Instead of a bed, 
 a straw mat was spread for them. They had to 
 use their boots and shoes for pillows. During the 
 day the heat was insupportable ; during the night 
 the frost made them shiver. The food was bad ; 
 the water disgusting. Sea-sickness, fever, various 
 kinds of diseases, soon turned the vessel into a 
 floating hospital. Fortunately none of them died ; 
 and after some days they learnt to make the best 
 of their condition. They sailed on to Constantinople, 
 and from thence through the Sea of Azof to Eostow ; 
 but their voyage was a succession of privations and 
 hardships. Their two guides, the agents, left them 
 quite alone, breaking all the fine promises they had
 
 THE GERMAN COLLIERS. 
 
 made. At every seaport wliere they put in those 
 agents would leave the vessel, spend a day or two in the 
 public-houses and brothels, and leave the poor emi- 
 grants without food, drink, or protection. Thus, after a 
 series of disappointments and vexations, they reached 
 Kostow, a pretty town on the Don, twenty miles 
 from the eastern shore of the Sea of Azof. Here a 
 number of carts were hired to carry the women and 
 children, and also the luggage to Nowa Tscherkask, 
 the place of their destination, which was distant thirty- 
 five miles. No sooner had they moved on a quarter 
 of a mile than the carters, after the Eussian fashion, 
 demanded money, although they had already been 
 paid what they were entitled to under the contract. 
 This being refused, they began to unload the carts, 
 and prepare to drive back to the town. The emi- 
 grants caught hold of the reins to prevent them. 
 The carters responded by striking with their whips. 
 This was too much for the patience of the good 
 Prussians, and in a trice their sticks were down 
 upon the heads of the carters. The people of the 
 neighbouring town, accompanied by soldiers and 
 policemen, came hurrying to the assistance of their 
 countrymen, so that a regular battle ensued. The 
 Prussians gained the victory; and, after having 
 driven the Russians back to the town, compelled 
 the carters, who were now as submissive as children, 
 to continue the journey. 
 
 Such was their entrance into that country of peace 
 and happiness, the prospect of which had given them 
 
 VOL. I. X
 
 306 DUISBURG. 
 
 strength to endure their trials hitherto. Alas, how 
 soon and how painfully were they undeceived ! " The 
 sun," thus wrote one of them in his diary, " darted 
 his burning rays perpendicularly down on our heads, 
 so that we could only travel very slowly. We soon, 
 however, came in sight of the spot where the almond- 
 trees were said to blossom. It turned out to be a 
 boundless, barren plain, where only thorns and thistles 
 grew. Dead cattle were lying scattered about, filling 
 the air with a pestilential smell, which made us almost 
 faint. The impression which all this made upon 
 us no pen can describe. We had often to sit down 
 and cry to relieve our feelings and gather fresh 
 strength for our melancholy journey. We felt here 
 just as we had felt on the open sea. As there we only 
 saw sky and water, so here we only saw the sky and 
 wild steppes, where neither a house nor a tree could 
 be discovered. Now and then, indeed, we passed 
 a badly-cultivated field, on which water-melons were 
 growing, . . After having dragged ourselves on 
 18 wersts (16 miles) in this wearisome way, we at 
 length reached a post-station, where a few inns, or 
 kabaclies, stood. They were built of timber and 
 clay, and more like stalls for cattle than dwellings 
 for human beings. From a long pole, fixed on 
 the top of the roof, fluttered a white and black, or 
 red and yellow little flag, denoting that these 
 buildings were inns. You must, especially in wet 
 weather, make your way to the door through a
 
 THE GERMAN COLLIEES. 307 
 
 pool of mud, into which you often sink down to 
 your knees, and perhaps leave your boots behind. 
 When at length you are so fortunate as to reach the 
 door, you see the house-floor, where the mud is 
 lying to the depth of several inches, and across 
 which with difficulty you get 'to a second door, that 
 leads to the taproom. Kound a large table, of rough 
 deals, which forms the only piece of furniture in the 
 room, you see groups of dirty vulgar Russians, almost 
 always accompanied by their wives. A pint-glass of 
 brandy continually goes round, from which each indi- 
 vidual takes a draught. . . Even in the coldest weather 
 these inns are without fire, so that a foreigner cannot 
 endure it." 
 
 At length, about sunset, they reached Nowa 
 Tscherkask ; but there was nobody to welcome them. 
 With the women and children in the carts in front, 
 and the men marching in files behind, they entered 
 the place to the music of their bands. They now 
 found themselves in the city of their dreams and 
 expectations. Soon they were surrounded by a mob, 
 who, with the most comical gestures, put questions 
 to them, of which they did not understand a word. 
 " We never heard such gibberish before," says the 
 writer whom we have quoted. "We proceeded 
 through the town, which seemed to have no end. 
 At length we arrived at a spacious drill-ground. 
 Two stable-like houses, built of wood and clay, and 
 evidently intended for barracks, were courteously 
 
 x 2
 
 308 DUISBURG. 
 
 offered us for the night. Our supper was cooked in 
 large kettles, built into the earth. Our luggage was 
 scattered through the place in strange confusion. 
 Neither beds, chairs, nor benches were to be seen. 
 The bare floor was to be our couch. Supper was 
 served up in big wooden basins, similar to those 
 from which we feed the dogs in our country. It 
 consisted of meat, rice, and unpeeled potatoes, boiled 
 together into broth. Happy the man who could lay 
 hold of a spoon ! He who had none could look on 
 and sup in fancy. We were soon overcome with 
 sleep, and lay down in spite of the hard floor. There 
 was not even room for us all. Some were com- 
 pelled to bivouac in the open air, where the piercing 
 night-frost penetrated them, and left its effects in an 
 obstinate cold." 
 
 It turned out that the two agents had exceeded 
 their orders, and engaged many more individuals, 
 and especially many more married couples, than they 
 were instructed to do. The musicians, who had been 
 allured by such fascinating promises, were at once 
 declared to be useless. These poor people were re- 
 duced to utter misery, and compelled to beg their 
 bread along the roads. The other emigrants were 
 divided among the coalpit proprietors ; but sixty of 
 them could find no masters. It is impossible to say 
 what might have become of these poor people, thus 
 driven to despair, had not the Kussian Government 
 granted considerable sums to support them. At 
 length a coal-merchant, moved with compassion,
 
 THE GERMAN COLLIERS. 309 
 
 took them into his service, and sent them to a pit at 
 35 wersts distance. But now their misery reached 
 its height. For ten miles round the pits neither 
 cottage nor hut was to be seen. Holes were dug in 
 the earth to serve as dwellings. The pits were in 
 such a miserable condition, and so badly managed, 
 that they could not be entered without danger to 
 life. It was absolutely necessary to put them in 
 order before work could be begun. The masters, 
 however, required them to begin work at once, and 
 threatened to withhold their food, if they did not 
 yield. Perpetual quarrels arose, which often threat- 
 ened to end in bloodshed. Meanwhile the women 
 and children caught cold in the damp earth-holes. 
 Medical assistance was not to be obtained. Death 
 soon claimed its victims. In less than a week two 
 women and ten children had died. The Eussian 
 hordes who roved about in the vicinity robbed the 
 defenceless strangers. A general terror seized them. 
 From time to time some stole away to try their for- 
 tune elsewhere, hoping, however absurd the hope, to 
 be able to walk home through Eussia, via Moscow and 
 St. Petersburg ! Thus they were soon scattered in all 
 directions through these vast inhospitable districts, 
 unacquainted with the language, in the midst of a 
 savage population, without money, without friends, 
 and with the prospect before them of winter, during 
 which the thermometer often sinks down to 30 
 degrees below zero on the scale of Fahrenheit ! 
 I cannot refrain from again quoting a few details
 
 310 DUISBURG. 
 
 from the above-mentioned diary. Its writer had 
 joined a party which, after great difficulties, had 
 found work at a coalpit 105 wersts from Taganrog. 
 
 " We had not laboured very long," he writes, " when 
 one day our master declared that our contract must 
 be altered ; that he would give us 10 kopecks (5d.) 
 less per shaft than we had agreed for, and that he 
 could no longer furnish us with provisions. We 
 were again in great perplexity. Since we had not 
 yet received one kopeck, and provisions were no 
 longer given us, we found ourselves under the 
 necessity of taking them by violence; on which 
 occasions blood was often shed. Our persistency, 
 however, in asking our wages at length compelled 
 our master to give us them; and henceforth we 
 bought our provisions ourselves. At the village 
 where we wrought nothing could be got. We were 
 compelled to go to a neighbouring village, at 7 
 wersts distance, to make our purchases. The prices, 
 however, were so extravagant that we could scarcely 
 earn so much as the provisions cost. When return- 
 ing across the steppes we were often attacked by 
 Eussians, who tried to rob us, so that we were com- 
 pelled to arm ourselves and to defend our property 
 at the risk of our lives. We soon perceived that we 
 could not stay here any longer, so we resolved to try 
 another place, which was situated at 70 wersts dis- 
 tance. We set out at the beginning of December, 
 with the cold at 30 below zero. We could not 
 obtain the money which we had wrought for, and
 
 THE GERMAN COLLIERS. 311 
 
 we were without any means of subsistence whatever. 
 The wind was very cold and cutting, and blew the 
 snow into our faces. The women and children were 
 seated in carts, wrapped up in old clothes. The cold 
 was so intense that we had to keep running. In the 
 evening of our first day we saw no house; so we 
 were compelled to spend the night in the open air, it 
 being so dark that we could not see our fingers before 
 our eyes. I cannot describe what we suffered during 
 that night. I shall never forget it. We covered the 
 children with old rags, while the men and women 
 kept running to and fro to keep themselves from 
 freezing to death. The howling of the wolves fright- 
 ened and terrified us, but still it served to keep our 
 spirits astir. Happily, all of us were alive when the 
 day dawned ; but most of us had our ears and feet 
 frozen. 
 
 " As soon as day broke we started again, and after 
 travelling several hours we saw a number of houses, 
 where we got some refreshment. This did us good, 
 and especially the children, who had been continu- 
 ally crying. About evening we reached the mines 
 where we hoped to work. Their proprietor's name 
 was Iwanow. He promised to take us, but refused 
 to charge himself with the care of our provisions. 
 He showed us a dwelling, which was dug in the 
 earth. Its roof was on a level with the ground, 
 and so bad that usually every morning we were 
 covered with snow. On one side of the floor a few 
 square stones were laid down, which served as a fire
 
 312 DUISBUBG. 
 
 place. We were almost suffocated by the smoke, 
 which could only escape through holes in the roof. 
 It was impossible to warm these dwellings; but 
 we had to make the best of them, as we could not 
 travel farther, owing to the heavy masses of snow 
 that fell every day. We were glad to meet here 
 with some who had emigrated with us from Prussia. 
 They had been working for more than a month at 
 Mr. Iwanow's pit. They told us, that with all their 
 labour they had run into debt, and tried to persuade 
 us to set out with them at once for Moscow and St. 
 Petersburg; but we felt no inclination, nor indeed 
 was it in our power, on account of the women and 
 children. 
 
 " We had worked a fortnight in company with these 
 comrades, when one evening they told us that they 
 were resolved to leave in two days. The overseer 
 had caught a hint of it, and informed Mr. Iwanow. 
 The latter thereupon gathered all the Eussians of 
 the village on the evening previous to the purposed 
 departure, made them drunk with brandy, and urged 
 them on towards the dwellings of our comrades, 
 whom they were to bind with cords, and thus prevent 
 from leaving. We were just taking our supper, 
 when all at once we heard a fearful cry. We rushed 
 out and saw about 200 Eussians, armed with sticks. 
 Our friends, though unprepared for such an attack, 
 defended themselves most valiantly, and so served 
 their drunken assailants that ten of them were 
 knocked down at once, and it was uncertain whether
 
 THE GERMAN COLLIERS. 313 
 
 they were dead or alive. The fight lasted more 
 than a quarter of an hour, our friends gaming the 
 victory. The Russians, however, by the stratagem 
 of continuing to fight as they retreated, decoyed them 
 into the open field. Here they were surrounded 
 on all sides, and tied with cords, which were 
 thrown over their heads and arms. The Russians 
 now ill-treated them in the most cruel manner, 
 and threw them into an old building, where they 
 were kept under severe surveillance for eight days, 
 without having their bonds loosened. During this 
 period we were not even permitted to speak to 
 them ; and we had to witness their sufferings, which 
 made our hearts sick, without being able to help 
 them. On the ninth day they were, under a strong 
 escort, taken to the town of Bachmuth, where a 
 Eussian court of justice sits. They told us after- 
 wards that this journey lasted four weeks, during 
 which period their cords were never loosed, while their 
 clothes, which hung in rags about their limbs, were 
 covered with vermin. The court of Bachmuth had 
 its own way of doing justice to the despotism of Mr. 
 Iwanow; but the inspector of police, a German by 
 birth, provided the prisoners with lodgings at his 
 expense till their case should be settled. They 
 waited four months for the close of the process, 
 till in spring they left the town, caring no longer 
 how the judges would decide the case. The court 
 most probably will never report to the authorities
 
 314 DtllSBURG. 
 
 in St. Petersburg the ill-treatment of our comrades, 
 but deposit the documents somewhere, in a very 
 dark corner. 
 
 "Meanwhile we continued our labour in distress 
 and misery. The winter increased in severity. The 
 thermometer sunk to 35 degrees below zero. The 
 oldest people declared that they had never witnessed 
 a winter like this. Even the winter of 1812, they 
 said, in which the army of Napoleon perished on 
 the snow-fields of Kussia, was not so severe. Our 
 dwelling was every morning barricaded with snow, 
 so that we had to call the Russians to dig us out 
 with their snow-spades. Even our beds were full 
 of snow. We could sleep but very little, partly 
 owing to the snow, partly to the wolves, which roved 
 in troops around our dwelling, so that their howling 
 continually sounded in our ears. We dared not ven- 
 ture to go unarmed to our shafts, which were only 
 thirty paces distant. Our dread of these animals 
 was so great, that we never went out of doors after 
 sunset. Yet, notwithstanding this precaution, one 
 of us almost fell a victim to these fearful beasts. 
 Four of our comrades were found frozen to death 
 between Garkof and Moscow." 
 
 Thus far the diary. To such a depth of misery 
 had those cruelly-deceived people been reduced, 
 when the report of their sufferings reached their 
 native town. A society for their rescue was imme- 
 diately formed, and it was agreed upon that the best
 
 APPLICATION TO THE DEACONS. 315 
 
 way to help them was to bring them back to their 
 own country. But where were the men to be found 
 able and willing to address themselves to the task of 
 travelling to those Kussian wildernesses in such a 
 season of the year, in search of some hundreds of 
 people scattered over an area of some hundreds 
 of miles! Indeed, only such would attempt it as 
 had been taught by the Good Shepherd, who left 
 his ninety-nine sheep in the wilderness to go out 
 in search of the lost one. 
 
 An application was made to the Duisburg Deacon- 
 house, and not in vain. Two brethren, of the name 
 of Hartmann and Liebermann, declared themselves 
 willing to undertake the work. They set out for 
 Constantinople on the 25th of November, 1860. 
 When the report of their arrival at Taganrog reached 
 the poor sufferers who were scattered through the 
 country, it was as if an angel from heaven had 
 arrived. " We continued labouring on till February," 
 the writer of the diary says, "when one day we 
 received a letter from the Prussian Consul at Tag- 
 anrog, saying that two men had come from Prussia 
 to take the colliers back to their homes. At once all 
 our grief was forgotten. We knelt down fervently 
 to thank God for the unspeakable mercy with which 
 He had moved friendly hearts in our beloved country 
 to undertake a work which will be found written in 
 the book of His remembrance." 
 
 The journey of the two deacons from Constanti- 
 nople to Taganrog lasted twelve days, and was very
 
 316 DUISBURG. 
 
 difficult, owing to the severity of the season and the 
 inhospitality of the district. They only found ten 
 colliers at that town and a few musicians. Four of 
 the ten had only recently arrived, and were in such 
 a wretched condition that speedy assistance was 
 necessary to keep them alive. After having provided 
 these people with board and lodgings, the deacons 
 travelled on to Nowa Tscherkask, where they made 
 inquiries as to the abodes of the scattered emi- 
 grants. They found out the dwelling-places of some 
 of them with difficulty. The description which they 
 give of the condition in which they found these 
 unhappy wretches is heart-rending. At one place, 
 called Gruschewsky, sixty graves contained the 
 corpses of those who had broken down under their 
 sufferings. One hundred and forty-seven survived. 
 Of these, twenty-eight were ill, and eleven of them 
 died in the course of the ensuing month. Nor was 
 the condition of those who were at Nowa Tscher- 
 kask much better. Mr. Liebermann remained at 
 Gruschewsky, while Mr. Hartmann returned to Nowa 
 Tscherkask. The latter, who seems to have had 
 the lead in the business, after having made pro- 
 vision for the people whom he found there, made 
 excursions in all directions to find out the dispersed 
 ones, and to prepare for the return of the whole band 
 in the approaching spring. He was so fortunate as to 
 obtain the favour and kind assistance of the Hetman 
 of the Don Cossacks. Through the interference of 
 this officer the passports were recovered, which the
 
 THE VOYAGE HOME. 317 
 
 coal-pit owners had kept, and, but for his powerful 
 intercession, would never have given up. The diffi- 
 culties which the two brethren had to struggle 
 with were endless, owing partly to their igno- 
 rance of the language, but also to the impertinence 
 of the Kussians, and even to the imprudence of the 
 Prussians. At length they got 139 individuals col- 
 lected at Taganrog, looking forward with joy to 
 the 28th of May, the day fixed for their departure. 
 They were only about one-third of the multitude 
 which had arrived there seven months before expect- 
 ing to find a heaven on earth. All the remainder had 
 died, except ninety-one persons, who resolved to stay 
 in Eussia, partly owing to unhappy family circum- 
 stances, and partly because they did not expect a 
 better lot in their own country than they had there. 
 Owing to unfavourable winds, the voyage across the 
 Sea of Azof and the Black Sea was long. One day 
 all the elements seemed to conspire against them. 
 Their ship was old and small. On a sudden a tre- 
 mendous tempest arose, accompanied with torrents 
 of rain. Every one ran below. The vessel was 
 tossed to and fro with such fury that the crowded 
 mass of people was squeezed most dreadfully. The 
 cries of the women and children were heart-rending. 
 Suddenly a report was spread that the ship was on 
 fire. Everybody that could move rushed on deck. 
 The confusion was beyond description. A dense 
 cloud of smoke rose from the hold. Some ran to 
 the bulwarks to jump overboard, and were only with-
 
 318 DUISBUKG. 
 
 held by force. Fortunately the fire was soon put out, 
 but the storm continued to rage with such fury that 
 death was expected every minute. At this critical 
 moment a cry was heard above the noise of the 
 tempest. It came from a Jewish family, whom the 
 captain and crew were engaged in violently attempt- 
 ing to throw overboard, as a means of appeasing the 
 wrath of God. Of course our Christian friends came 
 to the rescue, and prevented the outrage. 
 
 Notwithstanding these difficulties, the two deacons 
 succeeded in keeping their numerous flock in order, 
 and at last led them in peace to their much-longed- 
 for country. Their arrival at Trieste was not so 
 full of festivity as it was eight months before. 
 The crowds which then conveyed them with cheers 
 from the station to the steamer, now conveyed 
 them from the steamer to the station with com- 
 passionate looks and dumb curiosity. At Vienna, 
 on the contrary, they were treated by the people 
 to sausages, bread, and wine. The nearer they got 
 to their homes the more their hearts were cheered. 
 And on the 1st of July the two deacons had the 
 pleasure of entering the town of Essen at the head of 
 a procession, which nobody could look at without 
 realizing the wonderful power of that love which 
 teaches a man even to lay down his life for his 
 brethren. 
 
 " Next to God," the writer of the diary says, " we 
 are indebted to Mr. Hartmann and Mr. Liebermann 
 for our rescue from bodily and spiritual misery.
 
 LABOUKS IN SCHLESWIG. 319 
 
 With true self-denying love they dreaded neither 
 trouble nor danger to help us out of our difficulties, 
 and they ought to have the sincere thanks of all 
 the colliers for having saved them from certain 
 perdition." 
 
 The last Danish war also witnessed the valuable 
 services of the Duisburg deacons. Sixteen of them 
 went to Schleswig in February, 1864, at the request 
 of the King of Prussia, and partly at the expense of 
 philanthropic committees at Elberfeld, Barmen, and 
 other places. " Our brethren," thus Mr. Engelbert 
 wrote to me, " have in the various lazarets tended 
 the most serious cases, assisted in carrying the 
 wounded soldiers from the field of battle, and day 
 and night, with indefatigable zeal, helped in the 
 dressing of their wounds. As a sign of their calling, 
 they wore on the white band round their arm, 
 which, as is known, is the badge of all persons 
 officiating in the army, a simple little black cross." 
 I should be too prolix were I to give an account 
 of the labours which these excellent men performed 
 in the sight of death, and must content myself with 
 only a short extract from a letter, written on the day 
 when the Dybbol Sconces were taken : 
 
 " About two o'clock P.M. we arrived at the ruins 
 of Kackebull, with the lazaret-waggons and carts 
 destined for carrying away the wounded, marching 
 ahead of the company. All the house doors had
 
 320 DUISBUBG. 
 
 been carried off and used for the bivouac-tents 
 which were on the field, and now stood empty, in 
 the same condition as our troops had left them in 
 this morning. Tables, chairs, everything was lying 
 in a mess. An empty farmhouse was appointed as 
 a place for dressing the wounded, and was marked 
 out by white flags. The farmyard was covered 
 with straw and straw-bags, and no sooner was the 
 bandage-waggon opened, and the instruments and 
 the materials for dressing produced, than one waggon 
 after another appeared, carrying both friends and 
 enemies, who now, helpless and tormented by common 
 pains, moaned for help and succour. The invalid- 
 carriers, bathed in sweat, brought the severely 
 wounded ones on litters. The temporary bandage 
 which had been applied on the field of battle being 
 replaced, the patients were refreshed with wine, 
 which the surgeons carried, and with oranges, of 
 which I had plenty in a large hamper; and they 
 were then taken to our lazaret. I looked like a 
 packed donkey: on both sides a knapsack with 
 bandages ; on my back woollen blankets in a strap ; 
 in my button-holes scissors, pincers, needles, &c. ; 
 and across my chest were straps to which two 
 canteens, filled with wine, were fastened. One of 
 the officers jokingly said to me : ' Of you it may be 
 truly said, Omnia sua seeum portans ; but I am sure 
 you have forgotten one indispensable article.' ' And 
 what is that article ? ' I asked. ' Cigars,' he replied.
 
 SCHLESWIG. 321 
 
 ' Oh, I can help you to these too,' I said, and pro- 
 duced some from my coat pocket. A Danish 
 officer's wounds had just been dressed; he suffered 
 great pain ; but I offered him a cigar, which gave him 
 much pleasure, and he seemed to puff away a part 
 of his sufferings with the clouds of smoke. The sun 
 set, and the dressing was continued in the rooms 
 of the farm-house; but still waggon after waggon 
 arrived, bringing more sufferers. It was said that 
 there were many still lying in the sconces. Some 
 surgeons went there, and at their request I joined 
 them. When we arrived at Sconces 9 and 10, we 
 found plenty to do. We brought the sufferers as 
 far as from the bridge-head of Sonderburg, from the 
 shore, and from other remote corners. I conducted 
 the carriers, and helped them to convey the wounded 
 to an old house, where they were dressed. The 
 sconces presented a frightful sight. The dead lay 
 in heaps ; and here and there a living man was 
 pulled out. Eifles, arms of every description, am- 
 munition, blankets, mining tools, collapsed block- 
 houses, pools of blood, and corpses, covered the 
 earth; while the moon diffused its soft mild light 
 upon many a pale face and many a glazed eye. 
 We found the last wounded Danes on the shore 
 about eleven o'clock, opposite Alsen. While we 
 were dragging them off, the balls whistled over our 
 heads. It was past one o'clock in the morning when 
 I returned from the sconces to Westerschabeck." 
 Such are the labours in which the Duisburg 
 VOL. I. Y
 
 DUISBUEG. 
 
 deacons are engaged for the good of their suffering 
 fellow-beings. Volumes might be filled with an 
 account of them ; and these volumes would un- 
 doubtedly contain the most eloquent eulogium that 
 could be written on the power of Christian charity. 
 Indeed, they would be simply a record of the acts 
 of men who have left all and followed Him who 
 went about doing good.
 
 IV. 
 
 THE SUNDAY JOURNAL KEGULATIONS AND STATISTICS. 
 
 TO promote the financial interests of the Establish- 
 ment, and at the same time to sow good seed 
 among the people, Mr. Engelbert in 1850 started 
 a cheap weekly journal, under the title of Sonntags- 
 blatt, or "Sunday Paper of the Inner Mission for 
 Khineland and Westphalia." It has four quarto pages, 
 containing eight closely-printed columns, and costs 
 only fifteenpence a year. It has met the wants of the 
 common people so well, that it has a circulation of 
 5000 copies, and yields a net profit of about 70/. 
 a year. And this success is not at all remarkable, 
 for the paper contains a great variety of interesting 
 matter adapted to the edification and instruction of 
 its readers in the knowledge of things concerning the 
 kingdom of God. A devotional article on a passage of 
 Scripture comes first. Then extracts from the history 
 of the Christian Church ; sketches from real life in 
 the sphere of the Inner Mission ; notices of churches 
 and societies; addresses and devotional papers for 
 furthering the practice of Christian charity; com- 
 munications about the Grustavus-Adolphus Society, 
 
 Y 2
 
 324 DUISBURG. 
 
 prisons and asylums, young men's associations, 
 foreign missions, &c. &c. The style is popular, and 
 exhibits a happy combination of communicative 
 talent with extensive information. And no wonder, 
 when such men as Mr. Engelbert, Pastor Bleibtreu, 
 and Pastor Dietrich, Director of the Asylum at 
 Lintorf, apply their talents and rich practical know- 
 ledge to the service of this interesting work. 
 
 The conditions of admission for young men to be 
 trained as deacons at Duisburg are expressed in a 
 few articles, from which the following is a short 
 extract : 
 
 The applicant must be a member of the Protestant 
 Church, and be able to declare " that he has expe- 
 rienced the grace of Christ through a living faith in 
 his heart; that, from grateful love for His mercy, 
 he desires to be employed in disinterested service 
 among those who are in need of assistance and sal- 
 vation ; and that it is not his object, in exchanging 
 his old profession for a new one, to seek earthly 
 profit, honour, or comfort." He must be well ac- 
 quainted with the word of God. His moral conduct 
 must be irreproachable, and must be certified by 
 his minister. He must be possessed of some school- 
 knowledge, speak German well, be able to read and 
 write, and have a knowledge of arithmetic, or at 
 least be capable of learning it quickly. He must be 
 skilled in some handicraft, or agricultural labour, or 
 be willing to learn. In short, he must have an in-
 
 KEGULATIONS. 325 
 
 clination for bodily labour. He must also be in good 
 health, and free from any physical defect. His age 
 must be not less than eighteen, nor more than thirty, 
 or, in some exceptional cases, forty. He must be 
 unmarried, and also unengaged. If a widower, he 
 must be free from obligations to relatives, and be pre- 
 pared to serve the Establishment during five years in 
 an unmarried state. He must produce a certificate 
 from his parents, if they are alive, that he devotes 
 himself to his new career with their consent. He 
 must send in an autobiography, containing an account 
 of " the position of his parents ; of the history of 
 his inner life; and of the most important events 
 of his outer life. He must also name the books 
 which he has read during the previous year, and 
 which have afforded him the greatest profit, and 
 the ministers whom he has heard with the greatest 
 blessing." 
 
 It is not left optional to the applicants to choose 
 beforehand the branch of labour which they are to 
 be engaged in. The time of preparation at the 
 Establishment lasts from two to three years. 
 
 The applicants, when admitted, receive no salary 
 during the time of their trial. They get, however, 
 board and lodging ; and in case their own means 
 be insufficient, they are also clothed at the expense 
 of the Establishment. When appointed as regular 
 deacons they receive a small salary, or rather pocket- 
 money, if they have no means of their own.
 
 326 DUISBURG. 
 
 The Committee does not send out the deacons 
 until they are applied for. Mr. Engelbert makes 
 the contracts with the parties who take them into 
 service. And after the expiration of the time agreed 
 upon they return to the Establishment, and continue 
 living there till fresh applications call them out 
 again. In a few cases, however, such as at Antwerp 
 and Berlin, the Committee supports deacons as home- 
 missionaries and colporteurs at its own expense. 
 
 The Duisburg House is the centre of a work 
 which spreads its branches all over Europe, and even 
 as far as America. From East and West, South and 
 North, weekly letters come in from the brethren 
 who labour in the various quarters, and thus the 
 director is kept cognisant of all that is going on. 
 Nor does he receive this knowledge for himself 
 alone. He is not the master of the deacons, to 
 rule them with autocratic authority ; he is their 
 elder brother, their fellow-servant in the work of 
 the Lord, their guide and counsellor, under then- 
 one common Master. He therefore keeps them in- 
 formed of each other's locality, experiences, labours, 
 and prospects, that they may participate in each 
 other's joys and sufferings, and pray for each other 
 with brotherly affection. The weekly " Sunday 
 Paper," which contains extracts from the latest 
 news about the brethren, is sent to them all; and 
 when a letter arrives, containing something worth 
 communicating, it is copied with chemical ink,
 
 STATISTICS. 327 
 
 and sent to all the brethren at once. Mr. Engel- 
 bert is also the regular minister of all the per- 
 sons living in the house, or in the service of 
 the Establishment. In 1853, the Institution was 
 acknowledged by the Royal Consistory as a parish 
 by itself; and Mr. Engelbert was appointed its 
 clergyman. 
 
 In order to give a proper idea of the general 
 work of the deacons, it may be well to lay before 
 the reader the following statistics, taken from the 
 Report for 1860, which in this respect is particularly 
 full. That year eighty-six deacons were in the ser- 
 vice of the Establishment. Their work was divided 
 as follows : 
 
 (a) Deacons employed in nursing the sick. 
 At Elberfeld, 1 as a manager at the city hospital, 4 as 
 
 nurses at the same establishment. 
 At Neukirchen, near Treves, 1 as nurse at the hospital for 
 
 miners. 
 At Michelstadt, near Darmstadt, 1 as nurse at the 
 
 Augustus hospital. 
 
 At Unna, 1 as manager of the city hospital. 
 At Osnabrlick, 1 as manager and 1 as nurse at the city 
 
 hospital. 
 At Brunswick, 2 as nurses at the Alexii asylum for 
 
 lunatics. 
 At Cleves, 1 as manager and 1 as nurse at the Evangelical 
 
 Stift. 
 
 At Coblentz, 1 as nurse at the Evangelical Martin Stift. 
 At the hospital of the Deacon-house at Duisburg, 1 as 
 
 manager, and 4 as assistants in the nursing of the 
 
 sick. 
 In private families, 4.
 
 328 DUISBURG. 
 
 (b) Deacons employed in the training of children. 
 
 9 as teachers at schools for the poor or orphans, viz. : 
 At Wollendorf, near Neuwied ; at Krakau ; at Bonning- 
 hardt, near Alpen ; at Eemscheidt, near Elberfeld ; at 
 Berlin; at Eamsbeck and Neu-Andreasberg, in West- 
 phalia ; at Bracht ; at Kempen. 
 
 Several as ushers at different schools. 
 
 Several as teachers of trades at various establishments and 
 orphanages, viz. : At the St. Martin Keformatory at 
 Boppart ; at the St. Peter's Stift at Hoxter ; at the Idiot 
 Asylum, Hephata ; at Gladbach, &c. 
 
 Several as managers of orphanages, as at Iserlohn, Kreuz- 
 nach, Muhlheim on the Euhr, &c. 
 
 (c) Deacons employed in ministering to the poor and 
 in other services. 
 
 8 as deacons in service of Christian churches, viz. : 1 at 
 Barmen ; 2 at Crefeld ; 1 at Elberfeld ; 1 at Cologne ; 
 1 at Diisseldorf ; 1 at Dortmund ; and 1 at Lennep. 
 
 1 as manager of the reformed poor-house at Barmen. 
 
 1 as director of the city poor-house at Iserlohn. 
 
 1 as manager of the poor-house at Heiligenhaus. 
 
 1 as landlord of the Christian tavern for wandering artisans 
 at Barmen. 
 
 1 as manager of the evangelical ' Vereinshaus,' at Elber- 
 feld. (This is a kind of Eeligious Institution Eooms.) 
 
 1 as colporteur among emigrants and sailors at Antwerp. 
 
 1 as sexton of the Eeformed Church at Elberfeld. 
 
 1 as sexton of the Evangelical Church at Crefeld. 
 
 1 as colporteur of the Evangelical Society at Elberfeld. 
 
 1 as overseer of the agricultural department at the Deacon- 
 house at Duisburg. 
 
 (d) Deacons employed in prisons. 
 
 3 at Spandau ; 1 at Sonnenburg ; and 1 at Brandenburg, 
 as jailors at the prison. 
 
 1 as manager, and 1 as assistant at the Lintorf asylum for 
 returned convicts.
 
 STATISTICS. 329 
 
 The last Beport which has come under my notice 
 is that of 1862. Eleven young men were that year 
 admitted on trial. The number of deacons then 
 amounted to ninety. Of these from seventeen to 
 twenty were engaged in nursing the sick; from 
 eighteen to twenty in the training of children ; about 
 twenty in ministering to the poor; and two in prisons. 
 
 Four candidates for the holy ministry received 
 instruction in the practice of Inner Mission labours. 
 The number of candidates who had done so since 
 the commencement of the Establishment was forty- 
 eight, of whom twenty-four were natives of the Khine 
 province, twelve of Westphalia, and twelve of other 
 districts. 
 
 Twenty boys were under the care of the deacons 
 in the Establishment ; while twenty others, who 
 were apprenticed to various trades, were supported 
 and clothed. 
 
 The total income during the year 1862 amounted 
 to 17,788 thalers (2668?.), including 880 thalers 
 (132?.), for the Lintorf Asylum, of which a short 
 account is given in next section. Of this sum about 
 124?. were donations. The King gave 25?. About 
 900?. was derived from collections at houses and in 
 churches. The rest of the income was made up from 
 sums paid for the nursing of invalids, the boarding 
 of children, &c. 
 
 The total expenditure amounted to about 17,855 
 thalers (2678?.). Of this sum about 285?. went 
 towards the support of the Lintorf Asylum. The
 
 330 DUISBURG. 
 
 Establishment-household cost 3400 thalers (5101.) ; 
 the hospital, 3593 thalers (534Z.) ; the salaries 2123 
 thalers (318?.). And there was a deficit of about 10?. 
 The property of the Society consists of a capital of 
 7800 thalers (1170Z.) received from two bequests, 
 and of five main buildings, which, together with 
 barns, workshops, washhouses, gardens, and fields, 
 occupy an area of about 120 acres of land. This 
 property is burdened with a debt of 27,272 thalers 
 (4090Z.). 
 
 Should one go to visit the Deacon-house at Duis- 
 burg he need not expect to see a magnificent building 
 adorning a spacious square or a main thoroughfare. 
 He will be conducted to a humble gate in a rather 
 narrow and dark-looking back-yard, or court, which 
 one would hardly suppose to be the entrance to 
 the scene of such important and extensive labours. 
 Nor will the interior of the Establishment arrest 
 his attention by its architectural beauty. It is 
 a strongly-built but old-fashioned house, provided 
 with a broad staircase, and spacious and high-roofed 
 rooms and passages. But all these are more adapted 
 for utility and comfort than for aesthetic enjoyment 
 and show. Whatever there may be deficient, how- 
 ever, in the outward appearance and architectural 
 structure of the old building, is soon forgotten when 
 one walks through the spacious well laid out gar- 
 dens, and inspects the new buildings, especially the 
 hospital, whose simple but symmetrical walls rise
 
 THE CENTRE OF A GREAT WORK. 331 
 
 up with dignity, as if conscious of the important 
 object they are destined for. And when one bears 
 in mind that here he is in the centre of a great work 
 which, not for the sake of honour or profit, but only 
 for Christ's sake, blesses thousands of suffering, 
 neglected, and helpless creatures, at a great expense 
 of trouble, hardship, and disappointment, he will 
 appreciate all the more the unassuming, humble 
 appearance of the whole. 
 
 Duisburg, hid as it were in a remote corner of 
 the world, disdains to elicit your admiration by the 
 splendour of its brick and mortar, but rather seeks 
 to raise it by the value and beauty of the works which 
 you witness.
 
 FOB DISCHARGED MALE 
 PRISONERS AND NEGLECTED MEN, 
 
 AT LINTORF.
 
 I. 
 
 ORIGIN OF THE ASYLUM PASTOR DIETRICH'S TRIALS 
 AND SUCCESS. 
 
 TN a charming district, amidst woods, pastures, 
 -*- and cornfields, nine miles from Duisburg, and 
 as many from Diisseldorf, is a little village called 
 Lintorf. It has pleased the merciful Saviour of 
 the lost to select it as the scene of a work, that alike 
 deserves the sympathy of His friends on earth, and 
 excites the joy of the angels in heaven. The village 
 is mostly inhabited by bigoted Eoman Catholics, 
 and has been from time immemorial like the land 
 of Zebulun and Naphtali, inasmuch as its people has 
 been sitting in darkness, and in the shadow of 
 death. Still from time to time a family acquainted 
 with the light of the Gospel found its way to the 
 village; and gradually a small flock of Protestants 
 gathered. It was soon evident that if a pastor could 
 be found sufficiently exercised in the school of self- 
 denial to be able to share their solitude with content, 
 and their poverty with brotherly fellowship, they 
 might become a well-organised little church. 
 
 Such a pastor was nearer at hand than anybody 
 surmised. The Good Shepherd of His sheep selected
 
 336 LINTORF. 
 
 him from amongst the candidates who were pre- 
 paring themselves for the ministry at the Duisburg 
 Deacon-house. Ever since the beginning of this 
 Establishment, Mr. Engelbert's attention had been 
 directed to the wants of the little congregation at 
 Lintorf ; and for some time he had sent a candidate 
 every second Sunday to them. 
 
 There was a tolerably spacious room in the village, 
 which served for a chapel, and would also do for a 
 schoolroom. The congregation was possessed of a 
 little cottage, where the candidate took his dinner ; but 
 he never stayed over-night, as there was no sleeping 
 accommodation. Besides, there was no opportunity 
 of getting to the place except by private conveyance, 
 which, to save expense, had to return the same day. 
 In this way the Lintorf people were provided with 
 public worship during a couple of years. It was felt, 
 however, that these were only half-measures, and 
 the question arose in what way the means of grace 
 could be fully supplied. The congregation was unable 
 to support a minister ; and the Duisburg Establish- 
 ment could not afford more help than it was already 
 giving. 
 
 There is such a thing, however, as a law of gra- 
 vitation in the spiritual world as well as in the 
 natural. The little Lintorf congregation was not 
 powerful enough to make the balance turn towards 
 the side where it was wanted ; but an additional 
 weight soon presented itself. The Duisburg Esta- 
 blishment gradually obtained a wide-spread noto-
 
 NEED FOK AN ASYLUM. 337 
 
 riety. It was known that neglected little vagabonds, 
 who were refused everywhere else, were admitted 
 there ; so it was taken for granted that that Esta- 
 blishment possessed the means of managing indivi- 
 duals whom nobody else could manage. And of 
 such individuals, alas! there are enough to per- 
 plex even the most sanguine philanthropist. There 
 are discharged prisoners, inveterate drunkards, 
 enervated victims of immorality, incorrigible spend- 
 thrifts, men of good upbringing, who, having lost 
 all character and reputation, are a disgrace to their 
 friends, objects of disgust to their acquaintances, and 
 yet manage to keep clear of the police and the 
 prison. Many such persons were sent to the Duisburg 
 House. But what could be done with them there ? 
 It was designed as a refuge for children, and an 
 hospital for sick people, but not as an asylum for 
 returned convicts and dissipated profligates. To take 
 such outcasts into the house would be to defeat 
 the object for which it was built. Their presence 
 would only tend to make the education of the chil- 
 dren utterly impossible, and to turn the happy family- 
 life of the Establishment into a Babel of confusion. 
 
 But Christian charity is the gift of Him who said : 
 " Him that cometh to Me I will in no wise cast out" 
 The desire of saving the lost is its innate instinct ; 
 and it can be foolish enough to try. to save when 
 human wisdom, and perhaps even the wisdom of 
 angels, has given up all hope and expectation. Deep 
 is the abyss which sin can open up, and into which 
 
 VOL. i. z
 
 338 LlNTORF. 
 
 man can plunge. But charity, dwelling in the heart 
 of a Christian who believes himself saved by the 
 blood of the Lamb, will not admit that a sinner 
 can dig a pit so deep that the hand of God cannot 
 reach to the bottom. 
 
 " An asylum for discharged convicts and profligates 
 is urgently needed," said Mr. Engelbert one day, 
 when two men, whom he did not know what to do 
 with, stood in the lobby. " It ought to be situated in 
 a quiet, solitary, rural spot, secluded from the gaze 
 and the bustle of the world, yet near enough to the 
 habitation of men to admit of social converse." 
 
 " Such a place as Lintorf, for instance," said a 
 voice. 
 
 " Just so. To find the place is no difficulty, but 
 where is the man who is able and willing to lay his 
 hand to such a work ? He would have to live there 
 day and night with no other companions but those 
 whom nobody else wants." 
 
 " It would be an awful change to leave this esta- 
 blishment for such an asylum ! " some remarked. 
 
 " Still not so awful as leaving the heavenly throne 
 for the cross," thought one of the candidates within 
 himself. 
 
 This candidate was Mr. E. Dietrich, a young man 
 of about twenty-five. He had finished his university 
 curriculum with great honour, and, while looking out 
 for a ministerial charge, had taken up his residence 
 at Duisburg, to learn there what neither universities 
 uor books could teach him. He preached regularly
 
 MR. DIETEICH'S ZEAL. 339 
 
 every fortnight at Lintorf ; and he loved the Lin- 
 torf people, who, on their part, if they had been 
 able to support a pastor, would soon have taken 
 him for theirs. In these circumstances, the thought 
 struck him that he might undertake the establish- 
 ment of an asylum of the kind so much needed. 
 The congregation, which scarcely numbered 250 
 souls, was not large enough to occupy all his time, 
 and he would have leisure to look after the manage- 
 ment of an asylum ; and then no one but a well- 
 trained scholar would be suitable for the directorship ; 
 for it was to be expected that scholars and men of 
 talent and genius, and members of the higher class, 
 would be found amongst the inmates. One of the 
 deacons might be a useful assistant, but the leader- 
 ship ought to be in the hands of a minister of the 
 gospel. This was quite clear to Mr. Dietrich, and 
 also to his friend, Mr. Engelbert. 
 
 But, in order to carry out a work like this, not 
 only are education and talent required, but also a 
 warm heart. And Mr. Dietrich's heart was warm. 
 The love of Christ, poured into his soul by the Holy 
 Spirit, had kindled a flame which no difficulties 
 could quench. And of these there were plenty. 
 First, there was no money ; secondly, there was no 
 suitable house ; thirdly, there was no furniture ; 
 fourthly, there were no servants. These combined 
 were heavy enough to puzzle the good young man, 
 but only for a few days. 
 
 As to the first difficulty the money he was 
 
 z 2
 
 340 LlNTORF. 
 
 put at ease by Mr. Engelbert, who, as Inspector of 
 the Duisburg House, had often experienced God's 
 wonderful power of opening up rich fountains where 
 no water could be seen. The Asylum, he said, must 
 be affiliated to the Deacon House. It would be 
 unwise to found another establishment in the very 
 neighbourhood of the existing one ; as in the raising 
 of funds the one would be always in the way of the 
 other. It was not to be expected that the Lintorf 
 Institution would ever become so large a concern 
 as to warrant the organisation of machinery for 
 collecting money, paid agents, or a separate com- 
 mittee of administration. It had therefore better be 
 placed under the shelter and -control of the Duisburg 
 Committee. 
 
 The general meeting of the members and friends 
 of the Deacon House Society took place on the 
 4th of November, 1850. The proposed Asylum was 
 brought before it, and adopted with unanimous 
 applause. So the Christian philanthropists of the 
 Khine Province and Westphalia were thus made 
 acquainted with the object and prepossessed in its 
 favour. 
 
 Now the applause of a meeting of friends is one 
 thing, and money is another. Next day the Asylum 
 box continued as empty as it was the day before. 
 But faith never despairs of getting the required 
 means for its work in due time, and only needs a 
 kind hint from brotherly love to find the right 
 moment for starting. This signal was given at the
 
 ME. DIETRICH'S HUMILITY. 341 
 
 meeting, at least it was taken as such by the Inspector 
 and the candidate. It was thought that the little 
 farmer's cottage at Lintorf might do for a beginning. 
 It is true, many a stable was better fitted up; the 
 ceilings of the two rooms and the roof were so 
 dilapidated, that while in dry weather you could 
 enjoy the sight of the sun, moon, and stars, in wet 
 weather you had the rain and snow. The kitchen, 
 which served also as hall or lobby, was so low and 
 narrow that you could scarcely turn round with 
 outspread arms. But the house was at any rate 
 more comfortable than the stable at Bethlehem must 
 have been; and it was not a palace for princes 
 that was needed, but an asylum for poor unhappy 
 wretches. As for Mr. Dietrich, he was quite willing to 
 exchange his comfortable little room at the Deacon 
 House for this humble abode. In fact, his youthful 
 imagination, perhaps a little over-excited by the 
 somewhat adventurous character of the undertaking, 
 was pleased with the idea of beginning the thing as 
 humbly as possible. Nor was this idea at variance 
 with Mr. Engelbert's spirit, who was of opinion that 
 the richer the Asylum was in spiritual privileges and 
 the poorer it was in outward attractions, the better 
 would it answer its purpose and the less would it be 
 a burden to the Duisburg House. 
 
 A few necessary preparations having been made, 
 the young candidate removed to Lintorf on the 17th 
 of March, 1851. The household was not large. It 
 consisted of himself, one of the deacons as his assistant,
 
 342 LlNTOKF. 
 
 and two men, who were to be the first individuals 
 upon whom this work of love was to be tried. An 
 elderly woman was engaged for the kitchen and the 
 necessary housework during the day. Beds were 
 provided from the Duisburg House, straw mattresses 
 and a few blankets. Mr. Dietrich refused to make 
 any distinction whatever between himself and the 
 other inmates : he slept on the same sort of bed as 
 them, lived with them in the same room, and partook 
 of the same meals. And those meals were certainly 
 as simple as could be used by human beings. One 
 day the kitchen produced a large basin of porridge, 
 and the next a mixture of potatoes and turnips, and 
 on the third day again porridge, and sometimes a 
 piece of bacon or a chop. It was a great change 
 for the good candidate, but he bore it enthusias- 
 tically. It was just the thing he wanted. Nor was 
 the furniture at variance with this sort of Kobinson 
 Crusoe life. Chairs there were none, but a deal 
 placed across a couple of trestles served the purpose. 
 The village joiner put together a table, which if it 
 had been sent to the Great Exhibition would have 
 been sure to gain the first prize, if weight and mas- 
 siveness were looked at ; for when, some years later, 
 it was deemed desirable to transform it into a less 
 substantial but more portable shape, it was found that 
 one of its legs was sufficiently thick to make four new 
 ones. As to drinking water there was plenty ; but 
 the question was, how to get it? Behind the house 
 there was a deep well. A rope hung down from a
 
 INFANCY OF THE ASYLUM. 343 
 
 wooden cylinder across the mouth of the well, which, 
 if turned by a handle, wound up the pail. But the pail 
 was useless, and nobody in the place would provide 
 them with another, the Protestants being unable and 
 the Catholics unwilling. At length the blacksmith 
 produced an old pail, but it had no bottom. A piece 
 of wood was nailed underneath, and the pail was 
 tried. It proved suitable, on condition that a man 
 turned the handle with a speed of sixty miles an 
 hour; for if less rapidity was applied, the leaky 
 pail came up empty. If the inmates of the new 
 Asylum could eat their bread in peace, they had 
 at least to draw their water in the sweat of their 
 brow. 
 
 Pastor Dietrich for he soon became the ordained 
 minister of the Lintorf church told me these amusing 
 details of the first history of the Asylum on my visit 
 in November, 1864 ; and he could not but recollect 
 with pleasure those days of youthful enthusiasm 
 when delight was felt in many things which at a 
 later period were discarded as unnecessary and im- 
 practicable. When the number of the inmates in- 
 creased, and Pastor Dietrich took a wife, a separation 
 was made between his household and that of the 
 Asylum ; and the principle of equality in their mode 
 of living between the director and the inmates was 
 judiciously dropped, as being alike inconsistent with 
 the dignity of the former and with the free inter- 
 course of the latter. 
 
 As to the finances of the Asylum, the first year of
 
 344 LlNTOKF. 
 
 its existence was more prosperous than was expected. 
 First of all, Mr. Engelbert assigned to it the clear 
 profit of his weekly paper, the Sonntagsblatt.* It 
 yielded between 257. and 307. Then the Provincial 
 Board of the Inner Mission for the Rhine Province, 
 and the Rhenish- Westphalian Prison-Society, each 
 gave a grant of 157. The inmates also paid some- 
 thing for board and lodging. Finally, a few sub- 
 scriptions were received. All these items together 
 formed a total income of 1187. But the expenditure 
 amounted to 1567., and the Duisburg House had to 
 cover the deficit of 387. 
 
 No sooner was it known that Lintorf received 
 individuals whom society knew not what to do with, 
 than applications came in from different quarters, 
 most of which had to be declined from want of room. 
 In 1852, which was the second year, Pastor Dietrich 
 had ten men under his care ; and the little Asylum 
 soon became too strait. The old woman who served 
 as cook was often in despair ; for, as her kitchen was 
 the thoroughfare from the road to the parlour, she 
 was constantly annoyed by people going in and out, 
 as if she were cooking in a market-place. Some- 
 times she had to stand outside to let people pass 
 who came for their dinner ; sometimes her porridge 
 dropped into the fire, because she was pushed while 
 putting on the pan. Either another house or an 
 enlargement of the present one was urgently re- 
 quired ; but how to get either was a riddle which 
 * See p. 323.
 
 A SUCCESSFUL PURCHASE. 345 
 
 nobody could solve. From time to time efforts were 
 made to buy or to hire a house, but, as most of the 
 property in the village was in the hands of the 
 Catholics, these were unsuccessful. 
 
 At length, quite unexpectedly, a farmhouse, with 
 a piece of arable land, just opposite the Asylum, 
 came to be for sale. What a blessing if it could be 
 got! But who could think of it? Of course, an 
 effort might be made on the auction-day; but it 
 would certainly be a hopeless one, as the Catholics 
 would be sure to be on the alert. Well, the 
 auction-day came, and the room was crowded. 
 Everybody knew that no one was more anxious to 
 buy the lot than Mr. Dietrich, and all were anxious 
 to witness the race. The lot was put up at 1507., 
 and soon rose to 2707. This was Pastor Dietrich's 
 bid. It was a very low price, but nobody offered a 
 higher one. Then the auctioneer, according to the 
 custom of the place, put three little wax candles on 
 the table, of which he lighted one. "Eighteen 
 hundred thalers!" he cried, "will nobody bid more?" 
 There was silence. The little candle burnt down, 
 and the second one was lit. " The second candle is 
 burning ! " cried the stentorian voice ; " eighteen 
 hundred thalers are bid!" No voice was heard. 
 " The third candle is burning ! Friends, this is 
 your last chance! Eighteen hundred thalers for 
 such a splendid property ! " But the third candle 
 burnt down quietly, and when the dying flame dis- 
 appeared, the crowd, which in breathless attention
 
 346 LINTORP. 
 
 had been looking at the momentous little light, 
 burst out into the cry, " It is for the Asylum ! " 
 
 Yes, it was for the Asylum ; but how it could be 
 so nobody could make out. The Komanists were 
 quite taken by surprise. Next day some persons 
 offered fifty per cent, profit; but the die was cast, 
 and nobody could turn it again. It was clear that a 
 higher than human power had ruled the proceedings 
 of that remarkable auction. It was just the thing 
 which the Asylum wanted. No other piece of ground 
 in the whole village could be so desirable. It was 
 only separated by the public road from the little 
 farmhouse. The new house was too small, but there 
 was plenty of room now to build a regular establish- 
 ment ; and the land which was connected with the 
 house was very valuable for the objects of the 
 Asylum. It was found that agricultural labour was 
 the best, if not the only suitable, occupation for the 
 inmates. Now there was full scope for it. That 
 Providence had here interfered in a special way 
 was afterwards repeatedly confirmed; for all the 
 efforts made at later periods to buy other pieces of 
 land were in vain. 
 
 It was in 1853 when the farm was bought. Next 
 year a new establishment was built, capable of 
 lodging at least twenty-four persons. The money 
 was obtained by a loan of 3000 thalers (450?.) in 
 shares of ten thalers each (30s.), which were soon 
 taken. The king gave a donation of 1000 thalers 
 (150?.), and a friend advanced 800, and thus the
 
 INCREASED ACCOMMODATION. 347 
 
 financial difficulties were happily got over. And 
 now the simple but well-built two-storied house 
 adorns the entrance of the little rural village. The 
 farmhouse, which is situated at its right-hand side, 
 is used as an additional asylum. A stable and a 
 barn afford sufficient accommodation for the agricul- 
 tural labours of the inmates : and the old house, 
 which was formerly the Asylum, duly repaired and 
 enlarged, is the comfortable parsonage of Pastor 
 Dietrich and his happy family.
 
 II. 
 
 THE ORGANIZATION AND FAMILY-LIFE OF THE ASYLUM. 
 
 T)ASTOR DIETEICH was so kind as to lead me 
 through the various apartments of the Asylum. 
 As it was in the forenoon and most of the inmates 
 were at work in the fields, I found the house all but 
 empty. I saw the common dining-room, with its 
 whitewashed walls, large-paned windows, and high 
 ceiling, and the clean oak table at which the inmates 
 partake of their simple but hearty meals after their 
 work in the open air. Next to it was the dwelling- 
 room of the house-father, a deacon from Duisburg, 
 who, with his excellent wife, conducts the manage- 
 ment of the household. In another spacious room we 
 found three or four of the inmates occupied with 
 some handiwork. They were either disinclined or 
 unfit for field labour. The second story contained 
 the dormitories, which consisted of a number of little 
 rooms, each capable of containing two or three bed- 
 steads, it being deemed injudicious to put more than 
 two or three of those individuals together in one bed- 
 room. Everything was as simple as it could be, but
 
 SYSTEM OF EDUCATION. 349 
 
 clean and tidy. There was nothing that pointed at 
 ornament or luxury ; neither was there anything 
 that reminded one of a prison. No bolts on the 
 doors, no iron stanchions at the windows. It was 
 just a common dwelling-house, such as might be 
 suitable for a numerous country family or school. 
 I also saw the little stable, and the cow, the horse, 
 and the pig ; and in the tidy kitchen the deacon's 
 wife was busily engaged in cooking dinner for the 
 household. 
 
 " Indeed," I said when we found ourselves again 
 in Pastor Dietrich's parlour, where, with baby in 
 arms, and a little chatterer by her side, Mrs. 
 Dietrich entertained me with German coffee and 
 home-made bread and butter, "indeed, the Lord 
 has wonderfully led you to this work and prepared 
 everything just as you needed it. What is the 
 number of men under your care at present ? " 
 
 " Eighteen," the pastor answered ; " and this is the 
 usual average. Were we able to receive all the 
 applicants that come to us, the number would be 
 above a hundred. But we cannot think of that, of 
 course; and, to tell the truth, a score of such 
 individuals is quite enough for one man to control." 
 
 " I believe that," I said ; " especially as I see you 
 employ no compulsory means." 
 
 " The first principle," said Mr. Dietrich, " of our 
 system of education is perfect liberty. The men are 
 here quite of their own accord. They are at perfect 
 liberty to depart any day they like. None of the
 
 350 LlNTOEF. 
 
 doors axe locked, day or night ; yet up till this time 
 not one of them has ever left the house at night." 
 
 " That is very remarkable," I said, " since many 
 of them are discharged prisoners." 
 
 "More than fifty per cent," the pastor replied; 
 " and amongst them there are always ten or twelve 
 who have been once or twice sentenced for theft. 
 Yet during the thirteen years of our existence as 
 an Asylum not a single article has been stolen. We 
 proceed upon the maxim that confidence begets con- 
 fidence, and we find that it is a true maxim. We 
 show the men that we believe in their desire to 
 become honest and to turn to a better life. This 
 manifestation of confidence is, in my opinion, one of 
 the first requisites to make them believe that we 
 really love them. If you tell a man that you con- 
 sider him too bad to be confided in, you tell him 
 at the same time that you can never love him, 
 because you cannot hope anything of him. And 
 however deeply sunk those unhappy wretches may 
 be, they have as much of moral logic, at least, as is 
 sufficient to make them perceive that where there 
 is no hope, there can be no love either. What is 
 it that makes the life of the discharged prisoner so 
 miserable ? It is his experience of the total absence 
 of confidence on the part of those to whom he 
 applies for work or assistance. Nor can they be 
 altogether found fault with. Although the testimo- 
 nials which the discharged prisoner produces as to 
 his conduct in the prison be ever so favourable, yet
 
 THE CAIN'S MARK. 351 
 
 he continues in the eyes of society to be a hopeless 
 object. His testimonials are worth nothing; they 
 only say that the bearer has behaved well in a 
 prison ! So he finds all doors shut upon him ; and 
 concluding from this that all hearts are shut likewise, 
 he turns a systematic enemy to society." 
 
 " Very true," I said ; " I find that it is in your 
 country just as it is in England and in all other 
 civilised lands which I have visited. Imprisonment 
 puts a Cain's mark upon those unhappy wretches 
 which stigmatises them for life. It shows, alas ! how 
 little the so-called Christian world is penetrated by 
 the belief which it professes that God loved and 
 saved us, notwithstanding we were dead in trespasses 
 and sins." 
 
 " And it is only that faith," observed Mr. Die- 
 trich, "which is able to make us truly love the 
 convict. An experience of thirteen years has con- 
 vinced me that the education of discharged adult 
 prisoners is a task which requires an amount of 
 compassion, long-suffering, and patience, which mere 
 philanthropy is unable to afford. The idea of re- 
 claiming those outcasts is certainly beautiful, and 
 may cause some to begin the work with enthusiasm. 
 But the dreadful prose that is sure to follow will 
 soon dissipate their charming dreams, and cause 
 them to turn away with disgust and despair, unless 
 they remember that they themselves were saved by 
 grace from a depth of corruption and misery much 
 more disgusting in the sight of God than even the
 
 352 LlNTOBF. 
 
 lowest degradation can be in the sight of man. For, 
 to give you an idea of the kind of people we have 
 to deal with, I may state that though they come 
 hither entirely of their own accord, yet most of them 
 come from a wrong motive. You are mistaken if 
 you suppose that they all directed their steps to this 
 house from a sincere desire of becoming better men. 
 They care for a new coat and a new situation in life 
 much more than for a new heart. Many of them, 
 also, are sent by their families, or by the authorities, 
 or by some society. Those of them who never were 
 in prison were at least captives to drunkenness, dis- 
 sipation, or wantonness. Some of them are most 
 wretched vagabonds ; they can neither read nor write, 
 and are so covered with vermin, that their clothes must 
 be torn from their bodies at once and buried in the 
 earth. Others, on the contrary, are persons who at 
 one time had handsome fortunes, and received educa- 
 tion suited to their positions in life. Of these some 
 have sunk to the level of the brutes, having no other 
 object in existence but to eat and drink like beasts, 
 so much so that after dinner, where an opportunity 
 was given them of eating as much as they liked, 
 they would go to the pig-trough to partake of a 
 dessert of potato-skins and other refuse, merely for 
 the pleasure of filling their bellies. Some, on the 
 contrary, are perfect fops, with plaited shirts and 
 ironed cuffs, with curled moustaches and pomatumed 
 beards, speaking three languages, and having at 
 command the finest and most polite phrases, in
 
 A MENAGERIE. 353 
 
 which, however, they clothe the most vulgar, profane, 
 and disgusting thoughts, such as decency forbids even 
 to mention. We have persons amongst us from all 
 classes of society merchants, manufacturers, che- 
 mists, military officers, teachers, post and railway 
 employes, custom-house officers, lawyers, operatives, 
 day-labourers, &c. &c. We have them also of the 
 most different characters. Some are so submissive, 
 meek, and goodnatured, that we have never to speak 
 a reproachful word to them. Others have been a 
 source of constant annoyance to the whole house- 
 hold. Within only a few days they managed to turn 
 the whole Asylum into a hell, letting loose all the 
 unclean spirits and bringing the better ones into 
 captivity. In such a menagerie, you perceive, the 
 patience and the faith of the saints are indispensable ; 
 and had we no Gospel, under the powerful influence 
 of which we hope to be able to bring them, our work, 
 as you may easily imagine, would be quite hopeless." 
 
 " Certainly it would," I replied. " And what may 
 be the proportion of the higher to the lower class 
 amongst ypur men?" 
 
 "Experience has taught us," the pastor replied, 
 "that there is not much need of an Asylum like 
 ours for the lowest class. These people, navvies, 
 operatives, &c., find more easily an opportunity of 
 helping themselves than those who belong to a 
 higher class in society. And on the whole, they are 
 not possessed of sufficient moral energy to be able to 
 submit of their own accord, during a whole year, 
 
 VOL. i. 2 A
 
 354 LINTOEP. 
 
 to a Christian discipline which, mild as it is, is yet 
 strictly kept. Fortunately the need of labourers is 
 so great in this country, that we are seldom troubled 
 with these people. Still there are always a few of 
 them amongst us. It is different, on the other hand, 
 with mechanics, servants, and especially clerks. They 
 cannot obtain situations except they can bring a 
 good character. Now, if they behave well with us, 
 we provide them with a character and help them 
 to find a suitable situation. Hence our Asylum is 
 much resorted to by that class of people." 
 
 " But is it not very difficult," I asked, " to classify 
 such a variety of individuals, so that each of them 
 may receive treatment in accordance with his former 
 position in society ? " 
 
 " We do not classify them at all," said the pastor. 
 " We do not keep a school ; ours is a place of refuge. 
 People who are picked up by a life-boat must not 
 expect to be classed as first, second, and third cabin 
 passengers. With us the gentleman and the navvy 
 must do the same work, eat the same meals, and 
 sleep on the same beds, notwithstanding that the one 
 may pay more than the other. We must even be 
 very cautious not to privilege one above another, lest 
 we should give rise to jealousy and incessant quarrels. 
 It may be true that one individual has fallen into 
 sin of a much grosser and vulgar form than another 
 may have done ; but all of them must be made to 
 feel that they are not here in consequence of their 
 virtue. But many of them find it very hard to
 
 PREVALENT PROFLIGACY. 355 
 
 acknowledge that simple truth. When asked what 
 has brought them to their present misery, they some- 
 times answer, 'We were always too good.' I have 
 only to say that we have never seen much of that 
 excessive goodness. Undoubtedly we have the 
 hardest work with those 'very good' people, who 
 boast of their high education and refined manners. 
 I cannot but shudder when I remember a time when 
 we had a tolerably numerous lot of them together. 
 You can have no conception of the bouridless extent 
 of vulgarity and indecency which those wretches 
 love to wallow in. Besides they would often unite 
 in a system of opposition and rebellion which em- 
 bittered our lives. Still the lower class often cause 
 us a great deal of trouble and grief. They some- 
 times oblige us to meddle with matters of which you 
 have never read in any book, and which I am sure 
 you never supposed to be possible among reasonable 
 beings created in the image of God." 
 
 " The thought has occurred to me," I said, " that 
 this Asylum of yours must be a world in itself, such 
 as can hardly be imagined by those who live outside. 
 You must, within the narrow space of these walls, 
 gather experiences which nobody else has ever 
 caught a glimpse of. But how do you get on, on 
 the whole, with the discharged prisoners ? They are 
 perhaps the hardest to deal with." 
 
 " They are not worse than the others," replied Mr. 
 Dietrich. " With reference to them our experience 
 is something like this : for the first few days they 
 
 2A2
 
 35G LINTORP. 
 
 feel as if they were in heaven. The kind treatment 
 they meet with, liberty after long confinement, the 
 luxury of smoking, of which they were deprived for 
 such a long period, the comparatively delicate food, 
 and many other little comforts, make them happy 
 beyond description. Were not our hearts a little 
 steeled by experience, we should often be moved to 
 tears by the expressions of their unspeakable joy and 
 gratitude, and by the glowing enthusiasm with which 
 they depict the new life which -they now purpose to 
 begin. But with most of them this wonderful change 
 only lasts till the moment comes when they are 
 required to submit and bend of their own accord. 
 They have learnt in prison to do even the most 
 repugnant work while gnashing their teeth, because 
 they were compelled to do it ; but they never learnt 
 to compel themselves by the force of their own will, 
 or rather, their will was never trained to control 
 itself in the sphere of free volition. For years they 
 were never permitted to have a will of their own. 
 They are now set free, and no wonder the desire 
 allures them of enjoying the almost forgotten luxury, 
 however foolish, nay pernicious, it may be. This 
 imaginary freedom of will, which has always been 
 such a powerful instrument in the hands of the arch 
 fiend to decoy men into the pit of misery, has also 
 ruined many a one amongst our men, who came 
 from the gaol to our Asylum with the best purposes 
 imaginable. Out of many sad instances I will only 
 quote the case of one, who but a short time ago
 
 A SAD INSTANCE. 357 
 
 was accused of murder, and made a very narrow 
 escape. The jury declared him guilty by seven 
 votes against five ; but the court discharged him. 
 Cast off by his family and almost reduced to starva- 
 tion, he came to us, was received kindly, and spent a 
 couple of months with us, happy as a king. One day 
 he turns ill. We nurse him with the greatest care, 
 watch at his bedside day and night, save no expense 
 in his medical treatment, and, under the blessing of 
 God, have the pleasure of seeing our efforts crowned 
 with success. When he was so much better that he 
 could just leave his bed and take a little walk in the 
 garden, our house-mother committed the enormous 
 crime of not having his dinner quite ready. He at 
 once raised such a fearful row with her, that I was 
 obliged to hasten to her rescue. Of course I re- 
 monstrated with him in a serious but kind tone, 
 and pointed out to him the gross ingratitude of which 
 he had been guilty. But this was too much for such 
 a thin-skinned individual. Half-an-hour had not 
 elapsed when he had his knapsack packed and was 
 ready to leave the house. 'But, where are you 
 going?' I asked him. "I will go in quest of work, 
 he answered. ' You ? ' I said, quite astonished. ' My 
 dear friend, you can hardly stand on your legs. 
 You will find all doors shut upon you.' The whole 
 household came to the door to try to make him re- 
 linquish his absurd plan. In vain. He staggered 
 away and plunged headlong into his misery rather 
 than bend his will."
 
 358 LlNTORF. 
 
 " That is human nature," I observed. " It is only a 
 repetition of our first parents' foolishness in Paradise, 
 and a confirmation of that sad description of the 
 human heart which our Lord gives us in the parable 
 of the Prodigal Son. Of course you made no effort 
 to compel the unhappy fool to stay?" 
 
 "Not the slightest," replied Mr. Dietrich. "It 
 would have been against the first principle of our 
 house. Such a thing as punishment is out of the 
 question here. We give the inmates no other choice 
 but submission or departure. Every one of them 
 may leave us at any hour of the day. But we, on 
 the other hand, may send them away whenever we 
 deem it necessary. We do not come very soon to 
 that however. We try to turn them to better 
 thoughts by constant warnings and exhortations, 
 hoping that peradventure the Spirit of God may cure 
 their obstinacy." 
 
 " Have you special hours set apart for addressing 
 them on the concerns of their soul ? " I asked. 
 
 " None, except family worship every morning 
 and evening, and, of course, the public services on 
 Sunday. The chief rule of our house is f pray and 
 work.' As to the former, however, we are averse 
 to enforcing it. We show them that we pray; we 
 let them hear how we pray; we tell them why 
 we pray. Occasionally, when circumstances require, 
 we speak a word in season to some of them in private 
 conversation ; but in general we leave it to them- 
 selves to make the application of what they see and
 
 No BEGULAR INSTRUCTION. 359 
 
 hear all day long in the Christian family life into 
 which they are introduced. If they refuse to profit 
 by the Gospel which they here become acquainted 
 vith, we cannot compel them to do so." 
 
 "Do they receive any regular instruction either 
 religious or secular ? " I asked. 
 
 "They do not. They are either too old, or 
 too stupid, or too clever. But those who can 
 neither read nor write may learn here if they 
 choose." 
 
 " On what principle do you select employments for 
 them?" 
 
 " It is really not a small difficulty to find suitable 
 occupation for some of them. Of course we cannot 
 permit them merely to work for their pleasure ; they 
 must do something useful. But what suitable labour, 
 for instance, can we give to a merchant's clerk who 
 has ruined himself by drink ? We cannot give him 
 books to keep or circulars to write. At first we 
 tried to employ such individuals in some light handi- 
 craft or in some work of industry ; but we were 
 obliged to give up the experiment, as it turned out 
 unprofitable, except perhaps in the case of book- 
 binding. We found that it was by far the most 
 expedient plan to send them all to the fields. This 
 is a wholesome occupation for them, and as our 
 fields are pretty extensive, they are sufficiently sepa- 
 rated from each other to be protected from the in- 
 fluence of evil conversation ; for it would be against 
 our principle of liberty to place them under personal
 
 3GO LlNTORF. 
 
 surveillance. Many of them labour for hours quite 
 alone in the fields." 
 
 "I cannot but admire your system of training," 
 I said. "It appears to me to be just the thing 
 which they need, viz., an opportunity of exercising 
 themselves in self-control and in the habits of a 
 regular and orderly social life. And can you point 
 to favourable results ? " 
 
 "It is rather difficult to answer that question,' 
 said the pastor, "since we cannot look into the 
 heart; but, as far as regards outward appearances, 
 we drew up a few statistics about two years ago. 
 We found that out of one hundred individuals who 
 at that time had left our Asylum, only fifty-three 
 had been with us twelve months, which is the normal 
 period. Of the other forty-seven, eleven were put 
 out, two secretly absconded because they were 
 ashamed to confess their cowardice, and the rest 
 took leave of us of their own accord. Of the fifty- 
 three who stayed out the regular time, we took the 
 following notes " 
 
 Here the pastor took out a little book, from which 
 he read, 
 
 " Fourteen turned out badly, L e. they went back 
 to their sins. 
 
 " Nine doubtful, i. e. though they did not fall again 
 into sins of a special character, nor resume their 
 former way of living in all its grossness, yet they 
 gave no proof of such a change as would justify us 
 in saying they were restored to a moral life.
 
 REASONS FOE THANKFULNESS. 361 
 
 " Twenty turned out well. 
 
 " Ten unknown." 
 
 " Indeed," I exclaimed, " these are very satisfactory 
 results ; nay, I am quite amazed at them, bearing in 
 mind that these individuals were not young people, 
 but men hardened in sin. I see that nearly forty 
 per cent, were brought back to right ways. That is 
 a very fair proportion indeed." 
 
 " Yes, I think we have reason to be very thank- 
 ful for this blessing of God upon our work," said 
 Mr. Dietrich, " even although the expression, ' turned 
 out well' does not bear a stronger meaning than 
 that those twenty became orderly and irreproachable 
 members of society. I believe, however, that there 
 are some amongst them who have undergone not 
 only an external but also an internal change. I 
 refer to those who have confirmed our good hopes by 
 their exemplary conduct during periods of from five 
 to ten years. Keeping in mind that many of them, 
 up to their entering our Asylum, had devoted their 
 lives to crime and iniquity, and that now their con- 
 duct is as laudable as can be desired, I cannot but 
 suppose that not only their outward life but also their 
 heart must have undergone the renewing operation 
 of God's word and Spirit. I remember, for instance, 
 one of them, a strong robust young man of twenty- 
 two. From the time of his confirmation, which, as 
 you know, usually happens at the age of fifteen or 
 sixteen, he had merely passed from one prison to 
 another. Theft, imposition, burglary, felony, and
 
 362 LlNTOBF. 
 
 housebreaking, were the crimes for which he was 
 sentenced to an almost uninterrupted series of im- 
 prisonments. ' He lived twelve months with us. We 
 helped him to a situation. Ten years have elapsed 
 since then, and we have never heard anything un- 
 favourable about him. He is a married man now, 
 and while earning bread as a small master-tradesman 
 for himself and his family, he is generally respected 
 in the place of his residence." 
 
 Here the servant entered to serve up dinner, and 
 I soon found myself seated in the pastor's happy 
 family circle, enjoying the good gifts which his kind 
 hospitality cordially offered. During the repast 
 many interesting details of the Asylum life were 
 told, for which I have not room. 
 
 Mr. Dietrich gave me a printed document contain- 
 ing the Eules (Hamregeln) of the Asylum, from 
 which I made the following extracts : 
 
 1. The object of the Asylum is to be a refuge for 
 adult persons of the male sex, where they will be 
 enabled to retire for a certain period of time from a 
 life of dissipation and temptation, in order to be con- 
 firmed in their good purposes, and be enabled, by 
 the power of God, to enter on a new life. 
 
 4. Each inmate of the Asylum, being supposed to 
 have entered of his own free accord, is at liberty to 
 leave it at any time, but is expected to give notice 
 twenty-four hours before his departure. As a rule, 
 every one who enters the Asylum pledges himself to 
 stay during twelve months at least. The direction
 
 EABLY EISING. 363 
 
 of tlie Asylum, on its part, pledges itself to try to 
 obtain a suitable situation for such as may be 
 entitled to a favourable testimonial when they leave. 
 5. Those who enter the Asylum" must be in good 
 health. They must also produce a satisfactory cer- 
 tificate of legitimacy from the police, and may not, 
 neither at the time of their admission nor during 
 their stay in the Asylum, be under juridical ex- 
 amination or involved in any lawsuit. 
 
 8. The inmates of the Asylum assemble every 
 morning and evening at a fixed hour for family 
 worship, viz., singing, prayer, the reading of a portion 
 of Scripture, and a short address. 
 
 9. The Asylum family rises in summer at half-past 
 four ; in winter at half-past five. Breakfast at seven ; 
 dinner at twelve ; lunch at four ; supper at seven. 
 
 10. In winter the hour from 6 to 7 A.M. and the 
 dark hours before supper are devoted to instruction, 
 according to the wants of the inmates. The evening 
 hours after supper are devoted to familiar conversa- 
 tion. 
 
 11. The other hours of the day are devoted to 
 labour, which chiefly consists of agricultural and 
 domestic occupations. An opportunity of practising 
 some handicraft will also be afforded. The Asylum 
 provides the inmates with board, lodging, and 
 clothing. On leaving, each receives a present of 
 a sufficient outfit. 
 
 12. The house-father or deacon, who assists the 
 inspector in the administration of the house, appoints
 
 364 LlNTORF. 
 
 the work for every inmate, &c. Nobody is permitted 
 to leave the house without his permission. Visitors 
 are not admitted unless with the house-father's 
 sanction. 
 
 13. The use of strong drink is forbidden. Those 
 who have been accustomed to smoking receive 
 tobacco from the Asylum. 
 
 14. On Sunday the public service at Lintorf 
 church is attended. The rest of the Sunday is 
 devoted to quiet conversation, the reading of useful 
 books, &c., in order that the heavenly rest and 
 peace may dwell more and more in the hearts and 
 in the house. 
 
 The terms of the Asylum are very moderate in- 
 deed : only 26 thalers (3?. 2s.) a year, and 10 thalers 
 (1Z. 10s.) entry money. 
 
 The period of twelve months, appointed as the 
 minimum time of stay, may appear too short ; but 
 experience has shown that it is long enough. It 
 appears from the above statistics, that out of one 
 hundred individuals only fifty-three had patience 
 and perseverance enough to hold out that time. 
 Besides, it must be borne in mind that persons who, 
 during twelve months of orderly and Christian 
 training have not learnt to turn to a better way of 
 living, cannot reasonably be expected to learn it 
 at all. 
 
 The balance-sheet of the last published Keport of 
 the Asylum (that of 1862), shows an expenditure of 
 1872 thalers (280?.). The income amounted to 1900
 
 FETJITS OF CHKISTIAN LOVE. 365 
 
 thalers (285?.) ; but from previous accounts there 
 was a deficit of 297 thalers (44?.), which was covered 
 by an advance from the funds of the Duisburg House. 
 I was sorry to fiiid that the Asylum has not been 
 able to clear off the debt which was incurred for 
 the purchase of the land and the building of the 
 house. The property is still burdened with a mort- 
 gage of 17,950 thalers (2693/.), and 9322 thalers 
 (1398?.) in other liabilities ; together, 27,272 thalers 
 (4091?.). 
 
 I took leave of the Asylum and its worthy Director 
 with feelings of gratitude and admiration. Looking 
 at the remote situation of this little village, where, 
 secluded from intercourse with society at large, a 
 man, who might well occupy a distinguished place 
 amongst the leading men of the Church, shuts 
 himself up with the dregs of the human race, in order 
 to rescue as many as he can from ruin both temporal 
 and eternal, I could not but think of this humble 
 and too little known Establishment as a touching and 
 eloquent illustration of the parable of the good shep- 
 herd, who goes out into the desert to seek the stray 
 and lost sheep. The Lintorf Asylum is one of the 
 finest fruits on the tree of Christian charity; and 
 there is perhaps no good work being carried on 
 among men which proves in a more striking way 
 that the love of Christ, springing from a living faith 
 in the heart, is a power productive of effects such as 
 no other power is able to call into existence.
 
 THE ESTABLISHMENT FOR 
 INDIGENT CHILDREN 
 
 AT NEUHOP, NEAK STRASBUKG.
 
 I. 
 
 THE HISTORY OF PHILIPPE JACOB WURTZ, THE JOINER. 
 
 11 THEN young people, in order to palliate their 
 * ^ want of ardour and zeal in a good cause, point- 
 to their age, saying that they are too young still to 
 meddle with matters of a grave and serious kind, 
 every sensible man considers the excuse as a mere 
 pretext, which finds its condemnation in the generally 
 admitted maxim, that no one who is capable of 
 discerning between good and evil can be too young 
 to serve God and to love his neighbour. But when 
 old people avail themselves of a similar excuse, by 
 pretending that they are too old to begin a good 
 work, it is generally admitted that there is some 
 ground for that assertion, old age being considered 
 entitled to quiet repose and exemption from the 
 trouble and care of planting seeds of which it is 
 not likely to reap the fruits. This, however, is not 
 the logic of Christianity. Its maxim is expressed 
 in the saying of the Saviour, " I must work the work 
 of Him that sent me, while it is day ; the night 
 cometh when no man can work." Even the labourer 
 who enters the vineyard at the eleventh hour is not 
 
 VOL. I. 2 B
 
 370 NEUHOF. 
 
 only gladly welcomed, but liberally rewarded by the 
 generous husbandman. And if one is too old to 
 expect to witness the fruits of his labour, yet the 
 thought of the benefits others may reap will add 
 brightness to life's sunset. 
 
 If any one should doubt the correctness of this 
 observation, I should like to take him to the town 
 of Strasburg, and walking out at the Austerlitz gate, 
 proceed to the village of Neuhof, which is only three 
 miles distant from the town. The road, called the 
 Lyons road, lined on both sides with high trees, 
 leads us through the small village of Neudorf, where 
 crowds of cackling geese remind us that we are in 
 the fatherland of the famous pates de foie gras (goose- 
 liver pates). We then pass by a large drill-field, 
 called the Polygone and perhaps are overtaken by a 
 squadron of dragoons or meet a company of zouaves ; 
 for Strasburg, as every one knows, contains one of 
 the largest garrisons in France. And though the 
 town, notwithstanding that it has been in the posses- 
 sion of the French for nearly two centuries, retains 
 its German aspect in the architecture of its houses 
 and in the manners and dresses of its inhabitants, yet 
 you cannot forget that you are on French territory, 
 for the place and its environs teem with swarms of 
 red-trousered soldiers, whose elegant French tongue 
 strangely contrasts with the rough German patois of 
 the Alsace people. 
 
 On entering the village of Neuhof we feel rather 
 disinclined to proceed farther, as the place looks as
 
 OFFICIAL KESIDENCE. 371 
 
 dirty as a pig-sty. Pools of rain-water, in which 
 swarms of geese tumble and splash about, dot the 
 unpaved road. A kind of pavement, however, running 
 alongside a row of ugly little houses inhabited by 
 small farmers and peasants, enables us to step on 
 without being compelled to wade through the mud. 
 At length we reach a broad gate which gives entrance 
 into a spacious farmyard. This is the spot where I 
 propose to lead you. I wish to point out to you a 
 large two-storied building at the bottom of the yard. 
 The inscription over its front door, Soli Deo Gloria, 
 tells you that it is destined for a good object. It is 
 the happy refuge of upwards of one hundred and 
 twenty poor neglected children, who here are being 
 rescued from temporal and eternal misery. To the 
 left you observe a one-storied dwelling-house, with 
 the inscription in German, The Lord is a sun and 
 shield. It is the residence of some of the officials, 
 and contains apartments for extraordinary cases of 
 disease. To the right the whole length of the yard 
 is occupied by a series of buildings, viz., a bakery, a 
 washhouse, stables, barns, and sheds. Of all these 
 premises, nothing was to be seen about forty years 
 ago but the dwelling-house to the left: all the rest 
 are the .fruit, since that time, of Christian love 
 towards the neglected and the lost. And if you ask 
 who it was who laid the foundation of this good * 
 work, and set it going so that it could thrive and 
 bear fruit, the answer is, an octogenarian artisan of the 
 name of Philippe Jacob Wurtz, a man who, pressed 
 
 2s2
 
 372 NEDHOF. 
 
 down under the burden of years, had been compelled 
 to stop labouring in his own workshop, but, from 
 the love of Christ that burned in his heart, felt 
 young and strong and vigorous enough to commence 
 this good work, for the benefit of the miserable and 
 to the glory of his heavenly Father. 
 
 Mr. Philippe Jacob Wurtz was born at Strasburg 
 on the 19th October, 1745. His father, whom he was 
 so unfortunate as to lose in his fifth year, was a 
 joiner, and left his widow and child in straitened 
 circumstances. The poor woman had to earn daily 
 bread for herself and her boy by sewing and washing 
 in the houses of the citizens. In those days school- 
 training was not at a very high pitch. Writing, 
 reading, and a little arithmetic, constituted all the 
 learning that the Strasburg youth could obtain at 
 the public schools. Mrs. Wurtz could just barely 
 afford as much as was required to put her child to 
 school while she was at her daily work. The school 
 instruction was carried on in German. A knowledge 
 of French was indispensable to get on in society ; 
 but it was not taught in the public schools. It 
 could only be learnt from private teachers, who, as 
 they had to give their lessons in the evening, and 
 the Strasburg streets were not yet possessed of 
 lamps, used to walk about with lanterns, and hence 
 were called " lantern-preceptors." Mrs. Wurtz could 
 not afford to pay a lantern-preceptor; and poor 
 Philippe, though a born Frenchman, was henceforth
 
 PHILIPPE JACOB WUUTZ. 373 
 
 and during his eighty years' life, obliged to live in 
 his native country without being able to speak its 
 tongue. Still, although his scientific training was 
 scanty, his moral and religious education was excel- 
 lent. Nor was the care which his good mother 
 bestowed upon him in this respect in vain. At an 
 early period of his life he showed a great delight in 
 everything which concerned the service of God. As 
 soon as he was able to read without much spelling, 
 the Bible was the companion of his leisure hours. 
 When he was nine years of age his mother could 
 not give him a greater treat than to permit him to 
 attend the weekly prayer-meeting at church. And 
 when Sunday evening came, with its hallowed 
 quietness, little Philippe would assemble some 
 boys and girls to sing hymns from the Strasburg 
 collection, while his mother accompanied them with 
 the cithern, a musical instrument which in those 
 days adorned the parlour of every house in Strasburg. 
 At the age of fourteen Philippe was apprenticed 
 to a joiner ; and when he had reached his twentieth 
 he knew his trade so well that he could commence 
 his Wanderschaft. This was a moment of sore trial. 
 His good aged mother had become blind, and it 
 seemed to be his duty to stay at home and support 
 and comfort her. The rules of his trade guild, how- 
 ever, required that he should travel abroad for six 
 years to perfect his knowledge of his trade in the 
 workshops of foreign masters. This was like a law 
 of the Medes and Persians. To disobey it was to
 
 374 NEUHOF. 
 
 exclude one's self from the guild for life and to 
 become unworthy of the hand of any honest citizen's 
 daughter. So poor Philippe had no choice. He pro- 
 vided a place in an asylum for his blind mother, 
 and took his staff. The guardians of the guild stuffed 
 his knapsack, dropped a few guilders into his hand, 
 and escorted him solemnly as far as the gates of 
 the town. If Philippe went on his way with his 
 head bowed down like a bulrush, it was not from 
 the weight of his knapsack. Still it contained a 
 precious treasure his Bible. And the recollection 
 of the blessing of his good mother who at parting 
 had assured him that God, with a love still greater 
 than hers, would guide and protect him cheered up 
 his spirit, and caused him to lift up his head again to 
 the everlasting hills, from whence came his help. 
 
 And it was well he trusted in that help, for he now 
 entered a life full of dangers and temptations. What- 
 ever may be said in favour of the German system of 
 travelling apprenticeships, it is certain that they ruin 
 both the bodies and souls of many young German 
 artisans. I hope to have an opportunity of speaking 
 more fully on this matter in another part of the 
 book. Suffice it to say for the present, that it was 
 deemed a wonder that Philippe came back, after 
 nine years' travel, as sober and chaste as he had 
 departed. But he had got a sight of the world in 
 its true colours. Himself a pattern of the beneficial 
 effects of a godly education, he had witnessed in 
 the lives of many of his comrades the awful fruits
 
 HE STARTS IN BUSINESS. 375 
 
 of a childhood spent without God. This experience 
 laid the foundation in his heart of that compassionate 
 sympathy with poor and neglected children, which 
 he afterwards showed in such a touching manner. 
 Perhaps he would now have stretched out a hand to 
 their rescue had he but known how to begin ; but 
 it was not yet the age of home missions, ragged 
 schools, and philanthropic asylums. Besides he was 
 a poor man, alone in the world, and bound to look 
 out for the means of self-support. Still, as far as his 
 power and means went, he tried to save and protect 
 as many souls as he could from ruin. Knowing 
 how dangerous the Sunday evenings were, especially 
 to young unmarried artisans, he opened his small 
 dwelling for as many of them as it could contain. 
 There he would be seen sitting in the midst of them, 
 Bible in hand, talking with them about the concerns 
 of their souls, and praying and singing hymns. Thus 
 he was instrumental in leading many a young man 
 from the path of destruction into the fold of the 
 good Shepherd. Populous, bustling Strasburg was 
 all unconscious that in one of its dark back streets 
 there was a light shining, which ere long was to shed 
 its beneficial lustre over hundreds of souls sitting 
 in the region and shadow of death. 
 
 It was not until the year 1791 that Mr. Wurtz, 
 now in his forty-sixth year, succeeded in starting in 
 business for himself. Though, owing to his limited 
 means, he established his shop in one of the back 
 streets, yet he was soon favoured with orders from
 
 376 NEUHOF. 
 
 people in all parts of the town. The fact was, that 
 Mr. Wurtz soon became known as an honest and 
 faithful tradesman. And no wonder, indeed. When 
 about to write out a bill, he used to kneel down 
 and pray to be delivered from the temptation of 
 charging too much. And this was the more extra- 
 ordinary that he was not in circumstances favourable 
 to this kind of devotion. He was often in such want 
 of money that he did not know what to do ; but his 
 heavenly Friend always came to his help, though 
 sometimes at the very moment when everything 
 seemed lost. One day, for instance, he had just entered 
 into a profitable contract for building a house, when 
 unfortunately he found that he was short of 1 timber. 
 The person who employed him declined to advance 
 a farthing till the house was finished ; and the timber- 
 merchants refused to give credit, for it was the 
 dreadful period of the French Revolution. With a 
 heavy heart poor Wurtz walked out into the fields. 
 The sun was shining brightly, and all creation seemed 
 to rejoice ; but in Philippe's soul there was a mist of 
 unbelief and despondency which clouded the beautiful 
 scenery around. He stopped on a bridge, and leaning 
 against the railing gave free vent to his distress. 
 A stranger came up, and noticing his sad coun- 
 tenance, asked him the cause. It was soon told. 
 " Why, if that is all," the stranger replied, " I will 
 lend you the money. You can give me it back 
 when you are able ; and if you should never be 
 able, still you are welcome to it."
 
 MARRIES Miss BRUCKERT. 377 
 
 This man was a gardener, whom Mr. Wurtz had 
 never seen before. Such events often occurred in his 
 life, and contributed not a little towards confirming 
 his faith in a living God, who hears and answers 
 prayer. 
 
 Notwithstanding the stormy times which in France 
 closed the eighteenth century, Mr. Wurts opened 
 his heart and house to the joy of conjugal love. He 
 bore such a high character, that he might have been 
 a successful suitor for the hand of a daughter of 
 any of the well-to-do tradesmen of the town ; but he 
 cared little about what jewels his bride might be 
 able to adorn herself with, provided her heart was a 
 jewel of the genuine water. And such was the heart 
 of Miss Bruckert, whom he met with in an orphan- 
 house, and, notwithstanding her poverty, recognised 
 as a treasure of great value. During a period of 
 thirty-two years she was the happy partner of his 
 highly blessed life. One blessing, however, was with- 
 held from them : they had no children, and when 
 in 1824 Mrs. Wurtz went to the rest of her Lord, 
 good Philippe found himself as much alone again 
 in this wide world, as when he took his staff and 
 wandered abroad. But eighty summers and winters 
 had now passed over his venerable head. His knap- 
 sack, too, was heavier than it was sixty years ago, 
 and the good master-joiner would often muse over 
 the question what he should do with its contents, 
 being well aware that he could not carry any of it 
 into the country he was going to enter soon.
 
 IL 
 
 THE FOUNDATION OF THE NEUHOF ESTABLISHMENT. 
 
 question which puzzled Mr. Wurtz was soon 
 solved by his heavenly Master. One day he 
 learnt that there was a company of Christian friends 
 who met once every fortnight at the house of one of 
 the members to discuss the alarming and deplorable 
 condition of the many poor children, who, in conse- 
 quence of the recent wars, were reduced to utter 
 neglect and destitution. Various schemes for the cure 
 of the evil were broached, and it was generally agreed 
 that a school and an asylum, conducted in a Christian 
 spirit, were the first requisites. As none of the 
 friends, h owever, were possessed of earthly means, 
 they could do very little, and they were obliged to 
 limit themselves to committing the matter in prayer 
 to the Father of the orphans and the Saviour of the 
 lost. The particulars of these meetings, which were 
 communicated to Mr. Wurtz, interested him greatly. 
 Being prevented by his great age from going out, 
 he sent an invitation to the members to visit him at 
 his house. When they entered the humble dwelling, 
 in one of the back streets of the town, they hardly
 
 FOUNDATION OF THE ESTABLISHMENT. 379 
 
 knew what to think ; and when, having been shown 
 into a back parlour behind a joiner's dusty work- 
 shop, they noticed an old grey-headed man clad in 
 an humble artisan's dress, they began to surmise 
 that they had been invited to help a poor decrepit 
 creature out of his last difficulties. There was, how- 
 ever, no time left to them to put their hands in their 
 pockets ; for Mr. Wurtz kindly bade them be seated, 
 and said, 
 
 " Dear friends, I was once a poor lad ; and as 
 to my late wife, I took her from the orphan-house. 
 When we married we were as poor as the sparrows 
 on the house-top ; but the Lord has so blessed me 
 since then, that I am possessed now of this little 
 house and a small capital. It is not, however, my 
 property, but a talent which the Lord has intrusted 
 to my stewardship and which He will claim again 
 with usury. My wife and I could never agree as to 
 what Ave should do with it. But I know now. I 
 have been told that you wish to help in the rescue 
 of poor lost children ; and I think I must give you 
 what the Lord has given to me. I will commence 
 by giving you 4000 francs (160?.) and the use of my 
 workshop. I used to let my shop for the last eight 
 years, as I was compelled by old age to give up my 
 trade. It became vacant six months ago, and not- 
 withstanding my having frequently advertised it in 
 the newspaper, no tenant has yet turned up. I now 
 see why the Lord has kept it empty. We will make
 
 380 NEUHOF. 
 
 a school of it, if you have no objection to begin your 
 good work under my humble roof." 
 
 The friends of course had none. They left the 
 noble patriarch with joy in their heart and tears in 
 their eyes. A few days later a person came and offered 
 Mr. Wurtz a high rent; but the shop could not be 
 got now for ten times the amount. Mr. Wurtz 
 thought, "No tenant can possibly pay me such a 
 high rent as my present one." 
 
 The workshop was soon adapted for a school. One 
 morning in June, 1825, twelve children, upon whose 
 faces and clothing neglect and destitution had put 
 their stamp, walked in at the door by which for 
 upwards of forty years many a rough deal had been 
 brought in, to be carried out again in the shape of 
 a handsome and well-polished piece of furniture. 
 The same process had still to be gone through ; and 
 it was to be hoped that the living materials, not less 
 rough and hard to be worked than the dead ones, 
 would be as capable of refinement too. Mr. Wurtz's 
 workshop reminded one of a greenhouse, where spring 
 and winter combine in the most charming harmony, 
 when the octogenarian patriarch was to be seen sitting 
 among the little folks, telling them stories from the 
 Bible and singing hymns with them to the praise of 
 the great Friend of children. Nor did Father Wurtz 
 forget that the connexion between soul and body is 
 very close, and that he must not expect that the one 
 will bloom when the other is starving. Before the
 
 TOKENS OF SYMPATHY. 381 
 
 teacher came to instruct the children how to read and 
 write " breakfast," Mr. Wurtz gave them the means 
 of showing that they needed no instruction how to 
 eat it. And when at the close of the day they were 
 able to calculate that if you take twelve from a 
 dozen, nothing is left, he enabled them to prove the 
 correctness of their calculation by a supper consisting 
 of a pile of twelve pieces of bread and butter. 
 
 When the report of these proceedings was spread 
 through the town, many a feeling heart was touched 
 with admiration and sympathy. One of the first 
 gifts that were sent in to the friends was a silver box 
 from a lady, on one side of which was engraved the 
 story of Moses being rescued from the Nile by 
 Pharaoh's daughter. On the other side the -Saviour 
 was represented speaking to the Samaritan woman 
 about the water of life. A citizen, whose son had 
 died at the time, presented the school with the 
 bequest of the lamented deceased to the value of 
 1000 francs (40?.). These tokens of sympathy greatly 
 encouraged Mr. Wurtz and his friends. Subscription 
 lists were circulated, which were soon filled with 
 names, and the sums thus collected, together with 
 the 4000 francs which Mr. Wurtz had promised, laid 
 the foundation of a Protestant Establishment for 
 Indigent Children. 
 
 And it soon became necessary to obtain a suit- 
 able building. The workshop proved by far too 
 strait. The one-storied house at Neuhof, with its 
 farmyard, garden, and field, about two-and-a-half
 
 382 NEUHOF. 
 
 acres in all, was for sale. Though the sum which the 
 friends could calculate upon was not sufficient to 
 cover the price, yet the property was bought, as they 
 knew that the needed portion of the money might 
 easily be borrowed. A good married couple were 
 found to take the superintendence, and in October, 
 1825, sixteen children took up their abode at the new 
 institution. When Mr. Wurtz saw his little friends 
 walk away from his shop never to come back, he 
 felt like a man who by some accident loses the whole 
 of his family at one sweep. His house became to him 
 as dull and gloomy as a tomb ; and though he was 
 old enough to die, yet he did not want to be buried 
 alive. He resolved to quit his house and to follow 
 his little family to the Neuhof, as a hen walks after 
 her chickens. 
 
 It seemed, however, that Providence thought the 
 time had come to take its old servant to his heavenly 
 rest. On a sudden, some ten days after the children 
 had left, a report was brought to the friends of the 
 school that old Philippe had been taken seriously ill. 
 It was about four o'clock in the afternoon. They 
 hastened to his house. There the venerable patriarch 
 lay on his couch, pale and unconscious, like one fallen 
 on his last sleep. A doctor was called. He came 
 immediately, and when he saw the patient, shrugged 
 his shoulders. " Good Mr. Wurtz," he said, " is going 
 to leave us ; the death-sweat is already begun." This 
 was a Job's message to the afflicted friends ; not only 
 because they loved the dying one like a father, but
 
 FEARS REMOVED. 383 
 
 also because they had not yet got the 4000 francs 
 which he had promised, and the money for the 
 Neuhof had to be paid within a few days. They left 
 the house with heavy hearts. Next morning, no 
 sooner had the sun gilded the cock of the splendid 
 Munster tower, than they sent to his house to inquire. 
 Who can describe their joyful surprise when, instead 
 of the expected message of death, Mr. Wurtz's kind 
 regards came back, with many thanks for their friendly 
 care, and with the assurance that he was perfectly 
 well again ? One of the friends speeded to the house. 
 The old man met him with a smile on his face. " And 
 behold we live ! " he said, in the words of Paul. 
 He then kindly rebuked his friend because of his 
 unbelief, and because he had called in a doctor, since 
 a mightier One had said, "I am thy physician!" 
 " You should have known," he added, " that I 
 could not die before all is right with regard to the 
 school." He then sold his house, presented the parish 
 church with a considerable sum, gave several other 
 sums to individuals whom he knew to be worthy of 
 support, sent a handsome donation to the Strasburg 
 Bible Society, put the promised 4000 francs into the 
 hands of his friends, and repaired to the Neuhof to 
 live and to die among the children, whom he loved 
 as the apple of his eye. 
 
 It looked as if the short but serious indisposition 
 which brought Father Wurtz to the brink of the 
 grave, was intended by Providence to teach him a 
 few lessons. One of them was that a man should
 
 384 NEUHOF. 
 
 not allow the sun to go down upon his promises, 
 since life is like a tent pitched on an ice-floor. One 
 day's heat may melt away the solid pavement, and, 
 however good your intentions may be, down you go 
 with them to the bottom, never to come up again. 
 A day on which you have performed one good deed 
 is worth more than a hundred days on each of which 
 you have uttered a hundred promises. Mr. Wurtz 
 was also taught the truth that genuine Christian love 
 cannot rest until it has accomplished its task; and 
 that it is better to be liberal before dying than to 
 die before being liberal. This is a lesson which it 
 would be well for many wealthy Christians to take 
 to heart. It seems odd that they should limit their 
 generosity to a will, the realisation of which they can 
 never witness ; and that they should grant the enjoy- 
 ment of its benefits to everybody except themselves. 
 It may justly be doubted whether a munificence which 
 makes death its executor, may be considered as a fruit 
 of spiritual life. If anything is essential to the worth 
 of a gift, it is the free voluntary disposition of the 
 heart ; but it is questionable whether such a disposi- 
 tion can have had anything to do with a liberality 
 which is not carried into effect until the great robber 
 comes, who leaves nothing to a man but his shroud 
 and coffin. Certainly it is better to pay vows to God 
 than to His enemy ; but it is to be feared that of a 
 man, who till his last breath has kept all his wealth 
 to himself, and on his deathbed turns it over to reli- 
 gious and charitable purposes, it may be justly said,
 
 PIETY OF ME. WUR'TZ. 385 
 
 that as lie tried to cheat the good Lord during his 
 life, so he tries to cheat the devil in his death. 
 
 Mr. Wurtz was permitted for nearly three years to 
 be the happy witness of the beneficial effect of his 
 good work. During that period he seemed to be like 
 a priest in the temple of charity which he had founded. 
 He saw the Institution grow beautifully under the 
 fertilising blessing of Him who gave the increase. 
 To the inmates of the house the venerable grey- 
 headed man was a living Gospel, an epistle of Christ 
 written not with ink but with the Holy Spirit, which 
 none, whether young or old, could read without feel- 
 ing prompted to everything good, holy, and lovely. 
 It must have been a moment never to be forgotten 
 by many a child when the old man, after an earnest 
 but gentle address, would take it by the hand, kneel 
 down with it in a closet, and pray for its true welfare 
 at the footstool of an all-merciful Saviour. It must 
 have had a softening, truly-refining effect upon many 
 a rude wild character, to observe the grateful feeling 
 with which he would respond to every service per- 
 formed for him. The children could learn from him 
 how to bear their daily burden and cross with patience, 
 and to count all the sufferings of the present time as 
 nothing, compared with the glory which shall be 
 revealed to us. In addition to the weight of his great 
 age, Mr. Wurtz had to struggle with many bodily 
 infirmities and complaints ; yet as long as he was not 
 laid up he would always thank God for his " noble 
 health." Indeed, the benefits which the Institution 
 
 VOL. i. 2 c
 
 386 NEUHOF. 
 
 derived from the daily example of this truly rich 
 man must have been more valuable to it than the 
 money which he gave for its foundation. But had 
 he not given the latter, it is doubtful whether he 
 would have been able to give the former at all. 
 Nothing makes a Christian more capable of pour- 
 ing forth a stream of love, kindness, and joy, than the 
 consciousness of his having performed a good work. 
 The money which we keep for ourselves, when we 
 do not need it, cannot but dam up that fountain ; 
 but no sooner is it removed from the heart and put in 
 its right place than innumerable springs of joy and 
 peace burst up. We have then the testimony of our 
 conscience and of the Spirit that we have ceased to 
 halt between two opinions, that the idol is cast out, 
 and that ours is the living God, and none besides. 
 The secret of being a treasure for thousands lies in 
 making One our only treasure. 
 
 The prosperity of the Establishment increased so 
 rapidly that six months after its foundation it gave 
 shelter to twenty-four children. It was now obvious 
 that the one-storied house was too small. Nor was 
 the prospect wanting of ability soon to build a larger 
 one. The good report of the Institution stirred many 
 liberal hearts to send in handsome gifts. Often a cart 
 would drive up into the yard loaded with provisions 
 and all sorts of contributions in kind. Mr. Wurtz 
 would often with tears in his eyes, squeeze the hands 
 of the people who conveyed the presents. These, 
 visibly touched at the aspect of the venerable patri-
 
 4 INTEKEST IN ITS SUCCESS. 387 
 
 arch, would take him for a poor man, who was allowed 
 to share the benefits of the Establishment, and could 
 scarcely believe that he was the chief founder of the 
 place. 
 
 At the close of the year it was found that upwards 
 of eighty children had knocked at the door of this 
 place of refuge, the greater portion of whom had 
 to be refused from want of room. Public opinion 
 began strongly to recommend the building of a 
 spacious asylum. Numerous papers and journals, 
 such as ' Les Archives du Christianisme,' ' Le Journal 
 des Prisons,' 'Le Bulletin de la Socie"te Biblique,' 
 'La Revue Protestante/ &c., stirred the sympathy 
 of the public for the Neuhof Establishment. The two 
 Protestant consistories of Strasburg recommended 
 it warmly to their churches, and subscription-lists 
 were circulated among them, which met with a 
 surprising response. In England, also, men of 
 influence took up the matter, and tried to raise 
 donations. Nevertheless, in spite of these encourag- 
 ing tokens of sympathy, the Committee hesitated to 
 begin the work, as there was still a debt of 8000 
 francs (320Z.) to be cleared off. So the second year 
 was allowed to elapse without any alteration being 
 made. Meanwhile the small house was organised on 
 the best scheme which the narrow space admitted of. 
 The school instruction was raised to a higher scale. 
 It was brought to comprise, besides reading, writing, 
 and arithmetic, the elements of history, geography, 
 and physics, and linear drawing. Some boys were 
 
 2 c 2
 
 388 N E u H o F. 
 
 promoted to the rank of monitors, and encouraged to 
 engage in mutual education. Eeligious instruction 
 was imparted every day. Seven hours of the day 
 were devoted to school-teaching, and six to various 
 kinds of work, such as basket-making, joinery, cabinet- 
 making, pasteboard work, ribbon-weaving, domestic 
 and field labour, &c. One of the officials who was 
 a tailor taught some of the boys his trade; and a 
 shoemaker in the neighbourhood was engaged for 
 a similar purpose. 
 
 The effect which solid instruction and regular 
 labour produced upon the children was quite amaz- 
 ing. The Institution fairly passed its probation, and 
 proved a real blessing to the country. Its enlarge- 
 ment could not longer be delayed. Money poured 
 in, specially designed by the liberal givers for the 
 building of a new house. To put a stop to the hesi- 
 tation of the Committee, Mr. Wurtz presented it 
 with 10,000 francs (400?.), being the last money 
 which the noble patriarch had to give. He destined 
 it exclusively for the building of the new Establish- 
 ment. This enabled the Committee to make up 
 their minds. A circular was issued, in which the 
 public was informed, that, since a debt still pressed 
 on the Institution, no sums would be set apart for the 
 new building but what were expressly given for it. 
 It was resolved at the same time not to incur any 
 new debt, and rather to stop building than to stop 
 paying. Under these conditions the foundation- 
 
 . I 
 
 stone was solemnly laid in May, 1827. A copper
 
 'DEATH OF FATHER WUKTZ. 389 
 
 plate was inserted in it, bearing the following inscrip- 
 tion : 
 
 Evangelical Establishment for the Education of 
 Poor Children, built upon the foundation of the Apostles 
 and Prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the corner- 
 stone, in whom all the building fitly framed together 
 groweth unto a holy temple unto the Lord. 
 
 I do not doubt but that it was pious Father Wurtz 
 who selected this inscription from the Bible. It was 
 a copy of the inscription which the Spirit of God had 
 written on his own heart. Of course he was present 
 at the solemnity ; and among the numerous witnesses 
 of this important proceeding there certainly was none 
 who witnessed it with more cordial gratitude to God 
 and with more fervent prayers for its success. It 
 seemed as if his divine Master had just protracted 
 his life in order to enable him to enjoy this happy 
 event. The next year he was, after a short indisposi- 
 tion, taken to his heavenly rest. His last word was, 
 Gottlob ! (Praise God !) 
 
 His mortal frame was interred in the garden of 
 the Establishment. Behind a weeping-willow that 
 shades his grave, a stone monument, simple but of 
 good workmanship, reminds the children, in four in- 
 scriptions, of their kind and pious benefactor. These 
 inscriptions are : 
 
 On the first side : PHILIPPE JACOB WURTZ, chief 
 Founder of the Establishment for the Education of Poor 
 Children at Neuhof, born Oct. 19, 1745, deceased June 
 23, 1828.
 
 390 NEUHOF. 
 
 On the second side : WORDS OF THE DECEASED IN 
 1825 : This earthly good is not my property ; it is a 
 talent which the Lord has lent me, and which I must 
 return to Him with usury. I will return it to Him by 
 giving it to the least of these His brethren. 
 
 On the third side : WORDS OF THE LORD : Well 
 done, thou good and faithful servant ; thou hast been 
 faithful over a few things ; I will make thee ruler 
 over many things. Enter thou into the joy of thy 
 Lord. 
 
 On the fourth side : GRATEFUL FEELING OF THE 
 CHILDREN : Lord, Thou hast delivered my soul from 
 death, and my feet from falling, that I may walk before 
 G-od in the light of the living (Ps. Ivi. 13). 
 
 When standing at this remarkable spot and read- 
 ing these inscriptions I felt as if I were standing at 
 the grave of a beloved father. I looked round about, 
 and far as my eyes could see I observed nothing 
 but this good man's work. To the left I saw the 
 extensive premises, of which he had laid the founda- 
 tion, resounding with the hymns and the cheerful, 
 lively noise of a hundred happy children. To the 
 right were fertile grounds, cultivated by the hands of 
 those who, before they came to this place, had been 
 only taught to waste and destroy. I could not help 
 remarking to the good house-father who guided me 
 to this touching spot, "If this is the fruit of the 
 small capital which this simple workman gathered 
 during a long life, how strange it seems that Provi- 
 epnce did not intrust large sums to him in early
 
 A BEAUTIFUL SERMON. 391 
 
 life, seeing that he proved himself indeed one who 
 knew'how to spend them well!" 
 
 " Thus human wisdom would judge," the house- 
 father replied; "but who can tell whether good 
 Father Wurtz, if he had become a rich man at an 
 early period of his life, would not have been mastered 
 by that same power which he, as a grey-headed man, 
 knew so well how to control ? " 
 
 I reluctantly left this tomb, which seemed to preach 
 such a beautiful sermon to me. Once more glancing 
 around, and remembering that already upwards of 
 400 lost children had been restored to society, and 
 perhaps to their Saviour, I said to my friend, 
 
 " Let us never think that a good work is too insig- 
 nificant to be capable of bearing abundant fruits ; and 
 let us never think that it is too late to do it."
 
 III. 
 
 ORGANISATION AND PROGRESS OF THE INSTITUTION. 
 
 A FTEB having given an account of the origin 
 -* of the Neuhof Establishment, I will direct 
 the attention of my readers to its progress up to the 
 present time, to the way in which it is managed, and 
 to the condition in which I found it on my visit in. 
 December, 1863. 
 
 No sooner had Mr. Wurtz taken the first step 
 towards founding the Keformatory than his friends 
 united into a committee, consisting of five members, 
 all of them residents in Strasburg. They all be- 
 longed to the respectable class of society. One of 
 them was a professor in a Protestant seminary, two 
 were clergymen, and two were landed proprietors. 
 The sanction of the Government was therefore easily 
 obtained. They assumed the title of The Protestant 
 Establishment for the Education of Poor Children of 
 both Sexes; and its object was specified under six 
 heads : 
 
 1. To rescue orphans or physically and morally 
 neglected and abandoned children from sin and its 
 consequent misery. 
 
 2. To train them in the knowledge of the truths
 
 OBJECT OP THE ESTABLISHMENT. 393 
 
 of the Gospel, and to exercise them in a practical 
 Christian life. 
 
 3. To provide them with good elementary teaching, 
 through the medium of schools connected with the 
 Establishment. Of these schools there should be 
 three : one for common elementary teaching, one for 
 industry, and one for agriculture. 
 
 4. To enable them to learn a trade, or to adapt 
 them for domestic service. 
 
 5. To watch over them during their apprenticeship 
 after their removal from the Establishment. 
 
 6. By these means to make them useful members 
 of society. 
 
 According to the rules founded on this basis, the 
 Committee (the members of which are never more 
 than ten, nor less than seven) has the entire control 
 and responsibility of the work. It meets at least 
 once a month. It appoints and superintends the 
 Director, or house-father, to whose care the manage- 
 ment of the house is intrusted. If he is not a licensed 
 school-teacher himself, he must have one under his 
 direction. The pastoral care of the Establishment 
 is exclusively committed to a clergyman of the 
 Lutheran Church. Family worship, however, is con- 
 ducted every morning and evening by the house- 
 father. It is expressly directed in the statutes that 
 this exercise should not be so long as to weary out 
 the attention of the pupils. An Auxiliary Committee 
 is appointed to assist the chief Committee in finding
 
 394 NEUHOF. 
 
 suitable situations for the pupils who have finished 
 their education. 
 
 Children are not admitted under six nor above 
 twelve. The sum to be paid for the board and 
 lodging of a child is nominally 150 francs (6?.) a year ; 
 but the greater portion of the applicants are admitted 
 without payment. Thus out of 118 children who 
 were supported during 1863, full board was paid for 
 only twenty-three. The children stay in the house 
 till they are confirmed, which is usually in their 
 fifteenth or sixteenth year. Girls often continue in 
 the house till their eighteenth year, when they are 
 considered fit for service. A house is provided in 
 Strasburg where such pupils as are apprenticed are 
 boarded and lodged. Here they are supported at 
 the expense of the Establishment, and under the 
 superintendence of the Committee. 
 
 The members of the Committee discharge their 
 important task gratuitously. If it is found neces- 
 sary to appoint a salaried treasurer, he must give 
 security, according to the laws of the country. The 
 Director, or house-father, receives a salary of 1000 
 francs (40?.), in addition to free board and lodging ; 
 the two teachers have 350 (16?.) each ; the overseer 
 of the boys, 200 (81.) ; the housekeeper, the female 
 teacher, and the overseer of the girls, together, 800 
 (32?.) ; the cook, 205 (8?. 3s. 6cZ.). 
 
 The sources from which the Establishment draws 
 its income are :
 
 EULES SANCTIONED BY THE EMPEROR. 395 
 
 1. The produce of the land. 
 
 2. The produce of the work of the children. 
 
 3. Sums paid for board and lodging. 
 
 4. Grants from the Government. 
 
 5. Voluntary contributions. 
 
 Every year a general meeting of the contributors 
 is held, at which the treasurer must give an account 
 of the state of the Establishment's funds. This 
 meeting, however, has no right or power to delibe- 
 rate or discuss any question. The Committee is 
 absolute. 
 
 These regulations were sanctioned by the Emperor 
 Napoleon, in 1853, when the Establishment was 
 recognised as an Etablissement d'Uiilite Publique. 
 While the Institution thus enjoys the protection and 
 support of the Government, it is bound at the same 
 time to allow full insight into the management of 
 its affairs. Every year four copies of the budget 
 of the ensuing year, and of the accounts of the past 
 year, must be sent to the prefect, who sends two 
 of the copies to the Minister of the Interior. None 
 of the regulations can be altered without the sanc- 
 tion of the Government. Money bequeathed to the 
 Institution, if not destined by the testator for a 
 special object, must be invested in the State funds ; 
 nor may it be used for any purpose whatever, without 
 the permission of the Government. 
 
 So much for the regulation of the Reformatory. 
 The history of its progress during nearly forty years 
 is, like the history of all human things, a mixture
 
 396 NEUHOF. 
 
 of prosperity and adversity. But under both sun- 
 shine and storm the tree has grown to its present size 
 and strength. The resolution of the Committee not 
 to build unless there was money to pay the expense, 
 caused a considerable delay in the finishing of the 
 new house, the foundation-stone of which was laid 
 in 1827. The work was stopped several times for 
 want of funds, chiefly owing to hard times. The 
 roof was not finished till 1829 ; the ground-floor 
 became habitable in 1831 ; the first story in 1837 ; 
 the second in 1839 ; and the whole was finished in 
 1841. So that the building of a house which might 
 easily have been finished within two years was 
 extended over a period of not less than fourteen! 
 And perhaps the premises would have remained 
 unfurnished till the present time, but for two legacies, 
 of 10,000 francs each, which were bequeathed to the 
 Establishment. All this, of course, must have greatly 
 hampered the Committee in the carrying on of its 
 work. Hundreds of poor creatures must have been 
 refused during the course of those fourteen years, for 
 want of room. I find that in 1830 the Establish- 
 ment contained no more than 34 children. This 
 number increased in 1840, when the second story 
 was habitable, to 54 ; and in 1850, after the girls' 
 house was built, to 74. During the first twenty- 
 five years of the existence of the Establishment 
 270 children were admitted, i.e., about eleven an- 
 nually. During the thirteen ensuing years 237 
 were admitted, viz., 173 boys and 64 girls ; i. e.,
 
 A HAPPY IDEA. 397 
 
 eighteen annually. This shows a difference of seven 
 children per annum, after the enlargement of the 
 premises. 
 
 Now here is an interesting point for discussion 
 between the advocates of strict financial economy 
 and those who venture, in faith, to draw on future 
 revenue. It must be mentioned, however, that the 
 Committee often showed courage in facing consider- 
 able deficits, trusting on the faithful promises of the 
 Father of the orphans. Nor was their confidence put 
 to shame. In 1829 they had bound themselves to 
 pay 8000 francs to the builder. When the day of 
 payment was near at hand 1800 francs were still 
 wanting, nor could anybody tell whence that sum 
 was to come. But, exactly on the day which was 
 looked forward to with such anxiety, two young 
 persons presented the Establishment with a bequest 
 of their grand-aunt, amounting to 1000 francs, and 
 an unknown benefactor sent 2000 a few days later. 
 In 1847, which was a year of hunger and dearth, 
 the debt increased to 10,000 francs. The Committee 
 then hit on the happy idea of establishing a box 
 for clearing off debt. This measure met with great 
 sympathy among the friends of the Establishment 
 Many a franc and napoleon d'or was put into that 
 box which would otherwise, perhaps, have been 
 wasted. By this means the debt was reduced to 50 
 per cent, in 1850. One of the members of the 
 Committee then established an auxiliary debt-clearing 
 box at his house. His example was followed by
 
 398 NEUHOF. 
 
 many friends. Once a year these little boxes were 
 poured into the committee-box. By these means the 
 debt was wholly cleared off in 1853, and a surplus 
 left of 370 francs. 
 
 The way in which the Establishment experienced 
 the helping faithfulness of Providence was often 
 very touching. Once upon a time it was in the 
 year 1850 the Committee found itself in great 
 difficulties. Already the debt-clearing box had been 
 applied to for a considerable advance. Heavy ac- 
 counts were to be paid, and the prospect seemed 
 rather dismal. But one day the post brought a letter, 
 in an unknown handwriting, from America. It came 
 from a gentleman who was born and bred in Alsace. 
 His late father, who was a well-to-do merchant near 
 Strasburg, had been a staunch friend of the Estab- 
 lishment. Owing to disastrous circumstances he 
 had been compelled to stop payment, and to emigrate 
 to America, leaving his property in the hands of 
 his creditors. A portion of that property consisted 
 of a considerable amount of interest on a sum 
 which the merchant had destined for the Establish- 
 ment, then recently started. The Committee had 
 received only 25 per cent, of that sum. The drafts 
 for the rest had since that time been lying among 
 the documents of the Establishment, deemed worth- 
 less, and almost forgotten. But the merchant could 
 not forget them. He continually bore the obligation 
 as a heavy burden upon his heart, and on his death- 
 bed he transferred the debt to his son as a sad but
 
 LOVE AND SYMPATHY. 399 
 
 sacred bequest. The noble young man promised 
 to do his utmost to restore the money to the poor 
 children of Neuhof. And he kept his word. God 
 so blessed him in business that he was able to lay by 
 a large sum every year. The letter, which came to 
 the hands of the Committee just at the moment of 
 its perplexity, contained a draft for 1350 francs 
 (46?.), being the first instalment of the amount to 
 be paid. 
 
 But the love and sympathy of the poor also con- 
 tributed towards encouraging the members of the 
 Committee. It was touching to see with what 
 pleasure a poor widow would bring a dozen of eggs, 
 or a poor peasant a sack of potatoes, to the Estab- 
 lishment. In many villages the custom was intro- 
 duced of collecting gifts in kind after the harvest 
 was over. In one village the collectors passed the 
 hut of a day-labourer, resolving not to trouble him, 
 as they knew the good man was as poor as he was 
 liberally-minded; but he ran after them, with a 
 little basket in his hand, and poured a handful or 
 two of corn into their sack, saying, " It seems you 
 forget me. It is true I am not rich ; but as I know 
 what poor people have to go through I will also con- 
 tribute my mite to the support of these indigent chil- 
 dren. I should have no faith if I refused to help 
 them." 
 
 The spirit thus expressed in these villages con- 
 trasted beautifully with the rather narrow-minded 
 spirit of some other communities, which made the
 
 400 NEUHOP. 
 
 admission of a child recommended by them a condition 
 of further sympathy. 
 
 The Establishment enjoys the support of the 
 whole of Alsace, and especially of Protestant Stras- 
 burg. Not less than 200 communities in Alsace, and 
 thirty in the interior of France, send regular annual 
 collections to the Institution, either in money or 
 in kind. At the beginning, Strasburg showed its 
 cordial sympathy with the work of its octogenarian 
 citizen. When it was resolved to build the new 
 house, young and old in the town went to work to 
 do something for the good cause. Many members 
 of the Gardeners' Guild, many citizens of the town, 
 and many country people in its neighbourhood, vied 
 with each other in carrying stone and timber gra- 
 tuitously to Neuhof ; while from eight places in the 
 vicinity eighteen heavily-laden waggons were sent, 
 with provisions for the children. Many other services 
 of love and sympathy did the Establishment enjoy, 
 and enjoys still, from all classes of people. For 
 instance, it must have been a happy, merry day in 
 the Establishment when one morning, shortly after 
 daybreak, seventeen young ladies walked from Stras- 
 burg to Neuhof to assist the girls of the Establish- 
 ment in sewing. It was before the girls' house 
 was enlarged. There was room for only twenty-six 
 girls, while the number of the boys was fifty-nine. 
 Circumstances had happened which made the stock 
 of clothes needing repair swell into a mountain. The 
 poor girls saw no possibility of getting through with
 
 AN UNFAVOURABLE IMPRESSION. 401 
 
 them. But no sooner was this predicament known 
 in town than the seventeen ladies, with thimbles 
 and needles, courageously marched to the Beforma- 
 tory, to help their young friends in fighting the 
 gigantic adversary. The battle lasted all day till 
 dusk, when the victory was won, and the fair 
 Amazons returned to their hearths and homes, amid 
 the cheerful and grateful applause of all the in- 
 mates of the Establishment. 
 
 This visit was such a happy combination of useful- 
 ness and pleasure that it was afterwards twice repeated 
 by a band of twenty young ladies. 
 
 Nor can any one be surprised at the general and 
 cordial sympathy which this Institution enjoys, after 
 having spent a few hours under its hospitable roof. 
 I cannot say that one's first impression upon entering 
 the gate, is favourable, especially at the wet season 
 of the year. Owing to the farmyard not being 
 paved, you have to step over muddy places, and 
 little pools, to be able to reach the main building ; 
 but no sooner have you entered the house than 
 the perfect order and cleanliness which you observe 
 makes you at once forget the irregularities without. 
 Everything in the house, from the ground-floor to 
 the attics, is simple to the utmost, but solid, 
 well arranged, and perfectly answering its object. 
 The boys' and girls' houses are under one roof, but 
 separated from, each other by a wooden partition, 
 that runs through the whole building, from the front 
 to the back wall. All the rooms have high ceilings, 
 
 VOL. i. 2 D
 
 402 NEUHOF. 
 
 and plenty of light. The dormitories, of which there 
 are two for each sex, are well ventilated, and not 
 overcrowded with beds. Each of them is superin- 
 tended by an overseer, who sleeps in it. As I had 
 not announced my visit, nothing could have been 
 prepared purposely for my reception. Yet, if this 
 had been the case, I do not know how I could 
 have found things better than they were. The floors 
 of the rooms were shining; the sea-grass beds, the 
 sheets and blankets, were as clean as if they had just 
 been received from the laundry. The kitchen is a 
 spacious apartment, in which it was a real pleasure 
 to see the healthy and tidy-looking girls moving 
 about between the gigantic fire-range and the sur- 
 rounding dressers, now hid behind a column of 
 steam, and now peeping out from behind piles of 
 dishes and plates. 
 
 It was dinner-time when I entered the house. Mr. 
 Theodor Krafft, the house-father, a middle-aged 
 Alsatian, whose honest face and quiet, composed 
 appearance indicated a man of firm principles, great 
 self-control, and kind feelings, at once took me down 
 to the large dining-room, where the little folks, 
 upwards of sixty in number, were eagerly waiting 
 upon him, to get the sign of attack upon the steam- 
 ing soup, which, in nice-looking basins, was trying 
 their patience. After a short prayer the sign was 
 given; and in a moment the noise of the active 
 spoons echoed through the apartment. The food was 
 very palatable ; had it not been rather early in the
 
 NATURE OF THEIR FOOD. 403 
 
 day I should have gladly taken my dinner with 
 these happy guests. There were some among them 
 whose ill-looking faces betrayed the state of moral 
 degradation they had sprung from. Some excited 
 feelings of compassion for the state of bodily neglect 
 which it was now the object of prayerful love to save 
 them from. But the great majority of the children 
 produced an agreeable impression, by their healthy 
 looks and cheerful countenances. I needed not to 
 ask whether they felt happy and at home. I 
 could scarcely realise the fact that this was not a 
 family but an assembly of poor, wretched children 
 taken from the lowest dens in both town and country 
 and brought to this place to save them from the 
 hands of the police or the brothel-keepers. 
 
 Twice a week meat is given in addition to the 
 soup. Breakfast and supper also consist of soup, but 
 sometimes at the latter meal they have potatoes and 
 salad, or butter-milk. At their afternoon lunch 
 (Vesperbrod), the children get 150 grammes, or 
 one-third of a pound of bread, with fruit. Their com- 
 mon drink is cold water, but once a week they get 
 wine. When engaged in fatiguing field-labour, such 
 as at harvest time, they even get it daily. On very 
 hot days wine mixed with water is the common drink 
 of the whole household. Medical advice has prescribed 
 this beverage as a preventive against fever, to which, 
 owing to the vicinity of the Rhine, they are exposed. 
 Nor is it expensive, as the vine grows in their own 
 fields. 
 
 2 D 2
 
 404 NETJHOF. 
 
 The order of the day does not much differ from 
 that in other Establishments of the kind. The house- 
 hold rises both in summer and winter at five. The 
 children are washed and dressed at half-past five. 
 They then go down to the schoolrooms, where, after 
 silent prayer, they occupy themselves in reading or 
 writing. At half-past six they return to their bed- 
 rooms and make their beds. Afterwards breakfast is 
 served up, and taken within twenty minutes. From 
 seven to half-past seven the boys are free, and the 
 girls have family-worship. The reverse takes place 
 from half-past seven till eight. Family-worship 
 consists of prayer, singing, and the reading of a 
 portion of Scripture, upon which, a few questions 
 are put to the pupils. School-teaching fills the hours 
 from eight till twelve ; dinner from twelve till half- 
 past twelve ; school again from one till two. Then 
 the elder pupils go to their industrial or agricultural 
 work, while the younger ones remain in school till four. 
 After having taken a piece of bread and a glass of 
 water, they again assemble in the schoolroom at half- 
 past four, when religious instruction is given till 
 half-past five. Three quarters of an hour still remain 
 before evening prayers begin. These are devoted 
 either to singing exercises or to the perusal of some 
 good book, which is read to the children by one of 
 the teachers. A library, containing about 700 volumes 
 of excellent popular literature, in both French and 
 German, affords them plenty of opportunity of spend- 
 ing their leisure hours in a useful and instructive way.
 
 STRICT DISCIPLINE. 405 
 
 In summer, the time from half-past five till a quarter 
 past six is sometimes spent by the elder pupils in 
 labour. 
 
 The school-instruction, according to law, must be 
 given in the French language. This, of course, is an 
 impediment to the progress of the children, especially 
 in the elementary classes, as but few of them upon 
 entering the Establishment, are able to speak any- 
 thing but their German patois. It appears that, 
 notwithstanding this, the French language never 
 becomes the language of the house. Religious in- 
 struction is given in German; and whenever the 
 children are addressed on any serious matter the 
 German is also used. " It goes more home to 
 the heart," observed Mr. Krafft. 
 
 Without degenerating into military rigour, strict 
 discipline is maintained. The principle of abstain- 
 ing entirely from corporeal punishment is not adopted. 
 In serious cases of transgression a child receives six 
 lashes (in no case more than six) on the palms of the 
 hands (three on each). They are applied with a flat 
 ruler, or, in very heinous cases, with a rod, and by 
 the house-father himself. The elder boys are never 
 chastised at all, except in very serious cases, when 
 a day's imprisonment, with bread and water in a cell 
 is inflicted. But years often elapse without its being 
 necessary to have recourse to this measure ; and it 
 is expected that it will gradually fall into disuse 
 altogether. Sometimes a child is punished by being 
 allowed nothing but dry bread and water for a whole
 
 406 NBUHOF. 
 
 day; but even then bread is allowed till he is 
 completely satisfied. The more gentle modes of 
 chastisement are those which are common in all 
 Establishments and families, such as banishment from 
 table during dinner, prohibition from playing, &c. 
 Should the whole school misbehave, a favourite sport 
 is prohibited, or an expected walk or an excursion is 
 delayed. 
 
 That this strict discipline does not interfere with 
 the happiness of the children, however, is evident 
 from the ease and cheerfulness which characterises 
 the whole family. Order appears to be loved, not 
 maintained from fear ; and the decent, discreet, and 
 gentle tone that prevails among the children shows 
 that a nobler and more efficient power than that of 
 the uplifted hand and the threatened rod rules 
 the minds and moulds the hearts of those once 
 unhappy, but now privileged, little creatures.
 
 IY. 
 
 RESULTS PRESENT STATE OF THE ESTABLISHMENT 
 STATISTICS. 
 
 TT cannot of course be expected that the instruc- 
 -* tion given in the school at Neuhof should always 
 have the same results any more than in other 
 schools. Though the majority of the children turn 
 out satisfactorily, and some even excite the admira- 
 tion of their teachers, yet the Committee has often 
 to speak of sad experiences, especially in the case 
 of such as entered the Establishment at a somewhat 
 advanced period of life. "It is evident," says one 
 of the Annual Reports, "that a boy who does not 
 enter the house until he has reached his twelfth 
 year, and of whom in the entry-book the character 
 can be given ' Never frequented a school ; used 
 to ramble about in the streets and in the cattle- 
 meadows,' can have little fancy for learning, and 
 still less ability to keep in his memory the little 
 he may pick up at school. Picture to yourself such 
 a boy and we have many such in our Establish- 
 ment who comes without any inclination whatever 
 towards learning, or a regular life, and besides is 
 reported to be a liar, a thief, and to have a natural
 
 408 NEUHOF. 
 
 propensity towards every kind of wickedness. Can 
 it be otherwise than that such a poor wretch should 
 feel an aversion to our house, and, notwithstanding 
 all the kindness and clemency shown to him, should 
 keep aloof and be full of mistrust ; while his shy, 
 suspicious look enables you to glance down to the 
 bottom of his perverted heart ? No wonder, indeed, 
 if, at the first punishment, though ever so slight, he 
 runs away from the house, as ' a bird flies from its 
 cage. Even after such a boy is brought back, and 
 at length learns to accommodate himself to the 
 order of the house, it often takes years of trouble 
 before any good word finds access to his heart. We 
 had, for instance, a most distressing experience with 
 three boys from Strasburg in 1860. They had grown 
 np like savages till their twelfth year. Against the 
 desire of their relatives, and against their own will, 
 they were recommended to us by some kind bene- 
 factors of their families. We took them in on 
 account of their deplorable condition'; but our rooms 
 were not to their taste, and our discipline still less 
 so. They ran away one of them encouraged by his 
 father and returned to their families, with heavy 
 complaints about the sufferings they had had to 
 undergo ; all of which, of course, were false. Two 
 of them, however, were brought back, but ran away 
 again, never to return, as their relatives harboured 
 them, thus rewarding with shameful ingratitude all 
 the good they had received from the Establish- 
 ment. Many similar experiences remind us of our
 
 FALSE IDEAS OF ITS RIGOUR. 409 
 
 impotence to renew a corrupt human heart, and teach 
 us to trust all to the merciful grace of G-od. 
 
 " It is not an easy matter to form a true idea of 
 the life at our Asylum. Many think it a convent ; 
 others suppose it to be a prison. Some people, who 
 lack the blessing of family -worship, or do not under- 
 stand its value, believe that there is too much of 
 praying and singing. Some parents, again, who 
 want to quiet their naughty children, frighten them 
 with the name of Neuhof. But our Establishment 
 is neither a convent nor a prison. It is a Protestant 
 institution, for educating poor children. Its object 
 is grand and beautiful, but difficult ; for our house 
 lies within the reach of the wicked world, and all 
 its pupils do not learn to flee the world while in 
 the world. We prompt our children towards perse- 
 verance in prayer ; we sow the Word of God as good 
 seed into their hearts ; we try to provide them with 
 the learning which they will want for this life ; we 
 incite them towards obedience, order, cleanliness, 
 and activity ; we teach them a trade ; and for a long 
 time, after they have begun to eat their own bread, 
 we continue to share their joys and sufferings ; and 
 we always help them with our advice and assistance, 
 when it is in our power." 
 
 This, surely, is not like a prison. Nor do we 
 receive the impression of a convent, when we read 
 the following description of the Establishment- 
 life : 
 
 "It is often supposed that in our Establishment,
 
 410 NEUHOF. 
 
 and similar ones, the reverse of a family-life is to be 
 found. But how many children find at our house 
 what they never could find at their own! How 
 many was it necessary to take away from what was 
 called their family! They became fatherless at an 
 early period of life, and were left to themselves. 
 The public road became their home; vagabonds 
 and idlers their family. Many a child has here 
 learnt to honour his father and mother, whom he 
 never learnt to honour before. Many a child which 
 took leave of its parents with dry eyes now writes 
 letters to them of its own accord, which express 
 in a touching way its filial love. It is true the 
 life in an Establishment is characterised by a certain 
 uniformity ; but where is the family-life in which 
 most days are not alike ? And surely in such a large 
 house as this many more alternations must take place 
 during the year than in an ordinary family-circle. 
 The New Year's-day, with its good wishes, hymns, 
 and watchwords, also brings along with it coffee and 
 buns, presented by friends. The 6th of February 
 the Dorothea-day reminds the girls of their kind 
 benefactress, Mrs. Dorothea Maurer, who was the 
 foundress of the girls' house, and secures them a 
 happy day. After the grave Passion-season is past 
 the returning spring leads the boys away to the 
 forest, where, through the favour of our much- 
 respected municipality, they are permitted to gather 
 thirty waggonsful of dry leaves for litter in the 
 stables, on which occasion there is plenty of oppor-
 
 DAYS OF CELEBRATION. 411 
 
 tunity for fun and sport. Easter, also, brings to 
 our house its merry hymns and spotted eggs. The 
 afternoon of the 1st of May forms for the boys a 
 counterpart to what the 6th of February is to the 
 girls. It is the Philippe-Jacob-day, on which they 
 are reminded of Father Wurtz. Then Whitsuntide 
 comes, with its joys and its much-frequented mis- 
 sionary festival, in the village church. After that 
 comes the much longed-for Annual Meeting of our In- 
 stitution, when many friends visit us, and our house 
 presents itself in a truly festive attire. Shortly after 
 this day, on tne 23rd of June, the anniversary of 
 Father Wurtz's death is celebrated by the whole 
 household at the tomb of that good man. Then the 
 summer comes, with its various labours in garden 
 and field ; with its walks, songs, and sports ; with its 
 gymnastic exercises, bathing, and swimming. The 
 harvest-time occupies the boys very much ; but when 
 the last cart, beautifully adorned with wreaths and 
 flowers, is driven home, again a happy holiday is pre- 
 pared for the young labourers. Then comes autumn, 
 with its blessing in apples, pears, and wine, when 
 every day heavy loaded waggons, carrying pro- 
 visions, drive up our farmyard, and are received 
 by the children with loud hurrahs, and unloaded 
 with merry noise. And well may they rejoice ; for 
 those waggons bring them the rich presents of 
 our dear friends, the inhabitants of the rural com- 
 munities of the Bas-Rhin, whom love has stirred 
 to favour us with a share of the rich blessings of
 
 412 NEUHOF. 
 
 their fields. And when, at the close of the year, 
 the holy Advent season approaches with its merry 
 hymns; when the large candelabrum, with its twenty- 
 eight lights, spreads its splendid lustre round the 
 saloon ; when the little manger and the perspective 
 tableau of the worshipping Shepherds are arranged in 
 order, and lots of beautiful toys, garments, provisions, 
 books, and pictures for all the inhabitants of the 
 Establishment, and mostly presents of friends in 
 the town, are lying on the tables, each lot being 
 illuminated by a special light ; then the blissful, 
 joyful, grace-bringing Christmas Eve is come, and 
 the joy of the heart bursts out into a hundredfold 
 cheering. Thus our family life flows on during 
 twelve months. Some additional beams of light are 
 also derived from the birthdays of the house-father 
 and house-mother, and their assistants ; from the visits 
 of the ladies who form the society for making clothes 
 for the children ; from the journey of the children 
 who have passed their church-confirmation to some 
 charming spot in the country, such as the ScTinee- 
 berg ; and from many other things which are im- 
 portant to children." 
 
 I saw nothing during my visit to the Establish- 
 ment that seemed to contradict this description of 
 the happy life of its inhabitants. But the testi- 
 monies of the pupils who have left that Institution 
 are of still greater importance than the evidence 
 of a passing visitor. These are not few ; and they 
 breathe but one spirit, that of gratitude and love.
 
 AN ANGELIC HELPER. 413 
 
 The touching case of a young minister, whose noble 
 conduct brought as much credit to the Establishment 
 as to himself, might here be fittingly recorded. 
 In the spring of 1841 (a few days before the 
 typhus and putrid fever broke out at the house, 
 by which thirty-one persons were laid up, of whom 
 six died), an unknown young man, the candidate 
 Mr. Kirsch, visited the Establishment. He stayed 
 during the night, and attended the instruction 
 of the children at school. A second teacher 
 was urgently wanted, and, having no ministerial 
 charge as yet, he resolved to perform the duties 
 for some time. No sooner had he begun his work, 
 with marked zeal and pleasure, than he was stopped 
 by the breaking out of the plague. Why Providence 
 had sent him hither now became clearly evident. 
 From a schoolmaster he at once transformed him- 
 self into a nurse. As courageous as he was faithful, 
 he exposed himself to the dangerous infection, tending 
 the sick for hours, encouraging and consoling them, 
 and praying with and for them. At other times he 
 still acted as a schoolmaster. He also came oppor- 
 tunely to the assistance of the house-father, the 
 excellent, godly Mr. Becker, whose young wife was 
 attacked by the disease, and brought to the very 
 brink of the grave. Thus, helping and consoling, 
 he moved through the house like an angel, till the 
 plague was over, and his assistance not wanted any 
 more. He left the house, refusing to take anything 
 with him but the love of its inmates. Ever after he
 
 414 NEUHOF. 
 
 continued a staunch friend and frequent visitor of 
 the Institution, the object and tendency of which he 
 so greatly admired. And little wonder. It was there, 
 by the side of the pious Becker, that he became 
 acquainted with the true spirit of the Gospel, which 
 he knew but imperfectly before, although a candidate 
 for the holy ministry. With deep emotion the Com- 
 mittee received, in 1851, a letter from his wife, saying 
 that her beloved husband, latterly the minister of a 
 Church in Silesia, had gone to his heavenly rest; and 
 that on his deathbed he had requested her to send the 
 half of the money she might find after his death to 
 the Neuhof Establishment, to which he had always 
 borne a heart full of love, " because he not only had 
 met with a kind reception on the part of the late 
 Director Becker, but also by the grace of God had 
 found there that treasure which now caused him to 
 die happy, and full of joy in the Lord." The letter 
 was accompanied with a gift of 57 thaler s (81. 11s.). 
 
 Such testimony borne by a good man, who knew 
 the Establishment well, proves that its religious spirit 
 is something else than mere formalism. Nor do the 
 words of the pupils who have left the Institution 
 contradict it. " The question is often put to us," 
 says the Committee in its 34th Annual Report, 
 "'What are the results of your education?' We do 
 not wish to conceal the sad truth, that out of the 
 420 pupils of our house many wander about in error ; 
 but we are thankful that these have always been 
 exceptions to the rule. The greater number have,
 
 TOKENS OF GRATITUDE. 415 
 
 with the aid of God, become better men. That 
 they still continue their connexion with us is the 
 best proof of this assertion. They are scattered 
 about in various conditions of life ; some are masters 
 of trade ; some merchants' clerks ; some mechanics. 
 Many are soldiers ; some of whom have attained supe- 
 rior rank. One day a sergeant of the Dragoons visited 
 our Establishment : ' For what I am,' he said to our 
 pupils, 'I am indebted to this Institution, where, 
 above all things, I have learned to obey.' 
 
 " Another, who is at present an Offider <$ Adminis- 
 tration in the Italian army, wrote thus the day 
 before his departure: 'Be assured of my most cordial 
 attachment to Neuhof, to which, next to God, I 
 am indebted for all I am.' Most of our former 
 pupils express their gratitude, either orally or by 
 letter, or by sending gifts of love, often from a 
 long distance. They inform us of their proceedings 
 and experiences, or perhaps pay us a visit with their 
 wives and children, to show them the spot they used 
 to call their parental dwelling, their beloved home. 
 One, who occupied a profitable situation as foreman 
 at a manufactory at Paris, but who unfortunately 
 was drowned, left 2000 francs (SQL) to the Establish- 
 ment. He was unmarried, and had often in his letters 
 to his relatives expressed his wish that, should he 
 die, a portion of his fortune should be given to the 
 Neuhof Institution, to which he owed his education." 
 
 It should also be mentioned that in 1863 the
 
 416 NEUHOF. 
 
 Committee received 454 francs (18?. 3s), partly 
 given, partly collected, by former pupils of the 
 Establishment. 
 
 The Government also favours the Establishment 
 with its confidence, allowing it an annual grant of 
 500 francs (20?.), which in some years has been 
 doubled. In 1863 the Minister of Inner Affairs 
 sent 2000 francs (80?.) for the enlargement of the 
 girls' house. The many donations and legacies 
 which the Establishment receives from people of all 
 ranks and classes sufficiently prove the high esteem 
 it is held in by the public. The fixed capital which 
 has in consequence sprung up has now increased to 
 the amount of about 30,000 francs (1200?.). It would 
 have been larger than this but for sums used, with 
 the permission of the Government, for building pur- 
 poses. 
 
 At the close of the year 1863 the number of pupils 
 residing at the Establishment was eighty-three, 
 fifty-nine being boys and twenty-four girls. Besides 
 these, thirty-one children, twenty-six boys and five 
 girls, were being supported outside the house at the 
 expense of the Institution ; so that the total number 
 was 114 pupils. Of the boys maintained outside the 
 house two frequented the gymnasium at Strasburg, 
 in preparation for the university; one was being 
 trained as a schoolmaster; and nineteen were 
 apprenticed, either in Strasburg or at other places 
 of Alsatia, with trades-masters or with farmers. As
 
 FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT. 417 
 
 the apprentices' house which the Committee has 
 rented in town only contains six beds, the greater 
 portion of those at Strasburg were boarded out 
 with suitable families. Out of the 118 children 
 which the Establishment supported, ninety-five re- 
 ceived everything gratuitously. 
 
 The total number of pupils admitted into the 
 Establishment since its commencement in 1825 till 
 the close of 1863 is 486. Among these there were 
 a few children of families in affluent circumstances, 
 who were admitted to the Establishment on account 
 of their education being impracticable in any other 
 school or institution. 
 
 As to the management of the financial concerns 
 of the Institution, I think I could not give those of 
 my readers who take an interest in good book- 
 keeping a better idea of the way in which this 
 branch of the administration is conducted than by 
 printing the Annual Account. This account the 
 Committee, according to the rule of the Gqvernrnent, 
 must send every year to the prdfet. A copy of it is 
 given on the next page. 
 
 The landed property of the Establishment consists 
 of a large kitchen-garden extending to about 9 acres, 
 and of about 40 acres arable field. The garden is 
 quite sufficient to provide the house with all the 
 required vegetables, fruits, and wine during the year. 
 In addition to the above-mentioned 40 acres, the 
 Establishment has from 47 to 50 acres rented. 
 
 VOL. i. 2 E
 
 418 NEUHOF. 
 
 The live-stock consists usually of 4 horses, 7 cows, 
 20 pigs, 1 goat, 4 geese, 50 chickens, and 20 rabbits. 
 
 The annual balance which the Committee sent 
 up to the Government at the close of 1863 is as 
 follows : 
 
 INCOME. 
 
 I. Receipts in Money : 
 
 Francs. Cts. 
 
 1. From gifts and subscriptions 14,103 20 
 
 2. Government grants . . 2 , 500 
 
 3. Sums paid by parents or benefactors for the\ no ** 
 
 n i r\ *1 f ** v^D *J\) 
 
 support of 19 pupils J 
 
 4. Sale of books 10 55 
 
 5. Sale of crops and fruits not taken in use by the\ , en 5 
 
 Establishment / 
 
 6. Sale of work of the pupils 1 60 
 
 7. Various receipts, &c 85 15 
 
 8. Extraordinary receipts, legacies, &c 13,593 
 
 9. Eentes and interests of capital 1 , 452 50 
 
 10. Donations expressly given for the building of the"! ,0^ 
 
 girls' house .. / 
 
 II. Estimated Value of Gifts in kind : 
 
 1. Gifts from France and Alsace, without Strasburg 4,077 80 
 
 2. Gifts from Strasburg 1,177 20 
 
 III. Estimated Value of the Produce of the Land and 
 Cattle consumed at the Establishment : 
 
 1. Produce of the garden and fields 6,046 75 
 
 2. Produce of the cattle 6,326 60 
 
 Total 52,989 55 
 
 EXPENDITUKE. 
 
 I. Expendituie in Money : 
 
 Francs. Cts. 
 
 1. Salaries 3,042 20 
 
 2. Books, paper, &c., for the use of the schools . . 745 10 
 
 3. Eepair of furniture, linen, &c 968 95 
 
 4. Clothing, washing, fec 5,764 75 
 
 5. Provisions 8,451 45 
 
 6. Fire and light 1,178 25
 
 UNFAVOURABLE COMPARISON. 419 
 
 7. Medical treatment 293 30 
 
 8. Expenses for apprenticing pupils 1,067 85 
 
 9. Eepair of the premises 468 50 
 
 10. Expenses for carrying on the agricultural labours 4,519 55 
 
 11. Assurance, travelling expenses for collecting, 1 * T 7RQ . n 
 
 postage, printing, &c J 1>/b 
 
 12. Extraordinary expenses for extracts of wills,") , .,, Qr . 
 
 stamped schedules, &c. ., / i>w 
 
 13. The building of the girls' house 9,751 55 
 
 II. Estimated Value of Gifts in kind consumed at the 
 
 Establishment : 
 
 1-4. Furniture, clothes, provisions, agricultural im-\ K OK( - n 
 plements / 5 ' 25 
 
 III. Estimated Value of the Produce of the Land and 
 Cattle consumed at the Establishment : 
 
 1. Produce used for feeding the pupils and employes 8,227 5 
 
 2. Produce used for agricultural purposes .. .. 4,146 30 
 
 Total amount 57,051 50 
 
 BALANCE. 
 
 Francs. Cts. 
 
 Expenditure 57,051 50 
 
 Receipts 52,989 55 
 
 Deficit, covered with borrowed money .. .. 4,061 95 
 
 From this account it appears that this Establish- 
 ment does not compare favourably with the German 
 Institutions of the kind as to cheapness of training. 
 Deducting Chapter III. from the Expenditure, as 
 being made up for by the corresponding Chapter III. 
 of the Income ; deducting further the sum of 9751 
 frs. 55 cents. (13 Chapter I.), as being an extra- 
 ordinary outlay of the year ; and deducting, finally, 
 the sum of 452 frs. 5 cents. (5 Chap. I. of the 
 Income), as being a contribution of the Establishment 
 
 2 E 2
 
 420 NEUHOF. 
 
 towards its own support, we find that the whole 
 household has cost 34,474 frs. 55 cents., which were 
 covered by gifts, donations, and interest of capital. 
 This sum, being divided by 114, which was the num- 
 ber of pupils during the year, it appears that each 
 pupil has cost the Establishment 302 frs. 23 cents., 
 or 127. Is. 9d. The cause of this rather high rate, 
 it seems must be sought in the Agricultural Depart- 
 ment. The Establishment has only 10 hectares of 
 land (about 90 acres) under cultivation, owing 
 to which limited area, 8451 frs. 45 cents, have been 
 spent for buying provisions. On the other hand, 
 it appears that the Agricultural Department has 
 cost 4519 frs. 55 cents. (10 Ch. I.), whereas the net 
 produce was only 8679 frs. 10 cents, (viz., 8227 frs. 
 5 cents., 1 Ch. III. of the Expenditure, and 452 frs. 
 5 cents., 5 Ch. I. of the Income), so that the cost 
 was more than 50 per cent, of the net produce. This 
 is a proportion which cannot but tell unfavourably 
 upon the finances of the Establishment. 
 
 The balance shows a deficit of a little above 4000 
 frs., which in the course of this year (1864) ran up 
 to 10,000 frs., in consequence of the lessening of 
 contributions, owing chiefly to a temporary financial 
 crisis at Strasburg. The Committee found itself 
 under the necessity of specially appealing to the 
 liberality of the benefactors of the Establishment. I 
 was glad to learn that this effort had not been made 
 
 O 
 
 in vain, as about the month of August the debt was
 
 HOPES OF THE COMMITTEE. 421 
 
 reduced to 6000 frs. We shall be still more glad 
 when, as we cordially hope, the Committee will be 
 able to close its next annual account with a nice 
 sum on hand with which to enter on the ensuing 
 year. Men who so disinterestedly take upon them- 
 selves the care and trouble of the direction of such 
 a good work, should at least be spared having to 
 grapple with the problem, how to keep the wolf 
 from the door of the Establishment. 
 
 END OF VOL. I. 
 
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