The Book in the Highways:
ITS FETTER-BREAKING.
"There are in this large stirring tide
Of human care and crime,
With whom the melodies abide
Of th' everlasting chime;
Who carry music in their heart,
Through dusky lanes and wrangling mart,
Plying their daily task with busier feet,
Because their secret souls a holy strain repeat."
CHAPTER XII
TO AND FROM THE CITY—OUR OMNIBUS—BOX AND MONKEY BOARD—THE LOST DAY—CRAPE ON THE WHIP—NIGHT GATHERING OF BARGE MEN—FETTERS BROKEN—THE SILENT WATER-WAYS—BIBLE IN CABIN—THE BARGEMAN'S HOPE.
The Book in the Highways:
ITS FETTER-BREAKING
"He went forth, and saw a publican, named Levi, sitting at the receipt of custom: and He said unto him, Follow Me. And he left all, rose up, and followed Him." Luke v. 27, 28.
"MY saying is," observed the driver of an omnibus to a gentleman at his side, "that it is right to be sociable; for if we are to have friends, we must be friendly ourselves." "Capital remark, that," we thought, while sitting down at the other side of the rather elevated box, waiting an opportunity to join in the conversation. The man was not quite unknown to us, as, in our almost daily journeys to the City, we had mounted at his side in turn with that of other knights of the whip who drove omnibuses from one of the suburbs to the centre of the mighty City—the Bank.
Once before, a short terse sentence had, in our hearing, been uttered by him which made a favourable impression, and we were now certain that James was a character—a man with an individuality. He was certainly respected by his fellows, as, while many others had singular names given them, expressive of peculiarities or contempt, he was always addressed as James; and it was certain, from the hurried words shouted by the drivers as they rapidly passed each other, that he dared to be singular by paying like respect to them. It was thus that we got to know the christian or surnames of men who were addressed by others as Kitty, Cranky, Boosey; and even "Ugly Jib"—as a worthy man was called in derision of a facial deformity—smiled pleasantly as our driver, in cheery tone, gave the rapid word of greeting, "Fine morning, Dan," or "Raw evening, Dan; button up tight."
A kindliness of disposition was also evident by the style in which he handled the "ribbons;" with a care and decision peculiar to the man, as though fearful of jagging the horses with the bit. As for the whip, it was simply what he called it, "his ornament." To have used it with violence upon his dumb friends never entered his mind. This was evident one dreary night when we had stayed late in the City, and happened to be the only outside passenger. As the hill was ascended near the end of the journey, the horses slackened pace almost to a walk. Now, we thought, is time for use of the "ornament;" and use it he did, but in a gentle manner. Patting one horse upon the neck with it, he said in an encouraging tone, "Now, Polly; come, get on;" and then passing it over to the other, he stroked kindly and said, "This won't do, Sally; come, pull up." Then followed the "click, click, click," an accomplishment of the mouth only attainable by the thorough "bus" driver; and then the horses, as with a human sense of the power of kindness, took the collar and cheerfully capped the hill.
"And so you treat your cattle as young ladies, do you?" we observed.
"Well, you see, sir," he replied, "as the saying is, 'the man that's any good considers his beast;' and it answers, as I can keep time as well as any one; and the foreman of the yard never finds fault, as I run them in quite comfortable, not all reeking and trembling as some do. And then, when I go into the yard of a morning, the pretty creatures look round and shake their manes, as much as to say, 'Good morning, master, we shall get on all right to-day.' You see, sir," he continued, after a thoughtful pause, "I have two daughters at home, Mary and Sarah, and good girls they are, though I don't see much of them; and as I am always thinking of them I mention them like to the horses when I want to pull up to time and the like."
"Your daughters, I suppose, go out to some employment, as you see so little of them?"
The answer was not immediately given, as the man hung his head and with ill-concealed emotion said, "No, sir, they ain't quite old enough for that; and I have heard a saying that no good is got by showing your sores, and 'that which can't be cured must be endured.' You see, I have to work more hours a week than niggers in the West Indies were ever made to do. Compared with other working men, I do nearly two days' work in one. This I have done for these sixteen years, and very little I've seen of my family and home. I often feel that I am getting used up, and think of a saying a foreman of mine had for men who asked for a day off the box: 'Rest indeed! rest in the grave, that will do for you.'"
This reply was given in a tone of despair which stopped the conversation for the short time required to reach the end of the journey. The parting word of "Good night, coachman," evidently helped him to regain his usual cheerfulness, as we heard the shake of the reins and the usual utterance, "All right, Sally; come, get on, Polly."
With us, cheerfulness was not so easily regained. The happy home and family joys seemed to deepen rather than remove the impression made by the driver. "It is now after ten," we thought, "and the poor fellow has another journey to the City and back. On the box again at eight in the morning until midnight, with little prospect of a Sunday; well, we will speak to him upon that subject."
A few nights after, being purposely late, we again mounted beside our proverb-speaking acquaintance, and watched for an opportunity to draw him out upon the "rest-rights" of his class. This soon occurred, as the driver remarked that his horses were fresh, "as they had yesterday in the stables."
"And so they have a rest-day now and then," we remarked, "and you have a natural and scriptural right to one in seven. How often do you get it?"
"I've lost mine this many a long year," was the reply; "and as they say somewhere, 'losers are always in the wrong;' and so five thousand or more of us who toil on the stones of London during all the Sundays are in the wrong—of course we are—and being in for a bad bargain must make the best of it. For us there is no help, as saints and sinners are both against us."
"Saints against you?"
"Yes sir, begging your pardon, the saints, or that sort of them that ain't advanced, and can't get on without their ears being tingled. We who live all our waking hours elevated on a 'bus observes a great deal, and that there are two sorts of Christians. It is wonderful if you compare duly what religion does. The hundreds of gentlemen's carriages it keeps indoors; the lots of working-men and city gents who can be happy at home, and the wonderful number that goes to their own places of worship, as is right. Well, these religious riders are a strange set, they are indeed. Sometimes they are ashamed of their prayer or hymn books, and sometimes they show them off boldly. My conductor was a Sunday-school boy not long ago, and he hates the sight of them. Between the box and monkey board there is an understanding, 'signs and wonders,' as I calls them, and when a religious party gets in, he puts his hands together and looks solemn; and when the pleasure-takers—our worst enemies—and there's no end of them, he rubs his hands and looks jolly. Well, these religious Sunday riders are a selfish, shabby lot; it's quite common when they pay with a shilling for them to say, 'Give me a threepenny piece, please, conductor.' That, you know, is for the collection; but if he can help it he don't give it them, as he is of my opinion, that these people ought to keep to their own places of worship, and not bring religion into contempt by supporting Sunday labour. Well, but the Sunday pleasure people are generous fools. They do a hard day's work and pay for it, as they don't believe in the religious way of being happy. At night the men put their wives and children inside and get out here themselves smoking hard after the drink they have had. Last Sunday night two of this sort got up beside me, and one of them swore badly, and offered me a cigar; but I said to him, 'The saying is, that "the tongue defiles the whole body," and I don't care to smoke with a man that curses.' Then he bullied me and threatened to inform about me; and I thought afterwards that I had done wrongly, as it is not doing my duty in that state of life in which God has placed me (as the Catechism says) if I offend riders; and as we outcasts—yes, I say outcasts, as men who have no Sundays and no ministers to care for them are—can't hope to be saved if God Almighty does not have mercy upon them for doing their duty."
The last part of this speech, which had been delivered at intervals between stoppages, was uttered with an expression of despair which reminded one of the day's sigh of the prisoner without hope. After a pause, the remark was ventured, "But, James, you can surely get a Sunday off whenever you like; it is only forfeiting the day's pay; and as I have ridden with you for some time, I had a thought of asking you to let me give you a Sunday, you could then attend Divine worship?"
"Thank you kindly, sir," he replied; "but I could not ask for more than one in two months or so, though we are supposed to have every third or fourth Sunday. I am feeling old, and a man ain't liked who is often off his 'bus. The foreman would soon say that a younger man was ready to take the reins; and then the workhouse, its disgrace, and separation from as good a wife as ever lived. No, sir, personal kindness can't do much for us Sunday slaves. No! it's getting the public to feel that it's a disgrace to the riders, and an injury to us poor fellows, that can alone do it."
Such were his opinions; but we soon after had the satisfaction to know that he enjoyed one happy Christian Sabbath, and upon several journeys we listened to his quaint remarks upon preacher and sermons. An interest in his spiritual state (which is always akin to real friendship) resulted; and upon many occasions instruction concerning personal salvation was given. The last ten minutes of the journey, when we were often alone, were valued, as, at intervals for more than a year, the good-natured driver listened as a little child to the message of a Redeemer's mercy. The summer and autumn had thus passed away, and during the winter we seldom rode with him, as his hours had been changed. Upon one of these occasions he from cold spoke with difficulty; but his weather-beaten countenance expressed a quiet peace, as he said, "I got a day off last Sunday week, and went to church twice. At night it was a saying of Jesus that was preached about, 'Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.' The sermon made me as happy as a prince; and after supper my Polly read the chapter through, where it is; and then I read a Psalm which is like a prayer."
We had not after this many opportunities for conversation, but frequently received his salute (the raising of the whip to the hat) as we passed on other omnibuses. One fine morning towards the end of the winter, which had been very severe, upon mounting an early 'bus, we noticed a bow of Crape on the Whip, and inquired concerning it. "It's James as used to drive this 'bus," the man replied with feeling; "but he is only one of the several old whips who have been done up this horrid winter. He had sixteen hours a day on this box for six weeks hard off, and had a bad cold; and when he tried for a rest Sunday, so many wanted it that he was snubbed, and was afraid of losing his whip, and so he kept on till he couldn't do so any longer, and then he took to his bed, and died in a few days."
The startling intelligence produced a sense of sadness during the journey, and led to solemn thought with desire to break fetters and let this order of Sabbath slaves go free.
That Crape on the Whip spoke of injury done to a man, and an important class of men, and that by a too general habit of breaking a Divine law through love of pleasure, or want of consideration.
To labour or employ labour on the Lord's day, unless for purposes of necessity or mercy, is sinful; as the command is, "Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy," and "Thou shalt reverence my Sabbaths." It is a breach of the moral law for mere pleasure to use any kind of vehicle on "the day which the Lord has made," and given for rest and worship. Poor James, like thousands of his class, was injured also by the criminal carelessness of professed Christians. These Sunday riders do spiritual and eternal damage to public servants, as well as temporal wrong, for—
"Evil is wrought by want of thought,
As well as want of heart."
That Crape on the Whip told the oft-repeated fact that the body of the Sunday worker rests earlier in the grave through loss of the Sabbath rest. The Maker of our frame has declared cessation from labour during a seventh portion of our time to be necessary to its health and vigour. The son of toil by hand or brain, who by loss of, or misuse of, the rest day so graciously given, impairs or fails to restore his strength, thus does injury to himself and others.
That Crape on the Whip assumed the force of a call to the Church, urging to self-denial and to active effort. Shall public servants slave on for our convenience, with no man to care for their souls? Let Christian men who are brought into friendly contact with them answer "No," by telling them of a Saviour's mercy. Let workers in the Lord's vineyard seek opportunity to instruct them, while making effort to lessen their hours of toil. Numerous as they are, they are only part of a class, including cabmen, railway servants, and others who suffer the moral degradation of Sabbath slavery. Their helpers, for instance the men who take charge of the horses, are the hardest-worked men in England. From early morning until late at night, all the year round they toil on. One of them remarked, "Cursed already, unceasing labour, and life used up early." A City Missionary, in a yard he visits, has arranged for eleven of these to join him on the Sabbath in an old omnibus which stands in a corner of the yard. It was once licensed to carry twelve inside. He there conducts a little service with them. Then again there are servants of the Redeemer who make constant effort to bring the life-giving power of Christ's religion to bear upon these Sabbath outcasts. Let us be partakers in their struggles and joys until the victory is gained; until freedom for those who cry because of the oppressor is secured; until no conscience is troubled by Crape on the Whip indicating that souls which were sabbathless and uncared for had, without preparation, entered the presence of God.
This earnest pleading for the oppressed omnibus men, through the pages of the London City Mission Magazine, reached many hearts with Christian sympathy, and not a few resolved that these men also should be spiritually cared for, and that an effort should be made to improve their condition. An "elect lady" gave full support for a Missionary to those who ply omnibuses in the West, while the liberality of a gentleman abounded to those of the South, and the help of many extended the benefit to East and North London.
Welcomes, hearty and full of hope, were given by the omnibus men to their new friends. Among their thousands there was not a Church member, a "Church goer," or one influenced by reading the Scriptures; except two or three who worked for private masters of Christian principles. To these Sabbathless men of constant toil, the Gospel which speaks of deliverance through the mercy of God in Christ Jesus was indeed a joyful sound, and right glad were they while waiting for a few minutes at each end of their journeys to listen to the messengers sent to them with glad tidings, and the result has been blessing to many souls, and the commencement of a struggle for their Sabbath and social rights.
A lady, for instance, offered a supper to three hundred of the omnibus men of West London if they could be got together. Lord Shaftesbury's advice was taken in the matter, and he decided that it would be well to invite them to the repast when they left work, from eleven to half-past twelve at night. This was done. A large, unfurnished room near the Paddington Station was taken. Their Missionary delivered the invitations the day before, and as midnight drew near the rush of men proved that all had accepted them. The uninvited guests, indeed, exceeded the invited, so the ample supply of provisions were soon cleared off. Then a raised platform was extemporized, and great was the demonstration of delight when Lord Shaftesbury took his stand upon it. The sight was of thrilling interest, as his lordship was surrounded by a group of gentlemen and ministers, including the Earl of Aberdeen and Canon Fleming, and in front were a mass of omnibus men, closely packed to the end of the room. The excitement was great when the noble lord announced that "The Man with the Book," who wrote "Crape on the Whip," would first address them.
This speaker, who was well received, stated the difficulties of the men, and gave matured advice as to the means of their removal. Referring to a conversation he had held with a director of the company, he stated that this gentleman admitted that the men were cruelly overworked, and that they were, with few exceptions, deprived of their natural and scriptural right to the Sabbath rest; but that the evil resulted from the increase of the Sunday riding public, and from faults with the men themselves which riveted their fetters. These faults were faithfully stated, and passages from the Book of God were repeated and pressed upon their attention, which, if believed from the heart, would lead them to their God and Saviour, and so break these and the heavier fetters of the soul, making them happy as the freedmen of Christ.
Dr. Manning, of the Tract Society, Lord Aberdeen, and Canon Fleming, then made pointed and telling speeches, after which the noble chairman wound up the meeting by telling the men that it was right that their grievance of constant toil—long hours without Sabbath rest—should thus be made known, that a healthy public opinion might be formed on their behalf. From his long experience in effort to reduce the hours of labour he gave them valuable advice, and concluded with the words:—
"I cannot find language strong enough to express all I feel at constant labour being forced on men, not excepting the Lord's day. It is abominable, and sufficient to call down the vengeance of God on the country. The rest of the Lord's day is a great necessity, and to deny you men the enjoyment and repose of that day is not only a very great cruelty, but an abominable sin (cheers). I want to remind you of this, that this work which we are commencing cannot be done by us alone; it must be done in cooperation with you. You must support the effort by strong appeals to your employers, and still stronger appeals to the public, and by unceasing prayer to Almighty God. You must press on all the rights you have, and which by God's grace you are determined to enforce. Your sole reliance must be in the blessing of the Almighty. To Him you must direct your thoughts and prayers, and draw down His blessing upon the effort, and take to your consideration these words which fell from the lips of many Protestant martyrs in their great sufferings,—
"'Although the day be never so long,
"At last it ringeth to evensong.'"
Great cheering followed, and after singing a hymn, the meeting, to which additional hundreds of omnibus men had flocked, separated at two o'clock in the morning.
But what good has resulted from this effort and meeting?
Well, much. Employers are granting their Sunday slaves concessions, slight indeed, but hopeful as to the future. Many persons who used these vehicles on the Lord's day have discontinued the practice. Some drivers and conductors have left on Sabbath principles; and, best of all, many of the men have already received spiritual good.
This was certainly the case with old Ben, who had driven to the Bank many thousand times, and who for thirty-two years had never attended Divine worship. He, indeed, held religion and religious people in derision. The Missionary secured his attention, and one day soon after the meeting, old Ben observed to him, "I read the tracts now, sir, and a bit of the Bible, and mean soon to get another Sunday off." He succeeded, and in the morning, the first time for so many years, attended Divine worship. In the evening his wife went, and he remained at home reading the Scriptures. He retired to rest unusually happy, but to sleep the long sleep, as in the silence of the night watches his immortal spirit was summoned to the presence of God.
It is indeed well that at length these men should have spiritual care, and that the "feet of those who carry glad tidings" should make their way to those who are in like condemnation. Now it so occurred that about the same time that Christian attention was directed to the neglect and wants of the men who labour upon our noisy highways, the roads,—that a like attention was called to those who pass life quietly on our silent highways, the canals. These water ways of the metropolis extend for several hundred miles through and about the City and its suburbs, and connect and bring into communication other great cities of the country. They are traversed continually by barges, which besides much merchandise contain a large floating population. Whole families inhabit the small cabins, and they have been described in the British Parliament as the most ignorant and debased of the people. It was therefore decided by the rulers of the mission to select a suitable man from the ranks, and bid him to make known the Gospel in the cabins, and on the towing paths.
The surprise at the lock of the Grand Junction Canal was great indeed when a stranger boarded each of their vessels, and addressed them as though they were old acquaintance. It was evident at first that they did not take kindly to the new friend. There were suspicious looks, and such hints as, "There bees them as says we are awful bad, and as puts us down in them papers as is in the publics." The zeal of the good man was also a matter of jest with them; as when they saw the agility with which he sprang from the tow-path to the barge, and from boat to boat, one man said to the other, "he's a jumping Jack, he is." The readings from the Bible, appeals to conscience, and the gift of Testaments and illustrated publications, soon won a way to their hearts, and in the course of five months their "Tract Man" became a popular personage, and this is how the fact was discovered. Mr. Atkinson, late Mayor of Hull, who superintends the work, gave a tea to as many boatmen and their wives as happened upon a certain evening to be at the Brentford Junction, and two hundred and fifty, direct from their boats, assembled, and a rough company they appeared.
Tea over, and justice was done to it, the meeting commenced by their host taking the chair, and he, after hearty words of Christian kindness, requested the man who was known to carry a Book with him to address them. This he did by telling them "that a few days before he had read something upon an old tea-pot in the Brighton Museum, which he would repeat to them,—
"'The loss of gold is much,
"The loss of health is more,
"The loss of Christ is such a loss
"That no man can restore!'
"And then he explained to them the value of money, and the misfortune of losing it by accident, and the sin of losing it by drunkenness and vice. The value of health, and the folly of losing it by intemperance, smoking, and neglectful habits. The value, the preciousness of Christ as the Saviour of sinners, and the folly, the crime, of refusing the mercy of God by Him. The Book was then produced, and the words read solemnly, "Behold the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world."
Their Missionary was then called upon, and the boat people received him with a demonstration of delight. His speech was simple in words, but full of Christian affection for their souls, and of sympathy in the trials of their calling. It was evident that they received him as their own "parson man," as they drank in every word he uttered, and with a great noise expressed their delight with his speech. One of them indeed rose, and with a stammering tongue said, "that he was a waterway man, and like them all, he and his wife wanted to see him often in their cabin, to read to them from the good Bible, and to try and make them good, as he knew he was doing to some of them."
At the close it was cheering to hear them trying with all their will to sing, "Tell me the Old, Old Story," and to notice their reverence during the closing prayer.
After the tea several letters were sent to the Office. They were alike in style, and we select one to show the progress which has been made with these rough people.
"Dear sir i right those few lines to you to thenk you for you kingens for sending such a man to the Poor Boat Peple i think he Just the man for it to Point them to the lame of god Wich taks the sins away he Not shamed to take yup his crose and tell Poor Peple a Bout Jueses i cant right much But i hope you escuse my Bad righting Whe have knowed in tim a good Wile at Padgtion and glad to see his face Down kingsland Pasen the lord Bless his labore and give him soles fore his hiere so
No More fromec.– D–.Boat man."
We will only add that a gathering from among the boat people, as from the omnibus men, is being made to the Lord Jesus, and as they approach Him, the Saviour, their spiritual fetters are broken, and the outward fetters of their calling fall away. Duty, compassion, patriotism, require that these thousands of the oppressed should have opportunity to worship Jehovah in His temple, and to become acquainted with His laws, and the wonders of His grace. Remember, oh ye people who have been chosen and called to form the Church of the Redeemed on earth; remember that it is your dignity, as well as duty, to help all who are oppressed; everywhere to proclaim the freedom of the kingdom "set up in the earth;" that to you the enraptured words of the prophet are addressed with royal command and sustaining promises: "Thou mayest say to the prisoners, Go forth; to them that are in darkness, Show yourselves. They shall feed in the ways, and their pastures shall be in all high places … for He that hath mercy on them shall lead them, even by the springs of water shall He guide them."2