[-262-]
CHAPTER XV.
WHAT THE CHURCHES ARE DOING (continued)
THE Weslyan Methodists have so far recognized their responsibility towards
the young men of their own body in the city as to a appoint the junior minister
of the City Road Circuit to attend to their spiritual interests. But beyond
giving him this commission they have done little. Certainly they could not have
designated any one more fitted to fulfil this duty than the Rev. W. J. Dawson,
who has effectually gained the ear of the London public as a preacher and
lecturer in the chapels of his own denomination and in such popular resorts as
the City Temple. But to preach to a large congregation of city youths on a
Sunday evening is a very small part of a pastor's duty, and no one recognizes
this fact more fully than Mr. Dawson. Yet what are his opportunities of doing
more? In Aldersgate Street a small house, named after the founder of Methodism,
was started some few years ago as a city home for Wesleyan young men. IT did not
answer the expectations formed of it, There was but one common room-dining-room,
drawing-room, and writing-room combined - and upstairs the ac-[-263-]commodation
consisted of tiny cubicles, across the end of which a curtain might be drawn to
secure whatever privacy was desired. To enjoy a smoke one had to seek the
hospitality of the pavement outside. There need be little wonder that it was a
difficult task to make the place pay at a weekly charge of one guinea a head for
board and lodging. It was maintained chiefly by those whose loyalty to Methodism
was greater than their regard for personal comfort.
On the other side of the street a gas-lamp over an entry
informs the passer-by of the existence of a Wesleyan Young Men's Christian
Association. Its quarters form the ground floor of a pile of warehouses, and the
high rent that is paid for them is drawn from the purchase-money received from
the sale of the old Jewin Street Chapel. It is not a popular resort with the
young men for whom it is provided, although it is used on Sundays for the
purposes of a flourishing Sunday-school. We arc informed that it is shortly to
be given up for less expensive premises.
It is evident, therefore, that Mr. Dawson has to work amidst
great difficulties, as every step he takes for the benefit of his flock must be
done on his own responsibility and at his own expense, in the hope that it may
be refunded to him in the future.
Once upon each Sunday he is expected to occupy the pulpit of
what every Wesleyan looks upon as the cathedral of Methodism, and although the
numbers of his hearers unaccountably vary, as they do in most non-residential
neighbourhoods, he has [-264-] every reason to be
gratified with the audiences he commands. But he feels the common difficulty of
getting into personal contact with them. Hurry out of the pulpit as fast as he
can, in order to get an exchange of greetings with his departing hearers, he
cannot be in time to catch all, and so far his invitations to the vestry for
personal interviews have not met with much response. He has no premises where he
can find a common meeting-place, although in his heart be cherishes the hope of
covering the vacant plot of so-called garden-ground, or forecourt, with a
building for a young men's club. But that is a question for the trustees.
In the debating-class connected with the Wesleyan Young Men's
Christian Association, the question of clubs was lately discussed ; and as an
instance of what the city young men require, it noted that all but an
insignifcant minority declared that a club, to command the confidence of those
whom it would seek to attract and benefit, must permit billiard and card-playing
and the free sale of beer on its premises. The youth of London object to moral
coddling, and it is the existence or the suspicion of it that hampers the noble
exertions made on their behalf by some of the great institutions of the
metropolis.
Mr. Dawson greatly favoured the idea of a residential club
for young men, where for a small weekly sum a bed, breakfast, and evening
recreation could be had. In order, however, to reach those chiefly in need of
it, the terms would have to be very low. He was constantly being asked to find
lodgings for youths in receipt of from £50 to £70 a year, who [-265-]
could not afford to find more than 5s. to 7s. a week for their bed and
breakfast. They could get it, of a sort, in many quarters of Hoxton and
Islington, in most cases by sharing their bed, or at any rate their room, with
another.
It was extremely difficult for a minister to accomplish any
good by calling upon young men at their places of business, either during or
after hours, and yet he was continually being asked by anxious friends at home
to "look up" So-and-so. He found he often did harm where he most
desired good. The "parson" was "spotted" as soon as he
entered the place, and his quarry was marked, while the object of his
attentions, blushing and bothered, stammered out a few curt answers to his
inquiries, knowing that as soon as the parson was gone his companions would be
down upon him with all kinds of chaff to clear himself of which he would not
improbably indulge in some stupid outburst of folly, which would destroy what
little seeds of good still lingered in his heart.
So far Mr. Dawson's labours amongst the work-girls of the
neighbourhood had been more productive than his efforts on behalf of young men,
but these may come to be noted when the case of the young women of Tempted
London is treated. On the whole then, Methodism cannot be said to be doing much
in the city. It has, however, taken the initiatory step, and it has only to give
Mr. Dawson a free hand and plenty of money to accomplish a great work.
We may turn from City Road to St. James's Hall and Wardour
Street, to inquire how far the Wesleyan [-266-] West
Central Mission affects Tempted London. It is, of course, as yet in us infancy,
and its organization is by no means complete; but the Rev. H.P.Hughes has
informed us that the bulk of his great Sunday-evening congregations and of his
Saturday-evening concert audiences is formed of young men and women, but
especially of young men, from the great Wrest End shops. They number fully
two-thirds of his hearers. But as yet very little has been done to affect them
on the social side of their natures. There is, however, a choral society,
numbering at present about a hundred young men and women, who meet at Lincoln
House, Greek Street, once the notorious Austro-Hungarian Club, every Tuesday
evening, which affords not merely musical recreation, but an opportunity for
social intercourse to those who attend it. Lincoln house is well fitted to
become a centre of good work as far-reaching and effective as were its
capacities for evil. It has ample accommodation, and its nobly proportioned
rooms will answer every purpose except that of public meetings, for which
Wardour Hall is available. But the Wesleyans are ambitious, and there are hopes
in the air that soon they will be in possession of a great central hall, where
every kind of philanthropic and spiritual agency will find an appropriate
"local habitation and a name."
Mr. Hughes avails himself of every opportunity of meeting the
young people of the West End houses in their own rooms and in many of them he
finds proofs of steady and earnest Christian work, although it is a lamentable
fact that a great many employers recognize no responsibility towards their
assistants [-267-] other than that of providing
fairly comfortable accommodation, while in some instances the profligate life of
heads of departments and the complete absence of all moral oversight are
producing terrible results amongst the young men and women in their employ.
There is no power to cope with this so great as individual consecration to God.
In one instance Mr. Hughes mentioned that a single country lad, coming to a
great London house, had, during a few years' stay there, by his consistent life
and manly piety, change the whole current of public opinion in the establishment
and purged the moral atmosphere of the perilous stuff that had been hitherto
fatal to all true life. It was on individual effort and example that he placed
his chief reliance.
In passing it may be noticed that Lincoln house, called so
from Lincoln College, Oxford, of which John Wesley was some time Fellow, is
intended to form, amongst other things, a kind of depot of the army of workers who are trying to evangelize the
neighbourhood. With this object in view, its upper floor, formerly a
billiard-saloon, has been divided into twelve roomy cubicles about eight or nine feet in height, and which in every
other respect are independent rooms, having a lock and key on the door and
every necessary for complete privacy. Each room is well furnished, having an iron
bedstead with spring mattress, a chest of drawers, a washstand, a chair or two,
and abundance of comfortable bedding. Twelve young men can be accommodated in this way and supplied with full board at a weekly charge of
16s. 6d. In return
they are expected to give a considerable pro-[-268-]portion of their leisure to missionary work amongst
the poor, outdoor evangelizingm etc. their hearts thus being kept warm in God's service, while their
bodies are provided with wholesome food and their physical interests promoted by careful
tendance.
What Mr. Hughes has done in Soho a very successful Congregational minister, lately come to
London, is thinking of doing in the far west of Paddington - viz, forming a home for Christian workers, a sort of college of
lay evangelists, or, as they are termed in the Anglican Church, lay readers
or subdeacons.
TWO ISLINGTON CHURCHES.
To go from Central London to "merry Islington" is to obtain
a complete change of air, so far as the domestic life of Tempted London is
concerned. We are no longer surrounded by colonies of whole-sale warehousemen, lodged in great
caravanserais, but by swarms
of private lodging-houses, tenanted by city clerks. Amongst these
the labours of Dr. Thain Davidson have long been famous the world over.
It is more than twenty years since he instituted his lectures to young men that from month to
month crowd his church with eager listeners. In those days there were but few who made any direct
efforts on behalf of young men, and their mode of attack was chiefly that of argumentative discourses
on the evidences of Christianity. Every youth was looked upon as an atheist in embryo. It was taken
for granted that he was the prey of all sorts of intellectual questionings, that must be answered
before any moral good could be effected. The [-269-] practical temptations that surround the young were ignored.
For every doubt that assails the wind a hundred snares allure the flesh ; but it
was the former alone that were combated in the Evangelical pulpit; and so
thousands were falling a prey to the temptations of the senses, while the few
were being equipped against the misgivings of the mind.
Dr. Davidson saw this error, and determined to avoid it.
Young men who came to hear him felt that something practical was offered Them.
The preacher was a man who knew what life was and his audience
recognized that he had correctly diagnosed their complaint and was prepared with
a remedy. He did not put a blister behind the ears when they need a draught for
the stomach. And so his work has gone on and prospered. Dr. Davidson's lectures
are published periodically in fugitive form in the Islington Gazette and
also as books. In the former they are sent all over the world, and frequently reappear in other countries and
languages. But he does not confine his labours to the pulpit. His correspondence
is very great, and he is constantly being called on to minister to minds diseased through the post. Every few weeks
the lecture-hall of his church, the Presbyterian Church of England, Colebrooke Row,
Islington, is transformed into a drawing-room where the young people of his congregation are welcomed to an
evening of socia1 entertainment of precisely the same
nature as they would meet with in the drawing-room of a private house. He
acknowledges that his experience had shown him the more favourable side of a young
man's character, and he seems to [-270-] give no
ready assent to the reports he hears of so much evil
abroad, it was a special feature of his pastoral teaching to insist upon the
responsibility of those possessing homes and domestic circles of their own towards such as had
nothing of the kind, and he was continually urging them to throw open their
doors to the stranger amongst them, the young man or woman of good character, who was
isolated from such refining influences amidst the dreary surroundings of a North London
lodging-house. Many who came to him were attracted by his printed discourses, many more were the result of invitation, and others
came direct from pious homes in the country. A great proportion were Scotchmen, who
in general resembled Jeremiah's figs ; the good were very good, and the bad very bad. Owing to the strictness of
the restraint under which they had been held at home, the large liberty of
London proved too much for them, and they burst all bounds.
Beyond the usual congregational agencies of services, mutual-improvement
societies, debating-clubs, reading-rooms, and the like, common nowadays to every Christian Church, there seems to be
nothing peculiar to Dr. Davidson's Church except the personality of the pastor. This is, however,
the chef secret of all successful work amongst the young. Some ministers, with
every good desire and the most elaborate agencies, can never hope for success in this direction, as they are not young men's
men and never will be. Now Dr. Davidson is a young man's man, and that is what has given him
his
great power and influence.
The same is true of Dr. Allon. Union Chapel, [-271-]
Islington, is the centre of a most extensive circle of work of all kinds, and
of course the details have to be committed to tine hands of numerous
lieutenants. The pastor looks to them to carry out the execution of the Church's will. His work amongst young men closely
resembles that of Dr. Davidson, allowance being made for the difference of
personal characteristics. There are the same periodical sermons, the same social
gatherings, and the same literary associations. Dr. Parker is perhaps the most popular preacher among
city young
men, and there are lectures and societies in connexion with his church.
DR. CLIFFORD.
A chief feature of another large centre of Christian agencies,
Westbourne Park Chapel, is the flourishing literary institute
connected with it. In the mammoth concerns of the Grove there are great numbers
of young men, countermen and others, who gladly avail themselves of the
advantages of the Westbourne Park Institute, which is by no means a close preserve
of the chapel adjacent. All creeds and no creed may join the classes or attend
the lectures and week! free concerts. But Dr. Clifford acknowledges the
difference between the young man of to-day and the one of twenty years ago, and
unless we are mistaken, he notices and regrets the absence of that earnestness
and solidity of character that was to be found in bygone days. Self-amusement has
taken the place of self-improvement. When he was the pastor of Praed Street
Chapel he used to have a class of young men at seven o'clock in
the morning, before the shutters of the great [-272-] shops came down, to study the Greek Testament.
He laid himself out in every possible way to do good amongst the young, and was prepared to
teach almost everything they wished to learn. He
could not say whether it would he possible in the altered condition of things to
muster a class of twenty young men at seven o'clock on a week-day morning for study of any kind.
But there seemed to be a growing interest in the Bible. One
of his office-bearers had for some time now conducted a largely attended
Bible-class for young men on the Sunday afternoon, in which there was great
freedom of discussion, both as to subject and method. Nothing was excluded upon
which the Bible could be referred to, social, political or moral.
But he felt the need of something to fill up the Sunday
evening after the hours of worship. It was the most dangerous time of the day.
The public-houses alone were open, and they were attractive enough. It had been the custom of one of his
people to throw open his drawing-room on the Sunday evening
to the young people of his congregation, and he should very much like to see
such an example widely followed, for the domestic comforts of the large drapery
houses in that neighbourhood were few and small. Their life at its best was but
a barrack life.
So far as his inquiries went, he believed the crying evil of gambling now so prevalent was due to the utter
absence of all healthy excitement in the lives of the young. They did not bet
for gain, but for fun. It gave them something to look forward to. It added
a relish to life which was not provided [-273-] in any other way. How to satisfy this craving was a great and
pressing question. And with respect to this matter of gambling, the writer was
asked by one of those he interviewed it he had rightly estimated the difficulty
of combating the evil upon moral grounds. Its spirit was an unchristian one, but
how could the practice be reprobated? Upon what principle could it be met? If
the man who betted on the chances of a certain horse winning a race was sinning,
is not he also sinning who invests his savings in an undertaking on the chance
of its securing a greater return than it has hitherto produced? Does
not many an honest Christian man stake his earnings on mere chance in the same
way as the office-boy does when he joins a sweep stake? and how, then, can the
evil be exposed and denounced? it is a question easy to ask, but difficult to
answer. Are we not all gamblers? and how, then, can we effectively denounce
gambling? Wherein does the sin lie? No Christian man denies its existence, but
how may it be detected?
The great work of the Y.M.C.A., the Church of England Y.M.S. and
the Christian Institute at the Polytechnic, Regent Street, demands chapters to
itself.