in darkest england and the way out-及25准
梓囚徒貧圭鮗 ○ 賜 ★ 辛酔堀貧和鍬匈梓囚徒貧議 Enter 囚辛指欺云慕朕村匈梓囚徒貧圭鮗 ● 辛指欺云匈競何
!!!!隆堋響頼紗秘慕禰厮宴和肝写偬堋響
These Cheap Food Depots I have no doubt have been and are or great service to numbers of hungry starving men察women察and children察at the prices just named察which must be within the reach of all察except the absolutely penniless察but it is the Shelter that I regard as the most useful feature in this part of our undertaking察for if anything is to be done to get hold of those who use the Depot察some more favourable opportunity must be afforded than is offered by the mere coming into the food store to get察perhaps察only a basin of soup。 This part of the Scheme I propose to extend very considerably。
Suppose that you are a casual in the streets of London察homeless察friendless察weary with looking for work all day and finding none。 Night comes on。 Where are you to go拭 You have perhaps only a few coppers察or it may be察a few shillings察left of the rapidly dwindling store of your little capital。 You shrink from sleeping in the open air察you equally shrink from going to the fourpenny Dosshouse where察in the midst of strange and ribald company察you may be robbed of the remnant of the money still in your possession。 While at a loss as to what to do察someone who sees you suggests that you should go to our Shelter。 You cannot察of course察go to the Casual Ward of the Workhouse as long as you have any money in your possession。 You come along to one of our Shelters。 On entering you pay fourpence察and are free of the establishment for the night。 You can come in early or late。 The company begins to assemble about five o'clock in the afternoon。 In the women's Shelter you find that many come much earlier and sit sewing察reading or chatting in the sparely furnished but well warmed room from the early hours of the afternoon until bedtime。
You come in察and you get a large pot of coffee察tea察or cocoa察and a hunk of bread。 You can go into the wash´house察where you can have a wash with plenty of warm water察and soap and towels free。 Then after having washed and eaten you can make yourself comfortable。 You can write letters to your friends察if you have any friends to write to察or you can read察or you can sit quietly and do nothing。 At eight o'clock the Shelter is tolerably full察and then begins what we consider to be the indispensable feature of the whole concern。 Two or three hundred men in the men's Shelter察or as many women in the women's Shelter察are collected together察most of them strange to each other察in a large room。 They are all wretchedly poorwhat are you to do with them拭 This is what we do with them。
We hold a rousing Salvation meeting。 The Officer in charge of the Depot察assisted by detachments from the Training Homes察conducts a jovial free´and´easy social evening。 The girls have their banjos and their tambourines察and for a couple of hours you have as lively a meeting as you will find in London。 There is prayer察short and to the point察there are addresses察some delivered by the leaders of the meeting察but the most of them the testimonies of those who have been saved at previous meetings察and who察rising in their seats察tell their companions their experiences。 Strange experiences they often are of those who have been down in the very bottomless depths of sin and vice and misery察but who have found at last firm footing on which to stand察and who are察as they say in all sincerity察 as happy as the day is long。; There is a joviality and a genuine good feeling at some of these meetings which is refreshing to the soul。 There are all sorts and conditions of men察casuals察gaol birds察Out´of´Works察who have come there for the first time察and who find men who last week or last month were even as they themselves are nowstill poor but rejoicing in a sense of brotherhood and a consciousness of their being no longer outcasts and forlorn in this wide world。 There are men who have at last seen revive before them a hope of escaping from that dreadful vortex察into which their sins and misfortunes had drawn them察and being restored to those comforts that they had feared so long were gone for ever察nay察of rising to live a true and Godly life。 These tell their mates how this has come about察and urge all who hear them to try for themselves and see whether it is not a good and happy thing to be soundly saved。 In the intervals of testimonyand these testimonies察as every one will bear me witness who has ever attended any of our meetings察are not long察sanctimonious lackadaisical speeches察but simple confessions of individual experiencethere are bursts of hearty melody。 The conductor of the meeting will start up a verse or two of a hymn illustrative of the experiences mentioned by the last speaker察or one of the girls from the Training Home will sing a solo察accompanying herself on her instrument察while all join in a rattling and rollicking chorus。
There is no compulsion upon anyone of our dossers to take part in this meeting察they do not need to come in until it is over察but as a simple matter of fact they do come in。 Any night between eight and ten o'clock you will find these people sitting there察listening to the exhortations and taking part in the singing察many of them察no doubt察unsympathetic enough察but nevertheless preferring to be present with the music and the warmth察mildly stirred察if only by curiosity察as the various testimonies are delivered。
Sometimes these testimonies are enough to rouse the most cynical of observers。 We had at one of our shelters the captain of an ocean steamer察who had sunk to the depths of destitution through strong drink。 He came in there one night utterly desperate and was taken in hand by our peopleand with us taking in hand is no mere phrase察for at the close of our meetings our officers go from seat to seat察and if they see anyone who shows signs of being affected by the speeches or the singing察at once sit down beside him and begin to labour with him for the salvation of his soul。 By this means they are able to get hold of the men and to know exactly where the difficulty lies察what the trouble is察and if they do nothing else察at least succeed in convincing them that there is someone who cares for their soul and would do what he could to lend them a helping hand。
The captain of whom I was speaking was got hold of in this way。 He was deeply impressed察and was induced to abandon once and for all his habits of intemperance。 From that meeting he went an altered man。 He regained his position in the merchant service察and twelve months afterwards astonished us all by appearing in the uniform of a captain of a large ocean steamer察to testify to those who were there how low he had been察how utterly he had lost all hold on Society and all hope of the future察when察fortunately led to the Shelter察he found friends察counsel察and salvation察and from that time had never rested until he had regained the position which he had forfeited by his intemperance。
The meeting over察the singing girls go back to the Training Home察and the men prepare for bed。 Our sleeping arrangements are somewhat primitive察we do not provide feather beds察and when you go into our dormitories察you will be surprised to find the floor covered by what look like an endless array of packing cases。 These are our beds察and each of them forms a cubicle。 There is a mattress laid on the floor察and over the mattress a leather apron察which is all the bedclothes that we find it possible to provide。 The men undress察each by the side of his packing box察and go to sleep under their leather covering。 The dormitory is warmed with hot water pipes to a temperature of 60 degrees察and there has never been any complaint of lack of warmth on the part of those who use the Shelter。 The leather can be kept perfectly clean察and the mattresses察covered with American cloth察are carefully inspected every day察so that no stray specimen of vermin may be left in the place。 The men turn in about ten o'clock and sleep until six。 We have never any disturbances of any kind in the Shelters。 We have provided accommodation now for several thousand of the most helplessly broken´down men in London察criminals many of them察mendicants察tramps察those who are among the filth and offscouring of all things察but such is the influence that is established by the meeting and the moral ascendancy of our officers themselves察that we have never had a fight on the premises察and very seldom do we ever hear an oath or an obscene word。 Sometimes there has been trouble outside the Shelter察when men insisted upon coming in drunk or were otherwise violent察but once let them come to the Shelter察and get into the swing of the concern察and we have no trouble with them。 In the morning they get up and have their breakfast and察after a short service察go off their various ways。 We find that we can do this察that is to say察we can provide coffee and bread for breakfast and for supper察and a shake´down on the floor in the packing´boxes I have described in a warm dormitory for fourpence a head。
I propose to develop these Shelters察so as to afford every man a locker察in which he could store any little valuables that he may possess。 I would also allow him the use of a boiler in the washhouse with a hot drying oven察so that he could wash his shirt over night and have it returned to him dry