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Sir John Kirk: The Children's Friend

2.9.05
Chapters
Title Page Title Page

Foreword

Chapter I
SIR JOHN KIRK Chapters II and III

Chapters IV and V
THE CHILDREN'S
FRIEND Chapters VI and VII

Chapters VIII and IX

Chapters X and XI
by
Chapters XII and XIII

Chapters XIV and XV

John Stuart
John Kirk Main Site
Sir John Kirk

Second Edition, Revised and Enlarged

London
S.W. Partridge & Co.
8 and 9 Paternoster Row
1907

BUCKINGHAM PALACE,
17th May 1907.

Sir, --I have had the honour of submitting your letter to the King,
and I am commanded
to inform you, in reply, that His Majesty is happy to accept the
copy of your "life" of Mr. John Kirk which you have forwarded to
me for him. --I am, Sir, Your obedient Servant,

KNOLLYS.
JOHN STUART, Esq.

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Foreword

Dedicated
By Permission
To
Her Royal Highness
THE PRINCESS CHRISTIAN
Herself a lover
Of all good works

FOREWORD

Six years ago I had the pleasure of making Mr. John Kirk’s personal
acquaintance. In 1903, in response to my wish that I should prepare a
monograph of his life and work, he placed his numerous scrap-books
at my disposal and gave me much personal information. The pressure of
a busy life delayed the completion of my pleasant task, and there was,
in addition, a modest reluctance on Mr. Kirk’s part to intrude his
personality upon the public.
When the fact was known that 1907 marked forty years of service in
connection with the Ragged School Union, a desire arose
spontaneously in many minds that some mark of national appreciation
should be bestowed upon so zealous and unselfish a worker. This
culminated in the presentation of address, portrait, and substantial
cheque at the Mansion House, fixed for May 14, 1907, under the
presidency of the Right Honourable The Lord Mayor, Sir William
Treloar.

This seemed a fitting time to expedite the publication of this sketch of

Mr. Kirk’s life and work. The correspondence received by Mr. W. J.
Orsman, honorary secretary to the Testimonial Fund, would of itself fill
a volume, and has ranged from the humblest Ragged School worker to
the Princess Christian, who graciously and most cordially accepted my
dedication of this book to Her Royal Highness.

It is a delight to enjoy the friendship of a man like Mr. John Kirk, and I
am grateful to him and to the publishers for the privilege of compiling,
however unworthily, this sketch of a life full of usefulness and blessing.

JOHN STUART
March 1907

*******************************

Note to Second Edition

It is a matter of sincere satisfaction that the publishers’ large first edition

of this book was exhausted nine months after publication. The many
appreciative Press notices and numerous personal letters which have
reached me are still more gratifying. Lord Knolly’s letter of acceptance
by the King is printed on another page. Some slight corrections have
been made in the body of the work, ensuring accuracy; and a further
chapter has been added narrating the interesting series of events
connected with the National Testimonial and Knighthood by His
Majesty.

J.S.
HERSHAM,
WALTON-ON-THAMES

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Chapter I

Chapter I
From Village to City

The little house in which John Kirk first saw the light stands right
opposite to the handsome parish church of Kegworth, a village of a
thousand or more inhabitants, seventeen miles from Leicester. Its
nearest market town, Castle Donington, is three miles away, and itself
has a population under four thousand. So often does it happen that the
unknown hamlet produces men whose names become household
words.
It is an encouragement to resolute and ambitious youth in every age that
positions are earned and won by those who were nurtured in humble
surroundings, and without those special advantages which wealth and
rank, education and patronage are though to bring. Mr. Kirk’s father
was the village tinman and brazier, employing two or three assistants.
He was a man of sterling moral qualities without any special religious
enthusiasm.

His family consisted of six sons and three daughters. Samuel, the eldest,
assisted his mother to maintain the business after his father’s death, and
was of that bright winsome temperament which endeared him to the
whole village, so that his death at the early age of twenty-seven was
greatly lamented. John was the second son. The third was George, who
died in 1899. One died in infancy, and Alfred is now in Canada.
Charles, the youngest, after a brief foray into the turmoil of London
business life, returned to Kegworth, where he fills a large share in the
social and commercial life of the village, and is held in general regard.
Of the three daughters, one died in early life, one several years ago, and
the third still survives.

The roominess mentally associated with a thinly populated English

village even in this generation is not always coincident with spacious
dwellings or healthful systems of sanitation. And it not infrequently
happens, despite the general rule, that country youths are far from
robust. This, at least, was the case with John Kirk, whose impressions
of childhood are rather of a “dull-grey.” He suffered much from
headaches and languor, arising from physical weakness, so that he had
little vigour for play, and was more content to watch the enjoyment of
others’ games.
The delicate child, however, is often nearest the mother’s heart, and the
good lady, who lived until 1891, achieving the ripe age of seventy
years, and saw her son crowned with honour and success in incessant
labours for children, could have no higher tribute than that son’s remark
in later years: “A palace would have been a prison without mother.
When she came in at the door my sorrow went out by the window.”

Until he was ten the boy attended the village national school, but when
strong enough to face the trudge, three miles and back to Castle
Donington, he studied at a small academy held in the Baptist School of
that town. Of its master, Mr. Stenson, Mr. Kirk speaks in terms of high
respect. The curriculum would not bear comparison with that of a
twentieth century grammar school, but it included the rudiments of
Latin. Mr. Stenson was a master of that art of graceful copper-plate
handwriting so much in vogue in the early Victorian period, and its
influence may be traced in the firm, rapid, and stylish penmanship whih
characterizes Mr. Kirk’s very ample correspondence.

Still more valuable was the taste for reading and literature implanted by
his tutor, and most helpful to his moral development was the personal
example of Mr. Stenson and his sympathetic talks during the dinner
hour. A good disciplinarian, he emphasised the need of reverence and
the value of courtesy, of purity of speech, and of strict regard for truth –
all which virtues have been amply displayed in at least one pupil’s
subsequent career.

In an interesting series of articles in the Sunday Companion, entitled

“Incidents of my Youthful Days,” Mr. Kirk in 1901 contributed some
reminiscences of his boyhood. One is that of being separated from his
mother on a busy market day in a midland town, when a kindhearted
policeman gave the lost bairn a shelter at the police station and treated
him to buns. Another is that of the yearly invasion of the “Sleepy
Hollow” of Kegworth by Irish harvesters, and his dread lest any harm
should come to his father when the Irish process of haggling began. This
love for his father was a deep-seated affection, quite remarkable in a
lad, and its fragrant memory remains to this day.

Presumably the boy was a favourite with the villagers, many of whom
had entered upon the stress of life with but scant acquaintance with the
three R’s. At all events they used him as their amanuensis. Husband and
wife, widow and worker, and even lovers, called in his aid in the art of
useful and polite letter writing.

An interesting experience with the pen came in his having a share in the
copying of the old and faded parish registers, which dated back some
three hundred years. “Sometimes,” says Mr. Kirk, “I would lift my eyes
to look on the greensward under which the dust of the old generations
was lying in the God’s acre just over the way.” Nor was it a bad
preparation for the future conduct of many services that he copied
something like a thousand hymns for a new compilation.

It is worth while to note the source of that deeper life which has
subsequently flowed in so many streams of Christian usefulness. We are
told: “Definite religious impressions came through a cousin –woman
grown– who lived at some little distance. Sometimes I became her
guest, and greatly I enjoyed my visit. How tenderly I was received –I
can never forget her prayers with and for me. She took me to her class
in the Sunday school. Through her I realised the unseen as I had never
done before. How much I still owe to her saintly influence! How simply,
sometimes, the heavenly is reached through hallowed channels of earth!
As a now long experienced Sunday school teacher, I am strengthened
in faith and good works by this sweet personal memory.”

Special interest in the young lad had also been displayed b the then
curate of Kegworth, the Re. Peter Lilly. As ill-health compelled him to
winter in the Riviera, his regard reached a climax in the offer to take
with him the delicate boy. It was a remarkable opportunity for the stay-
at-home villager, who had never even seen London. With some
reluctance at parting so long from their child, the parents agreed, and
John Kirk entered upon the first of his numerous Continental journeys.
The experience was wider than that of mere travel. Basking in a sunny
clime, and moving amid a strange people, he was to gather new
impressions and ideas at a far more rapid rate than is possible in any
school or academy. The width of view then acquired by the studious,
inquiring lad has proved a valuable possession in a life crowded with
incident and rich in personal acquaintance. An extract will show how
well, on occasion, Mr. Kirk can use his pen.

“What a romance it was! First of all London, the unlimited, was glanced
at, and then I battled with the rough seas of the Channel. I heard for the
first time a strange tongue in a strange land. I saw the genius of its
people enshrined in the stones of Amiens Cathedral. Then followed the
wonders of Paris, the bustle of Lyons, the old-world air of Avignon,
and the maze of Marseilles.

We left the railway for the diligence, and crept along the fairyland of
the Riviera. We stayed not until our chosen shelter lay before us, in the
midst of the oranges, the lemons and the olives, the blue waters of the
great inland sea washing the strand outside the garden gate.”

Young Kirk was thirteen when cam to him this new revelation, and his
stay at Mentone lasted six months. Politically, it was a rather exciting
time. Napoleon III, having aided the ambitions of the young Italian
nation, had annexed a portion of Sardinia to France, and the English lad
heard a curious jargon of Italian-French.

But while gaining health, enjoyment, and experience by the

Mediterranean shore he had endured an unexpected and distressing
bereavement by the death of his father. It is even surmised that this was
hastened by grief at the absence of his favourite son, for the affection of
the boy for his father was equalled or surpassed by that of the father for
his boy.

The bereavement had several consequences. It threw a heavy strain

upon the widow with her young family to maintain. But the kind-hearted
curate was equal to the occasion. He employed his companion in Italy
in his Kegworth household as an assistant almoner in the
neighbourhood.

During an epidemic of whooping-cough John’s share was to weigh and

pack up the medicine. House to house visitation gave him an intimate
acquaintance with the life and environment of the very poorest, and
sowed seeds of sympathy which have since born rich fruitage.

In a year or so Mr. Lilly was appointed vicar of Collaton, near

Paignton, and thither youn Kirk accompanied him, remaining until he
was sixteen. Evenings were spent as a pupil of the village schoolmaster,
and so progress was maintained. But he was also educating himself by
rambles in the great book world. He was sub-librarian of the village
library, and he read or skimmed every volume. To use his own phrase:
“Reading awoke thought, it nurtured character, it bred judgment.”

The friendship of those early days between the curate and the village
youth has been cemented by time. Proud of his quondam pupil, the now
venerable clergyman is ever glad to entertain as his guest the
philanthropist who has since acquired an almost national reputation. Mr.
Kirk, for his own part, counted it one of the pleasantest features of a
recent autumn holiday that he was able to spend some days in Mr.
Lilly’s quiet country vicarage.
Mr. Lilly, now a venerable octogenarian, wrote as follows: –

"COLLATON VICARAGE
Jan. 12, 1907

DEAR SIR, –It has been to me a very great pleasure to hear of the
movement for recognising in some suitable manner Mr. John
Kirk’s forty years of faithful works in connection with the Ragged
School Union, and to receive your kind invitation to the meeting at
the Mansion House. I should indeed be rejoiced if it were possible
for me to be present, but the long distance, together with my
fourscore years, will not allow me to come.

I regret this the more because I can claim to be Mr. Kirk’s oldest
friend, and have known him from his boyhood.

I feel sure that it will be a great satisfaction to all those who have
had the opportunity of watching his indefatigable labours on
behalf of the children to take part in this movement, and thus to
testify their sense of the value of a life devoted, as it has truly
been, to a work of such national importance. –

Believe me, dear Sir, yours faithfully,

PETER LILLY

In the same year, 1863, that witnessed Queen Alexandra’s enthusiastic

arrival in London, John Kirk, now a youth of sixteen, made a humble
entry into the business life of the metropolis. There existed at that time
the “Church of England Book-hawking Society,” whose agent was a
Mr. John Morgan in Paternoster Row. Its functions were subsequently
transferred to Messrs. Rivington, publishers. His stay with Mr. Morgan
was brief, but long enough to gain some experience of the publishing
trade, and to master the simple but not very prevalent art of neatly
covering books in brown paper. Those who practise it on their own
volumes can testify to the valuable protection it affords.

The young bookworm’s first lodgings in London were in Whitechapel,

where lived some former Kegworth neighbours. Thus early he saw day
by day the East End poverty. The Old Bailey of that time, with its
crowds awaiting the sentence in some great murder trial, differed from
the modern thoroughfare.

It was characteristic of the new arrival that when asked to give a

specimen of his handwriting by Mr. Morgan, he traced the words: “Not
slothful in business, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord.”

Further experience of books came in his next appointment. This was in

the office of the Pure Literature Society, an organisation founded by
Rob Roy Macgregor and others in the year 1844 for the purpose of
disseminating healthy reading. Within a few months of its formation, Mr.
Richard Turner was appointed secretary, an office he has now filled for
more than half a century. On the ground floor of a roomy house in
Buckingham Street, Adelphi, one of the quiet little thoroughfares
between the busy Strand and the Thames Embankment, this Society
has rendered, and is rendering, good service to the cause of pure
literature. It publishes no books, but issues a list of those which may
safely be purchased for libraries or gifts by persons who would make
books a mental and moral inspiration. Each volume is read by at least
two friends or members of the committee, and only on their
recommendation is it added to the catalogue. So great is the enterprise
of publishers, however, that the most recent list contains nearly five
thousand titles of chosen books, varying in price from sixpence to half-
a-guinea, and ranging over the fields of science, travel, biography,
fiction, and Bible study. In the slack autumn months members of the
staff call upon booksellers and newsagents throughout the country. All
through the year there is a steady flow of applications for library grants
–books being supplied to schools, clubs, parishes, army depots, and
ships’ crews at half the published price. Thus a comparatively small
income from subscriptions is turned into a highly useful channel.

These years of familiarity with the best books, when youth was dawning
into early manhood, were of high educational value, not only to the
mind of the book-lover, but in fostering his moral and spiritual impulses.

Moreover, the association with Mr. Turner ripened into life

acquaintance and friendship. In later years they travelled frequently
together in European tours, and in London philanthropy and Christian
work they have been in constant touch. Mr. Kirk’s first connection with
Ragged Schools came through Mr. Turner’s introduction, he himself
being superintendent of the Ann Street School, Camberwell. In this, for
five years, Mr. Kirk laboured as a teacher, and subsequently as
honorary secretary, and here he met the lady who became his wife.

The young clerk’s salary was not princely, but it had to cover numerous
demands, for John Kirk had sent to Kegworth for his younger brother
George, and they lived and studied together. Both were of a
persevering nature, and they toiled diligently at Pitman’s system of
shorthand. John found it of service in taking down sermons and
addresses, and as the future Mrs. Kirk had also mastered its symbols,
letters of courtship were safe from prying eyes.

Mr. Kirk still preserves the following cards: –

1869, Des. 16

Kard ov membership to Jon Kirk of Fonetik Sosieti.

Klas I.

Izak Pitman,
Sekretari.

Jan. 12, 1870.

I hereby certify that Mr. John Kirk has a thorough knowledge of

my system of phonography or Phonetic Shorthand and is a
qualified teacher of the art.

(Signed) Izak Pitman.

George Kirk’s tastes inclined to the law, and in due time he practised
as a solicitor.

Polytechnics and continuation schools had hardly arisen in the sixties,

but private study has been the privilege of all ages. The young aspirant,
however, attended evening classes for French and German at the
Working Men’s College, and became a member of the Church of
England Young Men’s Society.

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Chapters II and III

Chapter II
The Real Ragged School
Mr. Kirk was still a young man of twenty, in the office of the Pure
Literature Society, when the call came to what has practically proved
his life-work.
As has been mentioned, he was already associated with Ragged School
work, and in that connection had come into touch with Mr. J. G. Gent,
then and for many subsequent years secretary of the Ragged School
Union. The Society’s offices were two rooms in Exeter Hall, the Exeter
Hall of olden days, recognized throughout the English-speaking world
as the centre of Christian philanthropic agencies.

The Ragged School Union was the Earl of Shaftesbury’s institution. The
gulf between the aristocrat and the coster and the poor was vast but the
Christian Earl –despite his tendencies to narrowness– could bridge it
with delight to himself, and with joy to the recipients of his bounty and
interest. Like all men of means and position, he was besieged with
begging letters, and was content to seek the knowledge and aid of the
Ragged School Union’s secretary, Mr. Gent.

The Strand was not a long way from his lordship’s house, 24
Grosvenor Square, afterwards occupied by another Ragged School
Union president, the Earl of Aberdeen, and by others, and he was a
frequent visitor to the office, and a fairly diligent attendant at the
meetings of the committee and of sub-committees. It was also the
practice of Mr. Gent, and after him of Mr. Kirk, to call upon Earl
Shaftesbury once or twice weekly and keep him au courant with the
Society’s affairs.

Mr. Gent himself, who died in 1894, at the ripe age of eighty-two, was
an elderly, good-natured official of the quiet Times-reading type
existing before typewriters, telephones, and a dozen mails a day had
solved the problem of perpetual motion. The chief business of the
Ragged School Union of the sixties was to aid in the maintenance of
day schools for the poorest and most unkempt classes. In the year of
the Second Reform Bill the Union had 200 such schools under its wing.

The British and Foreign School Society had united educational

reformers throughout the country, who were caring for the children of
those trade and artisan Nonconformists who objected to the
Establishment. In London hundreds of thousands were unreached by
Anglican, Catholic, or Noncomformist, and Ragged School workers
did their best to empty the gutters. It was a heroic effort, heroically
maintained, and, after all, could but touch the fringe of the population.
The workers themselves were not readily endowed with this world’s
goods, being recruited from tradesmen, foremen and superior clerks.
The well-to-do who supported the Ragged School Union were
comparatively few, and their gifts for a twelvemonth only aggregated
£4,008.

The committee of the Union did not undertake direct work. They
gathered funds and distributed them in grants to local committees who
were facing the burden of day-school maintenance. A generation has
grown up which knows nothing of those days of the lean kine; many
missions to-day conduct operations in substantial buildings. But forty
years ago the working philanthropists took what they could get, and the
best was bad. Sheds and tenements of low pitch, ill-ventilated, without
sanitation, with damp and dirty walls, unrelieved by maps and pictures,
and fitted with desks and benches hardly good enough for firewood
were the Victorian equivalent for the modern school palace.

These buildings were used by day for teaching, by night for clubs,
meetings, and sundry purposes, and on Sundays for schools and
services. In many cases one section of supporters would be most
interested in the Sunday religious work; then came divided counsels and
rough working.

Of course there were limited Government grants, awarded by H.M.

inspectors, who lived in a state of chronic discontent at the miserable
accommodation. But remonstrances were unavailing. Even had the
early committees been as wise educationists as they were devoted
philanthropists, their reply must have been the same: “No Funds!”

For the chief requisite in teaching is the teacher, and the teacher could
no more live on air than a Scotch dominie, and he was less fortunate
than his Highland brother in that he had not been early taught the value
and economy of oatmeal. But it was hard work to provide the teachers’ 
salaries, small as the were. The ablest men and women of course
obtained the best posts in Church and British and Wesleyan schools;
those without certificates, and some who had never tried for
parchments, gravitated to these poor Ragged Schools. The united
incomes of husband and wife managing a boys’ and a girls’ school often
failed to reach £100 a year, and where a headmistress of to-day
receives £300 (it is true supervising many more scholars), the woman
teacher of that day could often not count on more than £30.

Their qualifications varied; yet clearly, in many cases, the attainments

were low; and in the early days of the London School Board, when,
one by one, these schools were closed because not reaching an
“efficient” standard, it was quite easy for an arrogant young solicitor to
make merry before the magistrate over a teacher’s misuse of h’s and a
sad indifference to Lindley Murray.

These workers must not, however, be wholly judged by such

standards. Many, indeed most, came to their work with a zeal and a
sympathetic interest in the children beyond all praise. Men like Mr.
Kirk, whose experience and memory reach back to these early days,
are the best able to realize what enormous strides have been made. But
they aver, also, that no sooner was a school even of the humble and
imperfect character just described, opened in a neighbourhood, than it
gradually and unconsciously affected its inhabitants.

The schools were free ; no payments were exacted from the scholars.
The urchins who came were shoeless and hardly clad at all; they were
ill-fed and often starving; they were the poorest of the poor. But soon
there arose a feeling of amour proper; often stimulated by the efforts of
teachers and committee to lighten their dark lot, they would try to come
washed, and better clothed, and slowly dark ignorance gave way to the
elements of knowledge. These keys, in turn, opened to many doors of
wisdom, usefulness, and progress.

Every effort, too, such as that of the Ragged School Union, drove one
more dart into the national conscience and helped to pave the way for
the attempt made by Mr. W. E. Forster to institute a really national
system of education in 1870.

It was in this seething time of reform and agitation that Mr. Kirk was
appointed assistant secretary of the Ragged School Union. One day he
was in Mr. Gent’s room when that gentleman was opening letters from
candidates for the then vacant post. A happy thought struck the
Secretary, who said in his quiet tones:

“Why don’t you apply for the post? You are just the man who could
serve us.”

This was October 1867. Mr. Kirk took the hint, wrote his letter, and,
with the slow haste characteristic of committees, in December the
appointment was formally completed, and the young man entered on his
duties.

They were far less onerous than have become those of his successors.
With the aid of a boy, two or three copies of the monthly Ragged
School Union Magazine had to be issued, subscriptions
acknowledged, and full records kept of the Society’s connection with
the Ragged Schools aided by grants.

Oversight was maintained through two inspectors of visitors, salaried by

the Committee. One of those, Mr. E. J. Hytche, spent his time in calling
and reporting on the schools north of the Thames, and Mr. R. J. Curtis
visited those in South London.

Few names that can be recalled of the committee and workers of the
sixties live now in public remembrance, though “their works follow
them.” Mr. Robert Mountstephen, a ruddy-faced hay salesman in
Smithfield Market, was a very devoted worker and a model
Superintendent of his Ragged School in Field Lane. A one-armed man
named Watts, a railway employee, proved what splendid service the
humblest ranks may render. Mr. R. J. Snape, a barrister, who for forty
years served on the committee, was a valuable co-worker. Miss
Snape, his sister, became the wife of Prebendary Cadman, who at one
time had no fewer than seven Ragged Schools under his immediate
care.

The name of George Holland is indissolubly associated with George

Yard, Whitechapel. He was a special favourite of Lord Shaftesbury,
and often associated with H.R.H. the Duchess of Teck and with
members of the aristocracy. Queen Victoria sent him a copy of her Life
in the Highlands, with an autograph inscription. He was a real power
in East London, and a neighbouring clergyman said of him that his life-
work was the most perfect and satisfactory he knew.

Earl Cairns, Lord Chancellor, was a man remarkable for many gifts,
and not least for his labour as a Sunday school teacher. He, too, was
associated with Ragged School work. Dr. Stoughton, the
Congregational historian and eminent divine, was also in fellowship with
the movement, as was Rev. Henry Allon, the gifted and musical minister
of Union Chapel, Islington. The Ragged School in Nichol Street was
under his aegis, and Mr. Henry Spicer, with members of his family,
were devoted teachers, as were also Mr. Henderson and Mr.
Erlebach.

Dr. Allon’s successor, the Rev. W. Hardy Harwood, who is a great

lover of children, is a vice-president of the Ragged School Union.

Dove Row Ragged School bears an honoured name, one of whose

worthiest adherents has been Mr. Hardy, a day-school teacher. Mr.
George Kelsey, who long served as treasurer, has but recently died.
Mr. Cotsford, still living was until recently superintendent, and was
associated with Mr. Gent in Agar Town even before the Ragged
School Union was formed.

It is not always that workers see or know of the beneficent results of

their toil. Yet sometimes the deeds of these worthy men come to light.
In January of 1907 Mr. Kirk, while at Hove, met a grocer who in
boyhood had been taught in Hatfield Street School by a Mr. Robottom,
and now when groups of children are lodged in Hove working-class
homes through the summer, gathers and cares for them the whole of
Sunday. In this way he endeavours to requite the kindness shown him in
early days.

Mr. John Macgregor (Rob Roy), whose energy and enthusiasm oozed
at every pore, was deeply interested in the dissemination of pure
literature. As everybody knows he was the originator of the Shoeblack
Brigade, an offshoot of the Ragged School movement. In its early days
no embers were enrolled save those who were nominated by teachers
of Ragged Schools. The committee of the Union voted £200 towards
the erection of premises for lodging and recreation in Saffron Hill, and
in other ways assisted the movement. One of the most devoted
workers in the Brigade was Mr. Martin Ware, long the superintendent
of Peace Cottage Ragged School, St. Pancras, and a veteran standard-
bearer of the Union. Mr. W. J. Taylor, Secretary of London Female
Preventative and Reformatory Institution of Euston Road, also served
his apprenticeship to Ragged School Union work at Peace Cottage.

One of Rob Roy’s marked characteristics was the persuading other

people to work, and it was only natural that he should find valuable
recruits in the legal profession with which he was himself connected.
One of the most distinguished of these was the young student who has
been so long known as the upholder of Christian statesmanship in the
House of Commons and the advocate of Christian missions everywhere
–Sir John Kennaway, Bart, M.P.

One of the men who companioned with him on the Conservative

benches was the late Earl of Harrowby, better known as Viscount
Sandon. When Mr. Forster’s Education Bill was in the air he was a
constant caller at the Ragged School Union office to confer with the
officials and the committee.

On the general question it was rather remarkable that Lord

Shaftesbury, the unswerving friend of the poor, should have taken
umbrage at Mr. Forster’s proposals. Of necessity they had to start
from the premises of efficient education, which implied efficient teachers
and efficient buildings. All schools and buildings, private or public,
which, after a fair interval, failed to come up to a reasonable standard,
must necessarily be regarded as inefficient and shut out from receiving
government aid. Lord Shaftesbury was, as we have said, deeply
interested in his clusters of Ragged Schools, and foresaw their doom,
since it would be impossible, from private sources, to raise the amount
needful to adapt them to the law’s new requirements. He therefore
assumed a somewhat rather antagonistic position, and the Education bill
had to be carried through without the valuable aid which, had he looked
at the matter from another standpoint, he would have been able to
render.

His view was not shared by all members of the committee, and Rob
Roy, seeing that the change must come, and with an ever alert mind,
was among those who resolved to adapt themselves to the new order
of things and find some other channels of usefulness for the Ragged
School centres in the metropolis.

The good Earl’s fears were well founded. On the formation of the
London School Board, and its enquiry as to which were efficient
schools, one after another of the poorly-equipped Ragged Schools
were condemned, and had to be abandoned by the committees. The
Sunday departments were maintained, but hardly one-tenth remained
for secular education, and the last of them, Stephen-the-Yeoman,
continued until 1906.

This mission in Marigold Place still continues its varied useful agencies,
and may be described as an example of the very poorest. It is situated
in Marigold Place, about fifty yards off Jamaica Road, Bermondsey on
the one side, and a stone’s-throw from the river on the other. It is
neighboured by a population largely consisting of dock labourers, and
besides the drink cause of poverty, has that of casual and often scarce
labour.

In 1859, in a room at the street corner, a very humble educational

beginning was made, and in 1863 a small one-storeyed building was
erected on the present site, to which Lord Shaftesbury was a constant
visitor. So late as 1901, his son, the Hon. Evelyn Ashley, presided at
the annual meeting of the Mission.

Through Lord Shaftesbury, Miss Charlesworth, author of that delightful

book, Ministering Children, and aunt of the Miss Charlesworth who
became a Salvationist and married one of General Booth’s sons, was
led to take an interest in this particular school. She, with many of her
friends, also became visitors. Miss Charlesworth was a lady of rare
heavenly-mindedness and of great generosity, expressing itself in a
variety of ways. On one occasion she came to the school, accompanied
by a coster, whose entire barrowful of apples she had purchased. She
specially set aside £100 from the profits of her book, English Yeomen,
towards a new building in 1861 (hence the name of its hero, Stephen-
the-Yeoman). Her brother, the Rev. Samuel Charlesworth, contributed
generously to a second building twenty years later. It has two storeys,
several class-rooms, and kitchen apparatus.

A tablet over one fireplace records Miss Charlesworth’s virtues, and

another on the opposite side, below a portrait of Lord Shaftesbury,
records his introduction of that lady. It was rather a sad coincidence
that on the very day (October 1, 1885) the new foundation stone was
laid, Mr. Kirk received a telegram announcing Lord Shaftesbury’s
death.

It was a mixed school, accommodating about a hundred and fifty

children. The four lady teachers constituting the staff drew a salary
aggregate of £194, and in 1901 the Government grant amounted to
£204. All other outgoings had to be met by donations. Each teacher
wrought cheerfully in some other department of the mission. Miss
Challis, the principal, after forty years’ service, is still, in optimistic
youthfulness, continuing her self-sacrificing labours, and finds warm
friends in Lady Newnes whose philanthropy iis as retiring as it is
generous and in Miss Friedrichs, of the Westminster Gazette. Mr.
Charles Morley, M.P., is president of the whole mission. Among other
workers are Mr. Farmer –who founded the school– Mr. John and Mr.
James Menzies, and Mr. J. H. Challis.

The kindergarten teacher was twelve years at work, and so gentle were
her methods that even H.M. inspector mentioned the fact in one of his
reports. Another assistant took entire charge of the breakfasts and
dinners given in the winter months. The fourth rendered valuable service
in the Sunday school held on Sunday evening. This is crowded with
scholars, most of the boys among whom have, at one time or another,
been in far too close touch with the police.

The various agencies of this and kindred schools are maintained in a

truly Christ-like spirit –Sunday services, Band of Hope, Girls’ Friendly
Society, Evenings for the People, Penny Bank, Flower Show, and the
like. The Mothers’ Meeting at Stephen-the-Yeoman, long conducted
by Mrs. Menzies and Miss Stone, is held on a week evening for the
convenience of the women, and is largely attended. Strenuous efforts
have been continuously made to find clothes for the children,
wretchedly clad beyond any conception of West End folk. Sometimes
a girl attends with absolutely only one garment, many without shoes and
stockings, and the majority appear to wear foot-gear utterly useless for
protection and originally the property of adults. The condition of some
of the boys is pitiful in the extreme, and yet there is great difficulty in
extending relief, for in many families a pawnable article does not long
remain.

It is surprising what charming little people are some of these children in

the infants’ department. Golden hair, lovely eyes, and pretty ways
would make some them priceless treasures for the artist. They are quite
a joy to the teacher, and, though sometimes mischievous, are
remarkably obedient. A girl of six, who has quite a talent in recitation,
one day suddenly altered a line, and declared, “It drives me fair balmy!” 
When reproved, she argued that she “Quite forgot herself.”

It is in the years of boyhood and girlhood that the influence of home (!)
and surroundings is felt for evil, and the teachers’ difficulties increase.

But the twentieth century student of social problems will find, if he cares
to visit, a real Ragged School in Marigold Place, Bermondsey.

Each Ragged School has almost invariably been a similar hive of useful
agencies for adults as well as children. They were originally pitched in
the most densely populated quarters and amid the worst slums. The
conductor and his friends would raise their voices in hymn or speech in
some court or alley, and women would open their windows, look on,
and listen, the men perchance lounging against the walls with pipes in
their mouths.

The next step was that some would be induced to enter the mission-
room. To attract and hold them, clubs were formed and pleasant
evenings maintained. When, perforce, day-teaching was stopped,
additional efforts were made in this direction. Gymnasia were found to
delight and recreate the children and the elder lads; Bands of Hope
were sustained, and special services for children were promoted.

The Committee of the Ragged School Union altered also their method
of making grants. Hitherto such monies as they received had been given
solely to day-school managers; now they made smaller gifts in aid of
every kind of useful effort which local committees set on foot.

Yet in face of the appalling ignorance of the masses, the educational

idea was ever uppermost with men of the type of John Macgregor, and
evening schools were started in very many of the buildings. Teachers of
a superior stamp, employed by the London Board and Voluntary
School managers, were not averse to adding to their income by
working a couple of hours on several evenings of the week.

Evening schools are difficult at all times, even with the most ambitious
pupils, for after a day’s physical toil or mental study, the penultimate
hours before bed are the very worst for fixing intellectual powers on
new subjects. Experience proved that in the poorer classes of working
folk, fatigue, weak health, and insufficient nourishment subtracted
largely from the power and willingness to learn. Nor did the evening
school teachers cherish the same personal interest in their pupils as that
felt by the less qualified men and women who had entered into the
work largely as a labour of love. So year by year the number of these
schools diminished. Now they are entirely merged in the London
County Council Evening Continuation Schools.

It was necessary, of course, that they should be supervised on behalf of

the Ragged School Union Committee. Mr. Curtis, already mentioned,
retained his connection, paying in the evening the visits of inspection
formerly made in the day. Mr. Hytche having retired, Mr. Kirk, whose
position as assistant secretary made him familiar with the schools, took
a share in the duties of inspection.

Secretaries and others calling at headquarters naturally took a liking to

the young fellow of genial bonhomie and Christian courtesy with whom
they had most to do. He was not a mere official, but a Ragged School
worker like themselves, and numerous were the invitations he received
to visit them on Sunday afternoons and evenings. Through the four
decades following, this relish for Mr. Kirk’s presence has been
preserved, and every mission affiliated to the Ragged School Union of
to-day not only seeks his name for the printer’s placard, but gives him
hearty welcome on arrival.

The young inspector, being known as a friend, was gladly received by

the conductors of the evening schools, and in the course of time he
became familiar with every school and with every department of local
enterprise.

The committee felt equal confidence, for on Mr. Kirk’s acceptance of

the secretaryship of the Open-Air Mission (to which our next chapter is
devoted), he continued for some months to attend the Ragged School
union office during the day and to discharge his mission duties in the
evening. Very quickly, however, these increased, and the Open-Air
Mission demanded the whole day, leaving only the evenings for the
Ragged School Union service.

If 1867 – 73 was the most easeful period of Mr. Kirk’s strenuous life,
that of 1873 – 9 must have been about the hardest, since through nearly
the whole period he would, during five evenings of each week, visit
something like a score of the evening Ragged Schools.

Advantage lay, however, in meeting a host of self-denying workers.

There were men of ripe experience, as their grey hairs testified; men in
the prime of life and devoting their best energies to the uplifting of their
fellows; some were men of the same age, who have marched step by
step with john Kirk in the varied developments and advances which
have arisen in the Ragged School movement. Many have been called to
higher service, and others are perforce resting from their labours, yet
able to write or dictate a letter at times to show their unabated interest
in the ever-increasing usefulness of the Ragged School Union.

Sir Charles Gage Brown, for some time medical adviser to the Colonial
Office, was a member of the Ragged School Union Council, until failing
health compelled him to retire. He was one of the first to write his good
wishes for the Testimonial Fund, and his desire, if possible, to be
present at the Mansion House meeting. The honoured secretary of the
Church Missionary Society, Prebendary H. E. Fox, when Vicar of
Christ Church, Westminster, was associated with the Ragged School
there; in the house of Mr. Robert Baxter he and Mr. Kirk often met.
Mr. Baxter was a Parliamentary solicitor, and father of the Rev. M.
Baxter of Christian Herald fame.

Mr. James Pascall, a former member of the London School Board,

was a worker for twenty years in the Croydon Ragged School.

Mr. J.T. Dunn, long connected with the Metropolitan Tabernacle, was
superintendent for many years of the Richmond Street Ragged School,
Walworth, and with his energetic colleague, Mr. C. G. Barr, Mr. Kirk
has long worked in cordial intimacy.

Baptists are, generally speaking, hard workers, and Mr. Kirk has found
no more faithful supporter than in the Rev. William Cuff, whose peculiar
gifts have so long maintained in spiritual prosperity the manifold
agencies of Shoreditch Tabernacle.

To the Lambeth school the members of the Briant family have been
attached for two generations, Mr. Frank Briant, member of the London
County Council, being still interested. With this in its early days some of
the Doultons were associated. At present it rejoices in the
superintendency of Mr. William Medwin, who is a worthy successor of
the somewhat noted leader, Mr. W. H. Miller, who has long since
passed to his rest.

********************
 Chapter III
The Open-Air Mission

On July 17, 1873, Mr. Kirk was appointed secretary of the OPEN-
AIR MISSION, another of the Christian agencies which were the
outcome of Rob Roy’s ceaseless activity.

The Committee’s choice was not made because Mr. Kirk was himself
an ardent open-air preacher, although in the summer of 1880 he had
but one “dumb” Sunday. His natural gifts do not lie in the way of
oratory. Long practice in the exposition of subjects more especially his
own has made him an effective speaker, and wide reading and close
observation have added a great wealth of illustration. But the office life
of a busy man, when followed by an engagement from home almost
every evening in the week, leaves scant opportunity for that quiet
meditation which enables a man to plan with sermonic and scientific
exactness a logical arrangement of thoughts. Speaking often, and
frequently on the same platform at distant intervals, the best that he can
do is to take the though which comes uppermost and clothe it with facts
or anecdotes noted that day in the newspaper or the office
correspondence.

Mr. Kirk’s easeful fluency of speech comes out to greatest advantage

seated at his desk or across the dinner table. There, in cultured and
dignified phrase and in quiet tones, he presents his argument with force
and paints word-scenes with picturesque effect.

Nor was it in any way essential that the new secretary of the Open-Air
Mission should himself be a street preacher. His business was to
organise, guide, protect, support, and unite the company of earnest men
who, in London, the provinces, and elsewhere, were intent on carrying
the Gospel to the people.

The first committee of the Open-Air Mission was constituted in June

1853. The only name among the eight gentlemen who composed it
which survives the lapse of years is that of Mr. John Macgregor (Rob
Roy), who filled then, until his death, the post of honorary secretary.
For several years the secretarial work was undertaken by Mr. John
Wilde Taylor at an office in Robert Street, Adelphi, removed in later
years to Duke Street.

The first report reads like a defence of open-air preaching, and this
shows how marked the influence of the Mission has been on public
opinion, since to-day no one would consider the practice needful of
defence.

Its difficulties are common to every age, and they are outlined in the
very first Occasional Paper issued by the Society. “There are, to begin
with, the imprudent and indiscreet men who open up controversy they
are not sufficiently well equipped to maintain. Then, a single
mischievous person can disturb the congregation. And there are the
peculiarities in the English climate which affect both speakers and
hearers. One friend of the Mission, a University man, compiled a thirty-
two age pamphlet to show that laymen had a right to preach.”

The new movement, however, went steadily on, extending to fairs and
race-courses in the provinces, to public executions, and to any great
concourse of people, such as a Royal visit. Other friends spent their
summer vacations in rendering similar service.

In the course of a few years auxiliaries to the Mission were formed in

several London districts –Southwark, St. Pancras, and Islington being
specially to the front.
Early use was made of literature, and from the outset generous grants
were made by the Religious Tract Society. The Mission also provoked
other bodies to similar good works, such as the London City Mission,
the Church Pastoral Aid Society, the Lay Helpers’ Association, Young
Men’s Societies, and the London Diocesan Home Mission. An early
record shows that some of the plans for regular week-night services
included the leading clergymen and ministers of the neighbourhood.

A register was kept of lay preachers associated with the Mission, and a
common rallying-point was found in a meeting held on the last Monday
evening in each month. Speakers and subjects were highly varied, and
proved extremely useful.

In 1860 Mr. Gawin Kirkham succeeded to the post of secretary, and

except during the years 1873 – 7, was connected with the society until
his death. His name is inextricably linked with the mission; he was a
persuasive and powerful open-air speaker, a man of wide brotherly
sympathies, and of a deeply spiritual nature. On his devoting his whole
time to the office, the range and extent of its operations very
considerably increased; permission had been obtained for services in
the parks, others being regularly conducted in lodging-houses. Large
and clearly-printed Scripture placards were regarded as effective silent
preachers.

An amusing line in the report of the ninth annual meeting records that
“Mr. Payne (subsequently Deputy Judge of the Clerkenwell Sessions)
read his 1738th poetic effusion.” At the same meeting one of the
speakers was Mr. Robert Baxter, who, until his death, was one of the
mission’s warmest friends.

Since in later years we have experienced the salutary change of

executions being privately conducted, the younger generation can
hardly realise that throughout the greater part of the Victorian era vast
crowds were wont to witness the spectacle of a man or woman being
hurled into eternity.

The records, e.g. of the Mission in 1862, describe a scene at

Lancaster, when, to avoid the shame of a public execution, the prisoner
drowned himself: “As the crowd of three thousand or four thousand
people who had assembled would not go away, they were addressed
for three hours by the secretary, the town missionary, a local minister,
and a Yorkshire farmer. Many persons in the crowd had walked ten,
twenty, and even thirty miles; and so morbid were the tastes of some
that they shouted for the dead body to be brought out and hung up. It
was deeply interesting to see the people sitting on the churchyard wall,
and crowding round the preachers as they stood under the castle and
spoke the words of eternal life.”

Many other executions were attended that year, and at that of

Catherine Wilson, forty workers distributed 60, 000 tracts.

It is interesting to turn back to these days of the sixties and seventies of

last century —days since which so much has happened— and learn the
qualifications deemed essential for open-air preachers.

1. A good voice.

2. Naturalness of manner.

3. Self-possession.

4. A good knowledge of Scripture and of common things.

5. Ability to adapt himself to any congregation.

6. Good illustrative powers.

7. Zeal, prudence, and common sense.

8. A large loving heart.

9. Sincere belief in all he says.

10. Entire dependence on the Holy Spirit for success.

11. A close walk with God by prayer.

12. A consistent walk before men by a holy life.

Very few such Admirable Chrichtons were to be found; but while some
men entered upon the work from egotism or unworthy motives, the
majority of those identified with the Open-Air Mission were earnest
godly men.

The value of union lay in mutual protection and counsel. Among a

number of hints given by the South London Auxiliary —and often
reprinted in the Mission papers— were sensible instructions, such as
these: —

Work with others whenever you can, and as much as possible

regularly with the same group.

Let there be an acknowledged leader with each group.

Avoid services at late hours, noisy singing, vulgar tunes,

shouting, and ridiculous gestures.

Do not preach on controverted doctrines.

Do not attempt fine language or artificial manners.

Never resist the police.

Always speak courteously.

Give place to brethren who can speak better than yourself.

Always speak reverentially of God.

Never thrust tracts at persons.

At the time Mr. Kirk entered upon the work of the Mission — Mr.
Gawin Kirkham having left it to assist the Rev. W. Pennefather at
Mildmay— the number of members was 160, and the income from
donations and subscriptions was £394. The races visited numbered 42,
fairs 39, and other special gatherings 26. Enough fields were occupied
to engage one man’s time and to require his ability. Mr. Macgregor, the
Hon. Arthur Kinnaird, who was treasurer, and other members of the
committee had wisely judged that Mr. Kirk’s gifts of organisation and
his eagerness for work would lead to the extension alike of fields,
methods, and income. Nor were they disappointed, as the records of
six and a half years’ service show.

The only remaining members of the original committee of the Mission,

after twenty years of work, were Rob Roy and the late Hugh Owen
(afterwards Sir Hugh Owen).

But in numbers and social weight the committee was now stronger,
including Colonel Wilmot Brooke, Colonel Kelly, Colonel Roxburgh,
Admiral Fishbourne, Mr. Robert Baxter, Sir C. Douglas Fox, Mr.
Henry Gibson, Mr. Lockhart Gordon, Mr. Richard Turner, Mr. Joseph
Weatherley, and others.

There was also a special list of distant corresponding members residing

in various cities of the United Kingdom, and in Australia, Canada,
Holland, Belgium, and the United States. Conspicuous among these
was Mr. D. L. Moody, then located at Chicago.

The most delightful feature of the Open-Air Mission was, and is, its
thoroughly unsectarian character. The first annual meeting arranged by
Mr. Kirk was held at the Wesleyan Church, Approach Road, Victoria
Park. On another occasion addresses were delivered by the Vicar of
Blackwall, the Presbyterian Dr. Edmond, and Dr. Samuel Manning of
the Religious Tract Society.

The first complete yearly report presented by Mr. Kirk showed

considerable advance. In 1856 the fairs and races visited numbered 18;
in 1872 the total was 107; in this year —1874— it had risen to 217,
ranging from Deal to Plymouth, from Yarmouth to Southport; and the
number of tracts presented by the Religious Tract Society alone
numbered 223,000. The leading religious journals seem, from time to
time, to have printed appreciative notices of the work done.

The twelve monthly conferences, held in various parts of the metropolis,

had been full of interest. Rob Roy lectured on “The Sea of Galilee”; and
it is interesting to note that thirty years ago Dr. Lorimer described “St.
Paul Preaching at Rome,” and the Rev. Mark Guy Pearse dwelt upon
“The Gospel Preached to the Poor.”

In this year, too, we come upon a report from the Christian Mission
under the superintendence of William Booth, now General of the
Salvation Army. He records that at their 34 stations, 7540 open-air
services had been held; these in East London and some large provincial
towns. A Hastings correspondent writes in the same year: “At Warrior
Square we had services almost every fine Sunday evening, and a
mission, under the superintendence of the Rev. W. Booth, held
meetings in the Fish Market, Hastings.”

Provincial items came from numerous towns, such as Abingdon,

Brighton, Cambridge University, Cardiff, Leeds, and Portsmouth, and
Mr. Gawin Kirkham made his annual trip to Yorkshire, very truly
remarking that “Seven services a day are enough to test any man.” 
Encouraging notes came also from Glasgow, Edinburgh, and Dundee,
from Halifax in Nova Scotia, and from Hobart Town, Tasmania.

The next year’s report (1876) showed that 200 members had been
elected, who were assisted by some 600 workers, all being invited to
the monthly conferences. Besides arranging this central series, Mr. Kirk
had attended some 50 smaller conventions and meetings to extend
open-air work. That year a service in French was held regularly in
Soho, and Bank Holidays were being turned to good account.

Happily the old style of fair, with its crowds and excesses, was largely
passing away, but a new departure had been taken in assisting, by
special speakers, whose expenses were paid, various clergymen and
ministers who undertook special missions. These in 1876 numbered
244, and included an encouraging month’s work in Guernsey. This
involved increased expenditure; but the Mission was growing in public
confidence, and the year’s subscriptions and donations amounted to
£731, including a special gift of £100 from the Baroness Burdett-
Coutts.

Mr. Kirk was also successful in inducing Archbishop Tait to permit the
use of Lambeth Palace grounds for the annual meeting of 1876, and
himself to give an address. That statesman-ecclesiastic rightly observed:
“Whatever efforts may have been made to extend the usefulness of the
Church according to its prescribed and regular machinery, you will all
see that it is quite impossible for any regular efforts of ordained clergy
to keep pace with the ever-growing population…It is of the very
essence of such efforts as that which has brought us here to-day, to
endeavour to reach those who cannot be reached by the ordinary
ministrations of our churches.”

The conferences of the year were maintained at their usual high level.
Opened in January by Rob Roy, the chairmen included Lord Ebury, Sir
George Williams, Mr. T. B. Smithies, Prebendary Row, and the Right
Hon. Cowper Temple. Dr. Culross spoke on “The Preacher’s
Commission”; Pastor William Cuff asked, apropos of Mr. Moody’s
visit, “What has the Revival left Us?” Dr. Donald Fraser dealt with
“Regeneration, as related to Gospel Preaching”; and Mr. W. R.
Cooper delivered an instructive lecture on “Ancient Egyptian Theology
and Literature and their relation to the Holy Scriptures.”

Thirty-five pages of the report are filled with interesting memoranda

from the various districts. Mr. W. J. Orsman, so long the honorary
superintendent of Costers’ Hall, says of St. Luke’s, Clerkenwell: “For
our open-air services we have no banners or texts, but simply a
hundred good singers, who are led by a small harmonium.” The Rev.
Styleman-Herring regularly conducted open-air preaching in the
barbican. At Ramsgate services were held nightly on the sands.

This was the year following Messrs. Moody and Sankey’s great
missions, and everywhere sounded echoes of their speech and song.
Even in France evangelistic efforts were being made. The Rev. W. F.
Cobb organised five weeks’ energetic work among the Kentish hop-
pickers. For the tenth consecutive year Mr. Kirkham visited the great
Gala Day of Bury St. Edmonds, and was assisted by a hundred
preachers and singers. The increased number of private race-courses
had unfortunately provided further scope for effort.

The persistent efforts of the Mission had largely removed the scruples
cherished by some Christian people as to the propriety of such
visitation, and inherent difficulties of the work were slowly disappearing
the Secretary’s love of reading led him to quote in the new report a
passage from Conybeare and Howson’s Life of St. Paul, showing that
the Great Apostle pursued an absolutely similar plan in visiting festivals
at Corinth, Ephesus, and other cities.

His appreciation of books led to an attempt to form an office library for

the preachers. Publishers and friends contributed, and some books
were bought, but the collection hardly reached the dimensions or the
usefulness that Mr. Kirk desired.

The number of towns visited during the year rose in 1877 to 271; and
so general was the demand for capable helpers on the part of local
friends, that Mr. Gawin Kirkham (after the death of the Rev. W.
Pennefather) was appointed travelling secretary, devoting his whole
time to open-air work. This, together with the expenses of other
helpers, increased the expenditure, though, so great was the hospitality
of friends, only once did he have occasion to use a hotel. Happily,
under Mr. Kirk’s fostering care, the income also increased, the amount
of donations and subscriptions in 1877 reaching £897, besides a legacy
of £200. In addition, free grants of tracts were received of the nominal
value of £258. The total of tracts, scripture cards, and other
publications issued during the year grew to the large total of 637,500.

Mr. Kirk found another source of income and of greater public interest
by enlisting the aid of London clergy and ministers. Sunday, May 5,
1877, was used in 187 pulpits to advocate the claims of the Mission,
and gifts from the collections to the amount of £66 reached the Mission
treasurer. Of these, forty-eight preachers belonged to the Established
Church, and included many notable men, some of whom have long
since joined the Master, while others are still proving their devotion by
service. Among them may be mentioned Dr. Whittemore, Rev. Gordon
Calthrop, Rev. R. C. Billing, Rev. H. E. Fox, Rev. C. Neil, Canon
Hussey, Canon Money, Rev. Henry Sharpe, and Prebendary Webb-
Peploe.

Among the ten Presbyterians were the Rev. J. B. Woffendale, who in

his teens had carried the reference books to which, if needful, Rob Roy
appealed when combating atheistic arguments in the still popular
debating square near St. Pancras Station.

Baptists were specially cordial in this new movement, forty-five

ministers lending their aid. The Rev. J. P. Chown, sturdy alike in form
and principle, and in the zenith of his fame at Bloomsbury Chapel, was
a faithful and powerful supporter of the Mission. Dr. Dawson Burns
upheld the banner in Paddington, Pastor Cuff in Shoreditch, Dr.
Culross in Highbury, George W. M’Cree in Borough Road, Charles
Stanford in Camberwell, Pastor Frank White in Notting Hill, Rev. J. R.
Wood in Upper Holloway, and Pastor C. B. Sawday at King’s Cross.

Congregationalists were less numerous, but included some able

exponents –Rev. W. F. Adeney, M.A., at Acton, Dr. Fleming in
Kentish Town, Dr. M’Auslane in Finsbury, Rev. James Knaggs at
Stratford, G. D. M’Gregor at Paddington Chapel, Thomas Sissons at
Woolwich, Josiah Viney at Highgate, and J. De Kewer Williams at
Hackney.

Quite a number of Wesleyan ministers then in the London circuits

assisted, among them Thomas Champness, George Curnock, Professor
Findlay, Allen Rees, and John S. Workman. Other denominations were
represented, and some unattached bodies. (General) William Booth
was then at a Mission Hall in Whitechapel Road, George Hatton in
Clare Market, Gawin Kirkham at Conference Hall, Mildmay Park, and
Mr. W. J. Orsman at Foresters’ Hall. A hundred other ministers, who
wrote, sympathising with the objects of the Mission, from various
causes were unable to unite in preaching.

In other respects 1877 was a year of progress. The register of

members increased from 200 to 314. A list of 142 stations, occupied at
regular times in London for preaching the Gospel, was issued to
members. Many were sustained throughout the whole year. Twelve
auxiliaries were maintained, and others were in course of formation.
The single badge of membership –a small lettered ribbon to hang from
the Bible– and only given after careful scrutiny, was being increasingly
valued as a cementing link between the qualified preachers.

The School Board was abroad, and in the spirit of the new educational
era the committee had arranged four lectures on “The Art of Reading
and Speaking” by the Rev. Alexander J. D’Orsey, B.D., Lecturer on
Public Reading and Preaching at King’s College, and as the first
accommodation provided proved insufficient, a larger hall was secured,
in which gathered some four hundred preachers. Many profited, and
some continued their studies privately.

Owing to largely increased membership, the central monthly meetings

were exchanged for district gatherings; but quarterly meetings were held
in the Queen’s Square Mission Room, Westminster, long maintained by
Mr. Robert Baxter, and used in the day as a Ragged School. This
gentleman defrayed the expenses, and occasionally entertained
members at his residence in Queen Anne’s Gate.

The monthly assemblies in 1876 had included a special address to

open-air preachers by Charles Haddon Spurgeon, and a lecture by Dr.
Thain Davidson on “London a Hundred Years Ago.” In 1877 one
subject was: “John Wesley: a Model for Open-Air Preachers,” and
among the speakers was Sir Stevenson A. Blackwood. At the annual
meeting the Earl of Shaftesbury presided, and the speakers included
Dr. Paterson and Dr. Joseph Angus. At the annual meeting in 1878 the
president was Sir John Kennaway.

The annual report for 1878 –the twenty-sixth– came out in new guise.
It was printed in clearer type, and its special feature was illustrations.
Woodcuts in those days were expensive, but nine engravings included
“Preaching in the Punjab,” “Preaching at Paul’s Cross,” “An Open-air
Pulpit at St. Mary’s, Whitechapel,” and “Gwennap Pit, Cornwall,” 
where John Wesley preached. These added greatly to the interest of
what had now grown to a voluminous pamphlet of seventy-two pages.
Advance was still the key-note. Mr. Kirk could now count on 375
members and 21 auxiliaries; 331 races, fairs, fêtes, and the like had 
been visited, and 726,000 tracts and papers had been distributed.
Donations and subscriptions reached a total of £1,168; this the second,
year’s church collections realised £162, and £76 had been forthcoming
from the sale of tracts and books. The balance in hand had grown from
£66 to £140.

A printed list of nearly two hundred stations in London gave the day
and hour of service and the minister or layman who acted as
superintendent.

Since Mr. Kirk’s appointment the Committee had issued to the

members a motto card:

1874. “Occupy till I come” (Luke xix. 13)

1875. “Be not far from me” (Ps. Xxii. 11)

1876. “He is faithful that promised” (Heb. X. 23)

1877. “He that winneth souls is wise” (Prov. Xi. 30)

1878. “Redeeming the time” (Col. Iv. 5)

1879. “Lay up His words in thine heart” (Job xxii. 22).

Not long before her lamented early death (June 3, 1879), that gifted
hymn writer, Frances Ridley Havergal, had woven these texts into six
stanzas, which she sent, together with 6,000 of her leaflets, to the
Mission, saying: “I do think yours is such a brave work for Jesus. May
I pass on to you a text I never noticed till this morning? ‘My glory was
fresh in me, and my bow was renewed in my hand’ (Job xxix. 20),
taken with ‘Christ in you, the hope of glory’ (Col. i. 27), and ‘His bow
abode in strength’ (Gen. xlix. 24). May your glory thus be fresh in you,
and your bow renewed in your hand.”

This was the last complete report for which Mr. Kirk was responsible.
When Mr. Gawin Kirkham heard that he had been appointed Secretary
to the Ragged School Union, he remarked: “There isn’t a man in
London who would not feel it an honour to be invited to fill that post.” 
He himself returned to the office he had previously held in the
Open_Air Mission, and in which he had rendered such yeoman service.

The progress of the Mission had continued, and during 1879 had
attracted considerable notice from the London Press. By this time the
Christian Mission, under its larger title of “The Salvation Army,” was
doing good and provoking opposition. Several Judges had upheld the
Metropolitan Board of Works in refusing permission to preach on
Clapham Common and Leicester Square. On the other hand, there was
rejoicing at the increased toleration in Roman Catholic countries of
open-air preaching, the Burgomaster of the Hague saying that “One
good street preacher is worth ten policemen.”

In this connection Mr. Kirk himself contributed a brief report of his

experiences at Basle, which shows his facility with the pen.

"There is a charm and attractiveness about any street novelty

which conduces much to its popularity, if not success. The sight of
the usual crowd at the street corner now no longer excites the
query, “What is it?” but is often dismissed with the comment, “It
is only the street preacher.” It was in some respects quite
refreshing to confront an audience and to deal with people who
had never before seen or probably heard of open-air preaching,
and such an opportunity was afforded during the meeting of the
Evangelical Alliance at Basle, in Switzerland, last summer.

The various conferences and meetings were deeply interesting, the

unions of Christians from all lands was delightful, while a spirit of
brotherly love and joy abounded. With all this it was felt that some
testimony ought to be left with the people around, many of whom
as in our own land, were too evidently strangers to Him whom to
know is life eternal.

At my instigation an application was made to the town authorities,

by General Field, for permission to preach out of doors. After
some delay, Herr Sarassin intimated that there was nothing in the
Swiss laws to prohibit this; he and his fellow burghers, however,
did not feel justified in giving formal authority, but thought the
experiment might be tried, and, it was hoped, with success and
blessing.

A romantic spot was chosen at the foot of the old bridge spanning
the river Rhine. A constant
stream of people passed and repassed, and the unused space on
the bank of the swift-flowing stream seemed made for an open -air
service. Some earnest German pastors attended, with the Revs.
John Greton, De Kewer Williams, William Tyler, Wilson, and other
veteran ministers; and Mrs. Michael Baxter secured the help of
some ladies in the singing. Leaflets with Sankeys hymns in German
were distributed to the people, who quickly began to gather round
the knot of foreigners. The commencement of the singing was the
signal for many more to come, and the crowd soon numbered
some hundreds. It was a strange and impressive sight. Lofty
houses overlooked, bearing strange-looking names; the many
windows were thrown open. The surging crowd revealed a motley
mixture of garb and face.

All went well for a time. “Safe in the arms of Jesus” was sung
heartily, followed by earnest pleading with God to bless His word
to the souls of the audience, and then Dr. Baedeker told of the love
of God to poor perishing sinners, amid silence and attention. A
portion of Scripture, rather indifferently read, was listened to
impatiently. A German pastor next gave “Herrings for Nothing,” 
in a German dress, and at the literal intimation of “herrings for
nothing,” which, by the way, were magnified to mackerels, some
one angrily interrupted. He was joined by others; and as the
disturbance increased, it was deemed prudent to sing. This over,
the Rev. John Greton began to speak, each sentence being
translated from the English by Pastor L———. He was not
allowed to continue, for a gendarme came pushing his way
through the crowd to the speakers, and insisted in loud tones on
the meeting being stopped. The letter from General Field was
produced amid great excitement in the crowd, but this failed to
satisfy the irate representative of the law, who swore and got into
a great passion. As further altercation seemed likely to cause a
breach of the peace, Messrs. Greton and Kirk were led off to the
police station, followed by the threats and jeers of the people.

Much gesticulatory talk followed, and, after promising to appear

before the town authorities in the morning, the preachers were
liberated, thankful to be counted worthy to suffer persecution for
righteousness’ sake. The next morning Herr Sarassin kindly
undertook the responsibility from the preachers, but begged them
not to make another attempt.
So impressed, however, was this godly man with the desirability of
such an effort, that he secured the central space in the Barrack
Square on the following Sunday, and there ministers and laymen
preached the everlasting gospel to an attentive audience of two
thousand people.

Thus was an effectual door opened, and the good news of the
kingdom proclaimed in spite of many adversaries."

The severance of Mr. Kirk from immediate association with the Open-
Air Mission was received with very general regret, but this regret was
tempered by rejoicing that he had entered into a sphere of yet wider
usefulness. His term of office had brought him into contact with many
hundreds of London’s most earnest Christian workers; in journeyings of
the had met like-minded men in all parts of the country; and the regard
for him cherished by many of high and of low degree had been
deepened.

All this found expression in the most sincere and grateful fashion.

First came a minute upon the records of the Committee, moved by Mr.
Richard Turner, seconded by Mr. John MacGregor, and supported by
Colonel Robert Wilmot-Brooke:

“That the Committee of the Open-Air Mission regret to receive

Mr. John Kirk’s resignation of the post of Secretary, the duties of
which he has fulfilled, during nearly seven years, with zeal, ability,
and success.

“The Committee believe that they express the general feeling of

the members and friends of the Mission in sincerely thanking their
late Secretary for his earnest work in the past, and uniting their
hope and prayer that his future labours in another part of the
Christian field may continue to receive the blessing of Almighty
God.

LOCKHART GORDON, Chairman.”

In April 1880 the Committee showed their appreciation by doing Mr.

Kirk the honour of adding him to their membership. He still retains the
post, which is honorary in the second sense that he can spare but little
time to join in the Committee’s deliberations.

The “general feeling” of the members rapidly assumed a more

substantial form. At a gathering in December 1879, the secretaries of
the Metropolitan Auxiliaries were constituted a Committee to arrange a
testimonial; and though the united subscriptions were valued from the
numerical rather than the financial point of view, in less than three
weeks more than £50 was subscribed by 251 contributors. The
presentation took three forms: (1) a handsome writing table, which in
Mr. Kirk’s home has been in almost daily use; (2) a valuable gold
watch which he wears to this day; and (3) a cheque for the
unappropriated surplus.

Upon both watch and the writing table is engraved this inscription:

“Presented to Mr. John Kirk by Members and Friends of the

Open-Air Mission as a token of esteem on his resigning the
Secretaryship and with prayerful expectation that he will be
blessed and prospered in his renewed connection with the Ragged
School Union.

January 26, 1880

GAWIN KIRKHAM, Sec.’

It was not the least pleasing part of the whole matter that Mr. Kirkham
should have thrown himself with enthusiasm into the testimonial to his
friend and co-worker, and on February 16, 1880, he writes:
“MY DEAR KIRK, —I now close my pleasant labours in
connection with your testimonial by handing you a cheque for the
balance, £20, 11s. 9d. The accompanying album will explain
everything else, and also enable you to peruse the correspondence.

The Lord bless you in your office, in your home, and in your
spiritual life. —Ever yours,

“GAWIN KIRKHAM.”

This handsomely bound quarto album referred to had pasted on its

leaves all the letters sent by subscribers in remitting amounts varying
from sixpence to twenty shillings, and at the beginning has an
alphabetical list of those so sending. The author may be permitted to
say that few men can have in their possession an object of greater
appreciation and interest, or an heirloom of which children and
grandchildren may be more justly proud.

Among the indexed names are those which have been casually
mentioned in the course of this chapter, and among others are Bishop
Billing, Rev. Burman Cassin, Canon Clayton, William Quartermaine
East, Jonadab Finch, William Forbes, John Groom, Dr. Gritton, H. L.
Hastings (of the Boston Christian, who sent Mr. Kirk a copy of his
Critical Greek and English Concordance), Sir Duncan MacGregor,
Major C. H. Malan, R. Cope Morgan (of the Christian), Hon.
Captain Moreton, Hon. Thomas Pelham, Wm. Olney, jun., Samuel
Gurney Sheppard, Joseph Weatherley, Edward Wright, and Charles L.
Young.

The list is comprehensive, not only in its representation of individuals

and districts, but by the inclusion of so many officials of kindred
societies.

Many of the letters are of indifferent calligraphy, but show the regard
Mr. Kirk had inspired among the artisan workers in the Mission.

A friend writes from Uxbridge: “I have always received the greatest

respect and assistance.”

One from Battersea: “Will you please axcept this small Triffel as a
Token of my Esteem for the Fellowship and Services of Dear Mr.
Kirk.”

A Camden Town worker, remitting twelve stamps, strikes at one of the

roots of Mr. Kirk’s success as a secretary: “He has filled the post so
well, paying the utmost attention to any communication.”

A Brentwood correspondent adds: “I never had to transact

correspondence in Christian work with any secretary I liked so
much.”

A lawyer in Chancery Lane says: “Although I have not the pleasure

of his personal acquaintance, judging from the nature of his work
in connection with the Mission, I can heartily join in any
testimonial.”

At the first quarterly meeting in 1880 (January 26) in the Queen Square
Mission Hall, Westminster, the presentation was made by Rob Roy,
after which the Rev. Marcus Rainsford, M.A., delivered an address on
“The Secret of Success.”

The Christian World wrote: “Mr. Kirk, who was received with
immense applause, and who was evidently affected by it, expressed
his feelings of deep gratitude for the testimonial, the value of
which had been enhanced by the way in which it had been given
and the kind words with which it had been accompanied.”
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