A CITY-MISSION SKETCH.

FROM Houndsditch to Shoreditch does not imply much variation of latitude, nor can we say-after allowing for the large infusion of Israelitish blood in the former district of old London-that the population of the latter region presents a very marked contrast.

The beautiful turret and spire of Shoreditch church rise gracefully, like a lighthouse from a troubled sea; but the feelings of the pedestrian explorer are not much relieved by the next best specimen of civic architecture-the station of the Great Eastern Railway--with slushy pathways, obtrusive "hoardings," and other evidences of railway improvements, never ending, still beginning. From this part, like the tail of a great crocodile, whose head is Gracechurch Street, and whose body is Bishopsgate Street, Shoreditch narrows, winding towards the north, till it is lost in that region of antique and unexplored regality, still known as Kingsland.

Now keep to the left of the "Ditch," and "stepping westward "through any lane you like (provided it be daylight), and traversing, it may be, the oddly misnamed Holywell Street-reflecting how long it must have been since anything like a holy well refreshed that vicinity-you will find in the next meridian of longitude, if the expression may be allowed, "Curtain Road." Here you remark upon, what the newspapers delight to call, "a large industrial population." The fragrance of mahogany shavings, the sight of embryo skeletons of chairs, and frames of looking-glasses yet to be, betoken the employment of busy hands and thoughtful heads, in supplying the demands of con

venience and fashion. Curtain Road gives you the idea of a place neither very bad nor very good. There is not more than the average of public-houses and dram shops; till recently the airy summit (as the name would suggest) of Holywell Mount was crowned by a "British Workman;" but this edifice has succumbed to the unanswerable demands of a City improvement scheme. Of two or three very similar streets branching to the west, choose Motley Street. That warehouse-looking building to the left of this street, has a large upper-room, to which you ascend by a narrow wooden staircase, and find a place which, by certain transpositions of seats and partitions, answers the purpose of a school-room, a chapel, a lecture-room, or a tea-room, as the case may require. Here gather on a Sunday morning a number of artizans and others, from the amateur hearer of Bradlaugh and his compeers, whose "Hall of Science" is not far distant, to the humble but firm Christian workman, who "knows-and knows no more--his Bible true." Young gentlemen, and young ladies, too, here superintend the Bible-classes, along with the more advanced of the scholars. The admirable order and entire mutual confidence of the school-hour is always accompanied with a short period of Bible reading and devotional exercise, in which the whole company join. Here, on a Sunday evening, the congregation meet for public worship. It is truly a synagogue. They gather together by degrees, some much before the appointed hour, and take their seats decorously, but with the freedom which allows interchange of neighbourly inquiry before the service begins. At the upper end of the room is a slightly raised platform, on which is placed a desk with a Bible and Hymn-books, and also a few chairs. Above it a Dutch clock ticks, and strikes the hour, and on one side of the platform is a comfortable fire-place. The City Missionary, who is

regularly in attendance, opens the service by giving out a hymn, and usually offering a prayer, in both which there is the evident response of the congregation. A portion of Holy Scripture is then read, frequently by the lady who was the means of gathering, and has for many years superintended, "the Church which is in this house;" who, seated at the desk, perhaps proposes a period of devotional silence, or offers some practical exposition fitted to the needs of those assembled. It may be that an Evangelical address, or a Scripture reading and exposition, is heard from a more casual visitor, or from one of the members of the committee, who take some share in the responsibilities of the mission. In any case, the time is mainly occupied with Bible reading, preaching, prayer, and singing. At the close of the service, notice is commonly given of lectures, Band of Hope meetings, or other engagements during the week, and once a month a prayer meeting succeeds, in which many of the congregation join, one by one pouring forth their wants and thanksgivings in language unadorned, but often with much feeling, and that fervour which is the accompaniment of true simplicity and directness of faith.

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The working elements which this congregation represents, comprise three Sunday Schools for poor children; Day Schools which are now "working satisfactorily under the School Board of London; and Evening Schools for boys and girls, "not connected with the Board." A systematic visitation is also carried on by missionary visits to the neighbouring workshops, &c., and special attention to the sick, with the distribution of needful food and clothing to the most destitute. There are besides, mothers' meetings, dinners for poor children, and, recently, week-day evening classes for young women employed in shops or factories.

But if there is not much of contrast between the respective populations of the two districts we have named, what shall we say of the contrast between the Quarterly Meeting of Friends of London and Middlesex, held at Devonshire House, which in sober stateliness, still guards the entrance of Houndsditch, and the Quarterly Meeting of the Shoreditch Christian Mission?

The first of the last-named gatherings which we had the privilege of attending, was held in New Inn Yard. Fortunately we were recognised in the street by a member of the Church, and thus speedily introduced to a recess which otherwise would not have

been so easily discovered. The space between two buildings, covered with a glass roof, was the place of meeting. Along this narrow space, a table or bench was placed, covered with a clean white cloth, and laden with an abundant supply of bread, cake, and all the requisites of a comfortable English tea. Some of the company were already seated. It was, in fact, the place where "the disciples came together to break bread." There was an air of entire freedom, with real propriety.. The meal ended, the Quarterly Meeting proper began. By a new and rapid combination of forms and chairs, a transition was effected from the conversational to the more serious aspect of the assembly. The company comprised a variety of ages, from the grandparent to the infant at the breast. As on other occasions, prayer and thanksgiving blended with the service, succeeding each other, apparently without any definite arrangement, but allowing ample time, for what, at the Devonshire House Quarterly Meeting, we should call, matters of discipline." The minutes of the previous meeting were read; and also various applications for membership, mostly couched in very simple terms of confession of faith in the Lord Jesus, and earnest desire to lead a

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Christian life, as the grounds of union with the Church. Cards of membership, with the address neatly inscribed, are given to each member. These are renewed yearly, and they are made to subserve the purpose of personal admonition, appropriate texts of Holy Scripture, comprising precept and promise, being printed on them in a neat and pleasing style. At the close of each meeting, a plate is handed round for contributions, the amount of which is used to defray the expense of the meal, and the overplus is divided among poor or sick members, the result of the last collection being reported at each meeting. Thus the unpleasant aspect of charity is removed, and CHARITY, in its larger and Scriptural sense, encouraged. It need hardly be said what opportunities occur on such occasions for general exhortations, or more special warnings, as well as for the cultivation of Christian sympathy, in commending cases of trouble or sickness to the prayerful interest of those present. These meetings are now held at the house of Mr. and Mrs. Allen, in Charles Square, Hoxton, the very place, though we are not prepared to say the house, where once lived the wellknown John Newton, the friend. of Cowper and his colleague in the authorship of the Olney Hymns. The plan of the meetings is exactly the same, with the additional charm of a comfortable dining-room, and other pleasing social appliances, as compared with the more humble recess in New Inn Yard.

We have spoken of this community as a Church gathered out of the neglected districts of London. Such a mission Church has at least one advantage over many missions abroad. Social habits in England allow of a harmless meal, in which all classes may join, and thus the true tone of Christian brotherhood be kept up, and the unobserved but refining influence of the more educated upon the untaught, have its natural and healthy scope. The educated portion of