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number of flying fish we meet with. Then in the warm latitudes we next caught two sharks. The fish is generally seen by some person. They then get a large hook and a piece of pork, about three pounds. This they keep dropping into the water, the shark being obliged to turn on his back to bite. When hooked, a rope is passed round his tail, he is then hauled on deck by the passengers, and they begin to cut any choice part they may wish for, the sailors having the privilege of the jaws. We next fall in with large birds called albatross, booby, Cape hens, and some small ones called Cape pigeons. These are all caught with hook and line, so that it would be well worth laying out a shilling or two in hooks and a line as there are plenty of fish to be caught, and I can assure you a piece of fish is very acceptable after being so long without any change of diet. It is laughable to see the anxiety of the passengers, inquiring every day what latitude and longitude they were in, consulting all the books and maps they could muster, and every time they hove the log the cry was, How many knots is she going? We had a few puffs of wind, but nothing of any consequence. We made the land on Tuesday, and we were beating about until the following Friday, when we dropt anchor in Hobson's Bay, Port Philip, about ten o'clock in the morning. The Custom and Health officers having been on board, the signal was hoisted for a steamer, and in ten minutes we were steaming up the Yarra Yarra river, until we arrived at the Melbourne Wharf. I then, upon the payment of a shilling for the steamer, jumped once again upon terra firma, after having been knocked about at the rude mercy of the winds and waves for fifteen weeks.

"The streets of Melbourne are fine wide ones, and some very nice shops in it, and I was altogether very agreeably surprised. Provisions are very cheap, and there is plenty of demand for labour. I might have gone to work the day I landed, but I stopped a week, and I am now getting twelve shillings a week, with rations and lodging. The other boys have gone up the Bush, two for eighteen and two for twenty pounds a year. I should advise Charley or any of my cousins to come out if they can, as there is plenty of work and good pay for almost any trade, Charley's especially. Show this to my kind friend Mr. Short, tell him to give my respects to Miss Woolley, Mr. Hepburn, Mr. Keogh, Mr. Dart, Mr. Lowe, all the gentlemen and ladies connected with the school. Give my love, also, to my schoolfellows, and I should like to see a few of their faces out here. Please to send word how you are situated, and remember me to all my friends and relatives, they being almost too numerous to mention individually. Please give my kind love to my sisters and brother, and also to Caroline Hull, and accept the same, my dear father and mother,

From your affectionate son, J. M.”

DEPARTURE OF EMIGRANTS.

We have to announce the departure of nine youths from the Ragged Schools, via Liverpool, for Australia, on the 28th April, per the "Constitution." They were connected with the following schools:-Hoxton Ragged School, 4; Field Lane, 1; North Street, 1; Ragged Dormitory, 1; Compton Place, 1; and Grotto Passage, 1. Total, 9.

We have great pleasure in stating, that the Directors of the North-Western Railway have generously consented to allow the youths about to emigrate from the Ragged Schools, to proceed to Liverpool per the third class trains, at one-half the third class fare. An additional saving will thus be gained to that already effected by sending them to Liverpool.

REPAYMENT OF LOANS TO EMIGRANTS.-From a letter just received from Melbourne, we are happy to learn that of a considerable number of young men, pupils at the Grotto Passage Ragged School, half of whose passage-money had been lent to them by a gentleman interested in the school, all have repaid the money, which has been placed in the hands of the Lord Bishop of the diocese, to be expended in affording religious instruction to the settlers in the distant cattle and sheep stations of Victoria.

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THE SHOE-BLACKS.

ONE morning, bordering upon "Magazine-day," the March winds were blowing fitfully, the clock had just struck two, and all worthy people, except editors and outcasts, were enjoying the sweets of unconscious slumber. We had just completed our "Notices" by a brief reference to the "polishing brigade;" and feeling glad that the labours of another month were ended-wholly unconscious of the act, we fell into the arms of " nature's sweet restorer" somewhat prematurely. Suddenly we were forced into a severe discussion with a tall and apparently "broken-down" gentleman, who, in a state of great excitement, demanded the immediate services of a shoe-black. How the announcement so recently penned could have gained such unexpected publicity, we knew not; and why our strange and importunate visitor should have called upon us at so untimely an hour, or evinced such anxiety for a thorough polish when his boots were literally covered with mud and water, was to us equally mysterious. Strongly suspicious, however, that he was really more anxious for a comfortable lodging than a pair of clean boots, it was thought advisable to terminate the controversy as speedily as possible; but scarcely had we time to resume our seat, when a volley of stones came dashing through the windows with tremendous violence. Startled by the sudden crash, we sprang up in terror-but more pleasing was our second surprise, when we found the stones to be nothing more than a few heavy drops of rain, and our formidable visitor the spectral hero of a hasty dream!

The recollection of this circumstance has sometimes made us wish that those who expend all their sympathies for the poor at evening meetings, and never learn to "show their faith by their works," might now and then be reminded of the omission by an occasional call from our gentleman visitor. We are not sure but the practical effects might prove more beneficial to the cause of Ragged Schools than the distribution of some scores of circulars and appeals; for, ever since the occurrence to which we have alluded, our interest in the shoe-blacks has greatly increased. Full of fresh enthusiasm, we attended a meeting of the Shoe-black Society a few evenings afterwards, quite expecting that the views and feelings of every one present would be quite in harmony with our own. An excellent feeling pervaded the meeting, and very able speeches were delivered in defence of the movement, which to us appeared a needless expenditure of time and energy, in attempting to prove what every one believed. But in this we were mistaken. Some ladies and a few gentlemen present were decidedly opposed to the whole scheme, and this all the more as they were zealous friends and liberal supporters of Ragged Schools. Now, although we are very sure that the remarkable success that is attending the effort will prove the best argument in its defence, yet we think a brief reference to the chief difficulties of our friends may not be considered out of place. They seemed to think that the employment was of a nature not sufficiently removed from the street occupations and vagrant habits to which the boys have been hitherto accustomed; that it contained nothing of an elevating tendency, but the reverse; and that, even if sufficiently remunerative, they should not be encouraged to view it in the light of a permanent occupation. For our own part, we cannot see why the employment of an industrious shoe-black should not be considered as honourable in the eyes of his employers, and kindle up as respectful feelings in his own mind, as that of the workman who made the boot and gave it its first polish, the respectable operative who made the blacking, the "dyer and scourer" who lives next door, the footman who brushes his master's coat, or the aspiring "young boots" himself, who hopes one day to be a footman. We see no degradation in honest and useful labour, whether it be performed in the open fields, the crowded streets, the workshop, or the counting-house; and we consider that the poor lad who, as we think, adds to our respectability by cleaning our boots, cannot by that act be doing an injury to his own; and that he is not the less entitled to our gratitude and respect because he studies our convenience by waiting for us in the streets.

We think it due to the active members of the Committee to state, that the arrangements have been made with so much judgment and prudence, as to secure not only the successful working of the scheme, but also to further the moral and spiritual interests of the lads employed.

They are placed under the care of an active superintendent, who meets them each morning, reads the Scriptures, and offers prayer before they go out to their work, visits them several times during the day at their respective stations, assembles them again

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in the evening to receive the proceeds of the day's labours, * pays each workman his allowance, and in company with one or more members of Committee, closes the proceedings of the day with religious exercises. A small library has been procured, from which they are supplied with books suited to their wants and attainments. In every instance the strictest integrity has been observed by the boys-in some cases even to a scrupulous extent for when money has been given them apart from their earnings, they have voluntarily cast it into the common treasury. The average earnings of each boy for the first three weeks were as follows:-First week, 7s. 6d. ; second week, about 10s.; and third week, 9s. Nor can the employment be considered as an encouragement to idleness, when it is stated that some of the boys have cleaned as many as thirty-six pairs of boots in one day. They have greatly improved, both in habits and personal appearance; and those who originated the scheme are led increasingly to feel, that it is being owned and blessed by God for the present, and we trust permanent benefit of those poor lads who would otherwise be wandering the streets in idleness, enduring much privation and suffering, and thereby exposed to innumerable temptations.

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Editor's Portfolio.

DAY AND NIGHT IN THE LANES OF LONDON.

A SMALL "fly-leaf," bearing the above title, lately found its way into our portfolio;" as it seems to enter fully into the details of its own history, it will not require a long introduction from us, in order to secure for it a patient hearing:

"Passing along Old Street, towards the City Road, there is a parish church; its gates are thrown open every Sabbath, and the bells ring loudly inviting all who hear them, rich and poor, young and old, to enter. A few hundred yards eastward there stands another-a very short distance from which rises the lofty walls of one of the most thickly-tenanted workhouses in the metropolis. The midnight traveller, when passing this stately building, is often startled when he almost stumbles over a dreary group of haggard, homeless mothers and children, crouching and shivering on the damp ground around the steps of the bolted door. Proceeding from Old Street, along Bunhill Row, we find another church, which, from its proximity to an alley-world teeming with a povertystricken people, we might expect to have become the poor man's sanctuary. Westward from Bunhill Row stands a chapel, supported by men so largely imbued with a missionary spirit, that they have not only sent many of their sons to preach the Gospel to the perishing heathen,' but have also contributed hundreds of pounds annually for similar purposes. On our way from Barbican to Old Street, we find another church, closely adjoining the Charter House with its large ecclesiastical revenues. If church and chapel accommodation were all that is required to make a people virtuous, surely the inhabitants of this district, surrounded by these stately sanctuaries and numbers of others in the immediate vicinity, would be patterns of all that is worthy of imitation. But are they so? Let us take an early walk through the thickly peopled region, and see.—

"It is Sabbath morning. The city clock has just struck two. Passing along Golden Lane, we observe the shops are shut, and so are the front doors of the numerous public-houses; but here and there drunken men and half-clad women are making their escape by private doorways. Presently we are

* Each boy receives 8d. daily, which is paid out of the Society's funds, and must be repaid before he can derive advantage from his earnings. The amount earned daily beyond 8d. is divided into three parts-of which one is retained by the Society for expenses, another is paid over at once to the boy, and the remaining third is placed to his "banking account," to be applied to his future benefit.

startled by cries of murder from an adjoining court. But the police are afraid to enter-and so are we. A strange mixture of oaths and arguments proceed from nearly a score of tongues-men, women, and children. Sticks, stones, and a variety of similar weapons are in full exercise, and blood streams profusely from the faces of the combatants. The screams of one female are louder and more bitter than the rest; she is the wife of that half-naked man with the bleeding face who was decoyed into the whiskey-shop when passing, and robbed of his week's earnings. Vain is the effort to recover them, for he barely escapes with his life.

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We renew our visit at half-past ten. The church bells have just begun to ring their Sabbath welcome; but neither the Sabbath nor its Lord are recognised by the dwellers in this dismal place. In one narrow thoroughfare there is perfect quietness; but much business is being done, for generally the 'takings' of one Sabbath morning exceed the returns of the other six days. Almost every shop is a receptacle for stolen goods; thieves and drunkards are the chief customers. But the adjoining street presents a still more busy scene; never did fair or market exceed the ungodly bustle. Hundreds of bold, ragged, unwashed women are moving to and fro in the crowd, whose cheeks for many a long year were never tinted with the blush of shame. They are sowing an awful harvest in their wretched homesteads, shortly to be garnered up in the prison and the workhouse.

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"Sabbath evening comes, and at nine o'clock we are again on the spot from which we were glad to escape at two in the morning. Strange sounds again startle us. They are not the cries of wrath and murder as before, but the laughs and jokes of boys and girls, dancing to the merry notes of the violin !Further details are not required to depict the moral character of such a colony. We speak what we do know, and testify that which we have seen.' We have listened to the cries of murder-pressed our way through the crowds in the morning market-seen the dance on the Sabbath evenings, and listened to the unhallowed music. Nay, more, we have often beheld their withering effects on youth and age. We have seen the young dashing headlong into the vortex of degradation and shame-the mother and her daughters walk the streets in company. We have conversed with those who were living under the very shadow of the house of God, yet had not been in any place of worship for twenty-four years.

"What has been done to evangelise this seat of heathenism? Much more at one time than now. Twelve months ago, there were two City Missionaries labouring there-at present there is not one. They have both been withdrawn from want of adequate support. Once a devoted band of zealous Wesleyans effected much good; but they, too, have been removed.

"A Ragged School yet remains, and an effort is now being made to extend its operations. From three to four hundred children have there been receiving gratuitously the elements of a religious education. From sixty to eighty girls have met weekly for instruction in needlework. They have made upwards of three hundred articles of clothing for themselves, and many have given evidence of a decided improvement in morals, conduct, and appearance. The effects have been felt in their homes, and it is believed that not a few have been saved from absolute ruin. It is for the purpose of accommodating a larger number (two hundred more) of these poor girls, that the school-room is at present being enlarged, and which will involve an outlay of £120. Towards this amount Lord Ashley has kindly offered to give £40, from a fund placed at his disposal by a lady, provided the remaining £80 is first raised by local subscriptions. As this must be done by the middle of May, prompt and liberal assistance is therefore earnestly solicited. Surely no stronger plea could be urged than the dreadful condition of the female portion of such a community. Every one of them, as they grow up, will either become a curse or a blessing to society; nor are we to expect they will ever be useful servants or virtuous mothers, if left to be educated in the streets or at the Sabbath

evening dances. The Committee feel it impossible to raise funds for the support of the school in its own neighbourhood; its very existence, therefore, depends upon the liberality of the public. Must it yet share the fate of the City Missionaries ?"

THE FARMER'S DAUGHTER.

"In due season ye shall reap, if ye faint not."

AN eminent living minister, when he left the college at which he studied, went on a visit to some of his relations. A neighbour of theirs invited some friends to meet him one afternoon at a social party. Among them was a female, who retained marked traces of a recent and very severe illness; and she related to the company the incidents of the deep affliction through which she had passed. She had been taken ill, and gradually became worse, until at last the physician who attended her said to her father, "I have no hope of your daughter now. It is impossible she can recover; and I wish you to tell your child what I say." She was one of seven children. Her father, who was a farmer, had made a large sum of money during the war: everything he touched seemed to turn into gold. His children were taught to think of hardly anything but the art of acquiring wealth; and gold appeared to be the only god worshipped in the family. The father, however, was much distressed at the idea of parting with his daughter; for she was a favourite. It was two days before he could bring himself to speak to her on the subject; but at last he told her what the physician had said. She received the intelligence with great composure; and said, "Well, father, if I cannot survive, I should like to have all my brothers and sisters about me once more before I die." They were sent for; and father and mother, two brothers, and four sisters, surrounded the bed of the dying favourite. No doubt it was a mournful scene. When she had bidden to them farewell, she said to her mother, "I should like to give something to each to remember me by when I am gone;" and her clothes, her little jewels, and her money being brought to her, a little parcel was made up for each as a memorial of her when she should be dead. Contrary to all expectation, however, she from that day began to amend; and at the time of her appearing at the little party, she had pretty well recovered.

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When she had finished her recital, the young minister observed to her, “It is not often that a person is brought so near the gates of death, and comes back to tell us how she felt. I should like to know what the state of your mind was, when you thought you were going to die!" "Oh!" said she, "I was very happy." He replied, "It is a solemn thing to appear in the presence of God, to give an account of every thought, and word, and action. To what place did you expect to go, when you died?" Why, to heaven, certainly," said she. "So does everybody," he replied. If you ask the drunkard, and the Sabbath-breaker, and the liar, they all hope to go to heaven. But on what grounds did you found your hope?" Why, I never did anybody any harm; I had always been dutiful to my parents, and an affectionate sister, and kind to my neighbours." "Oh!" said the young minister, "that is delightful so far as it goes! It is pleasing to think of one who was a dutiful daughter, and a kind sister and neighbour. But had you no other grounds for hope?" No," she replied; were they not sufficient ?" He made no direct reply; but said, "I am very thankful you did not die." "Why," she inquired sharply, "do you think I should not have gone to heaven ?" Yes," said he, "I am sure you would not! You were hoping to go to heaven without Christ! The Bible knows nothing of sinners being saved without Christ. You were resting on a false foundation; and had you died, that foundation would have given way, and you would have fallen through it into perdition." She was impressed and arrested, and begged the young minister to instruct her. He

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