creditably to himself and profitably to
others, a set of qualities are needed which
can hardly be acquired by a bringing-up
of this sort. Habits of industry and of
systematic application, a certain amount of
self-control, and the attainment of some
degree of skill in doing some one particular
thing, are acquirements without which it is
hardly possible for any one in any sphere
of life to do well, and these are hardly to
be gained by selling Echoes and cigar-lights
about the streets, or by turning somersaults
alongside of omnibuses. That such a great
number of vagabond children should be
left thus to follow their own devices, and
to find their way by all sorts of crooked
paths to the workhouse and the jail, is one
of the weakest of the many weak points in
our London civilisation.

That something—much even—has been
done already towards bettering the condition
of the neglected children of London is
a fact which must by no means be lost
sight of. We have ragged schools, reformatories,
homes for destitute boys, training
ships, and the like, and lately there has
been organised, under the auspices of a lady
whose self-sacrificing benevolence will bear
comparison with that of any one of those
sisters of mercy who have adorned the
history of Christianity, a system of emigration
as applied to very young children, which
is one of the most hopeful of the many
good works which this age has originated.
Miss Rye has been able both to discern
exactly where aid was wanted, and where
her interposition could be of the greatest
practical value, and also to act on the
discovery. In one word, she has been
privileged to see that one of the most hopeful
developments of philanthropy is the
extension of a helping hand to the new
generation, to those whose path in life is yet
unchosen, and with regard to whom it is
still a question—of what unspeakable
importance to them and to us!—whether
they shall go right or wrong.

Philanthropic undertakings may, for the
most part, be classed under two denominations,
the hopeful and the hopeless. To
the last of these belong those good works
which may be called simply palliative, and
from which little permanent result can
be anticipated. Under this classification
must be placed such good deeds as feeding
the hungry, clothing the naked, and
giving shelter to the houseless, all forms
of parish relief, the provision of cheap
or gratuitous dinners, the establishment
of soup-kitchens, and the like. These are
acts of mercy concerning which it may
be said that it is necessary they should be
performed, since temporary good is at any
rate effected by them, and human creatures
kept alive and relieved from sufferings of
the acutest kind. For the most part,
however, the good which is thus effected is
only temporary. The sufferers who were
hungry, and cold, and houseless, and whom
you have fed, and clothed, and sheltered, will
require such relief again after the lapse of
a very short space of time. The satisfying
of the wants of the indigent and suffering
in this way is something Like the administration
of palliatives in cases of incurable
disease. It is the best, indeed the only
thing to be done, but it can lead to nothing.

The really hopeful and encouraging
among philanthropic undertakings are those
by which not only is some good object—
as the relief of need—attained, but permanent
good done as well. Among these
hopeful developments of charity are to be
classed all those enterprises which have for
their object the reclaiming of a human
creature from a bad and hopeless career,
and then giving him a fresh start in one
that is hopeful. All enterprises connected
with emigration, all schemes by which
workmen are transferred from places where
they are not wanted to places where they
are, belong to this classification; and those
who promote them will have the satisfaction
of feeling that they are engaging in
a work which is not only immediately, but
prospectively good.

But of all the hopeful forms of philanthropy
in which it is possible for men or
women to engage, those which have for
their object the education of the young are
immeasurably the most promising. There
is, if we begin early enough, nothing to
undo here. In that other development of
benevolence just spoken of, as among the
more hopeful charitable schemes—the
rescuing, namely, of grown-up men and
women from want, and what want leads to
—there is, because of the large amount of
undoing which has to be effected, always
much that is discouraging. Bad habits
have to be conquered, bad principles to be
unlearnt, and bad influences to be counteracted,
before better can be brought to bear.
But in the case of young children there is
no necessity for such previous unlearning.

There is no doubt that the practical carrying
out of any measure calculated to meet
the exigencies of the case before us must
always be attended with enormous
difficulty. It is useless, and worse than