CHINA CHALLENGED BY EAST LONDON 65
and Barnardo, depositing in his pocket the returned £2 ios,,
shouted out; "My lads, I am not allowed to finish . . .
but if you care to listen I shall be outside in front of the
house, and will talk to you afterwards.55 Then, "the curtain
coming down amidst 'Kentish fire5 and three cheers", he
disappeared.
But the scene was not closed, and the next episode
Barnardo himself must tell: "To my surprise, in a twinkling
the benches were emptied; the whole house poured out
after me. Gathering the crowd around me in front of the
*gafF, I stood upon a costermonger's barrow and spoke
more plainly and fully than I had done before, reasoning
of 'righteousness, temperance and judgment to come*,
wrhile finally I commended all of them to God in a brief,
prayer. 'Good night, sir,5 Thank you,3 cGod bless you/
'We wish you'd come again/ mingled with more quiet but
not less sincere expressions of gratitude, closed this interesting
scene as the youthful crowed dispersed and I retired home-
ward, thankful for the fresh opportunity afforded me of
speaking the word ein season5 and cout of season' as the
case might be.55
Not always did this enthusiast find himself master of
such situations* One evening, for instance, when visiting the
public-houses in a notorious quarter to sell Bibles, he found
himself in a sorry plight. Entering a certain beerhouse, he
sold what copies he could at the central bar and was passing
toward the parlour, whence issued "the sounds of riotous
mirth", when the publican begged him to desist, declaring
that if he entered dire consequences might ensue. Barnardo,
however, wras not to be deterred. Believing his mission a
sacred one, he pressed on. Inside the door, his vision was
obscured by a cloud of tobacco smoke which "completely
filled the room"; but soon he discovered himself to be in a
"long, low, narrow" den, crowded with "lads and girls of
from fourteen to eighteen", most of them intoxicated. Two
huge fellows, moreover, had backed against the door, thus