Whilst this important work was being carried on, evening
reading and sewing classes for the little matchbox-makers, and
mothers' meetings, were continued without intermission, together with
the teaching and training of boys begun at the first Homes; and on
the Lord's Day, besides the very large gathering of matchbox-makers,
every effort was made to bring all around under the sound of the
gospel. A stranger thus describes his impressions after a visit to
the Home of Industry, November, 1869:--
"'The mighty cry of anguish' that has gone up for so long from the
East of London has, thank God, touched many a heart, and led some to
carry God's answering messages in person to the suffering poor, and
others to help in the lesser service of gifts.
"Determined to see how the matter stood as regards one portion of
that great mass of misery, I gave myself up to the skilful guidance
of one whose whole life is spent in the service of God and His poor.
"Leaving the rail, we proceeded to visit the sick-bed of one of the
voluntary workers in the Refuge. We found him recovering from a
severe attack of enteric fever complicated with pneumonia of the
right lung. A fine, handsome young man, once the leader of the
singing in a philharmonic club, now the devoted servant of God, his
whole anxiety seemed to be as to when he could return to his work.
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