Holmes County Republican. [volume] (Millersburg, Holmes Co., O. [Ohio]) 1870-1895, 1872-10-17
a -..-. l--- .----s -ls-A'5 ..--~ 80 O. =
The White Step-Stone.

And they are going to get every trne soldier
vote. 80 .--.---A- 80. HAkD TACK. y
The White Step-Stone.
L.--t- 1l.L' .--- 41py .-Zf.-iG.5
The English are very domestic in
their habits. a home to a Londoner is
a necessity. No matter how poor and
lowly, he must have u hearth-stone and
companion to share his humble lot.
Probably no people on the face of the
earth would be content with the rude
tenement, the coarse, hard diet and the
scanty accommodation that make the
home of a British workman. Give him
shelter, with wife and children, work
to do, ale to drink and bread to eat, and
he seems content e.l. .-IaH9 gcIl-
John Morey was a good specimen of a
British workman. He was a Spitalfield
weaver and one of the poorest of his
class. - z j. -~--| '.""'1 ''-'-'S 6'-''f
Morey's home was as poor as poor
could be. One room served him as par
lor, kitchen and bedroom. An air of
neglect and untidiness, poverty and
want pervaded the room. A coarse .wo-
man, slipshod and unwashed, tall and
bony, with Querulous look, and a face
on which ill-temper and suffering and
dependency had done their worst, pre-
sided over this apartment. Three chill
dren, more dilapidated and untidy,
quarreled and cried alternately. The
woman sat with an air of dependency
and gloom by the hob. Between his
work, when he had any, and the ale
house, this mans time was mostly con-
sumed. His wife saw little of him, and
would have seen much less. He lived
the life Of perpetual warfare at home.
He loved the ale-house. The brisk fire
and the CHEEKY company he met there
suited him. His earnings were mostly
spent at the tap room. On Saturday
evenings, with his weeks wages in his
pocket, he found at the 'Public," shout
ing over the flowing tankard. He came
home late to be met with reproaches
and to look in on the discomfort of his
swn room, filed with, strong drink, and
scarcely penny saved from his de-
bauch. ....--. is... ..t .-l.. .....-.. Ill
. Not far from the House of Morey,
some practical Christian women met to
see If something could not be done to
elevate the poor, and to relieve their
physical necessities.
Bent ON this mission, two messengers
of mercy called at the house Of John
Morey. Half invited and half intru-
ding, the ladies found themselves in the
center of the room where the reception
was less repulsiye than the furniture
and filth. With a kind tone the ladies
announced that a tea meeting was to be
held in that neighborhood during the
week, and they came to invite her and
husband to become guests. A good sup
per and pleasant entertainment would
be provided for all who came. Cards of
Invitation, handsomely printed, were
laid on the table, and with warm in
vitation left for the husband, the ladies,
with a cheerful good morning, left the
desolate room. Mrs. Morey stood in
the center of the room as if transfixed.
Somebody cared for persons as neglect
ed and worthless as herself. She went
to the table, took up the cards, and
looked at them. Thoughts, emotions,
hopes, that she thought had been long
ago stamped out by suffering and sor-
row, began to assert their rights. She
brushed a tear from her eye, an un-
-wonted thing, and. turned away and
seated herself by the hob. She was dis
turbed by the. entrance Of John. He
had great news to tell. There was to
be a grand tea given to the wOrkmen,
and all were excited over it. A hall
was engaged. The workmen were put
ting down the tables. Grand ladies and
gentlemen were going to preside, and
all the workmen and their wives were
to be present. John was SO full of the
matter that he had forgotten to stop at
the Public. His wife, more generous
than usual, told him of her visitors and
pointed to the cards on the table. John
took them up preverently, examined them
with care, and gently laid them away
in the old Bible which his mother had
given him when he was boy. The in
vitation was heartily accepted and prep
arations made for the grand tea that
was to come Oh. .s..a ".a-..,ti4-
Before the ladies commenced their
work, efforts had been made to meet the
spiritual destitution Of the Spitlfield
weayers. Not far from this locality is
fine vicarage., The vicar, like many
of the Establishment, belonged to a
noble family. To keep the gift in the
household, one of the sons is usually
fitted for the Church. The elder takes
the titles. One goes into the army or
navy. The fine living must not go a
begging, so the younger son takes or
ders. The vicar lived in social atmos-
phere far above the greater part of his
people. He associated with a few fam
lilies among the gentry. When he was
told of the spiritual destitution Of q
part of London, he felt 1t his duty to dc
something towards its relief. He made
an appointment to hold Sunday ser.
vice in the neglected neighborhood, moi
far from Morey's house. At the ap.
pointed time the vicar, with some per.
sonal friends, appeared at the place o
meeting. His coming had been an
nounced and rude assemblage gath
cred, for outdoor meetings are yer.
common In London. The preacher wa
handsomely dressed. He bore In hi