The Universalist. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1884-1897, 1895-03-16
"BLUE JIM"
BY REV. WILLIAM BIRCH.
(Australia.)

while Notwithstanding on Sundays,
l came across some noisy youths
known as "The Roughs," and offered
to teach them to write and do sums.
We met on my spare night Saturday
in the upstairs club room of the
"Hen and Chickens" a public house.
Mr.. Casey, the landlord, was a Ro-
man Catholic and benevolent man,
who in very cold weather sent up to
us great can of hot coffee, and oc-
casionally small thick shives of
bread, with bits of cheese. | used
to think, of such men is the kingdom
of heaven. About twenty came reg
ularly, and sometimes on wet night
the room was too full for lessons, but
nice for stalks" Fellows who hadn't
patience to hold pen would sit still
half an hour smoking their pipes
waiting for the tale. They liked
"Rebekkah's Courtship." .""David and
Goliath" and scenes from "Dickens,"
especially from "Oliver Twist" and
good" David Copperfeld," while
Robinson Crusoe," "Pilgrim's Prog
ress," and "The Last of the Mohicans"
kept them spell bound. Mr.. Casey
came sometimes for a few minutes,
bringing a friend or two, and if the
tale touched him in tender part he
would blow his nose like trumpet go.
ing off. When selected to row for our
club, of which / am still member Ct
raced only for honor lot of the
roughs would run along the river bauk
to cheer me, and it was laughable to
hear them shouting as loudly as if l
were up in balloon, go it, teacherl''
How they whistled and shrieked
when we won
They were very poor, scarcely any
having more than one suit of clothes,
and were considered unmanageable,
but they allowed me to discipline
them like a company of infantry.
"Bendigo," the world champion prize
fighter, came to our msesing on the
night when related the prison and
scaffold scenes from "Tale of Two
Cities" and as likened Carton to our
Lord dying on the cross, the Roughs
were touched, while Bendigo was in
tears. Dear old Bendigo, he taught
me what he called his sublime
science" and it was from him /
learned, as he said, "to be knocked
down like skittle, yet not lose thy
temper" He said I was getting on
nicely when after a few lessons l
knocked him down perhaps, he went
down to encourage me. The next
year Bendigo. whose true name was
William Thompson, was converted at
Nottingham, and several times after
wards he has stood with me side by
side on the platform trying to win
men to better ways.
Alone amongst these young roughs
and older men, l yet had some in
fiuence for good, because l had their
confidence, and, never upbraiding
them, they learned to love me. As
great treat, SO they considered, they
would invite me to their dog-worry
ing-rat competition or a fight. The
room was upstairs, seven or eight
yards square, with low stage against
the wall for the fights between dogs,
game cocks, and occasionally men
In the middle of the room was the
pudding basin" or ratpit, shaped
like cup with sides, bulging out as
in tub, about five feet wide and four
feet high, painted white and slippery
to prevent the rats running up the
sides to the top. Two dozen rats
might be emptied in to one dog, the
point being to see how soon he would
kill the lot-perhaps, in a minute.
In a fight between two bulldogs, one
of them seized the other by the throat
and could not be pulled off until he
had killed him. When men stripped
to fight, it was not because they hated
one another, but for "sport," "as it was
called, and, occasionally, I have sat
next members of the aristocracy with
titles who found admittance and en-
couraged these inhuman scenes. 1t
was very horrid to me, but my motive
was good, if / couldn't make them bet
ter to keep them from getting worse;
and, perhaps, the Lord might do the
same were He in my shoes. The odd
thing was that all the regular gang
said they enjoyed it more when was
present; as one remarked, at makes
us feel like Christians, and keeps us
from swearing"
These rough fellows did kind acts
when they could. On one special
occasion the rat-room was sanded,
seated and packed with men, several