here working men could find a cheap and
wholesome meal, a cheerful, warm, and well-lit room wherein to chat and
smoke, and the daily papers, without being obliged to swallow fire-water
for the good of the house.

Bones looked at the coffee-house, and thought of suggesting it to his
companion. He even willed to do so, but, alas! his will in this matter
was as weak as the water which he mingled so sparingly with his grog.
Shame, which never troubled him much when about to take a vicious
course, suddenly became a giant, and the strong man became weak like a
little child. He followed Aspel into the public-house, and the result
of this first effort at reformation was that both men returned home
drunk.

It seemed a bad beginning, but it _was_ a beginning, and as such was not
to be despised.

When Phil and Pax reached Archangel Court, a-glow with hope and good
resolves, they found the subjects of their desires helplessly asleep in
a corner of the miserable room, with Mrs Bones preparing some warm and
wholesome food against the period of their recovery.

It was a crushing blow to their new-born hopes. Poor little Pax had
entertained sanguine expectations of the effect of an appeal from Phil,
and lost heart completely. Phil was too much cast down by the sight of
his friend to be able to say much, but he had a more robust spirit than
his little friend, and besides, had strong faith in the power and
willingness of God to use even weak and sinful instruments for the
accomplishment of His purposes of mercy.

Afterwards, in talking over the subject with his friend Sterling, the
city missionary, he spoke hopefully about Aspel, but said that he did
not expect any good could be done until they got him out of his
miserable position, and away from the society of Bones.

To his great surprise the missionary did not agree with him in this.

"Of course," he said, "it is desirable that Mr Aspel should be restored
to his right position in society, and be removed from the bad influence
of Bones, and we must use all legitimate means for those ends; but we
must not fall into the mistake of supposing that `no good can be done'
by the Almighty to His sinful creatures even in the worst of
circumstances. No relatives or friends solicited the Prodigal Son to
leave the swine-troughs, or dragged him away. It was God who put it
into his heart to say `I will arise and go to my father.' It was God
who gave him `power to will and to do.'"