urrents of a large city; and the religious recognized it as a solemn
duty to carry the good news of Christianity to these "heathen at home."
Everything seemed in readiness for some comprehensive and well-laid
scheme of benevolence and education for the street-children of New
York.

A number of our citizens, with the present writer threw themselves into
a somewhat original method for benefiting the young "roughs" and
vagabond boys of the metropolis. This was known as the effort of the

"BOYS' MEETINGS."

The theory of these original assemblages was, that the "sympathy of an
audience" might be used to influence these wild and untutored young
Arabs when ordinary agencies were of no avail. The street-boys, as is
well-known, are exceedingly sharp and keen, and, being accustomed to
theatrical performances, are easily touched by real oratory, and by
dramatic instruction; but they are also restless, soon tired of long
exhortations, and somewhat given to _chaff._

The early days of those "Boys' Meetings" were stormy. Sometimes the
salutatory exercises from the street were showers of stones; sometimes a
general scrimmage occurred over the benches; again, the visitors or
missionaries were pelted, by some opposition-gang, or bitter enemies of
the lads who attended the meeting. The exercises, too, must be conducted
with much tact, or they broke up with a laugh or in a row. The platform
of the Boys' Meeting seemed to become a kind of chemical test of the
gaseous element in the brethren's brains. One pungent criticism we
remember--on a pious and somewhat sentimental Sunday-school brother,
who, in one of our meetings, had been putting forth vague and
declamatory religious exhortation--in the words "Gas! gas!" whispered
with infinite contempt from one hard-faced young disciple to another.
Unhappy, too, was the experience of any more daring missionary who
ventured to question these youthful inquirers.

Thus--"In this parable, my dear boys, of the Pharisee and the publican,
what is meant by the 'publican?'"

"Alderman, sir, wot keeps a pot-house!" "Dimocrat, sir!" "Black
Republican, sir!"

Or--"My boys, what is the great end of man? When is he happiest? How
would _you_ feel happiest?"

"When we'd plenty of hard cash, sir!"

Or--"My _dear_ boys, when your father and your mother forsake you, _who_
will take you up?"

"The Purlice, sir (very seriously), the Purlice!"

They sometimes took their own quie