rtunate, or criminal beings; inspiring those who
perseveringly labor for them, drawing from wealth its dole and from
intelligence its service of love, educating the fortunate in the habit
of duty to the unfortunate, giving a dignity to the most degraded, and
offering hope to the despairing.

CHRIST leads the Reform of the world, as well as its Charity.

Those who have much to do with alms-giving and plans of human
improvement soon see how superficial and comparatively useless all
assistance or organization is, which does not touch habits of life and
the inner forces which form character. The poor helped each year become
poorer in force and independence. Education is a better preventive of
pauperism than charity. The best police and the most complete form of
government are nothing if the individual morality be not there. But
Christianity is the highest education of character. Give the poor that,
and only seldom will either alms or punishment be necessary.

When one comes to know the peculiar overpowering temptations which beset
the class of unfortunate children and similar, classes; the inducements
to sharpness, deception, roguery, lying, fraud, coarseness, vice in many
forms, besides toward open offenses against the law; the few restraining
influences in social opinion, good example, or inherited self-control;
the forces without and the organization within impelling to crime, and
then sees how immensely powerful the belief in and love for a
supernatural and noble character and Friend is upon such wild natures;
how it inspires to nobleness, restrains low passions, changes bad
habits, and transforms base hearts; how the thoughts of this
supernatural Friend can accompany a child of the street, and make his
daily hard life an offering of loving service; how the unseen sympathy
can dry the orphan's tears, and throw a light of cheerfulness around the
wan, pale face of the little vagrant, and bring down something of the
splendor of heaven to the dark cellars and dreary dens of a great city:
whoever has had this experience--not once, but many times--will begin to
understand that Christ must lead Reform as well as Charity, and that
without Him the worst diseases of modern society can never be cured.

[Illustration: THE FORTUNES OF A STREET WAIF. (First Stage.)]

CHAPTER II.

THE PROLETAIRES OF NEW YORK.

New York is a much younger city than its European rivals; and w