rt of the great
vineyard. Lying close to a wealthy and fashionable neighborhood, it had
long been a kind of pleasure-ground, or park for hunting sinners in, to
the charitable and religious inhabitants of the comfortable dwellings
standing within a stone's throw of the wretched streets. There was
interest and excitement to be found there for their own unoccupied time,
and a pleasant glow of approbation for their consciences. Every
denomination had a mission there; and the mission-halls stood thickly on
the ground. There were Bible-women, nurses, city missionaries, tract
distributors at work; mothers' meetings were held; classes of all sorts
were open; infirmaries and medical mission-rooms were established; and
coffee-rooms were to be found in nearly every street. Each body of
Christians acted as if there were no other workers in the field; each
was striving to hunt souls into its own special fold; and each
distributed its funds as if no money but theirs was being laid out for
the welfare of the poor district. Hence there were greater pauperism and
more complete poverty than in many a neglected quarter of the East End,
with all its untold misery. Spirit-vaults flourished; the low
lodging-houses were crowded to excess; rents rose rapidly; and the
narrow ill lighted streets swarmed with riff-raff after nightfall, when
the greater part of the wealthy district-visitors were spending their
evening hours in their comfortable homes, satisfied with their day's
work for the Lord.

But Felix began his work in the evenings, when the few decent working
men, who still continued to live in the Brickfields, had come home from
their day's toil, and the throng of professional beggars and thieves,
who found themselves in good quarters there, poured in from their day's
prowling. It was well for him that he had an athletic and muscular
frame, well-knitted together, and strengthened by exercise, for many a
time he had to force his way out of houses, where he found himself
surrounded by a crew of half-drunken and dangerous men. Presently they
got to know and respect him both for his strength and forbearance, which
he exercised with good temper and generosity. He could give a blow, as
well as take one, when it was necessary. At one time his absence from
church was compulsory, because he had received a black eye when
defending a querulous old crone from her drunken son; he was seen about
the wretched streets of the Brickfields with this too fami