That _Crape on the Whip_ assumed the force of a call to the Church, urging to self-denial and to active effort. Shall public servants slave on for our convenience, with no man to care for their souls? Let Christian men who are brought into friendly contact with them answer "No," by telling them of a Saviour's mercy. Let workers in the Lord's vineyard seek opportunity to instruct them, while making effort to lessen their hours of toil. Numerous as they are, they are only part of a class, including cabmen, railway servants, and others who suffer the moral degradation of Sabbath slavery. Their helpers, for instance the men who take charge of the horses, are the hardest-worked men in England. From early morning until late at night, all the year round they toil on. One of them remarked, "Cursed already, unceasing labour, and life used up early." A City Missionary, in a yard he visits, has arranged for eleven of these to join him on the Sabbath in an old omnibus which stands in a corner of the yard. It was once licensed to carry twelve inside. He there conducts a little service with them. Then again there are servants of the Redeemer who make constant effort to bring the life-giving power of Christ's religion to bear upon these Sabbath outcasts. Let us be partakers in their struggles and joys until the victory is gained; until freedom for those who cry because of the oppressor is secured; until no conscience is troubled by _Crape on the Whip_ indicating that souls which were sabbathless and uncared for had, _without_ preparation, entered the presence of God.
This earnest pleading for the oppressed omnibus men, through the pages of the _London City Mission Magazine_, reached many hearts with Christian sympathy, and not a few resolved that these men also should be spiritually cared for, and that an effort should be made to improve their condition. An "elect lady" gave full support for a Missionary to those who ply omnibuses in the West, while the liberality of a gentleman abounded to those of the South, and the help of many extended the benefit to East and North London.
[Illustration: Man beside two tired-looking horses]
Welcomes, hearty and full of hope, were given by the omnibus men to their new friends. Among their thousands there was not a Church member, a "Church goer," or one influenced by reading the Scriptures; except two or three who worked for private masters of Christian principles. To these Sabbathless men of constant toil, the Gospel which speaks of deliverance through the mercy of God in Christ Jesus was indeed a joyful sound, and right glad were they while waiting for a few minutes at each end of their journeys to listen to the messengers sent to them with glad tidings, and the result has been blessing to many souls, and the commencement of a struggle for their Sabbath and social rights.