A few evenings after, the Missionary, as arranged, entered the room with the spelling-book in his hand, to give the first lesson, and was glad to find the rough at home, and to return, with a pleasant smile, his gruff salutation of, "Thought as how you wasn't a-coming; but thank'ee, guv'nor, for doing on it." He then fairly seized the Primer, and repeated the alphabet so vigorously, that his intention of "being hedicated in no time" was evident, even if he had not said so. The book was left with him, and upon the next lesson-evening his wife told the teacher that "Bill had bin a A-ing, and B-ing, and B A-ing, ever since he com'd up there afore." Lesson succeeded lesson for many weeks, and though the task was distasteful to both parties, the rough got on exceedingly well, and at the end of three months he was able to read easy lesson books. From that time there was evidence of a change passing over the family. The understood rule of the London City Mission, that no visit be completed without the reading or repeating of some portion of Holy Scripture, had been observed, and as the result, much of that Word, the entering of which into the soul gives light, had been read to this poor man and his wife. There was a change in their home, for the teacher one evening noticed two new chairs and a piece of carpet; after this, several gaudy pictures and a fender were introduced, and then the rags were removed, and a punch and judy bedstead (a thing that turns up in the corner) set up in its place.
"You are getting on in the world," observed their friend one evening, as he glanced round the room.
The man looked unutterable things at his wife, and said, "Should think we are, sir; and I'll let the cat out of the bag, as they sayes: and this is that ere cat. Arter you had been a-readin' and a-'elpin' me one night I walks out, and as I passed the Tom and Jerry where I picked you up, some old pals says, 'Come in and have a little heavy wet!' and in I goes; and then we went into the tother corner, and I stood some gin, as with the tother got into my 'ed; and when I was turned out I seed a Peeler, and wolunteered to fight 'im. So he takes me by the choker and walks me along, and my old woman, as was looking for me, comes up and begged the Peeler not to trot me in, as makes a charge. So, bein' soft 'arted, he gived me to her; and when I got up 'ere I was sober like, and said I, I will be a Christian, like as the gent reads of, what eat pigs' wittles, and went back to his Father; and I'll be teetotal to-morrow. So in the morning I had a pen'orth of coffee at the total shop, and hopened my mind to the gal what brought it; and she told the guv'nor, and he brings a book, and I put a scratch in it, and I haven't had a drop of the public stuff never since; and we said we'd say nothin' to you till we had been teetotal a month, and it's more than that now."