The Idler Magazine, Volume III, April 1893 | Page 9

where work would enable him to
help himself. Miss Johnson went around the neighbourhood and
collected pence for the reclamation. Most people were willing to help
Joe, although it was generally felt that the Road would be less gay
when he took on sober habits. In one room, however, Miss Johnson
was refused the penny she pleaded for.
"We cannot spare even a penny," said the woman, whose sickly little
boy clung to her skirts. "My husband is just out of work again. He has
had only four weeks' work this time."

Miss Johnson looked around the room and saw why there was no
money. It was quite evident where the earnings of the husband had
gone.
The room was much better furnished than the average apartment of the
neighbourhood. There were two sets of dishes where one would have
been quite sufficient. On the mantelshelf and around the walls were
various unnecessary articles which cost money.
[Illustration: "'WE CANNOT SPARE EVEN A PENNY.'"]
Miss Johnson noted all this but said nothing, although she resolved to
report it to the committee. In union is strength and in multitude of
counsel there is wisdom. Miss Johnson had great faith in the wisdom of
the committee.
"How long has your husband been out of work?" she asked.
"Only a few days, but times are very bad and he is afraid he will not get
another situation soon."
"What is his trade?"
"He is a carpenter and a good workman--sober and steady."
"If you give me his name I will put it down in our books. Perhaps we
may be able to help him."
"John Morris is his name."
Miss Johnson wrote it down on her tablets, and when she left the wife
felt vaguely grateful for benefits to come.
The facts of the case were reported to the committee, and Miss Johnson
was deputed to expostulate with Mrs. Morris upon her extravagance.
John Morris's name was put upon the books among the names of many
other unemployed persons. The case of Joe Hollends then came up, and
elicited much enthusiasm. A decent suit of clothing had been purchased
with part of the money collected for him, and it was determined to keep

the rest in trust, to be doled out to him as occasion warranted.
[Illustration: "THE LADIES WERE VERY PERSUASIVE."]
Two persuasive ladies undertook to find a place for him in one of the
factories, if such a thing were possible.
Joe felt rather uncomfortable in his new suit of clothes, and seemed to
regard the expenditure as, all in all, a waste of good money. He was
also disappointed to find that the funds collected were not to be handed
over to him in a lump. It was not the money he cared about, he said, but
the evident lack of trust. If people had trusted him more, he might have
been a better man. Trust and human sympathy were what Joe Hollends
needed.
The two persuasive ladies appealed to Mr. Stillwell, the proprietor of a
small factory for the making of boxes. They said that if Hollends got a
chance they were sure he would reform. Stillwell replied that he had no
place for anyone. He had enough to do to keep the men already in his
employ. Times were dull in the box business, and he was turning away
applicants every day who were good workmen and who didn't need to
be reformed. However, the ladies were very persuasive, and it is not
given to every man to be able to refuse the appeal of a pretty woman,
not to mention two of them. Stillwell promised to give Hollends a
chance, said he would consult with his foreman, and let the ladies know
what could be done.
Joe Hollends did not receive the news of his luck with the enthusiasm
that might have been expected. Many a man was tramping London in
search of employment and finding none, therefore even the ladies who
were so solicitous about Joe's welfare thought he should be thankful
that work came unsought. He said he would do his best, which is, when
you come to think of it, all that we have a right to expect from any man.
Some days afterwards Jack Morris applied to Mr. Stillwell for a job,
but he had no sub-committee of persuasive ladies to plead for him. He
would be willing to work half-time or quarter-time for that matter. He
had a wife and boy dependent on him. He could show that he was a

good workman and he did not drink. Thus did Morris recite his
qualifications to the unwilling ears of Stillwell the box maker. As he
left the place disheartened with another refusal, he was overtaken by
Joe Hollends. Joe was a lover of his fellow-man,