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 tim's first visit to the ragged school. Page tt. 
 
STEPS UP THE LADDER; 
 
 THE WILL AND THE WAY. 
 
 A TRUE STORY. 
 
 "Godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the 
 % that now is, and of that which is to come." — 1 Tisi. iv. 8. 
 
 PHILADELPHIA : 
 PRESBYTERIAN BOARD OF PUBLICATION. 
 
STEPS UP THE LADDER; 
 
 OR, 
 
 THE WILL AND THE WAY. 
 
 CHAPTER I, 
 
 " HE EAISETH THE POOR OUT OF 
 
 THE DUST." 
 
 1 Samuel ii. 8. 
 
 It was a stormy winter's night. 
 The wind blew keenly from the 
 north-east, whistling through every 
 crevice, and mingled sleet and hail 
 rattled against the casements, re- 
 minding Christian families of the 
 home comforts a gracious Providence 
 had given them, and drawing from 
 many hearts expressions of grati- 
 tude and love. But tempestuous 
 
 3 
 
4 STEPS UP THE ladder; oe, 
 
 as the night was, a few persons 
 were passing and repassing in the 
 streets. Here and there a police- 
 man paced his beat, or a porter re- 
 turned from his employment, mak- 
 ing what haste he could to escape 
 from the pelting of the storm. 
 
 It is sad to think that in our 
 great cities and towns there are 
 numbers of human beings without 
 homes, without work, and without 
 friends, with the single exception 
 of that Friend who "changeth not," 
 " for a father of the fatherless, and 
 a judge of the widows, is Grod in his 
 holy habitation." Psalm lxviii. 5. 
 
 It is to one of these friendless 
 beings we have to call the reader's 
 attention. A boy of fifteen years 
 of age, very ragged and dirty, was 
 
THE WILL AND THE WAY. 5 
 
 loitering about, and seemed in no 
 particular hurry to get himself 
 housed, but lingered in doorways 
 and alleys, as though they were the 
 only shelter he had to expect. Tim 
 Roberts, for that was the name of 
 the boy, was cold and hungry. 
 Every now and then he would stop 
 and blow his fingers, in the vain 
 attempt to warm them ; and when 
 the tempest beat into his face more 
 vehemently than ever, he drew his 
 tattered jacket close about him, and 
 looked round for a place of refuge, 
 till the snow-cloud, that the wind 
 was driving onward, should have 
 spent its fury. A lobby was at 
 hand, and Tim stepped in with a 
 feeling of satisfaction. A door 
 opened out of this lobby into a long 
 1* 
 
6 STEPS UP THE LADDER; OR, 
 
 low room, and Tim heard a voice, 
 speaking, it seemed, almost at his 
 elbow. He gave the door a push, 
 and walked in. 
 
 The room was full of boys, rag- 
 ged and dirty like himself, and each 
 one had come, like himself, from 
 some hole or corner of the city. 
 Tim wondered what they did there, 
 but more than all at their silence. 
 He could not have believed they 
 were so near him. It was a ragged 
 school that he had chanced to enter, 
 and an hour ago he might have 
 seen these boys come rushing in, in 
 the most boisterous manner. He 
 would not have been able to hear 
 himself speak ; but now they sat 
 mute, their faces full of interest, 
 and their eyes fixed upon the speaker, 
 
THE WILL AND THE WAY. 7 
 
 listening to every syllable lie 
 uttered. 
 
 What was the theme that held 
 them in such mute attention ? It 
 was a theme familiar to many who 
 read these pages, and to all of vital 
 importance. The speaker was en- 
 deavouring to unfold, in the most 
 simple language, the great doctrine 
 on which the hopes of every human 
 being depend — the doctrine of atone- 
 ment through the blood of Christ. 
 
 This good man was one of those 
 who sow beside all waters, and the 
 business of whose life it is to win 
 souls to Christ. He was a city mis- 
 sionary, and had had much success 
 among the friendless and the out- 
 cast. Many a one had he, through 
 God's blessing, rescued from de- 
 
8 STEPS UP THE LADDER; OR, 
 
 struction ; and now, as he looked 
 round on these poor neglected chil- 
 dren of want and sorrow, his heart 
 yearned towards them. He de- 
 sired to lead them to the good Shep- 
 herd, who gave his life for the 
 sheep ; and passing by every other 
 topic, he fixed upon this great one 
 of salvation, as the most likely to 
 arrest their attention. 
 
 The servant of Grod has many 
 discouragements ; but one thought 
 is full of comfort. He goes out, 
 like the sower, to sow his seed over 
 the ground that God has given him 
 to cultivate. There is the stony 
 rock, there is the way-side with the 
 fowls of the air, there is the soil 
 that will grow nothing but thorns 
 and briars. Still, in the midst of 
 
THE WILL AND THE WAY. 9 
 
 all, there will not fail to be the 
 good ground ready for the Master's 
 use, and only waiting for the seed to 
 be dropped into it. Among his 
 hearers, be they ever so unhopeful, 
 there may be, unknown to him, 
 some tender affectionate heart that 
 will receive the gospel message and 
 close round it, and it will become 
 the power of God unto salvation. 
 What preparation the good ground 
 has received above the rest is not 
 for us to say : the wind bloweth 
 where it listeth, and the prepara- 
 tion of the heart belongeth unto 
 God. We can only see the result, 
 and rejoice in the faithfulness of 
 the promise — " My word shall not 
 return unto me void, but shall ac- 
 complish that which I please, and 
 
10 STEPS UP THE LADDER; OR, 
 
 prosper in the thing whereto I sent 
 it." This promise was about to be 
 fulfilled in a remarkable manner. 
 Little did the speaker imagine the 
 effect produced by his words on the 
 miserable looking boy, who had 
 come in, in the midst of his ad- 
 dress. 
 
 Like many other boys of his 
 class, Tim Roberts was a heathen 
 in a Christian land. He had never 
 heard he was a sinner, or had the 
 questions put to him, Are you fit 
 to stand before Grod ? and, What 
 will become of your soul ? He had 
 never heard that he was in need of 
 a Saviour, or been told of the great 
 love of Christ in giving his life a 
 ransom for many. 
 
 The missionary dwelt on each of 
 
THE WILL AND THE WAY. 11 
 
 these topics, and tried to rouse the 
 consciences of his rude audience to 
 a sense of their danger, and to lead 
 them to the Lamb of Grocl, who 
 taketh away the sin of the world. 
 He urged them to go to their Saviour 
 in prayer, assuring them there was 
 not a spot in the whole world where 
 his ear was not open to their cry ; 
 and that he had said, "Ask, and it 
 shall be given you; seek, and ye 
 shall find ; knock, and it shall be 
 opened unto you." 
 
 Thus was the seed sown in this 
 poor boy's heart. For the first time 
 it came dropping like the dew from 
 heaven, without noise and without 
 observation. But it had come ; and 
 be sure, if the power of God was with 
 it, it must presently spring up like 
 
12 STEPS UP THE ladder; or, 
 
 the plant and the tender herb, bring- 
 ing with it verdure and gladness. 
 
 Tim's experience in the world was 
 very limited. The space he lived 
 in was but a single room. His 
 father was a drunkard, and did 
 little to maintain his wife and chil- 
 dren, of whom Tim was the eldest. 
 His mother had never cared to 
 raise herself above the level of her 
 neighbours, and so the family ex- 
 isted, year after year, in their 
 wretched garret, without Grod, with- 
 out Christ, and without hope in the 
 world. And now Tim, in his rags 
 and ignorance and dirt, had been 
 hearing for the first time the glad 
 tidings of salvation. 
 
 Nothing could be more forlorn 
 than the state in which these tidings 
 
THE WILL AND THE WAY. 13 
 
 found him. Accustomed to beg and 
 even to steal, to sleep in holes and 
 corners, when he had not earned 
 enough to allow him to shelter in 
 the garret that he called his home, 
 any more settled employment than 
 that of sweeping a crossing Tim had 
 never thought of ; and in this con- 
 dition he had lived from his child- 
 hood, without a care to improve it. 
 But it was as if a sunbeam had been 
 let into some darkened chamber. 
 Everything was indistinct, but ob- 
 jects were brought to view that had 
 hitherto been hidden in obscurity. 
 Tim had heard he was a sinner, and 
 the Holy Spirit had applied that 
 word with power to his soul. 
 
 The natural conscience is long 
 before it is silenced. The first time 
 2 
 
14 STEPS UP THE ladder; or, 
 
 that Tim committed theft, he had 
 felt a sensation of unrest. But a 
 repetition of the sin had hardened 
 his heart, and silenced the warning 
 voice. Now conscience was roused 
 by a mightier power than that of 
 nature. 
 
 " Yes," it whispered to him. 
 "You are a sinner. You have 
 broken God's law again and again. 
 God will be your Judge. Are you 
 fit to stand before God ?" 
 
 These thoughts took hold of the 
 boy's mind. At first he tried to 
 shake them off. 
 
 "It is impossible for me to be 
 anything but what I am," thought 
 he. "I am nearly grown up, and 
 can't tell a letter when I see it ; how 
 can I read the Bible? God can't 
 
THE WILL AND THE WAY. 15 
 
 expect a poor lad like me to be re- 
 ligious. I'm no worse than other 
 lads, and I suppose I must take my 
 chance;" and Tim walked briskly 
 away, as if he would shake off the 
 impression produced by the mis- 
 sionary's address. 
 
 The wind and snow had ceased, 
 and the stars looked coldly out from 
 on high. Tim did not intend to go 
 home that night, for he had earned 
 nothing. He found his way into a 
 loft, as he had often done before, 
 and lay down upon the straw. Here 
 he meant to sleep, and then creep 
 forth at an early hour, before there 
 was any chance of detection. But 
 he had heard a message too strik- 
 ing to allow him to sleep. The 
 voice kept whispering again and 
 
16 STEPS UP THE LADDER; OR, 
 
 again, "You are a sinner!" and, 
 " What will become of your soul ?" 
 The teaching of the most pious 
 education could not have brought 
 home the conviction of sin more 
 forcibly than did the awakened con- 
 science of this poor friendless boy. 
 Tim knew in a vague manner that 
 there was a Grocl, but he had never 
 thought of him, or realized his ex- 
 istence. But God had come near 
 to him, and was speaking to him in 
 the still small voice, and he would 
 abhor himself in dust and ashes. 
 He began to review his past life, in 
 the crude way of one unused to re- 
 flection. But there was nothing in 
 the remembrance of his misspent 
 days to afford him any comfort ; and 
 again the question pressed itself 
 
THE WILL AND THE WAY. 17 
 
 upon him, " What will become of 
 your soul ?" Then, quick as a flash 
 of light, came the thought, " Why 
 do I not pray?" He recalled the 
 words, " There is no spot in the 
 whole world where his ear is not 
 open to your cry." Tim's heart 
 softened, his eyes filled with tears. 
 He knelt down, but was unable to 
 sj3eak. He knew no words in which 
 to address the Divine Majesty. He 
 was too ignorant, too wicked, too far 
 off — he could only stammer out a 
 few broken sentences entreating for 
 mercy. We may safely leave him 
 at the throne of grace, believing that 
 as G-od is the hearer and answerer 
 of prayer, he will deliver him from 
 the horrible pit and the miry clay, 
 and set his feet upon a rock. 
 2* 
 
18 STEPS UP THE LADDER; OR, 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 "WHEREAS I WAS BLIND, NOW I 
 
 SEE." 
 
 John ix. 25. 
 
 There is no starting point from 
 which young people can begin life 
 so well as from a good and affec- 
 tionate home. A united household 
 is like a nursery for heaven. But 
 from Grod, even in this sense, comes 
 every good and perfect gift ; and 
 whatsoever things are true, honest, 
 just, pure, lovely, and of good re- 
 port, are found only where his love 
 and his peace have taken up their 
 abode. The want of these causes 
 
THE WILL AND THE WAY. 19 
 
 the painful scenes that are so often 
 occurring both among the rich and 
 the poor — separations, jars, strifes, 
 nay, even cruelty and murder. 
 
 Tim's home, as we have said, was 
 of the most wretched kind ; but it 
 is not our intention to dwell much 
 on this fact. The miserable abodes 
 of the poor in our great towns have 
 been too often described to need a 
 place in these pages. It is the 
 gradual development of new life in 
 a soul hitherto sunk in darkness 
 and ignorance that we wish to de- 
 lineate. 
 
 Tim was conscious of the exist- 
 ence of a principle within that was 
 struggling to gain the ascendency 
 over his thoughts and actions. His 
 long indifference to spiritual things 
 
20 STEPS UP THE ladder; or, 
 
 had given place to a keen anxiety. 
 And as he made his way through 
 the streets in the twilight of a win- 
 ter's morning, one might fancy that 
 his countenance gave some indica- 
 tion of what was passing in his 
 mind. Its vacant expression was 
 changed to one of thoughtfulness, 
 as if, like the Philippian gaoler, he 
 had been asking, " What must I do 
 to be saved ?" 
 
 As he turned into the alley where 
 his parents lived, some of his idle 
 associates were lounging about. 
 They began to talk in their usual 
 slang dialect. Tim did not know 
 why it was, but their language had 
 become distasteful to him, and he 
 passed them by and hurried into 
 the house. 
 
THE WILL AND THE WAT. 21 
 
 A crust of bread was all the re- 
 freshment he could obtain ; and as 
 soon as he had partaken of this 
 scanty breakfast, he took up his 
 broom and set off for his crossing. 
 But his mind still dwelt on the sub- 
 ject of the missionary's address. 
 He could not pursue his calling 
 with his usual alacrity ; a sense of 
 sin and degradation was upon him. 
 After he had earned a few pence 
 he quitted his post, and wandered 
 away, until he had left the noise 
 and bustle of the city behind. He 
 must have some solitude, some 
 place where he could be alone with 
 God. 
 
 It was a bright morning, clear 
 and frosty, and no trace was left of 
 the storm of the night before. Tim 
 
22 STEPS UP THE LADDER; OR, 
 
 breathed more freely when he had 
 cleared the outskirts of the city. 
 He made his way into a field ; the 
 hoarfrost lay upon the grass like 
 diamonds. There was a shed in 
 the field. Tim entered it and knelt 
 down : his forehead touched the 
 ground. He was overwhelmed with 
 a sense of his own guilt, and of 
 God's presence. The Holy Spirit 
 was showing him his need of a Sa- 
 viour. Thousands of awakened 
 consciences have had the same ex- 
 perience with Tim, but of this he 
 knew nothing, and he thought some 
 strange thing had happened to him. 
 Again he prayed as well as he was 
 able, and his prayer was like that 
 of the publican, " God be merciful 
 to me a sinner !" 
 
THE WILL AND THE WAY. 23 
 
 But the missionary had spoken 
 of a Saviour. He had told the 
 boys that Jesus Christ came down 
 from heaven to save sinners, and 
 that he had said to just such bur- 
 dened souls as Tim's, " Come unto 
 me, all ye that labour and are heavy 
 laden, and I will give you rest." 
 All this came clear and distinct 
 into Tim's mind, and he was ena- 
 bled in some degree to comprehend 
 and lay hold upon it. 
 
 " I will come," thought he, " to 
 this Saviour;" and he began to 
 pray more earnestly, casting his 
 w r hole soul on the gracious invitation 
 he had received. And that merci- 
 ful Redeemer, whose compassion is 
 without limit, heard his cry. It 
 was as if some one had said to him, 
 
24 STEPS UP THE ladder; or, 
 
 " Thy sins are forgiven thee : go in 
 peace." 
 
 That hour was the most impor- 
 tant of Tim's life. The true light 
 had shined into his heart, and it 
 was like the opening of the blind 
 eyes. He still wept, but they were 
 tears of joy. A sense of pardon 
 filled his soul. The great God, be- 
 fore whom he had trembled as a 
 Judge, was now to him as a friend, 
 a reconciled G-od and Father. Life 
 had changed its character, and had, 
 for the future, new objects and new 
 ends. The Christian race lay be- 
 fore him : " This is the way, walk 
 ye in it ;" and he must follow it out 
 at all risks, and in spite of all diffi- 
 culties. For some days, the secret 
 joy of his soul at receiving pardon 
 
THE WILL AND THE WAY. 25 
 
 was too great to allow of any other 
 thought, and filled him with a 
 " peace that passeth all understand- 
 ing." But he soon began to feel 
 his want of religious knowledge, 
 and a desire to become acquainted 
 with God's word. He had always 
 known there was such a book as 
 the Bible, and that, to use his own 
 words, " the parsons read out of it 
 at church ;" but that the Bible 
 should have anything to do with 
 him personally, he had never dream- 
 ed of. Here again his ignorance 
 seemed to present a barrier. He 
 did not know one letter from an- 
 other, and how could he read his 
 Bible, even if he had one? 
 
 He must learn to read. It would 
 
 be very hard, Tim thought, to find 
 3 
 
26 STEPS UP THE ladder; or, 
 
 out what those crooked marks 
 meant up and down the page. It 
 would take him a long time ; and 
 who was to teach him ? His father 
 could not, for he did not know him- 
 self. He could not afford to pay 
 anything, though he knew a school 
 where he could be taught for a half- 
 penny a night : even that was too 
 expensive for Tim. He would go 
 to the ragged school. It was set 
 up on purpose for boys like him. 
 He was not tidy and respectable 
 enough to venture anywhere else. 
 
 But at this early period of Tim's 
 career something whispered to him 
 that he must try and raise himself 
 from his wretched condition, and 
 hinted at the minor blessings that 
 religion brings in its train. Tim 
 
THE WILL AND THE WAY. 27 
 
 had already withdrawn from his 
 bad companions, and his heart re- 
 coiled from the vice that surrounded 
 him. His face was turned Zion- 
 warcl ; and He who had begun a 
 good work was able to carry it on 
 to his own glory. 
 
 It was early in the evening when 
 Tim reached the school, and the 
 door was not unlocked. A few of 
 the boys were waiting about in the 
 lobby, and one of them, Ned Walker 
 by name, was well known to Tim. 
 Ned seemed much in earnest, for he 
 was leaning against the wall, with a 
 tattered book in his hand, and busi- 
 ly engaged in spelling out the 
 letters. He just looked up at Tim, 
 and then began his task again, as if 
 afraid of losing a minute. Tim 
 
28 STEPS UP THE LADDER ; OR, 
 
 spoke to him. He thought Ned 
 must have the same motive in com- 
 ing there that he had himself, and 
 he hoped to find a friend in him. 
 Tim told him how anxious he was 
 to learn to read. 
 
 " Ah ! that's a fine thing, depend 
 on it," said Ned, still tracing the 
 words with his finger ; " that's just 
 what I want to do. Thinks I to 
 myself ? Ned Walker, you'll never 
 do any good in the world till you 
 know how to read." 
 
 "Is it very hard?" asked Tim, 
 peering at the book Ned held in his 
 hand. 
 
 " Well, yes ; middling well of 
 that. But other folks have got 
 through it, and so I suppose we 
 shall too." 
 
THE WILL AND THE WAY. 29 
 
 " I hope the teacher will be here 
 again to-night," said Tim, as if to 
 himself. 
 
 u Teacher ? Oh yes, there's lots 
 of them : of course they will," said 
 Ned, carelessly. 
 
 " I mean the one who preached 
 to us," said Tim. "I shall never 
 forget what he said, as long as I 
 live." 
 
 u Ay, that was a city missionary, 
 as they call him. I don't care what 
 he says— thinks I, I comes here for 
 my learning, and don't want none 
 of your religion." 
 
 Tim was silent. There was a 
 great difference between these two 
 boys. Not all the rough usage Tim 
 had met with had made him so hard- 
 ened and daring as his companions. 
 
30 STEPS UP THE LADDER 
 
 Ned was a bold, bad boy, but clever 
 and ambitious. He had head with- 
 out heart. His policy was to over- 
 come his destiny by the power of a 
 resolute will. He had never been 
 trodden down like poor Tim, for he 
 gave blow for blow, and his parents 
 rather feared than oppressed him. 
 He was resolved to get on in the 
 world, and had wit enough to find 
 out that knowledge is power and 
 riches too. He was determined to 
 knoiv. And as no one can get at 
 the treasures of knowledge without 
 going over precisely the same ground, 
 Ned had to do what every other lad 
 has done before him — learn to read. 
 For the rest he cared nothing. The 
 pious lessons of his teachers w T ere 
 lost upon him. It was not for 
 
THE WILL AND THE WAY. 31 
 
 eternity, but for time that Ned was 
 working. 
 
 Presently the school began. But 
 the missionary, whose words had so 
 affected Tim, was not there. This 
 was a sore disappointment to Tim, 
 the more so as night after night 
 passed and he did uot come. Tim, 
 however, set himself to the task of 
 learning, with great diligence. It 
 was difficult at first, and the crooked 
 marks, as he called them, seemed 
 to dance up and down before his 
 eyes. Some time must elapse ere 
 they would go into their places, and 
 form the words Tim wanted to 
 understand. 
 
 Those who have been brought up 
 with the blessings of education in 
 their hands, can have but little idea 
 
32 STEPS UP the laddee; or, 
 
 of how hard it is to snatch at it by- 
 bits and scraps, as Tim had to do. 
 By day he plied his trade in the 
 muddy street, and it was but one 
 brief hour he could devote to gain- 
 ing the knowledge he thirsted for. 
 He had no books, or means to buy 
 any, and no friends at home to help 
 him forward. His way was hedged 
 up with difficulties ; but still he did 
 not despair. He had put his hand 
 to the plough, and there was no 
 looking back. 
 
 One night, a little incident oc- 
 curred between him and his teacher, 
 that in the end turned out to his 
 advantage. Tim's clothes were 
 dirty, and so were his hands and 
 face. He had never been taught 
 the duty of cleanliness, and his 
 
THE WILL AND THE WAY. 33 
 
 companions set him but a poor ex- 
 ample. The teacher, to whom he 
 was spelling his letters, said to him, 
 " Sit a little further off, will you ?" 
 
 Tim looked up into the teacher's 
 face, and a new idea struck him. 
 It was the difference between clean- 
 liness and dirt. He blushed and 
 moved to a respectful distance. The 
 teacher added kindly, " You should 
 use a little soap and water, my lad ; 
 that is cheap enough surely." 
 
 Tim walked home very deliber- 
 ately, thinking over the teacher's 
 words. There were, then, many 
 things to be done besides learning 
 to read. The boy's self-respect be- 
 gan to awake. This was a natural 
 consequence of education, however 
 imperfect. He had taken one step 
 
34 STEPS UP THE LADDER; OR, 
 
 out of his low estate, and he was 
 impelled to go forward. The teach- 
 er's hint was not lost upon him, and 
 in future he never went to school 
 without washing his hands and face 
 at the pump, or at some other spot 
 where water could readily be found. 
 All this time he heard much 
 from the teachers of the matter that 
 lay nearest to his heart. First one, 
 and then another, spoke to the boys 
 of the things that make for their 
 peace. Tim heard again and again 
 of that Saviour who came into the 
 world to die for sinners. He would 
 listen, with tearful eyes, to the story 
 of his life on earth and his death 
 upon the cross. He felt more and 
 more drawn to sacred things, and 
 his desire to read the Bible for 
 
THE WILL AND THE WAY. 35 
 
 himself grew stronger every day. 
 He would often hide himself in 
 some quiet corner, away from his 
 own home, and spell over the words 
 from the fragment of a book that 
 Ned Walker had given him. He 
 would pray earnestly, though with 
 a stammering tongue, and think in 
 his poor way of Christ and heaven. 
 He did not know it, but he was 
 under the guidance of a better 
 Teacher even than the missionary. 
 
 One day, as he was reading from 
 his book, Ned Walker passed him. 
 He was so well dressed Tim hardly 
 knew him, and uttered an exclama- 
 tion of surprise. 
 
 " Why, how do I look?" asked 
 Ned, stopping and surveying him- 
 self with a smile of gratified vanity. 
 
36 STEPS UP the ladder; or, 
 
 " Smart enough for anything. 
 How did you get your fine clothes, 
 Ned?" 
 
 Ned looked rather confused: 
 then recollecting himself, he an- 
 swered boldly, " Never you mind. 
 Ask me no questions, and I will 
 tell you no lies." 
 
 " You don't come to school now," 
 said Tim. 
 
 " No, I've done with that sort of 
 thing," replied Ned, contemptu- 
 ously. " I've got all I wanted. 
 I'm ten to one better than you. I 
 can read a book from end to end, 
 and write too, and mean to get on 
 in the world, and be respectable 
 some of these days." 
 
 " But if you don't begin right?" 
 said Tim. 
 
THE WILL AND THE WAY. 37 
 
 " Nonsense ! how should I begin, 
 but with a decent set of clothes on 
 my back ? And I'm going on with 
 my learning at the parish school. 
 What more can I do?" 
 
 "Can you read the Bible?" asked 
 Tim eagerly. 
 
 " Can, but don't want to. What 
 should I read my Bible for? I 
 aren't going to die," said Ned, half 
 angry. 
 
 " But the teacher says the Bible 
 tells us how to live," replied Tim 
 gravely. 
 
 " I don't care nothing for that. 
 
 I know what I want — to get on in 
 
 the world," cried Ned with great 
 
 emphasis. "I know I can't doit 
 
 without learning. No one ever did. 
 
 Who'd take a fellow as couldn't 
 4 
 
38 STEPS UP THE LADDER; OK, 
 
 read or write? And I can't do 
 it neither without good clothes. 
 Who'd take up with a ragged street 
 sweeper? So I'll learn to read, 
 and I'll get clothes somehow. And 
 now just look at me, and see which 
 is doing the best by himself." 
 
 Tim could not reply, and yet he 
 knew better. To learn to read, and 
 not to read the Bible, was to get 
 the shell and throw away the ker- 
 nel. He had not read the Pil- 
 grim's Progress, or he would haye 
 thought of the man gathering 
 straws together, while one held a 
 golden crown above his head. Ned, 
 alas ! had not seen the crown, and 
 his whole heart was intent upon 
 the straws. 
 
THE WILL AND THE WAY. 39 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 "in all labour there is profit." 
 
 Proverbs xiv. 23. 
 
 The winter was over, and the 
 bright spring weather had dried 
 the streets and crossings, so that 
 Tim's sweeping was, for the time, 
 at an end. At such intervals he 
 had more leisure than he knew 
 what to do with. His parents had 
 brought him up without the least 
 idea of industry, but they expected 
 him to pick up a living under all 
 circumstances. As we said before, 
 Tim had been used to beg, and oc- 
 casionally to steal ; and the rest of 
 
40 STEPS UP the ladder; or, 
 
 the time he had loitered away in 
 idle games with his companions. 
 But this vagrant life had become 
 intolerable to him. He longed for 
 regular employment, and would 
 thankfully have learned a trade, 
 however humble ; but as Ned told 
 him, he must have decent clothes, 
 for who would take a ragged street 
 sweeper ? 
 
 Tim often felt discouraged at his 
 forlorn condition ; but at such sea- 
 sons he would take his sorrows to 
 his heavenly Father, and pray for 
 help and guidance in the up-hill 
 path he was treading. 
 
 One day, his mother sent him to 
 a grocer's shop, at a little distance. 
 The shop happened to be full, for 
 it was market day, and the shopman 
 
TIM AND THE GROCER. 
 
 Page 41. 
 
THE WILL AND THE WAY. 41 
 
 was in an unusual bustle. Tim 
 waited some time before he could 
 be served, and when at last he got 
 what he was sent for, and was leav- 
 ing the shop, he heard the master 
 say to one of the customers, " It is 
 the most unlucky thing in the 
 world. My apprentice has gone 
 home ill, and I've no one at hand 
 just now to send with the goods." 
 
 Tim stood a moment on the door- 
 step as if struck with a sudden idea. 
 He first ran home, and then re- 
 turned almost directly. He waited 
 till the customers had cleared off a 
 little, and then went up to the mas- 
 ter of the shop. " Can I take the 
 goods out for you, sir?" 
 
 Mr. Mason, for that was the 
 shopkeeper's name, looked at him 
 4* 
 
42 STEPS UP THE LADDER; OR, 
 
 with surprise, and no great satis- 
 faction. 
 
 "You! You are so — you are 
 not decent enough, my lad," said 
 he at length ; " where do you come 
 from?" 
 
 Tim told him. 
 
 "Ah, a bad neighbourhood — a 
 very bad neighbourhood indeed," 
 said Mr. Mason, shaking his head ; 
 "and at your age to be in rags, and 
 out of work: no, I dare not trust 
 you on any account ;" and, with a 
 very inflexible face, he began to 
 weigh some sugar. 
 
 Tim still loitered. 
 
 " I would not take a ha'porth of 
 your goods," said he presently, 
 " and as to my rags, there's no one 
 that would get rid of them more 
 
THE WILL AND THE WAY. 43 
 
 gladly than me. It would be the 
 best thing you ever did in your 
 life, sir, to give me a job." 
 
 "Yes, and have you run away 
 with every thing — a likely matter : 
 no, no, I am a trifle too old for 
 that. So move off, will you?" 
 
 Tim's heart swelled almost to 
 bursting. He went outside the shop, 
 and still waited, in hopes the man 
 would relent. His case was very 
 hard that day. He had eaten noth- 
 ing but a crust, and had no pros- 
 pect of earning anything. He had 
 the keenest desire to work, and yet 
 no one would employ him ; the 
 keenest desire to be respectable, and 
 yet was compelled to be in rags. 
 For the moment, Ned's policy 
 seemed to be the best, and he be- 
 
44 STEPS UP the ladder; or, 
 
 gan to fear he must get on by every 
 means, lawful or unlawful, if he 
 would get on at all. 
 
 As he was thinking this in his 
 heart, he moved slowly away, and 
 took the direction to his own home. 
 He had to pass down a narrow and 
 badly paved street, one of the worst 
 in the city. The houses on either 
 side were large and lofty, and had 
 once been occupied by wealthy 
 merchants. But they had long 
 since deserted them, and the houses 
 were now tenanted by pawnbrokers, 
 and second-hand clothes were hang- 
 ing in every direction. Tim stopped 
 before the last shop in the street. It 
 was a corner shop, and a boy's 
 jacket was swinging about the out- 
 side. Tim stood looking at it, as if 
 
THE WILL AND THE WAY. 45 
 
 fascinated. To snatch it down, and 
 dodge round the corner, and up the 
 next alley, would be easy, and quite 
 practicable. He had not the least 
 doubt but Ned had so come by his 
 finery. Once possessed of the jacket 
 Tim might make a better figure, 
 and get employment. Without it, 
 he must give up all hopes of being 
 noticed by any one respectable. Tim 
 had pilfered on a small scale before. 
 This would be a more daring theft 
 than he had yet attempted, but it 
 might be clone with a little dexterity. 
 These thoughts passed, quick as 
 lightning, through Tim's brain. 
 He stood looking at the jacket as 
 if his eyes were riveted upon it. 
 He even took hold of it, to feel its 
 texture. It came off its peg, and 
 
46 steps ur THE ladder; or, 
 
 was actually in his hand ! Tim's 
 heart gave a convulsive leap. " Run 
 — fly — escape !" whispered the voice 
 that was tempting him. 
 
 But Tim did not stir. Another 
 voice drowned the other, and seemed 
 to say to him, " Thou slialt not steal.'''' 
 Tim put the jacket hastily back, and 
 fled, not with it, but from it. His 
 limbs trembled. He felt half suffo- 
 cated. He seemed as if snatched 
 from the very verge of a precipice. 
 He fled on, in his haste and agita- 
 tion, till the last house in the city 
 was past, and he had reached the 
 green fields, where all was peace 
 and serenity. Here he threw him- 
 self on the ground, and burst into 
 tears. 
 
 The principles of good and evil 
 
THE WILL AND THE WAY. 47 
 
 had been at war, and evil had all 
 but triumphed. Tim loathed him- 
 self for half consenting to the deed. 
 His wretched position was forgotten 
 in his dread of God's anger. He 
 knelt down and prayed for forgive- 
 ness. He resolved rather to starve 
 than to become a thief. 
 
 As he walked back to the city, 
 he felt more composed and cheer- 
 ful. He made up his mind to seek 
 employment incessantly till he 
 should find it. And, as if uncon- 
 sciously, he retraced his steps to the 
 grocer's shop. Mr. Mason was 
 standing at the door, looking up 
 and down the street. Tim had no 
 idea that he was looking for him, 
 and would rather have kept out of 
 sight, remembering the harsh treat- 
 
48 STEPS UP THE ladder; or, 
 
 ment he had received an hour ago. 
 But the shopkeeper beckoned him 
 to come on, and as soon as he was 
 near enough, called out, " Here, my 
 lad, you make a great show of 
 wanting a job, and then take your- 
 self off just when you could have 
 one." 
 
 Tim quickened his pace, and soon 
 reached the shop. 
 
 " Here's a gentleman wants his 
 goods to go to the carrier's, and 
 I can't find any one to take them. 
 So I suppose I must trust you. If 
 you do play me a trick, remember, 
 I shall set the police after you." 
 
 Tim made the utmost haste he 
 could over his errand, and was back 
 sooner than his employer expected. 
 By this time the business of the 
 
THE WILL AND THE WAY. 49 
 
 day was so pressing, that Mr. 
 Mason was glad enough to run Tim 
 here and there, without further 
 parley. 
 
 Tim's happiness was very great 
 indeed. It is true, he had to un- 
 dergo the suspicious glances of the 
 shopkeeper, who made him feel 
 that he was only employed on suf- 
 ferance. But still he was employed; 
 and Tim, with all the sanguineness 
 of youth, hoped that one thing 
 would lead to another, and that he 
 was on the high road to bettering 
 his condition. 
 5 
 
50 STEPS UP THE LADDER; OR, 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 "man's goings are of the lord." 
 
 Proverbs xx. 24. 
 
 Mr. Mason had not given Tim 
 the slightest encouragement to come 
 again ; but early on Monday morn- 
 ing, almost before the shutters had 
 been taken down, he was on the 
 spot. 
 
 Mr. Mason's business was small, 
 and he had no assistance but from 
 his apprentice ; consequently, in his 
 absence, the master had to do the 
 work, and he was sweeping out the 
 shop when Tim came up. He sur- 
 veyed him rather grimly, Tim 
 
THE WILL AND THE WAY. 51 
 
 thought, and merely asked him 
 what he did there. 
 
 " I hoped, sir, you might be want- 
 ing me this morning," replied Tim, 
 twirling his cap round and round. 
 
 " No, I don't; but stay — can't 
 you put on your Sunday jacket, my 
 lad? It is not the thing to have 
 such a tattered-looking urchin about 
 one's premises." 
 
 " I have no jacket but this," said 
 Tim, hanging his head. 
 
 " Humph ! what did your parents 
 mean to bring you up to then ?" 
 asked Mr. Mason leaning on his 
 broom, and surveying the boy at- 
 tentively. 
 
 Tim still hung his head, and 
 made no answer. 
 
 " My 'prentice that's gone home 
 
52 STEPS UP THE LADDER; OR, 
 
 isn't so old as you are, but he's as 
 tidy and smart a little fellow as can 
 be seen on a summer's day. That's 
 what I like." 
 
 " Oh ! sir, I wish that I—" and 
 here poor Tim stopped, and hid his 
 face in his hands. But Mr. Mason 
 could see the tears trickling down 
 his cheeks. He was a kind-hearted 
 man, and felt sorry for the boy's 
 distress. Besides, he secretly liked 
 the looks of him, in spite of his tat- 
 tered garb. So he said in an en- 
 couraging tone, " Come, you need 
 not give up, anyhow. There's 
 plenty of time before you to get on 
 in the world, if you've a mind. 
 You worked well on Saturday — I 
 don't deny it. Monday is rather a 
 
THE WILL AND THE WAY. 53 
 
 slackish clay, but perhaps I can find 
 you a job." 
 
 "Thank you, sir," replied Tim, 
 eagerly. 
 
 " I only wish you were a bit 
 tidier to look at. I must get the 
 missis to hunt up an old jacket of 
 our Joe's, that may chance to fit 
 you. And now you can finish 
 sweeping while I have my break- 
 fast." Mr. Mason felt no scruple 
 at leaving Tim alone in the shop, 
 because through a little window he 
 could watch all his proceedings. If 
 he had seen into Tim's heart he 
 would have been glad that he had 
 ventured on what he called a risk. 
 The boy lifted up his soul to God in 
 thankfulness and praise, and re- 
 solved to exert himself to the ut- 
 
54 STEPS UP the ladder; or, 
 
 most to repay the kindness so un- 
 expectedly shown to him. 
 
 Joe's jacket was old and worn, 
 but it gave Tim a more respectable 
 appearance. Mr. Mason made him 
 eat a good breakfast, and then the 
 business of the day began. Tim 
 gave his employer satisfaction, and 
 was desired to come again the next 
 day. 
 
 " Whatever motive the lad has," 
 said Mr. Mason to his wife, " he 
 works well." But though Mr. Ma- 
 son was struck with the boy's good 
 conduct, he did not repose implicit 
 confidence in him. He knew noth- 
 ing of the great event that had hap- 
 pened in Tim's history, for true re- 
 ligion is more inclined to actions 
 than to words. Still, it can no 
 
THE WILL AND THE WAY. 55 
 
 more be concealed than can the 
 sweet flower whose own fragrance 
 betrays it. Tim's steady industry 
 made his employer feel that, in 
 spite of his poverty and bad parent- 
 age, he was worth giving a help to 
 — if only he could be trusted : of 
 this he had not yet satisfied him- 
 self. 
 
 For a month Tim continued in 
 Mr. Mason's service, and, as he was 
 better fed, and more kindly treated, 
 his appearance began to improve. 
 Meanwhile, the apprentice grew 
 worse instead of better, and it was 
 doubtful whether he would be able 
 to return. Tim secretly hoped, if 
 this should be the case, Mr. Mason 
 might be induced to take him in 
 his stead. 
 
66 STEPS UP THE LADDER; OR, 
 
 The same idea occurred to Mr. 
 Mason, but he had not yet suffi- 
 cient confidence in Tim's honesty. 
 " Those sort of lads are often up to 
 every species of roguery," said he 
 to his wife, "and we must keep 
 our eyes on him." 
 
 Every evening Tim went to the 
 ragged school as usual ; he could 
 do so, because Mr. Mason closed 
 his shop early. He also ventured 
 to attend the Sunday-school, thanks 
 to his improved appearance; and 
 became a regular attendant at pub- 
 lic worship. 
 
 One of the desires of his heart 
 was to possess a Bible ; but his ex- 
 treme poverty prevented all hope 
 for the present of gaining such a 
 treasure. Quite unexpectedly this 
 
THE WILL AND THE WAY. 57 
 
 pious wish was gratified. One 
 morning he and his master were 
 turning over a box of waste paper, 
 chiefly fragments of old books and 
 such like, to be used in tying up 
 parcels. Tim seized upon one of 
 the fragments, and, holding it up, 
 while his eyes sparkled with joy, 
 exclaimed, "Oh! sir, it is a Bible." 
 
 "It is only a few torn pages. 
 What do you want with it ?" asked 
 Mr. Mason. " You have got a Bi- 
 ble at home, haven't you ?" 
 
 " No, sir, I never had a Bible in 
 my life!" cried Tim. 
 
 u What a heathen you must be, 
 lad !" said Mr. Mason, looking up 
 at him. 
 
 But Tim's eyes were full of tears, 
 and he was pressing the tattered 
 
58 STEPS UP the ladder; or, 
 
 book to him as if it were the great- 
 est treasure in the world. u I would 
 give all I have for a Bible, sir," 
 said he. 
 
 " Humph! cau you read it then?" 
 " A little, sir," and Tim told him 
 about his going to the ragged 
 school ; and by degrees, and with a 
 few skilful questions, Mr. Mason 
 drew from him the story of his con- 
 version, and why he had resolved to 
 lead a new life. Mr. Mason was a 
 man of very few words. All the 
 time Tim was speaking he went on 
 sorting his paper, as if he took no 
 particular interest in the matter. 
 Tim's heart was chilled by his in- 
 difference. Nay, it sank within 
 him when Mr. Mason took the 
 ragged Bible from him, and said, 
 
THE WILL AND THE WAY. 59 
 
 " I would rather vou did not have 
 
 V 
 
 it." 
 
 Tim felt a pang of disappoint- 
 ment such as he had not known 
 before. But when evening came, 
 and he was about to go home, Mr. 
 Mason called him into the little 
 parlour behind the shop, and tak- 
 ing a new Bible from the table, he 
 put it into his hand, and said 
 warmly, " There's a Bible for you, 
 my lad. Bless God that he has 
 put it into your heart to want one." 
 
 Tim could only stammer out his 
 thanks. He was almost too rejoiced 
 to speak. He felt like one who has 
 found great spoil. "And as for 
 your schooling," continued his mas- 
 ter, " you're getting too tidy to go 
 to the ragged school. Besides, I 
 
60 STEPS UP the ladder; or, 
 
 hear that my apprentice is not likely 
 to come back ; and now I know you 
 love your Bible, it's changed my 
 opinion, and I don't mind trying 
 you a bit." 
 
 " Oh, sir, may God bless you !" 
 cried Tim, bursting into tears. 
 
 " Well, well, you need not make 
 so much about it,"' said Mr. Mason, 
 a little affected ; " I've lived long 
 enough in the world to know there's 
 nothing like religion to keep a lad 
 honest and steady. I feel sure, if 
 you are what I take you to be, 
 you're just the lad I want; so the 
 bargain is concluded, isn't it?" 
 added he kindly. 
 
 Poor Tim ! what could he do but 
 thank his master again and again, 
 and promise to serve him with the 
 
THE WILL AND THE WAY. 61 
 
 utmost fidelity. But above all, his 
 heart rose up in thankfulness to his 
 heavenly Father, who was guiding 
 him step by step, and making his 
 way plain before him. " He leads 
 his people by a right way, that they 
 may go to a city of habitation." 
 6 
 
62 STEPS UP THE ladder; or, 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 "THROUGH IDLENESS OF THE HANDS 
 THE HOUSE DROPPETH THROUGH." 
 
 Ecclesiastes x. 18. 
 
 Tim was to lodge at Mr. Mason's, 
 for the convenience of being always 
 on the spot and making himself 
 generally useful. As he went home 
 to sleep for the last time, he began 
 to consider how he should tell his 
 parents of this new arrangement. 
 They had taken little notice of his 
 proceedings of late. The man had 
 been in prison for a month, and the 
 woman was sunk in indolence and 
 
THE WILL AND THE WAY. 63 
 
 despondency. Tim durst not let her 
 see his jacket, lest, old and worn as 
 it was, she should carry it to the 
 pawn shop. But now, he must tell 
 them he was going to leave them. 
 The boy's heart yearned over his 
 parents. He longed to impart to 
 them some of the spirit that had 
 been kindled in his own breast. 
 He longed to tell them, in his sim- 
 ple way, of the Saviour they des- 
 pised, but who for their sakes be- 
 came poor, and knew not where to 
 lay his head. Tim thought if they 
 heard these things they would 
 amend their lives, and he reproach- 
 ed himself for his timidity in not 
 introducing the subject before. He 
 felt more than ever thankful to that 
 merciful Providence which had led 
 
64 STEPS UP THE ladder; or, 
 
 him into the way of salvation. He 
 recalled the state of darkness and 
 ignorance in which he had been 
 plunged so long, and rejoiced that 
 now the day-star had arisen on his 
 heart. Silently, and unknown to 
 any but himself, had the current of 
 his life been changed. The germ 
 of true religion had already brought 
 forth fruit in a reformation of evil 
 habits, and in the desire to work 
 his way honestly and industriously. 
 He repeated to himself a verse of a 
 hymn that he had learned at school, 
 and that seemed as if written for 
 him. 
 
 " Oh to grace how great a debtor 
 Daily I'm constrained to be ! 
 Let that grace, Lord, like a fetter, 
 Bind my wandering heart to thee. 
 
THE WILL AND THE WAY. 65 
 
 " Jesus sought me when a stranger, 
 
 Wandering from the fold of God ; 
 He, to save my soul from danger, 
 Interposed his precious blood." 
 
 When Tim reached home, he 
 found that his father had come out 
 of prison, and was sitting smoking 
 by the fire. He was a little ashamed 
 of himself, and moved uneasily on 
 his chair as Tim entered. The 
 woman was washing some clothes 
 in the corner of the room, which 
 presented its usual squalid and for- 
 lorn appearance. Tim's father spoke 
 to him less roughly than usual. He 
 was rather crestfallen by his late 
 mishap ; and perhaps the prison 
 discipline, and the attempts of the 
 chaplain to teach him better things, 
 had made some slight impression 
 on him. 
 6* 
 
66 STEPS UP THE LADDER 
 
 " Well, Tim, my lad, the mother 
 says you're not often art home now. 
 What art doing with yourself?" 
 
 " I've been at work, father," re- 
 plied Tim, seating himself on a stool 
 by the window. 
 
 " And some one had need work," 
 interrupted the woman in a harsh, 
 scolding tone, " seeing we've scarce 
 bread to eat, and no one but me to 
 earn a penny." 
 
 " Come, you hold your tongue," 
 said the man savagely. 
 
 The woman was about to make an 
 angry reply when Tim interposed. 
 " Mother, I have earned something 
 to buy bread with. See, here is 
 part of my wages. Only don't let 
 us have ugly words to-night." 
 
 " You've done well, my lad," said 
 
THE WILL AND THE WAY. 67 
 
 the man approvingly, as he chinked 
 the pence in his hand. " How did 
 you get such a lot of coppers ?" 
 
 " By working for them, father. I 
 have been running of errands for 
 Mr. Mason, the grocer, and such- 
 like, and now I've got the place for 
 good, and mean to get on in the 
 world, and be respectable." 
 
 The woman laughed scornfully, 
 but the man said in the same ap- 
 proving tone, " I aren't no objection, 
 my lad. We need some of us get 
 on. We're down deep enough any 
 how." 
 
 " It's our own fault, father," said 
 Tim. "We've only to bestir our- 
 selves, and we might soon be out 
 of this garret. I'm willing enough 
 to work, and mean to do it too." 
 
68 STEPS UP THE ladder; or, 
 
 " Ah, it's right you should, Tim. 
 You're a big lad now, and the young 
 'uns are all for chopping and chang- 
 ing. This garret's good enough for 
 me and your mother. We don't 
 want no change at our time of 
 life." 
 
 " But if it was a change for the 
 better, you'd like it, father," argued 
 Tim. 
 
 " Mayhap I might," said the man 
 lazily, and knocking the ashes out 
 of his pipe ; " but that's not likely 
 to happen. So you've got a place, 
 have you ?" 
 
 " Yes, a regular place, where I'm 
 to board and lodge. I've been look- 
 ing out for it sharp enough ; and 
 now I've got it, I mean to keep it. 
 It is at Mr. Mason's, the grocer." 
 
THE WILL AND THE WAY. 69 
 
 " A strictish sort of a chap he is. 
 You won't stay there long." 
 
 " I mean to stay if I can. I've 
 made up my mind to be a new man," 
 said Tim earnestly. " I'm tired of 
 being a beggar, and going in rags." 
 
 " Heyday ! what's come over the 
 lad?" cried his mother; "you'd 
 used to be contented enough before 
 you went off schooling : I knew no 
 good would ever come of that." 
 
 " Good has come of it, mother. I 
 shall soon know T how to read, and 
 then I can learn many things I 
 never thought of before." 
 
 " What things, pray ?" asked his 
 mother, who had left off washing, 
 and was rubbing the soap-suds from 
 her arms. 
 
 " Things about Grod, mother, and 
 
70 STEPS UP the ladder; or, 
 
 how lie is angry with us if we sin 
 against him," l^lied Tim seriously. 
 
 " That's the chaplain all over," 
 exclaimed the man. " He was 
 always driving at that." 
 
 " Because it's the first thing the 
 Bible teaches us, father. It tells 
 us we are all sinners. I did not 
 know that till I went to the ragged 
 school." 
 
 " And now you do know, what 
 good is it?" interrupted his mother. 
 
 " Hush, let him go on," said the 
 man ; " the chaplain told us that, 
 Tim ; but I couldn't make much 
 out of it." 
 
 "Well, father, the first night I 
 went to the school one of the city 
 missionaries preached there, and he 
 told us so plain you could not help 
 
THE WILL AND THE WAY. 71 
 
 understanding. He told us about 
 the Garden of Eden, and how man 
 was made good till he ate of the 
 fruit that God had said he was not 
 to eat. And that we had gone wrong- 
 ever since, and there was none that 
 did good in the whole world." The 
 man filled his pipe again, and began 
 to smoke ; the woman came and sat 
 down by the fire. Neither of them 
 spoke. 
 
 " And then, father," continued 
 Tim, " he told us to look into our 
 own hearts and see how wicked we 
 had been. And that when we died 
 God would judge us ; and if we were 
 in our sins we should not go to 
 heaven, but be shut up with the 
 devil and his angels." 
 
 "Ah, it's fine talking," cried 
 
72 STEPS UP the ladder; or, 
 
 Tim's mother, getting up and going 
 back to her wash-tub. 
 
 " Then he told us, father, how 
 Jesus Christ came into the world to 
 save sinners. He told us a text 
 that I got to know by heart: 'While 
 we were yet sinners, Christ died for 
 us.' Oh, father, it was beautiful to 
 hear him tell us about Christ, how 
 he loved us, and came down from 
 heaven to save us, and was nailed 
 on the cross, and mocked at, and 
 died, and was laid in the grave; 
 and all, that God might forgive us, 
 and punish him instead of us." 
 
 Tim spoke with great earnestness. 
 The boy's heart was in the matter. 
 His father smoked on, looking 
 thoughtfully into the fire. The 
 woman made a great noise and 
 
THE WILL AND THE WAY. 73 
 
 splashing at her wash-tub, as if the 
 subject were distasteful to her. 
 
 " And then, father, I went regu- 
 lar to school and learned my letters, 
 and to spell out the words. I can 
 put a sentence together pretty well 
 now, and I've been to church a time 
 or two ; and I mean to work, and 
 lead a new life from what I did be- 
 fore. The teacher said last night 
 if a lad feared Grod, he would not 
 be content to go in rags, and idle 
 away all his time. He told us two 
 lines of a hymn, and made us say 
 it after him : — 
 
 1 Satan finds some mischief still 
 For idle hands to do.' 
 
 He said idle boys and men stand 
 on the devil's ground." 
 
74 STEPS UP THE LADDER; OR, 
 
 " That's true enough. Your fa- 
 ther had better go to that school," 
 said the woman in an aggravating 
 tone. 
 
 The man turned round as if to 
 make an angry reply; but recol- 
 lecting himself, he merely said to 
 Tim, " Well, I ain't sorry you've 
 got an inkling of these things, my 
 lad. Happier if I'd known 'em 
 before, I shouldn't have been in the 
 iix I am. But there's no helping 
 that now. I am too old to mend." 
 
 " Not a bit," cried Tim, ear- 
 nestly ; " I saw a man at the ragged 
 school, quite as old as you, as was 
 come to learn to read." 
 
 " Learn to read ? Bless the lad ! 
 What should I learn to read for ?" 
 cried his father. " No, no, I'm 
 
THE WILL AND THE WAY. 75 
 
 very well content as I am. I won't 
 hinder you from getting on, my 
 boy ; but don't fash us over much 
 with your learning and your reli- 
 gion, or we may chance fall out 
 about it." So saying, he got up and 
 went out, as if he did not wish to 
 hear any more. And his mother 
 left her washing, to go in and gossip 
 with a neighbour about the fine 
 new place Tim was going to the 
 next clay. 
 
76 STEPS UP THE LADDER; OR, 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 "TWO ARE BETTER THAN ONE." 
 
 Ecclesiastes iv. 9. 
 
 If a miser had suddenly come 
 into possession of a treasure, he 
 could not have felt more keen and 
 heartfelt joy than did Tim when his 
 master gave him the Bible. This 
 sacred volume seemed to include all 
 he could desire or wish for. Here 
 lay the knowledge he so thirsted 
 after. Here lay stores of precepts 
 which he had only heard verbally, 
 and in an unconnected manner. 
 Here was the story of his Saviour's 
 life and death. Happy would be 
 
THE WILL AND THE WAY. 77 
 
 the time when he could read these 
 things for himself. 
 
 The first night he was at Mr. 
 Mason's, when all had retired, and 
 the house was quiet, he took out his 
 Bible, and tried to make himself 
 acquainted with its pages. Alas ! 
 it was little he could do. Most of 
 the words were quite unintelligible 
 to him. He felt confused and un- 
 equal to the task. His education, 
 such as it w T as, could only carry him 
 through the first simple lessons in 
 the spelling book, and he laid down 
 his Bible with a sigh of discourage- 
 ment. " I know nothing," thought 
 he, " and how can I ever read my 
 Bible?" 
 
 Then Tim's mind turned, as it 
 was wont to do in every trial, to 
 
78 STEPS UP the ladder; or, 
 
 that " Friend who sticketh closer 
 than a brother," and of whose love 
 and care he had already had expe- 
 rience. He believed fully that his 
 prayer would be heard for the sake 
 of his Redeemer's sacrifice ; and 
 with a simple faith that an older 
 Christian might have envied, he 
 knelt down and told his sorrow to 
 his heavenly Father, and asked for 
 help. 
 
 Tim's prayer was answered in 
 rather an extraordinary manner. 
 It had been overheard by a lad of 
 his own age, who slept in the next 
 room. This lad was Mr. Mason's 
 only son. But to the grief of his 
 parents he had early displayed a 
 consumptive tendency, and his 
 health was too delicate to allow of 
 
THE WILL AND THE WAY. 79 
 
 his taking any part in the business 
 of the shop. Indeed, every spring 
 his life seemed to hang upon a 
 thread, and it was doubtful whether 
 he would struggle through till the 
 warm weather came with its reviv- 
 ing influence. 
 
 Poor Joe's time, during part of 
 the year, was spent on the sofa in 
 the dark little parlour, where he 
 lay very patient and quiet, and 
 amused himself by reading. His 
 father called him an excellent 
 scholar, and indeed he was not un- 
 deserving of the name. He could 
 read well, wrote a good hand, and 
 was far advanced in accounts, be- 
 sides having a great deal of general 
 information. 
 
 His education had not been so 
 
80 STEPS UP the ladder; or, 
 
 much interfered with by his ill 
 health as might be supposed. He 
 was a thoughtful, industrious boy, 
 and contrived by home study, and 
 a careful attention to his lessons, to 
 keep up with his more robust com- 
 panions. Latterly, his illness had 
 increased so much that his regular 
 studies had been abandoned. One 
 source of enjoyment, however, still 
 remained to him, and happily it 
 was not easily to be exhausted. 
 
 Joe had always been a well dis- 
 posed boy, and never made his 
 mother's heart to ache. But his 
 illness, and the solitude consequent 
 upon it, had led him to reflection 
 and to prayer. On his naturally 
 amiable disposition was grafted the 
 character of one who has truly and 
 
THE WILL AND THE WAY. 81 
 
 sincerely received the Lord Jesus 
 Christ as a Prince and a Saviour. 
 As he lay, week after week, help- 
 less, and unable to take part in the 
 active sports usual to lads of his age, 
 his Bible was his constant com- 
 panion. In its pages he found 
 enough to solace his affliction and 
 enable him to bear it with patience ; 
 and he was looking forward with 
 hope and love to that time when he 
 should be set free from the frail 
 suffering body, and be for ever with 
 the Lord. 
 
 With such feelings and princi- 
 ples, it was not likely that Joe 
 should hear the cry of the poor 
 ignorant boy beside him without 
 responding to it. Here was some 
 one to whom he could do good, to 
 
82 STEPS UP THE ladder; or, 
 
 whom he could lend a helping hand ; 
 and he thanked Grod for those pri- 
 vileges he had himself enjoyed, and 
 which he was able in some measure 
 to extend to others. He resolved 
 to give Tim instruction every even- 
 ing, and the next day he consulted 
 his father on the subject. 
 
 " Don't make the lad idle, Joe. 
 If he gets to be a book-worm, what 
 will become of the shop ?" 
 
 Joe pacified his father by explain- 
 ing the sort of instruction he wished 
 to give. 
 
 " Ah ! I don't mind that," replied 
 Mr. Mason ; " knowledge is a fine 
 thing, Joe, and he'll be as handy 
 again when he can write and cast 
 up accounts." 
 
 When Tim was ushered for the 
 
THE WILL AND THE WAY. 83 
 
 first time into the dark little room, 
 and saw the poor emaciated boy 
 lying on the sofa, he was struck 
 with the deepest sympathy. Amidst 
 all his troubles and hardships, he 
 had enjoyed the blessing of health ; 
 and now that he had kind treat- 
 ment and good food, he had spread 
 out into a robust youth. Joe's hands 
 were so thin, and his cheeks so 
 hollow, Tim looked at him in alarm, 
 and expressed his fear lest teaching 
 should be too great a fatigue for 
 him. " You had better let me be," 
 said he ; " you are not half strong 
 enough to turn teacher." But Joe 
 assured him it would do him no 
 harm, and only be a pleasant am- 
 usement. 
 
 " JSTow then," said he, " you must 
 
84 STEPS UP THE LADDER; OR, 
 
 begin by -showing me bow you can 
 read." 
 
 A more gentle, patient instructor 
 Tim could not have found anywhere. 
 And when he had finished hammer- 
 ing out his lesson, as he called it, 
 Joe took the Bible out of his hand, 
 and said, "JSTow I will read to you." 
 
 Every night, when the lesson was 
 over, he read to his delighted hearer 
 a portion of the word of God. He 
 read in regular order, and began 
 with the history of the fall of man, 
 and how he was driven out of the 
 garden of Eden. And with his 
 reading he mingled explanations so 
 clear and simple that a child might 
 understand them. Tim's interest 
 was raised to the highest point. The 
 story of Glod's chosen people was 
 
THE WILL AND THE WAY. 85 
 
 new to him, and he listened to it with 
 breathless attention, especially to 
 the more striking portions of their 
 experience, such as the passage over 
 the Red Sea, and the raining down 
 of manna from heaven. 
 
 " Is it true ?" he would say ; M are 
 you sure that it is true?" 
 
 " If it were not written by God's 
 direction we might almost ask the 
 question," replied Joe. " But surely 
 He who created the heavens and the 
 earth, and sustains them by his 
 power, can cleave the waters of a 
 sea asunder, and rain down manna 
 from heaven. Do you know," add- 
 ed he, "what the wilderness, and 
 the children of Israel, and the prom- 
 ised land are compared to? Try 
 and find it out." 
 
86 STEPS UP the ladder; or, 
 
 Tim reflected some time, and then 
 said, "Why, the thought has come 
 into my mind many times while you 
 were reading. Thinks I, it's some- 
 thing like us. This world's very 
 rough travelling, almost as bad as 
 the wilderness was; and we're always 
 shifting about here and there ; and 
 God leads us step by step, and 
 keeps us moving on. That's it, 
 isn't it?" 
 
 " But w T hat was the promised 
 land ?" 
 
 "Oh! heaven," cried Tim eagerly, 
 " because that's the end of our jour- 
 ney, the place we want to go to." 
 
 " Yes, it is heaven ;" and a flush 
 of joy came over Joe's pale cheek, 
 as if he were anticipating the bless- 
 edness of those who are at rest with 
 
THE WILL AND THE WAY. 87 
 
 Jesus. " But, Tim, don't we mur- 
 mur very often as the children of 
 Israel did ? Surely, it was because 
 they did not think enough of Ca- 
 naan ; and so, it may be, we do not 
 think enough of heaven !" 
 
 These conversations were happy 
 times to Tim. During the day he 
 devoted his energies to the shop, 
 and acquitted himself so well that 
 his master was fully satisfied. The 
 evenings, when the shop was closed, 
 were spent with his young teacher, 
 and Tim soon began to do him credit. 
 In the course of six months he could 
 read well, and write a good hand — 
 acquirements which, as Mr. Mason 
 justly observed, would make him 
 doubly valuable in the world as a 
 man of business. 
 
88 STEPS UP the ladder; ok, 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 "FAITH COMETH BY HEARING, AND 
 
 HEARING BY THE WORD OF GOD." 
 
 Romans x. 17. 
 
 This period of Tim's life would 
 have been happy and peaceful, had 
 it not been for the remembrance of 
 his parents, and the degraded con- 
 dition in which they lived. Their 
 welfare lay nearest to his heart, and 
 he prayed and laboured for it in- 
 cessantly. 
 
 Every Sunday afternoon he paid 
 a visit home. But though his father 
 and mother felt a touch of natural 
 pride at seeing him well dressed and 
 
THE WILL AND THE WAY. 89 
 
 prospering, they were little disposed 
 to pay attention to anything he had 
 to say on the score of reformation. 
 His father worked occasionally for 
 a shoemaker, and might soon have 
 earned enough to extricate his fam- 
 ily from poverty. But the fatal 
 habit of intemperance prevented all 
 hope of better days, and the weekly 
 trifle that Tim carried home was 
 often the only means of subsistence. 
 In spite of discouragement, how- 
 ever, Tim was gradually gaining an 
 influence. One token of improve- 
 ment was, that his mother, instead 
 of spending the Sabbath in gossip- 
 ing and standing at the door, stayed 
 at home to receive her son, and 
 even made some rude attempts to 
 give the room a creditable appear- 
 
90 STEPS UP THE LADDER; OR, 
 
 ance. Tim, in her eyes, had become 
 a line gentleman ; and though she 
 could not have explained it, the ef- 
 fect of education and civilization 
 were doing their appointed work. 
 But this was not enough for Tim. 
 He desired in his humble way to be 
 an ambassador for Christ. It was 
 a matter of earnest and continual 
 prayer that Grod would make him 
 the means of bringing his parents 
 to a knowledge of the truth. His 
 natural timidity stood much in the 
 way, and he had no great aptitude 
 for speaking of the things that lay 
 nearest to his heart. But the love 
 of Christ constrained him, and he 
 resolved to give himself no rest un- 
 til this pious purpose was accom- 
 plished. He could now read with 
 
THE WILL AND THE WAY. 91 
 
 fluency, and he determined to carry 
 his Bible with hirn every time he 
 went home. " I do not know 
 whether they will hear or whether 
 they will forbear," said he to Joe ; 
 " I can but try." 
 
 The first afternoon he took his 
 Bible, he felt much embarrassed. 
 The least allusion to religion had 
 always been met with scoffs and 
 jeers from his mother, and a surly 
 rebuke from his father ; but he had 
 formed his plan, and was not to be 
 driven from it. 
 
 When a pause in the conversa- 
 tion allowed him to do it without 
 abruptness, he drew his precious 
 volume from his pocket. His fa- 
 ther laughed, and said in a boastful 
 manner, " D'ye see, mother ? our 
 
92 STEPS UP THE ladder; oe, 
 
 Tim's such a scholar now, he must 
 cany his book along with him. 
 Come, give us a bit of reading, lad : 
 it will be something fresh." 
 
 Tim complied eagerly with this 
 request. He could not have had a 
 more favourable opening, and he 
 lifted up his soul to God in prayer 
 for direction as to which portion he 
 should choose. He knew his pa- 
 rents' distaste for the Bible, and 
 their ignorance of its contents ; and 
 he thought one of the stories in the 
 Old Testament would be most likely 
 to engage their attention. He chose 
 that of Joseph, and began to read 
 it in a clear, distinct voice. 
 
 At first, his father and mother 
 were too much occupied with the 
 novel sight of Tim — the ragged, 
 
TIM READING TO HIS PARENTS. Page 92. 
 
THE WILL AND THE WAY. 93 
 
 penniless Tim, sitting, well dressed 
 and reading to them — to listen much 
 to the story. But their interest 
 was soon roused, and as the story 
 deepened in tenderness their faces 
 grew more serious. Rude as their 
 natures were, some chord of feeling 
 was touched. When Tim reached 
 that part of the narrative where 
 Joseph makes himself known to his 
 brethren, he looked up. His mo- 
 ther was wiping away a tear, while 
 the man got up and went whistling 
 to the window, as if to hide any 
 sign of emotion. 
 
 At the end of the story, Tim 
 closed the book, and sat silent, ex- 
 pecting them to make some remark. 
 Neither of them spoke for some 
 minutes ; at length the man ex- 
 
94 STEPS UP the ladder; or, 
 
 claimed, half reproachfully, "Why, 
 Tim, lad, that's out of the Bible." 
 
 As Tim's reading had evidently 
 made an impression, he did not 
 wish to weaken it by any remarks 
 of his own. He would rather let 
 the word of God speak for itself, 
 knowing that it "is quick and pow- 
 erful," and fully able to accomplish 
 the design for which it was sent. 
 He soon after took his leave, and 
 retired to his closet to pray ear- 
 nestly that this first effort might 
 not be without effect. 
 
 The next Sunday Tim went again 
 and found his parents expecting 
 him as usual. They expressed no 
 dissatisfaction at the sight of the 
 Bible. Nay, he had not sat many 
 minutes before his mother said, 
 
THE WILL AND THE WAY. 95 
 
 " Come, Tim, give us another story- 
 out of your fine book." 
 
 This time Tim opened it at the 
 New Testament, and began to read 
 the history of our Lord. He felt 
 as if, having introduced the Bible, 
 he must come at once to his main 
 topic — salvation. He read the ac- 
 count of our Saviour's entrance into 
 the world, a babe in the manger, 
 while the angels sang, " Glory to 
 Grod in the highest, on earth peace, 
 good will to men." 
 
 Again his parents listened atten- 
 tively, and when he stopped, his 
 mother said, "Well, I'm sure I 
 thought the Bible was different from 
 that. I didn't think us poor folks 
 could ever get to understand it. 
 But that's easy enough anyhow." 
 
96 STEPS UP THE ladder; or, 
 
 " G-od gave us the Bible, mother, 
 to teach us the way to heaven, and, 
 unless it was easy, half of us could 
 never get there. It is so plain that 
 ' he who runs may read ;' and there 
 is a verse somewhere that says, 
 ' The wayfaring man, though a fool, 
 shall not err therein.' " 
 
 " Come, let's have some more," 
 said the man, as if unwilling to hear 
 Tim speak on the subject. " I don't 
 know but it's as good a way of pass- 
 ing one's time as any other." 
 
 Tim read on with heartfelt joy. 
 He did not, as before, venture to 
 say much himself. His parents 
 seemed as if they would hear the 
 Bible, but were too proud to be 
 spoken to by him. 
 
 As Sunday afternoon came round 
 
THE WILL AND THE WAY. 97 
 
 he regularly presented himself, with 
 his Bible in his hand ; and they, as 
 regularly, sat and listened to him. 
 But what effect, or w 7 hether any at 
 all, was produced on their minds 
 bv his reading was unknown to him. 
 Not a w r ord dropped from their lips 
 on the subject. 
 
 The news of Tim's scholarship, 
 however, took wind through the 
 house. It was one of those ill ecu- 
 ducted dwellings, occupied by a 
 number of families, who lived, 
 crammed together, more like wild 
 beasts than human beings. Some 
 of these persons, led by curiosity, 
 were accustomed to gather round 
 the door, to hear Tim read, and to 
 stare at him in his altered dress. 
 Tim was not sorry to see them. 
 
98 STEPS UP THE LADDER 
 
 The more hearers came under the 
 sound of the gospel the better. He 
 read on in spite of their whispers 
 and their stifled laughs. He was 
 too much in earnest to let any of 
 these things stand in the way. But 
 one afternoon he came to the chap- 
 ters containing the account of our 
 Saviour's agony in the garden, and 
 his death upon the cross. He read 
 it with deep feeling, and long before 
 he had finished, the laugh and 
 whispers had ceased. As he looked 
 round, he saw faces so hard and 
 harsh in their usual expression, 
 softened into something like tender- 
 ness and regret. And when he 
 read the verse which had in it the 
 reply to the dying thief, he heard 
 many a sigh of contrition, and one 
 
THE WILL AND THE WAY. 99 
 
 "haggard-looking woman exclaimed, 
 with a burst of tears, " That's just 
 the Saviour for me." 
 
 " Not for you only, but for all of 
 us," said Tim, earnestly. "He says 
 to every one, ' Come unto me, and 
 I will give you rest.' ' Though 
 your sins be as scarlet, they shall 
 be as wool.' ' Believe on the Lord 
 Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be 
 saved.'" 
 
 " Only think, if our Tim has not 
 turned preacher," said one ill-look- 
 ing man, with a scornful laugh. 
 But the laugh was not echoed. On 
 the contrary, when Tim ceased 
 reading, the little group retired 
 quietly to their several rooms, and 
 it was some time before the noise 
 
100 STEPS UP THE LADDER; OR, 
 
 and quarrelling, usually heard, be- 
 gan again. 
 
 The next Sunday, Tim had the 
 same audience, only it was more 
 quiet and respectful. The alley in 
 which the house was situated be- 
 longed to a large overgrown parish, 
 and was rarely visited by ministers 
 of any denomination. The inhabi- 
 tants were sunk in vice and poverty; 
 and now it seemed as if God in his 
 mysterious providence had raised 
 up one from and of themselves, to 
 labour among them in the holy 
 cause of religion. Any other youth- 
 ful Christian might have shrunk 
 from entering on such a field of use- 
 fulness. But Tim had this advan- 
 tage, that he knew well the people 
 with whom he had to deal, and had 
 
THE WILL AND THE WAY. 101 
 
 gone in and out among them all his 
 life. His good nature and gentle- 
 ness, as compared with other lads 
 in the alley, had made Tim a fa- 
 vourite from his childhood. Now 
 he was lifted far above his fellows, 
 and had become an object of admi- 
 ration. "See how Tim has got on!" 
 was the remark of many a mother 
 to her ragged boy ; and though she 
 knew not the cause of the change, 
 she, as well as her neighbours, were 
 ready enough to admit the advan- 
 tages resulting from it. 
 
 But it was not Tim's bettered 
 condition, his good clothes, or com- 
 fortable lodgings, that gave him his 
 sweetest satisfaction. These were 
 sources of gratitude ; but he would 
 say to himself, " I might have had 
 
102 STEPS UP THE ladder; or, 
 
 them all, and yet not have been a 
 Christian. It is to be a Christian 
 that makes me so happy. Thank 
 Grod for his unspeakable gift." 
 
THE WILL AND THE WAY. 103 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 "speak unto the children of 
 israel, that they go forward." 
 
 Exodus xiv. 15. 
 
 For some months Tim quietly 
 pursued the same course, and spent 
 every Sunday afternoon in reading 
 the Bible to his parents. Neither 
 of them expressed pleasure or an- 
 noyance at his conduct. The man 
 smoked, and the woman occasionally 
 moved restlessly about, but no re- 
 mark ever dropped from their lips. 
 The lodgers who had collected at 
 first round the door came and went 
 
104 STEPS UP THE ladder; or, 
 
 as they pleased, but it was seldom 
 that the passage outside had not 
 some half-dozen listeners assembled 
 in it. 
 
 None came so regularly as the 
 man who had scoffed at Tim's turn- 
 ing preacher. He would sit on the 
 top stair, smoking all the time. 
 He had settled himself when Tim 
 came, and was smoking on, in the 
 same attitude, when Tim went away. 
 He never spoke, but his constant 
 presence showed that some interest 
 was excited in his breast. 
 
 Poor Tim had all the failings of 
 the young, zealous, but inexperi- 
 enced Christian. He felt discour- 
 aged that his reading had produced 
 no more effect upon his parents. 
 Except the trifling improvement of 
 
THE WILL AND THE WAY. 105 
 
 staying at home to listen to him, 
 they lived the old life of idleness 
 and dissipation. His brothers and 
 sisters were beggars, and in rags. 
 Nothing was changed, and the 
 obdurate silence with which they 
 listened weighed upon him like a 
 burden. 
 
 "I fear I shall do little good after 
 all," said he one day to his never- 
 failing friend and counsellor, Joe. 
 
 " Fear ! that word is not to be 
 found in the Christian's vocabulary," 
 said Joe reprovingly. "Surely you 
 do not mean to give up." 
 
 " Give up ? No, anything but 
 that," cried Tim with animation ; 
 " but how I wish I could see some 
 sign of amendment ! There is not 
 the least at present." 
 
106 STEPS UP the ladder; or, 
 
 " What does that matter ? Your 
 business is to do Grod's work. Let 
 him bring it to a good issue. The 
 united strength of the world could 
 not convert a single soul ; but God 
 can do it in an instant. You must 
 pray to him. It is the effectual 
 fervent prayer that avails." 
 
 " I will pray," said Tim solemnly. 
 And long after every member of 
 the household had retired, did he 
 intercede for his parents with tears 
 and strong supplications. 
 
 A few Sundays after, he was read- 
 ing as usual, and the man, who 
 went by the name of Jem, was sit- 
 ting on the stair in his accustomed 
 place. Several persons were gath- 
 ered round the door, as was their 
 wont. Tim came to that verse, 
 
THE WILL AND THE WAY. 107 
 
 "Search the Scriptures; for in them 
 ye think ye have eternal life." 
 
 He had no sooner finished the 
 words, than Jem flung down his 
 pipe, and starting up, cried out, 
 looking at his companions, " I'll 
 tell you what we'll do, boys ; we'll 
 learn to read." 
 
 " Ah, let us," said another, as if 
 the thought had suggested itself to 
 him before. u What's the good of 
 hear, hear, hear, and not know a 
 letter for ourselves ? I'm not above 
 learning." 
 
 " Nor I," " Nor I," said a third 
 and a fourth. 
 
 Tim grasped Jem's hand cor- 
 dially. " Let me teach you," said 
 he ; " Grocl has sent me to you on 
 purpose." 
 
108 STEPS UP THE ladder; or, 
 
 " Happen he may, and happen 
 he mayn't," said the man roughly ; 
 " but anyhow I'll learn to read." 
 
 Tim was anxious to profit by 
 this sudden impulse, and began at 
 once to form a class. His father 
 and mother stood aloof. They felt 
 humiliated at the idea of being 
 taught by their own son. Tim re- 
 spected their feelings, and was con- 
 tent to wait until their prejudices 
 should give way. He thought one 
 great point was gained, and the 
 rest, with Grod's blessing, would 
 follow. 
 
 The materials he had to work 
 upon were discouraging, as far as 
 outward judgment went. The half- 
 dozen men who were to be Tim's 
 pupils were long practised in evil 
 
THE WILL AND THE WAY. 109 
 
 habits. Two or three women were 
 anxious to join the class, and they 
 were ragged and forlorn, and showed 
 the same want of industry and 
 cleanliness as did his own mother. 
 But Tim remembered the rock from 
 whence he was hewn, and the pit 
 from which he was digged. The 
 same Divine power that had snatch- 
 ed him as a brand from the burn- 
 ing could snatch these also. They 
 were, in his eyes, precious souls, 
 for whom Christ died ; and if but 
 one only could be rescued throi;gh 
 his means, he would not have lived 
 in vain. 
 
 On his return home he would not 
 even tell Joe the news of his success 
 until he had returned thanks at the 
 
 throne of grace. " Grod, I thank 
 10 
 
110 STEPS UP THE LADDER; OR, 
 
 thee !" was all that he could utter. 
 For he knew that it was God alone 
 who had inclined the hearts of these 
 men to listen to the truth, and to 
 him he ascribed all the glory. 
 
 His friend Joe sympathized with 
 him deeply. " I am not surprised," 
 said he ; "I told you all along that 
 Grod could work by a feeble instru- 
 ment as well as by a strong one, 
 and that his word would not return 
 unto him void. Tim," added he 
 with great energy, "your wilder- 
 ness may yet rejoice, and blossom 
 as the rose." 
 
 " Do you know," said Tim, after 
 a pause, " what I should like to do? 
 It has come into my mind many a 
 time since I have been backwards 
 and forwards to the alley. I should 
 
THE WILL AND THE WAY. Ill 
 
 like to give up my whole life to 
 the service of Christ. I should like 
 to be a city missionary. Christ has 
 done so much for me." And he re- 
 peated those beautiful lines, 
 
 " Love so amazing, so divine 
 Demands my soul, my life, my all." 
 
 "I don't despair even of that," 
 said Joe cheerfully ; " you are well 
 calculated to go among the class 
 who need the missionaries most. 
 God wants labourers in his vineyard: 
 why should not you be one ?" 
 
 "Oh that I might!" cried Tim; 
 " but you must remember that after 
 all I am a poor lad ; and if your 
 father had not taken me, and you 
 had not taught me, I must have re- 
 mained in the state I was in." 
 
 " No, Tim, no ; God would have 
 
112 STEPS UP THE LADDER; OR, 
 
 helped you out by some other way, 
 for he never leaves nor forsakes 
 those who trust in him. And you 
 did trust in him." 
 
 " I did, and I do," replied Tim, 
 solemnly. 
 
 " Well, then, go on your way re- 
 joicing. The Lord will provide, 
 and do for you exceeding abundantly 
 above all you can ask or think. 
 ' Fear not,' as Grod said to Joshua; 
 4 only believe.' " 
 
THE WILL AND THE WAY. 113 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 "faith without wokks is dead." 
 
 James ii. 26. 
 
 God's word may well be said to 
 be a tried word, for every saying in 
 the sacred volume has borne the 
 test of long experience. Not only 
 in religion, but in every- day occur- 
 rences does this infallibility assert 
 itself. "A little leaven leaveneth 
 the whole lump," is true in every 
 way. In a community, how will 
 one false character infect the rest! 
 In a family, how will one bad ex- 
 ample spoil the rest ! In an indi- 
 vidual, how will one vile propensity 
 10* 
 
114 STEPS UP THE LADDER J OR, 
 
 taint the whole man ! Good and 
 evil principles are alike in this — 
 they are aggressive. They move 
 ever onwards, though in opposite 
 directions ; one dragging us from 
 God and happiness and heaven, the 
 other leading us to glory, honour, 
 and immortality. 
 
 In the neglected alley where Tim's 
 parents lived, the leaven of Christ's 
 kingdom had begun silently to make 
 its way. It could no more be hind- 
 ered than could the descending rain 
 or the genial sunshine. The mes- 
 sage of God's mercy was proclaimed 
 week by week, by a solitary labourer 
 in this part of his vineyard. It was 
 proclaimed in faith, and accom- 
 panied by prayer, and could not be 
 without effect. The motive of an 
 
THE WILL AND THE WAY. 115 
 
 undertaking is soon apparent, es- 
 pecially if that undertaking be la- 
 borious and discouraging. It must 
 be done in singleness of heart, and 
 unto God, if there is to be continu- 
 ance in well-doing. The youths, 
 those to whom of all others we look 
 for untiring yigour, grow weary and 
 faint. For a time they run well, 
 then they slacken their pace. The 
 force of human intention becomes 
 exhausted. " Even the young men 
 shall utterly fell." " But they that 
 wait upon the Lord shall renew 
 their strength." 
 
 Here is the secret of all success- 
 ful deeds. The saints of every age, 
 from the noble army of martyrs to 
 the humblest Christian who bears 
 his cross daily without murmuring, 
 
116 STEPS UP THE LADDER; OR, 
 
 have come to this living fountain, 
 and gone away braced with new 
 energy. 
 
 M From Thee, the overflowing spring, 
 Our souls shall drink a fresh supply ; 
 While such as trust their native strength 
 Shall melt away, and droop, and die." 
 
 Here it was that Tim found help 
 amid the labours to which he had 
 devoted himself; and this enabled 
 him to hold on his way. Week 
 after week found him at his post, 
 clearing away, as far as he was able, 
 the mists of ignorance, and teach- 
 ing these rude unlettered men the 
 way of salvation. 
 
 Young as he was, he soon acquired 
 an influence over his pupils. His 
 patience and gentleness surprised 
 them. They wondered he should 
 
THE WILL AND THE WAY. 117 
 
 forego the few hours of pleasure he 
 might have enjoyed on the Lord's 
 day, and spend it in teaching them. 
 They were conscious of a principle 
 that regulated his conduct far dif- 
 ferent from their own fluctuating 
 and perverse wills ; and they secretly 
 respected what they scarcely hoped 
 to possess. 
 
 " I know what it is," said the 
 woman who had wept at the story 
 of her Saviour's death : " it is some- 
 thing my mother had, for she sang 
 hymns when she died. You need not 
 laugh, Jem. I was not always what 
 I am now." 
 
 " Laugh ! I never was further 
 from laughing in my life," said 
 Jem. " I know what it will do," 
 he added, stamping his foot; " if it 
 
118 STEPS UP THE ladder; or, 
 
 goes on much longer, it will drive 
 me mad." 
 
 " Why will it ?" asked the woman 
 astonished. 
 
 " Because I can't hear that and go 
 on sinning" cried Jem, vehemently. 
 " Why need he keep telling us of 
 Jesus being nailed to the cross, when 
 all the while I know it was for me 
 and such as me it was done ?" 
 
 " It does not do so with me," said 
 the woman, looking at him in a 
 wondering manner. " It comforts 
 me, Jem. I have not had a kind 
 word spoke to me this many a year ; 
 and now, ' Come unto me, and I will 
 give you rest' — that's what melted 
 my heart !" and she burst into 
 tears. 
 
 At the close of a year, if you had 
 
THE WILL AKD THE WAY. 119 
 
 looked for these two people in the 
 alley you would not have found 
 them. Jem's room, where he 
 smoked and drank all clay, was 
 occupied by other tenants. Jem 
 was carrying on the business of a 
 porter in another part of the city. 
 When his day's work was over, you 
 might have seen him at one of those 
 schools, planned by Christian love, 
 where adults are taught to read and 
 write. Jem could do both, though 
 imperfectly. After a time, from a 
 pupil he would become a teacher. 
 
 The woman had reached that 
 haven where " the wicked cease 
 from troubling, and the weary are 
 at rest." But before her death she 
 had become a convert to the faith 
 of the gospel. Of the neighbours 
 
120 STEPS UP THE ladder; or, 
 
 who attended her in her illness, one 
 at least was won by the sight of a 
 peaceful death, in a place where 
 death was wont to be armed with 
 so many terrors. This woman had 
 children, and she resolved to bring 
 them up in the nurture of the Lord. 
 Thus did the leaven go on spread- 
 ing from one family to another. In 
 one and another barriers of sin were 
 thrown down ; the strong man 
 armed was overcome by a stronger 
 than he ; and of many it might 
 be said, "At eventide it shall be 
 light." 
 
 A few more vears, and Tim attain- 
 ed the height of his Christian ambi- 
 tion. He became a city missionary, 
 and laboured among the streets and 
 lanes that surrounded his old home. 
 
THE WILL AND THE WAY. 121 
 
 His parents removed from the alley 
 to a small house in a better situa- 
 tion. The man became industrious 
 and sober, and his wife and family 
 thenceforward presented a credit- 
 able appearance. If you were to 
 have asked the reason, the man 
 would have told you in his own 
 words, as he did to one friend, " In- 
 deed, sir, we kicked hard against 
 the pricks, and tried to keep in our 
 wickedness as long as we could. 
 But there was no resisting our Tim, 
 or rather the word that Tim spoke. 
 It fastened itself on our hearts: first 
 one and then another was led to 
 cry, 'What must I do to be saved?' 
 And then, when it pleased God to 
 pardon us, for Jesus' sake, we could 
 not live as we did any longer. We 
 11 
 
122 STEPS UP THE ladder; or, 
 
 must work, and we did work ; and 
 this is what has come of it." 
 
 There is one individual mentioned 
 in the foregoing pages who must 
 not be passed over without notice. 
 It is Tim's old companion, JNed 
 Walker, and his history may be 
 told in a few words. He was one 
 of those who would get on by all 
 means, and who fancied that the 
 end justifies the means. He ob- 
 tained an excellent situation by 
 trickery, and a character which was 
 afterwards found to be false. But 
 as he was wholly unrestrained by 
 religious principle, he was unable 
 to resist the power of evil habits. 
 For a little time he did well, but in 
 the hour of temptation he fell away. 
 He could not refrain from pilfering. 
 
THE WILL AND THE WAY. 123 
 
 From little thefts lie went on to 
 large ones, until at length detection 
 came, and he was thrown into prison. 
 Tim visited him several times, for 
 he could not but feel interested in 
 his fate. The two lads had started 
 together in life, and with equal 
 chances of success. Ned, indeed, 
 had the advantage in point of time. 
 His mind had first awakened to a 
 desire for improvement; he had 
 been able to read before Tim had 
 mastered his letters, and was cloth- 
 ed respectably while Tim was in 
 rags. But the sterling principle 
 was absent in the one, while by 
 Grod's grace it had been found in 
 the other. Religion had borne 
 Tim out in the struggle to obtain a 
 better footing. His steps had been 
 
124 STEPS UP THE ladder; or, 
 
 sure, and the foundation he had 
 built upon, a rock. Ned, alas ! had 
 no such guide and no such founda- 
 tion. His house had been built 
 upon the sand. It had fallen, and 
 great was the fall thereof. 
 
 When Ned came out of prison, 
 all desire to gain a better footing in 
 the world seemed to have left him. 
 He gave himself up to recklessness 
 and vice, and after running a short 
 career he was again in prison, and 
 in the end sentenced to transporta- 
 tion. Thus was verified the word, 
 that " he who trusts in his own 
 heart is a fool." 
 
 Religion is a practical matter. 
 It can no more rest in mere theory 
 or bare creeds than can the sap in 
 the living plant be kept from circu- 
 
THE WILL AND THE WAY. 125 
 
 lating through every leaf. If the 
 heart be changed, and the love of 
 Christ shed abroad there, good 
 works must follow, not as meritori- 
 ous, or adding one iota to the great 
 work that Christ has finished, but 
 as a natural consequence. The cry 
 of the heart will be, "Lord, what 
 wilt thou have me to do ? 
 
 In this pressing towards what- 
 ever is excellent, is seen the result 
 of the benignant and humanizing 
 influence of Christianity, a result 
 which neither mere scientific educa- 
 tion nor philosophy can ever effect. 
 Christians, then, should be up and 
 doing. The fields are white already 
 to the harvest. Each one has his 
 own space allotted to him wherein 
 to labour. Let all " work while it 
 11* 
 
126 STEPS UP THE LADDER. 
 
 is called to-day." "Whatsoever 
 thy hand findeth to do, do it with 
 thy might ; for there is no work, 
 nor device, nor knowledge, nor wis- 
 dom, in the grave, whither thou 
 goest." 
 
 THE END.