a strange visit and its results.
edward frog, bird-fancier, pugilist, etcetera, (and the etcetera represents an unknown quantity), has changed somewhat like the rest, for a few years have thinned the short-cropped though once curly locks above his knotted forehead, besides sprinkling them with grey. but in other respects he has not fallen off—nay he has rather improved, owing to the peculiar system of diet and discipline and regularity of life to which, during these years, he has been subjected.
when ned returned from what we may style his outing, he went straight to the old court with something like a feeling of anxiety in his heart, but found the old home deserted and the old door, which still bore deep marks of his knuckle, on the upper panels and his boots on the lower, was padlocked. he inquired for mrs frog, but was told she had left the place long ago,—and no one knew where she had gone.
with a heavy heart ned turned from the door and sauntered away, friendless and homeless. he thought of making further inquiries about his family, but at the corner of the street smelt the old shop that had swallowed up so much of his earnings.
“if i’d on’y put it all in the savin’s bank,” he said bitterly, stopping in front of the gin-palace, “i’d ’ave bin well off to-day.”
an old comrade turned the corner at that moment.
“what! ned frog!” he cried, seizing his hand and shaking it with genuine goodwill. “well, this is good luck. come along, old boy!”
it was pleasant to the desolate man to be thus recognised. he went along like an ox to the slaughter, though, unlike the ox, he knew well what he was going to.
he was “treated.” he drank beer. other old friends came in. he drank gin. if good resolves had been coming up in his mind earlier in the day he forgot them now. if better feelings had been struggling for the mastery, he crushed them now. he got drunk. he became disorderly. he went into high street, whitechapel, with a view to do damage to somebody. he succeeded. he tumbled over a barrow, and damaged his own shins. he encountered number 666 soon after, and, through his influence, passed the night in a police cell.
after this ned gave up all thought of searching for his wife and family.
“better let ’em alone,” he growled to himself on being discharged from the police-office with a caution.
but, as we have said or hinted elsewhere, ned was a man of iron will. he resolved to avoid the public-house, to drink in moderation, and to do his drinking at home. being as powerful and active as ever he had been, he soon managed, in the capacity of a common labourer, to scrape enough money together to enable him to retake his old garret, which chanced to be vacant. indeed its situation was so airy, and it was so undesirable, that it was almost always vacant. he bought a few cages and birds; found that the old manager of the low music-hall was still at work and ready to employ him, and thus fell very much into his old line of life.
one night, as he was passing into his place of business—the music-hall—a man saw him and recognised him. this was a city missionary of the john seaward type, who chanced to be fishing for souls that night in these troubled waters. there are many such fishermen about, thank god, doing their grand work unostentatiously, and not only rescuing souls for eternity, but helping, more perhaps than even the best informed are aware of, to save london from tremendous evil.
what it was in ned frog that attracted this man of god we know note but, after casting his lines for some hours in other places, he returned to the music-hall and loitered about the door.
at a late hour its audience came pouring out with discordant cries and ribald laughter. soon ned appeared and took his way homeward. the missionary followed at a safe distance till he saw ned disappear through the doorway that led to his garret. then, running forward, he entered the dark passage and heard ned’s heavy foot clanking on the stone steps as he mounted upwards.
the sound became fainter, and the missionary, fearing lest he should fail to find the room in which his man dwelt—for there were many rooms in the old tenement—ran hastily up-stairs and paused to listen. the footsteps were still sounding above him, but louder now, because ned was mounting a wooden stair. a few seconds later a heavy door was banged, and all was quiet.
the city missionary now groped his way upwards until he came to the highest landing, where in the thick darkness he saw a light under a door. with a feeling of uncertainty and a silent prayer for help he knocked gently. the door was opened at once by a middle-aged woman, whose outline only could be seen, her back being to the light.
“is it here that the man lives who came up just now?” asked the missionary.
“what man?” she replied, fiercely, “i know nothink about men, an’ ’ave nothink to do with ’em. ned frog’s the on’y man as ever comes ’ere, an’ he lives up there.”
she made a motion, as if pointing upwards somewhere, and banged the door in her visitor’s face.
“up there!” the missionary had reached the highest landing, and saw no other gleam of light anywhere. groping about, however, his hand struck against a ladder. all doubt as to the use of this was immediately banished, for a man’s heavy tread was heard in the room above as he crossed it.
mounting the ladder, the missionary, instead of coming to a higher landing as he had expected, thrust his hat against a trap-door in the roof. immediately he heard a savage human growl. evidently the man was in a bad humour, but the missionary knocked.
“who’s there?” demanded the man, fiercely, for his visitors were few, and these generally connected with the police force.
“may i come in?” asked the missionary in a mild voice—not that he put the mildness on for the occasion. he was naturally mild—additionally so by grace.
“oh! yes—you may come in,” cried the man, lifting the trap-door.
the visitor stepped into the room and was startled by ned letting fall the trap-door with a crash that shook the whole tenement. planting himself upon it, he rendered retreat impossible.
it was a trying situation, for the man was in a savage humour, and evidently the worse for drink. but missionaries are bold men.
“now,” demanded ned, “what may you want?”
“i want your soul,” replied his visitor, quietly.
“you needn’t trouble yourself, then, for the devil’s got it already.”
“no—he has not got it yet, ned.”
“oh! you know me then?”
“no. i never saw you till to-night, but i learned your name accidentally, and i’m anxious about your soul.”
“you don’t know me,” ned repeated, slowly, “you never saw me till to-night, yet you’re anxious about my soul! what stuff are you talkin’! ’ow can that be?”
“now, you have puzzled me,” said the missionary. “i cannot tell how that can be, but it is no ‘stuff’ i assure you. i think it probable, however, that your own experience may help you. didn’t you once see a young girl whom you had never seen before, whom you didn’t know, whom you had never even heard of, yet you became desperately anxious to win her?”
ned instantly thought of a certain woman whom he had often abused and beaten, and whose heart he had probably broken.
“yes,” he said, “i did; but then i had falled in love wi’ her at first sight, and you can’t have falled in love wi’ me, you know.”
ned grinned at this idea in spite of himself.
“well, no,” replied the missionary, “not exactly. you’re not a very lovable object to look at just now. nevertheless, i am anxious about your soul at first sight. i can’t tell how it is, but so it is.”
“come, now,” said ned, becoming suddenly stern. “i don’t believe in your religion, or your bible, or your prayin’ and psalm-singin’. i tell you plainly, i’m a infidel. but if you can say anything in favour o’ your views, fire away; i’ll listen, only don’t let me have any o’ your sing-songin’ or whinin’, else i’ll kick you down the trap-door and down the stair an’ up the court and out into the street—speak out, like a man.”
“i will speak as god the holy spirit shall enable me,” returned the missionary, without the slightest change in tone or manner.
“well, then, sit down,” said ned, pointing to the only chair in the room, while he seated himself on the rickety table, which threatened to give way altogether, while the reckless man swung his right leg to and fro quite regardless of its complainings.
“have you ever studied the bible?” asked the missionary, somewhat abruptly.
“well, no, of course not. i’m not a parson, but i have read a bit here and there, an’ it’s all rubbish. i don’t believe a word of it.”
“there’s a part of it,” returned the visitor, “which says that god maketh his rain to fall on the just and on the unjust. do you not believe that?”
“of course i do. a man can’t help believin’ that, for he sees it—it falls on houses, fields, birds and beasts as well.”
“then you do believe a word of it?”
“oh! come, you’re a deal too sharp. you know what i mean.”
“no,” said his visitor, quickly, “i don’t quite know what you mean. one who professes to be an infidel professes more or less intelligent disbelief in the bible, yet you admit that you have never studied the book which you profess to disbelieve—much less, i suppose, have you studied the books which give us the evidences of its truth.”
“don’t suppose, mr parson, or missioner, or whatever you are,” said ned, “that you’re goin’ to floor me wi’ your larnin’. i’m too old a bird for that. do you suppose that i’m bound to study everything on the face o’ the earth like a lawyer before i’m entitled to say i don’t believe it. if i see that a thing don’t work well, that’s enough for me to condemn it.”
“you’re quite right there. i quite go with that line of reasoning. by their fruits shall ye know them. a man don’t usually go to a thistle to find grapes. but let me ask you, ned, do you usually find that murderers, drunkards, burglars, thieves, and blackguards in general are students of the bible and given to prayer and psalm-singing?”
“ha! ha! i should rather think not,” said ned, much tickled by the supposition.
“then,” continued the other, “tell me, honestly, ned, do you find that people who read god’s word and sing his praise and ask his blessing on all they do, are generally bad fathers, and mothers, and masters, and servants, and children, and that from their ranks come the worst people in society?”
“now, look here, mr missioner,” cried ned, leaping suddenly from the table, which overturned with a crash, “i’m one o’ them fellers that’s not to be floored by a puff o’ wind. i can hold my own agin most men wi’ fist or tongue. but i like fair-play in the ring or in argiment. i have not studied this matter, as you say, an’ so i won’t speak on it. but i’ll look into it, an’ if you come back here this day three weeks i’ll let you know what i think. you may trust me, for when i say a thing i mean it.”
“will you accept a testament, then,” said the missionary, rising and pulling one out of his pocket.
“no, i won’t,” said ned, “i’ve got one.”
the missionary looked surprised, and hesitated.
“don’t you believe me?” asked ned, angrily.
“at first i did not,” was the reply, “but now that i stand before your face and look in your eyes i do believe you.”
ned gave a cynical laugh. “you’re easy to gull,” he said; “why, when it serves my purpose i can lie like a trooper.”
“i know that,” returned the visitor, quietly, “but it serves your purpose to-night to speak the truth. i can see that. may i pray that god should guide you?”
“yes, you may, but not here. i’ll have no hypocritical goin’ down on my knees till i see my way to it. if i don’t see my way to it, i’ll let you know when you come back this day three weeks.”
“well, i’ll pray for you in my own room, ned frog.”
“you may do what you like in your own room. good-night.”
he lifted the trap-door as he spoke, and pointed downward. the missionary at once descended after a brief “good-night,” and a pleasant nod. ned just gave him time to get his head out of the way when he let the trap fall with a clap like thunder, and then began to pace up and down his little room with his hands in his pockets and his chin on his breast.
after a short time he went to a corner of the room where stood a small wooden box that contained the few articles of clothing which he possessed. from the bottom of this he fished up the new testament that had been given to him long ago by reggie north. drawing his chair to the table and the candle to his elbow, the returned convict opened the book, and there in his garret began for the first time to read in earnest the wonderful word of life!
