Dr. Barnardo, the father of "nobody's children" : a sketch / [W.T. Stead].

William Thomas Stead

Date:: 1898

Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Dr. Barnardo, the father of "nobody's children" : a sketch / [W.T. Stead]. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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lyatisfied with the way in which every accusation had been repelled, and with the information furnished as to the management of the Homes, that he would gladly accept the post of President of any Committee that might be formed if Dr. Barnardo should desire his help. Thus does good come out of evil, and so signally does the accuser of the brethren succeed in establishing the reputation of those against whom he rages. III.—THE SWEET USES OE ADVEESITY. One of the sayings of Henry Ward Beecher most worthy to be had in continual remembrance is this, “ Always thank God for your enemies. At the end of your life you will find they have done a great deal more for you than your friends.” Dr. Barnardo has indeed good reason to put up special prayers of grateful recog¬ nition for the services rendered him by his ancient enemy the Pope. But for the worrying prosecutions which his anti-papal prejudices brought about him, he would never have secured the public certificate of approval that resulted from his appearances in Court. Before the British public will believe anything, it needs to have every one concerned either in the dock or in the witness-box. That is the way in which men and institutions are put under the microscope. Nothing that is destined seriously to affect the life of the nation ever escapes the ordeal of the dock. Dr. Barnardo has in days gone by found himself re¬ peatedly before Her Majesty's justices. Sometimes they have condemned him, sometimes they havje acquitted him. But even when their legal condemnation was the severest their moral approval has been the greatest. A proof of this may be mentioned in the fact that the late Chief Justice Coleridge, immediately after registering judgment against Dr. Barnardo in one of the cases brought up by the Romanists, sent a subscription to the culprit and continued to subscribe handsomely to the Homes till the day of his death. There is no advertisement like a law case ; nothing that costs so much in money and in worry, but nothing that yields such good returns. No one faces it if he can help it, and therefore it is that philanthropists and reformers have always to be driven to accept that kind of costly advertisement as a bene¬ diction of the gods. We would all be without it if we could, yet there are none of us but are grateful for the ordeal after it is over. In like manner, the attacks made by the press upon any institutions often serve as lightning conductors of charity to the treasury of the establishment assailed. Of this Dr. Barnardo gives an interesting illustration in one of his last published Reports. Misrepresentation and calumnious attack, he says, have been increasing, “ but yet in spite of all these ”—surely he might have said “ because of all these ”—“ the course of the work has on the whole been one of steady advance ” :— No one has proved more certainly than I that even the steady opposition of powerful organs of the press is utterly unable to hinder God's work or stay its progress, if only the workers are honestly desirous of doing His will, and are eager to press forward, spite of the gaii .^yers, in the path of duty and obedience. A remarkable instance is furnished in the story of the past year, during which I was assailed in the pages of a society journal which has often done good work by exposing shams. For several weeks the crusade against me was kept up with a vigour worthy of a better cause, while sensational headlines on the weekly posters attracted public attention. Nor was this all; extracts from these hostile articles appeared in divers journals all over the kingdom, and it is quite possible that some donors may have in consequence felt their interest lessened, and may even have withdrawn their support. But, on the whole, chiefly good has come out of the attack. Friends A MODERN MIRACLE ! ,]. W, : AS riKST KESCUEl) EKOM AN ENGLISH SAVAGE. .1. W. : IN TKAINING AT THE GIKLS’ VILLAGE HOME, ILFORD. J. W. : NOW OUT IN DOMESTIC SERVICE AND DOING WELL.