Page:Distinguished Churchmen.djvu/365

 THE REV. HARRY WILSON, M.A. 317

The whole populace turned out to listen. Having thus drawn a congregation, I proceeded to preach to them. This happened over and over again, and with results increasingly encouraging.&quot;

&quot; And thus you built up your congregation, which to-day overtaxes the seating accommodation of St Augustine s. But your congregation must be of a very uncommon type ? &quot;

&quot; Ah ! First, we have more communicants than we can seat in the church ; and it may surprise people to know that we have a great many more confessionists than we have communicants. Yes ; we have a mixed population around here ; but the people polish up wonderfully when they become religious and dress decently. Our aristocracy is fairly represented by the city clerk, the young woman who waits in the A. B.C. shop, and the policeman ! Here is a list of the trades to which some of our communicants belong : carmen, dray men, dock labourers, shoe-blacks, slipper makers, cobblers, sweeps, bricklayer s labourers, carpenters, tailors, policemen, postmen, compositors, envelope cutters and folders, waitresses, lamplighters, lighter men, shopmen, washing-up maids, tailoresses, cigar makers, feather curlers, office cleaners, manglers, laundry workers, ironers, skin dressers, dressmakers, bookfolders, corset makers, fried-fish sellers, um brella makers, railwaymen, clerks and book- finishers. It may interest you to know that my two churchwardens one year were Truman, Han-

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