Page:The Homes of the New World- Vol. III.djvu/422

Rh I cannot otherwise speak of the Quaker-lady who accompanied me, for her countenance was bright and beautiful as the purest goodness, and above her mild blue eyes arched themselves brows, as bright as must have been those of the god Balder, they resembled merely a bright, golden line.

Mrs. G. is the daughter of the celebrated old Quaker, Isaac Hopper. The daughter has inherited from the father that firm spirit of human love, and that steadfastness of character which neither shrinks nor turns back from any impediment on the path which she has resolved to pursue. A great portion of her time is occupied in caring for the unfortunate, the guilty, and the prisoner, and so universally known and valued is her activity in these respects, that all prisons, all public benevolent institutions, are open to her, and whoever walks at her side through the abandoned haunts of New York may feel himself in safety. Her bright, and mild countenance is known even in the darkest places as a messenger of light.

I went with her one day through that part of New York called the Five Points, because I wished to see this region, in which the rudest and the most degraded portion of the population of the city were thronged together, probably through the attraction which causes like to seek like. Not long ago it was unsafe for a stranger within these purlieus. But the Methodists of New York conceived the divinely bold idea of building a church to God in the heart of this central point of vice and misery. They hired a house, sent a minister to reside there, established schools, wo o r k-rooms, &c., which would give ample space for “the other master” The contest between good and evil has just begun in the Five Points, and already several signs betoken victory.

The Five Points is one of the oldest portions of New York, and received its name from five streets which open