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LONDON: THE RELIGIOUS TRACT SOCIETY, 56, PATERNOSTER ROW, E.C 
 
Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 in 2020 with funding from 
 Columbia University Libraries 
 
 https://archive.org/details/storyofreligiousOOunse 
 
THE STORY OF THE . . . 
 RELIGIOUS TRACT SOCIETY 
 
 How the Society began. 
 
 At seven o’clock on a May morning — May 9, 1799—about 
 forty gentlemen, most of them ministers of the Gospel, are 
 seen entering St. Paul’s Coffee House, in St. Paul’s Churchyard, 
 London. Most noteworthy amongst them is the celebrated 
 Rowland Hill, of Surrey Chapel. There, too, is the Rev. 
 David Bogue, of Gosport, so well known for his Essay on 
 the Inspiration of the New Testament. And there is one who 
 has brought them all together—the Rev. George Burder, of 
 Coventry. 
 
 Rev. George Burder 
 Fo7mder of the Society. 
 
On the previous day, Mr. Burder was present at the Annual Sermon of the London 
 Missionary Society at Surrey Chapel, and, having obtained the consent of the Rev. Rowland 
 Hill, invited the ministers present to meet after the sermon in the schoolroom adjoining the 
 chapel. There he unfolded his plan for the formation of a society “ to promote the dispersion 
 of religious tracts, which should develop more fully than Mrs. Hannah More had done in 
 her excellent Cheap Repository Tracts, the evangelical doctrines of the Gospel.” After 
 some conversation, those present agreed to meet on the following morning at St. Paul’s 
 Coffee House. There, at their early breakfast, these good men founded the Religious Tract 
 Society. Early breakfasts—though in these degenerate days the hour has become eight 
 instead of seven—are still a time-honoured custom of the Committee of the R.T.S. Around 
 its table, busy city men and professional men meet every Tuesday morning to discuss the 
 great work of the Society, and the mission field is frequently represented by visitors from 
 Africa, India, China, Polynesia, and the Continent of Europe. 
 
 The First Tract, 
 
 Tract No. i on the Society’s Catalogue was A71 Address to Christiafis on the Distribu¬ 
 tion of Religious Tracts^ by the Rev. David Bogue. In this tract the advantages of the 
 printed page, as a means of spreading the truth, are admirably set forth. “ Every one,” says 
 the writer, “ has not the talent of talking to others on subjects of religion. Some have a 
 diffidence which they cannot overcome. But it is not so hard to take a tract and say, ‘ My 
 
 4 
 
friend, read that, and tell me what you think of it.’ It is 
 a cheap way of diffusing the knowledge of religion; it is not 
 so likely to give offence as some other methods of doing 
 good; it is more extensive in its use than any other method ; 
 and it forms an excellent accompaniment to other methods of 
 doing good.” 
 
 The writer then states some qualities which should be 
 found in a good tract. It should contain pure truth—“ nothing 
 to recommend one denomination or to throw odium on another; 
 but pure, good-natured Christianity, in which all the followers 
 of the Lamb, who are looking for the mercy of the Lord Jesus 
 Christ unto eternal life, can unite with pleasure, as in one 
 great common cause.” There should be some account of the 
 way of salvation in every tract. It should be plain. It should 
 be striking. It should be entertaining. It should be full of ideas. 
 
 Such was the ideal tract as sketched by one of the early founders of the Society. Before 
 leaving the name of Mr. Bogue, it should be mentioned that his Essay on the Inspiration of 
 the New Testa^nent has long been published by the Society. A copy of it was in the 
 ])ossession of Napoleon Buonaparte at the time of his death, and several passages were marked 
 by his pencil. 
 
 Joseph Reyner, Esq., 
 First Treasjtrer. 
 
 5 
 
The Treasurers of the Society. 
 
 The first Treasurer of the Society was Joseph Reyner, Esq., a leading London merchant. 
 For nearly thirty years he was connected with the Society. His interest in its work was very 
 great. He would sometimes say, “ I would rather sell my coat than that the work should stop.” 
 It was his constant practice, especially on Sunday mornings, to give away hundreds of tracts on 
 Tower Hill and in other parts of London. He died in 1837, having resigned the treasurership 
 in 1827. 
 
 The second Treasurer was John Broadley Wilson, Esq., who took a special interest in the 
 publication by the Society of the works of the Reformers and Puritan divines. He died in 1835. 
 
 Samuel Hoare, Esq., of Hampstead, was the third Treasurer. On his death, in 1846, he 
 was succeeded by his son, John Gurney Hoare, Esq., of Lombard Street, the fourth Treasurer 
 of the Society. 
 
 Mr. Gurney Hoare died in 1875, and was succeeded by Joseph Gurney, Esq., the fifth 
 Treasurer, who had been a member of the Committee from the year 1829. The Society owed 
 much to Mr. Gurney’s wise and large-hearted liberality. To mention only one instance, 
 the entire cost of the plates for the first edition of the Annotated Paragraph Bible was 
 defrayed by him. 
 
 The sixth and present Treasurer is Edward Rawlings, Esq., who succeeded Mr. Gurney 
 on the death of that gentleman in 1880. Mr. Rawlings has been a member of the Committee 
 since 1853. 
 
 6 
 
The Secretaries of the Society. 
 
 The first Honorary Secretary of the Society, and one of 
 its founders, was the Rev. Joseph Hughes, of Battersea, which 
 is described in the Jubilee Memorial Volume of 1850 as “a 
 pleasant village on the banks of the Thames, about four miles 
 from London.” Mr. Hughes died in 1833. With him was 
 associated, as Foreign Secretary, in 1808, the Rev. Dr. Steinkopff, 
 who did much to extend the Society’s work on the continent 
 of Europe, until his resignation in 1820. 
 
 In 1812 the Rev. Legh Richmond, rector of Turvey, was 
 appointed as an additional Honorary Secretary. Mr. Rich¬ 
 mond was the author of those popular tracts. The Dairyman's 
 Daughter and The Young Cottager. He died in 1827, and was 
 succeeded by the Rev. R. W. Sibthorp, B.D., Fellow of Mag¬ 
 dalen College, Oxford, who retired in 1837, his successor 
 being the Rev. Robert Monro, Chaplain of the Bridewell 
 Hospital. 
 
 After the death of Mr. Hughes, his place as one of the 
 filled in 1834 by the appointment of the Rev. Dr. Henderson, 
 valuable service in Sweden, Denmark, Finland and Iceland. 
 
 Rev. Joseph Hughes, 
 First Secretary. 
 
 Honorary Secretaries was 
 who had already rendered 
 
 7 
 
Mr. Monro was succeeded in 1S50 by the Rev. W. W. Champneys, Rector of St. Mary's, 
 ^Vhitechapel, and afterwards Dean of Lichfield. 
 
 Dr. Henderson died in 1858, and was succeeded by the Rev. R. Vaughan, D.D. 
 Dr. Vaughan died in 1869 and was succeeded hy the Rev. Robert Halley, D.D., President 
 of New College. 
 
 On the death of the Dean of Lichfield in 1875, he was succeeded in the Honorary 
 Secretaryship by Bishop Anderson. 
 
 Dr. Halley died in 1876, and was succeeded by the Rev. John Stoughton, D.D. 
 Dr. Stoughton continued as one of the Honorary Secretaries until his death in 1897. He was 
 a man of wide sympathies, beloved by all good men, and the author of many valuable works. 
 
 Bishop Anderson resigned in 1880, owing to ill-health, and was succeeded hy the 
 Rev. Canon Fleming, B.D., who still remains one of the Honorary Secretaries. 
 
 The duties at present discharged hy the Secretaries of the Society were at first fulfilled 
 by the Honorary Secretaries, and subsequently in part by the “ superintendent.” The first 
 Superintendent and Corresponding Secretary was Mr. John Davis, who was succeeded in 1842 
 hy Mr. W. Jones, the counting-house department being then entrusted to Mr. William Tarn. 
 
 Mr. William Jones died in 1855. His successor was Mr. (afterwards Dr.) George H. 
 Davis, who died in 1876. Dr. Davis was succeeded by the Rev. Samuel Manning, LL.D., 
 and the Rev. (now^ Prebendary) Lewis Borrett White, D.D., as Joint Secretaries. In 1882 
 Dr. Manning was succeeded by the Rev. S. G. Green, D.D. 
 
 8 
 
The Committee at the Breakfast Table, 
 
 Tuesday, January, 1898 . 
 
 [ 6 "^^ page 4. 
 
The Society's Premises. 
 
 The publishing business of the Religious Tract Society was first carried on at lo, 
 Stationers’ Court, a narrow lane which still runs from Ludgate Hill to Stationers’ Hall. 
 Whence, in 1806, the Society removed to 60, Paternoster Row. In 1820, premises were 
 taken at 14, Newgate Street, but, the result not proving satisfactory, Paternoster Row was 
 tried again; this time at No. 56. There, for the greater part of the century, has been 
 the home of the Religious Tract Society. The houses Nos. 57, 58, and 59 were subsequently 
 added; then 65, St. Paul’s Churchyard, where the retail Book Saloon, with Committee 
 Room above, still stands, and, finally, four small houses in Chapter-house Court, occupied 
 in ancient times by the monks of St. Paul’s. 
 
 The Committee held their first three meetings at Haberdashers’ Hall, then for a short 
 time at Mr. Reyner’s house in Duck’s-foot Lane, and then for several years at the counting- 
 house of Joseph Hardcastle, Esq., at Old Swan Stairs, in Upper Thames Street, near London 
 Bridge. Mr. Hardcastle was then the Treasurer of the London Missionary Society. Finally, 
 the Committee removed their meetings to Paternoster Row. 
 
 The site of these fine buildings is historic ground. From the editorial rooms in 
 front, as well as from those which are at the back of the Chapter House, the editors 
 look out upon that stately Cathedral, Sir Christopher Wren’s noble monument, the centre of so 
 much interest in the religious life of England. There the Prince of Wales went to return 
 thanks to Almighty God for his recovery from dangerous illness. There, too, in 1897, 
 
 10 
 
our gracious Sovereign Queen Victoria went in State, surrounded by 
 representative men from all parts of the British Empire, and by the 
 ambassadors of foreign powers, to give thanks to God for her long 
 reign of sixty years. 
 
 From the rooms over the book saloon you may also look down 
 upon the spot where St. Paul’s Cross once stood. There, in 1521, 
 
 Cardinal Wolsey sat in state, while Fisher fulminated against Luther, a 
 collection of Luther’s books being burnt during the sermon. There, 
 too, Tindale’s Testaments were burnt. But the truth of God was 
 not consumed. The Religious Tract Society, within sight of that very 
 spot, sends forth into all the world those Reformation principles which 
 fire and sword were powerless to kill. 
 
 At one end of Paternoster Row is Warwick Lane. There, at the 
 Bell Inn, the good Archbishop Leighton breathed his last. He had 
 
 been often heard to say that if he was to choose a place to die in, it would be an inn, as 
 suitable to the pilgrim character of life. The Bell Inn is not now in existence. 
 
 Near the Cheapside end of “the Row” is Panyer Alley, where you may still see the 
 inscription on the wall— 
 
 When you have sought the citty round, 
 
 Yet still this is the highest ground. 
 
 August the 27, 168S. - , - 
 
 Rev. Canon Fleming, b.d., 
 Hon. Secretary. 
 
The Duke of Kent, 
 
 In the year i8i6 the Rev. Legh Richmond, then one of the Secretaries of the Religious 
 Tract Society, sent a set of the Society’s publications to his Royal Highness the Duke 
 of Kent, the father of our beloved Queen. His Royal Highness wrote thanking 
 Mr. Richmond and the Committee, and concluded as follows :—■ 
 
 Mr. Richmond will oblige the Duke when next he meets the Committee, by expressing the satisfaction he 
 derives from being possessed of such valuable works, rendered doubly so by the manner in which they have 
 been presented, and the channel through which they have reached him. 
 
 The Emperor Alexander of Russia, 
 
 In 1817 Mr. Richmond sent a copy of his book, the Annals of the Poor^ to the 
 Emperor Alexander of Russia. The Emperor replied, accepting the volume “ with the 
 greatest satisfaction,” and adding :— 
 
 The object of this volume, the promotion of Christian charity and truly religious sentiments, renders it 
 most interesting and valuable in the eyes of the Emperor, who desires nothing so much as to see the principles 
 of the Gospel of Jesus Christ our Saviour more and more universal in his dominions, and in the whole world. 
 
 The Society's Books. 
 
 The Committee of the Religious Tract Society soon found that, to adapt itself to 
 the spread of education, and to supply the need for religious literature, it must not con¬ 
 fine itself to tracts alone. Indeed, the first rule of the Society, which was adopted at 
 its foundation, states that its object shall be “ the circulation of small religious books 
 and treatises in foreign countries as well as through the British dominions.” 
 
 12 
 

 The necessity of good books for the young first impressed 
 the Committee. Young people in those days had not the advan¬ 
 tages of the boys and girls of to-day. To provide for them 
 wholesome and pleasant reading, the Religious Tract Society began 
 in 1814 its series of Children’s Books. 
 
 Several years later—in 1825—it began the publication of 
 books for older people. Its earliest books of this class were 
 Brooks’s Precious Remedies^ Bunyan’s Holy IVar, Adam’s' Private 
 Thoughts^ Doddridge’s Rise and Progress of Religion in the Soul^ and 
 Bogatzky’s Golden Treasury. 
 
 From that time the Society has published many notable books. 
 
 It has published or assisted to publish the Pilgrinls Progress in 
 about ninety languages; many important Commentaries, including 
 Leighton on St. Peter., Hodge on the Epistle to the Romans., and Barnes on the Gospels in 
 abridged form; the Bible Handbook by Dr. Angus ; the Handbook to the Grammar of the 
 Greek Testament by Dr. S. G. Green; James’s Anxious Inquirer (a book which 
 reached a circulation of more than 845,000). In 1894 was issued an entirely new 
 edition of The Amiotated Paj-agraph Bible., with the notes and introductions re-written by 
 Dr. S. G. Green. 
 
 Its series of handbooks on By-paths of Bible Knowledge has been much appreciated. 
 
 Edward Rawlings, Esq., 
 Hon. Treasurer. 
 
 13 
 
Amongst those who contributed volumes to this series are Professor Sayce, Dr. Wallis Budge, 
 Sir J. Risdon Bennett, and Sir J. W. Dawson. 
 
 Another popular series has been the “ Pen and Pencil ” series, beautifully illustrated, and 
 descriptive of the life and history and scenery of many lands. Amongst these volumes may be 
 mentioned Canadiafi Pichires by the Marquis of Lome ; Greek Pictures by Professor Mahaffy; 
 Swiss Pictures (the first of the series); English and Scottish Pictures by Dr. S. G. Green; 
 Irish, United States, Norwegian, and London Pictures by the Rev. Richard Lovett; The 
 Lands of Scripture by Dr. Manning; and Sea Picttires by Dr. Macaulay. Many of the 
 fine illustrations are the work of Mr. Edward Whymper. * 
 
 Among its works of wholesome and instructive fiction for the young have been Jessica's 
 First Prayer, which originally appeared in the Sunday at Home, and more than thirty other 
 volumes by Hesba Stretton; Christie's Old Organ, A Peep Behind the Scenes, and many 
 other delightful tales from the pen of Mrs. Walton; Before the Daw7i, and twenty-five other 
 books by Emma Leslie; Crushed yet Conquering and Dr. Adrian by Miss Alcock; the 
 well-known books for boys by Mr. G. E. Sargent and Mr. Talbot Baines Reed; Tom Hero?i 
 of Sax and many other works by Miss Evelyn Everett-Green ; and more recently Probable 
 Sons, Teddy's Button, Odd, &c., by Miss Le Feuvre. 
 
 Sunday = School Libraries. 
 
 For many years the Religious Tract Society has made grants of books at reduced 
 
 14 
 
prices to the Sunday-school libraries of all denominations. It has 
 also provided libraries for congregations and colleges, ministers and 
 teachers, hospitals and asylums, homes and prisons, associations and 
 institutions. In this way it has issued about 53,700 libraries, or 
 collections of from 25 to 500 volumes at a time, at a cost of over 
 ^214,000. It is hard to estimate what a boon this has been to 
 churches and Sunday-schools, or how many lives have been thus 
 influenced for good. 
 
 The Missionary Work of the Society, 
 
 Much of the publication work already referred to is distinctly 
 missionary in its character. But, in addition to this, the Society takes 
 a very active and important part in the great work of Foreign Missions. 
 
 Those who know the Continent of Europe know how great is the need of popular 
 evangelical literature in most European countries. This need the Society endeavours to supply, 
 sometimes by assisting the local societies, sometimes by its own direct agency. Every country 
 in Europe gets help in this way. 
 
 In Asia, numerous Societies and Missions in India, China, Japan, etc., get grants from the 
 Society. These grants are chiefly devoted to assisting the production of Christian literature in 
 native languages. The Society is doing its best to foster original works by native Christians. 
 
 Rev. Prebendary White, d.d., 
 General Secretary. 
 
 15 
 
Not only minor evangelistic literature is thus produced, but also volumes of from fifty to a 
 thousand pages, in the form of commentaries, Bible dictionaries, histories, theological works, 
 and educational literature of a Christian character, have been issued. 
 
 In Africa and Madagascar the Society has published works in over thirty African 
 languages. 
 
 America, North and South, Canada and the West Indies all share in the Society’s help. 
 
 Australia, New Zealand, and the Islands of the Pacific have largely benefitted by the 
 Society’s operations. 
 
 The Society has assisted to publish literature in 224 languages. 
 
 It assists the Missionary Societies of all the Churches. Missionaries of the Church 
 Missionary Society, the London Missionary Society, the Presbyterian, Wesleyan, Baptist, China 
 Inland, the French, German, Swiss, and other great Missionary Societies, have again and again 
 expressed their indebtedness for help in their publication work. 
 
 Many missionaries find the large coloured pictures of Scripture scenes and stories, 
 issued by the Society, of great service in their work. 
 
 Present=Day Tracts. 
 
 From ministers of the Gospel, from Sunday-school teachers, and from young men who 
 have found difficulties in the Christian faith, have come many testimonies to the value of 
 the Society’s series of Present-Day Tracts. These tracts have been published at 4^. each. 
 
 16 
 
tL 
 
 and have also been issued in 2s. 6d. volumes, thirteen of which have 
 been published, chiefly under the able editorship of the late Rev. 
 
 John Kelly. Some of the foremost scholars and thinkers of our 
 time have contributed to them. The topics include “ Christianity 
 and Miracles,” “ Christianity and Secularism,” “ Modern Materialism,” 
 
 “ Rise and Decline of Islam,” “ The Ancient Monuments and the Old 
 Testament Scriptures,” “Man Physiologically Considered,” “Buddhism,” 
 
 “ The Ethics of Evolution,” “ Socialism and Christianity,” etc. 
 
 Society's Magazines. 
 
 The two oldest of the Society’s numerous periodicals are The 
 Tract Magazine and The Child’s Companion. They were both 
 commenced on the ist January, 1824.* The former is now con¬ 
 tinued under the name of Light in the Home. It is published at 
 
 one penny monthly, and is largely used by tract distributors and other Christian workers. 
 
 The first yearly volume of The Childs Compa7iion is a little book, about the size of a 
 small prayer book {see p. 27). The results of its publication surpassed the most sanguine 
 
 The Rev. S. G. Green, D.D., 
 Editorial Secretary. 
 
 * In Livingstone’s Life is a glimpse of one of the homes into which th ese early magazines found admission. 
 “ Some publications of the Religious Tract Society,” says Dr. Blaikie, “ 7 'he Weekly Visitor and The Childs 
 Co)} 2 pa 7 iion, were taken in, and much enjoyed by David, especially the papers of ‘ Old Humphrey.' ” 
 
 17 
 
expectations of the Committee. In an address printed on the cover of 21 ie Child's Com- 
 panio?i in December, 1824, the Committee state that they have decided to apply the profits 
 upon that magazine to aid “ the circulation of tracts in China and the East Indies.” The 
 early success of The Childs Companion was largely due to the great skill and ability of its 
 Editor, Mr. John Cross, who also wrote many of the most popular booklets of the Society. 
 
 The Leisure Hour, 
 
 In 1852 the Committee took another forward step. They resolved to issue a family 
 journal which should contain “ information on literary, scientific, and general subjects, 
 written in an attractive style, and in a religious spirit.” This new magazine was called The 
 Leisnre Hour. It met with a most gratifying reception. The Prince Consort ordered several 
 copies, and gave his encouragement in other ways. Archbishop Whately contributed largely 
 to the early volumes. One of its first illustrators was the late Sir John Gilbert. Its first 
 Editor was Mr. Haigh Miller. He was succeeded by Dr. James Macaulay, under whose 
 
 skilful direction the magazine was enlarged and developed. 
 
 The success of the Leisure Hour in counteracting unwholesome literature was soon 
 
 acknowledged by the best authorities. Referring, in January, 1870, to one bandit novelette 
 which used to sell about 30,000 copies weekly, the AthencEum said: “The Leis2i7'e Hour 
 has run the highwayman’s horse into a fence, and left him with his head inextricably 
 fixed in it.” 
 
 18 
 
Many a young writer who 
 afterwards became famous found 
 his first opportunity in the Leisu7'e 
 Hoilt. Quite a galaxy of young 
 artists enriched its pages—among 
 them Du Maurier, before his ap¬ 
 pointment to Punch. 
 
 In days when few travelled, 
 unknown wanderers from many 
 parts brought their notes—early 
 settlers in Oregon, in Texas, in 
 New Zealand ; men like Baines— 
 who traversed much of Living¬ 
 stone’s ground, and was the first 
 to sketch the Victoria Falls; 
 travellers on the Nile in the first 
 excavation days, to whom the 
 later contributions of Flinders 
 Petrie would be a revelation un¬ 
 dreamt of. Valuable also were 
 
the contributions of Lord, head of the exploring party sent into the Sinaitic peninsula by 
 the Egyptian government ; of Vambery and Lansdell in Central Asia ; Isabella Bird’s 
 “ Adventures in the Rockies ” and elsewhere; Miss Gordon Cumming’s travel papers; 
 
 the Szviss Round of Harry Jones; and much of the best work of Edward Whymper, 
 
 who was an early ally in illustration, and has contributed even within the last year. 
 In Natural History, from Frank Buckland to Wood, or from Tristram to Bosworth Smith, 
 a crowd of observers have contributed. 
 
 Science has been represented by men of foremost rank in each department, such as 
 
 James Glaisher and Sir William Dawson*; history and biography by Sir E. Maunde 
 
 Thompson, Sir Walter Besant, and Sir Reginald Palgrave; while in fiction, &c., the Leisure 
 Hour has had such well-known contributors as Mrs. Henry Wood, Hesba Stretton, W. H. G. 
 Kingston, Mrs. Oliphant, G. E. Sargent, Leslie Keith, Coulson Kernahan, Stanley Weyman, 
 and other writers familiarly known to-day. Social questions, too, have had a large place. 
 It was to the Leisure Hour that Mr. Massingham contributed his interesting series on “ The 
 London Daily Press.” Bishop Creighton’s “ Story of Some English Shires ” appeared there 
 too. W. J. Gordon’s “ Midland Sketches,” published in its pages during the past year, have 
 aroused much attention in the great manufacturing centres which they describe. 
 
 * Thomas Carlyle, in a letter to Dr, Macaulay, referred to Dunkin’s Astronomical Maps, which appeared in 
 the Leisure and said, “Oh, why did not some one teach me the stars?” This letter is preserved in 
 
 Carlyle’s house at Chelsea. 
 
 20 
 
The Sunday at Home. 
 
 The Sunday at Home was established 
 in the year 1854. Its object was to provide 
 “ Sunday reading of an inviting description,” 
 and to bring before its readers religious litera¬ 
 ture in attractive forms. 
 
 Among its contributors have been eminent 
 divines and other authors, representing various 
 sections of the Christian Church. They include 
 such names as Dr. Angus, Miss Alcock, Dr. 
 G. S. Barrett, Miss E. Boyd Bayly, Dr. Horatius 
 Bonar, Mr. J. Bonwick, Principal Cairns, Rev. 
 James Chalmers, Dr. R. W. Dale, the late 
 Dean of Canterbury, the present Dean of 
 Canterbury, Dr. Merle D’Aubigne, the present 
 Bishop of Derry, Dr. Edersheim, Dr. Monro 
 Gibson, Bishop killicott. Dr. A. B. Grosart, 
 Rev. W. Wyatt Gill, Professor Gibb, Dr. 
 Richard Glover, Dr. Newman Hall, Silas K. 
 Hocking, Henry A. Harper, Rev. F. Hastings, 
 
 21 
 
 The Society’s Dep6t in Hong Kong, 
 
Miss F. R. Havergal, Edwin Hodder, Dr. R. F. Horton, Rev. Dr. Keith, Rev. Frederick Lang- 
 bridge, the Bishop of London, Miss Scott-Moncrieif, Rev. Dr. Alexander Maclaren, Professor 
 Milligan, Rev. Dr. Hugh Macmillan, Dr. J. R. Macduff, Mr. A. Scott-Moncrieff, Dr. H. C. G. 
 Moule, Mrs. Prosser, Rev. P. B. Power, Professor Rawlinson, Rev. Dr. Rigg, Rev. 
 Alfred Rowland, Professor Sayce, Rev. Dr. Stoughton, Rev. C. H. Spurgeon, Dr. Adolph 
 Saphir, Professor G. T. Stokes, Eugene Stock, Martin F. Tupper, Rev. J. R. Vernon, 
 Miss E. J.* Whately, Rev. Richard Wilton, Dr. William Wright, and a host of others from 
 all quarters of the world. 
 
 It is not often that a legacy is left to a magazine; but the following letter tells a 
 touching story :— 
 
 Herewith I enclose a cheque for ;^io, being a legacy from a youth named Frederic Hedley, who lately 
 died in my district. The words in his will on this subject are the following {verbatim) :— 
 
 “ I, Frederic Hedley, do hereby leave the sum of £\o to the Religious Tract Society, to be used by them 
 exclusively for the use of the publishing the Sunday at Ho 7 ne and Leisure Hour, if possible.” 
 
 It is an interesting fact that through a lingering illness this lad derived so much instruction and comfort from 
 these publications as to devote a considerable portion of his savings to their support. 
 
 The Cottager and Artisan, 
 
 This popular magazine was established in i86i, under the title of The Cottager in Towti 
 and Country. Costing only i.d. per month, it was intended specially to meet the needs of 
 poorer readers both in town and country. It is gratifying to know that it is now a 
 w'elcome visitor in thousands of humble homes. 
 
 22 
 
Joint Depot of the Bible and Tract Societies at Allahabad, 
 
 2 
 
 
Our Little Dots. 
 
 The desirability of having a magazine for very young children had been long under 
 consideration, and in 1886 the Committee commenced to publish Our Little Dots, whose 
 bright pictures and pretty stories are now eagerly looked for by the little ones. 
 
 The Boy's Own Paper. 
 
 The B.O.P. was founded in 1878. Judges, magistrates, schoolmasters, prison chaplains 
 and others had long been deploring the existence of pernicious literature as a fruitful source 
 of juvenile crime. How to counteract this was the difficulty. Private enterprise shrank 
 from it owing to the risk of pecuniary loss. At last the Committee of the R.T.S. undertook 
 the task. It has been most gratifying to the Committee and the Editor to know that not 
 only has the Boy’s Own Paper supplanted much of the low-class literature and become a 
 profitable publication, but that it has also won the hearts of thousands of boys and helped 
 them in the paths of wisdom and goodness. 
 
 In practical philanthropy the B.O.P. has done good work. It has provided two life¬ 
 boats for the National Lifeboat Institution at a cost of ^1,200, and handed ^400 to the 
 London Hospital, and ;^75o for the “Gordon Ward” at Dr. Barnardo’s Homes. 
 
 The advice on all kinds of topics given in its correspondence columns has been much 
 appreciated by its boy readers. Many a lad it “ has saved from ruin ” is the testimony 
 of countless letters. Here is a typical extract from a letter received by the Editor;— 
 
 24 
 
I have taken your paper for years, and have found 
 it a very good paper to pass the time, and also to 
 gain instruction from. I have been in New Zealand 
 and the Fiji Islands these last five years, and many 
 a weary night in the bush whares or on a sheep station 
 has been lightened by its instructive tales. One little 
 whare (house) in Rangitikei district. North Island, I 
 recollect was adorned all over its walls with the pic¬ 
 tures cut from the monthly parts ; whilst the parts 
 themselves, dog’s-eared and dirty with wear, were laid 
 on the rough slab table as household volumes. 
 
 The B.O.P. ever tries to illustrate by 
 practical example the noblest type of manhood 
 and the truest Christian devotion; nor does 
 it lose any good opportunity of pointing to 
 the Cross of Christ as at once the centre and 
 the mainspring of all that is best in humian 
 character and action. 
 
 Among its contributors have been:—• 
 Rev. H. C. Adams, William Allingham, R. M. 
 Ballantyne. Vice-Admiral Sir F. Bedford, 
 Rev. A. R. Buckland, Commander V. Lovett 
 
 A FAMILY JOURNAL OF 
 
 INSTRUCTION AND RECKKATION. 
 
 TlItTRSDAY, JARTJARY 1, 1802. 
 
 THE ACCOMIWOnATION BILL 
 
 CBiPTBI I 
 
 One gloomy evening in autumn, two young mon 
 might have been seen arm-in-ann. and in 
 conversation, emerging into Chenpsidc from one 
 of the narrow .streets wliich branch from that 
 great London thoroughfare, Tlie gas-lights, which 
 threw a broad and bnght glare upon the pavement, 
 would also have shown to an intelligent and quick 
 obseiwer that the coiuitcnance of one of lliese 
 young men wa.'< troubled and expressive of inde¬ 
 cision, and that in the other there were indica-1 
 VOL. I-—N>i. I 
 
 tion.s of rocJdess boldness, Had sueh an observer 
 ovcrh'-ard the subdued but earnest conversation ot 
 tlivsi- passengers, his imprc.ssions concemuig the 
 character of their nmids woulil probably have been 
 cotilirincd; and bad lie followed up his curious 
 observation, and traced tlnir ulliinatc proceed¬ 
 ings, ho Mould, witli some justice, have set them 
 down under two distinct la,ids— the Tempted aud 
 
 the TEMPiru . 
 
 Observed or n>.t. they Ihrcrided their way through 
 the busy and noisy street, until thev arrived at a 
 slatirmev's shop windmv. Tticrc tli:y stopped. ' ho 
 bolder ono of tlic two entered. purehj*ed j bid 
 n 
 
 Facsimile of First Number of “Leisure Hour,’ 
 2 5 January i, 1852. 
 
Cameron, R.N., C.B., Dr. Conan Doyle, G. Manville Fenn, Somerville Gibney, W. J. Gordon, 
 G. A. Henty, Rev. E. J. Hardy, Coulson Kernahan, David Ker, W. H. G. Kingston, Rear- 
 Admiral Kennedy, Seymour Lucas, R.A., Rev. A. N. Malan, A. H. Moncrieff, Rev. T. S. 
 Millington, Herr F. L. Meyer, Rev. Mark Guy Pearse, H. M. Pauli, General Sir Robert 
 Phayre, Talbot Baines Reed, Jessie M. Saxby, Dr. Gordon Stables, Dr. Schofield, Alma 
 Tadema, Rev. J. G. Wood, Rev. Theodore Wood. 
 
 The GirTs Own Paper. 
 
 The rapid and remarkable success of the Bofs Oivn Paper encouraged the Committee 
 to establish a companion magazine for girls. The GirTs Own Paper was founded in 1879. 
 It soon attained great popularity. 
 
 Amongst the writers who have contributed to its pages have been the Queen of 
 Roumania, the Duchess of Teck, Countess of Aberdeen, Anne Beale, Emma Brewer, 
 Eliza Brightwen, Helen Marion Burnside, Rosa Nouchette Carey, Dora de Blaquiere, Sarah 
 Doudney, Evelyn Everett-Green, Sydney C. Grier, Beatrice Harraden, Ruth Lamb, Rev. Fred. 
 Langbridge, Isabella Fyvie Mayo, Sarah Tytler, Lily Watson, and Mrs. L. B. Walford. 
 
 The musical department of the GirTs Own Paper has received special attention, and 
 has largely contributed to the success of the magazine. Amongst those who have composed 
 orusic for its pages are H.R.H. the Princess Henry of Battenberg (Princess Beatrice), 
 Edvard Grieg, Myles B. EMster, Engelbert Humperdinck, Hamish MacCunn, Sir Alexander 
 
 26 
 
Mackenzie, Sir George C. Martin, Dr. Hubert Parry, Ernst 
 Pauer, Sir John Stainer, and Professor Villiers Stanford. 
 
 From thousands of girls in all parts of the world, and in 
 all classes of society, have come testimonies to the help they 
 have received from the GirVs Ow?i Paper. Many speak gratefully 
 of the benefit they found from the Girl’s Own Guild of Scripture 
 Reading. The mother as well as the daughter, the peeress as 
 well as the cottager, the invalid as well as the healthy school¬ 
 girl, have found the GirVs Oivti Paper a help in the duties 
 and pleasures of the home, and a guide in those things that make 
 for their eternal peace. 
 
 Testimonies to the Society's Publications. 
 
 A volume might be filled with personal testimonies, from all 
 parts of the world, to benefit received from the publications of 
 the Society. A few notable instances may however he given here. 
 
 The Princess Sophia Meshtchersky, cousin to the Emperor 
 Alexander of Russia, testified to the great benefit she had 
 received from one of the Society’s earliest tracts. The DairymaPs 
 Pat/ghter., by Legh Richmond. She showed her gratitude by 
 
 THE 
 
 CHILD'S COMFANXOHr; 
 
 Ob, 
 
 Sunday Scholar’s Reward. 
 
 VOL. I. 
 
 - — 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 PrinteJ for 
 
 THE RELIGION’S TRACT SOCIETY \ 
 
 AKO SCLD Br J. IIATIS, so, PiTERNOSTeil BOW 
 NISBET, 21 , BERNERS STREET; AND Al 
 *HE SUNDAY SCHOOL LMO.N DEPOT 
 19 , PATERNOSTEB ROSY. 
 
 V 
 
 Facsimile "Child’s Companion." 
 {Exact s:ze when first zssuect.) 
 
giving large sums to aid in publishing in the Russian language this and other tracts, 
 many of which she herself translated. 
 
 The next case is of persons very different in the social scale. John Leadbetter, a convict 
 on board the convict ship Yoi-Jz^ moored off Gosport, received from a lady some of the Society’s 
 tracts. These tracts were blessed to his salvation. He then procured some tracts which he 
 distributed among his fellow-prisoners. At first he met with great opposition and ridicule, but 
 gradually his zeal and perseverance were rewarded. Many of the convicts were converted, and 
 of their own accord sent a contribution of over three pounds, collected in weekly subscriptions 
 amongst themselves, to the funds of the Religious Tract Society. 
 
 Leadbetter afterwards wrote to the Committee about his fellow-convicts :—■“ That a great 
 change has taken place in their life and conduct no one can deny ; and for this change we are 
 indebted to the Religious Tract Society.” 
 
 Many testimonies were received as to changed lives resulting from the reading of such tracts 
 as The Sinner's Friend and The Sivearer's Prayer. These testimonies came from all classes—- 
 from officers in the army and from private soldiers, from sailors, from watermen, canal men, and 
 others. The Sivearer's Prayer was first published in 1806, and its total circulation has been 
 4,649,000. 
 
 During the Crimean war, much comfort and blessing was brought hy tracts to the soldiers 
 on the heights before Sebastopol, the lamented Captain Hcdley Vicars being one of the most 
 zealous distributors. 
 
 28 
 
The revival of re¬ 
 ligion in Ireland in 
 1859, generally known 
 as the “ Ulster Revival,” 
 led to a great demand 
 for the Society’s tracts, 
 which were found of 
 great service in instruct¬ 
 ing and guiding those 
 who came under religi¬ 
 ous impressions. 
 
 During the Franco- 
 Prussian war of 1870, 
 large numbers of French 
 and German tracts were 
 distributed among the 
 soldiers, and read with 
 avidity by the troops on 
 both sides. 
 
 Similarly during the 
 
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 ■!>!■ 3 i. 6d. pro' j CVS. • ■ V! ■ 
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 ip. A Sujsdayi Es-swisri' Hkvee ouc hatfpenrir, 
 OT 'is. per iOO. 
 
 [i ff a-'-HTt Hi'CTij f—.’trt Xmitriitn vf** r.j .k imi in 
 ej<# i mtiSit’, /Vjvit lizards, er 2?. ii. ^ound.'i 
 
 26 . Tire 
 
 OF Tracts. 
 
Russo-Turkish war of 1877, tracts in the Russian, German, Polish, Finnish, Tartar, Bulgarian, 
 Roumanian, Slavonic, and other languages, were distributed, and were gratefully received by 
 the soldiers on the Russian side, while Turkish and Arabic tracts were given to Turkish 
 prisoners. 
 
 A gentleman wrote in 1879, “I lately received a letter from Poland, asking for sixteen 
 copies of the tract called The Prodigal Son (First Series, No. 122), the writer informing me that 
 I had thirty years before given him a copy of that tract, which had been preserved, and which had 
 lately been the means of awakening sixteen persons to care for their souls, for each of whom he 
 wanted a copy of that tract.” 
 
 The Bible Society. 
 
 Many of the warm friends of both Societies are not aware that the British and Foreign 
 Bible Society is the daughter of the Religious Tract Society. In January, 1804, the Bible 
 Society was founded by the Committee of the Religious Tract Society. 
 
 The first proposal of a society for the special publication of the Scriptures was brought 
 before the Committee of the Religious Tract Society in December, 1802, by the Rev. Thomas 
 Charles, of Bala. The story of Mr. Charles meeting a little girl in Wales who was in the habit 
 of walking a distance of seven miles once a week to a place where she could find a Welsh Bible 
 is well known. This so impressed Mr. Charles that he came to London and urged the 
 formation of such a society for Wales upon the R.T.S. Committee. His appeal was supported 
 
by Mr. Tarn. The Committee resolved, 
 at the suggestion of Mr. Hughes, that it 
 was desirable that such a Society should 
 be formed, not only for Wales, but for 
 the whole world. Mr. Hughes, the 
 first Secretary of the Religious Tract 
 Society, became also one of the first 
 secretaries of the Bihle Society. 
 
 This was the origin of that vast 
 Society, which now encircles the world 
 with its ministry of light, and scatters 
 in all lands the leaves of the tree which 
 are for the healing of the nations. 
 
 It is pleasant to record that the 
 two Societies have worked together, 
 both in London and throughout the 
 world, in perfect harmony. In many 
 towns in England and elsewhere their 
 depots occupy the same building, and 
 are sometimes under the one manager. 
 
 2 . ACt~ 
 
 . 
 
 
 Facsimile Page of Minutes of the Religious Tract Society, 
 January ioth, 1804, relating to the Origin of 
 THE Bible Society. 
 
 31 
 
The story has been well told in a little book called The Fotmders mid Presidents of the 
 Bible Society^ by Henry Morris. 
 
 Biblical Instruction in Day Schools. 
 
 The Society helps Biblical Instruction in public elementary schools, by assisting to provide 
 prizes for proficiency in biblical knowledge. In London alone, 301,773 children were examined 
 in 1896. 
 
 An Officer of Literature. 
 
 The Christian Witness in December, 1852, said: “We last year called attention to the 
 subject of an ‘ Officer of Literature ’ for every one of our congregations. We are satisfied that 
 nothing more is wanted to work a complete change in many a congregation, and vastly to im¬ 
 prove the knowledge and activity of the churches.” It then goes on to refer to the practice of 
 the Rev. M. Wright, of Honiton. That excellent minister employed a poor woman, a member 
 of his congregation, and herself interested in the object, to perambulate the town and adjacent 
 villages with copies of the chief religious periodicals, including the Tract Magazine and various 
 publications of the Religious Tract Society, to offer them for sale. 
 
 How much good might yet be done both in town and country by having some one in each 
 congregation to bring religious literature to the homes of its members. Where there are no col¬ 
 porteurs, this plan should be, where possible, universally adopted. 
 
 LONDON; PRINTED BY WILLIAM CLOWES & SONS; Limited, STAMFORD STREET anp CHARIN© CROSS. 
 

 
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