It is my purpose to embrace the first opportunity to visit Captain Antle's mission, and I trust that as many of you as can, will accompany me or go yourselves, so that we may show our good brother that he is not without that Christian sympathy, that benignant charity, which blesseth him who gives as well as him who takes."

The effect of this and similar reminders from other pulpits was to awaken a lively interest in Captain Antle's work, and to induce many to visit the room who had never heard of it before. Men and women whose dainty feet had never pressed the foul pavement of Water Street, who had never come in contact with its still fouler denizens, ventured down in that region for the first time in their lives, and deemed themselves well rewarded in the experience.

So pleased were many of these cultured visitors with the captain and his novel methods that they desired to hear him more frequently, but as far removed as possible from the objectionable associations of Water Street. Accordingly, invitations to "exchange" with the uptown pastors came to the captain, which, to a man with any vanity and less common-sense, would have been highly flattering. But how was it possible for any of those polished clergy to "exchange" with this rugged and unkempt son of Neptune! Away from his customary surroundings and his "peculiar people," Captain Antle would only have been grotesquely out of place. This fact no one appreciated more fully than the captain himself, who, to all such overtures, would reply, "No, no! I'm no preacher. I'm nothing but a poor uneducated sailor,

who, with God's help, is trying to lead his brother sailors to the Lord Jesus. Like my blessed Master, I have come to the lost sheep of the house of Israel - to sailors and sailors only. They know my voice and I know their temptations, and no power on earth can separate me from my children even for a single day."

That settled the matter.

But notwithstanding this determination to abide within his own lines and work in his own way, something like a new departure would have to be taken; for the mission was growing at such a pace that not only was a more comprehensive and thorough organization imperatively demanded, but the room itself was altogether too small to accommodate the people who besieged its doors. Nor were there wanting men and means to further this development and so enable the mission to satisfy the demands made on its resources. Mr. Buckminster was not the only great shipowner and capitalist who recognized the value of Captain Antle's labors and liberally offered of their substance to secure for his mission its largest possible measure of usefulness. It is true, however, that nearly all these proffers of assistance were hampered with certain conditions which, from the captain's standpoint, made it impossible for him to accept them. They were all, more or less, of a sectarian character, and, therefore, not in perfect harmony with Captain Antle's principles and plans.

It goes without saying, that an institution like the Waterstreet Mission is not, like Minerva, brought forth perfectly

formed and fully equipped. It is a growth, a development from the simple to the complex. It had material as well as spiritual interests to be looked after; and consequently as its limits expanded and became more comprehensive, business methods became obviously essential to its stability and success. System, order, and promptness were absolutely necessary to carry on the work and provide for emergencies. Hence, a person of altogether different habit of mind and training from the captain was needed to assist and supplement him—a man to look after the practical details of the mission -in a word, a business-manager; and this is why Henry M. Watson became connected with the work. In this gentleman, the experienced eye of Mr. Buckminster had detected just the qualities of head and heart that would make him a most efficient auxiliary to the captain-a sort of first-mate, "to keep the log-book," as the captain used to say. The only drawback was that Mr. Watson knew nothing about the sea or sailors; but this proved a small matter with a man so versatile and efficient. He was a good singer, and could lead a prayermeeting just as well as he could keep the books and look after the finances of the mission.

At first, Mr. Watson gave only a portion of his time to the work; but as it increased, he found it necessary to appropriate a corner of the room as an office and devote himself almost exclusively to its interests. There was a corps of missionary-workers to be organized and directed, books to be

kept, cards, tracts, circulars, and bills to be printed, letters to be written, visits to be made to all sorts and conditions of

people, and, indeed, an amount of detail which demanded constant activity, tact, and method.

For one thing, all recently-arrived sailors-as many as could be reached - were individually requested to visit the Snug Harbor before entering any other door in port. They were asked to do this, not only as a favor to Captain Antle, but as something that would be very much to their own interests. To each man was given a card showing the address of the Snug Harbor on one side, and an attractive picture on the other. This simple device drew scores to the room, and it was seldom that the captain got hold of a man on whom he failed to make an impression for good. Foreigners, even, who could scarcely understand one word of English, found the Snug Harbor a desirable "port of call," if only for the sake of the information they gathered as to where they could lay out their earnings to the best advantage or find good lodgings while in port.

By way of further illustrating the character of the work. done, I recall a few episodes of the earlier history of the mission, noting them at random as they come to mind.

IX.

"WELL, are you going to call on the captain to-day, boys?" asked one of the mission-workers of a couple of young sailors who had just stepped ashore on a lark.

"Captain? Captain who?"

Why, Captain Antle, of course, of the Snug Harbor." "Never heard of the man."

"What! never heard of Captain Antle?"

"" No. We're strangers, you know. Never here before." "Well, boys, Captain Antle would like to see you, all the same. He's got something to say to you."

"See here! You're guying us, old man.

anything to pawn-see?"

We ain't got

"You're wrong, boys. The captain is not a broker. All he wants is to shake hands with you and tell you something Come along and see him. It won't take

to your advantage.

you five minutes."

"What's say, Bill, will you go?" one asks of the other. "Don't care if I do," is the reply.

"All right; let's go and see, for the fun of it. We want all the fun we can have now we're ashore once more, you know, mister."

"Fun! A jollier old fellow than Captain Antle never cracked a biscuit. Here we are, lads. Here's the Snug Harbor. Let's drop anchor and see what the old man wants of us."