Will you climb this broken staircase, And glance through this shattered door; Oh, can there be children sleeping On that filthy and crowded floor? Yes! old and young together, A restless, moaning heap; O God! while they thus are sleeping, How dare Thy children sleep? Does the night air make you shiver, As the stream sweeps coldly by? (Cold as the hearts of the heedless), Here, too, do the children lie. An archway their only shelter; The pavement their nightly bed; Thou, too, when on earth, dear Saviour, Hadst nowhere to lay _Thy_ head. So we know Thou art here, dear Master, Thy form we can almost see; Do we tear Thy sad voice saying, "Ye did it not to Me?" Yes, chill is the wind-swept archway, The pavement is cold and hard Better the workhouse coffin, Softer the graveyard sward. Thank God! yet we say it weeping, Thank God for many a grave! There sleep the little children Whom Christians would not save! Yet smiles through our tears are dawning When we think of the hope that lies In our children's Land of Promise, 'Neath the clear Canadian skies. Though the frost he thick on the windows, Though the roof with snow is white, We know our Canadian children Are safe and warm to-night. There thick are the homespun blankets, And the buffalo robes are warm; Then why should these children shiver Out here in the winter storm? Why wait till the prison claims them? Why wait till of hope bereft For that fair young girl the river Be the only refuge left? Come! help us, answer the message Now pealing across the seas-- "A home and a hearty welcome For hundreds such as these!" It comes from broad Ontario, And from Nova Scotia's shore; They have loved and sheltered our gathered waifs, They have room for thousands more. S. R. GELDARD. CHAPTER IX. Questions and Answers--Sorrowful Cases--Testimonies from those who have visited Canada--Stewardship. The fallowing plain answers to practical questions, are written by those well acquainted with the work:-- I. "Are these children really _street Arabs?_ If not, where do you find so many?"