Notwithstanding the great benefit of these asylums for the destitute, and the laws for the punishment of beggars, the sympathetic heart of the true Christian, a character unpolluted by the cant of crafty sectarists, is ever open to the tale of the distressed, from a respect for that excellent doctrine of St Paul, that CHARITY NEVER FAILETH. The following eulogium on this virtue, is extracted from Mr Hamilton's appeal in behalf of a religious community which had been deprived of its property during the French Revolution:-- "Charity is an emanation from the choicest attribute of the Deity; it is, as it were, a portion of the Divinity engrafted upon the human stock; it cancels a multitude of transgressions in the possessor, and gives him a foretaste of celestial joys. It whetted the pious Martin's sword, when he divided his garment with the beggar; and swelled the royal Alfred's bosom, while a pilgrim was the partner of his meal. It influenced the sorrowing widow to cast her mite into the treasury; and held a Saviour on the Cross, when he could have summoned Heaven to his rescue. Its practice was dictated by the law, its neglect has been censured by the prophets; and when the Lord of the vineyard sent his only Son, he came not to destroy the law, but to fulfil it. Other virtues may have a limit here, but Charity extends beyond the grave. Faith may be lost in endless certainty, and Hope may perish in the fruition of its object, but Charity shall live for countless ages, for ever blessing and for ever blessed!" THE END. [Illustration: _A Soap-eater, copied from a rare print of the time of Queen Elizabeth_ _A Tom of Bedlam copied from an Old Drawing of the time of Edw. 6th. in the possession of Fran. Douce Esq._ _Copied from a Drawing of the time of Henry VIIth in the possession of Francis Douce, Esq._] [Illustration: PLATE XXXI. Beggars leaving town for their workhouse.] End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Lives of Famous London Beggars, by John Thomas Smith