The first curate who was appointed entered at once upon his work in this deplorably destitute district, and in spite of great difficulties, and frequent failures of health, from exposure to damp and the horrible pollutions and stench of the highways and byways, he has steadily worked on for twelve years. He has happily lived to see a great improvement since he commenced his labours, and he has won the respect and affection of the whole community. The old woman, from whose conversation I have before quoted, said, in speaking of him, “’Twas the best day that ever rose in the Potteries, when he came amongst us; and, let who will come after him, _he’ll_ never be forgotten.” Another happy event was the appointment of a City Missionary, in the year 1850. It was pre-eminently the missionary that those people required. Their early habits, and also a spirit of lawlessness which seems one of their natural characteristics, made it difficult to persuade them to attend any place of worship. They had, indeed, to be “sought out.” It has been remarked of the people in the United States of America, that they are all, to some extent, tinctured with the spirit of their early founders. The indomitable spirit, the resolution to conquer difficulties at any cost, is traced back by some to “the Pilgrim Fathers.” Those who reason thus would perhaps think they could account in the same way for that extraordinary spirit of independence which is so manifest in the dispositions of the people of whom we are now writing. The descendants of Lake and Stephens would, if placed in the same difficulties, undoubtedly exhibit the same ingenuity and resolution to extricate themselves. Another cause of this independence may be, that they have remained very much their own masters. Each man and woman seems to have had so many pigs and children to rule over, and no one dared to interfere. This absence of service, each one having to think for himself, and not to conform to the dictates of another, would also cause unusual self-reliance. Fortunately for this people, the missionary soon made himself thoroughly acquainted with the soil he had come to cultivate, and was enabled so to accommodate and adapt himself to its requirements, that very little time was lost in getting to work. Had the case been otherwise, years might have passed in fruitless labour; but God gave to His servant a wise and understanding heart, and by appearing to yield everything, he gained everything. Among the many triumphs of missionary work, the Potteries must rank almost the highest. A contrast more striking could scarcely be imagined than that between the indifference, rudeness, and sometimes even execration, with which his first visits were received, and the spontaneous respect which is now paid to him by every man, woman, and child.