| Show A MAN WITH A LARGE FAMILY the old woman who lived in a shoe is the traditional representative of the parent afflicted with a large family the old woman might have had 70 children perhaps she had more certainly she had so many she know what to do there is a man in england however who beats the old woman wout nt of sight in respect to the number of his hia family how many has he then the reader will ask i well weil to reply with the same precision of language as was used by the member of paril parliament ami amk nt who nog nob not long familiar with the principles of euclid once described describe da a rent in a ships side as about as long as a piece of string it may be said that george muller of bristol has more than a mile of children place them in aline allne a line with h a couple of lof yards between each of them and then cb up what space will be covered by 1150 that being beig belg the number for which george muller has to provide daily IT 11 is considered a large family when 15 sit bit pit lit down i to t table tabie i akle able but 1150 that is something pom lom ething liko like a family what a fortune the man must have to fill so many mouths it is a respectable colony that has to be dealt with eleven hundred and ang fifty dinners for days a year ditto bre breakfasts Lk fasts and teas 1150 children to clothe cloth e and to edu educate catel they live in houses which are more like castles than ordinary dwellings beds for 1150 schoolrooms school rooms for 1150 play rooms for 1150 nurseries for a large portion of the 1150 1160 playgrounds play grounds for those who are not old enough to dance on the springboard spring board or swing awing on the roundabout round about and toys for the little ones then there is an army of nurses and teachers and servants again the reader will say what a fortune the man must have haive 11 the surmise Is entirely erroneous george muller is a poor man he has nothing but what people choose to give him and the rule of his life is never to ask anybody for anything and never to publish the name of anybody who gives him anything what A poor man keep 1150 1 children in these handsome dwellings and feed them clothe them and educate them preposterous so it would appear and yet it is not preposterous post erous when the matter is explained although it is something of the wonder ful fui auland and even of the marvelous marv cious clous in it 6 george eorge muller whose name will probably hereafter be identified with orphanages pha nages as the name of robert rakes bakes is identified with sunday schools is a prussian by bi birth having been born at in 1805 1803 his father was a collector of excise for the prussian government in 1809 1829 1839 mr muller went to england with the intention of becoming a missionary conary in connection with the london society for promoting christianity among the jews this connection however never was waa formed and he became the minister of a small atlon of brethren at tynemouth Tyne mouth in 1832 lie he went to bristol and with liehr henry henrs y craik the eminent hebrew se scholar boiar bolar became a minister among the brethren there these workers coworkers co stipulated that they should have no fixed salary a practice which mr muller adopted and fr from om that day to this mr muller has never had any salary although he has preached regularly at bristol for oter oren 34 years A man who has no means who declines to accept a salary and also makes it a fixed rule of life never to ask anybody for anything is in rather a peculiar position airn AfrA mr laller muller having adopted this course had nothing to depend upon but what people who knew ilis his habits choose to give him one person would send him a present of a hat bat another would send him a suit of clothes and it happened at times these precarious gifts did not always come exactly when they were wanted and mr muller mullen occasionally was dressed in the reverse of what was called the extreme of fashion still lie he preached cheerfully and shortly be before fore 1836 83 6 notwithstanding the fact t that hat many a time he had not a sixpence in the world he conceived the idea that it was his duty to do something in the way of providing for poor orphans who had lost both father and mother by death accordingly on the lith of april 1836 he fitted up the house lie he was then living in at no 6 wilson street bristol for 30 orphans who were to be supported in exactly the same way ai as himself that is by the bounty 01 of donors who under no circumstances were asked for anything and whose names whether they gave much 0 or little were never published viewey viewed as an ordinary attempt to provide for orphans this was an extraordinary experiment peri ment what foll followed awed is a perfect romance of faith and oftener often mr muller had filled his house with orphans he was reduced to the last extremity to provide for them sometimes he had to sell furniture to supply them with bread he made it a rule never to go into debt and to pay for everything as it was bought and many a time at the close of the day lay he lie had no money for next days supplies still stajl the orphans were never without either food or without ample clothing the struggles were extraordinary manner mauner in which the extreme necessities of the hour were frequently met is one of the most singular stories that was ever written mr muller was an enthusiast in the work ll 11 he had undertake undertaken tf and believing that all his needs were supplied ill in answer to 0 prayer lie lle increasing his for orphans ac ae cir cr arding ding to all 0 binary calculations calculate ns he be had gole goue with his practical phil anth ropy but as there were still more mora rind find more orphans brought to him he took them in and then his house got too small to hold them he was almost overwhelmed with pecuniary difficulties but instead of being dismayed ho he tool took another house the two houses became too small email for his increasing family and he tool took a third house an and ana 5 then a fourth into these four houses his hia famil family of orphans increased to and as he tha number continued to increase mr muller decided to build a large bouse house ia in which lie he could place all the orphans together ho he selected a site at ashley down about two miles from bristol and the the land and building cost over still he never asked for any money people began to know the work he was engaged in for they could see the orphans and the magnificent house bouse which had been built for them the new orphan house at ashley down was intended for orphans like the four rented houses in wilson street however this vast establishment soon became too small then mr muller built a second house fd for r more or orphans houses bouses we were refilled filled orphans were still brought from all parts parta of the country to mr doors and seeing that his accommodations were still erected a third house kohold more orphans these three houses arenow are now lull the expenses in connection with them last year in independent dependent of be cost of bui bul building loing and furnishing was over this being beling the current annual expense mr air muller adheres to his old plan nobody is asked for any help an and all this money comes up annually thero is no regular list of contributions as ia connection with other institutions since mr muller commenced the orphanage work he has received for tha the orphans the extraordinary sum lis lib lid ld he publishes strictly I 1 kept accounts but whether a donor gives a penny or a thousand pounds no name namo I 1 Is given it is no uncommon thing to see in these reports gifts of 1000 xa 2 and upward and the only indications of the personality of tha the donors are a couple of initial letters I 1 in the reception of the orphans there thero is no sectarian distinction whatever and without favor or partiality the S orphans are received in the order ia in which application is made for them no interest is required to get a child admitted the only limit is the accommodation some time ago mr muller found that his three large houses built for 1150 orphans were full and he has commenced the erection of a fourth which is to be followed by a fifth whon when these new houses are completed there will be accommodation fora for 21 2000 orphans the institution has become more than national it is known in all parts of the world as we may see by the list of contributions recorded during the last year these con contributions included donations from all parts of england scotland and ireland from the east indies from australia from natal from dem arara from new zealand the united states gibraltar the cape of good hope and many other places places the donations vary from a few coppers saved by an errand boy to a thousand pounds some people send jewelry to be sold for the benefit of the orphans others send various articles of clothing and others send money thousands upon thousands of pounds in cash and notes have been dropped antom into M letter box the donors who reside in bristol have before them the great work and the new orphan houses being open to the public on certain days of the week they are visited by persons persona from tei ddll parts of the country the three houses now in operation contain as already stated 1150 orphans each of the houses houas is built on the very best principles to insure the health beaith of the inmates the bariou various rooms are heated by steam and the ventilation being excellent the rate raab of morta worta mortality lity among the children is very low the girls are tramped for servants and remain int iii the institution till thi th eyare Is 8 or 19 yeara years of afe ape the boys remain till they are 14 when they are sent out as apprentices to such trades as thes they may select I 1 I 1 it is an interesting sight to see so orphans well cared forth tit when it is known how ilov they are provided for nobody ever being solicited by the tho founder of the institution institute achis on to div give eany anything mr muller anahis larmi family lve ive a complete eom com preto prete an answer to t cynics who assume that gr in some way or other mixed up charity ba rity |
