began his services in 1860-1861. At that time the condition of the
millions who existed there was ignored by those dwelling in more
favoured regions. No railways had been as yet constructed by which
visitors could come from the north and west. The space now occupied
by the great railway stations in Broad Street and Liverpool Street
was then crowded with unwholesome dwellings, well remembered for
deaths in every house. No centres of usefulness where Christian
workers could meet for prayer or counsel then existed. The Bedford
Institute had not then been built, and no Temperance Coffee-Palace
had even been heard of.

The power of the Lord had been very present to wound and to heal in
the City of London Theatre and at other services held by Mr.
Radcliffe, and the young women who had been blessed were invited to
meet for a week-evening Bible-reading and prayer-meeting, and for
this purpose Lady Rowley rented a room in Wellclose Square. In this
meeting, and in Lady Rowley's mothers' meeting in Worship Street,
Miss Macpherson began the ministry of love which has extended so
widely. She afterwards visited the homes of the poor, and the toil
and suffering she witnessed, especially in those where matchbox-making
was the means of livelihood, lay heavy on her heart. With _her_
feelings of pity were always quickly followed by practical effort. In
the midst of the winter's distress, one of the most cheering gifts
received was from her praying band of coprolite diggers. After a
watchnight service, they had spent the first moments of the
consecrated new year in making a gathering from their hard-earned
wages. Miss Macpherson had placed the East of London foremost in the
list of subjects to be remembered at their prayer-union every Lord's
Day. Little did the praying band think that in fulfilling this
petition, the Lord would take their beloved leader from among them.