A medium-sized book in a light brown hardcover with the title imprint in gold, beneath which is an etching of a lonesome youth 'On the Streets' under the heading 'Before Admission!' opposite the view of the same youth diligently seated before a machine, 'Bottling mineral waters at The youths' Labour Home', under the heading 'After!' the whole being an advertisement idiom based on staged photography that Barnardo had developed well by the time of this publication, and his signature is imprinted below it.

The title page is finely printed with the author presented simply as T.J.Barnardo F.R.C.S.E., thus stating his medical qualification as a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, as opposed to using the courtesy title of 'Dr', concerning which he had experienced much trouble. Under an etched illustration of two waifs, perhaps brothers, to judge by the arm of the taller around the shoulder of the smaller, is the caption 'Offices of the Institutions' in fine gothic print, followed by 'London: 18-26 Stepney Causeway and John F. Shaw & Co., 48 Paternoster Row.' the former being the well-known headquarters of Dr Barnardo's Homes and the latter a publishing firm closely associated with Barnardo's written work from the late 1860s onwards. The verso has merely 'London: printed by William Clowes and Sons, Limited, Stamford Street and Charing Cross' but there is no accompanying date of publication as such, leaving the reader to deduce, from the dates accompanying the contents, that it appeared in 1890, and to conclude that two firms, and doubtless the author, contributed to the fine style and the many etchings and engravings comprising the illustrations.

There is no separate listing of the thirty four chapters, but each is given to a specific topic or institution, and occupies from few to many of the 280 pages; quite often the chapters follow each other closely rather than take a new facing page.

Interestingly, the title, which is actually a quotation from the penultimate verse of Longfellow's poem The Village Blacksmith, is the running heading for the verso pages only; the recto pages are headed with Dr.Barnardo's Homes throughout.

The detailed index, and the listing of the numerous illustrations - a most interesting mixture of techniques with occasional signatures - are placed at the beginning of the book, and followed by a single-page 'Condensed Summary' of the 1888 accounts undersigned by the accountants, to which the Treasurer and Barnardo have appended a paragraph that details the ‘Net Overdraft’ of £12,259 10s 2d carried into the year concurrent with the writing of the book, thus putting financial requirements well to the fore, as ever in his writing.

Comment: This unusual and fine book could be looked upon as Barnardo’s most significant bibliographic contribution, for it is his own solid factual presentation of his work in one volume. Alternatively, it could be regarded as a particularly detailed Annual Report.

Chapter I. is headed ‘Retrospective and Suggestive’ and there follows a full small-print synopsis paragraph, so beloved of the nineteenth century publishers, repeated sequentially, in bold type, as marginal captions to the ensuing paragraphs, to give a format that is continued throughout the book, and would not be unbecoming to the most modern of business or scientific presentations.

The 'retrospective' aspect of 22 years of work since Barnardo came to London in 1866 is a relatively brief historical introduction, in evangelical missionary language, to the massive enlargement of the Homes in the Jubilee Year of 1886, and the subsequent increased financial commitment of 1888, the year upon which the volume is based. He then adds the observation that demand for the services supplied by his Homes is increasing because of the movement of population to London in search of work that is available to but few, and whole families are becoming subject to impoverished overcrowding and destitution. He enlarges upon the resulting squalor and deprivation of East London with vivid anecdotal accounts and an illustration of a lodging house, and culminates with a reference to the Jack the Ripper murders in a paragraph under the caption ‘The East London Atrocities’.

The 'suggestive' section is introduced by quotations from a long letter to The Times by the Rev.Lord Sydney Godolphin-Osbourne, a fellow evangelical, on the moral failings behind the current social situation, to which Barnardo adds his own observation that 'drink' is the cause of admission in 85% of the children accepted into the Homes. He then extols the positive contribution of child care by Homes such as his, and outlines the 'ground-plan of the entire work of the Lord in my hands' in classical typographic style:

Finally, in this important chapter, he reflects that the increase of 'social suffering and distress' adds to his adjuvant work of adult help, care of the sick and disabled, and a host of supportive social services already in his organisation, and presented in the later chapters. This culminates with 'systematic and carefully applied relief' 'designed to raise the fallen, to cheer the faint, and to infuse fresh courage into the discouraged warriors in the grim battle of life'. He adds "Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this: To visit the fatherless and widow in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world." Written amidst a mature and expansive period of his work, this introductory chapter shows well Barnardo's powers of analysis, and his achievements, aims and motivation that justify the term Evangelical Philanthropist.

There follows a short chapter presenting the overall statistics of Barnardo's organisation, and each of the ensuing chapters presents a particular undertaking, with succinct facts and cogent illustrations, demonstrating well the breadth and depth of the work. The evangelical mission activities figure prominently in the various institutions, including the conversion of the large East London Gin Palace to the famous Edinburgh Castle in 1872.

Pages 28-52 (Ch.III) present in great detail 'The Home for Working and Destitute Lads' at 18-26, Stepney Causeway, East London, which was not only on the site of the first Institution, or Home, that Barnardo opened in 1870, but had also been expanded by 1890 to become a home for 300-350 boys and included the 'General Office of all the Institutions'. The complex of buildings is well illustrated, the main one on page 29 bearing the statement 'No Destitute Child Ever Refused Admission' in large letters, and the others extending into the adjacent street. The facilities of schooling, employment training, recreation and play are well portrayed as, also, are the youngsters, from the single one at the front eagerly 'seeking admission', to the rows in various classes, and the groups outside in the playground.

In additon to the statistics of the most recent year's admissions a number of clinical case histories with accompanying head and shoulder portraits are included.

!8-26 Stepney Causewy remained the Barnardo Headquarters until 1969.

The 'Village Home for Orphan and Destitute Girls' at Barkingside, Essex, an immensely successful institution by Barnardo in conjunction with his wife and wealthy friends shortly after his wedding in 1873, is presented in similar detail on pages 81-113 (Ch. VII) and nowadays this is the site of the modern Barnardo's Head Office, and also of his Memorial, the Archives, including the remarkable Clinical Records and Photographs, and the Library.

In pages 150-156,(Ch.VIII) 'Her Majesty's Hospital', built in the Jubilee Year to replace the previous Children's Hospital in Stepney, is described fully with regard to the modernised buildings and facilities, but includes only summary listings of clinical conditions treated. The Medical Mission outpatient work is presented in clinical detail in pages 224-229, (Ch.XXVIII) wile the important and immensely successful work in the Boarding Out of Children with Christian families (pp. 164-173, Ch.XXIII) and the emigration of children to different parts of the British Empire (pp.181-209, Ch.XXV) are so fully presented and illustrated, not only with graphic pictures but also with many detailed case histories, that the whole clinical material is sufficient for more than a doctoral thesis or two, and makes criticisms of his adoption of the title 'Dr' without having the academic M.D. degree, made by many in his life-time and thereafter, as somewhat unnecessary, especially as the courtesy title was used by most medical practitioners who held only the professional qualifications of the British Royal Colleges of Physicians and Surgeons at that time in the 19th century, and for many years thereafter.

At the end of the book is a detachable page that is a formal bequest document, as though reminding readers, first and last, of the need for financial support of the great work so adequately presented.

Comment: It is of no surprise to see from the front cover and title page that the number of printed copies of this particular Barnardo book had reached the one hundred and twentieth thousand.