UC-NRLF 
 
 F.DEL. BOOTH TOCKER 
 
THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 PRESENTED BY 
 
 PROF. CHARLES A. KOFOID AND 
 MRS. PRUDENCE W. KOFOID 
 


 BOOTH 1882 
 
ATHERINE 
 
 BOOT 
 
 5alration Bv 
 
 
 
 ; 
 
 

THE SHORT LIFE 
 
 OF 
 
 CATHERINE 
 
 BOOTH 
 
 tTbe /iftotber of tbe Salvation Hvmg 
 
 BY 
 
 F. DE L. BOOTH -TUCKER 
 
 (LATE BENGAL CIVIL SERVICE) 
 
 [ABRIDGED FROM THE ORIGINAL EDITION.] 
 
 LONDON 
 
 INTERNATIONAL HEADQUARTERS: 101, QUEEN VICTORIA^ STREET, E.G. 
 PCBLISHING OFFICES : 98, 100 & 102, CLERKEXVVELL ROAD, E.G. 
 
 Or of any Bookseller. 
 COPYRIGHT.] 
 
BCTTEH & 
 THE SELWOOD PRIOTIITG WORKS. 
 FROME, AXD LOXDOX. 
 
PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION. 
 
 MY task is completed. Imperfectly ? Alas, none could be 
 more conscious of that fact than myself ! I have longed un- 
 speakably for inspiration's pen to write the record of a life 
 inspired, no matter whose the hand that held the pen ! I 
 have wept with disappointment as I have struggled to describe 
 the indescribable ! A thousand times, in the lonely solitude 
 of my room, I have turned from pen to prayer, and then again 
 from prayer to pen. My whole soul has yearned unspeakably 
 to enshrine our Army Mother's memory fittingly, and to enable 
 her in these pages to live her life again. 
 
 / have not criticised ? No ! I could not, for I loved. 
 With the love of a son the respect, the admiration, the en- 
 thusiasm of a disciple. For critical" biography I have neither 
 time nor taste. 
 
 I have exaggerated 1 No ! Inquire from those who knew 
 her best her family, her friends, the Army. I have sought 
 to tell " the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the 
 truth" ; to let facts and letters speak for themselves, and 
 to surround the picture with but a framework of such ex- 
 planations as have seemed necessary for the occasion. 
 
 1 claim for Mrs Booth infallibility ? No ! Only sanctified 
 common sense. "Jesus Christ made unto her wisdom, 
 righteousness, sanctification, and redemption." 
 
 She made mistakes ? Undoubtedly ! But I have not found 
 many to record. As a Mother her family speak for her in 
 the gates. As a Wife her husband lives and testifies. As 
 
iv Preface to the First Edition. 
 
 an Apostle thousands of her spiritual children are scattered 
 through tffe world. 
 
 I have been too laudatory? Nay, verily! Press and 
 pulpit have combined to set their saal on every word, and tho 
 highest praise proceeds from other lips. My own opinion 
 eight years' intimacy has entitled me to express. Of tho 
 General and the Hving members of the family I have left un- 
 said the appreciation and admiration which my heart has felt ; 
 but of the subject of these memoirs I have claimed the 
 liberty to say that which I feel, and to testify that which I 
 know. Sensitive to a fault of what the public might think, 
 the General would have preferred that I should tenderdraw 
 rather than overdraw her character. He would have been 
 even willing that I should sprinkle a few blots I will not 
 say of my own manufacture over the canvas, lest any should 
 charge me with claiming perfection for the picture. I havo 
 claimed, may I call it, the artistic privilege of dispensing 
 with the blots, which my imagination refused to invent, or 
 my researches to discover. I have assumed the editorial 
 responsibility of saying what I think, of saying it in the way 
 that I desire, and of distributing my adjectives where they 
 seemed most to be required, and I certainly must have de- 
 clined the task had I not been allowed this, in my estima- 
 tion, legitimate freedom. 
 
 Are there no shadows then? Oh, yes,! Alas, almost 
 too many ! Victory shadowed by defeat, joy by sorrow, 
 strength by weakness, warfare by suffering, life by death. A 
 mighty intellect, an iron will, an ocean soul encased in an 
 " earthen vessel." so frail that a touch seemed sufficient to 
 shatter it. A barque tossed upon the waves of a perpetual 
 tempest of opposition, persecution, criticism, from the day it 
 was launched on its perilous life-voyage to the day when it 
 cast anchor in the eternal Haven. 
 
 But the sources of my information ? The entire private 
 
Preface to the First Edition. v 
 
 correspondence of Mrs. Booth from 1847 onwards has been 
 placed at my disposal. Never has biographer been moro 
 privileged to peer with prying eye behind the scenes and 
 ransack the minutest details of a life. Litera scripta manct. 
 The written records have spoken f,or themselves, and on their 
 silent testimony, more than on the memories of living 
 witnesses, this Life is based. The facts have been carefully 
 corrected by the General for the opinions, when they are 
 not those of Mrs. Booth, I assume the entire responsibility. 
 
 I have been helped? Yes, by my dear wife, Mrs. Booth's 
 second daughter, Emma. [She does not think I have spoken 
 too highly of her mother, and verily she ought to know. 
 Nevertheless, the opinions are mine, not hers.] Piles of 
 hurriedly- written, ill-digested manuscripts, which but for her 
 I would fain have hurled impatiently at the printer's head, 
 or have consigned to the depths of the waste-paper basket, 
 have been dissected page by page, sentence by sentence, 
 almost word by word. Dissected yes, that is the word 
 dissected at home, till I almost feel criticism-proof abroad ! 
 
 1 have taken a long time?- Not very. I received my' 
 material at the end of July, 1891. I sit writing these lines 
 on the 2nd of the same month, barely eleven months after- 
 wards. The life of a Salvationist is a life of interruption. 
 Wherever he goes there are " lions in the way/' Telegrams 
 and letters follow him to every retreat. Seclusion, privacy, 
 and the quietude supposed to be necessary for literary enter- 
 prise the words have been obliterated from his dictionary, 
 the very ideas have almost faded from his mind. His table 
 is a keg of spiritual gunpowder, his seat a cannon-ball, and ho 
 writes as best he may amid the whiz and crash of flying shot 
 and shell, the rush and excitement of a never-ending battle, 
 in which peace and truce are words unknown, and rest, in 
 the ordinary sense of the word, is relegated to Heaven. 
 
 Again, it has not been like writing a novel, where the 
 
vi Preface to the First Edition. 
 
 author can give the heroine free scope to say and do as she 
 pleases, or rather as he may please. A biography has meant 
 a history of facts, and those facts have had to be verified 
 and arranged. Thousands of letters, articles, speeches, and 
 reports have required to be studied, till my head has fairly 
 reeled and my eyes have ached. 
 
 But I said, I have been helped. Yes, I have been helped 
 by God helped by the remembrance that she of whom I 
 wrote was indeed a prophet of the Most High, and that it 
 could not but please Him that the messages which had been 
 uttered through her lips and life should be repeated through 
 the medium of these pages helped by the thought that it 
 would be a comfort to her family, and an inspiration to our 
 Army, and to tens of thousands outside our ranks, to read a 
 record of such devoted service. 
 
 It has been a labour of love. I undertook it with reluct- 
 ance, owing to a deep sense of my insufficiency. I conclude 
 it with regret, realising how greatly God has blest it to my 
 soul. I send it forth with the sincere prayer that it may be 
 made an equal blessing to all who read, and that they m.iy 
 be enabled to re-live, at least in miniature, the life of 
 Catherine Booth. 
 
 F. DE L. BOOTH-TUCKER. 
 101, QCEEX VICTORIA STREET, LONDON. E.G. 
 
 2ud July, 1832. 
 
 Thi Author is indebted to various photographers including Messrs. 
 Elliot <t Fry, Messrs. Russell & 5o;is, the London Stereoscopic Company, 
 of London; Messrs. Dcbenham < Gould, of Bournemouth; Mr. R. II. 
 Preston, of Penzarce ; and Mr. A. J. Melhuuh, F.R.A.S., London for 
 certain of the portraits contained herein. 
 
PREFACE TO ABRIDGED EDITION. 
 
 THE desire to place the "Life of Mrs. Booth " within the reach 
 of every one has led to the publication of the present volume. 
 Although only an abridgment, nry task has not been quite 
 so easy as might at first sight appear. The exclusion of a 
 great deal of interesting matter contained in the original 
 edition, together with the dove-tailing of what was left, and 
 this amid the uninterrupted flow of other duties, has made 
 me realize that the picture here pi-esented is more than ever 
 an imperfect one. I have often wished that I could have 
 entirely repainted the landscape, instead of cutting up the 
 canvas and fitting the fragments into the smaller frame 
 allotted to receive them. But this would have taken time, 
 and would have unduly delayed the appearance of the book. 
 
 For the very cordial reception with which the larger 
 edition has met from both the secular and religious press, I 
 am deeply grateful to God, and I am encouraged to hope 
 that in its more popular and abbreviated form it may be 
 the means of still more widespread blessing. 
 
 It is my earnest prayer that the heart of each reader, 
 whether within or outside our ranks, may be fired by its 
 perusal with an ambition not only to enjoy the same utter- 
 most salvation, but to live a similar life of devotion to 
 the service of God and man, as the subject of these memoirs. 
 
 London, 1893. F. DE L. B.-T. 
 
 vll 
 
CHAPTER I. 
 CHILDHOOD. 1829-1834. 
 
 " Coming events cast their shadows before." 
 
 THE early days of those who have achieved greatness, and 
 who have left their mark, either for good or evil, upon the 
 world, constitute a sort of shadowland, which possesses a 
 peculiar fascination of its own. The arrival of a new actor 
 upon the world's vast stage is not always heralded, it is 
 true, by blast of trumpet and beat of drum, however im- 
 portant may be the part that is about to be enacted. The 
 surroundings and circumstances are often surprisingly 
 trivial and contemptuously commonplace. As with the 
 equinoctial gales, such lives frequently come in like a 
 lamb, although they are destined to go out like a lion. And 
 yet there is a something a self -assert iveness, shall we call 
 it? about true genius, which enforces recognition and ex- 
 torts admiration, so that even in the undeveloped bud of 
 early life, we find ourselves involuntarily exclaiming : The 
 child is veritably father to the man ! 
 
 True, at the time, few eyes are keen enough to discern the 
 substance, of which these shadows are but the type and 
 promise. The great To BE is still enveloped in the mists 
 of futurity. Its shadow falls for a moment with startling 
 distinctness across our path, only to disappear with equal 
 suddenness from our sight. And yet, viewed in the light of 
 retrospect, much that was once obscure and difficult becomes 
 luminously plain. Shadows are converted into substance, 
 possibilities into actualities, fugitive expectations into sober 
 accomplishment. To look forward and anticipate the future 
 
2 Mrs. Booth. 
 
 requires a prophet, to look back and appreciate the past is 
 possible to all, so that even he who runs may read. And 
 thus we are impelled to explore every nook and cranny of 
 the child-life, confident that it contains abundant promise of 
 the great hereafter. The little cloudlet, no bigger than a 
 man's hand, assumes a new interest, above and beyond the 
 many others that we have seen, because we know that it 
 betokens coming showers and a sound of abundance of rain 
 for the parched and famine-stricken earth. 
 
 And yet the search is often a very disappointing one. 
 The facts on which we can rely are few and far between. 
 The witnesses are mostly gone to their reward, or can re- 
 member scarcely anything beyond the ordinary humdrum of 
 life. There is frequently little or nothing in the shape of 
 written record to which we may turn, and the meagre items 
 we are able to gather are just enough to make us wish for 
 more. In short, we can obtain but tantalising glimpses, 
 when what our heart would crave is a long satisfying look. 
 
 We are told there is a mountain peak in Africa, towering 
 high above the rest, which forms the most conspicuous land- 
 mark for scores of miles ; and yet so perpetually is it hidden 
 in mists and clouds, that explorers have been within a few 
 miles without so much as discovering its existence. Indeed, 
 the same traveller, who has at one time passed the spot and 
 noted nothing remarkable, has been surprised when, on a 
 later occasion, the clouds have suddenly unfolded, the sun 
 shone forth, and a snowy summit of surprising height and 
 surpassing grandeur has disclosed itself to view. For a time 
 it seems so near and so real that he is astonished at his own 
 previous obtuseness. And then the wind changes, the mist 
 rolls swiftly down the mountain-side, and he is tempted to 
 wonder whether, after all, the bewitching vision he has just 
 gazed upon may not have been some fancy of his mind, simi- 
 lar to the water-mirage of the desert or the deceitful will-o'- 
 the-wisp of the fens. 
 
 Just so with this shadowland of life. The glimpses we 
 obtain are so scanty and brief, that we are bound in some 
 
Childhood. 3 
 
 measure to be disappointed. And yet their very fewness 
 and fleetingness perhaps add something to their attraction, 
 while the distance through which we are obliged to gaze 
 only serves to " lend enchantment to the view," and what 
 we do see stands out in vivid distinctness, like the peaks of 
 some mountain range against the background of the sky. 
 
 For those who stood in the valley of childhood, the horizon 
 was so limited that they could see but little beyond their 
 own immediate surroundings. To us, who have climbed the 
 mountain-side of life, it is different. We are able to look 
 down upon the landscape. Every turn in the road, every 
 inch of upward ascent, brings some fresh surprise. Here is 
 a tiny cascade leaping .down the rocks, little more than a 
 silver thread amongst the surrounding foliage of the forest. 
 Yonder flows a stately river that sweeps for hundreds of 
 miles through the plains, and bears on its bosom the largest 
 ocean-going craft. It is difficult to realize, as we stand be- 
 side the one, that it will ever develop to the size and power 
 of the other. And yet we cannot doubt the evidence of our 
 senses. The impossible has already come to pass before our 
 eyes. 
 
 And thus we turn to explore the shadowland of a life of 
 which each type has been realized, and every promise ful- 
 filled. Thousands and tens of thousands to whom the stream 
 has borne its rich merchandise of spiritual blessing will 
 desire, no doubt, to trace the river to its rise. Like Hindoo 
 pilgrims, not content with bathing in the portion of the 
 stream that happens to flow past their dwelling, they will be 
 eager to follow its course from the spot where their skyborn 
 Ganges descends from the heavens to the broadening of its 
 waters in the trackless ocean of Eternity. 
 
 Kate Mumford, or, as she is more familiarly known, 
 Catherine Booth, was born at Ashbourne in Derbyshire on 
 the 17th January, 1829. She was the only daughter in a 
 family of five. Of her brothers the youngest, John, alone 
 survived, the three elder having died during infancy. 
 
 At a very early age flashes of the spirituality, genius, and 
 
4 Mrs. Booth,. 
 
 energy that were destined to make so indelible a mark upon 
 the world surprised and gladdened Catherine's mother, as 
 she watched with tender care, and reared with difficult}', 
 the fragile girl who became, almost from infancy, her chief 
 companion and comforter, Mrs. Mumford was herself a re- 
 markable woman, and some of the leading traits in the 
 daughter's character were no doubt inherited from the in- 
 tensely practical and courageous mother. 
 
 i 
 
 MRS. MUMFOBD. 
 
 " One of the earliest recollections of my life, in fact the 
 earliest," says Mrs. Booth, " is that of being taken into a 
 room by my mother, to see the body of a little brother who 
 had just died. I must have been ver} r young at the time, 
 scarcely more than two years old. But I can remember to 
 this day the feelings of awe and solemnity with which the 
 sight of death impressed my baby mind. Indeed, the effect 
 
Childhood. 5 
 
 produced on that occasion has lasted to this very hour. I 
 am sure that many parents enormously under-estimate the 
 capacity of children to retain impressions made upon them 
 in early days." 
 
 From an incredibly early age, Catherine became her 
 mother's companion and confidante. With the exception of 
 her brother, who went to America when only sixteen, she 
 had no playmates. Children, as a rule, were so badly 
 brought up that Mrs. Humford dreaded their contaminating 
 influence upon her daughter. To some this may appear too 
 harsh a rule, but it was one which Mrs. Booth herself 
 adopted in bringing up her family, and the result has surely 
 justified its wisdom. On one of the few occasions when she 
 allowed two of her children to visit the house of a particular 
 friend, they returned expressing their astonishment that 
 fathers and mothers could disagree and brothers and sisters 
 could quarrel, or be jealous of each other. 
 
 But what Catherine lacked in outside companionship was 
 abundantly compensated by the close and intimate ties which 
 linked mother and daughter in bonds that grew stronger year 
 by year, and that death itself could but for the moment 
 sever. 
 
 "The longer I live," Mrs. Booth writes, "the more I 
 appreciate my mother's character. She was one of the 
 Puritan type. I have often heard my husband remark that 
 she was a woman of the sternest principle he had ever met, 
 and yet the very embodiment of tenderness. To her right 
 was right, no matter what it might entail. She could not 
 endure works of fiction. 'Is it true?' she would ask, re- 
 fusing to waste her time or sympathies upon anything of 
 an imaginary character, however excellent the moral in- 
 tended to be drawn. She had an intense realization of 
 spiritual things. Heaven seemed quite near, instead of 
 being, as with so many, a far-off unreality. It was a posi- 
 tive joy to her that her three eldest children were there. I 
 never heard her thank the Lord for anything so fervently as 
 for this, although they were fine promising boys. l Ah, 
 
6 Mrs. Booth. 
 
 Kate,' she used to say, { I would not have them back for 
 anything ! ' " 
 
 The stirring example, of such a life, and the perpetual in- 
 fluence of such deep spirituality, could not but produce a 
 profound impression upon Catherine. " I cannot remember 
 the time," she tells us, " when I had not intense yearnings 
 after God." 
 
 Especially was Mrs. Mumford anxious to encourage her 
 daughter in the study of the Book which she looked upon 
 as the supreme fountain of wisdom. It was from the Bible 
 that Catherine received her earliest lessons. Many a time 
 would she stand on a footstool at her mother's side, when 
 but a child of five, reading to her from its pages. Before 
 she was twelve years old she had read the sacred book from 
 cover to cover eight times through, thus laying the founda- 
 tion of that intimate knowledge and exceptional familiarit}^ 
 with the divine revelation which made so profound an im- 
 pression upon all who knew her. 
 
 Thirty years later the position was reversed, and the 
 weeping mother sat in a densely crowded chapel, listening 
 for the first time to her daughter, as with power and de- 
 monstration of the Spirit she expounded from the pulpit to 
 her eagerly listening audience those same Scriptures which 
 she had studied at her mother's knee, and which had become 
 indeed, when breathed from her lips, " quick and powerful, 
 and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the 
 dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and 
 marrow, a discerner of the thoughts and' intents of the 
 heart." " Was it for this that I nursed her ? " exclaimed 
 Mrs. Mumford, amid her tears, as she grasped the hand of a 
 lady who had accompanied her to the meeting. 
 
 To the end of life, Catherine maintained this intense love 
 and reverence for the Scriptures, and her last and most 
 valued gift to each member of her family, from the very 
 banks of the Jordan, was that of a Bible, into which, with 
 the greatest pain and difficulty, she traced her name, as 
 %i the last token of a mother's love." 
 
Childhood. 7 
 
 And yet Catherine was not unchildlike. True, she was 
 prevented by her delicate health from engaging in active 
 sports. But her humanity and naturalness manifested itself 
 in a thousand ways, especially in her extreme partiality for 
 dolls. Indeed, so devoted was she to her miniature family, 
 and in so practical a manner did she labour for them, that 
 with her it. almost ceased to be play, and rather became a 
 pleasing education for the heavy and responsible maternal 
 duties which fell to her lot in after life. She must feed 
 them, dress them, put them to bed, and even pray with 
 them, before her mother-heart could be satisfied. And in 
 her spare moments she might be seen, with earnest face and 
 bended back, eagerly plying needle and thread, thus acquir- 
 ing a skill which she turned to such good account in after 
 life, that ladies in admiring her handiwork would beg to be 
 told the name of her tailor, in order that they might go to 
 the same place for their children's clothes. 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 EARLY DAYS. 1834-1843. 
 
 THE family removed in 1834 to Boston, in Lincolnshire, Mr. 
 Mumford's native town. During his stay here he commenced 
 to take an active part in the Temperance movement, his 
 home becoming a centre round which many of the leading 
 Temperance luminaries revolved. Catherine, with her curly 
 locks and flashing black eyes, together with her brilliant 
 conversational powers, \vos before long one of the most in- 
 teresting features of her father's table, taking her share in 
 the parlour debates which were to prove so valuable a train- 
 ing for her future career. 
 
 She could do nothing by halves. Eagerly she devoured all 
 the Total Abstinence publications of the day, familiarising 
 herself, by the time she was twelve, with every detail of the 
 question. When evening came she would lock herself into 
 her bedroom, and by the light of her candle would pour out 
 her heart upon paper, writing letters to the various magazines 
 to which her father subscribed. In doing this she was care- 
 ful to conceal her identity beneath some nom-dt-plume, giving 
 her manuscripts to a friend to be copied and sent to the 
 editor with his card, lest they should be rejected if it were 
 known they had been written by so mere a child. Little did 
 she then think that the day was coming when newspaper re- 
 porters would attend her meetings, the general public haug 
 upon her lips, and her writings be circulated throughout the 
 world. " Behold how great a matter a little fire kindleth." 
 
 Nor was Catherine's practical nature content with merely 
 speaking and writing. The wonderful after-activities of life 
 
 8 
 
Early Days. 9 
 
 were foreshadowed in the twelve-year-old secretary of a 
 Juvenile Temperance Society, who arranged meetings, raised 
 subscriptions, and with all her might pushed forward the 
 interests of the cause. 
 
 Largely, however, as her time and attention were engrossed 
 by the Temperance question, Catherine manifested a deep 
 interest in other important subjects which were discussed in 
 the family circle. Mr Mumford was an active politician, 
 and took pleasure in explaining to his daughter the leading 
 questions of the day, " By the time I was twelve," she tells 
 us, " I had my own ideas in politics and could fight my father 
 across the table. 
 
 " My side was always that of the people. I desired nothing 
 so ardently as to see the poor and suffering made happy. 
 Anything that bore upon this interested me beyond measure, 
 and I not only wanted to know all about it, but longed to so 
 use my knowledge that it should be of the utmost advantage 
 to others. 
 
 " If I were asked for the main characteristics that have 
 helped me through life, I should give a high place among 
 them to the sense of responsibility which I have felt from 
 my earliest days in regard to everybody who came in any 
 way under my influence. The fact that I was not held re- 
 sponsible was no relief at all. ' Why trouble ? It is not 
 your affair ! ' friends constantly say to me even now. But 
 how can I help troubling, I reply, when I see people going 
 wrong ? I must tell the poor things how to manage ! " 
 
 An early illustration of this trait in Catherine's character 
 was one day manifested. While running along the road 
 with hoop and stick, she saw a drunkard being dragged to 
 the lock-up by a constable. A jeering mob was hooting the 
 unfortunate culprit. His utter loneliness appealed power- 
 fully to her. It seemed that he had not a friend in the 
 w r orld. Quick as lightning Catherine sprang to his side, 
 and marched down the street with him, determined that he 
 should feel that there was at least one heart that sympathised 
 with him, whether it might be for his fault or his misfortune 
 
10 
 
 Jfrs. Booth. 
 
 that he was suffering. The knight-errant spirit which she 
 manifested when, as a mere child, she threw down the gaunt- 
 let to the mocking crowd, and dared to take the part of the 
 lonely hustled criminal, was peculiarly typical of the woman 
 who afterwards stood by the side of her husband and general. 
 
 XGr THE D&UBKA&Dt 
 
 helping him to face the scorn of his day and generation, 
 until unitedly, with character vindicated and name be- 
 blessed, they had climbed to a position of successful achieve- 
 ment unique in the history of the world. 
 
 It was Catherine's first open-air procession; indeed, may 
 we not legitimately call it the first ever held by the Salva- 
 tion Army? But it was destined to be multiplied a million- 
 
Early Days. 1 1 
 
 fold all over the world, and she was to have the joy of sweep- 
 ing the slums of every considerable city in the United 
 Kingdom, not alone, but at the head of devoted and well- 
 disciplined bands of Salvation warriors, till at length the 
 glorious past was focussed in the mammoth funeral march 
 which stirred Christendom to its centre, when the very 
 harlots hushed each other in the streets, and the rough un- 
 accustomed cheeks of the poorest and most depraved were 
 wet with tears, as they watched the speechless, yet eloquently 
 silent body pass by of the woman who from her very child- 
 hood had held their cause first at heart, and who had so 
 mrwearyingly fought their battles. We scarce know which 
 touches us the more deeply, the cloudless sunrise of the child- 
 champion, or the glowing sunset of the soldier-saint. 
 
 One form of sensitiveness which manifested itself in 
 Catherine's childhood, and which caused her the keenest pain 
 to the very end of life, was her intense and unusual sympathy 
 with the sufferings of the brute creation. She could not 
 endure to see animals ill-treated without expostulating and 
 doing her utmost to stop the cruelty. Many a time she 
 would run out into the street, heedless of every personal risk, 
 to plead with or threaten the perpetrator of some cruel act. 
 On one occasion, when but a little girl, the sight of the cruel 
 goading of some sheep so filled her soul with indignation and 
 anguish, that she rushed home and threw herself on the sofa 
 in a speechless paroxysm of grief. 
 
 " My childish heart," she tells us, " rejoiced greatly in the 
 speculations of Wesley and Butler with regard to the pos- 
 sibility of a future life for animals, in which God might 
 make up to them for the suffering and pain inflicted on them 
 here. 
 
 " One incident, I recollect, threw me for weeks into the 
 greatest distress. We had a beautiful retriever, named 
 Waterford, which was very much attached to me. It used 
 to lie for hours on the rug outside my door, and if it heard 
 me praying or weeping, it would whine and scratch to be 
 let in, that it might in some way manifest its sympathy and 
 
12 Mrs. Booth. 
 
 comfort me. Wherever I went the dog would follow me 
 about as my self-constituted protector in fact, we were in- 
 separable companions. One day Waterford had accompanied 
 me on a message to my father's house of business. I closed 
 the door, leaving the dog outside, when I happened to strike 
 my foot against something, and cried out with the sudden 
 pain. Waterford heard me, and without a moment's hesita- 
 tion came crashing through the large glass window to my 
 rescue. My father was so vexed at the damage done that he 
 caused the dog to be immediately shot. For months I 
 suffered intolerably, especially in realising that it was in the 
 effort to alleviate my sufferings the beautiful creature had 
 lost its life. Days passed before I could speak to my father, 
 although he afterwards greatly regretted his hasty action, 
 and strove to console me as best he could. The fact that I 
 had no child companions doubtless made me miss my speech- 
 less one the more." 
 
 Like her other benevolences, Mrs. Booth's kindness to 
 animals took a practical turn. " If I were you," she would 
 say to the donkey-boys at the sea-side resorts where in later 
 years she went to lecture, " I should like to feel, when I 
 went to sleep at night, that I had done my very best for my 
 donkey. I would like to know that I had been kind to it, 
 and had given it the best food I could afford ; in fact, that it 
 had had as jolly a day as though I had been the donkey and 
 the donkey me" And she would enforce the argument with 
 a threepenny or a sixpenny bit, which helped to make it 
 palatable. Then turning to her children, she would press 
 the lesson home by saying, " That is how I should like to see 
 my children spend their pennies, in encouraging the boys to 
 be kind to their donkeys." 
 
 If, in her walks or drives, Mrs. Booth happened to notice 
 any horses left out to graze which looked over-worked and 
 ill-fed, she would send round to the dealers for a bushel of 
 corn, stowing it away in some part of the house. Then, 
 when evening fell, she would sally forth with a child or 
 servant, carrying a supply of food to the field in which the 
 
Early Days. 13 
 
 poor creatures had been marked, watching with the utmost 
 satisfaction while they had a " real good tuck-in." It is not 
 to be wondered at that the horses were soon able to recognise 
 her, and would run along the hedge whenever their bene- 
 factress passed by, craning their necks and snorting their 
 thanks, to the surprise and perplexity of those who were not 
 in the secret. 
 
 Again and again has Mrs, Booth rushed to the window, 
 flung up the heavy sash, and called out to some tradesman 
 who was ill-treating his animal, not resting till she had com- 
 pelled him to desist. 
 
 " Life is such a puzzle ! " she used to say, " but we must 
 leave it, leave it with Grod. I have suffered so much over 
 what appeared to be the needless and inexplicable sorrows 
 and pains of the animal creation, as well as over those of the 
 rest of the world, that if I had not come to know God by 
 personal revelation of Him to my own soul, and to trust Him 
 because I knew Him, I can hardly say into what scepticism 
 I might not have fallen." 
 
 On one occasion when driving out with some friends, Mrs. 
 Booth saw a boy with a donkey a little way ahead of them. 
 She noticed him pick up something out of the cart, and hit 
 the donkey with it. In the distance it appeared like a short 
 stick, but to her horror she perceived, as they drove past, 
 that it was a heavy-headed hammer, and that already a 
 dreadful wound had been made in the poor creature's back. 
 She called to the coachman to stop, but before it was possible 
 for him to do so, or for those in the carriage with her to guess 
 what was the matter, she had flung herself at the risk of her 
 life into the road. Her dress caught in the step as she 
 sprang, and had it not been torn with the force of her leap, 
 she must have been seriously injured, if not tilled. As it 
 was she fell on her face, and was covered with the dust of 
 the hot and sandy road. Rising to her feet, however, she 
 rushed forward and seized the reins. The boy tried to drive 
 on, but she clung persistently to the shaft, until her friends 
 came to her assistance. After burning words of warning, 
 
14 Mrs. Booth. 
 
 followed by tender appeals of intercession, such as from even 
 the hard heart of the donkey-driver would not easily be 
 effaced, she at last induced him to hand over his hammer, 
 and succeeded in obtaining his name and address. Then, 
 overcome with the excitement and exertion, she fainted away, 
 and was with difficulty carried home. 
 
 But perhaps we have lingered too long in describing this 
 interesting feature of Catherine's child-character and in 
 tracing it onward through her later life. And yet, intensely 
 as she felt on the subject, her sound judgment prevented her 
 from making a hobby of it, or from developing this side of 
 her sympathies to the neglect of other questions of still 
 greater importance. Catherine, early realised and throughout 
 life acted consistently upon the principle that, even for the 
 sufferings of the animal creation, the sovereign remedy was 
 the salvation of its oppressors. She had no sympathy with 
 those who hoped to accomplish the redemption of the world 
 independently of the Gospel. " Jesus Christ and Him cruci- 
 fied "' was her perpetual and untiring theme ; His salvation 
 her one great panacea for all the evils that exist. 
 
 A subject which deeply engaged her interest and attention, 
 and for which amongst her many self-imposed duties she 
 managed to find time, was that of foreign missions. Some 
 of her happiest hours were spent in meetings organised on 
 their behalf. The stories of the needs and dangers of the 
 heathen world made a powerful impression upon her deep 
 and impulsive heart. All her sympathies were enlisted on 
 behalf of the coloured races of the earth. , The negroes es- 
 pecially appealed to her, seeming to be the most oppressed, 
 and the least capable of defending themselves. 
 
 Nor could she rest satisfied with doing less than her small 
 utmost to speed forward the cause. Gladly she renounced 
 her sugar, and in various ways stinted herself to help the 
 >vork, and when she had practised all the self-denial pos- 
 sible, she would collect subscriptions amongst her friends, 
 often realising, to her unspeakable delight, quite a surprising 
 sum. It must have been difficult indeed to say no to the 
 
Early Days. 15 
 
 ardent little enthusiast, and even those who felt but scant 
 interest in tlie foreign field would find it hard to resist the 
 appeal that in later years bowed the hearts of so many thou- 
 sands. And the little girl-missionary, who saved and begged 
 for the heathen, lived to see the institution of an annual 
 week of self-denial throughout the world, singularly enough 
 closing her ministry of sacrifice and love on the last day of 
 such a week. A missionary, did we say? A still higher 
 privilege was to be hers, as joint-founder with her husband 
 of the largest missionary society in the world. 
 
 Catherine was twelve years old when she began to attend 
 school, and she continued her studies there during the 
 next two years. She soon established such a character for 
 truth, diligence, and ability, that she was appointed to act 
 as a monitor, and was commonly appealed to for the real 
 version of what had happened during the occasional absences 
 of . the principal and her assistants. Every one knew that 
 nothing could induce her to tell a falsehood, be the conse- 
 quences what they might. 
 
 Her sensitive nature and intense aversion to causing pain 
 made her reluctant to go above others in class. She preferred 
 rather to help them to surpass herself, when her natural 
 capacity and love of study would have easily enabled her to 
 take the lead. In later years she was consistently opposed 
 to the general idea of competition, believing that it excited 
 a selfish and uncharitable spirit, and gave an undue priority 
 to ability over righteousness. Her bookish and retiring dis- 
 position, together with the special favour manifested by the 
 principal, led to her being teased at times by her schoolmates, 
 and, though she was naturally good-tempered, she would 
 occasionally give way to violent bursts of anger, for which 
 she afterwards manifested the deepest contrition. She had 
 a keen realisation of the value of time, and would spend her 
 leisure hours in pacing up and down a shady lane near her 
 home poring over some book. 
 
 History was one of Catherine's favourite studies. She 
 experienced special pleasure in reading about those whose 
 
1 6 Mrs. Booth. 
 
 great deeds had served to benefit others. Their moral 
 character and achievements on behalf of suffering humanity 
 attracted her attention rather than their talents, wealth, or 
 position. "Were they clever? What use then had they 
 made of their ability?" inquired the child-philosopher. 
 11 Was it to aggrandise themselves, or to benefit others ? 
 Were they rich? How did they spend their money? Was 
 it in idle pomp and self-gratification, or in extravagance and 
 luxury? If so, they were too despicable to be admired. 
 Their wealth perish with them, or go to those who would 
 expend it on the poor." 
 
 " Xapoleon," she tells us, " I disliked with all my heart, 
 because he seemed to me the embodiment of selfish ambition. 
 I could discover no evidence that he had attempted to confer 
 any benefit upon his own nation, much less on any of the 
 countries he had conquered with his sword. Possibly this 
 may have been in some measure due to the prejudice of the 
 English historians whose works I studied, and who doubtless 
 strove to paint his character in the darkest colours. Be this 
 as it may. my dislike to him was not based on any national 
 antipathy, but on what I reckoned to be the supremely 
 selfish motives that actuated his life. 
 
 " I could not but contrast him with Caesar, who, though 
 by no means an attractive character, according to my notions, 
 yet appeared desirous of benefiting the people whom he con- 
 quered. His efforts for their civilisation, together with the 
 laws and public works he introduced on their behalf, seemed 
 to me to palliate the merciless slaughter, of his wars and the 
 loss of life and property that accompanied his operations. 
 He appeared to me to desire the good of" his country, and not 
 merely his own aggrandisement." 
 
 Amongst other studies, Catherine had, as might have been 
 expected, a special aptitude for composition. Geography 
 she liked, longing to be able to visit the countries and 
 nations about which she had read. Arithmetic was her 
 bugbear, but this she afterwards attributed to the senseless 
 way in which it was taught, since to her logical and ma- 
 
Early Days. 17 
 
 thematical mind figures had subsequently a considerable 
 attraction. 
 
 In 1843 Catherine's school-days were brought abruptly to 
 a close, by a severe spinal attack which compelled her to 
 spend most of her time in a recumbent position, but even 
 then her active nature would not permit her to rest, and her 
 time was divided between sewing, knitting, and her beloved 
 books. No doubt there was a divine purpose in this illness, 
 for it was during the next few years of comparative retire- 
 ment from the ordinary activities of life that she acquired 
 the extensive knowledge of church history and theology 
 which proved so useful in later years, and. for the prosecution 
 of which her multitudinous duties would otherwise have left 
 her no time. 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 YOUTH. 1844-1847. 
 
 IN 1844 the Mnmfords removed from Boston to London, settling 
 down finally in Brixton. This was Catherine's first visit to the 
 great metropolis, and she was considerably disappointed with 
 its appearance. 
 
 THE \VESLEYAN CHAPEL IN BOSTON. 
 
 Girl-like, she had been castle-building in her imagin- 
 ation, picturing to herself the sort of model city that this 
 brick and mortar colossus of the universe must be, with 
 
 18 
 
Youth. 19 
 
 palatial residences and mammoth edifices. To find it a 
 promiscuous mass of humanity sandwiched, so to speak, 
 between soot and mud, with countless acres of very ordinary- 
 looking dwellings, and interminable miles of streets, very 
 much resembling those to which she had been accustomed in 
 Boston, was an unexpected termination to her dreams. She 
 was, however, deeply impressed with some of its principal 
 sights, such as St. Paul's, Westminster Abbey, and the 
 National Gallery. 
 
 But it was the seething cauldron of humanity which more 
 and more engrossed her attention as time went on, leaving 
 her but little leisure or inclination to consider any other 
 subject than how to benefit their condition and combat their 
 miseries. With a few inconsiderable intervals, London be- 
 came during the next forty-six years the principal scene of 
 her activities. By dint of dauntless faith in God and weight 
 of worth, unaided by wealth or influence, the girl-listener of 
 Exeter Hall fought her way up to be one of London's most 
 popular and effective platform speakers, crowding the largest 
 buildings with her audiences, and worthily closing her grand 
 public career with a meeting in its far-famed City Temple 
 such as none who were present could ever forget. 
 
 To those who have read thus far in Mrs. Booth's life it 
 will probably cause no small surprise to learn that it was 
 not until she was sixteen that she believed herself to have 
 been truly converted. " About this time," she tells us, " I 
 passed through a great controversy of soul. Although I was 
 conscious of having given myself up fully to God from my 
 earliest years, and although I was anxious to serve Him and 
 often realised deep enjoyment in prayer, nevertheless I had 
 not the positive assurance that my sins were forgiven, and 
 that I had experienced the actual change of heart about 
 which I had read and heard so much. I was determined to 
 leave the question no longer in doubt, but to get it definitely 
 settled, cost what it might. For six weeks I prayed and 
 struggled on, but obtained no satisfaction. True, my past 
 life had been outwardly blameless. Both in public and 
 
20 Mrs. Booth. 
 
 private I had made use of the means of grace, and up to the 
 very limit of my strength, and often beyond the bounds of 
 discretion, my zeal had carried me. Still, so far as this was 
 concerned, I realised the truth of the words : 
 
 ' Could my zeal no respite know, 
 Could ray tears for ever flow 
 These for sin could not atone.' 
 
 I knew, moreover, that ' the heart is deceitful above all 
 things and desperately wicked.' I was terribly afraid of 
 being self-deceived. I remembered, too, the occasional out- 
 bursts of temper when I was at school. Neither could I call 
 to mind any particular place or time when I had definitely 
 stepped out upon the promises, and had claimed the imme- 
 diate forgiveness of my sins, receiving the witness of the 
 Holy Spirit that I had become a child of God and an heir of 
 heaven. 
 
 " It seemed to me unreasonable to suppose that I could be 
 saved and yet not know it. At any rate, I could not permit 
 myself to remain longer in doubt regarding the matter. If 
 in the past I had acted up to the light I had received, it was 
 evident that I was now getting new light, and unless I 
 obeyed it, I realised that my soul would fall into condemna- 
 tion. Ah, how inan} r hundreds have I since met who have 
 spent years in doubt and perplexity because, after consecrat- 
 ing themselves fully to God. they dared not venture out upon 
 the promises and believe ! 
 
 ii I can never forget the agony I passed through. I lU'O-i 
 to pace my room till two o'clock in the morning, and when, 
 utterly exhausted, I lay down at length to sleep, I would 
 place my Bible and hymn-book under my pillow, praying 
 that I might wake up with the assurance of salvation. One 
 morning as I opened my hymn-book, my eyes fell upon the 
 words : 
 
 ' My God, I am Thine ! 
 What a comfort Divine, 
 What a blessing to know that my Jesus is mine ! ' 
 
Youth. 2 i 
 
 Scores of times I had rend and sung these words, but now 
 they came home to my inmost soul with a force and illumina- 
 tion they had never before possessed. It was as impossible 
 for me to doubt as it had before been for me to exercise faith. 
 Previously not all the promises in the Bible could in- 
 duce me to believe ; now not all the devils in hell could 
 persuade me to doubt. I no longer hoped that I was saved, 
 I was certain of it. The assurances of my salvation seemed 
 to flood and fill my soul. I jumped out of bed, and, without 
 waiting to dress, ran into my mother's room and told her 
 what had happened. 
 
 " Till then I had been very backward in speaking even to 
 her upon spiritual matters. I could pray before her, and yet 
 could not open my heart to her about my salvation. It is a 
 terrible disadvantage to people that they are ashamed to 
 speak freely to one another upon so vital a subject. Owing 
 to this, thousands are kept iri bondage for years, when they 
 might easily step into immediate liberty and joy. I have my- 
 self met hundreds of persons who have confessed to me that 
 they had been church members for many years without know- 
 ing what a change of heart really was, and without having 
 been able to escape from this miserable condition of doubt and 
 uncertainty to one of assurance and consequent satisfaction. 
 
 " For the next six months I was so happ} T that I felt as if 
 I was walking on air. I used to tremble, and even long to 
 die, lest I should backslide, or lose the consciousness of God's 
 smile and favour." 
 
 Like too many of those, the record of whose inner life 
 would be both precious and instructive, Mrs. Booth did not 
 keep a diary. She used afterwards to say that she had been 
 too busy making history to find time in which to record it. 
 This fact lends added interest to the only fragment of a 
 journal which exists. 
 
 The entries are brief and irregular, dating from 12th May, 
 1847, to 24th March, 1848. Intended, as she tells us, for her 
 own eye alone, these early musings and heart-yearnings offer 
 a valuable index to her life and character. 
 
22 
 
 Mrs. Boo tli. 
 
 Tha diary begins with her arrival in Brighton for a few 
 weeks' change and rest. In the previous autumn serious 
 symptoms of incipient consumption had set in, and for six 
 months she was almost entirely confined to her room with 
 violent pains in the chest and back, accompanied with strong 
 fever at night. With the departing winter, however, her 
 worst symptoms subsided, and she was sufficiently recovered 
 
 
 MR. MUMFORD. 
 
 to travel, though still very weak. " Mr. Stevens, my new 
 doctor,'' she writes, " came to see me on Tuesday last. He is 
 a very nice man, and a preacher in our society. He sounded 
 my chest, and thinks my left lung is affected, but says there 
 is no cavity in it, and hopes to do me good. I trust, if it is 
 for my God and His glory, the Lord will give His blessing to 
 the means we are using." 
 
 The diary is full of intense yearnings after God and 
 struggles to attain perfect holiness of life. 
 
Youth. 23 
 
 " 14th May, 1847. -'-This morning, while reading Howe's 
 * Devout Exercises of the Heart,' I was much blessed, and en- 
 abled to give myself afresh into the hands of God, to do or 
 to suffer all His will. Oh, that I may be made useful in this 
 family ! Lord, they know Thee not, neither do they seek 
 Thee ! Have mercy upon them, and help me to set an ex- 
 ample, at all times and in all places, worthy of imitation. 
 Help me to adorn the Gospel of God, my Saviour, in all 
 things. 
 
 " I find much need of watchfulness and prayer, and have 
 this day taken up my cross in reproving sin. Lord, follow 
 with the conviction of Thy Spirit all I have said." 
 
 " I entered into fresh covenant this morning with my Lord 
 to be more fully given up to Him. Oh ! to be a Christian 
 indeed ! To love Thee with all my heart is my desire. I do 
 love Thee, but I want to love Thee more. If Thou smile upon 
 me, I am infinitely happy, though deprived of earthly happi- 
 ness more than usual. If Thou frown, it matters not what I 
 have beside, 
 
 ' Thou art the spring of all my joys, 
 
 The life of my delights, 
 The glory of my brightest days 
 And comfort of my nights.' " 
 
 On reaching Brighton, Catherine received from her mother 
 the following letter, which throws an interesting light on 
 the close spiritual communion that existed between mother 
 and daughter. After referring to her own and Catherine's 
 health, Mrs. Mumford says : 
 
 "Oh, may the Lord help me to hang on His faithfulness alone s and 
 when all seems gloomy without, ' si ill to endure as seeing Him who i<? 
 invisible.' The enemy tempts me to doubt, because I donot/eeZ as I 
 did before. But I say to myself : ' Thou knowest 
 
 ' Other refuge have I none, 
 
 Hangs my helpless soul on Thee ! ' 
 
 " May He help me to believe for a clearer manifestation of His IOVQ 
 and favour 1 
 
24 Mrs. Booth. 
 
 ' I would not my soul deceive, 
 "Without the inward witness live ! ' 
 
 " I am glad you are getting on so well. Live close to Jesus and He 
 will keep you to the end. ' Oh, may He bless you with all His fulness. 
 You say I must pray for you ! Do you think I could approach the 
 Throne of Grace without doing so? Oh, no ! You are ever in my mind 
 as an offering to the Lord. May He sanctify you wholly to Himself is 
 the prayer of 
 
 " Your ever-loving mother, 
 
 " SAKAII MUMFOIUX" 
 
 To this letter Catherine sont the following reply, which is 
 her earliest extant autograph letter : 
 
 " MY DEAREST MOTHER, I thank you very sincerely for your kind, 
 nice, long letter, and especially as I know what an effort it is for you to 
 write. "Mrs. Mumford's hand was crippled with rheumatism.] Don't 
 fear for a moment that I should think you indifferent to my comfort. 
 How could I possibly think it, with so many proofs to the contrary? It 
 I ever indulged any hard thoughts, it has been my sin, for which I need 
 the forgiveness of God : it has been prompted by the same spirit which 
 has too often led me to ' charge God foolishly.' But so far from this 
 feeling being the offspring of my calmer moments and better judgment, 
 it is only the effects of an evil heart of unbelief, an impetuous will, and a 
 momentary loss of common sense, for I know and firmly believe that God 
 w.ll do all things well. Let us trust in Him." 
 
 In a subsequent letter she says: 
 
 ' I have just returned from the beach. It is a lovely morning, but 
 very rough and cold. The sea looks sublime. I never saw it so troubled. 
 Its waters ' cast up mire and dirt,' and lash the shore with great vio- 
 lence. The sun shines with full splendour, which makes the scene truly 
 enchanting. It only wants good health and plenty of strength to walk 
 about and keep oneself warm, for it is too cold to sit! There is a meeting 
 of the Evangelical Alliance in the Town Hall this evening. If I feel 
 able, I think of going, but I shall not stop late. 
 
 I wish I could see you, though I should be sorry to come home just 
 yet. The change is most agreeable to my feelings. It is like a new 
 world to me. I was heartily sick of looking at brick and mortar. Oh, I 
 love the sublime in nature ! It absorbs my whole soul, I cannot resist 
 it, nor do I envy those who can. There is nothing on earth more pleas- 
 ing and profitable to me than the meditations and emotions excited by 
 such scenes as I witness here. I only want those I love best to parti- 
 cipate my joys, and then they would be complete. For though I possess 
 a share of that monstrous ugly thing called selBshncss in common with 
 
Youth. 25 
 
 our fallen race, yet I can say my own pleasure is always enhanced by the 
 pleasure of others, and always embittered by their sorrows. Thanks be 
 to God, for it is by His grace that I am what I am. Oh, for that fulness 
 of love which destroys self and fills the soul with Heaven-born gener- 
 osity. 
 
 " Brighton is very full of company. Many a poor invalid is here 
 strolling about in search of that pearl of great price health. Some, 
 like the fortunate diver, spy the precious gem, and hugging it to their 
 bosoms, return rejoicing in the possession of real riches. But many, 
 alas, find it not, and return only to bewail their misfortune. Whichever 
 class I may be amongst, I hope I shall not have cause to regret my visit. 
 If I find not health of body, I hope my soul will be strengthened with 
 might, so that if the outward form should deca}', the inward may be 
 renewed day by day. 
 
 " I should like to spend another week or two here. It would be de- 
 lightful. One only wants the needful, and there seems to be plenty of 
 it in Brighton, though I don't happen on it ! There are bills in all direc- 
 tions announcing the loss of gold watches, seals, keys, brooches, boas, 
 etc., and offering rewards according to the value of the article, but, alas, 
 I have not been fortunate enough to find a mite yet ! 
 
 "I will write again on Monday, so that you may get it before you go to 
 the Exhibition. Oh, I should like to see it again so much. It seems a 
 pity for such magnificence to be disturbed. I hope the closing ceremony 
 will be worthy of its history. 
 
 " There is one thing I trust will not be forgotten, that is to give God 
 thanks for having so singularly disappointed our enemies and surpassed 
 the expectations of our friends. This unparalleled production of art 
 and science was born in good-will, has lived in universal popularity, and 
 will, no doubt, expire with majestic grandeur, lamented by all the nations 
 of the earth. 
 
 " Pray for me, my dear mother, and believe me, with all my faults and 
 besetrnents 
 
 " Your affectionate and loving child, 
 
 " CATHERINE." 
 
 A good deal of Catherine's time was spent in writing 
 spiritual letters to her friends and relations, and she found 
 greater freedom in doing so than in the hand-to-hand per- 
 sonal conflict in which she became afterwards so successful. 
 
 " I have this day seen a lady," contiirues the diary, " to 
 whom I wrote a faithful and warning letter. I wonder if it 
 made any impression on her. . . . My dear cousin Ann 
 was here yesterday. I tried to impress upon her the impor- 
 tance of giving her heart to God in her youth. But I feel 
 
26 , Mrs. Booth. 
 
 myself most at liberty in writing. She promised to write 
 and tell me the state of her mind. Then I shall answer her. 
 Oh, may the Lord bless my humble endeavours for His glory ! 
 . . . One of my dear cousins is very ill ; I think in a 
 deep decline. She has three little children. But the Lord 
 graciously supports her, and often fills her with His love. 
 I frequently write to her on spiritual subjects, and the 
 Lord owns my weak endeavours by blessing tliem to her 
 good." 
 
 Although her absence from home was for so short a time, 
 there are some tender references to her mother : 
 
 li Home is particularly sweet to me. Who can tell the 
 value of a mother's attention and care, until deprived of it ? 
 But, blessed be God, we shall soon meet again, and after all 
 our meetings and partings here on earth, we shall meet to 
 part no more in glory. ... My mind has been wounded 
 to-day by several little occurrences, and to-night my feelings 
 vented themselves in tears. Oh, how I long to get home to 
 my dearest mother ! I feel greatly the loss of some kindred 
 spirit, some true bosom friend. My mind is rejoiced at the 
 thought of going home." 
 
 On the 28th November she writes : " This has been an 
 especially good day to my soul. I have been reading the 
 life of Mr. William Carvosso. Oh, what a man of faith and 
 prayer was he ! My expectations were raised when I began 
 the book. I prayed for the Divine blessing on it, and it has 
 been granted. My desires after holiness have been much 
 increased. This day I have sometimes se.emed on the verge 
 of the good land. Oh, for mighty faith ! I believe the Lord 
 is willing and able to save me to the uttermost. I believe the 
 blood of Jesus Christ cleanses from all sin. And yet there 
 seems something in the way to prevent me from fully enter- 
 ing in. But to-day I believe at times I have had tastes of per- 
 fect love. Oh, that these may be droppings before an over- 
 whelming shower of grace. My chief desire is holiness of 
 heart. This is the prevailing cry of my soul. To-night 
 ' sanctify me through Thy truth Thy word is truth ! ' 
 
Youth. 27 
 
 Lord, answer my Redeemer's prayer. I see this full salvation 
 is highly necessary in order for me to glorify my God below, 
 and find my way to heaven. For c without holiness no man 
 shall see the Lord ! ' My soul is at times very happy. I 
 have felt many assurances of pardoning mercy. But I want 
 a clean heart. Oh, my Lord, take me and seal me to the 
 day of redemption." 
 
 Again she writes : 
 
 " This has been a good day to my soul. This morning I 
 felt very happy, and held sweet communion with my God. 
 I feel very poorly, and excessively low, but I find great re- 
 lief in pouring out my soul to God in prayer. Oh, I should 
 like to leave this world of sin and sorrow, and go where I 
 could not grieve my Lord again ! " 
 
 On the 17th January, 1848, she writes : 
 
 " Nineteen years to-day I have lived in this world of sin 
 and sorrow. But oh, I have had many sweets mingled with 
 the bitter. I have very much to praise my God for, more 
 than I can conceive. May I for the future live to praise Him, 
 and to bring glory to His name. Amen." 
 
 It was at this period that a great agitation arose in the 
 Wesleyan community, leading ultimately to the withdrawal 
 or expulsion of about one hundred thousand of its members. 
 
 Miss Mumford studied with deep interest the reports of 
 the agitation, sitting tip often till the small hours of the 
 night reading to her mother the accounts of the so-called 
 Eeform movement. 
 
 The outspoken manner in which she expressed her con- 
 demnation of the Conference and sympathy with the Re- 
 formers was naturally objected to by her class-leader, who 
 remonstrated with her on the folly of her course, reminding 
 her that in identifying herself with the malcontents she 
 would not only forfeit her position in the church she loved, 
 but seriously injure her worldly prospects. Such consider- 
 ations, how r ever, carried little weight with the high-spirited 
 girl. Finding arguments of no avail, her class-leader re- 
 luctantly decided to withhold Miss Mumford's ticket of mem- 
 bership. 
 
28 Mrs. Boot /i. 
 
 This was one of the first great troubles of my life," says 
 Mrs. Booth. " and cost me the keenest anguish. I was young. 
 I had been nursed and cradled in Methodism, and loved it 
 with a love which has gone altogether out of fashion among 
 Protestants for their church. At the same time I was dis- 
 satisfied with the formality, worldliness. and defection from 
 what I conceived Methodism ought to be. judging from its 
 early literature and biographies. I believed that through 
 the agitation something would arise which would be better, 
 holier, and more thorough. In this hope and in sympathy 
 with the wrongs that I believed the Reformers had suffered. 
 I drifted away from the Weslej T an Church, apparently at 
 the sacrifice of all that was dearest to me. and of nearly 
 every personal friend." 
 
 It so happened that the Reformers had commenced to hold 
 meetings in a hall near Miss Mumford's home. She was 
 offered and accepted the senior class in the Sunday-school, 
 consisting of some fifteen girls, whose ages ranged from 
 twelve to nineteen. For the next three years she threw her 
 whole heart into this effort, preparing her lessons with great 
 care, devoting at least two half days every week to this pur- 
 pose, and striving to bring every lesson to a practical result . 
 When the rest of the school had been dismissed she would 
 beg the key from the superintendent, and hold a prayer 
 meeting with her girls. This resulted in the conversion of 
 several, one of whom died triumphantly. 
 
 "I used to have some wonderful times with my class." sho 
 tells us. i; I made them pray, and I am sure that anybody 
 coming into one of these meetings would have seen very 
 much what a Salvation Army consecration meeting is now 
 They usually all stopped, and sometimes our prayer-meetings 
 would last an hour and a half. Often I went on till I lost 
 my voice, not regaining it for a day or two after. I used to 
 invite them to talk to me privately if anything I said had 
 struck them, and at such times they would pour out their 
 hearts to me as if I had been their mother/' 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 WILLIAM BOOTH. 1829-1852. 
 
 WILLIAM BOOTH was born in Nottingham on the 10th April, 
 1829. His mother was of so amiable a disposition and saintly 
 a character that he regarded her as the nearest approach to 
 human perfection with which he was acquainted. His father, 
 an able and energetic man of business, attained a position of 
 affluence, but subsequently suffered a reverse of fortune, and 
 died prematurely, leaving his family to struggle with ad- 
 verse circumstances. William, the sole surviving sou, was 
 apprenticed at an early age to a firm, where it soon became 
 manifest that he had inherited a double portion of his father's 
 enterprise and commercial skill. 
 
 Reared in the Church of England, he knew nothing of 
 conversion until, happening to stray into a Wesleyan chapel, 
 his attention was arrested by the novelty and simplicity of 
 the services. For some time he continued to attend. The 
 truths, tersely and powerfully expounded, took an increasing 
 hold of his mind, and on one memorable evening, in a class- 
 meeting, after days and nights of anxious seeking, he publicly 
 nnd unreservedly gave his heart to God. With his mother's 
 consent, he became immediately a member of the chapel, 
 and, though but a lad of lifteen, he gave proof in manifold 
 measure of the reality of his conversion. Connected with 
 the chapol was a band of zealous young men with whom he 
 associated, and whose recognised leader he soon became. 
 
 Daring these early days he was as indefatigable a worker 
 as in later years. Unable to leave business until eight 
 o'clock, he would hurry away each evening to hold cottago 
 
30 Mrs. Booth. 
 
 meetings, which usually lasted till ten, and which were 
 often succeeded by calls to visit the sick and dying. 
 
 Open-air services were constantly held in connection with 
 these meetings, and processions were led down the Goose- 
 gate and other thoroughfares, bringing to the chapel such a 
 tatterdermalion crowd as soon gave rise to a request from the 
 minister that the intruders should be conducted to the back 
 entrance and seated in the hinder part of the building, where 
 their presence would be less conspicuous and disagreeable to 
 the more respectable members of the congregation. 
 
 However, without allowing himself to be discouraged by 
 such rebuffs, Mr. Booth and his little band toiled on, happy 
 in each other's companionship, and in the success with which 
 their labours were crowned. On the Sunday he would often 
 walk long distances into the country to fulfil some village 
 appointment, stumbling his way home late at night, alone 
 and weary, through dark muddy lanes, cheering himself 
 along by humming the prayer-meeting refrains which during 
 tho day had gladdened the hearts of returning sinners. 
 
 When only seventeen he was promoted to be a local 
 preacher, and two years later his superintendent, the Rev. 
 Samuel Dunn, urged him to offer himself for the ministry. 
 " I objected," he tells us, " on the grounds of my health and 
 youth. With regard to the former, Mr. Dunn sent me to his 
 doctor, who after examination pronounced me totally unfit 
 for the strain of a Methodist preacher's life, assuring me 
 that twelve months of it would land me in the grave, and 
 send me to the throne of God to receive punishment for 
 suicide. I implored him not to give any such opinion to 
 Mr. Dunn, as my whole heart was set on ultimately becom- 
 ing a minister. He therefore promised to report in favour 
 of the question being delayed for twelve months, and to this 
 Mr. Dunn eventually agreed." 
 
 Referring to this time, Mr. Booth says: "I worshipped 
 everything that bore the name of Methodist. To me there 
 was one God, and John Wesley was his prophet. I had 
 devoured the story of his life. Xo human compositions 
 
31 
 
32 Mrs. Booth. 
 
 seemed to me to be comparable to his writings, and to tlio 
 bynms of his brother Charles, and all that was wanted, in 
 my estimation, for the salvation of the world was the faith- 
 ful carrying into practice of the letter and spirit of his in- 
 structions. 
 
 * ; I cared little then or afterwards for ecclesiastical creeds 
 or forms. What I wanted to see was an organisation with 
 the salvation of the world as its supreme ambition and 
 object, worked upon the simple, earnest principles which I 
 had myself embraced, and which, youth as I was, I had al- 
 ready seen carried into successful practice." 
 
 In 1849. Mr. Booth removed from Nottingham to London. 
 There were temporal advantages connected with the change-. 
 Nevertheless , it was his first absence from home, and he 
 sorely missed his mother, by whom he was idolised, and 
 whose affection he ardently returned. " I am the only son 
 of my mother, and she is a widow/' was his pathetic intro- 
 duction of himself to a Methodist brother who. forty years 
 later, remembers the very tone in which the words were 
 uttered. His London life was, moreover, a lonely one. He 
 missed the association of the earnest young men in whose 
 company he had laboured since his conversion. 
 
 "How are you going on? " he \vrites in his oldest extant letter, dated 
 30th October, 1819, to his friend John Savage. " I know you are happy. 
 I know you are living to God, and working for Jesus. Grasp still firmer 
 the standard ! Unfold still wider the battle-flag ! Press still closer on 
 the ranks of the enemy, and mark your pathway still more distinctly 
 with glorious trophies of Emmanuel's grace, and with enduring monu- 
 ments of Jesus' power ! The trumpet has given. the signal for the con- 
 flict ! Your General assures you of success, and a glorious reward, your 
 crown, is already held out. Then why delay ? Why doubt ? Onward ! 
 Onward ! Onward ! Christ for me ! Be that your motto be that your 
 battle-cry be that your war-note be that your consolation", 
 your plea when asking mercy of God your end when offering it to man. 
 your hope when encircled by darkness your triumph and victory 
 when attacked and overcome by death ! Christ for me ! Tell it to men 
 who are living and dying in sin ! Tell it to Jesus, that you have chosen 
 Him to be your Saviour and your God. Tell it to devils, and bid them 
 cease to harass, since you are determined to die for the truth ! 
 
 I i reached on Sabbath last a respectable but dull and lifeless con- 
 
William Booth. 33 
 
 grcgation. Notwithstanding I Lad liberty both praying and preaching, 
 I had not the assistance of a siugle ' Amen ' or ' Hallelujah ' the whole of 
 the service ! It is hard work to labour for an hour and a half in the 
 pulpit and then come down and have to do the work of the prayer meet- 
 ing as well ! I want some Savages, and Proctors, and Frosts, and 
 lioveys, and Robinsons here with me in the prayer meetings, and, glory 
 to God, we would carry all before us ! Praise God for living at Notting- 
 ham every hour you are in it ! Oh, to live to Christ on earth, and to 
 meet you once more, never to part, in a better world ! " 
 
 It is interesting to trace thus early what afterwards came 
 to be a distinguishing feature of General Booth's " plan of 
 campaign," the utilising of every converted person in some 
 capacity, as distinguished from the parson-do-everything 
 system which he here so strongly deprecates. Nothing per- 
 haps more powerfully characterises the Salvation Army of 
 later years than its " ministr}' of all the talents." This has 
 meant nothing short of a revolution in the religious world. 
 But we should hardly have expected the happy discovery to 
 have been made at so early a date. 
 
 In 1831 the Reform movement was at its height. But the 
 character which the agitation had assumed possessed little 
 interest for William Booth. To him the all-absorbing ques- 
 tion of his life was how best to reach and save the masses. 
 Certainly he had shared the universal disappointment at the 
 banishment of Mr. Canghey from Nottingham, when the re- 
 vival was at its very height. Himself converted only a few 
 months previously, his heart fired with all the burning en- 
 thusiasm of its early love, he could not understand the 
 motives that prompted the Conference to put a stop to so 
 manifest a work of God. Still, like others, he had bowed to 
 the decision, and had accepted what he could neither hinder 
 nor approve. 
 
 It was inevitable, however, that he should bo in some moa- 
 sure concerned and interested in a movement which involved 
 the loss of nearly one-third of its members to the Wesleyan 
 Connexion. Several of his personal friends were among 
 those who seceded or were expelled, and the Rev. Samuel 
 Dunn, who was the leading spirit in the agitation, and had 
 
 . D 
 
34 Mrs. Booth. 
 
 been for three years his own superintendent in Nottingham, 
 had recognised his ability, admired his zeal, and directed his 
 studies for the ministry. But beyond attending a few of the 
 meetings held in London by the Reformers, Mr. Booth held 
 studiously aloof from them, neither preaching for them nor 
 in any way identifying himself with them. Nevertheless, in 
 the society to which he belonged there were already twenty- 
 two lay preachers, and the pulpit work to be divided among 
 them was so trifling as to afford but little scope for the in- 
 tense activities and organising genius which already fired 
 his heart and brain. Feeling that his time would be better 
 spent in open-air work in the streets and greens at Kenning- 
 ton, he tendered the resignation of his honorary post, re- 
 questing at the same time that his name might be retained 
 among the list of members. 
 
 An agitation assuming the proportions and duration of the 
 Reform movement could hardly fail to be marked by inci- 
 dents of a regrettable character. The entire atmosphere 
 seemed laden with doubt and suspicion. Innocent actions 
 were misunderstood, and inoffensive words misinterpreted. 
 Nor would it be just to blame the Conference for the over- 
 zeal displayed by some of their well-meaning but too hasty 
 partisans. To uproot a field of wheat in order to extirpate 
 an occasional tare is a temptation to which human nature 
 has been ever open. 
 
 It so happened that the minister in charge of Mr. Booth's 
 circuit was of an UD compromising heresy-hunting disposition. 
 It is scarcely to be wondered at, therefore, that he viewed 
 with suspicion the conduct of his lay assistant, Making 
 sure that he had discovered once more the cloven hoof of the 
 Reformers, and determined to purge his society from every 
 trace of the pernicious taint, he withheld the usual ticket of 
 membership, and thus practically expelled from the Wesleyan 
 body the most talented and brilliant Methodist of the day. 
 
 No sooner, however, had the Reformers heard of this 
 unjustifiable expulsion than they passed a resolution cordi- 
 ally inviting Mr, Booth to join their ranks. 
 
William Booth. 35 
 
 It was some months afterwards that he was planned to 
 preach at one of their chapels known as Binfield House, and 
 situated in Binfield Road, Clapham. It was a nice little hall 
 holding some two or three hundred people. The services 
 were arranged on the ordinary Wesley an model, and were 
 conducted in turn by different local preachers. Of this con- 
 gregation Mrs. Mumford and her daughter were members, 
 and it was here that Catherine led the Bible class already 
 referred to. 
 
 On the Sunday that Mr. Booth preached she was present, 
 and although he was a perfect stranger to her, she was very 
 much impressed with him at first sight. The sermon was 
 from the text, " This is indeed the Christ, the Saviour of 
 the World." It so happened that during the following week 
 Miss Mumford met Mr. Rabbits, a prominent member of the 
 Reformers, whom she had known for some time, and was asked 
 by him for her opinion of the preacher. She expressed it freely, 
 say ing that she considered it the best sermon she had yet heard 
 in Binfield Hall. Little did she think, however, that Mr. 
 Rabbits, who reckoned her one of the ablest judges of a 
 sermon in London, would pass it on to the preacher him- 
 self. 
 
 The 10th April, 1852, was a memorable day in the history 
 of William Booth. It was his birthday the day on which 
 he finally relinquished business for the ministry, and, as if 
 to accentuate the significance of the sacrifice, it was a Good 
 Friday. Finally, it was on this day that the respect and 
 admiration with which he regarded Miss Mumford ripened 
 into a life-long love. 
 
 He was now practically her pastor. The Reformers had 
 accepted him as their preacher, at the instance of Mr. 
 Rabbits, who had undertaken to pay him his salary. " How 
 much will you require ? " he asked, in broaching the ques- 
 tion. " Twelve shillings a week will keep me in bread and 
 cheese," responded the first Salvation Army Captain. "I 
 would not hear of such a thing," replied his friend ; " you 
 must take at least a pound." And so, with this modest 
 
36 Mrs. Booth. 
 
 remuneration, Mr. Booth commenced his work as a preacher 
 of the Gospel, " passing rich on fifty pounds a year ! : ' 
 
 He had set apart the day to visit a relative, with a view 
 to interesting him in his new career, when Mr. Rabbits, 
 happening to meet him, carried him off to a service held by 
 the Reformers in a schoolroom in Cowper Street, City Road. 
 Catherine was present, and the casual acquaintance that 
 commenced a few weeks previously was renewed, Mr. Booth 
 escorting her home when the meeting was over. 
 
 Although a mutual and ardent affection sprang up, which 
 deepened on each succeeding interview, nevertheless no en- 
 gagement was entered into until after the most thorough 
 and prayerful consideration. Indeed, apart from the love 
 and admiration which each entertained for the other, the 
 prospects were by no means encouraging. Mr. Booth had 
 left behind him the business career, in which he would doubt- 
 less have made good use of his energy and organising 
 abilities. In spite of flattering offers, he had no desire to 
 return to it. His whole soul was aflame for the ministry. 
 But for this he imagined that he should need years of study 
 and preparation. The door of the AYeslej-an Church had 
 been closed against him. The post he held among the Re- 
 formers was temporary and unreliable, and each week in- 
 creased his dissatisfaction with their discipline and mode of 
 government. The}* had thrown off the yoke of what they 
 looked upon as a tyrannical priesthood, but, as is often the 
 case with human nature, the pendulum had now swung from 
 one extreme to the other. Having first disputed the authority 
 of their ordained pastors, they now refused to acknowledge 
 that of those whom they had themselves appointed and whom 
 they were likewise free at any moment to discharge. 
 
 This was no doubt a capital training for the future General 
 of the Salvation Army. He tasted by bitter experience that 
 a democratic government could be as tyrannical as a pater- 
 nally despotic one. Under the name and cloak of liberty, he 
 found himself fettered hand and foot. 
 
 As a body the Reformers included v.ithin their ranks many 
 
William Booth. 57 
 
 of the best and noblest spirits in Wesleyan Methodism. 
 Nevertheless, it will be easily understood that, amid the 
 turmoil of the agitation, the more turbulent and demagogic 
 characters pushed their way to the front. This was particu- 
 larly the case in regard to the little group with whom Mr. 
 Booth had cast in his lot, and whom he always considered as 
 poorly representing the movement at large. 
 
 The power was vested in those who did not know how 
 properly to use it. His judgment was controlled and his 
 plans were thwarted by a small clique of people who were too 
 brainless to think, too timid to act, or too destitute of spirit- 
 uality to appreciate his intense passion for souls. This he was 
 sure could not be God's plan for leading His people to battle. 
 " Order is Heaven's first law " became henceforth a maxim 
 that firmly embedded itself in his mind. 
 
 With such divided counsels, the future of the Reformers 
 could not but be uncertain, and so far as study for the duties 
 of a regular ministry was concerned, it might be necessary 
 to wait for years before the organisation had sufficiently 
 developed to make this possible. 
 
 Mr. Booth doubted whether, with prospects so unsatis- 
 factory, he should be justified in allowing Miss Mumford to 
 enter into any engagement. Some of the letters that were 
 exchanged are so interesting, and the spirit manifested so 
 exemplary, that we cannot do better than refer to them. 
 The earliest is dated llth May, 1852, when the question of the 
 engagement was still undecided. Miss Mumford writes : 
 
 "MY DEAII FKIEND, I have been spreading your letter before the 
 Lord, and earnestly pleading for a manifestation of His will to your 
 mind. Aud now I would say a few words of comfort and encourage- 
 ment. 
 
 " If you wish to avoid giving me pain, don't condemn yourself. I feel 
 sure God does not condemn you, and if you could look into my heart 
 you would see how far I am from such a feeling. Don't pore over the 
 past ! Let it all go ! Your desire is to do the will of God, and He will 
 guide .you. Never mind who frowns if God smiles. 
 
 " The words, ' gloom, melancholy, and despair,' lacerate my heart. 
 Don't give way to such feelings for a moment. God loves you. He will 
 sustain you. The thought that I should increase your perplexity and 
 
38 Mrs. Booth. 
 
 cause .you any suffering is almost intolerable. I am tempted to wish 
 that \ve had never seen each other ! Do try to forget me, as far as the 
 remembrance would injure your usefulness or spoil your peace. If I 
 have no alternative but to oppose the will of God, or trample on tho 
 desolations of my own heart, my choice is made ! ' Thy will be done ! ' 
 is my constant cry. I care not for myself, but oh, if I cause you to err, 
 I shall never be happy again ! " 
 
 In the same letter she adds : 
 
 " It is very trying to be depreciated and slighted when you are acting 
 from the purest motives. But consider the character of those who thus 
 treat you, and don't overestimate their influence. You have some true 
 friends in the circuit, and what is better than all, you have a Friend 
 above, whose love is as great as His power. He can open your way to 
 another sphere of usefulness, greater than you now conceive of." 
 
 Little did the writer think how prophetic was this last 
 sentence. How immeasurable would have been their 
 surprise had the veil been lifted for a moment, and a glance 
 into the distant future been permitted to the two doubt-be- 
 stricken, fear-beleaguered lovers, so anxious to do right, and 
 to obey the dictates of their enlightened consciences, rather 
 than to follow the unbridled clamourings of their hearts. In 
 looking back we see the mighty issues that were then at stake, 
 and all around are spread the fruit unto eternity of that 
 sanctified resolution. Well would it be for thousands if they 
 paused similarly to take counsel of God, before committing 
 themselves to any decision in so momentous a matter. 
 
 Two days later Miss Mumford writes again : 
 
 " MY DEAR FBIEND, I have read and re-read your note, and fear you 
 did not fully understand my difficulty. It was -wot circumstances. I 
 thought I had fully satisfied you on that point. I thought I had assured 
 you that a bright prospect could not allure me nor a dark one affright 
 me, if we are only one in heart. My difficulty, my only reason for wish- 
 ing to defer the engagement, was that you might feel satisfied in your 
 mind that the step is right. I dare not enter into so solemn an engage- 
 ment until you can assure me that you feel I am in every way suited to 
 make you happy, and that you are satisfied that the step is not opposed 
 to the will of God. If you are convinced on this point, irrespective of 
 circumstances, let circumstances go, and let us be one, come what may ; 
 and let us on Saturday evening, on our knees before God, give ourselves 
 afresh to Him and to each other. When this is done, what have we to 
 
William Booth. 39 
 
 do -with the future ? We and all our concerns are in His hands, under 
 His all-wise and gracious Providence. 
 
 " Again I commend you to Him. It cannot, shall not be that you 
 shall make a mistake. Let us besiege His Throne with all the powers of 
 prayer, and believe me, 
 
 " Yours affectionately, 
 
 " CATHERINE." 
 
 And so ou that Sabbath eve. the 15th May, 1852, reason 
 gave its sanction, and conscience set its seal, to an engage- 
 ment which was fraught with results that eternity will 
 alone reveal. In the dim twilight of that summer day the 
 twin foundation stones were laid of a living temple more 
 blessed and beautiful than that which crowned the summit 
 of Moriah a temple whose precious stones and costly 
 timbers were to be hewn without hands in the depths of 
 darkest fetishism, in the jungles of hopeless heathendom, 
 and in the civilised and educated, but beweaponed and sub- 
 merged mass of nihilism, socialism, and despotism, which 
 calls itself Christianity a temple which was to be finally 
 fitted and framed into one harmonious, glorious, imperishable 
 whole, without sound of axe or hammer, by the heavenly 
 craftsmen, as a part and parcel of the New Jerusalem, and 
 an eternal monument of the wonder-working hand of its 
 Divine Architect. 
 
 The following letter, written a few days subsequently, 
 might almost have been penned by a Hannah or Mary, when 
 rejoicing over their answered prayers, and deserves to be 
 embalmed in memory : 
 
 ' MY DEAREST WILLIAM, The evening is beautifully serene and 
 tranquil, according sweetly with the feelings of my soul. The whirlwind 
 is past, and the succeeding calm is proportionate to its violence. Your 
 letter, your visit, have hushed its last murmurs and stilled every vibra- 
 tion of my throbbing heart-strings. All is well. I feel it is right, and I 
 praise God for the satisfying conviction. 
 
 " Most gladly does my soul 'respond to your invitation to give myself 
 afresh to Him, and to strive to link myself closer to you, by rising more 
 into the likeness of my Lord. The nearer our assimilation to Jesus, the 
 more perfect and heavenly our union. Our hearts are now indeed one, 
 so one that division would be more bitter than death. But I am satis- 
 fied that our union may become, if not more complete, more Divine, and 
 
4O Jfrs. Booth. 
 
 consequently capable of yielding a larger amount of pure unmiugled 
 bliss. 
 
 "The thought of walking through life perfectly united, together enjoy- 
 ing its sunshine and battling with its storms, by softest sympathy 
 sharing every smile and every tear, and with thorough unanimity per- 
 forming all its momentous duties, is to me exquisite happiness ; the 
 highest earthly bliss I desire. And who can estimate the glory to God 
 and the benefit to man accruing from a life spent in such harmonious 
 effort to do His will ? Such unions, alas, are so rare, that we seldom 
 see an exemplification of the Divine idea of marriage. 
 
 " If indeed we are the disciples of Christ, ' in the world we shall have 
 tribulation ; ' but in Him and in each other we may have peace. If God 
 chastises us by affliction, in either mind, body, or circumstances, it will 
 only be a mark of our discipleship ; and if borne equally by us both, the 
 blow will not ouly be softened, but sanctified, and we shall be enabled to 
 rejoice that wj are permitted to drain the bitter cup together. Satisfied 
 that in our souls there flows a deep undercurrent of pure affection, we 
 will seek grace to bear with the bubbles which may rise on the surface, 
 or wisdom so to burst them as to increase the depth, and accelerate the 
 onward flow of the pure stream of love, till it reaches the river which 
 proceeds out of the Throne of God and of the Lamb, and mingles in 
 glorious harmony with the love of Heaven. 
 
 " The more you lead me up to Christ in all things, the more highly 
 shall I esteem you ; and if it be possible to love you more than I now do, 
 the more shall I love you. You are always present in my thoughts. 
 
 " Believe me, dear William, as ever, 
 
 " Your own loving 
 
 " KATE." 
 
 One more letter we are tempted to quote : 
 
 "22ND MAY, 1852. 
 
 " MY DEAR WILLIAM, I ought to be happy after enjoying your com- 
 pany all the evening. But now you are gone and I am alone, I feel a 
 regret consonant with the height of my enjoyment. How wide the 
 difference between heavenly and earthly joys ! The former satiate the 
 soul and reproduce themselves. The latter, after planting in our soul 
 the seeds of future griefs and cares, take their flight and leave an aching 
 void. 
 
 " How wisely God has apportioned our cup ! He does not give us all 
 sweetness, lest we should rest satisfied with earth ; nor all bitterness, 
 lest we grow weary and disgusted with our lot. But He wisely mixes the 
 two, so that if we drink the one, we must also taste the other. And per^ 
 haps a time is coming when we shall see that the proportions of this cup 
 of human joy and sorrow are more equally adjusted than we now 
 imagine that souls capable of enjoyments above the vulgar crowd can 
 
William Booth. 41 
 
 also feel sorrow in comparison with which theirs is but like the passing 
 April cloud in contrast with the long Egyptian night. 
 
 "How wise an ordination this is we cannot now discover. It will 
 require the light which streams from the Eternal Throne to reveal to 
 us tne blessed effects of having the sentence of death written on all our 
 earthly enjoyments. I often anticipate the glorious employment of 
 investigating the mysterious workings of Divine Providence. Oh, may 
 it be our happy lot to assist each other in these heavenly researches in 
 that pure bright world above ! 
 
 " But I have rambled from what I was about to write. I find that the 
 pleasure connected with pure, ho 1 }', sanctified love, forms no exception 
 to the general rule. The very fact of loving invests the being beloved 
 with a thousand causes of care and anxiety, which, if unloved, would 
 never exist. At least I find it so. You have caused me more real 
 anxiety than any other earthly object ever did. Do you ask why ? I 
 have already supplied you with an answer ! " 
 
 After referring to some domestic matters she gives an 
 interesting glimpse behind the scenes at the conclusion of 
 her letter : 
 
 " Don't sit up singing till ticelve o'clock, after a hard day's work. 
 Such things are not required by either God or man, and remember you 
 are not your own." 
 
 The reference to the General as a young man of twenty- 
 three, after a hard day's work sitting up singing till mid- 
 night, is one of those unmeant life-touches, which vivify the 
 picture of the past, reminding one of the painter who in 
 despair flung his sponge at the canvas intending to obliterate 
 the scene, but producing by the merest accident the very 
 effect which his utmost effort had failed to secure. The 
 incident serves as a side light to a life ail " ecce homo " to 
 the leader who was to girdle the earth with a belt of song, 
 till, to use the expression of a recent church divine, the 
 Salvation Army had sung its way round the world. 
 
 The Spalding Wesleyan circuit was a country district, 
 some thirty miles in extent, grouped round the town after 
 which it had been named. Here the Conference had hitherto 
 possessed a flourishing cause, but the cream of the laity had 
 gone over to the Reformers, who had now struggled on some 
 time without a minister. 
 
42 Mrs. Booth. 
 
 Finding themselves unable to make satisfactory progress, 
 they wrote to the central committee for a pastor, who should 
 organise and superintend their scattered congregations. 
 Mr. Booth was invited to fill the post. This appeared to 
 be a call from God. 
 
 It was the end of November, 1852, when, the preliminary 
 negotiations being completed, he started for his new field 
 of labour. That he was agreeably surprised and much 
 gratified with his reception is evident in the following 
 extracts from his letters to Miss Mumford : 
 
 " My reception has been beyond my highest anticipations. Indeed, 
 my hopes have risen fifty per cent., that this circuit will be unto me all 
 that I want or need. 
 
 " I do think that it was the hand of God that brought me here. The 
 fields are white unto the harvest. The friends are extremely affec- 
 tionate, and I believe that many precious souls will be gathered in unto 
 God. I had a good day yesterday. The people were highly satisfied, 
 and I trust benefited." 
 
 The letters abound with the deepest sentiments of affec- 
 tion: 
 
 " I have brought with me to Spalding a far better likeness than the 
 daguerreotype namely, your image stamped upon my soul. I press 
 the dear outline of your features to my lips and yearn for the original 
 to press to my heart. Heaven smile upon thee, my dearest love." 
 
 To these letters Miss Mumford responded cordially, at the 
 same time sending the most practical advice, and entering 
 with keenest interest into all the details of his life and work. 
 She writes : 
 
 " It affords me great pleasure to hear the minutiae of your proceed- 
 ings, and of the prosperity and extension of Reform principles in the 
 circuit. 
 
 " I perceive, my love, by your remarks on the services you have held, 
 that you enjoy less liberty when preaching in the larger places, before 
 the best congregations, than in the smaller ones. I am sorry for this, 
 and am persuaded it is the fear of man which shackles you. Do not 
 give place to this feeling. Remember you are the Lord's servant, and 
 if you are a faithful one it will be a small matter with you to be judged 
 of man's judgment. Let nothing be wanting beforehand to make your 
 sermons acceptable, but when in the pulpit try to lose sight of then- 
 worth or worthlessness, so far as composition is concerned. Think only 
 
William Booth. 43 
 
 of their .bearing on the destiny of those before you, and of your own 
 responsibility to Him who hath sent you to declare His gospel. Pray 
 for the wisdom which winneth souls, and never mind what impression 
 the preacher makes, if the Word preached takes effect. May the Lord 
 bless you, my dearest love, and fit you to be His instrument in saving 
 others without its entailing any harm to your own soul." 
 
 In another letter she says : 
 
 " I was very pleased to hear you were going to read Mr. Fletcher's 
 life. I hope you will always keep some stirring biography on the read. 
 It is most profitable. 
 
 " I am much encouraged by the accounts of your prospects in the. 
 circuit, and have no fear about you suiting the people providing your 
 heart is filled with the love of God, and your head stored with Scripture 
 truth and useful knowledge. As a preacher I am sure you have nothing 
 to fear. With a reasonable amount of study, you are bound to succeed. 
 Whereas, if you give place to fear about your ability, it will hamper 
 you and make you appear to great disadvantage. 
 
 " Try and cast off the fear of man. Fix your eye simply on the glory 
 of God, and care not for the frown or praise of man. Rest not till your 
 soul is fully alive to God. 
 
 " You may justly consider me inadequate to advise you in spiritual 
 matters. After living at so great a distance from God myself, I feel it 
 deeply I feel as though I could lay myself at the feet of any of the 
 Lord's faithful followers covered with speechless shame for my unfaith- 
 fulness. But so great is my anxiety for your soul's prosperity, that I 
 cannot forbear to say a word sometimes, even though realising that I 
 need your advice far more than you need mine." 
 
 A few days later she writes : 
 
 " The post-boy is just going past, singing that tune you liked so, 
 * Why did my master sell me ?' [a secular air to which Mr. Booth had 
 adapted spiritual words] . He frequently passes my window humming 
 it, and somehow it brings such, a shade over my heart, making me 
 realise my loneliness, now that I hear you sing it no longer ! 
 
 " I have felt it very good to draw nigh unto God. Oh to live in the 
 spirit of prayer! I feel it is the secret of real religion, the mainspring 
 of all usefulness. In no frame does the soul so copiously receive and 
 so radiantly reflect the rays of the Sun of Righteousness as in this ! " 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 WOMAN'S RIGHTS. 1853. 
 
 THE new year found Miss Mumford diligently preparing 
 for her future career as a minister's wife. She had a lofty 
 conception, altogether in advance of the age, of the honour, 
 the opportunity and the responsibility of the position to 
 which she aspired. Had there been a theological institution 
 at which she could have prosecuted her studies, she would 
 doubtless have embraced the opportunity with eagerness. 
 But the pulpit was monopolised by the other sex, and the 
 idea had become firmly embedded in the creeds and opinions 
 of Christendom that woman's sphere was limited to the 
 home, or at least to the care and instruction of children. 
 
 Xevertheless, Miss Mumford scorned the notion that a 
 minister's wife was to content herself with being a mere 
 ornamental appendage to her husband, a figurehead to grace 
 his tea-table, or even a mother to care for his children. 
 Her ideal was a far higher one. She believed it was her 
 privilege to share his counsels, her duty to watch over and 
 help his soul, and her pleasure to partake in his labours. 
 She made no secret of her views in speaking and writing to 
 Mr. Booth. Indeed, their first serious difference of opinion 
 arose soon after their engagement in regard to the mental 
 and social equality of woman as compared with man. Mr. 
 Booth argued that while the former carried the palm in 
 point of affection, the latter was her superior in regard to 
 intellect. He quoted the old aphorism that woman has a 
 fibre more in her heart and a cell less in her brain. Miss 
 Mumford would not admit this for a moment. She held 
 that intellectually woman was man's equal, nnd that, where 
 
 44 
 
\Voinaris Riglits. 45 
 
 it was not so, the inferiority was due to disadvantages of 
 training, or lack of opportunity, rather than to any short- 
 comings on the part of nature. Indeed, she had avowed her 
 determination never to take as her partner in life one who 
 was not prepared to give woman her proper due. 
 
 Mr. Booth, in spite of his usual inflexibility of purpose, 
 Las al\vaj r s been singularly open to conviction. Can wo 
 wonder, then, that he succumbed to the logic of his fair 
 disputant? And thus a vantage-ground was gained of 
 which the Salvation Army has since learned to make good 
 use. A principle was laid down and established, which was 
 to mightily affect the future of womankind, and indeed of 
 humanity at large. The partie3 themselves at the time 
 little imagined what was involved in the carrying out of 
 that principle to its legitimate issue. Nevertheless, it be- 
 came henceforth an essential and important doctrine in their 
 creed that in Jesus Christ there was neither male nor female, 
 but that the Gospel combined with nature to place both on 
 a footing of absolute mental and spiritual equality. 
 
 Miss Mumford's views on this subject are so admirably 
 expressed in a letter addressed by her to her pastor, Dr. 
 David Thomas, and the question is so important a one, that 
 we cannot do better than quote from her remarks : 
 
 " DEAR SIR, You will doubtless be surprised at the receipt of this 
 communication, and I assure you it is with great reluctance and a 
 feeling of profound respect that I make it. Were it not for the high 
 estimate I entertain for both your intellect and heart, I would spare the 
 sacrifice it will cost me. But because I believe you love truth, of 
 whatever kind, and would not willingly countenance or propagate errone- 
 ous views on auy subject, I venture to address you. 
 
 " Excuse me, my dear sir, I feel myself but a babe in comparison 
 \\ith you. But permit me to call your attention to a subject on which 
 my heart has been deeply pained. In your discourse on Sunday morn- 
 ing, when descanting on the policy of Satan in first attacV lug the most 
 assailable of our race, your remarks appeared to imply tl.o doctrine of 
 woman's intellectual and even moral inferiority to man. I cannot 
 believe that you intended to be so understood, at least with reference 
 to her moral nature. But I fear the tenor of your remarks would too 
 surely Irave such an impression on the minds of many of vour cougre* 
 
46 Mrs. Booth. 
 
 gation, and I for one cannot but deeply regret that a man for whom I 
 entertain such a high veneration should appear to hold views so dero- 
 gatory to my sex, and which I believe to be unscriptural and dishonour- 
 ing to God. 
 
 ' Permit me, my dear sir, to ask whether you have ever made the 
 subject of woman's equality as a being the matter of calm investigation 
 and thought ? If not I would, with all deference, suggest it as a subject 
 well worth the exercise of your brain, and calculated amply to repay 
 any research you may bestow upon it. 
 
 " So far as scriptural evidence is concerned, did I but possess ability 
 to do justice to the subject, I dare take my stand on it against the 
 world in defending her perfect equality. And it is because I am per- 
 suaded that no honest, unprejudiced investigation of the sacred volume 
 can give perpetuity to the mere assumptions and false notions which 
 have gained currency in society on this subject, that I so earnestly 
 commend it to your attention. I have such confidence in the nobility 
 of your nature, that I feel certain neither prejudice nor custom can 
 blind you to the truth if you will once turn attention to the matter. 
 
 " That woman is, in consequence of her inadequate education, gener- 
 ally inferior to man intellectually, I admit. But that she 'is naturally 
 so, as your remarks seemed to imply, I see no cause to believe. I think 
 the disparity is as easily accounted for as the difference between woman 
 intellectually in this country and under the degrading slavery of heathen 
 lands. No argument, in my judgment, can be drawn from past experi- 
 ence on this point, because the past has been false in theory and wrong 
 in practice. Never yet in the history of the world has woman been placed 
 on an intellectual footing with man. Her training from babyhood, even 
 in this highly favoured land, has hitherto been such as to cramp and 
 paralyse, rather than to develop and strengthen her energies, and cal- 
 culated to crush and wither her aspirations after mental greatness, 
 rather than to excite and stimulate them. And even where the more 
 directly depressing influence has been withdrawn, the indirect and more 
 powerful stimulus has been wanting." 
 
 The practical commentary on the opinions expressed in 
 this letter is indelibly written upon the whole life of 
 Catherine Booth. Her views never altered. She was to 
 the end of her days an unfailing, unflinching, uncompro- 
 mising champion of woman's rights. There are few subjects 
 that would so readily call forth the latent fire as any reflec- 
 tion upon the capacities or relative position of woman. 
 
 "I despise the attitude of the English press toward 
 woman," she remarked one day. "Let a man make a 
 decent speech on any subject, and he is lauded to the 
 
Woman's Rig/its. 47 
 
 skies. Whereas, however magnificent a speech a woman 
 may make, all she gets is, c Mrs. So-and-so delivered an 
 earnest address ' ! 
 
 " I don't speak for myself. My personal experience, 
 especially outside London, has been otherwise. But I do 
 feel it keenly on behalf of womankind at large, that the 
 man should be praised, while the woman, who has probably 
 fought her way through inconceivably greater difficulties 
 in order to achieve the same result, should be passed over 
 without a word ! 
 
 " I have tried to grind it into my boys that their sisters 
 were just as intelligent and capable as themselves. Jesus 
 Christ's principle was to put woman on the same platform 
 as man, although I am sorry to say His apostles did not 
 always act up to it." 
 
 Speaking on the subject of marriage, Mrs. Booth remarked, 
 in later life, " Who can wonder that marriage is so often a 
 failure, when we observe the ridiculous way in which court- 
 ship is commonly carried on? Would not any partnership 
 result disastrously that was entered into in so blind and 
 senseless a fashion ? 
 
 " Perhaps the greatest evil of all is hurry. Young people 
 do not allow themselves time to know each other before an 
 engagement is formed. They should take time and make 
 opportunities for acquainting themselves with each other's 
 character, disposition, and peculiarities before coming to a 
 decision. This is the great point. They should on no 
 account commit themselves until they are fully satisfied in 
 their own minds, assured that if they have a doubt before- 
 hand it generally increases afterward. I am convinced that 
 this is where thousands make shipwreck and mourn the 
 consequences all their lives. 
 
 "Then again, every courtship ought to be based on 
 certain definite principles. This, too, is a fruitful cause of 
 mistake and misery. Very few have a definite idea as to 
 what they want in a partner, and hence they do not look 
 for it. They simply go about the matter in a haphazard 
 
48 Mrs. Boot/i. 
 
 sort of fashion, and jump into an alliance upon the first 
 drawings of mere natural feeling, regardless of the laws 
 which govern such relationships. 
 
 u ln the first place, each of the parties ought to bo 
 satisfied that there are to be found in the other such quali- 
 ties as would make them friends if they were of the same 
 sex. In other words there should be a congeniality and 
 compatibility of temperament. For instance, it must be a 
 fatal error, fraught with perpetual missry, for a man who 
 has mental gifts and high aspirations to marry a woman 
 who is only fit to be a mere drudge, or for a woman of 
 lefinement and ability to marry a man who is good for 
 nothing better than to follow the plough, or look after a 
 machine. And yet, how many seek for a mere bread-winner, 
 or a housekeeper, rather than for a friend, a counsellor 
 and companion. Unhappy marriages are usually the conse- 
 quences of too great a disparity of mind, age, temperament, 
 training, or antecedents. 
 
 " As quite a young girl I early made up my mind to 
 certain qualifications which I regarded as indispensable to 
 the forming of any engagement. 
 
 " In the first place, I was determined that his religious 
 views must coincide with mine. He must be a sincere 
 Christian, not a nominal one, or a mere church member, but- 
 truly converted to God. It is probably not too much to say, 
 that so far as professedly religious people are concerned, 
 three-fourths of the matrimonial misery endured is brought 
 upon themselves by the neglect of this principle. Those 
 who do, at least in a measure, love God and try to serve 
 Him, form alliances with those who have no regard for His 
 laws, and who practically, if not avowedly, live as though 
 He had no existence. Marriage is a Divine institution, and 
 in order to ensure at any rate the highest and most lasting 
 happiness, the persons who enter into it must first of all 
 themselves be in the Divine plan. For if a man or woman 
 be not able to restrain and govern their own natures, how 
 can they reasonably expect to control the nature of another ? 
 
Woman s Rights. 49 
 
 If his or her being is not in harmony with itself, how can 
 it be iii harmony with that of anybody else ? 
 
 " Thousands of Christians, women especially, have proved 
 by bitter experience that neither money, position, nor any 
 other worldly advantage has availed to prevent the punish- 
 ment that invariably attends disobedience to the command, 
 ' Be not unequally yoked together with unbelievers.' 
 
 " The second essential which I resolved upon was that he 
 should be a man of sense. I knew that I could never respect 
 a fool, or one much weaker mentally than myself. Many 
 imagine that because a man is converted, that is all that is 
 required. This is a great mistake. There ought to be a 
 similarity or congeniality of character as well as of grace. 
 As a dear old man, whom I often quote, once said, 'When 
 thou choosest a companion for life, choose one with whom 
 thou couldst live without grace, lest he lose it ! ' 
 
 " The third essential consisted of oneness of views and 
 tastes, any idea of lordship or ownership being lost in. love. 
 There can be no doubt that Jesus Christ intended, by making 
 love the law of marriage, to restore woman to the position 
 God intended her to occupy, as also to destroy the curse of 
 the Fall, which man by dint of his merely superior physical 
 strength and advantageous position had magnified, if not 
 really to a large extent manufactured. Of course there 
 must and will be mutual yielding wherever there is proper 
 love, because it is a pleasure and a joy to yield our own 
 wills to those for whom we have real affection, whenever it 
 can be done with an approving conscience. This is just as 
 true with regard to man as to woman, and if we have never 
 proved it individually during married life, most of us have 
 had abundant evidence of it at any rate during courting 
 days. 
 
 " For the same reason neither party should attempt to 
 force an alliance where there exists a physical repugnance. 
 Natural instinct in this respect is usually too strong for 
 reason, and asserts itself in after life in such a way as to 
 make both supremely miserable, although, on the other hand, 
 
 E 
 
50 Mrs. Booth. 
 
 nothing can be more absurd than a union founded on attrac- 
 tions of a mere physical character, or on the more showy 
 and shallow mental accomplishments that usually first strike 
 the eye of a stranger. 
 
 " Another resolution that I made was that I would never 
 marry a man who was not a total abstainer, and this from 
 conviction, and not merely in order to gratify me. 
 
 " Besides these things, which I looked upon as being 
 absolute^ essential, I had, like most people, certain prefer- 
 ences. The first was that the object of my choice should be 
 a minister, feeling that as his wife I could occupy the highest 
 possible sphere of Christian usefulness. Then I very much 
 desired that he should be dark and tall, and had a special 
 liking for the name of * William.' Singularly enough, in 
 adhering to my essentials, my fancies were also gratified, 
 and in my case the promise was certainly fulfilled, 'Delight 
 thyself in the Lord and He shall give thee the desires of thy 
 heart.' 
 
 " There were also certain rules which I formulated for 
 my married life, before I was married or even engaged. I 
 have carried them out ever since my wedding day, and the 
 experience of all these years has abundantly demonstrated 
 their value. 
 
 *' The first was, never to have any secrets from my hus- 
 band in anything that affected our mutual relationship, or 
 the interests of the family. The confidence of others in 
 spiritual matters I did not consider as coming under this 
 category, but as being the secrets of others, and therefore 
 not my property. 
 
 "The second rule was, never to have two purses, thus 
 avoiding even the temptation of having any secrets of a 
 domestic character. 
 
 " My third principle was that, in matters where there 
 was any difference of opinion, I would show my husband 
 my views and the reasons on which they were based, and 
 try to convince in favour of my way of looking at the 
 subje'ct. This generally resulted either in his being con- 
 
Woman's Rights. 51 
 
 verted to my views, or in my being converted to his, either 
 result securing unity of thought and action. 
 
 "My fourth rule was, in cases of difference of opinion 
 never to argue in the presence of the children. I thought 
 it better even to submit at the time to what I might con- 
 sider as mistaken judgment, rather than have a controversy 
 before them. But of course when such occasions arose, I 
 took the first opportunity for arguing the matter out. My 
 subsequent experience has abundantly proved to "me the 
 wisdom of this course." 
 
 How God blessed a union formed on such rational prin- 
 ciples, and in such obvious harmony with His highest 
 designs, the following narrative will in some degree dis- 
 close. The value, too, of acting on principle rather than 
 according to the dictates of mere emotion, or the passing 
 influences of the hour, has been strikingly manifested, not 
 only in Mrs. Booth's own case, but in the happy marriages 
 of her children. And the world has thus been furnished 
 with object-lessons of what unions so entered upon may 
 accomplish. In fulfilling the highest purposes of Grod, none 
 can fail to advance their own best interests, whilst they 
 extract from their sorrows that peculiar sting, the realisa- 
 tion that they have been self-inflicted. 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 LONDON. 1854. 
 
 ALTHOUGH his labours were attended with multiplied suc- 
 cess, nevertheless both Miss Mumford and Mr. Booth felt 
 that it was high time either for the Reform movement to 
 become crystallised into a united organisation of its own, 
 with a distinctive government whose authority would be 
 acknowledged by all, or, failing this, that it would be neces- 
 sary for Mr. Booth to attach himself to some church which 
 answered to this description. It so happened that at this 
 very period he became acquainted with the Methodist New 
 Connexion, which to his mind appeared admirably fitted to 
 the requirements of the Reformers, combining a liberal 
 government with Wesley an doctrine. Here was the very 
 opportunity for which Mr. Booth had so long looked, and he 
 conceived the bold idea of not only joining them himself but 
 of urging the entire body to do the same. 
 
 *The Methodist New Connexion is the first-born of the 
 numerous Wesleyan progeny, to which the parent organisa- 
 tion gave birth after the death of its founder in 1791. It is 
 no small testimony to the creative genius of Wesley that 
 each member of the family is almost a facsimile of the rest. 
 Indeed the doctrines are identically those which he formu- 
 lated. His rich hymnology and peculiar nomenclature have 
 also been preserved intact. It has only been on questions 
 of church government, similar to those which gave rise to the 
 Reform agitation, that differences of opinion and consequent 
 divisions have arisen. Indeed, in not a few instances it 
 would puzzle any outsider, not thoroughly versed in all the 
 subtle distinctions of Methodistic polity, to say wherein the 
 
 * A historical sketch both of the New Connexion and of the Reformers 
 will be found ia Vol. I., Chaps, vii. and xiv. of Mrs. Booth's Life. 
 
 52 
 
London. 53 
 
 various branches of that body differ, or to which the palm of 
 superiority may fairly be ascribed. 
 
 To amalgamate the Reformers with this branch of the 
 Methodist church seemed to Mr. Booth preferable to con- 
 stituting a separate organisation of their own, since they 
 would obtain all the privileges which had been denied them 
 by the parent church, without having to encounter the delay 
 and difficulties which must necessarily attend the opposite 
 course. To manufacture a strong government out of ele- 
 ments so discordant, so heterogeneous and so unadhesive 
 would, he felt, be extremely difficult. Whereas if the frag- 
 ments were thrown into a pot which had already some 
 cohesion of its own, the law-abiding portions could be melted 
 down, so to speak, into one consistent mass, while the dis- 
 orderly elements could more easily be eliminated, and would 
 at any rate be less likely to do harm. Besides, why waste 
 time over building up a facsimile of what already existed, 
 when the original combined at the same time both the 
 stability and elasticity which seemed desirable ? 
 
 Having prepared the way by a careful study of the New 
 Connexion system, and by getting into touch with some of 
 its leading spirits, Mr. Booth now broached the subject at 
 the quarterly meeting of the office-bearers of his own cir- 
 cuit, proposing that, without waiting for the action of the 
 entire body, they should themselves take immediate 
 measures for amalgamation. Although strongly supported 
 by some of the most influential persons present, the motion 
 was lost, and failing to carry his people with him, Mr. Booth 
 announced to them his resolution to go over alone. 
 
 This decision was received by his people with unfeigned 
 regret, and many efforts were put forth to induce him to 
 remain. He was offered the privilege of immediate mar- 
 riage, together with a furnished home, and a horse and a 
 trap to enable him to visit distant places. To this pressure 
 he might have yielded, had not Miss Mumford thrown her 
 influence into the opposite scale. The inviting career of a 
 country parson, she argued, combined though it might be 
 
54 Mrs. Booth. 
 
 with the tempting promise of domestic bliss, would not alter 
 the fact that the time so spent would probably be thrown 
 away, and that he would be compelled to do in the end what 
 could be more easily and profitably done now. 
 
 It was accordingly settled that he should enter the Metho- 
 dist New Connexion, studying for six months under Dr. 
 Cooke's personal supervision, and offering himself for their 
 ministry at the ensuing Conference, when there was every 
 reason to believe that he would be accepted. 
 
 The reception with which Mr. Booth met, at the thres- 
 hold of his new departure, was cordial and encouraging. In 
 Dr. Cooke he found an able and appreciative leader, and the 
 mutual regard which they entertained for each other was 
 preserved to the end. The doctor, who was in the habit of 
 preparing a few students for the ministry, received him, 
 with two or three others, into his own home. 
 
 That his studies were intermingled with active evangelis- 
 tic labours will readily be surmised, Indeed the very day 
 after his arrival in London, we find him, on the 15th Feb- 
 ruary, 1854, preaching in Brunswick Street Chapel, when 
 fifteen souls sought salvation. The General naively admits 
 that he never was a pattern student, and that he might 
 often have been found on his face in an agony of prayer 
 when he ought to have been mastering his Greek verbs. 
 But the blessed results, which had already stamped his 
 ministry with an apostolic seal, continued to mark his 
 London labours, and when it came to his turn for his ser- 
 mon to be criticised by the doctor according to custom, he 
 could only say, ;< Mr. Booth, I have nothing to say to you. 
 Go on, and may God bless you." Indeed, the constant rows 
 of weeping penitents, including one night the doctor's 
 daughter, formed the best apology for the non-ministerial^ 
 unartificial, dramatic style which distinguished Mr. Booth's 
 pulpit utterances. 
 
 " I intend proposing you at the next Conference as super- 
 intendent of the work in London," said Dr. Cooke one morn- 
 ing, as he strolled with Mr. Booth through the garden, thus 
 
London. 5 5 
 
 showing his confidence in the ability and devotion of his 
 favoured student. To this proposal Mr. Booth strenuously 
 objected, pleading his youth and inexperience for so impor- 
 tant and responsible a position. He consented, however, to 
 take the position of assistant pastor, should he be desired to 
 do so, accepting as his leader whomever Conference might 
 appoint. 
 
 There was a difficulty, however, in the adoption of this 
 plan, as hitherto the society had only supported one 
 preacher. This objection was overcome by his old friend, 
 Mr. Rabbits, who had followed him into the New Connexion, 
 and who now offered to pay the salary of a second pastor, 
 provided that Mr. Booth was appointed to the post. To this 
 arrangement the Conference subsequently agreed. 
 
 Although it had been impossible for Dr. Cooke ov any of 
 his influential friends to pledge the Conference to accept Mr. 
 Booth's candidature, nevertheless it had been a foregone 
 conclusion that they would readily extend to him the right 
 hand of fellowship promised by them to the Reformers in 
 general at their last annual gathering. Still Mr. Booth, and 
 even Miss Mumford, were scarcely prepared for the hearty 
 and unanimous manner in which they were received and for 
 the special favour granted to them in the privilege of 
 receiving permission to marry, at the end of twelve months, 
 instead of having to wait, as was generally the rule, for the 
 expiry of the four years of probation that must elapse before 
 he could be formally ordained as a minister of the church. 
 
 In announcing this news to Miss Mumford, Mr. Booth 
 writes : 
 
 " I snatch a moment to say that a letter has just come to hand from 
 Mr. Cooke, stating that I have been unanimously received by the Con- 
 ference. This is very good, but, for some unaccountable reason, I do 
 not feel at all grateful, neither does it at all elate me ! " 
 
 To this letter Miss Mumford replies as follows : 
 
 " Your letter this morning filled my heart with gratitude and my mouth 
 with praise. I am thankful beyond measure for the favourable recep- 
 tion and kind consideration you have met with from the Conference, 
 
56 Mrs. booth. 
 
 and I cau only account for your ingratitude on the ground you once 
 gave me, namely, that blessings iu possession seem to lose half their 
 value. This is an unfortunate circumstance, but I think in this matter 
 you ought to be grateful, when you look at the past and contemplate the 
 future. However, I am. This comes to me as the answer of too many 
 prayers, the result of too much self-sacrifice, the end of too much 
 an?;iety, and the crowniug of too many hopes, not to be appreciated ; 
 and my soul does praise God. You may think me enthusiastic. But 
 your position is now' fixed as a minister of Christ, and your only concern 
 will be to labour for God and souls. 
 
 " I saw that in all probability you might toil the best part of your life 
 and then, after all, have to turn to business for your support. But 
 now, for life you are to be a teacher of Christ's glorious gospel, and I 
 am sure the uppermost desire of my soul is that you may be a holy and 
 successful one. May God afresh baptize you with His love, and make 
 you indeed a minister of the Spirit ! 
 
 " Oh, to begin anew, to give up all, and to live right in the glory ! 
 Shall we? Can we dare do otherwise with the light and influence God 
 has given to us ? God forbid that we should provoke the eyes of His 
 holiness by our indifference and lukevvarmness and inconsistency ! The 
 Lord help me and thee to live, so that our hearts condemn us not, for 
 then shall we have confidence towards God, that whatsoever we shall 
 ask of Him (even to making us instrumental in saving thousands of 
 precious souls) He will do it for us. Amen ! " 
 
 On the inside of the envelope Miss Mmnford adds the 
 following quotation : 
 
 " Not to understand a treasure's worth, 
 Till time has stole away the slighted good, 
 Is cause of half the misery we feel, 
 And makes the world the wilderness it is." 
 
 Mr. Booth now threw himself heart and soul into his new 
 work as assistant pastor to the Rev.- P. T. Gilton. His 
 fame as a revivalist had now spread to distant places, and 
 frequent invitations were received for him to hold special 
 services. Whilst most of these were declined without 
 further consideration, several were of such a pressing nature, 
 and were so strongly backed by influential friends, that he 
 scarcely knew what to reply. Coming as they did from 
 Xew Connexion congregations it was difficult to return a 
 refus.il. 
 
 Miss Mumford hailed the news of each advance with joy. 
 
London. 57 
 
 She had from the first entertained an unbounded confidence 
 in Mr. Booth's ability, and felt that all he needed was an 
 opportunity to enable him to occupy, with glory to God and 
 credit to himself, a far higher position of usefulness than 
 any that he had hitherto held : 
 
 "Bless you! Bless you!" she writes. "Your note has, like 'joy's 
 seraphic fingers, ' touched the tenderest chords in my heart, and what I 
 write is but like the trembling echoes of a distant harp. If you were 
 here, I would pour out the full strain into your bosom and press you to 
 my heart. God is too good! I feel happier than I have done for 
 months. You will think me extravagant. Well, bless God. He made 
 me so. Yes, we shall, I believe it, be very happy. 
 
 "Do I remember? Yes, I remember all, all that has bound us 
 together. All the bi-ight and happy, as well as the clouded and sorrow- 
 ful of our fellowship. Nothing relating to you, can time or place erase 
 from my memory. Your words, your looks, your actions, even the most 
 trivial and incidental, come up before me as fresh as life. If I meet a 
 child called William, I am more interested in him than in any other. 
 Bless you ! Keep your spirits up and hope much for the future. God 
 lives and loves us, and we shall be one in Him, loving each other as 
 Christ has loved us. 
 
 " * Thus by communion our delight shall grow ! 
 
 Thus streams of mingled bliss swell higher as they flow ! 
 Thus angels mix their flames and more divinely glow ! ' " 
 
 During the autumn of 1854, Miss Mumford paid a long- 
 promised visit to a friend at Burnham,'in Essex. 
 
 In one of her letters from this place there is a charming 
 descriptive passage : 
 
 "It is truly delightful here now at night. The lovely moon throws 
 her silvery beams on the bosom of a beautifully tranquil river. All 
 around is serene and silent. The breeze is just sufficient to fan the 
 water into gentle ripplets. The boats and skiffs repose on its surface as 
 if weary of the day's engagements. Altogether it reminds one of Heaven. 
 I wish you could see it just now. It would stir the old poetic fire in 
 father's soul, and warm mother's heart with admiration and devotion! 
 All nature, vocal and mute, point upwards. And the most unsophisti- 
 cated soul must feel the power of its testimony, and the being and good- 
 ness of the Christian's God. I love to gaze on these dear foot-marks of 
 Jehovah. It does one good sometimes as much in soul as in body. I 
 don't know what effect the majestic in nature would have upon me. 
 But such a scene as this stirs strange feelings and touches chords which 
 thrill and vibrate through my whole being. 
 
58 Mrs. Booth. 
 
 " Be happy about me. God lives, and I feel safe in His bands. Let 
 us try to live according to our professed belief, and be careful for 
 nothing. Bless you ! 
 
 " Good-bye, and believe me as ever, your own loving 
 
 " CATHERINE." 
 
 London has always been regarded by preachers as an 
 extremely difficult field, and many who have been successful 
 elsewhere have failed completely when they have sought to 
 move the shrewdly-intelligent and worldly-wise heart of 
 Cockneydom. It is scarcely too much to say that the vast 
 metropolis is a nation within a nation. The thoroughbred 
 Londoner is a man sui generis. For needle-like acuteness, 
 for ready repartee, for unabashed self-confidence, for un- 
 gullibility if we may coin the word he presents the very 
 antipodes of the simple-minded country yokel. Indeed, in 
 these respects it would be hard to match him in the world. 
 Perhaps the struggle for existence, the ceaseless roar of 
 traffic, and the perpetual contact with keen intellects, all 
 help towards the formation of such characteristics, which 
 serve considerably to counteract the preacher's toil. 
 
 The lowest classes are absorbed in the scramble for the 
 crumbs which fall from the rich man's table. One Lazarus 
 is bad and sad enough ; but here are hundreds of thousands 
 lying at Dives' door, whose destitution is even more miser- 
 able than that of their Eastern counterpart. Nay, they are 
 not allowed to lie in so comfortable a place. The Dives of 
 the nineteenth century cannot tolerate so painful a sight. 
 The baton of the policeman, and if needs be, the bayonet of 
 the soldier, must sweep such refuse as far as possible from 
 his gaze, into the dens and alleys where it lies seething for 
 a time, awaiting the ghastly day of resurrection and retribu- 
 tion. To go to them with a loaf in one hand appears as 
 necessary as to carry the Gospel in the other. " Give ye 
 them to eat," seems as definitely commanded for their bodies 
 as it is for their souls. And yet, whence shall any buy 
 bread for such a multitude ? 
 
 And then there are the labouring classes, who live upon 
 
London. 59 
 
 the borders of this human pandemonium, this earthly purga- 
 tory, this out-Hadesed Hades, and who are perpetually 
 supplying the fuel for its flames. The conditions of society 
 have made their burdens so grievous, their hours of toil so 
 long, their means of subsistence so scanty, that they have 
 but little time and opportunity to provide for the interests 
 of their souls, so absorbed are they in caring for their bodies. 
 Their worse than Egyptian taskmasters bid them make 
 bricks without straw, and sacrifice their health and families 
 without even the occasional shelter of a land of Goschen, as 
 a hard-earned recompense for their toil. The modern Reho- 
 boam answers the universal cry of Israel for concessions by 
 declaring that his little finger shall be thicker than his 
 father's loins, and by substituting a scourge of scorpions for 
 his father's thongs. And when the busman, the tram-con- 
 ductor, or the shop-girl venture to ventilate their grievances 
 and to complain against their Gethsemane of toil, they are 
 threatened, if one may reverently say it, with the Calvary 
 of the Law! How hard, how almost impossible, must it be 
 then to reach such with the message of salvation, unless 
 their Moses can at the same time proffer them some prospect 
 of escape from bondage ! 
 
 The middle classes have more leisure, it is true ; but 
 perhaps even less inclination for the vital godliness which 
 would check them in their wild pursuit of wealth, or force 
 upon them a life of self-control and sacrifice. Those who 
 are not engulfed in the absorbing worship of Mammon are 
 mostly enthralled by the fascinating enchantments of 
 pleasure. And between the two there is but little room or 
 desire for the service of God, A press that largely banishes 
 religion from its columns caters for a public who largely 
 banish God from their thoughts and affections. 
 
 And the higher we rise in the social scale the more is this 
 experience intensified. The gold fever grows worse. The 
 pulse beats faster. The temperature increases. Each fresh 
 draught, instead of quenching the thirst, maddens the 
 victim, who may well cry out 
 
Co Mrs. Booth. 
 
 Vrater, water, everywhere, 
 But not a drop to drink ! " 
 
 The gold that perishes can no more satisfy his immortal 
 soul than could the salt waters of the ocean the ship-wrecked 
 mariner upon his raft. And yet there seems no limit to the 
 cursed love of gold, the " auri sacra fames^ of the old 
 Roman poet. Well might his words be applied to our 
 modern Rome : 
 
 " Get money, money "is the cry ! 
 
 " Honestly if you can ; 
 If not, no matter how, or why ! 
 'Tis money makes the man ! " 
 
 And those who are not votaries of wealth, who do not 
 make piety and true nobility of character play second fiddle 
 to gold (virtus post nummos\ are in an exaggerated degree 
 the devotees of pleasure and the victims of fashion. 
 
 " Faster whirls the giddy dance ! 
 
 Music soft and song 
 "With their fatal spell entrance, 
 Sweeping them along ! 
 
 Quaff ye now your Lethe- draught ; 
 
 Soon the charm shall break ! 
 Death tby doomed soul shall waft 
 
 To the fiery lake ! " 
 
 It may be said that the above remarks apply to other 
 cities and districts beside London. This is true, but surely 
 in a less degree. At least London offers an exaggerated 
 exemplification of them, and at the time of which we write 
 it had been the subject of but few revivals, and had com- 
 paratively foiled the efforts of many godly labourers. The 
 fact therefore that Mr. Booth's Spalding successes were re- 
 peated in London, and this at a period when the Xew Con- 
 nexion cause there was low and struggling, soon attracted 
 the notice of other circuits, where circumstances were more 
 favourable for the expectation of a revival. If any good 
 thing could coine cut of this Jerusalem, there was certainly 
 great hope for the outlying Galilees and Bethlehems. 
 
London. 61 
 
 The appeals for Mr. Booth's services from other districts 
 in the Connexion now so increased in number and importu- 
 nity that they could no longer be disregarded. The first 
 circuit he visited was Bristol, where he held a week's meet- 
 ings, with the result that about fourteen professed salvation, 
 ten of these being added to the society. 
 
 Mr. Booth's next evangelistic meetings were held in 
 Guernsey. His journal and letters contain some interesting 
 references to them, and the remarkable results achieved 
 doubtless helped to decide the nature of his work during the 
 next eleven years. Indeed they may be said to have left an 
 everlasting mark on the subsequent labours both of himself 
 and of Mrs. Booth. 
 
 Describing the meetings, Mr. Booth writes to Miss Mum- 
 ford as follows : 
 
 " MOUNT DURANT, GUERNSEY, October 17th, 1854. 
 " MY DEAREST AND MOST PRECIOUS LOVE, Last night I preached my 
 first sermon. The congregation \vas middling, very respectable, stiff, 
 and quiet. I let off a few heavy guns at the lazy formality so prevalent, 
 and with some effect. They opened their eyes at some of the things I 
 said. 
 
 " 20th October. My preaching is highly spoken of. The Lord is 
 working, and I trust that to-morrow we shall have a crash a glorious 
 breakdown. Already the Lord has given me some souls, but my anxious 
 heart cries out for many more. I cannot write about the natural beauties 
 of the place. I have done nothing yet but sigh for and seek the salvation 
 of its inhabitants. The arrangements for the services were miserable 
 not even a notice printed. And when they advertised the anniversary 
 sermons for to-morrow they never mentioned the preaching afterwards. 
 I asked the good brother who had the thing under his control to put 
 another line, but lie said he dare not without the consent of the leaders' 
 meeting ! Poor fellows ! They will advertise for money, but are ashamed 
 to advertise for souls ! 
 
 "God bless you. Pray for me. Look for a fuller and completer 
 manifestation of the Son of God, and believe me, as ever, 
 
 " Yours in betrothed and unalterable affection, 
 
 WILLIAM." 
 
 The entries in the journal continue as follows 
 
 " Sunday. llose with a delightful sense of God's favour, and antici- 
 pating a good and successful day. In the morning the congregation was 
 
62 Mrs. Booth. 
 
 very good, and the word, I am convinced, went with power to many 
 hearts. At night the chapel was crowded. It was their anniversary. 
 The collections were double in amount those of last year, and in the 
 prayer meeting wonderful victory was ours. We took down about; 
 twenty-six names some most interesting and glorious cases. Many 
 went away under deep conviction. 
 
 u Monday. Good news comes in on every hand. To-night, although 
 the weather is most unfavourable, the congregation has been very good. 
 and the prayer meeting even more successful than the one last night. 
 Many very clear cases of conversion. About thirty-five peniter. 
 
 " Tuesday. The excitement increases. The congregation was much 
 larger, and a great number of penitents came forward. 
 
 - Wednesday. The chapel to-night has been packed fuller than it 
 was on Sunday night and the prayer meeting was a most glorious one. 
 We did not conclude until 10.50. Very many who had been seeking all 
 the week found peace. 
 
 u Thursday. To-night many went away unable to get into the chapel. 
 The aisles were crowded, and up to eleven o'clock it was almost an im- 
 possibility to get them up to the communion rail, owing to the 
 W T e had near sixty penitents, many very clear cases, and I doubt not 
 over sixty more were in deep distress in different parts of the chapel. 
 The parting with the people was very affec: 
 
 u Friday. I bade farewell to Guernsey. 3iany came down to the 
 pier to wish me good-bye, and when the packet bore me away, and I 
 caught the last glimpse of their waving hands and handkerchiefs, I felt 
 I had parted with many very dear friends, and that I had bidden adieu 
 to a fair spot, where I had certainly passed one of the happiest fo; 
 of my brief history." 
 
 On his return from Guernsey, Mr. Booth received prc - 
 invitations to visit Longton and Hanley, in the Staffordshire 
 potteries, at that time practically the headquarters and chief 
 stronghold of the Xew Connexion. 
 
 To give anything like a complete account of these meetings 
 is at present impossible. Ample material is available, but 
 must be reserved for the future chronicler of Mr. Booth's 
 career. At present we satisfy ourselves with a few extracts 
 from his diary, which will suffice to throw a light on the 
 subsequent history of the subject of these memoirs. The 
 double " footprints on the sands of time r * occasionally move 
 so closely together that in tracking the one we cannot but 
 observe the other. 
 
 - Sunday, January 7tl: . 185-5. An important day in the aanals of Zion 
 
London. 63 
 
 Chapel, Longton. At night the chapel was comfortably filled, about 
 1,800 persons present. After the sermon, fifty precious souls cried for 
 mercy. This gave all great encouragement. 
 
 u Monday, January 8th, 1855. The congregation to-night has been 
 excellent. Preached with much liberty, and Mr. McCurdy intimated 
 after the service that every sentence was with great power. We had 
 'about thirty penitents. Many very good cases. 
 
 " Thursday, llth. The farewell. The chapel very full, more so than 
 on Sunday night. A grand and imposing spectacle. How solemn the 
 responsibility of the man who stands up to address such crowds on the 
 momentous topics of Time, Eternity, Salvation, and Damnation. Lord, 
 help me ! So I prayed, and mighty were the results. We took down 
 about sixty names this night, making a total of 260 during the nine days 
 that I had stayed at Longton. 
 
 " Sunday, January 14th. My first Sabbath at Hanley. It has been a 
 remarkable day, and I have preached twice in perhaps the largest chapel 
 in the world. At night an imposing congregation. 
 
 " I had much anxiety about visiting this place before leaving London, 
 and many fears as to my fitness for so large a building and so important 
 a congregation. I was astonished at the quietness of spirit with which I 
 rose to address GO large a multitude comparatively careless as to their 
 mental criticism of the messenger, and absorbed in an earnest desire for 
 the salvation of the people. 
 
 " Wednesday, 24th. Congregations increased. During the fortnight 
 160 names have been taken down, a very large number, but not many in 
 proportion to the vast crowds who have attended the meetings. Man.) 
 glorious and wonderful cases of conversion have transpired, and on the 
 whole I cannot but hope that the services have exercised a very salutary 
 effect on the society and neighbourhood." 
 
CHAPTER VII 
 THE WEDDING. 1855. 
 
 COMPARED with the principles and practice of the Salva- 
 tion Army in later years, the wedding of Mr. Booth and Miss 
 Mumford presents a striking contrast. Indeed, in^the light 
 of subsequent experience, they have not scrupled to blame 
 themselves for having thrown away so unique a chance of 
 influencing multitudes by considering their personal predi- 
 lections rather than the highest interests of the kingdom. 
 They were now so well known both in the Connexion and 
 among the Reformers that the occasion might easily have 
 been utilised as a powerful fulcrum on the hearts of the 
 people. 
 
 But these were lessons which were to be learnt in later 
 life. And so an event which was fraught with consequences 
 of everlasting importance to hundreds of thousands of souls 
 was enacted in all the empty quietude of a congregationless 
 chapel. Mr. Booth led his bride to the altar in the presence 
 of none, save her father, his sister, and the officiating mini- 
 ster. And yet, perhaps, never has there been a wiser choice, 
 a more heaven-approved union, than thfe one which was thus 
 undemonstratively celebrated by Dr. Thomas, at the Stock- 
 well New Chapel, on the 16th June, 1855. And if happiness 
 be judged, not merely by the measure of joy personally 
 experienced, but by the amount imparted to others, then 
 surely it may be said that never w T ere two hearts united with 
 happier results. " The joy of joys is the joy that joys in the 
 joy of others." This is the purest and most unselfish form 
 of happiness. Marriage too often degenerates into the merest 
 self-indulgence, with the inevitable consequence that its 
 
 64 
 
The Wedding' 65 
 
 charms decay as soon as it loses the gloss of early courtship. 
 But where personal interests, though necessarily consulted, 
 are subordinated to the claims of God and humanity, the 
 happiness that ensues is both perfect and permanent. 
 
 And yet, while for some reasons we cannot but regret the 
 loss of so valuable an opportunity for gathering the people 
 together, and for impressing upon them the claims of God, 
 the incident is valuable, inasmuch as it throws an interesting 
 side-light upon the actual character of Mr. and Mrs. Booth. 
 Far from being the ardent popularity-hunters and publicity- 
 seekers which some suppose, it has been through life their 
 constant lamentation that the calls of duty deprived them of 
 the domestic seclusion which they would otherwise have 
 coveted. Especially was this the case with Mrs. Booth. 
 Had she yielded to the bent of her personal inclinations, she 
 would have infinitely preferred the life of retirement which 
 became less and less possible in her subsequent career : and 
 would have smuggled away her talents and buried her 
 opportunities in some secluded retreat, satisfied, like so many, 
 with having done no harm, while conscious of having accom- 
 plished but little good. 
 
 Hence, when in later years the same opportunity recurred 
 in the marriage of their children, it was no shallow thirst 
 for show which prompted them to pursue so opposite a course 
 to that which they had adopted at their own wedding. The 
 opportunity of impressing upon the world at large what 
 marriage might and ought to be was too valuable to be lost. 
 And the great fundamental principle prevailed of sacrificing 
 personal preferences for the all-absorbing claims of God's 
 kingdom. The trade winds were blowing too favourable a 
 breeze for the fleet to lie at anchor. It might be necessary 
 at times to scud under bare poles across stormy seas, or even 
 to seek for a while some sheltering haven, but that was no 
 reason for discarding opportunities so favourable, some of 
 which come but once in a lifetime and pass away, if 
 neglected, never to return. 
 
 And now Catherine Booth found herself on the threshold 
 
66 Mrs. Booth. 
 
 of the life of usefulness which had constituted the subject of 
 her girlhood's dreams and the summit of her Christian aspi- 
 rations. By her side was the .man of her heart's choice. 
 The impetus which springs from unity of aim and purpose 
 was now in the fullest sense her own. The position for 
 which, especially during the past three years, she had so 
 diligently been preparing was within her grasp. She 
 realised at once its opportunities and responsibilities, and 
 rose to meet them with unfailing grace, dignity and power. 
 
 The five months of evangelistic work which preceded his 
 marriage had established for Mr. Booth a widespread reputa- 
 tion for devotion, ability, and success, so that when the 
 Annual Conference had met at Sheffield, just previous to the 
 wedding, it was resolved that " the Rev. William Booth, 
 whose labours have been so abundantly blessed in the con- 
 version of sinners, be appointed to the work of an evangelist, 
 to give the various circuits an opportunity of having his ser- 
 vices during the coming 3~ear." 
 
 The results had indeed been remarkable. In the space of 
 four months no less than 1.739 persons had sought salva- 
 tion at nine separate centres, besides a considerable number 
 at four or five other places, of which we have no particulars. 
 This gave an average of 214 for each circuit visited, or 161 
 for each week, and 23 for each day during the time that 
 meetings were being held. At Longton, during the first visit 
 there had been 260 in nine days, and during the second visit. 
 97 in four days. At Hanley, there were 460 in a fortnight; 
 at Burslem, 262 in one week ; at Mossley, 50 in five days ; at 
 Newcastle-under-Lyme, 290 in one week ; at Bradford, 160 
 in a fortnight ; and at Gateshead, a similar number in the 
 same time. Not included in the above was Guernse}-, where, 
 during Mr. Booth's first visit, 200 souls sought salvation in 
 the space of a fortnight, It was an ordinary occurrence for 
 40, 50, and 60 persons to come forward to the communion 
 rail each night, and at Burslem we read in the New Con- 
 nexion Magazine, that on a single occasion 101 names were 
 taken. Besides those who actually professed conversion, 
 
The Wedding. 67 
 
 large numbers of persons became convinced of sin, and were 
 gathered in after the special services were over. 
 
 The wedding over, Mr. and Mrs. Booth went to Ryde for 
 a week's brief honeymoon, after which they proceeded to 
 Guernsey and Jersey, where revival services had been 
 arranged. It is worthy of note that the hall in which the 
 Jersey meetings were held has since become an Army Bar- 
 racks. 
 
 The return voyage was a very trying one. Mrs. Booth 
 was always a wretched sailor, and this trip was certainly 
 one of her worst. She had been for some time in very poor 
 health, and it now became manifest that it would be im- 
 possible for her to accompany her husband in fulfilling the 
 appointment marked out for him by the Annual Committee. 
 It was therefore decided, much to their mutual disappoint- 
 ment, that Mrs. Booth should remain at home with her 
 mother till well enough to travel, while Mr. Booth proceeded 
 to York, in fulfilment of his next engagement. How keenly 
 they felt the separation may be judged from the first letters 
 interchanged by them, after Mr. Booth had left : 
 
 u 3, CASTLB GATE, YORK, August 4th, 1855. 
 
 " MY PRECIOUS WIFE, The first time I have written you that endear- 
 ing appellation ! Bless you a thousand times ! How often during my 
 journey have I taken my eyes from off the book I was reading to think 
 about you yes, to think tenderly about you, about our future and our 
 home. 
 
 " Shall we not again commence a life of devotion, and by renewed 
 consecration begin afresh the Christian race ? 
 
 " Oh, Kate ! be happy. You will rejoice my soul if you send me word 
 that your heart is gladsome, and your spirits are light. It will help you 
 to battle with your illness, and make the short period of our separation 
 fly away. 
 
 " Bless you ! I feel as though a part of my very self were wanting 
 as though I had left some very important adjunct to my happiness behind 
 me. And so I have. My precious self. I do indeed return that warm 
 affection I know you bear towards me. 
 
 " Your faithful and affectionate husband, 
 
 " WILLIAM." 
 
 To this letter Mrs. Booth sent the following response : 
 
68 Mrs. Booth. 
 
 " August Gtli, 1855. 
 
 " I\!Y PBECIOUS HUSBAND, A thousand thanks for your sweet letter. I 
 have read it over rnaoy, many times, and it is still fresh and precious to 
 my heart. I cannot answer it, hut be assured not a word is forgotten or 
 overlooked. 
 
 "As soon as you were out of sight, I felt as though I could have per- 
 formed the journey with far less suffering than to stay behind. It was a 
 supremely wretched day, and long before nigbt I had made up my mind 
 to come to you, sick or well, on Wednesday. You say, 'But Kate, how 
 foolish ! Why did you not think and reason ? ' I did, my darling ! I 
 philosophised as soundly as you could desire. I argued with myself on 
 the injustice of coming here and making my dear mother miserable by 
 leaving her so soon on the folly of making myself ill on the selfishness 
 of wishing to burden you with the anxiety and care my presence would 
 entail. But in the very midst of such soliloquies, the fact of your being 
 gone beyond my reach, the possibility of something happening before we 
 could meet again, the possible shortness of the time we may have to 
 spend together, and such like thoughts would start up, making rebellious 
 nature rise and swell and scorn all restraints of reason, philosophy, or 
 religion. The only comfort I could get was from the thought that I 
 could follow you if I liked. And binding this only balm tightly to my 
 heart, I managed to get a pretty good night's rest. 
 
 " Remember me always as your own faithful, loving, joyful little wife, 
 
 " CATHERINE. " 
 
 From York Mr. Booth proceeded to Hull, and he was 
 joined on his way at Selby junction by Mrs. Booth, who had 
 now sufficiently recovered to be able to travel. The meet- 
 ings were of the usual stirring and successful character. 
 
 After spending a short time together at Hull, Mr. and Mrs. 
 Booth went for a couple of days' rest and change to Caistor, 
 which had previously been the scene of some remarkable in- 
 gatherings. Owing to Mrs. Booth's continued ill-health, it 
 was decided that she should here remain until the conclusion 
 of the work in Hull. While staying in Caistor, she wrote as 
 follows to her mother : 
 
 " I heard from William this morning. They had a triumphant day on 
 Sunday, the chapel packed and upwards of forty cases at night, some of 
 them very remarkable ones. He will finish up at Hull on Thursday, 
 and come here on Friday for a week's rest previous to commencing the 
 services at Sheffield. I anticipate his coming much. 
 
 " It is such a splendid country. As I rambled out in the green lanes 
 this morning, hemmed in on every side by fields of golden corn, in wbich 
 
The Wedding. 69 
 
 the reapers are busy in all directions, and surrounded by the most lovely 
 scenery of hill and dale, wood and garden, I did wish you, my dear 
 mother, could come and spend a fortnight with me. As for Hull, I 
 would much prefer Brixton, and our bit of garden to the great majority 
 of its homes. It is like being in fairy-land here, after being there, 
 though I had every kindness and attention heart could desire. But you 
 know how precious fresh air is to me at all times, or I would not be a 
 voluntary exile from my beloved husband, even for a week ! Bless him ! 
 He continues all I desire. 
 
 " I am glad you changed the boots. Fudge about paying me ! I 
 should think you wore an extra pair out in running up and down stairs 
 after me, when I located my troublesome self at Brixton last. Whether 
 or not, it is all right. 
 
 " We are to have apartments at Sheffield. You cannot think with 
 what joy I anticipate being to ourselves once more. It will seem like 
 being at home, sweet home. For though I get literally oppressed with 
 kindness, I must say I would prefer a home, where we could sit down 
 together at our own little table, myself the mistress and my husband the 
 only guest. But the work of God so abundantly prospers that I dare 
 not repine, or else I feel this constant packing and locating amongst 
 strangers to be a great burden, especially while so weak and poorly. But 
 then I have many mercies and advantages. My precious William is all 
 I desire, and without this what would the most splendid home be but a 
 glittering bauble. Then, too, by living in different families and places, 
 I have much room for observation and reflection on various phases of 
 life and character which I hope will benefit my mind and increase my 
 knowledge, and thus fit me for future usefulness in my family, the 
 church, and the world. May the Lord help me ! 
 
 " Tell father that he must not wait for a change of circumstances 
 before he begins to serve God, but seek first the Kingdom of Heaven, and 
 then the attending promise will belong to him, and I believe God will 
 fulfil it. I wish he could be introduced into such a revival as that at 
 Hull. God is doing great and marvellous things there. 
 
 ' He is bringing to His fold 
 Kich and poor and young and old.'" 
 
 At the same time she wrote as follows to Mr. Booth : 
 
 " MY OWN SWEET HUSBAND, Here I sit under a hedge in that beauti- 
 ful lane you pointed out to me. It is one of the loveliest days old earth 
 has ever basked io. No human being is within sight or sound. All 
 nature seems to be exulting in existence, and your moralising little wife 
 is much better in health and in a mood to enjoy all these beauties and 
 advantages to the utmost. I have had a vegetarian breakfast, and one 
 of the most refreshing dabbles in cold water I ever enjoyed. And now, 
 after a brisk walk and reading your kind letter, I feel more pleasure in 
 
70 Mrs. Booth. 
 
 writing to you than anything else under heaven (except a personal in- 
 terview) could give me. 
 
 " I bless God for His goodness to you on Sunday, and hope that for 
 once thou wast satisfied \ If so, it would have been a treat to have seen 
 thee ! I feel perfectly at home here, and experience just that free, sweet, 
 wholesome kind of atmosphere which I have so long been panting for. 
 My natural spirits are in a high key this morning. I feel as if I could 
 get over a stile just at hand and join the lambs in their gambols ! My 
 soul also rises to the great and benevolent Creator of us all, and I feel 
 stronger desires than for a long time past to be a Christian after His own 
 model, even Christ Jesus. 
 
 " Oh, I wish you were here. I think you would rest quiet a little 
 while ! It is so like what it will be when there is no more curse, when 
 they shall not hurt nor destroy in all God's holy mountain, but when the 
 lion and the fatling shall lie down together, and a little child shall lead 
 them ! Oh what a glorious time is coming for the real children of God 
 to those who do His will ! Lord, help us ! 
 
 " The bells are ringing and guns firing on account of the news that 
 Sebastopol is taken. But I should think it is a delusion. Anyhow I 
 cannot enter into the spirit of the victory. I picture the gory slain and 
 the desolated homes and broken hearts attending it, and feel saddened. 
 What a happy day will it be for the world when all Christians shall pro- 
 test against war, when each poor mistaken Peter shall have heard Jesus 
 say, ' Put up again thy sword into its place, for all they that take the 
 sword shall perish with the sword ! ' What a fearful prediction, if it 
 applies to nations as well as to individuals ! And hitherto it has been 
 fulfilled in the history of the world. If it is yet to be fulfilled in our 
 history, what will be our fate as a people ? 
 
 "Believe me as ever, thy own in earth's tenderest, closest, and 
 strongest bonds." 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 
 SHEFFIELD. CHATSWORTH. DEWSBURY. LEEDS. 1855. 
 
 THE visit to Sheffield is so fully described in Mrs. Booth's 
 letters to her parents that we hail the opportunity of report- 
 ing it in her own words. It lasted for a month, from 
 September 23rd to October 24th, and included five -Sabbaths. 
 No less than 663 professed conversion during this time, the 
 work increasing week by week in power and success. In- 
 deed, it broke off at its very height, arousing a considerable 
 controversy in Mr. and Mrs. Booth's minds as to the wisdom 
 of abandoning such an opportunity when circumstances 
 seemed favourable for an even larger ingathering. But we 
 turn to Mrs. Booth's own narrative : 
 
 " October. I should love to see you. I never was SL jiappy before. 
 My cup, so far as this world goes, seems full. With the exception of the 
 drawback of a delicate body and being without an abiding home, I have 
 all I want. My precious William grows every day more to my mind and 
 heart. God is blessing him richly, both in his own soul and in his 
 public labours. He is becoming more and more a man of prayer and of 
 one purpose. 
 
 " The work progresses with mighty power. Everybody who knows 
 anything of this society is astonished, and the mouths of gainsayers are 
 stopped. God's Son is glorified, and precious souls are being saved by 
 scores. Four hundred and forty names have been taken, and to-morrow 
 is expected to be a crowning day. There is to be another love feast in 
 the afternoon, making three since we came. 
 
 " October. T.he work goes on gloriously. On Sunday night the chapel 
 was packed to suffocation, and, after a powerful sermon, a mighty prayer 
 meeting ensued, in which upwards of sixty names were taken, some of 
 them very important and interesting cases. People of all grades and 
 opinions attend the services, from members of the Town Council to the 
 lowest outcasts. Last night (Monday) was what William calls a precious 
 night, and Mr. Mills, the ex-President, says the sermon was both beauti- 
 ful and effective. 
 
 71 
 
72 Mrs. Booth. 
 
 "October. William's mother is staying here. I must say I antici- 
 pated seeing my new mother with much pleasure and some anxiety, but 
 at our first interview the latter vanished, and I felt that I could both 
 admire and love her. She is a very nice-looking old lady, and of a very 
 sweet and amiable spirit. William had not at all over-estimated her in 
 his descriptions. I do wish she lived within visiting distance of you. I 
 am sure you would enjoy her society. 
 
 "I went to chapel yesterday, and witnessed a scene such as I had 
 never beheld before. In the afternoon there was a love feast, and it was 
 indeed a feast of love. The chapel was packed above and below, so 
 much so that it was with extreme difficulty the bread and water could be 
 passed about. The aisles and pulpit stairs were full, and in all parts of 
 the chapel persons rose to testify of the power of God in connection with 
 the services. It was an affecting time, both to me and to William's 
 mother, when some one called down blessings on his head, to hear a 
 general response and murmured prayer all through the building. 
 
 " At night we got there at five minutes to six, and found the chapel 
 crowded and the vestry half full. I was just returning home when a 
 gentleman told me there was a seat reserved for me in Mr. Mill's pew, 
 which, after some difficulty, I reached. The chapel presented a most 
 pleasing aspect, a complete forest of heads extending to the outside of 
 every door, upstairs and down. Mr. Shaw opened the service, and 
 "William preached with marvellous power. For an hour and ten minutes 
 everybody was absorbed and riveted. Though scores were standing, 
 they had a glorious prayer meeting, in which seventy names were taken, 
 many of them being very satisfactory cases. I would have given some- 
 thing considerable for you to have been there. 
 
 "October 22nd. We had a wonderful day at the chapel yesterday, a 
 tremendous crowd jammed together like sheep in a pen, and one of the 
 mightiest sermons at night I ever listened to, from ' Will a man rob 
 God ? Yet ye have robbed Me ! ' The chapel continued crowded during 
 the prayer meeting, and before half-past ten o'clock seventy-six names 
 were taken. All glory to God ! 
 
 " Thursday, noon. They finished up last night gloriously. Though it 
 was a very wet night the chapel was packed ia every part, and scores 
 went away unable to get in. The friends described the scene to me as 
 very affecting and unprecedented in their history when the people took 
 leave of William, at near eleven o'clock. They passed in a continuous 
 stream across the communion rail from one side of the chapel to the 
 other, while the choir sang, ' Shall we ever meet again ? ' They took 
 forty-eight names, making a total of 663." 
 
 At the conclusion of these meetings, the Conference Com- 
 mittee, at the instance of the Sheffield friends, agreed to a 
 fortnight's rest, which was spent at Chatsworth, where Mrs. 
 Booth writes to her mother as follows : 
 
Sheffield. ChatswortJi. Dewsbury. Leeds. 73 
 
 " CHATSWORTH PARK, October 27th. 
 
 " We arrived here this morning for a few days' rest before going on 
 to Dewsbury. The Sheffield friends have been exceedingly kind. There 
 was a meeting on Thursday night of office bearers, local preachers, and 
 leaders to hear an address from William on the best means of sustaining 
 and consolidating the work. It was a very important gathering, and 
 was attended by a number of influential people. They decided that the 
 address should be published. The gentleman with whom he had been 
 staying bore a most flattering testimony to the benefit his whole family 
 had derived from William's stay among them, and styled it a high 
 honour to have had the privilege of entertaining us. The unanimous 
 and kind solicitude manifested were overwhelming, and sufficient to 
 have made any man destitute of the grace of God, vain. 
 
 " I thought and talked much of you on the journey here, as I rode 
 over those Derbyshire hills and witnessed the wild and romantic 
 scenery. It is a splendid spot where we are located, right inside the 
 park, where we can see the deer gambolling. I feel a peculiar interest 
 in the scenes around, doubtless owing to its being my native county, and 
 you will not deem it strange that, associated with such feelings, I should 
 think more about the authors of my being. Bless you ! I hope the sun 
 of prosperity will yet rise and shine upon you, as you descend the hill of 
 life, and that I shall be permitted to rejoice in its rays. ' 
 
 " October 28th. This afternoon we walked through the park right up 
 to the Duke of Devonshire's residence. It is one of the most splendid 
 spots I was ever in. It is all hill and dale, beautifully wooded, and 
 bestudded with deer in all directions. The residence itself is superior 
 to many of the royal palaces, and the scenery around is most picturesque 
 and sublime. This splendid spot is ours for a week in every sense 
 necessary to its full enjoyment, without any of the anxiety belonging to 
 its real owner. 
 
 " This first day of our stay has been a very blessed one. I could not 
 tell you how happy we both are, notwithstanding my delicate health 
 and our constant migrations. We do indeed find our earthly heaven in 
 each other. Praise the Lord with me, and oh, pray that I may so 
 use and improve the sunshine that if the clouds should gather and 
 the storm arise, I may be prepared to meet it with calmness and resig- 
 nation. 
 
 " At present my dearest love bears up under his extraordinary toil 
 remarkably well, and seems to be profiting already from this rest and 
 change. I never knew him in a more spiritual and devotional condition 
 of mind. His character daily rises in my esteem and admiration, and I 
 am perfectly satisfied with his affection for me. He often tells me he 
 could not have believed he should ever have loved any being as he loves 
 me. Has not the Lord been gracious to me ? Has He not answered my 
 prayers? And oh, shall I not praise Him and Berve Him ? Yea, I am 
 resolved to do so with all my heart. 
 
74 Mrs. Booth. 
 
 " November 2nd. Thursday was a fine frosty day, of which we took 
 due advantage. Directly after breakfast we started for a walk of four 
 miles to see the rocks of Middleton Dale. The scenery all the way was 
 enchanting. I could scarce get along for stopping to admire and ex- 
 claim. The dark frowning cliffs on one hand, the splendid autumnal 
 tints of rich foliage on the other, and the ever-varying views of hill and 
 dale before us, all as it were tinged with glory from a radiant sky, filled 
 us with unutterable emotions of admiration, exhilaration, and joy. 
 
 ' William constantly saluted some passer on the road, and from all 
 received a regular Derbyshire response. One old man, in answer to a 
 question as to the distance we were from the Dale, said he reckoned 
 * Welley ' four miles, it ' met ' be about ' thra ' and a half. I thought of 
 poor Liz, filling the pan ' welley ' full of potatoes ! 
 
 'Well, we reached the Dale, and were not at all disappointed with 
 the scenery. It is a long narrow road, with cliffs from a hundred to two 
 hundred feet high on either side, jutting out here and there like old 
 towers of a by-gone age, and frowning darkly on all below. I wish I 
 could describe the wild grandeur of the place, but I have neither time 
 nor ability. 
 
 " We walked about half a mile up the Dale, and then I rested and got 
 a little refreshment at a very ancient and comical kind of inn. William 
 walked half a mile further. During this tune I had a very cosy and to 
 me amusing chat in rich Derbyshire brogue with an old jnan over his 
 pipe and mug of ale. 
 
 " After resting about half an hour we bent our steps homewards, 
 where we arrived soon after two. I felt tired, but considering I had 
 walked at least nine miles during the day, I reckoned myself worth 
 many dead ones." 
 
 Dewsbury was Mr. Booth's next appointment. Here Mrs. 
 Booth was prostrated with a severe attack of inflammation 
 of the lungs, from which for some time serious consequences 
 were feared. She recovered, however, sufficiently to be able 
 to attend the closing meetings of the revival. 
 
 The services commenced in Dewsbury on Sundaj', the 
 4th November, and were concluded on Monday, the 3rd 
 December. 
 
 My dear William is rather better/' Mrs. Booth writes, "though far 
 from well. They had a triumphant day on Sunday, such an one as was 
 never known in Dewsbury before. The people flocked to the chapel in 
 crowds, hundreds being unable to get in. The love-feast in the after- 
 noon, I hear, was like heaven. Many took their dinners and teas, and 
 never left the chapel all day. To-night William is preaching his fare- 
 well sermon in the Wesleyan Clwpel, lent for the occasion, a spacious 
 
SJieffield. Chatsworth. Dewsbury. Leeds. 75 
 
 building capable of seating 2,000 people, and I have just learnt from a 
 man who has been to fetch him some cocoa, befo-re the prayer meeting, 
 that it is crowded. I hope they will have a good night. Last night they 
 took between thirty and forty names, besides children under sixteen. 
 To-morrow evening William addresses the officebearers, and on Wednes- 
 day night the young converts. On Thursday afternoon there is to be 
 a farewell tea-meeting to be held in the Wesleyan schoolroom, kindly 
 lent because our own would be far too small. We expect a splendid 
 affair. Most of the trays will be given. They had collections yesterday 
 which amounted to 20 three times as much as usual." 
 
 Writing the following day, Mrs. Booth says : 
 
 " They did not leave the chapel last night till a quarter -past eleven 
 o'clock. They had a splendid prayer meeting and took sixty names. I 
 suppose there were 2,500 people at the service." 
 
 Writing to her mother, Mrs. Booth says : 
 
 " The tea-meetingJast night was a first-rate one. I do wish you could 
 have heard William's speech. I ventured there enveloped in a mountain 
 of clothes, and [feel no worse for it, except it be worse to feel a little 
 prouder of my husband, which I certainly do. We took leave of the 
 people amid a perfect shower of tears and a hurricane of sobs, and many 
 more are coming to take leave of us to-day. 
 
 " As to my own feelings, I cannot describe them. My heart was ready 
 to burst as I listened to the solemn, earnest, and really beautiful address 
 given by my dearest William. I felt unutterable things as I "looked at the 
 past and tried to realise the present. I felt as though I had more cause 
 to renew my covenant engagement with God than any of His children, 
 but oh, I realised deeply, inexpressibly the worthlessness of the offering 
 I had to present Him. Alas, I had so often renewed, but so seldom paid 
 my vows unto the Lord, and yet He has so richly filled my cup with 
 blessings, and so wonderfully given me the desire of my heart. Oh, for 
 grace rightly to enjoy and improve my many mercies ! Pray for me. 
 
 " I often think that God is trying me by prosperity and sunshine, for I 
 am, so far as outward things go, happier than I ever was in my life. 
 Sometimes my heart seems burdened with a sense of my unmerited 
 mercies, and tears of gladness stream down my cheeks. I tremble lest 
 any coldness and want of spirituality should provoke the Lord to dash 
 the cup from my lips, even while I am exulting in its sweetness. Oh, 
 my darling mother, you cannot think how my soul often luxuriates in 
 its freedom from anxiety and apprehension about the future, and how 
 sweetly it rests in tranquil confidence where it used to be so tossed and 
 distracted by many elements and emotions. You know something of its 
 past exercises, but you can imperfectly judge of its present satisfaction. 
 I tell you of it, however, that you may rejoicq with me. 
 
 " We think and talk much about you. I have mother's likeness on our 
 
76 Mrs. Booth. 
 
 bedroom chimney-piece, and it gets many a kiss, and many a wiping; 
 bless you ! I long to see you both. I trust we shall yet make a family 
 in Christ on earth, and an unbroken family in heaven." 
 
 The next two months December and January were 
 spent in Leeds. The services were held during the first few 
 weeks at Hunslet, a suburb of the city, being afterwards 
 transferred to Ebenezer Chapel, in another and more central 
 district. 
 
 Despite the interruptions of Christmas, a church bazaar 
 and some anniversary sermons, the services were marked 
 with the usual success. More than eight hundred conver- 
 sions were recorded during the time, and the concluding 
 meetings were the most crowded and powerful of the series. 
 
 " January 8th, 1856. 
 
 " The work is progressing gloriously. On Sunday night the sermon 
 was one of extraordinary power and influence, and during the prayer 
 meeting they took fifty names. Last night again they took thirty-five, 
 some of them first-rate cases. William was just in his element. But 
 his body is not equal to it, I am sure, and I cannot but feel anxious on 
 this point. I am often congratulated on having such a husband, and 
 sometimes told that I ought to be the happiest of women. And I am 
 happy. Nevertheless I have anxieties peculiar to my own sphere. I 
 see the uncertainty of health and life and all things, which I trust keeps 
 me from being unduly elated by present prosperity." 
 
 " January 16th, 1856. 
 
 " The finish at Hunslet was grand ! Five hundred names were taken 
 in all. The gentleman I mentioned in my last two (the Councillor) was 
 one of the last sheaves of this glorious harvest ; he gave in his name on 
 the last night. Another gentleman of talent and influence, a backslider, 
 was restored on the Thursday night, making gjad the heart of a devoted 
 wife, who had been praying for him for a long, long time. 
 
 " The commencement at Ebenezer Chapel on Sunday was most 
 encouraging. The influence in the morning was very precious ; the 
 people wept and responded all over the building. The muster of leaders 
 in the vestry after the preaching was better than at any previous place, 
 and many of them were evidently very superior men. We were quite 
 surprised at finding such a staff of workers. At night the chapel was 
 packed, and upwards of twenty names were taken. Amongst those in 
 distress, was a gentleman well known in the society, and brother to two 
 of the principal families in it, as well as three or four more very respect- 
 able and intelligent individuals. The last two evenings the congrega- 
 tions have been excellent, and about forty names have been faken." 
 
Sheffield. Chatsivortli. Deivsbury. Leeds. 77 
 
 " LEEDS, January, 1856. 
 
 " The work here is one of the best we have yet witnessed. Above a 
 hundred names have been taken on the week, and some of them very 
 important. Yesterday was a glorious day. At the love-feast many were 
 unable to get in, and at night (I was present) hundreds went away. So 
 great were the numbers outside that it was given out there would be 
 preaching in the schoolroom. I never saw human beings more closely 
 packed than the poor things who stood in the aisles. My heart ached 
 for them. The chapel was crowded above and below till near ten 
 o'clock. I think everybody was deliphted with the sermon, I mean the 
 saints, the sinners felt something besides admiration ! " 
 
 " HUNSLET, February 5th, 1856. 
 
 "Your welcome letter is to hand, and though I have but time for a 
 few lines I will send you one lest you should be anxious. The finish-up 
 at Leeds was gloriously triumphant. The tea-meeting at Hunslet sur- 
 passed anything we have yet experienced. I would have given a good 
 deal for you to have been present. My precious William excelled him- 
 self, and electrified the people. You would indeed have participated in 
 my joy and pride could you have heard and seen what I did. Bless the 
 Lord, my soul !'' 
 
 Here Mr. Booth breaks in : 
 
 " I have just come into the room where my dear little wife is writing this 
 precious document, and snatching the paper have read the above eulo- 
 gistic sentiments. I just want to say that the very same night she gave 
 me a curtain lecture on my ' block-headism,' stupidity, etc., and lo, she 
 writes to you after this fashion. However she is a precious, increasingly 
 precious treasure to me, despite the occasional dressing-down that I 
 come in for." 
 
 Mrs. Booth resumes : 
 
 " We have had a scuffle over the above, but I must let it go, for I have 
 not time to write another, having an engagemeut at two o'clock, and it 
 is now near one. But I must say in self-defence that it was not about the 
 speech or anything important that the said curtain lecture was given, 
 but only on a point which in no way invalidates my eulogy." 
 
CHAPTER IX, 
 
 HALIFAX. MACCLESFIELD. SHEFFIELD. NOTTINGHAM. 
 CHESTER. 1856-7. 
 
 FROM Leeds Mr. and Mrs. Booth removed to Halifax, where 
 the next two months were spent. The Rev. J. Stacey, who 
 was superintendent of the circuit, and afterwards President 
 of the Conference, reports that no less than 641 names were 
 taken, and that of these nearly 400 became members of his 
 church. 
 
 The visit to Halifax was prolonged by an interesting 
 event, the birth of Mr. and Mrs. Booth's eldest son William 
 Bramwell, the present Chief of the Staff of the Salvation 
 Army. Writing the next day to announce the event to Mr. 
 and Mrs. Mumford, Mr. Booth says : 
 
 " Sunday, March 9th, 1856. 
 
 " HALIFAX. 
 
 "MY DEAR MOTHER AND FATHER, It is with feelings of unutterable 
 gratitude and joy that I have to inform you that at half-past eight last 
 night my dearest Kate presented us with a healthy and beautiful son. 
 The baby is a plump, round-faced, dark-complexioned, black-pated little 
 fellow. A real beauty. The Lord has indeed been very good to us. 
 Poor Kate has had a dreadful time, but the Lord in mercy has brought 
 her safely through." 
 
 A few days later we find Mrs. Booth herself sending the 
 following pencilled note to her i{ precious mother" : 
 
 " By a little subtlety I have succeeded in getting hold of paper and a 
 pencil, and now I am going to whisper a few words into your ear. Bless 
 you ! I do indeed think much about you. I now know what it is to be 
 a mother, and I feel as though I had never loved you half as well as I 
 ought to have done. Forgive all my shortcomings, and be assured I now 
 appreciate all your self-sacrifice on my behalf. My soul is full of grati- 
 tude to God for having brought me through ! I am doing better than I 
 
 78 
 
Halifax. Macdesfield. Sheffield. Nottingham. 79 
 
 could have expected, considering how very ill I have been. My precious 
 babe is a beauty and very good. Farewell, till I can get hold of a pencil 
 again." 
 
 In a later letter she does not give quite so favourable an 
 account of the good behaviour of the future Chief, and one is 
 agreeably relieved to find that in his early days he was 
 capable of being " restless " and " fretful," after the manner 
 of ordinary babes. He became a special object of interest at 
 Mr. Booth's next halting place, Macclesfield, where he was 
 
 MR. BBAMWELL BOOTH. 
 
 presented by twenty-four young women working in a factory 
 with a Bible containing the following inscription : 
 
 "Presented to William Bramwell Booth by a few of his father's 
 friends. 
 
 " May this blest volume ever lie 
 Close to thy heart and near thine eye ; 
 Till life's last hour thy soul engage, 
 Be this thy chosen heritage." 
 
So Mrs. Booth. 
 
 The presentation took place at a farewell tea-meeting, 
 which was attended by nine hundred persons, and the friend 
 who represented the factory lasses said that the gift was 
 intended :t as a slight acknowledgment of the spiritual bene- 
 fit they had received from Mr. Booth's labours, and in the 
 earnest hope that his infant son might be spared to imitate 
 his fathers character and career." The prayer has been 
 more than fulfilled, and we discern in that band of working 
 girls the embryo of the Hallelujah Lasses, who were to play 
 so important and prominent a part in the subsequent history 
 of the Salvation Army, and -who were to present on behalf of 
 a sinful world not merely their Bibles, but themselves, as 
 living epistles known and read of all men. 
 
 Eeferring to the Macclesfield meetings in later years, Mrs. 
 Booth says: 
 
 " I was still very weak, and unable therefore to attend many services, 
 but those at which I was present were very blessed times. Perhaps in 
 no town that I had yet visited was there so intense an excitement, such 
 crowded audiences, and such large numbers seeking mercy. One strik- 
 ing feature of this revival consisted in the crowds of women from the 
 silk factories, who attended the meetings and came forward for salvation. 
 It was a touching sight to watch them on their way to the chapel with 
 their shawls over their heads. They were especially kind to me and the 
 baby. Sometimes they would come in troops and sing in front of my 
 windows. 
 
 " Bramwell was baptised during our stay at Macclesfield, his father 
 performing the ceremony. There were about thirty babies baptised at 
 the same time. Not wishing the ceremony to interfere with the revival 
 services, we had them all postponed to one day, making it the occasion of 
 a special demonstration and an appeal to parents to consecrate their 
 children to the service of God. 
 
 " I had from the first infinite yearnings over Bramwell. I held him 
 up to God as soon as I had strength to do so, and I remember specially 
 desiring that he should be an advocate of holiness. In fact we named 
 him after the well-known holiness preacher, with the earnest prayer that 
 he might wield the sword with equal trenchancy in the same cause. I 
 felt from the beginning that he was ' a proper child.' At an early age he 
 manifested signs of intelligence and ability. He resembled me especially 
 in one particular, that was in taking upon himself responsibility. As 
 he grew up I always felt that he was a sort of father to the younger 
 children. He was very conscientious too. I remember once letting him 
 go to a friend's house to tea when he was only three years old, telling him 
 
Halifax. Macclesfield. Sheffield. Nottingham. 81 
 
 that he must not take more than two pieces of cake. I was not present, 
 and the friends tried to persuade him to take more, but he would not dis- 
 obey me. This characteristic grew with him through life. I could always 
 trust his word.. I cannot remember his ever telling me a falsehood. If 
 at any time he got into mischief he always came to me and confessed it. 
 He was of a very active and restless disposition. I do not think he ever 
 sat five minutes at a time on anybody's knee. His energy as a child 
 was something marvellous." 
 
 Those who have attended Mr. Bramwell Booth's holiness 
 meetings, or who have witnessed, his patient and laborious 
 toil at the International Headquarters, as the General's right 
 hand and as Chief of the Staff of the entire Salvation Army, 
 will testify to the fact that the prayerful toil of his sainted 
 mother has indeed reaped a rich reward. 
 
 While the meetings were still continuing in Macclesfield 
 the Annual Conference met at Chester. "After maturely 
 considering the case of the Rev. W. Booth, whose labours 
 have been so abundantly blessed of God in the conversion of 
 souls, it was again resolved that he continue to labour in the 
 capacity of an evangelist for the next year, with suitable 
 intervals of rest. May our brother be more than ever 
 successful in the great and glorious work in which he is 
 engaged." 
 
 From Macclesfield Mr. and Mrs. Booth proceeded to Yar- 
 mouth and thence to Sheffield. The New Connexion had 
 established two circuits in this city, the Northern arid the 
 Southern. The latter had already been visited during the 
 previous year, and the marvellous results accomplished had 
 made the Northern Circuit equally anxious to receive Mr. 
 Booth. After several postponements the Annual Committee 
 had at length decided to gratify their request. Mr. and 
 Mrs. Booth were welcomed in the warm-hearted fashion so 
 characteristic of the Sheffielders. 
 
 While Sheffield certainly was not lacking in intellectual 
 force, its people were distinguished by a large-heartedness 
 and a warmth of affection which made the task of ministering 
 to their spiritual wants the more cigrceablee They welcomed 
 Mr. and Mrs, Booth with opan army, Many of the 'convert*" 
 
 Q 
 
82 Mrs. Booth. 
 
 of the previous year flocked round them, helping to inspire 
 them for the fresh efforts which they were about to put forth. 
 The results of the next six weeks' campaign were glorious. 
 The chapel was crowded, hundreds being frequently turned 
 away for want of room, and 646 names were taken. 
 
 Describing the final meetings to her mother Mrs. Booth 
 writes : 
 
 " October 10th. 
 
 " Our farewell tea-meeting went off gloriously. Upwards of twelve 
 hundred sat down for tea, and scores were sent away with money in their 
 hands, because they had not tickets and the friends were afraid there 
 would not be room for them. It is calculated that there were more than 
 two thousand people in the hall after tea. I sat on the platform, next 
 to the star of the assembly, a prominent and proud position, I assure 
 you. It was a splendid sight, such a dense mass of heads and happy 
 faces ! I would have given a sovereign willingly for you to have been 
 there. I have been in many good and exciting meetings, but never in 
 such an one as that. I never saw an assembly ^o completely enthralled 
 and enchanted as this one was while my beloved was speaking. He 
 spoke for near two hours, never for one moment losing the most perfect 
 control over the minds and hearts of the audience. I never saw a mass 
 of people so swayed and carried at the will of the speaker but once or 
 twice in my life. The cheers were deafening, and were prolonged for 
 several minutes. I cannot give you any just idea of the scene. I will 
 send you a paper containing an account of the meeting. It was a 
 triumphant finish, and has given me considerable comfort and en- 
 couragement." 
 
 From Sheffield Mr. and Mrs. Booth proceeded for a six 
 weeks' campaign to Birmingham, and thence to Nottingham, 
 Mr. Booth's birthplace. With the exception of a few days 
 spent from time to time with his mother, he had seen nothing 
 of it since leaving for London in 1849. He observes in his 
 journal : 
 
 " Sunday, November 30th, 1856. My native town. Concerning this 
 place I must confess I have entertained some fears. Being so well 
 known and remembering that a prophet is not without honour save in 
 his own country, I had dreaded the critical hearing of those for whom I 
 had in my youth contracted that reverence which in after life perhaps 
 never fully leaves us. However, my confidence was in my message and 
 my trust was in my Master." 
 
Halifax. Macelesfield. Sheffield. Chester. 83 
 
 A little later he is able to summarise the six weeks' work 
 in the following encouraging terms : 
 
 " I concluded in a most satisfactory manner. About seven hundred 
 and forty names have been taken, and, on the whole, the success has far 
 exceeded my expectations, and has been a cause for sincere gratitude. 
 My great concern is for the future. Oh, that preachers and people may 
 permanently secure the harvest and go on to still greater and more 
 glorious triumphs." 
 
 When it is remembered that Mr. Booth was only twenty- 
 seven at the time of his visit, and that he had been but two 
 and a half years in the New Connexion ministry, the result 
 of these meetings will appear the more remarkable. 
 
 Mrs. Booth sends the following account to her parents : 
 
 " December 15th, 1856. 
 
 " The work here exceeds anything I have yet witnessed. Yesterday 
 the chapel, which is a very large one, seating upwards of twelve hundred 
 people, was full in the morning, and at night hundreds went away unable 
 ' to get in. It was so packed that all the windows and doors had to be 
 set wide open. Sixty-seven came forward in the prayer, meeting. 
 
 " The movement is taking hold of the town. The preacher and his 
 plans are the topics of conversation in all directions. Numbers of 
 William's old Wesley an friends come, and the infidels are mustering 
 their forces. The Mayor and Mayoress, with a family of five young 
 men, are regular attendants, and stayed to the prayer mee'ing the other 
 night. The folks seem as if one of the old prophets had risen or John 
 the Baptist come again. It is so different to their ordinary routine. I 
 never saw so respectable an audience, and yet one so riveted in their 
 attention. How ready the Lord is to work when man will work too ! " 
 
 From Nottingham Mr. and Mrs. Booth proceeded to London 
 for a fortnight's rest, spending the time with Mr. and Mrs. 
 Mumford. 
 
 Leaving Mrs. Booth and the baby with her parents in 
 London, Mr. Booth proceeded to Chester, where he en- 
 countered difficulties of a somewhat novel nature. The 
 minister, the Rev. D. Round, gave him a most hearty re- 
 ception. The people also co-operated. Bat some time after 
 the meetings had commenced a newspaper came out with an 
 attack on the revival, and this for the moment checked the 
 progress of the work. It was a new and therefore painful 
 
84 Mrs. Booth. 
 
 experience to the young preacher, whose sensitive nature 
 tempted him to shrink from the encounter. A kindly 
 Providence, however, prevented his foreseeing the ink}' 
 oceans of inisrepresentatipn and calumny through which 
 his bark was yet to sail, or perhaps the prospects would 
 have utterly discouraged his heart. 
 
 But keenly as he felt the slanders and deeply as he re- 
 gretted their influence in preventing penitents from coming 
 forward with their usual readiness at his meetings, he fought 
 his way resolutely through and achieved a complete success, 
 which was only rendered the more striking by the temporary 
 pause. More than a hundred persons came forward during 
 the last three daj^s, and the farewell meeting and tea were 
 as enthusiastic as any that had gone before. More than four 
 hundred names were taken during the five weeks of his stay. 
 
 As soon as the Chester meetings were brought to a con- 
 clusion Mr. Booth took train to London, where he rejoined 
 Mrs. Booth and started with her for Bristol. 
 
 From Bristol, Mr. and Mrs. Booth proceeded to Truro, by 
 train as far as Plymouth, and then by coach. The latter 
 part of the journey was especially trying. The rain de- 
 scended in torrents. There was barely room for Mrs. Booth 
 inside. She was too ill to take little Willie, who soon, how- 
 ever, fell asleep in his nurse's arms upon the box, equally 
 unconscious of the storm and of the dye from his nurse's 
 bonnet strings, which smothered his face with blue, causing 
 him to present a somewhat ludicrous appearance on reaching 
 his journey's end. 
 
 <; It was a wearying affair, I can assure you," Mrs. Booth writes a few 
 days afterwards. " I have not yet got over it, though considerably better 
 than I was yesterday. William also is very poorly with his throat and 
 head. I fear he took cold on the journey. Babs ' seems to have stood 
 it the best of any of us. Bless him ! He \vas as good as a little angel, 
 almost all the way through. He has just accomplished the feat of 
 saying ' Papa.' It is his first intelligible word. 
 
 "Truro is a neat, clean little town, and surrounded by very lovely 
 scenery. The climate is much milder than that of Bristol. The vegeta. 
 tioii is much more advanced^ flowers iu full bloom, and hedges iu leaf* 
 
Halifax. Macclesfield. Sheffield. Cornwall. 85 
 
 It reminds me somewhat of Guernsey. There is just the same softness 
 and humidity about the atmosphere. 
 
 " You will be glad to hear that my precious husband had a good 
 beginning yesterday. There was a large congregation in the morning, 
 and at night the chapel was very full. I trust there will be a glorious 
 move. If so it will be worth all the toil, and I shall be amply repaid. 
 He seems full of faith and power. To God be all the glory ! " 
 
 " This was our first visit," Mrs. Booth tells us, " to Corn- 
 wall, and we both regarded it with no little interest. We 
 had heard much about Cornish Methodism. Indeed, it was 
 said to be the religion of the county. The people were 
 saturated with Methodistic teaching. Chapels were to be 
 seen everywhere, in the towns, on the moors, by the sea- 
 coast. There they stood, great square buildings, often with 
 scarcely a house in sight, apparently equal to the need of 
 districts with three times the population. But people or no 
 people, there stood the chapel, and it was usually a Wesleyan 
 one. Not only so, but the congregations were there, crowd- 
 ing it to the doors each Sunday. The parent Wesleyan 
 church was very much in the ascendant. Our cause was 
 extremely low. In fact, it was confined to Truro, and a 
 single outpost at St. Agnes, a small town in the neighbour- 
 hood. 
 
 " We had heard a good deal about previous Cornish re- 
 vivals, and the excitability of the people at such times. 
 Hence we expected to find them eager to listen, easily 
 moved, and ready to be convinced. But in this we were 
 at first a good deal disappointed. Although after a time w r e 
 found ourselves in a perfect hurricane of excitement, yet 
 nowhere had the people evinced at the start such a capacity 
 for resisting the claims of God and steeling their hearts 
 against all persuasions. Pure children of emotion, when 
 once carried away by their feelings, it was difficult to place 
 any curb upon their expression. 
 
 " For the first four or five days, however, we could not 
 persuade them to get saved. For one thing they objected 
 to the penitent form. It was to them a new institution, and 
 they regarded it with suspicion. They were waiting, too, 
 
86 Mrs. Booth. 
 
 for the feelings under the influence of which they had 
 hitherto been particularly accustomed to act. The appeals 
 to their judgment, their reason, and their conscience were 
 not sufficient to induce them to come forward. They did 
 not see the value of action upon principle rather than on 
 motion. However, at length the break came. It was the 
 Friday following the Sabbath on which the General com- 
 menced his meetings in the town. It was a Good Friday, 
 10th April, the anniversary of our engagement." 
 
 Mr. Booth describes the meeting in a letter written the 
 next day to Mr. and Mrs. Mumford : 
 
 " We had a very glorious stir last night such a meeting 
 for excitement and thrilling interest as I never before 
 witnessed. The people had been restraining their feelings 
 all the week. Many of them had been stifling their con- 
 victions. But it burst out last night, and they shouted and 
 danced and wept and screamed and knocked themselves 
 about, until I was fairly alarmed lest serious consequences 
 might ensue. However, through mercy all went off 
 gloriously, twenty-seven persons professing to find salva- 
 tion. Praise the Lord for ever ! I am happy, but weary. 
 I have had nine public services this week, have to attend a 
 meeting to-night, and three more to-morrow." 
 
 Of those who came forward that night were some pro- 
 mising young men, several of whom afterward became 
 ministers, one of them occupying a very prominent position. 
 From this time the work went forward in a most encourag- 
 ing manner. 
 
 From Truro, Mr. and Mrs. Booth went to Stafford, where 
 they learnt to their surprise that the Conference had decided 
 to appoint them to the pastoral charge of a circuit, promising, 
 however, to allow a renewal of the evangelistic work at the 
 end of a year. This decision they, with some reluctance, 
 accepted, and proceeded to their destination, the town of 
 Brighouse. 
 
CHAPTER X. 
 BRIGHOUSE. 1857-1858. 
 
 THE year spent at this place was, perhaps, the saddest and 
 most discouraging of their whole ministerial career. There 
 was, however, a domestic event which served, perhaps, more 
 
 C05IJIANDER BALLINGTON BOOTH. 
 
 than anything to brighten the dull tedium of the Brighouse 
 days. They had scarcely settled in their new home when 
 Mr. and Mrs. Booth received for a second time, in the birth 
 of their son, Ballington, the peculiar token of Divine favour 
 
88 Mrs. Booth. 
 
 which only a parent's heart can fully appreciate. It was 
 indeed as a Gilead-balm to their wounded spirits, cementing 
 freshly the domestic bliss of their union, which seemed but 
 the brighter in contrast with the present gloom of the 
 outward prospect. How much greater would have been 
 their joy could they have anticipated the still distant and 
 uncertain future. 
 
 The history of the Salvation Army has been largely the 
 history of its founders and of their family. It presents the 
 altogether unique spectacle of a great religious organisation 
 that has attained to world-wide proportions, of which the 
 embryonic germ was contained within the four corners of a 
 family, long before it had burst into public notoriety. The 
 earliest and, to this da}^, among the most effective of General 
 Booth's recruits have been his own children. He wished, at 
 first, that they had been less numerous ; but when they came 
 to take their places in helping* him to bear the burden and 
 heat of the day, he was only sorry, he tells us, that " instead 
 of eight there were not eighty ! " Trained from childhood 
 to obey, in an age whose tendency is to overleap the traces 
 of parental authority, they have formed a valuable nucleus, 
 round which Mr. and Mrs. Booth have been able to gather 
 their recruits. Inspired from infancy with the passion for 
 souls which animated their parents, they have constituted 
 an object-lesson to all who have since joined them beneath 
 the Salvation Army flag. 
 
 It is true there are some, who are so difficult to please 
 and ready to find fault, that they raise objections to what is 
 at once the strength and glory of the movement, complaining 
 that undue prominence has been given to the members of 
 the family. But it is a singular fact that those who hold 
 this opinion are usually those who are the least acquainted 
 with them, and who therefore speak on such superficial 
 grounds that their opinion is entitled to but little weight. 
 
 They appear to forget, moreover, that one of the chief rea- 
 sons wiry Abraham became the recipient of the Divine promises 
 was the knowledge that he would " command his house,'' and 
 
Brighouse. 89 
 
 that Eli became the object of a special curse for his laxity 
 in this respect. The whole house of Israel was, after all, 
 in a far stricter sense, a " family affair." The priestly house 
 of Levi was the same. The Bible abounds with examples 
 of a similar character, and contains numberless commands 
 and promises to parents regarding the training of their 
 children, and the rewards that should accompany obedience. 
 Their "sons " and their "daughters "were to prophesy, as 
 in the case of Philip the Evangelist. 
 
 In modern days the history of the Quakers has furnished 
 most remarkable instances of a heredity of holiness running 
 through many generations and extending over a period of 
 two hundred years. Indeed, had Mr. and Mrs. Booth failed 
 in this respect, it is probable that such critics would have 
 been the first to point the finger of scorn. But because they 
 have succeeded to so marvellous a degree in persuading 
 their children to forego the pleasures and emoluments of the 
 world, when to do so has meant shame, reproach, and suffer- 
 ing, some must needs cavil. Truly the mysteries of criticism 
 are unfathomable and its ways past finding out ! 
 
 " I will not have a wicked child," was the passionate and 
 oft-repeated declaration of Mrs. Booth, who used to pray in 
 the very presence of her children that she might rather have 
 to lay them in an early grave than to mourn over one who 
 had deserted the path of righteousness. Her petition was 
 more than granted, and she had the satisfaction of seeing 
 them all fully consecrated to God's service. Indeed, it was 
 one of the peculiar powers of Mrs. Booth's ministry that she 
 could drive home her appeals to others by pointing to the 
 example of her own family. The argument was unanswer- 
 able. She was able to show that it was no mere accident of 
 nature or of circumstance that made them differ so widely 
 from others, but that by the proper use of the necessary 
 means others might achieve what she had herself accom- 
 plished. 
 
 In dealing with this subject Mrs. Booth has remarked : 
 
 " 'They have put their children into the movement,' people say. Yes. 
 
90 Mrs. Booth. 
 
 bless God ! and if we had twenty, we would do so. But I stand here 
 before God, and say that it is all from the same motive and for the same 
 end the seeking and saving of the lost. But I ask, How comes it to pass 
 that these children all grow up with this one ambition and desire ? Is 
 not this the finger of God ? Some of our critics don't find it so easy to 
 put their children where they want them to be ! Could all the powers of 
 earth give these young men and women the spirit of this work, apart 
 from God ? Some of you know the life of toil, self-sacrifice, and devotion 
 this work entails. Wbat could bring our children to embrace it without 
 a single human inducement such as influences other young people the 
 world over ? As spirits are not finely touched but to fine issues, so 
 surely God hath fashioned their souls for the work He wants them to 
 do ; and though all the mother in me often cries, Spare them ! my soul 
 magnifies the Lord, because He hath counted me worthy of such 
 honour." 
 
 The commencement of the new year was darkened for Mrs. 
 Booth by an exceptional cloud of suffering. She was threat- 
 ened with a return of the spinal malady which had previously 
 afflicted her, and entertained serious thoughts of placing her 
 self under galvanic treatment, from which she had formerly 
 received great benefit. 
 
 " I have only been to chapel twice during the last month," she writes 
 to her mother, " and had to come away each time, once being carried 
 out, I was so faint and ill. It is the Band of Hope meeting to night, but 
 I dare not go. I have not been able to attend it for six weeks. So are 
 my plans frustrated with a becrippled body ! I must say I am almost 
 weary of it. and sometimes feel that if it were not for the children it 
 would be nice to lay this troublesome, crazy body down. 
 
 " "William was talking the other day about the different bodies we shall 
 have after the resurrection. I replied that I hoped so, or I should never 
 want to find mine any more. I would leave it to the worms for an ever- 
 lasting portion, and prefer to live without one ! It is much harder to 
 suffer than to labour, especially when you have so many calls on your 
 attention. It is so different lying ill in bed now, with two children, 
 perhaps one crying against the other, to what it used to be with no re- 
 sponsibility or care, and a kind, loving mother to anticipate every want ! 
 But enough ! The cup which my Father hath given me shall I not drink 
 it? Especially seeing it is so much better than I have merited." 
 
 The Conference met in May at Hull. Mr. Booth was 
 unanimously received into what is termed full connexion, his 
 four years of probation having now expired. He was accord- 
 ingly summoned tc present himself for ordination. This was 
 
Brighoiise. 9 1 
 
 a somewhat formidable ceremony. The President for the 
 year, and the ex-Presidents of former years, stood upon the 
 platform for the purpose of "laying hands" on the candi- 
 dates, who were previously called upon to give an account of 
 their conversion, and of their reasons for seeking ordination. 
 
 Mr. Booth had stipulated with some of those in whose piety 
 and devotion he thoroughly believed, that he should be near 
 them and reap whatever advantage might accrue from their 
 faith and prayers, while there were others whom he studiously 
 avoided, feeling that if the laying on of hands involved the 
 impartation of the character and spirit they possessed, he 
 would rather dispense with it ! 
 
 Meanwhile, no sooner had it become known that Mr. Booth 
 was likely to take a circuit, than the lay delegate from 
 Gateshead put forth his utmost influence to secure his ser- 
 vices. Not that the prospect Vas a specially inviting one. 
 The cause in Gateshead was very low. Nominally, there 
 were some ninety members on the rolls of the town chapel 
 (Bethesda, as it was called), but few of these attended class, 
 and the ordinary Sunday-night congregation only numbered 
 about one hundred and twenty. Still, these were difficulties 
 which did not daunt Mr. Booth. The people were anxious to 
 have him, and this in itself promised well for their hearty 
 co-operation in any efforts that he might put forth. The 
 town was a large one, numbering at that time a population 
 of about 50,000. And just across the waters of the Tyne 
 was the mother city of Newcastle. Realising, therefore, that 
 the town and neighbourhood afforded so large a scope for his 
 labours, Mr. Booth consented to the appointment. 
 
 
CHAPTER XI. 
 GATESHEAD, THE CONVERTING SHOP. 1858-9. 
 
 THE change from Brigliouse to Gateshead was like a transfer 
 from the North Pole to the Equator. Although the members 
 were not numerous, they were warm-hearted. 
 
 " They had a social tea-meeting last evening," writes Mrs. Booth to 
 her parents, as soon as she could put pen to paper in her Gateshead 
 home, " to welcome us into the circuit, and we were highly gratified, I 
 can assure yon. In fact you could hardly conceive a more marked con- 
 trast than between our reception here and at Brighouse. It is all we can 
 desire. The leading men say they have got the best appointment in the 
 Connexion. I wish you could have heard Mr. Fhbank's speech, the 
 gentleman who went to Conference as their delegate. He told us after- 
 ward some of the remarks made to him by several of the leading 
 members of the Conference, when the first reading came out with our 
 names down for Gateshead, such as ' Don't you wish you may get it ? ' 
 * It's too good to stand ! ' etc. It enlightened us much as to the estimate 
 in which, after all, the bulk of the Conference hold William's ability and 
 value to the Connexion. 
 
 " Well, the people here seem unanimous in their satisfaction and 
 cordiality. I like them much, so far as I have seen them. They appear 
 intelligent and warm-hearted. The chapel is a beautiful building, and 
 seats l,2oO, they say. I have consented to meet a class again, provided 
 I can have it at home, as the chapel is more than half a mile distant, 
 .and it is uphill coming back." 
 
 The bright anticipations with which the people met their 
 new pastor were more than realised. The congregations be- 
 gan rapidly to increase. At the very first Sunday-night 
 meeting six persons professed salvation, and the occasion was 
 made the more interesting by what was then an unheard-of 
 novelty the minister's wife leading off in prayer at the 
 conclusion of the sermon ! 
 
 Before many weeks had passed the attendance at Bethesda 
 
 93 
 
Gateshead, The Converting Shop. 93 
 
 Chapal had doubled and quadrupled, till at length not only 
 was every seat taken, but it was not uncommon for the aisles 
 and every available spot to be occupied, so that some two 
 thousand persons were crowded within the walls. The fame 
 of the work spread all around and gained for the chapel the 
 sobriquet of the " Converting Shop." If the title was not 
 dignified, it was at least very significant, and served, per- 
 haps, to pave the way for the similar commonplace epithets 
 which were to distinguish the poor man's cathedrals of the 
 Salvation Army. 
 
 The public houses, which cater for the taste of the 
 very classes whom the Salvation Army was afterwards 
 to reach, have long recognised the value of this peculiar 
 species of nomenclature, and it is interesting to trace thus 
 early the introduction of the dialect of the common people. 
 Neither was it to be confined to the names of places. The 
 familiar phraseology of the taproom was hereafter to be 
 adopted to an extent that caused considerable alarm among 
 those who confound reverence with refinement, and who are 
 more afraid of vulgarity than of sin. To such it has seemed 
 little short of blasphemy to dub a church a " barracks," to 
 speak of a preacher as a " Hallelujah lass " or " lad," a 
 "Happy Eliza," or a "Glory Tom," to call a meeting a 
 " free-and-easy," and, in short, to adopt the* every-day lan- 
 guage of the poor. 
 
 It was worth noting, however, that nearly every such 
 expression had been coined by the people themselves, often 
 by the unconverted roughs who form the bulk of our open- 
 air congregations. They have suited the popular taste, and 
 thus have spread from one place to another, in exactly the 
 same manner as the early Christians were derisively nick- 
 named in Antioch, or the Quakers, Methodists and Teetotalers 
 in later days. In Ceylon a Salvationist is familiarly known 
 among Buddhists as a " Gelavoonkaraya " Saviour while 
 in South India, in expression of the same idea, the Hindoos 
 reckon that he belongs to the Hatch agar caste. All popular 
 movements are bound more or less to partake of this characters 
 
94 Mrs. Booth. 
 
 Nor is it complained of in politics, where we tolerate the 
 existence of Whigs, Tories, Jingoes, Primroses, and similar 
 vulgarities. 
 
 There can be little doubt that the adoption of a stilted, 
 unnatural, high-flown, bookish phraseology in matters per- 
 taining to religion has served largely to alienate the lower 
 classes from its pursuit. Ministers talk a foreign language, 
 largely learned from books. Theology has long since been 
 
 MBS. BOOTH-CLIBBORN. 
 
 divorced from the vulgar colloquial of the common people, and 
 has been united in matrimony to the language of a bygone 
 age. Hence it has had to content itself for its conquests 
 with those who have been sufficiently educated to understand 
 its terms. 
 
 But however this may be, Bethesda Chapel certainly took 
 a new lease of life from the time that it w r as popularly chris- 
 tened the " Converting Shop." 
 
Gateshead, The Converting Shop. 95 
 
 The first year spent by Mr. and Mrs. Booth in Gateshead 
 was signalised by the birth of their eldest daughter, Catherine, 
 now Mrs. Booth-Clibborn, better known to the public as the 
 " Marechale." This interesting event took place on the 18th 
 September, 1858. " Baby is a little beauty," reports Mr. 
 Booth to Mr. and Mrs. Mumford, " a perfect gem, healthy and 
 quiet, and is altogether all the fondest grandfather or grand- 
 mother could desire. I am sure you ought to send us a vote 
 of thanks, passed unanimously, for conferring such honour 
 upon you." 
 
 The vote of thanks asked for by Mr. Booth was to come 
 from quarters of which he had then not the slightest sus- 
 picion. The baby girl that Mrs. Booth clasped with such 
 fondness to her heart, telling her mother that she loved her 
 better than the rest, because the others being boys were 
 better able to look after themselves, was to be the first mis- 
 sionary of the family, and the love and blessing of thousands 
 of French and Swiss converts were yet to be hers. 
 
 Writing to her mother, Mrs. Booth says : 
 
 "As to the baby, I suppose you will think me like all mothers when I 
 say sbe is a little beauty ! Her hair is exactly the colour of mine. She 
 has a nice nose and mouth, a fine forehead, and a plump round face. 
 "William thinks she is more like me than any of them. She is the 
 picture of health and happiness, and thrives daily. Now I hope this 
 description is particular enough even for a grandmama." 
 
 A series of revival services was inaugurated during the year, 
 commencing on Whit-Monday with an entire day of fasting 
 and prayer, lasting from seven in the morning till ten at night 
 the first " all day of prayer " of which we have any record, 
 and the precursor of the many " all days," " all nights," and 
 " two days with God," which have since been made a blessing to 
 so many thousands. And yet from the very commencement of 
 Mr. Booth's ministry, Sunday has been practically spent as 
 an " all day." The possibility of extending the idea to week- 
 days, and especially to holidays, was, however, a later 
 development. Hence the first experiment in this direction 
 is of special interest. 
 
96 Mrs. Booth. 
 
 It was followed by ten weeks of special services, the whole 
 town being previously canvassed with bills which were dis- 
 tributed from house .to house, Mrs. Booth herself undertaking 
 one district which contained about a hundred and fifty houses. 
 As a result of this effort more than three hundred persons 
 professed to be converted, many of them being young men, 
 who not only became useful members of the church, but 
 afterwards rose to positions of distinction as mayors, alder- 
 men, magistrates, and ministers. 
 
 The spiritual revival was accompanied by an encouraging 
 improvement in the financial position of the circuit. Not 
 only were the old debts wiped off, but the funds became 
 sufficient to support three, instead of two ministers, and to 
 meet with ease all the current liabilities. It would have 
 been possible at the previous Conference for Mr. Booth to 
 have secured his appointment to a circuit the financial pros- 
 perity of which had been already assured, but this with him 
 was always a secondary consideration. He argued that the 
 best way to ensure the financial interests of any circuit was 
 to restore prosperity to its spiritual interests, and that in so 
 doing the former would never fail to revive. The truth of 
 this principle he has been able to demonstrate over and over 
 again during his subsequent career. 
 
 It was during the autumn of 1858 that an accident 
 occurred which, but for the Divine interposition, might have 
 brought Mrs. Booth's career to an untimely conclusion. She 
 thus describes the incident in a letter to her parents : 
 
 " Sunday evening. 
 
 " I have not been out to-day, in consequence of feeling stiff and poorly 
 from the effects of an accident which befell me on Friday. And -when I 
 have described it I am sure you will join me in praising God that I am 
 no worse. William has wanted me and the children to go to Sheriff 
 Hill ever since the special services there commenced, but we put it off 
 to the last. On Friday, however, we all went to the concluding services. 
 Mr. Scott brought a very nice conveyance and his own pony to fetch us. 
 We went in safety and comfort, enjoyed the meeting, and were coming 
 home at about half-past six. 
 
 " Through a little oversight, however, it was found we could not have 
 the same conveyance for return, but only a gig belonging te one of ow* 
 
Gates/lead, The Converting Shop. 97 
 
 friends. So, fortunately, I sent the nurse home on foot with the baby, 
 a young woman accompanying her. William delayed going into the 
 meeting to pack us off all right. Young Scott was driving, Willie sat in 
 the middle, and I with Ballington on my knee, all muffled and cloaked, 
 next to him. The moment we were all in I felt we were too light on the 
 horse's back, but did not say anything for fear of being thought ridi- 
 culous. We had not gone many yards, however, before I was sure we 
 were not safe, and I said to Mr. Scott, * Oh, dear ! I feel as though we 
 were slipping backwards ! ' I had hardly got the words out of my mouth 
 when the pony, frightened by the rising of the shafts, set off, and we 
 were all thrown out behind. 
 
 " I fell flat on the back of my head with Ballington on the top of me. 
 I don't know how Willie fell, but, wonderful to say, they were neither of 
 them hurt. William and all Mr. Scott's family still stood watching us 
 when it happened, and of course flew to our assistance, screaming as 
 they came. Indeed all the village was up in arms. The horse went off 
 with the gig at full gallop, not stopping until he fell flat down, breaking 
 both shafts. 
 
 " William lifted me in his arms and carried me back. One and 
 another took the children, and we all received the greatest care and 
 kindness from the Scotts, who were very much distressed. I was 
 greatly shaken and nearly all the sense knocked out of me, but I trust 
 no serious harm was done. I feel better this evening. Is it not a mercy 
 that I am able to write to you ? It seems wonderful to me that I have 
 escaped so well, considering that I was rendered so helpless by the child 
 being on my knee. It was a terrible crash, such as I would not like 
 again, but, bless the Lord, we are all alive and the children are not a 
 bit the worse. No one can account for the accident, but I think the 
 harnessing was wrong. I am sure the horse was not to blame. It is a 
 sweet creature and never did such a thing before, but the rising of the 
 shafts frightened it. Another mercy connected with it is, that we had 
 just got over some very large and sharp stones recently laid down, on to 
 an even road. If it had happened on the stones, I believe my head 
 would have been laid open. 
 
 "They borrowed a phaeton to bring us home, not a very comfortable 
 ride, I can assure you, after such a fright. However, we arrived safely, 
 and I am not likely to forget our visit to Sheriff Hill ! Willie says, ' Jig 
 boke ! Make Pilloo (Willie) fall ! And mama fall ! Poor mama ! Got 
 pain ! ' You would have been pleased to see what concern the little 
 creature manifested about me, when I lay on the sofa at Mr. Scott's. He 
 seemed to forget everybody but me. It has freshly endeared him to me. 
 How strange that after all our journeyings up and down without a single 
 accident, we should happen to have this one in going but two miles from 
 home. I trust I am becomingly thankful for such a favourable issue." 
 
 Mrs. Booth was careful to avoid manifesting any sort of 
 
 H 
 
9 Mrs. Booth. 
 
 favouritism in the treatment of her children. A year 
 previous to this, soon after Ballington's birth, Mr. Booth 
 writes as follows : 
 
 "Kate says we must have no distinctions, such as forty kisses for 
 Willie and only twenty for Babs. No coat of many colours. You must 
 love both alike. Is this possible ? I am afraid not, especially when we 
 remember how grandmamma toiled and sacrificed over our first-born ! " 
 
 The following letter from Mrs. Booth to her mother shows 
 how consistently she adhered to her principles in regard to 
 her children's dress, and this from their very infancy : 
 
 " I was very sorry to hear you were so poorly. Do not sit so close at 
 work." (Mrs. Mumford was especially skilful with her needle. Some 
 graceful specimens of her handiwork have been preserved with care and 
 are now worn by her infant great grand-children.) " I am certain you 
 are injuring yourself by it, and it is such folly when I do not desire it, 
 and when the things that cost you the most labour lie in the drawers and 
 are seldom worn, simply because they are too handsome. What will you 
 say when 1 tell jou that the beautiful frock you brought Willie has never 
 been on him yet, and I am now altering it a little to make it less showy, 
 so that he may wear it at the tea-meeting on Easter Monday? 
 
 "You see, my dear mother, William speaks so plainly on the subject 
 of dress, that it would be the most glaring inconsistency if I were to deck 
 out my children as the worldlings do. And besides, I find it would be 
 dangerous for their own sakes. The seed of vanity is too deeply sown in 
 the young heart for me to dare to cultivate it. I confess it requires some 
 self-denial to abstain from making them as beautiful as they might be 
 made to look. But oh, if God should take them from me I should never 
 regret it, and if He spares them, I trust that He will grant them the 
 more of that inward adorning, which is in His sight of great price. 
 
 " Don't think I undervalue your kindness. I am most grateful for all 
 you have done for them. Only I want you to modify it. There is, you 
 know, a great difference between a plain coat without a bit of work at all 
 upon it, and one which would set everybody admiring and saying, ' I 
 should think it would be five shillings a yard ! ' I am sure you will not 
 misunderstand either what I say or the motive which prompts me to say 
 it." 
 
 Who can tell how many careless mothers sow in their 
 children's hearts the seeds of worldliness, and reap an after 
 harvest of the most painful kind ? Ah, what sins and sorrows, 
 what failures and disasters can be traced back to the wrong 
 teachings of a nursery! And, on the contrary, how many a 
 
Gate she ad, The Converting Shop. 99 
 
 noblo character lias been shaped within its precincts "by tho 
 wise hand of a watchful mother ! Referring many years 
 subsequently to the question of simplicity in dress, Mrs. 
 Booth remarks : 
 
 " Associated with my very earliest ideas of religion was the necessity 
 for plainness for dress. It seemed to me clear from the teachings of the 
 Bible that Christ's people should be separate from the world in everything 
 which denoted character, and that they should not only be separate, hut 
 appear so. Otherwise what benefit would their separation confer upon 
 the others ? 
 
 " I remember feeling condemned, when quite a child, not more than 
 eight years old, at having to wear a lace tippet such as was fashionable 
 in those days. From a worldly point of view it would have been con- 
 sidered no doubt very neat and consistent. But on several occasions I 
 had good crying fits over it. Not only did I instinctively feel it to he 
 immodest, because people could see through it, but I thought it was not 
 such as a Christian child should wear. 
 
 " As I advanced in religious experience, I became more and more con- 
 vinced that my appearance ought to be such as to show to everybody 
 with whom I came in contact that I had renounced the pomps and 
 vanities of the world, and tbat I belonged to Christ. Had the Church to 
 which I belonged worn a uniform I should joyfully have adopted it. I 
 always felt that it was mean to be ashamed of Christ in the street or 
 among His enemies. And it was only in conformity to the opinions of 
 those whom I regarded as my superiors in wisdom and grace that I con- 
 formed to the world as much as I did in the matter of dress. 
 
 " People have asked me sometimes whether we cannot be separate 
 from the world in our hearts without beiug different in our dress. My 
 reply has been, ' What is the use to the world of a testimony for Christ 
 up in your bedroom ? The very essence of witnessing for God before the 
 world is that we should not be like it.' The people quite recognise this, 
 whether Ckristians do or not. Hence their contempt for those who talk 
 to them about religion while dressed as fashionably as themselves. They 
 may listen out of politeness, but they will say in their hearts, and ofteii 
 when our backs are turned, with their lips, 'Physician, heal thyself! 
 Why does she come and talk to me about giving up the world when she 
 has not done so herself, at any rate as far as dress is concerned.' " 
 
 Deeply as Mrs. Booth was attached to her family; and ably 
 as she fulfilled the duties of a mother, many circumstances 
 combined about this period to direct her energies into a more 
 public sphere. Mr. Booth had long been convinced that she 
 was peculiarly fitted to address large audiences. Others 
 shared the opinion. " I received a unanimous invitation," 
 
ioo Mrs. Booth. 
 
 writes Mrs. Booth, in September, 1859, " from our Leaders' 
 meeting the other night to give an address at the special 
 prayer-meetings this week. Of course I declined. .1 don't 
 know what they can be thinking of ! " 
 
 But although for some time longer Mrs. Booth still found 
 it impossible to overcome her timidity in this direction, 
 another path of usefulness opened out before her in an 
 unexpected manner, which was, perhaps, the best possible 
 preparation for the public ministry that was soon to take 
 its place. We cannot do better than describe it in her own 
 words : 
 
 " One Sabbatli I was passing down a narrow, thickly populated street 
 on my way to chapel, anticipating an evening's amusement for myself, 
 and hoping to see some anxious ones brought into the kingdom, when I 
 chanced to look up at the thick rows of small windows above me, where 
 numbers of women were sitting, peering through at the passers by, or 
 listlessly gossiping with each other. 
 
 " It was suggested to my mind with great power, ' Would you not be 
 doing God more service, and acting more like your Redeemer, by turning 
 into some of these houses, speaking to these careless sinners, and in- 
 viting them to the service, than by going to enjoy it yourself?' I was 
 startled ; it was a new thought ; and while I was reasoning about, the 
 same inaudible interrogator demanded, ' What effort do Christians put 
 forth, answerable to the command, " Compel them to come in, that My 
 house may be filled " ? ' 
 
 " This was accompanied with a light and unction which I knew to be 
 Divine. I felt greatly agitated. I felt verily guilty. I knew that I had 
 never thus laboured to bring lost sinners to Christ, and trembling with 
 a sense of my utter weakness, I stood still for a moment, looked up to 
 heaven, and said, Lord, if Thou wilt help me, I will try ; and without 
 stopping longer to confer with flesh and blood, turned back and com- 
 menced my work. 
 
 "I spoke first to a group of women sitting on a doorstep ; and oh ! 
 what that effort cost me words cannot describe ; but the Spirit helped 
 my infirmities, and secured for me a patient and respectful hearing, with 
 a promise .from some of them to attend the house of God. This much 
 encouraged me ; I began to taste the joy which lies hidden under the 
 Cross ; and to realise, in some faint degree, that it is more blessed to 
 give than to receive. With this timely, loving cordial from my Master, 
 I went on to the next group, who were standing at the entrance of a low, 
 dirty court. Here again I was received kindly, and promises were given. 
 No rude repulse, no bitter ridicule were allowed to shake my new-found 
 confidence, or chill my feeble zeal. I began to realise that my Master's 
 

 Gateshead, The Converting Shop. 101 
 
 feet were behind me ; nay, before me, smoothing my path and preparing 
 my way. 
 
 " This blessed assurance so increased my courage and enkindled my 
 hope that I ventured to knock at the door of the next house, and when 
 it was opened, to go in and speak to the inmates of Jesus, death, judg- 
 ment, and eternity. The man, who appeared to be one of the better 
 class of mechanics, seemed to be much interested and affected by my 
 words, and promised with his wife to attend the revival services which 
 were being held at the chapel. 
 
 " With a heart full of gratitude and eyes full of tears, I was thinking 
 where I should go next, when I observed a woman standing on an ad- 
 joining doorstep, with a jug in her hand. My Divine teacher said, 
 ' Speak to that woman.' Satan suggested, ' Perhaps she is intoxicated ' ; 
 but after a momentary struggle, I introduced myself to her by saying, 
 ' Are the people out who live on this floor ? ' observing that the lower 
 part of the house was closed. * Yes,' she said, ' they are gone to chapel ' ; 
 and I thought I perceived a weary sadness in her voice and manner. 
 I said, ' Oh, I am so glad to hear that ; how is it that you are not gone 
 to a place of worship ? ' ' Me ? ' she said, looking down upon her forlorn 
 appearance ; ' I can't go to chapel ; I am kept at home by a drunken 
 husband. I have to stop with him to keep him from the public-house, 
 and I have just been fetching him some drink.' I expressed my sorrow 
 for her, and asked if I might come in and see her husband. ' No,' said 
 she, ' he is drunk ; you could do nothing with him now.' I replied, ' I 
 do not mind his being drunk, if you will let me come in ; I am not 
 afraid ; he will not hurt me.' ' Well,' said the woman, ' you can come 
 if you like ; but he will only abuse you.' I said, ' Never mind that,' and 
 followed her up the stairs. 
 
 "I felt strong now in the Lord, and in the power of His might, and as 
 safe as a babe in the arms of its mother. I realised that I was in the 
 path of obedience, and I feared no evil. Oh, how much the Lord's peo- 
 ple lose through disobedience to the leadings of the Holy Spirit ! If they 
 would only keep His words He would dwell with them, and then they 
 need fear neither men nor devils. 
 
 " The woman led me to a small room on the first floor, where I found 
 a fine, intelligent man, about forty, sitting almost double in a chair, 
 with a jug by his side, out of which he had been drinking that which 
 had reduced him beneath the level of the beasts that perish. I leaned 
 on my heavenly Guide for strength and wisdom, love and power, and He 
 gave me all I needed. He silenced the demon, strong drink, and 
 quickened the man's perceptions to receive my words. As I began to 
 talk to him, with my heart full of sympathy, he gradually raised himself 
 in his chair, and listened with a surprised and half-vacant stare. I 
 spoke to him of his present deplorable condition, of the folly and wicked- 
 ness of his course, of the interests of his wife and children, until he was 
 thoroughly aroused from the stupor in which I found him. 
 
IO2 Mrs. Booth. 
 
 " During this conversation his wife wept bitterly, and by fragments 
 told me a little of their previous history. I found that she had once 
 known the Lord, but had allowed herself to be dragged down by trouble, 
 had cast away her confidence, and fallen into sin. She told me that her 
 husband had a brother in the Wesleyan ministry, who had done all that 
 .1 brother could to save him ; that they had buried a daughter two years 
 before, who died triumphantly in the Lord, and besought her father with 
 her dying breath to leave off drinking, and prepare to meet her in 
 heaven ; that she had a son, then about eighteen, who, she feared, was 
 going iuto a consumption ; that her husband was a clever workman, and 
 could earn three or four pounds per week as a journeyman, but he drank 
 it nearly all, so that they were compelled to live in two rooms and often 
 went without necessary food. I read to him the parable of the Prodigal 
 Son, while the tears ran down his face like rain. I then prayed with 
 him as the Spirit gave me utterance, and left, promising to call the next 
 day with a temperance pledge book, which he agreed to sign. 
 
 " I now felt that my work was done. Exhausted in body, but happy 
 in soul, I wended my way to the sanctuary, just in time for the conclu- 
 sion of the service, and to lend a helping hand in the prayer-meeting." 
 
 In describing these visiting experiences afterwards, Mrs. 
 Booth says : 
 
 " I was obliged to go in the evenings, because it was the only part of the 
 day when I could get away. And even had it been otherwise. I should not 
 have found the men at home any other time. I used to ask one drunk- 
 ard's wife where another lived. They always knew. After getting hold 
 of eight or ten in this way, and persuading them to sign the pledge, I 
 used to arrange a cottage meeting for them, and then try to get them 
 saved. They used to let me talk to them in hovels, where there was not 
 a stick of furniture and nothing to sit down upon. 
 
 " I remember in one case finding a poor woman lying on a heap of 
 rags. She had just given birth to twins, and there was nobody of any 
 sort to wait upon her. I can never forget the desolation of that room. 
 By her side was a crust of bread, and a small lump of lard. ' I fancied 
 a bit o' bootter (butter),' the woman remarked apologetically, noticing 
 my eye fall upon the scanty meal, ' and my mon, he'd do owt for me he 
 could, bless'm he couldna git me iny bootter, so he fitcht me this bit 
 o' lard. Have you iver tried lard isted o' bootter? It's rare tjood ! ' 
 said the poor creature, making me wish I had taken lard for ' bootter ' 
 all my life, that I might have been the better able to minister to her 
 needs. However, I was soon busy trying to make her a little more 
 comfortable. The babies I washed in a broken pie dish, the nearest 
 approach to a tub that I could find. And the gratitude of those large 
 eyes, that gazed upon me from that wan and shrunken face, can never 
 fade from my memory." 
 
CHAPTER XII. 
 MRS. BOOTH COMMENCES PREACHING. 1859-GO. 
 
 IT was in December, 1859, that Mrs. Booth's attention was 
 drawn to a pamphlet written by a neighbouring minister, 
 the Rev. Arthur Augustus Rees, in which the right of 
 woman to preach was violently attacked on Scriptural 
 grounds. The occasion for this onslaught was the visit of 
 the American evangelists, Dr. and Mrs. Palmer, who were 
 holding services at the time in Newcastle. The Doctor him- 
 self was an earnest, good-natured, easy-going personage. 
 But the principal figure in the meetings was his wife. Mrs. 
 Palmer was a remarkable woman, intellectual, original, and 
 devoted. As a speaker, her chief attraction lay in her sim- 
 plicity, and in the striking illustrations with which her 
 addresses were interspersed. Aiming directly at the hearts 
 of her hearers, and relying evidently upon the co-operation 
 of the Holy Spirit, she became a rallying point for all that 
 was best and most earnest in the Churches. Mrs. Booth had 
 been unable to attend the meetings, but reports of them had 
 from time to time reached her, and the fact that a woman 
 was the prominent agent in this movement had deeply inter- 
 ested her. Hence she had no sooner heard of the pamphlet 
 published by Mr. Rees than her soul was stirred to its 
 deepest centre. 
 
 The replies which were issued by Mrs. Palmer's friends 
 and supporters " do not," writes Mrs. Booth to her mother, 
 "deal with the question at all to my satisfaction. They 
 make so many uncalled-for admissions, that I would almost 
 as soon answer her defenders as her opponent. I send you 
 by this post Mr. Rees' notable production. It w r as delivered 
 
 103 
 
IO4 Mrs. Booth. 
 
 in the form of an address to his congregation, and repeated 
 a second time, by request, to a crowded chapel, and then 
 published ! Would you believe that a congregation, half 
 composed of ladies, could sit and hear such self-depreciatory 
 rubbish ? They really don't deserve to be taken up cudgels 
 for! 
 
 " Mr. Rees was once a Church clergyman, and is now an 
 Independent minister with a congregation of upwards of a 
 thousand people. I hear he talks of publishing another 
 pamphlet. I hope he will wait a bit till I am stronger ! 
 And if he does bring out any more in the same style, I rather 
 think of going to Sunderland and delivering an address in 
 answer to him. William says I should get a crowded house. 
 I really think I shall try, if he does not let us ladies alone ! 
 I am sure I could do it. That subject would warm me up 
 anywhere and before anybody. William is always pestering 
 me to begin giving lectures, and certainly this would be a 
 good subject to start with. I am determined that he shall 
 not go unanswered." 
 
 In referring again to Mr. Rees' pamphlet, Mrs. Booth 
 subsequently writes to her mother : 
 
 " I am, after all, publishing a pamphlet in reply. It has 
 been a great undertaking for me, and is much longer than I 
 at first intended, being thirty-two pages. When William 
 came home and heard what I had written, he was very 
 pleased with it and urged me to proceed, and not tie myself 
 for space, but deal thoroughly with the subject, making a 
 tract on female ministry which would survive this contro- 
 versy. It is now pretty well known that a lady has tackled 
 him, and there is consequently the more speculation and 
 curiosity abroad. I hope I have done it well. You must 
 send me your honest and unbiassed criticism, as I may have 
 to enter the field again, if spared. 
 
 " There is one thing which is due to myself, I think, to 
 tell you that whatever may be its merit it is my own, and 
 far more original, I believe, than most things that are pub- 
 lished, for I could get no help from any quarter. William 
 
I 
 
 Mrs. Booth Commences Preaching. 105 
 
 has done nothing be}^ond copying for me, and transposing 
 two or three sentences. I composed more than half of it 
 while he was away, and when he came home he began to 
 copy what I had written, while I lay on the sofa and read it 
 to him. Then when he went out to his duties, I resumed 
 writing my rough matter, so that it has all been written by 
 my own hand first. I have been at it from seven in the 
 morning till eleven at night most of the week, so I leave you 
 to judge how I am feeling. In fact I don't believe I could 
 have done another stroke." 
 
 A few quotations from Mrs. Booth's pamphlet will suffice 
 to show how erroneous has been the ordinary accepted view 
 in regard to female ministry : 
 
 " Whether the Church will allow women to speak in her assemblies 
 can only be a question of time ; common sense, public opinion, and the 
 blessed results of female agency will force her to give us an honest and 
 impartial rendering of the solitary text on which she grounds her prohi- 
 bitions. Then, when the true light shines and God's words take the 
 place of man's traditions, the Doctor of Divinity who shall teach that 
 Paul commands woman to be silent when God's Spirit urges her to speak 
 will be regarded much the same as we should regard an astronomer who 
 should teach that the sun is the earth's satellite. 
 
 "As to the obligation devolving on woman to labour for her Master, 
 I presume there will be no controversy. The particular sphere in which 
 each individual shall do this must be dictated by the teachings of the 
 Holy Spirit and the gifts with which God has endowed her. If she have 
 the necessary gifts, and feels herself called by the Spirit to preach, there 
 is not a single word in the whole book of God to restrain her, but many, 
 very many to urge and encourage her. God says she SHALL do so, and 
 Paul prescribed the manner in which she shall do it, and Phcebe, Junia, 
 Phillip's four daughters, and many other women actually did preach and 
 speak in the primitive churches. If this had not been the case, there 
 would have been less freedom under the new than under the old dispen- 
 sation, a greater paucity of gifts and agencies under the Spirit than 
 under the law, fewer labourers when more work to be done. Instead of 
 the destruction of caste and division between the priesthood and the 
 people, and the setting up of a spiritual kingdom in which all true be- 
 lievers were ' kings and priests unto God,' the division would have been 
 more stringent and the disabilities of the common people greater. 
 Whereas, we are told again and again in effect, that in ' Christ Jesus 
 there is neither bond nor free, male or female, but ye are all one in 
 Christ Jesus.' " 
 
106 Mrs. Booth. 
 
 It was well that Mr. and Mrs. Booth were of one accord 
 on this subject, making it a cardinal point of their doctrine 
 to assure to woman the highest position of usefulness that 
 she was capable of occupying. They did not anticipate that 
 she would never make mistakes, Had man made none? 
 They did not wait for every one to be a Mrs. Booth. Was 
 every man a William Booth? They realised that some 
 would fail and even sin. Was man alone immaculate ? But 
 they refused to accept a one-sided and maimed humanity, or 
 to acknowledge that such a ministry could be divinely 
 ordained. 
 
 Years have passed since the issue of this modest protest 
 in defence of woman's right to minister at the altar. Pre- 
 cept has been carried into practice, and the world has passed 
 its sentence of approval upon a world-wide organisation 
 in which there is " neither male nor female, barbarian, 
 Scythian, bond or free, but Christ is all and in all." 
 
 On Sunday morning, the 8th January, I860, Mr. Booth 
 had been announced to take the service at Bethesda Chapel. 
 But the expectant congregation were disappointed when, 
 after a whispered conversation, one of them commenced the 
 meeting with an apology for their beloved pastor's unavoid- 
 able absence. The service had not, however, proceeded far, 
 when Mr. Booth himself appeared, and was able, not only to 
 preach the anticipated sermon, but to make the happy an- 
 nouncement that another little woman warrior had just been 
 added to their ranks one whose life, with God's blessing, 
 should be a practical illustration of the truths laid down in 
 " Female Ministry." It was a bright omen for the future 
 that Emma Moss Booth was born within a few days of the 
 publication of her mother's stirring pamphlet, and she was 
 still an infant in her arms when the public ministry com- 
 menced which was to open the doors of usefulness, not only 
 to Mrs. Booth's own daughters, but to multitudes of woman- 
 kind. 
 
 It was while she was lying still weak and suffering, her 
 babe in her bosom, that Mrs. Booth received what was with- 
 
Jlfrs. Booth CoHunences Preaching. 
 
 107 
 
 out doubt an inward urging of the Holy Spirit to consecrate 
 herself to the ministry which she had so powerfully defended 
 on behalf of others. She applied her pamphlet to herself. 
 She had always been fully convinced that it was lawful for 
 a woman to preach the Gospel, as much as for man. But 
 that it was their duty to rise up and do it under pain of the 
 Divine displeasure was altogether another aspect of the 
 question. Least of all did she contemplate when writing the 
 
 3U1JS. BOOTH-TUCKER. 
 
 paper that she would be singled out by Providence to 
 pioneer the way. But a sick bed allows opportunity for 
 reflection which is often impossible in the busy routine of 
 e very-day life. She was forced to face the natural conse- 
 quences of her own teachings, and to realise that what was 
 permissible became a duty where the necessary qualifications 
 were possessed. 
 
 Referring to her experience in a public meeting twenty 
 3 r ears afterwards, Mrs. Booth said : 
 
io8 Mrs. Booth. 
 
 li Perhaps some of you would hardly credit that I was one 
 of the most timid and bashful disciples the Lord Jesus ever 
 saved. But for four or five months before I commenced 
 speaking, the controversy had been signally roused in my 
 soul, and I passed through some severe heart-searchingrf. 
 Daring a season of sickness it seemed one day as if the Lord 
 revealed it all to me by His Spirit. I had no vision, but a 
 revelation to my mind. He seemed to take me back to the 
 time when I was fifteen or sixteen, when I first fully gave 
 my heart to Him. He showed me that all the bitter way 
 this one thing had been the fly in the pot of ointment, pre- 
 venting me from realising what I otherwise should have 
 done. And then I remember prostrating myself upon my 
 face before Him, and promising Him there in the sick room, 
 1 Lord, if Thou wilt return unto me as in the days of old, 
 and revisit me with those urgings of the Spirit which I used 
 to have, I will obey, if I die in the attempt.' However, the 
 Lord did not revisit me immediately. But He permitted me 
 to recover, and to resume my usual duties. 
 
 u About three months afterwards I went to the chapel of 
 which my husband was a minister (Bethesda), and he had an 
 extraordinary service there. Even then he was always try- 
 ing something new to get at the outside people. For this 
 Sunday he had arranged with the leaders that the chapel 
 should be closed, and a great out-door service held at a place 
 called Windmill Hills. It so happened, however, that the 
 weather was too tempestuous for carrying out this design, 
 and hence the doors were thrown open and the meeting was 
 held in the chapel. In spite of the stormy weather, about 
 a thousand persons were present, including a number of 
 preachers and outside friends. 
 
 " I was, as usual, in the minister's pew, with my eldest 
 boy, then four years old. I felt much depressed in mind, 
 and was not expecting anything particular, but as the testi- 
 monies proceeded I felt the Holy Spirit come upon me. You 
 alone, who have experienced it, can tell what it means. It 
 cannot be described. I felt it to the extremity of my hands 
 
' 
 
 Mrs. Booth Commences Preaching. 109 
 
 and feet. It seemed as if a voice said to me, * Now if you 
 were to go and testify, you know I would bless it to your 
 own soul as well as to the people ! ' I gasped again, and said 
 in my heart, ' Yes, Lord, I believe Thou wouldst, but I 
 cannot do it ! ' I had forgotten my vow. It did not occur to 
 me at all. 
 
 " A moment afterwards there flashed across my mind the 
 memory of the bedroom visitation, when I had promised the 
 Lord that I would obey Him at all costs. And then the 
 voice seemed to ask me if this was consistent with that 
 promise. I almost jumped up and said, * No, Lord, it is the 
 old thing over again. But I cannot do it ! ' I felt as 
 though I would sooner die than speak. And then the devil 
 said, ' Besides, you are not prepared. You will look like a 
 fool and will have nothing to say.' He made a mistake. 
 He over-reached himself for once. It was this word that 
 settled it. ' Ah ! ' I said, ' this is just the point. I have 
 never yet been willing to be a fool for Christ. Now I will 
 be one ! ' 
 
 " Without stopping another moment, I rose up from my 
 seat and walked down the aisle. My dear husband was 
 just going to conclude. He thought something had 
 happened to me, and so did the people. We had been there 
 two years, and they knew my timid, bashful nature. He 
 stepped down and asked me, * What is the matter, my dear?' 
 I replied, ' I want to say a word.' He was so taken by sur- 
 prise that he could only say, ' My dear wife wishes to speak,' 
 and sat down. For years he had been trying to persuade 
 me to do it. Only that very week he had wanted me to go 
 and address a little cottage meeting of some twenty working 
 people, but I had refused. 
 
 " I stood God only knows how and if any mortal ever 
 did hang on the arm of Omnipotence, I did. I felt as if I 
 were clinging to some human arm, but it was a Divine One 
 which held me up. I just stood and told the people how it 
 had come about. I confessed as I think everybody should 
 who has been in the wrong and has misrepresented the 
 
no Mrs. Booth. 
 
 religion of Jesus Christ. I said, 1 1 dare say many of you 
 have been looking upon me as a very devoted woman, and 
 one who has been living faithfully to God. But I have come 
 to realise that I have been disobeying Him, and thus have 
 brought darkness and leanness into my soul. I have pro- 
 mised the Lord to do so no longer, and have come to tell you 
 that henceforth I will be obedient to the holy vision.' 
 
 " There was more weeping, they said, in the chapel that 
 day, than on any previous occasion. Many dated a renewal 
 in righteousness from that very moment, and began a life of 
 devotion and consecration to God. 
 
 11 Now I might have ' talked good ' to them till now. 
 That honest confession did what twenty years of preaching 
 could not have accomplished. 
 
 " But oh, how little did I realise how much was then in- 
 volved ! I never imagined the life of publicity and trial 
 that it would lead me to, for I was never allowed to have 
 another quiet Sabbath, when I was well enough to stand and 
 speak. All I did w r as to take the first step. I could not 
 see in advance. But the Lord, as He always does when His 
 people are honest with Him and obedient, opened the windows 
 of Heaven and poured out such a blessing that there was not 
 room to contain it." 
 
 The Rubicon once crossed, it became impossible for Mrs. 
 Booth to turn back, however much she might have desired 
 to do so. She scarcely had resumed her seat, when, true to 
 his nature, Mr. Booth pounced upon her to preach at night. 
 She could not refuse. The people were delighted. They 
 overwhelmed her with congratulations. Her servant, who 
 was at the meeting, went home and danced round the kitchen 
 table with delight, calling out to the nur.se, " The mistress 
 has spoken ! The mistress has spoken ! " 
 
 Mrs. Booth returned home drenched in perspiration, with 
 mingled feelings of satisfaction and of consternation at hav- 
 ing to speak again that night. What could she say ? It 
 would be useless for her to repeat what she had said in the 
 morning. And yet there was no time for preparation. She 
 
Mrs. Booth Commences Preacliing. 
 
 ill 
 
 cast herself upon her knees and asked the Lord to give her 
 a message for the people. He did so then and there, and 
 the night meeting exceeded in enthusiasm and power the 
 preceding one. 
 
 The chapel presented a never-to-be-forgotten scene that 
 evening. It was crowded to the doors, and the people sat 
 upon the very window-sills. Appropriately enough, it 
 
 BETHESDA CHAPEL, GATESHEAD-ON-TYNE, 
 In which was delivered Mrs. Booth's first public address. 
 
 happened to be the anniversary of Pentecost, and Mrs. 
 Booth took for her subject, " Be filled with the Spirit." The 
 audience were spell-bound as they listened to her words. 
 There are some in Heaven and not a few on earth to-day 
 who look back upon that occasion as the turning-point in 
 their spiritual history, 
 
112 Mrs. Booth. 
 
 The news spread far and wide, and invitations now 
 poured in thickly from all directions in greater number than 
 could possibly be accepted. 
 
 Meanwhile the annual Conference had come and gone. 
 Mr. Booth had not attended it, having consented to stay in 
 Gateshead another year. 
 
 The heavy strain of his circuit duties had told severely for 
 some time past upon Mr. Booth, and led in September to a 
 complete breakdown and an enforced rest. Having been 
 strongly recommended to try the hydropathic treatment, 
 Mr. Booth went to Mr. Smedley's establishment at Matlock, 
 while Mrs. Booth remained with the children in Gateshead. 
 But, although she was prepared to do what she could in 
 looking after the interests of the circuit, she was surprised 
 when a deputation of the leading officials waited upon her 
 urging that she would take her husband's town appointments 
 during his absence. To this she replied that she could on no 
 account consent, reminding them that their credit was at 
 stake as well as her confidence. 
 
 The deputation retired somewhat crestfallen at the result, 
 but returned soon afterwards with renewed supplications 
 that Mrs. Booth would at least undertake the Sabbath night 
 meetings, these being the most important. After consider- 
 able pressure she consented to this arrangement, and during 
 the next nine weeks conducted these and other meetings till 
 the time of Mr. Booth's return, besides supervising the 
 general management of circuit affairs. The result was most 
 gratifying. The chapel was packed on each occasion that 
 she spoke. Numbers of gentlemen from Newcastle, who had 
 never before entered a dissenting place of worship, attended 
 the meetings. 
 
 The following letter to her parents gives a description of 
 the position of affairs during this period : 
 
 " 24th September, 1860. 
 
 " I had a very good day yesterday at Sheriff Hill. A most precious 
 time in the morning. Spoke an hour and ten minutes with unction and 
 liberty. My own soul was richly blessed and I think many others were. 
 At night I had a good time and splendid prayer-meeting. 
 
Mrs. Booth Commences Preaching. 1 1 3 
 
 " I hope, if my dear father has not yet got thoroughly into the light, 
 that he will do so while he is here. It may be the Lord is bringing him 
 for that purpose. 
 
 ' ; I get plenty of invitations now, far more than I can comply with. 
 In fact they tell me my name is being trumpeted far and wide. Mr. 
 Crow says that it is getting into the foreign papers now, and that in one 
 of them I am represented as having my husband's clothes on ! They 
 would require to be considerably shortened before such a phenomenon 
 could occur, would they not? Well, notwithstanding all I have heard 
 about the papers, I have never had sufficient curiosity to buy one ! Nor 
 have I ever seen my name in print, except on the wall bills, and then I 
 have had some difficulty to believe that it really meant me ! However, 
 I suppose it did. And now I shall never deem anything impossible any 
 more ! " 
 
 In writing to Mr. Booth during his absence she says : 
 
 " You will be anxious to hear how I got on last night. Well, we had 
 a splendid congregation. The chapel was very full, upstairs and down, 
 with forms round the communion-rail. I never saw it fuller on any 
 occasion except once or twice during the revival. It was a wonderful 
 congregation, especially considering that no bills had been printed. The 
 Lord helped me, and I spoke for an hour with great confidence, liberty, 
 and, I think, some power. They listened as for eternity, and a deep 
 solemnity seemed to rest on every countenance. 1 am conscious that 
 mentally and for delivery it was by far my best effort. Oh, how I 
 yearned for more Divine influence to make the most of that precious 
 opportunity. Great numbers stayed to the prayer-meeting. The bottom 
 of the chapel was nearly full. Many are under conviction, but we had 
 only three cases I think all good ones. I kept the prayer-meeting on 
 until ten. The people did not seem to want to go. The man whom I 
 told you about as having been brought in a month ago under ' Be ye 
 reconciled ' prayed last night with power. He is a glorious case Mr. 
 McAllam's best helper at Gardener Street. 
 
 " The people are saying some very extravagant things. I hear a stray 
 report now and then. But I think I feel as meek as ever, and more my 
 own helplessness and dependence on Divine assistance. Don't forget to 
 pray for me. I have borne the weight of circuit matters to an extent I 
 could not have believed possible, and have been literally the ' Superin- 
 tendent.' But it has been behind the scenes, and I have not always been 
 well represented in my officers, and consequently all things have not 
 been done to my satisfaction. When you come you will not only resume 
 the command, but yourself take the reins." 
 
CHAPTER XIII. 
 HOLINESS TEACHINGS. 1SG1. 
 
 OF the doctrines advocated by John Wesle} T , next to the 
 necessity of conversion, there was none on which he laid 
 more stress than on the doctrine of sanctification. By the 
 former he understood the possibility of receiving the conscious 
 and immediate assurance of salvation. This was the Chris- 
 tian's privilege, nay, more, it was his duty. Short of such 
 an experience none could safely rest. 
 
 Wesley went, however, further in asserting that not only 
 could the sins of the past be pardoned, and the sinner re- 
 stored to the family of God, but that the heart could be 
 purified by the same power from the evil tendencies and 
 tempers, which would otherwise prove too strong for it and 
 render it the helpless prey of every passing temptation. If, 
 he argued, the citadel of the heart continued to be occupied 
 by anger, pride, love of money, fear of man, and all the other 
 thousand and one forms of selfishness, the whole attention of 
 the victim of such passion would necessarily be occupied in 
 combating those inward enemies, and there would be little 
 opportunity, inclination, and capacity for serving their 
 Master by carrying the war into the heart of the enemy's 
 country. If, on the contrary, these inward forms of evil were 
 removed, every energy could then be devoted to the salvation 
 of a perishing world. 
 
 The very object of the atonement appeared to him to be 
 the conquest and removal of these indwelling evils. The 
 very name Jesus signified that He was to save His people 
 from their sins, not merely to pardon and cendone sin, as so 
 many seemed to suppose. 
 
 in 
 
Holiness Teachings. I 1 5 
 
 Of late, however, this doctrine had ceased to occupy the 
 prominence given to it by Wesley. True, the possibility of 
 attaining such an experience continued to be acknowledged. 
 Nevertheless, it was no longer advocated with the same de- 
 finiteness and earnestness that had marked it of old. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Booth, while constantly referring to the 
 subject, and always urging upon their converts the import- 
 ance both of holy living and of aggressive effort, hud not 
 hitherto directed their attention in any special manner to 
 the consideration and proclamation of this doctrine. How 
 they came to do so is touchingly described by Mrs. Booth in 
 the following letters to her parents : 
 
 " My soul has been much called out of late on the doctrine of holi- 
 ness. I feel that hitherto we have not put it in a sufficiently definite and 
 tangible manner before the people I mean as a specific and attainable 
 experience. Oh, that I had entered into the fulness of the enjoyment of 
 it myself ! I intend to struggle after it. In the meantime we have 
 commenced already to bring it specially before our dear people." 
 
 " llth February, 18G1. 
 
 " Your very kind letter came duly to hand. We are very much ob- 
 liged for the readiness O with which you promised to join us in praying 
 about this very important matter of our future work. I hope, nay, I 
 believe, God will guide us. I think we are fully willing to be led by Him. 
 I have not prayed much specifically about it at present, simply because my 
 mind has been absorbed in the pursuit of Holiness, which I feel involves 
 this and every other blessing. If I am only fully the Lord's He has 
 unalterably bound Himself to be the portion of my inheritance for ever. 
 This of late I have especially realised, and a week ago last Friday, when 
 I made the surrender referred to in my last, I saw that in order to carry 
 out my vow in the true spirit of consecration, I must have a whole Christ, 
 a perfect Saviour. 
 
 " I therefore resolved to seek till I found that ' Pearl of great price ' 
 'the white stone, which no man knoweth, save he that receiveth it.' 
 I perceived that I had been in some degree of error with reference to 
 the nature, or rather the attainment, of sanctification, regarding it 
 rather as a great and mighty work to be wrought in me, through 
 Christ, than the simple reception of Cbrist as an all-sufficient Saviour, 
 dwelling in rny heart, and thus cleansing it every moment from all sin. 
 I had been earnestly seeking all the week to apprehend Him as my 
 Saviour in this sense, but on Thursday and Friday I was totally 
 absorbed in the subject. I laid aside almost everything else, and spent 
 the chief part of the day in reading and prayer, and trying to believe for 
 
ii6 Mrs. Booth. 
 
 it. On Thursday afternoon at tea-time I was wellnigh discouraged, and 
 felt my old visitant irritability, and the devil told me I should never get it, 
 and so I might as well give it up at once. However, I know him of old 
 as a liar and the father of lies, and pressed on, cast down, yet not des- 
 troyed. 
 
 " On Friday morning God gave me two precious passages. First, 
 ' Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give 
 you rest.' Oh, how sweet it sounded to my poor, weary, sin-stricken 
 soul ! I almost dared to believe that He did give me rest from inbred 
 sin, the rest of perfect holiness. But I staggered at the promise through 
 unbelief, and therefore failed to enter in. The second passage consisted 
 of those thrice-blessed words, ' Of Him are ye in Christ Jesus, who is 
 made nnto us wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption.' 
 But again unbelief hindered me, although I feel as if getting gradually 
 nearer. 
 
 " I struggled through the day until a little after six ia the evening, 
 when William joined me in prayer. We had a blessed season. While 
 he was saying, * Lord we open our hearts to receive Thee,' that word 
 was spoken to my soul, ' Behold I stand at the door and knock. If any 
 man hear My voice and open unto Me, I will come in and sup with 
 him.' I felt sure He had long been knocking, and oh, how I yearned to 
 receive Him as a perfect Saviour ! But oh, the inveterate habit of un- 
 belief ! How wonderful that God should have borne so long with me ! 
 When we got up from our knees I lay on the sofa exhausted with the 
 excitement and effort of the day. William said, ' Don't you lay all on the 
 altar?' I replied, 'I am sure I do!' Then he said, 'And isn't tha 
 altar holy ? ' I replied in the language of the Holy Ghost, ' The altar is 
 most holy, and whatsoever toucheth it is holy.' ' Then,' said he, ' Are 
 you not holy ? ' I replied with my heart full of emotion and with some 
 faith, ' Oh, I think I am ! ' Immediately the word was given me to con- 
 firm my faith, ' Now are ye clean through the word which I have 
 spoken unto you.' And I took hold, true with a trembling hand, and not 
 unmolested by the tempter, but I held fast the beginning of my confi- 
 dence, and it grew stronger, and from that, moment I have dared to 
 reckon myself dead indeed unto sin, and alive unto God through Jesus 
 Christ my Lord. 
 
 ** I did not feel much rapturous joy, but perfect peace, the sweet rest 
 which Jesus promised to the heavy laden. I have understood the 
 Apostle's meaning when he says, ' We who believe do enter into rest.' 
 This is just descriptive of my state at present. Not that I am not 
 tempted, but I am allowed to know the devil when he approaches me, 
 and I look to my Deliverer Jesus, and He still gives me rest. Two or 
 three very trying things occurred on Saturday which at another timo 
 would have excited impatience, but I was kept by the power of God 
 through faith unto full salvation. 
 
 " And now what shall I say ? ' Unto Him who has washed me in Hi3 
 
Holiness Teachings, 117 
 
 own blood be glory and dominion for ever and ever,' and all \vithin me 
 sajs ' Amen ! ' Oh ! I cannot describe ; I have no words to set forth 
 the sense I have of my own utter unworthiness. Satan has met me 
 frequently with my peculiarly aggravated sins, and I have admitted it 
 all. But then I have said, the Lord has not made my sauctification to 
 depend in any measure on my own worthiness or unworthiness, but on the 
 worthiness of my Saviour. He came to seek and to save ' that which 
 was lost.' ' Where sin hath abounded, grace doth much more abound.' 
 
 "And now, my dear parents, will you let it abound towards you? 
 ' Whosoever will, let him come and take freely ! ' " 
 
 Like the twin pillars, Jachin and Boaz, which were reared 
 by Solomon in the porch of the Temple, so the twin doc- 
 trines, Conversion and Sanctification, were raised in the fore- 
 front of the Salvation Army Zion. In the glorious possi- 
 bility of pardon, it was to be " established," and in the no 
 less precious privilege of purity it was to find its " strength." 
 The founders of the movement were to transmit to their 
 followers the double shepherd's crooks of Bands and Beauty, 
 binding them on the one hand to the blessed experience of a 
 forgiven child of God, and introducing them on the other to 
 all the matchless " beauty of holiness." 
 
 Speaking subsequently on this subject, Mrs. Booth says : 
 
 "I think it must be self-evident that it is the most important question 
 that can possibly occupy the mind of man how much like God we can be, 
 how near to God we can come on earth preparatory to our being per- 
 fectly like Him, and living, as it were, in His very heart for ever and 
 ever in Heaven. Any one who has any measure of the Spirit of God 
 must perceive that this is the most important question on which we can 
 concentrate our thoughts ; and the mystery of mysteries to me is how 
 any one with any measure of the Spirit of God can help looking at this 
 blessing of Holiness, and saying, ' Well, even if it does seem too great 
 for attainment on earth, it is very beautiful and very blessed. I wish I 
 could attain it. ' That, it seems to me, must be the attitude of every 
 person who has the Spirit of God that he should hunger and thirst after 
 it, and feel that he shall never be satisfied till he wakes up in the lovely 
 likeness of his Saviour. And yet, alas ! we do not find it so. In a great 
 many instances the very first thing professing Christians do is to resist 
 and reject this doctrine of Holiness as if it were the most foul thing on 
 earth. 
 
 " I heard of a gentleman saying, a few days ago a leader in one eircle 
 of religion that for anybody to talk about /being holy showed that they 
 knew nothing of themselves and nothing of Jesus Christ. I said, ' Oh, 
 
u8 Mrs. Booth. 
 
 my God ! it has come to something if Holiness and Jesus Christ are at 
 the antipodes of each other. I thought He was the centre and fountain 
 of Holiness. I thought it \vas in Him alone we could get any Holiness, 
 and through Him only that Holiness could be wrought in us.' But this 
 poor man thought otherwise. 
 
 "We are told over and over again that God wants His people to be 
 pure, and THAT PURITY IN THEIR HEARTS is THE VERY CENTRAL IDEA AND 
 
 END AND PURPOSE OP THE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST ; if it IS not SO, I glVCUp 
 
 the whole question I am utterly deceived. 
 
 " Oh, that people, in their inquiries about this blessing of Holiness, 
 would keep tins one thing before their minds, that it is being saved front 
 sin ! sin in act, in purpose, in thought ! 
 
 " After all, what does God want with us ? He wants us just to be and 
 to do. He wants us to be like His Sou, and then to do as His Son did ; 
 and when we come to that He will shake the world through us. People 
 say, 'You can't be like His Son.' Very well, then, you will never get 
 any more than you believe for. If I did not think Jesus Christ strong 
 enough to destroy the works of the Devil and to bring us back to God's 
 original pattern, I would throw the whole thing up for ever. "What ! 
 He has given us a religion we cannot practise? I say, No, He has not 
 come to mock us. "What ? He has given us a Saviour who cannot 
 save? Then I decline to have anything to do with Him. What? does 
 He profess to do for me what He cannot? No, no, no. He 'is not a 
 man, that He should lie ; neither the Son of Man, that He should re- 
 pent' ; and I tell you that His scheme of Salvation is two-sidedit is 
 Godward and manward. It contemplates me as well as it contemplates 
 the great God. It is not a scheme of Salvation merely it is a scheme 
 of restoration. If He cannot restore me, He must damn me. If He 
 cannot heal me, and make me over again, and restore me to the pattern 
 He intended me to be, He has left Himself no choice." 
 
CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 THE RESIGNATION. 1861. 
 
 IN the history of men, as iii the history of nations, there are 
 critical moments when incalculable interests tremble in the 
 balance, and it seems that a feather would suffice to turn the 
 scale. Particularly is this the case with those who rise up 
 from time to time as the champions of humanity. It is 
 only when they have dared to brave the fiery ordeal and cross 
 the seven- fold heated bars which opposition and prejudice 
 lay at their feet that the accomplishment of their heart's 
 desire becomes attainable. The moment arrives when, with- 
 out risking everything, nothing can be won. Those who are 
 not prepared to sacrifice mu^tbe content to fail. The choicest 
 privileges of mankind have been bought with blood. What 
 is best worth buying costs the most. The Cross is the price 
 for the crown, and Calvary the only gateway to resurrection 
 glory. If good desires would save mankind, it would surely 
 have been delivered long ago. The difference between idle 
 wishes and the deliberate heart-choice of the world's true 
 benefactor is, that the latter consents to pay the price which 
 some one has to pay. The Cross is the divinely appointed 
 shibboleth for the detection of the hypocrite. No insincere 
 and selfish heart can " frame to pronounce " the word. The 
 Ephraimite is betrayed by his lisp, and fails in his attempt 
 to cross the ford. 
 
 It was an epoch such as this in the history of Mr. and Mrs. 
 Booth. To face the world alone would have been easy. But 
 now a delicate wife and four little children had to b con- 
 sidered. The recent break-down of Mr. Booth's health had 
 reminded them that his constitution was not of the strongest. 
 
 119 
 
120 Mrs. Booth. 
 
 Added to these difficulties there was a warm personal attach- 
 ment to the large circle of Connexional members with whom 
 their labours had brought them into contact, and a deep-rooted 
 desire to advance the highest interests of the body. Xone 
 of these considerations, however, appeared to lessen the re- 
 sponsibility of their present position. And they resolved 
 with the most perfect unanimity that if the Conference once 
 more refused to fulfil their long-standing pledge, they would 
 commit their needs to God, and go forth to do His will in 
 simple reliance upon His promises. 
 
 No sooner had this decision been arrived at than Mr. Booth 
 proceeded to prepare a letter to the President, formally 
 broaching the subject, and offering himself for reappointment 
 to the evangelistic sphere. 
 
 It was not till the beginning of May that Mr. Booth re- 
 ceived any reply to this communication, and then only to the 
 effect that the answer had been dela}*ed owing to Mr. Stacey r s 
 illness, but that there had been a meeting of the Annual 
 Committee, at which the letter had been considered, and that 
 three out of the four members present had thought it best 
 to lay the matter before the Conference for free and open 
 discussion. 
 
 Xor were they left in this critical hour without tokens of 
 Divine approval. A series of revival services, held in the 
 beginning of the year at Bethesda Chapel, had resulted in 
 two hundred persons professing conversion. The quarterly 
 returns showed an increase of more than three hundred 
 members to the circuit during the thre'e years of their ap- 
 pointment. The annual District meeting held in Durham, 
 previous to the meeting of the Conference, had been memorial- 
 ised by the Gateshead Circuit to ask that Mr. Booth should 
 be set apart for the work of an evangelist, and had unani- 
 mously passed the following resolutions : 
 
 1. Affirming the Scriptural character of such an agency and 
 the desirability of its employment by the Connexion. 
 
 2. Recommending Conference to set Mr. Booth apart for the 
 work; and 
 
The Resignation. 121 
 
 3. Recommending his appointment to the Durham district 
 as his first sphere of labour. 
 
 One of the most influential lay members of the Conference 
 was a Mr. Joseph Love. He was immensely rich, having 
 risen from the position of a working man to one of affluence, 
 and leaving at his death some two millions of money. He 
 warmly espoused Mr. Booth's cause, and promised to do his 
 utmost to secure the consent of Conference to a renewal of 
 his evangelistic work. Indeed, both he and other wealthy 
 friends made it no secret that if it were the question of ex- 
 pense which had caused hesitation as to the appointment, 
 they would themselves guarantee to defray all the extra cost, 
 and thus relieve Conference of any anxiety on that account. 
 
 Still more reassuring was the result of an Easter visit paid 
 by Mr. and Mrs. Booth to Hartlepool. So remarkable were 
 the results and. so promising the prospects that Mrs. Booth 
 remained behind for ten d,ays to continue the services, no less 
 than two hundred and fifty persons coming to the commu- 
 nion rail during this brief interval. This seemed to be in an 
 especial manner the finger of God pointing with the utmost 
 plainness to the path that He desired them to follow. The 
 commencement of this work is graphically described by Mrs. 
 Booth herself in the following letter to her parents : 
 
 , Easter Monday, 1861. 
 
 " We came here on Thursday afternoon for the Easter Anniversary 
 meetings. I preached on Good Friday morning to a full chapel, William 
 on Sunday morning, and I again in the afternoon to a chapel packed, 
 aisles and pulpit stairs, while many turned away unable to get in. This 
 morning William returned to Gateshead to attend our tea-meeting at 
 Bethesda. I am staying here to preach again to-night, and shall return 
 all well to-morrow. There were many under conviction last evening, 
 whom I hope to see converted to-night. The Lord has been very graci- 
 ously present with me -hitherto, and has given me great influence and 
 liberty, I am in my element in the work, and only regret that I did not 
 commence it years ago. Oh, to live for souls ! It is a dark, sinful world 
 and a comparatively dead and useless Church. May God pour out His 
 spirit ! 
 
 " There is a nice society here, considering it is a new one a beautiful 
 chapel, seats about 750. They say there were 1,000 in it yesterday 
 afternoon. 
 
122 Mrs. Booth. 
 
 " And now how are you getting on ? I am very glad to hear iny dear 
 father is so useful in the temperance line. I intend to do more yet in that 
 direction. Some excellent judges spoke very highly of my first speech. 
 So I shall be encouraged to try again. 
 
 "I hope, however, my dear father will not stop at teetotalism. Why 
 can you not speak a word for Jesus? (Shortly previous to this, while on 
 a visit to Mrs. Booth, Mr. Mumford had given his heart freshly to God.) 
 Does not ' love so amazing, so Divine ' as He has shown to you demand 
 the consecration of your powers directly to His Name and caiise ? Oh, 
 try to speak a word for Him, and you will find His Spirit will be with you, 
 giving you strength and grace ! The mere recital of God's merciful deal- 
 ings with you would be calculated to melt many a hard heart, and in- 
 spire many a hopeless, reckless wanderer with desires and purposes to 
 return to the Lord. Try it ! Oh, let us all try to live to purpose ! 
 
 " Has my dear mother fixed on any plan by which she can do some- 
 thing for the Lord, and be instrumental in winning a few poor sou's to 
 Jesus? It is workers that are so wofully wanted in the vineyard, and 
 there is nothing else worth living for but to minister salvation and bliss 
 in Jesus' Name. Oh, let us as a family strive to do something to make 
 up for our lost opportunities and past unfaithfulness ! " 
 
 A few daj-s later Mrs. Booth writes again from Hartlepool 
 to her parents : 
 
 " You will be surprised to find I am still here, but so it is. I told you 
 I had to stay on Monday evening. Well, the Lord came down amongst 
 the people so gloriously that I dare not leave, so the friends telegraphed 
 to William and I remained. ... I preached again on Tuesday 
 evening. The chapel was full. I gave an invitation, and the Lord 
 helped me as I think He never did before. When I had done speaking 
 there was a general move all over the chapel, and the communion rail 
 was filled with penitents again and again and again during the evening. 
 The second time it was filled I never saw such a sight before. They were 
 all men with two exceptions, and most of them gr.eat fine fellows of mature 
 years. All glory to Jesus ! He hath ' chosen the weak things to con- 
 found the mighty.' 
 
 " I preached again on the Wednesday and Friday evenings, and also 
 gave two addresses on holiness, and the Lord was very gracious with me, 
 Above 100 names were taken during the week, and besides these I should 
 think we have had half the members up to seek a clear sense of their 
 acceptance. On Saturday night we had a glorious fellowship meeting. 
 Oh, it would have rejoiced your hearts to have heard one after another 
 bless God for bringing your feeble and unworthy child to Hartlepool ! I 
 shall never forget that meeting on earth or in Heaven ! 
 
 " I was published to preach at night, and a quarter of an hour before 
 the time the chapel was wedged so full that the people were drifting 
 
TJie Resignation. 123 
 
 away, when it was announced to the crowd outside that Mr. Williams 
 should preach in the schoolroom under the chapel at the same time. It 
 is a splendid place, capable of holding nearly 500, and not only was it 
 lilled, but they tell me numbers went away unable to get in. I preached 
 in the chapel on the judgment, and experienced great liberty. The 
 people listened as though they already realized the dread tribunal. Oh, 
 it was indeed a solemn season ! For some time we carried on loth 
 prayer-meetings, then we amalgamated, allowing the people to remain 
 in the gallery, which they did till nearly ten o'clock. We had upwards 
 of forty cases of conversion-. To God be all the praise ! If we had ha I 
 more efficient belp at the communion rail, we should have got many 
 more, but there was not room for them, and the people of God are awfully 
 ignorant of the right way to lead penitents to Christ. The Lord have 
 mercy on a half -asleep Church ! Oh, if I had time to particularise 
 some of the precious cases we have had I could fill sheets ! But I have 
 not. Our Christ can do wonderful things, and that by the feeblest in- 
 struments. 
 
 " The friends are thoroughly taken by surprise. They were perfectly 
 bewildered last night. They seemed lost in wonder and awe. I believe 
 we had some of the most respectable people and also some of the greatest 
 reprobates in the town, and yet during the whole service I saw but one 
 irreverent look or gesture. They all seemed as solemn as death, and I 
 believe many went away with the arrows of the Almighty in their souls. 
 May the great day reveal it. The friends tell me that I get numbers 
 every night who never before put their heads inside a place of worship. 
 I give an address this evening, principally to the new converts, and to- 
 morrow morning I return home. It seems a thousand pities to have to 
 leave such a work, but I suppose I must. I intend to try and arrange 
 to come back again. 
 
 " Oh, I cannot tell you how I feel in view of the state of the Church 
 at large. It is a dead weight on the heels of any truly earnest minister. 
 What can we do to wake it up, and keep it awake ? We can only pray to 
 the Lord of the harvest. He can do it and He only. The poor sinners, 
 the poor lost sheep for whom my Saviour died, how few truly care for 
 their souls ! All seek their own and not the things that are Jesus Christ's. 
 Oh, may the Lord help me to seek His, and only His glory, and to be con- 
 tent to wait for my reward till I get to Heaven ! Amen and Amen ! 
 
 <! The children were all pretty well when I heard last. My precious 
 children ! Oh, how I long to inspire them with truly benevolent and 
 self-sacrificing principles. The Lord help me, and may He early take 
 their hearts under His training ! William says that he does not think 
 that thay are suffering from my absence, neither do I believe the Lord 
 will allow them to suffer. 
 
 ' Fix on His work thy steadfast eye, 
 
 So shall thy work be done.' 
 The Lord will not let us lose in the end by doing His work." 
 
124 Mrs. Booth. 
 
 The memorable Conference, on the decisions of which 
 were suspended events of far-reaching importance, was held 
 in Liverpool in 1861. Mr. and Mrs. Booth decided that they 
 would together attend its deliberations. 
 
 "My heart almost fails me," writes Mrs. Booth to her parents, "in 
 going to the Conference, and leaving the children behind. But William 
 would like me to be there, to advise with in case he is brought into a 
 perplexing position. I shall be in the gallery while the discussion goes 
 on, so that I can hear all that is said. No doubt there will be much of 
 a trying and discouraging character. Bat I shall look to the Lord for 
 discretion, patience, and wisdom. Pray for me. I have many a conflict 
 in regard. to the proposed new departure, not as to our support, I feel as 
 though I can trust the Lord implicitly for all that ; but the devil tells 
 me I shall never be able to endure the loneliness and separation of the 
 life. He draws many a picture of most dark and melancholy shade. 
 But I cling to the promise, ' No man hath forsaken,' etc., and having 
 sworn to my own hurt, may I stand fast. I have told William that if he 
 takes the step, and it should bring rne to the workhouse, I would never 
 say one upbraiding word. No ! To blame him for making such a sacri- 
 fice for God and conscience's sake would be worse than wicked! So, 
 whatever be the result, I shall make up my mind to endure it patiently, 
 looking to the Lord for grace and strength." 
 
 Referring to this occasion in later years Mrs. Booth says : 
 
 " A good deal of the business was of a personal character. At length 
 our case came on for consideration. As we had anticipated, the pro- 
 posal for our restoration to the evangelistic sphere met with brisk 
 opposition, although the reasons advanced for it had undergone a 
 complete change. Nevertheless, there was every reason to believe that 
 nearly half the ministers and the majority of the laymen present were 
 in favour of the proposal, and we trusted that with their help we should 
 be able to carry the day. Nothing surprised me, however, more than 
 the half-hearted and hesitating manner in which some spoke, who had 
 in private assured us most emphatically of their sympathy and support. 
 I believe that cowardice is one of the most prevailing and subtle sins of 
 the day. People are so pusillanimous that they dare not say ' No,' and 
 are afraid to go contrary to the opinions of others, or to find themselves 
 in a minority. 
 
 " On three separate occasions the subject of our appointment was 
 brought forward for discussion, and was successively adjourned, the de- 
 bate occasioning considerable excitement throughout. " 
 
 The discussion was commenced by the Rev. J. Stokoe 
 presenting to the Conference the resolutions passed by the 
 
The Resignation 125 
 
 recent meetings at Durham, advocating the restoration of 
 Mr. Booth to the evangelistic sphere. 
 
 After a prolonged and animated debate, Mr. Booth was 
 invited to read the letter which he had addressed to the 
 Annual Committee in the previous March. The debate was 
 drawing to a close with every prospect of a satisfactory re- 
 sult, when, to their amazement, Dr. Cooke, who had pro- 
 fessed to be on their side, proposed a compromise. His 
 amendment was to the effect that Mr. Booth should take a 
 circuit, but should be allowed to make arrangements with 
 his office-bearers to spend a certain portion of his time in 
 carrying on revival services elsewhere. The impracticability 
 of such a course Mr. and Mrs. Booth had already proved in 
 the case of Gateshead. And they knew that if the proposed 
 appointment to a circuit should be insisted upon, its affairs 
 would necessarily absorb their whole attention, and it would 
 be impossible for them to combine the double work. Mr. 
 Booth, therefore, refused pointblank to accept the compro- 
 mise, but before time could be given to his sympathisers to 
 recover from their surprise, the amendment was put to- the 
 vote and carried by a large majority. 
 
 This was more than Mrs. Booth could endure. She had 
 been sitting at a point in the gallery from which she and her 
 husband could interchange glances. It had been with diffi- 
 cult} 7 that she had restrained her feelings hitherto while 
 listening to the debate. But at this stage she was overcome 
 with indignation. She felt that Dr. Cooke had sacrificed their 
 cause in the interests of peace rather than righteousness. 
 But for his suggested compromise, she believed that they 
 would have carried the day with a triumphant majority. 
 He had deserted them in the very hour of victory, carrying 
 with him a number of those who had already voted in favour 
 of the appointment. But she would be no party, even by 
 her silence, to the compromise. It was one of those supreme 
 moments when rules and regulations are forgotten, and the 
 heart out of its own fulness acts upon the promptings and 
 inspiration of the hour. 
 
126 Mrs. Booth. 
 
 Rising from her seat and bending over the gallery, Mrs. 
 Booth's clear voice rang through the Conference, as she said 
 to her husband, " Never ! " 
 
 There was a pause of bewilderment and dismay. Every 
 eye was turned towards the speaker in the gallery. The idea 
 of a woman daring to utter her protest, or. to make her voice 
 heard in the Conference, produced little short of conster- 
 nation. It was a sublime scene, as with flushed face and 
 flashing eye, she stood before that audience. Decision, irre- 
 vocable and eternal, was written upon every feature of that 
 powerful and animated countenance. Her " Never ! " seemed 
 to penetrate like an electric flash through every heart. 
 
 One, at least, in that assembly responded with his whole 
 soul to the call. Mr. Booth sprang to his feat, and waved 
 his hat in the direction of the door. Heedless of the minis- 
 terial cries of " Order, order," and not pausing for another 
 word, they hurried forth, met and embraced each other at 
 the foot of the gallery stairs, and turned their backs upon 
 the Conference, resolved to trust God for the future, come 
 what might, and to follow out their conscientious convictions 
 regarding His work. 
 
 Thus, amid a deluge of heartbreaks and disappointments, 
 the horizon overcast with gloomy clouds, the Salvation Army 
 ark was launched. It was long before it rested on its Ararat, 
 and longer still before its uncovered roof displayed the ver- 
 dant fields and luxuriant pastures of prosperity. But the 
 moment had at length arrived when the moorings that had 
 hitherto anchored it to the traditions of. the past were cut 
 loose. One door had closed behind them, it is true, but a 
 thousand more had opened in its place, and countless hearts 
 were to respond in happy gratitude for the courage and self- 
 sacrifice of that all-important hour which made Mr. and Mrs. 
 Booth and their family the common property of the world, 
 and the nations of the earth in a singular sense their in- 
 heritance. 
 
CHAPTER XV. 
 
 LOXDOX. 1861. 
 
 MR. AXD MRS. BOOTH had scarcely reached their temporary 
 home when Dr. Cooke, in company with another minister, 
 drove up to the door. They had fully expected, like many 
 others who voted in favour of the compromise, that dis- 
 tasteful as it might be to Mr. and Mrs. Booth, their ultimate 
 acquiescence was assured. They had succeeded in over- 
 persuading them on four previous occasions, and they could 
 not but hope that they would again prevail. They pointed 
 out to Mr. and Mrs. Booth the serious consequences of per- 
 sistence in their present course, and urged them to accept 
 the decision of the Conference, holding out the hope that in 
 another year's time the members might be riper for the 
 adoption of the evangelistic programme than they at present 
 appeared to be. 
 
 To this Mr. and Mrs. Booth replied that the apparent 
 compromise was, as a matter of fact, no compromise at all. 
 They were perfectly familiar with the condition of the New- 
 castle circuit, to which it was proposed they should be sent, 
 and they knew that its needs would tax their undivided 
 energies to the utmost. If they neglected it in favour of 
 revival work, they would give just cause for complaint to 
 the Conference. If, on the contrary, they did justice to the 
 circuit, they would be obliged to disobey what they had 
 realised to be a distinct call from God. They had done their 
 utmost to meet the demands of Conference in offering to re- 
 sign their salary, and to depend solely upon God for their 
 support, but they could not accept a double responsibility 
 which they would be unable to fulfil. 
 
 123 
 
London. 1 29 
 
 It was now Saturday. The Conference was to hold its final 
 sitting on Monday. Dr. Cooke urged that Mr. Booth should 
 at least attend in order to re-explain his views, and to see 
 whether some way out of the difficulty could not be devised. 
 To this he agreed, reiterating, however, his inability to ac- 
 cept the present arrangement. 
 
 The Sabbath which followed was a gloomy one. They had 
 been announced to conduct meetings in Chester, and they 
 accordingly went. The chapel was crowded, and in spite of 
 the melancholy feelings which oppressed their hearts, their 
 visit was attended with success, and souls were saved. 
 
 On the Monday morning they returned to Liverpool, when 
 Mr. Booth attended the sitting of the Conference. He was 
 received with marked kindness. Nevertheless, there ap- 
 peared to be no disposition to reconsider the decision or to 
 suggest any other solution of the difficulty, and there was 
 no little rejoicing on the part of the Newcastle representa- 
 tives when, at the last reading of the appointments, Mr. 
 Booth's name was placed against their circuit. 
 
 At the final sitting of the Conference an appeal was, how- 
 ever, made by one of the oldest ministers present, urging 
 him to bow to their decision. He spoke in the most flattering 
 terms of Mr. Booth's previous services, and intimated that 
 all a minister could covet in connection with the body was 
 within his reach if he would conform to the wishes of his 
 brethren, concluding by inviting him to take the platform 
 and signify his feelings to the Conference. 
 
 This Mr. Booth proceeded to do, reiterating his assurance 
 that God had called him to the evangelistic sphere, and 
 adding that if to secure his bread and cheese, or to exempt 
 himself from suffering and loss, he were to sacrifice his con- 
 victions, he believed God would despise him, the}' would 
 despise him, and he was certain that he should despise him- 
 self Rather than do so, he would go forth without a friend 
 and without a farthing. He loved the Connexion. He had 
 for seven years faithfully sought its highest interests. He 
 had won thousands of souls within its borders. But he was 
 
 K 
 
130 Mrs. Booth. 
 
 now asked to carry out an arrangement which was at once 
 a physical impossibility, and which would involve him in a 
 course of disobedience to God and his conscience. 
 
 It might have been supposed that such an appeal, coming 
 from one whose past and prospective services must have 
 been 'deemed of some value to the Connexion, would have 
 elicited a generous response. But the Conference was obdu- 
 rate. What they had written they had written. To New- 
 castle they had appointed him, and to Newcastle it was 
 generally expected, nay, confidently believed, that he would 
 sooner or later consent to go. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Booth were puzzled to know what step should 
 next be taken. While the Conference had refused to alter 
 its decision, it had not, on the other hand, treated Mr. 
 Booth's refusal to comply as a resignation, but had simply 
 assumed that he would in the end obey. There were two 
 courses open to him. One was to place his resignation at 
 once in the hands of the Annual Committee, which had not, 
 however, the authority to accept it, but could only hold the 
 matter over for the consideration of the next year's Con- 
 ference. The other course was to let matters drift for the 
 time being, endeavouring to come to an understanding with 
 his circuit, by which he should forego his salary and home, 
 be released on his part from local engagements, and thus set 
 free for accepting invitations from other circuits and churches 
 which he knew to be desirous of obtaining his services. 
 
 Mrs. Booth was strongly in favour of the former proposal. 
 But Mr. Booth still clung to the hope that some middle 
 course might yet be discovered some means for bridging 
 the gulf in a manner satisfactory at once to the Conference 
 and themselves. His friends were urgent that he should 
 make the attempt. The circuit officials were willing that it 
 should be so, accepting the services of Mr. Booth's colleague 
 as his substitute during his absence. 
 
 It was necessary at once to leave the Gateshead home, but 
 the preacher's house in Newcastle was standing empty, and 
 was gladly for the time being placed at his disposal. A 
 
London. 1 3 1 
 
 notice was even sent to the July number of the Magazine 
 intimating that Mr. Booth's " arrangements with his circuit 
 would leave him some opportunities of helping to promote 
 the work of God in other circuits where the minister and the 
 people unitedly desired his labour." For some weeks it 
 seemed likely that all might yet go well, and the threatened 
 breach be healed. 
 
 Having settled Mrs. Booth and the children in the tem- 
 porary home at Newcastle, and having made with the circuit 
 the arrangements previously referred to, Mr. Booth now 
 sought further engagements. He had anticipated that as 
 soon as it was generally known that he was free to accept 
 further invitations, they would pour in upon him as 
 numerously as ever from the various circuits in the Con- 
 nexion. In this, however, he was disappointed. The late 
 difficulty with the Conference had become generally known, 
 and some, who were eager for a visit, hesitated to invite 
 him ; while in other cases the ministers were no longer 
 anxious, as formerly, to obtain his assistance. 
 
 The fact that he had given up his salary left him free, 
 and, indeed, made it necessary, to seek openings outside the 
 immediate pale of the Connexion. And so, with a burdened 
 heart and in much perplexity of mind, he started for Lon- 
 don. 
 
 We can picture him on his long and lonely journey, as he 
 knelt and once more committed his way unto the Lord. 
 And what was the burden of his cry the key-note of all 
 the past controversy the uppermost desire of his soul? 
 Not money, not position, not power, but the opportunity to 
 reach with the Gospel the greatest number of people in the 
 shortest possible time. This has ever constituted the sum- 
 mit of his ambition, the ruling passion of his life, and the 
 pivot-principle round which the Salvation Arrny has subse- 
 quently revolved. 
 
 William Booth was never content with doing good, when 
 he could do better ; never satisfied with saving some, when 
 he could save more. He despised the opportunity of giving 
 
132 Mrs. Boot/i. 
 
 in Christ's Dame a cup of cold water, when something more 
 substantial was in his power to bestow. He measured his 
 accomplishments by his possibilities, and ever compared 
 what had been done with the what-might-have-been. Thus, 
 through all the toiling past, he has never paused to count 
 the dead deeds of bygone days. His motto has been " On- 
 ward," while each goal gained has become the starting-point 
 for some fresh enterprise. 
 
 In the light of subsequent history, it is touching to note 
 these early efforts to carve out a footing in the great 
 metropolis. There were several undenominational missions 
 which would gladly have received him, but Mr. Booth was 
 unwilling to attach himself to these, as he still cherished a 
 lingering hope that it might yet be possible to retain his 
 position in the New Connexion. To the very last he fought 
 against separation, and would fain have stayed with the 
 people whom he had made his own, and who, despite the 
 inconsistency and opposition of the few, were in the main 
 so largely after his heart, and from whom he had received 
 so many tokens of goodwill and affection. There was 
 nothing, at any rate, to prevent his numerous Connexional 
 friends from applying for his services, and the idea of going 
 to labour among those who more or less held views with 
 which he did not sympathise was repugnant to his mind 
 and seemed unfeasible. 
 
 It was with such thoughts and feelings that he hastened 
 back to Newcastle once more to talk over the position of 
 affairs with Mrs. Booth. Previous to this they had received 
 a pressing invitation to conduct the anniversary services of 
 a branch mission in a suburb of Nottingham, which had 
 owed its existence to the revival previously described. To 
 this they had gladly consented, and they now proceeded to 
 fulfil the engagement. 
 
 They had scarcely reached Nottingham, however, when 
 they received from Dr. Crofts a letter expressing the dis- 
 satisfaction of the Annual Committee with the arrangement 
 that had been entered into with the Newcastle Circuit, and 
 
London. 133 
 
 urging him to enter upon the ordinary pastoral duties of tho 
 appointment. 
 
 The course was now clear. They had done their best to 
 reconcile the claims of God and man. Their circuit had 
 agreed to the arrangement. And they had been willing to 
 await tho decision of another Conference. But they could 
 not consent to sacrifice their convictions of duty, and Mr. 
 Booth accordingly sent in his resignation to the President. 
 
 The hour had come. The die was cast. The last link 
 that bound them to the Connexion was broken. And Mrs. 
 Booth turned her face toward her mother's home in Lon- 
 don. As is often the case when a crisis has been reached 
 or a decision arrived at, which follows on a long and weary 
 conflict, there is a proportionate reaction. An inexplicable 
 depression of the nerves and emotions tends to veil the sky 
 and hides for the moment the triumphs that are at hand. 
 The chord has been struck and it vibrates for long. The 
 bow has been stretched and it quivers as it returns. The 
 earthly casket trembles in every fibre beneath the stupen- 
 dous effort of the soul. 
 
 It was in the throes of such an experience that Mrs. 
 Booth left Nottingham. And, in facing the consequences of 
 her recent decision, she was tempted to pray, " If it be 
 possible, let this cup pass from me." And yet that railway 
 journey was not without its consolation, inasmuch as she 
 possessed the unutterable satisfaction of knowing that in 
 her Calvary season she had been granted grace to say, " Not 
 my will, but Thine be done." 
 
 In the meantime Mr. Booth had returned to Newcastle, 
 whence it had been decided, for economy's sake, he should re- 
 move the children to London by sea. Their faithful servant, 
 Mary Kirton, had declared that no change in circumstances 
 should induce her to leave her mistress, and that, with or 
 without wages, she would continue to shepherd the little 
 ones, whom she loved with all the fervour of her strong 
 nature and warm Irish heart. With her help Mr. Booth soon 
 packed up his few belongings and embarked for London. 
 
134 Mrs. Booth. 
 
 The sunset rays of declining day flickered upon the downy 
 heads of the baby group, as they knelt with their parents 
 around the family altar within the kindly shelter of Mrs. 
 Mnmford's home. Unconscious children ! They did not 
 know the worth of sacrifice, or the incalculable weight of 
 prayer ! And yet, all innocently, they represented the tens 
 of thousands of spiritual children who, by the faithful ser- 
 vice and willing sacrifice of these but two disciples of their 
 Lord, should yet be brought to kneel, and kneel in families, 
 at the altar of the Cross. 
 
 Since that fair summer's eve multitudes innumerable have 
 gathered under varying circumstances within the sacred 
 precincts of the altar of sacrifice, bathing it with their tears, 
 and crowning it with their gifts. And thus have they 
 freshly proved for themselves that while the altar sanctifies 
 the gift, yet in a God-intended sense the gift adorns the 
 altar, for of what profit is a giftless altar, and what, indeed, 
 were Calvary without its Sacrifice ? 
 
 But the future was as yet unknown, and in the spirit of 
 resignation and faith Mr. and Mrs. Booth awaited the mov- 
 ing of the fiery pillar that lighted the darkness of their 
 wilderness-encompassed camp, and the lifting of which was 
 to be the signal for their forward march. 
 
CHAPTER XVI. 
 THE CORNISH CAMPAIGN. 1SG1. 
 
 THE battles with. Conference had ended. Yet still there 
 remained battles to be fought. True, there had been a con- 
 siderable change of front. The combatants had transferred 
 their forces to a new and still more interesting field. But 
 the issues remained the same. To awaken a single de- 
 nomination to a sense of its opportunity and responsibility, 
 and to do this through the medium of its own Conference, 
 had been Mr. and Mrs. Booth's first object. They believed 
 that if appointed to the position of evangelists they would 
 be enabled to infuse new life and vigour into the Connexion. 
 In this they were disappointed. 
 
 And now the bolder idea had been conceived of attempt- 
 ing to do for the churches in general what they had sought 
 to accomplish for their own denomination. They were in 
 a position to visit any church or town in the kingdom. 
 There were few places where some struggling cause would 
 not gladly welcome their assistance, and once having ob- 
 tained a footing, they believed that the work would of its 
 own weight secure an entrance elsewhere. However great 
 in some instances might be the secret antagonism of the 
 pastors, it would be compelled, they thought, to succumb to 
 the influences of the revival, and to the clamour of the 
 people for a share in the blessings that were being reaped by 
 so many around. 
 
 It seems strange now, in the light of subsequent ex- 
 perience, that, with their earnest longings to reach the 
 masses, they did not at once commence to work amongst 
 them on their own account. They had only to take a hall, 
 
 135 
 
136 Mrs. Booth. 
 
 announce their meetings, and go forward with their work. 
 Crowds were certain, wherever they might be. But the idea 
 of aiming at the people independently of the churches had 
 not yet occurred to them. The majority of the evangelistic 
 agencies of the day had devoted their attention to the re- 
 vival of professing Christians, and their labours were carried 
 on in connection with some organisation to whom they en- 
 trusted the care of their converts. Mr. and Mrs. Booth had 
 advanced a step beyond this. They yearned even more over 
 the godless crowds who attended no place of worship, and 
 who made no profession of religion, than over the nominal 
 Christians who at least preserved an outward appearance of 
 morality. But they imagined that the only way to reach 
 the people was through the Church. It did not occur to 
 them that for these outsiders an outside agency might be 
 after all the best, if not indeed the only, way of effecting a 
 permanent revolution in their hearts and lives. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Booth had not long to wait for an opening 
 that appeared of a hopeful and satisfactory nature. There 
 were now in the ministry of various churches some ten or 
 twelve of those who had been converted in their own ser- 
 vices. One of these, Mr. Shone, who was converted during 
 the Chester revival, was labouring in the Xew Connexion. 
 He had for a year been colleague to Mr. Booth in Gateshead, 
 residing during that period under his roof. He was now 
 stationed at Hayle in Cornwall, from whence he sent a 
 hearty letter inviting both Mr. and Mrs. Booth to hold re- 
 vival services in his circuit. From a worldly standpoint 
 the character of the invitation was not a very alluring one. 
 After apologising for the smallness of the chapel and the 
 scantiness of the population, he went .on to say that nothing 
 could be guaranteed in the way of remuneration, but that 
 they could count upon a hearty welcome. 
 
 This letter was received at the breakfast-table, and seeing 
 its contents, Mr. Booth read it aloud. Mr. and Mrs. Mum- 
 ford were somewhat reluctant to agree to so speedily losing 
 their daughter, and suggested that Mr. Booth should go 
 
The Cornish Campaign. 137 
 
 alone. He urged, however, that since they had endured to- 
 gether the controversy and strain of the past three months, 
 culminating in their separation from the Connexion, so they 
 should share the first victory, adding that the nurse would 
 be quite competent to take the temporary oversight of the 
 children. 
 
 "My feelings," says Mrs. Booth, "could be better imagined 
 than described during this conversation. The earnest way 
 in which I had been included in the invitation, and the evi- 
 dent appreciation and value put upon my labours seemed to 
 me as the cloud like a man's hand on my horizon, and ap- 
 peared to prelude the opening of a way by which we could 
 travel together, instead of the perpetual separations to 
 which I had been trying to make up my mind, as a necessary 
 part of the evangelistic cross. My parents at length heartily 
 consented to take charge of the children, and we immedi- 
 ately prepared to go. We wrote by return of post, accepting 
 the invitation, and started at the time arranged for, as it 
 were, to commence life afresh." 
 
 ' Although the journey to Hayle \vas a long one," says Mrs. Booth, 
 when referring to this episode in after life, " I was myself surprised at 
 the comparative ease with which I accomplished it. We were both in 
 excellent spirits, full of that high enthusiasm which only faith and hope 
 can inspire. True, we were launched upon an unknown sea, but we 
 realised that God was at the helm, and we trustfully faced the future 
 without a fear. 
 
 " Hayle, we found, was but a small straggling place with a port, at 
 which some little coasting trade was carried on, and a large foundry 
 employing six or seven hundred men. The chapel was a barn-like affair, 
 holding perhaps six hundred people. The number we crowded into it 
 night after night was quite a different matter. The Cornish system of 
 packing a congregation was certainly somewhat singular. The first 
 comers occupied the seats, and then another row of people would stand 
 in front of them. The aisles would next be filled, beginning at the 
 pulpit stairs, till the whole place was literally gorged. Then the 
 window-sills would be besieged, and through the open windows another 
 crowd outside would listen to the echoes of the songs and to such stray 
 sentences as might reach their ears. 
 
 " The plan laid down for our labours, which was more or less 
 followed throughout our Cornish campaign, was that Mr. Booth should 
 preach on Sunday morning and evening, and on the first four evenings 
 
138 Mrs. Booth. 
 
 of the week, while I took the Sunday afternoon and Friday night 
 meetings, frequently speaking on the afternoon of several week-days as 
 well. In addition to these regular services, we often held noon-day 
 meetings, visited the sick, and conducted other accessory gatherings. 
 The Saturdays were devoted to rest and to preparation for the Sabbath. 
 
 " Our first meetings at Hayle were held on Sunday, August llth. I 
 must confess we had looked forward to them with considerable anxiety, 
 so much appeared to depend upon their success. In the morning there 
 was a good congregation. My dearest preached, and although he did 
 not experience much liberty, nevertheless the people were evidently in- 
 terested and impressed. On our way home from the chapel a gentleman 
 said that he hoped I should in the afternoon service give them something 
 of a cheering character, as what they had heard in the morning had 
 completely capsized them. To this our hostess added, as we sat at the 
 dinner-table, ' Before you came, my husband and I had a very good 
 opinion of ourselves; but now we see that we are nothing absolutely 
 nothing, and worse than nothing.' 
 
 "In the afternoon the place was jammed, and the Lord gave me 
 great liberty. At night there was another crowd, and a powerful im- 
 pression was made. Indeed, I have always reckoned that God in an 
 especial manner put His seal upon the services of that day, giving us, as 
 it were, a new Divine commission for our subsequent life-work, though 
 we little dreamed at the time how much was involved in it. 
 
 " There was, however, no immediate break. As in the case of our 
 previous Cornish experience, tbe people listened with the utmost earnest- 
 ness, and assented to the truth, but they would not respond to our 
 invitations to come forward to the communion rail. 
 
 " The next night the result was much the same. In spite of the 
 strongest appeals, not a single person would come forward. Knowing 
 that there were many present who were deeply convinced of their sin, 
 the invitation was repeated again and again, without eliciting the 
 slightest response, when suddenly the silence was broken by the loud 
 cries of a woman, who left her seat, pushed her way through the 
 crowd, fell upon her kness at the penitent form, and thus became the 
 first-fruits of what proved to be a glorious harvest of souls." 
 
 The services continued to be carried on with encouraging 
 success. Indeed, as if to reassure Mr. and Mrs. Booth in 
 regard to the painful step they had recently taken, the result 
 surpassed any of their previous experience, so that their stay 
 in Cornwall, which was originally intended to have lasted 
 but six or seven weeks, was ultimately extended over a 
 period of eighteen months, which proved to be one long con- 
 tinuous revival. 
 
The Cornish Campaign. 139 
 
 Writing to her parents on September 2nd, Mrs. Booth 
 says : 
 
 " They are most impatient for us to go to St. Ives, but we think of 
 staying here another week. The work gets better and better. The whole 
 place is roused. On Sunday night the Wesleyan superintendent sent 
 one of the circuit stewards, offering the loan of their chapel for Sunday 
 and Wednesday evenings. We accepted it, and accordingly William 
 preached last night in the Wesleyan chapel, crammed to suffocation, and 
 I in the New Connexion, well filled, even though I was not announced. 
 We had a glorious prayer-meeting in both chapels, about thirty cases in 
 the Wesleyan and twenty with us, some of them the most precious ones 
 I ever witnessed. I could fill sheets with the account of one gentleman 
 which would thrill you with interest, and make you shout the praises of 
 God. There was much new material last night at the Wesleyan chapel. 
 Hundreds went away convicted. If the Wesleyans would open their two 
 chapels and invite us to labour in them, there is no telling what the 
 work would rise to. We are both very much exhausted this morning, 
 especially myself. I shall not do so much again. The prayer-meeting 
 was very heavy. I was drenched in perspiration. But it is wonderful 
 how God brings me through." 
 
 A few days later she writes again : 
 
 " I have attended two meetings to-day, one at ten in the morning and 
 a children's meeting at half-past five this afternoon. So I am stopping 
 at home to-night, feeling I ought not to do any more. We had the 
 chapel nearly full of children, and several very sweet cases of penitence 
 and two of conversion. The work is altogether a very remarkable one. 
 I wish you could come and see it. 
 
 " On Wednesday night William preached in the largest Wesleyan 
 chapel, about half a mile from the other. It was crammed out into 
 the street. I should tliiuk there were 1,800 people inside, and I never 
 witnessed such a scene in my life as the prayer-meeting presented. The 
 rail was filled in a few minutes with great strong men, who cried aloud 
 for mercy, some of them as though the pains of hell had actually got 
 hold of them! Oh, it was a scene! No one could be heard praying, 
 and the cries and shouts of the penitents almost overpowered the sing- 
 ing. The gallery was half full and the bottom of the chapel crammed 
 all the time, so that we could hardly move. We came away at ten 
 o'clock, leaving them to finish. We spent the night at the house of a 
 leading Wesleyan close by, being too wet and fagged to walk home." 
 
 Referring afterwards to this meeting Mrs. Booth says : 
 
 " This unusual noise and confusion was somewhat foreign to our 
 notions and practices, William believed strongly in everything being 
 done 'decently and in order.' Indeed, I think he somewhat mistook 
 
140 Mrs. Booth. 
 
 the application of this direction. How much more acceptable must be 
 this apparent disorder, in the eyes of God and angels and all holy beings, 
 who are alive to the importance of salvation and damnation, than the 
 stoical indifference and Pharisaic propriety so common in places of wor- 
 ship ! How much better to have twenty people smiting their breasts 
 and crying, ' God be merciful to me a sinner, ' with its necessary conse- 
 quent commotion, than a congregation of equally guilty sinners sitting 
 with stiff propriety and in their own estimation ' needing no repentance ! ' 
 I must say that even then I thought the one far more philosophical and 
 scriptural than the other." 
 
 However, the following night, before commencing his 
 sermon, Mr. Booth thought it wise to speak plainly to the 
 people on the subject. " I have come here," he said, " to help 
 you to bring your friends and neighbours to God. If I am to 
 be of any extensive and abiding service in this direction, you 
 must accept me as a leader and must follow out my directions. 
 When I say ' Sing ! ' we must sing, and when I say ' Pray ! ' 
 we must pray. And when I speak, you must as far as 
 possible listen. Should any one during the sermon be so far 
 overpowered by their feelings, or by a sense of their danger, 
 as to be unable to contain themselves, let them be taken into 
 the vestry, and let two or three praj'ing men or women, as 
 the case may be, show them the way of salvation, and pray 
 with them there until the after meeting commences, while 
 we go on with the preaching. It is the truth that makes 
 people free, and if we are to go on spreading the work of 
 salvation, we must go on with the proclamation of the mes- 
 sage of God."' Mr. Booth then asked all who were willing 
 to co-operate with him on these lines to hold up their hands. 
 This request was unanimously responded to, and the ar- 
 rangement entered into that night was faithfully adhered 
 to, and consequently it was seldom that the meetings went 
 beyond control afterwards. 
 
 It would be difficult, indeed, to adequately describe the 
 Hayle revival. Each succeeding meeting appeared to sur- 
 pass in power and results all that had gone before. The 
 whole neighbourhood was moved. Salvation was the uni- 
 versal theme of conversation in the mines, on board the 
 
The Cornish, Campaign. 141 
 
 ships, on the wharves, in the factory, in the public-houses, 
 by the wayside, and in almost every home. Not only was 
 this the case in the town itself, but from the surrounding 
 villages and hamlets it was usual for both the saved and the 
 unsaved to walk eight, ten, fifteen, and twenty miles to the 
 meetings. Deputations came from the neighbouring towns 
 urging Mr. and Mrs. Booth to come and conduct meetings, 
 and assuring them of the heartiest co-operation. They were 
 hailed on all hands as messengers from heaven, and their 
 name with thousands became a household word. Indeed, 
 the love of the people was very remarkable. Thirty years 
 have elapsed, and yet it is common to meet with the fruits 
 of that revival in all quarters of the globe, and to receive 
 letters from those who date their spiritual birth from these 
 meetings. 
 
 The services were brought to a close by a great. farewell 
 festival. Near Hayle there is a large common called The 
 Towans, on the cliff overhanging the sea. Here it was ar- 
 ranged to hold a monster picnic for one thousand people, 
 this being reckoned to be a large number for so small a 
 town. It was calculated, however, that no less than two 
 thousand persons were actually present, all the available 
 supplies which could be obtained from anywhere being 
 rapidly disposed of. 
 
 The tea being concluded, the congregation adjourned to 
 the large Wesleyan Chapel, which was crowded out, and 
 congratulatory addresses were delivered by various persons. 
 On the following night Mr. Booth delivered his final, fare- 
 well sermon, which was followed by a powerful and touch- 
 ing scene, when more than sixty persons sought salvation, 
 it being necessary to throw open the schoolroom as well as 
 the chapel for the anxious penitents, a large number of whom 
 were men. 
 
 From Hayle Mr. and Mrs. Booth proceeded to St. Ives, a 
 thriving little town with a population of 7,000, chiefly 
 famous for its pilchard fishery. The pilchard is a small fish, 
 somewhat shorter and stouter than a herring. They swim 
 
142 Mrs. Booth. 
 
 in shoals, and annually visit the Cornish coasts, but are not 
 always sufficiently obliging to enter the bay of St. Ives, so 
 that the occupation' is a somewhat precarious one. Some- 
 times a few miles up the channel, sometimes a few miles 
 down, they constitute a tantalising spectacle for the fisher- 
 men, who line the cliffs or lounge about the shore with their 
 nets piled up in their baats, ready for action. All through 
 the summer men are stationed to watch their movements on 
 the surface of the sea. 
 
 It so happened that some weeks after the meetings had 
 been commenced the arrival of a shoal was signalled, when 
 the boats were immediately put out, and in half an hour 
 some thirty or forty million fish were captured, or rather 
 enclosed in the nets, to be landed at leisure. Quite two- 
 thirds of the entire population were employed in landing the 
 fish, putting them into pickle, draining the oil from them 
 and packing them in barrels, ready for transmission to the 
 Mediterranean, where there is a large demand for them. 
 The haul was valued at 6,000, a not unprofitable return 
 on the 80,000 which was said to be embarked in the 
 speculation. 
 
 As in the case of Hayle, so at St. Ives the invitation to 
 visit the town came from the New Connexion congregation, 
 and it was at their chapel that the revival services were 
 commenced. 
 
 At St. Ives Mr. and Mrs. Booth were joined by the chil- 
 dren. It was the longest absence from them which Mrs. 
 Booth had hitherto experienced. Nor would she subse- 
 quently consent to any arrangement which involved a 
 lengthened separation during their childhood. Indeed, 
 nothing could induce her to neglect their highest interests, 
 and however loud might be the call for her services else- 
 where, she would undertake nothing that clashed with the 
 claims of her husband and children. Considering her deli- 
 cate health, it was the more remarkable that public work of 
 so onerous a character was made to harmonise with the con- 
 tinued pressure of domestic duties. 
 
The Cornish Campaign. 143 
 
 Writing to Mrs. Mumford from St. Ives, Mrs. Booth 
 says : 
 
 " At my meeting last Sunday we bad the chapel packed, \vhile hun- 
 dreds went away unable to get in. I enjoyed fair liberty, and have 
 heard since that the people were very much pleased, and I trust 
 profited. I have held morning meetings through the week. They have 
 been well attended and much blessed. This morning there was a very 
 gracious influence. I am to speak again next Sunday afternoon. I do 
 wish you could both spend the day with us. It would be better tban 
 Reclungton, I fancy ! I did nok know before that my dear father re- 
 garded that as the day of his decision for Jesus. Oh, how my heart 
 swelled with gratitude when I read it ! Bless the Lord, oh my soul ! 
 How wonderful is His mercy and how marvellous are His works ! 
 
 " With all these things to do, together with morning meetings one 
 day, children's meetings another, and the services at night, you will see 
 we have enough on hand. I never was so busy in my life. I have to 
 help Mary with the children, in dressing them and undressing them 
 to go out twice a day, and in washing them and putting them to bed at 
 night. Willie goes with me to the children's meetings and likes them 
 very much. He sadly wants to write to you, but I have not had time 
 to superintend him, and it is such lovely weather that they are out most 
 of their time. They go off directly after breakfast and stop till eleven 
 o'clock on the sands, and then agaiu from two till five. They each have 
 a spade with which they dig tunnels, mountains, brooks, etc. They 
 never had such fun in their lives before. You would be delighted to see 
 them running away from the waves, and then back again to their rivers, 
 which the retreating wave has filled with water ! 
 
 The work in St. Ives soon gave promise of becoming as 
 glorious in its character as any that had preceded it. 
 Meetings were held in all the principal places of worship in 
 the town, with the sole exception of the Established Church, 
 the members of which, however, joined with the rest of the 
 people in attending the services, which commenced on the 
 30th September and closed on the 18th January following. 
 During this time no less than 1,028 persons professed con- 
 version, besides many children. 
 
 The converts included twenty-eight captains of vessels, 
 two members of the Corporation, and three mine agents. 
 
CHAPTER XVII. 
 THE CORNISH CAMPAIGN. 18G2. 
 
 ST. JusT stood next upon the programme, and here the 
 revival is graphically described and the use of the penitent 
 form ably defended, in a series of letters written by Mr. 
 Booth to a friend and published in the Wesleyan Times and 
 other revival newspapers. Lack of space makes it im- 
 possible to more than summarise these interesting records 
 of the work. 
 
 ." On Sunday, the 26th, we commenced our services here in 
 the Bible Christian chapel. At night the place was literally 
 besieged with people, and it was calculated that some two 
 thousand were turned away unable to gain admission. I 
 never witnessed anything like the crowd. Some time be- 
 fore the service hundreds were coming away, every available 
 space within the chapel being literally choked with people. 
 The meeting was a powerful one, and five souls responded 
 to the invitation to come out and proclaim themselves on the 
 Lord's side. On the following night the work continued in 
 a very hopeful manner, save that our method of inviting 
 sinners to come forward to the communion rail met with 
 considerable opposition. 
 
 " For myself I had no doubt as to the ultimate result. But 
 some began to fear that their expectations would be cut off 
 and that the long-desired revival would not come. On 
 Thursday much prayer had been offered, and at half-past 
 nine that night the answer came. The windows of Heaven 
 were opened and a shower of blessed influence descended 
 upon us. The effect was electrical. It was sudden and 
 overpowering. The sinners could restrain themselves no 
 
 Hi 
 
The Cornish Campaign. 145 
 
 longer. Hearts were breaking, or broken, in every direction. 
 The chapel was filled Avith the glory. The meeting was 
 continued until midnight, and numbers found peace. The 
 tidings spread with astonishing rapidity throughout the 
 neighbourhood, and the people rejoiced in all direptions to 
 hear that the revival had begun in real earnest." 
 
 Writing from St. Just a short time afterwards, Mr. Booth 
 says: 
 
 " I can scarcely believe that three weeks have elapsed 
 since I last wrote to you. When the mind is absorbed in a 
 congenial occupation, time flies quickly. And what em- 
 ployment so agreeable, so fascinating as that in which, by 
 the good providence of God, we find ourselves just now 
 engaged to the utmost limits of our time and capacity ? Not 
 only can we say with John Smith, l Soul-saving is my busi- 
 nessGod hath given me a heart for it/ but we can add that 
 God has granted us the desires of our heart in giving us a 
 most prosperous and successful business. It has been re- 
 ported in Penzance that all the sinners in this town have 
 been converted save sixty ! Although this is far from true, 
 yet events and influences seem to be rapidly shaping in that 
 direction, and the signs of the times indicate the possible 
 realisation of such a happy result. 
 
 " When I say that the whole place is moved, I mean that 
 nearly every individual in the neighbourhood is more or less 
 interested in the subject of religion. Little else is talked 
 about, and in many instances little else besides soul-saving 
 work is done. A gentleman informed me yesterday that 
 a great number of the miners are too absorbed either with 
 their own salvation or with that of others to do much 
 work. Many of the agents of the mines had expressed their 
 willingness to allow the men to leave their work, only too 
 glad that they should be converted. Whether saved or not 
 themselves, they knew that Christianity will bring about 
 a reformation of character only too desirable in many 
 instances. 
 
 "The Inspector of Police says that last Saturday night 
 
146 Mrs. Booth. 
 
 was the best night he has had since he came into the place, 
 the Saturday night prior to the commencement of the work 
 having been the worst. Indeed, some of the vilest characters 
 in the town are being saved. One poor fellow, who has 
 been in the hands of the police times without number, cried 
 out in the schoolroom on Wednesday afternoon, 'He has 
 saved me, the very worst of sinners. In that corner I found 
 the blessing. I shall never forget that corner.' This spot 
 henceforth became quite popular with the penitents. As 
 one steps out of it rejoicing, another throws himself into it, 
 so that it has become quite a sacred place. 
 
 " Conviction is spreading in every direction, and it must 
 be so. Everywhere the newly saved, their hearts glowing 
 with the love of Christ, are publishing His praises. The 
 public-houses are deserted. A friend said last night that 
 during the day he had been to three of them, the entire 
 customers of them all consisting of two travelling chimney- 
 sweeps. One parlour in the most frequented of these houses, 
 usually too well furnished with guests, was on this occasion 
 tenanted by its solitary landlord. 
 
 " You will gather from this that we are in the midst of a 
 real religious excitement. But you will not, like some good 
 people here, be alarmed at it. As for ourselves, we rejoice 
 concerning it exceeding^. Is it not what we wish to see 
 brought about everywhere ? What ! Would not the Chris- 
 tians of your great city rejoice, if they could only make the 
 truths of the Bible the topic of conversation in every house ? 
 This is one of the foundation principles that govern our prac- 
 tice. We believe that if we can only make the people think 
 about these truths, it will lead to their salvation. Thousands 
 around us are being absorbed and carried away by the excite- 
 ments of business, ambition, and pleasure. It is only b}' 
 means of a counter-excitement such as this that we find it 
 possible to successfully arrest their attention." 
 
 In the marvellous meetings of the St. Just campaign, Mrs. 
 Booth played a very prominent part. Her Sunday afternoon 
 meetings were seasons of exceptional demonstration and 
 
The Cornish Campaign. 147 
 
 power. The people walked in for miles round in order to be 
 present at the one service. Numbers would start on the 
 previous night, bringing their refreshments with them, 
 although this involved returning as soon as the meeting was 
 over, and walking all night in order to get to their daily 
 work by Monday morning. 
 
 It was in this town that Mrs. Booth held her first meeting 
 for women only. These services subsequently became a 
 special feature in her life work, invariably attracting large 
 and select gatherings, and by their practical and convincing 
 character revolutionising the homes and lives of multitudes. 
 
 On the pioneer occasion in St. Just, the spacious Wesleyan 
 Chapel was crowded with women. It was calculated that 
 some 2,500 were present. 
 
 Mr. Alfred Chenhalls, then popularly known in the neigh- 
 bourhood as "the king of the Wesleyans," being a gentleman 
 of wealth and a prominent Christian worker, gives an inte- 
 resting account of this meeting. " It was a Good Friday, 
 and Mr. Booth had asked me," says Mr. Chenhalls, " to go 
 over with him to Pendeen, to hear the Rev. Robert Aitken 
 preach. After the service we lingered behind and spoke to 
 Mr. Aitken. On our way home we learned to our surprise 
 that Mrs. Booth's special service for women was not yet 
 over. My wife met me, saying, * Oh, Alfred, we have had a 
 time ! There never was such a sight seen in St. Just before. 
 Mrs. Booth talked with such Divine power that it seemed to 
 me as if every person in the chapel who was not right with 
 God must at once consecrate themselves to His service. I 
 never witnessed such a scene in my life. Oh, that you had 
 been there ! ' I went off to the chapel, and found that the 
 meeting was only just breaking up, and from what I gathered 
 I firmly believe that there was no single service which pro- 
 duced such wonderful results. Many of those who had up 
 to this time resisted Mr. Booth's powerful appeals were 
 brought in on this occasion. 
 
 " We were very much affected by Mrs. Booth's domestic 
 graces as well as by her public gifts. I remember calling 
 
148 Mrs. Booth. 
 
 upon her one day and finding her busy ironing, with all the 
 dexterity and confidence of an experienced hand." 
 
 The subsequent progress of the revival is described by Mr. 
 Booth in the following letters : 
 
 " On Sabbath, February 23rd, we transferred our meetings from the 
 Bible Christian to the Wesleyan Chapel. It is a large structure, capable 
 of seating about two thousand persons. Instead of the usual pulpit, it 
 has a capacious platform, and altogether speaks highly for the liberal 
 and enterprising spirit of the people who have erected it. Mr. Hobson, 
 the superintendent of this circuit, is a veteran in the ministry, having 
 ' travelled ' fifty-one years, during nearly twenty of which he has been 
 chairman of the Cornish district. He and his two colleagues met mo 
 with the greatest cordiality and the fullest assurance of co-operation and 
 sympathy. 
 
 " After preaching on holiness, we invited those who would make the 
 entire consecration of all to Jesus and take Him as a complete Saviour 
 to come forward. Many of the principal Christians led the way, and 
 within a few minutes more than a hundred persons were bowed in tears 
 and prayer, waiting for the baptism of the Holy Ghost. And the Holy 
 Spirit descended, cleansing the polluted, and signifying the acceptance 
 of the many whole-hearted sacrifices here laid on the altar. 
 
 "Never shall I forget that scene. All who witnessed it were well-nigh 
 overwhelmed with a sense of the Divine presence. It was the nearest 
 approach to the descent of the mighty rushing wind on the day of 
 Pentecost to anything in my experience, or in that of those present. 
 That Sabbath morning will be hallowed in the recollections of St. Just 
 for many years to come. 
 
 " The work now assumed more formidable proportions. It widened 
 as well as deepened. Afternoon and evening, similar outpourings of the 
 Spirit were realised, and during the succeeding week as many as forty, 
 fifty, and sixty sought the Saviour day -by day. The revival is every- 
 where tbe engrossing theme. 
 
 " Last Wednesday the Cornish Telegraph announced that the drill of 
 the rifle corps had been suspended, and that business generally was at 
 a standstill in consequence of the revival. The motto of the county arms 
 is ' One and all,' and this is a true characteristic of the people. A 
 friend told me the other day that in passing one evening through a 
 hamlet containing some dozen houses, he was accosted by a man who 
 told him that all the adult population were gone to a distant chapel to a 
 revival service, leaving him as the sole guard and protector of their 
 children and property, so that he was going from house to house looking 
 after all. I was also informed three weeks ago that at Truthwells, a 
 village half a mile away, out of fifty-eight adults, fifty-two were already 
 saved. By this time I trust that the devil has been deprived of the re- 
 maining six." 
 
The Cornish Campaign. 149 
 
 Mr. Hobson, the superintendent, had been at the onset 
 greatly impressed by the services. Indeed, it is possible 
 that he would have continued to favour them to the end, but 
 for the powerful pressure brought to bear upon him by some 
 of his ministerial brethren. In describing one of her first 
 meetings at which Mr. Hobson was present, Mrs. Booth 
 says: 
 
 " Knowing how ill I have been, you will be surprised to hear of my 
 Sunday effort. Well, I certainly did transgress as to time, and have had 
 to pay the price since. But I am not much the worse for it now, and I 
 hope many will be better for it to all eternity. It was a glorious 
 congregation. I never saw a more imposing sight. I had liberty, and 
 it was a very solemn and I trust a profitable time. Mr. Hobson, al- 
 though I did not know it till afterwards, was present, his second preacher 
 opening the service forme. The presence of the latter did not embarrass 
 me the least. I am wonderfully delivered from all fear, after I once get 
 my mouth open. 
 
 " When I came down from the platform Mr. Hobson received me most 
 kindly, took my hand in both of his like a father, and told me he should 
 often be coming to see us now. Does it not seem wonderful how the 
 rough places are made smooth and the crooked places straight before us ? 
 This is the chairman who sent word to Hayle, in answer to the inquiries 
 of the Superintendent there as to whether I might go into their chapel 
 at the wish of their people, that it was contrary to their rules and 
 usages ! Kules and usages can be wonderfully surmounted when the 
 heart is touched ! Well, the Lord rules and over-rules both men and 
 rules, and I trust this is of His doing. At any rate it enables my dear 
 husband to get at the people, which was partially impossible in the small 
 chapels, besides almost killing him with the heat and crush. You see, the 
 Wesleyans have nearly all the large chapels." 
 
 At the conclusion of the services in the "Wesleyan Chapel 
 the meetings were continued at Buryan and Pendeen, in the 
 immediate neighbourhood of St. Just, and afterwards trans- 
 ferred to Lelant, an attractive suburb of the same town. 
 
 It was towards the end of July that Mr. and Mrs. Booth 
 proceeded to Penzance, where they remained during the next 
 two months. They had looked forward to a great work in 
 this town, having been warmly invited by a number of the 
 leading Wesleyans, who had assured them of their hearty 
 co-operation and support. True, the minister had objected 
 to the use of the chapel, even threatening to leave the town 
 
150 Mrs. Booth. 
 
 while the meetings were being held, but he had been told by 
 his own officials that, greatly as they respected him, they 
 valued infinitely more the salvation of their families and 
 friends. Mr. and Mrs. Booth had therefore quite anticipated 
 that his opposition would be over-ruled, and that with the 
 people so whole-heartedly on their side, they would be able to 
 carry the day, at any rate for a time, as in the case of St. 
 Just. The Wesleyan Conference had, however, in the mean- 
 time met, and had adopted a resolution forbidding the use of 
 their chapels by Mr. and Mrs. Booth. The situation of affairs 
 was thus materially altered, and they found themselves 
 unable to carry out their previous programme. Not that the 
 attitude of the people had been affected, as will be shown by 
 the following extract from one of Mrs. Booth's letters : 
 
 " There is a very strong and universal desire amongst the people for 
 us to labour here. Mary cannot go into a shop, or speak to an indivi- 
 dual, but they want to know when we begin meetings in Penzance. The 
 people, saints and sinners alike, are ripe for a glorious work, and there 
 is no room for doubt but that at least a thousand souls might easily be 
 gathered in. 
 
 " In the meantime, however, William is holding meetings at Mousehole. 
 It is only a small place, with a population of about one thousand five 
 hundred, many of whom are now away at the North Sea fisheries. But 
 it will fill up the interval, while we are arranging for larger meetings 
 here and elsewhere. 
 
 " I do not know what doubts and fears William had been expressing 
 to you that called forth your encouraging remarks. But I do not parti- 
 cipate in them in the least, and have no fear about the future, if only his 
 health holds out." 
 
 The meetings here alluded to in Mousehole were succeeded 
 by a series held in a small chapel at Penzance. Man} 7 
 sought salvation in both places. Nevertheless, the character 
 of the buildings and other circumstances combined to make 
 this period a somewhat trying one. 
 
 But just as the dark and discouraging days in Brighouse 
 had been brightened for Mr. and Mrs. Booth by the advent 
 of their son Ballington, so the storm-clouds of Penzance dis- 
 played a silver lining in the birth of their fifth child Herbert, 
 the future musician of the Salvation Army, the composer of 
 
The CornisJi Campaign. 151 
 
 some of its most stirring melodies and the originator of its 
 countless brass bands. 
 
 In her eldest child Mrs. Booth had presented to the world 
 a ruler, an organiser, and a financier of unusual capacity ; in 
 her second was the powerful apostle ; her third- born was to 
 bridge the gulf of continental infidelity ; her fourth was to 
 
 voice the thrilling claims of heathen lands. And now a 
 fifth and fitting keystone was added to the rising arch, in 
 the unconscious infant who was to be in a special sense the 
 sweet psalmist and musician of the modern Salvation Army 
 Israel, making palace and garret ring alike with sacred song, 
 so simple that the merest child could understand, and yet 
 so rich in harmony as to carry the appreciation of the best 
 trained ear. 
 
 The great temptation in the possession of such gifts has 
 ever been to direct their exercise toward the purposes of 
 
152 Mrs. Booth. 
 
 selfish ambition and personal aggrandisement. It is but 
 seldom that individuals or families recognise the lien that 
 God and humanity claim upon their talents. Mrs. Booth 
 never ceased in striving to inspire her children with the all- 
 important truth that every human gift belonged to God, and 
 must be used in the service of mankind. 
 
 She used to declare that she would pray a wicked child 
 dead, rather than it should grow up to dishonour God and 
 hinder the advancement of His kingdom. "I remember/' 
 says her daughter Emma, " how she would gather us round 
 her and pray with us. I used to wear a low frock, and her 
 hot tears would often drop upon my neck, sending a thrill 
 through me which I can never forget. She used to say in 
 her prayers that she would rather her boys should be 
 chimney-sweeps and her girls should be scullery-maids than 
 that we should grow up wicked. Often she would pray 
 aloud, making us repeat the words after her. When I was 
 only about three years old I was saying my prayers once 
 when a lady friend of my mother's happened to be in the 
 room. She told me afterwards how I added a little im- 
 promptu of my own, 'And oh, Dod, b'ess de lady and make 
 her bery dood!' She used to say that she never could 
 forget that prayer." 
 
 Referring to her children in some letters written at this 
 period, Mrs. Booth says : 
 
 " Willie has commenced to write j r ou a grand letter, and has spoiled I 
 don't know how many sheets of paper, but it is not finished yet. He 
 certainly is improving very much. I believe the 'Spirit is striving with 
 him. He is so tender, and tries hard to be good and obedient. Every- 
 body says what a sharp boy he is. I am very anxious about Ballington, 
 and do not like his symptoms at all. I fear there is something on his 
 lungs. He has a cough, is constantly complaining of pain in his chest, 
 and has shrunk away dreadfully. It would indeed be hard work to leave 
 him behind us in Cornwall. Pray for us. I would say respecting all of 
 them, ' The will of the Lord be done ! ' But all within me shrinks from 
 the idea of losing any of them. We are not sending either of them to 
 school ; I hate schools. 
 
 " Katie gets more interesting every day. She certainly is a beautiful 
 girl. Papa says she inherits her grandmama's dignity. At any rate 
 
The Cornish Campaign. 153 
 
 she inherits somebody's, for she moves about like a little princess, and 
 would grace Windsor Castle itself ! She and Emma sing very nicely, 
 ' We are doin' home to dory ! ' 
 
 " You are right. Emma does get a fine girl. She is the pet of the 
 family, and has a sweet, happy disposition. People stop to admire her 
 in the street, and she is such a talker ! Mary was telling her to hush 
 the other day when she was chattering to me. She looked up and said, 
 ' Me not 'peakin' to oo / Me 'peakin' to mama ! ' She said to-night 
 just before she went to bed, 'Me wove (love) mama a million miles! 
 Me wove the Lord wery much ! Me go to Heaven when me die ! ' 
 
 " I am much obliged for your proposal about the children. Bat I can 
 never let any of them leave home for a permanency, while I am at all 
 able to look after them, especially while they are so young. I believe 
 home influence and sympathies indispensable to the right formation of 
 character, and although I cannot do as I would, I think I can do more 
 in that direction than any governess. I could manage so much better, 
 but my poor weak body is a perpetual drawback." 
 
 On September 28th a revival commenced which was equal 
 in extent and power to any of those which had preceded it. 
 Mr. and Mrs. Booth had removed to the prosperous little 
 town of Redruth, which, with its population of about 10,000, 
 was now the scene of an awakening, the influence of which 
 extended through all the surrounding countryside. Mrs. 
 Booth was happily so far restored as to be able once more to 
 actively share in the labours of her husband, equally to his 
 joy and to the benefit of the work. 
 
 The meetings were carried on in the Free Methodist 
 chapel. This was a much larger building" than those in 
 Penzance and Mousehole, and would accommodate consider- 
 ably upwards of one thousand persons. 
 
 So great was the number of the penitents that Mr. Booth 
 had the usual communion rails extended across the entire 
 breadth of the chapel, besides erecting barriers to keep off 
 the crowds of onlookers, who pressed so closely to the front 
 that it was found almost impossible to deal effectually with 
 those who were seeking salvation. Indeed it was his 
 ordinary practice to complete these arrangements previously 
 to the commencement of his services in any town. This in 
 itself caused no small stir. The absolute assurance of 
 success with which these preachers set to work almost 
 
154 Mrs. Bodth. 
 
 paralysed the Christians among whom they had come to 
 labour, the majority of whom wished to wait and see if a 
 revival were really forthcoming before making any such 
 preparations. How rarely, after all, does the Son of Man 
 find upon the earth, even among His professed followers, the 
 faith which anticipates the blessing, and which cries in the 
 midst of the most adverse circumstances, "It shall be 
 done!" 
 
 At the conclusion of the services, in the course of which 
 a thousand persons professed conversion, Mr. and Mrs. Booth 
 commenced similar meetings in the neighbouring town of 
 Camborne. The chapel was capable of seating comfortably 
 a thousand persons, but thirteen or fourteen hundred usually 
 crowded into it. On a somewhat smaller scale the revival 
 here was a repetition of the glorious work in Redruth, the 
 tokens of God's presence and favour being with them to the 
 last. It was an appropriate termination to their present 
 campaign, this being the conclusion of their Cornish pro- 
 gramme. 
 
 It was calculated that during the eighteen months which 
 had elapsed since their resignation, no less than seven 
 thousand persons had professed conversion. Not only had 
 the majority of these joined the religious bodies of their 
 respective towns, but a considerable number had developed 
 into active workers, and not a few became preachers of the 
 Gospel. 
 
CHAPTER, XVIII. 
 
 CARDIFF. 1863. 
 
 FOR some time past the question had considerably exer- 
 cised Mr. and Mrs. Booth as to what should be their next 
 destination. They had invitations in Cornwall which 
 would have occupied them for some months to come. They 
 loved the people, and were happy in their midst. But of 
 late the calls from other districts had been increasing 
 in urgency. The very fact of their success, xvafted abroad 
 as it had been on the wings of newspapers and by the re- 
 ports of their spiritual children, had created an earnest 
 desire in the hearts of others to share in the blessing of 
 their ministry. At length, however, they received a call 
 from Cardiff, whither they had been preceded by many of 
 their sailor converts, which appeared to be of so pressing 
 and important a character, that they ultimately decided 
 upon this town as their next centre. 
 
 It was during the second week in February, 1863, that 
 they bade a final farewell to their warm-hearted Cornish 
 friends and started for their new sphere. The recent action 
 of the various Conferences in refusing the use of their 
 chapels to evangelists forced upon Mr. and Mrs. Booth what 
 became afterwards one of the most distinctive and successful 
 features of their work, the use of public and unsectarian 
 buildings. True, they continued for some years to labour in 
 the chapels of various denominations. Nevertheless, they 
 drifted more and more in the direction of popular resorts. 
 
 The Cardiff visit is therefore signalised from the fact that 
 the first departure in this direction was there made, a large 
 circus being taken, in which was sustained a series of im- 
 portant and effective meetings. 
 
 155 
 
156 
 
 Mrs. Boot/i. 
 
 The meetings in Cardiff resulted in the professed conver- 
 sion of some five hundred persons. Hundreds more con- 
 secrated themselves, freshly to the service of God, and 
 entered into the enjoyment of a new and blessed experience, 
 to which they had hitherto been strangers. Not the least 
 interesting and valuable outcome of the meetings was, how- 
 ever, the formation of some life-long friendships which were 
 
 MR. JOHN CORY, OF CARDIFF. 
 
 to exercise a considerable influence upon the future work of 
 Mr. and Mrs. Booth. 
 
 Among the most influential and prominent of the Christian 
 workers who had invited them to Cardiff were the Messrs. 
 John and Richard Cory, the well-known ship and colliery 
 owners. With shrewd sagacity these two gentlemen fore- 
 saw the great future that lay before the evangelists, and 
 witji rare consistency and increasing liberality they have con- 
 tinued to support the work for a period of more than thirty 
 
Cardiff. 157 
 
 years. From the day when the firm named one of their 
 newly-bought ships the " William Booth," and set apart a 
 share in its expected profits for the assistance of the cause 
 in which the evangelists were engaged, their interest has 
 continued. Although the vessel was soon afterwards 
 wrecked off the island of Bermuda, they did not allow this 
 catastrophe to prevent them from carrying out their original 
 intention, and proved themselves in many a dark tempestuous 
 hour friends who could be relied upon. 
 
 Mr. Richard Cory, being a Baptist, differed in some lesser 
 doctrinal questions from Mr. and Mrs. Booth, but his ardent 
 impulsive nature, and his intense zeal for the cause of 
 Christ, usually carried him with a bound over his objections, 
 and his anxiety to see souls saved enabled him to overlook 
 the minor and theoretical distinctions which might otherwise 
 have stood in the way. 
 
 Mr. John Cory, on the other hand, was a matter-of-fact, 
 hard-headed, clear-sighted man of business. Just as in the 
 case of his business relationships his chief anxiety was to 
 see the work done and the profits realised, so with this 
 spiritual partnership which he had thus early formed, he 
 judged by results and was satisfied. Often flooded with 
 pamphlets and criticisms of an adverse character, Mr. Cory 
 has always taken a broad, statesmanlike view of the subject, 
 and without claiming for the work perfection, has proved 
 his unshaken confidence in the integrity and capacity of its 
 leaders. Refusing to let his mind be distracted from the 
 main object by petty quibbles as to minor details, he has 
 persistently estimated the value of the tree by its fruits. 
 While God blessed the labourers with such manifest out- 
 pourings of His Holy Spirit, Mr. Cory felt that he was more 
 than justified in holding out the right hand of fellowship. 
 How many have pursued an opposite and mistaken course in 
 allowing themselves to be unduly influenced by some minor 
 differences of opinion, forgetting that it would be easy for 
 cavillers to discover motes in every brother's eye and beams 
 jn that of every existing organisation. 
 
158 Mrs. Booth. 
 
 Mr. Cory also pursued the straightforward course of seeing 
 the work for himself, and has thus had the advantage of 
 forming his own opinions, irrespective of the reports of 
 others. The " audi altcram partem" the even-handedness, 
 of British justice, was an essential article in his creed, and 
 if anything arose which seemed to require explanation, he 
 was not slow to refer it to those who were most interested 
 in the matter. Calumnies, slanders, mis-statements, and 
 exaggerations had to run the gauntlet of an open court, and 
 failed to obtain the back-door access which they usually 
 
 MRS. BILLUPS, OF CARDIFF. 
 
 seek. The mutual confidence which such conduct could not 
 but inspire has gained for Mr. Cory the satisfaction of 
 witnessing the triumph of the principles which he has so 
 long and so consistently supported. 
 
 From Cardiff Mr. and Mrs. Booth proceeded to Newport, 
 where their efforts were seriously crippled by the inability 
 to secure suitable buildings. Added to this, Mrs. Booth was 
 prostrated soon after their arrival by a serious attack of 
 influenza, which prevented her from taking her accustomed 
 share in the meetings. Nevertheless more than one hundred 
 persons professed conversion. 
 
Cardiff. 159 
 
 At the close of the Newport meetings, Mr. and Mrs. Booth 
 were invited for a few days of rest and change to Weston- 
 super-Mare by two of their newly-made Cardiff friends, Mr. 
 and Mrs. Billups. A friendship of a warm and unchanging 
 character sprang up between Mrs. Booth and Mrs. Billups. 
 To this we are indebted for a voluminous correspondence, to 
 which frequent reference will be made in tjie ensuing pages. 
 
 Mrs. Billups was one of those self-depreciatory but truly 
 noble-minded and large-hearted characters, rarely found, and 
 
 MB. BILLUPS, OF CARDIFF. 
 
 seldom duly valued. Sensitively conscientious, she often 
 blamed herself for what others would have praised. The 
 very essence of benevolence, she could not endure to see 
 suffering without endeavouring to alleviate it. With a 
 mental and moral horizon that was unbounded by the narrow- 
 mindedness of mere self-interest, she was at the same time 
 both intellectual and spiritual. 
 
 It requires a heart to appreciate a heart, and a mind to 
 appreciate a mind. Mrs. Billups was endowed with both. 
 
160 Mrs. Booth. 
 
 Her mental abilities were such as to enable her to recognise 
 the superior gifts of Mrs. Booth, and yet to companion her in 
 a sense that few could do. At the same time the intense 
 hunger of her soul for God and her boundless admiration for 
 piety and heroism made her an eager disciple of her friend 
 and counsellor. She did not, it is true, possess the colossal 
 strength of will and self-reliance which enabled Mrs. Booth 
 to face without flinching storms which would have prostrated 
 any ordinary mind. But it would hardly be just to compare 
 characters of so different a cast and calibre. 
 
 Mr. Billups, a contractor by profession, was not only 
 warmly attached to his amiable and talented wife, but held 
 her in the highest veneration. Himself the essence of good- 
 nature, and an optimist of the most pronounced type, he pre- 
 sented the very antithesis to Mrs. Billups, whose whole life 
 was tinged with self-condemnation, the peculiar qualities of 
 each counteracting the despair of the one or the over-elation 
 of the other. 
 
 Both have proved themselves unswerving friends of Mr. 
 and Mrs. Booth alike in the dark seasons of perplexity and 
 poverty, and in the heyday of their most brilliant achieve- 
 ments. The short visit to Weston-super-Mare served to 
 cement the friendship which had been formed amid the hurry 
 and rush of the Cardiff revival. It was a bright and long- 
 remembered oasis in what happened to be somewhat of a 
 desert experience. Cut off from their old associates by the 
 recent decrees of the three Conferences, they had not yet 
 rallied the band of sympathisers who were to help them in 
 their future plans. " Our experience at this time/' says 
 General. Booth, " was that of the old clergyman, who said 
 that the church would not contain his acquaintances, but the 
 pulpit was too large for his friends ! " Happily those days 
 are long since past, and the Salvation Army can reckon on 
 the assistance of many valued friends, who, if not actually 
 enrolled within its ranks, are able and ready to render 
 services the worth of which it would be difficult to estimate. 
 But while thankful for the many new faces that sprang up 
 
Cardiff. 161 
 
 around her from year to year, none were more heartily 
 appreciated and gladly welcomed by Mrs. Booth to the last 
 than the old and long-tried comrades-in-arms, whose affection 
 had been tested by the fires of adversity, and the wear and 
 waste of time. 
 
 After leaving Weston-super-Mare Mr. and Mrs. Booth 
 spent the next eight weeks at the town of Walsall, near 
 Birmingham. They had been invited there by a small strug- 
 gling society who called themselves Free Methodists, but who 
 were in reality independent of that and every other Church. 
 Mr. Booth's diary contains the following sketch of the meet- 
 ings: 
 
 " Sabbath, 28th June. A few days ago it occurred to me that a day's 
 open-air services would be useful in arousing the town and in bringing 
 under the Gospel a great number whom we cannot reach even by the 
 extraordinary means we are at present employing. Accordingly we laid 
 our plans and issued a large poster, of which the following is a copy : 
 
 "'ME. AND MRS. BOOTH AT WALSALL. 
 
 " ' A United Monster Camp Meeting will be held in a field near 
 Hatherton Lake on Sabbath, June 28th. 
 
 " Addresses will be given by Eevs. William Booth, Thos. Whitehouse, 
 and other ministers of the neighbourhood, and also by converted pugi- 
 lists, horse-racers, poachers, and others from Birmingham, Liverpool, 
 and Nottingham. 
 
 " ' Mrs. Booth will preach at Whittemere Street Chapel in the evening 
 at six o'clock. 
 
 " ' Services to commence at nine a.m.' 
 
 " The dawning of this Sabbath was anxiously anticipated, and very 
 early many eyes peered forth to discern the character of the weather, 
 and were gladdened at the probability of a fine day. By nine o'clock a 
 large company had assembled at the chapel. After prayer we started to 
 procession the town, and with a company which swelled in numbers as 
 we proceeded we made the streets echo with heart-stirring songs. Here 
 and there we paused for prayer, or a word of exhortation, and very often 
 for the announcement of the coming services. The people ran in crowds. 
 Preachers and praying men from surrounding towns and villages joined 
 us as we passed along, hundreds of stragglers followed in our train, and 
 by the time we reached the camp-ground we had quite an imposing 
 gathering. 
 
 " The field which had been kindly lent for the occasion was admirably 
 suited for our purpose, having in it several natural eminences, at the 
 base of which we placed our waggons, and with the people lining the 
 
 M 
 
1 62 Mrs. Booth. 
 
 sides of the green hills in front and on either side, the gathering pre- 
 sented quite a picturesque appearance. The morning services vrere 
 excellent, the attendance equalling oar most sanguine expectations. The 
 afternoon excelled anything of the kind ever witnessed before in the 
 neighbourhood. It was calculated that there were nearly five thousand 
 people on the ground, three-fourths of whom were working men. The 
 speakers were just of the stamp to grapple with this class, chiefly of 
 their own order, talking to them in their own language, regarding them- 
 selves as illustrations of the power of the Gospel, and continually crying, 
 ' Such were some of us, but we are washed. ' 
 
 " One of them had been a prize-fighter, a drunkard, and a gambler, 
 having tramped all over the country. His wife and child had been in 
 the union. So desperate had he been that five and six policemen had 
 been require^ to take him to prison, and then from the grating of the 
 lock-up he had waved his hand to his comrades, shouting, ' This is the 
 boy that will never give in ! ' Now he shouts, ' The lion's tamed ! The 
 Ethiopian's white ! The sinner's saved! Christ has conquered.' By 
 his evil ways he had nearly broken his parents' hearts, but, being pious, 
 they had never ceased to pray for him. Now they rejoiced over him, 
 and the other day he sent them his portrait, with a Bible in his hand 
 instead of the boxing gloves. All this and a great deal more he testified 
 with great simplicity, while his face, covered with smiles, told of the 
 happiness which now reigned within. 
 
 " Another had been a horse-racer, a professional gambler, and a 
 drunkard. To use his own words, there was not one in that great crowd 
 who could be worse than he had been. A short pipe and a black eye 
 would give an idea of his usual appearance at any time. 
 
 " These were some of the speakers. Others spoke with equally blessed 
 influence. At different periods the speakers left the waggons, large 
 circles were formed on the grass and all united in prayer. It was five 
 o'clock before the afternoon service closed, and then we left our ex-racing 
 friend pleading the cause of Jesus with the crowd that still lingered in 
 the field. 
 
 " In the evening my dear wife spoke to a great crowd in the chapel, 
 while I held a meeting in the field close by. We united for the prayer- 
 meeting, when about forty persons sought salvation." 
 
 In liis pugilist preachers and horse-racing leaders Mr, 
 Booth early recognised the principle that the working classes 
 were most effectually influenced by their own flesh and blood, 
 and added another to the foundation truths which contributed 
 to the ultimate success of the Salvation Army. 
 
 Mr. Booth, leaping down on another occasion from the 
 chair in the market-place and linking arm-'j with a navvy 
 
Cardiff. 163 
 
 in his inarch through the streets, was eminently typical of 
 the descent he was to make from conventionality and 
 traditionalism, and of the alliance that he was to form with 
 the toiling masses of the world. The act of the moment 
 was to be the inspiration of years to come. It was arm-in- 
 arm, as their brother-sinner saved by grace, that he was to 
 lead the socialistic, democratic, turbid, restless masses of 
 humanity back to order, back to religion, and back to God. 
 The pulpit, even when it was a chair, or a waggon, seemed 
 too far off to enable Mr. and Mrs. Booth to reach the multi- 
 tudes whom they sought to save. Mrs. Booth with her 
 arms around her weeping servant, pointing her to Christ, 
 the General arm-in-arm with his white-slopped navvy, had 
 unconsciously taken a fresh and important step in advance 
 toward the accomplishment of their great life-task. 
 
 A few days after the camp-meeting previously described, 
 Mr. Booth met with an unfortunate accident, which served 
 for a time to throw the burden of the work entirely upon 
 Mrs. Booth. In leaving the chapel one night, he put his 
 foot into a hole which had been made for the purpose of 
 some alterations to the gas-fittings of the place, and gave it 
 a wrench which completely lamed him and confined him to 
 his room for the next fortnight. As soon, however, as he 
 was able to get out again he was in his accustomed place, 
 standing on one leg and resting the other knee upon a chair. 
 A day or two afterwards he hobbled round the town with the 
 procession, his indomitable spirit ever carrying him to the 
 utmost limit of his strength. 
 
 Perhaps the most cheering, and not the least important 
 incident of the Walsall revival, was the conversion of their 
 son Bramwell. It took place at one of the children's meet- 
 ings which Mrs. Booth was in the custom of conducting. 
 " For some little time," says his mother, " I had been 
 anxious on his behalf. He had appeared deeply convicted 
 during the Cardiff services, and one night at the circus I had 
 urged him very earnestly to decide for Christ. For a long 
 time he would not speak, but I insisted on his giving me a 
 
1 64 Mrs. Booth. 
 
 definite answer as to whether he would accept the offer of 
 salvation or not. I shall never forget the feeling that 
 thrilled through my soul when my darling boy, only seven 
 years old, about whom I had formed such high expectations 
 with regard to his future service for the Master, deliberately 
 looked me in the face and answered ' No ! ' 
 
 " It was, therefore, not only with joy, but with some little 
 surprise that I discovered him in one of my Wtilsall meet- 
 ings kneeling at the communion rail among a crowd of little 
 penitents. He had come out of his own accord from the 
 middle of the hall, and I found him squeezed in among the 
 rest, confessing his sins and seeking forgiveness. I need not 
 say that I dealt with him faithfully, and, to the great joy of 
 both his father and myself, he then and there received the 
 assurance of pardon." 
 
 After continuing the services for eight weeks, Mr. and 
 Mrs. Booth bade farewell to Walsall. Powerful and success- 
 ful as had been the revival, and numerous as had been the 
 trophies of saving grace, it had been financially a severe and 
 prolonged struggle. " We have not at present received as 
 much as our travelling expenses and house-rent," Mrs. Booth 
 writes to her mother. " I feel a good deal perplexed, and am 
 sometimes tempted to mistrust the Lord. But I will not 
 allow it. Our Father knows ! " 
 
 The next meetings were held at the New Connexion 
 Chapel in Moseley Street, Birmingham. More than a 
 hundred and fifty souls were ingathered as a result of this 
 effort, and at the farewell meeting the following resolution 
 was passed with great cordiality and unanimity: 
 
 " This society desires to express its gratitude to the Almighty for the 
 success which has attended the labours of the Eev. William and Mrs. 
 Booth, while conducting a series of specialreligious meetings in Moseley 
 Street Chapel, and begs to present to the Kev. William and Mrs. Booth 
 its best thanks for the great services they have rendered to this society, 
 and prays that God's blessing may attend them in all their future 
 labours, and that at last they may be crowned with glory, honour, im- 
 mortality and eternal life." 
 
 Without removing his family from Birmingham Mr. 
 
Cardiff, 165 
 
 Booth spent the next five weeks in carrying on work at Old 
 Hill in connection with the Primitive Methodists. As a 
 result some two hundred persons professed conversion. In 
 these and in the following meetings at a small place called 
 Hasbury, Mrs. Booth's ill-health permitted her to take but 
 little part. She was enabled, however, in December, to offer 
 material assistance in the revival then in progress at the Lye. 
 An interesting description of these meetings is sent by a 
 Iad3 r ,who vividly recollects them after an interval of twenty- 
 seven years : 
 
 " I have a specially distinct recollection," she writes, " of the morning 
 meetings held by Mrs. Booth for women only. The Primitive Methodist 
 Tabernacle, in which these services were held, was crowded morning 
 after morning, and never shall I forget the memorable scenes that were 
 enacted there. At the close of each meeting dear Mrs. Booth called for 
 volunteers, and numbers quickly responded to the invitation. But my 
 pen is quite inadequate to describe what we constantly witnessed. 
 Never before or since have I seen anything to equal it. 
 
 " The women left their work and in all sorts of odd costumes flocked 
 to the meetings, some with bonnets, some with a shawl fastened over 
 their head, others with little children clinging to their necks. All with 
 eager, inquiring faces took their seats and listened to the gracious words 
 which fell from the lips of dear Mrs. Booth. And when the invitation 
 was given, what a scene ensued ! It baffles all description. Crowding, 
 weeping rushing to the communion rail cmne convicted sinners and re- 
 pentant backsliders. When the rail was filled the penitents dropped 
 upon their knees in the aisles or in their seats, so that it was difficult to 
 move about. 
 
 "Many a time did dear Mrs. Booth appear to be completely exhausted. 
 She was evidently in very delicate health at the time, and yet the 
 addresses always manifested deep thought, womanly feeling, and most 
 earnest Christian solicitude ; and although her pose was perfectly 
 modest and refined, her delivery was often wonderfully impassioned, 
 eloquent, and fervid. My education and associations had made me very 
 much opposed to female ministry, so that I went to hear her with a 
 mind full of prejudice and prepared to criticise. But her first words 
 disarmed me, and I soon became convinced that a modest, Scriptural, 
 and earnest address such as Mr?. Booth had given must of necessity, at 
 least in the case of her own sex, do even more good than if an equally 
 eloquent one had been delivered by a man." 
 
 Over the events of the ensuing year, 1864, space will not 
 permit to more than skim. The meetings resembled in 
 
1 66 
 
 Mrs. Booth. 
 
 character those which have been already described, and 
 were attended with similar success. In March meetings 
 
 O 
 
 were commenced at . Leeds, and, owing to the increasing 
 difficulty of moving from place to place with so large a 
 
 MARIAN BOOTH. 
 
 family, a house was taken and furnished, Mr. and Mrs. 
 Booth resolving to make that city the temporary centre of 
 their operations. 
 
 On May 4th their sixth child, Marian, was born. The 
 baby promised to be one of the finest of the family, but 
 suffered soon after her birth from severe convulsive attacks, 
 
Cardiff. 167 
 
 which left their mark upon her in after life, and rendered 
 her too delicate to take her place beside her brothers and 
 sisters in their public work. Nevertheless Mrs. Booth had 
 the joy of seeing her invalid daughter, like the rest of her 
 family, give her heart to God at an early age, besides doing 
 her quiet utmost, so far as health and strength would permit, 
 to further the cause of Christ, which all had learnt to look 
 upon as their own. 
 
 Five weeks after the birth of Marian, Mrs. Booth resumed 
 her public labours, and it was decided as an experiment that, 
 instead of assisting Mr. Booth as hitherto in his campaigns, 
 she should strike out independently, conducting meetings on 
 her own account, and thus doubling their power for good. 
 At first it seemed as though the necessary strain would be 
 too great for one so delicate. It was, moreover, a severe 
 trial to face a life which would involve constant separation. 
 Mrs. Booth was, however, not one to shrink from at least 
 attempting what appeared to be the path of duty, and iu 
 doing so she received an abundant fulfilment of .the promise 
 that her strength should be according to her day. 
 
 At Batley, Pudsey, and Woodhouse Carr she conducted 
 revival services, which were evidently of a most stirring 
 and remarkable character, and it is deeply to be regretted 
 that there is not on record a more full and detailed account 
 of this period. In tho course of these meetings some five 
 hundred adults and many children professed conversion. 
 At one of these places in the course of six days over one 
 hundred adults and two hundred children came forward to 
 the communion rail ! 
 
 The scarcity of material concerning this period lends 
 added interest to the following letter from Mrs. Booth : 
 
 " MY BELOVED MOTHER, I have had a very good week. The chapel, 
 which seats about eight hundred, was nearly full every night, and 
 twenty or thirty came forward in each meeting. Oh, for more Divine 
 unction ! They say the Pudsey sinners will ' bide some bringing down.' 
 Well, the Lord can do it. They tell me I am immensely popular with 
 the people. But that is no comfort unless they will be saved. There 
 
1 68 Mrs. Booth. 
 
 has been a precious work among the members. Almost all of them 
 have been forward for full consecration. 
 
 " I have a comfortable little cot to stay in, but very small and humble. 
 However it is clean and quiet, and when I feel nervous no one knows the 
 value of quietness. 
 
 " Well, we must labour and wait a little longer, it may be that the 
 clouds will break and surround us with sunshine. Anyway, God lives 
 above the clouds, and He will direct our path. If the present effort dis- 
 appoints us, I shall be quite tired of tugging with the churches, and 
 shall insist on William taking a hall or theatre somewhere. I believe 
 the Lord will thrust him into that sphere yet. We can't get at the 
 masses in the chapels. They are so awfully prejudiced against all con- 
 nected with the sects that they will not come unless under some mighty 
 excitement. The Lord direct us what to do that will be most for His 
 glory ! I see more than ever that the religion which is pleasing to God 
 consists in doing and enduring His will rather than in pood senti- 
 ments and feelings. The Lord help us to endure as seeing Him who is 
 invisible ! 
 
 " I think I shall come and try in London before long. Bat I must 
 see. I like this sort of work, and feel as though it were my mission. 
 Perhaps I could arrange some services there, and if I were once set 
 going, I think I should succeed. I should like to live in London better 
 than any place I was ever in. I dreamed twice that I was going to 
 speak in David Thomas's chapel long before I ever deemed such a thing 
 as preaching possible ! Will it not be strange if I ever should ? I 
 would not mind restricting my addresses to ladies to meet, their pre- 
 judices, and I could do an immense deal of good, no doubt, in setting 
 them to work for God. But the future is uncertain and chimerical. I 
 must not anticipate." 
 
CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 FOUNDATION OF THE SALVATION ARMTT. 18G5. 
 
 SINCE resigning their ministerial position in the Methodist 
 New Connexion, Mr. and Mrs. Booth had marked out for them- 
 selves the task of helping to revive, the Christian Chnrch in 
 general from the state of torpidity, inactivity, and worldly 
 conformity into which it seemed to have lapsed. Through 
 the instrumentality of an awakened Church, as we -have 
 seen, they hoped ultimately to reach the masses. During 
 the past four years they had clung to this expectation with 
 unwavering tenacity. True, they had met with a succession 
 of ministerial rebuffs and disappointments. They had piped 
 to the Church in its own pulpits, and it had not danced ; 
 they had mourned to it in unsectarian halls, or circuses, and 
 it had not lamented. Nevertheless, they had refused to 
 despair, believing that the miracles of grace which the Holy 
 Spirit had worked through them in each town visited would 
 ultimately convince the most sceptical, and serve to turn 
 the tide of opinion so strongly in the direction of a general 
 revival that all the barriers erected by ministerial opposition 
 would ultimately be swept away, and that the Church, alive 
 once more to a sense of her responsibility, would launch 
 forth in supreme and united efforts for the salvation of the 
 countless multitudes who were as yet beyond her borders. 
 
 But the conviction was slowly forcing itself upon their 
 minds that the best way to reach the masses was by an out- 
 side agency, specially adapted to their needs, and indepen- 
 dent of ordinary Church usages and conventionalities. An 
 admirable sphere for such an effort now offered itself quite 
 
170 Mrs. Booth. 
 
 unexpectedly in London. For some time past Mr. and Mrs. 
 Booth's attention had been drawn towards the vast metro- 
 polis as a possible field for labour, where they could carry on 
 their work without the perpetual separations which had 
 made it of late so harassing, finding in the immediate neigh- 
 bourhood ample scope for combined effort. 
 
 Nevertheless, Mr. Booth hesitated. Personally he pre- 
 ferred the provinces, doubting, with a modesty and self- 
 depreciation for which few might give him credit, his 
 capacity to meet the requirements of London intellect. He 
 was reluctant to leave the Ur of the Chaldees in which he 
 had been reared, and to exchange the nomadic life he loved 
 for the uncertain advantages of a London Canaan. He re- 
 cognised, however, that if the worst came to the worst he 
 would still be free to visit the provinces, returning periodic- 
 ally to London. 
 
 It was finally settled that, before breaking up the present 
 home, Mrs. Booth should -accept an invitation which had 
 recently been sent to her from Kotherhithe ; that Mr. Booth 
 should join her there at the conclusion of the meetings he 
 was then conducting in Louth, and that together they should 
 decide on the spot what their future course was to be. The 
 invitation came from the superintendent of the Southwark 
 Circuit of Free Church Methodists, for whom Mr. Booth, as 
 a local preacher, had several times conducted services some 
 twelve years previously. " Kotherhithe is a good chapel," 
 he writes to Mrs. Booth. " When I knew them they were 
 the warmest-hearted people in London. I was once a great 
 favourite with them, and saw much good done/' 
 
 Mrs. Booth commenced her meetings on the 26th February, 
 and continued them till the 19th March. Both on Sundays 
 and week-nights the chapel was crowded, and many souls 
 sought salvation. 
 
 The exceptional success of Mrs. Booth's London debut 
 finally settled the question of her future home. A suitable 
 house having been engaged in Shaf tesbury Road, Hammer- 
 smith, Mr. Booth brought the children from Leeds, return- 
 
Foundation of the Salvation Army. 171 
 
 ing afterwards to Hipon, where lie liad previously promised 
 to conduct a series of services. 
 
 The question of female ministry excited, as might be 
 expected, some controversy among Christian circles in the 
 metropolis. But the objections quickly died a natural death, 
 or, to use Mrs. Booth's own words, " melted awa} 7 like snow 
 in the sun." Indeed, the opposition was never very vigorous, 
 and Londoners were quick to apprehend the argument of 
 facts. 
 
 From Rotherhithe Mrs. Booth went to a still larger chapel 
 belonging to the same body in Grange Road, Bermondsey, 
 where remarkable success attended her effort. The Gospel 
 Guide contains the following interesting description of the 
 preacher : 
 
 " In dress nothing could be neater. A plain black straw bonnet, 
 slightly relieved by a pair of dark violet strings; a black velvet loose- 
 fitting jacket, with tight sleeves, which appeared exceedingly suitable to 
 her while preaching, and a black silk dress, constituted the plain and 
 becoming attire of this female preacher. A prepossessing countenance, 
 with, at first, an exceedingly quiet manner, enlists the sympathies and 
 rivets the attention of the audience. 
 
 " Mrs. Booth is a woman of no ordinary mind, and her powers of 
 argument are of a superior character. Her delivery is calm, precise, and 
 clear, without the least approach to formality or tediousness. Her 
 language is simple but well chosen, and her ability for speaking is 
 beyond the general order of the other sex. Not the least appearance 
 of anything approaching nervousness or timidity was observable in her 
 manner. At the same time, there was an entire absence of unbecoming 
 confidence, or of assumed authority over her audience. She chose for 
 her text. 'Not every one that saith unto Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into 
 the Kingdom of Heaven. 1 
 
 " Might we say that many of our ministers, deacons, elders, and 
 members would do well to hear Mrs. Booth ? They could learn a lesson 
 from her devotion, her evident sincerity for the good of souls, her' 
 intense earnestness, her affectionate words, and her perpetual labours in 
 the cause to which she appears so warmly attached." 
 
 "Behold how great a matter a little fire kindloth." That 
 is, if it be a genuine fire in the first instance, and not the 
 mere semblance of one. While many are complaining that 
 the wood is green, and will not burn, the fault is -too often 
 
i;2 Mrs. Boot /i. 
 
 with the original flame, which seeks to kindle the conflagra- 
 tion in the hearts of those around. There is enough tinder 
 in human nature to provide fuel for a universal blaze. The 
 modern day of miracles is not really past. There is good 
 reason to believe that it has scarcely commenced. Who can 
 estimate the possibilities that are within the reach of simple- 
 hearted faith ? We have only to look back upon the small 
 beginnings of many a mighty work. 
 
 Here is a handful of trembling disciples in an upper room, 
 with door barred and bolted " for fear of the Jews " ; further 
 on a Luther committing the Pope's bull to the flames, and 
 again a W r esley with his little knot of Oxford Methodists. 
 No less memorable in the future religious history of the 
 world will be the Quaker burial-ground in Whitechapel, 
 where, on Sunday, 2nd July, 1865, William Booth held his 
 first East End services in a large marquee. 
 
 It was an appropriate spot for the commencement oi his 
 work in more ways than one. The quiet precincts of the 
 disused graveyard were a fitting type of the moral valley of 
 dry bones in the midst of which the Spirit of the Lord had 
 set down this modern Ezekiel. The resurrection of the one 
 seemed as hopelessly impossible, or at least as distant, as 
 that of the other. But if neither the Jewish prophet nor 
 his Quaker antitype of two hundred ye ars ago could take 
 their stand on Mile End Waste, their representative was 
 present, ready to prophesy to the bones that were " very 
 many" and "very dry," until they "stood up upon their feet, 
 an exceeding great army." 
 
 To no spot in the world could the stirring vision of the 
 Hebrew seer be more appropriately applied than to the worse 
 than heathen pandemonium of blasphemy and ribaldry in the 
 midst of which the Salvation Army was born and cradled 
 As in days of old, the Saviour of the world preferred to give 
 birth to His designs of mercy amid the rough, manger-like 
 surroundings of this East End Bethlehem, rather than in the 
 wealthy and refined W T est End Jerusalem that was close at 
 hand. The groans of poverty and the tears of misery have 
 
Foundation of the Salvation Army. 173 
 
 fever been more attractive to the Divine heart than the 
 sweetest minstrelsy or most gorgeous pageantry of wealth. 
 Jesus Christ left the matchless music and unalloyed pleasures 
 of heaven, not to exchange them for those of earth, but to seek 
 and to save that which was lost ; so lost that they could not 
 fail to recognise the danger of their position, so miserable that 
 they possessed no make-believe enjoyments to take the place 
 of those He offered them. 
 
 If Sodom and Gomorrah compared unfavourably with the 
 cities that rejected the message of the Prophet of Galilee, 
 what can be said or thought of the modern Bethsaidas and 
 Chorazins that constitute our Christendom? Even those 
 who believe most firmly in the gradual self-redemption of 
 the human race can scarcely blink the fact that the major 
 portion of it, in spite of the utmost efforts of civilisation and 
 education, is in a sorry plight. 
 
 The increased knowledge of what is good appears only to 
 accentuate the increased practice of what is evil. The very 
 brilliance of modern revelation serves to deepen the shadows 
 of misery and the gloomy pall of sin which enshroud the 
 dark places of the earth. If ever a Saviour were needed it 
 is to-day, and if the needs of any single spot could transcend 
 those of the rest of the world, surely that space of ground 
 must have been somewhere very near the Tabernacle the 
 poor man's cathedral in the Quaker burial-ground. 
 
 Among the vagabonds and outcasts who swarm the 
 purlieux of East London, General Booth had found at length 
 the very lowest level of the social strata, and had uncon- 
 sciously driven his pick-axe into the granite block which 
 was to form the basis of the Salvation Army New Jerusalem. 
 In those subterranean caverns he discovered the " all manner 
 of precious stones " with which the foundations were to be 
 "garnished," and amidst the tangled mass of ocean-covered 
 weeds and rocks he explored the oyster-beds that were to 
 yield materials for the " pearly gates." 
 
 From his boyhood clays in Nottingham, when he stood 
 and cheered the Chartist orator, Feargus O'Connor, he had 
 
1/4 Mrs. Booth. 
 
 * 
 
 always loved and sympathised with the poor. The sights of 
 destitution and misery he then witnessed had burnt them- 
 selves in upon his soul. Since then, it is true, he had 
 climbed for a time the ministerial ladder. But it had only 
 been in the hopes of dragging the people up with him. And 
 when he found that this was impracticable, he descended 
 round after round, till at length his feet could fairly feel 
 the ground, and the lowest, neediest masses of humanity had 
 been reached. And now he realised that he was in his natural 
 element. 
 
 The shrewd East-Enders appreciated his keen sallies of 
 wit and respected his evident zeal and devotion. The utter 
 absence of anything in the shape of cant or put-on, the 
 refreshing simplicity and total freedom from religious 
 veneer, and the arm-linking equality with which they were 
 treated, made them accept this apostle of the working man, 
 and that at a time w T hen ninety per cent, of this very class 
 had given up all pretence of religion, and never darkened 
 the doorway of a place of worship from year's end to year's 
 end. 
 
 a I have been trying all my life," he remarked one day in 
 later years to one of his leading officers, " to stretch out my 
 arms so as to reach with one hand the poor and at the same 
 time keep the other in touch with the rich. But my arms 
 are not long enough. I find that when I am in touch with 
 the poor I lose my hold upon the rich, and when I reach up 
 to the rich I let go of the poor. And," pausing for a moment 
 to give weight to his words, he added with his own peculiar 
 emphasis, "I very much doubt whether God Almighty's 
 arms are long enough ! " 
 
 And yet the exigencies of the work were always such that, 
 while Mr. Booth devoted the main portion of his time and 
 attention to the poor, he was never in a position to entirely 
 turn his back upon the rich, being compelled time after time 
 to turn to them for help in the carrying out of his designs. 
 But as the eagle soars only that it may the better scan the 
 field and swoop down upon its prey, or as the cloud which 
 
Foundation of the Salvation Army. 175 
 
 only absorbs moisture from the earth that it may scatter it 
 again in fertilising showers, so through life Mr. and Mrs. 
 Booth have turned only to the rich that they might induce 
 them to help the poor. 
 
 In this Mrs. Booth proved a valuable coadjutor to her 
 husband. Her ministry was peculiarly acceptable to the 
 better classes, and she was not slow to avail herself to the 
 utmost of the opportunity which this afforded, not only for 
 blessing their souls, but for laying before them their respon- 
 sibilities in caring for the godless masses. The magnetic 
 influence which she exercised was the more remarkable inas- 
 much as her denunciations of society sins were often scath- 
 ing in the extreme. 
 
 " I used to tremble sometimes as I sat and listened in her 
 meetings when I was quite a little girl," says her daughter 
 Emma. "Now they will be offended, and will never come 
 again, I thought to myself. And sometimes, as I grew older, 
 I would venture to expostulate, as we went home together, 
 ' I think, mamma, you were a little too heavy on them to- 
 day ! ' ' Ay ! You are like the rest of them ! ' she would 
 reply, 'pleading for the syrup without the sulphur. I 
 guessed that you were feeling so.' But when the time for 
 the next meeting arrived the same people would be there, 
 and the crowd would be larger than ever, and the rows of 
 carriages outside the hall more numerous, and she would 
 pour out her heart upon them, and drag out the sins and 
 selfish indulgences of society, with all their attendant miseries 
 and penalties, as mercilessly as ever." 
 
 The following is an instance of the burning, lava-like 
 truths that she would pour upon the consciences of her 
 listeners at such times : 
 
 " Let me take you to another scene. Here is his Grace the Duke of 
 Hackrent, and the Right Honourable Woman Seducer Fitz-Shameless, 
 and the gallant Colonel Swearer, with half the aristocracy of a county, 
 male and female, mounted on horses worth hundreds of pounds each, 
 and which have been bred and trained at a cost of hundreds more, and 
 what for ? This ' splendid field ' are waiting whilst a poor little timid 
 animal is let loose from confinement and permitted to fly in terror from 
 
1/6 Mrs. Bovth. 
 
 its strange surroundings. Observe the delight of all the gentlemen and 
 noble ladies when a whole pack of strong dogs is let loose in pursuit, 
 and then behold the noble chase ! The regiment of well-mounted 
 cavalry and the pack of. hounds all charge at full gallop after the poor, 
 frightened little creature. It will be a great disappointment if by any 
 means it should escape or be killed within such a short a time as an 
 hour. The sport will be excellent in proportion to the time during 
 which the poor thing's agony is prolonged, and the number of miles it 
 is able to run in terror of its life. Brutality! I tell you that, in my 
 judgment, at any rate, you can find nothing in the vilest back slums 
 more utterly, more deliberately, more savagely cruel than that ; and yet 
 this is a comparatively small thing. 
 
 " One of the greatest employments of every Christian government and 
 community is to train thousands of men, not to fight with their fists 
 only, in the way of inflicting a few passing sores, but with weapons 
 capable, it may be, of killing human beings at the rate of so many per 
 minute. It is quite a scientific taste to study how to destroy a large 
 vessel with several hundreds of men on board instantaneously. Talk of 
 brutality ! Is there anything half as brutal as this within the whole 
 range of savagery ? 
 
 " But, against all this, modern Christianity, which professes to be- 
 lieve the teaching of Him who taught us not to resist evil, but to love 
 our enemies and to treat with the utmost benevolence hostile nations, 
 has nothing to say. All the devilish animosity, hard-hearted cruelty, 
 and harrowing consequences of modern warfare are not only sanctioned, 
 but held np as an indispensable necessity of civilised life ; and in times 
 of war patronised and prayed for in our churches and chapels with as 
 mnch impudent assurance as though Jesus Christ had taught, ' But I say 
 unto you, An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, and return evil for evil, 
 hate your enemies and pursue them with all the diabolical appliances 
 of destruction which the devil can enable you to invent.' 
 
 ' Alas, alas ! Is it not too patent for intelligent contradiction that 
 the most detestable thing in the judgment of popular Christianity is not 
 brutality, cruelty, or injustice, but poverty and vulgarity ? With 
 p'enty of money you may pile up your life wifh iniquities and yet be 
 blamed, if blamed at all, only in the mildest terms, whereas one 
 flagrant act of sin in a poor, illiterate person is enough to starap him, 
 with the majority of professing Christians, as a creature from whom 
 they would rather keep at a distance." 
 
 Many of the Army's most liberal friends were attracted 
 in the first instance by Mrs. Booth's services, and, having 
 once secured their sympathy, she ceaselessly laboured to 
 maintain their confidence in the cause. With persistent 
 courage and amazing skill she rallied them, when some 
 
Foundation of the Salvation Army. 177 
 
 more than usually venomous attack had scattered panic in 
 their ranks, or when some new advance had shocked their 
 conservatism. She would reason and explain and encourage 
 and rebuke with a tenderness that conquered the most 
 obstinate heart, and yet with a faithfulness and pungency 
 that admitted of no excuse for retreat. The rapidity of the 
 Army's forward march has exposed it to special losses from 
 the number of those who were unable to keep up the pace. 
 But the impetuous, Rupert-like charges with which the 
 General has amazed the world would perhaps have been 
 impossible had it not been for the tact and strategy with 
 which Mrs. Booth has brought up the rear. 
 
 Time after time have her persistence, her logic, and her 
 personal influence restored confidence to wavering friends, 
 and closed the mouths or extorted the admiration of the 
 most prejudiced enemies. Her arguments were invincible. 
 No new effort was put forth by the General without con- 
 sulting her. And hence, as each point arose, her mind had 
 been fully made up before the question had become a subject 
 of debate. " Here, Kate," would sound the General's voice 
 from his desk, and she would run to his side from the 
 nursery, or from her household work, to pass her opinion 
 upon an article, an appeal, a despatch, or some new develop- 
 ment of the work. Or he would take the kitchen by storm, 
 and while her hands were busy with the dough for the 
 family bread or pudding, he would sit astride the table and 
 pour into her sympathetic ears the story of his last rebuff, 
 or some more than usually exciting piece of news regarding 
 the progress of the Mission. 
 
 The work thus unobtrusively commenced soon made its 
 mark upon the neigbourhood, and attracted the sympathetic 
 attention of many who were beyond its immediate borders. 
 
 At the conclusion of the meetings in Bermondsey Mrs. 
 Booth removed to Deptford, where the chapel soon became so 
 crowded that the public hall was engaged for Sundays. It 
 was with unfeigned regret that she brought these services 
 to a close early in May, but the strain of constant travelling 
 
 N 
 
1/8 Mrs. Booth. 
 
 to and from Hammersmith for ten consecutive weeks had 
 told severely on her delicate frame. 
 
 Yet an opportunity was not long in offering itself for the 
 transfer of her services to a locality nearer home. It was a 
 singular coincidence that at the very time when Mr. Booth 
 was commencing his East End campaign Mrs. Booth was 
 conducting her first West End services, so that the very 
 antipodes of London society were simultaneously assailed. 
 Space and time preclude the possibility of describing in 
 detail the interesting series of meetings which were carried 
 on by her in turn at the Polytechnic, the Kensington 
 Assembly Rooms, and the Myddelton Hall and Priory in 
 Islington. At each centre an impression was made which 
 has continued to appear and reappear down to the present 
 day. 
 
 " I have but a dim recollection of these meetings," said Mrs. Booth 
 during her last illness. " I never attempted, since my younger days, to 
 keep a diary. It was simply impossible. I was too busy doing the 
 work to find time to chronicle it, and by the time I went to bed at night 
 I was far too exhausted for writing. But I know I felt the responsibility 
 of this opportunity very strongly. It was expected that a number of 
 very respectable people, so-called, would attend the meetings. To preach 
 to such a class is always supposed to be a more important and difficult 
 task than to preach to people in a lower scale of society and consequently 
 possessed of less intelligence and culture. 
 
 " I believe I was somewhat influenced by such feelings when I was 
 about to commence. But the solemn sense of my responsibility to God, 
 and my determination to faithfully deliver His message, seemed to 
 absorb me from the moment I stood up to speak, and whatever might 
 have been my previous agitation and nervousness, as soon as I opened 
 my lips I was enable 1 to forget it all. 
 
 " They would come to me in the ante-room and say that Lord This 
 and Lady The Other were in the audience, or such-and such popular 
 ministers upon the platform, and I confess that my heart beat quicker 
 for a time. But on entering the hall, as my eye glanced over row upon 
 row of intelligent, expectant countenances, I realised that they above all 
 others needed the plainest utterances of truth, and this has inspired me 
 with confidence. 
 
 " Seldom have I held a meeting in which some souls have not decided 
 to submit to God and to seek His salvation through Jesus Christ. I 
 should soon have given up preaching if there had been no such results. 
 To get a congregation was never a difficulty with me, but when they 
 
Foundation of tJie Salvation Army. 179 
 
 were tliere I strove to convict them of sin and to persuade them to 
 abandon it and to cast themselves upon the mercy of God. Far from 
 this having the effect of driving the people away, my experience lias been 
 that, however small might be the congregation at the commencement of 
 the effort, it has invariably increased, until it has exceeded the capacity 
 of the largest buildings which I have been privileged to occupy." 
 
 In October Mrs. Booth held some meetings in the Horns 
 Assembly Rooms, Kennington, and in the following month 
 the family removed from Hammersmith to Hackney, in order 
 to be within convenient reach of the East End work, which 
 was more and more absorbing the time and attention of Mr. 
 Booth, and to which he had now distinctly committed him- 
 self. 
 
 The tent in the burial-ground had been blown down in a 
 gale, and was too rotten to be repaired. The uncertain 
 climate of England, so say the Americans, enjoys no weather, 
 but consists of mere samples ! Certainly it is never very 
 favourable to the patriarchal canvas, and what is scarcely 
 tolerable in summer becomes impossible in winter. How- 
 ever, a dancing-saloon had been discovered, and in this the 
 Sunday services were continued, while the week-night 
 meetings were mostly in the open air, lasting sometimes till 
 ten o'clock, or even later. 
 
 " I remember well," says Mrs. Booth, "when the General decided 
 finally to give np the evangelistic life, and to devote himself to the salva- 
 tion of the East-Enders. He had come home from the meeting one 
 night, tired out as usual. It was between eleven and twelve o'clock. 
 Flinging himself into an easy chair, he said to me, ' Oh ! Kate, as I 
 passed by the doors of the flaming gin-palaces to-night, I seemed to hear 
 a voice sounding in my ears, " Where can you go and find such heathen 
 as these, arid where is there so great a need for your labours ? " And I 
 felt as though I ought at every cost to stop and preach to these East 
 End multitudes.' 
 
 " I remember the emotion that this produced in my soul. I sat 
 -gazing into the fire, and the devil whispered to me, ' This means an- 
 other new departure another start in life.' 
 
 " The question of our support constituted a serious difficulty. Hither- 
 to we had been able to meet our expenses by the collections which we 
 had made from our more respectable audiences. But it was impossible 
 to suppose that we could do so among the poverty-stricken East- 
 
I So Mrs. Booth. 
 
 Enders. We had not then the measure of light upon this subject which 
 subsequent events afforded, and we were afraid even to ask for a collec- 
 tion in such a locality. 
 
 " Nevertheless, I did 'not answer discouragingly. After a momentary 
 pause for thought and prayer, I replied, * Well, if you feel you ought to 
 stay, stay. We have trusted the Lord once for our support, and we can 
 trust Him again ! ' There was not in our minds, at the time we came 
 to this decision, the remotest idea of the marvellous work which has 
 since sprung into existence." 
 
 It was a noble answer that Mrs. Booth gave at this 
 critical juncture to her husband. She little dreamed' of the 
 important issues that were at stake. Scarcely had the 
 resolution been formed, when an encouraging incident 
 occurred which strongly confirmed the conviction that the 
 newly chosen pathway had the Divine approbation. A 
 letter was received from Mr. Samuel Morley, expressing his 
 warm interest in the effort, and promising on his return 
 from Scotland to hear the full particulars. About a month 
 afterwards a second letter came, inviting Mr. Booth to 
 call upon him. 
 
 The interview was a?ike interesting and important. The 
 Christian philanthropist added another to the list of 
 generous deeds which will cause his memory to be held in 
 affectionate veneration by thousands. 
 
 He received Mr. Booth with the utmost cordiality. It 
 was a historical event, reminding one of Stanley finding 
 Livingstone in the heart of Africa. The explorer of Darkest 
 England's Submerged Tenth had not quite so far to go, it is 
 true. There was no need for it. A continent of heathen 
 souls surrounded him. An impenetrable forest of sin and 
 misery awaited his exploring axe almost within a stone's 
 throw from where the apostle of the destitute and his dis- 
 coverer sat. In its far-reaching consequences it would be 
 difficult to estimate the importance of that interview. 
 
 Mr. Morley inquired in the kindest manner as to the plans 
 adopted by Mr. Booth, and the results which had been at- 
 tained. The fact that the methods were novel and uncon- 
 ventional served only to increase his interest. The open-air 
 
Foundation of the Salvation Army. 181 
 
 meetings on the Mile End Waste surrounded by blaspheming 
 infidels and boisterous drunkards ; the processions down the 
 "Whitechapel Road, pelted with garbage ; the placards 
 carried with striking texts; the penitent-form and the 
 testifying of the new converts, enlisted his unbounded sym- 
 pathy. 
 
 In the years that followed Mr. Morley proved himself a 
 generous and substantial friend, describing himself, at a 
 Salvation Army meeting over which he presided, as a " sleep- 
 ing partner " in the concern. 
 
 His co-operation was less regular in later years, but one 
 of his last acts was to make a munificent donation towards 
 the rescue work of the Salvation Army. It was at the time 
 of the great purity agitation, and Mr. Morley 's sympathies 
 had been deeply stirred. Mrs. Booth called upon him, and 
 he promised a donation of 1,000, asking her whether she 
 thought the amount was sufficient. She replied, with 
 characteristic courage, that while she was deeply sensible 
 of the value of the gift, she was sure he would not regret 
 increasing the amount. Without waiting for her to add 
 another word Mr. Morley doubled his donation, with a grace- 
 ful generosity that made his gifts so peculiarly acceptable, 
 adding that she must call and see him again. 
 
 The assistance of Mr. Morley at this early juncture of the 
 East End work was the more welcome owing to the peculiar 
 difficulties which Mr. Booth encountered at the outset. 
 
 On Sunday, September 3rd, the meetings were commenced 
 in the dancing saloon. "The people danced in it," the 
 General tells us, " until the small hours of the Sunday 
 morning, and then the converts carried in the seats, which 
 had fortunately not been destroyed with the tent. It was 
 a long, narrow room, holding about six hundred people. The 
 proprietor combined the two professions of dancing-master 
 and photographer, the latter being specially pushed on Sun- 
 daj's. In the front room, through which all the congregation 
 had to pass from the open street, sat the mistress colouring 
 photographs, whilst some one at. the door touted for business. 
 
1 82 Mrs. Booth. 
 
 The photography was done at the top of the house, and 
 customers had to pass on their way up by a sort of parlour 
 that was open to our hall. It was a regular thing for them 
 to pause and listen to the message of salvation as they went 
 upstairs on their Sabbath-breaking business. 
 
 " We had wonderful meetings in that room, and in con- 
 nection with it I put in many a hard Sunday's work, 
 regularly giving three and sometimes four open-air ad- 
 dresses, leading three processions and conducting three 
 indoor meetings. The bulk of the speaking in all these 
 services fell on me. But the power and happiness of the 
 work carried me along, and in that room the foundation was 
 really laid of all that has since come to pass. 
 
 "For week-nights we secured an old wool warehouse in 
 one of the lowest parts of Bethnal Green. Unfortunately 
 the windows opened on to the street. When crowded, which 
 was ordinarily the case, it became oppressively hot, espe- 
 cially in summer. If we opened the windows the boys threw 
 stones and mud and crackers through, or fired trains of 
 gunpowder, laid from the door inwards. But our people 
 got used to this, shouting ' Hallelujah ! ' when the fireworks 
 exploded and the powder flashed. Doubtless a good many 
 were frightened away. Still, many a poor dark soul found 
 Jesus there, becoming a brave soldier of the Cross after- 
 wards. It was an admirable training ground for the de- 
 velopment of the Salvation Army spirit." 
 
CHAPTER XX. 
 THE EAST LONDON MISSION, 18G6. 
 
 CHRISTMAS DAY, 1865, brought a new and welcome rein- 
 forcement to the East End Mission, and an appropriate 
 
 EVALIXE CORY BOOTH. 
 
 token of the Divine favour, in the birth of Mr. and Mrs. 
 Booth's fourth daughter and seventh child, Evaline 
 Eva, as she is popularly known. Faith loves to trace the 
 finger-marks of an over-ruling Providence in what might 
 otherwise be passed over as the merest accident. Born on 
 
 183 
 
1 84 Mrs. Booth. 
 
 Christmas Day, and born in the self-same year in which 
 the East End Mission was commenced, of all Mr. and Mrs. 
 Booth's children none have possessed in so powerful a degree 
 the faculty of attracting and managing the roughest of the 
 roughs. Seldom has there been a prolonged disturbance, or 
 prospect of a riot, but she has been the first to volunteer to 
 fill the gap, and her appearance upon the scene of action has 
 usually resulted in a complete change of front on the part of 
 the most turbulent of the disturbers. Like the gale-proof 
 petrel she has delighted to be found, 
 
 " Where the thunders echo load and deep, 
 And the stormy \vinds do blow." 
 
 With more than a Peter's faith she has flung herself out of 
 the boat on to the raging waves and has walked with un- 
 swerving confidence to meet the same Jesus, who is still 
 often to be found upon these troubled waters and amid 
 such perilous surroundings oftener, indeed, than amid the 
 luscious ease in which the daughters of Zion usually seek 
 but find Him not. How strange that Christian critics fail 
 to see that the spirit of Calvary is as necessary now as it 
 was eighteen hundred and ninety years ^igo, and that it is 
 to be found among those who dare to face the fury of a mob 
 goaded to madness by the craft-endangered worshippers of 
 Diana, rather than in the bosoms of those who conceal their 
 timidity behind their disapproval, and salve the lashings of 
 their conscience by their untimely reproofs. 
 
 " The day has gone," remarked the Greneral, in one of his 
 humorous home-thrusts, when replying on one occasion to 
 the objections of some who repeated the old complaint con- 
 cerning those who had turned the world upside down, " the 
 day has gone when the priest and Levite are content to pass 
 by the wounded man. They must needs stop now, turn 
 back, and punch the head of any good Samaritan who dares 
 to come to the rescue ! '' 
 
 But to return from this digression. In the middle of 
 February Mrs. Booth commenced a ten weeks' campaign at 
 
The East London Mission. 185 
 
 the Rosemary Branch Assembly Rooms in Peckham. The 
 meetings lasted till the end of April, this being the longest 
 sustained effort that Mrs. Booth had yet undertaken single- 
 handed. She much preferred a prolonged series of meetings to 
 the isolated services which towards the close of her labours 
 were alone possible. One service furnished a subject for the 
 next. Dealing personally, as was her habit, at the close of 
 each address with the penitents, she became familiar with 
 the "refuges of lies " behind which those who had not come 
 forward were seeking for shelter. This afforded her a fresh 
 opportunity for unmasking their excuses, and forcing them 
 to a definite decision. 
 
 During this year Mrs. Booth was completely prostrated 
 by a severe illness which the best medical skill seemed 
 powerless to combat. She wasted away so rapidly that her 
 family became alarmed lest they should lose her. Following 
 the advice of her medical attendant, Mr. Booth at length 
 insisted on removing her to Tunbridge Wells, where she was 
 to live for a time " the life of a tree." The change and rest 
 proved beneficial, although for some time to come she still 
 remained in a very delicate condition. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Booth were preparing to return to London, 
 when they were struck with the advertisement of a religious 
 meeting which was to be conducted by the Rev. W. Haslam 
 on the lawn of a mansion named Dunorlan, the residence 
 of an amiable Christian philanthropist, Mr. Henry Reed. 
 Happening to know Mr. Haslam, for whom they entertained 
 a sincere regard, and being desirous to make the acquaint- 
 ance of Mr. Reed, they resolved to be present. They missed 
 their way, and were consequently late, but took their place 
 on the outskirts of the crowd. Mr. Haslam was speaking in 
 his usual easy, illustrative, and pointed manner to an atten- 
 tive and interested audience. Mr. Reed followed with a few 
 words. Of tall and well-proportioned figure, with snowy 
 hair and long flowing beard, regular features, a face be- 
 speaking determination, and eyes piercing and expressive, 
 his appearance was calculated to produce an impression 
 
186 
 
 Mrs. Booth. 
 
 which could not easily be forgotten. His remarks were 
 simple and yet effective. 
 
 After the concluding prayer Mr. Haslam stepped forward 
 and introduced Mr. and Mrs. Booth to Mr. and Mrs. Reed, 
 who cordially invited them to conduct a service on the 
 following Sunday in his Mission Hall. Mr. Booth was 
 unable to accept the invitation, being published for meetings 
 
 MB. HENRY REED, OF TASMANIA. 
 
 in London; but Mrs. Booth, though still unfit for public 
 work, agreed to be present. She removed on Saturday to 
 Dunorlan, where she was very heartily welcomed by Mr. 
 and Mrs. Reed, and where she laid the foundation of a life- 
 long friendship, which proved of no little importance in the 
 early history of the East End Mission. 
 
The East London Mission. 187 
 
 The hall in which Mrs. Booth was to speak had been 
 specially erected by him for the convenience of his tenantry 
 and neighbours. Mr. Reed had his own ideas as to the 
 management of the services, and before the meeting com- 
 menced he called Mrs. Booth aside and gave her his in- 
 structions. " We shall commence at three o'clock," he said, 
 " and everything must be over by four punctually. Conse- 
 quently your sermon should be concluded a few minutes 
 before that time." He repeated this injunction with, so 
 much emphasis that Mrs. Booth replied, u Well, Mr. Reed, 
 you must be my timekeeper, for when I am once started I 
 am very apt to forget myself." Mr. Reed was disarmed. 
 He did not quite know what he was promising when he 
 agreed to undertake the duty. 
 
 The hall was well filled, and Mrs. Booth had no sooner 
 commenced speaking than the power of God descended, 
 and there were few dry eyes in the audience. Oblivious, 
 as usual, of time, she suddenly remembered her promise. 
 Pausing, and turning to Mr. Reed, she asked whether she 
 ought not to conclude. Raising his hands, and with the 
 tears flowing down his venerable face, he cried out, " Never 
 mind the time! Go on! Go on !" Mrs, Booth complied, and 
 it was nearer five than four when she at length sat down. 
 " Let us have a prayer-meeting," she then suggested to her 
 host, who joyfully consented. After singing a verse or two, 
 Mrs. Booth gave the invitation for penitents to come forward. 
 Many responded. Mr. Reed stood in the aisle and en- 
 couraged the people, placing his hand upon them and saying, 
 " Come yer ways ! Come yor waj^s ! " a homely Yorkshire 
 expression which he made use of when he was particularly 
 warmed up. 
 
 Mrs. Booth returned to the house and retired at once to 
 her room thoroughly exhausted, Mr. Reed bringing her some 
 tea and treating her with the most fatherly consideration. 
 He expressed his unbounded delight at the remarkable ser- 
 vice which had just been held, and became a hard and fast 
 friend from that time forward. 
 
iSS 
 
 Mrs. tiooth. 
 
 Though still in some measure suffering from the effects of 
 her prolonged illness, Mrs. Booth commenced the new year 
 with a series of meetings in St. John's Wood. The Sunday 
 services were held in the Eyre Arms Assembly Rooms, the 
 week-night in the school rooms of the Baptist and Indepen- 
 dent chapels near at hand. The first meeting was held in 
 the teeth of a severe snow-storm. Indeed, it was with some 
 difficulty that Mrs. Booth succeeded in keeping her appoint- 
 
 MRS. BOOTH S HOME, CAMBRIDGE LODGE VILLAS, HACKNEY. 
 
 ment. But by the third Sunday notices had to be placed 
 outside that the hall was full and no more could be admitted. 
 Many of those who were shut out, having walked long dis- 
 tances, were bitterly disappointed. One special feature of 
 this series lay in the fact that more than three-fourths of 
 the congregation consisted of gentlemen. The campaign was 
 continued for three months, the interest being sustained 
 throughout. At the farewell meeting Mr. Stott, the pastor 
 
The East London Mission. 189 
 
 of one of the chapels, in giving a warm tribute to the good 
 which had been accomplished amongst his own members, 
 said that not only had they been greatly edified and stimu- 
 lated, but that their numbers had been considerably increased. 
 
 Some little time after the services had been brought to a 
 conclusion a deputation of gentlemen waited on Mrs. Booth, 
 offering to build her a church similar to Mr. Spurgeon's 
 Tabernacle. This proposal was declined, Mrs. Booth believ- 
 ing that she could best expend her time and strength in 
 visiting the various important centres, from which the calls 
 were becoming more and more numerous. The wisdom of 
 this decision has since been fully demonstrated, since it is 
 easy to recognise that in view of the subsequent exigencies 
 of the then Christian Mission, she could not have exercised 
 the same widespread influence had her attention been confined 
 to a single locality. Perhaps, however, it was the uncer- 
 tainty of her health more than anything else that precluded 
 her at the time from falling in with this suggestion. 
 
 On the 28th April of this year was born Mrs. Booth's 
 eighth and youngest child, Lucy Milward. With the excep- 
 tion of Marian she was the most delicate of the family. But, 
 though struggling with the disadvantages of a weak constitu- 
 tion, she early gave proof that, if the last upon the scene of 
 action, she was not to be the least. Lucy has inherited in 
 no small measure her mother's inflexibility of purpose and 
 strength of will, together with much of her father's rapidity 
 of thought and action. Endowed with a soul for music, 
 several of the most taking Army airs have been the natural 
 expression of sad and suffering hours, when, debarred from 
 her coveted place in the battle, her heart has found its con- 
 solation in stirring up the faith and zeal of others, or in 
 urging them to purity with " psalms and hymns and spiritual 
 songs." 
 
 How often has the most soul-affecting melody borrowed its 
 pathos and its power from the inspiration of the author's 
 sufferings! There may be a philosophy in this. Perhaps 
 none but the hand of grief can cause those heart-chords to 
 
190 Mrs. Booth. 
 
 vibrate which produce the tender harmonies so captivating 
 to the human ear, and which doubtless find their echo in the 
 Divine heart ! 
 
 " 'Tis said that when the nightingale 
 
 Would sing its sweetest lay, 
 It's breast against a thorn 'twill nail; 
 
 Thus in our saddest day 
 We sing to God, and piercing pain 
 
 But wakes the music sweet, 
 Attunes the Cross-inspired refrain 
 
 Which love lays at His feet ! " 
 
 It was at one of her London services that Mrs. Booth met 
 with a lady who suggested the advisability of her holding 
 meetings at some of the fashionable seaside resorts during 
 the summer. " Our class of people," she explained, " never 
 go anywhere except to church, where conversion is seldom 
 definitely put before them. But when they are at a water- 
 ing-place, away from their ordinary home associations, and 
 with nothing particular to do, they can often be prevailed 
 upon to attend such services as yours. It was in this way 
 that I myself was converted. I should never have thought 
 of going anywhere except to my church when I was at home, 
 but happening to be away, I saw a special announcement, 
 attended the meeting, and on the very first occasion gave my 
 heart to God." 
 
 The suggestion pleased Mrs. Booth, and she resolved to 
 make the attempt. She went to Ramsgate, engaged a hall, 
 and commenced her services. But it proved far too small 
 to contain the crowds who flocked to* it. An opportunity 
 occurred for securing the Royal Assembly Rooms in Margate. 
 Mrs. Booth seized the chance. It was crowded from the 
 first, and finding that there was a prospect of a powerful 
 work she decided to spend the season there. To travel 
 backwards and forwards to her family in London was 
 evidently impossible, and yet the difficult}' and expense of 
 securing a house seemed to preclude the idea of bringing the 
 children to Margate. But once having made 'up her mind to 
 a course she was not easily baffled. So, setting the children 
 
The East London Mission. 
 
 191 
 
 to pray about the matter, she proceeded to make further 
 inquiries. 
 
 She had noticed a house to let which appeared to her 
 particularly suitable, and a peculiar assurance that she 
 would be able to secure it took possession of her. On inquiry 
 
 LUCY M. BOOTH. 
 
 she ascertained that it belonged to two gentlemen who had 
 been deeply impressed at one of her recent meetings. She 
 was thus enabled to obtain a lease on very reasonable terms, 
 and a few days later, to her intense satisfaction, the children 
 marched in and took possession. The result justified the 
 
192 Mrs. Booth. 
 
 venture, and not only were the entire expenses connected 
 with the effort covered, but several new friends were enlisted 
 whose generous benefactions considerably helped the East 
 London Mission, both then and in later years. 
 
 The Margate meetings were in some respects, however, of 
 a trying character. At the beginning Mrs. Booth took her 
 stand alone, without knowing a single person present. For 
 several weeks she could not reckon upon a helper in the 
 prayer-meeting. There was no one to give out a hymn, and, 
 what was worse still, there was no one to raise a tune ! Mrs. 
 Booth being unable to start the singing herself, there was 
 often an awkward pause before she could induce anybody to 
 commence. " The more respectable the audience," says Mrs. 
 Booth in later years, " the greater was my difficulty. It 
 was almost impossible to get anybody to step beyond the 
 limits of the stereotyped conventionalities ! If I had only 
 been able to command half a dozen reliable people, such as I 
 could have anywhere now, I could have done almost any- 
 thing!" 
 
 Nevertheless, judged by any standard, either past or pre- 
 sent, the meetings were a marvellous success. Ministers, 
 journalists, visitors, from all parts of the kingdom, together 
 with the inhabitants of the town, crowded to the hall Sun- 
 day after Sunday. They listened, were convicted of sin, 
 wept, and were in many cases converted to Crod. Seldom 
 has Mrs. Booth spoken with more power and demonstration 
 of the Spirit. 
 
 Amongst those who Attended these' meetings was Mr. 
 Knight, the well-known publisher. He was deeply impressed 
 with the character of the truth which Mrs. Booth proclaimed, 
 declaring it to be in advance of anything with which he had 
 hitherto been acquainted. He offered to undertake the 
 entire responsibility of reporting and publishing the sermons, 
 giving to Mrs. Booth whatever monetary advantage might 
 accrue. She thought, however, that he had over-estimated 
 the value of her services, and declined the generous offer, a 
 course for which she afterwards experienced considerable 
 
The East London Mission. 193 
 
 regret, as but few of her addresses were reduced to writing, 
 and her memory being so fickle she could not recall to mind 
 the next day the words that she had spoken. The notes on 
 which she relied in facing her audiences were the merest 
 skeletons, and, as will be readily imagined by those who 
 have heard her, they were commonly superseded by the 
 inspiration of the hour. 
 
 Her plan of preparation for her public services consisted 
 in drawing up a line of argument, saturating her mind 
 thoroughly with the subject, and then either using or dis- 
 pensing with her notes as occasion might require. " I can 
 do without notes," she used to say, " when I have liberty. 
 But when I have not, they are very useful to fall back upon, 
 and I have the satisfaction of feeling that, if I have not 
 spoken with my usual ease and pleasurable emotion, I have 
 at least absolved my conscience by dealing out the truth." 
 Man}' of the notes of her most powerful addresses were 
 scribbled on odd scraps of paper, while nursing her baby, or 
 jotted down between intervals of household work. Perhaps 
 this was what imparted to them their special pungency. She 
 was such a happy combination of the mother, wife, and 
 prophetess, that in advising others she was able to draw 
 largely on her own experience. But, above all, her powerful 
 intellect was so completely mastered by her tender heart 
 that her severest rebukes were couched in terms with which 
 the most sensitive nature found it difficult to take offence. 
 
 The following choice extract from one of her powerful 
 addresses to professing Christians beautifully illustrates this 
 characteristic : 
 
 " A false love shrinks from opposition. It canuot bear persecution. 
 Here is one unfailing characteristic of it : it is always on the winning 
 side that is, apparently ; down here ; not what will be, ultimately, the 
 winning side. When Truth sits enthroned, with a crown on her head, 
 this false love is most vociferous in her support and devotion ; but when 
 her garments trail in the dust, and her followers are few, feeble, and 
 poor, then Jesus Christ may look after Himself. I sometimes think, 
 respecting this hue and cry about the glory of God and the sanctity of 
 religion, I would like to see some of these saints put into the common 
 
 
 
194 
 
 Mrs. Booth, 
 
 hall with Jesus again, amongst a band of ribald, mocking soldiers. I 
 would like to see, then, their zeal for the glory of God, when it touched 
 their own glorj'. They are wonderfully zealous when their glory and 
 His glory go together ; but when the mob is at His heels, crying, Away 
 with Him ! Crucify Him ! Crucify Him ! ' then He may look after His 
 own glory, and they will take care of theirs. 
 
 " True love sticks to the LOUD JESUS IN THE MUD, when He is 
 fainting under His cross, as well as when the people are cutting down 
 the boughs and crying ' Hosanna ! ' I fear many people make the Lord 
 Jesus Christ a stalking-horse on which to secure their ends. God grant 
 us not to be of that number, for, if we are, He will topple us from the 
 
 EYRE ARMS ASSEMBLY HALL, ST. JOHN'S WOOD. 
 
 very gates of heaven to the nethermost hell. This false love cannot go 
 to the dungeon you never find it at the stake. It always manages to 
 shift its sides and change its face before it goes so far as that. Never 
 in disgrace ; never with Jesus Christ in the minority, at Golgotha on 
 the cross. Always with Him when He is riding triumphant ! 
 
 "Oh, I often think if times of persecution were to come again how 
 many of us would be faithful ? How many would go to the dungeon ? 
 How many would stand by the truth with hooting, howling mobs at our 
 heels, such as followed Him on the way to the cross such as stood 
 round His cross and spat upon Him, and cast lots for His vesture, and 
 parted His garments among them, and wagged their heads and cried, 
 ' He saved others ; Himself He cannot save ' ? How many of us would 
 tick to Him then ? But, as your soul and mine liveth, this is the only 
 kind of love that will stand the test of the Judgment Day. 
 
The East London Mission. 195 
 
 "Oh, have you got this love? Love hi the darkness ; love in the 
 garden ; love in sorrow ; love in suffering ; love in isolation ; love in 
 persecution ; love to the death ! Have we got this love ? Examine 
 vourselves, beloved, and see whether you are in the faith or not, for 
 there is much need of it in this day, when there are so many false gos- 
 pels and so much false doctrine." 
 
 It was at a somewhat trying juncture in the history of the 
 Christian Mission that help was received from an unexpected 
 quarter. A young man whose brother had been converted, 
 and who had himself been powerfully stirred by Mrs. Booth's 
 St. John's Wood meetings, had visited the East End services. 
 Amazed and delighted at all he saw, he carried the news of 
 the work to the Committee of the Evangelisation Society, 
 who had at this very time received from a charitable gentle- 
 man, Mr. Bewley, of Dublin, a sum of 5,000 for the express 
 purpose of ameliorating the spiritual condition of the London 
 poor. Mr. Booth had already invited the Society to investi- 
 gate his work, but hitherto his appeals had been without 
 effect. They were now, however, induced to look into it for 
 themselves, with the result that they were fully satisfied as 
 to its value, and agreed to give Mr. Booth a weekly grant in 
 order to enable him to secure a larger building. 
 
 The Effingham Theatre was accordingly engaged. It was 
 one of the lowest resorts in all London, and very dirty, but 
 none the less popular with the class whom* the Mission 
 sought to reach. So successful was this venture that the 
 Evangelisation Society continued for some time to grant a 
 weekly sum averaging about 12 or 14. Subsequent his- 
 tory justifies the supposition that no portion of Mr. Bewley's- 
 gift was better laid out in the interests of God's Kingdom 
 than the contribution which helped to lift the East London 
 Mission for the first time to a position of notoriety and. 
 influence. 
 
 It was about this time that the first official Headquarters- 
 of the Salvation Army was established. A low beerhouse,, 
 the Eastern Star, notorious for immorality and other vices, 
 had been burned down and afterwards rebuilt. Mr. Booth 
 bought the lease and fitted it up. In the front room was- 
 
196 Mrs. Booth. 
 
 the first book store, at the back a good hall, with rooms for 
 the classes and smaller meetings upstairs. The Eastern 
 Star, or 188, Whitechapel Road, soon became as active a 
 centre for good as it had previously been for evil. Its name 
 at least was very appropriate. Like its original forerunner, 
 it shone for a time over the cradle of a great future, and then 
 made way for brighter luminaries to take its place. 
 
 In 1868 the Mission's first formal balance-sheet was pub- 
 lished, covering the twenty-one months from the 1st Januar} T , 
 1867, to 30th -September, 1868. It was duly audited by a 
 leading firm of accountants, Messrs. J. Beddow and Sons. 
 Not only so, but in order to guarantee to the public that the 
 funds were being administered in a straightforward and 
 honourable manner, the financial affairs of the Mission were 
 submitted to the oversight of a council of gentlemen, who 
 met together from time to time, received Mr. Booth's reports, 
 examined the financial position, and appointed their own 
 auditors. 
 
 Mr. Booth worked in perfect harmony with this council 
 for some years, and when, finally, the work had assumed 
 such proportions and so established itself in the public favour 
 and confidence as not to require such financial sponsorship, 
 it was dissolved in the most friendly manner. A goodly 
 number of those who composed the council have since passed 
 a\va} T , but there is no reason to doubt but that all were 
 pleased to have been associated with the w r ork, and to have 
 endorsed what has since been the means of blessing to so 
 many thousands. 
 
 It is not, however, to be supposed that when the financial 
 oversight of the committee ceased the accounts were any less 
 carefully audited than before. From that time to this, 
 annual balance-sheets have been published, and every penny 
 of money that has passed through the hands of the Inter- 
 national Headquarters of the Salvation Army has been 
 accounted for to the satisfaction of the firm of auditors to 
 whose careful and constant supervision they have been 
 entrusted. 
 
The East London Mission. 197 
 
 The following letter to a newspaper from the present 
 auditors speaks for itself : 
 
 " THE SALVATION AKMY BALANCE-SHEET AND ACCOUNTS. 
 
 " DEAR SIR, Our attention having been directed to your issue of the 
 1st inst., wherein you refer to the above accounts as muddle-headed, we 
 were curious to know the meaning of the expression, and find from your 
 issue of to-day that it was subjective rather than objective. We should 
 be in error were we to accuse your critic ' Scrutator ' of a knowledge of 
 book-keeping, and, therefore, can easily forgive his blundering references 
 to the balance-sheet and accounts. He is entirely wrong in his conclu- 
 sions. 
 
 " As you accuse us of signing inaccurate statements, we are prepared, 
 should you wish, personally to submit the printed accounts to Mr. 
 Saffery, the President of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in 
 England and Wales, and let him pass judgment as to whether we are 
 right or ' Scrutator.' 
 
 " We see no reason, after ' Scrutator's ' criticism, to alter our opinion 
 as to the accuracy of the accounts, or to vary our certificate. 
 " Yours faithfully, 
 
 "KNOX, BURBRIDGE, CROPPER & Co., 
 
 " Chartered Accountants and Auditors to the Salvation Army, 
 
 16, Finsbury Circus, London. 
 " January 8th, 1891." 
 
 An important step in advance was taken in October, 1868, 
 in the publication of the first number of the Mission's maga- 
 zine. Hitherto Mr. Booth had been content with reporting 
 progress in the columns of various religious papers. This 
 was for many reasons an undesirable expedient. The reports 
 had to be clipped and dressed to suit the editorial fancy, 
 and might even then not find a place. It was not to be 
 expected that a struggling organisation should be allowed 
 to usurp much space. Besides, there was no opportunity 
 for the free expression of opinion, or for the advocacy and 
 defence of methods which might not suit the general 
 taste. It is amusing at this date to consider the hesitation 
 and fears with which this venture was regarded at the 
 onset. The launching of the little papery craft caused as 
 much perturbation and speculation as if it had been a 
 monster ironclad from the printing arsenal. Would it float 
 
1 98 Mrs. Booth. 
 
 at all, or would it go straight to the bottom, as some were 
 not slow to prophesy? But the trim little East London 
 Evangelist survived all criticisms, and went forth on its 
 errand of mercy with success. 
 
 The publication of the magazine afforded Mrs. Booth the 
 fulfilment of the wish she had expressed some years previ- 
 ously, of being able to edit a paper which should advocate 
 more advanced views in regard to the privileges of Christians 
 and their duty in working for God. By force of circum- 
 stances she and the General were its first editors. There 
 was no one else to whom they could turn for help. And 
 together they revised the first proofs of the East London 
 Evangelist. One is tempted to regret that the day ever 
 came when they were able to turn over the task to others ! 
 
 Next year the East London Evangelist was re-christened 
 as the Christian Mission Magazine; in 1879 it ^ was con- 
 verted into the Salvationist, and in 1880 it was docked and 
 broken up, and its place taken by the redoubtable War Cry, 
 which during the next eleven years, although being the only 
 religious or secular paper which does not deal in advertise- 
 ments, achieved the phenomenal circulation of close upon a 
 million copies a week. The newspaper history of the world 
 does not present a parallel to so remarkable an achievement. 
 Nor is this all. The success of the War Cry led to the sub- 
 sequent publication of various monthly magazines, the most 
 important of these being All the World, the international 
 organ of the foreign work of the Salvation Army ; the 
 Deliverer, representing especially the progress of the rescue 
 work ; Full Salvation (Australia), especially advocating the 
 doctrine of holiness ; the Conqueror, the American equiva- 
 lent of All the World ; and the Musical Salvationist, fur- 
 nishing the Army with a limitless supply of new songs and 
 tunes. 
 
 This Spiritual Armada, this immense flotilla of dumb and 
 yet eloquent Salvationists, sweeps the world with its mes- 
 sages of " Glory to God in the highest, on earth peace, good 
 will toward men." Like Joel's countless army, " they run 
 
The East London Mission. 199 
 
 like mighty men ; they climb upon the wall like men of war ; 
 they march every one in his ways, and break not their 
 ranks ; neither does one thrust another (the spiritual, tho 
 social, the criminal, the missionary, the musical organs 
 having each their separate and appropriate sphere) ; they 
 walk every one in his path ; and when they fall upon tho 
 sword they are not wounded ; they run to and fro in the 
 city ; they run upon the wall ; they climb up upon the 
 houses ; they enter in at the windows like a thief," and 
 appear in places where the uniform of the Salvationist 
 cannot yet be endured. 
 
 Heralds of mercy and harbingers of hope, they link the 
 palace with the garret, and heaven with both. " How 
 beautiful upon the mountains " of sin and in the valleys of 
 sorrow are these white-winged messengers of peace ! Un- 
 appreciated, it may be, even disliked by some, the social 
 " wilderness and solitary places " of the world are " glad for 
 them " ; its deserts of sin and sorrow " rejoice and blossom 
 as the rose." Even now they may be said to " blossom 
 abundantly," and to " rejoice with joy and singing." The 
 eyes of the spiritually blind are opened, and the ears of the 
 deaf unstopped. The socially lame man leaps as an hart, 
 and the tongue of the sorrow-dumb sings. For " in the 
 wilderness have waters broken out and streams in the 
 desert, and the parched ground become a pool, and the 
 thirsty land springs of water." 
 
CHAPTER XXI. 
 CORRESPONDENCE. 18G8. 
 
 MRS. BOOTH'S private correspondence, being written con- 
 currently with passing events, provides a valuable index to 
 her opinions and feelings. Her regular letters to her parents 
 had, however, as might be expected, ceased. They were 
 close at hand, and mutual visits obviated the necessity for 
 writing. In fact, Mr. Mumford was a regular attendant at 
 his daughter's meetings, superintending the various arrange- 
 ments and helping to the best of his ability. Too apprecia- 
 tive to criticise, and too proud of his child to imagine that 
 anything she said or did could fall short of perfection, he 
 was the more receptive of the truths that fell from her lips. 
 Indeed, for the past twenty years, had she not been the 
 leading spirit, the presiding genius, and the guardian angel 
 of his home ? Happy the parents who in their old age can 
 thus lean upon a daughter's faithful arm. Alas ! that such a 
 phenomenon is comparatively rare ! 
 
 But, though Mrs. Booth's correspondence with her parents 
 had almost ceased, we are able to resume the broken thread 
 in the letters written to her children and friends, which 
 increase in number and importance from year to year, and 
 which are the more interesting from the variety of subjects 
 with which they deal. 
 
 Among the public questions on which Mrs. Booth had a 
 strong conviction was that of vaccination. In writing to her 
 friend Mrs. Billups, with reference to a child who was about 
 to be vaccinated, she said : 
 
 " I send by this post a pamphlet on vaccination. Do read it, if only 
 
 00 
 
Correspondence. 20 1 
 
 for the exhibition it gives of the prejudice of the ' profession.' It seeras 
 as though all advance in the right treatment of disease has to be, in 
 the first instance, largely in spite of the doctors, instead of their lead- 
 ing the way. And as it was in the beginning it is now, in many respects. 
 I should sooner pawn my watch to pay the fines, and my bed too, for 
 the matter of that, than have any more children vaccinated. The 
 monstrous system is as surely doomed as blood-letting was. This is one 
 of the boons we shall get by waiting and enlightening. 
 
 " Who knows how much some of us have suffered through life owing 
 to the ' immortal Jenner ' ? ' Let us fall into the hands of God, and not 
 of man.' There is nothing worse in this pamphlet than several cases I 
 have come across personally. Bat these were the direct effects. It is 
 the indirect I dread most. The latent seeds of all manner of diseases 
 are doubtless sown in thousands of healthy children. It has only been 
 the stupid treatment which has made small-pox so fatal. Mrs. Srnedley 
 (of the Hydropathic Institute) says in her last manual, that they have 
 nursed numbers of bad cases, and never lost one. M. was one of the 
 worst cases. She was very delicate, had never been vaccinated, and was 
 in her seventh year, which is supposed to be the most fatal time. Yet 
 she recovered, and has been much better in her general health since. I 
 do hope you will succeed in converting the parents." 
 
 We find the following commentary on an undated scrap of 
 paper, referring evidently to a religious book on Faith : 
 
 " Good for real saints, but to be sent out promiscuously to people who 
 have no more claim to it than publicans and harlots awful ! Oh, that 
 God would pour out the spirit of wisdom and of a sound mind ! Decep- 
 tion is the great forte of the devil in this age. The Lord help us to 
 tear the bandages off ! " 
 
 " My dear child," she says, writing to one of her daughters 
 with regard to the same question " the art of deception is to 
 be able to appear true ! " 
 
 But Mrs. Booth was not always severe, any more than 
 she was always tender. It was the right " dividing " of the 
 word of truth that largely constituted her power. To one of 
 her friends whom she knew to be intensely sincere in her 
 consecration, and for this very reason peculiarly open to 
 the shafts of doubt, she sends the following comforting 
 epistle. In this case there was no mask to lift, no bandage 
 to tear off, no self-deception to reveal. And she was as 
 skilful and sympathetic in " binding up" the "broken- 
 
202 Mrs. Boot/L 
 
 hearted'' as she was remorseless in shattering the false 
 hopes of the self-deceived : 
 
 " MY DEAREST FRIEND, I Jo indeed sympathise with you, and I think 
 I can divine a little as to the nature of your trials. I wish I were near 
 to comfort and help you such help as it is I Lave to offer. Only, I am 
 fcorry to say, I am often down very low myself. But, dear friend, we 
 have the promise that the waters shall not overflow us, and though 
 almost overwhelmed we are yet not destroyed. The only way of comfort 
 I see for you is to try and walk alont, shutting your eyes to what you 
 cannot help. 
 
 " It is useless, dear, to harrcw ourselves up about the past, or to waste 
 time in vain regrets. It is past now, and can never he altered. But we 
 can cast it under the blood, and go on praying Him to avert the conse- 
 quences, and maybe He will stoop to answer us. Do your own part in 
 witnessing for God and truth, and hope that at some future time (per- 
 haps as they stand over your grave) it will produce its effect. 
 
 " Comfort yourself in the Lord. He is very pitiful and of tender 
 mercy, and when He sees us truly penitent for our mistakes and failures 
 He delights to pardon. Do not perplex yourself about the experience of 
 others. I am more than ever satisfied that God looks more propitiously 
 on those who are striving and struggling to do right and to please Him, 
 even in fear and despondency, than on those who make light of sin and 
 yet make their boast in Him. I fear there are sadly too many who can 
 rejoice when they ought to weep, while some who can never forgive 
 themselves, weep when they ought to rejoice. Perhaps these latter are 
 amongst those who, though they mourn now, shall be comforted ' here- 
 after ! 
 
 " Still, dear friend, unbelief dishonours our God as much as it robs us. 
 Therefore, if our hearts bear us witness that we do above all things 
 desire to obey and honour Him, let us dare to take His promises to our- 
 selves and to rejoice in Him. You can only pray for the little ones, 
 that they may be taken from the evil to come, or so visited in the future 
 that, in spite of the terrible ordeal through which they have to pass, 
 they may be saved. Ah, how little parents think of the bitter anguish 
 they are laying up for their loved ones ! Some most painful cases have 
 come to my knowledge lately. I long to help mothers more than ever. 
 
 "\Veareonthe incline as a nation, and are going down hill at an 
 awful rate! God will be avenged for these things, or His nature and 
 government have changed ! I often think perhaps our children are 
 destined to see terrible times. If so, the Lord put them amongst His 
 faithful witnesses, even if they have to seal His testimony with their 
 blood. 
 
 " We do feel deeply for you in your present trials, and still pray that, 
 if He sees it best for all concerned, He will deliver you, and I believe He 
 
Correspondence. 203 
 
 vrill, unless He sees that the eternal interests of your loved ones demand 
 the other course. Then we dare not say, ' What doest Thou ? ' 
 
 " Try to rest in His will, dear friend, because there is nowhere else to 
 rest. I am trying to do so. He knows why these wearisome months of 
 suffering are appointed me, and amidst all my depression, and some- 
 times distress, the devil shall not drive me from this one refuge that 
 He does it all in love. I know it, I believe it, and I pray that I may not 
 frustrate His design. I return home but little better in the main than 
 when I came. So the time and expense seem to be thrown away, and I 
 am useless still ! Well, praise the Lord, He reigns over death as well 
 as life. The keys of death and hell are at His girdle. 
 
 " Yours, as ever, 
 
 " CATHERINE BOOTH." 
 
 A vivid picture of the illness and depression in the midst 
 of which she frequently toiled is contained in the following 
 letter : 
 
 " I do not suppose you intended to reprove me in your last. Never- 
 theless I felt the implied reproof, because it was so well deserved, and, 
 intended or not, I received it as a wound of a true friend. I know 
 I ought not, of all saints, or sinners either, to be depressed. I know 
 it dishonours my Lord, grieves His Spirit, and injures me greatly, 
 and I would fain hide from everybody to prevent their seeing it. But I 
 cannot help it. I have struggled hard, more than any one knows, for a 
 long time against it. Sometimes I have literally held myself, head and 
 heart and bauds, and waited for the floods to pass over me. But now I 
 appear to have lost the power of self-command to a great extent, and 
 weep I must. The doctors say, ' Never mind. Begard it as one result of 
 your affliction.' But this does not satisfy me. I know there is grace to 
 overcome. And yet, there seems much in the Bible to meet such a 
 state. Well, at present I am under, under, under ; and for this very 
 reason I shrink from coming to you or going anywhere. I don't want to 
 burden others. 
 
 " My dearest says, ' Never mind all these rubs and storms. Let us 
 fight through all, in order to save the world.' To this I say ' Amen ! ' 
 But one must have strength to fight. It is easier for some of us to 
 fight than to lie wounded in the camp. I can neither fight nor run. I 
 can only endure oh, that I could always say with patience ! 
 
 44 We are compassed with difficulties on every side. Still there is so 
 much to praise God for that I ought never to look at these troubles. 
 Well, we shall pull through and get HOME ! Then we will have a shout 
 and a family gathering, and no mistake ! Will we not ? 
 
 "I feel about these troubles just as I do about my own health, when 
 I pray about it. I am met with ' Ye know not what ye ask.' I have 
 such a sense of the wisdom and benevolence of God underlying every 
 
2O4 Mrs. Booth. 
 
 other feeling that I dare not go beyond, ' Nevertheless, not my will out 
 Thine be done.' " 
 
 One of the earliest spheres of Mrs. Booth's labours was 
 Cro3 T don, where the public hall was engaged for the services. 
 Although commencing, as usual, alone and unaided, an im- 
 pression was quickly made, and it was not long before Mrs. 
 Booth secured the sympathy and co-operation of some earnest 
 Christian workers. 
 
 The visible results of the Croydon meetings, in the number 
 of penitents seeking mercy, were not such as to satisfy Mrs. 
 Booth. Nevertheless, a powerful and permanent impression 
 was produced, resulting in the formation of a mission station. 
 
 It was about this time that a new and important step in 
 advance was taken by the amalgamation of a work in 
 Edinburgh with the East London Mission. Founded, as 
 we have seen, in July, 1865, for the evangelisation of the 
 East of London only, the Mission had in September, 1868, 
 stepped for the first time beyond the bounds of its self- 
 appointed parish in accepting the offer to take charge of 
 the hall in Norwood. And now the capital of Scotland had 
 followed in the wake of the metropolis of the British world 
 by inviting Mr. and Mrs. Booth to extend to it the oper- 
 ations which had been so successfully established in the 
 latter. 
 
 It was their first visit to Scotland, and it was with some 
 degree of wonderment and trepidation that they looked for- 
 ward to the result. They had been told that the Scotch were 
 wedded to their Presbyterianism, with' its republican form 
 of government, that they were stiff, hard-headed, and diffi- 
 cult to be moved, and would require a great deal of time 
 and consideration before they would accept methods and 
 teachings so diametrically opposed to those to which they 
 had from their youth been accustomed But the result of 
 the first meetings soon dissipated the last doubt as to the 
 advisability of the step, and this notwithstanding the un- 
 likely character of the hall in which they were conducted. 
 
 Situated in one of the lowest slums, it was a dull, dingy, 
 
Correspondence. 205 
 
 dirty-looking loft, which had served at one time as a chapel 
 with a pulpit at the end, a gallery round three sides, and 
 accommodating some five hundred people. Nevertheless, it 
 was crowded at the first services, and the power of God was 
 wonderfully manifested. 
 
 It became evident from the onset, and was confirmed by 
 the remarkable experiences of later years, that no people in 
 the world were quicker to appreciate and more enthusiastic 
 to admire the close, incisive, unanswerable reasonings of 
 Mrs. Booth. Their prejudice against female ministry, their 
 antipathy to demonstrative religion, their dislike to anything 
 approaching excitement, and their opposition to the doctrine 
 of holiness were all forgotten, as they followed with intense 
 eagerness every point of her argument. The boldness of the 
 preacher, the courage with which she assumed the offensive 
 without giving time to be attacked, her unpretentious mo- 
 desty, her cogent, resistless force of logic, her perfect insight 
 into human nature, her fearless, Knox-like denunciations of 
 evil, her intimate familiarity with the Scriptures, her alter- 
 nate appeals to the reason, the emotions, and the conscience, 
 her command of language, her transparent simplicity, and 
 her all-devouring zeal, carried them away. 
 
 It was like a resurrection. Here was an old-fashioned out- 
 spoken Covenanter in the land of Covenanters. A spirit- 
 ual Bruce, a woman Wallace, stood before them a champion 
 who had come to enfranchise from the thraldom of sin and 
 Satan. Her skilful hands swept across their hearts, making 
 them vibrate with spiritual melodies resembling the beautiful 
 national airs that they so loved. They were convinced, they 
 were fascinated, and from the opening service in that rude 
 hall to the last meeting that she ever held in Scotland no- 
 where was Mrs. Booth followed by more affectionate and 
 appreciative crowds. 
 
 Doubtless the realisation of this helped to act upon her as 
 an inspiration. It must always be so more or less. The best 
 speakers are largely dependent on their audience for their 
 power. It is when the two electric currents come in contact 
 
206 Mrs. Booth. 
 
 that the light leaps forth. True, it is the highest art of the 
 preacher to create this contact. There are many, alas, who 
 possess neither the Divine unction nor the human sympathy 
 requisite. But it is none the less true that the character of 
 the listener largely affects the liberty of the speaker, and the 
 presence of a critical, cynical, unresponsive spirit in the one 
 will often mar the best-planned efforts of the other. 
 
 The sympathetic feeling of that first Scotch audience was 
 unmistakable. The spirit of conviction worked irresistibly 
 in their hearts. The people fell in every part of the build- 
 ing. In the pews, in the gallery, round the pulpit, in the 
 dingy little vestry with its break-neck approach there were 
 men and women sobbing and crying aloud for salvation. 
 Mrs. Booth was anxious to remain, take some large hall, and 
 conduct a series of meetings in so encouraging a sphere. But 
 circumstances required her presence in London, and she 
 abandoned with regret so promising an opportunity. Her 
 position in this respect was, to the end of life, a bewildering 
 one. So many doors of usefulness opened before her that it was 
 often difficult to decide which had the superior claim, and she 
 could only pray that, if unconsciously a mistake were made, 
 it would in the end be over-ruled for the glory of God in the 
 furtherance of His cause. 
 
 But the regrets with which Mrs, Booth left Scotland were 
 soon lost sight of in the important work which immediately 
 afterwards engaged her attention. The success of her seaside 
 campaign of 1867 at Margate had led to a proposal from Mr. 
 Gilbert, the secretary of the Evangelisation Society, for a 
 similar effort at Brighton, which had then, and which we 
 suppose still retains, the reputation of being the most 
 fashionable and popular of the watering-places to which 
 Londoners resort. 
 
 It was twenty-two years since Mrs. Booth had as a young 
 girl visited the place in search of health. Very different 
 were the circumstances under which she now visited this 
 ; London by the sea." A large concert-hall in High Street 
 was engaged for the opening meetings. Subsequently she 
 
2oS Mrs. Booth. 
 
 applied for and obtained the use of the Dome a far superior 
 building, with accommodation for about three thousand 
 persons ; undoubtedly one of the finest public halls in Eng- 
 land, and well known to every Brighton visitor as part of 
 the handsome suite of edifices erected by George IV. 
 
 " The first sight of it, 7 ' says Mrs. Booth, " appalled me. It 
 was indeed a Dome f As I looked upwards there appeared 
 space, enough to swallow any amount of sound that my poor 
 voice could put into it. To make any considerable number 
 of people hear me seemed impossible. On this point, how- 
 ever, I was greatly encouraged to learn at the conclusion of 
 the first meeting that I had been distinctly heard in every 
 portion of it by the two thousand people who were present. 
 
 " I can never forget my feelings as I stood on the platform 
 and looked upon the people, realising that among them all 
 there was no one to help me. When I commenced the prayer- 
 meeting, for which I should think quite nine hundred must 
 have remained, Satan said to me, as I came down from the 
 platform according to my usual custom, ' You will never ask 
 such people as these to come out and kneel down here. You 
 will only make a fool of yourself if you do ! ' I felt stunned 
 for the moment, but I answered. ' Yes, I shall. I shall not 
 make it any easier for them than for others. If they do not 
 sufiiciently realise their sins to be willing to come and kneel 
 here and confess them, they are not likely to be of much use 
 to the Kingdom of God.' And subsequent experience has 
 confirmed this opinion. 
 
 " However, the Lord was better to me than my fears, for 
 ten or twelve came forward, some of them handsomely 
 dressed and evidently belonging to the most fashionable 
 circles. The way was led by two old gentlemen, of seventy 
 or more years of age. One of them said that he had sinned 
 for many years against light and privilege, asking the Lord 
 to save him with all the simplicity of a little child. Others 
 followed, until there was a goodly row of kneeling penitents. 
 This was a great triumph in the midst of so many curious 
 onlookers." 
 
CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 THE CHRISTIAN MISSION, 1869-72. 
 
 THE new year, 1870, commenced with a new departure 
 full of hope and significance for the future. The East 
 London Mission underwent its first transmigration of name, 
 if not of soul. The grovelling caterpillar stage was ex- 
 changed for that of the still dormant but silk-encompassed 
 chrysalis, which was to burst its shell nine years later and 
 flutter forth in its more brilliant and world-captivating garb. 
 " Your people have been particularly happy," said a journal- 
 ist recently, " in combining .freshness with simplicity in 
 their choice of names. The public are fastidious. Only 
 the other day a sound and hopeful commercial enterprise 
 went into bankruptcy for no other reason than that of 
 choosing a name which did not suit the popular fancy. But 
 with yourselves there has been an unusual aptitude in the 
 choice of titles which have caught the public ear." 
 
 The remark was a just one, for in the popular estimation 
 a rose by any other name does not smell so sweet. At any 
 rate, there is power in a. name, and if by itself the talisman 
 ceases to conjure it often lends wings to some great truth, 
 and affords it an impetus which would otherwise be im- 
 possible. 
 
 " The Christian Mission " was a felicitous choice, only 
 surpassed by that of "The Salvation Army" in 1878. 
 Without waiting to be nicknamed by their adversaries, the 
 founders of the Mission, with their finger ever resting on 
 the public pulse, sought for and obtained inspiration in 
 what they wisely judged to be an important portion of their 
 task, the couching of their aims and claims in terms so 
 
 209 p 
 
2IO Mrs. Booth. 
 
 simple that the merest child could understand, so terse as to 
 carry all the force of an epigram, and yet so original as to 
 convey the oldest truths to the mind with the resistless 
 attraction of the latest novelty. Mr. and Mrs. Booth ac- 
 cepted human nature as it zs, and herein lay one great secret 
 of their success. Let us have the naked truth, say some ; 
 but the garb in which it is dressed will often make a world 
 of difference in regard to its acceptance or rejection. And 
 so it must be while humanity is what it is. 
 
 It was in the early part of this year that the lease of the 
 People's Market in Whitechapel Road was purchased. Al- 
 though it cost considerably less than the sum which had at 
 first been asked, the subsequent alterations that were made 
 greatly exceeded the original estimate. It rendered, how- 
 ever, good service during the next twelve years. Not only 
 was it a useful centre for special demonstrations, but the 
 regular weekly holiness meetings conducted in later years 
 by Mr. Bramwell Booth were' seasons of exceptional power 
 and blessing. 
 
 Ah, if walls could only speak, those of the first Salvation 
 Army Corps would be eloquent indeed ! Many a hardened 
 sinner who entered the porch careless and indifferent, and 
 took his seat among- the motley throng he scarce knew why. 
 has remained to kneel in penitence and contrition at the 
 Cross, to abandon his sins and to make his first start for 
 heaven. And numbers such are now to be found in various 
 portions of the world's wide white harvest-field, toiling suc- 
 cessfully for the salvation of those who' are still what they 
 themselves once were. 
 
 The first year of the Christian Mission's existence under 
 its new name was a season of peculiar trial. Early in the 
 year Mr. Booth fell ill, and was for three months completely 
 laid aside. This emergency called forth all the latent 
 energies and capacities for leadership of Mrs. Booth. 
 Hitherto the conduct of the Mission had devolved almost 
 exclusively upon the General. But during the time that this 
 was no longer possible she did not hesitate to accept the 
 
212 Mrs. Booth. 
 
 unsought responsibility which Providence had thus forced 
 upon her. To add so Herculean a task to her arduous public 
 labours and domestic toil seemed beyond the range of possi- 
 bility. Nevertheless she discharged the duties of the hour 
 with unfailing sagacity and unswerving fidelity, enabling 
 the General to take up the work where he had laid it down, 
 with no other deviation from his halting-point than that of 
 advance. 
 
 There was an unusual accumulation of sickness during 
 this year in the family. The General's sickness has already 
 been referred to. The next trial of the kind was rheumatic 
 fever, which made its appearance in its most virulent form. 
 Miss Billups, who was living with Mrs. Booth, was the 
 first to be prostrated. Just as she was recovering, Bramwell 
 was seized with the same malady. Previously to this he 
 had been ill with pleurisy, which the doctor considered had 
 been brought on by a blow. On inquiry it appeared that 
 the injury had been received at the City of London School, 
 to which for a short time Mrs. Booth had been induced to 
 send him. Here, according to a brutal custom then preva- 
 lent, he had been lashed to a tree, while a gang of young 
 ruffians amused themselves by charging against him, enjoy- 
 ing the pain which they inflicted as a piece of fun ! The 
 cruelty was reported but the culprits remained unpunished, 
 the authorities professing their inability to trace and deal 
 with them unless a formal charge were brought. 
 
 As this would have made Bramwell's position in the 
 school unendurable Mrs. Booth preferred the alternative of 
 withdrawing him. Already he had been nicknamed " The 
 Righteous," and " Saint Booth," because he would not par- 
 ticipate in the tying and cheating so prevalent in a public 
 school. Only too thankful, however, was Mrs. Booth, that 
 if her boy had suffered in body his soul had escaped un- 
 scathed. 
 
 The history of the year, however, was by no means one of 
 unmingled darkness and discouragement. On the contrary, 
 the Mission maintained steady progress. True, it was still 
 
The Christian Mission. 213 
 
 the day of small things, but foundation work must needs 
 involve much toilsome drudgery, upon which, though unseen, 
 the future safety of the entire edifice depends. 
 
 Besides occasional services at Whitechapel, Croydon, 
 Brighton, and elsewhere, Mrs. Booth conducted two pro- 
 longed campaigns at Stoke Newington and Hastings. Both 
 were attended with marked success, and resulted in the sub- 
 sequent formation of Mission stations. 
 
 In Hastings Mrs. Booth met at the outset with consider- 
 able opposition. A band of Christian workers, who had 
 been labouring there for some years past, were debating 
 among themselves, in view of her anticipated visit, the pro- 
 priety of a woman preaching, when one of their number, who 
 had heard Mrs. Booth, indignantly exclaimed that if such 
 were their views they ought immediately to ask God to con- 
 vert her into a man, rather than lose the benefits of her 
 ministry ! 
 
 But Mrs. Booth was not accustomed to wait for the dis- 
 appearance of such prejudices before entering upon her 
 labours. She knew by experience that the best plan for 
 vanquishing them was to disregard them, and that, with the 
 aid of the Holy Spirit, her presence would speedily afford a 
 sufficient explanation for her course. The event justified 
 the expectation. The objectors were not unwilling to be 
 convinced. They had heard that Mrs. Booth based her 
 authority upon the Scriptures. They attended her meetings, 
 and it was not long before their scruples had completely 
 vanished. 
 
 The Salvation Army literature is contained in many 
 volumes, the number of which increases year by year, quite 
 independently of newspapers and periodicals with their 
 annual circulation of nearly fifty millions. But it is inter- 
 esting to look back to the "hole of the pit" from whence 
 " Darkest England " has been dug. The first book of the 
 Salvation Army bore the characteristic title, " How to Reach 
 the Masses with the Gospel." It has long since been out of 
 print and its very name almost forgotten. And yet it 
 
214 Mrs. Booth. 
 
 deserved a wide circulation. The little sixpenny volume was 
 full of startling facts and figures, and marked a new era in 
 the evangelisation of the poor. Nevertheless, it attracted 
 but little public notice, and beyond eliciting a few passing 
 encomiums and expressions of gratified surprise, failed to 
 call forth the liberal and widespread response for which its 
 authors had hoped. The modest edition of 5,000 was with 
 difficulty pushed into circulation, and the expense of the 
 publication was barely covered by its sale., 
 
 But, if the effect upon the public was small, there w r as at 
 least one apostolic heart that responded to its stirring 
 appeals. An advertisement of the book attracted the notice 
 of a young man then studying for the Wesleyan ministr}-. 
 He sent for it, devoured every page of it with eager interest, 
 and made up his mind upon the spot that if these Christian 
 Missioners proved in reality anything like what they ap- 
 peared to be then, and thenceforth their people should be his 
 people, and their God his God. He visited the Mission, 
 attended its gatherings, found that in place of exaggeration 
 " the half had not been told," and proffered his services to 
 its leaders. It was necessary for a time that he should re- 
 turn home to fulfil some business engagements, but at the 
 conclusion of a few months he was welcomed not only into 
 the Mission, but into the inner circle of the General's home 
 and cabinet. 
 
 George Scott Railton, for he it w T as who had thus early 
 recognised the great future that lay before the Christian 
 Mission, can best perhaps be described in' a word as a latter- 
 day George Fox. Left to himself, however, his genius 
 would probably have been rather of the destructive than 
 constructive type. A radical of radicals, and an extremist 
 of the most pronounced stamp, he was for exposing, tearing 
 down, and demolishing every form of religious sham and 
 humbug that he encountered. He would have burnt the 
 field of wheat rather than tolerate the chance existence of a 
 tare. 
 
 When but a little fellow he had seen his mother come 
 
The Christian Mission. 215 
 
 home, strip tlio very blankets from the beds, rifle the house 
 of all its best, and go forth laden with the booty to scatter 
 it amongst the poor ! That was the sort of religion that he 
 understood and revelled in. Extravagance, enthusiasm, 
 fanaticism call it what you like this was the beau ideal of 
 this modern John the Baptist, who had been crying in the 
 religious wilderness but could get none to hear him. Some 
 time previously he had learnt Spanish and started off on his 
 own account, unconnected with any society, without money 
 and without a friend, as a missionary to Morocco. But not 
 finding a congenial sphere he had returned. 
 
 His brother Launcelot, a Wesleyan minister, recognising 
 his abilities, and desiring to direct them into more regular 
 channels, had persuaded him at length to prepare himself 
 for a ministerial career. But he was far from satisfied. He 
 hated ecclesiasticism with all the strength of his strong 
 nature. " Fix it as your pole star," he would say of it, " and 
 then sail with all your might in the opposite direction ! " 
 Its vestments, its ceremonials, its traditions he would 
 almost have torn the very Gospel to pieces in order to get 
 rid of the superfluities with which it had been overladen. 
 He would have labelled the religious ideals of the day 
 Nehushtan, and have ground them to powder remorselessly. 
 
 His faith was only less extravagant than his works. He 
 believed in preaching till you were hoarse, and praying till 
 your knees were petrified. Sleep and food were necessary 
 evils, to be postponed as long as possible. Eat when nobody 
 will stop to listen, and sleep when you can't keep yourself 
 awake. He would have made every train a " flying Dutch- 
 man," every steamer an " Atlantic greyhound," every star a 
 moon, and every moon a sun. The stars should have shone 
 all day, and the moon have never waned, nor the sun have 
 ever set. He had nothing to do with human nature as it 
 is. His business was to make it what it ought to be. For 
 organisation, method, system, regularity he did not care a 
 straw. If they suited his purposes he would tolerate their 
 existence. If not, he would away with them. Bed tape ! 
 
2l6 
 
 Mrs. Booth. 
 
 He would make an eternal bonfire of it all, at which the en- 
 franchised world should warm its hands, if it could find time 
 for so sublunary an occupation ! 
 
 And so, from this time forward, Mr. Railton played an 
 important part in the history of the work. An able and inde- 
 fatigable penman, he compiled the bulk of its early literature. 
 Heathen England, Captain Ted, The Salvation Navvy, The 
 Salvation 'War, and Twenty-one Years Salvation Army, 
 
 f T 
 
 COMMISSIONER RAILTON. 
 
 were his chief writings. In addition to these were number- 
 less pamphlets, articles, reports, and defences, all conveying 
 a clear and interesting account of the work in which his 
 sympathies were so deeply engaged. And when able to lay 
 aside his pen there was no one more eagerly ready to take 
 his place at the battle's front. If he had the opportunity of 
 choosing for himself he always went to the poorest corps, 
 the most desperate forlorn-hopes, where the soldiers were the 
 
The Christian Mission. 217 
 
 fewest and the odds against him the greatest. He preferred 
 the open-air work to indoor meetings, and would almost have 
 been pleased to learn that every barracks had been burnt, in 
 order that the members might be forced into the streets. 
 
 Not less interesting than the story of public demonstra- 
 tions and anniversaries is the account of the work that was 
 being simultaneously carried on at this time within the narrow 
 limits of the home circle. The care of the eight children, 
 whose ages ranged irom four to fifteen, was becoming more 
 and more an object of solicitude and concern to Mrs. Booth. 
 The early letters she wrote to them and received from them 
 have happily been preserved, and they are so different from 
 the usual insipid letters exchanged between the members of 
 a family, that it requires no apology to quote from them. 
 
 To her daughter- Catherine, at the age of twelve, when 
 about to pay a visit to a friend, Mrs. Booth writes as 
 follows : 
 
 " MY VERY DEAR KATIE : 
 
 " I have only time for a word. You are going to Clifton ; be much in 
 prayer for grace and wisdom to do the Lord's errand there. Grace has 
 not yet told her father of the change in her heart. Now I suspect that 
 it is fear which prevents her doing so ; she is afraid to profess lest she 
 should not live up to it. 
 
 " Now you must explain to her that confession is the only way to keep 
 her blessing. * With the heart man believeth unto righteousness, and 
 with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.' She must confess 
 to her father and trust the Lord to help her to live before him according 
 to her profession. You must get her to confess at once, or she will grieve 
 the Spirit and lose her peace. Be very gentle with her, and try, my 
 dear child, to lead her as well as tell her. Watch and pray, and the 
 Lord will guide you. 
 
 "Visitors are corning in, so good-bj'e. 
 
 t " Your ever loving Mother." 
 
 From this it will be seen that, young as she was, the 
 Marechale had already commenced to seek the salvation of 
 her little friends. Indeed, she was at this early age ac- 
 customed to hold meetings among them. And, when she 
 first received the news of the conversion of the girl friend 
 
218 Mrs. Booth. 
 
 mentioned in this letter, Bramwell writes to tell his mother 
 that Katie " had nearly gone mad with joy ! " 
 
 Writing to her daughter Emma, then eleven years old, 
 when about to join her sister at Clifton, Mrs. Booth says: 
 
 " I was very pleased with your letter. You see where your mistake 
 is ; now take hold of the help of the Holy Spirit to remedy it. When 
 you are crying to the Lord to give you back your blessing, believe that 
 He does it just then, and afterwards, if Satan says, ' No, you have not 
 got it,' and tempts you to feel naughty, say, ' Oh, yes, I have. I believe 
 God does give it to me, for I ain trusting in Him ! ' If Satan won't 
 leave you, run away again to your chamber, and keep saying, ' Jesus, 
 I do believe in Thee. Thou art all in all to me, and I am Thine, 
 all Thine ! ' If you will keep doing this Satan must fly. He cannot 
 stand long before faith. I should like you to get this blessing back 
 before going to Clifton. You know many eyes will be on you there, 
 and you will exert a very important influence on those little boys. 
 You must tell them about Jesus and His salvation, and you cannot 
 do this rightly unless you have power to live well. Watch much. You 
 know, my child, how useless it is to try to be a Christian unless we 
 watch over ourselves." 
 
 For Ballington Mrs. Booth experienced a special solicitude. 
 Warm-hearted, affectionate, and impulsive, his rapid growth 
 and delicate health rendered constant application to study 
 peculiarly difficult. She realised, therefore, that he needed 
 her help and encouragement the more, and left no effort un- 
 made to assist him, often writing to him far into the night, 
 when already fatigued with the exhausting labours of the 
 day. The following is a brief extract from one of her 
 letters : 
 
 " We are very pleased with you. First, for writing so often. Secondly, 
 for taking such pains, and trying to get on. Well, we are all delighted to 
 find that you have made up your mind to improve ; nay, what is better 
 still, that you are doing it. That is what I like. Doing it. You will be 
 your mother's boy after all, and worthy of the name you bear, I trust. 
 Best of all, you will honour the name of Jesus by accomplishing in His 
 strength what you could not do in your own. Don't neglect prayer. Be 
 watchful ; mind that copy about talking. Too much talk ruins heaps of 
 people. It is a fine attainment to be able to hold one's tongue. Wise 
 people are seldom great talkers. Mind this. 
 
 " Never forget my advice about not listening to secrets ! Don't hear 
 anything that needs to be whispered; it is SUBB TO BE BAP. 
 
The Christian Mission. 219 
 
 " Choose the boys to be your companions who most fear and love God, 
 and pray together when you can, and help each other. They have quite 
 a revival at home. Miss P. has been very much blessed, and Katie and 
 Emma are getting on well. I enclose you six stamps for extra letters. 
 Fapa is nearly killed with work ; pray for him. I hope you sleep well at 
 night. You must try not to worry ; do your best in tbe day and then lay 
 your head on your pillow at night in peace and sleep in the love of Jesus. 
 Katie^is a dear good girl; she loves you very^much, and so do they all, 
 and so does 
 
 " Your own Mother." 
 
CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 PORTSMOUTH. HASTINGS. 1873. 
 
 Ix October, 1872, Mr. Booth was at length sufficiently 
 recovered to return to his post. Although still far from 
 well, his presence afforded a fresh impetus to the work and 
 inspiration to his followers. It was with untold joy that 
 Mrs. Booth welcomed him to his accustomed place. Resolute 
 almost to obstinacy, courageous to a fault, prepared to hold 
 her ground to the last against all the powers of earth and 
 hell, Mrs. Booth's gifts and genius were, nevertheless, of a 
 totally different type to those of the General. She had sorely 
 missed his inventive, organising mind, which was always 
 ready with a fresh plan when existing ones had become 
 obsolete or unsuitable. Her powers of reasoning and her 
 sound judgment enabled her to detect with instinctive keen- 
 ness any flaws in his proposals. But her own spiritual 
 armoury was critical and analytical, rather than creative. 
 And it was the happy combination of these faculties in each 
 which largely constituted their power. 
 
 Mr. Booth's return to London enabled Mrs. Booth to plan 
 and carry out one of the most successful provincial campaigns 
 of her life. Portsmouth, with its population of 120.000 souls, 
 was selected as the next scene of her labours. Its notoriety 
 as a large military and naval centre added to Mrs. Booth's 
 eagerness to make the best of this opportunity for proclaim- 
 ing the Gospel. 
 
 Mrs. Booth commenced her meetings in the Portland Hall, 
 Southsea, on the 2nd March, 1873. But, although accommo- 
 dating nearly 1,000 persons, this was found to be far too 
 small for the crowds who flocked to it every Sunday night. 
 
 20 
 
222 Mrs. Booth. 
 
 Hearing that there was a large music-hall about a mile 
 distant she decided to engage it. Her friends objected to 
 the character of the building, in which during the week low 
 entertainments were carried on, attended by soldiers, sailors, 
 their companions, and all the riff-raff of the town. More- 
 over, the situation of the hall was such that in order to go 
 there it was necessary to pass down streets which were full 
 of drinking dens and brothels. But in the estimation of 
 Mrs. Booth these reports rather added to the attractiveness 
 of the proposal. And if, as was confidently prophesied, her 
 ordinary respectable congregations would not follow her to 
 such a locality, she felt that she could at least have the 
 satisfaction of securing the attention and salvation of some 
 of the worst and most Gospel-needy classes in the town. As 
 for the expectation of rowdyism, her Whitechapel experiences 
 had rendered her fear-proof on that score. Conspicuous 
 posters were accordingly put up and handbills distributed 
 announcing the first service, with the result that on Sunday 
 night the music-hall was crowded to suffocation pit, dress 
 circle, and gallery. From that day to the conclusion of the 
 series, which extended over a period of seventeen weeks, no 
 further advertisements were necessary ; the interest never 
 wavered and the attendance continually increased, large 
 numbers being unable to gain admission. 
 
 The morning meetings were some of the most powerful 
 of the series. They were especially devoted to professing 
 Christians, and for twelve consecutive Sundays Mrs. Booth 
 took for her text " Go work today in My vineyard ! " Such 
 was the manner in which the subject fastened itself upon 
 her mind that, after speaking for about an hour on each 
 occasion, so far from feeling that it was exhausted, there 
 seemed so much still left unsaid that Mrs. Booth could only 
 turn to her hearers and promise that on the following Sunday 
 she would continue her subject whether to conclude or not 
 was more than she could tell ! 
 
 " I should have liked," says a newspaper reporter, in 
 referring to a powerful sermon preached by Mrs. Booth at 
 
Portsmouth Hastings. 223 
 
 one of the evening services, to " have drawn a verbal picture 
 of the prodigal's return, of the anxiety of the father while 
 the son was away, and of his joy when he clasped the sinner 
 in his arms again. It was beautifully natural, and more 
 than one eye could be seen to be dimmed with tears as the 
 preacher asked those of her listeners who have, or ever had, 
 a prodigal in their family, to put themselves in the place of 
 tlie old man awaiting his son's return." 
 
 These stirring appeals told powerfully upon the hearts of 
 the listeners. Sunday after Sunday, as soon as the invita- 
 tion had been given, penitents came forward with a rush 
 from all parts of the building. During the services some 
 GOO names were taken, and doubtless there were hundreds 
 who sought salvation elsewhere as a result of these meet- 
 ings. Crowds of those who were already converted were 
 also stirred up to fresh zeal and devotion in the cause of 
 Christ. 
 
 In October, 1873, Mrs. Booth commenced a series of 
 meetings at Chatham. Describing the first of these the 
 Chatham News says : 
 
 " Mrs. Booth possesses remarkable powers as a preacher. With a 
 pleasing voice, distinct in all its tones, now colloquial, now persuasive, 
 she can rise to the height of a great argument with an impassioned 
 force and fervour that thrills her hearers. Quiet in her demeanour, her 
 looks, her words, her action are peculiarly emphatic. She can indeed 
 ' suit the action to the word, the word to the action.' And yet there is 
 no ranting nothing to offend the most fastidious taste but much to 
 enchain attention. ' The matter is full, the manner excellent.' 
 
 " The lady is engaged in a good work and we wish her God-speed. We 
 may safely prophesy that if she continues her addresses in Chatham the 
 spacious lecture-hall will not contain those who wish to hear her." 
 
 This prediction was fulfilled. But on the third Sunday, 
 at the conclusion of the meeting, Mrs. Booth was seized with 
 one of her severe heart attacks, and had to be carried uncon- 
 scious into the ante-room. Fortunately, her son Bramwell 
 was with her, and after a period of intense suffering Mrs. 
 Booth was at length removed to the house where she was 
 staying, and from thence during the following week to her 
 
224 Mrs. Booth. 
 
 home. It was a fortnight, however, before she was suffi- 
 ciently recovered to resume her services, the General taking 
 her place in the meanwhile. This serious attack was pro- 
 bably due to the hall not being properly ventilated. From 
 the heated, stifling atmosphere of crowded meetings, in 
 buildings where there was neither escape for the noxious 
 gases nor inlet for the fresh air, Mrs. Booth suffered a con- 
 tinual martyrdom. The weakness of her heart's action made 
 pure air such a necessity to her existence that during her last 
 illness, even through the bitterest winter months, she used 
 to keep both windows of her room open day and night, and 
 sometimes have the door ajar as well. She believed that to 
 the bad ventilation of public buildings were attributable the 
 deaths of many, both in pulpit and in pew, who were sup- 
 posed to have died of apoplexy or some kindred cause. 
 
 At the farewell meeting on November 23rd the hall was 
 densely crowded, numbers being unable to gain admission. 
 The service was a powerful one, and twenty-two persons 
 came forward for salvation. The usual desire was expressed 
 and gratified for the formation of a branch of the Mission, 
 and Chatham has since been one of the most encouraging 
 battle-grounds of the Salvation Army. 
 
 The meetings had scarcely been concluded when whooping- 
 cough broke out amongst the younger members of the family. 
 Mixing continually with large crowds of the poorest classes, it 
 was a necessary consequence that when any epidemic was pre- 
 valent it was almost certain to find its way into the domestic 
 circle. Small-pox, scarlet fever, rheumatic fever, measles, 
 whooping-cough, and almost every other imaginable ailment 
 would take it in turn to demand entrance at the door, which 
 could not shut them out because it could not shut out the 
 cries of the suffering masses for whose welfare the members 
 of that household planned and toiled. 
 
 To purchase exemption from such suffering at the cost of 
 separation from the poor was a suggestion not for a moment 
 to be entertained. Time after time were they brought to the 
 very borders of the grave by some fell disease the infection of 
 
Portsmouth. Hastings. 225 
 
 which had been taken while they were engaged in their 
 errands of mercy. But while exercising every reasonable 
 precaution to avoid the danger, or to restore health when 
 sickness had set in, no one in that loved and loving circle 
 ever dreamed of shrinking from what they could not but 
 regard as a part of their inevitable cross. It was an article 
 in the family creed that to be a saviour of the poor you 
 imfst be content to suffer with and for them. 
 
 As soon, however, as the whooping-cough had made its 
 appearance Mrs. Booth arranged to remove the children to 
 Hastings, in order to give them the benefit of the change of 
 air. Writing to her friend Mrs. Billups, she says : " The 
 children have had a most severe attack of whooping-cough. 
 Every imaginable remedy has been tried. The doctors are 
 powerless. All they can say is, the thing must run its 
 course. Change of air has, however, been recommended as 
 a palliative, and so apartments have been taken and we have 
 sent them down to Hastings. The thing has taken hold of 
 Eva and Herbert terribly. Eva, especially, spins round 
 when the spasms come on, and is a sight pitiful to behold/' 
 
 Although the illness was a protracted one the recovery of 
 all was satisfactory. Taking advantage of her stay at 
 Hastings, Mrs. Booth held a meeting in the Royal Circus, 
 a large building, with circle, galleries, boxes, and promenade. 
 Every available space was occupied, until it was estimated 
 that over 2,500 persons had crowded in. All classes were 
 represented. The rough fisher-lads, who combined to upset 
 many an open-air gathering, and who had been assailing the 
 processionists that very afternoon, had mustered in strong 
 force. But from the moment that Mrs. Booth rose to her 
 feet a spell seemed to rest upon them, and they listened 
 with as much eagerness as the most respectable visitor 
 present. It was seldom that they crossed the threshold of 
 a church, and their hearts had grown almost as hard and 
 horny as their hands. But Mrs. Booth had a singular 
 aptitude for discovering the tender point in her hearers' 
 consciences, where others might have supposed that such 
 
 Q 
 
226 Mrs. Booth. 
 
 a spot had long since ceased to exist, and many a fish- 
 bescented sleeve could be seen brushing away the tear-drops 
 from the cheeks where the salt spray had been for years 
 the only moisture. Ay, and was not the tribute as pleasing 
 in the sight of God as the most fragrant pocket-handkerchiefs 
 so numerously requisitioned by the more favoured portion of 
 the audience ? Is it too much to suppose that a poor man's 
 tear weighs as heavy in the Divine scales as that of his 
 well-to-do brother ? Mrs. Booth thought so, and it was as 
 great a joy for her to point the one to the Cross as the other. 
 
 COLONEL DOWDLE. 
 
 As an illustration of the depth and character of the work, 
 we are tempted to introduce the death-scene of a humble 
 East End convert named Barber, who died triumphantly 
 during this year. He had been led to Christ some time 
 previously by one of the oldest Mission evangelists, Mr. 
 Dowdle, and had become one of the most valuable helpers 
 in the Shoreditch branch. It was in the open air that he 
 had first been attracted and convicted of sin. He was 
 finally converted in a theatre. Long after the congregation 
 had left, and the lights had been turned down, Barber was 
 
Portsmouth. Hastings. 227 
 
 still on his knees pleading for salvation. So great was his 
 agony of conviction that he dared not go home till he knew 
 that his sins were forgiven. The little knot of Missioners 
 stayed with him to the last, and when the lateness of the 
 hour made it necessary to leave the theatre they took him 
 elsewhere. The light at length dawned in upon his soul, 
 and he had the joyful consciousness that he was saved. 
 
 Overtaken by sickness in the prime of his manhood, he faced 
 death with the calmness of the true Christian. "Is Jesus 
 precious to } T OU ? " said one who was there. " Yes, bless 
 Him ! " replied the dying man. " I've trusted Him in rough 
 weather and in smooth, and I'll trust Him now." Then, 
 true to his life-work, turning to his medical attendant, he 
 said, " Doctor, will you meet me in heaven ? " The doctor 
 promised that he would. Barber then prayed for all present, 
 mentioning them by name. " God bless my dear little 
 children ! God bless my poor delicate wife ! God bless the 
 Christian Mission," and then, as if the new world had 
 opened out its panorama before his eyes, he said, with 
 wonderful power, "It's a reality! I see the angels and 
 hear the heavenly music ! Jesus is precious ! It's better 
 on before ! Lord Jesus, come quickly ! I've had a battle, 
 but gained the victory! death, where is thy sting? I 
 shall soon sit down at the marriage feast ! My feet are in 
 the river ! I shall soon be over ! Glory to God ! I see a 
 light! Lord Jesus, receive my soul! " His sister said, "I 
 shall soon follow you," to which he replied, u Don't be in a 
 hurry ! Work for the Master ! " And a few minutes after- 
 wards Tie peacefully fell asleep in the arms of the Saviour 
 whom he had loved and served. Standing by such a death- 
 bed, who could fail to echo the prayer, " Let me die the death 
 of the righteou, and let my last end be like his ! ' ? 
 
CHAPTER XXIV. 
 THE MISSION ADVANCES. 1874. 
 
 THE most prominent event cf the year 1874 was the 
 annual Conference of the Mission workers in June. It was 
 not the first gathering of the sort. In November, 1870, Mr. 
 Booth had called together a few of the principal evangelists 
 and members to consult with him as to the internal organisa- 
 tion of the Mission, and to assist him in the framing of such 
 regulations as would be best calculated to perpetuate its 
 adherence to the purposes for which it had been created. 
 Working upon the best religious model with which he was 
 acquainted, and which is known as liberal Methodism, this 
 embryonic little parliament was to consist of the evan- 
 gelists, together with two delegates from each station. 
 
 But there were several respects in which the Conference 
 differed from any similar assemblage. In the first place, 
 women were admitted to its deliberations ; and this not 
 merely as onlookers, but as representatives, with the same 
 privileges to speak and pray as were extended to their 
 brethren. A second novelty existed in the shape of a 
 timekeeper, whose business it was to break in upon the 
 consultation every hour, when an interval of singing and 
 prayer would follow, ordinarily lasting for about five 
 minutes, but frequently extending over a quarter of an 
 hour. This had the effect of cutting short long speeches, 
 and preserving the spirituality of the meeting from being 
 marred either by acrimonious debates or dull business de- 
 tails. The fact that the sittings usually lasted from ten in 
 the morning till ten at night, and were spread over two or 
 
 .228 
 
The Mission Advances. 229 
 
 three successive days, made such intervals the more refresh- 
 ing. 
 
 Perhaps one of the special advantages of this custom was 
 the opportunity it afforded to the more spiritually minded 
 of those present to bring their influence to bear upon the 
 assembly. There was never a gathering of the kind in 
 which there were not some present who were specially 
 remarkable for their Divine unction and power in prayer. 
 While some knotty question was being debated, or business 
 transacted, they had little to say, and there were others who 
 by their superior smartness eclipsed them; but when the 
 " tocsin of the soul " had sounded its first note, then, in a 
 moment, their spiritual supremacy asserted itself. 
 
 One of the most remarkable examples of this was Praying 
 John, a lay delegate from Hastings. No other religious 
 conference would have tolerated the presence of the rough, 
 uncouth navvy, whose loud amens and hallelujahs would 
 have shocked their nerves. But none was more heartily 
 welcomed by the Missioners, and when the simple old man 
 rose to speak or pray, the contagion of his rapturous joy 
 seemed to take possession of every heart. His dear old 
 face would beam with happiness, and his eyes shine with 
 tears of gladness, and he would clap his hands with the 
 glee of a little child and shout "Glory!" till every one 
 present was electrified and felt like shouting " Glory ! " too. 
 He gained his sobriquet of " Praying John " from his cus- 
 tom of rising early, before daybreak, to pray, and from his 
 remarkable power in prayer. Preaching one day to a rough 
 crowd in the open air, he stripped off his coat, feeling that 
 he could better reach them in his shirt-sleeves, by enabling 
 them to realise that he was one of themselves a working- 
 man. He died in 1876, at the conclusion of a meeting 
 during which he had spoken with more than his usual 
 earnestness and all his accustomed power. One of his last 
 messages to his comrades was, " Tell them all's well. John 
 Smith's packed up and ready to go." And as he lay dying 
 in the Croydon Hall he said to the friends who were 
 
230 Mrs. Booth. 
 
 ministering to him, " Let me go ! I be a child of God ! Let 
 me go ! I do love God ! Let me go, bless ye ! I be 
 happy ! " 
 
 The influence of such men, for Praying John was only a 
 specimen of a blessed multitude who are to be found in the 
 ranks of the Salvation Army, can better be imagined than 
 described. ' : Never mind the gentlemen," exclaimed Mr. 
 Morley when he had listened to the burning words which 
 fell from the lips of some of Mr. and Mrs. Booth's uncouth 
 fellow-workers, and when they were suggesting that they 
 should next call upon some one more refined. There were 
 tears in Mr. Morley's eyes as he said that he would prefer 
 to listen to some more of the same sort. 
 
 Thirty-seven representatives were present at the Con- 
 ference of 1874, eight of these being women. 
 
 The occasion of the Conference was utilised for the 
 holding of some great demonstrations. On Saturday, June 
 20th, Mrs. Booth gave a thrilling temperance address to a 
 crowded audience in the Whitechapel Hall. General Neal 
 Dow was also present and spoke. He will be remembered 
 as the author of the first prohibitive legislation against 
 drink in the United States, having introduced the law into 
 the State of Maine, an example which has since been 
 imitated by many others of the American States, and which 
 is likely to form the basis of general legislation at no distant 
 date throughout the world. 
 
 "The General was a fine old man," says Mrs. Booth. "His collo- 
 quial, unpretentious way of talking could not fail to produce an im- 
 pression. Why is it that in speaking about religion a stilted and 
 unnatural style should be so commonly in vogue? The stirring tones, 
 the flashing eye, the eager gesture which emphasize conversation re- 
 garding every important theme why should these be banished from 
 the pulpit ? 
 
 " If I were asked to put into one word what I consider to be the 
 greatest obstacle to the success of Divine truth, even when uttered by 
 sincere and real people, I should say stiffness. Simplicity is indispen- 
 sable to success; naturalness in putting the truth. It seems as if 
 people the moment they come to religion assume a different tone, :i 
 different look and manner in short, become unnatural. We 
 
The Mission Advances, 231 
 
 SANCTIFIED HUMANITY, not sanctimoniousness. You want to talk to 
 your friends in the same way about religion as ypu talk about earthly 
 things. 
 
 "If a friend is in difficulties, and lie comes to you, you do not begin 
 talking in a circumlocutory manner about the general principles on 
 which men can secure prosperity, and the sad mistakes of those who 
 have not secured it ; you come straight to the point ; and, if you feel for 
 him, you take him by the buttonhole, or put your hand in his, and say, 
 ' My dear fellow, I am very sorry for you ; is there any way in which I 
 can help you ? ' If you have a friend afflicted with a fatal malady, and 
 you see it and he does not, you don't begin to descant on the power of 
 disease and the way people may secure health, but you say, ' My dear 
 fellow, I am afraid this hacking cough is more serious than you think, 
 and that nasty flush on your cheek is a bad sign. I am afraid you are 
 ill let me counsel you to seek advice.' That is the way people talk 
 about earthly things. 
 
 " Now just do exactly so about spiritual things. If your friend is a 
 spiritual bankrupt just tell him so. Tell him where he is going, and 
 that the reckoning day is coming. If your friend has a spritual disease 
 tell him so, and deal just as straight and earnestly with him asyou would 
 about his body. Tell him you are praying for him, and the very con- 
 cern that he reads in your eyes will wake him up, and he will begin to 
 think it is time he was concerned about himself. Try to attain this 
 simple, easy, natural way of appealing to people about their souls. I 
 believe if all real Christians would attain this, and act upon it, this 
 country would be shaken from end to end ! " 
 
 After returning from Hastings with the children Mrs. 
 Booth remained in London till the following August, paying 
 occasional visits to the various stations : Hackney, Poplar, 
 Croydon, Bethnal Green, Kettering, Wellingborough, Bark- 
 ing, Chatham, and Stoke Newington. At Croydon a free tea 
 was given to 300 poor people. In the meeting which fol- 
 lowed Mrs. Booth spoke with power, and thirteen sought 
 salvation, among them being three gypsy mothers with babes 
 in their arms. 
 
 In Bethnal Green a new hall was opened, now famous as 
 the Railway Arch. It certainly was a unique specimen of a 
 church. It consisted in a prolongation of a railway arch, 
 over which the trains thundered every two or three minutes. 
 Had the noise been less frequent it might have disturbed the 
 meetings, but fortunately "use doth breed a habit in a man!" 
 
232 Mrs. Booth. 
 
 The regular attendants became so accustomed to the noise over- 
 head that they ceased to realise it ; like persons in a besieged 
 town, who are said to. become so habituated to the firing of 
 the cannon that they can sleep through it, but are disturbed 
 by the unnatural quiet when at length the firing ceases ! 
 Whether this be so or not, the Railway Arch has certainly 
 proved the birthplace of hundreds of souls, many of whom 
 have in their turn become saviours of others. 
 
 On the 23rd August of this year Mrs. Booth commenced a 
 two months' campaign at Ryde. The results did not answer 
 her expectations. However, she persevered, and met with 
 results which would have gratified any one else less difficult 
 to please. Amongst many others was the interesting case of 
 a young lady who was on a visit to the town. She came for- 
 ward at one of the meetings, received the pardon of her sins, 
 and returned home in all the joy of her new-found salvation. 
 Shortly afterwards she was taken ill, and died triumphantly, 
 leaving behind her a blessed testimony. 
 
 Emma and the younger children were with Mrs. Booth, 
 while the elder ones, who had now begun to be useful in the 
 work, remained in London with the General. His letters to 
 Mrs. Booth give some interesting glimpses of their earliest 
 attempts at public speaking: 
 
 "Willie, or rather, Bramwell, as I like to call him now, has just left 
 me. He is a good lad a really precious boy. I manage him a little better 
 than you do, I think. Perhaps it is because I let him have his own way 
 rather more. I have no fault worth calling a fault to find with him. 
 His thoughtfulness for the real interests of the Mission, his responsibility 
 as to business, his manly dealing with men and th'ings, are in my estima- 
 tion very remarkable. Then he is, I think, really good, open to spiritual 
 influences to any extent. Poor boy ! Were he only stronger I should 
 rejoice in contemplating his future, and push him on to aim at far greater 
 things. 
 
 " I don't know whether I told you hov/ pleased I was with dear Katie 
 speaking in the streets on Sunday morning. It was very nice and effec- 
 tive. Bless her ! I am delighted with all the children more and more. 
 Willie is the greatest help I have ever had in the office. 
 
 " I heard Ballington give out a hymn and say a few words at Bethnal 
 Green last night. He did not know that I was there. I was surprised 
 and gratified in the extreme. Ho has an extraordinary voice, and will be 
 
The Mission Advances. 233 
 
 able to give out a hymn with more effect than many a man could produce 
 with a sermon. The little he did say was spoken with force and feeling. 
 They think very much of the promise he gives for ability at Bethnal 
 Green. He will make a mighty man, with the Divine blessing. But it 
 will be a serious matter. I could not touch him in effective giving out of 
 a hymn in the open-air, and he is only seventeen. Willie's voice and 
 chest are so weak that I don't see how he is going to make a preacher." 
 
 The following letter from Bramwell to E-ailton gives an 
 idea of the early difficulties which led to the subsequent 
 abolition of the Committee system : 
 
 " Oct. 6th, 1874. 
 " MY DEAR EAILTON : 
 
 " Yours is to hand. I am convinced that we must stick to our concern, 
 and also that we must keep up its so called extravagances. They and 
 they only will save it from dropping down into a sectarian nothing. I 
 am afraid that we over-rate the worth and sense of the world in general ! 
 It is surely, let us hope, that they have not eyes not that, having them, 
 they will not see ! All we can do, it seems to me, is to pound on, utterly 
 regardless of all the bosh and humbug around ! 
 
 " I was much put about on Saturday night at the Shoreditch quarterly 
 meeting. A. and Co. introduced a motion to halve the Sunday night 
 open-air at Hackney by beginning inside at 6.30, the open-air to com- 
 mence at 6. It was followed by a similar proposal for Tottenham. Of 
 course I fought, and fought hard. I think I spoke as I never spoke in 
 my life forl/eZt. However, I was beaten: seven votes against seven 
 on one and seven against ten on the other. What vexed me much was 
 that neither P. nor W. took any side at all. 
 
 " It seems to me the height of folly. Here we are beginning a new 
 hall at Hackney, and their first step is to spoil and nullify the open-air 
 because we all know what half an hour means : a walk round and a 
 ' holler ! ' I suppose there is nothing I can do ? The meeting is 
 adjourned to next Saturday. Your friend A. is at the bottom of it 
 all. 
 
 " We began at Hackney yesterday. I was at Soho last night good 
 outside and fair congregation in, just our sort of people. I was delighted 
 to find some capital young men ready to fight all hell. We must give 
 them a little more help and the thing will go. 
 
 "Love. Yours faithfully, 
 
 " W. BEAMWELL BOOTH." 
 
 Very interesting are some of Mrs. Booth's letters to her 
 children, as she watched with veteran eye their early exploits 
 on the public field. 
 
 To her daughter Catherine she writes as follows : 
 
234 Mrs. Booth. 
 
 " Strive to obey the teachings of God. Follow as a little chilJ, and He 
 will lead you on and on to more and more grace till you get to glory. 
 We learn in the Divine life much as we learn in the temporal, by ex- 
 perience. A step at a time. Yield yourself up to obey, and though you 
 sometimes fail and slip do not be discouraged, but yield yourself up 
 again and plead more fervently with God to keep you. Fourteen years 
 ago you were learning to walk, and in the process you got many a tumble. 
 But now you can not only walk yourself but teach others. So, spiritually, 
 if you will only let God lead you He will perfect that which is lacking in 
 you and bring you to the stature of a woman in Christ Jesus. Praise 
 Him that you feel you are His child, though but a babe. It is a great 
 thing to be a child of God at all. Don't forget to praise Him for this, 
 because you are still an imperfect scholar ; but praise Him and go on to 
 be more diligent to learn and do His will. 
 
 "I did not forget your birthday. I think I gave you afresh to God 
 more fully and determinately than ever before. I laid you on His altar, 
 for Him to glorify Himself in you in any way He sees best. You 
 must say Amen to the contract, and then it will be sealed in heaven. 
 
 " Your loving mother." 
 
 The following is an extract from a letter to her friend Mrs. 
 Billups : 
 
 "I had such a view of His love and faithfulness on the journey from 
 Wellingborough that I thought I would never doubt again about any- 
 thing. I had the carriage to myself, and such a precious season with 
 the Lord that the time seemed to fly. As the lightning gleamed around 
 I felt ready to shout, 'The chariots of Israel and the horsemen thereof.' 
 Oh, how precious it is when we see as well as believe, but yet more 
 blessed to believe and not see ! Lord, work this determined, obstinate, 
 blind, unquestioning, unanswering faith in me and my beloved friend, 
 and let us two dare to trust Thee in the midst of our peculiar trials. As 
 I looked at the waving fields, the grazing sheep, the flashing sky, a voice 
 said in my soul, ' Of what oughtest thou to be afrail ? Am I not God ? 
 Cannot I supply thy little, tiny needs ? ' My heart replied, ' It is enough, 
 Lord, I will trust Thee. Forgive my unbelief.' 
 
 " My dear friend, you do trust a little ; oh, be encouraged to trust alto- 
 gether ! Sickness in our loved ones, weakness in ourselves, perplexity in 
 our circumstances, even the workhouse in the distance are ' light afflictions ' 
 compared with what many of His dear ones have had to bear, and ' shall 
 we receive good at the hands of the Lord and shall we not receive evil 
 also ? ' 'All things work together for good ' while we love -Him and do 
 His will. Lord, help us." 
 
CHAPTER XXV. 
 TRAINING OF THE CHILDREN. 1875. 
 
 DURING the early portion of the year 1875 Mrs. Booth visited 
 the various stations of the Mission. The opening of the 
 newly erected hall at Wellingborough was succeeded by a 
 fortnight's visit to Middlesborough and Stockton, where a 
 powerful work had this year commenced. The Sunday ser- 
 vice at the Middlesborough Theatre Royal was attended by 
 some 3,500 persons ; and so great was the impression made 
 by the sermon that thirty penitents were willing to mount 
 the stage as seekers of pardon in the presence of the vast 
 audience. At Hackney and Hammersmith also Mrs. Booth 
 preached with signs and wonders following. 
 
 If trees are to be judged by their fruit, then assuredly 
 parents may be judged by their children. And yet, if the 
 majority of Christians be measured by this rule, " who 
 should 'scape whipping ? " The family altar of those who 
 have been undoubtedly sincere believers is saturated with 
 the blood, not of its enemies, but of its own progeny, until 
 it resembles rather the shrine of Moloch than the holy of 
 holies of Christianity. Worldliness, amusement, money- 
 making absorb the attention ; agnosticism and infidelity 
 express the creed ; an ignominious death terminates the life ; 
 while an unhallowed grave conceals the shame of the descen- 
 dants of too many of those who have been justly described 
 as pillars and ornaments of the Christian Church. 
 
 Perhaps there is no criterion by which to estimate a 
 Christian's life and influence so just, so simple, so ungain- 
 sayable, as that of the fruits of his faith and of his works iu 
 his own family. It is a quality of virtue, as truly as it is of 
 
236 Mrs. Booth. 
 
 sin, to reproduce itself ! And there is no soil so favourable 
 for the manifestation of a man's graces as that of his home. 
 He is master of the situation. His sway is almost unlimited. 
 He can plant what he will, and very largely destroy what 
 displeases him. To leave the best soil to itself is sufficient 
 to ensure an abundant crop of weeds. But of what use is 
 the gardener unless he uproots and replaces them with 
 flowers ? This is his business. 
 
 That he can, with care, succeed is aptly illustrated in the 
 family history of Mrs. Booth. She commanded her children, 
 and insisted on their obeying God, till obedience to His will 
 developed into a blessed habit. It became early easier to 
 be holy than to be sinful, to do good than to do evil, to 
 sacrifice than to enjoy. The children could not fail to im- 
 bibe the lessons learnt from the lips and lives of their 
 parents. There was an atmosphere of holy chivalry which 
 spurred them on to generous and noble deeds. 
 
 The Marechale was but a child when a friend took her to 
 a large bazaar to choose a present for herself. She cared 
 nothing for dolls. But Emma, who was ill at home, was 
 very fond of them. Remembering her sister's partiality, 
 she chose one, saying it would bring her more pleasure than 
 anything else, and carried it home in triumph preferring to 
 minister to the little invalid's fancy rather than gratify her 
 own desires. 
 
 And when Emma herself grew older, and was left in charge 
 of the little ones during the absence of her mother from the 
 home, she would pride herself in being able to report that 
 everything had been done as carefully and systematically as 
 in her presence. " I used to imagine that Mama was in the 
 room all the time, and could see everything that was done, 
 and this was a great help to me," she explained. 
 
 It was when she was a girl of thirteen, during Mrs. Booth's 
 first visit to Portsmouth, that an incident occurred which 
 serves to illustrate the intense hatred of cruelty with which 
 they were all from the first inspired. She was out for her 
 usual walk with the governess when a donkey-cart drove 
 
Training of the Children. 237 
 
 past, and she noticed the boy belabouring the donkey with 
 a stick. She called out to him to desist, but he only laughed 
 and hit the harder. 'Snatching herself away from the gover- 
 ness, Emma ran after the cart, and after a long chase at 
 length overtook it and caught the reins. The boy leaped 
 down and tried to pull the donkey away. But he found his 
 match for once. Snatching the stick from his hand, Emma 
 showered her blows upon his head and shoulders, saying, 
 " There, now ! How do you like it ? " The boy was a strong 
 young fellow, and could no doubt have easily turned the 
 tables upon his assailant. But her tears and pleadings 
 proved more powerful than her blows. He was too surprised 
 and touched, and surrendered unconditionally ; promising 
 never to repeat his cruelty, and kneeling, at her request, 
 beside the donkey in the dusty road to ask God to pardon 
 his sin. 
 
 As they rose from their knees, the conquered ruffian apolo- 
 gised for having brought her so far out of her way, and 
 offered to drive her back. Seated beside him in the donkey- 
 cart, she rode home in triumph, admiring the little steed, 
 and exhorting the lad to feed it well and treat it with every 
 kindness. In the meantime the governess had returned to 
 complain of Emma's rashness, but the delighted mother 
 listened with undisguised pleasure to the tale and clasped 
 with joy her daughter to her heart, rejoicing most of all at 
 the happy sequel to the brave attempt. 
 
 Nourished in such an atmosphere, the spiritual life of Mrs. 
 Booth's children was sturdy and vigorous. The first train- 
 ing-ground was the nursery, where meetings used to be 
 carried on according to the model of the Salvation services 
 conducted by their parents. The children officiated in turns. 
 Pulpit and pews were duty arranged. Dolls and pillows 
 formed the congregation. Singing, addresses, and penitent- 
 forms were made to resemble as nearly as possible the origi- 
 nals. There were few children who could more thoroughly 
 enjoy a game or a run. True, they imported their religion 
 into their very play. And yet they were unconventional and 
 
238 Mrs. Booth. 
 
 natural almost to a fault. Their recreation was religious, 
 and yet their religion was a recreation. It was difficult to 
 draw the separating, line. And disagreements were rare 
 when those who might have won preferred to lose, realising 
 more joy in averting from another the mortification of defeat 
 than in securing for themselves the flush of victory. 
 
 Soon after the family had settled in London and the 
 Mission had been formed, one of their first secretaries, a 
 Mr. Rapson, afterwards pastor of a large church in America, 
 started some children's services, which were regularly at- 
 tended by the little Booths, who soon began to speak and 
 testify and at length to conduct them. Bramwell was only 
 twelve when he led his first service in a small room at 
 Bethnal Green. He was in the middle of his juvenile ser- 
 mon, when an incident occurred which would have discon- 
 certed many a more practised hand. A large rat came and 
 stood in the doorway, which was behind the audience, and 
 coolly surveyed the scene. Bramwell knew instinctively 
 that if the little urchins present caught sight of the in- 
 truder there would be a general scamper and a chivy at 
 once. He therefore went on steadily with his address, ges- 
 ticulating with all his might in hopes of frightening the 
 visitor. Bat the rat held its ground without flinching. The 
 speaker waxed warmer and warmer, in his efforts to dislodge 
 the enemy, until at length even the nerves of the East End 
 rat could resist no longer, and it beat a rapid and welcome 
 retreat, leaving young Bramwell in full possession of the 
 field. 
 
 When, in 1870. a Mr. Eason's work was incorporated with 
 that of the Mission, Bramwell, though only a lad of fourteen, 
 became one of the most active workers, and the hall being 
 close to Gore Road he regularly attended its meetings, and 
 commenced, both indoors and in the open air, to address for 
 the first time adult congregations. He also chaperoned his 
 sisters in their earliest public efforts, and encouraged them 
 to persevere amid the timidities and disappointments which 
 usually accompany the dSbut of a public speakor. 
 
Training of the Children* 239 
 
 The correspondence between brothers and sisters would 
 serve as a model for many a family bright, cheerful, desti- 
 tute of sanctimoniousness, and yet earnest and practical. 
 
 "I love you," writes Bramwell, " and as I carmot see you to say so, 
 I write it. How are you ? How is your soul ? How is your throat ? 
 I am looking forward to your getting well soon, and then we can together 
 have a real, red-hot campaign against the devil this winter. I think 
 I should be in better trim now than ever. If you were not so busy so 
 hard at your studies so full of work of every kind that you scarcely 
 have time to eat, much less to talk or write letters, I should have ex- 
 pected a note." 
 
 To her daughters Mrs. Booth wrote letters full of wise 
 advice. The following is specially interesting as conveying 
 her feelings in regard to work among the rich : 
 
 "PORTSMOUTH, Feb. 16th, 1876. 
 
 14 1 did not think it necessary to write again, and the rheumatic gout 
 in my hand being so painful I can scarcely hold the pen. 
 
 " I note all you say. But, my dear child, when you have seen as 
 much of the upper classes as I have you will turn to the poor, as your 
 Lord did, as by far the most hopeful of the two. ' How hardly shall they 
 tbat have riches enter the Kingdom.' When they get right, not one in 
 a hundred keeps so. ' The deceitfuluess of riches ' chokes the good seed. 
 Still, we must do all we can for them, but it is hard work to get rich 
 people saved. I had thousands of them at Brighton, Folkestone, and 
 Hastings, and had a far less proportion of fruit visible than at other 
 places. 
 
 " The Lord's way is best ; preach to all alike, and let rich and poor 
 come together. A class and caste religion is just what they are seeking 
 for. The Gospel served up in a lordly dish. But this is not God's way. 
 The aristocratic Christianity I have seen has been of a sorry sort. ' Go 
 tell John the poor have the Gospel preached to them,' was our Lord's 
 highest credential : let us be content with it. 
 
 " I was very glad to hear that you had been blessed by reading Finney. 
 I hope you will read every word of it. That is what I mean by Divine 
 influence. You see also the secret of his having it that he was so 
 thorough with God on all points. I am persuaded that this is just what 
 makes the difference. Oh, how it would rejoice my heart to hear you 
 say that you see it, and that you are resolved on being so ! 
 
 "I see what a glorious, blessed, useful life you may live, but I Fee also 
 your danger, and I pray for you that you may be enabled to casi aside 
 the world in every form, to look down upon its opinions, and to despise 
 its spirit, maxims, and fashions, Oh, that the Divine Spirit may help 
 you ! " 
 
240 Mrs. feooth. 
 
 In view of their future career as public speakers, Mrs. 
 Booth was constantly urged by friends to send her daughters 
 to some first-class school, where their education could be 
 perfected. In one case, the principal of a lady's college, 
 who had attended Mrs, Booth's meetings and been greatly 
 blessed, offered to receive and educate her daughter gra- 
 tuitously. The offer was a tempting one. The lady was 
 an earnest Christian, and was anxious for the spiritual wel- 
 fare of her students. Mrs. Booth visited her home and 
 addressed her pupils. But the first sight of their fashion- 
 able attire and evident worldliness convinced her that it 
 would be the height of folly to expose her daughter to such 
 influences, and she declined the offer with thanks. 
 
 In January, 1876, Mrs. Booth revisited the scene of her 
 former labours in Portsmouth. At the conclusion of her first 
 meetings a branch of the Mission had been established, and 
 the work had been prosecuted for some time with remarkable 
 success. On one occasion, when Mr. Bramwell Booth and 
 his sister Catherine visited the town, no less than three 
 hundred persons sought salvation in one week. 
 . Upon the conclusion of her meetings in Portsmouth Mrs. 
 Booth had spent two months in Leicester at the earnest 
 invitation of some friends. Many souls were ingathered, 
 and, as usual, when the services had drawn to a close the 
 converts united in forming a Branch of the Mission. 
 
 Among Mrs. Booth's letters written at this time we find 
 the following. Writing to her daughter during a season of 
 depression, she says : 
 
 "MY VERY DEAR EilMA : 
 
 " I hope you are recovering from the fit of dumps into which you had 
 fallen when you wrote me. I note all you say, and am quite willing to 
 admit that most girls of sixteen would feel very much as you did about 
 Katie coming, my being away, etc. But then my Emma is not one of 
 these ' most girls' She has more sense, more dignit)' of character, and, 
 above all, more religion. She only got into the dumps, and for once felt 
 and spoke like ' one of the foolish women ! ' 
 
 " Well, that is all over now, and I doubt not she is herself again, act- 
 ing as my representative, taking all manner of responsibility and interest 
 in her brothers and sisters tired often with them but never tired of 
 
Training of the Children. 24 1 
 
 them acting the daughter to her dear precious papa, the mother and 
 sister to Ballington, and the faithful, watchful friend to the whole house- 
 hold. I know that is her character, and I shall not receive any opinion 
 that would contradict it, even from herself ! 
 
 " My dear child, don't grow weary in well doing, or in enduring ; the 
 reward is always greater than the sacrifice. Jesus 'reigns,' and He will 
 never forget the work of faith and the labour of love which nobody else 
 sees. When a friend does a secret kindness, we say, ' Ah, it was not 
 only a great kindness, but the way in which it was done was so nice, so 
 acceptable, that it made it double the value. There was no splaud, 
 no fuss, no telling folks and talking about sacrifice. It was all so quiet, 
 so hidden, but so real.' ' Verily, verily, I say unto you, a cup of cold 
 water shall not lose its reward.' 
 
 "Jesus feels very much as we do. Only He knows how to reward, 
 and He won't forget ! Bless His name, my dear child, and take courage. 
 You will share in the spoils, the eternal spoils, of my victory in this 
 place, for there will be spoils such as will be eternally saved. Pray much 
 for me, that the Lord will supply all my needs, physical and spiritual." 
 
 Mr. Bramwell was at this time in a great controversy as 
 to his future path in life. A generous friend, struck with 
 his ability and promise, had offered to give him a university 
 education. But Mrs. Booth, though grateful for the kind- 
 ness and not blind to the advantages, yearned to see him 
 consecrate himself to the immediate claims of the Lord's 
 service, and threw all the weight of her influence into this 
 scale. 
 
 From Leicester she writes to him upon the subject as 
 follows : 
 
 "I am glad to hear that H did not get lost, at least so far as his 
 
 wife and children are concerned ! I do hope you will not throw a lot 
 of money away in trying him, just for want of courage to tell him at 
 once that he will not do, because I am sure that it will be thrown away- 
 It is the nature of the man that is at fault, and not his circumstances. 
 He is a drone, and nothing, no change of place or position, can ever 
 make him into a bee. He never ought to have left his trade ; he never 
 would have done so if he had thought missioning was harder work 1 
 
 'Oh, these professing Christians! I wonder it does not make your 
 blood boil to do something to rescue the* people ! I hope the Lord will 
 make you so miserable everywhere, and at everything else, that you will 
 be compelled to preach ! Oh, how my heart glows with indignation and 
 throbs with grief at what I see and hear ! Let us mind not to be brought 
 into bondage to the rich ; this is the rock on which almost everybody 
 
 R 
 
2 4 2 Mrs. Booth. 
 
 splits. The Lord give us a supreme contempt for all their pride and 
 starch. 
 
 " my boy, the Lord wants such as you just such to go out amongst 
 the people, seeking nothing but the things that are Jesus Christ's. You 
 are free to do it ; able, by His grace; born to do it, with splendid oppor- 
 tunities. "Will you not rise to your destiny? 'Have courage, and be 
 strong, and I (the I AM) will be with thee.' ' Get thee out and I will go 
 with thee.' Dare you not take hold of the Arm that holds the world and 
 all things up ? And, if you do, can you fail ? The Lord gird you with 
 His strength and make your brow brass and your tongue as a flame of 
 fire. You must preach! " 
 
 The latter part of 187G was marked with severe illnesses, 
 which brought the leaders of the Mission to the very borders 
 of the grave. The stability and permanence of the organi- 
 sation were indeed tested during this period to the very 
 utmost. 
 
 The first to be invalided was Mr. Bramwell Booth. He 
 could ill be spared, but continued trouble from his heart and 
 throat rendered a, change necessary to prevent a complete 
 breakdown. At the invitation of a warm friend of the Mis- 
 sion he spent, several weeks in Scotland, profiting consider- 
 ably by the rest, and returning at length to his post with 
 renewed health. 
 
 Scarcely, however, had Mr. Bramwell recovered when tho 
 General was suddenly prostrated by a severe attack of gas- 
 tric fever. Had it not been, under God, for Mrs. Booth's 
 indefatigable nursing he would probably have died. A 
 homoeopathic doctor was sent for. Mrs. Booth stipulating, 
 however, beforehand that he should ajlow the use of the 
 water treatment. Fever packs, liver packs, mustard packs, 
 and the other paraphernalia of hydropathy were called into 
 requisition with the most encouraging results. 
 
 " I need not tell you how I feel," writes Mrs. Booth to Mrs. Billups. 
 " My soul seems dumb before the Lord. A horror of great darkness 
 comes over me at times. But, in the midst of it all, I believe He will 
 do all things well, I am not at all taken by surprise. I have known 
 so long that this breakdown must follow. The doctor says it has been 
 coming on a long time. My beloved says I am to tell you that he is hi 
 the furnace, but has perfect ppace. Praise the Lord for this." 
 
Training of th? Children. 243 
 
 But the strain was too great for Mrs. Booth's delicate 
 and overwrought frame, and she again collapsed, just as the 
 General's illness had taken a favourable turn. As soon as 
 it was possible to be moved, both were ordered away, for 
 change of air, to Tunbridge Wells. They had scarcely 
 arrived when the sad news reached them that their daughter 
 Lucy was dangerously ill of small-pox, and that one of the 
 servants had also contracted the disease, having been removed 
 at her own request to the hospital, where, a few days after- 
 wards, she died. 
 
 With his usual intrepidity and devotion, Mr. Railton 
 visited her deathbed, and thus, to the grief and deep concern 
 of all, received the infection. Mr. and Mrs. Booth returned 
 immediately to London, sent the children to the country, and, 
 abandoning their home to the patients, located for the time 
 being at the already crowded and ever busy headquarters 
 in Whitechapel. Mrs. Booth has since said that some of the 
 most anxious hours of her life were spent in the little upper 
 room from whence she superintended with persistent care 
 and skill the hydropathic treatment, which she believed to 
 be, under God, the means of their ultimate recovery. In her 
 daughter's case the danger gradually abated, but with Mr. 
 Hailton the attack assumed a most virulent form, and for 
 some days his life was despaired of. He had himself, while 
 sickening for the disease, expressed a presentiment that his 
 earthly days were numbered, and that his time had come 
 as he graphically expressed it, for being " promoted from the 
 infantry of earth to the cavalry of the skies." 
 
 Determined to make the utmost use of the brief interval 
 of life that he could yet call his own, he surrounded himself 
 with his papers and composed a book of nearly two hundred 
 pages. "Heathen England," as it was happily entitled, 
 described, on the one hand, the terribly godless condition 
 of the masses in this country, and on the other the strenuous 
 and successful efforts put forth by the Christian Mission for 
 their salvation. There was much in the narrative to carry 
 the mind back to the experiences of the apostles. 
 
244 Mrs. Booth. 
 
 At the time that Mr. Railton wrote, it is true, the work 
 had not by any means attained its present proportions, but 
 there was more than enough to enable the most unenthusicistic 
 soul to realise that a mighty future was in store for the 
 organisation which had outlived so many storms and thriven 
 among circumstances so apparently adverse to its existence. 
 To plant religion among the very dungheaps of society might 
 have well appeared a hopeless task. But the more the hand 
 of enmity and ridicule sought to smother the seedling with 
 the unsavoury masses of putrefying corruption that sur- 
 rounded it, the more they unconsciously contributed to its 
 growth and strength. The ploughed fields of the religious 
 world had been well-nigh worn out with the harvest that 
 had been wrung from their overtaxed soil, while the un- 
 touched swamps and vice-beridden jungles of society awaited 
 the magic touch of the daring innovator who should substi- 
 tute joy for sorrow, health for sickness, wealth for poverty, 
 hallelujahs for curses, and psalms of praise for ribald songs. 
 
 Unable through sickness to devote herself as usual to 
 public work, Mrs. Booth made use of the comparative leisure 
 for multiplying her letters to her children and friends. 
 
 The following letter was addressed to her youngest son 
 during a temporary absence from home : 
 
 " I trust you are enjoying yourself, and also that you are striving to 
 live so as to please God in everything. 
 
 "I haye been hoping to hear again from you that you had found that 
 peace and joy which you told me you were so earnestly seeking. I am 
 sure the Lord has no objection to give it to you when He sees that you 
 really want it for we do not always really want the things that we cry 
 and pray for, strauge as it may seem. The Lord judges of how much 
 we want a thing by the price we are willing to pay for it ; that is, by the 
 sacrifice of our own will that we are ready to make for it, and the hard 
 or unpleasant things we are ready to do for it. 
 
 "Now David said, 'I will patiently wait for th,e Lord.' 'In His law 
 will I meditate day and night.' 'My soul followeth hard after God.' 
 ' I am purposed that my mouth shall not transgress.' ' I hate every 
 false way ' ; that means every deceitful way. Now you see how David 
 sought God; he waited for Him in the way of keeping His command- 
 ments and striving to please Him in everything, and God is always 
 
Training of I he Children. 245 
 
 found of such souls. They are allowed to sing, ' So God is become my 
 salvation, of whom shall I be afraid ? ' 
 
 "I have not a doubt that David -when a little boy had been indus- 
 trious and faithful in tending his father's sheep. Many a cold night 
 in the wilderness had he led them into the fold, and many a lonely day 
 had he practised his music out in the fields while caring for them. He 
 must have done ; or where did he get the wonderful skill in playing 
 which brought him. into the court of the king ? (1st Samuel, 17th and 
 18th chapters.) He was the best player in all Israel. How little ho 
 thought when sitting on a stile practising his harp, or his flute, that 
 this very industry would be the means in God's hands of setting him on 
 the throne of Israel ! He must have studied grammar, too, for some of 
 his psalms written when he was quite young are amongst the most 
 beautiful compositions in the world. All the learning of all the ages 
 since he wrote has not been able to surpass the beauty of some of his 
 poetry ! 
 
 " Did God choose him, think you, because He saw that he was a good 
 and faithful boy, and therefore that he would make a good and faithful 
 king? Bead 1st Samuel, 16th chapter, and see what God said of him 
 David loved and served God in his boyhood, and God remembered it 
 when He wanted a man to take the place of unfaithful Saul ! He 
 passed over all the high and noble sons of the great men of the nation, 
 and chose a young, ruddy lad who kept his father's sheep, for ' He 
 juclgeth not according to outward appearance, but by the heart.' Are 
 you copying David's example ? Are you practising in all things what' 
 the Lord loves ? And seeking to please Him day by day ? If so, I am 
 sure He will be found of you, and if He does not make you a king He 
 will make you what is a great deal better, a winner of souls and a king 
 and a priest unto Himself. my dear boy, ' Be not a forgetful hearer 
 of the word, but a doer of the same, and you shall be blessed in your 
 deeds." 
 
CHAPTER XXVI. 
 THE SALVATION ARMY. 1877-78. 
 
 JANUARY, 1877, will ever be memorable in the history of ihe 
 Salvation Army, for it was then that the democratic system 
 of government into which, as we have already seen, the 
 Christian Mission had fast been drifting, was finally re- 
 placed by a purely military constitution. 
 
 From this moment the work commenced to extend itself 
 with unparalleled rapidity. It seemed as if the Mission had 
 taken a new lease of life. Like David, it had thrown aside 
 the cumbersome armour of Saul and had run to meet Goliath 
 with its simple sling and stone. Wherever the evangelists 
 appeared the armies of the Philistines were put to flight. 
 The largest buildings could not contain the crowds who 
 flocked to the meetings. Powerful revivals broke forth in 
 the most unlikely places, through agents whose only qualifi- 
 cation seemed their desperate earnestness. 
 
 It .would be interesting, were it possible, to sketch the 
 character and career of some of the men who composed Mr. 
 Booth's pioneer band of evangelists. Several of them, such 
 as John Allen, the converted navvy, have already gone to 
 their reward. Not a few were invalided by the arduous 
 nature of their toil, while others, after serving for a time, 
 either waxed weary in well-doing, or have sought for them- 
 selves easier paths than the rugged ones marked out for 
 them within the borders of the Mission. But a goodly num- 
 ber continue to occupy more or less prominent positions in 
 the Salvation Army of to-day. Several of thess have been 
 already referred to. 
 
 Another whose character and career were destined to 
 
 243 
 
The Salvation Army. 
 
 247 
 
 make a considerable mark upon the future \vas Elijah Cad- 
 man. Like his prophetic namesake, he was a product of the 
 deserts had traversed them in their length and breadth, and 
 familiarised himself with every detail of their barren desola- 
 tion. But " the howling wilderness " of which this modern 
 Elijah was a denizen was peopled not with phantom ghosts 
 and ghouls, nor even with dragons and fiery serpents, but 
 
 COMMISSIONER CABMAN. 
 
 with human beings almost as numerous as the sands which 
 constitute the Arabian desert, each particle instinct with life 
 and power for good or ill. 
 
 Born and bred among the misery and sin of slumdom, a 
 chimney-sweep by profession, a pugilist for recreation, a good 
 customer at the public-house, a desperate handful for the 
 police, a ringleader in every sort of mischief, Cadinan had 
 early gained for himself an unenviable notoriety in his native 
 
248 Mrs. Booth. 
 
 town of Rugby. Short, but thick-set, and powerful bej'ond 
 his size, he was an awkward antagonist in the drunken brawls 
 and sprees with which he was perpetually mixed up. His 
 keen wit and humorous sallies were the delight of the tap- 
 room, where he was a second Falstaff. 
 
 His conversion fell like a thunder-clap upon his old 
 associates. It was as complete as it was sudden. He 
 became as out-and-out for God as he had been for evil. He 
 loved his Bible so passionately that he carried it with him 
 wherever he went by day and slept with it under his pillow 
 by night, although he was so unlettered that he could not 
 tell whether he was holding it right side up or wrong ! But 
 he soon learned to read on purpose to be able to master its 
 contents, and an admirable memory and fluent tongue helped 
 to make amends for all educational deficiencies. He wrote 
 to Mr. Booth offering his services, was accepted and sent to 
 assist first at Hackney, then at Leicester, and afterwards to 
 take charge of Whitby. This was a new opening. The 
 evangelist walked round the town with a friend, engaged 
 the St. Hilda's music-hall for Sundays, the old town-hall for 
 week-nights, and issued a bill couched in very sensational 
 terms. 
 
 In this bill the Christian Mission for the first time adver- 
 tised itself as a " Hallelujah Army," an approach to the name 
 by which it was soon afterwards to be known. It w T as by a 
 remarkable concurrence of circumstances that this change 
 final]}' came about. The General was preparing his annual 
 appeal for Christmas, 1877, and was pacing the room, dis- 
 cussing the various particulars. Seated at the table were 
 his two indefatigable aides-de-camp, Mr. Bramwell and Mr. 
 Railton. " What is the Christian Mission ? " was a question 
 propounded by the circular. To this was proposed the 
 reply, " A Volunteer Army." Pausing for a moment, and 
 leaning over the shoulder of his secretary, the General 
 picked up a pen, passed it through the word " Volunteer " 
 and wrote above it " Salvation/'' 
 
 All the trio agreed that the new name was nothing short 
 
The Salvation Army. 249 
 
 of an inspiration. It was at the same time simple, terse, 
 and euphonious, expressing in a nutshell the great funda- 
 mental principles upon which the Mission had been based, 
 and the great object which it was seeking to fulfil. The 
 outside public were not slow in confirming the dictum, while 
 within the ranks of the Mission itself, and among the masses 
 for whom it catered, the newly-coined expression gained 
 immediate currency. Nevertheless the official recognition of 
 the title only took place by degrees. At first the notepaper 
 used for correspondence bore the heading, t The Christian 
 Mission, or the Salvation Army." A few months later the 
 order was reversed and the heading became " The Salvation 
 Army, commonly called the Christian Mission." And finally 
 all reference to the Mission was discarded. 
 
 The first time the new name appeared upon a public poster 
 was in Ptymouth, which had been opened by Captain and 
 Mrs. Dowdle. Soon afterwards Mr. Bramwell Booth caused 
 it to be painted across the Whitechapel Hall at the back of 
 the platform, to the considerable perturbation of some of the 
 older members of the Mission, who thought the change boded 
 no good. 
 
 The title of " captain " was also a novelty. In the first 
 instance it was intended to be nautical rather than military, 
 and to catch the eye of the Whitby fishermen. Some time 
 previously the Conference had passed a resolution prohibit- 
 ing the evangelists from using the title of " Reverend." 
 But plain " Mr." was equally inconvenient, and unsuited 
 for the masses. "Captain" was not only Scriptural but 
 popular, being commonly applied to the skippers of the 
 coasting craft and to the leaders in mines and other inland 
 occupations. Hence the use of the term soon spread, and 
 quickly superseded the obnoxious " Mr.," " Mrs.," and " Miss" 
 which had hitherto been in use. 
 
 The subsequent addition of other military titles was a 
 matter of necessity. It became essential to define the po- 
 sition of the assistant evangelist, and what more convenient 
 term could be found than that of lieutenant ? Elders and 
 
250 Mrs. Bvotli. 
 
 class- leaders were no more, but some substitute was neces- 
 sary. Sergeants and sergeant-majors just met the difficulty. 
 The rapid increase of the work made it advisable to group 
 the stations into districts, under the charge of the most 
 experienced evangelists. A distinguishing title became 
 again a necessity. The clerical catalogue had been aban- 
 doned as unsuitable. Hence it appeared advisable once more 
 to have recourse to military phraseology, and the major and 
 colonel were accordingly introduced. 
 
 Mr. Booth had always been known as the General Super- 
 intendent of the Mission. What more natural than that the 
 latter portion of the title should be dropped, and that he 
 should be announced by Captain Cad man as the General of 
 the Hallelujah Army ? It is a mistake to suppose that Mr. 
 Booth called himself General. The name was forced upon 
 him by others in exactly the same way that Christians were 
 first so called at Antioch. For many years he continued to 
 be known as the Hev. William Booth, and it was only by 
 degrees that he accustomed himself to the new title, though 
 as far back as 1872, in writing to him, Mr. Railton was 
 accustomed to address him as " My dear General," and 
 signed himself as his " Lieutenant." 
 
 The adoption of military terms soon led to further im- 
 portant advances. The stations received the name of 
 " Corps," and in 1878 the first flag was presented. The 
 ceremonial soon became both popular and useful, attracting 
 large crowds by its novelty. The colours were designed by 
 the General, and were intended to be. emblematic of the 
 great end in view. The blue border typified holiness, while 
 the scarlet ground was a perpetual reminder of the central 
 lesson of Christianity salvation through the blood of Jesus. 
 A yellow star in the centre betokened the fiery baptism of 
 the Holy Ghost. Equally striking was the motto, "Blood 
 and Fire," inscribed across the star L signifying in a word 
 the two great essential doctrines of the Mission the blood 
 of Jesus and the fire of the Holy Ghost. 
 
 It is needless to sav that innovations so numerous and so 
 
The Salvation Army. 251 
 
 sweeping excited at the time no little opposition, especially 
 on the part of the more respectable friends, who, when 
 they " heard these things, doubted of them whercunto this 
 would grow." 
 
 Referring to the change of name, and to the consequent 
 opposition and loss of sympathy on the part of some who 
 had hitherto supported the work, Mrs. Booth writes on the 
 ;23rd October, 1878, as follows : 
 
 " We have changed the name of the Mission into ' The Salvation 
 Army,' and truly it is fast assuming tha force and spirit of an army of 
 the living God. I see no bounds to our extension ; if God will own and 
 use such simple men and women (we have over thirty women in the 
 field) as we are sending out now, we can compass the whole country in 
 a very short time. And it is truly wonderful what is being done by the 
 instrumentality of quite young girls. I could not have believed it if I 
 had not seen it. Truly, out of the mouth of babes and sucklings He 
 has ordained strength, because of the enemy, and the enemy feels it. 
 
 " In one small town where we have two girls labouring, a man, quite 
 an outsider, told another that if they went on much longer all the 
 publics would have to shut up, for he went to every one in the town 
 the other night and he only found four men in them all ! The whole 
 population, he said, had gone to the ' Eallelujah Lasses ' ! Oh, for 
 more of the fire ! Pray for our officers. 
 
 " Now, my dearest friend, you have access ; go up boldly and in 
 mighty faith for torrents of power to break in on the enemy's territory 
 on every side. Our moorings are fairly cut, and we are ' out on the 
 ocean sailing.' The rich and respectable are giving us up on every 
 hand, as they did our Master when He got nearer the vulgar cross, but 
 we hear Him saying, ' I will show thee greater things than these.' And, 
 money or no money, we must go on." 
 
 Writing in November, 1878, Mrs. Booth mentions that it 
 had been finally decided to adopt uniforms, and thus put the 
 finishing touch to the military tactics which had served to 
 infuse into the Mission such a spirit of hopefulness and 
 aggression. Indeed, it was this that constituted the chief 
 value of the recent changes. The mere adoption of titles 
 and uniforms was simply valuable as being the outward and 
 visible sign of a remarkable increase in the aggressive spirit 
 which had always been a distinguishing feature of the 
 Christian Mission. 
 
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The Salvation Army. 253 
 
 shall keep the Army in touch with the masses. There is no 
 idea of finality in the present choice. Nor has there been 
 thought to be any virtue in disfigurement, the one object 
 being to combine simplicity with the testimony of separation 
 from the world. 
 
 In railway, street, or tram-car it is a perpetual reminder 
 to the careless and the ungodly, forcing them to think of the 
 eternity to which they are hurrying and which they would 
 fain banish from their minds. The very criticisms to which 
 it may give rise often pave the way to close personal dealing 
 upon spiritual themes, and it is seldom that the Salvationist 
 allows his assailant to depart without receiving some home- 
 thrusts which, lingering in the heart long after the inter- 
 view has terminated, have not infrequently resulted in tears 
 of penitence and salvation. 
 
CHAPTER XXVII 
 
 MRS. BOOTH'S CHILDREN COMMENCE PUBLIC \VoizK. 
 1877-78. 
 
 DURING the year 1877 Mrs. Booth realised the peculiar joy 
 of seeing her children one after another commence to occupy 
 prominent posts of usefulness, and, although prevented by 
 sickness from standing with them in the field, she continued 
 from behind the scenes to instruct, advise, and encourage 
 them as occasion offered. While staying at St. Leonards 
 her shy and retiring daughter Emma for the first time 
 stepped upon the public platform. As early as 1873 her 
 brother Bramwell had persuaded her to conduct some chil- 
 dren's services in the schoolroom at their Hackney home. 
 But no amount of persuasion would induce her to either 
 speak or pray in public until the occasion referred to by 
 Mrs. Booth in the following letter : 
 
 " You will be surprised to hear that Emma spolce in the Hall here on 
 Sabbath last. I could not believe it, but it was so. We have a good 
 little woman evangelist here, who is struggling with a lot of rough poor 
 people, and she had so enlisted Emma's sympathy and \ron her heart as 
 to get her to promise to help her, though it wa's more than she had 
 hoped to persuade her to take a service. On Sunday night, however, to 
 her astonisbment, Emma went on the platform and took a hymn-book 
 and began as though she had been at it for twelve months. She preached 
 from Isaiah, 10th chapter, 3rd verse, and they all say she did wonder- 
 fully. Not a hesitancy or apparent qualm. She tells me that she felt 
 unutterable things, but was enabled to keep calm outside. There were 
 five souls sought salvation a real triumph for this place. Does it not 
 seem as if the Lord was going to take me at my word and use thenrall 
 in His work ? Bless His name ! " 
 
 It was about the same time that the Marechale commenced 
 
Mrs. Boot/is Children Commence Public Work, 255 
 
 a series of meetings in Leicester, a town in which Mrs. 
 Booth felt a special interest, the work having been com- 
 menced through her instrumentality. Miss Booth, assisted 
 by her brother Bramwell, soon succeeded in bringing about, 
 a powerful revival. Upon receiving the news, Mrs. Booth 
 sent her daughter the following inspiring epistle: 
 
 " I am delighted to hear of the break. I thought it must come. 
 Praise the Lord ! And now, just divest your mind of any and every 
 other concern for the present and live for God and Leicester ! I want 
 you to gather every convicted soul in the place. Next Sunday you will 
 feel more at home and have a better hold of the people. Only pray and 
 believe, and keep near the Lord, and Leicester will be your first great 
 victory for Jesus and eternity. 
 
 " Oh, it seems to me that if I were in your place young no cares or 
 anxieties with such a start, such influence, and such a prospect, I 
 should not be able to contain myself for joy. I should indeed aspire to 
 be the ' bride of the Lamb,' and to follow Him in conflict for the salva- 
 tion of poor, lost and miserable man. I pray the Lord to show it to you, 
 and so to enamour you of Himself that you may see and feel it to be 
 your chief joy to win them for Him. I say I pray for this ; yes, I groan 
 for it, with groanings that cannot be uttered, and if ever you tell me it is 
 so I shall be overjoyed. 
 
 " I don't want you to make any vows (unless, indeed, the Spirit leads 
 you to do so), but I want you to set your mind and heart on winning 
 souls, and to leave everything else with the Lord. When you do this 
 you will be happy oh, so happy! Your soul will then find perfect rest. 
 The Lord grant it to you, my dear child. 
 
 " Try to get to know how long the cases have been under conviction 
 when you speak to them. It comforts me to hear that my labour has 
 not all been in vain. I am sorry to hear there was such paucity of help. 
 We must make workers. There are few know how to deal with souls. 
 You must make some, by God's grace and help. You must now take the 
 flag and hold it firmer and steadier, and hoist it higher than ever your 
 mother has done. 
 
 " I have been ' careful about many things.' I want you to care only 
 for the one thing. I would give my heart's blood this moment to see 
 you in spirit a Nanny Cutler ! I would far rather be that woman now 
 than Gabriel. Look onward, my child, into eternity on, and ON, and 
 ON. You are to live forever. This is only the infancy of existence 
 the school-day, the seed-time. Then is the grand, great, glorious, eter- 
 nal harvest. ' He that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life 
 everlasting.' Glory ! The battle will soon be over. Oh, shall we not 
 win the field? The Lord help us to resist evil, even unto blood ! " 
 
 In writing some time later from Stockton-on-Tees, Mrs, 
 
256 Mrs. Sooth. 
 
 Booth sends an interesting description of the meetings con- 
 ducted in that town by the General and Miss Booth : 
 
 " Pa and Katie had a blessed beginning yesterday. Theatre crowded 
 at night, and fifteen cases. I heard Katie for the first time since we 
 were at Cardiff. I was astonished at the advance she had made. I wish 
 you had been there, I think you would have been as pleased as I was. 
 It was sweet, tender, forcible, and Divine. I could only adore and weep. 
 
 " It is the greatest trial we have that we cannot get helpers who are 
 determined to know nothing amongst men but ' Christ, and Him cruci- 
 fied.' There are plenty who have no objection to Christ glorified, when 
 He can be made to glorify themselves, but when it comes to sacrifice 
 and cross bearing for the sake of souls, then is the test. When some- 
 thing better for this world presents itself, then those who have not much 
 depth of principle fly off. Well, as some one said the other day, all 
 God's great reformers have had to icalk alone, in a path specially their 
 own, and, if need be, we must be content to walk so even to the end. 
 The more I see of the religion of the churches the more I am satisfied 
 that it is in the great majority of instances a great sham, a shell without 
 the kernel. They say, ' Lord, Lord,' but they do not the things that He 
 says. . We must keep on trying to save a few from the general wreck. 
 The Lord help us ! " 
 
 Speaking of the sort of preachers who were needed by the 
 Mission, and of the difficulty of securing such, Mrs. Booth 
 says: 
 
 " I hope, my dear boy, that, whatever sense of obligation or gratitude 
 you have towards rue, you will try to return it by resolutely resisting all 
 temptation to evil, and by fitting yourself to your utmost to be useful to 
 your fellow-men. I ask from you, as I asked from God, no other re- 
 ward. If I know my own heart, I would rather that you should work 
 for the salvation of souls, making bad hearts good and miserable homes 
 happy, and preparing joy and gladness for men at the judgment bar, if 
 you only get bread and cheese all your life, than that you should fill any 
 other capacity with 10,000 per year. I believe in eternal distinction. 
 ' They that turn many to righteousness shall shine as the stars for ever 
 and ever.' 
 
 " Not that I would have you do it for the reward, but for the pure love 
 of Him who died for you and them ; still, it is not wrong to ' have respect 
 to the recompense of the reward,' and now that almost everybody is 
 pulling and striving for this world's rewards and prizes, it is meet that 
 the real children of the great King should sometimes think of ilieir 
 reward. Paul did this, though it was the love of Christ alone which 
 constrained him to labour. ' There is laid up for me a crown of 
 righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, shall give unto me 
 
Mrs. Booth's Children commence Public Work. 257 
 
 at that day.' Happy they whose ambition aims not below the skies ; 
 they will never be disappointed ! 
 
 " I hope you are getting on in your studies and not allowing them to 
 draw you from God. There is no illuminator like the Holy Ghost. He 
 is promised on purpose to lead us into all truth, consequently to guard 
 us from error. Seek His light on all you read, and His help in all you 
 do, and your progress will be real and rapid." 
 
 Referring to the same subject in another letter, Mrs. 
 Booth says : 
 
 " I was talking with a young minister the other day who has spent 
 much time in studying science ! He knows a great deal, I doubt not, 
 but alas, by his own confession and by the miserable results of his 
 ministry, it is evident he knows not how to win souls. I saw in talking 
 to him more clearly than ever that the main qualification for preaching 
 is not gifts, nor learning, but spirit. 'Ye know not what spirit ye are 
 of ' might be sounded in the ears of thousands of ministers nowadays. 
 They are of a scientific, a philosophical, a metaphysical, an astro- 
 nomical, or any other kind of spirit, rather than of Paul's spirit, who 
 determined to know nothing among men but Christ, and Him crucified. 
 
 "This is what the world wants: men of one idea that of getting 
 people saved. There are plenty of men of one idea gold getting. 
 They show that it is their great aim and object in life. They make no 
 secret of it, they make everything bow to it ; they are of a worldly spirit. 
 Now we want men who are just as much set on soul-saving; who are 
 not ashamed to let everybody know that tbis is the one object and aim 
 of their life, and that they make everything secondary to this men of 
 a Christ like spirit. There need be no mistake or mystery about it 
 4 by their fruits ye shall know them.' Paul, and every other man of 
 like spirit, has had his fruit, and will have to the end of time. Your 
 father is a man of this spirit ; the Lord make all his children such, and 
 you among the first. It is ' not by might, nor by power, but by My 
 Spirit, saith the Lord.' " 
 
 Mrs. Booth eagerly took advantage of a measure of re- 
 turning health to deliver an address to the new converts in 
 Stockton and to speak a few \yords at the anniversary 
 meeting held in Hartlepool. On the latter occasion a num- 
 ber of her early converts of 1861 were present. " I was 
 greeted," writes Mrs. Booth, " by many smiling faces and 
 sparkling eyes, but could not stop to do any handshaking. 
 How grand will it be to meet our spiritual children up 
 yonder ! " 
 
258 Mrs. Booth. 
 
 Writing to another of her sons, she urges him to increas- 
 ing watchfulness and devotion : 
 
 " We must seek till we find, and this is just the difference between 
 real seekers and hypocrites ; the former go on till they find, and will 
 not be satisfied with anything less than God ; the latter get tired, and 
 lind rest in creature-good of one kind or another. Better go ' hungering 
 and thirsting after righteousness ' all our days than to take up with the 
 devil's draughts or eat his husks. But our Lord is not a hard master, 
 and when He sees that we seek Him not His gifts, but Himself with 
 all our hearts, then we find Him. 
 
 " The Lord help you not to grow weary, but to strive to enter in at 
 the strait gate. The enjoyment of God, spiritual usefulness on earth, 
 and glory for ever, are worth a struggle, are they not ? 
 
 " Abraham said to Dives, the rich man, ' Son, remember ! Thou in 
 thy lifetime hadst thy good things^ but Lazarus evil things ; now he is 
 comforted, but thou art tormented.' 
 
 " Perhaps I have not quoted the exact words, but it means, ' Thou 
 didst choose thy portion on earth and thou didst get it a mansion, 
 crops, barns, flocks and herds, horses and carriages, etc., without God 
 and salvation ; whereas Lazarus chose to serve God and do right and 
 save his soul, even though perhaps this very choice led him to the dung- 
 hill (I think very likely it was so). Now, and for all eternity, he is and 
 shall be comforted. ' Just and righteous art Thou, King of saints ! ' 
 We know God's ways ; let us act accordingly. 
 
 ' Do not be disheartened because you are tempted. Paul speaks of 
 the * fiery trials ' of the saints, of the fiery darts ' of the devil, and of 
 being ' tried as by fire.' Now these must have been pretty sharp con- 
 tests for such a brave soldier as Paul to call them ' fiery.' Temptation 
 is the severest of all tests of grace. Many a man could go to the block 
 far easier than fight his own lusts. Jesus knew this ; therefore He 
 warned His disciples against the first beginnings of sin. (Matt, v., 28th 
 and 29th verses.) Looking at and thinking about forbidden objects 
 brings all our woe ! Keep your eyes and your thoughts off, and you are 
 safe. Jesus said, ' Watch.' Satan is so cunning, he says, ' You can 
 just indulge a little. You need not go all lengths.' But he knows that 
 f he can find a lodgment in the thoughts he is sure of everything. 
 Mind him. He is a ' liar from the beginning.' Resolutely resist his 
 first whisper. Don't listen to one word. Eun for your life. He has 
 slain millions through ihe first thought ! " 
 
 In glancing over Mrs. Booth's letters nothing is perhaps 
 so striking as the extraordinary diversity of subjects with 
 which they deal, and the ability with which each is dis- 
 cussed. While in many of her letters she urges her 
 
Mrs. Boottis Children commence Public Work. 259 
 
 children to make the most of such educational advantages 
 as have been thrown in their way, she cautions them in the 
 following letter against the other extreme of " cramming " 
 the mind with quantities of ill-digested knowledge : 
 
 " You are under a mistake to suppose that sacrificing your recreation 
 time will help you in the end. It will not. Cramming the mind acts 
 just in the same way as cramming the stomach. It is what you digest 
 well that benefits you, not what you cram in. So many hours spent in 
 study, and then relaxation and walking, will do your mind more good 
 than ' all work and no play.' The mind must have time to recruit as 
 well as the body, and if you do not allow it to do so it will be just so 
 much duller and the more inactive. Now mark this : Do not be looking 
 so much at what you have to do as to what you are doing. Leave the 
 future (you may spend it in heaven) and go steadily on doing to-day's 
 work, iu to-day's hours, with recreation in between to shake the seed 
 in. One step well and firmly taken is better than two with a slip back- 
 wards. It is of no use breaking the bow by stretching it too tight. 
 Thousands do this, and are rendered useless for life! Poor human 
 nature seems as though it must go to extremes. Either all or none, too 
 much or too little, idleness or being killed with work ! May the Lord 
 show you the happy medium ! " 
 
 To one who complained that her nature rendered her 
 peculiarly susceptible to. temptation, Mis. Booth replied: 
 
 " Supposing that you are in yourself of a restless and discontented 
 nature, ' Is there no balm in Gilead ? Is there no physician there ? ' 
 Are we bound always to remain what we were at the beginning? If so, 
 why did it please ' the Father that in Him should all fulness dwell ? ' 
 What for, but for our emptiness, and want, and weakness? 'Where sin 
 hath abounded grace doth much more abound.' By watchfulness on our 
 part, and discipline and succour on His, what may we not become ? We 
 may even ' adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things.' It is 
 not of nature's tree the fruits of the Spirit spring. It is from the tree 
 of the Lord's own ' right hand planting.' Here is encouragement for 
 you and for me. The top-stone of our renewed life is to be brought 
 forth shouting, not ' Nature, nature ! ' but ' GRACE, GRACE unto it ! ' 
 ' Hope thou in God, for I shall yet praise Him, who is the health of my 
 countenance and my God.' Watch and trust, and nature will be con- 
 quered. The Lord help you !" 
 
CHAPTER XXVIII. 
 THE ARMY AXD ITS CRITICS. 1878. 
 
 THE last cf the Christian Mission Conferences was held 
 in August, 1878, when the funeral ceremonies were finally 
 performed over the old system, and the military programme 
 was adopted unanimously and with acclamation. 
 
 Eighteen months had elapsed since the first council of 
 evangelists, in which Mr. Booth had announced his inten- 
 tion to institute a change in the government of the Mission. 
 He had proceeded, however, with his characteristic caution, 
 guiding rather than driving, and awaiting the natural 
 course of events before delivering the last coup de grace to 
 the already sentenced methods of the past. Whatever 
 doubts might have existed as to the propriety of the new 
 course had disappeared long before the time for consideration 
 had passed by. 
 
 But the interval was occupied in anxious deliberations, 
 on the part of Mr. and Mrs. Booth and the confidential 
 council, in which the more important affairs of the Mission 
 were discussed, as to the character of the new constitution 
 v\-hich was to be laid down. Consultation followed upon 
 consultation, the lawyers being continually referred to. In 
 these cabinet gatherings Mrs. Booth was a leading spirit. 
 Her almost prophetic far-sightedness, her intimate know- 
 ledge of human nature, and her thorough acquaintance with 
 church history were much valued by the General, as helping 
 him to anticipate the difficulties with which the movement 
 was likely to meet, and to devise the best safeguards for 
 preserving its spiritual vitality. 
 
 The Salvation Army in its present form is no more the 
 
 260 
 
The Army and its Critics. 261 
 
 accidental grouping together of a number of atoms than is 
 the product of engineering skill, "such as a steamer, or rail- 
 way engine. Those who see but its outward developments 
 have little idea of the care, the consideration, and the calcu- 
 lation which, in constant dependence upon the Divine Spirit, 
 are bestowed upon the preparation of each component part. 
 The Deed Poll of 1878 was the final outcome of prolonged 
 and prayerful deliberation. It was purposely simplified to 
 the utmost possible degree. Only those doctrines were in- 
 cluded which appeared to be necessary to salvation. Only 
 those regulations were introduced which should serve as a 
 skeleton for whatever addition differences of time and 
 nationality might demand. Only those fundamental objects 
 were enacted which were to be the eternal and unchangeable 
 pursuit of the Salvation Army so long as a single sinner re- 
 mained to be saved. 
 
 At a subsequent date the new name of the Christian Mis- 
 sion (the Salvation Army), which had not been hitherto 
 officially recognised, was endorsed upon the Deed, provision 
 for such an alteration having been reserved. 
 
 The Conference, or War Congress, as it had been re- 
 baptised, was of the most enthusiastic character. Indeed, 
 there was little room for anything but unqualified gratitude 
 to God concerning the remarkable progress which Mr. Booth 
 was enabled to report. During the previous year the 
 stations had increased from 29 to 50 ; the evangelists from 
 31 to 88 ; the regular speakers from 625 to 1,086, of whom 
 355 were women ; the weekly indoor services from 161 to 
 313 ; the weekly open-airs from 224 to 355 ; the average 
 Sunday night congregations from 11,675 to 27,280; and the 
 number of persons professing salvation (the chief criterion by 
 which the results of so much effort were to be judged) from 
 4,632 to 10,762. During the month that followed the Con- 
 ference 14 more towns were opened, and the number of 
 evangelists increased from 88 to 102. In the succeeding 
 month an equal number of new openings took place, and al- 
 though in some cases, as might be expected, rebuffs and 
 
262 Mrs. Booth. 
 
 disappointments were experienced, the Army advanced, on 
 the whole, with a rapidity which far surpassed anything in 
 its previous history. At the conclusion of the year (1878) 
 the Army was able to report 81 corps, 127 officers (of whom 
 101 had been converted at its own meetings), and 1,987 pub- 
 lic speakers. Besides the above, 141 of the Army's converts 
 and 83 of its regular members had become ministers, mis- 
 sionaries, evangelists, Bible-women, and colporteurs in the 
 service of other religious organisations. 
 
 The Salvation Army had therefore now fairly entered the 
 public arena, and it was not long before it became " the observed 
 of all observers." The newspapers, those modern Athenians 
 who spend " their time in nothing else but either to tell or 
 to hear some new thing," spied the infant prodigy, and their 
 columns, usually destitute of a particle of religion, soon 
 teemed with comments, which, could they be collected, 
 would require the lifetime of a Methuselah -to read through, 
 and would represent as veritable a Babel of contradictions 
 as were ever written upon any subject in so brief a space of 
 time. 
 
 Somehow, everybody felt qualified to pass an opinion, 
 from the little whipper-snapper who shouted " There goes 
 Jesus!" as the bonneted sisters passed down the street, 
 to the almost deified editor who sent forth his oracular 
 utterances day by day to his votaries all over the world, 
 and received from them the coppery tributes of their adora- 
 tion. If diatribes, tirades, and philippics could have 
 annihilated the Salvation Army it would surely have per- 
 ished long ago. Its first appearance was a signal for a 
 storm of abuse and ridicule which for violence and per- 
 sistence has probably seldom been equalled in, the world. 
 Like David, it might truly say, "The ploughers ploughed 
 upon my back; they made long their furrows." "Strong 
 bulls of Bashan ?> beset it around, gaping upon it " with 
 their mouths as a ravening and a roaring lion." 
 
 Anybody and everybody felt they might have a fling. It 
 was quite safe to do so. Thev knew they would not be struck 
 
The Army and its Critics. 263 
 
 back. Here were people who when smitten on the one cheek 
 were actually willing to turn the other to the smiter also, 
 and who when robbed by a brutal mob of their coat were 
 willing to offer to an un sympathising bench the cloak of 
 their liberty and rights as British subjects. It was " sport " 
 to crush the fly, because it was not a wasp, and could not 
 sting ! The " noble field " had caught sight of the religious 
 stag and was soon in full chase. The journalist blew the 
 horn, and great was the company of hunters and huntresses, 
 and countless the packs of ready hounds that joined in the 
 pursuit. Who was not there? Every shade of society had 
 its representative. 
 
 Not that it was anything so very new, after all. What 
 century and what generation and what nationality has not 
 had its similar stag, which it has hounded to death, " from 
 the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zach arias, whom 
 they slew between the temple and the altar," and onward to 
 the present day, through a truly apostolic succession of 
 saints and martyrs ? 
 
 Looking back, at the moment of writing these memoirs, 
 upon the history of the past thirteen years, it seems nothing 
 short of miraculous that the Salvation Army should have 
 survived the whirlwind of criticism to which from its very 
 infancy it has been exposed. Well was it that Providence had 
 placed at its helm two hearts unflinching, two wills unwaver- 
 ing, who clung to their post with the desperate tenacity of 
 a faith which increased as storm after storm was weathered. 
 Thus wave upon wave that threatened to engulf the vessel 
 but carried it more swiftly toward its destination, compelling 
 the very " wrath of man to praise " its Divine Controller. 
 
 For the time being, however, all seemed with one consent 
 to make common cause in levelling a lance at the obnoxious 
 intruder upon the religious quietude of the world. Earls, 
 countesses, justices, mayors, aldermen, professors, literati, 
 scientists, sermonists, novelists, cartoonists, satirists, re- 
 porters, journalists, showered upon its devoted head anathe- 
 mas sufficient to have relegated it summarily to a purgatorial 
 
264 Mrs. Boot h. 
 
 limbo from which it should never have returned. Remarks 
 cynical, whimsical, hypocritical, nonsensical, inquisitorial, 
 dictatorial, dogmatical and, generally speaking, wiseacreical 
 were belched forth upon it like showers of bullets from a 
 mitrailleuse. 
 
 Liliputian nobodies -from the land of pigniydorn strutted 
 out, stretching themselves to the very utmost limits of their 
 insignificance, and aiming their poisoned shafts of envy and 
 calumny at those who had dared to overstep their menta 
 and spiritual invisibility. Intellectual Goliaths, whose ipse 
 dixit was wafted through the world on journalistic wings, 
 stalked forth with ponderous shield and weighty spear, to 
 throw down the gauntlet to this " army of the living God " 
 which had dared to raise the standard of revolt against the 
 heathenish Philistinism of modern Christendom. Those who 
 knew least bragged loudest, and those who were the most 
 shortsighted prophesied with the utmost confidence. 
 
 A coroneted religious luminary in England's sky discovered 
 in the Salvation Army the magic number of the Beast of 
 Revelation, though in what respects the one resembled the 
 other any more than he did himself would be difficult in- 
 deed to discover. No canon of interpretation was given. 
 Xone was asked. It was enough to brand the object with 
 another's misdeeds, and gibbet it, not for what it had been 
 or done, but for what it might some day become. 
 
 " Jesuitry," cried another self-constituted u defender of 
 the faith'' to those who did not even know what Jesuitry 
 meant; who had never studied its history, nor copied its 
 devices, and whose pure and holy lives bore witness to the 
 falseness of the charge. But how could one judge who had 
 never been to a meeting in her life, and who closed her 
 door upon those who would have sought her out to explain 
 what she might have misunderstood, or to learn from her 
 the higher altitudes upon which she would have had them 
 construct their morality ? But this titled upholder of or- 
 thodox Protestantism, this daughter of freedom-boasting 
 Switzerland, could incite maddened mobs and jealous priests 
 
The Army and its Critics. 26$ 
 
 and unfriendly governments to tear in pieces, shoot, imprison, 
 stab, stone, and shed the blood of those with whom she would 
 not even pray ! Had a Chinese mandarin or Mahommedan 
 dervish done the same Great Britain would probably have 
 declared war, and outraged Christendom have united to 
 demand an apology. 
 
 Others of the critics were of a less rabid character. The 
 Salvation Army they loftily pronounced to be a " rope of 
 sand." It did not possess in their estimation the elements 
 of durability. It would soon die a natural death. It had 
 long ago attained the zenith of its success. And now it was 
 on the wane. It was a notorious fact that it was not what 
 it had been, nor could it ever be so again. But, alas, for 
 their prophetic spirits ! The papery mausoleum which they 
 had prepared with infinite trouble to receive its last remains 
 continued empty. The swan-like requiems were left unsung. 
 The Salvation Army was a long time waning, and never 
 reached the point at which it could -be correctly said to be 
 " quite dead." 
 
 Many a time the journalistic gibbet was erected, and the 
 editorial executioner prepared to bandage the eyes and give 
 the culprit his last swing into space. But at the critical 
 moment, when all eyes were fixed, some royal messenger 
 came dashing round the corner with the unwelcome reprieve, 
 and not unfrequently the modern Haman, after leading 
 Mordecai through the streets amid the applause of an admir- 
 ing city, in royal apparel, upon the King's own charger, 
 found himself swinging upon the gallows fifty cubits high 
 that he had erected. Verily, history repeats itself! What 
 closer parallel to the Jewish story could well be found than 
 in the funeral honours heaped on Mrs. Booth and the magni- 
 ficent ovation subsequently offered to the General in the 
 Antipodes, together with his unprecedented welcome home 
 to England ? 
 
 But .it would be vain to attempt to exhaust the endless 
 stream of idle tales and groundless slanders which have 
 more or less flowed on from that hour forward. " Take no 
 
266 Mrs. Booth. 
 
 notice of them ! March straight on ! " were the General's 
 orders to his soldiers, when surrounded with a howling 
 East End mob. And the same directions were not only 
 given to but acted on by the rank and file in regard to the 
 abuse and vituperation showered upon them from all 
 quarters. " Answer them not a word," as Hezekiah said to 
 his people upon the wall, when Rabshakeh sought to shake 
 their fidelity. 
 
 It was, however, Mrs. Booth's special lot to handle these 
 assailants, and for the sake of well-meaning but puzzled 
 friends and supporters to reply to their calumnies. She did 
 so, as is well known, with her usual trenchancy ; and indeed 
 her remarkable personality and obvious single- mindedness 
 did almost more to dispel doubt and restore confidence than 
 did even the unanswerable arguments with which she met 
 her opponents. She reminded the critics that not a few of 
 them lived in glass houses, and that the stones which they 
 were flinging at the Army were calculated to inflict far 
 greater damage if thrown back upon themselves. 
 
 She was willing that the Army should be judged by any 
 human standard, Scriptural or otherwise, but she insisted 
 that it should be on condition that the same standard should 
 be applied to themselves. She would not consent to an 
 angelic or Adamic ideal being set up for the one and not for 
 the other. If the Army were to be judged b} 7 such lofty 
 conceptions of morality, then by all means let the churches 
 and the world be measured by the same, and let them be 
 their own judges as to who came nearest' to the model. To 
 such considerations there was but one reply possible on the 
 part of any who were honestly willing to be convinced. 
 
 It is not a little difficult to understand the philosophy of 
 the criticism and other forms of opposition through which 
 the Salvation Army has found it necessary to fight its way 
 to its present position of acknowledged usefulness and success. 
 Here was an organisation that existed for the benefit of its 
 fellow-men. With the purest and most philanthropic motives 
 were coupled the most disinterested and self-denying lives. 
 
The Army and its Critics. 267 
 
 It could not have been the mere peculiarity of the measures 
 that provoked enmity. For others had been similarly assailed 
 in bygone days who had relied upon no such methods for 
 attracting attention. This may have been the excuse, but it 
 was no more than an excuse, and a flimsy one at best. Had 
 these methods not existed, or had they been widely different, 
 some other ground for objection would doubtless have been 
 invented. 
 
 Perhaps one reason for this, as we have heard Mrs. Booth 
 remark, is the spirit of selfishness, which seems so inveterate 
 in the human race. Few are sufficiently noble to ask them- 
 selves, in facing the appearance of a new phenomenon, " What 
 good will it do ? " The first question is, " How will it affect 
 ME ? " The whole world is surveyed from this narrow stand- 
 point. Its great problems are solved in the light of this 
 farthing dip ! The horizon of modern society is bounded 
 by the length and breadth of individual petty interests. 
 Selfishness pervades the atmosphere. 
 
 The Salvation Army bursts in upon the scene. The 
 publican says, " What will become of my customers ? " 
 The debauchee says, "The victims of my lust will slip 
 through my fingers!" The politician says, "I shall lose 
 my votes." The lover of ease says, " They will disturb 
 my neighbourhood." The man of business says, "What 
 can I make out of them ? " The minister over the 
 way says, "Will my people run away to them?" The 
 journalist says, " Which will increase my circulation best : 
 to praise or blame to approve or to condemn?" And as 
 in the estimation of each, rightly or wrongly, the answer 
 comes back, so the sails are trimmed and the helm turned ! 
 
 But, whatever be the cause, it is a sorry spectacle, and 
 calculated to make the hearts of the true followers of God 
 bleed, to see the world fling its sword into the scale against 
 those who would be its benefactors. Who can tell how 
 often the " Woe to the vanquished ! " of these Goths and 
 Vandals of modern society has sealed the doom of some 
 nascent effort to bless and cheer mankind, and how many a 
 
268 Mrs. Booth. 
 
 possible Rome it has consigned to the flames before its day ! 
 These Herods seek for the " Babe," it is true, as diligently 
 as did the wise men of the East themselves, but it is too 
 often to slay rather than to worship Him. Strange that, 
 when the conflagration of sin and misery is at its height, 
 those who profess to hold in their hands the hose should turn 
 it, not upon the fire, but on the heads of those whose sole 
 desire it is to give their life's blood in contributing to quench 
 the flames. But what we may not understand we can at least 
 patiently endure, and, in the stirring words of Mrs. Booth 
 in a letter to a friend : 
 
 " We go on through floods and storms and flames. God is 
 with us, and out of this movement He is going to resuscitate 
 the Acts of the Apostles. We see the pillar of cloud, and 
 after it we must go. It may be that the rich and the genteel 
 will draw off from us. They did so when the Master neared 
 the vulgar cross and the vulgar crowd. But we cannot help 
 it. We are determined to cleave to the cross, yea, the cross 
 between two thieves, if that will save the people ! " 
 
CHAPTER XXIX. 
 
 HALLELUJAH LASSES. 1877-78. 
 
 polls [police] could do nowt wi' me! The magis- 
 trays could do nowt wi' me ! But yon little lass could do 
 owt wi' me that she likes! " The speaker was a tall, burly 
 iron-worker in the North of England. The tears in his eyes 
 emphasized his words. He had been a drunkard and a 
 desperate character, but now, like the man out of whom the 
 legion of devils had been cast, he was " clothed and in his 
 right mind," a wonder to all the town and country-side, and 
 almost broken-hearted, because the meeting that was then 
 being held was the farewell of the young girl who had been 
 the means of leading him to Christ. Verily, it was " not by 
 might, nor by power, but by the Spirit " that so wonderful a 
 change had been wrought. Hundreds in that same town 
 could testify to a similar revolution in their lives. 
 
 And yet there was nothing very remarkable either in the 
 appearance or the words of the one to whom under God they 
 owed their salvation. There were none of the flashy gew- 
 gaws and not a vestige of the hollow claptrap that serve to 
 constitute the attraction of the stage or circus. The dress 
 was severely neat, Quakerish, Puritanical not a feather, 
 flower, or furbelow to be seen. The demeanour was in keep- 
 ing with the attire modest, unassuming, simplicity personi- 
 fied. The language was that of every-day life plain, almost 
 commonplace and could not have been more destitute of the 
 artificialities of rhetoric. And yet there was eloquence, but 
 it was the eloquence of nature, which as much transcends 
 the most polished flights of art as the note of the nightingale 
 
2/o Mrs. Booth. 
 
 does the ding-dong of the belfry or the roar of Niagara the 
 salvo of saluting cannon. 
 
 There was no need to "gild" the already " refined gold," 
 " to paint the lily, or add a perfume to the violet." And as 
 in the limpid waters of a pool the starlit sky stoops, so to 
 speak, and imprints itself upon earth, thus the hearts of that 
 vast audience were made to reflect the burning words that 
 fell from the speaker's lips, till it seemed as if, to a man, 
 their feelings might be summed up in the convert's expres- 
 sive utterance, " Yon lass can do owt wi 7 me that she likes." 
 
 After being repressed and buried for centuries beneath a 
 couple of misquoted Pauline texts, woman, like Lazarus of 
 old, had heard the voice of her Saviour bidding her " come 
 forth," and to Mrs. Booth was reserved the special privilege 
 of fulfilling the Master's bidding in loosing her fellow-sisters 
 from the grave-clothes of prejudice and letting them go forth 
 upon their errand of mercy the salvation of the world. 
 The Lord had given the word, and great had been the com- 
 pany of women warriors Hallelujah Lasses, as they were 
 popularly styled who went forth, and who helped in 1878 
 to turn the ebbing tide into the onward flow of victory. 
 
 * Shock after shock had the Christian Mission experienced 
 in its early days from the Judases who had betrayed its cause, 
 seeking to snatch for themselves, in the very hour of victory, 
 the credit and results that belonged to God and humanity. 
 But the standard which they had ignobly surrendered was 
 seized by a bright brave troop of modern Deborahs and 
 Jaels, the record of whose acts reads m,ore like a religious 
 romance than the sober happenings of history. 
 
 Sometimes the Salvation Army is blamed for ignoring the 
 achievements of others. As a matter of fact, neither time 
 nor space has yet been found to relate our own. There is no 
 need to fill our columns with ancient history, or to roam the 
 world and ransack the churches in order to discover stirring 
 examples of devotion and self-sacrifice. We cannot pause 
 to canonise the dead of centuries gone by, while a living host 
 * Se? for full particulars the Library Edition. 
 
Hall eli tjali Lasses. 271 
 
 of sr.ints find martyrs take their place and carry on the work. 
 It is scarcely too much to say-that there are more luminaries 
 in a square yard of Salvation Army sky than in the entire 
 span of many a century-old organisation. Thrilling incidents 
 and biographies await the pen of the future historian. But 
 for the present, unless they are chronicled in heaven, they 
 are scarcely chronicled at all. 
 
 There was Kate Shepherd, the heroine of the Hhondda 
 Valley in Wales, the leader of one of the most powerful re- 
 vivals the world has ever seen. Buildings were too small to 
 contain the crowds who flocked to listen to the girl-preacher. 
 For hours together, in the open air, under the shadow of the 
 Welsh mountains, the people by thousands would hang upon 
 her lips. And when with lifted face and closed eyes, stand- 
 ing in her cart-pulpit, she burst into a torrent of prayer, it 
 seemed as if a pin-fall would have jarred upon the breathless 
 silence of the audience. Kate's power in prayer was unique. 
 It was not so much what she said, as the way she said it. 
 " Lord, Lord, You know they are mis-er-a-Ue ! " she would 
 begin, and the heart of every sinner in the congregation 
 seemed to echo back, almost audibly, "You know we are 
 miserable ! " 
 
 The prayer finished, the clear, sweet voice would ring 
 through the air in some popular refrain adapted to spiritual 
 words, which were heartily taken up by the crowd. And 
 then followed a simple testimony to God's saving grace, and 
 appeal upon appeal for every sinner to decide then and there 
 the question of his soul's salvation. "Won't you come? 
 You'll be sorry for it some day ! Yes, you WILL ! " And 
 the large, dark, earnest eyes, brimful of tears, enforced the 
 argument with a pathetic power, alas ! too lacking in the 
 pulpit ministrations of today. No wonder that hundreds 
 upon hundreds of the roughest class flocked like little chil- 
 dren to the penitent-form, and entered the kingdom of heaven 
 through the labours of the girl of seventeen who had dropped 
 suddenly down into their midst like an angel from the skies. 
 
 For ten years she continued her faithful and successful 
 
272 Mrs. Boot/i. 
 
 labours, neither daunted by opposition nor puffed up by 
 flatteries such as might have excited the vanity of many a 
 more experienced labourer. Six offers of marriage during 
 the first seven weeks, including two from ministers, did not 
 cause her to falter or draw back from the path of duty ; and 
 when at length, prematurely worn out by the exhausting 
 toil of her early years, she married, and retired from public 
 life, she manifested in private the Christian graces which 
 had made her ministry so successful. 
 
 It would be easy to multiply instances of a similar cha- 
 racter. Indeed, where so many have excelled, it seems 
 invidious to select individual names for special mention. It 
 is only as types of the rest that we have ventured to single 
 out a few of the most prominent. For these ministering 
 women were not mere facsimiles of each other. Some were 
 quiet and reserved, others loud and demonstrative. Some 
 struggled on amid tears and fears, others enjoyed boisterously 
 high spirits. But in courage, faith, love, and zeal, it would 
 be difficult to say which excelled. 
 
 The very opposite of the Kate Shepherd class was the noto- 
 rious "Happy Eliza." She was an excellent specimen of the 
 ready-for-anything spirit which has from the first character- 
 ized the Salvation Army. When stationed with Mrs. Rey- 
 nolds at Nottingham, the usual advertisements having failed 
 to draw the crowd, she marched through the town with 
 streamers floating from her hair and jacket and a placard 
 across her back, " \ am Happy Eliza ! " 
 
 The respectables were more than ever scandalised, but the 
 denizens of the public-houses and slums forsook their ale-pots 
 and street-brawls to have a look at the wide-mouthed, loud- 
 voiced, fearless preacheress who had rushed like a whirlwind 
 through their haunts, and who evidently understood so well 
 their language and their habits. 
 
 AYhen a herd of wild elephants have been captured in the 
 East, it is customary to send some tamed ones into their 
 midst to fraternize with them and induce them to submit to 
 their new and strange surroundings. Acting upon this 
 
Hallelujah Lasses. 273 
 
 principle the Christian Mission preferred to select for their 
 agents those who had been born and bred in the dark depths 
 of civilisation's jungledom. Happy Eliza was one of these. 
 Fear was not to be found in her vocabulary. She knew and 
 cared as little about the rules and regulations of conven- 
 tionality as did the human outlaws of society who were the 
 objects of her attention. The game she was pursuing fought 
 shy of the ways and words of civilised society. The religious 
 trap set to catch them was no doubt very excellent, but un- 
 fortunately they had grown wary and would not walk inside. 
 But this woman-Nimrod, this " mighty hunter before the 
 Lord," instead of waiting for the prey to come to her, had 
 followed it to its remotest hiding-place. And not in vain. 
 The hall was filled. Scores of the most desperate charac- 
 ters were saved, and Happy Eliza was soon marching 
 backward down the streets, waving her fiddlestick and lead- 
 ing on a procession of converted ruffians, and encouraging 
 them to 
 
 " Shout aloud Salvation, boys ! We'll have another song ! 
 Sing it with a spirit that will start the world along ; 
 Sing it as our fathers sang it many a million strong, 
 As they went marching to glory ! " 
 
 It was not long before Happy Eliza's name became a 
 household word throughout England. To the roughs she was 
 the very type and embodiment of the Salvation Army spirit. 
 Not a bonneted girl-soldier could pass through the streets 
 without having the name shouted after her. Music-hall 
 ballads, by being dedicated to her, ensured their popularity. 
 Dolls and toys received her name, while sweetmeats im- 
 printed with the magic title commanded a ready sale among 
 the little street urchins, with whom " a 'aporth o' 'appy 
 ''Lizas " possessed an irresistible attraction. 
 
 And when a little later she was transferred to Marylebone, 
 where an old theatre was to be opened, the same spirit of 
 daring don't-careism secured the same glorious results. There 
 were neither soldiers nor bands to advertise her. But she was 
 equal to the occasion. A four-wheeler was hired. With 
 
 T 
 
27.4 Mrs. Booth. 
 
 brass instruments inside and a drum on the box, Happy 
 Eliza took up her position on the luggage-railed roof, and 
 drove through the streets, alternately playing her fiddle and 
 distributing thousands of handbills which announced the 
 coming meetings. The story of the work that followed 
 would fill an interesting volume of its own. How could such 
 desperate go-aheadism fail to secure the results at which it 
 aimed ? 
 
 Happy Eliza is still living. After years of faithful service 
 she married a fellow-officer whose health broke down. 
 Ordered abroad, to a warmer climate, both are now labouring 
 in connection with a missionary society for the salvation of 
 the heathen. Eliza visited the old country not long since, 
 and called* upon her comrades. Times were not quite so 
 lively, she admitted, as when she had "stormed the forts of 
 darkness" in "heathen England." But who can toll the 
 value of the training that "these mothers in Israel will give 
 to a generation yet to rise up and follow in their footsteps? 
 
 Another character of the indomitable sort was Chinee 
 Smith. Clogged and trampled on by a rough Lancashire mob, 
 her bonnet torn from her head and her shoes from her feet, 
 she marched in her stockings through the streets, her hair 
 streaming down her back, took her place on the platform, 
 and went on with the service as if nothing had happened. 
 Of course the hall was packed to suffocation, and before the 
 meeting closed souls were seeking salvation. 
 
 The beat of the much-abused Army drum, almost the first 
 time its now familiar echoes were ever heard in the streets, 
 drew from the tap-room of a provincial town a bevy of wild 
 young girls, bent upon a mischievous frolic at the expense of 
 the processionists. It was a miserable drizzling evening, but 
 the Captain halted for the usual open-air meeting, and was 
 soon surrounded by a fine crowd the elite of the adjacent 
 slummeries ; people who took little notice of the weather, 
 and who felt more at home with the slush under foot and the 
 rain pattering down from above than, I was going to say, in 
 the finest cathedral in the land. But the comparison would 
 
Hallelujah Lasses. 2/5 
 
 be a mockery. There were few in that crowd who ever 
 crossed the threshold of church or chapel. How could they 
 go ? They carried their scanty wardrobes on their backs, 
 and whenever the long-deferred washing-day came round 
 it was spent in bed, or rather in an apology for such, while 
 the clothes were drying. What verger would have admitted, 
 what congregation would have tolerated, the presence of such 
 a tatterdermalion throng ? 
 
 But here they were on their own ground and in their own 
 element. There was no one to criticise them. Indeed, it 
 was their turn to be the critics, and criticise they freely did, 
 with a caustic humour that was certainly less tedious than 
 the insipid common-places of an after-sermon supper-table 
 The Captain's voice was hoarse. No wonder. Seven open- 
 air and ten indoor meetings a week would be calculated to 
 try the strongest lungs and throat. But the hoarseness of 
 the Captain's voice preached a better sermon than any of the 
 speaker's words to at least one heart in that rough audience. 
 For, strange as it may seem to some, in the lowest depths of 
 slumdom hearts are to. be found as tender and as beautiful 
 as ever beat within the breast of womanhood. 
 
 It has been said that the crime, vice, and misery that 
 stamp the poor are less conscience-searing than the pride, 
 luxury, and formality of the upper classes. Perhaps it is 
 because the former carry their own condemnation, while the 
 latter hide their sin beneath the veneer of appearances.. 
 Whether this be so or not, the Captain would have surely 
 felt rewarded had she known that among that rude, rough, 
 jeering crowd, apparently so hardened in their sins, so in- 
 different to the claims of God, so careless of their own 
 highest interests, the arrow shot at a venture had struck 
 between the joints of the harness one who was to be so 
 signally used in the saving of souls. It was the leader of 
 the gang of girls who had rushed out of the public-house. 
 
 What could be more unlikely than that ; ' Nick," of all 
 others, should be converted, join the Salvation Army, and 
 become one of its most successful officers ?' f>he hapl npt $yfc 
 
276 Mrs. Booth. 
 
 ounce of religion about her. Neither church nor Sunday 
 school had exercised any leavening influences. Her rich 
 contralto voice had made her a welcome visitor at the public- 
 houses and music-halls of her native town. Her mischief- 
 loving propensities and her born capacity for command had 
 made her ringleader of a band of girls, in captaining whom 
 she gained some of the experience that was to prove so use- 
 ful in after days. 
 
 But one incident of her childhood discloses a pleasing 
 feature in her character, foreshadowing in a measure the 
 future that was in store. Her father in a drunken rage 
 was rushing at her mother, knife in hand, when the child 
 sprang at him, wrenched the knife from his grasp, and fled 
 as fast as her feet could carry her. She had made good her 
 escape, when she tripped and fell upon the blade, losing the 
 sight of one eye by the sad accident. Many an audience 
 has since been deeply moved at the recital of this act of 
 heroism on the part of the mother-loving girl. But at 
 the time it made little impression and produced no difference 
 in her life. 
 
 On the present occasion, however, " Nick " was for once 
 subdued. " What brings the Captain out on such a night as 
 this, and with her voice in such a state ? " she soliloquised 
 to herself, restraining her unruly followers, and passing word 
 that the " lark " was to be deferred till they had reached the 
 barracks. Ranging themselves in a row across the hall, the 
 turbulent group took up their position and awaited their 
 leader's signal to commence the fun. But the signal never 
 came. The conscience-smitten girl had taken part in her 
 last " spree." The tears were in her eyes. Deep conviction 
 was followed by genuine repentance and true conversion. 
 She could do nothing by halves. She must needs join as a 
 soldier, inarch, sing, testify, and toil for souls. So consistent 
 was her life that when, after two years' faithful service, she 
 was accepted as a candidate for the work, her companions 
 in the factory where she had been employed presented her 
 with a Bible, as a mark of their good-will and affection. 
 
Hallelujah Lasses. 277 
 
 It was a long time before " Nick " could be persuaded by 
 her leaders that she possessed the gifts necessary to make 
 her a successful officer. But at length she placed herself in 
 God's hands and theirs, and was one of the first cadets to enter 
 the Women's Training Home. Here she was for the first 
 time introduced to the mysteries of pot-hooks and hangers 
 and other literary elements. She set to work with a will, 
 determined to master everything that was likely to increase 
 her future usefulness. But it was hard work at first, as may 
 be guessed from the story of one of her early experiences : 
 " The Captain came, and looking at my copybook said, ' The 
 A's is very good, but the B's is awful bad !' Well, I saluted 
 her I knew how to do that as well as anybody and look- 
 ing up to her I says, * Please, mum, which is 'em? " But it 
 was not long before Nick discovered the difference between 
 her A's and B's, together with much other useful informa- 
 tion. To describe her nine years' successful career as an 
 officer within these limits is impossible. She has been the 
 means of leading hundreds, if not thousands, of souls to 
 Christ, and has been placed in charge of one of the London 
 Training Garrisons a doctor of salvation theology who has 
 graduated in the practical school of success, and is now pre- 
 paring others for the same great work. 
 
 It would be easy to go on multiplying similar instances 
 of the sort of women who, inspired by Mrs. Booth's example, 
 have risen up in thousands and tens of thousands all over 
 the world, and have followed in her footsteps, exchanging 
 lives of useless drudgery or idleness for superhuman efforts 
 on behalf of the perishing. 
 
 But " what shall I more say ? For the time would fail me 
 to tell of " these latter-day prophetesses, who have " through 
 faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained 
 promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence 
 of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness been 
 made strong, waxed valiant in fight, and turned to flight the. 
 armies of. the aliens." 
 
CHAPTER XXX. 
 
 THE NEWCASTLE COUNCIL OF WAR. 1879. 
 
 EVENTS of importance now followed each other with 
 bewildering rapidity. Returning health was always the 
 signal for renewed activity, and the rapid opening of district 
 after district, with the glorious revival outbursts that ac- 
 companied each new advance, opened for Mrs. Booth vaster 
 spheres of usefulness than she had ever supposed to be 
 possible. The General was not one to throw away so unique 
 an opportunity. He realized it to the full, and utilized the 
 occasion with a skill which rivalled even the patience with 
 which he had waited for it. War Councils were organised 
 at the chief cities in which the work was being carried on. 
 Officers and soldiers were gathered together, and special 
 efforts were made to deepen the character of the impression 
 already made, as well as to issue such instructions as would 
 ensure further advance. Enormous mass-meetings were 
 held both in the open air and in the largest buildings 
 obtainable. 
 
 " I leave here for the Rhondda Valley on Tuesday," 
 writes Mrs. Booth, " taking the journey by easy stages. 
 I am to present colours at an immense out-door demonstra- 
 tion. It is estimated there will be fifteen thousand people 
 present. Pray for me." 
 
 Some weeks later, when visiting some of the scenes of her 
 earliest labours in the North, she makes the following 
 touching allusion : 
 
 " To-morrow, Saturday, morning I am to be at East 
 Hartlepool, where I am announced to give an address at 
 
The Neivcastle Council of War. 279 
 
 the anniversary. This is the place where I held my first 
 consecration services eighteen years ago. There were two 
 hundred and seventy cases in ten days, and grand ones, too. 
 I keep hearing of some of the fruits having gone gloriously 
 home to heaven." 
 
 In another letter Mrs. Booth says : 
 
 " Our movement has evidently crossed over the bar, and 
 is extending at an unparalleled rate. We see now that God 
 has been shaping it to become a great power in the countr} 7 , 
 perhaps in the world" 
 
 Referring to the Marechale's work in Whitby, Mrs. Booth 
 writes : 
 
 " It is one of the most mighty moves I ever knew of. The proprietor 
 of the hall is converted and has stopped some actors who were coming 
 there, sending them word that it would be useless for them to come, as 
 all Whitby is astir about religion ! The hall was packed to suffocation 
 on Sunday night (it seats 3,000), and numbers were unable to get in. 
 People all over the town are seeking God, and going to their ministers 
 to ask what they must do to be saved. One man, an awful character, 
 remained crying a whole day and night, groaning aloud, unable to eat 
 or sleep. Some who have been saved have already died triumphantly." 
 
 Writing from Over-Bar wen Mrs. Booth says : 
 
 "I wish you could have seen my congregation yesterday 1,300 
 about 300 of them Lancashire roughs, and they are rough. The sort 
 that will throw a little woman down the steps and kick her with their 
 clogs ! Awful ! Hundreds were unable to get in almost a riot at the 
 doors, and no police allowed to come inside; and though one was 
 promised outside he did not come. Oh, the blindness of our rulers ! 
 
 " (Station) I am landed here and have to wait an hour. Shall be 
 late for meeting. 
 
 "Well, to return to my subject. The man where I stayed said as we 
 Vent home, ' I am fairly astonished at the behaviour of the roughs, 
 seeing that most of them had been Sunday scholars.' So much for 
 teaching the letter without the spirit ! This is the hardest county we 
 have touched yet. As I looked upon their hard and careworn faces I 
 thought I discovered the reason. Set to work at the cotton mills as 
 soon as they can well walk, and often kept at it fourteen hours a day by 
 wicked, inhuman parents and employers ! Poor things ! God will 
 judge them according to their disadvantages. Oh, if they only realized 
 what a new life we would bring to them, and what joys and hopes to 
 illumine their sunless horizon ! But, alas ! as of old, ' they know not 
 
2 So Mrs. Booth. 
 
 what they do.' Pray, dear, for Lancashire. Your prayers now shall 
 avail much." 
 
 Among other places, a glorious work had broken out in 
 the twin cities of Newcastle and Gateshead. It will be 
 remembered under what peculiarly painful circumstances 
 Mr. and Mrs. Booth had left this neighbourhood after the 
 Conference of 1861. Little did they dream that their return 
 at the end of eighteen years would be such an exceptionally 
 triumphal one. The six girl officers who had been sent to 
 captain these towns had swept all before them in one 
 glorious Salvation avalanche. The largest public halls could 
 not contain the crowds who flocked to listen to them. The 
 poor heard the Gospel preached to them with a simplicity 
 and an unction that carried conviction to every heart. The 
 mouth of gainsayers was for once effectually stopped. To 
 make the best of the opportunity Mr. Booth proclaimed a 
 great Council of "War which was to last for three days. Mrs. 
 Booth accompanied him to their old field of labour. To say 
 that their reception was without a parallel in the religious 
 history of the great northern metropolis but faintly describes 
 the enthusiasm of the occasion. True, it was very largely con- 
 fined to the poor the poorest of the poor. But it was none 
 the less phenomenal. 
 
 Writing to her daughter Emma to join her in witnessing 
 the mighty work, she says : 
 
 " Yes, I -want you to come. Try and get the children into a good state 
 of soul before you leave them. The Mayor was at the meeting the other 
 night. When shaking hands with me he said> ' This is a most won- 
 derful movement ! ' Next Sunday we shall have, at the lowest cal- 
 culation, 9,000 people at our places in these two towns alone ! Hundreds 
 of the greatest roughs have been converted. A.nd all through the 
 instrumentality of six young women, humble, simple souls, full of love 
 and zeal. Truly, God hath chosen the weak things ! 
 
 " Oh, my dear child, it makes me long to sSe you all at it in some 
 way or other ! Tell Eva and Lucy to get on and to get ready, but above 
 all to keep their souls right. It is not to the clever, or talented, or 
 educated that these things are given, but to the wliole-hearted and 
 spiritual. It was so in Christ's day and it is so now. You must get to 
 work to train us some women. But you know, Emma, you must be 
 
The Newcastle Council of War. 281 
 
 fully one with us. I feel as though I had been wrong in criticising some 
 of our folks and measures to you. I see that we cannot have a great 
 movement among such a class of people without a lot of defects and 
 weaknesses. But then God knows it all. And we are as weak in His 
 sight in some things as they are in others. He has to make the best of 
 its, and we must do the same in regard to others. You will see it better 
 when you get more among the people. Your soul is too big not to enter 
 into the opportunities of such a work with all your might. And I want 
 you to get the children as much into sympathy with it as you can. I see 
 what a power they may all be." 
 
 The reference to criticisms of men and measures on the 
 part of Mrs. Booth and her daughter casts an interesting 
 light upon the gradual evolution of the Salvation Army prin- 
 ciples and practices. Some of the new developments came upon 
 Mrs. Booth's previous tastes in the nature of a disagreeable 
 surprise. They clashed with her feelings and prejudices. 
 But where this was the case Mrs. Booth, in facing the un- 
 gainsayable results, gladly subordinated the dictates of her 
 personal predilections to those of her judgment. She thrust 
 herself into the actual position which others occupied, and 
 was quick to realize and ready to acknowledge the need for 
 measures which at first grated on her sensibilities. 
 
 Another interesting illustration of this occurs in a letter 
 to her son Ballington, when she expostulates with him on his 
 advertising himself as " Ballington Booth and his fiddle." 
 She concludes her criticism by saying that he must judge 
 for himself as to the necessity for such a course, and that she 
 was more than willing for him to follow his conscientious 
 convictions in the matter. It was this willingness to learn 
 from anybody about anything, coupled with her immense 
 tenacity of purpose when once her opinion had been formed, 
 that enabled Mrs. Booth to adapt herself to the varied pro- 
 gressive stages through which the Army has passed. 
 
 But to return to the meetings at Gateshead and Newcastle. 
 In another letter Mrs. Booth says : 
 
 " I am having glorious times here. All our places were packed to 
 suffocation on Sunday ; I have only seen such a jam as I had at the 
 Town Hall a few times in my life. I am to preach next Sunday in the 
 Circus ; holds nearly 4,000 ! It is thought that many of our old friends 
 
282 Mrs. Booth. 
 
 arnonp : : classes will come to hear me who would not go to the 
 
 places. Pray for me. Oh, what a grand opportunity of in- 
 
 flnencing men for eternity ! Pray that God may so fill me wi& His 
 aid power that they may forget the poor little instrument in the 
 
 great and awful message. God helping me, I will sound an alarm to 
 
 them in their sins and iniquities. My subject will be A True and a False 
 
 Faith.' " 
 
 On Saturday afternoon, 17th May, Mrs. Booth presented 
 flags in the Newcastle Circus to nine of the newly-formed 
 corps in the presence of about 4,000 people, who had gathered 
 to witness the novel ceremony. 
 
 After a stirring address from Mrs. Booth the flags were 
 handed to the respective officers, who accepted them in the 
 name of the corps, promising fidelity to God and the Army 
 in the great soul-saving work in which they were engaged. 
 
 On the next day, Sunday, an immense concourse of people, 
 numbering some twenty thousand, assembled for the morning 
 open-air demonstration, while at night twelve thousand 
 persons were packed into the various buildings in which the 
 great Salvation meetings were carried on. 
 
 The Council was continued morning, afternoon, and 
 evening on Monday, closing with an all-night of prayer. To 
 those who are the advocates of short sermons and brief 
 services, limited to the conventional clock-marked minutes, 
 such prolonged efforts, which have become increasingly 
 frequent in the Salvation Army, must indeed appear sur- 
 prising, especially when the character of the audience is 
 considered. The speakers were not educated ministers, 
 turned out of theological seminaries. The discourses were 
 not library-manufactured, but mostly delivered on the spur 
 of the moment. The listeners were not the educated classes, 
 accustomed to bridle their natural feelings, and to go through 
 the meetings as a sort of spiritual penance. And yet there 
 they sat, hour after hour, spellbound, fascinated, glued to 
 their seats, spiritually hypnotised for the time being. 
 
 Xor was it a mere transient effervescence ; the wave of a 
 political enthusiasm such as might greet the oration of a 
 politician, without much practical result. Here were men 
 
The Newcastle Ccuncil of War. 283 
 
 and women whose ideas, actions, homes, and lives had been 
 suddenly revolutionized. A change had taken place which 
 could only be ascribed to Divine influences. Drunkards, 
 wife-beaters, prize-fighters, horse-racers, pigeon-flyers, cock- 
 fighters, harlots, and, in short, the very dregs of society, had 
 been taken hold of, and, in an incredibly short space of time 
 transformed into good, law-abiding men and women, who 
 were not merely converted themselves but in many instances 
 were equally in earnest about the salvation of others ! 
 
 At one of the concluding meetings of the Council Mrs. 
 Booth said : 
 
 "Some of our friends ask whether the Mission is goiug to last. I tell 
 them it has lasted thirteen and a half years. It has grown on of its 
 own aggressive and expansive force, through hurricanes of contempt, 
 sarcasm, open and violent opposition, secret treachery, malignity, and 
 slander. But it has grown on, like its Master, from the manger, and it 
 is still growing in glory and in favour with God and ah* holy intelli- 
 gences." 
 
 From her public work we turn aside to glance at the file 
 of Mrs. Booth's domestic correspondence, carried on, as 
 usual, amid the pressure of never-ceasing public duties. 
 
 Referring to a rumour that a prominent minister was 
 intending to make an attack upon the Army, Mrs. Booth 
 writes : 
 
 " These things cut us to the heart, but they do not and shall not move 
 us from our purpose. I wrote him a letter of twenty pages. You shall 
 see a copy of it some day, or at least a partial one. I told him that we 
 could not help it, and that whoever denounced this work ' God would 
 judge him,' for, if ever a work was of God, this is. I also said that if 
 they compelled us to do so we shoufd be able to defend our position, and 
 by God's help we would do so. He is using our instrumentality to save 
 the people, and He will justify His own ways. But we shall have to 
 tight a great battle with traditionalism and conventionality. Pray for 
 us." 
 
 In encouraging on? of her sons to faith and perseverance 
 in public effort at a time of trial and conflict, Mrs. Booth 
 says : 
 
 11 1 have only a minute or two, but lest you should think I don't 
 sympathise with you I send a line. You ask, did I ever feel so? Yes. 
 
284 Mrs. Booth. 
 
 1 think just as bad as any mortal could feel empty, inside and out ; as 
 though I had nothing human or Divine" to aid me, as if all hell were 
 let loose upon me ! But I have generally felt the worst before the. bat 
 results, which proves it was Satanic opposition. And it has been the 
 
 same with many of God's most honoured instruments. used to write 
 
 me that it was awful that he felt as hard and dark as hell. I had a 
 difficult task to keep him going. I thought at one time he would, in 
 spite of everything, give up. But you see now what a calamity it would 
 have been if he had ! I believe nearly all who are truly called of God to 
 special usefulness pass through this buffeting. 
 
 " It stands to sense, if there is a devil, that he should desperately 
 withstand those who he sees are going to be used of God. Supposing 
 you were the devil, and had set your heart on circumventing God, how 
 would you do it but by opposing those who were bent on building up 
 His kingdom ? He tries the wilderness experience on every true sou of 
 the Father, depend on it. He hopes to drive us from the field by blood 
 and fire and vapour of smoke. But our Captain fought and won the 
 battle for us, and we have only to hold ou long enough and victory is 
 sure. 
 
 "Yes, the trial of faith is precious, more precious thau angel can con- 
 ceive, when borne with patience and perseverance which will not yield. 
 It is hard, and sometimes bloody, but it brings present and eternal 
 glory. ' Blessed is the man that endureth temptation.' 
 
 " God cannot make heroes except by conflict, any more than man can. 
 Who ever heard of a hero who never fought ? The raw recruits run 
 away. It is the well-trained veteran, inured to danger and bloodshed, 
 who stands the rudest shocks of the enemy and holds on to death. 
 ' Courage ! ' your Captain cries. ' Only be thou strong, and of a good 
 courage, and I will be with thee and teach thee what thou shalt say.' 
 * He hath chosen the weak things.' He has not made shift with them 
 taken them because there were no others. No ! He hath chosen them. 
 Will He ever forsake them, and thus make Himself a laughing-stock for 
 hell ? Never ! Will He ever let the devil say ' Ah, ah ! He chose this 
 weak one and then let him fail ? ' No, no, NO ! " 
 
 Among other difficulties which pressed sorely on Mrs. 
 Booth's mind at this time was that of the support of her 
 numerous and growing family. It was one thing to be 
 brave in public, but it was another thing when the offended 
 friends endeavoured to reduce her and her husband to sub- 
 mission by withdrawing the support on which they knew 
 them to ba depending. How keenly Mrs. Booth felt this 
 may be judged from the following letter. Speaking of diffi- 
 culties of a personal character, she says : 
 
The Newcastle Council of War. 285 
 
 " I hope it is not pride, if it is I am afraid it is incurable ! If it were 
 possible to alter our mode of living I would be willing to go into a white- 
 washed cottage, and live on potatoes and cabbage, in order to be at ease- 
 and independent, but that seems impracticable, at least, all but the 
 potatoes and cabbage, and we have come almost to that ! My precious 
 husband is careworn and overwrought with his great work ; the tug to 
 get money for that is bad enough, but to have to think of self is worse 
 than all. 
 
 " I started to write a letter yesterday, explaining our present position 
 to a friend who might help and never feel it, but I could not get 
 through it, and heartsick and weary I threw down the pen and yielded 
 to grief. You will say, Where is your faith? I fear it is very low. Yet 
 I do hold on to the promises given me in days gone by. I believe 
 in some way the Lord will deliver us, but it seems long in coming. Per- 
 haps He requires me to use these means which are so distasteful to me. 
 Oh, that I knew just what He would have me do in the matter ! I 
 think I am willing to do it. I suppose Paul was, and yet he said it was 
 ' better ' for him to die (he must have meant easier) than to be thus 
 humbled before men. Well, I must wait on, and possess my soul in 
 patience." 
 
 Referring to the same subject in another letter she says : 
 
 " It seems very strange that the greatest abundance seems to go where 
 they know least how to use it. I often think there was more truth in 
 Satan's assertion to our Lord than we think : * To whom I will I give it.' 
 Ah, well, they are welcome to it ; we don't want any of his presents. 
 Poverty with a good conscience and the smile of God is heaven, compared 
 to riches with a guilty conscience with the frown of God." 
 
 But this phase of Mrs. Booth's trials was soon afterwards 
 relieved by the generosity of a friend, who remitted to Mrs. 
 Booth, in trust for herself and for her family, the sum- of 
 five thousand pounds, to be invested in certain securities. 
 The interest of this money, as may be easily imagined, has 
 not been a large sum but coupled with the small profits 
 which began about this time to accrue from the sale of 
 Mrs. Booth's and the General's books it was sufficient to 
 render the family independent of the support of those out- 
 side friends whose help they had so gratefully acknow- 
 ledged. 
 
 And yet on the wings of this simple circumstance have 
 been floated all sorts of calumnies, too groundless to need 
 further refutation. Wo question whether there is a public 
 
286 Mrs. Bdoth. 
 
 man in England who, while possessing no independent means 
 of support, has so persistently and nobly pushed from him 
 the opportunity to enrich him and his family by means that 
 all honourable and Christian men would unite in approving 
 as perfectly justifiable. Surely there are not many instances 
 to be found of such systematic and genuine disinterested- 
 ness. 
 
 In the early da} T s of his struggle with poverty Mr. Booth 
 struck upon the idea of composing his own hymn-book and 
 living upon the profits of its sale. Nearly every independent 
 evangelist did the same. Nobody could possibly object. So 
 thought Mr. and Mrs. Booth. At first the little venture was 
 a disappointment. They bore the loss. And when it suddenly 
 became, with the rapid expansion of the work, a great suc- 
 cess, and would in itself have ensured a splendid income for 
 themselves and their children, they at once handed over the 
 profits to the Salvation Army. Similarly in the case of the 
 books and pamphlets published by the General and Mrs. 
 Booth, while the sale was small and the margin allowed for 
 profit merely nominal, they accepted a proportion of the 
 proceeds. But when the phenomenal sale of " Darkest 
 England " took the world by surprise, instead of appropriat- 
 ing the profits General Booth handed them over as his con- 
 tribution to the scheme. 
 
 In 1880 the War Cry was launched, and another oppor- 
 tunity occurred by which Mr. and Mrs. Booth might have 
 stepped into a position of affluence, thereby freeing them- 
 selves from every temporal anxiety, and acquiring at the 
 same time the power to contribute handsomely to the Army 
 funds. But they again " cut off their right hand " rather 
 than avail themselves of the advantage for personal pur- 
 poses, assigning to the Army at one stroke what they might 
 lawfully have kept for themselves. Some of their oldest 
 friends, who had consistently manifested a keen interest in 
 their welfare, urged them to follow an opposite course. And 
 there is no doubt they might have done so without affording 
 anybody just cause for complaint. 
 
The Newcastle Council of War. 287 
 
 But they desired not riches, and resolutely pushed away 
 from their own and their children's grasp the prize that 
 might legitimately have been theirs. 
 
 Eager to preserve the movement from the deadly evil of 
 mercenary motives, they realized the inestimable privilege 
 of themselves setting an example of self-abnegation. Re- 
 nouncing their own share in the profits, they conld call upon 
 each officer and soldier to do the same, and to push the 
 battle's interests as actively and enthusiastically for the 
 sake of God and humanity as though they were personally 
 benefiting by the transaction. 
 
 It has been noble acts of this character which have created 
 along the highway of history monuments of the spirit of 
 Christ and protests against the spirit of Mammon. Here 
 are the finger-posts and stepping-stones which have served 
 to distinguish the narrow way of self-denial from the broad 
 path of self-indulgence, and to convince an unbelieving- 
 world of the realities of religion. 
 
 But to return once more to Mrs. Booth's desk : we glance 
 over her shoulder as she writes. Here is a tender letter to 
 her daughter Emma, in which she dwells upon the advan- 
 tages of largeness of heart : 
 
 " Yes, I know all about it, more than you think I do, but this is only 
 the infancy of our being, and it is better to possess these capacities cf 
 loving, even if they are never filled iu this world, because there is a 
 grand realisation for them in the next. ' That they all may be one, as 
 Thou, Father, art in Me, and I in Thee, that they also may be one in 
 Us.' ' I will also that they whom Thou hast given Me be with Mo 
 where I am, that they may behold My glory ! ' This is the consummation 
 for the Br de, the Lamb's wife. And what can be a greater fulness of 
 bliss than for a bride to behold her bridegroom's glory ? She only finds 
 her own in his, therefore here is fulness of joy forever. We are made 
 for larger ends than earth can compass. Oh, let us be true to our 
 exalted destiny, and hold every earthly love and joy as secondary to our 
 heavenly ! The Lord bless you, and give you as much of earth as Ho 
 sees will prepare you for Himself ! 
 
 " Do I love you as much as ever? What a superfluous question! I 
 cannot measure my love for you by degrees. It is of the sort that knows 
 nothing of decrease or increase. It is always full. I repose in you tho 
 most sacred trust, and this is the highest proof of love and confidence. 
 
288 Mrs. Booth. 
 
 I only hope the Lord may find you one to take rny place who will love 
 you with half as strong and unselfish a love. I believe He will." 
 
 Writing to her friend Mrs. Billups about Emma, Mrs. 
 Booth says : 
 
 " Emma was nineteen yesterday. We had a nice time together. If 
 ' spirits are not finely touched but to fine issues,' I often wonder what 
 God intends to do with her. He must have some grand destiny for 
 her, either here or yonder. But oh, the capacity to love is also the 
 capacity to suffer ! " 
 
 While no one was more emphatic than Mrs. Booth in 
 teaching that " faith without works is dead," on the other 
 hand none could be clearer in teaching that justification was 
 to be attained, not by works, but by faith. In writing to a 
 friend upon this subject she remarks : 
 
 " "While we are to ' labour to please God,' we are to remember that 
 this is not the ground of our acceptance, which is alone the precious 
 blood. Not by works of righteousness that we have done, but according 
 to His mercy He saves us. It is a snare with us to look too much at 
 ourselves, while with the Plymouth Brethren school it is the other 
 extreme. Bemember, you are ever accepted in the Beloved, not for 
 your own sake. At the same time, 'let us cleanse ourselves from all 
 filthiness of flesh and spirit,' because we are His. Faith in Him as your 
 keeper will do more in five minutes than years of conflict without it. 
 Best in Him. 
 
 " You say you are discouraged on account of your failings, you see 
 so many, etc. Now it is well to see them, for how can we take hold of 
 Jesus to mend what we don't see ? It is a bad sign when people think 
 themselves ' rich, and increased in goods, and needing nothing,' when 
 they are 'poor, and blind, and naked.' It is best to know ourselves just 
 ns we are. But then we Salvationists are in danger of erring on the 
 other side. We look too much at ourselves, apart from Him Who is, or 
 would be, our ' righteousness, sanctification and redemption.' 
 
 "Now learn to hold on by faith for just what you need, and the 
 deeper the need the faster hold on ! Oh, if I had only done so more 
 persistently through life, instead of letting the sense of my own weak- 
 ness dishearten my faith, what a different experience mine would have 
 been ! Ah, there is no teaching like experience. You try and learn 
 wisdom by mine. Be a bold believer, and the more you feel your own 
 need the closer cling to H m as your all and in all, able to magnify 
 Ilis grace where sin hath abounded, and His strength where there is no 
 might. 
 
 "Bemember, it is iht Hood that cleanses the soul. Works meet for 
 
The Newcastle Council of War. 289 
 
 repentance is one thing, the faith that heals is another ; both are indis- 
 pensable. The little child or the vilest sinner who dares trust for a 
 full salvation gets it, while the most careful, principled, and determined 
 disciple who doubts misses it. God cannot help it. He is bound to 
 give or withhold according to our faith. It is not arbitrary on His 
 part. In the very nature of the case, it is the only line on which He 
 can meet us. I believe if He could have saved us in an easier way He 
 would, but there was no other way. 
 
 " Unbelief is fatal to all the interests most dear to God and most 
 valuable to the universe. It would destroy the felicity of heaven in an 
 hour and turn it into hell, It made the devil what he is. It consti- 
 tutes the essence of all iniquity. It must be destroyed in any soul 
 before we can enter heaven. Faith is God's antidote. ' Said I not unto 
 thee, if thou wouldst believe thou shouldst see the salvation of God ? ' 
 ' He that believeth in Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live.' This 
 is a precious word. It has kept my soul alive many a time when Satan 
 has almost overthrown me. 'If thou canst believe, all things are 
 possible to thee. Never mind whether anybody else can or cannot. If 
 others are too strong to let Me carry them, if thou art weak enough to 
 throw up all self-effort and trust Me with thy whole weight, I will carry 
 thee and thou shalt glorify Me.' I know this is the way. Hence the 
 babes go in with the simple and the great sinners ; while the reasoners. 
 and the strong, and the proud, and the fearful are shut out of this inner 
 temple. 
 
 " Yes, the greatest of all enemies is unbelief. Faith is the omnipotent 
 lever which exalts the valleys and levels the mountains such moun- 
 tains as those you refer to. Faith opens the gates for the King of glory 
 to come in, and when He is in, it takes hold of His strength to pull the 
 pillars of hell down. Oh, let nothing frighten you, or lure you from 
 trust ! This is the difference between a conqueror and a coward." 
 
 Warning a young man regarding the danger of frivolity, 
 she says : 
 
 " Be watchful against levity. C is a good, devoted fellow, but 
 
 naturally an incorrigible joker. It may not hurt him much, because it 
 is his nature. But it will hurt you if you give way to it. It hurts 
 nearly everybody. Watch ! Don't descend to buffoonery. While you 
 become all things to win some, don't forfeit your natural self-respect and 
 the dignity of your position as a minister of Christ." 
 
 In writing to her daughter on the subject of the courtship 
 and marriage of the officers, Mrs. Booth says : 
 
 " It is not well in dealing with the lasses to talk to them as though 
 we wished them never to marry. We should rather inspire them to give 
 the prime of their lives to the work, waiting till God sends His choice 
 
 17 
 
290 Mrs. Booth. 
 
 for them, not jumping at tbe first or second offer as if that must needs 
 be the one. So many of them are tempted to make such a light thing 
 of giving themselves up." 
 
 In writing to one of her sons on the same subject she 
 says : 
 
 " The devil sets such innocent-looking traps spiritual traps to 
 catch young people ! Ah, he is a serpent still ! Beware of his devices, 
 and always cry to God for -wisdom and strength of will to put down all 
 foolish tampering. You are born for greater things. God may want 
 you to be a leader in Russia or some vast Continent, and you will want 
 a companion and a counsellor a ' help-meet.' The original word 
 means * a help corresponding to his dignity.' This is the meaning given 
 by the best expositors. Oh, what wisdom there is even in the words 
 which God has chosen to express His ideas! 'Corresponding to his 
 dignity ! ' Yes, and no man ever takes one below this mark who does 
 not suffer for it, and, worse still, generations yet unborn have to suffer 
 also ! Mind what God says, and keep yourself till that one comes ! 
 
 " A wrong step on this point and you are undone ! Oh, the misery 
 of an unsuitable match ! It is beyond description. I could tell you 
 tales of woe that are now being enacted. But I must wait till we meet. 
 
 " I have seen too much of life and know too much of human nature 
 to have much confidence in promises given under such circumstances. 
 For my own part, I made up my mind when I was but sixteen that I 
 would-not have a man, though a Christian, who should offer to become 
 even an abstainer for my sake. I felt that such a promise would not 
 afford me ground for confidence afterwards. And do we not see enough 
 all round us to show that unless people adopt things on principle, 
 because they see it to be right, they soon change ? Look at the folks 
 who promise to give up tobacco and dress for the sake of getting into 
 berths, how soon it evaporates ! No, my lad, wait a bit ! ' Couldst thou 
 not watch with Me one hour ? ' Jesus lived a single life for your sake 
 all the way through. Can you not live so till He finds you one after His 
 own heart ? I feel sure He will. Pray about it in faith. I am "doing 
 so, and God will answer. But oh, don't run before Him ! "Wait on the 
 Lord. 
 
 " A little longer and you will be saying, ' Oh, how glad I am I waited ! 
 I have now found a treasure indeed ! ' When God's time and person 
 are come He will bring you together. How delighted and satisfied 
 Isaac must have felt when the servant told him all the way that God 
 had led him (Genesis xxiv.). . * All things come to those who wait.' " 
 
 In another letter Mrs. Booth says, with referee ce to the 
 use of notes in preaching : 
 " Get out of 'them ! They don't fit our work. When you get on you 
 
The Neivcastle Council of War. 291 
 
 don't want them, and when you don't they are no good. At first, if 
 your memory won't serve you, just jot on a small bit of paper the size 
 of a ticket your main divisions in large writing, but no more. Like 
 this : 
 
 " Day of wrath is come. 
 
 "1. God's wrath, 
 
 " 2. Just wrath. 
 
 " 3. Uttermost wrath. 
 
 " 4. Eternal wrath." 
 
 Referring in another letter to the solemnity of death 
 Mrs. Booth writes : 
 
 " I came on here to see if I could comfort my poor old uncle, who is 
 dying. Some days since the doctor said he could not survive the night, 
 but he is here yet, though almost gone. I saw him four days ago, and 
 he said he was quite ready, and although he is now speechless he knows 
 me, and made a desperate effort to say ' Amen' after I had prayed. It 
 calls up my precious mother's departure so much ; what a joyful meet- 
 ing it will be when she sees him in heaven ! She was always so anxious 
 about his soul. It is a fearful work, is this dying. What must the 
 death of the cross have been ! Blessed Saviour, be Thou with us in the 
 cold, dark river ! " 
 
CHAPTER XXXI. 
 THE ARMY'S FRIEXDS. 1879 
 
 THE worship of wealth has always been a popular cult. 
 But modern society seems to have out-mammoned Mammon 
 and to have delivered itself up to the direction of a pluto- 
 cratic clique who hold absolute sway both in the political 
 and religious world. On the one hand statesmen complain 
 that the destinies of empires have largely passed out of 
 their control into that of an irresponsible and covetous hand- 
 ful of millionaires, who grasp the purse-strings of the nation, 
 and administer its resources with a view rather to their own 
 personal aggrandisement than the common weal. 
 
 On the other hand, the religious element, which should 
 afford a counterpoise to this tendency, is itself largely 
 tainted with the all-pervading influence. There are prob- 
 ably few religious organisations which are not avowedly or 
 tacitly ruled by their rich and respectable members. It 
 has been said that every man has his price, and it might 
 be added with equal force that every organisation has its 
 price -also. 
 
 True, noble exceptions are to be found, but from the time 
 that Satan said to Jesus Christ, " All this will I give Thse 
 if Thou wilt fall down and worship me," the temptation has 
 been the commonest and most successful weapon with which 
 he has assailed poor frail humanity. And few have had the 
 courage to treat the proffer with the Divine " Get thee 
 behind Me " response. The bribes have varied from an 
 apple to an empire, and not ^infrequently has the spiritual 
 birthright been sacrificed for a contemptible {: mess of pot- 
 
 2SJ 
 
The Army's Friends 293 
 
 tage ! " Had we but eyes to see it, how often should we 
 behold religious organisations and churches manacled and 
 shackled, like Croesus, with their own gold ! Their eyes are 
 so hoodwinked with gold that they have lost their piercing 
 prophetic vision. Their ears are so stopped that they can 
 neither hear the heavenly voices as of old nor the cry of a 
 perishing world. Their mouths are gagged with gold. 
 They dare not speak the burning truths that are alone 
 capable of affecting the hearts of their hearers. The 
 Shekinah of holiness has been exchanged for the lustre of 
 tinsel. The Ichabod of departed glory is written across 
 their gates. And why ? Because they have allowed them- 
 selves to be dominated by a moneyed clique, who have 
 made their gifts conditional, as is so commonly the case, on 
 a sacrifice of principles, a diminution of devotion, or an 
 abandonment of plans which the Holy Ghost has dictated 
 and has favoured with His smile. 
 
 And so this modern Delilah has too often shorn the locks 
 of her Samson and handed him over to the tender mercies of 
 the Philistines who have put out his eyes and set him to 
 grind their political mills ! 
 
 Dare we place the helm of a steamer in the hands of a 
 millionaire, and expose the passengers to the whims, caprices, 
 and fears of a man whose only qualification for the post con- 
 sists of his balance in the banker's till ? What wonder is it, 
 then, that spiritual shipwreck should result from the adop- 
 tion of a similar course in the navigation of our religious 
 craft ? The love of money, we are told, is the root of all 
 evil. The petrifying, heart-hardening effects are inevitable. 
 Arid yet how often have the reins of the church been placed, 
 by a too complaisant ministry, in the hands of those who 
 have no higher qualification than their wealth ! 
 
 The common danger of all has been, and must continue to 
 be, the danger of the Salvation Army. More than once in 
 the course of this narrative we shall have reason to remark 
 how Dives has endeavoured to dismount its leaders, often. 
 no doubt, with the best of intentions. And perhaps one of 
 
294 Mrs. Booth. 
 
 the secrets of its continued success has been the deter- 
 mination of Mr. and Mrs. Booth to lose the favour of every 
 moneyed friend they .possessed rather than sacrifice a single 
 God-directed principle. 
 
 The financial burden has always been a heavy one, and of 
 later years almost appalling in its magnitude. More than 
 once has liberal help been offered on conditions that would 
 have been prejudicial to progress, and as often has it been 
 refused. " I would rather die in the workhouse," exclaimed 
 Mrs. Booth at a gathering of wealthy friends, " than sacrifice 
 one iota of my liberty in Christ to adopt such measures as 
 I deem best suited for reaching the masses ! " And to this 
 principle they adhered with unfaltering fixity of purpose in 
 many a season of conflict and temptation. 
 
 It is one of these crises in their history that we now 
 approach. The work carried on by Mr. and Mrs. Booth had 
 assumed such proportions as to attract the attention of the 
 secular and religious press. Their claims to the sympathy 
 and co-operation of all who were interested in the cause of 
 Christ began to be recognised. 
 
 But difficulties arose. There were some who imagined 
 they saw danger to themselves in the rising tide of popu- 
 larity which was carrying the new movement so rapidly 
 forward upon its crested waves. Whilst viewing it from 
 the ground of their own superiority they could afford to 
 patronise, and even admire, what was too distant to en- 
 danger their own position, and too insignificant to arouse 
 a qualm of fear. But when the onward 'sweep of the waters 
 crossed the " thus far and no farther " which they had drawn 
 upon the sands, they began to take alarm. 
 
 There were others who sincerely desired to wake up the 
 churchless masses to a sense of their danger and their 
 need. But when success had been achieved, and these law- 
 less multitudes came pouring into the sanctuary, upsetting 
 the formalities (as has always been, and must ever be, the 
 case), and introducing vulgarities of speech and taste, they 
 were shocked at the spectacle, and would almost have bidden 
 
The Army's Friends. 295 
 
 them return whence they came. Peter must remain outside 
 the priestly gates till his garments smelt less of fish and 
 garlic, and he had got rid of his Galilean brogue! The 
 Saviour of the world must surround Himself with polished 
 graduates, robed in broadcloth and linen, and sacrifice the 
 vulgar company of the plebeian crowd. 
 
 But there was another class of questioners, with whom 
 the General and Mrs. Booth could not fail to sympathise. 
 Sincerely desirous to see the salvation of souls, and recog- 
 nising the special adaptation of the movement to the masses, 
 there were nevertheless certain features of the work for 
 which, from their standpoint, they could see no necessity. 
 
 A good deal of the controversy necessarily centred itself 
 round Mr. Morley, owing to his long connection and avowed 
 sympathy with "the movement. " Tell your wife," he said 
 one day to the General, " that I love and esteem her, but 
 that she has got me into a deal of trouble ! " And who that 
 has ever ventured in the most indirect way to assist the 
 Salvation Army or manifest sympathy towards it has not 
 been compelled, in some measure, however unwillingly, to 
 share its cross? 
 
 But Mr. Morley had the courage of his convictions. If he 
 could not answer the objectors himself he was convinced 
 that Mr. and Mrs. Booth had full and satisfactory explana- 
 tions to offer, and he was resolved that they should have an 
 opportunity for vindicating themselves. He wanted to bring 
 the Army leaders and their critics face to face. For this 
 purpose he proposed to arrange at his city offices a parlour 
 meeting, where leading Christians interested in the Army 
 should be invited to hear from Mr, and Mrs. Booth an ac- 
 count of the work, together with an explanation of its par- 
 ticular modes and measures. Mr. Booth having called at 
 his office, Mr. Morley mentioned his proposal, which was 
 readily accepted. 
 
 On his way home Mr. Booth met Sir Arthur Blackwood, 
 then known as Mr. Stevenson Blackwood. Hitherto Sir 
 Arthur had been most friendly to the Mission, having been 
 
296 Mrs. Booth. 
 
 one of its earliest referees. True, lie had not seen much of 
 its practical working, but being interested in any effort to 
 reach the poor and bring them to a knowledge of salvation 
 he had used his influence and means to help the cause. The 
 recent departures had, however, somewhat alarmed him. 
 And no wonder. Himself formerly a Captain attached to 
 the Guards, having served with distinction in the Crimea, 
 it was natural that he should view with disfavour the as- 
 sumption of unauthorised rank and title on the part of men 
 and women some of whom had been raised up from the dregs 
 of society. 
 
 And yet, if rank and position were to be measured out in 
 proportion to the sufferings endured by their recipients, 
 surely the Salvation Army officers would not have been far 
 behind the most deserving of those who have fought in earthly 
 battles. Here were men and women who had jeopardised 
 their lives in the high places of the field, in conflict with the 
 common foes of humanity. Not a few of them had received 
 scars which they must bear for life. Some of them had 
 sacrificed home, friends, and country, with considerable 
 earthly prospects, for a mere pittance, and were engaged in 
 waging a war which could never cease and from which rest 
 could only be gained when the troopship Death should take 
 them to their heavenly parade-ground to receive the rewards 
 of the King whom they had so faithfully served below. 
 
 To the objections which Sir Arthur brought forward 
 the General listened patiently, and then, with his usual 
 adroitness, suggested that before Sir Arthur withdrew in 
 any measure his valued sympathy and support he should 
 see for himself something of the work. He was going to 
 Coventry on the Saturday to hold some meetings during the 
 Coventry Fair, and if Sir Arthur would accompany him he 
 could judge on the spot regarding the character of the move- 
 ment and its methods. To this Sir Arthur cordially agreed. 
 * * * * 
 
 " Sergeant ! " 
 
 " Captain Blackwood ! " 
 
The Army's Friends. 297 
 
 The last time they had met was in the trenches at 
 Sebastopol, now it was beneath the flag of the Salvation 
 Army. Formerly the Sergeant had been one of the greatest 
 blackguards in the Queen's army. Now he was a saint of 
 the Most High, and colour-sergeant of the Coventry Corps, 
 standing with flag in hand and a loud " hallelujah " on his 
 lips to welcome the General as he stepped out of the station, 
 and ready to help him besiege the modern Sebastopol of vice 
 and crime in his native town. It was a strange rencontre, 
 but there was not time for more than a passing word. 
 
 The General's chariot was in attendance. It consisted of 
 a greengrocer's waggonette, the greengrocer himself being 
 the charioteer ! He, likewise, had been a notorious character, 
 and had enjoyed a reputation for being the greatest scoun- 
 drel within fifty miles, and it was commonly reported that 
 he had committed every crime except murder. The General 
 took his seat beside him. 
 
 They were followed by some forty or fifty officers, and 
 then came the soldiers, all over the road, like a flock of sheep. 
 In every respect it was a striking contrast to the well- 
 ordered processions of later days, and the General, as he 
 looked back upon the motley multitude, could not but fear 
 lest the sight might provoke in Mr. Black-wood's heart a 
 sentiment of the ridiculous, and perhaps still further pre- 
 judice him against the work. He noticed him, however, 
 following the procession along the sidewalk and listening at 
 the open-air stand with apparent interest. On reaching the 
 officers' quarters, the first words of Mr. Blackwood were, 
 " Dear me, Mr. Booth ! That was a very remarkable pro- 
 cession ! " 
 
 The General was a good deal surprised, and curious to 
 know what had caused so favourable an impression, when, 
 among other things, Mr. Blackwood related the incident of 
 the colour-sergeant. 
 
 At the in-door meetings which followed Sir Arthur was 
 not only an interested listener, but gave his personal testi- 
 mony, and helped to deal with the penitents who came for- 
 
298 Mrs. Rooth. 
 
 ward for salvation. The soldiers were all on fire, and made 
 a great noise in the prayer-meeting. The General asked 
 afterwards whether this had not disturbed him in his work. 
 Sir Arthur assured him that he was so taken up in speaking 
 to the anxious seekers that he had not really noticed the noise. 
 The visit to Coventry was on the 14th and 15th June, and 
 on the 17th Mr. Morley's proposed meeting took place. Mr, 
 Morley took the chair^ and was followed immediately by Sir 
 Arthur Blaekwood,* who gave a vivid account of what he 
 had so recently seen. His words evidently produced a pro- 
 found impression. What followed is described in a letter 
 written by Mrs. Booth to her friend Mrs. Billups : 
 
 " We have had two meetings at Samuel Morley 's. At the first there 
 were some twenty present, mostly wealthy. With one exception, all 
 were comparatively mild in their objections. He not only attacked our 
 measures, but reflected on us and our doctrines. We heard all they had 
 to say, and then I spoke on the general principles, and the meeting was 
 adjourned tiU Thursday (19th) at tVro. 
 
 " On this occasion, my dearest husband opened, and answered the 
 objections previously raised, one by one, triumphantly. He made it 
 clear that, while he sympathised with the wish of our friends not 
 to bring sacred things into less regard on the part of either saints 
 or sinners, and was willing to discontinue any practice that had no 
 connection with the efficiency of the movement, yet poor as we are 
 and God only knows what a struggle we have financially he 
 would not give up one jot or tittle of anything essential no, not 
 for all the wealth of the West End ! Some others spoke for and 
 against, but kindly, and very little against. Then I followed, and 
 the Lord helped me. Mr. Morley assured me, with the tears in his eyes, 
 that I had ' carried them every one,' and that they agreed with every 
 word I had said. I finished by telling them that we had fought thirteen 
 years for this principle of adaptation to the needs of the people and 
 this with everybody against us and that, whether they helped us or no, 
 we should not abandon it ! We dared not ! And we should not, if we 
 ended in the workhouse. 
 
 "Every one seemed deeply moved. Mr. Morley assured us that 
 they only wanted us to prevent our agents from running to any great 
 
 * Sir Arthur Blaekwood disagreed with some of the subsequent develop- 
 ments of the Army, and hence withdrew from it his active support, while 
 continuing to sympathise with its aims and to rejoice in the good that 
 was being accomplished through its agency. 
 
The Army's Friends. 299 
 
 extremes, and the meeting ended beautifully. Mr. Denny spoke like a 
 brave and truehearted man. And I doubt not they will help us. But 
 Mr. Booth had to rush off to Lancashire, and has not seen Mr. Morley 
 since. He has, however, received the 200 that he previously promised 
 for the work, and has already used it and a great deal more. Pray for 
 us ! 
 
 " The excitement made me worse than I have been for two years. 
 My heart was really alarming, and for two days I could hardly bear any 
 clothes to touch me. This has disheartened me again as to my condi- 
 tion. But God reigns, and He will keep me alive as long as He needs 
 me. Truly we are all largely at the mercy of circumstances ! What a 
 world it is ! My soul cries out, ' How long, Lord? How long ? ' " 
 
 But not by two meetings, nor by many, was the voice of 
 slander or the whisper of envy to be silenced. Jealousy 
 makes a target of the highest and the best. Its shafts are 
 ever aimed upwards, at whatever happens to be superior to 
 itself. Unable to rise above the waters of the quagmire in 
 which it lies, it seeks to bring all others down to its own 
 low level of accomplishment, or mars what it cannot make 
 and pulls down what it cannot rebuild. It first caricatures 
 a good cause and then burns its effigy. 
 
 It must be so, while such passions continue to exist. The 
 tears and heart-break and blood of others are their necessary 
 meat. They could not deny themselves, except by ceasing 
 to exist. There is a needs-be for it all. And it only remains 
 for those whose wounded spirits have rankled beneath such 
 cruel thrusts to take courage in the consciousness of the 
 integrity of their hearts, and to learn that the ultimate 
 triumph of right is assured to those who will but persevere. 
 *' It seems strange," Mrs. Booth remarks in one of her early 
 letters, " that the more one tries to do right the more one 
 is fated to be misunderstood. But it is a comfort tc 
 remember that righteousness brings its own reward." 
 
 Among the most interested and sympathetic of those 
 present at the gatherings in Mr. Morley's parlour was one 
 who perhaps ranks but second to Mr. Morley himself as the 
 consistent and munificent supporter of all good work, whether 
 it might be farthing dinners for wastrel children or missions 
 for the conversion of the heathen. 
 
300 
 
 Mrs. Booth. 
 
 It was in a somewhat singular manner that some twelve 
 mouths previously Mr. T. A. Denny had become acquainted 
 with the Salvation Army. The General was walking down 
 Cheapside, holding a heated argument with a friend as to 
 the advisability of the new measures recently adopted. He 
 announced his intention of calling on Mr. Denny, of whose 
 generosity he had heard, with a view to acquainting him 
 
 MR. T. A. DENNY, OF LONDON. 
 
 with the work and inviting his assistance. "It would be 
 utterly useless," was the discouraging reply. " Mr. Denny 
 will never approve of such extravagances." 
 
 Mr. Booth was determined, however, that he would make 
 the attempt. He called upon Mr. Denny, and before he had 
 been speaking ten minutes, the tears were in Mr. Denny's eyes 
 and he had summoned his brother, Mr. Edward Denny, from 
 the adjoining room, to come and listen with him to the 
 
The Armys Friends, 301 
 
 account of so marvellous a work. They explained, however, 
 that it was a rule with them not to help any cause which 
 they had not personally examined. With this Mr. Booth 
 was more than satisfied, adding that if they would attend 
 the meetings they should hear the converts give their own 
 account of the wondrous change God had wrought in their 
 hearts and lives. 
 
 The bargain was struck, and Mr. Denny early visited 
 some of the provincial centres where the work was then in 
 progress. Speaking on one of these occasions, he said that 
 he had been looking carefully to find some holes in the 
 Salvation Army coat, but, not having succeeded, he supposed 
 it must be because there were none to find. 
 
 At Mr. Morley's lunch he had spoken warmly and 
 generously concerning what he had seen of the work. The 
 defence of the measures then put forward by Mr. and Mrs. 
 Booth thoroughly convinced and satisfied him, and he be- 
 came thenceforth one of the most liberal supporters of the 
 movement. 
 
 Indeed, his heart has seldom been appealed to on behalf 
 of any new effort or advance without calling forth a practical 
 response. And yet few have been more careful to ascertain 
 previously the merits of any such proposal, or more rigorous 
 in requiring a good percentage of results for their pecuniary 
 outlay. Perhaps upon none of the consistent supporters of 
 the Salvation Army have Mrs. Booth's reasoning powers been 
 more steadily expended than upon Mr. Denny. 
 
 One reason for this may have been that, as soon as his 
 name was intimately connected with the Army, he became 
 the butt of every fiery shaft, whether from the religious or 
 the outside world, which was forged and directed against the 
 movement. It seemed impossible for an objection to be 
 invented which did not speedily discover his address and 
 find its way to his eye or ear. They were mostly so well- 
 worn and oft-repeated that the fire or the waste-paper 
 basket afforded the majority of them a last resting-place. 
 But if anything seeming to require an explanation happened 
 
3O2 Mrs. Booth. 
 
 to arrive, Mr. Denny dealt with it in the straightforward 
 manner in which every Christian should dispose of slander 
 by forwarding it to those who were in the best position 
 to reply, and thus affording them an opportunity of vindi- 
 cating themselves. 
 
 Not that Mr. Denny was, or is, by any means a Salva- 
 tionist. On the contrary, he differed strongly from Mr. and 
 Mrs. Booth in some of their views, and never hesitated 
 frankly to tell them so, returning to the charge on some 
 points with a pertinacity that rendered him, perhaps, one 
 of the most exacting of their contributors. He has seldom 
 given a donation without accompanying it with some sage 
 counsel, and has often complained, with the caustic humour 
 which makes his speeches so welcome at the Army gather- 
 ings, that the General "appropriates the money without 
 following the advice ! " 
 
 As a matter of fact, however, Mr. Denny was well aware 
 that his opinions carried weight with the leaders of the 
 Army. And even when his opinions were not immediately 
 acted upon he hoped in the end to convert them to his views. 
 Perhaps at other times (not often, certainly not always) he 
 has allowed them to convert him. And doubtless he has 
 perceived that if the Salvation Army had been altered to 
 suit the ideas of those who have been its various patrons it 
 would have been an unrecognisable patchwork of its original 
 self, and would finally have been disowned and disinherited 
 by those who have wished it best. 
 
 Nevertheless, there have been times when the onward 
 rush of the movement, with its consequent novel departures 
 and seeming extravagances, has puzzled Mr. Denny, and 
 tempted him to question the wisdom of its leaders. Nor, 
 indeed, can we wonder at this. Even with the best of in- 
 tentions, to review the battle from the quiet heights of 
 contemplation must have been so different from the experi- 
 ence of those who, though perhaps desperate to a fault, were 
 constantly face to face, and in hand-to-hand conflict, with 
 the monsters of evil. 
 
The Army's Friends. 303 
 
 Rightly or wrongly, however, he has thought it to be his 
 especial mission, not to oil the wheels, with a view to making 
 them go faster, so much as to clog them in order to prevent 
 their going too fast. The Army coach was going down-hill 
 at a dangerous speed. The General and Mrs. Booth sat 
 upon the box with almost provoking complacency ; they 
 cracked their whips and blew their horns, heedless of the 
 danger and regardless of the expostulations of those who 
 besought them to moderate their speed in their headlong 
 rush to Glory. Mr. Denny was for fixing on the brake. 
 Better come to an absolute standstill than risk an over- 
 turn. Mr. Booth, on the contrary, was for risking every- 
 thing rather than standing still. He was an advocate of 
 perpetual motion fast, faster, fastest! He thought he knew 
 his business. He believed he understood his Master's will. 
 And he preferred a catastrophe with results to inactivity 
 without them. And in this he was heartily seconded by 
 Mrs. Booth. 
 
 But notwithstanding these minor differences Mr. Denny 
 has been for many years a warm friend and an avowed 
 admirer of Mr. and Mrs. Booth and their family. There 
 has been one rare trait in his character which has served 
 specially to win their appreciation and affection. If in the 
 hour of prosperity and success Mr. Denny, has been, or has 
 appeared to be, a little over-critical, and too much given to 
 what shall we call it ? hydropathy, as a safeguard against 
 elation if he has not fully acquired the art of " rejoicing 
 with those who do rejoice," and has rather inclined to see 
 defeat in every victory and danger in every deliverance- 
 he, on the other hand, knows, as few others have known, 
 how to " weep with those who weep," and to offer at the 
 appropriate moment the tribute of sympathy, which has been 
 the more acceptable because so well-timed and, above all, so 
 heartfelt. In an age when tears are banished from our 
 social intercourse, and when feelings must be buried beneath 
 the tombstone of conventionality, it is indeed refreshing to 
 meet with one who is ready to mingle his tears with the 
 
304 Mrs. Booth. 
 
 tears of those whom he loves in the Lord, and whose gifts 
 and graces he has the ability to appreciate and the humility 
 to admit. 
 
 At the time of which we are speaking he was specially 
 active in arranging meetings for Mrs. Booth in the West 
 End, with a view to affording her the double opportunity of 
 spiritually influencing the upper classes and of explaining 
 and defending the measures of the Salvation Army. Writing 
 to Mr. Booth he says : <! Your blessed wife will affect the 
 West of London and do more good to the cause than any 
 other machinery that I know of. God is with her of a 
 truth ! " 
 
 During the year 1879 Mrs. Booth's activities were num- 
 berless. She visited no less than fifty-nine towns, addressing 
 vast and interested audiences, and everywhere impressing 
 her powerful personality upon the crowds who nocked to 
 hear her and upon the rapidly-advancing organisation. Most 
 of her addresses were delivered in buildings, the open air 
 being usually too great a tax upon her delicate health. But 
 there was a notable exception to this during her visit to 
 Coventry, when she spoke to a large gathering in Pool 
 Meadow, taking for her subject "Face the facts!" Those 
 who were present on the occasion testify to the marvellous 
 nature of the impression made. 
 
 The meetings of the year varied in character. A consider- 
 able number consisted of presentations of colours to the 
 various corps, similar to the occasion already described in 
 the visit to Newcastle. A great many of the meetings were 
 defences of the Army operations and explanations of its work. 
 Addresses to the soldiers and officers, and to professing 
 Christians, on the kind of life and warfare God expected of 
 them completed the arduous list. In each department Mrs. 
 Booth's comprehensive mind seemed equally at home, and 
 she handled her various subjects with an ease, a thorough- 
 ness, and a power w r hich were marvellous to witness. 
 
 One of the last meetings of the year was held at Dar- 
 lington, where the Hallelujah Lasses, under Captain Rose 
 
The Army's Friends. 
 
 305 
 
 Ckipham, had achieved a great triumph, hundreds of the 
 worst characters having been converted and the attention 
 both of the religious and secular portion of the community 
 attracted towards the good accomplished. The occasion of 
 the Darlington Council was especially interesting as resulting 
 in the formation of a lifelong friendship between Mrs. 
 Booth and the editor of the Northern Eclio, afterwards so 
 
 MR. W. T. STEAD, OF LONDON. 
 
 well known as the editor of the Revielu of Revieics. Mr. 
 W. T. Stead is one of the few journalists who have system- 
 atically defended the Salvation Army. He has not scrupled 
 to proclaim upon the .housetops his sympathy with its work 
 and confidence in its leaders. 
 
 At a first glance there -would appear to be but little in 
 common between that calm, dignified, determined lady, with 
 the far-off look in her eyes, which gave the impression that 
 she had just come from heaven, or its immediate purlieux 
 
 x 
 
306 Mrs. Booth. 
 
 who measured out her sentences with arithmetical precision, 
 and who could say in a single word more than many could 
 stock into a sermon and the eager, restless, quixotic, sensa- 
 tional journalist, whose brain was a sort of kaleidoscope of 
 the world, an encyclopedia of its history, ancient and modern, 
 scientific and social, political and religious. The one seemed 
 a facsimile of the sk} r , and the other of the earth ; the one 
 the ambassador of God, the other the spokesman of humanity : 
 the one all faith, the other all question. 
 
 And yet, while there was so much in which they differed, 
 there were some things in which they heartily agreed. Mr. 
 Stead was, after all, very much to modern journalism what 
 the Salvation Army has been to the churches. He was the 
 Gordon of the press. Regardless of the proprieties and con- 
 ventionalities of orthodox journalism, he walked about the 
 battlements of his literary Khartoum, heedless of the bullets 
 and cannon-balls that were flying round him, or of the 
 Koranic anathemas and calls to surrender of his Mahdi-like 
 assailants. They might rave as loudly as they desired. He 
 was impervious alike to their praise or blame. He believed 
 in the Gospel of Saint Paper-and-ink as much as they did. 
 If it was not actually the cure-all of mankind, it w T as at least 
 and without doubt the vessel that contained it. It was 
 the channel, the medium, the apostle by means of which he 
 looked forward to seeing all the sins and sorrows of the 
 world removed. The pulpit of the present age was the press, 
 and he was one of its divinely-appointed ministers. 
 
 Himself a Christian, descended from an earnest noncon- 
 formist f amity, his father and brother ministers, Mr. Stead 
 thoroughly believed in the renovating power of religion. 
 He saw, too, the immense value of the press as an agent for 
 disseminating the good news. It had been prostituted to 
 carnal purposes. Mr. Stead thought he could lead it into 
 higher and more useful paths, and to this directed his every 
 effort. 
 
 It was doubtless a noble ambition. Save the world by 
 the world by the devil himself, if you can but save it, 
 
The Army's Friends. 307 
 
 was a sort of epitome of his creed. Put all the irons in the 
 fire, and make them all hot, and strike away at them all at 
 the same time. The more the merrier. Have religion, by 
 all means the more the better. But supplement it with 
 politics, socialism, journalism, and any other ism that you 
 can get hold of. Wash down your religion with a little 
 whiskey, if needs be but get it down. Make your bolus 
 palatable with a sugar-plum, a magic lantern, a good feast, 
 anything, but see that it is swallowed. He believed all that 
 Mrs. Booth did, only he believed a good deal more too 
 much, she thought. 
 
 And yet she could not but be drawn towards the ardent 
 enthusiast. Her views were very different from his. She 
 believed in God and salvation pure, simple, unadulterated 
 with any of the nostrums of the world as the only remedy 
 for the evils that afflicted man. She distrusted any refor- 
 mation that did not commence at the heart, despaired of any 
 remedy, save the blood of Christ, to effectually reach the 
 heart, and disowned any agency save that of men and women 
 inspired by the Holy Ghost. Reformations based on any 
 other foundation she believed to be deceptive, futile, and 
 evanescent. It was God's plan. Man might busy himself 
 with the exterior ; God began with the interior. When that 
 was right all the rest would follow. Without it, whatever 
 was done would have to be undone. It was like beginning 
 to build a house from the roof downwards instead of from 
 the foundation upwards. 
 
 Mr. Stead was a sort of Brahmo-Somajist. There was 
 good as well as evil in everything and everybody. Some 
 were better and others best. All that was needed was to 
 sift the good from the bad, leave out the latter, and unite 
 the former in one harmonious whole. So thought Baboo 
 Keshub Chunder Sen, the great Hindoo divine, when he 
 attempted to throw Hindooism, Mahommedanism, Buddhism, 
 and Christianity into one refining-pot, and by a species of 
 religious alchemy reject the dross and produce from them a 
 new, coherent, and consistent religion which should suit the 
 
3oS Mrs. Booth. 
 
 needs of all the world. So have thought other philosophers. 
 And not a few have tried their hand. But, able as have 
 been the experimentalists, where is the effort that can as 
 yet be said to have succeeded? Alas, how many, in the 
 most favourable position to gain their end, have had to say 
 in bitterness, with Cardinal Wolsey, at the end of a long life 
 of toil, " Had I but served my God as faithfully as I have 
 served my king, He would not have forsaken me now ! " 
 
 Many a passage of arms on these and kindred subjects did 
 Mr. Stead have with Mrs. Booth. " I am but a Philistine," he 
 would sometimes laughingly conclude, " but I shall do my best 
 to help 3 r our Salvation Army Israel ! " He felt it his mission 
 to act the part of the upper millstone, whilst it was that of 
 the Salvation Army to be the nether. Between them he 
 hoped that it would yet be possible to grind to powder the 
 evils that afflicted the world. He would work from above 
 they from below ; and somewhere in the middle, some day, 
 hero or hereafter, on earth or in heaven, both would meet, 
 and receive the " Well done ! " of their common Master. 
 
 Mr. Stead's name has been so often mentioned in con- 
 junction with that of the Salvation Army that we have 
 sketched at some extra length the rise and nature of the 
 relationship. He has never embarked in our boat, though 
 he has often inspected it, and perhaps believes it to be the 
 best afloat ought we to say? with the sole exception of 
 his own. Sometimes he has wondered whether he was not 
 called to be an officer aboard her. But this he has regarded 
 as a temptation of the devil, while we "have looked upon it 
 as an urging of the Spirit. It is a mistake to suppose, 
 however, that he has ever stepped beyond the region of an 
 outsider; earnest, able, useful, sympathetic, seizing with 
 eagerness any opportunity that has arisen for defending its 
 rights and furthering its cause, but, alas, an outsider still ! 
 
 He would have liked Mr. and Mrs. Booth to have somewhat 
 altered their course not much, for he was never a caviller, 
 nor a fault-finder. But the path that seemed to him un- 
 necessarily narrow he would have broadened, views that 
 
The Army's Friends. 309 
 
 were needlessly extreme lie would have modified, judgments 
 that were unwontedly severe he would have softened. He 
 has not converted them, nor they him. Like Mr. Denny- 
 nay, rather, like human nature in general he thinks that he 
 knows best what would be our highest wisdom. But with a 
 generous heart and noble impulse he has not waited for us to 
 adopt his views, but has stretched out the hand of genuine 
 friendship, and has earned the prayers and good wishes of 
 those to whom, in the name of the Master, he has ever been 
 ready to offer any cup -of cold water that stood within his 
 reach and that they might seem to require. 
 
CHAPTER XXXII. 
 
 AMERICA. AUSTRALIA. 1880. 
 
 THE present possibilities of religion are not by any means 
 to be judged by the past, nor the future by the present. 
 Ground which has hitherto been covered in centuries can now 
 be covered in decades, and will ere long be coverable in as many 
 years or months. The revolution that has been worked in 
 the realm of science cannot but affect the realm of religion. 
 Indeed, the former is the handmaid to the latter, and will 
 sooner or later be compelled to assume its true position of 
 servitude. Like Onesimus, it may have run away from its 
 Philemon for a time, but the capturing power of a St. Paul 
 shall yet restore it to its owner, Man, not as his dictator, but 
 his servant, and in place of its boasted independence or 
 agnosticism it shall be the bearer of the epistle that announces 
 its conversion to his highest interests. As it has already 
 ministered to him in things temporal so hereafter it shall 
 minister in things spiritual. 
 
 Let science multiply its telegraphs, its steamers, its rail- 
 ways,' and effect the increasing shrinkage of the world. 
 Every new device shall make more swiftly possible the sal- 
 vation of the nations, and shall bring them more immediately 
 within reach of the heavenly influences that radiate from 
 Calvary. The modern apostle of the Cross can afford to 
 rejoice in each fresh discovery, and can turn to consider how 
 best it can be utilised for the one great purpose to which he 
 has consecrated his life. Avarice, ambition, selfishness, have 
 too long constituted the mainspring of scientific motion in 
 the past. When for these shall have been substituted the 
 
 310 
 
A merica. A ustralia. 311 
 
 Divine mainspring of benevolence, who shall place limits to 
 its possibilities ? 
 
 Commerce, money-making, politics, have hitherto monopo- 
 lised this domain, and have sought to well-nigh expel 
 religion entirely from their coasts'. But all unintentionally, 
 in the very teeth of their desires, while preparing a highway 
 for themselves, they have broken down the barriers and 
 paved the paths for the circulation of the spiritual merchan- 
 dise of which the world stands in such bitter need. The 
 very wires with which they have linked together the 
 remotest towns, and even villages, have bound the world 
 with an electric network across which every pulsation of its 
 heart may be felt, and which will one day prove the medium 
 for transmitting religious currents the mighty results of 
 which shall astound the universe. When once the communi- 
 cations are complete, some touch, like the pressure of a button, 
 may yet convulse the globe in the throes of a revival that 
 shall simultaneously affect mankind. 
 
 Already the world may be said to have received throughout 
 its entire system some galvanic shocks of a social and political 
 character which have threatened its entire equilibrium. "Why 
 should not a religious shock of similar dimensions be equally 
 possible ? If man has a soul, as well as a mind and body, it 
 is sound philosophy to assume that such a denouement is not 
 only possible but probable, and this at no distant date. All 
 the requisite materials and agencies exist. With God at one 
 end of the telephone and man at the other, messages may 
 soon be flashed, whose echoes shall resound simultaneously 
 through every land. 
 
 That it has not yet been so is no proof that it shall not be. 
 All seems to be preparing the way for some such climax. A 
 stone cast into a pond produces eddies which widen and 
 spread until they reach its margin. A volcanic eruption at 
 one end of the world produces a tidal wave which can be felt 
 at the other. Japan rocks, and the Berlin observatory pos- 
 sesses apparatus which times the shock. 
 
 The soul of man has ever possessed its parallel in the 
 
312 Mrs. Booth. 
 
 phenomena of nature. It must be so. The Hand that made 
 the one has made the other, and as truly as the needle 
 points to the North, so truly do the soul and nature point to 
 the pole-star of the universe, their Creator. 
 
 But if the soul and nature run in parallel grooves, infinitely 
 closer is the relationship between soul and soul. The oneness 
 of humanity has but to be proclaimed by the same Voice that 
 decreed its separation on the plains of Babel, to be, and be 
 forever, an accomplished fact. There is nothing intrinsic in 
 the soul of any one man, be his nationality what it may, to 
 prevent the soul of every man being bound together in one 
 harmonious federation, so perfect that humanit} r shall possess 
 the unity of a single bod}-, through which the veins and 
 arteries distribute the blood that centres round a single 
 heart. Thus any organisation that is able continuously to 
 possess and impart God may become the life-centre of a 
 religious system that shall permeate and unify the world. 
 
 In 1880 the Salvation Army recognised for the first time 
 its international character. It was no longer possible for 
 Mr. and Mrs. Booth to close their ears against the calls 
 which they had begun to receive from " the regions beyond." 
 The proverbial " man of Macedonia " loomed before them, 
 not in vague, dreamy visions of the night, but in written 
 appeals, the authenticity and genuineness of which they 
 could not doubt. He was not even a stranger, whose ve- 
 racity might have been questioned, or who could be told to 
 wait till he knew something more of the Army's operations 
 and could better judge of its suitability for other lands. 
 
 The modern Macedonian was not only a substantial em- 
 bodiment of flesh and blood, and therefore more visible and 
 to an incredulous age more satisfactory, than his Pauline 
 ancestor, but, what was more to the point, he was usually 
 one of themselves. He not only knew the needs of the 
 country of his adoption, but he was familiar with the Army 
 plans, and able to judge of the suitability of the one to meet 
 the needs of the other. Furthermore, he was endued with 
 the aggressive Army spirit. He had partaken in the recent 
 
A merica. A ustmlia. 3 1 3 
 
 Pentecost. It was as useless to command him to hold his 
 peace as to command the prophets and psalmists of old. 
 While he was musing the fire burned. The things which he 
 had seen and heard and handled in the old country he must 
 needs talk about in the new. As a natural consequence the 
 same results followed, and the inevitable discovery ensued 
 that God's power and man's heart were everywhere alike. 
 
 The first effort to establish a branch of the Christian Mis- 
 sion in the United States occurred as far back as 1872. Mr. 
 Booth could not however see his way to carry on the work 
 commenced by an emigrant family, and hence, after a few 
 months, it fell through. It was seven years later when the 
 work was renewed by a family of emigrants from England. 
 Amos Shirley and his wife had been for some time soldiers in 
 the Coventry corps, and had taken part in the revival which 
 had so powerfully influenced the town. Their daughter Eliza 
 had served for some months as an officer, and they had all 
 gained some practical experience of the Salvation Army work. 
 About the middle of 1879 they sailed for America, settling in 
 Philadelphia, where Mr. Shirley obtained work as foreman of 
 a silk factory. 
 
 The birthplace of the Salvation Army in England had 
 been a tent in a burial-ground. That of the Salvation Army 
 in America was neither as Oriental nor quite as funereal. And 
 yet it partook of the same Bethlehemite character. The 
 reporter of the Philadelphia News, who was the first to 
 chronicle their doings, discovered them in an abandoned chair- 
 factory, " eighty feet long by forty broad, whose rough- 
 boarded and whitewashed walls, and overhanging beams and 
 rafters savoured more of a stable than a place of worship." 
 
 There was evidently "no room" for the poor man's Saviour 
 in the "inns "of Philadelphian respectability. And, after 
 all, it mattered little, for if the place failed to sanctify the 
 people the people served to sanctify the place. The beacon 
 star of the Army the salvation of souls was not long in 
 appearing. Those shepherds of the slums, the outcasts of 
 society, gathered as of old round the manger not always 
 
Mrs. Booth. 
 
 to " worship," it is true. And yet many who came to mock, 
 remained to pray. 
 
 The saloon-keeper, that Herod of the drink traffic, whose 
 scourge society has too long tolerated, was soon upon the 
 scenes, inquiring after his ex-subjects, who had so suddenly 
 transferred their allegiance to another power. But the 
 Shirleys were veterans, and had learned to rejoice in the 
 
 MBS. BALLINGTOX BOOTH. 
 
 midst of such disturbances. Instead of sitting down, like 
 Rachel, to weep over what they could not help, they felt more 
 like summoning all Israel, from Dan even to Beersheba, from 
 London to Philadelphia, to join them in making war against 
 the American Sisera and his host. 
 
 The General could no longer resist the appeal. So impor- 
 tant did the opportunity appear, that he resolved to despatch 
 Mr. Railton, with a party of seven of the now famous Halle- 
 
A merica. A ustralia. 3 1 5 
 
 lujah Lasses, to take up the work which the Shirleys had 
 commenced. The proposal was received with enthusiasm 
 by all concerned, and was promptly carried into effect. The 
 first account of the meetings held by the Shirleys was pub- 
 lished in the War Cry on the 31st January, 1880, and on 
 the 12th of the following month the detachment farewelled 
 at the Whitechapel Hall, sailing on the 14th in the steamer 
 Australia. 
 
 Mrs. Booth, who took from the first the deepest interest in 
 this expedition, presented the officers with two flags, one 
 for the 1st New York and the other for the 1st Philadelphian 
 corps, urging them, in the course of a powerful address, to 
 be faithful to their vows. 
 
 "You look young," she said, turning to the sisters who 
 composed the party, one of whom had been for some years 
 her servant, and is still an officer in the ranks. " To 
 some people you may appear insignificant but so do we all. 
 So did those women who stood grouped round the cross 
 of Christ to the proud Pharisees who walked, mocking, past. 
 But their names have been handed down to us, while those of 
 the Pharisees have been forgotten. 
 
 " I present you with these flags in the name of our great 
 King, who bought all sinners with His blood, and who bids 
 us go forth and sprinkle them with it. First in His name, 
 and then in that of the General of this Army, I hand them 
 to you, praying that God may give you, young as you are, 
 strength to fight heroically under His banner, and to lead 
 tens of thousands to the Cross." 
 
 The meeting was an impressive one. Amongst those 
 present were Lady Cairns, Sir Arthur Blackwood, Mr. 
 Denny, and other friends of the Army. Mr. Eailton, with 
 the members of his little party, addressed the meeting, at- 
 tired in a new military style of uniform, with broad red 
 bands upon their hats, on which " The Salvation Army " was 
 \vorked in conspicuous letters. A profound impression was 
 created by the meeting, which was still further increased 
 when, two days later, the party were conducted in procession 
 
316 Mrs. Booth. 
 
 from Whitechapel to Fenchurch Street Station, Mrs. Booth 
 following in a hansom. Describing their departure in a 
 letter to a friend, she says : 
 
 " We have been in a perfect whirl of excitement and rush ever since 
 the meeting. I Lave been at Whitechapel all the time. The getting off 
 of dear Eailton and the sisters was a scene. Hundreds of people walked 
 in procession to Fenchurcli Street. They sang all the way, and omni- 
 buses, waggons, and vehicles of all kinds stopped and lined the roads to 
 see them pass. Tbey then marched on from the Tidal Basin Station to 
 the ship. We had half an hour in the Basin, in which a large ring was 
 formed and a meeting held. All the crew and passengers on the ship 
 seemed quite struck, the saloon passengers standing on deck in the 
 rain to listen, and before they set sail two Army men turned up on board 
 who weie going out as emigrants. 
 
 " It was a grand sight. The women's hats looked capital, being 
 larger, and having a broad crimson band with gold letters. Three of 
 our flags were flying on board, and the enthusiasm of the people seemed 
 to strike with awe even the men who were hauling in the bales. I be- 
 lieve God will give them many a seal to their ministry before they get 
 there. 
 
 " Dear, devoted Eailtou looked well in his uniform, and appeared as 
 happy as an angel. Bless him ! I love him as a son. Oh, to win 
 millions lor our Saviour King ! We shall ! " 
 
 A year later Mr. Railton was recalled to the International 
 Headquarters in London, where his services were increas- 
 ingly needed. But the work of which the foundations were 
 then laid has since been carried on with signal success. 
 Little did Mrs. Booth think, when witnessing Mr. Kailton's 
 departure, that her second son (Commander Ballington 
 Booth) was destined to follow in his footsteps, and, in com- 
 pany with his able and devoted wife 1 , to accomplish so 
 extensive and successful a work. 
 
 Later in the year the General's hands were similarly 
 forced in regard to Australia. A convert of the Army, 
 John Gore, a milkman, had emigrated to Adelaide, where 
 he met a builder from Bradford, named Saunders, who had 
 been saved through the same agency. Without waiting for. 
 officers to arrive they formed themselves into a corps, ap- 
 pointed a treasurer and secretarj 7 , placed themselves under 
 the temporary leadership of Gore, and commenced open-air 
 
America. Australia. 317 
 
 and indoor meetings. When writing to the General to send 
 out officers, they were able to report that already the work 
 had fairly taken root, souls were being saved, and an invita- 
 tion had been received to extend their operations to Sydney. 
 " We need you as quick as fire and steam can bring you," 
 
 COMMISSIONER HOWARD. 
 
 wrote Gore. " There is no mistake about it. You must 
 come immediately." 
 
 The appeal was irresistible. Captain and Mrs. Sutherland 
 were forthwith set apart to pioneer the work, or, rather, to 
 join and lead the original pioneers. Early in January, 1881, 
 they set sail on board the steamship Aconcagua, going forth 
 on their journey of twelve thousand miles with the same 
 cool confidence with which they would have started to take 
 charge of a corps in -England. Without money, without in- 
 fluence, and with but a handful of humble friends, these 
 solitary Salvationists went forth on their errand of mercy, 
 
3i8 Mrs. Booth. 
 
 carrying with them the beloved banner, which was destined 
 to pass from hand to hand till it had been planted in every 
 nook and corner of Australian soil. 
 
 Perhaps no country has welcomed the Salvation Army 
 with greater heartiness, and offered for its operations a more 
 congenial sphere, than has Australia, that happy hunting- 
 ground of the sturdy British yeoman and artisan who 
 constitute the backbone of England's national power. Un- 
 burdened with an aristocracy of birth and wealth, the sturdy 
 John Bullism of the middle classes has had an opportunity 
 of developing its best characteristics. The same material 
 which, when forced into the unhealthy atmospher6 and 
 hopeless squalor of slumdom, has given birth to the most 
 exaggerated specimens of vice, has blossomed in those 
 brighter and roomier climes with a rapidity and luxuriance 
 which make recognition almost impossible, and which may 
 well inspire with hope the heart of every social reformer. 
 
 Ability and common sense, especially when combined with 
 virtue, have enjoyed a supremacy in Australia which has 
 too often been denied to them in other lands, at least until 
 their possessors are either tottering on the borders of the 
 grave, or have already left the scene of toil and care. Then 
 society suddenly discovers their hitherto neglected worth, 
 and renders them its tardy but useless acknowledgments. 
 Not so Australia. Merit and piety have a chance of gaining 
 swift recognition and timely recompense. Frank, simple, 
 sincere, free-handed and open-hearted, no better specimen 
 of the average Britisher can be found than in the Antipodes. 
 It is no small tribute to the value of Salvation Army methods 
 that he should so readily have accepted and endorsed them, 
 giving them so enthusiastic a welcome to his heart and home. 
 
 It was always a matter of deep regret to Mrs. Booth that 
 failing health and the manifold needs of the English work 
 prevented her from visiting these foreign lands, especially 
 America and Australia; a regret which has been shared, 
 doubtless, by thousands who have read her books, and who 
 would fain have listened to the author's voice. We can 
 
America. Australia. 319 
 
 readily imagine with what enthusiasm she would there 
 have been received, and can only wonder and bow in mute 
 submission to the mysterious Providence that willed it 
 otherwise. 
 
 In America her peculiarly incisive and persuasive mode 
 of oratory could not have failed to secure great triumphs, 
 and would have enabled the Salvation Army to overcome 
 more rapidly the "unusual difficulties which for some time 
 hindered its progress. 
 
 The natural aversion and suspicion with which an alien is 
 regarded in America indeed, in every land ; perhaps less 
 in America than in many other countries was taken 
 advantage of by an officer who was entrusted for a time 
 with the command of the work, and proved himself un- 
 worthy of the confidence. The public mind was poisoned 
 against what was alleged to be a Britisn concern. A rival 
 army was organized, which was to be purely American in 
 its constitution. Property which had been entrusted to his 
 charge was shamelessly appropriated for the purposes of the 
 new organization, and a shock was given to public confidence 
 which hindered for years the advance of the movement. 
 
 But it was not likely that an attempt made in such a 
 manner, and under such dishonourable circumstances, should 
 prove in the end more successful than some of the lesser 
 efforts to which we have already had occasion to allude. 
 The committee who were to take the place of General Booth 
 in controlling the operations of the American Salvation Army 
 soon found reason to be dissatisfied with the doings of their 
 self-appointed commander-in-chief, and he in his turn dis- 
 covered that their authority was no less disagreeable than 
 that from which he had recently broken loose. Inevitable 
 disputes arose, which resulted in another separation. Thus 
 the divided camp soon dwindled into insignificance, while 
 the original movement gradually recovered its lost ground 
 until it attained its present proportions and prosperity. 
 
 That this should have been so is in itself not a little 
 singular, and bears out the remarks with which this chap- 
 
320 Mrs. Booth. 
 
 ter commences. If the despotic military system of the 
 Salvation Army government can take root in the democratic 
 soil of the American Republic it can surely acclimatise itself 
 to any imaginable circumstances. In the land where every 
 unit is a star, and every star, in theory at least, possesses 
 equal radiance, where big stars and little stars are unknown, 
 and imperial suns and moons are not permitted to rival the 
 brilliant equality of the sk}', it might naturally be supposed 
 that no place would have been found for this new constella- 
 tion, with all its gradations of smallness and greatness, in- 
 feriority and superiority, obedience and command, with suns, 
 moons, planets, fixed stars, shooting stars, milky ways, long- 
 tailed comets, and all the other complex paraphernalia of a 
 Salvation Army firmament ! 
 
 But who has not recognised the wide divergence that 
 often exists between theory and practice ? The Salvation 
 Army found in America the unity of law and order, while 
 America recognised in the Salvation Army the equality of 
 love ! Each unit is as free to shine, to be good and to do 
 good, and that to the utmost limits of its capacity, as any 
 citizen in the United States. 
 
 The units of which the Republic consisted, whether as 
 states or individuals, were united units, in the unity of 
 which each lover of his country did not fail to rejoice and 
 boast. True, all the emphasis of which the American 
 language is capable has been placed upon the independent 
 unit. But the same banner which, had there been room, 
 would have had a separate star for every citizen, carries 
 wherever it floats the symbols of the eternal bonds that link 
 each unit into a national whole with as definite an existence 
 as each of its component parts. 
 
 The man who lands in America supposing he will find 
 himself a member of a lawless, orderless mob, in which he 
 will be absolutely free to do evil as well as good, will soon 
 find himself very much mistaken. And so will the one who 
 seeks to disregard or snap the national bonds that bind all in 
 one. It may be compared to a vast panorama in which each 
 
America. Australia. 321 
 
 individual is represented by a tiny, almost invisible, dot. 
 Armed with an enormous magnifying glass, he is absorbed 
 in the admiring recognition of his unitship. But there is 
 one thing which he values even more ; namely, his position 
 in the panorama. You have but to attempt to dissolve the 
 view, or to remove him from his place, and you will soon 
 find out that, though he is an individual, he is also an 
 American, linked to his sixty-five milliou fellow what 
 shall we call them? subjects f Are there, then, such 
 creatures possible in a Republic? Yes, subjects ; if not of 
 a Queen and Parliament, yet subjects one of another, and 
 therefore subjects none the. less. And what more than this 
 could the Salvation Army itself desire ? Indeed, it presents 
 to America as good a republic, in some senses, as America 
 can itself display. 
 
 And thus the Republic has recognised in the Salvation 
 Army the freedom of virtue, and the Salvation Army has 
 recognised in the Republic the despotism of law. With 
 nothing to be ashamed of in its life and works, the Salva- 
 tion Army stands beneath the blazing light of the statue of 
 Liberty and invites the utmost scrutiny of all. It asks but 
 for liberty to do good. And its request has not been denied. 
 Recognising in the new movement worthy motives and pure 
 lives, the great Republic has welcomed to its shores those 
 who must so strikingly have reminded it of the Pilgrim 
 Pathers, who laid the foundations of its own greatness. 
 
CHAPTER XXXIII. 
 WEST END CAMPAIGN. 1880. 
 
 THE Salvation Army in the West End ? How unnecessary ! 
 How unsuitable ! Here were no slums to revolutionise no 
 ruffians to reform no vortex of filth and misery to purify. 
 No staggering drunkard made the night air hideous with 
 his ribald songs and blasphemous oaths. Ko flaming gin- 
 palace disgraced the neighbourhood. All was quiet and 
 respectable. If there were misery, it was alleviated by 
 luxury ; if there were profligacy, it was carefully concealed ; 
 if there were sin, it was called by a softer name. And yet 
 and yet and yet when did money, with all the comforts 
 it can purchase, ever succeed in healing the sorrows of a 
 single soul ? It may mitigate them for a moment, but it 
 can no more banish them for good than it can purchase for 
 its possessor immunity from sickness and the grave. Ah, 
 yes ! There are broken hearts in the mansions of the rich 
 as truly as in the hovels of the poor. And there is a balm 
 in Gilead that can heal them. But the balm is not to be 
 extracted from any possessions that they own, though equal 
 to those of a Rothschild or a Duke of Westminster. 
 
 And in what respect does covered vice or sin under an 
 alias, after all, differ from the unvarnished article ? In the 
 sight of God a blackguard in broadcl'oth is in no sense 
 superior to a blackguard in rags and tatters a sinner in a 
 feather-bed no better than a sinner on the Thames Embank- 
 ment. The latter has at least some claims to pity. If he 
 have sinned, he has also reaped, in some measure, the 
 punishment of his misdeeds. The former has " received his 
 consolation." There is no covering for evil but that of par- 
 
West End Campaign. 323 
 
 don. Forgetfulness and concealment are but poor substitutes 
 narcotics, from, the effects of which the miserable victim 
 must, sooner or later, awaken to discover that his last state 
 is indeed worse than his first. The sinner requires not a 
 change of name but change of character. 
 
 Simple facts, these obvious, self-evident, the very ABC 
 of Christianity ; and yet perhaps, after all, less familiar to 
 the inhabitants of the West End th^an to those of the East. 
 The ignorance of foundation Gospel truths among the higher 
 classes is simply appalling. Their children have not even 
 the advantage of the Sunday-school. Heathenism ! There 
 is many a high-caste Hindoo who could catechise the high- 
 caste heathen of our land, and many a Mohammedan zenana 
 where more is known about the saving power of Christ than 
 in the drawing-room zenanas of our rich. 
 
 And no wonder ; for, from their childhood upwards, who 
 dares to speak to them in faithful love either about their 
 sins or their responsibilities ? They go to church, it is true, 
 but it is generally to hear the saints describe themselves as 
 " miserable sinners," and the sinners sing about " Jeru- 
 salem," their " happy home," with all the assurance of 
 saints. ' They used to think that it was necessary to "do 
 works meet for repentance." But they have learnt of recent 
 years that they need only believe that they are Christians 
 and that they are so whether they are or not ! And the 
 doctrine harmonises so well with their inclinations and 
 with the teachings of their patron saints, the newspapers, 
 that they are willing to accept it, without further question, 
 as the best news that they have ever heard, the very sort of 
 Gospel they have desired. To believe a history, to accept as 
 true a certain creed, to live as you like, and yet to go to 
 heaven when you die, is a sort of religion that even the 
 devil himself has no reason whatever to reject ! To pray is 
 advisable, but it must be in private. To do good is 
 praiseworthy, but it can be done by proxy. They can pray 
 by proxy, preach by proxy, and go to the heathen, abroad or 
 at home, by proxy ! Nobody need be inconvenienced ! No 
 
324 Mrs. Booth. 
 
 risks need be encountered, no sacrifices made! The crumbs 
 that fall from the table are sufficient to satisfy an easy-going 
 Christ ! 
 
 Needless to say that such a Gospel was very different to 
 the one which Mrs. Booth proclaimed during her West End 
 campaign of 1880. Whether speaking to the rich or to the 
 poor, her trumpet gave forth no uncertain sound. The allu- 
 sions to her West End meetings in her correspondence are 
 fortunately numerous, and from them we quote : 
 
 " The Lord has very graciously stood by me and given me mnch pre- 
 cious fruit. Last Sunday we had the Hall crowded, and a large pro- 
 portion of gentlemen. The Lord was there in power, and twenty-one 
 came forward ; some for salvation, and some for purity. Several were 
 most blessed cases of full surrender. We did not get away till nearly six, 
 and we began at three. Everybody is amazed at this for the West End ! 
 The audience is very select, we never having published a bill ; only 
 advertised it in the Christian and daily papers. Pray much, dear friend, 
 that God may do a deep and permanent work in this Babylon. It seems 
 as though He gave me words of fire for them, and they sit spell-bound. 
 
 "Nearly all I say is extemporaneous, and new. I feel it is the Spirit, 
 for it is just the sort of truth for want of which the world is dying. I 
 am told on all sides that it is creating a great stir ! Amen ! Lord, 
 increase it ! 
 
 " The audience was splendid, and, though I was positively ill, the 
 Lord held me up for an hour and a half at full swing ! We got 43 
 collection, and about 50 since. We paid 20 for the hall." 
 
 To one of- her sons she writes : 
 
 " I am going to a meeting of lords and ladies, etc., at the Honourable 
 
 Mr. Somebody's in the West End, where Princess and Prince Louis 
 
 Napoleon are to be present ! I am to tell of the effects of our work on 
 drunkards, etc. Pray for me. You may perhaps be wanted to stand 
 amongst princes to do battle for the Lord. Surely you will get ready, 
 and not sell your birthright. The Lord help you ! Take hold of 
 David's God, hold your head up, keep your shoulders back, and go 
 forward." 
 
 In a letter to an intimate friend she says : 
 
 " Here I am, literally swamped with work. Oh, the letters ! I am 
 almost written to death, but I must send you a line to assure you of my 
 
 unceasing sympathy and prayer. I have a drawing-room at . If 
 
 you know any one of position whom you would like to be there, send me 
 name and address, and I will have a card sent them. I would not mind 
 
West End Campaign. 325 
 
 who, but these people don't like tradespeople, or others not of their own 
 standing, to be invited ! Oh, when we get Home, with the whole house- 
 hold of faith, what will some of them do ? 
 
 " The General returned last night, having travelled eight hundred 
 miles, and having addressed (besides open-air meetings) forty thousand 
 people in eight days 1 And oh, the stories of grace and salvation ! In- 
 describable ! Heaven must be kept in an uproar of jubilee, if it is true 
 
 that there is joy there over every one ! And yet Mr. and others who 
 
 might help us are quibbling about the colour of a coat ! Pa says the 
 meeting at Bristol exceeded Exeter Hall. Colston Hall was crowded to 
 excess an bour before time, and hundreds outside. Manchester, Liver- 
 pool, etc., to match." 
 
 Writing to her daughter Emma, Mrs. Booth says : 
 
 " We had a grand crush last night, and I trust something was done 
 for eternity ; but, oh dear! there are plenty of discouragements every- 
 where. The devil must be stronger and wiser on his lines than we give 
 him credit for. I got some comfort this morning from Kv. 10th chap. 
 7th ver. If God calls His plan with the earth and the church ' the 
 Mystery,' how vain is it for us to try to understand it ; but what a com- 
 fort to realise that the time is coming when it will be 'finished ! ' What 
 a joy to see it, if we are on the right side. We must roll the responsi- 
 bility on Him, and go on in faith that the result will be worth the cost. 
 
 " Your ' Training Home girls ' look well and happy. I allowed myself 
 to be drawn in an open perambulator at the head of the procession last 
 night, a gazing-stock to the town ! I felt a little of the meaning of 
 Paul's glorying in the cross ! Oh, what poor little shamefaced soldiers 
 we are, after all ! 
 
 "I note the discouraging circumstances you name. True, there is 
 much to deplore everywhere, but we cannot help it. We have to do the 
 best we can with the material we have, as the poor Lord has to do with 
 us all. What an undertaking He must have on His hands! I was 
 never so able to understand the sufferings of Christ in enduring the con- 
 tradiction of sinners as I am now. The whole work of saving men is a 
 work of suffering, from the beginning to the end. But then, saviours 
 must not draw back. The Lord help us." 
 
 Perhaps the most important meetings held by Mrs. Booth 
 during the year outside London were those conducted in 
 Scotland. 
 
 Writing from Edinburgh, she says : 
 
 " I had a wonderful meeting here on Sunday night. One of the most 
 beautiful halls in the kingdom crowded. I lecture in it to-morrow 
 night. Pray for me. The obtuseness, indifference, and heartlessnesa of 
 professed Christians is the greatest trial of my life. The poor, with all 
 
326 Mrs. Bo~oth. 
 
 their faults, have larger hearts than the rich. I go to Glasgow for 
 Monday and Tuesday ; am to be in the newest and finest hall in Scot- 
 land ; seats three thousand. Pray for me." 
 
 Just on the eve of the Glasgow meetings Mrs. Booth was 
 again prostrated by illness. The intense physical suffering 
 often entailed upon her by her public services may be 
 judged by the following account : 
 
 " Mr. Booth had left me on Saturday, and I was in strange lodgings. 
 I had to ring them up at three in the morning and get hot foments, etc., 
 but nothing relieved the pain. All day Monday and all night it con- 
 tinued, so that I never closed my eyes ; the knee swelled like a bag of 
 water all round the cap, and bear the bed-clothes I could not. On 
 Tuesday morning I felt it would be impossible to take the meeting, and 
 great efforts and expectations had been called forth. ' One of the chief 
 magistrates was to take the chair, and several leading men had promised 
 to be on the platform. Four thousand tickets were issued. You may 
 guess how I felt. I telegraphed to Dundee to tell my dearest he must 
 come and take the meeting, and my leg, though a little easier, continued 
 too bad for me to think of going. 
 
 " Mr. Booth arrived at 6.30, and the meeting commenced at 7.30. He 
 begged me to try and go, if I only showed myself. He prayed, and I got 
 ready as best I could, and, half carried to the cab, I ventured. The hall 
 was full, and half carried, in great pain, I went on the platform. I rose 
 to speak in the strength of the Lord, and from the moment I opened my 
 mouth until I ceased I never felt my knee, except once or twice when I 
 moved it. The Lord stood by me, and I spoke for an hour and a quarter, 
 with three reporters sitting in a row just under me. The pain came on 
 again before I got home, and I was up all night, for I could not lie in 
 bed. Hot meal poultices and mustard lotions were continually applied. 
 But the pain affected the whole leg from the hip to the heel. It was like 
 a screw in both joints. At three o'clock in the morning I had another 
 attack of the heart, so bad that I fainted in the chair, and my dearest 
 dared not lift me because of my leg. He said he'never felt so utterly at 
 a loss in his life ; but he cried to the Lord, and He came to our help. 
 The people where I lodged were most kind, the lady herself staying up, 
 as well as the servant. She told me the next morning that she was 
 awfully frightened ; she thought I was dying. I should not tell you all 
 this only to show you how wonderfully the Lord brings us through. My 
 dearest says He works miracles for us every day. Certainly, if it was the 
 devil who attacked my leg, he was beaten for once ! " 
 
CHAPTER XXXIV. 
 THE TRAINING HOMES. 1880. 
 
 THEMSELVES trained during the past twenty-six years in the 
 severe school of adversity, the General and Mrs. Booth were 
 not slow to discover in the very rapidity of their recent ad- 
 vances a dangerous element of weakness which needed to be 
 remedied. 
 
 In the early stages of the work, when the evangelists 
 were few in number, and the stations clustered closely to- 
 gether, it had been possible for the leaders of the movement 
 to exercise such a personal supervision of the workers that 
 their raw and untrained character had given but little cause 
 for anxiety. But now that the Salvation Army had extended 
 its operations to Scotland, Ireland, Wales, and even to Aus- 
 tralia and America, the circumstances of the case had en- 
 tirely altered. 
 
 To " lay hands suddenly " upon the newly made converts, 
 and to send them forth to take charge of difficult and dis- 
 tant posts, was a dangerous proceeding, which could be 
 justified only by the extreme importance of the emergency. 
 Considering the arduous nature of the work, and the tempta- 
 tions to which these hastily raised levies were exposed, it is 
 remarkable that there were not more numerous breakdowns. 
 But the few that had occurred were sufficient to warn the 
 leaders of the Salvation Army that the time had arrived for 
 giving some sort of training to its future officers. 
 
 Not that the General desired to adopt the ordinary college 
 system. On the contrary, he was more than ever convinced 
 that the usual methods adopted in preparing young men for 
 the ministry were entirely unsuited to the peculiar require- 
 
 327 
 
328 Mrs. BobtJi. 
 
 inents of the Salvation Army. At the same time he by no 
 means undervalued knowledge, whether of a practical or a 
 doctrinal character; his great desire being to teach what 
 was absolutely essential for the exigencies of the war with- 
 out burdening the mind with that which, however desirable 
 in itself, had no direct bearing upon the work. 
 
 By way of an experiment a Training Home for women 
 was opened in May, 1880, and placed under the charge of 
 their second daughter, Miss Emma Booth. It was quickly 
 filled with some thirty candidates for the work, and as soon 
 as any of these were sent out others were ready to take their 
 place. The advantages of this institution soon began to 
 make themselves sensibly felt, and before the end of the year 
 a similar Home was opened for the male cadets and placed 
 under Mr. Ballington Booth, it being felt that the brother and 
 sister would be able to work into each other's hands, and that 
 the one department would help and supplement the other, 
 while both would be kept under the immediate eye of the 
 leaders. The arrangement answered admirably, and a few 
 years later Mrs. Booth w r as able thus to describe the nature 
 of the preparation through which the officers passed : 
 
 " Perhaps no question is more frequently proposed to us than this : 
 ' "What sort of training do you give your cadtts ? ' This I will try to 
 answer as concisely as possible. 
 
 " In the first place, the great aim of all our training is to fit our 
 officers for the work they have to do. We abjure all mere learning for 
 its own sake. Moreover, we believe that a great deal of it is calculated 
 rather to unfit than to aid its recipients for actual warfare. Just as, in 
 temporal things, the apprenticeship is intended to teach the apprentice 
 the particular trade to which he is destined, so we think training for the 
 work of God should be adapted to qualify its recipients for that work ; 
 and that it would be just as sensible to spend the time and exhaust the 
 energies of 'he apprentice intended to build houses in studying the prob- 
 lems of astronomy, as to teach men and women destined for spiritual 
 warfare dead languages, and a great deal of other useless lumber com- 
 monly imposed upon students for the ministry. We say, teach the 
 builder how to build houses, the shoemaker how to make shoes, and a 
 soul-winner HOW TO WIN SOULS." 
 
 One of the first questions that the new cadets were asked 
 upon arriving at the Home was whether they had a Bible of 
 
The Training Homes. 329 
 
 their own. Well-thumbed and carefully marked were the 
 treasures that were produced, proving how unfounded were 
 the accusations that Salvation Army soldiers did not study 
 the Scriptures. Many a one, who could not decipher so 
 much as the alphabet previous to his or her conversion, had 
 learned to read on purpose to be able to study the Book of 
 books. 
 
 The course of training was a brief one, extending from 
 four to six months, and even during this short interval the 
 cadets, instead of being pent up within four walls and 
 crammed intellectually till their zeal and spirituality had 
 been largely crushed, were pushed into active service. The 
 lessons and lectures of the morning were followed by slum 
 visitation and War Cry selling in the afternoon, and this 
 again by salvation or holiness meetings every night. The 
 new solo, that had just been mastered, was sung in the open- 
 air or indoor meeting the same evening, either to be thrown 
 aside, as unsuited to the public taste, or sung and sung 
 again till its echoes had reached " from shore to shore." If 
 a song did not " go," that is, if it did not move the hearts of 
 the people, tending either towards converting or sanctifying 
 them or infusing them with the war spirit, it was at once 
 rejected, however pretty the tune or words might be. Mere 
 sentimentalism of any kind was treated with contempt. 
 Something must happen, or something was wrong. 
 
 " Oh, friends ! " says Mrs. Booth, in addressing one of her audiences, 
 " give up the sentimental hypocrisy of singing 
 
 " 'Rescue the perishing, 
 Care for the dying,' 
 
 in the drawing-room, to the accompaniment of the piano, without ever 
 dreaming of going outside to do it ; such idle words will prove only a 
 mockery and a sham in the great day of account. Such songs will come 
 booming back on the ears of the soul with more awful forebodings than 
 the echoes of the archangel's trumpet itself ! Sentimentalism will have 
 110 resurrection ; it will rot with the grave-clothes." 
 
 One of the most important advances made during the year 
 was, however, the issue of the now world-famous War Cry, 
 
33O Mrs. Bobtk. 
 
 the first number of which was published at Christmas, 1879. 
 Concerning this effort the General was able to report at the 
 end of the year : 
 
 " The establishment of a weekly newspaper had long been felt to be 
 a necessity. To inspire, and educate, and bind together our people all 
 over the world in the spirit of this holy warfare, it was felt that we must 
 have a weekly organ. Difficulties great and innumerable were in the 
 way, but, the attempt once resolved upon, they were surmounted, and 
 the undertaking has proved perhaps the greatest success ever achieved 
 in the way of a religious newspaper. We began with a sale of some 
 20,000, and in twelve months, without spending 10 in advertisements, 
 have reached a circulation of 110,000. 
 
 " When it is remembered that the paper is intensely religious, advo- 
 cating the highest possible forms of devotion and holiness, rejecting all 
 the varied kinds of fiction so prevalent and pernicious, that its readers 
 consist of those who have been heretofore accustomed to read nothing 
 at all, or only the lowest and most debasing literature ; that it has, to 
 our positive knowledge, been the means of the conversion of many souls, 
 and the awakening of slumbering churches, this success will be con- 
 sidered as gratifying as it is marvellous. The remarkable incidents con- 
 tained in it, couched, as they often are, in language which to some may 
 appear eccentric and extravagant, are the very means by which we attract 
 the attention of those who would be otherwise indisposed to read the 
 solemn, instructive, and warning truths of the Gospel." 
 
 In the course of the year forty-seven new towns were 
 opened, and at most of these powerful revivals occurred. 
 The most remarkable of these was at Bristol, where a circus 
 was engaged capable of holding some 2,500 people. Night 
 after night it was packed, and hundreds turned away. In- 
 deed so great was the excitement that at the early prayer- 
 meeting, at seven o'clock on Sunday morning, as many as 
 2,000 people were present, and this Sunday after Sunday, in 
 spite of bitterly cold weather. The number of officers had 
 increased to 320, and the local contributions raised by the 
 corps during the year had risen to no less than 16,000. 
 
 By no means the least interesting occurrence of the year 
 was the celebration of Mr. and Mrs. Booth's silver wedding 
 at the Whitechapel Hall. Many friends united with the 
 officers and soldiers of the various London corps to celebrate 
 the happy occasion in the hearty, demonstrative fashion so 
 
The Training Homes. 331 
 
 dear to Salvationists. The General gave an interesting sketch 
 of the history of the Mission during the past fifteen years. 
 Mrs Booth followed with a touching address. But the most 
 heart-appealing feature of the meeting was when the family 
 rose to their feet and sang together : 
 
 " We all belong to Jesus ! 
 Bless the Lord ! Bless the Lord ! " 
 
 As the clear young voices rang through the Hall a practi- 
 cal lesson in full consecration was taught, which was more 
 eloquent than any of the burning addresses given. A little 
 army in itself, it revealed the secret of the success with 
 which the movement had met. The General and Mrs. Booth 
 had commenced within the narrow circle of their own home 
 the work which had broadened out until it had included 
 within its embrace the entire world. The Salvation Army 
 was but an application of the same principles to a wider 
 sphere. The military idea was interwoven with that of the 
 family. The one was the warp, and the other was the woof. 
 The two combined to give unity and cohesion to each other. 
 
 The skeleton of the organization, its bonework, so to speak, 
 was composed of military rules and regulations which of 
 themselves would have been stiff, repulsive, valueless. But 
 the warm filling up of family flesh and blood covered and 
 beautified that which was, in its turn, indispensable to lend 
 symmetry and strength to what would otherwise have been, 
 after all, but a shapeless, heterogeneous, and comparatively 
 useless mass. " Order is Heaven's first law," and will be so 
 to the end. Bat there must be something to order, or order 
 itself will be of little avail. On the other hand, there are 
 those who are so impressed with the importance of the 
 particles of flesh and blood that they would dispense with 
 the bone, annihilating law and order in favour of so-called 
 freedom, and producing as a result a sort of spiritual jelly- 
 fish, which floats about on the top of the waters at the mercy 
 of every wind and wave, with apparently little capacity for 
 anything save that of stinging all it touches. 
 
CHAPTER XXXV. 
 SALVOPHOBISM. 
 
 THE rapid and unprecedented progress of the Salvation 
 Army, described in the last few chapters, gave rise in certain 
 quarters to what, for want of a better name, we may term 
 Salvophobism. Politicians, socialists, and professing Chris- 
 tians had long been lamenting the terrible condition into 
 which the masses had lapsed. Every possible sort of ex- 
 pedient had been suggested for combating the evil, but in 
 vain. All seemed at their wit's end. And yet, when an 
 organization had at length arisen which was capable of 
 dealing successfully with the problem, those who had them- 
 selves failed to solve it were as unwilling to learn as they 
 had been unable to institute a more excellent way. 
 
 The faint-hearted and sluggish have ever been prone to 
 discover " a lion in the way " of every good work. New 
 arrivals in India have often been known to lie quaking in 
 their beds because they have mistaken the howl of the 
 harmless jackal for the roar of the tiger, or the impress 
 of the pariah dog for the paw-mark of the leopard. And 
 so it has been with these alarmists, who have professed to 
 discover in the Salvation Army elements of danger which 
 exist nowhere save in their imaginations. In their anxiety 
 to anticipate the evils which the future might bring forth, 
 they have overlooked the evils that exist. 
 
 And yet at their very feet stretches a seething mass of 
 iniquity. Millions of our fellow-men are sinking beneath its 
 surface. The means for their salvation are confessedly in- 
 adequate. It is no time to carp or haggle with those who 
 would leap into this sea of woe. and who, at the peril of 
 
 SC2 
 
Salvophobism. 333 
 
 their lives, draw from its waves trophy after trophy of re- 
 deeming grace. Here are men and women who, not satisfied 
 with flinging a life-buoy to the perishing, leap over the 
 bulwarks of their comfortable homes and plunge into the 
 depths of slums to do battle with the worse than sharks that 
 teem in those dark waters and prey upon humanity. 
 
 But oh, surprising fact that those who profess to be 
 actuated by like motives, and dedicated to a like mission, 
 should rise up to question and criticise rather than to bless, 
 or, Gamaliel-like, coldly choose to let alone what it is their 
 God-given privilege to help ! 
 
 It was in the autumn of 1880 when an occasion of this 
 kind occurred. The Army had recently commenced opera- 
 tions in Carlisle with marvellous success. Many of the 
 worst characters were converted, and the town was greatly 
 moved, when, strange to say, the Bishop preached a sermon 
 in the Cathedral strongly condemning the Salvation Army. 
 Mrs. Booth happened to be in the neighbourhood at the time, 
 and was urged to reply. Thinking she might advantageous^ 
 use the occasion in answering the objections of similar 
 critics, she consented. Thus, in an old but crowded theatre, 
 she dealt with the statements made by the Bishop in the 
 Cathedral, From her address we quote the following : 
 
 " The great problem of how to reach the masses of this country with 
 the Gospel has been the absorbing question, for many years gone by, in 
 the mind of every intelligent and thoughtful philanthropist, as well 
 as of every sincere Christian. There has not been a congress or 
 synod held by any denomination, from the Established Church down- 
 wards, but, in some form or other, this problem has come up for solution. 
 I remember, some nine years ago, in London, a great placard, announcing 
 one of the most influential congresses ever gathered in the metropolis, 
 comprising the clergy and laity of the Established Church, to consider 
 how to bring the Gospel to bear on the masses of England. I said when 
 I read it, ' What an awful admission ! In the end of the nineteenth 
 century it is necessary, in so-called Christian England, for a synod of 
 the Established Church to meet to consider how to bring the Gospel to 
 bear on the masses.' And yet, alas ! we know there was only too great 
 a necessity for it. 
 
 " This problem has since kept coming up in the congresses of all 
 denominations. Some have given one solution, and some another; but 
 
334 Mrs. Booth. 
 
 I am bold to say and at my back stand some of the most thoughtful 
 Christians of this generation that, until the Salvation Army arose, 
 every effort to grapple \vith the question on anything like an adequate 
 scale proved a comparative failure. Statistics -were taken from which it 
 was ascertained that ninety per cent, of the working classes I am not 
 speaking of cadging classes, tramps, etc., but of the bona Jide working 
 classes, who, you say, are the backbone of England never crossed the 
 threshold of church, chapel, or Christian hall. Think of that, and then 
 ask yourselves if it is not time something should be done. Ah, every- 
 body agrees something should be done. The great difficulty is, what 
 should that something be ? 
 
 " I have been in sixty-two towns in eleven months. In these towns I 
 have seen hundreds of thousands gathered together in our halls. Ah, 
 there is nothing like seeing to realise. All the accounts I had ever heard 
 or read had failed to convey to my mind anything like a true conception 
 of the state of positive heathenism and ruffianism in which these masses 
 live. Hundreds of these very men I should be afraid to meet at night 
 short-cropped, bullet-headed, gaol-bird looking men, of the bull-dog type 
 the terrible traces of debauchery and crime deep marked upon their 
 faces, and dressed in such habiliments as showed where their money 
 went on a Saturday night. Hundreds of these men are earning fairly 
 respectable wages, and their wretched condition arises from their vicious 
 habits. 
 
 " The rapid growth of infidelity and atheism among them is enough 
 to make us weep, had we but a just conception of it, and to make the 
 respectable classes pause before they put a staying hand on any organiza- 
 tion, however rough it may appear, which ventures among them and 
 creates in them a fear of God, appealing to their consciences, and 
 arousing them to something like the duties of men I say nothing of 
 Christians." 
 
 Another class of opposition, of an entirely different char- 
 acter from that which has been previously described, had 
 now commenced to manifest itself, and since it has occasioned 
 much misunderstanding, the attitude of the Salvation Army 
 in regard to the matter requires to be explained. In the 
 majority of instances the magistrates and police were only 
 too glad to be delivered from the troublesome characters who 
 nocked to the meetings, many of whom had become truly 
 and permanently reformed. They were gratified to notice 
 the sensible diminution of crime which usually accompanied 
 the appearance of the Salvation Army in any town or dis- 
 trict. 
 
Salvophobism. 335 
 
 But there were some who, being interested in the liquor 
 traffic, were less pleased with a reformation which meant 
 a serious diminution of their income. Not a few of these, 
 in various parts of the country, occupied the magisterial 
 bench, or other positions of local dignity. And even where 
 this was not the case their electioneering or family 
 interest was so powerful that they were able to bring to bear 
 upon others an influence which was irresistible. 
 
 Clerical interdicts and papery anathemas were hard 
 enough to bear, but the position of the Salvation Army 
 became still more difficult when these Arcadian Jupiters 
 began to hurl at its devoted head the thunderbolts of the 
 law. What was to be done? Was the Army to meekly 
 bow its head and say, " Thy will be done ! " to these local 
 divinities ? To do so in one place would be to do so in many. 
 To do so in many would involve not only a serious sacrifice 
 of their rights as citizens, but would halve their power for 
 doing good. There was only one course open to them and 
 that was to go forward, submitting cheerfully to whatever 
 penalty their action might incur, and trusting to an awakened 
 public opinion to ultimately right their wrong. 
 
 True, this species of opposition was carried on under the 
 cover of " the law." The law ! What tyrant has ever failed 
 to conceal his identity behind that convenient phrase ? What 
 great-souled saint has ever succeeded in slipping through its 
 meshes ? The small fry of mediocrity or the spawn of insigni- 
 ficance can float in and out at will. Their turn is not yet come. 
 Perhaps it never will. Their dwarfish souls may never be 
 capable of increasing sufficiently to realise any bigger need 
 or greater sorrow than their own. But who, with an eye 
 to see and a heart to feel the claims of God and man, has 
 ever accomplished his object without seeming, sooner or 
 later, to come in contact with the letter of the law ? " Aye, 
 there's the rub!" Verily "the letter killetli " the purest, 
 the noblest, the most unselfish characters that ever visited 
 God's earth , and watered its soil with their unvalued blood ! 
 
 . What a world of difference exists between the letter and 
 
Mrs. Booth. 
 
 the spirit ! The former can be made to say anything 3-011 
 like yes, absolutely anything. We have only to refer to 
 the well-known cases of Nebuchadnezzar versus the three 
 Hebrews, Darius versus Daniel, Moses versus Stephen, and, 
 most wonderful of all, Moses versus Jesus Christ! Who, 
 oh, who would have ever dreamt that Moses was to be the 
 executioner of the sinless Prophet of Nazareth ? What legal 
 vagary can henceforth cause an atom of surprise ? None 
 absolutely none! The letter of the law has always been, 
 perhaps will always be, the tyrant's scapegoat, upon which 
 he may lay his hands, and which he may turn into the 
 wilderness as the apology for his caprices, the sacrifice for 
 his mistakes, the atonement for his sins. The Pilates of 
 every age will find in it the basin of water in which they 
 can wash their hands, the " accusation " which they can nail 
 above the victim's head ! 
 
 The divorce of the letter from the spirit of the law cannot 
 fail to produce results as disastrous as that of the body 
 from the soul ! It is strange that this is not bettor under- 
 stood. True, you cannot have the spirit without the letter, 
 but you must have the spirit none the less. The letter of 
 the law is as subject to disease and death as the human 
 frame. Hence the perpetual alterations and modifications 
 through which it has had to pass. The letter of the law 
 may contradict itself, the spirit never. The letter of the 
 law may grant simultaneously two opposing rights, which 
 only the spirit of the law can reconcile. Stand upon the 
 letter of the law and you must cut the baby right in twain 
 to satisfy the rival claimants. But here the spirit of the 
 law steps in, and demands what Lord Coleridge has justly 
 described as "a reasonable policy of give and take." 
 
 The letter of the law allows to the ten thousand inhabi- 
 tants of a locality the simultaneous right of passing over 
 the same portion of the same highway at the same moment 
 in different directions. The spirit of the law recognises the 
 physical impossibility of such a course, and insists that one 
 right shall yield to another in such manner as to involve the 
 
Salvophobism. 337 
 
 least sacrifice of each individual right. The letter of the 
 law allows all the ten thousand, or any portion of them, to 
 march together across the highway in one direction, in the 
 same company, if the object with which they do so is in- 
 offensive or laudable, and provided that the obstruction 
 does not extend over an unreasonable period. And yet the 
 letter of the law insists, at the same time, on the perhaps 
 impossible provision that not a single person or vehicle shall 
 even for a moment be obstructed. The spirit of the law re- 
 conciles the two opposing rights, and insists that the lesser 
 shall yield to the greater. If an individual has had twenty- 
 three hours and fifty-five minutes to pass along a road in 
 any way he likes, the law declares, and surely it is reason- 
 able, that he shall not object to being slightly inconvenienced 
 for five minutes by a passing procession. In one sense the 
 processionists have broken the law. In another sense they 
 have kept it. 
 
 Similarly with the right of open-air meetings. There are 
 some rights which cannot be enjoyed without inflicting on 
 somebody a certain degree of wrong. But the spirit of the 
 law justly insists on sanctioning the right and refusing to 
 recognise the wrong, when the latter is so temporary or 
 insignificant as to be unworthy of its notice. Rights have 
 to be weighed against rights and, similarly, wrongs against 
 wrongs. Justice is expected to hold the scales and strike 
 the balance with blindfolded eyes. 
 
 To their everlasting credit, be it said, the supreme courts 
 of this Empire have usually recognised these principles, and 
 upheld the sacred liberties of the British subject with un- 
 swerving fidelity. But justices' justice is proverbial ! In 
 spite of decision after decision of the leading judges of the 
 land, some rustic ruler has ever been ready to rake up an 
 antiquated statute, or create a convenient by-law, to repress 
 the out-of-door operations of the Salvation Army. Now it 
 has been aimed at the music, now at the march, and now at 
 the open-air. But the principle has always been the same. 
 And, strange as it may seem, these sticklers for the law 
 
338 Mrs. Booth. 
 
 have not hesitated, when they have had the opportunity, to 
 disregard alike the mandates of the Home Secretary, and of 
 the supreme courts, or even the expressed -wishes of the 
 Parliament! These knights-errant of the public-house do 
 not themselves fail, when it suits their convenience, to drive 
 a coach and four through obsolete, but unrepealed, enact- 
 ments, and to disregard the spirit of the law in a manner 
 which proves how little they really care for its letter. 
 
 Obstruction is the common plea ! Obstruction, forsooth ! 
 What greater obstruction to the moral, religious, and social 
 welfare of the nation can there be than the gin-palaces, 
 which they are so ready to license for the corruption of the 
 poor, but which they will not tolerate within reasonable 
 distance of their own mansions ? 
 
 In the name of common sense and justice, which is the 
 real obstructionist the man who spends one hour a day by 
 the roadside singing and speaking about righteousness to 
 .the outcasts of society, or the man who lines every crowded 
 thoroughfare with buildings which are the notorious centres 
 of nine-tenths of the vice and crime that pollute our land? 
 How ridiculous the comparison ! The publican complains 
 that he is obstructed by the operations of these singing 
 evangelists. Obstructed m what ? Obstructed in passing 
 along a broad highroad, half or more of which is totally un- 
 occupied! So he says! But who can believe it? Ob- 
 structed really in "putting the bottle to his neighbour's 
 mouth/' because for once religion appears in a more attrac- 
 tive form than even his tap-room seductions ! Obstructed 
 by the doing of what every circus proprietor and military 
 pageant has an undisputed right to do ! 
 
 And what about his own roadside obstructions ? Do not 
 the moralist, the preacher, the politician, the philanthropist, 
 the judge find their benevolent designs and their excel- 
 lent counsels obstructed by these licensed plague-spots of 
 society ? Who obstructs that careworn wife from receiving 
 the hard-earned wages of the workman ? Who snatches the 
 food out of the children's mouths, and tears the clothes off 
 
Salvophobism. 339 
 
 their backs and the shoes from their feet, that all may be 
 emptied into his capacious till? Who obstructs the honest 
 tradesman from receiving his fair quota of the weekly 
 earnings ? Who strips youth of its beauty, manhood of its 
 prime, childhood of its spotless innocence, and flings the 
 miserable wrecks of humanity into the national workhouse 
 or the jail? Who, if not the publican and those concerned 
 in the accursed trade ? Obstructor ? Where is there a 
 greater obstructor of progress, purity and peace? No- 
 where ! Not one ! 
 
 Yet it has been he who, in nine cases out of ten, has 
 turned upon the humble Salvationist, and charged him with 
 obstruction. Well might we reply ? "Physician, heal thy- 
 self ! " But opposition coming from such a source is in- 
 deed a nattering testimony to the value of our work. 
 
 It is impossible to detail the various prosecutions and 
 imprisonments which have from time to time occurred, in- 
 teresting as would be the record. A few of the early 
 cases must, however, be referred to. 
 
 One of the first to be imprisoned was the General's son, 
 Mr. Ballington Booth. He had been sent to Manchester, and 
 placed in charge of a large hall, capable of holding some 
 twelve hundred people. As usual, it was crowded, and 
 many of the worst characters were saved. Writing with 
 reference to his prosecution and imprisonment, he says : 
 
 " Since my last report I have spent twenty-four hours in Belle Vue 
 jail, for upholding my Master's name to the perishing multitudes in the 
 streets of Manchester. I was placed with the common felons, lived on a 
 few ounces of bread and a little skilly, scrubbed my cell, and slept on a 
 plank. But in all my life I never felt more blessed and encouraged than 
 whilst there ! The prison a palace-proved,' and while Jesus d\velt with 
 me I could feel, and sing, and realise 
 
 " ' Anywhere with Jesus, 
 I'll follow anywhere.' " 
 
 Another case occurred at Leamington, where, after three 
 consecutive prosecutions, resulting in acquittals, the captain 
 was finally convicted on the evidence of a policeman and 
 
34O Mrs. Boot /i. 
 
 two publicans. For an obstruction that lasted three minutes 
 he was fined forty shillings and costs, or a month with hard 
 labour in Warwick jail ! Refusing to pay the fine, the 
 captain was sent to prison, and remained there until the 
 rough treatment caused his health to break completely down, 
 when his fine was paid by friends. 
 
 At Pentre a publican applied to the magistrate for a 
 summons against the women officers for standing near his 
 house, but was put to shame and advised to return home 
 again. A police sergeant was the next applicant! Immense 
 was the excitement among the entire population of the 
 district when they learned that Captain Louisa Lock and 
 four of the soldiers had been fined for obstruction, and, 
 having refused to pay, were about to be removed to prison. 
 Some five thousand people gathered to witness their depar- 
 ture, and when they were released, after serving their term, 
 they were met by an immense crowd, estimated at twenty 
 thousand people. Indignation meetings were held at all the 
 churches in the neighbourhood, and thus the persecution in 
 that district was happily brought to a speedy and decisive 
 termination. 
 
 During this period London was by no means free from 
 similar difficulties. Of late years but little active inter- 
 ference has been necessary, the rapid progress of both the 
 spiritual and social work in the metropolis having formed a 
 bond of union between the Salvation Army and the people. 
 Referring, however, to one of these old-time battles, Mrs. 
 Booth says : 
 
 "We have been much harassed by the recent rioting at White- 
 chapel. We have several people seriously injured, one dear woman 
 lying delirious, and others much hurt. The police are against us, and 
 the publicans and their friends are in Co. The General has had to go 
 about seeing lawyers and M.P.'s, etc. We have got up a presentation of 
 the case. It has had to be prepared on the top of all the other work. 
 We have now got things into line, however, for going to the Home 
 Secretary, and, if that is not sufficient, to the Prime Minister. We 
 shall win, but it is all an increase of work and wear." 
 
 One of the most cruel and prolonged persecutions, how- 
 
Salvophobism. 3 j r i 
 
 ever, took place in 1881 at the little town of Basingstoke, 
 the mayor of which was a brewer. Alarmed at the rapid 
 decline of their trade, the publicans hired the roughs with 
 unlimited supplies of liquor to attack the Salvation Army, 
 the mayor professing to be unable to afford them the pro- 
 tection of the law. Time after time the brave little band of 
 men and women, headed by their two girl officers, faced the 
 drink-bemaddened mob, from whom they received the most 
 cruel treatment. But at length the reprimands of the Home 
 Secretary, Sir William Harcourt, produced their effect, and 
 quiet was restored. 
 
 At "Weston-super-Mare the captain was sentenced to three 
 months' imprisonment, but the conviction was speedily re- 
 versed by the Court of Queen's Bench. 
 
 But, satisfactory as was this victory, the battle for free- 
 dom was not yet fought out, and there remained many occa- 
 sions on which it was found necessary to "resist unto blood" 
 the unjust decrees of local magnates, and to insist upon the 
 exercise of the common-law rights of British citizens. 
 
 The fact that the Salvation Army has hitherto, sooner or 
 later, in every case prevailed, obtaining to its proceedings 
 the sanction, not only of the highest courts but even of the 
 Legislature, is in itself sufficient proof that it has been 
 justified in not submitting to the despotic demands of local 
 tribunals. But, above all, the most triumphant vindication 
 and boundless apology for this branch of the work consists 
 in the tens of thousands of depraved characters who have, 
 by means of open-air effort, been reached, and saved, and 
 changed into honest and God-fearing citizens. 
 
CHAPTER XXXVI. 
 FRANCE. 1881. 
 
 SCARCELY had the Australian expedition been launched when 
 preparations were made for the despatch of the General and 
 Mrs. Booth's eldest daughter to France, whence pressing in- 
 vitations had been recently received. Miss Booth could ill 
 be spared from England, where as a public speaker she had 
 already acquired a reputation and influence only second to 
 that of her parents. However, the General and Mrs. Booth 
 were convinced that the call had come from God, and they 
 therefore determined to carry it out, regardless of the cost. 
 
 The farewell meeting in St. James's Hall was one of the 
 most enthusiastic and affecting demonstrations that had as 
 yet been held in the history of the Salvation Army. How 
 deeply Mrs. Booth's mother-heart yearned over her daughter 
 may be judged from the following letter to a friend : 
 
 " I am so glad you enjoyed the meeting. On my journey yesterday I 
 realised as never before dear Katie's going, and felt unutterable things. 
 The papers I read on the state of society in Paris make me shudder, and 
 I see all the dangers to -which our darling will be exposed ! But oh, the 
 joy and honour of giving her to be a saviour to those dark, sin-stricken 
 masses, Heaven will reveal ! Pray for her." 
 
 The presentation of the Army flag by Mrs. Booth to her 
 daughter, on the eve of such an enterprise, was a never-to- 
 be-forgotten scene. The General presided, and was able to 
 give a thrilling account of the recent progress of the work. 
 Among the friends present were Mr. T. A. Denny and his 
 brother, Mr. E. M. Denny, each of whom contributed 100 
 towards the 1,000 required to commence operations in 
 France. Mr. Denny made a few appropriate remarks. 
 
 312 
 
France. 343 
 
 Among other things, he said sometimes the General called 
 him into consultation, and fairly took his breath away with 
 the daring character of his schemes. Hardly was the ink 
 dry upon the paper which set afloat one scheme when he 
 conceived another. Nevertheless he believed that he was 
 influenced by the Divine Spirit, and that God was with him 
 of a truth. 
 
 The colours were presented by Mrs. Booth to her daughter, 
 and the brave little band of girl warriors who accompanied 
 her, with the following words : 
 
 " MY DEAR CHILD AND MY DEAR YOUNG FRIENDS : I consider it an 
 honour, in the name of our Divine Commander-in-Chief, and in the 
 name of the General of this Army, to present you with this flag, as an 
 emblem of the office and position you sustain, and I pray that He may 
 give you grace to uphold the truths which this banner represents, and 
 establish on a permanent and solid basis the Salvation Army in France. 
 Oh, that He may give you grace to carry it into the slums and alleys, 
 wherever there are lost and perishing souls, and to preach under its 
 shadow the everlasting Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, so that through 
 your instrumentality thousands may be won from darkness, infidelity, 
 and vice, to Him, their Lord and their God. And in all hours of dark- 
 ness and trial, oh, may He encompass you in His arms of grace and 
 strength, and fill your soul with His love and peace ; and may you begin 
 such a work as shall roll on to generations to come, and ultimately sweep 
 hundreds of thousands into the Kingdom of God. Amen." 
 
 After a few touching words from the Marechale, in which, 
 amid a thrill of silence and sympathy, she re-dedicated her- 
 self to the claims of the country which she had already made 
 her own, the meeting terminated. 
 
 It was another landmark in the onward march of the 
 Salvation Army. English-speaking nations were the first to 
 claim a share in its attention, and the success achieved had 
 encouraged the General and Mrs. Booth to extend their 
 efforts to other lands, irrespective of languages and govern- 
 onents. In doing so they realised that in certain respects 
 further adaptations of their measures would be required. 
 But for this they were prepared. The being " all things to 
 all men " could mean nothing less. The "thus far and no 
 farther " of such changes they felt must be decided in each 
 
344 M rs * Booth. 
 
 country under the ever-varying light of experience and cir- 
 cumstances. But the main principles they believed to be 
 such as were suitable to the whole human race. And in this 
 they were not disappointed. 
 
 Writing to a friend immediately after her daughter's 
 departure for Paris, Mrs. Booth sa} T s : 
 
 " Just a line to let you know our precious one has gone. She went off 
 as bravely as could be expected, but it was a hard task the parting. 
 \Vhat I feel the Lord only knows ; but He does know all, and the why 
 and the wherefore. Satan says it will kill her, or worse she will come 
 
 back a helpless invalid for life. Dr. told me this on Thursday, and 
 
 Satan has repeated it night and day ever since. I can only say, 'Lord, 
 I have given her to Thee ; and if Thou so wiliest, Thy will be done ! ' 
 My soul shall not draw back ; though He slay me, and her too, yet will 
 I trust Him. Pray for me ; the conflict is fierce. It is not so much the 
 parting as the toil and burden which I know must come ; and she is so 
 frail ! 
 
 "Pray for France. I have given my child for France, and now God 
 must give me of the travail of my soul in thousands of conversions." 
 
 Since that time Miss Booth has become known throughout 
 the Army as " La Marechale." She left England in the very 
 zenith of her success. Wherever she went powerful revivals 
 broke out and hundreds of the worst sinners were converted. 
 There was a pathos and a power about her appeals which 
 made them irresistible. The very simplicity of the language 
 in which they were uttered served but to accentuate the 
 Divine influence with which they were accompanied. It has 
 been impossible to more than touch upon the record of her 
 early life in these pages, but enough has been said to show 
 the nature of the sacrifice involved in her departure, not only 
 from a personal point of view, but in the interests of the 
 rapidly extending English work. 
 
 While the General and Mrs. Booth were not slow to 
 recognise the increasing opportunities abroad, they were 
 equally alive to the necessity of strengthening their position . 
 at home. London in particular engaged their deepest and 
 most prayerful attention. In whatever light it might be re- 
 garded, it appeared impossible to over-estimate the import- 
 ance of this vast city. Here was a nation in a nutshell ; a 
 
France. 
 
 345 
 
 population compressed into the area of a few square miles 
 which exceeded that of the enormous area of either Australia 
 or Canada. Every facility existed for the cheap and rapid 
 transit of any number of the spiritual legions that were being 
 raised up. They could be concentrated or divided at the 
 shortest possible notice. At no spot in the world were the 
 
 MUS. BOOTH'S RESIDENCE, 1881, AT CLAPTON COMMON. 
 
 extremes of wealth and poverty brought into such close juxta- 
 position. This, too, was in favour of the operations of the 
 Salvation Army, since it provided the better opportunity of 
 obtaining the sinews of war without forsaking the classes for 
 whose salvation the organization was so specially set apart. 
 Here, in fact, was the political, commercial, numerical and 
 religious capital of the British Empire, and perhaps the most 
 
346 Mrs. Booth. 
 
 important vantage-ground from which to influence the entire 
 world. Here was the pivot round which an immense por- 
 tion of the activities of the civilized world revolved; the 
 hinge upon which the door swung through which the Salva- 
 tion Army could most conveniently and rapidly march upon 
 the world; the strategical key of the entire situation. It 
 was easier to influence even Continental nations from London 
 than from any other city, and for almost every other country 
 it might be said to be the not merely nominal but real heart, 
 through which the life-blood coursed which made its pulsa- 
 tions felt at the very finger-tips of the world. If the circu- 
 lation could be improved here it would be improved every- 
 where. No mere local or provincial remedies could exercise 
 so universal an influence. 
 
 Hitherto, however, it was in the provinces that the chief 
 successes of the Army had been gained. London had been 
 confessedly used chief]}- as a training-ground for the pro- 
 vincial recruits. While a good and solid footing had been 
 secured in the metropolis, the work was not to be compared 
 to that which had been established in many of the country 
 towns and districts. It was a common saying, when strangers 
 came to -view the work, " You must not judge the Salvation 
 Army by what you see in London. Go to Bristol, or Hull, 
 or the Rhondda Valley, and you will find what it is capable 
 of accomplishing." It was not merely that London in itself 
 was a more difficult field, but that it required a much larger 
 force to make a sensible impression upon it, and that the only 
 available buildings were so enormously expensive. 
 
 But the time had 'now come for this reproach to be wiped 
 away. The West End meetings of Mrs. Booth had un- 
 doubtedly furnished the thin edge of the wedge for the 
 solution of the problem. Some of the most fashionable and 
 expensive halls had been engaged for a series of lectures ; 
 the offerings made had more than equalled the expenditure. 
 
 Encouraged by the experiment, and realising that no sen- 
 sible advance would be possible, until suitable buildings had 
 been secured, the General engaged a large rink close to 
 
France. 347 
 
 Oxford and Regent Circus at a rental of 1,000. The money 
 required for fitting it up was quickly obtained, and a corps 
 was established which has been from a spiritual standpoint 
 exceptionally successful sending out during the first ten 
 years of its history hundreds of officers to the field, some of 
 whom may be found in almost every portion of the world. 
 
 Meanwhile the Headquarters of the Salvation Army at 
 272, Whitechapel Road, had become far too small, and it had 
 been necessary to secure fresh premises. They were found 
 in Queen Victoria Street. But the rent again seemed pro- 
 hibitive. It was not like taking a hall where collections 
 could be made. The central administration of affairs, how- 
 ever necessary in itself, was totally unremunerative. Cautious 
 friends urged that a building in some quiet neighbourhood 
 would be much cheaper and just as suitable. Why did they 
 not act upon the same advice themselves, pondered the 
 General? There must be some reason why business men, 
 with all their shrewdness and experience of the world, placed 
 such importance on securing a prominent position for their 
 premises. Similarly with statesmen. They evidently find 
 it pays, or they would scarcely be so willing to part with 
 the much-prized money. 
 
 And why, after all, should Jesus Christ be banished to the 
 back streets ? If He was born in a manger, that is no reason 
 why He should be kept there all His life. It was high time 
 that some one should bring Him to the front. Surely in such 
 rich waters there must be some fishes to be caught, in whose 
 mouths might be found the silver pieces necessary to pay 
 the dues. 
 
 Moreover, every religious organization which had ever 
 made a mark upon the world had found it necessary, sooner or 
 later, to assume those positions which would enable it most 
 to impress and reach the masses of mankind. The Army 
 would at least be in good company, with a cathedral on one 
 side, the Bible Society on the other, and the headquarters of 
 nearly every Church within five minutes' walk. And again 
 the forward step was taken, and the Salvation Army emerged 
 
348 Mrs. Booth. 
 
 from the obscurity of its East End Bethlehem and occupied 
 its position alongside the other philanthropies and institu- 
 tions of the city and the world ! 
 
 Eleven years have since elapsed. The vastly extended 
 operations of the Army have necessitated the occupation of 
 several of the adjoining premises, so that Nos. 99, 101, and 
 103 are now entirely devoted to the staff for the manage- 
 ment of international affairs. Nor have these sufficed. 
 
 At some little distance from Queen Victoria Street are 
 situated the Trade Headquarters in Clerkenwell Road, where 
 the publications, uniforms, and musical instruments of the 
 Salvation Army engage the time and attention of a numerous 
 staff. In Thames Street again is the Labour Bureau, and in 
 Hackney the Headquarters of the Rescue Work. These are 
 only the directing centres for the supervision of operations 
 at home and abroad. 
 
 London has since been occupied to an extent and with a 
 force of which outsiders have but little idea. The ramifica- 
 tions of the work are almost numberless, and to review them 
 with any thoroughness in person would occupy a visitor at 
 least three or four days. 
 
 It constitutes a separate " division," with which are in- 
 corporated numerous training garrisons, under the charge of 
 one of our most experienced commissioners. Dotted all over 
 the metropolis and its suburbs are corps, each of which is a 
 centre of love and effort on behalf of the people. In addition 
 to the above there is the Social Branch, including Shelters, 
 Food Depots, Slum Posts, Rescue Homes, Prison Gate Homes, 
 and other agencies. The fact that the classes for whom they 
 are intended avail themselves to the utmost extent of the 
 accommodation thus provided proves that they appreciate 
 the boon. Indeed, it is impossible to multiply these institu- 
 tions fast enough to keep pace with the need. 
 
 Philanthropists cannot do better than examine for them- 
 selves in minutest detail the various ramifications of the 
 Social Scheme. If the paper sketch of it was interesting, it 
 follows that the plan reduced to practice is infinitely more 
 
France. 349 
 
 worthy of the most complete study of all sincere well-wishers 
 of their fellow-men. The vastness of the plan has ever been 
 its leading obstacle, but the feasibility of putting it into 
 operation is now proved to demonstration, and it remains 
 only for those who seek to uplift the submerged to render 
 possible the further extension which the pressing need 
 demands. 
 
 To return, however, to the history of the year. Another 
 building was offered to the Army, which seemed to involve 
 a still greater pecuniary risk. A large orphanage which had 
 been abandoned for some years, and which had cost origin- 
 ally 60,000, was offered for 15,000, being little more than 
 the value of the land and the materials. Some 8,000 oj 
 9,000 were required for alterations, which would enable the 
 central quadrangle to be converted into a fine amphitheatre 
 capable of seating five thousand people, while the orphanage 
 offered accommodation for some four hundred cadets. The 
 opportunity was too good to be allowed to slip past. Even 
 Mr. Booth's cautious friends could not fail to catch some of 
 his enthusiasm. Mr. Denny headed the subscription list 
 with one thousand guineas. Others contributed with like 
 generosity. It seemed as though all were interested in the 
 project. Sympathy and money poured in. The opening 
 meetings were without parallel for crowds, enthusiasm and 
 power, and some 3,000 were collected on a single occasion, 
 the balance required being thus raised within an incredibly 
 short space of time. 
 
 But the soldiers and friends of the Salvation Army had 
 scarcely recovered from this effort when they and the public 
 alike were startled to learn, a few weeks later, that the 
 General had purchased the lease of the notorious Eagle 
 public-house and Grecian theatre and dancing-grounds, in 
 City Road, for the sum of 16,000. Many religious and 
 philanthropic persons hailed with joy the news that what 
 had hitherto been the worst plague-spot for the youth of 
 London should be thus rescued and transformed into a centre 
 for doing good. It was generally felt that this was the 
 
350 Mrs. Booth. 
 
 greatest blow which had been struck to drink and vice for 
 years. 
 
 Many a prodigal had been manufactured in its licentious 
 haunts. Its pestiferous breath had blighted numberless 
 homes. The once " far land " had been brought near, within 
 the very shadow of the paternal mansion. The father had 
 but to look from his window to see his son spending his in- 
 heritance in " riotous living." But he preferred to draw 
 down his blinds, to license sin with a latch-key, and remain 
 oblivious to the scene till some sudden thunderbolt from a 
 blue sky made longer oblivion impossible. 
 
 Alas, that in a Christian country the existence of such 
 hotbeds of vice should be possible ! That the pride of 
 England's youth, the bloom of her daughters, should be 
 marred and sullied with impunity by those whom a Christless 
 Christianity tolerates in their nefarious task, and whose 
 power for evil is only limited by the one question as to 
 whether it will pay! If it pay to blast innocence, then 
 blasted it shall be. If it pay to trade on folly, then it shall 
 be traded on to the last degree. Who cares ? The good are 
 too busy in saving their own souls. The bad are tarred 
 with the same brush. 
 
 It is easy to sing " Rescue the perishing " when no per- 
 sonal sacrifice is involved. But where are the modern 
 Davids who are willing to face the Liquor Lion and the 
 Lust Bear as they unite to carry off not one but hundreds of 
 the purest lambs from London's fold ? Who will wrench the 
 victim from their jaws ? Who will risk his own life and 
 limb ? Who in England ? Who in the world ? Is there not 
 among these weeping mothers a Deborah ? And has the 
 boasted manhood all departed from the wronged fathers' 
 hearts, that not a Barak can be found who will rise up and 
 lead a charge upon these dens of infamy ? 
 
 Ah, if in one long row there could be made to stand before 
 those who build, license, and cater for these headquarters of 
 iniquity, these oubliettes of hell, the miserable list of vic- 
 tims, how ghastly the sight ! What a revelation ! All ranks 
 
France. 351 
 
 in society would be represented, from the peerage to the 
 pit ! How they would strive to conceal their identity ! 
 What disgrace would be poured upon many a f amity that 
 at present carries its head as high as any in the land ! The 
 sons and daughters of peers, ay, of prelates too, would 
 mingle with those of the humblest citizens. What a holo- 
 caust of homes and hopes ! What a slaughter-house of 
 beauty ! What a butchery of talents ! What a cruel car- 
 nage of all that is best and loveliest in God Almighty's 
 workmanship ! 
 
 Oh that we, Christians of England, philanthropists, 
 humanitarians, or any others who possess an ounce of com- 
 passion for their fellow-men, could picture to ourselves 
 these battlefields of vice, their pillaged purity and outraged 
 worth, their heaps of slaughtered souls, since first these 
 walls of sin were reared. Would that the walls could tell 
 the tale of the scenes they have frowned upon ! Perhaps 
 they will some day ! But are we to wait for the Judgment 
 before such evil haunts are doomed ? Is our statute-book to 
 remain the laughing-stock of sin ? Are we to pounce down 
 upon the finished product and to tolerate these manufactories 
 of evil? 
 
 Time was when our coasts were lined with wreckers, who 
 with false beacons lured ships to their doom and lived upon 
 the plunder. Now their very existence is forgotten. Once 
 pirates roved the seas, so that merchant vessels sailed in 
 fleets and fully armed. Society resolved to sweep them off, 
 and they are gone. Now the smallest trading-boat can sail 
 the seas without a gun, so perfect is the security to life and 
 property. Where are the robbers and the wolves that once 
 devastated our own land? Gone? No! They are still 
 here ; but they have changed their name and dress. They 
 have suited themselves to their altered circumstances and 
 still ply their trade with the sanction of the law. Wreckers, 
 pirates, robbers, wolves, no longer find it necessary to hide 
 in dens and caves. They prey openly upon the vitals of 
 society and make their living by plundering its morals. 
 
352 Mrs. Booth. 
 
 They have only changed their tactics, and the world is as 
 yet too blind to recognise them in their new disguise. But 
 they are essentially the same, and fleece both rich and poor. 
 Sooner or later society will yet again wake from its slum- 
 bers, and say to them once more, " Begone ! " 
 
 It was with feelings of intense satisfaction that General 
 and Mrs. Booth hailed this opportunity for occupying such a 
 fortress of evil. Indeed, it has not been the least remark- 
 able work of the Salvation Army that it has transformed 
 numerous similar resorts into centres of virtue and benevo- 
 lence. Thus the devil has been ousted from his supreme 
 domain, and his followers captured for Christ and righteous- 
 ness. 
 
 There was, however, one difficulty in the present case. 
 According to the original lease the Eagle was to be kept up 
 by any future lessee as " an inn, tavern, or public-house/' 
 The lawyers who were consulted on the question gave it as 
 their opinion that it would sufficiently answer the purpose 
 of this covenant if the license for selling drink on the 
 premises were renewed from year to year, whether intoxi- 
 cating liquor were actually sold or not. There was nothing 
 to prevent, they thought, the building from being used as a 
 Temperance Hotel, an institution which had been needed for 
 some time past, and which appeared likely to be both useful 
 and profitable, for the accommodation of friends and officers. 
 
 They considered, moreover, and it seemed quite consonant 
 with common-sense, that such a view would be in accord- 
 dance with the use of the three different words. Scarcel}-, 
 however, had the premises been opened upon the new lines 
 when an action was commenced by the original lessor for the 
 recovery of both the Eagle and the Grecian, on the ground 
 that the above covenant had been broken. After mauy 
 tedious legal proceedings, through the labyrinths of which 
 it is no part of our present task to thread our way, it was 
 finally decided that the covenant made it necessary for who- 
 ever owned the Eagle Tavern to sell liquor, whether they 
 wished to do so or not ; that the mere renewal of the license 
 
France. 353 
 
 was not sufficient, and that as the sale of intoxicating drinks 
 was contrary to the principles of the Salvation Arm}', the 
 Eagle Tavern should be given up, while the remainder of 
 the premises, including the Grecian Theatre and its dancing- 
 grounds, should be retained, the future rent being propor- 
 tionately reduced. 
 
 The terms imposed by the Court of Appeal were justly 
 characterised by the Master of the Rolls as being severe, but 
 they were a considerable improvement on those of the lower 
 court, which would have handed over everything to the 
 landlord ! It was again a case of the letter versus the spirit, 
 with the usual result. 
 
 Mrs. Booth followed the legal proceedings with the in- 
 tensest interest, and when she learned the final decision of 
 the Appellate Court, exclaimed, with her characteristic ve- 
 hemence, "Well, whatever they may say, I shall always hold 
 that l or' means l or.' " 
 
 The opening of the Grecian was a time of unparalleled ex- 
 citement. The streets in the neighbourhood were blocked 
 with an immense concourse of roughs, estimated to number 
 some thirty thousand. It was with the greatest difficulty 
 that the General and Mrs. Booth, and those who were to 
 take part in the proceedings, were enabled to effect an 
 entrance, even with the aid of a large body of police. 
 Nevertheless the meetings were of a most enthusiastic 
 character, and the tumultuous roar of voices that could- be 
 heard from without but served to emphasize the nature of the 
 victory that had been gained in thus establishing a camp in 
 this, the veriest stronghold of the enemy. 
 
 It is, moreover, satisfactory to know that through the 
 work since carried on in the Grecian the entire character of 
 the neighbourhood has been changed. The inhabitants of 
 this brotheldom have deserted the neighbourhood by hun- 
 dredsalas, that there were so many other districts of a 
 similar character to which they could transfer their services! 
 And the Bacchanalian orgies, which rivalled the worst 
 features of heathendom, have been succeeded by songs and 
 
 A A 
 
354 Mrs. Booth. 
 
 prayers. The tears of penitents have replaced those of bro- 
 ken-hearted mothers, and many prodigal sons and daughters 
 have once more sought their Father's home. 
 
 One of the new departures of the year 1881 consisted in 
 the inauguration of meetings at Exeter Hall. It seemed a 
 daring experiment to hope to fill this vast building, especially 
 on a popular holiday, Easter Monday, the occasion selected 
 for the first attempt. To announce an all-day holiness con- 
 vention, and this at a season when London invariabl}'- emptied 
 itself into the country, excursioning, seemed nothing short 
 of folly. It would be difficult enough at any time to get 
 4,000 people together to spend the entire day in praising 
 God. To do so on a great national festival appeared doubl} T 
 hopeless. 
 
 It was truly a difficult task to revive among Christians 
 the old Jewish idea of making a holiday a holy day. The 
 heathenish saturnalia, and the copious libations of beer, gin, 
 and whiskey with which such occasions were celebrated, or 
 enjoyed, as it was half in satire termed, had come to be a 
 part and parcel of the nation's life. Bold was the man who 
 would venture to suggest to the pleasure-hunting multitudes 
 that they could enjoy themselves better in a place of worship 
 than at a public-house, in singing hymns than in singing 
 comic songs, in prayers than in blasphemies, in breaking 
 their hearts before God than in breaking each other's heads ! 
 And yet it was Easter a Christian festival in a Christian 
 land and the public holiday was supposed to be in honour 
 of a risen Saviour! Verily, it would be difficult to find a 
 stranger contradiction. 
 
 However, General and Mrs. Booth were not mistaken in 
 their anticipations, though they were little prepared for the 
 enthusiasm with which the project was taken up. Writing 
 four daj r s previous to the meetings, Mrs. Booth says : 
 
 "We have now over four thousand tickets out, and they are being 
 sent for from Scotland, Ireland, Spain, and France ! We shall have an 
 overflow meeting in the small hall, and are hoping for a wonderful day. 
 Satan has done his best to npset us by every possible means, but vre 
 shall win, because God is with us. 
 
France. 355 
 
 " The authorities charge us 50 for the clay, The devil thought we 
 should be frightened at that, but he was mistaken. Think of it ! We 
 shall have four thousand people to a holiness-meeting in Exeter Hall ! 
 That speaks for itself. Pray for much of the Holy Ghost." 
 
 The meetings were beyond description. Both the General 
 and Mrs. Booth delivered powerful and heart-searching ad- 
 dresses, and hundreds rose to their feet to consecrate them- 
 selves afresh to God. In referring to this occasion in one of 
 her letters, Mrs. Booth alludes to the impression produced 
 by a single epithet in her address, when she had character- 
 ised much of the Christianity of the present day as being of 
 a " mongrel " type : 
 
 " The sentence in my speech at Exeter Hall about mongrel Christi- 
 anity has created quite a panic ! And although I did not say what the 
 Chronicle imputed to me, as our report in the Cry shows, what I did say 
 has done us a lot of good with outsiders. Everybody knows it is true, 
 and to find any one who dare speak the truth in these days is striking to 
 the infidels ! As soon as I am able I will write a leader on what I 
 meant by 'mongrel Christianity.' You will have heard that even the 
 Telegraph is coming round, and there were two good pieces in the Times 
 yesterday ! Wait a bit and we will astonish the world, in the strength 
 of the God of Israel. Pray for us. Our poor weak bodies are the great 
 drawback!" 
 
 The success of this experiment led to its frequent repe- 
 tition in the future. It might have been supposed that the 
 interest would in course of time decay. But such has not 
 been the case. On the contraiy, Exeter Hall has become 
 far too small for the needs of the Salvation Army, and the 
 vast area of the Crystal Palace itself has scarcely held the 
 crowds which have been gathered together for recent anni- 
 versaries. 
 
 Until her last illness, it is hardly necessary to remark 
 that Mrs. Booth w r as owned of God in an especial manner at 
 the Exeter Hall gatherings. Some of the most powerful 
 and impassioned appeals of her life were delivered from its 
 platform. And there are doubtless thousands the tenor of 
 whose whole Christian life has been transformed and fired 
 by her Spirit-accompanied words. 
 
 In addition to this effort Mrs. Booth continued her West 
 
356 
 
 Mrs. Booth. 
 
 End lectures, alternately occupying St. James's. St. Andrew's, 
 St. George's, and sometimes Stein way Hall. A large number 
 of these addresses have been epitomised and published in 
 book form, although, as those who have listened to her burn- 
 ing words will testify, stenographers have found it no easy 
 task to do justice to the subject. It was such a temptation, 
 
 COMMISSIONER BOOTH-CLIBBOK!?. 
 
 on these occasions, for those who aro usually mere atitomn- 
 t<?ns to listen for themselves rather than to write for others. 
 And what memory could afterwards serve to transcribe the 
 words? Mrs. Booth herself could not recall to mind the 
 inspirations of the hour, so that it was impossible at best to 
 do more than improve the imperfect record of utterances, the 
 impetuous eloquence of which resembled at the moment the 
 rush of a torrent, or the sweep of a whirlwind. 
 
 In visiting the provinces this year Mre. Booth held meetings 
 
France. 357 
 
 in various towns. In the following letter she describes her 
 visit to Hull, which had recently been opened by the Army, 
 and where the usual signs and wonders had taken place : 
 
 " The work here surpasses Bristol. The morning procession has just 
 gone by ; six hundred at least in the ranks, comprising many of those 
 who have been the biggest blackguards in the town. Oh, it cheers one 
 to hear the wonderful stories everywhere ! Wonderful ! Wonderful ! I 
 have three very heavy meetings before me. This afternoon the Drill 
 Hall, an immense place with a bad echo, and Tuesday night the Circus, 
 seating three thousand. Ask the Lord to give me more Holy Ghost 
 power. Oh, the glorious opportunity ! It almost overwhelms me ! " 
 
 In a subsequent letter Mrs. Booth says : 
 
 " There are fourteen public-houses to let, for which they give us the 
 credit, and one publican openly says he is losing 80 per week through 
 us ! Another was at the penitent-form the other night, and has shut up 
 his house ! A town-councillor said to me after the lecture that we had 
 influenced the entire population and stirred up every church in it ! Oh, 
 it is glory ! 
 
 In the meantime there had arisen difficulties with the 
 police authorities in Paris. It was hardly to be wondered 
 at that, in dealing with the Socialist communistic classes, 
 disturbances should have occurred. The police became 
 alarmed, and for a time closed the hall. 
 
 In writing to a friend concerning the action of the police, 
 Mrs. Booth says : 
 
 " With regard to France, Mr. Weldon, the Editor of the Rock (a per- 
 sonal friend of the Minister of the Interior), and also one of the chief 
 deputies have gone to Paris on purpose to influence the authorities in 
 our favour. They are armed with a document signed by the Lord 
 Mayor, Lord Cairns, the City Chamberlain, and Colonel Henderson! 
 We lunched with the Lord Mayor on Saturday when we were there 
 getting the signature." 
 
 This appeal was successful, and resulted in the re-opening 
 of the hall and the revival of the work. 
 
CHAPTER xxxvn. 
 
 THE SHEFFIELD RIOT. 1882. 
 "Man's inhumanity to man makes countless millions mourn." 
 
 THE year 1882 commenced with one of the most serious 
 riots which even the Salvation Army has witnessed. A great 
 Council of War had been arranged to take place at Sheffield. 
 The Albert Hall, accommodating some three thousand five 
 hundred persons, had been taken for the occasion. It was 
 gorged for the Sunday meetings, the open-air demonstrations 
 attracting immense crowds. The General led the meetings, 
 assisted by Mrs. Booth. It was one of their old battle-fields. 
 More than twenty-five years previously they had seen hun- 
 dreds of souls seek salvation at their meetings. But it was 
 no longer the church and chapel-goers whom they were 
 content to reach. A very different class now claimed their 
 attention. 
 
 The extremes of good and evil, of piety and blasphemy, of 
 virtue and vice, like those of wealth and poverty, are often 
 found to meet. The powers of sin seem to take a peculiar 
 pleasure in establishing their strongholds within a bow-shot 
 of the gates of heaven, as if to drive away those who desire 
 to enter. For a time their existence is unsuspected, but at 
 length their batteries are unmasked, and woe to those who 
 come within the range of their remorseless shot and shell ! 
 
 It was so in Sheffield. Famous for its revivals, it was no 
 less famous for its rowdyism. The Sheffield "Blades," as 
 the roughs were facetiously entitled, resembled their relatives, 
 the Nottingham " Lambs," only that they were more appro- 
 priately named. There certainly was not much to choose 
 between the cutlery for which their town was famed and the 
 
 35S 
 
The Sheffield Riot. 359 
 
 moral steel of which their hearts appeared to be composed. 
 So long ago as the days of Charles Wesley he had found 
 reason to complain that they were the most perfect specimens 
 of brutality that even in his experiences he had anywhere 
 seen, and that, as there was " no king in Israel," so there 
 appeared to be no magistrate in Sheffield, every man doing 
 what seemed good in his own eyes. Since then a hundred 
 years had passed. Divine visitations had come and gone, 
 but the Sheffield "Blades" had taken comparatively little 
 notice of them, and the idea of crossing the threshold of 
 church or chapel had long since died out. 
 
 Hitherto even the belligerent forces of the Salvation Army 
 had been prevented by the want of suitable buildings from 
 making such an impression upon them as had been the case 
 elsewhere. On the present occasion, however, the " Blades " 
 were fairly upon their mettle. A counter-attraction had 
 burst upon the scene, which left gin-palace and street-brawl 
 pigeon-flying and cock-fighting, together with the other 
 recreations of the race, far in the lurch. The Salvationists 
 had gathered in force from the surrounding country-side. 
 Their existence could not be ignored. 
 
 On this particular Sunday, wherever you might go, the 
 pavements were covered with announcements of the meetings, 
 which had been chalked out upon them in the early morning, 
 when most people were still asleep. The hall was crowded 
 and the streets lined through the day, but beyond a little 
 preliminary horse-play, which the processionists took good- 
 humouredly, nothing went amiss. The " Blades," however, 
 were not slow to remark that there were but few police, 
 and they knew enough of the Salvation Army to be aware 
 that they themselves would not show fight, whatever might 
 occur. They were annoyed, moreover, at finding that the 
 majority of those who marched in the ranks were deserters 
 from themselves. The marshal of the procession was Major 
 Cadman, whose character we have already sketched. Then, 
 conspicuous in a scarlet coat and dark blue helmet, there 
 was the massive figure of Lieutenant Davidson, the champion 
 
The Sheffield Riot. 361 
 
 Northumberland wrestler, in the very uniform which he 
 had previously worn at the Stevenson Centenary. 
 
 The " Blades " were more familiar with the doings of 
 champion wrestlers and pugilists than with those of arch- 
 bishops and prime ministers. They were hero -worshippers, 
 and these were their heroes. Samson was their tutelary 
 god ! Dick Turpin their high priest ! Bradlaugh their pro- 
 phet! Infidelity their creed! Anarchy their millennium! 
 The devil their crowned and accepted king ! They at least 
 believed in his existence. Did they not often see him for 
 themselves when the <( horrors " were upon them ? Hell was 
 their heaven ! Bone, muscle, and brute force were to them 
 what refinement, skill, and knowledge are to the " upper 
 ten." Courage was the only virtue they recognised, might 
 their only right. 
 
 Such, not merely in Sheffield, but in scores of towns out- 
 wardly decent and respectable, is a picture of the lion's den 
 of modern society, into which some of our latter-day Dariuses 
 would thrust the Salvation Army Daniels, there leaving 
 them to perish ! And how many of the lookers-on, if they 
 do not actually approve such proceedings, say or fancy that 
 it serves them right ! Why must Daniel worship in the 
 street, or with his windows open towards Jerusalem ? There 
 are some who would imitate the Persian house of lords in 
 getting a special Act of Parliament to suppress the right ! 
 Why cannot the Salvation Army confine itself to its build- 
 ings, like others do ? they ask. And first, we answer, Be- 
 cause others don't. We are by no means the only organisa- 
 tion to recognise the value of the open-air. If an act be 
 passed against us, let it at least include the Church, the Non- 
 conformis.ts, the Temperance societies, the politicians, the 
 circuses, the race-course, and all else. If evil agencies could 
 be thus included with the good in the suppression, it might 
 not, we confess, be an unqualified loss. But if it is not to 
 be contemplated in the one case let us have done with sug- 
 gesting it in the other. Let mayors and magistrates who 
 venture to trifle with national liberties understand that they 
 
362 Mrs. Booth. 
 
 will have to reckon with an uncompromising legislature, 
 and with an executive who will know how to use the powers 
 entrusted to their care ! 
 
 It is commonly supposed that by our open-air work we 
 provoke disturbances which would otherwise not occur. As 
 a matter of fact, we only anticipate evils which are rapidly 
 gaining headway, and which, unless they are anticipated by 
 somebody, will overwhelm society with confusion, and this 
 at no distant date. As pointed out by Mrs. Booth in the 
 address already quoted, we have not created these slum- 
 meries ! We are in no way responsible for their existence 
 at least only so far as our individual power will allow us 
 to alleviate their miseries. They are there, whether we go 
 to them or stop at home. 
 
 The outlet of emigration, which has hitherto in some 
 measure relieved this abscess of society, is being closed. 
 Country after country is barring its doors against the heter- 
 ogeneous mass of corruption which we have hitherto been 
 able to pour upon its shores. Australia, America, and other 
 nations say, " We will not receive your criminals and pau- 
 pers " : (and who does not know that criminals are paupers, 
 and paupers too often criminals?) "Only those who can 
 bring with them the wherewithal to start in life will be per- 
 mitted to land. The rest we shall send back ! " And as a 
 consequence our starving poor can no longer go forth. They 
 must stay where they are, and breed and rot, and rot and 
 breed, till they learn their power and turn upon the society 
 that has sinned against itself and its children in leaving 
 these outcasts to their fate. 
 
 How long will it be possible to abandon them to them- 
 selves? How long will they be content to be buried alive 
 while the mansions of the rich lie within such easy reach ? 
 How long will it be before insurrection takes the place of 
 burglary ? How are they to be restrained ? Who is to say 
 them Nay ? What power is to prevent it ? Science has 
 placed within the reach of the poor and the oppressed instru- 
 ments of destruction too horrible to contemplate. How 
 
The Sheffield Riot. 363 
 
 much " dynamite " or " terrorite " would it require to re- 
 duce the West of London to a heap of unrecognisable ruins ? 
 
 How long can we rely on constables and soldiers, recruited 
 from these very ranks, not to turn their loaded weapons 
 upon those who close their ears to the cry of their fellow- 
 creatures in distress ? Who does not know that tens of 
 thousands of these slummers are trained soldiers, who under- 
 stand how to handle weapons as well as any of their com- 
 rades in the field. Inured to hardship and accustomed to 
 obey the word of command, they require but to combine, 
 to work their will. Their numbers, their power, their 
 votes are increasing day by day. Once voiceless, they are 
 making themselves heard. They are organising. They are 
 developing leaders of their own. The balance of power is 
 changing hands before our very eyes. They will soon be 
 in a position to take, without a " thank you," what is now 
 withheld. 
 
 What shall we do with them ? Shall we continue to pur- 
 sue the suicidal Pharaoh-policy ? Shall we set over them 
 more constables " to afflict them " ? Will they always go on 
 building for us " treasure cities"? Do we not find that the 
 more they are afflicted " the more they multiply and grow" ? 
 Has it paid to make them " serve with rigour," and to 
 " make their lives bitter with hard bondage " in picking 
 oakum and in breaking stones ? What now remains, save to 
 perfect the parallel by consigning their new-born babes to 
 the waters of the Thames nay, have not our workhouses 
 and jails been as the Nile, into which we have sought to 
 fling our pauper population, leaving them to sink or swim as 
 best they might ? 
 
 And when a modern Moses arises, with a Scheme for 
 leading these miserable millions into a second Canaan, in- 
 stead of welcoming the deliverance, many of us oppose it 
 with well-nigh as hard a heart as Pharaoh of old, uncon- 
 vinced even by miracles. Will nothing short of the blood of 
 our first-born persuade us, Christians as we call ourselves, 
 to " let the people go " that they may serve God in some of 
 
3^4 Mrs. Booth. 
 
 the waste wildernesses of the world? Must the critic 
 chariots and horses of society sally forth to oppose the march 
 of the ransomed slaves ? Will nothing but the overwhelm- 
 ing waters of some national calamity silence them ? 
 
 Blucher is by no means the only man to whom the idea 
 has ever occurred that London would be a fine city for 
 plunder ! If we will not let them have a religious Moses to 
 lead them out in peace, let us beware lest they choose for 
 themselves a Robespierre, a Dan ton, a Marat, or a Napoleon. 
 For, as surely as we live, the day will come when, if we 
 withhold from them the Gospel, we shall feel their sword ; 
 and if we reject the opportunity of a revolution of peace we 
 shall meet with a revolution of blood. 
 
 What culpable folly it is, then, to shut our eyes to these 
 elements *of danger, to "pass on," like the proverbial sim- 
 pleton, until we are "punished"! What recklessness to hold 
 back and discourage those who, at the risk of life and limb, 
 have flung themselves into these cesspools of iniquity ! 
 
 But to return. Monday had been fixed for a monster pro- 
 cession through the town. The Sheffield slums belched forth 
 their contents in a manner which had never before been wit- 
 nessed by its inhabitants. The few members of the police 
 force present were totally inadequate to deal with the crowds. 
 And, although from the first it was evident that there was 
 mischief in the air, no further help was sent. The "Blades" 
 understood and made the best of their opportunity. David- 
 son, on his charger, was literally plastered with mud till the 
 colour of his coat and face was almost unrecognisable. 
 Stones and brickbats fell in showers. At length a short, 
 heavy stick came flying through the air and struck him on 
 the back of his head. He would have fallen from the horse, 
 but was supported on either side till the hall was reached. 
 Although in the greatest pain, he was heard to say, " I hope 
 they'll get saved." He was removed to the hospital in an 
 insensible condition ; but one of the first messages that he 
 whispered, when returning to consciousness, was, "I am 
 saved! And had the work to be done again, I would do it 
 
The Sheffield Riot. 365 
 
 to-morrow ! " For some time his life was despaired of, and 
 it was weeks before he was able to leave his bed. 
 
 The brass band, which occupied the waggonette in front 
 of the General's carriage, was another target for the rioters. 
 Nor did the General and Mrs. Booth escape a share of their 
 attention, although miraculously preserved from the flying 
 missiles. Mrs. Booth's concern for the General, for David- 
 son, for the brass band, and for the devoted soldiers in the 
 march, rendered her oblivious to her own danger. The 
 General, standing in the carriage during the entire length 
 of the march, gave his directions with a presence of mind 
 and collectedness which might have been envied by many a 
 commander on the field of battle. And when at length the 
 hall was reached, and a group of mud-bespattered, bruised 
 and bleeding officers welcomed him at the door, with a 
 twinkle in his eye and admiration on his face he said, 
 " Now is the time to get your photographs taken ! " 
 
 In spite of the dreadful tumult through which they had 
 just passed, the meeting in the hall was one of unbounded 
 enthusiasm. The sight upon the platform was unique. 
 Bruised and bandaged heads, faces gashed with stones, 
 clothes daubed with blood and mud, fronted the crowded 
 building. And yet there was not an angry look or word. 
 The joy that beamed from every countenance contrasted 
 strangely with the scars and stains. The prayers and 
 praises that rang through the hall seemed the more heavenly 
 and inspired because of the oaths and blasphemies which 
 still rent the air outside. 
 
 There is no power to affect the human heart like the 
 power of suffering. Calvary is the supreme illustration of 
 this. And thus a profound impression was made that day, 
 not only upon the city of Sheffield, but upon the country at 
 large. We owe it to the authorities and to the people to 
 acknowledge that there has never been a repetition of thfc 
 riot. On the other hand, many of the roughest characters 
 have been converted, and a prosperous and sustained work 
 has been established in the town. 
 
366 Mrs. Booth. 
 
 The riot attracted at the time much public attention, the 
 newspapers being almost unanimous in concurring that mob^ 
 law was undesirable. . From many unexpected sources sym- 
 pathetic letters were received. The following tribute of 
 sympathy from Mr. John Bright, M.P., will be read with 
 interest : 
 
 "HOUSE OF COMMONS, Hay 3rd, 1882. 
 
 ' ' DEAR MADAM, I gave your letter to Sir W. Harcourt. He had al- 
 ready given his opinion in the House of Commons, which will be, to 
 some extent, satisfactory to you. 
 
 " I hope the language of Lord Coleridge and the Home Secretary will 
 have some effect on the foolish and unjust magistrates, to whom, in 
 some districts, the administration of the law is, unfortunately, com- 
 mitted. 
 
 "I suspect that your good work will not suffer materially from the 
 ill-treatment you are meeting with. The people who mob you would, 
 doubtless, have mobbed the apostles. Your faith and patience will pre- 
 vail. 
 
 " I am, with great respect and sympathy, 
 
 "Yours sincerely, 
 
 " JOHN BRIGHT." 
 
 The attention of the House of Lords having been called 
 by the Earl of Fortescue to the various disturbances con- 
 nected with the open-air work, the late Archbishop Tait 
 said: 
 
 " He felt that he ought not to allow this subject to pass without re- 
 mark. Some difficulty had, doubtless, arisen in reference to it in conse- 
 quence of the members of the Salvation Army acting in a way which 
 was not customary among religious bodies, and some were shocked by 
 Nvhat they regarded as a want of reverence on their part. But it had 
 been well remarked that perhaps their peculiar mode of proceeding was 
 such as would have considerable influence over uncultivated minds, 
 jind, looking- at the fact that there was in this country a vast mass of 
 persons who could not be reached by the more regular administration of 
 tbe Church, it was not unlikely that much good might eventually result 
 from the more irregular action of the Salvationists. He had been in- 
 formed that the leaders of the movement were persons of unimpeach- 
 able character, and that they were most desirous of checking the extrava- 
 gtfnces of many of their followers, and that there had been much mis- 
 representation spread abroad with regard to them. [Hear, hear.] 
 
 "He trusted, therefore, that any movement of this kind, provided it 
 were carried on with decency and propriety, would be encouraged, and 
 that it would be able usefully to supplement the efforts of the regular 
 
The Sheffield Riot. 367 
 
 clergy in affording spiritual aid to the great mass of the population." 
 [Hear, hear.] 
 
 Lord Chief Justice Coleridge, speaking on the same occa- 
 sion, made the following remarks : 
 
 " He spoke in that House under considerable restraint, because it 
 might be his duty to sit elsewhere in judgment, and he would be sorry 
 to say a word which might prejudice a case before him hereafter. 
 
 " He took it, that every Englishman had an absolute and unqualified 
 right to go about his business and perform legal acts with the protection 
 of the law ; and he apprehended that walking through the streets in 
 order and procession, even if accompanied by music and the singing of 
 hymns, was absolutely lawful, in the doing of which every subject had 
 the right to be protected." 
 
 Speaking on another occasion, in an appeal to the Court of 
 Queen's Bench, Lord Coleridge said : 
 
 " To inflict the ignominious punishment of hard labour on men'simply 
 because they are religious enthusiasts is a thing not to be tolerated." 
 
 Nevertheless, at Bath, Guildford, Arbroath, Forfar, and 
 other places, disturbances occurred. During the twelve 
 months no less than six hundred and sixty-nine members of 
 the Salvation Army were, to our knowledge, knocked down, 
 kicked, or otherwise brutally assaulted. Of these two hun- 
 dred and fifty-one were women, and twenty-three children 
 under fifteen years of age ! No less than fifty-six of the 
 buildings used by the Salvation Army were attacked, the 
 windows broken, and in some cases serious injury inflicted, 
 not only upon the halls, but upon the private property of the 
 individuals known to be in sympathy with the cause. 
 
 But surely the roughs are scarcely to be blamed for their 
 Salvation-baiting propensities when they were encouraged 
 in their course by the imprisonment of no less than eighty- 
 six members of the Army, fifteen of them being women ! 
 And yet the Mayor of Bath, in writing to the Home Secre- 
 tary regarding the disturbances, admitted that the attacks 
 made on the Salvationists in that town were utterly unpro- 
 voked : 
 
 "The reports received by the magistrates from the police indicate 
 that the ' Salvationists ' keep themselves strictly within the law. We 
 
368 Mrs. Booth. 
 
 find that even when struck, assailed with foul and abusive language, and 
 their property broken and destroyed, the ' Salvationists ' do not retali- 
 ate!" 
 
 In referring to these imprisonments, in the course of an 
 enthusiastic address at the opening of the Clapton Congress 
 Hall, Mrs. Booth gives an interesting account of a passnge 
 of arms between herself and a magistrate : 
 
 " I said to a magistrate, a little while ago, who asked whether we 
 could not give up the processions' Oh dear, no ! I would go to jail, 
 and die there, before I would give them up. We catch our grandest 
 fish by the processions.' 
 
 " ' But,' said he, 'we would give you a field to go in.' 
 
 " * Oh ! thank you,' I said, but the men are not in the field. Wi 
 are after ilie. people, and we must go where the people are.' 
 
 " ' Well,' he said, ' what are you going to do, supposing all the magis- 
 trates proclaim the towns ? ' 
 
 " * Do ? ' I said ; * GO ON, to be sure.' 
 
 ' ' Suppose they put all your officers in prison ? ' 
 
 " ' Oh ! ' I said, ' we have plenty ready to come after them to fill their 
 places. You try it ; and when the prisons are full then the English 
 people will rise and ask why they are compelled to keep the people in 
 gaol, and pay taxes for their support, for preaching the Gospel.' 
 
 " ' But,' he asked, ' what will you say to the magistrates who condemn 
 you? ' 
 
 " The old answer will do : " Whether it be right to obey men rather 
 than God, judge ye." Didn't the magistrates come down on Paul and 
 Silas, and did they not forbid them to speak any more in that Name ? 
 and what notice did Paul and Silas take of it ? And so it must be with 
 the Salvation Army.' " 
 
 In referring at this time to the Army's aggressive efforts 
 Archbishop Tait, who had sent a subscription towards the 
 purchase of the Eagle and the Grecian, remarked that the 
 one impossible, intolerable thing would be to sit still and do 
 nothing in presence of the great call for increased activity: 
 
 Speaking on the same subject, the late Bishop of Durham, 
 Dr. Lightfoot, said : 
 
 " Shall we be satisfied with going on as hitherto, picking up one here 
 and one there, gathering together a more or less select congregation, 
 forgetful meanwhile of the Master's command, ' Go ye into the highways 
 and hedges, and compel them to come in ' ? The Salvation Army has 
 
The Sheffield Riot. 369 
 
 taught us a higher lesson than this. Whatever may be its faults, it has 
 at least recalled us to this lost ideal of the work of the Church the uni~ 
 versal compulsion of the souls of men ! " 
 
 Amongst the handful of British statesmen who were the 
 first to recognise the great future that lay in store for the 
 Salvation Army was the late Earl Cairns. 
 
 A man of genuine piety, a Christian first and then a 
 statesman, he was, nevertheless, by no means an enthusiast. 
 A first glance at his massive, thoughtful countenance was 
 enough to show that here was not a character that would be 
 carried away by mere feelings. A stranger might almost be 
 tempted to have doubted whether he had an emotional side ; 
 whether reason, judgment, calculation, had not entirely 
 extinguished the softer side of his nature ; whether the 
 granite of which his powerful and intellectual mien appeared 
 to be composed was not bereft of the deep subsoil and rich 
 verdure of the affections. He was the beau ideal of a pru- 
 dent statesman. Cool-headed, far-seeing, sagacious, strong- 
 willed, cautious to timidity, weighty as a sledge-hammer 
 in his utterances. 
 
 In many respects he seemed the very antithesis of the hot- 
 blooded, fiery Salvationist. It might have been supposed 
 that his preference for the quiet and undemonstrative in 
 religion would have made him shrink from the noisy and 
 fervent zeal of the latter. But, while his characteristic 
 Scotch caution forbade his being an enthusiast, it was 
 leavened with a touch of genuine Irish warm-heartedness, 
 which enabled him to recognise in the Salvation Army 
 the fundamentals of Christianity, without permitting the 
 minor points of difference to intervene as barriers against 
 the overflowings of a large and sympathetic soul. And he 
 had the courage to express his convictions. 
 
 Lady Cairns, an active Christian worker, attended many of 
 Mrs. Booth's West End meetings, besides arranging several 
 drawing-room gatherings. For Mrs. Booth and the Mare- 
 chale she entertained a particularly warm affection, but, 
 while sympathising deeply with the work of the Army, 
 
 B B 
 
370 Mrs. Bbot/t. 
 
 there were some of its features to which she could not 
 reconcile herself. 
 
 The following is the substance of an address delivered by 
 Lord Cairns at a meeting of sympathisers and friends of the 
 Salvation Army : 
 
 " I have long looked with great interest upon this great movement, 
 and have regretted very much many of the statements that have been 
 made about it. I feel, myself, that all the reports which have been 
 made with a view of casting discredit on the Salvation Army have been 
 either mistaken or much exaggerated, and now that you have heard 
 General Booth's statements you will be able to go and tell others, who 
 have been misled by such reports, what actually did take place. There 
 is one thing that always strikes me in thinking about this movement : 
 that is, the great and indisputable fact that the Salvation Army work 
 has, under God's blessing, carried the knowledge of the Salvation from 
 which it derives its name to a vast stratum, to hundreds and thousands 
 of the population of the country, who have never been reached by the 
 Gospel before. 
 
 " Many of us have seen nothing of this teeming and seething stratum 
 of our population ; I, myself, perhaps, have seen but little of it. Now, 
 it would be a great mistake for us who have been accustomed to deal 
 with a different class of society, with persons of education, of regular 
 and orderly lives and habits, to apply our ideas of things to the stratum 
 of society among which the Army works. I think if we were to bring 
 our ideas to bear upon the working of the Army, and introduce our 
 traditional, well-regulated, cut-and-dried system, and say, This is the 
 way, or, That is the way, that the Salvation Army ought to proceed, I 
 feel sure that the Salvation Army would simply fail. They might give 
 up their work, and the masses of population I have referred to would 
 never be got at at all. 
 
 "I can only say that as soon as I can find another organisation 
 moving amongst this same class of people, bringing the Gospel to bear 
 upon them, and producing such results as this Army is producing, and 
 doing this work in a way more free from the possibility of criticism, I 
 may, perhaps, prefer that organisation. But at present there is no such 
 organisation, and we are in this position that we must either take the 
 agency of the Salvation Army and make the best of it, or else we must 
 give up all those masses of people as hopeless and abandoned for ever. 
 We cannot, most of us, go and work in the places where the forces of 
 the Salvation Army work. We cannot do it in person ; but it is surely 
 a great privilege for us, if we cannot do the work ourselves, to be able to 
 help forward those who can and will do it. 
 
 " What I would impress upon you and those listening to the reports 
 which either from mistake, or ignorance, or prejudice, are circulated 
 
The Sheffield Riot. 371 
 
 about the proceedings of the Salvation Army, is, Don't believe them. 
 Go and see lor yourself, or enquire in any case, and ask for explanation, 
 and I feel sure you will get it. Let us, then, having got this great 
 agency to do the work that is so much needed to be done, not merely go 
 and say, ' Yes, it is all very interesting, and no doubt much good is 
 being done,' but let us join to lend a helping hand to this great move- 
 ment. Let us, if we think it is doing God's work, be firm, and help it 
 forward, and let us honestly and consistently give it such assistance as 
 we have it in our power to give." 
 
 This outspoken utterance was the more remarkable as it 
 was delivered after listening to an unprovoked and bitter 
 attack upon the Army work from the most extreme Plymouth 
 Brother point of view. At the conclusion of his remarks 
 the speaker took his hat and walked out of the room, without 
 waiting to listen to the reply to his objections which Mrs. 
 Booth was instantly upon her feet to make. During this 
 unexpected onslaught Earl Cairns' countenance retained the 
 placidity of a marble statue, and the warm words with which 
 he closed the meeting were the more emphatic from having 
 been delivered at the conclusion of such an episode. 
 
 And thus, amidst storm and sunshine, amidst blame and 
 praise, neither cowed by the one nor unduly elated by the 
 other, but God-inspired and God-guarded, the Salvation 
 Army continued to advance. Town after town was opened. 
 At Shipley 148 souls professed conversion during the first 
 week, at Tamworth 120 narties were taken the first night, 
 and 322 by the week-end, The notorious Grecian Theatre 
 witnessed 1,800 seekers for salvation within the first three 
 months. The 251 corps with which the year commenced had 
 increased to 442, the 533 officers to 1,067, including 164 
 cadets in training at the Clapton Training Home. The 
 income locally collected and expended by the corps had 
 increased from 57,000 to 88,870, besides a sum of 36,000 
 which had been given for the purchase of buildings. Truly, 
 there was ample cause for raising a new Ebenezer as a 
 memorial of the victories of the past and as a stimulus to 
 fresh faith for the future. 
 
CHAPTER XXXVIII. 
 INDIA. SWEDEN. CANADA. 1882. 
 
 IT was a strange chain of circumstances that induced the 
 General and Mrs. Booth to contemplate India as a field for 
 work. But what development of the Salvation Army has not 
 been strange ? Surely its name, like that of its Divine Master, 
 might well be called " Wonderful." And when have not the 
 manifestations of God to man been wonderful ? As soon as 
 they cease to possess this character they cease in proportion 
 to display His power. " Wonderful " has been the tribute 
 of mankind inscribed across each successive billow of Divine 
 influence which has swept over the world's heart, flinging 
 back, for a time at least, the all-usurping powers of evil. 
 " Wonderful " must always be the works of the Holy Ghost, 
 through whomsoever they are wrought. Contemporaries 
 may be too blind to perceive it, but posterity must needs 
 write across the apostolic pages of such deeds its epitaph of 
 " Wonderful." 
 
 And thus, no matter what the future of the Salvation 
 Army may be, the past is what it ?s, and, thank God, cannot 
 be blotted out. If the movement were to perish to-morrow, 
 the day is nevertheless bound to come when all will recog- 
 nise not only the grand unchangeable has-been, but the 
 inherent possibilities of the what-might-have-been, and will 
 be constrained to award the just meed of praise. Its heroes 
 and heroines will yet take their stand beside the saints and 
 martyrs of the past. Its betrayers and persecutors will reap 
 the curses of the Judases and Herods of mankind. Its timid 
 apologists will rank with weak-kneed Gamaliel, or trembling 
 Xicodemus. And the children of those who have slain the 
 
 372 
 
India. Sweden. Canada. 373 
 
 prophets will entomb the sufferers with their costly offer- 
 ings. 
 
 But India ! That Babel of languages ! That wilderness 
 of religions ! That unfathomed ocean of possibilities ! Was 
 it strange, after all, that God should have some purposes of 
 tenderness and mercy toward its myriad inhabitants that 
 He should put His finger on a baby boy, cradle him in the 
 country, snatch him from the clutch of mutineers, send him 
 across the seas to be educated in the learning of the European 
 Egyptians, and then back to India to be educated in the 
 woes of the suffering natives, fling him into the heart of the 
 Salvation Army, and then cause this modern whale of the 
 religious deep to vomit him back on the shores of this East- 
 ern Nineveh ? It was surely no harder for the Lord than 
 that so many of England's slum saviours should have been 
 recruited from the public-house. 
 
 The need was truly appalling. There were missionaries, 
 it is true, but what were they among so many? Roughly 
 speaking, they would represent a minister for every 400,000 
 souls. And then the deadly climate had prostrated a large 
 percentage even of these. 
 
 And worse than this. The revivals which had from time 
 to time burst forth, and cheered the toilers with the hopes of 
 speedily conquering India for Christ, had of late mysteriously 
 died out. It would hardly be too much to say that there 
 was at the time of which we write a spiritual famine in the 
 land. The Obadiahs of the day were scanning the horizon 
 for clouds, but none could be seen so big even as a man's hand. 
 Here is the unrefutable testimo^ of the Editor of the Indian 
 Witness, the most influential religious paper then published 
 in India, on this point. He was a spiritually-enlightened 
 man an American : 
 
 " Some of our readers wish us to publish fuller and more frequent 
 accounts of revival work in India, or, as it is more properly called by 
 some, soul saving work. We are more than willing to print any such 
 news, if it is sent to us, but we fear the sorrowful truth must be confessed 
 that just at present ther3 is not much going on in India to which the 
 
374 Mrs. Booth. 
 
 word ' revival ' can be very correctly prefixed. There is a lull all along 
 the line. 
 
 " Hopeful indications and tokens for good are reported in many places, 
 but a genuine revival, a powerful work of awakening and conversion, does 
 not seem to prevail at any one point in the Empire. 
 
 " This is a state of things which calls for very deep heart-searching 
 and much earnest waiting upon God in prayer. When we consider the 
 extent of the field and the number of workers engaged, the noble oppor- 
 tunities set before us, and the Master's ccmmand to go forward, it 
 certainly ought to provoke very serious thought on the part of all 
 Christians in India to learn that there is not a single revival of any note 
 in progress in any part of India. 
 
 " How long shall this lamentation be made ? " 
 
 But, need or no need, the European newspapers in India 
 could scarcely have been more alarmed at the prospect, had 
 they been anticipating the descent of a Russian fleet, than 
 they were at the news of the arrival of the Salvation Army. 
 There was little short of a press panic, in which all official- 
 dom appeared to share. Some proposed that the four very 
 harmless-looking officers who composed the invading force 
 should be prevented from disembarking, and deported by the 
 next steamer to their native land. Others suggested re- 
 pression of various degrees. 
 
 A secret circular was issued asking for advice as to the 
 best sections of the Indian Penal Code for dealing sum- 
 marily with the dangerous element. Police, mounted and 
 on foot, European and native, were detailed to watch every 
 movement of the new arrivals. Constant telegrams 
 were exchanged between the Governor of Bombay and the 
 Commissioner of Police, who had strict orders to allow 
 nothing to be done " outside the ordinary line of missionary 
 enterprise." A few days later it was decided to forbid 
 all open-air demonstrations, on the ground that they were 
 calculated to lead to a breach of the peace. And yet, at 
 this very time, the streets of Bombay were filled with 
 rival Hindoo and Mahommedan processionists, numbering at 
 least some tens of thousands, and blocking for several days 
 almost every thoroughfare in the town. Prosecution followed 
 prosecution. The writer of this memoir was imprisoned for 
 a month, others for lesser terms. But the work advanced. 
 
India. Sweden. Canada. 37$ 
 
 Singular to say, the natives, on whose behalf the Europeans 
 had raised the agitation, refused to join in the hue and cry. 
 At Calcutta they organised an enormous mass-meeting in the 
 Town Hall, under the leadership of the famous Baboo Keshub 
 Chunder Sen, protesting with the most perfect unanimity 
 against the treatment of the Salvation Army, and petitioning 
 the Viceroy to interfere on their behalf. The native organs 
 spoke strongly to the same effect. Indeed, nothing was 
 more remarkable than the contrast between the attitude of 
 the Europeans and the natives. It was obvious that the 
 hostility of the former was purely due to national pique. 
 European officials complained that their dignity would be 
 lowered by such compliance with native dress and customs. 
 Some of them spoke contemptuously of the Salvation Army 
 as a " mixture of Jagannath and Jumbo." One young magis- 
 trate proposed to deal with them under the Vagrancy Law, 
 which empowers officials to extradite destitute Europeans 
 from the country. Indeed, he went so far as to issue a 
 warrant of arrest, but only brought upon himself a serious 
 reprimand from his superior, who happened to be an earnest 
 Christian and thoroughly in sympathy with the Salvation 
 Army. 
 
 The following sensible utterance of the Indian Mirror, an 
 influential Hindoo paper, will show how far were the natives 
 from countenancing the action of their European rulers at 
 this time : 
 
 "If the Salvation Army can prove that Christianity is really the 
 religion of the poor; that it can doff lavender-coloured breeches and 
 Christy's patent helmets to put on the mendicant's ochre garb ; that it 
 can dance, shout, and march with the ordinary proletarian poor human 
 nature from the mill, mine, and workshop ; if the Salvation Army can 
 prove that, it will have done enough service towards the future evangeli* 
 sation of India. 
 
 "It is, after all, the sympathy between man and man that is of tho 
 utmost value ! 
 
 " A popular movement like the Salvation Army is calculated to evoke 
 that sympathy ; and hence we do not wish to see it discouraged. We 
 have had enough, more than enough, of the cold nationalising civilisa* 
 tion of England. Let us by all means now see a little of the fire of 
 
376 Mrs. Booth. 
 
 English popular religious agitation. We repeat, we have nothing to say, 
 one way or another, of its success. So we feel no hesitation to welcome 
 the advent of the Salvation Army in India. If Bombay will not give it 
 a hearing, we can assure our readers Calcutta will." 
 
 The Brahmo Somaj (Hindoo) organ, the Liberal, offered a 
 welcome to the Salvation Army so extraordinary in the 
 warmth of its cordiality as to deserve special record: 
 
 " GKEETINGS TO THE SALVATION AKMY ! 
 
 " Welcome, valiant General ! Welcome, Salvation Army ! Welcome, 
 mighty band of Christ's commissioned officers ! Thrice welcome ! Our 
 most cordial greeting we offer you upon your arrival in India. We 
 speak to you, heart to heart, with all frankness and enthusiasm. In our 
 utterance is no guile, no flattery. For of what profit is sycophancy ? 
 Ye want no praise, we seek no patronage. We profess a different faith. 
 In matters of doctrine we are not of one accord. Ye are Christians of 
 the old school, we are Theists. You have come to India to convert our 
 people to Christianity ; we are apostles of the New Dispensation. Yet 
 we honour you and welcome you, for we believe you have been raised by 
 Providence for the benefit of Christendom, and your advent here in India 
 i?, we believe providential. Nay, we give you even greater credit than 
 most of your fellow-Christians seem disposed to accord. 
 
 " We do most solemnly believe that your able General, William 
 Booth, is an inspired apostle of God, whom He has entrusted with Divine 
 messages and endowed with heavenly power and resources to give effect 
 to these messages. General Booth is no ordinary man ; he is a man of 
 God, fully inspired for the great work He has given him to do on earth. 
 As such we revere and lote him. And we regard the entire organisation 
 of the Salvation Army as the work of the Holy God." 
 
 But, alas ! space and time once more fail us to adequately 
 report the history of' the most remarkable missionary effort 
 and success of later days. 
 
 At the time of writing the present narrative, upwards of 
 fifteen thousand souls professed conversion during the 
 previous 3 r ear, and of these nine in every ten were heathen ; 
 thus proving how little the Salvation Army trenches upon 
 others' ground. During the recent visit of the General, no 
 fewer than one hundred and twenty Hindoos sought salvation 
 in a single meeting, whilst the enthusiasm with which the 
 natives on all hands welcomed him was unparalleled in the 
 history of Christian enterprise. Subsequent to his return to 
 
India. Sweden. Canada. 
 
 377 
 
 England a powerful revival broke out in a portion of the 
 country which he had visited, no less than three thousand 
 three hundred Hindoos professing conversion in the course 
 of a fortnight. Later still, in March, 1893, upwards of four- 
 teen thousand heathen sought salvation in a single month. 
 
 The close of the year 1882 was signalised by a great 
 demonstration in Exeter Hall, at which no less than one 
 
 FREDERICK DE L. BOOTH-TUCKER. 
 
 hundred and one officers were set apart for service at home 
 and abroad. Detachments were specially commissioned for 
 service in India, America, New Zealand, Sweden, and the 
 Cape of Good Hope. Flags were presented to the Indian, 
 African, and New Zealand officers by Mrs. Booth, to the 
 Americans by Miss Emma Booth, and to the Swedish con- 
 tingent of six by Mr. Bramwell Booth. 
 
 The history of the Swedish expedition is particularly 
 interesting. It was just four years since Mr. Bramwell 
 
3/3 
 
 Mrs. Booth. 
 
 Booth had visited the country, in company with some Army 
 friends, to recruit his shattered health. His presence had 
 soon become whispered abroad, and it had been impossible to 
 resist the invitations to hold private meetings which were 
 pressed upon him. English is very much spoken in Sweden, 
 and even where it is not generally understood translators 
 arc plentiful. 
 
 
 COMMISSIONER OUCHTEKLONY. 
 
 Singularly simple-hearted and receptive of the truth, the 
 Swedes are among the best listeners in the world. A power- 
 ful impression was made, and a number of souls were saved 
 and sanctified. Among them was a Miss Ouchterlony, who 
 was so inspired with the conviction that the Salvation Army 
 would accomplish a mighty work in her country that, finding 
 letters ineffectual, she visited England for the purpose of 
 
India. Sweden. Canada. 379 
 
 personally representing its claims. The General, however, 
 did not see his way clear to send officers. 
 
 Miss Ouchterlony, undaunted by this disappointment, de- 
 clared she would be a Salvation Army in herself. Return- 
 ing to Sweden, she took a hall in Gothenburg, where she 
 commenced a successful series of meetings. Thinking that 
 the more encouraging prospect would move the General's 
 heart, she again visited England, accompanied by one of her 
 converts. Mrs. Booth was much affected by her devotion 
 and persistence, and Miss Ouchterlony had at length the 
 satisfaction of returning to her country with a party of five 
 officers for the establishment of the work. She was pro- 
 moted to be a Major, and afterwards a Commissioner, re- 
 maining for ten years in charge of the Swedish work, where 
 she had been loved and honoured by all classes alike. She 
 has since been attached to the International Headquarters 
 as travelling Commissioner. 
 
 The work in Canada was also commenced this year by a 
 party of officers sent from New York. The fire spread with 
 such rapidity that it soon became necessary to separate the 
 Dominion from the States, forming it into another Commis- 
 sionership. Wonderful advances were made under the able 
 leadership of Commissioner Coombs, who, after several years' 
 service in that country, was transferred to the command of 
 the Australian work. From the Government downward the 
 Salvation Army has received in Canada a hearty recognition 
 scarcely to be equalled in any other country. 
 
 Although bordering so closely on each other, nothing could 
 be more striking than the difference between the Canadian 
 and American nationalities. And yet it is perhaps only the 
 contrast between an agrarian and urban population in a 
 somewhat marked degree. You enter the States, and feel as 
 if you were in a veritable blizzard of activity. Before you 
 know where you are, the irrepressible reporter swoops down 
 upon you like the eagle of the Republic on its lawful prey. 
 And a reporter in America is a reporter none of your gaping, 
 yawning, staring, sleeping, tired-before-they-begin and do- 
 
Mrs. Booth. 
 
 anything-but-write gentleinen-of-ease, such as saunter into 
 our Army meetings in some portions of the globe, with their 
 anything-gQod-enough-for-the-public and silly-enough-to-put- 
 into-your-mouth sort of expression. 
 
 Whatever there is of the American is all there every 
 inch; especially his eyes and ears ! You feel he is measuring 
 you up, from the tip of your longest hair to the way you tie 
 
 COMMISSIONER COOMBS. 
 
 your bootlace. He is making a mental 'note of everything 
 the colour of your eyes, the number of your gray hairs, 
 the shape and fit of the very clothes you wear. His lynx 
 eye leaves out nothing. He riddles you with questions that 
 would do credit to any cross-examining counsel. His pencil 
 iiies over the paper. He reads you your own replies, to make 
 sure he has put them down correctly. 
 
 There is no escape from his clutches. Perhaps you jump 
 into a cab. He jumps in after you, and leaves you only when 
 he has extracted from you all the information you happen to 
 
India. Sweden. Canada. 381 
 
 contain. The same evening you can read it all in type, with 
 striking head-lines, and perhaps a portrait. You wonder that 
 you could have said so many foolish things, or that any- 
 body could have had the patience to either chronicle or read 
 them. 
 
 The ubiquitous reporter is a type of the American ; a 
 quintessence of energy, a magazine of explosives, a ceaseless 
 whirl of never-ending rush. You wonder whether he finds 
 time to sleep, or eat, or even breathe. You feel as if he dare 
 scarcely stop to take a breath, he is in such a hurry to get 
 it out again, and before it is well out the next must be drawn 
 in. The very atmosphere seems laden with the electricity 
 of haste. 
 
 But you pass the borders into Canada, and all is changed. 
 Perhaps you choose Niagara for your crossing-point. The 
 American side is lined with factories, bent on utilising the 
 water-power for business purposes. The Canadian bank is 
 laid out as a park, with everything that can bewitch the eye 
 and cheer the heart, and refreshment-rooms, whose Christian 
 proprietor delights to capture and regale at his own ex- 
 pense the chance Salvationist who may happen to be visiting 
 the spot. 
 
 What a relief there is in the change ! From the hurri- 
 cane of business speed you pass into the sunshine of domestic 
 felicity ; after an Atlantic of perpetual toss you enter a har- 
 bour of comparative quiet. You exchange the hurly-burly 
 of war for the calm of peace. 
 
 If America teaches a lesson in the value of time and 
 opportunity, Canada reminds us that strength proceeds from 
 the hearth and home. The one illustrates the possibilities 
 that lie within the reach of active, persevering toil, the 
 other the graces of believing faith. 
 
 The curse of modern civilisation all over the world is its 
 ever-increasing speed, its mad race w.ith time. The magnifi- 
 cent gifts with which a beneficent Creator has endowed 
 humanity health, peace, love, family, friends, and life itself 
 are flung away in the pursuit, not of His glory, but of some 
 
382 Mrs. Booth. 
 
 selfish, shadowy good, which, if it be ever won, is usually 
 postponed until the power for its enjoyment has passed away. 
 Soul and body are alike sacrificed for intellect ; while in- 
 tellect itself is prostituted for the lust of pelf. And what a 
 chaos is the consequence ! No wonder that society, taken as 
 a whole, is " without form and void," and " darkness is upon 
 the face " of the great moral deep, a darkness which the 
 combined light of. science and intellect can no more dispel 
 than a rushlight can illumine the sky. The Spirit of God is 
 as necessary now to move upon the waters with creative 
 power as in days of old ; infinitely more necessary, if that 
 be possible, for the regeneration of the sin-blasted human 
 heart than for the original creation of the universe, in 
 America, Canada, Sweden. India, England everywhere ! 
 
CHAPTER XXXIX. 
 ABROAD AND AT HOME. 1882. 
 
 ENGLAND has no monopoly in ruffianism. In this respect 
 the Continent may claim to carry the palm, although, alas, 
 we are making progress in the art of crime, and are not far 
 behind. Anything more demoniacal, however, than the 
 crowd that Mrs. Booth faced in Paris at the opening of the 
 new hall in Rue Oberkampff would be difficult to conceive. 
 It was in April, 1882, and she was paying France her first 
 visit, with a view to cheering and assisting her daughter. 
 Mrs. Booth surveyed the scene with intense compassion, as 
 the following letter to a friend will serve to show : 
 
 " I would have given a trifle for you to have been with us yesterday : 
 first, at the drawing-room meeting, where I tried to scrape together all 
 my patience to meet and answer the old, time-worn objections to our 
 measures, which one is so sick of hearing, to a respectable audience of 
 Christians ; and then, at night, in the midst of an excited audience, who 
 grinned and groaned, and hooted so that anybody but Salvation Army 
 soldiers would have given in and been beaten. 
 
 "We had a splendid congregation, however, of just our sort, mostly 
 men, many of them young, full of the ' blood-and-fire ' of hell. 
 
 " Many were disposed to listen, but about half were of the revolutionary 
 type, and would not be calmed. The uproar was terrible, but, just at 
 the worst, the Marechale advanced into the middle of the hall, and, 
 standing right in the midst of them, she mounted a form and pleaded 
 like an apostle. 
 
 " Oh, it was a sublime sight, worth coming from England to see ! 
 There were a few desperadoes, ringleaders, who said awful things. One, 
 with a face full of the devil, hissed in rage inconceivable ; baring his arm 
 and holding it aloft, he shrieked : ' We will hear you if you will talk to 
 vis about anything else but Jesus, but we hate HIM ; WE WILL NOT HAVE 
 HIM; He is the cause of all our sorrows ! I wish I had Him here! I 
 would pour a pail of cabbage-water over His head !' 
 
 " They shouted, * Vive la Libcrte ! ' And when the Marechale an- 
 
 383 
 
364 
 
Abroad and at Home. 385 
 
 swered, ' Amen ! ' they said, ' Ab, we will have liberty, but no Auiens ! 
 No religion ! "We have had enough of that, we have had enough of Jesus 
 Jesuits ! ' 
 
 " When we put our French converts up, they shouted ' Ah, paid to 
 figure there ! ' Poor things, they have been so deceived and duped that 
 they cannot believe anybody is real. Nevertheless, we got some truth 
 into them between the outbursts, and sang it into them, too. 
 
 " After our songs they sang the Marseillaise to their own words of 
 blood and death. The Marechale and Colonel Clibborn stood and 
 prayed in the midst of them. It was a veritable meeting of the hosts of 
 hell and heaven, and I feel sure that some rays of light entered many a 
 poor darkened soul from put of the cloud of Divine glory which over- 
 shadowed us. I consider that we won the victory with the majority of 
 our audience, and shall get scores of them for Salvation Army soldiers 
 yet! 
 
 "There was quite an eager scramble for En Avant at the close, and 
 much good-humour in answer to the Colonel's kindly salute to them in- 
 dividually. As the meeting dispersed, however, some few spiteful ones 
 handled him very roughly, giving him two or three blows in the face, 
 and some severe kicks on the legs. 
 
 " Also two or three of our French soldiers Emile, Carlo, Hodler, and 
 a railway porter were badly wounded. One dear fellow had to retire 
 behind the scenes to staunch the blood from his temples. But the 
 Colonel says he is proud of his men ; not one of them flinched or ran, 
 and it was a trying ordeal for French blood not to strike back. So you 
 see it is only a question of patience and perseverance as to whether 
 these French shall ' have Jesus ' or not in His living reality. We shall 
 see. 
 
 " I thought how I would have liked those Christians who were at the 
 afternoon meeting to have been there, especially one good pastor who 
 had been talking to us about reading more Bible in our meetings ! I 
 should have liked to see him try ! They would have torn his Bible to 
 ribbons, and perhaps him, too. So little do these good people understand 
 the things they talk about. May the Lord open their eyes to see the 
 superiority of such living epistles as our soldiers presented last night 
 to their shouting, blaspheming countrymen over a dead-and-alive reading 
 of the letter without any Holy Ghost in it ! 
 
 " We go again to-night, though I fear for the consequences on Katie, 
 It is such a strain on her nerves. Pray for us. I never saw so deeply 
 into the enmity of the human heart against God as last night ; but I 
 trust I felt a little of the infinite pity of Jesus -when He cried, ' Father, 
 forgive them; they know not what they do.' " 
 
 The principal event of the year was the marriage of the 
 Chief of the Staff, Mr. Bramwell Booth, which was cele- 
 brated at the Congress Hall amid great rejoicings. 
 
 C G 
 
385 Mrs. Booth. 
 
 The bride, Miss Florence Soper, was among the most in- 
 trepid of the little band that rallied round Miss Booth during 
 the early days of rowdyism and opposition in Paris. The 
 daughter of a physician in Wales, she had been sent to com- 
 plete her education in London, where she had attended some 
 of Mrs. Booth's West End meetings. After remaining for 
 some weeks under conviction she made a definite and com- 
 plete surrender of herself to God, renouncing at a stroke her 
 worldly prospects and associations, and offering herself in the 
 ardour of her first love for the French work. 
 
 Side by side with the Marechale she visited the cafes, 
 sold War Crys on the crowded Boulevards, or faced howling 
 mobs with a courage that was the more surprising con- 
 sidering the luxurious and zenana-like surroundings from 
 which she had so suddenly stepped forth. Thus, having 
 graduated with honours in the college of affliction, she was 
 unconsciously prepared for her future career. 
 
 It was a choice thoroughly in keeping with the rules and 
 expectation of the Salvation Army. The officers and 
 soldiers, in whose hearts the Chief, by his long, disinterested 
 and able service, had won a unique position of affection and 
 confidence, eagerly seized this opportunity of manifesting 
 their sympathy. It was the first marriage in the General's 
 family, the first wedding in the Congress Hall, and the 
 first time that the marriage ritual of the Salvation Army 
 was introduced. All served to intensify the interest of the 
 occasion, and it was celebrated with becoming joy. 
 
 The hall was crowded to excess, arid it was estimated 
 that no less than six thousand people were present, although 
 it was a week-day morning. The General conducted the 
 service, the bride being given away by her father, Dr. 
 Soper. The vivacity and brightness of an Army wedding, so 
 free from all the fooleries and extravagances common to such 
 an occasion, need to be witnessed in order to be understood. 
 It was a sermon, better than any words could preach, of 
 what a holy, happy institution marriage might become, if 
 cnly entered upon in the God-intended way. The union 
 
Abroad and at Home. 387 
 
 having taken place beneath the Army flag, the Marechale 
 paid a warm tribute to the devotion and courage of the 
 bride. 
 
 Mrs. Booth followed in her usual terse and touching 
 manner. Among other things, she said : 
 
 " The highest happiness I can wish to my beloved children is that 
 they may realise as thorough a union in heart and mind, and as much 
 
 MRS. BRAMWELL BOOTH. 
 
 blessing in their married life, as the Lord has vouchsafed to us in ours, 
 If He will do this for them I will be content, so far as they are in- 
 dividually concerned. But I covet for them that, where I have been the 
 mother of hundreds of spiritual children, she may be the mother of 
 thousands, and I covet for my son that, whereas the Lord has blessed 
 his father to the salvation of thousands, He may bless him to tens of 
 thousands! I gave him to God for this when he was born. If you 
 want to know how to get your children saved, and to make the God of 
 Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob the God of your families, I can only re- 
 commend to you the way which has succeeded with mine. 
 
 " Yes, I believe I did give my son fully to the Lord, and I covenanted 
 
388 Mrs. Booth. 
 
 that I would, as far as my light and ability went, train him for God 
 alone ; that I would ignore this world's prizes and praises, and that he 
 should be, as far as I could make him, A MAN OF GOD. And, what is 
 very remarkable, I consecrated him to God for a HOLINESS preacher. 
 We called him William Bramwell, after the most distinguished man of 
 holiness we knew, and I set him in my heart before the Lord to be a 
 leader of His forces in respect to this glorious doctrine and experience. 
 And you see how God has honoured my choice. I could not have made 
 him this ; I could only give him to God for it, and do my best to train 
 him for it, and you see how God has honoured my consecration. 
 
 " The very first principle of successful training is that you acknowledge 
 God's entire ownership of your children. You cannot take a forward 
 step till you do that. While you want them to be this, that, or the 
 other for this world, or in this world's estimation, God knows it, and He 
 won't bless your teaching. He looks at your heart, and if He sees you 
 seek for them this world's prizes, and this world's positions, desiring 
 Him to come in at the end to make them Christians, He is not likely 
 to give you His blessing. ' No ! ' He says. You must put Me first, and 
 leave Me to choose their earthly destiny. Choose My kingdom first. 
 Give them wholly and solely to Me, and train them for Me and leave 
 Me to choose iheir inheritance and fix the bounds of their habitations. 
 And then I will take them, and I will co-work with you and bless your 
 testimony and your teaching, and I will give you the power of My 
 Spirit, and you shall have " every hoof of them." ' I have given every 
 hoof of mine, for God and this glorious work, and I am going to have them 
 in eternity. 1 set my lieart on it, and I said, I will have it, at all costs ! 
 
 But we must retrace our footsteps to the occasion which 
 perhaps more than any other emphasized the rapid progress 
 of the .Army cause the first great anniversary celebration 
 at the Alexandra Palace. The grounds were engaged for 
 the entire day (July 3rd), when between twenty and thirty 
 thousand people passed the gates. London had never 
 witnessed such a scene. It was a repetition of the Dunorlan 
 festival of fourteen years previously, only on a vastly larger 
 scale. The whole day was spent in pn^er and praise. 
 The soldiers were distributed all over the grounds, some 
 holding meetings in the open-air, and others assisting in the 
 Palace. The General was addressing a crowd in one part, 
 Mrs. Booth in another. But the crowning feature was the 
 march-past, when the General, Mrs. Booth, and other leading 
 officers and friends, took their position on the Grand Stand, 
 
Abroad and at Home. 389 
 
 while thousands of soldiers filed past along the racecourse, 
 until the open space in front was a seething mass of brilliant 
 colours, waving bannerettes, jingling timbrels and sounding 
 brass. The effect was powerful in the extreme, and the 
 record of the Army's previous history was once more 
 eclipsed. 
 
 Among the cheering incidents of the day was the reading 
 of the following letter from Her Majesty the Queen to Mrs. 
 Booth: 
 
 " WINDSOR CASTLE, 30th JUNE, 1882. 
 " MADAM : 
 
 " I am commanded by the Queen to acknowledge the receipt of your 
 letter of the 27th inst., and to assure you that Her Majesty learns with 
 much satisfaction that you have, with the other members of your society, 
 been successful in your efforts to win many thousands to the ways of 
 temperance, virtue, and religion. I regret, however, to have to inform 
 you that Her Majesty cannot contribute to the fund you are now en- 
 deavouring to raise for the purchase of the Grecian Theatre. 
 
 " I have the honour to be, madam, your obedient servant, 
 
 " HENRY F. PONSONBY." 
 
 Sir Henry Ponsonby's answer had been written in 
 reply to the following letter from Mrs. Booth : 
 
 ' To HER MOST GRACIOUS MAJESTY THE QUEEN : 
 
 "Knowing your Majesty's benevolent concern for the well-being of 
 the masses of your people, and having worked largely amongst them 
 for twenty-three years, I venture to call your Majesty's attention to an 
 effort now being made to transform one of the most terrible centres of 
 demoralization for the young in the East of London into a centre of 
 operations and influences for their reformation and salvation. 
 
 "The Eagle Tavern, the Grecian Theatre and Dancing Grounds, in 
 the City Road, have become so notorious that probably your Majesty 
 may have gathered something of the disastrous consequences of the 
 scenes which have been enacted there for so many years past. 
 
 " On behalf of the Salvation Army we are negotiating for the purchase 
 of the lease of the whole property, and for 16,750 hope to be put in 
 possession in three weeks' time, when, by the blessing of God, we shall 
 be able to gather 10,000 people at one time to hear the Gospel. 
 
 " His Grace the Archbishop of Canterbury having kindly consented 
 to head our subscription list, we have ventured to hope that it might 
 not be impossible that your Majesty might graciously signify your 
 approval of and sympathy with an effort which must surely commend 
 itself to all whose hearts bleed for the ruined and friendless of this City, 
 
3QO Mrs. Booth. 
 
 irrespective of their views as to our modus operandi. It will, I feel sure, 
 interest your Majesty to know that mauy thousands of the lower and 
 dangerous classes have already been won to temperance, virtue, and 
 religion by the methods and spirit of this Army, to which fact many of 
 your Majesty's officers of justice in different parts of the kingdom would 
 gladly bear witness. 
 
 " The misfortune of our only having three weeks to raise (tor us) so 
 large a sum as 10,750, for the purchase of the lease, must be my 
 excuse for intruding this matter upon your Majesty's notice. 
 
 " I herewith, send a more particular description of this effort, and of 
 our teaching and methods, in the hope that your Majesty may not find 
 it altogether uninteresting, or irrelevant to your Majesty's highest 
 desires for the welfare of your people. 
 
 " Praying fervently that the God of grace may supply all your 
 Majesty's spiritual need, 
 
 " I have the happiness to be, 
 
 " Your Majesty's devoted servant in Jesus, 
 
 " CATHERINE BOOTH." 
 
 It might have been supposed that the extremes of noise 
 and silence in religion would hardly meet, and that the 
 jubilant boisterousness of a Salvationist would shock the 
 quiet notions of the Quaker. But if there were some points 
 of difference there were more of sympathy. For were not 
 the Quakers the Salvationists of two hundred years ago? 
 Had they not filled the prisons? Had not their novel 
 exercises aroused the violence of mobs and their vulgar 
 psalm-chanting irritated even the benevolence of the saintly 
 Baxter? Were they not the first to open the door for 
 women's ministry? Had they not incurred the contempt 
 of the world by their unfashionable dress ? Had they not 
 refused to bow the knee before the golden idol of the age, 
 even though it might mean a sevenfold-heated furnace ? 
 Had they not taught the people to look from ceremonials 
 to a living Christ ? And were they not ridiculed as the 
 peacemakers of the world, the sworn enemies of war? The 
 doctrines were identical, and such outward differences as 
 existed were more between the respectable descendants of 
 George Fox and the Salvation Army than between the 
 latter and the original leather-breeched, world-despising, 
 sin-condemning founder of the sect. 
 
Abroad and at Home. 391 
 
 Their attention having been attracted about this timo 
 towards the operations of the Army, and several prominent 
 members of the Society having become interested in the 
 movement, Mrs. Booth received a cordial invitation to 
 address their annual meeting. This took place at Devon- 
 shire House, a large hall and group of buildings, including 
 a temperance hotel, which at the present constitutes their 
 headquarters in London. The occasion was a somewhat 
 important one, the gatherings being attended by representa- 
 tives from all over the world. 
 
 If the Army had many things in common with the Friends 
 this was in an especial sense true of Mrs. Booth. The 
 severe simplicity of her dress had caused her in the early 
 days of her public work to be taken again and again for a 
 Quakeress. Her modest demeanour as a speaker served to 
 harmonise with the spirit and custom of the Friends. 
 
 Mrs. Booth quickly placed herself en rapport with her 
 congregation. Speaker and listener seemed mutually to 
 inspire each other. The manifest sympathy imprinted upon 
 the faces of the audience, the memory of the brilliant history 
 of the Society, the consciousness that in so many respects 
 the experiences of the Salvation Army resembled those of the 
 palmiest days of Quakerism, the eager desire to fan into a 
 flame the flickering embers of their old-time burning zeal 
 for souls, served to lend force and feeling to her words. 
 With alternate smiles and tears they listened, till it seemed 
 that heart spoke to heart and that every heart responded. 
 It was a memorable occasion, and many a testimony was 
 received in after years as to the lasting blessing then be- 
 stowed. 
 
 As usual, there was no diminution in the stream of letters 
 that poured in during the year, no limit to their diversit}^ 
 no lessening in the force and originality with which Mrs. 
 Booth handled each subject. Mrs. Josephine Butler, whose 
 name is so intimately connected with the purity agitation of 
 a later year, has from the first proved a consistent and 
 unswerving friend of the work, and by her early champion- 
 
392 Mrs. Booth. 
 
 ship of the Marechale in the days of her persecution has 
 specially endeared herself to Salvationists. Writing to 
 Mrs. Booth, she refers in the following letter to a remark- 
 able vision which she had seen some years before : 
 
 " I ought not, perhaps, to give you the trouble here of reading a letter 
 from me in the midst of your arduous and blessed work ; but I cannot 
 any longer refrain from writing you a line to express first, my joy in 
 the advances being made by the Salvation Army ; and secondly, my 
 sympathy with you in the numberless criticisms and strictures passed 
 upon you, your teaching and your practice. I am sure your burden is 
 already heavy enough without any one's adding to it by fault-finding. 
 The attacks of enemies are comparatively easy to bear, but the fault- 
 findings and misunderstandings of Christian people, these are what 
 grieve and hurt. I do so feel for, and with, you that I cannot refrain 
 from expressing myself to you. I can truly say there is not a day, 
 scarcely an hour, in which I do not think of you and your fellow- 
 workers, and rejoice in the tide of blessing which our eyes are privileged 
 to see. My own duties, domestic and public, keep me from being 
 among you as often as I would, but I doubt if there is any one living 
 who is more with you in spirit. 
 
 " About twenty-five years ago I had a kind of vision. I was in weak 
 health, and lying on my bed. For some years I had been praying, thirst- 
 ing, longing, for a great revival to come to the world, for showers of 
 blessing, for a fresh Pentecost, in which I and mine would have a part, 
 and which would prove such an awakening as the world has not seen 
 since the first Apostles' times. I was like one dying of thirst, in drought, 
 and in a wilderness. 
 
 " One evening I fell into a half sleep. I seemed to be transported to 
 some dark and gloomy mountains, with my face to the east, and behind 
 me the great wilderness of the world lying in deep darkness. Then a 
 streak of light appeared in the east, a sweet heavenly light, and voices 
 sounded, and music, and there was a noise as of gathering forces, and it 
 seemed God said to me, Behold ! the answer to all your prayers. A 
 glorious day of grace is coming; fix your eyes on it ; gaze in that direc- 
 tion. For though it tarry it will come ; it will not tarry.' There was 
 nothing remarkable in my dream except that it made such an impression 
 on me as I have never lost. It was twenty-five years ago. I see now 
 the fulfilment (or the beginning of the fulfilment) of that vision. I 
 think there are many others who have thirsted as I have, and who now 
 rejoice as I rejoice. I am sure you are sustained under the fire of 
 criticism^. 
 
 " I remain, dear Mr. and Mrs. Booth, 
 
 " Yours in the love of Jesus, 
 
 "JOSEPHINE E. BUTLER." 
 
Abroad and at Home. 393 
 
 To a lady in America, who had written to ask her counsel 
 on the question of holiness, Mrs. Booth replies : 
 
 " I have been very unwell the last few days, and your letter with many 
 others has been waiting an opportunity for reply. 
 
 " I truly sympathise with you in your very trying circumstances, but 
 I feel sure the Lord will speedily reveal Himself to your soul, and then 
 all persecutions and sufferings for His sake will seem small and easy to 
 bear. The three steps necessary for you to take in order to get the ex- 
 perience you desire are : 1st. Eenounce everything for which the Spirit 
 reproves you. 2nd. Embrace every duty He lays upon you, whether it 
 be praying in the chapel or anything else. Say, ' Lord, I will do it if I 
 die in the attempt.' Confess in your prayers that you are seeking holi- 
 ness and God will use this to stir up others. 3rd. Believe for it ; that 
 is, trust Jesus to do it for jou. Say, ' Lord, I cannot cleanse or keep 
 myself, but Thou canst do it for me. I will, I do, trust Thee just now. 
 I am Thine and Thou art mine, altogether and for ever ! ' Eemember 
 it is He who saves. Trust Him with all the work. The Lord help 
 you! 
 
 " The Army will be sure to come near you before long. It will go 
 everywhere, because God's Spirit is in the wheels and no power can stop 
 them. Pray and expect, and in the meantime do all you can at your 
 own place. Show them the example of an early Methodist by plain 
 dressing and holy living and straightforward testimony. May God save 
 your husband and children ! Be determined to have the children for 
 God. You can do it by His grace. Be firm, and train them only 
 for Him. 
 
 " Yours, in arms for the King, 
 
 "CATHERINE BOOTH." 
 
CHAPTER XL. 
 THE ARMY IN SWITZERLAND. 1883. 
 
 REPUBLICS are ordinarily associated with the idea of liberty. 
 But history has proved that they can at times be capable of 
 a savagery that would make a Nero blush. The tyranny of 
 an individual is limited, that of a mob knows no bounds. 
 With the one yon can reason, with the other you can only 
 suffer. If the despot has crushed out the tender feelings of 
 his nature, you have a chance with his self-interest, if you 
 fail with his conscience or his common sense. But an ex- 
 cited crowd has neither heart nor head. The former has 
 some sense of responsibility, the latter none. The one is a 
 tangible somebody, the other an undiscoverable nobody. 
 
 The worst crimes are committed in company. All will do 
 a little where nobody will do all. And the little of many is 
 far greater than the all of one. Politicians are puzzled and 
 nonplussed. A nation groans, and royalty is deaf. A 
 nation rises and royalty is no more. Royalty may or may 
 not have deserved its fate. The evils may have been bej'ond 
 its reach to cure Perhaps it used no remedies at all, or it 
 used any and every remedy except the right one. However, 
 it is gone. But the evil only in a new shape remains 
 behind. Like the hydra of ancient fable, one head has been 
 cut off only to be replaced by millions more ; so many, that 
 to fight with them becomes a hopeless task. 
 
 Man has yet to learn that a government of whatever des- 
 cription without God is a government of sin, and that a 
 government of sin is a government of misery. A reforma- 
 tion that omits the heart is a reformation but in name. To 
 remove a nation's woe you must remove a nation's sin. No 
 
The Army in Sivitzerland. 395 
 
 mere change in circumstances will avail. This is the uni- 
 versal rule with individuals and it applies equally to a 
 nation. In vain do politicians patch and trim and toil, like 
 the old woman with bucket and broom, to thus bale out 
 the ocean and to sweep away the sand. The ship of state is 
 lightened of its load. Concession after concession to the 
 populace is cast into the seas. Upon the surface of the 
 troubled waters is poured the revolutionary oil of change 
 But the lull, if lull there be, is only for a time. One danger 
 is escaped for a worse to be incurred. The vessel is no 
 longer water-logged, but, the ballast gone, each wave threatens 
 to capsize it and engulf the lightened hulk. Again we say, 
 reformation, to be sound, must heal the heart. 
 
 Can it be otherwise ? What else will effectually remove 
 the evils that affect society ? Riches ? No ! If many of 
 the miseries of the world are due to the democracy of poverty, 
 is it not because it is a revulsion from the despotism of 
 wealth ? Were all rich, would that make property the more 
 secure ? If one nation lusts for the hunger-stricken acres of 
 its neighbours now, would not its avarice be whetted by the 
 sight of unlimited wealth ? What individual, what nation, 
 has learnt to say " It is enough " ? Poverty places some 
 natural bounds upon the cruel armaments and warlike pre- 
 parations of the world which riches would remove. If all 
 could be made rich to-morrow it would not avail, unless all 
 could be made good. 
 
 This ought to be the A B C of politics : a moral evil needs 
 a moral change. This must at least be the reformer's aim. 
 God's partnership with man renders it attainable. Dissolve 
 that partnership and you are indeed undone. Man by him- 
 self becomes the laughing-stock of hell. Napoleon recognised 
 this. He aspired to universal sovereigntj 7 . But he would 
 have cemented it with religious mortar, without which he 
 foresaw that the stones and bricks of the stateliest edifice 
 would soon fall to pieces, unable to resist the force of time 
 and storm. 
 
 But political quackery shuts its eyes to this truth, and 
 
396 Mrs. Booth. 
 
 rests content with manufacturing patch-work quilts that 
 cover without curing the evils of societ}'. And as the sick 
 patient in his agony tears a fresh rent another patch is made. 
 
 Others, with more heroic remedies, amputate the limb to 
 save the life. Nihilism and imperial power carry on a duel 
 in which the last shot has yet to be fired. Anarchy, worst 
 of all, would cut off the head of society, or thrust a dagger 
 in its heart, to cure its aches. 
 
 And the sum total of these remedies is less than naught, 
 because one and all begin at the wrong end and will not 
 recognise that man is man a being with a soul and moral 
 entity. If man were a mere horse, the snaffle of the law 
 would be enough. But, because he is something more, those 
 who dispense with or let go the moral curb will find him 
 take the bit into his own mouth and will be carried over the 
 edge of some vast social precipice when, if the people suffer 
 most, the rider shares the fall. 
 
 If this be true, how suicidal is the act of governments 
 which oppose those whom a benignant Providence appoints 
 from age to age as the social scavengers of society ! The 
 remedy is always there, not far from the disease. If it 
 happens to be irregular, or out of the common rut. what does 
 this matter if it can cure ? It is strange that the ruling 
 powers of the world have hitherto been so slow to recognise 
 and utilise the Salvation Army, in spite of its notorious 
 success in purging and purifying and transforming the out- 
 casts of society. Here is a natural shield, ready-made, which 
 they might thrust between themselves and these elements 
 of mischief which repressive measures may for a time restrain 
 but cannot change. And yet they fling it from them and bare 
 their breasts to shafts which, after practising their aim upon 
 the target of the Salvation Army, will next be aimed with 
 double force and precision upon those who have thrown down 
 the one existing barrier between themselves and their fate. 
 Great and unparalleled as is the Army's record of past 
 achievement, what might it not have been had the move' 
 ment received the endorsement it has deserved? 
 
The Army in Switzerland. 397 
 
 In no country has the Army encountered more bitter and 
 persistent opposition than in the freedom-boasting republic, 
 or rather federation of republics, of Switzerland. If one 
 corner of the world might have been expected to offer more 
 liberal scope for its operations than another, it might well 
 have been supposed to have been here. The articles of the 
 Swiss Constitution, the Magna Charta of their national rights, 
 guarantee liberty of conscience to every citizen. The special 
 treaty of 1855 grants to British subjects the same privileges 
 as to the Swiss citizen. Political refugees, and even anar- 
 chists, can meet, unhindered, to plot the downfall of friendly 
 foreign powers. 
 
 But when, in December, 1882, a handful of earnest enthu- 
 siasts entered Switzerland with the Gospel message, they 
 were expelled, imprisoned, or handed over to the tender 
 mercies of a brutal mob. The reason could not have been 
 that there was no need for their labours, since it was well 
 known and universally confessed that there was a large 
 residuum of the population sunk in vice and infidelity. If 
 any had doubted it before they could hardly do so now, in 
 view of the treatment met with by the Salvation Army. 
 
 Nor, again, could it be said that the peculiar measures of 
 the Salvation Army had exasperated the population, as had 
 been alleged in the case of some of the English disturbances. 
 There were no processions down the streets, no flaring 
 posters on the walls, and no brass bands. Everything that 
 was calculated to be misunderstood, or to cause irritation, 
 was avoided. But it was of no avail. The meeting-places 
 were besieged, broken open, and literally pillaged. The 
 authorities sided with the mob : closed the halls, forbade the 
 meetings, and expelled the officers. One of the most impor- 
 tant Articles of the Swiss Constitution enacts that the home 
 of the citizen shall be inviolable. Even this was disregarded 
 by the authorities, who were determined to uproot the new 
 religion from the soil. Oppressive decrees were issued, in 
 violation alike of the Constitution and of the treaty with 
 England. Appeals were made against these arbitrary and 
 
398 Mrs. Booth. 
 
 illegal orders, both to the Federal authorities and the British 
 Government. But in vain. 
 
 There was only one way out of the dilemma, and that was 
 to challenge the decrees by disobeying them ; thus bringing 
 them within the jurisdiction of the legal tribunals of Switzer- 
 land. Lawyers were consulted, and advised that thig was 
 the only means for compelling the authorities to retrace their 
 steps. Swiss friends and soldiers offered eagerly to endure 
 whatever might be the consequence. Delicate as she was, 
 Miss Booth could not endure that others should bear the 
 penalty, and resolved that she would herself dispute the il- 
 legal orders. At the same time all reasonable pretext for the 
 interference of the authorities and enforcement of their decree 
 was removed by arranging that the meeting which was to take 
 place should be held in the woods some five miles distant 
 from Neuchatel, one of the cantons from which Miss Booth 
 had been expelled. The invitations were, moreover, issued 
 privately, through the sergeants and friends, no public an- 
 nouncement being made. 
 
 At the appointed place and time the meeting was held. 
 Soon after its commencement the police, who had acquainted 
 themselves with the arrangements by tampering with letters 
 sent through the post, appeared upon the scene. They did 
 not, however, interrupt the proceedings, which lasted for four 
 hours. Many of the converts testified. Some of them 
 appealed to the Prefect of Police and constables, as knowing 
 what their previous character had been, and pointed their 
 attention to the reformation which had since taken place. 
 It was the first meeting that the Prefect had attended, and 
 he admitted subsequently that he had been greatly misin- 
 formed as to the character of the work, and that after what 
 he had heard he could only wish it well. At the same time 
 he announced it as his painful duty to arrest Miss Booth and 
 Captain Becquet for disobedience to the decree. Bail was 
 accepted for a few days, in order to enable Miss Booth to 
 attend the funeral of a convert at Geneva, and on the 17th 
 September, 1883, she surrendered herself to the authorities, 
 
The Army in Switzerland. 399 
 
 and was confined for twelve days in the Neuchatel prison 
 pending the trial. 
 
 The news of her daughter's imprisonment, as may be 
 readily imagined, deeply affected Mrs. Booth. Knowing 
 how unequal she was both to the nervous shock and to the 
 inevitable hardships of prison life, her mother could not but 
 anticipate the worst consequences. And yet there was no 
 sign of faltering in the following letter, written on the first 
 receipt of news of the arrest, while her daughter was on bail, 
 previous to her imprisonment : 
 
 " MY PRECIOUS KATE : It would be vain to tell you what sort of a day 
 I passed on Saturday. I suppose you could not send us any news earlier 
 than you did. Thanks be unto God that you are at liberty. My only 
 fear is your health. Oh, if it were only I who could go to prison (poorly 
 as I am) I feel I could bear it better than you. Besides, it would not 
 matter so much about the results of my case. I am almost worn out, 
 but you have life before you, and who knows how much is involved to 
 this poor lost world ? 
 
 " Well, I know you won't fret and make a trouble of it, even if you are 
 put in, because you will bear it for His sake whom we all serve, and you 
 will see that it will be for the very best interests of our cause in Switzer- 
 land. Bat what I fear is the treatment you may receive, and that you 
 will not stand up to the prison officials about keeping your warm clothes 
 and having suitable food and bedding. Kemember, your life is probably 
 at stake, and your work ! I don't think they dare deprive you of these 
 necessaries. The General wrote again to Earl Granville on Saturday 
 night and I wrote to Mr. Gladstone, appealing to him as your mother. 
 
 " I am delighted that dear Mrs. Butler is with you (though I dare say 
 the Swiss authorities hate her as much as they do us). Still, her in- 
 fluence is very valuable, and will doubtless accomplish something. At 
 any rate, I thank and bless her for her kindness and sympathy and 
 bravery. Her letter in the Standard must do a lot of good. There is a 
 long article in the Daily News this morning, very fair. Mind and keep 
 it prominent in all your letters that you dispute the lawfulness of your 
 expulsion by Swiss laiv ! I think you have done very wisely to insist on 
 the Colonel keeping free. He cannot be spared to lie in prison ! 
 
 " The attitude of some of the professing Christians here, and their 
 journals, is simply shameful. If it had been any infidel or Turk that 
 had been treated in the same manner they would all have been up in 
 arms ; but it is only the Nazarene ! As one of the native papers of 
 India said, ' You Christians won't try to save your Christ ! ' 
 
 " My darling child, hold on to God, the living God, and don't doubt 
 for one moment but that if He permits the worst to happen He will 
 
400 Mrs. Bvotk. 
 
 cause it to work for the spread of salvation to the ends of the earth. 
 There is much prayer being made for you. Fear not ; be strong and 
 very courageous, for He is with you." 
 
 To Mr. Gladstone, who was then Prime Minister, Mrs. 
 Booth addressed the following letter : 
 
 " To the Right Honourable W. E. Gladstone. 
 
 " SIR : Allow me to intrude on your valuable time for a moment in 
 order to call your attention to the perils of my daughter, Miss Booth, 
 and her companions in Switzerland, which may not have been fully pre- 
 sented to you. Six months ago, after this illegal and groundless perse- 
 cution commenced, Earl Granville promised my husband that he would 
 interfere, but, although we have made two or three applications to his 
 Lordship through Parliamentary friends since then, so far as we can see, 
 nothing has been done ! 
 
 " Now the authorities of Neuchatel are trying Miss Booth on a mere 
 pretext, and we have reason to fear an entire miscarriage of justice. 
 Miss Booth's imprisonment would probably help our cause more than 
 anything else, and but for the very delicate state of her health, consequent 
 on the very trying events of the last few months, I would not intrude on 
 your much needed privacy ; but fearing that even a short imprisonment 
 would cause a serious illness, or even fatal consequences, and thus 
 terminate her Christlike labours, I beg, with a mother's importunity, 
 your timely interference. 
 
 " You have probably seen Mrs. J. E. Butler's letter on this subject in 
 this day's Standard. Allow me also to introduce to your notice the 
 small book sent herewith, which I would hope may convey to you a true 
 idea of the genius and aim of the Salvation Army, which is simply a 
 popular mode of attracting the attention of the masses to the claims of 
 God and of goodness, so long forgotten by tens of thousands. Our 
 measures have succeeded in reaching multitudes of the worst classes, and 
 the grace of God has reclaimed thousands of them from lives of open 
 debauchery to temperance, industry, and religion. 
 
 " With deepest respect and unfeigned gratitude for all yonr hard ser- 
 vice for humanity, 
 
 " I am, honoured sir, 
 
 " Yours, on behalf of the lost, 
 
 " CATHERINE BOOTH." 
 
 To this letter Mrs. Booth received the following reply : 
 
 " 10, DOWNING ST., WHITEHALL, 
 
 " 22nd Sept., 1883. 
 
 MADAM : I have shown both your letters to Mr. Gladstone on his re- 
 turn to London. He much regrets the circumstances, as stated, respect- 
 
The Army in Switzerland. 401 
 
 ing your daughter, but he fears that he has no power to promote your 
 wishes. In a matter of this kind interference can only be limited to 
 official representation through the Foreign Minister, which Mr. Glad- 
 stone has reason to know has already been made, and in which he him- 
 self heartily concurs. 
 
 " I am, Madam, 
 
 " Your obedient servant, 
 
 " E. N. HAMILTON." 
 
 On the first day of her imprisonment Miss Booth wrote as 
 follows to her mother : 
 
 " NEUCHATEL PRISON, 
 
 " Sept. 17, 1883. 
 
 " MY DEAREST MOTHER: I hurry to write a line to put you at ease. 
 All my anxiety yesterday was about you. As to the work and myself, all 
 is well. I have a mattress, a blanket, and a shawl. The food is very 
 decent and the bread is not hard. I shall not hurt. Do be easy about 
 me and trust me with the Lord, who is working through your child a 
 wonderful deliverance for Switzerland. This is all right. God is in it. 
 If you could see our soldiers, aud how the town is awakened, with the 
 whole of this country, you would rejoice with me. God has His purpose 
 in this. 
 
 " I have learned much lately which throws light on this persecution. 
 It is wicked men who are resisting the light and truth because it touches 
 their own interests. Oh, there is an awful state of things here among 
 the rulers ! They hate Christ come in the flesh. But He is come, and 
 oh, if you could have seen our meeting Sunday afternoon in the wood ! 
 The tears, the prayers, the shouts. There is mighty work begun that 
 all the devils in hell cannot stop. My trial will probably come off in 
 seven days. I hoped it would be sooner. I shall have a chance of 
 speaking before them all ; pray that I may say the right thing. I think 
 they will expel me, but they can't keep salvation out. The fire has 
 begun and it will go on ! They have hundreds of their own people (as 
 the Journal in Geneva stated yesterday) to deal with now. What aro 
 they going to do? 
 
 " Their position is truly awful, as I shall tell them. They are fight- 
 ing against God ; they don't want their people delivered and saved. 
 But the business of the Army is to make the nations submit to Jesus. 
 We must go on, come what may. 
 
 " What I want to tell you is that my own soul has been so wonderfully 
 blessed the last few days. I am sure all is well, and will turn out for 
 the glory of God and the salvation of Switzerland. 
 
 " This is a nice quiet time in which I can write. I have much on my 
 heart. Kate Patrick is with me ; such a comfort ! as she can write, and 
 I long to put down pn paper what has been burning in my bones for 
 months, 
 
 D D 
 
402 Mrs. Booth. 
 
 " My own mother, don't worry at all. My soul is prospering ; I have 
 time to communicate with Heaven. I have no fear ; God is with us and 
 He has opened my eyes. He has revealed quite clearly His will ; now I 
 must not be disobedient to the heavenly vision. 
 
 " Your own child, living only for the Kingdom, 
 
 " CATHERINE." 
 
 While in prison Miss Booth composed the following lines ; 
 
 Best beloved of my soul, 
 
 I am here alone with Thee, 
 And my prison is a heaven 
 
 Since Thou sharest it with me. 
 
 All my life is at thy service, 
 
 All my choice to share Thy cross ; 
 I am Thine, to do or suffer ; 
 
 All things else I count but dross. 
 
 At His voice my gloom disperses ; 
 
 Heavenly sunshine takes its place. 
 Bars and bolts cannot withhold Him 
 
 Hide from me His lovely face. 
 
 Love almighty, love unchanging, 
 
 More than mother's love is mine. 
 Can my heart be ever lonely 
 
 Comforted with love like Thine ? 
 
 Calm amid the raging tempest, 
 
 We can well afford to wait ; 
 Truth and justice soon shall triumph ; 
 
 Christ our cause will vindicate. 
 
 The imprisonment of the Marechale caused a profound 
 sensation throughout Switzerland. Indeed the news was 
 telegraphed to the various Continental -capitals and was the 
 subject of considerable comment. Especially did it attract 
 attention in Paris, where she was already well known, and 
 where many, of all classes, flocked to hear and see her after 
 her return. 
 
 Meanwhile the interest centered in the court-house at 
 Boudry, where the trial took place, As the question was 
 largely one of law, the Army was represented by two able 
 advocates, members of the bar at Neuchatel. 
 
 The Public Prosecutor in opening his case fulminated 
 
The Army in Switzerland. 403 
 
 against religious fanaticism as the worst of all mental 
 diseases, and one which contributed a third of the patients 
 to the lunatic asylums. If the Army were tolerated it 
 would be necessary to enlarge their asylums. 
 
 As for himself, he was against all religious associations. 
 Voltaire, Rousseau, and other prophets of the eighteenth 
 century had come to correct these delusions. But even 
 Jesus Christ, who was perhaps the most religious man that 
 ever lived, had commanded His followers to invoke the 
 Deity in private ! He went on to show that the authorities 
 were only carrying out the wishes of the people, and even 
 of the religious classes, in suppressing the Salvation Army, 
 With the question of the legality of the decree he declared 
 that the Court had nothing to do. " What do we find before 
 us ?" he cried. " People who show the slightest signs of re- 
 pentance ? No, no ! But a handful of people who come here, 
 with a coolness and an ' at ease ' simply superb, to tell us 
 that they have done nothing wrong ; who presume to talk 
 to us about law, and to declare they are in their rights and 
 mean to stick to them ! " 
 
 But the Public Prosecutor was not a little disconcerted 
 when, in the middle of his peroration, a window suddenly 
 flew open and a gust of wind scattered his papers in all 
 directions. " It was from heaven," a voice was heard to say, 
 and so it seemed. 
 
 The lawyers of the defence having addressed the Court on 
 the legal bearing of the case, the prisoners were asked if 
 they had anything to say. Captain Becquet replied that, as 
 the prosecutor had read extracts from a pamphlet against 
 the Salvation Army, he would like to read from the Bible a 
 justification of their methods. And the Court listened 
 while he read the 150th Psalm. 
 
 As the Marechale rose, calm, confident, and self-possessed, 
 to address the judge and jury, a scene of historic interest 
 presented itself worthy of a painter's skill. The Caiaphas 
 of the occasion, a State Councillor, who instigated the prose- 
 cution, took up his position immediately opposite the girl- 
 
404 Mrs. Booth. 
 
 defendant, with a sardonic leer upon his countenance, hoping, 
 no doubt, to browbeat or confuse her. But the speaker had 
 been trained to confront something worse than looks. And 
 when do innocence and purity shine forth with greater 
 brilliance than when the powers of darkness draw near and 
 force the dullest minds to realise the contrast? Goodness 
 can bear the light which evil fears, and yet shines most 
 brightly in the darkest night. Wickedness defeats its own 
 ends, and in seeking to quench the light but sets it on a 
 candlestick. Sin unwittingly serves righteousness a good 
 turn, and when it has triumphed most and nailed a Saviour 
 to a cross, the cross but lifts the Saviour to an eminence 
 where all can see, and those who come to mock remain to 
 pray. The Boudry trial, instead of extinguishing the last 
 hopes of the Salvation Army, was to raise it higher than 
 ever out of the region of obscurity and place it on a new 
 pinnacle before the world. 
 
 The defence produced a profound impression on the Court. 
 A woman who was present, and who had been heard to say 
 before that she would like to kill Miss Booth with a pitch- 
 fork, was observed with the tears rolling down her cheeks 
 at the conclusion of the address. 
 
 A Swiss gentleman of position, M. Convert, who was tried 
 at the same time, said that, although not himself a Salva- 
 tionist, he considered it an honour to identify himself with 
 them in the struggle for liberty. 
 
 When Madame Boillot, another of the accused, was asked 
 by the Judge whether she was a Salvationist, she replied : 
 " I have the honour to be so." In her capacity as sergeant 
 she had helped to call the soldiers to the gathering. And 
 when the two other sergeants who had been placed on trial 
 were called upon to plead they nobly said that they had 
 only one request to make: if the English officers were 
 punished they begged that the same sentence might be 
 passed upon themselves. 
 
 The jury then retired to consider their verdict. Among 
 the Salvationists who filled the Court word was passed to 
 
The Army in Switzerland. 405 
 
 occupy the interval in prayer. And yet the reminder was 
 scarcely necessary. During the three days that the trial 
 had lasted the court-house had been filled with prayer and 
 praise. Irrepressible " Amens " had at times expressed the 
 pent-up feelings of the soldiers. And the happy faces and 
 bright uniforms had given the dull precincts of the law the 
 cheerful appearance of an Army Barracks at an all-day 
 festival. Never for centuries amid such surroundings had 
 there been so much plain speaking about God and heaven 
 and hell. 
 
 At length, amidst breathless silence, the Judge resumed 
 his seat, and the foreman of the jury, supported by his six- 
 colleagues, advanced to the table, and read in a firm clear 
 voice the verdict on the three points presented for their 
 decision : 
 
 1. Did the accused take part in a meeting ? Yes. 
 
 2. Was this meeting in violation of the decree? Yes. 
 
 3. Have they acted with culpable intention ? No. 
 
 The Judge in consequence pronounced the acquittal of the 
 accused, who left the Court with hearts full of praise for 
 this deliverance. 
 
 " To jail with them ! " exclaimed a young fellow who had 
 been sitting, perched upon a ledge, watching the proceedings. 
 But the words were scarcely out of his lips when his pedes- 
 tal gave way and he fell headlong on an officer of the Court, 
 and was marched off to the lock up inthe place of those for 
 whom he had desired a similar fate. 
 
 As the Salvationists left the Court they were roughly 
 handled by the mob, police protection having been purposely 
 withdrawn. But they were as impervious to cuffs and kicks 
 and stones as they had been to the perverted terrors of the 
 law, and the acquittal of their beloved Marechale filled them 
 with such unbounded joy that they felt as if they could 
 cheerfully have borne the worst that their persecutors' 
 malice could inflict. 
 
 In celebration of the acquittal a great thanksgiving meet- 
 ing was held in Exeter Hall. Miss Booth was present, and 
 
406 Mrs. Booth. 
 
 gave a thrilling account of her imprisonment and of the 
 scene in Court. It was at this meeting that Mrs. Booth 
 delivered one of her most powerful and impassioned appeals, 
 with a logic none could controvert, that the heart-change at 
 which the Army aimed was the only sure and permanent 
 hope of deliverance of mankind from the degraded and 
 dangerous condition into which they had lapsed. 
 
 Nearly nine years have elapsed since the Boudry trial. 
 In spite of persecution the work has continued to extend. 
 Soldiers and officers have been fined and imprisoned on the 
 most trivial pretexts. Captain Stirling, a young lady of 
 fortune and position, was confined in the notorious Chillon 
 Castle for a hundred days on a trumped-up charge. 
 
 Among other cartoons published by the comic papers 
 was one representing a Salvationist as being knocked down. 
 He appeals to a policeman, who promptly takes him into 
 custody for the crime of being beaten, while the assailant 
 leisurely makes off! Another cartoon pictures the Christian 
 authoress of a savage pamphlet against the Salvation Army 
 as sitting in state with her feet cushioned on the corpse of a 
 Salvationist, receiving the warm congratulations of two 
 government officials. In recognition of her services one of 
 them, a liquor-seller, is presenting her with a cask of wine, 
 as a token of his gratitude for her protection of his " lawful 
 trade." The other is offering her two volumes of sermons, 
 which he is sure she will greatly enjoy. Beer and Bible had 
 once more joined hands ! Beneath the picture were the 
 words, "The dcath-bloio to the Salvation Army!" But, as 
 usual, a speedy resurrection followed the fancied death. 
 
CHAPTER XLI. 
 BOOKS AND LETTERS. 
 
 IN the spring of 1883 Mrs. Booth delivered at the Cannon 
 Street Hotel an important series of lectures on the relations 
 of the Salvation Army to Church and State. She proved 
 clearly that, so far from being antagonistic to either the one 
 or other, the work of the Salvation Army was an important 
 auxiliary to both. To the Church it had taught, in the 
 words of the late Dr. Lightfoot, " the universal compulsion 
 of souls." To the State it was a valuable ally, instilling 
 ideas of law and order into minds that were at present 
 influenced by brute force alone. The enterprising spirit 
 which characterised business men might also be found re- 
 flected in the Salvation Army, for which Mrs. Booth claimed 
 with unanswerable force the sympathy of each and all. 
 
 The addresses have since been published in book form, 
 and to them we would refer our readers for a concise and 
 powerful demonstration of the value and need of the agency 
 of the Salvation Army in dealing with the social problems of 
 the day. While philanthropists are waiting for something 
 to arise more in harmony with their own preferences, or are- 
 labouring at great expense to devise better plans, which, 
 however excellent on paper, for some cause fail, or yield re- 
 sults altogether out of proportion to the effort, it would be 
 well for them to pause and study Mrs. Booth's weighty 
 words. 
 
 The practical experience gained by the General and her- 
 self in actual contact with the masses cannot wisely be 
 ignored by those who are themselves, from the nature of the 
 position, only distant spectators, at the best. Samson would 
 
 407 
 
408 Mrs. Booth. 
 
 doubtless have preferred a better weapon for dealing with 
 the Philistines than the contemptible "jawbone of an ass." 
 But there was no time for hesitation on the battlefield. HG 
 snatched up that which came first to hand, and with it slew 
 thousands of the enemy. Had he waited for a sword he 
 would probably have been killed. His rough weapon 
 answered the purpose, and that was all he cared about. 
 David in his encounter with Goliath might have been better 
 off. Saul's own sword and armour were placed at his service, 
 and he could doubtless have had the choice of any others in 
 the camp. But he preferred his shepherd's sling and a few 
 pebbles from the brook. His apparent insanity was justified 
 by his success. The unconventional, vulgar method won a 
 victory which the ordinary methods were able to follow up 
 and complete. 
 
 Another series of lectures by Mrs. Booth was published 
 during this year, entitled " Life and Death." These were 
 specially addressed to sinners, and pointed out with un- 
 rivalled clearness the conditions upon which alone salvation 
 could be obtained, and the character of the change that God 
 desired to work in the heart and life of man. 
 
 This year was one of constant and successful toil for Mrs. 
 Booth, who visited many of the country corps and assisted 
 the General in nearly all the fifty great demonstrations held 
 in London during this time. Expeditions were despatched 
 to New Zealand and South Africa, besides reinforcements 
 being sent to other countries. By the conclusion of the year 
 it was found that the corps had increased 'from 427 to 657, and 
 the officers from 1026 to 1657. 
 
 The year had, however, a sorrowful termination for Mrs. 
 Booth in the death of her valued and faithful friend Mrs. 
 Billups, with whom, for a period of over twenty years, she 
 had kept up a correspondence from which we have been able 
 so frequently to quote. The last illness had been a lingering 
 and painful one. But it had been cheered by regular visits 
 from the Army officers, meetings being constantly held in 
 the sick-chamber, and the General and Mrs. Booth themselves 
 
 \ 
 
Books and Letters. 409 
 
 spending some time with the sufferer. The soldiers of the 
 Cardiff Corps would gather in her garden to sing the songs 
 she so loved, while Mrs. Billups was able through the open 
 window to convey to them her dying messages urging them 
 to faithfulness and utmost consecration to the service of God. 
 
 Hearing that a change for the worse had taken place Mrs. 
 Booth hurried to her friend's bedside, desiring to be with her 
 at the last. " I wish I could stop to the end," Mrs. Booth 
 writes. "She so clings to me for comfort, and the Lord is 
 very good in enabling me to lift her spiritually. She re- 
 joiced aloud this morning in the midst of extreme suffering. 
 Her loss will never be made up to me." 
 
 But Mrs. Billups rallied again, and yet again, lingering for 
 some weeks, so that Mrs. Booth was obliged to leave her. 
 The end came suddenly at last. " Faithful unto death," she 
 left behind her the memory of a life crowded with benevo- 
 lences. Though naturally of a fearing and doubting disposi- 
 tion she was enabled, in spite of the severest pain, to 
 triumph, and triumph gloriously, in the assurance of the 
 Saviour's presence and of an abundant entrance into her 
 eternal home. According to her last wish, Mrs. Billups 
 received an Army funeral. The service was conducted by 
 the General, and in spite of the inclement weather thousands 
 of people lined the road and crowded to the cemetery, the 
 public hall being filled at night for the special memorial 
 meeting. It was a deeply affecting season, and yet there was 
 a calm depth of joy intermingling with the grief which 
 forced many to say: "Blessed are the dead that die in the 
 Lord." 
 
 The new year (1884) commenced t with a surprise for both 
 the Army and the world, or, rather, that portion of it which 
 knew anything of the inner workings of the Salvation Army. 
 Few who heard the news could believe that Commissioner 
 Railton had at length found time to get married ! It was 
 eleven years since he had entered the ranks. And during 
 this time he had toiled night and day, more like an em- 
 bodied spirit than a genuine piece of flesh and blood. 
 
410 Mrs. Booth. 
 
 But, after all, marriage was thoroughly in keeping with 
 the Army creed. True, celibacy, under certain circum- 
 stances, and to meet unusual exigencies, is considered both 
 lawful and commendable. Nevertheless, in this, as in other 
 steps of a personal nature, the individual conscience is 
 allowed the fullest exercise, the rules and regulations only 
 dealing with the character of the alliance and the manner in 
 which it is entered upon. 
 
 As might be expected, Mr. Railton chose for a partner in 
 life a thorough Salvationist. The bride, Miss Deborah 
 Parkyn. daughter of a Nonconformist minister, was a ser- 
 geant of the Torquay Corps. She had been conspicuous as 
 the leader of a timbrel band, as a persistent War Cry 
 seller, and for her dauntless courage in the open-air work. 
 
 The wedding ceremony took place at Exeter Hall, and 
 was conducted by the General and Mrs. Booth. The General, 
 in terms of the highest appreciation and affection, bore 
 testimony to Commissioner Hailton's unity of purpose with 
 himself, his unwavering devotion to the cause, and his in- 
 defatigable toil on behalf of souls during the past eleven 
 years of service. 
 
 The occasion was then seized for pointing the assembled 
 crowds to holiness and consecration. Mr. Railton used the 
 " I will " of his marriage vows as the text for urging each 
 one present to say a fresh "I will" to God, and to give 
 themselves away in uttermost surrender for the salvation of 
 a dying world. 
 
 The work in Australasia was now assuming such dimen- 
 sions that it became necessary to set someone apart to visit 
 the colonies, with a view to the supervision and consolida- 
 tion of the work. It was impossible for the General or Mrs. 
 Booth to leave England, where events of pressing importance 
 required their continual supervision. It was decided, 
 accordingly, that Mr. Ballington Booth should be appointed 
 for this important post. 
 
 He had baen for four years in charge of the men's wing of 
 the Training Home, a position which he had filled with 
 
Books and Letters. 411 
 
 admirable tact and vigour. Young as he was, the lads 
 looked up to him as their father, and would do anything for 
 him. His sister, Miss Emma Booth, was in charge of the 
 women's wing of the Training Home. The two had worked 
 in happy harmony and had sent into the fields hundreds of 
 devoted and soul-winning officers. It seemed a thousand 
 pities to disturb so admirable an arrangement. But it was 
 evident that something must be sacrificed somewhere, in the 
 interests of the foreign field, and certainly it would have 
 been difficult to find one more admirably suited for the task. 
 It so happened, too, that his brother Herbert was now old 
 enough to step into the vacant place, and had developed 
 abilities which showed him to be well fitted for the trust so 
 that the advantage of brother and sister working together 
 would be still retained. 
 
 After a brief visit to the Continent, Mr. Ballington Booth 
 started for Australia, accompanied by Major (afterwards 
 Commissioner) Howard, who was appointed to the command 
 of the Australian forces on the return of Mr. Booth to Eng- 
 land the following year. Upon their arrival they were 
 gratified to find that the reports which had previously 
 reached them were by no means exaggerated and that the 
 recent progress had been marvellous, in spite of riotous 
 opposition on the part of " larrikins," the Australian counter- 
 part of the English rough. 
 
 Commander Ballington Booth was received by the Austra- 
 lians in the warm-hearted, generous fashion so peculiarly 
 their own. They had longed for a glimpse of the General 
 and Mrs. Booth, and welcomed eagerly one of their children 
 as their representative. And when they had seen and heard 
 him for themselves, his large sympathies, quick wit, and 
 ready tact enabled him to sweep away objections and pre- 
 judice, and to establish a still firmer footing for the Army in 
 their hearts. Soon after his arrival he writes as follows to 
 his mother : 
 
 "Mr DARLING MOTHER: Do not for the world think I forget yon, and 
 I should grieve if I thought you felt I neglected you. There is no one I 
 
412 Mrs. Booth. 
 
 am more reminded of in gatherings, whether large or small, in barracks 
 or drawing-rooms, than of you, my mother. Your books, Crys contain- 
 ing your addresses, some tidings or other of you, have found their way 
 into the mansions and cottages alike. People love you, talk of you, pray 
 for you, and I have often to weep tears of gratitude when I hear them 
 speak of the good they have received from your works. Sometimes they 
 Bay to me, ' Do you think we shall ever see her ? ' Then I perhaps 
 reply, ' I cannot say ; the Lord in His good time may strengthen her 
 sufficiently to make the voyage.' And some of thsm are overjoyed at 
 the prospect. 
 
 " Forget you ?' No! Not an hour. I needn't go to my case to 
 tarn to your dear photo (which, by-the-bye, is a good one, and which I 
 have no small pride in showing people, while in ecstasy I watch the 
 glisten in their eyes). No ! No ! each part of your sainted face is too 
 strongly photographed upon my heart to allow of my forgetting you. 
 But oh, I wish how I wish you were here, or I were there, with you in 
 that sacred room of yours ! I would pour out my story, or a succession 
 of stories, to you, just as a son every now and again wants to do and is 
 all the better for doing. You cannot tell how I miss you. My love for 
 you seems so to have increased that I love my Bible more because of 
 the thought that it is your book, Christ more because He is your Saviour, 
 and I feel God is better honoured and served because He is your God. I 
 miss you ! Miss your room, and the morning call in on the way down to 
 breakfast. I always reckoned myself your lad, you know, and always 
 felt I loved you as I was incapable of expressing to you ! " 
 
 In replying to this letter Mrs. Booth says : 
 
 " MY PRECIOUS BOY : Yours to me of October 22nd from Melbourne is 
 to hand, and I was delighted to receive it. I am more than glad to hear 
 of your thoughts of me and love for me, though I feel very unworthy of 
 some of the things you say. Nevertheless, I have loved you with a true 
 mother's, and I trust with a trne soldier's love, and it is an unspeakable 
 joy to me that you are being true to God and being used of Him in push- 
 ing forward this great war. By what you say, you make me feel that I 
 have some loving children and soldiers out there. Give my motherly 
 and salvation love to all who love the Army, and tell them that they are 
 remembered daily in our prayers, and that, being Salvationists, we can- 
 not be strangers. We meet in the one great centre of all true union, 
 our living Head. 
 
 " Emma says she misses you more than she thought she should. She 
 has developed wonderfully as a speaker, and captivates the people every- 
 where. If sbe would only give a little attention to the cultivation of her 
 powers she would become a wonderful woman. But she is absorbed for 
 ever and ever in the work of that Training Home and Eva too. How- 
 ever, we must leave the future with the Lord, and go on doing what we 
 can as best we can. 
 
Books and Letters. 413 
 
 " Bless you, my dear lad ! The Lord keep you in all your ways ! It 
 rejoices my heart to hear that your soul prospers, and that you think of 
 and pray for us all. Our hearts are sore for the loss of you. But we feel 
 it is for the Kingdom's sake." 
 
 It was in the autumn of 1884 that Mrs. Booth delivered, 
 in Prince's Hall, Piccadilly, perhaps the most powerful and 
 heart-searching series of lectures which she had hitherto 
 addressed to any audience. The apathy of professing 
 Christians had for some time deeply stirred her soul. Their 
 needs were burnt in upon her heart. Their sins and short- 
 comings had caused her bitterest tears. Choosing for her 
 subject " Popular Christianity," she proceeded to deal blow 
 upon blow to the religious idols of the day, and to pour out in 
 burning and impassioned language her sense of God's abhor- 
 rence for the nerveless, sinewless, powerless representation 
 of the religion of Christ which so largely prevailed. 
 
 A deep and lasting impression was produced upon many 
 hearts by these services, but it was not till some years later 
 that Mrs. Booth consented to the addresses being printed. 
 " I feared," she explains in her preface, " that in cold type 
 they might produce an impression of censoriousness which 
 was not possible when, as I believe, assisted by the Spirit of 
 God, I dealt with my hearers on these burning topics face to 
 face. During my last illness, however, I became deeply 
 convinced that it was my duty to let these utterances, such 
 as they are, go forth, irrespective of consequences, in the 
 hope of reaching a greater number of persons similarly 
 circumstanced with those to whom they were originally 
 spoken, many of whom professed to have received great per- 
 sonal blessing, with increased light and power for useful- 
 ness." 
 
 The book was more favourably received than Mrs. Booth 
 anticipated, and has already passed through three editions. 
 We have had occasion to quote more than once from its 
 pages, and would urge our readers to turn to them for the 
 explosion of many of the popular religious fallacies of the 
 
CHAPTER XLII. 
 THE PURITY AGITATION. 1885. 
 
 VICE is without doubt the most hideous thing in the 
 universe. The Cain's brand on its forehead is its ugliness. 
 If it could see itself it would surely commit suicide. But it 
 dare not face a mirror. Its very existence depends upon its 
 being masked. Like the white ant, it is obliged to work 
 under cover or it could not live. So intolerable is it to the 
 human eye that there is not a nation under the sun which 
 does not repress its outward manifestations, and compel it 
 more or less to conceal its identity. The heathen are even 
 ahead of Christians in this respect, and would be shocked 
 to tolerate some things that Christendom allows. Every- 
 where alike vice is compelled to " hide its diminished head." 
 The slum and prison for the poor, the mansion for the rich, 
 must conceal from the sight and memory of humanity that 
 which, if dragged before our eyes, the universal conscience 
 must condemn. 
 
 And no wonder. For the dividing line between vice and 
 crime is thin their connection intimate. Vice could not 
 exist without crime, and crime without' vice would dry up 
 like a sourceless river. Indeed, in nine cases out of ten vice 
 is crime, and crime in its worst form is but the natural 
 development of vice. Crime is the fruit of which vice is the 
 prolific root. Vice is the spawn from which crime breeds 
 and germinates. We cultivate the spawn, while we seek 
 to destroy its natural result ! We cast the fruit into the 
 flames and provide a hothouse for the plant or allow others 
 to do so, which is almost the same. Vice is free to carry on 
 its trade, but it must dispense with its chloroform, its 
 
The Purity Agitation. 415 
 
 bullies, and its keys. It must select for its victims the 
 voiceless, influenceless poor. It must not force, but it may 
 spread its dazzling enticements in the path of foolish youth. 
 Its cobweb may be spun throughout the land. There must 
 be equal liberty to catch and to be caught. Law must be 
 made to deal with crime and not with vice, or if with vice 
 it must be on the mole-killers' principle, 
 
 "Who catch enough to earn the farmer's pay, 
 And leave enough to come another day ! " 
 
 The meshes of the law must be made narrow enough to 
 enclose the criminal, and wide enough to let the vicious 
 through. And when the net is cast it must be in the well- 
 dragged pools of povert}^. The waters of wealth must be free 
 from the encroachments and poachments of the law. 
 
 But hidden vice is far from being virtue, though society 
 too often appears willing to accept the brazen fraud. To 
 cover a disease is not to cure it. The toadstool will remain 
 a toadstool still. All the manuring in the world will not 
 convert it into a mushroom, however closely it may be 
 made to resemble one. There is as much poison in the one 
 as there is food in the other. 
 
 There is only one safe way to deal with vice, and that 
 is to extirpate it root and branch. The covering-up policy 
 has been attempted long enough. Society must attach to 
 vice penalties that will make the weight of its displeasure 
 felt. The Continental governments are beginning to awake 
 to this. They are finding out that it is no small evil to 
 deliver the youth and beauty of the land to this wretched 
 vampire that sucks the very life-blood from the nation, and 
 fans it into deadly sleep till the last drop is drawn. 
 
 From the time when Mrs. Booth had interested herself in 
 the work of the Midnight movement her heart had been 
 particularly drawn out on behalf of the fallen outcasts of 
 society, who, often more sinned against than sinning, 
 appealed peculiarly to her large and tender sympathies. 
 More than once she had found opportunity for extending 
 help to individual cases of misfortune and distress, obtain- 
 
Mrs. Booth. 
 
 ing homes for some of the children, and assisting tho 
 mothers to win their way back to the paths of virtue. 
 
 It was not, however, till 1884 that a systematic effort 
 was organised on their behalf. Touched by the helpless and 
 pitiable position of some girls who had sought salvation at 
 her corps, and who were sincerely desirous to reform, the 
 wife of an Army soldier threw her home open for their 
 reception. It was soon crowded to its utmost capacity and 
 still others were clamouring for admission. Recognising in 
 this the finger of God calling them to enter upon this par- 
 ticular field of enterprise, the leaders of the Army forthwith 
 engaged a larger house and opened it, the first Rescue 
 Home, placing it under the personal supervision of Mrs. 
 Bramwell Booth. And thus, upon the foundation of this 
 single Salvationist's love and faith and toil, was reared a 
 work which has since extended to all quarters of the globe 
 and been the means of restoring thousands of wanderers to 
 the paths of virtue. 
 
 Through the women who sought refuge in this Home 
 heartrending tales of diabolical villany and cruelty were 
 poured into the ear of Mrs. Bramwell Booth. Such was the 
 effect that these exercised upon her mind that for some 
 months she found it all but impossible to go about her 
 ordinary business. Her days were darkened w r ith a great 
 horror, and her nights filled with agony of soul because of 
 the slaughter of the innocents. It was vain that her hus- 
 band sought to comfort her with the assurance that the 
 stories could not be true ; that the class. with whom she was 
 dealing were proverbial liars, and that at least they had 
 grossly exaggerated the character of their troubles. At 
 length, more with the idea of comforting her than of any- 
 thing else, Mr. Bramwell Booth undertook to look personally 
 into some of the cases. He met them and heard what they 
 had to say. Still incredulous, he made careful enquiries 
 into the circumstantial details which they had given. Not 
 only were their statements verified, but further discoveries 
 of a still more atrocious character were incidentally made. 
 
The Purity Agitation. 417 
 
 A somewhat startling incident occurred at this time 
 which helped to confirm him in his determination not to 
 rest till some effectual redress had been obtained. He had 
 gone as usual to the Headquarters one morning, when he 
 was informed that, at the hoar of opening the doors, a young 
 girl had been found waiting for admission who told a 
 piteous tale. Deeply interested as he was in the subject, 
 Mr. Bramwell Booth sent for her at once to his office. Her 
 youth, her innocence and distress appealed to him. 
 
 She was only seventeen. A simple country girl, she had 
 been brought up by her grandparents, who were poor, but 
 thoroughly respectable people. Thinking it was time for 
 her to enter service, they had sent her up to London in 
 answer to an advertisement. Received with the utmost 
 kindness fry the lady of the house, it was not for some days 
 that she discovered that she had been entrapped into a 
 brothel. Escape was well-nigh impossible, so jealously 
 were her movements watched. Nor did she know where 
 to go. Without a single friend in the city, her position 
 was indeed a dreadful one. She hoped, moreover, that it 
 might be possible for her to work as a servant without pur- 
 suing the dreadful calling in which the other inmates of the 
 house were engaged. 
 
 During the previous night, to escape the attentions of a 
 " gentleman " visitor at the house, she had barricaded her- 
 self in the kitchen. Reduced to the uttermost despair, she 
 had suddenly remembered that in her box was a Salvation 
 Army hymn-book with the address of the Headquarters 
 upon it. She was sure Mr. Booth was a good man, and 
 believed that if she could only get to him he would help her. 
 It was not till four o'clock in the morning that the last of 
 the visitors had departed and all had settled for sleep. 
 Armed with her hymn-book she then slipped out, opened a 
 back window, climbed down, and made her escape, still 
 arrayed in the fancy dress which had been given to her by her 
 mistress. It was a long trudge from Pimlico to Queen 
 Victoria Street. But, inquiring her way from policemen, 
 
 E E 
 
4i 8 Mrs. 'Booth. 
 
 the girl at length arrived, and waited for the opening of the 
 doors. 
 
 Mr. Booth was deeply moved by so affecting a narrative. 
 The girl was immediately admitted to the Rescue Home, 
 while enquiries were made which fully proved the truth of 
 all that she had said. 
 
 Mrs. Booth shared to the full the indignation with which 
 her son and daughter viewed the existing condition of things, 
 and urged them on to take such steps as would best be cal- 
 culated to meet the evil. Friends who had been for some 
 time familiar with the subject were consulted. Foremost 
 among these, Mrs. Booth turned to Mrs. Josephine Butler, 
 whose past devotion and labour in this painful branch of 
 Christian effort were beyond all praise. Having written to 
 her upon the subject she received the following heart-stirring 
 reply : 
 
 "Mr DEAR FRIEND : It was very kind of you to write to me. "With 
 regard to your suggestion that we should hold more popular meetings, I 
 
 must explain to you a little the past history of our cause. 
 * * # * 
 
 "You thought I looked depressed. No, I am never depressed now. I 
 never feel anything but confidence concerning this cause, for it is God's. 
 But, dear friend, my earlier life was full of sorrow indeed, of tragedy. 
 I have gone through seas of trouble and strange suffering. I am happier 
 as I get older. The joy which God gives me overwhelms even the awful 
 memories of the past. I sometimes regret that I have not that counten- 
 ance of joy which is so powerful an argument for the Christian's faith 
 and so attractive to the young. But you know how early sorrow leaves 
 its mark indelibly on the features, although the peace and joy are evident 
 to those who live with one. Some day I want, to write to you of some of 
 that opening of the jaws of hell which God called me to witness. 
 
 " You said in your address that but for the grace of God you would 
 have felt desperate anger at those unjust and wicked men. I had to 
 endure all that before the grace of God was in my heart, and even after 
 while it was not strong enough to overcome the fire of wrath within 
 me. For months and years I longed to bathe my hands in blood, 
 was on the point of becoming an assassin of assassins. Vengeance, hor- 
 ror and hatred devoured my soul. God seemed blotted out. What I 
 knew and saw shook my hold upon Him. Demons seemed to govern 
 this world. My dreams at night were of murder and violence. I hated 
 with a hatred which broke my heart and drove me from God. I was a 
 murderess in my heart, through vengeance. But at last God so thorough- 
 
The Purity Agitation. 419 
 
 ly broke my heart with despair that I gave up, and lefi the matter with 
 Him. What we see and read of in England does not half come up to 
 what I have seen abroad. One instance will be enough to show you 
 what I mean. Some time I will give you it ; and then multiply that by 
 ten thousand and think if it is surprising that I should look depressed." 
 
 Only too well satisfied in her own mind of the existence 
 and extent of the evil, Mrs. Booth nevertheless saw the im- 
 portance of having such facts at her disposal as would 
 corroborate her statements when pressing the matter home 
 upon others. Further investigations were accordingly 
 commenced under the immediate supervision of Mr. Bram- 
 well Booth, who at the cost of nerve and strength, and with 
 infinite toil and patience, followed up some of the clues 
 which had been obtained. A mass of information on the 
 subject was thus accumulated, sufficient to abundantly con- 
 firm the previous statements. 
 
 The idea of bringing public sentiment to bear upon the 
 question naturally presented itself. But this was a course 
 which was viewed with reluctance. The character of the 
 evil was such that publicity was for many reasons to be 
 deprecated. Moreover, there was in the journalistic world 
 a widespread conspiracy of silence, and it was doubtful 
 whether any newspaper of sufficient weight could be found 
 which would be willing to ventilate the subject, or plead the 
 cause in the hearty manner necessary to ensure success. 
 
 There was, however, one exception ; there might have 
 been others, but one at least had proved that he could speak 
 and speak with the assurance of a sympathetic echo. 
 The former editor of the Northern Echo, Mr. W. T. Stead, 
 to whom we have already at some length referred, was at 
 the time in London as editor of the Pall Mall Gazette. The 
 chivalrous spirit by which the Army leaders knew him to be 
 animated induced them to place their information at his 
 disposal, and to invite him to enquire for himself into the 
 truth of the evils which were alleged to exist. 
 
 At first Mr. Stead was as incredulous as others had been, 
 and disposed to treat the reports as having been exaggerated. 
 
420 Mrs. Booth. 
 
 Mr. Bramwell Booth invited 1dm to meet Mr. Benjamin 
 Scott, the City Chamberlain, who was specially familiar with 
 ihe details of one branch of this iniquity the Continental 
 traffic. Mr. Stead consented. After discussing the matter 
 for some little time, and fully confirming, from facts that 
 were in his possession, the statements made by Mr. Booth, Mr. 
 Scott was obliged to leave. Conviction forced itself slowly 
 upon Mr. Stead's mind. It was with difficulty that he could 
 restrain his emotions. The two men, both in the prime of 
 life not too old to be enthusiastic, not so young as to be 
 rashly led away by their feelings were left alone in the 
 room. There was a momentary pause. Mr. Booth waited to 
 see what his friend would say. The silence was painful. 
 At length ? raising his clenched hand in the air, Mr. Stead 
 brought it down upon the table with a force that made the 
 inkpots dance, while he gave vent to his emotions in a cry 
 of pain. The one word, "DAMN! " rang through the rocm. 
 Then the two men grasped each other's hands, and vowed 
 upon their knees before God that they would not rest until 
 something had been done to expose and remedy the evil. 
 
 Not satisfied with the evidence already gained, Mr. Stead 
 formed at once a secret commission of enquiry, an amateur 
 detective force, which should familiarise itself with every 
 detail of the traffic, and, trusting nothing to hearsay, should 
 learn from the very lips of those engaged in the business the 
 extent and nature of their operations. The manner in which 
 Mr. Stead carried out his investigations it is not our pro- 
 vince to describe. The noble spirit which animated him 
 posterity will recognize, and his name will doubtless be 
 handed down as ranking high among the true benefactors of 
 mankind. He had everything to lose, nothing to gain, by 
 the course that he pursued. In the first place, it required 
 no little courage to stir up such a hornet's nest. The men 
 who did so must be prepared to carry their lives in their 
 hands and risk the vengeance of those with whose gains and 
 pleasures they dared to interfere. Money was no object to 
 the inhuman patrons of the trade, one of whom made it his 
 
77/6' Purity Agitation. 421 
 
 boast that lie had been the means of casting two thousand 
 innocent girls upon the streets, whilst another had given a 
 standing order to a single agency for seventy new victims 
 every year. 
 
 The devices by which they were entrapped, the bribes and 
 subterfuges for the evasion of the existing law, the sickening 
 details of the cruelties practised, it is impossible here to re- 
 peat. Suffice it to say that the dismal horrors then dis- 
 covered were of such a character as to baffle description. 
 
 But the law. Was there no remedy for dealing with 
 these atrocities ? Nay, here was the loophole of the crimi- 
 nals. The law recognised the right of } T oung girls above the 
 age of thirteen to dispose of themselves, however ignorant 
 ihey might be of the consequences. The ranks of vice were 
 largely recruited by means of guileless girls, who, lured by 
 promises of money, clothes, or situations, and ignorant of 
 what they were doing, were enticed to sell their birthright 
 for a mess of pottage. It was obviously necessary to raise 
 the age of consent. 
 
 Three times the House of Lords, to its eternal credit be 
 it said, had passed a bill for the amendment of the 
 criminal law upon the subject, and as often the House 
 of Commons, to its eternal shame, had blocked the scheme. 
 Every effort had been made to rouse these legislators 
 from their apathy. Not that there was any reasonable 
 ground to doubt the facts. The Lords Committee, which 
 sat for ten months in order to enquire into this dreadful 
 slavery, through Lord Dalhousie stated, that it "sur- 
 passed in arrant villany and rascality any other trade in 
 human beings in am*- part t>f the world, in ancient or modern 
 times." Lord Shaftesbury, who was one of the Committee, 
 affirmed "that anything more horrible, or anything approach- 
 ing the wickedness and cruelty perpetrated in these dens of 
 infamy in Brussels, it was impossible to imagine." Lord 
 Dalhousie further stated that " upwards of twenty procurers 
 had been at work in England, to the knowledge of the police, 
 since 1875." And yet a majority in the House of Commons, 
 
422 Mrs. Booth. 
 
 for reasons best known to themselves, stubbornly refused 
 for five long years to act upon the information they had 
 received ! 
 
 For Mrs. Booth to know of the existence of an evil was to 
 seek to remedy it. While the enquiries above described 
 were being prosecuted, it occurred to her, among other 
 plans, that the occasion was a fitting opportunity for pre- 
 senting a direct appeal to Her Majesty the Queen. Knowing 
 the personal interest manifested by Her Majesty in the 
 welfare of her subjects, and assured that the woes and suffer- 
 ings of these, her weak and injured daughters, could not fail 
 to excite her deepest sympathy, Mrs. Booth addressed the 
 following letter to the Queen : 
 
 11 May it please your Majesty : 
 
 " My heart has been so filled with distress and apprehension on ac- 
 count of the rejection by the House of Commons of the Bill for the Pro- 
 tection of Young Girls from the consequences of male profligacy, that, 
 on behalf of tens of thousands of the most pitiable and helpless of your 
 Majesty's subjects, I venture to address you. 
 
 " First, I would pray that your Majesty will cause the Bill to be re- 
 introduced during the present session of Parliament ; and, 
 
 " Secondly, I would pray that your Majesty will be graciously pleased 
 to insist on the limit of age being fixed at sixteen. 
 
 " I feel sure that if your Majesty could only be made acquainted with 
 the awful sacrifice of infant purity, health, and happiness, to the vices 
 of evil-minded men who oppose the raising of the age, your mother's 
 heart would bleed with pity. 
 
 " The investigation, in connection with our operations throughout 
 the kingdom, of cases continually transpiring brings to our knowledge 
 appalling evidence of the enormity of the crimes.daily perpetrated ; crimes 
 such as must, ere long, if something is not done, undermine our 
 whole social fabric and bring down the judgment of God upon our 
 nation. 
 
 " If I could only convey to your Majesty an idea of the tenth part of 
 the demoralisation, shame and suffering entailed on thousands of the 
 children of the poor by the present state of the law on tbis subject I 
 feel sure that your womanly feelings would be roused to indignation, and 
 that your Majesty would make the remaining years of your glorious 
 reign (which I fervently pray will be many) even more illustrious than 
 those that are past, by going off merely conventional lines in order to 
 save the female children of your people from a fate worse than that of 
 slaves or savages. 
 
The Purity Agitation. 423 
 
 " May He who is the Avenger of the oppressed incline tl e heart of 
 your Majesty to come to His help in this matter, prays 
 " Yours, on hehalf of the innocents, 
 
 " CATHERINE BOOTH." 
 
 To this Her Majesty sent the following reply : 
 
 " The Dowager Duchess "Roxburgh presents her compliments to Mrs. 
 Booth, and is desired by the Queen to acknowledge Mrs. Booth's letter of 
 the 3rd instant, and to say that Her Majesty, fully sympathising with 
 Mrs. Booth on the painful subject to which it refers, has already had 
 communication thereon with a lady closely connected with the 
 Government, to whom Mrs. Booth's letter will be immediately for- 
 warded." 
 
 Hopeful, however, as were this and other replies which 
 Mrs. Booth received to her letters, the adoption of any definite 
 remedial measures continued to be delayed. The House of 
 Commons was too much absorbed with matters relating to 
 property and taxes to find time to concern itself about the 
 beauty of England's womanhood, who lay in slaughtered 
 thousands upon the high places of the field. It became 
 evident that little or nothing would be accomplished unless 
 the final stimulus which springs from public opinion were 
 applied. The iron which when cold, or even warm, would 
 not yield to the most skilful hammer's thrice-repeated blows, 
 when plunged into the flames and tempered to white heat 
 would readily accept the moulding will. There was one 
 card left to play : the trump card of publicity. It had been 
 kept back in the lingering hope that the Government would 
 not require this last impetus. But at length, with a dra- 
 matic effect only increased by the delay, it was flung down, 
 and it had barely touched the table when it was evident to 
 all that the battle was won. 
 
 And now followed one of those mighty moral upheavals 
 which require to be witnessed to be understood. For once, 
 the national conscience was aroused. More than aroused ; it 
 was lashed to fury at the discovery of atrocities perpetrated 
 with impunity beneath the very shadow of the law. Vice, 
 caught unawares and stripped of all its pageantry, was 
 
424 Mrs. -Booth. 
 
 dragged remorselessly from its dark hiding-place and pil- 
 loried before the public gaze. What the servants of the law 
 were paid to do but would not do, or dared not do, the Chris- 
 tian enterprise of those who were ready, in the cause of 
 humanity, to risk their own life and reputation was destined 
 to accomplish. Well might the world go nearly mad at the 
 hideous revelations contained in the " Maiden Tribute of 
 Modern Babylon," which, coming from the able pen of Mr. 
 Stead, stirred so profoundly public sentiment. 
 
 A drop of the polluted waters only a drop was thrown 
 through virtue's lantern upon the sheet before the public 
 gaze. Child-slavery, arch-villany, refined cruelty, and super- 
 lative brutality were thrust into the journalistic pillory, and 
 held up for the universal execration of mankind. 
 
 Realising the magnitude of the opportunity, and deter- 
 mined to make the utmost use of the rising tide of public 
 opinion, the General organised mass-meetings in London and 
 throughout the provinces, where Mrs. Booth poured forth 
 her pent-up indignation on immense and enthusiastic aud- 
 iences. Powerful with her pen, Mrs. Booth was well-nigh 
 irresistible upon the platform, especially on a subject which 
 had so deeply stirred her inmost soul. Some interesting 
 references to these gatherings are made in the following 
 letters to her daughter Emma, who was then in Switzer- 
 land. 
 
 "Ob, how wicked the world is ! Bramwell and Stead have been en- 
 gaged on some investigations about the child prostitution of London, and 
 their discoveries are awful. I wrote the Queen' on Thursday about it, 
 and received a most gracious reply. I have never known anything take 
 such hold of Bramwell for years. I told him I never felt so proud of 
 him in my life. But all this on the top of our other work is killing. 
 However, I have felt better the last few days." 
 
 Writing again on the day previous to the publication of 
 the ' : Maiden Tribute/' Mrs. Booth says : 
 
 " The first article is coming out in the Pall Mall to-morrow. It will 
 cause a shaking ! And time it did ! These fiends perpetrating such 
 hellish crimes as these ! It is a \vouder tint the people do not lynch 
 
The Purity Agitation. 425 
 
 them and barn their houses about their ears ! It has made me feel 
 awful sometimes while the investigations have been going on. We have 
 got some of the children in our keeping! Pray that we may be able to 
 burst up this machinery of hell." 
 
 It was at this crisis that Mrs. Booth addressed a second 
 letter to Her Majesty the Queen : 
 
 " Your Majesty will be aware that since your last communication to me 
 some heart-reading disclosures have been made with respect to the pain- 
 ful subject on which I ventured to address you. It seems probable that 
 some effective legislation will be .the result, for which the multitudes 
 of your Majesty's subjects in the Salvation Army will be deeply 
 grateful. 
 
 "Nevertheless, legislation will not effect what requires to be done- 
 Nothing but the most desperate, systematic, and determined effort, moral 
 and spiritual, can meet the case, and it would be a great encouragement 
 to thousands of those engaged in this struggle if your Majesty would 
 at this juncture graciously send us a word of sympathy and encourage- 
 ment to be read at our mass meetings in different parts of the king- 
 dom, the first of which takes place on Thursday evening next at Exeter 
 Hall. 
 
 "Allow me to add that it would cheer your Majesty to hear the re- 
 sponses of immense audiences in different parts of the land when it ha^ 
 been intimated that the heart of your Majesty beats in sympathy with 
 this effort to protect and rescue the juvenile daughters of your people. 
 
 " Praying for your Majesty's peace and prosperity, 
 " I have the honour to be, 
 
 " Yonr Majesty's loyal and devoted servant, 
 
 " CATHERINE BOOTH." 
 
 To this letter Her Majesty sent the following reply : 
 
 " The Dowager Marchioness of Ely presents her compliments to Mrs. 
 Booth, and begs leave to assure her that her letter, addressed to the 
 Queen, has received Her Majesty's careful consideration. Lady Ely 
 need scarcely tell Mrs. Booth that the Queen feels very deeply on the 
 subject to which her letter refers, but Her Majesty has been advised that 
 it would not be desirable for the Queen to express any opinion upon a 
 matter which forms at present the object of a measure before Parlia- 
 ment." 
 
 But perhaps the crowning effort of the campaign was the 
 organising by the General of a monster petition to the House 
 of Commons. So overwhelming was the response to his 
 appeal that within the short space of seventeen days no less 
 
426 Mrs. Booth. 
 
 than 343,000 signatures were obtained. Coiled up in an 
 immense roll, measuring in length two miles, bound together 
 and draped with the Army colours, the petition was placed 
 upon a large open wagon and escorted in the direction of 
 Westminster to the point beyond which public demonstra- 
 tions are not allowed to proceed. It was then driven to the 
 entrance of the Houses of Parliament, where it was carried 
 by eight stalwart uniformed Salvationists and deposited upon 
 the floor of the House of Commons. It was a unique and 
 impressive spectacle, the members rising to their feet spon- 
 taneously to view the unwonted scene. 
 
 Thus within the very precincts of the Nation's legislature, 
 as well as through the length and breadth of the land, the 
 wail of trampled innocence and womanhood was voiced. An 
 angry nation thundered at the gates and demanded instant- 
 aneous vindication of the law. The spectacle was sublime. 
 Righteous indignation, that grandest echo of the God in 
 man when humanity rises in self-forgetfulness to its 
 stature's utmost height, every nerve, every sinew of its 
 being stretched in simultaneous action grand in an 
 individual, never looked more nationally grand. With 
 sparkling eyes and beating heart, and cheeks crimsoned 
 with honest shame, all that was true and noble in England's 
 life and homes stood forth to demand justice, deliverance, 
 and protection for the girlhood of the land. 
 
 It was in vain that some in power whined and whimpered 
 that there was " no law " ; that while property was guarded 
 by a bayonet-fence, unprotected maidenhood could sell the 
 priceless birthright of her virtue to the first villain who was 
 clever enough to deceive her artless innocence and base 
 enough to fling his ruined victim on the streets. If such 
 was law, then law must be mended ; and mended it was, 
 with a celerity unequalled in the history of England's law- 
 making. The Criminal Law Amendment Act, raising the 
 age of consent to 16, was carried through Parliament in a 
 way which showed what could be done if those who ought to 
 do it would. 
 
CHAPTER XLIII. 
 THE GREAT DUST TRICK. 1885. 
 
 BUT the battle with the harpies and their Minotaur allies 
 had not ended yet. The last scene in the drama had still to 
 be played. More strange, more incredible, more audaciousty 
 impossible than could have been imagined, was the solemn 
 farce that was to be enacted on the public stage. It was an 
 outrage alike on virtue and on common sense, and posterity 
 will cover the actors in the discreditable cause with shame, 
 and will wonder that men of honour could be found who 
 would be willing to sacrifice the dignity of the law in going 
 through the great transparent legal pantomime. 
 
 A Balaclava charge, a cloud of dust, dust in the Parlia- 
 ment, dust in the law courts, dust, especially a veritable 
 shower of it in the newspapers, dust in the office, dust in 
 the counting-house, dust in the brothel, dust in the club, 
 dust here, dust there, dust everywhere and the great un- 
 paralleled dust trick was performed. It was an expensive 
 affair must have cost 10,000 if it cost a shilling ; but that 
 was the best part of the hoax, for the public themselves had 
 to pay ! And the conjurors well, they were all honourable 
 men ! And their immense sacrifices, unequalled energy, 
 brilliant detective skill, and legal acumen in discovering and 
 punishing the real criminals, was it not worthy of the paltry 
 sum ? Should not their names be emblazoned in the temple 
 of fame, and heralded throughout the world, as the faithful 
 defenders of wickedness in high places, as the noble cham- 
 pions of vice, as the slaughterers of " the two witnesses " 
 who had dared to prophesy, " clothed in sackcloth," against 
 the abominations of the day ? Had not the time come when 
 
 427 
 
428 Mrs. Booth. 
 
 all the belibelled inhabitants of brotheldom might "rejoice 
 and make merr} r , and send gifts one to another," because 
 " the two prophets " who had " tormented them " had been 
 slain ? 
 
 But the trick ! Tho dust had slowly cleared. The be- 
 wildered public was half stupefied. There was dust in its 
 eyes, dust in its nostrils, dust in its ears, dust half- way down 
 its throat. It coughed, choked, sneezed, rubbed its eyes red 
 and cleared its spectacles to gaze upon a scene which no 
 Shakespeare would have had the audacit} 1 - to conceive. And 
 yet there was a striking parallel after all. The actors in this 
 novel play might have been studying the ''Merchant of 
 Venice." For the proverbial Jew ; no, not a Jew be it not 
 breathed ! an Englishman, was there, demanding persis- 
 tently his " pound of flesh." Armed with the " Maiden 
 Tribute," standing upon the letter of the law, he faced an 
 English jury, requiring what ? Justice ! Yes, justice, for 
 the brothel-keeper, for the slave-traders, for the Minotaurs, 
 for the harpies, whose peaceful orgies had been thus sud- 
 denly disturbed! 
 
 The dust had cleared. The pillory was there not one 
 but half a dozen pillories ! And the infamous monsters, 
 where were they? Not far distant, to be sure ! Tittering 
 beneath the ermine of nobility, yelping behind the editorial 
 chair, and, alas ! worst of all, grimacing triumphantly from 
 the cover of the sheltering segis of the law. 
 
 But the pillories ! They were not empty ? Oh, no ! The 
 "good Samaritans" were there pilloried for creating an 
 obstruction in the road of vice ! The criminals who had been 
 accustomed to pass from Jerusalem to Jericho, with a free 
 permit to rob, to worse than rob, every maiden over thirteen, 
 had certainly been obstructed permanently so ! The road 
 had been narrowed by three yards. It was wide enough 
 still, Heaven knew ! But it had been narrowed, none the less. 
 Intolerable ! Poor vice ! The victim of insatiable virtue ! 
 But now the day of vengeance had arrived ! The " good 
 Samaritans " were pilloried, and injured girlhood left to 
 
The Great Dust Trick. 429 
 
 perish in the road. The Barabbas of the brothels was 
 released, and the old cry was raised, " Down with the 
 Nazarene ! " 
 
 And yet it was a glorious spectacle. For just as vice needs; 
 but to be seen 5n order to be scorned, so virtue never looks 
 more beautiful than beneath the blaze of a veritable sunlight 
 of publicity. Turn it which way you will, it alwa} r s shines. 
 Like a diamond with a thousand facets, it will bear looking 
 at from every point of view, 
 
 The enemies of righteousness had thought to turn the 
 guns of purity against itself. Through the lantern of mis- 
 representation j calumny, ridicule, satire, and what not, they 
 would depict upon the sheet before the public eye the blem- 
 ishes of virtue, and prove her to be, after all, but one degree 
 removed from vice in turpitude. The governmental, legal, 
 journalistic mountains quaked and rocked in the throes of a 
 veritable earthquake of bombast. The nation looked, but 
 not so much as the proverbial mouselet could it descry! 
 Two beautiful, pure, self-sacrificing characters shone out 
 upon the sheet, like guardian angels of humanity ; two 
 men who were not deaf to the cries of tens of thousands of 
 injured innocents because their own babes happened to be 
 safe ; upon whose hearts the tears of the widow and the 
 orphan and the oppressed fell like molten lead. It was a 
 spectacle worth looking at and seldom seen : two men who 
 were willing in these days to shoulder a real cross, and fight 
 a real battle on mankind's behalf. Had they been the only 
 two it would have been something, but one at least repre- 
 sented thousands more who were ready at a signal to make 
 like sacrifices in the service of their fellow-men. 
 
 "The Armstrong case will crush the Salvation Army," 
 pronounced a titled celebrity, who was favoured with a seat 
 upon the Bow Street bench, and who thought he might at 
 last safely venture upon a prophecy which could not fail to 
 come to pass. Indeed, those who were supposed to know 
 unhesitatingly declared that the proceedings were aimed as 
 much at the Salvation Army as at the neo-journalism with 
 
430 Mrs. Booth. 
 
 which Mr. Stead's name was identified. Bat the would-be 
 prophet was doomed to be disappointed once more. The 
 Armstrong case did not crush the Salvation Army. How 
 could it ? Instead of doing so it advertised it far and wide 
 as the champion of the oppressed, a terror to evildoers, and 
 a national bulwark against the encroachments of vice and 
 crime. 
 
 Villains, rich or poor, were to learn that not one, but r. 
 hundred thousand men and women linked as one, would in 
 future bar their way and interpose their own bodies between 
 them and the miserable victims of their lust. Even Rebecca 
 Jarrett, the one repentant Magdalene, out of whom not seven 
 but legions of impure devils had been cast, bore with forti- 
 tude, as the righteous meed of her former crimes, the unjust 
 punishment of her one great effort to redeem the atrocious 
 past. Surely the Pharisees would have blushed to pass a 
 sentence of six months on Mary Magdalene, as she left the 
 presence of Jesus Christ after she had renounced a life of sin 
 for one of virtue. But the male Magdalenes of that day, 
 who knew Mary so well, and who in the sight of Heaven 
 were no better than their despised victim, had not yet 
 reached that point of nineteenth-century hardihood ! Were 
 there no unrepentant Jarretts that the law could lay its 
 hands upon, that it must wreak its vengeance on the solitary 
 one who dared to turn Queen's evidence in exposing the 
 depths of this vile traffic to the world ? It was indeed a 
 rude trial of the genuineness of her penitence. But she 
 stood the test, proving the reality of the change, and will 
 one day doubtless meet her accusers at the bar of God, where 
 pardoned Magdalenes will have a better chance. 
 
 In touching contrast to the action of the Government and 
 Judge in regard to Jarrett was the offer of a girl captain in 
 the Salvation Army to take her place and bear her punish- 
 ment ! And there could be no doubt that not one, but hun- 
 dreds, of her comrades would have volunteered to do the 
 same. 
 
 A tale is told by Macaulay of a rich Brahmin who was 
 
The Great Dust Trick, 431 
 
 shown a drop of sacred Ganges water through a microscope. 
 Horrified at the sight of its impurities, the Brahmin asked 
 the price of the unlucky instrument, paid for it, and dashed 
 it to atoms on the spot. Christianity smiles. The Brahmin's 
 folly neither purified the drop nor the stream from which it 
 was taken. Whether or not he chose to recognize the fact, 
 the animalcules were there. The question was what to do 
 with them. 
 
 But here the Brahmin was a Christian Government, the 
 microscope the " Maiden Tribute," its operator a Christian 
 journalist, the drop of water taken from the national pool. 
 The sight was truly sickening. The man who could behold 
 it unmoved must be heartless indeed. And yet this en- 
 lightened Christian Government proceeds to imitate precisely 
 the action of the Brahmin priest. Instead of setting 
 earnestly to work to cleanse the impure stream, it seizes 
 the unpaid-for microscope and hurls it to the ground, and 
 then leaps upon its owner, drags him to the bar, proclaims 
 a solemn fast, and sets up " men of Belial " to prove that 
 " Naboth hath blasphemed God and the king " no, God and 
 brotheldom and hurls him for the offence into a felon's 
 cell! Could the annals of hypocrisy -present a stranger 
 scene ? How will such actions read in the light of history 
 nay, of the Great White Throne ? Surely Pharisees are 
 out-Phariseed, and Jezebel herself out-Jezebeled for once ! 
 
 To say that Mrs. Booth was indignant is but feebly 'to des- 
 cribe the horror and amazement with which she regarded 
 this foul stratagem ! She mourned most because it was 
 calculated to draw a false scent across the track, and to 
 turn public attention from the evil to those who were 
 striving, however imperfectly, to deal with it. 
 
 The Criminal Law Amendment Act having been passed 
 she had left London with the General for the provinces, 
 eager to use the widespread interest of the hour in awaken- 
 ing universal attention to the one great theme : the salvation 
 of the world. The General, in particular, was anxious to 
 remind his followers that the subject which had lately en- 
 
432 Mrs. Booth. 
 
 grossed the public mind was but a single manifestation of 
 the all-prevailing sin which, in a thousand different forms, 
 was the source of the miseries of mankind. Nothing has 
 perhaps more emphatically contributed to the success of the 
 Army than the persistency with which its leaders have ever 
 kept the one main object in view. 
 
 Great was their astonishment, however, when late one 
 night they received a telegram urging their immediate 
 return to London, and informing them that the Government 
 had decided to prosecute, not the authors of the recently re- 
 vealed atrocities, but those who had been the means of 
 calling public attention to the existence of the evil. Mr 
 Stead, Mr. Bramwell Booth, Mrs. Combe, and Rebecca 
 Jarrett, the reclaimed brothel-keeper, had been arraigned and 
 brought to the bar. 
 
 And here it is necessary to explain. Mr. Stead had 
 stated, among other things, that it was possible, for the sum 
 of 5, or even less, to purchase in the London slave market, 
 at a few days' notice, a young girl, to entrap her under false 
 pretences, to remove her to a brothel, to drug her, and to 
 commit her to a life of shame, under the very eye of the law. 
 Scores of instances were given. Among others, a girl 
 named Armstrong was obtained with the assistance of a 
 converted ex-brothel-keeper, Rebecca Jarrett. Care was of 
 course taken that the girl should be in no way harmed, and 
 then every other step of the alleged road to ruin was trodden 
 without the slightest hitch or difficulty being encountered in 
 the way ; the girl being finally handed over to the care 
 and safe-keeping of the Salvation Army, by whom she was 
 removed to the Continent. 
 
 Here, then, was the flaw in Mr. Stead's armour. It is 
 said that when Achilles was dipped into the Styx he was 
 rendered invulnerable at every point save his heel, by which 
 he happened to be held. And here was the " Maiden 
 Tribute's" Achilles' heel at which the legal shafts were 
 forthwith aimed. Mr. Stead was a law-breaker ! He was a 
 criminal self- confessed ! "What need have we of further 
 
The Great Dust Trick. 433 
 
 witness ? " Motives were neither here nor there. The law 
 had been broken. The law must be vindicated. " The engi- 
 neer " must bo "hoist with his own petard." His accom- 
 plices, Mr. Bramwell Booth and Mrs. Combe, a Swiss lady, 
 must be punished for the " crime " of receiving and shelter- 
 ing the girl whom they believed, rightly or wrongly, to have 
 been sold for evil purposes. The ex-brothel-keeper must, of 
 course, be added to the list, with two other participators in 
 the transaction. A real malefactor must be mixed up with 
 the make-believes to manifest the judicial impartiality of the 
 law! 
 
 Protests were of little avail. Government was inexorable. 
 Having proved its sincerity in recognising the evil by pass- 
 ing the Act, it was next going to stultify itself and Parlia- 
 ment by proving that there was no need for the Act ! Here 
 was an incredible piece of inconsistency ! First to legislate 
 for brotheldom, and then to whitewash brotheldom by prov- 
 ing that, after all, it was not so bad as some supposed. Why 
 did they not prosecute the Committee of the House of Lords, 
 and include Lord Dalhousie or Lord Shaftesbury in their 
 impeachment of Messrs. Stead and Bramwell Booth ? 
 
 Sir Richard Cross had himself made the following remarks 
 in the House of Commons at the second reading of the 
 Bill: 
 
 " He desired to say a word as to the position of the Government with 
 reference to the measure. The matter had been before the country now 
 for a considerable time. In 1881 and 1882 the House of Lords Committee 
 investigated it at sonfe length and made a most valuable report. Those 
 who had read that report and the evidence given before the Committee 
 could have no doubt that a bill of this kind was absolutely necessary. 
 The bill contained practically no new principle, being merely an ex- 
 tension of the existing law in different ways. ... A bill on this 
 subject was introduced into the House of Lords in 1883, and another in 
 1884, and the bill of the late Government had been introduced and 
 passed in the House of Lords this year. So that no one could say that 
 this question had been approached in a hurried manner. The country 
 had had full opportunity for considering it. ... The late Govern- 
 ment were convinced that the question was thoroughly ripe for dis- 
 cussion." 
 
 F F 
 
434 Mrs. ^ 
 
 The Attorney-general had spoken even more strongly on 
 the subject : 
 
 " It seemed to him to be conceded that there was a very substantial 
 evil, and one which it was the bounden duty of every man who had 
 regard for humanity and morality to grapple with if he" could. . . . 
 There had been going on for some time a positive trade by some dis- 
 reputable persons in young girls, not only with the view of keeping them 
 at home, but with the view of inducing them to go abroad. . . . 
 Almost everybody who had spoken agreed that there was a great and 
 crying evil to be remedied, and the main difference of opinion was as to 
 whether the bill would do much good. At any rate, so far as regarded 
 the clauses directed against the disgusting trade referred to, it could do 
 no harm. There was ample reason to justify Her Majesty's Govern- 
 ment, and all who wished to legislate in the cause of humanity and 
 morality, in endeavouring to pass the bill." 
 
 But the travesty of justice must go on. The Bow Street 
 magistrate, Mr. Vaughan, before whom the preliminary in- 
 vestigations are made, has great doubts whether he ought to 
 commit Mr. Bramwell Booth or Mrs. Combe. But he com- 
 mits them all the same. The prosecutor, not the prisoner, 
 must have the benefit of the doubt. And then the Old 
 Bailey trial before Mr. Justice Lopes drags its weary length 
 along for twelve days, ending in the triumphant acquittal of 
 Mr. Bramwell Booth and Mrs. Combe, and in the conviction 
 and imprisonment of Mr. Stead, Jarrett, and the three other 
 accused. 
 
 Before the trial was concluded Mrs. Booth sent to Her 
 Majesty the Queen the following telegram : 
 
 11 To HER MOST GRACIOUS MAJESTY THE QUERN : May it please your 
 Majesty to allow me to state that I know \V. T. Stead, whose prosecution 
 has been instigated by the hate and revenge 'of bad men, to be one of 
 the bravest and most righteous men in your Majesty's dominions, and if 
 to morrow he should be sentenced to imprisonment it will shock and 
 arouse millions of your best and most loyal subjects to the highest in- 
 dignation. I pray by all the love I bear your Majesty, and by all the 
 pity I feel ior your outraged infant subjects, that you will, if possible, 
 interfere to avert such a national calamity. May God endue your 
 Majesty with wisdom and strength to ignore all evil counsellors, and to 
 exert your royal prerogative for the deliverance of those who are perse- 
 cuted only for righteousness' sake, prays your loyal and devoted servant 
 in Jesus, 
 
 " CATHERINE BOOTH." 
 
The Great Dust Trick. 435 
 
 To this Mrs. Booth received from Her Majesty the follow- 
 ing telegram in reply : 
 
 " The Queen has received your telegram. It is well understood that 
 Her Majesty cannot interfere in the proceedings of any trial while it is 
 going on. If necessary, an appeal through the Secretary of State can be 
 made to the Queen for a remission of sentence." 
 
 Acting upon Her Majesty's reply, as soon as the case had 
 been decided Mrs. Booth addressed the following letter to 
 Sir Richard Cross : 
 
 " SIR: Having appealed to Her Majesty the Queen on behalf of Mr. 
 Stead and Eebecca Jarrett, prior to the passing of their sentences, Her 
 Majesty graciously wired me in reply, stating that she could not interfere 
 while the trial was going on, but instructing me to appeal through the 
 Secretary of State for a remission of sentence if desired ; accordingly, 
 I pray, on behalf of the Salvation Army, and also of thousands of 
 the most virtuous, loyal, and religious of Her Majesty's subjects, 
 that you will present our most humble and earnest appeal to Her 
 Majesty for the immediate release of these prisoners, who, although 
 they may have been guilty of a technical breach of the law, have been 
 actuated by the highest and most patriotic motives, and have by their 
 action procured an unspeakable and lasting boon to the most helpless 
 and pitiable of the subjects of this realm, in the passing of the Criminal 
 Law Amendment Bill. 
 
 " I have the honour to be, 
 " Yours faithfully, 
 
 "CATHERINE BOOTH." 
 
 There can be little doubt that Her Majesty would have 
 gladly granted the countless petitions which poured in upon 
 her from all parts of the country for Mr. Stead's, if not for 
 Jarrett's, release by exercising her prerogative. But, in re- 
 gard to this, precedent and the Constitution left her power- 
 less to follow out her own convictions without the dismissal 
 of her Ministers. This it was hardly to be expected that 
 Her Majesty would contemplate. And hence upon the 
 Ministers must rest the blame of the shameful prosecution 
 from first to last. 
 
 Writing to one of her children at the conclusion of the 
 trial, Mrs. Booth says : 
 
436 Mrs. Booth. 
 
 " Well, thank God ! the iniquitous farce of the trial is over and Bram- 
 well is acquitted ; no case against him, after all the suspense, anxiety, 
 and loss of time inflicted on us ; it has put five years on to his life. 
 Stead is imprisoned for three months. Infamous! And there is going 
 to be a great upheaval over it, or I am mistaken. Ah, this has revealed 
 some rottenness behind the scenes ; truly we are far sunk as a nation. 
 But touching this evil is like bearding hell itself." 
 
 And thus ended the great legal comedy. Nay, it did not 
 end. It was adjourned to the final Assizes of the Universe, 
 when the position of the actors will be reversed and the 
 accusers take the place of the accused. 
 
CHAPTER XLIV. 
 LIFE AND LETTERS. 1885. 
 
 As has been already remarked, the spiritual work of the 
 Salvation Army was not allowed to be interrupted during 
 
 COMMISSIONER TIIGGINS. 
 
 the year. Indeed it was a time of special progress. The 
 foreign corps had increased from 273 to 520, being an 
 addition of 247. Those in Great Britain had risen from 
 G37 to 802, making an increase of 165. The total number of 
 corps had thus multiplied from 910 to 1,322, an increase of 
 
 437 
 
438 
 
 Mrs. Booth. 
 
 412. There had been proportionate progress in regard to 
 officers. The year 1884 had closed with a grand total of 
 2 5 1G1. At Christmas, 1885, there were no less than 3,076, 
 being an increase of close "upon 1,000 for the year. 
 
 Among other remarkable conversions of the year was that 
 of a Nihilist in Switzerland, where the persecutions contin- 
 ued to be so severe that on more than one occasion the 
 officers were fired upon with revolvers by the roughs. His 
 
 CABLETON. 
 
 story runs as follows. Commissioned by his companions to 
 blow up the Government Palace at Berne, he had in his pos- 
 session at the time of his conversion three bombs of dyna- 
 mite. Armed with a dagger and revolver he attended ono 
 of the meetings, intent on mischief. God's strong hand was, 
 however, upon him ; the shaft of conviction entered his soul 
 before the day ended, and the radiance of his face soon gave 
 evidence of the change which had taken place. Having 
 
Life and Letters 439 
 
 sworn never to surrender his deadly weapons save into the 
 hands of those from whom he had received them, he took 
 them back to the desperate band, telling them bravely what 
 had happened. They pointed a revolver at him, threatening 
 to shoot him, when he calmly answered. " Do it. I am ready 
 to meet my God." 
 
 A new departure that was initiated during the year con- 
 sisted in the establishment of what were called ll cavalry 
 forts." These were large vans, capable of accommodating a 
 dozen cadets, intended for the spread of the work among the 
 villages. The first of these was named the Victory, and 
 was publicly dedicated by Mrs. Booth. Others quickly 
 followed in its track, and much good was thus accomplished 
 in places which it would have been difficult otherwise to reach. 
 
 The publication of u Orders and Regulations for Field 
 Officers," the General's book of instructions for the officers 
 of the Salvation Army, marked another important advance 
 in the direction of consolidation. We question whether any 
 religious organisation possesses a code of regulations at the 
 same time, so minute and yet so comprehensive, so practical 
 and yet so spiritual. 
 
 The first number of the monthly missionary magazine of 
 the Army, All the World, was now issued. The foreign 
 work of the Salvation Army had attained such proportions 
 that it required representation to an extent that was not 
 possible in the British War Cry. Moreover, there was a 
 continually increasing circle of influential friends to whom 
 the popular, rough-and-ready style of the War Cry was not 
 suited, and yet who desired to be kept in touch with the 
 progress of the work. It so happened that at the very 
 moment of the need an American lady of literary capacity 
 and experience had offered herself for Army work. This 
 happy concurrence of circumstances led to the establishment 
 of All the World, which, under the skilful editorship of Miss 
 Swift (ably assisted by Miss Douglas), has now attained a 
 world-wide circulation, and has the character of being the 
 spirited missionary magazine of modern times, 
 
44O Mrs. Booth. 
 
 The intense excitement of the Purity movement and its 
 subsequent developments had carried Mrs. Booth for a time 
 entireh- beyond her strength. This was followed by a pro- 
 portionate relapse, when her over-taxed strength once more 
 gave way, and for several months she was confined to home 
 and unable to take part in public meetings. But, Paul-like, 
 Mrs. Booth was enabled to utilize the enforced leisure by 
 contributing to the War Cry a series of letters on a great 
 variety of subjects, embodying her answers to correspondents 
 
 MAJOR SWIFT FKOM AMERICA. 
 
 who wrote, seeking her counsel, from all parts of the 
 world. 
 
 From Midsummer, 1886, to Christmas, 1887, Mrs. Booth 
 was enabled to resume and continue her public work, almost 
 without intermission. During the former year, besides 
 holding meetings in most of the large Salvation Army halls 
 in London, she delivered several addresses at Exeter Hall. 
 She also visited Cambridge, Derby, Leamington, Portsmouth, 
 Castleford, Norwich, and Tunbridge Wells, where large and 
 enthusiastic audiences greeted her. In 1887 her activities 
 were interrupted by the serious illness of her daughters, 
 
Life and Letters. 441 
 
 Miss Emma and Miss Eva Booth. Nevertheless, besides her 
 numerous London engagements, she visited Birmingham, 
 Coventry, Rugby, Leicester, Peterborough, Luton, Doncaster, 
 Bridlington, Scarboro', Kettering, Eastbourne, and Worth- 
 ing. 
 
 Mrs. Booth was at this time in the very zenith of her 
 success and popularity as a preacher. The prophetic severity 
 of her denunciations of evil in no way diminished the crowds 
 who everywhere flocked to her meetings. Eealising in- 
 creasingly, as life advanced, the necessity of speaking plainly 
 in regard to sin and the conditions of salvation, she allowed 
 no fulse sentiment to induce her to " do the work of the 
 Lord deceitfully," or to earn the " curse " of " keeping back 
 her sword from blood." 
 
 The respective figures for 1886 and 1887 showed no decline 
 in the rate of onward progress. At the end of the latter 
 year the corps had increased from 1 ,786 to 2,262, and the 
 officers from 4,192 to 5,684, while in the United Kingdom 
 alone no less than 148,905 persons had sought salvation 
 during the year. Amongst other things, the Training 
 operations had been so much extended that 848 cadets had 
 been sent into the field during the year, while as many as 
 2,776 of the rank and file were candidates for the post of 
 officers. 
 
 The Rescue Work had been greatly extended both at home 
 and abroad. Through the twelve British Homes 839 girls 
 had passed during the year. Of these only 115 were reported 
 as unsatisfactory, the remainder having given evidence of a 
 change of heart, and being either in situations or sent home 
 to their friends. 
 
 In 1886 the General visited Canada and the United States, 
 travelling 15,000 miles and holding 200 meetings during 
 the three months he was absent from England. In the 
 following year he visited the Continent, devoting special 
 time and attention to Denmark, Sweden and Norway. The 
 reception with which he everywhere met proved that the 
 Salvation Army was striking its roots deeply into the foreign 
 
442 Mrs. Booth. 
 
 soil, while the General's keen eye enabled him to detect the 
 peculiarities of the various nationalities, and the nature and 
 degree of adaptation necessary for the overcoming of exist- 
 ing difficulties. 
 
 In the autumn of 1886 was held the first great Inter- 
 national Council, when representatives from all parts of the 
 world were summoned to take part in a week of united 
 demonstrations. Some 2.000 British officers were also 
 gathered to meet the foreign contingents. It need hardly be 
 said that no single building would have sufficed to accommo- 
 date the crowds who desired to attend these gatherings. 
 Nor was it thought advisable, as on a previous occasion, to 
 engage the Alexandra Palace, as for a series of meetings 
 covering several days it would have been too great an ex- 
 pense, and there was the serious drawback that it was out 
 of the reach of the poor people. 
 
 The only way of overcoming the difficulty was to arrange 
 for simultaneous meetings in the largest London halls, so 
 dividing the forces as to ensure the greatest possible amount 
 of good from so unique an opportunity. Exeter Hall was 
 engaged for five days, and at the same time meetings were 
 arranged to be carried on in the Congress Hall, Clapton, the 
 Great Western Hall, Marylebone, and the Grecian, City 
 Road ; the four halls accommodating some fifteen or sixteen 
 thousand people. 
 
 The highest expectations cherished with regard to these 
 meetings were more than realised. No less than 1,700 billets 
 were gratuitously offered by London friends for the incoming 
 officers. This in itself marked not only the general interest 
 felt in the occasion, but the extent of the Army's hold upon 
 the metropolis. Sixteen nationalities were represented, in- 
 cluding America, Canada, Sweden, Norway, France, Switzer- 
 land, and India. Never was the cosmopolitan character of 
 the movement more clearly demonstrated. The love, the 
 harmony, the enthusiasm, savoured of heaven rather than 
 earth. National differences were forgotten while officers and 
 soldiers met each other under the one universal flag, and 
 
Life and Letters. 443 
 
 vowed themselves freshly away to God and the Army for the 
 salvation of their countrymen. The thirty public meetings 
 held, with their total audiences of 120,000 people, offered a 
 marvellous opportunity for the outpouring of the Holy 
 Ghost, and doubtless an ineffaceable landmark was created 
 in the spiritual experience of multitudes. 
 
 It was suggested, by some of the provincial friends who 
 had come to London for the occasion, that similar meetings 
 should be held in other towns. The General was pleased 
 with the idea, and arranged immediately for a tour, in 
 company with fifty of the foreigners. Not only were the 
 expenses of this party entirely covered by the collections, 
 but upwards of 2,700 profits were realised for the prosecu- 
 tion of the Army's missionary work. 
 
 It was during this tour that the idea occurred to the 
 General of sending out strong reinforcements to foreign 
 countries in place of the driblets which had hitherto been 
 despatched. If with so little effort such glorious results had 
 already been accomplished it seemed likely that a campaign 
 on a larger scale would be accompanied by some sweeping 
 advances. The plan was therefore put into operation, and 
 before the new year had commenced 186 officers were on 
 their way to foreign lands probably the greatest effort any 
 single missionary body has ever made in so brief a space of 
 time. The largest of the detachments numbered forty, and 
 was sent to reinforce the work in India and Ceylon. With- 
 in a few weeks of their arrival 200 natives sought salvation, 
 and an impetus was given to the work which proved a turn- 
 ing-point in its history. In the following year an unex- 
 pected donation of 5,000, from a warm friend of the Army 
 in China, enabled the General to despatch to India another 
 party of fifty officers. As a result of these reinforcements 
 a large staff of native officers was quickly organised, who 
 have developed such ability and devotion that they give 
 promise of soon being able to step into the places of their 
 European comrades, and thus render the solution of climatic 
 and linguistic difficulties comparatively easy. Indeed, for 
 
Mrs. Booth. 
 
 some time the entire command of the Indian work was vested, 
 during the absence of the writer of these memoirs, in a native 
 officer, Colonel Arnolis Weerasooriya. The unparalleled 
 spectacle was afforded of a native bishop in charge not only 
 of native ministers but of European missionaries! And yet 
 there was not a murmur. With ready alacrity the European 
 received his orders from his native leader. And when the 
 Colonel was prematurely removed to heaven by an attack of 
 
 THE LATE COLONEL ARNOLIS WEEKASOORITA. 
 
 cholera the passionate grief of his European subordinates 
 exceeded even that of his fellow-countrj-men. 
 
 Great, however, as was the success of the International 
 Council of 1886, and although the necessary outlay had been 
 more than covered by the offerings, it was not deemed ad- 
 visable to repeat it annually, owing to the fact that it necessi- 
 tated the absence of the foreign commanders from their 
 various posts. The anniversary of 1887 was therefore con- 
 
Life and Letters, 445 
 
 fined to Great Britain, the Alexandra Palace being engaged 
 for the day. Although, with the exception of a few 
 Continental representatives, the foreigners were not present 
 on this occasion, more than fifty thousand passed the turn- 
 stiles, and the hearty enthusiasm of the occasion showed how 
 groundless were the fears entertained by some that it would 
 not maintain the interest of the previous seasons. Almost 
 unsought, Providence has placed within our leaders' reach 
 the means of not only preserving but increasing, from year 
 to year, the early attractiveness and enthusiasm of the 
 movement. 
 
 Although these popular demonstrations are entirely dis- 
 tinct from the regular efforts of the various corps we are 
 aware that not a few Christians object to them. In this 
 we cannot but think that they are seriously mistaken* 
 
 In the first place, such demonstrations are in thorough har- 
 mony with the teaching and practice of the Bible. Under 
 the old dispensation it was an absolute law that every 
 Israelite should at least three times a year repair to Jeru- 
 salem to worship. This must have entailed enormous ex- 
 pense and inconvenience, but who can doubt that the com- 
 pensating gain amply repaid the outlay? Similarly we find 
 our Lord Himself gathering vast crowds, leading them into 
 the wilderness, away from all their family associations, and 
 conducting meetings among them which frequently lasted 
 for several days. The Apostles also attracted multitudes 
 wherever they went, their power for working miracles being 
 evidently granted to them for this purpose. Moreover, every 
 prophecy of heaven presents pictures of countless myriads. 
 
 But, leaving out of consideration for the moment the 
 Scriptural aspect of the question, it is evident to any student 
 of human nature that wherever man exists there man will 
 congregate, if not for a good purpose then for an evil, or at 
 least a useless one. The racecourse, the circus, athletic 
 sports, and military reviews, are all so many object-lessons 
 to the Christian, as to the possibility and desirability of 
 dealing with the masses in a mass by substituting counter- 
 
446 Mrs. BootJi. 
 
 attractions of such a character as will remove the temptation 
 to frequent the pleasure-haunts of worldliness and sin. 
 
 As for the cost of these demonstrations, the funds contri- 
 buted for spiritual objects have rarely been trenched upon by 
 such gatherings. On the contrary, they have usually been 
 a considerable source of income. The people gladly pay, 
 as they would have done had they been going to the Derby 
 or Ascot instead of to the anniversary of the Salvation 
 Army. 
 
 Mistaken, indeed, is the penny-wisdom and pound-folly of 
 those who would deny to man these supreme spasms of Divine 
 influence and who would spend their time in reckoning how 
 many shillings it has cost. 
 
 There is a class of critics whom we might almost imagine 
 charging the architects of the New Jerusalem with extrava- 
 gance for having used such costly materials in the construc- 
 tion of its pearly gates and golden streets. " Why was not 
 this ointment sold for three hundred pence and given to the 
 poor?" 
 
 Man's influence on man none but fools would ignore, and 
 not even fools can abrogate. It is an element which must 
 of necessity be included in the calculations of all thoughtful 
 persons who desire to counteract the agencies of evil in this 
 world. If man were only a rational being it would be 
 sufficient to appeal to his reason alone. But he is emotional 
 as well. God has made him so. Some of the most exquisite 
 touches of the Creator's hand are seen in the capacity to 
 smile and weep. And those capacities' are never so power- 
 fully wrought upon as when man is brought into contact 
 with his fellow-man. "Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man 
 sharpeneth the countenance of his friend." There is a 
 divine philosophy in this. Reason unassisted carries the 
 soul up to the barriers which divide it from its God ; the 
 emotions sweep it across, and leave it heaving, panting, 
 quivering, throbbing, and confessing at the mercy-scat. A 
 tearless repentance is no repentance at all, and a joyless 
 salvation is scarcely worthy of the name. Stripped of the 
 
Life and Letters. 447 
 
 emotions reason is a cold statue, without life. Robed witli 
 them, its every argument becomes a living power. 
 
 And even as solitude needful, no doubt, at times gives 
 reason scope for reflection so upon the emotions the effect 
 of numbers is magical. True, solitude has its influence upon 
 the emotions too, but where the one strikes a single note the 
 other unites a harmony of swelling sound. It is as the 
 ripple of a fountain compared to the roar of Niagara the 
 beauty of a dewdrop compared to the grandeur of an ocean. 
 When the Divine Spirit sweeps over a single soul, and brings 
 the tear of penitence to a single eye, it is doubtless beauti- 
 ful. How much more so when He sweeps over a forest of 
 hearts, and the simultaneous tear springs to a thousand eyes, 
 and all are bowed in one harmonious whole before the 
 Eternal Throne like a field of ripened corn before the wind! 
 
 The individuality of an individual soul is wonderful, but 
 it cannot equal the individuality of a multitude whose 
 souls for the moment are knit in one, whether it be the 
 union of penitence or peace of prayer or praise when it 
 seems for the moment as though the whole congregation were 
 transported from their surroundings and could hear unspeak- 
 able things; things of which it is not possible for human 
 tongue to find expression. 
 
CHAPTER XLV. 
 THE FOUR WEDDINGS. 1886-00. 
 
 FOUR weddings ! Not all on the same day, or even in the 
 sauie year, it is true. But, as in each of them bride or 
 bridegroom was a daughter or son of General and Mrs. 
 Booth, they may be telescoped into a single chapter. The 
 same capacious hall our largest in London, yet never large 
 enough for such occasions contained in each instance the 
 same enthusiastic crowds, who flocked to witness the cere- 
 mony and to shower their felicitations upon their beloved 
 leaders. Each union seemed to compete with the other i:i 
 possessing the elements of true happiness, and in manifesting 
 to the Army and to the world what God had meant the mar- 
 riage tie to be. 
 
 There was not a stitch of finer}' about the bridal attire 
 no veil, no wreath, no jewellery. Countess Von Moltke's 
 Continental society for plain dressing would surely have 
 been charmed, and taken heart of hope, at the severe sim- 
 plicity which trampled fashion's laws beneath its feet at the 
 one moment of life when her sway is usually the incst 
 complete. 
 
 To a Salvationist the uniform is truly a blessing. It 
 settles everything in this direction. There is no need to 
 take a mental photograph of all the gay butterflies or solemn- 
 coated beetles that fashion chooses to let loose upon the world. 
 None require to spend hours of precious time in gazing into 
 windows, coveting what they cannot have, or leading them- 
 selves into the temptation of bu}'ing what they really do not 
 want, thus wasting what might so much better be given to 
 the poor. The birds can sing their songs of gratitude, de- 
 
 448 
 
The Four Weddings. 449 
 
 livered from their lady-slaughterers. Fathers and husbands 
 can sleep peacefully without being disturbed by nightmares 
 of milliners' and jewellers' bills. They can fling purse and 
 cheque-book into the mother's lap, and know beforehand that 
 if there should be an extravagance it will be for them and 
 not for herself, and that the little pile will have been eked 
 out on necessaries, not on luxuries. Like the virtuous 
 woman in the Book of Proverbs, " the heart of her husband 
 doth safely trust in her. She will do him good and not evil 
 all the days of her life. Her children arise up and call her 
 blessed ; her husband also, and he praiseth her." 
 
 Strange as it may seem to outsiders, the women of the 
 Salvation Army lose all desire for the gewgaws of the world. 
 They will not accept them even as a gift, since their con- 
 science would not permit them to wear what would contra- 
 dict their professions. Whilst society is criticising the 
 measures of the Salvation Army, the latter are despising the 
 practices of society. True, in the first instance it may have 
 cost something to forsake what modern Christianity has 
 taught to be " no harm." To cross the Rubicon, to fling 
 into its waters the mandates of fashion, to leave on the other 
 side considerations of appearance and the opinions of friends 
 has not been done without a struggle. But the joy that 
 comes from victory, that noblest form of victory, the victory 
 over self ; the intoxication of world-conquest, the realisation 
 of the plaudits of the skies, the smile of God these have 
 been ample compensation to the hearts of our women warriors 
 for any sacrifices they have made. 
 
 And yet even in this world the loss has met with com- 
 pensating gain. How many young men now prefer a life of 
 bachelorhood, or even of sin, to a holy, happy marriage, be- 
 cause they <: cannot afford" to marry! The very extrava- 
 gances with which the women of the world have thought to 
 lure them have frightened them. The simplicity of the 
 Salvationist has removed this unnatural dread, and has 
 rendered it possible for those who have small means to marry 
 without risk of running into debt. 
 
 G G 
 
45 o Mrs. 
 
 On the other hand, it has banished the temptation to put 
 money in the place of love, or of those other considerations 
 without which a happy union is impossible. When will the 
 world realise that the links that bind two hearts need to be 
 made of finer material than position, title, bricks and mortar, 
 "oof," or a few square yards or miles of mingled mud and 
 grass ? What a mercy that the best of God's gifts cannot 
 be monopolised ! The joy, the peace, the mirror of heaven's 
 felicity, which were intended to flow from the union of two 
 kindred souls, are, after all, oftener found in the cottage than 
 the palace, and are the universal inheritance of poor as well 
 as rich ! 
 
 One of the most important missions of the Salvation Army 
 has doubtless been to lead man back from art, with its many 
 hollow superficialities and trivialities, to nature and to 
 nature's God. Art is a good servant, but a cruel master to 
 humanity. In the present age, instead of art obeying man, 
 man obeys art. The Consul of the Republic has become its 
 Emperor. The usurper sits upon the throne, and complacent 
 parents bow to his authority and deliver up their children 
 to his will; selling them into semi-slavery, lashing their 
 bodies into fantastic shapes, sacrificing health for appear- 
 ances, the substance for the shadow, and, as a matter of 
 course, usually losing both. But quietly and unostentatiously 
 a revolution is being wrought beneath the surface, the effects 
 of which it would be difficult to over-estimate. 
 
 The four weddings could not but leave their mark upon 
 the 20,000 people who witnessed them and upon the tens of 
 thousands more who read about the services, and who had 
 been familiar for years with the lives of toil and sacrifice in 
 a common cause which had endeared to each other those who 
 were now linked in still more sacred bonds. It is the spirit 
 of a leader that inspires his followers, and that spirit speaks 
 more loudly and eloquently in his actions than in his words. 
 Man reads man not by his professions, but by his deeds 
 except where the professions tally with the deeds, Other- 
 wise the professions count for little. 
 
The Four Weddings. 451 
 
 And this is why the majority of reformers fail. They seek 
 to make others not what they themselves are, but according 
 to an ideal which they do not themselves attain. But the 
 power of a reformer is in his life, not in his theories ; his 
 practice, not in his precepts. Placed by Providence upon a 
 pinnacle, it was inevitable that the example of General and 
 Mrs. Booth and of their children should be closely scanned, 
 and it is not too much to say that these occasions have been 
 some of the most powerful factors in making the Army what 
 it is to-day. They were object-lessons none could fail to see 
 and comprehend. 
 
 It was on the 17th of September, 1886, that Commander 
 Ballington Booth, the General's second son, was married to 
 Miss Maud Charlesworth. If Switzerland had done nothing 
 else for the Salvation Army it had served as a training- 
 ground for some of its best officers. With decrees of expul- 
 sion flying around her head, and with the inevitable gens 
 d'armes and a pack of ruffians at her heels, the Marechale's 
 lieutenant had developed into one of the most courageous 
 and successful officers in the ranks. If she had not, like her 
 husband, actually served an apprenticeship in jail, she had 
 more than once faced the exasperated officials whose decrees 
 she had disregarded, and when carried across the frontiers 
 of the Canton it was only to return again, at the risk of 
 imprisonment, on a future day. 
 
 One of the most interesting incidents in Miss Charles- 
 worth's history had occurred during the year previous to her 
 marriage, when visiting Sweden. The following is her own 
 account of it : 
 
 "During my stay in Sweden I visited the university of Upsala, and as 
 I went borne from my meeting late at night I met troops of young 
 students, many of whom were drunk and singing ribald songs. As I 
 passed the large saloons I heard glasses clinking on the counters, the 
 balls rolling upon the billiard-tables, and looking at the large lighted 
 windows above I was told that those who were in before eleven were 
 allowed to remain all night. Further, I heard that these young men 
 \cere the flower and hope of Sweden ; for in that city there were two 
 thousand 1 college students. Upon asking whether any specH effort had. 
 
452 Mrs. Booth. 
 
 been made by the churches to reach them, I was told that they had 
 been considered unreachable. We therefore determined to make an at- 
 tempt in this direction. To have placarded the city with posters in the 
 Swedish language, inviting these students to our meeting, would have 
 been to have brought them, insulted and disgusted, to break the win- 
 dows, and probably even to attempt to wreck the building. We there- 
 fore published the following bill : 
 
 GIVES ACADEMICI ! 
 CRAS, DOMINICA, 
 
 Ucr.A IV POST MEttlDIANA, 
 
 IN ' SALVATIONEJI ' 
 VOS OMNES VENITE ! 
 
 'MAUD CHARLES WORTH,' 
 
 Lritanna ilia, quce gloria belli Helvetici floruit, pubHce loqwlur. 
 
 KEMO NISI cms ACADEMICUS IN ' ARCAM ' 
 adititm habebit.* 
 
 " What was the result ? That evening the one topic in the saloons of 
 the city was the Salvation Army's new departure. 
 
 " Swedes looked at the bill in open-mouthed wonder ; whereas, th-* 
 students were flattered with the idea of this meeting being exclusively 
 for them and of the Swedish populace being ignorant of the purport of 
 the invitation. 
 
 " At three o'clock on the Sunday afternoon, with, I must confess, a 
 little trembling and fear as to results, I stepped upon the platform to 
 look down upon a sea of faces, for the newspapers estimated that, out of 
 the two thousand students, sixteen hundred were present. Nor was this 
 the only meeting ; for others as successful and as large were held later, 
 and the interest and change manifested in many of those young men 
 was not only an intense joy to the Salvationists, but was also the com- 
 ment of the whole religious and secular press of the country." 
 
 But Miss Charlesworth's warfare, extending over some 
 four 3 T ears, had not been confined to the Continent. Having 
 sacrificed a home of ease and luxury she travelled the length 
 and breadth of the English field, winning thousands of souls 
 and gaining a permanent place in the esteem and affection of 
 her comrades. 
 
 * Citizen students ! To-morrow, Sunday, at 4 P.M., in the Salvation 
 (barracks), do ye all come ! Maud Charlesworth, the British lady so 
 well known through the Swiss war, will speik. None but citizen 
 students will be admitted to the barracks. 
 
The Four Weddings. 453 
 
 The wedding, like the others, took place in the Congress 
 Hall at Clapton, which was, of course, crowded with thou- 
 sands of enthusiastic Salvationists. The General performed 
 the ceremony. 
 
 Soon after the wedding, Commander and Mrs. Ballington 
 Booth were appointed to take charge of the work in the 
 United States, where under their able leadership rapid 
 advances have been made. 
 
 The second wedding was that of the Marechale and Com- 
 missioner Booth-Clibborn. The former needs but little intro- 
 duction to our readers. She had been engaged, as we have 
 seen, in public work from her very girlhood, meeting with a 
 success in winning souls which but few ministers could 
 claim. If apostles are to be judged by their " seals," and not 
 by their sex, then she was an apostle indeed, for she had 
 many seals. If " afflictions, necessities, distresses, imprison- 
 ment, tumults," nights of prayer and days of toil were 
 proofs of ministry, then through God's grace she had become 
 a minister indeed. 
 
 And when on the 8th of February, 1887, the Marechale 
 gave her hand to Commissioner Booth-Clibborn, who had for 
 six years faithfully seconded her in her efforts on behalf of 
 France and Switzerland, the entire Salvation Army rose up 
 to call them blessed, and showered upon the union their 
 heartfelt prayers and congratulations. The Quaker bride- 
 groom, who had resigned excellent business prospects and 
 cast in his lot so unreservedly with the Salvation Army, had 
 proved himself a staunch and faithful officer. The knowledge 
 of French and German which he had gained during his 
 youthful studies in Switzerland had been turned to good 
 account. 
 
 Those who imagine that an army leader's post is a sinecure 
 should have stood beside Commissioner Clibborn and shared 
 with him his baptism of kicks and blows, of mud and stones, 
 of persecution, prosecution and imprisonment ! They should 
 have been pursued by the police, or abandoned by them to 
 
454 Mrs. Booth. 
 
 bloodthirsty ruffians. And probably after a week of such 
 experiences they would have fled, like the American reporter 
 who had enlisted in New York as a cadet to get a peep 
 behind the scenes, and who was overheard saying in his 
 sleep, " If anybody thinks he is going to join the Salvation 
 Army for the sake of a ' soft snap ' he's mighty much mis- 
 taken." 
 
 The redeeming feature of the disturbances which seem 
 inseparable from Army work is that without doubt they 
 deliver us from hypocrites. The few who from unworthy 
 motives enter the fold are generally glad to beat a speedy 
 retreat through the always open door. But to the sincere it 
 is far otherwise. The time for the latter-day Stephen to see 
 " the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the 
 right hand of God," is now, as of old, while the stones are fly- 
 ing thick around his head, and he marches on in the con- 
 sciousness that each moment may be his last. Does it appear 
 incredible that on such occasions as these men and women 
 should be found who go out, time after time, with a 
 Hallelujah on their lips, a smile upon their face, and a prayer 
 for their persecutors in their hearts, defying the powers of 
 hell to do their worst ? Not a few of our people have been 
 killed by furious mobs and others maimed for life but 
 hundreds have risen up to fill the vacant place. And the 
 very cursing Sauls, at whose judicial feet the witnesses have 
 laid their clothes, have not seldom been converted into 
 praying Pauls. 
 
 And thus with the marriage of the Marechale ; six years 
 of fellowship in war and suffering had fitly paved the way 
 for the closer and holier bonds which were to cement two 
 faithful hearts to Heaven, to each other, and to the Army's 
 work. 
 
 Any of the many outsiders who were present on the 10th 
 of April, 1888, at the wedding of the General's second 
 daughter, Miss Emma Booth, might have been tempted to 
 doubt the applicability of some, at least, of the foregoing 
 
T/ie Four Weddings. 455 
 
 remarks, and to question the wisdom, or even sanity, of the 
 bride's parents in sanctioning a union with the barefooted, 
 Indian-robed, beturbaned figure who occupied the bride- 
 groom's place. If, however, the visitor had paid the ortho- 
 dox five shillings for his reserved seat he would have been 
 able to discover from his coign of vantage that the latter's 
 face was white, and would in consequence, perhaps, have 
 breathed a little more freely. And had he been able to 
 secure a seat at the wedding banquet,, and seen 5,000 sub- 
 scribed by those present, not as a personal gift, but for the 
 carrying on of the foreign work of the Salvation Army, he 
 would have guessed that some hearts had been deeply 
 touched. 
 
 Still, it certainly did look like going too far, and carrying 
 things to an outrageous extreme, for the General's daughter 
 to marry a native-dressed, calico-enveloped beggar; for 
 beggar he looked and beggar he was, his very begging-bowl 
 lying on the platform. And when the Army-badged auxili- 
 ary who sat next to the stranger enlightened his evident 
 perplexity, and explained that the bride herself was to don 
 the native garb and share the beggar's lot, dipping her 
 unaccustomed fingers into the curry-dish and walking bare- 
 footed through the Indian streets, he would have fancied, 
 perhaps, that these Salvationists could not love their 
 daughters as he loved his, or how could they consent to such 
 a thing ? But when the mother rose, and with tear-filled 
 eyes and a pathos that could not be misunderstood told how 
 her child had been to her " more than a daughter," the sur- 
 prise of the visitor would have been still greater. And then 
 if he could have seen and spoken to those troops of bright 1 
 faced women-officers and girl-cadets whom the bride had not 
 only trained but practically " mothered " during the past 
 eight years, it would have appeared impossible that she 
 should be spared from a position of such usefulness. And 
 he would but have voiced the feelings of the congregation 
 and of every British Salvationist. 
 
 But the little group of dark-complexioned Indians seated 
 
456 Mrs. Booth. 
 
 on the platform, representing thousands more across the 
 seas, thought far otherwise, and were happy indeed to claim 
 the treasure that Great Britain was about to lose. They at 
 least realised that England was not the world, and that it 
 was just those who could least be spared who would soonest 
 win their heathen countrymen for Christ. If for the moment 
 the flood rolled eastward, bearing on its crest the choicest 
 that the West could give, might it not, in course of time, 
 return with gathered impetus, and the Apostles of the East 
 once more evangelise the West, as in days gone by ? 
 
 Verily the Lord must have appreciated Mrs. Booth's 
 sacrifice. Her last terrible illness had just declared itself. 
 Never had she more needed the comfort and the care of the 
 daughter, one of whose earliest utterances had been " Me 
 woves oo a million miles," and who had proved it by a rarely 
 equalled life of fond devotion. Just as the Marechale's light 
 had shone peculiarly abroad, so Emma's light had shone at 
 home. From childhood she had been the counsellor and 
 burden-bearer, or, rather, burden-remover, of the family ; for 
 none knew better how to illuminate sorrow's cloud with the 
 rainbow hues of hope, and with the alchemy of tenderest 
 sympathy convert leaden-winged trouble into golden-pinioned 
 peace. 
 
 But oh ! mo fears the reader smiles, for he has discovered 
 that the beggar-bridegroom is the writer of these lines, and 
 he fancies that he can trace fond partiality in the description 
 of the bride. Well, after all, who so fit to judge as those 
 who see and know? And why should- not a husband claim 
 the Scripture privilege of praising her, and of asserting that, 
 though " many daughters have done virtuously," yet " thou 
 excellest them all " ? 
 
 The fourth wedding was that of Commandant Herbert 
 Booth. The bride, Miss Coraline Schoch (the daughter of 
 Staff-Captain Schoch, an ex-officer in Ili3 Dutch army), had 
 for some time been a member of the Salvation Army, and, 
 though not having had the opportunity of long service in 
 
The Four Weddings. 
 
 457 
 
 the ranks, early distinguished herself by her unqualified 
 devotion, her largeness of heart, and her brilliant gift of 
 music and song. To Mrs. Booth it was a source of deep 
 regret that she could not herself, owing to the rapid progress 
 in her final illness, be present at the ceremony. " Set my 
 chair," she said to the General, "and put my portrait on it, 
 so that I can be there in semblance, if not in reality. And 
 I will send them a letter for you to read " 
 
 It was a touching scene, and few were able to restrain 
 
 MRS. HERBERT BOOTH. 
 
 their tears when the General read the following letter to the 
 assembled crowds : 
 
 " MY DEAR CHILDREN, COMRADES, AND FRIENDS, It will seem quite 
 natural to you that I should be deeply and tenderly interested in the 
 important ceremony which is taking place this morning in the dear old 
 Congress Hall. 
 
 " I am pleased with this union. I have considered it well, and approve 
 it in my most deliberate judgment. 
 
45 8 Mrs. Booth. 
 
 " It is not only a satisfaction to me, bat a joy. It seems to be the 
 fulfilment of my many prayers and dreams on behalf of my dear 
 Herbert. 
 
 " So far as my poor blessing is of value, I send it to you all. I again 
 thank you for your prayers and sympathy, and again repeat my oft- 
 repeated hope to meet you in heaven. 
 
 "I am no less interested in this world because I am waiting here on 
 the threshold of the other. Oh ! believe me, its sorrows and its sins, 
 its opportunities and its responsibilities are realities which claim all 
 your powers and all your influence for the service of Him who has re- 
 deemed it. God be with you ! 
 
 " Yours till the morning, 
 
 "CATHERINE BOOTH." 
 
 Through her daughter Emma, Mrs. Booth also sent the 
 following affecting message to the people : 
 
 " I don't know that by any words of mine I can add to the blessed im- 
 pression that I believe those dictated words of my darling mother read 
 here this morning have made upon every heart. 
 
 " I believe in eternity that letter will be found to have brought a real 
 and deep blessing to many here present. And yet I do wish that you 
 could have been with me the evening before I left my mother to attend 
 this wedding. I was sitting with her in the gloaming, by the bedside. 
 I thought she was dozing a little, and I was trying to read, as well as 
 the light would allow me, when she called me to her side. I hastened, 
 and held my ear down that I might catch every word, and she said oh ! 
 with such an expression lighting up her face, and while tears came into 
 her eyes : 
 
 " 'Emma, I should like you to let them understand, at the Congress 
 Hall to-morrow, how great a comfort it is to me to know, now that I am 
 lying on the banks of the Jordan, with life's opportunities for love and 
 labour swiftly passing for ever away, to know that with all my children 
 I have sought first all the way through the interests of the Kingdom of 
 Christ. And now, when I am leaving you all to the storms and tempta- 
 tions and dangers of life, I have the realization that the promise is 
 being fulfilled, and will be fulfilled, that all other things should be 
 added: 
 
 "I prayed as she spoke that I might be able to deliver you that mes- 
 sage, so that it should lodge, with the Spirit's help, in the inmost 
 recesses of every soul, and that we, one and all, who are called by 
 Christ's name and know anything of His power to save, should go forth 
 determined that with our children, with our husbands or wives, with our 
 friends, with our daily associates in the business or the counting-house, 
 that for us to live should be Christ, and that we would seek first at every 
 cost the interests of His Kingdom. 
 
The Four Weddings. 459 
 
 " As my mother lifted the one hand that she can now move, and said 
 those words over and over, they seemed to write themselves in fresh 
 desire upon my soul : 
 
 First,' she said, ' not among other things, but first since the hour 
 that I first kissed Bramwell as he lay a little babe on my bosom, I said 
 to the Lord, " In all my ambitions for this child and for any others that 
 may follow, in all my dealings with them, and in the education that I 
 may be able to give them, Thy Kingdom shall be first." ' 
 
 "And now comes the wondrous consolation that fills her heart when 
 dying. On behalf of a perishing world let us freshly consecrate our all 
 to God. I believe it shall be so with the bride and bridegroom ; and 
 here, in these closing moments, may we enter into a new covenant with 
 the Leavenly Bridegroom, and go forth to put His interests first at every 
 cost. The Lord bless you." 
 
CHAPTER XL VI. 
 DECLARATION OF THE LAST ILLXESS. 1888. 
 
 THE interest of a race-course centres round its winning-post. 
 It is here that the grand stand is erected, that the spectators 
 cluster most thickly, and that every eye is strained to watch 
 the result of the race. It is not always those who start well 
 who end the best. Sometimes those who have led grandly 
 all the way, unequal to the final spurt, are beaten at the 
 last ; whilst others, leading from the first, are never neared, 
 and win by many lengths amid the plaudits of the crowd. 
 
 The winning-post of life to those who win is death. It 
 is here that humanity gathers to watch the last hours of the 
 handful of swift-footed spirits who in each age outrun their 
 fellows, whether in the realm of war, or politics of thought, 
 of doubt, or piety ; and a grand career is either illumined by 
 the radiance of its final triumph or enveloped in a sombre 
 pall by its defeat. The finishing touch is put to an already 
 perfect picture, or the artist's own hand mars the landscape 
 with a dingy daub. 
 
 The last of anything, if bad, we we'lcome with a sigh of 
 relief if good, we follow with a sigh of pain. The involun- 
 tary, and often unmerited, tribute of a tear drops unbidden 
 on the grave of what is last because it is last. And when 
 that last is a pure, hoi}', blameless, and unselfish last when 
 it is linked to the heart of humanity by golden chains of 
 faithful service and (it maybe) unrequited affection, then the 
 solitary tear becomes the tear of all ; and even those who 
 have chidden in times past feel their eyes fill and their 
 hearts choke as they bow in mute, sincere acknowledgment 
 
 460 
 
Declaration of the last illness. 461 
 
 before the shrine of worth. The shrill voice of envy and the 
 strident notes of criticism are hushed for once beside the 
 grave. The mistakes of the past, if mistakes they have 
 been, are buried or forgotten, and the good lives on. We 
 realise the chances gone, and stand wistfully gazing up after 
 them into heaven till time pulls us by the sleeve, reminding 
 us of those that still are ours and bidding us prove the sin- 
 cerity of our good desires by treading in the steps of those 
 we mourn. 
 
 Death is to all alike, the common end of life's probation. 
 Saint and sinner pass through its portals carrying with them 
 nothing but their character: the panorama of their every 
 deed and the phonogram of every word, with which and with 
 which alone to appear before the Judgment Throne. "Let 
 me die the death of the righteous, and let my last end be like 
 his," does not mean that the righteous are free from the 
 physical sufferings entailed by death, but that the righteous 
 when placed under precisely the same physical circumstances 
 as the wicked behave quite differently. There is neither the 
 apathy of indifference nor the terror of despair. 
 
 For both the casket breaks, and breaks with pain ; reveal- 
 ing the contents that have been gathering there for years 
 the storage of a life. The broken casket of the sinner's soul 
 reveals the sin, the selfishness, the indifference of the irre- 
 vocable past, while through the shattered fragments of the 
 casket of the saint there shines the glory of a blood-washed, 
 ransomed being, whose ended life is only life begun, envel- 
 oped in the folds of love, peace, confidence, and joy unspeak- 
 able. 
 
 Alike in life and death, it is only by exposing the evil and 
 the good to the same circumstances that the character of 
 each can be discerned. The sun shines and the rain falls 
 upon both, but with very different result. The wicked take 
 without a " Thank you ! " the best that Providence bestows 
 and spend it on themselves. The good look up with grateful 
 hearts to the Divine Giver, and plan how to make others the 
 participators of their joy. Surround the former with wealth, 
 
462 Mrs. -Booth. 
 
 and they will hoard it in a bank, or squander it on wasteful 
 excesses. But the latter " hath dispersed, he hath given to 
 the poor." 
 
 Endow the sinner with genius and he will utilise it in 
 self-aggrandisement, in piling up a fortune, in manufacturing 
 explosives with which to destroy his inoffensive neighbour, 
 or a liquor that will damn his soul, and this without a twinge 
 of conscience. But the saint will lay every talent at the 
 feet of God for the service of his fellow-man, trampling on 
 the bribes the world may offer. 
 
 And thus with sorrow, losses, sickness, death. Unless the 
 same tests were applied to both the Divine Judge might be 
 charged with partiality. " Doth Job serve God for naught ?" 
 has always been the language of " the accuser of the breth- 
 ren " in regard to those who have stood in Job's place, and 
 who have resisted the dangerous blandishments and flatteries 
 that attend prosperity. Nowhere does the contrast between 
 saint and sinner stand out more clearly than when both are 
 placed, side by side, in the furnace of affliction. While the 
 sinner "curses God and dies," the Jobs of every age have 
 been enabled to respond, " What ! Shall we receive good at 
 the hands of God and shall we not receive evil ? Though 
 He slay me, yet will I trust Him." The trial of the sinner, 
 manifesting his wickedness, becomes the commencement of 
 his punishment. The trial of the saint reveals his character 
 to all the world, proves that he is genuine, and measures the 
 " how much " of his love to God and man. 
 
 The pillars of the narrow gate are hewn from the tree of 
 suffering in order that no hypocrite may find his way to 
 heaven and mar its harmony. The sinner desires the crown 
 without the cross the saint is willing for the cross without 
 the crown. The one serves God for what he can get out of 
 Him. The other loves God for what He is, " serves Him for 
 naught," and would be willing to accept hell itself as his de- 
 served due. The one says, " Why should I be punished ? " 
 the other, " Why should I be saved ? " The one blames God 
 in the vain attempt to whitewash himself. The other con- 
 
Declaration of the last Illness. 463 
 
 demns himself that God may be justified. The one is ever 
 contriving to do for God as little as possible the other will 
 do his utmost and wish that it were more. 
 
 And thus the character of each is manifest by exposing 
 both to the same test. What wonder, then, that " the name 
 of the wicked rots " and " their desire perishes," while " the 
 memory of the just is blessed," and the righteous are "in 
 everlasting remembrance ? " 
 
 February, 1888, followed a year of unusual suffering and 
 depression, the precursors, doubtless, of the dire malady 
 which was to overshadow the remaining years of Mrs. Booth's 
 life. And yet such had been the courageous stand which 
 she had maintained in the battle that few outside the im- 
 mediate home circle knew anything of the hand-to-hand 
 struggle with weakness and weariness. During this month, 
 however, symptoms appeared which could not be disre- 
 garded. 
 
 It had been arranged for Mrs. Booth to assist the General 
 in Bristol at the celebration of a " Two Days with God." 
 The meetings were among the most successful and powerful 
 evar held. The Colston Hall, a vast cathedral-like structure, 
 estimated to hold nearly five thousand people, was engaged 
 for the occasion. But as the time neared the outlook was by 
 no means encouraging. Snow had fallen, and still it was 
 falling. The very atmosphere seemed laden with it. In 
 fact, many said that such severe weather had been unknown 
 for twenty years past. The prospect of being able to collect 
 a crowd under such adverse circumstances seemed so hope- 
 less that some urged a postponement of the gatherings. 
 
 But a Bristol audience is not easily daunted. Through 
 the blinding snow they flocked in thousands till even the 
 distant galleries were filled, and a dense throng, regardless 
 of the inclemency of the weather, waited on God for the out- 
 pouring of His Holy Spirit. 
 
 The difficulties in face of which they met served but to fire 
 the speakers and to increase the readiness on the hearers' 
 part to receive the message. During the six consecutive 
 
464 Mrs. Booth. 
 
 meetings the interest and influences steadily heightened, and 
 when, on the second evening, Mrs. Booth rose to speak the 
 vast hall was crowded from floor to ceiling. 
 
 Perhaps the shadow}- presentiment that the remaining 
 sands of her life were numbered, and that there might be 
 awaiting her the dreadful and protracted anguish through 
 which, twenty years previously, she had nursed her own 
 mother, lent an added inspiration to her heart and clothed 
 her words with even more than their usual pungency and 
 power. Certainly the mingled faithfulness, directness, and 
 yet pathos of her appeals upon this memorable night had 
 never been surpassed. She seemed to fear lest she should 
 fail to include every individual present in the message she 
 had brought to them from God. Unflinchingly she gripped 
 each conscience and nailed it to the duty of the hour im- 
 mediate and unconditional surrender to the claims of 
 Heaven. Nor was it in vain. Hundreds responded to the 
 call, and rising to their feet willed away their all for a life 
 of holiness and sacrifice. 
 
 It would be difficult to imagine a more triumphant cul- 
 mination to the provincial labours which had commenced in 
 Gateshead twenty-eight years previously, and which had in- 
 cluded in their scope nearly every important town in the 
 United Kingdom. 
 
 The following passage is taken from the imperfectly 
 reported address, which, alas ! but poorly represents the 
 impassioned fervour of the appeal. Taking for her text the 
 words, which the General had just been reading, " Advise and 
 see what answer I shall return to Him that sent us," Mrs. 
 Booth said : 
 
 "Now, dear friends, God wants the ANSWER. What is the response 
 which you, individually, will make to the VOICE which has been sounding 
 in your ears during the last two days ? The voice which some of you 
 have heard for months and years has been renewed and intensified, and 
 it is ringing in your soul to-night as distinctly as it ever rang in the soul 
 of any prophet : the voice of God in your soul. 
 
 " To begin with, you know it is the voice of God. It matters not what 
 human instrument it has come through. If God had used a sparrow or 
 
Declaration of the last Illness. 465 
 
 some inanimate instrument to convey His message, that would not take 
 away for a moment the importance of the message, or render it optional 
 as to whether you would return an answer. 
 
 "lam confident that many here have recognised the voice of God. 
 You know that no mere human words could have made you feel as you 
 have felt could have forced you to face the past and listen to its voice ^ 
 to look onward into the future and to realise its possibilities as you have 
 done. Now, as the prophet said, I will say to you, Advise and see what 
 answer I shall return to Him that sent us.' What answer shall we, who 
 have brought you these messages of truth, and mercy, and deliverance, 
 and salvation, return to Him who has sent us? The Holy Spirit wants 
 an answer. Jesus Christ wants an answer. God the Father wants an 
 answer. The perishing, suffering world around you wants an answer. 
 They are waiting for your answer in heaven, and they are waiting, de- 
 pend upon it, in hell ; and it may be that your destiny to the one place 
 or to the other depends upon your answer to-night. I believe I have 
 been in many meetings where the everlasting destiny of souls has been 
 fixed by the answer they have sent back to the truth delivered by my 
 feeble lips. 
 
 "What is the answer to be ? Perhaps some of you say, ' I do not choose 
 to return an answer.' But it is not optional with you whether you will 
 or not. The Jews thought it was optional whether they should return 
 an answer to the messages of Jesus Christ, but they were utterly mis- 
 taken. The disobedient, gainsaying world has thought so from the be- 
 ginning, but they have been grievously mistaken, as many of them have 
 found out when they were dying, and as all will find out at the Judgment 
 Ear. 
 
 "All truth coming from God demands, nay, receives, an answer from 
 every soul who listens to it ; that very refusal to return an answer is an 
 answer of defiance. It is saying back to God, ' Mind Your own business. 
 I don't want Your will. I have chosen my path. I am busy about other 
 matters. I shall not return any answer to Your messages.' That very 
 attitude is an answer of defiance. You cannot help yourself ; jour soul 
 must respond to the truth one way or the other. You have heard that 
 inward voice ; you have seen that inward light. Now you must say 
 'Yes' or ' No.' You can never go back to where you stood before - 
 never! " 
 
 It was a kindly Providence which granted to Mrs. Booth 
 the spiritual stimulus of such a victory, for the news which 
 awaited her on her return to London was of the saddest 
 character. An interview had been arranged by a medical 
 friend with Sir James Paget. It was with some fluttering of 
 heart, and after a fresh and definite committal of herself for 
 
 H H 
 
4C6 Mrs. Booth. 
 
 life or death into the hmius of the Loid. that Mrs. Booth 
 started on her sorrowful errand. Sir James Paget, after 
 making a careful examination, unhesitatingly pronounced tho 
 small tumour which had then appeared to be of a cancerous 
 type, and advised an immediate operation, an opinion which 
 was afterwards confirmed by another eminent surgeon, Mr. 
 Jonathan Hutchinson. Mrs. Booth then stated her objections 
 to an operation, asking what would be the probable duration 
 of life if the disease were allowed to pursue its ordinary 
 course. Sir James Paget seemed desirous to evade the ques- 
 tion, saying that he could not speak with certainty; but 
 upon Mrs. Booth courageously pressing him as to what was 
 the usual limit of life in such cases, he replied that it would 
 probably be from eighteen months to two years at the ut- 
 most. Mrs. Booth received the melancholy tidings with the 
 calmness of a Christian and the- fortitude of a saint. Not 
 that she failed to grasp the terrible nature of the situation, 
 as the following passage from the General's pen will servo 
 to show : 
 
 ' After heaving the verdict of the doctors she drove home alone. That 
 journey can better be imagine! than described. She afterwards told mo 
 how as she looked upon the various scenes through the cab windows it 
 seemed that the sentence of death had been passed upon everything ; 
 how she had knelt upon the cab floor and wrestled in prayer with God ; 
 of the unutterable yearning? over me and the children that filled her 
 heart ; how the realisation of o'ir grief swept over her, and the uncertain- 
 ties of the near future, when she would be no longer with u=. 
 
 " I shall never forget in this world, or the next, that meeting. I had 
 been watching for the cab, and had run out to meet and help her up tho 
 steps. She tried to smile upon me through her tears, but drawing me 
 into the room she unfolded gradually to me the result of tho interviews. 
 I sat down speechless. She rose from her seat and came and knelt be- 
 side me, saying, ' Do you know what was my first thought ? That I 
 should not be there to nurse you at your last hour.' 
 
 i{ I was stunned. I felt as if the whole world were coming to a stand- 
 still. Opposite me on the wall was a picture of Christ on the cross. I 
 thought I coald understand it then as never before. She talked like a 
 heroine, like an angel, to me : the t.ilked as she had never talked before. 
 I could say lit'.le or nothing. It seemed as though a hand were laid upon 
 my very heart-strings. I could only kneel with her and try to pray. 
 
 "I was due i Holland for some large meetings. I had arranged to 
 
Declaration of the last Illness. 467 
 
 travel that very night. She would not hear of my remaining at homo 
 for her sake. Never shall I forget starting out that evening, with the 
 mournful tiding.? weighing like lead upon my heart. Oh, the conflict of 
 that night journey ! I faced two large congregations', and did my best, 
 although it seemed I spoke as one in a dream. Leaving the meetings to 
 be continued by others, I returned to London the following evening. 
 
 " Then followed conferences and controversies interminable as to the 
 course of treatment which it might be wisest to pursue. Her objections 
 to an operation finally triumphed. 
 
 " And then followed for me the most painful experience of my life. 
 To go home was anguish. To be away was worse. Life became a bur- 
 den, almost too heavy to be borne, until God in a very definite manner 
 visited me in a measure, and comforted my heart." 
 
 The painful tidings fell upon every heart in the family 
 with crushing force. The household was indeed a vale of 
 tears. They loved their mother with a passionate tenderness 
 rarely seen. Their life still centred itself in hers almost as 
 much as in nursery days. She was still the trusted reposi- 
 tory of their every sorrow, their counsellor in every per- 
 plexity, the guardian angel of their lives. " We look at one 
 another through our tears, and cannot speak," writes Emma 
 to her mother a few days later, from Reading, where she had 
 gone to attend a large council of officers. " But, loved one, 
 you will know how we feel. So does the Lord, who will 
 surely help us in this time of trouble. Every moment your 
 dear face is before me. I want unspeakably to fly back to 
 yon. Only to help Herbert and to play a brave part for the 
 Kingdom's sake could I stay even a few hours from your 
 side, The dear Lord is, however, nearer than any of us 
 can be, and, much as we love you, He loves you more." 
 
 Mrs. Booth's strength failed rapidly, and the progress of the 
 disease enforced the early termination of her public labours. 
 
 The next occasion on which Mrs. Booth spoke was at her 
 daughter Emma's wedding, on the 10th of April, 1888. 
 Fearing lest the development of the disease might prevent 
 her from being present upon this much-looked-forward-to 
 occasion she fixed for it the earliest possible date, telegraph- 
 ing for tho return of the writer of these memoirs, who was 
 then, in India. 
 
MRS. BOOTH DELIVERING HER LAST ADDRESS AT THE 
 CITY TEMPLE, LONDON, 
 
Declaration of the last Illness. 469 
 
 To Dr. Parker of the City Temple was reserved the 
 privilege of affording to Mrs. Booth the opportunity of de- 
 livering her last message in the great metropolis. It was 
 twenty-three years since she had addressed her first London 
 congregation at a small chapel in Rotherhithe. From that 
 day London had been the centre round which not only she 
 herself but the Salvation Army had revolved. 
 
 For nearly a quarter of a century Mrs. Booth had occupied 
 this world-wide rostrum with an ability and success which 
 few had equalled, none surpassed. It was on Thursday, 
 21st June, 1888, that she brought her public ministrations 
 to a close, with an address which could scarcely have been 
 more appropriate and powerful had she known that it would 
 be her last. 
 
 Her heart had been deeply stirred in regard to the needs 
 and claims of the heathen world by the great missionary 
 convention then being held at Exeter Hall, attended by some 
 two thousand delegates from all quarters of the globe. She 
 had loved the heathen when but a child, and it was fitting 
 that her last public appeal should be a plea on their behalf 
 a plea that was emphasized by the offering up of her own 
 daughter for their salvation. 
 
 For upwards of an hour Mrs. Booth spoke, forgetful of 
 time, of place, of strength in fact, of everything except her 
 theme and opportunity. Every eye was rivetted and not a 
 heart could sit unmoved. But when at length she concluded 
 exhausted nature reasserted itself, and she was so com- 
 pletely prostrated that it was nearly an hour before she 
 could be removed from the pulpit. On their way home she 
 said that she feared it would prove to be her last address, 
 and it afforded her no small consolation then and afterwards 
 to realise that it had been an appeal on behalf of the heathen 
 nations of the world. 
 
 Though unable to take any public part in the anniversary 
 celebration of 1888, Mrs. Booth was present for a few 
 minutes in the grounds of the Alexandra Palace, where the 
 gathering was held. It was the last great assemblage of 
 
47 o Mrs. Booth. 
 
 officers and soldiers she was to witness. The succeeding 
 year she could only send a brief note of congratulation 
 from her sick chamber. 
 
 It did not seem probable, at the anniversary of 1889. that 
 Mrs. Booth would survive to hear tidings of another such 
 celebration. Yet so it was. The Crystal Palace had been 
 chosen for the occasion. 
 
 Upwards of fifty thousand persons were admitted to the 
 grounds. For such an enormous number there was not even_ 
 standing room in the vast nave, where upwards of twenty 
 thousand were gathered to receive what proved to be Mr*. 
 Booth's dying message. It had required some ingenuity 
 to present it to the people in such a manner that all could 
 decipher the w r ords. Finally, two rollers had been fixed 
 upon the dais of the orchestra, at a considerable distance 
 from each other. Between them stretched a broad sheet of 
 calico, upon which the message had been painted in letters 
 so large that they could be read from the farthest corner. 
 By means of a windlass the coil was unwound, and sentence 
 after sentence placed before the multitude, fainilar songs of 
 consecration being played upon the organ during the interval. 
 The following was the message : 
 
 ' ; MY DEAR ClIILDKEX AXD FfUENDS, 
 
 t: My place is empty, but ray heart is with you. You are rny joy and my 
 crown. Your battles, sufferings and victories have been the chief interest 
 of my life these past twenty-five years. They are so still. Go forward. 
 Live holy lives. Be true to the Army. God is your strength. Love and 
 seek the lost. Bring them to the Blood. Make the people good. Inspire 
 them with the Spirit of Jesus Christ. Love one another. Help your 
 comrades in dark hours. I am dying under the Army Flag. It is yours 
 to live and fight under it. God is my salvation and refuge in the storm. 
 I send you rny love and blessing. 
 
 " CATIIEHIN-E Boom/' 
 
 The effect was electrical. The whole congregation was 
 bathed in teais. and from thousands of hearts there went up 
 fresh vows of consecration, recorded in heaven, and since 
 fulfilled on earth. 
 
CHAPTER XL VII. 
 CLACTOX-ON-SEA. 
 
 DCRIXG the autumn of 1888, Mrs. Booth went for a change 
 to Clacton-on-Sca, returning to London in October. From 
 the time when, as a girl invalid, she had visited Brighton in 
 search of health, the sea had always possessed a peculiar 
 charm for her. She loved to gaze out across the boundless 
 expanse of waters, and to quaff the bracing breeze. The 
 sense of its magnitude and power not only exercised a 
 special fascination over her mind, but seemed to stimulate 
 her nerves. 
 
 Clacton-on-Sea is a quiet little watering-place, about 
 seventy miles east of London, not far from the mouth of the 
 Thames, but with a southerly aspect. The coast runs almost 
 due east and west, and the low-level cliffs, which approach 
 the water's edge, afford a natural promenade of almost any 
 length without the ups and downs of intervening hilk*. The 
 beach and a long, level parade, sheltered by the cliff from 
 the northern winds, together with a handsome pier, add 1o 
 the attractions of the locality for the invalid or visitor. To 
 Mrs. Booth the fact that after its brief season was over the 
 town Avas so quiet that it seemed almost uninhabited added 
 greatly to its charms. During a previous visit she had 
 selected a house as a home of rest for the staff-officers of the 
 Salvation Army. It was, but doubtless will not long con- 
 tinue to be, the last house on the East Cliff, and therefore the 
 most secluded in the town, with a garden of its own. \\h\ch 
 added to its privacy. Only those whose lives are spent in 
 the fanciful glare of a perpetual publicity can appreciate the 
 
47- J/;x Booth. 
 
 character of such a boon to the often tired bodies and jaded 
 spirits of our officers. 
 
 In August, 1889. Mrs. Booth returned to Clacton, leaving 
 London, as it ultimately proved to be, for the last time. 
 Previous to her departure she had consulted her medical 
 advisers as to the length of her stay. From three to five 
 weeks, had been their reply. But once there, receiving 
 benefit from the change to her general constitution, her 
 
 OCEAN YILT,E. CIACTOX-ON-SEA. 
 
 return was postponed until at length she became too ill to 
 return. 
 
 The journey down had been a very trying one. On her 
 way from her home in Barnet to Liverpool Street Station she 
 had expressed a conviction that she would never return. 
 She spoke frequently and in the most touching manner 
 regarding her memories of the great city east and west, its 
 rich and poor, its evil and its good. Few, if any, had seen 
 
Clacton-on-Sea. 473 
 
 accomplished in a twenty-four years' ministry the results 
 which she had lived to witness. " In the morning " she had 
 "sown" her West End "seed," and "in the evening " she 
 had not " withheld her hand " from the East End multitudes, 
 "not knowing" which should " prosper, either this or that," 
 and truly it might be said that both had been " alike good." 
 
 The Home of Rest, which was rented from the Army by 
 the General during the next fourteen months, was peculiarly 
 well adapted for the needs of the time, there being ample 
 rcom for offices and secretaries, as well as for the members 
 of the household. To within the last few weeks of her 
 death Mrs. Booth was made familiar with all the important 
 events of the War, and little was done in the way of fresh 
 advance which was not, in the first place, discussed with her, 
 To the very end, her mind continued to be as clear and 
 powerful as of old, and even months of prolonged anguish 
 failed to impair it, whilst the rest from public life afforded 
 time for reflection between the severer intervals of pain. 
 
 During the first month or two of her stay, Mrs. Booth was 
 able to go out for a daily drive; a carriage havingbeen kindly 
 placed at her disposal by two friends. But such was the 
 effect of the motion upon her that some five weeks after her 
 arrival the morning came when she had scarcely journeyed 
 a few yards before she was compelled to return, saying to 
 her daughter as she alighted, "I fear this will be my last 
 drive, Emma." Thus the much appreciated loan of horse 
 and carriage was returned. Then came the slow walks along 
 the cliff, when she might be seen leaning upon the arm of 
 the General or of some member of the family, sometimes 
 dictating letters to the secretary by her side. And then 
 came the last walk round the garden, when she plucked the 
 faded rose, comparing it to life, the opportunites of which all 
 fade and fall, save those which by grace have been garnered 
 for Heaven. Thus by degrees she became confined to the 
 house. But even then she would come downstairs as long as 
 it was at all possible to the sitting-room, of which, with its 
 vacant chair, we give a sketch. And when at length she 
 
474 
 
 Mrs. Booth. 
 
 Avas unable to leave her room, her bed \vas placed so that she 
 could still look out across the sea, and some of her most in- 
 spired messages were delivered while her eyes rested upon 
 its ever-changing tide. 
 
 The General occupied a room upstairs, opening on to the 
 same landing, so that at any moment of the day or night he 
 could readily go to the sufferer's side. Often through the 
 long wakeful hours of the night he would watch by her, 
 
 - 
 
 TEE VACANT CKA1E. 
 
 doing what he could to alleviate her sufferings, and pleading 
 for heavenly grace on her behalf. Mrs. Booth's daughter, 
 Enirna, and her younger daughters also ministered to her 
 wants by day and night with an eagerness and devotion 
 rarely equalled. A faithful Army officer, Staff-Captain Carr, 
 gladly abandoned her public work for the privilege of 
 ministering to the beloved sufferer. She was installed as 
 nurse at the commencement of the illness, and remained with 
 Mrs. Booth to the last, dressing the wounds with thoughtful 
 
Clacton - on - Sea. 
 
 47 S 
 
 skill and unwearying patience, and in every way manifesting 
 the sympathy and devotion of a daughter. 
 
 On several occasions Mi's. Booth w r as visited during the 
 last months of her life by deputations of officers representing 
 tlio various branches of the Salvation Army. At the conclu- 
 
 BTAFF- CAPTAIN CADE. 
 
 ITi-s. Booth's Faithful Nurse i:i the last illness. 
 
 tj'cn of an impDilant council of several hundred officers, held 
 in London on the 27th and 28t!i November, 1889, it was 
 suggested that as Mrs. Booth had been unable to occupy her 
 accustomed place at the General's side, representatives should 
 be sent to Clacton, v/ho should convey to her the assurances 
 
4/6 Mrs. Booth. 
 
 of the sympathy and prayers of the Council, receiving from 
 her lips the words of encouragement and counsel which 
 might be on her heart to give. The privilege was granted, 
 and a number of leading officers were selected, the prefer- 
 ence being given to those who had longest been Mrs. Booth's 
 fellow-toilers in the field. 
 
 The dull leaden November sky and desolate snow-covered 
 fields fitly typified the grief which bowed the hearts of each 
 member of that deputation. All felt they were losing at a 
 stroke a mother, leader, counsellor and friend. And the 
 sorrow, which is usually less because divided, was the keener 
 because appearing to include so much. 
 
 Upon reaching the house the party was ushered into the 
 sick chamber. As their eyes rested upon the face of the 
 Army Mother it seemed that uncontrollable grief smote every 
 heart. Strong men wept like children. Kneeling round the 
 bed, the deputation sang and prayed, as well as the over- 
 powering emotions of the moment would permit, and then 
 Commissioner Howard and Colonel Dowdle, on behalf of the re- 
 cent Council, expressed their sympathy and the determination 
 of all to abide by the first principles of the Salvation Army. 
 
 Mrs. Booth was deeply affected. Faithfulness and affec- 
 tion were imprinted on the tearful faces of the kneeling 
 group. Ten thousand memories of past fellowship in faith 
 and fight burst in upon her. At length, however, she was 
 able to reply. The voice was weak and low, but it had lost 
 none of its former music and penetration. 
 
 Commissioner Higgins and others who were present spoke, 
 or tried to speak, Commissioner Carleton expressing the feel- 
 ing of multitudes when he said how gladly he would have 
 taken the disease into his own body, had such been possible, 
 'in order that the beloved sufferer might have been restored 
 to her wonted position in the work. But to this Mrs. Booth 
 replied that such an arrangement would have never met with 
 her consent. And then, with a closing prayer from Mrs. 
 Booth, the party left the room, " sorrowing most of all *' for 
 the sad conviction that " they should see her face no more." 
 
47? 
 
4/8 Mrs. Booth. 
 
 .!n and again daring the progress of tho illness it was 
 thought that Mrs. Booth was dying. The doctors said that 
 her hours were numbered. She believed so herself. And 
 yet she rallied. Her farewell messages were therefore re- 
 iterated. 
 
 To the Army she sent the following brief bat touching 
 message on the 19th December : 
 
 "1.18 p.m. Tho vraters are rising, Liu so am I. I am not going 
 uruier, but over. Don't be concerned about roar dying ; only go en 
 living well, and the dying will be all right." 
 
 But perhaps one of the most affecting scenes occurred 
 when Mrs. Booth, having changed rooms, asked for the 
 Army colours to be brought from the former apartment and 
 fastened above her head. Many and many a time had she 
 presented the flag to officers and soldiers, inviting them to 
 pledge themselves to eternal fidelity to the principles which 
 it emblemised. And as she had fought beneath its folds in 
 life, so now in death she rejoiced to realise that the u banner 
 of love," which had been the herald of salvation to multi- 
 tudes, was still waving over her. 
 
 "There," said the General, " the colours are over you now. 
 my darling! ' ; 
 
 Let me feel them," said Mrs. Booth. 
 
 And as her poor worn left hand was guided to them, she 
 clasped them fondly, and traced the motto with her finger, 
 ' Blood and Fire.'' 
 
 "Blood and Fire ! "^ she repeated. /'Yes, that is very 
 appropriate. It is just what my life has been a constant 
 and severe fight.'' 
 
 "It ought to be 'Blood and Fire and Victory,'" said the 
 General. 
 
 " I'll fight on till I get it," replied Mrs. Booth. t; I won't 
 give in. Xext time I see them, I shall be looking down, in- 
 stead of up, at them. I shall be above the smoke of pain 
 and sorrow there." 
 
CHAPTER XLVII1. 
 THE DEATH OF MRS, BOOTH. 
 
 " Pi7AY that the Lord may speedily finisli His work and 
 take me home," was the oft-repeated request of Mrs. Booth 
 during the months of anguish spent in the mysterious valley 
 of shadows ; so short to some, to her so long. But the lips 
 of love could not frame the prayer, and to her " Let me go " 
 a thousand hearts responded, "Lord, let her stay!" It 
 seemed indeed as though death itself were unwilling to per- 
 form its appointed task as though "such divinity did 
 hedge " the dying saint that death could " but peep to what 
 it would'' as though the hand of the king of terrors, a 
 score of times outstretched to cull the Army's fairest flower, 
 were as often arrested and withdrawn. 
 
 And when at length the hour came, it seemed that with a 
 gentleness ineffable the spirit was released from its earth- 
 tenement and transplanted to the regions where it should 
 blossom and boar fruit for ever, regions where the sun-rays 
 shine without scorching and the winds fan without blasting. 
 And the poignancy of the pain of parting was mitigated by 
 the halo of unbroken peace that settled on the dying 
 sufferer's face, and by the assurance of a coming and 
 eternal reunion. 
 
 It was during Self Denial week, the annual Lent of the 
 Salvation Army, that the final summons came. In anticipa- 
 tion of this season, Mrs. Booth had addressed the following 
 brief but touching letter to the soldiers and friends of the 
 Army throughout the world : 
 
 "My DEAR CHILDREN AND FRIENDS, I have loved you much, and in 
 
 479 
 
480 Jfrs. "Booth. 
 
 God's strength Lave helped you a little. Now, at His call, I am goiug 
 away from yon. 
 
 " The "War must go on. Self-denial will prove your love to Christ. 
 All must do something. 
 
 "I send you iny blessing. Fight on, and God will be with you. 
 Victory conies at last. I will meet you in Heaven. 
 
 " CATHERINE BOOTH." 
 
 The first serious intimation of an approaching crisis oc- 
 curred on Wednesday, 1st October, when violent hemorrhage 
 
 */ / 
 
 set in. For some weeks previously there had been no symp- 
 toms of immediate danger. Indeed, such had been the rally 
 that Mrs. Booth's medical advisers had thought it probable 
 that she might live to see the new year in. Upon the 
 strength of their assurances meetings had been arranged for 
 the General and other members of the family, her daughter 
 Emma remaining by her beloved mother's side. On Wednes- 
 day afternoon a telegram was despatched summoning the 
 General : and the next day Mr. and Mrs. Brain well Booth, 
 together with the other members of the family then in Eng- 
 land, were sent for, as from the prostrated condition of tho 
 patient it was evident that the end could not be distant, 
 
 Thursday night passed in comparative quiet, Mrs. Booth 
 sleeping with unusual soundness for several hours. Never- 
 theless the laboured breathing served as a warning that her 
 condition was critical. 
 
 On Friday morning, the 3rd October, an interval of several 
 wakeful hours, passed in extremest suffering, was followed 
 by a deep sleep, lasting till 5 p.m. On awaking Mrs. Booth 
 appeared to be comparatively free from pain, and great was 
 the joy of all when she consented to take a little nourish- 
 ment. But the rally was only temporary, and it was soon 
 clear that the beloved sufferer was fast sinking. 
 
 Fridaj^ night was a season that will be held in everlasting 
 remembrance by each one of those privileged to be present. 
 The General, Mr. and Mrs. Bramwell Booth, her daughters, 
 Emma, Eva, Marian, and Lucy, the writer of these memoirs, 
 Staff-Captain Carr, and the members of the household, knelt 
 around the bed, while the photographs of the unavoidably 
 
The Deal! i of Mrs. Booth. 481 
 
 absent members of the family were again laid, upon her 
 pillow. Mrs. Booth was awake and conscious during the 
 greater part of the time, giving touching tokens of recogni- 
 tion to each member of the weeping group, though often too 
 weak to utter words. True, the head was less erect than its 
 wont, and drooped one side through exhaustion true, the 
 features were somewhat pinched with the prolonged anguish 
 nevertheless the glorious soul shone triumphantly through 
 the surrounding darkness, and the glow of the eternal day- 
 break seemed already to have suffused the sufferer's coun- 
 tenance, and to have replaced the marks of pain with the 
 stamp of unspeakable peace. 
 
 Strange to say ; nearly every crisis of Mrs. Booth's illness 
 was emphasised by a storm. The present occasion was no 
 exception to the rule. While she was bravely struggling 
 with the last enemy, a tempest was raging without, and the 
 loud signals of distress from a shipwrecked vessel could bo 
 distinctly heard above the roaring of the sea and the howling 
 of th$ wind. And thus it seemed as though the Army 
 Mother's barque were tossing on death's billows while the 
 kneeling group fired on her behalf signals of distress, tho 
 loud reports of which were heard in heaven, summoning to 
 her relief the lifeboat that was to bear her soul from the 
 poor shipwrecked body and land it safely on the eternal 
 shores. 
 
 But how impossible does it appear adequately to describe 
 the scene ! The plain, undecorated upper room overlooking 
 the sea, its windows ever open to the breeze, and its movable 
 screens arranged so as to guard the watchers from tho 
 draught. Then there was, the cur.tainless iron bedstead, on 
 which the sufferer lay, surmounted by the Army flag. With 
 streaming eyes and faltering voices the gathered family 
 sang again and again her favourite choruses, watching with 
 inexpressible emotion as the loved lips moved in the effort 
 to take part : 
 
 " We shall walk through tbe valley of the sbaclow of death, 
 We shall ^Yalk through the valley in peace 1 
 
 I I 
 
482 Mrs. Booth. 
 
 Fpr Jesus Himself shall be our Leader 
 We shall walk through the valley in peace ! " 
 
 Although her voice could not be heard, and the breathing 
 ivas hard and difficult, each time the word peace was re- 
 peated her hand was raised as a signal that such was indeed 
 her experience. Other choruses were sung, such as : 
 
 " The angels will come, 
 
 With their music will come, 
 With music aiid singing to welcome thee home ; 
 
 At the bright gates 01 costal 
 
 The shining ones will stand 
 And give thee a welcome to their own native laud." 
 
 Another favourite verse was: 
 
 " We are waiting by the river, 
 
 We are watching by the shore ; 
 Only waiting for the angels, 
 
 Soon they'll come to bear us o'er." 
 
 And then would follow the triumphant notes of her son 
 Herbert's chorus ": 
 
 " Victory for me 
 Through the blood of Christ my Saviour ! 
 
 Victory for me. 
 Through the precious blood ! " 
 
 Other well-known hymns were sung. <; Rock of Ages, cleft 
 for me/' and "Jesus, Lover of my soul." Once when the 
 singing ceased, through the fear lest it might be too much 
 for Mrs. Booth, she called out with' pathetic distinctness, 
 although with evident difficulty, " Go on ! " 
 
 It was but in broken sentences and at long intervals that 
 she was able to speak. <; Pa ! " she would cry cut at times, 
 and in a moment the General's weeping face was close to 
 hers. " What is it. my precious one ? " The lips moved, 
 but to his intense disappointment he could not discern what 
 she was endeavouring to say. Unutterable feelings seemed 
 to be struggling for language which she had no power to 
 frame. And yet words were not wanted. He who had 
 
The Death of Mrs. Booth. 483 
 
 known her every longing and shared her every thought for 
 forty years, did he not know and feel all that in these fare- 
 well moments she desired to say ? 
 
 Almost the last audible prayer she was heard to breathe 
 was, " Lord let the end be easy for Emma's sake." And 
 the prayer was answered, voicing as it did to the last her 
 usual self-forgetf ulness and consideration for others. At 
 another time she whispered, noticing how loath were any of 
 the watchers even for a moment to leave her side, " Take it 
 in turns in turns ! " repeating the last two words with 
 her own peculiar emphasis-. 
 
 " Emma, let me go, darling," she whispered at another 
 time, and upon receiving the answer, " Yes, mamma, we 
 will !" she added eagerly, " Noiv ? Yes, now, Lord ! Come 
 now ! " 
 
 The singing appeared to be a help and a comfort. It was 
 indeed meet that the refrains which had served as an in- 
 spiration during the soldier life should soothe the last hours 
 of the dying saint. 
 
 " Calvary's stream, it is flowing so free ! " 
 was followed by 
 
 " My Jesus, I love Thee ! I know Thou art mine !" 
 And then again : 
 
 " My mistakes His free grace doth cover, 
 
 My sins He doth wash away ; 
 
 These feet which shrink and falter 
 
 Sball enter the gates of day." 
 
 And again a little later : 
 
 " Though wave and storms go o'er my head, 
 
 Though health and strength and friends be gone, 
 
 Though withered all my joys and dead, 
 Though every comfort be withdrawn, 
 
 On this my steadfast soul relics, 
 
 Father, Thy mercy never dies ! " 
 
 Speaking of Heaven, she said: 
 
 ' ' Oh, I feel like flying. I don't believe I shall be fastened up in a 
 
484 Mrs. Booth. 
 
 corner playing a harp. I shall let the folks do it who like, but I shall 
 travel about if I can. I shall come and see you if I can, and whisper 
 things to you, some things that I have not been able to say. Oh, I wish 
 there were some way of getting a letter to you when I am gone. But 
 perhaps I shall be able to visit you in dreams and visions of the night.' 
 Then, tenderly stroking the General's grey head, bowed by sorrow at 
 her side, she took his hand, weeping, and pressing it fervently to her 
 lips, said : 
 
 1 And this I do find, 
 We two are so joined, 
 
 I shall not he long in glory and leave you behind ! 
 Not long, I am sare, not long ! ' " 
 
 Then, turning again to her family, she added : 
 
 "Eemember, divisions and schisms and distrust are of the devil, of 
 the decil. I know Him. He comes at me. He says, ' Ah, you ave 
 leaving all your children, and the world aud the devil will be too much 
 for them ! ' But they won't, will they ? " 
 
 All the Family: "No." 
 
 Mrs. Booth : " Don't let him get an advantage." 
 
 "Oh, be not faithless!" she continued, her voice quivering 
 with the love that animated her countenance. " I have been 
 so wanting in faith. Oh, what I would give now if I had 
 had more faith and been more courageous. Have faith in 
 God. Don't be afraid of the devil ; don't be afraid of evil 
 tidings. Don't be afraid of them that can kill the body. 
 Have faith, faith, mighty faith! I am going into the dark 
 valley believing. I am ashamed of myself in many respects. 
 I don't want you to publish what I have done. I am 
 ashamed of the little I have achieved, and if I had only had 
 more faith I might have achieved so much." 
 
 Again the lips moved, as though desiring to speak. 
 
 " Do you believe ? " she asked. " Yes ! " eagerly replied 
 the Chief, " I am sure Jesus has got you in His arms." 
 Then pouring out his heart in prayer, he cried : " Lord 
 Jesus, we thank Thee for Thy presence ! We beseech Thee 
 to help us in this experience so new to us ; in this separa- 
 tion which, although so long anticipated, seems so dreadful. 
 . . . Lord, help us! Thou hast conquered death ! Thou 
 hast waded the river before us ! We know our precious 
 
The Death of Mrs. Booth. 485 
 
 mother is in Thine arms ! We thank Thee for this wonder- 
 ful peace and calm ! Let there be a joyful entrance into 
 Thy kingdom! Oh, take her right into Thy presence, and 
 lay her head upon Thy breast ! " 
 
 Unable to speak, Mrs. Booth pointed to a wall text, which 
 had for a long time been placed opposite to her so that her 
 eyes could rest upon it, " My grace is sufficient for thee" 
 It was taken down and placed near her on the bed. But it 
 was no longer needed. The promise had indeed been fulfilled. 
 
 And so those long hours of the night wore away and 
 morning dawned, her last morning upon earth, and the last 
 morning of Self-Denial Week. Still she lingered and still 
 her loved ones watched. Like the ocean tide, the waves of 
 life gradually ebbed and receded into the distance. Or 
 rather seemed it as if some vessel from the eternal shores 
 had cast anchor near the windows, and was but waiting for 
 the sufferer to embark in order to set sail. 
 
 Once, fixing her eyes upon her unfailing and faithful 
 attendant, Staff-Captain Carr, she managed, though with 
 evidently painful effort, to say, "Thank you!" 
 
 At times she would gaze upwards intently, as though able 
 to see some wonderful vision, the dim reflection of which 
 would illuminate her face. Once she said, " I seef but was 
 unable to add more. 
 
 Fondly the General clasped her hand, while each member 
 of the family tenderty embraced her, kissing her brow, and 
 with breaking hearts and choking voices uttering their fare- 
 well messages oft love. A gleam of tenderest recognition 
 passed over her countenance as the General bent over her. 
 " Pa ! " she said a term of endearment for the General. 
 Their eyes met the last kiss of love on earth was given 
 the last word spoken, " till" the day break and the shadows 
 flee away." 
 
 Fainter and fainter grew the breathing, while more and 
 more clearly were assurances of peace written upon that 
 dear-loved countenance ; till at length, with one deep sigh, 
 without a struggle, the silver cord was loosed and the golden 
 
486 k Mrs. Booth. 
 
 bowl broken, and the unfettered soul fled away to the land 
 Avhere sorrow and Buffering shall be no more, and where 
 God's own hand shall wipe away all tears. 
 
 It was half-past three on Saturday afternoon, the 4th Octo- 
 ber. The storm of the previous night had passed away. The 
 sun was sinking in an almost cloudless sky. The singing of 
 the larks, and the dull murmur of the waves beating on the 
 shore all seemed as though nature's God were seeking 
 through His handiwork to speak peace to the troubled souls 
 of the bereaved, reminding them through the beauties of 
 that exceptionally perfect autumn day that their loved one 
 had entered upon a world whose glory eye hath not seen, nor 
 ear heard, neither hath it entered into the heart of man to 
 conceive, 
 
 It is impossible to describe the sense of utter desolation 
 which swept over that home as the realization of their great 
 and irreparable loss made itself felt. But as father and 
 children embraced one another in that sacred room, each 
 sought to hide the anguish of their individual grief in 
 striving to bring comfort to the other. The forest oak 
 which, during the past forty years, had buried its roots in 
 the subsoil of those loving hearts could not fall crashing to 
 the earth without tearing every tender feeling, and mailing 
 the very ground vibrate. It seemed to each member of that 
 family as if an avalanche of sorrow had been let loose, com- 
 pared with which preceding troubles had been as merest 
 suowflakes. The anguish of bereavement is the necessary 
 penalty of love. Extremes of joy and sorAw meat. Those 
 \vho possess the highest joys are open to the keenest sorrows. 
 It must be so, while love is love. The most exquisite joy of 
 which the human breast is capable is made conditional on 
 participation. It cannot be experienced alone. It must 
 come through others or not at all. Individuals are bound 
 with individuals "in the bundle of life," inextricably inter- 
 woven with chains which salvation sanctifies, beautifies, 
 and strengthens, but does not break, because it links all to 
 God, and thus freshly binds each to the other. 
 
The Death of Mrs. Booth. 
 
 Upon the General the calamity fell with almost over- 
 whelming force. Writing to the War Cry immediately 
 afterwards, he refers to it in the following touching 
 terms : 
 
 "Yes, like a dream the event has come and gone. Anticipated, the 
 uppermost tliought in my mind, known to be inevitable for two long 
 years and eight months, dreaded as one of the darkest human shadows 
 that could fall upon my poor life, death has come and taken away my 
 darling wife, the beloved partne? of my soul. 
 
 " As well as she was able she joined us in singing the old song : 
 
 "' I will love Thee in life, I will love Thee in death, 
 And praise Thee as long as Thou lendest me breath, 
 And say when the death-dew lies cold on my brow, 
 If ever I loved Thee, my Jesus, 'tis now.' 
 
 " And then she kissed me and slipped away. 
 
 " I need not say that in this visitation the Army suffers loss. It is 
 quite true that she was the Army Mother. This relationship, almost 
 universally recognised, had grown up like so much of the Army, without 
 any set arrangement or design. Other religious organizations cannot 
 be said to have a Mother ; their guides and authorities are all Fathers. 
 The Salvation Army has, of God's great mercy and wisdom, and we 
 think through His own leading and inspiration, felt its need of the more 
 tender, feminine side of human character, as well as the more robust and 
 masculine element. Woman has taken her place with man in the new 
 kingdom as a helpmeet for him. And my beloved had the honour of 
 being chosen by her Lord to lead the way and set the example in this 
 arrangement. The coming generations will regard her as the Pioneer 
 Mother. How she has done this work, and in the doing of it commanded 
 the respect of the Christian world and secured the deep affection of her 
 own people, is a matter of everyday knowledge. 
 
 "And may I say something of my own loss? Ever since our first 
 meeting, now nearly forty years ago, we have been inseparable in spirit 
 that is, in all the main thoughts, feelings, and purposes of our lives. 
 On no single question of any importance have we ever acted inde- 
 pendently of each other's views. Oh, what a loss is mine ! Words are 
 utterly unable to express it. It cannot be measured. 
 
 * * * * * * 
 
 " My comrades, will you follow her as she followed Christ ? So far as 
 her life has been self-sacrificing, and pure, and laborious, and true in 
 the interests of Christ and mankind, will you imitate it ? And all for 
 
488 Mrs. Booth. 
 
 the dear Lord's salce. And so shall you be a joy to her, and an im'pcak- 
 able consolation to 
 
 " Your affectionate General, 
 
 "WILLIAM BOOTH.* 
 
 Thousands were eager for a last look at the loved face. It 
 appeared inhuman to refuse so natural a request. It would 
 Lave been invidious to grant it to a select few and not to all, 
 and hence it was speedily decided that the body should be 
 removed to London and such arrangements made as would 
 enable all who so wished to take a farewell glance at the 
 beloved countenance. The plain oaken coffin, which was 
 the Army Mother's last resting-place, was fitted with a 
 glass front, through which she could be seen, her hand rest- 
 ing upon her favourite photograph of the General. 
 
 Death had seemed to make but little change in the face 
 The look of peace and confidence which rested on her at the 
 last was still there. All was so natural that it would not 
 have seemed strange for the eyes to open and the lips to 
 speak. 
 
 The flag beneath which she died was thrown across the 
 coffin lid, to which a brass plate was affixed bearing the 
 following inscription : 
 
 CATHERINE BOOTH, 
 
 The Mother of 
 
 THE SALVATION ARMY. 
 
 Born 17th January, 1829. 
 
 Died 4th October, 1890. 
 
CHAPTER XLIX. 
 
 THE LAST LOOK. 
 
 " So thou hast passed away, thou noble soul ! 
 
 Gone to thy place among the stars to shine : 
 E'en while on earth, above its* dark control, 
 
 To beam for God, held by His hand was thine. 
 
 Thy spirit's radiance was a thing divine, 
 Which dated to pierce where sunbeams might not dwell: 
 
 It threw a ray on darkest hearts on mine 
 Shone through all shades and burst into my cell ! 
 Such souls as thine are lighted lamps from God 
 
 Sent to earth's gloom to gild it for awhile ; 
 They shine like morning down life's shadowed road, 
 
 To wake a bird and bid a flower to smile ! 
 And thus it is on clouds of man's despair 
 Still falls the eye of God and makes a rainbow t there ! " 
 
 (By an Ex-Convict, who first heard and read of Mrs. Booth in his cell.) 
 
 AND now occurred a series of vast and imposing spectacles, 
 seldom paralleled in the history of the world. The woman 
 who had, perhaps of all others, the least coveted popularity 
 received a tribute of genuine and world-wide esteem, which 
 was as unanimous as it was unstinted and generous. 
 
 The spontaneous outburst of popular sympathy which 
 greeted the news of Mrs. Booth's death proved that her 
 labours had not been in vain. Volumes might be filled with 
 laudatory notices from the pulpit and the press, while the 
 funeral celebrations were attended by unprecedented crowds. 
 
 On Monday, October 6th, her last remains were privately 
 removed from Clacton-on-Sea to the Clapton Congress Hall, 
 at the opening of which she had herself assisted, and where 
 she had delivered many powerful appeals. The hall, one of 
 the largest and most beautiful in London, accommodates five 
 
49 Mrs. Booth. 
 
 thousand persons, and is seated like an amphitheatre. It 
 proved to be none too large for the occasion. The centre 
 had been cleared of seats, and the northern portion of it 
 was covered with a coloured canopy, beneath which the 
 coffin was placed, surrounded with ferns and flowers. On 
 the lid were laid Mrs. Booth's well-worn Bible, her Army 
 flag, her bonnet and her crested jacket, touching mementoes 
 of the past. Above it was a card bearing a quotation from 
 her last anniversary message to the Army : 
 
 "Love one another, 
 
 and 
 Meet me in the Morning." 
 
 On the front of the platform, with the Army colours 
 drooped around it, was the framed portrait which had been 
 taken in her sick chamber a few months previously, and 
 which had occupied the vacant chair by the General's side 
 at the wedding of Commandant Herbert Booth. 
 
 At the hend of the coffin were placed several wreaths, 
 bearing various inscriptions, many of a deeply touching 
 character. Attached to one were the words, " The Rescue 
 Officers consecrate themselves to tread in the footsteps of 
 their Army Mother." Another, ' ; With deepest love and 
 sympathy from Mrs. Booth's book-folders/' And one from 
 "A little servant girl in memory of Mrs. Booth's goodness 
 to her sister, once an officer, now in Heaven." Another 
 quaint wreath of crocheted cotton rosettes was labelled iu 
 tinsel letters li Victory." The surrounding tables were 
 covered with flowers. And among the choicest wreaths 
 were little bunches of cottage garden chrysanthemums, the 
 contrast serving to illustrate the varied classes to whom 
 God had enabled her to minister in life. On each side 
 of the coffin was ranged a body of cadets, who regulated the 
 crowd, and kept the perpetual stream of visitors moving on ; 
 whilst from time to time her favourite hymns were sung by 
 others in one of the side rooms, the fact that they could not 
 be seen giving a distant heaven-like seeming to the sound. 
 
The Last Look. 491 
 
 On Tuesday four thousand people passed through the hall, 
 on Wednesday ten thousand, on Thursday fourteen thousand 
 t-:even hundred, and on Frida}' thirteen thousand. Had tho 
 position of the hall been more central, doubtless the numbers 
 would have been still more vast. 
 
 Many touching scenes were enacted at the coffin side. 
 Not a few were so overpowered with grief that it was with 
 difficulty that they could be removed. Others, remembering 
 the messages of former da}'S, came to seek salvation. One 
 of these, a poor fallen girl, had struck Mrs. Booth in the 
 back when she was leaving the hall some years previously. 
 Turning to her, Mrs. Booth had tenderly pressed her to give 
 up her life of sin and enter one of the Rescue Homes. And 
 now this Magdalen was at the coffin side, expressing with 
 tears her regret for the past and her determination to lead 
 thenceforth an altered life. 
 
 "All classes of society were' represented," says a lady who 
 was present and witnessed those never-to-be-forgotten scenes. 
 " Ministers, lawyers, doctors, actors, postmen, police, railway 
 officials, grooms, working-men, just come from their various 
 trades, and women from every grade of life. The old people 
 seemed especially overcome with grief. ' I heard her preach 
 some of her first sermons,' they would say one to another. 
 And then they wept afresh. Strong, intellectual-looking 
 men gazed on that scene with tear-filled eyes. And, oh, the 
 number of babes and young children brought to look upon 
 that face ! One can imagine how in future years the parents 
 will love to rehearse this incident to their children, urging 
 them to follow in the footsteps of her who so faithfully trod 
 in those of her Master. But oh, the poor, the poor ! Never 
 before have I experienced so melting and harrowing a time, 
 as one after another numbers of them passed along, their 
 quivering lips and tearful eyes betraying the fact that they 
 recognised in the death of Mrs. Booth the loss of a personal 
 i'riend." 
 
 From Clapton to the Olympia from the toiling East to 
 the luxurious West the remains of Mrs. Booth were re- 
 
492 Mrs. Bficth. 
 
 moved on the following Monday, October loth. Quietly at 
 daybreak, almost by stealth, in order to avoid the crowds 
 which would have otherwise awaited it, the eight-mile 
 journey was performed. 
 
 The difficulty of securing a suitable building, large enough 
 to accommodate the immense crowds desirous of attending 
 the funeral service, and yet within sufficiently easy reach of 
 all quarters of the Metropolis, was necessarily very great. 
 The Olympia Skating Rink was, however, finally engaged. 
 It was a vast railway-station-like structure some 500 feet 
 in length and 200 feet in breadth, with immense galleries 
 stretching the length of the building, and said to be them- 
 selves capable of accommodating twelve thousand people. 
 When occupied previously by the notorious Barnum the 
 throng of spectators had found ample accommodation on the 
 sidewalks and in the galleries, while the entire centre had 
 been devoted to the show. On the present occasion, how- 
 ever, it proved none too large for the immense crowds which 
 surged in the direction of the building from early morning, 
 although the service was not advertised to commence till six 
 p.m. Thirty-six thousand people passed the turnstiles, and 
 then it became necessary to close the gates and shut out 
 thousands more. 
 
 None who gazed upon that seething mass of humanity 
 could ever forget the sight. It seemed to be a miniature 
 representation of the Judgment Day, and one almost ex- 
 pected to hear the trumpet sound, feel the ground quake, see 
 the Great White Throne, and find the books opened out of 
 which should be judged the quick and the dead. 
 
 A fog, which had prevailed during the afternoon, had 
 crept into the hall, and hung in fleecy folds along the roof, 
 dimming the dazzling brilliance of the large electric lamps, 
 and adding not a little to the weirdness of the scene. 
 Xature's mourning/' remarked an officer. And indeed it 
 seemed appropriate for the occasion, and to suit the mood 
 of the huge audience. For while there was none of' the 
 lugubrious melancholy of an ordinary funeral, a sad serious- 
 
494 Mrs. "Booth. 
 
 ness pervaded the proceedings, and made it evident that the 
 people realised their loss. 
 
 It was obviously impossible for any single voice to make 
 announcements which could be heard. To meet this diffi- 
 culty a special litany had been prepared, printed, and 
 distributed among the congregation. Corresponding with 
 this, large-lettered signals were hoisted at intervals on the 
 platform, instructing the audience to " rise and sing/' to 
 " pray," or to read in silence the extracts from Mrs. Booth's 
 writings, which formed part of the service, and which 
 included exhortations to sinners, backsliders, Christians. 
 and Salvationists. 
 
 But perhaps the most impressive part of the ceremony was 
 the procession which entered the hall at the commencement, 
 bearing the flag-covered coffin down the central aisle and 
 through the dense throng of spectators. Slowty and sorrow- 
 fully, yet with an air of mingled hope and triumph, the 
 advance-guard of men and women officers filed their way, 
 bearing the flags of various nations, together with those of 
 some of the oldest corps, presented in early days by Mrs. 
 Booth. Others carried many-coloured bannerettes. White 
 badges on the left arm, and white streamers from the flag- 
 pole, took the place of customary crape, and taught that they 
 who mourned, mourned not as those who had no hope that 
 Heaven was a reality, and that they believed the Anr.y 
 Mother to be there. 
 
 And when, borne on the shoulders of a band of officers, 
 Mrs. Booth's mortal remains entered and passed slowly down 
 the hall, preceded by her faithful nurse who carried the flag 
 under which she had breathed her last few could restrain 
 their tears, and it seemed as if a visible wave of sympathetic 
 sorrow swept over the hearts of the entire audience. 
 
 The General followed, alone. Grief had left its finger- 
 traces on his brow. It was hard to lose the faithful partner 
 of so many years. But resignation and determination were 
 alike written on his face, and the keen grey eyes, which had 
 gazed for months with hers upon the pearly gates and jasper 
 
The Last Look. 495 
 
 walls of the New Jerusalem, had lost none of their piercing 
 power. Ezekiel-like he stood, "the desire of his eyes" 
 stricken "at a stroke," seeking to make his sorrow but the 
 text for a new appeal to all the world to yield their hearts 
 to his Divine Master. 
 
 The General was followed by the various members of his 
 family. They had bravely struggled to be there. But it 
 was easyto read the sorrow that weighed upon their hearts, 
 and to see that no small effort had been made in order to 
 command their feelings sufficiently to face that crowd. 
 
 The platform reached, the appointed places were taken, 
 and the solemn service proceeded. Song followed upon song, 
 prayer upon prayer, appeal upon appeal. Deeply touching was 
 the moment when the bereaved famih*. rising to their feet, 
 sang the favourite chorus which had so often comforted the 
 dying sufferer : 
 
 " We shall walk through the valley and the shadow of death, 
 We shall walk through the valley in peace ! 
 For Jesus Himself will be our Leader 
 We shall walk through the valley in peace !" 
 
 The meeting culminated in a final invitation to all who were 
 willing to make a whole-hearted surrender of themselves to 
 God to signify it by rising to their feet. Hundreds upon 
 hundreds responded to the call, and the hall was for the time 
 being a veritable vale of tears a starting-point from which 
 thousands will doubtless date a new life of consecration to 
 the service of God and humanity. And then the procession 
 reformed and left the hall in the same order in which it had 
 entered, while the crowds melted slowly away and dis- 
 appeared, like phantom spirits from another world, into the 
 dense fog that had settled like a funeral shroud upon the 
 streets. 
 
CHAPTER L. 
 THE FCNERAL. 
 
 "Not once nor twice in our rough island story, 
 The path of duty was the path of glory." 
 
 THE shadowland of youth with which we commenced these 
 memoirs is exchanged for the shadowland of eternity. To 
 the confines of that unexplored region, whose glories for the 
 saint, whose terrors for the sinner the eye of faith, through 
 the dim medium of revelation, can alone discern, we have 
 brought our readers. Along that sorrow-shrouded border- 
 line, which had been crossed by the triumphant spirit ten 
 days previously, there gathered on Tuesday, the 14th of Octo- 
 ber, an immense concourse of human beings, entirely without 
 parallel since the funeral of the Duke of Wellington. 
 
 The fog of the previous day still lingered in the air. But 
 it was not sufficient to conceal the solid block of human 
 beings who stretched from far away down the spacious 
 Thames Embankment on into the heart of the City, Tho 
 crowd at the Olympia had appeared vast indeed, but sank 
 into insignificance when compared with the countless throng 
 that rendered impassable some of London's widest thorough- 
 fares. The funeral march was restricted to Officers, of whom 
 some three thousand were present. "With heavy hearts they 
 had flocked to the mournful ceremony from every portion of 
 the British field. 
 
 Had all the soldiers and friends who were desirous of join- 
 ing the procession been allowed to do so, ife was anticipated 
 that they would have numbered at least fifty thousand, mak- 
 
 426 
 
The Funeral. 497 
 
 ing progress impossible. The event proved the precaution 
 to be a necessary one. 
 
 For some little time no advance could be made, but with 
 the hearty co-operation of the police, and the good-humoured 
 assistance of the crowd itself, a passage was at length 
 cleared along Queen Victoria Street. Formed into fifteen 
 sections, with flags and bannerettes waving in the air, the 
 procession slowly forced its way through the dense throng 
 till it had reached the International Headquarters of the 
 Salvation Army. Here the coffin was brought forth, draped 
 in the Army colours, and, with the familiar Bible, bonnet 
 and jacket in view, it was placed upon the open hearse pro- 
 vided for its reception. It was received with respectful 
 silence by the multitude, and hats were generally doffed 
 along the route. 
 
 The General followed alone in an open carriage, standing 
 and bowing his acknowledgments to the sympathetic greet- 
 ings with which he was continually met. The Chief and 
 Commandant ware on horseback. A second carriage, also 
 open, contained Mrs. Booth's daughters, the Marechale, Mrs. 
 Booth-Tucker, and the Misses Eva, Marian, and Lucy "Booth. 
 In a third carriage followed Mrs. Bramwell and Mrs. Herbert 
 Booth ; in a fourth the eldest grandchildren, and in the fifth 
 and last were Staff-Captain Carr and the household. The 
 only members of the family unable to be present were Com- 
 mander and Mrs. Ballington Booth, who were represented by 
 an officer bearing the flag of the United States. 
 
 As the procession passed the Mansion House, the spectacle 
 was unique. Business, in the busiest hour of the day, was 
 at a standstill. Every avenue of approach .was blocked with 
 omnibuses, carts, and cabs, the owners of which made use of 
 every inch of standing-room as an improvised " grand-stand/' 
 levying mail on the eager candidates for a place. Windows 
 were lined and on either side of the procession was a solid 
 wall of human beings. Through Shoreditch, past Dalston 
 and up Kingsland Road, to the very entrance of the Abney 
 Park Cemetery, q, distance of four miles, the uninterrupted 
 
 K K 
 
49$ Mrs- Booth. 
 
 sea of human faces stretched, till those who witnessed the 
 sight were tempted to wonder from whence such multitudes 
 could have come. This was more remarkable since from tho 
 very pressure of the crowds it was impossible for the spec- 
 tators to accompany the procession. They could only wait 
 and see it pass. The crowd in the city was of an entirely 
 different character to that in Shoreditch. and this again to 
 the crowd in Kingsland. 
 
 At length the cemetery was reached. Admissions had 
 been limited by the authorities to ten thousand, and these 
 had already taken their places and been awaiting for some 
 hours the arrival of the march. The fog lifted and the de- 
 clining sun shone out while the procession passed through 
 the gates, as if to remind each sorrowing heart that their 
 loved one was beyond the reach of earth's mists, adding bril- 
 liance to another world, and yet leaving behind an imperish- 
 able memorial of the past in the thousands of salvation-illu- 
 mined lives that were to focus and transmit to all around the 
 r; t ys of spiritual light they had themselves received from her. 
 
 Slowly and silently the procession wended its way through 
 the cemetery. On the right and left there stretched an end- 
 less sea of tombs. Touching tokens of desolated hearts and 
 homes were spread around. Tablets, monuments, crosses, 
 urns and broken pillars, typical of broken hopes, with their 
 stone - written names and inscriptions, perpetuated the 
 memory of those who lay b3neath, whilst flowers and 
 wreaths and carefully attended sward sought to strip death 
 of some of its grim ghastliness. What a wilderness of buried 
 hopes, of shattered ambitions, of baffled efforts, of pardoned 
 and unpardoned sin ! It seemed as if across that wall cf 
 gravestones ' against the candlestick " of life were written 
 in letters which required no Daniel for their interpreter, 
 " Prepare to meet thy God ! " 
 
 The spot chosen for the grave was in the extreme left-hand 
 corner of the cemetery, where a considerable space remained 
 unoccupied, and there was consequently the most room to 
 accommodate the crowd. Here a large platform had been 
 
TJie Funeral. 499 
 
 erected, capable of seating some fifteen hundred persons. 
 Draped with flags and filled with officers, it presented an 
 effective background to the scene. In front of the platform 
 and reaching to the boundary walls was the dense mass of 
 earnest faces which had become so familiar during the last 
 few days. 
 
 Gently the coffin was removed from the carriage, and 
 placed upon the platform in the view of all. Around it in 
 circle sat the General, his family, and various leading officers. 
 The service was conducted by Commissioner Railton. His 
 clear voice rang out, " Rock of Ages, cleft for me," and the 
 congregation heartily took up the familiar refrain. Major 
 Musa Bhai from India, and Mrs. Major Cooke, representing 
 the slum work in England, then prayed, and Staff-Captain 
 Annie Bell sang: 
 
 "When the roll is called in Heaven, 
 Shall I answer to my name ? " 
 
 After Commissioner Howard had read a passage from the 
 15th chapter of the first Epistle to the Corinthians, Commis- 
 sioner Booth-Clibborn and the writer of these memoirs spoke. 
 Next the Marechale, Mrs. Booth's eldest daughter, standing 
 with tears beside her mother's open grave, appealed to sinner 
 and saint alike to surrender themselves fully to God, and 
 follow in the footsteps of her who had left behind so brilliant 
 an example. 
 
 And then the General stepped forward, the entire platform 
 rising to their feet. Cries of "God bless you!'' and 
 " Amen ! " greeted him from all directions. It was a grand 
 climax to the funeral celebrations of the week nay, rather 
 to the long service of a life when the patriarchal figure of 
 the Prophet of the Poor, the Founder and Father of the 
 Salvation Army, stood erect, bareheaded, sad, but firm and 
 true, facing the vast audience. The long grey beard, the 
 Eastern cast of countenance, the flashing eyes, the uplifted 
 arm, reminded the onlooker irresistibly of pictures of Moses, 
 Elijah, Daniel, It was not difficult to imagine there in the 
 
5CO 
 
The Funeral. 5 O1 
 
 corner of that vast graveyard, that one of the prophets had 
 indeed risen from the dead, had it not been for the " one 
 touch of nature," the open grave, the waiting coffin, which 
 served to make that congregation " kin." It was one of 
 those scenes which memory carves upon the inmost soul. The 
 many-coloured background of white pennanted flags and 
 uniformed Salvationists, the foreground of listeners with 
 tear-bedewed cheeks and earnest upturned countenances, the 
 setting sun, the fading light, the weird sepulchral surround- 
 ings the spectacle was one which seen, who could forget ? 
 
 "It was a most touching sight," says the Daily Tele- 
 graph, "when the tall, upright General came forward in the 
 gathering darkness to tell his comrades of the loss he, their 
 Chief, had sustained. He spoke manfully, resolutely, and 
 without the slightest trace of affectation. Not a suspicion 
 of clap-trap marred the dignity of the address. He spoke as 
 a soldier should who had disciplined his emotion, without 
 effort and straight from the heart. Few wives who have 
 comforted their husbands for forty years have received such 
 a glowing tribute of honest praise. It is clear enough where 
 the strength of the Salvation Army is to be found, where its 
 courage, where its indomitable energy, where its unswerv- 
 ingness of purpose. To hear General Booth speak, and to 
 see the man, is to understand a great deal of the success of 
 the Salvation Army." 
 
 Kneeling at the conclusion of his address by the coffin 
 side, the General imprinted upon its lid a farewell kiss, 
 while the tears of the children fell upon it fast, and then 
 the loved one nay, only the " dissolved earthly house of 
 this tabernacle " was lowered sadly into its last resting- 
 place, the congregation singing softly a verse which had 
 been a special favourite with Mrs. Booth, and which had a 
 double interest, both words and music being the composition 
 of her 'son Herbert : 
 
 Blessed Lord, in Thee is refuge, 
 Safety for my trembling soul, 
 
502 Mrs. Booth. 
 
 Power to lift my head when drooping, 
 : Mid the angry billows' roll ! 
 
 I will trust Thee ! 
 All my life Thou shalt control ! " 
 
 Commissioner Railton afterwards stepped forward and 
 repeated from the Army burial service the solemn words : 
 
 " As it hath pleased Almighty God to promote our dear 
 Mother from her place in the Salvation Army to the mansion 
 prepared for her above, we now commit her body to this 
 grave earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust in the 
 sure and certain hope of seeing her again in the Resurrection 
 More ing." 
 
 Then, turning to the crowd, he said, "God bless and com- 
 fort all the bereaved ones ! " The audience responded with 
 a hearty " Amen ! r ' 
 
 " God help us who are left to be faithful unto death ! ? ' 
 And again a loud and deep ' : Amen ! '"' pealed forth. 
 
 li God bless the Salvation Army ! " said the Commissioner, 
 the congregation responding with a third " Amen ! r? 
 
 And, finally, the Chief of the Staff, Mr. Bramwell Booth, 
 her eldest born, stepped forward, worn with the recent 
 strain and deeply agitated. There seemed to be tears in his 
 voice as he struggled to control the pent-up feelings of his 
 heart while reading out the personal covenant with which 
 the solemn service closed. Sentence by sentence the audience 
 repeated after him the words : 
 
 "Blessed Lord We do solemnly promise Here by the 
 side of this open grave And before each other That we 
 will be true to our cause And valiant in Thy service That 
 we will devote ourselves to the great end of saving souls 
 That we will be faithful to Thee Faithful to one another 
 And faithful to a dying world Till we meet Our beloved 
 Mother In the Morning. Amen." 
 
 Xight shadows were creeping over the graveyard, while 
 the vast assemblage reluctantly and sorrowfully dispersed. 
 Xature sympathising with the mourners' mood spread its 
 dark pall over the scene, and bid them turn from the buried 
 
The Funeral 53 
 
 past to use the golden opportunities of the present. And 
 through the gloaming angel voices seemed to chant the 
 farewell message of the departed one : 
 
 " Love one another, and meet me in the Morning." 
 * * * * 
 
 From its sunrise to its zenith, from its zenith to its sunset, 
 we have tracked the orbit of a life whose light shone " more 
 and more unto the perfect clay." And now we stand gazing 
 sadly over the waters, and watch the ball of spiritual fire 
 as it sinks for the lust time below the horizon, illuminating 
 the fringes of the dark bank of sickness-clouds behind which 
 it disappears, and yet through which, to the last, it pours 
 its golden rays. And then the twilight sets in death's 
 twilight : the twilight of a holy death in which the twin- 
 lights meet, and the light of life is merged in the light of 
 eternity. We look up almost despairingly into the dark- 
 ening sky. But, though the sun is gone, the stars shine 
 out ; first a few here and there, like solitary mourners over 
 the grave of the departed day, then more and more, till 
 countless legions fill the firmaments, and the blank, black 
 past is ablaze with memories of deeds and words that pierce 
 the darkness of bereavement with messages of hope, and 
 stand like fiery sentinels keeping watch at the gateway of a 
 brighter day, when the eternal morn shall break and the 
 shadows flee away, and the Sun of suns of which this, after 
 all, was but a pale reflection shall shine forth in its 
 strength, illuminate the world, and never set. 
 
 THE END. 
 
GENERAL INDEX OF THE LIFE. 
 
 Abney Park, service in, 499. 
 
 All the World, 198, 439. 
 
 America, the Christian Mis- 
 sion in, 313, 319. 
 
 Anniversary celebrations, 
 388, 444, 469. 
 
 Archbishop Tait, 366. 
 
 Armstrong case, the, 429. 
 
 Army literature, 198. 
 
 Ashbourne, Mrs. Booth born 
 in, 3. 
 
 Audited accounts, 196. 
 
 Australia, the Army in, 316, 
 318, 410. 
 
 Balance sheets, 196. 
 
 Bedside, deputation at Mrs. 
 Booth's, 475. 
 
 Billups, Mr. and Mrs., 159, 
 408. 
 
 Birmingham, 82, 164. 
 
 " Blades " in Sheffield, 358. 
 
 " Blood and Fire," 250. 
 
 Booth, Mrs. Catherine- 
 birth, 3 ; girlhood in 
 Boston, 8 ; wedding, 64 ; 
 first public effort, 100; 
 first pamphlet, 104 ; first 
 call to preach, 106; first 
 sermon, 109; leaving the 
 conference, 126 ; seaside 
 work, 191; in Edinburgh, 
 201 ; in Brighton, 206 ; 
 Portsmouth, '220, 240 ; 
 purity agitation, 414; last 
 illness, 463; Clacton- on- 
 Sea, 471; death, 479; the 
 last look, 489 ; in the 
 Olympia,492 : the funeral, 
 49(3. 
 
 Booth, General early days, 
 29; revival work, 30; call 
 to the ministry, 30; ex- 
 pelled by the Wesleyans, 
 34; joins the Reformers, 
 meets Miss Mumfor'd, 35 ; 
 joins the New Connexion, 
 54; wedding, 64; revival 
 work, 71 ; Gateshead, 92 ; 
 leaves the Conference, 
 126 ; goes to London, la I ; 
 Cornwall, 85, 135; work 
 in East London, 172, 181 ; 
 visits the Continent, Uni- I 
 ted States, and Canada, 
 441. 
 
 Booth, William Bramwell 
 (The Chief of the Staff) 
 birth of, 78; conversion, 
 
 163 ; early work, 238 ; 
 correspondence, 239; mar- 
 ries Miss Florence Soper, 
 385; in the Old Bailey 
 Dock, 433 ; acquitted, 431. 
 
 Booth, Mrs. W. Bramwell ; 
 see Soper, Miss Florence. 
 
 Booth, Ballington, Com- 
 mander birth of, 87; in 
 the Training Home, 328 ; 
 impi isoned at Manches- 
 ter, 319 ; in Australia, 
 410 ; letter to his mother, 
 411 ; marries Miss Maud 
 Charleaworth, 451 ; com- 
 manding the S.A. in the 
 United States, 453. 
 
 Booth, Mrs. Ballington ; 
 see Charlesworth, Miss 
 Maud. 
 
 Booth-Clibborn, Mrs. (La 
 Marechale) birth of, 95 ; 
 letters from her mother, 
 217, 233 ; early public 
 work, 254; commissioned 
 for France, 34- ; uproar 
 in the Paris Hall, 383 ; in 
 Switzerland, 397 ; impri- 
 sonment, 398; trial, 402; 
 acquitted, thanksgiving 
 in Exeter Hall, 405 ; mar- 
 ries Commissioner Glib- 
 born, 453. 
 
 Booth-Clibborn, Commis- 
 sioner ; see Olibborn. 
 
 Booth-Tucker, Mrs. birth 
 of, 106; letters from her 
 mother, 218, 240, 280, 287, 
 424 ; chilil hood traits, 236 ; 
 first platform work, 251; 
 in the Training Home, 
 328 ; marries Commis- 
 sioner Tucker, 454 ; at 
 Mr. Herbert's wedding, 
 458. 
 
 B >oth-Tucker, Commission- 
 er; see Tucker. 
 
 Booth, Herbert Howard, 
 Commandant birth of, 
 15 1 ; in the Training 
 Home, 411; marries Miss 
 Schoch, 458. 
 
 Bjoth, Mrs. Herbert; see 
 Schoch, Miss Coraline. 
 
 Booth, Marian, Miss, birth 
 of, 166. 
 
 B >oth, Evangeline, Miss 
 (The Field Commissioner), 
 birth of, 183. 
 505 
 
 I Booth, Lucy Milward, Miss, 
 
 birth of, 189. 
 Bright, John, M.P., 366. 
 Brighton, early visit of Mrs. 
 
 Booth to, 22 ; the Dome, 
 
 203. 
 
 Bristol, Colston Hall, 4t;3. 
 Butler, Mrs. Josephine, 381, 
 
 418. 
 
 Cadman, Elijah (Commis- 
 sioner), 247. 
 
 Cairns, Earl, 339. 
 
 Canada, 379. 
 
 Care in training her child- 
 ren, Mrs. Booth's, 89, 98, 
 235. 
 
 Carlisle, the Army and the 
 Bishop, 333. 
 
 Charles worth. Miss Maud, 
 married to Mr. Ballington 
 Booth, 451 ; Army career, 
 451. 
 
 Chats worth, 72. 
 
 Chester, 83. 
 
 Christian Mission, the, 209. 
 
 City Temple, the, 469. 
 
 Clacton-ou-Sea, 471. 
 
 Clibborn, Commissioner 
 Booth, 356 ; marries Miss 
 Booth, 453 ; career, 453. 
 
 Coleridge, Lord, 367. 
 
 Colours, the Army, 250, 478. 
 
 Conferences, Christian Mis- 
 sion, 228. 
 
 Coombs, Commissioner, in 
 Canada and Australia, 
 379, 411. 
 
 Cornwall, 85, 135. 
 
 Cory, Messrs. John and 
 Richard, 153. 
 
 Criminal Law Amendment 
 Act, the, 426. 
 
 Crystal Palace, the, 470. 
 
 "Darkest England," 213. 
 Darlington Council, the, 
 
 305. 
 
 Deliverer, the, 198. 
 Denny, Mr. T. A., 300, 342. 
 Diary of Mrs. Boor.h, 21. 
 Dowdle, Colonel, 326. 
 Dunorlan, 185. 
 
 East End of London, ser- 
 vices begun by the Gene- 
 ral, 172, 181 ; his life work 
 decided, 179. 
 
 Edinburgh, Mrs. Booth in, 
 201,325. 
 
506 
 
 General Index of the Life. 
 
 Effingham Theatre, the, en- 
 gaged by the Mission, 195. 
 
 Exeter Hall, a girl listener 
 in, 19 ; Army meetings 
 inaugurated in, 354. 
 
 Faith, Mrs. Booth on, 288. 
 Female Ministry, Mrs. 
 
 Booth's pamphlet on, 101 ; 
 
 controversy about, 171. 
 Flag, the Army, 250; Mrs. 
 
 Booth's love for, 478. 
 France, La Marechale com- 
 missioned for, 342. 
 Frivolity, Mrs. Booth on, 
 
 289. 
 
 Gateshead, 91. 
 Gladstone, Mr., correspond- 
 ence with, 400. 
 Grecian, purchase of the, 
 
 349. 
 Hallelujah bonnet, the, 252 ; 
 
 lasses, 269. 
 Happy Eliza, 272. 
 Harcourt, Sir William, 341. 
 Hartlepool, 121. 
 Headquarters, the Army, 
 
 195,317. 
 
 " Heathen England." 243. 
 Hk'gins, Commissioner, 
 
 \M. 
 Holiness question, the, 114, 
 
 393. 
 Howard, Commissioner, 
 
 317. 
 How to reach the masses, 
 
 213. 
 Hydropathy, 242. 
 
 India, the Army enters, 372. 
 
 Kate Shepherd, 271. 
 Kitchen council, a, 177. 
 
 "Larrikins" in Aus ralia, 
 
 411. 
 Law, letter and spirit of 
 
 the, 335. 
 Life and Death, Mrs. 
 
 Booth's lectu-es on, 408. 
 Lightfoot, Dr., 368. 
 Literature of the Army, 
 
 193, 213. 216. 
 London, 18, 32, 58, 170, 340, 
 
 341,348. 
 
 Macclesfield, 80. 
 
 Maiden Tribute, the, 424. 
 
 Margate, 191. 
 
 Marriage, Mrs. Booth's 
 views on, 47, 289. 
 
 Middlesborough, 235. 
 
 Mile End waste, 172. 
 
 Military system contem- 
 plated, 248; adopted, 249; 
 titles in use, 249. 
 
 Monster petition, the. 426. 
 
 Morley, Mr. Simuel, M.P., 
 ISO, 295. 
 
 Mumford, Mr. John, 8; at 
 
 his daughter's meetings, 
 200. 
 Mumford, Mrs., 4. 
 
 Xeuchatel, Miss Booth im- 
 prisoned in, 399. 
 
 Newcastle, 103, 280. 
 
 New Zealand, 408. 
 
 " Nick," 275. 
 
 Northern Echo, the, 305, 419. 
 
 Notes in preaching, use of, 
 193, 290. 
 
 Nottingham, 29. 
 
 Old Bailey, 434. 
 
 Open-air, the Army's first 
 
 meetings, 361 ; the law 
 
 governing, 337. 
 Orders and regulations, 
 
 439. 
 Onchterloney Miss, 378. 
 
 Paget, Sir James, 465. 
 Parents of Mrs. Bootli, 4, 22. 
 Parker, Dr., of L mdon, 
 
 469. 
 Parkyn, Miss Deborah, 
 
 marries Commissioner 
 
 Railton, 410. 
 Philadelphia Pa., the Army 
 
 in, 313. 
 " Popular Christianity," 
 
 4:3. 
 
 Portsmouth, 220, 240. 
 " Praying John/' 229. 
 Preachers, the kind needed, 
 
 256. 
 Prince's Hall, Piccadilly, 
 
 413. 
 Prodigal son, Mrs. Booth's 
 
 sermon on the, 222. 
 Purity agitation, tlie, 414. 
 
 Quaker burial ground. 172. 
 Queen, the, Mrs. Boo h's 
 
 correspondence with, 389, 
 
 422, 425, 434. 
 
 Railton, George Scott, the 
 mission's historian, 216, 
 243 ; commissioned for 
 America, 314; recalled, 
 316 ; wedding at Exeter 
 Hall, 410. 
 
 Redrutti,l53. 
 
 Reed, Mr. Henry, 186. 
 
 Rees, Rev. A. A., pamphlet j 
 on the right of women to j 
 preach, 103. 
 
 Regent Hall, 346. 
 
 Reporter, the American, 
 379. 
 
 Republic, the American, 
 and the Army, 320. 
 
 Rescue work extending, 
 441. 
 
 Riot in Sheffield ,358. 
 
 Salvation Army, origin of 
 tbe name, 248 first use of, 
 249. 
 
 Salvophobism, 332. 
 
 Schoch.Mi^s Coraline, mar- 
 ried to Mr. Herbert Booth, 
 458. 
 
 Schools, Mrs. Booth's views 
 on, 240. 
 
 Scotland, Mr. and Mrs. 
 Booth in, 204. 
 
 Self-denial Week, 479. 
 
 Sheffield, 81, 358. 
 
 Shepherd, Kate, 271. 
 
 Shirley family, the, 313. 
 
 Silver Wedding, General 
 and Mrs. Booth's, 330. 
 
 Soci il scheme, 348. 
 
 Soper, Miss Florence, mar- 
 ried to Mr. Bramwell 
 Booth, 386 ; in charere of 
 the Rescue Work, 41 <>. 
 
 South Africa, 408. 
 
 St. Andrew's Hall, 356. 
 
 Stea I, Mr. W. T., 305 ; in 
 the purity move nent, 
 419. 
 
 St. Ives, 141. 
 
 St. James's Hall, 35G 
 
 St. John's Wood, 183. 
 
 St. Just, 144. 
 
 Sutherland, Captain and 
 Mrs., set apart for Aus- 
 tralia, 317. 
 
 Sweden, 378 ; Miss Charles- 
 worth in, 451. 
 
 Swift, Miss, 439. 
 
 Switzerland, 397, 438. 
 
 Tent in Whitechapel, the, 
 
 172. 
 
 TLomas, Rev. Dr., 45. 
 Titles Salvation Army, 249. 
 Training Homps, : 27. 
 Tucker, Commissioner 
 
 Booth, 377; marr e-l to 
 
 Miss Emma Muss Booth, 
 
 454. 
 
 Uniforms adopted by the 
 
 Army. 251. 
 United States, the Christian 
 
 mission in the, 313. 
 
 Vaccination, Mrs. Booth 
 disapproves of, 200. 
 
 Wales, the Army in 271; 
 Mrs- Booth visits, 278. 
 
 Walsall, 161. 
 
 Wnr Congress, the first, 
 261. 
 
 War Cry, the, 198 ; launched 
 286, 329. 
 
 Weddings, the four, 419. 
 
 Weerasooriye, Col. Arnolis, 
 414. 
 
 West End services, 173, 304, 
 322, 355. 
 
 Whitecliapel, services be- 
 gun in, 172, 181 ; people's 
 market purchased, 210. 
 
THE SALVATION ARMY AS IT IS, 
 
 BY COMMISSIONER BAILTON. 
 
 Only six years ago, Mrs. Booth asked me to append to 
 her blazing protest against "Popular Christianity" a brief 
 description of The Salvation Army. And now, three years 
 after that tremendous Tuesday when London followed the 
 Army Mother's last procession to her humble grave, I am 
 asked by her eldest son to make a similar appendix to the 
 popular story of her life. 
 
 With what reluctance and mortification should I sit 
 down to this pleasant task if I had to record the disap- 
 pointment of Mrs. Booth's purposes and hopes ! If I had 
 to say that, since her voice was no more heard amongst us, 
 the Gospel of Jesus was less loved, and the work of Jesus 
 less vigorously carried on by the people whom Mrs. Booth 
 taught, I should have to make a sorry confession indeed 
 as to the nature of her life-work. 
 
 " By their fruits ye shall know them " our one great 
 Master's test-word is especially valuable in relation to the 
 dead. We may endeavor in vain to sift from even the best 
 of records what is reliable fact, and what affectionate tradi- 
 tion only, about any popular leader ; whereas the abiding 
 results of their action supply to us an infallible test of the 
 extent to which they acted with and without God, with 
 and without a true regard for the benefit of their fellow - 
 men. And if this be our test, then surely there has been 
 time enough already for every one to satisfy themselves 
 that Mrs. Booth was an instrument in the hands of God 
 Himself, and that the great impulses of her life were not 
 of human but of Divine origin. 
 
 For the Army remains unaltered. After carefully 
 examining what I wrote six years ago, I cannot find a 
 single word that would need modification in any description 
 
508 The Salration Army As It Is. 
 
 ot the teachings and practices of the Army to-day. Just 
 such as Mrs. Booth saw it in preaching, in spirit and in 
 practice, is it still, proving conclusively how complete was 
 the delusion of those who represented, whether in a friendly 
 or unfriendly tone, that it owed to this great woman its 
 existence or its power. What men create perishes at their 
 departure. Only God is able, through His workmen and 
 workwomen, to produce something which, amid all possible 
 tempests and trials, will still continue to flourish. 
 
 It has frequently appeared to me that a subtle form of 
 insult to the General and the Army was invented by 
 those who, by extravagant eulogy of Mrs. Booth, implied 
 that without her neither her husband nor his followers 
 would count for much. All this has found, during the last 
 three years, its crushing reply amidst the Army's onward 
 march. Amongst the floods of misrepresentation which 
 from time to time have deluged the General and his family, 
 I am not aware that anyone has ever ventured to accuse 
 either the husband or the children of Mrs. Booth of 
 departing from the path she trod, or even of wishing to 
 depart from it. 
 
 Certainly she could hardly have imagined in her 
 sunniest moments, that, at the bidding of the most im- 
 portant journals of her country, a committee of statesmen'" 
 would sit for weeks to examine into the honesty of her 
 dearest ones, and would solemnly declare their perfect in- 
 tegrity, whilst at the same time suggesting that a body of 
 trustees might with advantage be appointed to ensure their 
 continuance in that good way ! But if from her lofty 
 dwelling-place she witnessed all this, she had also the 
 satisfaction to see both husband and children in that im- 
 portant moment, and before that severe test, as unwavering 
 in their resolution to hold to the unlimited freedom of 
 action for God which she valued so highly, as they ever 
 were when she was amongst them. 
 
 Reference is here made to the searching investigation into the affairs of 
 The Darkest England Scheme by the Earl of Ouslow's Committee, of which Sir 
 Henry James, M.P., was Chairman, and which resulted in a remarkable 
 vindication of the General and the undertaking. 
 
The Salvation Army As It Is. 509 
 
 This simple, steadfast, marching on, turning neither to 
 right nor left, has more than doubled the Army during 
 these six years. Instead of the five thousand men and 
 women officers of whom I wrote in 1887, there are to-day 
 10,645 answering precisely the description I then gave 
 "men and women who gladly bear contempt, abuse, 
 poverty, and suffering of every kind, that they may spend 
 the part of life which still remains to them in proclaiming 
 their Saviour." 
 
 And during this brief period, the Army has really been 
 far more than doubled, for it has become a mighty power 
 in lands where it had then no existence whatever, and has 
 been developed in directions in which it had then scarcely 
 made any attempt to go. It would be absurdly superfluous 
 for me, in an appendix to these glowing, photographic 
 pages, to begin any description of our teaching and work 
 which the author has so completely portrayed. But I will 
 ask you just to look with me for a moment at one of the 
 men who, farthest from Mrs. Booth's burial-place, is carrying 
 the flag she first presented. 
 
 Away in the depths of a Columbian forest you may see 
 him forcing his way from hut to hut, holding a meeting 
 whenever he can gather a few of the scattered settlers 
 together, urging, as nearly as he can compelling, all men 
 everywhere to repent, to believe the Gospel, to follow Christ 
 fully, and to become, if at all possible, a uniformed soldier of 
 The Salvation Army. That officer, scarcely ever mentioned, 
 even in a " War Cry " despatch, will thus go on from month 
 to month and from year to year until some fell disease, or 
 some fall amidst his perilous lonely rides, will sweep him off 
 this battlefield to see for the first time the heroine of this 
 book. He never heard her voice. But he has done what Mrs, 
 Booth told everybody to do. He has given himself up body and 
 soul to perform the will of his Saviour and to finish His work. 
 
 No wonder that such a man, out of the wildest cowboys 
 and the most utterly abandoned women in the world, 
 produces equally devoted soldiers of the Cross. The leaven 
 which this woman took and hid, when I first knew her, in 
 
510 Ute ^'alcutitii Anny As It Is. 
 
 little hole-and-comer meetings in the East of London, 
 cannot but go on leavening the world. Neither Andes, nor 
 Pyrenees, nor Himalayas will check the progress of the 
 Army of the Lord of Hosts. Wherever the pressure of the 
 Blood-and-Fire bayonet comes, there is the same unqualified 
 surrender to God which so often gladdened Mrs. Booth's 
 heart both amongst rich and poor, and so the process must 
 and will repeat itself till all the world has felt the ever- 
 widening influence of this great organization. 
 
 And why is The Salvation Army such a unity of force? 
 Why do the self-seeking or the faithless one by one flee 
 away from its flag, if they have ever stood beneath it ? Why 
 is there ever activity, novelty, enterprise, adaptation to all 
 men and all places ? Because the new wine of God's 
 Kingdom has unhesitatingly been put into new bottles and 
 the old ones have as unhesitatingly been shelved or given, 
 shall I say, to the Salvage Brigade of the Social Wing ! 
 
 Nor can the success of the Army be ascribed merely to 
 the admirable character of k its organization. Experience 
 has only too clearly proved that an organization, however 
 skilfully devised, and though backed up with the wealth of 
 a nation and with the learning of ages, may be but a 
 lifeless, powerless form. The vital difference between the 
 mere mechanical organization which stifles, and always 
 must stifle, real life, and the life-giving organization of The 
 Salvation Army, lies in the substitution of a personal, God- 
 inspired leadership for a paper plan. It is this personal, 
 living, moving influence, as opposed to correct stereotyped 
 formularies and ordinances and routines, which gives The 
 Salvation Army its elasticity and efficacy throughout the 
 world. This enables it, with equal rapidity and ease, to search 
 for the most besotted progidal in the San Francisco dive, 
 or the most refined one in the Berlin Casino ; to claim and 
 seize for God the most brilliant Parisieune, or the roughest 
 Canadian woodman ; to be at home with the poorest beggar 
 in India, or the richest squatter in Australia. 
 
 The Salvation Army is, in fact, a power for good wherever 
 it goes, just because it is an Army because all its people, 
 
The Salvation Army As It Is. 511 
 
 without exception, are made to humble themselves to God's 
 own old, original, unimprovable plan of organization for His 
 people. This it is which, in every individual case, makes 
 the triumph of the Army so great. The simple " Come, 
 follow Me " of the Saviour, repeated with the same heartfelt 
 earnestness whether in the drawing-room or the back slum, 
 finds a perfect response wherever true faith and love spring 
 into existence, and then every personal interest can be 
 subordinated to the good of all without any of the gloom 
 or hidden compulsion of the cloister. 
 
 Of course, this system of personal leadership has its 
 corresponding drawback. Every Aaron who backslides can 
 carry all under him any day into a path of sin or selfish- 
 ness, and The Salvation Army, like all God's armies in the 
 past, has had to suffer, and will have to suffer, bitterly in 
 this way. But now that after all such losses such an un- 
 paralleled rate of progress can be shown, it is surely time for 
 every sensible man to say " This is the Lord's doing." 
 
 The Social activities of the Army naturally attract much 
 attention even amongst the godless. To such it is far more 
 interesting that a prodigal son should be found regularly 
 feeding pigs to earn an honest living than that he should be 
 completely delivered from all the horrible appetites which have 
 degraded him to that depth. Careful observers cannot fail, 
 however, to perceive that all the good the Army can do to 
 men's bodies springs from the mighty, living, indwelling 
 Spirit, without whose Power all this willingness to save the 
 poorest must instantly disappear. But the Army has, thank 
 God, as triumphantly marched past the wondering adoration 
 of its infidel admirers as over the blundering opposition of 
 its learned and rowdy haters. It will be able yet to reach a 
 loving hand to every human being, because it will let no 
 human influences restrain or spoil its devotion, and its 
 present 218 Homes, Refuges, Farm Colonies, Shelters and 
 human Elevators will be multiplied in every continent. 
 
 This book is itself a constant reminder of one vastly im- 
 portant branch of the Army's activities. By men and women, 
 nearly all of whom are without previous literary training, and 
 
512 The Salvation Army As It Is. 
 
 without leisure for much reading or thought, there are pro- 
 duced week by week some 29 journals, in 14 different lan- 
 guages, and these publications are sold to the extent of over 
 38,000,000 copies per year, mostly to those who were never 
 before inclined to read anything " religious." The improve- 
 ment of these " War Crys" and other publications during 
 the last six years has been simply marvellous. Nearly 
 all these papers are well illustrated, and in get up and every 
 way they will compare favorably with any other newspapers 
 in the world. 
 
 The financial administration and the general direction of 
 the Army have made marvellous strides in improvement. Of 
 course, everything is possible when you have officers who 
 desire no guarantee of salary, people taught to spare and to 
 give all they can, and a thoroughly military organization 
 steadily improved and lovingly but resolutely carried out. 
 The fund raised in "one single week by the little self-denials 
 of millions who gave up such articles of food or comfort as 
 they could spare amounted, in 1892, to over 50,000. 
 
 But in all this put together one finds less pleasure than in 
 the fact that, during the present year the work of leading 
 sinners openly to confess and forsake sin has been prosecuted 
 with vigor more than in any previous one. 
 
 In the splendid Concert Palace of Copenhagen, as well as 
 in the market-place of Sodertelge, Sweden ; in some of the 
 most renowned church buildings of England, America and 
 Australia, as well as on the village green and in the little 
 slum corps room ; in the German beer saloon and the Dutch 
 canal boat, sinners have been heard singing of Jesus through 
 their tears in greater multitudes than ever before : 
 " His Blood can make the foulest clean, 
 His Blood avails for me." 
 
 No less than 231,242 such penitents' names have been 
 recorded during the past year. Christian, Hindoo, Buddhist, 
 Mahommedan, Jew, and pagan, multitudes out of all classes 
 have sung and felt it. 
 
 And the emphatic recognition of these glorious facts seems 
 to me important, in order to rally to the side of God's flag and 
 
The Salvation Army An It Is. 513 
 
 God's order the ever-increasing number of men and women 
 who can, if they will, help in the fight. 
 
 Oh, why is this great War left to be waged, in 38 different 
 countries and Colonies and 24 languages, mainly by those who 
 have neither had much education nor much training for any 
 great undertaking ? Why are those who do give themselves 
 to it, left in every country to struggle with continual want 
 of means to pay for its necessary expenses ? why, when 
 there must be everywhere hearts that beat, after all, true to 
 the Saviour's cause, and that could, if they would, bring 
 treasures of flesh and blood, of gold and silver into the field ? 
 
 Why, if not because so many, prejudiced by the voice of 
 " Society," or oftener still, the voice of what calls itself " The 
 Church," never so much as look at the great Army which 
 God has created. In the British Colonies and the American 
 Republics, thank God, this prejudice seems to be passing away, 
 and surely we shall thence at least get such reinforcements of 
 men and money as we require to enable us to complete our 
 ring round the whole world, and to perfect the chain of our 
 spiritual and social activities in every land. 
 
 Will you, dear reader, as you reflect upon the total im- 
 pression you have received from this book, drink in the single 
 fact that Mrs. Booth's husband, every one of her children, and 
 the officers who have devoted their lives to this War, are 
 daily wrestling with the same heart -crushing difficulties that 
 you find so lucidly portrayed in its pages ? Will you take the 
 trouble to inspect the fight for yourself, and then help at 
 least as generously as many have done who have taken that 
 course before you ? Happy he or she who has the privilege 
 to cast into the scale life, family, all ! God help you ! 
 
 This greatest of centuries rushes wildly to its close, 
 repudiating more and more generally and thoroughly the 
 grand old story of the Cross. And that is why God has 
 chosen largely, through a weak woman, to raise up for 
 Himself an Army that will not give in, an 'Army that is 
 never ashamed to cry continually to high and low, to 
 learned and brutalised alike, " Come to Jesus ! " 
 
 BERLIN, 4th October, 1893. BAILTON. 
 
What is the "Darkest 
 
 England" Scheme? 
 
 The " Darkest England " Scheme is the Social Work 
 carried on by The Salvation Army so called because first 
 made widely known by General Booth's book, " In Darkest 
 England and the Way Out." It aims at rescuing from 
 poverty, crime, and despair the "submerged" or "drowning" 
 portion of our population. 
 
 The Scheme has three Chief Divisions each division 
 having many sections, branches, and links. These divisions 
 embrace three distinct provinces of the work, and are now 
 known throughout the world as 
 
 (a) THE CITY COLONY. 
 
 (b) THE FARM COLONY. 
 
 (c) THE OVER- SEA COLONY. 
 
 The friendless and unemployed man, having first been 
 got hold of by the City Colony, through the Shelter of the 
 Labor Bureau is drafted to one of our "Elevators" (i.e., 
 Workshops), where he may earn enough to support himself ; 
 thence, if found willing to work, after a time he is sent either 
 into permanent employment or transferred to the Farm Colony. 
 In this latter case his industrial education is carried a point 
 further. Working on the land or in some industry established 
 on the Colony, he may fit himself for future honest labor, 
 either at home or at the Colony Over- Sea that is, a settle- 
 ment to which he will be sent on proof of reformation, and 
 where he will be aided, counselled, and guarded until enabled 
 to maintain himself permanently. 
 
 The Scheme aims at giving every man, no matter how 
 destitute, three things (1) a chance to work ; (2) a hope of 
 better circumstances ; and (3) the sympathy and love of men 
 whose aim is the permanent deliverance of the lost. 
 
 Every man, irrespective of condition, character, ur reliyion, is 
 
The "Darkest England" Scheme. 515 
 
 eligible for admission to the benefits of the Scheme (the only 
 limit being that of accommodation) on the single condition 
 that he is willing to work and will obey orders. 
 
 The following departments of work are carried on: 
 
 I. THE CHEAP FOOD DEPOTS. 
 
 Meals are supplied from one farthing each to fourpence. 
 Nutritious and well-cooked food can always be had in the 
 smallest quantities at these places as well as at our various 
 Shelters. To those who have only a few pence left in the 
 world, the difference of a halfpenny on a meal is a momentous 
 matter. We seek to make the money of the poor go as far as 
 possible. 
 
 Since the Scheme has been in operation, five million meals 
 have been supplied at the following prices: J-d., Jd., Id., 2d., 
 3d., and 4d. each. 
 
 The articles of diet chiefly purchased are soup, bread, 
 boiled puddings, rice, potatoes, tea, coffee and cocoa. 
 
 Many thousands of children who would otherwise go to 
 school without food obtain a farthing breakfast. Men and 
 women out of work are enabled to procure sustaining food at 
 the minimum of cost. Mothers of families who work at home, 
 and cannot find time to cook without loss of pay, are able, at 
 these depots, to purchase at extremely low prices suitable 
 cooked food for their families, and thus save cost of fuel as 
 well as loss of wages. 
 
 2. NIGHT SHELTERS FOR THE HOMELESS. 
 
 Probably 50, 000 people in London alone are without homes ; 
 such live and sleep in the street, parks, etc., or in the common 
 lodging-houses. These lodging-houses, or doss-houses, as they 
 are called, are nurseries of vice, and frequently of crime. 
 Every homeless wanderer who comes down to their level of 
 destitution soon comes also to their level of moral, social, 
 and physical abomination. 
 
 As a first step in raising this class of unfortunates, The 
 Salvation Army has established Shelters of four classes : 
 (I) Shelters in which, for one penny a night, a homeless man 
 
 may have a seat and resb for his head and feet in^'a warm, 
 
516 The "Darkest England" Scheme. 
 
 dry room. If he be without even a penny, he can earn it 
 by work on the premises, before he takes his rest. 
 
 (2) Shelters which provide the bunk, mattress, and 
 covering, without food, at twopence per night. 
 
 (3) Shelters which provide a bunk, a clean mattress, 
 and covering, with a supper and breakfast of bread and 
 cocoa, &i fourpence per ni</ht. 
 
 (4) Metropolis in which, for fourpence and sixpence 
 nightly, separate beds are provided, with reading and 
 smoking rooms, etc. 
 
 S.-ELEVATORS OR LABOR SHOPS FOR THE UNEMPLOYED. 
 
 The " Darkest England " Scheme goes upon the principle 
 that if a man will not work neither shall he eat, and, on the 
 other hand, that if he will work he shall eat. But how if there 
 be no work to give your would-be worker ? To meet this diffi- 
 culty these Workshops have been established. 
 
 Part of our work is to create hope ! Some men seem as 
 if they would never be able to earn much more than their 
 lodging and their twopenny food tickets, and never care to try ! 
 Still, even to these, grants of a few shillings are made now and 
 again to encourage them, and to stimulate them to further 
 efforts. 
 
 4. LABOR EXCHANGE. 
 
 The loss to the country from the fact that there exists no 
 prompt means of bringing together the Work that needs 
 Workers, and the Workers that need Work, must be enormous. 
 The advertisement columns of the newspapers are a poor 
 make-shift, especially in the country towns. Thousands of 
 men out of employment to-day will lose a fortnight's pay 
 while hunting up situations which they find the employer has 
 been wanting to fill during the whole of the time had they 
 but known it. We need a National Labor Exchange. 
 
 Our Free Labor Bureau the only Free Bureau with any 
 ramification worth mentioning has been a great success, 
 despite the limitations incidental to any purely voluntary 
 movement of this kind and the inexperience which at first 
 made the work more difficult, and has demonstrated what 
 could be done with time, care, and ample resources. We are 
 
The "Darkest Em/land" Scheme. 517 
 
 at this moment organizing an extension to the whole country 
 of the plans only as yet put into operation in London and 
 a few provincial towns. 
 
 S.-PRISON BRIGADE AND CRIMINAL HOMES. 
 
 Men discharged from prison after serving either long or 
 
 short terms of imprisonment are, as a rule, placed in a hopeless 
 position. It is all but impossible for them to obtain employ- 
 ment, being without character, generally without sufficient 
 clothes, and frequently in a very unsatisfactory condition of 
 health. The result is that they return to their former com- 
 panions and generally find their way back to prison again. 
 
 The object of The Salvation Army is set before such men a 
 door of hope, and briefly the following are the means adopted: 
 
 (1) Prisoners are met at the doors of the London prisons 
 on their discharge, and, according to their wish or circum- 
 stances are dealt with thus : Some are brought into the 
 Home for Criminals ; others are drafted into the Labor 
 Factories at once, and thus put in the way of earning an 
 honest living ; and a third class are helped temporarily, 
 while their friends are communicated with, and a new start 
 in life is, if possible, obtained for them. 
 
 (2) The ex -Prisoners' Home is absolutely necessary for 
 those who have been long in prison and have all but lost 
 all hope. 
 
 (3) As soon as the men have proved themselves to be 
 willing to work and anxious to do right, situations are 
 obtained for them, where they are watched over as far as 
 possible. This element of personal interest, is the most 
 powerful means towards their permanent deliverance. 
 
 In addition to the foregoing, we have been able to help first 
 offenders on their appearance in the Police Courts, especially 
 hi the Metropolis. The condition of the young, when arrested 
 for their first offence, is pitiful in the extreme, and much 
 more so if they are guilty than if they are innocent. 
 6.-RE8CUE WORK. 
 
 In no department of the " Darkest England " Scheme has 
 there been more gratifying success than in the Rescue Work. 
 Indeed, in no department of social work is there such terrible 
 
518 The "Darkest Fiu/lnvrt" Scheme. 
 
 need for the help of loving hearts and loving hands . The position 
 of a woman who has once forfeited the confidence of her friends 
 by leaving the path of virtue, is too horrible to be exaggerated. 
 It is estimated that there are some 70,000 of this class, and 
 we do not think that this estimate is overdrawn. Of these, 
 some the hardened especially hug their sin and will not 
 abandon it. But others who have drunk the poisoned cup long 
 enough to taste its after bitterness, yearn for a way out of the 
 Dark Forest. It is terrible to know how many of these find 
 no place of repentance. Many apply at the door of our Rescue 
 Homes, and we are unable to find room, though it is heart- 
 rending to be obliged to turn them away. 
 
 Nevertheless, the satisfactory number of no less than 1,662 
 girls were helped in one year, of whom more than 1,296 proved 
 satisfactory. 759 of these were sent to situations as domestic 
 servants. 
 
 All the women in our Rescue Homes are engaged in some 
 healthy labor the following industries being in operation : 
 PLAIN DRESSMAKING. TEXT-MAKING. MACHINE-KNITTING. 
 CHILDREN'S AND LADIES' UNDERCLOTHING. 
 
 Those unfitted among our rescued girls for domestic service, 
 are drafted into our Factories, where they earn their livelihood 
 at the following work : 
 
 LAUNDRY. MACHINE-KNITTING. BOOK-FOLDING. 
 
 In connection with these Factories we have two lodging- 
 houses for the convenience of those who work with us. 
 
 One hundred and ninety devoted officers are entirely en- 
 gaged in this divinely social work in the United Kingdom. 
 7 -HELP AND INQUIRY FOR THE LOST. 
 
 To the poor who cannot afford to pay for an advertisement 
 in the " agony column" of the daily papers, this Department 
 is a valuable friend ; especially to parents who have lost a 
 daughter, and to others who have lost all trace of relations, 
 perhaps for years, and to those who do not know how to rescue 
 from her surroundings some innocent girl who is in moral 
 danger. The Police always full of work who must neces- 
 sarily give the preference to cases where crime is involved, 
 are becoming year by year less able to find the lost who are 
 
The "Darkest England" Scheme. 519 
 
 not criminals, especially, as is often the case, when the lost 
 ones do not desire to be found. 
 
 Our Department has been most successful in this work. 
 The very large circulation of our newspapers the " War Cry " 
 especially in all parts of the globe, is alone a medium for 
 circulating and collecting information which is invaluable. 
 
 During the year now closing, 2,243 enquiries for lost per- 
 sons have been addressed to the Central Offices of this work, 
 259, Mare Street, Hackney, and there have been 705 lost 
 persons found. 
 
 8. THE WORK IN CITY SLUMS. 
 
 The publication of " In Darkest England " was immediately 
 followed by a large extension of our work in the Slums. That 
 work has already been in existence for about three years with 
 very striking results, and it was a part of the " Darkest 
 England" Scheme (a) to extend that work, and (b) to connect 
 it as intimately as possible with other parts of the Scheme. 
 Our officers take up their residence where the poorest and 
 lowest dwell, and visit their homes of squalor and dirt, nurse 
 the sick, relieve the extremity of distress, wash the children, 
 pouring in Gospel hope, and comfort all round. 
 
 In addition to the 39 Slums thus worked in London, we 
 have one or more Slum-posts of a similar character in each of 
 the following provincial towns, worked by 48 officers : 
 Manchester, Liverpool, Glasgow, Leeds, Nottingham, Preston, 
 Sheffield, Dundee, Newport, Jersey, Bristol, Brighton, New- 
 castle, Worcester, Belfast and Dublin. 
 
 9. THE FARM COLONY. 
 
 The second main branch of the " In Darkest England " 
 Scheme is the establishment of a means of permanent deliver- 
 ance to those who appear likely to prove successful, and who are 
 willing to work for it, by removing them from the city to the 
 country. The following is a brief review of what has been 
 done in this direction. A freehold estate, comprising in all 
 about 1,500 acres of land and 1,400 acres over which the tidal 
 waters of the Thames How, has been acquired at Hadleigh 
 on the banks of the Thames. 
 
 The adaptation of the property to our purposes and the 
 
520 TTu " Darkest England" Scheme. 
 
 developments already effected by us, may be briefly described 
 under the following headings : 
 
 1. The erection of necessary buildings : 
 
 (a) Dormitories for 350 colonists, all suitably fitted with single 
 bedsteads or cubicles, with abundant accommodation, and 
 a laundry ; (b) Officers' and employes' residences ; (c) A. 
 small hospital capable of accommodating twenty patients ; 
 (rf) A reading room, with other minor buildings ; (e) A 
 barracks, accommodating 600 people, used both by the 
 colonists and villagers of the surrounding districts every 
 night, and on Sabbaths for religious services ; (/) Bakery, 
 already paying its expenses ; (g) Stores for supplies re- 
 quired ; (h) Refreshment room, intended to meet the 
 requirements of visitors to the Colony during the summer 
 months, and used in the winter for the technical education 
 of the men. 
 
 2. Agricultural Buildings : 
 
 (a) Cow-house and covered yard, occupying half an acre of 
 ground, being 111 feet by 126 feet, accommodating 100 
 milking cows and 100 fatting cattle ; (6) Piggeries ; 
 (c) Dairy. 
 
 A wharf or jetty has also been constructed. 
 jj | Two brick-fields have been opened, and brick-making is 
 confidently expected to form a large source of work and 
 revenue. Over 3,000,000 were made in 1893. 
 Chair-making has also been commenced. 
 
 HELP IS NEEDED. 
 
 That a work of such magnitude, dealing systematically 
 with some thousands of the workless, the vicious, and the 
 criminal, should involve an outlay of many thousand pounds 
 before it can become thoroughly self-supporting, must be 
 evident to the most casual reader. 
 
 It M well worth the money* 
 1. Impartial outsiders have said so. 
 
 Archdeacon FARRAR says : " It would be an overwhelming disgrace 
 to such a nation as ours, if the most concentrated and sys- 
 tematic effort which has ever been made to cut out the 
 spreading cancer under which our social system groans, 
 should fail for the lack of a few thousand pounds a year." 
 Mr. FRANCIS PEEK, the philanthropist, says : " Millionsof acres are 
 waiting to supply us with food, if only we can supply them 
 with steady honest laborers. . . . The especially attrac- 
 tive part of General Booth's Scheme is that the multitude 
 of workers are tied together." 
 
 Mr. PKNN GASKELL, an agent of the Charity Organization Society, 
 says : " The officers are in many respects a remarkable set 
 
The " Darkest England " Scheme. 521 
 
 of men. Their self-denying, cheerful devotion is beyond all 
 praise. . . . The result is often a complete triumph, 
 such as could never have been won by any form of material 
 charity. . . . It is here that The Salvation Army seems 
 eminently qualified to succeed." 
 
 Sir JOHN GOBST, Q.C., M.P., says : " In your Farm Colony the 
 wasted labor of the great city is applied to the derelict land 
 of the country. The unemployed is taken away from the 
 town, where he competes with a congested mass of workers 
 too numerous for the employment which offers, and brought 
 back upon the land, where he produces more than he con- 
 sumes, where his labor enriches the nation and does not 
 lessen the earnings of his fellow workmen, and where he is 
 engaged in an industry in which there cannot be over pro- 
 duction. It seems to me that the experiment you are trying 
 has, so far as it has gone, yielded results of the most en- 
 couraging character, and it would be a national misfortune if 
 want of funds should prevent its being carried out to the end.' : 
 
 Mr. ARNOLD WHITE, an eminent authority on colonization schemes, 
 says : "General Booth and his family are honest to the 
 core. . . . The funds have been well and wisely spent. . . . 
 The business arrangements are excellent. . . . The 
 accounts are as well kept as those of the London Joint Stock 
 Bank." 
 
 2. It is a systematic mode of imparting permanent assistance. 
 8. It avoids the evils of pauperizing the poor, and insists on 
 self-help where this is possible. 
 
 4. It is economical. As an illustration. Five million meals 
 
 and one million beds to the homeless were supplied by 
 the City Colony in one year, at a total cost (or loss) of 
 only 5,500, the balance having been paid by the people 
 themselves who have benefited by the Scheme. 
 
 5. It is successful. The above facts show it. Take as an addi- 
 
 tional illustration the Rescue Work. Thousands of girls 
 and women have been actually rescued from lives of im- 
 morality and shame through its agency and are now 
 living honest and industrious lives, earning a livelihood. 
 They now help to support the agency which rescued them. 
 
 YOUR HELP is URGENTLY KEQUIRED. 
 
 Cheques and Postal Orders in aid of the "Darkest England " 
 Social Scheme will be gratefully acknowledged. They should be 
 sent to the Secretary, 102, Queen Victoria Street, made payable 
 to WILLIAM BOOTH, and crossed " Bank of England- 
 Social Account" ; or they may be paid into that account at the 
 Law Courts Branch of the Bank of England. 
 
ORIGINAL EDITION 
 
 THE LIFE OF 
 
 The Mother of The Salvation Army. 
 
 By Commissioner F. de L. BOOTH-TUCKER. 
 
 I.-EDITION DE LUXE. 
 
 No paius and expense have been spared in making this Edition a 
 really handsome memorial of the late MRS. BOOTH. It is specially 
 printed on first-class paper in convenient types, with profuse mar- 
 ginal notes. The Three Volumes, each containing about 500 pages, 
 are handsomely bound. There are three steel engravings of MKS. 
 BOOTH, one of these being from a daguerreotype taken at the time 
 of her engagement. There are also sixteen other steel engravings of 
 GENKKAL BOOTH and the various members of the family. In addition 
 to the above there are portraits of the leading officers and friends 
 of the Army, including Mr. Samuel Morley, Mr. T. A. Denny, the 
 late Earl Cairns, Mr. John Cory, Mr. Stead, and Mrs. Josephine 
 Butler. Several excellent full-page engravings of some of the prin 
 cipal meetings and events recorded are included. 
 
 2.-LIBRARY EDITION. 
 
 In order to place the Memoirs within the reach of all, a POPULAK 
 Kjiixiux has also been issued in smaller type, and with the omission of 
 marginal notes, but otherwise unabridged. The Two Volumes contain 
 the same letterpress as the Luxe Edition. Process portraits take 
 the place of the steel engravings. The illustrations are numerous, 
 and greatly add to the attractiveness of the book. 
 
 PRICE AND STYLE OF BINDING: 
 
 EDITION DE LUXE-Three Volumes -half I 2g 
 
 calf, burnishd edges, 19 steel engravings -j 
 LIBRARY EDITION-Two Volumes- cloth - - 15s. 
 
 For Press Opinions, see next page. 
 
 01 Salvation Army Publishing Department, 98, 100 & 102, Cleikemvell 
 Road, and by order of any Bookseller. 
 
PRESS OPINIONS. 
 
 That the two bulky volumes will be eagerly sought and lovingly 
 studied by a large section of the religious world cannot be doubted. 
 As little can it be doubted that, whatever may be thought of the 
 methods of The Salvation Army, Mrs. Booth herself was a very 
 remarkable character, combining in no ordinary measure great 
 spiritual fervor with an ardent evangelical enthusiasm. No generous 
 mind will hesitate to acknowledge that Mrs. Booth's whole life was 
 inspired by a genuine enthusiasm of humanity directed to ends 
 eminently worthy in themselves. . . We cannot withhold from 
 Mrs. Booth's memory that tribute of respect which is due to a high 
 enthusiasm, a sincere faith, a disinterested ardor for the conversion 
 and salvation of souls, an intensely sympathetic nature, and a truly 
 loving spirit. The Times. 
 
 She is truly described as " The Mother of The Salvation Army," 
 and every reader of these volumes even those who least agree with 
 Mrs. Booth's religious views and methods will catch some inspira- 
 tion from the picture they give of a truly heroic and devoted life- 
 She was one of those great Englishwomen of whom the nation may 
 be proud. The Daily News. 
 
 After this event the life-story is blended with that of the vast 
 movement which Mrs. Booth did so much to originate and to sustain. 
 How the two pioneers felt their way towards it, often through black 
 darkness, with no guidance or support but their own faith ; how each 
 step gained was made the starting-point for further progress. . . . 
 And now the subject of this biography, by her counsels, her prayers, 
 her spiritual magnetism, the wonderful oratory which held spellbound 
 vast audiences, both of rich and poor, and by the inward impulsion 
 which urged her and the work on to fields as yet untried, was ever 
 jts soul and inspiration, is given us here, with a fulness which 
 leaves no detail in this heroic chapter of Christian history un- 
 touched. . . . And sacred beyond words are the records of the 
 closing scene, when the dying saint, with a spirit which rose 
 tiumphant above the pains which racked her body, breathed upon 
 the weeping groups around her bedside the radiance of its own 
 heavenly peace. 
 
 Other women famed in ecclesiastical annals have shown us 
 cloistered virtues. It was reserved to Catherine Booth to offer the 
 world the more wholesome spectacle of a woman of unique spiritual 
 
524 Press Opinions. 
 
 influence shining also as the tenderest of wives and the most devoted 
 of mothers. The Christian World. 
 
 Two masterful minds made The Salvation Army. General Booth 
 was well mated with his wife. Had they not been of different sex they 
 would never have run together, for each was kingly in temperament, 
 and only the affection of husband and wife kept them from each 
 being head of an organization. As it was, they supplemented each 
 other splendidly, and were each in work and thought the complement 
 of each other. . . . These two volumes are already classical in the 
 sense that they are the authoritative narrative of a movement which 
 has stamped its impress upon the close of this nineteenth cen- 
 tury. . . . Both had marvellous qualities as preachers, being able 
 to speak for an hour or more, and to fascinate thousands by their 
 eloquence. The Rock. 
 
 Greatly as her character has been appreciated in all Christian 
 circles, the publication of these volumes will exalt her to a still 
 
 higher position in public esteem We may say at the 
 
 outset, that none of our readers, whether Methodist or otherwise, 
 will regret purchasing or borrowing these volumes. They are full of 
 life, color, vigor, and, as we intimated last week, they supply 
 studies of character, of Christian work, and of Church history such 
 as it is rarely our fortune to meet. The Methodist Recorder. 
 
 This two-volume biography, which was published last week, has 
 given to the general public an exhaustive account of the life of one of 
 the most remarkable personalities which this age has produced; a 
 woman who, however much we may differ from some of her methods 
 and doctrines, we cannot fail to reverence and admire. . . . 
 To all who are interested in the problem of how to help their fellow- 
 men, we heartily commend this book. Mr. Booth-Tucker is pre- 
 eminently qualified to write. He pens the story of one whose life 
 he has had ample opportunity of observing. The Friend. 
 
 No one who looks even cursorily through these two thick volumes 
 can entertain the least doubt of her absolute sincerity. But it was 
 sincerity never troubled by any misgivings. Hesitation, un- 
 certainty, indecision were absolutely unknown to her. That her 
 methods were looked upon with disfavor by a considerable number 
 of the religious community to which she originally belonged did not 
 cause her a moment's uneasiness. With a great charity for all 
 whom she supposed to be working with a real love to Christ, she 
 combined a fixed conviction that, if they differed from her, they 
 could not be otherwise than mistaken. This was indeed a great 
 source of her strength. The Guardian. 
 
TO BE OBTAINED OF THE 
 
 98, 100 and 102, Clerkenwell Road, London, E.G. 
 
 WORKS BY THE LATE MRS. BOOTH. 
 
 Popular Christianity: Being a series of Lectures delivered 
 in Prince's Hall, Piccadilly, on the following subjects : 
 
 " The Christs of the Nineteenth Century 
 compared with the Christ of God." 
 
 "Mock Salvation and a Real Deliverance 
 from Sin." 
 
 " Sham Compassion and the Dying Love of 
 Christ." 
 
 ' Popular Christianity : Its Cowardly Service 
 
 verms the Real Warfare." 
 'The Sham Judgment in Contrast with 
 
 the Great White Throne." 
 'Notes of Three Addresses on Household 
 
 Gods." 
 
 "The Salvation Army Following Christ." 
 
 198 pages ; Paper covers, Is. ; Cloth, bevelled boards, red edges, 2s. ; 
 
 Half -calf, 5s. 
 
 Life and Death : A Series of addresses, mainly to the Uncon- 
 verted, on the following : 
 
 "The New Birth." 
 
 " Mercy and Judgment." 
 
 " Halting between Two 
 Opinions." 
 
 upi 
 
 Tri 
 
 A True and a False Faith.'' 
 
 ' Sowing and Reaping." 
 ' The Prodigal Son." 
 ' Quench not the Spirit." 
 ' Save Thyself." 
 ' The Day of HislWrath.' 
 
 'Religious Indifference." 
 ' Need of Atonement." 
 1 A True and a False Peace." 
 1 What is The Salvation 
 Army? " 
 
 Paper covers, Is. ; Cloth boards, Is. Qd. ; Cloth, gilt edges, bevelled boards, 
 2s. Qd.; Half-calf, 5s. 
 
 The Salvation Army in Relation to the Church and State. 
 
 Subjects : 
 
 The Salvation Army : Its Relation to the 
 State, to the Churches, to Business Prin- 
 ciples. 
 
 Its future." 
 
 Answers to the Main Points of Criticism on 
 the so-called " Secret Book." 
 
 Paper covers, 6d.; Cloth boards, Is.; Half-calf, 5s. 
 Practical Religion. Contents : 
 
 Compel Them to Come In. 
 Strong Drink rersus Christianit y. 
 Heart Backsliding. 
 
 Female Ministry. 
 The Training of Children. 
 Dealing with Anxious Souls. 
 Worldly Amusements and Christianity. 
 
 Paper corera, l.s.; Cloth boards, Is. Or?.; Cloth, gilt edges, bevelled board a 
 Is. Qd.-,lHalf-calf, 5s. 
 
526 
 
 Army Publications. 
 
 Aggressive Christianity. Contents: 
 
 Aggressive Christianity. 
 A Pure Gospel. 
 Adaptation of Measures. 
 Assurance of Salvation. 
 
 How Christ Transcends the 
 
 Law. 
 The Fruits of Union with 
 
 Christ. 
 
 Witnessing for Christ. 
 Filled with the Spirit. 
 Tne Wor'd's Need. 
 The Holy Gho<t. 
 
 Paper covers, Is. : cloth board*, la. 6<l. : Cloth, fiilt edfics, bevelled boards. 
 2*. M. :Hlf-c[f. 5s. 
 
 Godliness. Contents: 
 
 Effectual 
 
 Conditions of 
 
 Praver. 
 
 The Perfect Heart. 
 How to Work for God with 
 
 Success. 
 
 Enthusiasm and Full Salva- 
 tion. 
 
 Repentance. 
 Addresses on Holiness. 
 Hindrances to Holiness. 
 
 Saving Faith. 
 
 Charity. 
 
 Charity and Rebuke. 
 
 Charity and Conflict 
 
 Charity and I/oneliness. 
 
 Paper covers, Is. : Cloth bevelled boards, red edges, 2*. : Cloth, 
 gilt edges, bevelled, boards, 2s. Gd. : Half-calf, 5s. 
 
 * # * Several of the above papers may be had separately, Id. each, 
 or assorted, 2s. 6d. per 100, net. The following are at present issued : 
 
 Aggressive Christianity. 
 Assurance of Salvation. 
 Compel Them to Come In. 
 Dealing with Anxious Souls. 
 Feaiale Ministry. 
 
 Fruits of Union with Christ. 
 
 Heart Backsliding. 
 
 How Christ Transcends the 
 
 Law. 
 Repentance. 
 
 Saving Faith. 
 Strong Drinfc. 
 Save Thyself. 
 Training of Children. 
 Worldly Amusements. 
 
 The following pamphlets can also be had at the same price, trans- 
 lated into the Welsh language : 
 
 Compel Them to Come In. I 
 Heart Backsliding. 
 
 Aggressive Christianity. 
 Dealing with Anxious Soul 
 
 Strong Drink. 
 Training of Children. 
 
 Answers to Criticisms on The Salvation Army. 
 
 Useful to every Soldier and friend, Id. 
 
 Holiness. Being an address delivered in St. James' Hall, 
 London. 
 
 G*. 6fZ. per 100 ; or, singly, Id. 
 
 WORKS BY GENERAL BOOTH. 
 
 In Darkest England, and The Way Out. Contents: 
 
 Part I.,!N DARKEST EXGLAXD. 
 The Darkness. 
 The Submerged Tenth. 
 The Homeless. 
 The " Out of Works." 
 On the Verge of the Abyss. 
 C 
 
 The Vicious. 
 The Criminals. 
 The Children of the Lost. 
 Is there no Help? 
 Part II., DELIVERANCE. 
 A Stupendous Undertaking, 
 it be Done, and How ? A Practical Conclusion. 
 '63Q pages, Cloth boards, Bs.^d. 
 
 To the Rescue ! 
 
 The City Colony. 
 
 New Britain. 
 
 The Colony Over the Sea. 
 
 More Crusades. 
 
 Help in General. 
 
 The Training of Children ; or, How to Make the Children into 
 Saints and Soldiers of Jesus Christ. Cannot be too highly recom- 
 mended. 
 
 Cloth, limp Is. &d.; Cloth, bevelled boards, red edges, 2s 6d. 
 
 Salvation Soldiery : A Series of Addresses and Papers, descrip- 
 tive of the characteristics of God's best Soldiers. Eight illustrations. 
 Read it and live it out. 
 
 Paper covers, Is. ; Cloth boards, Is. 6d. ; Cloth, gilt edges, 2s. 6d. 
 
 The General's Letters : Being a reprint of the General's 
 Letters in the "War Cry" of 1885, together with Life-like Portrait 
 of the Writer. 
 
 Paper covers, Is. ; Cloth boards, 2s. ; Half-calf, os. 
 
Army Publications. 527 
 
 Holy Living; or, What The Salvation Army teaches about 
 Sanctincation. 
 
 6s. Qd. per 100 ; or, singly, Id. 
 
 The Mission of the Future. An Address by General Booth 
 at Exeter Hall, giving the following important information : 
 
 How the Army is Financed." | " The Present Position of The Salvation Army." 
 "What does the Army Teach?" etc., etc. 
 
 Bound in an attractive paper cover, Id. 
 Orders and Regulations for Field Officers. 
 Strongly bound in red cloth, 713 pages, os. 
 Orders and Regulations for Soldiers. 
 
 64 pages, Irf. 
 
 Doctrines of The Salvation Army. 
 
 Limp cloth, Qd. 
 
 WORKS BY COMMISSIONER RAILTON. 
 
 Twenty-One Years' Salvation Army. Filled with thrill- 
 ing incidents of the War, and giving, what has been so long 
 desired by many friends, a Sketch of The Salvation Army Work from 
 its commencement. 
 
 Paper covers, Is.; Cloth boards, Is. Qd. 
 
 Heathen England and The Salvation Army. (Fifth 
 Edition). This book contains a full description from life of the 
 utterly godless condition of millions of the inhabitants of the British 
 Islands, of the Origin and History of The Salvation Army and its 
 General, together with hundreds of examples of the success of the 
 various operations which it carries on 
 
 Paper covers, Is. ; Cloth boards, Is. <od. 
 
 The Salvation Navvy ; or, Life ' of Captain John Allen 
 (formerly a dock laborer). 
 
 Paper covers, Is. ; Cloth boards, Is. Qd. 
 
 Captain Ted : Being the Story of the Holy Life and Victor- 
 ious Career of Captain Edward Irons, of The Salvation Army, 
 drowned at Portsmouth, 1879. 
 
 Paper covers, Qd. ; Cloth boards, Is. 
 Salvation in the Convent: Life of Marie Guyon. 
 
 6s. 6d. per 100 ; or, singly, Id. 
 George Fox and His Salvation Army 2OO Years Ago. 
 
 Paper, 6.s. <od. per 100 ; or, singly, Id. 
 
 Life of the Presbyterian Salvationist: C. G. Finney. 
 Paper, 6*. M. per 100 ; or, singly, Id. 
 
 OTHER PUBLICATIONS OF THE SALVATION ARMY. 
 
 Beneath Two Flags. The Aim, Methods of Work, History 
 and Progress of The Salvation Army. By MAUJ> B. BOOTH. The 
 frontispiece depicts a scene in a French cafe where the Marechale is 
 addressing the men assembled. 
 
 Ititi pages, Clotli boards, 3s. tid. 
 
528 Army Publications. 
 
 From Ocean to Ocean ; or, The Salvation Army's March 
 from the Atlantic to the Pacific. By COMMANDER BALLIXGTOX BOOTH. 
 Being a complete Review of The Salvation Army in the United 
 States. A most attractive book. 
 
 'Hound in cloth, 3,s. (jd. 
 
 New York's Inferno Explored by Commander and Mrs. 
 BALLISGTOX BOOTH. Scenes full of pathos powerfully portrayed. 
 Siberian desolation caused by Drink Tenements packed with Misery 
 and Crime. 
 
 100 pages ; IAmp cloth, red edge*, I*. 
 
 The Darkest England Social Scheme: A Brief Keview 
 of the First Year's Work, with a Complete Statement of Accounts. 
 Contents : 
 
 I. A Book of Beginnings. 
 
 II. Hornelessand Starving. 
 ill. Th Lab T Bureau. 
 IV. In the Elevators. 
 
 V. Provincial City Colonies. 
 VI. The Farm Colony. 
 MI. The Salvage Wharf. 
 
 VIII. On both Sides of Pri- 
 son Gates. 
 IX. Love in the Slums. 
 X. Rescue Work. 
 XI. Women's Social Work. 
 XII. Help and Inquiry. 
 XIII. Advice Bureau. 
 
 XIV. Lights in Darkest 
 
 England. 
 XV. Wanted, Workers. 
 XVI. Concerning Profit 
 
 and Loss 
 
 XVII. What is to be. 
 XVIII. The Book in Brief. 
 
 83 Illustrations. 224 Pagct. Reduced price, Qd. 
 
 Truth about The Salvation Army; or, Papers by Mr. Arnold 
 White, Mr. Francis Peek, and the Yen. Archdeacon Farrar. 
 
 Paper, Qd. 
 
 Drum Taps. By E. S. B. Filled with thrilling stories of the 
 Drum and Drummers, and completely vindicating our methods and 
 measures. Will be read with interest by everybody. 
 Paper covers, Is.; Cloth boards, Is. 6d. ; Cloth, gilt edges, bevelled 
 boards, 2s. &d. 
 
 What Doth Hinder? By ELIZABETH SWIFT BRENGLE. Being 
 a series of character- sketches from life, illustrating the different 
 hindrances met with in the highway of Holiness, and showing how 
 they may be overcome by the power of God. 
 
 Paper covers, Gd. ; Cloth boards, Is. 
 
 Holiness Readings. By the GENERAL, Mrs. BOOTH, the 
 CHIEF-OF-SIAFF, Mrs. BOOTH-TUCKER, and others. Being extracts from 
 the " Salvationist " and the " War Cry." 
 
 20Q pages ; Paper covers, Is. ; Cloth boards, Is. 6d. 
 Life of Chas. G. Finney, the American Revivalist. A new 
 and revised Edition. 
 
 Paper covers, Is. ; Cloth boards, 2s. 
 
 The Salvation Soldier's Guide : Being a Bible Chapter for 
 the Morning and Evening of Every Day in the Year, with Frag- 
 ments for Mid-Day Reading. This" book contains almost all those 
 portions of Scripture which would be read as lessons in a public 
 service. The four Gospels are harmonised, the historical books of the 
 Old Testament condensed, and the genealogies, the Levitical law, and 
 the portions of prophecy referring to particular heathen nations are 
 omitted, so as to bring the book down to pocket size, in a type easily 
 readable in the open air. 
 
 570 panes; Limp cloth, dd.; Red cloth, red edges, Is. : Superior red leather, 
 ijilt edges, 2s. ; Red French Morocco, circuit, gilt edges, 2s. (id. 
 
Army Publications. 529 
 
 House-Top Saints : Being a collection of most interesting 
 incidents in connection with Salvation work. 
 
 Paper covers, Qd. ; Cloth boards, Is. 
 
 Life Links in the Warfare of Commissioner and Mrs. Booth- 
 Tucker. Paper cocers, Qd. 
 
 Full Salvation, and What Comes of It. A Monthly record 
 of Salvation Army Warfare among the Nations. Printed and 
 published in Australia. Back numbers in stock from October, 1891. 
 Price, 3d. 
 
 All Sides of It. By EILEEN DOUGLAS. Being a number of 
 sketches of the Army's work, showing how from the lowest depths 
 of sin it is possible to rise to the highest platform of Divine grace, 
 and live for the Salvation of others. Paper covers, 3d. 
 
 Claimed for the King. Report of the Rescue Work for 
 1889-90. Paper, M. 
 
 The Life of Colonel Weeresooriya : With Scenes illus- 
 trative of Salvation Army Warfare in India and Ceylon. 
 Paper covers, 2d. 
 
 What a Captain Should Be: Being a Shepherd's Letter to the 
 General. Paper covers, 2d. 
 
 Social Amelioration. By Archdeacon FARRAR. Price, Id. 
 
 1OO Penny Assorted Books and Tracts, by the GENERAL, 
 Mrs. Bo3TH, Commissioner RAILTON, and others. 
 
 Per packet of one hundred, 2s. Qd. 
 The above are very suitable for gratuitous distribution. 
 Pardon and Purity. By W. BRAMWELL BOOTH. Per 100 nett, 2s. 
 
 Salvation Facts. We have published under this heading, 
 in leaflet form, true stories bearing on Salvation. The following are 
 now ready : 
 
 [. Jim the Forgeman. 
 A. Whosoever, 
 a. Wanted. 
 
 4. The Resurrection Man. 
 
 5. Caught at Sea. 
 
 6. Cub the Thief. 
 
 7. Devil Dan. 
 
 8. St. Monday. 
 
 9. The Novel Reader. 
 
 10. Was it Truth? 
 
 11. Lord, Save Jack. 
 
 12. The Ark of the Covenant. 
 The Old Salt. 
 
 15 Davey's Query. 
 
 16. Where is He? 
 
 17. Daddy, my Pwayers. 
 
 18. Rough. 
 
 19. A Step from the Gallows. 
 
 20. The Promoted Pri/.e 
 
 Fighter. 
 
 14, I'll ha' to Give Up. 
 
 Per dozen, M. ; per 100, 2s. 
 
 The Salvation Mill. By Major G. R. Price, Id. 
 Battle Array; OR, THE SALVATION AND RUINATION ARMIES. By 
 W. CORBRIDGE. Consisting of 
 
 Challenge and War, No. 1. I Heavy Firing, No. 3. I Wounded and Dying, No. 5. 
 
 Sharp Shooting, No. 2. | Among the Prisoners, No. 4. I War with Spirits, No. 6. 
 
 Has twenty-four Pictures to illustrate it, and is altogether a most 
 attractive book. 
 
 Bound in one hook, Qd. ; per 100, 30s. ; in ports each, Id. 
 
 The Salvation Mine: UP TO GLORY, DOWN TO DEATH. By 
 W. CORBRIDGE. Price, Id. 
 
 The General and The Salvation Army. A poem by Mrs. 
 CORBRIDGE. Price, Id. 
 
530 A rmy Pubficn tio n s . 
 
 SONG BOOKS. 
 
 1OO Songs and Solos for Holiness Meetings. Contains 
 the words of many fresh songs, also gives the key, and number in 
 "Musical Salvationist" and "Band Journal." An exceedingly useful 
 Solo Book. 
 
 Each, Id.; per 100, nett, 6s. 6d, 
 
 Salvation Soldier's Song Book. This book has been revised 
 to date and considerably altered and improved. References to Tunes 
 and where to find them are also given. 
 
 In light red paper cvverx, Id. ; per 100, nett, 6*. 6d. ; Red cloth, limp, 3d. : 
 red cloth, limp, icith 32 blank page*, 4d. 
 
 The Junior Soldier's Song Book. The songs are specially 
 adapted for Children's Work. 
 
 Blue paper covers, Id. 
 
 The Musical Salvationist Song Book. Containing the 
 WHOLE of the words of Volumes I., II., and III. Musical Salva- 
 tionist and Favorite Songs ; contains the whole of the words of 384 of 
 the most popular Salvation Army songs to match the music. 
 Paper covers, 2d. 
 
 Also the words of Volumes IV., V. and VI., in one book, containing 
 450 of the latest and best songs by Salvationists. 
 
 Paper, 3d. 
 
 The tiro looks bound together, and containing the whole of the 
 words of Volumes I. to VI. of the Musical Salvationist (or 834 songs). 
 In limp cloth, 6d. 
 
 MUSIC. 
 
 Salvation Army Music. For Soul-Saving Services, Open- 
 air Meetings, and the Home Circle. 
 
 Cloth, limp, 2*-. 6d. ; cloth, bevelled boards, red edges, 3s. &d. 
 
 Salvation Army Music Book. Volume II., containing most 
 of the Songs as sung by The Salvation Army Singing Battalion, 
 together with some of the most popular Songs of the Army. This 
 book contains none of the tunes that are to be found in Volume I. 
 Limp cloth, Is. ; cloth boards, Is. 6d. 
 
 Songs of Peace and War. Original Songs and Music, by Com- 
 mandant and Mrs. Herbert Booth. 
 
 Paper, Is. Qd. ; cloth boards, 2s. 6d. 
 
 Songs of the Nation. Tonic Sol-fa. In this volume will be 
 found the famous Songs of the International Congress, with a choice 
 selection of the latest favorites. 
 
 Paper covers, 6d. ; cloth boards, Is. 
 
 The American Soloist. Containing a selection of Songs sung 
 in America. 
 
 Price, 
 
 hand 
 orites. 
 Paper, 2d. 
 
 Salvation Songster. A handy little book, containing the Air 
 and Words only of several favorites' 
 
Army Publications. 581 
 
 PUBLISHED MONTHLY. 
 
 "ALL THE WORLD." 
 
 A Monthly Magazine and Record of the Work of The Salvation Army 
 
 in all lands. Eighty pages. Fully illustrated. Price, 6d. 
 BOUND VOLUMES. Vol. II., 188(5; Vol. III., 1887; Vol. IV., 1888; 3s. Gd. 
 each. Vol., V., 1889; Vol. VI., 1890; os. each. Vol.. VII., January to June, 
 li>91; Vol. VIII., July to December, 1891; Vol. IX., January to June, 1892; 
 Vol. X., July to December, 189-J; Vol. XI , January to June, 1893 ; 3s. 6d. each. 
 These Volumes form a nice Library, are well bound, and remarkably cheap. 
 Post free to any address at Home or Abroad, twelve months, 7s. Qd. 
 
 THE "DELIVERER." 
 
 A Monthly Journal devoted to Accounts of the Social Work of The 
 Salvation Army at Home and Abroad. Contains : Wonderful 
 Stories of Rescue ; Detective and Enquiry Discoveries ; Articles 
 relative to the Work, and how it is accomplished ; also the Latest 
 Intelligence of the various Rescue Homes in Great Britain and 
 
 the Colonies. Sixteen pages. Price, Id. 
 
 BOUND VOLUMES. Vol. I., July 1889, to June, 1890; Vol. II.. July, 1890, to 
 June, 1891 ; Vol. III., July, 1892, to June, 1893. Cloth, gilt, 2s. 6d. 
 
 Post free to any address at Home or Abroad, twelve months, Is. (W. 
 
 THE "MUSICAL SALVATIONIST." 
 
 A Collection of Twelve New Copyright Songs (Music and Words) 
 
 composed and written specially for The Salvation Army. 
 
 Price, 3d. 
 
 PUBLISHED WEEKLY. 
 
 THE "WAR CRY." 
 
 The Official Gazette of The Salvation Army, consisting of Sixteen 
 Pages (Sixty-four Columns), with Illustrations, and containing the 
 Latest Intelligence of the Progress of Salvation Army Work in all 
 parts of the World. Also Stories of Wonderful Conversions ; 
 Interesting Accounts of the Work of the Social Wing, Slum Brigades, 
 and Mrs. Bramwell Booth's Rescue Homes, Original Salvation Songs, 
 Lives of Prominent Salvation Army Officers and Soldiers, with 
 
 Portraits and other Illustrations. 
 
 Every Saturday. Price, Id. Post free to any address for three 
 months, Is. 8d. ; six months, 3s. 3d. ; twelve months, 6s. 6d. 
 
 THE "YOUNG SOLDIER." 
 
 The Official Gazette of the Junior Soldiers of The Salvation Army. 
 Sixteen Pages, Largely Illustrated, containing Full Accounts of the 
 Progress of the Work of the Army Among Children ; Together with 
 Helps and Hints for Junior Soldiers ; Little Letters from Little 
 Soldiers ; Interesting Narratives of Life and Work ; Original Songs 
 for Young Soldiers, etc. Every Saturday. Price, One Halfpenny. 
 
 "DARKEST ENGLAND GAZETTE" 
 
 And Official Newspaper of the Social Operations of The Salvation 
 
 Army, giving Full and Descriptive Accounts of the Darkest England 
 
 Scheme in all its Branches. Every Saturday, Price, Id. 
 
THE SALVATION ARMY FIELD STATE. 
 
 SEPTEMBER, 1893. 
 
 International Headquarters : 
 
 99, 101, 103 & 105, QUEEN VICTORIA STREET, LONDON, E.G. 
 
 Publishing and Trade Departments : 
 98, 100 & 102, CLERKENWELL EOAD, LONDON, E.G. 
 
 Corps. Ojficer.<. 
 
 INTERNATIONAL HEADQUARTERS STAFF (Including 
 Home Office, Trade Department, and Social Wing ...... ... 131G 
 
 COUNTRY. NATIONAL HEADQUARTERS. 
 
 BRITISH ISLES ...... Home Office, 101, Queen Vic- 
 
 toria Street, London ... 1^11 ... 2970 
 
 FRANCE & SWITZERLAND 22,RueTroyon Les Ternes,Paris 115 ... 380 
 
 BELGIUM ......... 32, BoulevardBaudouin, Brussels 8 ... '11 
 
 HOLLAND ......... Prins Hendrikkade, 131, Am- 
 
 sterdam ......... 53 ... -1-1\ 
 
 GERMANY ......... Friederichstrasse, 220, Berlin 25 ... 91 
 
 DENMARK ......... Helgesensgade, 11, 13 and 15, 
 
 Copenhagen ...... 58 ... 179 
 
 SWEDEN ......... Ostermalmsgaten, 33 and 35, 
 
 Stockholm ......... 152 ... 584 
 
 NORWAY ......... Pilestraedet, 22, Christ iania... 62 ... 203 
 
 CANADA & NEWFOUND-/ Salvation Temple, corner of 
 
 LAND ...... \ James & Albert Sts., Toronto 266 ... 172 
 
 U.S., AMERICA ...... Ill, Reade St., New York City 489 ... 1624 
 
 ARGENTINE REPUBLIC ... Casilla de Correo, 422, Buenos 
 
 Ayres, Argentine Republic 11 ... 49 
 
 SOUTH AFRICA ...... Long Street, Cape Town ... 04 ... 193 
 
 INDIA AND CEYLON ... Esplanade, Bombay ...... 11:; ... 422 
 
 AUSTRALIA ......... 1 85 & 187, Little Collins Stnet, 
 
 Melbourne ......... 372 ... 124H 
 
 NEW ZEALAND ...... 124 & 126, Lichfield Street, 
 
 Christ hurch ...... 82 ... 302 
 
 FINLAND ........ Kaserngatan, J4, Helsingfors 10 ... 37 
 
 ITALY ............ 20 & 20, bis Via Principe, 
 
 Amedo, Turino, It^ly ... 5 ... 21 
 
 JAMAICA ......... Mandeviile, Jamaica ...... 36 ... 06 
 
 Total ...... 3132 10,645 
 
 Literature: Weekly Newspapers, Twenty-nine. Monthly Magazines. Seven. 
 
 Total Annnal Circulation at present rate, of ... 38,401,112 
 
 Officers' Traininy Garrisons, Sixty-jive. Homes of Reft, . 
 
 Countries and Colonies occupied, Thirty-eiyht. Languages in which our 
 
 Literature is published, Fourteen. 
 Languages in which Salvation is preached, Twenty-four. 
 
 The Social Work : Rescue Homes, Forty-eiyht ; Slum Posts, 
 
 Prison-Gate Homes, Ticelve. 
 
 Food Depots and Shelters for the Destitute. Fifty-three. 
 
 Factories and Workshops, Seventeen. Labor Bureaux, Nineteen. Far ins. Six. 
 
 Total number of Institutions, Two Hundred and Eighteen. 
 Officers and others manayiny these Branches, One Thousand ami Thirty-Ei'jlii. 
 
The SALVATION ARMY AUXILIARY LEAGUE is composed 
 
 1. Of persons who, without necessarily endorsing or approving of 
 every single method used by The Salvation Army, are sufficiently 
 in sympathy with its great work of reclaiming drunkards, rescuing 
 the fallen in a word, saving the l?st as to give it their PRAYERS, 
 
 INFLUENCE and MONEY. 
 
 2. Of persons who, although seeing eye to eye with the Army, yet 
 are unable to join it owing to being actively engaged in the work of 
 their own denomination, or by reason of bad health or other infirmities 
 which forbid their taking any active part in Christian work. Persons 
 are enrolled either as Subscribing or Collecting Auxiliaries. 
 
 SUBSCRIBERS pay at least a guinea per annum, and are supplied every 
 year, on payment of their subscription, with a small leather ticket, 
 bearing the official recognition of Headquarters, together with their 
 name and number, which admits them to the meetings of the League, 
 and ensures for them a hearty welcome in Army circles at home and 
 abroad. 
 
 COLLECTORS pay one shilling as an entrance fee, and give or collect 
 not less than ten shillings per quarter. They are supplied with a 
 small, neatly-bound tablet, bearing an official authorisation to collect 
 for the Army. This tablet serves the same purpose for admission, 
 etc., described above as attached to the Subscribers' tickets. 
 
 A small badge is sent to each member of the League, which, if so 
 inclined, they can wear to denote membership. 
 
 The League comprises persons of influence and position, members 
 of nearly all denominations, and many ministers. 
 
 We rely upon Auxiliaries to show their sympathy and help by 
 
 PRAYER at all times, and especially joining our International 
 Prayer Union at 12.30 every day, when the Soldiers of The Salvation 
 Army, at home and abroad, unite in prayer for one another and 
 the salvation of the world. 
 
 INFLUENCE. Letting it be known in their circle that they are in 
 sympathy with us ; occasionally, at least, attending our meetings, if 
 possible ; defending us against misrepresentations and slanders often 
 believed and circulated by the misinformed, who frequently only 
 need to know the real facts to alter their opinion. Auxiliaries can 
 always have the fullest information as to the truth or otherwise of 
 any specific charge brought, if they will write to Headquarters. 
 
534 The Salvation At my Social- League. 
 
 GIFTS. Assisting us to raise funds for the current work and the 
 constant fresh opportunities which we are constrained to seize, at 
 home and abroad, for spreading salvation. The opportunity offered 
 to Auxiliaries in this respect is almost without parallel, for hardly a 
 day passes in which the Army is not compelled to refuse some very 
 valuable opening to do good for want of the needed funds. Many 
 help us in finding buildings suitable for holding Army meetings, aid 
 the local corps by gifts of food or m^ney, and stand by the Army 
 officers in any little difficulties that arise. 
 
 PAMPH ETS. Auxiliaries will always be supplied gratis with copies 
 of our Annual Report and Balance Sheet and other pamphlets for 
 distribution on application to Headquarters. Some of our Auxiliaries 
 have materially helped us in this way by distributing our literature at 
 the seaside and elsewhere and by making arrangements for the 
 regular supply of waiting-rooms, hydropathics, and hotels, thus 
 helping to dispel the prejudice under which many persons unacquainted 
 with the Army are found to labor. 
 
 "ALL THE WORLD" i* posted free regularly each month to Auxiliaries. 
 
 For further information, and for full particulars of the work of The 
 Salvation Army, apply personally or by letter to GENERAL BOOTH, or to 
 the Financial Secretary at Inter national Headquarters, 101, (JueenVictoiia 
 Street, London, E.G., to ichom also contributions should be sent. 
 
 Cheques and Postal Orders crossed "Bank of England." 
 
 THE SALVATION ARMY SOCIAL LEAGUE 
 
 FOR THE FURTHERANCE OF 
 
 THE DARKEST ENGLAND SCHEME. 
 
 1. The Social League is formed for the purpose of furnishing 
 funds to maintain and extend the effort now being made to carry out 
 the Scheme for the benefit of the Destitute, Vicious and Criminal 
 classes as described in the Book entitled, "In Darkest England and 
 the Way Out." 
 
 2. It is thought that the League will enable a large number of 
 friends to assist the Scheme by collecting the gifts of those who, while 
 unable to give larger amounts, would nevertheless be pleased to contri- 
 bute some offering, however small, to its maintenance and extension. 
 
 3. Membership of the League will not necessarily express ap- 
 proval of all or any of the principles and methods of The Salvation 
 
The Sahation Army Social Lear/ue. 535 
 
 Army as a religious organization, but simply signify a practical 
 interest in the Darkest England Scheme. 
 
 4. The League will be composed of THREE DIVISIONS : 
 
 THE FIRST DIVISION will consist of those who will undertake to 
 give or collect at least Five Guineas per annum. 
 
 THE SECOND DIVISION will be composed of Annual Subscribers of 
 One Guinea and upwards, who will also endeavour to secure 
 one other subscriber of a similar amount. 
 
 THE THIRD DIVISION will consist of Young People and others who 
 will undertake to give or collect at least One Guinea per 
 annum. 
 
 5. All members of the League wiP receive a card of membership. 
 Should a member cease to comply with the regulations of the League, 
 the Ticket must be returned to the International Headquarters, 
 or to the Local Secretary from whom in the first instance it was 
 received. 
 
 6. The Collecting Leaguers will be supplied with Collecting Books, 
 and will be expected to collect and forward the amount named 
 within twelve months of the date of the issue of their books. 
 
 7. Each member of the First and Second Divisions of the League 
 will be supplied monthly with a copy of the "Deliverer." 
 
 8. Members of the Third Division will, in lieu of literature, 
 receive a presentation book, or books, value half-a-crown published 
 price, for every Guinea collected. Thus a member who collects 2 2s. 
 will be entitled to books value 5s., while the one who collects 5 5s. 
 will receive 12s. 6d. worth of books. Catalogues of books will be 
 furnished, from which Collectors can make their own selections up 
 to the value to which they are entitled. 
 
 9. On the occasion of public meetings on behalf of the Social 
 Scheme, each Leaguer will be admitted to a reserved seat upon 
 showing his card of membership. 
 
 10. All Leaguers, it is hoped, will not only give and collect the 
 offerings of their friends and neighbors, but canvass for additional 
 Leaguers, interest themselves in the Social Work generally, obtain and 
 spread information with respect to its character, and pray for the 
 Divine blessing upon it. 
 
 11. All or any members of the League will be welcome to corres- 
 pond not only with the secretaries of the local branch with which he 
 may be associated, but with the Financial Secretary of the Inter- 
 national Headquarters, on all matters which affect the welfare of the 
 Social Scheme. 
 
 All communications on the business of the Social League are to be 
 addressed to Commissioner HIGGINS, The Financial Secretary of the 
 Social League, 101, Queen Victoria Street, E.C. 
 
LEGACIES. 
 
 NOTICE to FRIENDS of THE SALVATION ARMY who are 
 
 about to make their WILLS and desire to help the work 
 
 of the Army. 
 
 The good intentions of some Salvationists and friends of the 
 Army have been made useless in consequence of their Wills not 
 being in conformity with the law relative to charitable bequests. 
 The General therefore recommends the following course of action : 
 If the property of a Testator desiring to benefit the Army consists 
 of money at home or at the Bank, or of Home or Foreign Rail- 
 way Stock, Foreign Bonds, Canal Shares, Cash on Deposit, Shares 
 in Trading Companies, Consols, London County Council Stock, 
 Loans to Municipal Corporations, Shares in Gas, Water, or 
 Industrial Companies, Marine Telegraph Shares, and Shares in 
 Mines, or similar kinds of property, then the following form of 
 bequest should be used : 
 
 " I GIVE AND BEQUEATH to WILLIAM BOOTH, or other 
 the General for the time being of THE SALVATION ARMY, the 
 
 sum of to be used or ap})lied by him at 
 
 his discretion for the general purposes of the said Salvation Army. 
 And I direct the said last mentioned Legacy to be paid icithin twelve 
 months after my decease. 1 ' 
 
 DIRECTIONS FOR EXECUTION OF WILL. 
 
 The Will must be executed by the Testator in the presence of 
 witnesses, who must sign their names, addresses and occupations 
 at the end of the Will. The best method to adopt for a Testator, 
 to be quite sure that his Will is executed properly, is for him to 
 take the Will and his two witnesses and go into a room and lock 
 the door, tell the witnesses that he wants them to attest his Will, 
 and then let all three sign in the room, and let nobody go out until 
 they all have signed. 
 
 General Booth will always be pleased to procure for any friends 
 desiring to benefit the Army by Will or otherwise further advice, 
 and will treat any communication made to him on the subject as 
 strictly private and confidential. 
 
 Letters dealing with the matter should be addressed 
 " GENERAL BOOTH, 101, QUEEN VICTORIA STREET, E.C." 
 
 Butler & Tanner, The Selwood Printing Works, Frome, and London. 
 
14 DAY USE 
 
 RETURN TO DESK FROM WHICH BORROWED 
 
 LOAN DEPT. 
 
 This book is due on the last date stamped below, or 
 
 on the date to which renewed. 
 Renewed books are subject to immediate recall. 
 
 JANS 2 
 
 HLC'O 
 
 - 
 
 LOAN D(; 
 
 LD 21A-60m-3,'65 
 (F2336slO)476B 
 
 General Library 
 
 University of California 
 
 Berkeley 
 
M313800