Booth, Catherine Mumford, 1829-1890; Salvation Army -- Great Britain -- Biography
The singing of The Army songs seemed to comfort her; and once she raised
her suffering arm, and pointed to the text, '_My grace is sufficient
for thee_,' which hung on the wall. It was lifted down and placed at
the foot of her bed, so that her eyes could often rest on it during those
last hours.
'Soon after noon,' says the present General, 'I felt that the deepening
darkness of the Valley was closing around my dear mother, and a little
later I took my last farewell. Her lips moved, and she gave me one look
of unspeakable tenderness and trust which will live with me for ever.
Again we sang:--
My mistakes His free grace doth cover,
My sins He doth wash away;
These feet which shrink and falter
Shall enter the Gates of Day.
And, holding her hand, The General gave her up to God. It was a solemn
and wonderful scene.'
The Chief of the Staff and Mrs. Bramwell Booth, Mrs. Booth-Tucker, and
the Commander, and her three daughters, Marian, Eva, and Lucy, knelt
round the bed, upon which were placed photographs of the other members of
her family who were unavoidably absent. Near to her stood her faithful
nurse, Captain Carr, and others of the household, the dear General bowing
over his beloved wife and companion in life's long strife, and giving her
up to the keeping of the Father.
One by one the members of the family tenderly embraced her; then a gleam
of recognition passed over the brightening countenance as The General
bent over her. Their eyes met---the last kiss of love on earth, the last
word till the Morning, and without a movement the breathing gently
ceased, and a warrior laid down her sword to receive her crown.
* * * * *
You may have heard of those wonderful days from Tuesday morning till
Sunday night, when the coffin containing the precious remains of our Army
Mother lay at the Congress Hall, Clapton, and when more than fifty
thousand people came to have a last look at her dear face.
A piece of glass had been let into the plain oak coffin. It was just
large enough to show the head and shoulders, and she lay as if in a sweet
sleep.
You wonder if many came merely from curiosity. Some did, of course, but
most of the people came because her life and example and words had been
so blessed to their souls; and they came as they would come to look at
the dead face of their own mother. It was the most wonderful tribute to a
woman's life and words that London had ever seen.
For all kinds of people came--rich and poor, good and bad, people of many
different religions, and many with no religion at all. Working men came
in their dinner-hour, with their tools on their backs and tears in their
eyes; mothers lifted up their little children to look at the one who had
taught them the way of life; and, best of all, by the side of her coffin
knelt many a wanderer and backslider to give themselves afresh to God.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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