Prisons and Prayer; Or, a Labor of LoveWheaton, Elizabeth Ryder
Religion
Prisons and Prayer; Or, a Labor of Love
Wheaton, Elizabeth Ryder
Evangelistic work; Prisons
As we proceeded with the service a policeman soon appeared and ordered
me to stop. I told him I was not violating any ordinance of the city
and only holding the service at the request of these firemen. He was
angry and threatened to arrest us. He soon returned with two other
officers, and while the sister who was with me was speaking, he took
her by the arm and led her down the muddy street. I began singing, "He
is able to deliver thee." The other two policemen took me by the arms
and forced me through the deep mud in the street quite a long distance
to the jail. Before being placed in the cell I was asked the cause of
our arrest. I replied, "For holding open-air service on the street,
and there is no law in Scotland to forbid us from doing so." We were
placed in a room under guard to await the decision. We could hear the
shrieks of men and women delirious from drink.
I was asked who we were, and replied, "We have come from America to
preach the gospel." After cross-questioning and severely reprimanding
me they asked if I would hold my peace if they would let me go. I
answered, "I do not wish to disregard your request, but I must obey
God, for that is why I am here. And according to your law it is no
crime to hold open-air services; and it is a custom with the
churches." "Then we will put you into the cell." Another said, "No, we
cannot do that for this offense." Then he said I should be gone. I
said, "Will you not send an officer to show us the way to our lodging,
as you have arrested us without a cause and it is late at night?" But
they refused to send a guide. I asked if they would give me the name
of the policeman who arrested us, and told them the matter was not yet
ended; that they did not know with whom they were dealing. At first
they refused to give me the names asked for; but I said I should stay
till they did so, and I prevailed. When we had started to try to find
our way to our lodging place, we met a lady who kindly directed us to
the street and number.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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