Regeneration: Being an Account of the Social Work of The Salvation Army in Great BritainHaggard, H. Rider (Henry Rider)
Religion
Regeneration: Being an Account of the Social Work of The Salvation Army in Great Britain
Haggard, H. Rider (Henry Rider)
Great Britain -- Social conditions; Salvation Army
A business man who had recently made a study of agnostic literature,
had become involved in certain complications, which resulted in a
quarrel with his wife. His means not being sufficient to the support
of a double establishment, he took the train to London with a bottle
of sulphonal in his pocket (not a drug to be recommended for his
purpose) and swallowed tabloids all the way to town. When he had taken
seventy-five grains, and the bottle, as I saw, was two-thirds empty,
he found that the drug worked in a way he did not expect. Instead of
killing him, it awoke his religious susceptibilities, which the course
of agnostic literature had scotched but not killed, and he began to
wonder with some earnestness whether, after all, there might not be a
Hereafter which, in the circumstances, he did not care to face.
In this acute perplexity he bethought him of the Salvation Army, and
arrived at the Bureau in a state of considerable excitement, as
quickly as a taxicab could bring him. A doctor and a fortnight in
hospital did the rest. The Army found him another situation in place
of the one which he had lost, and composed his differences with his
wife. They are now both Salvationists and very happy. So, in this
instance, all's well that ends well.
_Case Two._--A man, in a responsible position, and of rather
extravagant habits, married a wife of more extravagant habits, and
found that, whatever the proverb may say, it costs more to keep two
than one. His money matters became desperately involved, but, being
afraid to confide in his wife, he spent a Sunday afternoon in trying
to make up his mind whether he would shoot or drown himself. While he
was thus engaged, a Salvation Army band happened to pass his door, and
reminded him of what he had read about the Anti-Suicide Bureau.
Postponing decision as to the exact method of his departure from this
earth, he called there, and was persuaded to make a clean breast of
the matter to his wife.
Afterwards the Army took up his extremely complicated affairs. I saw a
pile of documents relating to them that must have been at least 4 ins.
thick. The various money-lenders were interviewed, and persuaded to
accept payment in weekly or monthly instalments. The account was
almost square when I saw it, and the person concerned extremely happy
and grateful. I should say that, in this case, a lawyer's bill for the
work which was done for nothing would have amounted to quite £50.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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