The Authoritative Life of General William Booth, Founder of the Salvation ArmyRailton, George S. (George Scott)
History
The Authoritative Life of General William Booth, Founder of the Salvation Army
Railton, George S. (George Scott)
Booth, William, 1829-1912; Salvation Army
"Lieut.-Colonel Schoch (our original friend before referred to) was
with us at all the Meetings. He is very cordial, and in making the
closing speech, described his oneness with The Army in every
direction.
"My correspondence with London is somewhat heavy.
"Thursday.--Fair night's sleep, but feeling rather tired, which
must be expected. We are away to Den Helder at 9.42 a.m., so must
be stirring. Den Helder is a naval port, the headquarters of the
Dutch navy. We were billetted with Rear-Admiral van den Bosch, who
is in command of the port, fleet, dockyards, and many other things.
We were received at the station in a formal but hearty manner by
the leading people of the town, in the large waiting-room
(decorated for the occasion), by the minister of the State Church,
who made a really eloquent address. The great point of his speech
was the work of the Holy Spirit--God working through us to the
benefit of mankind. As he stood there talking in that circle of
sixty or seventy of the leading inhabitants of the place, including
naval officers of rank, professionals of various classes, and
prominent people, I could not help feeling, as I often feel now,
what a change has come over the people, not only with respect to
The Army, but towards myself.
"I answered in a few words that I trust were useful and beneficial
to all present. The whole thing, from the moment of my being
received at the door of my railway carriage, until I left next
morning, had been prearranged through the instrumentality of one of
our Local Officers, to his great credit, to the credit of his town,
and to the satisfaction of his General.
"The mail brought me a request to take over a certain county
council's lodging-house for poor men, on which they are losing a
large sum, also another to take over an inebriates' home, which
cost £40,000 and is an utter failure. In such exploits people will
not have The Salvation Army at the onset, otherwise they might save
a good deal of expense, etc.
"Friday.--Arriving at Amsterdam, the mail brought confirmation of
my agreement of yesterday to postpone my South African visit to
September, and to begin my Motor Tour at Dundee, and finish at the
Crystal Palace. In all these things the maxim is ever present to my
mind, 'Man proposes, but God disposes.' Closed the night at the
desk, which is becoming more and more a difficult task from the
failure of my eyes.
"Saturday.--Good night's sleep. That is for me, anyway, a great
improvement on recent nights. So now for a good day's work, of
which there is plenty lying before me.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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