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
"The platform at the station was crowded. A passage was made for
me; but I readily reached the compartment, and having five minutes
or so made a little speech, which was received with volley after
volley, and cheer after cheer. There was a good deal of
handshaking, any number of 'God bless you's,' and the train bore me
away from a people with whom I have certainly had a really hearty
and happy fellowship.
"I should have said that, by request of my host, I went through a
kind of board school, in a very commodious and suitable building. I
saw room after room so far as I could judge of the happiest,
healthiest, and I might say, most beautiful lot of children it was
ever my privilege to see. They ought to make a splendid body of men
and women for the future.
"Friday.--I did not get on very well last night with the 'plank
bed' or shelf which was dignified with the name of a sleeping
berth. There was very little spring and no cushion. Moreover, I had
heartburn. It was a cold night, and altogether I was glad when
daylight came. The sun came out, and it was just as hot by noon as
it had been cold at night.
"We stopped at Cradock a little time, where a gentleman interviewed
me with regard to 80,000 acres of land possessed by some syndicate
of the town at Prieska, up beyond Kimberley. This kind of thing
happens almost every day.
"At a station a little further on quite a crowd of Salvationists
and others had gathered. I could not see any sign of a town beyond
two or three shanties. I used to think some of the places that had
been dignified by the name of 'cities' in Canada were rather
grotesque; but here it is carried to a greater extreme. However,
they must have some method of distinguishing the place of ingress
and egress from the train, and perhaps they are named in the hope
of becoming what they are said to be--things that are spoken of as
if they were.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account