The Authoritative Life of General William Booth, Founder of the Salvation ArmyRailton, George S. (George Scott)
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The Authoritative Life of General William Booth, Founder of the Salvation Army
Railton, George S. (George Scott)
Booth, William, 1829-1912; Salvation Army
Therefore, the Treasurer and every Officer must go on week after week,
with the miserable beg, beg, beg, which afflicts them, perhaps, even
more than the most critical listener. And then our great work must
suffer both for want of the needed plant to carry it on, and from the
appearance of too much begging, which, in so many instances, has
undoubtedly hindered our gathering in the very people we most wished to
help.
What stories of self-denial, not one week in the year more than another,
any such Treasurer could tell! How Officers managed to rear a healthy
and promising family upon less than a pound a week: how The General's
own granddaughters "made six shillings a week do" for their personal
support, for months, because their Corps could not afford more: how the
Sergeant-Major's wife did her washing during the night "before
Self-Denial Week came on," so as to be able to stand all day long
outside the station, in the cold, collecting: how widow Weak "keeps up
her cartridges"; that is to say, goes on giving the Corps a regular
subscription of sixpence a week since her husband's death, as before,
"lest the Corps should go down."
Lately they took me to see a German widow, now suffering in a hospital,
who when her whole weekly cash earnings outside only totalled two
shillings a week, invariably "put in her cartridge" two pfennigs, say a
farthing. No. I gave her nothing, nor did anybody else in my presence,
as her needs are now attended to; and I am sure she would rather keep up
the fact of never having received anything from, but always having given
to, The Army.
Of course we do not pretend that all Treasurers and Soldiers are of the
model sort. If they were, many of our bitterest financial struggles
would never occur. If everybody who "kept back part" of what they ought
to give to God were struck dead for singing such words as--
Were the whole realm of nature mine,
That were a present far too small.
God would need many a regiment of corpse carriers, I fear.
The General, seventeen years ago, wrote to a wealthy lady who had been
excusing somebody's want of liberality to us by some of the slanders
they had heard.
"Tell your friends in Gull-town the same that I am telling the
public: that nine out of every ten statements in the Press that
reflect upon us are either out-and-out _falsehoods_ or
'_half-lies_,' which are worse still; and that, though not
infallible, when in one case out of ten we do make mistakes, there
are circumstances which, if known, would excuse them very largely.
"I am having wonderful Meetings--immense crowds, soul-awakening
influences all day--Penitent-Forms; back-sliders, sinners and
half-and-half saints coming back to God. Never saw anything,
anywhere, in any part of my life, much more blessed.
"Read my letter in _The War Cry_ about the Two Days--every word as
from my heart.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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