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
"Night. Welcome Meeting in the Methodist Church. Packed. There must
have been nearly 1,300 people present. The admission was free, and
there were many Philistines, some socialists, and some lads bent on
mischief. To add to our difficulties, my interpreter did his work
so miserably that we had some confusion and restlessness. After an
hour's talk, I paused for the collection to be taken, and changed
interpreters. The second one did very much better. His voice,
however, was feeble and his manner very quiet, so that things were
not very much better for a time. Then we had a little quiet, and a
decent finish. It was a considerable disappointment, however, and
next door to a defeat. I retired to rest very sad, and with awkward
forebodings about the coming Meetings.
"The great funereal vault of a church, the interpreting, the
mocking young fellows void of any sense of honour or conscience to
appeal to, or any respect for a stranger, the intense anxiety of
the Officer in command to have good Meetings, and above all my
longings to meet the needs of the hungry crowd, only wanting to
hear, and many of them equally willing to obey: these and other
troubling thoughts haunted my mind and spoiled my night's sleep.
But I fell back on my old remedy, and, comforting myself in the
Lord, resolved to do what could be done and left myself in His
hands.
"Sunday.--11 a.m. Had a local minister to translate; he did well.
Some fifty or sixty stood up at the close as seekers for a clean
heart.
"Afternoon. The great church packed. Interpretation went fairly
well. Began at 3 p.m. and went on till 5.20 p.m.
"Night. Police sent up word soon after six that the street was
filling up, and the doors must be opened. When this was done the
young fellows who had made so much trouble on Saturday night--or at
least some hundreds of this class--forced their way in through all
else, leaving hundreds more outside. They talked and laughed, and
although now and then a policeman marched a row of them out,
their game went on, spoiling everything.
"The voice of the interpreter was weak, and the confusion flustered
him. So my dreams of a smash and of a hundred seekers were not
realised, and we terminated with some six or seven gathered out of
the crowd immediately near to the platform.
"It was a great disappointment. I felt beaten, and went home
confessing it. And yet what could be done? My tongue was all but
tied. I was helpless without an interpreter capable of conveying my
meaning to the people. Such a man was wanting. Commending the whole
matter and the anxious crowds of people so eager to hear to my
Master, I retired at midnight.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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