The Maréchale (Catherine Booth-Clibborn) — John Shaqi
The Maréchale (Catherine Booth-Clibborn)Strahan, James
Religion
The Maréchale (Catherine Booth-Clibborn)
Strahan, James
Booth-Clibborn, Catherine, 1860-1955
"I remember," wrote her eldest brother, "a striking instance of this
occurring in a certain northern town on a Sunday night. A crowd
assembled at the doors of the theatre, composed of the lowest and
roughest of the town, who, overpowering the doorkeepers, pressed into
the building and took complete possession of one of the galleries, so
that by the time the remainder of the theatre was occupied this portion
of it represented a scene more like a crowded tap-room than the gallery
of what was for the moment a place of worship. Rows of men sat smoking
and spitting, others were talking and laughing aloud, while many with
hats on were standing in the aisles and passages, bandying to and fro
jokes and criticisms of the coarsest character. All this continued with
little intermission during the opening exercises, and the more timid
among us had practically given up hope about the meeting, when Miss
Booth rose, and standing in front of the little table just before the
footlights, commenced to sing, with such feeling and unction as it is
impossible to describe with pen and ink,
’The rocks and the mountains will all flee away.
And you will need a hiding-place that day.’
There was instantaneous silence over the whole house; after singing two
or three stanzas, she stopped and announced her text, ’Let me die the
death of the righteous and let my last end be like His.’ While she did
so nearly every head in the gallery was uncovered, and within fifteen
minutes both she and every one of the fifteen hundred people present
were completely absorbed in her subject, and for forty minutes no one
stirred or spoke among that unruly crowd, until she made her concluding
appeal, and called for volunteers to begin the new life of
righteousness, when a great big navvy-looking man rose up, and in the
midst of the throng in the gallery exclaimed, ’I’ll make one!’ He was
followed by thirty others that night."
[Illustration: CATHERINE BOOTH
(_From a portrait by Edward Clifford, exhibited at the Royal Academy
and presented to Mrs. Booth_)]
Well might the General’s hopes regarding the young soul-winner be high
and confident. "Papa," wrote Mrs. Booth, "says he felt very proud of her
the other day as she walked by his side at the head of a procession with
an immense crowd at their heels. He turned to her and said, ’Ah, my
lass, you shall wear a crown by-and-by.’"
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.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account