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
Seeking her hand when the end drew near, he said—
"Oh, I love so much to hold your fingers."
"Jesus will take your hands, Louis, and guide you into the port."
"I will—let myself—be guided—by Him."
The Maréchale prayed, and with the spirit of Saint Stephen in his breast
and the words "It is too beautiful!" on his lips, he went to be with
Christ. Belleville and the Villette were stirred to the depths by a
martyr’s funeral, and at the grave Théodore Monod spoke words which
moved the hearts of all.
The young Maréchale who gathered round her men and women of this stamp—a
willing people in the day of the Lord’s power, ready for everything,
faithful unto death—evidently possessed high qualities of leadership,
and ere long the spirit of the École Militaire was to be found in every
station of the Army throughout France and Switzerland. Speaking at one
of the General’s great meetings in Scotland, Professor Henry Drummond
said that after travelling all over the South of Europe, visiting many
cathedrals and hearing famous orators, he had landed at Marseilles, and
felt more of the presence and power of Christ in the Salvation Army
meeting-place of that town than he had experienced in all his
wanderings. The General repeated this to the Maréchale, and she found
that the meeting which had so profoundly impressed the Professor had
been conducted by a young officer, Mlle. Dormois, who had recently left
the Training School in Paris.
That the authorities at home praised God for the Maréchale’s work
scarcely needs saying. Her father’s appreciation found expression in
every letter. Here are brief extracts from three of them.
"My dear girl, my very precious girl, I know you are after my own heart.
I place boundless confidence in your judgment and resolutions. Do not
be afraid of anything or any one."
"You are a true heroine, a Joan of Arc, indeed."
"You must have a fearful strain upon you. Still a great part of your
business is to keep yourself quiet and free from wearing care. To be
cool and steady under fire is the quality of the very best soldiers. I
fear I have not excelled in this direction, and it is a very difficult
property in our family, seeing how full of sympathy and feeling our
hearts and lives are, but God can do much for us."
Every letter from her eldest brother Bramwell, who was the Chief of
Staff, was a "Well done!" from over the sea. Writing in 1885—the year
of his and Stead’s heroic crusade against vice—he said: "I get more and
more dissatisfied with things human every day. The world is all gone
mad. If it was only bad, and not mad, we could mend it, but being both
I get less and less hope instead of more! We will now attend to quality
more. If we could get _better_ people surely we should go faster. I
solemnly believe you are ahead of us on the Continent in this
direction."
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