The Maréchale (Catherine Booth-Clibborn)Strahan, James
Religion
The Maréchale (Catherine Booth-Clibborn)
Strahan, James
Booth-Clibborn, Catherine, 1860-1955
Commissioners E.D. and Lucy Booth-Hellberg—the General’s youngest
daughter—who took over the command of the Army in France and
Switzerland, wrote in their first Annual Report (1896): "One of the last
links in the long chain of desperate efforts for the salvation of
France, put forth with undiminished love and faith by the Maréchale, was
the Lyons campaign, which lasted for six weeks during the months of
January and February. Supported by a number of believing and
hard-working officers, she conducted a series of truly remarkable
meetings in the _Salle Philharmonique_, which was filled on every
occasion with an attentive and largely sympathetic audience. The
results of the campaign were most encouraging and of a decidedly
permanent nature. The local corps, which up till then had led a very
struggling existence, received a powerful lift and is now in a healthy
condition. Furthermore a considerable amount of prejudice against our
work was removed and a number of friends and sympathisers were made, the
immediate result of which was the establishment of a Rescue Home for
women in that city." Later on Lucy wrote to the Maréchale, "Darling,
your love for France is wonderful; you cannot understand it."
Had the Maréchale been sent to another of the Latin races—for example,
the Italians or the Spaniards—her gifts might still have been used to
the highest advantage. She once conducted a brief campaign in a great
hall at Turin. At the beginning she encountered a storm of opposition.
While she dedicated the child of one of her former officers, her voice
was drowned in an uproar which turned the solemn service into a fiasco.
The audience got completely out of hand, and, as a final stroke of
devilry, a troop of students, headed by a big fellow with an evil,
cynical face, came marching up the aisle, shouting, yelling and
brandishing sticks. The ringleader had made a bet that he would kiss
the Maréchale. Her officers began to think it was high time to close
the meeting. But she was not near the end of her resources. Giving her
familiar order, "Leave them to me, and pray!" she stepped to the edge of
the platform, and, when the leader was within a foot of her, fixed her
eyes on his face, raised her finger, and sang—[2]
Si tu savais comme Il t’aime,
Sans tarder tu viendrais à Lui,
Tu viendrais à l’heure même,
Tu viendrais dès aujourd’hui.
[2] This hymn was composed by one of her officers, M. Grandjean. The
tune was one of the sweetest operatic airs of the day.
The clear, sweet notes went vibrating through the great hall, and Italy
knows the power of song. The ringleader stood staring as if he had been
petrified, and his followers did not advance another step. While the
Maréchale sang on, she was heard in breathless silence. Then she spoke
for an hour. The after-meeting lasted till midnight, and the leader of
the students, completely broken down and sobbing like a child, said,
"Oh, stay with us, you will make angels of us all!"
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