Catherine Booth

Wa

ighting it is. You cannot fight without wo

as a warrior. She liked the fight. She was not one who said to others, "Go," but "Here, let me go"; and when there w

l things a warrior; she fought bravely

ght. Cowardice, in her opinion, was one of the commonest and most subtle sins of the da

possible from others, yet she was not carried away by their opinions, but care

rove earnestl

e Army's early days, 'what Gospel w

ag

on the surface. "Glory be to the Father, to the Son, and the Holy Ghost," was

nce m

ds wrong views with a right heart better than a person with right views and a wrong heart?" Yes, so far as his personal state before God is c

e very lowest and roughest, or whether rows of clergy and lawyers, and lords and ladies sat to listen, it made

cesses came to hear her. 'I think the Lord never enabled me to be more plain and faithful. As a lady in high

uring the whole of her life. She began, as you remember, when

ke a little wine for the sake of his health. Our Army Mother wrote him a lon

lly and for ever settled on the physical side of the question

hope for your health because you abstain, than I should if you took wine. Flee the d

y for the drunkard, Mrs. Booth attacked the makers and s

tinies of your children, by your care for never-dying souls; by

ity to these has already consigned millions to an untimely Hell!... Arise, Christians,

ich women have been lifted as speakers and teachers in God's work. She first, as we have seen, opened the way herself; and the

t, strong in faith and courage, convinced that she had Divine authority for what she did, our Army Mother fought on, arguing, writing, preaching on the m

of the hindrances in spite of

k and suffering body. She said, when her life was drawing to its close, that suffering seemed to have been he

ss. 'It has been a poor old troublesome affair. I shall be glad for it t

the warrior spirit within forced her body along. Scores of times she has gone from her bed to the Meeting, and then, exhausted and faintin

cial strain of work a

, and for two days I could hardly bear any clothes to touch me. This has disheartened me a

h was almost more difficult to overcome

If so, it will help you to realize

uttermost, and at times to blot out all peace and glory fr

eatly; and I would fain hide from everybody to prevent their seeing it. But I cannot help it. I have struggled hard, more than any one know

she was thus tried. One day, just before leaving for a great West-End Meeting, in whic

ese fits of despondency are on me. I must hold on and fight my passage through; and when I get to Heaven the ligh

icult, many times, to make two ends meet. She had, during many years of her life, no regular money coming in on which to depen

o one, either, to lead her singing, scarcely even to keep the doors or take up the collection. She would arrive in a town absolutely alone. A hall had been taken in which she was to speak, and s

most wonderfully owned her labours. At one place she saw one hundred grown-up people an

ery small and humble; but it is clean and quiet; and when I feel nervous no one knows the value of qu

e who would give out a song for her. Mrs. Booth could not sing herself, and there was often an awkward pause before any one would be willing to pitch her tune. 'If only,' she

ul was her experi

ding three thousand people, ha

k quite nine hundred remained, Satan said to me, as I came down from the platform according to my custom, "You will never ask such people as these to come and kneel down here? You will only make a fool of yourself if you do." I felt stu

st to volunteer were two old gentlemen, both over seventy years of age

she tells the same story

able man I have keeps a milliner's shop, and the one that opens for me generally is an overseer; so their attention i

y some six hundred names were taken, many

rmy Mother would be all peace and glory. But no. Right down into the Valley she needed to use the

e foug

d faith, I can only expect it to be the same now. All our enemies have to be conquered by faith, not realization; and is it not so with the last enemy, death? Yes, if

erors. It is the secret of their victory–the faith without which it is impossib