(1884) red-cross knights of the salvation army

8/14/2019 (1884) Red-Cross Knights of the Salvation Army

1/45

IMAGE EVALUATIONTEST TARGET (MT-3)

'/^ {./^ V.

1.0

I.I

2 2

li|28 12 5


2/45

CIHM/ICMHMicroficheSeries.

CIHIVI/ICMHCollection demicrofiches.

Canadian institute for l^istoricai IVIlcroreproductions institut Canadian de microreproductions historiquas

1980


3/45

Technical and Bibliographic Notes/Notes techniques et bibliographiques

The Institute has attempted to obtain the bestoriginal copy available for filming. Features of thiscopy- which may be bibliographically unique,which may alter ariy of the images in thereproduction, or which may significantly changetfte usual method of filming, are checked below.

DDD

DDD

Coloured covers/Couverture de couleur

II Covers damaged/Couverture endommag6eCovers restored and/or laminated/Couverture restaur6e et/ou pellicula

j ICover title missing/Le titre de couverture manqueColoured maps/Cartes gdographiques en couleurColoured ink (i.e. other than blue or black)/Encre de couleur (i.e. autre que bleue ou noire)

I IColoured plates and/or illustrations/

D

Planches et/ou illustrations en couleurBound with other material/Reli6 avec d'autres documentsTight binding may cause shadows or distortionalong interior margin/La reliure serr^e peut causer de I'ombre ou de ladistortion le long de la marge intirieureBlank leaves added during restoration mayappear within the text. Whenever possible, thesehave been omitted from filming/II se peut que certaines pages blanches ajout6eslors d'une restauration apparaissent dans le texte,mais, lorsque cela dtait possible, ces pages n'ontpas 6t6 filmdes.

Additional comments:/Commentaires suppl6mentaires:

L'lnstitut a microfilm le meilleur exemplairequ'il lui aM possible de se procurer. Les detailsde cet exemplaire qui sent peut-Atre uniques dupoint de vue bibliographique, qui peuvent modifierune image reprc^uite, ou qui peuvent exiger unemodification dans la mdthode normale de filmagesont indiqute ci-dessous.

I IColoured pages/

DD

Pages de couleurPages damaged/Pages endommag6esPages restored and/oiPages restaurdes et/ou pellicuidesPages discoloured, stained or foxetPages dicolordes. tachetdes ou piqu6esPages detached/Pages d6tach6esShowthroughyTransparenceQuality of prirQualit^ indgaie de I'impressionIncludes supplementary materiaComprend du materiel supplementaire

I IPages damaged/

I IPages restored and/or laminated/

a Pages discoloured, stained or foxed/I I

Pages detached/

II Showthrough/

I IQuality of print varies/

II Includes supplementary material/

Only edition available/Seule Edition disponible

Pages wholly or partially obscured by errataslips, tissues, etc., have been refilmed toensure the best possible image/Les pages totalement ou partiellementobscurcies par un feuillet d'errata, une pelure,etc.. ont 6t^ filmdes d nouveau de fapon dobtenir la meilleure image possible.

Thto

Thpcoffill

Oibethsicotfirsicor

ThshTlwlMd\\erbe"ire

This item is filmed at the reduction ratio checked below/Ce document est film6 au taux de rMuction indiqu^ ci-dessous.10X


4/45

tailsduadifieruneTiage

The copy filmed hare ha* been reproduced thanksto the generosity off:

National Library of Canada

The images appearing here are the best qualitypossible considering the condition and legibilityof the original copy and in keeping with thefilming contract specifications.

L'exemplaire film* fut reproduit grAce k ttginirositA de:

BibliothAque nationale du Canada

Les images suivantes ont At* reproduites avec leplus grand soin, compte tenu de la condition atde la nettetA de l'exemplaire film*, et enconformity avec les conditions du contrat defilmage.

Original copies in printed paper covers are filmedbeginning with tho front cover and ending onthe last page with a printed or illustrated impres-sion, or the back cover when appropriate. Aiiother original copies are filmed beginning on thefirst page with a printed or illustrated impres-sion, and ending on the last page with a printedor illustrated impression.

The last recorded frame on each microficheshall contain the symbol ^> (meaning "CON-TINUED "), or the symbol V (meaning "END "),whichever applies.Maps, plates, charts, etc., may be filmed atdifferent reduction ratios. Those too large to beentirely included in one exposure are filmedbeginning in the upper Ijft hand corner, left toright and top to bottom, as many frames asrequired. The following diagrams illustrate themethod:

Les exemplaires ortginaux dont la couverture enpapier est imprimAe sont filmAs en commen^antpar le premier plat et en terminant soit par laderniAre page qui comporte une empreinted'impression ou d'illustration, soit par le secondplat, salon le cas. Tous les autres exemplairesoriginaux sont filmAs en commenpent par lapremiAre page qui comporte une empreinted'impression ou d'illustration et en terminant parla derniAre page qui comporte une telleempreinte.

Un des symboles suivants apparaltra sur laderniAre image de cheque microfiche, selon lecas: le symbolo signifie "A SUIVRE ", lesymbols V signifie 'FIN".Les cartes, planches, tableaux, etc., peuvent AtrefilmAs A des taux da rAduction diffArents.Lorsque le document est trop grand pour Atrereproduit en un seul clichA, il est filmA A partirde Tangle supArieur gauche, de gauche A droite,et de haut en bas, en prenant le nombred'images nAcessaire. Les diagrammes suivantsillustrent la mAthode.

irratato

pelure,n A

32X

1


5/45


6/45

Ha.cKL(LY\a\- (^M.

*

CANADA

NATIONAL LIBRARYBIBLIOTH^QUE NATIONALE


7/45

/.'

RED CROSS KNIGHTS OF TEE SALVATIONARMY*.BY "FIDBLIS."

We have all hoard muci: of ** ChrUtian England,'*with its noble cathedrals and abbeys, its rich ecclesias-tical heritage, its generations of culture, its Christianlives of gentle and ideal beauty. But we are less fa-miliar with the ** Heathen England '^ growing for gen-erations side by side with it, under the shadow of itsmany churches. That heathen England is neverthelessvery real, very coarse, very brutal, constituting an ag-gregate ofgross ignorance and vice, which is like a massof seething corruption in the midst of a fair and lovelygarden. In this heathen England, the old traditionsof Christianity have been utterly lost ; the men aredebased and brutal, often as cruel as their own bull-dogs ; the women have a crushed and down-troddensemblance of womanhood, and the children, alas! awretchedly stunted and mr)rally deformed childhood.The blessedness of home is unknown, and if, as Dickensdelighted to show in his pictures of its abnormal life,*' some flow'rets of Eden they still inherit,'* it is no lesscertam that *^ the trail of the serpent is over them all."In England there are sharper contrasts than any seeneven in America. Between the refined and happyhomes of luxury and culture, '* sweetness and light,"

* Reprinted by permission from the Andover B0viw,


8/45

"r~i \;-'(I

and the dark cellars and garrets where wretched menand WMnen, and almost as wretched children, drag outa miserable existence, revealed as

" They look ap with their pale and snnken faces,And their look is dread to see/I

there is '^ a great gulf fixed.'* Little wonder if theeves that look hungrily from the dens of St. Giles' andthe Seven Dials to the beautiful homes and parkswhere " noble lords and ladies ride," should often kin-dle with the baleful fire of jealous hatred and sullendespair, the certain inspiration of Chartism and Ni-hilism.Into this In/enio, of which it might almost be written,

** Aha'iidon hope^ all ye who enter here" many pityingeyes have lookod, and ministering angels have descend-ed, laden with Christian hope and consolation. Andyet, on the mass, but little impression has been madeby all the " Missions " which Christian philanthropyhas instituted. Into this gloom and misery, nearlytwenty years ago, one man, fired with the ardour of aRed-Cross Knight, looked, and as he looked in ineffablepity, there dawned upon him the conception of a newcrusade against these powers of . darkness,~a crusadeto be fought with no mortal weapons, but with certainpieces of armour described in an ancient Book, the'* breastplate of righteousness," the ** gospel of peace,*'tho ** sword of the Spirit," and all used in the uncon-querable and unfailing might of Christian love Thesealone were to be the only weapons for either offenceor defence. Even where, opposed by physical violence,the crusaders should have to march through mob-fireof mud and stones; accompanied by hootmgs and re-

iWf Y


9/45

V

rV :i

3vilings and brutal assault, the assaulters vt ere to be metsimply by Christian endurance, meekness and love.The man on whom this noble conception dawned,and gradually grew into more tangible shape, wasWilliam Booth, now known all over the world as"General" Booth, of the Salvation Army. Begin-ning his ministry in the Methodist Church in 1853*at twenty-four years of age, he laboured so successfullyas an evangelist that, in 1861, he resigned 'his min-istry in that church rather then give up what he feltto be his special life-work as an evangelist, and settledown to a pastoral charge. He held services whereverhe found an opportunity, crowds assembling to hearhim, arid whole districts being stirred by his intenseand powerful preaching. In 1865, being in London,and deeply impressed by the sense of the dense massesof degraded heathenism around him, he began hig^evangelistic work by preaching in the open air in olioof its lowest quartersthe Mile End Koad. And ashe studied the character and the needs of the people,the idea of the new crusade took a more definite formin his mind, and has since been marvellously carriedout in the organization which we now know as the'* Salvation Anny.'' For a long time,some ten oreleven years,^the crusaders had no such name, ** nomilitary titles, no bands of music, no tambourines, noblood and fire bills," but the spirit of the fighters wasthe same, and these peculiarities of outward formwere gradually superadded, as their usefulness in pro-moting the Army's objects commended them to theshrewd and active mind of the organizer and command"-er of the force, wlio is certainly a good reader of humannature. People ace astomed from infancy to an orderly


10/45

and solemn service, liturgical or otherwise, cannotunderstand why such ^'fantastical' 'accessoriesshould beintroduced into any religious service. But it is because*'one half of the world does notknow how the other halflives. " To a half * * civilized heathen, " such as aboundsin England, and unhappily in America too, the decor-ous and solemn service is as far above his present stageof spiritual development as a concert of ** classicalmusic" would be beyond the comprehension of aKaffir. And that is one reason why the Churches havefailed to gather in the * * lapsed masses. " For not onlyare such services ** beyond them," but they are abso-lutely unattractive to them. And just as the churchof the Middle Ages appealed to the fancy of half-savagenations by its processions and pageantry, its picturesand object-lessons, and as ritualistic London cler-gymen to-day use some of the same means of attraction,so the Salvation Army put on its military parapher-nalia to gather men and women together by the soundof drum and tambourine and lively choruses, and thenpreach to them the simple gospel of Jesus Christ.For, this and nothing else, is what they do teachnomere outward obedience to an organization, no com-plicated system of theology, but the simple elementarytruths, acknowledged by all evangelical Christians, thatsinful men need a Saviour, and that Christ is theSaviour they need, to deliver them from the guilt andthe power of sin. This is true of their teaching every-where, in the New World and the Old. As anEnglish paper describes it : *' The whole points of thecreed of the Salvationists areMan is a sinner, Christis a Saviour. He died for every one, therefore Hedied for you. He saved me, therefore He can save

1^

iA

mm


11/45

\.

1 ^

iX

you. Come, then, to the Fountain ; it is free, with-out money and without price. The changes are rungupon these few points again and again, but they areMver reaswied about. It is so, that is all ; if you be-lieve, you will be saved ; if you disbelieve, you willbe damned." This, as a system of theology, mayseem very bare and crude to the lovers of long andmetaphysical formulas like the Athanasian Creed orthe Westminster Confession. It must be admitted,however, that it is enough to live and die by, as theexperience of millions has proved.But though the ** Army " fights with only spiritualweapons, ** in love and the spirit of meekness," thiscan by no means be said of the assailants it has fre-quently encountered. This record, given on theirown official authority, speaks for itself : ** During theyear 1882, 669 of our soldiers, to our knowledge, havebeen knocked down, kicked, or otherwise brutallyassaulted, 391 of them being men, 251 women, andtwenty>three children under thirteen ! No less thanfifty-six of the buildings used by us have beenattacked, nearly all the windows being broken inmany cases, and in many others even more seri-ous damage being done." This assaulting processhas continued through the nineteen years duringwhich the crusade has been going on, though formost of the time it was not marked by any of thepeculiar features now regarded as its distinguishingcharacteristics. The Christian bearing of the soldiersunder fire has been frequently acknowledged, as it isin the testimony given by the Mayor of Bath to theHome Secretary : ** The reports received by themagistrates fron: the police indicate that the ^ Sal-

*f>0t ai iiliTi*gi P"


12/45

vationists * keep themselves strictly within the law.We find that even when struck, assailed with foul andabusive language, and their property broken and de-stroyed, the \ Salvationists ' do not retaliate." Andto understand what thay have had to bear, it is nec-essary to understand something of the brutality of anEnglish mob, perhaps the most stolidly brutal kind ofmob in the world 1 With such a record, for one yeaVfas that just quoted, who shall dare to say that therewas not need for the Salvation Army ? And again anda.gain it has happened that the ringleaders in theattack have been forced by the constraining power ofChristian love to join the ranks they had been attack-ing with bitter animosity. After a barbarous melee atCrediton, in which several officers of the** Army"were severely injured, the confession was made at thenext visit, ** Last time you were here, Major, I helpedto stone you ; but now, thank God, I am saved ! "But not only have they to suffer at the hands ofthepopulace ; they have had, again and again, to suffer atthe hands of the authorities ! In some cases, indeed,the local magistrates have firmly defended themagainst attempted oppression by a lawless rabble ; butin others, underlying prejudice and the animositywhich in some minds is always excited by any form ofaggressive Christianity have taken advantage of themerest pretexts of local by-laws, brokeu by a quietmarch through the streets, to condemn them to alonger or shorter imprisonment, in default of the finewhich they wUl 'not; pay. For to pay the fine would beto admit the right of the magistrate to punish themlor acts which they maintain to be perfectly lawfuland within their privileges as British subjects. And

-1

fK


13/45

> .

^A

no Roundhead or Puritan could have been moreBtaunch in resisting every infringement of such rightsand liberties than are these poor men and women of\humble callings, but heroic hearts. For not only havemen suffered in this way, but tender and delicateyoung women also have been thrown into prison onfrivolous pretexts of obstruction, and while theretreated as common criminals with more or less barbar-ity. Their rights, thus defended by themselves, havebeen further endorsed in the House of Lords by suchmen as the late Archbishop of Canterbury and ChiefJustice Coleridge, the latter saying that ''he took itthat every Englishman had an absolute and unquali-tied right to go about hU business and perform legalacts with the protection of the law ; and he appre-hended that walking through the streets in order andin procession, even if accompanied with music and thesinging of hymns, was absolutely lawful, in the doingof which every subject had a right to be protected.In some cases the authorities had endeavoured tohave the Red Cross Knights put down by law, for thefitrange reason that they had been assaulted by theorganized mob calling itself the " Skeleton Army," onthe ground that their peculiar proceedings provokedsuch violence. This attempt to visit the sins of law-less rioters on peaceful citizens was, however, verydecidedly quashed by the English justices beforewhom the appeal came. Mr. Justice Field, in givingjudgment, put this legal point very clearly : ** Was itunlawful to do a lawful act merely because othersmade it the pretence for raising a riot ? Whatright have others to resort to force to preventpersons from doing what is lawful? It would


14/45

8come to this, that persons were to be punished fordoing lawfnl acts merely because it led others to actunlawfully and create a riot. The authorities do notsupport or justify any such view of the law." Hefurther met the suggestion that a continuance of suchprocessions would lead to a continuance of disturb-ances, by expressing the ** hope that when theopponents learned, as they would now learn, that theyhad no right whatever to interfere with these pro-cessions of the Salvation Army, they would refrainfrom disturbing them." " It was usual," he dryly re-marked, *' in this country, for people to obey the lawwhen it was once declared and understood, and hohoped that it would be so in this case. But if it werenot so, he presumed that the magistrates and thepolice would understand their duty, and would notfail to do it, and that they would not hesitate to dealwith the disturbers and the members of the * SkeletonArmy ' as they had dealt with the membe^ of theSalvation Army in this case."So British liberty and fair play won the day overprejudice and mob tyranny, and the Salvation Army,even in the matter of its processions and music, wastaken under the protection of law. But the Armybad still another enemy to encounter,the unseenspirit of slander. Attacks on the financial honesty ofits General, vile slanders against the moral characterof its soldiers, especially against the young womenengaged in the blessed work of * rescuing the perish-ing," were circulated, even in religious journals, andbelieved by thousands. Again and again refuted, theystart every now and then into life again. One ofthese slanders was repeated^ on hearsay, by twa

o

i^\

tm>


15/45

9

ry

A

English bishops, and formally refuted by GeneralBooth himself, in what he calls his Exeter HallAddress, with such a pointed denial as should haveled the episcopal accusers to withdraw the charge aspublicly as it was made.In general, however, the dignitaries of the Churchof England, as well as her clergy, have extended tothe Red Cross Knights of this century much greatertoleration and kindness than their representatives of aformer one showed towards their predecessors, theWhitefields and Wesleys. This has been due partlyto the growing comprehensiveness and catholicity ofthe church herself and the wisdom learned by pastexperience, and partly to the feeling that this crusade isa kind of guerilla warfare, not interfering in anyway with the regiments of the line, but rather giv-ing them its aid through an unknown and difficultcountry. Not a few also, both of English prelates andclergy, are animated by the apostolic spirit which ledthe late venerated Primate of England to say that** the one impossible, intolerable thing would be to sitstill and do nothing in the presence of this great callfor increased activity." His successor, the presentArchbishop of Canterbury, actually came as the rep-resentative of Convocation to confer with the " Gen-eral," and spoke most favourably to his clergy of theheadquarters and the training barracks, which he in-spected. Even the Times, in a remarkable article, in1882, took up the cause of the crusaders, and re-marked that, ** A cloud of episcopal witnesses to the,merits of General Booth's undertaking is a suggestivesign of the times. The Church of England has taken


16/45

10example by the sagacity of the Church of Rome in re-fusing no aid which religious fervour is willing to offer.It has taken w;aming by the mischief of its own con-duct in expelling from its fellowship the followers ofWesley and Whitefield. As well from an increase ofcomprehensiveness as from a conviction of its need ofstrength and substance, it is ready to welcome helpwhich it would formerly have vehemently repudiated.A contribution by the Archbishop of Canterburytowards the purchase of space in which ten thousandmav attend the ministrations of General Booth, andformal recognitions by many other prelates of thegratitude of churchmen for the work the Army isdoing, are testimonies that the church wants help,and that no false pride prevents it from accepting help.Such a testimony from the Times shows at once thatthe ** world moves,' .and that the crusade of our RedCross Knights has, on the whole, been conducted insuch a way, and with such results, as to win the sym-pathy and co-operation of those to whose natural pre-dilections its methods would be most distasteful. The** capture" of the Eagle Tavern in London was one ofthe exploits of Christian daring which insured thesympathy and gratitude of all who ^ ' loved good andhated evil," and deserved a better sequel than it hasmore recently had. This well-known and seductivehaunt of vice was for sale, and was purchased for theSalvatidn Army for 16,750 sterling, somewhere about^0,000^the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Bis-hop of London having promised the assistance of theirinfluence, if necessary, for securing so desirable atransformation as that of the Eagle Tavern into aplace of Christian worship. With scarcely any funds

h

n


17/45

'D

^l

11in hand, and but three weeks' time for payment, thebargain was made ; and so great was the satisfactionof the Christian public at the news of the capture, thatsubscriptions rapidly poured in, until, before the ex-piration of the three weeks, 9,000 was in hand, ofwhich 3,000 came from the ranks of the Army,chiefly poor men and women, whohad just before beencontributing towards the purchase of another propertyat Clapton,and the remainder of the money wasborrowed ; for, debt or no debt, the Army must havethe'' Eagle." And so, one morning at daybreak, agreat procession of Red Cross Knights, male and fe-male, to the number of about one thousand, marchedto take triumphant possession, overcoming, by sheerendurance and force of numbers, the crowd of "roughs"that had assembled to oppose their entrance. Onceinside, they knelt in prayer, to consecrate the build-ing to the service of God ; and, after a brief '* tes-timony" meeting, returned to their homes and theirdaily work, but not without tasting* the brutality of aLondon mob outside, both men and women beingbruised and beaten by the ** roughs," as they stood onthe railway platform waiting for the train to carrythem home. But the *' Eagle" was secured, and wasfitted up as a hotel and temperance coffee housethe** Grecian theatre," which formed part of the premises,being transformed into a comfortable hall in whichtwo thousand could assemble for worship ; while thegreat centre square, fitted up with gas, fountains, andcoloured lights, which had been used for open-airdancing, made, of course, an equally available placefor open-air preaching to thousands of hearers. Theopening day, though the hour was early afternoon.

mhmmM


18/45

12was signalized by another demonstration of mob forceand the evening meeting, when the *^ unwashed" mul-titude was expectedto muster in force, was looked for-ward to with BO much apprehension that the captain incharge said to his young lieutenant the day before," Now, my lad, are ymi ready to die, for I expectwe may get to heaven to-m,orrow night ?" The hourarrived, but the crowds of workingmen and womenwho filled the house seemed touched by an irresistibleawe, and the solemn service and exhortations closedwith penitents confessing their sins and seeking salva-tion. It is a pity that the story should not end here,and that'there should be any sequel of defeat. Butlast summer, the legal proceedings, instituted on theground that the terms of the ground-lease were brokenby the discontinuance of the sale of intoxicatingliquors, terminated in a judgment unfavourable to theArmy, and the property, with all that had been paidand expended upon it, was lost !

This, however, "was only one out of many large com-modious halls or '' Barracks" owned by the SalvationArmy. In and abuut London alone there were, by theend of 1882, eighteen such meeting-places owned, andtwenty-five more rented, while throughout GreatBritain, and in colonial and foreign outposts, thereare many more. The " National Training Barracks,"at Clapton, is the Woolwich or West Point of theArmy. Thither go cadets from all parts of thecountry, to be trained by a thorough physical disci-pline, and by strong, loving Christian influence, to bethe *' Captains" and *' Lieutenants" who are to leadin many a future campaign, at home and abroad. Allsorts of hard menial drudgery are included in the

r

^\i%

'%-Bimm.-. mm


19/45

13

f/r

training, so that personal activity and *' capability"are cultivated to the liighest degree, while all the sol-diers '* endure hardness," as becometh ^* good soldiersof Christ Jesus." The military discipline is of valuein several ways ;in promoting the habit of obediencenecessary to the stability and coherence of such an or-ganization, cultivating readiness of action and prompt-ness of decision, and giving to men and women alike thesoldier's devotion and endurance, while it effectuallyobviates any tendency towards religious pretension or** sanctimoniousness," to which the esprit de corps issternly opposed. The cadets receive experience in* * active service" by being led out frequently to * * bom-bard" surburban villages in companies under the com-mand of one of them, who is expected to use his troopsto the best advantage, and thus acquires the habit ofcommand. The study of the Scripture is, of course,largely promoted at this Training School, and sometime is allowed for improvement in writing and otherelementary things necessary for future usefulness.But there is no pretension made to giving an ** educa-tion," even a theological one. " The only thing,"says an official publication, *' we care to teach as totheological questions is, that they are to be avoided asmuch as possible. We cannot hope in a few weeks to im-part much knowledge even of the great scriptural truthswith which our cadets are supposed to be alreadyacquainted when they come to us, and as to which wehave only to refresh and organize their thoughts. Butthe one thing in which, under the divine guidance andblessing, we believe we can be greatly successful, isthe detection and exposure of any lingering elementof selfishness and evil, and the production and encour-

v*


20/45

1*agement of a pure, hearty, single-eyed, life-and-deathdevotion to the good of others. And as to heroism,these Red Cross Knights have all the soldier's loyaldevotion to " the service,'* superadded to the strongpersonal love for the living and personal Saviour inwhom they so fully believe. In receiving their com-missions as officers of the Army, they make an abso-lute self-surrender, giving themselves and all that theypossess to the service of Christ, and pledging them-selves to be true to the Army's colours, even untodeath. That this is no mere form of words, their fear-less daring in real danger and their willingness to en-dure all forms of ill-treatment, when called to do so,have abundantly proved. Indeed it is no light testi-mony to the truth that the vital force of Christianitycan never grow old, that these simple, unlettered menand women, many of them from the lowest orders ofthe people, are willing to-day, either to live or die, asGod may order, for Jesus of Nazareth, just as truly aswere the Christians of the first cerituiyThat an army, animated by such a spiritual force,and marshalled under an admirably devised organiza-tion, should, in a very few years, have not only gainedsuch headway in England and France, but should alsohave stretched ** a thin red line " round the world, isnot wonderful. Mr. Talmage made a shrewd guess ifhe said, as he is reported to have done, at a minis-terial meeting, '' These people will sing themselvesround the world in spite of us ! " For the crusade isnot only inspired by the realization of Christ as theone need and the one hope of human souls, but isadapted to the special wants of the age and class itaddresses. The crusaders speak in ^* a tongue un-

(

r


21/45

f,r'

15derstanded of the people " who listen to Bradlaughand IngersoU ; and they oppose to their bold attackson the faith, not argument, not theology, but the farmore easily understood language of the heart, and thealmost irresistible example of a faith which seems tosee what it believes. Wherever they f(o they makeconverts of some of the ** hardest cases/* who becomemissionaries in their turn, and the mere spectacle of''publicans and sinners" leading transformed livesand becoming ''preachers of righteousness" is initself a more powerful argument than any sermon.In America the " Army " has already here and thereestablished a footing, growing stronger every day,and probably destined to make a far from unimportantfactor in the national life. In New York, NewJersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Mary-land, Virginia, this crusade is at work, with greateror less success, and preparations are being made, atBrooklyn centre, to attack Salt Lake City, which willdoubtless be done long before these pages are read.In Canada a strong impression has been made, moreespecially in Kingston, one of the oldest cities inCanada, and, from its antecedents, one of the leastlikely to be captured by such means. At this pointthe interest in the Army has been greatly intensifiedby the circumstance that an Anglican clergymen, ofprevious High Church tendencies, but earnest anddevoted spirit, was so drawn to it by its success in" rescuing the perishing," that he suffered the pain ofseverance from a much beloved and attached congre-gation rather than cease to countenance the "Army's"work, as he was required to do by an ecclesiasticalsuperior. The universal sympathy excited by the


22/45

16harsh and abrupt dismissal of a man warmly anddeservedlyloved and esteemed has of course immenselydeepened the general interest taken in the ^* Army "throughout the whole of Canada. In Australia theSalvation Army has had signal success among therough and heterogeneous population already massedin its great new cities. In South Africa it has had ahard fight for existence and toleration, but has heldits ground. All the world has heard how Switzer-land, so staunch in contending for its own liberties,tried to suppress by force this new crusade, in thepersons of two young women, in whose behalf, asBritish subjects, the British government at onceinterfered. In France its work as an evangelizingagent has made some progress, but is still cast intothe shade by the quieter and less startling McAU Mis-sion, which had preceded, and in some measure an-ticipated it. But the trim, tasteful uniforms of theEnglish female ** lieutenants " selling the FrenchWar Cry J *^En Avant^" before the Bourse in Paris,excited no little sensation among the wonderingFrenchmen. And one of the editors of a FrenchProtestant journal, Le Temoignage, thua vividlydescribes their bearing in an encounter with the menof the Paris Commune :

* But the public which it was the object to gain,I saidto myselfthe pubUc, notoriously hostile the pubHc ofour Atheist press, the public of the great political meetings,in whose eyes Victor Hugo himself would pass for a cleri-cal !that pnbhc I Where is it? How is it to be actedupon?


23/45

17And I have been rejoiced and moved, beyond all ex-pression to see it. In all my life I shall not forget thescenes at the opening of a new hall in Rae Oberkampf,and my heart was divided between the very opposite senti-ments of sorrow and joy in hearing these blasphemies andthese songs, and these cries of ' Long live the Commune ! *because at last at last ! the assault has been delivered,and the enemy struck in the face ! And yet I had a verylively impression that my sentiments were partaken of bythe members of the Army, to whose cold blood, energy,and, I will say, clever strategy, one would not know howto render sufficient homage in this emergency. They didnot cease to repeat with a tone of conviction, 'Tour tu-mult will be appeased ; one day, you, who blaspheme themost at this moment, will perhaps be the first to sur-render. We want to plant our colours on this position,and we loill plant them there.^

*'Ah ! you are brave people. I understand how suchlion hearts, such valiant souls, should be naturally led togive themselves a military organization. When I askmyself what can be the cause of this success of the Salva>tion Army, here is the answer which forces itself uponme : These people have proved in their own heart thepowerof tiie Gospel for salvation, and they believe that which hasbeen able to break their own resistance will finally triumphover the same obstacles in their neighbour."Now it is said that ' it shall be done to each one ac-cording to his faith,' and this is what every meeting of theSalvation Army shows. One feels that every time theyappear before the public, our brethren have the sentimentthat they are in the battle. It is not for them a questionof variations more or less brilliant to execute on the the-ory of the Gospel, of an hour to be well filled up, or even ofthe vague sentiment of doing good, but of souls whichmust be gained. As they have a grain of faith they re-move mountains.*'

2


24/45

18

Just the saiTie testimony comes from distant India.Thither the Red Cross Knights were led by a specialtrain of circumstances. A magistrate in the civilservice, who had been lonsj at heart devoted to theOhristianization of the natives among whom his lotwas cast, came homo especially to judge for himself ofthe work of the Salvation Army. So great was hissatisfaction with its methods and success, that he re-signed a lucrative appointment in order to devotethe rest of his life to carrying on the crusade in India,and thither, in August, 1882, he conducted a detach-ment of the "Army.'* The little detachment madea sensational entry into Bombay in one of the nativebullock-carts, attired in native costume, waving aflag inscribed with the Army's motto, ** Blood andFire," translated into the vernacular, and blowing abugle after the native fashion.

English prejudice at once took the alarm. Suchdemonstrations might excite and irritate the natives,and might even produce a terrible Mohammedan out-break against British authority ! So the soldiers wereat once arrested, summarily tried, and imprisoned.But the natives, strange to say, protested stronglyagainst this injustice, as did also the British andAmerican missionaries, whose interests were supposedto be compromised by the new arrival. An influen-tial public meeting was held. All the native paperssupported the protest, so that ere long the accusedwere set at liberty, and, having been largely adver-tised in Calcutta by the interest which had been therearoused in the trial and imprisonment, Major Tuckerwas led to carry the work to that city, sending ontwo of his officers and telegraphing home for rein-

' \

f/^


25/45

i-

(^\

19forcements. Large numbers of natives crowded themeetings, prayers and hymns alternated in English,Marathi, (iujarati, and Hindustani, and ** Cadets,"with Hindu names, ere long stood up to '* praise theLord for having sent the Salvation Army to India."And the Indian and Anglo-Indian journals describeand discuss the **Army" there just as do westernones, and for the most part favourably. The IndianWitness expressed surprise at not finding the cru-saders more eccentric (it may be remarked that theirleader was a gentleman) :" They are not buffoons," it said, ** much less savages,and they do little to amuse the vulgar. They are modest

an


26/45

20r

of the natives, and that the repressive and watch-doisrmeasures taken by the Bombay police were a ridicu-lous blunder :"

' ' The Salvationists never argne or dispute ; they attackno system of religion ; we have not heard one of themutter a word which could possibly excite resistance in anyperson of another faith. Their creed, as we gather itfrom their own lips, is extremely simple, and, setting asidemere forms of expression, is essentially and scientificallytrue. They say to their hearers, ' You are all servingeither God or the devil. It is infinitely blesseJ to serveOod, while to serve the devil is to be infinitely and eter-nally miserable.' And on this simple statement of factthey base their appeal to decide instantly, to renounce theevil and choose the good. And they, of course, declarethat Christ is present, ready to save any one that feels heis a sinner, and desires to be saved."

After referring to their evident good-will andfriendliness, the writer goes on to say :

*^ Mere vulgarity, which cannot but be slightly shockingto persons of fastidious taste, we pass by as a trifle. Butit is not so easy to get over the shock caused by the veryunceremonious way in which these men speak of the mostsacred things and names, and their free and easy mannerof addressing the Deity. We have sometimes felt sostrongly on the subject as to doubt whether the term re-ligious can with justice be applied to the proceedings ofthe Salvationists. One trained to pious reverence in wordand act cannot but ask himself, when he hears and seesthese men or reads some of their printed words, ' Is thisreligion at all ? ' We must confess, however, that it be-comes necessary to modify one's judgment respecting Sal-vationist irreverence when one sees it near enough. It must

^J

i^

I


27/45

21

A

be frankly and fearlessly and very closely look'^d at, andwhen this is done, it is seen, we veutare to think, not tobe essentially irreverent. The apparent familiarity, thefree-and-easiness with which these men address the Deity,appears to as to result from their extraordinarily vividrealization of his continued presence. Ordinary wor-shippers only approach God oocasioually, and when theydo 80 they feel it a solemn thing to enter his presence,and accordingly a thing not to be done without due cere-mony. The Salvationists, so it seems to us, in all theirproceedings never for a moment lay aside their conscious-ness that they are in the immediate presence of the Deity.They never enter his presence because they never quit it.'*Theae quotations are given at some length, because

they show the homogeneous nature of the movementand the similarity with which it strikes observers on theopposite sides of the globe. Certainly one of its mostmarked characteristics is its uncompromising opposi-tion to what Dr. Robertson Smith calls *' a too preva-lent way of thinking, which is certainly not biblical,but which leavens almost the whole life of moderntimes, and has accustomed us to regard religion as athing by itself, which ought indeed to influence dailylife,but nevertheless occupies a separate place in ourhearts and actions." With them all life belongs toGod. Love to Him is their motive power in allspheres of action. Nothing is to be " common or un-clean," and all things, great or small, are to be donewith a view to his glory. It is the same thought thatJean Ingelow expresses when she sings :

" Far better in its place the lowliest birdShould sing to Him aright the lowliest song,Than that a seraph strayed should take the word,And sing His glory wrong I "


28/45

22But it is time that something should be said as totheir modes of working. Their meetings are of vari-

ous kinds, those which the converts hold specially forworship being of a very quiet character, and often verysolemn. But all are alike distinguished by absoluteunconventionality, which is with them a protestagainst formalism and its chilling and deadening in-fluence. When they first ** attack" a place, the at-tacking force usually forms a procession, large orsmall, as the case may be, and marches to the placeof meeting, playing musical instruments if they haveany, singing if they have none, and thus compel thenotice of the passers-by and attract them from curi-osity to come and hear what they have to say, which,whatever faults it may have, is sure to have the meritsof directness and point. Circumlocution is as muchat a discount with them as formalism, and this is onesecret of their success.Their ordinary meetings, held evening after even-

ing, are, of course, not conducted on any fixed rule,although there is a general similarity. The presidingoflicer is usually a ** captain," relieved by one or two*' lieutenants," and these are, very frequently, youngwomen. As a rule, they are active, vivacious, thrill-ing with electric energy and personal masrnetism, andspeedily make an impression even on the roughest au-dience. He or she is ^* all theref" on duty with hand,voice, and mind, from beginning to end, acting asorchestra-conductor, chairman, prompter, and chiefspeaker, all in one. Beating quick time, with bothhands, to the lively hymns and choruses, feeling thepulse of the meeting, ready with hymn or Bible, read-ing or prayer, as may seem at the moment most ex-

4i>

A


29/45

23

*21 )

/^

pedient , supplied with any amount of ammunition inthe shape of appropriate impromptu remarks, hymnsappropriate to each ** testimony," or adroit admoni-tions when necessary, the "captain" walks up anddown the platform, keeping an eye at once on the** soldiers " there and the audience below, and onlysitting down for a few minutes' rest when relieved bya lieutenant, ready, however, to start up again, to allappearance as fresh as when the meeting first began.A "parade" is frequently held before a meeting,when the " soldiers " muster, and after a short roundof the streets, singing with great spirit, enter the" barracks " with drums, comets, or tambourines ac-companying the livel; r hymns. The place of meeting,called the *' barracks.," is usually a large plain hall,with benches filling up the body of the room, and araised platform at one end filled with seats for theconverts or " soldiers," the " sergeants " in their neatred-braided uniforms occupying the front row.When all are seated, the " captain," in her trim uni-form of navy blue and red braid, with a plain blackbroad-brimmed bonnet, relieved by a small red band,with the words " Salvation Army " printed on it,opens the meeting by reading, with great distinctness,a hymn, verse by verse, which is sung by all standing.Before it is finished perhaps all the "soldiers" arekneeling, in which position they finish it. Then fol-lows a prayer of intense feeling and often of greatpower,.when perhaps another hymn, such as " Rescuethe Perishing," is sung, still in the kneeling position,this being very peculiar and often thrilling in its ef-fect. When the hymns are solemn in their characterthere is no drum or tambourine accompaniment, this


30/45

i^

''A

being reserved for the lively hymns and choruses. Apassage from Scripture is read at an early stage inthe proceedings, which is followed by a very few ap-propriate remarks, and then come some of the morejoyous songs and choruses, such as,

*' Oh, rm the child of a King, I am,I am the child of a King ;Oh, it is, it is a glorions thingTo be the child of a King !

or this," Follow ! Follow 1 1 will follow Jesus,Follow ! Follow ! I will follow on ;Follow ! Follow I yes, 1*11 follow Jesus,Anywhere He leads me, I will follow on ! "

These, sung rapidly, vith the lively tambourine ac-companiment, and sometimes clapping of hands, havean indescribably stimulating and touching influence. *Another very sweet and more solemn chorus is^this :

' It's the Old Time religion,lt*s the Old Time religion.It's the Old Time religion.And it*s good enough for me I "

While a standing favourite, often repeated many timesin succession with impromptu variations, has theanswering refrains :

(t

andOh, what will you do, brother, when He comes,When He comes ? "'* Oh, the Army will be ready when He comes,When He comes !

A--:*

Ijlfgammmi^mma


31/45

25

^'i

^

** Roll the Old Chariot " is another great favourite,there being a strong similarity between the SalvationArmy choruses generally and the melodies of theHampton College Jubilee Singers.But the great charm of these meetings and that, in-deed, which secures for them perpetual freshnessand attractiveness, keeping their halls filled, nightafter night, is contained in the personal testimoniesof the converts as to the joy and strength which theyhave received in the ^* great salvation " from sin andits bondage. After the^^inging has had its effecton both the audience and the '* soldiers," the latterare desired by the *^ captain " to ** fire away," thesetestimonies being considered, in '*Army" phraseology,the ** red-hot shot," while the music, etc., are the** powder and cartridges." There is no false shameamong the Army converts. Every soldier casts asidethat, along with other fear, when he or she takes aseat on the platform. There are usually two or threeon their feet, waiting their turn to speak. And theyspeak with a simplicity, directness, and force whichevidently come from the heart, and consequently goto the heart. Each testifies to his gladness in ** beingsaved," to his daily experience of the life-giving andstrength-giving power of the personal Christ receivedinto the soul ; and simple, and often rude and ungram-matical as the language is, there is the power about itthat strength of conviction and intensity of feelingalways supply. That young men and women, but ashort time before as careless or giddy, as reckless ordissipated, as any of their companions, should havethe courage and power to stand up before a crowdedassemblage of their own class, and declare what a

'


32/45

26change the accepted love of God has wrought in theirown hearts and lives, appears to most of the hearerslittle short of miraculous ; and when it is not a youngman but an old world-hardened sinner who tells thestory of this blessed change, the miracle seems evengreater. " I once thought,*' a man would say, ** thatit would be utterly impossible for me to stand up andtalk Christianity from this platform, but as soon as Ihad it in my heart I found I could do it at once." Asall formality is discountenanced,the ** soldiers " may beas unconventional in their phraseology as their heartsdesire, and slang is often freely used by lips to whichit is second nature, in a way that shocks ears accus-tomed to hear religion talked only in decorous and re-fined language. Frequently a humorous remark, oran odd expression, will set both *' soldiers " and audi-ence laughing, and again by a sudden turn both willbe touched almost, if not quite, to tears. As eachsoldier finishes his "testimony," it is usual for thecaptain to strike in with an appropriate verse of ahymn in which all join, sometimes repeating a chorusover some eight or ten times, just as the impulsedirects, while one or two more stand waiting to speakuntil the hymn is finished. There is no routine, and,within certain limits, variations are constantly occur-ring, so that at least there is no fear of monotony.After the meeting has lasted for an hour and a-half ortwo hours, the leaders and soldiers come down fromthe platform and kneel on the floor of the hall in aperfectly informal prayer-meeting for the salvation ofsouls. The bulk af the audience retires, and the cap-tain and her lieutenants go about^ talking earnestlyto the more interested few who remain, and persuad-

iO

^SBisammm Itftiii'iii


33/45

^->

^

27ing one and another to take the decisive steps of com-ing forward to kneel as a penitent confessing sin andasking for salvation, while, all the time, earnestprayers are being offered for theii" souls, in the mostdirect and simple phraseology. One peculiarity of theprayers of the ^' soldiers." as a class, is that they, likethe French, use the conversational *' You," instead ofthe less familiar ** Thou," which Anglo-Saxon usagehas almost invariably adopted in prayer. But afterthe first novelty has worn off", this does not of itselfseem in the least irreverent. These ** after meetings"are the time when, in the **Army" phraseology,*' prisoners are taken," and converts, by taking thestep of coming forward, confess their faith and theirdesire henceforth to serve Christ. To some naturessuch an external register of an inward resolve is a greathelp, and certainly in the case of almost all the** Army's" converts, they henceforth are "notashamed to confess the faith of Christ crucified, andto fight under his banner against sin, the world, andthe devil, and to continue Christ's faithful soldiersand servants unto their life's end."Such is a picture of one of their ordinary evangelis-tic meetings, and it is impossible not to see how truea knowledge of human nature has devised the modusoperatidi. The music and the hymns are just of thekind fitted to attract the crowds which fill their halls,and fitted also to touch and soften even the " roughs"who might otherwise give trouble, and who sometimesdo in spite of all precautions. But it is seldom, in-deed, that the ready tact of the leader is at fault inchecking any incipient disturbance. With a fewwords, ** Steady lads, back there ! " in a tone of un-

J

c


34/45

y

28questioned command, or an appropriate verse orchorus of a hymn, the noisy spirits are speedily sub-dued, and occasionally the excitement from an attemptto get up a fight is calmed down by a variation of thefamiliar chorus already referred to,

* There'll he no more fighting vrhen He comes,When he comes !"The leaders are trained from the first to expect andmeet all sorts of unruly conduct in their rude audi-

ences, and they meet it well.Then, after the singing has had its due effect, and

not till then, the most serious work of exhortation andtestimony begins, always interspersed and varied withhymns before any tedium can possibly arise. And theperpetual variety and personality of the " testi-monies" has the same advantage over mere abstractexhortation that a personal story always has overgeneral statements. ' Over the audience they certainlyexercise a charm which accounts in a great measure forthe Army's success. Those whose faces show thatthey are still held captive in the toils of open sin,come night after night, drawn by a fascination theycannot resist, and listen to the joyous testimony ofsome of their own late comrades, as if glimpses of ahigher and purer life were dawning upon them, untilperhaps, in some supreme moment of softening underthe realization of an infinite love, they are led to comeforward and take the step which surrenders their will^G Him who has declared that the broken and contritehr .srt He will not despise. Tired women, heavy-laden"rith the burdens of life, come and listen, through irre-pressible tears, to the sweet tones in which they are

o

wamm/i mmsmu


35/45


36/45

30acterize their worship are, as has been well said byan English writer, in the Christian fVorldj ** but thesurfacethe rippling, flashing, perhaps babbling sur-faceof what is, in truth, as far as man can judge, avery deep, strong current of devout feeling and reli-gious life." The very qualities of young men whichso often lead them astray, their life and activity andfondness for social pleasures, are enlisted by the*' Army" in its fight against evil. The ** parades" andstreet marches give an outlet to physical restlessnessand an external reality to the ** crusade," while thevivacious airs and hearty singing equally gratify theirlove of music, and any latent tendency towards *' pub-lic speaking" finds abundant scope in the '* testimo-nies." Indeed, the *^Army" meetings seem to com-bine the benefits of a safe* **club," the old-fashionedsinging-school, and a Kitidergarten for ^* children of alarger growth. " At their more special demonstrationsdoubtful features, unworthy of faith like theirs,are occasionally introduced, such as appeals to merecuriosity for the sake of raising money, a pandering tomere love of amusement in encouraging religious buf-foons to ** perform" and air their oddities to the top oftheir bent, and the encouragement of mere physical ex-citement, always a dangerous adjunct of religious life.When, on great public occasions the rattling chorusesare repeated over and over, with ever-increasing glee,while the jingling of the tambourines and the clang-ing of the drum grow louder and more boisterous,and men and women wildly wave their handkerchiefsabove their heads for five minutes at a time, it is im-possible to persuade one's self that mere animalexcitement has not, for the time, ousted all de-

SBB am


37/45

^31

votional feeling ; impossible, also, not to remem-ber that the tendency to fanatical excess and un-bridled license has before now wrecked many apromising movement of religious love and zeal. Somesuperior ** officers," who ought to know better, andwho are largely responsible for occasional outrages onreverential feeling and Christian decency, seek to jus-tify the most offensive antics from that much abusedtext "Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there isliberty !"The tendency to boast of spiritual power, and toexalt the Salvation Army into almost an object of ador-ation, is also very noticeable at such times, and theconverts especially delight to assert their ability to** lick the devil," with who^e feelings and purposesthey certainly claim a very intimate acquaintance.And it is seriously open to question whether thenightly excitement and publicity of crowded meetingsis at all a wholesome atmosphere for young girls, es-pecially for those on the platform. Those who arethoroughly earnest and devoted may not suffer harmmore than physical, but in this respect at least the"Army " is far from being as safe a school of Christiannurture as the church and the Christian home. Butalas ! for many there are no Christian homes, andthese are chiefly the class from which come the army 'sconverts. In many cases the influence of the parentsis against all good, and it is probably due to thisfact that their authority often seems to be held inlight esteem. At the ** all-night prayer-meetings"occasionally held, young men and women are some-times encouraged, under the Influence of strong emo-tional excitement, to take off personal valuables and

1


38/45

32watch-chains and give them to be sold for the benefitof the Army. Of course, if this were done from acalm, deliberate self-renunciation, no one could ob-ject ; but it requires no argument to show the wronginvolved in accepting sacritices which are the fruit ofsensational appeals and overwrought feelings, and aretoo often repented at leisure. But such extremes,always ending in reaction, are characteristic of allstrong waves of religious enthusiasm, breaking in on aprevious icy torpor of dead formalism, from Savona-rola down to the Salvation Army.We turn willingly from the blemishes which are theresult of the large admixture of human clay with thepure gold of truth, to look at the onward march of themovement as a whole, and the power of the crusadeagainst evil. In General Booth's official statement ofthe Army's work for 1 883, we are told that it nowconsists of six hundred and thirty corps, of which onehundred and three are abroad, employing sixteen hun-dred and forty workers, male and female, who holdten thousand meetings weekly without guaranty ofany salary. This cannot, of course, mean that they donot receive the means of livelihood, as the officers inactive service receive about live dollars a week, cer-tainly no more than is barely sufficient for a meremaintenance. One hundred thousand dollars worth ofmusical instruments alone have been sent out, andtwenty-five million copies of the War Cry, the Army'sofficial organ, have been circulated, along with otherpublications. ** At the headquarters in London,cashiers, accountants, clerks, architects, and solicitorsare continually employed ; and editors toil throughpiles of manuscript, written in midnight hours by


39/45

33

,

noble labourers who cannot spell ? " It is to the de-voted, self-sacrificing, consecrated labours of theseilliterate Red Cross Knights of the rank and file thatthis modern crusade is indebted, under God, for itsvictories, often in spite of the injudicious and blatantelements introduced by some of its superior oflicers,which discredit it in the eyes of sober-minded men.As regards the immense property now held by theArmy, in buildings, *^ plant," etc., General Booth hasexplicitly stated that * * all property of the SalvationArmy is conveyed to, and held by the general for thetime being, for the benefit and use of the Army ex-clusively" ; "the register of the property so conveyedbeing in the keeping of the solicitors to the army."He also declares that he has ^ ' also made all desirablearrangements for securing all the property of the Armyheld on its behalf to the same objects, when at hisdeath it shall have passed into the hands of his suc-cessor. "What shall be the history of this nineteenth centurycrusade when the large heart and brain which haveplanned and organized it are taken from it forever,who shall undertake to say ? Some future " historianof enthusiasm," looking back at it in the light of stillhidden results, will doubtless trace out its history andappraise it as a factor in the elevation of a degradedhumanity, more justly than it is possible to do amidthe shifting scenes and varied influences oi the pres-ent. Whether it is to have its brief day of noveltyand pass away as one out of many ephemeral move-ments, or whether it is to continue working, an irre-gular force by the side of the ever-permanent Chris-tian Church, until finally, its special work fulfilled, it


40/45

34is merged in the Church as a comet in the sun, addingto its warmth and light depends, we believe, on noman, or class of men, but on the " divinity that shapesour ends, rough hew them as wo will." In its organi-zation and character the '* Army" has frequently beencompared to the somewhat analogous institution of Ig-natius Loyola. But if there are similarities; there arealso great differences. Like Jesuitism, it had its ori-gin in a fervid reaction against coldness and formal-ism. Like Jesuitism, it subjects its recruits to sterndiscipline, and teaches them to ^'endure hardness,"while it demands the absolute surrender of the indi-vidual will of its officers to the authority of the organi-zation, and " absolute unquestioning obedience" fromall its recruits, being thus, in relation to the one scrip-tural kingdom of Christ, an impeHvm in imperio, andfor this very reason necessarily not permanent. But,unlike Jesuitism, it teaches the pure and simple Gospelto the multitude, appealing to no select corps of amesd^elitej but to all the " weary and heavy laden," withhearts full of sin and lives full of need. Unlike Jesu-itism, it imposes no elaborate ceremonial, though ithas its own ways of being ** imposing" to those whomit desires to attract. And unlike Jesuitism, outsidethe rules which guide the movement of the whole, itallows to *' individualism" a scope which, as has beenhinted already, sometimes amounts to license. Thiswould probably not be the case under the personalsuperintendence of General Booth himself ; but thatit is so under some of the officers to whom he has todelegate his authority, there can be no doubt.But certain it is, that though one man originatedthis great crusade, and one mind has, in the main,

(^


41/45

35

(^

organized and directed it, the Salvation Anny, as itstands to-day, is not one man's work. It could neverhave been so. With all its aids and attractionsitsstirring musicits esprit de corpsj fostered by the neat,attractive uniform, and bright, conspicuous badgeitsdrills and parades, and its watchful care over the lifeand habits of every individual soldier, it could never}iave attained its already marvellous success had it notbeen for the causes lying far deeper below the surface.It is a movement for which the time was ripe, andwhich was needed by the time. It is a movement -lotmerely for the '' masses," but in the '* masses " thtselves, and this is probably the only possible solutof a difficult problema " tidal wave of human souls,answering to the slirongest

** primal force,Older than heaven itself, yet newAs the young heart it reaches to."

And certainly, from the very lowest point of view,as Mr. Goldwin Smith has observed, the gospel oflove and self-reformation is at least a safer and morehopeful one for the proletariat than that of nihilismand dynamite! And as a ^* London Artisan" hasrecently observed in the Fortnightly, the onlytruly effective culture for the masses is ** that whichembraces motives to duty as well as knowledge offacts ; the culture of the heart as well as of the intel-lect." The *^ culture of the heart " is what the Armyespecially aims at, and it must be remembered that" out of the heart are the issues of life."That it should be a mixed movement, as has beennoticed, is not surprising. There is ^' a great deal of


42/45

36human nature " about it, as there is about most things.And when the previous character of the human natureis taken into account, it is not surprising that it shouldhave features and developments jarring to the sus-ceptibilities of those whose antecedents, moral andreligious, have been entirely different. Many of theexpressions that have justly shocked a true Christiantaste, and been with ju?!tice set down as *' irreverent ".in their character, are simply what might have beenexpected, in the circumstances, from a stratum of soci-ety which the refining and elevating influence ofChristianity seems hardly to have touched. But itwould, nevertheless, be deplorable indeed, were thecharacter and phraseology of this stratum to leaven inany degree the religious expression of our time ; andthis is a danger which, owing to the very aggressivepower of the ** Army," it is by no means superfluousto consider. When we read in the War Cry, pub-lished in Brooklyn,a somewhat degenerate editionof the English War Cry,such telegraphic reportsfrom the field as : ** Sunday, glorious smash ; thirteenin fountain, died hard ;hallelujah ! " we feel that inaccustoming men's ears to such rough and ready deal-ings with the most sacred of subjects, the Army'sleaders are sacrificino; too much to their desire for sen-sation ! We must feel the same when we read thedescription of their " Big Goes," and other demon-strations, and of the " War Dances," as they describethe fantastic movements of some of the more hysteri-cal subjects, which, by some of the leaders, are toomuch encouraged. Indeed, it has been said by mem-bers of the Army themselves, that it is only theearnest consecration of the subordinate officers which

f

m


43/45

37

Ji

neutralizes the harm done by such appeals to thelower nature.The occasi jnal grotesqueness of prayers and hymns,in which ?. ay one may make impromptu variations atpleasure, is, perhaps, scarcely to be dissociated fromthe thorough freedom, which is one of the Army'sgreat attractions for the undisciplined natures it seeks.But certainly it would be no little descent from thereverent humility of attitude which the ChristianChurch has cultivated for so many centuries were sheto encourage the tone of prayer, however sincere, fre-quently used in the Army's meetings ; as for example :*' I say, Lord, make us all like you ; nothing in our-selves, but mighty in your strength." And to earsaccustomed to the sweet and solemn strains of thehymns which have expressed the deepest feelings of somany generations of Christians, such a ** jolly " chorusand air as

" We've found a wonderful Saviour,Which nobody can deny !"cannot but seem a lamentable descent. Better thatall our secular literature were vitiated, and our poetrydegraded, by the coarseness and vulgarity of a** slangy " age and class, than that these should befouland clog the wings of the one pure and holy influencevouchsafed to our fallen humanity to lift it up to GodHimself !The cure of such a tendency must be sought, how-ever, not in the ** Army " so much as in the ChristianChurch. Christ told the unbelieving Jews, that inthe event of their rejection, God was able even of thestones to raise up children unto Abraham. But from


44/45

38stones, even if vitalized*, we cannot expect the songsof angels, nor from human beings who have been asclods can we expect the thoughts and expressions of aSt. Bernard, or a Bishop Heber. If the Christianchurch generally will but draw from the indubitablezeal and fervour of these Red Cross Knightsmany ofthem, as they openly avow, but lately rescued fromthe guttera stimulus to return to the ardour of her** first love," and to the power of a greater and morevisible unity, she must, as the greater body, wield overthe smaller an influence well-nigh irresistible. Andso by the attraction of brotherly love, not by a coldand contemptuous criticism, she can by degrees gatherthese simple, loving souls into her motherly embrace,and make them an incalculaole addition to her presentforce in grappling with an unbelieving world. Forthis let us hope !Meantime, the Salvation Army stands before us, aliving witness to truths to which our age needed wit-ness. It testifies to the power of that " unknownquantity," the "inscrutable something which in-fluences the souls of men," which we call the HolySpirit ;to the fact that despite all Positivism andMaterialism can say, the religious instinct is still thestrongest of all, and that thousands of plain, unsenti-mental men and women are still willing to live or diefor Jesus of Nazareth^^and to the truth, that underall misery and degradation and brutality, the heart ofman still yearns, with an unquenchable yearning, forthe love and the smile of the forgiving Father.

/4

//

C. BliACKETT BOBINSON, FbINTEB, TORONTO.


45/45

(1884) red-cross knights of the salvation army

Documents