General Booth's Visit to America.

Te Aroha News, Volume IV, Issue 194, 12 March 1887, Page 7 (Supplement)

General Booth's Visit to America.

General Booth has returned to England from the United States. The New York " Sun " published a moat extraordinary account of his farewell meeting, which wo may fairly discount to aome extent on the ground of American sensationalism. The article commences by detailing the preparations for the fight, "fighting majors being ranged on the main floor so that they could tackle sinners hand to hand. Yells, groans, niotmings and fandangoes followed, the latter being danced with delightful suggestivenesa. The General blew a whistfe when ho wished to modify these demonstrations, whilst 'Boxor Bill' and the 'Salvation Bouncer ' paraded the aisles, keeping order, and occasionally 'tapping the claret' of any too-noisy saint. ' Satauhating Sarah ' asseverated her 'godliness' with shrill screams in one corner, whilst ' Happy John ' in another kept averring that he was ' blessed, if he wasn't more blessed than any other blessed saved soul. 1 This objurgation, which bore a strong family likeness to some well-known bad language, seemed to give special pleasure, and was greeted with frequent ' hallelujahs.' " To wards 2 a.m., after the Genl. had spoken and Captain Sister Brown had related her experiences of Denver, most of the audience wore in a state of frenzy. Let us allow the "Sun" reporter to speak for himself : A woman would get up on a bench, shriek, and tumble off, The men stood up here and there over the hall wailing in reasonably measured cadence. Now and then one of the male or female shriekers would make a speech, to which nobody paid much attention. They would talk till they were tired or until General Booth blew the whilstle at them, Sometimes they were too far gone even to heed the firab note of the whistle. Iv thai; case General Booth blew again. One of the women was about forty yeara old and was called Soldier Mary. She said : " I'm off from the world. This heart no longer goes out after the sealskin cloaks. [*A a-a mn, '] This heart no longer goes out after places of amusements ; no longer a(ter fine bonnets." "Hallelujah 1" yelled the part of the army that were paying attention to her, and a young lieutenant screeched. General Booth arose again and said : ♦• We have done a great deal of talking, now let us testify some. The time has come for action. There are sinners here who are to be converted." The army stripped for the charge. The soldiers and officers tcok off their coata. Some tied flags around their necks. There way a lull, A pretty quadroon woman got up and swayed to and fro, sobbing and wiping her eyes. Colonel Dowdell shouted mandatory exhortations. The eleven fighting captains knelt by the wooden bench on the platform. The whole army, except the workers and skirmishers, prayed out loud ai?d sang. There was no coherence in the songs or prayers. A graup in one place would sing one song, while a group a few feet off might be einging another song. Half the women were frenzied. The skirmishers and the working captains made a direct assault on the audience. Male and female eoldiera sallied out of the wings and went down the aisles. Whenever the officers pointed out a man or woman, the soldier eat down beside him or her, put his or her arms around his or her neck, talked to him or her earnestly, and tried to lead him or her up to the platform, where the fighting majors would look after the captive and ensuro the victory. At 2.35 a.m. the first convert, a man with a full bhck beard, was pulled up to the platform, and the fighting majors stood up and shouted and sang. The man shouted and sang too, only in a bashful way. Some of the audience fled b9fore the onset of the Salvation cohorts. Women were fainting here and there over the hall. Nobody troubled much about them, knowing that they would come to. A delicate girl with black hair, big black eyes, and a pale face sat on the third seat from the door. One of the female poldiera talked to her ea- neatly, All at once the girl went into hysterics. Up in front several women had what the Salvationists call glory fits. They jumped up and down, tearing off their hats and letting their hnir stream out. Their shrieks went up ii volleys. Long after three o'clock the tone of the meeting changed. There was a triumphant peal. In the shrieks of the converts at the platform there wasa joyous note. Finally, with a victorious shout the whole army, the converts, and many of the audience who had gone there to scoff, began to sing this Bong ot triumph :" "I'm saved r I am, I know I am." Finally, General Booth, at 4 o'clock, got up and closed the meeting.