BOOTH AND BABEL.

New Zealand Times, Volume LIV, Issue 9867, 25 March 1893, Page 3 (Supplement)

BOOTH AND BABEL.

THE SALVATION ARMY IN ACTION. SCENES AT EXETER HALL. The Strand this week (eaya onr London correspondent, writing on January 28), has presented a curious scene. It is difficult enough at ordinary times to pass along by London’s most crowded thoroughfare of an afternoon, but on Tuesday and Wednesday last owing to Exeter Hall periodically belching forth mobs of excited Salvationists, locomotion became practically impossible. No doubt General Booth knew this. From the point of view of the lads and lasses themselves the Clapton Hall would have been far more convenient for the Two Days’ Holiness Meeting, but the General wanted London generally to understand what was going on, and blocking the Strand admirably achieved this. The following forcible account of the scene at Exeter Hall during a Holiness Meeting is from the Pall Mall Gazette ; A tremendous volume of sound rushed through the aperture as a man in semimilitary attire pushed open a green baize door and said ‘ to the left.’ A thousand voices had shouted * Amen.’ The great apartment on the top story of the building known as Exeter Hall was crowded to the doors. There was but one bit of vacant space, not more than six feet square. This was On the stage and in front of a desk at which a man stood speaking and gesticulating. The man wore a blue cloth jacket, thrown open and exposing a bright red shirt. His hair was long and grey. His beard was long and grey, and unkempt. He talked rapidly, in short, jerky sentences. Hu emphasized his speech with his head, his hands, and his feet. Ha used his hands as a comb for his hair and beard. Ho stopped at short intervals and shouted ‘ Amen ’ or ‘ Hallelujah.’ The shout was repeated with terrific energy by those around him. Il was General Booth who talked. On the stage, on every side, except immediately in front, were officers of the Salvation Array, men and women, some of the men in blue, some in red uniforms, but all bare headed; women all in blue, their beads covered and faces shaded, by the picturesque ‘ poke ’ bonnet. Scattered throughout the hall were the officers of the Army, but in addition to these were two or throe thousand people. These were admitted by ticket. The ticket said that the Salvation Army would spend 1 two days with God’ at Exeter Hall, yesterday and to-day. Three services each day were held, one at eleven o’clock in

the morning, one at three, and one at I seven in the evening. From each service people were turned away. The hall was not large enough. The desk at which General Booth stood was covered with scarlet cloth. On it, in st-ring white letters, was the word ‘ Victory.’ Against the walla hung shieldshaped banners, also of red. Upon one of these was the inscription ‘Repent and turn to God ;’ upon another, 1 Have Faith in God;’ upon another, ‘Let God bo First.’ The scene was full of light, movement, colour. There was never silence. Sometimes a thousand spoke at once, sometimes a hundred, sometimes ten, sometimes only one. But there was never silence. ‘ Well, I think,’ said General Booth, after speaking for a short lime, ' we may as well talcs up a collection. Somebody outside—not inside—-but somebody outside will any, “ Asking for money again 1” Yea, we must do it. It reminds me of (he story of the rich man who was telling his friend that the church of which he was a member was burdened with a debt which they wanted to get rid of. The rich man said ho wanted a suggestion. The friend said to him, “Pay it yourself.” This had not occurred to him. He went home and drew his cheque for the amount.’ He smiled, then laughed, then hit the desk in front of him and said, ‘ I can’t do that. .Neither can Commissioner Howard, nor any of my officers, therefore we must depend upon yon. The last two or three meetings at Exeter Hall did not clear expenses. Let us do batter this time. Take round the baskets and let it be as if the Lord brought them. Put in what you can.’ Wooden boxes, with long handles, were passed around and for several minutes there was the sound of coin falling on coin. The noise had no effect upon General Booth. Ho talked on. ‘lain asked,’ he said, ‘if I won’t say anything about the social scheme. N«, I think not. I shall give it a rosl. They have had their investigation and the General has had his vindication. It is for the good of the country. If the country wants it it must pay for it.' ‘Song 53,’ called out a girlish voice General Booth sank into a chair. His place was taken by a tall girl of a good figure and strongly marked features. She wore a tightly-fitting blue cloth jacket, with military collar. The jacket was partly open and showed a scarlet bodice beneath. The oliviMintad face was overshadowed by a huge poke bonnet, beneath which was confined thick, short, dark looks. The voice of the organ, soft and tuneful, was heard. ‘0 Lamb of God, thou wonderful sin-bearer,’ sang the girl quietly, her voice filling the huge hall easily. Her right baud and arm shot out as she sang ‘Hard after Thee my soul doth follow on.’ ‘So does mine,’ shouted a voice. ‘ Glory,’ shouted a dozen voices. The singer’s face flushed and both arms wore extended ns she sang the third line, ‘As pants the hart for streams in desert dreary,’and the fourth, ‘ So pant my soul tor Thee, 0 thou lifegiving one.’ Then, swinging her right arm as a baton, Miss 1 Eva Booth led the chorus. To the thousands whose eyes were fixed upon her she communicated her enthusiasm. Into each succeeding verseshe threw more energy, and when she asked the audience to sing the third verse again the response was liks the roar of a Niagara. The scarlet banners flapped upon the walls, and the lights flickered amid the rushing, tumbling sound waves. The tumult having come to an end, and the collection having been taken up, ‘ General ’ Booth took up a Bible and a verse from one of Paul’s letters to the Corinthians. Ho told his hearers of the efforts of every body of men, from Parliament to pariah, was making, in his opinion, to reconstruct society. They were all doing it, even the churches, he said, without using God’s name. Without God,-he said, the reconstruction was impossible. As he spoke he held his hands behind his back. Suddenly be stamped his feet and cried ‘Hallelujah 1' The audience responded with a shout of ‘ Hallelujah !’ Again he cried the word. Again the audience responded. Then ha shouted ‘ Amen !’ An answering shout shivered the air. ‘ They ask me what about the Darkest England scheme. I say the flag floats still. I’d rather pull down the scheme than the Bag.’ Thera was a roar of applause. ‘Don’t clap,’ he shouted ; ‘ say “ Hallelujah !” ’ He said ‘ Hallelujah’ with the voice of a trombone. ‘ Leave that window alone,’ he shouted; ‘ there’s a draught heie that takes away some of my voice.’ He read another verse of Paul’s letter to the Corinthians. ‘ You Londoners,’ he said, ‘can put yourselves in the place of the Corinthians.’ Ho read on. When a verse or a sentence appealed to him as unusually striking, he repeated it. When a word seemed to him especially unique, he used it fifty times in five minutes. It sounded oddly, but it fastened the attention of the immense audience upon him. The oftener he used it the more vigour he thiew into it, both of voice and gesture. He swung his right arm and shouted 1 Hallelujah.’ The response was bursting with life. He swung both arms, ran his hands through his hair and beard, brought his hands together sharply, and cried ‘Amen.’ A thousand voices repeated it. ‘ Everybody who believes in the loving power of God in Loudon say “Amen,”’ he demanded. The command was obeyed as with one voice. ‘ Is God in your heart ?’ ho yelled. 1 Yes,’ shouted a man on the right.

‘ I did not ask you,’ said the 1 General. r ‘ I asked a man who can’t answer. He'd know if God was in his heart. Why does nobody care about the Church !’ ‘Because it’s played out,’ said the man on tlie right. ‘ Why don’t wo have miracles now ? continued the speaker. ‘ Why take «8 back two thousand years to such as the three worthies, one like Moses, or that sort. Why not have miracles now'!' S'andirg on liotoe and swaying his arms ho shouted, : I’ll become a miracle worker. Amen. 1 There was a roar of ‘Ameu’s,’ and several oflioors blew shrill blasts un whistles which they carried, as if to increase the din and exeitment, A boy in the the audience shrieked as if through pure excitement, and many men mad* curious noises as if their throats were dry and they had lost control of their voices. ‘ Now, backsliders, I'm going to give you a chance.’ Pointing to the officers who sat or knelt on.both sides of him and in front, he said, ‘ I’ll drive these to the right and to the left, and I want you, you backsliders, to walk up here ami kneel down. We’ll sing that song first; what number is it?’ ‘ No 10,’ shouted the man on the right. ‘ We'llaing No 10 with our eyes closed.' The officers were bundled out of the way, and a space cleared. Mr Brain well Booth stood on a chairand made aprayer. He ordered the audience to shut its eyes. It obeyed. He called upon the ‘backsliders’ to walk up and kneel down. Then Miss Eva Booth stood behind the red-covered desk, at' the side of her father. She sang, ‘ Take all ray sin# away.’ With closed eyes (he audience joined her. Soma stood up, soma kneeled down, nobody sat. Every moment the excitement grew more intense. When it was at its height a thin, grey hatred woman walked from the body of the hall to the stage and dropped upon her knees. ‘ Take the Hallelujah step,’ shouted Bramwull Booth. The army shou ed ‘Amen.’ The song was finished ai last. The grey-haired woman knelt thurealone.