The Authoritative Life of General William Booth | Page 2

they already have such buildings, the erection of new Headquarters or Halls; but towards the maintenance and extension in every land of the work he began.
It cannot but be a special gratification to me to know that this book will be received with eager affection in almost every part of the world. How could it ever cease to be my greatest joy to strive more and more after my Father's ideal of linking together men and women of every land and race in one grand competition for the extinction of selfishness by the enlistment of all sorts and conditions of men in one Great Holy War for God and for all that is good?
Whether those into whose hands this volume falls, agree or not with the teachings of The Salvation Army, may God grant them Grace to join heartily at least in this, my Father's great purpose, and so help me to attain the victory for which he lived and died.
W. Bramwell Booth. London International Headquarters of The Salvation Army.
November, 1912.

Contents

Chapter I
Childhood and Poverty
Chapter II
Salvation in Youth
Chapter III
Lay Ministry
Chapter IV
Early Ministry
Chapter V
Fight Against Formality
Chapter VI
Revivalism
Chapter VII
East London Beginning
Chapter VIII
Army-making
Chapter IX
Army Leading
Chapter X
Desperate Fighting
Chapter XI
Reproducing The Army in America
Chapter XII
In Australasia
Chapter XIII
Women and Scandinavia
Chapter XIV
Children Conquerors in Holland and Elsewhere
Chapter XV
India and Devotees
Chapter XVI
South Africa and Colonisation
Chapter XVII
Japanese Heroism
Chapter XVIII
Co-operating With Governments
Chapter XIX
Conquering Death
Chapter XX
His Social Work
Chapter XXI
Motoring Triumphs
Chapter XXII
Our Financial System
Chapter XXIII
In Germany In Old Age
Chapter XXIV
The End
Chapter XXV
Tributes
Chapter XXVI
Organisation
Chapter XXVII
The Spirit of The Army
Chapter XXVIII
The General as a Writer
Important Events Connected with The General's Life and Work

Illustrations
William Booth Catherine Booth General Bramwell Booth Mrs. Bramwell Booth Emma Booth Tucker Commander Miss Booth Autograph Page

The Authoritative Life of General William Booth
Founder of The Salvation Army

Chapter I
Childhood and Poverty

William Booth was born in Nottingham, England, on April 10, 1829, and was left, at thirteen, the only son of a widowed and impoverished mother. His father had been one of those builders of houses who so rapidly rose in those days to wealth, but who, largely employing borrowed capital, often found themselves in any time of general scarcity reduced to poverty.
I glory in the fact that The General's ancestry has never been traced, so far as I know, beyond his grandfather. I will venture to say, however, that his forefathers fought with desperation against somebody at least a thousand years ago. Fighting is an inveterate habit of ours in England, and another renowned general has just been recommending all young men to learn to shoot. The constant joy and pride with which our General always spoke of his mother is a tribute to her excellence, as well as the best possible record of his own earliest days. Of her he wrote, in 1893:--
"I had a good mother. So good she has ever appeared to me that I have often said that all I knew of her life seemed a striking contradiction of the doctrine of human depravity. In my youth I fully accepted that doctrine, and I do not deny it now; but my patient, self-sacrificing mother always appeared to be an exception to the rule.
"I loved my mother. From infancy to manhood I lived in her. Home was not home to me without her. I do not remember any single act of wilful disobedience to her wishes. When my father died I was so passionately attached to my mother that I can recollect that, deeply though I felt his loss, my grief was all but forbidden by the thought that it was not my mother who had been taken from me. And yet one of the regrets that has followed me to the present hour is that I did not sufficiently value the treasure while I possessed it, and that I did not with sufficient tenderness and assiduity at the time, attempt the impossible task of repaying the immeasurable debt I owed to that mother's love.
"She was certainly one of the most unselfish beings it has been my lot to come into contact with. 'Never mind me' was descriptive of her whole life at every time, in every place, and under every circumstance. To make others happy was the end of all her thoughts and aims with regard not only to her children but to her domestics, and indeed to all who came within her influence. To remove misery was her delight. No beggar went empty-handed from her door. The sorrows of any poor wretch were certain of her commiseration, and of a helping hand in their removal, so far as she had ability. The children of misfortune were sure of her pity, and the children of misconduct she pitied almost the more, because, for one reason, they were the cause of sorrow to those who had reason to mourn on their account.
"For many years before she died, love, joy, and