The War Romance of the Salvation Army | Page 8

although so young, who when the fates of the world
swung in the balances proved to be _the man of the hour;_ the man,
each one of them, fighting not only for today but for tomorrow, and
deciding the world's future; the man who gladly died that freedom
might not be dead; the man dear to a hundred million throbbing hearts;
the man God loved so much that to save him He gave His only Son to
the unparalleled sacrifice of Calvary, with its measureless ocean of

torment heaving up against His Heart in one foaming, wrathful,
omnipotent surge.
Wherein is price? What constitutes cost, when the question is _THE
MAN_?

Preface by the Writer

I wish I could give you a picture of Commander Evangeline Booth as I
saw her first, who has been the Source, the Inspiration, the Guide of
this story.
I went to the first conference about this book in curiosity and some
doubt, not knowing whether it was my work; not altogether sure
whether I cared to attempt it. She took my hand and spoke to me. I
looked in her face and saw the shining glory of her great spirit through
those wonderful, beautiful, wise, keen eyes, and all doubts vanished. I
studied the sincerity and beauty of her vivid face as we talked together,
and heard the thrilling tale she was giving me to tell because she could
not take the time from living it to write it, and I trembled lest she would
not find me worthy for so great a task. I knew that I was being honored
beyond women to have been selected as an instrument through whom
the great story of the Salvation Army in the War might go forth to the
world. That I wanted to do it more than any work that had ever come to
my hand, I was certain at once; and that my whole soul was enmeshed
in the wonder of it. It gripped me from the start. I was over-joyed to
find that we were in absolute sympathy from the first.
One sentence from that earliest talk we had together stands clear in my
memory, and it has perhaps unconsciously shaped the theme which I
hope will be found running through all the book:
"Our people," said she, flinging out her hands in a lovely embracing
movement, as if she saw before her at that moment those devoted
workers of hers who follow where she leads unquestioningly, and stay
not for fire or foe, or weariness, or peril of any sort:
"Our people know that Christ is a living presence, that they can reach
out and feel He is near: that is why they can live so splendidly and die
so heroically!"
As she spoke a light shone in her face that reminded me of the light that
we read was on Moses' face after he had spent those days in the

mountain with God; and somewhere back in my soul something was
repeating the words: "And they took knowledge of them that they had
been with Jesus."
That seems to me to be the whole secret of the wonderful lives and
wonderful work of the Salvation Army. They have become acquainted
with Jesus Christ, whom to know is life eternal; they feel His presence
constantly with them and they live their lives "as seeing Him who is
invisible." They are a living miracle for the confounding of all who
doubt that there is a God whom mortals may know face to face while
they are yet upon the earth.
The one thing that these people seem to feel is really worth while is
bringing other people to know their Christ. All other things in life are
merely subservient to this, or tributary to it. All their education, culture
and refinement, their amazing organization, their rare business ability,
are just so many tools that they use for the uplift of others. In fact, the
word "OTHERS" appears here and there, printed on small white cards
and tacked up over a desk, or in a hallway near the elevator, anywhere,
everywhere all over the great building of the New York Headquarters, a
quiet, unobtrusive, yet startling reminder of a world of real things in the
midst of the busy rush of life.
Yet they do not obtrude their religion. Rather it is a secret joy that
shines unaware through their eyes, and seems to flood their whole
being with happiness so that others can but see. It is there, ready, when
the time comes to give comfort, or advice, or to tell the message of the
gospel in clear ringing sentences in one of their meetings; but it speaks
as well through a smile, or a ripple of song, or a bright funny story,