Not only did this woman get saved, but her husband and children, too, as a result of that loving act.
There came times in many cities, both in England and elsewhere, when our opposers were formally organised against us, under such names as "Opposition and Skeleton Armies," etc. These were organisations, in some instances so formidable, especially on Sunday afternoons, that at one time, in 1882, there would be 1,500 police on extra duty to protect us from their attack. This, of course, we much disliked, and we gave up our marches entirely for a few weeks, so that when we began again the police might get proper control. They never allowed the formation of these bands again, for they had learned their lesson by that time. But how marvellously God helped The General by means of those very oppositions! They brought us into close touch with bodies of young fellows, many of whom have since become leaders amongst us.
Strange and sad that throughout all the years of our most desperate fighting we scarcely ever found men from the "better classes" daring to march with us. One noble exception, Colonel Pepper, of Salisbury, with his wife, never hesitated, in the roughest times, to take their stand with their humblest comrades, glad to go through whatever came. To Mrs. Pepper The General wrote in 1880:--
"The Colonel will have sent you some information of our Meetings. But any real description is impossible. Manchester has, in many respects, surpassed everything. The Colonel, himself, has pleased me immensely--so humble and willing. When I look at him in the processions, evidently enjoying them, I cannot help wondering at what God hath wrought, and praising Him. London seems your place, and it has been borne in on my mind that the time has come for us to make an attack on the West End, and to raise a Corps there, principally out of the proper and decent people. I don't mean out of the Plymouth Brethren, or the 'evangelical party,' so-called; but out of the wicked and wretched class who have money and position and education, and who are floating to Hell with it all.
"I shrink from suggesting further sacrifices to you. God give you wisdom. We have much success and much trial, and much bitter opposition. We must have more and more success and more trial, and more bitter opposition. We must have more intelligent Officers, and you must help us get them."
That West-End attempt, made later by Mrs. Booth, produced for us, indeed, some Officers who have done much for The Army's advancement; although, perhaps, not another Colonel Pepper. The very attacks made upon us, however, helped to attract the attention of thoughtful people, and to lead to our Meetings persons possessing all the gifts needed for The Army's world-wide extension.
Amongst these were Colonel Mildred Duff, Editress of our papers for the young, and authoress of a number of books; Commissioner W. Elwin Oliphant, then an Anglican Clergyman; Miss Reid, daughter of a former Governor of Madras and now the wife of Commissioner Booth-Tucker, of India; Lieut.-Colonel Mary Bennett, as well as Mrs. de Noe Walker, Dr. and Mrs. Heywood-Smith, and a number of other friends in England and many other lands who, though never becoming Officers, have in various ways been our steadfast and useful friends and supporters.
Surely it can only be a question of time! It is true what our great Master said: "Not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble are called."
But, if in the days of our weakness and contempt, it was given us to win such a force of honourable women and a man now and then, are we to despair, now that all the world is awakened to the value of our work, of winning for it more of the excellent of the earth?
The prosecutions of our people by the police also helped us not only to attain notoriety locally, but to gain a much higher standing generally. As soon as The General could find legal ground for appealing against the magistrates' decisions he did so, and this not only obtained for us judgments that made our pathway clear in the future, but caused the then Lord Chancellor, the late Earl Cairns, Lord Chief Justice Cockburn, Archbishop Tait of Canterbury, Bishop Lightfoot of Durham, and other men of wide influence to speak out in the House of Lords or elsewhere for us.
And yet, throughout his entire career, right down to his last days, The General was at times personally assailed with a malevolence and bitterness that could hardly have been exceeded. It has constantly been suggested, if not openly stated, that he was simply "making a pile" of money for himself; and yet, as will be seen in our chapter on Finance he made the most comprehensive arrangements to render suspicion on this score inexcusable.