"No other man is General of an Army of people that circles the globe. No emperor commands soldiers serving openly under him in almost every nation of the earth. No other man is called 'commander' by men and women of a hundred nationalities.

"Aside from his power over the great Organisation of which he is the head, General Booth is one of the world's most remarkable figures. His eloquence stirs and stings, soothes and wins; and this eloquence alone would make him famous, even if he had never undertaken the great work he has done with The Salvation Army.

"As he speaks, his face is radiant with the fervour that carries conviction. His tall figure and long arms, used energetically in gestures that add force to what is said, his white hair and beard, and his speaking eyes, make him an orator whose speeches remain long in the minds of those who hear them. The feeling of the members of The Army towards their Commander has in it both the love and reverence of a large flock of their pastor, and, added to this, the enthusiasm, loyalty, and energetic spirit of an Army."

[General Bramwell Booth]

Where so wonderful a journey is so filled up with Meetings so described, and where, from the very highest to the lowest all speak so warmly of him, it is really difficult within the limited space at our disposal to give, without danger of monotony, or repetition, any adequate idea of what took place. Americans are such habitual organisers of huge demonstrations, and are so generally accustomed to say, publicly, without reserve, what they think, that the expression of what to them may appear perfectly natural runs the risk of creating elsewhere an air of exaggeration and unreality. But if we consider that great American States like Minnesota, Ohio, and Michigan contain more inhabitants than some of the kingdoms of Europe, and that their Governors are men likely to occupy the very highest positions in the government of America, we can realise how effective amongst the masses of the people The General's work must have been before such Governors could be expected to preside at his Meetings, and to speak of him, as they did.

Said Governor Nash, of Ohio:--

"I never had the privilege of meeting you in person, until I grasped your hand upon this platform. You have not been unknown, however, to me or to the people of Ohio. You recognise the fact that you could not perform this work well without the help of God. That your work has been well performed is well known to us all from the fact that the Organisation you have made known as The Salvation Army has spread throughout the world, turning the feet of multitudes into the paths of righteousness and peace. It has done good. It has done a great work wherever it has gone. It is for these reasons that the people of Ohio welcome you most cordially to-night, and they and I wish you an abundant harvest in your life's work, and that at the end you may have the peace and rest and the joy that God gives to all His own good people."

Similar specially religious references to those used by Governor Nash came constantly into the speeches of other leaders who expressed their people's welcomes to The General, showing how faithfully every opportunity was being utilised to exalt Christ, amongst even the most unusual crowds assembled on these occasions.

Governor Cummins, of Iowa, said:--

"I have long wanted an opportunity to express publicly my appreciation of the grand, noble, and untiring work that every day is being performed by those noble and unselfish men and women, who have gathered under the Flag of The Salvation Army, loved and esteemed throughout the whole world.

"In every army there is a leader. The Salvation Army has a Leader whose commanding figure towers above the Salvationists of the world, and has drawn to himself more love, more respect, and more confidence than at this moment centres in any other human being. Of him it will be said, after he has passed to the beautiful shores of the hereafter, the best that can be said of any man, that the world is better because he lived in it."

Lest The General should have been too much puffed up by all his successes and the praises showered upon him, God almost at the end of the tour allowed an accident which might easily have ended his career; but which only gave him an opportunity to show more conspicuously than ever his resolution to persevere in his ceaseless labours.

It was whilst passing along a dark passage in New York that The General stumbled, and, but for God's great goodness, would have fallen into a cellar. As it was, one leg was very much bruised and hurt. He thus described, in writing, to a friend what followed:--