What were his thoughts of the ruffian who had dealt the deadly blow? He had only a single thought—"One day he will be saved." Detectives came to receive the dying man's description of the assailant. A message from them to this effect was conveyed to Louis, who answered it in a single word:
"Jamais!" (Never!)
But he described the guilty man to the Maréchale, that she might know him and pray for him.
Seeking her hand when the end drew near, he said—
"Oh, I love so much to hold your fingers."
"Jesus will take your hands, Louis, and guide you into the port."
"I will—let myself—be guided—by Him."
The Maréchale prayed, and with the spirit of Saint Stephen in his breast and the words "It is too beautiful!" on his lips, he went to be with Christ. Belleville and the Villette were stirred to the depths by a martyr's funeral, and at the grave Théodore Monod spoke words which moved the hearts of all.
The young Maréchale who gathered round her men and women of this stamp—a willing people in the day of the Lord's power, ready for everything, faithful unto death—evidently possessed high qualities of leadership, and ere long the spirit of the École Militaire was to be found in every station of the Army throughout France and Switzerland. Speaking at one of the General's great meetings in Scotland, Professor Henry Drummond said that after travelling all over the South of Europe, visiting many cathedrals and hearing famous orators, he had landed at Marseilles, and felt more of the presence and power of Christ in the Salvation Army meeting-place of that town than he had experienced in all his wanderings. The General repeated this to the Maréchale, and she found that the meeting which had so profoundly impressed the Professor had been conducted by a young officer, Mlle. Dormois, who had recently left the Training School in Paris.
That the authorities at home praised God for the Maréchale's work scarcely needs saying. Her father's appreciation found expression in every letter. Here are brief extracts from three of them.