me to be a spiritual
process, whereas the craving for drink or any other carnal
satisfaction was, or appeared to be, a physical weakness of the body.
Therefore, I did not understand how the spiritual conversion could
suddenly and permanently affect or remove the physical desire, unless
it were by the action of the phenomenon called miracle, which mankind
admits doubtfully to have been possible in the dim period of the birth
of a religion, but for the most part denies to be possible in these
latter days.

'Quite so,' answered the Colonel, calmly, in almost the same words
that Commissioner Sturgess had used, 'it _is_ miracle; that is our
belief. These men cannot change and purify themselves, their vices are
instantaneously, permanently, and miraculously removed by the power
and the Grace of God. This is the truth, and nothing more wonderful
can be conceived.'

Here, without further comment, I leave this deeply interesting matter
to the consideration of abler and better instructed persons than
myself.

To come to something more mundane, which also deserves consideration,
I was informed that in Glasgow, with a population of about 900,000,
there exists a floating class of 80,000 people, who live in
lodging-houses of the same sort as, and mostly inferior to the
Salvation Army Shelter of which I am now writing. In other words, out
of every twelve inhabitants of this great city, one is driven to that
method of obtaining a place to sleep in at night.

In this particular Refuge there is what is called a free shelter room,
where people are accommodated in winter who have not even the few
coppers necessary to pay for a bed. During the month before my visit,
which took place in the summer-time, the Brigadier had allotted free
beds in this room to destitute persons to the value of L13. I may add
that twice a week this particular place is washed with a carbolic
mixture!

THE ARDENSHAW WOMEN'S HOME

GLASGOW

I visited two of the Salvation Army's Women's Institutions in Glasgow.
The first of these was a Women's Rescue Home known as Ardenshaw. This
is a very good house, substantially built and well fitted up, that
before it was bought by the Army was the residence of a Glasgow
merchant. It has accommodation for thirty-six, and is always full. The
inmates are of all kinds, prison cases, preventive cases, fallen
cases, drink cases. The very worst of all these classes, however, are
not taken in here, but sent to the Ref