imated with
will and purpose, and working for the work's sake to an end which he
could not foresee.

I have no information on the point, but I should be surprised to learn
that General Booth, when Providence moved him to begin his labours
among the poor, had even an inkling of their future growth within the
short period of his own life. He sowed a seed in faith and hope, and,
in spite of opposition and poverty, in spite of ridicule and of
slander, he has lived to see that seed ripen into a marvellous
harvest. Directly, or indirectly, hundreds of thousands of men and
women throughout the world have benefited by his efforts. He has been
a tool of destiny, like Mahomet or Napoleon, only in this case one
fated to help and not to harm mankind. Such, at least, is my estimate
of him.

A little less of the spirit of self-sacrifice, a different sense of
responsibility, and the same strength of imagination and power of
purpose devoted to purely material objects, might have raised up
another multi-millionaire, or a mob-leader, or a self-seeking despot.
But, as it happened, some grace was given to him, and the river has
run another way.

Opportunity, too, has played into his hands. He saw that the
recognized and established Creeds scarcely touched the great, sordid,
lustful, drink-sodden, poverty-steeped masses of the city populations
of the world: that they were waiting for a teacher who could speak to
them in a tongue they understood. He spoke, and some of them have
listened: only a fraction it is true, but still some. More, as it
chanced, he married a wife who entered into his thoughts, and was able
to help to fulfil his aspirations, and from that union were born
descendants who, for the most part, are fitted to carry on his
labours.

Further, like Loyola, and others, he has the power of rule, being a
born leader of men, so that thousands obey his word without question
in every corner of the earth, although some of these have never seen
his face. Lastly, Nature endowed him with a striking presence that
appeals to the popular mind, with a considerable gift of speech, with
great physical strength and abounding energy, qualities which have
enabled him to toil without ceasing and to travel far and wide. Thus
it comes about that as truly as any man of our generation, when his
hour is ended, he, too, I believe, should be able to say with a clear
conscience, 'I have finished the work that Thou gavest me to do':
although his hear