ic Hall and Headquarters.

He called all that "The Christian Mission," with only a slowly dawning
consciousness that it was an Army, for six years more.

But he was leading it on, in humble dependence upon God, with increasing
speed and force. He was really hindered by many things, amongst them his
own ministerial habits of thought and plan. That nothing lasting could
be achieved without system and organisation he had always seen. But he
had never yet known a formation equal to that of some of the Churches
around him which depended upon more or less skilled preachers, and a
complete network of elected assemblies. For all purposes of conquest he
had got preachers enough out of the public-houses; but he could not
imagine their holding regular congregations, or developing the work,
without having years for study and just such plans as the Churches had
established. Hence, when he wanted leaders for the enlargement of the
work he advertised for them in Methodist or other publications. He
secured some excellent, well-meaning men, too; but, in almost every
instance, they proved to be slower than the troops they were supposed to
lead, and a kind of ecclesiastical organisation wrapped them all around
with a sort of Saul's armour, in which fighting the heathen was
unthinkable. He had got--by the testimony, as we have seen, of
impartial observers--such a force as was "unparalleled in extent,
unsectarian in character, and a standing rebuke to the apathy of
Christians."

But how was he to go further afield with it? He had not a leader ready
for its extension outside London. In 1873, Mrs. Booth, however, could
not be content without doing something, at least for a season, in
England's great naval base, Portsmouth, and, after that, in the sister
arsenal city of Chatham. The force of new Converts she gathered in each
town must needs be led by somebody, and in each case The General sent
men of proved ability to manufacture preachers of their own _fighting_
type. After having led Missions in those towns, they went and did
likewise in two of the great manufacturing cities of the north. But
their first achievements had led The General to venture upon sending out
others, of much less ability, to smaller communities, where they were
not less successful than the first two.

Already another great difficulty had been solved, for it had been found
that congregations of workmen gathered in the provincial towns would
give collections generally