As may be imagined the Officer went through an
anxious moment, not quite knowing what to do. However, he looked the
man over, summed him up to the best of his judgment and ability, and
coming to the conclusion that he was a bully and a braggart, said that
he might do what he liked. The man swallowed the contents of the
bottle, exclaiming that he would be dead in a few minutes, and a pause
ensued, during which the Officer confessed to me that he felt very
uncomfortable. The end of it was that his visitor said, with a laugh,
that 'he would not like to cumber the Salvation Army with his corpse,'
and walked out of the room. The draught which he had taken was
comparatively harmless.
As I have mentioned, however, a proportion of the cases are quite
irreclaimable. They come and consult the Army, then depart and do the
deed. Six that can be traced have been lost in this way during the
last few months.
Colonel Unsworth explained to me what I had already guessed, that this
business of dealing with scores and hundreds of despairing beings
standing on the very edge of the grave, is a terrible strain upon any
man.
Pages:
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173