A business man who had recently made a study of agnostic literature, had become involved in certain complications, which resulted in a quarrel with his wife.  His means not being sufficient to the support of a double establishment, he took the train to London with a bottle of sulphonal in his pocket (not a drug to be recommended for his purpose) and swallowed tabloids all the way to town.  When he had taken seventy-five grains, and the bottle, as I saw, was two-thirds empty, he found that the drug worked in a way he did not expect.  Instead of killing him, it awoke his religious susceptibilities, which the course of agnostic literature had scotched but not killed, and he began to wonder with some earnestness whether, after all, there might not be a Hereafter which, in the circumstances, he did not care to face.

In this acute perplexity he bethought him of the Salvation Army, and arrived at the Bureau in a state of considerable excitement, as quickly as a taxicab could bring him.  A doctor and a fortnight in hospital did the rest.  The Army found him another situation in place of the one which he had lost, and composed his differences with his wife.  They are now both Salvationists and very happy.  So, in this instance, all’s well that ends well.

Case Two.—­A man, in a responsible position, and of rather extravagant habits, married a wife of more extravagant habits, and found that, whatever the proverb may say, it costs more to keep two than one.  His money matters became desperately involved, but, being afraid to confide in his wife, he spent a Sunday afternoon in trying to make up his mind whether he would shoot or drown himself.  While he was thus engaged, a Salvation Army band happened to pass his door, and reminded him of what he had read about the Anti-Suicide Bureau.  Postponing decision as to the exact method of his departure from this earth, he called there, and was persuaded to make a clean breast of the matter to his wife.

Afterwards the Army took up his extremely complicated affairs.  I saw a pile of documents relating to them that must have been at least 4 ins. thick.  The various money-lenders were interviewed, and persuaded to accept payment in weekly or monthly instalments.  The account was almost square when I saw it, and the person concerned extremely happy and grateful.  I should say that, in this case, a lawyer’s bill for the work which was done for nothing would have amounted to quite L50.

In another somewhat similar case, that of an official who had tampered with moneys in his charge, though this was not discovered, some of the creditors had placed the business in the hands of debt-collecting-agencies, than whom, said Colonel Unsworth, ’there are no harder or more cruel creditors.’  At any rate, they drove this poor man almost to madness, with the usual result.  A friend brought him to the Army, who shouldered his affairs, dealt with the debt-collecting agencies, obtained help from his connexions, and paid off what was owing by instalments.  He and his family are now again quite comfortable.