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 large enough to defray the local expenses.  Thus were cleared away not only two of the main blocks in the path of progress, but all need or desire for the officialdom that had already begun to grow threateningly stiff.

“After awhile,” writes The General, “the work began to spread and show wonderful promise, and then, when everything was looking like progress a new trouble arose.  It came about in this wise.  Some of the evangelists whom I had engaged to assist me rose up and wanted to convert our Mission into a regular Church, with a Committee of Management and all that sort of thing.  They wanted to settle down in quietness.  I wanted to go forward at all costs.