Some of The General’s earlier visits to Sweden were, however, still more interesting, and perhaps even more permanently effective, because, as we shall see, they helped the newly-rising force, enlisted under their first leader—­a devoted woman—­to gain some liberty for demonstrations and other work outside their own buildings such as they had not had before, and strengthened them in their resolution to fight, whilst almost all their fellow-countrymen still looked down upon them with disdain if not with hatred.  It is difficult to realise now what a dreadful thing The Army in those days must have appeared.  Huge crowds gathered from the very first to the Meetings, convened in theatres and other public buildings by Major, now Commissioner Ouchterlony, a Swedish lady who had been appointed by The General to inaugurate the Work in her own land; but the bulk of the population seemed to regard her as though she was a suffragette, advocating window-breaking or something worse.  This will explain some of the facts The General records in his diary of his visit seven years later.  The journey began with a great Meeting at Hull, after which the traveller went on board his steamer for a miserable two days’ voyage to Gothenburg.  After Meetings there he proceeded to Sundsvall, a city from which point his Journal reads:—­

“At the conclusion of the evening Meeting the dear Soldiers flocked to the station, crowding the platform and expressing, as far as opportunity served them, their love for me, and their desire that God should bless me.  I spoke to them for a few minutes; then came the signal and the start, and then as we slowly moved off handkerchiefs were waved, volleys of ‘Amens’ were fired, the Band played, and away we were borne out into the darkness.  All this was like a dream to my comrades, as neither the railway officials nor the police had hitherto allowed a word to be spoken or a note of music to be played outside our Halls.

“All that night and all the following day we travelled to Stockholm, which we reached at 6 p.m.  Crowds awaited our arrival.  The Soldiers had come down in force, wearing sashes on which the words, ‘God bless The General,’ ‘Welcome,’ and other devices had been worked.  The police had come too.  There were 200 of them—­some mounted and some on foot.  Our people had been formed into an avenue down which I passed to an open space.  Every face wore a smile, but there was comparative silence.  The Police Master had insisted that there should be no volley firing or shouting.  But hands and handkerchiefs were waved, and every one appeared delighted.  We were soon in a carriage, galloping off to the Headquarters where we were to stay.”

If all that The General has done for the attainment of a larger liberty by the peoples of every land were recorded, one might easily make him appear as a great political reformer.  But whilst consistently aiming at the one great purpose of all his journeys and Meetings, the Salvation of souls, he has, incidentally, done more to stir the humblest and least capable to great nation-rousing efforts than any mere political reformer can hope to do.