Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1921-01-10
AS ONE WOMAN SEES 1T
"reminiscences OF Two Notable Guests
In Philadelphia: Pastor Wagner,
Who Was Hectic, and General
Booth, Who Was Surprising
by SARAH ID. LOWRIE


exciting guests.
The most hectic guest ever knew was
Pastor Wagner, the simple life man the
most surprising in his demands was the
late General Booth. of the Salvation Army.
General Booth was at the heisht of his
fame, and the son. who was in command
of the army" in this country, was at thai
time Ballington Booth. whose very beautiful
y and popular wife, Maud Booth. had won 10
the cause of the Salvation Army O great
many generous and influential friends.
Perhaps her very popularity was, to the
mind Of her father in law. danger mark
perhaps her husbands somewhat American
point of view Of English headquarters or
ders may have seemed another pad symptom.
What chiefly interested us in Ballington
Booth as children regarding him from
safe distance over the banisters was that
he changed his boots In the hall and put on
easy slippers before going to join his wife
and our mother in the drawing room. That
was before the general, his father, came
After that old gentleman's arrival there
was nothing exactly easy.
A VERY elaborate menu was given the
~ hostess to cover the generals brief
stay. Red meat was strictly forbidden and
other dishes were enjoined. The time of
meals was changed and an extra one added
"a kind OF hot supper late in the evening.
1t was requested that he have q sitting
room attached to HIS bedroom. lie was
always spoken of in awed tones, generally
by his family as "Our father SO that to
us children his coming was solemn, even
fearful His arrival in an open carriage,
escorted by some hundreds of the 'army'
and serenaded by a brass band somewhat
confused our expectation Of deity and gave
the episode a lighter if more exciting tone.
There was a reception there were
speeches Many notsbles not of the Sal,
vation Army had been delighted to come
and meet its founder, and to tell him how
remarkable they thought his daughter in
law and how well his son was organizing
the American branch of the organization.
1t seemed to US children, who braced our
selves in the sheltering curve Of the piano
and regarded the scene with no effort to be
part Of the congratulatory hosts, that tho
dark, thin, tall, handsome old man who was
the center Of all this attention grew darker
and more forbidding with each commenda-
tion.
We also observed the almost fearful
efforts Of the members of his family present
to shift the spotlight from the Bellngton
Booths to the wonderful army in England.
Long before the guests had al departed
it was apparent some one had bundered.
A dinner had been planned, but the colo
nell who was the generals secretary asked
to see the menu and the list of guests.
Both were submitted to the general and
were found to be entirely not what he
wanted.
He. preferred eating in his sitting room
and he preferred roast beef. 1t was too
late to flag the guests and too late to cook
roast, so steak was got and such other
dishes AS the secretary announced were
imperative.
nOWN stairs at an abnormally early hour
- the guests and our family ate the
simpltied meal that had been designed for
the generals restricted diet. while upstairs
behind closed doors the hero of the evening
parto0k of a much more substantial later
repast in the company of persons sum
moned to join him by th" faithful and
fortunate colonel secretary, who seemed
to breathe but for his generals pleasure.
AS to who these persons were the hostess
was not enlightened. but this much was
vOuchsafed her. The secretary appeared
later and called her away from the other
guests TO announce impressivcy that ''thc
general is much pleased with his dinner
lie iett next morning with such abrupt
ness, however, thut the 'army' and the
band, though they got there on the run,
were too late to escort him to the station
WE NEVER quite knew what happened
w but within week from that visit Maud
Booth and her husband naugurated the
American Army of Volunteers, an organ
ization somewhat on the Salvation Army
lines but dealing mostly with prison work
and another Booth reigned in their stead
as head of the American Salvation Army.
We children took opposite sides. Some
of US argued it was the bccfstenk that had
brought on the rupture, while others arguel
that the rupture had brought on the beef
steak.
In any case America has not lost by
the change. since 1t has n very energetic
Salvation Army under a Booth and a very
energetic Volunteer Army under Il Booth
Perhaps Mrs Booth would never hay" done
her beautiful saving work for prisoners if
the "difcr"ncr' had never come.
THE visit from Pastor Wagner, who wrote
L the simple Life" lasted scarcely al
hour. 1t was on Sunday evening aud was
entirely unexpected 10 his hosts Il half hour
before it occurred, He was scheduled to
speak at so many places that Sunday aft
ernoOn and evening by the arrangement of
his agents that in order TO cover the ground
between the churches the motOrCar had to
be driven at great speed. II was in the
early days Of motors and the pastor was
not equipped with Il hat or Il coat quite
comfortable for the experience. It was an
open car. too. When he arrived at our
house for supper h. was in the bottom Of
the ear covered by q rug by his own almost
frantic demand. lie was so fatigued as to
be nearly inarticulate, but he grasped his
hostess by the hand and demanded hoarS"!y
| Of her that he be permitted TO eat without
conversation, and that she provide him with
chops and ChUC0Iat" and peas.
nearby butcher was routed out of his
| Sunday evening r"poSe and cajoltd into
opening his refrigerator for the chops. Some
| chocolate was borrowed from n ncighbor,
| the peas were on land. After a miracu
| lousy brief delay the pastors supper and
! the regular salad and hot biscuit and stuffed
| potatoes and cold dessert supper was
| marshalcd on the table and the meal began.
The pastor fancied the regular things more
| than his own, but ate heartily of both.
One of the men who had brought him.
| whose name We never quite knew, rose at
| intervals and showed his pleasure in the
! occasion by kissing all the men on the left
check and shaking tho hands of all the
women with a kind of lingering feryor
suddenly the other man looked at his watch
and explained slowly and loudly in words
of one syllable to the pastor that they were
five minutes behind schedule time and must
depart. The pastor, big, burly Alsatian-
looking man, refused to bulge without the
dessert, In tn" end he Won out. He kept
growing in French that one day NOR" Of
the pace Ut which they rushed him would
kill him. We saw him jerked into his coat,
his hat jamm"d his head, and they
| al ;,,. 81, 81 h.,