Chaplain Mackenzie, Salvation Army 265 



both his arms greeted him thus, " Well, I won't offer to shake 

 hands with you ! " The poor man laughed heartily — enjoyed 

 the joke. 



There is no end to the good work done by the Salvationist 

 huts. I have several times heard of soldiers being stranded and 

 having asked where they could go for some food and rest, and 

 of their having been directed to the Salvation Army shelters, 

 where they have been well fed and cared for. I have been told 

 it as a fact that in one such shelter as many as one thousand five 

 hundred eggs and four thousand cups of tea have been provided 

 in one evening. What an undertaking ! 



Vigorous prayer-meetings are also held in these huts ; their 

 services are very bright and attract crowds of men, their hymns 

 are not gloomy and sad, their choruses have an inspiring lilt. 

 In one place where a service was being held a great number 

 could not get into the building, though it was a very large one, 

 but the men stood outside and joined in the chorus. Speaking 

 of this service one of those who had been inside the building 

 described it to those outside as this : " The Major he let off a 

 slap-up-ding-dong-soul-stirring meeting." 



The ritual of these services is well arranged. They are 

 heralded by a band marching up beating drums and trolling 

 cheery tunes. An interval is allowed of a few minutes and 

 another band comes marching along, perhaps a third on gala- 

 days, and each band collects a following ; some come perhaps 

 out of curiosity and remain for pleasure and spiritual profit. 



No one can have taken part in this war with its unpre- 

 cedented horrors without its having been brought home to 

 them that " in the midst of life we are in death " ; the veriest 

 scoffer before the war now thinks, as regards religion, that there' 

 must be " something in it, after all." 



We have all heard the story of 



When the devil was sick 



'Twas a saint he'd be, 

 But when he was better 



Divil a bit of a saint was he. 



This may apply to some of the new religious enthusiasts, but 

 I doubt if it will to many, for the experiences of to-day can 

 never be forgotten. 



Those who have seen nothing of the horrors of battle cannot 



