The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1892-06-09

! said: mo, and what we want we
can not get" What style of building
do you want?" he asked. And taking
out lead pencil and letter envelope
from my pocket in less than minute,
by few curved lines, indicated in the
rough what we wanted. But" said,
''old architects tell us it can't be done,
i and there is no use in your trying"
He said: Il can do it. How long can 1
have to make out the plans?" 1 said:
This evening at eight o'clock every
thing is to be decided
DR.. Talmage said that the plans of
the young architect were accepted, and
the bids for the erection of the building
let Immediately. On account of it's
shape the tabernacle was referred to as
''Talmage's Hippodrome'' and as ''Tal-
IMAGES Circus" but great work for God
was accomplished there. Said he:
One Sunday morning in December,
1872, the thermometer nearly down to
zero, was on my way to church. There
was an excitement in the street and
much smoke in the air. Fire engines
dashed past. But my mind was on the
sermon l was about to preach, until
someone rushed up and told me that
our church was going up in the same
kind of chariot that Elijah took from
the banks of the Jordan. That Sunday
morning tragedy, with its WI inging of
hands, and frozen tears on the cheeks
of many thousands standing in the
street, and the crash that shook the
earth, is as vivid as though it were yes
terday. But it was not a perfect loss.
All were anxious to do something, and,
as on such occasions sensible people are
apt to do unusual things, one of the
members, at the risk of his life, rushed
in among the fallen walls, mounted the
pulpit and took glass of water from
the table and brought it in safety to
the street. So you see it vas not
total loss. Within an hour from many
churches came kind invitations to
occupy their buildings, and hanging
against a lamp-post, near the destroyed
building, before twelve o'clock that
morning, was board with the inscrip-
ton: The Congregation of Brooklyn
Tabernacle VIII Worship Tonight in
Plymouth Church" DR.. Beecher made
the opening prayer, which was full of
commisseration for me and my home
less flock, and preched that night the
sermon that | intended to preach that
morning in my own church, the text
concerning the precious alabaster box
broken at the feet of Christ, and sure
enough we had one very precious
broken that day. We were as church.
obliterated. But, arise and build"
said many voices Another architect
took the amphitheatrica1 plan of a
church, which, in the first instance,
was necessarily somewhat rude, and de-
veloped it into an elaborate plan that
was Immediately adopted. But how to
raise the money for such an expensive
undertaking was the question-expen-
sive not because of any senselcss adorn-
ment proposed but expensive because
of the immense size of the building
needed to hold our congregation. 1t
was at that time when for years our
entire country was suffering, not from
financial panic, but from that long
continued financial depression which all
business men remember, as the cloud
hung heavy year after year and com
mercial establishments without num-
Der went down.
Through what struggles we passed
the eternal God and some brave souls to-
day remember. Many a time would I
have gladly accepted calls to some 9th
er field, but | could not leave the flock
in the wilderness. At last, after in the
interregum having worshiped in our
beautiful academy of music, on the
morning of February %, 1874, the ami
versary of the Washington who con-
quered impossibilities, and on the Sab
bath that always celebrates the resur-
rection, DIR. Byron Sunderland. chaplain
OF the United States senate, thrilled us
through and through with a dedicatory
sermon from Haggai, IL, 0: ''The glory
OF this house shall be greater than that
of the former, saith the Lord of hosts"
The cornerstone of that building had
been laid by the illustrious and now en-
throned DIR. Ireneus Prime. On the plat
form on Dedication day, among others,
DIR. bowling, of the Baptist church:
DIR. Cook, of the Methodist church: Mr.
Beecher, of the Congregational church,
and DR.. French, of the PRESBYTERIAN
church, Hosannah Another thirty
five thousand dollars was raised on that
day. The following Sunday three hun
dred and twenty-eight souls were re-
celved into our communion mostly on
confession of faith. At two other com
munions over five hundred souls Joined
at each one. At another ingatherinp
six hundred and twenty-eight soule en-
tered this communion, and so many of
those gathered throngs HAYS already
entered Heaven that we expect to feel
at home when we get there. NV! Nv,
Won't we be glad to see them-the men
and women who stood by us in days that
were dark and days that were iubilant.
Hosannah. The work done in that
church on Schermerhorn street can
never be undone. What self-sacrifces
on the part of many, who gave almost
till the blood came! What halleluiahsI
What victories! What wedding marches
played with full organ! What bap-
tisms! What sacramento! What OBJ
sequies! One of them was on a snowy
Sabbath afternoon, when all BROOKLYN
seemed to sympathize, and nv eldest
bearing nv own mama low Al Al