The Penn's Grove record., 1892-04-08

part of somebody else's head, the audience
were arranged in semicircle, 50 that tney
could see one another's faces, and the audi,
torium was a great family circle seatea
around a fireplace, which was the pulpit; ~
was an iron structure, and we supposed nre.
proof, but the Insurance companies looked
At 1t, and after we a gone too FAR 70 stop
In its construction they declined to insure u
except for a mere nothing, declaring tnap,
being OF iron, If the infiammable materlai
between the sheets of iron took fire no engine
hose could play upon it. And they were
right. During those days we educated anu
sent out from a lay college under our charge
'ome twelve hundred young men and
women, many OF them becoming e~vangeiists
and many of them becoming regularly or,
iained preachers, and 1 meet them IN al
parts OF the lani toiliug nightly ior 1on'
One Sunday morning in December, lefa.
the thermometer nearly down to zero, 1 was
On my way to church. There was an excite
neut in the street and much smoke In the
air. Fire engines dashed past. But my
min was on the sermon l wa o 70
preach, until some one rushed up ana ooid
me that our church was going up in tine same
kind of a chariot that Elijah took from the
banks of the Jordan. That Sunday morn.
ing tragedy, with its wringing OF n AND
frozen tears on the cheeks OF many tnou-
sands standing i'll the street, and the CRASH
hat shook the earth, is as vivid as though
1t were yesterday. Bat it was not a perfecs
'oss.
All are anxious to do something, and as
on such occasions sensible people are apt TO
do unusual things, one of the mpe AZ
the risk OF his life, rushed in among zoe
fallen walls, mounted the pulpit and TOOK .
glass of water from the table and brought IL
In safety to the street. So you see IL wal
not a total loss. Within al hour from
many churches came kind invitations TO oc-
cupy their buildings, and hanging against .
lamppost near the destroyed building, pc,
fore IL o'clock that morning, was q board
with the inscription, 1.-THE congregation OF
Brooklyn Tabernacle will worship tonight
In Plymouth Church."
Mr.. Beecher made the opening prayer,
which was full Of ommiseration for me and
my homeless flock, and Ipreached hat night
the sermon that | intended to preach that
morning in my own church, the text con-
corning the precious alabaster box broken
at the feet OF Christ, n sure enough we
had one vary precious broken that day. we
were, as a church, obliterated. but arise
and build" said many voices. Another
architect took the amphitheatrical plan Of q
church, which in the first instance was nee.
essarily somewhat rude, and developed II
into an elaborate plan that was Immediately
adopted.
But how to raise the money for such an
expensive undertaking was the question
expensive not because Of any senseless
adornment 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 a financial panic, but
from that long-continued financial depression
which all business men remember, as TIT
cloud hung heavy year after year and com
mercial establishments without number went
down. Through what struggles we passed
the eternal God and some brave souls to-day
remember. Many a time would l have glad
ly accepted calls to some other field,
but l could not leave the flock in the wilder
ness.
At last, after, in the interregnum, having
worshiped in our beautiful Academy OF
Music, on the morning Of February %, 1874,
uuered impossibilities and on the Sabbath
that always celebrates the resurrection, DR..
Byron Sunderland, Chaplain Of the United
States Senate, thrilled US through and
through with a dedicatory sermon from
Haggai H., 9. The glory Of this house
shall be greater than that OF the former,
saith the Lord of Hosts" The corner stone
Of that building had been laid by the illus.
trious and now enthronei DR.. Irenaeus
1TlHlH. cu ltlG Dltutbl III I'll ucuiChblDu ud "
sat, among Others, DR.. Downing, of the Bap-
list Church, DR.. Crook, Of the Methodist
Church, Mr.. Beecher, Of the Congregational
Church, and DR.. French, Of the Presbyterian
Church. .Hosannlhl Another $35, 900 was
raised on that day.
The following sunday 1923 souls were re
ceived into our communion, mostly on
confession of faith. At two other commu-
aions over 800 souls Joined at each one. At
another ingathering 628 souls entered this
communion. and so many of those gathered
.hrongs have already entered heaven that
we expect to feel at honey when we get there.
Mvl mvl Won't we be glad to see them
The men and women who stood by us in days
that were dark aud days that were jubilant
Hosannahl The work done in that church
On Schermerhorn street can never be
undone.
What self sacrifices on the part Of many,
who gave almost till the blood came! What
halleiuiahsl What victoriesi What we'd
linz marches played with full organi What
baptismsi WHAT sacramento What obse-
1uiesl One of them on a snowy Sabbath
afternoon. when all Brooklyn seensd to
,ympathize, and my eldest son, bearing nv
own name, lay beneath the pulpit in the last
;leep. and Florence Rice Knox sang, and a
score of ministers oil and around the plat
form tried to interpret how it was best that
,ne who hal just come to manhood, and
with brightest worldly prospects, should be
,ease to ache until we meet where tear,
never fall.
That second Tabernaclel What q stupe :
ious reminiscencel But il the Peter of nv
text had known what an undertaking it is to
Luili two tabernacles he would not have
proposed two, TO say nothing of three. As
an anniversary sermon must needs be some
what photographed. let me say I have
not been idle. During the standing of those
two Tabernacles ffty-two books, under a.
many titles, made up from my writings,
were published. During that time also I was
permitted to discuss all the great questions Of
the day in all the great cities of this CONT.
nent, and in many of them many times, be-
sides preaching and featuring ninety-six
times in England, Scotland and Ireland in
ninety-four days,
During all that time, as well as since.
was engaged in editing a religious news
paper, believing that such a periodical was
rapable of great usefulness and l have been
a constant contributor to newspapers and
periodicals.. Meanwhile all things had be.
come easy in the Brooklyn Tabernacle. Or
a sabbath in October, 1889, | announced tn
nv congregation that l would in a few
weeks visit the Holy Land, and that the off
GERS of the church bad consented to nv 90.
inc. and the WISH OF u Ire 10 me was about
10 be fulfilled. The Q Sabbath morning,
about 2 O'Clock, or just after midnight q
member of my household awakened me by
saving that there was a strange light in the
sky A thunderstorm had left the air fuIl
Of electricity, and from horizon to horizon
everything seemed to blaze. But that die
not disturb me, until an observation taken
from the cupola OF my house declared thai
the second tabernacle was putting on red
wings.
Iscouted the idea and turned over on til,
inflow for another sleep, but a number OF
excited voices called nle TO the roof, and
went up and saw clearly defined in the nigh,
the fiery eatafalque OF our second Tabsr
nacle. When ! saw that | said to NV family
II think that ends my work in Brooklyn
Surely the Lord will not call a minister e
build three churches in one city. The build
iur of one church generally ends the useful.
ness Of a pastor. How can any one preside
at the building Of three churcbesr' But
before twentv-four hours had passed W,
were compelled to cry out, with Peter Of
INV text, ''Let us build three t~abernacles. y
We must have a home somewhere. The old
site had ceased 10 be the center of our CON
r~reeation, and the center of the conerega.
ton, as near as we could find it, is where W.
now stand
u.r;n1 celacted the snot shouId VIA bn;Ij