The Londonderry sifter. (South Londonderry, Vt.) 1883-19??, 1892-04-08

have its imitation in all the large cities
of America and to completely reyolu-
tionize church architecture. People
saw that 1t was the common sense way
of seating an audience.
Instead of putting them in an angular
church, where each one chiefly saw the
back part of somebody else's head, the
audience were arranged in semicircle,
so that they could see one another's faces,
and the auditorium was a great family
circle seated around a fireplace, which
was the pulpit, 1t was an iron struc-
ture, and we supposed fireproof, but the
insurance companies looked at it, and
after we had gone too far TO stop in its
construction, they declined to insure it,
except for mere nothing, declaring
that, being Of iron, if the infiammable
material between the sheets of iron took
fire no engine hose could play upon it.
And they We're right. During those
days we educated and sent out from
lay college under our charge some
twelve hundred young men and women,
many Of them becoming evangelists and
many of them becoming regularly or
dained preachers, and | meet them in
all parts of the land toiling nightly for
God.
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 was about to preach, until
some one 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
wringing of hands and frozen tears on
the cheek of many thousands standing
in the street. and the crash that shook
the earth, is as vivid as though it were
yesterday. But it was not 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 a glass of water from
the table and brought it in safety to the
street. So you see it was net total
loss. Within an hour from many
churches came kind invitations to oc-
cupy their buildings, and hanging against
a lamppost, near the destroyed building,
before ,l2 o'clock that morning, was
board with the inscription, 1.-THE con-
gregation of Brooklyn Tabernacle will
worship tonight in Plymouth church"
Mr.. Beecher made the opening prayer,
which was full of commiseration for me
and my homeless flock, and | preached
that night the sermon that intended to
preach that morning in my own church,
the text concerning the precious ala
baster box broken at the feet of Christ,
and sure enough we had one very pre-
cious broken that day. We were, as
church, obliterated. "But arise and
build" said many voices. Another
architect took the amphitheatrical plan
Of 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-expensive
not because of any senseless adornment
proposed, but expensive because of the
immense size of the building needed to
hold our congregation.
twas at that time when for years our
entire country was suffering, not from
financial panic, but from that long con-
tinued financial depression which all
business men remember, as the 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 today remember. Many a
time would | have gladly accepted calls
to some other field, but could not
leave the flock in the wilderness. At
last, after in the interregnum having
worshiped in our beautiful Academy Of
Music, on the morning of Feb. %, 1874,
the anniversary of the Washington who
conquered impossibilities and on the
Sabbath that always celebrates the res
direction, DR.. Byron Sunderland, chap
lain of the United States senate, thrilled
us through and through with a dedica-
tory sermon from Haggai ii, 8, 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 illustrious and now en-
throned DR.. Irenaus Prime. On the
platform on dedication day sat, among
others, DR.. Dowling of the Baptist
church; DR.. Crook, of the Methodist
church; Mr.. Beecher, of the Congrega-
tional church, and DR.. French, of the
Presbyterian church. Hosannah! An
other $35, 900 was raised on that day.
The following Sunday 1923 souls We're
received into our communion, mostly on
confession of faith At two other COM
munions over 500 souls joined at each
one. At another ingathering 62S souls
entered this communion, and SO many of
those gathered throngs have already en-
tered heaven that we expect to feel at
home when we get there. My! my!
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 jubi-
liant! Hosannah!
The work done in that church on
Schermerhorn street can never be un-
done. What sacrifices on the part of
many, who gave almost till the blood
came! What hallelujahs! What victo-
ries! What wedding marches played
with full organ! What baptisms! What
sacraments! What obsequies! One of
them on snowy Sabbath afternoon,
when all Brooklyn seemed to sympa-
thize, and my eldest son, bearing my
own name, lay beneath the pulpit in the
last sleep, and Florence Rice Knox sang,
and score of ministers on and around
the platform tried to interpret how it
was best that one who had just come to
manhood, and with brightest worldly
prospects, should be taken, and we left
with heart that will not cease to ache
until we meet where tears never fall.
That second Tabernacle! What astu-
pendous "reminiscences! But if the Peter
of my text had known what an under
taking it is to build two tabernacles, he