The Montgomery advertiser., 1906-05-26

hour and the toliinE Of bells gave word
 when the body left the church. A full half hour before 10 o'clock. the friends
 of the dead minister began to flock to the church. and when the funeral par | ty reached the building, every pew in | the large auditorium was filled. There was not sufficient seating room for all who sought admittance. and many stood throughout the services, held by | their love for the departed friend. For to them 1t was no common man | who was being buried. pr. Patterson had fastened upon their hearts in a | way that few men in the city of Mont gomery have done. Hardly a person in | the church but had at one time or another felt his strength and hearty sympathy. To many he had come in | the dark hour when the world seems without reward. and when living was a burden. His Christian life. his breadth | of view, his ardent energy, his kindly in- | terest, and more than all his courtesy | and gentle sympathy with them in | their trials and difficulties. had endear- | ed him to them, in way that Is given to few men to be loved in life. The congregation that attended the | rites of the morning was composed | of persons of all conditions and class es. Fellow pastors and co-workers in | the cause of religion, members of his l church, the practical business man, the lawyer the doctor, all were there. The | leaders in church societies and activi- | ties, the intimate friends, those with whom his acquaintance had been slight,
 but to whom his life had been an in- spiration toward higher order of things, these too joined in the tribute | to the dead.
 Banked high upon the rostrum, al-
 most eoncealing the pulpit. lay the
 evidences of the esteem in which he had | been held. Flowers. tributes to his memory, were everywhere. Tn various designs, and tied loosely. they filled | the space in front of the pews. In
 every window were others of the offer ings.
 1 "Nenrer My God to Thee" | As the choir began to sing, the con- gregation rose to their feet. In plain | tive tones, the strains of that hymn of | hymns. "Nearer My God To Thee" rose,
 filled the church. and lingeringly died l again. There were few dry eyes In the l church when the funeral cortege, led l by ministers from various denomina- | tionaI churches of Montgomery who were to conduct the services. entered | the door.
 | The pastors were Rev. Neal L. Ander-
 son, D. D., of the Central Presbyter-
 ian Church; Rev. A A. Little, D. D.,
 of the First Presbyterian Church of | Selma; Rev. Charles A. Stakely, D. D..
 of the First Baptist Church; Rev. E. E. l Cobbs, rector at St. Johns Episcopal | Church.; Rev J. A. Rice, D. D.. of the
 Court Street Methodist Church and
 Rev. R. c. Gilmore, of the First Pres byterian Church of Bessemer.
 Behind them marched the honorary
 pail bearers: w. D. Brown, J. B. Full Ter, J. T. Cook, Joseph Carthel. J. W. Durr, Sr.. w. H. Hubbard, A. H. McNeel. C. w. Buckley, Donald Mcdonald, E.
 Cowan. J. W. Sparrenberger. W. K.
 Pelzer, T. J. Wood, Victor H. Hanson,
 Moses Stuart. Jr.. and R. E, Steiner.
 The active pafl bearers, who follow
 ed next in the train were: J. W. Durr, Jr., Virgil C. Grimm, F. P. Glass, Edgar Winter, R. M Henderson, J. M. Kenne- dy, W. E. Fleming and Dr. J. L. Cas- ton.
 In the rear of the car bearing the dead, walked the immediate relatives
 of the minister, Mrs G. W. Patterson,
 his wife, Rev. R. F. Patterson, of Baton Roughe La, his father and Miss Mary Patterson, a sister. Rev. Sterling J. Foster, pastor of the Highland Avenue Presbyterian Church of Birmingham, lifelong friend of Dr. Patterson, also formed one of the party.
 The reading service was conducted by Rev. E. F. Cobbs, who had selected a portion of the fifteenth chapter of the First Epistle of Paul to the Corin- thians.
 There are also celestial bodies and
 bodies terrestrial" he quoted. but the glory of the celestial is one, and
 the glory of the terrestrial IS another.
 And again: '"The dead shall be rais- 1 ed incorruptihle, and we shall all be
 changed. For this cofruptible must put
 on interruption, and this mortal must put on immortality
 And again: o death, where is thy
 sting? o grave, where Is thy victo-
 ry?"
 1 An Eloquent Invocation.
 Tn a prayer breathing of tenderness
 and faith, pr. Rice spoke of the occa-
 sion on which the congregation had
 gathered.
 'Oh, Gracious Father" he said. i've | come to Thee lowing our hearts In the
 midst of a great sorrow. Thou mast
 been with us in the past and Thou
 art with us this morning. We come l to Thee, not as though we have no hope but with the spirit of worship | in the thought that there Is no death. We come, our Heavenly Father, con-
 scious that Thou art doing great things | for us. We thank Thee for the re- | incarnation of Thyself, as evidence of
 the second birth of the soul We thank | Thee for such lives as Thou hast given | us in our brother, and we thank Thee | that the memory of such lives live not alone among his relatives, but among his friends as we'll. He has brought us comfort when we were disconsolate.
 He has brought us strength in our weakness. He has brought. us mes saees from the higher life when we were taken up with the things of earth earthly.
 we thank Thee for such lives. Hear our hearts to whom he has administer ed. Hear the children to whom he has brought teaching; the young men and women to whom he has been an inspiration; the old to whom he has been stay and a comfort We pray that the traditions of his life may be handed down to our chil iren, and 10 theie children, as ex- amples of what is good in life"
 Dr. Rice uttered prayer for the wife and family of the stricken minister.
 And Our Father" he said in con elusion, i've bring to Thee cur burden of praise and thanksgiving for the goodness of his life. May we have new spirit of thanks for Thy goodness to us. May we go out from here with hearts stayed by Thee, and may our footsteps be guided by Thy hands. We ask 1t in Jesus name"
 Remarks of Ministers. Four ministers followed Dr. Rice, with testimonials of the worth of Dr. Patterson's life. Speaking of the dead nasfor in his relation to the assembly and the synod. pr. Little of Selma, re- ferred to the honors which had been