Norwich bulletin., 1919-12-10

SeAAAAN " g hOll0Cl L0A iSAi4A46lA ! ANSN-S i night in meeting led by Gypsy l smith, ST.. the father of the evangel- ist, who came here for the day.
 The church. was filled with what was plainly the largest congregation ever seen in the church. probably 1000 peo- pie. generally conceded to be the greatest gathering at religious meet ing ever known in this city. Every place in the church within seeing or hearing distance of the speaker was occupied and many stood throughout the meeting of two hours.
 When at the close Of an appealing recital of his experiences for three years with the British soldiers in the trenches, Gypsy Smith gave the invi-' ta ton for those to come forward who wanted to live the Christian life. thes aisles were crowded with men and women. pressing forward to the front seats. 'As.the chorus sang verse after verse Of Just As l Am, others kept responding to the invitation of the evangelist, while. the people in the front seats kept vacating them and moving into the rear of the church to
 make way for those coming forward. By the time this part of the meeting had come to close with the prayer by& Gypsy Smith and the Doxology sung by the congregation fully 200 had indicated their decision for a C(Tistian life.
 M'rom the time that Gypsy Smith began his recital of his experiences he l held his, audience with eonsumate power, stirring them to laughter and applause with some witty phrase or moving them to tears at some tender recital of thea battlefield or camp.
 Taking up first the condition in Eng land at the time Of the opening of hos I tilifidG ct @,pt manufacturing tons of T N T and sending to Germany right up to the beginning of the war. After the war started they kept on sending it-in an- other way. But the British navy was ready. thank God for that, he declared, l and in a few months we had a- volun- teer army of five million men. the cream of the British empire That was the place for me with the cream, but
 they wouldn't take me in the army. l was suffering from an incurable com
 plaint, and have 1t yet. I was born
 too long ago
 would gladly put my clock hack g years to serve God for Jesus adds to life the beautiful. the pure, the noble, the brave things that outlive the
 stars. I'm not an ordained minister
 thank God, but just 1qvman Too
 many of us when God calls for some
 thinsEto be done say that is the min
 ister's job. but one live iavn1an filled with the snirit of Jesus Christ can ac-
 complish things no minister can ever
 do. Out there no boy asked me what
 church belonged to. Why. snoke at
 one service which was opened by, a
 Roman Catholic priest and Jewish
 rabbi pronounced the hensdiction. Why
 not? When we get to heaven we've
 got to live together. Why not start
 practicing now?
 | We hear people saving my church is
 the church with the accent on the "the' and the my" Fill up youn little
 bathtub and call it the ocean. But my
 church wouldn't send me. hut the '
 M. C. A. knew a good thing when they
 saw 1t. and I went as worker for the
 British Y. M. C. 4. Let mo say that
 the British T. M. C. A. did, such 2
 wonderful work for the soldiers that all the allies asked for 1t to do the same work for their troops. Then came the three hapniest years
 Of my life, from base to front line trenches and even up into Cologne T where I had the pleasure of waving
 the allied flag. And I'll tell you
 dont trust the Germans now. Wher
 go to the funeral of q mule I'm goinf
 to stand at his head
 |. The Germans haven't, repented ye ana I'm for making them repent. CAD
 niause.l I'm willing to forgive then ;, Tn the Bible way but the Bible way i
 when the prodigai comes home. Don , kill your fatted calf before the. prod ligal comes home. The Germans ar r still liars to the core. You say that
 strong? You don't know, you can F conceive what 1 have seen of thei ,, work. They've outraged tf>e -conscienc : of the world. Little children and wo
 men had no place with them. all sac
 rificed to the god of war. and upti they repent I say they have no righ to sit in the council Of the nations 1ehave a right to speak for I hay = suffered. I was never so cold. so we $ so hungry as at times in those thre e years. I've gone through four gas at y tacks. I've lain in the trenches with q in 700 yards of the German lines an 't crept within 40 yards of the Germa e trenches.
 $ I was with your boys too. for befor s ever you formally got into the va
 S0,0o0 of them had crossed into Car 10 ada and were serving in the Canadia 50 forces. (Applause). Those wonderf 15 boyS--I would have kissed their boo IS and felt unworthy. You don't 1no S5 what you owe to those boys. Thos - boys went over the top with prayer s6 on their lips-and they were payer 20 and then they come home and hes = what you call prayers. but the Bib IS calls much speaking.
 Looking around the audience Gyp! asked any men who had served in Il c army to rise. A number came their feet and the evangelist called f ut cheers for them which were given as a hearty burst Of applause.
 v Gypsy had his audience in roars ,1, ,S laughter as he told of purchasing ~ birthday present for a soldiers swee oi o heart and then. being obliged to res a- the letter that came back with , ,' whole row of crisscrosSeS at the bo tom, which the soldier blushingly r . ferred to as wire entanglements" ,s It was a blessed privilege. the eva, t gelit continued. to be a link betwe' '. these boys and. their homes and mot
 CTS. They wanted straight - ta'
 That's the stufr," they said, Give
 some more"
 ,n Gypsy gave a vivid description he canteen meetings, the singing. t Of pianos with every chord a lost chor he and showed his tact in reaching ut soldier audiences. It wasn't far fro in ragtime to the Cross. he declare l Ragtir1e was the outlet for horlesic be ness, but when Gypsy asked them : he choose song before he was to spe; ne to them they would say. Give us Wh at I Survey the Wondrous Cross. m The evangelist had his audience
 tears as he closed his powerful a
 dress with san appealing recital of , soldiers death. This boy was read
 he said, and kissed him for his m Is ther as closed his eyes. Are y,
 ready? There is only one way ss make Jesus your Saviour and Lord n. A. the cfose or the Hleeelns " os afternoon at S3o he would hold a SD