e preparations to start
on May 14, and the dates set for this jubilee were arranged on the eve
of my farewell. I was about to make a complete circuit of the globe, and
whatever my friends expected me to do otherwise I approached this
occasion with a very definite conclusion that it would be my farewell to
Brooklyn.

I recall this event in my life with keen contrasts of feeling, for it is
mingled in my heart with swift impressions of extraordinary joy and
tragic import. All of it was God's will--the blessing and the
chastening.

The church had been decorated with the stars and stripes, with gold and
purple. In front of the great organ, under a huge picture of the pastor,
was the motto that briefly described my evangelical career:--

"Tabernacle his pulpit; the world his audience."

The reception began at eight o'clock in the evening with a selection on
the great organ, by Henry Eyre Brown, our organist, of an original
composition written by him and called, in compliment to the occasion,
"The Talmage Silver Anniversary March." On the speaker's platform with
me were Mayor Schieren, of Brooklyn, Mr. Barnard Peters, Rev. Father
Sylvester Malone, Rev. Dr. John F. Carson, ex-Mayor David A. Boody, Rev.
Dr. Gregg, Rabbi F. De Sol Mendes, Rev. Dr. Louis Albert Banks, Hon.
John Winslow, Rev. Spencer F. Roche, and Rev. A.C. Dixon--an
undenominational gathering of good men. There is, perhaps, no better way
to record my own impressions of this event than to quote the words with
which I replied to the complimentary speeches of this oration. They
recall, more closely and positively, the sensibilities, the emotions,
and the inspiration of that hour:

"Dear Mr. Mayor, and friends before me, and friends behind me, and
friends all around me, and friends hovering over me, and friends in
this room, and the adjoining rooms, and friends indoors and
outdoors--forever photographed upon my mind and heart is this scene
of May 10, 1894. The lights, the flags, the decorations, the
flowers, the music, the illumined faces will remain with me while
earthly life lasts, and be a cause of thanksgiving after I have
passed into the Great Beyond. Two feelings dominate me
to-night--gratitude and unworthiness; gratitude first to God, and
next, to all who have complimented me.

"My twenty-five years in Brooklyn have been happy years--hard work,
of course. This is the fourth church in which I have preached s