The boldness of what I had done never dawned upon me until I saw
the picture made by the rector of Trinity Church standing before that
large audience under an old umbrella, waiting for the rain to cease so
that he could go on with his address.
It was not very long before the rain ceased and Dr. Donald
finished his sermon; and an excellent sermon it was, too, in spite of
the weather. After he had gone to his room, and had gotten the wet
threads of his clothes dry, Dr. Donald ventured the remark that a
large chapel at Tuskegee would not be out of place. The next day a
letter came from two ladies who were then travelling in Italy, saying
that they had decided to give us the money for such a chapel as we
needed.
A short time ago we received twenty thousand dollars from Mr.
Andrew Carnegie, to be used for the purpose of erecting a new library
building. Our first library and reading-room were in a corner of a
shanty, and the whole thing occupied a space about five by twelve
feet. It required ten years of work before I was able to secure Mr.
Carnegie's interest and help. The first time I saw him, ten years
ago, he seemed to take but little interest in our school, but I was
determined to show him that we were worthy of his help. After ten
years of hard work I wrote him a letter reading as follows:
December 15, 1900.
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