Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1840-02-17

All his accounts were looked over, his workmen
paid, all borrowed things returned and lent things
sent AFTER and every tool and article belonging to
the farm was returned to its own proper place at
exactly such an hour every Saturday afternoon,
and an hour before Sunday every item OF prepare
ton, even TO the backing of his Sunday shoes, and
he brushing ofhi Sunday coat, was entirely con-
| cluded; and Mt the going down of the sun the
stiffness cfthe Sabbath seemed 10 settle down over
the whole dwelling.
And now it is Sunday morning and though all
without is fragrance and motion, and beauty, the
dew drops are twiukng, butterflies huuering, and
merry birds carolIing nd racketing as flhey could
never sing loud or fast enough-yet within there
is such stiffness That the tick of the tall mahog-
any clock is audible through the whole and the
buzz of The blue flies as they fzz along up and
down tbs window panes, is a distinct item Of hear.
ing. Look INFO The best front room and you may
see the upright form of my Uncle Phineas in his
immaculate Sunday clothes, with his Bible spread
open on the little stand before him, and even
deeper than usual gravity settling down over his
toll worn features. Along side, in well brushed
sunday clothes with clean faces and smooth hair,
sat the whole of MS younger people, each drawn
up IN n chair, with hat and handkerchief ready
for the first stroke Of the bell, while Aunt KeZzy
all trimmed aud prinined and made ready for
meeting sat reading her psalm book, only looking
up occasionally 10 give an additional jerk to some
shirt collar, or the fifteenth pull to Susans frock,
or to repress any struggling looks that night be
wandering about bcholdng vanity
stranger in glancing to Uncle Phineas rs he
sat intent on his Sunday reading, might have seen
That the Sabbath was IN his heWl-there was no
mistake about it. 1t was plain that he had put by
all worldly thoughts wien he shut up his account
book, and that his mind was us free from every
earthly association as his Sunday coat was from
DUST The slave of worldliness who is driven by
perplexng business adventurous speculation
through the hours off half kept Sabbath to the
iatisues OF another week, might envy the unbro-
Ken quiet the sunny tranquility, which haowed
the weekly rest Of my uncle
! lhe Sabbath of the Puritan Christian was the
golden day, and all its associations, and all its
thoughts, words, and deeds, were so entirely dis
tnct from the ordinary material of life, that it was
to nm sort of weekly translation quitting of
thu world 10 solourn day in better, and wear
after year, each Sabbath set its seal on the com
p'e'ed iabors ola week. the pilgrim felt that one
more stage OF his earthly journey was completed,
ana that lie was one week nearer to his eternal
resf-And as years with their changes came on,
ana The strong nan grew old, and missed one after
another, familiar forms that had risen around his
earlier years. the face of the Sabbath became like
that ofan old and tried friend, carrying him back
10 the scenes OF his YOUTH and connecting him
WIN scenes lone gone by, restoring to him the dew
and freshness ofbrighter and more buoyant days.
viewed simply as an institution for Christian
ana mature nlnd nothing could be more perfect
was IN the want of adaptation to children, and to
those not interested in its peculiar duties. If you
mad been IN the dwelling of my uncle of Sab
bath morning, you must have found the unbroken
stiffness delightful the calm and quiet mu st have
soohed and disposed you for contem plaiion, and
the evident appearance Of single-hearted devotion
to the duties of the day. in the elder part of the
family, must have been a striking addition to the
picture. But then il your eye had watched nten
lively the motions of us Juveniles you ~ ave
seen that what was so very invigorniu: lie
disciplined Christian, was IL WEAKNESS to Dung
flesh and bones. Then there was not, as now, the
intellectual relaxation afforded by the Sunday
school, with its various forms Of religious exercise,
ITS thousand modes of interesting and useful in
formation. Our whole stock in this line was the
Bible and primer and these were our main de-
Ipendence for Willing away The tedious hours he
tween our early breakfast and the signal for
meeting. How often wRs our invention stretched
to find wherewithal to keep up our stock OF excite
ment III n line with the duties of the day. For
The FIRST halt hour, perhaps, Il story IN the Bible
answered our purpose very well, but having des-
patched the history Of Joseph, or the story of the
len plaques, we then took to The primer; and then
there was first the looking over the system of the
illogical and ethical truth commencing, In Adj
ans fall, we snncd ALL, and extending through
three or four pages OF pictorial and poetic embel-
lishment. Next was the death Of John Rogers
who was burnt AT Smithfeld and for while we
could entertain ourselves in counting all his nine
children and one ut the breast, as in the picture
they stand in regular row like pair Of stairs.
These being done, came miscellaneous exercises
of our own invention, such counting all the
psalm book backwards and forwards, TO and from
The Doxology, or numbering the books in the BIZ
be, or some other such device we deemed with.
in the pale of religious employments. When all
these failed, aud it still wanted an hour of meet
ing time, we looked up at the ceiling and down at
the floor. aud all around into every corner, 10
what we could do next and happy was he who
could spy pin cleaning IN some distant crack,
and forthwith muster an occasion for getting down
to pick il up. Then thore was the nfaliblc re-
collection that we wanted drink of water, rs an
excuse TO get out 10 the well, or else we heard
some strange noise among the chickens and in
sisted that II was essential that we should see what
was The matter; or else pussy would jump to
the table, when all of lis would spring 10 drive her
down: while there was a most assiduous watch
ing OF the clock 30 see when the first hell would
ring. Happy was it for us in the interim if we
} did not begin 10 look At each other and make up
faces, or slyly slip of and on our Shoes or some
other lncipIent attempts ut roguery which would
gradually so undermine gravity that There
would be some sudden explosion of mcrriment
whereat Uncle Phineas would look up aud say
tut tut and Aunt KeZZy would make speech
about wicked children breaking the Sabbath day
! remember once how my cousin Bill got into
deep disgrace one Sunday, by n roguish trick
He was Just about to close his Bible with all So
briefly, when snap came grasshopper through an
/, open window, md alighted in the middle of the
page Bill instantly kidnapped the intruder; for
so important an auxiliary in the way of employ
ment was not TO be despsed Presently we chill
T dren looked towards Bill aud there he set, very
demure!y reading his Bible, with the grasshopper
\ hanging by one leg from the corner of his mouth,
kicking and SPRAYING without in the least dstur-
0 bling Muster Williams gravity. We all burst into
| 4 can, la hon
serious oair for Bill, MS his good father was in
e the practice of enforcing truth and duty by certain
g modes of moral suasion much recommended by
Solomon though fnllen into disrennte al the nres.