Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1861-02-07
From the Monthly Religious Magazine.
HISTORY OF THE OXFORD SINGING
SCHOOL

BY REV. Il. II SEARS.
The singing school | understand to be one of
the essentials of New England ecclesiastical or
ganization, and do not think we can come to
a full understanding of New England life, edu-
cation, character and manners, unless we know
something of this, not the least important of
its institutions. | am graduate of this in
stitution,--not, | am sorry'to say with the first
honors, but as have been through in all its
drill, been initiated into all its mysteries, feel
mysely tolerably competent to write its history.
The history ought to he written by some one.
Our school was marked by curious and inter-
esting incidents, some of them highly illustra-
tves of Yankee tastes and proclvtes. / have
now waited thirty years, az d | am afraid if
wait any longer all the ac ors in the drama
will have passed off the stage, and the history
will never be given to the world. | shall be
obliged, however, to alter few names, and
make some new combinations of incident, so as
not to hurt the feelings of some people who are
yet alive; otherwise the reader may rely upon
my accuracy. | enter upon the subject con
dmore, since it is one with which poetry and
music are blended with such endless shades and
variations.
The village of Oxford is situated on one of
the hills in the interior of Massachusetts. 1t
contains meeting house, a store, a pOst-othcc,
what used to be a tavern, and half dozen
houses in which the first of the village arstoc
racy reside. The village, | am told did not
take its name from the English seat of learn
ing. but rather from its bovine and agricultural
interests. Large herds of cows and oxen Craze
in its pastures and it is delightful, on a sum
| mer's evening, to see the hocks CT the dairy
vending along into the barn yards. and the
milkmaids and wilkwomen hieing thither witt
| their pals for the omen in Oxford have never
been deprived of their right to labor. Grea
che,se-roomS are filled with long rows of chees
es, of most beautiful yellow, all the work of the
women and girls.
Somehow the bushes of the 'evening red
pass into the cheeks of the Oxford maidens
they are pictures of health and womanll
strength, the sunset skies of purple and Grim
son, who's lights play over their features, scar
cey give them deeper tinge than nature hat
done before, and the business Of the dairy i
enlivened with the psalm tunes learned at th
singing school.
must give an account of the state of thing
defore the memorable singing school of lS3'
revolutionized the affairs of the village Of Ok
ford. The meeting house had square pews
both on the floor and in the galleries, and
sounding board over the pulpit, which was al
ways Just going to fall on the preachers head
The minister was a venerable preacher, of tn
old school orthodoxy. He wore a white neck
cloth, without any collars his thin, white hal
always lay sleek on the top of his head. II
always came in at the north door, and, as h
took OIL his hat on entering, he stroked the to-
OF his head three times Il always wondered why
as nothing, was ever out OF place there) an
ascended the pulpit stairs, the very picture
plety and meekress,
Once in two or three years the parish wen
through the process OF seating the meeting
house You must understand that the pew
were not owned individually, but by the parisl
and the parish as yet was the whole town. Cor
sequenty there was a committee appointed
seat tn meeting house 1t was well under
stood that some pews were more arlstocratlc
than others; these were assigned to the dot