Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1867-02-19
FASHIONABLE CHURCHES.


we enter an edlfice, upon che int.
rior Of which the uphoIsterer and the
cabinet maker have' exhausted the
resources Of their trades. The word
ssubdued" describes the effect at
which those artists have aimed. The
woods employed are costly and rich,
but usually of sombre hue, and
though deliberately carved, are fire.
quently unpublished. The light which
comes through the stained windows,
or through the small diamond panes,
is of that description styled "dim re-
ligious." Every part Of the floor is
carpeted. The pews differ little from
sofas except in being more comforta-
bic, and the cushions for the feet or
the knees are as soft as hair and cloth
scan make chem.
1t is fashion. at present to put
the organ out of sight, and to have a
clock so unobtrusive as not to be OBJ
served. Galleries are now viewed
with an unfriendly eye, by the pros
Jectors OF churches, and they are 60
ing out of use. Everything in the
way of conspicuous lighting apparat-
us, such as the gorgeous and daz-
zling chandeliers Of fifteen years ago,
and the translucent globes of later
date, are discarded, and an attempt
is sometimes made to hide the vulgar
fact that the church is ever open in
the evening. In word, the design
OF the fashionable church builder Of
the present moment is to produce a
richly furnished, quietly adorned,
dinly Illuminated, ecclesiastical par
lor, in which a few hundred ladies
and gentlemen, attired in kindred
taste, may sit perfectly at their ease,
and see no object not in harmony
with the scene around them.
1t is Sunday morning, and the
doors of this beautiful drawing room
are thrown open. Ladies dressed
with subdued magnifcence glide in
along with some who have not been
able to leave at home the Shower ar
ticles Of their wardrobe. Black silks,
black velvet, black lace, relieved by
lntimations Of brighter colors, and by
CLEANS from half hidden jewelry, are
the materials mostly employed
Gentlemen in uniform of black cloth
and white linen announce their COM
ing by the creaking Of their boots,
quenched in the padded carpeting.
The attendance is not generally very
large; but as the audience is evenly
distributed over the whole surface,
it looks larger than it is.
The. congregation is assembled
The low humble o. the organ ceases.
A female voice rises melodiously
above the rustic Of dry goods and
the whisper of those who wear them.
So sweet and powerful is it, that
stranger might almost suppose it bor-
rowed from the choir of heaven; but
the inhabitants of the town recognize
it as one they have often heard at
concerts or at the opera and they
will listen critically as to a profession
al performance, which it is. 1t is
well that highly artificial singing pre-
vents the hearer from catching the
words Of the song for it would have
rather an odd effect to hear rendered
in the modern Italian style such plain
straightforward words as these:
"Can sinners hope for heaven
Who love this world SO well
Or dream of future happiness
While on the road to hell"
The performance, however, is SO
exquisite that we do not think of
these things, but listen in rapture to
the piece alone. When she has'fn>
rished her stanzas, a noble baritone,
also recognized as professional, takes
up the strain, and performs stanza,
solo at the conclusion of which, four
voices, in enchanting accord, breath
out third. 1t is evident that the
first talent that money can com
;mand' has been ssengaged' for the
entertainment Of the congregation !;
and we are not surprised when the
information is proudly communica-
ted that the music costs hundred
and twenty dollars perSunday.
What is very surprising and well
worthy OF consideration is, that this
beautiful music does not draw In
our rowing about among the noted
churches Of New York of the kind
which Ssengage the first talent money
can command"-we could never see
that the audience was much inoreas>
ed by expensive professional music.
On the contrary, we can lay it down
! as general rule, that the costlier
the music, the smaller the average
attendance.
The afternoon service at Trinity
Church for example, is little moro
than delightful gratuitous concert
of boys, men and organ; and the
spectacle Of the altar brilliantly lights
ed by candles il novel and pictu-
rescue. The sermon also is Of fash
ionable length-twenty minutes, and
yet the usual afternoon congregation
is about two hundred persons. Those
celestial strains of music-well they
they enchant the ear, if the ear hap
pens to be within hearing of them ;
but somehow they do not furnish a
continuous attraction.
When this fine prelude is ended,
the minister's part begins; and unless
ne is man Of extraordinary bearing
and talents every one present is con-
scious Of a kind Of lapse in the tone
of the occasion. Genius composed