Orleans independent standard. [volume] (Irasburgh, Vt.) 1856-1871, 1870-04-26
Peggoty Plimpton's Choir.
A BEAUTIFUL NEW ENGLAND STORY


to the realms of romance than reality.
Those velvet-turfed and shadow-dim-
pied spots of beauty, those ivy-man-
tied and moss-grown towers the poet
story-tellers sing of, are few and far
between, Judging from my experience
in the parts of New-England | have
visited Old England has them every
where on her broad face, as Irving
beautifully describes them, and per-
haps in some few wales of Massachu-
setts there may be some such seques-
tered spots, but they are not numer-
Gus.
The village church that | now wish
to tell you of (the village church Of
@ was built years ago, and its
founders and trainers seem to have
selected for it sort of citadel site,
where it could look out on the country
far and wide, alternately to dry up
and crack in the broiling summer sun,
and shiver and shake in the bleak
winter winds. Hardly a live thing
save a few low lichens would grow
on the hilly mound where it was
placed, though the cburchyard, pro
tected a little from the wind by the
church (for the rail fence around it
gave but little protection, sported
most superb display of briers and this
ties.
The church itself seemed to have
been modelled from Squire Fosters
barn, and its steeple always, from a
boy, made me laugh when l looked at
it. 1t was a most unreasonable shap-
ed stGeple. Fat and squat and dunn
py, with an immense brass dragon on
top, to show the farmers the drift of
the wind. 1t was as though it had
been built up straight and comely
and towering, and then some tremen-
dous hand had come fat upon it,
knocking timbers together against
the solid foundation. leaving it half its
height with all its rotundity. The
windows were large, with hanging,
rafting blinds inside, and a steep
fight Of steps led up to the hungry
looking doorway. That the church
had once been painted there can be
not ghost OF doubt, as Dame Heath,
who, though old. is considered, as
Goody Collins calls her, "a perfect
parody of truth" remembers seeing
the painters at work and in fact if
you will but examine the woodwork
carefully, you can yourself still see
traces.
Inside, one can easily understand
with what fervor the congregation
must have always sung 80 give US,
Father, warmth within" Perfectly
plain, wooden, stif-backed pews, with
no cushions save in favored few; a
gallery running across one end Of
the church and facing the low white
pulpit desk, which was adorned with
a red velvet top, bordered with blue
fringe, and sporting two melancholy
looking tassels. A black haig.cloth
sofa and two chairs, with a little stand
for pitcher and tumbler. made up
the furniture of the pulpit. A large
iron stove ianked either side, and by
wires from the ceiling the black stove
pipes ran the whole length Of the
church, and disappeared in the wall
above the gallery.
| have been thus precise about this
remarkable edifce, as it is herein the
scene of our story lies. Years on
years within this plain old place of
worship had the worthy people of
/ @, old and young, farmers with
their good wives, young men, young
women, and children, met from Sab
bath to Sabbath and worsbipped the
Father of all, who sent them the show
ers and sunlight. Here had they
heard the Scriptures preached, and
here made the crazy, creaking win
dows rattle and ring again as they
sung together their grand old Congre-
gational hymns. Plain and forbidding
as was the place, like all such places
on earth (thank Heaven , it had its
pleasant associations, and | doubt
not that on many Sabbath morn
more true worship had gone up and
shaken the clear air on that bleak
hilltop than had risen through the
lofty arches of much more pretentious
places.
But new feature had just now set
all O. by the ears. Peggoty
: Plimpton had started the project of a
i church choir, and in fact the congrega.
tion had now for some five Sabbaths
/ listened in wondering amazement tC
, the singing of the hymns from the
r throats of some dozen or more sta
r toned in the gallery. How Peggoty
+ Plimpton ever got the head men tc
: say she might try such an unheard o
thing, | to this day have never beer
able TO clearly comprehend; but i
seems she did, and the various com
ments and opinions that the new mu
d sic called forth were diverse in tht
: extreme. For many readers mus
= know that village like @ hat
!, ! exactly as many opinions about sucl
mementous matters as there are inhab
itants, men, women, and children; anC
: were they to choose of three thing
d. given-say an earthquake, a plague
g or an inaOuation-it is, to say tht
least, quite doubtful which of tn,
three they would agree to take the re
sponsibility of trying.
l., Squire Foster thought "no harm
Il could come out of trying it." and hi
opinion went a great way; but AM
Head said "that was all very well Z; n,
harm might come out of trying of it
but didn't all know Squire Foster
hired man sang chief bass ?" Good
: Collins said "'twas a sin and a sham
to see the airs that Thompson gal pu
n on when she came to the Hallelujah !;
II and Dame Heath thought sit was pea
g cocks"
Truly genuine Yankee village
a village miles away from any rail
t. road, and approached only by te
7. dious stage-eoach-has some rathe
' peculiar features about it. Each pei
q d son knows everybody else, and al
j about them. In the society ofQ-
y were three distinct grades, plainl
d marked and plainly led. There wa: