The Tiffin tribune. (Tiffin, Ohio) 1868-1887, 1872-08-08
laughing ilI Meetin'.

We were in disgrace, we boys, and the
reason of it was this we had laughed
out in meeting time To be sure the
occasion was a trying one, even to
more disciplined nerves. Parson
LothrOp had exchanged pulpits with
ParsOn Summeral, of North Wearem.
! Now, ParsOn Summeral was q man
in the very outset likely to provoke
| the risibles of unspiritualized juVen-
lies. He was thin, wiry, friskY lit
tie man, in a powdered white wig,
black tights, and silk stockings, and
bright buckles, and shoe-buekles,
with round, dark, swapping eyes, and
curious, high, cracked, squeaking
voice, the very first tones of which
made oil the children stare and gig
gle. The news that ParsOn Summer
al was going TO preach in our village
spread abroad among US as prelude
to something funny. 1t had a flavor
like the charm of circus acting and
on the Sunday morning of our story
We went to the house of God in a
very hilarious state, all ready to set
off in laugh on the slightest prOvoca-
ton.
The occasion was not long wanting.
ParsOn LOthrOp had a faVOrite dog
yclept Trip, whose behavior in meet
ing was nOtOriously far from that
edifying pattern which BELTS a minis
ter's dog on Sundays. Trip was a
nervous dog, and a dog that never
could be taught to conceal his emo
tiOps or to respect cOnVentionaIites.
If anything about the performance in
the singers seat did not please him,
he was apt to express himself in a
lugubriOus howl. If the sermon was
longer than suited him, he would
cape with such q loud creak of his
jaws as would arouse eYerybOdy's
attention. If the flies disturbed his
afternoons nap he would give sudden
snarls or snaps or, if anything troub-
led his dreams he would bark out in
his sleep in a manner not only to |
dispel his slumbers, but those of GER
tain worthy deacons and old ladies, |
whose sanctuary repOse was thereby |
sOrely broken and troubled. For all |
these reasons, Madam LothrOp had |
been forced, as a general thing, to |
deny Trip the usual sanctuary privi- |
leges of family dogs in that age, and |
shut him up on Sundays to private |
meditation. Trip, of course, was |
only the more set on attendance, and |
would hide behind doors, jump out of |
windows, sneak through byways and |
alleys, and lie hid till the second bell |
had done tOlling, when suddenly he |
would appear in the broad aisle, inno-
cent and happy, and take his seat as
cOmpOsedly as a member of the con- /
gregation.
Imagine us youngsters on the qli /
UiUe with excitement at seeing ParsOn |
Summeral frisk up into the pulpit |
with all the vivacity of black grass
hopper. We looked at each other |
and giggled very cautiously, with due
respect to Aunt Lois sharp Observa-
tiOn.
At first there was only a mild, quiet |
simmering of a giggle, compressed |
decOrously within the bounds of pro-
priety, and we pursed our muscles up |
with stringent resolution whenever |
we caught the apprehensive eye of our
elders.
But when, directly after the closing
notes of the tOlling second bell, Mas |
ter Trip walk gravely up to the front !
aisle, and seated himself squarely in |
front of the pulpit, raised his nose
with critical air toward the scene of |
the forthcoming performance, it was
too much for us-the repression was |
almost cOnvulsiYe. Trip wore an |
alert, attentive air, befitting sound,
orthodox dog, who smells a possible |
heresy, and deems it his duty to |
watch the performances Narrowly.
Evidently he felt called upon to see
who and what were to occupy that |
pulpit in his masters absence.
Up rose ParsOn Summeral, and up
went Trips nose, vibrating with in
tense attention.
The parsOn began in his high, |
cracked voice to intone the hymn:
"Slng TO the Lord aloud"
when Trip broke into dismal howl. |
The parson went on to give direc-
tiOns to the deacon, in the same voice |
in which he had been reading, so that
the whole effect of the performance
was somewhat as follows
'.'Slug to the Lord aloud"
"(Please to turn out that dOg)-
land make joyful noise."'
The dog was turned out, and the
choir did their best to make a joyful
noise, but We boys were upset for the
day, delivered over to the tempta-
tions of Satan, and plunged in waves
and pillows of hysterical giggle, from
which neither winks nor frowns from
Aunt Lois could silence us.
Everything in the subsequent eXer-
cises took q funny turn, and in the
long prayer, when everybody else was
still and decOrOus, the whole scene
came over me with such OverpOwer-
ing force that I exploded with laugh
Ter and had to be taken out OF meet
ing and marched home by Aunt Lois
as a convicted criminal. What es-
pecially moved her Indignation was,
the more she rebuked and uphraided,
the more I laughed, till the tears roll
ed down my cheeks, which Aunt
Lois construed into willfnl disrespect
to her authority, and resented accord
| ingly.
BY Sunday evening, as we gather
ed around the fire, the reaction from
undue gayetY to sobriety had taken
place, and we were in q pensive and
penirent state. Grandmother was
gracious and foTgiving, but Aunt Lois
still preserved that frosty air of repro
/ baton which she held to be asalutary
means of quickening our cOnscienees
for the future. 1t was, therefore, with
unusual delight that we saw our
friend Sam come in and sit himself
quietly down on the block in the
chimney corner. With Sam we felt
assured of indulgence and patronage,
+! for though always rigidly moral and
/ instructive in his turn of mind, he
had that fellow-feeling for transgres-
sOrs which is characteristic of the
lOOse-jointsd, easy-going style Of his
individuality.
"Lordy massy, bOys-yis," said
Sam, virtuonsly, in view of some of
Aunt Lois thrusJs, Eye ought never to
laugh nor cut up iu meetiR', that ares
so, bHt then there is times when the
best on us gets took down. We get,
tnnk mnaMares. We sea-eYan ministers