The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1874-01-03
ro' tho Pacific Commercial Aavrni.srI
A Child at Church.

Nshhy courts OF the hrcAt jehovah. The noisclces
river Of life has been flowing unin,erruptoily onward.
and has borne on It's broad bosom many days and
months AMI years into the shadowy ocean Of the
pass, since last l accepted the waving welcome Of
that blue banner. and worshippei beneath its sancti-
flying shade.
~ my eyes rcst once more upon the old familiar
objects a crowd Of ehildhood's memories come aoat-
ing back upon me Incidents and faces Of the long
forgotten past are brought to view by the magic
powers Of association, as the negative 10 developed
upon the seemingly blank tablet by the potency Of
the chemical bath.
The frs, picture we ste Is dim and d~roamlike. the
dus, and oobwebs Of time enshroud il. This identical
sanctuary is the subject. presenting nearly the same
esteemed appearance as at the present day, but in-
ternally il is divided into an upper and lower room
the former being used for the Sabbath service, while
the latter is apparently devoted 20 lecture and read
ing-rcom purposes. Its walls are hung well re-
member my infAntile ~loathing as | gaEcd upon them.-
with wildly eolored autographs, representing upona
scale several times as large as life. and we dare say
quite as natural. the lamentAble effects produced by
alchoholic drinks upon the human stomach. whether
the sailors who frequented the place took warning
from these pictorial sermons, and by walking in the
path Of sobriety theneeforward procured for thom-
selves immunity from abdominal inaamations | can
not say. We will hope however that such may have
been the case.
Again clouds Of oblivion rise for a moment and we
discover the old building remodeled. roftted very
much after the present style 4 low browed man
clad in a suit Of dingy black. stands in the porch,
tolling the bell. lie occupies the responsible position
Of sexton. His picture is obscure and blurred. Very
little is plainly discernible, except the low forehead.
and thread-bare coat already referred to; and a pair
of very long, ape-like arms, which Nature evidently
designed with a special reference TO bell-ringing.
There is a little tradition in regard to this man which
l viii here relate, although il appertaineth TO n
period beyond the most distant point attainable by
my memory. Once upon a time the good pastor was
prevented, for some reason, from holding divine SER
vice on the Sabbath, and the sexton, iunocently sup
posing that be was ~er-otfeio the deputy pastor, set TO
work and with infinite toll framed "A sermon which
he proudly thought would do honor TO the pastor
himself But when the congregation heard Of the
sections plan they decided that, however, such a per-
Torrance might answer as n farce, the demands Of
decorum could not permit it within the walls of u
church. SO in the emergency, Commissioners b,
said he would read a sermon If somebody else would
do the praying. No one volunteering. that duty de-
volved upon the sexton, and it is related that he did
it with so much eciat that after the service was over
Commissioner b., remarked that " If he had known
how well that fellow could pray, he would not have
said anything about reading the sermon" But this
is a depression from the description of the scene
opened up to the eye Of memory a minute ago. Pass
ing in with the tide of worshipers our personal rep
resentative finds a seat beneath the paternal wing in
the fourth pew from the front, left hand side, the top
of his head coming nearly as high as the back Of the
seat, while his juvenile feet dangle in mid-air. With
commingled admiration and reverence, he watches
the form of the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Of
War as he passes with dignity up the broad aisle,
bearing in his hand a stout. siver-beaded cane, and
majestically seats himself in the front pew. Next
comes a well-known publican. with a rubicund face,
escorting his aged mother. He goes into the side pew
on the right, and before sitting down, reverently
buries his facial region for a moment in the crown Of
his rtove-pipe hat. Then with a calm consciousness
of having done the proper thing he sits by the old
lady's side and lesurely proceeds to mop the perspi-
ration from his brow with a red silk handkerchief
And now appears the towering form Of the Charity
School teacher, driving before him n pair Of unkempt
boys Of mixed derivation. His face is bland and ir-
resolute and by its vast length starts meditations in
the mind of our ~incipient thinker on the tragic
career Of Goliah Of Gath. Then comes a dark fea-
tured man with vest of fancy pattern, and heavy
gold watch guard, leading by the hand n timid look
ing, delicate little girl. He takes his place ON the
right of the aisle, and, ayailing himself Of the as
sistance of an e~ye-glass, for he is evidently near
sighted, he quizzes in an unconcerned manner on the
assembled multitude.
The tolling Of the bell ceases; the congregation
rise in prayer, bat all are not yet present, for no
sooner is the amen pronounced than Miss X, comes
sailing up the aisle like a prize yacht with n fair
breeze. There is a bold, brazen look in her face
which inspires a feeling Of a~ntipathy in the soul Of
the juvenile aforesaid; but his eyes follow her as
they would a gliding snake, until, with an air Of il
limitable selfassertion, she sweeps into the highest
seat Of the synagogue,-the side pew on the left
The intuitive aversion Of infancy has been ju-
tilted, for, if rumor saith true, she, like many
another daughter Of Eve, discovered q strange fasci-
nation in things that are naughty, and went TO the
bad.
In the gallery sit the choir, but Of all that musical
throng only one form remains indelibly fixed in the
picture gallery of memory,-the form Of him who
was instrumental in leading the services Of song in
this sanctuary. He loved little children, and in the
hearts of a multitude Of men and women, not many
years ago little children. is his memory sacredly en-
balmed. Peace to his ashes.
1t is surprising how readily the mind Of childhood
receives impressions either for good OF evil,-acquires
likes or dislikes. 1t resembles that sandstone, speci-
mems of which we have all seen. which. ages ago.
in the worlds infancy perhaps,-was so susceptible
that the fall Of q leaf, the tread Of a little bird, left a
mark which long cycles Of time have been unable to
eface; but now if you would make an impression
upon it you are compelled to use hammer and chisel.
And now having completed his observations, and
tried in vain to comprehend the words Of wisdom
which fall from the lips Of the man Of God in the
white pulpit.-he always supposed it to be a model in
miniature Of thegreat white throne Of the Apocalypse,
the said youngster, sitting in the fourth pew, left
hand side, strives to keep his eyes open by studying
the old-fashioned black chandelier which hangs over
.bo o;eIe He wonders what effect would be produced