The Jasper weekly courier., 1875-10-22
CONGREGATIONAL SINGING.

She sang in the choir and he preached
in the pulpit; that was the beginning
Of it. When she stood up and chanted.
he thought that an angel had stepped
down from heaven. He was speedily
robbed OF his delusion when he turned
his head and looked At her: she had
finished her part and was whispering
with the tenor. while the bass and con
tralto repeated the solemn strain, e.
actually whispering and laughing be-
hind her fan, He was not aware that
he was still gazing iNedly till she col
ored and dropped her eyes upon her
notes. and let the music bubble from her
lips as if by Inspiration. Once or twice
again during the service Mr.. Glider
sleeve east glance toward the choir.
ana discovered the lovely soprano still
whispering and laughing. writing on the
fiy-leaf Of her hymn-boOk and passing
il. or reading from slips Of paper which
the others passed to her He looked
again while reciting the finest passage
in his sermOn-the tenor was Offering
paper Of sugar-plums, and the soprano
was nothing 10Th.
Coming out Of church. Mr.. Glider
sleeve said 20 one of his wardens: 1--WE
have excellent music Pray. what does
the quartetie cost the church2'' Not
that he cared particularly, but in order
70 open a conversation on the choir.
Misunderstanding whatever re-
turned the warden. a. voluntary
choir-belong to the best families--best
voices in tOwn-great obligations
finest families-rich, influen'. al, and all
that
Plainly the church couldnot discharge
voluntary choir drawn from the best
families. and to which the congregation
was under such burden Of Obligation.
even though said choir laughed and
firted and ate caramels 70 a surfeit.
Z" The finest families ought 70 teach
their children better manners, = thought
the Rev. Arehy Gildersleeve. The fol-
lowing sunday, he had nicely prepared
sermon touching on the subject, evolved
from the text, .'For the place whereon
thou standest i holy ground :" but still
Miss Salne sunderland smiled, and
whispered with the tenor. and wrote
nonsense ON her fan, and chanted a. If
heayen-seni.
"What can they have TO talk so much
aboutfn wondered the Reverend Archy
OF course nobody took the sermon
home, though Warden Wiseman-a
widower Of some months. who wore
his Sunday clothes on week-days since
Mrs. Wiseman's departure-said to the
young clergyman:
THAT was Just the kind Of sermon
| like TO hear il hit off our tenor to a
i; he's always making eyes at Miss
Sally, and leading her into temptation
with his everlasting gum-drops. I
don't blame the girl; but il isn't seemly.
flirting on holy ground. we all knowi''
Warden Wiseman had his own eyes on
Miss Sally, and didn't relish the tenor's
sugsr-coated interference.
Congregational singing said Mr..
Gildersleeve, 'sis form of worship
that have always had at heart. /
should like to establish it here. Could
we not dissolve the quartette grace
fully?r
''Just so" said Mr.. wiseman, whose
notion Of grace was something heretic-
al. But we all know that the choirs
are touchy; and the consequence was
aat on the next Sunday the singing
seats were vacant, and Miss Sally, the
soprano, sat silent in the family pew
and listened 10 tho congregational rsnd-
erlng Of the chants, where Warden
Wiseman led off, always syllable or
two in advance Of the rest. and old Mrs.
Crochet, who had sung in choir at
sixteen, quavered discordantly in her
efforts 10 overtake the Warden, or TO