The Toledo chronicle. [volume] (Toledo, Tama County, Iowa) 1873-1924, 1875-10-21

| Have shown His Honor all about
The statutes in the reign of Anne;
And how the leading cases ran
Before Lord Blank held so and so;
Now let the habeas corpus go.
And ere the Court falls fast asleep
Do say word about the sheep!"
John g. Sare, in " Y. Leclger.
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 COntralto repeated the
solemn strain-yes, actually whispering
and laughing behind her fan! He was
not aware that he was still gazing fixedly
till she colored 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.
Gllderslecve cast glance toward the
choir, and discovered the lovely soprano
still whispering and laughing, writing
on the tly-leaf of her hymn-book and
passing it, 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 moth
ing 10th!
Coming out Of church, MT. Gilderslceve
said to one of his wardens: eve have eX-
cellent music. Pray what does the quar-
tet cost the church ?" Not that he cared
particularly, but in order to open con-
versation on the choir.
Nothing-nothing whatever" re
turned the warden. A voluntary choir
belong to the best families-best voices
in town-great igations-tinest fami-
lies-rich, influential and all that"
Plainly the church could not discharge
a voluntary choir drawn from the best
families, and to which the congregation
was under such burden of obligation.
even though said choir laughed and fiirted
and ate carames to a surfet.
"The finest families ought to teach
their children better Manners" thought
the Rev. Archy Gildersleeve. The follow
ing Sunday he had nicely-prepared ser
mon touching on the subject, evolved
| from the text: " For the place WhereOn
thou standcst is holy ground;' but still
| Miss Sally Sunderland smiled, and whis-
percd with the tenor, and wrote non
sense on her fan, and chanted as if Heav-
en-sent.
"What caN they have to talk so much
about?' wondered the Rev. Archy. Of
course nobody took the sermon home,
though Warden Wiseman-a widoWer OF
some months, who wore his Sunday
clothes on week-da since Mrs. Wise
mans departurc-said to the young cler
gyman:
THAT was Just the kind of sermon l
| like to hear; it, hit off our tenor to T;
he's always making eyes at Miss Sally
and leading her into temptation with his
everlasting gum-drops. don't blame the
girl; but it isn't seemly, flirting on holy
ground, we all knowm Warden Wise
man had his own eyes on Miss Sally, and
didn't relish the tcnor's sugarcoated in
reference.
Congregational singing said Mr..
| Gildersleevc, "is form of worship that
have always had at heart. should
like to establish it here. Could we not
dissolve the quartet gracefully?"
"Just So" said Mr.. Wiseman, whose
notion of grace was something heretical.
But we all know that choirs are touchy;
and the consequence was that on the next
Sunday the singing seats were vacant, and
Miss Sally, the soprano, sat silent in the
family pew and listened to the congrega-
tional rendering Of the chants, where
Warden Wiseman led off, always sylla-
BILE or two in advance of the rest, and old
Mrs. Crochet who had sung in choir at
sixteen. quavered discordantly in her
efforts to overtake the warden, or to drown
her neighbours voice in the attempt, and
where the entire body of singers wrestled
bravelv with the high notes and broke
down dismayed. Mr.. Gildersleeve cast
glance into the Sunderland pew, and Miss
Sally was smiling saucily. Going out of
church he made haste to reach that young
lady.
"Why did you not join us in our at
tempt this morning, Miss Sunderland"
he asked quite pleasantly.
because | had been given to under
stand that my singing was not acceptable"
loftily.
care you quite sincere, Miss Sunder-
land in believing that your singing has
not been acceptable? Doesn't your con-
science tell you that your singing was all
right, was fit for the angelic choir, but
that your conduct-ahem! l beg pardon.
was about to speak too frankly, as you
might think"
"My conduct Mr.. Gildersleeve," SAID
Miss Sally, is private affair, subject to
no ones dictationr'
"Excuse me if say that you have
made it quite publlcr' Mr.. Gildersleeve
was beginning to feel nettled; this pretty
piece of temper held neither him nor his
cloth in much reverence or regard, GER
tainly. 81 do not presume to dictate"
| he pursued, but let me ask you, in all
friendliness, if you, think the house Of
prayer suitable place fortrifling and
| Irritation %
"Mr. Gildersleeve, said Sally, no
body ever dared speak SO to me in all my
life! Our dear old rector, Mr.. Taber-
nacle, used to kiss my hand when we met,
and thank me for sitting in the choir and
say that it did his old eyes good to see me
there! wish he were alives'
Mr.. Gillersl seve smiled. Who knows
but les would have 1ikedto follow the ex-
ample Of MI. Tabernacleg But he said,
instead: &c l am afraid that Mr.. Taber-
nacle was both blind and deaf" which
had much more ungracious sound in the
ears of pretty woman than he intended.
Miss Sunderland rewarded him by open
! ing her fine eyes very wide, and looking