The New York herald., 1879-02-03
COLLECTING THE TIYHES.
How the Money Is Taken in Churches
and Synagogues.
CURIOUS CUSTOMS OF CHRISTIANS
And the Still More Curious Gus
toms of the Jews.

HERALD. of the practice OF compelling worshippers
to pay for the privilege of entering certain churches
has directed attention to the almost universal
custom OF taking collections at divine service
and not few curious and interesting facts in
regard to the custom have been learned by inquiry
The propriety of asking for money from a person
who goes into Gods temple to listen to Gods word
has been too widely discussed to need consideration
in this column. The profer of "gad tidings OF great
JOY" without money and without price, is COM
monty held by the churches be fairly by the
text "the Lord loveth cheerful giver, and by the
obvious necessity devolvng on the church pay its
expenses. AS in the old Jewish religion. ali were
compelled to pay tithes of all they possessed
according to his ability for the support of the Cos
pei and OF the preacher. And fashions vary even
in ecclesiastical matters the personal payments for
merly in vogue have been partly superseded by the
fashion of passing around among the congregation
certain plates boxes baskets into which each drops
the sum he may choose to give.
The advantages of the plan are many. little girl
who lately went with her mother to an uptown
church for the first time especially interested in
the passing of the plates and seemed, during the
mainder of the service, to be full Of some mighty
secret which she onged to impart to her mother but
dared not of the solemn stiffness of the
way home she aldo mamma. what did you get
when they passed the money around? 1 got twenty
five cents" While there probably very few who
the child did, there some who believe in not let
ting their left hands know what their right hands do
who slip large into the plates unobserved, and
there still more whose pennies jingle loudly as
other contributors silver II always put something
in so as to be in the fashion, said worthy and lib
eral church member once as he was arguing against
taking collections in Gods house. 'but always put
in the smallest piece of money have with me-" he
continued, 'and when can give to the Church do
it in another way. as think Christians ought"
BOXES, BASKETS AND PLATES.
The careful student of trihes. if he should go into
strange church not knowing its denomination,
would often be able to make shrewd guess at it by
looking carefully the receptacle which he would see
handed around for the contributions. The old New
England fashion. which is still followed in many
Presbyterian and Congregationalist churches and is
greatly favored in village churches throughout tho
eastern part Of the United States to have boxes
with long handles. These boxes commonly made
of mahogany some other dark colored hard wood,
and are lined with green baze to deaden the chnk Of
the falling coin. The handles are three four feet
in length while the box Is about the size OF cigar
box. Grasping the end of the handle, the
collector who in such churches is CON-
monty silver haired deacon elder, goes to
the head of each pew. and reaches the box to
each occupant in turn In the Episcopal and
Catholic churches silver plates. plates that seem
to be silver most commonly used. and passed
by the collector to the person sitting at the head Of
the pew. 1t is then passed from hand to hand until
each person in the pew has had the opportunity to
put something in, when it is handed back from one
to another and taken by the collector to the next
pew Many of the Episcopal churches. again. use
plates of delf ware or of turned or carved wood
The baize lining. however is to be found in all.
still greater departure from the old-fashiOned
box. is the basket of about the diameter the
plates described, but with sides turned up two or
three inches. These baskets first introduced
unless the writer errs in MIR. Beecher's church. in
Brooklyn dozen years ago or more. Now they
very generally used in churches of liberal tenden-
ces, well as "orthodox Catholic and .'orthodox"
Protestant churches when the congregation is large
LUCKY BAckwooDs PREACHER.
OF course in camp meetings and in many of the
poorer churches in the country, where church furni
ture is scarce. the hat of some oblging person is
good and convenient substitute 1t is recorded that
on one occasion an itinerant preacher who paused
Sunday to preach in a backwoods town. handed
his hat to the most responsible looking man in the
congregation asking him to take up collection for
the payment Of his simple expenses The hat was
accordingly handed around aud returned to the
preacher, who saw by glance that it was empty.
Lifting his eyes to heaven he said:-'Lord, thank
Thee that have got back my hat"
In many places of worship the collection seems al
most part of the service, so thar it probably
the result of unthinkng observation that led the
lumbermsn of the Mississippi to suppose it
his only companion, Jim, car you prayr NO.
said Jim. "Ihen sing hymn. Cant" said Jim.
snsn hen Rass ySar hat dam ques and
we must do something.
QUESTION OF BUTTONS.
1t would be easy to multiply anecdotes of comical
incidents that have occurred when the taking of
collection has been really incorporated in the re-
ligious service and not, as with the iumbermsn a
few OF smff-
cient to illustrate the humorous side of the question
1t is related OF one clergyman. pastor in a small
considered indispensable prerequisites to the right
of citizenship. that he was mucn troubled by
plate plat instead Of coin. % He studied % for !" long s
time the problem OF how best to
so shiity vice. and at last hit on an
taken up for the heathen and the deacons
about to pass the plate the clergyman spoke. 'My
against thing which is often done by you more
through inadvertence than aught ese believe. Do
not. Ipray you hatten down the eyes Of the buttons
you generously give to the heathen. II does not
impose the poor savage recipient of your bounty
lie does not take them tor money and they rem
no more buttons were put In the plate in that
church.
NOT BLIND TO coUNrrRFEITs.
At camp meeting in New Jersey years ago
there several rather eloquent colored preachers
who held forth to the great satisfaction of their col
ored hearers and the infinite amusement of certain
goddess young white men. who had to the
run. Among the clergymen was one of unusually
persuasive eloquence. whose power over the SYM
pathies of his hearers greatly increased by his
being known as ''the blind preacher" His closed
eyes and venerable appearance failed to touch
them, and he, naturally was the one who usually
appealed tor the collection. One night the congrega-
tion excited tn fervor, and amid shouting and
singing the suggestion made that collection be
taken up. No special object named. but the
"bnd preacher exhorted the people TO give boun-
tcousy to de Lawd." They ready. and the
elders passed through the crowd, receiving some
thing from almost 1nulyitua Use "A
half dollar. bruddcr." shouted one OF them
scrip" of that denomination was dropped into his
hat 'Gory" shouted the blind preacher. nifty
cents TO dc Lawd. Who am de next oneY Use
got dollar bill,'' called out another elder
"Halleujah." said the blind preacher again. "a dol
lar mo- 70 de Lawd. The excitement grew intense.
and presently third elder shouted Heres So"
'Amenl hallelujah glory to uod!' shouted the
blind preacher. give dollars To- dc Lawd brethren,
de Spirit movn dc service oh de deep
waters. Keep Who am dc nexty
That's counterfeit bill," called out one Of the
goddess young men already mentioned.
''wha', wha dat you say" screamed the blind
preacher. "Dat amt counterfeit" And he