New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1888-07-01
IN THE CHURCH PORCH.
SIMMER RESORT CHRISTIANITY.

|
into each other by many delicate gradations tbeI
1t Is impossible to separate thenf Some people take
a very scany supply Of Christianity with them In tho
summer, and yet likely lot they are the very
ones who Will make unendng amount OF poher
about 1t. They demand the chief seats In tho stages
that convey tho church goers to the place OF service
| they hustle into the tlo rural church as though
they owned It, and perhaps comment audbly after
being seated the meanness of tho surroundings.
They drop a nickel into the little wooden box with
base air which only be arIulred by long practice
In the city at transient services where they are not
| known. And having thus indicated their Christian
character, they go back to tho hotel and spend the
rest If the week In making remarks about tho
! pagans who didn't 90. Alas for these unhappy
wrctchcs, II they have In any way incurred the cnmity
Of the church t0crs their criminal heathcnlsm viii DO
Thoroughly exposed that they will wish they had
never been born.
OF course the reader will understand that all tho
Christians at the summer not OF this type.
There are In every summer hotel people both Roman
Catholics ana Protes,ants, who modestly and consist
emily live up to their creed. If tho former, fh,y
quietly steal away to early little humble
chapel and are back again before the average guest Is
ready his Sunday breakfast Protestants, In
deed, not always urgent their desire go
| church when at summer resort the men especially
quito apt to spend tho day in nnocuous lounglng
and smoking. But even so, a strain OF religious
feeling may be easily detected under this Indifferent
exterior Many of these mon who have good naturcdly
refused to go to church with the women. and who
spend the morning smoking and reading on tho piazza
give largely In support OF churches and missions and
all kinds OF philaDthropc enterprises Don't there
fore class these sturdy American non-church goers
with the polished and cynical nfdcls of Europe who
rouse to go to church with their wives and daughters
Don't be too hard them for taking easy for few
wccls In summer Maybe they arc technically out Of
order But you may be that their hearts are all
| right And when they get homo they Will listen to
their pastor with renewed interest On account of this
| rest.
II a summer hotel IS in Village where there arc
several churches Of different denominations the guests
az once become objects Of solicitors interest all tho
local pastors who, aided and abctcd by their people,
| devise all sorts OF legitimate schemes to mako tho
money Of the said guests flow freely the church
Golfers. And must say that heartily sympathze
with the local pastors In their efforts In this direction
1t IS legitimate of spelling the Egyptians AS
rule the people who go to summer resorts are
abundantly able TO contribute literally 10 the support
| OF these summer churches. That many OF them do
not do Is due to a mistaken notion that they arc
only called upon to support their church. As IL
| the summer church was not their while they
| ship In 1t But the summer pastor Is a keen
reader of human nature and from long practice knows
| just how to appeal TO all who by any stretch of
courtesy may be included in his spiritual flock
| plan much In vogue Is to get up fair, Dickens
! party, or lawn party. Even amateur theatrcals
tablcauX sometimes rcsortcd to by liberal
| minded church people, AS many prominent guests of
| the hotels possible persuaded to take part in
the entertainment and prettily dressed little girls
armed with tickets which they industrously sell in
the hotels. OK no refuses to buy at least
one ticket, and many good naturcd men will take
| fifteen twenty Thus the church lengthens her
bonds and strengthens her stakes with the help Of the
| children OF darkness.
When religious services held on Sunday in tho
rarors of a hotel the proprietor naturally and
necessarily important scm-rollgOus functions
lie is judclous combination Of SEXTON senior warden
! deacon. presiding cider, moderator and archbishop
| whatever his private attitude toward the churches in
dvlduay or collectively, may be, he IS officially their
friend patron and promoter. No Judge on tho bench
could be judcally impartial in his treatment Of
all scots than the summer landlord And yet his I'M
partlaly tnged with warm friendncss for your
special denominations as he talks with you in private
that yon are at once battered and delighted 1t Is trua
that you cannot got him to say anything dsparaSinS
about tho denominations which you don't happen to
uke-be IS too wise for hat-but from his you
infer that II It proper, he would publicly proclaim
his enthusiastic belief in your creed Indeed you are
sometimes tempted to believe, while you are thinking
OF keeping your expensive suite four weeks longer,
that the landlord may throw prudence to the winds
| and issue a manifesto prOcaImng your church tho
official religion OF the hotel But, by heroic effort,
he holds himself IN and the worldly policy
| Of general liberation continues in force.
don't want to be understood crItIcsnS the land
lord for this In being friendly to all churches with
ont unduy iavoring any he IS in the strict line OF his
duty lie rejecting tho attitude OF the state toward
| religion: nav without knowing 1t perhaps he is fol-
lowing the example Of The great Apostle to the Cen
| tiles who declared that he all things TO all mcn
| But Ike all diplomats hc sometimes has to turn
pretty sharp corners, and does not always succeed In
pleasing everybody. This Is especially so when there
are two or three clcrgymcr OF different denominations
in the house each OF whom has friends or admirers
| among the guests who want to hear him preach
connie Of Seasons ago was In a summer hotel where
some such complication arose. When the season
opened there only ono clergyman In the house
yonnc man OF considerable ability who was the pastor
Of Presbyterian church in a country town. Ic came
with very wealthy family who attended his church
indeed he was their guest and. matter OF course,
was invited by tho landlord to oicatc In the parlor on
Sunday morning. SO far all was plain sailing But
pretty soon thee arrived eminent Episcopal clergy
man. and the EpscopalIans In the house at once went
10 the landlord press tho claims OF their co-relg-
lonist as tho officiating clergyman for the noxt Sum
day. The landlord replied that doubtless the matter
could he easily arranged lie woud speak to the young
PRESBYTERIAN divine who would, he was sure, DO glad
to- yield ono two Sundays to his Episcopal brother
This proved be the caso and the landlord AZ once
tackled M notice In tho office announcing that the
Rev Dr. snrplico would conduct Episcopal services
next Sunday. but he did this he found
that he had stepped into the lvlIest kind OF hornets
nest The Presbyterian family already referred to
were furious at the alleged slight put upon their pastor
II happened that the Episcopal Church was thelr
particular bette nor; in fact they regarded 1t as to
better than the scarlet woman" Moreover aside
from their theological prcposSesons they were some
what canankcrous anyway and claimed that the land
lord had promised that their pastor should oiclse
during the whole OF his stay In the hotel They de-
carcd rounty that II this promise not kept they
would at once pack up and leave. And as they paid
800 a week this threat particularly terrifying
TO the poor landlord. In his desperation he mado