Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1890-12-27

| condescending to their brothers and sisters in
/ the humber walks of ife-they were too little
/ removed from their revolutionary ancestors to
fear TO com promise their dignity by friendly
\ opportunities for culture and refinement had
been more limited than theirs, and whose social
scale had been adjusted on more conventional
lines than at the present day.
| These old ladies of the bygone, in their stiff
brocades, Queen Bcss' ruffies and high-heeled
shoes, in their decorous and reyerent demeanor,
formed with their hege lords a pleasant Sunday
| morning ricture of proPriety and decorum and
| one well worthy the imitation and admiration
| OF their numerous progeny.
| To these Mothers i'll Israeli was chiefly COM
mitted the moral and religious training Of their
sons and daughters, and most dutifully and
| beautifully did they supplement the Sunday
teachings of the worthy pastor with weekday
holy words and pious example.
TEE PARsoN.
Our pastor then known as "Parson IL"
| OF this worthy man shall have but little to
say, as his history is too intimately connected
with the history of the Episcopal church in the
United States, and more especially in Virginia
to give more than a hasty sketch of what he
was Mt the time of which 1 write, not as he
afterward became-one Of the highest dignita-
rles IN the church. At this time he was the
plain. grave, dignifed country parson. with
nothing to distinguish him from the gentle
men OF his congregation except perhaps, that
ms dress OF generally weii-worn black had o
somewhat more clerical appearance.
simple, almost ascetic in his tastes and hab-
lts, he lived upon his farm Mountain View
the life of quiet country gentleman, fire.
quently relieving the tcdium of study by man.
ual labor He was en- principle a remarkably
early riser. reiigiously believing in the homely
proyerb. Early to bed and early TO rise, DC. 7"
As an illustrgsion of this habit of early rising,
W. oh, by the way, seemed to be n part CT his
HE, and which lasted to the day ofhis death.
was an Intimate IL his home and consequently
familiar with his daily life. On a certain dark,
wintry, rainy morning HIS son and l arose
some time before the dawn of day and LEFT the
house to go to a village more than mile away.
On the way his son remarked rather jocularly,
think we are ahead of the bishop this morning.
Arriving at the village when it was just light
enough to distinguish objects. to our surprise We
found the bishop standing in his sisters front
yard uu;er his umbrella experimenting some
domestic work of Improvement to the prem
ises.
SADDLE AND PILLIoN.
On Sunday it Was his custom to ride seven
miles on horseback to church, frequently with
Mrs. II. behind him seated on q ..pillion" q
kind of leather cushion with an iron back or
railing attached to the saddle. In this simple
and primitive way these worthless were wont to
go to their devotions, while most of the congre-
CATION were drawn in luxurious e9uipages, in
many instances attended by footnen In livery.
chapel OF thirty to fifty handsome carriages,
and not infrequently they were driven
-four In hand, and this, not for ostentatious
display. but that the state of the country roads
made additional horse power necessary. In
the old vase-lihe pulpit with its sounding board
which looked not unlike huge extinsuisher.
our parson was at home, and i'll one sense at
least his eloquent expositions of holy writ were
TAR aboge the heads Of his hearers.
Before closing this random sketch of the old
q
characters. without some mention of whom this
would indeed be an imperfect sketch as they
We're rs much a part and parcel of the stout
ensemble of the old chapel of that day as
though they had been a necessary material of
the building itself-oid Mr. Dix and "Uucle
Robin, the black sexton.
THE CoBBLER.
Mr.. Dix was the cobbler general to the COM
munity. In his youth he had been dissipated.
wild, reckless-in other words, he had sown a
vast amount Of wild oats" and by all methods
OF human reasoning What the harvest would be
was easy to predict; but He whose ways are not
as our ways had determined otherwise and the
absolute, profaue drunkard had been trans
formed by God grace into the humble meek
and iowly Christian. 4 constant attendant Mt
church. he was always in his place in the
lar corner OF bis pew under the stairway which
came to be known as Mr.. Dixs corner. ALWAYS
devOut and attentive, he was noticed and re-
evidently grew out of the impression that it
was his bounden duty to sing whenever a hymn
was sung, and it mattered not what tune or
what hymn, his was always the
same, and "at tandem" with the con-
grega:ion, either a line behind or a
line ahead of the rest. Sometimes he
would fail to catch the number of the HYMN,
then he would reach over to get one OF sus
boys" to point it out to him, which would invari-
ably and, am sorry to say, Intentionally. be
n mo. lint n a.
the poor old man. he sung it all the same, and
with a most unmusical nasal twang-doubtless
that voice which had SO little music in it here,
has long since been put in full accord, attuned
to heavenly harmony.
THE SEXTON.
Old "Robin," the SEXTON in his clean home
spun Sunday suit and knit yarn cap. with O con-
spicuous tassel at the crown. was the very per-
soniticatlon OF the ''Ole Virginny' darkey gem
tenlan, polite and courteous to all. His duties
were few and simple His cabin stood hard by
and his only care was to keep the church clean
and In summer to bring cool water in bright
Clean gourds from rocky spring which bub-
bied up not many yards away, and when he
dotted his cap, which was the signal that
he had received d gratuity from some one
whose lips had been parehed by long ride in the
hot sun, but which had been cooled by the re-
freshing beverage. the thankful and respectful
old darkey, with profound ssiam and hearty
ing outlines head as bald as an ebony billiard
ball.
They have all. minister and people, tho lofty
and the lOwly, been long ago gathered into one
silent congregation, where prayer is ever
spoken, no anthem ever sung. Awaiting the
resurrection IF the Just. they sleep in the very
shadow of the old church they attended SO
constantly and faithfully and loved SO well.
Their names have been carved for many a year
on the ''mossy marbles that cover them, but
the old chapel still stands a silent but i'm
pressive monument over all.
More than sixty years have come and gone
since as q boy the writer Of this homely sketch
was accustomed (Ofttimes sorely against his
Will to trudge seven miles to church through
rain or shine, cold or heat. on the veriest Rosi-
mantle Of a steed, which neither whip nor spur
could compel nor the prospect of a warm stable
and an extra allowance could persuade to
change his pace. But notwithstanding all this
II comes back to me as the Odor OF a sweet
memory, this old church. with its long-de-
parted band Of faithful worshipers, and / can
say, though with feeling almost akin to tears,
''me juvat meminisse." w. YP
--->0>---
Cooperative Housekeeping.
From the Springfield Union.
This movement, 30 long talked Of, has taken
shape at Evanston. ILL.,, in the organization of