The Sedalia weekly bazoo. [volume] (Sedalia, Mo.) 187?-1904, 1891-07-07
NEW ENGLAND cHuRchea

internal Arr>' nEement Of the Oid-Tlmo
Ne eting-Houses.
In all the Puritan meetings, as then
and now in Quaker meetings, the men
sat on one side Of he Westinghouse
and the women on the ether; and they
en- tered by separate doors. It wV .
great and much contested chanHe when
men and women were ordered to Ast to.
gether 'promiscuoslie.' In front, on
either side Of the pulpit Tor very rarely
In the foremost row in the gallery, was
seat OF highest dignity. known as tho
foreseat," in which only the persons
OF greatest Importance in the commun.
ity sat
sometimes row of square pews were
built on three sides OF The ground floor.
and were each occupied By separate
families. while the pulpit was on the
fourth side. If any man wished such
q private pew for himself and family.
he obtained permission from the church
and town. and built it at his own ex.
pense. Immediately in front Of tia
pulpit was either 4 long seat or q square
tnclosed pew for the deacons. who sa.
facing the congregation. This was usu-
ally foot or two above the level Of tho
other pews, and was reached by two or
three steep. narrow steps. On a still
higher plane was a pew for the ruling
elders, when ruling Il lers there were.
those in the middle of the church, were
in olden times the free seats.
1t Is easy To comprehend what a
source of disappointed anticipation,
heart-burning jealousy, offended dig.
nifty, unseemly pride. and bitter quar-.
reling this method of assigning seats.
and ranking thereby, must have boon
In those little communities. How the
goodwives must have hated the seating
committee! Though it was expressly
ordered, when the committee rendered
their decision, that "the inhabitants are
to rest silent and sett down satysfyed,"
who can still the tongue of an envious
woman or an insulted man? Though
they were Puritans, they were first Of
all men and women. and complaints
and revolts were frequent. Judge
Sewall records that one indignant dame
treated Captain Osgood very roughly
on account Of seating the meeting
To her the difference between
q Sc, I in the first and one in the second
row was UNNECESSARILY great. It Gas
not alone the Scribes and Pharisees who
desired the highest seats in the syna-
gogue.
1t was found necessary at q very
early date 70 dignity the meeting.
which was to make certain seats. though
in different localities, equal in dignity:
thus could peace and contented pride
be partially restored For instance, the
seating committee in the Sutton Church
used their best Distressing" and voted
that 1.-The third seat below be equal In
dignity with the foreseat in the front
gallery. and the fourth seat below be
equal in dignity with the foreseat in
the side gallery" etc, thus making
many seats of equal honor. Of course
wives had to have seats in equal impor-
lance with those of their husbands, and
each widow retained the dignity appor-
toned to her in her husbands life
time. We can well believe that
much distressing" was necessary
IN Identifying as well as in seat
ng. Often, after building a new
with all the painstalking
and thoughtful Judgment that could be
shown. the dissensions over the seating
asted for years The paci6catory fash
on of ''dignifying the seats" chung long
IN the Congregational Churches Of New
England In East Hartford it was not
abandoned until 1874
Many men Were unwilling TO serve
IN these seating committees, and re-
fused TO ''meddle with the seating"
against it on account Of the
,dium that was incurred. but they were
seldom ''let Off" Sometimes the dif1-
.ulty was settled in this way: the en-
ire church Tor rather the male men,
oers) voted who should occupy the fore
'eat or the highest pew, and the voted
n occupants of this seat Of honor
'ormed a committee. who in turn seated.
he others Of the CONGRATULATIONS
tic Monthly.