Southern standard. (McMinnville, Tenn.) 1879-current, 1891-01-24
THEN AND NOW.
"The Good Old Times" Not Equal to
the Present.

Rev. NJ. j. Savage IN The Arena.
The brightest period of the Church
which l can discover is somewhere
about December, 1896. hardly care
to go back even hundred and fifty
years. Then the deacons took their
regular toddy between sermons. it
was no infrequent thing for reverend
gentlemen to go home after an even.
ing out with the wrong hat on; or to
be picked up in the street, finding the
brick in it heavier than they could
conveniently carry. Then the peo-
pie in New England were seated in
their church by the selectmen OF the
town, according to their wealth and
social rank. Single men and women
were put in separate galleries by
themselves. 1t was common for the
tithing men TO speak to disOrderly
persons in church, or to rap over the
heads with their canes the careless
urchins who forgot their behavior.
There were no fires in churches, and
the minister had sometimes to preach
in great coat and mittens. Benevo-
lent and missionary societies were
either unheard of or put aside as ques.
tionable novelties. Slavery was sup
ported from the Bible, north as well
as south. Even President Jonathan
Edwards could buy a boy in Connec'
ticut and take him home behind him
on his horse, and when demonstrated
with by pestilent abolition deacon
could preach sermon in defence o.
slavery. There were no Sunday
schools, no religious magazines OF
newspapers-and of the thousand be-
nevolent enterprises of the age, hardly
one was existent.
And yet, in spite of these facts
there are large numbers of people per
petually bemoaning our degeneracy
and signing over the departure of thu
"good old times" of our early Ameri
can life.
We worship such persons as Wash
ingtOn or Hancock as political saints
for the not very conclusive reason
that they are dead, and their fault
are lost sight of in the blaze of theil
glory. Our living heroes will b,
lifted up by and by, and, their blem
ishes being hidden, they shall SHOW
grand and fair in the splendor of tn,
renown that posterity shall accorC
them.
We can do fairly, when we lay our
selves out, at calling names in poll
tics even now. But all the bitterness
of our partisanship is the very hone,
Of sweet fellowship compared wit
the fierce hatreds of the Olden times
In the days of Queen Anne, it was
common thing for fashionable ladie
to wear little patches on their faces t
indicate which faction they belonge
to; and the shillaleh days of an Iris
borough election hardly carried tn
party conflict farther than they die
Even in this country, only littl
while ago, members of different pal
ties were hardly on speaking tern
with each other, and their wives an
daughters had no social intercours,
The newspapers have not quite TO
gotten the traditions of Billingsgat
yet; but the loud barking is mostl
stage show. Their teeth are past,
board. They shake hands and laug
behind the scenes. And whatevC
may be the secret plots and machine
tons of which each party is alway
accusing the other, it is a hopeful fa
that both parties are compelled {
base any hopes of success at the pol
on justice, integrity, and a noble d,
votion to the welfare of the who
people. CrOakers always have had
special faculty for seeing "breake
ahead" and smooth water benin,
But the sober facts of history justit
the statement that never was the sht
of human hope in stauncher trim
and never was a fairer, broader 81
ahead.
Don't waste time on untried REM
| dinS Old SauljS Catorrh Curp n,