Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1895-05-31

the usual way with imitators. was
lately attending a service at which the |
hymn, clark! ten thousand harps and
voices" was sung, every verse of which |
ends with "IIallelujah! Amenw AS the
singing was going on, | thought that |
surely the final Amen" would this time
be omitted. But no; it was the regula-
ton thing, and at the close the two
Amens were sung, not a little to the |
amusement of many attendants.
Another fad of the choir is the combi- |
nation of cantering and drawing in sing |
ing hymns. The cantering was borrow
ed from the English a good many years
ago; and all persons Of religious feeling
and taste have had to submit to the tor
ture of hearing even the most solemn
words ratified off at breakneck speed,
aud the most exquisite and tender melo-
dies murdered. no effort being made to
put any expression in the music, but
apparently only an effort to get through
as soon as possible. OF late the drawl-
luY VI lue last JHIee Ut lOur notes OF
each verse has also been imported from
the same unmusical nation, so that now
we have this singular combination. sug-
costing that the singers uniformly be-
come fatigued near the close of each
verse and have to change from a canter
to Il walk. OF course this is not the real
reason of the phenomenon: the real
reason is that others DO so. But why
any one did so, at first, probably no one
knows; for it Is only fad.
As to the fads of the pulpit one of
them is the tendency to borrow new
names for old things. Thus. instead of a
contribution" for any religious or
benevolent object, we now often hear of
an "oilerfory." The word properly de-
notes the anthem sung in Roman Catho-
lie churches while the "Oblations" are
brought to the altar. But the Episcopal
ians have applied the term to the con-
tribution itself, and accordingly it has.
to many ears, very religious sound.
and answers eXcelently as fad. An
other instance of this class of fads is the
practice, which has come up of late
years, of calling the portion of Scripture
read by the minister "the lesson This
term is the traditional one for the por-
tions prescribed to be read. But in our
non-liturgical churches there are no such
prescribed portions, and the term Is in.
appropriate. But it suggests to the
nearer that the mInisteri is in Il feeble way
aping the Episcopal Technology; and it
is supposed somehow to have more
edifying effect than the expressions
formerly used. 70 make the Imitation
more obvious. some ministers, when they
finish the reading solemnlv observe
"Here endeth the Scripture lesson
One Congregational minister whom
have recently heard is accustomed to
say: ''lIere endeth the scripture IA
statement in which truthfulness seem;
to he sacrificed to breyity, and the edify
ing effect Of imitation is practically con
centrated in the solemnness of the archai,
= ending, "eth." But, seriously, what i
the use Of any such form: Have oul
congregations ever had any difficulty II
ascertaining when the minister has fin
u ished the reading? If we must be so sill
ly As to play the imitator in such tire
mendOusly petty matter, why not b.
: thorough about it, and introduce not on
= ly the 'here enc eth, but the Here he
Z j
Scripture readings, so as to be able t
inform the people, in solemn tones
when both the first lesson" and tn
"second lesson" have been read to tn
,, end"
l. But the worst fad of the pulpit, an
= one which merits fuller treatment tina
e can here be given to it, is pointessnes,
Il 1t seems of late years to have becom
p fashionable for the minister either nc
e to have any definite thoughts, or, at an
If rate, to be careful to conceal them frol
r his auditors. Instead of IA distinct state
n ment of the principal heads of his dis
N course. whereby the hearer would /
re enabled to follow the preacher and st
1t easily the relation of every sentence I
IF some leading thought, he INDUCES IN
Of rambling. disionted talk which keel
h the nearer in ii constant search after Il
is plan of the discourse. the result bein
n that, even if the sermon does contal
y. any good points, they are kept fro
to making a distinct impression. All thi
ar because it has become a fad to regard
IL as inelegant to signify by numerals {
he otherwise what the main things al
which the preacher is driving at. 1t is
,a usage which directly tends 10 encouras