The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1895-11-06

SIZE ssfnlDn- anu Wnole hymns again.
Well, that choir was so praised and
Landed, and deservedly so, that at last
it exalted its horn 'like the horn of an
unicorn" and decided to take entire
charge of the musical portion of the
service. The leader, young man with
sublime confidence, a splendid voice,
long curling hair tucked uuder at the
ends, as was the fashion with young
men of that day, like the Jack of spades
if you know what that il, and wealth
of bears grease, favored with bergamot
came to the preacher and said ''Mr
Seekpeace, | must have the hymns for
Sunday service on Friday morning
hereafter. / have changed rehearsal
from Saturday 10 Friday evening""
"Bat | can't let you have them Fri
day morning" the preacher said, "be-
cause do not always know at that
time what | will preach about on Sun
day following. You may have them
Saturday morning rs usual"
But the leader would not have il that
way, and he said so. The preacher
was a man not given 10 controversy in
small matters. He said what he had
10 say on the subject in a few words
selected from the English language,
principally monosyllables, and went his
way as also did the leader, their ways be
giupip., NJ tho .ap,a r,ai,,: ard rt.,r,fro,
respectively east by east and due west.
The preacher sent the leader the num-
hers of the hymns on the morning of
the Saturday following.
Sunday morning dawned. The con-
gregation, painfully arrayed in stiff
and starched aud rustling garments
sacred to the day and the place, assem-
bled with Customary decorum. One
by one the deacons walked up the aisIes
TO their places, timing their steps with
mournful squeaks that deepened the
solemni;y OF the hour and awakened
mirth only i'm the breasts of the young
er children, who were promptly
thumped 10 respectful silence by the
catapult of some adult finger. The
hymn books in the pews rustled open.
We listened for the usual little mufiied
cOmmOtion of the choir getting into
positions with its little ftissiness of
small affectations, bat there was "A
most rearsOme silence. We turned our
heads, looked up, and sawa gallery as
empty as the Foreign Mission treasury
at the close OF the year. The presence
Of the singers scattered here aud there
among the congregation was explained.
Some light-hearted members of the
choir Uttered, but the FEST of us were
little bit frightened. The preacher
looked up quickly and understood. He
quietly closed the hymn-book, opened
the Bible, read the Scripture, offered
prayer, gave out the notices for the
week, preached his sermon and pro-
nounced the benediction. Calm and
unrufiied and undisturbed was he, as
though that had been the order of ser
vice for hundred years. The even
ing service was conducted in like man.
ner. No hymns were given out, no
reference was made To the subject. He
was 20 quiet and natural that we began
TO wonder if that hadn't been the way
we always worshiped, and had only
dreamed that We used to have a choir
and sang hymns of praise.
OF course that wouldn't DO The
deacOns came together, investigated
the trouble and proifered their services
as arbitrators. The leader was firm,
the preacher was adamant. Finally
the latter said: 'Tll tell you what I'll
do. will give the choir the hymns
for the next six months, and the leader
may have rehearsal any time that best
suits him"
the deacons carried the proposition
To the choir; il was accepted the gal
lery and the pulpit were recOnciled
the preacher was meekly submissive,
the leader was raiiantly triumphant.
But being disposed TO be gracious and
magnanimous, he gave the preacher
two or three days to get over the first
sharp humiliation and pahg of defeat,
then called on him for the hymns. The
preacher sat down and wrote a long
column Of numbers, beginning AT and
running in regular progression =, 3, 1,
>, 6, :, ;, etc, up to lj5.
There" he said, with the air of
defeated man, ''sing them as they
come"
The leader bowed as he took the list
with the kindly condescension ola big
hearted conqueror, and retired.
The Sunday morning after the treaty
of peace was made the church meeting
house was crowded. In his pew, far
up in front of all Others, sat Deacon
Robert Siandfast He was prosper
Gus cattle-man, very Jacob, and had
been out on the prairies with his fiocks
and herds when all this trouble occur
red. He loved his pastor with all the
tenderness of big man. Deacon
S;andfast fairly blazed with indigna-
ton when he heard how his pastor had
been treated. He declared that it should
never happen so again. He reached
tSsn late Saturday night and had
heard only about the war. He knew
nothing OF the declaration of peace, or
rather, knew nothing of the armistice
of six months.
80, when the first hymn was given
out, the choir made that pause of lit
tie minute fiuttering its wings and
smoothing its piumage before it broke
into song. The silence smOte upon
the heart of Deacon Standfast, still
ranking with a sense OF the indignity
put upon his beloved pastor. He arose
TO his feet, drew up his muscular fig
gFe until he doomed up like Saul among
his bEethren-''from his shoulders and
upward higher than any of the peo-
ple''-filled his lungs, and in mighty
voice that had echoed over the suEging
backs of many a horned herd on the
storm-swept prairies, a resounding
shout of far-reaehing cadences that was
qualified to paralyze stampeded steer
into forgetfulness of the terror that was
driving him 10 frenzy, he ''raised the
tune" Alas, for the service of the