The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1905-01-21

Cane-The Quaint Old Meeting
House-Its Bird Cage PulpIt-Its
Straight Backed Peus-sermons
That Were sermons-sDeborah
Stream LonotOnonket Mountain.
To Editor of the Journal and Courier:
CONCLUDED.
The most interesting feature to us
boys was the sitting two and a half
hours in the straight-backed pews, tor
tured with stiff store clothes and Sab
ba' day meeting shoes, eagerly watch
ing for the hour glass on the parsons
desk to run out its last sands, and how
our hearts would sink into those same
SHOES to see the parson as the sands
We're running low, calmly seat himself
and aggravatingly take from his pocket
package of broken loaf sugar and
with great elaboration and solemnity
refresh himself, then, turning over the
glass, go on with (another hour of tor
ture to the wretched youths) his lastly,
and finally mn conclusion amen. There
We're usually enough of the audience
awake to arouse the rest when hey
arose to hear the benediction.
AS they walked down the aisle those
who had done the most sleeping could
be heard saying, Wonderful sermon, -
Powerful, DISCOURSE" when right to
the marrow of things" Meat and
drink fur hui weeke.''
The epoch of epochs was at the dis
trict school when the parsons chaise
drove up to the door upon his yearly
visit.
Such a licking of hair and rubbing of
boots. Such a pulling down of panta-
lettes and smoothing of frocks as he
was ushered sideways through the lit
tie hall into the school room. ILL.,. .a..
The teachers chair being too small for
his superfluities bench was placed
upon the platform, upon which with the
help Of the teacher he was seated with
great bravity of mien, the material rep
resentation Of the great Jehovah in our
y0nng eyes. The scholars, with won
derous awe at size surprising natures
law We're marched up to do him rev.
erence with great occurrences of visage,
the boys with a scrape of the foot and
a pull down of their forelock, the girls
with a scrape and a curtsey. The so
leinnity of the occasion subdued even
the s'Bashee' of the school, and the rats
that samples the boys and girls dinner
baskets as they hung in the hallway
kept close in their holes, for his pres
ellce was welt like the pedagogical rod,
but not in the same place.
Stiffness reigned for for the space OF
half an hour and silence settled deep
and still on the rogue Jack and bonnie
Jill. Oh! for the Joys Of the old time
yaller school house with its red checked
girls, treacle pulls and maple sap bill
: ms. But the tender grace of a day that
is dead will never come back to me.
But grief and Woe was the lot of the
larger boys in the gallery if they slept
who OF us old boys do not remember
the little old tithingman, with his short
bow legs and his long body; you would
laugh when you saw him in spite OF
yourself; 4 his swallow tailed brass but
toned blue coat and his white bell
crowned top hat with the fur worn
off the brim, where it had rested upon
HIS ears and the high coat collars for
fifty years. Latest fashion printed in
bold relief in its crown. When seated
iii meeting he always kept his arm
around it. as Tradition said it was once
stolen by some wicked boys and put on
top Of the whipping post. How sud
denly he would pounce down upon the
shoulders OF the sleeper and from the
cracking Of the bench or the boys
bones you would think the '.Seven
Sleepers Of Christendom' were being
aroused. Said an unfortunate caught
in the act after being pounced up and
down on the bench, Hes small of his
age, but he's strong enough to lick Col
lal,h Of Gath #
Good old Uncle Jeddy, kinder heart
ed man (to the boys upon week day.
never shook chestnut tree or dug out
aapumpkin eater, but through fear fol
his. own and their spiritual and eternal
welfare there must be no '.foolin
around the meetin' ON Sabbaday."
There was then, as now, Sunday
saints and Monday devils, but Teddy
was Il week day saint and Sunday
Brutus. I hope to clasp palms will
him some time in the sweet bye ant
bye where no thieves will kill his COS.
set sheep or steal his Matching geese
and when he can catch his mess Oh
CLAIMS, without 'sthe pesky tide running
him clean out to the upland with half q
bait.'
Jess 50. 1t did. It did, 'pon my sou
lit did. Teddy and his type has passed
OIL. I'll. He lived where his fathers lived
died where they died. Lived happy
died happy and is blessed"
Has this world lost forever that ma
tive honesty and good will that oozeC
from every pore in the bodies of our ole
/ time iTeddys, Nabbys, Sailtruer and De
borahs? -~'
When a mans word was as true al
the blue in his peg knit stockings. Ted
dy's story of his father and two neigh
bors shooting through the bushes ant
killing an 'Hosifer and two soger,
who had killed and was cooking hi
cosset lamb at a camp fire was yer.
graphic. "They buried the Britisher
BY them bars and that big fox crap
grows right out on-um. Stiltrue anc
Nabby makes sass out of them grape
every fall, so we get our chucks bacl
again for the cosset."-
stTns, sn LOG Gu yye dn 'non my sotl