The daily morning journal and courier., 1905-06-29

something toward the salary of the minister, and it would have been the minister's duty, if it were not his pleasure, to acquaint himself with every household as the year went by.
 There was another bit Of social order Icall parish visiting quite a different affair from what it is to-day. In the |country towns, possibly in Boston, the parish visits were arranged in advance, so that notice of them could be given from the pulpit. I shall visit lin the south part of the fifth school district next Thursday. Friday \ shall visit in the north part of that district,
 God permitting" Something like this
 was said in advance from the pulpit, and the people were expected to be ready to receive the minister. Unless lsomething adverse happened or tran Ispired, he met that appointment as a merchant to-day meets 8 note which lcomes due at the bank
 What followed was that he probably knew by sight, certainly by narne,. every man, woman and child in the lparish. And, as am fond of saying, if Jenny Lind were born in an attic, the, minister knew it and could see that lshe was rightly trained. If Tom show | ed a fondness for mathematics, the
 minister knew it and could see that he was rightly trained. If Nahum seemed to be throwing himself away with
 drink the minister knew it and could Il give Nahum the counsel or other help | he needed.
 The was another bit of social order (which has rusted or worn away as the icentury wore on, which is, all the
 same, worth recollecting It is the
 incoming institution of the primitive
 churches, which brought people to-
 gether on Sundays. Here was a large
 township. There were perhaps twenty
 | five square miles in it. Scattered over
 the surface of such a town there might
 be 100, 200 or 300 homes, There was not
 much to bring the different families ltogether, unless they lived quite near leach other. There was not much, but lthere was one institution nearly in lfalliable-that was the institution of Sunday, or the Lords day, or the Sab bath, and what depended upon it. On Sunday every household in the town lsent one or more Representatives to lwhat was properly called the meeting house.
 The meeting was not simply for wor- ship. It was for friendly greeting for
 people who hardly met otherwise. Pro- lbably it emptied three quarters of Ithe houses in the town Why not? Very likely there was no door key. There was no need of one. Everybody had at least one horse, All the children had feet and legs on which they could lwalk. Even if people had no devout impulse they were glad to go to meet ling, because going to meeting was go- ling once week to the club. Very like lily incoming house. was built for the occasion. Very likely you carried to meeting with you something for lunch l--tea or coffee or milk. The minister lknew, as he preached in the morning, that the very same people would be lthere in the afternoon. Perhaps he lsaid in the sermon, We will return to this subject in the afternoon !
 q In such social conditions I have seen stonce and againyoung mothers who had lcarried their babies to church with them If the child walked from a nap
 and cried the mother went quietly out Iof the meeting house with him and lsat on the frontdoorsteps till he went
 to sleep again. And, when the norm
 ling service was over, those who had friends living near the meeting house 5Espent the noon hour with them; those
 who did not care to do this met to- 1gether at the incoming house, where
 was a fire and hot water and the other
 Opportunities for luncheon.