Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-12-22
OLD STYLE SUNDAY READING
ROCKS FOR PROMOTION OF
p1ErY IN BYGoNE DAYS.
Secular Books Put Away SATURDAY
Night-volumes OF Sermons
Brought Out.


II would he interesting to note the attl-
+ude of the modern child if he were sud
denly confronted with the phase OF reh-
gtous thought and feeling which found
mart of it's expression in the old-fashioned
SUNDAY reading. Sunday reading Is, !
should say. peculiar to the English ma
ton. just as Sunday itself mas specia'
meaning for the Englishman-a meaning
which comes out in sacred music ana
harmoniuns, in kid gloves and missionary
lotto. There were once Two GEAR oIo sis,
ters who, unable to go to churcn ano
obliged to put their crfpoage IN lae eup
inexpressibly wearisome: An ingenious
friend suggested that they should play
"halma" and call it the "lsraeltes Cross.
ing the Red Sea- which they did, mucn
to the pleasure ana oroHt OIL 'heh Soui'
and their tempers.
Though il would be exaggeratlon TO say
that Sunday reading is entirely out OF
date yet 1t carries us back irreslstloly "
a Victorian era of heavy neahogaly anu anu
green rep curtains, of stuffed BIRDS ana
wax flowers in glass cases edged with req
plush-the insignia of every house with
pretentions to solidarity and elesance-oI
drawing room tablecloths OF red clotn
edged with red plush, or Derchance Oh
handsome black material with a hano-
worked embroidery Of yellow Jessamine
all the way around. 1t recalls funny NJ
tle rickety footstools with WOODWORK tops
indeed. woodwork of all kinds from pansy
SINNERS to pelargonium sofa cushions
extraordinary featS of PATCHWORK, crazy
or otherwise, crochet antimacassars "a
wonderful word. forsooth) and knltted
quilts, which represented years or patlent
labor. And then imagine yourself a very
little girl in a stiff clean frock with short
sleeves, which at church time by mys-
terious and painful system OF hooks and
eyes let down and became long; seat
f@~ fofN 0r16 k<a
yourself on WOODWORK I0otstooI anu laAe
YOUR 'Pilgrims Progress" on your knees
or your best Bible. which was given you
bv your godfathers and godmothers at
your baptism and you will suddenly 1eei
that man-and little girls. too-was made
for the Sabbath and not that the Saopath
was made for man.
Thoughts for Sabbath.
It is not, after all, such a great while
ago since the mother Of the family put
away all week day books and papers on
Saturday night, and secular news and
thoughts were exchanged for volumes Of
sermons. missionary magazines and Sun
dav at Home" such as you will still find
at old-fashioned hotels and railway sta
tons I once knew sweet old lady
whose husbands rigid liberal and non
conformist-had for some thirty years
tried to induce his wife to he broad
minded" but notwithstanding, after he
had gone to bed on Saturday night. she
always slipped down and surreptitiously
put away all the week day books.
Some families were, Of course. brought
up almost exclusively on missionaries.
Every Sunday morning penny was put
In the missionary box, on which knelt
a little appealing black brother, and also
when you were naughty, Wnlch suggested
doing evil that good might come. The
"poor heather was the topic of the day,
and you congratulated yourself with DR..
Watts when he wrote:
Lord. I ascribe 1t to Thy grace
And not to chance, as others do.
That was born OF Christian race
And not heather or Jew.
A very popular story was Little Henry
and His Bearer" which described a good
little white boy who told the poor black
man about God, and who. of course, died
very young.
The Good Die Young.
All very good little children died young
in the story books so that unusual good
ness must have been the source Of con-
siderable anxiety to affectionate parents.
came across little cd book the other
day called Examples for Youth On the
yellow fly leaf was written In childish.
eareda sop o sy her sster It M Was
to be read on Sundays and was dated 1928.
History has it that Mary Palmer, ira
demure little Quakeress withal-became
somewhat n1rtdClOuSiy ltsSliHCu Hol SO
rnany wears later, SO the book may have
been given as an early corrective. The
accounts are taken from the work called
.sIoiefy Promoted and all of them be-
gin with unusual piety in early youth
and end with the deathbed of the little
paragon and his or her dying words.
DIR watts "Divine and Moral Songs for
the Use of Children" already quoted
above, were In great request for Sunday
consumption, for the good doctor provided
for all emergeneies, There are "diyine
songs" on "The Dangers of Delay" SOL
emn Thoughts on God and Death" Ex
amples of Early Piety," Against Lying
AGAINST Quarreling and Fighting"
AGAINST Idleness and Mischief" Against
Pride in Clothes" the last of which runs:
Clothes" the last of which runs:
How proud we are! how proud to show
Our clothes and call them rich and new,
When the poor sheep and silkworms wore
That very clothing long before.
PITY for the poor sheep and stlkworms
and heather was de riguer and this I'M
consciously superior attitude comes out
again in the following:
NV God hate to walk or dwell
With sinful children here:
Then let me not be sent to hell,