The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1915-11-26

ctS dAAotIA dSLAN0 do CAAC AAOAAOCy thSA y
being but little difference in their
form and manner of construction. 'In
place of the majestic church of today
with its stained glass windows and
frescoed walls, the meeting houses of
those days were most primitive and
were lighted by little bits of windows
of glass or oiled paper. These meet
ing-hOuses were usually In the CEN
ter of the town and were often sur
rounded by palisade to ward of the
attacks of hostile Indians. The
churches were never heated. Ladies
sometimes would bring warming
pans or hot bricks with which to
keep their feet warm during the SER
vice. There was no instrumental
music and the singing was confined
to Psalns metricauy arranged. The
tunes n-ade use of for this purpose
sermons, which were highly metaphy-
steal in character. were almost inter
minable, sometimes continuing for
two and three hours. If we should
attempt to preach such sermons to-
day our people would all go to sleep.
Mine would, I know, in much less
time than that and / should not
blame them. But the people did not
60 to sleep in those days. They were
obliged to stay awake, constable or
tithing man being employed for that
purpose. These officers were armed
with pole or rod at one end of which
was a hare's tail and at the other a
hare's foot. II a woman was found
asleep in meeting, her face was gently
brushed with the hare,s tail. but III a
small boy was seen nodding he was
promptly whacked over the head with
fI,n~ x~k1 49, 1,o ~ o1y IN IN.
listers Of that day were never worried
about the size Of their congregations.
They never had to lie awake nights
wondering how to reach the masses,
or what scheme they should resort to
next in order to attract people to the
services. Cherries as those services
were. the people were present en-
masse. They simply were obliged to
go, for church attendance was made
compulsory by law. Unnecessary ali
sences could be punished by fines
and II persons were absent four con-
secutive Sundays without cause they
could be put into the pillory or
stocks. The people were summoned
to the service, not by the deep-toned
bell, but by a trumpet blast, the beat
ing of drum, or volley Of mus
kerry When we look at the magnifi-
cent church ediflces of the present,
when we consider the attractiveness
of modern worship. have we not oe-
casion for profound gratitude to God
for the age In which we live?
Social Life Very Different.
''The social life OF that period was
vastly inferior to our own. Means of
communications were primitive in tho
extreme. Today we have our rail-
roads. telegraphs, telephones, trans
Atlantic and trans-Pacific cables, our
steamships and a thousand other con-
veniences to relieve the tedium Of
travel, and lessen distances between
points that are remote. At that time,
to pass from one place to another, it
was necessary to travel over rough
and uneven roads on horseback or in
vehicles without coverings or springs.
It took letter longer to travel a
hundred miles or so than it does to
cross the ocean today. Newspapers
were unknown, books were few, and
educational facilities meagre, the
average high school course of today
being more than an equivalent for
the college education of that time.
But little attention was devoted to
the cultivation of the finer traits in
character The morals of the people
were austere and punishments for
slight misdemeanors were rigorous.
Much has been said and written about
the so-called Blue Laws OF Connect
cut 1t was said that woman could
not kiss her child on the Sabbath.
that nlince pies were forbidden, that
the observance of Christmas was not