Year: 1859

A rejecting person could naturally sup.
pose that those people who visit Gods
house at the hours of the celebration Of
His worship, whether of prayer, or of
praise and Thanksgiving would have some
senae Of His presence, and Of the sacred
character of the employment in which
they are, OR ought to be engaged How
inappropriate and unbecoming then, the
almost universal habit of critically ex-
amining the style and material of dress,
the new bonnets, silks, berages, ribbons,
gloves, hounces, etc so that misses, not
yet in their teens can tell how many bows
on Sunday, and beaus the balance of
the week ANY young lady may be fortunate
enough to possess. But that which I
would more especially refer to now. is the
oficious interest some persons have in the
particular duties of singers n the gallery,
in connection with the other services of
public worship. When a company of
musicians, Or concert singers give public
exhibition of their skill, cultivation. and
taste, in their profession, and charge
twenty-five cents a ticket, children half
price, it is the right of the purchaser of
ticket to judge whether he receives in





return fair equivalent for the invest.
ment and when rich and lazy christians
hire professional artists, as proxies, to
worship God in the use of the songs Of
His church, it is to be expected that the
music shall be good, in proportion to the
money that buys it. But when a few in.
dividuals, acting under the promptinas of
duty, with desire of humbly assisting
with what capacity and requirements they
possess in the due aud reverent celebration
OF the services of the Sanctuary, working
through good report and evil report, in
summer and winter, in heat and in cold,
in storm and in tempest, in prosperity and
in adversely, always at the post Of duty.
scarcely never absent, sometimes on the
fstal day with the great congregation,
Again in the lorely vigil and solemn fast
with none but themselves and their pastor;
when they stay, may not have just such
music as suits the tastidious taste of some
self constituted critic claim for them
the right to be the judge of their own i'm
perfection, It is very hard work for a
choir of singers, though they may be very
forbearing, may possess and exercise much
charity, may be willing to make sacri'
fee Of many personal injuries for the
general good, to expect every time they
rise to sing, that every ear below them is
open to criticize their voices, that on the
occurrence OF any triaing discord, peaked
noses and beclouded eyes peering through
spectacles of gold silver and brass; pert
misses and impudeht boys hardly old
enough to wear breeches will be turned
towards the gallery to see what is the
matter, without producing at the least, a
disturbance of quiet and devotional feel.
ing unbeftting the place and the occasion.
Is it that they desire to let others know
how good judges they are of music or is
it because they can themselves do better ?
Then why not do it, 1t is their duty as
much as ours. We work not for pay.
Not that | ask of them for myself or my
associates any indulgence or consideration
for the imperfect manner in which our
several duties have been discharged. Not
I. 1 am to old soldier for that. But
l write this to tell them something which
perhaps they never thought of before, that
when they 60 to church they have quite
as many duties of their own to attend to
as they can we'll accomplish, that faith
ful performance of them will be of much
more practical benefit to them and us
than an unauthorized intermeddling with
our affairs. and that we probably know as
soon as any one when our singing is poor


From member of choir for twenty
five years.


Middlebury July Is, 1859.


Here is the best matrimonial adver.