The time of
the day was indicated to our forefathers in their homes by "noon marks" on
the floor or window-seats, and by picturesque sundials; and in the
civil and religious meetings the passage of time was marked by a strong
brass-bound hour-glass, which stood on a desk below or beside the pulpit,
or which was raised on a slender iron rod and standard, so that all the
members of the congregation could easily watch "the sands that ran i' the
clock's behalf." By the side of the desk sat, on the Sabbath, a sexton,
clerk, or tithingman, whose duty it was to turn the hour-glass as often
as the sands ran out. This was a very ostentatious way of reminding the
clergyman how long he had preached; but if it were a hint to bring the
discourse to an end, it was never heeded; for contemporary historical
registers tell of most painfully long sermons, reaching up through long
sub-divisions and heads to "twenty-seventhly" and "twenty-eighthly."
At the planting of the first church in Woburn, Massachusetts, the Rev.
Mr. Symmes showed his godliness and endurance (and proved that of his
parishioners also) by preaching between four and five hours. Sermons which
occupied two or three hours were customary enough. One old Scotch clergyman
in Vermont, in the early years of this century, bitterly and fiercely
resented the "popish innovation and Sabbath profanation" of a Sunday-school
for the children, which some daring and progressive parishioners proposed
to hold at the "nooning.
Pages:
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87