No chiming and chattering bells
warn them of the day or of the duty--no regularly-constituted and
well-salaried priest--no time-honored fabric, round which the old
forefathers of the hamlet rest--reminding them regularly of the
recurring sabbath, and the sweet assemblage of their fellows. We are to
assume that the teacher is from their own impulses, and that the heart
calls them with due solemnity to the festival of prayer. The preacher
comes when the spirit prompts, or as circumstances may impel or permit.
The news of his arrival passes from farm to farm, from house to house;
placards announce it from the trees on the roadside, parallel, it may
be, with an advertisement for strayed oxen, as we have seen it
numberless times; and a day does not well elapse before it is in
possession of everybody who might well avail themselves of its promise
for the ensuing Sunday. The parson comes to the house of one of his
auditory a night or two before; messages and messengers are despatched
to this and that neighbor, who despatch in turn to other neighbors.
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