Cumming had renewed
the lease of his house for twenty-one years, only two months
before the date he had fixed with absolute certainty as being the
end of all things. All the same, I am certain that he was
thoroughly in earnest and perfectly genuine in his convictions. As
a child I thought the church--since rebuilt--absolutely beautiful,
but it was in reality a great, gaunt, barn-like structure. It was
always crammed. We were very old-fashioned, for we sat down to
sing, and we stood to pray, and there was no instrument of any
sort. The pew in front of us belonged to Lord Aberdeen, and his
brother Admiral Gordon, one of the Elders, always sat in it with
his high hat on, conversing at the top of his voice until the
minister entered, when he removed his hat and kept silence. This
was, I believe, intended as a protest against the idea of there
being any special sanctity attached to the building itself qua
building. Dr. Cumming had recently introduced an anthem, a new
departure rather dubiously welcomed by his flock. It was the
singular custom of his congregation to leave their pews during the
singing of this anthem and to move about in the aisles; whether as
a protest against a daring innovation, or merely to stretch their
limbs, or to seek better places, I could never make out.
Pages:
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75