. The land of heather . would prefer tosit in the loft (gallery), but how to get there was aproblem. It was plain that within the church no wayexisted to gain the desired place unless one was ath-lete enough to climb the supporting pillars. I didnot think that Presbyterianism would countenancesuch a performance on the part of its gallery wor-shippers, and I concluded to explore outside. Bygoing around to the rear I found a narrow stone stair-way, and I made the ascent to a tiny balcony thatclung high on the wall. A door led from the balconyto the interior, and I soon had installed myself in as
. The land of heather . would prefer tosit in the loft (gallery), but how to get there was aproblem. It was plain that within the church no wayexisted to gain the desired place unless one was ath-lete enough to climb the supporting pillars. I didnot think that Presbyterianism would countenancesuch a performance on the part of its gallery wor-shippers, and I concluded to explore outside. Bygoing around to the rear I found a narrow stone stair-way, and I made the ascent to a tiny balcony thatclung high on the wall. A door led from the balconyto the interior, and I soon had installed myself in aseat. Through the middle of the room below ran a singleaisle, on each side of which were rows of narrow pewswith backs so high and perpendicular it made one achesimply to look at them. Unhappily, the seats in theloft were built on the same plan — a fact I realized moreand more emphatically as time went on. Everythingwas puritanically plain — bare plaster walls, and un-painted pews that were brown and worm-eaten with. An Exchange of Snuff The Sabbath and the Kirks 231 age. The floor was dirty and littered, and I couldnot help fancying its acquaintance with the broomdated back many months. This was indeed the case,as I learned later. Twice a year only was the churchswept and cleaned, and it was then near the end of oneof the undisturbed periods. Heat was supplied by arude stove that sent a long black pipe elbowing up tothe ceiling. The stove was placed just outside theoverhang of the loft, and it apparently smoked attimes, for the gallery-front and the ceiling above wereblackened with soot. None of the churches of the neighborhood had anorgan, partly because it would have been difficult tofind any one in the district who could play such aninstrument, partly because the more old-fashionedpeople of the region thought an organ was irreligious,or at least that its music was not of a character suitedfor Sabbath use in a church. It was a sentiment ofmuch the same sort that formerly
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Keywords: ., bookauthorjohnsonc, bookcentury1900, bookdecade1900, bookyear1904
