New England Churches

In all the PuriiaE meetings, as then and now in Quaker meetings, the men sat on une side of the meeting-house and tho vromen on the other; and they entered by separate doors. It was a great and much contested change when men and women were ordered to sit together "promiscuoslie." In front, on either side of the pulpit (or vi-ry rarely in the foremost row In the ge.llery), was a seat of highest dignity, known as the "foreseat." in which on!y the persons of greatest importanee in the eommunity sat. Xornetimes r: row of square pews were built on thrcc skles of the ground floor, and were eacb occupied by separate families, whüe the pulpit was on the fourth side. If any man v.ished such a private pew for himself and family, ie obtained perraission from the church and town. and built it at his own exense. Immediately in front of the ralpit was either a long seat or a square nclosed pew for the deacons, who sat facingthe congregattan. This was usually a foot or two above the level of the other pews, and was reached by two or hree steep, narrow steps. On a still ïigher plañe w;is a pew for the ruling elders, when ruling elders there were. rVhat we now eonsider the best seats, hose in the middle of the church, were n olden times the free soats. It is to comprelu-nil what a sonrce of disappointed anticipation, jealousy, offended dig-nity, unseemly pride, and bitter quarreling this method of seats, and thereby, must hare been n those little cnmmunities. How the goodwives must have hated the seating ommittee! Though it was expressly ordered, when the committee rendered ,heir decisión, tliot "the inhabitunts are o rest silent and sett down satysfyed," who can still the tonque of an 'nvious woman or an insulted man? Thoug-h hey were l'uritans, tbey wepe first of 11 men and women. and complaints nd revolte were frequent. Judgfe ewall records that onc indip-nantdame 'treated Captain Osg-ood vi vy ronjrhly n account of the meeting ïouse." To her the dilforpnce bet ween seat in the first and one in the second ow was immeasurably ?rc-at. It was ot alone theSeribes and Pbarisees who esired the hiphest seats in the synafog'ue. It was found necessary at a very arly date to "dignify the meeting," vhich was to makc certain seats, thoug-h n different lociilities, equal in dignity; hus could peace and contented pride e partially restored. For instance, the eating committeo in the Button Church used their "best discresing," and voted that "the third seat below be equal in dignity with the foreseat in the front gallery, and the foarth seat below be equal in diprnity with the foreseat in the side {rallery." etc. thus making many seats of equal honor. Of course wives had to have seats in equal importance with those of their husbands, and each widow retained the dignity apportioned to her in her husband's lifetime. We can well believe that much "discresins1" was necessary in dignifying as well as in seating. Often. after building a new meeting-house with all the painstaking and thoughtful judgment that could be shown. the dissensirms over the seating lasted for years. The pacifleatory fashion of "diffnifying; tbeseats"cliingi lonjj in the Congregational Churches of New England. In East, Hartford it was not abandoned nntil 1894. Many men were un willing1 to serve on these sentina committees, and refused to "meddle with the seating, " protesting against il on account of the odium that was inrnrred. but they wen' seldom "let off." Sometimea the ditficulty was settled in this way: the entire clmroh (or rather the male members) voted who shouldocciipy the foreseat or the liig-liost pew, and the votedin oecupants of this seat of honor formed a committee, who in turn seated the others of the congregation.