It speaks of the hallowed purposes for which it is reared. It is itself a call to holiness, which will not quite be disregarded. It shines forth a beacon and a monument, both of philanthropy and of prayer."

CHAPTER XVII.

CLERICAL DUTY AND COMPENSATION.

Definition of a Parish.-Institution of a Clergyman.-Clerical Costume. Sunday Services.-Performance of Worship.Character of Sermons.-Sunday Schools.—Baptisms.—Confirmations. Marriages. - Churchings. - Funerals. — Registers. Further Parochial Duties.-Pluralities.-Extra-parochial Duties.-Examinations.-Ordinations.-Standing Committees. Ecclesiastical Legislation.-Trials.-Church-politics. Sources of Compensation.-Endowments.-Pew-rents. -Voluntary Contributions.—Presents.—Money more plentiful than men.-Remarks on the Voluntary System.

IT has been already shown, that in the United States the term "Parish" is very generally applied to persons rather than to places. It is true that for certain purposes a parish is defined by canon to be every city, town, village, or township, in which there is an Episcopal congregation. Within these limits all Episcopal clergymen are forbidden to officiate except by invitation of the resident minister, or, in his absence, of the vestry. With this exception,

however, there is no recognition of any geographical limits, and even in the city of New York, where the number of Episcopal Churches is more than twenty, no such division has yet been effected. Generally speaking, a parish may be said to consist of all the pew-holders attached to a particular congregation, with their families and dependents.

A clergyman is elected by the vestry of a parish, sometimes on a temporary, and sometimes on a permanent engagement. Should the engagement be of a permanent nature, he is often, though not always, inducted or instituted, according to the form prescribed in the American Prayer Book. This is done in the face of the assembled congregation, and is a solemn and imposing ceremony. The engagement thus ratified is considered indissoluble, except for some great and weighty reasons. Generally, however, and especially in the smaller parishes, no institution takes place; the minister and the people equally desiring liberty to dissolve the connexion when circumstances may render it expedient. A temporary engagement, in most cases, is not for a less term than one year, and often continues for a much longer period. Still it seldom happens, under the most favourable circumstances, that a clergyman remains for twenty years in the charge of the same parish. The appointment of a bishop to the care of a particular diocese is always for

life, and translations, as such, are never permitted.

The ordinary clerical costume is much the same as in England, consisting of a suit of black, and a white neckcloth. The usual dress of a bishop is in no respect different from that of any other clergyman. In regard to the vestments used in divine service, it may be remarked that they are not designed to indicate collegiate distinctions. A bishop wears the usual full dress, with lawn sleeves, when performing acts peculiarly episcopal. At other times he appears in the vestments of an ordinary presbyter. The latter consist of a surplice, with a black silk scarf, a pair of bands, a gown of black silk, and sometimes a cassock and a sash. In the diocese of Kentucky, the bishop has made a distinction between the dress of presbyters and deacons, by restricting the use of bands to the former.

The regular Sunday services of a clergyman consist of morning and evening prayer and two sermons. These are always expected, and nothing more is absolutely necessary. Most of the clergy, however, in their zeal, go beyond these limits. Some personally superintend their Sunday-schools, and some add a third service at night. The Communion is generally administered once a month, and a weekly lecture is very frequent. During Lent, and in some of the city churches throughout

the year, Wednesdays and Fridays are observed as days of worship. There is no place in America in which the service of the Church is performed daily, unless the General Theological Seminary at New York may be regarded as an exception.

As I have remarked in a former chapter, clergymen are more frequently tempted to exceed their strength than to become remiss. I have known a bishop request a clergyman to diminish his labours; but have never known a bishop stimulate to increased exertion.

In the performance of common prayer, the whole congregation join in the responses, and the psalms and hymns are given out by the clergyman. In the reading of the Creed a disagreeable confusion sometimes arises when a stranger officiates. In my own parish, on one occasion, a bishop performed the services in the morning, and two priests in the afternoon and evening. The bishop read the article on the descent into hell, as it stands in the English Prayer Book; the first presbyter read the substitute permitted in America, "He went into the place of departed spirits ;" omitted the article altogether.

and the second

Very frequently

the clergyman says one thing and the congregation another; and occasionally individuals, disapproving of their pastor's choice, repeat with marked emphasis the phrase which he rejects. The practice of