In certain quiet nooks of Old England, and, by contrast, in some of the
busiest centres of New England, landmarks of religious history are to be
found which are not to be easily understood by every passer-by. He is
familiar with the ordinary places of worship, at least as features in,
the picture of town or village. Here is the parish church where the
English episcopal order has succeeded to the Roman; yonder is the more
modern dissenting chapel, homely or ornate. But, now and then, among the
non-episcopal buildings we find what is called distinctively a 'Meeting
House,' or more briefly a 'Meeting,' which may perhaps be styled 'Old,'
'New,' or 'Great'. Its architecture usually corresponds with the
simplicity of its name. Plain almost to ugliness, yet not without some
degree of severe dignity, stand these old barn-like structures of
brick--occasionally of stone; bearing the mellowing touch of time,
surrounded by a little overshadowed graveyard, they often add a peculiar
quaintness and solemnity to the scene. Mrs. Gaskell has described one
such in her novel _Ruth_, and admirers of her art should know well that
her own grave lies beside the little sanctuary she pictured so lovingly.

Sometimes, however, the surroundings of the ancient chapel are less
attractive. It stands, it may be, in some poverty-stricken corner or
court of a town or city. Whatever picturesqueness it may have had once
has long since vanished. Unlovely decay, an air of desolation, symptoms
of neglect, present a mournful sight, and one wonders how much longer
the poor relic will remain. Many places of the kind have already been
swept away; others have been renovated, enlarged, and kept more worthy
of their use. Not all the Meeting Houses are of one kind. Independents,
Baptists, and Friends, each possess some of them. Now and again the
notice-board tells us that this is a 'Presbyterian' place of worship,
but a loyal Scot who yearns for an echo of the kirk would be greatly
surprised on finding, as he would if he entered, that the doctrine and