It may be observed that the order of service in a Dutch Church is very
similar to that in vogue in a country church in Scotland. The minutest
details have much in common, but perhaps I had better not enlarge
upon such a coincidence. Before each service the menfolk linger in
front of the church door, with their hands stuck deep down in their
pockets and the inevitable pipe between their teeth. They talk about
almost everything except religion--the crops, their petty difficulties
with Kaffirs, the last hailstorm and the havoc it worked, and so on.
The Boers never enter into theological arguments. Each and all place
implicit faith in the Scriptural teachings, and they take for granted
everything from the beginning to the end of their Bibles. Consequently
the teachings of Scripture are not very firmly impressed on their
minds.

When the organ begins to peal forth the voluntary, the worshippers
troop into their seats. During the choral part of the service the
congregation remain seated, and they rise when the minister prays. The
elderly gentlemen very promptly go to sleep when the text is given
out, and they lean back in their respective corners with the full
assurance that they will not be disturbed for at least an hour.
Occasionally they may be gently aroused by their wives or children,
whose supply of sweets has been exhausted. By the way, every Boer in
the country has one particular weakness, and that is a desire after
sweets. The young men recklessly walk into a store whenever they come
to town, and devote a portion of their capital to the purchase of
'Dutch mottoes,' to which the ladies are very partial. The elderly men
are not so particular in this respect.

When the benediction is about to be pronounced, there is a general