It is not in good taste to wear much jewelry at church, or showy articles of any kind that will attract attention. A house of worship is no place for striking effects in costume, such as might be proper at a party or place of amusement.
We often see persons in church turn their heads whenever the door is opened, to see who is coming in. Such a disregard of good manners well deserved the rebuke it received once from a Scotch minister, who, annoyed by this habit, astonished his congregation one Sunday morning by announcing to them the name of each late comer as he entered.
If we cannot give respectful attention to the service, we had better stay at home, and not disturb those who go to church to worship.
The clergyman is often annoyed by the dropping of hymn-books or prayer-books noisily into the rack, especially at the close of the last hymn, when he is waiting to pronounce the benediction. This might be done as well and better without any noise whatever.
It is rude in the extreme to seize hats and rush for the door as soon as the last word is said, or to engage at once in idle chatter and laughter. There should be a reverent pause, and then we should pass slowly and quietly down the aisle. It is ill-bred to seem in haste to be gone. Unless we can sit through the service with patience, we should not attend it. Looking at the clock or taking out one's watch during service comes under the same condemnation as leaving with unbecoming haste at the close.