I heard the inventor, in explaining, use these words: “The minister arranges the program in advance and then marks the whole order of service on the canvas roll, allowing as much time for each part of the service as he thinks proper. The canvas is then replaced and the Regulator hung on the wall. When the minute comes to commence services, the Regulator is wound with a key and it starts to run. The canvas, in passing down at a fixed rate, informs the congregation of every change in the service, just as it had been previously planned.”
“What think you of it?” asked the manager, after the partial explanation.
“I do not believe that the church of the King’s Highway to which I belong could use it. It would tend only to confusion,” said Miss Church-Member.
“Only till they become accustomed to it,” explained the inventor. “After a few weeks of use its value would be demonstrated. Then the congregation would not part with it under any consideration. You see, Miss Church-Member,” he continued as he offered them easy chairs, “there would be a definite time to close the service. The Regulator would move with the precision of a clock, and nobody would complain about the preacher speaking too long, for he would stop at a fixed time. It is so arranged that a little bell rings five minutes in advance of the time to stop preaching. It is sometimes a great satisfaction for the hearer to know when the sermon is nearly ended, and the Regulator would be a blessed boon to some preachers who find it difficult to stop talking after they get ‘warmed up,’ as they call it.”
“How beautiful the thought that the bells of the Regulator would call the congregation to prayer, and a bell bid the time to change the devotion from prayer to song. You must not forget that this device is intended to educate the minister, choir, and congregation to a fine degree of accuracy in all their public devotions. See what opportunity this device offers for the display of ingenuity and tact on the part of a minister! He can, on the blank spaces, have a few pictures drawn. These will be interesting to children who cannot comprehend his sermon, or to an adult who loses the thread of the discourse. Does it not seem like a good thing for the church?” he asked, as he turned his gaze upon Miss Church-Member.
“It seems more and more that way, and no doubt it will prove helpful if it gets a fair trial. How does it suit _your_ fancy?” she inquired of Mr. World.
“It seems to me that all churches who know a good thing when they see it will get it at any cost. It just meets my idea exactly. I like to see things done decently and in order in the church. It always makes me nervous to get into a church where enthusiasm runs away with the meeting. It makes me feel somewhat as if I were in a trolley car that is running down grade while the motor-man has lost control of the brakes. It makes it uncomfortable to stay or to run.”
“Have any of the churches introduced this novelty yet?” inquired Miss Church-Member.
“None as yet. We are waiting for certain developments before placing this device on the market. The agents of our Secret Service will inform us when the time is ripe.”
The manager then offered to conduct them to another floor which was devoted to the interests of the Prayer Meeting, but Miss Church-Member, having lost her interest in such kind of services, expressed a desire to visit some other part of the city.