LIBRARY OF CONGRESS, Shelf V-till UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. k torp of t\)t faoktn, AS BELONGING TO THE Sacrament of the Lord's Supper. 7 ROBERT SHIELLS. Tell ye your children of it, and let your children tell their children, and their children another generation. — Joel i : 3. NEW YORK: JOHN IRELAND, 1 197 BROADWAY. <^0 ^ ^rcoMottfti I WASHINGTON Copyright. DEDICATION. To all the friends, and they are many, on both sides of the sea, who have given me help and encouragement, my work is respectfully dedicated as a " Token " of appreciation and loving remembrance. No one is named, but each one may read his own name between the lines, as each one is duly remembered by His Grateful Friend, ROBERT SHIELLS. PREFACE. I have no apology to make for the following pages. The story they tell will show how they came to be written. I hope the reader will find the narrative not so unimportant as it may appear at first sight. I have used my most diligent endeavor to collect all the information I could, concerning what has become to me, an interesting study. I have striven to tell what I know about a practice that is fast becoming extinct, and to preserve its memory from the delenda est of the waters of Lethe. The Token was once a visible symbol of that which, like a master-key, opened the gates of salva- tion to the faithful communicants of the Church. Time-honored as the custom was, it will soon be forgotten. I would fain hope that I have been able to add one stone, small as it may be, to its cairn of remembrance. It is with no affectation of humility I acknowledge that neither my reading nor my scholarship fits me to be an authority on this question. I shall be amply repaid for my labor if what I have written shall incite some qualified person' to complete the story of the Token vi PREFACE. Besides being encouraged in my work by the love which I bear to the Church in which I was reared, I confess that I have also endeavored to realize that wish of which Burns speaks, and in which all his countrymen share : — " That I, for poor auld Scotland's sake, Some usefu' plan or book could make." And now, without further preface, " Behold how that I have not laboured for myself only, but for all them that seek wisdom and knowledge." Ecclesias- ticus, xxiv : 39, and xxxiii : 16. "And here will I make an end. If I have done well, and as the story required, it is the thing that I desired : but if I have spoken slenderly and barely, I have done that I could." II. Maccabees, xv : 39. As these sheets pass through the press, I cannot refrain from expressing my gratitude to The Rev. Samuel Macauley Jackson, of New York City. He has held up my hands all through the work, and has ungrudgingly bestowed upon me the benefits of his experience. He has made many valuable suggestions, and attended closely to the proof-read- ing. I thank him heartily. ROBERT SHIELLS. Neenah, Wisconsin, October 18, 1891. CONTENTS. PAGE Dedication 3 Preface . . 5 I. Introduction 9 II. The Origin of the Token 25 III. Modern References to the Token. ... 42 IV. English Token Usages 47 V. Substitutes for Tokens 55 VI. Migration of Tokens 60 VII. Antiquity of Tokens 76 VIII. Tokens in the Early Protestant Records 79 IX. Tokens in France 85 X. Tokens in Holland 99 XL Tokens Used by the United Brethren 106 XII. Early Use of Tokens in Scotland.... 112 XIII. General Use of Tokens in Scotland.. 119 XIV. Tokens as Connected with the Lord's Supper 134 XV. Notices of Special Tokens 137 XVI. Tokens in the United States 150 XVII. Conclusion 157 For in her rubbish and her stones, Thy servants pleasure take ; Yea, they the very dust thereof Do favour for her sake. Psalm cii : 14. (Rous's Version.) THE STORY OF THE TOKEN. i. INTRODUCTION. CONSERVATIVE in all its ways as we esteem our Presbyterian Church, with its Books of Order and Discipline, it has almost imperceptibly changed very much in many of its practices and details. Its bare and rigid style of worship has gradually yielded to the modern desire for beauty and show. In music, and flowers, and aesthetic decora- tion, it has become second to none. It has begun to observe "days, and months, and times." Holidays which our found- ers would have refused even to "take up their names into their lips," have be- come " set times " in our yearly worship. The Church has held fast to "the form of sound words," but some forms that were 10 STORY OF THE TOKEN. once considered essential to the well-order- ing of its services, have become disused, and even obsolete. The celebration of the communion has been specially shorn of what were formerly- thought to be its appropriate and necessary solemnities. It is true that the simple, yet impressive ceremonial used to be prolonged to an extent that the modern church member would quickly rebel against. But the old- time worshipper did not study brevity, and rather insisted on "good measure, pressed down and running over." The time can still be remembered when it was really "the great day of the feast." In country parishes, observed only once a year — requiring a staff of ministers to carry out its varied and lengthy forms of worship — hedged about with days of fast- ing, and preparation, and thanksgiving, it was indeed, as the phrase went, "a great occasion," to which the people looked STORY OF THE TOKEN. 11 forward with desire and looked back with delight. Nowadays all is changed and our fathers would mournfully exclaim, u the glory is departed from Israel." If there are what may be termed sacred mysteries pertaining to our Presbyterian ritual, they are certainly those connected with the observance of an old-time Com- munion. The celebration began with the long penitential prayer and the other pro- tracted exercises of the day of humiliation and fasting : a day kept, if possible, with more than Sabbatical strictness. Then came the usual lengthy preparation services of the Saturday, followed by the plain, but strikingly impressive worship of the Sabbath itself. The church had then assumed an appearance of simple, yet awe-inspiring decoration. The front seats converted into tables, covered with spotless linen, looked as if they were made ready for 12 STORY OF TEE TOKEN. saintly guests. The service opened with the usual preliminaries, which ushered in the "action sermon," bristling with duties, sparkling with promises, and fully setting forth the privileges to be enjoyed. This was the introduction to that stirring address known as the " fencing of the tables." All those who knew that they were presumptuously living in sin, open or secret, were solemnly warned not to ap- proach the sacred feast, as they would "eat and drink judgment to themselves." On the other hand, all who felt the sweet pains of repentance, who were earnestly striving after newness of life and sincerity of obedience, were lovingly invited to sit down at the table of the Lord and partake of its spiritual bounties. Quietly and reverently the communicants filed into the appointed seats. The sacra- mental emblems were uncovered, with all the modest pomp of the Communion vessels. The tables were "served" (as it was termed) STORY OF THE TOKEN. 13 by each officiating minister in turn. At the conclusion of his address, the vener- able elders dispensed the consecrated ele- ments, and the clergyman added a few words of comfort and cheer, usually dis- missing the worshippers with "go from His table, singing His praise, and the God of all peace go with you." As the tables were emptied at the one end they were slowly filled at the other, and so the solemnities went on till all had enjoyed the privilege of obeying the Lord's command, " This do in remembrance of Me." On one occasion (not many years ago), in the south of Scotland, the number present was so great that fifteen successive tables were addressed by the ministers in attend- ance before all the members had communi- cated. The exercises were plentifully inter- spersed with the singing of "those strains that once did sweet in Zion glide." Rous's Psalms, generally with the " read 14 STORY OF THE TOKEN. line," filled up every possible breathing space. I remember the One Hundred and Third Psalm as an especial favorite at such times. This work was kept up without intermis- sion for seven or eight hours. * There was sermon again in the evening, and on Monday there was a thanksgiving service of praise and preaching, which brought the great gathering to a close. All this has now disappeared, and the mutilated ceremony of to-day barely oc- cupies the time set apart for the ordinary church service. * The diary of Rev. John Mill, of Shetland, has many references to the immense labor performed by ministers on such occasions. He notes, August 27, 1775, " The Sacrament was celebrated at Sandwick. I was told I would kill myself with so much work, having preached six times and served seven tables. I replied that, in this event, I would die in a good cause." And again, August, 1780, at the same place, he speaks of himself as " preaching all the day and serving seven tables." Mill's Diary, Edinburgh, 1889, pp. 44 and 60. STORY OF TEE TOKEN. 15 My present intention is, not to moralize over these alterations, but to call attention to one minor ceremony which has fallen, not only into disuse, but almost into utter forgetfulness. This is, the distribution of the Tokens at the close of the Thursday's services, and the " lifting " of them on the Sabbath, when the communicants were seated at the sacra- mental table. There are thousands of Presbyterians in the United States who never even heard of the Communion Token and would be utter- ly at a loss to know how, or where, such a thing could be used. To all such I wish to offer a brief description. When the worshippers were being dis- missed on the Fast-day, the minister and elders stood in front of the pulpit. As the members filed past, those who were in good standing and worthy to communicate, were handed each a small piece of metal known as a Token. 16 STORY OF THE TOKEN. The importance and solemnity with which this distribution was regarded may- be inferred from what is recorded of Rev. George Gillespie, minister of Strath- miglo, Scotland. " He* never gave a Token of admission to the Lord's Supper without a trembling hand and a throbbing heart." * The individual appearance of applicants used to be strictly insisted on. The Ses- sion Records of Edinburgh, 1574, appoint that " the whole communicants come in proper person upon Friday next, at two hours afternoon, and receive their tickets in the places of examination/' f This rule of personal presence was long enforced throughout the entire church. I remem- ber hearing it condemned as a very loose practice, when some ministers relaxed so far as to give Tokens, when neighbors * Scott's Fasti. Vol. IV., p. 510. f Edgar's Old Church Life in Scotland. Vol. I., p. 134. STORY OF THE TOKEN. 17 asked them for absent friends who were unable to be present. In the days when Church discipline was real and meant something, persons resting under temporary disqualification were sum- marily refused Tokens, and were thus de- barred from the coming solemnities.* Those who feared rejection, refrained from pre- senting themselves. On the Sabbath, when the elders passed along the tables, they received from each communicant the token which vouched for his being of the "household of faith" and gave him a right to sit with the people of God. This, in short, was the manner of * In many Churches, ah annual list was made up of those who were to be refused Tokens, and the names were frequently continued from year to year. Still this discreditable roll did not by any means consist of those who were liable to expulsion, or even to the minor excommunication. In Mauchline, 1775, John Richmond joined the Secession Church and his name was forthwith added to the black list, without his being cited or troubled in any way. Edgar's Old Church Life. Vol. I, p. 281. 18 STORY OF THE TOKEN. using those diminutive tablets. Greatly- honored, and even reverenced they were by the devout men and women who had them in keeping only for a day or two, and who looked upon them as their passport of entrance into the very Holy of Holies of their religion. To them, the Token was like the wedding garment of the parable and was deemed equally indispensable. Little of this now remains. The Token has apparently outlived its usefulness. In this country some churches of the United Presbyterian, and the Reformed Presby- terian bodies, still "ask for the old paths and walk therein," though the Token is gradually falling out of repute with them also. Even in Scotland it is now being superseded by a system of cards and checks which serve to show how regu- larly each member " waits upon the ordi- nances." The Token itself was usually a small plate of lead, marked with some device STORY OF THE TOKEN. 19 referring to the congregation which owned it, or to the ordinance with which it was connected, the date- of church organization or of pastorate,* and, " Let a man examine himself," or some such appropriate text. On some specimens a large numeral stand- ing by itself, indicated the number of the table at which the communicant ought to present himself. Any or all of these were stamped on the little piece of metal and marked it as being "set apart from a com- mon to a holy use." A somewhat modern innovation in all the Token countries is the use of Tokens without "a local habitation or a name." They have neither place nor date to iden- tify them with a home. Garnished with some goodly texts to mark their sacred office, they can be used any where and are known as Stock Tokens. *I believe that no dated Scotch Tokens are found before the early part of the seventeenth century. 20 STORY OF THE TOKEN. Churches in the large towns sometimes mixed secular with sacred emblems on the consecrated medals, and displayed their city arms. I have such examples from Glasgow and Perth, as well as from the metropolitan city of Edinburgh. These last bear the familiar and not inappropriate motto, Nisi Dominus Frustra* In 1559, I find the Edinburgh Dean of Guild contracting with one of the city goldsmiths for "tikkets" and " stamping of thame." The same functionary has, till with- in a few years, furnished the Edinburgh Establish- ed Church Tokens. Like the consuls of ancient *Nisi Dominus cusiodierit civitatem, frustra vigilat qui custodit earn. Psalm cxxvii : I. Except the Lord the city keep, The watchmen watch in vain. Rous's Version. STORY OF THE TOREK 21 Rome, the Dean perpetuated his executive connection with the city by marking his initials and date of office on each issue of the Tokens.* I have six of these magisterial vouchers, the dates running from 1754 to 1837. I also have armorial Tokens from Haddington and from the ancient burgh of Canongate. The motto of the latter is strikingly sug- l.gestive in this connection, .J Sic itur ad astra. ("Thus do we reach the stars, "or " immortality.")! Country parishes could not command the services of an artist who "devised cunning * The illustration shows the obverse and reverse of one of those civic Tokens ; R. J. D. G. stands for Robert Johnston, Dean of Guild. f The goat on the shield-shaped Token, is the cognizance of the ancient burgh of Haddington. The stag's head, with the crosslet between its horns, is the crest of the Canongate arms. It refers to a well known incident in Scottish history, A. D. 1128. 22 STORY OF THE TOKEN. works, to work in gold and in silver." Their Tokens were generally rude and primitive in design, and showed what might be the handiwork of the village blacksmith. Wealthy congregations had them of more artistic patterns. Some were aristocratic enough to use Tokens of nickel and even of silver. I have one from the First Reformed Presbyterian Church of New York City, which is made of ivory. The only case I know of where this material has been used. This Token was employed in the Church services up to a very recent date. Tokens were usually cast in a mould or struck as with an old-fashioned coin stamp. Not a few antique specimens have the in- scriptions simply indented with letter punches. Inventories of church property very often include the Token mould. In May, 1590, I find that Patrick Guthrie, a goldsmith in St. Andrews and deacon of STOBY OF THE TOKEN. 23 the guild of hammermen, " has made the irons for striking of the Tokens to the com- munion, and has received from the session for his pains xls." In July, 1590, it is noted that " the session has paid to Patrick Guthrie, for two thousand Tokens to the communion, ten merks."* Soon after this, there is mention that upwards of three thousand communicants partook of the Lord's Supper in St. Andrews, so that a large number of Tokens must have been necessary. To keep up the needful supply of Tokens was considered a duty incumbent on the minister. At his installation, he would probably be reminded to walk in the way of his predecessor in this, as in other par- ticulars. I have read of a case where the mould was formally handed to the new pastor, as if it had been a necessary badge of his ministerial office. * Register of St. Andrews Kirk Session, pp. 672, 677. 24 STORY OF THE TOKEN. It was a common custom to get a new pattern for the Token when a new minister was ordained, and there were instances of clergymen vain enough to insist on this as a means of transmitting their names to posterity. Some Laodicean sessions sold their old Tokens as waste metal, though generally they were melted down for the new issue. Some ultra scrupulous officials buried their discarded symbols, lest they should be profaned by being used for any meaner purpose. It will scarcely be believed that, even at the present day, some ministers have buried their disused Tokens, for fear they should fall into the possession of an intelligent collector, who would thus be sacrilegiously guilty of laying hold of the ark of the covenant with unhallowed hands. II, THE ORIGIN OF THE TOKEN. A Token has been exactly defined as "a sign, mark, or remembrancer of something beyond itself. A pledge that something then specified shall be done or given." . When God brought Noah out of the ark, He said, "This is the token of the covenant which I make between Me and you, — I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token between Me and the earth." We find tokens of various kinds often repeated in His dealings with His chosen servants and His people. It may be noted here, that from the first time the word is used in the Authorized Version of the Bible, "This is the token of the covenant," (Gen. ix: 12) to its last men- tion by St. Paul, (2 Thess. 111: 17) "mine 26 STORY OF THE TOKEX. own hand,— the token in every epistle," the word is invariably " a token for good," with one terrible exception, (Mark xiv: 44) "he that betrayed Him had given them a token." In the Apocryphal Book of Tobit there is an excellent illustration of the use of Tokens in daily life. My black-letter copy of 1584 refers to the practice more plainly than the common version. Tobit lends his friend Gabael ten talents of silver " under an handwriting." In his poverty many years afterwards, he remembers the loan and commissions his son Tobias to recover the money from Gabael, " and give him his handwriting again." Tobias objects, that he is a stranger to the debtor and asks (Tobit v: 2) "what token shall I give him?" Tobit makes answer that Xhzc/iirograp hum, which is still in his possession, will be suf- ficient evidence that Tobias is the proper person to receive the silver. All which proved to be correct. Gabael acknowledged STORY OF THE TOKEN. 27 and redeemed his token by prompt and full payment of the debt. In all ages, and among all nations, there was a constant endeavor to invent a suitable emblem which would mark its possessor as the votary of some special religion, and re- veal him, either openly or secretly, to his fellow-believers. Among such symbols may be specified amulets, talismans, scara- baei, phylacteries, Gnostic gems and scapu- laries. The Abraxas stones of the first and second centuries are a strong case in point. The Greek system of numeral letteis had been in use since the days of Homer. About the time of the Christian era, many fanciful applications of this value of letters were much in vogue. Even St. John (Rev. xiii: 1 8) makes use of the then familiar method. " Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man." 28 8 TORY OF THE TOREK Basilides, a Gnostic heretic {circa A. D. no) and founder of a sect, adopted the mystic word Abraxas, or Abrasax, as com- prising the letters which represented 365, the number of the emanations of perfec- tions on which his system rested. Gems or Tokens, engraved with this name, were ac- counted all-powerful for a great variety of purposes, when the possessors had attained to a full understanding of the things signi- fied. At the same time, they were first given to neophytes as a convenient symbol by which they could be recognized at once, and admitted to the secret gatherings where their enlightenment was to be com- pleted. Singularly enough, in connection with the subject in hand, it is stated that "these gems were composed of various materials, — glass, paste, minerals, and sometimes of metal." * * George Fort, Medical Economy during the Middle Ages. London, 1883. pp. 93-98. STORY OF THE TOKEN. 29 Tokens had thus become a custom fully recognized by the nations at large, especially by those guilds and brotherhoods so com- mon among the peoples of antiquity. The Roman Tesserae, or Tokens, were freely used for identifying those who had been initiated into the Eleusinian and other sacred mysteries. They were given to the victors at the public games, as vouchers that they were for life, the wards of the state. They were given to poor citizens as an order on the authorities for a certain amount of grain. A tessera nummaria performed the func- tions of a modern bill of exchange, or as in the case of Tobit, of a note of hand. The tesserae conviviales must have been nearly the same as our invitation cards to a party, and were handed to the slave who kept the door at the banqueting house. The exigencies of modern society in large cities are compelling a return to the ancient practice. Guests who are bidden 30 STORY OF THE TOKEN. to a fashionable reception are now required to show their cards as a guarantee that they have really been invited. When the Roman ambassadors went to Carthage on a mission involving war or peace, they offered the Carthaginians two tesserae, one marked with a spear, the other with a caduceus, and requested them to take their choice. * Tesserae were largely used as New Year's gifts and often bore inscriptions almost identical with those on our own festival cards. " May the New Year prove fortu- nate and happy unto thee," {Annum Novum faustum et felicem ttbi) is an example in point. f * Hasta et caduceus, signa duo belli aut pads. The caduceus was originally an olive branch, the universal emblem of peace. The hasta was the recognized symbol of legal possession. Smith's Diet, of Greek and Ro7Jian Antiq., Art. Tessera, p. 799- f Martigny, Diet. Antiq. Chre't. Art. Etrennes, p. 241. STORY OF THE TOKEN. 31 Martigny describes a tessera of rock-crystal, the legend on which proves that it was a New Year's gift to the Emperor Coramo- dus, circa A. D. 190.* More sacred than all were the tesserae hospitales which were used between families bound together by the closest ties of in- terest and love. Such a tessera gave the holder a claim on the protection of all those who knew its secret meaning. It descended as an heirloom from one generation to another. The homeless and wayworn wan- derer was admitted into the bosom of the allied household and had all his wants sup- plied if he could show, (even though it was years before) that their respective forefa- thers had exchanged the tesserae of concord and friendship. The early Christian Church would readi- ly adopt the custom as a safeguard against traitors and informers. The defection of " the man of Kerioth " taught the perse- * Martigny, Diet. Antiq. Chre't., p. 632. 32 STORY OF THE TOKEN. cuted brethren the necessity for a Token and a password to be entrusted only to those of tried and approved standing. We do know that tesserae baptismales were given to the converts who, by baptism, were added to the Church. In the Apocalypse we find the promise " to him that overcometh " in the church at Pergamos, (Rev. n : 17) "I will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth, saving he that receiveth it." Does not this plainly refer to the tessera that admitted the stranger brother to the agapae and communion feasts of the primi- tive believers ? Is it not an allusion to a form known and used by all to whom the Apostle was writ-ing ? It is worthy of notice that the rewards which are to be given " to him that over- cometh " in the other six churches, are all well known blessings, easily understood and applied to spiritual honors and benefits STORY OF THE TOKEN. 33 which are more or less familiar to every one. The distinction promised to mem- bers of the church at Pergamos is the only one to the nature of which we now attach any doubt or uncertainty. When the light of the tessera, or Token, is turned upon the promise, all obscurity vanishes. The true meaning is clearly evident and " the secret of the Lord stands revealed." The Token must thus have come down to us from the earliest times of Christian- ity. When it was difficult to tell who could be trusted, it would be readily accepted as a convenient method for ex- cluding impostors who sought to destroy the new faith, or renegades who had disgraced their profession. I am not church historian enough to trace the continuous use of Tokens down through the ages. The sources of infor- mation at my command are too limited to furnish me with full details on the sub- ject. At the same time I cannot help find- 34 STORY OF THE TOKEN. ing my opinion strongly confirmed by several of the practices connected with admission into the early Christian Church. The fathers evidently came near the pattern set by the Pythagorean and Platonic schools of philosophy. They probably did not carry the system of exoteric and esoteric teachings as far as the philosophers, but they followed their example very closely. The Lord's injunction (Matt, vn: 6) C| give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine," was literally obeyed in their intercourse with the heathen. They further defended their conduct in this respect by the words of St. Paul to the Corinthians, (i Cor. in: i) " I could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, ,, and dwelt strongly on the differences set forth in Heb. v: 12-14, of " milk for the babes," and " strong meat for them that are of full age."* *" We speak wisdom among them that are per- fect," or initiated. TaXsiOl, 1 Cor. II : 6. STORY OF TEE TOKEN. 35 A system known as the Arcani Disciplina, or secret teaching, became the recog- nized practice of the Church. This pre- vailed from the middle of the second century and regulated the intercourse of the Fideles, or fully initiated believers, with all who were outside of the pale. The simplest doctrines were not even stated to the heathen neighbor, who disputed merely for the sake of argument. The enquirer who seemed actuated by a better spirit had the rudiments of the new faith carefully and sparingly revealed to him. Even when recognized as a Catechumen* or convert under training, his course of probation was prolonged and sometimes tedious. Catechumens were broadly divided into two classes, the Audientes, or hearers, and *This term is used {Acts xvni: 25) in connection with Apollos who "was instructed in the way of the Lord." Jfarr^OV/^fVOS^—catechumenized,— initiated. 36 STORY OF THE TOKEN. the Competentes, or those who nvere sufficiently taught. The hearers were per mitted to attend the opening services of the Church, such as the psalms and the sermon, but were sent away before the prayers. The sacraments, the creeds, and the sublime doctrines of the Trinity, and the atonement were reckoned among the hidden mysteries {occulta) only to be made known to those who were fully initiated and accounted as Fideles, the faithful ones. The properly instructed novices were accepted as candidates for baptism and advanced accordingly. Even their progress was so gradual that they were taught the Lord's Prayer only a week before they were baptized. At the celebration of the Holy Com- munion the greatest care and vigilance were used so as to exclude all unbelievers or improper persons. The church doors were shut and guarded by the appointed officers. The neophytes were sent away, STORY OF THE TOKEN. 37 (missa catechumenoruvi) and even the faith- ful were not admitted if they came late to the solemnity. " Let the doors be watched, lest any unbelieving or uninitiated person enter," was the emphatic commandment.* When the ceremony was about to com- mence, when the priest stood ready to uncover the elements which had been set on the communion table and covered with the sacred veil, the deacon shouted, " the doors ! the doors !" The attendants sprang forward to close the church gates and keep out all who had not attained to full membership. f The trouble that might ensue "because of false brethren unawares brought in, who came in privily to spy out our liberty/' (Gal. ii : 4) was sedulously guarded against. Un- known members from distant congregations *Smith and Cheetham's Dicty. Christ. Antiq. y Art. Holy Communion, p. 413. \ Dicty. Christ. Aniiq., Art. Canon of the Liturgy, p. 273. 38 STORY OF THE TOKEN. had to present Letters of Communion or of Commendation {Litter ae communicatoriae aut commendatoriae) from the churches to which they belonged. The first of these letters seem to have been akin to the Tokens and admitted the bearers to participate in the Holy Com- munion. The second were more general and commended the strangers not only to the privileges of the Church, but also to the confidence and hospitality of the membership. They were such letters as St. Paul speaks of (2 Cor. 111: 1) " need we, as some others, epistles of commendation to you, or letters of commendation from you? ,, By virtue of his office as an apostle, he neither brought them nor required them. They were such letters as were given to Apollos when he went from Ephesus to Achaia and " the brethren wrote exhorting the disciples to receive him. "(Acts xvm: 27.) Both formulas differed from the Dimissory Letters which STORY OF THE TOKEN. 39 were granted to those who made a perma- nent change of residence and church connection. Still another document called a Koinon- ikon (xoivGDvixor) was given to the really poor Christian who depended on the charity of his brethren to help him on his journey and also looked to them for church fellowship. His claims for spirit- ual and temporal recognition were not to be allowed unless he was duly accredited. The church rule was plain and emphatic, 11 if he shall choose to go without one, ,, [littera peregrinoruni) "let him be removed from communion."* On the other hand, wherever the Christian traveller journeyed, if he went provided with the appointed letters, he found that the "communion of peace," {communicatio pads) and the "bond of hospitality among strangers" {contesse- ratio hospitalitatis) were fully recognized. *Dicty. Christ, Antiq., p. 907. 40 STORY OF 7 HE TOKEN. In course of time, many of these differ- ent letters were written without any name being inserted. This was afterwards con- demned as a lax and pernicious practice, since it permitted them to be handed from one person to another.* For an additional security, the seal of the church or bishop was affixed to the letter, and it seems probable that the sigillum, or seal alone, came to be accepted as a sufficient voucher. At length, any certificate of member- ship was designated as a Formata y a word which signifies not only a formal re- script or mandate, but also the stamp or official impression on a coin or piece of metal. The whole system of supervision was so strict and so efficient that an eminent au- thorf does not hesitate to assert that " no * Dicty. Christ. Antiq., p. 408. The practice was formally condemned by the Council of Aries, A. D. 314. f The late Dean Plumptre in the Dicty. Christ. Antiq., Art. Commendatory Letters, p. 407. STOBY OF THE TOKEN. 41 single practice of the early Christian Church tended so much as this, to impress on it the stamp of unity and organiza- tion." III. MODERN REFERENCES TO THE TOKEN. This is as far as I have been able to identify the established checks and safe- guards of the primitive Church with the issue and use of the communion Tokens. Some better scholar may be able to take up the clue I have indicated and follow it to a certainty. At the same time, the following authori- ties seem to strengthen my position that the Tokens, or tesserae, of the Greeks and Ro- mans had easily paved the way for the introduction of communion certificates (formatae) into the Christian Church. A learned Episcopal writer* says, u in the time of persecution, Christians recognized each other by secret signs or symbols, * Venerable Samuel Cheetham, M.A., King's Col- lege, London. Dicty. Christ. Antiq. Art. Tesserae, p. 1952. STORY OF THE TOKEN. 43 whether spoken as watchwords, or pictorial. Small tablets engraved with such symbols were called Tesserae. It seems also prob- able that Christians, like their pagan fore- fathers, gave Tesserae to each other as pledges of friendship." A distinguished prelate in the Roman Catholic Church* writes as follows, — " The early Christians had the Tokens you refer to, as signs of their faith and as a means of being recognized by each other, even in the second century. These emblems were of ivory, of metal, and of stone. I think that metallic tablets were used as signs of having received communion. The custom of giving such Tokens is well known. It is kept up at the present day in Rome, by means of printed cards. I have seen the little fishes {tesserae bapttsmales) with a hole pierced through them for the purpose * Rt. Rev. F. S. Chatard, Bishop of Vincennes, and formerly Rector of the American College at Rome, Italy. 44 STORY OF THE TOKEN. of carrying them about the person. These little fishes {pisciculi) and other objects were undoubtedly in use among the Chris- tians as signs of their faith." This gentle- man has had exceptional advantages for the study and observation of the subject, and his remarks are entitled to great weight. I learn from another high authority in the Roman Catholic Church* that, " for some time after the Council of Trent, com- munion certificates were used in several countries, but not in all." He could not decide whether they were ever made of metal or not. Another learned clergymanf of the same faith writes that " communion certificates are, even now, given in Bavaria and some other countries." He also states that " in Rome, the Chapter of St. Peter's at one * The Rev. Dr. Philip Grace, of Newport, R. I. f Rev. P. M. Abbelen, Father Superior of Notre Dame, Milwaukee, Wis. STORY OF THE TOKEN. 45 time issued 30,000 certificates in one year." A priest who had charge of a large parish in Dundee, Scotland, for eight years, writes that he " made use of the 'tickets' for communion purposes. They were given to intending communicants on Saturday, and then they delivered them up before going to the altar on Sunday." He says they were Tokens in the true sense of the word. Although he has never seen any thing but cards used, he thinks that, in years past, there have been other Tokens in use. He " feels certain that Tokens do not belong to the time of John Knox, but are an old Catholic tradition." On the other hand, a learned Cathedral Superior, in Scotland,* is equally certain that " the Token is a purely Protestant institution. The imposing of any outward barrier to communicate is out of harmony *Rt. Rev. Mgr. Alexander Munro, D.D., Pro- vost of Glasgow Cathedral. 46 STORY OF IRE TOKEN. with the feeling and tradition of the Church." At the same time he concedes that, for local considerations, and to check abuses, Tokens have been utilized from time to time. In his own diocese, a few years ago, they were used and used wisely, for more than twenty years, but were dis- carded as soon as practicable. He also says that in the early ages of the Church, there must have been some ready way of admit- ting the faithful to communion and exclud- ing enemies from the Christian assemblies. For this purpose, something correspond- ing to a Token may have been used. I have in my collection this card Token so long used in the Cathedral Church of i Glasgow. It is marked with the Greek word ^waSfis (a convocation or gathering). The term is usually applied to devotional meetings. A familiar expression is, Ad sa- cram synaxim accedere. (" To go to Holy Communion.") IV. ENGLISH TOKEN USAGES. At the beginning of the 15th century the currency of England was in the worst possible condition. Not only had the coin- age been debased on account of political necessity, but there was a perfect dearth of small change. Billon, or black money of mere nominal value was brought over from the English mints in France. Abbey Tokens and jetons of every kind passed for fractional parts of a penny, no matter whether they had been struck for sacred or secular purposes. The tesserae sacrae which served as passports for the inferior clergy travelling from one monastery to another, the "medals of presence" and other church and communion pieces passed indiscriminately with the leaden medalets of the tavern-keeper and the tradesman. As many as 3,000'varieties of this latter class are 48 STORY OF THE TOKEN. . known, and they continued in circulation till the close of the 17th century. About A. D. T500, Erasmus speaks of the plumbos Aiigliae, and they are often casually referred to as being used by com- municants and for sacramental purposes.* In the time of Queen Mary of England, 1554-55, Cardinal Pole appointed every parish priest to keep account of all those who, on a stated day, had not attended to their communion duty. And again, in 1557, he calls for the names of those who had not been reconciled to the Church. The Token-Books of St. Saviour's Church, Southwark, are still in existence and form a complete directory of all the streets, lanes, and alleys in the parish. Every parishioner's name is carefully en- tered at his residence and the list must * John Yonge Akerman, Tradesmen's Tokens. London, 1849. p. 6. Stanley Lane Poole, Coins and Medals. London, 1885. p. 128. STORY OF THE TOKEN. 49 have been compiled from a domiciliary visitation. * It would appear as if all were virtually compelled to attend communion, and conformity was insisted on. Recusants are duly marked and some- times commented on. One is noted as an Anabaptist and ** had no Token last year." Another is accounted for as " a Brownist," and a third calls out the pointed remark, " Mr. Swetson knows who paid no Token." Edward Matthew is gibbeted as " a very badd (sic) husband and cometh not to the communion." These books were written up annually, and extend from 1559 to 1630, covering nearly all of Queen Elizabeth's time, the entire reign of James I., and the first five years of Charles I. In 1596 the lists show 2,200 Tokens sold at two-pence each, * The names of many leading actors of the Shakesperean era are found in these books. Among others, sixteen of those whose names are printed in the first edition of his plays. 50 STOBY OF THE TOKEN. and in 1620 nearly 2,000 at threepence each.* In 1658, the parish accounts of Newbury, Berkshire, are charged with 300 Tokens at three shillings and sixpence. A later Token of this parish is still to be met with. Rev. Joseph Sayer was the incumbent from 1666 to 1674. His Tokens are marked with a Bible, and the inscription, " Joseph Sayer, Rector of Newbury." In 1659 the parish records of Henley-on- Thames, Oxfordshire, make mention of Tokens being in use and designate them as " communion halfpence." The church register of St. Peter's of Mancroft, Norwich, also records the use of Tokens and gives minute details of their cost and manufacture, as well as of the ^Token- House-Yard is a cul-de-sac off Throg- morton street, near the Bank of England. It may be that its name is more intimately connected with the Tradesmen's Tokens of the 15th, 16th and 17th centuries than with the Communion Tokens spoken of in the text. STORY OF THE TOKEN. 51 communion dues collected by means of them.* * In the parish account book of St. Peter's of Mancroft, Norwich, are the following entries : A. D. L. s. D. 1632. Paid for moulds to cast tokens in o 4 o 1633. Paid to Norman for leaden tokens 006 1640. Paid to Thomas Turner for 300 tokens o 3 O 1644. Paid to Howard, the plomer, for tokens o o o 1659. Paid to Goodman Tenton for cut- ting a mould for the tokens. ... 026 1680. Paid to the Widow Harwood for lead tokens 050 1683. Paid Mrs. Harrold for new tokens 010 1684 " " " 010 1686. Paid for tokens bought, and herbs for the church o 2 6 The following is an account of the receivings, by tokens, of the communicants at various times : A. D. L. s. D. 1682. Paid for bread aud wine, more than received by tokens o 19 I 1683. Paid for bread and wine, more than received by tokens o 15 I 1685. Received by tokens 3 o n^ 1686. Received by tokens at eleven communions in the said year.. 3 18 6 1687. Received by tokens at ten com- munions in the said year 3 2 3 The last similar entry in the book is in 1696. Akerman, Tradesmen' s Tokens, London, 1849. pp. 4, 5- 52 STORY OF THE TOKEN. In the diocese of Durham the clergy farmed out their Easter and other dues. From this custom grew considerable scan- dal, and a consequent trial for the irreve- rent disturbing of public worship on Palm Sunday, Good Friday and Easter. It is given in evidence that one John Richardson " tooke Easter reckeninges of such people as received the holie communion, and there accompted with them, and delivered and received Tokens of them, as is used in other parishes." Another witness tells how Richardson's deputies usually wrote down "the names of all the then communicants, not householders, and att the tyme of writinge there names, dow deliver them Tokens, which in the tyme of the adminis- tracion of the sacrament, they call for againe, to the end that they may knowe whoe-doe pay the Easter offerings and whoe doe not/' Still another witness states that he had seen "Richardson at Easter tyme goe upp STORY OF THE TOKEN. 53 and dovvne amongst the communicants, and in time of receiving the holie communion receive of some communicants some mon- ies, and take in certain leade Tokens (as the use of the parish is) from such as had formerlie by there maisters reckoned and payed." And that he had "seene all whoe were under-farmors to Richardson since that tyme doe the like."* The Presbyterian Church never exacted such dues and " never sold her sacraments.'* The following extract from a work on Commercial Tokens also refers to the an- tiquity of Church Tokens. "(No.)i3i9. the comomon (Commun- ion) cvpp — Sacramental cup and cover. — Rev. i. h. s. A cross, Calvary, rising from the horizontal bar of the h ; and seven stars below." * Acts of the High Commission Court within the Diocese of Durham. Surtees Society, pp. 82-100. For most of the above English facts I am in- debted to Notes and Queries, 1878-79. 54 STORY OF THE TOKEN "Possibly this piece has reference to what is occasionally noticed in church-wardens* accounts as token money. James the First, by patent dated May 18, 1609, granted to Francis Philips and Richard More, the rectory and church of St. Sepulchre in the city of London, with all its rights, mem- bers and appurtenances ; ' also all tithes and profits of the servants and apprentices, and strangers (extraneorum), and other parish- ioners, commonly called the teken money^ paid or payable at Easter time.' The cus- tom, it is said, prevailed long before the period of the Reformation, when each pa- rishioner was 'houselled,' that is, received the sacrament and was shrived ; though the practice has long since been commuted by the payment of a certain sum."* * Jacob Henry Burn. " Descriptive Catalogue of the London Trader s\ Tavern and Coffee-House Tokens current in the Seventeenth Century. " 2nd edition, London, 1855. page 265. V. SUBSTITUTES FOR TOKENS. The English Episcopal service contains the following rubric which evidently takes the place of the Token, as a check on unworthy communicating. " So many as intend to be partakers of the Holy Com- munion, shall signify their names to the Curate at least some time the day before." The Curate is further enjoined to watch for any that may be evil livers, or that cherish malice and hatred against their neighbors, &c, &c. He is to exclude all such, " not suffering them to be partakers of the Lord's Table, until he knows them to be reconciled." At the risk of introducing extraneous matter, I quote from the rubric providing for the administration of the sacrament which directs that the minister shall first partake of the bread and wine, "then he 56 STORY OF THE TOKEN. shall deliver the same to the bishops, priests and deacons in like manner, (if any be present) and after that to the people also in order." In some English country parishes, the last two words have been subjected to a curious interpretation. The squire, or leading man in the parish, com- municated first. Then the subordinate gentry, then the people at large according to their station in life. The scale of precedence was as well defined as the entree to a diplomatic dinner. In this connection I recall an incident which the narrator tells he saw about thirty years ago. He was visiting in York- shire where the squire of the parish had lately died. There was communion service the first Sunday after the funeral. When the time came for communicating, the con- gregation kept their seats till the dead man's personal servant opened the door of the empty pew, and went through the form of letting some one pass out. After this STORY OF THE TOKEN. 57 ghostly pantomine had been enacted, the sacramental services proceeded as usual.* An Episcopal dignitary in Brechin, Scotland, states that "it was formerly the custom, on the Sunday before Holy Communion, to receive the names of those intending to communicate and note them down as they passed out of church. This was continued for a good while. "f I have at present in my possession, drawings of a considerable number of Tokens belonging to Episcopal churches, mostly in the north of Scotland. One specimen is marked " + S. Andrew's (Episcopal) Chapel, Glasgow, 1750." Nearly all of them pertain to the 17th and 18th centuries. I have in my collection, a modern card on which is printed, " All Saints' Church, Edinburgh," and "Easter Communion." This seems conclusive evidence that the * Notes and Queries, Jan'y, 1890. f Very Rev. James Crabb, Dean of the diocese. 58 STORY OF THE TOKEN. Episcopal Church has not altogether abandoned the use of communion checks and Tokens. I have an old volume (London, 1691) entitled " Letters from Italy." The writer travelled much in company with priests and, according to the custom of the time and the country, generally lodged at monasteries and religious houses. Again and again he incidentally refers to expe- riences with spurious priests and pilgrims. These vagabond devotees journeyed with counterfeit letters of credence and false seals and certificates. " Letters of obedi- ence " were palmed off for " letters of devotion." Forged letters of pilgrimage with the broad seal of the archbishop could be bought at reasonable rates. The whole narrative shows the serious imposi- tions which the early Church must have had to contend with and which her officers strove to avert by their rigid system of checks and safeguards. STORY OF THE TOKEN. 59 I cannot help taking all these dif- ferent items as strong proofs of the continuous antiquity and universality of the Token. VI. MIGRATION OF TOKENS. I also find that even the modern Token has done duty as a voucher for member- ship or a certificate of dismission. It was at one time a common practice in Scotland for members who were leaving one parish for another, to carry with them the Token of their home church as an introduction to their new brethren. In this way, Tokens are often found in Scotland, far from the church which originally issued them. I have picked up Scotch Tokens, both in the United States and in Canada, which had been brought across the sea in place of regular church letters. I possess one notable spec- imen of the transmigration of Tokens. It is marked U A. C. D.,* 1788." It *" A. C. D.," i. e. Associate Congregation, Dairy. STORY OF TEE TOKEN. 61 originally comes from Dairy, Scotland. In 1822, the Rev. Dr. Gemmill, from Dairy, Ayrshire, organized a church in Lanark, Ontario. He seems to have brought his full equipment with him, and the Dairy Token still performs communion duty in the far-off Canadian village. I am indebted to Dr. Gemmill's im- ported Token-bag, for another rare and in- teresting specimen, almost or altogether unknown in Scotland. It is marked " T. S. A." Rev. Samuel Arnot was ordained at Tongland, Kirkcudbright- shire, in 1661. Casting in his lot with the Covenanters, he was expelled by the Government, in 1662. Warrants were issued for his apprehension and a price set on his head. He died, while under hiding, in 1688, just before the Revolution brought deliverance to him, and all such persecuted wanderers. At this late day, his Token is unveiled r BVV\^V"V\/VN/V^> fe%