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diff --git a/old/66277-0.txt b/old/66277-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index e08dde7..0000000 --- a/old/66277-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,13390 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook of "Pennsylvania Dutch," and other essays, by -Phebe Earle Gibbons - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you -will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before -using this eBook. - -Title: "Pennsylvania Dutch," and other essays - -Author: Phebe Earle Gibbons - -Release Date: September 12, 2021 [eBook #66277] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -Produced by: Charlene Taylor and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team - at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images - generously made available by The Internet Archive/American - Libraries.) - -*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK "PENNSYLVANIA DUTCH," AND OTHER -ESSAYS *** - - - - - -“PENNSYLVANIA DUTCH.” - -(PROPERLY GERMAN.) - - - - - “PENNSYLVANIA DUTCH,” - AND - OTHER ESSAYS. - - BY - PHEBE EARLE GIBBONS, - AUTHOR OF “FRENCH AND BELGIANS.” - - _THIRD EDITION, REVISED AND ENLARGED._ - - PHILADELPHIA: - J. B. LIPPINCOTT & CO. - 1882. - - Copyright, 1882, by PHEBE EARLE GIBBONS. - - - - -PREFACE. - - -The leading article in this collection appeared, as first published, in -the _Atlantic Monthly_ in October, 1869. After this essay was written I -became better acquainted with our plain German sects, and wrote articles -describing them, which were published in the first edition of this book. -It appeared in 1872. - -To the second edition were added “Bethlehem and the Moravians” and -“Schwenkfelders,” as well as an Appendix, and the edition was published -about the opening of 1874. - -The present volume contains articles that have never before appeared -in book-form, namely, “The Miners of Scranton,” “Irish Farmers,” and -“English.” However, the first was published in _Harpers’ Magazine_ for -November, 1877. Another short article appeared earlier in the same -periodical; and several other essays were first brought before the -public in Philadelphia and New York papers. - -From personal observation I have been able to revise a considerable part -of this volume, which contains more than double the amount of matter -comprised in the first edition. - - AUGUST, 1882. - - - - -CONTENTS. - - - PAGE - - “PENNSYLVANIA DUTCH” (PROPERLY GERMAN) 11 - - Language 11 - - Religion 13 - - History of a Sect 18 - - Politics 20 - - Festivals 22 - - Weddings 24 - - Quiltings 29 - - “Singings” 31 - - Farming 33 - - Farmers’ Wives 36 - - Holidays 45 - - Public Schools 47 - - Manners and Customs 49 - - Additional Remarks 53 - - AN AMISH MEETING 59 - - SWISS EXILES 70 - - Books 71 - - Menno Symons 74 - - William of Orange 75 - - Persecution in Zurich and Berne 78 - - The States-General 83 - - Alsace and the Palatinate 87 - - William Penn 88 - - “Connystogoe” 91 - - Harmony among Sects 95 - - Mennonite Church History 99 - - Traditions 100 - - Russian Mennonites 102 - - Mennonites in Germany 106 - - THE DUNKER LOVE-FEAST 112 - - Electing a Preacher 119 - - The Feet-Washing 123 - - The Kiss of Peace 125 - - The Communion 126 - - River Brethren 134 - - Brinser Brethren 136 - - EPHRATA 138 - - Conrad Beissel 138 - - Peter Miller 145 - - Publications 152 - - Zinzendorf’s Visit 155 - - The Buildings now standing 163 - - Old Clock 166, 170 - - BETHLEHEM AND THE MORAVIANS 173 - - Festivals 176 - - The Graveyard 183 - - Old Recollections 185 - - Old Buildings 198 - - Miscellaneous Remarks 200 - - Historical Note 203 - - SCHWENKFELDERS 206 - - Meeting-House and Graveyard 207 - - Books 210 - - History 212 - - Journey to America 224 - - Anniversary or Yearly Meeting 226 - - Customs 230 - - Doctrines 234 - - Additional Remarks 239 - - A FRIEND 244 - - COUSIN JEMIMA 260 - - THE MINERS OF SCRANTON 268 - - Superstitions 270 - - Hardships 272 - - Amusements 274 - - Wives and Children 281 - - Fare 285 - - Aspirations 288 - - Culture 292 - - Strikes 295 - - IRISH FARMERS 304 - - A Farm-House in the County Cork 307 - - Another Farmer 325 - - A Castle 327 - - The Southwest 333 - - Michael McBride 337 - - To and in Dublin 340 - - ENGLISH 344 - - Farms and Farmers 350 - - The Church and Rector 356 - - Dissenters 360 - - Taxes and Tithes 363 - - Schools 365 - - Miscellaneous 372 - - Peculiarities of Speech 379 - - APPENDIX 381 - - The Pennsylvania German Dialect 381 - - Proper Names 391 - - Politics 393 - - Yankees 394 - - Thrift 395 - - Charms and Superstitions 397 - - Medical Superstitions 401 - - Holidays 404 - - Easter 404 - - Halloween 405 - - Peltz Nickel 407 - - New Year 407 - - The Plainer Sects 408 - - The People Contrasted 414 - - Miscellaneous 415 - - - - -“PENNSYLVANIA DUTCH.” - -(PROPERLY GERMAN.) - - -I have lived for twenty years in the county of Lancaster, where my -neighbors on all sides are “Pennsylvania Dutch.” In this article I shall -try to give, from my own observation and familiar acquaintance, some -account of the life of a people who are little known outside of the rural -neighborhoods of their own State, who have much that is peculiar in their -language, customs, and belief, and of whom I have learned to esteem the -native good sense, friendly feeling, and religious character. - - -LANGUAGE. - -The tongue which these people speak is a dialect of the German, but they -generally call it and themselves “Dutch.” - -For the native German who works with them on the farm they entertain some -contempt, and the title “Yankee” is with them a synonyme for cheat. As -must always be the case where the great majority do not read the tongue -which they speak, and live in contact with those who speak another, the -language has become mixed and corrupt. Seeing a young neighbor cleaning a -buggy, I tried to talk with him by speaking German. “Willst du reiten?” -said I (not remembering that _reiten_ is to ride on horseback). “Willst -du reiten?” All my efforts were vain. - -As I was going for cider to the house of a neighboring farmer, I asked -his daughter what she would say, under the circumstances, for “Are you -going to ride?” “Widdu fawray? Buggy fawray?” was the answer. (Willst -du fahren?) Such expressions are heard as “Koock amul to,” for “Guck -einmal da,” or “Just look at that!” and “Haltybissel” for “Halt ein -biszchen,” or “Wait a little bit.” “Gutenobit” is used for “Guten Abend.” -Apple-butter is “lodwaerrick,” from the German _latwerge_, an electuary, -or an electuary of prunes. Our “Dutch” is much mixed with English. I once -asked a woman what pie-crust is in Dutch, “Py-kroosht,” she answered. - -Those who speak English use uncommon expressions, as,—“That’s a werry -_lasty_ basket” (meaning durable); “I seen him yet a’ready;” “I knew a -woman that had a good baby _wunst_;” “The bread is all” (all gone). I -have heard the carpenter call his plane _she_, and a housekeeper apply -the same pronoun to her home-made soap. - -A rich landed proprietor is sometimes called _king_. An old “Dutchman” -who was absent from home thus narrated the cause of his journey: “I must -go and see old Yoke (Jacob) Beidelman. Te people calls me te kink ov te -Manor (township), and tay calls him te kink ov te Octorara. Now, dese -kinks must come togeder once.” (Accent _together_, and pass quickly over -_once_.) - - -RELIGION. - -I called recently on my friend and neighbor, Jacob S., who is a thrifty -farmer, of a good mind, and a member of the old Mennist or Mennonite -Society. I once accompanied him and his pleasant wife to their -religious meeting. The meeting-house is a low brick building, with neat -surroundings, and resembles a Friends’ meeting-house. The Mennonists -in some outward matters very much resemble the Society of Friends (or -Quakers), but do not rely, in the especial manner that Friends do, upon -the teachings of the Divine Spirit in the secret stillness of the soul. - -In the interior of the Mennist meeting a Quaker-like plainness prevails. -The men, with broad-brimmed hats and simple dress, sit on benches on one -side of the house, and the women, in plain caps and black sun-bonnets, -are ranged on the other; while a few gay dresses are worn by the young -people who have not yet joined the meeting. The services are almost -always conducted in “Dutch,” and consist of exhortation and prayer, and -singing by the congregation. The singing is without previous training, -and is not musical. A pause of about five minutes is allowed for private -prayer. - -The preachers are not paid, and are chosen in the following manner. When -a vacancy occurs, and a new appointment is required, several men go into -a small room, chosen for the purpose; and to them, waiting, enter singly -the men and women, as many as choose, who tell them the name of the -person preferred by each to fill the vacancy. After this, an opportunity -is given to any candidate to excuse himself from the service. Those who -are not excused, if, for instance, six in number, are brought before six -books. Each candidate takes up a book, and the one within whose book a -lot is found is the chosen minister. I asked my friends who gave me some -of these details, whether it was claimed or believed that there is any -special guidance of the Divine Spirit in thus choosing a minister. From -the reply, I did not learn that any such guidance is claimed, though they -spoke of a man who _was led_ to pass his hand over all the other books, -and who selected the last one, but he did not get the lot after all. He -was thought to be ambitious of a place in the ministry. - -The three prominent sects of Mennonites all claim to be non-resistants, -or _wehrlos_. The Old Mennists, who are the most numerous and least -rigid, vote at elections, and are allowed to hold such public offices -as school director and road supervisor, but not to be members of the -legislature. The ministers are expected not to vote.[1] The members of -this society cannot bring suit against any one; they can hold mortgages, -but not judgment bonds.[2] Like Quakers, they were not allowed to hold -slaves, and they do not take oaths nor deal in spirituous liquors. - -My neighbor Jacob and I were once talking of the general use of the -word “Yankee” to denote one who is rather unfair in his dealings. They -sometimes speak of a “Dutch Yankee;” and Jacob asked me whether, if going -to sell a horse, I should tell the buyer every fault that I knew the -horse had, as he maintained was the proper course. His brother-in-law, -who was at times a horse-dealer, did not agree with him. - -Titles do not abound among these plain neighbors of ours. Jacob’s little -son used to call him “Jake,” as he heard the hired men do. Nevertheless, -one of our New Mennist acquaintances was quite courtly in his address. - -This last-mentioned sect branched off some fifty years ago, and claim -to be _reformirt_, or to have returned to an older and more excellent -standard. They do not vote at all. Their most striking peculiarity is -this: if one of the members is disowned by the church, the other members -of his own family who are members of the meeting are not allowed to eat -at the same table with him, and his wife withdraws from him. A woman who -worked in such a family told me how unpleasant it was to her to see that -the father did not take his seat at the table, to which she was invited. - -In support of this practice, they refer to the eleventh verse of the -fifth chapter of First Corinthians: “But now I have written unto you not -to keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or -covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; -with such an one _no not to eat_.” - -We have yet another sect among us, called Amish (pronounced Ommish). In -former times these Mennists were sometimes known as “beardy men,” but -of late years the beard is not a distinguishing trait. It is said that -a person once asked an Amish man the difference between themselves and -another Mennist sect. “Vy, dey vears puttons, and ve vearsh hooks oont -eyes;” and this is, in fact, a prime difference. All the Mennist sects -retain the ordinances of baptism and the Lord’s supper, but most also -practise feet-washing, and some sectarians “greet one another with a holy -kiss.” - -On a Sunday morning Amish wagons, covered with yellow oil-cloth, may be -seen moving toward the house of that member whose turn it is to have -the meeting. Great have been the preparations there beforehand,—the -whitewashing, the scrubbing, the polishing of tin and brass. Wooden -benches and other seats are provided for the “meeting-folks,” and the -services resemble those already described. Of course, young mothers do -not stay at home, but bring their infants with them. When the meeting -is over, the congregation remain to dinner. Bean soup was formerly the -principal dish, but, with the progress of luxury, the farmers of a fat -soil no longer confine themselves to so simple a diet. Imagine what a -time of social intercourse this must be. - -The Amish dress is peculiar; and the children are diminutive men and -women. The women wear sun-bonnets and closely-fitting dresses, but -often their figures look very trim, in brown, with green or other -bright handkerchiefs meeting over the breast. I saw a group of Amish -at the railroad station the other day,—men, women, and a little boy. -One of the young women wore a pasteboard sun-bonnet covered with black, -and tied with narrow blue ribbon, among which showed the thick white -strings of her Amish cap; a gray shawl, without fringe; a brown stuff -dress, and a purple apron. One middle-aged man, inclined to corpulence, -had coarse, brown, woollen clothes, and his pantaloons were without -suspenders, in the Amish fashion. No buttons were on his coat behind, -but down the front were hooks and eyes. One young girl wore a bright -brown sun-bonnet, a green dress, and a light blue apron. The choicest -figure, however, was the six-year-old, in a jacket, and with pantaloons -plentifully plaited into the waistband behind; hair cut straight over the -forehead, and hanging to the shoulder; and a round-crowned black wool -hat, with an astonishingly wide brim. The little girls, down to two years -old, wear the plain cap, and the handkerchief crossed upon the breast. - -In Amish houses the love of ornament appears in brightly scoured -utensils,—how the brass ladles are made to shine!—and in embroidered -towels, one end of the towel showing a quantity of work in colored -cottons. When steel or elliptic springs were introduced, so great a -novelty was not at first patronized by members of the meeting; but an -infirm brother, desiring to visit his friends, directed the blacksmith to -put a spring inside his wagon, under the seat, and since that time steel -springs have become common. I have even seen a youth with flowing hair -(as is common among the Amish), and two trim-bodied damsels, riding in a -very plain, uncovered buggy. A. Z. rode in a common buggy; but he became -a great backslider, poor man! - -It was an Amish man, not well versed in the English language, from whom I -bought poultry, who sent me a bill for “chighans.” - -In mentioning some ludicrous circumstances, far be it from me to ignore -the virtues of these primitive people. - - -HISTORY OF A SECT. - -The Mennonites are named from Menno Symons, a reformer, who died in 1561, -though it is doubtful whether Menno founded the sect. “The prevailing -opinion among church historians, especially those of Holland, is that the -origin of the Dutch Baptists may be traced to the Waldenses, and that -Menno merely organized the concealed and scattered congregations as a -denomination.” - -Mosheim says, “The true origin of that sect, which acquired the -denomination of Anabaptists, by their administering anew the rite of -baptism to those who came over to their communion, and derived that of -Mennonites from the famous man to whom they owe the greatest part of -their present felicity, is hidden in the depths of antiquity, and is of -consequence extremely difficult to be ascertained.” The “Martyr-Book,” -or “Martyr’s Mirror,” in use among our Mennonites, endeavors to prove -identity of doctrine between the Waldenses and these Baptists, as regards -opposition to infant baptism, to war, and to oaths. - -Although the Mennonites are very numerous in the county of Lancaster, yet -in the whole State they were estimated, in 1850, to have but ninety-two -churches, while the Lutherans and German Reformed together were estimated -as having seven hundred. - -The freedom of religious opinion which was allowed in Pennsylvania had -the effect of drawing hither the continental Europeans, who established -themselves in the fertile lands of the western part of the county of -Chester, now Lancaster. It was not until the revolution of 1848 that the -different German states granted full civil rights to the Mennonites; and -in some cases this freedom has since been withdrawn; Hanover, in 1858, -annulled the election of a representative to the second chamber, because -he was a Mennonite. Much of this opposition probably is because the -sect refuse to take oaths. With such opposing circumstances in the Old -World, it is not remarkable that the number of Mennonites in the United -States has been reported to exceed that in all the rest of the world -put together.[3] The Amish are named from Jacob Amen, a Swiss Mennonite -preacher of the seventeenth century. - -As I understand the Mennonites, they endeavor in church government -literally to carry out the injunction of Jesus, “Moreover if thy brother -shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and -him alone; if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother. But if -he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the -mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established. And if he -shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church; but if he neglect to -hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican.” - -Besides these sectaries, we have among us Dunkers (German _tunken_, to -dip), from whom sprang the Seventh-Day Baptists of Ephratah, with their -brother- and sister-houses of celibates. - -Also at Litiz we have the Moravian church and Gottesacker (or -churchyard), and a Moravian church at Lancaster. Here, according to -custom, a love-feast was held recently, when a cup of coffee and a rusk -(sweet biscuit) were handed to each person present. - -We have, too, a number of “Dutch Methodists,” or _Albrechtsleute_ -(followers of Albrecht), to whom is given the name Evangelical -Association. These are full of zeal or activity in church, like the early -Methodists; and I saw a young man fall apparently into a trance at a -camp-meeting, lying upon the ground, to the satisfaction of his wife, who -probably thought he was “happy.” - - -POLITICS. - -As our county was represented in Congress by Thaddeus Stevens, you have -some idea of what our politics are. We have returned about five or six -thousand majority for the Whig, Anti-Masonic, and Republican ticket, and -the adjoining very “Dutch” county of Berks invariably as great a majority -for the Democratic. So striking a difference has furnished much ground -for speculation. The Hon. John Strohm says that Berks is Democratic -because so many Hessians settled there after the Revolution. “No,” says -the Hon. Mr. B., “I attribute it to the fact that the people are not -taught by unpaid ministers, as with us, but are Lutherans and German -Reformed, and can be led by their preachers.” “Why is Berks Democratic?” -I once asked our Democratic postmaster. “I do not know,” said he; “but -the people here are ignorant; they do not read a paper on the other -side.” A former postmaster tells me that he has heard that the people of -Berks were greatly in favor of liberty in the time of the elder Adams; -that they put up liberty-poles, and Adams sent soldiers among them and -had the liberty-poles cut down; and “ever since they have been opposed to -that political party, under its different names.” - -A gentleman of Reading has told me that he heard James Buchanan -express, in the latter part of his life, a similar opinion to one given -before. Mr. Buchanan said, in effect, that while peace sects prevailed -in Lancaster County, in Berks were found many Lutherans and German -Reformed, who were more liberal (according, of course, to Mr. Buchanan’s -interpretation of the word). - -The troubles alluded to in Berks seem to have been principally on -account of a direct tax, called “the house-tax,” imposed during the -administration of John Adams. - -The people of Berks and Lancaster gave another striking proof of the -difference of their political sentiments, on the question of holding -the Constitutional Convention of 1874. The vote of Berks was 5269 for a -convention, and 10,905 against a convention; the vote of Lancaster was, -for a convention 16,862, against the same 116. - -A gentleman of Easton, Northampton County, tells me of a German farmer, -who lived near that town, who said he did not see any need of so many -parties,—the Democrats and Lutherans were enough. On his death-bed he -is reported to have said to his son, “I never voted anything but the -Democratic ticket, and I want you to stick to the party.” - - -FESTIVALS. - -The greatest festive occasion, or the one which calls the greatest number -of persons to eat and drink together, is the funeral. - -My friends Jacob and Susanna E. have that active benevolence and correct -principle which prompt to a care for the sick and dying, and kind offices -toward the mourner. Nor are they alone in this. When a death occurs, -our “Dutch” neighbors enter the house, and, taking possession, relieve -the family as far as possible from the labors and cares of a funeral. -Some “redd up” the house, making that which was neglected during the sad -presence of a fatal disease again in order for the reception of company. -Others visit the kitchen, and help to bake great store of bread, pies, -and rusks for the expected gathering. Two young men and two young women -generally sit up together overnight to watch in a room adjoining that of -the dead. - -At funerals occurring on Sunday three hundred carriages have been seen -in attendance; and so great at all times is the concourse of people -of all stations and all shades of belief, and so many partake of the -entertainment liberally provided, that I may be excused for calling -funerals the great festivals of the “Dutch.” (Weddings are also highly -festive occasions, but they are confined to the “freundschaft,” and to -much smaller numbers.) - -The services at funerals are generally conducted in the German language. - -An invitation is extended to the persons present to return to eat -after the funeral, or the meal is partaken of before leaving for the -graveyard: hospitality, in all rural districts, where the guests come -from afar, seems to require this. The tables are sometimes set in a barn, -or large wagon-house, and relays of guests succeed one another, until all -are done. The neighbors wait upon the table. The entertainment generally -consists of meat, frequently cold; bread and butter; pickles or sauces, -such as apple-butter; pies and rusks; sometimes stewed chickens, mashed -potatoes, cheese, etc.; and coffee invariably. All depart after the -dish-washing, and the family is left in quiet again. - -I have said that persons of all shades of belief attend funerals; but -our New Mennists are not permitted to listen to the sermons of other -denominations. Memorial stones over the dead are more conspicuous than -among Friends; but they are still quite plain, with simple inscriptions. -Occasionally family graveyards are seen. One on a farm adjoining ours -seems cut out of the side of a field; it stands back from the high-road, -and access to it is on foot. To those who are anxious to preserve the -remains of their relatives, these graveyards are objectionable, as they -will probably not be regarded after the property has passed into another -family. - -A Lutheran gentleman, living in Berks County, in speaking of the great -funerals among the “Dutch,” says, “Our Germans look forward all their -lives to their funerals, hoping to be able to entertain their friends -on that great occasion with the hospitality due to them, and the honor -due to the memory of the departed.” No spirituous liquors, he added, are -_now_ used at funerals, the clergy having discouraged their use on these -religious occasions. In a mountain valley in Carbon County, about thirty -years ago, a bottle of whiskey was handed to a Lutheran minister, and he -was asked to take some. “Yes, I’ll have some,” he answered; and taking -the bottle, he broke it against a tree. - - -WEDDINGS. - -Our farmer had a daughter married lately, and I was invited to see the -bride leave home. The groom, in accordance with the early habits of the -“Dutch” folks, reached the bride’s house about six in the morning, having -previously breakfasted and ridden four miles. As he probably fed and -harnessed his horse, besides attiring himself for the grand occasion, he -must have been up betimes on an October morning. - -The bride wore purple mousseline-de-laine and a blue bonnet. As some of -the “wedding-folks” were dilatory, the bride and groom did not get off -before seven. The bridegroom was a mechanic. The whole party was composed -of four couples, who rode to Lancaster in buggies, where two pairs were -married by a minister. In the afternoon the newly-married couples went -down to Philadelphia for a few days; and on the evening that they were -expected at home we had a reception, or home-coming. Supper consisted -of roast turkeys, beef, and stewed chickens, cakes, pies, and coffee -of course. We had raisin-pie, which is a great treat in “Dutchland” -on festive or solemn occasions. “Nine couples” of the party sat down -to supper, and then the remaining spare seats were occupied by the -landlord’s wife, the bride’s uncle, etc. We had a fiddler in the evening. -He and the dancing would not have been there had the household “belonged -to meeting;” and, as it was, some young Methodist girls did not dance. - -One of my “English” acquaintances was sitting alone on a Sunday evening, -when she heard a rap at the door, and a young “Dutchman,” a stranger, -walked in and sat down, “and there he sot, and sot, and sot.” Mrs. G. -waited to hear his errand, politely making conversation; and finally -he asked whether her daughter was at home. “Which one?” He did not -know. But that did not make much difference, as neither was at home. -Mrs. G. afterwards mentioned this circumstance to a worthy “Dutch” -neighbor, expressing surprise that a young man should call who had not -been introduced. “How then _would_ they get acquainted?” said he. She -suggested that she did not think that her daughter knew the young man. -“She would not tell you, perhaps, if she did.” The daughter, however, -when asked, seemed entirely ignorant, and did not know that she had ever -seen the young man. He had probably seen her at the railroad station, -and had found out her name and residence. It would seem to indicate much -confidence on the part of parents, if, when acquaintances are formed in -such a manner, the father and mother retire at nine o’clock, and leave -their young daughter thus to “keep company” until midnight or later. -It is no wonder that one of our German sects has declared against the -popular manner of “courting.” - -I recently attended a New Mennist wedding, which took place in the frame -meeting-house. We entered through an adjoining brick dwelling, one -room of which served as an ante-room, where the “sisters” left their -bonnets and shawls. I was late, for the services had begun about nine -on a bitter Sunday morning in December. The meeting-house was crowded, -and in front on the left was a plain of book-muslin caps on the heads -of the sisters. On shelves and pegs, along the other side, were placed -the hats and overcoats of the brethren. The building was extremely -simple,—whitewashed without, entirely unpainted within, with whitewashed -walls. The preacher stood at a small, unpainted desk, and before it was a -table, convenient for the old men “to sit at and lay their books on.” Two -stoves, a half-dozen hanging tin candlesticks, and the benches completed -the furniture. The preacher was speaking extemporaneously in English, for -in this meeting-house the services are often performed in this tongue; -and he spoke readily and well, though his speech was not free from such -expressions as, “It would be wishful for men to do their duty;” “Man -cannot separate them together;” and “This, Christ done for us.” - -He spoke at length upon divorce, which, he said, could not take place -between Christians. The preacher spoke especially upon the duty of the -wife to submit to the husband whenever differences of sentiment arose; -of the duty of the husband to love the wife, and to show his love by his -readiness to assist her. He alluded to Paul’s saying that it is better to -be unmarried than married, and he did not scruple to use plain language -touching adultery. His discourse ended, he called upon the pair proposing -marriage to come forward; whereupon the man and woman rose from the -body of the congregation on either side, and, coming out to the middle -aisle, stood together before the minister. They had both passed their -early youth, but had very good faces. The bride wore a mode-colored -alpaca, and a black apron; also a clear-starched cap without a border, -after the fashion of the sect. The groom wore a dark-green coat, cut -“shad-bellied,” after the fashion of the brethren. - -This was probably the manner of their acquaintance: If, in spite of -Paul’s encouragement to a single life, a brother sees a sister whom he -wishes to marry, he mentions the fact to a minister, who tells it to -the sister. If she agrees in sentiment, the acquaintance continues for -a year, during which private interviews can be had if desired; but this -sect entirely discourages courting as usually practised among the “Dutch.” - -The year having in this case elapsed, and the pair having now met before -the preacher, he propounded to them three questions: - -1. I ask of this brother, as the bridegroom, do you believe that this -sister in the faith is allotted to you by God as your helpmeet and -spouse? And I ask of you, as the bride, do you believe that this your -brother is allotted to you by God as your husband and head? - -2. Are you free in your affections from all others, and have you them -centred alone upon this your brother or sister? - -3. Do you receive this person as your lawfully wedded husband [wife], do -you promise to be faithful to him [her], to reverence him [to love her], -and that nothing but death shall separate you; that, by the help of God, -you will, to the best of your ability, fulfil all the duties which God -has enjoined on believing husbands and wives? - -In answering this last question, I observed the bride to lift her eyes -to the preacher’s face, as if in fearless trust. Then the preacher, -directing them to join hands, pronounced them man and wife, and invoked -a blessing upon them. This was followed by a short prayer, after -which the wedded pair separated, each again taking a place among the -congregation. The occasion was solemn. On resuming his place in the desk, -the preacher’s eyes were seen to be suffused, and pocket-handkerchiefs -were visible on either side (the sisters’ white, those of the brethren of -colored silk). The audience then knelt, while the preacher prayed, and -I heard responses like those of the Methodists, but more subdued. The -preacher made a few remarks, to the effect that, although it would be -grievous to break the bond now uniting these two, it would be infinitely -more grievous to break the tie which unites us to Christ; and then a -quaint hymn was sung to a familiar tune. This “church” does not allow -wedding-parties, but a few friends may gather at the house after meeting. - -At Amish weddings the meeting is not in a church, like the one just -spoken of, for their meetings are held in private houses. I hear that -none go to this meeting but invited guests, except that the preachers are -always present; and after the ceremony the wedded pair with the preachers -retire into a private apartment, perhaps for exhortation upon their new -duties. - -A neighbor tells me that the Amish have great fun at weddings; that they -have a table set all night, and that when the weather is pleasant they -play in the barn. “Our Pete went once,” she continued, “with a lot of the -public-school scholars. They let them go in and look on. They twisted a -towel for the bloom-sock, and they did hit each other.” (Bloom-sock, -_plump-sack_, a twisted kerchief,—a clumsy fellow.) - -“The bloom-sock” (_oo_ short), I hear, “is a handkerchief twisted long, -from the two opposite corners. When it is twisted, you double it, and tie -the ends with a knot. One in front hunts the handkerchief, and those on -the bench are passing it behind them. If they get a chance, they’ll hit -him with it, and if he sees it he tears it away. Then he goes into the -row, and the other goes out to hunt it.” - -It has also been said that at Amish wedding-parties they have what -they call _Glücktrinke_, of wine, etc. Some wedding-parties are called -infares. Thus, a neighbor spoke of “Siegfried’s wedding, where they had -such an infare.” The original meaning I suppose to be home-coming. - -It must not be inferred from these descriptions that we have no -“fashionable” persons among us, of the old German stock. When they have -become fashionable, however, they do not desire to be called “Dutch.” - - -QUILTINGS. - -There lives in our neighborhood a pleasant, industrious “Aunt Sally,” a -yellow woman; and one day she had a quilting, for she had long wished -to re-cover two quilts. The first who arrived at Aunt Sally’s was our -neighbor from over the “creek,” or mill-stream, Polly M., in her black -silk Mennist bonnet, formed like a sun-bonnet; and at ten came my dear -friend Susanna E., who is tall and fat, and very pleasant; who has -Huguenot blood in her veins, and— - - “Whose heart has a look southward, and is open - To the great noon of nature.” - -Aunt Sally had her quilt up in her landlord’s east room, for her own -house was too small. However, at about eleven she called us over to -dinner; for people who have breakfasted at five or six have an appetite -at eleven. - -We found on the table beefsteaks, boiled pork, sweet potatoes, -kohl-slaw,[4] pickled tomatoes, cucumbers, and red beets (thus the -“Dutch” accent lies), apple-butter and preserved peaches, pumpkin- and -apple-pie, with sponge-cake and coffee. - -After dinner came our next neighbors, “the maids,” Susy and Katy Groff, -who live in single blessedness and great neatness. They wore pretty, -clear-starched Mennist caps, very plain. Katy is a sweet-looking woman; -and, although she is more than sixty years old, her forehead is almost -unwrinkled, and her fine fair hair is still brown. It was late when -the farmer’s wife came,—three o’clock; for she had been to Lancaster. -She wore hoops, and was of the “world’s people.” These women all spoke -“Dutch;” for “the maids,” whose ancestor came here probably one hundred -and fifty years ago, do not yet speak English with fluency. - -The first subject of conversation was the fall house-cleaning; and I -heard mention of “die carpet hinaus an der fence,” and “die fenshter und -die porch;” and the exclamation, “My goodness, es war schlimm” (it was -bad). I quilted faster than Katy Groff, who showed me her hands, and -said, “You have not been corn-husking, as I have.” - -So we quilted and rolled, talked and laughed, got one quilt done, and put -in another. The work was not fine; we laid it out by chalking around a -small plate. Aunt Sally’s desire was rather to get her quilting finished -upon this great occasion, than for us to put in a quantity of needlework. - -About five o’clock we were called to supper. I need not tell you all the -particulars of this plentiful meal. But the stewed chicken was tender, -and we had coffee again. - -Polly M.’s husband now came over the creek in the boat, to take her home, -and he warned her against the evening dampness. The rest of us quilted a -while by candle and lamp, and got the second quilt done at about seven. - -At this quilting I heard but little gossip, and less scandal. I displayed -my new alpaca, and my dyed merino, and the Philadelphia bonnet which -exposes the back of my head to the wintry blast. Polly, for her part, -preferred her black silk sun-bonnet; and so we parted, with mutual -invitations to visit. - - -“SINGINGS.” - -Mary ⸺ tells me that she once attended a “singing” among the Amish. About -nightfall, on a Sunday evening in summer, a half-dozen “girls” and a few -more “boys” met at the house of one of the members. They talked a while -first on common subjects, and then sang hymns from the Amish hymn-book -in the German tongue. They chanted in the slow manner common in their -religious meetings; but Mary says that some are now learning to sing by -note, and are improving their manner. They thus intoned until about ten -o’clock, and then laid aside their hymn-books, and the old folks went -to bed. Then the young people went out into the wash-house, or outside -kitchen, so as not to wake the sleepers, and played, “Come, Philander, -let’s be marching,” and - - “The needle’s eye we do supply - With thread that runs so true; - And many a lass have I let pass - Because I wanted you.” - -Which game seems to be the same as - - “Open the gates as high as the sky - And let King George and his troops go by.” - -In these kissing plays, and in some little romping among the young men, -the time was spent until about two or three in the morning, when they -separated, two girls from a distance staying all night. Mary was able to -sleep until daylight only, for no allowance is made for those who partake -in these gay vigils to make up in the morning for loss of sleep. - -There were no refreshments upon this occasion, but once at a singing at -Christ. Yoder’s, it is said that the party took nearly all the pies out -of the cellar, and the empty plates were found in the wash-house next -morning. - -Dancing-parties are not unknown among us, but they are not popular among -the plain people whom I especially describe. - - -FARMING. - -In this fertile limestone district farming is very laborious, being -entirely by tillage. Our regular routine is once in five years to -plough the sod ground for corn. In the next ensuing year the same -ground is sowed with oats; and when the oats come off in August, the -industrious “Dutchmen” immediately manure the stubble-land for wheat. -I have seen them laying the dark-brown heaps upon the yellow stubble, -when, in August, I have ridden some twelve or fourteen miles down to the -hill-country for blackberries. - -After the ground is carefully prepared, wheat and timothy (grass) seed -are put in with a drill, and in the ensuing spring clover is sowed upon -the same ground. By July, when the wheat is taken off the ground, the -clover and timothy are growing, and will be ready to mow in the next or -fourth summer. In the fifth the same grass constitutes a grazing-ground, -and then the sod is ready to be broken up again for Indian corn. Potatoes -are seldom planted here in great quantities; a part of one of the -oat-fields or corn-fields can be put into potatoes, and the ground will -be ready by fall to be put into wheat, if it is desired. A successful -farmer put more than half of his forty acres into wheat; this being -considered the best crop. The average crop of wheat is about twenty -bushels, of Indian corn about forty. I have heard of one hundred bushels -of corn in the Pequea valley, but this is very rare. - -When the wheat and oats are in the barn or stack, enormous eight-horse -threshers, whose owners go about the neighborhood from farm to farm, -thresh the crop in two or three days; and thus what was once a great job -for winter may all be finished by the first of October. - -Jacob E. is a model farmer. His buildings and fences are in good order, -and his cattle well kept. He is a little past the prime of life; his -beautiful head of black hair being touched with silver. His wife is -dimpled and smiling, and her weight of nearly two hundred does not -prevent her being active, energetic, forehanded, and “thorough-going.” -During the winter months the two sons go to the public school,—the older -one with reluctance; there they learn to read and write and cipher, -and possibly they study geography; they speak English at school, and -“Dutch” at home. Much education the “Dutch” farmer fears, as productive -of laziness; and laziness is a mortal sin here. The E.’s rarely buy a -book. I suggested to one of our neighbors that he might advantageously -have given a certain son a chance with books. “Don’t want no books,” was -the answer. “There’s enough goes to books! Get so lazy after a while -they won’t farm.” The winter is employed partly in preparing material to -fertilize the wheat-land during the coming summer. Great droves of cattle -and sheep come down our road from the West, and our farmers buy from -these, and fatten stock during the winter months for the Philadelphia -market. A proper care of his stock will occupy some portion of the -farmer’s time. A farmer’s son told me also of cutting wood and quarrying -stone in the winter, adding, “If a person wouldn’t work in the winter, -they’d be behindhand in the spring.” - -Besides these, the farmer has generally a great “freundschaft,” or family -connection, both his and his wife’s; and the paying visits within a -range of twenty or thirty miles, and receiving visits in return, help -to pass away the time. Then Jacob and Susanna are actively benevolent; -they are liable to be called upon, summer and winter, to wait on the sick -and to help bury the dead. Susanna was formerly renowned as a baker at -funerals, where her services were freely given. - -This rich level land of ours is highly prized by the “Dutch” for farming -purposes, and the great demand has enhanced the price. The farms, too, -are small, seventy acres being a fair size. When Seth R., the rich -preacher, bought his last farm from an “Englishman,” William G. said to -him, “Well, Seth, it seems as if you Dutch folks had determined to root -us English out; but thee had to pay pretty dear for thy root this time.” - -There are some superstitious ideas that still hold sway here, regarding -the growth of plants. A young girl coming to us for cabbage-plants said -that it was a good time to set them out, for “it was in the Wirgin.” It -is very doubtful whether she knew _what_ was in Virgo, but I suppose that -it was the moon. So our farmer’s wife tells me that the Virgin will do -very well for cabbages, but not for any plant like beans, for, though -they will flower well, they will not mature the fruit. Fence should be -set in the up-going of the moon; meat butchered in the down-going will -shrink in the pot. - - -FARMERS’ WIVES. - -One of my “Dutch” neighbors, who, from a shoemaker, became the owner of -two farms, said to me, “The woman is more than half;” and his own very -laborious wife (with her portion) had indeed been so. - -The woman (in common speech, “the old woman”) milks, raises the poultry, -has charge of the garden,—sometimes digging the ground herself, and -planting and hoeing, with the assistance of her daughters and the -“maid,” when she has one. (German, _magd_.) To be sure, she does not -go extensively into vegetable-raising, nor has she a large quantity of -strawberries and other small fruits; neither does she plant a great -many peas and beans, that are laborious to “stick.” She has a quantity -of cabbages and of “red beets,” of onions and of early potatoes, in -her garden, a plenty of cucumbers for winter pickles, and store of -string-beans and tomatoes, with some sweet potatoes. - -Peter R. told me that in one year, off their small farm, they sold “two -hundred dollars’ worth of _wedgable_ things, not counting the butter.” As -in that year the clothing for each member of the family probably cost no -more than fifteen dollars, the two hundred dollars’ worth of vegetable -things was of great importance. - -Our “Dutch” never make _store_-cheese. At a county fair, only one cheese -was exhibited, and that was from Chester County. The farmer’s wife boards -all the farm-hands, and the mechanics—the carpenter, mason, etc.—who -put up the new buildings, and the fence-makers. At times she allows the -daughters to go out and husk corn. It was a pretty sight which I saw one -fall day,—an Amish man with four sons and daughters, husking in the -field. “We do it all ourselves,” said he. - -(Said a neighbor, “A man told me once that he was at an Amish husking—a -husking-match in the kitchen. He said he never saw as much sport in all -his life. There they had the bloom-sock. There was one old man, quite -gray-headed, and gray-bearded; he laughed till he shook.” Said another, -“There’s not many huskings going on now. The most play now goes on at the -infares.”) - -In winter mornings perhaps the farmer’s wife goes out to milk in the -stable with a lantern, while her daughters get breakfast; has her house -“redd up” about eight o’clock, and is prepared for several hours’ sewing -before dinner, laying by great piles of shirts for summer. We no longer -make linen; but I have heard of one “Dutch” girl who had a good supply of -domestic linen made into shirts and trousers for the future spouse whose -fair proportions she had not yet seen. - -There are, of course, many garments to make in a large family, but -there is not much work put upon them. We do not yet patronize the -sewing-machine very extensively, but a seamstress or tailoress is -sometimes called in. At the spring cleaning the labors of the women folk -are increased by whitewashing the picket-fences. - -In March we make soap, before the labors of the garden are great. The -forests are being obliterated from this fertile tract, and many use -what some call _consecrated_ lye; formerly, the ash-hopper was filled, -and a good lot of egg-bearing lye run off to begin the soap with, while -the weaker filled the soft-soap kettle, after the soap had “come.” -The chemical operation of soap-making often proved difficult, and, of -course, much was said about luck. “We had bad luck making soap.” A -sassafras stick was preferred for stirring, and the soap was stirred -always in one direction. In regard to this, and that other chemical -operation, making and keeping vinegar, there are certain ideas about the -temporary incapacity of some persons,—ideas only to be alluded to here. -If the farmer’s wife never “has luck” in making soap, she employs some -skilful woman to come in and help her. It is not a long operation, for -the “Dutch” rush this work speedily. If the lye is well run off, two -tubs of hard soap and a barrel of soft can be made in a day. A smart -housekeeper can make a barrel of soap in the morning, and go visiting in -the afternoon. - -Great are the household labors in harvest; but the cooking and baking in -the hot weather are cheerfully done for the men, who are toiling in hot -suns and stifling barns. Four meals are common at this season, for “a -piece” is sent out at nine o’clock. I heard of one “Dutch” girl’s making -some fifty pies a week in harvest; for if you have four meals a day, and -pie at each, many are required. We have great faith in pie. - -I have been told of an inexperienced Quaker housewife in the neighboring -county of York, who was left in charge of the farm, and during harvest -these important labors were performed by John Stein, John Stump, and John -Stinger. She also had guests, welcome perhaps as “rain in harvest.” To -conciliate the Johns was very important, and she waited on them first. -“What will thee have, John Stein?” “What shall I give thee, John Stump?” -“And thee, John Stinger?” On one memorable occasion there was mutiny in -the field, for John Stein declared that he never worked where there were -not “kickelin” cakes in harvest, nor would he now. _Küchlein_ proved to -be cakes fried in fat; and the housewife was ready to appease “Achilles’ -wrath,” as soon as she made this discovery. - -We made in one season six barrels of cider into apple-butter, three at -a time. Two large copper kettles were hung under the beech-trees, down -between the spring-house and smoke-house, and the cider was boiled down -the evening before, great stumps of trees being in demand. One hand -watched the cider, and the rest of the family gathered in the kitchen -and labored diligently in preparing the cut apples, so that in the -morning the “schnits” might be ready to go in. (_Schneiden_, to cut, -_geschnitten_.) - -One bushel and a half of cut apples are said to be enough for a barrel -of cider. In a few hours the apples will all be in, and then you will -stir, and stir, and stir, for you do not want to have the apple-butter -burn at the bottom, and be obliged to dip it out into tubs and scour the -kettle. Some time in the afternoon, you will take out a little on a dish, -and when you find that the cider no longer “weeps out” round the edges, -but all forms a simple heap, you will dip it up into earthen vessels, -and when cold take it “on” to the garret to keep company with the hard -soap and the bags of dried apples and cherries, perhaps with the hams and -shoulders. Soap and apple-butter are usually made in an open fireplace, -where hangs the kettle. At one time (about the year 1828) I have heard -that there was apple-butter in the Lancaster Museum which dated from -Revolutionary times; for we do not expect it to ferment in the summer. -It dries away; but water is stirred in to prepare it for the table. -Sometimes peach-butter is made, with cider, molasses, or sugar, and, -in the present scarcity of apples, cut pumpkin is often put into the -apple-butter. - -Soon after apple-butter-making comes butchering, for we like an early -pig in the fall, when the store of smoked meat has run out. Pork is the -staple, and we smoke the flitches, not preserving them in brine like the -Yankees. We ourselves use much beef, and do not like smoked flitch, but I -speak for the majority. Sausage is a great dish with us, as in Germany. - -Butchering is one of the many occasions for the display of friendly -feeling, when brother or father steps in to help hang the hogs, or a -sister to assist in rendering lard, or in preparing a plentiful meal. An -active farmer will have two or three porkers killed, scalded, and hung -up by sunrise, and by night the whole operation of sausage and “pudding” -making, and lard rendering, will be finished, and the house set in order. -The friends who have assisted receive a portion of the sausage, etc., -which portion is called the “metzel-sup” (or soop). The metzel-sup is -very often sent to poor widows and others. - -_We_ make scrapple from the skin, a part of the livers, and heads, with -the addition of corn-meal; but, instead, our “Dutch” neighbors make -_liverwurst_ (“woorsht”), or meat pudding, omitting the meal, and this -compound, stuffed into the larger entrails, is very popular in Lancaster -market. Some make _pawn-haus_ from the liquor in which the pudding-meat -was boiled, adding thereto corn-meal. The name is properly _pann-haas_, -and signifies, perhaps, panned-rabbit. It is sometimes made of richer -material. - -These three dishes, just before mentioned, are fried before eating. -I have never seen hog’s-head cheese in “Dutch” houses. If the -boiling-pieces of beef are kept over summer, they are smoked, instead of -being preserved in brine. Much smear-case (_schmier-käse_), or cottage -cheese, is eaten in these regions. Children, and some grown people too, -fancy it upon bread with molasses; which may be considered as an offset -to the Yankee pork and molasses. - -In some Pennsylvania families smear-case and apple-butter are eaten to -save butter, which is a salable article. The true “Dutch” housewife’s -ambition is to supply the store-goods for the family as far as possible -from the sale of the butter and eggs. - -We have also Dutch cheese, which may be made by crumbling the dry -smear-case, working in butter, salt, and chopped sage, forming it into -pats, and setting them away to ripen. The _sieger-käse_ is made from -sweet milk boiled, with sour milk added and beaten eggs, and then set to -drain off the whey. (_Ziegen-käse_ is German for goat’s milk cheese.) - -“Schnits and knep” is said to be made of dried apples, fat pork, and -dough-dumplings cooked together. - -“Tell them they’re good,” says one of my “Dutch” acquaintances. - -Knep is from the German, _knöpfe_, buttons or knobs. In common speech the -word has fallen to nep. The “nep” are sometimes made from pie-crust, or -sometimes from a batter of eggs and milk, and may be boiled without the -meat; but one of my acquaintances says that the smoke gives a peculiar -and appetizing flavor. - -Apple-dumplings in “Dutch” are _aepel-dumplins_; whence I infer that -like _pye-kroosht_ they are not of German origin. - -In the fall our “Dutch” make _sauer-kraut_. I happened to visit the house -of my friend Susanna when her husband and son were going to take an -hour at noon to help her with the kraut. Two white tubs stood upon the -back porch, one with the fair round heads, and the other to receive the -cabbage when cut by a knife set in a board (a very convenient thing for -cutting kohl-slaw and cucumbers). When cut, the cabbage is packed into a -“stand” with a sauer-kraut staff, resembling the pounder with which New -Englanders beat clothes in a barrel. Salt is added during the packing. -When the cabbage ferments it becomes acid. The kraut-stand remains in the -cellar; the contents not being unpalatable when boiled with potatoes and -the chines or ribs of pork. But the smell of the boiling kraut is very -strong, and that stomach is probably strong which readily digests the -meal. - -Sometimes “nep” or dumplings are boiled with the salt meat and -sour-krout. A young teacher, who was speaking of sour-krout and nep, was -asked how he spelt this word. He did not know, and said he did not care, -so he got the nep. - -“As Dutch as sour-krout,” has become a familiar saying here. In Lehigh -County, if I mistake not, I heard the common dialect called “sour-krout -Dutch.” - -Our “Dutch” make soup in variety, and pronounce the word short, between -_soup_ and _sup_. Thus there is Dutch soup, potato soup, etc.; scalded -milk and bread is “bread and milk soup,” bread crumbed into coffee -“coffee soup.” - -Noodel soup (_nudeln_) is a treat. Noodels may be called domestic -macaroni. I have seen a dish in which bits of fried bread were laid upon -the piled-up noodels, to me unpalatable from the quantity of eggs in the -latter. - -Dampf-noodles, or _gedämpfte nudeln_, are boiled, and melted butter is -poured over them. - -The extremely popular cakes, twisted, sprinkled with salt, and baked -crisp and brown, called pretzels (_brezeln_), were known in Pennsylvania -long before the cry for “ein lager, zwei brezeln” (a glass of lager and -two pretzels), was heard in the land. - -One of my “Dutch” neighbors, who visited Western New York, was detained -several hours at Elmira. “They hadn’t no water-crackers out there,” he -complained. “Didn’t know what you meant when you said water-crackers; and -they hain’t got pretzels. You can’t get no pretzels.” - -Perhaps not at the railroad stations. - -We generally find excellent home-made wheat bread in this limestone -region. We make the pot of “sots” (or rising) overnight, with boiled -mashed potatoes, scalded flour, and sometimes hops. Friday is baking-day. -The “Dutch” housewife is very fond of baking in the brick oven, but the -scarcity of wood must gradually accustom us to the great cooking-stove. - -One of the heavy labors of the fall is the fruit-drying. Afterward your -hostess invites you to partake, thus: “Mary, will you have pie? This is -snits, and this is elder” (or dried apples, and dried elderberries). -Dried peaches are peach snits. - -A laboring woman once, speaking to me of a neighbor, said, “She hain’t -got many dried apples. If her girl would snits in the evening, as I -did!—but she’d rather keep company and run around than to snits.” - -The majority keep one fire in winter. This is in the kitchen, which with -nice housekeepers is the abode of neatness, with its rag carpet and -brightly polished stove. An adjoining room or building is the wash-house, -where butchering, soap-making, etc., are done by the help of a great -kettle hung in the fireplace, not set in brick-work. - -Adjoining the kitchen, on another side, is a state apartment, also -rag-carpeted, and called “the room.” The stove-pipe from the kitchen -sometimes passes through the ceiling, and tempers the sleeping-room of -the parents. These arrangements are not very favorable to bathing in cold -weather; indeed, to wash the whole person is not very common, in summer -or in winter. - -Will you go up-stairs in a neat Dutch farm-house? Here are rag carpets -again. Gay quilts are on the best beds, where green and red calico, -perhaps in the form of a basket, are displayed on a white ground; or the -beds bear brilliant coverlets of red, white, and blue, as if to “make the -rash gazer wipe his eye.” The common pillow-cases are sometimes of blue -check, or of calico. In winter, people often sleep under feather-covers, -not so heavy as a feather-bed. In the spring there is a great washing -of bedclothes, and then the blankets are washed, which during winter -supplied the place of sheets. - - -HOLIDAYS. - -I was sitting alone, one Christmas time, when the door opened and there -entered some half-dozen youths or men, who frightened me so that I -slipped out at the door. They, being thus alone, and not intending any -harm, at once left. These, I suppose, were Christmas mummers, though I -heard them called “bell-schnickel.” - -At another time, as I was sitting with my little boy, Aunt Sally came -in smiling and mysterious, and took her place by the stove. Immediately -after, there entered a man in disguise, who very much alarmed my little -Dan. - -The stranger threw down nuts and cakes, and, when some one offered to -pick them up, struck at him with a rod. This was the real bell-schnickel, -personated by the farmer. - -It will hardly be supposed that Bell-schnickel and Santa Claus are the -same; but the former is Peltz-nickel[5] or Nicholas dressed in fur. St. -Nicholas’ day, the 6th of December, is in Advent. - -On Christmas morning the cry is, “Christmas-gift!” and not, as elsewhere, -“A merry Christmas!” Christmas is a day when people do not work, but go -to meeting, when roast turkey and mince-pie are in order, and when the -“Dutch” housewife has store of cakes on hand to give to the little folks. - -We still hear of barring-out at Christmas. The pupils fasten themselves -in the school-house, and keep the teacher out to obtain presents from -him. - -The first of April (which our neighbors generally call Aprile) is a great -occasion. This is the opening of the farming year. The tenant farmers -and other “renters” move to their new homes, and interest-money and -other debts are due; and so much money changes hands in Lancaster, on -the first, that pickpockets are attracted thither, and the unsuspicious -“Dutch” farmer sometimes finds himself a loser. - -The movings, on or about the first, are made festive occasions; -neighbors, young and old, are gathered; some bring wagons to transport -farm utensils and furniture, others assist in driving cattle, put -furniture in its place, and set up bedsteads; while the women are ready -to help prepare the bountiful meal. At this feast I have heard a worthy -tenant farmer say, “Now help yourselves, as you did out there” (with the -goods). - -Whitsuntide Monday is a great holiday with the young “Dutch” folks. -It occurs when there is a lull in farm-work, between corn-planting -and hay-making. Now the new summer bonnets are all in demand, and the -taverns are found full of youths and girls, who sometimes walk the street -hand-in-hand, eat cakes and drink beer, or visit the “flying horses.” A -number of seats are arranged around a central pole, and, a pair taking -each seat, the whole revolves by the work of a horse, and you can have a -circular ride for six cents. - -On the Fourth of July we are generally at work in the harvest-field. -Several of the festivals of the church are held here as days of rest, if -not of recreation. Such are Good Friday, Ascension-day, etc. On Easter, -eggs colored and otherwise ornamented were formerly much in vogue. - -Thanksgiving is beginning to be observed here, but the New Englander -would miss the family gatherings, the roast turkeys, the pumpkin-pies. -Possibly we go to church in the morning, and sit quiet for the rest -of the day; and as for pumpkin-pies, we do not greatly fancy them. -Raisin-pie, or mince-pie, we can enjoy. - -The last night of October is “Hallow-eve.” I was in Lancaster one -Hallow-eve, and boys were ringing door-bells, carrying away door-steps, -throwing corn at the windows, or running off with an unguarded wagon. I -heard of one or two youngsters who had requested an afternoon holiday to -go to church, but who had spent their time in going out of town to steal -corn for this occasion. In the country, farm-gates are taken from their -hinges and removed; and it was formerly a favorite amusement to take -a wagon to pieces, and, after carrying the parts up to the barn-roof, -to put it together again, thus obliging the owner to take it apart and -bring it down. Such “tricks” as are described by Burns in the poem of -“Hallow-e’en” may be heard of occasionally, continued perhaps by the -Scotch-Irish element in our population. - - -PUBLIC SCHOOLS. - -Over twenty years ago I was circulating an anti-slavery petition among -women. I carried it to the house of a neighboring farmer, who was -a miller also, and well to do. His wife signed the petition (_all_ -women did not in those days), but she signed it with her mark. I have -understood that it is about twenty years since the school law was -made universal here, and that our township of Upper Leacock wanted -to resist by litigation the establishment of public schools.[6] It -is the school-tax that is onerous. Within about twenty years a great -impetus has been given to education by the establishment of the county -superintendency, of normal schools, and of teachers’ institutes. I think -it is within this time, however, that the board of directors met, in an -adjoining township, and, being called upon to vote by ballot, there were -afterward found in the box several different ways of spelling the word -“no.” - -At the last institute, a worthy young man at the blackboard was telling -the teachers how to make their pupils pronounce the word “did,” which -they inclined to call _dit_; and a young woman told me that she found it -necessary, when teaching in Berks County, to practise speaking “Dutch,” -in order to make the pupils understand their lessons. It must be rather -hard to hear and talk “Dutch” almost constantly, and then to go to a -school where the text-books are English. - -There is still an effort made to have German taught in our public -schools. The reading of German is considered a great accomplishment, -and is one required for a candidate for the ministry among some of our -plainer sects. But the teacher is generally overburdened in the winter -with the necessary branches in a crowded, ungraded school. Our township -generally has school for seven months in the year; some townships have -only five; and in Berks County I have heard of one having only four -months. About thirty-five dollars a month is paid to teachers, male and -female. - -My little boy of seven began to go to public school this fall. For a -while I could hear him repeating such expressions as, “Che, double o, t, -coot” (meaning good). “P-i-g, pick.” “Kreat A, little A, pouncing P.” “I -don’t like chincherpread.” Even among our “Dutch” people of more culture, -_etch_ is heard for _aitch_ (h), and _chay_ for jay (j), and these are -relics of early training. - -The standard of our county superintendent is high (1868), and his -examinations are severe. His salary is about seventeen hundred dollars. -Where there is so much wealth as here, it seems almost impossible that -learning should not follow, as soon as the minds of the people are turned -toward it; but the great fear of making their children “lazy” operates -against sending them to school. Industrious habits will certainly tend -more to the pecuniary success of a farmer than the “art of writing and -speaking the English language _correctly_.” - - -MANNERS AND CUSTOMS. - -My dear old “English” friend, Samuel G., had often been asked to stay -and eat with David B., and on one occasion he concluded to accept the -invitation. They went to the table, and had a silent pause; then David -cut up the meat, and each workman or member of the family put in a fork -and helped himself. The guest was discomfited, and, finding that he was -likely to lose his dinner otherwise, he followed their example. The -invitation to eat had covered the whole. When guests are present, many -say, “Now help yourselves;” but they do not use vain repetitions, as the -city people do. - -Coffee is still drunk three times a day in some families, but frequently -without sugar. The sugar-bowl stands on the table, with spoons therein -for those who want sugar; but at a late “home-coming” party I believe -that I was the only one at the table who took sugar. The dishes of -smear-case, molasses, apple-butter, etc., are not always supplied with -spoons. _We_ dip in our knives, and with the same useful implements -convey the food to our mouths. Does the opposite extreme prevail among -the farmers of Massachusetts? Do they always eat with their forks, and -use napkins? - -On many busy farm-occasions, the woman of the house will find it -more convenient to let the men eat first,—to get the burden of the -harvest-dinner off her mind and her hands, and then sit down with her -daughters, her “maid” and little children, to their own repast. But the -allowing to the men the constant privilege of eating first has passed -away, if indeed it ever prevailed. At funeral feasts the old men and -women sit down first, with the mourning family. Then succeed the second, -third, and fourth tables. - -Among the children of well-to-do parents, the unmarried daughter will -sometimes go into the service of the married one, receiving wages -regularly, or allowing them to accumulate. An acquaintance of mine in -Lancaster had a hired girl living in his family who was worth twelve -thousand dollars in cash means, her father having been a rich farmer. -Among our plain farmers, such persons are considered more praiseworthy -than the reverse. - -I lately asked a lawyer in Northampton County why certain persons had -allowed the Lutheran and Reformed farmers, men of very little school -learning, to outstrip them in the pursuit of wealth. He answered that -all the tendency of the education of these last was saving. “In old -times,” he continued, “when we had no ranges nor cooking-stoves, but a -fire on the hearth, I used to hear my mother say to her daughters that -they must not let the dish-water boil, or they would not be married for -seven years.” On the same principle, when a young “English” girl whom I -knew told a young “Dutchman” that she was going to make bread, he said, -“I’m coming for a handful of your dough-trough scrapings;” the idea being -that there should be no scrapings left. - -Mr. S., of Lehigh County, says, “We make money in Pennsylvania by saving; -in New York, they make money by paying out.” - -Mrs. E., of the same county, says, “We Pennsylvanians are brought up -to work in the house and to family affairs, but the Eastern girls -are brought up more in the factories, and they don’t know anything -about housework. Many have been married, and lived here in this town -(Allentown), of whom I have heard speak, who have not lived happily, -because they were not used to keep house in the way that their husbands -had been accustomed to. They were very intelligent, but not accustomed -to work, and their families would get poor, and stay poor.” Mrs. R.’s -daughter added, that “the New England men, the Eastern men, milk and do -all the outside work.” - -The writer thinks, nevertheless, that New England women will not be -willing to admit that they do not understand housework, and are not -eminently “faculized.” - -We Lancaster “Dutch” are always striving to seize Time’s forelock. We -rise, even in the winter, about four, feed the stock while the women -get breakfast, eat breakfast in the short days by coal-oil lamps, and -by daylight are ready for the operations of the day. The English folks -and the backsliding “Dutch” are sometimes startled when they hear their -neighbors blow the horn or ring the bell for dinner. On a recent pleasant -October day the farmer’s wife was churning out-of-doors, and cried, “Why, -there’s the dinner-bells a’ready. Mercy days!” I went in to the clock, -and found it at twenty minutes of eleven. The “Dutch” farmers almost -invariably keep their time half an hour or more ahead, like that village -in Cornwall where it was twelve o’clock when it was but half-past eleven -to the rest of the world. Our “Dutch” are never seen running to catch a -railroad train. - -We are not a total-abstinence people. Before these times of high prices, -liquor was often furnished to hands in the harvest-field. - -A few years ago a meeting was held in a neighboring school-house to -discuss a prohibitory liquor law. After various speeches the question -was put to the vote, thus: “All those who want leave to drink whiskey -will please to rise.” “Now all those who don’t want to drink whiskey will -rise.” The affirmative had a decided majority. - -Work is a cardinal virtue with the “Dutchman.” “He is lazy,” is a very -opprobrious remark. At the quilting, when I was trying to take out one of -the screws, Katy Groff, who is sixty-five, exclaimed, “How lazy I am, not -to be helping you!” (“_Wie ich bin faul._”) - -Marriages sometimes take place between the two nationalities; but I do -not think the “Dutch” farmers desire English wives for their sons, unless -the wives are decidedly rich. On the other hand, I heard of an English -farmer’s counselling his son to seek a “Dutch” wife. When the son had -wooed and won his substantial bride, “Now he will see what good cooking -is,” said a “Dutch” girl to me. I was surprised at the remark, for his -mother was an excellent housekeeper. - -The circus is the favorite amusement of our people. Lancaster papers -have often complained of the slender attendance which is bestowed upon -lectures and the like; even theatrical performances are found “slow,” -compared with the feats of the ring. - -Our “Dutch” use a freedom of language that is not known to the English, -and which to them savors of coarseness. “But they mean no harm by it,” -says one of my English friends. It is difficult to practise reserve where -the whole family sit in one heated room. This rich limestone land in -which the “Dutch” delight is nearly level to an eye trained among the -hills. Do hills make a people more poetical or imaginative? - -Perhaps so; but there is vulgarity too among the hills. - - * * * * * - -The foregoing article was written about fourteen years ago, and appeared -(with perhaps some small changes) in the _Atlantic Monthly_ for October, -1869. It was published in the first edition of this work in 1872, and in -the second edition in 1874. Many of the alterations which were made in -one or both of these editions are now removed to the Appendix, where will -also be found additional matter on similar subjects. - -The passage of over twelve years has considerably changed the -neighborhood in which I live. The greatest differences are the rise -in the value of land; the division into smaller farms; the general -introduction of the culture of tobacco; and the change in the population -by the coming in of a larger number of that plainest sect of Mennonites, -called Amish. - -As regards the rise in the value of land, it is doubtless in part -apparent only, from the greater amount of money at this time. I have -spoken of one who said, “Well, Seth, it seems as if you Dutch folks had -determined to root us English out; but thee had to pay pretty dear for -thy root this time.” The farm alluded to was sold about 1855, and brought -less than one hundred and sixty-three dollars per acre,—there being one -hundred and ten acres. It has since been divided, and eighty acres, now a -very large farm here, with the newer farm buildings, it is supposed would -now bring over two hundred and fifty dollars. Small properties sell much -higher in proportion. I hear of twenty acres, with fair farm buildings, -having sold last fall for nine thousand dollars. - -The division into smaller farms is caused in a great measure by the Amish -increasing and dividing properties among their children, so that farms -are running as low, in many cases, as from twenty-five down to ten acres. -It is rare for the Amish to remain unmarried. The owners of such small -properties cannot afford to hire help; the Amish help one another, and -are willing to help others also. Many acts of neighborly kindness are -exchanged here, even to giving a sick neighbor several days’ work in the -harvest-field. - -Tobacco was cultivated to profit long ago on farms and islands lying on -the Susquehanna; but one of the consequences of the civil war was to -make the cultivation of the weed more general here, and the immense sums -obtained for fine crops have also kept up the value of this land. - -The routine of farming described in the foregoing article is now -abandoned. The following are the crops raised lately on a farm visible -from where I write,—a farm that has been for years under excellent -cultivation. It contains sixty-eight acres, of which (in round numbers) -twenty-six are in wheat, eighteen in Indian corn, eleven in grass, six -in tobacco, three-quarters of an acre in potatoes, and the remainder -is occupied by garden, orchard, and buildings. Oats has not been grown -on this farm for six years. The ground is so rich that oats lodge or -fall, and will not mature the grain. For the last four years wheat has -averaged thirty bushels to the acre. During the same time Indian corn -has averaged about fifty-five bushels. To speak slang, it is not one of -our brag crops. One year the cut-worms took two-thirds of it on the farm -mentioned; and this had to be replanted. The greatest crop of corn of -which I hear mention on this farm was grown some years ago, and was nine -hundred bushels on ten acres. - -As regards grass, the owner estimates that for the last four years they -have made on an average nearly three tons of hay to the acre; last year -they had thirty-six tons on ten acres. - -Of the six acres in tobacco this year, they prepare the whole for -planting, but only plant two themselves, giving out four to others. The -men who take this land plant and cultivate it, and receive one-half of -the produce, not being charged for the preparation of the ground, nor -for taking the crop to market. One of the advantages of the cultivation -of tobacco (I am sensible of its disadvantages, and do not recommend its -use) is that it gives the poor laboring man and woman more independence. -He or she takes an acre or more, plants, waters, destroys the large -tobacco-worm, strips off the suckers, tops it, breaks down the flowering -stem, gathers, dries, sorts, and packs, and receives perhaps one hundred -dollars per acre in lump, which is very acceptable. They estimate that -they make about double wages. - -The eight-horse threshers before mentioned are getting out of date; steam -threshes now almost entirely, and completes the work on such a farm as -just described in two days. The threshing is frequently finished as early -as the first of September, so that the farmer can hang tobacco in the -barn. Large tobacco-houses have also been erected, in the cellar of which -this crop is prepared for sale. - -It will be observed that very little attention was paid to potatoes. Last -year they brought at the rate of two hundred bushels to the acre. We had -a pretty severe drought in 1881, and potatoes have sold this winter at -one dollar per bushel, which would make the potato crop superior in value -to the tobacco. - -The great amount of manure required to keep the land up to such a -standard is thus supplied on this farm, which is a model one in the -neighborhood. For several months last winter the owner had sixteen -horses, five of his own and the rest boarding; he also had twelve head of -horned cattle, and fattened nine swine. All the corn, hay, and fodder -raised on the farm were fed upon it. (Straw is rarely fed here.) Besides, -the farmer bought five tons of Western mill-feed (the bran and other -refuse from wheat flour) and about three hundred bushels of corn. This -spring he has bought two tons of a certain fertilizer for his corn, and -applied his own barn-yard manure to the tobacco and wheat. He has been -indemnified in part for the great amount fed, by the money received for -boarding horses at twelve dollars apiece by the month. Horses from Canada -and the West are often fattened here for the Eastern market. This farmer -bought two last year, worked them himself on the farm, fattened and -groomed them, and sold them so as to make one hundred dollars apiece on -them; but this was exceptional. - -Besides the fertilizers before mentioned, lime is used in this region, -although some have doubted the necessity of applying it to our rich -limestone land. On the farm which I have been describing it is put on -about every sixth year, at the rate of six hundred bushels on eleven -acres. It costs ten cents a bushel. - - * * * * * - -Another change here is that many now buy bread, and several bakers -regularly supply the neighborhood. This has caused a great lightening of -the labor at funerals. The bread and rusks (or buns) are bought and the -pies dispensed with, which were once considered so necessary. A jocose -youth in a near village used to say, “There will be raisin-pie there,” -when he wished to express that there was fatal illness; but raisin-pies -are no longer so fashionable at funerals. There is no diminution, -however, in the great gatherings. A wealthy farmer died lately who was -also a Mennonite preacher. The funeral was on Sunday; the guests heard -preaching at the house, then dined, and the funeral went to the church, -where was preaching again. Four hundred carriages, it is said, were on -the ground. - -Our school-term in this district is not increased beyond seven months; -but the salary has risen, and is from thirty-five to forty dollars per -month, according to merit. - -The Amish in this immediate neighborhood still cling to the plain customs -I have described, except that it has become quite common for young people -to drive in simple buggies. Now the yellow-covered wagons are not so -universal; other colors are also used, and more elegant harness. (They -generally keep very good harness.) Neither do the young men wear their -hair to their shoulders. Many of the Amish now wear suspenders. One of -my friends, who is Amish, says that you cannot speak of any such rule as -regards the church in general, for every congregation has its own rules -in these minor affairs. - -The family graveyard, especially mentioned, has been removed, and all -the bodies that were recovered interred at the Mennonite church in the -neighborhood. - - * * * * * - -Two or three small changes in this neighborhood are the following: -Sewing-machines are now found here in great numbers; many houses have -large stoves, which heat at least one room up-stairs; and it is not -common in this immediate neighborhood to sit up with the dead, in the -manner before described. - - - - -AN AMISH MEETING.[7] - - -It was on a Sunday morning in March, when the air was bleak and the roads -were execrable, that I obtained a driver to escort me to the farm-house -where an Amish meeting was to be held. - -It was a little after nine o’clock when I entered, and, although the -hour was so early, I found the congregation nearly all gathered, and the -preaching begun. - -There were forty men present, as many women, and one infant. Had the -weather been less inclement, we should probably have had more little -ones, for such plain people do not think it necessary to leave the babies -at home. - -The rooms in which we sat seemed to have been constructed for these great -occasions. They were the kitchen and “the room,”—as our people call the -sitting-room, or best room,—and were so arranged as to be made into one -by means of two doors. - -Our neighbors wore the usual costume of the sect, which is a branch of -the Mennonite Society, or nearly allied to it, the men having laid off -their round-crowned and remarkably wide-brimmed hats. Their hair is -usually cut square across the forehead, and hangs long behind; their -coats are plainer than those of the plainest Quaker, and are fastened, -except the overcoat, with hooks and eyes in place of buttons; whence they -are sometimes called Hooker or Hook-and-Eye Mennists. The pantaloons -are worn without suspenders. Formerly the Amish were often called -“beardy men,” but since beards have become fashionable theirs are not so -conspicuous. - -The women, whom I have sometimes seen with a bright purple apron, an -orange neckerchief, or some other striking bit of color, were now more -soberly arrayed in plain white caps without ruffle or border, and white -neckerchiefs, though occasionally a cap or kerchief was black. They wear -closely fitting waists, with a little basquine behind, which is probably -a relic from the times of the short gown and petticoat. Their gowns were -of sober woollen stuff, frequently of flannel; and all wore aprons. - -But the most surprising figures among the Amish are the little children, -dressed in garments like those of old persons. It has been my lot to see -at the house of her parents a tender little dark-eyed Amish maiden of -three years, old enough to begin to speak “Dutch,” and as yet ignorant -of English. Seated upon her father’s lap, sick and suffering, with that -sweet little face encircled by the plain muslin cap, the little figure -dressed in that plain gown, she was one not to be soon forgotten. But -the little girl that was at meeting to-day was either no Amish child or -a great backslider, for she was hardly to be distinguished in dress from -the “world’s people.” - -The floors were bare, but on one of the open doors hung a long white -towel, worked at one end with colored figures, such as our mothers or -grandmothers put upon samplers. These perhaps were meant for flowers. The -congregation sat principally on benches. On the men’s side a small shelf -of books ran around one corner of the room. - -The preacher, who was speaking when I entered, continued for about -fifteen minutes. His remarks and the rest of the services were in -“Dutch.” I have been criticised for applying the epithet to my neighbors, -or to their language, but “Dutch” is the title which they generally -apply to themselves, speaking of “us Dutch folks and you English folks,” -and sometimes with a pretty plain hint that some of the “Dutch” ways -are discreeter and better, if not more virtuous, than the English. -But, though I call them “Dutch,” I am fully aware that they are not -Hollanders. Most of them are Swiss, of ancient and honorable descent, -exiles on account of religious persecution. - -I am sorry that I do not understand the language well enough to give -a sketch of some of the discourses on this occasion. At times I -understood an expression of the first speaker, such as “Let us well -reflect and observe,” or “Let us well consider,” expressions that -were often repeated. As he was doubtless a farmer, and was speaking -extemporaneously, it is not remarkable that they were so. - -When the preacher had taken his seat, the congregation knelt for five -minutes in silence. A brother then read aloud from the German Bible, -concerning Nicodemus who came to Jesus by night, etc. After this -another brother rose and spoke in a tone like that which is so common -among Friends, namely, a kind of singing or chanting tone, which he -accompanied by a little gesture. - -While he was speaking, one or two women went out, and, as I wished to -take note of the proceedings, I followed them into the wash-house or -outside kitchen, which was quite comfortable. As I passed along, I saw in -the yard the wagons which had brought the people to meeting. Most of them -were covered with plain yellow oil-cloth. I have been told that there are -sometimes a hundred wagons gathered at one farm-house, and that in summer -the meetings are often held in barns. - -I sat down by the stove in the wash-house, and a very kindly old woman, -the host’s mother, came and renewed the fire. As she did not talk -English, I spoke to her a little in German, and she seemed to understand -me. When I wrote, she wondered and laughed at my rapid movements, for -writing is slower work with these people than some other kinds of labor. -I suppose, indeed, that there are still some of the older women who -scarcely know how to write. - -I asked her whether after meeting I might look at the German books on the -corner shelf,—ancient books with dark leather covers and metallic clasps. -She said in reply, “Bleibsht esse?” (“Shall you stay and eat?”) Yes, I -would. “Ya wohl,” said she, “kannst.” (“Very well, you can.”) - -A neat young Amish woman, the “maid” or housekeeper, came and put upon -the stove a great tin wash-boiler, shining bright, into which she put -water for making coffee and for washing dishes. - -I soon returned to the meeting, and found the same preacher still -speaking. I suppose that he had continued during my absence, and, if so, -his discourse was an hour and ten minutes in length. This was quite too -long to be entertaining to one who only caught the sense of an occasional -passage, or of a few texts of Scripture. It was while these monotonous -tones continued that I heard a rocking upon the floor overhead. It -proceeded, I believe, from the young mother,—the mother of the little one -before spoken of. When the child had become restless before this, or when -she was tired, a young man upon the brethren’s side of the room had taken -it for a while, and now it was doubtless being put to sleep in a room -overhead, into which a stove-pipe passed from the apartment where we sat. - -My attention was also attracted by an old lady who sat near me, and -facing the stove, with her hands crossed in her lap, and a gold or brass -ring on each middle finger. She wore a black flannel dress and a brown -woollen apron, leather shoes and knit woollen stockings. Her head was -bent forward toward her broad bosom, upon which was crossed a white -kerchief. With her gray hair, round face, and plain linen cap, her whole -figure reminded me of the peasant women of continental Europe or of a -Flemish picture. - -I have spoken of her wearing rings. Says one of my neighbors of a -different Mennist sect, “Were they not brass? She wears them for some -sickness, I reckon. She would not wear them for show. One of our -preachers wears steel rings on his little fingers for cramps.” - -When the long sermon was ended, different brethren were called upon, and -during a half-hour we had from them several short discourses, one or -two of them nearly inaudible. The speakers were, I think, giving their -views on what had been said, or perhaps they were by these little efforts -preparing themselves to become preachers, or showing their gifts to the -congregation. - -It is stated in Herzog’s Cyclopædia that among the Mennonites in Holland -the number of _liebesprediger_ has greatly declined, so that some -congregations had no preacher. (The word _liebesprediger_ I am inclined -to translate as voluntary, unpaid preachers, like those among Friends.) -I am in doubt, indeed, whether any such are now found in Holland. There -seems to be no scarcity in this country of preachers, who are, however, -in some, if not all three of the divisions of Mennonites, chosen by lot. - -When these smaller efforts were over, the former preacher spoke again for -twenty minutes, and several of the women were moved to tears. After this -the congregation knelt in vocal prayer. When they rose, the preacher said -that the next meeting would be at the house of John Lapp, in two weeks. -He pronounced a benediction, ending with the name of Jesus, and the whole -congregation, brethren and sisters, curtsied, or made a reverence, as the -French express it. This was doubtless in allusion to the text, that at -the name of Jesus every knee should bow. Finally, a hymn, or a portion of -one, was sung, drawn out in a peculiar manner by dwelling on the words. I -obtained a hymn-book, and copied a portion. It seems obscure: - - “Der Schopfer auch der Vater heisst, - Durch Christum, seinen Sohne; - Da wirket mit der Heilig Geist, - Einiger Gott drey Namen, - Von welchem kommt ein Gotteskind - Gewaschen ganz rein von der Sund, - Wird geistlich gespeisst und trancket, - Mit Christi Blut, sein Willen thut - Irdisch verschmacht aus ganzen Muth, - Der Vater sich ihm schenket.” - -The book from which I copied these lines was in large German print, and -bore the date 1785. In front was this inscription in the German tongue -and handwriting: “This song-book belongs to me, Joseph B⸺. Written in the -year of Christ 1791; and I received it from my father.” Both father and -son have been gathered to their fathers; the book, if I mistake not, was -in the house of the grandson, and it may yet outlast several generations -of these primitive people. - -The services closed at a little after noon. From their having been -conducted entirely in German, or in German and the dialect, some persons -might suppose that these were recent immigrants to our country. But the -B. family just alluded to was one of the first Amish families that came -here, having arrived in 1737. - -It seems that the language is cherished with care, as a means of -preserving their religious and other peculiarities. The public schools, -however, which are almost entirely English, must be a powerful means of -assimilation. - -The services being ended, the women quietly busied themselves (while I -wrote) in preparing dinner. In a very short time two tables were spread -in the apartment where the meeting had been held. Two tables, I have -said,—and there was one for the men to sit at,—but on the women’s side -the _table_ was formed of benches placed together, and of course was -quite low. I should have supposed that this was a casual occurrence, had -not an acquaintance told me that many years ago, when she attended an -Amish meeting, she sat up to two benches. - -Before eating there was a silent pause, during which those men who had -not yet a place at the table stood uncovered reverentially, holding their -hats before their faces. In about fifteen minutes the “first table” had -finished eating, and another silent pause was observed in the same manner -before they rose. - -I was invited to the second table, where I found beautiful white bread, -butter, pies, pickles, apple-butter, and refined molasses. I observed -that there were no spoons in the molasses and apple-butter. A cup of -coffee also was handed to each person who wished it. We were not invited -to take more than one. - -This meal marks the progress of wealth and luxury, or the decline of -asceticism, since the day when bean soup was the principal, if not the -only, dish furnished on these occasions. The same neighbor who told me of -sitting up to two benches, many years ago, told me that at that time they -were served with bean soup in bright dishes, doubtless of pewter or tin. -Three or four persons ate out of one dish. It was very unhandy, she said. - -But while thus sketching the manners of my simple, plain neighbors, let -me not forget to acknowledge that ready hospitality which thus provides a -comfortable meal even to strangers visiting the meeting. Besides myself, -there were at least two others present who were not members,—two German -Catholic women, such as hire out to work. - -The silent pause before and after eating was also observed by the second -table; and after we rose a third company sat down. - -When all had done, I gave a little assistance in clearing the tables, in -carrying the butter into the cellar and the other food to the wash-house. -The dishes were taken to the roofed porch between the latter and the -house, where some of the women-folk washed them. A neat table stood at -the foot of the cellar-stairs, and received the valued product of the -dairy, the fragments being put away in an orderly manner. - -I now had a time of leisure, for my driver had gone to see a friend, and -I must await his coming. This gave me an opportunity to talk with several -sisters. I inquired of a fine-looking woman when the feet-washing would -be held, and when they took the Lord’s Supper. When I asked whether they -liked those who were not members to attend the feet-washing, I understood -her to say that they did not.[8] (I attended, not a great while after, a -great Whitsuntide feet-washing and bread-baking in the meeting-house of -the New Mennonites.) - -I had now an opportunity to examine the books. Standing upon a bench, -I took down a great volume, well printed in the German language, and -entitled “The Bloody Theatre; or, The Martyr’s Mirror of the Baptists, -or Defenceless Christians, who, on Account of the Testimony of Jesus, -their Saviour, Suffered and were Put to Death, from the Time of Christ to -the Year 1660. Lancaster, 1814.” This book was a version from the Dutch -(_Holländisch_) of Thielem J. van Bracht, and it has also been rendered -from German into English. I was not aware, at the time, that I had before -me one of the principal sources whence the history of the Mennonites is -to be drawn,—a history which is still unwritten. - -The books were few in number, and I noticed no other so remarkable -as this. Another German one, more modern in appearance, was entitled -“Universal Cattle-Doctor Book; or, The Cures of the old Shepherd Thomas, -of Bunzen, in Silesia, for Horses, Cattle, Sheep, Swine, and Goats.” - -While I was looking over the volumes, a little circumstance occurred, -which, although not flattering to myself, is perhaps too characteristic -to be omitted. My “Dutch” neighbors are not great readers, and to read -German is considered an accomplishment even among those who speak the -dialect. To speak “Dutch” is very common, of course, but to read German -is a considerable attainment. I have, therefore, sometimes surprised -a neighbor by being able to read the language. I am naturally not -unwilling to be admired, and, as two or three sisters were standing -near while I examined the books, I endeavored in haste to give them a -specimen of my attainments. I therefore took a passage quickly from -the great “Martyr-Book,” and read aloud a sentence like this: “Grace, -peace, and joy through God our Heavenly Father; wisdom, righteousness, -and truth, through Jesus Christ his Son, together with the illumining of -the Holy Spirit, be with you.” Glancing up to see the surprise which my -proficiency must produce, I beheld a different expression of countenance, -for the attention of some of the thoughtful sisters was attracted by the -subject-matter, instead of the reader, and that aroused a sentiment of -devotion beautifully expressed. - -I asked our host, “Have you no history of your society?” - -“No,” he answered; “we just hand it down.” - -I have since heard, however, that there are papers or written records -in charge of a person who lives at some distance from me. From certain -printed records I have been able to trace a streamlet of history from -its source in Switzerland, where the Anabaptists suffered persecution -in Berne, Zurich, etc. I have read of their exile into Alsace and the -Palatinate; of the aid afforded to them by their fellow-believers, the -Mennonites of Holland; and of their final colonization in Pennsylvania, -where they also are called Mennonites. The Amish, however, seem to have -been a body of a more rigid rule, with a preacher named Amen, from whom -they are called. It has been stated that they took their rise in Alsace -in 1693. - -Nearly all the congregation had departed when my driver at last arrived. -I shook hands with those that were left, and kissed the pleasant mother -of our host. - - - - -SWISS EXILES. - - -The plain people among whom I live, Quaker-like in appearance, and, -like the Quakers, opposed to oaths and to war, are to a great extent -descendants of Swiss Baptists or Anabaptists, who were banished from -their country for refusing to conform to the established Reformed -Church.[9] - -Some of the early exiles took refuge in Alsace and the Palatinate, and -afterwards came to Pennsylvania, settling in Lancaster County, under the -kind patronage of our distinguished first proprietor. William Penn’s -sympathy for them was doubtless increased by their resembling himself in -so many important particulars. Mennonites from Holland were also among -the early settlers at Germantown. - -If any one inclines to investigate the traditions of these people, let -him ask the plain old men of the county whence they originated. I think -that a great part of the Amish and other Mennonites will tell him of -their Swiss origin. - -Nor are very important written records wanting upon the subject of the -Swiss persecutions. Two volumes in use among our German Baptists narrate -the story. The first is the great Martyr-book, called “The Bloody -Theatre; or, Martyr’s Mirror of the Defenceless Christians,” by Thielem -J. van Bracht, published in Dutch, about the year 1660; translated into -German, and afterwards into English. - -The second printed record, circulating in our county, and describing the -sufferings of some of the Swiss Anabaptists, is a hymn-book formerly in -use among our Old Mennists, but now, I think, employed only by the Amish. -It is a collection of “several beautiful Christian songs,” composed in -prison at Bassau, in the castle, by the Switzer Brethren, “and by other -orthodox (_rechtglaubige_) Christians, here and there.” - -The first of these works, the Martyr-book, was translated into English -by Daniel Rupp, the historian. I have seen no English version of the -hymn-book. I met both these volumes in the Rhenish Palatinate in 1881. -Bassau, mentioned in the hymn-book as the place where the brethren were -imprisoned, I have supposed to be Passau, upon the Danube, in Bavaria. Is -it not so written in the Martyr-book? - -Near the close of the hymn-book is an account of the afflictions which -were endured by the brethren in Switzerland, in the canton of Zurich, on -account of the gospel (“_um des Evangeliums willen_”). - -The first-mentioned work, the great Martyr-book, is a ponderous volume. - -The author begins his martyrology with Jesus, John, and Stephen, whom he -includes among the Baptist or the defenceless martyrs. I suppose that -he includes them among the Baptists on the ground that they were not -baptized in infancy, but upon faith. From these the great story comes -down in one thousand octavo pages, describing the intense cruelties of -the Roman emperors, telling of persecutions by the Saracens, persecutions -of the Waldenses and Albigenses, and describing especially the sufferings -which the Baptists (in common with other Protestants) endured in Holland -under the reigns of Charles V. and Philip II.[10] - -The narrative of the persecution of the Anabaptists of Switzerland by -their fellow-Protestants is mostly found at the close of the volume. It -comes down to the year 1672, and must therefore be, in part at least, an -appendix to the original volume. - -Allusions to the severe treatment of the Anabaptists of Switzerland may -also be found in Herzog’s and Appleton’s Cyclopædias. - -In the former work we read that Anabaptism, after a public theological -disputation, was by the help of the authorities suppressed in -Switzerland. And how thoroughly it was suppressed may be inferred from -the statement in the latter of the population of Berne. In 1850 the -population is given (in round numbers) as 458,000,—of which only 1000 are -Baptists, 54,000 are Catholics, and the remainder of the Reformed Church. - -In Appleton’s Cyclopædia (article Anabaptists), we read that Melanchthon -and Zwingle were themselves troubled by questions respecting infant -baptism, in connection with the personal faith required by Protestantism. -Nevertheless, Zwingle himself is said to have pronounced sentence upon -Mentz, who had been his friend and fellow-student, in these words: -“Whosoever dips (or baptizes) a second time, let him be dipped.” “_Qui -iterum mergit, mergatur._” This humorous saying seems to be explained in -the Martyr-book, for we read that Felix Mentz was drowned at Zurich for -the truth of the gospel in 1526. The persecution of such men is said to -have shocked the moderate of all parties. - -Upon the authority of Balthazar Hubmor (whom I suppose to be the Hubmeyer -of the Cyclopædia), the Martyr-book states that Zwingle, etc., imprisoned -at one time twenty persons of both sexes, in a dark tower, never more -to see the light of the sun. This early Swiss Protestant persecution -occurred, it will be observed, about 1526, and the latest recorded in the -Martyr-book in or about 1672, covering a period of nearly one hundred and -fifty years.[11] - -At the same time that the Swiss Baptists were suffering at the hands -of other Protestants, Anabaptists of the peaceful class were found in -Holland in large numbers. The record of their sufferings and martyrs -(says Appleton’s Cyclopædia) furnished a touching picture in human -history. William of Orange, founder of the Dutch republic, was sustained -in the gloomiest hours by their sympathy and aid.[12] That great prince, -however importuned, steadily refused to persecute them. - -Menno Symons, born at the close of the fifteenth or the commencement of -the sixteenth century, educated for the priesthood of the Roman Catholic -church, converted in manhood to the faith of the Anabaptists, became -their chief leader. Mennonites and Anabaptists have from his time been -interchangeable terms.[13] - -It was about seventeen years after the drowning of Mentz in Switzerland, -and while the Catholic persecution was raging in Holland, that in the -year 1543 an imperial edict was issued against Menno; for both parties -persecuted the Baptists,—the Catholics in the Low Countries, the -Protestants in Switzerland. The Martyr-book tells us that a dreadful -decree was proclaimed through all West Friesland, containing an offer of -general pardon, the favor of the emperor, and a hundred carlgulden to all -malefactors and murderers who would deliver Menno into the hands of the -executioners. Under pain of death, it was forbidden to harbor him; but -God preserved and protected him wonderfully, and he died a natural death, -near Lubeck, in the open field, in 1559, aged sixty-six. It is further -mentioned that he was buried in his own garden.[14] - -About fourteen years after the death of Menno, or in the year 1573, we -read in the Martyr-book that Dordrecht had submitted to the reigning -prince, William of Orange, the first not to shed blood on account of -faith or belief. - -But the toleration which William extended to the Baptists was not -imitated by his great compeer, Elizabeth of England. For the Martyr-book -tells us that in 1575 “some friends,” who had fled to England, having met -in the suburbs of London “to hear the word of God,” were spied out, and -the constable took them to prison. Two of these were burnt at Smithfield, -in the eighteenth year of Elizabeth. Jan Pieters was one of them, a poor -man whose first wife had been burnt at Ghent; he then married a second, -whose first husband had been burnt at the same place. - -Thus it befell the unfortunate Jan that while his wife was burnt by -Catholics, he himself suffered at the hands of English Protestants.[15] - -The expression “sheep” or “lambs,” which is applied to some of the -Baptist martyrs, alludes, I suppose, to their non-resistance. Thus, in -1576, Hans Bret, a servant, whose master was about to be apprehended, -gave him warning, so that he escaped, but himself, “this innocent -follower of Christ, fell into the paws of the wolves.... As he stood at -the stake, they kindled the fire, and burnt this sheep alive.” - -The next year after this, William of Orange had occasion to call to -order, as it appears, some of his own subjects. The magistrates of -Middelburg had announced to the Baptists that they must take an oath of -fidelity and arm themselves, or give up their business and shut up their -houses. The Baptists had recourse to William, promising to pay levies and -taxes, and desiring to be believed on their yea and nay. William granted -their request, their yea was to be taken in the place of an oath, and the -delinquent was to be punished as for perjury. - -In William Penn’s Treatise on Oaths it is stated that William of Orange -said, “Those men’s yea must pass for an oath, and we must not urge this -thing any further, or we must confess that the Papists had reason to -force us to a religion that was against our conscience.” - -About nine years after William had thus reproved the magistrates of -Middelburg, or in the year 1586, the Baptists came to grief elsewhere. -It is stated that those called Anabaptists, who had taken refuge in -the Prussian dominions, were ordered by “the prince of the country” to -depart from his entire duchy of Prussia, and in the next year from all -his dominions. This was because they were said to speak scandalously of -infant baptism. - -About the close of the century, pleasanter times for the Baptists seem -to have followed. “When the north wind of persecution became violent, -there were intervals when the pleasant south wind of liberty and repose -succeeded.” - -“But now occurred the greatest mischief in Zurich and Berne, by those who -styled themselves Reformed;” but others of the same name, “especially the -excellent regents of the United Netherlands,” opposed such proceedings. - -The Martyr-book says, in substance, “It is a lamentable case that those -who boast that they are the followers of the defenceless Lamb do no -longer possess the lamb’s disposition, but, on the contrary, have the -nature of the wolf. It seems as if they could not bear it that any -should travel towards heaven in any other way than that which they go -themselves, as was exemplified in the case of Hans Landis, who was a -minister and teacher of the gospel of Christ. Being taken to Zurich, he -refused to desist from preaching and to deny his faith, and was sentenced -to death,—the edict of eighty years before not having died of old age. -They, however, persuaded the common people that he was not put to death -for religion’s sake, but for disobedience to the authorities.”[16] - -After the death of Hans Landis, persecution rested for twenty-one years, -when the ancient hatred broke out afresh in Zurich. - -The Baptists now asked permission to leave the country with their -property, but this was not granted to them. “They might choose,” says -the Martyrology, “to go with them [the Reformed] to church, or to die in -prison. To the first they would not consent; therefore they might expect -the second.” - -This brings us to the era of the persecution described in the hymn-book -of which I formerly spoke,—the book now in use among the Amish of our -county. - -This little volume—little when compared to the ponderous -Martyr-book—gives an account of the persecution in Zurich between the -years 1635 and 1645. Many of the persons mentioned in the hymn-book as -suffering at that time appear to be of families now found in Lancaster -County,—not merely from the hymn-book’s being preserved here, but -especially because some of the surnames are the same as are now found -here, or only slightly different. Thus we have Landis, Meylin, Strickler, -Bachmann; and Gut, now Good; Müller, now Miller; Baumann, now Bowman. - -Mention is made of about eighteen persons who died in prison during this -persecution, in the period of nine or ten years. Proclamation was made -from the pulpits forbidding the people to afford shelter to the Baptists: -even their own children who harbored them were liable to be fined,—as -Hans Müller’s wife and children, who were fined forty pounds because -“they showed mercy to their dear father.” - -The hymn-book states that the _Gelehrte_ (the learned or the clergy?) -accompanied the captors, running day and night with their servants. Many -of the persecuted fell into the power of the authorities,—men and women, -the pregnant, the nursing mother, the sick. - -In the midst of this, the authorities of Amsterdam, themselves Calvinists -or Reformed, being moved by the solicitations of the Baptists of -Amsterdam, sent a respectful petition to the burgomaster and council of -Zurich to mitigate the persecution; but the petition, it is said, excited -an unfriendly and irritating answer. - -It seems that some of the Baptists, harassed in Zurich, took refuge -in Berne; and about the time that the persecution in Zurich came to a -close, or about 1645, it is stated that “those of Berne” threatened the -Baptists. About four years after, “those of Schaffhausen” issued an edict -against the people called Anabaptists.[17] - -Only a few years later, or in 1653, as we read in the Martyr-book, -there was another persecution elsewhere. The record says, in substance, -“As a lamb in making its escape from the wolf is eventually seized by -the bear, so it obtained for several defenceless followers of the meek -Jesus, who, persecuted in Switzerland by the Zwinglians, were permitted -to live awhile in peace in the Alpine districts, under a Roman Catholic -prince, Willem Wolfgang. About this year, however, this prince banished -the Anabaptists, so called. But they were received in peace and with joy -elsewhere, particularly in Cleves, under the Elector of Brandenburg, and -in the Netherlands. ‘When they persecute you in one city,’ saith the -Lord, ‘flee ye into another.’”[18] - -About six years after, or in 1659, an edict was issued in Berne, from -which extracts are given in the Martyr-book. If the edict in full brings -no more serious charges against the Baptists than do these extracts, this -paper itself may be regarded as a noble vindication of the Anabaptists of -Switzerland at this era. - -According to the substance of this Bernese edict the teachers of this -people—_i.e._, the preachers—were to be seized wherever they could be -sought out, “and brought to our orphan asylum to receive the treatment -necessary to their conversion; or, if they persist in their obstinacy, -they are to receive the punishment in such cases belonging. Meantime the -officers are to seize their property, and present an inventory of the -same. - -“To the Baptists in general, who refuse to desist from their error, -the punishment of exile shall be announced. It is our will and command -that they be escorted to the borders, a solemn promise obtained from -them, since they will not swear, and that they be banished entirely from -our country till it be proved that they have been converted. Returning -unconverted, and refusing to recant, they shall be whipped, branded, and -again banished, which condign punishment is founded upon the following -reasons and motives: - -“1. All subjects should confirm with an oath the allegiance which they -owe to the authorities ordained them of God. The Anabaptists, who refuse -the oath, cannot be tolerated. - -“2. Subjects should acknowledge that the magistracy is from God, and with -God. But the Anabaptists, who declare that the magisterial office cannot -exist in the Christian church, are not to be tolerated in the country. - -“3. All subjects are bound to protect and defend their country. But the -Anabaptists refuse to bear arms, and cannot be tolerated.... - -“5. The magistracy is ordained of God to punish evil-doers, especially -murderers, etc. But the Anabaptists refuse to report these to the -authorities, and therefore they cannot be tolerated.[19] - -“6. Those who refuse to submit to the wholesome ordinances of the -government, and who act in opposition to it, cannot be tolerated. Now the -Anabaptists transgress in the following manner: - -“They preach without the calling of the magistracy; baptize without the -command of the authorities; ... and do not attend the meetings of the -church. - -“We have unanimously resolved that all should inflict banishment and the -other penalties against all who belong to this corrupted and extremely -dangerous and wicked sect, that they may make no further progress, but -that the country may be freed from them; on which, in grace, we rely. - -“As regards the estate of the disobedient exiles, or of those who have -run away, it shall, after deducting costs, be divided among the wives and -children who remain in obedience. - -“We command that no person shall lodge nor give dwelling to a Baptist, -whether related to him or not, nor afford him the necessaries of life. -But every one of our persuasion should be exhorted to report whatever -information he can obtain of them to the high bailiff. - -“And an especial proclamation of this last article shall be made from the -pulpit.” - -This Bernese edict, being read in all parts, was a source of great -distress, and it appeared to the Baptists as if “the beautiful flower -of the orthodox Christian church” would be entirely extirpated in those -parts. - -It was therefore concluded to send certain persons from the cities of -Dordrecht, Leyden, Amsterdam, etc., to the Hague, where the puissant -States-General were in session, to induce them to send petitions to Berne -and Zurich for the relief of the people suffering oppression. - -The States-General, as “kind fathers of the poor, the miserable, and the -oppressed,” took immediate cognizance of the matter. - -Letters were written “to the lords of Berne” for the liberation of -prisoners, etc., and to the lords of Zurich for the restoration of the -property of the imprisoned, deceased, and exiled Baptists. The letter to -Berne narrates (in brief) that “the States-General have learned, from -persons called in this country Mennonists, that their brethren called -Anabaptists suffer great persecution at Berne, being forbidden to -live in the country, but not allowed to remove with their families and -property. We have likewise learned that some of them have been closely -confined; which has moved us to Christian compassion. - -“We request you, after the good example of the lords-regent of -Schaffhausen, to grant the petitioners time to depart with their families -and property wherever they choose. To this end we request you to consider -that when, in 1655, the Waldenses were so virulently persecuted by the -Romans for the confession of their Reformed religion, and the necessities -of the dispersed people could not be relieved but by large collections -raised in England, this country, etc., the churches of the Baptists, upon -the simple recommendation of their governments, and in Christian love and -compassion, contributed with so much benevolence that a remarkably large -sum was raised.... Farewell, etc. At the Hague, 1660.” - -The letter of the States-General to Zurich is similar to the foregoing -abstract. - -Besides these acts of the States-General, several cities of the United -Netherlands, being entirely opposed to restraint of conscience, reproved -“the members of their society in Switzerland,” and exhorted them to -gentleness. - -Thus, the burgomasters and lords of Rotterdam, speaking in behalf of -the elders of the church called Mennonist, whose fellow-believers in -Berne are called in derision Anabaptists: “As to ourselves, honorable -lords, we are of opinion that these men can be safely tolerated in the -commonwealth, and for this judgment we have to thank William, Prince of -Orange, of blessed memory, who established, by his bravery, liberty of -conscience for us, and could never be induced to deprive the Mennonites -of citizenship. - -“We have never repented of this, for we have never learned that these -people have sought to excite sedition, but, on the contrary, they have -cheerfully paid their taxes. - -“Although they confess that Christians cannot conscientiously act as -officers of government, and are opposed to swearing, yet they do not -refuse obedience to the authorities, and, if they are convicted of a -violation of truth, are willing to undergo the punishment due to perjury. -We indulge the hope that your lordships will either repeal the onerous -decree against the Mennonists or at least grant to the poor wanderers -sufficient time to make their preparations, and procure residences in -other places. - -“When this is done, your lordships will have accomplished a measure -well pleasing to God, advantageous to the name of the Reformed, and -gratifying to us who are connected with your lordships in the close ties -of religion. Rotterdam, 1660.” - -These appeals of the States-General and of the cities of Holland seem to -have had very little effect, at least upon the authorities of Berne, for -there arose eleven years later, or in 1671, another severe persecution -of the Baptists in that canton, which was so virulent that it seemed as -if the authorities would not cease until they had expelled that people -entirely. - -In consequence of this, seven hundred persons, old and young, were -constrained to forsake their property, relations, and country, and -retire to the Palatinate. Some of them, it seems, took refuge in Alsace, -above Strasburg. - -An extract from a letter given in the Martyr-book says, “Some follow -chopping wood, others labor in the vineyards; hoping, I suppose, that -after some time tranquillity will be restored, and they will be able to -return to their habitations; but I am afraid that this will not happen -soon.... The authorities of Berne had six of the prisoners (one of whom -was a man that had nine children) put in chains and sold as galley-slaves -between Milan and Malta.” - -(We may infer that this, however, was not the first infliction of this -punishment at Berne. A list in the Martyr-book of persons put to death -for their faith concludes thus: “Copied from the letter of Hans Loersch, -while in prison at Berne, 1667, whence he was taken in chains to sea.”) - -This severe penalty of being sold as slaves to row the galleys or great -sail-boats which traversed the Mediterranean was also impending over -other able-bodied prisoners, as it is said, but “a lord of Berne,” named -Beatus, was excited to compassion, and obtained permission that the -prisoners should leave the country upon bail that they would not return -without permission. - -In the year 1672 the brethren in the United Netherlands (the Mennonites -or Baptists) sent some of their members into the Palatinate to inquire -into the condition of the refugees, and the latter were comforted and -supported by the assistance of the churches and members of the United -Netherlands. - -There were among the refugees husbands and wives who had to abandon -their consorts, who belonged to the Reformed Church and could not think -of removal. Among these were two ministers, whose families did not belong -to the church (Baptist), and who had to leave without finding whether -their wives would go with them, or whether they loved their property more -than their husbands. “Such incidents occasioned the greater distress, -since the authorities granted such persons remaining permission to marry -again.”[20] - -Alsace and the Palatinate (lying upon the Rhine), where our Swiss exiles -had taken refuge, were soon after devastated in the great wars of their -ambitious neighbor, Louis XIV., King of France. Turenne, the French -general, put the Palatinate, a fine and fertile country, full of populous -towns and villages, to fire and sword. The Elector Palatine, from the top -of his castle at Mannheim, beheld two cities and twenty towns in flames. -Turenne, with the same indifference, destroyed the ovens, and laid waste -part of the country of Alsace, to prevent the enemy from subsisting.[21] - -About fourteen years after, or in the winter of 1688-89, the Palatinate -was again ravaged by the French king’s army. The French generals gave -notice to the towns but lately repaired, and then so flourishing, to -the villages, etc., that their inhabitants must quit their dwellings, -although it was then the dead of winter; for all was to be destroyed by -fire and sword. - -“The flames with which Turenne had destroyed two towns and twenty -villages of the Palatinate were but sparks in comparison to this last -terrible destruction, which all Europe looked upon with horror.”[22] - -Between the time of these two great raids there occurred several -noteworthy incidents. There came to Holland and Germany, in the year -1677, a man who was then of little note, a man of peace, belonging to -a new and persecuted sect, but who has since become better known in -history, at least to us who inhabit Pennsylvania, than Marshal Turenne, -or the great Louis XIV. himself. It was the colonizer and statesman, the -Quaker William Penn. - -The Elector Palatine then reigning was a relative of the King of England. -Penn failed to see this prince, but he addressed a letter to him, to the -“Prince Elector Palatine of Heydelbergh,” in which he desires to know -“what encouragement a colony of virtuous and industrious families might -hope to receive from thee, in case they should transplant themselves into -this country, which certainly in itself is very excellent, respecting -taxes, oaths, arms, etc.” - -I know not what encouragement, if any, the Elector offered to Penn; but -only about four years later Penn’s great colony was founded across the -Atlantic, a colony which afforded refuge to many “Palatines.”[23] - -Of this journey to Germany and Holland, just spoken of, Penn kept -a journal, and there is mention made at Amsterdam of Baptists and -“Menists,” or Mennonites; but whether he ever met on the Continent any -of our Swiss exiles I do not find stated in history. Of his other two -journeys to Germany, no journal has been found. - -Eight years after Penn’s journey there occurred, in the year 1685, a -circumstance which may have especially interested our Swiss Baptists and -have operated to bring their colony to Pennsylvania; for in June of that -year the Elector Palatine dying without issue, the electoral dignity went -to a Roman Catholic family.[24] - -The Swiss exiles that first took refuge in Lancaster County came here -about thirty-eight years after the severe Bernese persecution of 1671. -Rupp, the historian of our county, tells us that in 1706 or 1707 a -number of the persecuted Swiss Mennonites went to England and made -a particular agreement with the honorable proprietor, William Penn, -for lands. He further says that several families from the Palatinate, -descendants of the distressed Swiss, emigrated to America and settled in -Lancaster County in the year 1709.[25] - -The sympathy of the Society of Friends, William Penn’s co-religionists, -was at this time called out for this people in a substantial manner. -Barclay says, “Not only did the leaders of the early Society of Friends -take great interest in the Mennonites, but the Yearly Meeting of -1709 contributed fifty pounds (a very large sum at that time) for the -Mennonites of the Palatinate who had fled from the persecution of the -Calvinists in Switzerland.”[26] - -The next year the commissioners of property had agreed with Martin -Kendig, Hans Herr, etc., “Switzers” lately arrived in this province, -for ten thousand acres of land twenty miles east of Connystogoe. (This -Connystogoe I cannot locate. The Conestoga Creek empties into the -Susquehanna below Lancaster.) - -The supplies of the colonists were at first scanty, until the seed sown -in a fertile soil yielded some thirty-, others forty-fold.[27] Their -nearest mill was at Wilmington, distant, as I estimate, some thirty miles. - -One of their number was soon sent to Europe to bring out other emigrants, -and after the accession the colony numbered about thirty families. They -mingled with the Indians in hunting and fishing. These were hospitable -and respectful to the whites.[28] - -We are told that the early colonists had strong faith in the fruitfulness -and natural advantages of their choice of lands. “They knew these would -prove to them and their children the home of plenty.” Their anticipations -have never failed.[29] - -The harmony existing between the Indians and these men of peace is very -pleasing. Soon after their first settlement here, Lieutenant-Governor -Gookin made a journey to Conestogo (1711), and in a speech to the Indians -tells them that Governor Penn intends to present five belts of wampum -to the Five Nations, “and one to you of Conestogo, and requires your -friendship to the Palatines, settled near Pequea.”[30] About seven years -after this, William Penn died in England, in the year 1718. - - * * * * * - -Dr. Seidensticker compares the German emigration hither, in its origin, -to the Quaker and Puritan. After the Lutherans and Reformed had succeeded -in gaining a recognition, there were sects in Germany who did not agree -with the three recognized confessions and who were bitterly persecuted. -Against such Christians the indignation of the clergy and the wrath of -the civil authorities was directed in almost every German land. - -Says Herzog’s Cyclopædia: - -“When the Baptists were oppressed in Switzerland and the Palatinate, -the Mennonites united into one community with the Palatines at Groningen -(Holland), and established in 1726 a fund for the needy abroad, to which -Baptists of all parties richly contributed. About eighty years after this -fund was discontinued, being no longer thought necessary.” - -Thus active persecution of the Baptists in those regions had ceased, it -seems, about the year 1800. - -The German or Swiss colony in Lancaster County is said to have caused -some alarm, though we can hardly believe it a real fear. Nine years after -the death of William Penn, representation was made to Lieutenant-Governor -Gordon (1727) that “a large number of Germans, peculiar in their dress, -religion, and notions of political government, had settled on Pequea, and -were determined not to obey the lawful authority of government; that they -had resolved to speak their own language, and to acknowledge no sovereign -but the great Creator of the universe.” - -Rupp, from whom I quote the above passage, adds: “There was perhaps -never a people who felt less disposed to disobey the lawful authority of -government than the Mennonites against whom these charges were made.” - -The charges were doubtless dropped, or answered in a satisfactory manner; -for two years subsequently, or in 1729, a naturalization act was passed -concerning certain Germans who had emigrated into the province between -the years 1700 and 1718. Over one hundred persons are naturalized by this -act (Martin Meylin, Hans Graaf, etc.); and a great part of the people of -the county can find their surnames mentioned therein.[31] All the names, -however, are not necessarily those of Baptist families. - -Nearly to the same date as this naturalization act belongs a letter -written from Philadelphia, in 1730, by the Rev. Jedediah Andrews. - -Mr. Andrews says, in substance, “There are in this province a vast number -of Palatines; those that have come of late years are mostly Reformed. The -first-comers, though called Palatines, are mostly Switzers, many of whom -are wealthy, having got the best land in the province. They live sixty or -seventy miles off, but come frequently to town with their wagons laden -with skins belonging to the Indian traders, with butter, flour, etc.”[32] - -Mr. Andrews, in his letter, while speaking of the Switzers, continues: -“There are many Lutherans and some Reformed mixed among them.... Though -there be so many sorts of religion going on, we don’t quarrel about it. -We not only live peaceably, but seem to love one another.” - -This harmony among the multitudinous sects in Pennsylvania must have -been the more remarkable to Mr. Andrews from his having been born and -educated in Massachusetts, where a very different state of affairs -had prevailed; and on this subject Rupp says, “The descendants of the -Puritans boast that their ancestors fled from persecution, willing to -encounter perils in the wilderness, and perils by the heathen, rather -than be deprived of the free exercise of their religion. The descendants -of the Swiss Mennonites in Lancaster County claim that while their -ancestors sought for the same liberty, they did not persecute others who -differed from them in religious opinion.”[33] - -The letter of Mr. Andrews, above quoted, bears date 1730. Twelve years -after, or in 1742, a respectable number of the Amish (pronounced Ommish) -of Lancaster County petitioned the General Assembly that a special law of -naturalization might be passed for their benefit. They stated that they -had emigrated from Europe by an invitation from the proprietaries; that -they had been brought up in and were attached to the Amish doctrine, and -were conscientiously scrupulous against taking oaths; “they therefore -cannot be naturalized agreeably to the existing law.” An act was passed -in conformity to their request. (I give this statement as I find it, -although somewhat surprised if the laws of Pennsylvania did not always -allow those to affirm who were conscientiously opposed to oaths.) - -The history of our Swiss Exiles is nearly finished. It is chiefly when -a nation is in adversity that its history is interesting to us. What is -there to tell of a well-to-do farming population, who do not participate -in battles, and who live almost entirely secluded from public affairs?[34] - -Under the date 1754 it is noted that Governor Pownall, travelling in -Lancaster County, says, “I saw the finest farm one can possibly conceive, -in the highest culture; it belongs to a Switzer.” Thus Gray’s lines -(slightly altered) may be said to comprise most of the external history -of this people for a century and a half: - - “Oft did the harvest to their sickle yield, - Their furrow oft the stubborn glebe hath broke; - How early did they drive their team a-field, - How bowed the woods beneath their sturdy stroke!” - -Some difficulty had arisen, however, between the Germans of our county -and the “Scotch-Irish.” Thus, Day, in his Historical Collections, says, -“The Presbyterians from the north of Ireland came in at about the same -time with the Germans, and occupied the townships of Donegal and Paxton.” -(Paxton, now Dauphin County.) “Collisions afterwards occurring between -them and the Germans concerning elections, bearing of arms, the treatment -of the Indians, etc., the proprietaries instructed their agents in 1755 -that the Germans should be encouraged, and in a manner directed to settle -along the southern boundary of the province, in Lancaster and York -Counties, while the Irish were to be located nearer to the Kittatinny -Mountain, in the region now forming Dauphin and Cumberland Counties.”[35] - -In the Revolutionary war, the German Mennonites did not early espouse the -cause of independence. Some of them doubtless felt bound by their promise -of loyalty to the established government, while others were perhaps -influenced by the motive lately attributed to them in the correspondence -of one of our county papers (_Examiner and Herald_, Lancaster, October -27, 1869). The writer tells us that Lancaster County was settled -principally by Mennonites, etc., who are strict non-resistants. They were -peculiarly solicitous to manifest their loyalty to the powers that be, -because they had been accused by their enemies of having been implicated -in rebellion during the unhappy events at Münster, Germany, in 1535. -“When our Revolutionary struggle began, these people were cautious in -resisting the established government.” - -During the late rebellion, although very few of our Mennonites bore arms, -yet some were active in raising funds to pay bounties to persons who did -enlist. - - * * * * * - -It appears to the writer that there can scarcely be a people in our -country among whom the ancient practices are more faithfully maintained -than among the Amish of Lancaster County.[36] - -Notwithstanding the great falling off from ancient principles and -practices which we read of among Holland Mennonites (see Herzog’s -Cyclopædia and the Encyclopædia Americana), it seems that there are yet -left in Europe others of the stricter rule. In Friesland, Holland, where -the Mennonites are divided, as here, into three classes, there are found, -by comparison, most traces of the old Mennonism.[37] - -And we have lately heard of Amish in France. A letter from that country, -published in the _Herald of Truth_ (Elkhart, Indiana, July, 1871), -alludes to the late European war. The writer says, “The loss we here -sustained is indescribable. Many houses have been entirely shattered -to pieces by the cannon-balls, and others totally destroyed by fire.” -He adds, “As you desire to know what kind of Mennonites there are -residing here in France, I will briefly state that most of them are Amish -Mennonites.” He signs himself Isaac Rich, Etupes, par Audincourt, Doubs, -France. - -This department, Doubs, adjoins Switzerland. - -The church history of our Mennonites has not been entirely uneventful. -Rupp tells us that they were very numerous about the year 1792, and that -Martin Boehm and others made inroads upon them. A considerable number -seceded and joined the United Brethren, or _Vereinigte Brüder_. - -A society of Dunkers was formed near the Susquehanna, many years ago, by -Jacob Engle, who had been a Mennonite. This society is called “The River -Brethren,” and from it has been formed the society of “Brinser Brethren,” -popularly so called. - -The Rev. John Herr is generally considered the founder of a sect -popularly called “New Mennists.” They call themselves, however, “Reformed -Mennonites,” and claim that they have only returned to the ancient purity -of doctrine. - -In Montgomery County, in 1873, I find the term New Mennonites applied -to another sect, while those of whom I have just spoken are called -“_Herrelite_,”[38] or followers of Herr. The former are followers or -friends of a preacher named Overholtzer,—a man who refused to put on a -coat of a peculiar cut when he became a preacher. - -In, or near, the same part of our State certain Mennonites have left -the society, desiring to “defend their country,” and to join oath-bound -societies. They call themselves Trinity Christians. - -How far the “Albrechtsleut,” or “Dutch Methodists,”—the Evangelical -Association, as they call themselves,—have made converts among the -Mennonites, I cannot tell. - -Mr. Rupp, whose history of Lancaster County is as yet the standard, -speaks of the Mennonites as the prevailing religious denomination in -1843, having about forty-five ministers preaching in German, and over -thirty-five meeting-houses. - -The Amish meet in private houses. (In this year 1882, when preparing my -third edition, I hear, however, of their having so far broken through -their old custom as to have built at least one meeting-house in this -State.) - -Although I have never heard that our Mennonites as a religious body -passed any rules forbidding slaveholding, as did the Quakers, yet they -are in sentiment strongly anti-slavery, having great faith in those who -are willing to labor with their own hands. Of this strong anti-slavery -sentiment I offer convincing proof in the votes by which they supported -in Congress our late highly distinguished representative, Thaddeus -Stevens.[39] - -In the _Columbian Magazine_ for January, 1789, appears an “Account of -the Manners of the German Inhabitants of Pennsylvania.” The writer, Dr. -Rush, would properly have included Friends in the following passage: - -“Perhaps those German sects of Christians among us, who refuse to bear -arms for the purpose of shedding human blood, may be preserved by Divine -Providence, as the centre of a circle which shall gradually embrace all -the nations of the earth in a perpetual treaty of friendship and peace.” - - * * * * * - -Since the first edition of this book was prepared, the public attention -has been much attracted to a great body of Russian Mennonites who have -come to this country, rather than perform military duty in Russia; some -of these are of Swiss origin.[40] - -One of my neighbors had before spoken to me in very favorable terms of -Russian Mennonites, but it did not seem probable that such a body of -people were to be found in that empire, and I paid but little attention -to the subject. - -The account which seems to me most valuable, among newspaper items -concerning them, was contained in a St. Petersburg letter in the _New -York Tribune_ of May 11, 1872. - -The writer tells us that about the time of Menno’s death there was a -large emigration of his flock to East Prussia, where their Dutch neatness -and industry soon made those desolate and swampy regions to flourish -like a garden. In 1730 and 1732 they were threatened with expatriation -for refusing to serve in the army; but the storm passed by, and other -colonists came in. Arbitrary measures, however, were still taken from -time to time, and in 1789 they were forbidden to purchase landed property. - -Catherine II. of Russia, while inviting German colonists, also invited -these, and before the year 1800 about three hundred and fifty families -of Mennonites had entered Russia, and settled on the lower Dnieper. They -came on condition of receiving freedom of worship, “the administration -of oaths in their own way” (the writer does not appear to understand -their objection to swearing at all), “and exemption forever from military -service.” They were also to receive one hundred and ninety acres of land -for each family, money for their journey, etc. - -The privileges were confirmed by the Emperor Paul, and extended to all -coming after; and although the laws of Prussia had been altered, there -was a continued migration of Mennonites to Russia until 1817. These -settled near their brethren, and not far from the town of Berdiansk. - -The Mennonites have prospered until they number about forty thousand. -They settled on a waste steppe, where the land was rich enough, but -suffered much from want of water. They irrigated, and raised agriculture -to a higher point than anywhere else in Russia. They had no wood, and -they planted trees. The introduction of tree culture on the steppes is -entirely owing to them. They have not only large orchards, but productive -forest-trees, and plantations of mulberry-trees, by means of which they -produce silk. They are also large raisers of stock. - -Although originally agriculturists, they have endeavored to supply their -own wants in manufactured articles, and in 1854 they had in activity -three hundred and fifty mills and factories, including cloth-mills, -water- and grist-mills, dyeing and printing works, breweries, -distilleries, silk-spinneries, brick and tile works, potteries, etc., and -in their villages there were men exercising nearly every known trade. - -There is no drunkenness or gambling among them. Crime is exceedingly -rare. Besides all this, they are educated. Every child knows how to read -and write; and in every village there is a school. - -Up to this time they have been loyal subjects to Russia. During the -Crimean war they sent large gifts of grain and provender to the besieged -army. It is only because the privileges granted to them are infringed, -and they will be compelled to enter the army against their conscience, -that they now wish to emigrate. - -Their success in tree culture on an arid steppe points naturally to -the Western prairies as their future home. In their petitions to the -American and British governments they asked whether they could obtain -land free, or at low prices, for their whole colony; whether they could -have exemption for themselves and their descendants from military service -of every kind; and whether the government would advance them any money to -defray their travelling expenses. Though the colony is prosperous, and -some of the members rich, yet there are some who either have no land, -or have so little property that a forced sale would leave them almost -destitute. - -In addition to the above from the _New York Tribune_, I have found an -extract concerning the Mennonites of South Russia, from _The Friend_ -(London), in which it is stated that a deputation was sent to St. -Petersburg in hopes of changing the purpose of the government, but only -obtained a delay of ten years, which expired in 1881, and also the option -of hospital and other non-fighting military service in place of actual -soldiership. Many deputations have since followed. The last attempt was -by a company of “eldest persons” to the emperor, while he was staying at -his country palace in the Crimea. We learn “the emperor did not accept an -audience, but kind words by others were spoken plenty.” Extracts follow -from an original letter, preserving the quaint English: “We greatly see -the need of leaving Russia, not only because of military service, but -also of the curtailing of religious and other liberties, which clearly -shows an intention on the part of the government to take this and our -language from us. Formerly, the administration of all laws connected with -the colonies was in the hands of the colonists themselves; now they are -mixed up with the Russian peasants. The Russ language, hitherto not, or -little, wanted, is introduced into the schools, and Russian teachers are -given to those schools. Prisons, like as in the Russian villages, are by -law commanded to build; before, not at all wanted.” - -But while the Russian Mennonites are thus preparing to emigrate, it is -stated that in Prussia there are only a few churches that are not willing -to submit to the new military law. - -The editor of the _Herald of Truth_, a Mennonite paper (Elkhart, -Indiana), speaks to the Russians nearly as follows: “I believe I -understand the sad dilemma in which you are placed. You have homes, the -result of honest toil; you love and cherish them; there is a long journey -to make into a strange land; it will cost you a great many anxieties and -trials; all these things seem almost impossible for you to accomplish, -and yet you cherish the principles of your church, you want to abide in -the faith of your fathers. - -“In the country where you now are you are called to do that which we -believe Jesus, the Prince of Peace, forbids. Now here is a dilemma. It -will be for you to choose. Shall we stay,—and yield the principles of our -religion? or shall we do as the Saviour said, ‘If they persecute you in -one city, flee into another’?” - - * * * * * - -In 1881 I visited a few Mennonite communities in Germany; the first -being in the city of Crefeld, in Rhenish Prussia. I sought this town -especially from what I had learned of it in my own country. Crefeld -seems to have been a place of refuge in former times for persecuted -religionists. Here, in the seventeenth century, Huguenot refugees -introduced the manufacture of silk, for which the town is still -distinguished. Here William Penn and others gained adherents to the -Quaker doctrine.[41] And when the Dunkers were persecuted, some of them -took refuge in Crefeld, in the duchy of Cleves. - -Although Crefeld was so liberal, and although it now belongs to Prussia, -it is greatly Catholic. The population is thus estimated: Catholics, -56,000; Evangelicals or United Lutherans and Reformed, 18,000; Jews, -1500; Mennonites, 1000. But the attendance at the Mennonite church which -I visited did not indicate so great a number. I cannot express more fully -to our own people of Lancaster County how much this church differs from -their own simple meetings at home than to tell them that the preacher is -paid, that he spoke from a pulpit, wore a black robe, and read a prayer -from a book. Yet it is simple compared with the display of Catholic -churches. - -But what my neighbors will probably consider as a more vital difference -between them and the Mennonites of Crefeld is that the latter bear arms. -Since 1868 they have not been exempted from military service. They can, -however, if they desire, take peaceful positions, such as nurses in -military hospitals, or clerks; but while some of their fellow-believers -in Prussia avail themselves of this permission, those in Crefeld do not. -One not a Mennonite said to me that the positions in the army are more -honorable. - -Why, then, do they not join the Evangelicals? Two of the chief -differences between them are that Mennonites only baptize those of mature -years and refuse to swear in a court of justice, making instead nearly -the following declaration, “My yes is yes, my no is no, and in testimony -thereto I offer my right hand,”—the _handschlag_. - - * * * * * - -The next Mennonite settlement which I visited was that at Kuhbörnchenhof, -not far from Kaiserslautern, in the Rhenish Palatinate. Going among -these people with no letters of introduction, I was received with much -hospitality in the small rural settlement. Their ancestors came from -Switzerland in 1715. The first who came to this place seems to have built -himself a log house; the country being nearly covered with wood, with -wild animals therein. Others joined him, until the little settlement -numbered eight families. Counting all in the country round belonging -to this church (or congregation), it is said to number ninety-four -baptized persons. They baptize at the age of thirteen. Until lately this -settlement had an unpaid ministry; but a few years ago they concluded -to employ a minister. However, he is not heavily paid. He preaches by -turns in three different settlements, and receives a salary of about one -hundred and eighty dollars (having a wife and infant). There are larger -communities, which pay as much as two hundred and fifty to four hundred -and fifty dollars. - -The Rhenish Palatinate belongs to Bavaria. The Mennonites here are no -longer allowed to purchase exemption from military service; all who are -drawn must serve. - -One more effort I made in Germany to visit the Mennonites. I heard -in the city of Speyer that some were living near Zweibrücken, and by -perseverance I found an Amish family not far from the town. It proved -to be that of a wealthy farmer, living in some respects more plainly -than our people here. This farmer, Mr. Stalter, told me that all the -Mennonites in the Palatinate came from Switzerland. When they came many -of them were weavers, but now they have earned money, and all, or almost -all, are farmers. The manner in which the sons of this family avoid -protracted military service seems to be by obtaining a higher degree of -education. I was told that since 1871 every young man in Germany must -perform military service at the age of twenty. If he prefer, he may begin -at sixteen. They usually go into barracks for three years. But the three -years’ service can be shortened to one year, and otherwise lightened, -thus: First, the young man must be three years in a common public -school,—_Volks-schule_. Then he must go six years to a school of higher -grade, a _Real-schule_, where he studies a foreign language (either -French or English), chemistry, physics, mathematics, history, and natural -history. (At the end of six years, if he cannot pass his examination, he -may go back and study another year.) After this he is ready to enter upon -the mitigated military service for one year only. If he does not wish to -live in garrison, he can take a room elsewhere and board himself, but go -through all the military exercises with the other soldiers. In this case -he must furnish himself his uniform and other trappings. Of this manner -of escaping the three years’ service I think that two sons of the Stalter -family had already availed themselves. - -Close by Mr. Stalter lived another family named Oesch. They had been -Amish until 1871, and have now joined the Tunkers (Dunkers), or those -who immerse. The Tunkers do not go to war. If they are forced to do so, -they go to America. They do go into garrison, but they will not bear -arms. They are then taken before a military judge, and sometimes he sends -them to prison. When allowed to come out they can work in barracks in -bread-baking, the care of horses, etc., but will not take arms, even -possibly if they should be threatened with death. - -But they are not always sent to prison. When the matter is understood by -the authorities other labor than military service is often assigned to -them. It was in this family of Oesch that I saw the two volumes which I -had before seen in Lancaster County. One was the Martyr-book, which was -published in Dutch, turned into German by the brotherhood at Ephrata, -and by them printed in 1748;[42] printed anew by the united brotherhood -in Europe. The date, I think, was 1780. The other volume was the old -Hymn-Book, still in use among the Amish in my own country. This copy was -published at Basle in 1809. - -I have before spoken of the congregation that I visited not far from -Kaiserslautern, and of its preacher, who received a salary of about -one hundred and eighty dollars. I met the preacher there and at his own -dwelling, and he gave me a list, published in 1881, of the Mennonite -congregations in Germany, Galicia, Poland, and Russia. Why those in -Holland are not included I do not understand. Others are omitted, for the -preface says, “We are sorry that we have not received any information -concerning the small congregations found in Switzerland, as well as those -in Alsace and Lorraine.” As far as my own observation goes, the number -of Mennonites in Germany is not large. In Holland the number given in -Appleton’s Cyclopædia is over forty-four thousand in the year 1869. Of -those in Russia, the number mentioned in the list which was presented to -me (published in 1881) is about forty thousand. But a private letter from -a Mennonite editor estimates that fifteen thousand Russian Mennonites -have come to this country, and that, as there were about forty thousand -in Russia in 1870, only about twenty-five thousand are left there. The -editor mentions that they have settled here in Kansas, Nebraska, Dakota, -Minnesota, and Manitoba. - - - - -THE DUNKER LOVE-FEAST. - - -On the morning of the 25th of September, 1871, I took the cars of the -Pennsylvania Central Railroad for the borough of Mount Joy, in the -northwest part of this county of Lancaster. Finding no public conveyance -thence to the village of C., I obtained from my landlord a horse and -buggy and an obliging driver, who took me four or five miles, for two -dollars. We took a drive round by the new Dunker meeting-house, which is -a neat frame building,—brown, picked out with white window-frames. Behind -it is a wood, upon which the church-doors open, instead of upon the -highway. - -We heard here that the meeting would not begin till one o’clock on the -next day. Some of the brethren were at the church, however, with their -teams, having brought provisions, straw, and bedding. We went into the -neat meeting-room, and above into the garret, where straw was being -laid down. A partition ran down the middle, and upon the women’s side a -small room had also been divided from the rest, wherein were one or two -bedsteads and the inevitable cradle. The basement had a hard earthen -floor, and was divided into dining-room, kitchen, and cellar. Upon -spacious shelves in the cellar a brother and sister were placing food. -Many large loaves of bread were there. The sister was taking pies from a -great basket, and bright coffee-pots stood upon the kitchen-table. - -All here seemed to speak “Dutch,” but several talked English with me. -They seemed surprised that I had come so far as twenty-three miles in -order to attend the meeting. One remarked that it was no member that had -put the notice of the meeting which I had seen into the paper. Others, -however, seemed interested, although by my dress it was very plain that I -was not of the brotherhood. - -I found C. a neat place of about a dozen houses, and we drove to the only -tavern. The landlady was young and pleasant, but she could speak little -English. She was quite sociable, however, and thought that she could -teach me “Dutch” and I her English. By means of some German on my part, -we got along tolerably together. She took me to a good chamber, and began -removing from it some of their best clothing. Showing me two sun-bonnets, -one of them made of black silk, she said, “It is the fashion.” “The -fashion?” said I. “Yes; the fashion for married women.” This was, -doubtless, the Dunker influence even among those not members. - -Being at leisure in the afternoon, I walked to an ancient Moravian church -in the neighborhood, with the landlady’s little daughter,—a pretty child. - -Her mother said, “Geh mit der aunty:” so she went with her adopted -relative. - -“Do you speak English?” I said to the little one. - -“Na!” she answered. - -“Hast du ein Brüder?” (Have you a brother?) I continued. - -“Na!” she replied, in the dialect. - -“Wie alt bist du?” (How old are you?) I said afterward.[43] - -“Vaze es net.” (I don’t know.) - -Conversation flagged. - -I found the church a small log building that had been covered with -boards. Many of the tombstones were in the Moravian fashion, such as I -had seen at Litiz,—small square slabs, lying flat in the grass; and some -were numbered at the top of the inscription. One of these is said to be -one hundred and twenty years old. But the Herrnhüter (as my landlady -said) are all gone, and another society now holds meetings in the lowly -church. - -Although my little guide of six years could not speak English, she was -not wanting in good sense. As I was trying to secure the graveyard gate, -holding it with one hand, and stooping to roll up the stone that served -to keep it fast, the little one, too, put out her hand, unbidden, to hold -the gate. I thought that there were some English children that would not -have been so helpful, and reflected, as I walked along, upon _unspoken -language_, if I may use the expression. - -The landlady had a plentiful supper after we returned. I was the only -guest, and, as is usual here, the maid sat down with us. We had fried -beef, sweet potatoes, pie, very nice apple-butter, canned peaches, -barley-coffee, brown sugar, etc. The charge for board was at the rate of -one dollar per day. - -In the evening I heard my hostess up-stairs preparing my bed, as I -supposed. My surprise was therefore considerable, on turning down the -woollen coverlet, to find no sheets upon the feather bed. On lifting this -light and downy bed, which was neatly covered with white, I found one -sheet, a straw bed, and then a bed-cord in the place of a sacking-bottom. -I at once perceived that the feather bed was a feather cover, of which I -had often heard, but had never met with one before during my sojourn in -Pennsylvania “Dutchland.” I should think that this downy covering might -be pleasant in cold weather, but now I rolled it off upon the floor, and, -with the help of a spare comfortable, was soon at rest. The pillow-cases, -which were trimmed with edging, were marked with black silk, in a large -running-hand, in this manner: “Henry G. Kreider, 1864.” - -As I sat the next morning a while with the landlady in her basement -kitchen, she remarked, “Here is it as Dutch as Dutchlant.” But she said -that my Dutch was not like theirs. The neighborhood, however, is not -nearly so German as Germany. I was told by an intelligent young man -that half the grown men did not speak English; I understand by this, -not that they do not speak our language at all, but not habitually and -with fluency. Many speak English very well, but the “Dutch” accent is -universal. For several years the school-books in the township have all -been English. I laughed with the landlady, who herself seemed somewhat -amused, at the children having English books and speaking Dutch, or, as -she would say, “Die Kinner lerne Englisch und schwetze Deitsch.” However, -at the Dunker church a pretty girl told me afterward that she had had -no difficulty at school the preceding winter, although “we always talk -German at home.” - -At breakfast this morning, among other dishes, we had raisin-pie. Not a -great while after this meal was over, the morning having proved wet, a -neighbor took me over to the church in his buggy for twenty-five cents. -Although the hour was so early, and meeting was fixed to begin at one, I -found a considerable number here, which did not surprise me, as I knew -the early habits of our “Dutch” people. Taking a seat, I began to read a -number of the _Living Age_, when a black-eyed maid before me, in Dunker -dress, handed me her neatly-bound hymn-book in English and German. I told -her that I could read German, and when I read a verse in that language -she said, “But you don’t know what it means.” Reading German is with us a -much rarer accomplishment than speaking the dialect. - -Ere long, a stranger came and sat down behind me, and entered into -conversation. He was a preacher from a distance, named L., and spoke very -good English. We soon found that we had mutual acquaintances in another -county, and when dinner was ready he invited me down to partake. - -Here the men sat upon one side, and the women on the other, of one of -the long tables, upon which was laid a strip of white muslin. We had -bowls without spoons, into which was poured by attending brethren very -hot coffee, containing milk or cream, but no sugar. We had the fine -Lancaster County bread, good and abundant butter, apple-butter, pickles, -and pies. The provisions for these meals are contributed by the members -at a previous meeting, where each tells what he intends to furnish, how -many loaves of bread, etc., while some prefer to give money. To furnish -provisions, however, is natural to a people of whom about seventy-five in -a hundred are farmers, as is the case with the Dunkers. Whatever food is -left over after the four meals are finished is given to the poor, without -distinction of sect; “whoever needs it most,” as a sister said. - -At this dinner, before eating, my new acquaintance, L., gave out, by two -lines at a time, the verse,— - - “Eternal are thy mercies, Lord.” - -But few joined in the singing. They would doubtless have preferred -German. In that language thanks were returned after eating. - -When we went up into the meeting-room again, a young man of an -interesting countenance, a preacher, named Z., asked me if I was not -the one who had written an article which had lately appeared in one of -our county papers. It was very gratifying to be thus recognized among -strangers. - -An elderly sister, who sat down by me and began to talk, was named -Murphy. The name surprised me much, but it was not the only Irish one -here. It is probable that some such persons were taken into Dunker -families, when young, to be brought up, and thus had been led to join the -society. - -Having observed that there was a good deal of labor to be performed here -in waiting upon so many people, I asked Mrs. Murphy whether there were -women hired. She told me, “There’s a couple of women that’s hired; but -the members does a heap, too.” - -On another occasion, I made a remark to a friendly sister about the -brethren’s waiting upon the table, as they did. She answered that it was -according to the Testament to help each other; the women cooked, and the -men waited upon the table. She did not seem able to give the text. It may -be, “Bear ye one another’s burdens.” I was amused that it should be so -kindly applied to the brethren’s helping the sisters. - -Before meeting began in the afternoon, a lovely aged brother, with -silvery hair and beard, and wearing a woollen coat nearly white, showed -me how the seats were made, so that, by turning down the backs of some, -tables could be formed for the Love-Feast. He told me that the Dunkers -number about one hundred thousand,—that they have increased much in the -West, but not in the Eastern States. To which I rejoined, smiling, “You -Dutch folks do not like poor land, like much of that at the East.” - -“This is not good land,” he said, “we have improved it;” for I had left -the rich limestone soil and had come to the gravelly land in the northern -part of the county. - -When meeting began, as brethren came in, I saw some of these bearded men -kissing each other. These holy kisses, as will be seen hereafter, are -frequent among the Dunkers, and, as the men shave only the upper lip, it -seems strange to us who are unaccustomed to the sight and the sound. The -oft-repeated kissing was to me, perhaps, the least agreeable part of the -ceremonial. - -The afternoon meeting became very crowded, and, as is usual among our -“Dutch” people, a number of babies were in attendance. During the -sessions their voices sometimes rose high, but the noise did not seem to -affect those who were preaching or praying. They felt it perhaps like -the wailing and sighing of the wind, which they regard not, and would -rather bear the inconvenience of the children than to have the mothers -stay away from meeting. This afternoon, during prayer, a little fellow -behind me kept saying, “Want to go to pappy;” but if his father was among -the brethren, he was on the other side of the house. - -My new acquaintance, L., was the only preacher here who spoke in English. -All the other exercises, except a little singing, were in German or in -our Pennsylvania dialect. This afternoon L. said, among many remarks -more sectarian, or less broad, “Faith is swallowed up in sight; hope, in -possession; but charity, or love, is eternal. It came from God, for God -is love.” The allusion here is to Paul’s celebrated panegyric on charity; -but how much more charming it is in the German version, “Faith, hope, -love; but the greatest of these is love. Love suffereth long and is kind, -is not puffed up,” etc. - -About the middle of the afternoon I perceived a speaker giving some -directions, and I asked the women near me what he had said. One answered -and said something about “_Wahl halten für prediger_,” by which I -perceived that the election for a preacher was now to take place. Both -brethren and sisters were to vote; not to select from a certain set of -candidates, however; but at random, among the congregation,—or _family_, -as it is sometimes called, “for all ye are brethren.” - -In the room above-stairs were the bishop or elder and an assistant, to -receive the votes. This bishop we might call the father of this family, -which has four preachers and as many meeting-houses. The bishop is always -that preacher who is oldest in the ministry. Meeting is held by turns -in the different houses, occurring only once in six weeks in the large -new house which we then occupied. These particulars, which I gathered in -conversation, are, I believe, substantially correct. - -During the interval of the election I sat and read, or looked out from -my window at the young people, the gayly-dressed girls mostly grouped -together. Some of these were, probably, relatives of the members, -while others may have come for the ride and the fun, to see and to be -seen,—meetings of this kind being great occasions in the country-side. - -The young men stood around on the outside of these groups of girls, some -holding their whips and twirling them, with the butts resting upon the -ground. Of course the young girls were not conscious of the presence of -the beaux. - -On the back of the house, or rather the front,—for, as I have said, the -main doors open upon the wood instead of upon the roadside,—were more -young girls, and plain sisters and brethren. - -I asked a nice-looking woman about the election, but she could not tell -me, although she wore the plain cap. “Most of the women do around here,” -she said, and added that Dunker women in meeting had offered to kiss her. -“You know they greet each other with a kiss.” - -After the brethren, the sisters were called up to vote. I laughed, -in talking with some of the members, at the women’s being allowed to -vote, in contrast to the usual custom. Mrs. Murphy reckoned it would -be different if the women should undertake to vote for Governor or -President. - -I said to some of the sisters, “Who do you think will be chosen?” But -they pleasantly informed me that to talk upon this point was against -their rules,—it was a matter for internal reflection. - -After meeting was over next day, as the bishop was talking with a -sister, I ventured to ask him whether a majority was necessary to elect -a preacher, or only a plurality. He seemed quite willing to talk, -displaying no clerical pride, and answered, “A majority,” adding, “Do -you speak German?” I feared that I could not readily understand him on -such a subject, and put the case to him thus in English: “Suppose one -man has twenty votes, another fifteen, and another ten?” Then the bishop -said that the one having twenty would be elected; whence it seems that -a plurality only is required. On this occasion the vote was doubtless -much divided, for I afterward heard that the bishop had said to the -congregation that it seemed there were a good many there that were -thought fit for preachers. - -As sunset approached, some of the members began to form tables from the -benches for the Love-Feast, which made me wonder when supper was to be -ready. I soon found, however, that my ignorance of the language had -prevented my observing that while the “family” voted the rest of the -congregation were to sup. I was told, however, that if I would go down -I could still get something to eat. These meals were free to every one -that came. All were received, in the hope that they would obtain some -spiritual good. - -In the basement I found a number of men sitting at the end of one of the -tables, waiting for food, and I also sat down near them. I was invited, -however, by a sister to step into the kitchen, where I stood and partook -of hot coffee, bread and butter, etc. As we went along through the -dining-room, I thought that the sister cast a reproachful glance at a -disorderly man seated at the table with his whip, and who was perhaps -intoxicated. I wondered that she should have taken me from the table to -stand in the kitchen, till I remembered that that was _a men’s table_. - -In the kitchen, brethren were busily occupied cutting large loaves of -bread into quarters for the coming Love-Feast; and when I returned to -the room above, active preparations were still going on, which consumed -much time. The improvised tables were neatly covered with white cloths, -and hanging lamps shed down light upon the scene. Piles of tin pans -were placed upon the table, knives, forks, and spoons, and sometimes -a bowl. The tables, with their seats, occupied nearly the whole floor -of the church, leaving but little room for spectators. I was myself -crowded into a corner, where the stairs came up from the basement and -went up to the loft; but, though at times I was much pressed for room, -I had an excellent place to observe, for I stood at the end of the main -table. Here stood, too, a bright and social sister from a neighboring -congregation, who did not partake of the feast, and was able and willing -to explain the ceremonial to me, in English,—Mrs. R., as I will call her. - -Near by at the table, among the older sisters, sat a pair who attracted a -great deal of my attention—a young mother and her babe—herself so quiet, -and such a quiet babe! They might have been photographed. Once or twice -the little six-weeks’ child gave a feeble young wail, and I saw the -youthful mother modestly give it that nourishment which nature provides. - -The brethren came up carrying tubs of meat, which smelt savory, for I had -fasted from flesh since the morning. Then came great vessels of soup,—one -of them a very large tin wash-boiler. The soup was taken out into the tin -pans before mentioned, and the plates of meat were set upon the top, as -if to keep both hot. And, now that “at long last” the Love-Feast tables -were spread, the fasting family was ready to begin, not the supper, but -the feet-washing! This was the more remarkable, because the Testament, -their rule of action, relates that “supper being ended,” Jesus washed the -disciples’ feet. - -The bishop arose in his place at the table, and, lamp in one hand and -book in the other, read in German the account of the feet-washing in -John’s gospel. - -Four men who stood in front of him, watching his words, started when -he said “legte seine Kleider ab” (“laid aside his garments”), and, in -imitation of Jesus, took off their coats; and, as the Scripture says, “He -took a towel and girded himself,” they, or two of them, put on long white -aprons tied around the waist. Two washed feet and two wiped, and then he -who was thus ministered unto was kissed by one or both of the ministering -brethren. I was a little surprised that two should perform that office, -which Jesus is said to have performed alone: but Mrs. R. told me that, as -the church was one body, it was considered that it made no difference to -have two persons. - -The four who had ministered took their seats, and were served in their -turn, four others taking their places, and so on. Upon the sisters’ side -of the house, on a front bench, the sisters were, in a similar manner, -performing the same ordinance. - -While the religious services of the evening were going on within, from -without there came the sound of voices and laughter,—from where the -young people _of the world_ were enjoying themselves in the clear, cool -moonlight. I doubt not that, by this time, the girls had recognized the -presence of the young men. - -Once there was a shriek or a yell, and Mrs. R. said, “Oh, the drunken -rowdies! there’s always some of them here!” - -Having heard of the non-resistant or _wehrlos_ tenets of the Dunkers, I -wondered what they would do should the disturbance without become very -great and unpleasant. Mrs. Murphy thought that the other people would -interfere in such a case,—that is, that those not members would interest -themselves to maintain order. But on this point I afterward received -information from a brother, as I shall mention. The services were so -long that I told Mrs. R. I thought that the soup would be cold. “Oh, -no!” she said, “that won’t get cold so soon.” So I ventured to put my -finger against a pan near me, and it was yet warm. She asked me, during -feet-washing, whether I did not think that I should feel happy to be -there, partaking of that exercise. - -I answered, in a non-committal manner, that if I had been brought up to -such things, as she had been, I might feel so, but that all my friends -and acquaintances were of a different mind. She rejoined, “But we must -follow Christ, and serve God, in spite of the world.” Even after the feet -were all washed, the fasting family could not yet eat, on account of the -protracted exhortations. - -At length they broke their fast. From two to four persons, each with a -spoon, ate together from one pan of soup, very quietly, fifty feeding -like one, so to speak; the absence of sound proceeding in part perhaps -from the absence of earthen plates. Then they cut from the meat and from -the quarter-loaves, and partook of the butter, this being all the food. -There was no salt nor any other condiment. The occasional bowl was for -water. I suppose that most persons would think that there had been enough -kissing of the kind; but about this time a young bishop, an assistant, -stood up at the centre of the main table, and after some remarks shook -hands with the sister upon his left and kissed the brother upon his -right, and from brother to brother, and from sister to sister, the kiss -went around the congregation. - -The bishop, and this assistant, went around upon ours, the women’s side, -superintending this ceremony, as if to see that none failed in this -expression of unity, and that it was conducted in an orderly manner. The -last sister, who has no one to kiss, goes forward and kisses the first -one, with whom the bishop had shaken hands, thus completing the chain -of unity. This was doubtless done before the Communion, and showed that -brotherly love existed among these brethren, fitting them to partake of -the sacrament. I was also told that the latter half of the afternoon -meeting had been for self-examination on the same subject. - -About this time of the evening Mrs. R. told me that if I would go down -I could get some of the soup, as there was plenty left. I was willing -to partake, not having had a regular supper, and I got a bowl of good -mutton-broth, containing rice or barley, etc. - -After the Love-Feast, these “Old Brethren,” as they are sometimes called, -held the Communion. The bread and wine were placed upon the general or -main table—being set before the bishops—and were covered with a white -cloth. - -Before the celebration of the ordinance there was read in German the -passage of Scripture upon which it is founded; and also, as it seemed -to me, the narrative of the crucifixion. The hymn now sung was an -English one, and the only one in our language that was sung by the whole -congregation during the two days’ meeting. It was, - - “Alas! and did my Saviour bleed?” - -Meantime, the assistant bishop divided the bread, or cakes, which were -unleavened and sweetened. He directed the members, while eating the -bread, to reflect upon the sufferings of the Saviour. His manner was -devout and impressive. As he and Bishop D⸺ passed around among the -women, distributing the bread, the former repeated several times, in a -sonorous voice, these or similar words: “Das Brod das wir brechen ist -die Gemeinschaft des Leibes Christi.” (“The bread that we break is the -communion of the body of Christ.”) - -The wine, which smelt strong, was the juice of the grape, and was made -in the neighborhood. An aged bishop from another congregation made some -observations, and while speaking marked the length of something upon his -finger. Mrs. R. said that he was showing the size of the thorns in the -crown. She added, “They are there yet.” I looked at her in much surprise, -wondering whether she believed in the preservation of the actual -thorns; whereupon she added, “They grow there still. Did you never read -it in Bausman’s book on the Holy Land?—Bausman, the Reformed preacher.” -The simplicity of the surroundings upon this occasion were, it seemed -to me, in keeping with those of the original supper, at which sat the -“carpenter’s son” and the fishermen. - -When meeting was over, as I did not see my escort to the public-house, -and as I had been told that I could stay here, I followed those who went -above-stairs, and received a bolster made of a grain-bag filled with hay -or straw. I shared it with Mrs. Murphy. Our bed was composed of straw -laid upon the floor, and covered, or nearly so, with pieces of domestic -carpet. We had a coverlet to lay over us. I talked with some of the other -women who lay beside us, and could not get to sleep immediately; but at -last I slept so sweetly that it was not agreeable to be disturbed at four -o’clock, when, by my reckoning, the sisters began to rise. When some -of these had gone down, I should perhaps have slept again, had it not -been for a continued talking upon the men’s side of the partition, quite -audible, as the partition only ran up to a distance of some feet, not -nearly so high as the lofty ridge of the building. The voices appeared to -be those of a young man and one or two boys, talking in the dialect. A -woman near me laughed. - -“What is it?” said I. - -“It’s too mean to tell,” she answered. - -I surmise that the Dunker brethren had gone down and left these youths. -Although a baby was crying, I lay still until two girls in Dunker -caps—one ten years old, the other twelve—came with a candle, looking at -us, smiling, and making remarks, perhaps thinking that it was time for -us to be up. - -I asked the eldest what o’clock it was. - -She did not know. - -“What made you get up, then?” - -“I got up when the others did.” - -Then some one explained that there were a good many dishes left unwashed -the evening before. - -I was surprised to see such young persons members of the meeting, for I -supposed that the Dunkers, like the Mennonites, are opposed to infant -baptism. The former explained to me, however, that they thought such -persons as these old enough to distinguish right from wrong. I was told, -too, of one girl, still younger, who had insisted on _wearing the cap_. -The Mennonites baptize persons as young as fifteen. Both sects seem to -hold peculiar views upon original sin. - -A Dunker preacher once said to me,— - -“We believe that, after Adam, all were born in sin; but, after Christ, -all were born without sin.” - -And a Mennist neighbor says,— - -“Children have no sin; the kingdom of heaven is of little children.” - -I continued to lie still, looking at the rafters and roof, and -speculating as to their being so clean, and clear of cobwebs, and whether -they had been laboriously swept; and then, gathering my wardrobe together -with some little trouble, I was at last ready to go down. As I went to a -window, I saw Orion and Sirius, and the coming day. - -Going down to wash at the pump, in the morning gloaming, while the -landscape still lay in shade, I found two or three lads at the pump, and -one of them pumped for me. I was so ignorant of pump-washing as to wonder -why he pumped so small a stream, and to suspect that he was _making fun_; -but thus it seems it is proper to do, to avoid wetting the sleeves. - -Here I met a pretty young sister, from Cumberland County,—fat and -fair,—whose acquaintance I had made the day before. Her cap was of lace, -and not so plain as the rest. There was with her at the pump one of the -world’s people, a young girl in a blue dress. - -“Is that your sister?” I asked. - -“It’s the daughter of the woman I live with,” she replied. “I have no -sister. I am hired with her mother.” - -To my inexperienced eye it was not easy to tell the rich Dunkers from the -poor, when all wore so plain a dress. I was afterward much surprised on -discovering that this pretty sister did not understand German. Another -from Cumberland County told me that I ought to come to their meeting, -which was nearly all English. - -After washing, I went up into the meeting-house, where the lamps were -still burning. A few sisters were sitting here, and two little maidens -were making a baby laugh and scream by walking her back and forth along -the empty benches. About sunrise the bishop had arrived, and a number of -brethren ranged themselves upon the benches and began to sing. Before -long, we, who had stayed overnight, had our breakfast, having cold meat -at this and the succeeding meal. I think it was at breakfast that my -pleasant friend with the silvery hair mentioned that there was still a -store of bread and pies. - -The great event of the morning meeting was the “making the preacher.” -At my usual seat, at a distant window, I was so busily occupied with my -notes that I did not perceive what was going on at the preachers’ table, -until I saw a man and woman standing before the table with their backs -to the rest of the congregation. I made my way to my former corner of -observation, and found that there was another brother standing with them -(the sister in the middle), and these were receiving the greetings of -the family. The brethren came up, one by one, kissed one of the men, -shook hands with the sister, and kissed the other man. This last was the -newly-chosen preacher, the former brother, named Z., being a preacher -who, by the consent of the members (also given yesterday), was now -advanced one degree in the ministry, and was henceforth to have power to -marry and to baptize. The sister was his wife. She is expected to support -her husband in the ministry, and to be ready to receive those women who, -after baptism, come up from the water. This office and that of voting -seem to be the only important ones held by women in this society. Herein -they differ greatly from another plain sect,—Friends or Quakers, among -whom women minister, transact business, etc.[44] - -After the brethren were done, the sisters came up, shook hands with Z., -kissed his wife, and shook hands with the new preacher, whose wife, I -believe, was not present. - -The bishop invited the sisters to come forward: “Koomet alle! alle die -will. Koomet alle!” - -While this salutation was in progress, L., who spoke in English, made -some explanatory remarks. He told us that he had read or heard of two -men travelling together, of whom one was a doctor of divinity. The -latter asked the younger man what he was now doing. He replied that he -was studying divinity. He had formerly been studying law, but on looking -around he saw no opening in the law, so he was now studying divinity, -which course or which change met the approval of the reverend doctor. - -“Now,” said L., “_we_ do not approve of men-made preachers;” a striking -remark in a congregation where a preacher had just been elected by a -plurality. But he went on to explain that he trusted that there was no -brother or sister who had voted for him who had just been chosen for this -arm of the church who had not prayed God earnestly that they might make -such a choice as would be profitable in the church. He went on to explain -that the newly-chosen preacher was now receiving from the congregation an -expression of unity. - -There were various other exercises this morning,—preaching, praying, -and singing,—before the final adjournment. At the close we had dinner. -I made an estimate of the number who partook of this meal as about five -hundred and fifty. One of the men guessed a thousand; but we are prone to -exaggerate numbers where our feelings are interested. - -Before we parted, I had some conversation with certain brethren, -principally upon the non-resistant doctrines of the society. In my own -neighborhood, not a great while before, a Dunker had been robbed under -peculiar circumstances. Several men had entered his house at night, and, -binding him and other members of the family, had forced him to tell -where his United States and other bonds were placed, and had carried off -property worth four thousand dollars. The brother had gone in pursuit -of them, visiting the mayor of our town, and the police in neighboring -cities (without recovering his property). I asked these brethren at -different times whether his course was in agreement with their rules. -They answered that it was not. - -On the present occasion I repeated the question as to what they would -have done on the previous evening if the disturbance had risen to a -great height. One of the brethren, in reply, quoted from the Acts of the -Apostles, where it is narrated that forty Jews entered into a conspiracy -to kill Paul. But Paul sent his nephew to the chief captain to inform -him of the conspiracy. The captain then put Paul under the charge of -soldiers, to be brought safe unto Felix the governor. - -From this passage the Dunkers feel at liberty to appeal to the police for -their protection; but only once: if protection be not then afforded them, -they must do without it. - -I further mentioned to these brethren a case which had been told to me -some time before by a Dunker preacher, of a certain brother who had -been sued in the settlement of an estate, and had received a writ from -the sheriff. This writ was considered by the Dunkers as a call from the -powers that be, to whom they are ordered to be subservient, and the -brother therefore went with some brethren to the office of a lawyer, who -furnished him with subpœnas to summon witnesses in his defence. But the -Dunkers argued among themselves that for him to take these legal papers -from his pocket would be to draw the sword. He therefore sent word to -his friends, informally, to come to the office of a magistrate; and, the -evidence being in his favor, he was released. “This,” said my informant, -“is the only lawsuit that I have known in our society since I joined the -meeting,” which was, I believe, a period of about seven years. - -In repeating this narrative to the brethren at the Love-Feast, I -learned that they are now at liberty to engage in defensive lawsuits. -They have, as I understood one to say, no creed and no discipline, -although I believe that a certain confession of faith is required. -The New Testament, or, as they say, the Testament, they claim to be -their creed and their discipline. There is also much independence in -the congregations. But in some cases they have resort to a general -council, and here it has been decided that a Dunker may defend himself -in a lawsuit, but only once. Should an appeal be taken to another court, -the Dunker can go no further. This reminds me of Paul’s question to the -Corinthians, “Why do you not rather suffer loss than go to law?”[45] Does -it not seem hard to practise such non-resistance, to remain upright and -open-minded, and at the same time to acquire much wealth? - -The Dunkers do not like to be called by this name; their chosen title is -Brethren. - - * * * * * - -The Love-Feast, above described, was held by the “Old Brethren,” who -originated in Germany about the year 1708. - -It has been said that they originated among the Pietists; but a very -great resemblance will be found among them to our German Baptists of the -Mennonite or Anabaptist stock. - -I afterward visited other Dunkers, belonging to a division called the -“River Brethren.” They originated near the Susquehanna River, but they -have now spread as far as Ohio, if not farther. - -That these are of the old Baptist stock there is no doubt, as Jacob -Engle, their founder, was of a Mennonite family,—a family which boasts -that one of their ancestors was a prisoner in Switzerland, on account of -her faith. (See note, in “Swiss Exiles,” page 101.) - -In coming to this country, about one hundred years ago, tradition tells -us that the Engle family joined with thirty others, who were upon the -same vessel, to remain bound together in life and in death. The young -infants of these families all died upon the voyage, except Jacob Engle, -whereupon an old nurse said, “God has preserved him for an especial -purpose.” He became a preacher, and this his friends regarded as a -fulfilment of the prophecy. - -Jacob Engle, or “Yokely Engle,” as he was sometimes called, considered -that there was not sufficient warmth and zeal among the Mennonites at -that time. He became very zealous; experiencing, as he believed, a change -of heart. - -Before he became a preacher, some joined him in holding prayer-meetings. -It was found that some wished to be baptized by immersion, and the rite -was thus performed (whereas the Mennonites baptize by pouring). - -A common observer would see very little difference between these Brethren -and the Old Dunkers. The River Brethren allow all present to partake -of the love-feast, or paschal supper. Some of them have said that the -paschal supper is an expression of the love of God to all mankind, and -love toward all men constrains them to invite all to partake thereof. But -from the Lord’s Supper they exclude all strangers. - -Their meetings are usually held in private houses, or in summer in barns. - -Some of their preachers have been heard, upon rising to speak, to declare -that they intend to say only what the Spirit teaches them. - -One of their most striking peculiarities is their opposition to the -use of lightning-rods. A preacher said to me, when talking upon this -subject, “If God wishes to preserve the building, he can preserve -it without the lightning-rod. If he does not wish to preserve it, -I am willing to submit to the result.” It has been thought that an -acquaintance with the laws of electricity would remove the objection -which they feel. - -The Brinser Brethren were formed from the River Brethren some years ago. -They are popularly thus called, from an able preacher named Matthias -Brinser. They erect meeting-houses, in preference, as I understand, -to meeting in private houses. Their church has not opposed electrical -conductors, though some members feel conscientious in the matter. - -The question of erecting meeting-houses seems to have caused considerable -trouble among the River Brethren. A gentleman of our county remarked to -me that the custom of meeting in private houses is traditional among our -people, and dates from times of persecution. - - * * * * * - -Since the foregoing was published, there has appeared in the _Century_ -magazine, December, 1881, an article by Dr. Seidensticker on the Ephrata -Baptists. In this article the author states that the Dunkers number in -the United States (for they have also missions in Europe) about two -hundred thousand souls, with nearly two thousand ministers, none of -whom receives a salary. They have three collegiate institutions,—one in -Pennsylvania, one in Ohio, and one in Illinois. - -He states that those who fail in business among the Dunkers are aided to -make a new effort, and such assistance may be lent three times [twice?]. -After the third failure, they take it to be the will of God that the -unfortunate brother shall not succeed. Dr. Seidensticker says, too, -that in the holy kiss of the Dunkers, the first kiss among the women is -applied by the minister to the first sister’s hand, which differs from -the statement that I have made of the Love-Feast. - - - - -EPHRATA. - - -This quiet village in Lancaster County has been for over a century -distinguished as the seat of a Protestant monastic institution, -established by the Seventh-Day German Baptists about the year 1738. - -Conrad Beissel, the founder of the cloister, was born in Germany, at -Oberbach, in the Palatinate, in the year 1691. He was by trade a baker, -but, after coming to this country, he worked at weaving with Peter -Becker, the Dunker preacher, at Germantown. He is said to have been a -Presbyterian, which I interpret to mean a member of the German Reformed -Church. According to the inscription upon his tombstone, his “spiritual -life” began in 1716, or eight years before he was baptized among the -Dunkers. - -This may be explained by an article written by the Rev. Christian -Endress, who seems to have studied the Ephrata community, in connection -with their published writings, more than some others who have endeavored -to describe this peculiar people.[46] - -Mr. Endress says, “The Tunkers trace their origin from the Pietists near -Schwarzenau, in Germany.”[47] - -While they yet belonged among the Pietists, there was a society formed -at Schwarzenau composed of eight persons, whose spiritual leader was -Alexander Mack, a miller of Schriesheim. - -The members of this little society are said to have been rebaptized (by -immersion), because they considered their infant baptism as unavailing, -and to have first assumed the name of _Taeuffer_, or Baptists.[48] - -The Dunkers first appeared in America in 1719, when about twenty families -landed in Philadelphia, and dispersed to Germantown, Conestoga, and -elsewhere. - -Beissel was baptized among them in 1724, in Pequea Creek, a tributary of -the Susquehanna. He lived for a while at Mühlbach, or Mill Greek, in -Lancaster County. Some time after this baptism, or in 1728, he published -a tract upon the Seventh Day as the true Sabbath. This tract caused a -disturbance among the brethren at Mill Creek, and Beissel and some with -him withdrew from the other Dunkers, and Beissel rebaptized those of his -own society.[49] - -Not long after, says Endress, Beissel, who had appointed several elders -over his people, withdrew from them, and retired to live a solitary life -in a cottage that had been built for a similar purpose, and occupied by -a brother called Elimelech. This cottage stood near the place where the -convent was afterward built. Here we infer that he lived for several -years. - -To live the life of cenobites or hermits, says Rupp, was in some -measure peculiar to many of the Pietists who had fled from Germany to -seek an asylum in Pennsylvania. “On the banks of the Wissahickon, near -Philadelphia, several hermits had their cells, some of them men of fine -talents and profound erudition.” - -Of some of these hermits, and of the monastic community afterward settled -at Ephrata, it is probable that a ruling idea was the speedy coming of -Christ to judge the world. It is stated that after the formation of -Beissel’s “camp” midnight meetings were held, for some time, to await the -coming of judgment. Those who remember the Millerite, or Second Advent, -excitement of the year 1843, can appreciate the effect that this idea -would have upon the minds of the Dunkers, and how it could stimulate them -to suffer many inconveniences for the brief season that they expected to -tarry in the world.[50] - -While Beissel was dwelling in his solitary cot, about the year 1730, two -married women joined the society, of whom the Ephrata Chronicle tells us -that they left their husbands and placed themselves under the lead of the -director (or _vorsteher_, the title applied to Beissel in the Chronicle). -He received them, although it was against the canon of the new society. -One of these was Maria Christiana, wife of Christopher Sower, him -who afterward established the celebrated German printing-office at -Germantown. She escaped in the year 1730, and was baptized the same -fall. In the beginning she dwelt alone in the desert, “and showed by her -example that a manly spirit can dwell in a female creature.”[51] - -While Beissel was still in his hermitage, discord and strife arose among -the brethren of his society, news of which reached him by some means, for -in the year 1733 he cited them to appear at his cottage. - -They met, and some of the single brethren agreed to build a second -cottage near that occupied by their leader. Besides this, a house was -also built for females, and in May, 1733, two single women retired into -it.[52] - -In 1734, a third house for male brethren was built and occupied by the -brothers Onesimus and Jotham, whose family name was Eckerlin.[53] - -Soon after, says Endress, they all united in the building of a bake-house -and a storehouse for the poor. And now the whole was called the camp -(_das Lager_). - -The early history of the society is quaintly narrated by Morgan Edwards, -the Baptist historian. They had, he says, their existence as a society -in 1724, when Conrad Beissel and six others were baptized in Pequea -River by Rev. Peter Baker. The same day these seven incorporated into a -church, and chose Conrad Beissel to be their minister. After this they -continued some time at Mill Creek, and then, removing about three miles -northward, pitched on the land of Rudolph Neagley, in Earl Township. Here -they continued about seven years; and hither resorted many to see them, -some of whom joined the society. Here they began their economy, the men -living by themselves on the fore-mentioned lands, and the women also by -themselves on the adjoining lands of John Moyly. - -Here Conrad Beissel appointed two elders and a matron to preside over his -church in the wilderness, binding them by a solemn promise (and at the -same time giving to each a Testament) to govern according to the rules -of that book. Then he withdrew, and made as though they should see him -no more. This was done in the year 1732 or 1733. He travelled northward, -till he came to the spot where Ephrata or Tunkerstown now stands, and -with his hoe planted Indian corn and roots for his subsistence. But he -had not been long in the place before the society found him out, and -repaired to his little cot, the brethren settling with him on the west -bank of Cocalico, and the sisters on the east, all in sight of one -another, with the river running between them. The next year they set -about building their village, beginning with a place of worship. - -Endress tells us that about the time of the formation of the camp there -was a revival in Falconer Swamp, in consequence of which many families -took up land round about the camp, and moved upon it. Another revival on -the banks of the Schuylkill drove many more into the neighborhood; by it -the sister establishment gained accessions; but only two, Drusilla and -Basilla, remained steadfast. “A further revival in Tolpehoccon,” 1735, -brought many to the society. Hereupon they built a meeting-house, with -rooms attached to it for the purpose of holding [preparing?] love-feasts, -and called it Kedar. About the same time, a revival in Germantown sent -additional brothers and sisters to the camp.[54] - -It was in 1735, during the revival at Tulpehocken, that Peter Miller was -baptized[55] or rebaptized. Miller, in one of his letters (see Hazard’s -Register, vol. xvi.), speaks of several persons who, as it appears, were -baptized with him; namely, the schoolmaster, three _elderlings_ (one of -them Conrad Weyser), five families, and some single persons. This, he -says, raised such a fermentation in that church (by which I suppose he -means the Reformed Church, which they left), that a persecution might -have followed had the magistrates consented with the generality. - -Peter Miller, whom we are now quoting, was one of the most remarkable men -that joined the Ephrata Baptists. He was born in the Palatinate, and is -said to have been educated at Heidelberg. He came to this country when -about twenty years old. He is mentioned, it seems, in an interesting -letter of the Rev. Jedediah Andrews, under date of Philadelphia, 1730, -which letter may be found in Hazard’s Register. He says that there are -“in this province a vast number of Palatines. Those that have come -of late years are mostly Presbyterian, or, as they call themselves, -Reformed, the Palatines being about three-fifths of that sort of people.” - -Mr. Andrews says, in substance, “There is lately come over a Palatine -candidate for the ministry, who applied to us at the Synod for -ordination. He is an extraordinary person for sense and learning. His -name is John Peter Miller,[56] and he speaks Latin as readily as we do -our vernacular tongue.”[57] - -Peter Miller, in one of his letters, speaks of his baptism (or -rebaptism) in the year 1735. He says at that time the solitary brethren -and sisters lived dispersed “in the wilderness of Canestogues, each -for himself, as hermits, and I following that same way did set up my -hermitage in Dulpehakin [Tulpehocken], at the foot of a mountain, on a -limpid spring; the house is still extant [1790], with an old orchard. -There did I lay the foundation of solitary life.[58] - -“However,” he continues, “I had not lived there half a year, when a great -change happened; for a camp was laid out for all solitary persons, at -the very spot where now Ephrata stands, and where at that same time the -president [Beissel] lived with some hermits. And now, when all hermits -were called in, I also quitted my solitude, and changed the same for a -monastic life; which was judged to be more inservient to sanctification -than the life of a hermit, where many under a pretence of holiness did -nothing but nourish their own selfishness.... We were now, by necessity, -compelled to learn obedience.... At that time, works of charity hath been -our chief occupation.[59] - -“Canestogues was then a great wilderness, and began to be settled by poor -Germans, which desired our assistance in building houses for them; which -not only kept us employed several summers in hard carpenter’s work, but -also increased our poverty so much that we wanted even things necessary -for life.” - -He also says, “When we settled here, our number was forty brethren, and -about so many sisters, all in the vigor and prime of their ages, never -before wearied of social life, but were compelled, ... with reluctance of -our nature, to select this life.”[60] - -It was, it seems, about the same time that Miller was baptized that the -midnight meetings were held at the camp, “for the purpose of awaiting the -coming of judgment.” - -Not long after the building of the meeting-house called Kedar (says -Endress), a widower, Sigmund Lambert, having joined the camp, built out -of his own means an addition to the meeting-house and a dwelling for -Beissel. Another gave all his property to the society, and now Kedar was -transformed into a sister-convent, and a new meeting-house was erected. - -Soon after 1738 a large house for the brethren was built, called Zion, -and the whole camp was named Ephrata.[61] The solitary life was changed -into the conventual one; Zion was called a kloster, or convent, and put -under monastic rules. Onesimus (Eckerlin) was appointed prior, and Conrad -Beissel named father. (His general title appears to be _vorsteher_, -superintendent or principal.) - -It was probably about this time, or earlier, that the constable entered -the camp, according to Miller, and demanded the single man’s tax. Some -paid, but some refused. Miller says that some claimed personal immunity -on the ground that they were not inferior to the monks and hermits in -the Eastern country, who supplied the prisons in Alexandria with bread, -and who were declared free of taxes by Theodosius the Great and other -emperors. But these Ephrata brethren were not to be thus exempted. Six -lay in prison at Lancaster ten days, when they were released on bail of a -“venerable old justice of peace.” When the brethren appeared before the -board of assessment, the gentlemen who were their judges saw six men who -in the prime of their ages had been reduced to skeletons by penitential -works. The gentlemen granted them their freedom on condition that they -should be taxed as one family for their real estate, “which is still -in force (1790), although these things happened fifty years ago.” (See -Miller’s letters in Hazard’s Register.) - -A monastic dress was adopted by the brethren and sisters, resembling that -of the Capuchins.[62] - -The Chronicle, published in 1786, speaks of the sisters as having -carefully maintained the dress of the order for nearly fifty years. About -the same date we read of Miller in his cowl. - -It appears from the Chronicle that the other members of the society -at one time adopted a similar dress, but that the celibates (_die -Einsamen_) appeared at worship in white dresses, and the other members -(_die Hausstände_) in gray ones. The secular members, however, “saddled -themselves again” and conformed to the world in clothing and in other -things. - -In an article upon Ephrata in Hazard’s Register, vol. v., 1830, will be -found the statement that, thirty or forty years before, the Dunkers were -occasionally noticed in Philadelphia (when they came down with produce), -with long beards and Capuchin habiliments; but this statement does not -seem to agree in date with that of the Chronicle, if these were secular -brethren. - -Among the austerities practised at Ephrata formerly, was sleeping upon a -bench with a block of wood for a pillow.[63] - -The late Dr. William Fahnestock tells us that these and other austerities -were not intended for penance, but were undertaken from economy. Their -circumstances were very restricted, and their undertaking was great. They -studied the strictest simplicity and economy. For the Communion they used -wooden flagons, goblets, and trays. The plates from which they ate were -thin octagonal pieces of poplar board, their forks and candlesticks were -of wood, and every article that could be made of that substance was used -by the whole community. - -Rupp says that the chimneys, which remain in use to this day (1844), are -of wood; and the attention of the present writer was called in 1872 to -wooden door-hinges. - -Rupp says also that they all observed great abstemiousness in their diet; -they were vegetarians, and submitted to many privations and to a rigid -discipline exerted over them by a somewhat austere spiritual father. -Peter Miller himself says that he stood under Beissel’s direction for -thirty years, and that it was as severe as any related in the Romish -Church (but this sounds exaggerated). - -In the brother- and sister-houses, it has been stated that six -dormitories surrounded a common room in which the members of each -subdivision pursued their respective employments. “Each dormitory was -hardly large enough to contain a cot, a closet, and an hour-glass.”[64] - -Of the industries established at Ephrata, one of Peter Miller’s letters -gives us a good idea. He complains, as before mentioned, of Eckerlin’s -obliging them to interfere so far in worldly things, and that money was -put out at interest. He adds that they erected a grist-mill, with three -pairs of stones; a saw-mill, paper-mill, oil-mill, and fulling-mill; had -besides three wagons with proper teams, a printing-office, and sundry -other trades. - -He adds, “Our president [by whom he means Beissel] never meddled with -temporal things.” - -Mr. Rupp (who cites the Life of Rittenhouse) says that the women were -employed in spinning, knitting, sewing, making paper lanterns and -other toys. A room was set apart for ornamental writing, called “Das -Schreibzimmer,” and “several sisters,” it has been said, devoted their -whole attention to this labor, as well as to transcribing the writings -of the founder of the society; thus multiplying copies before they had a -press. But the press appears to have been early established, and it was -the second German one in our State. It has been stated that Miller was at -one time the printer.[65] - -Among the books published at Ephrata were some of Beissel’s, who had -adopted the name of Peaceful (_Friedsam_). One of their publications was -a collection of hymns, and was entitled “The Song of the Solitary and -Abandoned Turtle Dove, namely, the Christian Church, ... by a Peaceful -Pilgrim travelling towards Quiet Eternity.” Ephrata, from the press of -the Fraternity, 1747. 500 pages, quarto.[66] - -Beissel also wrote a dissertation on man’s fall, of which Miller says -(1790), “When, in the late war, a marquis from Milan, in Italy, lodged -a night in our convent, I presented to him the said dissertation, and -desired him to publish it at home, and dedicate it to his Holiness.” - -In 1748, a stupendous book was published by the society at Ephrata. It -is the Martyr’s Mirror, in folio, of which copies may be seen at the -libraries of the Pennsylvania Historical Society, and of the German -Society, in Philadelphia. - -The Chronicon Ephratense, or Ephrata Chronicle, so often alluded to in -this article, was also from their press, but was published thirty-eight -years later. It contains the life of Beissel, under the title of the -venerable “Father in Christ, Peaceful Godright (_Friedsam Gottrecht_), -late founder and _vorsteher_ of the Spiritual Order of the Solitary -(_Einsamen_) in Ephrata, collected by Brothers Lamech and Agrippa.” I -have heard of several copies being still extant,—one in Lancaster County, -one in Montgomery, and one in the library of the Historical Society at -Philadelphia. The last I have been allowed to consult. - -In speaking of the occupations practised at Ephrata, it may be permitted -to include music. Beissel is said to have been an excellent musician -and composer. “There was another transcribing-room,” says Fahnestock, -“appropriated to copying music. Hundreds of volumes, each containing -five or six hundred pieces, were transferred from book to book, with as -much accuracy, and almost as much neatness, as if done with the graver.” -In composing music, Beissel is said to have taken his style from nature. -“The singing is the Æolian harp harmonized.... Their music is set in -four, six, and eight parts.” - -Morgan Edwards[67] (as cited in Day’s Historical Collections) says, -“Their singing is charming,—partly owing to the pleasantness of their -voices, the variety of parts they carry on together, and the devout -manner of performance.” This style of singing is said by Rupp (1844) to -be entirely lost at Ephrata, but to be preserved in a measure at Snow -Hill, in Franklin County. Fahnestock, who was himself a Seventh-Day -Baptist (or _Siebtaeger_), gives a very enthusiastic account of the -singing at Snow Hill. It may be found in Day’s Historical Collections, -article “Franklin County.”[68] - -In addition to the various industries which claimed the attention of the -community, there must not be forgotten the care of their landed estate. -It has been said that they bought about two hundred and fifty acres of -land.[69] - -A very large tract was once offered to them by one of the Penns, but they -refused it. I was told at Ephrata that they were “afraid they would get -too vain.” - -Count Zinzendorf, the celebrated Moravian bishop, came to Pennsylvania -in 1741. At one time he visited Ephrata, and was entertained in the -convent, where his friendly behavior was very agreeable to the brothers. -(We may suppose that Miller, and Eckerlin, who was not yet deposed, were -men fit to entertain him.) He also expressed a wish to see Beissel. This -was made known to the latter, who answered, after a little reflection, -that Zinzendorf was no wonder to him, but if he himself were a wonder to -Zinzendorf, he must come to him (or as it seems, to Beissel’s own house). -Zinzendorf was now in doubt what to do, but he turned away and left -without seeing the father (_vorsteher_). The Chronicle adds that thus did -two great lights of the church meet as on the threshold, and yet neither -ever saw the other in his life. - -The Moravians also erected brother- and sister-houses, but they were not -monastic institutions.[70] - -Dissension arose at one time between some of the brethren of the Ephrata -Society and Count Zinzendorf, at a conference held by the latter at Oley, -now in Berks County. Zinzendorf seems to have desired to unite some of -the sects with which Pennsylvania was so abundantly supplied. But the -solitary brethren (of Ephrata) were so suspicious of the thing that they -would no longer unite with it. They had prepared a writing upon marriage, -how far it is from God, and that it was only a praiseworthy ordinance of -nature. This they presented, whereupon there arose a violent conflict in -words. - -The ordinarius (Zinzendorf) said that he was by no means pleased with -this paper; his marriage had not such a beginning; his marriage stood -higher than the solitary life in Ephrata. The Ephrata delegates strove to -make all right again, and spoke of families in their society who had many -children.[71] - -But Zinzendorf left his seat as chairman, ... and at last the conference -came to an end, all present being displeased.[72] - -About this date (or about 1740) took place the formation of the -Sabbath-school, by Ludwig Hoecker, called Brother Obed.[73] He was a -teacher in the secular school at Ephrata,—a school which seems to have -enjoyed considerable reputation. The Sabbath-school (held on Saturday -afternoon) is said to have been kept up over thirty years. This was begun -long before the present Sunday-school system was introduced by Robert -Raikes. (American Cyclopædia, article _Dunkers_.) - -Not long after the visit of Zinzendorf, or about 1745, occurred the -deposition of Eckerlin, the prior Onesimus. In one of his letters, Miller -says (1790), “Remember, we have lost our first prior and the sisters -their first mother ... because they stood in self-elevation, and did -govern despotically;” and adds, “the desire to govern is the last thing -which dies within a man.” (It seems probable that Eckerlin has not -received sufficient credit, however, for the pecuniary success of the -infant community.) - -Some ten years after his deposition (or in 1755), began the old French -and Indian war. Fahnestock tells us that the doors of the cloister, -including the chapels, etc., were opened as a refuge for the inhabitants -of Tulpehocken and Paxton[74] settlements, which were then the frontiers, -to protect the people from the incursions of the hostile Indians. He adds -that all these refugees were received and kept by the society during the -period of alarm and danger. Upon hearing of which, a company of infantry -was despatched by the royal government from Philadelphia to protect -Ephrata.[75] - -But why, we might ask, did these people seek refuge in a communion of -non-combatants? The question bears on the controversy, as to whether the -men of peace or the men of war were nearer right in their dealings with -the savages.[76] - -Beissel died in the year 1768, or about thirty years after the -establishment of the cloister. Upon his tombstone was placed, in German, -this inscription: - -“Here rests a Birth of the love of God, Peaceful, a Solitary, but who -afterward became a Superintendent of the Solitary Community of Christ in -and around Ephrata: born in Oberbach in the Palatinate, and named Conrad -Beissel.” - -“He fell asleep the 6th of July, A.D. 1768: of his spiritual life 52, but -of his natural one, 77 years and 4 months.” - -Endress says, “He appears to me to have been a man possessed of a -considerable degree of the spirit of rule; his mind bent from the -beginning upon the acquirement of authority, power, and ascendency.” For -ourselves, we have just seen how he received Count Zinzendorf, who had -crossed the ocean, and come, as it were, to his threshold. - -Mr. Endress further says, “Beissel, good or bad, lived and died the -master-spirit of the brotherhood. With him it sank into decay.” - -The British officer who wrote in 1786 (?), eighteen years after Beissel’s -death, gives the number of the celibates as seven men and five women. -I do not consider him good authority; but if the numbers were so much -reduced from those of 1740, it seems probable that they had begun to -decline before the decease of Beissel.[77] - -Eighteen years after Beissel’s death, was published at Ephrata the -Chronicle of which I have so often spoken, giving an account of his life. -He was succeeded by Peter Miller. Miller was sixty-five years old when -our Revolutionary war broke out, and had been the leader at Ephrata seven -years. - -Fahnestock says that after the battle of Brandywine “the whole -establishment was opened to receive the wounded Americans, great numbers -of whom (Rupp says four or five hundred) were brought here in wagons a -distance of more than forty miles, and one hundred and fifty of whom died -and are buried on Mount Zion.”[78] - -It is also narrated that before the battle of Germantown a quantity of -unbound books were seized at Ephrata by some of our soldiers, in order to -make cartridges. “An embargo,” says Miller, “was laid on all our printed -paper, so that for a time we could not sell any printed book.” - -A story has appeared in print, and not always in the same manner, about -Miller’s going to General Washington and receiving from him a pardon for -his old enemy Widman, who was condemned to die. - -This story Mr. Rupp thinks is based upon tradition; one version has been -told in a glowing manner, and is attributed to Dr. Fahnestock. It runs -thus: On the breaking out of the Revolution, committees of safety were -formed in different districts to support our cause. At the head of the -Lancaster County Committee was Michael Widman, who kept a public house, -and who had been a vestryman in the Reformed Church. This church Miller -had left when he joined the Baptists. He persecuted Miller to a shameful -extent, even spitting in his face when he met him. - -Widman was at first bold and active in the cause of independence, -but he became discouraged, and resolved to go to Philadelphia and -conciliate General Howe, the British commander, who then held that -city. Howe, however, declined his services,[79] but gave orders to see -him safely beyond the British outposts. His treasonable intentions -having become known to the Americans, he was arrested and taken to the -nearest block-house, at the Turk’s Head, now West Chester; was tried by -court-martial, and sentenced to be hung. Peter Miller, hearing of his -arrest, went to General Washington and pleaded for mercy towards him. -The general answered that the state of public affairs was such as to -make it necessary that renegades should suffer, “otherwise I should most -cheerfully release your friend.” - -“Friend!” exclaimed Miller: “he is my worst enemy,—my incessant -reviler.”[80] - -Said the general, “My dear friend, I thank you for this example of -Christian charity!” and he granted Miller’s petition. - -It is not necessary for me to go further, and describe the scene of -Miller’s arriving upon the ground with the pardon just as Widman was -to be hung, nor the subsequent proceedings there, for I am quite sure -that they did not take place. Evidence to this effect is found in the -Pennsylvania Archives, vol. ix., where Peter Miller writes to Secretary -Matlack, interceding (apparently) for a man named Rein. Miller says, “I -have thought his case was similar to Michael Wittman’s, who received -pardon without a previous trial.” - -The secretary replies (1781), “Witman did not receive a pardon previous -to a surrender.” - -Thus it seems that the story of Widman’s trial by court-martial is -also wrong. That his property was confiscated, as I was lately told -at Ephrata, I have no reason to doubt, as the Colonial Records, vol. -xii., show that in council, in 1779, it was resolved that the agents -for forfeited estates should sell that of Michael Wittman, subject to a -certain claim.[81] - -At Ephrata, during the past winter, I stood in the loft of the -brother-house beside a great chimney of wood and clay, and was told that -here Widman had been hidden. Whether he actually concealed himself in the -brother-house, as has been narrated, I do not find that history declares. - -At a subsequent date, 1783, we find in the Pennsylvania Archives, vol. -ix., that Miller intercedes for certain Mennonites who had been fined for -not apprehending British deserters; the Mennonites not being permitted -by their principles to do so. Does this mean deserters from ourselves to -the British,—who were, as deserters, liable to the punishment of death? a -punishment which the Mennonites, as non-resistants, could not inflict. - -Certain letters of Peter Miller, published in Hazard’s Register, and -of which I have made considerable use, were written at an advanced -age,—eighty or thereabout. He says in one of them (December, 1790), “Age, -infirmity, and defect in sight are causes that the letter wants more -perspicuity, for which I beg pardon.” - -He died about six years after, having lived some sixty years a member of -the community at Ephrata. Upon his tombstone was placed this inscription -in German: - -“Here lies buried Peter Miller, born in Oberampt Lautern, in the -Palatinate (Chur-Pfalz); came as a Reformed preacher to America in the -year 1730; was baptized by the Community at Ephrata in the year 1735, -and named Brother Jaebez; also he was afterward a preacher (_Lehrer_) -until his end. He fell asleep the 25th of September, 1796, at the age of -eighty-six years and nine months.” - -In the plain upon the banks of the Cocalico still stand the brother- and -sister-houses (although not the buildings first erected). But the society -is feeble in numbers, and the buildings are going to decay. They are -still, however, occupied, or partly so. I found several women living here -in 1872. Some of these were never married, but the majority are widows; -and not all of them members of the Baptist congregation. Nor are the -voices of children wanting. - -The last celibate brother died some forty years ago. One, indeed, has -been here since, but, as I was told, “he did not like it,” and went to -the more flourishing community of Snow Hill, in Franklin County. - -The little Ephrata association (which still owns a farm), instead of -supporting its unmarried members, now furnishes to them only house-rent, -fuel, and flour. The printing-press long since ceased from its labors, -and many of the other industrial pursuits have declined. - -No longer do the unmarried or celibate members own all the property, but -it is now vested in all who belong to the meeting, single and married, -and is in the hands of trustees. The income is, I presume, but small. - -The unmarried members wear our usual dress, and none are strictly recluse. - -Formerly a large room or chapel was connected with the brother-house. It -was furnished with galleries, where sat the sisters, while the brethren -occupied the floor below. (This building, I am told, is not standing.) -In the smaller room or chapel (_saal_) connected with the sister-house, -about twenty people now meet on the Seventh day for public worship. -But among all these changes the German language still remains! All the -services that I heard, while attending here in February of 1872, were in -that tongue, except two hymns at the close. We must not suppose that this -language is employed because the members are natives of Germany. One or -two may be, but the preacher’s father or grandfather came to this country -when a boy. - -Around the meeting-room are hung charts or sheets of grayish paper, -containing German verses in ornamental writing, the ancient labors of the -celibates, or perhaps of the sisters alone. One small chart here is said -to represent the three heavens, and to contain three hundred figures in -Capuchin dress, with harps in their hands, and two hundred archangels. -Perhaps this and their celibate doctrine are drawn, at least in part, -from the opening of chapter xiv. of the book called the Revelation of -John. - -But for these old labors in pen and ink, the chapel is as plain as a -Quaker meeting-house. It is kept beautifully clean.[82] Opening out of it -is a kitchen, furnished with the apparatus for cooking and serving the -simple repasts of the love-feasts. Among these Baptists, love-feasts are -held not only, as I understand, in a similar manner to the other Dunkers, -but upon funeral occasions,—a short period after the interment of a -brother or sister. Rupp speaks of their eating lamb and mutton at their -paschal feasts. In the old monastic time, it was only at love-feasts that -the celibate brothers and sisters met. - -Here I was shown a wooden goblet made by the brethren for the Communion. -It has been said that they preferred to use such, even after more costly -ones had been given to them. - -After attending the religions services in the chapel, three or four of -us—strangers—were supplied with dinner in the brother-house, at a neat -and well-filled table.[83] - -I afterward sat for an hour in the neat and comfortable apartment of -Sister Sarah in the sister-house. Here she has lived twenty-two years, -and, though now much advanced in life, has not that appearance. She -seemed lovely, and, I was told, had not been unsought. One of her -brothers has been thirty-three years at the Snow Hill community. - -Sister Sarah produced for me a white cotton over-dress, such as was -formerly worn by the sisters. It was a cap or cowl, with long pieces -hanging down in front and behind nearly to the feet; and, if I remember -it right, not of the pattern described in the Chronicle. But fashions -change in fifty to a hundred years. - -She also showed me some verses recently written by one of the brethren at -Snow Hill. They were in German, of which I offer an unrhymed version: - - “Oh divine life, ornament of virginity! - How art thou despised by all men here below! - And yet art a branch from the heavenly throne, - And borne by the virgin Son of God.” - -I was surprised to find such prominence given to the idea of the merits -of celibacy, for I had not then seen the _Chronicon Ephratense_. - -One object which especially attracted my attention was an upright clock, -which stood in the room of Sister Sarah, and which was kept in very good -order. It was somewhat smaller than the high clocks that were common -forty or fifty years ago. - -All that I heard of its history was that it had come from Germany. It had -four weights suspended on chains. Above the dial-plate hovered two little -angels, apparently made of lead, one on either side of a small disk, -which bore the inscription “Hoeckers a Creveld,”—as I interpret, made by -the Hoeckers at Crefeld. Crefeld,—historic town! Here then was a relic of -it, and standing quite disregarded,—it was only an old German clock! - -When the Dunkers were persecuted in Europe, soon after their -establishment, some of them took refuge in Crefeld, in the duchy of -Cleves; and I have lately read that in Crefeld, Mühlheim, etc., William -Penn and others gained adherents to the doctrine of the Quakers.[84] - -We also find in the American Cyclopædia that at Crefeld (Ger. _Krefeld_), -a colony of Huguenot refugees in the seventeenth century introduced the -manufacture of silk—Dunkers and Quakers; perhaps also Huguenots fleeing -from France when Louis XIV. revoked that edict of Nantes which had so -long protected them. (Crefeld is now in Rhenish Prussia.) - -Who were the Hoeckers, or who was the Hoecker that made this old -clock?[85] Who bought it in historic Crefeld? Who brought it from Europe, -got it up into Lancaster County, and lodged it in the monastery or -nunnery at Ephrata? What, if anything, had Ludwig Hoecker or Brother Obed -to do with it—he who taught the early Sabbath-school? What tales could it -not tell! But it is well cared for in the comfortable apartment of the -kindly sister. - -The Snow Hill settlement, I presume, is named from the family of -Snowberger,[86] one of whom endowed the society. It is situated on the -Antietam, in Franklin County, Pennsylvania; where a large farm belongs -to “the nunnery” (an expression that I heard at Ephrata). There were, -until lately, five sisters and four brothers at Antietam, but one of the -brethren has died. - -The brethren have sufficient occupation in taking care of their property; -the sisters keep house, eating in the same apartment at the same time -with the brothers. Under these circumstances I could imagine the comfort -and order of the establishment, and think of the brothers and sisters -meeting in a cool and shaded dining-room. What question then should I be -likely to ask? This one: “Do they never marry?” - -I was told that marriages of the brothers and sisters (celibates) are -not unknown; but I also understood that such a thing is considered -backsliding. Persons thus married remain members of the church, but must -leave the community, and find support elsewhere.[87] - -In an article by Redmond Conyngham (Hazard’s Register, vol. v.) will -be found the statement that the “President of the Dunkers” says, “We -deny eternal punishment; those souls who become sensible of God’s great -goodness and clemency, and acknowledge his lawful authority, ... and that -Christ is the only true Son of God, are received into happiness; but -those who continue obstinate are kept in darkness until the great day, -when light will make all happy.” According to Dr. Fahnestock, however, -the idea of a universal restoration, which existed in the early days, is -not now publicly taught. - -The observance of the Seventh day as a sabbath must always be onerous, in -a community like ours. Hired people are not required by the Siebentaeger -(or Seventh-Day men) to work on Saturday; and, unless of their own -persuasion, will not work on Sunday. - -It has been said that the customs at Ephrata resembled the Judaic ones; -and Endress says that they consider baptism similar to purification in -the Mosaic law,—as a rite which may be repeated from time to time when -the believer has become defiled by the world, and would again renew his -union with Christ. But Miller says (1790), “Our standard is the New -Testament.”[88] - -Fahnestock says that they do not approve of paying their ministers; and -it seems that the women, or at least the single sisters, are at liberty -to speak in religious meetings. - -In the correspondence of one of our Lancaster papers of 1871, there -was given the following account: “Ephrata, May 21.—The Society of the -Seventh-Day Baptists held their semi-annual love-feast yesterday, when -one new member was added to the society by immersion. In the evening the -solemn feast of the Lord’s Supper was celebrated, the occasion attracting -a large concourse of people,—only about half of whom could obtain seats. -The conduct of a number of persons on the outside was a disgrace to an -intelligent community.” - -The article also mentions preachers as present from Bedford, Franklin, -and Somerset Counties. However, the whole number of the Seventh-Day -German Baptists, in our State, is very small. - - * * * * * - -The foregoing article is published nearly as it appeared in the second -edition of this volume. In the present year, 1882, Mr. Adam Konigmacher -Fahnestock, of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, has lent me a little memorial -which he had prepared of his own family. A passage in it seems to -elucidate the history of the clock at Ephrata, which bears on its face -“Hoeckers a Creveld.” On St. John’s day, November 13, 1753, Diedrich -Fanestuck writes to his brother in Prussia. (The letter is said to have -been written near Ephrata.) He writes that his son, who is going to -Europe, will stop at Crefeld, “where he is to have some clocks made for -us.” He adds, “I pray you to write again. You may send the letters to -Crefeld, there are three brothers living there, Wilhelmus, Christophorus, -and Lucas Heckers, to them you might send them.” - -In a foot-note A. K. Fahnestock says, 1878, October 17: “I had the -pleasure this day of seeing one of those clocks (seven feet high), still -showing the time of day. It is in the ‘sister-house’ at Ephrata.” (The -preposition a on the clock, Hoeckers a Creveld, would seem to indicate -that this Hoeckers were French refugees. Perhaps with a translated name.) - - * * * * * - -In this year, 1882, the writer of this volume again visited Ephrata. One -of her acquaintance spoke to her of the community at Snow Hill, on the -Antietam. She said, “It’s a large nunnery, and the rooms are all empty; -there’s hardly any one there.” She added, however, that there are a good -many married Seventh-Day Baptists at Snow Hill. - -The old buildings at Ephrata, the brother- and sister-house, are still -kept in sufficient repair to make inmates comfortable, and are occupied -by unmarried women, widows, and families; not all Seventh-Day Baptists. -The farm belonging to the Baptists contains about eighty acres. - -As I drew near one of these buildings on Sunday, I saw washed clothes -hanging out. Saturday is the Sabbath of these Baptists, and like the rest -of the world it appears that such begin their week with washing. - -The little community at the time of my visit was grievously exercised -over a lawsuit among the members. The matter had been referred to a -master in chancery, who thus speaks of them in his report: “At the -time of the commencement of the differences from which has sprung the -present controversy, and for some years previously, the members of the -society in regular attendance at its meetings, and habitually observant -of its religious ordinances, were in number about thirty, of whom not -less than three-fourths appear to have been women. They seem to be an -uneducated or but slightly educated people, in narrow circumstances as -to property, the male members being in general mechanics and laboring -men, resident in and about the village of Ephrata, in this county, and a -considerable proportion of all the members, male as well as female, being -dependent for subsistence either wholly or partially upon the funds of -the society. They do not appear to have formulated specifically articles -of faith or rules of discipline, but profess to take for their guidance -simply the Bible and New Testament, and the distinctive features of their -practice are, their observance of the seventh day of the week instead of -the first as the Sabbath; the administration of the rite of baptism by -trine immersion, with forward action, in a stream of flowing water; and -by the love-feasts held annually at their communion, and lasting from -Friday evening until Sunday morning, at which food is provided for all -members, as well as all strangers who may choose to attend the meeting; -and by the washing of each other’s feet by the members, previously to the -breaking of bread at the communion.... The church at Ephrata, it should -be mentioned, is one of four branches, as they are called, of the society -of [German?] Seventh-Day Baptists. The other three being established, -respectively, at Snow Hill, Bedford, and Alleghany, in this State.” - - - - -BETHLEHEM AND THE MORAVIANS. - - -On August 22, 1873, as I stood upon the tower of Packer Hall, Lehigh -University, I saw spread out before me the whole of Bethlehem, with -furnaces, railroads, bridges, churches, schools; and the rolling country -and cultivated fields of Northampton and Lehigh Counties. Pointing to a -wooded hill, my little guide said, “That is Iron Hill, where iron ore -comes from.”[89] - -In the first house built at Bethlehem, on the 24th of December, 1741, -Zinzendorf and his companions celebrated their first Christmas Eve in -America. I saw in the town a picture, by Grünewald, of the house in -which they met,—a long, one-story log house, with overhanging eaves, -the unbroken forest behind admirably expressing the loneliness of the -situation. In the beginning, one end of this building was for cattle, as -in Switzerland and other parts of South Germany. - -When this first house was newly erected, Zinzendorf visited it, and on -Christmas Eve he went with others into the stable and sang,— - - “Nicht aus Jerusalem, sondern Bethlehem - Aus dem kommt, was mir frommt.” - -or, in prose, - - “That which is profitable to me comes not from Jerusalem, but - from Bethlehem,”— - -and thus the new-born _town_ was named Bethlehem. - -“The material treasures of the Lehigh valley,” says a Moravian bishop, -“the national rage of hastening to be rich, will, I fear, too much -overgrow the spiritual interests of the people.” - -Since Zinzendorf entered the log cabin of Bethlehem one hundred and -thirty years have passed by, and four or five generations of mortal men. -Other changes too have befallen the Moravians. For twenty years they -lived in an _economie_, or associated like one family. That strict rule, -which afterwards kept the unmarried in brother- and sister-houses, has -since been annulled, and no vestige of it remains here but in the custom -of sitting in church, the brethren on one side, and the sisters on the -other. And this is not universal: families sit together. - -In like manner has disappeared here the custom of appealing to the lot, -which formerly prevailed even in matters so solemn as marriage.[90] - -The plainness of apparel which distinguished the Moravians has -disappeared also. Once even the young ladies who studied at the -boarding-school were obliged to wear the peculiar Moravian dress. - -In the Historical Collection at Nazareth are preserved thick muslin caps, -such as the women once wore, with peculiar pieces, like a scallop shell, -to cover the ears. Those tasteful little caps now worn by the young women -in the choir, and the neat ones worn by the sisters who serve at the -love-feasts, can scarcely keep up the memory of those of olden time. - -Once the Moravians did not take oaths, but obeyed literally the command, -“Swear not at all;” but now judicial oaths are permitted. - -Formerly, the bulk of the real estate belonged to the church, and -none could buy who were not members; but this rule has been broken, -and _foreigners_ have been allowed to buy land in Bethlehem and other -Moravian towns.[91] - -One trait, which has hitherto remarkably distinguished them, still -exists, namely, a great missionary zeal. In 1873 a gentleman gave -the numbers of the Moravians at seventy thousand baptized missionary -converts, to twenty-three thousand home members in Europe and America. On -this estimate the missionary converts are more than three to each of the -members in the other lands.[92] - -At Bethlehem a considerable landed estate belongs to the Church, -whence is drawn an income of about eighteen thousand dollars. All -the institutions of learning here, including the Young Ladies’ -Boarding-School, belong to the Church, and the teachers are its salaried -officers. - -The different provinces of the Church, the American, English, and German, -are like separate States of our Union, their general head meeting or -residing in Saxony. This general synod still, in some respects, gives -rules to our Pennsylvania Moravians; and one of the bishops says that the -Moravian is the only Protestant Church which is a unity throughout the -world. - - -FESTIVALS. - -My first visit to Bethlehem occurred at Whitsuntide,—Whitsunday or -Pentecost falling upon June 1. As early as half-past seven there was -music from the steeple of the large Moravian church, from a choir of -trombone players. This instrument, which is of the trumpet kind, is much -in use among the Moravians for church music,[93] the choir generally -consisting of four pieces. - -In the morning I went to the large church, in which English services are -held. In this church there were no pews, or rather, there were “open -pews” without doors. Soon after the opening of the services, passages -of Scripture were read alternately, a verse by the preacher, and one -by the congregation. Afterwards the Apostles’ Creed was repeated in -concert. Also a litany was read; for the Moravians, if in some things -they resembled Quakers, were very far from them in discarding outward -forms.[94] - -There was in the morning no public extemporaneous prayer, nor any prayer -in the printed service, except the litanies. - -Notice was given that the anniversary of the Female Missionary Society -would be celebrated in the afternoon by a love-feast, and that the -Communion would be held in the afternoon in the German language, and in -the evening in the English. - -The love-feasts of the church, which are numerous,—fifteen in the course -of the year,—are religious meetings accompanied by a simple refection of -coffee, and rusks or buns. They are founded, it seems, upon a passage -in Jude, and are intended to set forth by a simple meal, of which all -partake in common, that there is no respect of persons before the Lord. - -The religious services upon the present occasion consisted of singing and -prayer, and some remarks were made by a gentleman who had formerly been -a missionary in Jamaica. In a calm manner, mothers were urged to devote -their children to the missionary service, rather than to active business -(worldly) employments. - -The love-feast coffee is celebrated. As it was brought in, diffusing its -odor through the church, there was singing in the German language. It was -handed in white mugs by one of the brethren, and the rusks, which were -light and good, were presented in a basket by a sister. - -After the address was over, neatly dressed sisters, as well as brethren, -passed among the congregation and collected the coffee mugs upon wooden -trays.[95] - - * * * * * - -In a manner similar to this just described, the Moravians celebrate upon -the 25th of June the anniversary of the founding of Bethlehem. - - * * * * * - -The services on Easter morning are described in a familiar manner by Mr. -Grider, in his “Historical Notes on Music in Bethlehem.”[96] - -About three in the morning the band of trombone players begins to pass -through the streets, to awaken the members of the congregation. The -spacious church is usually filled at an early hour, and the Easter -morning litany, which embraces the creed of the Church, is repeated. At -the passage, “Glory unto him, who is the resurrection and the life,” the -minister announces that the rest of the litany will be repeated on the -burial-ground. A procession is formed, and it is so timed that as it -enters the grounds it is met by the glorious beams of the rising sun, an -emblem of resurrection. - -The services are continued in the open air, the singing being led by -the instrumental performers. It is said that on a fair morning “about -two thousand persons usually attend this really grand and impressive -service;” the grounds, which are always kept neat, being especially -attended to before Easter.[97] Their first service on Easter Sunday took -place at Herrnhut, Saxony, in the year 1732. The “Young Men’s Class” -repaired before dawn to the graveyard, and spent an hour and a half in -singing and prayer.[98] - -The same manner of observing Easter seems to be world-wide. From -the Mission Report, we learn that Brother A. Gericke, writing from -Fredericksthal, Greenland, says, “At Easter it was so beautifully mild -that we could read the Church litany, according to the custom at home, in -the burial-ground.” - - * * * * * - -The celebration of Christmas Eve is spoken of by Mr. Grider, who says, -“The services last about two hours, during which the Rev. J. F. F. -Hagen’s ‘Morning Star, the darkness break!’ is sung alternately by the -choir in the gallery and the children in the body of the church. This -anthem,” he says, “although simple, and intended for children only, has -taken deep root in the hearts of the congregation, who seem never to tire -of its performance.” - -Other musical compositions are performed, such as,— - - “For unto us a child is born” (_Handel_). - “Sey willkommen” (Welcome) (_Haydn_). - “Lift up your heads, O ye gates!” (_Handel_). - “Gloria,” 12th Mass (_Mozart_). - -Mr. G. tells us that at this time the church choir numbers sixteen female -and eight male singers. The accompaniment consists of the organ, two -first and two second violins, viola, violoncello, double bass, two French -horns, two trumpets, trombone, and flute. This is certainly a remarkable -variety of instruments in a church choir. - - * * * * * - -A lady of Nazareth tells me that Christmas Eve is celebrated among the -Moravians by a love-feast in the church. After the cakes and coffee, -little wax-candles, lighted, are brought in upon trays, and distributed -to the children, while verses are sung. “This,” says she, “is to give -them an impression of the Sun of Righteousness.” The following lines were -sung for several years (and may still be in use): - - “Geh’ auf mit hellem Schein, - Und leucht ins Herz hinein, - Leucht über Gross und Klein! - Du Sonne der Gerechtigkeit! - Verbreite Wonn’ und Seligkeit, - Und flamme jedermann - Yetzt und fortan - Zu brünst’ger Liebe an.” - -Of which I offer the following version: - - “Rise with clear lustre, - And shine within the heart, - Shine over great and small, - Thou Sun of Righteousness! - Spread joy and blessedness! - And kindle every one, - Henceforth as well as now, - To warmest love.” - -A lady of Bethlehem says that the Moravians there follow the German -fashion, not of having a Christmas-tree merely, but a _Putz_, or -decoration; in which they usually represent a manger with cattle, the -infant Jesus and his mother, and the three wise men. At the young ladies’ -seminary she says that the _Putzes_ are often very fine. The people go -around to see the decorations. Christmas is a great festival. - - * * * * * - -The New Year is thus celebrated. At half-past eleven, on New Year’s -Eve, the congregation assemble for “watch meeting.” I condense Mr. -Grider’s description: “After the officiating minister enters, the choir -sing Bishop Gregor’s solemn composition, ‘Lord, Lord God,’ and then the -congregation sing; after which the text for that day is read from the -Text-Book, and is the subject of the discourse which follows. Meanwhile -the musicians in the choir watch the progress of the night, and assemble -before the organ; and the organist sits with his feet poised, ready to -begin. When the year expires, the new one is welcomed by a loud crash -of melody from the organ, and a double choir of trombone players. The -congregation rise and join in singing, followed by prayer, etc.” These -services are always largely attended. - -I have just spoken of the text for the day. A friend says, “These texts -for the day are published in a little annual volume, ‘Doctrinal Texts -of the Unitas Fratrum,’ prepared in Saxony and sent to the Moravians -the world over,—in Africa, Asia, Australia, and America. The first text -is selected by lot, the remainder by a committee at Herrnhut. This is a -relic of the old times, when the Moravians used the lot in many religious -ceremonies,—even in marriage.” - -Another says, “The Text-Book consists of a selection of verses from -the Bible, for each day, with appropriate collects taken from the -Hymn-Book. It has been issued since 1731. The first verse, or ‘daily -word,’ contains a short sentence of prayer, exhortation, or promise. The -second, or ‘doctrinal text,’ is intended to enforce some doctrinal truth -or practical duty. The Text-Book is printed in English, German, French, -Dutch, Swedish, Danish, Esquimaux, and in the Negro-English of Surinam, -S. A.” - -Birthdays were formerly celebrated among the Moravians, and still -are in some families, as a citizen of Bethlehem tells me, by little -home parties, called _vespers_, where the friends of the family are -bidden between two and three P.M., and where they partake of coffee -and sugar-cake; a cake used not only among the Moravians here, but by -the people of Northern Germany. Birthdays were formerly celebrated -by serenades. Record was also kept of the birthdays of friends, of -distinguished members of the church, etc. - -The Birthday-Book and Text-Book, says Mr. Grider, were placed on the -breakfast-table each morning. After the text was read, and while the -family were being served, the record was generally consulted to see whose -birthday it was. This custom served as a bond which held the inhabitants -in social union.[99] - -When a death occurs in the Moravian congregation at Bethlehem, the choir -of trombonists plays several tunes from the steeple of the large church. -Any Moravian can tell from the tunes played to which choir or band the -deceased belonged, whether to the married men’s or married women’s, to -the young men’s or young women’s, to the children’s, or to any other of -the bands into which the congregation is divided,—divisions which were -formerly of more importance than now. - -At funerals the same choir of trombones heads the procession. - - -THE GRAVEYARD. - -Walking in the street at Bethlehem, I saw a large, shaded, and grassy -enclosure with seats in it, and a number of girls and children, -children’s carriages, etc. I said to a working man, “What do you call -this,—a square?” - -It was the graveyard or old burial-place, but there were no monuments -visible, from the Moravian custom of laying stones, called breast-stones, -flat upon spots of interment. - -If you enter this yard from the northwest corner, from Market Street, -you come immediately upon the graves of three bishops, in no way more -conspicuous than the others which bear breast-stones. One says, “Johannes -Etwein, Episcopus Fratrum (or Bishop of the Brethren); born June 29th, -1721, at Freudenstadt in Germany, departed Jan. 2d, 1802. - - “Here he rests in peace.” - -The graves of the Indians and negroes, who were buried here, are not in -an especial corner or division, but are indiscriminately mingled with -those of the other Moravians. But on the outer edge are buried some -persons of disreputable life. - -One stone bears the following inscription: - -“In memory of Tschoop, a Mohican Indian, who in holy baptism, Ap. 16, -1742, received the name of John: one of the first fruits of the mission -at Shekomeko, N.Y., and a remarkable instance of the power of Divine -Grace, whereby he became a distinguished teacher among his nation. He -departed this life in full assurance of faith at Bethlehem, Aug. 27, 1746. - -“There shall be one fold, and one Shepherd.—John x. 6.” - -About sixty-two Indians are buried here. A daughter of Heckewelder (the -distinguished missionary) furnished new gravestones for some of these -Indian remains. - -The largest stone in the enclosure rests upon the grave of one of mixed -blood, not a Moravian, and I may be allowed to give a portion of the -inscription as it is: - -“In Memory to my dearest Son, James McDonald Ross, eldest son of John -Ross, principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation ... died in St. Louis, Nov. -9th, 1864. His Corps transported by Adams Express to Bethlehem, and -interred at this sacred spot Nov. 22d, 1864, aged 50 years 29 days.” - -One of the stones bears the name Traugott Leinbach, which may be -translated Trust-God Flaxbrook, but which does not seem peculiar to those -familiar with it. - -At some of the graves there were bright, freshly-cut flowers. - -At Nazareth I visited an enclosure which had once been a graveyard, but -which had been neglected, and the stones in it had been moved by one who -had become owner. This neglect has lately been atoned for by erecting -a monument inscribed with the names of those buried here. The list was -obtained by consulting the full and accurate accounts, which it is the -duty of all Moravian ministers to keep. In looking at the names on the -monument, I observed one Beata, an Indian, who died in 1746, and two -others, Beatus Schultz and Beata Böhmer. These were names assigned to -infants dead before christening; Beatus, Beata, meaning Blessed. - - -OLD RECOLLECTIONS. - -I met, at Bethlehem, a member of the Moravian Historical Society, who was -born in that town in 1796, and was educated there. He was taught German, -and could scarcely speak English at all at eighteen. - -He learned his trade as clock- and watch-maker in the brethren’s house. -He was also employed until lately as teacher of vocal music in the -parochial school. - -When he was in the brethren’s house—he began to learn his trade in -1810—there were about twenty brethren domiciled there,—though some of -these had their shops elsewhere. They were all mechanics; there being a -baker, shoemaker, tinsmith, etc. The cook was also an unmarried brother, -all these household services being performed by the brethren themselves. -My informant (he was the youngest boy) had to prepare breakfast for his -employer. - -When the morning bell sounded aloud (_Morgen Glocke zum Aufstehen_) the -boys sprang up, and when one story down, went into the prayer-hall, where -the _vorsteher_ or superintendent directed the services; first they “sang -a verse,” and then the _vorsteher_ read the text for the day. When the -boys got down to the lower floor (the four boys who then lodged in the -building), they swept out the rooms that were used for shops, ground -their coffee, ran down to the cook in the cellar-kitchen and set their -pots upon the coals, preparing a simple breakfast of bread, butter, -and coffee, of which each boy partook with his employer in the shop. -Then they made their cot-beds or threw the blankets back upon them; the -brethren made their own. - -Mr. W.’s mother did not admire her son’s manner of performing these -domestic services. When she came down to bring fresh bedclothes and to -look after matters, she said, “If I had wax, I’d take a mould of your -body here from your bed.” “Why, what a crust you have inside of your -coffee-pot!” - -Breakfast, in Mr. W.’s time, was thus eaten separately, but before that, -when all the property was in common, “_eine economische Haushaltung_,” -or economical household,—“every one was poor in that early day,”—all the -meals were eaten at a common table. - - * * * * * - -After breakfast, the boys washed the dishes and went to their work. - -At a quarter before twelve the chapel bell rang for dinner, a custom -which continued until about 1870. “I missed it,” said Mr. W., “when it -stopped, for I had heard it all my life.”[100] - -I inquired of Mr. W. whether they kept their time a half-hour or more -ahead, like other Pennsylvania Germans. He replied that one of the -brethren kept his clock by the sun-dial. - -Mr. W. did not dine or sup at the brother-house, but went home for these -meals. At the age of twelve, according to the usual custom, he left the -children’s choir, and became a member of the great boys’ choir. The -little boys and girls held their festivals together. - -At eighteen he joined the young men’s choir. About this time the -brethren’s house was given up to the female seminary or boarding-school, -and the few remaining brethren scattered through the town.[101] - -There had been little or no intercourse between these unmarried brethren -and the sisters, but some staid, elderly sister was appointed to visit -the brother-house and see whether all the surroundings were clean. - - * * * * * - -“I remember,” Mr. ⸺ said, “when marriages were made by lot, but that -drove off a great many of the young people. The marriage by lot was more -suited to missionaries who had not time for a two years’ courtship. -Dr. Franklin, when in Bethlehem, asked Bishop Spangenberg whether this -practice did not make unhappy marriages, but the bishop replied, ‘Are -all marriages happy that are made after long courtship?’ We did not have -divorces, anyhow,” said Mr. W.[102] - -This was the manner of the marriage by lot. - -If a young missionary came home, and met his friends, they would say, -“Well, you’ve come home to get married?” - -He would answer, “Yes; do you know of any one suitable?” - -“Yes; there’s Sister Gretchen” (or Peggy). - -Another might say, “There’s Sister Liddy;” and thus a half-dozen names -would perhaps be gathered. He had the privilege of arranging the order of -this list himself. Then, after prayer, the elders drew lots, taking the -first name; one ballot being _Ja_ and the other _Nein_ (Yes and No). - -The idea was of an especial Providence, by which he should find out -whether it was the Lord’s will that he should have the first. If the -first lot should prove _Ja_, the result was communicated to the sister, -and time was allowed her to reflect whether to accept or refuse. - -In the course of our conversation, Mr. W. rose and went into the next -room; and, returning, brought two vest-buttons of crystal, set in silver, -of which he gave the following account: - -“My grandfather was a clothmaker, at Basle, in Switzerland. Zinzendorf -being there[103] called upon the young man, who was about leaving for -America, to join the Bethlehem and Nazareth settlements. - -“Zinzendorf said to him, ‘Matthias, we won’t meet any more in this world, -but hope to meet in a better.’ He put his hand into his vest-pocket, and -said, ‘I’m sorry I have nothing to leave you to remember me by.’ - -“Young Matthias answered, striking his breast, ‘As long as this heart -shall beat, I’ll not forget you.’ - -“With a glance, Zinzendorf seized the shears from the clothmaker’s table, -and quickly cut off two of his vest-buttons. ‘Take these,’ he said, -‘they’re nearest the heart.’” - -It was the grandson of the clothmaker, himself a great-grandfather, who -narrated the story, which he had received traditionally. - -“I think,” said he, “that this exhibits the quickness of thought of Count -Zinzendorf. He was a great recruiting sergeant. On meeting a young man -whom he took a fancy to, he would say, ‘I have a place for you; I want -you to go to Greenland, or (perhaps) to the Cape of Good Hope.’ The -young man, astonished, would wonder what this conspicuous nobleman meant -by this. He generally succeeded, however, in charming the young man, and -the matter ended by his going upon the mission.” - - * * * * * - -A few recollections of old times were also given to me by a citizen of -Nazareth, aged eighty-two, whom I call Mr. P. He himself was born in -Bethlehem, but his father in Connecticut; his grandfather having migrated -and bought a farm at Gnadenhütten, a Moravian settlement, near Mauch -Chunk. - -Mr. P.’s mother was a Miksch. She was placed at the age of four years -at the building at Nazareth, called Ephrata, to enable her mother to -work.[104] She did not like the treatment that she received here. “Her -mother worked in the house (her house), and in the field, I think,” said -Mr. P. “The women now do not work much in the fields,” he added. “They’re -afraid they might spoil their fingers. They’re brought up altogether too -proud. I don’t know what will become of the next generation. - -“My father moved to Bethlehem, and worked at his carpenter’s trade. When -he was married he went to the ferry (at Bethlehem), and kept it for ten -years. There were no bridges then. He saw hard times in cold weather and -high water. After that he moved to the saw-mill and distillery, which -belonged to the Moravian Society. I think he got all he made in the -distillery, but worked for wages in the saw-mill.” - -“The Moravians distilled liquor, then?” said I. - -“Yes; they commonly drinked a little too, about nine o’clock. - -“When I was between thirteen and fourteen, I went to my trade. I was put -into the brothers’ house to sleep. My trade was a blacksmith’s, and a -pretty hard one too. I served my trade seven years and seven months. When -I was in the brother-house, I spent my evenings and Sundays there. I had -liberty to go home to my parents, but not to be running, like they do -nowadays, and do mischief. - -“My wife was not a member of the church,—we were married fifty-five years -ago. Brother Seidel, the Moravian preacher, married us. They were not so -strict then as they had been, in turning all those out of meeting that -married out.” - -Mr. P. has a strong German accent. He said, “I never talked much English, -only when I lived nine years and a half at Quakertown. I now speak German -altogether in my family. The young people here now all try to speak -English. They’re throwing the German away too much.” - - * * * * * - -At Nazareth, in 1874, I met Mr. M., eighty-six years old, who said that -he was married in 1812. “I thought,” said he, “that my wife and I were -the last couple married by lot; but I have heard that there was one -since.” - -Mr. M. said that the young men and women had some opportunity to see each -other, for although the young men were not allowed to visit the young -women at their own houses, yet they would sometimes meet in visiting; -but they were not allowed to speak to each other more than “a couple of -times.” - -Mr. M. and I did not agree in sentiment with a Moravian woman who had -told me that young men and young women were not allowed to keep company, -and _they did not think about it_. - -Sometimes there would be young persons attached to each other for a -couple of years, and the lot being unfavorable, they would go away and -leave the congregation. “Well, it was a pretty hard thing,” said the old -man, “for a pair of young people who loved each other dearly to have -the lot go against them.” He continued nearly thus: “There was one of -the boys who was with me in the brother-house who, I think, left the -congregation to be married to a member. It was generally the case, then, -that after a couple of years they would ask pardon, and be taken back. -We used to say, ‘You’ll have to take your hat under your arm and ask -pardon.’” - -Mr. M. told me, concerning the Moravians formerly, that the _verlobung_, -or betrothal, lasted sometimes only about a week. “When I was married -we had a kind of love-feast after the marriage. Some were picked out to -stay, and we had wine or coffee and cake in the church. That was the old -custom.” - -I suggested to Mr. M. that as there were meetings held every evening the -young people could see each other there. “There were meetings nearly -every evening,” he answered. “I remember when I worked at my trade -breaking off work and going to church. We went in our every-day clothes, -just putting on our coats. Most every evening it was, when I was young. -My trade was a blacksmith, and I was seven years an apprentice with my -father. He was a pretty strict master, and I had to get up, winter or -summer, at five o’clock, and now I wake at that hour although eighty-six.” - - * * * * * - -Recollections of a people would be imperfect without those of the women. - -I saw at Nazareth Mrs. B., who was born at the Moravian town of Litiz, in -Lancaster County, and who was in her eightieth year. - -“When I was a child,” said she, “we had Christmas dialogues, about the -birth of Christ, his sufferings and death, which were repeated by the -children. The dialogues were in the school on Christmas-day, but were -repeated several times, so that all might hear, and we never got tired of -it.[105] Christmas-trees were put up then, as they are now. The Christmas -_Putzes_ or decorations were left standing until after New Year. - -“On Easter morning we meet in the church at five in the morning, and the -first tune they sing is: - - “‘Der Herr ist aufershtanden, - Er ist wahrhaftig aufershtanden,’[106] - - “‘The Lord has arisen, - He has indeed arisen.’ - -“At a certain place where the litany speaks of those who are buried -in the churchyard, and of their rising again, we walk out into the -churchyard, and the trombone players accompany the hymns that are -sung. If the weather is stormy that we cannot go out, this is always a -disappointment. - -“When I was young, if a child was born in the morning, it was taken to -church in the evening to be christened. Religious meetings were held -every evening; sometimes a prayer-meeting, sometimes a _sing-meeting_. - -“I recollect marriages by lot very well, because they continued until -about 1818. All marriages were by lot. Young men and young women were not -allowed to keep company, and they did not think about it.” - -“They hardly dared to look at each other,” said another person present. - -Mrs. B. continued: “If a young man wanted to marry,—of course he had -his eye on some one he would like,—he told it to the _Brüder-Pfleger_ -(Caretaker of the Brothers), who told it to the minister, and the -minister to the _Schwester-Pfleger_ (Caretaker of the Sisters). The -name that the young man chose was taken into the lot, and if the -lot was favorable he might proceed, but if not he must look out for -another. If the lot was favorable it was told to the young woman by the -_Schwester-Pfleger_, and if the young woman was willing this sister told -the minister. There was a _Brüder-Pfleger_ in each brother-house, and a -_Schwester-Pfleger_ in each sister-house. - -“Betrothals took place after the young woman had given her consent, in -the presence of the conference, composed of the ministers and their -wives, and the marriage would generally take place within a week, in the -church. The wedding was public, but those who were invited stayed to the -_Schmaus_ (feast),[107] which was cake and wine in the church. Thus the -ceremony was completed. - -“Moravians then dressed with great plainness, much like the Quakers.” - -As the Moravians were so very strict about the intercourse of the sexes, -they could not have allowed two young men and two young women to sit up -together with the unburied dead, as has been the custom among some of our -Pennsylvania people. - -I spoke upon this point to Mrs. B., who said, “Women always sat up with -women, and men with men. However, in old times, as soon as there was a -death, the trombones sounded, as they do now, and the body was taken when -dressed, immediately to a small stone building called the corpse-house, -and here remained until the funeral.”[108] - -Mrs. ⸺ said that she lost her parents before she was three years old, and -was taken into the sister-house, and her brothers into the brother-house. -Even those who had parents living sometimes preferred to live in these -buildings. - - * * * * * - -Some simple details of home-life were given to me by Mrs. C., of -Bethlehem. - -In their own family, in her youth, they rose about five, and breakfasted -at six, usually on bread, butter, and coffee, perhaps with the addition -of molasses. At nine they had a lunch of cold meat, pie, and bread -and butter; and at a quarter before twelve came the dinner of meat -and vegetables. Often they had soup. There was soup every day at the -sister-house, and I was told that in cases of sickness it could be bought -there. - -“We always had pie for dinner. At two we had coffee and bread and butter. -This was called vesper. At six was our supper of cold meat, bread and -butter, and pickles. We always had pickles, and every day in the year we -had apple-butter.” - -Mrs. C.’s father was a miller, and perhaps lived more “full and plenty” -than some of his neighbors. - -She continued: “Every Saturday, we baked bread, pies, and sugar-cake. -We made a great many doughnuts, or _Fast-nacht gucke_.” (Shrove-Tuesday -pancakes, as we may say.) “We made crullers, and called them -_Schtrumpf-bänder_” (“garters,” doubtless from their form). “Nearly all -our cakes were made from raised dough. One we called _Bäbe_. ‘Snow-balls’ -were made with plenty of eggs, milk, flour, and a little sugar, and were -fried in fat. - -“At Christmas we always had turkeys; and then we baked a great supply -of cakes, from four quarts of molasses and four pounds of sugar, and -these lasted all winter. Then every evening before we went to bed we had -Christmas cakes, sweet cider, and apples. - -“The two o’clock vesper has generally fallen out of use, but if any one -comes to town now that I want to invite, and it is not convenient to have -them to dinner or supper, I say, ‘Come to vesper.’ Then we have coffee, -and always sugar-cake.” - -“It would not be a vesper without the sugar-cake,” said Mrs. C.’s -daughter. - -For a vesper-party for guests, Mrs. C. sets a table, and adds smoked -beef, preserves, or anything that she chooses. - -She further told me that her parents were married by lot, and lived very -happily, and she added that as far as we hear, and have seen, most of the -pairs thus married lived happily. But the young people were dissatisfied -with these marriages. Although the young man had the privilege of putting -in the names of several whom he would like, yet if none of these were -drawn he became discontented. - -“Should a name be chosen that did not please the young man, I believe he -had liberty to withdraw.[109] - -“In those times of strict rule, there was no opportunity for the young -people of both sexes to become acquainted. This rule originated at -Herrnhut. It was on account of it that an unmarried brother who worked in -our mill was not allowed to sleep in our house, but must go every night -to the brother-house to lodge until the rule was given up, about sixty -years ago, and the brother was then allowed to sleep in the mill.” - -While Mrs. C. was talking, her husband remarked that if he could find -a town such as Bethlehem was in 1822 (when, if I remember aright, he -had come to the place a stranger), he would go thousands of miles to -get his family there to live. The whole town, he said, was composed of -Moravians, and was like one family, living well, all in comfort, plain in -their dress, happy and contented with their lot. - - -OLD BUILDINGS. - -The sister-house, the _Gemein-haus_, and the widow-house are still -standing at Bethlehem, solid stone buildings with great roofs and -dormer-windows. One of them has immense stone buttresses, and all are -fitted to withstand the effects of time. Their appearance, indeed, -is becoming peculiar. The brother-house is still standing, but has -disappeared from view as a separate structure, having been incorporated, -as I have mentioned, in the young ladies’ seminary. - -The sister-house is owned by the Board of Elders of the Northern Diocese -of the Church of the United Brethren (Unitas Fratrum) in the United -States, and apartments are furnished to the widows and daughters of -servants of the church, rent free. Any unmarried Moravian woman (or -widow) may also have rooms here, but not free of charge. - -The corner-stone of the widow-house was laid in 1767. This conspicuous -building has recently been purchased by a friend of the church. The -apartments will be appropriated free of rent to the widows and unmarried -daughters of missionaries, ministers, and other servants of the church, -including teachers in the seminaries.[110] - -The _Gemein-haus_ (congregation-house) was used for the ministers’ -families, sometimes three or four, who resided in Bethlehem. It is no -longer occupied by these, but by other members of the society. It adjoins -the old chapel, where the preaching is in German. These old buildings, -especially the widow-house, are in good repair. - -One of the most striking circumstances connected with some of the old -buildings at Nazareth is the account of the numbers of persons whom -they are said to have once sheltered. The sister-house is a large -structure, but the brother-house is so inconspicuous upon the street of -the quiet little town, being, indeed, occupied as a store and dwelling, -and probably sheltering not more than two families, that it is quite -wonderful to hear tell of fifty persons having once had their homes in -it.[111] - -Of one of the most noteworthy buildings at Nazareth I have already -made mention. It was called Ephrata.[112] The foundations were laid by -Whitefield, the celebrated preacher, who bought five thousand acres in -the forks of the Delaware, or where the Lehigh empties into that stream. -This tract was afterwards bought by the Moravians. In 1744, thirty-three -married couples from Bethlehem moved into this house.[113] In 1749, -the “nursery,” of which I have before spoken, was removed here from -Bethlehem. Recently this old building has been completely renovated, -and the upper floor contains the collection and library of the Moravian -Historical Society. The building is called the Whitefield-house, but it -might still be called Ephrata, or a place of rest, for the lower part is -a dwelling for retired missionary families. Only one family was there at -the time of my visit, a widow with children. Little people were running -about and laughing below, quite at home. - -The “sustentation fund” of the Moravian Church supports the “resting -ministers” (such as the Methodists call superannuated ministers) the -widows and children of missionaries, etc. - - -MISCELLANEOUS REMARKS. - -An acquaintance said to me in Lancaster, “The people of Bethlehem are -not Pennsylvania Dutch. They speak the high German.” I think, however, -that the younger people have acquired the Pennsylvania dialect. An -elderly gentleman of Bethlehem, to whom mention was made of a work upon -the “Pennsylvania Dutch,” etc., replied in this manner (with a German -accent): “We don’t want to know anything about the Pennsylvania Dutch. We -know enough about them already. We see enough of them on our farms.” - -It may be inferred from what has been said that the Moravians are -persons of very considerable culture. I may go further, and speak of the -thoughtful, spiritual expression of many faces. - -As agriculture may be called the vocation of the Pennsylvania Germans in -general, so education may be called the vocation of the Moravians. To the -support of the parochial school at Bethlehem I heard that about nine -thousand dollars are annually appropriated from the income of the church -property there. This enables those who have charge to put the terms of -instruction very low. These are four dollars, or four to six, annually, -for Moravian children. - -The daughters of Moravian preachers are entitled to four years’ tuition -in one of the young ladies’ schools, either at the celebrated one at -Bethlehem, that at Litiz, Pennsylvania, at Salem, North Carolina, or at -Hope, Indiana.[114] Besides these institutions, there is a flourishing -boys’ school at Nazareth, and a college and divinity school at Bethlehem. - - * * * * * - -Very few of the Moravians here are engaged in agriculture. They have -remained in towns, as it seems, and rarely or never become large and -wealthy farmers; a circumstance that I do not comprehend. That religious -scruples against the acquisition of wealth, or of individual property, -have influenced their actions, I have not been able to discover. - - * * * * * - -I have not in my reports of aged citizens repeated some of the “orthodox” -expressions which they used. - -“The distinguishing feature of Moravian theology,” says Appleton’s -Cyclopædia, “is the prominence given to the person and atonement of -Christ.” - -I noticed at Bethlehem a sweet simplicity in speaking to or of the -preachers. - -A young man told me that Brother W. had sent him, and one of the sisters -unaffectedly addressed a venerable bishop as Brother S. One of these -gentlemen said to a person, not a member of his church, “Call me brother.” - - * * * * * - -I have never heard Moravians call themselves Herrnhutters. The favorite -name of their churchmen for their organization is Unitas Fratrum, or -Unity of Brethren. A venerable preacher tells me that they have been -called the _Johannische Gemein_, or community like St. John; or their -view the _Johannische Auffassung_, or John-like expression, of the spirit -of the gospel, especially as we read in the seventeenth chapter of John -the prayer of Christ, “That they, Father, may be one, as we are one.”[115] - - * * * * * - -I conclude this sketch with an abridged passage from the Mission Report -of 1872, an extract which may be interesting to thoughtful minds: - -“The celebration of the centenary of the Labrador mission took place -at all the six stations on the 5th and 6th of January, 1871. Some of -the people assisted in decorating the chapels by fetching fir-tree -branches and making festoons. A number of welcome jubilee presents from -the Ladies’ Association in London, and other sisters, were distributed, -and the services closed with the celebration of the Lord’s Supper; a -love-feast, at which printed odes were used; and a thanksgiving service. -The brethren of Okak remark, ‘Stillness, not unusually a feature of -festive seasons in Labrador, prevailed in a striking degree, and was to -our minds more valuable as a proof of spiritual blessings enjoyed than -the finest words could have been, especially as the Esquimaux have great -readiness in using religious phrases.’” - - NOTE.—Christianity was introduced into Bohemia and Moravia - in the ninth century. It is claimed that the people of these - countries, for several centuries, manifested in matters of - faith the spirit of what was afterwards Protestantism. The most - celebrated of their reformers was John Huss, who was burned, - by order of the Council of Constance, in 1415. The Hussites - separated into two parties, of whom the Taborites were defeated - by the Calixtines in 1434, and the latter became the national - church of Bohemia. A party among the remnant of the Taborites, - dissatisfied with what they thought corrupt practices in this - church, removed more and more from the Calixtine communion, and - at length were permitted to settle on the barony of Lititz. It - is claimed that some, if not all, of these were men of God, who - had not taken up arms during the war. They afterwards adopted - the name _Unitas Fratrum_, or _Unity of the Brethren_. Their - pastors were Calixtine priests who had joined the society. - Such was the beginning of the Moravian Church. They obtained - the episcopal succession from a colony of Waldenses, on the - confines of Bohemia and Austria. Toward the year 1500 they had - more than two hundred churches in Moravia and Bohemia, and had - published a Bohemian Bible and several confessions of faith. - - Their numbers and influence increased very much, and gradually - the _Unitas Fratrum_ was composed of three provinces, the - Bohemian, Moravian, and Polish. But, in 1621, Ferdinand - II. began a series of persecutions of all the Protestant - denominations in Bohemia and Moravia, known as the - anti-reformation. Protestantism was totally overthrown here, - more than fifty thousand of the inhabitants having emigrated. - In Poland, the Brethren’s Church became united with the - Reformed, and the _Unitas Fratrum_ disappeared from the eyes - of men, and remained as a “hidden seed” for ninety-four years. - In Moravia many families remained, who secretly entertained - the views of their fathers, and among these an awakening took - place in the early part of the eighteenth century, through the - instrumentality of a Moravian exile named Christian David. The - desire to live in a Protestant country was felt more and more, - and two families escaped in the night, and after eleven days - safely reached Berthelsdorf, an estate in Saxony belonging to - Count Zinzendorf, a pious young nobleman, who had offered them - a refuge. Other Moravians joined them, and in a few years a - colony of three hundred persons lived on Count Zinzendorf’s - estate. He himself soon relinquished all worldly honors, became - a bishop of the brethren, and devoted himself entirely to their - service. - - * * * * * - - Nicolaus Ludwig, Count of Zinzendorf and Pottendorf, descended - from a noble Austrian family, was born in Dresden in 1700. His - father dying soon after his birth, his education was confided - to his grandmother, the Baroness de Gersdorf, who had adopted - the idea of Spener, the founder of the Pietists, of _little - churches within the church_, having for their aim the promotion - of piety and the purifying and sanctifying of the whole church. - - The mind of Zinzendorf, when he was a mere child, took an - enthusiastic direction, and he used to write letters to the - Saviour and throw them out of the window, hoping that the - Saviour might find them. At the university of Wittenberg, he - applied himself, without direction or aid, to the study of - theology, fully resolved to become a minister of the gospel. - In 1722 he married, and about the same time gave some emigrant - Moravian brethren permission to settle upon his estate of - Berthelsdorf. In connection with some others, he labored to - instruct them and their children. But it would seem, from - subsequent circumstances, that he himself became, in some - degree, their pupil. - - They were not all agreed in religious opinions, and, with a - view to unity, he formed statutes for their government. He was - also appointed a warden of the congregation. In 1734 he went, - under an assumed name, to Stralsund, and passed an examination - as a theological candidate. The same year he received holy - orders at Tübingen. On returning from Switzerland, in - 1736, he met an edict forbidding his return to his native - country, and repaired to Berlin, where, under sanction of the - King of Prussia, he was consecrated bishop of the Moravian - congregation, and from that time was always called the Ordinary - of the Brethren. The order of banishment was repealed after - eleven years. - - Within this period he visited the islands of St. Thomas and St. - Croix, where the Brethren had already established missions. He - also came to Pennsylvania in 1741. He remained in this country - two years, during which he was very diligently and successfully - occupied. He also made several visits to Holland and England. - He spent his latter years at Herrnhut, where he died. His - remains were borne to the grave by thirty-two preachers and - missionaries whom he had reared, from Holland, England, - Ireland, and North America, including Greenland. He wrote more - than one hundred books. His son, who was an elder of the single - brethren, died before his father. His son-in-law, the Baron de - Watteville, was a bishop of the Moravian Church. - - On the continent of Europe the Moravian system of the time of - Zinzendorf is kept up in every respect. The governing board - for the whole “Unity,” or whole Moravian Church, meets at - Berthelsdorf, in Saxony, in the castle once inhabited by Count - Zinzendorf, who devoted his entire property to the good of the - church. - - A community of goods never existed at any time in a Moravian - institution. The _Economie_, or _Economische Haushaltung_ - (Economical Household, or Common Housekeeping), seems to have - existed for about twenty years, during the Indian wars, when - the settlements of the Brethren at Bethlehem, etc., were feeble - and exposed to attack. - - The numerical force of the Moravians is not great. The number - of communicants—home-communicants, if I may call them so—is - 12,947 (estimate of 1859?), and over 53,000 mission converts, - including baptized children. There are also, as I understand, - 80,000 “Diaspora members” on the continent of Europe; for which - remarkable movement see the article _Moravians_, in Appleton’s - Cyclopædia. See, also, the _Moravian Manual_. This historical - sketch is drawn principally from these sources, and from - the articles _Zinzendorf_ and _German Theology_ of the same - Cyclopædia. - - - - -SCHWENKFELDERS. - - -I had before seen the Schwenkfelders mentioned as a people who, like -the Mennonites, Quakers, etc., are opposed to war, but I never became -personally acquainted with them until the spring of 1873. At that time, -a gentleman of West Chester advised me to inform myself concerning them, -speaking of them as a delightful people. On arriving at Norristown, I -therefore made inquiry about them from citizens of that borough, and was -kindly furnished with several letters of introduction to members of the -Schwenkfelder community living about seven miles north of the town.[116] - -It was about noon when the stage left me at the house of one who had -formerly been a preacher in the society. Here I dined, conversed with -my host about his people, and looked at various large old volumes which -he showed to me. Then, having been supplied with an escort, I went to a -house in the same neighborhood, the dwelling of an elderly brother, who -had learned my errand, and had expressed a wish to meet me. - -Under his hospitable care, I remained until Sunday evening; he taking -me to the meeting-house and other places. Through him I also received a -present of several books, giving the history and doctrines of the society. - -On Sunday evening he took me to the house of another member, whose kindly -care did not cease until he had conveyed me—on Monday morning—again to -the borough of Norristown. - - -MEETING-HOUSE AND GRAVEYARD. - -The church which I visited is in Towamensing Township, Montgomery -County, and is one of six in Eastern Pennsylvania which hold all the -Schwenkfelders now living. I was surprised to find the church in neat -order and in good preservation, thus indicating no lack of vitality in -this small religious body, which, like a transplanted tree, has thrown -out so few roots into adjoining soil. The plain meeting-house stood upon -the edge of a wood; the graveyard was neat, and was enlivened by the -blossoms of the mountain pink,[117] and the bright sunshine and tender -green of May animated the scene. - -Among the monumental stones was a rough one bearing this inscription -only: “A. R. W. 1745.” And this was, I believe, the oldest here. Of nine -years’ later date was a gravestone, still unhewn and irregular in shape, -but with a longer inscription: “Psal. 90 v. 7. Baltzer Anders, Gestorben -1754, 56.” The passage cited from the Psalms is the text of the funeral -sermon. The rest we may translate: “Balthazar Anders. Died 1754, at the -age of 56.” - -At the date 1762 we find a carved marble head-stone, but no showy -monuments have been erected here. One of the more modern stones says, -“Rosina Kribelin, geb. Hübnerin, alt 27 Yahr 5 monat,”—or “Rosina Kribel, -born Hübner, aged twenty-seven years and five months;” the feminine -termination in being added to both the names.[118] - -Inscriptions older than these may be found at the meeting-house in Lower -Salford Township, and one of them goes to a somewhat greater length in -honor of him for whom it was erected. Translated it reads thus: “In -memory of George Weiss, was born in Silesia, and first teacher of the -Schwenkfelder community in Pennsylvania; died the 11th of March 1740, 53 -years old.” - -(The word teacher means preacher.) - - * * * * * - -Within the meeting-house there were enclosed benches or open pews; the -pulpit and the ends of these benches upon the aisle being painted white. -The men sat upon one side of the house, the women upon the other; the -women removing their bonnets and wearing caps. These caps were not -severely plain, like those of the Mennonites, etc., but were trimmed with -white satin ribbon.[119] - -The Schwenkfelder women bent the knee at the name of Jesus, but this -observance has fallen into disuse among the men. - -Before the morning service there is school, in which the children are -taught from the Catechism and Testament; the Catechism containing the -Apostles’ Creed. On Sunday afternoon, a school is held in which the -children are taught to read the German language, in which tongue the -church exercises are conducted.[120] The Schwenkfelders claim to have -been among the earliest to establish Sabbath-schools, but their school is -of later date than that of Ludwig Hoecker.[121] - -During service, the pulpit or desk was occupied by three preachers. The -oldest had a fine countenance, forehead, and coronal region of the head. -The youngest, a very solid-looking, fair-haired man, read a portion of -Scripture, and _read_ a prayer.[122] Singing accompanied these exercises, -and then a few extemporaneous remarks were made by the youngest preacher; -the open Bible lying before him, upon which his eyes were cast. The -oldest preacher spoke at length, and was followed by the third, who wore -a heavy black beard. - -The ministers of the Schwenkfelders, like those of our similar sects, are -unsalaried and without special theological training. - - -BOOKS. - -I have mentioned that he whom I first visited brought out a number of -large books for me to examine. They were all in the German language. - -The first bore title, “The first part of the Christian, orthodox book, of -the man noble, dear, and highly favored by God, Caspar Schwenckfeldt.” -The volume was a folio; the place of printing not given; the date 1564. -It is embellished by a large plate, which apparently represents Christ -with Death and Satan under his feet. Below, upon the left, is a man in a -furred robe kneeling, with the motto, “Caspar Schwenckfeldt von Ossing. -Nil Christo triste recepto” (or, “If I have Christ, nothing makes me -sad”). On the right is a troop of similar appearance, with the motto, -“And the fellow-believers of the glories and truth of Jesus Christ.”[123] - -Another ancient folio, bound in parchment, with brazen clasps, tips, and -bosses, was said to be a volume of Schwenkfeld’s letters. There is no -place of printing; the date is 1570. The same plate as the preceding. -These epistles, says my host, are upon the popish doctrine and faith. - -The third folio was of the same date, 1570, and was in a splendid state -of preservation. This contains letters upon the Lutheran doctrine, with -which Schwenkfeld did not agree. - -Two of the folios brought out by my host were manuscripts, bound in -leather, with brazen clasps. One of them had the great number of -thirteen hundred and three pages, very neatly written in the German hand. -It contained the sermons, “_Postilla_,” of Michael Hiller, preacher -at Zobten, in Silesia, who “disappeared in God” in 1554; written and -collected by Nicholas Detschke, 1564, and now written anew, 1747. I did -not find the name of the copyist. - -Although my host told me he that he had never been in Quaker meeting in -his life, yet I found among his books a history of the rise, etc., of the -Christian people called Quakers, originally written in Dutch by William -Sewel, and by himself translated into English, from English translated -into German (_Hochdeutsch_), 1742. This is Sewel’s History, one of the -most celebrated of the Quaker books. - -At the second house which I visited there lay in the window-seat several -books in German. One was a large copy of the Scriptures, a clasped -volume, with many plates. Lying loose in it were two plates of Caspar -Schwenkfeld, in his furred robe, with beard descending upon his breast, -and his motto (already given) in German: “_Wenn ich Christum habe, so -bin ich nicht traurig_”; or, “If I have Christ, I am not sorrowful.” In -selecting this motto, he may have had reference to his exiled condition. - -(There seems to be among the Schwenkfelders much more regard than among -most of our plain Pennsylvania Germans for the pictures, the “counterfeit -presentments,” of men.[124]) - -The volumes given to myself, while among these people, are: - -1. Schwenkfeld’s _Erläuterung_, or Explanation, concerning many points -in history and theology. Not written by their leader himself, but -composed by several of the “godly exiles from Silesia to Pennsylvania.” -An appendix contains, among other matter, a sketch of the life of -Schwenkfeld, and an account of the journey of the Silesian emigrants from -Altenau to this State. Of this volume I have made much use.[125] - -2. Questions on the Christian Doctrine of Faith, for Instructing Youth in -the First Principles of Religion. By the Rev. Christopher Schultz, Sen. -My copy is a translation. - -3. Constitution of the Schwenkfelder Society, subscribed in 1782, etc. - - -HISTORY. - -In the year 1490, seven years after the birth of Luther, two years before -the discovery of America by Columbus, and one hundred and thirty-four -before the birth of George Fox, was born in Silesia,[126] in the German -or Austrian empire, Caspar Schwenkfeld von Ossing, of a very old and -noble extraction. His brother-in-law is mentioned as Conrad Thumb von -Neuburg, hereditary marshal of the principality of Würtemberg. Caspar -Schwenkfeld was a person of very handsome mien, dignified behavior, -remarkable modesty, courtesy, and gentleness, accompanied by godliness, -and fervency in prayer, and was of a Christian, pure, and temperate life. -It is added that thus much even his bitter enemies must acknowledge, “as -the clergy know.”[127] In his youth he studied two years at Cologne, and -lived several years at other universities. He at length became well read -in the writings of the Greek and Latin fathers. He was also many years in -the confidential service of his liege lord, the Prince of Liegnitz (the -Duke of Liegnitz?). Afterwards “God touched his heart,” and he turned -away from his life at court, and became a teacher at St. John’s Church, -in Liegnitz. He diligently read the writings of Luther and of others who -were leaving the papacy, and he afterwards remarked that he had been as -good a Lutheran as any. With the fiery reformer he, however, differed -greatly afterwards; the first cause of difference being, as it appears, -Luther’s views upon the Supper. Schwenkfeld says that the Lord Jesus had -shown to him that he was not a bodily bread, but a spiritual and heavenly -one. - -Schwenkfeld also wrote a little work upon the misuse of the sacraments, -which, without his knowledge, was printed in Switzerland. Hereupon Dr. -Faber, bishop at Vienna, represented to the emperor, Ferdinand, that -Schwenkfeld held false doctrines concerning the sacrament of the Supper, -etc.; and Ferdinand was himself angry because his enemies had published -the book. The emperor (or, as he is called, the king) wrote to the duke -at Liegnitz to punish Schwenkfeld, but as his innocence was known to the -duke, this prince thought it well that Schwenkfeld should ride away for a -while.[128] - -He did ride away in 1529, but, although he lived for thirty-three years -after, he never rode back again. - -He travelled to many places in Germany, and was prized and heard at many -noble courts. Many times he stopped in cities of the empire, and suffered -much opposition from the preachers. - -A letter of pardon was sent to him by the emperor, Ferdinand, saying that -if he would recall his opinion, and act differently, he should receive -his knightly possessions; but, as already stated, he never returned to -Silesia. - -During his life he published ninety-two treatises, and after his death -many of his books were published by his fellow-believers. All his -writings were forbidden to be printed by the Papists and Lutherans, and -in different places his writings were burnt, “nevertheless God has given -means for several of these books to be published four or five times.”[129] - -Many years after the publication of his little work, before spoken of, -upon the misuse of the sacraments, Schwenkfeld sent to Luther a number -of his own works, and called Luther’s attention to one of his favorite -doctrines, “the glory of the manhood of Jesus Christ.” To the noble -messenger who bore the letter, etc., Luther returned an answer, speaking -in severe and ignominious terms of the author, reproaching him with -having kindled a fire in Silesia against the holy sacrament, and with his -Eutychianism, as Luther calls Schwenkfeld’s doctrine that the manhood of -Jesus Christ is no creature.[130] - -It was not the desire of Schwenkfeld to build up a sect of his own, nor -did he judge any congregation already collected, but he exhorted all to -pray in spirit and in truth in all places. He is said to have directed -men only to Christ and his power, and to have filled, until his death, -the office of a true evangelical preacher. - -Before he departed, we read that he heard a voice, “Up, up into heaven!” -which voice he had heard also before he rode out of his fatherland, -saying, “Up, up out of the fire!” (His hearing had failed nearly forty -years before his death.) - -Not long before dying he said, “Now home; home into the true fatherland.” - -“He died in God, and went home to his rest,” in the city of Ulm, in -1562.[131] - -He was buried in a cellar. (It may be remembered that Menno was buried in -a garden.) - -Nearly three hundred years after the birth of Caspar Schwenkfeld von -Ossing, the first Schwenkfeld congregation was organized; he was born in -1490, it was formed in 1782. It was upon the new continent discovered by -Columbus, in the English colony of Pennsylvania, that a little band of -exiled Schwenkfelders formed this society after they had sojourned here -nearly fifty years. How were they able to continue Schwenkfelders, during -the period of more than two hundred years between the death of their -founder and their organization here?[132] - -In Silesia the ruling church was Roman Catholic, but the Lutherans were -generally tolerated. The Lutheran preachers, coming into contact with the -Schwenkfelders, were often hostile and unfriendly to them; but the final -self-banishment of the Pennsylvania colony was owing to the rigorous -measures taken by the Jesuits for their conversion.[133] - -In one of the persecutions of earlier times, we read of a certain Anthony -Oelssner, who was called to strengthen the scattered faithful, about -the year 1580; in which call he showed great diligence in prayer and -preaching, until he was seized and lay imprisoned a while at Liegnitz. -Afterward he was imprisoned at Löwenberg, in the tower, where he suffered -almost the same strong temptations of Satan as we read in the lives of -the fathers that old Anthony did, from which he was happily set free, as -he writes in a long letter. One of his letters is from the lowest dungeon -at Vienna, where he lay among thieves and malefactors. - -He was also dragged about in the trenches and galleys,[134] all which -he bore without a murmur, and met his persecutors with cheerfulness, -encouraging the faithful by letters when he did not lie in dungeons too -dark, or when ink, paper, etc., were not denied him. Of these writings a -great part is still extant. - -Certain of the Schwenkfelder prisoners, it seems, were sent upon the -galleys to the Turkish war. “In taking the castle Gran, in 1593, they -were obliged to go before the soldiers, through a narrow street; but they -never killed a Turk, nor stained their hands with the blood of men (as is -proper for the soldiers of Christ).”[135] - -Another sufferer, old Martin John, tells how, when he lived at Kaufig, he -beheld the lives of the priests, how they loaded themselves with eating -and drinking, avarice and gaming, dancing and debauchery, and produced -uproar in the beer-houses, and made a nine-pin alley, and played together -in the parsonage yard. “And I thought that I could not any longer approve -their godlessness. I was thus induced to stay at home, and read to my -wife and children, and call them to repentance. Then the priest ran to my -landlord,[136] and complained of me, but he would not listen, and I was -left in peace for a year. Then my old master died, and his son, to please -the godless preacher, drove me from my paternal inheritance.” The priest -was named George M., and this was in 1584. - -Martin John also says that the priest made jest of the Holy Ghost, -saying, “Thou wilt have to wait long before the Holy Ghost will come and -teach thee.” - -Martin tells further, that he found a property cheap at Armenruh; but -there he saw the same manner of life. “I did not have to go far, but -heard in my own yard how the priest fiddled, and the rest danced and -cried out, and found it much worse than in my own (former) home. So I -stayed at home, and read, prayed, and sang, and other people came to -hear. Then the priests ran to our landlords, and we were put into prison, -where I was kept over four years, and the others over a year, and to -these nothing was given to eat nor to drink.” - -These cases of persecution all took place within fifty years after the -death of Schwenkfeld, and seem to have befallen those who lived around -the Spitzberg, in Lower Silesia; but in Upper Silesia, and in the -district of Glatz, there was repose; and toward the end of the sixteenth -century persecution appears to have declined, for _we do not find that -any one writes letters from prison_. - -During the Thirty Years’ War the Schwenkfelders, like others who opposed -the Romish Church, did not remain undisturbed. Once during this period -complaint was made of them to the prince at Liegnitz, but they sent to -him one of Caspar Schwenkfeld’s books, which he graciously received, and -permitted them to hold meetings in their houses. Meetings in the open air -were forbidden by the emperor.[137] - -At the close of the war they were again persecuted, the preachers -complaining of them to the nobility. But the prince at Liegnitz set them -all free, and allowed them to worship again in their houses. - -Simple religious services, formerly held among the Schwenkfelders, are -thus described.[138] - -If any one had books and read on Sunday, the others went and listened. -But this was the order: in the morning, after each prayed when he rose, -they came together. (Elsewhere it is stated that they were generally -fasting.) They sang morning songs standing; afterward prayed out of a -prayer-book; then all, standing, sang prayer-songs, especially to the -Holy Spirit; they also sang sitting, and prayed, and then read several -sermons; then prayed again and sang a couple of songs; then ate dinner. -Afterward prayed again standing, and sang prayer-songs; afterward read -till toward evening; then standing prayed and sang. That was the order on -Sunday. - -And if, in week-time, the people came together at a spinning (_beym -spinnen_), then there was almost always singing, and when they would go -home they knelt down together and prayed. - -In coming down to the year 1730, we read that there being no longer any -great persecution, the zeal of most began to be extinguished; the young -people liked to go to church, especially at Harpersdorf, where there was -beautiful music. Some dreaded contempt; some, it is said, found freedom -to live in sin, for if they only went to the Supper they might live -as they pleased, and receive a beautiful funeral sermon; many left on -account of a marriage. Thus the Schwenkfelders greatly declined.[139] - -It was somewhat before the date above given, or in the year 1719, that -the celebrated Jesuit mission came among the Schwenkfelders; that is, -by imperial decree, there arrived two missionary priests. In 1721, the -Schwenkfelders sent delegates to the emperor, craving further indulgence. - -While the missionaries were trying to make them Catholic, the Lutherans -offered protection to those who should join them; but a few (“a little -heap”) remained true, without falling off on either side. Of the -delegates sent to the emperor, two remained in Vienna five years, and -found him not ungracious. He ordered that time should be taken for -further consideration. - -During this time the mission was taking severe measures, with fine and -imprisonment. No Schwenkfelder was to be buried in the churchyard, but -upon the cattle-paths (highways?), and none should accompany them to -burial (but this they could not prevent).[140] None should be married -who did not promise their offspring to the Catholics, which none would -do; therefore many marriages were postponed for long years. On the -contrary, when the new Lutherans (converts) were buried there was a great -parade and procession, and a great throng at weddings. At length, in -1725, a severe edict was issued to oblige old and young to attend the -mission teachings, and the Schwenkfelders were threatened with being -fastened to wheelbarrows (_Schübkarren_), and with having their children -taken away. - -Now when affairs had come to an extremity, they heard that they might -flee for a while to an honorable senator in Gorlitz, and also to his -excellency Louis, Count of Zinzendorf, and Lord of Berthelsdorf;[141] -and in 1726, and afterward, several families broke off by night, and in -great danger, leaving their estates and property behind. More followed, -and as they could better earn a living in the villages,[142] the greater -part went to Berthelsdorf, and enjoyed protection there for eight years. -But while living here in all stillness, in 1733, Zinzendorf informed them -unexpectedly that they were no longer to be tolerated in Saxony. In this -matter they suspected the influence of the Jesuits with the elector. -(Zinzendorf himself was banished from 1736 to 1747.[143]) - -One year was allowed them before removing, and, after looking elsewhere, -they concluded to come to Pennsylvania. In 1733 a couple of Schwenkfelder -families had come hither,—and, as they say, “Our faithful friends in -Holland advised us strongly to go.” About forty families, therefore, -began the journey in the latter part of April, 1734, and cast anchor -at Philadelphia on the 22d of September. “There, by the praiseworthy -constitution of the country, we were made citizens, and partakers of all -civil and religious freedom.” - -After this flight the missionaries continued their efforts in Silesia, -and several more families fled and came to Pennsylvania. In 1740 an -imperial command was issued, that the Schwenkfelder heresy must out. -Now were they greatly urged to join the Lutherans for their protection; -and now, in houses, two were against three, and three against two, and -a man’s foes were those of his own household. At last, the greater part -went over to the Lutheran Church. However, in the following autumn, -the emperor died, and Silesia was soon after conquered for Prussia by -Frederick the Great. - -All the Roman Catholic offices were then vacated, and Pater Regent, one -of the mission, “retreated after us into Saxony; and other instruments -sought shelter out of the country. The books of which we were robbed by -the doctors and their followers were, we heard, taken to Liegnitz; and -as for the homes and goods we had left behind, they had helped themselves -to them, which is all one to us. We hope their enjoyment of them will be -as profitable to them as the abandoning of them has been to us.” - -In 1742, or eight years after the principal migration to Pennsylvania, -the King of Prussia published an edict in favor of freedom of conscience, -inviting the exiled Schwenkfelders to return to his duchy of Lower -Silesia, or to dwell in any other part of his possessions. No further -persecution afflicted these people, but they have become extinct in -Europe, the last having died in 1826. - - -THE JOURNEY TO AMERICA. - -When these wandering people no longer found a place of refuge in Saxony, -in April of 1734 about forty families began that journey to Pennsylvania -already spoken of. This was completed in September, in a period of about -five months. An account of this long voyage is given at the close of the -book already often referred to, the _Erläuterung_, or Explanation. - -In Altona (near Hamburg), during a stay of eleven days, they received -great hospitalities from the Herren v. Smissen, father and son. - -On arriving at Haarlem (from some of whose citizens they had received -contributions while still in Saxony), they could not enough admire the -common joy and proofs of love with which they were received. The brothers -Abraham, Isaac, and Jann v. Byuschanse were especially kind, entertaining -them with flesh, fish, all kinds of vegetables, beer, coffee, and tea, -and besides the children were daily presented with all kinds of baked -gingerbread and such things.[144] - -As regarded the journey of the exiles to America, the Herren v. -Byuschanse had made an agreement with the captain at their own expense. - -Two days’ journey from Holland, Gregory Meschter was presented with a -healthy little son. Fifteen days they lay at Haarlem, and at Rotterdam, -on the 21st of June, they went on board the English ship “St. Andrew,” -Captain Stedman commander. While they lay still one week on board this -vessel, “God gave David Schubert a young son.” - -On the 28th they left Rotterdam. On the 16th of July, six Palatinate -women and two men fought each other, and she who began it received her -deserts.[145] - -At Plymouth, England, which they left on the 29th, a rich woman gave the -whole ship’s company one hundred and twenty-five shillings, and when it -was divided each person received four and a half stivers, English. (The -stiver is a Dutch coin of the value of one English penny, or two cents in -our money.) - -On the 9th of August a Palatinate mother and daughter fought each -other. On the 10th a great fish was seen, which spurted water on high -powerfully, as if out of pipes. (Our inland Silesians were not familiar -with whales.) - -A number of children and several grown persons died upon the sea. On -September 22d, “God be forever thanked,” the anchor was happily cast -before Philadelphia, and guns were fired. On the 23d, all males over -sixteen had to go to the court-house to take the oath of fidelity to the -King of Great Britain. “We Silesians, as on account of conscience we -could not swear, were readily excused, and were allowed to promise faith -by giving the hand” (_mit einem Handschlage_). - - -THE ANNIVERSARY OR YEARLY MEETING. - -I asked a Schwenkfelder, “What are the exercises of your commemorative -festival?” He answered, “It is a day of thanksgiving to God, that we -live under a free government, where we can serve him according to our -conscience.” - -An animated description of the day has been given by the Rev. C. Z. -Weiser, in the _Mercersburg Review_. This article, although apparently -not quite true to history, and though written in a peculiar style, has a -sprightliness which interests the reader.[146] - -Mr. Weiser tells us, that whoever is not providentially prevented is -bound to attend their yearly reunion. Nor has it been found necessary -thus far to enter an urging statute to secure the presence of the -fraternity. The “seeding” is done, the corn stands in shocks, and the -farm-work of September is timely put aside, in order that all may -participate in the memorial ceremonies of the 24th with a light, gay, -and thankful heart.[147] It is on the day and day before that you may -feast your eyes on many a well-laden carriage, the horses all in good -condition, moving on toward one of the Schwenkfelder meeting-houses, -selected in rotation, and one whole year in advance. The aged and infirm -of both sexes stay not behind. The young men and women are largely and -promptly there. The fathers are similarly enough clad to be considered -uniformed. So too are the mothers arrayed in a manner very like to one -another, with snow-white caps and bonnets that never vary. The sons and -daughters do indeed not love the habits of their elders any the less, yet -only the wicked world’s a little more.[148] - -The morning service opens at nine o’clock, and is filled out with -singing, praying, and recitals of portions of their ancestral history. -All is gone through with in the Pennsylvania German dialect, but withal -reverentially, solemnly, and earnestly, just as though it were newly and -for the first time done.[149] - -At twelve o’clock, the noonday feast is set. This is the feature of the -day. It consists of light and newly-baked rye bread, sweet and handsomely -printed butter, and the choicest apple-butter.[150] Nothing beyond these -is set, but these are of the first water. The bare benches, but lately -occupied by devout worshippers, serve as tables, along which the guests -are lined out. Not in silence, nor in sullenness, do they eat their -simple meal, but spicing it with cheerful talk, they dine with hearts -full of joy. Still, you need fear no profane utterance or silly jest. -They are mindful of the spirit of the occasion, of the place in which -they congregate, and of the feast itself, which the singing of some -familiar hymn has consecrated. If any one thirst, let him drink cold -water. - -And now think not that they feign simply to eat and drink,—that the meal -from first to last is but a poor pretence. A full and hearty dinner is -“made out” there. It is a bona fide eating and drinking that is done -in the meeting-house of the Schwenkfelders on their _Gedächtniss Tag_ -(Remembrance Day). They are all hard-working men and women,—farmers and -farmers’ wives and farmers’ children. They are sunburnt, healthy, and -hungry besides. And why should they not relish the sweet bread, with -their sweet butter and apple-butter, then? Even strangers who attend and -are hospitably entertained by the society show that one can make a full -hand, even at such a table. - -At two o’clock the tables become pews again, and the afternoon exercises -are conducted according to the programme of the morning. These concluded, -a general invitation is again extended to partake of the baskets of -fragments gathered up and stored away in the rear of the meeting-house. -A fraternal hand-shaking closes the anniversary for the year. The -reflection that many part now who may never meet again on earth causes -tears to trickle down some furrowed cheek, which generally prove more or -less contagious, as is always the case in a company of hearts, when those -tears flow in sincere channels. Hence, though all were happy all day -long, they now feel sad. - -To appreciate the meaning and spirit of this apparently homely scene, it -is necessary to know that it is a memorial service all through. It was on -this very 24th of September, 1734, that some seventy [forty] families of -Schwenkfelders, who had landed on the 22d, and declared their allegiance -on the 23d, held their thanksgiving service, in gratitude to God for a -safe deliverance to the colony of Pennsylvania. They had arrived in the -ship “St. Andrew,” at Philadelphia, as fugitives from Silesia. - -Poor, but feeling rich in view of their long-sought liberty, they blessed -God in an open assembly. We may judge their store and fare to have been -scant and lean indeed; and to perpetuate the original service of their -forefathers from generation to generation, they statedly celebrate their -_Gedächtniss Tag_. - -The poor fare before them is finely designed to impress the sore fact -of their ancestors’ poverty indelibly upon their minds, memories, and -hearts. They eat and drink in remembrance of former days,—the days of -small things. They join thereto at the same time a gladsome worship, in -thankfulness for the asylum opened up for them from their former house -of bondage, and which proved so fair a heritage to their people ever -since.[151] - - -CUSTOMS. - -A lawyer of Norristown tells me that he taught a subscription school -among the Schwenkfelders, some thirty years ago, and a day or two before -the school closed he sent out his bills by the scholars. Every cent of -the money due was paid in on the next morning,—and as he was then poor -this was a delightful and memorable circumstance.[152] - -Further, I find it laid down as a rule of their community that members -must see to it that their debts are paid without legal proceedings. - -Another instance of exactness in money matters is given in their history, -namely, that while they were sojourning with or near Zinzendorf, some of -their well-wishers in Holland sent to them a considerable contribution -in money, of which they knew nothing until the merchants of Gorlitz -announced and paid it to them. By their diligence in labor, and their -skilful use of this money, they were able to supply the pressing wants -of their poor, and to pay the expenses of the same to Altona. On their -arrival at Haarlem, a little that remained was laid at the feet of their -noble benefactors.[153] - -I met with a young Dunker woman, in the neighborhood of the Schwenkfelder -community, who said, “The poor always find their way to the -Schwenkfelders;” and on my mentioning this subject at one of the houses -which I visited, my host told me of persons having come to his house -asking “how far they had to the Schwenkfelder _Thal_” (or valley). - -The language spoken at two of the houses which I visited was almost -entirely the Pennsylvania German; but my ignorance of the dialect -forbids my knowing whether these Silesian emigrants speak it differently -from the South German Palatines. - -My power of talking German was perhaps never more exercised in the same -length of time than during my visit here; the women and children in the -houses alluded to speaking no English. In the second, the mother, who was -in delicate health, had been reading German books, but was unable to read -English. A like circumstance is certainly very uncommon, if not unknown, -among the “Dutch” of my own county. - -Neither does there appear to be the same objection to education there -that exists among some of our people here. One of the Schwenkfelders said -to me that he told his boys to learn as much as they can; “I’d not seen a -man yet that had been too wise; and the girls may do the same.” He also -told me that they do not neglect to teach the children in their family -to read and write German, a custom which tends to preserve the purity -of the language. But the Schwenkfelders find it difficult to preserve a -knowledge of German, since the language is no longer taught in the public -schools in their neighborhoods. - -Like Quakers, Dunkers, etc., the Schwenkfelders have an unpaid ministry. -One whom I met, who had been a preacher, cultivated fourteen acres of -ground, and joined to this labor the mechanical occupations of making -brooms and cigar boxes. I said to one of the society, “You do not pay -your ministers?” - -“No,” he answered, “but they are excused from all church expenses, such -as the treasury for the poor, and building and keeping in repair our -meeting-houses. Then, as one minister will be a farmer and another a -mechanic, and one is called upon to leave his shop and the other his farm -to attend funerals, we generally make such a one a present. - -“It has been at times the case that presents have been offered to men in -good circumstances, who would answer, thanking the giver, but they had no -need of the gift; if at any other time it should be necessary they would -accept it.” - -Candidates for the ministry are elected by ballot; the votes being -collected in a hat. Women do not vote, and of course they do not preach. -If the candidates when elected prove to be “men of able tongues,” they -are confirmed. Formerly the Schwenkfelders did not vote for preachers, -but it seemed to them that the right kind did not come forward, and those -who did come forward were not always desirable persons. - -The sacraments of baptism and the supper have never been held among -them.[154] A modern custom, originating in this country, and established -in 1823, has thus been described: After the birth of a child, it is -brought by the parents into church, and a preacher prays for the -happiness and prosperity of the child, and admonishes the parents to -bring it up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, according to the -will of God. Then there is prayer, and the singing of some appropriate -verses. If the child or mother is delicate, this service is sometimes -performed at their house.[155] - -Not only are the Schwenkfelders forbidden to become soldiers, but also to -train in military exercises. Upon this point, however, the late rebellion -seems to have tried some of their members, as it did some Quakers. - -“Do you bring lawsuits?” said I to a member. - -“Not if we can help it. I never brought a lawsuit, nor had one brought -against me, and hope I never shall.” - - -DOCTRINES. - -In plainness of speech, behavior, and apparel, in opposition to war, to -oaths, and to a paid ministry, in a belief in the teachings of the Divine -Spirit and in the inferiority of the written word to the indwelling -Spirit, in discarding religious forms, in opposition to priest-craft or -a hierarchy, and, although not practising silent worship, yet in their -desire to live “in the stillness,” the Schwenkfelders resemble Quakers. -We might almost say that they are Quakers of an older type (Quakers it -may be of whom George Fox had never heard). They differ from Quakers in -employing stated prayers, in electing preachers, in not acknowledging the -spiritual equality of women, and in their peculiar doctrine of the “glory -of the manhood of Jesus Christ,—how it is no creature.”[156] - -We give from the _Erläuterung_, or Explanation, some striking extracts -upon some of these points. Upon the word of God, Schwenkfeld and -Illyricus had a violent contest. Schwenkfeld holds that the tables upon -which God writes, and the book or paper upon which man writes, are -entirely two kinds of thing: between all printed and written books in -the world and the true word of God a fundamental difference is to be -maintained. The word is a living, internal, spiritual word, and can only -be contained in the book of the believing heart.[157] Faith existed many -hundred years before the Scripture. It proceeded from the eternal Word or -Son of God, Jesus Christ, and from God, the All-powerful.[158] - -Against what are called “the means of grace” Schwenkfeld preached. -(Spiritual things, it is said, come not through canals.) Schwenkfeld -maintained that Christ is only to be sought above with the Father, and -thence we must all draw that which will make us upright and blessed. This -was also recognized by the leaders who came out from the papacy; but -there came a time when they taught that Christ and salvation were to be -found below in external works and worship. But Schwenkfeld neither could -nor would admit that Christ and the Holy Spirit were in outward works -of preaching and hearing and in elements of this earthly existence, in -water, bread, and wine.[159] - -On baptism we find the following: The first and most eminent work of the -sacrament of baptism is, the internal grace of inworking faith in the -love of God, which moves, glows, and lives through the outpouring of the -heavenly waters which flow from the Word of God, which is Christ. The -other point is the external word and water which is outwardly poured upon -and washes the body outwardly as the internal does the soul. - -John the Baptist says, “I baptize with water to repentance, but he who -comes after me will baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire.” Here -he distinguishes the work of the minister from the office of the Lord, -and the visible water from the Holy Spirit. - -Ambrose says, “Peter has not purified, nor Ambrose, nor Gregory, for ours -is the ministry, but thine, Lord, are the sacraments. It is not the work -of man to give divine things, thine is it, Lord, and the Father’s, who -says through the prophets [prophet,] I will pour out my Spirit upon all -flesh.” - -That the subject of the Holy Supper is especially weighty may be judged -by the agitations on account of it, and by the fact that on this account -many thousands in many lands have been killed and burnt. And this was -the article upon which the Reformers, with their gloriously begun work, -fell to pieces. Upon this article Luther renounced his friendship to -Schwenkfeld, and they publicly differed.[160] - -Schwenkfeld thought that when they came out from the papacy they should -preach the gospel in its purity, instruct old and young in the catechism, -and earnestly pray until they could come to the right use of the -sacrament.... Whereby whole parishes, towns, and countries should not at -once be taken up, as if fit for the table of the Lord. But it should be -held with those who received the word, and in whom there were tokens of -amendment, whether these were only Caleb and Joshua. Schwenkfeld declared -that he had no command to establish the sacraments, but his command had -been to spread the gospel and point every man to Jesus Christ. “But we -are comforted that we are instructed by God and from the Holy Scripture -that our soul’s salvation is necessarily placed on no outward thing, but -that one thing is needful.” (Luke x.) “But we pray the Lord Jesus Christ -that he will reveal a right use of the sacraments, and himself establish -them. We strive, moreover, to hold his supper daily with the Lord Christ, -in the spirit of faith.” (Rev. iii.[161]) But though Schwenkfeld did not -feel called upon to establish the sacraments, there is nothing in the -catechism of the society opposed to the external rites. - -The twelfth chapter of the Explanation, containing nearly eighty pages, -is devoted to Schwenkfeld’s peculiar doctrine, of which I shall content -myself with the heading of the chapter, as follows: “Of the divine -Sonship and glory of the Manhood of Jesus Christ, that the same is no -creature, but extinguished in the Transfiguration, and changed into the -Godhead.” - -To one passage in the Catechism I would like to call attention: - -_Question._—How did God reveal himself in an external manner? - -_Answer._—First, when God, by his almighty word, framed the universe, by -which he has shown how great, almighty, wise, and good he is.[162] - -And now may we not also rest our souls upon these expressions from the -constitution of the Schwenkfelder society, translated almost literally? - -In the nature of God, we first perceive love as that noble and outflowing -power which binds God and men together.... If the society build upon -this fundamental part of the divine nature, namely, love, then their only -immovable aim will be, first, the glory of God, and second, the promotion -of the common weal of every member. - - * * * * * - -The preceding article is published nearly as it appeared in the second -edition of this work, which was issued late in 1873, with the date 1874. -Almost as soon as the edition appeared, I learned that baptism had been -introduced among the Schwenkfelders at a meeting held a few months -before; and that perhaps in two cases it had also been administered at -the approach of death. - -In the spring of the present year, 1882, I visited a Schwenkfelder -settlement in the upper part of Montgomery County, and was hospitably -entertained at the house of one of their preachers. German or the -Pennsylvania dialect was the language of the family. On Sunday I attended -church, where, as before in another locality, the services were in -German, as were nearly all the proceedings in the Sunday-school. Here I -learned that the rite of the Supper has also been introduced among the -Schwenkfelders, though not without opposition. I inquired on what grounds -the opposition was brought, but received no satisfactory reply. - - * * * * * - -At the house of my entertainer I was shown a volume, published in 1879, -containing a genealogical record of the descendants of the Schwenkfelders -in this country, to which is prefixed a historical sketch by C. Heydrick, -a lawyer of Franklin, Pennsylvania. - -Herein it is stated that Schwenkfeld differed with Luther on several -points; chiefly on the eucharist, the efficacy of the divine word, the -human nature of Christ, and baptism. - -Schwenkfeld held, says the writer, that the penitent believer partakes of -the bread and the body of the Lord, not only at the sacramental altar, -but elsewhere. - -On the second point Schwenkfeld denied that the external word in the -Scriptures has the power of healing and renewing the mind, but ascribed -this power to the internal word, Christ himself. He regretted that -Luther, who at first agreed with him, saw fit afterward to ascribe to -the written or preached word the efficacy which is only in Christ, the -eternal word. - -Further, Schwenkfeld rejected infant baptism, and held that baptism and -the Supper were not intended as means by which the unregenerate partaker -can obtain salvation. - - * * * * * - -Two other volumes on these subjects have very lately come within my -notice. One in German, by a pastor named Kadelbach, published about -1860, at Lauban, which is within forty miles of the city of Liegnitz, -where Schwenkfeld was canon in a church. As early as 1846, in composing -a history of the village of Probsthayn (where some of the Schwenkfelders -formerly lived), he added to it some material concerning these people. - -As this subject attracted attention, he endeavored to obtain material -for a history of them, in which matter he met with much difficulty. -It came to pass, however, that the Schwenkfelders in America sent an -inquiry to the burgomaster of Probsthayn, asking whether there were -still Schwenkfelder communities (_Gemeinden_) there. This inquiry came, -in 1855, into the hands of Kadelbach, who was very glad to communicate -with the Schwenkfelders in America, as he had never before been able to -do. His volume is called “Complete History of Kaspar von Schwenkfeld and -of the Schwenkfelders in Silesia, Upper Lusatia, and America.”[163] A -copy has been placed in the archives of the German Society’s library in -Philadelphia. - -We may inter that the attention of the author was attracted to his -subject by certain local objects or remains. He tells us that the -Catholic chapel at Harpersdorf, and the graves on the cow-path -(_viehweg_), are the last memorials that testify of the existence there, -and of the persecution of the Schwenkfelders. The Catholic chapel was -built for one of the missionaries who was striving to convert them. As to -the graves on the cow-paths, the statement has before been quoted (in a -note on page 222), that three hundred persons lay upon the cow-paths at -Harpersdorf and Langenneudorff (or Langendorff). - -The other volume in which the Schwenkfelders are especially noticed is -Barclay’s Inner Life of the Religious Societies of the Commonwealth. -London, 1876. Barclay finds that on several points the teaching of -Schwenkfeld was identical with that of George Fox, the first Quaker. -Barclay gives a passage from Schwenkfeld, in which he says that the true -knowledge of Christ, that which is according to the Holy Ghost must be -expected, not alone out of the Scriptures, but much more from the gifts -of grace revealed by the Father, yet so that this revelation should -always be in unison with the witness of the Scriptures.[164] - -Struck with the similarity between the Schwenkfelders and Quakers, -Barclay appears to have written to the former, and to have received an -answer, from which the following passages are taken: - - To Robert Barclay, England: - - ... “Judging from the brief notices of the teachings of George - Fox in our possession, we have reason to believe that they did - not differ materially from those of Schwenkfeld, and among - the followers of both, here in America, there is a striking - similarity in the almost total absence of formalities and - ceremonies in their religious practices. Both are discarding - judicial oaths, carnal weapons, and are unostentatious in dress. - - “Notwithstanding the fact that the Friends are of English - descent, having their books, worship, and conversation in the - English language, and the followers of Schwenkfeld here all - of it in German, yet there always existed a lively sympathy, - love, and esteem between the parties.... It is, however, proper - to mention the fact that neither in Europe nor here have the - followers of Schwenkfeld at any time administered baptism and - the Lord’s Supper.[165] - - “Owing to the persecutions which prevailed from 1630 to 1640, - the religious practices of our ancestors in Germany about that - period were chiefly confined to meeting in private houses for - prayer and admonition, and in endeavors in the daily work of - life to imitate as much as possible the example of the heavenly - Master. - - “In the love of Christ, sincerely your friends, - - “GEORGE MESCHTER. - “WILLIAM SCHULTZ. - “JACOB MESCHTER. - “Per DAN. S. SHULTZ. - - “December 17th, 1875. COLEBROOKDALE, PENNA.” - - - - -A FRIEND. - - -About twenty miles from the line that divides Maryland and Pennsylvania, -there stands, in the latter State, a retired farm-house, which was -erected more than fifty years ago by Samuel Wilson, a Quaker of Quakers. - -His was a character so rare in its quaintness and its nobility, that it -might serve as a theme for a pen more practised and more skilful than the -one that now essays to portray it. - -Samuel Wilson was by nature romantic. When comparatively young, he made -a pedestrian tour to the Falls of Niagara, stopping upon his return -journey, and hiring with a farmer to recruit his exhausted funds; -and when he had passed his grand climacteric, the enthusiasm of his -friendship for the young, fair, and virtuous, still showed the poetic -side of his character. - -Veneration induced him to cherish the relics of his ancestry,—not -only the genealogical tree, which traced the Wilsons back to the time -of William Penn, and the marriage certificates of his father and -grandfather, according to the regular order of the Society of Friends; -but such more humble and familiar heirlooms as the tall eight-day clock, -and the high bookcase upon a desk and chest of drawers, that had been -his father’s, as well as the strong kitchen-chairs and extremely heavy -fire-irons of his grandfather. - -To this day there stands beside the Wilson farm-house a stone taken -from one of the buildings erected by Samuel’s father, and preserved as -an heirloom. Upon it the great-grandchildren read nearly the following -inscription: - -“James Wilson, ejus manus scripsit. [His hand wrote.] Deborah Wilson, 5 -mo. 23d, 1757.” - -Samuel Wilson, having been trained from his earliest years to that -plainness of speech in which the Discipline requires that Friends bring -up those under their care, not only discarded in speaking the simple -titles in use in common conversation, but did not himself desire to be -addressed as Mr. Wilson. - -A colored woman, the wife of one of his tenants, said that he refused to -answer her when she thus spoke to him. - -A pleasant euphemism was generally employed by these people in addressing -him. He and his wife were “Uncle Samuel” and “Aunt Anna” to their -numerous dependents. - -The apparel of Samuel and Anna was of the strict pattern of their -own religious sect. To employ a figure of speech, it was the -“wedding-garment,” without which, at that time and place, they would not -have become elders in their society, and thus been entitled to sit with -ministers, etc., upon the rising seats that faced the rest of the meeting. - -But the plainness of Uncle Samuel was not limited to the fashion of his -own garments. When Aunt Anna had made for her son a suit of domestic -cloth, dyed brown with the hulls of the black walnut, and had arrayed -him in his new clothes, of which the trousers were made roomy behind,—or, -as the humorist says, “baggy in the reverse,”—she looked upon him with -maternal pride and fondness, and exclaimed, “There’s my son!” - -For this ejaculation she was not only reproved at the time by her -husband, but in after-years, whenever he heard her, as he thought, thus -fostering in the mind of their dear and only child pride in external -appearance, he repeated the expression, “There’s my son!” which saying -conveyed a volume of reproof. - -From this and other circumstances of the kind, it may be supposed that -Friend Wilson was a cold or bitter ascetic. But he possessed a vein of -humor, and could be gently and pleasantly rallied when he seemed to run -into extremes. But, though his intellect was good, the moral sentiments -predominated in his character. His head was lofty and arched. His wants -were very few; he possessed an ample competence, and he had no ambition -to enter upon the fatiguing chase after riches. He disliked acquisitive -men as much as the latter despised him. “I want so little for myself,” he -said, “I think that I might be allowed to give something away.” - -Sometimes—but rarely—a little abruptness was seen in his behavior. He had -the manners of a gentleman by birth,—tender and true, open to melting -charity, thinking humbly of himself, and respecting others. - -The vein of humor to which I have alluded prompted the reply which he -made on a certain occasion to a mechanic or laboring man employed in his -own family. In this section of Lancaster County the farming population is -composed principally of a laborious and in some respects a humble-minded -people, who sit at table and eat with their hired people of both sexes. - -The same custom was pursued by Samuel and Anna; but, as their hired -people were mostly colored, they sometimes offended the prejudices or -tastes of many who were not accustomed to this equality of treatment, -which was maintained by several families of Friends. The white hired -man to whom I have alluded, when he perceived who were seated at the -table, hesitated or refused to sit down among them. As soon as Samuel -was conscious of the difficulty, for which indeed his mind was not -unprepared, he thus spoke aloud to his wife: “Anna, will thee set a plate -at that other table for this stranger? He does not want to sit down with -us.” And his request was quietly obeyed. The man who was thus set apart -probably became tired of this peculiar seclusion, for he did not stay -long at the Quaker homestead. - -I think that Samuel was also in a humorous mood when he called that -unpretending instrument, the accordion,—from which his daughter-in-law -was striving one evening to draw forth musical sounds,—“Mary’s fiddle.” -But, indeed, he left the house and went to call upon a neighbor, so -greatly did he partake of that prejudice which was felt by most Friends -against music. - -The Discipline asks whether Friends are punctual to their promises; and -(to quote a very different work) Fielding tells us that Squire Allworthy -was not only careful to keep his greater engagements, but remembered also -his promises to visit his friends. - -Anna Wilson on one occasion having thoughtlessly made such a promise,—as, -indeed, those in society frequently do when their friends say, “Come and -see us,”—was often reminded of it in after-years by her husband. When -he heard her lightly accepting such invitations, he would reprove her -by saying in private, “When is thee going to see Benjamin Smith?”—the -neighbor to whom the ancient promise was still unfulfilled. - -The hospitality which the Scriptures enjoin was practised to a remarkable -degree by Samuel and Anna. It has always been customary in their -religious society to entertain Friends who come from a distance to -attend meetings, and those travelling as preachers, etc. But the Wilson -homestead was a place of rest and entertainment for many more than these. -It stood not far from the great highway laid out by William Penn from -Philadelphia westward, and here called the “Old Road.” Friends travelling -westward in their own conveyance would stop and refresh themselves and -their horses at the hospitable mansion, and would further say to their -own friends, “Thee’d better stop at Samuel Wilson’s. Tell him I told thee -to stop.” A further and greater extent of hospitality I shall mention -hereafter. - -The Discipline asks whether Friends are careful to keep those under -their charge from pernicious books and from the corrupt conversation of -the world; and I have heard that Samuel Wilson was grieved when his son -began to go to the post-office and take out newspapers. Hitherto the -principal periodical that came to the house was _The Genius of Universal -Emancipation_, a little paper issued by that pioneer, Benjamin Lundy, -who was born and reared in the Society of Friends. It does not appear, -however, that the class of publications brought from the little village -post-office to the retired farm-house were of the class usually called -pernicious. They were _The Liberator_, _The Emancipator_, and others of -the same order. - -Samuel himself became interested in them, but never to the exclusion of -the “Friends’ Miscellany,” a little set of volumes containing religious -anecdotes of Friends. These volumes were by him highly prized and -frequently read. - -It has been said that he was a humorist; and perhaps he was partly -jesting when he suggested that his infant granddaughter should be named -Tabitha. The mother of the little one, on her part, suggested Helen. - -“He-len!” the grandfather broke out in reply; “does thee know who _she_ -was?” thus expressing his antipathy to the character of the notorious -beauty of Greece. He did not insist, however, on endowing the precious -newly-born infant with that peculiar name which is by interpretation -Dorcas, the name of her who, in apostolic times, was full of good works -and alms-deeds. - -Friend Wilson shared the Quaker disregard for the great holidays of the -church. To the colored people around him, who had been brought up at the -South, where Christmas is so great a festival,—where it was so great a -holiday for them especially,—it must have been a sombre change to live in -a family where the day passed nearly like other working-days. One of the -colored men, however, who had started at the time of the great festival -to _take Christmas_, was seen, before long, coming back; “for,” said he, -“Massa Wilson don’t ’prove on’t nohow.” - -Among the lesser peculiarities of Samuel Wilson was his objection to -having his picture taken,—an objection, however, which is felt to this -day by some strict people belonging to other religious societies, but -probably on somewhat different grounds. - -One who warmly loved and greatly respected Friend Wilson took him once to -the rooms of an eminent daguerreotypist, hoping that while he engaged the -venerable man in looking at the objects around the room, the artist might -be able to catch a likeness. But Samuel suspected some artifice, and no -picture was taken. Some time after, however, the perseverance of his -friend was rewarded by obtaining an excellent oil-painting of the aged -man, from whom a reluctant consent to sit for his likeness had at length -been obtained. It was remarked, however, that the expression of the face -in the painting was sorrowful, as if the honorable man was grieved at -complying with a custom which he had long stigmatized as idolatrous,—as -idolatry of the perishing body. - -Although at the time of the great division in the Society of Friends -Samuel Wilson had decidedly taken the part of Elias Hicks, yet was he -seldom or never heard to discuss those questions of dogmatic theology -which some have thought were involved in that contest. - -Samuel probably held, with many others of his Society, that the highest -and surest guide which man possesses here is that Light which has been -said to illumine every man that comes into the world; that next in -importance is a rightly inspired gospel ministry, and afterward the -Scriptures of truth. One evening, when certain mechanics in his employ -were resting from their labors in the old-fashioned kitchen, he fell -into conversation with them on matters of religion, and shocked one of -his family, as he entered the sitting-room, by a sudden declaration of -opinion. It was probably the uncommon warmth of his manner which produced -this effect, quite as much as or more than the words that he spoke, -which were nearly as follows: “There’s no use talking about it; the only -religion in the world that’s worth anything is what makes men do what is -right and leave off doing what is wrong.” - -As far as was possible for one with so much fearless independence of -thought and action, Samuel Wilson maintained the testimony of Friends -against war. Not only did he suffer his corn to be seized in the field -rather than voluntarily to pay the military taxes of the last war with -Great Britain, but he went to what may appear to some a laughable -extreme, in forbidding his young son’s going to the turnpike to see the -grand procession which was passing near their house, escorting General -Lafayette on his last visit to this country. He was not, however, alone -in this. I have heard of other decided Friends who declined to swell the -ovation to a man who was especially distinguished as a military hero. But -we shall see hereafter that Friend Wilson met with circumstances which -tried his non-resistant opinions further than they would bear. - -The distinctive trait of his character, however,—that trait which made -him exceptional,—was his attachment to the people of color. It was in -entertaining fugitives from slavery that he showed the wide hospitality -already referred to; and in this active benevolence he was excelled by -few in our country. He inherited from his father this love of man; but I -have imagined that the hostility to slavery was made broad and deep in -his soul by removing, with the rest of his family, in his youth, from -Pennsylvania into Delaware, and seeing the bondage which was suffered by -colored people in the latter State contrasted with what he had seen in -the former. Be that as it may, no sooner was he a householder than his -door was ever open to those who were escaping from the South, coming by -stealth and in darkness, having travelled in the slave States from the -house of one free negro to another, and in Pennsylvania from Quaker to -Quaker, until in later times the hostility to slavery increased in our -community so far that others became agents of this underground railroad, -and other routes were opened. - -When the Wilson family came down in the morning, they saw around them -these strange sable or yellow travellers (“strangers,” they were called -in the family), who, having arrived during the night, had been received -by some wakeful member of the household. - -What feelings filled the hearts of the exiles! Alone, at times, having -left all that they had ever loved of persons or of places, fearful, -tired, foot-sore, throwing themselves upon the charity and the honor -of a man unknown to them save by name and the direction which they had -received to him, as one trustworthy. - -Sometimes they came clothed in the undyed woollen cloth that showed so -plainly to one experienced in the matter, the region of its manufacture; -the heavy, strong cloth which had delighted the wearer’s heart when he -received the annual Christmas suit with which his master furnished him, -but which was now too peculiar and striking for him safely to wear. Women -and children came too, and sometimes in considerable numbers. - -When they had eaten and partaken of the necessary repose, they would -communicate to Friend Wilson, in a secure situation, some particulars of -their former history, especially the names and residences of the masters -from whom they had escaped. - -Some years after he had begun to entertain these strangers, Friend Wilson -commenced a written record of those who came to him, and whence and from -whom they had escaped. This list is estimated to have finally contained -between five and six hundred names. - -The next care was to bestow new titles upon the fugitives, that they -might never be known by their former names to the pursuer and the -betrayer. - -From what has been already said, it may be supposed that these names -were not always selected for their euphony or æsthetic associations. One -tall, finely-built yellow man, who trembled when he was questioned in -the sitting-room, lest his conversation about his old home and the free -wife whom he longed to have brought to him should be overheard in the -kitchen, expressed to me his dissatisfaction with his new name—Simon. -“I never knowed anybody named that,” he said. His beautiful bright -wife—bright in the _colored_ sense,—that is, bright-colored, or nearly -white,—was secretly and safely brought to him, and nursed him through -that fatal disease which made him of no value in the man-market,—the -market which had been the great horror of his life. The particulars -Friend Wilson collected concerning his humble charge the venerable man -entered in his day-book, in a place especially assigned to them. If this -record were still existing, I should, perhaps, be able to tell what name -the fortunate and unfortunate Simon had been obliged to renounce. This -record, however, is lost, as I shall mention hereafter. If the services -of any of these fugitives were needed, within-doors or without, and the -master’s pursuit was not supposed to be imminent, they were detained -for a while, or perhaps became permanent residents in the neighborhood; -otherwise, they were forwarded at night to Friends living nearer -Philadelphia. Of these, two other families willing to receive the poor -exiles lived about twelve miles farther on. - -The house and farm were generally pretty well stocked with colored -people, who were a wonder to the neighbors of the Wilson family; for -these were in a great measure “Pennsylvania Dutch,”—a people anxious to -do as much work with their own hands and by the hands of their own family -as possible, in order to avoid expense. It is a remarkable circumstance -that, although Samuel Wilson during thirty years or more entertained the -humble strangers, and although he received so large a number, only one of -them was seized upon his “plantation” and taken back to slavery. This was -owing partly to the secluded situation of his house, and partly to the -prudence and discretion that he exercised. “He was crafty,” it has been -said. - -Neither did he suffer any legal expenses, such as lawsuits, from the -slaveholders who came in pursuit of their fleeing bondmen. Two friends -who lived not far from him, and who prosecuted kidnappers, had their -barns burned, and others, of whom he had knowledge, suffered great -pecuniary loss in consequence of their assisting runaway slaves. He, -however, limited his care to receiving, entertaining, and forwarding -those who came to him in person, and never undertook any measures of -offence,—any border raids, so to speak,—such as sending secretly into -Maryland and Virginia for the relatives and friends of fugitives who were -still living in those States as slaves. The one person of whom I have -spoken, who was recaptured from the Wilson farm, was a young girl of -fifteen or sixteen. Samuel and Anna were absent from home at the time, -gone on a little journey, such as they frequently took, to attend their -own monthly and quarterly meetings; assisting to preserve the discipline -and order of the Society of Friends. The men who came in pursuit of the -young girl told her that her friends, who had run away too, had concluded -to go back South again; and the poor child, under these circumstances, -could hardly do anything but go with the beguilers; not, however, to find -the friends whom she expected. - -There was also a man who was very near being taken,—a man who had “come -away,” to use the brief euphemism sometimes employed in the Wilson family -in speaking of fugitives from slavery. He escaped by having gone down -the creek or adjacent mill-stream to set his muskrat-traps. This creek -where it ran by the house was well wooded; therefore the colored man, -looking up to the house, could see the white strangers without being seen -himself. With what trembling did he see that they were persons whom he -“knowed in Murrland,” as he expressed it! However, the friendly woods -sheltered him, while Samuel at the house was talking with the slaveholder -or his agents,—kidnappers, as the Wilsons called them. - -The men told Samuel that they had come after a runaway nigger,—black, -five feet ten inches high, lost one of his front teeth, etc. To this -description Friend Wilson listened in silence. I do not know what -he would have done had he been directly questioned by them, for the -different items suited him of the muskrats,—the man who had gone to the -woods. But during Samuel’s continued silence they went on to say, “He’s -a very ornary nigger; no dependence to be placed on him nohow.” “There -is no man here,” rejoined Samuel, greatly relieved, “that answers the -description.” “We’ve very good reason to think he came here,” said one; -“we got word very direct; reckon he’s lyin’ around here. Hain’t there -been no strange nigger here?” - -“There was a colored man here, but he has gone away; I don’t know as -he will ever come back again.” For, from the man’s protracted absence, -he doubtless had some idea of his having seen his pursuers, and having -sought shelter. - -“Tell him that his master says that if he will only come back again, down -to Baltimore County, he sha’n’t be whipped, nor sold, nor nuthin’, but -everything shall be looked over.” - -“I’ll tell him what you say,” said Samuel, “if ever I see him again; -but,” he added, regaining his accustomed independence, “I’ll tell him, -too, that if I was in his place I’d never go back to you again.” - -The men left, and under cover of the friendly night the fugitive sought a -more secure hiding place. - -There was one heroic black man in whom Samuel Wilson felt an abiding -interest. When Jimmy Franklin told the tale of his perilous escapes and -recaptures in the States of Maryland, North and South Carolina, Georgia, -and Florida,—when he showed the shot still remaining in his legs—shot -that had been fired at him as he ran, and, working through to the front, -were perceived through the skin, like warts upon his legs,—the lads of -the family looking and listening had their sympathies enkindled in such a -manner as could never entirely die out. One of them, in after-years, was -asked: - -“How does thee account for that man’s persistent love of freedom? What -traits of character did he possess that would account for his doing so -much more than others to escape from the far South?” - -“I don’t know,” was the reply, in the freedom of familiar conversation. -“What was the reason that Fulton invented his steamboat? or that Bacon -wrote his System? or that Napier invented logarithms? - -“This man was a genius,—a greater man in his way than those I spoke of. -If he had had education, and had been placed in circumstances to draw him -out, he would have been the leader in some great movement among men.” - -The narrative of James Franklin was written by a dear friend of him whom -I call Samuel Wilson, but is supposed to have been burned when the mob -destroyed Pennsylvania Hall. - -It was in relation to these fugitives that Samuel sometimes forgot for a -while his strictly peaceful principles; for there were to be found among -the men of color those who could be induced to betray to the pursuers -their fugitive brethren, giving such information as would lead to their -recapture; or, if they should escape this, to their being obliged to -abandon their resting-places and to flee again for safety. - -It was in talking of some such betrayer that Samuel Wilson said to his -colored friends, “What would you do with that man, if you had him on -Mill-Creek bridge?” (a lofty structure by which the railroad crossed the -adjacent stream,) thus hinting at a swift mode of punishment, and one -that might possibly have been a fatal one. - -Though with an unskilled pen, yet have I endeavored to describe that -quiet family among whom the fugitive-slave law of 1850 fell like a blow. -Samuel Wilson had ample opportunity to study its provisions and its -peculiarities from the newspapers of which I have before spoken, and from -the conversation which these journals called forth. - -This horrible act gave the commissioner before whom the colored man was -tried five dollars only if the man went free from the tribunal, but -ten dollars if he was sent into slavery. Hitherto, men had suffered in -assisting the fugitive _to escape_; now it was made a penal offence to -refuse to lend active assistance in apprehending him. - -Friend Wilson had read much of fines and imprisonment, having studied -the sufferings of the people called Quakers. (Even a lady of so high -a standing as she who became the wife of George Fox was not exempt -from many years’ imprisonment, nor from persecution at the hands of -her own son.) Friend Wilson was about seventy-five years old when the -fugitive-slave bill was passed. In spite of his advanced years, however, -after sorrowful reflection upon it, he said to one of his household, “I -have made up my mind to go to jail.” - -That hospitality and charity which had so long been the rule of his life -he was not now prepared to forego through fear of any penalties which -the law would inflict upon him. - -It was while suffering from the infirmities of advanced years, and from -the solicitude which this abominable enactment had called forth, that -Samuel destroyed the record which he had kept for so many years of the -slaves that had taken refuge with him. This record was contained in about -forty pages of his day-book, and these he cut out and burned. How would -they now be prized had they not thus been lost! - -Samuel Wilson saw, with the prophetic eye of faith and hope, what he -did not live to behold in the flesh,—the abolition of slavery. His -mortal remains repose beside the Quaker meeting-house where he so -long ministered as an elder. No monumental stone marks that humble -resting-place; but these simple lines of mine, that portray a character -so rare, may serve for an affectionate memorial. - - - - -COUSIN JEMIMA. - - -“Well, Phebe, I guess thee did not expect me this afternoon. Don’t get -up. I will just lay my bonnet in the bedroom myself. Dinah Paddock -told me thy quilt was in; so I came up as soon as I could. Laid out in -orange-peel! I always did like orange-peel. Dinah’s was herring-bone; and -thine is filled with wool, and plims up, and shows the works, as mother -used to say. I’ll help thee roll before I sit down. Now then. Days are -long, and we’ll try to do a stroke of work, for thee’s a branch quilter, -I’ve heard say. - -“Jethro Mitchell stopped to see me this morning. They got home from Ohio -last week, and he says that Cousin Jemima Osborne’s very bad with typhoid -fever. Poor Jemima! It had been pretty much through the family, and after -nursing the rest, she was taken down. I almost know she has no one fit to -take care of her,—only Samuel and the three boys, and maybe some hired -girl that has all the housework to do. The neighbors will be very kind, -to be sure, sitting up nights; but there’s been so much sickness in that -country lately. - -“Jemima was Uncle Brown Coffin’s daughter, thee knows, who used to live -down at Sandwich, on the Cape, when thee and I were girls. She always -came to Nantucket to Quarterly Meeting with Uncle Brown and Aunt Judith; -and folks used to say she wasn’t a bit of a coof, if she was born on the -Cape. When Samuel and she were married, they asked me and Gorham Hussey -to stand up with them. Jemima looked very pretty in her lavender silk -and round rosy cheeks. When meeting was over, she whispered to me that -there was a wasp or bee under her neck-handkerchief that had stung her -while she was saying the ceremony. But I don’t think anybody perceived -it, she was so quiet. Poor dear! I seem to see her now on a sick-bed and -a rolling pillow. - -“After my Edward died, I was so much alone that I thought I couldn’t bear -it any longer, and I must just get up and go to Ohio, as Samuel and ’Mima -had often asked me to. I stopped on the way at Mary Cooper’s at Beaver, -and Mary’s son was joking a little about Cousin Samuel’s farming, and -said he didn’t quite remember whether it was two or three fences that -they had to climb going from the house to the barn-yard. I told him that -Samuel wasn’t brought up to farming; he bought land when he moved out -West. - -“I found Jemima a good deal altered, now that she had a grown family; -but we just began where we left off,—the same friendliness and kindness. -When I was in Ohio was just when the English Friends, Jonathan and -Hannah Purley, were in the country. We met them at Marlborough Quarterly -Meeting. We were all together at William Smith’s house,—one of the -neatest of places,—everything like waxwork, with three such daughters at -home. How they worked to entertain Friends! - -“First-day a great many world’s people were at meeting on account of the -strange Friends. Meeting was very full,—nearly as many out in the yard as -in the house. Very weighty remarks were made by Jonathan and Hannah. She -spoke to my own state:—‘Leave thy widows and let thy fatherless children -trust in Me.’ The meeting was disturbed some by the young babies; but we -could hardly expect the mothers to stay away. - -“Second-day was Quarterly Meeting. Of course the English Friends, being -at William Smith’s, drew a great many others. We had forty to dinner. One -of William’s daughters stayed in the kitchen, one waited on the table, -and one sat down midway, where she could pass everything and wait on the -Friends. It was in the Eighth Month, and we had a bountiful table of all -the good things of that time of year,—vegetables and fruit too. William -was a nurseryman. - -“There was a little disturbance at breakfast, William’s son—a rather -wild young man—making the young people laugh. We had fish,—mackerel, -and little fresh fish out of the mill-dam. I sat near the middle, and -heard Friend Smith at one end say to each, ‘Will thee have some of the -mackerel, or some of these little dam-fish?’ Then young William, at -the other end, spoke low to his friends: ‘Will thee have some of the -mackerel, or some of these dam little fish?’ But most of the young women -kept pretty serious countenances. When Quarterly Meeting was over, the -English Friends went out to Indiana, visiting meetings and Friends’ -families, and I went back with Cousin Samuel’s. - -“I was dreadfully disappointed once. One evening Samuel and ’Mima and the -rest of us were sitting round the table, and Samuel put his hand into -his coat-pocket and drew out the paper and two or three letters. As he -read, I noticed that one of the letters had not been opened, and caught -sight of my name—Priscilla Gardner; so I put out my hand and took it. It -was from sister Mary,—just as James and she were starting for California. -She told me that they should stay in Pittsburg over one night, and she -hoped I should be able to meet them there and bid them a long farewell. -But when I looked again at the date of the letter, and glanced at the -paper that Samuel was reading, I found that my letter was ten days old. -The time had gone by. Oh, dear! I walked out into the kitchen and stood -by the stove, in the dark, and cried. Some one came up behind me. Of -course it was Jemima. She kissed me, and waited for me to speak. I gave -her the letter, and in about ten minutes I felt able to go back to the -sitting-room. When I sat down, Samuel said, ‘’Mima tells me, Priscilla, -that thee is very much disappointed about thy letter. I had on this coat -when I went to the post-office a week ago, and I didn’t put it on again -till to-day. I hope thee’ll excuse me. Thomas, my son, will thee bring us -some red-streaks? I feel as if I could eat a few apples.’ - -“I felt sorrowful for some time about my sister; but my mind was diverted -when we got word that the English Friends were coming to our Monthly -Meeting on their way back from Indiana; and as we lived very near the -meeting-house, of course they would be at Samuel’s. As the time came -near, Jemima and I were a good deal interested to have things nice. They -were going to be at William Smith’s again, where everything was so neat, -and I felt very anxious to make everything in-doors, at Jemima’s, as nice -as we could. - -“In the sitting-room was one empty corner, where the great rocking-chair -ought to stand. It was broken, and put away in the bedroom. I wanted -very much to have it mended; but it seemed as if we could not get it to -Salem. One time the load would be too large, another the chair would be -forgotten. At last one day it was put in the back of the covered wagon, -and fairly started. When Samuel got home it was rather late in the -evening, and I heard him say to ’Mima, ‘Only think of my forgetting thy -large chair. I was late starting from home, thee knows; and when I got to -Salem there was a good deal of talk about the war; and when I got halfway -home I remembered the big chair in the back of the wagon. It can go in -next week.’ We did send it again, but it did not get home before Monthly -Meeting. - -“Jemima had a very neat home-made carpet on the sitting-room: she had -a great taste for carpets. As there had been some yards left, she let -me cover the front entry too, and her youngest son Edward, a nice lad, -helped me put it down. A little colored girl, near by, rubbed up the -brass andirons for us, and Edward built up a pile of wood ready to kindle -the fire when it was wanted. A good many panes of glass had been broken, -and as we had just had an equinoctial storm, some old coats, and so on, -had been stuffed in at several places; but we managed to get most of the -glass put in before Monthly Meeting. - -“When we had done all we could to the house, of course we began to think -of the cooking. Jemima said, ‘I sha’n’t be able to get Mary Pearson -to come and cook: she is nursing. I wonder whether I hadn’t better -heat the oven on meeting-day. I can get the dinner in before I go; and -then between meetings I can run over and see to it. I shall hardly be -missed. I can slip in at the side-door of the meeting-house before Mary -Ann has done reading the Minutes.’—‘Then thee will heat the oven?’ said -I.—‘I reckon,’ she said; ‘but it is only a mud oven. Samuel has been -talking for a good while about having a brick oven. This one is not very -safe.’—‘Suppose I make a little sponge-cake, and put it in too,’ said I. -‘I’ll send for some sugar, if thee is willing. Polly Evans used to call -me a dabster at sponge-cake.’ - -“Jemima was willing, and we began to get ready to go to the store. Edward -and the little colored girl hunted the barn and the straw-shed, and -brought in a quantity of eggs. All could not be sent, because we needed -some at home, and some had been set on, and some had lain too long. Then -Jemima sent to the garret for brooms and rags, and spared a little butter -too for the store,—not much, to be sure, when Monthly Meeting was coming. -I thought I might as well ride over with Edward; and when we had got -coffee, and tea, and so on, and were just starting home, I caught sight -of some lemons. I bought a few, and when I got home asked Jemima if she -would not like some lemon-puddings. ‘Thy apple-pies and rice-puddings are -nice, dear,’ I said; ‘but Hannah Purley and Jonathan are such strangers, -we might go a little out of the common way.’ Jemima smiled at my being so -anxious, but agreed, as she generally did. - -“Fourth-day morning we were up very early. Jemima was going to roast -some fowls and a loin of veal. Edward and the little colored girl helped -me to beat eggs, grate lemons, and roll sugar; and everything was ready -for the oven before the Friends came in from a distance, who always -stopped before meeting to get a cup of tea. - -“We had a nice little table for them, of course,—dried beef, preserves, -and so on; and one woman Friend, a single woman, asked for a warm -flat-iron to press out her cap and handkerchief. At last we were ready -to start. Jemima had set everything into the oven, which stood out in -the yard. She put the meats back, and the cakes and puddings near the -door, where it was not so hot. ‘The door isn’t very safe,’ said she, ‘and -I propped a stick against it to keep it up. Don’t let the dog knock it -down, Susan, while we are gone.’ - -“The day was beautiful; all signs of the storm over, except the roads -a little muddy; and as we stepped over to the meeting-house Jemima -whispered, ‘I am glad I told Susan to set both tables. I think we shall -have a good many to dinner. I wanted cole-slaw, like Pennsylvania folks, -but the cows broke in last night and ate all the solid cabbage.’ She did -not talk of these things generally going into meeting; but our minds were -very full. - -“First meeting was rather long, for several Friends spoke besides the -strangers. When it broke, Jemima stepped out, and I quietly followed her. -We walked over to the house, and round into the side-yard, going toward -the oven. But just as we had got into the yard we saw the old sow. She -had broken out of the barn-yard, and had been wallowing in a pond of -brown water near the fence. Now she had knocked down Jemima’s stick, -and as the door fell I guess she smelt our good things, for she had her -fore-feet upon the oven floor. We ran and screamed, but she did not turn. -She made a jump up to the oven, over my cakes and puddings, the veal and -chickens, and carried the oven roof off with her. Oh, dear! oh, dear! -poor Jemima! I could laugh too, if it wasn’t so dreadful.” - -_Reader._—And what did they do then? - -_Writer._—The best that they could. I do wonder at Jemima, poor thing, to -undertake so much on Monthly Meeting day. - - - - -THE MINERS OF SCRANTON. - - -A few years ago I visited Hyde Park,—a mining division of the youthful -city of Scranton. Besides boarding in the family of an operative, I -talked with citizens, from miners to ministers, and took notes of these -conversations. Upon the information thus obtained the following article -is founded. - -There hangs in our house a large map of the State of Pennsylvania of -the year 1851. Scranton is not marked upon it. A little village named -Providence is, indeed, to be found, which is now an inconsiderable part -of consolidated Scranton. Nine years after the date of this map, by the -census of 1860, the population of Scranton is given at nine thousand, and -in 1870 at thirty-five thousand. This very rapid increase was caused by -the working of the immense coal-beds which underlie the narrow valley of -the Lackawanna, in which the city is situated. - -Forty-five per cent. of the population is given as foreign, or fifteen -thousand eight hundred and eighty-seven. The miners are almost all of -foreign birth, the Irish being the most numerous, next the Welsh, then -the Germans, and lastly the English and Scotch. Among the Welsh-speaking -population there are, however, natives of Monmouthshire, not now a -portion of Wales, but belonging to England. Among the miners there are -some Pennsylvania Germans. With the exception of these, there is scarcely -to be found at Scranton a native of this country working underground, -either as miner or laborer. - -Gaelic is extensively spoken by the Irish here, there being women, I -am told, newly come over, who do not speak English. The Welsh language -is more extensively employed. There are seven churches of which the -services are in that language, a Welsh newspaper, and a literary or -scientific society.[166] But as the Pennsylvania German employs many -English words in speaking “Dutch,” so does the Welshman introduce many -into his vernacular, as “all right,” “exactly,” “you know,” “twenty per -cent.,” “mortgage,” “explosion,” “universe.” In speaking English, those -from South Wales treat the letter _h_ as the English do, and speak of -Mr. ’Iggins, and of picking ’uckleberries, or say, “That’s a hodd name,” -“I have a hell kitchen to my house.” The Welshman frequently emphasizes -a statement, as, “Yes, sure,” “Yes indeed, man.” He says, “Dear to -goodness!” “I ’on’t do it, whatever,” etc., etc. - -The Welsh have been accused of bearing malice, and of being clannish, -or of “keeping together.” “I think,” says a Scotchman, “that that is -why they keep up the Welsh language.” For themselves they claim that -they were never subjugated. They are Republicans almost to a man, and -equally Protestant; lovers of liberty, stubborn and enduring, not fickle. -The Welsh churches at Scranton belong to the three following sects: -Independent or Congregational, Baptist, and Calvinistic Methodist. - -The Welshman is an experienced miner in his own rugged country. We are -informed that the coal-field of Glamorganshire, in Wales, is one of the -most important mineral districts in the world, and that in this small -district more iron is manufactured than in all the United States. The -Welsh here work more exclusively at mining than do the Irish and Germans. -The Welshman is the miner, who blasts and takes down the coal, while the -Irishman loads it upon the cars, a certain number of car-loads forming -his daily task. - -The Irish are more volatile. They do not practise much domestic economy; -their motto is more, “Come day, go day.” On a long strike they have -generally nothing laid by for the emergency. A Catholic clergyman -says, “The Irish are not fit for _bossing_; they are kept in too much -subjection at home.” But the rule is not without exceptions. I visited a -mine of which the inside foreman was an Irishman, and from Connaught too, -that wild western district. Besides having attained to this position, -he was a landed proprietor, the owner of a farm. He was more interested -in politics than my Welsh acquaintances, saying that a friend of his, a -miner, could speak as well as any politician. - - * * * * * - -The Irish are inclined to superstition. An Irishman tells me that some -years ago a man having been killed in a mine by the falling of the roof, -the story afterward got round that if persons would go on a moonlight -night to a certain spot—a back road at Scranton—the fairies might be -met there, and the lost man with them; then by throwing something, his -friends could get him back all right. Some went there in fun, and some in -earnest. - -This is like the idea in “the old country” when a child dies, that the -fairies have changed him, leaving another in his place, and that he might -by some means be recovered. “Some tell it for a fact that they used to do -so in Ireland.” - -A Scotchman tells me that if a child, a cow, or a pig suddenly begins -to decline in health, or a cow in milk, the Irish accuse some one of -“looking over it.” They say that such persons do not know when they do -it. This is doubtless “the evil-eye.” - -An Irishwoman was telling us of her son’s losing a leg, the result of an -accident when mule-driving in a mine. When she learned that the person -hurt was her “Jamesey,” “Oh!” said she, “it was to be. I dreamed it a -year ago.” She told us her dream, but it was very unlike the circumstance. - -Germans, especially Catholics, are said to retain some of the -superstitions of their native country, and to find “spooks” or spirits. A -harmless superstition, if there be any such, is mentioned of them. They -generally have gardens, and plant things “by the signs.” Beans planted in -the decline of the moon they do not think will take to the poles. - -A German foreman says, “I have sat and listened to the miners of -different nations telling of spooks and ghosts seen in the mines and -other places, but, if one questions them closely, it is a brother or an -uncle who saw it, and not the man himself.” - -The Welsh were formerly very superstitious, but they are not so now. -Says one, “We do not believe in signs or omens, or that any flesh can -see spirits.” Another tells me that the belief in hobgoblins, ghosts, -witches, fairies, and all kinds of signs and omens prevailed in Wales -in his childhood, until about thirty years ago a very eminent Baptist -minister, Robert Ellis, brought out a work called _Ofergoelion y Cymry_ -(or Superstitions of the Welsh), which attracted a great deal of -attention, and had great effect upon the minds of the people in banishing -all these ideas. - -In spite of the efforts of their clergy the Irish still keep up wakes -at funerals, watching the body of the dead. I am told that the friends -of the family do not feel like sleeping, being sorrowful. In the old -country neighbors would gather whether invited or not, and games would be -introduced to keep them awake, but this custom is not followed here. - -A Scotchman says that he thinks the Irish attend “buryings” better than -any other nationality. At Scranton they impoverish themselves by the -train of carriages hired to attend funerals. “It was a funeral of fifty -carriages;” thus they estimate the honor and glory of the occasion. But -that number was exceeded at the funeral of a poor Irishwoman at Scranton, -when there were about one hundred and forty “rigs,”—the name given here -to turnouts. - -The Welsh do not make such display. A prominent Welsh citizen, a man of -means, apparently wishing to set an example, hired only one carriage when -burying his son, and walked himself in the funeral procession. - - * * * * * - -The chief hardship of the miner is the insecurity of his life. He is -liable to accidents at any moment, either in blasting the coal, or from -the falling of the roof in the passages and chambers of the mine, or -from the explosion of fire-damp,—carburetted hydrogen gas,—an extremely -explosive substance generated in the mine. - -By an awful accident which occurred in the Avondale mine, more than one -hundred men were suffocated below. At Scranton are interred the remains -of about sixty of these sufferers. The fatal accident is supposed to have -occurred thus. Over each of the mining shafts is erected a breaker or -cracker,—an immense wooden structure,—to the top of which the loaded cars -are drawn up and then “dumped,” the coal in its gradual downward progress -being sorted, the greater part of it broken, sifted, and delivered -into the cars beneath. The mine at Avondale was ventilated by means of -a furnace or great fire, causing a draught. From this it is generally -supposed that the breaker took fire, and this in turn set to burning a -great body of coal; and as there was at the Avondale mine only one way of -egress,—that is, up the shaft,—the men perished below. - -At Scranton I saw a sad though simple ballad upon this disaster: - - “But all in vain. There was no hope - One single life to save, - For there is no second outlet - From the subterraneous cave. - No pen can write the awful fright - And horror that did prevail - Among those dying victims - In the mines of Avondale.” - -The Ventilation Act passed by the Legislature of Pennsylvania after -this great disaster forbids the working of any mine without two outlets. -In one that I visited, instead of a furnace for ventilation, there was -employed an immense fan, worked by a steam-engine, and supplying sixty -thousand feet of pure air per minute. - -Great precautions are also taken to prevent the explosion of fire-damp. -Nevertheless, accidents do still occur from this cause, and, as we have -said, from the falling of the roof, and this although one-third of the -coal is left in for support for the rock above. Some companies will not -insure the lives of miners, and when they do insure they demand a very -high rate,—about like that charged for those engaged in the manufacture -of gunpowder. - -Besides the more fearful sufferings to which the miner is liable, it is -not uncommon to see him working in water, perhaps up to his knees, and at -the same time water may be dropping upon him from above. Sometimes, on -account of powder-smoke from blasting, he must feel his way rather than -see it. Yet it is a general impression that the miner’s health is good. - -It must be accounted one of his hardships that he has not regular -employment. At the time of my visit more than half the mines were not -working at all, and the rest only on half time. - - * * * * * - -The miner’s luxuries are those of other poor men,—his pipe and glass -of ale or beer,—though I must acknowledge that the Irishman has not -dispensed with whiskey. “I do not think,” says Father ⸺, “that he -drinks more than the Welshman, but perhaps he is more frequently seen -intoxicated in public.” The Welshman, it has been said, does not drink so -much here as at home, for he has bidden his native land farewell with -the intention of making money. The use of malt liquors is very common in -this region, and beer is abundant in the hardest times. - -The Irish are fond of singing, dancing, and carousing. The saloons on -Lackawanna Avenue have two rooms, the front one for drinking, the back -for dancing and general amusement. On the contrary, dancing is generally -considered a heinous sin among the Welsh. Says a friend, “The ministers -denounce balls and dancing parties as they would manslaughter or murder.” - -The German is fond of hunting. He has a gun and dog, and on a Sunday or -other holiday, or when there is a breakdown in the mine, he goes hunting -on the mountain, and brings home partridges, rabbits, or perchance a -deer. Nor does he have to go far to find his hunting-ground. The valley -of the Lackawanna is only about two miles wide, and lies in the Moosic -Mountains, a part of the Alleghanies. The Germans are fond, too, of -fishing. Their picnics and musical festivals generally begin on Saturday -afternoon and conclude on Sunday evening. About two-thirds of the -Germans go to church on Sunday morning, and many visit the beer gardens -in the afternoon with their wives and children. They observe the church -holidays, Good-Friday and Easter-Monday. - -No Irish miners will work on St. Patrick’s Day. They generally go -to church in the morning, and immediately after service, or about -half-past nine, organize and form processions composed of their various -beneficial societies,—the Father Mathew, St. Mary’s, St. Joseph’s, -Young Men’s Beneficial, etc. They do not have a ball on St. Patrick’s -Day, considering it to be somewhat a desecration. On the parade day of -the Miners’ Union the different branches frequently have balls in the -evening, and often with a charitable object, as for the relief of a poor -woman whose husband or son has been killed in the mine. But since the -unsatisfactory termination of the great strike in 1871 the parade day of -the Miners’ Union, August 1, is not generally observed. - -Our national holiday, July 4, is kept with great zeal by the Irish. It is -an outlet for the expression of their animosity to England. In 1874 there -was a great parade of several thousand persons, about two-thirds of whom -were foreigners. - -The Welsh have only one national holiday,—St. David’s Day, March 1. -On this day, in Wales, they form processions and carry the leek, the -national emblem. I saw it growing at Scranton, very much like the onion -when standing. On this day in Wales they also have meetings for literary -pursuits and for vocal music, being a great singing nation. St. David’s -Day is still observed in some American cities, but among the people at -large the celebration has died out here. Christmas is a great day among -the Welsh, and is observed by meetings of the _Eisteddfod_, a very -ancient national gathering, which can be traced back for nine hundred -years. The word means an assembly, and is pronounced _Ice-teth-vod_, the -_dd_ being like _th_ in _thee_. - -These gatherings are literary and musical. At Hyde Park it is announced -in the Welsh paper, in the spring of the year, that the Philosophical -Society will, at the ensuing Christmas, give prizes for the best essay -or the best poem on given subjects, and the best piece of original -music for given words, also for singing and recitation. But although, -as I have stated, these meetings are generally held on Christmas, yet -sometimes a neighboring town may prefer to fix upon New Year, thus -enabling parties to attend both; and St. David’s Day is sometimes -celebrated by an eisteddfod. From the exercises of these gatherings -women are not excluded. The eisteddfods are very generally attended by -the Welsh, and are held in some large public hall, the greater part of -the performances being in the Welsh language. Some of the observances -are described to me in simple language by one who has been a miner. He -says that church choirs attend the eisteddfods, and some very difficult -piece is selected for them to sing, the prize being about sixty to eighty -dollars. Then there are singers alone, and in parties of three. “They get -their poets there; they meet on Christmas morning about ten, and adjourn -about twelve, and then give out subjects for the poets,—likely the -Lackawanna River, or some subject they had never thought of before. At -two o’clock these poets will be called upon to recite their verses,—two, -perhaps,—and a small prize is given (about a dollar), principally for -amusement. Again, they call for compositions in music on some given -subject. They must be sent in beforehand, about two weeks before the -eisteddfod, with the proper name under a seal, the judges being allowed -only to see the fictitious name. Also they read, and the best reader -gets a small prize, the piece being given out at the meeting where it is -read. Another thing causes a good deal of laughter,—they ask who will -volunteer to sing a musical composition from the notes; some half-dozen -will throw in their names (fictitious), and then one will be called -out,—perhaps ‘Greenhorn;’ the other five will retire from the room, while -he picks up the difficult piece, and begins to clear his throat and show -his embarrassment, which is a subject of amusement to the spectators; -then the second comes on, perhaps equally unskilful; and when all have -finished, the remarks of the judge upon each performance are also very -amusing, the prize being only about fifty cents. In order to avoid the -singers being previously acquainted with the piece, sometimes a person -may be sent out half an hour beforehand to compose one. The piece chosen -is generally one very difficult to sing. They hold these eisteddfods in -Wales. The Welsh bards have for centuries back been accustomed to poetry, -and so forth. In London they invited, I think, nearly all the musicians -in Europe to sing on a certain day, all nationalities, for a prize of -one thousand pounds,—a silver cup. There came a choir of singers from -Wales to compete with the best talent they had in England. The lords and -members of Parliament were there. The English selected some of their most -cultivated people, and the Welsh singers were miners and men of very -little education, and they had to go from their own country; but they won -the prize by a great distance, and then sang through different towns and -cities in England. There was money raised here in Hyde Park to support -them while they were training, and to take them up to London.” - -A minister at the Welsh Congregational Church in Hyde Park gave me some -explanation of this subject. He said that a company of musical persons -connected with the Crystal Palace offered a prize for competition for -vocal choirs, the reward being a silver cup worth one thousand pounds. -In 1872 a choir of five hundred persons from South Wales, called the -South Wales Choral Union, men, women, and children, principally miners -and their children, appeared, and took the prize without competition. The -next year, 1873, a trained band of English musicians, three hundred and -fifty in number, appeared to compete for the prize, but without success, -for the Welsh won it again. The English were from London, and were called -the Tonic Sol Fa Association. - -I heard nothing at Scranton, however, of the harp, once thought -indispensable to the bards, two men on the street at Hyde Park, with -pipe and bagpipe, being the only peculiar instrumental performers that I -remember. - -It might be supposed that so dangerous a pursuit as mining, with the -horror of beholding accidents sometimes mortal, the uncertainty of -obtaining regular employment, and, more than any of these, the working -so far from the excellent light of the sun, would repress the buoyant -spirits of the Irishman; but, says my Connaught acquaintance, “Working in -the mines does not dull an Irishman’s spirits,—not a bit of it.” - -A German also says that he does not think that working in the mines makes -the Irish and others less fond of jokes, for they get together more. The -mine is cool in summer and warm in winter, and if there is a lull, from -want of cars or other cause, the men will squat down, miner fashion, and -tell stories and crack jokes. - -On a like occasion the little blackened slate-pickers swarm out of the -cracker, like children let loose from school or like bees from the hive, -and play at boyish games. Sometimes they get hold of an empty truck car, -and ride down grade full speed, having the labor afterward of getting the -car up again. When a loaded car is coming up the shaft, they can hear the -warning whistle of the steam-engine, for soon the coal will be running -down the chutes, and their labors recommence. - -When the circus comes to town there is danger of a stampede among the -boys who drive mules and perform like labors. They will come to the -mine in the morning and gather together, and unless the “boss” is on -the watch, they may be off in a body, and all work be at an end for the -day, as the men cannot get on without them. On the contrary, if they are -separated and started at their work, they will stay. But even the little -fellows lately spoken of, “the boys in the cracker,” who pick the slaty -refuse from the coal, have been known thus to stop mining operations. - -The Welsh are not a humorous and jocose people like the Irish, though I -am told that they are inclined to mirth when speaking together in their -own language. A faint smile was caused at the Congregational church by a -remark of the preacher. Translated, it amounts to this: “Some men drink a -quantity of beer, which does not affect the brain, as they have so little -brains;” and the application seems to have been that in a like manner the -trials and vicissitudes of life affect some men little, as they have but -little sensibility. - -I am told that among the works of the Welsh poets are many epigrammatic -stanzas. Of one of these, an epitaph, I received the following prose -version: “In this life she told all the untruth that she could. Be -careful not to wake her: if you do, she will say that she has been to -heaven.” - -The late hours which have been kept by our “Pennsylvania Dutch” when -_Fanny has a beau once_ do not prevail among the Welsh at Scranton. -A gentleman who leads a large church choir, of which all the men are -miners, and not half of these church members, tells me that the young men -wait upon the young women home before nine, chat a while on the front -porch or steps, and generally leave at ten. - -A physician says that most of the courtship of the Welsh is begun, and -often finished, while walking the streets after church. “This street -is thronged,” says he, “on Sunday nights in summer. At first the young -men walk behind, but after a while one step is quickened or the other -slackened, or both, and they come together, and form lively parties, -until ten or after. Courtships are brief, and the marriages early and -happy.” - -I asked a Welsh acquaintance whether his son married young. “No, he -didn’t marry young; he was twenty-three.” Says another, “Young women -among the Welsh miners marry from eighteen to twenty-two. At the latter -age they are joked about being old maids.” - - * * * * * - -Miners’ wives generally hold the purse. As soon as he gets his pay and -his fill of beer, the miner hands his wages to his wife, who acts as -treasurer with much discretion, making all the purchases of the house -and transacting the business of the family. A miner’s wife said to me, -“My husband is a good workman. He never lost any time by drinking or -anything like that. I nearly supported the family by my own sewing and -by taking boarders. Ever since I have been married I tried to keep our -own table, and could generally do it unless I was sick. I ’most always -had a good deal of my own way, but I always consulted him. He always -gave me his wages. I think when a man gives his wife his wages she feels -more interest. I’d kick up a big fuss if he did not give me his wages. -Whenever he was going away, I’d remind him, ‘Charley, haven’t you got any -money in your pocket?’ He knew where the money was, you know? We always -had one purse. My purse was his, and his was mine. We have always lived -in good unity together. - -“This is not always the way with miners. We have a neighbor who must -always go to the office on pay-day to get her husband’s money. He’ll go -and take the pay, and hand it over to her. She says he always gives it to -her. If she did not go and get it, he’d go to the saloon and spend it. It -looks to me as if a man was so weak-minded, to do the like of that!” - -The Welsh boys, too, hand their wages over to their mother. Germans, on -the contrary, do not give their pay to the feminine head of the family; -and, alas! a physician says that Germans are the best pay. - -The Welsh woman is ambitious for her husband’s shoes to shine, and on -every Saturday evening she blacks the shoes of the family (all set in a -row), until the girls are old enough to relieve her. Another corrects -this statement, saying that by the old Welsh rule Monday is the day for -cleaning and putting away the Sunday’s shoes. - -Mrs. ⸺ says that she sets a tub of warm water for her son when he comes -home from picking slate at the mine, and gives him soap and a woollen -cloth, that he may “wash all over.” To bathe in this manner is almost a -universal rule with the men on leaving the mine, and a physician says -that he considers the daily bath beneficial to their health. Says an -acquaintance, “Many think, ‘I would not have miners to sleep in my beds, -they look so black and dirty.’ But there is scarcely one in five hundred -that does not wash all over when he comes home from his work; the general -rule is, before he eats his supper. He washes his head, and puts on his -clean clothes, and looks more like a clerk in a store than a miner.” - -When first I attended a Welsh church at Scranton, I was surprised at the -nice appearance of the congregation, and I afterward inquired whether -there were any miners there. But on my late visit I learned an almost -invariable means of discovering who have worked in the coal mines. On -the back of my host’s hands were many blue spots, looking like faint -tattooing. These were marks where he had been cut by the coal. Miners -frequently have one or more of these blue scars upon the face. The -coal-dust doubtless remains in the wounded place, like Indian ink in -tattooing; and by these marks you can perceive that men have been miners, -though their occupation now be quite different. - -The Welsh have three suits of clothes, one for work, one for evening, and -another for Sunday. Their children look very neat when going to church or -Sunday-school. The Irish mother, too, loves to see her children look fine -on these occasions, but she does not show so much taste. Both are much -attached to their churches and Sunday-schools. The Germans are not so -devotional. - -The education of miners’ sons is often much neglected. The law does -not permit them to enter the public schools before the age of six; and -although the Ventilation Act prevents children from working within -the mines under twelve, yet no such prohibition exists as regards the -breaker, or “cracker,” above the mine. A superintendent says, “I have had -them to come at six, and their mothers with them, to get them taken on.” - -Most of the recent Welsh emigrants, and those who are still poor and have -large families, send their boys to work at the mine. But very few that -have been in this country ten years are so poor as to be obliged to send -them at an early age. We except those of dissipated habits, who spend -their money in the saloons. - -A German tells me that the children of German miners are generally -sent to school, but so great is the demand for boys to pick slate in -the breaker, that they generally go there at about eight or ten. Boys’ -wages in the breaker begin at thirty-five cents per day, and go up to -seventy-five or eighty-five. A mule-driver gets from seventy-five cents -to a dollar. Even the little boys in the breakers are proud to receive -their month’s wages, not to spend themselves, but to take home. - -A friend says that as soon as the boy earns fifty cents at the mine, his -sole ambition is to earn seventy-five, and then to be a driver. From -driving one mule his desire is to drive a team, then to become a laborer, -and then a full miner. To be a “boss,” or superintendent, is a distant -object of ambition, like being President— - - “Alps on Alps arise.” - -Almost every one has to work for some time as a laborer, loading coal, -before he becomes a full miner. The sons of miners generally follow in -their fathers’ footsteps; but those who have been here many years often -look higher for their boys, and give them trades. I met a lawyer, an -intelligent young man, whose father is a miner. - -For the benefit of the boys in the mines here, the Catholic Church -has organized night schools, open during the six colder months of the -year. The boys, if able, pay from twenty-five to fifty cents a month. -A Catholic clergyman estimates that over two-thirds of the boys attend -these schools. As a general thing, the use of the public school buildings -has been granted them, but the rooms are often overcrowded. Though -principally organized by the Catholic Church, none are refused on account -of their belief. But after working all day, the boy cannot bring so much -animation to the night-school as if he were not fatigued. The girls have -better opportunities, but they are often put out to domestic service at -twelve or fourteen. - - * * * * * - -The fare of the miner is from necessity simple, not luxurious. He -breakfasts at about five or six o’clock on bread, butter, and tea. In -a little tin can he carries his dinner of bread and cheese, perhaps -with the addition of a bit of pie or cake, and in a tin bottle cold -tea without milk. Even this simple luxury is sometimes discarded, and -water taken in its place. The miner proper finishes his work about four -o’clock, and finds his best meal at home, often a “good cooked meal” of -meat, potatoes, etc. We may call this dinner, and the former meal lunch. -A miner tells me, however, that he has often brought his food uneaten -out of the mine from want of time; for he must have his car loaded when -the driver comes for it, or lose one of the seven car-loads which form -his daily work. - -It is the Welshman who eats bread and cheese. His companion or laborer -is generally Irish. He is detained longer in the mine, and wants meat -for his noonday meal. Late in the fall, if the Irishman has not a pig, -he generally buys from the country farmer a part of a beef, which he -salts. Fresh meat from the stalls is too dear for him. When his beef runs -out, he buys mess pork from the store; but I fear that he is not always -able to take his bit of meat to the mine. Rather than cheese, he will -take a couple of boiled eggs, for he is very fond of what he calls “a -fresh egg.” He carries milk in preference to tea, and he loves to own a -cow. Cows are often seen pasturing upon the commons or the unfenced land -belonging to the companies, the surface of which is not yet sold for -building-lots. The Irishman is very fond of keeping geese and ducks. When -he has a lot, he raises potatoes and cabbage, for here, or at home, he -dearly loves cabbage with his boiled bacon. - -The German takes for his lunch bread and butter, and perhaps a “chunk -of sausage,” and piece of pie or cake. His tin bottle holds coffee. The -miner’s dinner-kettle and bottle are slung on a rope over one shoulder, -and on entering the passages of the mine are hung on one of the props -that support the roof. The men often play jokes on each other by stealing -pie or cake. Of course, the German makes sauer-kraut. He keeps pigs, and -sometimes buys a quarter of beef, which he smokes. - -Great simplicity in food seems to exist among the mining people in -Wales, where it is said that they never think of eating butter and cheese -at once; they would think it sinful. Mr. E⸺, of Scranton, says that he -offered cold meat to an old Welsh lady who was visiting him, and she -thanked him, but she had bread and butter. And Mr. J⸺, of Welsh birth, a -miner from fourteen years to forty-six, tells me that if the streets were -lined with meat, he could not eat it oftener than once a day, though he -admits that he sometimes takes an egg or two for breakfast. - -The Welsh miners who come to this country almost invariably bring one or -two feather-beds. The German who can afford it sleeps in cold weather on -one feather-bed and under another; if he cannot, he sleeps on straw and -under feathers. - -At his work the miner generally wears a woollen shirt, pantaloons of -bed-ticking or stout linen, and heavy boots. I have seen the sole studded -with iron lest the coal should cut the leather. - -As to the number of miners who own their houses, I have heard various -estimates for Scranton, as from one-third upward, the highest estimate -being in one district seven out of ten of the married. - -The German’s house is a good one, painted or whitewashed. Germans -cultivate flowers and vegetable gardens, principally worked by the women, -who carry produce in baskets for sale. The Welshman, too, when he has a -home, has a comfortable one, looking quite pretty with its surroundings. -But though the Irish often own their homes, these are of a ruder kind. - - * * * * * - -Has the miner aspirations? This question has been put, and I have been -tempted to reply by another, Is he a man? Mr. L⸺, of Scranton, came to -this country when about twenty. He worked a few months at Carbondale, in -this Lackawanna region, and afterward in Ohio, mining bituminous coal -by the bushel,—one hundred and twenty bushels a day, at two cents each. -Here he laid by one hundred and thirty dollars, which he sent to Wales to -bring his parents over. “I was,” said he, “the only son they ever ’ad.” -At twenty-five he married, and soon after took a contract in a mine in -Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania. Here the failure of his employer threw -him into debt, from which he was not clear until about thirty. He took -contracts on coal slopes, working always as a miner himself, but hiring -hands to help him. For twenty years he was a foreman, a foreman’s salary -averaging twelve hundred dollars. He also went to California, and mined -gold to profit. He bought, too, a farm in Pennsylvania for three thousand -five hundred dollars, and tried farming himself for two years, but found -it harder work than mining. - -“Some eight of us,” he says, “all miners, bought some years ago about -five and a half acres of ground here for eight thousand and fifty -dollars. We sold it out in building-lots, in about two months, for nearly -the cost, and retained the mineral, which we value at twenty thousand -dollars.” By mineral is meant, of course, the coal, of which several -valuable veins underlie Scranton at the point alluded to. - -Mr. L⸺ continues: “Another company of us, all miners and all poor men -originally, have bought a tract of four thousand acres of coal lands near -the centre of Alabama. I have been down twice to see it.” He has now -retired from active business, and lives in a neat house surrounded by a -large garden, which he cultivates with pleasure and profit. - -Another instance of success in a more intellectual field is Mr. ⸺, editor -of a Welsh paper. When he was eight years old his mother was left a -widow, with nine children, from three years of age to sixteen, and with -nothing but a few household goods. By putting her children to work early -at the mines she kept her family together. She herself spoke nothing -but Welsh. Mr. ⸺ was a precocious laborer, if I may use the expression, -he being well grown, and becoming a driver at ten years, and a miner -at sixteen. He never had but thirty-two days’ schooling; but having -great delight in books, he got a Daboll’s Arithmetic, and went through -it twice, and found some one to set him copies for writing, making use -afterward of copper-plates. One great advantage which he had was the -leisure which the miner often enjoys. He says, “When I was working at -Carbondale two years, I could generally get my day’s work done by noon. -When a miner, I wrote essays three times for the eisteddfod, and two of -them drew prizes. These were each twenty-five dollars; but the pecuniary -reward was not what we aimed at,—it was the honor. I gave up mining in -1869, and have been connected with a newspaper ever since.” - -The miner occasionally attains to great wealth. Such, at least, was the -case of Richard Care, of Minersville, of whom I hear that he came to this -country a poor man, and died worth a million and a half. - - * * * * * - -But all these cases are exceptional. The chief ambition of the miners -in general is plenty of work and good wages. “They’re death on the -wages,” says one, “as the last suspension showed.” As to their desiring -to improve their condition, a German tells me that there is always such -a desire among his people. “I can take you up,” says he, “to Elmira, -New York, and show you, I guess, a whole township of farmers who have -been miners. The Germans who work here are very rarely from the mining -districts of Germany, but from the agricultural. The German will take his -boys into the mine to lay up a little capital, and having done this, he -will buy a farm, or go into merchandise, or open a saloon.” - -What provision has the miner for times when he is out of work? - -I might answer after the manner of another,—credit, credit, credit. The -miner is paid monthly, but by the smaller companies not always so often. -Could he once tide over the first month, and enter upon the cash system, -he might be pecuniarily benefited by the change, but he seems wedded to -the credit system. Should any trader advertise that he would sell goods -for cash twenty per cent. lower, I am told that the other store-keepers -would throw their influence against him, and also that several cash -stores have been tried in Scranton that did not succeed in the long-run. -One of the main provisions against misfortune is the Beneficial Society. -The miners do not, however, often join the Freemasons. Many of the Welsh -belong to the following societies: Odd-Fellows, Foresters (a secret -society of foreign origin), Ivorites (named for Ivor Hael, the Welsh -founder), Red Men, and the “Philanthropic Institution.” There are other -societies, Irish and German. As for the miner who does not belong to any -of these, and who has no other means, if he meets with a serious accident -or a protracted illness, he must go to the poor-house; but if I may -credit good authority, he very rarely goes there. - -Father ⸺ says, “We need hardly use the word poor-house here, for I -never knew a miner to get there. The Irish have a horror of it; but -occasionally some aged, dependent person goes. The law here forbids -out-door support for the poor.” A young lawyer says, “No Welsh miner ever -goes to the poor-house. He has a son or daughter, a brother or sister, a -nephew or niece, who will not intrust him to the cold charities of the -public. If his wife is industrious, she and the children can take care -of him.” Mr. L⸺ says, “Very seldom does a miner get to the poor-house, -unless he be a drunkard; for if he be sober, his fellow-workmen in the -mine, in case of accident or long sickness, make a collection for him.” -And Dr. H⸺ says, “A kinder set of men never walked the earth. When one -of them meets with an accident in the mine, the men put in their hands -and raise a little purse for him. They will divide their last dollar with -a wounded comrade. The Irish extend their care to the widow of their -unfortunate companion, whom they frequently set up in a little saloon, -where she vends candy, pea-nuts, and various drinks.” Since, however, the -beneficial societies have become popular, there is not so much need of -resorting to succor by subscription. - -When urged to insure his life, the reply of the Irishman almost -invariably is, “What do I want to insure my life for my wife for? When I -am dead, I don’t want another man to spend my money.” - -In these dull times, when so many were out of work, I frequently saw -quoit-pitching, which seemed to be a favorite amusement; some leap and -some play marbles with the boys; but neither men nor boys spend their -time in play. Some work for farmers, some pick berries, some “fuss about -their gardens,” or one, perhaps, has a sickly wife, and will stay at home -and help. A young Cornish man whom I met was going to haul stone to build -an addition to his house. I visited a young Scotchman, a foreman, who was -employing himself in another manner. In the middle of his sitting-room -stood a surveyor’s compass upon its high tripod, and upon the table -lay a book,—_A Conversation on Mines_, by William Hopton: Manchester -and London. I said to him that he was differently situated from other -miners, because he was interested in books, and could study in an idle -time like the present. He replied that it was the fault of the others if -they did not want to read and study; he had never heard of any one in any -profession who could say that he had become perfect, and in his own case -the more he learned, the more he found that there was to learn. - - * * * * * - -Among the Welsh, however, I learn that there is considerable culture -besides that of which I have already spoken. In the Welsh Baptist church -at Hyde Park a society meets once a week for reading and debating. They -read the Bible and discuss its history and geography, for six months -reading the Old Testament, and for six the New. In reading the Book of -Samuel, the question arose, “Did the witch of Endor raise Samuel from -the dead?” After some discussion the debate was found to take up too much -time, and it was referred to disputants, two upon each side. The question -brought up spiritualism, in which very few of the Welsh believe, but they -love to discuss subjects of general interest. After an evening’s debate, -the chairman put the question, and it was decided that Samuel was not -raised. With this decision the preacher does not agree. - -About six years ago the same society argued the question whether the -world was created in six days, and decided that the days were not periods -of twenty-four hours. After the decision, they had a lecture upon geology -from a former preacher, in which he took the same view. - -The Welsh, without sectarian distinction, support the Philosophical -Society at Hyde Park, its proceedings being in the Welsh language, -and its meetings held every Saturday for eight months in the year. By -voluntary contribution they are establishing a free library. Some of the -Welsh miners also have considerable private libraries, of three hundred -volumes and over. - -The miners in this region are generally peaceable. Order is preserved -in the mines by very strict rules. If one man strikes another, he is -immediately discharged. If one insults another, the latter is to complain -to the foreman, who acts as justice of the peace, and reports difficult -cases to the general superintendent. Properly speaking, however, there -are two foremen to a mine, one above and one below. On an average, there -are about one hundred and fifty hands employed at each mine. - -Even in idle times there is very little disorderly conduct. “The men,” -says R⸺, “will sometimes get tight, two or three of them, but as for -getting up big rows, there is nothing of it. In the time of the great -suspension there were threats of burning some buildings belonging to the -Lackawanna Coal and Iron Company, and I went to guard one of them; but we -never saw anybody.” - -To this general good order, however, there seems to be a notable -exception. One evening my landlady sent her son to escort me with a -lantern, the lamps along a principal street being “smashed.” They had -been broken, it appeared, for some time. I asked the boy why there was -not a reward offered for the discovery of the persons who had done it. -“Oh,” said he, “the Molly Maguires will kill men!” - -The Molly Maguires are the “Ancient Order of Hibernians,” of whose doings -in the coal regions dreadful stories have been told. Although when I was -at Scranton it was said that the priests had broken up the society, yet -I saw, one Sunday, members of the “ancient order” in handsome green and -white or silver regalia, who seemed prepared to take part, with many -other persons, in laying the corner-stone of a church near Scranton. -Hence I inferred that the clergy had not broken up the society, but -might have obliged them to give up their pledge of secrecy. After I left -Scranton, however, a man was killed in that region, of whose murder I -understand that the Molly Maguires were suspected. But so great at one -time was the fear of the people at large of the Mollies, that two hundred -or more revolvers were sold in one day. - -There remains to be considered a subject of more general public interest -than perhaps any other in which the miner is concerned, namely, strikes. -“Suspension” is the genteel name among the men. In 1870 a great strike -occurred here, which finally involved not only the whole of the -anthracite, but a part of the bituminous region of Pennsylvania, which -lasted near six months, bringing coal to an immense price in the market, -and seriously embarrassing business, and which deserves the name of the -great suspension. To make the matter perfectly clear, it is worth while -to revert to the opening of our civil war in the year 1861. - -The standard price paid to the miner in July, 1874, was ninety-three -cents per car-load. At this rate he could make about three dollars and -fifty cents per day for himself, and pay his assistant or laborer about -two dollars and thirty-five cents. But before the breaking out of the -rebellion the price of mining was as low as forty-five cents per car, or -less than half the price in 1874. - -During the war so great was the demand for iron, and consequently for -coal, that prices had risen by 1864 to one dollar and sixty-eight cents -per car, not very far from double the present price, but payable, as it -will be remembered, in greatly depreciated paper money. In spite of this -fact, this was the miners’ flush time. I have been told that many were -earning from one hundred and fifty to five hundred dollars a month, and -that some of these bought homes, and afterward increased their landed -property. - -The manner in which this great advance in wages was obtained is -especially worthy of note. The Miners’ Union, or Working-Men’s Beneficial -Association,—the W. B. A.,—began here, during the war, among the -employés of the three great mining companies, the Delaware, Lackawanna -and Western Railroad Company; the Delaware and Hudson Canal Company; and -the Pennsylvania Coal Company. At the time the W. B. A. was organized, -coal was rising in price, but the companies were not raising the men’s -wages. The miners felt themselves entitled to a share, the tenth or -twelfth part of the advanced price, but they did not receive it until -they called a convention. This, as I understand, was thus organized: The -hands in each mine formed a branch of the W. B. A., and each branch was -entitled to send two delegates to local conventions, and these in their -turn appointed delegates to a general convention when one was held. - -In order to obtain an advance in wages, the men appointed at their -conventions committees to wait upon the general agent of each company, -and to make the same demand upon the same day, and it was always granted, -until the price had risen, as I have already stated, in 1864, to one -dollar and sixty-eight cents, its greatest height. In September of that -year, when the war was drawing to a close, and the price of coal had -begun to decline, the wages of the miners were reduced eight and a half -per cent., without causing any disturbance. By July of 1865 gradual -reductions had brought wages down from one dollar and sixty-eight cents -per car-load to one dollar and nine cents. On this decline there was a -strike among the miners in the Scranton and Wilkesbarre region. - -In the preceding May a convention had been called at Scranton to take -action on the fall in wages. Many were opposed to striking. But in July -another convention was called, and on the 15th the hands of the three -great companies struck, from Wilkesbarre to Carbondale, and “stayed out” -eleven weeks. The companies did not raise their wages before they resumed -work, but they began again with the understanding that their pay would be -raised, and an advance of five cents per car-load was made in a few days, -bringing the price up to one dollar and fourteen cents. - -After this the men were quiet for over three years, but as wages -declined, by January, 1869, great discontent was felt among the miners. -There was no outbreak, however, until April, when the men of the two -greatest mining companies suspended. These companies, the Delaware, -Lackawanna and Western; and the Delaware and Hudson, when in full -operation, sent at that time one hundred and eighteen thousand tons -of coal weekly to market. The withdrawal of a mass like this must, of -course, influence the price, and the Pennsylvania Coal Company (the third -in size here, and employing about one-sixth of the hands) profited by -the withdrawal of the other companies, and, figuratively speaking, made -hay while the sun shone. The Miners’ Union could not have been strong -then, or the men of this company would not have worked while the others -were out. It has been remarked that while prices continued to rise, the -miners were delighted with the Union, but when wages began to fall, their -interest in it fell too. However this may have been, the Pennsylvania -Coal Company, in the strike of 1869, continued to work, and raised the -men’s wages about once a month, until they amounted to one dollar and -thirty-one cents the car-load. - -The two other companies probably tired, if corporations can be said to -tire, of seeing the Pennsylvania Coal Company carrying on business thus, -and it seems that hints were conveyed to the outstanding men by agents -of their employers that they had made no organized application to the -companies, informing them of their wishes. At length committees from the -men called upon the agents of the companies, and offered to go to work -at the rate at which the other men were working. To these the agents -answered, “We are always ready to pay what our neighbors are paying;” and -the men went to work at one dollar and thirty-one cents. This was not a -long-protracted strike, and the men were successful in obtaining nearly -all which they demanded. - -These good prices continued for over a year, partly it seems, for a -reason to me unexplained, and in part because the price at which the -men went to work, although a high one, was actually not so high as the -companies could then afford to pay, so greatly was the stock of coal -reduced and the market-price raised. - -Wages continued then at one dollar and thirty-one cents, when, in -November, 1870, the three companies united in notifying the men that in -one month there would be a reduction to eighty-six cents. This decline -was an immense one, over thirty per cent., and the news came upon the -miners like a thunderbolt. It would have been much better policy for the -employers to reduce the price gradually as coal declined in market. - -This state of things may indicate that there is not much sympathy between -the miners and the corporations, and I am told that the men feel bitter -toward their employers from their showing so little respect for their -manhood as not to be willing to consult with them. These are tender -points with some in the Scranton region. You will find the foremen not -very anxious to talk about them, but you will be able to obtain the -admission from some here that the men feel their interest to be at -variance with their employers’. - -When the end of the month of notification arrived, the men declined to -take the sum offered, and suspended. They claimed that the matter of -wages should be determined by a sliding-scale, adjusted to the price of -coal in the market, and this they called a basis. They also desired to -have an agent to examine the books of the companies, and to see what -their profits really were. The first demand is so reasonable that we -can scarcely see why it should be refused, and it is granted in the -Schuylkill County region. - -This sliding-scale, or the basis, became a rallying-cry during the long -and trying conflict which followed. And they stuck to this until they -were starved out. - -On their side, the companies thought that strikes were coming too often -(the interval having been about sixteen or eighteen months); and now, as -we have said, the three companies were united. - -The miners, however, had not all been in favor of suspending work. Some -of the leading Welshmen would have preferred to compromise by offering to -go on at a reduction less than that demanded by the companies, but these -were overborne by others, who were very violent in the meetings of the W. -B. A., crying out, “Strike! strike!” until, I was told, it was as much -as a man’s life was worth to oppose them. So the pacific or conservative -Welshmen were outvoted by the more reckless of their own nation and -the rest. But once engaged, the Welsh were the most determined, being -unwilling to yield until they had effected something. Says one, “I -believe they would have held out to this day;” and another, “I believe -they would have emigrated: they had strong talk of going out West in -squads.” As it happened, if we may call it chance, the only blood shed in -the struggle was that of two Welshmen. - -The Miners’ Union did not anticipate that the companies would hold out as -long as they did; but they seem to have been firmly banded, like the men, -and they had the power of capital on their side. “It was like a big war,” -says an acquaintance,—“a six months’ war.” - -It seems to the writer that in this contest, however, the men were -struggling against fate; for as paper money advanced in value and -approached to gold, so, as a general rule, must the price of everything -decline that was paid for in that paper money, including wages, the price -of labor. - -The men were not literally starved out, it seems; for one interested -says, “I heard of no miners that were suffering for provisions, though -some of them were pretty hard up. The store-keepers took the miners’ -side, because it was their interest to do so. The bigger pay the miner -got, the more he had to spend in the stores.” - -Of course the time must have come when the tradesmen could no longer give -credit, and we readily infer that that point must have been nearly or -entirely reached when the men had been out near six months. - -During this period families were, of course, much restricted. They -could probably get along with no new clothing, or but little; and the -store-keepers trusted them for flour, tea, sugar, tobacco, and the -other little _necessaries_ of life. Such, too, as had lots, could raise -potatoes, cabbage, etc., but some of them became deeply involved in debt. - -However, the times had been so good that probably at least half the men -had means to support themselves for a little time, and they grasped at -any work they could find anywhere. As the strike began in December, -however, the amount of work must have been small. Had not the other -anthracite regions become involved, their comrades might have sent them -funds, or given them a share of work; but this was impossible. The funds -of the Miners’ Union, the W. B. A., were very small. They were unable to -support the men in such a time. Nor were they supported by the public. -Says a friend, “Not one miner in this region went to the poor-house, -nor do I believe that one applied to the commissioners of the poor for -out-door assistance. They would not have thought of such a thing, for -they believed that the sympathies of the commissioners were with their -employers.” - -About once a month a committee would call upon Mr. ⸺, the agent of the ⸺ -Company (and doubtless upon the agents of the others also) and inquire -whether the company would grant them a basis on the former prices, but -they effected nothing. - -The Irishmen were poorer, and they were sooner ready to yield. At length -a gentleman of Scranton induced thirty men to “break away from the -Union,” and to go to work in a mine belonging to a company smaller than -the three mentioned. These men were almost entirely Irish. They went -to work daily about seven in the morning, returning about five in the -evening, carrying arms, and were accompanied by soldiers, and led by -their employer. - -When the news spread among the miners that a body of men had gone to work -in a certain spot, the miners would gather upon the way to see who these -were, and the on-looking crowd was swelled by boys, and perhaps by women. -As the men who had yielded made their appearance, the cry arose among the -spectators, “Here come the blacklegs!”—_i.e._, the turncoats or traitors. -One evening as these men were thus returning along the street in Hyde -Park, it is said that a boy on the street threw a stone. One of the men -attacked turned round, and, discharging his musket, shot two men through -the body with the same ball, and killed them instantly. - -At least one of these men was a miner, and was or had been a Methodist -local preacher; the other was going to get medicine for a sick child. -Both were Welshmen. There was immediately an immense excitement. While -the man who fired the shot was being taken to the magistrates, some one -cried out, “Kill him!” but others waved them back, saying, “Let the law -do him justice.” - -The magistrate, a Welshman, committed him to jail at Wilkesbarre, -whence he was bailed out, and when brought to trial was defended by the -companies, was acquitted, and lives peaceably in the neighborhood now. I -tell the tale as it was told to me. - -So the men gave in. This bloody scene and the ensuing funerals probably -broke the doughty spirit of the Welshmen. They gave in and went to work -in the latter part of May, not entirely six months from the outbreak -of the contest. They began at eighty-six cents, the price which the -companies had fixed; but on the 1st of June their pay was raised to -ninety-three cents. - -Can strikes be prevented? In speaking to a miner about the great -suspension, I asked whether it would not be better for the company and -the men to meet and settle these matters. - -“It could not be done,” he answered. The miners do not seem to have any -desire to buy into the stock of the companies. Is it for fear that, as a -miner’s wife said, “the big fishes would eat the little fishes up?” - -But if the miner does not thus co-operate with his employers, or in -the manner that the poorest sailor on a whaling vessel once did with -the owners, the principle of joint-stock is not unknown to them. An -intelligent man, once a miner, tells me that all working men are now -aspiring to form co-operative associations for the purpose of carrying on -mining and iron-works themselves. There are iron-mills on this system, he -said, at Danville, and a number of furnaces and rolling-mills in Ohio. -These are on the same plan as the renowned works at Rochdale, England, -that have been in successful operation for many years. - -There is, too, a co-operative store at Hyde Park, Scranton. This store -has been in operation for several years, and pays stockholders from -twelve to fifteen per cent. on stock and purchase. The majority of the -stockholders are Welsh, and nearly all are miners. - - - - -IRISH FARMERS. - - -In 1881 I spent four weeks in Ireland, principally in the south, in the -county Cork. Desiring to learn the condition of the farmer who himself -follows the plough, I inquired among various classes of people. I boarded -four days with a farmer, and about as long at a castle; down in the -southwest I talked with a citizen who had been boycotted; travelling -third-class on railways, I conversed with other passengers; in Dublin -with fellow-boarders; in London with a prominent Irish politician. Of -these interviews I took notes, so that I am not obliged to depend alone -on memory for my simple story. I try to give conversations, but must -allow the reader to draw inferences. - -For many years I have known farmers living in comfort and accumulating -property by the labor of their own hands upon their own soil. Such are -Quaker farmers in Chester County and “Pennsylvania Dutch” in Lancaster. -In Ireland I wished to visit a similar class. But I found no one who owns -the land he ploughs, or ploughs that which he owns. - -I was assured in Philadelphia by persons knowing Ireland that I could not -find the house of a working farmer in which I would be willing to live. -This discouraged me, but by means of introductions from two or three -young women hying at domestic service, I obtained a good opening into the -land. One gave me a letter to her confessor in Cork, whom we will call -the “Riverend Lawrence O’Byrne.” I found him intelligent and genial; in -person rather tall and thin but with a color in his cheek. He was at a -loss to recommend me to any working farmer’s house, saying that I should -live on potatoes and skimmed milk; but I thought that I could live so for -some days if those people did all their lives. - -In further conversation, Mr. O’Byrne lamented the degradation caused by -liquor, and declared that the bulk of the Irish people cannot be induced -to take any interest in lyceums or intellectual culture. - -Nearly thus he described to me the aim of the farmers in the present -agitation. It is fifty years or more since Griffith, an agent of the -English government, made a valuation of Irish lands. Since then rents -have risen in some cases one hundred per cent., and the Land League is -trying to reduce them to Griffith’s valuation. - -When tenants are evicted, others are forbidden to take them at the price -demanded, and the evicted are supported by contributions to the Land -League. I myself call it an agricultural strike. - -Mr. O’Byrne says that there is much competition in renting farms, no -other business being open to the people. This confirms the opinion of a -publisher in Philadelphia, who had attributed the state of Irish affairs -to the want of manufactures. - - * * * * * - -Mr. O’Byrne kindly made inquiry for me, and I found a farmer willing -to take a boarder. To see him I went by rail to a certain station. Near -by I entered a humble dwelling, where a man was working at his trade, -besides being a petty government officer. He talked pleasantly on Irish -affairs, and said that some landlords have granted a reduction in rent -of twenty-five per cent. I repeated what an editor in New York had -said of the present condition of Irish affairs,—that bad harvests, the -competition of American beef and mutton, and the consequent decrease in -the value of real estate had made the farmers unable to pay their rent. - -The Irishman admitted that American meat is much cheaper than theirs, -but said that it had not brought down the price of their own. He said -that four or five landlords and agents had been killed; at this a woman -present smiled; and a man added that it is a pity there were not more. -This was the only sanguinary remark that I heard a poor Irishman make. - -At the railroad station the train from the west was behind time, and -the agent suspected disturbances. When it came it was mostly filled -with soldiers, who called out for water; but who reported no immediate -disturbance. At this station I was met by the farmer and his wife with -whom I was to lodge, who took me home in their cart. I call him Maurice -Collins. He was not very poor for an Irish cultivator. He was doubtless -considered quite fortunate in owning a horse and cart, even if the cart -had no box and no seats, but was simply a bed or frame. Upon it lay -a great bag of corn-meal, upon which sat Mrs. Collins and myself. I -steadied myself down-hill with one arm at her waist, while my right hand -grasped a projection of the cart. I expressed surprise at the number of -ruined and abandoned dwellings, for we were within ten miles of one of -the largest towns in Ireland. Collins said that farms once separate have -been thrown together. When the population of a country falls thirty-seven -per cent. in about thirty-four years, or from over eight millions to -about five, it is not strange that abandoned houses are found when -built like these, of stone. Dwellings of mud and straw are more readily -demolished. Collins’s house was on rather a sterile hill. To reach it we -rose above the lower and more fertile ground. On our arrival a chair was -brought out to enable us to alight from the cart. On entering the house -we were followed by a young man, who staggered under the weight of the -great five-bushel sack on which we had sat in the wagon. - -There were twelve in the family,—six boys, one girl at home and one away, -the old aunt, and the domestic. The living room had an uneven floor of -earth. Within the front door stood the slop-barrel. A dresser of dishes -stood on the left, and beyond it there was a red-painted, two-storied -hen-coop. A hen and chickens occupied the lower story, and a setting -hen the upper one. A second door faced the front door. It generally -stood open, discovering a little muddy yard. A great settle or couch of -wood stood on the same side of the room. Beyond it, on a low seat, sat -a little fair, weak-eyed old woman, the aunt. She sat beside a small -fire on the hearth, holding the baby. With her left hand she turned a -crank and wheel, which by some invisible agency created an underground -draught to kindle the fire. The fire was generally of coals. It bore no -proportion to the fireplace, which occupied a large part of the third -side of the room. I saw the girl hang over the fire a large Dutch oven, -called here a bastible. It was a round iron vessel with a lid. On its top -she kindled a fire of furze, and hung the bastible to bake the large cake -within, made of flour not fully screened, sour milk, and soda. - -At nightfall the barefooted little ones gathered to the blaze, although -it was in the month of June. The babe in arms was Tim, the three-year-old -Norah, and the five-year-old, in trousers surmounted by a red woollen -frock and blue apron, was Dennis. At one end of the long fireplace -stood the heavy cradle. A steep staircase, almost like a ladder with -a railing, led to the rooms above, for this house, roofed with slate -instead of thatch, had a loft with a board floor. Wet weather makes the -uneven earthen floors inconvenient. The water gathers in little pools. -The door to my room was at the foot of the staircase. There were only two -apartments on the ground-floor. - -The fourth side of the apartment was lighted by a small window and -the doorway through which we entered the house. There were only two -windows down-stairs, one in this room and one in mine. They were little -iron-barred windows. I thought that they might be taxed, but I was -mistaken. Collins told me that the glass came from England. They used to -have glass-manufactories in this country. - -I had taken tea before my arrival, and Mrs. Collins gave me some milk. -She and her husband had been to Cork, where, she said, they had a cup of -tea and a penny bun at a baker’s. (The penny is about two cents.) In the -evening we had a good talk. I commented on the nice hen-house standing in -the corner, and Mrs. Collins told me that they had lost several chickens -by the fox. “And do you still have foxes in Ireland?” I asked, in some -surprise. - -“We do,” she replied. - -“And that is what the gentlemen hunt?” - -“It is,” she said. - -“And can you kill the foxes?” I inquired. - -“No, ma’am,” was the reply. - -This I afterward thought must be an error, as foxes are vermin; but a -gentleman born in the north of Ireland has told me that they would be -evicted for killing foxes. Sometimes hunting clubs pay for poultry killed -by foxes. - -In the evening I spoke of the sun’s setting so late and our being so -far north, and asked the eldest son, a youth of fourteen, whether he -had studied geography. He said he had, but his mother told me that he -had been obliged to leave school at eleven, and her manner seemed sad -and disapproving. There are no free schools in Ireland like ours. The -poorest citizens need not pay in the national schools, but others must. -A gentleman in Dublin, who publishes a school journal, told me that -he doubted whether these schools would ever become entirely free to -the public, like those in my own State. He had never heard that such a -movement was contemplated. - -In further conversation Mrs. Collins told me that they had lost seven -cows in eighteen months, and that they were nearly broken down. They had -to incur some debt to replace them, and they must meet the rent or be -thrown upon the world. Their lease would expire in about six years. Do -not these misfortunes make them dwell very near to the Divine Father, in -humble submission and prayer? - -About ten o’clock in the evening the wooden table was put before the -fireplace. The old aunt had gone to bed. Collins was in one end of the -fireplace, a boy asleep in the other, and the eldest slept on the settle. -Mrs. Collins made tea and put a bowl of white sugar on the table. She -told me that sugar cost about five cents a pound (two and a halfpence). -They cut pieces off of the great cake baked in the Dutch oven, and ate -their supper without any of the precious butter, which must go to market. -Little Norah had given a low laugh when her mother handed her a bit of -warm cake without anything spread on it. Mr. and Mrs. Collins had milk in -their tea. The tea cost about forty cents a pound. Collins helped himself -quite freely to the cheap and nutritious sugar, one of the blessings -which the poor man owes to free trade. - -Collins and his wife gave up their own room to me. It was the other -room on the ground-floor. It also had an earthen floor, with perhaps -the addition of a little cement, but it was not level. There I slept, -and here were set my simple meals, more luxurious, however, than their -own. Some of the dishes were of china, which belonged to Collins’s -grandmother. I had plenty of milk, eggs, butter, tea, and baker’s -bread. They gave me goat’s milk, richer than cow’s milk, for tea. For -me especially Mrs. Collins procured meat, a bit of jowl, but I am not -partial to it. They did not, however, go to the extravagance of eating -it themselves. I was told of a farmer’s family who had jowl and cabbage -for a Sunday dinner. A watch was set for the agent, lest, seeing such -evidences of prosperity, he might raise the rent. Collins and his wife -seldom ate meat. He told me that he had two eggs in the morning and the -mistress one. They raised turkeys. Twenty-four were running with one hen. -The servant fed them with a mixture of nettles, corn mush, and thick -milk, but she said they scarcely ever ate a turkey even at Christmas. - -In the morning, at breakfast, Mrs. Collins had some cold mush or -stirabout cut up and boiled in sheep’s milk. This saved bread and tea. I -observed one day within the back door, and by the chicken-coop, a little -trough with corn-meal. There seemed to be always food there. The chickens -came in and helped themselves. Seeing a fowl eating, I said to the aunt, -“That rooster ought to be fat.” She did not understand me, and I tried -again: - -“That cock ought to be fat, he eats so much.” - -“He do ate a dale, God bless him,” she said. She meant “prosper him,” I -think. Some neighbors visited the family one morning, and from my room I -heard earnest talk. They spoke of the rumored arrest of Father Murphy, -which had caused much excitement. One man came in who was full of talk of -the Cork races on the preceding day. At first, Mrs. Collins allowed him -to think that they were present, but they went to sell butter, and did -not go to the race-ground. - -The girl swept the earthen floor with a bunch of twigs without a handle. -I mention these little things to show the poverty of the country. They -had no almanacs at Collins’s and no clock, except a Connecticut one, -which did not run. Collins once intimated that it was painful to have -such a poor harness for his horse. - -One day I walked over to the school. I passed a house licensed to sell -beer and spirits to be drunk on the premises. It was whitewashed, and -looked better than most of the farm-houses. The boys told me that tea and -sugar could be bought there. Bread was sold, but I could buy no sticks of -candy for the children. A carpenter-shop and a blacksmith’s forge stood -near this public-house, but I saw no country stores like ours at home. - -The Collins family carried water some distance uphill from a spring. This -part of the country is supplied from springs. They had excellent roads, -apparently macadamized, and free from tolls. When I spoke in Cork of the -great cost of such roads I was told that they were probably made after -the famine, when the government gave laborers employment. The roads, -however, seemed deserted. Once I saw a man on horseback, and occasionally -market carts were seen, but of plain carriages, like those of the farmers -in Eastern Pennsylvania, I remember none. Poverty hangs like a cloud over -the land. Yet the people seem honest. The servant-girl at Collins’s said -to me, “Nothing do ever be taken.” I wished to know whether it was safe -to leave my towels to dry on furze bushes near the road. Afterward, in -a gentleman’s house,—a gentleman who lived in a disturbed section, and -whose tenants were not paying rent,—I was told that they would not be -afraid to have plate in the house; the people there were honest. - -Collins and his wife were trying to better their condition by going to -a market-town and buying butter, which she brought home and reworked -and packed into firkins to sell in Cork. This consumed so much of their -time that it was hard for me to see much profit in it. They may have -received five dollars a week more than the butter cost them. Mrs. Collins -was pleased in telling me of one firkin or tub that brought the highest -market price. But during their absence the elder boys were left alone at -the farm-work. Nor did I see the great pressure of labor found among our -Pennsylvania German farmers. This may be in part owing to open winters -in Ireland, which enable the former to work the year round, in part to -the fact that the patient, ox-like labor of the German is not a trait of -the Irishman, and partly to a national disregard of time, producing such -a proverb as “Hours were made for slaves.” When I apologized for having -talked so long to a poor man and his wife, she answered, “Sure, many a -year we’ll rest in the grave.” Calling on my friend Collins and his wife -before I left the county, I found they had gone with their horse to the -funeral of a much-respected neighbor, and as they were so long absent, -had doubtless accompanied the funeral to the place of interment, twenty -miles. A manufacturer in the county Cork said that the Irish girls in the -mills are not greedy enough. They would rather have less wages and more -play. They were not indolent, but a bit of fun would call them off. A -Quaker lady in Cork said to me, “None of the Irish are thrifty. They do -not value their time.” And afterward, “They are a thrifty people in the -north. They make use of their time.” She herself was born in Ireland, -but when she spoke of the Irish she did not mean to include herself. -When any one called the Irish lazy, I replied that they did not seem so -in America. They left their temperate climate, came to our country, and -constructed railroads under our broiling suns. I heard in Ireland that -girls who go to America say, “If we had worked as hard in Ireland as we -do in America, we would have been well off there.” - -I spoke of Mr. and Mrs. Collins’s drinking tea at supper. Once when they -were absent, Mary, the servant, came into my room to hide the teapot, -lest the boys should want sugar and bread. - -“What do you give them for dinner?” I asked. - -“Stirabout and new milk,” she replied. - -“Potatoes?” I suggested. - -“They do not care about potatoes,” she said. - -Our corn-meal, among its many other Irish uses, seems likely to supersede -the national dish. What a change since 1847, the year of the potato -famine! This family used Indian meal because it was cheaper than oatmeal, -but they did not like it so well. As for the inferior animals, they -occasionally give horses corn-meal, but generally feed them in winter on -oats, turnips, bran, and hay. Indian meal and bran are fed to cows with -young calves. To pigs corn-meal is given the year round, occasionally -adding a few boiled potatoes, the sortings. They are fattened on meal -and sour milk when it can be spared. Poultry abounds here, and Ireland -exports large quantities of eggs. I never saw corn-meal at home stand so -constantly in the chicken-trough as at Collins’s. - -I have said that the domestic came into my room to hide the teapot. The -cup which cheers but not inebriates is in immense demand here. The old -aunt wanted tea. The children worried the girl for tea. The beggar-woman -insisted on tea. The three-year-old Norah says she has a pain and -wants tea. It might be a very happy thing for Ireland if the people -would confine themselves to such cups as these; but, while all other -manufactures are languishing in the county Cork, malt liquor and whiskey -distilleries are flourishing. (However, Scotland, a Quaker told me, -excelled Ireland in regular drinking.) As to what constitutes moderate -drinking, I was amused by the remarks of a girl in Cork. Speaking of -young men, she said that she did not object to a bottle of porter at -dinner and one in the evening, but seven or eight bottles a day she -thought gluttony and a sin. Porter, however, is not dear. On draught it -sells at about eight cents the quart imperial. Whiskey is quite another -thing. I hear that the tax on a gallon is twelve shillings and ninepence, -or about three dollars. It has been said that Ireland pays more for -liquor than for rent; yet estimates given me show that while over nine -millions of pounds sterling are spent yearly on intoxicating drink, the -rent of the country amounts to thirteen million pounds. Let no one jump -to the conclusion that it is the working farmers who expend this great -amount, for doubtless the small landlords are great consumers. - -Distillers and brewers are great men in such a country. I heard of -several celebrated Protestant churches indebted to them for funds. A -distiller gave twenty thousand pounds and a brewer ten thousand pounds -to assist in building or renewing an Episcopal cathedral in Cork. It is -said to have cost Guinness, the great brewer, two hundred thousand pounds -to remodel St. Patrick’s Episcopal Church in Dublin and to build the -appurtenant houses. And a distiller gave a great sum to repair Christ -Church in the same city. - -To return to my farmer, Collins, in whose house I saw no intoxicating -liquor drunk. He rented seventy acres, of which twenty were bog, nearly -worthless; the peat for burning being all cut from the bog land in -this neighborhood. (Nor is the county Cork, taken altogether, a rich -agricultural tract. Lewis’s Topographical Dictionary, 1837, gave the -acreage at about one million seven hundred thousand, of which about seven -hundred thousand acres were bog and mountain.) - -Collins’s lease was for thirty-one years, of which six remained. He has -built the part of the house in which we live, having slate-roofed it. He -has also built a stone stable and a small dairy, with slate roofs. The -landlord gave him almost nothing toward these improvements, not even the -flooring of the loft. The stone Collins got off the place. When he came -here the walls of the fields were mostly of clay or mud, and he has built -stone ones. In this neighborhood the walls are mostly built of stone. In -some cases they are covered with earth, and grass and other plants are -growing on them. “These walls,” I said to him, “must take up a great deal -of room. That one beside your house is a yard across the top.” - - * * * * * - -I have given Collins’s rent at about one hundred and seventy dollars -for seventy acres. Land sold in fee simple, apparently a rare thing, -generally brings twenty times the annual rental. Yet, as a lawyer in -Cork informed me, the average value here now, under present depressing -circumstances, is not over seventy-five dollars per acre. - -I have spoken of some of Collins’s land as of inferior quality. His -report of its produce, I therefore infer, is above the average crop. -He says that on this land wheat ought to bring fifteen hundred-weight -per acre, the hundred-weight of one hundred and twelve pounds. (This -is twenty-eight bushels, which would be considered a fair crop in the -wheat-growing region of Pennsylvania.) - -Collins says that on land of best quality in good years wheat is expected -to bring twenty-five hundred-weight. On his own land oats frequently -brings fourteen hundred-weight to the acre, or about forty-three bushels. -This land produces about one and one-half tons of hay, and better land -about two tons per acre. A patch of potatoes is called a potato-garden, -even if it contain several acres. The manner in which potatoes are -planted was strange to my eye. The land is laid out in beds about four -feet wide. Between those beds are deep trenches one and a half feet wide. -These beds or ridges are made by turning six sods in with the plough. -There are four rows of potatoes to a bed. These are hand-weeded, and -never hoed. The people manure as heavily as they can for potatoes; and -then, without additional manure, put the land into wheat. Barn-yard, -guano, and artificial manures are used. On Collins’s soil potatoes turn -out about five tons to the acre, or about one hundred and eighty-six -bushels. Potatoes have degenerated in Ireland; but of late a new kind, -the Champion, has encouraged the people much. At an exposition in Cork in -1880, some farmers claimed to have raised from thirteen to fifteen tons -per acre, or about five hundred bushels. Turnips are manured, sowed in -drills or rows in May and June, thinned, hoed, and hand-weeded. They turn -out twelve tons to the acre. Two men can fork out an acre in a day, and -two men can top an acre a day, leaving the tops on the ground. - -Domestic animals sell high for food. Beeves sometimes weigh thirteen and -fourteen hundred-weight, and bring about three pounds per hundred-weight. -Good fat calves of three months sell for five pounds. Fat sheep, weighing -dressed about one hundred and twenty pounds, will bring three pounds, -or near fifteen dollars. Mrs. Collins had an exceptional pig, supposed -to be a fine bacon pig, lean and fat well mixed, or a “ribbon” pig. (An -Irishman is said to have fed his pig one day and starved him the next, -that there might be a streak of fat and streak of lean.) That pig of Mrs. -Collins’s weighed when dressed one hundred and eighty-two pounds, and she -got four pounds and ten shillings for it, or about twenty cents a pound. -In view of such prices the saying of my Cork landlady is not strange: -“May the Lord of heaven spare us the American meat! It keeps the market -within our reach.” - -Fruit did not seem plentiful in the county Cork. “The children would -pluck gooseberries,” was a reason given for not having them. A certain -priest was supposed to have strawberries and gooseberries in his -garden, but probably fruit-loving children did not disturb those of his -reverence. When a retired lawyer took me into his garden he unlocked the -gate. He had cut down an old orchard and would not plant another, because -the neighboring children would get at the fruit. Thus, the saying of the -domestic, “Nothing do ever be taken,” does not seem to apply to fruit. - - * * * * * - -I had several conversations with Collins. He freely expressed his -disapproval or dislike of the British government. Working farmers rarely -or never subscribe for a paper, but often buy one at a market-town. -Collins had got one in Cork, and wished me to see a speech in it. He said -that it alluded to a manufacturer at Blarney who took a prize at our -Centennial. - -“What would you think,” said Collins, “when people manufactured goods -that they could not send them right off from here to market, but must -send them to Liverpool, and have them unloaded and carted there, and then -sent back, causing that expense? Would you think that was just?” - -“That is not so now?” I asked. - -“Indeed it is; that manufacturer’s goods must all be sent that way; and -would you think that was justice?” - -“It is pretty hard on him,” I answered. - -“And is it justice?” he insisted. “You shall have the paper and read the -speech.” - -In Cork I called to see Mr. Mahony, the manufacturer referred to, -who told me that there is no government regulation to hamper their -manufactures in any way. It is doubtless a matter of convenience to ship -from a great port like Liverpool, vessels not caring to stop and take on -small quantities at Queenstown.[167] - - * * * * * - -As Collins, his wife, and I were riding on the cart, going to the -market-town for butter, I asked whether he expected that there would be a -time when there would be no rents to pay. He answered that he did not. - -“I understood you to say the other evening that you did,” I continued. - -“No,” he replied; “there has been a proposition for the government to -take the lands, and the people to pay rent for thirty years——” - -“And then the land be theirs?” I interrupted. - -“Yes” he answered; “but they will never grant that. More moderate things -they have refused. All we want is reduced rents, as the people can no -longer pay high ones.” - -On our return journey I had an admirable opportunity to talk with him as -he walked by the wagon. I had called on a magistrate in the market-town, -a Protestant gentleman, who had seemed very ignorant or uncommunicative. -He had, however, suggested over-population as a reason for the condition -of Irish affairs. This magistrate bore a military title. I handed to him -the introduction given me at Cork by the “Riverend Lawrence O’Byrne.” -Collins had suggested an officer of the market as suitable to introduce -me. But I was in haste, and carried the letter. The magistrate said that -he did not know the person. “No,” said Collins, on my return, “you were -wrong in two things. You said you were from Philadelphia, and they are -afraid of the Americans, or do not like them, and Father O’Byrne is not -their kind of man.” - -I told Collins that some papers in America had said that their -magistrates should be elected, as with us in some States. He replied -that they are appointed from the aristocracy, the land-holding class, -and, of course, in cases of dispute between landlords and tenants, their -sympathies are with their own class. - -“If you were in America we should say that your head is level,” I said; -but I had to interpret the slang. - -“There has been a change in Ireland,” he added, “within some years. -Formerly the wealthy classes and the learned could make _jupes_ of the -Irish people, but of late years there has been more education, and the -people see things differently. Ireland was a dark country before the -Catholic emancipation. Before the passage of that act no Catholic could -hold office in this country. Now many places are open to them in the -excise and elsewhere.” - -Collins intimated that the English are wrong in fearing the Catholic -priests, for they counsel the people to peaceful measures, and they -are the only persons who have sufficient authority over them to quiet -them down. I spoke of Father Murphy and of priests who had presided at -Land-League meetings. - -“Yes,” said Collins, “when peaceful measures were advised.” - -I replied that the government would not trust them because it thought -that the people might become excited and burst from the priests’ control, -and because they feared that the priests might deceive them. The remark -did not please Collins. He said that the people were excited at the -report of Father Murphy’s arrest because they are so united to their -priests. “One is already in prison,” he said, “Father Sheehey; and many -meetings have been held to petition the government to release him and -other leaders of the Land-League movement.” - -In a disturbed region in another part of the county Cork I was told of -a priest who had refused to join the League. The members would not -send their children to the national school under his supervision, and -the people thus opposed to him did not call him Canon Desmond, but only -Desmond. On the other hand, I was told of two influential priests lately -sent out of Cork by the bishop for being too active in the Land League. -They were placed in country curacies—promotion backward—on account of -the influence of a wealthy Catholic clique, which does not in politics -hold to the Conservative, late Lord Beaconsfield party, “like the -Protestants,” but holds to the Liberal party, which is midway between the -Conservatives and Land-Leaguers. It was added that one of these priests -had gone to Rome to lay his case before the pope, not having been able to -get the archbishop to interfere. The archbishop did not think it prudent -to entertain the complaint. - -Another of Collins’s remarks may seem unjust to the government. He said -that men’s constitutions have changed. They are no longer able to live on -potatoes. They must have Indian meal and bread and tea. “I think I would -have been dead,” he said, “if I had been kept on potatoes; and when men’s -constitutions are altered, any laws the government can make cannot have -effect.” But it is free trade in Great Britain and Ireland that makes -bread and tea cheap. - -The great domestic manufactories of the people demand a word. Collins -wore to market one day a gray frieze coat (there pronounced frize). -Calling at the house, I found an old woman engaged in spinning wool for -the boys’ clothing,—wool that had been beautifully carded at a factory. -Collins’s coat seemed to be black and white wool mixed, but the frieze -is often dyed blue or red, and is also used for women’s petticoats. The -question of the want of manufactures is a great and somewhat puzzling -one. At Dublin it was surprising to find that even the matches in my -chamber were marked London. The want of coal has been given as one -reason of the want of manufactories, but there is great and abundant -water-power. The want of capital is also given as a cause of the lack -of manufactures, and if we look into this point we come to two of the -open sores of Ireland,—absent capitalists and want of national unity. In -Guy’s Almanac may be found a list of landholders of one thousand acres -and upwards in the county Cork, leaseholders of over ninety years being -put down as absolute owners. There are three hundred and seventy-five -of these landholders, of whom about two hundred have residences in the -county, and the remainder are entirely non-resident,—nearly fifty per -cent.! As regards the want of capital, I asked a Protestant banker why -they did not combine and form companies to manufacture. He replied, -“As soon as eight Irishmen combine to do a thing, nine will combine to -oppose them.” The want of unity is owing, at least in part, to their -being still two nations, if I may be allowed to say so, the conquerors -and the conquered. Methodists and Quakers born in Ireland may be heard -speaking contemptuously of the Irish. A woman of Scotch Presbyterian -origin remarked, “It’s a common saying, it’s a blessed land and a cursed -people.” A Friend in Dublin said to me that the Protestants of the North -are as bitter as the Catholics, “and more blamable, as they have the -Scriptures.” And I find the statement in my note-book that those who -desired to be considered the “upper ten,” and Protestants from country -localities, speak very contemptuously of the Land League. Finally, the -laws are unequal, the qualification for voters being higher in Ireland -than in England. - -On manufactures an Irish gentleman said to me, “There are lots of -American shoes brought to Cork. Blacksmith’s tools, agricultural -implements, and carpenter’s tools are brought to this country from -America. There’s a finish and a style about them that they don’t do -here.” A Catholic manufacturer attributed the want of manufactures to -the lack of skill and knowledge in the people; but does this account for -the decline in manufactures? As lately as 1837 there were one hundred -thousand hides tanned yearly at Cork. It had seven iron-foundries, five -factories of spades and shovels, numerous and extensive paper-mills, and -two large houses making flint-glass.[168] But where are most of them -now? My sprightly little landlady at Cork, a Catholic, expressed in very -simple terms a natural reason for this decline, saying, “We want energy, -for there’s not an atom of trade that the English did not spoil. There -was a cotton-factory here in Cork, and the English sent their goods in -and sold them a half-penny lower. They put their foot upon these things, -bless them! They have crushed us out of the market in various ways. There -is a little screed of linen manufacture in the North, but I believe that -they cannot make it as good in England.” - -However, Mr. Mahony, a successful manufacturer of tweeds at Blarney, says -that manufactures are reviving in Ireland. He thinks that three hundred -power-looms have been established within fifteen years. There is also -ship-building in the north. - - * * * * * - -I talked with another working farmer. He had a tidy place near Cork, -perhaps the neatest farm-house I saw, although there was no floor and no -window in the principal room. Two hearty children and a domestic were -present. The wife had been confined that morning, and the husband’s -breath indicated potations. “Such,” said my landlady, who accompanied -me, “do not employ a physician, but a ‘knowledgable woman.’ She is not -recommended for skill in her profession, but ‘she is lucky.’ Had we gone -into the room where the baby was, it would have been insisted on that we -should take a glass of punch or we’d take away the beauty of the baby.” - -Dan Donovan, the father, said that he had sixty-five acres, all tillable, -for which he paid the landlord one hundred and forty-two pounds yearly. -He was also obliged to pay twelve pounds a year to the widow of the man -who rented the farm before him. His taxes amounted to about twenty-five -pounds, if not more, making the whole outlay in money about eight hundred -and fifty dollars a year for sixty-five acres. He had been there about -four years, and was only a yearly tenant, but he had manured the farm -and put it in heart. That he was one of the very thriving farmers was -evidenced by his stock of eight cows, eight calves, a pair of horses and -a foal, a pair of donkeys, and twelve pigs. He employed more hands than -an American would employ on so small a farm,—four “boys” or laborers at -six shillings a week and their diet and lodging, which cost him as much -more. He told us that he could not get ahead at all. “I am in debt to -my master. He’s a very intelligent man and fond of me. When I paid last -year’s rent the landlord promised some abatement this year.” - -Donovan is a voter. To a person of experience I mentioned how many hands -Donovan employed. He answered, “He cannot get along with less, as he -hauls manure from the city and hand-weeds.” The speaker himself has four -persons hand-weeding grain-fields, “taking out thistles and dock-roots -that a previous tenant left as a boon.” - -On another walk I saw two men beside the road, one of them a remarkably -neat old man, a farmer. They confirmed what I had heard, that very few -around there could afford to save their hay and straw and feed cattle -during the winter to manure their farms. “How do they manage, then?” I -asked. - -“Like that man,” pointing to a handsome field opposite; “let land at five -pounds an acre to those who have manure-pits.” - -Such, I understand, are men who, having donkey-carts, go around Cork -gathering from houses the offal and garbage to throw into these pits. - -I have said that Donovan was a voter, and this brings up the most serious -complaint that the Irish have against the British government,—the -inequality of the suffrage. This inequality does not exist in country -districts. In counties in both countries the payment of an annual rent -of twelve pounds entitles a man to vote for members of Parliament. But -as Ireland is much poorer, doubtless the number of these voters is less. -The inequality spoken of exists in boroughs. In England those living -in towns have household suffrage, and even the lodger franchise; but in -Irish towns the parliamentary voter must pay four pounds rent. - -I have seen an estimate that in England two men out of five are voters; -and in Ireland only one out of five is a voter. As to the operation of -this high property qualification, we may observe that the county of -Cork, having a population in 1871 of over five hundred thousand, returns -under fifteen thousand votes. The city, having within the parliamentary -boundary nearly ninety-eight thousand, gives under five thousand votes! -But here is an illustration of the old rotten borough system of England: -The county of Cork, with over fourteen thousand voters, elects two -members at large. The city of Cork, with over four thousand six hundred -voters, elects two members, while four boroughs in the county elect -each a member; Bandon having four hundred and thirty voters, Mallow two -hundred and ninety-three, Youghal two hundred and eighty-nine, Kinsale -one hundred and ninety-four. - -If, now, we come to teachers as voters, I hear that of the teachers of -Ireland not more than one-twentieth can vote for members. This probably -refers to teachers of national schools, nearly resembling our public -schools. - - * * * * * - -I boarded some days at a castle, the residence of a gentleman who -formerly belonged to one of the learned professions. Had his tenants -been paying rent, it is possible that I should not have been received -as a boarder. To this castle I went by rail. On the way I saw soldiers, -of course, but they were so common that I hardly noticed them. The -castle was a handsome stone building in a grove. The wall of the old -part measured six feet in the embrasures of the windows. The new part -measured three feet. I was shown into a great parlor, barely furnished, -with a turf fire in the grate. It was in June. I call my host Mr. Loftus. -The family were Protestant and Conservative, holding to the Church of -Ireland, as the Episcopal Church is called since its disestablishment. - -The tenants of Mr. Loftus sent a delegation to him. They offered rent on -the basis of Griffith’s valuation, which Mr. Loftus declined. He offered -to allow them about one-fourth of the proposed reduction, or over sixteen -per cent. on the rate of rent. But they went away without accepting his -offer. Not to receive his rents was inconvenient for him, to say the -least, as he had annuities to pay and bills to meet. Here I may add that -a lawyer in Cork told me that the present unsettled state of affairs -puts everybody on his guard against spending money, and so the laborers -suffer. Some landlords have gone without their rent for two years, -perhaps longer. Thus the bottom seems to be dropping out of society. - -Another peculiarity in Irish affairs is the subletting of land; thus I -heard of a farmer who has three landlords above him. To begin at the top, -Mr. Prior lets land to the Osbornes, who get it from him on a perpetual -lease for two shillings and sixpence per acre. The Osbornes let land to -Daniel McBride, who has bought out a lease, but who has to pay also ten -shillings and three pence per acre. Daniel McBride has other occupations, -and does not work the land himself, but rents to a farmer, who takes a -portion of the land, and pays McBride seventeen shillings per acre. As -said farmer holds thirty-six acres, possibly he has one or two laborers’ -houses which he rents out to men who would thus have four landlords above -them. - -To return to Mr. Loftus, the gentleman with whom I boarded. He spoke -to me of the condition of the laborers in this district, which is but -a poor one. It is natural for the aristocracy to look at this point, -when farmers who are refusing them rent are themselves receiving rent -from laborers. “The farmers of this country,” said Mr. Loftus, “are the -worst in the world. They drive the laborers very hard, and treat them -badly. Often they do not give them a house fit to put a pig into. The -houses are roofed with sods, as they want the straw for farming purposes. -Nearly all the poor people lie on straw beds, and it is hard to get straw -from the farmers. They allow the laborer about one-fourth of an acre -for his potato-patch, and charge him rent of from two pounds to four -pounds, sometimes in advance. The laborer’s wages may be counted at one -shilling a day the year round, and as his wife works in harvest, we may -reckon hers at sixpence a day for six months. I speak only of my own -neighborhood. I do not know the rates in others. There is near here a -cluster of about a dozen cabins, all upon one farm. They are mud-walled -and wretchedly roofed. A quarter of an acre of miserable boggy land is -set apart for each tenant, and there is a large pool of stagnant water -opposite each house. The tenant pays in advance three pounds and ten -shillings yearly. The farmer sometimes makes the whole rent of his farm -by what he receives from these people. I think the place a nuisance, and -liable to breed a fever. None of these houses have windows, and many -have no doors, except bunches of furze. The walls are propped up on the -outside with pieces of bogwood to keep them from tumbling down.” - -The laborer, having no outbuildings, must necessarily protect his -precious domestic animals under his own roof. Most laborers have a goat, -and the poorest have poultry, but since the potato famine pigs have not -been kept as before. Sometimes, however, there is a donkey. - -“The children of the laborer,” said Mr. Loftus, “go to the national -school until they are about twelve years old. In most cases they go -winter and summer without shoes and stockings. The laborer takes great -pride and pleasure in being able to send his children to school. Laborers -go to mass on Sunday, and in the afternoon may often be seen in the -house, or beside a ditch, reading a newspaper. After mass they play ball -in parties against each other, or have a fiddler and dance on the green -or under trees. And they play cards, especially in Dublin county, where -you can see them on Sundays playing on the banks of the ditches,”—i.e., -under shelter of a wall. - -“What games do they play?” I asked. - -“Forty-five and spoil five,” he replied. - -The laborer has no political privileges. Unless he pays a rent of over -five pounds he pays no poor-rates, and no other taxes except the county -or grand jury cess, and for malicious injuries, such as burnings. He -pays this tax, but is not allowed to vote. “Would you put us under the -Papists?” once cried an Irish Protestant on the question of universal -suffrage. - -On one occasion, when Mr. Loftus’s man was driving for me, he spoke -of the desire or the efforts of the laborer to keep his little family -together, for in the unions or poor-houses the sexes are separated. -Mr. Loftus pointed out to me a building which he called the curse of -the country. It is a union. “Children,” he said, “brought up there are -well fed, and idle, and never want to work.” The number of these houses -and the amount of money paid to sustain them seem almost incredible. -Mr. Loftus’s district is very heavily taxed, about five shillings in -the pound, or twenty-five per cent. on the valuation of a man’s annual -income. The farmer pays this rate, but the landlord allows him half. The -county of Cork, with a population of about five hundred thousand, has -sixteen poor-houses. The one in Mr. Loftus’s district contains about -four hundred inmates, and the one in Cork over one thousand. The Cork -poor-rate amounts to from two and one-quarter to four shillings a pound -annually on every pound valuation of houses and lands, but the valuation -for taxes is only about sixty per cent. of the annual income. - -When the country is poorest these taxes are heaviest. Very few who go -into the unions ever get out, excepting children. Said a guardian of -the poor, “What causes the immense number of paupers in Ireland is the -able-bodied persons going away and leaving the old. All the lower classes -here speak of America as their home or final place of settlement. When -the people send part of the money for their children, the board of -poor-law guardians will sometimes supplement it gratuitously and send the -children out. And at their own expense the board sometimes sends out lots -of young women that are in the unions.” - -The region in which Mr. Loftus lives is a disturbed one. On a recent -Sunday a Land-League meeting was to be held in the town. It had been -extensively advertised in the newspapers. On the day before the meeting -was to be held the lord lieutenant issued a proclamation forbidding it. -About two hundred dragoons and infantry and one hundred armed police -arrived at the town, bringing with them provisions, as no farmer nor -storekeeper would dare to sell any to them. One storekeeper had already -been boycotted for not joining the Land League. On the appointed Sunday, -after mass, or about one o’clock, some five or six thousand people came -together, with bands of music. Five or six Roman Catholic clergymen were -among them. The people desired still to hold the meeting by erecting a -platform on some other spot. Two stipendiary, or salaried, magistrates -were present, and with them the priests entered into an agreement that -the soldiers and police should not interfere with the people if they -listened to no speeches, but simply formed in an orderly procession and -paraded in the town. The affair went off peaceably, and the people went -quietly home, although feeling much discontent at the action of the -priests. If they had not obeyed the contract, the priests would have -retired and left them to the mercy of the armed men. - -At dinner, one day, in the course of conversation, Mr. Loftus said, “The -country is well enough if it was left alone.” - -“But,” said I, “you approve perhaps of one agitator, O’Connell; you like -the effects of Catholic emancipation?” - -“O’Connell!” he cried; “the best man Ireland ever produced; a clever -man. Not such a fellow as this Parnell, that nobody knows where he sprung -from; not fit to clane O’Connell’s shoes in cleverness. O’Connell never -allowed any quarrelling or disturbance. He kept up the agitation, but the -people were kept in order. The repeal collections were kept up, but there -was nothing like the burning, wounding, and killing that is going on in -these times.” - -I asked whether there might not be a home parliament for local affairs, -and delegates to a general parliament. He answered that the people are so -much given to contention that they could not carry on affairs. “If half -a dozen of them,” he added, “come together at a poor-law meeting, they -can’t behave themselves.” - - * * * * * - -After my return to Cork, an acquaintance advised me to visit a town in -the southwest, where manners are more primitive. Accordingly I travelled -thither, where women in a shop may be heard talking the Irish language. -I went third-class. The railway terminated at the town. Falling into -conversation with an intelligent fellow-traveller, he said that he had -many men constructing a road. He was a steward or overseer. Looking out -at the country, I asked, “Why are there no barns?” - -“They have nothing to put into barns,” he replied. “They sell their hay -in the fields, and thresh their grain and get it quickly into market. -They even sell their straw sometimes to meet their rent. Then when spring -comes the landlord endorses for them in the bank. This answers for one -year. On the next year the farmer must go to a money-lender, to whom he -signs a note for twenty-five pounds, receiving only twenty pounds.” - -An intelligent Protestant, to whom I read this statement, made some -corrections. He said that the landlord would only endorse for the rent, -and the money-lender would charge ten or fifteen per cent. - -I cannot substitute a name for that of my next witness. It is too well -known, having been mentioned in Parliament. John Coppithorne is a -Methodist. In politics, a Conservative. He says that if poor Beaconsfield -were in there would not be any of these disturbances. He has a shop. He -is a dyer, coloring frieze for country-folks. He rents several acres -of land, and, finally, unfortunately for him, he lets “cars,” or keeps -a small posting establishment. It is on account of letting vehicles to -the police that he is boycotted. He has lived for fifty-two years in -the town of Skibbereen, in the southwest, near Cape Clear. Skibbereen -is the terminus of the railroad, but beyond lies Skull, the residence -of Father Murphy. Father Murphy is a quiet Catholic priest. One day a -police-officer went into his house to get him to use his influence with -the people. But Father Sheehy was already in jail, and the people, seeing -the policeman, flew to the idea that Father Murphy was to be apprehended. -A riot impended, and a message was sent to Skibbereen for a reinforcement -of police. Not many police-officers were there, but they sent as many -as they thought they could spare, and unfortunate John Coppithorne let -them have cars to convey them, having no idea that the people would -break out as they did. Mrs. Coppithorne was extremely alarmed when the -mob attacked their house. They began about nine P.M., and continued at -intervals until daylight, or about half-past two. It was not alone the -breaking of windows, doors, and shutters which was alarming, but the -accompanying sounds. The women were dreadful, howling and laughing. They -brought stones in their aprons and encouraged the men. Horns were blown -all night on the surrounding hills,—conch-shells and cows’ horns. The -military arrived by special train at three A.M., “and their arrival was -as grateful as at Lucknow,” said Mrs. Coppithorne. - -At an early hour of the night some of the mob suggested to the priest -that if the armed police were withdrawn they themselves would disperse. -The stipendiary magistrate agreed to the proposition. The stipendiary, -or paid magistrate, commands the armed forces, soldiers and police, in -case of riot. So the police withdrew to barracks, and the mob took the -priest on their shoulders and carried him home. The magistrate retired -to his hotel, and then the mob came back in double force. Having before -confined their efforts to the upper windows, they now attacked the doors -and shutters below, and plundered the shop. - -After all it was a false alarm, as Father Murphy was not apprehended. -Tears came into Coppithorne’s eyes when I asked him the amount of his -losses. I hear that he claims damages to the extent of eight hundred -pounds. He says that his business, worth perhaps two hundred pounds a -year, is almost entirely ruined. Sometimes the people will come creeping -in, perhaps with a permit to get frieze left to be dyed before the riot. -There was a man in the shop while I was there, who wanted some frieze -which some one had left for a petticoat. He had lost the ticket. The -clerk declined to let him have it. “Only that the book was torn,” he -said, “I could let you have it.” So the inconvenience of tearing books -is not all on one side. - -John Coppithorne is familiar with the pecuniary condition of the farmer. -We could hardly expect him to be prejudiced in the farmers’ favor. It -is therefore remarkable that he confirms the report of the desperate -condition of many of them. Of working farmers around him, he estimates -that ten per cent. have barns. About fifty per cent. sell their hay. Then -horses and cows are fed in the winter on the young shoots of the furze, -chopped up for the purpose. (It is like donkeys eating thistles.) Fifty -per cent. of the farmers sell their straw, and buy guano and phosphates. -These are the small, unthrifty farmers. The large ones buy these, and use -barn-yard manure also. But about fifty per cent. are never forehanded -enough to be able to make manure in the winter sufficient to keep their -land up to the standard. Poor creatures that have only a few acres can be -seen going security for each other in the spring to buy guano for their -potato ground. They live on potatoes, fish, milk, and Indian meal gruel. - -About the same percentage sell all their grain to meet their rent and -pressing demands, and then buy, often on credit, to feed themselves and -animals. They buy their seed grain on credit at a high rate, paying, -if they pay at all, after the next harvest. Legal process is not -infrequently used to oblige them to pay. If money had not been sent into -Ireland, and relief afforded by benevolent persons, half of the farmers -would not have had seed potatoes in the spring of 1880. - -Others at Skibbereen said that the competition is too great when farms -are to be rented, and some farms are entirely too small to support a -family, even if they had them rent free. Near the sea-coast an existence -can be eked out by fishing, but there are many in Ireland cultivating -five acres or less. - -During my visit to Skibbereen I saw a funeral. The corpse was followed by -wailing women, for this old custom still prevails. They buried the body -at the graveyard of the abbey, an old ruin, where the dead were buried -coffinless during the famine. It was so desperate that these people, who -have so great a regard for funeral observances, would bury their dead, -in some cases, in fields near the houses, and the parish cart went round -and took up dead bodies that were buried in trenches. This great famine -was caused by the potato-rot. A gentleman told me that at that time -nineteen-twentieths of the people rarely ate bread. - - * * * * * - -But whether Ireland has not long been subject to famines is to me a -question. Within two or three years we have seen one averted by liberal -contributions, and there was one in 1822, or twenty-five years before the -great potato famine just mentioned. - -While in the county Cork I met another person well qualified to speak -of the condition of farmers. Michael McBride’s occupations were -multifarious. He kept a shop, and a public-house distinct from it. He -farmed many acres of land in different tracts. He sold his cattle at the -fair. A public-house is a drinking-place, but McBride said that he drank -no liquor himself. He was not a member of the Land League. He turned -out a tenant and suffered by the League. While we talked in a retired -corner of his “public,” he occasionally spoke in a loud voice, as though -for others to hear, in this manner: “England is getting sixteen million -pounds a year out of this unfortunate country, and plunging people into -jail under the coercion act for saying nothing but the truth.” - -McBride appointed an hour for me to call again. In the evening he had -to go out and raise contributions for the poor of the parish. “A very -wild summer, thank God,” he said, meaning a cold summer, unfavorable to -agriculture. (“We thank God for everything,” said my landlady; “good, -bad, or indifferent. One of my English cousins could not believe that -there was any reality in thanking God for bad things.”) McBride said that -he held much land. - -“Of course you employ some one to work it for you?” I asked. - -“Oh, bedad, yes,” he replied. - -He said that there are men who sell their clover green when in want of -money, and who will even take off two or three crops in the year and sell -them green. - -The poor farmer sells his hay, straw, and turnips to pay his rent, and -therefore cannot make barn-yard manure in the winter. Guano was selling -at thirteen pounds the ton. “It is a great evil to rely on,” said -McBride. “The poor farmer may sell his oats at the glut of the market at -five pounds a ton, and afterward buy Indian meal at seven pounds to feed -his animals and himself.” - -In February, McBride paid seven pounds per ton for hay, but in the -preceding summer at harvest the same quality was less than two pounds per -ton. He showed me a note which he had signed to prevent a small farmer -or poor man from being turned out. Such must have two endorsers; but -McBride’s signature was enough, because he was a man of means. At first -he refused. The man cried, for he was to be served with a writ if he did -not pay that day. The note runs in this manner: - - “16th of June, 1881. - - “On demand we jointly and severally, or any two of us, promise - to pay Messrs. Kelly & Co., limited, Patrick Street, Cork, or - order, the sum of £10, for value received. - - “DAVID SMITH. - “MICHAEL MCBRIDE.” - -McBride added that he supposed that he signed “a thousand a year,” and -lost as “often as I have hairs on my head.” On the above note for ten -pounds the borrower was to pay ten shillings interest and sixpence other -charges for the use of the money for three months, which is over twenty -per cent. annually. - -He said that of private bankers and money-lenders at exorbitant rates -there are twenty in Cork, some of them pawnbrokers. In various towns -there are many poor people who pawn their clothing on Monday and redeem -it on Saturday. - -McBride said that the great cause of the present embarrassment is the -three bad years of 1877, 1878, and 1879. Oats, wheat, barley, and -potatoes were bad. Some oat-fields were never cut. McBride said that -seventy per cent. of the farmers around Cork are unable to pay their -debts, and would be bankrupt if forced to do so. They would need three -good harvests to bring them up. “They will never pay the same rents -again. Their condition is owing to high rents, bad harvests, and -American competition.” - - * * * * * - -After leaving the county Cork I spent a few days in Dublin. From persons -on the train thither and in that city I obtained information concerning -other portions of Ireland. To this I add the testimony of an Irish -gentleman well known in politics, whom I met in London. - -A young man from the county of Limerick said that that county is all -pasture. Not more than forty per cent. of the farmers in his neighborhood -could afford to save hay and straw and feed cattle in winter for manure. -Farms average from forty to fifty acres, some being as small as ten. He -knew one man who farmed over three hundred acres, and paid three pounds -and five shillings per acre therefor. He had two or three acres in -potatoes, and the same in oats, but all the rest in pasture. - -“Can he make money?” I asked. - -“Not these late years,” he replied. “He is served with an ejectment -because he can’t pay his rent.” - -None of our farmers will be surprised that a man cannot make money on -grass-land at a rent of about sixteen dollars per acre. - -Another passenger, who was from Tipperary, said that, with few -exceptions, the farmers of that county can keep cattle in winter and -keep up their farms. Take the whole of Ireland, however, and farm-lands -are deteriorating in value. In Tipperary and Limerick lies “the Golden -Vale,” celebrated for its fertility. I had an impression that Tipperary -was wild and riotous. In London I spoke to the political gentleman above -alluded to, who knew the county well. In politics he is not in unity -with Parnell, and is opposed to the Land League; but not, if we may judge -by his conversation, to sanguinary measures. - -“Tipperary,” said he, “has not of late suffered so much as some other -districts. Thirty or forty years ago the farmers were entirely at the -mercy of their landlords. They took the law into their own hands and -fought for their farms, shooting down the landlords or their agents. Many -of them were hanged or transported. The land bill of 1870,” he continued, -“extended to all Ireland, restrains the landlord from evicting tenants -without leases, unless paying them for their improvements.” He says that -the present trouble is caused mainly by landlords demanding increased -rents. - -My intelligent fellow-traveller from the county Tipperary further said -that the provisions of the proposed land bill, by which the tenant is to -hold his land as long as he pays his rent, will do away with all abuses. -The Three F’s of the land bill are: First, Free sale,—that is, the tenant -is to have the privilege of selling his right in the farm; second, Fixity -of tenure; and, third, Fair rent, to be determined by a court. - -I remarked that this third F is against the free operation of trade; that -everything should be sold at its value in the market. “No one puts such -restrictions upon trade as you Americans,” he replied. - -When I arrived at Dublin I lodged at two different temperance houses. -In one I met a plain man from the county Galway, in the west. He kept -a shop, and was a dealer in hides. He traded from town to town. He -said that his priest and bishop were good men, and that young boys and -girls were signing the pledge. Of the farmers of Galway he estimated -that seventy per cent. are unable to pay their rent unless they sell -horse, cow, and calves; and even then they would be left in debt to the -shopkeeper. He complained greatly of the recent coercion act, under -which, he says, worthy citizens are apprehended or are in danger. - -One fellow-lodger was a Methodist minister from the county Fermanagh, in -the north. He had been attending the Cork Conference. He complained of -the increase of luxury among farmers in buying tea and bread and in the -clothing of their daughters, and spoke of their spending two days a week -at market, and five or six shillings each time in treating each other. - -“But your congregations are not of this class?” I said. - -“Indeed they are,” he answered. “There are plenty in my congregation who -come home tipsy every market night.” - -He afterward took out change and called for a bottle of ale. They sent -out and got it for him. - -I was much interested in the conversation of two men who were dining -at the house. One of them, a young man, said that the three F’s would -not satisfy the Land-Leaguers. They wanted the extermination of the -landlords and the possession of the land. The other did not agree with -him. He said, “It would be a nice thing for you to be paying two pounds -and ten shillings for land, and a Land-Leaguer over the fence be getting -it for half the money. I am an Orangeman,” he added, “and the son of an -Orangeman, and the grandson of an Orangeman, yet I am greatly in sympathy -with the poor, suffering tenantry of this country.” - -He said of himself that he had been in the army nine years; that he was -a landlord in a small way, five or six hundred pounds a year; and that -he was now lying out of rents. Rather than disturb tenants he had paid -as high as ten per cent. for money, and “glad to get it at that.” He was -originally from the county Cavan, northwest of Dublin. He said that the -average size of farms there is about twelve acres. Some have thirty. -About twenty per cent. of the farmers own horses. Many keep donkeys, but -these are unfit for farming. They put out manure with jennets, which are -not fit for ploughing. The poor farmer must wait until the richer one -has done ploughing so as to hire horses, and then the land is ploughed -shallow and injured. Both speakers were agreed on the trouble of hiring -horses. You must pay ten shillings a day for a pair, feed them and the -ploughman, and give him several glasses of whiskey, added one. If you -have cash in hand, you can get horses when you will; but the small farmer -cannot pay until he has harvested his crop. He generally pays labor in -exchange for horses. - -A suggestion that the British government should buy the lands of Ireland, -rent them for the space of thirty years, and that the people should then -become possessors, met with some favor. The Irish politician whom I met -in London found two objections to this plan: First, that it would take -from the country the cultivated class; and, second, that for thirty years -it would drain the country of money. - - - - -ENGLISH. - - -I spent a few weeks in England in 1881, and visited three agricultural -regions in the east, the north, and the south. An article on the last is -to appear in _Harpers’ Magazine_. The following is drawn principally from -my visit to the east. Some account of my stay in the north and of a few -days in a manufacturing county may appear hereafter. - -My authority for the statements in the following article is almost -entirely notes taken at the time, assisted in a small degree by -recollections. But it cannot be assumed that this essay is without faults. - -With regard to another country, I was advised to tell what I saw and how -it impressed my mind, and not to endeavor to draw conclusions. But what -a traveller sees and hears is greatly influenced by his own opinions. He -goes to a foreign land, and if of different religious institutions from -his own, he inquires on this point; of a different form of government, he -asks political questions. He notices, also, differences in dress, food, -and manner of living. - -The first family with whom I boarded in Huntingdonshire was that of Mr. -Jackson, a carpenter, who, besides working at his trade, rented a few -acres. His wife, who was a farmer’s daughter, had a small dairy of three -cows. Jackson appeared to have a splendid constitution. He was short and -somewhat thick-set. He began his trade at eighteen, and was an apprentice -five years and a journeyman three, when, having put by some money, he -married at twenty-six. His wife was near thirty. One of them said that -they had prospered with the help of the Lord. - -Mrs. Jackson also had been able to save something wherewith to furnish -a house. She learned a trade, and was also companion or lady’s-maid to -sick ladies and those going to Brighton. One of them made her a wedding -present of neat china. - -Jackson and his wife have four children,—the eldest about six, or as she -says, “Four little children, not one of them able to put on a shoe nor a -stocking.” She attends to her dairy, boards the apprentice, and has no -servant. - -Their children are sweet and clean. Three of them go to the public school -in the village. It is called the national school. Mrs. Jackson gave the -eldest three pence to pay for their instruction for a week; which is -at the rate of about twenty-four cents a quarter for each of them. The -penny is a trifle over two cents, the shilling a little under a quarter -of a dollar; but in turning sterling money into our own, it will avoid -repetition to consider the English penny as two cents, and four shillings -as a dollar. - -The Jacksons’ house seemed a perfect palace compared to that of any -working farmer that I saw in Ireland. Coming freshly from that country, I -thought it must be the gem of the village, but I was mistaken. The busy -activity of the Jacksons, who have a young family to keep, was more like -what I have seen at home than what I saw in Ireland. - -The house has a peculiar name placed on the front, something like -Hallelujah House. Doubtless it was built by a dissenter. I saw another -bearing title Bunyan Lodge. - -A lodging-room was assigned to me, and I ate by myself in one of the -front rooms below. (Thus to take lodgings is very common in England.) -Jackson and his wife ate in the kitchen. When they had finished, she gave -the apprentice what she chose. My room had strips of carpet on the floor, -neat white curtains at the window, a suitable toilet service, linen -sheets and pillow-cases. There stood in it a neat red chest with iron -bands at the corners, and a white fringed cloth covering the top. It was -locked, expressive of thrifty housekeeping. - -Jackson and his wife do not go to the gray Church of England, which, -with its spire, overlooks the trees. They attend the brick chapel, being -Independents. - -After he had taken me to see his calves and pigs, I asked him what -proportion of the farmers in the neighborhood belonged to the Church of -England. - -He answered, “About one-half. I think that is just about the proportion -that voted last year.” - -This answer amused me much, but I feared that his wife would not -understand why I laughed. - -“You mean to say,” I said, “that large landed proprietors expect those -who rent from them to go to church?” - -“Yes,” he said, “or they would not rent to them.” - -“Of course,” said I, “it is not put into the leases. But how can they -know how they vote now that you have the secret ballot?” - -“They go round and ask them, and if they would not promise, they would -lose their farms. Many a farmer has been turned out because he would not -vote for his landlord’s party.” - -On another occasion I spoke to him of the wars which England had lately -waged in Asia and South Africa, and Jackson spoke of the deficit in -the finances when the Liberals came in. He said that he believed -their country has had to smart very severely for unnecessary wars and -bloodshed, and added, “Because it was a smart little country, what -business had we to go and say to other nations, ‘You shall do as we -please’?” - - * * * * * - -I did not stay many days with the Jacksons. Mrs. J. considered the burden -of a dairy and of young children to be enough without taking lodgers. I -was recommended to the house of Mr. Benton, the principal farmer in the -village, and a friend called with me and introduced me to Mrs. B., who -after an interval for deliberation consented to take me as a boarder at -their family table. - -Benton farmed about seven hundred acres, but not all in one tract. He -owned a small part, and rented from various persons. One large farm he -had taken at a heavy rent, and he was worried in these hard times. He -used to follow the plough when a boy, but he cannot now, having so much -to do in walking around and superintending work. - -Mr. and Mrs. Benton adhered to the Established Church. He began to -attend Sunday-school early, perhaps at two years, and had attended ever -since, he being fifty, and a teacher. He was church-warden, and the most -considerable parishioner in attendance; but was not on equal visiting -terms with the clergyman. - -He was more reserved than his wife; he said that the English did not -incline to make new friends. He seemed to hold to the same opinions that -he cherished in early life; to be of warm and constant attachments, -and not free from prejudice. He said that Ireland should be sunk for -twenty-four hours and repeopled with English and Scotch; that the reason -the poor-rates are so heavy in Ireland is that the people are so lazy. He -declined to tell to which political party he held, saying that the ballot -is secret. He remarked of ourselves that he wished “the Americans would -let our things go in there free, same as we let their things.” - -The Bentons had seven children, five of them daughters. The eldest son -was twenty-one, and was actively employed attending to farm operations. -The girls had taken music lessons, and could play upon the piano. The -eldest two were away learning dressmaking, and Mrs. Benton thought that -she might be able to get a place as lady’s-maid for one or more of her -girls. - -Mrs. Benton had a large house, kept in good order. She was tall, fair, -good-looking, active, and sprightly. She said that she “would rather have -a penny of her own _hearning_ than tuppence that anybody should give -her.” She did her housework with the help of the young daughters left at -home. She said that, as a general rule, the tenant farmers had brought -up their children too high, had hired servants, and now that these hard -times had come, they had failed. - -But Mrs. Benton’s housework is not like that of the wife of a large -farmer in Pennsylvania. She does not board any of the farm hands; the -only thing of the kind that they do now is to give them their beer in -“’aytime.” She hires a woman to help wash. In summer they wash about once -in eight weeks, and in winter more rarely, having plenty of clothes. -The washing is done in two days, Saturday and Monday. Mrs. B. and her -daughters do the ironing, though sometimes she puts out a frilled -petticoat. They iron only the starched things; the others are mangled. - -Nor does Mrs. Benton have the labor of milking, for it is done by one -of the hired men. In the care of poultry she has the assistance of -the shepherd’s wife, who raises chickens at their own house. Mrs. B. -furnishes feed, and pays her eight cents for every fowl that she raises, -and four for every twenty eggs that she brings her. She pays her own -daughter a trifle for the eggs which she brings in at the home-place. - -As regards the number of meals that she gave her family, we had four -daily; for, in addition to the afternoon tea, we had a late supper. I -noted one. All the young children had gone to bed, for Mrs. Benton was an -excellent house-mother. For supper, we had onions, soft cheese, bread, -cold pork, stout for the mother to drink, and ale for the father. After -supper, Benton read aloud a small portion of the New Testament; the son -of twenty-one before going to bed kissed his mother and bade his father -good-night, and the daughter kissed both parents. - -Mrs. Benton asked a blessing at meals: “For what we are about to receive -may the Lord make us thankful, for Jesus Christ’s sake. Amen.” Thanks -were returned by the young children. One said, “Thank God, father and -mother, for a very good tea. Amen.” - -Mrs. Benton delivers tracts. She takes them to dissenters’ houses; for -the plan on which “the church” acts seems to be that all these are only -stray sheep from their fold. They are indeed parishioners. Jackson, the -carpenter with whom I boarded, as he rented land, was obliged to pay -tithes for the support of the clergyman, although he himself was an -Independent or Congregationalist. - -Though she is a church-woman, Mrs. Benton tells me that one of her -uncles is a bitter dissenter. He would not open a prayer-book, and even -objected to the repetition of the Lord’s Prayer at the close of another -supplication. - - -FARMS AND FARMERS. - -This village where the Bentons lived closely adjoins the fenny or swampy -land of the east of England. Said Benton, “Perhaps a hundred years ago -the fens grew nothing but reeds and rushes and produced a quantity of -wild fowl.” “All the geese in Lincoln fens” I had before heard of. -The water is now kept out of the fens by means of steam-engines. This -level land is well fitted for tillage, but bad weather had been very -unfortunate for the wheat farmer. He generally holds more land than -the dairy farmer, but he had been suffering from a succession of wet -harvests. Before the abolition of the corn laws, high prices were kept up -by a duty on foreign grain, but now the farmer cannot compete with our -Western grain. An experienced man told me that the man who held even as -high as one thousand acres was going behind every year. - -In the summer of 1881, before the harvest was gathered in, I was told -that there had not been a dry harvest since 1874. Some idea of what an -English summer can be was given to me by Benton, the farmer with whom I -boarded. He said that in 1879, at a Royal Agricultural Show near London, -the farm implements were up to the hub in mud, and boards were spread -for people to walk upon. In meeting, some would get shoved off up to the -knees in mud. Men did not go round offering to black shoes, but with -pails of water to wash off the mud. Yet there were thousands there. - -The average of wheat raised in England is much greater than ours. In -this country we do not hoe wheat and then weed it. But the production of -England is scarcely half the amount required for the population. In 1880 -the amount raised was sixty-four millions of bushels; the amount needed, -one hundred and seventy-six millions. In 1881 they hoped to get one -hundred millions of their own produce. One of my friends said that they -would have starved the last year or two but for America. - -In considering the English climate it is well to remember the high -northern latitude. There is no city on our continent, not even Quebec, -which is so far north as Paris. London lies in the latitude of -Newfoundland and Labrador. Whether wet climates like that of England and -Ireland can successfully compete in wheat-raising in the long run with -our drier ones may well be doubted. - -Another acquaintance spoke to me of the depressed condition of this -district. He said that within a radius of six miles, six large farmers, -cultivating three or four hundred acres each, had failed since the -last harvest. “For four years,” he added, “the seasons have seemed to -alter,—snow and rain fell in seed-time; there was little or no sun to -mature the grain at harvest. There were floods of water covering acres of -ground, so that one farmer holding perhaps five hundred or more acres, -that had also been cultivated by his father and grandfather, lost in -three years about twenty thousand dollars. Then he took his remaining -capital and went into other business.” - -It was surprising to one accustomed to the small farms of the fertile -district in which I live to find such large farmers as many of the -English. Said one of my acquaintances in Huntingdonshire, “One who farms -fifty acres is scarcely called a farmer. He farms a little land. In -another county I know a farmer who holds fifteen hundred acres.” The -tendency of course is largely to increase the number of farm-laborers, -while diminishing the number of those who farm themselves. - -The farmer with whom I boarded employed a large number of hands, forty I -think, in the spring. In July he had four men hoeing turnips, potatoes, -“mangles” (mangel-wurzels?), and kohl-rabi. He had also about eleven -children pulling weeds out of wheat, barley, and oats. - -He kept twenty working horses, and with them had eight or ten hands. In -the earlier season he had twenty hands hoeing wheat, barley, oats, beans, -and peas. He had a shepherd to look after about two hundred sheep. He -employs some women, girls, and boys. In the early morning I heard a -peculiar cry as of a boy calling the cows, but he was crying to keep away -the birds that depredate on the wheat,—linnets, sparrows, and blackbirds -in the hedges. Benton also employed hands to go over fields that were to -be planted in potatoes, turnips, buckwheat, and to pick twitch out of -them. This, he said, is a wild and very troublesome grass, that fills the -ground with roots, so that nothing else can grow. - -I have just mentioned buckwheat. Benton had about thirty acres in this -grain. It is fed to pigs and other animals; he said that he had never -heard of its being eaten by men. - -One of the most surprising things to me was the short number of hours -that the farm-laborers made. That men should quit farm-work in July at -or before six in the evening was novel to me. But all the work that is -possible Benton puts out by the piece. - - * * * * * - -The price of land in this arable region is differently reported. One told -me that it can be bought in fee simple for from two to three hundred -dollars per acre. Perhaps this is the fen land and more valuable. The -village in which I boarded was at a small distance from the fens. Land -around this village sells at from one hundred to five hundred dollars per -acre, but the latter are nice bits around the village. Land can be rented -in this or the fenny region for farming at about nine dollars per acre. -The tenure on which lands are held it was hard for me to understand. For -instance, I was told that copyhold is nearly as good as freehold. At some -length a friend endeavored to explain to me copyhold fine arbitrary, and -then said that copyhold fine certain is more desirable. - -In the depressed condition of farming of which I have spoken, it has been -found that grazing and dairy farms are more profitable than grain. The -abolition of the corn laws, said a friend, made bread cheap and enabled -the mechanic and manufacturer to live, and they can buy more meat than -before, and grazing and dairy farms are very profitable. Grain, which can -readily be transported by sea, comes more closely into competition with -the English grain than meat does. - -One of the persons whom I met in Huntingdonshire was a retired farmer, -and must have been a successful one. When he began to farm the fen land, -that which he held had lately been brought under complete drainage, -and was comparatively new. About 1835, on twenty-four acres of land he -had the exceptional crop of sixty-four bushels of wheat to the acre. -He has often grown four hundred bushels of potatoes to the acre on -twenty-five acres, and he thought that his average yield had been three -hundred bushels. He has had potatoes growing to the height of three -feet, level as a floor, and not a weed to be seen. “There should not -be a weed seen in an acre. I have grown,” he continued, “one hundred -and twelve bushels of oats to the acre, and did not think that I had a -crop under eighty-four. However, I did what none of you Americans do. -In the latter part of my time, when I farmed only one hundred acres, I -used six thousand dollars a year (twelve hundred pounds) in fertilizing -my farm. Thus I bought six thousand dollars’ worth of grain and fed -animals, especially pigs. Further, I sold the best of my wheat, oats, -and potatoes, and consumed all the rest of my produce on the farm. I find -no one who has fed so much on one hundred acres.” - - * * * * * - -Mrs. Benton took me one evening to see a steam-plough or cultivator at -work. It did the ploughing well here when the weather was sufficiently -dry. It was an immense affair. There were two steam-engines, one on each -side of the field, sending the cultivator back and forth. The whole cost -of the machine (including the van for the men to sleep in) was about -ten thousand dollars. The charge for ploughing was three dollars per -acre (twelve shillings), and the farmer furnished coal and perhaps also -one hand. The men who brought the plough boarded themselves. They were -making long days, from four in the morning to nine at night. By working -until ten, they could cultivate twenty acres per day, and in these high -northern latitudes summer days are very long. - - * * * * * - -During my short stay in the east I heard the price of a few articles, -principally farm products. Mrs. Jackson, wife of the carpenter with whom -I boarded, had prepared for me (in July) a very nice sparerib of pork, -for which she paid eighteen cents per pound. She thought that no mutton -could be bought under twenty. She had understood that meat was dearer -than with us and clothing cheaper. Bread was cheap, she said. But I have -before quoted the saying that they would have starved lately but for -America. - -“After midsummer is turned,” said Mrs. Jackson, “butter grows dearer. -The pasture is shorter, and milk will not keep.” It was then selling at -thirty-two cents the pound, but last summer it was dearer. At supper -she and her husband had a large piece of good cheese. I heard that the -best American was bringing sixteen cents (eight pence). Leicester cheese, -which used to cost about twenty-four cents, no longer sells here. - -Benton, the farmer, said that American hams are very poor. I endeavored -to inform him how finely swine are fed on corn in Illinois, but he said -that the difficulty is not in the feeding, but in the manner of curing -the meat. For American bacon they thought that they paid thirteen cents. - -In conversation, Benton spoke of eleven fat beasts (beeves) that would -have brought two hundred and fifty dollars last year, but had sold much -lower this year, on account of the American beef coming in. - -As regards milk, a retired farmer told me that he used to sell it at -about ten cents the imperial gallon in summer and twelve in winter, and -he had to convey it five miles to the railroad station. It had now risen -a penny the gallon. - - -THE CHURCH AND THE RECTOR. - -Two adjacent villages formed here one parish, which may be called -Haddenham cum Stonea, from said villages. The living was a good one, -as the rector received his house and six thousand dollars a year. This -income was principally drawn from tithes, which amounted to about two -dollars per acre on the arable land in the parish, and to near five -thousand five hundred dollars yearly. From glebe land he drew the -remainder of his income. He was, however, bound to keep his house in -repair, and for the last eighteen months he had not drawn his full income. - -Benton was the principal parishioner in attendance at church. His family, -however, did not associate on equal terms with that of Mr. Rounce, the -rector. On the occasion of a wedding-breakfast, Mr. Rounce had taken a -meal at the farmer’s, and Benton had dined at the rectory on the occasion -of a church meeting. But Mrs. Benton did not expect the rector and his -daughters to associate with them equally. I heard an intimation that the -rector was originally poor, but no one who attended the church was now on -a social level with himself. - -I attended one Sunday afternoon. The congregation was not large, and very -few looked well-to-do. The number of communicants, I was told, was over -sixty. One young man, who came into church, was showy in appearance. He -was neatly dressed, with plenty of large, silvery-looking buttons. He was -the rector’s footman. - -The church was a gray stone building. Though plain, its appearance over -the level fields was agreeable. The curtains within were rather shabby. -From one at the end the rector emerged, so I suppose it concealed the -vestry-room. In appearance Mr. Rounce, the rector, was blustering and -brawny. His lungs seemed brazen, but perhaps some of the congregation -were deaf. He wore a white linen robe, and upon his shoulders behind -lay a mantle or hood of black, faced with magenta color. The text of -the sermon was, “Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit, serving -the Lord.” I took some brief notes, which I reproduce. They contained -one very happy, and, as adapted to the congregation, one very unhappy, -remark. He said that it is difficult to continue piety amidst the -cares of daily business. “I was going to compare this to tar, to being -surrounded by tar; very dirty, very sticky. - -“There are people who shut themselves up in cells with one small bed, -a chair, and a candle. This is the way that many are taking to become -fervent in spirit, forgetting the first part of the text, diligent in -business. In my young days there were but six monasteries and nunneries -in all England, Scotland, and Wales; now they number over six hundred. - -“There are some who think that their religious exercises should be -confined to Sunday. There are various things that we shouldn’t do on -Sunday; it’s quite right we shouldn’t read newspapers on Sunday. But -religion has thus been defined: it is the art of being and doing good.” - -As we left the church, I asked its age, and the rector said that it -was of the time of Henry VII. (who died in 1509). What is old has a -great attraction to the people of our new country, and I looked in the -churchyard for interesting monumental stones. The oldest that could be -deciphered bore date 1672, and seemed to be that of a great pugilist. -The gravestones were not numerous and showy. Some one told me afterwards -that those who attend the church are the poorest of the poor, and are -generally buried without tombstones. - -Concerning the rector, I ventured to draw some conclusions as follows: -Mr. Rounce is a strict Sabbatarian, between two fires,—Dissent on the -one hand and High-Churchdom and Papacy on the other. In the eyes of a -zealous incumbent of the English Church, even of a zealous low-churchman, -all the people living in the parish are his people. But many, very -many of them, are like lost sheep wandering on the barren mountains of -Dissent, and so long have they refused to hear even the church that they -have become to him like heathen men and publicans, and with them he does -not wish to hold intercourse. He employs members of his own church, -however, to distribute tracts among them as regularly as among his chosen -people, even although these dissenters are full communicants in their own -“chapels.” - -I was allowed to visit the rectory grounds and afterward to see the house -itself, through the courtesy of an assistant in the National school, who -was also a servant in the rector’s family. The house was not so much -distinguished by the elegance of its carpets and other furniture as by -the number and variety of its cabinets (among them I may reckon a great -carved chest), by the quantity of china displayed, and to some extent -by paintings and natural history collections. The ladies were absent, -but I met the rector for a moment or two, and it seemed to me that he -considered me to need pruning or cutting down. But he was kind enough -to allow the lady’s-maid who conducted me to find for me in the library -one or two works which I wished to consult, and she was sufficiently -intelligent to aid me, and obliging enough to do so. - -When we walked through the garden I observed that a net was spread to -protect cherries from the birds, and that currants were trained to the -top of the wall, about eight feet. - -Mrs. Benton, the farmer’s wife, received a letter from the former -rector. She said that he had removed to the “’op” country, to Kent. She -described him as a tiny little man, over eighty, a very stanch liberal in -politics; a clever, very learned man. - -While I was still in the village, Mr. Rounce’s two daughters had a -lawn-tennis party on their grounds, and the guests could be seen from -the road. Three of the men appeared to be “in their shirt-sleeves.” I -learned at Mr. Benton’s that the guests would be about fifty in number, -the farmer’s young daughters being permitted to look on. It was thought -that the refreshments would be tea, coffee, and cakes, handed round,—Miss -Rounce being a teetotaller. - - -DISSENTERS. - -A rector of the Established Church, whom I met upon a railroad train, -spoke to me of there being here one hundred and fifty different religious -sects, but the number seemed incredible. Afterwards, however, an -acquaintance pointed out to me the list in Whitaker’s Almanac for 1881. -This list is headed - - “Religious sects. Places of Worship. - - “Places of meeting for religious worship in England and Wales - have been certified to the Registrar-General on behalf of - persons described as follows.” - -And the list, instead of numbering one hundred and fifty only, goes up at -least to one hundred and sixty-nine. - -The dissenting chapel in the village which I am endeavoring to describe -was a brick edifice, and the yard contained a number of conspicuous -monumental stones. Two prominent sects were united to compose the -congregation, and the number of communicants was one hundred and thirty. -I call the building a chapel, as the English do; nothing is a church, in -fashionable speech, that does not belong to the establishment. - -There was within the bounds of the parish a third “meeting-house,” -where the assembly is composed mainly of a few members of a religious -body, generally respected, but declining in numbers. I had a letter of -introduction to one of the members here, and when I spoke of her to Mrs. -Jackson, the carpenter’s wife, Mrs. J. told me that I might be able to -receive an introduction to others by means of her to whom the letter was -addressed, who was a person of education and the wife of a retired farmer. - -“Now,” I asked, “how likely shall I be to see the rector?” - -“Oh, not at all!” There is such a strong feeling against dissenters is -one reason why I should not meet him. - -On the other hand, a dissenting minister, in speaking to me of the -Established Church, remarked that the feeling against it is more -political than religious. There is nothing, he added, in the doctrines of -the Church of England that is repugnant to a vast number of people who -attend dissenting churches; the objection is to a religious denomination -which is elevated by the state over others, and consequently has greater -social power and prestige. - -But one whom I met at a neighboring town spoke more strongly. He was a -retired farmer who had travelled in our country. He brought forward the -following objections to an established church. The people have little or -no choice as regards their own clergyman; they have no control over their -own forms of worship; and all spiritual life is destroyed in the church. - -In further conversation he said, “Can I forget that I am socially -persecuted because I am a dissenter; that my father was commercially -persecuted for being a dissenter,—he could not rent a farm on equal -terms; that my grandfather was probably excluded from holding office -for being a dissenter; and my great-grandfather, if a dissenter, would -have been thrown into jail for attending a conventicle. But it may be -said, ‘Why rake up old sores?’ Simply because the same persecuting -spirit remains, and if the dissenters were not so strong in numbers, -and consequently in political power and wealth, the same things would -be done again.” He added that no farmer should be a dissenter. He -himself belonged to a Liberation society. He wondered at the apathy of -the Americans in not sympathizing with them in their efforts against an -established church. (I have given my friend’s words from my notes, but -I suspect that the date at which Quakers and others were imprisoned in -England was not so recent as that of the gentleman’s great-grandfather.) - -The following anecdote was given to me by another person, also a retired -farmer. It concerns a man of some distinction, now dead, and who did not -bear the name which I assign him. This as well as others are substitutes. -My friend told me that when Carter Gray rented a mill from Lady Letitia -Robyn he also rented from her a large farm, which he conducted to much -profit. He built schools in his neighborhood and also a dissenting -chapel, and the clergy got at the Lady Letitia and induced her to take -the farm from him. But she did not take away the mill. Carter Gray was -so popular that although a dissenter he was appointed a magistrate. The -lord lieutenant of the county has the recommendation for magistrates and -had declared against a dissenter, but Lord John Russell is supposed to -have been in Mr. Gray’s favor. “Lord John was a great liberal,” added my -acquaintance. “Until his persevering action in Parliament the dissenters -had a hard time of it.” - - * * * * * - -In the English village I describe, I called at the modest residence -of the dissenting minister. He had studied at the Baptist Theological -Seminary in London. I found him to be interested in several of our home -authors. Among his books were the complete works of Ralph Waldo Emerson -(London: Bell & Daldy). He said that there is no one he honors more than -Emerson, except, perhaps, their own Carlyle. He said that he had in his -theological library Channing’s works and another man’s, Beecher,—Ward -Beecher. “I have a great admiration for that man.” He had Lowell’s poems, -and rejoiced in Lowell. He spoke of the “Biglow Papers,” and of the pious -editor’s creed, repeating, - - “I du believe in principle, - But oh! I du in interest.” - - -TAXES AND TITHES. - -The rates for the poor, for repair of roads, for police (for there is a -policeman in every village), and for the county prison amounted in the -parish I speak of to about two shillings and sixpence in the pound of -the assessed annual value of the land. As the pound is twenty shillings, -the assessment consequently is over twelve per cent. - -The burden of supporting the poor, while much lighter than in Ireland, -must be far heavier than in our country. Huntingdonshire is one of -the smallest counties in England. In 1871 it contained less than -seventy thousand people, and at the time of my visit had four unions -or poor-houses. But this does not altogether represent the amount of -poverty. In another farming region, I understood that the farm-laborer, -even though he be sober, honest, and industrious, seldom or never lays -by enough to support his family in his age, but becomes partially or -entirely dependent on parish relief. But out-door relief in the parish I -have been describing, and perhaps in England generally, is granted only -to the aged; young people must go into “The House.” There they pick oakum -and work garden ground. Children are put out at fourteen or earlier, if -they have passed in the school “the fourth standard.” No child is allowed -during the period that school is open to go to work under the age of ten. - - * * * * * - -Tithes in this parish of Haddenham cum Stonea average about one dollar -and eighty cents to the acre. If there were sufficient land attached -to the rectory for the income to support Mr. Rounce there would be no -tithes, but there are only sixty acres of glebe land, and the living is -worth, as I have stated, about six thousand dollars yearly. The sixty -acres of glebe land bring in about five hundred dollars, hence the -remainder is to be raised by tithes. - -I have spoken of Jackson, the carpenter with whom I boarded. He was a -dissenter, and they attended the chapel. He rented, however, six acres of -land, and his tithes to the English Church were about ten dollars yearly. - -Formerly Quakers resisted the payment of tithes. A friend told me that -his father, uncle, and grandfather were imprisoned in the county jail for -non-payment. When he himself farmed three hundred and twenty-two acres, -he paid five hundred and twenty pounds rent and one hundred and twenty -pounds for tithes. This money was generally seized from him. He had -land in three parishes, and numerous warrants were out against him. The -officers would come with cart or wagon, and seize his grain while he was -threshing. In his father’s time they would have green boughs, and stick -one into every tenth shock of grain or hay. But Friends have now given up -this contest, and pay tithes quietly. Apparently he did not think them -burdensome. - - * * * * * - -Tolls on roads were abolished in England only a few years ago, and the -expense now falls on the landholder. We do not often see in our country -such a road as connects the two villages which I describe under the name -Haddenham and Stonea. It is a highway in splendid form and order, with a -wide grassy margin and a ditch on each side. On one is a wide, gravelled -footpath, and fine green hedges separate the road from the fields. - - -SCHOOLS. - -There are three schools in these two villages. One of them is a Dame -school, or an unpretending private one, which I did not visit; but -the two principal ones deserve attention from the students of our -institutions and of English ones. They are public schools, although -people pay for tuition. That in Haddenham is a National school, that -in Stonea a British school. In the former, Mr. Rounce, the rector, is -manager, and the doctrines of the Church of England are taught. The -other, the British school, is under charge of a board, or of a committee, -of which several members are dissenters. - -I first visited the National or Church of England school. Eighty-one -names were upon the roll and fifty in attendance at one of my visits. -(Some little ones were at work in the fields, weeding, or perhaps -hay-making.) Pupils may enter at two years. The printed form issued by -government asks, “How many have you under three?” And by the obligatory -law the schools can claim them at five. - -Upon the walls of the school were several maps, a large printed copy of -the Creed, large tablets of the Commandments, and little pictures from -the Bible, with perhaps a few from natural history. The blackboard was an -insignificant one, about four feet square. I observed the small amount of -blackboard surface provided, and the youngest teacher said that in the -British schools there is blackboard on the sides of the room. - -There was in the school a little picture of the royal family. “We teach -them loyalty to the queen,” said one of the teachers. - -Connected with the school was an infant department. Here the blackboard -measured about one foot by eighteen inches. There were a few objects upon -the walls, but there seemed to me a general bareness of appliances for -instruction. - -This school is an endowed one, having fourteen acres of land; it has -always been a National school, or one where the principles of the -Church of England are taught. Five years ago it became a government -school,—_i.e._, it has become an “efficient elementary school” under the -government; it is examined by a government inspector, and for children -coming up to the government standard the school receives a small sum -in payment on each. These “results,” as they are called, all pass -into the rector’s hands, as manager of the school, to be appropriated -either toward the payment of teachers or for school apparatus. Here all -apparatus is paid for from this fund. - -For instruction of children farmers pay four cents a week for each child; -others two. The parish pays for pauper children. The amount of the -endowment and the government grant are not even enough, I am told, to pay -the principal; and the two assistants are paid by the rector. - -National or, in other words, Church of England schools are also visited -by a diocesan inspector, appointed by the bishop to report their progress -in “Holy Scripture, Prayer-Book, and Catechism.” This school having been -reported very good last year, a gift of about seven dollars was made to -the teacher and monitor. - -Instruction must be given for four hundred sessions yearly, equivalent to -two hundred days. - -Some teachers in government schools receive pensions, but as the number -of pensions in England and Scotland is limited to two hundred and -seventy, there are not enough for all. Before leaving this school, I may -mention that I made some inquiry about the chapel, which stood not far -off. One of the teachers answered, “I know nothing about dissent; I never -go into those places.” - - * * * * * - -The school in the other village of Stonea (Haddenham cum Stonea) was -called the British school, and was much larger, having one hundred and -forty pupils. The room was large and well lighted, and there was an -appearance of thrift and animation in the scholars. It is not under the -control of the Church of England; neither are members of that church -excluded from its management. It is managed by a committee of seven, -of whom two or three are members of the church. The services of the -committee, including the secretary, are gratuitous. The school has -an income of three hundred dollars, drawn from a gift in land, made -many years ago for the free education of village-born children. This -sum is supplemented by subscription. This school also is visited by -the government inspector, and a certain sum is paid, according to the -attainments of the children, called, as I have said, “the results.” The -committee decides what shall be done with this sum. - -The school funds are further supplemented thus: In the village the -children pay two cents a week. Those out of the village pay, if laborers, -four cents for the first child, and two for each of the others. Persons -of means pay twelve cents a week, but there are very few such. - -Members of the Society of Friends, “who have always been active -in education,” raised a general subscription for building a new -school-house, and the government added a grant; “the government would -always thus assist to build a public school.” - -Religious instruction is not obligatory here as in the National school; -it is at the option of the committee, who have decided to have Bible -instruction for the first hour in the morning. The government allows any -one who brings a written request from his father to absent himself from -this instruction. No such case has ever arisen here. It may in towns -where there are Free-thinkers and Catholics. - -This school is plentifully supplied with blackboards. The principal -difference that I observed in instruction between this and some public -ones I have known at home was in arithmetic. A series of six small -practical arithmetics was in use. At the close of each were examination -questions. Here is the last in Standard 6, the highest: “If 27 men build -54 roods of garden wall in 26 days, how many roods will 32 men, working -equally well, build in 39 days?” Perhaps twice in a week they have mental -arithmetic. Here is the last question in Standard 5, mental: “A yard at -half a guinea an inch?” - -These elementary schools in villages are mixed, or for both sexes; in -towns they are not. By the act of 1870, a pupil must enter school at -five (education being obligatory), and remain until thirteen. There -are, however, six standards in the school, and a pupil who wishes to go -to work sooner may demand a certificate if he has finished the fourth -standard, and is not obliged to finish the term. - -I asked of one of the teachers or monitors in this British school whether -she had ever visited the other, the National school. She replied that she -would not like to go there. She seemed to fear that she would be thought -a spy. The rector does not visit this British school. “Unfortunately,” -said one to me, “in our country the Church of England people think -themselves above everybody else, and unless they can have the management -of affairs will have nothing to do with them. The rector feels that he -ought to have the management of the school, and is sore on that point; -but it has been a successful school for forty years, and nothing that the -rector can do can injure it.” - -I asked, “Has the teacher of the National school ever visited this one?” - -“No; where the rector does not go, his people may not. We have tried -every means to unite with them, but without effect. All the exertions -here are for the good of the school, but in the other village for the -good of the church. They want a teacher who will serve them in the -school, the Sunday-school, and the choir.” - -But on this parish controversy a few words were spoken to me by a -diligent member of the Established Church. He said, “The rector thinks -he ought to be one of the trustees of the British school, as a bequest -upon which it is in part founded says that the clergyman of the parish -shall be one of the trustees, but they say that they will wait until -the trusteeship is vacant.” The place was filled, I understood, by the -former rector, who, as I have said, was described as a tiny little man; a -clever, very learned man; a stanch liberal in politics, over eighty years -of age. - - * * * * * - -Afterwards, in Manchester, I met a person who spoke further on the -subject of public schools. I give what he said, as drawn from my notes, -on his own authority; for although it does not especially concern the -parish of Haddenham cum Stonea, yet it does the general subject of -English schools. - -He said that the members of the Church of England support National -or Church of England schools. The Roman Catholics support their own. -The dissenters support unsectarian British schools, which receive -all denominations. There is yet another class of elementary ones, -namely, School Board schools. These boards are elected by the rate- or -tax-payers. The schools are established in districts where there are not -enough others to educate the children. It not unfrequently happens that -a Church school or a British one which is unable to support itself, in -spite of the government assistance before described, is turned over by -its conductors to the school board. In Manchester this board has now in -its schools about two-fifths of the children. - -If the board wishes to establish a new school it has first to obtain -leave from the committee on education of the Privy Council, belonging -to the general government or to the ministry for the time being. The -policy of the government is to prevent school boards from supplanting -the sectarian schools; they are only allowed to supplement them, and no -matter how poor the sectarian school may be, there is no way of getting -it closed so long as Her Majesty’s inspector pronounces it efficient. -The reports of the inspectors show that Board schools are improving more -rapidly than others. - -When by the act of 1870 these schools were first established they were -regarded by the conductors of the others with contempt, especially -by those of the Roman Catholic and Church schools; but such has been -their progress within this brief period that they are now regarded with -jealousy. - -As to the prices charged by the Board schools, they must submit the -payment of their proposed fees to the committee of Privy Council. The -others mentioned may charge up to eighteen cents a week for instruction. - -If a private school be inefficient, the school board may prosecute the -parents of the children. But this applies to schools which teach pupils -at less than eighteen cents per week; such as the old “Dame schools,” now -nearly extinct, at least in Manchester. - - -MISCELLANEOUS. - -Ways of living in England differ from those I am accustomed to in points -before mentioned, such as the large number of meals, and the short hours -of farm labor. A Lancashire youth complained that they clemmed or starved -him in America on three meals a day. In this rural region those who can -afford it take four, tea being in the afternoon and supper before going -to bed. - -Of articles of furniture I especially noticed two. One of them, which is -nearly universal in England and Ireland, is entirely out of date where -I live. It is the old-fashioned dressing-glass, which swings in a frame -and stands upon a table. I do not remember its absence in any house that -could afford it. Another article that I saw more rarely, but in both -England and Ireland, was the canopy over the head of the bed. Of one I -saw the framework was of heavy wood, with curtains at the side running on -rings. A straight piece of the same material hung down behind the head -of the bed. At my hotel in Cork this canopy was of faded blue damask; -at the carpenter’s in the village, of faded red, and above trimmed with -heavy woollen fringe. A handsomer one was on my bed in London. Perhaps -this canopy is all that remains of curtains that formerly surrounded the -bed. - - * * * * * - -I have spoken of mangling as used in England. Mrs. Jackson, the -carpenter’s wife, hired a woman to come to the house once a month -to wash. It took them both two days to do it, and Mrs. Jackson paid -regularly about twenty-four cents a day; or if the woman made a long day, -twenty-eight. In harvest she must pay higher. (When Benton, the farmer -with whom I boarded, heard me speak of our paying washer-women here -seventy-five cents or a dollar, he said that before he would pay so much -he would turn his shirt or throw it into a pool and give it a slop wash.) - -After Mrs. Jackson’s clothes were dried she took them to a neighbor’s -to be mangled. The mangle is not unlike a great wringer with rollers; -and if the clothes are damp, it rolls them smooth. Mrs. Jackson’s -neighbor allowed people to do their own mangling at “tuppence ha’penny or -thruppence,” according to the size of the basket. This is a great saving -of fuel, and Mrs. Jackson said that they look just as well. - - * * * * * - -Active sports seem to have more prominence in England than in our own -country. At Haddenham I called toward evening at the teacher’s, and found -that he had gone to play cricket. And young Benton, son of the farmer, -had gone too. He seemed actively engaged in business, but one morning -he was up early, as he wished to go that day to a cricket-match, eleven -miles distant. At Benton’s, mention was made of one of their relatives, -who had been much given to cricket and other sports, and who had gone to -Canada. He said that if he had worked as hard in England as he did in -America, he would have got on there. - -Yet Benton, the farmer, thinks it strange that I do not want to see the -races in their county town. - -Skating is a favorite amusement. On a meadow near by, which is always -covered with water in the winter, they have skating-matches. On the fens -are great skaters, I hear, and people come from all parts to compete with -them. - - * * * * * - -One of the strongest evidences of a higher state of civilization than -ours (and perhaps of a different climate) is that Mrs. Benton, the -farmer’s wife, told me that she had never seen a man without stockings -in her life. All the children in the British school (I think in both -schools) wore both shoes and stockings, and some woollen stockings, -though the month was July. However, the teacher said that in the north of -England children go barefoot; and I had just come from Ireland, where I -had heard of laborers’ children that passed the winter without stockings -or shoes. - - * * * * * - -In our own country I had read or heard of English farmers who rode -in handsome vehicles, who wore silk hats, who occasionally drank -champagne. But great farmers, cultivating hundreds of acres, must be -capitalists. Of course there will be less luxury in straitened times. I -heard, however, that a respectable farmer would never go to church, or -especially to a funeral, places where he wished to show respect, without -a silk hat. At market he might wear one of felt or straw. - -Other matters being equal, the retired farmer is more nearly one of the -gentry than the retired tradesman. In the parish of Haddenham cum Stonea, -where I dwelt, perhaps the only person that came within that charmed -circle, the nobility and gentry, was the rector of the church, and he -did not stand high in it. I heard of the daughters of one clergyman who -invited another to dine, and told him that it would be a nice party, -“nobody who did not keep a footman or lady’s-maid.” If a distinguished -dissenting minister like Spurgeon should come to a country town to -lecture, in all probability he would not be socially noticed by the -nobility and gentry. - -A young Englishwoman told me that her sister, who lived in our country, -said that the Americans are more polite than the English; and two -Englishmen who had travelled here spoke of the many attentions which they -had received. - - * * * * * - -In this region of eastern England villages are found bearing names -derived from the Saxon. I have called this parish Haddenham cum Stonea. -The syllable ham comes from the Saxon, and means a dwelling, hence our -word home. The syllable _ea_, in Stonea, means water. - -Said the dissenting minister, “There is no part of England where the -people are freer and more independent in thought than in these eastern -counties of Norfolk, Suffolk, Huntingdon, and parts of Cambridge and -Lincoln.” And he inferred that from these counties our Pilgrim fathers -must have sprung. About fifty miles from the parish I describe lies the -city of Boston, from which came Mr. Cotton, the preacher in whose honor -our own city of Boston was named. - -“The last struggles of the Anglo-Saxons against the Normans were in these -counties,” said one. “At Ely, then an island in the centre of the fens, -Hereward fortified himself for a while, and made the last struggles -against the Normans.” - -An acquaintance who had visited America remarked to me that the district -of Cambridgeshire and Huntingdonshire, where we were, is typically -agricultural; that there are very few resident gentry; therefore the -social life of this region more resembles that of the United States than -does that of most other sections of England. - -In this county of Huntingdonshire was born Oliver Cromwell, and at -its town of St. Ives he lived. In this section he probably raised his -celebrated soldiers called Ironsides. But the conservatives of England do -not admire Cromwell. About twenty years ago in his native county it was -found impossible to raise means to erect his statue.[169] - - * * * * * - -On this side of the county are no county families bearing the title -Esquire. ⸺ Farrar, Esq., north of us, is a great landed proprietor, with -an income of about two hundred and twenty-five thousand dollars. The -Earl of S. and the Duke of M. are also large landed proprietors. The -Duke of Bedford owns an estate in Thorny Fen of perhaps ten to fifteen -thousand acres. My friend who tells me this thinks that the estate, -however, is in another county from this. He understands that the duke -expects each tenant to take one thousand acres and to keep a hunter. The -duke is a liberal in politics. - -The subject of politics was alluded to in the opening of this article, in -the remarks of Jackson, the carpenter. Another acquaintance said, “If you -go to a nobleman or great landed proprietor to rent a farm, you must be -deferential and, as a general thing, you must vote on his side. If a man -is a liberal, he must go under a liberal landlord; and if a tory, under a -tory. Perhaps one-third of the House of Lords are liberals,” he added. - -Benton, the farmer, did not tell me his political opinions. He said that -the ballot is secret. But he added that a man’s political opinions have -not now anything to do with renting the land. - -But a person whom I afterward met in Manchester said that the -agricultural districts were in the main thoroughly tory, the farmers -being dependent on the landlords. He added that the late Lord Derby used -to say, “Tell me what the landlords are and I will tell you what the vote -will be.” - - * * * * * - -Haddenham cum Stonea has declined in population. In 1840 the parish -had nearly one thousand four hundred inhabitants. It now has about one -thousand. Many went to America; now many go north into the manufacturing -regions. Nor are these two villages alone in this. Jackson, the -carpenter, told me of one where he had lived which, at the last census, -had three hundred and thirty people. Twenty years back, he said, it had -over five hundred. - -Public-houses are numerous in these villages. They are mostly simple -ale-houses, with such titles as the Three Horse-Shoes, the Rose and -Crown, the Three Jolly Butchers. I counted at least eleven in a village -of less than seven hundred people. - -The wages of a farm-laborer here are under two dollars and seventy-five -cents a week, and he boards himself. The cottagers on the farm where I -boarded got their houses free and a rood of ground in which to plant -potatoes. While at Haddenham I visited a friend in a near village, who -took me to ride upon the fens, and her husband particularly desired -her to show me some cottages, or laborers’ houses, that he had built. -The point that I was especially to observe was the rooms provided for -sleeping, there being a bedroom down-stairs and two or more above. On -this subject I spoke to Mrs. Benton, the farmer’s wife, who said that the -laborers here have generally a kitchen, I believe a better room, and two -chambers. She admitted that the boys and girls have to sleep in the same -room. - -Mrs. Benton said that if the laborer’s wife, who has a number of young -children, is kind and considerate of her husband, she will try to provide -him a bit of meat daily, but it will be but a little bit; and the -children will not taste meat oftener than once a week. - -As I have before intimated, hours of labor are easy,—farm hands getting -half an hour for lunch, and an hour for dinner. (But I cannot say whether -this lunch-time is allowed at other than harvest.) In hay and harvest -they work overtime, and are paid for overwork. - -Fruit-picking was going on while I was at Haddenham. In fruit-gathering -times, when the wives and boys get out a little, meat may be more -plentiful in laborers’ houses. There is a great press at fruit-gathering. -The people go out in gangs about six or seven o’clock, and return about -seven. The wages are about thirty-two cents a day. A market for the fruit -is furnished by the manufacturing regions, where farm produce is more -scarce. - -At Haddenham I heard that after harvest they have a thanksgiving -festival. There is a village flower-show in the rectory grounds and a -public tea. They deck the church with wheat, barley, oats, beans, grapes, -apples, and pears, and have a service in the evening. A collection is -taken up for the county hospital, which is supported almost entirely by -voluntary subscription. - -To return once more to education. It is now compulsory, as I have said; -but a friend estimated that of the people over thirty, a large proportion -could not read and write. - - -PECULIARITIES OF SPEECH. - -To us that one by which the English drop the letter h where it belongs, -and put it on where it does not, is one of the most striking; as, Harable -land is ’eavier taxed; my huncle is not very ’ealthy. - -Two ways of speaking that are called Yankee with us are found here; one -is the sharp _ou_. - -“Please tell me,” I inquired, “where Mr. G.’s house is.” - -“It’s the last hayoose in tayoon; a big hayoose,” answered the boy. - -The other “Yankee” peculiarity is dropping the letter r. School-children -said ’osses for horses. Buttah was said for butter, and Hemmingford -sounded like Emmenfauld. A woman spoke of a certain Mr. Halbut. I had -thought that his name was Wiseman. Yes; Mr. Halbut (Albert) Wiseman. - -Comin’ I heard for coming; they used to say shay-house for chaise-house; -and I am told that in Norfolk they say _du_ and _tu_ for do and to. - -The carpenter’s wife said, “The bread is silly,” meaning heavy. - -A spinney is a grove. - -Laboring men call a lunch a dockey; and in another neighborhood a beaver. - -Said an innkeeper, “The people come to flit them,”—to help them move. - -Frequently “I dare say” becomes _dessay_, or _I’d say_. - -We say to-day; they also say to-year. And when it begins to thaw, they -say the weather is ungiving, it ungives. - - - - -APPENDIX. - -THE PENNSYLVANIA GERMAN DIALECT. - - -The “Pennsylvania Dutch,” which is spoken over a large portion of our -own State, and is also heard in Maryland, Virginia, Ohio, Indiana, and -Illinois, is not divided into dialects as are the languages of many -European countries, but seems to be nearly homogeneous. The following -specimen was taken from the lips of a working-woman born in Cumberland -County, Pennsylvania, of German descent, but who learned most of her -“Dutch” in the State of Maryland. She now lives in Lancaster County, -Pennsylvania. An English article was read to her; and with some little -difficulty she turned it into the version given. This version was -submitted to a learned gentleman born in the eastern part of this State, -but now living in Lancaster, and he declared it to be a good specimen of -Pennsylvania German. I have abbreviated it, and give the English first, -so that the difficulty may be observed which the translator found in the -version. - -“At Millville, New Jersey, about noon, while everybody in town was going -to dinner, a deer came dashing down through the main street, and right -behind it followed a dozen dogs, barking the loudest they knew how. Every -dog on the line of the chase joined in, so that when the edge of the town -was reached there were nearly fifty dogs after the deer. One solitary -horseman caught on to the procession before it left town, and he was soon -followed by a score of others, and inside of half an hour there were only -women and factory hands left in the town. The deer got into the woods and -escaped. A hound, which a merchant sent to Philadelphia for on Thursday, -brought the deer to bay, and the merchant’s son fired the fatal shot.” - -“_An Millville, New Jersey, about Mitdog, wie all die Leit in der Stadt -zu Mittag gange sin, en Hayrsch is darrich die main Schtross schprunge, -und recht hinne noch ein dutzet Hund noch schprunge, und hen so laut -gejolt als sie hen könne. All die Hund in der Schtadt sind oof die -Geschpoor und sin noch; so wie sie an die End von der Schtadt sin der -ware about fufzig Hund am Hayrsch noch. Ein ehnzige Reiter ist noch -eh sie aus der Schtadt kumme sind und es ware gly zwanzig meh, und in -weniger als en Halb-stund da war Niemand meh in der Schtadt als Wipesleit -und die factory Hendt. Der Hayrsch ist in der Busch kumme und sie hen ihn -verlore. En Houns voo ein Merchant in Philadelphia geschickt hat dafore, -hat den Hayrsch schtill schteh mache; und der Merchant sei Sohn hat ihn -dote schosse._” - -But although the Pennsylvania German is not divided into the great number -of dialects or varieties found in Europe (I hear that there are about -fifty in little Switzerland), yet there are differences here in the -spoken dialect. While visiting at the house of a gentleman born in Lehigh -County, but living in Lebanon, the following were pointed out to me. In -Lehigh a lantern is a _lutzer_; in Lebanon, _lattern_. In the former the -word for orchard is _boongart_; in the latter, _bomegarte_. Meadow is -_Schwamm_ in the former, and _Viss_ in the latter. The adverb _orrick_ -(_arg_) is very much used in Pennsylvania German; but a clergyman coming -to live in Lebanon County was reproved by some of his plain friends for -its use. Perhaps it is nearly synonymous with our _darned_,—“That’s -darned cheap.” Der _Arge_ in the Bible is the evil one. - -Mr. Weiser, of the Reformed Church, finds differences in adjoining -counties. Thus, in Berks a set of bars in a fence is _en Falder_; in -Montgomery, _E’fahrt_ (or a place to drive through). In Lehigh they say -of a drunken man, “_Er hat e Kischt ah_” (he carries a chest); but this -is not heard in the near parts of Montgomery. Tomatoes are sometimes, I -think, called _Goomeranze_ in Allentown, and in Bucks County _Boomeranze_ -(from _Pomeranze_, an orange); but this is not heard in Lancaster County. - -A learned German in Philadelphia says that several different dialects -have flowed like streams into Pennsylvania,—one the Palatinate, another -the Suabian, a third Allemanian, a fourth Swiss; and Prof. Dubbs, of -Franklin and Marshall College, Lancaster, but born in Allentown, finds -in the region with which he is familiar, east of the Susquehanna, three -plainly marked sub-dialects. The one east of the Schuylkill is marked -by the diminutive _chen_ in the place of _lein_. In that district a -little pig is called _Säuche_, and west of the Schuylkill _Säulie_ -(for _Säulein_). A third sub-dialect, he says, is peculiar to some of -the sects of Lancaster County. It is probably of Swiss origin, and is -marked by a broad drawl. (The late Prof. Haldeman remarked that in our -dialect the perfect is used for the imperfect tense, as in Swiss; so that -for “ich sagte” (I said) we have “ich hab ksaat” (gesagt), and for “ich -hatte” (I had) we have “ich hab kat” (gehabt)). - -(The following excellent remarks on the Pennsylvania dialect are taken -from an article in the _Mercersburg Review_ by Prof. Stahr, now also -of Franklin and Marshall College, Lancaster. I have made some trifling -alterations, mostly in parenthesis.) - -“It is of course impossible in our present limits to specify all the -peculiarities of Pennsylvania German, so as to give an adequate idea of -its form to those who are not familiar with it. We may, however, state a -few general principles, which will enable any one conversant with High -German to read and understand the dialect without difficulty. In the -first place it must be borne in mind that the letters have the _South -German_ sound: _a_ has the broad sound like the English _aw_; _st_ and -_sp_ whenever they occur sound broad, like _scht_ and _schp_, etc. -Secondly, letters are commuted or changed. Instead of the proper sound of -the modified vowel or _Umlaut ō_, we find the sound of the German _ē_ or -the English _ā_, and instead of _ü_ we find _ie_ or _i_, equivalent to -the English _i_ in _machine_, or the same shortened as in pin. Instead -of the proper sound of _eu_, we have the German _ei_ or the English -_ī_. Instead of _au_, particularly when it undergoes modification in -inflections, we have broad _a_ or _aa_ in the unmodified, and _ä_ or _āā_ -in the modified, form. Thus we have _Baam_ for _Baum_, and _Bääm’_ for -_Baüme_; _laafe’_ for _laufen_, and _laaft_ or _lääft_ for _laüft_. The -diphthong ei is often changed into long _e_ or _ee_. Thus for _Stein_ we -have _Stee’_ (pronounced Shtay), for _Bein_, _Bee’_, for _Eid_ we have -_Eed_, for _Leid_, _Leed_. _A_ is often changed into _o_, as _Johr_ for -_Jahr_, _Hoor_ for _Haar_; _i_ is changed into _e_, as _werd_ for _wird_ -(_Es wird Schlimm_ is spoken _Schvate schlimm_), _Hert_ for _Hirt_, etc. -Consonants are also frequently changed; _b_ into _w_ (_Bievel_ is heard -for Bibel), _p_ into _b_, _t_ into _d_, etc. Thirdly, words are shortened -by dropping the terminations, especially _n_ of the infinitive or -generally after _e_. Prefixes are frequently contracted, so also compound -words. Thus instead of _werden_, _folgen_, _fangen_, we have _werre’_, -_folge’_, _fange’_; _einmal_ becomes _emol_; _nicht mehr_, _nimme_, etc. -Fourthly, the Pennsylvania dialect uses High German words in a different -sense. Thus for _Pferd_, horse, we have _Gaul_, which in High German -means a heavy farm-horse or an old horse; _gleiche_, from the High German -_gleichen_, to resemble, means in the Pennsylvania dialect, to like; -_gucke’_, from High German _gucken_, to peep, to pry, means to look. -Finally, we find English words introduced in their full form, either with -or without German prefixes and modifications; e.g., _Store_ (Schtore), -_Rüles_, _Cäpers_, _Circumstänces_, _trävele_, _stärte_, _fixe_, _fighte_. - -“Nouns have scarcely any changes of form, except to distinguish singular -and plural. These, where they exist, are the same as in High German. One -of the most striking peculiarities is this: the genitive case is never -used to indicate possession, the dative is used in connection with a -possessive pronoun. Thus instead of _Der Hut des Mannes_ (the hat of the -man) we find _Dem Mann sei’ Hut_ (to the man his hat).... The definite -article is used for _dieser_, _diese_, _dieses_ (this), and _seller_, -_selle_, _sell_, for _jener_, _jene_, _jenes_ (that). The adverb _wo_ is -used instead of the relatives _welcher_, _welche_, _welches_. - -“In inflecting pronouns, _mir_ is used instead of _wir_ (us). The verb -has no imperfect tense; the perfect is always used for it in Pennsylvania -German. (And it will be observed, I think, that those accustomed to -speaking the dialect will use the perfect thus in English.) - -“From _wollen_ we have: _Ich will_, _du witt_, _er will_, _mir wolle’_, -_ihr wolle’_, _sie wolle’_; and from _haben_: _Ich hab_, _du hoscht_, _er -hot_, _mir hen_ (from han, haben), _ihr hen_, _sie hen_.” - - * * * * * - -The number of writers in the dialect is becoming numerous. There are -Mr. Zimmermann and Dr. Bruner, of Berks County, Rev. F. J. F. Schantz, -originally of Lehigh, and Rev. Eli Keller and Mr. Henninger of the same; -also Miss Bahn and Mr. H. L. Fisher, of York County. The most popular -writer is the late Henry Harbaugh, of the Reformed Church, whose poems -are collected under the title _Harbaugh’s Harfe_. Among them the favorite -is _Das alt Schulhaus an der Krick_. (The old school-house on the creek.) -In publishing this volume, the English words introduced after the manner -of our Pennsylvania Germans have been generally replaced by German, so -that it is not a perfect specimen of the spoken language. Here follow a -few lines from Harbaugh’s _Heimweh_, or Homesickness: - - “Wie gleich ich selle Babble-Beem! - Sie schtehn wie Brieder dar; - Un uf’m Gippel—g’wiss ich leb! - Hock’t alleweil ’n Schtaar! - ’S Gippel biegt sich—guk, wie’s gaunscht, - ’R hebt sich awer fescht; - Ich seh sei rothe Fliegle plehn - Wann er sei Feddere wescht; - Will wette, dass sei Fraale hot - Uf sellem Baam ’n Nescht.” - - How well I love those poplar-trees, - That stand like brothers there! - And on the top, as sure’s I live, - A blackbird perches now. - The top is bending, how it swings! - But still the bird holds fast. - How plain I saw his scarlet wings - When he his feathers dressed! - I’ll bet you on that very tree - His deary has a nest. - -The most witty prose articles that I have met are some in Wollenweber’s -_Gemälde aus dem Pennsylvanischen Volkleben_. (Pictures of Pennsylvania -Life.) - -Mr. E. H. Rauch (Pit Schwefflebrenner) accommodates himself to the great -number of our “Dutch” people who do not read German by writing the -dialect phonetically, in this manner: “_Der klea meant mer awer, sei -net recht g’sund for er kreisht ols so greisel-heftict orrick (arg) in -der nacht. De olt Lawbucksy behawpt es is was mer aw gewocksa heast, un -meant mer set braucha derfore. Se sawya es waer an olty fraw drivva im -Lodwaerrickshteddle de kennt’s aw wocksa ferdreiv mit warta, im aw so a -g’schmeer hut was se mocht mit gensfet._” (The little one seems to me -not to be quite well, for he cries so dreadfully in the night. Old Mrs. -Lawbucks maintains that he is what we call grown (enlargement of the -liver), and thinks that I should powwow for it. She says that there was -an old woman in Apple-butter town who knew how to drive away the growth -with words, and who has too an ointment that she makes with goose-fat.) - -I have already stated that our Pennsylvania dialect has been thought to -be formed from different European sources; but Mr. H. L. Fisher, of York, -has lately shown me a collection of Nadler’s poems in the Palatinate -dialect, which, he says, more nearly resemble our idiom than anything -else which he has seen. Also at Allentown, Mr. Dubbs, of the Reformed -Church, has mentioned a collection which he thinks resembles much our -Pennsylvania German. It is the poems of Ludwig Schandein, in the Westrich -dialect. These are both dialects of the Rhenish Palatinate, the former of -the district on the Rhine, the latter of the western or more mountainous -part. And as the Germans coming into Pennsylvania were at one time called -Palatines, it is not remarkable that these Palatinate dialects resemble -ours. Here is a specimen of the eastern or lowland dialect: - - “Yetz erscht waasz i’s, yetz erscht glaaw i’s, - Was mar in de Lieder singt; - Yetz erscht glaaw i’s, dann jetz waasz i’s, - Dasz die Lieb aam Schmerze bringt. - - “Nachdigalle dhune schlage, - Dasz ’s dorch Berg un Dhäler klingt; - Unser Bawrebuwe awwer - Dasz aam’s Herz im Leib verschpringt!” - - At last I know, at last believe it, - That what our poets sing is so; - At last I think, yes, now I know it, - That love brings also pain and woe. - - The nightingales so sweetly warble, - Their notes through hill and dale do ring; - But oh! the heart in the breast is riven - Whene’er our peasant boys do sing! - -Here is a specimen from Schandein’s poems in the Westrich dialect: - - “So lewe wul, ehr liewe Alte, - Do i’s mei’ Hann, Glick uf die Rês! - De’ liewe Herrgott losze walte, - Dann Er es wul am beschte wêsz; - Un machen euch kê’ Gram und Sorje - Ya denken an ihn alle Dah: - Er sorgt jo heut, er sorgt ah morje, - Er sorgt ah in Amerika.” - -Dr. Dubbs, of Franklin and Marshall College, has kindly given me this -verse from his own translation: - - “Farewell! and here’s my hand, old neighbors! - May blessings on your journey rest! - Leave God to order all the future, - For He alone knows what is best. - And do not yield to grief or sorrow, - Trust in His mercy day by day; - He reigns to-day, he reigns to-morrow, - He reigns too in America.” - -Various estimates have been given me of the numbers speaking the dialect -in different parts of our State. Thus a lawyer in York County, beyond -the Susquehanna, says that there are still witnesses coming to court, -natives of the county, who do not speak English, and whose testimony -is translated by an interpreter. Crossing the Susquehanna easterly, -we come to my own county, Lancaster. My own neighborhood, near the -Pennsylvania Central Railway, is much Anglicized. The southern part -of the county is greatly “English,” but as I was riding lately in the -north, on the railway which connects Reading in Berks, to Columbia in -Lancaster, a conductor estimated that along the forty-six miles of the -railway about nine out of ten of the travellers can speak German. In -Reading I am told in a lawyer’s office that three-fourths of the women -who come in to do business speak “Pennsylvania Dutch.” My tavern-keeper -says that many come to his house, born in the county, who cannot speak -English. Another lawyer estimates that of the country people born in -Berks County, three-fourths would rather speak Pennsylvania German than -English; and another thinks that in the rural districts of the county -from one-half to two-thirds prefer to speak the dialect, although perhaps -half of these can talk English. Another person says that when there is -a circus or county fair at Reading, which draws the farmers’ families, -you hardly hear English, for the store-keepers accommodate themselves to -the visitors. One of my friends, born in Germany, says that she saw at -a forge in Berks County colored people, men, women, and children, that -could not speak English; they spoke Pennsylvania German. If, now, we -pass northerly to Lehigh County, we come to “Pennsylvania Dutch” land -par _excellence_, for in no other county of our State are the people so -nearly of unmixed German origin. I am told of Allentown, the county seat, -with a population of about nineteen thousand, that Pennsylvania German, -“Dutch,” is the prevailing language. A lawyer estimates that more than -one-fourth of its inhabitants do not speak English if they can help it, -and a considerable number in town, born in this region, do not speak -English at all. Of the county, a physician says that three-fourths of the -people speak Pennsylvania German more easily than English, and another -that nearly all the country people would rather speak the dialect. - -East of Lehigh lies another very German county, Northampton. The county -town Easton is, however, connected with New Jersey by a bridge over the -Delaware, and Easton is to a very considerable degree Anglicized. Easton -is the seat of a great Presbyterian institution, Lafayette College; yet -a professor tells me that the Presbyterian Church cannot overcome the -Lutheran and Reformed element. The Lutheran Church, he says, is very -strong. Of the same county I was told some years ago that the people -generally spoke German, except along the New Jersey line, and that -outside of Easton and Bethlehem three-fourths of the people are Reformed -and Lutheran. At the same period, about nine years ago, a physician told -me that the public-school teachers in the rural parts must necessarily -speak German for the children to obtain ideas, or must interpret English -to them. These counties, with Lebanon, six in number, are the great -German ones, beginning with York on the southwest, and ending with -Northampton on the northeast; but the Pennsylvania German population is -by no means confined to these counties. It spreads along the cultivated -soil like grass. Adjoining Berks and Lehigh is Montgomery, the northern -part of which is very “Dutch.” Here I visited a preacher of one of our -plain sects, whose great-grandfather came from Germany. But he, himself, -speaks very little or no English, and he employed the ticket-agent to -answer an English letter. One son and his children live under the same -roof, making six generations in Pennsylvania; but the whole household -uses the German dialect. - -It must not be supposed of a large part of the Pennsylvania Germans that -they are unacquainted with pure German. A simple and pure German they -find in the Bible and in their German newspapers, of which there are -several, altogether enjoying a large circulation. Also, at least in the -Reformed and Lutheran Churches, there are many ministers who preach in -pure German. Yet, when the minister goes to dine with a parishioner, they -generally speak the dialect. The minister who speaks this to his flock -is more popular. They could understand the higher German; but they say -of him when he speaks the dialect, “_Er iss en gemehner Mann_” (He is a -common, plain man, or one who doesn’t put on airs.) - -A gentleman in Lebanon, born in Berks, told me that he should be pleased -to speak German as it is in the Bible. “But,” he added, “as soon as -a person begins to use pure German here among his acquaintances the -Pennsylvania Dutch will say, ‘_Des iss ane Fratz-Hans_,’ or a high-flown -fellow; or, as it may be rendered, ‘He’s full of conceit.’” - -One of the most amusing things in the dialect is the adopting and -transforming of English words, as “Ich habe en Prediger _entgetscht_,”—I -have engaged a preacher; “Do hat der _Eirisch_ gemehnt er wott -_triede_,”—the Irishman thought he would treat; “Sie henn en guter -_Tietscher_ katt, der hot die Kinner vieler Leut _getietscht_,”—they had -a good teacher, who taught the children of many people; “Ich will dir’s -_exsplehne_,”—I will explain it to you; “Er hat mich _inweitet_,”—he -invited me; “Do hen sie anfange _ufzukotte_ und zu lache,”—then they -began to cut up and laugh. A workman who was tired of waiting for -material said, “Sie hen us nau lang genug ’rum _gebaffelt_”—they have -baffled or disappointed us long enough. - -On the amount of English that is sometimes introduced into the dialect, -a lawyer in Lebanon says that of the Pennsylvania Dutch which he uses in -his political speeches, or in his practice, fully one-third is English. -This specimen was given to me by a lawyer in Allentown, as the opening of -a political speech: “Ich bin desirous um euch zu explaine die prerogative -powers fum President.” And this a lawyer to his client: “Ich bin certain -das die Opinion was ich den morge geexpress hab, correct war.” - -Before leaving the subject of the idiom, I give some of the peculiar -expressions heard in speaking English. A neighbor told me of her -daughter’s being invited to a picnic, and added, “I don’t know what I’ll -wear on her.” - -Said a tavern-keeper’s wife, “Don’t jine sweeping.” “It’s time to jine -sweeping,” was the reply. - -A girl got into a car near Mauch Chunk, and had headache. - -“Don’t sit with your back to the engine,” I suggested. - -“Do you sink?” she asked me. (Do you think so?) - -“I guess it will give a gust,” is said in Lancaster County. - -“Do you want butter-bread?” (or bread and butter.) “No, I’d rather have -coffee-soup,”—_i.e._, bread broken into coffee. - -“Mary, come down to the woods.” “I dassent.” She does not mean that she -is afraid, but that she is not permitted, like the German _durfen_. - -“I’m perfectly used to travel every _wich_ way.” - -“A body gets _dired_ if they _dravel_.” - -“Mind Ressler? He was in Sprecher’s still;” or, “Do you remember Ressler? -He used to be employed in Sprecher’s store.” - -“It’s raining a’ready, mother,” or, “Where’s Mrs. M.?” “She went to bed -a’ready.” - -“I guess that Mrs. B. does not spend all her income.” - -“She didn’t still.” - -“She’d rather be married to him _as_ to keep house for him” (like the -German _als_). - -We think those very “Dutch” who say “Sess” for Seth, “bass-house” for -bath-house. Thus it would be, Beslem is in Norsampton County. - -“I’m fetching a pig. I had it bestowed.” - -“We’re getting strangers, and I was fetched.” (They are expecting company -at our house, and they sent for me to come home.) - -“Mrs. M., how does your garden grow?” “Just so middlin’.” - -“Your head is strubly,” means that your hair is tumbled. - -A scientific friend, wishing to examine a specimen, said, “Let me see it -once.” - -Of the same kind are these: “When we get moved once.” “You’ll know what -it is when you hain’t got no father no more once.” (This use of _once_ -has been alluded to in the text.) - -“Mother, don’t be so cross!” “I ought to be cross” (angry). - -I do not know that it is “Dutch” to say, “Did you kiss your _poppy_?” or, -“Barbara, where’s your _pap_?” (for father). - -“How are you, Chrissly?” (diminutive of Christian.) “Oh! I’ve got it so -in the back.” - -Those who live among Pennsylvania Germans cannot fail to observe that -when they, speaking English, make mention of a couple, as, “She gave me -a couple of peaches,” they do not generally mean two only. Couple has -doubtless to them the same meaning as the German word _Paar_, which is -defined by Whitney “a couple, two or three, a few, sundry.” - -I cannot tell the deviation of our interjection of pain, _Owtch!_ - -_Ok!_ is doubtless the German _Ach!_ or is it Irish? - -And what is the derivation of “_Sahdie?_” so much used by children for -“Thank you.” - -There is a word neither of English nor German origin which is sometimes -used as a salutation by Pennsylvania Germans. It is familiarly _Hottiay_. -Few would divine to see it thus that it is the French adieu. - - -PROPER NAMES. - -Changes equally remarkable are found in proper names. The family of my -own neighbor Johns was originally Tschantz, as is more easily perceived -by the pronunciation; Johns ending with the s sound and not the z. The -important family in Lancaster County named Carpenter were Zimmerman when -they came in, the name being translated. But of a family in Berks County, -some are Hunter and some Yäger. Some persons named Bender, who have -removed to California, are there called Painter. - -It is surprising in Pennsylvania to hear of persons with Irish or -Scottish names who can scarcely speak English. A gentleman in Harrisburg -told me of one he knew in Dauphin County named Hamilton (whose father -was born in Dublin), and of two others named Dougherty. I have met in -Berks County a person with a purely Scottish name who spoke of Norsampton -County, and of Souss Reading (not pronouncing the th). But his mother was -of a German family, and “Pennsylvania Dutch” his mother-tongue. - -A lawyer in York, with an English name, tells me that his ancestors came -from New England, and settled first in the Wyoming Valley, but some moved -southward, and by intermarriage, to use, I think, his own expression, -became quite Dutchified. He himself can speak the dialect. - -Several families with French names are now not to be distinguished from -the Pennsylvania Germans among whom they live and intermarry. It is said -that the Bushongs were once Beauchamp; then probably the Deshongs were Du -Champ. The Shopells were Chapelle; the Levans perhaps Levin. Delaplaine -is pronounced _Dillyplen_. There are still Bertolettes, De Bennevilles, -De Turks, De Planks, Philippes, Philippis, and Philippys. Coquelin has -become Cockley and Gockley. These families were perhaps French Huguenots -who sought refuge in Germany, where so many went on the revocation of the -edict of Nantes. From the Palatinate came very many of our Pennsylvania -Germans, and that state is directly east of France. - -But it is also probable that many French names were translated when their -owners removed to Germany. One of my acquaintances in Philadelphia is a -German, born in the Palatinate. She tells me that her grandfather left -France during the revolution. He was a Mennonite, and named Coquerel; but -this was translated into Hähnchen; so that my friend was a Miss Hähnchen. -Coquerel, Hähnchen, and our English word cockerel are synonymous. - -Changes in the names of persons of the same family in Pennsylvania -will be observed. I know a gentleman in Lebanon County with an English -name, who tells me that his mother’s name was Besore; supposed to have -been La Bessieur. The name has also been spelled Basore, Bashor, and -Bayshore. The name Beinbrecht is said to have gone through these changes; -in Philadelphia there is a Bonbright, in Chambersburg a Bonbrake, and -there are Bonebreaks. In Lancaster County, I hear of a father who writes -his name Bear; but one son is Barr, and another Bair. There is a large -Reformed family in Pennsylvania named Wotring, now turned into the -English Woodring, which was originally the French Voiturin. Probably -within the Reformed German Church are more French Calvinistic families -than in the Lutheran. - -Of the Buchanans and Livingstones in our country we might assume the -Scottish origin; but _Der Deutsche Pionier_ tells us that the German -name Buchenhain [meaning Beech grove] has been changed to Buchanan, -and Löwenstein to Livingstone. A more grievous change is said to have -befallen the name Hochmayer or Hochmier [high steward], for in Virginia -it has become Hogmire! - - -POLITICS. - -One of the most remarkable distinctions between our Pennsylvania Germans -is that which ranges the counties and townships inhabited by the wehrlos, -or peaceable sects, with one political party; and those where the -Reformed and Lutherans are strongest with the other. We might once have -thought that the Democratic party was the war party; but during the great -rebellion the counties of Berks, Lehigh, and Northampton still remained -adherents of the Democratic party in its opposition to the war. The -county of Montgomery, in the eastern part of the State, is thus divided; -the Mennonites, Schwenkfelders (with Quakers), are almost invariably -Republican; while the strong Democratic townships are almost entirely -Reformed and Lutheran. Of course there are in all such localities many -who do not belong to any religious body. - -A Democratic editor in the same county of Montgomery says that he does -not know a Mennonite or Schwenkfelder who is not Republican; so also are -the great majority of the German Methodists. He, however, added that the -Reformed and Lutherans are nearly equally divided in politics. But every -politician who knows the people must concede that the counties which are -the stronghold of these two churches are an immense Democratic stronghold. - -Mr. H., of Easton, tells me of a man who stood looking at a procession in -honor of the funeral of Jackson, Harrison, or some other distinguished -person. In the procession were Freemasons, Odd-Fellows, and other -societies. “Oh,” said he, “_des ish alle letz!_ That is all wrong. There -ought to be only two societies,—the Democrats and the Lutherans. If a man -lives up to the principles of General Jackson and Martin Luther, that is -enough.” He took his boys to delegate or town-meetings. “Now, boys,” he -said, “are you going to vote the Democratic ticket as long as you live? -Always stick to the Democratic party, and carry out the principles of -General Jackson. If you intend to do this, you can vote for delegates.” -(This anecdote is a little injured by the introduction in the beginning -of the name of Harrison, who was a Whig. But it was given to me by a -person of a well-known Democratic and Lutheran family.) - -A few years ago, in an adjoining county, an adherent of the Democratic -party told me that the word democracy has a magic sound for the people -of Lehigh. “A Democratic parade,” he added, “can easily be got up in -Allentown two miles in length, composed in a great measure of farmers on -horseback; and in Presidential campaigns sometimes farmers’ daughters -also appear on horseback in the procession. A skilful speaker, generally -a lawyer, who speaks the dialect, and who will frequently introduce the -words democrat and democracy, can lead the crowd. Even if he do not speak -the dialect, if he will introduce those words, he can bring out the -applause of his hearers.” - -An acquaintance tells me of a political speaker in Berks County, that -Democratic stronghold. He was telling of _die Demokratie_, which he said -goes over hill and dale, over the sea, and strikes the seat from under -kings. “And if you ask where that democracy comes from, they will tell -you from Berks County.” - - -YANKEES. - -An acquaintance once explained to me the prejudice against Yankees -by telling me how, about fifty years ago or longer, the tin-peddlers -travelled among the innocent Dutch people, cheating the farmers and -troubling the daughters. They were (says he) tricky, smart, and -good-looking. They could tell a good yarn, and were very amusing, and the -goodly hospitable farmers would take them into their houses and entertain -them, and receive a little tin-ware in payment. - -A lawyer in Easton, from the State of New York, says that he never saw so -large a body of people so honestly inclined as the Pennsylvania Germans. -He speaks from a knowledge of the people of Northampton and Lehigh. -They have an especial dread of the people of New England and New York, -from their having been so terribly victimized by patent-rights’ men. He -adds that they are not a reading people, but by their careful and slow -manner of getting along they really accomplish more than the people of -New England and New York, who, he says, make a great display, and then -frequently compromise with their creditors by paying fifteen or twenty -cents on the dollar. A person present added of these Pennsylvania Germans -that they never headed any great moral reforms and never drowned witches. - -Another thinks that in his youth the Yankee drovers in Lehigh County were -respected for their acuteness. He adds, however, that when the “Dutch” -call a man a Yankee, it is not near so opprobrious as to call him a Jew. -“But,” says another, “when a Yankee comes to Reading with patent rights -and inventions they point and say, ‘_Do geht en Yoot_.’” (There goes a -Jew.) Dr. L., of Lebanon County, says that the “Dutch” idea of a Yankee -is not of one who starts out to cheat for the pleasure of cheating, but -of one who prefers to make his living by his wits rather than by hard -labor. He starts with the idea of making money easily, and does not care -much finally about the honesty of his proceedings. - -In the market at York a learned man of New England origin asked a farmer, -“What is the price of your apples,—twenty-five cents?” “Yes, you can -have them for that; but I wouldn’t let Kochersperger have them for a -quarter,—he’s a Yankee.” - - -THRIFT. - -In his speech in Congress upon the death of John Covode, Simon Cameron -declared that he honored Covode for his true courage when he proclaimed -in Philadelphia what weaker men would have tried to suppress, giving as -a reason for his hostility to every species of human bondage the fact -that his father had been sold as a redemptionist near the spot where he -was then speaking. “Scarcely a generation had passed away,” adds Cameron, -“before the hired servants began to buy their masters’ lands, to marry -their masters’ daughters, and to make good their claim to full equality -with those whose bondsmen they had been. For a time the Scotch-Irish made -a sturdy stand for that supremacy and superiority which seem to be their -peculiar inheritance, place them where you may. At length the thrift, the -superior patience, and the perseverance of the German blood prevailed. -They bought, and still possess, the old homesteads, and have furnished -us with an array of distinguished men of whom every citizen of our State -is justly proud.” The superior patience, says Mr. Cameron. _Geduld ist -das beste Kraut, das man in America baut_,—patience is the best plant -grown in America,—is a saying I have heard in Lancaster County. But I -must interrupt my regular course to explain the word redemptionist used -by Mr. Cameron. It was applied to persons coming here from Germany who -were unable to pay the expenses of their passage, and who were sold -or indentured for a term of years until that expense was paid. Minor -children were bound out until of age. - -Mr. Cameron also speaks of the Pennsylvania Germans dispossessing the -Scotch-Irish, and plenty of corroborative evidence of this can be found. -A learned gentleman has said to me that the Scotch-Irish element, which -used to be the leading one in Franklin County, is in a great measure -replaced by the Pennsylvania German. “As the Irish farmers got poor and -sold their land it was bought by the Pennsylvania Germans, who then got -rich by their extreme thrift or severe economy and great industry.” A -correspondent of the Philadelphia _Press_, in 1871, goes further, and -writing from Brown’s Mills in the same county, from “the fertile and -picturesque Cumberland valley,” speaks of the Pennsylvania Germans of -that region as wearing the short gown and petticoat, the shad-belly -coat, and broad-brimmed hat. The district, he says, was first settled -by Scotch-Irish and Welsh, but these have mostly been replaced; a few -families of Lutherans and German Reformed linger here, but their numbers -annually grow less, and the difficulty of supporting their ministers is -yearly more serious. Then, if we may trust this correspondent, it appears -that the _wehrlos_, or defenceless men (who do not pay ministers), are -gaining possession of that region. It was said of old time that the meek -shall inherit the earth. Far east of Franklin County, in Montgomery, I -was told of peacemen, the Schwenkfelders and Mennonites, that they buy -good farms. “They don’t buy the hilly, stony ones; and, at the same time, -I don’t know how it comes they can afford to pay for them.” - -The severe economy of the Pennsylvania Germans has been just mentioned. -One New-Year’s day I saw in a bank a young man who was asked to subscribe -for something. He declined, and spoke of “our old Dutch rule that it is a -bad plan to buy on New-Year’s morning. Always get money in before you pay -it out.” In Northampton County an old resident is reported to have said, -“Do you know the difference between a Yankee farmer and a Dutch one? When -a Yankee farmer has apples, he sells the scrubby ones and eats the good -ones at home; and a Dutch farmer picks out the scrubby ones to eat at -home, and sells the good ones.” - -One of my Lancaster County neighbors has grain-bags that have been in -use on the farm for about seventy years, and bid fair to last for twenty -more. They were made from flax and hemp grown on the farm. A young member -of the family says that their preservation not only shows the economy, -but impresses him with proofs of the good judgment of those who made -them, in selecting material, and in the thorough manner of their work. He -adds, “All these characteristics were, I think, possessed in full measure -by the people, somehow and somewhere misnamed Dutch, in whose hands the -largest part of Lancaster County has become what it is.” - - -CHARMS AND SUPERSTITIONS. - -Mrs. G., born in Lebanon County, says that when they were children one -would take a looking-glass and go down the cellar-stairs backward, in -order to see therein the form of a future spouse. Another custom was -to melt lead and pour it into a cup of cold water, expecting thence to -discover some token of the occupation of the same interesting individual. -A person in York also remembers that at Halloween her nurse would melt -lead and pour it through the handle of the kitchen door-key. The figures -were studied and supposed to resemble soldier-caps, books, horses, and so -on. This nurse was Irish, but the other domestics were German. A laboring -woman from Cumberland County, and afterward from a “Dutch” settlement in -Maryland, says that she has heard of persons melting lead to see what -trade their man would be of. My German friend before quoted says that in -the Palatinate they melted the lead on New-Year’s eve. In Nadler’s poems -in the Palatinate dialect, St. Andreas’ night is the time spoken of for -melting the lead. This is the 30th of November. Further, in a work called -“The Festival Year” (_Das Festliche Yahr_), by Von Reinsberg-Duringsfeld, -Leipsic, 1863, the custom of pouring lead through the beard, or wards, of -a key is mentioned. - -A lawyer, born in Franklin County, tells me that it is a common -superstition among Pennsylvania Germans that persons born on Christmas -night can see supernatural things and hear similar sounds. He adds that -his mother told him of a person who was sceptical and ridiculed the idea, -and was told to go out into his feeding-room and listen. He lay down on -the hay, and while there one of the oxen said, “_Uebermorgen schieben mir -unser Meschter auf den Kirch-hof._” (Day after to-morrow we will haul our -master to the graveyard.) And his funeral was on the day specified. My -German friend before quoted says that in the Palatinate they believe that -as it strikes twelve on Christmas eve, all animals talk together. She -adds, “I think that idea is through Germany.” - -A gentleman connected with schools in Northampton County says that at -Halloween his daughters meet their companions and melt lead into water -to tell their fortunes. They also fill their mouths with water that they -may not speak, as speaking would break the charm; and walk around a -block of houses. The first name which they hear is that of their future -spouse. Another practice, which, unlike the foregoing, may be tried at -any time of year, is to take a large door-key and tie it within the -leaves of a small Bible, the handle remaining out. Two girls rest the -handle upon their fingers, and repeat some cabalistic verse; of which, he -thinks, each line begins with a different letter, and the key will turn -at the initials of the future spouse. These, he says, are the remnants -of old superstitions, and he suspects that the human mind is naturally -superstitious. He adds, “The population of Easton is mixed so that we -cannot tell how many of these are purely German; but by going into the -rural German districts of Northampton County you will find many strange -ideas, such as that on a certain church festival, say Ascension day, you -must not sweep your house, lest it become full of fleas.” - -A simple-minded woman in Lancaster County, who showed some regard for the -Reformed Church, said that she had sat up late sewing the night before, -so as not to sew on Ascension day. “My mother,” she said, “knew a girl -that sewed on Ascension day; and there came a gust and killed her.” - -One of my German acquaintances calls my attention to the salt-cake eaten -in Lancaster. It is made extremely salt, and is eaten by girls, who then -go to bed backward without speaking and without drinking; and he of whom -they dream is to be their future husband. This, he says, is a custom also -in Germany. - -But the most universal ideas of this superstitious kind are those -connected with the signs in the almanac. Baer’s Almanac, published in -Lancaster, still has the signs of the zodiac down the pages, like one -shown to me in the Palatinate, where a man of some education said, “Here -is where I see how to plant my garden.” What, however, is very mysterious -is that when our people tell you you must not plant now, for IT is in the -Posy-woman (and the things will all run to blossom, and not bear fruit), -they cannot tell _what_ is in the Posy-woman, or Virgo. I infer, however, -that it is the moon. - -I have been shown a German Bible, which belonged to the grandfather of -one of my neighbors, wherein the family births were entered in the German -language. I endeavored to decipher one, as follows: - -“_1797, September den 9ten 1st uns ein Sohn gebohren ihm Zeichen Witter, -ehr ist ihn dem nehmlichen Mohnat ihm Herren entshlafen._” - -“On the 9th of September, 1797, a son is born to us in the sign of the -Ram [Aries]. In the same month he fell asleep in the Lord.” - -The same neighbor who owns the old Bible just mentioned tells me that one -of the Russian Mennonites showed him a pamphlet in the German language, -which the man had brought from Europe; wherein was told what would be the -fortune of a child born in each sign, his health, wealth, etc.; but my -neighbor says that he, himself, had no faith in it. - -“Grain should be sowed in the up-going; meat butchered in the down-going -will shrink in the pot.” But my worthy neighbors do not appear to know -what it is that is going up and going down. I infer, of course, that -it is the moon. Is it not remarkable that my neighbors should be so -attached to book-farming? I knew a woman, born among Friends, but in a -Pennsylvania German settlement, who was lamenting the smallness of the -piece of meat on the table. “What a little piece, and so big before -it was cooked! How it has shrunk! It is in the down-going. And those -strawberries, too, that I preserved, that went away to so little; they -were done in the down-going.” But one of her family spoke up, bravely, -“Just so, mother; that must be it. Now I know what’s the matter with my -portemonnaie, that it shrinks away so; it’s the down-going.” - -These beliefs in the influence of the heavenly bodies must be the relics -of astrology remaining in the almanacs, and never drawn now from actual -observation of the weather and the planets. - -Mrs. Nevin relates the following (Philadelphia _Press_, June 2, 1875): -“There are several superstitions connected with death and funerals -in the country, which are a strange blending of the ludicrous with -the mournful. One is that if the mother of a family is dying, the -vinegar-barrel must be shaken at the time to prevent the ‘mother’ in -it from dying. Said a man once in sober earnest to me, ‘I was so sorry -Mr. D. was not in the room when his wife died.’ ‘Where was he?’ ‘Oh, in -the cellar a-shaking the vinegar-barrel; but if he had just told me, I -would have done it and let him been in the room to see her take her last -breath.’” - -Mrs. Nevin adds: “Another superstition is that the last person that goes -out of a house at a funeral will be the next one to die, and as the -audience begins to thin, you may see people slip very nimbly out of a -back or kitchen door to avoid being that last one.” - -The belief in _spooks_ or ghosts is not lost in “Pennsylvania Dutch” -land. In some of his verses Mr. Schantz tells (Allentown _Friedensbote_) -of an abandoned school-house standing near a sand-pit, beside some woods. -He says,— - - “_kam mir zu Ohr_ - _Vom Sandloch Schuhlhaus am Kreuzweg_ - _Was Lesern ich nicht gern vorleg._ - _S’ hen lent g’sad ‘Am Sandloch spukts!’_ - _En mancher hot oft g’frogt, ‘Wie guckt’s?’_ - _Reiter sie sin schnell geridde!_ - _Laüfer nahme g’schwinde Schridde!_” - -“About the sand-pit school-house, at the cross-roads, things were said -that I do not like to tell. It was told that there were spooks at the -sand-pit, and ‘In what shape?’ was asked. People riding by rode rapidly, -and those on foot hurried swiftly by.” There are still standing near -the Conestoga, close to Lancaster, the remains of a building long and -extensively known as “the spook house.” It probably became unpopular from -a suicide in it, or from having been built in a field where strangers -were buried. - -A Lutheran clergyman said lately, “I do not believe in _spooks_ myself, -but plenty of people do; and sad enough it is that there should be such -superstition.” - - -MEDICAL SUPERSTITIONS. - -The peculiarities of a people are always best observed by those who do -not live among them, or rather by those who visit them occasionally. Most -of my notes on this subject are taken from the conversation of physicians -born in other localities than those in which they practise. One in my -own county mentions the “apnehme,” or wasting away of children. He says -that popular remedies are measuring the child and greasing it by certain -old women. Another says that the “Pennsylvania Dutch” also measure -for wild-fire or erysipelas, generally using a red silk string, and -measuring about sundown. They blow across the affected part to blow the -fire outside of the string, at the same time they “say words” or powwow. -This physician says that the greasing above mentioned is for liver-grown -children, and not for “abnehme” (as it is spelled). One class of -powwowers do not interfere, he says, with regular practitioners; but one -old woman in this county (who builds a fire in the brick oven, and says -words over the coals) has been known to hide the prescriptions of regular -physicians. He adds: “If a person is burned, recourse is sometimes had to -a professional blower, who blows across the surface, saying words in the -interval. Along the Pennsylvania Canal, on the Susquehanna, where ague -prevails, the patient who has a chill is tied to a tree by a long string, -and he runs around the tree until the string is exhausted, and then on to -some distance. This is tying the chill to a tree. A ‘Pennsylvania Dutch’ -remedy for whooping-cough, and one by which they bother the millers a -good deal, is to put the child into a hopper with grain, and let the -child remain until the grain is all ground out. Blood-stopping is very -common in Pennsylvania. I saw a man with an artery cut, in whose case a -blood-stopper was called in. The man pressed his hand on the bleeding -part and repeated something, raising his eyes to heaven; but the artery -was too powerful for him.” - -On the west side of the Susquehanna the only county that can -distinctively be called Pennsylvania German is York. A physician in the -borough says that town and county are full of superstitions. He says, -“In case of hemorrhage from the nose, from a wound or from other cause, -a common cure is to wrap a red woollen string round each finger; another -is to lay an axe under the bed, edge upward; and you can’t talk them out -of it. I used to get angry when I first came here, but I found that it -was of no use. These are not occasional things only, but I have seen them -over and over again. Then there are prayers for stopping blood, always in -‘Dutch.’ They can’t be sick in English, and the first question to me as -a physician has been ‘_Kann er Deutsch?_’ (Do you speak German?) One of -the prayers for stopping blood is, I understand, for human beings, and -another for animals; and I think that the names of the persons of the -Trinity are introduced. I have often asked, but they are not allowed to -tell. Soon after I came here, I ordered some boneset tea for a patient, -and the mother asked in ‘Dutch’ whether the leaves should be pulled -upwards or downwards. ‘Will it make any difference?’ I asked. ‘Oh, yes; -if you pull them upwards, it will work upwards; and if you pull them -downwards, it will work downwards.’ [A valuable hint for a physician if -the same plant can be used both as an emetic and a purgative.] Of the -blood of a black fowl,—no other color will do,—three drops are given -internally. I think this is for convulsions; but I hear so many of these -things, and have heard them so many years, that they make no impression -on my mind. These are pure ‘Pennsylvania Dutch’ peculiarities; I have -found none or few of them among foreign Germans.” - -I asked whether these ideas still continue or whether they are wearing -out. “No,” he said, “they don’t wear out. I meet them every day. They -still speak of horses and animals being bewitched (_verhext_). I have a -story from good authority of a horse that was said to be _verhext_, and -that turned out to have a nail in his hoof. That is a fact. What are you -going to do about it?” - -But to come to another county, Berks. I hear that in Reading there -is a woman called the _Wurst-frau_, because her mother sold sausages -and “puddings.” This woman has a large office practice in salves and -powwowing. In an adjoining county, Lehigh, I remember a few years ago -to have seen the names of two persons put down in the directory as -_powwowers_; the word being spelled as pronounced in “Dutch.” - -Norristown, in Montgomery County, is greatly Anglicized; but a physician -says that an idea exists of stopping blood by a religious lingo, into -which come the words “_der Vater_, _Sohn_, _und heilig Geist_.” “A -certain man told me that he had never failed to arrest bleeding from -wounds or even from the lungs, nor was it necessary to be upon the spot; -he could go home and repeat his lingo. This was his only medical skill; -he did not claim to be a doctor.” - -In Norristown also I met a woman who had been quite ill; but I heard that -when better she would not get up on Sunday, lest she should never get -well, and Friday was as bad. Her little grandchild having a birth-mark, -she passed the hand of a dead person over it to take it away, but was -unsuccessful. - -To return, however, to this county of Lancaster, which I know better. A -physician says that he found a child very ill with membranous croup, for -which he left powders to be administered every half-hour, saying that -when he called again, if it seemed possible to dislodge the membrane he -would give an emetic. When he called, he found a powwower sitting, who -looked very smiling. The doctor went up to the little patient, and asked -whether the mother had given the medicine. She had given only one dose; -the man had said that it was not necessary to give any powders. “Don’t -you think the child is better?” the mother asked. On examination the -doctor declared, “I am sorry to tell you that the child will not live -two hours;” which caused the countenance of the powwower to fall. The -child died, and this case caused the doctor to declare that he would not -practise in conjunction with powwowers; and if they are now called in, it -is done privately. - -Although one physician spoke of not finding many of these ideas among -foreign Germans, yet my friend, before mentioned, from the Palatinate -says that when children have earache there, or _abnehme_ (wasting away), -or when persons are in the early stages of consumption, country people -say, “_Lasz dir brauche_” (or, Consult a powwower); and a woman comes -and whispers some words. “My father” (she adds that he was a Reformed -preacher) “knew a blacksmith to whom children were brought, suffering -with earache. The man would heat the big tongs, hold them close to -their ears, and whisper something. My father asked him what he said. -He answered, ‘Nothing; but if he did not whisper, the people would not -believe in him;’ and my father told him that he ought not to impose upon -them.” - - -HOLIDAYS—EASTER. - -I live in the country, but on last Good-Friday was at Reading, and was -surprised to see so many persons going to church. Easter is greatly -observed by Reformed and Lutherans. It is the time of confirmation and -administering the sacrament; and you may hear of churches in country -localities having as high as six hundred communicants. At Easter, of -course, eggs greatly abound. At a boarding-house at Allentown I heard of -colored eggs being offered to callers or taken to friends. Fragments of -egg and of colored shells may be seen on the pavements for about a week. - -A little childish myth is found in these more eastern counties, of which -I have heard very little in Lancaster County. It is that the rabbit -lays the colored eggs. A young man in Reading says that when they were -children they always made a nest the evening before Easter Sunday, of an -old hat or something similar, which they set near the door for the rabbit -to lay the colored eggs in. An old man in a tavern, however, says that it -is foolishness, like _Bellschnickel_. At my own tavern the landlady was -coloring eggs, and had bought some canton-flannel rabbits with which to -dress the guests’ tables at breakfast on Sunday morning. - -In Lehigh County a lawyer says that when they were children they would -take flax and each make his nest under a bush in the garden. On Easter -Sunday morning they would run out and find three eggs of different colors -in each nest. Literalness has gone so far in Allentown that I hear of -cakes in a baker’s window in the form of a rabbit laying eggs. - -At Easton a lady spoke of making nests for her two boys by taking plates, -ornamenting them with cut paper in the form of a nest, putting into each -a large candy egg and colored eggs, and placing a rabbit in one and a -chicken in the other, and hiding them for the boys to find. - -This myth of the rabbits’ eggs is very common among the Moravians. One -of my “Dutch” acquaintances, born west of us in Cumberland County, -and afterward living in Maryland, says that her mother told them when -children to set their bonnets at Easter for nests for the rabbits’ eggs. - -This is an old German myth. A gentleman from Switzerland says that he -heard the fable there, and he thinks that it prevails all over Germany. -Many or most of our early German emigrants into Pennsylvania seem to have -come from or through the Palatinate. My friend before mentioned, who was -born there, thus describes the custom at her former home. If the children -have no garden, they make nests in the wood-shed, barn, or house. They -gather colored flowers for the rabbit to eat, that it may lay colored -eggs. If there be a garden, the eggs are hidden singly in the green -grass, box-wood, or elsewhere. On Easter Sunday morning they whistle for -the rabbit, and the children imagine that they see him jump the fence. -After church, on Easter Sunday morning, they hunt the eggs, and in the -afternoon the boys go out in the meadows and crack eggs or play with them -like marbles. Or sometimes children are invited to a neighbor’s to hunt -eggs. - -Prof. Wackernagel, of Allentown, has kindly pointed out to me the -antiquity of the myth. The old German goddess of spring was called Ostara -(whence Easter). She rode over the fields in the spring in a wagon -drawn by hares. (Our Pennsylvania rabbit is really a hare, as it does -not burrow in the ground.) The egg is an emblem, says the professor, -of the resurrection from the dead; so herein he finds heathenism and -Christianity blended. However, the author of _Das Festliche Yahr_ -(Leipsic, 1863) considers the myth older than Christianity; for he says -that in Thuringia, Hesse, Suabia, and Switzerland it is said now, as -apparently in ante-Christian times, that the hare or Easter hare lays the -eggs. Finally, one of my German friends finds the whole a myth of the -renewal of life in the spring. - - -HALLOWEEN. - -On the 30th of last October our farmer locked the gate on the road, -lest it should be taken off. Therefore the Halloween visitors limited -themselves to taking down bundles of corn-fodder in the field and -building a fence across the road, and to propping up one end of the -market-wagon on the fence. I am told of a person who once had his wagon -taken apart, and the pieces put up into different trees, so that it was -some time before all were found. In Lebanon County a similar custom is -found. One of my acquaintances living in a small town says that they -celebrate Halloween roughly,—hanging beets and cabbages at the doors, -moving steps, taking gates from hinges, throwing corn. The speaker -was born in Lehigh County, where nothing of this prevailed, and this -fact constitutes one of the chief distinctions among our Pennsylvania -Germans of Lancaster and Lebanon on one hand, and Lehigh, Berks, upper -Montgomery, and probably Northampton on the other. In Montgomery a young -“Dutchman” did not even know when Halloween is, and when I described our -Lancaster County custom, said, “That ain’t any use.” Traces of similar -observances of Halloween are found, however, in other regions. In -Philadelphia the boys indulge in ringing front-door bells. In Harrisburg -people who had wooden door-steps used to take them into the house, lest -they should be carried off. Of Franklin County, beyond the Susquehanna, I -am told that at Waynesboro’ it has been a favorite amusement at Halloween -to gather store-boxes and build a fortification around the town pump, and -collect wheeled vehicles around the public square. At Lockhaven, up the -West Branch of the Susquehanna, my landlady was anxious that her cabbage -should be housed, for fear that it would be carried off on Halloween. - -My German acquaintances, before quoted, born in the Palatinate, do not -report to me anything of this kind as existing in Germany at Halloween. -One of them says, however, that at the time of putting up string-beans -(which are preserved like sour-krout), children throw the strings into -front doors. And Mr. Wollenweber, of Reading, also a native of the -Palatinate, says that when the farm-work was over in October, they used -to practise tricks. He has helped to take a wagon to pieces, and put it -together again in a stable or barn. “We troubled ourselves very much,” he -says. He adds that the boys were expected, when the fun was over, to come -together and take it down again; but this is not the case in Lancaster -County. - -Can it be that some of these practices belong to the season of the year, -and are a warning to the tardy to gather the fruits of the earth and -their farm implements? - -In his work called _Die Alte Zeite_, or Old Times, Mr. H. L. Fisher, -of York, Pennsylvania, describes such pranks as played at weddings -or home-comings “infares.” The boys hid the bridegroom’s horse in a -quarry, and the young men’s saddles and bridles were put upon trees, -straw-stacks, etc. - -In the text I have spoken of Bellschnickel, who in “Pennsylvania Dutch” -land takes the part of Santa Claus, being in fact the same personage; -Bellschnickel, or Peltz Nickel, being St. Nicholas in furs. St. Nicholas -day is not, however, Christmas eve. It is the 6th of December; but it is -in Advent. One of my German friends thus describes Peltz Nickel: “In the -Palatinate at Christmas they have the Christ-kindchen, which is a little -girl dressed in white and riding on a donkey. I often made one myself, -dressed in my mother’s wedding-veil. If you have no donkey, a boy is -dressed to represent one and goes on all-fours. The Peltz Nickel is a boy -leading; he is blackened, and has a beard and rattling chains. He gives -a switch to the mother, which sticks behind the glass the whole year, if -the children do not hide nor break it. This begins on the first Sunday of -December, with Advent, and may be practised till Christmas. He carries -apples and nuts. The children must kneel and say their prayers, and if -they say them nicely they get some of these, and perhaps honey-cakes and -candy, which the Christ-kindel and Peltz Nickel distribute; but they do -not give the Christmas gifts.” She adds, “We only went to one or two -houses.” - -As regards the New Year, Mr. Wollenweber says that in Berks County, -around Womelsdorf, a dozen boys or so will form a company, choose a -captain, take a gun, and go around the neighborhood, calling on different -persons and asking leave to wish them a New Year. If they obtain consent, -they will form into a rank, and the captain will repeat the following -verses: - - “Nau wunschen wir euch en Neues Yohr, - En Bretzel wie en Scheuer Thor, - En Brodwurst wie en Ofen Rohr, - Und in der Midde-Stub en Tisch - Oof yedem Eck en gebrodener Fisch, - Und in der Mitt en Bottell Wein, - Das soll unser Neu Yohr’s Wunsch sein.” - -“Now we wish you a New Year; a pretzel like a barn-door; a fried sausage -like a stove-pipe; and in the middle room a table, with a fried fish at -each corner, and in the midst a bottle of wine,—that shall be our New -Year’s wish.” - -Then they fire off the gun, and are invited to come in and take a -supper. Generally they go to farm-houses, where there are a number of -daughters, and these daughters are usually prepared to give them a -hospitable reception. - -This custom, says Mr. Wollenweber, also prevails in the Palatinate. - -I am also told that the custom of firing-in the New Year is found in -Lehigh, Berks, and Lebanon Counties. - - -THE PLAINER SECTS. - -Some of our Pennsylvania German Baptist sects cannot escape a suspicion -of asceticism. I speak of them as Baptists, for not only the Dunkers who -dip, but the Mennonites who pour, are Baptists, because they baptize -on faith, adults or young persons, and not infants. At the time of the -great Centennial Exposition one of our farmers told me that although -their members were not forbidden to visit it, yet it had been recommended -for them not to do so. He said that there were worldly things there, -unnecessary things. Of the stricter sect of New Mennonites I heard that -they were forbidden. But as these churches are of simple congregational -form, this rule and this recommendation may have been local. - -I met another farmer on a railway train, and asked about the Exposition. -He answered, “I don’t think the Lord has any love to them things. It’s -like those picnics and things; those that will go to them will do -anything.” But his name was afterward connected with a more disreputable -thing than a picnic. - -In some things our New Mennonites are very strict. It is said that one -was obliged to take down his front porch and another to cut down his -evergreen-trees, apparently because they were suspected of being “proud.” -A woman inclined to the same sect cultivated no flowers. Yet it is -surprising how showily the members allow their unbaptized children to -dress, in which they are a great contrast to the Amish. It is the same -New Mennonites who have so rigid a ban in the church of which I have -spoken in the text. I have spoken of a father who did not come to the -family table. A member of the church was kind enough to explain to me the -cause. He gave way to a selfish spirit, found fault unnecessarily. The -wife bore it a long time, and then complained to the meeting, whereupon -he did not show a penitent spirit; he was not willing to humble himself -before her. So they continued to eat apart, to be separate. Our Old -Mennonites confess their faults to each other in an open meeting of the -members. If the same rule prevails among the New Mennonites, we can see -that it would not be at all grateful to the pride of “the natural man” to -apologize thus to a meeting of which the wife was a part. - -As regards another sect, the River Brethren, an acquaintance tells me -that he was expelled from them for voting at elections; but still some -of the brethren will vote. But against him there were two other charges, -namely, of having a melodeon in his house and having his property insured. - -Another division of the Mennonites are the Amish, who are very simple -in dress and habits, very recluse. I once called on a plain old Amish -farmer in moderate circumstances. His clothing was long worn, but clean -and well mended, and his bent form, silver beard and hair commanded -regard. A neighbor was with him whom he called Chrissly, the nickname of -Christian. In conversation I spoke of one of my relatives as a lawyer, -and I saw that this had an immediate effect. The neighbor remarked that -when Judge Jasper Yeates was growing old, he said that lawyers are like -woollen yarn, they will stretch. The old man added, “I guess they must -tell rather more than the truth when they _blead_.” - -I said to the old man, “You all vote?” - -“Yes; there’s some of them a little conscientious; but if they are, they -can just leave it alone. It may be I’m dumb; but I just think we must -have government,—we have Scripture for it,—and if the good people—what -I call the tame people—stays away and leaves it all to the rowdies, how -would it be? We must _bray_ for the government; do all we can. We mustn’t -go to pole-raisings. It oughtn’t to be, but sometimes they will, you -know.” - -“Do any of your young men learn trades?” I asked. - -“Yes; some are carpenters or cabinet-makers.” - -“But you would rather have them farmers; why do you like that best?” - -“I think if a man’s a _Gristian_, that’s the best thing he can undertake.” - - * * * * * - -I have been told of an Amish farmer who was sitting at table with several -young men who had lately joined the meeting, having been baptized. One -of these was his hired man called Yoney (a nickname for Jonathan). The -Amish here do not in general wear suspenders, and the old man, addressing -Yoney, said, “_Was hasht du verschproke in der Gemeh?_” (What did you -promise in meeting?) The young man looked at his clothes, and the elder -pointed out the suspenders. - -Yoney answered that he was allowed to wear the clothes that he already -had until they were worn out. - -“These look like new ones.” - -“They were my best ones,” he answered, “and I have just begun to wear -them every day.” - -A girl who has lived among the Amish has told me that they are obliged to -give to beggars or “stragglers,” or they would be turned out of meeting. -She does not know indeed that they are obliged to give to those who are -able to work; but she did not believe that she ever saw them turn any -away. - -The impression prevails concerning the Amish that they endeavor to fulfil -the saying, “Give to him that asketh of thee, and from him that would -borrow of thee turn not thou away.” When I turn my mind to these plain -people, I sometimes recall the trailing arbutus, which is found partly -buried under the leaves and clinging close to the surface of the ground, -but which when drawn up displays, though sometimes disfigured with dead, -brown leaves, such a delicate form and tint, and exhales so sweet a -perfume. - -And I also have recalled Pope’s _Temple of Fame_: - - “Next came the smallest tribe I yet had seen, - Plain was their dress and modest was their mien; - ‘Great idol of mankind, we neither claim - The praise of merit, nor aspire to fame! - But safe in deserts from the applause of men - Would die unheard of, as we lived unseen.’ - ... - ‘And live there men who slight immortal Fame, - Who then with incense shall adore our name?’” - -Yet our Amish are not a highly-educated people. Some years ago I inquired -of a neighbor (who did not speak English fluently) on the subject of -education. He said that they were not opposed to school-learning, but to -high learning. “To send children to school from ten to twenty-one, we -would think was opposed to Holy Scripture. There are things taught in -school that don’t agree with Holy Scripture.” - -I asked whether he thought it was wrong to teach that the earth goes -round the sun. “I don’t know anything about it; but I am not in favor of -teaching geography and grammar in the schools: it’s worldly wisdom.” - - * * * * * - -All these Baptist sects have an unpaid ministry. Dr. H., of Bucks County, -had a patient who was a Mennonite preacher, and the doctor refused to -receive payment, saying that his father had taught him never to take pay -from ministers of the gospel. The preacher looked sober and worried, but -left quietly, and not long after he came bringing oats and corn for the -doctor’s horse. Afterwards he would bring flour or buckwheat-meal and -choice bits about butchering time. Thus he seems, without entering into -argument, to have relieved conscientious scruples about taking pay for -preaching. - - * * * * * - -The ceremonial of these plain German sects is not formal and stately, -like that of the Romish Church. A Moravian of Bethlehem was amused -with one of their ministers, who, in ordaining a preacher, said, “_Nau -kannscht du taufe, und nau kannscht du copulire_.” (Now you can baptize, -and now you can marry.) Then turning to a brother, “_Hab ich net ebbes -vergesse? Oh, ya; nau kannscht du auch beim Abendmahl diene_.” (Haven’t I -forgotten something? Oh, yes; now too you can serve in the Supper.) - -Perhaps I would better translate the foregoing, “Thou can serve in the -Supper,” for our Pennsylvania Germans generally use the pronouns thee and -thou. - - * * * * * - -The Mennonites have not a great yearly meeting like that of the Dunkers. -In 1874 a correspondent of one of our Lancaster papers spoke of a -national meeting held in Illinois by the Dunkers. He said, “They had -abundant provision for the comfort of the brethren. The tent held ten -thousand people. Eighty beeves were on the ground for steaks and roasts, -and one baker had orders for eleven thousand loaves of bread.” This year -I see a statement that the national Conference was held in Indiana, -and that twenty thousand people were on the ground. Dr. Seidensticker -(_Century Magazine_, December, 1881) states the number of the Dunkers in -the United States at about two hundred thousand, with nearly two thousand -ministers, none of whom receives a salary. They pay more attention to -education than the Mennonites, having now three collegiate institutes. - - * * * * * - -Mennonites are still found in Europe; in Holland, Prussia, Switzerland, -the Palatinate, etc. They are sometimes distinguished in Germany into -Heftler and Knöpfler, or Hook men and Button men; whence it seems that -one of the distinctions here is widespread and of former origin. In 1881 -I visited a family in the Palatinate, where I was shown a black satin -waistcoat which the father had once worn, with hooks and eyes down the -front; but none of our Amish here would wear anything so showy as a black -satin waistcoat. - -In the same year, 1881, a Mennonite preacher in the Palatinate gave me a -list of many of the European communities, with names of their officers, -such as preachers, deacons, etc. Many of the same names are found in -Lancaster County, though not generally spelled in the same way. Such are -Frantz, Lichti, Landes, Lehmann, Bachmann, Oesch, Bähr and Bär, Zercher, -Krehbiel, Neff, Binkele, Muselmann, Brubacher, Staehly, Wickert. The -family of Stauffer, in my own immediate neighborhood, has possessed for -several generations the given names John and Christian. On the European -list I find two Christian Stauffers, and one marked Johann Stauffer II. - -I met in the Palatinate one who had travelled in Switzerland, and who had -seen Mennonites there. All that he met there were farmers, who sold milk -when near towns, or made butter and cheese when at a distance. They were -mostly Amish. One Amish family, who still wore hooks and eyes, were named -Stauffer. Other families whom he knew or heard of were named Wenger, -Schwartz, Rettiger, etc. - -I find in the volume just mentioned a little description of a Mennonite -congregation near Tilsit, in Prussia, which shows how closely -agricultural the people are. There are altogether about eight hundred -(five hundred and twenty being baptized). Seven hundred and seventy live -in the country, in town thirty. Fifteen belong to the mercantile class, -to mechanics twenty-four, to laborers seventy. The rest own or rent land -(_sind Grundbesitzer und Rentier_). - -From this volume, some of the Russian Mennonites appear to have adopted -river-baptism. One body of Russians went to Taschkant in Middle Asia, -and seem to have been quite unfortunate, as most of us would expect -non-resistants to be among those nearly barbarians. And these emigrants -were extremists, refusing obedience to worldly authorities; they were -unwilling to plant forests in lieu of military service in Russia; the -office of preacher they considered a human institution, and called -themselves the spouse of the Lord. (_Brautgemeinde des Herrn._) - - * * * * * - -I have received a copy of the Family Almanac for 1882, published by a -Mennonite company in Indiana, which bears on the cover a little engraving -of the sword being beaten into the ploughshare, and the motto above, -“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.” - -Within the almanac, among other matter, is the well-known engraving -of a man surrounded by the twelve signs of the zodiac, and headed -thus, “Anatomy of Man’s Body as said to be governed by the Twelve -Constellations.” I find the words _said to be_ significant,—perhaps -the introduction of some scrupulous person. On the same page is the -statement, “Jupiter is the ruling planet this year.” - -A meeting calendar at the close of the almanac gives forty-two -meeting-houses in Lancaster County, and twenty-two others in this State. -Also eleven in Indiana, one in Michigan, and seventeen in Virginia. -There are many Mennonites in Ohio, but this list does not speak of them. -Those meeting-houses mentioned make nearly one hundred; but probably the -list contains none of the New or Reformed Mennonites, also none of the -Amish, who almost invariably meet in private houses. A peculiarity of -the Mennonite meetings in the list just spoken of is the long interval -between meetings, which is mostly two or four weeks, and in three cases -eight weeks. - - * * * * * - -In the article in the text called Schwenkfelders a careful observer will -note a discrepancy. The author speaks of their holding the Spirit above -the Scriptures; but also quotes Schwenkfeld as speaking in substance of -“the gifts of grace revealed by the Father; yet so that this revelation -should unite with the witness of the Scriptures.” The author has not read -Schwenkfeld’s works, but quotes from different sources. - -Before closing these remarks on the plainer sects, I may add that they -are all evangelical, at least there are no Socinian “Menists” here as -in Holland in the time of William Penn. The Dunkers do not believe in -eternal perdition. - -Further as regards one of these plainer sects, I may ask, Are they -degenerating physically? This must be the tendency, it would seem, in all -small religious bodies, limited in marriage to their own membership; but -this may be compensated for by simplicity and purity of life and freedom -from agitation and pecuniary distress. - - -THE PEOPLE CONTRASTED. - -It will be seen that there are among the Pennsylvania Germans two classes -who may be compared or contrasted. The one party may be called the people -of Lancaster and Lebanon, the Baptist and peace; the other, the people of -Berks, Lehigh, and Northampton, the Reformed and Lutheran party. There -are, however, many Reformed and Lutherans in the former division, but -extremely few of the peace people in the latter. In Bucks and Montgomery -on the east, Cumberland and other counties on the west, the different -classes are mingled with many “English.” I have already pointed out that -many of the peace people are of Swiss origin; of the other division, -many or most appear to have been Palatines, and perhaps French refugees. -I have already pointed out also how these two parties differ, the most -astonishing difference being that of politics. During the civil war the -one party opposed the government, which the other sustained. I find a -surprising instance in my notes: A worthy Schwenkfelder told me of places -in the northern part of Montgomery where party spirit seemed to have run -riot, where vendue-criers would use such language as this: one held up -an old scythe, and, as if to enhance its merits, said that it would do -to cut old Lincoln’s head off. The great contrast, however, in politics -between the two districts alluded to may of course have had some -other origin than the sectarian differences of the people. It must be -remembered, however, in Germany, that for a long period the Reformed and -Lutheran were state churches; and these other bodies that existed there -were dissenters. - -In language I have pointed out small differences. In holidays I have -shown how Lancaster and Lebanon keep Halloween, in a manner unknown to -the eastern counties. In the three “Dutch” counties of the east we have -the rabbit myth more extensive than here in Lancaster. While those three -have great agricultural county fairs, Lancaster has held none since -before the war. I attribute this in a great measure to the opposition of -our Baptist farmers to horse-racing and its concomitants. - -A friend gives me another small point of difference. In Lancaster, at -Christmas-time, is sold a cake called _Motzebom_, which is not seen in -Eastern Pennsylvania. This, he adds, is from the Italian _marzepane_, or -bread of St. Mark, which came from Italy into Germany; in England called -marchpain. - - -MISCELLANEOUS. - -Said a young man to us, “My daddy won’t sit in no rocking-chair. He has -a crutch agin’ a rocking-chair.” It appears that the same objection has -been felt by other Pennsylvania Germans. Wollenweber gives us a farmer -talking to his children in the spring, who says especially that none of -the girls is to sit in a rocking-chair on a working-day. In sounding the -praises of Womelsdorf, Berks County, the same author tells us that the -women are never seen sitting in a rocking-chair. - - * * * * * - -We may sometimes judge of a person’s character by hearing the arguments -used to induce him to act. Thus does Wollenweber endeavor to induce the -people of Womelsdorf to erect a monument to Conrad Weiser, who is buried -near the town, and who was a distinguished German pioneer. Wollenweber -encourages them to raise a subscription. Certainly, he says, the man who -owns the place would not object to having a beautiful monument on his -farm; and thousands would go to see it; so that the railroad company, the -turnpike company, and all the tavern-keepers in the neighborhood would -make a good thing of it. “Alas!” he adds, “most of the people who live -round there do not know how to prize the treasure they possess.” - - * * * * * - -These are rural similes used by Wollenweber, whose little volume is “in -the idiom and manner of speech of the Pennsylvania Germans.” It tells of -girls who want to be English (who profess to talk English), but when some -one from town talks to them, they stand like a hen who has dropped an -egg. Again, we read that Weiser remonstrated with Stiegel on account of -his extravagance, etc.; but he might as well have talked to a dead calf. - - * * * * * - -Perhaps the best article in the collection (which is indeed of very -unequal merit) is the story of the dreadful noise that was heard just -before daylight in Lancaster County, near Berks. The people went to -Squire Reinhold’s to talk about it, and the squire, who was very high -learned, thought it must be the train of the wild huntsman, presaging -war, pestilence, and scarcity. He had a German book that told about it. -One stout young fellow, however, had a mind to see for himself; and he -took with him an old shoemaker, who had fought in the Buckshot war, and -who was fearfully full of courage when he had emptied a pint of whiskey, -but whom anybody could chase away when he was sober. (The Buckshot war -was a bloodless affair at Harrisburg, in 1838.) - -This pair went to watch, and heard nothing for two or three nights, -but at last about three in the morning a noise was heard as if every -storm-wind had broken loose. The shoemaker was so frightened that he sank -down at the foot of a tree and buried his head in the fallen leaves. But -the young man discovered that the noise was caused by an immense flock of -wild pigeons. - - * * * * * - -It has been hinted in the text that the Pennsylvania Germans are not -refined. One of their preachers has told me of their being a gross, -unrefined people, and of his being often obliged to see things that he -would rather not. Another preacher gave me this anecdote: A man, speaking -of his son, said, “I would rather have lost my best horse as Jake. He was -such a fellow to work.” - - * * * * * - -Of those who are yoked together in life and do not pull together, the -“Dutch” of Berks and Lehigh say, “_Der ehne keht chee un der onnere keht -haw_.” (One gees and the other haws.) It is applied also to others who do -not agree, and is heard also thus, “_Ehnce will chee, oonce anner will -ho_.” - - * * * * * - -Although our “Pennsylvania Dutch” are of undoubted German origin, yet -in common speech they almost always speak of themselves as Dutch, which -sounds much more like _Deutsch_ than German does; and it is not a great -length of time since Germans were so called. I think that it was in Miss -Aiken’s life of Elizabeth that I found the following. One of the suitors -to the queen was brother to the emperor of Austria. The Earl of Sussex -wrote to Elizabeth, “His highness, besides his natural language of Dutch, -speaketh very well Spanish and Italian.” - - * * * * * - -The following are from newspapers of different dates: - -In 1869 a literary society in Lancaster County discussed the question, -Resolved, that wealth exerts a greater influence than knowledge. The -decision was in favor of the affirmative. - -In 1872 a lyceum in the same county debated the subject that wealth has a -greater influence on the people in general than education. The decision -was in favor of education, “contrary to expectation.” - -In 1879, in another literary society in our county, this referred -question was answered, Is laziness a habit, a disease, or a sin? If we -only had the answer! - -At a lyceum in Berks County in 1882 was discussed this subject, Resolved, -that ambition is a greater evil than intemperance. The judges decided in -favor of the affirmative; the house afterwards in the negative. - - * * * * * - -The following seems to be from a report in the Reading _Eagle_: Samuel -J. and his wife returned from their wedding trip on Monday evening, when -they were serenaded early by a band, and later Butcher arrived before -the bride’s house with the si-gike, followed by about one hundred little -boys. After making the welkin ring for about one hour, Samuel handed -over a V, and the band left in high glee. - -At my own home I have heard the sound of these rough serenades, borne -over the fields in notes by distance made less harsh. The instruments are -pots and pans beaten, and a horse-fiddle, made by putting rosin on edges -of a box, and drawing a rail over them. In my own neighborhood I hear -that this rough play is going out of fashion as musical bands are coming -in. - -In the south of England I saw an aged pair who had received a rough -serenade on account of conjugal disturbances. - -A friend, born in the Palatinate, tells me that rough serenades were -formerly practised there, and called _Katzen_-musik (cat music), or -charivari. They were introduced on the occasion of disproportionate -marriages. Thus,— - - “_Eine alte Frau und ein junger Mann_ - _Die müsse Charivari han._” - -“An old wife and a young husband must have a serenade.” - - * * * * * - -In Berks County a young publisher told me that when visiting the country -and asking his subscribers how they liked his paper, he received answer -that it was “a very nice paper for the cupboard.” Being a large-sized -paper, it was a good one to spread upon shelves to keep them clean. - -Lancaster County men connected with the press have had similar -experiences. One canvassing for a paper to be published in a small town -came across an old man and his wife tying covers on pots of apple-butter, -and showed them a specimen copy. He was answered, “_Ich verlang’s net. -Es macht net vier Happe-deckel_.” (I don’t want it. It won’t make four -pot-covers.) - -When the _Lancaster County Farmer_ was started it was in small pamphlet -form. A person in the office showed it to a man, who took hold of it, -opened it, and looked at the other side, but believed he would not take -it: it was almost too small to tie apple-butter crocks with. - -A man came into the office of the Lancaster _Express_, Republican, -and wished to “pay his paper.” I will call his post-office Blackburn. -Considerable time was spent in looking over the list of the weekly paper -and trying to find his name, and then he was asked whether it was not -the daily. No, he did not think it was. And was he sure that he got it -from Blackburn Post-Office “Yes.” - -“Well, maybe it’s the _Intelligencer_.” - -“I guess maybe it is; it’s a Democrat paper.” - - * * * * * - -I have spoken of old apple-butter. The following is condensed from a -Lancaster paper of 1874: “A gentleman handed us a few days since a bottle -of apple-butter made in 1820, being fifty-three years old last fall. -It is still good, and retains its original flavor. It was part of the -‘housestire’ of Mrs. R. of this county after her marriage.” (_Haus steur_ -is the house-furnishing. Apple-butter kept so long dries away to a very -small bulk, but can be renewed by boiling it with water.) - - * * * * * - -At a Quaker settlement in Lancaster County, nearly extinct among the -“Dutch,” a father urged his son to activity thus: “Let me see if thee’ll -go on and help me like a little Dutch boy would do, or whether thee’ll -linger and loiter about.” When the boy had got into college he told of -his neighbors’ saying, “Too much eddication, you know, makes a man lazy.” -A neighboring farmer was inquiring for a person to help him in haying and -harvest, and the lad spoke for himself, saying that some people thought -he was lazy, but that he could work and was willing to work. “Still, -you’re a little lazy,” answered the farmer. - - * * * * * - -Riding one evening we met an Amish farmer on horseback driving a very -clean sow. We stopped, and I asked whether he had a certain book which -contains a notice of the Amish. He answered that he did not have many -books. - -“My Bible and Testament’s enough for me to read;” then, recollecting -himself, “and the Martyr-Book, I have that.” - - * * * * * - -“Does Mr. Kennel live here?” inquired a stranger of an Amish farmer. - -“Joe Kennel lives here. I’m the man.” - - * * * * * - -Mr. R. has told me that in 1853, at the age of six, he went to public -school in this county. He had just learned to read, and was put into a -class in the Testament. They read four to six times a day. It took them -about three months to accomplish the Testament, and then the teacher put -them into the Bible, which they completed, Mr. R. says, before he was -eight years old, but under a succeeding teacher. - -“We hadn’t many books in those days,” says Mr. R.; “I used to read the -weekly _Tribune_ down to the names of the Kansas settlers.” - - * * * * * - -The custom of barring out the teacher at Christmas appears not yet to be -extinct in Lancaster County. - -The scholars demand a Christmas gift, but are not always successful. One -teacher near here walked calmly home, and allowed the scholars to open -the door at their leisure. - -An acquaintance, born in Northampton County, tells me that at his native -place the teacher was locked out not at Christmas, but on Shrove-Tuesday, -and merely for sport. - - * * * * * - -That peculiarity of some Germans by which they pronounce Goble like Kopel -is also found in Pennsylvania. A certain carpenter could not tell me -whether his son’s name was Beck or Peck. And an “English” boy supposed -that a certain man had a hare-lip, as he heard him spoken of as Cutlip, -but his name was Gottlieb. - - * * * * * - -A neighboring farmer came to our house with his little boy, about five -years old. I handed the little fellow a penny, and he began to pull his -father, who was talking. - -“He gives it to you, does he?” I asked. - -“Yes, to put into his box. He’s got two full. I’ll have to steal them -some day, I guess,” winking at me. - -“That’s the way you teach them to save?” said I. - -“Yes, keep them till he gets big. Buy a horse and buggy with them, he -says.” - -Then, with paternal pleasure, “He tells his mother he don’t want no -hilly land.” Strange for a family of Swiss descent? Their ancestors had -enough hills in Switzerland. How they enjoy this level limestone land! - -One of my acquaintances thinks that the reason these people or this class -got the rich limestone land was that they were not afraid of the labor of -cutting down the heavy timber which grew on it. - - * * * * * - -I have just told how the little fellow was saving his pennies to “buy -a horse and buggy,”—the great pride of our farmer boy’s heart. On a -neighboring farm to ours lived the grandfather, who had his own plain -carriage, the father with another, and two sons, aged about twenty-one, -each with a buggy. This must be the great extravagance of our young -farmers now. But having buggies they can take the girls to ride; and they -can sometimes take others too. The other day a lad kindly took me up; an -Amish boy, in a plain buggy, driving a pretty good horse. As our Amish -so often drive in wagons, covered with light-colored oil-cloth, I made -some remark about the buggy, and the lad answered that it was his. He is -fourteen years old. - -On the other hand, I have heard of a Miss K., who was considered a -great catch, being thought rich by the young “Dutch fellows.” Among the -numerous young men who came to see her was one who drove two horses. Her -father asked him what business he was in. - -“Not in any just now.” - -“Then I don’t see how you can keep two horses;” which remark was fully -understood as putting an end to the young man’s suit. He needn’t come -there no more! - -The mania for a driving-team accounts for the occasional disappearance of -harness when left unguarded. - - * * * * * - -A lawyer in Lancaster describes a peculiarity of our people. In most -places, he says, a man comes in, tells you what he wants, and perhaps -retains you in his case. But here there is first a conversation on -diverse subjects. - -Another says that the country people expect you to hear an account of -their ailings and those of their friends and the state of the crops -before proceeding further. - -A neighbor coming to our house to get a horse and vehicle, talked perhaps -half an hour, as if on a friendly call, before she told her errand. - - * * * * * - -It is hard for some of our Pennsylvania Germans to write a letter in -English. I wrote once to a preacher, who got the ticket-agent at the -railroad to answer. The following was sent by a workingman: - -“Dear A B Your man have pacts that Roof has left some stuff mite I have -them to pact my slate roof the leeke I sought the might spile so I mite -youse it as well as let the leek away ensur soon. Yours C D.” - -Which may be interpreted thus: “Your man has patched that roof, and has -left some stuff. Might I have it to patch my slate-roof,—the leak? I -thought it might spoil, so I might use it as well as let it leak away. -Answer soon.” - - * * * * * - -A young “English” girl was visiting a “Dutch” one, and the father of the -latter, a substantial farmer, was kindly going to take the visitor part -way home. The girls stayed talking above until the voice of the farmer -was heard at the foot of the stairs, “Staytsch!” He was no more to be -trifled with than the stage-driver. - -Once when absent from home he bought a plaster cast of Canova’s Three -Graces. Such things are not seen in “Dutch” farm-houses, and ere long the -Three Graces were provided with petticoats of pink and blue tissue-paper. - - * * * * * - -An expression that is very offensive to our Pennsylvania Germans, when -applied to them by “English” folks, is “dumb Dutch.” Dumb is of course -the German _dumm_, stupid, and it is familiarly used by our Pennsylvania -Germans themselves. One of my friends said that she thought she could -learn to use a sewing-machine,—“People as dumb as me has learned to use -them.” - - * * * * * - -A Lancaster gentleman gave me this little anecdote: - -Old Mrs. H., anxious to see a baptism by immersion, proposed to her hired -girl, Susan, to go across the fields to the place where there was to be -baptism in the creek. Waymaking they were to cross the same creek by a -log, but Mrs. H. fell in to her waist. Wading back to the bank, Susan -standing alarmed, Mrs. H. said, quietly and quickly, “_Suss, mir hens -yetst g’seh; yetst welle mir hame geh_;” or, “Susy, we’ve seen it now; -now let’s go home.” - - * * * * * - -A lawyer, Mr. W., who taught in Schuylkill County about fifteen or twenty -years ago, has given me some of his recollections. - -He said that among the mines in Schuylkill the population is English, -that is, American, Welsh, Scotch, and Irish, but in the valleys there are -“Dutch” farmers, mostly Lutherans, he thinks. - -“The farmers lived well in the valleys of Schuylkill County; no danger of -freezing in winter between two feather-beds;” and Mr. W. liked the fried -_pawn-haus_, although he found it rather rich. - -“In that county I had some of the pleasantest times. I was there as a -teacher, and they immediately appropriated me. I was not obliged to -wait for the formality of an introduction in the German community. I -could see, however, a tendency to mistrust the man of Yankee origin, -and to combine against him; the young men fearing lest the teacher -should cut them out with the girls. I was invited to go one evening on a -sleighing-party. There were an equal number of young men and girls, and -at a village we took in two fiddlers. We drove several miles to a stone -tavern or farm-house (for the tavern-keeper is generally a farmer). The -fiddlers sat in the window-seats, formed by the thick stone walls; and -the dance was lively until the small hours. The dancers made a business -of it, and went to work with a will. The dances were called ‘straight -eights,’ forward and back, and mostly shuffles. Although at a tavern, -none got drunk. Coming home, the driver increased the fun by upsetting -the party in the snow. - -“I taught public school, and on account of not speaking German I had much -difficulty with the younger scholars, who, being under the care of their -mothers, seldom heard the English language. The home talk was always -in ‘Dutch,’ as they called it, though the fathers, when transacting -business, were able to speak English. - -“Even the larger pupils were not able to understand all of their lessons -in English. Some of the farmers were rich. The ‘Dutch’ farmers were -universally Democrats.” So says Mr. W. - - * * * * * - -Another lawyer, named H. (of Pennsylvania German origin), has given -me some of his recollections of Berks County. Berks is that county -concerning which it has been a standing joke that its people still voted -for Andrew Jackson,—a well-worn joke. - -“It must have been a select party,” says Mr. H., “that W. was at, if none -of them got drunk.” - -“The great dancing tunes in Berks are Fisher’s Hornpipe, Washington’s -Grand March, Charlie over the Water, Yankee Doodle, Hail Columbia, and We -won’t go Home till Morning.” - -“The walls in the stone houses in Berks are generally two feet thick, -built like forts, with plenty of room to sit in the window-seats, but -usually the landlord had a long bar-room table, on which he put chairs -for the fiddlers. About every third dance they must have a drink, which -frequent potations sometimes brought them to the floor, unable to -distinguish sounds.” “The dancing they indulge in in Berks,” says Mr. H., -“is not the fashionable kind, but is more exhausting than mauling rails -in August, or thrashing rye with a flail. The figures are called out by -some skilful person; the dances are called straight fours or hoe-downs, -the dancers being arranged in four rows, in a sort of double column on -each side. After the inside couples have danced and all have changed -places, the former are allowed to rest while the outside couples dance.” - -“The battalion (Pennsylvania Dutch, _Badolya_?) is an annual day of joy -and festivity in Berks County. The annual training, which gave name -to the day, has long been given up, but still just before hay-making -the landlords of the country towns, such as Kutztown or Hamburg, -will advertise that they will hold the annual battalion (without any -soldiers). The peanut-venders, the men with flying-horses, and the others -who expect to reap the harvest, come during the night before, and by six -in the morning everything is ready, and about that hour the farmers begin -to come in, wives, sons, daughters, hired men, and maids, even little -children and quite small babies. - -“The farmers patronize the landlords by dining and drinking. You can get -a good dinner at Kutztown for less money than in any other town I know. -As for drinking, bars have even been set up upon the second floor where -the dancing took place. - -“The old folks amuse themselves by talking together, looking on and -seeing how well their sons and daughters can dance, the old men drinking -a little whiskey, several times repeated, and perhaps treating their -wives to some sarsaparilla. By evening the old folks will be at home; but -the daughters, who could hardly expect the young men to walk home with -them as long as the sun was shining, stay later, carrying gingerbread and -pea-nuts home in their handkerchiefs. - -“Roving gamblers also visit the battalion; and many an unwary youth has -lost all his money, earned by hard work, and, after that was gone, has -striven to better his fortune, but unsuccessfully, by giving up his -watch.” - -The remark of the last speaker, that they still have the _badolya_, or -annual training, in Berks without any soldiers, reminds me that they -still have in Germany the _Kirch-weih_, church consecration, or saint’s -day, without going to any church at all, but dance and are merry after -harvest. - - * * * * * - -I was told some years back of farmers in Berks “worth from thirty to -eighty thousand dollars who never bring wheat bread to the table except -at Christmas and New Year’s. This is from their great economy and desire -to sell the wheat.” - -Mrs. R., of Lehigh County, tells me that at her father’s they baked wheat -bread on Saturday, for Sunday, but during the week they ate rye. - -When her brother-in-law returned from a visit to Ohio, he said, “_Daraus -in Ohio, ’s is so schane. Sie essen laute waytzbrod_;” or, “Out in Ohio -it is so fine. They eat altogether wheat bread.” - - * * * * * - -There is a part of the city of Lancaster which is called Germany. Here -natives of that country buy house-lots, and send their children out to -beg until they find they have a secure footing. Nor does the average -citizen disapprove of this proceeding; although he is dissatisfied if a -woman who owns two brick houses sends to the soup-house for a free lunch. - -I was amused one day in Lancaster by a boy’s asking, “Won’t you give me -a penny to save?” A pretty little girl, comfortably dressed and speaking -German, came into one of the newspaper offices for help, the family -having been unfortunate. When some one gave her a penny, she took from -her pocket a purse and put her money away. - - * * * * * - -Three great waves of emigration, it may be said, early settled -Pennsylvania. The Quakers settled in the southeast. I have travelled -among Friends in several localities, but I never saw any other community -so strongly Quaker as Chester County. - -The German immigration mostly lay outside of this, on the north and west. -West of Chester County lies Lancaster, settled in a great measure by -German Baptists (Mennonites), and which is probably one of the strongest -Baptist populations in the world. Farther west the Scotch-Irish element -is very strong. In the west of the State I was surprised by hearing a -physician (I will call his name McCalmont) say that the Scotch-Irish -had been the making of Pennsylvania. It is this class, doubtless, who -have caused the region around Pittsburgh to be called the backbone of -Presbyterianism. - - * * * * * - -This volume does not endeavor to describe the manners and ways of living -of all Pennsylvania Germans, but only of the majority. People of wealth -and education resemble each other in most civilized lands. And although -the Pennsylvania Germans are principally devoted to agriculture, yet -about twenty per cent., as I estimate, have gone into cities and into -other employments. Among those who have aided less or more in the -publication of this volume are ministers, lawyers, physicians, editors, -bankers, merchants, and teachers of Pennsylvania German origin. Many -persons of note in Pennsylvania have been of German descent, from -Peter Muhlenberg, a Lutheran preacher, who commanded a regiment in the -Revolution, to a number of governors of this State,—Snyder, Hiester, -Shulze, Wolf, Ritner, Shunk, and Hartranft. Governor Hartranft’s -ancestor, then called Hertteranfft, came in with the Schwenkfelders in -1734. - -To these distinguished Pennsylvania Germans I may add Dr. Gross, the -eminent surgeon. The German blood is also found in a great number of -families in our country. It is stated that Simon Cameron is of Scottish -descent on the father’s side; and on the mother’s is descended from -Conrad Pfoutz. The Hon. Jeremiah S. Black and William D. Howells, the -well-known author, have told me that they are partly of Pennsylvania -German origin. - - -THE END. - - - - -FOOTNOTES - - -[1] An acquaintance, who lives in Bucks County, tells me that his father, -a Mennonite preacher, voted “pretty much always.” - -[2] The rule against judgment bonds is not universal. - -[3] For another estimate, see Appendix. - -[4] Kohl-slaw (_i.e._, kohl-salat or cabbage-salad) is shredded cabbage, -dressed with vinegar, etc. A rich dressing is sometimes made of milk or -cream, egg, vinegar, etc. It may be eaten either as warm slaw or cold -slaw. - -[5] Some account of Peltz-nickel in Germany will be found in the Appendix. - -[6] Written about 1868. - -[7] Amish is pronounced _Ommish_, the _a_ being very broad, like _aw_. -This article was first published some years ago. - -[8] I learn, 1882, that the Amish feet-washing is public. - -[9] Our German Baptists are more decidedly non-resistant than the -Quakers. Some of them refuse to vote for civil officers. - -The term Anabaptist is from the Greek, and signifies one who baptizes -again. All Baptists baptize anew those who were baptized in infancy. -The term Anabaptist, in the present essay, is used indifferently with -Baptist, and, in a degree, with Mennonite. - -[10] Of the heretics executed by Alva in the Spanish Netherlands, a large -proportion were Anabaptists.—_Encyclopædia Americana._ - -[11] Zschokke, in his History of Switzerland, accuses the Anabaptists of -causing great trouble and scandal. Some account of the furious or warlike -Anabaptists of Holland may be found in Appleton’s Cyclopædia. - -[12] This must not be understood as aid in bearing arms. - -[13] One of Menno’s brothers is said to have been connected with the -Anabaptists of Münster, those who took up arms, etc. Of these, whose -course was so very different from the lives of our pacific Baptists -in this country. Menno may have received some, after their defeat, to -come under the peaceable rule. There are in the Netherlands, says a -recent authority, 40,000 Mennonites. They are a true, pure Netherlandish -appearance, which is older than the Reformation, and therefore must not -be identified with the Protestantism of the sixteenth century. - -Menno does not merit to be called the father of the Netherlandish -Mennonites, but rather the first shepherd of the scattered sheep,—the -founder of their church community. - -The ground-thought from which Menno proceeded was not, as with Luther, -justification by faith, or, as with the Swiss Reformers, the absolute -dependence of the sinner upon God, in the work of salvation. The holy -Christian life, in opposition to worldliness, was the point whence Menno -proceeded, and to which he always returned. In the Romish church we see -ruling the spirit of Peter; in the Reformed Evangelical the spirit of -Paul; in Menno we see arise again James the Just, the brother of the Lord. - -See articles _Menno_ and _Mennonites_, and _Holland_, in Herzog’s -“Real-Encyclopädie,” Stuttgart and Hamburg, 1858. - -Many of the Mennonites of Holland at the present day seem to have -wandered far from the teachings of Menno, and to be very different from -the simple Mennonite communities of Pennsylvania. - -[14] The burying of Menno in his garden can be explained by the great -secrecy which in times of persecution attended the actions of the -persecuted sects. The family graveyards of Lancaster County, located upon -farms, may be in some degree traditional, from times of persecution, when -Baptists had no churches, but met in secret. - -[15] To the writer it is a question of some interest how far George Fox, -the founder of Quakerism, was acquainted with the lives, sufferings, and -writings of the Anabaptists. - -The common people of England may readily have obtained some knowledge of -the Baptists from the number that were cruelly put to death. In 1534, -Henry VIII. commanded foreigners who had been baptized in infancy, and -had been rebaptized, to leave the realm in twelve days, on pain of death. -It seems that certain Dutch Baptists braved the threatened punishment; -for twenty-six were, in different places, and at different dates, burned -within a few years. Under Edward VI., many Baptists suffered extreme -punishment, Cranmer and Latimer, Ridley and John Rogers, either approving -or actually assisting as inquisitors. See “The Baptists; Who they are, -and What they have done,” by George B. Taylor, D.D. - -The year 1534, in which Henry VIII. issued the proclamation alluded -to, was the time of the Anabaptist occupation of Münster. The feelings -of Henry towards the Peasants’ War and the Münster kingdom doubtless -resembled those of his successor, in 1798, towards the French -revolutionists,—but George III. did not put any one to death by fire. - -Since the above was written has been published Barclay’s “Inner Life of -the Religious Societies of the Commonwealth,” London, 1876. This author -speaks of George Fox as having promulgated opinions and founded churches -closely approximating to the Mennonite churches in Holland. He further -says George Fox tells us that he had an uncle in London who was a Baptist. - -[16] Hans (or John) Landis is the name of the sufferer just spoken of. -Several Landises are mentioned in the martyrologies, and the name is very -common in Lancaster County at this time. John Landis is remarkably so. - -In quoting from the Martyr-book I employ the English version, “Martyr’s -Mirror.” I have lately had an opportunity of seeing an old German copy, -from the press of the Brotherhood at Ephrata, about 1750. I find that it -is differently arranged from the modern English version, and I suspect -there are other variations. - -[17] From Schaffhausen came some of the Stauffer family, as I have read. -The Stauffers are numerous in our county. For some family traditions, see -the close of this article. - -[18] In the duchy of Cleves, the town of Crefeld, some fifty or sixty -years later, gave refuge to the Dunkers. It appears also to have harbored -some of the French Protestant refugees at the revocation of the Edict of -Nantes. See “Ephrata.” - -[19] They were probably conscientiously opposed to the death penalty. - -[20] Martyr’s Mirror. - -[21] The troops of the empire of Germany, or of Germany and Spain -combined. See Voltaire’s “Age of Louis XIV.” - -[22] “Age of Louis XIV.” The following is testimony for the Mennonites: -“In the words of the Dutch embassador (Van Beuning) to Monsieur de -Turenne: ‘The Mennonites are good people, and the most commodious to a -state of any in the world; partly because they do not aspire to places -of dignity; partly because they edify the community by the simplicity of -their manners, and application to arts and industry; and partly because -we fear no rebellion from a sect who make it an article of their faith -never to bear arms.’ The said industry and frugality they carried with -them to Pennsylvania, and thereby are become very wealthy.”—MORGAN -EDWARDS. - -[23] Several towns and townships in southeastern Pennsylvania bear record -of the Palatinate, etc. In Lancaster County we have Strasburg, doubtless -named for that city in Alsace, and both town and township of Manheim. -Adjoining counties have Heidelbergs. The Swiss Palatines do not seem to -have preserved enough affection for the land of their origin to bestow -Swiss names upon our Lancaster County towns. What wonder? - -[24] “This year of which I am now writing must ever be remembered as the -most fatal to the Protestant religion. In February a king of England -declared himself a papist. In June, Charles, the Elector Palatine, dying -without issue, the electoral dignity went to the house of Newburgh, a -most bigoted popish family. In October the King of France recalled and -vacated the edict of Nantes.”—_Burnet’s History of his Own Time._ - -[25] This was twenty-eight years after the founding of Penn’s colony. -Several years earlier, or in 1701, some Mennonites bought land in -Germantown, and in 1708 built a church (or meeting-house). For this -information I am obliged to Dr. Seidensticker, of the University of -Pennsylvania. - -“In the year 1708 about fifty Palatines, who were Lutherans and were -ruined, came over to England. Queen Anne allowed them a shilling a day, -and took care to have them transported to the plantations; and from these -circumstances there arose a general disposition among all the poor of -that country to come over. They came to Holland in great bodies: the -Anabaptists there were particularly helpful to them, both in subsisting -those in Holland and in transporting them to England. Great numbers of -these were sent to Ireland, but most of them to the plantations in North -America, where it is believed their industry will quickly turn to a good -account.”—See Burnet’s “Own Time.” I am told that of those thus sent -to Ireland many afterwards came to America; of such was Philip Embury, -who, being converted in Ireland, came to New York, and was the first to -introduce Methodism on the continent. He and his family were from the -Palatinate. - -Mention has just been made of Lutherans going to England from the -Palatinate. I infer that many who fled thence were of the Reformed -Church. The French Huguenots would in Germany probably join the Reformed -Church? - -[26] Barclay’s “Religious Societies of the Commonwealth.” London, 1876. - -[27] Rupp. - -[28] Ibid. - -[29] The question has been discussed, what did the Germans select the -limestone lands, and the Scotch-Irish take those less fruitful? Different -hints upon this subject may be found in Day’s Historical Collections of -Pennsylvania. Under the head of Lancaster County he says that a number of -Scotch-Irish, in consequence of the limestone land being liable to frost -and heavily wooded, seated themselves (1763) along the northern line of -the counties of Chester and Lancaster. It seems that the Germans did not -fear the labor of clearing off heavy timber. - -A gentleman of Lancaster County says that ninety in one hundred of the -regular members of the Mennonite churches are farmers, and that they -follow the limestone land as the needle follows the pole. - -[30] The Pequea Creek (pronounced Peckʹway) waters some of the finest -land in the county, if not the very finest. “The Piquaws had their -wigwams scattered along the banks of the Pequea.” - -[31] Not always as at present spelled. The present Kendig appears as -Kindeck, Breneman as Preniman, Baumgardner as Bumgarner, Eby as Abye. -These were probably English efforts at spelling German names. Rupp says -that he was indebted to Abraham Meylin, of West Lampeter Township, for a -copy of the act. There appear to have been among the Palatines who came -into our county some Huguenot families; but, from intermarrying with the -Germans, and speaking the dialect, they are considered “Dutch.” The name -of the Bushong family is said to have been Beauchamp. - -[32] This mention of the Switzers’ wagons reminds me of the great -Conestoga wagons, which, before the construction of railroads, conveyed -the produce of the interior to Philadelphia. With their long bodies -roofed with white canvas, they went along almost, I might say, like -moving houses. They were drawn by six powerful horses, at times furnished -with trappings and bells; and the wagoner’s trade was one of importance. - -[33] A test-oath, or oath of abjuration, seems to have been in force at -one time in Pennsylvania, concerning the Roman Catholics. (See Rupp’s -History of Berks and Lebanon.) Must we not attribute this act to the -royal home government rather than to William Penn? - -[34] “I fear this volume will be deemed a heap of dry records, without -a sufficient number of anecdotes to give them a relish; this is owing -to the peace and liberty which the Baptists have ever enjoyed in -Pennsylvania. In other provinces they have had their troubles, which -will make their history interesting to every reader.”—MORGAN EDWARDS: -Advertisement [or preface] to “Materials towards a History of the -Baptists in Pennsylvania, both British and German.” 1770. - -[35] Day says that there was policy in the order above given; that the -Irish were warlike, and could defend the frontier. It was not long after -the above date (in 1763) that the “Paxton Boys” made a raid down to -Lancaster and massacred the remnant of the Conestoga Indians in the jail -of this town. - -[36] The Amish seem to have originated in Europe, about the year 1700, -when Jacob Amen, a Swiss preacher, set up, or returned to, the more -severe rule, distasteful to brethren in Alsace, etc., and enforced the -ban of excommunication upon some or all of those who disagreed with him. -Appleton’s Cyclopædia calls him Amman, and says that the Amish rose in -1693, in Alsace. A small pamphlet upon this subject has been published at -Elkhart, Indiana, and is for sale at the office of the _Herald of Truth_. - -[37] See Herzog. - -[38] The German word _leute_, people, is here pronounced _lite_. - -[39] Traditionary stories exist in our county concerning the Swiss -origin, etc., of certain families. I have heard one concerning the Engles -and one of the Stauffers. A member of the Johns family has also told me -of their Swiss origin, and of their name being formerly written Tschantz. - -It is probable that other traditionary stories concerning Swiss families -could now be collected, if some one would exert himself to do it -before their custodians “fall asleep.” But let those who gather these -stories beware of the “fine writer,” lest he add what he considers -embellishments, and make the narratives improbable. - -The Stauffer traditions were mentioned to me by a venerable member of -the family, one who has kindly lent me his aid and sympathy in some -of my records of the “Pennsylvania Dutch.” John Stauffer is now a -great-grandfather, and he calculates that it was, at the nearest, his -own great-great-grandfather who, with his mother and his three brothers, -came to this country, his ancestors being of Swiss origin. “The mother,” -says my neighbor (in substance), “weighed three hundred, and the sons -made a wagon, all of wood, and drawed her to the Rhine. When they got to -Philadelphia, they put their mother into the wagon and drawed her up here -to Warwick township. There they settled on a pretty spring; that is what -our people like.” - -The reader of this little story may remember the “pious Æneas,” who “from -the flames of Troy, upon his shoulders,” the old Anchises bore. [John -Stauffer is now dead, 1882.] - -The tradition of the Engle family was narrated to me by two of its -members. Mr. Henry M. Engle has felt some difficulty in reconciling the -tradition with the fact of the family’s having been in this country only -about one hundred years, and with his idea that the Swiss persecution -must have ceased before that period. But we have seen that some Baptist -families tarried in the Palatinate, etc., before coming here, and a -circumstance like the imprisonment of one of their women would be -remembered among them for a long time. - -Tradition says that it was the grandmother’s mother or grandmother of -Henry M. Engle and Jacob M. Engle, who was a prisoner in Switzerland for -her faith. The turnkey’s wife sympathized with the prisoner, because she -knew that Annie had children at home. So she said to her, in the Swiss -dialect, “Annie, if I were you, I would go away once.” (“Annie, wann i -die wär, i det mohl geh.”—“Annie, wenn ich dich wäre, ich thut einmal -gehen.”) - -She therefore set Annie to washing clothes, and, turning her back upon -her, gave her opportunity to escape. - -Annie’s husband was not a Baptist; nevertheless, he was so friendly as -to prepare a hiding-place for her, into which she could go down, if -the persecutors came, by means of a trap-door; and she was never taken -prisoner again. - -[40] The _Herald of Truth_, a Mennonite paper of this country, under the -date of July, 1873, contains a “Letter of Authority,” beginning, “We, the -Bishops and Directors of the entire body of the Swiss Mennonites in the -colonies of Kotusufka, in the district (county or canton) of Schitomir, -state of Volkinien, Russia.” - -This Letter of Authority concerns the proposed migration above alluded -to. Of the six names signed thereto, one at least appears to belong also -to this county of Lancaster, where it is now sometimes written Graybill; -in the Russian letter Krehbiehl. A similar name is found among the -Schwenckfelders, who were of Silesian origin. - -[41] See the article “Ephrata,” in this volume. - -[42] See article “Ephrata” in this volume. - -[43] Our “Dutch”—all of them, I believe—use the singular pronoun “du,” -_thou_. - -[44] A friend tells me that he once heard a discourse from a celebrated -Dunker preacher, named Sarah Reiter. She was allowed to preach, it seems, -by a liberal construction of Paul’s celebrated edict, because she was -unmarried. Even when afterward married, by a more liberal construction -still, the liberty to preach was not forbidden her. Possibly it was -assumed that her _husband at home_ was not able to answer all her -questions upon spiritual matters. She removed to Ohio. - -In the Encyclopædia Americana the following are given as propositions -of some of the former Anabaptists: “Impiety prevails everywhere. It is -therefore necessary that a new family of holy persons should be founded, -enjoying without distinction of sex the gift of prophecy, and skill -to interpret divine revelations. Hence they need no learning, for the -internal word is more than the outward expression.” - -At this time, however, while our German Baptists still believe in an -unpaid, untaught ministry, none of them, I think, hold to the doctrine -that the gift of prophecy or preaching is without distinction of sex. In -this respect, George Fox seems to have agreed with the early Anabaptists -just mentioned. - -[45] See the questions in full,—1 Corinthians, chap. vi. - -[46] See Hazard’s Register, vol. v. C. L. F. Endress, D.D., preached -twelve years in Trinity (Lutheran) Church, Lancaster. To the learned Dr. -Seidensticker, of Philadelphia, and to Mr. I. D. Rupp, I am indebted for -assistance. - -[47] A new movement in German theology arose in the second half of the -seventeenth century, through Spener, the founder of Pietism. The central -principle of Pietism was that Christianity was first of all life, and -that the strongest proof of the truth of its doctrines was to be found -in the religious experience of the believing subject. The principles of -the Pietists were in the main shared by the Moravians. (See American -Cyclopædia, article _German Theology_.) Compare this statement of the -main principle of Pietism with this of the Anabaptists, whom the mass of -our Dunkers so much resemble: “The opinions common to the Anabaptists are -founded on the principle that Christ’s kingdom on earth, or the church, -is a visible society of pious and holy persons, with none of those -institutions which human sagacity has devised for the ungodly.” (See -American Cyclopædia, article _Anabaptists_.) - -[48] They took for themselves the name of Brethren, says an article -in Rupp’s “Religious Denominations.” The Dunkers in our county call -themselves Brethren,—“Old Brethren,” “River Brethren,” etc. Whether the -Ephrata Dunkers took the same name, I cannot say. - -[49] Speaking of a certain Seventh-Day Baptist, an “Old Mennonite” writer -says that he was “doubtless unaware that the Lord Christ is also Lord of -the sabbath, and that in him no day, except for sake of common law, is to -be observed above another.” See _Der Waffenlose Waechter_ (or _Unarmed -Watchman_), Jan. 1873. - -[50] In the time of the Millerite excitement above alluded to, many -prepared ascension robes. One of my acquaintances went to the roof of -his house, where, in his robe, he could look for the coming of Christ, -and whence he was prepared immediately to ascend. More recently, namely, -in August of 1873, I recollect meeting with a person who told me that he -writes for Advent papers. He was himself a _Time-ist_, thinking that “the -second coming of the Lord will take place this year.” - -[51] “Afterward, she held to edification for many years, in the -sister-convent, the office of a sub-prioress, under the name of Marcella. -Finally, in her age, she was induced by her son to return to her -husband,—although another motive was the severe manner of life in the -encampment, which she could no longer bear.”—_Chronicon Ephratense_, p. -45. - -[52] Are these the married women just spoken of, who had become single? - -[53] These remarkable men seem to deserve especial notice. In Rupp’s -History of Lancaster County it is stated that they were from Germany, and -had been brought up Catholics. Israel Eckerlin (Brother Onesimus) became -prior of the brother-house at Ephrata. Peter Miller, in an original -letter, complains that he obliged them to meddle with worldly things -further than their obligations permitted; and that when money came in it -was put out at interest, “contrary to our principles.” - -They could not, however, have been very rich, for when in 1745 a bell -arrived in Philadelphia, from England, which had been ordered by -Eckerlin, and which cost eighty pounds, they knew not how to pay for it. -The name of Onesimus (or Eckerlin) had been placed upon the bell. When -the news of its arrival was received, a council was held in the presence -of the spiritual father, Beissel, and it was concluded to break the bell -to pieces and bury it in the earth. The next morning, however, the father -appeared in the council, and said that he had reflected that as the -brothers were poor, the bell should be pardoned. It therefore was sold, -and was placed upon the Lutheran church in Lancaster, where it was long -in use. Afterwards it was sold to a fire company, and is now on the tower -of the house of the Washington Company. It bears a Latin inscription with -the name of the “reverend man,” Onesimus. - -Miller says that the prior (Eckerlin) conceived a notion to make himself -independent of Beissel, and was stripped of all his dignities. - -The Eckerlins appear to have gone into the wilderness, and encamped on -a creek flowing into the Monongahela, in Pennsylvania, to which stream -they gave the name of Dunkard Creek, which it still bears. They afterward -seem to have removed to Dunkards’ Bottom, on Cheat River, which they made -their permanent residence. After many vicissitudes, Miller tells us that -Eckerlin and his brother were taken prisoners by Mohawks, and sold to -Quebec, whence they were transported to France, “where, after our prior -had received the tonsure and become a friar of their church, they both -died.” The Ephrata Chronicle says (chap. xxiii.) that the prior went -_out of time_ twenty years before Beissel. The latter died in 1768. By -the former reckoning, the prior went out of time in 1748, or about three -years after the difficulty about the bell at Ephrata. - -[54] The reader is referred to an article alluded to in the preceding -essay, namely, Dr. Seidensticker’s “A Colonial Monastery,” in _The -Century_ magazine for December, 1881. Dr. S. is a professor in the -University of Pennsylvania. - -[55] The Tulpehocken Creek is a tributary of the Schuylkill, which rises -in Lebanon County, and empties at Reading, in Berks County. - -[56] In Rupp’s “Thirty Thousand Names” of immigrants to Pennsylvania -will be found, under date of August 29, 1730, the names of Palatines -with their families, imported in the ship “Thistle” of Glasgow, from -Rotterdam, last from Cowes. Among these occurs Peter Müller, whom by a -note Rupp connects with the Peter Miller of the text. As to the name John -Peter, as given by Andrews, it is surprising to see how many of these -immigrants bear the names of John, Hans, Johan, Johann, and Johannes, -prefixed to other names. I count twenty in a column of thirty-four. - -[57] Mr. Andrews, from whom I quote, was a graduate of Harvard, who -seems to have come to Philadelphia in 1698, and to have preached in an -Independent or Presbyterian church, or in both. - -[58] The Conestogas were a small tribe ... consisting in all of some -dozen or twenty families, who dwelt a few miles below Lancaster. They -sent messengers with corn, venison, and skins, to welcome William Penn. -When the whites began to settle around them, Penn assigned them a -residence on the manor of Conestoga. (Day’s Historical Collections.) - -[59] When this letter was written, Miller was about eighty years old. He -doubtless spoke German during the sixty years that he lived at Ephrata, -as well as before that time. It will be observed that he does not write -English elegantly. - -[60] In the year 1740, says Fahnestock, there were thirty-six single -brethren in the cloisters, and thirty-five sisters; and at one time the -society, including the members living in the neighborhood, numbered -nearly three hundred. - -Rev. C. Endress says that some were anxious to retain the solitary life, -and some (it appears) were opposed to giving to Beissel the title of -Father. Sangmeister left the society and retired to Virginia (whence, -however, he returned to Ephrata). “His book,” says the same writer, “is -much tainted with bitterness, and undertakes to cast a dark shade upon -the whole establishment.” - -[61] Larger accommodations were afterward built in the meadow below; a -sister-house, called Saron, a brother-house, named Bethania, etc. Most of -these are still standing, I believe, in 1882; but the former buildings on -the hill long since disappeared. - -[62] The Ephrata Chronicle speaks nearly in this manner of that of the -sisters: - -Their dress was ordered, like that of the brethren, so that little was -to be seen of the disagreeable human figure (_von dem verdriesslichen -Bild das durch die Sünd ist offenbar worden_). They wore caps like the -brethren, but not pointed ones. While at work these caps or cowls hung -down their backs; but when they saw anybody, they drew them over their -heads, so that but little could be seen of their faces. But the principal -token of their spiritual betrothal was a great veil, which in front -covered them altogether, and behind down to the girdle. Roman Catholics -who saw this garment said that it resembled the habit of the scapular. - -[63] The Chronicle tells us that once, in Beissel’s absence, a costly -feather bed was brought into his sleeping-room. He made use of it one -night, but sent it away afterward,—and not even in dying could be brought -to give up the sleeping-bench (_die Schlafbanck_). - -[64] In “Carey’s Museum” for 1789, will be found a letter from a British -officer to the editor of the _Edinburgh Magazine_, whence it appears -that at that time, 1786, a rug was laid upon the sleeping-bench. The -writer says that each brother had a cell, with a closet adjoining; that -the smallness of the rooms was very disagreeable, and that they were not -clean. The churches were clean and neat, but perfectly unadorned, except -by some German texts. The house “occupied by the nuns” was uniformly -clean, and the cells were in excellent order. (Some of the statements of -this writer appear very loose.) - -[65] At Ephrata, in the winter of 1872, I was told that Miller was once -met, as he was taking a load of paper from the mill to the press, by -a certain man named Widman. This Widman, according to tradition, had -been a vestryman in Miller’s former church. “Is this the way they treat -you,” said Widman, “harnessing you up to a wheelbarrow?” and he spat in -Miller’s face. - -Allusion will be made hereafter to the traditionary tale of Miller and -Widman. - -[66] Of one of the collections of hymns published at Ephrata, Fahnestock -says that four hundred and forty-one were written by Beissel, -seventy-three by the brethren in the cloister, one hundred by the single -sisters, and one hundred and twelve by the out-door members. Endress -speaks in unfavorable terms of the literary merits of some of the Ephrata -hymns. - -[67] “Materials towards a History of the American Baptists.” 1770. - -[68] Dr. Fahnestock resided for a while in the latter part of his life in -the sister-house, at Ephrata. Here Mr. Rupp, the historian, visited him. -Rev. Mr. Shrigley, librarian of the Pennsylvania Historical Society, who -visited Ephrata, has spoken to me of Fahnestock’s venerable appearance. - -[69] In after-years they seem to have been much troubled by litigation. -Dr. Fahnestock says that they considered contention with arms, and -at law, unchristian; but that they unfortunately had to defend -themselves often in courts of justice. To set an example of forbearance -and Christian meekness, they suffered themselves for a long time -to be plundered, until forbearance was no longer a virtue. He says -(Hazard’s Register, 1835) that the society is just escaping from heavy -embarrassments which they incurred in defending themselves from the -aggressions of their neighbors. The British officer, whose statement was -published as early as 1789, speaks of Peter Miller as often engaged in -litigation. - -In a recent work (Belcher’s History of Religious Denominations, 1854), -the Seventh-Day Baptists at Ephrata are said to possess about one hundred -and forty acres. - -[70] Morgan Edwards, in speaking of the recluses at Ephrata, says that -they took the vow of celibacy. But, as so many of our German Baptists are -opposed to oaths, I presume that they did not. “Teach, by example, that a -promise is truly an oath,” says a late Pennsylvania paper. - -[71] Somewhat altered from the original. - -[72] A writer in the Chronicle speaks of being at one of the count’s -conferences, where there were Mennonites, Separatists, and Baptists. -But when he came home, he told the _vorsteher_ that he regarded the -count’s conference as a snare to bring simple awakened souls again into -infant-baptism and church-going. Then they held a council, and resolved -to have a yearly conference of their own. - -The above expression—infant-baptism and church-going—sounds so much -like the account of the Baptist or Anabaptist persecutions narrated in -the Martyr-book, that we might almost conclude that the Dunkers had a -direct connection with the Anabaptists, instead of originating among the -Pietists. But it will be remembered that the Ephrata Dunkers had printed -an edition of the great Martyr-book, and it is most probable that some of -them were familiar with it. Still, there may have been among the Pietists -some who were or had been Baptists. - -[73] Near the close of this sketch mention is made of “Hoeckers a -Creveld.” Perhaps Ludwig belonged to the same family. - -[74] Paxton township is now in Dauphin County. The Paxton church was -three miles east of Harrisburg. - -[75] The Ephrata Chronicle says that, as the enemy approached (the -Indians came within thirteen miles of Ephrata), many persons sought -refuge in the cloister, with those who were themselves in need of -protection. As reports of murders reached Ephrata day after day, the -celibates (_Einsamen_) became despondent, and even the leader turned -pale,—a thing that had never been witnessed before. When danger was -so imminent, the fathers proposed to take the sisters away on wagons -to a safer place. It was then that Beissel received by night a divine -revelation to the effect that no Einsamer should perish by the hands of -the Indians. - -Accordingly they remained at their station, and it really turned out -as Beissel had predicted. The people who took refuge in the monastery -probably stayed at Ephrata, not with a view of finding protection behind -the wooden walls of the cloister, but for the sake of shelter and -support. The statement that the government sent a company of soldiers -for the protection of Ephrata seems to be verified by the mention in the -Chronicle of _Rothröcke_ or Redcoats. - -[76] The Mennonites and Quakers were peaceably disposed towards the -Indians, but the Presbyterians from the north of Ireland, who had settled -at Paxton, felt a deadly animosity against them, and, as Day says, -against the peaceful Moravians and Quakers, who wished to protect the -Indians, at the expense, as the Paxton men thought, of the lives of the -settlers. The Paxton rangers were commanded by the Presbyterian minister, -the Rev. Colonel Elder, who seems to have opposed the massacre of the -Indians at Lancaster by the “Paxton boys.” Day says that no historian -ought to excuse or justify the murders at Lancaster and Conestoga, and -adds that they must ever remain dark and bloody spots in our provincial -history. - -[77] See Carey’s “American Museum.” - -[78] An insignificant hill overlooking the meadow where the brother- and -sister-houses now stand. - -[79] A remarkable statement. - -[80] Compare this inflated language with Miller’s letter, as quoted. - -[81] The different modes of spelling what appears to be the same name -will not surprise those who are familiar with our Pennsylvania German -names. - -[82] It may be observed how nearly this description of the chapel agrees -with that given by the British officer of the one he visited here some -eighty-five years ago. - -[83] Fahnestock says that, like some dilapidated castles, Ephrata yet -contains many habitable and comfortable apartments. The brother- and -sister-houses, etc., form but a small part of the modern village of -Ephrata. He wrote some time ago. - -[84] See article “Francis Daniel Pastorius,” by Dr. Seidensticker, in the -_Penn Monthly_, January and February, 1872. - -[85] The name Hacker, still heard at Ephrata, is doubtless the same as -the above. - -[86] _Schneeberger_, or people of Snow Hill? - -[87] Mr. Endress tells us that with many of the single brethren and -sisters at Ephrata, the mystical idea of the union with Christ was -evidently used to gratify one of the strongest natural affections of the -human heart. “The Redeemer was their bridegroom or bride.... He was the -little infant they carried under their hearts, the dear little lamb they -dandled on their laps.” - -He adds that this at least was found much more among the single than -among those whose affections were consecrated in a conjugal life. “The -powers of human nature would evince their authority.” “According to -Sangmeister, some sank under the unceasing struggle.” See Hazard’s -Register, 1830. - -[88] Upon this subject of the New Testament as a creed, etc., all or -nearly all our German Baptist sects seem to unite. - -[89] This article now appears nearly as it was published in the second -edition of this work, issued several years ago. - -[90] The general use of the lot was abrogated in 1817. Although marriage -by lot is no longer obligatory, yet a Moravian gentleman has told me that -this manner of decision is still resorted to,—and frequently in Europe. -Bishops are usually appointed by lot. - -[91] The _lease system_, so called, was abolished in 1844. The Moravian -communities abroad, especially upon the continent of Europe, are close -communities, no one being allowed to buy of their lands who is not a -member of the Moravian Church. They retain more plainness of dress in -Saxony and Prussia, and even in Great Britain, than prevails in America. -There the women all wear caps in religious services. - -[92] The heavy expense entailed by enterprises so great does not fall -entirely upon the Church. The Mission Report of 1872, in speaking of -Australia, mentions that the missionaries are cheered by the sympathy -and aid of Christians of different denominations; and adds that the -mission has sustained a loss in the death of the Rev. Mr. Mackie, of the -Presbyterian Church, in Melbourne. The _Moravian Manual_ also speaks of -missions that are self-supporting, and of missionaries who labor, like -Paul, for their own support. - -[93] Its use is taught it seems even to barbarians, for the Mission -Report, in speaking of an Esquimaux church, says, “The corner-stone was -solemnly laid, when the native trombone players discoursed sweet music.” - -[94] In the following from the litany, I observed an inconvenience: - - _Preacher._—“By thy glorious resurrection and ascension, - By thy sitting at the right hand of God.” - _Congregation._—“Bless and comfort us, gracious Lord and God.” - -[95] The frequent repetition of the word love-feast has caused it to -be often shortened in conversation, it being pronounced by some as if -written _luff-east_. - -[96] To the Rev. W. C. Reichel, author of several historical works, I am -indebted for a correction in the article “The Dunker Love-feast.” - -[97] Tombstones are placed on the newly-made graves, old tombstones are -cleaned, etc. These stones are “breast-stones,” not of large size, and -lie flat upon the graves,—in the Moravian manner. - -[98] I am quite at a loss to know why the colored eggs, purple, red, and -yellow, in use among the Moravians (as among other Germans), should here -have been called rabbits’ eggs, and the idea been held out that the eggs -were of different colors because different rabbits brought them. - -(This note was published in the second edition. Other remarks on the -subject of the Easter rabbit and eggs will be found in the Appendix.) - -[99] A lady in Bethlehem told me that she had expected a man to help her -put down carpet, who had failed to appear. About nine the next morning -she met him upon the street somewhat intoxicated and friendly and -communicative. “Oh, Mrs. ⸺,” said he, “I couldn’t come yesterday. It was -my _bursday_.” Whence we may infer that the celebration of birthdays has -spread in the community. - -[100] The bell upon Nazareth Hall is still rung at a quarter before -twelve, daily. - -[101] The brethren’s house was thus given up in 1812, some time before -the date above assigned. - -[102] An enthusiastic friend says, “It is a well-known and abundantly -substantiated fact that fewer unhappy marriages were known among the -Moravians than among the same number of people in any other denomination -of Christians while the lot was in practice.” If so, let us burn our -romances. - -[103] This perhaps occurred during Zinzendorf’s banishment from Saxony. -See note at close of this article. - -[104] This building, Ephrata, was once a “nursery,” where as many as -fifty-six young children were placed at one time. Some were removed from -their mothers at as early an age as eighteen months, and placed under the -common charge. See Transactions of Moravian Historical Society, 1857-58. - -[105] A friend adds: “These Christmas dialogues are still to be heard in -Moravian towns, in their parochial schools.” - -[106] The tendency to pronounce _s_ like _sh_ will be observed. - -[107] A friend says, “Schmaus” is a vulgar term,—use “Fest.” - -[108] The corpse is sent to the corpse-house by some families, to this -day. - -[109] Another person says, that if a man had no proposal to make, he -left it to the authorities to suggest a woman; but the authorities never -forced a woman upon him against his will. - -[110] A lady whom I met at Nazareth spoke of the visits that she used to -make in the widow-house, when they went at one, had vesper of coffee and -sugar-cake at two, and left at five. - -[111] Upon this passage, a friend makes the following remark: “Not -regular occupants, but Moravian missionaries or strangers who might -arrive in large bodies; twenty, I think, would be a large number.” - -[112] _Ayfrahtaw_ I heard this word pronounced. - -[113] There were two log houses, says a friend. - -[114] They not only receive tuition here, but board and clothing, and a -similar privilege is extended to the sons of preachers. - -[115] During the period of the anti-slavery agitation, preceding the war, -the Moravians as a body did not take an anti-slavery stand. Their members -were allowed to hold slaves, like those of almost all the other sects in -this country. Their European brethren did not agree with them on this -subject. - -[116] A recent writer tells us that the upper, middle, and lower parts of -Montgomery County, the lower end of Berks, and the south corner of Lehigh -contain the only settlement of Schwenkfelders in the wide world. He adds -that it is no misnomer to call these people the Pennsylvania German -Quakers. It will be seen, however, that they are more ancient than George -Fox. - -[117] _Phlox subulata._ - -[118] This feminine termination has not disappeared from the dialect. Mr. -Rauch speaks of “de olt Lawbucksy,” which is rendered, old Mrs. Lawbucks. - -[119] The decline in the severity of the cap seems to have reached its -lowest point among the Moravians, where but few women in this country -wear caps in church. See “Bethlehem and the Moravians.” - -[120] At Flourtown, or Chestnut Hill, the English language is used, and -there is no instruction in German. - -[121] See article “Ephrata.” - -[122] It appears that there was also extemporaneous prayer during the -exercises. - -[123] Why is not Schwenkfeld spoken of by the title _von Ossing_? We read -of Ulrich von Hütten, German scholar and reformer. - -[124] In using the name Schwenkfeld, I have abbreviated it a little, -giving it as it is in the New American Cyclopædia, which calls him, -however, Von Schwenkfeld. The Cyclopædia, in speaking of his writings, -some ninety treatises, says that they are regarded as one of the most -valuable sources of the history of the Reformation. - -[125] A copy of this volume has been deposited for reference in the -library of the German Society, Philadelphia. - -[126] That portion of Silesia which was the home of the Schwenkfelders -lies east of Saxony, the home of Count Zinzendorf. It, or the greater -part of it, was conquered by Frederick the Great, and added to Prussia. - -[127] The clergy, _die Gelehrten_. - -[128] _Erläuterung._—Schwenkfeld appears to have abstained from the -sacraments for a great part of his life,—from the outward forms, at -least, if we may add the expression. - -[129] The three folios before spoken of in this article were published -within ten years after his death, and it seems possible that the place of -printing was omitted on account of the opposition to his works. - -[130] In the New American Cyclopædia Schwenkfeld is said to have differed -from Luther and others upon the deification of the body Christ. In the -latter part of this essay this point is spoken of again. - -[131] Ulm, a town in Würtemberg, on the left bank of the Danube. It was -long an imperial free city. - -[132] This title was probably not in former times their chosen name. -In a little inartistic aria, near the close of the _Erläuterung_, they -are twice called _die Stillen_, or the quiet ones. Looking in a German -dictionary for this word, I find “_die Stillen_” is rendered Quakers. -In the same aria they are called _die Friedlichen_, or the peaceful -ones. One of Schwenkfeld’s volumes, a collection, states that they were -gathered and put in order by _the fellow-confessors and lovers of the -glories and truth of Jesus Christ_. - -[133] As in the principality of Lower Silesia Lutheran preachers had been -installed in nearly all the offices, many of the common people who had -accepted Schwenkfeld’s teachings stood back in stillness, not being able -conscientiously to agree with these teachers. This was very offensive to -the parsons, and they soon made use of their high dignity against tender -consciences to force such persons to their means of grace,—to make them -come to the baptismal font, to the pulpit, and the altar.—_Schwenkfeld’s -Erläuterung_, chap. iv. The Schwenkfelders express the opinion that the -action of the Lutheran clergy, in calling attention to them, frequently -caused their persecution by the Catholic authorities. - -[134] Digging trenches for military defence, and working the galleys or -great boats of the Mediterranean. - -[135] They do not seem to have been very profitable as soldiers. One man -can lead a horse to water, but several cannot make him drink. - -[136] _Herrschaft._ The narrative is condensed from the _Erläuterung_, or -Explanation. - -[137] Mention is made of the time when the destroyer came upon the -destroyer because his measure was full,—namely, the Thirty Years’ War, -and the banishment of the Lutherans from the imperial dominions. - -[138] See _Erläuterung_, or Explanation. The passage is slightly abridged. - -[139] Hence we may infer that the Schwenkfelders forbade marriages with -those not of their own persuasion. During the period of their troubles -it seems that marriage by the church was at times refused them, no doubt -from their refusing the sacrament. Maimed funeral rites were also among -the persecutions of which they complained. In speaking thus of their -decline, they may, however, overestimate their numbers in former times. - -The following characteristic sketch may be introduced here nearly in -the words of the original: The two pastors in Harpersdorf having been -called to a new church, there came as pastor Herr John Samuel Neander -(the pastor Neander who died in July 1759). He was by nature a very -fiery man, so that he hardly knew how to govern his passions; by birth -a Brandenburger, from Frankfort on the Oder. When he was installed, -the Herr Superintendent in Liegnitz brought before him that he was a -stranger, and therefore he might not know how it was in Harpersdorf, that -there was a people there, who had already lived there about two hundred -years, called Schwenkfelders. Therefore he would give him good advice, -that he should leave these people in peace; preceding pastors had tried -it enough, and had accomplished nothing by force. But if he thought he -could not endure these people, he should say so, and another would be put -into the place. - -But Herr Neander promised everything good, and did not keep to it. For -soon after entering upon his office he gave out that he had sworn to bury -none of the Schwenkfelders as before practised, and this he began to -carry out. See _Erläuterung_, chap. v. - -[140] The aria already alluded to says,— - - “Throw their dead away, like foul corruption, - The cow-path is too good; don’t tread upon the grass; - The father shall not follow the body of his child, - Nor the wife accompany her husband to the house of death.” - -The word that I have translated cattle-path, etc., is _viehweg_. A note -upon this verse of the aria says, “1722. Three hundred persons lie upon -the cow-paths at Harpersdorf and Langendorff.” If so many were buried -during the time of the Catholic mission, these people must have been -numerous. - -[141] Zinzendorf’s estate of Berthelsdorf was, it seems, near the town of -Gorlitz. - -[142] By agriculture? rather than in the town of Gorlitz. - -[143] See “Bethlehem and the Moravians.” - -[144] The word translated gingerbread is _Pfeffer-kuchen_, or -pepper-cakes. Pepper-nuts are now made in Lancaster County,—a delicate -cake, as I have seen them, somewhat resembling jumbles. If plainer they -would be like the New England cookies. Cooky comes from the German -_kuchen_? - -In Allentown, a young gentleman tells me that the people of Lehigh -County, all through, eat Schwenkfelder-cake. “Our mothers made them -for us. They are a kind of vesper-cake, or rusk baked in a loaf.” In -Allentown the name is sometimes pronounced Schwinkfelder. - -[145] No one should confound these emigrants from the Palatinate with -the Palatines for whom William Penn desires the friendship of the -Indians. See “Swiss Exiles,” in this volume. The numerous refugees from -the Palatinate probably came from different motives; some for religious -freedom, and some to earn their bread. Many German emigrants were -redemptionists,—_i.e._, they sold their time to pay for their voyage. Of -this class, we learn, was an ancestor of the late John Covode. - -[146] Mr. Weiser tells us, in speaking of the Schwenkfelders, that -on a late occasion, having heard that the tombs of their ancestors, -near Liegnitz and Gorlitz, were fast being desecrated, and the earth, -with their very dust, carried away for road-making purposes, their -Pennsylvania posterity collected a handsome sum and forwarded it to the -authorities, with a view of purchasing the grounds, and having them set -apart and enclosed as the burying-ground of the Silesian Schwenkfelders. -It is not believed, however, he adds, that their moneys were appropriated -to the laudable end which they had in view. - -This narrative might apply to those Silesians who were buried upon the -cow-paths (Mr. Weiser says, taken to the carrion pit or bone commons), -but does it apply to them after they had taken refuge at Gorlitz? - -[147] It has been estimated that ninety-five in one hundred of the -Schwenkfelders are farmers. - -[148] In the Rules and Ordinances of the Schwenkfelder community may be -found this passage: “Yet a Christian places no holiness in wearing the -oldest fashioned clothes; he also takes care not quickly to ape all new -fashions, much less does he make it his business to bring up new ones.” - -[149] Mr. Weiser speaks as if the singing was in the dialect. The -following is a copy of some lines which were sung at their meeting-house -when I attended, from which the student of German may observe the quality -of the language, and the theologian may notice, as it seems to me, two or -three of their peculiar doctrines: - - “Jehovah, Vater, Sohn, und Geist! - O Segens Bronn, der ewig fleuszt! - Durchfleusz Herz, Sinn, und Wandel wohl; - Mach uns dein’s Lob’s und Segens voll!” - -Jehovah, Father, Son, and Spirit! Oh, spring of blessing, forever -flowing! Flow through heart, thought, and life; make us full of thy -praise and blessing! - -[150] Wheat bread is now used. At a Schwenkfelder house I ate -apple-butter, sweet, because made from sweet apples, and seasoned with -fennel, of which the taste resembles anise. - -[151] It may be observed that I have used Mr. Weiser’s language. - -[152] Before public schools were established the Schwenkfelders had a -fund for the education of their poorer members. - -[153] “Which these ordered back into our fund, to supply the wants of the -poor, when we should arrive at Philadelphia.” - -[154] It is probable that baptism will be introduced, but only optionally. - -[155] Mr. Weiser tells us that a mother whose adult daughter entered the -Reformed Church, by baptism, earnestly protested against the performing -of the sacrament over her, on the ground that “prayers were had for their -child in the meeting-house.” - -[156] All Quakers do not teach the inferiority of the written word. Mr. -Weiser says, “In general terms it may be said that Caspar Schwenkfeld -has been the George Fox of Silesia, or the veritable George Fox, perhaps -somewhat educated and sublimated.” - -Although some of the doctrines taught by George Fox seem to have been -given before him by Schwenkfeld, yet were these not previously taught -among the Anabaptists, and possibly among the Waldenses? - -It has been said that the better classes of Anabaptists claimed a descent -from the Waldenses, the Wickliffites, and the Hussites, who had struggled -for a church separated from the world and distinguished by the holiness -of its members. - -[157] A note says, “No one can deny that at last all books must perish, -but the word of the Lord endureth forever.” - -[158] On his death-bed Schwenkfeld declared that he believed that all -in the Old and New Testament was profitable for salvation to the elect; -that he was certain that his own writings, if read impartially, and after -prayer, agreed with Holy Scripture, but he must acknowledge to the praise -of God that they proceeded more from gracious revelation. - -[159] See the _Erläuterung_, or Explanation, chap. x. These passages in -general are greatly abbreviated, or are picked out, I may say. - -[160] _Erläuterung_, chap. xi. - -[161] The passage alluded to is doubtless this: “Behold, I stand at the -door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come -in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.” - -[162] The thoughtful reader may perhaps find something in this answer -to contrast with these passages from the decrees of the late Ecumenical -Council at Rome: - -“If any one shall say that human sciences ought to be pursued in such -a spirit of freedom that any one may be allowed to hold as true their -assertions, even when opposed to revealed doctrine, and that such -assertions may not be condemned by the church, let him be _anathema_. If -any one shall say that at any time it may come to pass, in the progress -of science, that the doctrines set forth by the church must be taken in -another sense than that in which the church has ever received and yet -receives them, let him be _anathema_.” Quoted from a report of a dogmatic -decree on Catholic faith, confirmed 1870. - -[163] Ausführliche Geschichte Kaspar v. Schwenkfelds, etc. - -[164] Kadelbach tells us of George Mattern, a teacher in Silesia, who -inclined to the opinions of Schwenkfeld, and who migrated to Holland, and -afterward to England, where he joined the Quakers. He wrote a letter with -this expression: “Dear father, thou must not be surprised that I thee and -thou thee. _Dich. dutze._” - -[165] This letter is dated 1875. It was late in 1873 that I heard of -baptism as having been administered among them. - -[166] I believe the paper is discontinued, 1882. - -[167] I received permission to use the name of Mr. Mahony, the -manufacturer. His brother wrote “The Bells of Shandon.” The other names -used are substitutes. - -[168] Lewis’s Topographical Dictionary, County Cork. - -[169] One was erected a few years ago at Manchester, and I was told there -that the Queen and Prince of Wales had not visited the town since. - -*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK "PENNSYLVANIA DUTCH," AND OTHER -ESSAYS *** - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the -United States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part -of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm -concept and trademark. 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