The Sun.
London, England, 1870-07-19 00:00:00

THE SHAKERS.

Within the boundaries of the the Empire State, divided
into two families or colonies, live a radically queer
people. They form a sort of distinct world in miniature,
with original and peculiar notions of religion, dress, man-
ners, and domestic economy. We allude to the Shakers,
the religious. descendants. of "good Mother Ann Lee."
The reader, probably, has no further knowledge of these
people than pertains to an acqttaintance with " Shaker
apple sauce " or " Shaker garden seeds," and the follow-
ing notes of a visit to the Watervliet branch may there-
fore be acceptable. Taking Albany as a base of opera-
tions we set out in a private conveyance—for there was
no public means of transit—on a recent Sunday
morning for " the society of believers." The road
was excessively sandy, and the weather excessively
hot, so that the drive of about eight miles was not
very enjoyable. At an angle of the road we came
suddenly upon the Shaker village, which comprises about
a dozen large wooden buildings, all apparently new and
in excellent repair. Opposite the village is a naturel sheet
of water, perhaps half a mile square and the avenue,
which may be said to form the main street of the minia-
ture village, is beautifully shaded. Everything about the
grounds is scrupulously neat, and numerous placards
enjoin upon visitors the necessity of keeping off the grass,
cleaning their feet, eschewing chewing and smoking, &c.
Under the sheds and tied to the fences under the trees
were a large number of conveyances of every description,
for the attndance of strangers was, as usual on pleasant
Sundays, quite large. The Shakers encourage such
attendance on the part of " the world's people " on
pleasant days ; but on rainy days or in muddy
weather their house of worship is invariably closed
to visitors, as the purity of their scoured floors is of
more consequence to them than the gratification of
curiosity seekers. The religious ceremonies are, in plea-
sant weather, always open to the public, and the Shakers
are very polite and attentive to visitors, although they are
strict in suppressing any approach to levity or indecorous
conduct. Entering the commodious hall used for worship
we found nearly all the seats provided for spectators
already occupied. These seats are arranged in amphi-
,theatre fashion and are well calculated for easy observa-
tion of the ceremonies. The Shakers carry out their
peculiar notions to the fullest extent, and the audience
was carefully separated as regards sex. A solemn old
Shaker watched the males unceasingly, ready to prey
upon any sinner who should indulge in any unseemly
conduct, and an equally solemn Shakeress performed the
same office for the females. The main or centre portion
of the hall was left clear, and the floor of it was polished
as smooth as glass. In fact, the air of excessive neatness
became positively uncomfortable. After waiting half an
hour in profound silence a door at either side of the room
opened, and from one filed out the male Shakers and from
the other the females. They numbered altogether about
one hundred and fifty, and were arranged with the oldest
at the head and so tapering off to the youngest. The men
and boys wore brown pants, dark blue waistcoats and
white shirts, with their hair cropped rather short and
combed straight down in front—the whole "make up"
being highly suggestive of Barney Williams or Dan
Bryant in Irish comedy. The women and girls were
dressed in white or very light drab stuff, with cropped
hair and neat white caps. There were among them a
fair sprinkling of young and good looking females, and
in their demure and sober dresses, they looked like
the prepossessing nuns in the pictures. Gravely, and
with an evident profound sense of awe, they formed
in two lines facing each other, the males on
one side and the females on the other, and, thus standing,
sang a hymn. Their singing throughout the services was
rather pleasing from its oddity, their tunes being quaint
and lively. This hymn was followed by the reading of
a chapter of Scripture. Then a portion of the worshippers
formed a hollow square in the centre, while the others
moved around them in a sort of half march, half dance, all
joining in the singing of a lively hymn. Their movements
and gestures were utterly indescribable, partaking largely
of the grotesque, if not of the ridiculous. After this
dance had been kept up for perhaps ten minutes they
seated themselves on the benches at the sides and sat bolt
upright, looking neither to the right nor to the left, dur-
ing a somewhat lengthy discourse delivered by a visiting
brother from the Lebanon family. He dwelt chiefly upon
the subject of celibacy as practised by the. Shakers, and
quoted an abundance of Scripture in support of his views.
The Shakers rose again at the close of his remarks, and,
striking up an air closely resemblingo. " The girl I left
behind me," joined in a dance that snr-
passed anything we had ever seen • in the
terpsichorean line. It consisted in a " forward and
back " movement, interspersed with a peculiar " double
shuffle," and was executed with a precision that could
only have been acquired by long practice. Old and young
joined in the saltatory portion of the worship with great
gusto, and the excessive solemnity with which they danced
rendered the performance the more absurd to the specta-
tors, who, with great difficulty restrained their risibles.
This dance continued fully twenty minutes, each moment
growing wilder, while the singing grew louder andlivelier.
Suddenly it ceased, and to the sound of another song the
strange worshippers filed out as they came in. Then the
solemn sentinel, who had not for one moment taken his
eyes from the spectators or joined in the ceremony, thanked
the visitors for their good behaviour and requested them to
retire. The Watervliet family of Shakers is the original
settlement, and was founded by Ann Lee in 1776. In
1779 there was a great revival in Shakerism, and several
societies were formed elsewhere. Many became impressed
by Ann Lee and the divine inspirations under which she
claimed to preach, and believed that their only chance of
salvation was to separate themselves from the world.
They conceived it to be their duty to " crucify all worldly
lusts," and, abandoning all private property for the
common good, they had all things in common. Fr Dm
their great fervour in preaclizigr their tremblings and
quailings, they came to be spoken of as " Shakers,' which
name they finally adopted. The Shakers have the reputa-
tion of being thrifty, charitable, and simple-minded. The
management of affairs is vested with three or four " leaders."
Visitors are always welcome, and they never take pay
for food or lodging. That cleanliness is next to godliness
they evidently believe, and that they practise their belief
is evidenced everywhere about the premises. They all
work— on the farms in summer, and making brooms, put-
ting up garden seeds, &c.,' in winter. The males and
females occupy the same building at night, their sleeping
apartments being at opposite parts of the house. They
rise at half-past four o'clock in the morning, have break-
fast at six, dinner at twelve, supper at six and go to bed
at nine. At meals the men occupy one .end of the table
and the women the other. Before meals they all kneel
and offer up silent thanks, visitors being required to do
the same. Their rules are said to be rigidly enforced, and
they bear a goad reputation for morality among their
neighbours. From a business standpoint the Shakers
have been successiul. From a small beginning, by industry,
economy, and good management, they have grown enor-
mously wealthy: Their buildings are numerous " and
costly, their acres many and under the highest degree of
cultivation, and their bank accounts always in a flourish-
ing condition. This degree of prosperity is not much to
be wondered at when we consider that their products are
the result of the cheapest imaginable labour—simply the
board and clothing of the producer—and always sold, on
account of uniform good quality, at the highest market
rates. As to numbers, however, they are not in so pros-
perous
a condition. Their ranks have been thinning for
the last ten or fifteen years, the older men
and women dying, and leaving few to fill their
places. Their religion prevents a natural increase,
and therefore all accessions must come from outside.
These accessions come mostly in the form of chil-
dren, who are given them to rear. The world offers
decidedly brighter inducements than their life of retired
self-denial, and out of fifty children they bring up, scarcely.
one will stay longer than till eighteen or twenty years old.
They assume to believe, however, that there is a "great
awakening" at hand, the result of which will be a flocking
to their villages.as in the days of Ann Lee.. Unless some-
thing of the kind does happen it will be difficult to predict
a brilliant future for the Shakers. This state of things
leaves the society made up of old men and women, and
boys and girls. The latter are constantly running away,
and when the former die off, the Shakers' days will be
numbered.—New York Herald.

DEAIII OF MAJOR-GENERAL HAMBLIN.
One of the military leaders of the war, Major-General
Joseph C. Hamblin, died in New York on Sunday, July
3d, at the age of forty-two. General Hamblin was, for
many years prior to 1861, a prominent and popular mem-
ber of the Seventh Regiment, National Guard, and almost
immediately on the outbreak of the rebellion he volun-
teered his services in the defence of the nation, and became
adjutant with the rank of first lieutenant, of the Fifth
Regiment of New York Volunteers (First Duryea Zouaves).
In November, 1861, shortly after the formation of the
Sixty-fifth regiment, New York volunteers (the Chas-
seurs), he was transferred to the latter command as
major. Colonel (now General) John Cochrane was
at that time in command of the Sixty-fifth,
and Alexander Shaler (now Major-General com-
manding the First Division N. G., S. N. Y.);
was lieutenant-colonel. The regiment was conspicuous for
its services in the field, and for distinguished and meri-
torious conduct Major Hamblin rapidly rose by successive
grades of promotion to the command, participating in
Grant's grand campaign of 1864 from the Wilderness to
Petersburg. At this time the Sixty-fifth formed part of
the First Brigade, First Division, Sixth Army Corps.
After the investment of Petersburg, the Sixth Corps was,
in &illy, 1864, transferred from the Army of the Potomac
to the Shenandoah Valley, to resist the demonstra-
tion of Breckinridge and Early against Washington
and Maryland. In this new theatre of operations
Colonel Hamblin participated in each of Sheridan's
brilliant successes in the valley, and at Cedar Creek,
the action for which Sheridan made his famous ride
from Winchester, • •the Colonel was severely wounded pi
by a rifle ball in the leg. Here one of the salient charac-
teristics of the man was developed in a peculiar and touch-
ing
way. Owing to the reverse which the Union troops
suffered early in the day the. casualties among the gene-
ral and field officers were heavy in their attempts to rail
the retreating troops and keep them to their ground. Al-
though
suffering considerable pain from his wound Hamb-
lin was seen among the wouuded officers at the hospital
that day doing all in his powerto alleviate their sufferings,
and actually limping to the spring with canteens and fill-
ing them with water for his wounded companions to
drink, and visiting the houses of rebel citizens, endeavour-
ing to procure palatable food for the more exhausted.
For conspicuous gallantry in this action he was brevetted
Brigadier-General, and placed in command of the bri-
gade, the command being at the time temporarily
held by Colonel Edwards of the "Thirty-seventh Massa- 1
chusett s volunteers. Upon the return of the corps to St.
Petersburg he was in the spring of 1865 promoted to full
rank, and participated in all the subsequent engagements
of the army of the Potomac to the surrender at Appomatox.
For distinguished bravery at. Sailors' Creek, April 6, 1865,
the last engagement between the rebels and the Army of
the Potomac, he was brevetted Major-General, and was
mustered out with that rank at Washington in July,
1865. In this action his brigade suffered very severely,
and literally " covered themselves with glory." In per-
son Major-General Hamblin was of attractive and decid-
edly soldierly appearance, about six feet in height,
finely formed, with strongly marked features and
characteristic military bearing. When the great review
of the Sixth corps took place in Washington after the close
of the war it was a subject of much pleasing gossip and
comment among the troops that General Hamblin had
been pronounced the "handsomest officer in the Army of
the Potomac," and his men accorded to themselves the
honour of being so commanded. Socially he was one of the
most genial, gentlemanly, And noble-spirited men, and
was universally beloved by the rank and file of his brigade
as well as by a large and estimable circle of friends and
acquaintances in private life. Since the rebellion he had
adopted civil pursuits, and at the time of his lamented
demise held the position of Superintendent of Agencies
for the Commonwealth Fire Insurance Company. He
was also up to a recent period Adjutant-General and Chief
of Staff of the First Division, National Guard.

A NEW SOLUTION OF THE «SERV tNT
GIRL" QUESTION.
General Butler and Governor Hawley, in their remarks
with respect to the different aspects of the Chinese ques-
tion, did not touch upon one phase of it which to the
housekeepers of the country is the most important of all
—that is, the solution to be hoped for from the Chinese of
the most knotty. domestic problem of the present day,
" the servant girl question." However. it may be true
in European countries that the tyrannical capitalist or
employer oppresses without mercy the poor and down-
trodden labourer, the reverse seems the fact in this happy
land, at least so far as servants are concerned. The servant
girls here have it all their own way. Our American
mistresses are at the beck and call of these most
fastidious " helps," If a lady seek a cook at an intelli-
gence office, the girl at once by her manner informs her
that she is conferring a favour on her by attending to her
meals, and seats herself to put the lady through a close
and vigorous cross-examination as to all the peculiarities
of her household. If she condescends to accept the place,
and especially if it be in a suburban region, she soon dis-
covers defects enough, and is able to make herself suffi-
ciently disagreeable. The church is too far off ; the water
is rain-water ; there are no " fixed tubs ;" the waitress
will not help in the washing ; " company " will not
come every evening, and the country is lonely.
When the mistress hears this she knows
what is coming, and in a few days another
domestic revolution sets in. The gentleman
in the meantime, is prepared for his work in town by all
sorts of experiments in cooking, such as " saleratas-
bread," over-done steaks and muddy coffee. The lady
now tries another plan, and hunts up advertisements.
Up and down the stairs of tenement houses, and through
heated lanes, she plods her weary way, until at length
she finds some dignified personage who is willing to cook
for a small family a; sixteen dollars a month. She scorns
to shew any " reference," but rather demands a full
account of her future mistress, the number of her children
present and expected, the habits of the gentleman of the
house, the character of " the range," the hours of
rising and retiring, and full information on the
great subject of "portable tubs." After a lengthy cross-
examination of this nature, and with a prospect of five
pairs of stairs in some other tenement-house, the lady
becomes somewhat demoralised, and would accept a raw
peasant fresh from the bogs of Ireland, as " thorough,
cook"' rather than look further. The woman is accord-
ingly installed, and another reign of disorder, impudence,
bad cooking, and slovenliness begins in the unhappy
household. At this point, however, the waitress has
Become dissatisfied because she cannot spend every
evening out with her " beau," and leave the
lady to do her work ; and she retires from the
field. Now children , and mistresses must do
" upstairs work," and another expedition to the
intelligence offices be inaugurated. So the agree-
able alternation goes on •• one comes and another
goes ; one is impertinent and another lazy, and all demand
high wages, though expenses of living have fallen. The
volume which might be written on the sufferings of
American mistresses with servant girls, would make a
compilation almost equal to that famous little work,
written by an English humorist, " The Miseries of
Human Life." Hitherto, when treating of this subject,
we have been unable to throw a beam of hope upon it.
Our troubles seemed the natural result of our prosperity,
and were not likely to diminish with the increasing well-
being of the labouring class. But now, with the dawn
of the " Chinese question," a new light breaks upon us.
John Chinaman is to rid -us of the old plagues of
domestic life. As all who know the East well understand
he is an incomparable servant. Quiet, docile, clean, imi-
tative, accustomed to continuous labour, and not desirous
of changing situations often, he is the very person for a.
model house-servant.. What he has learned once he can do
again. His politeness helps him as waiter or attendant.
He soon comprehends our strange ways, and adapts him-
self to them. He is exact as a clock. With him there is
no question of " portable tubs " and " company," and
" upstairs and downstairs " work, and the like. His
great question is. " Whatee payee Melikan man ?" and
he is satisfied- with moderate wages; and sel-
dom demands a holiday. His principal weakness
is a coveting of his neighbour's chickens ; but this propen-
sity may be gratified without much disturbance to the
family peace. When "John " is fairly in the field he
will carry everything before him ; and Chinese men as
waiters, chamber-maids, and cooks, will be as much a part
Of a well-regulated household as blacks were once at the
South. Then will begin a happy day for our long-
oppressed mistresses, and something of the comfort and
decorum of a well-regulated household be attainable here.
Society can, never move easily in America till we have
thoroughly-trained servants. The " leading race," hay-
ifig its domestic affairs arranged by competent persons,
will then have brains and vitality to devote to the most
important interests, and the world move all the faster
and better.—Neto. York Times.

The Morning Post and the Daily News deny posi-
tively the statement of the professional papers on Satur-
day that Mr. Reed will, in consequence of the present
crisis, return to his post at the Admiralty. Our Metropo-
litan Gossip stated, so long- ago as Thursday, the true
facts. Mr. Reed did offer his services, but the Lords of
the Admiralty declined them in a letter that wasbrief even
to curtness.
The Earl and Countess of Derby are expected to
arrive at Knowsley Hall, near Liverpool, on Wednesday
afternoon next. The whole of the tenants and cottagera
and their wives will be invited to welcome the happy
couple. Two triumphal arches will, moreover, be erected
near to the hall, and it is probable that before the car-
riage containing Lord and Lady Derby reaches the hall
the old custom of taking the horses from the carriages,
and drawing the vehicle by bipeds instead of quadru-
peds, will be observed. —Liverpool Courier.