The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1868-08-11
SGPerfect I,OveD

THERE is a prOverb, doubtless known to but
few of our readers, which purporteth that one
half the world does not know how the other
half lives, and with equal originality it has
been remarked that, if we desire any in corma-
tion Of what is passing amongst ourselves, we
must search for ii ahead. That prophet has
no honor at home, is we'll known, but we had
no idea, until we learned it from Mr.. James
Gordon Bennett, of the New York Herald
that we had a body of saints existing in our
State. That gentleman has nosed them out,
and great is his rejoicing on the occasion,
inasmuch as they, being named "Perfect
Lovers" he is thus the more readily enabled
to have dig at his rival, Horace Greeley, who
was wont to patronize the sect of "Free
Lovers" They live, he informs us, at Man
helm, Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, the
county lately honorea with tho Tosido..ov Ut
the patriotic James Buchanan, and Bennett
has taken the trouble to send special reporter
for the purpose of making a searching inyesti-
CATION into all the outs and ins connected with
their establishment. According to this repre-
sentation of what in England is termed "The
Fourth Estate" they very meritoriously "put
their trust in God," but do not, as the great
English leader Cromwell emphatically super
added to these words, "keep their powder dry"
They on the contrary-we say it without any
irreverence-appear to place undue reliance
upon Providence, needless of the profane
maxim ameng our sea captains, that those who
do so must often "eat whin- stone soup" One
of the saints met the reporter with the declara-
ton, IL leave the management of all my little
matters to the Lord" and Bennett, we regret
to say, upon this becomes abominably irreve-
rent and impous in his remarks, considering
that he is an exemplary member of the
Church, and was so eminently devout in his
early days that he was then designed for
the priesthood. He goes on to add that this
Perfect Love system seems to be based on the
maxim of doing more good to your neighbor
than your neighbor can do for himself-that
is, if he has ne cash, and you chance to have
ten dollars in your pocket you must hand over
five of them to him. You must also, it seems,
never let your angry passions rise on any oo-
casion or provocation whatever; even If you be
bald-headed you must bear the stings of mos
quitoes and gnats with Christian fortitude,
anu IL yOu pAooh lcBj Bays Ln0 Olu 5luu6T,
'be thankful it was not your neck" Many
other apothegms are inculcated, as, for in
stance, "If your neighbor cheats you out of
$1,000, give thanks it was not $5OOO;" or ''if
your house is burned down, praise God your
wife and children were not consumed with it,"
These are all very praiseworthy maxims, but
We beg to inquire why, with the fear of Mrs.
]. g. B. before his eyes, Bennett ever ventured
to write the lines, "If your wife runs away
with your brother in perfect love, shout aloud
GLORY hallelujah = for that is, indeed, a
piece of good luck which calls for unbounded
thanksgiving"
The truth is, fanatics abound in all conn
tries, and these Saints, infinitely better than
Mr.. Horace Greeley's Free Lovers, are not a
whit worse than those still to be found in
England, where we frequently find in religious
marriage an advertisement for ga decent maid
of all work" or for ga porter who fears the
Lord and can carry hundred weight"