The Portland daily press., 1869-06-08

tiibn the Shaker faith. She gave only rev
answers ana put in my hand twdbooks OF e1
PLANTATION, the fundamental points q wn,sn
I possessed myself of at a very cursofy less
ing. 1t is the old story, so many times iep'
ed eye search the Scriptures and IN 'nem
think We have eternal life." PerpieAeu 49, ~ -
the problem Of life, believing the soiuiion
be found in this book, they search H. 500
ON some single doctrine or lsoiateu p'
or eccentric example, and make ~ INC ,1a's''a'
of a new revelation, the piauori VI Nc"
saot Ann Lee from the Bible. learns the law
80 No marriage, no human love, no offspring
pr;obam Young, with, on the whole, more
reason. finds in the same source the law OF q.
cessiye marriage and unlimited offspring. ~
Is curious to note how much more prosperous
as a sect both in gathering numbers ana ~
gathering wealth, the polyganasst has been lnap
the aodrnist church.
One notices in this community the entire alb
sence Of beauty everywhere. The rooms were
o,o.r and commodious, but there were no pic
trres. no ornaments Sister Mary Ann had q
bottle of japonicas on secretary, near which
she was making some busters out OF the
feathers of black turkies. But they must have
been brought to her from the wicked, beauti-
full natural world. Elsewhere all ornament
seemed to be crueified. There was not an arch
ictural trick of frieze or cornice or moulding
about any of the bindings outside or inside.
There was not a rose or even cheap lilac or
any Towering shrub about the premises. If
the cabbage stalk woald insist upon fariDg out
in saffron blossoms, and the wise and sober
xI.axrf 1j-
rated it as process of making merchantable
herbs and garden seeds, but protested against
it as natures nonsense: q .zoTAa p xIai
a We enjoyed tho admirable logic of this
taste. For after all, what is beauty as mani
tested to human sight and hearing but min
| lister, process and expression of that love
which the Shaker deems the badge of the
curse and degradation of nature. The plum
age of the oriole, the song Of the bobolink, the
| imperious carriage Of the peacock, the change
able gold upon the necks of the pigeon and
| duck, since these ornaments are mot given to
| females OF the species, and since they only APP
| pear at maturity-what are they but the bridal
gifts which nature brings to ATTEST the honor
| in which God everywhere holds the law of mar
| riage in all his creation. So the Shakers BAN
| ish blossoms and flowers knowing well that
| with their beauty and fragrance they symbol
| ize and effect that mysterious marriage of the
plans Bylwbieh the old earth every spring
clothes itself with the youthful vigor Of its
first creation. Only the apple trees are allow
| ed on a distant hill to bloom under the modest
heavens in mockery Of their chaste creed
since in some way it is Unnecessary process o
/
| chandise
20 The Shaker communities are not well, KEEP
up. The principle Of a home, where men o.
women, from taste or conviction ayerse to mar
riage might maintain themselyer by co-opera
| tive industry, is q good one In the growing
artiieiality of modern society such al insti
i tuition will be more and more q necessity
There must be some form Of faith or fanaticisn
/ to keep them together. Brook Farm went tt
pieces because its members were persons o
i liberal culture, who were capable Of and after
wards attained the very highest honors in gen
eral society, and SO could not be coerced ant
lorganizsd by dogma Shakerism attract
minds Of coarser fibre. and capable ofsbein,
dominated by a creed, They lose members
however, because they are not recruited from
conviction but from necessity. Children ar
taken wild from country: .poorhouses, or frou
i distressed parents and brought up to man
hood when, not having the root Of the matte
in them, they decamp to the world and adop
its practises. ss@S i-2sa ss'' - = - -.
Il Would it. be believed, 2 young Shaker il
this family, Of . mechanical turn, lately mad
q velocpede. The Elder beheld the preposterou
/ machine and thus exercised it: ga Shake
on a velocipede can ride only in one direction
l-straight to the devil,r and smashed it incon
tinently with an axe. Young Shaker kicke
at this rough discipline, and went off for good
other young disciples not well grounded in tn
| faith joining in the Indignation and reyol
~ II