Lamoille newsdealer. [volume] (Hyde Park, Vt.) 1860-1877, 1872-02-21
LOue Among The Shakers.

L0uc Anl0ng 1he ohakerS.
The day Of confession came at last. and
with It most unlooked-for aud terrible dis
co.. res. To the borri6ed amaEemeAt of
the a ,emb ed elderesses aud, amid our
choking tears. Sister Miuerva went down
%. o III valley Of humiliation" With
a bitter Struggle for compOsure. her dark
eyes dilating, her beautiful face white
aud set, she confessed that the "bAneful
poison of natural love had crept with
insidious but giant strides into her heart.
What must have been her conviction Of
sin when, with the courage of despalt'she
admitted that Brother Earnest had absorb
ed all her thoughts for many months. She
had borrowed his books. learned his lam
cuage, talked to him; until, suddenly
awakened and alarmed at the sympathy,
copgeniality, and admission which she
felt with aud for him, she would have fed
from the plcadings of her own heart it she
had strength to sdo so. Then, DEATH
ly pale and painting heavily. she took from
her bosom a packet of letters written to
her by Brother Earnest. If they had been
the price of innocent blood, Minerva could
not have cast them down with more vehe-
mence before the ministry.
With solemn emphasis the senior eld-
ress spoke. "Lct repentance have its
perfect work. Read the letters aloud.
Who are they from p
Minerva had spoken so hurriedly and
incoherently that her lovers name was
not yet known. With quivering lips she
was forced to repeat it. A beselching look
at Eldress Ofangia told her that the poor
young sister prayed to be sTared this or
deal of reading the letters; but not an
iota.ofthe cross could the elderess remove.
She could only sadly whisper, May,
you must comply"
And the whole correspondence was
read, and the answers confessed, word by
word, as we'll as the SHINING sister could
remember. One letter written in Ger
man, she begged to have burned without
reading. The eldresses of course were
ignorant of the language, aud looked un-
decided
Il will burn it here right before your
eyes" cntreated Minerva; and she took
from a work basket belonging to Eldress
Phiomel an old tender box and flint, a
precious relic once belonging to Mother
Ann. With fcverish haste she struck
, fire and the next moment Brother Err
nest words of love were converted into
the white ashes Of her sacrifice. Think
what sacrifice, when there were pages Of
rhapsody such as this:
,, "My heart goes out to thee, my soul
cries out to thee in yearning passionate
might! Life has become dream How
can / think it a reality? | was once sur
rounded, in my fatherland with beautiful
high-born women who had no power over
my heart, and here have yielded it
wholly to thee, my enchantress, nay, my
y pure saint
,, ooh, how vainly strive against my
passion. Love at its widest was never SO
untamed as the love of my undisciplined
heart; and yet it is pure, for would not
!. touch the hem of thy garment, nor raise
mine eyes to meet the heavenly-pure
brightness of thine, unbidden by thee. "
:, Pages ond pages like this, written by a
Shaker brother to a Shaker sister, in
Wisdoms valley! Truly the "natural
affections were a hydra.headed monster
in that afflicted vale about those limes.-
! =" Fifteen Years a MakereSs," IN The
= GALAXY for March.
S-ssA