Smyrna times., 1873-03-19
MSSceIIU 10 e D as.
The Pennsylvania Dutch"


lished descriptive of the domestic and social Il
life of the " Pennsylvania Dutch" as they t
are called In many parts of our State. The r
language spoken by these people is mixture d
of the dialects ofSOuth Germany-pa broken i
English and part Dutch-by no means as ele- t
CANT as the pure German spoken by the resi- a
dents Of Dusseldorf, Baden Baden Schwelm, c
and other places in the north of Germany, t
hence it is called Dutch" The work is more {
particularly descriptive of the Germans who {
reside in Lancaster and some of the middle
counties of our State. Speaking of the former,
the author says:
! In their religion they are branch of the
| MennOnites-a denomination OF Christians who
| believe in the New Testament as their only rule
of faith, reject infant baptism, and bear testi
mony against taking oaths, holding office, or
using physical force. In plainness and sim
plicity of speech and raiment they resemble
the Society of Friends, although not attaching
so much Importance to the inner teachings of
the spirit in the stiffness of the soul. Their
meeting house is low, brick building, with no
sign of ornament to minister to the lust OF
the eye or the pride of life" The men, with
broad brimmed hats and Quaker-like garments, |
sit on benches on one side of the house, and
the women, in prim hats and black sun-bOn
nets, are ranged on the other. The services,
which are conducted in" Dutch" consist of
prayer and exhOrtatOn, and kind of rude, un
|
of about five minutes is allowed for private
e prayer. The preachers are not paid, and are
e chosen by lot from number of candidates pre-
: viOusy named by the people, both men and
women. The ministers are not expected to
. take part in public affairs; but the least rigid
of The members usually vote at elections, and
are allowed to hold such offices as school direc-
3 tor and supervisor Of roads, but not to be mem
bers of the legislature. They cannot bring
+ suit against any one, nor hold judgment bonds.
l. They do not take oathS, nor deal in spirituOus
re liquors If one of the members is disowned
:. by the church, the other members of his own
e family are not allowed to eat at the same table
d with him, and his wife withdraws from him.
Of They retain the ordinances of baptism and the
Lords S supper, together with the ancient feet
IN washing and the greeting OF one another with
re a holy kiss
81 On Sunday morning huge, ark like wagons,
rry covered with yellow oil-cloth, may be seen
tn moving toward the house of the member whose
ed turn it is to entertain the meeting, which
he seems in some places to be held in private
,o dwellings, instead of a separate meeting house
ns Great have been the preparations beforehand
wonderful the whitewaShing, the scrubbing,
the polishing of tin and brass, to make ready
for the occasion. The young mothers do not
stay at home, but bring their babies with them
Alter the services, the congregation remain tC
dinner Bean soup was formerly the prlncl
pal ulS0, DuJ the WelI-IO-uO IdTIueTS vi Tue pre-
sent day are no longer content with SO rustic
ned diet.
FESTIVITIES AT FUNERALS.
f. The greatest festive occasion, or the on
which calls the largest number of persons {
,es eat and drink together, is the funeral. Whe
OF Il death occurs, the neigbbOrs take pOsSesslo
s5 Ds5 OF the house, relieving the family from all labo
=, and care. Some of them put the rooms
;on- order for the reception of company, after tn
l.. al, of Ct,
Ma disease. Others repair to the kitchen, and bel
vi f 81 to bake great store of bread, pies and rusk
uar Two young men and two young women sit u
ten. together over night to watch in room adjOiI
Ran. ing that of the dead. When the funeral TAX
,aTy place on Sunday immense concOurse
ss,a Gsa people is assembled. There are sometimes
have many sthree hundred carriages in attendanc
The services are usually in the German la
,1a tss guage. An invitation is given to the cOmpa
here to return to the house and after the funer;
ting The tables are sometimes set in the barn, or
large wagOn-hOuse, and the guests succeed ol
susr another until all are done. The neighbors wa
ed iP IN upon the table. The entertainment general
the consists of cold meat, bread and butter app
ali be sauce and pickles, pies and rusks, and SON
,S,ist Ss.sl times stewed chickens, mashed potatO'
dis cheese, and coffee invariably.
5 the SIMPLICITY OF HYMEN's SHRINE.
The weddings are of still more primiti
Is. or character The writer tells of one that to
aries igS place in the meeting ghouse one bitter Sund
re be morning in December. The party enter
d bsss s through an ad Onng brick dwelling, one rot
resi-; of which served an ante-room, where the S
g and ters left their bonnets and shawls The me
other ing house was crowded. On the left, in fro
te. or was plain of muslin caps on the heads OF
Ss 1es,Se De- sisters. Along the other side the hats
taxes s overcoats of the brethren placed shell
10 cir and pegs. The building was entirely unpant
y yDasd ssH with whitewashed walls. A small, unpan
illtles desk, before which a low table, two stO
ctions and halfadozen hanging tin candlestcks,
oil the the benches, constituted the furniture OF
apostolic cathedral. After plain-spOken
oa Of course by the preacher the marriage pair
per in in called upon to come forward. Upon this
places man and woman rose from the body OF the c
,,ovsd gregatiOn on either side, and, coming out of
middle aisle, stood together before the minis
Ie and They had both good faces, though they
ss .SsS Se passed their early youth. The bride wor
isiness, mode coored al paca, and black apron W
eO"ra'o out frill or border. The groom had on rat
OF eiti- conspicuous dark green coat, cut "shad-
case Of lied, after the manner of the brethren A
in 20 putting the usual question: and directing q
laces Of TO join hands, the preacher pronounced Il
husband and wife. This was followed by 81
CO1sulls sls prayer, when the welded couple separa
az have each again taking place among the cOngr
ss 1asc,sa 80 ton. The occasion not without Ger
all the homely pathOs. On resuming his place at
''"''" desk the preachers eyes were sufused,
alto, =, pocket et-handkerchefs were visible on eli
nd Con side-"those of the sisters white, of the br
cir rsn1 s1T rem coIored silk" The church does not
/ be fur; wedding parties, but few friends may ga
at the house after meeting. Sometimes the
1ioy the splendid reception or Homecoming
''''' supper consists of roast turkey, beef, ste
Consular chickens, CAKE, pies, anu cohee, VI Co
pa OF the 20 Rosin niap one of the rare Qalntle
iiciai P'N -
Tor the such festive occasions.
Is exist .x.ox,,,
'; to ask WHAT THEY KNOW ABOOT tAhMlNt.
of Their The farming Of the fertile limestone di,
2 q latter - 5 inhabited by the "Duch" is entirely b.
be taken lage, and is very laborious The usual ro
. 10 the l. ..I