The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1874-11-17
AMONG THE SHAKERS.

we picked out but one goodlookiDg
man, aud although there might have been
others whom we could not see. we saw
many who were enough to give one the
nightmare. The womcn's faces, although
monotonous in the sameness Of expression,
and too qnict and dull, we're not, as a
whole, unattracliye. Some OF them were
sweet and placid, aud some really pretty.
Whcn the song and dance or march had
ended, they took seats, the men aud won.
en- on opposite sides OF tho house aud fac.
Ing each other. The audience were com
PEELED to follow the example Of separation
OF The sexes set them by the elders. AT.
ter the dance ended we sat wondering how
II method oIworship, so apparently incou.
gruous in a people OF such sobriety and
almost gloom could have been made the
custom. The gentleman Of our party
must have had other thoughts, for he Of.
forwards handed us the following very
"freo" translation of the hymu We had
failed TO understand. We will not vouch
for anything but the mc,re That we
heard.
Woililngs don't you -se II. dance
La Ia, Ia La, la, Ia,
Woridlings so- our dcwncast glance
La, la, la La, la, Ia
The sperrit moves u- iuwariy
| lnward-lye. inwari-lye.
II cometh TO tls from the =hy
From the sky skeyigh. akoy.sh
After another "hymu." which Was not
marched to, but sung sitting. with hand.
folded meekiy over spread handkerchiets
in the lap. our one good.!ooking man at
rose and addressed the visitors. turning
biz back on his own people. He proceed
cd to give US some insight intO the princi.
pies which governed his people, especial
/ " those distinctive features. the holding
of property in common as opposed to the
worldly principle ofiopividual rights and
ceIibscY. as opposed 20 the ordinary go
cial order Flis speech wa, adroit in its
attacks on our Christian civilization, as lie
said too many true things to be contra
dicted entirely, bat he WAS very inconsst-
ent, and in some things insulting. while
tho freedom and expl!citness Of his re.
marks on marriage and kindred subjects
Wa. sufficient to make one willing to dis.
pensc with all future mini-trations from
him. We gathered from his somewhat
rambling talk tha; they (the Shakers) do
not condemn all marriage. but considering
all living in that estate - belonging to
the lower life, while the ccliba'e, are the
disciples of Christ in au especial manner.
lie spoke Of the rights Of women to
equality before the law in every respect,
and prophesied Tat the giving the ballot
to women would y" IN first -iep toward
the millennium,
The Elder denounced the newspapers,
especially in their readine-, to print mat
ter like the Beeecher scandal, and then
proceeded to cnlightcn his audience on
that sickening subject in a way that prov
ed he had read the papers most carefully
He made his strongest point in our opin.
lou. when he touches on the question ol
property. lie said, with some truth, tina,
the world had not learned TO grow civil
, lied without making the rich richer. uad
the poor poorer. until society had to be
taxed for the support of paupcTs, Grimm
ais, apd all sorts Of incapablc', which so
ciety itself had made.
lie denounced cities aud fashion abl,
life but gave Us no more attractive ol
comprehensive advice as 10 change thar
".o return to the most healthy und purt
employment. farming Just then, will
, the sun.hinc roaring food Of goldcn glo
rs over The hills. with fields and flower
in hloo.n. and all the poetry Of out don
life before IA it seemed ~ great hardship
to give up cities for while. but on
, shu1der, at The thonyh, Of the lrn,,!
and dullnps. ofa Narihcfa winter 10 tha
sheltered valley. -'-reoislly if they mu,
br hrn"'I hn'ur IN its real sense. an
! never ia snvth's '"i. hate the oif i,''
, The elder spolr very slightingly oi 'hool
: ear, x. nr nr any culture that iendc'
9 70 make man or woman dislike mamma
D labor spoke Of the wonderful power whiel
= au "iliite,atc woman. the founder OF thei
seri Ann Lee" mad possessed, aud argr
, I'd from that that wo had no need ot m.
: more Knowledge than was necessary 10
, selfSupport aud self protection bat W
are mistaken il u 'u,n of his ability ha
not taken pain 20 inform himself On
good many -u.i i','s ia. hi, brethrea af'
content TO LOT alone
8 GA the whole We wore srelght up III
! to u very controversial sni EXCITED stat
( Of mind, aud wished very mach that i
. was possible to talk back aud vet III
' man was honest, apparently. sod had II
t much good material furnished hin b., th
=, vices of society to use 10 attacks agains
e it, that he fortified some Of his position
: we'll We arc not attached TO the Sha
ker life though. il the least, and We pitie
8 the young children who arc never " alo.
Q any other idea of home
: There are many women, aud some me
Q whom God has called to such a field q
3 labor, or surrounded by such circum
stances that they are forever shut ou
from the comforts and discipline and de
lights Of married life and pareuthooj bu
it il one thing to accept The task God set
. before you. aud another to dare to max
common or unclssD that which ! ie has AZ
pointed by eternal law.
:. The Fcejee Islands in the South paci
y ic, having been f mally turned over ,
}. the possession OF England, Queen VictoIi'
!, H. sovereign, takes the place Of the linel
" successors OF
e iIoky-poky. .~inkJ wang.
,. The King cf the Cannbal ISLANDS.
II The group comprises one hundred ap
diiy'lour Islands, six,y-6ve OF which Al
inhabited. Only two. however, are Of
1. rize worth mentioniug-Viii Levu. whic
10 is about sixty miles square, aud Auua L.
"a va, hundred miles long and from Git
to sixty miles wide