Connecticut western news., 1875-07-16
The Tunkers.

The Tunkers, one of the most pecu- liar religious sects in the country, held their annual convention near Lancaster, Pa. Only those of our readers who have lived in the farming districts of Maryland, Pennsylvania, or Virginia will have, perhaps, any personal knowl- edge of this feeblest of Christian hocks, and they, probably, will remember them only as hatless old men, with patriar- chal boards to their waists, and bonnet less women, in linsey gowns, who came down to the villages from the hills once or twice n year in their old-fashioned wagons to sell their produce and be hooted at by the children. A Tunker' s wagon used to gather a staring crowd about it as readily as the band of the coming circus. In all parts of the country they are known as o solitary people, dwelling in hill-places, apart from politics, fashion, or any kind of worldly turmoil. Their recent convoca- tion was held on a quiet farm, accord ing to their habit, rather than in town but it attracted large crowds from all parts of the State, who apparently were of the opinion that no circus or collec- tion of wild beasts could offer so amaz- ing spectacle as this unnoticed sect that for generations, without conflict or heat of any sort, had held itself aloof from the world ill belief and department. Tho services also were of Q remarkable character, consisting of the usual religi- ous exercises of preaching, prayers, and singing ill Pennsylvania Dutch during the day; and in the evening the as- semblage of all the brethren and sisters in barn, where love-feast supper of mutton broth was solemnly eaten, fol- lowed by an equally solemn washing of the feet of the whole multitude of be- ievers. After these "services of love an humility the communion was par taken of.
 In spite of the oddity of these rites, we are told by observers that "the sim pGcity and devotional feeling of the worshipers was so great as to command the sympathy of the great multitude of spectators" We can readily conceive that the sight nowadays of hundreds of women, many of them young and pretty, dressed in scrupulous coarse and ugly attire, was enough to take the breath of any spectator. There is deli cate, devout coduetry in the Quaker's spotless white and dove color, of which the pretty Quaker knows how to reap the full advantage. But these poor Tunker women, in their ugly gowns and tight mob caps, were literally mortifying the flesh for religions sake. This re- cent convocation has brought other things to light about them.
 Not only do they abjure all vanity or flnery in their dress and houses, but they utterly refuse to be led into quarrels, pub lie or private: no Tunker bears arms, or was ever party to lawsuit; they urge hard work as an essential of religious life upon all their members; no Tunker wns ever seen in a poorhouse; when holy men of God among them are moved to preach His word, they receive no wages for so doing; they have no theo. logical schools, consequently they never quarrel on doctrinal points; their min isters, having to earn their bread by the sweat of their brow, or starve, have no time to deal in turbid affairs of sentiment, or to cover Christ's simple truth with their own foggy, hyperbolic fancies, or shame His church by their personal passions or prejudices. Their fruit" in the Christion life are not yer appar- ent perhaps; they build no milli dollar temples on the streets to glorifJ God in the holiness of architectural beauty; send out no missionaries to convert other Christian sects to their own way of thinking; for the outgrowth of a Card inal McCloskey, Sturgeon, or Beech CT. The quiet Tunker in the mountains of Pennsylvania or Virginia tries to deal justly, walk humbly, and keep himself unspotted from the world, and is con- tent.
 After all, how odd it would be if when, as was foretold for these latter times, one powerful sect after another comes to the front, and we hear the cry, "Lo, here is Christ [" or "Lo, therel" the poor comical Dutch Tunker ill his cabin in the hills should have been sheltering Him all the while!-Ne,0 York Tribune.