The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1879-08-20

Day Among ths shhEsn.
Scar the village d HEnprcF. NtW
Hampshire, On Wha, Is knoEn a Enfield
lake, there Is 4 Eoeiety d shaksr. We
spent q day among these peculiar people
Is,sly. and made some otssrTGiions IS 70
.hsir manner Of liz Tor the benefit Of the
fsOders Of the lsT%EtLtcEscEE.
The Soeiely Is divided in0 three isBilies-
each family bAYiog a fira and hrmbuiid'
ings Of iiS own. We Visited the GENITAL
family, a. It ia called, the original hive
from which the othefa have sWaEmed,
fonndsdin the year l7g2. Driving up n
the door with a parry oil friends We iD'
s1ired IL 10 could bs sntArtlinCd in the
Wayol dinner, and bave onr horses fed
Leaning tina, We could, oil hands got out,
and after committing tie team % the
charge Of one OIL the work people Of
the iann,we walked into the 61siRes office
OF reception rom, where = TALL woman,
dreased In close fitting drab, and wearing
Asot OF m0squito cap on her head, TeeeiT'
81 Us With ali tho ihgid poli,eness t9'
which tho Shakers are noted the world
oyer. We told her that Te were on {
IoyGYe Of discovery and Tonld be glad TO
he shown through the grounds, sltopa'
homes DC Of the family" This wa
promised ~, A. m after dinner pro-
grnmme, and therefore We took onr seats
On the cane chairs TIA. stood upon the
.polle.sbul uncaIpsted aDors oithe parlorr
andaEEiteA the Hund Of the hell. Con
.~picuously posted overtime door we're the
raies Tor the government Of yisi.ora, one OIL
which particularly reqiested them 70 leave
nothing on their plates at meab. This we
interpreted To We abint to guesc to call for
nothing more at the table than was abso
Iately necessary fos their wants-a good
role by the way among Shakers or even
among those whodont shake.
Dinner VAS ssTyedin the basement Of
tue building. and while it was abundant a.
70 supply It neeled 2 better appetite thar
our parry could boast to furnish the
seasoning. Tbs Shakers DO no. believe ii
stimuIang % sppe.its, and their cooking il
very primitive and pIain. We thought
that their coffee needed a spoontu
or tTo more ri coffee In the pot. /
WAs entirely TOO ethereal in point o
strength. What it Licked in body wa
made up IN tho size Of the cucumber cut
ting, which were about the thickcst VI
ever saw. No anoUn OF seasoning coul'
penetrate them. However We got througl
the dinner, bnt the rule referred to va
not, we Iegre! u Eay, very closely Obsery
cd. The iniracion Of it was, in our opln
ion, largely ~chargabIe 70 the cook, and "
are otthe opinion that fifty cents a heaI
paid a good prof: on all that was eatel
and all that WAS left.
After dinner the party returned to III,
reception room. By this time Sister Mar
a. she wFs called, the "lenior trustee
lmoDg the sislerh0od Of that ~particuIA
family, was sitting at the receipt O
custom, aad 10 he! we were all introduced
She aas ii Of the governing splits
not the special spirit u the family. "
have sslJon Eel 4 stronger typo Of te
male character. HEE high head, guar
java and leTge grey eyes would sttrAc
attention anywhere. Eking q chair neal
her desk %ahe Is CASHIER We asked tht
privilege OF inicr!ggadDg her az 10 lii
among the Shakers. Oh said she, "W,
have a mar here who answers sach ques
TONGA man well fitted 10 give you al
information Well then. We replied, vi
Will only venture 10 ask YOU 1ne quegtioI
TO which request She nodded ASSENT ant
that iE, is the liiG you lead here a happI
mi for 4 TOman:-hsPpy as compared
with the family lie Of the outside world?
why nVt?" said Ehc. "Do you not thinl
II compares well with that OF the mother
who drudge in the kitchens Of the Lane
and Tatse families, and who carry so much
care ON their minis day and night? vi
think ours a better life than THAI "But
Sister Mary, " we observed, ID great write
has gnid that while matrimony has MANI
caFes CelibaGy has no ,jOyS. DO you not
therefore, fad your lie here painfully
quiet and m%ontou0us? 40. we do not
We have an object in view. We are moi
shut up here. We 60 out into the worlC
Us we have occasion. Some Of onr people
went 10 the Centennial al Philadelphia
and others have made the tip 10 Europe
We nrc net at all dissatisfied With our lives
and think We have made u wise choice"
The old lady said that that very day
wus her Goth birth day, and that she had
been In the society since her 7th year
She certainly looked a. II sne had not lee
IN anxious life. Her face had a go0C
healthy color and while II was not by any
means n %spiTtuAlized c%1nntenahee III wa
loo strong for that yet it bore evidence OIL
great calmBesS and sobtiGtY, aud u sub
ordination Of the passions and appetites.
This appearance marked all tho faces sc
saw.
The mar 10 whom Sister Mary referred
put in an appearance ut last and was in
troduced TO our company ~ Elder Per.
Eins. This man." said the Sister, "cau
tell You all you desire TO know" The
Elder was dressed In summer drab, and
looked az II he had Just come ont Of a
bath. 1t was refreshing 10 look upon his
clean face, carefully comhcd hair banged
in front and long behind tho ears and hi
cool linen and airy apparel, We should
say that he was sixty years old, and he
showed no sign Of have borne much oil
the burden aud heat Of the day ay he
passed through life, We Judge that most
Of his time had been taken up in
Opening the testimony" ias Le called III
instead Of hoeing in tho fields. We had
along talk with the Elder, and found him
somewhat like the coffee at dinner-a
tTiAV weak. Tic was more aanctimouious
than intelligent in bis style. Forinstauce,
his argument in favor Of the "Celibate
life" as they call it, was founded on Inc
tnNt Of Srrinimrn rnnhinn ar. Z. -