Clinch Valley news. [volume] (Jeffersonville, Va.) 18??-2019, 1889-11-01
AMERICAN DUTCH.
THE QUAINT OLD COLONY IN
PENNSYLVANIA,
Customs of Domestic. Home
Loving People - Funeral
cnsts-CourtinG Among
The Young Folks.

spcaklnS cinl1rantS should he the subjects
of naturalization. The same body pro
vidcd few years later that every for
cigncr to the English Government arriv.
ing after The passage of the net should
pay duty of forty shillinys and swear
allegiance to Great Britain and the pro-
vince. These and other measures dis
couraginS To prospective cmigrants who
| fclt within their scope were all aimed nj
the Germans. Prior To the year 1927
more than fifty thousand of them were
snugly established i'll the Quaker pro-
vince. In spite of these laws more were
coming by every ship, and the followers
of Penn were disturbed in spirit But
the prescribed German stolidly bidcd his
time. lie came, paid his duty and stayed
lie took possession of the rich farms
, along the Susquchanna, the I.chigh,
and the Juniatn, and filled the glorious
valleys which lead down To the rivers
lie began to have things his own way,
and when the new order WIS established
after the Revolution, he held in his
hands the political power of the great
State which he had turned into II CUR
den where the gods might dwell The
most timorous Quaker, fearful of Ger
man asccntlancy, could scarcely have
Ind provision Of the complete triumph
attained 10y his Tcutonic rival at the he
ginning of the present century. The
Quaker was already little more than II
memory; the German the potent fact Of
the social and political order. But 10!
when the victor proclaimed his conquest
II was in II strange tongue; he no longer
thought nor felt as n German The
Faihcrnnd was not beyond seas, but
here. Germany was no more To him than
it WAS 10 Patrick. lie had become a
Pennsylvania Duichmnn.
These people have retained all the al
mrablc domestic, home loving charac.
tcristicS Of the race from which they
! sprung. No wives are more luynl, no
mothers more devoted to their children,
than these. Among the young people
the singing-school is II weekly entertain
mcnt during the winter, aud dan, inu is
held in favor
No event calls out so large number
of people ms funeral The moment one
of the family dies the survivors begin 10
bake and cook and gather supplies. There
Is little time for grief; the funeral is but
three days of at most, and il there should
he any skimping of the feast, Ia which
the minister will be authorized To invite
from the pulpit all the friends of the fam
lily, it would he disrcspcctfnl TO the dead
and discrc,litablr To the living. And
there, too, must he prepared The mid
night lunch Tor the watchers who will
guard the remains. Two young men Of
the ncighborhood will be detailed for
this purpose, and it will he their privi-
lcSc to select the Two young ladies who
are To help them while AWAY the long
hours. In room adjoining that in
which The body is lying these watchers
;musc themselves in whatever way they
choose. Every hour the young men en-
ter the death chamber and look upon line
features Of him who sleeps the eternal
! sleep; while the two girls, awcd and
nervous ut being alone SO near the visible
presence of death, trcmblin9ly wait the
return of their gallant companions. II
is II beautiful custom, that al watching
over the dead, and characteristic Of II
rcvcrcnt and alTcctiOnatc race Yet il
must he confessed that owing 10 The
presence of the young ladies the watch
crs generally manage To extract more
pleasure ont Of il than is consistent with
its solcmnity. II will be found that the
abundant preparation Of "funcral baked
meats has been timely enough. As
soon us the service is ended nj the grave
all the asscmblagc returns 10 the house,
and the frasiing ends not until the last
ncighbor has gOrgcd himself as only Il
Pennsylvania Dutchman can on IL holiday.
Hundreds Of them parlakc of these
funeral fcas;s, and they regard il as IL
matter Of pride when the number is
larger than usual
The Pennsylvania Dutch young man
rarely takes II lady to church or SINGING
school. When Tie meeting is ended The
young men hurry out and stand liz II row,
or double row on each side Of the walk.
When the girl of his choice comes by,
the young man steps up with assumed
boldncSs and display OF confidence not
warranted by his feelings and shovcs cut
his elbow. Sometimes she pulls back
her arm with contcmptuous little jerk
and II saucy toss Of the head, TO the great
JOY of II luckicr fellow further down the
line; while the rejected swain Steps back
into his place 10 undergo an unncrrifu
Suying and wait for another with whom
he hopes 10 be more successful. But as
rule they know what they arc doing,
and the throng mclts away with few
such incidents
The young man has somewhat more
than the pleasure Of walking home with
the lady. He is generally invited into
the house. If the old people haze moi
already retired, they will obligingly do
So very soon. Etiquette would hardly
PERM; him 10 leave before two or three
O'Clock in the morning, but, etiquette or
no etiquette, inc rarely leaves before The
first named hour. This performance is
known as ''setlin up with each other.
1t does not Imply Il marriage engagement
between the parties, but is rather the
method by which the dcsirability OF such
AN engagement is determined.
A young lady would not lose her rcpu-
iaiion in the slightest degree by taking 81
trip OF Il week, say to New York. Phia-
dclp'ia, OF Washington, with young