The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1904-01-23

are not at the Darn, 1Or the AmlSn
man, his wife and children, dressed a
men and women down to the smalles
toddler, are no fasters on the Sabbath
day. They believe in good living
and great efforts are put forth for th
coming hosts. and well they may be
The Amish are strenuous worshipers
for there is preaching and singing Q
slow hymns from eight O'Clock unit
noon, four hours of standing for thos
not lucky enough to get sitting room
on the smaller machinery remainin,
or in the now galleries. Cold meats
bread and butter in generous crooks
sauerkraut, ad H6itnu, are spread Oh
tables in the barn when meeting i
over. Sometimes three or four hun
dred people, for the Amish are ;
pious folk, are fed, and the fences ar
lined with teams, the yellow wagon.
adding gay color to the scene
These Amish wagons are another pc
culiarity of this peculiar people, ,squar,
built, and covered with canvas paint
ed a glaring yellow. These vehicles
enliven the road on First days, and
at rest, do not lose their prominence
They were at one time springless, but
that day Of self abnegation is past, fol
the Amish now patronize trolleys and
steam cars.
The preaching, the singing, the
eating, the drinking-and generous
drafts of cider, sometimes of the
snappy kind, for these people are moi
built on strictly teetotal lines, are moi
excluded-do not end the ceremonies.
As in Spanish countries the forenoons
of the Sabbath are devoted to worship
and the afternoons to cock fights and
the bull ring, so fter-meeting hours
among our Amish friends, that is, the
young folks, are devoted to games
I am sorry to say-the Copenhagen
kind. Ny informant, a comparatively
gay Mennonite, for religious asceti-
cism is relative, once hid behind fan
Ia grain fan-and saw it all the
girls in white caps and capes, the
young men in collarless coats fasten-
ed with hooks and eyes, playing reg
ular kissing games, and with evident
relish. Our Paul Pry was discover
ed, dragged from behind the fan, and
made to play with the rest.
And these barns see other services,
for those not Westinghouse Amish"
are therein married, and with cere-
monies most peculiar. There is a
taking hold of hands by the young
people, of which the bride and groom
are part, when, to sort of chant,
they sidewise glide around the sides
of the threshing floor, in sort of
''ring -around-a-rosy" style. No ar
tifcial music is used, as the Amish
draws the line at singing, which, per-
haps, is well nor dancing, for the
movement alluded to does not par
take OF this more than does the SOL
emn saltation of the Shakers.
Choosing ministers by lot is COM
mon among the sects with whom the
Amish are in sympathy. On the
death of spiritual leader nomina-
tions are made of those thought suit
able for the succession, and, on an
appointed day, the Amish congrega-
ton gathers and finds on table as
many Bibles as there are candidates,
in each of which is a projecting slip
of paper, on one of which is written
the word Minister. Then the
names of the candidates are called,
beginning with the oldest, and on
down to the youngest, and the one
getting the Bible containing the writ
ten slip is minister for life, unless he
transgresses Amish rules.
As stated, the dress of old and
young is the same. The men wear
broad brimmed hats and collarless
coats, and pantaloons Of the style our
father wore two generations ago.
Boys in their first escape from frocks
dress similarly, even to the antigua
ted pantaloons arrangement. The men
mostly shave the upper lip, but wear
the hair long. The dresses of the
women are plain as to cut, but para
doxically often running to gay colors
perhaps from biblical pictorials, where
the figures are gaily robed, as red
cloaked Job rebuking his comforters
in green and yellow raiment, and thus
having scriptural sanction for brilliant
colorings. Old and young wear a
white cap, in doors and out, and the
bonnet is of the plainest style. A
shoulder cape adds distinction to the
dress. The girls are. attired similar
ly from the time they can walk.
"To labor is considered honorable,
and the sooner it is practiced the bet
ter" /" is the Amish motto. Boys OF
three or four years old are made fa-
miliar with horses, and are seen rid
ing them afeld with their little legs
necessarily uncomfortably horizontal.
Not long since one of five years was
set to rolling a stony field, and the
roller, striking a stone, the little dri-
yer surged forward, was run over and
killed. Little boys being plenty this
did not deter the Spartan father, as
we'll as his neighbors, from keeping
up the custom of placing them on
these broad-wheeled Juggernauts for
sacrifice to the stern DEGREES of Amish
parentallaw. Two condolences tend
to carry out conditions that keep such
boys from running away and growing
up pirates and cowboys--non-contig
uity to dime novels and inability tc
read.
1t is regretable that the Amish race
is degenerating, but this is easily un
derstood from their clannish avoid
ance of outside marriages. Thi.
is shown in physique and mental de
terioration, not to such serious ex
tent, but plainly showing the evils o
increased relationship. The family
names are few, mainly confined t.
those of Smoker, Esch, Kaufman ant