Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1907-11-05
BROTHER SILAS.


"She carried me, a crying baby, in
her arms. She begged the sisters to
take her in and save her child from
starvation. You all felt that she had
cen gently reared, and that she had
known great tribulation."
Yea" assented Mehitable.
"She told you that her name was
Fox, and bade you call her baby Es-
ther. She was very weak, and you
could not induce her to say more.
Three days after she entered your
doors she died"
"Yea-yea!"
"Mehitable, tell me, do look like my
mother?"
Somewhat" she answered, reluc-
tantly.
Il am sure that she was a lady. 1
am sure that some strange misfortune
drove her to this place. Perhaps I
have kindred somewhere in the world
maybe a father-who knows? Me-
hitable, did she say anything about my
father?"
Mehitable frowned and shook my
arms from her neck.
May. and it's best that you should
not. You have nothing to do with car
nal ties. You need no kindred-you
want none but your brothers and sis
ters in the faith Now go to bed!"
Poor Mehitable! For fifteen years
had been her special charge. l had
received a tolerable education in the
Shaker school beside the church.
had been carefully trained in the faith
of this peculiar people. yet she still
detected in me a strong hankering az
ter "carnal ties" and this weakness
filled her with grief and dismay. was
not could not be, like the other Sis
ters.
The next day was the Sabbath-an
oasis always in the desert Of the toll
some, monotonous weeks. Then 1 led
the singing at the Shaker church: then
I wore my best gown and a white
muslin kerchief in place of the calico.
which did duty on other days. And.
apart from these things, many stran-
gers stopped at Hadham in summer
tourists on their way to and from the
Many boarders came
thither also, attracted by the lake and
hills and the mineral springs; and
often our church was filled with ladies
in rich, rustling dresses, little children
decked out like French dolls, elegant
bearded men-the brothers did not
wear beards-people Of that great
wicked world which Mehitable hated.
1 used to look with wonder and Sc
cret delight on their fine clothes and
high-bred faces. and, somehow, l al
ways sang my best when they were in
the meeting. Mehitable said that my
voice drew many outsiders to our Sab
bath service.
On this particular day the house was
crowded with these strangers. sat
beside Mehitable, with my big, white
handkerchief hanging on my arm and
my hands in my lap. like all the sis
ters.
Without the blue lake sparkled in
the sun. and the hills lifted their green
crowns to a cloudless sky. Just at the
beginning Of the service two persons
stepped in at the church door, which
stood Hospitality open-a lady and
gentleman.
Finding himself on the wrong side OF
the house, the gentleman, with
whimsical smile, whispered something
to his companion, and then crossed to
the mems seats and took place on
the foremost bench.
He was young, and as fair as the
unfilial Absalom Of Scripture. His
face looked as IL cut from
fine stone. His tawny hair and beard
were dashed with gold, and the blue
black color of Hadham Lake filled his
languid eyes.
had just time 10 glance once at the
lady. She was marvelously attired,
and she had a thin, aquiline nose and
pale hair, dressed upon her forehead
something after the fashion Of the
brothers. She put up a gold-rimmed
eyeglass and stared about the church
as if it had been a menagerie.
Heaven only knows what came over
me then and there; but 1 threw my
very soul into my voice. sang as
had never sung before that pathetic
appeal:
Call them, Father. call the erring-
Call them in, as Thou didst me!
Like silver trumpet my voice
fioated through the open windows into
the fruited orchard trees beyond.
Brother Silas eyed me askance; for
once l did not see him-no, nor the
thin, devout faces of the sisters, nor
the stern, gray elders who watched the
flock; the strange gentleman on the
front bench was looking at me with
eyes brimful of surprise and pleasure
and a great thrill of gratified vanity
vanity which Mehitable often said was
a deadly sin-leaped through my veins.
That morning, for the first time in
my life, felt ashamed Of our peculiar
service. Our tramp around the clean
door, our swaying hands and bodies,
seemed odious and improbable to me.
How ridiculous Mehitable looked,
bobbing up and down in her zeal, like
q cork on the water! And Brother ST.
las was like an enormous jumping
Jack. Verify, some spirit of evil had
entered my unregenerated heart.
Mehitable stood up before the COM
pany and spoke out boldly regarding
the beauty of the Shaker life--testified
to her happiness and deep content in
the same. Other sisters followed her
example.
/ listened in wonder. How could
they think and feel like that? Then a
glayhaired elder sermonized upon the
inexhaustible topic, the sins OF the
wOrld-after which the meeting closed.
BY a rear door l left the church
with Mehitable-the worlds people
were departing by the front entrances.