The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1908-07-23

expelled from France on account of the
revocation of the Edict of Nantes. Il
was one of the richest and best-tilled
, parts of Germany. but it was marked
for the vengeance of Louis XIV. and
aged by French soldiers. The people
, left the country in great numbers. go
ing to- England, North Carolina, Penn
. sylvania and Virginia. In ITO between
: 5000 and 1000 "Palatines," as they
: were called. settled in Columbia and
Ulster Counties, New York. becoming
I what were afterwards known as the
} Mohawk Dutch
They went in still greater numbers
into Pennsylvania, and it is estimated
that within a comparatively short time
over 100000 took up homes principally
in Lancaster, York. Franklin. Cumber-
land, Berks, Schuylkill and Lehigh Coun-
Palatinate there were others from Ba-
varia, Switzerland, Alsace and Saxony.
These all spoke dialects belonging to
I the High German language, and they
have certain linguistic peculiarities diff
fering them from the other dialects,
and the language which was preserved
in their religious publications, hymns
and theological works bears the same
relation to modern German that the old
dialects in Great Britain bear to modern
English.
The next important influx of Germans
into Pennsylvania came thru the great
religious awakening which swept thru
| the lower classes of Germans in the
18th and 18th centuries. The Lutheran
| Church had suffered the same spiritual
decadence that the Roman Catholic
and Episcopal Churches were exhibit
ing, and which is inevitable in any State
church. Religion had become formal,
teal machinery being devoted to getting
money from the people, and the minis
try filled up by men who went into it
simply to make living.
The peasaptry had always been more
or less separated in belief and ideas
from the middle class, and they took
eagerly to the teaching of Menno-
Simons, John of Leyden, Alexander
Mack and others who taught that the
Holy Bible was the only rule and guide
of faith and practice, that everything
that was necessary for man to know
could be found in it's pages, and all
teachings and doctrines beyond it were
manmade and should be discarded. Out
of this grew the innumerable divisions
and denominations known as Anabap-
fist, Mennonites, Dunkards, Amish, and
so on, Indefinitely. They at once came
into collision with the ruling church.
and in their earlier history were guilty
of many senseless excesses and outrages
in what were called the peasant wars
and Anabaptist wars From these dis
turbances came a vigorous doctrine of
peace and nonoffensiveness approximat-
ing them to the Quakers, while in all
other respects they are Baptists. and
Baptist Church. They were forced out
of the country in great numbers, and
many of them left voluntarily rather
than violate their tenet against bearing
arms. Many thousands went to Russia |
under the promise that they would be |
given peace and not required to serve
in the army. When universal conscrip-
ton was established in Russia in 1871 |
they left that country and came to this |
The first settlement of the Mennonites |
was made in Pennsylvania, near Phila-
delphia, in 1853, to accept William
PENIS offer of religious liberty and
peace. AS rule. however, the Men
nonites and Dunkards preferred the
central and western portions of Penn
sylvania, and drifted down the mount
tains into the Shenandoah Valley in |
Virginia.
1t will be seen that Gen. lie Dues |
conclusion as to the Pennsylvania Dutch
being descended in any CONSIDERABLE
number from the Hessians has slender
historical basis There was probably |
not one Hessian in every 10000 Ger
mans who settled in the United States. |
While no meaner, stingier man can
be found than Pennsylvania Dutch
man. when he starts out to be mean
and stingy, yet a mean stingy Scotch
man, Irishman or Englishman will run
a dead heat with him. and if they were
all shaken up in a bag it would be hard
to tell which would come out first. |
There was a world of splendidly loyal
and generous people around Gettysburg.
in spite of the few conspicuous Incl
dents of contemplate meanness that
our soldiers found in that country 1t
must be remembered that Gettysburg
young woman was shot dead while bak-
ing bread for wounded soldiers and at
tending to their wants in the midst OF
the fighting that was going on around
the town.
"REMINISCENCES OF GEN. GRANT.
"reminiscences of Gen. Grant are now
in order. and of particular interest is