588 



THE CENTURY BOOK OF FACTS. 



at Watervliet, N. Y. In the spring of 1780, 

 when they had been three years and a half 

 at Niskenna, a religious revival took place 

 at Albany, and spread through the surround- 

 ing districts ; and from Hancock and New 

 Lebanon a deputation was sent to Niskenna, 

 to see what light its inhabitants enjoyed 

 as to the way of salvation. The deputation 

 consisted of Joseph Meacham and Lucy Wright, 

 subsequently the heads of the Shaker Society. 

 These persons became believers in Ann Lee, 

 and through their agency other converts 

 were won, and a Shaker Society established 

 at New Lebanon. Toward the close of 1780, 

 the Revolutionary War being then in progress, 

 notoriety was given to Ann Lee through an 

 incident seemingly unfavorable. On suspi- 

 cion of being a British spy she was imprisoned 

 for some time at Poughkeepsie, and before she 

 obtained her liberty, in December, 1780, all 

 the colonies had heard of the "female Christ," 

 and in the following year she started on a mis- 

 sionary tour through New England and the 

 adjacent colonies, and made not a few converts. 

 She died in 1784, and was succeeded in the 

 headship of the society by Joseph Meacham 

 and Lucy Wright. Her death was a surprise 

 to many of her followers, who believed that 

 she was to live with them forever. Their doc- 

 trine has been, to some extent, developed as well 

 as systematized since the death of " Mother 

 Ann." They believe that the Kingdom of 

 Heaven has come ; that Christ has come upon 

 earth a second time in the form of " Mother 

 Ann," and that the personal rule of God has 

 been restored. Then they hold that the old 

 law has been abolished and a new dispensation 

 begun; that Adam's sin has been atoned ; that 

 man has been made free of all errors except his 

 own ; that the curse has been taken away from 

 labor ; that the earth and all that is on it will 

 be redeemed. Believers, on going "into 

 union," die to the world and enter upon a new 

 life, which is not a mere change of life but a 

 new order of being. For them there is neither 

 death nor marriage ; what seems death is only 

 a change of form, a transfiguration, which does 

 not hide them from the purified eyes of the 

 saints ; and in union, as in Heaven, there is 

 no marrying nor giving in marriage. They 

 believe that the earth, now freed from the curse 

 of Adam, is Heaven ; they look for no resur- 

 rection besides that involved in living with 

 them in < ' resurrection order. ' ' The believer, 

 upon entering into union, leaves behind all his 

 earthly relationships and interests, just as if he 

 had been severed from them by death. And 

 since to be in union is heaven, the Shakers 

 hold that no attempt should be made by them 

 to draw men into union. They believe that 



they live in daily communion with the spirits 

 of the departed believers. The Shaker settle- 

 ments are composed of from two to eight 

 " families, " or households. A large house, 

 divided through the middle by wide walls, and 

 capable of accommodating from 30 to 150 in- 

 mates, is erected by each family, the male 

 members occupying one end and the female 

 the other. Their meals are taken in a com- 

 mon room, and in silence. They possess an 

 average of seven acres of land to the member, 

 and are very industrious. The settlements are 

 at New Lebanon and Watervliet, N. Y. ; Han- 

 cock. Tyringham, Harvard, and Shirley, Mass. ; 

 Enfield, Conn. ; Canterbury and Enfield, N. 

 H. ; Alfred and Gloucester, Me. ; Union Vil- 

 lage, White Water, and North Union, Ohio ; 

 and at Pleasant Hill and South Union, Ky., 

 and number, in all, 2,400 members. 



Roman Baths, The, were among the 

 most magnificent and extensive architectural 

 ornaments of the city in the time of the 

 Empire. They were erected by different em- 

 perors for the use of the populace, and the 

 vast ruins still existing testify to their great 

 size and the unparalleled luxury of their ar- 

 rangements. In these great thermce, as they 

 were called, the primitive object of bathing 

 was largely lost sight of, and they became 

 favorite places of general resort for pleasure. 

 The most famous were those erected by the 

 Emperors Titus, Caracalla, and Diocletian. 

 Caracalla's baths were 1,500 feet long by 1,250 

 feet broad, and the swimming bath or natato- 

 rium in those of Diocletian was 200 feet long 

 by 100 feet wide ; and it is calculated that in 

 this entire establishment 18,000 people could 

 bathe at one time. There were separate struc- 

 tures for the exclusive use of women, and in 

 some cases separate apartments in the same 

 building, but these were generally inferior to 

 those for the men. They were built entirely 

 of stone and polished marble, and all the 

 apartments were beautifully ornamented with 

 mosaic, and profusely adorned with painting, 

 stuccowork, and statuary. The public baths 

 of Pompeii were uncovered in 1824 and the 

 complete internal arrangement disclosed, which 

 is probably similar to, though on a smaller 

 scale than, those in Rome. The process of 

 bathing was this : After undressing in the 

 apodyterivm, or " room for undressing," the 

 bather was rubbed and anointed with some 

 of the fragrant oils and ointments used by the 

 ancients, and then proceeded to a spacious 

 apartment devoted to exercises of various 

 kinds, among which games at ball held a 

 prominent place. After exercise, he went into 

 the caldarium, either merely to sweat or to 

 take the hot bath ; and during this part of the 



