152 



&I)jc JTarmcr's ittontljly bisitor. 



ing last spring, Mr. Taylor, who cultivates the 

 farm of the Hon. Daniel Webster at Franklin, 

 called on us, and we consented to spare him two 

 barrels of the seed of Western reds which we 

 bad reserved for ourselves. These were sent up 

 to him by railroad, and we did not even hear of 

 their reception or fate until meeting Mr. Taylor 

 at the Contoocookville cattle show in October. 

 Mr. Taylor said he had followed our precise di- 

 rections as to subsoiling and manuring and 

 planting the two barrels of potatoes on one acre 

 of land. The crop he had assorted and measur- 

 ed himself, and the measure was two hundred and 

 two bushels. Mr. Webster, on his last visit to 

 Franklin, saw this acre of potatoes growing. 

 The Western reds are as beautiful in the vine as 

 they are superior in the tuber; and he says to 

 our friend Taylor while viewing the field, " I am 

 inclined to think your crop may beat our Marsh- 

 field field this year." The crop well secured at 

 home is worth at least one hundred and fifty 

 dollars: this, from a single acre of land, will give 

 a clear profit of at least one hundred dollars, 

 leaving the land better than the planting found 

 it last spring. 



An apology to the worid far a persecuted sect. 

 The hand of Deity is evident in the order and 

 management of Nature — in that principle which 

 restores, not only in man and every animate 

 moving creature and thing, but in every thing 

 lying under or growing upon the face of the 

 .earth, whatever is worn out or destroyed. But 

 even more is the supremely divine Hand conspic- 

 uous to the close .thinker in the homage done to 

 Him by every thing in the natural world. The 

 lilies of the field, the beautiful flowers natural in 

 the forest and open ground as well as those 

 trained by the human aid of the skilful culturist, 

 the beasts and birds with more than human af- 

 fection providing for the young to supply their 

 ; p|afCe ; all speak the great Creator's praise. 

 Still ,more do men and women fijnaish evidence 

 cf $\o Divinity in the universal homage paid to 

 him "'by saint, by' savage and by sage 1 ' at differ- 

 ent and distant points at the g.'obe, where devo- 

 tion and adoration in some spit are always in- 

 stinctive. We speak with respect of all doctrines 

 'id Opinions, however erroneous : if we, claim 

 -doiii of * »::.„„ alld conscience for ourselves, 

 to condemn othe^-even 



*' 5 



„j,uiion 



"*- nTare S* the pale of the chris- 



those who are n M . anonie tans do not d,t- 



reV,g,0n ' e ac other than they do from 



.1. .,1,0, ■ shn 



trom 



ach other : shall 



taan v 



fer m ° re Christian* from e 



Christians and Uin tfce 



it be the part of any to cot 



The Author of Christianity has instructed his 



bllowers "Judge not, lest ye be judged." 



Of the many different Christian deuomina- 



ons the practice of mankind would teach that 



e Shakers are more than any other iu error: 



;ir doctrine leading to the extreme of denial, 



ried out in human life, must tend to human 



rmination. Nevertheless shall we deny to 



those rights of person which we grant 



to all about us? We compel no man or 



< to unite in the matrimonial connexion— 



tv 



* 



cat 

 e%«' 

 tbem 

 free!) 



man nature: it is the abuse of that nature, not 

 its due use, that works all mischief. Excess of 

 restraint, while man is in his present state, must 

 fail of its present purpose. Yet in this very ex- 

 cess of restraint the Shakers find a substitute 

 for animal indulgence in the zeal and devotion 

 amounting as near beatific enjoyment as if it was 

 real; and this is their substitute for indulgence 

 of the animal passions. They are a world by 

 themselves as to the exercise of all .the worldly 

 practices. In the course of the past season we 

 have made the Canterbury families two visits, 

 the first of which was on the Sabbath at the in- 

 vitation from M. Vattemare, the distinguished 

 Frenchman who is replenishing the libraries of 

 the country with the rare productions of Europe, 

 then on a visit to our Legislature. Before him 

 was repeated the Shaker Sabbath worship ; but 

 most on that day was he interested with what 

 we hud before seen — the practical religious ex- 

 ercises of some fifty children of both sexes un- 

 der the instruction of persons who' had their ed- 

 ucation on this ground in their own peculiar 

 faith. The .testimony of Monsieur Vattemare 

 might be added to our own, that here are brought 

 up females with all the delicate accomplishments 

 which fit them for the most polished society on 

 earth. Children were there under the instruc- 

 tion of females who in like manner had first been 

 taught by their elders — little children lisping in 

 infancy, not with the irregularities that may be 

 expected at the first opening of the human mind, 

 beginning with those graces of manners that the 

 Shaker women are known to carry through life. 

 Their instruction in all the exercises going to 

 impart knowledge — exercises which carried the 

 art of working along with all the rudiments 

 usual in such a course — was their amusement, 

 and not their task. Some twenty girls generally 

 less than twelve years of age, orphans and desti- 

 tute for the most part and brought from a dis- 

 tance, here live like nestling doves, not even 

 knowing what it is for one to do an offensive act 

 to another — not embarking in those contentions 

 and struggles, that euvy, malice or hatred which 

 give so large a share to the action of the out- 

 ward world. The female instructors having 

 charge of these youth of their own sex realized 

 a pleasure in the task which was a perfect sub- 

 stitute for all the animal indulgences of their sex 

 in the outside world. The denial of the com- 

 mon associations, sometimes innocent and some- 

 times sinful, of the busy outside, was made up to 

 them in the enthusiasm of love and devotion ex- 

 ercised within their ~- . . ,, 



. o«u cloistered walls to- 

 wards the helpless of their sex, and in the en- 

 joyment of that complacency which entire purity 

 of life in the service of Deity gives to one who 

 looks at the vices and follies of life as through a 

 loophole or crevice out of sight of the world. 

 In fact, what with useful employment in the 

 work of the hands and fingers in preparation, as 

 well of food as of all the comforts of dress, the 



George Washington, whom he regarded as sa- 

 cred and perfect so near as the world can ap- 

 proach perfection. So we perceived from some 

 of the Shaker sisters that their life and worship 

 led to direct communication from the Deity and 

 with the spirits of the just made perfect. It is 

 not to be wondered that much poetry should 

 come along with the harmony and devotion of 

 their lives. Not the least interesting part of the 

 exercisee of the children, both male and female, 

 was the account which each gave of his or her 

 own history, their place of nativity, their age, 

 their anticipations, their thanks for the treatment 

 and instruction they were receiving, their devo- 

 tion to God ; and this given in metre and rhyme, 

 some of it homely, but not more homely than 

 many rhymes which have been repeated in print 

 ever since the art of printing was discovered. 

 Samples of these little histories, both male and 

 female, have been furnished us by request by the 

 instructors of both sexes. These, which by 

 some miglrt be thought trivial, delighted tis, com- 

 ing in succession from the mouths of the chil- 

 dren repeating them. We have not room at 

 [/resent to give these juvenile exercises to our 

 readers. As a specimen of Shaker female poe- 

 try we present the following, which written upon 

 a scrap of paper, was placed over the door of 

 the room where the Sunday exercises of the 

 young females, under the instruction of two of 

 the sisters accomplished and well read, had de- 

 lighted the stranger visitors for about a full hour 

 of a Sabbath day in midsummer: 



" Honor the Sabbath Day, 



Respect my Sabbath, sailh the Lord ; 



With lightened step and softened word : 



Together dwell in godly fear, 



Inviting holy Angels near; 



Cease, cease the sound of empty mirttij 



Shut out the ills and cares of earth ; 



Unto my altar humbly come, 



And blessings shall your spirits crown. 

 Received of the Holy Saviour wliile {he Ckureh wire in 



ju-ayer in meeting, Sat. eve., Oct. 21, 1S48." 



The charm of life. — There are a thousand 

 things in this world to afflict and sadden, but 

 how many that are beautiful and good. The 

 world teems with beauty — with objects which 

 gladden the eye and warm the heart. 



We might be nappy if we would. There are 

 ills which we cannot escape, the approach of 

 disease, death or misfortune, the sundering of 

 earthly ties and canker worm of grief; but a 

 vast majority of the evils which beset us might 

 be avoided. The curse of intemperance, inter- 

 woven as it is will; a '|j the ligaments of society, 

 is one which never strikes but to destroy. There 

 is not one bright page upon the record of its 



„„ ie ss— nothing to shield from the heartiest 



finer and the coarser garments a 



nd ornaments of 



vvomai. ,jj our asS ociates for no restraint of the 



we p" nit opensities. Why shall we interfere 



human P v 1U nity which carries restraint to its 



w Uh a comn_ ^ amma l passions were implanted 



? b eneficent purpose. Our belief 



a " , reate d all animate as well as inan- 



|S , that Deity t. d ,h mg8 f or the highest and 



imate creatures an -^j Dga f man leading to 



beat intents. T» e ' essen tial points of hu- 

 vice ate engrafted on t W 



extrei? e 



for a wise ^^ , 



the loom and the needle, and with the time spent 

 In worship and devotion, alike made subservient 

 to the better enjoyments of life, the Shakers 

 seem to have led themselves into the belief and 

 practice of holding direct communication with 

 the spirits and persons of the departed. Deacon 

 Winkley, now in his grave, a man of whom we 

 can say, after an acquaintance of many years, 

 that few men of less superstition and more libe- 

 rality have fallen within our acquaintance, assur- 

 ed us a few years before his death that he had 

 an interview and consultation directly with 



execrations of the human race. It should not 

 exist— it most not. Do away with all this— let 

 wars come to an end and let friendship, chanty, 

 love purit?, and kindness mark the intercourse 

 between man and man. We are too selfish, as 

 if the world was made for us alone. How much 

 happier should we be were we 10 labor much more 

 earnestly to promote each other's good. God 

 has blessed us with a home which is not all 

 dark. There is sunshine every where— in the 

 sky upon the earth— there would be in most 

 hearts, if we would look around us. The storms 

 die away, and a bright sun shines out. Summer 

 drops her tinted curtain upon the earth, which is 

 very beautiful even when autumn breathes her 

 changing breath upon it. God reigns in heaven. 

 Murmur° not at being so bountiful, and we can 

 live happier than we do. 



A substitute for Tea.— Dr. Graham, an old 

 and experienced physician in London, says: I 

 may state on verv respectable authority, that the 

 first leaves of whortleberry, properly gathered 

 and dried in the shade, cannot he distinguished 

 from real China teas." 



