594 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
August 31 
HOW XT IS DISTRIBUTED. 
Part IV. 
It will be evident to any fair-minded 
person that the life principles adopted 
by the Shakers have resulted in physical 
and financial good. There were men and 
women long past four score and ten, 
erect and active, and in full possession 
of their faculties. It was an inspiring 
sight to see these elderly people retain¬ 
ing their vigor and smiling peacefully at 
the usual infirmities of age. Medicines 
and medical treatment are little needed 
here. The rules of living are very sim¬ 
ple. Plenty of pure, wholesome food, 
long hours of sleep, work and personal 
cleanliness, no stimulants, pure hearts 
and lives, and freedom from worry, care, 
jealousies or strife ! That is the secret 
of the health and contentment found in 
this Shaker village. 
There was something touching in the 
relations between the older women and 
their younger sisters. With what tender¬ 
ness they were cared for and visited ! 
There are few mothers who receive the 
loving care and attention from their 
daughters that these elderly women re¬ 
ceive at the hands of those who are 
bound to them only by this community 
tie. This loving family spirit was evi¬ 
dent everywhere in the village. It was 
evident to us that, at least so far as 
personal relations were concerned, this 
community family tie was stronger than 
that in the average private family. The 
Shaker reason for that is that selfishness 
and personal greed will, if not checked, 
prove stronger than ties of blood ! 
Dinner time came while we were dis¬ 
cussing such questions with one of the 
elders. We did not eat with the Shaker 
family, but were served in a room by 
ourselves. It was an excellent dinner of 
meat, vegetables, fruits of various kinds, 
plum pudding, bread and butter, milk 
and tea. The Shakers, as a rule, eat but 
little meat—some are vegetarians. No 
liquors are ever used. Years ago, some 
of the older members used tobacco, but 
now it is never seen. Framed on the 
wall of one of the rooms, was the follow¬ 
ing bit of verse. Happily we read it 
before going to the table, so we were 
able to accept this gentle hint: 
TABLE MONITOR. 
Gather up the fragments that remain, that 
nothing be lost. — Christ. 
Here, then, is the pattern which Jesus has set; 
And His good example we cannot forget : 
With thanks for His blessings, His word we’ll 
obey ; 
But on this occasion we’ve somewhat to say. 
We wish to speak plainly and use no deceit ; 
We like to see fragments left wholesome and neat. 
To customs and fashion we make no pretense ; 
Yet think we can tell what belongs to good sense. 
What we deem good order, we’re willing to state; 
Eat hearty and decent and clear out our plate : 
Be thankful to Heaven for what we receive, 
And not make a mixture or compound to leave. 
We find of those bounties which Heaven does give, 
That some live to eat, and some eat to live— 
That some think of nothing but pleasing the taste, 
And care very little how much they do waste. 
Though Heaven has blessed us with plenty of 
food : 
Bread, butter and honey, and all that is good ; 
We loathe to see mixtures where gentle folks dine, 
Which scarcely look fit for the poultry or swine. 
We often find left on the same china dish, 
Meat, apple sauce, pickle, brown bread and minc’d 
fish. 
Another’s replenished with butter and cheese, 
With pie, cake and toast, perhaps, added to these. 
Now if any virtue in this can be shown. 
By peasant, by lawyer or king on the throne, 
We freely will forfeit whatever we’ve said 
And call it a virtue to waste meat and bread. 
Let none be offended at what we here say ; 
We candidly ask you, Is that the best way ? 
If not, lay such customs and fashions aside, 
And take this monitor henceforth for your guide. 
After dinner, we were permitted to 
look over the living houses. Everything 
was much neater than wax in its original 
state, □ The windows, floors and wood¬ 
work were almost painfully clean every¬ 
where. There were clean towels even 
over the horse trough ! 
“ How do you manage to keep such a 
polish on everything ? ” we asked of one 
of the women. 
Her answer was a suggestive gesture 
with an imaginary scrubbing brush. 
The diningroom tables were covered 
with shining oil cloth. The castors hold¬ 
ing salt, pepper, etc., swing on strings 
or small chains atlached to the wall 
above. The men sat at one table, and 
the women at another. Formerly it was 
their habit to kneel together before the 
meal and again after it. We do not 
know whether this habit is still kept up. 
We understand that the meals are eaten 
in silence, no attempt being made to 
make them pleasant family gatherings 
as is done in private homes. The kitchen 
was a model for household convenience. 
The average farmer's wife has no con¬ 
ception of the ease and comfort with 
which these Shaker women perform 
their household labors. There is noth¬ 
ing here of the spirit which prompts the 
men folks to purchase comfortable and 
helpful machinery and leave the wife 
and daughter with a broken old stove, 
and a crazy pump. The women here are 
the equals of the men, and their right 
to enjoy the profits of the community is 
recognized by all. They, therefore, have 
the benefit of every industrial aid tha t is 
really helpful. We wish that we could 
give a photograph of that kitchen to 
show some of our farmers’ wives how 
they have been left behind in a division 
of the farm’s resources ! 
Before visiting the village, our im¬ 
pression was that the Shakers were close 
and narrow—keeping their young people 
away from the literature of the day. 
That is a mistake. Their library and 
readingrooms are well stocked with ex¬ 
cellent books and papers, and the people 
with whom I talked showed a surprising 
knowledge of the world’s affairs. A 
beautiful hall has been fitted up for 
week day meetings and social gather¬ 
ings. They consider it an excellent plan 
for the whole family to meet in the 
evening, and sing a hymn, or talk on 
some subject of interest. We saw several 
organs and pianos, and a collection of 
music ranging from “ Gospel Hymns” to 
popular airs of the day. The Shakers 
frequently take long journeys together, 
visiting places of public interest. 
One of the most interesting things 
connected with the visit was the freedom 
with which these Shakers discussed their 
life, its past and its prospects. We asked 
men and women alike, “ Are you happy 
here ? Would you not like to go away 
and have a home of your own ? ” The 
answers were always frank and kindly. 
One woman’s answer was typical : 
“ No, I do not care to leave this place. 
It is my home, and I am happy here. I 
have friends and relatives out in the 
world. They come to see me and go 
away. They have cares and troubles that 
I know nothing of. Compare the life of 
the average farmer’s wife with our peace¬ 
ful living, and tell us wherein they are 
better off ! ” 
The dress of the Shakers is plain and 
neat, but not so unique and striking as 
in former years. The men mostly wear 
broad-brimmed hats, and the women 
wear their sunbonnets. This clothing 
is all made at home. It occurred to me 
that their personal conduct was governed 
by moral rather than by spiritual rules. 
In one of their little books on “ Rules of 
Deportment.” we are told the story of a 
little boy who saw his father making a 
wooden trough. He said : 
“ What are you making that for, 
father ? ” 
“ For your grandfather. He is such an 
old man that he cannot eat as he should, 
so we will make him this trough to eat 
from ! ” 
The little boy thought a moment, and 
then said, “ Father, when you get to be 
as old as grandfather is, shall 1 have to 
make a trough for you ? ” 
In the same little book, is to be found 
the following : 
NEEDFUL COUNSEL. 
He thathearkeneth unto counsel is wise.—Prov. 
xii., 15 
Whoever would live long and happy, let him 
observe the following rules: 
Let your thoughts be rational, solid, godly. 
Let your conversation be little, useful, true. 
Let your conduct be profitable, virtuous, charit¬ 
able. 
Let your manners be sober, courteous, cheerful. 
Let your diet be temperate, wholesome, sober. 
Let your apparel be frugal, neat, comely. 
Let your sleep be moderate, quiet, seasonable. 
Let your prayers be short, devout, sincere. 
Let your recreations be lawful, brief, seldom. 
Let your reflections be of death and a future state. 
The Shakers pay their taxes promptly 
and cheerfully, but do not vote. When 
asked why, they explain that if they 
voted they would perhaps be called upon 
to fight. They oppose all wars and strife, 
and one great criticism they have for 
other churches is that they have, at 
times, actually helped and encouraged 
war and fighting. In the little book 
mentioned above, are certain “mathe¬ 
matical questions ” which satirize the 
Christians who believe that war is ever 
justifiable. Here are three of them : 
If a family of 10 persons have no right to wage 
war on another family, how many families must 
combine to acquire the right to make war ? 
If the laws of God require every Christian to 
love his neighbor as himself, to love even his 
enemies and not to render evil for evil, how many 
Christians must be associated in a war to super¬ 
sede the authority of the Divine precepts ? 
If the chief of a small band of private robbers 
or pirates, be deserving of a gallows 15 feet high 
for causing the death of five men, what should be 
the height of a gallows for the chief of a great 
nation who has caused the death of 200,030 men? 
But in spite of this pure and simple 
living, the Shakers are dwindling away. 
They have now but a fraction of their 
former numbers. They cannot hold the 
young men. The great industrial changes 
in the outside world have not only 
swept away their business, but also 
proved too strong for their home ties. 
The older men sadly admit this ; yet 
they are not discouraged, for they have 
great faith that the right, as they see it, 
must at last prevail, and that their sect 
will soon revive and become stronger 
than ever. 
“ What are you going to do if your 
losses in numbers continue ? ” we asked. 
“ We’ll hold the fort still !” was the 
prompt answer from one of the women. 
We must say here that in matters of 
business honor, and in dealing with their 
fellow men, no body of people stand 
higher than the Shakers. Not a breath 
of suspicion is heard against them 
Having described their social life, we 
may now take up the business and finan¬ 
cial aspects of this and other American 
communities. 
£Hi0tcUnwon# % d mtij&i n ti. 
CLEEPY, DULL, 
languid and morose, is 
the way you feel when 
your liver fails to do 
its work properly; in 
consequence you suf¬ 
fer from indigestion, 
biliousness, and dys¬ 
pepsia. You have a “don’t 
care” spirit and a “played 
out ” feeling, and everything 
1 tires you. 
To set the liver in action, 
purify and enrich the blood, 
and to strengthen and vitalize 
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Neuralgia is the “ cry of the starved nerves 
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“LIVER COMPLAINT.” 
Climax, Kalamazoo Co., Mich. 
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