“ I WILL SHAKE ALL NATIONS, AND THE DESIRE on ALL NATIONS sIIALL COME ; AND I WILL FILL THIs HoUsE WITH GLORY, SAITH THE Loan.”

Published Monthly, by, and under the direction of the Mt. Lebanon Bishoprio.

VoL. I.

SHAKERS, ALBANY, N. Y., JANUARY, 1871.

No. 1.

Salutatory.

To the Public :-Knowing it to be duty,
to do all the good we can to our fellow
travelers on the journey of life, withhold-
ing the knowledge of no good thing——im-
pressed with the conviction, that there lies
within our power the possibility of doing
more good than heretofore; and being
urged continually, by friends of reform, to
communicate to the world of mind our
ideas of life and happiness as viewed from
the Shaker platform, are the reasons for
our taking the bold step of appearing be-
fore you, as solicitors of your attention to
the columns of THE SHAKER.

Claiming no distinction on the grounds
of erudition, but, bowing beneath the re-
buke of learned criticisms, we mean to tell
you from our humble position, where, in
our understanding, lies “the pearl of great
price,”——Christ, or the kingdom of heaven
on earth; thus explaining the peculiar
testimony and life of the people, called
Shakers. The policy of THE SHAKER
will be, to treat of a more excellent way
of life, than is the ordinary practice of the
multitudes. It will be devoted to the
cause of religious truths; devoid of specu-
lative theories of a theological nature. It
will aim to illustrate life, in accordance
with God’s pleasure; and in conformity
with the operation of that “quickening
spirit,” that resurrects souls above the
plane of earthly selfishness, where the
spirit of mine is cast out, and the Pente-
costal system of community of goods is in
full exercise. It will be the aim of THE
SHAKER to keep before the public mind
the necessary distinction between life on
the earthly plane, however proper, and the
heavenly, or angelic life, however humble.
It will not fail to contend that the celibacy
of the Angel plane, is a necessary com-
ponent of eternal life, and practiced with
propriety on the earth, by those who love
to think of its reality in the heavens;
while admitting the propriety of marriage
and procreation by those who have not
risen sufliciently in love with the Christ
life. It will advocate peace; deprecating,
and expressing disbelief in the necessity
of wars, whether of households or of nations
———Christians never did, never can fight.

THE SHAKER will ever meet corres-

pondents, in its various communications

upon “ Does Christianity admit of private
property?” with a negative answer, from
the most advanced reasons of a spiritual
life. Its freedom from the arena of politi-
cal parties will conserve the righteous idea
It
sketch, biographically, the founders
early communicants of the Society;
illustrate life, as it is enjoyed by
Society at present.

will
and
and
the
The poetical senti-

of those whose name it bears.

Inents of society will find an exponent in
THE SHAKER; while “Answers to Cor-
respondents” will receive due attention.
It will advocate temperance in all things;
and urge reformation and resurrection from
the earthly, sensual life, to a life “ eternal
in the heavens.” Friends of reform——
lovers of wisdom—-—servants of Grod—aid
us; bless our efforts to do good. Extend
the cause of Christ to the notice of your
neighbors; and let us all seek to walk
“the way,” learn “the truth” and live
“ the life ”—being imitators of the beauti-
ful Jesus —— Christ. . *

Who are the Shakers?

Historically and derivatively considered,
the Shakers have their rise from the French
prophets, a class of Divinely inspired dis-
senters from the Catholic and Protestant
church of the seventeenth and eighteenth
centuries, as the legitimate fruit of the
Reformation. They were religious revi-
valists of a very remarkable character,
called fanatics, and are to be prominently
numbered among the few witnesses of the
true Christ church during the gloomy
reign of Antichrist.

In future pages of our paper a more full
history of them may be properly given.
Their testimony, in substance, was “ The
end cf the world ” in all followers of
Christ; and they were the harbingcrs to
declare the near approach of the kirzgdom
of God; the establishment of new heavens
and a new earth; the hingdorn of the ]VIes-
siah ; the marriage of the Lamb ; the first
resurreclwn from the dead; the planting
of the New Jerusalem. About 1706, some
of these spiritual new lights and prophets
went from France to England. About
1747, a small number of these witnesses,

in the neighborhood of Manchester, Eng-
land, were led, by Divine, spirit influence,
to form themselves into a society for mu-
tual support, physically and spiritually,
under the ministration of James and Jane
\Vardly; and the first pioneers of the
Shaker Church were distinguished mem-
bers of this Society, among whom Ann
Lee became the acknowledged, divinely
inspired leader, and aispiritual mother,
and the Eldress of this infant Church.
The name of this Church, “SHAKERS,”
was given them in derision, by the world,
as descriptive of the religious exercises of
body by which the members of this Church
were affected during the seasons of their
devotion to God, as the fruit of that spirit-
ual baptism, under the influence of which
they were bearing a testimony of God’s
truth, which was shaking the foundations
of Antichrist’s kingdom. So that the
title, “SHAKEns_,” though given in de-
rision and persecution, was appropriate,
and as providentially applied as was the
title, “KING on THE JEws,” given to
Jesus by the persecuting Jews.

Ann Lee became the acknowledged
Eldress of the Shaker Church in the year
1770, while in England, so that it now has
survived a century. A more extended
history of the Shakers’ rise and progress
to the present day, may. perhaps, appro-
priately form the subject of future notices
in our periodical.

WHAT ARE THE SHAKERS?

As national citizens, they are observers
of the counsel of Paul, and recognize civil
magistrates as powers of God, for the
government of worldly citizens; hence,
Shakers are law—observing and law-abiding.

As politicians they are nondescripts,
and, in fact, not to be found; they are,
truly, non-essentials!

As socialists, or, relative to society ar-
rangements, they are Christian Commun-
ists; the property of a Community is com-
mon to all, and each, of the members
forming that Community, but not common
to all the communities belonging to the
household of faith
county, State, or country, except in a moral,
charitable and religious sense, in which
sense all property dedicated to the Com-

in the same town,

2

THE SHAICER.

munity is consecrated to one general end
and purpose-——2'. e., the support of the
Gospel, and to religious and charitable
purposes; and, in this sense, is common to
all the members of the household of faith,
so that for these sacred purposes all the
communities are taxed according to their
several abilities. In reference to national,
political economy, as applicable to the dis-
posal of public lands, they are agrarian
in principle; at least largely so.
Religiously considered, the Shakers are
Revolutionists, Reformers, Comeouters,
Revivalists, Newlights, Second Adventists,
and Spiritualists, in meaning. strictly con-
formable to the instructions of Jesus
Christ. They are Ascetics, but only in a
limited sense; they are Christian Celi-
bates, but not of the monastic order and
character, as the sexes dwell and associate
together; they are not Sectarians, but
simply Christians ; they are lovers, and
free, but not “free lovers ” in the sense of
that term as applied to a class of misled,
modern Spiritualists; they are not lovers
as carnal men and women, but only as
disciples of Jesus and John; they arefree,
but not to lust or love as carnal men and
women, but free from the bondage of sin
and aiworldly life, and from the shackles of
theology and priesteraft; they are Spirit-
ualists par excellence, but only in a Chris-
tian light, that, to be carnally minded is
death, but to be spiritually minded is life and
peace ;———believe in continuous revelations
from God to man, mediatorily; they are
Bible believers after the following manner :
1st. That it is the most important com-
pilation of books known to man.
2d. That it contains (not the word of
God), but a record of the WORD OF GOD
in the Law of Moses, and in the testimony
of Jesus and the primitive Christians.
The VVORD OF GOD is a living power. In
the words of the apostle, “Sharp, power-
ful, piercing, to the dividing asunder of
soul and spirit, the joint and the marrow,
and is a discerner of the thoughts and in-
tents of heart.” The Bible record is not
this power ! V
The Shakers accept Jesus after he was
baptized with the Christ, as the first born
son of God, the elder brother of a large
family of sons and daughters of God, con-
stituting the Christian Church of the New
and Spiritual Creation of God ; they do not
believe ‘Jesus was a God, but is our guide
and life exempler; believe him to be the
Sauz'om' of men par excellence; but only
the Elder of a large class of “ Saviours ”

that “shall come up on Mount Zion” to-

“judge the Mount of Esau, and the king-
dom shall be the Lord’s.” Obadiah, 21st.
Thisikingdom is Christ’s Church of the
‘latter day, the New Creation of God.

Shakerism.

)Vhat is the meaning of the term?
VVe shake a carpet, as we do grain to
remove something from it that is not an
integral portion ' of the fabric. Parents
and school teachers sometimes shake a
child for a similar purpose, to separate a
fault from its character. This nation has
recently been shaken from center to cir-
cumference, in the effort to divest the
Constitution of an evil that was ramifying
itself into the Constitution and institutions
ofall the States and territories in the Union.

Thus it was said to a city, “ Shake thy-
self from the dust, O Jerusalem ;” (Is. 52:
2.) “All men of the earth shall shake
at my presence;” (Ezek. 38: 20.) “I
will shake all nations, and the desire of all
nations shall come; ”  2 : 7.)

One said, “ The foundations of the
earth do shake; (ib. 2: 21.) “Yet once
more, and I will shake not only the earth,
but the heavens also.” “The stars shall
fall from heaven, and the powers of the
heavens shall be shaken.” “Then shall
appear the sign of the Son of Man in
heaven; and then shall the kingdoms of
the earth MOURN. And they shall see the
Son of Man coming in the clouds of
heaven. with power and great glory.”
“ And he shall send his angels with a great
sound of a trumpet (preaching), and they
shall gather together his ELECT from the
four winds of heaven.”
the carcass shall be. thither will the eagles
be gathered together,” from among the
Gentiles into Community Order, as in the
first appearing of the Christ Spirit to the
Jews.
yet only as a kind of first-fruits ; because
it could not have been permanent, for two
reasons :

First. The race was not yet prepared to
continue to furnish enough of the Elect
who should be celibates, non-resistants,

“ For wheresoever

Then was a Community formed,

spiritualists, who would cease to swear, or
vote, or speculate. V _

Second. The Civil Governments had not
yet become “the kingdoms of our Lord,
and of his Christ;” and they would not
permit the practice of Christ principles-—-
Christian Communities.

The Pentecostal Church——Com1nunity——
came under the action of these two forces.
By the third century they had fallen into
marriage, private property, and war; and
then refused to allow others to practise
what they had fallen from. The Gentile
State determined what the Jewish Christ-
ian Church should be on earth ; thus
“treading down the holy city.”

In the spirit land, this—the Pentecostal
Church was continued, and “ increased
with the increase of God,” up to the time
I of the second appearing of Christ; and is

‘the Bridegroom Church. It received its
inspiration from the heavens still above,
from the Christ Spirit, which is as the
right hand of Deity to all free moral
agents; and was as the Sun to spiritually
enlighten the earth. But it shone upon a
dark, benighted race, sunken in sensuality
—Christian Pagans, or Pagan Christians.

Let it be borne in mind, that near two
thousand years have intervened between
the time of the First Christian Church
and the day in which we live. Think of
that! and consider the condition of this
earth’s civil governments then and now.

Rome was the ruling power over the
Gentile world; and even Judea was one
of the conquered nations. The Pentecostal
Church was masculirze in its organization
and rulers; resting upon the Eastern
world——the male of the earth. VVhat then,
had the race to wait for, in a second‘Com-
ing of the Christ Spirits? Why, for the
female of the earth———the Gentile VVestern
world—to come up to the “ Pattern
showed in the Mount.”

The First Christian Church, composed
of the descendants of Abraham, with their
permanent and ever-perfecting organiza-
tion, that had been “ caught up to God,”
in the spirit world, out of the reach of the
“ dragon ” Pagan power, from whence it
inspired the “w2't7zesses—stars”—— who,
having shone upon the dark earth for a
season, themselves “fell to the earth,”
by “marrying and giving in marriage.”

Approaching the time of the Second
Appearing of the Christ Spirits, the
“sign ” is seen of the Son of Man——Co-
operative, Associative, Communistic efforts
—in the most advanced nations, as Eng-
land, America, France and Germany,

The foundations of the earth are being
discovered, and found to be much out of
course——Wrong. Reproduction, Property,
VVars, Theologies, Civil Governments, Or-
ganizations, and Institutions, are wanting
perfection. Yet, in all the Churches,
which the Spirit has raised up, throughout
these two thousand years, the religious
element has had a place and influence,
from the Roman Catholic to the Oneida
People; good has been done, and is pro-
gressing the race.

But then, all of these are still doing
what the Pentecostal Church did not do,
and what the Christ Spirit (coming not in
atmospheric clouds, but “in the clouds of
heaven”——Shaker Communities)—- saves
the Shakers from doing——“ marrying and
giving in marriage.” Thus laying the
foundationsof new heavens and earth
upon the “Rock” of sexual purity; a
new and spiritual relation of‘ the sexes,
free from all the “trouble in the flesh,”
which comes of mixing the flesh and Spirit
as in Gentile Christianity.

TIIIE 

Do not all the “ tribes of the earth
mourn because of him ?”—because of the
testimony that thus “ bruises the head” of
the sensual propensities—the lusts of the
flesh, taking the very life itself of the gen-
erative man and woman by celibacy and
virgin purity.

Let it once become an established,
Christian doctrine, that the highest Christ
lifewis a celibate, virgin life, with its corol-
laries, and will there not be
mourning in J erusalem”——“ the temple of
God”-i—-the Gentile Christian Church, in
which the “ man of sin” sits enthroned?

CE_LIBAoY.——Its history is of great im-
portance in the religion of all cultivated
It existed in the Therapeutes of

“ great

nations.
Egypt. the Essenes among the Jews (out
of which came the founder of Christianity),
and among the asceties of all othernations,
and finally culminated in Christianity, as
the corner stone of a new system. ~

Jesus, the Celibate Founder of this new
system, was born of a virgz'n mother, thus
connecting the two orders of natural repro-
duction and spiritual reproduction togeth-
er; He was witnessed unto by John, the
celibate Jewish Baptiser; and was sup-
ported by twelve men who had either
been married, or had, “ for
Christ’s sake and his Gospel,” forsak-
en all family relation; thus altogether
founding a Church that has hitherto been,
and still is, the ideal of heaven upon earth
—the Pentecostal. This Celibate Jewish
Church, after an existence of some 300
years, relapsed into the Jifonastery and
.l\.7mmery of the Constantine Gentile
Church, which has ever accepted the celi-
bate principle as the one essential of a
pure, Christian life. »The celibacy of its
higher class of saints, and of the priest-
hood, no less than of its monastic orders,
puts that beyond the region of debate. Of
the clean animals that entered the ark, by
sevens, Jerome says, the odd number de-
notes the celibated which will do to go
with some of the proofs and confirmations of
there being three individualities in Deity.

Respecting the progress of the Monastic
movement, Leckey reports, that, “in the
fourth century, it was no less rapid than
that of Christianity itself. Egypt appears
to have been the home of the celibates,
being of all other nations the most ad-
vanced in civilization. Thus we read of
there being seven thousand monks under
St. Pacliomus; five thousand under a sin-
gle Abbott, in the desert of Nitria. That
a certain city included twenty thousand
virgins, and ten thousand monks. And
that towards the end of the century, the
Monastic population, in that country,
nearly equaled the population of the
cities.” St. Jerome states, “that fifty

DCVCY

thousand monks were sometimes assembled
at the Eastern festivities in Alexandria at
one time.”

Even in pagan Rome, “the Flamens of
Jupiter, and the Vestal Virgins, were the
two most sacred orders.” (Ibid.)

“And the land (Christendom) shall
mourn, every family apart, and their wives
apart,” or as a more correct translation,
“ every husband apart, and every wife
apart :” for the wife is a part of the family.
The husbands of the house of David (the
rulers) apart, and their wives apart. The
husbands of the house of Nathan apart, and
their wives apart. The husbands of the
house of Levi (the priesthood) apart, and
their wives apart.”

Their gods and their priests being gone,
What have they left ? This is what remains
to them: “In that day there shall be a
fountain opened to the house of David (the
rulers) and to the inhabitants of Jerusa-
lem,” (priesthood and all; for it is like
priest, like people) “for sin, and for un-
cleanliness.”

“ It shall come to pass that, in all the
land,_saith the Lord, two parts shall be cut
off and die; but the third part shall be left
therein. And I will bring the third part
through the fire, and will refine them as
silver is refined; and Will try them as gold
is tried. They shall call on my name and
I will hear them. I will say it is my peo-
ple; and they will say the Lord is my
God.”———(Zeeh. xiii.)

These are the Elect, whose number shall
eventually be proportioned to the exigen-
cies of the case, always regulating popula-
tion in the natural order, who will be as
seed to reproduce and continue the race,
when all forms of evil shall find no place
in the Millenium of human life upon the
earth; any more than it does upon thou-
sands of other globes which we may be sci-
entifically permittted to hope and believe
have never departed from the condition of
“very good,” in which they first left the
hand of Omnipotent Holiness.

“ The angels who gather the Elect from
the four quarters of the earth,” are from
the Resurrection or Seventh Heaven, nigh
unto Deity, surrounding the throne of the
Eternal Parentage. These, in their ag-
gregated capacity, are the Christ of God
to the illimitable Universe of heavens and
earths that fill immensity. For as marbles
to the school-boy, so are globes in the hands
of the ultimate “ Almighty.”

“All souls,” upon whatever planet they
may reside, “ are mine,” saith Deity.

F. W. E.

“ Mad as Christians user] to be,
About the thirteenth century,
There’s lots of Christians to be had,
In this, the nineteenth, just as bad.”

BIOGRAPHICAL.

Ann Lee.

Ann Lee was the daughter of John Lee, of
Manchester, Eng. She was born Feb. 29,
1736. Her father was a blacksmith; and
though poor, was known to be respectable in
character, moral in principle, honest and
punctual in his dealings, and in his business,
very _industrious. Her mother was noted for
her piety. As was common with the children
of the poor in manufacturing towns, Ann was
early taught to work, but never attended any
school ; she thus acquired a habit of industry,
but was entirely ignorant of letters. From
being an employee in a cotton factory, she be-
came a cutter of hatter’s fur; and was a
faithful, prudent cook in the Manchester In-
firmary for some time. There was discovered
in her childhood, a bright, sagacious mind,
bordering on precocity ; with a. seriousness
that never permitted her to engage in the
plays of her juvenile companions ; while they
played, she retired, and held converse with
the inhabitants of the angel-land. As she.
arrived at maturing womanhood-—at that age
which commonly engulfs all thoughts of spir-
ituality, and calls for action in the sphere of
the marital and sensual—Ann was impressed
with the odiousness of sin, and the depravity
of humanity, in its longings to transcend the
laws of nature, given for the multiplication of
the race; and so abhorrent did these snares
of sin appear to her soul, that she resolved
never to marry. But nature in her, prone to
the earthly, demanded indulgence; and, con-
trary to the teachings of her earlier visions,
she yielded, through the importunities of
others, and was married to a. blacksmith,
na.med Stanley. ' By him, she was the mother.
of four children, all of which died early. Ann
and her husband lived at her father’s house ;
and so far as adaptability of dispositions to
each other’s happiness, this was in their pos-
session, excepting those seasons when the
convictions of her youth would come upon her
with such crushing force as to bring her under
the deepest tribulation of soul. In this age
of advanced soul-light, and spiritual intelli-
gence, we know that many are familiar with
this experience. And when Ann sought re-
lief from the bondage to sin she felt her soul
was in, giving herself no rest day nor night,
but prayed and cried in agony to God for
deliverance, her husband sympathized with
her, and partook strongly of her convictions.
Husbands, take notice. While under this
great distress of mind, she became acquainted
with the Society of people under the direc-
tion of James and Jane \Vardley 3 and as she
found them in possession of a greater degree
of divine light, with a scathing testimony
against those sins she herself had been so
strongly convicted of, she eagerly embraced
their manner of life, in the twenty—third year
of her age.

These people were spirituatly directed to an
oral confession of every sin they had com-
mitted; and being enlightened, more than
ordinarily, as to what sin was, they took up
a full cross against everything they knew to
be evil ; hence, they really experienced an en-

4

THE SHAKER.

during power over sin, unknown to those con-
verts, who feel mentally relieved from the
fear of the punishment of sin, but whose
hearts are uncleansed and full of sinful desires
—being yet under the dominion of nature de-
praved. Ann was one of a class of individu-
als, which can never be persuaded that their
salvation and redemption is to be obtained
for them, through the vicarious sufferings of
another, good or bad. As an example of her
exertions to free herself from sin, witness her
testimony: “Soon afterl began to travail

in the way of God, I labored many nights in.

the works of God. Sometimes I labored all
night, continually crying to God for my own
redemption; other times I went to bed, and
slept; but in the morning, I could not feel
that sense of the Work of God which I did
before I slept. This brought me into great
tribulation; and I cried to God, and prom-
ised him, that if he would give me the same
mind that I had before I slept, I would labor
all night. This I did many nights; and in
the day time I put my hands to work, giving
my heart to God ; and when I felt weary and
in need of rest, I labored for the refreshing
power of God, which did relieve me, so that
I felt able to go to my work again.

“ l\Iany times when about my work, I felt
my soul overwhelmed with sorrow ; then I
used to work as long as I could keep it con-
cealed, then run to get out of sight, lest some
one should pity me with that pity which God
did not. In my tribulation, my sufferings
were so great, that my flesh consumed upon
my bones, and a bloody sweat pressed through
the pores of my skin, while I became as help-
And when I was brought
through, and born into the spiritual kingdom,
I was just like an infant born into the world.
It sees colors and objects, but it Ien.ow.s- not
what it sees. So it was with me, when I was
born into the spiritual world; but before I
was twenty-four hours old, I saw, and knew
what I saw I” ”“

(To be continued.)

less as an infant.

Items.

“ The ransomed of the Lord shall return
and come to Zion with songs, and everlasting
joy upon their heads.’ ’~Isaiah.

Heaven and hell are states or conditions of
the soul of man ; they are not objective to man,
but positive, being in him.

“ So speak to God as if men heard you.”

“ Defile not the mouth with impure words.”

“ The immortal gods accept the meanest
altars that are reared by pure devotion; and
sometimes prefer an ounce of frankincense,
honey, or milk, before whole hecatombs of Sa-
boean gems, offered in ostentation.”

“ Let every young man plant trees, that he
may have something to give him pleasing re-
collections of his youth.”

To disarm an enemy, sweeten his mouth
with honey and his recollections with kindness.

The fire of forgiving love will melt the heart
frigid with anger.

“ Spare moments are the gold dust of time.”

“ Sands make the mountain, moments make
the year; improve time.”

iRe-organization without Disinte-

gration-
CHURC H —— STATE.

What God hath put asunder, let not man join together
again.

There is in the country a Sectarian
movement of some extent, to put into t'“e
United States constitution the theological
terms, God and Christ.

The Shakers are the only body of relig-
ious people who at this present time could
not exist within, and find protection under
They

alone can make their community homes

the laws, of every civilized nation.

only in and under the protection of a non-
sectarian republic, a. separate church and
state government.

The Shakers pray for these unhappy
agitators: O, heavenly Father and Mother
—G0d, “forgive them, for they know not
what they do.” And to our fellow Amer-
ican citizens, without exception, we do
most solemnly appeal to prevent the con-
summation of this misconceived, mischiev-
ous project. Let well enough alone.

IVho, more than the Shakers, believe in
the whole of the God-head——a Duality?
Yet, above all other, we would raise our
voices in thunder-tones; to be heard by the
souls of the revolutionary fathers, who are
marching on before us in the spirit-land,
against this worse than Trojan horse being
introduced into our civil government.

All God-believers and Christ-proclaim-
ers may well pause in serious contempla-
tion of the wonderful fact in our national
history, that while Pagans, Jews, Catho-
lics, Protestants, Deists, Pantheists, Free-
thinkers, Atheists, Materialists, all united
in achieving our national independence, it
is to the skeptical classes that we are
largely indebted for the religious and civil
liberty which we enjoy.

Jefierson, the inditer of the Declaration,
that all men are equal by nature, irrespec-
tive of color or creed; no one having the
right to coerce another in matters of men-
tal speculation or theological belief, was
but a fair type of the whole class of repub-
lican organizers, having Franklin and Tho-
mas Paine, the Deists, as his bosom friends.

If a kind Providence thought fit, in its
wisdom, to employ these skeptical powers
-—H0rns, which had grown out of the beast,
Christendom——-to found a civil government
on the basis of universal freedom, having
an entire separation from its parallel relig-
ious organization, the Shaker Church,
that ignores wars as the basis of religious
persecution, would it not be the most pre-
sumptuous impiety in theological and reli-
gious people again to join together by an
organic change of the national compact,
things which God had thus significantly
put asunder? F. IV. E.

“He who can suppress a moment’s anger

may prevent many days of sorrow.”

JUVENILE DEPARTMENT.

A Dialogue.

Written for, and rehearsed at an Annual Social
Gathering, in Canaan Pine Grove, N. Y.,
by Ann, Martha, Mary J., Charlotte, Me-
lissa, Margaret, Sarah and Catharine.

A.—Beloved Gospel Companions:

You will not be surprised if I tell you, that

I expect to take solid comfort to-day ; an in-

crease of pleasure and satisfaction has attended

each social feast in this pleasant grove, where
our enjoyment is enhanced by an interchange
of thought and feeling, and where we always
meet loving friends; noble souls of the prom-
ised land; I can but exclaim with joy and
gladness, it is good to be here! and I believe
that many of my young companions can
reciprocate the feeling.
Mary.-—I can most heartily, for,
On wings of the morning all joyous and strong,
Pure love and sweet union come bounding along‘,
Ready and willing to aid us at least.
By seeking a part in our true social feast.
Mar.———(Comes forward with a joyful clap-
ping of hands.)
0 gladly we welcome companions like these!
'.[_‘hat bring us the freshness of days early breeze-

That bring us a. calmness, cause joy to abound,
And cover with blessings this clear hallowed ground
M.—-

Lift ! lift now the curtain that veils from our sight
The glories immortal in realms ofpure light 2

0 what is the vision our spirits behold?

Its wonders, its beauties, can never be told;

They are in the future for all who will prize

Pure love and sweet union in every guise.

S.——

Away with all sadness and lay aside care,

Rejoice in the present, of every good share-— [g,ive,
Be filled with that peace which the world cannot
And noble enjoyment in which we may live ;

For Itight, and not illight, is the law of our band,
In each blessed gift we unite heart and hand.

C.—Cheered by the happy sentiments you
have expressed, I would ask a share in your
circle of union, hoping to engage with you in
an interesting and profitable conversation.

A.-——You are welcome! we would not ex-
clude from our midst any of our companions
who feel interested in adding to our gift of
union.

M artha.—As your invitation is universal,
with pleasure I accept; I have not ascertained
the topic of conversation which is to engage
our attention ; but will tell you what I thought
this morning as the sunlight burst in full
splendor over the eastern horizon, flooding the
earth with its glory, and bathing the landscape
in its liquid beauty; my spirit was enraptured
with the sight; a thousand visions passed be-
fore my mind, visions of real things too; God’s
glorious works in their infinitude and perfec-
tion, presented a theme for reflection and con-
versation.

Mar.—Thoughts similar to these passed
through my mind; the earth never appeared
more beautiful, the surrounding scenery seem-
ed wrapt in lovliness, a picture worthy of the
poet’s penpor the artist’s pencil. I am glad
that you have introduced this subject, and I
know we will be pleased with your company.

S.—I wish Charlotte was here; I think that
she would be interested in (the subject of)
i\Iartha’s proposition.

THE SHAKER.

5

Char.—I was only waiting for an invitation.

M.—VVhy ! Ann gave a general one.

Char.——I wanted a special one; but as you
seem somewhat animated and joyous, I readily
unite with you in dilating upon the beauties
of Creation—vast Creation, which speaks with
voice unchangeable of the goodness and
Omniscience of the Almighty; just think of
the formation of our beautiful earth !

l)I.———ln speaking of the formation of the
earth, I feel somewhat interested, as I have
commenced reading the Bible, intending to
finish it by course; I should like to obtain as
correct an understanding of it as possible.
lVe are informed that the heavens and the
earth, and all that is contained therein, were
created in six days. Martha, do you not think,
that days were used figuratively, as expressive
of periods of time P

Martha.—I believe it is the conclusion of
scientific men that each day was a distinct and
separate epoch, and the wonderful geological
discoveries that have been made, prove that
the earth is much older than we have record
of; this assertion they substantiate from the
formation of the strata of rocks, and the sub-
stances found imbedded in them; many other
remarkable revelations have been and are
being made in connection with the science of
Geology.

Mary.—-—'.l‘hey tell us too, that great changes
have taken place since the organization of the
world; where rivers once flowed, vegetation
now teems; and where were the verdant val-
lies, now the voice of waters speak. Cities
have disappeared beneath the volcano’s molten
lava, or have been destroyed by the earth-
quake’s mighty shock.

S.-——Of volcanic eruptions and the earth-
quake’s fearful shock, we need but read the"
last pages of history to find thereon portrayed,
the horrors of their devasting work.

C.—“ Change is marked on all things seen;
we sometimes think and speak of nations, em-
pires and institutions as enduring, and so they
seem as we view them for a moment; but they
rise and fall as the tidal waves of the Ocean,
by medium of an invisible, immutable power
which survives through all their changes.”

A.—How beautiful is earth ! from its ele-
ments of growth are transformed thousands
of charming objects which delight our eyes.
W'itness the vegetable kingdom :' in the course
of one year trees increase their foliage, and
buds, leaves, fruits, flowers and their seeds are
renewed, yielding bountiful favors to man.

Char.—One would think, that after so many
ages of replenishment, its treasures would be-
come exhausted; but they are constantly re-
newed from the unseen realm of nature, where
powerful agencies are unceasingly, yet silently
at work producing the wonderful operations
wrought in the material Universe.

M ar.——W'onderful indeed are the productions
of nature 1 Trees, plants, flowers and grasses
(the most beautiful of which are the cereals),
all teem with delightful existence, drawing
sustenance from Mother Earth, who is faithful
in the renewal of strength and life.

S.—-—W'hen speaking of the grasses, Margaret
mentioned the cereals; I should like to know
the meaning of the word cereal.

Char.——Have you never read of the ancient

Gods and Goddesses who were supposed to
preside over the destinies of men?

S.——I learned something of the heathen
deities in connection with Astronomy, such
as Jupiter being the God of Heaven, Mars the
God of war, and Neptune the God of the seas.
Of the female deities there was Flora the God-
dess of flowers; Vesta the Goddess of fire,
Astrea the Goddess of justice; and many
more; all the planets were named after their
imaginary divinities——but I believe, that I
never heard of Cereal.

C.—It was Ceres——she was the Goddess of
grain and harvest; and is represented carrying
a sickle and sheaf; through her blessing, fields
of golden grain were perfected and harvested
into their garners as proper food for man;
hence came the word Cereal.

Mary.—VVas Astronomy known to the
ancients P

A.—Certainly, and was taught in Egypt,
India, Chaldea and Greece long before the
Christian era. The first astronomers were
shepherds and herdsmen; they were led to
the study, by observing the movements of the
heavenly bodies, while watching their flocks in
the fields. They, however, entertained the
erroneous idea that the earth was flat, and
that the sun, moon and stars actually revolved
round it, as they appear to do every twenty-
four hours. _

Martha.-—It was not until the beginning of
the sixteenth century, that the true system or
theory of Astronomy ,was promulgated by
Copernicus, a Prussian Astronomer. This
was about eighteen years after the discovery
of America by Columbus.

Char.—-The greatest antiquity boasted of in
science is agriculture. History records, that
for ages it was the only art practised by man-
kind. The Chinese, Chaldeans and Phoeneci-
ans, held in their highest estimation the art of
husbandry. By this science we obtain all that
is necessary for food and nourishment. An
ancient writer remarked that agriculture was
the mother of all the sciences; for while she
flourished the others fared prosperously.
Cicero, the great philosopher, spoke of the
pleasure be derived from cultivating the land
even in his old age. It was not the product
alone that delighted him, but the virtue and
nature of the soil itself, which, when in its
softened and subdued bosom, it receives the
scattered seed; it first confines what is hid-
den within; then, when warmed by the sun-
light and its own compression, it spreads, and
elicits from the verdant blade that, which,
sustained by the fibres of the roots, grows up
and develops the fruits of the ear.

S.-—What can be more beautiful than a field
of wheat ready for the harvest? See how
each slender stem gracefully bears the well
filled head! And as you glance across the
field, it looks like a summer sea when the
breezes are at play, causing the shadowy
waves to pass over it. Surely with promises
replete for the future is the beautiful field of
wheat.

Mar.—To observe the progress of life,
whether in the animal or vegetable kingdom,
is highly interesting to an investigating mind.
But here man, with all his science and skill,

can achieve nothing; he may plant and water,
but God alone givcth the increase.

M.—It is said that industry is the guardian
of innocence, and what requires more of the
spirit of industry than the tillage of the land ?
Or, what labor is in itself more innocent P It
is the first of which we have any account.
Adam was placed in the garden of Eden to
dress and keep it. The Israelites were com-
manded not to delay to offer of their first ripe
fruits unto the Lord. Three times in a year
they were to keep a feast; first, the feast of
unleavened bread; second, the feast of the har-
vest, the first fruits of‘ their labors which they
had sown in the field; third, the feast of in-
gathering, at the end of the year. Thus down
through all the succeeding ages in the history
of our race, we find (as Charlotte remarked)
that agriculture was pre—eminent as the founda-
tion of man’s physical wants.

C.——The farmer, of all laborers, is the most
independent; on the product of his toils man-
kind depend for subsistence; ’t is his to plow,
to sow, to cultivate, and reap the fruits of
earth; which alone are the proper building
material for the house we live in. For God
said: “Behold, I have given you every herb
bearing seed which is upon the face of the
earth, to you it shall be for meat,” even so to
the lower animal creation.

Mary—If we could only look back through
the dim vista of a century, and behold the
changes wrought (by diligence and exertion)
on consecrated ground, among these lovely
hills, we would be somewhat surprised. Over
land once stony and uncultivated, the mow-
ing machine now passes smoothly, and the
plow upturns the sod of many a field, whose
soil in its natural state would yield but scanty
vegetable life.

A.—’T is true, our home, now pleasant and
comfortable, was once almost in a wilderness
state. But how has industry prospered !
and now (’neath the sunshine of God’s bless-
ing) it teems with vegetable life and beauty, a
peaceful and happy abode.

Martha-—‘-All honor to the farmer! he needs
no sculptured work of art to perpetuate his
name; the verdant fields bespeak his praise;
and the murmuring streams, which course
their way through smiling meadows, shall
sing sweet requiems to his memory long after
he has ceased to sow ond reap. And those
extended lines of walls (so nicely laid), will
they not stand as monuments to commemorate
his life of industry?

Char.——C-ertainly they will.

(To be continued.)

Dr. Franklin, in summing up the evils of
drunkenness, says: “Houses without win-
dows, gardens without fences, fields without
tillage, barns without roofs, children without
clothing, principles, morals or manners.”

I CAN’T.——‘‘ Shame on you, the expression
is bad enough on the tongue of infancy. To
that of manhood or womanhood it is a disgrace.
How do you know you ‘can’t’? Have you
tried? W'ell, if you have, try once more. The
task before you may be very difficult. “That if
it is? It is then often the more worthy of per-
formance. Courage, then, young man, or young
woman, whoever you be ! Resolve to know no
such word as ‘ can’t.’ ”—— College Review.

5

THE SHAKER.

MISCELLANEOUS.

Visit to the Shaker Settlement.

“ Last, but not least, comes up the remem-
brance of my visit to the Shaker Settlement.
That is a leaf in memory to which I shall often
turn. I have it all before me now. Its broad
acres of rich land; the trees laden with ripe
golden fruit,-—eve1-ything growing in rich pro-
fusion that heart could wish for; the substan-
tial pleasant built houses; the cheerful ways
of the Well-ordered families ; the great broad-
backed, soft-eyed cows, themselves partaking
of the quiet, gentle ways of their keepers,-—the
rich, pure milk drawn from their udders by
the pretty young Shakeresses; the young
brother who passed on before us, showing us
his stock (and with an air of pride pointingout
his best) with his broad-hrimmed hat, fat, rosy
cheeks, and bright black eyes,—all these things
make a bright picture that will never fade.

“ As I passed from one to‘ another and saw
the calm, happy look on each, I could not but
Wonder of their inner lives,—-what of their
hopes and fears, &c., &c. * * * *

“ As these things crowd my mind, the tall,
slender figure of ‘Sister Sarah comes 11p be-
fore me. Her kiiid, motherly ways gave me
the confidence to ask what I would. She told
how, at seven years of age, her- mother had
brought her from the far-off hills of Vermont,
and laid her an offering upon God’s altar, con-
secrating her to His service. Fifty years have
passed since then, and her testimony now is,
‘ I am happy.’ VVhat a lesson for the world-
ling ! I scanned that placid face; no mark of
discontent was there ; no hard—drawn lines
had settled round any of the features, but a
peaceful, happy expression, telling of the beau-
ty of her life. As I looked at her I wondered
if, when fifty-three years of my life had passed,
I should be able to bear the same testimony.
And then I said to her: ‘Have you never in
all these long years longed for the pleasures of
the world ?’ VVith an eye beaming with truth
fulness and a voice full of sweetness, she said:
‘Nay, sister, never.’ With this testimony I
was led to believe what I had never thought
before, that the Shakers are a happy people.
All that I saw led me to think it. It is surely
no convent life with its rigid laws and penances;
no dark vaults or gloomy cells ; no high walls
or grated windows. Strong, willing hearts are
there, bearing a firm but gentle rule. A ready
obedience from all, gives birth to the good order
and happiness that are so plainly visible. As
I passed through the cool, pleasant rooms,
seeing the happy faces and hearing the cheerful
voices of old and young, and seeing the well-
filled larders, I thought, ‘ 0, what a home for

the hungry, what a rest for the weary!’ I

know it is very unromantic to talk of being
hungry; but as I am of the earth, earthy, I
confess I was able to do justice to the sweet
Graham bread and golden butter, the fresh
milk, cakes, pies and fruit that were set before
us. And then there was such a delicate polite-
ness in the offering of this lunch, almost making
us feel that it was by accident, while we knew it
was placed there especially for us. After feast-
ing on these good things, we were led back
to the reception room by gentle Sister Sarah.
I could not but express my thankfulness for

the kindness she had manifested and the plea-
sure I had realized, and looking into her clear,
calm eyes, I longed .or a place in her love and
memory; and when I asked her to grant me
this boon, bright tears gathered in those soft
eyes, and she bent over and imprinted a fervent
kiss on my face. I shall never forget the plea-
sure of those sweet lips; and like the child
Whom the great Napoleon kissed, must ever
keep that spot sacred. I do not know that it
was so, but I shall ever cherish the idea that
when the dewy tears gathered in those soft
eyes and that warm kiss was given, there went
up a prayer for my eternal welfare. Be that
as it may, I shall ever pray for one who was

to me so kind, and I look forward to the time‘

when I shall rest beside the River of Life and

hold sweet converse with the gentle spirit of

Sister Sarah. MARY FRANCES CARR.
Duality of the Deity.
Say first of God above or man below,
\Vhat can we reason, but from what we know.”

On this first principle, we believe it is a
self-evident fact that God is dual. Two great
principles united constitute Deity. The fact
is referred to by the Apostle Paul. “The
invisible things of Him, from the foundation
of the world are clearly seen, being under-
stood by the things that are made, even his
eternal power and godhead.” Rom. i. 20. In
the things that are made, or the universe,
from inanimate matter up to man, we see the
manifestation of two great, fundamental
principles, viz: male and female. As God is
the cause, of which the universe is the effect,
and as every effect is like its cause, and the
effect_ is positively male and female, it logically
follows that the cause must be male and
female. Thus it is equally true whether we
say that God is male and female, or that an
infinite perfection of the male and female
principles is God.

At the creation, God (speaking as we think
to his counterpart) said, “Let us make man
in our own image, after our likeness. So
God created man in his own image and like-
ness. In the image of God created he him,
male and female created he them, and blessed
them, and called their name Adam.” Gen. i.
26, 27. Gen. v. 2. Here we see it took
both the male and female principles to consti-
tute Adam, who was created in the likeness
of God. Thus it is emphatically stated that
God made man male and female in his own
image, which of course must be male and
Every stream is like its fountain, and
every kind of fruit like its parent tree.

I/Ve wish to be understood, when we say
that mere physical development but imper-
fectly shadows forth the great distinctiveness
of sex, more radically and beautifully ex~
pressed in the peculiar affectional, intellectual,
moral, and spiritual natures of each, exquis-
itely adapting the sexes to each other’s asso-
ciation.

Could God any more impart the distinct
female element to man, unless it was a con-
comitant part of his own being, than he could
impart to man, intelligence, love or goodness,
unless these principles existed in Deity?
Think of a God creating man, with the noble

fem ale .

qualities of intuition, reason and justice, him-
self utterly devoid of these principles. Then
think of the absurdity of his creating a uni-
verse half bearing principle or female, while
in his own nature, he embodies only the male
principle.

Jesus Christ was the first who revealed
God as a father. God as a mother, will only
be fully manifested in his second appearing.
Though the term father implies mother; as
natural things are typical of spiritual. And
Jesus hath said, “\Nisdom is justified of all
her children.” Mat. xi. 19. Luke, vii. 35.
\Visdo1n, in these languages, is used in the
feminine gender. Therefore wisdom having
children is a mother. The same being re-
ferred to many times in sacred writ we quote
a part. Doth not wisdom cry, “Receive my
instruction and not silver; and knowledge
rather than choice gold. The Lord possessed
me in the beginning of his way, before his
works of old. I was set up from everlasting,
from the beginning, or ever the earth was.
When he prepared the heavens I was there,
when he appointed the foundations of the
earth. Then I was by him, as one brought
up with him; and I was daily his delight,
rejoicing always before him ?” Prov. viii.
Here we have it in plain language, that wis-
dom as the bearing spirit is the mother of all
living, co—existent with the Father, rejoicing
always before him «as one brought up with
him. This could not consistently apply to
Jesus Christ, as the son of God, as the term
son signifies a created being, hence not the
first cause, or God; as father, must exist
prior to son, and God is not a created being,
but existed from everlasting. That it does
apply to the Holy Ghost, we fully believe.
For in the sense we have quoted Wisdom, we
think the terms synonymous.

Here we find a consistent way to look
through nature up to nature’s God. Can
there be a more natural or consoling idea than
to view God as our Heavenly Parentage,
father and mother? lVe have had earthly
mothers kind and tender to us. Shall we
then reject their true type, a Heavenly Mother,
and voluntarily cast ourselves on the ocean
of existence, half orphan?

lVe think the prevalence of this semi-
atheism accounts in great measure for that
deplorable want of wisdom, love and truth
among men. For “ He that sinneth against
me wrongeth his own soul ; and all they that
hate me, love death.” Prov. viii. 36. On
the other hand, the awful prevalence of sin
and corruption is one prominent cause why
mankind reject their mother in God. “ For
into a malicious soul wisdom will not enter,
nor dwell in a body that is subject to sin.”

The legitimate tendency of incorrect views
on this subject, is to disorganize the whole
creation of God. And as the female princi-
ple, is not recognized in Deity, of a conse-
quence, it is but partially recognized in
humanity; so that womanhood finds the
curse pronounced upon her, “ Thy desire shall
be to thy husband, and he shall rule over
thee”—Gen. iii. 16,--redoubled, by the ignor-
anee and tyranny of man. I presume our

readers are aware that some nations to-day
deny her claims to immortality, whose laws

THE SHAKER. I *7

make merchandize of her, a condition in
which her highest prerogative is to be a slave.
Shocking barbarity! But how much does
civilized man improve upon this, while he
denies her any rights but such as he chooses
to grant? His conception of how she may
subscrve his interest or pleasure may be more
elevated than that of the Hindoo or Mussul—
man, but while he claims the prerogative of
ruling her absolutely, for his own pleasure or
interest, is not the principle the same ?

It is suggested that benevolence and love
on the part of man should be sufficient to
guarantee justice to woman. Though this
were true, still woman has inalienable rights
as natural and sacred as those accorded to
man. And rights which man by law or other-
wise has no right to infringe upon. ‘We are
aware that ajust conception of woman’s true
sphere has increased with the progress of civ-
ilization, as indeed it always must. But we
must not conclude from this that perfection
has been attained. Never! until we ‘wash
our hands clean from the rust and barbarism
of ages of error, and practically confess to
the principle that the rights of nature and
justice, are paramount to the long established
rights of custom or power. My friends! the
right of power is the tyrant that waves his
iron sceptre over earth’s suffering millions,
consigns the destiny of thousands to the nod
of one, tramples on the weak and oppressed,
and robs the defenceless. The history of
woman’s unnatural slavery to this principle,
is the history of the infamy and degradation of
our race, in all ages, and among all nations.

The increasing interest in, and agitation of
the subject of woman’s rights, woman suf-
frage, &c., are convincing evidence that the
Waters of truth are troubled, and a living
prophecy that progress will be made in this
direction. But we believe that woman’s true
sphere can be fully comprehended only by
those who recognize the fact that God is mother
as well as father. The promulgation of correct
views of deity must ultimately result in the
proper elevation of woman, and of a conse-
quence, the race. Andthus through the usher-
ing in of a purer and higher social system of
righteousness and peace, we look for. the dawn
of the Glorious Millennium. C. E. S.

Growth. ,

Our entrance into this world is not accom-
panied with minds stored with problems,
mathematically solvel, nor with consciences
graded to the admeasurement of what is right
or wrong.

VVe enter this sphere with innate faculties
capable of progress ; the unfolding of which is
very gradual. As infants, we see colors, hear
sounds and observe forms; but not until the
faculties have been educated to distinguish the
colors, classify the sounds, separate form from
size, and size from weight, do they become
any more beneficial. to ourselves or others,
than the precious oreimbedded in the extra-
neous shale of the earth. This must be mined ;
subjected to the processes of crushing, wash-
ing, smelting, etc., before the gold can be of
service to any, or fitted to be moulded into the
multiform uses of gold. » But the gold is none
the less‘ gold, when mixed with quartz, than
in its ‘service EC the most noble enterprises.

The untutored child of nature, who, know-

ing only those needs which at the moment
press upon him, makes no provision for the
future, more than the raven for its food; yet
there is in him an inherent consciousness of a
higher power than himself; he “sees God in
storms, and hears him in the winds; ” when
necessitated to retire without his usual meal,
it is the punishment of the Great Spirit for
his wrong doing; but when there is plenty of
game, food in abundance, then are the gods
pleased, and the heart of the savage made
glad; and here we see untrained intuition.
Making the distinction between right and
wrong, being an intellectual process, is perfect
or imperfect, correct or incorrect, according
to the degree of the mind’s education into
the divine lihgt.

To humanity is granted a knowledge and
power that are denied to the brutal. These
are used almost without limit, for the benefit
or harm of the race; not merely that portion
of it cotemporary with ourselves, but affecting
the posterity of ages yet to come; and we find
the blessings and iniquities of ages past acting
on the platform of earth to-day ! Is it gener-
ally consideredihow-much we encourage the
growth, or retard the progress of the Millen-
nium to our fellows or successors? and when
the great law of compensation is enforced,
how shall we stand affected? There is in man
the will and power to be kind, or to do harm.
In his depraved condition, he retaliates wrongs
done him, and apparent wrongs to his friends;
distributing animosity, ‘not only to the actual
assailants, but often to the innocent relations.
The first process of elevating such degraded
humanity, is to enlighten it. If a man is
physicallydiseased, then give him physiological
and hygienic instruction and treatment to meet
the case. If morally wrong, let him feel the
administration of justice, and taught the gold-
en rule. If spiritually degenerated, like the
gold amid the accumulated quartz, let there
be a process of separation, of burning the dross,
until the gold only shall remain ; and this can
only be done by the action of the divine ele-
ments on the individual, as operates the sun
and rain in the production of “ first the blade,
then the car, then the full corn in the ear.”

[Religious life is not perfected at a bound, nor

by momentary conversion. Generations will
pass, andthe individual of to-day will yet see
a way of progression. Moses was a school-
master, and taught his people of righteousness
on the earthly plane. Subsequent prophets
foretold a glorious and more perfect day, when
the knowledge of the Lord should not only
enlighten us as to things of earthly righteous-
ness, but to encompass the whole man, “ as the
waters cover the sea; ” and this knowledge is
found illustrated in the character of Jesus——-
the Christ —who was the first individual who
put an end the world in himself. In him, we
find the fully—developcd spiritual man. In
him, may be seen the elements of eternal life!
In us, may be discovered “the pearl of great
price,”———eterna1 life—covered up with much
earthly quartz; and the soul’s dissatisfaction
will search out the gem, and then, when found,
will we sell all the quartz of an earthly life,
and buy the new fieldyof life, that alone con-
tains our redemption !
II. B., Watervliet, N. Y.

POETICAL.

Lines,
Suggested by a Visit to the Shakers, -near Albany.

BY CHARLOTTE CUSIIMAN.
1.

Mysterious worshippers !
Are ye indeed the things ye seem to be.
Ofearth, yet ofits iron influence free

From all that stirs
Our being~‘s pulse, and gives to fleeting life [strife ? ”
What well the Hun hath termed “ the rapture of the

2. i

A re the gay visions gone,
Those day dreams of the mind by fate there flung,
And the fair hopes to which the soul once clung?

And battled on ;
Have ye outlived them? All that must have sprung
And quickened into life when ye were young?

3.

Does memory never roam
To ties that, grown with 5 cars, ye idly sever,
To the old haunts, that ye have left forever

Your early homes;
Your ancient creed, once faith’s sustaining lever,
The loved, who erst prayed with you——now may never?

4

Has not ambition’s pazan
Some power within your hearts to wake anew
To deeds of higher emprise——worthier you,

Ye monkish men,
Than may be reap’d from fields ?—-do ye not rue
The drone-like course of life ye now pursue ?

5. ..

The camp, the council, all
That woos the soldiers to the field of fame-
That gives the sage his meed—the bard his name,

And corona1—
Bidding a people's voice their praise proclaim;
Can ye forego the strife nor own your shame?

6.

Have ye forgot your youth
When expectations soared on pinions high,
And hope shone out in boyhood’s cloudless sky,

Secming all truth-
When all look’d fair to fancy’s ardent eye,
And pleasure wore an air ofsorcery ?

7.

You, too E what early blight
Has withered your fond hopes, that ye thus stand,
A group of sisters ‘mong this monkish band ?

Ye creatures bright!
Has sorrow scored your brows with demon hand,
And o’er your hopes pass’d treacher_v’s burning brand?

8.

Ye would have graced right well
The bridal scene.-——the banquet or the bowers,
Where mirth and revelry usurp the hours-

\Vhere, like a spell,
Beauty is sovereign, where man owns its powers
And woman’s tread is o’er a path of flowers.

9.

Yet seem ye not as those
VVithin whose bosoms memory’s vigils keep,
Beneath your drooping lids no passions sleep,

And your pale brows
Bare not the tracery of emotions deep-
Ye seem too cold and passionless to weep!

Answer
To “ Lines by Charlotte Cushman.”

We are indeed the things we seem to be,
Of earth. and from its iron influence free ;
For we are they, or halt, or lame, or dumb,
“ On whom the ends of this vain world are come.”

V-Ve have outlived those day-dreams of the mind-
Those flattering phantoms, which so many bind.
All man made creeds (“ your faith’s sustaining lever,”)
We have forsaken, and have left forever!

To plainly tell the truth, we do not rue
The sober, godly course that we pursue ;
But ’tis not we, who live the dronish lives,
But those who have their husbands or their Wives !
But if by drones you mean they ’re lazy men,
Charlotte Cushnian, take it back again ;
For one with half an eye, or halfa mind,
Can there see industry and wealth combin’d.

Your visit must have been exceeding short,
Or else your brain is of the shallow sort.

8

THE SE[A1{ER.

If camps and councils—soldiers, “ fields of fame,”

Or yet, :1 peoples praise or a people’s blame,
Is all that gives the sage or hard his name,
\Ve can “ forego the strife, nor own our shame.”

‘What great temptations you hold up to view
For men of sense or reason to pursue!

The praise of mortals !-what can it avail,
When all their boasted language has to fail?

“ And sorrow has not scored with demon hand,
Nor oier our hopes pass’d Treachery’s burning brand;”
But where the sorrows and where treachery are,

I think may easily be made appear.

In “ bridal scenes,” in “ banquets and in bowers ” 3--
’Mid revelry and variegated flowers,

Is where our mother Eve first felt their powers.

The“‘oridal sceue,”you sa_v,\ve‘d“grace rightwell” I33
“ Lang sync ” there our first parents blindly fell !—
The bridal scene Z—Is this your end or aim? ”

And can you this pursue “ nor own your shame? ”
If so, weak, pithy, superficial thing,
Drink, silent drink, the sick Hymenial spring.

The bridal scene ! the banquet or the bowers,

Or “ woman’s [bed of thorns, or] path ofilowers,”
Ca.n’t all persuade our souls to turn aside
To live in filthy lust or cruel pride.

Alas 1 Your path of flowers will disappear,
Even now a thousand thorns are pointing near;
Ah, here you find base “ treacher_v’s burning brand,”
And sorrows score the heart. nor spare the hand.
But here “ Beauty ls sovereign,” so say you,

A thing that in one hour may lose its hue,
It lies upon the surface of the skin-

Aye, Beauty‘s selfwas never worth a pin;
But still it suits the superficial mind-
The slight observer of the human kind ;
The airy, fleety, vain, and hollow thing,
That only feeds on wily flattering.

“ Man owns its powers?”—and what will man not own

To gain his end, to captivate, dethrone?
The truth is this, whatever he may feign.
You’ll find your greatest loss his greatest gain ;
For like the bee he will improve the hour,
And all day long he ‘ll buzz from ilow’r to flow’r,
And when he sips the sweetness all away,
For aught he cares the flowers may all decay.
But here each ’other’s virtues we partake,
W'here men and women all those ills forsake ;
True virtue spreads her bright Angelic wing,
VVhile saints and seraphs praise the Almighty King.
And when the matter ‘s rightly understood,
You ’ll find we labor for each other’s good;
And this, Charlotte Cushman, is our aim,
“ Can you forego this strife, nor own your shame ? ”

Now if you would receive a modest hint,

You‘d keep your name at least, from public print,
Nor have it hoisted. handled round and round,

And echoed o‘er the earth from mound to mound,
As the great advocate of(O, the name 5)

Now can you think of this, nor “ own your shame P ”
But Charlotte, learn to take a deeper view

Of what your neighbors say, or neighbors do ;

And when some flattering knaves around you tread,
Just think of what a SHAKER GIRL has said. S. E.

A Concise Statement

or run PRINCIPLES or run SHAKER

CHURCH, ACCORDING TO run GOSPEL or run

PRESENT ArrnA1t.iNcno1«‘ CHRIST, AS HELD

TO AND PRACTISED BY run FOLLOWERS or

THE LIVING savroun.

lst. Vile believe that the first light of sal-
vation was given or made known to the patri-
archs by promise; and they that believed in
the promise of Christ, and were obedient to
the command of God made known unto them,
were the people of God, and were accepted of
Him as righteous, or perfect in their gener-
ations ; according to the measure of light and
truth manifested unto them; which was as
-water to the ancles signified by Ezekiel’s
vision of the holy waters (chapter 47). And
altho’ they could not receive regeneration or
the fullness of salvation from the fleshly or
fallen nature in this life; because the fullness
of time was not yet come, that they should
receive the baptism of the Holy Ghost and
fire; for the destruction of the body of sin,

and purification of the soul. but Abram
being called, and chosen of God as the father
of the faithful, was received into covenant
relation with God by promise; that in him
(and his seed which was Christ) all the fami-
lies of the earth should be blessed, and these
earthly blessings, which were promised to
Abram, were a shadow of gospel or spiritual
blessings to come: and circumcision, though
it was a seal of Abram’s faith, yet it was but
a sign of the mortification and destruction of
the flesh by the gospel in a future day. Ob-
serve, circumcision did not cleanse the man
from sin; but was a sign of the baptism of
the Holy Ghost and fire: which is by the
power of God manifested in divers operations
and gifts of the spirit, as in the days of the
apostles ; which does in deed destroy the body
of sin, or fleshly nature, and purify the man
from all sin, both soul and body. So that
Abram, though in the full faith of the prom-
ise, yet as he did not receive the substance
of the thing promised, his hope of eternal sal-
vation was in Christ, by the gospel to be at-
tained in the resurrection from the dead.

2d. The second dispensation was the law
that was given of God to Israel, by the hand
of Moses ; which was a further manifestation
of that salvation which was promised through
Christ by the gospel, both in the order and
ordinances which was instituted and given to
Israel, as the church and people of God ac-
cording to that dispensation; which was as
waters to the knees, Ezekiel 47, by which
they were distinguished from all the families
of the earth. For, while they were strictly
obedient to all the commands, ordinances, and
statutes, that God gave them, they were ap-
probated of God according to the promise for
life; and blessing was promised unto them in
the line of obedience: cursing and dcath,»in
disobedience : for God, who is ever jealous for
the honor and glory of his own great name,
always dealt with them according; to his word ;
for while they were obedient to the command
of God and purged out sin from amongst
them, God was with them, according to his
promise. But when they disobeyed the com-
mand of God, and committed sin, and became
like other people, the hand of the Lord was
turned against them; and those evils came
upon them which God had threatened; so
we see that they that were wholly obedient to
the will of God, made known in that dispensa-
tion, were accepted as just, or righteous: yet
as the dispensation was short, they did not
attain that salvation which was promised in
the gospel; so that as it respected the new-
birth, or real purification of the man from all
sin, the law made nothing perfect, but was a
shadow of good things to come; their only
hope of eternal redemption was in the promise
of Christ, by the gospel to be attained in the
resurrection from the dead. Acts of the
Apostles xxvi. 6, 7.

3d. The third dispensation was the gospel
of Christ’s first appearance, in the flesh: and
that salvation which took place in conse-
quence of his life, death, resurrection, and
ascension at the right hand of the Father,
being accepted in his obedience, as the first-
born among many brethren, he received
power and authority to administer the power

of the resurrection and eternal judgment to
all the children of men; so that he has become
the author of eternal salvation to all that
obey him; and as Christ has this power in
himself, he did administer power and authori-
ty to his church at the day of pentecost, as
his body: with all the gifts that he had
promised them, which was the first gift of the
Holy Ghost, as an indwelling comforter to
abide with them forever; and by which they
were baptized into Chi-ist’s death; death to
all sin; and were in the hope of the resur-
rection from the dead, through the operation
of the power of God, which wrought in them.
And as they had received the substance of the
promise of Christ come in the flesh, by the
gift and power of the Holy Ghost, they had
power to preach the gospel in Christ’s name
to every creature, and to administer the
power of God to as many as believed, and
were obedient to the gospel which they
preached, and also to remit and retain sin in
the name and authority of Christ on earth.

J. M.
(To be Continued.)

 

E‘ The January and February numbers
of Tun SHAKER are unavoidably late, but will
be on time in the future, with additional de-
partments. EDITOR.

THE SHAKER.

A
MONTHLY JOURNAL,
DEVOTED TO THE EXPOSITIQN OF RELIGION,
ACCORDING TO smurnn THEOLOGY.

FIFTY CENTS, P121: ANNUM, IN ADVANCE.

Address, G. A. LOMAS, Resident Editor, Shakers,
ALBANY, N. Y.

MEMBERS OF SOCIETY

./Ippointed to answer Correspondents, among
whom are the Board of Editors.

Elder F. WV. Evans, Mt. Lebanon, Columbia Co., N. Y.
“ Issachar Bates, Shakers, Albany, L\'. Y.
“ C. E. Sears, Mt. Morris, Livingston Co., N. Y.
“ Simon Mabec, W'est Pittsiield, Mass.
“ Stoughton Kellogg, Thompsonville, Conn.,
Shakers. .
“ Albert Battles, Tyringham, Berkshire Co.,
Mass.
“ \Vm. Leonard,
Shakers.
“ John W hitelcy, Shirley Village, Middlesex Co.,
Mass.
“ Ncliexxiiaili Trull, Shaker Village, Merrimack
Co., N. H.
“ Henry Cunnuings, Enfield, Grafton Co., N. H.
“ John B. Vance, Alfred, Shakers, York Co., Me.
“ Alonzo Gihnau, W'est Gloucester, Cumberland
Co., Me., Shakers.
“ O. C. Hampton. Union Village, W'arren Co., 0.,
Shakers.
“ Ezra Sherman, Preston, Hamilton Co., Ohio,
Shakers.
“ Stephen Ball, Dayton, Shakers, Ohio.
“ George Runyon, Pleasant Hill, Mercer Co., Ky.
“ J. R. Hades, South Union, Logan Co., Ky.
“ J. S. Prescott, Cleveland, Ohio, ‘Shakers.

Grafton Junction, Mass,

PUBLICATIONS.

Christ’s First and Second Appearing - - $1 25
Dunlavyis Manifesto - - - - - - 1 25
Millennial Church ' - - - - - - 1 O0
Compendium of Shakerism - - - - - 0 50
Three Discourses on United Interests - - 0 50

Tracts free, where postage is paid.