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FINDING THE GUN-LOCK.

curious like, as though the battle that was fought so many years ago was somehow brought nearer to us.'

"This quaint talisman that wrought so powerfully on the imagination of the unlettered plowman, might even set more learned men to thinking.

"Taking a friendly leave of the countryman, I returned to Greensborough in time to dine and meet the cars for Salisbury.

"While I was waiting for the train, a raw-looking chap, about three feet across the shoulders, squared himself in front of me, and treated himself to a long, deliberate, and apparently very satisfactory stare. Notwithstanding the lofty themes which had occupied my thoughts during the morning, I permitted my indignation to betray me

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uous roar of the American fire, swells the terri- into an unjustifiable act, for I revenged myself ble anthem of battle. behind his back."

"The American lines are broken, and the tide of war rolls on until the intrepid assailants meet, in the Continental line, foes more worthy of their steel:

"The war which for a space did fail,

Now, trebly thundering, swelled the gale.'

"Then, then Virginia, it was a joy, that even defeat and disaster can not blight, to see that haughty battalion of Guards flying in wild disorder from the wood, while thy fiery horsemen, with hoof and sabre, trampled them in the dust!

"I rose in my stirrups, and gave a shout that made old Guilford's echoes ring again, and alarmed a plowman on a hill half a mile off.

"So bidding adieu to fancy, I set off to see the plowman, wishing to make some more particular inquiries about the localities. I found him intelligent and disposed to be communicative. He indicated the different points where the hardest fighting had been, showed an old tree which had been struck by a cannon-shot, and said that in plowing, even at this day, he frequently turned up bullets, bayonets, and portions of arms and accoutrements that had withstood the tooth of time.

"One day,' said he, as I was plowing near my house thar, my little daughter found in the furrow a complete musket-lock, much rusted and standing at full cock. That,' continued the countryman, 'set me to thinking more than any thing I have yet seen. It looked more like fighting. The man that cocked that gun was killed perhaps before he had time to pull the trigger.

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REVENGE

THE SHAKERS.

I WAS at the Canaan railway station in Columbia County, New York, at the middle of a cool and brilliant day in August. I had come from no matter where, and my destination was the beautiful Lebanon Valley, from whose northern margin healing fountains gush out, and attract the sick and the fashionable in the pleasant summer-time. The stage-coach departed on its journey of seven miles from Canaan to Lebanon at half past one o'clock, with nine passengers inside, and three, besides myself, upon the driver's box and the seat upon the roof. Seldom have I enjoyed a journey more. The air was pure and invigorating; the firmament was full of detached masses of magnificent clouds; the foliage of shrub and tree was as rich as in wealthy June, and over hill, and valley,

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and intervale, broad shadows, like phantoms, were chasing each other in the noonday splendors that filled earth and air.

The road was smooth but extremely sinuous, for it passed through a hilly country, over the whole surface of which the hand of industry had laid its impressions of cultivation. Down in the valleys the eye rested upon variegated fields, lying there like rich carpets; and up the slopes, to the very summits of the hills, depending from tufts of forest, was tapestry more gorgeous than ever came from the looms of Gobelin. Orchards, grain-fields, meadows, pastures, farmhouses, churches, little villages-these dotted the country in every direction, and each turn in the road brought a new surprise. Beauties came, one after another, like the pictures of a moving panorama; and when, within three miles of Lebanon Springs, a sudden turn gave us a full view of the lovely valley through which their waters flow and two quiet villages lie nestled, a cloud of regret shadowed the sunny feeling which the scene had inspired, for a longer enjoyment of such exquisite pleasure was coveted.

three o'clock. They gush out from the rocks of a rugged hillside, at the rate of fourteen barrels a minute, and around them is now seated a thriving little village, the offspring of the popularity of the waters. Their taste is like that of rain-water-soft and sweet-and the temperature at all seasons is seventy-three degrees. Gas is continually escaping with a crackling sound, and the water is perfectly limpid. Over the main fountain stoops a magnificent sycamore, full ten feet in circumference at its base, which was planted there by the original proprietor of the spring, after it had been used by him as a riding-whip for a whole day.

But it was not Lebanon Springs, nor the crowd gathered there, nor the good fare and round of amusements enjoyed by the guests at the hotels, that had invited me to that beautiful valley and its noble surroundings. I had come to visit the people in that quiet Shaker village upon the mountain terrace, and learn what I could of their history, their social condition, their daily avocations, industrial economy, and religious belief. So, after dinner, I started on foot for a ramble down the valley, and following a winding road up the slope entered the mysterious village from the north a little before sunset, beneath the arching and interlacing boughs of grand old trees. Not a leaf trembled upon its stem; for the zephyrs were asleep, and scarcely a sound was heard but the lowing of cows in the distance, and the footfalls of strange-looking men and women, seen here and there in the village, moving with quick and earnest pace in their daily walk of duty. Looking down into the valley where the golden light This cut shows the various costumes of the Shakers of the evening sun lay warm and harmonizat home and abroad. Figures 1 and 7 show the worshiping, the sweet words of Gray came out from costume of a man and woman; Figure 2, that of the field and shop laborer; Figure 3, an Elder; Figures 4 and 5, the closet of memory, and murmured on the traveling costume; and Figure 6, a half-dress costume. lips

In a few moments new emotions were excited, for on the right, stretching along upon a noble mountain terrace, half way between the deep green valley and the bending sky, lay the Shaker village, surrounded by slopes enriched by the most perfect culture. A portion of it was half hidden by trees and a vail of blue smoke, while the polished metal roof of the house of worship sparkled in the rays of the sun like a cluster of stars.

We arrived at Lebanon Springs at about

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"The curfew tolls the knell of parting day,
The lowing herds wind slowly o'er the lea,
The plowman homeward plods his weary way,
And leaves the world to darkness and to me."

It was Saturday evening. The weekly toil of the community had ceased, and a Sabbath stillness brooded over the populous town. Immense dwellings filled with men and women, As I walked into the village, serenity and and extensive workshops supplied with choicest peace seemed to pervade the very air! Placid-implements, lined the one broad street. Order ity dwelt upon every face I met. And there and Neatness there held high court with a maThe very dust were children, too, with cheerful faces peering jesty I had never before seen. out from their broad hats and deep bonnets, for in the road seemed pure, and the virtue "next they were all dressed like old men and women. to godliness" was apparent upon every stone. I marveled at the sight of children in that isolated world of bachelors and maidens, forgetting that it was a refuge for orphans who are unsheltered in the stormy world without.

Near the centre of the village is a large brick building, painted a chocolate color, in the lower part of which is the Office and Store of the community. There I found several of the brethren

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and sisters, who received me kindly, and at my request they directed me to the dwelling of Elders Bushnell and Evans, two of the principal men in the village. To them I frankly stated the object of my visit, and was cordially invited to partake of the hospitalities of the community, while

I remained among them. An excellent supper was prepared for me, and early in the evening I returned to the family at the store, where I passed the night.

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There I found Edward Fowler, the chief busi- | a spacious frame building, painted white, with ness-man of the Society, and had a long and in- an arched roof. At its southern end is a smaller structive conversation with him respecting the building, which they call the Porch, in which temporalities of the Shakers. While thus en- the chief ministers, two men and two women, gaged, I heard the sounds of music and dancing, reside. This edifice, built about thirty years and was told that the family (about sixty in num- ago, is a few yards from the first Shaker meetber), on the opposite side of the street, were en- ing-house erected in Lebanon, and which is yet gaged in their usual evening worship. Curiosity standing. at once led me thither. There, collected in a large room devoted to the purpose, were a large number of men and women, engaged in the peculiar religious rites of Shaker family worship. They sang hymns and lively spiritual songs, all of which were accompanied by dances and marches, conducted in an orderly, and, at times, very impressive manner. These exercises were interspersed with brief exhortations by both men and women; and in the general order of the ritual, it was not much unlike their public ceremonials on the Sabbath. There I saw what the eye of the stranger seldom sees. It was a physical "manifestation of the power of God," as they call it. One of the younger brethren, standing in the middle of the room, stretched out his arms and commenced whirling, not rapidly, but steadily, and continued to turn, as if upon a pivot, at least an hour, without cessation, the recipient of the "gift" being apparently unconscious of all that was passing around him. Except in costume, he strongly resembled a whirling Dervish, such as travelers frequently see in the East. This family worship continued about an hour and a half, when I retired to the room assigned me, filled with new emotions, for I was in the midst of social and religious novelties.

The Sabbath dawn was brilliant, and the beauty of the day was memorable. Opposite my lodgings was the house for public worship,

The hour for the commencement of worship was half past ten. Half an hour earlier a long wagon arrived, in which were two brethren and several sisters from the "East Family," who reside partly over the mountain. At the same time vehicles came with visitors from Lebanon Springs, and soon the seats between the entrance doors, called the " lobby," were filled by "the Gentiles," the sexes being separated, the men on the left of the women. The floor, made of white pine, was as clean as a dining table. On the side of the room opposite the seats of the strangers were rows of movable benches, and upon them the sisters who came from a distance began to gather, after hanging their bonnets upon wooden pegs provided for the purpose. In the ante-rooms on the left, the brethren and sisters of the village were assembled, the sexes being separated. At the appointed hour they all came in in couples, stood a moment in silence, and then sat down, the men and women facing each other. Adults and children were dressed precisely alike. With the exception of the resident elders and some visiting brethren, the men were in their shirt sleeves. Their Sunday costume consists of pantaloons of blue linen, with a fine white stripe in it; vests of a much deeper blue, and plain, made of linsey-woolsey (woolen and linen); stout calf-skin shoes and gray stockings. Their shirt-collars and bosoms are made of cotton, like the body; the collar is

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ward march, or dance, in a regular springing step, keeping time to the music of their voices, while their hands hung closely to their sides. The wall rows alone kept time with their hands moving up and down, the palms turned upward. The singing appeared like a simple refrain and a chorus of too-ral-loo, too-ral-loo, while all the movements with hand, foot, and limb were extremely graceful.

fastened with three buttons and turned over. | wall rows, and commenced a backward and forThe women wear, on Sunday, some a pure white dress, and others a white dress with a delicate blue stripe in it. Over their necks and bosoms were pure white kerchiefs, and over the left arm of each was carried a large white pocket-handkerchief. Their heads were covered with lawn caps, the form of all, for both old and young, being alike. They project so as to fully conceal the cheeks in profile. Their shoes, sharp-toed and high-heeled, according to the fashion of the day when the Society was formed, were made of prunella, of a brilliant ultramarine blue. Such was the appearance of the worshipers in the presence of at least six hundred strangers, attracted there by curiosity.

The worshipers now stood in silence a few moments, when they commenced singing another hymn, with chorus like the last. When it was ended they retired to each end of the room, the benches were replaced, and the men and women again sat down opposite each other. Elder Evans then came forward, and, in The worshipers soon arose, and approached an able discourse of almost an hour, expoundfrom opposite ends of the room, until the two ed the peculiar doctrines of the Shakers, espefront rows were within two yards of each other, cially that which relates to the duality of God the women modestly casting their eyes to the as male and female, and the second advent of floor. The benches were then instantly re- Christ upon earth in the person of Ann Lee, moved. There they stood in silence, in serried the founder of the Society. When he had columns like platoons in military, while two ceased all the worshipers arose, the benches rows of men and women stood along the wall, were removed, and they formed themselves into facing the audience. From these came a grave serried ranks as before. Then, with graceful personage, and standing in the centre of the motions, they gradually changed their position worshipers, addressed them with a few words into circular form, all the while moving with of exhortation. All stood in silence for a few springing step, in unison with a lively tune. minutes at the conclusion of his remarks, when In the centre stood twenty-four singers in a they began to sing a hymn of several verses to circle, twelve men and twelve women; and a lively tune, and keeping time with their feet. around them, in two concentric circles, marchIn this, as in all of their songs and hymns, they ed and countermarched the remainder of the did not pause at the end of each verse, but kept worshipers, the men three and the women two on without rest and with many repetitions un- abreast. A brief pause and they commenced til the whole hymn was completed. Elder Evans another lively tune and march, all keeping time then came forward, and addressing a few words with their hands moving up and down, and octo the audience, asked them to regard the acts casionally clapping them three or four times in of worship before them with respectful atten- concert. The women were now three and the tion. This request was unnecessary, for there men two abreast. When the hymn ceased, was nothing in the entire performance calcu- with a prolonged strain, they all turned their lated to elicit any other than feelings of deep-faces toward the inner circle of singers. est respect and serious contemplation.

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After another pause the worshipers commenced a hymn in slow and plaintive strain. The music was unlike any thing I had ever heard; beautiful, impressive, and deeply sol

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