Part 22
About twenty miles before you come to Bethlehem, in going thither from Wilkes-barré, you cross the ridge of Blue Mountains at what is called the Wind-Gap; how it received that name I never could learn. This gap is nearly a mile wide, and it exhibits a tremendously wild and rugged scene. The road does not run at the bottom of the gap, but along the edge of the south mountain, about two thirds of the way up. Above you on the right, nothing is to be seen but broken rocks and trees, and on the left you look down a steep precipice. The rocks at the bottom of the precipice have every appearance, it is said (for we did not descend into it) of having been washed by water for ages; and from hence it has been conjectured that this must have been the original channel of the River Delaware, which now passes through the ridge, at a place about fifteen miles to the north-west. Whether this were the case or not it is impossible to determine at this day; but it is certain, from the appearance of the country on each side of the Delaware, that a great change has taken place in this quarter, in consequence of some vast inundation.
On the Atlantic side of the mountains the country is much less rugged than on the opposite one, and it is more cleared and much more thickly settled: the inhabitants are for the most part of German extraction.
[Sidenote: BETHLEHEM.]
Bethlehem is the principal settlement, in North America, of the Moravians, or United Brethren. It is most agreeably situated on a rising ground, bounded on one side by the river Leheigh, which falls into the Delaware, and on the other by a creek, which has a very rapid current, and affords excellent seats for a great number of mills. The town is regularly laid out, and contains about eighty strong built stone dwelling houses and a large church. Three of the dwelling houses are very spacious buildings, and are appropriated respectively to the accommodation of the unmarried young men of the society, of the unmarried females, and of the widows. In these houses different manufactures are carried on, and the inmates of each are subject to a discipline approaching somewhat to that of a monastic institution. They eat together in a refectory; they sleep in dormitories; they attend morning and evening prayers in the chapel of the house; they work for a certain number of hours in the day; and they have stated intervals allotted to them for recreation. They are not subjected, by the rules of the society, to perpetual confinement; but they seldom, notwithstanding, go beyond the bounds of their walks and gardens, except it be occasionally to visit their friends in the town.
[Sidenote: MORAVIANS.]
The Moravians, though they do not enjoin celibacy, yet think it highly meritorious, and the young persons of different sexes have but very little intercourse with each other; they never enter each other’s houses, and at church they are obliged to sit separate; it is only in consequence of his having seen her at a distance, perhaps, that a batchelor is induced to propose for a young woman in marriage, and he is not permitted to offer his proposals in person to the object of his choice, but merely through the medium of the superintendant of the female house. If from the report of the elders and wardens of the society it appears to the superintendant that he is able to maintain a wife, she then acquaints her protegée with the offer, and should she consent, they are married immediately, but if she do not, the superintendant selects another female from the house, whom she imagines would be suitable to the young man, and on his approval of her they are as quickly married. Hasty as these marriages are, they are never known to be attended with unhappiness; for being taught from their earliest infancy to keep those passions under controul, which occasion so much mischief amongst the mass of mankind; being inured to regular habits of industry, and to a quiet sober life; and being in their peaceable and retired settlements out of the reach of those temptations which persons are exposed to who launch forth into the busy world, and who mingle with the multitude, the parties meet with nought through life to interrupt their domestic repose.
Attached to the young men’s and to the young women’s houses there are boarding schools for boys and girls, under the direction of proper teachers, which are also inspected by the elders and wardens of the society. These schools are in great repute, and not only the children of Moravians are sent to them, but also those of many genteel persons of a different persuasion, resident in Philadelphia, New York, and other towns in the neighbouring States. The boys are instructed in the Latin, German, French, and English languages; arithmetic, music, drawing, &c.: the girls are likewise instructed in these different languages and sciences, and, in short, in every thing that is usually taught at a female boarding school, except dancing. When of a sufficient age to provide for themselves, the young women of the society are admitted into the house destined for their accommodation, where embroidery, fine needle-work, carding, spinning, knitting, &c. &c. and other works suitable to females, are carried on. A separate room is allotted for every different business, and a female, somewhat older than the rest, presides in it, to inspect the work, and preserve regularity. Persons are appointed to dispose of the several articles manufactured in the house, and the money which they produce is distributed amongst the individuals engaged in manufacturing them, who, after paying a certain sum towards the maintenance of the house, and a certain sum besides into the public fund of the society, are allowed to keep the remainder for themselves.
After the boys have finished their school education, they are apprenticed to the business which accords most with their inclination. Should this be a business or trade that is carried on in the young men’s house, they at once go there to learn it, but if at the house of an individual in the town, they only board and lodge at the young men’s house. If they are inclined to agricultural pursuits, they are then put under the care of one of the farmers of the society. The young men subscribe to the support of their house, and to the public fund, just as the young women do; the widows do the same; and every individual in the town likewise contributes a small sum weekly to the general fund of the society.
[Sidenote: MORAVIANS.]
Situated upon the creek, which skirts the town, there is a flour mill, a saw mill, an oil mill, a fulling mill, a mill for grinding bark and dye stuff, a tan yard, a currier’s yard; and on the Leheigh River an extensive brewery, at which very good malt liquor is manufactured. These mills, &c. belong to the society at large, and the profits arising from them, the persons severally employed in conducting them being first handsomely rewarded for their services, are paid into the public fund. The lands for some miles round the town, which are highly improved, likewise belong to the society, as does also the tavern, and the profits arising from them are disposed of in the same manner as those arising from the mills, the persons employed in managing the farms, and attending to the tavern, being nothing more than stewards or agents of the society. The fund thus raised is employed in relieving the distressed brethren of the society in other parts of the world, in forming new settlements, and in defraying the expence of the missions for the purpose of propagating the gospel amongst the heathens.
The tavern at Bethlehem is very commodious, and it is the neatest and best conducted one, without exception, that I ever met with in any part of America. Having communicated to the landlord, on arriving at it, our wish to see the town and public buildings, he immediately dispatched a messenger for one of the elders, and in less than a quarter of an hour, brother Thomas, a lively fresh coloured little man, of about fifty years of age, entered the room: he was dressed in a plain blue coat and waistcoat, brown corderoy breeches, and a large round hat; there was goodness and innocence in his looks, and his manners were so open and unconstrained, that it was impossible not to become familiar with him at once. When we were ready to sally forth, he placed himself between two of us, and leaning on our arms, and chatting without ceremony, he conducted us first to the young women’s house. Here we were shewn into a neat parlour, whilst brother Thomas went to ask permission for us to see the house. In a few minutes the superintendant herself came; brother Thomas introduced her to us, and accompanied by them both we visited the different apartments.
[Sidenote: MORAVIANS.]
The house is extensive, and the passages and stair-cases are commodious and airy, but the work rooms are small, and to such a pitch were they heated by stoves, that on entering into them at first we could scarcely breathe. The stoves, which they use, are built in the German style. The fire is inclosed in a large box or case formed of glazed tiles, and the warm air is thence conducted, through flues, into similar large cases placed in different parts of the room, by which means every part is rendered equally warm. About a dozen females or more, nearly of the same age, were seated at work in each apartment. The entrance of strangers did not interrupt them in the least; they went on with their work, and except the inspectress, who never failed politely to rise and speak to us, they did not even seem to take any notice of our being in the room.
The dress of the sisterhood, though not quite uniform, is very nearly so. They wear plain calico, linen, or stuff gowns, with aprons, and close tight linen caps, made with a peak in front, and tied under the chin with a piece of riband. Pink ribands are said to be worn as a badge by those who are inclined to marry; however, I observed that all the unmarried women wore them, not excepting those whose age and features seemed to have excluded them from every chance of becoming the votaries of Hymen.
The dormitory of the female house is a very spacious apartment in the upper story, which is aired by a large ventilator in the ceiling. It contains about fifty boarded beds without testers, each calculated to hold one person. They sleep here during winter time in the German style, between two feather beds, to which the sheets and blankets are stitched fast; in summer time the heat is too great here to admit even of a single blanket.
After having gone through the different apartments of the female house, we were conducted by the superintendant into a sort of shop, where different little articles of fancy work, manufactured by the sisterhood, are laid out to the best advantage. It is always expected that strangers visiting the house will lay out some trifling sum here; and this is the only reward which any member of the society expects for the trouble of conducting a stranger throughout every part of the town.
The house of the sisterhood exhibits a picture of the utmost neatness and regularity, as do likewise the young men’s and the widows houses; and indeed the same may be said of every private house throughout the town. The mills, brewery, &c. which are built on the most approved plans, are also kept in the very neatest order.
Brother Thomas, after having shewn us the different public buildings and works, next introduced us into the houses of several of the married men, that were most distinguished for their ingenuity, and in some of them, particularly at the house of a cabinet maker, we were entertained with very curious pieces of workmanship. This cabinet maker brought us a book of Indian ink and tinted drawings, his own performances, which would have been a credit to a person in his situation in any part of the world.
[Sidenote: MORAVIANS.]
The manufactures in general carried on at Bethlehem consist of woollen and linen cloths, hats, cotton and worsted caps and stockings, gloves, shoes, carpenters, cabinet makers, and turners work, clocks, and a few ether articles of hardware, &c. &c.
The church is a plain building of stone, adorned with pictures from sacred history. It is furnished with a tolerable organ, as likewise are the chapels of the young men’s and young women’s houses; they accompany their hymns, besides, with violoncellos, violins, flutes, &c. The whole society attends the church on a Sunday, and when any one of the society dies, all the remaining members attend his funeral, which is conducted with great solemnity, though with little pomp: they never go into mourning for their departed friends.
Every house in the town is supplied with an abundance of excellent water from a spring, which is forced through pipes by means of an hydraulic machine worked by water, and which is situated on the banks of the creek. Some of the houses are supplied with water in every room. The machine is very simple, and would easily raise the water of the spring, if necessary, several hundred feet.
The spring from whence the houses are supplied with water stands nearly in the center of the town, and over it, a large stone house with very thick walls, is erected. Houses like this are very common in America; they are called spring houses and are built for the purpose of preserving meat, milk, butter, &c. during the heats of summer. This spring house in Bethlehem is common to the whole town; a shelf or board in it is allotted to each family, and though there is no watch placed over it, and the door be only secured by a latch, yet every person is certain of finding, when he comes for it, his plate of butter or bowl of milk, &c. exactly in the same state as when he put it in.
[Sidenote: MORAVIANS.]
The Moravians study to render their conduct strictly conformable to the principles of the Christian religion; but very different notions, notwithstanding, are, and, no doubt, will be entertained respecting some of their tenets. Every unprejudiced person, however, that has visited their settlements must acknowledge, that their moral conduct is truly excellent, and is such as would, if generally adopted, make men happy in the extreme. They live together like members of one large family; the most perfect harmony subsists between them, and they seem to have but one with at heart, the propagation of the gospel, and the good of mankind. They are in general of a grave turn of mind; but nothing of that stiffness, or of that affected singularity, or pride, as I will call it, prevalent amongst the Quakers, is observable in their manners. Wherever their society has extended itself in America, the most happy consequences have resulted from it; good order and regularity have become conspicuous in the behaviour of the people of the neighbourhood, and arts and manufactures have been introduced into the country.
As the whole of the plot of ground, on which Bethlehem stands; belongs to the society, as well as the lands for a considerable way round the town, the Moravians here are not liable to be troubled by intruders, but any person that will conform to their line of conduct will be received into their society with readiness and cordiality. They appeared to take the greatest delight in shewing us their town, and every thing belonging to it, and at parting lamented much that we could not stay longer with them, to see still more of the manners and habits of the society.
They do not seem desirous of adding to the number of houses in Bethlehem; but whenever there is an increase of people, they send them off to another part of the country, there to form a new settlement. Since Bethlehem was founded, they have established two other towns in Pennsylvania, Nazareth and Letitz. The former of these stands at the distance of about ten miles from Bethlehem, and in coming down from the Blue Mountains you pass through it; it is about half the size of Bethlehem, and built much on the same plan. Letitz is situated at a distance of about ten miles from Lancaster.
The country for many miles round Bethlehem is most pleasingly diversified with rising grounds; the soil is rich, and better cultivated than any part of America I before saw. Until within a few years past this neighbourhood has been distinguished for the salubrity of its climate, but fevers, chiefly bilious and intermittent, have increased to a very great degree of late, and, indeed, not only here, but in many other parts of Pennsylvania, which have been long settled. During the last autumn, more people suffered from sickness in the well cultivated parts of the country than had ever been remembered. Various reasons have been assigned for this increase of fevers in Pennsylvania, but it appears most probably to be owing to the unequal quantities of rain that have fallen of late years, and to the unprecedented mildness of the winters.
Bethlehem is visited during summer time by great numbers of people from the neighbouring large towns, who are led thither by curiosity or pleasure; and regularly, twice a week throughout the year, a public stage waggon runs between it and Philadelphia. We engaged this carriage to ourselves, and early on the second day from that on which we quitted Bethlehem, reached the capital, after an absence of, somewhat more than, five months.
_LETTER _ XXXVIII.
_Leave Philadelphia.—Arrive at New York.—Visit Long Island.—Dreadful havoc by the Yellow Fever.—Dutch Inhabitants suspicious of Strangers.—Excellent Farmers.—Number of Inhabitants.—Culture of Corn.—Immense Quantities of Grouse and Deer.—Laws to protect them.—Increase of the same.—Decrease of Beavers.—New York agreeable to Strangers.—Conclusion._
MY DEAR SIR, New York, January 1797.
[Sidenote: LEAVE PHILADELPHIA.]
AFTER having remained a few days at Philadelphia, in order to arrange some matters preparatory to my taking a final leave of that city, I set out once more for New York. The month of December had now arrived; considerable quantities of snow had fallen; and the keen winds from the north-west had already spread a thick crust of ice over the Delaware, whose majestic stream is always the last in this part of the country to feel the chilly touch of the hand of winter. The ice however, was not yet strong enough to sustain the weight of a stage carriage, neither was it very readily to be broken; so that when we reached the falls of the river, where it is usual to cross in going from Philadelphia to New York, we had to remain for upwards of two hours, shivering before the bitter blasts, until a passage was opened for the boat, which was to convey us and our vehicle to the opposite side. The crossing of the Delaware at this place with a wheel carriage, even when the river is frozen over and the ice sufficiently thick to bear, is generally a matter of considerable inconvenience and trouble to travellers, owing to the large irregular masses of ice formed there, when the frost first sets in, by the impetuosity of the current, which breaking away the slender flakes of ice from the edges of the banks, gradually drifts them up in layers over each other; it is only at this rugged part, that a wheel carriage can safely pass down the banks of the river.
When the ground is covered with snow, a sleigh or sledge is by far the most commodious sort of carriage to travel in, as neither it nor the passengers it contains are liable to receive any injury whatsoever from an overturn, and as, added to this, you may proceed much faster and easier in it than in a carriage on wheels; having said then that there was snow on the ground, it will perhaps be a subject of wonder to you, that we had not one of these safe and agreeable carriages to take us to New York; if so, I must inform you, that no experienced traveller in the middle states sets out on a long journey in a sleigh at the commencement of winter, as unexpected thaws at this period now take place very commonly, and so rapid are they, that in the course of one morning the snow sometimes entirely disappears; a serious object of consideration in this country, where, if you happen to be left in the lurch with your sleigh, other carriages are not to be had at a moment’s warning. In the present instance, notwithstanding the intense severity of the cold, and the appearances there were of its long continuance, yet I had not been eight and forty hours at New York when every vestige of frost was gone, and the air became as mild as in the month of September.
[Sidenote: LONG ISLAND.]
This sudden change in the weather afforded me an opportunity of seeing, to much greater advantage than might have been expected at this season of the year, parts of New York and Long Islands, which the shortness of my stay in this neighbourhood had not permitted me to visit in the summer. After leaving the immediate vicinage of the city, which stands at the southern extremity of the former of these two islands, but little is to be met with that deserves attention; the soil, indeed, is fertile, and the face of the country is not unpleasingly diversified with rising grounds; but there is nothing grand in any of the views which it affords, nor did I observe one of the numerous seats, with which it is overspread, that was distinguished either for its elegant neatness or the delightfulness of its situation; none of them will bear any comparison with the charming little villas which adorn the banks of the Schuylkill near Philadelphia.
On Long Island much more will be found, in a picturesque point of view, to interest the traveller. On the western side, in particular, bordering upon the Narrows, or that contracted channel between the islands, through which vessels pass in sailing to New York from the Atlantic, the country is really romantic. The ground here is very much broken, and numberless large masses of wood still remain standing, through the vistas in which you occasionally catch the most delightful prospects of the distant hills on Staten Island and the New Jersey shore, and of the water, which is constantly enlivened by vessels sailing to and fro.
[Sidenote: LONG ISLAND.]