USA > Pennsylvania > Lancaster County > Ephrata > Chronicon ephratense : a history of the community of Seventh Day Baptists at Ephrata, Lancaster County, Penn'a. > Part 19
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Atheist, 2 namely, such an one as trod under foot the house- hold of Jesus Christ. 3
The covenant, nevertheless, which was inade by him in the water will rise up against him on the last day, and witness
2The whole history of this man shows under what a high guidance the Superintendent must have stood at the time. He may have known all his frauds, for so much intelligence he still possessed; but it was not permitted him to see into the future. Everything that happened to him he accepted as coming from God, without his own choosing, and if his reasoning thus made a fool of him, his successors were put to the same test. In proof of it let us cite a few incidents. Once a beggar and his wife were brought before him, who desired to be baptized and received into the Settlement ; herein he did not act according to human understanding, for counsel was soon taken upon it as a very important matter. All the Solitary agreed not to receive them, and represented to the Superintendent that they were already so burdened with so many people who could not support themselves, that no honest person would in the future like to have anything to do with them. But the Superintendent asked them whence they had the right to close the door against the poor ? Had he done like them, and not given his possessions to the Community, Ephrata would never have been built, and none of them would be present here. Thus he compelled them through the strength of God to assent and to admit these people, and then author- ized a Brother to perform the rite. But what a wonder! As soon as these people had done their work, and the Solitary thus been humbled, the angel of judgment pursued them and they decamped without waiting for bap- tism. O, how blessed is the man who puts his trust in God and lets his goodness rule over him! He, indeed, experiences how faithfully God takes care of his own.
Another incident, similar to this, happened some time later. Two other married people came, not much better than the former, and brought the same request. But in this case the Superintendent met with such strenuous opposition that he became helpless. At last he left it to the choice of these people to live in the Settlement without being baptized, or to receive bap- tism and go their way again. When they chose the former, he became convinced that baptism was not their true motive, and he let them go their way.
3 About the year 1782 he made a new attempt at intercourse with his former Brethren, for it cannot well be believed that he was fixed in his opinions; but perhaps, if he had obtained their consent it would have been some relief to him in his doubtful condition. He sent a letter of fifty sheets to the Settlement, in which he scoffingly spoke of their household and ridi- culed all the methods which they used to conquer the natural life. And that was no wonder, for since he had again put the old man on the throne, these things were of no use to him. On the contrary he said, Nature was able to bring happiness ; although a fall had occurred, this did not matter much, and a proper civil government could mend this. He offered to live
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against him, and it will fall heavily upon him to have licked the thorns. Those people whom he had brought to the Community also left again, and thus nothing of his work remains.
in the Settlement awhile. When this letter was published, the opinion was expressed that, according to the Apostle's teachings, such people should not be admitted into the houses. When this was made known to him, he thought that they were afraid of being seduced, and gave up his visit. His deatlı occurred in 1785.
CHAPTER XXVII.
THE MILLS OF THE SOLITARY ARE DESTROYED BY FIRE; A BOOK OF MARTYRS IS PRINTED FOR THE MENNONITES; THE DOMESTIC HOUSEHOLD UNDERTAKES A REFORM WITH THE HELP OF THE SOLITARY; AND A NURSERY IS ESTABLISHED TO LEAD BOYS TO A SPIRITUAL LIFE.
Before I take in hand this singular event, I must make inention of the household of the Brethren in Zion, as it existed at the time before the mill was bought. I men- tioned above that at the foundation of this Order, the Brethren, without exception, had dedicated themselves to the service of God and the Community, and without expec- tation of any compensation, which at first was a means of supporting them in their poverty, since at that time they had their support mostly from the offerings of the Community. But when these offerings began to be neglected, tlie Breth- ren fell into unbelief and bought the mill under the pre- tence that they had 110 need to live by the grace of other people. It is rightly maintained that this inill laid the foundation of their worldly household, as described above. The same, moreover, could never be brought under the dominion of the spirit which ruled in Ephrata; accordingly many Brethren turned towards the mill whenever they wished to escape the discipline of the Holy Spirit, which still was at the helin in the Settlement; since, besides hard work, they had the advantage also of being able to live their natural life, by which, however, they at last trifled away their holy calling and ran into the arins of the world.
Shortly before the mill burnt down the Mennonites in Pennsylvania agreed that their great Book of Martyrs, which was printed in the Dutch language, should be translated and printed in German. No one in the whole country was considered better able to do this than the Brotherhood in Ephrata, especially since they possessed a new printing press and a paper-mill, and moreover were able to put a sufficient
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number of hands to work. The contract was very advan- tageous for the above-mentioned Mennonites, for it was agreed on both sides that the Brethren should translate and print the book, but the Mennonites should afterwards have liberty to buy or not to buy. But as soon as this compact became known it was everywhere feared that the good Brethren might gather mammon for themselves; they even received let- lers of warning from friends in Germany on that account. But the good God had other designs which even the Brethren were not aware of until they were so far involved in the work that they were unable to withdraw. The Superintendent, who was the instigator of this work, never allowed a suspen- sion of work or carnal rest in the Settlement, and therefore seized every opportunity to keep all those who were under his control in perpetual motion, so that no one might ever feel at home again in this life, and so forget the consolation from above, which purpose this Book of Martyrs excellently served, as will be told in its place.
On September 5th, 1747, which was a Sabbath, the fol- lowing important circumstance happened. When, according to custom, the Brethren after supper on that day had allotted the work for the week in presence of the Superintendent, and had ordered that these Brethren should work at the printing press, others in the book-bindery, several in the paper-mill and flour-inill, and others again at shoemaking, etc, the Superintendent spoke these weighty words in con- clusion: "I now withdraw again from all that has been done, and leave it to God, in order to see what kind of a trial will come to me through this whole affair. For as yet I have no proof at hand by which I could know that God approves of it," etc. But when every person in the Settlement was wrapped in the first sleep, and the millers were going to the work assigned them, on their way they saw the mill all in flames. They, therefore, gave the necessary alarm in the whole Settlement. Everybody, Brethren as well as Sisters, ran to the fire in one of the coldest nights of the whole winter, and each one strove to be the first to quench the flames. But careful examination showed that all labor would be in vain, therefore they did not make the attempt. Finally it was
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tried, not without danger to life, to extinguish a wall of burning logs; and thus an advantage was gained, and the fire kept within its bounds, so that the saw-mill (which had already commenced to burn) and the paper-mill, which stood without the above-mentioned wall of wood, were saved from being burnt. 1 Many suspected envious persons of having caused it, but careful examination showed that the fire originated at the fulling-press. Within four hours in this fatal night, the whole flour-mill with three stones and a great quantity of wheat were consumed; a skillfully built oil-mill, with stones the like of which none before existed in America, besides a large store of oil, and above 500 bushels of flaxseed. A com- plete fulling-mill with all that belongs to it.
Thus did the fire, with God's permission, make an end of all the mammon which the Eckerlins by their flaying, scrap- ing and miserly conduct had gathered in the former household. The old-time confidence in God was sought to be gained again, for the most of the Solitary remembered quite well how they formerly had often worked in the bakery for a long time, the supply being wonderfully increased without human help. Here the Superintendent again began to appeal to God, who had imposed such burdens on him; for all the sup- ply of bread in the Settlement was only enough to last for eight days. This moved the Fathers of the Community to hold a conference among themselves, in which one addressed the Community in the following way: "You, Brethren, what is to be advised in the matter? You all know that the mill of the Brethren and all its contents have been turned into ashes, and in addition that the bake-house in Ephrata, from
1 Although this mill was the cause of the Solitary Brethren engaging in all kinds of worldly pursuits, in oppositon to their heavenly calling, it never- theless must be acknowledged that it was of great benefit to the house- hold, for the poor Solitary have obtained their bread by it now for nearly fifty years. Therefore it is to be supposed that it had little favor to expect from the world-spirit and from the people who belong to it. This is proved not only by the conflagration of that time, but by the fact that after this mill had been rebuilt, in the year 1784, envious people dared to burn it down again, and to start the fire in a place which was overfilled with combustible material, occasioning a terrible conflagration, which, however, was early discovered and extinguished.
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which eighty Solitary Brethren and Sisters obtained their sustenance, is entirely empty. It would be very well if we would agree among ourselves to retrieve this loss." This speech opened their hearts so that every house-father will- ingly sacrificed all he had that was not needed for his own household for the service of the Solitary. And because all this proved insufficient they bought of their neighbors so much besides as they considered necessary until the mill should again be rebuilt. May God recompense them on the day of judgment.
But this was not the end of their goodiess. For after a consultation had been held about the matter, the whole Community offered to assist in every way to rebuild the mill for the Solitary Brethren. This was a wished-for opportunity for the Superintendent, since it had been his desire long ago to see the house-fathers have an interest in the inill, because it had thus far had the name of being the property of the Solitary Brethren, on which account he was afraid the Sisters might some day fall short. The rebuild- ing of the inill was, therefore, commenced with great energy by the Community and the Solitary Brethren during the coldest season of the year, so that already six weeks after the fire one set of stones was again in operation. I must not forget to mention at this place how remarkably God iloved the hearts of the neighbors, so that everyone, accord- ing to his ability, contributed wood or helped with his teamn. And because these people were mostly people of the great religious denominations, their impartiality was all the more wonderful. The Brethren showed themselves grateful for it in later times and assisted them in every way at the building of their church.
After the inill was finished, with the help of the Commu- nity, the Superintendent became debtor before God to the domestic households, because they had shown so much faitli- fulness to the work of God at the time when the Solitary were so severely chastened; wherefore he sacrificed himself and all his property to the service of the Community. For, as already mentioned, there existed a disagreement between the Solitary and the domestic household, which it was not
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easy to remove, in which the household, because it stood nearest the world-realm, mostly had the worst; but as God had given the balance into the hands of the Superintendent, the latter preserved the equilibrium, and did not permit the Solitary to hold the married in dishonor on account of their condition. So he also brought it about that half of the new mill was awarded to the Community as a reward for their faitliful services, to which the Solitary Brethren agreed. Thereupon the Community transferred their half to the Sisterhood as their particular property, and the Solitary Brethren gave a bill of emption to the afore inentioned Sisterhood for greater security. Through this the influ- ence of the Solitary Brethren was not only sensibly weak- ened in the Community, but the household of the Sisters almost obtained the preponderance and commenced to get too strong for the Solitary Brethren; in consequence of which inany vexations arose, of which I shall speak at another place.
After the building of the mill was completed, the printing of the Book of Martyrs was taken in hand, to which import- ant work fifteen Brethren were detailed, nine of whom had their work assigned in the printing department, namely, one corrector, who was at the saine time the translator, four compositors and four pressmen; the rest had their work in the paper-mill. Three years were spent on this book, though not continuously, for there was often a want of paper. And because at that time, there was little other business in the Settlement, the household of the Brethren got deeply into debt, which, however, was soon liquidated by the heavy sales of the book. The book was printed in large folio forin, contained sixteen reams of paper, and the edition consisted of 1300 copies. At a council with the Mennonites, the price of one copy was fixed at twenty shillings, (about {1), which ought to be proof, that other causes than eagerness for gain led to the printing of the same. 2
2This book eventually met with strange experiences during the Revolu- tionary war in America. When there was a great lack of all war-material and also of paper, the fact was betrayed that there was a large quantity of printed paper in Ephrata, which then was pretty soon confiscated. Many
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That this Book of Martyrs was the cause of many trials among the Solitary, and contributed not a little to their spiritual martyrdom, is still in fresh remembrance. The Superintendent, who had started the work, had other reasons than gain for it. The welfare of those entrusted to him lay near his heart, and he therefore allowed no opportunity to pass whichi might contribute anything to it. Those three years, during which said book was in press, proved an excel- lent preparation for spiritual martyrdom, although during that time six failed and joined the world again. When this is taken into consideration, as also the low price, and how far those who worked at it were removed from self-interest, the biographies of the holy martyrs, which the book con- tains, cannot fail to be a source of edification to all who read them. Moderation and vigilance were observed during this task as strictly as ever in the convent; but everything was in such confusion, that in spite of all care, each had to submit to discipline at least once a day. God be praised that brotherly love did not suffer from it! The Superintendent visited this school of correction once every day, in order to preserve tlie balance among the Bretliren.
About this time the domestic household had to experience perceptible changes, and certainly for the worse. Their children had in their young days lived according to the inanner of the Community; their dress was simple; they also entered into the covenant of baptism; but the parents, instead of keeping thein under the law during their youth, gave the freedom of the Gospel into their hands too early, so that vanity awoke within them, and being elated by their goodness, they took to scoffing, and soon to such an extent
protests were raised against this in the Settlement, and it was alleged, among the rest, that this might lead to evil consequences on account of the English army. They resolved not to give up anything voluntarily, but that it would have to be taken by force. Consequently there arrived two wagons and six soldiers, who took possession of all the copies of the Book of Martyrs, after making prompt payment for them. This gave great offence in the country, and many thought that the war would not end favorably for the country, because the memorials of the holy martyrs had been thus mal- treated. At last, however, they were honored again, for some sensible persons bought in all that were left of them.
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that none of the Solitary were willing to work with themn. Having at last brought their parents to take their part, they abandoned the simple dress and clothed themselves after the fashion of the world. The Superintendent, who always was a true patron of the domestic household, took this much to heart. He spoke much with the parents, that under pre- tence of the Gospel they had surrendered their right over their children. But it was too late. An attempt was, how- ever, made to stem the evil. Accordingly the 15th of May, 1749, was fixed as a day of fasting, repentance and prayer. On that day all abuses in the Community and among the Solitary were abolished as much as possible, and the parents, too, were prompted to burn the worldly dresses of their chil- dren. And because at that time the subject of matrimony was still weighing heavily on them, so that young people were obliged to follow disorderly ways in order to accommo- date themselves to it, the youth were given their freedom, but so that it was done in the Lord, without consent of the parents.
About this time a young Brother, P. W. 3 by name, who wished to change his state, confided in the Superintendent and asked for one of his spiritual virgins. This, of course, was an encroachment upon the church government. But he consented, for he had as little right over the spiritual virgins as the great 'Apostle Paul himself. He, himself, attended the wedding and ordered one of the Solitary to perform the cere- mony; but it resembled more a devotional meeting than a wedding. The Superintendent and his brother took leave of the bridegroom with a kiss, who opened his heart too far to them, and thus weakened the conjugal love between him- self and his bride so much that they could not embrace each other for eight days. For the strife between the celestial Virgin and Eve's daughters for the possession of Adam's empty side is so severe that where the first takes hold all the others must give way. The bridegroom came to the Super- intendent, and, with the bride's consent, asked for a separa- tion, for they were still free. Accordingly the Brother who had united them was called for and asked whether he were
3 [Peter Weitner. ]
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willing to separate them again? The answer was: "Rather than unite them." Thereupon he wrote two letters of divorce, which they signed, and thus renounced forever all right over each other. But it was not long before the bride repented. She took her bridegroom before court, where the letters of divorce were produced. The justices were astonished at this transaction, and one of them said: "By God, this man can do more than God and the king." Then they resolved to fetch the writer by a writ; it was, however, decided that they had no right over him, because he had only been the writer. They obliged the bridegroom to receive his bride, to which decree he submitted.
A door was also opened at that time to work upon the young people, a great number of whom were staying with the Brethren. Some had come from Germany, others attended the school. These were seized by the spirit of awakening, so that they commenced to hold prayer-ineeting every morning and evening, and avoided the company of those who led a disorderly life. But the matter did not end there, for on December 2d, 1749, they immersed one another in the water, and on the same day held among themselves a love-feast and breaking of bread. The Fathers of the Com- munity, when they saw heaven again open for their youth, took advantage of the opportunity; and when an overseer was appointed for them, they committed their boys to his care, so that in a short time their church increased to twenty- two members. Now the building of a house for thein was commenced, which was to be called Succoth, for which pur- pose much lumber had already been prepared. For the Superintendent was anxious that this awakening should not fall into the care of strangers, wherefore also they were not permitted to unite in prayer with the Brethren, but a separate prayer-meeting was held for them alone. The house, however, was never completed.
It appears, however, that they were not satisfied with their first baptisin, for they spoke with the Superintendent about it, who dared not deny thein baptism on account of their youth, especially since there is proof that boys of such an age have been martyrs. Therefore he baptized six of thein on Decem-
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ber 18tl1, 1749. Some of the Community mutinied against it, and accused the Superintendent of wishing to introduce the baptisin of children again. They also agreed among themselves not to break bread with them; but through this they fell away from charity, and left the Community. On the 22d of the same month six more were baptized, with the performance of which the Superintendent charged one of the Brethren. On the following January 30th, 1750, a break- ing of bread was held for them, by which act they were com- pletely incorporated into the Community, two of then, Daniel Wüster and Philip Benssel washing the feet of all the Brethren. After this institution had existed eighteen months, it again fell to pieces, whereby many were defrauded of their hopes; but the Superintendent was not affected by it, because he had not sought anything therefrom.
About the time that the printing of the Book of Martyrs referred to was commenced, the government of the Brethren underwent another change, and the Prior, Jethro by name, was dismissed from his office. When a new election was about to be held the Superintendent addressed the Brethren with great earnestness and adınonished them to remember the future Prior in their prayers, because this office was fraught with great danger. As this was known to the Brethren none was willing to undertake it. But at last the choice fell upon one of the oldest Brethren, Eleazar. The above-mentioned Brother Jethro had indeed shown inore liveliness in his admin- istration than circumstances allowed him, and therefore was much exercised over this change, especially since he was enrolled with the printers and thus became a cominon Brother. He grew tired of life and longed for his dissolution. This had sich an effect that he sickened, and after an illness of seven weeks and five days he laid aside his earthly tabernacle, October 12th, 1749, and on the following day was gathered to his Brethren. His leave-taking of the Brother who attended him was very edifying: "Good night," he said, "now I set out for eternity. May God reward you for the faithfulness you have shown to me; there we shall see each other again." He is still kept in blessed remembrance among the Solitary. And with this we will conclude this chapter.
CHAPTER XXVIII.
CONCERNING AN AWAKENING IN GIMSHEIM, IN THE PALATI- NATE, WHICH BROUGHT MANY PEOPLE TO THE SETTLEMENT. VERY SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCES CONNECTED WITH A DROUGHT IN PENNSYLVANIA.
We now have to speak of the awakening in Ginsheim, which brought many people to the Settlement. Ginsheim is a considerable place in the Palatinate, situated between Worins and Oppenheim, on the Rhine. The Superintendent had an own Brother there, who had been converted by him. The Su- perintendent exchanged letters with him from Pennsylvania (see his 4th printed Theosophic Epistle, page 84), and there is cause to think that the first fire of this awakening originated in these letters. The chief inen of the awakening were Lohman and Kimmel. As these, on one occasion, before their awakening, spent the night in the tavern with cards and drinking, they were so violently seized by the hand of God that they melted into tears and resolved to begin a better life. The thing was soon known by report, and they were joined by those who had a like intention. At last it came so far that they began to hold meetings in the fields or at other places, when the power of God revealed itself so wondrously that powers of prophecy were often felt among them. But since they avoided the church, the Roman Catholic and Reformed ministers sounded an aların, and every Sunday thundered from their pulpits against these new Pietists, till at last they brought about that a commission was appointed by the chief bailiff in Altzey to look into the conduct of these people, and especially whether they were accustomed to sing and pray at their meetings, for this was forbidden under penalty. All but eighteen drew back at this examination, and the Reformed minister informed against these at the ecclesiastical council of the Palatinate in Heidelberg. The leaders of the awakening were then
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