Till that morning when we shall be crowned by Jesus the Son of God.
In the rooms which have been occupied by any departed sister, a piece, in imitation of a tablet, is framed and put up, expressive of the character and virtues of the deceased, or some feeling memorial of love, and pious anticipation of meeting again in heaven, is inscribed. The following was found in the kammer which had been occupied by Zenobia, a very beautiful, amiable, and devout sister.
Zenobia Wird Gruenen und Gedeihen, ihre Arbeit wird nicht vergeblich, noch auch ihre Hoffnung verlohren seyn, ihre Ehre bluehen mitten unter den Heiligen.
Zenobia will prosper and flourish. Her labours will not be useless, nor her hopes vain. Her glory will be revealed in heaven.
An apartment, denominated the writing-room, was particularly appropriated to such purposes, and several of the sisters devoted their whole attention to this labour, and became highly skilled in it. Others transcribed the writings of the Founder of the Society, thus multiplying copies for the wants of the community, before their printing press came into operation. Two very ingenious sisters, named Anastasia and Iphigenia, were the principal ornamental writers. They formed, with immense labour, a large folio volume of "sample alphabets" of various sizes and different styles, though all are alike curious, and exhibit the most patient application. The letters of the first alphabet are one foot in length, surrounded by a deep border, in imitation of copperplate engraving, of which each one is different in style and finish. It was finished in the year 1750, and is still preserved as a rare curiosity, by the trustees.
Another room was exclusively set apart for the purposes of transcribing music; hundreds of volumes, each volume containing five or six hundred pieces, were transferred from book to book, with almost as much neatness and quite as much accuracy, as if done with a graver.
The Society at Ephrata, after their printing press came into operation, published several valuable historical and religious books. Of these, an edition of the "Bloody Theatre," an old German work, was nearly all taken by the American army for cartridges. Several of the members were decided literary characters of no mean ability.[43]
At one time it was in contemplation by three brothers, named Eckerlin, of whom the eldest was prior, and had the superintendence of the secular concerns, to make Ephrata a place of more importance in the world than it could acquire from its character of a religious refuge. They were natives of Germany, and they had been educated in the principles of the Catholic faith. They projected the plan of erecting extensive buildings for manufacturing purposes, and of entering into extensive mercantile concerns. For this they had made considerable preparation, such as cutting and hewing the timbers, and were in readiness to erect a town. They had likewise sent to Europe, where they had extensive and powerful connexions, and procured, unknown to the Society, a chime of bells, and likewise a large clock for the tower. These arrived in Philadelphia, and the bill requiring payment being forwarded to the Society, made the brotherhood acquainted with the circumstances. They determined not to receive them, but had them sold, and paid the loss. One of these bells, having upon it, "Sub auspicicio viri venerandi Onesimi societatis Ephratensis præpositi," was purchased for, and is now on, one of the churches in Lancaster. The clock was sold to one of the Reformed Lutheran societies in the same place. This transaction led to an investigation of the conduct of the Eckerlins, which resulted in the timely discovery of a conspiracy they had entered into to possess themselves of the property, which at that time was extensive and valuable. This discovery terminated in the expulsion of Israel, the prior, from his office. The brothers subsequently removed to Virginia, where they obtained considerable notoriety in connexion with Indian affairs. The Society, in its apostolic simplicity, desired no tower, no bells. They even refused to have a bell to summon them to the midnight meeting, which was regularly held at that hour of the night,—Beissel quaintly observing, that the spirit of devotion ought to be sufficient to insure their attendance; and it generally proved to be adequate.
The community at Ephrata were decided Whigs in the Revolution, although they considered contention with arms and at law as inconsistent with the Christian character and profession. In the war of 1756, the doors of the cloister, including the meeting-room, the chapels, and every other building, were opened to afford a refuge to the inhabitants of Tulpehocken and the Paxton settlements, then on the frontiers, as they fled before the murdering and marauding bands of Indians; and all were kept and fed by the Society during the period of alarm and danger. Upon hearing of this the royal government despatched from Philadelphia a company of infantry to protect and defend the place; and becoming aware of the character of the Society, presented them with a pair of large and beautiful communion goblets, which was the only recompense they could be prevailed on to receive. At a much earlier period they attracted the attention of the Penn family, and Lady Juliana Penn, in England, opened a correspondence with the Society. Governor Penn visited them frequently, and being desirous to bestow upon them a solid evidence of his regard, had a large tract of five thousand acres of land surveyed and conveyed to them as the Seventh-day Baptist Manor. This, however, they refused to accept, believing that large possessions tended to engender strife, and that it was inconsistent with the Christian character to be absorbed in the gains of this world and the accumulation of temporal property.
A few days after the battle of Brandywine, Sept. 11th, 1777, the whole establishment was opened to receive the wounded Americans, great numbers of whom were brought there in wagons, a distance of forty miles; and that long train of various conveyances, that came slowly up the valley where the field had been contested—the train that bore those whose shattered limbs seemed to defy all surgical aid, or whose contagious disease was like the pestilence that wasteth at noonday, was received by the brothers of Ephrata as if it bore forward the gathered harvest of summer. And those sisters,—did they shrink from that dreadful exhibition of human suffering? did they turn pale, and sicken at the view of bruised and mangled limbs, clotted gore, and the sound of deep heart-rending groans? Oh no; their sympathy was of the practical kind. It prompted them to assuage and relieve. And with the kindest and tenderest feelings they garnered up the sick, the wounded, and the dying, in their rooms, their chapels, and their edifices, devoted to public worship or domestic duties, with a welcome and care that only religion could dictate, and that only true patriotism could have evinced. Of the five hundred who were brought there one hundred and fifty died, notwithstanding the attendance of Doctors Scott, Yerkel, and Harrison. The dead were buried with all the decencies of friendship, and with all the ceremonies of military propriety. They were principally from the Eastern States and Pennsylvania. The place where they lay is enclosed; and in the autumn of 1845, the corner stone of a monument, bearing a suitable inscription, was laid by Governor Shunk, in presence of a great multitude of people who had assembled to witness the ceremonies. In the burying-ground which belongs to the Society are the tombs of the ancient fathers, with suitable marble monuments erected to their memories. A large stone, marked with German letters, covers the grave of their founder.