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Show 4p TRAVELS TIIROUGH THE UNITED STATES: port of the eld rs and warckns of the fociety it appears to the fupcrintcnd. nt th'tt he is able to maintain a wift:, fi1e then acquaints her protl gee '' ith the otter, and fhould {he confent, they arc married i!llmcliatdy, but if {he do n t, the fuperintendant fele (}s another female from the houfc', whom fi1c imagines would be fuitable to the young man, and on his approval of her they are as quickly married. Hafty as thefe marri;1 3es are, they arc never l nown to be attended with unhappinefs; for hc.i ng tau 'ht from their car1ieft infancy to keep thofe pa{Tions under controul, \\ hich ccafion fo much mifchief amongft the mafs of !1l:LJ kind; b~..ing inured to rcgul.u· habits of induftry, and to a quiet f(>h cr life; and being in their peac ... ablc and retired fettlcments out of the reach of tho!i; temptations which pcrfons arc e pofed to who . aunch forth into the bufy world, and who mingle with the mnltitude, the parties meet with nought through life to intcrru pt their domeftic repofe. Attached to the young men's and to the young women's houfes there arc boarding fchools for boys and .girls, under the direCtion of proper teach rs, which arc alfo infpcc1:ed by the elders and wardens of the fociety. Thd(; fchools are in great repute, and not only the hildren of Moravians arc fi nt to them, but alfo thofe of many genteel perfons of a different perfuaGon, refident in Phibd ,lphia, New York, and other towns in the neighbouring tatcs. The boys ar inftruB: d in the Latin, German, French, and Englifi1 languages; arithmetic, mufic, drawing, &c.: the girls are likcwi!c infiruCted in thcfe different languages and fcienccs, and, in {hort, in every thing that is ufually taught at a female boarding fchool, except dancing. When of a fuflicient age to provide for tbcmfelves, the young women of the fociety are admitted into the houfc ddtincd for their accommodation, where embroidery, fine needle-work, cardin0 , fpinning, knitting, &c. &c. and other works fuitable to females, are carried on. A feparate room is allotted for every difrercnt ufinds, and a female, fomewhat older than the rcft, prcfides in it, to ini} 1cB: the work, and prefervc regularity. Pcrfons are appointed to dif ofe of the feveral articles manufaCtured in the houfe, and the money which they produce is difiributed amongfl: the individuals engaged in § manufaCturing I . M 0 RAVIA N S. 453 nunufaCluring them, who, after paying a certain fum towards the maint•.: nance of the houlc, and a c rtain fum befides into the public fund of the fociety, are allowed to k cp the remainder for themfclvcs. After the boys have fini{hed their fchool education, they arc , pprcnti ed to the bufincfS which accords mof1: with their inclination. Should thi be a bnfinefs or trade that is carried on in the yonng men's hou(<:, they at once go there to learn it, but if at the lJOufc of an individual in the tO\·\'n, they only board and lodge at the young men's houfe. If they arc inclined to agri ultural purfuits, they arc then put under the arc of one of the farmer· of the fo iety. The young men fubfcribe to the [upport of their h ufe, and to the public fund, juO: as the young women do; the widows do the .G·une; and every individual in the town likewi[e con tributes a fmall fum weekly to the general fund of the focicty . Situated upon the ere k, which fkirt the town, there is a Hour mill , a faw mill, an oil mill, a fnlling mill, a mill for grinding bark and dye fluff, a tan · yard, a cmrier's yard; and on the Lekigh River an extcnllvc brewery, at which very good malt liquor is manufaCtured. Thefe mills, &c. belong to the focit:ty at large, and the profits arifing from them, the perfons fcverally employed in c nducting them being firO: handfomcly rewarded for their Cervices, are paid into the public fund. The lands for fomc miles round the town, which are highly improved, likcw.ifc belong to the focicty, as does alfo the tavern, and the profits arifino- fi·om them arc difpofed of in the fame manner as thofc arifing fi-om the mills, the perfons employed in managing the f.mn , and attending to the t:tvern, being nothing more than fl:ewards or agents of the fociety. The fund tim raifed is employed in relieving the cJifircifed brethren of the focicty in other parts of the world, in forming new fcttl ments, and in defraying the expence of the mifiions for the purpofe of propagating the gofpel amongft the h athens. The tavern at Bcthkhem is very commodious, and it is the neatefi and befl: conduCted one, without exception, th:Lt I ever met with in any part of America. Having communicat d to the landlord, on arriving at it, our wifi1 to fee the town and public buildings, he .immediately difpatcbcd a meifenger for one of the elders, aud in lcfs than a quarter of an hour; brother |
