iiiliii Class Book COPYRIGHT DEPGSnr _/67 L THE (BeRMAN (pIETISTS OF Provincial (!&ennsylvania BY JULIUS FRIEDRICH SACHSE LIFE-MEMBER HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF PENNSYLVANIA, AMERICAN PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY, PENNA-GERMAN SOCIETY, ETC. • 1 694- 1 708. PHILADELPHIA: PRINTED FOR THE AUTHOR 1895. COPYRIGHT, 1895, By JULIUS F. SACHSE. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Printed by P. C Stockhausen, 53-55 N. 7th St., Philadelphia. PART 1. THE WOMAN IN THE WILDERNESS. PART 11. THE HERMITS ON THE WISSAHICKON. APPENDIX. Of this Letter Press Edition Five Hundred Copies have been Printed for Sale. No. ^6^ -<^-£^ N^ovenibt'r, iS()^. FOREWORD. ^N submitting this volume to the public, the writer I ventures the opinion that it will prove an accep- ^^ table contribution to our local history. The annals of Pennsylvania and Philadelphia have for years past been conspicuous in the chronicles of the nation. There is, however, one particular in which they have been more or less deficient, viz., in the history of the early Germans who came to this country with the firm intent of founding a home in the new world for themselves and posterity, and who took so large a part in the formation of our great commonwealth. The promise of liberty of conscience caused Pennsyl- vania, toward the close of the seventeeth century, to be- come the dream of the various religious sects and enthu- siasts then arisen in Germany, and at variance with the established orthodox church of their special divisions of the Fatherland. They longed for the religious freedom offered them in the Province of Penn, and gave shape to their desire in an extended emigration from Germany, fostered, as it were, by Benjamin Furly, the agent of Penn at Rotterdam. Thus arose the peculiar religious condition of the Province, and the establishment of the many differ- ent sects in the early period of our history. Some of these congregations, founded upon the tenets of true religion. vi Foreivord. have maintained their autonomy, and exist even to the present day, having increased with the growth of the country. Others, again, whose foundation was not so stable, or whose system of congregational government proved unsuitable to the changed conditions resulting from an increasing population, exist now only in tradition and history. Conspicuous among the latter class is the Community of German Pietists, or true Rosicrucian Mystics, who came in a body to these shores in the year of grace 1694, under the leadership of Magister Johannes Kelpius, in the firm belief that the millennium was near. To this body of religious enthusiasts the present volume is devoted. The influence exercised by them, coming, as it did, at the critical period when the Quaker hierarchy was rent with internal dissension, was of the greatest im- portance ; and to the efforts of individual members is due the honor of holding the first orthodox church services within the Province since it became Penn's domain. It was through their efforts that the Church Party took heart, and, toward the close of the seventeenth century, perfected organizations which resulted in the establishment of congregations of the various Protestant denominations in Pennsylvania. How their influence extended into neighboring colonies, and how one of their number was the first person to be ordained to the ministry in America for missionary pur- poses, is also shown in these pages. The text is amplified by several hundred foot-notes and illustrations. Where rare or unique books are quoted, a fac-simile of the title- page is given wherever possible. Another object has been to preserve every scrap of information bearing upon this interesting episode of Pennsylvania history. At the same Foreivord. Vll time the greatest care has been taken to verify the old legends and traditions and trace them to an anthentic sonrce. The search for documentary information has been carried on over both continents, and no time or expense has been spared with pen, pencil and camera to make the volume exhaustive and complete. Acknowledgements are due to Fredk. D. Stone, Litt. D., the learned librarian of the Historical Society of Pennsyl- vania, for advice and suggestions ; to the Hon. Judge Samuel W. Pennypacker, of Philadelphia, for the use of rare books and documents in his library ; to the Sesqui- Centennial Memorial Committee and the authorities of the Moravian Church at Bethlehem, for courtesies extended to the writer in his investigations ; to the Reverend J. H, Sieker, pastor of St. Matthew's congregation in New York, for access to the old church records ; to the Rev. Roswell Randall Hoes, for the use of his abstracts of S. P. G. Records ; and also to Albert Edmunds and the many other friends, at home and abroad, who in various ways have assisted the writer. Julius Friedrich Sachse. Philadelphia, November , iSg^. LIST OF PLATES. The Anchorite Cell of Kelpius Relics of the German Pietists . Effigy of Johannes Tauler .... Ericus Tob : Biorck (Portrait) .... God's Protecting Providence (Fac-simile of title page) horologium achaz Seeking the Lapis Philosophorum The Hermit's Glen on the Wissahickon The Old Monastery Johannes Kelpius (Portrait) . Magister Johannes Fabricius (Altdorfimis) Penny Pot House and Landing Christ Church, Philadelphia (Prior to the Revolution) Christ Church. Philadelphia (Interior prior to the Revolution) ...... Breitenhaupt House, Nordheim (Germany) Gloria Dei (Old Swedes Church), Wicacoa Moravian Evangelists (Portraits) St. Michael's Church, Germantown De Quaakers Vergadering William Penn (von Kneller portrait) A Scene in Old Rotterdam A Page of Rosicrucian Theosophy (Fac-simile) Frontispiece, facing page lo 96 104 112 120 184 201 224 232 272 288 289 296 360 400 424 448 448 456 472 CONTENTS. PART INTRODUCTION. Sect People of Pennsylvania. Heirlooms. Pietistic Sects. Unitas Fratrum. Sources of Information. Rosicrucian Theosophj' i-io THE EXODUS FROM THE FATHERLAND. The " Sara Maria." The Embarkation .... 11-12 THE VOYAGE TO AMERICA. Kelpius' Diary. The Start from Holland. Falkner's Mis- sive. Perils of the Journey. Miraculous Delivery from Shipwreck. The Final Start. Instructions for Sailing. A Fight at Sea. Capes of Virginia. End of the Voyage. 13-27 THE ARRIVAL IN PENNSYLVANIA. The Blue Anchor Tavern. Entrance into Philadelphia. Visit to the Lieutenant Governor. The "Sonnenwend- feuer." Arrival at Germantown ..... 28-36 THE CHAPTER OF PERFECTION. Theory of Mystic Numbers. Leaders of the Party. The Perfect Number. Rosicrucian Symbolism . . . 37-42 GERARD CROESE. Quakeriana. John Jacob Zimmermann. Appeal to Benja- min Furly. The German Pietists. Teutonists. Jacob Boehme 43-48 THE PIETISTS IN GERMANY Spener. Collegia Pietatis. Johannes Tauler. Erfurth. August Hermann Francke. Royal Edicts. Expulsion from Erfurth. Halle Institutions. Essentia dulcis. Spread of Pietism. Expulsion of Francke. Mystical Symbols. Elenora von Merlau. Kabbalistic Philosophy. Rosicru- cian Epitome 49-64 X Contents. IN THE NEW WORLD. The Religious Situation. Lutheran Services. The Augs- burg Confession. Christian Quakers. EngHsh Services. Keithians. Heinrich Bernhard Koster. Episcopal Ser- vices. Rev. Jacob Fabritius. The Tabernacle in the Forest. The " Sternwarte." Ravine of the Wissahickon. The Cave in the Hillside. Daniel Falkner. Muhlenberg's Tribute. Rosicrucian Theosophy ^'b-ll THE WOMAN IN THE WILDERNESS. Evangelical Union. Doctor Schotte. The Celestial Eve. The "Contented of the God-loving Soul." The Har- binger in the Skies. Motus Puta Intrinsecus. Educa- tional Movements 7S-S3 A RIVAL COMMUNITY. Koster's Ministrations. Keithian Complications. The Brethern in America. Irenia. The House of Peace. Controversy. " De Resurrectione Imperii ^ternitatus." A Unique Title. The Coming of the Lord . . . 84-92 AN EMISSARY TO THE OLD WORLD. Arrival of Swedish Missionaries. Service at Wicacoa. Visit to Kelpius. " A Poetical Thanksgiving." Arrival of Rev. Thomas Clayton. Philadelphiac Society. Daniel Falkner's Return to Europe. " Curieuse Nachricht" . 93-99 REYNIER JANSEN. Moral Jewel Caskets. A German Prayer-book. The Jan- sen Tradition. The Second Press in Pennsylvania. Jansen- ites. Jansen Press in Amsterdam. Satan's Harbinger Encountered. A Provincial Proclamation. Death of Reynier Jansen loo-ioS THE DIVINING ROD AND HOROSCOPE. Zimmermann's Deductions. Hermetic Studies. The Menstrum Universale. Cabbala and Apocalypse. Divin- ing Rod. Casting of Nativities. Horologium Achaz. Ancient Traditions. Phlebotomy. Barber-chirurgeon. Cometo-Scopia ........ 1 09-1 19 LOCAL SUPERSTITIONS. The Mystic Seal. Zauber-zettel. Wunder-sigel. Old Shrunk 120-124 Contents. xi THE MYSTICS ON THE WISSAHICKON. Abel Noble. " Noah's Dove." " A Little Olive Branch." The Mumford Letter. Kelpius' .Mysticism Detined. Quie- tists. Man or Macrocosm. Stephen Mumford . . . 125-138 RETURN OF DANIEL FALKNER Peter Schaffer. Departure of Ko.ster. Gloria Dei at Wicacoa. Return of Falkner. The Frankfort Land Company 139-146 CLOSE OF THE FIRST DECADE. Matthai and Witt. Quakerism. William Penn's Second Visit. Services at Germantown. Penn and the Indian Chief. A Curious Legend. A Supernatural Visitor. The Laurea. Andreas Sandel. English Superstition Tribute to Pastor Rudman. Civil Affairs. Justus Falkner. Return of Keith. Trinity Church, Oxford . . . 147-160 VISITS OF SABBATARIANS. The Rodgerines. A Jansen Imprint. Samuel Bownas. A Rhode Island Deputation. The Westerly Records. William Davis. "Jesus the Crucifyed Man." The Fame of Kelpius 161-166 ATTORNEY AND BAILIFF. Daniel Falkner. As Attorney. The Original Document. Board of Property. William Penn. The Old Germantown Record Book 167-175 THE DECLINE OF THE COMMUNITY. Falkner's Swamp. Abandonment of the Sternvvarte. "A Loving Moan." Missive to Hester Palmer. The "Three fold Wilderness State." " The Fruitful Wilderness." "The Barren Wilderness." " The Elect of God." " A Comfor- table Song" 176-192 THE HERMITS ON THE RIDGE. The Sprogel Brothers. The Books of the Community. Christ Church Library. Magister Seelig. Conrad Mat- thiii. The Separatists. Conrad Beissel. Michael Wohl- farth. Arrival of Zinzendorf. The First Pennsylvania Synod. Evangelical Alliance. Fresenius. The Monas- tery on the Wissahickon. The Camp of the Solitary. Ephrata MS.S. The Changes of Two Centuries . 193-204 xii Contents. THE LOCATION OF THE TABERNACLE. Thomas Fairman's Gift. Vicaris Tract. Righter Ferry. Oldest Map of Germantown. After Two Hundred Years. Phoebe Righter. Evan Prowattain. The Hermitage Grounds. Glen in the Forest. Hessian Camp. Mora- vian Records. Fairmount Park 205-215 PART MAGISTER JOHANNES KELPIUS. Services in Pennsylvania. Sievert's Nachrichten. Ante- cedents of the Magister. Father and Brothers. Studies at Altdorf. Graduates. Learned Thesis. Magister Fa- bricius. Literary Works. Chapter of Perfection. George Kelp. Kelp von Sternberg. Diary. Greeting to Rev. Biorck. Missive to Fabricius. Penn and the Indian Chief. "Restitution of all Things." Calivius. Anglican Faith. Metemptosis. Knorr von Rosenroth. " Voice of Hidden Love." " The Bitter Sweet Night Ode." " Colloquim of the Soul." "A Loving Moan." Personal Description. Christian Warmer. Mysterious Casket. Death of the Magister. Whittier's Pennsylvania Pilgrim . . . 219-250 HENRICH BERNHARD ROSTER. Labors in America. Establishes Church Services. His Youth. As Pedagogue. Translates the Old Testament. Refuses a Lucrative Appointment. Erudition of Koster. Rathhelf's Account of Koster. The Founding of Christ Church in Philadelphia. Preaches to English, Welsh and Germans. Quaker Opposition to Lutherans. Persecu- tions of Swedish Lutherans in Philadelphia. First German Book Printed in America. Yearly Meeting at Burlington. Demand of the Keithians. Exortation of Koster. Printed Account. The Friends' Side. Keithian vs. Orthodo.x. Public Baptism by Koster. Administers the Eucharist. Pastorius' "Rebuke." Fac-simile of Title. Outcome of the Controversy. Rev. Thomas Bray. Arrival of Rev. Thomas Clayton. Dedication of Christ Church. Evan Evans. Titles of Books. Mystery of the Triad. Roster's Decachordon. Nordheim. Enters the Lutheran Orphan- age at Hanover. Death and Burial 251-298 Contents. xiii DANIEL FALKNER. Impressions of the New World. His Character. Religi- ous Ancestors. Lectures at Erfurth. Spener and Falkner. Excommunication by Koster. Anna Maria Schuckart. Prophetess of Erfurth. The Three Ecstatic Maidens. Charitable Bequest. Furly to Falkner. Attorney for Furly and Frankfort Company. Superceeds Pastorius. Elected Bailiff. Johann Jawert. Perfidity of Sprogel. Climax of the Conspiracy. Captain Vinings' Report. Falkner Swamp. First German Lutheran Church. Removes to New Jersey. Ari Van Guinea. Pastor of Lutheran Churches. Ancient Subscription List. Caspar Stover. Church Dedication. Rev. William Berkenmeyer. Church Council. John August Wolff. Retirement of Pastor Falkner 299-334 JOHANN GOTTFRIED SEELIG. Sketch of. Bosom Friend of Kelpius. Magister of the Community. Resigns in favor of Conrad Matthai. Intro- duces Bookbinding into Pennsylvania. An Ephrata Tradi- tion. Patriarch Miihlenberg's Tribute to Seelig's Piety. Retires to Cabin on Levering Farm. Visited by Moravian Missionaries. Death and Burial. His Magic Staff. Will and Inventory 355-34" DOMINIE JUSTUS FALKNER Birth and Parentage. Earliest Record of Studiosis at Halle. Biorck on Falkner. Rev. Francke. Composes Spiritual Hymns. "Auf ihr Christen," fac-simile. Popu- larity of Falkner's Hymns. Appointed Attorney by Ben- jamin Furly of Rotterdam. Arrives in Pennsylvania. Appears in Court in Furly's behalf. Elected Burgess of Germantown. Dominie Rudman Proposes Justus Falk- ner as Pastor for New York. The Call. Acceptance. Ordained at Gloria Dei. Description of the Service. Rudman as Suffragan. Invocation. Consecration. Certifi- cate of Ordination signed on the Altar. Journey to New York. Accepts the Charge. The old "Kercken-Boeck." Entry and Invocation. Serves Churches in the Hudson Valley and New Jersey. Condition of Churches. Appeals for Aid. Troublesome Times. Disputes with Calvinists. Publishes the first Orthodox Lutheran Text Book in America. Falkner's Orthodoxy. Extent of Missionary xiv Co7itcnts. Field. Rev. Josua Kocherthal. Personal Notices. Old Church Register. Fac-simile of Title Page. Church Papers. Doop Register. Entries and Votum. First Communicants. An Indian Baptism. Marriage of Dom- inie Falkner. Arduous Duties. Correspondence. Last Records. Death. In Memoriam 341-385 CONRAD MATTHAI. Conspicuous about Germantown. Portrait. Magus on the Wissahickon. Succeeds Seelig. Counsels Beissel. Camp of the Solitary. Espouses Cause of the Eckerlings. Reconciliation with Father Friedsam. White Magic. A Psychological Experiment. John Bechtel. Bishop Cam- merhoff. Visits from Moravian Evangelists and Converts. Attends a Pennsylvania Synod. Serious Condition. An Impressive Service. Death and Burial. Chronicon Ephretense. A Moravian Tribute 386-401 DOCTOR CHRISTOPHER WITT. The last of the Mystics. Christian Warmer, Doctor of Physic and Chirurgene. Widow Zimmermann. Estab- lishes first Botanical Garden in America. John Bartram. Peter Collinson. Dr. Witt as Botanist. Interesting Cor- respondence. Mechanical Ingenuity. Clockmaking. Musical Instruments. Great Comet of 1743. Hexenmeister of Germantown. Superstitions. The " Teufels-bursche." Signature to Will. William Vates. Death. Curious Burial Custom. Charitable Bequest ...... 402-418 THE ROMANCE OF SPOOK HILL. The Warmer Graveyard. Location. List of Burials. Ghostly Legends. Moravian Burial-ground in Germantown. Old Legends. A Weird Story. Dr. Witt. Mount Misery. Reservation of the Ground. A Desolate Spot. The Morris Family. Deed of Gift. St. Michael's Church. Consecration. The Old Mulberry Tree. A Glorious Monument 419-430 APPENDIX. BENJAMIN FURLY. Birth and Marriage, Zeal for Quakerism. Records of. "You to Many, and Thou to One." Publishes Quaker Books Appeal to Burgomasters of Rotterdam. William Penn. Visit to Holland and Germany. Furly as Inter- preter. " Het Christenrijk ten Oordeel." John Locke. Makes Suggestions to Penn. The First Protest Against Negro Slavery in America. Pastorius. Promotes first German Emigration to Pennsylvania. Publishes Descrip- tion of Provmce in Dutch and German. Landed Interests. Reynier Jansen. Appoints Falkner as Attorney. Thomas Lawrence. Sells the Land to Jacobus van de Walle. Correspondence with Locke. Renounces Quakerism. Bibliography. Von Uffenbach's Visit. Bibliotheca Fur- liana. Phillipus Limborch. Personal Appearance. Curious Map of Pennsylvania. The Sons of Furly. His Tomb in the Groote Kirk 433-459 MAGISTER JOHANN JACOB ZIMMERMANN. Sketch of. E.xpulsion from Wiirtemberg. Difficulty in Tracing. Ambrossii Sehmanni. Johannis Matthaeus. Erudition of the Magister. Astronomical Calculations. Mundus Copernizans. Jacob Boehme. Old Church at Beitigheim. A.stroIogy and Magic. Accused of Heresy. Bibliography. Descendents in America .... 460-472 DOMINIE ANDREAS RUDMANN. Studies under Dr. Svedberg. Selected as Missionary- to Pennsylvania. Biorck and Auren. King Charles XI. Contribution and Dismissal. Condition of the Province. Supplies Christ Church, Philadelphia. Radnor and Oxford. Quaker IntoUerance. Persecution of Lutherans. Pro- ceedmgs before Council. Trials of the Early Missionary. Gratuity from London. His last Letter. Burial at Wica- coa. Epitaph. Renewal of Quaker IntoUerance. San- del vs. Chambers. Final Proceedings before the Provin- cial Council . . 472-4S3 ILLUSTRATIONS. Theosophical MSS., votum Pennsylvania (1694) Seal Arndt's Wahres Christenthum Title Paradis-Gartlein, Title Unitas Fratrum, Seal . Thauleri Predigten Ephrata Relics . . . Rosicrucian MSS., Title Arms of Commonwealth, 1894 Theosophical MSS., votwin German Empire (1694), Arms Pietistical Emblem of Christ Kelpius' Diary, votuni . . William Penn, Arms . Kelpius' Diary, page i . . Falkner's Send-Schriben, title Philadelphischen Societat, title Ship " Sara-Maria" . Will. Allen, Autograph Naval Trophies . . Map, Chesapeake and Delaware Laus-Deo, Emblem . . A and O, heading . . . Philadelphia (1701) Seal William Penn, Autograph Blue Anchor Tavern . . Governor Fletcher, Autograph Seal William Markham, Autograph Penn's Cottage .... Theosophical Symbol Prima Materia, Symbol . Essenes, Symbol . . . Rosicrucian MSS., folio 7 Heading, Mystic . . Holland (1693) Arms . . PAGE I 4 5 6 8 9 :o II II 12 13 13 14 15 16 20 21 25 26 27 28 28 28 29 31 31 32 33 36 37 37 41 43 43 Wiirtemberg (1693) Arms Croese Ouakeriana, Title United Netherlands. Arms Monogram of Christ, Greek Erfurth, Episcopal Seal . Phillip Jacob Spener, Portrait Phillip Jacob Spener, Auto graph Erfurth (1693) Arms . . . Collegium Pietatis in Session Edict of Denmark, Title Edict of Charles XI, Title . Historia von Erffurth, Title Aug. Hermann Francke, Por- trait Aug. Hermann Francke, Auto graph Merlau, Mystical Chart . Glaubens-Gesprach, Title . Pietistical Faith, Epitome . Unaltered Augsburg Confes sion. Title Germantown, Seal of, 1691 Ancient Telescope . . Rosicrucian Symbol . . Keith's Catechism, Title, 1690 Rosicrucian MSS. 24th folio Ephrata Community, Symbol Astrological Emblem . . The Woman in the Wilder ness Abgenothigter Bericht, Title 1739 Celestial Eve, Emblem . . Broadside, illustrating Apoca lypse 44 45 48 49 49 50 51 51 53 54 54 55 56 58 60 61 61 63 66 65 71 72 75 76 77 77 78 79 80 82 JlliLstratioJis. xvii PAGE Mithra, Symbol 83 Prima Materia, Symbol ... 84 Esoteric Symbol 86 Rosicrucian Symbol .... 86 A Sophar ........ 89 De Resurrectione imperii, Title 90 Holy Lamp of Tabernacle . 91 Hermes, Ancient Emblem . . 91 Cabbala, Symbol 92 Ephrata Pilgrim, Symbol . . 93 Philadelpiiiac Symbol ... 96 " Curieuse Nachricht," Title . 98 Ancient Lamp 99 Ephrata Hand-press .... roo Moral Texts loi Schatz-Kastlein with Spriiche . 102 Schrift-massige Anweisung, Title 103 Comprehensive Method of Prayer, Title 104 Proclamation Broadside . . 107 Headpiece, The Astrologer . 109 Old Horoscope 109 Scriptura S : Copernizans, Title 1 10 Comet-stern 1682, Title . . .118 The Jansen (Amsterdam) press 119 Zauberzettel 120 Astrological Charm . . . .120 .... 121 Artabel 122 Tritheim Zettel 123 Magic Signet 124 On the Stern warte . . . .125 Seal of Solomon 125 Macrocosm appearing to Dr. Faustus 133 Astrological Chart .... 138 Gloria Dei, a. d. 1700 . . . 139 Mythraic Symbol 139 Gloria Dei, 1895 143 Phallic Emblem 146 Light from Darkness .... 147 PACK Great Seal of Province, 1699 . 147 " " obverse 159 An Aerial Apparation . . . 152 Old Germantown Horoscope . 155 " " Relic . . . 160 Connecticut Seal of, a. d. 1700 161 "Jesus the Crucifyed Man," Title 165 Frankfort on the Mayn, Arms 167 Sweden, Arms of, a.d. 1700 . 176 Allegorical Representation of all Faiths 182 Rhode Island, Seal of . . . 192 Ephrata Community, Seal of . 193 The Tabernacle in the Forest . 204 Cave of Kelpius, 1894 . . . 205 Oldest Map of Germantown . 208 Contour Map of Community Tract 209 Germantown, Seal . . . .215 Kelpius' Autograph . ... 219 Clover Blossoms, Tailpiece . 215 Mystic Seal of the Community 216 Kelp von Sternberg, Arms . .219 Seal, Royal Library, Stuttgart 223 Fac-simile of Biorck Letter . 228 Kelpius' Hymn Book, Title . 236 Kelpius' Hymn Book, German Page 238 Kelpius' Hymn Book, English Page 242 Christian Warner, Autograph 245 Daniel Geissler, " 246 Symbol, " Fire and Water " . 248 German Society, Seal of . . 249 Chur-Brandenburg, Arms . . 251 Rotterdam, Arms 258 Magdeburg, " 258 Amsterdam, " 259 Friends Meeting at Burlington 269 Ancient Pewter Chalice . . . 277 Pastorius' "Rebuke," Title . 2S1 XVlll Illustrations. PAGE Bishop Compton, Portrait . . 286 Koster's Harmonie, Title . . 293 Roster's Harmonie, Mystic Chart 295 Hanover, Arms 296 Nordheim " 297 Koster's Harmonie, Fac-simile 298 Daniel Falkner, Autograph . 299 Falkner's Send-schreiben, Fac- simile 299 Erfiirth, Arms of, A. d. 1895 . 302 " Old University . . . 303 " Street View .... 305 Signatures on an Old Deed . 307 Pastorius, Autograph . . . 308 Benjamin Furly, Autograph . 309 " " Address . . 309 Pastorius vs. Falkner, Fac- simile 310 Jawert's Letter 313 John Henry Sprogel, Auto- graph 315 Andreas Sandel 320 West Jersey, Seal 323 Falkner's Subscription List, Fac-simile 327 Berkenmeyer Diary, Fac-simile 333 Chur-Braunschweig, Arms . . 335 Justus Falkner, Autograph . 341 Chur-Sachsen, Arms .... 341 Justus Falkner as Student . . 342 Dissertatio Gradualis, Title . 343 " Auf ihr Christen," Fac-simile 345 Zionitischer Weyrauchs Hiigel, Title 346 East Jersey, Seal 350 Rudmann's Entry in Church Register 352 Signatures to Ordination Cer- tificate 360 Falkner's First Entry in Church Register 362 PAGE Official Signature of Dominie Falkner 363 Seal of New York, a. d. 1703 . 364 "Grondlycke Ondericht " Title 368 Fac-simile of First Printed Hymn 370 Kercken-Boeck, Title page . 375 Earliest Baptismal Record, Fac-simile 377 First Communicants, Fac- simile 383 Ancient Dutch House . . . 386 Chur-Pfaltz 388 Conrad Matthai, Portrait . . 389 Arms of Penn, 1723 .... 402 Christopher Witt, Autograph . 403 Christopher Witt, Signature to Will 415 The Warner Tombs . . . .419 Entrance to Old Spook Hill . 420 A Colonial Doorway .... 429 Ancient Dutch Headpiece . . 433 Royal Arms of Holland. . . 433 Benjamin Furly, Signature . . 434 " A Battle-Door," Title . . .436 " Het Christenrijk Ten Oor- deel," Title 441 John Locke, Autograph . . . 442 Sidney's Goblet 442 Furly 's Anti-Slavery Clause, Fac-simile 444 Dutch Description of Pennsyl- vania, Title 446 German Description of Penn- sylvania, Title 447 Wiirtemberg, Arms 1689 . . 460 Old Church at Beitigheim . . 465 An Old Spinning Wheel . . 472 Axel Oxensteirn, Autograph and Seal 473 Gustavus Adolphus, Autograph 48* Finis 484 D . O . M .A. INTRODUCTION. (^ O subject of local his- tory offers a greater field for study to the historical student, or is of greater interest to the gen- eral public than that of the so-called " Sect" people of provincial Pennsylvania. By the tenn " Sect" people, as applied to early emigrants to this State, are to be under- stood such communities or Seal of thk Province 1694. bodics of German emigrants as left their native land for conscience sake, or were driven out by bigoted persecution, and who, either prior to their departure or shortly after their arrival in this country, for religious or social reasons fonned distinct communities or congregations in the New World, keeping themselves dis- tinct and separate from their dissenting countrymen as well as from their English-speaking neighbors. These people on account of the adherence to their native tongue, unostentatious mode of life, frugality, and peculiar religious ceremonies, — devout and loyal as they were, — D. O. M. A. — From title page of Theosophical manuscript ; abbrevia- tion of Deo Optimo Maximo Altissimo. 2 The Pietists of Provincial Pennsylvania. became from the start more or less objects of suspicion, and later on, after the influx of the more aggressive Irish ele- ment, were maligned, and no opportunity was let pass to injure or oppress them. This was especially the case after the outbreak of the French and Indian wars, as nearly all of the so-called " Sect" people of Pennsylvania were, like the original Friends or Quakers, what are known as non- combatants. Their peaceful and domestic habits, their refusal to med- dle with politics or the affairs of State, their tenacious adherence to their mother tongue, together with their sub- sequent success in nearly all their undertakings, both indus- trial and agricultural, all tended to excite the envy of their more intemperate and turbulent neighbors, and resulted in ridiculous charges of heresy being brought against some of these distinctive communities, when, as a matter of fact, they were composed of none but God-fearing men and women. These calumnies have been repeated so often in print that they are now received as truth by the casual reader. It is this state of lamentable ignorance or misrepresentation by writers upon the subject, together with the persistent vilification by a certain class of New England writers, that has given to readers at a distance the impression that even the present generation of Pennsylvania-Germans of certain denominations are but a single remove from the animal creation. Although all of the early " Sect" people of Pennsylvania were non-combatants, it is not for a moment to be under- stood that they were deficient in courage, as in cases where they submitted meekly to ruthless oppression it was not caused by any lack of manhood, but was merely putting into practice the religious teachings they professed. Heirlooms. 3 It is a curious fact that the writer, iu all of his travels throuo;hout this State aud in his historical researches, has ©rt ®filt ml Jtcfhe.d)n, Mmi, Y^t to find the first specimen ^Crni 30l)antl 2(rnbta/ offireanns or murderous wea- Shtl' (Bnittal ' Sopmntnifiaitnit M SutOnillluiiU ©ointitdx SmDe »ii*n P^ns brought over b)- the ori- 2>on! 2CaI)rcil ginal Gennan emigrant. Yet B 1 1 it C K f 5 U tft / ^^^^^^ ^^ hardly any Pennsyl- hoMkt,^ vania-Gennan family which f)fi!|i)iiifr?5u(rf/ bftjiidjft Olmunb 2fit uixt bif 6ui*« , . ^ . . , iinbiBfll)Cfni9ilaubfn/ou(t)l)(ili9fmSrttnunli9BanM CaUUOt pOlut With pardou- Oidit niitm nut b«yB«fiigttn ^cStttn/ aiiii«itfuiig«ii/i,.... and "Paradies Gartleni ') (Bu-fftn/ a3«ixs» «>«t«i> ;>"«* coiPDiuc- g^jii jj-^ |--|^g possession of the family, and which formed the chief treasure of the original emigrant, as it proved his comfort in times of sorrow and ^ Arndt's " Wahres Christenthum" was originally published in Germany in 1605, and was followed by many subsequent editions. This devotional book was held in great esteem by the early Germans, especially such as adhered to the Orthodox Lutheran faith ; it was usually bound together with the ' ' Paradies Gartlein, ' ' making a volume of 1300 pages quarto. The titles reproduced are from the copy which was brought to this country by the ancestors of the writer. As all the various pietistical ' ' Sects' ' in Pennsylvania took kindly to the writings of Arndt, whom they claimed as one of their members, the demand for the book became so great that Benjamin Franklin, together with Johann Bohm, in 1751, proposed to pub- lish an American edition provided 500 subscribers could be obtained. The preface to this American edition was written by the Lutheran minister. Rev. J. A. Christoph Hartwig, and had the support of both Lutheran and Reformed Churches. This was the largest book printed in Philadelphia during the last century. It contained 32 pages of preface and 1356 pages of text, with 65 imported copper plates. This edition did not contain the " Paradies Gartlein." Fourteen years later, in 1765, Christopher Saur, of Germantown, published the latter ; it was a 16 mo. with 32 pages of preface, and 531 of devotional text and index. Both of these books are now extremely rare. 4 The Pietists of Provincial Pennsylvania. trial. Where relics of worldly handicraft still exist, precious heirlooms as they are, they are found to be implements of peaceful arts, such as were used in the farm economy or the domestic household. The Mennonites were the first body of emigrants to come to these shores as a distinctive sect ; ^ the original party consisted of thirteen families, who arrived at Gennantown, October 6th, 1683. The next distinctive community, a party of " Labadists" from Friesland, arrived in the fall of 1684, under the leadership of Petrus Sluyter and Jasper Bankers, who settled on a tract of land known . as the "Bohemia Manor," a s^nni^ZZmi, portion of which was in New asfoi. ©fnf^al.©ul^mntfn^mml<^rtswfll(^lB^• Castle County, and then formed HnntutlgtS a part of Pennsylvania.-' ^rtrr1^t^'^rt1*ffritt Ten years later, June 24th, ^I^WVWVi;'"^^WVIUlll 1694, Kelpius and his chapter SDr((ili(t)cn'sugtnb(n/ of Pietists or true Rosi crucians eoidje landed in Philadelphia, walked 2)ur(& anW^ftge unt> m^m 0(&rtf to Gennantown, and finall y set- j^, ^ «,a«t«barfien mm^>^ xm ^\^ tied on the rugged banks of 1 the Wissahickon. It is to this Snligti extlmtt taaM eumiM community and their successors on the Cocalico the subsequent pages are mainly devoted. The year 17 19 marks the advent of the Bunkers or Ger- ■^ For a full account of the early Mennonites and their settlement in Gerniantown, see the exhaustive papers upon the subject by Hon. Samuel W. Pennypacker, w'yL.—Mcnnonite emigration to Pennsytvaiiia, " Penna. INIagazine," vol. ii, pp. 117, et. seq. The settlement of Gennantown, Pa., "Penna. Magazine," vol. i, p. i, et. seq.; also "Historical and Bio- graphical Sketches," Philadelphia, 1883. ■^ The members vs^ere under the impression that they were wholly within the bounds of Penn's domain. TJie Pietistic Sects. man Baptists ; ^ twenty families arrived in Philadelphia in the fall of that year. Germantown also became their strong- hold, whence emanated all the other congregations of the faith throughout the State. The " Neu-geborenen," or the " Stillen im Lande," '" settled in the vicinity of Germantown about 1725. The Ephrata Community, on the Cocalico, who were the virtual successors to the Mystics on the Wissahickon, dates from about the same period, and the names of the two leaders, Conrad Beissel (Father Friedsam Gottrecht) and the Rev. Peter Miller (Prior Jabetz) are well recognized in Pennsyl- vania history. The Schwenkfelders arrived in Philadelphia from Ber- thelsdorf and Gorlitz in the fall of 1734, and located in Philadelphia and Bucks Counties, where their descendants still religiously celebrate from year to year the anniversary (" Gedachtniss Tag") of their arrival. The last and the most important relio-ious enthusi Province as a com Unitas Fratrum,or also called the Mo Their first perma was made- on the Bethlehem now though a small col Pennsylvania in evangelists as early Seal of the Unitas Fratrum. body of German asts to come to this m unity was the Moravian Church, ravian Brethren, nent settlement Lehigh, . where stands, in 1742, ony had arrived in 1 740, and their first asi734.«Nowtlieir influence extends throuehout the whole continent, from the * See "Chronicon Ephretense." Translation by Rev. J. Max Hark, D. D. , chapter i. * See " Hallische Nachrichten," orig. edit. p. 226. New edition p. 348, annotations by Rev. J. W. Mann, ibid. p. 417. TJie Pietists of Provincial Pennsylvania. frozen wilds of Alaska to the tropical glades of the West Indies. Wherever a mission station is needed there is to be found the Paschal Lamb and cross of the Moravian Church.^ The most interesting of these communities, by reason of the air of mystery which has thus far enshrouded their history, was the one led by Johannes Kelpius, the mem- bers of which were imbued with the highest religious thaulp.ri ■• PREDiGFEN." ^ud purcst uioral motives. These people came to the colony, then in its earliest stages of development, for the purpose of pennanently settling within its borders, and at the same time enjoy to ^ The first Moravian evangelist in America, George Bohnisch, landed at Philadelphia, September 22d, 1734, having been sent by Zinzendorf with Christopher Bans and Christopher Wiegner to accompany the Schwenk- felder exiles to America ; Bohnisch engaged in evangelistic activity for several years, and returned to Europe in 1737. Spangenberg and Bishop David Nitschmann came to Pennsylvania in April, 1736, and labored for awhile among the Schwenkfelders and others, making Wiegner' s house their home. George Neisser arrived in Pennsylvania in February, 1737, from Georgia, and took up his abode temporarily at Wiegner's. So for awhile there were three of them in Pennsylvania, viz., Bohnisch, who returned to Europe, 1737; Spangenberg, who left for the time being in 1739, ^iid Neisser; Nitschmann, the fourth, left in June, 1736, and returned in 1740. Andrew Eschenbach, sent to the Pennsylvania-Germans by Zinzendorf at Whitfield's suggestion, arrived at Philadelphia in October, 1740. Christian Henry Ranch and Frederick Martin (afterwards missionary bishop in the West Indies ) were also in Pennsylvania before the end of 1 740. ' A full and exhaustive history of the Moravian Congregation at Bethle- hem is now in course of preparation by the Church authorities. This work is intended to be a Sesqui-Centennial Memorial of that Church in America. It will give a full and concise account of the early trials and struggles of the Moravian pioneers in America, whose chief object was to spread the gospel among all persons irrespective of creed, color or nationality. Sources of hiforniatioii. n the fullest extent the promised liberty of conscience and religious freedom. Another cherished object was to put into practical opera- tion the mystic and occult dogmas taught and studied in secret for many previous ages, looking not only to spiritual but also to physical regeneration and perfection. These dogmas, it was believed, also existed among the aborigines in this continent. There has always been a veil of mystery about this com- munity ; numberless are the traditions which have been handed down from generation to generation ; gruesome the tales current in Gennantown and believed throughout the country. They have been repeated time and again during the long winter nights while sitting beside the flickering fireside until they have been accepted as facts. Weird were the tales recounted by the naturally superstitious population, of the occult rites and ceremonies which it is said were perfonned by the adepts, and their followers within the tyled portals of the tabernacle in the forest. The object of the following pages will be to lift some- what this veil of mystery which has so long shrouded the history and ceremonial of this community and to set aside the erroneous traditions, so as to place these Theosophical enthusiasts in their proper light before the enlightened community of the present day, now almost on the verge of the Twentieth Century. Another aim will be to show how, with the decline of the first organization, the scene shifted from theWissahickon to the Cocalico, at Ephrata, where the Mystic Theosoph}- Phoenix-like once again rose from its ashes. In that re- tired valley beside the flowing brook the secret rites and mysteries of the true Rosicrucian Philosophy flourished unmolested for years, until the state of affairs brought about 8 The Pietists of Provincial Pennsylvajiia. by the American Revolution, together with pernicious Sun- da}' legislation- which .also discriminated against the keepers of the scriptural Sabbath day '^ gradually caused the incoming- generation to assimilate with the secular congregations. The information used in this narrative is mainly de- rived from original sources, manuscripts and books used by the different com jji munities, now either in possession of the writer or to ^ which he has had access, together with contemporane g ous accounts sent to Europe by trust- worthy per sons, sup- Ephrata Relics. plemented with extracts from manuscripts in the archives of the Moravian Church and elsewhere. Little or none of the matter in these pages has ever been published, and then only in a fragmentary form. In addition to the above authorities, trustworthy tradi- tions have been incorporated, some of which were related to the writer in his boyhood days. The text has been embellished and amplified with illus- trations and fac-simile reproductions of references and originals whenever obtainable. A number of these illus- trations consist of the secret symbols of the Rosicrucians, copied direct from an ancient manuscript, an heirloom in the writer's familv. It is similar to those used b\- the ** The Sunday law of 1 794 ; for a full account of the causes which led to its passage see paper by J. F. Sachse in "The Outlook" for April, 1S90, ■' The seventh day, or Saturday. Sources of Information. Phis J caMetaehisicv ^J^fyocaL f. zr. u. A ."2^ _•. :e X HYPERPHISICA, X) . O . M .A . o$c Omnipotaitltt^as^tftonos , dMoria mofamorumQ^ailapAmai.! linfdffli ABeif^ucRfT fffucn^i^^c^ &crcitio ^uj\j:a^^ tilt lf-4,'j ijrrt tg^ h9/^%C .>CwWcoJ ^ nine ^ci'^->' A, ^ '. ""^^'^^J/iifri 5r6-W**^ •'i/ dOMtc o nli irr. J< <.**tt^ }/^y)ce-Tt^^ Fac-simile of First Page of Diary of Magister Johannks Kelpius. The Start from Holland. 15 torical Society, from which the title is here reproduced," — (translation) " Copy || of a Missive from || and relating to the New World || The Narra- ^^-> ^^ -p^ y a tion of a dangerous || Sea v^> \_) Jl 1. /\ Voyage, and propitious ^(1105 leilD^l^rettenS (lUf disembarkation of some || ' \>il llCUCn ^elf/betrcfftnO Christian Fellow-travelers ^iC ^rjC^lun^ CJIlCt O0iK\\^VSi \\ who upon this Pilgrim- ^mS'Xi^'^i^^y m^n^'^''^^^^^^K'^ g(^rift(irf)en Dtcifcgcfc^cten/Wfldx ju^fm < age set out the || Faith in fee \\i\i QBallfal)rt angctcettcn/ kit ©loih Jesus Christ even there || ^^» *"» ^^^'""jS"'" '''^''"^' to extend. || Tob : xii. 8.'" ^^^ ^^j g^ Printed in the year 1695." ^^ ^^^j^^ „„t) Surflcn IXat^ un6 ^eimii«fdf« in ine mam lacis me mnn l;rt John Deichmann, secretary of the Philadelphifcl^m Socief^f London society, was kept up for SafianMtnt SinnMttaufrin(5*m(i«i Tlic part)' remained in London until February 13th, 1694 (O. S.), trtSTr^m"'"™®"" when they sailed down the Thames Philalethe , (uif ^3«anlafiu«8 6et B. i;. 3a/ ft)ru^jnt^fn: ©tfjogemtt) to Gravesend, where they embarked (3.f.ME.rmbvntaiilxn. qj-^ ^Iiq^-j- sllip. TlllS VCSSel, COUl- au« Niti €tifllti'cf)tn onfS gctreufli ^ ' ^^- manded by Captain Tanner, was armed and carried fourteen larg-e cannon. The name of the vessel, " Sarah ©«tnKhim3iii)t(£iriii«r<98- Maria" (accordiug to Kelpius, Sara Mariahojue spei)^ was taken by the theosophical enthusiasts who composed the party as a propitious omen for the journey. To them the prosaic ever\'day name of the ship indicated " Glaube^ Licbe^ Hoffniing^^ (Faith, Hope and Love or Charity). According to their mystical interpretation they argued, — 1. By Faith (Sarah) we got for our journe}' the means that were not in sight. 2. By Smyrnean Love ^^ (Maria — in Hebrew Mar, bitter, whence ]\Iaria) which is not obtained without toil and trou- ble, but remains faithful unto death. [Rev. ii, 10.] 3. And at last, through "Hope" we will be "Well" (safely) landed. "For so we have been taught by God." '^ Many were the vicissitudes experienced by these religious '■' An allusion to the epistle to the church of Smyrna : Rev. ii, 8-10. '^ " Penna. Mag.," vol. xi, p. 430. The Perils of the Journey. ' 1 7 enthusiasts during this eventful voyage. The first mishap came at the very outset when they ran into a furious gale in the channel. The pilot, taking his course close to the English coast for fear of Frenclr privateers, was forced to steer between cliffs and sand-banks. As the storm increased in fury, fearing for the safety of the vessel, they cast their largest anchor. When the gale was abating, the ship drifted against the anchor ; it broke, knocking a hole in the ship, which, however, caused no leak. Towards night another storm arose, and the vessel was driven b}^ wind and waves against a hard sand-bank.*'* There was a crash as if every- thing in the ship was turning topsy-turv^ey, and as two more thumps followed, the cry was raised, " Commend your souls to the Lord ; we shall go down." The passengers and crew now gave themselves up as lost, and all threw themselves on their knees and prayed for about an hour, expecting the vessel to go to pieces every moment ; when suddenly Johannes Kelpius, the leader of the party, upon a "third inward prompting," told Captain Tanner that the Lord had promised deliverance, that more dangers were impending but Divine Providence would grant a safe arrival."' Falkner in his account writes, " Here Faith, which conquers the world and its elements, proved so strong and heroic in some of the passengers, that they forgot the danger, went to the captain and told him to be of good cheer : the danger was not meant for destruction, but for testing the belief and the love of many. This proved to be true, for when the prayers strove most earn- estly against the wind and waves, the most powerful waves came, as it were, to the support of the prayers, and at the behest of the Creator, whom they obeyed, lifted the ship ^^ Probably one of the shoals known as the Goodwin Sands. '" Kelpius' MS. Journal. 3 1 8 The Pietists of Provincial Pennsylvania. and carried it over the bank into a safe depth, contrar}- to all experiences upon sea and to the surprise of the crew." After a general thanksgiving service led by Magister Kelpius, in which all on board participated, the journey was continued through the channel. Eventually the Downs'' were reached (February 2ist) without further mis- hap ; here a stop was made for over two weeks ; a new anchor was obtained in place of the one lost, and the ship thoroughly overhauled, while waiting for the arrival of a good convo}', which was to have been sent from London.^'^ . Alluding to this delay at the Downs, Kelpius mentions in his journal — "On the 27th of February we sent letters to London and to Tob. Ad. Lauterbach and others in Ger- many, from whom we had received most cheering answers. " On the 4th of March I received a letter from Samuel Waldenfield, in London, at the Lamp in Fennhard''' Street, with a draft of the pious virgin Catherine Beerens van Bofing on Samuel Standerwick in Deal.-" This gentleman received me and my friend Selig^' the next day very kindly. He listened with the greatest pleasure to our account of the Pietists in Genu any, and invited us to repeat our visit ; we were prevented from doing so by our sailing." This time while lying at anchor was utilized by the party in edifying discourses and biblical study. The expected convoy not arriving, sail was set on the eighth day of INIarch, '" " The Downs," a spacious roadstead in the English Channel, affording an excellent anchorage. It is between the shore and the Goodwin Sands and is much used by the British navy. •~ This was during the universal war then waged against Louis XIV. of France, 1689-1697. In American history it is known as " King William's War." '•' Query : Fenchurch Street ? -" Deal, a seaport and market town in Kent, England. It has no harbor. '-' Johann Selig, one of the members of the party. TJie Final Start. 19 in company with eighteen other vessels, three of which were men-of-war. Under date of the next day (March 9th) the following memorandum in English is inserted in Kelpins' Latin diary in a different handwriting : " Instructions for the better keeping company with their Maj's ship Sandador Prize under my command. " If I weigh in the day I will haule home my foretopsail sheets and fire a gunn. If in the night, I will putt a light in the main top mast shrouds and fire a gun, which light you are to answer. If I weigh in a fog I will fire 3 gunns distantly one after another. If I anchor in the night or in a fogg, I will fire 2 guns a small distance of time one from the other and putt abroad a light more than my constant lights, which light you are to answer. " If I lie by or try in the night, I will fire two guns and keep a light abroad more than my constant light in the Main shrouds and if through extreamity of weather we are forced to lye a Holl or under a Mizen, I will fire three guns and put abroad two lights of equal height more than my constant light ; and if I make sail in the night after blow- ing weather or after lying by or for any other reason I will make the same sing [sign ?] as for weighing in the night, which light you are to answer. " In case of separation if we meet by day the weathermost ship shall lower his Fore top sail and then the leward shall answer by lowering their main top sail. " He that apprehends any danger in the night shall fire guns and put abroad three lights of equal hight and bear away or tack from it ; but if it should happen to be strange ships, then make false fires and endeavor to speak with \\\\ ; and to better to know each other in the night, he that hails shall ask what ship is that and he that is hailet shall ^w- s^^x Adventure^ then he that hailet first shall reply Rupert. 20 The Pietists of Provincial Pennsylvania. Thk "SARA-MARIA," Captain Tanner, Master. (From an old Dutch print.) Listruciions for Sailing. 2 1 " If I have a desire to speak with you I will hoist a Jack- Flag in my iiiizen-top mast shrouds and make a weft with my ensign. " If yon have a desire to speak with my ; yon shall hoist your ensign in your Main-Top-Mast Shrouds. " If in the night you chance to spring a leak keep firing of Guns and showing of lights." After an uneventful sail of four days anchor was dropped in the harbor of Plymouth on March 12th, a good place for anchorage being secured under the guns of the fort. In this harbor the vessel remained for five weeks waiting o for the convoy from London, It was while here in port that letters were received from Lieut. Schmaltz^' and others in Erfurth, and friends in Cleves, Konberg^^ and elsewhere in Germany, questioning '^■' Lient. Schmaltz was a leading spirit of the Collegia Pielatis in Erfurth. He died in 1702. An entr^^ in the town chronicle states " Lieut. Schmaltz could not be induced during his last illness to make any confession as to the person of Christ or the justification of a sinner before God ; he also refused to receive the sacrament." When his friends attempted to bury his body at night by torchlight, they were set upon by the authorities, who drove back the mourners, the parish beadles ( Stadt-Knechte ) extinguished the torches, and took the body and buried it in an unconsecrated corner of the Mercatoruui ceme- tery. — " Historia Civitatis Erffurtensis," pp. 1069. ■■'■' This is evidently a typographical error in the original, no such place as Konberg is to be found on any atlas of that period. Konigsberg is no doubt intended, the seat of the celebrated Albertine University (Collegium Albertinum) founded in 1544 by the Margrave Albert, and which at that period numbered 2000 students on its roster. In later years it became celebrated as the place where the philosophy of Kant was first propounded. 22 The Pietists of Provincial Pennsylvania. the expediency of the party emigrating to the unknown shores of America, and urging the enthusiasts to return to home and friends, notwithstanding the edicts and mani- festoes which were being issued against all Pietists and religious enthusiasts. Kelpius in reply addressed commu- nications to Lauterbach, De Watteville, Meerkamp and others, declining their advice, and adhering to his determi- nation of going to Pennsylvania. The expected convoy not arriving, a final start was made on the 1 8th of April under the protection of several foreign men-of-war, Danish, Spanish and Swedish"* then in the harbor, and which were to sail from Plymouth to Cadiz. For this purpose an agreement was entered into with the Spanish Admiral, Nicholas De Rudder, for a certain sum of money to convoy the vessel two hundred Dutch miles into the ocean ; and on the 25th of April the actual voyage to the new world commenced, in company with another English vessel, the " Providence," carrying 18 guns. After parting w4th the anned escort the two vessels fol- lowed a southwestern course, and for the rest of the month were favored with good weather and favorable breezes. Magister Kelpius, in writing about their life on shipboard, states : " Our exercises on board the ship consisted in dis- courses of various kinds and interpretations of the Scrip- ture, in which those who felt inclined took part. We had also prayer meetings and sang hymns of praise and joy, several of us accompanying on instruments that we had brought from London." On the loth of May the two vessels fell in with three French vessels, one a frigate of 24 guns ; a lively action took place, lasting four hours, and resulted in the repulse '•'* In this war, under the league of Augsburg, almost the whole of Europe was arrayed against France. A Fig]it at Sea. 23 of the French frigate and the captnre of a prize by the consort " Providence." Falkner has left us the following interesting details of this incident, viz. : " On the loth of May our faith was again put on trial. We were only two ships and saw in the morning, when the weather was fair and quiet, three vessels in the distance. (Mark, when at sea a foreign ship comes in sight, immedi- ately alarm is given and everything put in readiness for an encounter. ) Many of us became depressed in mind from a presentiment that they were hostile French ships. They steered directly towards us, but on account of the calm could make no headway for 5 or 6 hours. About noon we could see by the telescope that they carried white flags with lilies, enough to show, that this day things would take a French, not a Christian turn. As soon as this was ascer- tained, every thing was made ready for battle. The pas- sengers were given the choice to fight or not. We, of course, abstained of carnal weapons and taking the shield of faith sat down between decks behind boxes and cases, pra}'ed and invoked the Lord, every one for himself, as on account of the great noise and the report of cannons nothing- could have been heard. We had hardly got down, when a French frigate with 24 cannon and a merchant ship with 6 cannon made straight for our ship and opened fire so vigor- ously, that it was really time to pray for averting great calamity. The merciful Father made the enemies' balls drop into the water before our ship, only one cannon ball struck the ship over our heads without doing harm to anybody, though the ship got a hole two ells above the water line. In the mean time our cannon and ball were not idle, but did great damage to the enemies' ships, which we inferred from their retreat. But half an hour afterwards they re- sumed the attack. Then a 12 pound ball was sent right 24 The Pietists of Pi^ovincial Pennsylvania. through the captain's room, but inflicted no damage ; the captain's boy who carried a bottle in his hand came very near being hit ; the ball took the bottle so neatly out of his hand that he hardly knew the ball had done it. An hour later the frigate fell back a little and with the third vessel, which carried 12 guns attacked our fellow ship, which, however, made a good defense. Here it happened that a Frenchman on the merchant vessel while aiming with his rifle at our captain, while on the point of shooting, was rent to pieces by a cannon ball, before he could pull the trigger. Whether the shot came from our companion ship or ours nobody knows. The enemy stopped firing, expecting us to capitulate or else, designing to turn to our port, but it pleased the Lord to make an end of the racket that day and to drive the enemy to flight by means no one would have thought of. For the Lord put it into the heart of our captain to call all males on deck, and to make them join his crew in raising a pretended shout of joy. When this was done, and the enemy observed on our ship, contrary to ex- pectation, so many heads, whom, they thought, had been fighting and would continue to fight, it was as if their can- nons had at once become dumb and their courage sunk into the sea like a millstone. The Lord struck them with fear, so they suddenly turned their ships about and fled away from us."' The large frigate gave the signal of flight ; but the others could not follow so swiftly and we might easily have captured both of them. Our captain, however, was satisfied when the merchant ships hoisting a white flag sur- rendered. Then we also stopped firing. The two other ^^ It was at this point that the "Providence," the companion of the " Sarah Maria," came up and joined in the pursuit. Being the faster of the two, she chased and engaged the hostile frigate. The battle lasted four hours, but only three balls of the enemy struck, doing little damage to the ship and none to the men. ( Kelpius' MS. Diary. ) The Capes of Virginia. 25 ships got oif ; the third fell into our hands. There were on board twenty four Frenchmen, among them one of the re- fonned faith, who had been attending mass under comj^ul- sion. Seven were taken aboard our ship, including this Huguenot, who liked our company and was pleased that we could speak his language and assuage in some measure his bruised conscience.'** The others were taken on board by our fellows. The ship had a cargo of sugar and came from Martinique under the 17th degree of Latitude. At first the prisoners raised a great wail and lamentation ; they had expected to land in France as freemen and had now to return to America in captiv- ity. But thus they Naval Trophirs. liad UlCaut tO SCrvC us. The Lord fulfilled on them what is written Revel, ch. 13, "He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity."'^ After this episode nothing further of importance occurred, except several false alarms by hostile ships, until June 12th, when, at 10 o'clock a. m., an eclipse of the sun was ob- served, the craft being in lat. 36° 45'. On the evening of the same day (June 12th) the party had their first glimpse of the western world, the capes of Virginia were sighted, and two days later (June 14th) the "Sarah Maria" entered Chesapeake Bay. It took the travelers five days to sail ■"' Kelpius makes no mention of this incident. ''■' The distribution of the cargo, consisting of sugar and cider, gave rise to dissatisfaction, which the captain finally quelled by allowing to all an equal share in the " unjust Mammon." (Kelpius' MS. Diary. ) 4 26 The Pietists of Pi-ovincial Pennsylvania. \ ^\C^ >,VM V ^-K ■^ -rtt . R? Ancient Map Showing Road Between Chesapeake Bay and Delaware Rjver. TJic End of tJic I 'oyage. 27 up the Bay of Virginia, durino: which time occurred one of the strangest and most unaccountable episodes of the voyage. This was a disagreement between some of the party, in which a woman, who was one of the ship's com- pau}-, was evidently the leading cause, or at least a promi- nent character. All that is definitely known about the aifair is the entry in the Kelpius diary-'' — June 17th, under the sign of the sun — " that Falkner was excomnuinicated by Koster, as was also Anna Maria Schuchart." "" That this estrangement between the leaders of the party was but temporary is shown by the fact that no subsequent mention of the episode appears in either the Kelpius or Falkner papers. Five days after the vessel had entered the capes of Virginia the anchor was dropped, and the landing made at the Bohe- mia Landing, as before stated. Daniel Falkner, in his account, at this point notes : " We hope, in this land also. His mercy will not be wasted on us, especially as we are assured that we have come hither bv His will.'' 28 Notabilis ilia Falkneri a Coestere excommunicatio, ut & Aiinge Mariae Schuchartinse (?) Prophetissee Erphortianae ! 2" A further account of this person will be found under the chapter devoted to Koster. THE ARRIVAL IN PENNSYLVANIA. t HE sun was past the me- ridian on Saturday, June 23, 1694, when a sloop, whose deck was crowded with passengers, made fast to the pub- lic wharf of Philadelphia. This landing was built out from the sandy beach at the northwestern shore of the point where Dock Creek emptied its waters into the Delaware ; this beach was almost immediately in front of the Blue Anchor Tavern,^" and was the same point where the Proprietor Wil- liam Pennhad landed just twelve years be- fore. The passengers, as they left the vessel and gathered upon the sloping beach, at first sight looked like a motlev crowd ; thev numbered fortv ■•'■ The Blue Anchor. This ancient hostelrie stood at what is now the northwest corner of Front and Dock Streets ; it was taken down in 1810. For an extended notice of this landing place see " Penna. Magazine," vol. X, p. 61. A Philadelphia Landmark. 29 30 The Pietists of Provincial Pennsylvania. men of various ages, all with intelligent features, and clad in strange attire. Some were in a coarse Pilgrim garb, others in the peculiar dress of the Teutonic university student, while others again wore the distinctive costume of the German interior provinces. It was the same party of religious enthusiasts who had crossed the ocean in the good ship " Sarah Maria." After a short religious ser\'ice the party, walking silently two by two, took a survey of Philadelphia, then nothing more than a straggling village of perhaps five hundred houses,^^ as yet undivided into wards or divisions. Great was their surprise when they learned that, notwithstanding the promises of religious liberty that were granted b\' the char- ter of Penn, not a single house of worship other than those of the Quakers existed within the bounds of the Province f- ^^ In 1700 there were about seven hundred houses; see " ScharfF & Westcott," page 145. •" Christ Church was not built until 1695. The first Baptist congrega- tion on the Pennepack had no house of worship until the year 1 707 ( His- torical sketch by H. G.Jones, p. 11). The Presbyterians erected their first church in 1704. The Swedish Blockhouse at Wicacoa, although still standing, was then ( 1694) in a very ruinous condition, so much so that no services could be held in the building. The old Dutch pastor, Jacobus Fabricius, so far back as 1685 petitioned the Provincial Council for per- mission to keep an ordinar}^ or tavern [for the support of himself and family]. This was refused by Council in the curt sentence that "they don't think fitt to grant ye Petitioners request." [The action of Council was no doubt influenced by the known intemperate habits and life of that pioneer clergyman. " See Doc. Hist. N. Y.," iii, 243 ; " Hallische Nach- richten," new ed., pp. 619-20]. In August, 1693, Magister Jacobus Fabricius again petitioned William Markham, Lieutenant-Governor under Gov. Fletcher, and the Provincial Council. This time the petition was one for relief, and set forth that he had now became totally blind, and was reduced to the direst poverty, and that he had not whereupon to live. Council ' ' Ordered that the church wardens of their church have notice to appear att Council the ffifteenth instant, to make ansr to the said Com- plaint. " This order was aimed against the Christina (Wilmington) con- The Eiitrajicc into PJiiladelphia. 31 nor could the embryo city as yet boast of town-hall, court- house or prison.'^'* Considerable commotion was caused at first among the staid inhabitants of the Quaker City by the advent of this party of strangely robed foreigners walking in a body through the streets. Naturally the question was asked, " Who were these peculiar people in outlandish attire and of foreign tongue?" The information vouchsafed was merely that they were German students who had became convinced of the Quaker doctrine, and were going to settle upon a tract some distance out of the city near the German township — a piece of news which allayed the fears of the inhabitants. The first act of the leaders of this band of emigrants upon their entrance into the city was ^^J^*S />J4^ to call upon —^'^^ ^ ^ B enj amin Fletcher, Captain-General of Pennsylvania, and William Markham, his Deputy Governor, for the purpose, as an old manuscript states, " Of taking the Oath of Allegiance and ex- plaining their reason for coming to the Colony;"'*^ Pennsylvania then being a province under the Crown of England, and out of the control of William Penn.'^^ Seal of Gov. Fletcher. gregation of the lower counties. No notice whatever seems to have been taken of this action of Council. The death of the old clergyman is recorded in the same year. — " Records of Old Swedes' Church," Wil- mington, p. 7. The present church at Wicacoa, " Gloria Dei" or " Old Swedes'," was not built until the year 1700.' '■■' When the General Assembly, consisting of fifty-four members, first met in the city of Philadelphia, they hired a room and paid the expense. The country members took lodgings out of the city and walked in to 32 The Pietists of Provincial Pe7insylvania. Unfortunately, we have no positive record where this unique cere- mony took place. The W (J/ ^ (jcUU^h^^i^^yry^ pro babilities are that it was either at the " great house" built by Robert Whitpain on the lower side of Front Street between Walnut and Spruce, and which is said to have been the official resi- dence of Governor Fletcher when in Philadelphia, or at the Penn Cottage, which formerly stood on Laetitia Court near Second and Market Streets, the residence of Lieutenant- Governor Markham, It was in the latter house,^'' then sur- rounded by ample grounds, that the Provincial Council attend the meetings, frequently bringing their dinners with them. — " Hazard's Register," vol. v, 113. ■^^ This was then a custom of the country. See ' ' Record of Rev. Ericus Bjork ;" "Records of Holy Trinity (old Swedes') Church," Wilmington, Del., pp. II. •*^ In October, 1692, William and Mary, King and Queen of England, appointed Benjamin Fletcher, Governor of New York, to be also Governor of Penns3-lvania and the lower counties on the Delaware. Thus Penn lost the government and jurisdiction over these provinces, without, how- ever, being deprived of his i:ight as proprietary. In making this appoint- ment he was as little thought of as the charter that had been granted to him ; in order, however, to strengthen the royal authority, the new gov- ernor was invested with the power of negativing all laws, and none was to be in force, unless approved by the King. In April, 1693, Fletcher made his solemn entry into Philadelphia, where Governor Lloyd and his Council gave up the government to him without being thereunto author- ized either by the crown or the proprietary. — Eheling. The government of Pennsylvania remained under the Crown of Eng- land from April 26, 1692, to March, 1695. ■■'*' This building was erected by Governor William Markham prior to the arrival of William Penn. The bricks and finer parts of the frame- work were brought from England, together with Penn's workmen ( " ser- vants" ) to set them up. A few years ago this old landmark was taken down and re-erected in Fairmount Park. The illustration here given represents it as it appeared about thirty years prior to its removal. TJic Sojourn in PJiiladcIpJiia. 33 =^-^f^'^'H 34 T^^ic Pietists of Provincial Pennsylvania. held its deliberations at that time and for man)- }ears after- wards, while the Assembly for some )'ears met in " the large room" of the Whitpain house. In former years there was a curious tradition current among the older German residents in connection with the short sojourn of this party within the city. After the formality of reporting to the representative of the Crown had been complied with, arrangements were made for shelter and sustenance as best they could be for so large a part}-, and it was well after nightfall before this was completed. When night had fairh' set in a number of the strangers, tired and wear\' as the}' w'ere, wended their way towards one of the highlands that loomed up just northwest of the old city proper, and which are still known as " Bush-hill" and " Fairmount." Arriving at a suitable point, dry leaves and brush-wood were hastily gathered, a tinder-box was produced, and fire struck with flint and steel. After the leaves and fagots were ignited, pine boughs were broken off and heaped upon the fire luitil a bright flame extended skyward. Then the mystic rites incident to St. John's eve were performed, after which the burning brands were scattered down the sloping hillsides with considerable ceremony. The party then returned to the sleeping city, after having lit for the first time in America, so far as is known, the " Sanct Johannis" or " Sonnenwend-feuer," a mystic cere- monial and religious rite which dates far back into the most remote period of time when the early Ar}ans were yet a small colony in northern Europe.^" •'" The rite of the " Sonnenwend-feuer," held on the eves of June 24th and December 25th, to celebrate the recurrence of the summer and winter solstices, dates back to the dark days of heathen mythology. The rite on the eve of the summer solstice consisted in building a fire on an eminence ; TJie Arrival at Gcrmantouni. 35 The party did not tarry long in the city ; the early Sab- bath morn, even before the snn rose in the east, found them on their way to ''Gennanopel," as Gennantown was then called. Their path led up Second Street, then a mere country lane, due north to Fairhill ; thence northwest to the German settlement under Pastorius, where the " town" consisted of a few houses on a single street. It took the party almost four hours to reach their goal, and the sun was well up on the horizon on that double holiday — "St. Johannis Tag," June 24th, (St. John the Baptist's Day) and Sunday — when the company filed into the village of their countrymen and inquired for the house of one Jacob Isaac Van Bebber,'^'^ a native of Crefeld on the Rhine, near the borders of Holland. Here the weary travelers found a haven of rest. Their arrival had been long looked for by their host, and he forthwith secured for them shelter and sustenance. Much anxiety had been felt by Van Bebber and his friends in Gennantown on account of the non-arrival of when brightly blazing, flowers, pine boughs and bones were thrown into the fire, and the esoteric rites and incantations were performed : these were for the purpose of allaying any possible pestilence or disease. The embers were then rolled down the hillside, indicative of the waning of the sun's power. The rites on the eve of the winter solstice consisted mainly in lighting resinous pine boughs giving an upw-ard flame, denoting the grow- ing power of the sun. The custom of the present day of lighted tapers on the Christmas tree is a relic of this ancient rite. The object of this ceremonial was believed to be a sure safeguard against many evils. The practice still survives in some parts of Germany and maj- occasionall}' be witnessed in Pennsylvania. ■'*** Daniel Falkner, in his " Sendschreiben," notes : " We have here in Germantown a man by the name of Jacob Isaac, a native of Crefeld on the Rhine, near Holland. He was formerly a Mennonite, but he desires to depart with his whole house to acknowledge and abandon the follies, scandals, shortcomings and stains of his former religion." — " Penna. Mag.," vol. xi, p. 440. 36 The Pietists of Provincial Peniisylvania. this party. The long and uncertain ways of communica- tion at that early day precluded any news reaching them as to the causes "of the delay before or after their embarka- tion. On account of the prevailing war with France, great fears were entertained that the party might have been captured and fallen into the hands of the enemy, or succumbed to the elements. But now all uncertainty was removed. The joyful feeling, however, was not confined to the residents of Germantown. Doubly thankful were these wear}' pilgrims that they had arrived safely at the end of their long and eventful journey on the natal day^**^ of the Saint whose example they strove to follow by words and action. '^'' In the whole calendar there are biit two natal days, viz., St. John the Baptist's Day, June 24th, and Christmas Day, December 25th. All other saints' days are memorial days, which mark the day of their supposed martyrdom or death. Symbol from Theosophical MS. h ■??!*: THE CHAPTER OF PERFECTION. t 'his party of emigrants — so different from the general mass of settlers who were then flocking from Gennany to the Province of Pennsylvania — were not Quakers or Friends, although they are so considered in some of the old records ; but Symbol of the essenes.*" they wcrc a compauy of Theoso- phical Enthusiasts — call them Pietists, Mystics, Chiliasts," Rosicrucians, Illuminati, Cathari,^" Puritans,*^ or what you PRIMA MATERIA, a Theosophical symbol from Rosicrucian MS. , on folio 12, descriptive of " Eternity and the uncreated inscrutable" Primum M0BII.E (Primordial Motion, the first life-impulse). A Theosophical authority defines Materia Prima (primordial matter) A' IVasa, as a universal and invisible principle, the basic substance of which all things are formed. By reducing a thing into its prima materia and clothing it with new attributes, it may be transformed into another thing by him who possesses spiritual power and knowledge. There are several states of matter, from primordial down to gross visible matter ; some of the early philosophers therefore distinguished between materia proxima, materia remota and materia ultima. — Dr. Franz Hartmann in "Cosmology," Boston, 1888. 38 The Pietists of Provincial Pennsylvania. may — who in Europe had formed what was known accord- ing to their mystical dogmas as a " Chapter of Perfection," and then came to the western world to put into execution the long-cherished plan of founding a true Th^osophical (Rosicrucian) community ; going out into the wilderness or desert, after the manner of the Essenes ^* of old, as also did ^^ The serpent was not at first a personification of evil, but of wisdom and salvation, and was used as a symbol of immortal life. The symbol here reproduced is frequently met with in ancient sculptures, and sym- bolizes eternity, or a world without end. ^' Croese's " Quakeriana," p. 551. — (Latin Edition.) ^''- Cathari, — a mystical sect which dates back to the tenth or eleventh century ; the name is derived from the Greek, and signifies "the pure." It is from this name whence came Ketzer, the German word for heretic. The Cathari regarded the exaltation of the soul over the moral nature, so as to become wholly absorbed in mystical contemplation, as the highest stage in the religious life of man. Deep d'evotion of the heart in prayer and a life of purity connected with abstinence from carnal pleasure and from the use of stimulating food, were their exercises of piety. It is claimed by some writers that the Waldenses were an outcome of the original Cathari. *^ Puritans is here but another term for Cathari. ^* The Essenes, — a mystical Jewish sect, not mentioned in the Jewish or Christian scriptures, and concerning whom the only original sources of information are passages in the works of Josephus, who lived about the time when the Essenes had reached their highest point of development. The notices of them ascribed to Philo are of doubtful authenticity. Even Hippolytus appears to have drawn his account of them from Josephus. They lived an austere life in the solitudes on the western side of the Dead Sea, where they held their property in common, wore a white robe, prayed and meditated continually, made frequent ablutions, for the most part renounced marriage, and often practised medicine. According to Beller- mann (Berlin, 1821) the creed or chief doctrine of the Essenes was con- tained in the word " Love" (charity). This was divided into the " Love of God," the "Love of Virtue" and the "Love of their Fellow-man." Especial stress was laid upon obedience to the law or government {obrig- keit), as all law emanated from God. Prayer, abstinence and labor were the chief features of their life. St. John the Baptist is said to have been an active member of this Jewish sect of Mystical Theosophists. The Theory of Mystic Nimibers. 39 •Moses, Elijah and other biblical characters, to perfect them- selves in holiness, thus preparing themselves for the millen- inm which they believed to be approaching ; or in case that their calculations should have misled them as to the ending of all things terrestial, the community would prove a nucleus from which the individual members would be qualified to come forth among men again as holy men, to convert whole cities and to work signs and miracles. This party of religious enthusiasts, who were led by the noblest impulses, and whose hearts were filled with the sole desire to live a godly life and serve their fellow countrymen, as well as the aborigines, was under the leadership of Mag- ister Johannes Kelpius, with Heinrich Bernhard Koster as deputy magister, and Johann Seelig, Daniel Falkner, Daniel'f Liitke and Ludwig Biedermann as wardens or assistants, together with thirty-four brethren, all men of learning, making a total of forty, the symbolic number of " Per- fection." V [ In the theory of mystic numbers, unity is called the Monad, and is no number. It is the first ring in the chain of existence, and one of the qualifications which the ancient philosophers have given the Deity. Its symbol is the mathematical point. The figure 2' consists of repeated unity, which is no number, and is represented by the mathematically straight line, consequently is not perfect. The figure 4, however, is known as the equal perfect num- ber,^^ and has been held in high esteem by all schools of mystic philosophers. This is explained by the fact that the simple figure not only represents the square of the re- peated unity (2X2=^4), and the product resulting from the *= The number 4 derives its sacredness from concrete and material rela- tions, from external perceptions, and has its application in the objective and phenomenal world. — " The Origin of Sacred Numbers." 40 The Pietists of Provincial Pennsylvania. addition with itself (2 + 2=4), t>iit also the potential decade 1+2 + 3 + 4=10; it also fomis the enclosed figure known as a true square, whenever 2 and 2 parallel lines are placed at right angles to each other. It is from these facts — properties which are not found in an}' other number — that the numeral has for ages past been held in reverence,*' and been the visible symbol of the Deity, and is constantly recurring in the symbolism of every religious . cult. It is also identified with justice, because it is the first square number the product of equals. Thus the name of the Deity is represented by four letters in all languages, the English language being the exception. Whereas'4 represents the perfect Deity,^''' the mysterious numeral 3, figured as the Triad by the equilateral triangle, is the emblem of the attributes of God only, as it reunites the properties of the first two numbers. 40, the decade of the perfect number, is known as the number of perfection, to which the greatest importance has always been attached both in religious and esoteric lore. This is partly explained in the symbolical chart here re- produced. It forms the seventh folio of the Theosophical MS.] ** Daniel G. Brinton, M.D., L,L.D., in the "American Anthropolo- gist," April, 1894, states that among the aborigines throughout America the tribal mythologies, rites, ceremonies, beliefs are constantly and pro- foundly governed and moulded by this sacred number. *" As a type of Deit}-, we all know of the famous Hebrew title Tetra- grammaton, or incommunicable name, Jehovah, IHVH ; this name was disclosed by the Kabbalistic Rabbis as a blind to the populace and to hide their secret tenets. " Almost all the peoples of antiquity possessed a name for Deity consist- ing of four letters, and many of them considered 4 to be a divine number. ' ' — W. Wynn Westcott, in "Numbers, their Occult Power and Mystic Virtue," p. 22. The Theory of Mystic Ntivibers. 41 fluti}MitiS riot (ant. '^ak^ijckiia. C 4-0. -fiaiif norm iuJinixrSfrculiiibtryPu 'UJt^unim/itr^ar&in^uom-^iSi^ctkai 4-0. ^afwi^ladnc i)itt4{uX»^}d!iiut , -£k, unM> im vcrfiarutiilaiK ((ixit ^}<)u 4-0. '^t^chatU iniAaH^fmv(^MS^hii(ti' all lived in the same house, and had a publick Meeting three times every week, and that they took much pains, to teach the blind people to become like unto themselves, and to conform to their examples." Croese, in explanation, further states (English trans., vol. ii, p. 256) : " Moreover, there was in Germany, as it were, three sorts of Pietists (pardon the expression). One, which I have described, consists of those who sought, and pressed nothing else, but sincere Religion and true Piety; and the greatest part of those are among the Learned and better sort of men, through Saxony and all Germany. "[Second.] — Another sort of them was that cr^ed. That the Church was much Corrupted, and loved Piety; but such, who themselves on the other hand, stagger not a little in the Faith and True Religion, and these same are commonly less moderate and more violent in Celebrating their Assem- blies together "[Third,] — The third sort of them was that which may be called Behmists or Teutonists ; ^'^ these called back, as it ^^ Everything goes to point to Benjamin Furley as this charitable friend, who was also the agent of Wni. Penn at Rotterdam. ^^This an error; the party went from Rotterdam to England, thence to America, llde, p. 15, supra. ^'^ They were also known as Gichtelians or Gichtelianer, who were conspicuous for their silent, virtuous and benevolent life. 48 The Pietists of Provincial Pennsylvania. were, Jacob Behman-''^ the Shoemaker of Garlingen in Si- lesia, from the Dead, who was called Tntonick^ and did both Broach those Opinions, which had been really delivered by him, as also those Errors that had been falseh- laid upon him, and ascribed to him, yea, and horrid and hellish Blasphemy, and cried them up as worthy of all Esteem and Glory." ^' Jacob Boehme, or Behmen, was one of the most renowned mystics of modern times. Born in 1575 at Altseidenberg, a village near Gorlitz, of poor parents, he remained to his tenth year without instruction and em- ployed in tending cattle. He was then apprenticed to a shoemaker, and in 1594 he became a master shoemaker in Gorlitz, married and continued a shoemaker all his days. Several visions and raptures led him to take up the pen. His first work appeared in 161 6, and was called " Aiirora. " It contains his revelations on God, man and nature. Perhaps his most im- portant work is his ' ' Description of the Three Principles of Divine Being. ' ' His works contain many profound and lofty ideas. He died, after several prosecutions and acquittals, in 1624. Several complete sets of Boehme 's works (Amsterdam edition, Gichtel, 1682, 10 vols. ) were brought over to America by Kelpius and his followers. Arms of the United Netherlands, from an old Copperplate. THE PIETISTS OF PROVINCIAL PENNSYLVANIA. O (■ i.M'\^'4'inf '■■«ri^ I UA ,^ Effigv of Johannes Tauler in the former Church of the Dominicans AT STRASBURG, from A SKETCH MADE IN 1840. THE PIETISTS IN GERMANY 5 T was in the second half of the seven- teenth centnry, dnr- ing a marked period of spiritnal nnrest which per- vaded Gennany, that an agitation was caused in German theological circles by the well-known divine Philip Jacob Spener,''" who advocated a system of per- Ancient Episcopal Seal ok Erfirth. SOnal and practical picty, having for its central principle "That Christianity was first of all life, and that the strongest proof of the truth of its doctrine was to be found in the religious experience of the believing." Organizations were formed which became known as " Collegia Pietatis," and the individual members as " Pie- Greek monogram of Christ and symbol of salvation. «" Philip Jacob Spener, born in Alsace, January 13, 1635 ; died in Ber- lin, February 5, 1705. As early as 1680 he formulated the dogma that only persons inspired by the Holy Ghost could understand the Scriptures, which produced many enthusiasts. For a time he lived in Dresden, afterwards in Berlin, where he held some ecclesiastical dignities. 50 The Pietists in Germany PHILIP JACOB SPENER, FROM AN OLD KNGRAVING IN THE FERD. J. DREER COLLECTION. Tiic Gcrniai! Pietists. 51 tists," ''' and as Spener obviously based his dooinas upon the writings of Johannes Tauler,''^ these " Collegia" through- out Germany soon became homes for the mystics of all sorts — religious and speculative — with which continental Europe swarmed at the time. Autograph of Philip Jacob Spknkr, from Drekr Collection. Among the names prominent in this movement are Johann Heinrich Horbius, brother-in-law to Spener, Hoch- mann von Hochenau,'''^ August Hermann Francke,"^ Gott- fried Arnold,''^^ Dr. Johann Jacob Fabricius "" of Helmstadt, Dr. J. W. Petersen, Johanna von Merlau and many others of equal prominence. One of the most important centers of this movement was the ancient city of gia. At an earl\- tion it became a ral dents, Mystics and parts of Germany, ed the orgauizatioii eventually came to The date of the individual Chapter RPTVRTK. Erfurth, in Thurin- period of this agita- lying-point for stu- Pietists, from all Here also was form- a part of w h i ch America in a body, organization of this in Erfurth was in we find it under the 1690 or 1691, when '^'<^'s of erfurth. i leadership or patronage of Rev. August Hermann Francke,"' then " Diaconus Augustini" (a.ssistant pastor at the Angus- 52 TJic Pietists of Provincial Pe)insylvania. tine Church). Under date of January 27, 1691, a commis- sion was appointed by the reigning authority to inquire about the Pietists who held secret meetings by day and "' A somewhat similar movement in the Roman Church at the same period was started by one Miguel de Molinos. The members of this sect were known as Quietists. K inore extended notice of this order is given in a subsequent chapter. •*- Johannes Tauler (the name is variously spelled in the old MSS. viz., Tauler, Tauller, Tauweler, Thauler, and even Thaler, vide^ catalogtie libr. MSS., Leipsic, p. 721). This celebrated leader among mystic theo- sophists was born in 1290 at Strasburg. About the year 1308 he entered the convent of the Dominicans, and became a monk of that order. He acquired great skill in philosoph}- and scholastic divinity, but applied himself principally to mystical theology, and as it was believed that he was favored with revelations from heaven, he was styled the Illuininatcd Divine. His great talents for preaching soon made him the most popular preacher of his age. In his great love of truth and the earnestness with which he devoted himself to the instruction of the people, and in his opposition to the abuses of the Roman Church, Tauler was a worthy predecessor of Ivuther. His followers were known as Gottesfreioidc, or the Friends of God, a designation derived directh- from the words of Christ as recorded in the Gospel of St. John xv, 15. Tauler's followers formed themselves into Chapters and Societies, and after the publication of the ban of the Church continued to meet in secret. The following extract from a sermon preached by Tauler on the twenty- second Sunday after Trinity ( Basel folio MSS. , a.d. 1290) gives his reasons for the institution of the new mystical society der Gottesfreiinde. It also serves as an representative specimen of Tauler's composition and mediaeval German, — „Der furlte dine „welte der hat iezent an alien enden geseget das unkrut „under den rosen, das die rosen dicke von den dorneu „verdrucket oder'sere geftochen werdent. Kinder, es mus „ein fluht oder ein ungehcheit, ein sunderhcit sin, es si ,,in den klollern oder do ufsen, und das ensint nut sec- „ten das sich gottes friint ungehch usgebent der welte „frunden" TJie Gcniian Pietists. 53 A Collegium Piiitatis in Session. (From an old German engraving.) 54 The Pietists of Provincial Pennsylvania. night, and were harbored by the Diaconus Francke in one of the abandoned cloisters within his parish.''^ The resnlt of this inqnisition was an edict for the snp- pression of the Chapter, together with a censure and fine imposed upon the Diaconus Francke. Whereupon Francke, as well as his Senior, Dr. Breitenhaupt,^''' preached several sermons ag-ainst the action of the authorities."" This action iljroioni([i»K(!. 3u Dcnnrinarif / D^priDcgm ir. llnfcrg nlln-gndbiglTfii Monarchen ffirnftligrt unb®6ffill -»ortreff1iif6 DJCT 2)l(6(fnillc(t ^nfdtmtiinrdntfK onh gotllorr 3rr'9t6r(n 35frfr ^ifti|Tfn/ 3u(> Dtro i^MjR prnp1icl)nilianb(8 ri^l(ilu1>rji Uoi1«rg« Anno 1700. cman.m/ QScn Sffl. BSmn D. Neumanno. ©firm (mtrl)on:(b< Anno 1708 .lufgdrgtt/ ^nj nwir un& mfftt ao^nna^lB(n Otfurningrn mil cum unmCimftlillKn Addielle 2(1 @cinf ^od>TOiirbige MAcNiFictKct, DCTR^Wffl. KitdjftvXart) an^ General Superuirendcnrcn. SSn. LicTHEODORLlM DASSOVUIM HzNaicoBuDtt, P»l>ortiuSt.Nicolaimi6Con(inor,ijigl(lUbur(J. JXCR0AU>^IB/ m.nirifloi>ii^rtfia! " S()C(t aSonijIirttn }.5!mrfr4, Se$©r(if}ma*ti9iitn/ ©(ort^)ur^iflfI(ll CAKOLI^fgXI• EDICT ©amt6nilti3(?tmSff(()l ull^ 'Btrprtnunj 8)Ktu! CPrtimtc in wo fcmtcn PDrflAfi-iIid) hulr en/ l]n^ fo moljl (14 frlllini (il»*tte)aiitm''^^' "^"°" ^^^ ^^" ET DIPLOMATICA, SchrittzurEwigkeit." Upon Mlt-mttcHliS) %m ' ^^'^ formulation of this edict ®Stri«tm4> urtH ®«*^t««^tfi ^^- I^reitenhaupt, the " Sen- ^tpnCDM^rpffPf ior Augustini," preached a g3onl»icffr@Ml)tUrfprun5n»ajKn3ftitt(i(5«mib2luf' s^nnon in justification ot juactwnitn6|iictt ml^uJyullfiSate1«e^ll^lJ(It; ' jT'iaucke, lor wnicii iic also ©011(1 audj Bitk unb srcftfii 2^6 inijeDtutrft t)iplo;iiat3. SSor, "*^''*"'^S;;r^'?.5;:;S.'SiX^*^r,"''"'*''''3'= was dismissed and ordered UC^ertl o^gr^flUMt, ^^ ^^ave the city; a bod>- unt .« «n.=, "W«;^3^-^a^ «rf*m »«^«; of rcspcctablc burghers who «(*.5iiiit!Br«iiiinnir»^(pa:nf*,nt»f BtMi.,mttos™)ji:$HDH!}ni aLLeiiipLcu Lo inierceue lor Soneiil Ofr JUifTrnftfioffKn SPjfglittf. S>tU(fUm* tetlcau Solxuin OBifliam 5iitf(t«L irj». Francke were summarily im- prisoned. [August Hermann Francke. — This celebrated clergy- man was born in Liibeck, March 23, 1663 ; died June 8, 1727. He is chiefly known for the charitable institution which he founded at Halle for the education of poor children and orphans, and which soon became one of the most celebrated charitable institutions of German}-. It is usually known as "das Hallische Waisenhaus." The usefulness of this institution was soon enlarsfed \i\ the '•' See " Civitatis Erffurtensis," p. 1056, copy in library of writer. '•" "Civitatis Erffurtensis, " p. 1055. ''■' This was the celebrated Joachim Justus Breitenhaupt, born at Nord- heim, February, 1658 ; died Halle, March 16, 1732. He is chiefly known b}- his "Thesis credendarum et agendorum fundementalis, " 1700, and " De perfectione partium," 1704. '" Ibid, p. 1056. ^' " Civitatis Effurtensis," p. 1059; " Die Stiftengen Aug. Her. Francke," Halle, 1863, p. 66. 56 The Pietists of Provincial Pennsylvania. Portrait and Actograph from Colleci ion of Ferd. J. Dreer, Esq., Phila. The Halle Institution. 57 introduction of a department having for its object the spreading- of the Gospel in foreign parts. It was at the instance of this clergyman and under the auspices of the Halle Orphanage that the Rev. Henry Melchior Miihlen- berg was sent to America, where he became the patriarch of the Lutheran Church. It is further an interesting fact that the first church built in America by Pastor Miihlen- burg, at the " Trappe," in Montgomery County, Penna., was named in honor of August Hennann Francke the " Augustus Church," the congregation of which have just celebrated their sesqui-centennial (September 26, 1893).'^ The church is still in a good condition and is the only provincial church in America which }"et retains all of its quaint original features. Another interesting item in connection with the institu- tion presided over by Dr. Francke is the manner in which he obtained the sustenance for its support. One of the members of the Collegium Pietatis in Erfurth, Burgstaller by name, who was an alchemist and chemist, on his death- bed bequeathed to Francke the receipt for compounding cer- tain medicines,^'^ which were sold by the different clergymen in sympathy with the institution."^ These remedies eventu- ally yielded an annual income of more than $20,000," and '■■^ See " Sesqui-Centennial Memorial of Trappe Church," by Rev. E. T. Kretschmann, Ph. D. , Phila. , 1894. "•' Burgstaller's chief nostrum was the celebrated Goldtiiictui\ or extract of gold. It was also known as the Essentia diilcis. "* Prior to the Revolution these remedies were sent to America in large quantities, and were disposed of to the Germans and others by the resident Lutheran clergymen. In Philadelphia the main supply was stored in one of the side porches of St. Michael's Church, corner Fifth and Appletree Alley. By many persons these remedies were supposed to have magical or super- natural properties, against which neither Satan nor disease could prevail. '■' The maximum income from that source was reached in 1761, and amounted to ^6,106 thalers. 58 The Pietists of Provincial Pennsylvania. made the institution financially independent. It combined an orphan asylum, a paedagogium, a Latin school, a German school and a printing press for issuing cheap copies of the Bible.] /a. ,^ %^^ - /4^ ^^ »-i«-^^ Draft of Letter by Francke to Spener, from Autograph Collection OF Ferd. J. Dreer, Esq., Philadelphia. As the Pietistical movement spread and gained foothold in the various governments in Germany, and extended into the neighboring kingdoms, special edicts were issued against it, in which not only public and private "" assemblages of the Pietists were forbidden, but also their literature." '•^ Edict promulgated at Leipsic, March 25, a.d. 1690. '' Edict, Stockholm, October 6, 1694. Royal Edicts. 59 In all of these edicts ''^ the sale of all Pietistical or suspici- ous books was prohibited under heavy penalties, while reading and discussing, or even countenancing, such works was interdicted by both Church and secular authorities. After his expulsion from Erfurth, Francke went to Gotha where his mother then lived. Shortly afterwards he received a call as pastor at Glaucha,''*' a suburb of Halle. In the year 1694 he was offered and accepted the professor- ship of oriental languages*' in the new University at Halle,^^ and four years later (1698) founded the celebrated orphanage in the suburbs of Halle, which exists to the present day. Notwithstanding the expulsion of Francke from Erfurth, the meetings were continued without intermission, but less openly. Consequently, on July 20, 1693, the authorities issued another edict or " Decretum Senatus," which was pub- licly read from every pulpit, forbidding under penalty the as- semblage of any " Collegia Pietatis" within the jurisdiction. '* Edict, March 2, 1692 ; February 28, 1694. Manifesto, February 4, 1697. Edict, January 7, 1698. Edict, Halle, January 25, 1700. A copy of all the edicts above quoted are in possession of the writer. "" Glaucha, a village or settlement without the walls of Halle. At that early period Glaucha and Halle were virtually two distinct towns. There was no communication between the two places after sundown, at which time the portals of Halle were closed. — Stiftimgen Francke's, p. 299. *" Francke afterwards filled the chair of theology. '^' The celebrated Frederick University* of Halle — so called after its founder Frederick I, King of Prussia — was opened in the year 1694. The Great Elector of Brandenburg had founded an academy at Halle in 1688, this was known as the " Ritterakademie," and in 1694 was changed into a university, when the celebrated Thomasius came hither from Leipsic, followed by a number of students. A series of distinguished professors and the liberal provisions of government soon raised this university to the rank of one of the first in Europe. The university was twice suppressed by Napoleon (1806-13). I" 1815, by a Prussian Edict, the university was united with that of Wittenberg, since which time it bears the official title of the United Frederick University of Halle-Wittenberg. 6o The Pietists of Provi)icial Pennsylvania. Amoiio- the minor clero'^•lnen of note who were attracted to the Pietistical movement was the before-mentioned John Jacob Zimmermann, of Bietigheim, in Wiirtemberg, a man well versed in geometry, geomancy and astrology, as well as theology. He was also a promi- nent character in the various philosophical and theosophical fraternities in his native coun- try. Upon being deprived of his J charge by the church authori- ties on account of his connection J with the Mystics, it appears that he drifted to various places, and while in Hamburgh he became acquainted with Horbius, the brother-in-law of Spener. He finally w ent to Erfurth, and there perfected the plan of organizing a " Chapter of Perfection," and MvsTicAL Chart from Merlau's " GLAUBRNS GeSPRACHE MIT GOTT." going in a bod)- to the western world Another of the chief pro- moters of this scheme of emi- gration, who never reached these shores, was the cele- brated Dr. Johann Wilhelm Petersen, who, together with his wife, Eleonore von Mer- lau, was a member of the Frankfort Land Company, under whose auspices Pas- torius had come to Pennsyl- vania in 1683. The inter- ' course between Dr. Petersen and the leaders of this Chapter ^-^^i^i^^*^^' Mystical Svmbol from Merlau's ' GlAUBENS GESPRACHK MIT GOTT." Eleonorc von Merlau. 6i of Pietists was close and intimate. The former, altliongh a leading fignre in the extreme mystical movements of the day, was no mere adventnrer. A professor of Poesie in Rostock, pastor in Hanover, and snperintendent in Liibeck and Liineburg he moved in the best society. He was married to the celebrated Eleonore von Merlau, who was subject to ecstatic visions. The couple conscientiously studied the Apocalypse to ascertain when the millennium of Christ would take place. They were aided in this research by the beautiful Rosa- munda von Asseburg, an ecsta- tical phenomenon of the time, whose piety even Leibnitz and Spener never questioned for a moment. The result of these speculations were published in 1 69 1 simultaneously at Frank- fort and Leipsic, under the title of " Glaubens Gesprache mit Gott." The outcome of Zimmer- mann's efforts, as stated by Croese, was an application made to some prominent Qua- kers in Holland for aid and sustenance during the proposed voyage. Zimmermann, how- ever, did not live to witness the successful culmination of his hopes, as he died on the eve of the embarkation at Rotterdam, in 1693. His widow with her four children, however, continued on the journey, and came to Pennsylvania with the party that her husband had been instrumental in oreanizino-.^' bnic^dleabdefaffet/ ^a^^eu(Jnlp/^Ie§^a(r)tun^ S^xxMHiit. Dee ®lflubcu^/ »« 111. ClKll/ «^ ift IxrecclfinScltgWt/ t»r|iclla/ 3n ticfcr [c$t rtiorli* kffSjrtf ben cic. ancnff ^riflcn jur ltj?ng<< r^K v(i{ ^(Featai* auffs nn> itijccucf gcflcbtn. Cum ptiviJcgioJ«onico8j BiunJiburpto. ©rtrmfii f'mjrirrric^ /^nrrmon/QSuc^filfrfr 1 >«to<-tHu 1 net j^g symbol of the true Rosicrucian Fraternity is a cross within a circle. Its antiquity reaches far behind the Christian era. The sj-mbol, however, is a mere variation of the " Sonnen rad," or solar wheel. The circle denotes the solar year or eternity, while the four arms of the cross typify the four seasons. There are other esoteric meanings connected with this symbol, which are only explained to the initiates. The Cave in the Hillside. 73 To complete the enchantment, as it were, a small natnral cave existed among the rocks of the hillside, near which flowed a spring. This cave was claimed by Magister Kel- pius as his own, and to it, after it was enlarged and made habitable, he was wont to retire for contemplation and prayer until the end of his da)'s. From an old Ephrata manuscript it is learned that from the outset the plan for seclusion in the forest was strenu- ously opposed by the residents of the German Township. It seems that various members had made so good an im- pression upon the people amongst whom they were tem- porarily quartered that when the time came for them to resume their communal life, considerable opposition arose aeainst it. Arguments were advanced bv the citizens that " they were not entrusted with talents to be hid in a napkin, and that the obligations they were under for their valuable inheritance should constrain them to render themselves useful in the promotion of vital truth for the benefit of mankind." In vindication of their course the brethren persisted in the " conviction of being impelled by a power to live apart from the vices and temptations of the world, and to be prepared for some immediate and strange revelations which could not be communicated amid scenes of worldly life, strife and dissipation, but would be imparted in the silence and solitude of the wilderness to those who came out from iniquity." 107 << gui; -^hen the dawning or morning redness shaU shine from the east to the west, or from the rising to the setting, then assuredly time will be no more, but the sun of the heart of God rises or springs forth, and RA. RA. R.P. will be pressed in the wine-press without the city, and therewith to R.P. N.B. — These are hidden mystical words, and are understood only in the language of Nature." — Behmen's Aurora, chap, xxvi, vol. v, pp. 126-27. 10 74 The Pietists of PTOvincial Pe7insylvania. The old manuscript further states that against these arguments all persuasion proved futile, and no sooner were the people forced to relinquish the hope of retaining the services and eloquence of the Theosophical students than many branded them as fanatics and self-righteous hypo- crites. However, that in the end they triumphed and obtained the goodwill of the greater portion of the community, is shown by the letter of Daniel Falkner, written to Germany under date of August 7, 1694, wherein he also gives the intentions of the Fraternity, ^-^^ viz., — " We are now beginning to build a house there, and the people lend us all possible help. We place this to the public good, and expect not a fool's breadth on our own account. For we are resolved, besides giving public in- struction to the little children of this country, to take many of them to ourselves and have them day and night with us, so as to lay in them the foundation of a stable, permanent character. With them beginning must be made, otherwise there will be only mending and patching of the old people." To these religious enthusiasts in the forest on the banks of the Wissahickon is due the credit of making the earliest attempt to erect and maintain a charitable institution for religious and moral instruction within the bounds of Penn- svlvania.^*^^ 1"* Falkner, Sendsclireiben, translation, Pennsylvania Magazine^ vol. xi, p. 441- 1"^ It appears from the journals of the Provincial Council that as early as December, 1683, Enoch Flower undertook to teach school in the "town of Philadelphia." His charges, a record of which is still pre- served, indicate the simplicitj' of the period. To learn to read English, four shillings a quarter ; to write, six shillings, etc. ; boarding a scholar, to wit, lodging, washing, and schooling, ^10 for the whole j^ear. It will Muhlenberg^ s Trilmte. 75 A tribute to the educational efforts of this Fraternity will be found in the correspondence of the Rev. Henry Melchior Miihlenberg with the Orphanage at Halle,"" where, in com- menting upon the remarkable incidents that came under his ^ p,^^ 5,^^^ notice during his long pastorate CATECHISM in America, he recites the case of ^"^^ a devout widow who had been a Children & Youth, 1 hat may be Serviceable to luch Oiheri, member of the Lutheran Church «hon«d,oix.nftrn£ud.nchcv,raprm. ciplcsand Grounds of ihe at Germantown, and to whom he Chnlhan Rehgion. administered spiritual consolation t- «hich ^ iddcd. . A Oiort Paraphrale or Opening, by wtjr during her last illness. He there otMcditauon on ibat hayr, whuh o^ "^ Lord lelusChull laiighitUiDifciples'-oai- states that in her tender youth this moniy can d. r«. t^^. ^^c. devout sister went to school and — ^- — — — — — -7^ Prov 11.6 Trtin 4f * ChlU tn rbt wrf ht flKUd was instructed by Johannes Seelig, ^°; ""'"""'^ i.oiu>.mii^^f^jr«, J ,•• , ., ,, 1 1 • j_ 1 Hcb f.il. For whin fif>"hctuiieyr0fti;ht tobt and that it was through his teach- T'lhcr^yrhMvcmcJrh^ro^Jchy-az^n iiig that her mind received such ooi, «uranl<, ex/LcntrouL \/tntriurL. y '^^auti ut&mcinxf^rrfj/ru IjfllliK Aci)/ri(II(|ffll Tw^ni ima^jvitb audi Ccytii 3n dwtdat unb pu furfilhlfC fcfi^t Atif(dthp[i Ji'chilfai'MM/rit nahrixifii eiichtdmtu^ dhurct/i vhurum. fy(nm{ in limr-' \(^kturit\f(fM ''3 '^cr'Jfjilcjo-- mmruirionkn L'ciianiftillienmim- lirnK-'o* - ■^. \iSn itkitbui iA>^ -phorWTi Ic*^ |:ininwn\tr| <5wn ^ iluaJiia/c C ^laaJi/iiate Twenty-fourth Folio of Rosicrucian MS. TheosopJiy. n Here in the solitude, far away from the bustle and gossip of the village, these Theosophical students when not em- plo}'ed on errands of mercy were free to devote their spare time to their esoteric studies, undisturbed by the tempta- tions of the world or official interference, — seeking Theo- sophical light, as set forth in their secret and zealously guarded symbolical manu- scripts. A former writer upon this community'" well says, "Thus amid the rugged rocks and wild scenery of the Wissa- hickon, surrounded by the tall forest trees in beautiful groves, God's first temples, these Her- mits of the Ridge were wont to commune with their God." Such as remained true to their original compact, to- o-ether with the accessions to their o number that arrived from various parts of Europe from time to time, lived here in the virgin forest of the New World in almost unbroken har- mony for a period of at least ten years, a strictly Theosophical frater- nity, whose tenets were founded upon the dogmas of the Cabbala and esoteric philosophy. Symbol of the Ephrata Community. ^^^ Hon. Horatio Gates Jones. THE WOMAN IN THE WILDERNESS. dtv FTER the Commu- nity was permanently installed in its new home in the Western World, Johannes Kelpins sought, as one of the chief objects of the Chapter, to bring about a union or combination of all the various sects that ex- isted among the Germans in Pennsylvania and unite them into one universal Christian Church. For this purpose public devotional services, ad- vocating Christian love and unity, were held every morning and evening in the large room or saal of the Tabernacle, to which all were invited. ^^^ These services, it is stated, were opened with a prayer and a hymn ; then a portion of Scripture was read and critically examined, when any one present could advance his opinion and engage in a dispassionate discussion of any abstruse or unsettled point. Visitors, no matter of what nationality or whence they came, were received with much cordiality by the brethren, and made to feel welcome. Einfaltig A-B-C Biicliel, etc. — From title page of Tlieosophical MS. "2 Ephrata MSS. ^''Doctor Schotte.'''' 79 From a small book published over a century and a half ago by Christopher Saner, it is to be inferred, upon authority of a certain " Doctor Schotte," that some kind of a mon- astic rule was observ'ed by this band of Pietists, in addition to their esoteric discipline, both before and after their arrival in the New World. According to this somewhat doubtful authority, Kelpius was known as Philologits^ j,„ Seelig as Pudens^ Falkner as Gajiis^ ab8«n6t&i9f„ Re^_ ^ H. Francke as Stephamis, ^K f f t ffi f Peterson as Elias^ etc."^ A careful '^-^ ^ I search, however, has thus far failed Sum iffSn'bcgcijrK ^o establish the identity of this " Dr. ^^ . . Schotte," or any corroboration of yS MlWvXlf Sauer's statements. 5xn«nDarnaci?fra9cn&cnPor3*<3t.5n|I*l)a& FrcqUCUt rcligioUS meetings, CX- tcnbci inxT) ^ritfft unD Derm •■ • r a-i i i i i tt •• uvfa^. elusive 01 those conducted by Kos- ter, as before mentioned, were also m »on iDwwr sd)ot»e/ un» .tiniac' held at Gemiautown, and at stated ssr.ff.jcnBcmfcib.n,u,un, intervals at various places in the trwssw vicinity. No request for religious mmm^^^^S&im^m&^ instruction was ever refused, the (Samamw. brethren holding themselves pre- Gebllirfi bcp Ct?ri(?op^ 3'| whether any among them ever showed ^^^^^^^^^fi:^ any extraordinary inspiration or in '^ ward movements / , , , ... MiTHRAIC SyMBOI-.H' \ ] 1 „i1 {motus piita intrin seais) ; and, lastly, whether among the different tribes any extraordinary movements were noticeable indicative of the approaching millennium. A systematic educational movement was also started by Kelpius among the Germans. Thus it will be seen that the mystic Brotherhood by no means passed their time in idle speculation and indolence. The scriptural injunction to labor six days of the week was strictly complied with, as was also the one to keep the Sabbath holy. To their lasting honor be it said that all services of a spiritual, educational, and medical nature were given free, without price or hope of fee or reward. "' From ancient Rosicrucian MS. A' RIVAL COMMUNITY. 0ITTLE has thus ^^ far been pub- lished in relation to the internal affairs or domestic life of the Fraternity after they were established in their new home on the banks of the Wissa- hickon. There is ground for belief that in more than one instance internal dissension manifested itself in the Community, in which Kelpius was called upon to act as general peacemaker. The brethren would have been saints indeed, if, under the stress of their peculiar life, jealousies and bickerings had not arisen. But on the whole, the unity seems to have been fairly well maintained, and the Society of the Woman in the Wilderness struck root deeply in the soil. "** This ancient symbol represents the principle of Nature, the prima materia or primordal matter, — the foundation of all things. Symbol Frivia Materia. '^'^^ K'oster'^s Ministratiojis. 85 Enough, however, is shown in the letter written to Ger- many by Daniel Falkner, August, 1694,"^ to prove that all did not remain true to their profession, " to remain free according to the better advice of St. Paul." The first to break his voluntary resolution of celibacy was Ludwig Christian Biedermann, who almost immediately upon his arrival in Germantown married Maria Margaretha, the, daughter of the widow of Rev. Johann Jacob Zimmer- mann. They had been fellow-passengers across the ocean. Their example was followed by several other members during the first year or two. These defections, however, were not serious, nor by any means the greatest trouble that confronted the leaders of this experimental movement in practical theosophy. The first question to arise after the consecration of the Tabernacle in the Forest was the erratic and dictatorial course pursued by Koster and his few adherents in the Community. Koster, in addition to being a devout, austere enthusiast, was a fearless and impulsive man ; and, as before stated, lost no time in extending his ministrations from Germantown to Philadelphia, where he preached and ex- horted both in German and English. While in Phila- delphia he became more or less involved in the Keithian controversy, which was then agitating the Quakers through- out the Province. Koster, aggressive and belligerent as he was, without delay took sides with the partisans of George Keith, and whenever preaching to the Keithians lost no opportunity to widen the breach that existed between them and the Orthodox Friends. As an old German manuscript states, " He gradually led them from the ways of the Quakers, farther and farther into the lanes that ended in the true path." See mention of letter, p. 15. 86 The Pietists of Provincial Pennsylvania. Esoteric Symbol. 120 As the Orthodox Friends, immediately uj^on the de- parture of Keith and prior to the arrival of Koster, had commenced a strong effort to heal the schism that then existed in their community and bring back the seceders, Koster's action did not tend to improve the religious situation in Philadelphia. His im- passioned and outspoken utterances gave fresh courage to the oppos- ing party, and emboldened them to renew their discussions, which soon undid the efforts that had been made by the Friends in the interest of unity and peace. All the bitterness of the old strife was thereby revived, and dissensions were once more rife in the different meetings throughout the Province. The stand taken by the German enthusiast in reference to the troubles of the Society of Friends, which also par- took somewhat of a political nature, was not only opposed by the latter, but also by his more conserv^ative associates and bro- ther Mystics, who had naught but the best feelings toward the Quakers, and were always in full accord and sympathy with them. Matters went along in this way for over a year, the breach grad- ualh^ widening between Koster and his old associates as the time passed, and the former became more closely allied with William Davis and several ^L^ RosicRUCiAN Symbol. i-'l ^^^ According to the esoteric teachings, this symbol typifies the universal matrix, or great invisible storehouse of Nature, wherein the character of all things are contained and preserved. The Brethren in America. 87 kindred sj)irits wlio had been among the first to foment the Quaker schism. The sequel of the disagreement between Kelpius and Koster was the withdrawal of the latter and a few others from the original Community, who, together with a few of the Keithians, attempted, under the leader- ship of Koster, to form a new community of religious evangelists. They called themselves " The Brethren in America," and their community was to be known as " The True Church of Philadelphia, or Brotherly Love." For the purposes of the society a piece of ground was obtained in Plymouth, a short distance north of German- town. Just how this ground was obtained is not known to a certainty, nor has the location been traced. The old manuscript before quoted states that it was purchased by Koster ; ^" another account tells us that it was given to the new community. Be this as it may, a tabernacle or com- munity-house was built on the plot.^"^ When finished, the building was consecrated with mystic ritual and called " Irenia," — that is, "The House of Peace." Thus for a time two separate and distinct religious communities ex- isted in the vicinity of Germantown. This action of Koster, who, notwithstanding his erratic course, still adhered strictly to the Orthodox Lutheran doctrine in his religious services, had but little effect or influence upon the original Fraternity. Nowhere in the writings of Kelpius, Seelig, or Falkner is this defection of Koster thought worthy of mention. ^^^ This symbol, representing an armillary sphere sustained b}^ the three forces, viz.. Truth, Justice, and Peace, according to the esoteric doctrine portrays the universe. 1-- According to Rathelf, p. 487, the Plymouth lot was bought jointly by Koster and two others. '-' Ein Bericht an alle Bekenner und Schriftsteller. Von H. B. Koster. New York, 1696; p. i. 88 The Pietists of Pj^ovincial Pennsylvania. Under the spiritual guidance of Kelpius, and the judi- cious financial management of Daniel Falkner, the matter proved but a passing episode in the history of the Frater- nity, as it soon recovered from whatever setback it had received. In the subsequent controversy ^"* betM^een Koster and the leading Quakers, in which Francis Daniel Pastorius ^~^ took so active a part, none of the other members of the original community became involved. The most important incident, from a literary point of view, after the formation of the " Triie Church of Phila- delphia" by Koster was the writing, in the fall or winter of the year 1697, of a Latin thesis, ^'' De Resiirrectione Imperii ^ternitatns^^'' a quarto of forty pages. When the work was finished, as there was no printer in Pennsylvania at that time, he attempted to get it printed by William Brad- ford in New York. The printer declined the commission, as he could get no one to correct the printed sheets intel- ligently.'"' This mystical dissertation is the first theological or theo- sophical book written or composed in Pennsylvania to be printed in the Latin language, if not within the English '-* This famous controversy will be treated at length later on. 1^^ Francis Daniel Pastorius was born at Somerhausen, September 26, 1 65 1. He attended the University of Strasburg in 1672, went to the high school at Basle, and afterwards studied law at Jena. He was thoroughly familiar with the Greek, Latin, German, French, Dutch, English, and Italian tongues, and at the age of twenty-two publich' dis- puted in different languages upon law and philosophy. After practising law for a short time in Frankfort, he sailed for America from London, June 10, 16S3, and arrived in Philadelphia August 20th. His great learn- ing and social position at home made him the most conspicuous person in Germantown. He married, November 26, 168S, Ennecke Klostermann. He died leaving two sons. ^-^ Zellische Gelehrten Geschichte. " Z)WJ(j; Daniel Falkiier in Europe. 97 mystical number of forty could be kept intact, and at the same time could extend their usefulness in educating- and ministering to their neglected countrymen in Penns) Ivania. Another important scheme then under consideration was the emigration of the members of " the Philadelphic Society" in a body from England and the Continent to settle in Pennsylvania, and there found a colony where their peculiar teachings should be their only law. Con- siderable correspondence had taken place upon the subject, and it was thought by Kelpius and others that the time had arrived for a consummation of the scheme. It was therefore desirable that a thoroughly competent person should be sent on the mission at that time. For this im- portant service Daniel Falkner was selected. He was a man of strong character and practical piety, as well as the execu- tive head of the Community affairs, and, in addition to his religious duties, took considerable interest in sectilar things. Daniel Falkner, persuant to the above arrangement, re- turned to Europe toward the close of the year 1698. After a short sojourn in Holland, he went to Germany to visit his old associates. Upon his arrival in Saxony, he found that time had wrought many changes in the condition of his former companions, — some had been banished, others lived in obscurity, while the fonner leader of the local Pietistical movement, Hermann August Francke, now posed as professor of Oriental languages at the newly established University of Halle,^'" pastor of the suburb Glaucha, and superintendent of an orphanage of his own projection. ^^® The bi-centennial of the Halle ( Frederick-Wittenberg) University was celebrated with great eclat, August 2, 3, 5, 1894, the Emperor of Germany being represented upon the occasion by Prince Albrecht of Prussia. The present writer attended as a delegate from the Old Augustus (Trappe) Church. For a full description of this Jubilee, see " The L,u theran," Philadelphia, September 6, 1S94. 13 98 The Pietists of Provincial Pennsylvania. Curieufe »ittit Don PENSYLVANFA 2luf 55csel)ren guter?$teun&c/ Hi Docgelegte 103. ^m; ^1/ bet) fauer 2tt>reieau65emfc^ ICittD iiacl) obtgem ^m^t Anno 1700* evtljeilct/unbnun Anno lyoiinDcn^Drucf Ton Spaniel '^alf nccn/ ProfcfTorc, ^rancffuit un& J2.eip5ttt / 3m ^otc ^Wi 1701, " Curieiise Nachricht.''^ 99 Falkner during his sojourn in the Old World made a visit to Holland and England in the interests of the Philadelphia Society, without, however, inducing that bodv to emigrate to Penn's Province. While in Ger- man}', he also made arrange colloquial style of the per a number of queries relative conditions in Pennsylvania, entitled " Curieufe Nach II in II Norden America guter Freimde, || Uber vor seiner Abreiss aus Teutsch- Anno 1700. II ertheilet, und den Druck || gegeben wor Falknern, Professore, || Bur allda. 1 1 Franck zig, Zu finden Otto, Buch Jahr Christi, published pices of the Frankfort pany, and issued siniul Frankfort and Leipzig. "^ ^""^ ^'■"■^'"- It will be no- ticed that the compiler here signs himself " Citizen and Pilgrim in Pennsylvania." Falkner's visit to Europe also partook somewhat of a political nature, which was destined to work radical changes in the civil affairs of the German settlement. ments to issue a book in the iod, containing answers to to the religious and social This book, before quoted, is richt II Von || Pensylvania Welche || Auf Begehren gelegte 103. Fra- 1| gen, bey land nach obigem Lande nun Anno 1702 in en. II Von || Daniel gern und Pilgrim furt und Leip- bey Andreas handlern, || Im 1702." It was under the aus- Land Com- taneouslv in Ancient Lard Lamp used BY THE Mystics. REYNIER JANSEN. QK' Ephrata Hand Press. ELPIUS, the pious enthusiast, was exceedingly anxious to improve the moral as well as the spiritual condition of his country- men in America. He therefore had printed, or obtained from Germany, sets of small cards or slips of paper upon each of which there was a dif- ferent moral couplet or verse {spi'itcJi) from the Bible. The set of cards was then put in a box or card-case, called a jewel-casket [schatskastlcin)^ and was carried by the members of the Brotherhood for distribution among the worshipers at the Tabernacle and the heads of families, with the request that whenever a curse, oath, or blasphemous expression was uttered in their presence the offending person should be handed one of the slips of paper, which he was to read carefully and then place it upon his tongue. The same rule was to apply to the person who carried the schatzk'dstleiji : whenever he did or said any- thing wrong, or was even tempted to do so, or was led to anger, recourse was to be had immediately to a jewel from the schatskdstlein ; and so strong was the popular belief. The " Schatzkastlein?'' loi eine ^iin^c^in wcinetc ^u Oen %\\^zr\ jf^^SU; j[<:^U6 fprarf) : 3br finO oiel ©unC)e ocr^cbeo/ Oetin fie hat x>k\ qeftcbet ,• n>eld)ei{i abcr twnig oer.- jjebcn tt)tri>, 6er (tebcr tecnig. I'uc. 7 38 - 47. Wetnen un6 Jlteben, *' ^S@U@ h6ret all Dem @cf)nen, 3i€@U@ fd^auet oeinc 'ihrdnen : *2Cetne frep, 00* ticbe mit, ©0 erbirt €r betnc ^itt. that nothing could shake their faith in the efficacy of a card, taken out at random, to be pertinent to the individual case in which it was invoked.''^'' The members of the Fraternity in making use of the slips invariably placed them in their mouth. From this peculiar custom arose the ridiculous charge that the Piet- ists ate their reliofion/'^'^ gCQc Oie (Efottrccfm kben aoflcn m Cbriffo ^^ffu ^ muflen X^crfolgung (eyOen. a ^im. j 12. baa er/ife iloo^. •Son (juffcn @potr uno v5d)macb Oer I'euten, Q[>on mnen ^urcl)f unD ^$:raurujfeifen . ^a^ bier Den ^roinmen roit^ ^emein. '•" Kastlein mit zetteln, darauf waren viele schone Spriiclie aus der Bibel und andere Reimen gedruckt die sich auf vielerey Zustande der Menschen schicken. Wann dan in der Companie jemand war der etwas eiteles zu reden anfing, so kam einer mit dem Schatz-Kastgen und ein jeder zog ein Briefgen heraus, dass wurde gelesen und hat sich gemeinlich getrofFen dass ein spruch auf dem Zettel stund wie es um des Menschen Hertz beschaffen war, und so wurden die leichtsinnige reden unterbrochen, und davon kam auch die liige vom Zettel fressen. Christopher Sauer in Almanack, 1751. I02 The Pietists of Provincial Pennsylvania. A " Schatzkasti.ein" complete with "Spruchk," see Note 138. In order to promote the spiritual welfare of the Germans in Pennsylvania, Kelpius had printed at an early day a small book or pamphlet for distribution among the Gennan settlers, urging them to public and private devotion. The title of this work was " Eine kurtze und begreiflige An- leitung zum stillen Gebet." This book, as well as the moral text-slips, was in all probability a specimen of the Jansen (father or son) imprints, which are now so rare and valuable/^^ Watson, in his MS. Annals of Philadelphia, mentions Kelpius as the author and Dr. Christopher Witt as the translator. ^**^ Later investigations go to show that ^•''* This custom continued in use among the Germans in Pennsylvania for many years. Subsequent editions of these sets of moral cards were printed on both the Sauer and Ephrata presses. The Sauer edition, printed in 1744, was known as " Der Frommen Lotterie. " The only complete set of this edition, 381 in number, is in the collection of Hon. S. W. Penny- packer, of Philadelphia. See illustration above. "* This devotional work was translated into English and printed at an early day. "* See "The First Century of German Printing in America," by the late Dr. Oswald Seidensticker, p. 62. The Janscn Tradition, 103 this nniqiie work was based upon a somewhat similar book published in Germany,"^ as early as 1695, by Hermann August Francke,'^^ under StUQf JS?erm. SrttnCfn' the title "Schriffimassige ^..S.TheoJ'POrd Paft.Vlric.&SelM ^^""^^^^^^'S^' ^^''^'^ ^^^'"^ ©CJ^riftltlaplgC GottwohlgefalHg zu Be- ^ ten," and that a number of these books were brought from Halle by 2^e4llfUnb(0Ij3€faU\ ^^'^ Falkner brothers up- on their return to Amer- ica. ^*^ No copy of the original Kelpius pam- phlet, which was in the German language, is known to the writer. tTiCblt ^injUQCfUQten ^ However, as a copy of iltOrgen^U. 2\hznX>f(Qt\^tU ^^^^ Henry Miller reprint Un& cinctn of the English transla- :KJclif(;(){n RESPONSCl t*°" '^^'^ '''='=" '^"^'y ^ig found, ^" there is a possi- -[. mg ^ hat folii ywoiWilderncIs wirti a Ur^ Afl.K'ice of ill the 'F'"*"" and Comtor ».t Lite t jsby fupponingir in an undifturbcJ PejccxiJ rrjnqjillijy Jjrink, rtht Commotionstlnt have iVcp.\ at- fl.ft'.J other parrs o'th. Ciiriftun Worlil and toniiiiuingro us , thffenjoyment of thofe manifold M r- cits which , righily ufcd , tcrvJromjk a f~'>;ilc flitv hippy All which divine Br^nncs, as ih. r loudly call tortht luoft humble and hcit;y «tk lowt ii,incn:Si To they ought more deeply to impn (si ] ift Tenfe of the great Olilignionj upon Ui f .10 teJiUre our Ltcl with care ind cin .imf, h Q on la iirueObcJicnce and Cont rmiiy to G' 8(5i hnly Q.vn ,. thai we may rot inft adot ntik. ig grateful Ritjrns bv iTipiety 01 Nctlii;ti)ce .^ .v./k ihc jilt Argcf of tKe ALMIOHTV ro withdraw Hi» *vtnc Pro eQiot) , and 1; Hift on in th. l-.vtri. Cialtijcmtnts of >ii« ) ift U.fpicafure. NctWithftandtng all whtch , ] lannor bui b^ rc.ifible, tTat toti'raajiy ,to g m. g all ;hofe Obi iga ions , ibataj jtrfoM protdOng the Ho y Chnftian a.ligion tt'. / ipdilpejirably lye unHir . have given thcTtifdves a Lfseia their Lives ana Converfations and nurkO^y tram^doi tncir pufiriTc k .>'emtii?iit : Waich fnaiv.- it not .lav-ly brevciited. may terminate in an utter Depraviticm of Manners, throug 1 the Encouragem.ni taken tf<.jji' thofe fat Hijivcn. In a deep Confidcration of which . and to the end that a'i peffible Difcoarageraents may be efven to the Growth ol I hefe Enormities ; I have through a fenfe cf the Duty (owe to COL» ano ihc c-renf tn»- I'jjr)'- <:""i r;liofl.Cu^. a I id wi'.hrhe (\ Ivies and Conteniotth. Council ol tlui Prtromn «ii ter'iDrnt Til u^h fi . > 'u 1 1 u\.\ i>;:l3r- That 1 will Uifcountcnanrc and fevereiy I'u- B' b a. nii.i.r ji fKi. I.ntl 'miv t J -"DpnaTi ncfi "lali p-rTry-isw'utfoeTer, w ihin thuGovem- «:it, iic *ill o.-ji'l y of t.i; iiK A 1I Idoc ^i^-rebflVnaiy forbid all mxmier ot Dubanchery, Lewd- •e.i I)- 114, ii.-ii iriiui: i.7 ir ng C r 1 ig, iU >ti 14 jr ak ngot uic wjaun, i^ig-it-wi kingatun- (eiu>itjie tijiirj wk.iou liwijlBuli icl> £i«ll orlicrUiforders Wnailoevcr thai are contrary to thtUj- tl.'S 01 a C irifti n Lue 8t'ti; \i!esottruc Virtue. Aid I doftnctiy C> nmind 8c Keqnire all MirtiflraicS. Jaikic-j, sncrrfs C-)riftil)li;s»rid allOlficers whatfoerer, and others her M j (lies good Sub;^s rhai iher aoioaiy be regular and drcumrpeS mthcir oy Kcite tJ>.'<:ii>t behold chemtotne Pridce of virtue , buia foiiut thrs be very L)i is;ent in the D't'overy «il ff.^liil ■'rof-cuiJi of all OiT.nlen and that tb y rtjorojlly pui in E,xm' Ui''> aii Jri>ii-i.'.-s p jvidcdjgainft healor.riit and ("uch other [mnoralitpt -t-,-:. ,,,t f»»jir )».ii ' y ^f ^iJi a .ny p rfo.i vfmrfocver a* they .viU 43 Ve-r itu -Vin.^cty &V^ yA incar my jtm irt Of 'leifurei. >* \iitartij o-r.-eif t ul .' ni citioi iweif I breq lire and C > mnd the f ,ft csotQ. Ttr- " ;ii- OHi a.-it reiiel .e J I n • Cor s 1 nt J,jv ri ne:t ioj trie *»./ rf ni ,\ c .: ler oj n y •*& a- 4* lilt, .iir ti-ycanfei is n ■ 'rociiim un o je .luiU^kiy rcaj m o^ u Oo.n imne lu.eiy an rifieir C.I t'^: It gi rcn 3 tn- grand- jury. _ \.i>:,>«ta vl nKrs jf . Cvirch.^ andrev.rt'C gr , aiK ■ v .C.-r mi, Pr»« and Ic.rite. Ml, jiji; th.' Ian; tobf tVil .n he time of Divine Service, att their refpeQve placo of WorfhiL at 1ei\ fii times mev.rv If .ir. \iiinit .hey oe very Jirgem. in L> ico..r.,g ,^ .,1 manner ol Vict , and la uraiuy m .n r \jikon 1 1 Eiharnng tnem .0 tne Lxcrdfc of piciy and vircue. iy:% It ^>^.llel,l,•i(^ H ih liv .1 Of<*J.r man. „i i.-., ,, , Ae:ii„',tofl*(}dbli(tijJna!n?i(r«n; . , ., . II. ©if bnmclTitltrt) tviCfrrprecfxiibf (Sfgeiv tirely new and very curious ©prudje auU 0«m Jpibriifdjen unC @titd)if(tfn ^eft beullicbfrorien nwrDfn, astronomical proof of the Co- uinjoroobicifi^obcit/ jurtreflK^ftivunDAuto- - , . r]i6iDe«^.ri<,n)iDer0ie^eiirr3f)abuni)bf8!3J(it«rim4{i()fiiCopcfnicani|<^(n verse irom me raOlV VVIIL. bu(|)f(,ltli(i)fn.e(l)riffr,n)ib(Ttnniioiibi|l)(rig(oCo- ,_^- . ^ - pcinicjnernonatftbmmilfn foijtn.SSfriianD, belli riie astronomical leature ^, ^ mu,i.ci)n,u»rrreobr»n; 3Reben« untstmrngiet Ctlauifruj tintger Cartbefia- Oi Llie J. aueiliaLlC ICU LU IIC t(d)l«9?ii(urpoci.cciinb fonllm illolthrlm ... c TA • 1 ISlmitienSilitdciih), quent visits irom Daniel jii}w«veiia:i)eiiencmf:utiflentwot/?<»t, Leeds who for some Vears 1°"^nn Jaco b giJtimctmanH.Philo-Maihcffiatico ' ' _ ' " Hambu»c, bcpetrnT' ^iU>Ji)ronl)i. "" prior. to the arrival of Kel- piiis and his party, had published an Almanack.^'* Evidences are apparent in subsequent issues of the Almanack that he profited by his visits, and that the intercourse between him and the Community on the Wissahickon was of an intimate nature. While some of the Fraternity kept the vigils in the sterjiwarte^ others busied themselves with the study of ^°^ The only known copy of this work is in the Royal Library of Wiir- teniberg. The photograph of the title was furnished b)- Professor D. Th. Schott, librarian. A second edition v/as published in Hamburg, 1726. Hermetic Studies. 1 1 1 what is known as the Hermetic art. These researches were not made for the transmutation of metals, as many supposed ; for in their ambitions they soared to a higher plane than the laying up of this world's riches. Their object was to provide remedies and preparations for the alleviation of human suffering/^'' In these chemical and pharmaceutical studies, which were mainly based upon the literature of the preceding century, the discovery of the Lapis PhilosophoruTn^ or the Elixir of Life, naturally entered largely into their specu- lations. It was believed that if the nienstriitn universale could be discovered, it would be by chemical means, and then it would be possible by its application to remove all seeds of disease from the human body, thereby renewing youth and lessening the infimities of age, if not repelling death. ^^* Daniel Leeds was a resident of New Jersey as early as 1676. He lived in Burlington in 1680, and was married at the Friends' Meeting of that place, 2 mo. 21, 1681. His occupation was then given as a cooper. In 1682 he was a member of the Assembly and Surveyor- General of West . Jersey. His first quarrel with his co-religionists was about the almanac of 1688 ; but he did not withdraw from the Society of Friends until the Keithian- schism. (Hildeburn, vol. i, p. 7.) Jacob Taylor, in his almanac for 1707, calls him "That unparalleled Plagiary and unreasonable Transcriber D. Leeds, who hath now for 19 years, with a very large stock of impudence, filched matter out of other men's works, to furnish his spurious almanacks." [An Alvianacli for 1707. By Jacob Taylo7\ Pliiladclpliia : Tiberius Johnson. Am. Philo. Soc. , xix, 291.) 155 Mention has been made in a preceeding chapter (p. 57), of a prescrip- tion of a universal remedy, bequeathed, upon his death-bed, by a former member of this Fraternity to Magister Francke, and made under the latter's supervision, from the sale of which and the revenue derived theiefrom the large cluster of buildings known as the " Francke Institu- tions at Halle" chiefly owe their existence. This remedy, known as the "Gold Tincture" or "Elixir Dulcis," is made and sold to the present day by the Apothelic connected with the 112 The Pietists of Provincial Pennsylvania. In these hermetic studies, that were practised onl}^ upon nights when the moon and planets were in a certain posi- tion, the brethren were often assisted by several highly respected English Quakers and a learned Scotchman, who were wont to make visits from the city. Upon the subject of an indefinite prolongation of human life, the members were not unanimous. While all agreed that this was possible under certain circumstances or con- ditions, some of their number, notably Koster, were in- credulous of an elixir of life, but advanced the theory of the use of mystical communications with the unseen world, as founded upon the Cabbala and the Apocalypse. ^'^"^ As a matter of fact, all the leaders of the Brotherhood, which included Kelpius, Koster, Falkner, Seelig, and Matthai, scouted the idea of physical death, and firmly believed in bodily translation to the realms beyond, if they adhered to their Theosophical faith. Another favorite occupation of these Theosophical stu- dents was the casting of horoscopes and the use of the divining-rod. The latter implement was a forked, slender stick of witch-hazel, that was cut at a certain time in the year under peculiar conditions, at which time a mystic Orphanage. No more than a single person at one time was ever cogni- zant of its composition. The writer, during his visit to the Orphanage, obtained a vial of this remedy, and was informed by Hugo Hornemann, Ph. D., that he had been the custodian of the secret since June i, 1863 it having been imparted to him by his father and predecessor who served from 1S26 to 1863, and had in turn received it from Prof Stoltze, who compounded it 181 1-26. Prior to this time the secret formula was in possession of the Richters and Madais, who were the successive heads of the Apotheke. Prior to the Revolution, this nostrum had a large sale in Pennsylvania, and to the writer's personal knowledge was used here as late as the early fifties of the present century. ^^•^ Strodtmann, v. p. 255. THE PIETISTS OF PROVINCIAL PENNSYLVANIA. HOROLOGIUM ACHA2. CHRISTOPHORUS SCHISSLER, GEOMETRICUS AC ASTRONOMICUS ARTIFEX, AUGUST/E, VINDELICORUM, FACIEBAT, 1578. NOW IN THE CABINET OF THE AMERICAN PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY. TJie Divining Rod. 113 incantation and ceremony was used. This rod or '■'■ hex en- stab'''' was used to find subterranean springs of water, and to locate veins of precious metal beneath the surface of the ground. To find the hidden spring, a branch of the twig or rod was taken in each hand between the thumb and the forefinger, the two ends pointing down. The rod was held in this position, the palms toward the face : the in- cantation was then said, the diviner walking slowly over the ground, and when a spring or subterranean water-course was passed the rod would bend downward. When it was desired to locate special metals, small nails made of the metals sought for were introduced into the long end of the rod. For general prospecting, the rod frequently contained nails of the seven metals, — viz., gold, silver, iron, copper, lead, tin, and an amalgam ; and it was firmly believed that in passing over a metallic vein the rod would be attracted downward.^" The casting of nativities by aid of the horoscope was a far more difficult and important matter than the use of the divining-rod. Two centuries ago the horoscope was firmly believed in by many intelligent persons of all nations and faiths. The calculations in individual cases required con- siderable mathematical as well as astronomical knowledge. By its use not only the life and fortune of an infant were foretold, but it was pressed into service to find the right position of the heavens for the undertaking of almost all important ventures, such as voyages, marriages, business speculations, and building operations. Among the treasures of the Atnerican Philosophical Society in Philadelphia there are two brass plates, finely ^^' The writer in his youth was shown a bed of iron ore near Flower- town, a small village a short distance above Germantown, which was said to have been located by one of these identical rods. 15 114 '^^^^ Pietists of Provincial Pennsylvania. wrought, engraved, and gilded. They are parts of an in- strument once used for calculating nativities, and in other occult studies wherein the hour of the day or night and the position of the planetary system of the heavens took a prominent part. This instrument, when in its original condition, was known as an " horologiiini Achaz hydro- graphicuniy The smaller of the two plates measures 5^%^ inches in diameter, and was the base of the instrument. In a raised centre it contained a compass one inch in di- ameter. The larger piece is a basin-shaped plate, with a flat, moveable rim one inch wide. Upon this are engraved the signs of the zodiac. The centre or concave part is ten inches in diameter, and is geometrically divided into the different planetary houses. The depth of the basin is i 3^ inches, and the whole forms the dial of the instrument. The rim is surrounded by a brass figure representing an ancient astrologer ; it measures 3 Y^ inches in height, with the left hand raised so as to hold the gnomon used to cast the shadow, or whereby a fine ray of light was thrown upon the dial in place of the shadow (photo-sciaterica). The dial and base were formerly connected with a mytho- logical figure ; the latter, however, as well as the gnomon and other parts are now missing. By the aid of this instrument it was possible to see not only the true time of day by sunlight and at night by moonlight, but other solar phenomena, such as the true time of sunrise and sunset, — the orb's place in the twelve houses of the zodiac, its perigee, and apogee, the height above the horizon, the relative length of the day and night, and many other phenomena. The most curious feature about this apparatus is the fact that when the basin is filled with clear water the time marked is advanced or retarded so many degrees as equal the angle of refraction. ^^^ The Horologhini Achaz. 115 On the reverse of the rim that surrounds the large basin is engraved, " Christophorv^s Shissler, Geometricvs ac Astro- noniicvs Artifex Avgvstae Vindelicorvm, Faciebat Anno 1578." The records of the venerable Society fail to show from whom these relics were received, or even when they came into possession of the Society. Tradition, however, con- nects this instrument directly with Dr. Christopher Witt, the last surviving member of the Theosophical Community that once occupied the Tabernacle on the Wissahickon, and who, prior to his death in 1765, gave some of his philo- sophical and scientific apparatus to the Philosophical Society, then presided over by Benjamin Franklin/^''. It is known that after the death of Kelpius, in 1708, and the virtual disbanding of the Community, all of the philoso- phical instruments, as well as Zimmermann's astronomical apparatus, passed into the possession of Daniel Geissler and Dr. Witt. It may be assumed without a shadow of doubt that the above relics once formed a part of Zimmer- mann's scientific outfit. ^""^ As an illustration how the horoscope entered into local affairs, there was formerly a tradition current, and which is recorded in one of the Ephrata manuscripts, that prior to the laying of the foundation-stone i^grund-steiii) of the ^^® This instrument was known to and its peculiarity mentioned by Zacharias Von UfFenbach, a classmate of Justus Falkner at Halle, in his published travels, Ulm, 1753. '^^ There were at that time two scientific societies in Philadelphia, — viz.. The American Philosophical Society and the American Society,, held at Philadelphia, for Promoting Useful Knowledge. These two bodies united, January 2, 1769, and formed the present American Philosophical Society. ^•^^ Vide paper read upon this instrument by the present writer before the American Philosophical Society, " Proceedings," February i, 1895. ii6 The Pietists of Provincial Peiuisylvania. Swedish church at Wicacoa, Seelig, at the request of the Swedish pastor, first cast a horoscope to find a proper day for the commencement of the building, so that its com- pletion should be assured. The interesting service took place upon the appointed day in the fall of the year 169S, and was made an occasion of both joy and profit. The site finally decided upon, after some controversy as to the location, was within the Swedish graveyard at Wicaco, on the banks of the Delaware. The ceremony of laying the first or foundation-stone was performed by the three ministers under the direction of the Master Mason, while the Fraternity, led by Kelpius, intoned the Psalms and responses. Whether the old tradition that the day and site were selected by the occult calculations of the Mystic Brother- hood on the Wissahickon be founded upon fact or not, the 4av certainly was an auspicious one, as the old church, after a lapse of two centuries, is still in constant use, and is now the oldest and most venerable sanctuary within the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It has stood to be im- mortalized by the prince of New England poets : — " Distant and soft on her ear fell the chimes from the belfry of Christ Church, While, intermingled with these, across the meadows were wafted Sounds of psalms that were sung by the Swedes in their church at Wicaco. ' ' Among the universal remedies in which the Germans of that period placed great faith was phlebotomy, or blood- letting, which it was believed would prevent sickness as well as effect a cure. Some persons were in the habit of undergoing the operation at regular seasons of the year, PJilchotomy. 117 no matter whether sick or well. Owing to the belief in astrology, care was taken to perform it under favorable lunar and planetary influences. For this more than any other purpose the different Hermits on the Ridge were con- sulted by the residents of the surrounding country. The phases of the moon could be gotten from the almanac, either by the patient or the barber-chirurgeon,^''^ and even the good and bad days easily calculated ; ^"'^ but to find the correct position of the planets and foretell their influence in an individual case, this was another matter, and one of prime importance, as the operation would affect the person for a lunar year to come. Then, again, it was believed that the disposition of the drawn blood was a matter of great moment to the patient, and the art of the astrologer was once more invoked as to when and how the lost blood should be disposed of.^*^^ Every vein or artery had also its own name, and came under the influence of a peculiar sign or planet. Thus there was the cephalic vein which was ruled by Aries ; the '"' The barber-chirurgeon was then quite an important personage. His specialties were bleeding, cupping, and leeching. ^*- When the phase of the moon changed before noon the day was counted as the first day. If, however, the change occurred after high noon the day was not counted. From a fragment of an old manuscript, dating from that period, it is seen that according to the accepted theory the first five days of the new moon were all bad for blood-letting : the first caused a bad countenance ; the second, a bad fever ; the third, lame- ness ; the fourth, a slow death ; the fifth, giddiness ; while the sixth was marked "good," as it purifies the blood. The seventh, eighth, ninth, and tenth were all bad ; then came twelve days all good, with a special reference to the twenty-first, that this was the best day in the year. '^^ The early Moravians in Pennsylvania had a positive rule, that the lost blood should either be buried in fresh earth at once or thrown into running water. This was to prevent any possible spread of disease. ( Bethlehem MS. Diaries. ) ii8 TJie Pietists of Provincial Pennsylvania. hepatic, the splenetic, arthritic, quinsy vein, etc.,^"* each with a different sign. The astrologer had therefore to indicate according to the celestial signs what particular vein was to be tapped, as well as when the other conditions would be favorable. It is not to be assumed from the above that Kelpius and his brother Mystics PortenDens graVla eX aqVlLone fVtVra CoMetes, practised astrology for profit, after the manner of the charL atans of that day, A moderate use of the art was believed in by most intelli- gent people and the signswere consulted and studied for sci- entific as well as personal purposes. Though the Mystics on the Wissahickon made use of astro, logical signs and calculations, and believed in the in- fluence of heavenly bodies upon human affairs, 5^et that they were free from all charlatanism may be safely assumed from the following interesting extract, which appeared in Vol, xii, p, 270, of the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, July 10, 1683,^"^ Here, in the review of Johann ^nbicTcmi6S2.ga(>r/tm turn .SJ^iffi-naiit: l)fc fe l)m laffcn. ^ilrfifirt 11116 iiuf 6ag cUifaftigfrc tdxttxi fim^cti mi bcr ijn^/ ic^in(if)l'c5cn Diaconurr. \Vk 'Stctiflhciiti. \^ 3.,l.r t r^Ltltbfn Vnsf^ifn'Oannfs WILL ttVrt9(bpnr vv,rDm THCffKuiMominiSiull^.iri Hauptader, Leber, Miltz, Gicht, Braun, etc. Copy in library of American Philosophical Society, Philadelphia, TJic Conicto-Scopia. 119 Jacob Ziminennann's " Coiiieto-Scopia ; or, Three Astro- nomical Relations concerning the Comets that have been seen in the years 1680, 1681, 1682," ^'^*' the editor states: "Thongh as he [Zimmermann] saith he doth not like the common Astrological Juggling Purse (so he calls it) \beiitelschncider'\ where, according to the Division of the Heaven in twelve Houses, and the Distribution of the Countries to the signs of the Zodiack^ the Superstitious Fortune-Tellers do Prognosticate things, which have no reasons nor grounds, neither in Nature or experience, yet it seems he [Zimmermann] cannot forbear himself to make use of the same trifles, when he says that Virgo being the sign of Sterilty ; Libj^a^ a sign of Justice and Death ; Scorpio^ a house of Mars and sign of Poysons^ — the Comet must signify War^ Famine^ Sickness^ or a great Plague.''^ !*•' No copy of this work is known to exist. The title reproduced is from a similar work relating merely to the comet of 1682. The original is in the Royal Ubrary of Wiirtemberg at Stuttgart. The writer is in- debted to Prof. D. H. Schott, chief librarian, for the photographic copy. LOCAL SUPERSTITIONS. 7-^£ U6 8'^U7,DP^lJL a 1)00 W dtv NOTHER custom then in vogne among the Ger- mans in Pennsylvania was the wearing of anhangsel^ -a kind of astrological amulet or talisman. They consisted chiefly p^g A of small charts upon parchment or paper, formed by astrological signs, together with hieroglyphic figures. In rare cases a thin stone or sheet of metal was used in place of the parch- ment. These anliangsel^ or sauber-settel as they were called, were prepared by the Mystics of the Community with certain occult ceremonies at such times as the culmin- ation of a particular star or the conjunction of certain planets. One of the arihdngsel most in demand (Fig. A.) was pre- pared at midnight on St. John's eve, and buried for a time in the place where the soiinoi-ivend fire had been. This special one was supposed to abjure all evil ^"^' ^' spirits. The anh'angsel^ when properly prepared by 'a com G-^/:? M^ZX > — ;: z I m > CO ■D I |- O CD o ■D I o 33 C The Mystic Seal. 121 patent magus (the Jicxcumeistcr of the ignorant), was sup- posed to exercise an extraordinary influence over the des- tiny of the bearer, particularly in averting disease, checking the power of evil spirits, and defending the wearer from malice and all harm. Various mineral and animal substances, such as bones and teeth, were also used with the same import, after they had been subjected to a certain mystic incantation. Vege- table substances were rarely used, as it was believed that their efficacy only lasted while the plant or tree was in a state of growth or activity. So universal was the belief among the Gennans in the Fig. C. efficacy of the anh'dngsel that hardly an adult or child was to be found without one. Frequently a charm of this kind would be placed upon an infant immediately upon its birth, as well as upon a corpse prior to interment. Then, again, some were prepared for special diseases, and worn or ap- plied when the occasion presented itself; and it was firmly believed where a cure was effected that the result was due more to the mystic charm written upon a triangular parch- ment, and then folded thrice and placed upon the body of the patient, than to the remedies used by the practitioner i6 122 The Pietists of Provincial Pennsylvania. of physic. Several of these anhdngsel are here repro- duced. Fig. B was supposed to banish all evil spirits, being a secret protection against which no demon could prevail. Fig. C was known as the ivunder-sigel ; it was believed to be a sure protection against any and all kinds of mechan- ical injuries, as well as against gun-shot or stab wounds of any sort. Fig. D, known as an artabel aiiJiangsel^ con- sisted of a thin plate of metal, usually copper, but in rare cases eold or silver. It was worn around the neck by a plaited three-strand cord made of hair taken from the tail of a horse at midnight upon Christmas eve. This charm was believed to insure to its fortunate owner a long life of wealth, power, strength, and cheer- fulness, prolonged youth and an easy death. Fig. E : this peculiar chart was called a Trit/ieinisettel^ and was supposed to banish all harm from the house in which it was used. The derivation of the characters or their symbolism, however, has not been traced by the writer. Independent of the above de- FiG. D. ^ scribed charms or talismans, there was another kind of superstition common to the general populace. This was known as besprechen., a kind of con- juration for the cure of wounds or minor diseases in both man and beast. The ceremony was nearly always performed by an old man or woman, usually the latter ; and in some cases, such as burns, scalds, erysipelas, wounds, and hemor- rhages, it was believed to be of greater efficacy than an}- medical treatment. A curious matter in connection with the transmission of TJie Mystic Signet. 123 the formulae for these conjurations was, that to maintain their ejfficiency they had to be handed down by an alterna- tion of the sexes. As an illustration, a woman who could besprcch fire, as burns and scalds were called, in transmit- ting her secret formula would have to communicate it to one of the opposite sex, and he in turn to another woman ; otherwise the charm would not work. Another strange belief, one in which the Mystic Brethren figured, was the use of the iviiiidcr-sigel^ or mystic signet. This was nothing more than an ordinary brass seal, one of which is now in possession of the writer, whereon were cut certain astrological figures and signs. It was used not onlv upon documents and articles of writing, but was impressed upon various parts of the body, wdiether of human beings or of animals. This was done to prevent or cure certain ailments. For this purpose the signet or petschaft was smoked by aid of a fatty flame and then impressed upon the spot where the trouble existed. The application was generally made with an incantation, in which the names of the Trinity bore the leading part. When used upon cattle 124 The Pietists of Provincial Pennsylvania. it was believed, among other things, that it wonld prevent them from straying away, and would cause them to return home at the regular time ; also that no vermin of any kind would come near them. A horse so sealed could not be stolen, but if taken would at once return to its owner. An impression of an electrotype made from one of these identical signets used by the Theosophical Brotherhood is here given, also a drawing of the same seal, showing the size of the original. Watson, in commenting upon this peculiar phase of German character in days gone by, writes, " Germantown was certainly very fruitful in credulit)-, and gave support to some three regular professors in the mysterious arts of divination. Besides Dr. Witt, there was his disciple, Mr. Frailey, sometimes dubb possessed of learning.^''" to by Watson was an Shrunk." When cows sons, got strange fled ordinary medi mary to consult lief, and their pre seeing the patients, idea of witchcraft somehow, and the cure was effected." ed doctor also, though not The other person alluded old man known as " Old and horses, and even per- diseases, such as baf- cines, it was custo- these persons for re- scriptions, without were often oriven under the ^®' No reference to Dr. Frailey could be found in si;pport of his connec- tion with Dr. Witt. THE MYSTICS ON THE WISSAHICKON. (H)' ^HEN the Brotherhood on the Wissahickon began to be better known they attracted considerable attention among the Dissenters and Sepa- ratists scattered thronghout the other colonies, as well as in Penn- sylvania. Among the first to com- mnnicate with Kelpius and his asso- ciates were the leaders of the Sab- batarian movement in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Abel Noble/''^ the Sabbatarian apostle, who was then active in the Prov- ince among the Keithians in Philadelphia and Chester Macrocosm, or Seal of King Solomon. ^'^^ Abel Noble was the son of William Noble, a wealthy Friend of Bristol, England, and arrived in this country in 1684, coming to Philadel- phia shortly afterwards. He was a nephew of Richard Noble, who came from England in the "Joseph and Mary," Captain Mathew Payne, the first vessel that landed passengers at Salem, New Jersey, May 13, 1675, and who held some office under the Duke of York, and will be remem- bered as the surveyor of the Jerseys who laid out Burlington ; he was also active in the early settlement of Pennsylvania after the grant to Penn. 126 The Pietists of Provincial Pennsylvania. Counties, was a frequent visitor at the Tabernacle in the forest, where the question of the true Sabbath received the earnest consideration of the Theosophists. In these dis- cussions they were frequently joined by the Swedish pastors Rudnian and Auren. According to the Ephrata manuscripts and traditions, it is to be inferred that not only the rival band under Koster, but the original Community, as well as one of the Swedish pastors, became convinced of the Sabbatarian doctrine and kept the Sabbath or Seventh-day holy. So far as the Keithian congregation under Koster is concerned, as well as in the case of Rev. Jonas Auren, we have ample docu- mentary evidence to substantiate this claim. The former eventually became a distinct Church, known as the Seventh- day Baptist Church of Philadelphia, with Thomas Rutter as the first pastor ; while the Rev. Jonas Auren embraced the doctrine of the Seventh-day without letting it interfere with his Lutheran pastorship. ^"^'^ He also went as a mis- Abel Noble soon after liis arrival became possessed of a large tract of land in what is now known as Warminister Township, Bucks County. The claim of his having been a Seventh-Day Baptist preacher prior to his arrival in this country is a matter of doubt, as he had not yet arrived to the years of manhood when he landed on these shores. Further, from the start he professed Quakerism, and soon became a prominent member among the Society of Friends in the infant colony. However, when the Keithian troubles commenced we find him a statinch upholder of Keith, and his name, together with William Davis, is prominent among the forty-eight who signed the reasons for the Keithian separation. But at the same time he continued in accord with the society and remained in good standing among them, as is shown by his marriage in 1692 at Darby Meeting to Mary Garrett. After his final separation from the parent society the transition to the Baptists was an easy matter, and the tradition that Noble, during a busi- ness trip through the Jerseys, came in contact with Killingsworth and was baptised by him, is probably correct ; but how, and through whom he was convinced of the Sabbatrian doctrine is an unsolved question. ^^* Acrelius. Jo /I as Aurcii. 127 sioiiary among the Indians, and by a cnrions coincidence preached the Gospel of Christ and tanght the doctrine of the Sabbath to the Indians npon ahiiost the identical spot where thirty years later the Hphrata Community was settled. [The Rev. Jonas Anren, of Wermeland in Sweden, ac- companied Rev. Rudman and Biorck to America at the king's command. He had been ordained along with Biorck at Upsala, and was under the special patronage of King Charles XL His special mission was to make a map of the Swedish possessions, with a description of their charac- ter and the condition of the inhabitants, all of which he was to bring or send to his Majesty without delay. The party sailed from Dalaron August 4, 1696, arriving in London October loth. It was, however, not until Feb- ruary 4, 1697, that they left London for America. Their voyage to the capes of Virginia lasted ten weeks. They first went to Maryland, and remained for several weeks as guests of Governor Francis Nicholson, when they con- tinued their journey on a yacht to Elk River, and reached Pennsylvania by way of New Castle, June 24, 1697. Rudman and Auren remained in Philadelphia, while Biorck went down the river to the Christiana congregation. Shortly afterwards word was received of the death of King Charles XI, when Auren concluded to remain in America, and subsequently became pastor of the Racoon Church in New Jersey. Auren's intercourse with the Sabbatarians at Providence and Philadelphia, as well as with the Mystics on the Wis- sakickon, was of an intimate nature, and resulted in his becoming convinced that the seventh day, or Saturday, was the true Sabbath. He published his reasons for the above in English in Leeds' Almanac for 1700, under the title of " Noah's Dove.'' 128 The Pietists of Provincial Pennsylvania. This caused considerable trouble between the three clergy- men and in the congregations. It was answered by a counter pamphlet from Biorck, also in English, entitled, "A little Olive Leaf put in the Mouth of Noah's Dove."'^" In addition to his other labors, Auren actually engaged in missionary work among the Indians in Chester County (now Lancaster), preaching to them the gospel together with the doctrine of the Sabbath, upon the identical ground on which the Ephrata Community of Mystic Sabbatarians was subsequently established. A communication from x\uren appears in Biorck.'s Disser- tatio Gradualism de Plajitatione Ecc. Siied.^ dated January 13, 1699— 1700, which gives some account of his labors in this missionary field. It is further an interesting fact that Auren laid the corner-stone of Holy Trinity (Old Swedes) Church of Christiana (Wilmington), on the Seventh day, Saturday, May 28, 1698. Notwithstanding his outspoken Sabbatarianism, Auren was called as pastor to the Rattcong (Racoon) Church in New Jersey, and as he continued to preach the doctrine of Sabbath, he was cited by Biorck to appear before the Gov- ernor of New York ; but so ably did Auren defend his position, that he was permitted to return as pastor, with the understanding that he was to preach the Orthodox Lutheran doctrine on Sunday to his congregation, while he and his family were at liberty to keep the seventh day. Auren died February 16, 17 13, and was buried in New "" "A Little Olive Branch put in the Month of the (so-called) Noah's Dove, Printed and sold by William Bradford at the Sign of the Bible in New York, 1704," sm. 4to. Title from catalogue of "The Bradford Ex- hibition" by the Grolier Club, New York, 1S93. The copy on exhibition is the only one known. The owner of the specimen refused to leave his name be known to the public. Kelphis' Letter. 129 Jersey. The funeral sermon was preached, Febrnary 24, 1 7 13, by Rev. Abraham Lidenius ; and on the next day, Febrnary 25, he was bnried in the Racoon Chnrch, the service being read by Dr. Andreas Sandel.'''' He left a widow'"' and two sons, the yonngest only five weeks old.] As to the Sabbatarian tendencies of the Kelpins party, the evidence is not quite so clear. It is known, however, that at an early day communications were opened between Kelpins and others on the Wissahickon and the leaders of the Sabbatarians in Rhode Island and Connecticut. ■ This fact is shown by the following letter, the draft of which is in the Journal of Kelpins in his own handwriting, which gives perhaps the fullest and most exact account of the peculiar theosophy of the original Community which it was possible to reveal to an}- one who had not made the subject an especial study. It is addressed to Steven Mum- ford, to whom is accorded the honor of establishing the first Sabbatarian congregation in xA.merica. "To Mr. Steven Momfort in Long Island/" in America, concerning the Pietists in Germany. " 1699, II December. " Dear Friend and Brother : " In fellow-fighting in that Free and Royal Spirit which strives for the Prize of the first Resurrection when in this Midnight the Cry of the Bridegroom's coming is sounded forth among the Virgin waiters for the Preparation of the Temple Body, wherein the King of Glory and Father of the coming Eternity is to enter. '"' February 16, 1713, Auren died at Ratkungs Hook, and was buried by me, February 25, in the Ratkungs Church.— Z?/rt;j Andreas Sandel. '" Auren was married in November, 17 10, by Rev. Biorch to Lydia, daughter of Hans Giostason. He was then Hving near the Susquehanna River. — Diary Andreas Sandel. '" This should be Rhode Island. 17 130 The Pietists of Provincial Pennsylvania. " Your great desire for to be a little further informed of the Principles and Practizes of those People that go under the Name of .Pietists/'^'' what they hold as Doctrin differing from others, what their Discipline is and what Methods they use in their own Country ; this desire I will hope, doth not arise from the Root of that Athenian Curiosity to hear some new thing ; But rather you being one among thousands in Juda, who sees how since that glorious Primi- tive Church of Christ Jesus the Apostacy hath run in a continual current till this very day, and though this Stream hath divided itself in many smaller Rivulets, under several Names of more reformed Purity, yet you are not ignorant how they derive their Emanation from one Spring and ten to the same End, Viz. that the Woman in the Wilder- ness might be carried away by the Flood. Therefore you, as a Remnant of her seed, long for to see your Mother and ofroan for the Manifestation of her children. No wonder then, if your continual Gazing upon this Supercaelestial Orb and Sphier from whence with her Children, causeth you to observe every new Phoenomena, Meteors, Stars and various Colours of the Skei, if peradventure you may behold at last an Harbinger as an Evidence of that great Jubelee or Restitation of all things and glorious Sabbath- ismos or the continual days of Rest without intervening or succeeding Nights, whereof God hath spoken by the mouth of all his Prophets since the world began (Acts 3, 21) and whereof both the Testaments prophesie in evey Title and Iota. If now this late Revolution in Europe (not to speak of that in other parts) which in the Roman Church •^* Christopher Sauer states that the name first arose from an expression used by a Prof. Veller, who, in a funeral sermon on one of the students, said " He was a Pietist," meaning that he was a God-fearing person. — Sailer's Almanac, 175 1. Mysticism Defined. 1 3 1 goes under the Name of Quictisin,''^'' in the Protestane Church under the Name of Pietism, Chiliasm, and Phila- delphianism, If I say this together or one in vSpecial pur- tends any thing to this effect. I do not question, but it will be your as well as my desire, who would rejoyce not only to give you full satisfaction as to this, but to see with you, yet in our days, that happy day, which when its new Earth swallows all that forementioned Floud and where its glorious Sun causeth all other Stars and Phoenomena to disappear, no Night succeeds it, but that the Night is swallowed up in ye Day, Darkness into Light, Death into Life, Judgment into Victory, Justice into Mercy, all im- perfect Metals into Gold, and Gold itself is refined seven times, and all Churches and Virgins comprised into the one Dove (Cant. 6, 9), then all the Sons of God will shout for joy as they did in the Beginning, when God was all in all, as he will be all in all, when again the End hath found its Beginning. Amen ! Halleluiah ! " Dear and worthy friend, though unknown to the Flesh but known in that better, yea in the best Line and highest descent in the Life of our Immanuel, whose Day we re- joyce to hear of and more to see, as well within us as without us, in its Depth, Hight, Breadth and Length, through the whole palsed and groaning Creation, as well as in our Mother Jerusalem above and Beneath ! How can I 1'= The Ouietists were the followers of Miguel de Molinos, a Spanish Mystic. The chief object of this sect was the attainment of spiritual and physical perfection. The founder taught that little value was to be placed upon ceremonial observances, but ^ piritual perfection consisted in the perfect repose of all the faculties of the soul in God and indifference to all the actions of the body. For those who obtained this "fixed" or " continuous" state there was no sin and no occasion for anxiety. " Mys- tical theology," said Molinos, "is not a science of the intellect, but of sentiment ; it is not learned by study, but received from heaven." 132 The Pietists of Provincial Pennsylvania. write the particulars of the Quietists or Pietists, Chiliasts'"'' or Philadelphians/" whose Fame is spread in all the 4 quarters of the now Christianity. They first sprang in Italy, in Rome itself (and are increased now through the whole Roman Church in many Millions, though they was and are still depressed) 15 or 20 years before the Pietists or Chiliasts in Germany and Switzerland (where the first Reformation) in the year '89 and '90, with a swift increase through the whole Nation, so that their Branches also did break forth into other Nations, as in England under the name of Philadelphians. This Penn is too dull to express the extraordinary Power the Pietists and Chiliasts among the Protestants in Germany (and especially in Saxony) and Switzerland was endued with in their Infancy. This only I sav, as one who hath read the Histories, that since the days of the Apostels, such Miraculous Powers and opera- tions have not been manifested as in a matter of 2,^2 years among these. And like as the Miracles wrought by God through the Hand of Moyses was for the main part in the outward Creation or Macrocosm, the Miracles of Jesus the Messia on the Bodys of Man or Macrocosm, ^^^ so these in our days was wrought (much like unto them in the days of the Apostels) on the Soul and more interiour parts by Ectases, Revelations, Inspirations, Illuminations, Inspeak- ings. Prophesies, Apparitions, Changings of Minds, Trans- figurations, Translations of their Bodys, wonderful Fastings 1™ 17dc, p. 37, 38, /bid. '^' Vide, p. 16, /did. 1"* Macrocosm, used in a figurative sense to denote the universe or visi- ble sj-stem of worlds, literally the great woild. The opposite, microcosm, the little world, was a name given to man in the times when astrology flourished, as it was supposed that his organization accurately corres- ponded to the organization of the universe. The above conception dates back to Democritus (b. 460 B.C.). Man or Macrocosm. 133 for II, 14, 27, 37 days, Paradysical Representations by Voices, Melodies, and Sensations to the very perceptibility of the Spectators who was about such persons, whose con- dition as to the inwaid condition of their Souls, as well as their outward Transactions, yea their very thoughts they could tell during" the time of their Exstacies, though they had never seen nor heard of the Persons before. " These and many other Gifts continued as is said, for a matter of three years and a half among all sorts of Persons, Noble, and ignoble. Learned and unlearned, Male and female, young and old, very conspiciously and generally Protestants chiefly, and some Papists, and with some though more refined such and like Gifts last till this very day. "Thus partly I have declared how the}' was baptized with such energical drops out of that supercaleistial Pillar of Cloud by Gifts and miraculous Manifestations of the Powers from on high. " Now will I tell in short in what a craggy, uneven yea dark wilderness they have been led since, when hitherto they have been baptized with the fiery Pillar of many MACROCOSM APPKARING TO DR. FAUSTUS. 134 The Pietists of Provincial Pemisylvania. inward and outward Tribulations, Sorrows, Temptations, Refinings, Purifications (but nevertheless this Fiere casts such a Light befor'm that securs'ni from the persuing Might and dark influence of Egypt and guides'm in that beloved land and City.) This must be through many Tribulations as the Apostels have witnessed, so they felt it and feel it still very smartly. For when these things begun to ferment every where, i. The Students in the Universities forsake their former way of Learning and applied them- selves wholly to Piety and Godliness, (from whence their name was derived) leaving and some burning their heath- enish Logiks, Rhetoriks, Metaphysiks. 2. The Laymen or Auditors begun to find fault with the Sermons and Lifes of their Ministers, seeing there was nothing of Ye Power of the Holy Ghost, nor of the Life of Christ and his Apostels. 3. The children under the Information and Tuition of Pietists, (for the Students applied themselves chiefly to the Education of Children, as they do till this day with great, yea extraordinary success) begun to reproof their Parents if they was working and Lye or unrighteous- ness ! }'ea some in their tender years came to witness strange things of the Invisible worlds. Till at last Demetrius with his Craftsmen begun to see and hear that not onh' in Lipzig, (from which University this Motion first begun to spread abroad) but almost throughout all Germany and adjacent Contrys these Pietists did persuade and turn away much People, saying that the Form of Godliness without the Power thereof is meer Idolatry and superstition ; Yea they saw, how that not only this their craft was endangered by these and set at nought, but also the Temple or Uni- versities of the great Goddess Dianoria or Reason and Ratiocination (which is quite different from that Dionoria or Understanding or Unction whereof John witnesses The Anti-Pietists. 135 I Job. 5. 19. c. 2, 27.) should be despised and her Magnifi- cence (thus the Rectors in the Universities are titled) should be destroyed, if in the place of Dianoria, the Sophia from on high should be adored and instead of Temples or Uni- versities, the Hearts of men should be consecrated. (Ex- cuse me, dear Heart, that I thus run into an Allegoricall Application, for the very same Comedy was played as you read in the x\cts of the Apostels, only the time and persons changed.) Thus the Battel and Insurrection begun, which lasteth till this day. '' The xA.nti-Pietists (so their Adversaries are pleased to call themselves) betook themselves to the secular Arm. But several Princes being parth' inclined to the Principles of the Pietists, partly convinced of a superior Agent in these things, took them in their Protection, especially the Elector of Brandeb. In the Principality of Brunswick and Lunebourg, the course was otherwise, for in the very beginning 3 Bishops or Supirts was removed their offices ; the same happened in other Countries and Cities, as Erford, Lipzik, Quedlinbourg, Halberstad, Hambourg, Hassen Cassel, where and in Switzerland lately several Ministers are removed and some banished the Country. Thus they increased under the Cross. As for any peculiar Badge or Mark, they have none being above these trifling affections) or any peculiar Church Ceremony or Discipline which should cause a Shisni or branch a new sect. For they are not ignorant of the wilderness wherein the Church is and hath been hitherto, and in what a glory she will appear when she comes up from the Wilderness leaning on her beloved. Cant. 8. 5. They see will enough how all the Reformations and Revolutions in this last Age as well as theirs are but x\pparitions of the fair colours of the Aurora or Break of the day, mixed with many uncleanness wherein 136 The Pietists of Provincial Pennsylvania. there is no stay (as my beloved Brother and faithful Fellow- Pilgrim in this Wilderness state Seelig hath written) for they are not the substance or sun itself through the various beautiful Apparitions of the Skie, should entice one allmost enamoured in them and to mistake the Harbinger for the King ! whom to meet they prepare themselves earnestly, some of'm laying aside all other engagements whatever, trimming their Lamps and adorning themselves with white silk}' Holiness and golden Righteousness, that the}- may be found worthy, when the Bridegroom comes, to receive him with confidence and joy and to bring him in the House of their Mother, where He will drink withhn that new spicy wine of the Kingdom in all everlasting Progresses. That we also may prepare ourselves with our whole endeavours continually I wish heartily, who do recommend you in the Clifts of the Foundation-Rock of our Salvation, Jesus Christ. Remaining your fellow Traveller in this blessed work and best engagement. "Johannes Kelpius." Dated in the Wilderness. [Stephen Mumford (born 1639; died July, 1701) is ac- credited with being the founder of the Seventh-day Baptist Church in America. He was a native of England, and prior to his emigration to America had been a member of the " Bell Lane Church of Christ" (Seventh-day Baptist), London. He arrived in New England in 1*664, ^^^^ ^^ once joined with Dr. Clarke's First-day Baptist Church at Newport, thoueh his views favored the observance of the seventh day, as Backus states in his "History of New England," ^'^ " bringing with him the opinion that the whole of the Ten 1"^ Vol. iii, p. 232. Stephen Mumford. 137 Coimnandments, as they were delivered from Mount Sinai, were moral and imnuitable ; and that it was the anti- christian power which thought to change times and laws that changed the Sabbath from the seventh to the first day of the week. Several members of the First Baptist Church in Newport embraced his sentiments, and yet continued with the church for some years. They kept up a correspondence with their brethren in England, b)' which they were much strength- ened in their resolution to lead a Christian life. These persons were wont to meet together for worship on the seventh day with Stephen Mumford and others, in a very primitive manner, at their own houses."^'- Finally, five of these members withdrew from the First-day Baptist Church, and on December 23, 167 1, together with two other persons, entered into a church covenant and formed a Seventh-day Baptist Church upon the model of the one in London. '*^^ From this small beginning originated the Seventh-day Baptist Church in America, which now numbers about 9000 members, about 100 churches, three colleges, and maintains missionary stations in Shanghai, China ; Harlem and Rotterdam, Holland ; together with thirty-four home missionaries operating in twenty-five States and Territories. But little is known of the personal history of this Sabba- tarian pioneer, as many of the records of the church prior to 1700 have been lost. In the year 1671 he became a freeman of the Community. Three years after the forma- tion of the Newport Church, Mumford went to England 180 Seventh-day Baptist Memorial, Vol. i, p. 70-71. '^^ The members who withdrew were Stephen Mumford, Samuel Hub. bard, Roger Baster, William Hiscox, and Mrs. Tacy Hubbard ; to these were added Rachel Longworthy, and a sister whose name is now forgotten. 138 TJie Pietists of Provincial Poinsylvania. in the interests of the faith and for the pnrpose of obtain- ing aid for the struggling Church in America. Upon his arrival in London he writes, under date of March 14, 1675 : " I took my journey to London in the Waggon, where I was received by ^ ^.^^^ the brethren with much joy, in some /^ ^\ of them, who had a great desire to / a \ hear of our place and people; some/ \ r^< / \talk of coming with me." He re I XX turned to New England shortly \ \^f /afterwards, arriv- ing in Boston in \ / October of the same year.'-" In \. y the year 1687 we find him living in Jamestown. How- ever, November 29, 1687, he and his wife Ann conveyed some of their property at that place to William Phipps, Kt., of Boston, and returned to Newport, after which we have no record of him, except the memorandum in the diary of Magister Kelpius in 1699.]^'-^ A late writer, in commenting upon the Mum ford letter, states : " In such contemplations did Kelpius dream away his young life. Doubtless to him all was a brilliant reality to be enjoyed at some future day ; and with a heart full of faith in his doctrines, and sustained by holy aspirations for the higher life, he went forth to meet the heavenly Bride- groom. Far better for him thus to live and die, visionary though he was, than to live and die without hope and without God in the world." i»2 Austin's Genealogical Dictionary of Rhode Island. '^^'^ Stephen Mumford and his wife are both buried in the old cemetery of the Sabbath-keepers at Newport, R. I. THE RETURN OF DANIEL FALKNER. A MiTHRAic Symbol. dtV S the close of the seventeenth cen- tury drew near, the leaders of the Coni- nninit}' looked forward to the coming of the niillen- ninni with greater faith than ever. The terrible sconrge of the Barbadoes plagne (yellow fever) that had swept the Province during the summer of 1699 was looked upon as but another forerunner of the expected deliverer. It is true their mystic number was far from complete ; reports from their emissary in Europe were not encouraging ; enemies at home were casting ridicule at their relio-ious teachings, while in Germany their brethren were proscribed and scattered. Still the religious enthusiasts in both hemi- " Gloria Dei," a.d. 1700. 140 The Pietists of Provincial Pennsylvania. spheres who chmg together and adhered to their precepts felt far from discouraged as the sun arose upon the March day which, according to them, ushered in the first day of the seventeenth century. (They made the popular mistake of supposing that 1700 began the new century.) In looking over the situation the American Community felt that their labors had not been altogether in vain. The religious condition of both Germans and English in the Province had been greatly changed for the better b\ the services which they had instituted and maintained since their arrival. In Philadelphia there were now two churches, — an Episcopal church, solidly built of brick ;''^^ a Seventh- day Baptist meeting-house,'''^ within a stone's throw of the other ; while the Swedish Lutheran church at Wicacoa, humble as it was, was nearing completion. Presbyterian and Baptist services had also been held, but as }-et no retrular orgfanizations had been established. In German- town such as were followers of Simon Menno were already casting about for a j^iece of ground upon which to build a regular meeting-house. Then, again, the educational labors of Kelpius were beo-innino- to bear fruit in the children who received moral instruction at the Tabernacle, and who had there been taught to pray and sing. Many of these children were now growing up into men and women, through whom the religious training would soon make itself felt among the townsfolk. iM Christ Church, on Second Street above Market. !**» This house of worship was on Second Street north of Christ Church. It came into the possession of the Baptists in 1707, and became known as the "First Baptist Church of Philadelphia." In 1762 a new church 61 feet by 42 was built. It was enlarged during the present century, and finally sold and abandoned for a more fashionable neighborhood (Broad and Arch Streets). The burying-ground was in the rear of the church. Peter Schdffer. 141 Toward the close of the old century the Coniiimnity was reinforced by several Pietists from Halle in Germany, the most important among whom was one Peter Schaffer,'-" a native of Finland and master of arts of the University of Abo. When this party arrived they were cordially received by the brethren and domiciled at the Tabernacle. Schafifer, who was a learned but somewhat eccentric character, soon differed with Kelpius and the other Mystics as to the sacraments, which were not insisted upon by them. Consequently he offered to withdraw from the Community, and proposed to live a life of seclusion and contemplation. Kelpius thereupon submitted to him the names of four or five devout families who would give him his living, pro- vided that he would instruct the children of the household for several hours in each day, the remaining time to be passed in his esoteric studies. Schafifer, however, rejected these ofifers, and concluded to labor as an evangelist among his countrymen along the Delaware and Schuylkill, and wdien the opportunity ofifered to act as a missionary among the Indians. He soon left the Tabernacle and came direct to the city. He presented himself to Edward Shippen, one of the magistrates and leading Friends of the Province, and informed him and his wife Rebecca that he had a call to stay under their roof for forty days and nights, during which time he was to subsist on bread and water. He was permitted to remain there during his pleasure ; and during this visit, it is stated, he became more and more involved in his mystical speculations. ^^ Peter Schaffer, together with Ulstadius, a priest, and Ulhegius, a student of theology, some years prior to the former's arrival in America, had given the courts and consistory' of Sweden great trouble. Finally, Ulstadius was condemned to death, and Schaffer recanted and drifted to Halle, whence he went to England and America 142 The Pietists of Provincial Pennsylvania. Early in the year 1700 he appears to have been chosen as schoohnaster at Wicacoa, where he, according to Pastor Biorck, at first must have given satisfaction, as the latter writes that at last a school has been established at Wicacoa " with an able teacher at the head of it, who also serves as parish clerk." It is not known how long this eccentric visionary remained in charge as schoolmaster at Wicacoa. From there he went to Pennsneck to open a school, but, according to the Swedish records, he effected but little. Soon after he came to New Jersey he entered upon what he termed a " death-fast," and received a revelation that he should arise and wander about at random.^"''" From Penns- neck he returned for a short time to the Tabernacle on the Wissahickon. While there he received a call from the Swedes at Pennsneck to return to them and act as their pastor, with the assurance that ^24 was ready for his sup- port. This offer he saw fit to refuse, and the next that is learned about him is that he accompanied Jonas rVuren upon one of his missionary tours to the Indians on the Conestoga. Returning from this mission, he had another vision com- manding him to return to Europe, which he did forthwith. iVfter his arrival at Plymouth he subjected himself to an enforced fast of fifty days, at the end of which time he received another revelation that he should return to his old home in F'inland and there reprimand his former judges for their course against him. He obeyed, and was imprisoned in the fortress of Gefle, where he became insane and died. Kelpius, in a letter written to Deichmann in 1699, refer- ring to Peter Schaflfer, writes : " His heart yearned toward his own nationality, — the Swedes and Finns, as well as toward the Indians. x\ll three had an interest for him, and he felt that he could do good among them. We parted in 187 Acrelius, New Sweden, p. 316. " Gloria Deiy 143 love, and left the doors open so that he conld return to us at any time in case that he did not receive the reception he anticipated among his own kindred." '''^''* Another interesting incident toward the close of the century was the final parting of Henry Bernhard Koster from his former associates prior to his return to the Father- land in the winter of 1699. Although he had been sepa- rated from his former friends for over five years, and had " Gloria Dei," a.d. 1895. run a somewhat eccentric course, a certain bond of sym- pathy and friendship had always been maintained between the leaders. So when Koster finally determined to embark for the Fatherland the parting between the men was sad for all, and he went on his way not only with the good wishes of every one of his former companions, but was followed by their blessings and prayers for his safe journey. The first year of the new century faccording to their Kelpius MS. Journal, p. 29-30. 144 '^^^^ Pietists of Provincial Pennsylvania. reckoning) was crowned by two happy events, both bright spots in the history of the Conimnnity. One was the con- secration of the Swedish Lntheran Church at Wicacoa ; the other the arrival of Daniel Falkner and a number of accessions to their number from Europe. Among the number was Justus Falkner, a brother of Daniel, and who was destined to become an important figure in the religious history of Pennsylvania. The consecration of the Swedish Lutheran Church at Wicacoa took place on the first Sunday after Trinity, July 2, 1700. The building, 60x30 feet and 20 feet to the square, had been completed far enough to warrant its use for public worship. The event was made the occasion for a festival that extended over three days. It was opened on Saturday, July i, with a jollification or kirchzueili, held after the manner of the Fatherland. On Sunday the consecra- tion services took place. Pastor Biorck preached the sermon from the text 2 Sam., viii, 29,''*^ and christened the church "Gloria Dei" {Giid'' s Alird' s Hiiiis or Gottes Ehre). Upon this festive occasion a great crowd was present, not only of Swedes and Germans, but English as well. The latter were so numerous that Pastor Biorck was forced to repeat his Swedish sermon in English at the close of the services. Prominent among the great assemblage were the Theo- sophical brethren from the Wissahickon, who not only furnished instrumental music for the occasion, but acted as choristers as well, chanting the dedicator}' Psalms and re- sponses ; while the three resident pastors, Rudmann as Vice-Bishop or Provost, Biorck as Celebrant, and Auren as 1K9 II Therefore now let it please thee to bless the house of thy servant, that it may continue forever before thee : for thou, O Lord God, hast spoken it : and with thy blessing let the house of thy servant be blessed for ever." The Frankfort Land Company. 145 assistant, all robed in snrplice and chasuble, conducted the consecration services. A nach kirchweih on Monday con- cluded the festival. The other event referred to was the return of the emis- sary who had been sent to Europe, and had remained there in the interest of the Community for over two years. Great was the joy of the brethren and the rejoicing at the Taber- nacle on the August day which marked the return of Daniel Falkner and his companions from the Fatherland who had accompanied him to the New World so that the mystic number of perfection would once more be complete and the circle unbroken. Manuscript and tradition are both silent as to the exact date of Falkner's return : even the names of his companions remain unknown, with the ex- ception of his brother Justus, a candidal theologies who had studied at Halle, Johann Jawert, Johann Hendrick Sprogel, and Arnold Storcli. When Daniel Falkner returned to America he came for- tified with docmnents from the Frankfort Land Company, dated at Frankfort-on-Mayn, January 24, 1700, which sup- planted Pastorius as their agent, and named himself with Jawert and Kelpius in his place, thereby making him virtu- ally the dictator of the German Township. He also had a power of attorney, dated April 23, 1700 (n. s.), from Benja- min Furley, who was William Penn's trusted agent in Rotterdam, to act for him in Pennsylvania. This was subsequently reinforced by an autograph order from Penn to his secretary,^"" ordering him to prepare land warrants for Falkner and his brother. A certified copy of the power of attorney from the Frank- fort Company has lately been discovered among a number of old Pastorius papers in Germantown. '•'" Minute book " G," Penna. Archiv'es, 2 Series, Vol. xix, p. 244. 19 146 ■ TJie Pietists of Provincial Pennsylvania. In addition to the above, Falkner bronght a deed of gift for 4000 acres of land, being a part of the 25000 acres belonging to the original German purchasers.''" This indenture was executed by Catherine Elizabeth Schutz, widow of Johann Jacob Schutz, and was intended for charitable uses, to be ad- ministered by the Theoso- phical Fraternity. A result of the change in attorneyship became ap- parent at the next town election ( 1 701), when Dan- iel Falkner was elected vogt or bailiff; Johann Ja- wert, recorder ; and Justus Falkner, one of three bur- gesses. The return of Falkner to the Community and the addition to their number infused fresh courage into the hearts of the leaders, who now felt more sanguine than ever of the ultimate success of their experimental enterprise in the " Wilderness" of the Western World. A Phallic Emblem. '^^ The original purchasers were Jacob Van de Walle, Daniel Behagel, Johann William Peterson, John Jacob Schutz, and Caspar Menan, who acquired 14,000 acres of land from William Penn, and on April 2, 1683, gave a letter of attorney to Francis Daniel Pastorius to administer the same. ^'■''- Gericlitsbjicli von Gerniantozvn. See also Collections of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, November, 1852. The German township was erected into a borough by virtue of a patent granted by William Penn, dated London, August 12, 1689. This docu- ment was recorded at Philadelphia 13th 3d month, 1691. It gave to the corporation the right to have and use a common seal and hold a court of record ever}^ six weeks for hearing all civil causes according to the laws of the Province. The separate government of Germantown began August, 1691, and terminated in December, 1706, being fifteen years. THE CLOSE OF THE FIRST DECADE. (H)' JTH the advent of the new centnry the Fraternity on the Ridge received nnnier- ons accessions from different parts of the Old World, in- dependent of snch as ac- companied Daniel Falkner upon his return. Promi- nent among the number was Conrad IMatthai, from Swit- zerland, and Dr. Christopher Witt, from Wiltshire, England.''''^ Another interesting incident that belongs to this period is the intercourse between William Penn and the Theosophical Brotherhood during the former's second visit to the Province. There can ]De but little doubt that during the proprietar}''s stay in Great Skal of the Province (reverse. LUX E TEN EBRIS,— from an old Pietistical book. ^'-"^ Another account connects Dr. Witt with the celebrated Dutch family of that name. According to the Ephrata MSS. , Gottlieb Van der Looft and Frederick Casselberg joined the Community about the same time. 148 TJie Pietists of Pj-ovincial Pennsylvama. America, from November 28, 1699, to October 2, 1701, there must have been frequent visits to Germantown to attend the meetings held by both German and English Friends, and that upon such occasions the peculiar institu- tion on the Wissahickori" was not overlooked by him. This argument is strengthened by the fact that long before Penn returned to America Kelpius had been accused of Quaker- ism, and his followers had been publicly charged with having embraced the tenets of the Society of Friends, — a charge which was apparently justified by the fact that they refused to administer either baptism or the eucharist,^"* except in rare cases. A direct evidence of this peculiar feature of the Kelpius party is to be found in the reports made to Halle by Rev. Heinrich Melchoir Miihlenberg. In reply to a communi- cation from Halle respecting the survivors, if there were any, of the original party of Pietists and the particulars of their sojourn here, he states : " So far as I could gather from acquaintances and old residents, it seems to me that most of these former candidates (theological students) cared little or nothing for the holy sacraments of baptism and the eucharist as instituted by the Holy Spirit and recorded by the prophets, evangelists, and apostles. So much of the Holy Writ was a dead letter to them ; but, on the contrary, they busied themselves greatly with the Theosophical Sophia, speculations, etc., and at the same time practised alchemy." ^^^ ^^* In Germany they were, on account of this peculiarity, called sacra- nients-ver'dchter, or despisers of the sacrament. See Civitatis Erffiirtcnsis, pp. 1065-1069. The non-observance of the sacrament became one of the chief causes for contention between Koster and Kelpius after their arrival in America, and did much to widen the breach that was formed by the course Koster pursued during the Keithian controversy. 1^^ Halle Reports, original edition, p. 1265. ll^iUiani Penn. 149 It is not to be supposed from the above statement that the Theosophical students, pious and ascetic as they were, and who had left home, friends, and plenty to banish them- selves here in the wilderness, were opposed to the two sacred ordinances. The fact was they merely objected to their abuse by too frequent and unauthorized administration. Unfortunately, thus far the writer's researches have failed to find any documentar\ mention of an intercourse between William Penn and the Germans in the Province during his second visit, except the statement in Watson's Annals (Vol. ii, p. 23) that Penn preached in Germantown upon two occasions, — once in a low house, built of framework and filled in with bricks, which formerly stood upon the site of Dr. George Bensell's house (now 5458 Germantown Avenue) ; and another time in the original Schumacher house, built in 1686, which was still standing in Watson's day. A picture of this interesting landmark has fortunately been preserved.''"' However, by a tradition which has been current in an old Pennsylvania family for generations, we learn that there ^"^ Mr. T. H. Shoemaker kindly furnishes the following particulars respecting this old landmark : " The Shoemaker house was located on Lot No. 8. Gerhardt Hendrick Isaac Shoemaker married his daughter ; hence it became known as the Shoemaker house. The house was situated in the meadow, about where Wingohocking station is on the Reading Road. Shoemaker's Lane ran back to it, say a half mile from Germantown Avenue. According to a letter written by Watson to S. M. Shoemaker, it was built in 1682. But I think this an error of memory : the date was more probably a year or two later. The house was taken down in 1846 ; but close to the railroad at Shoemaker's Lane stands an old stone house known as the ' Rock House,' because it is built on a large rock which stands some twelve or fifteen feet above the meadow. This house was most likely a tenant- house, and tradition says it was from this rock that Penn preached to the people who assembled below in the meadow. I do not know of any other places Penn preached in. It has been said he was present when one of the houses w'as raised : I think Johnson's old one, but am not sure." 150 The Pietists of Provincial Pennsylvania. was an estrangement between Penn and Kelpius, as the latter is said to have qnestioned the religious sincerity 01 the proprietary on the ground of his being a slaveholder, who persisted not only in holding human beings in bond- age, but also sanctioned the traffic in their bodies.'^" Kelpius in a subsequent letter to Professor Fabritius, his old preceptor at Altdorf and who was now at the University of Helmstadt, intimates rather strongly that Penn and the leading Quakers at that time were mere Christians by word of mouth, Manl-Christen}'^^ An allusion is also made to Penn's second visit to the Province, and relates an incident where he was refuted by the Indians, at which meeting Kelpius seems to have been present. He states that during Penn's visit in 1701 he went to an Indian festivity or kijitika^'^ and there took occasion to preach to the Indians about belief in the God of the heavens and the earth. The Indians, after listening to him with great patience, answered him : " You ask us to believe on the great Creator and Riiler of heaven and earth, and yet you yourself do not believe nor trust Him, for you have taken the land unto yourself which we and our friends occupied in common. You scheme night and day how you may preserve it so that none can take it from you. Yea, you even scheme beyond your life and parcel it out between your children, — this manor for one child, that manor for another. We believe on God the Creator and Ruler of heaven and earth. He maintains the sun ; He maintained our fathers for so many, many moons. He maintains us, and we believe 137 " William Penn in America," by W. J. Buck, p. 379 et scq. "* MS. Journal, p. 84. See photographic facsimile, Historical Society of Pennsylvania. 1^'' Probably at Pennsbury, Penn's country residence in Bucks Count)\ John Richardson, in his Journal, makes mention of such an assemblage in 1701. A Curious Legend. 151 and are sure that He will also protect our children as well as ourselves. And so long as we have this faith we trust in Him, and never bequeath a foot of ground." Our manu- script unfortunately fails to record Penn's reply to the astute Indian, or even to hint at the outcome of the discussion. William Penn's second visit to the Province was evi- dently not a welcome one either to his own partisans or to the so-called "hot church party." But little mention of Penn or his actions is made in any of the literature or private journals of the day. Thomas Story's Journal, which is so full as to the year 1699, is almost silent for the next two years, or the period when Penn lived in Pennsyl- vania. During this sojourn he spent his time, when not travelling in the Province, between his mansion, knowm as the " Slate-roof house" in Philadelphia, and his country place at Pennsbury on the Delaware. It was in the " Slate- roof house" that Penn's son John was born a month after his arrival. The founder's life in America during this visit, according to an old Friend's journal, must have been any- thing but enviable on account of the political dissensions, as well as the objections made by his wife and daughter to taking up a permanent residence in the Province, to wdiich must be added his impecuniosity and the pressing demands of his creditors. One of the most curious legends in connection with the Tabernacle in the forest is the following tale, recorded in the Ephrata manuscripts, which partakes somewhat of the supernatural : It was the seventh anniversary of the landing in Philadelphia, — a day which was always kept in remem- brance, as it not only marked the date of the Mystics' arrival in Pennsylvania, but it was St. John's eve as well. Greater preparations than usual had been made for its celebration, because it was the seventh^ — the number of the seals on the 152 TJie Pietists of Provincial Pennsylvania. book, the vials of wrath, the trumpets of the Apocalypse, and the union of the Square and the Triad. The old legend tells us that all preparations for lighting the mystic fires upon the hills at nightfall were completed, when just about twilight, " whilst engaged in their accustomed ser- vices or ceremonies in commemoration of their arrival, which they observed with solemnity, a white, obscure, moving body in the air attracted their attention, which, as it approached, assumed the form and mien of an angel. It receded into the shadows of the forest, and appeared again immediate as the fairest of It may easily be this aerial apparition phical ascetics, the the hopes and fears within their hearts, the cause of it, to long been upon a ner if at last the foreran had come. The man " They fell upon their bingerof good tidings. ly before them the lovely." imagined what effect ^ had upon the Theoso- commotion it raised, and that were engendered Whatever may have been their minds, which had so vous strain, it seemed as ner of the great Deliverer uscript goes on to say : knees to welcome the har- but, alas, the spirit van- ted brethren were prais- liverance at hand." As ed a degree of consterna- of all. Prayer and invo- ished while the devo ing their God for the de the mysterious form vanish tion and alarm filled the hearts cation, however, were continued without intermission until the hour near midnight, when the mystic fires were lighted. High rose the bright flame, until its reflection illuminated the symbol that surmounted the Tabernacle. Weird was the scene as the incantations were chanted, and the blazing embers scattered down the rugged hillsides, sparkling in the dark shadows of the hemlock and the pine. Andreas Sandcl. 153 After the ceremony was over the whole part)- returned to the saal, where they '' continued wakeful in prayer and fervent supplication during the whole night without any further disclosures." The legend further states that when at last the morning dawned " the luminary of the skies appeared above the hills and shed her cheerful rays to renovate the energies of the laboring man ; but the gloom of darkness hung upon the waiting hermits," The next night was anxiously awaited by the watchers, who confidently expected the reappearance of the fair mis- sionary to mankind, but it brought no intelligence. On the third evening, while all were assembled at prayer in the saal,, the apparition again appeared. All at once fell upon their knees ; but their prayers, instead of availing, always repelled the fair delieverer. After this the appari- tion did not reappear.-"" The manuscript further mentions that after this episode " Kelpius and his brethren remained at the ' Laurea,' ^"' wearing out the thread of life in retire- ment and patient waiting for the final drama they were to enact in the wilderness." That the belief in the supernatural in the early days of our Commonwealth was not confined alone to the Germans in the Province is shown by the following interesting story in the diary of Pastor Andreas Sandel. The family was an English one and were members of the Church of Eng- land : "January 12. — A dreadful thing happened in Phila- '^"^ It is further stated that the probable reason for the non-return of the apparition was a confession made to Kelpius by one of the hermits that he had committed some crime in Europe prior to coming to America. ™ "Laurea." This term appears onl}- in the Ephrata MS. It evidently has some reference to " Laurentium," a classic grove in the Aventine Hills. 20 154 ^^^^ Pietists of Provincial Pennsylvatiia. delphia to the wife of a butcher. She and her husband quarreled in the evening. He asked her to make the bed. She said she would not. When she had refused for a while, he said he would turn her out of the house. She said, did he do it she would break the window-panes, invoking the devil to come for her if she did not. The husband led her out. Then she became at her wit's end because of her invocation. Finally, she broke some of the window-panes, and through the kitchen made her way up into the attic, bringing with her a candle, and lay down on the bed greatly disturbed on account of her promise. She then heard somebody coming up the stairs, but saw no one. Shortly afterwards she again heard a noise as if a person were coming up stairs, but could not see any one. This lasted for about half an hour. Becoming more and more agi- tated, fearing that her awful invocation was about to be realized, she went down to her husband, telling him of her anguish, and asking him to aid her. In lying down on a bench near the hearth she perceived a darkish human face looking at her with its mouth wide open and making horrid grimaces with gnashing teeth. Then she became thoroughly terrified, and asked her husband to read to her. Turning to the 21st Psalm, he read it to her, and then the face was not seen by her any more. " Soon afterwards she perceived at the window, the one where she had broken the panes, that someone was standing there with both arms extended through the window. By this her fright was increased. At last she saw merely a head coming nearer to her. She could not see where it came through. Her husband then clasped his arms about her, when suddenly such a smell of brimstone was felt that they scarcely could stay in doors. The smell was also per- ceived bv others coming in later. The husband saw nothing, but smelled the brimstone odor. Tribute to Pastor Rud))ian. 155 " At one o'clock she sent for the minister/'"^ who came and prayed with her. Upon the next day a great many persons came to her, and in telling it over she was all of a tremble, and had to fold her hands across her knees, so violent was she shaking. Bnt see what were the devil's fnrther doinofs. On the third evening thereafter there came a godless man, and, in passing her house, he sung the most wicked ditties, repeatedly invoking the evil one to take him, and saying he wanted to drink to him, etc. This doubtless was to cause her and others to continue in the sin of blas- phemy or in the belief that no devil is in existence, etc. This was a few days afterwards told me by that same woman herself and by two other English ministers, — Mr. Ross and Mr. Smith."-"-' Reference has already been made of the intercourse be- tween the Mystical Brother- hood and the Swedish Lu- theran pastors on the Dela- ware. This interesting fact is further illustrated by a Swedish account of a fare- well service or reception given at the Tabernacle on June 15, 1702, to Do- minie Andreas Rudman, prior to his leaving the An Old Germantown Horoscope. PrOviuCC tO take charge of the Lutheran congregations in the Valley of the Hudson.-*'^ Wi3^ Anno J 60 6" '5>Iarli/ 7 202 j^gy_ George Ross, then temporarily serving at Christ Chtirch. ^"■^ The identity of this Mr. Smith has not been estabhshed. No record can be found of a minister of that name in the colonies at that period. ■■^"* Vide, chapter Justus Falkner, supra ibid. 156 The Pietists of Provincial Pennsylvania. Upon this occasion a poem was presented to the retiring pastor, or, as the Swedish account states, " a testimonial as a recognition of his faithful work.^"^ Rudman der Armen Sweden Hirte Kahni hier ins land zu recliter zeit, Das Irthuni audi noch dqss Verwirrte, Was allbereit unwissenheit Von Luther's wahrer lehr bey nahe entfernet, Das hat Rudniannus nun auch wieder neu gelernet. Ein jedes werk preist seinen meister, Und wie der Haus herr, so sein lohn : Rudniannus hast die flatter-geister Und predikt Christum Gottes Sohn ; Sein leben, lehr und anibt, kan selbst vielmehr erweisen Als meine feder ihii den leser kann an preisen. " With the approach of Midsummer Day, 1704, the first decade of the Theosophic experiment was drawing to a close. Time had made the usual inroads. Notwithstand- ing the example and teachings of the leading spirits, many of the original members, in view of the conditions under which they lived, had fallen in with the allurements of the world. Some followed the example of Biedermann, and married ; others left the Community to gather riches or honors for themselves, while perhaps a few succumbed to the temptations of the wicked world. History and tradi- tion, however, are both silent as to the last. Then, again, the Community attracted the attention of various adventurers and religious enthusiasts who drifted into the Province, and thought to enter the society and use it for their own sinister purposes. A prominent example was the case of Tolstadius, a Swedish adventurer, who for ^"•^ (Vi, Meddela for egendomlighetens skull ett testinioniuni, soni tyskarne i Germantown gifvit honom den 15 jiini, 1702, sasom ett erkon- nande of hans trogna arbete. Engestromska-Samlung. ) Civil Affairs. 157 a time not only deceived Kelpins, but the Swedish pastors at Wicacoa and Christian ia as well. It frequently took all of Kelpius's firmness to discourage and eliminate such undesirable aspirants. But these drawbacks had only a temporary effect, for, owing to the numerous accessions from Europe within the last two years of the decade, the mystic number was once again complete or nearly so. Yet notwithstanding its apparent flourishing condition, the Community as a distinct organization was rapidly ap- proaching its end. This was no fault of the leaders or of the truths they taught. Their faith, courage, and sincerity were as strong as ever ; their belief as firm in the approach- ing millennium and the coming of the Deliverer as when they left the sand dunes of Holland. The great increase of the population, the encroachments upon their beloved solitude in the wilderness, the formation of new settlements in the vicinity, and the political changes all tended to have an adverse effect upon a society whose chief aim was to live in seclusion. Another matter that tended somewhat to weaken the influence of the Brother- hood with their German neighbors and countrymen at large, was the bitter strife that had been engendered be- tween Pastorius and Daniel Falkner since the latter's return from Europe, and his active interest in the political and civil affairs of the German township, ending in the final displacement of Pastorius by virtue of the authority Falk- ner had brought from Europe. This feud was used by the partisans of Pastorius as another argument against the Community on the Wissahickon. Some went even so far as to demand their expulsion. The better judgment of Pastorius, however, prevailed ; and, so far as he was con- cerned, the whole matter was held in abeyance. From some of the Pastorius manuscripts that have come down to 158 The Pietists of Provincial Pennsylvania. us it is to be inferred that the feeling between the two men and their partisans must have been exceedingly bitter. But neither Kelpius nor Seelig were in any way involved in this controversy. Among the important events in the life of the Com- munity, one that shines out even to the present day, is the ordination of one of their number to the ministry and the sending of him to an adjoining province as a missionary. This was Justus Falkner. He was ordained November 24, 1703, in the Swedish Lutheran Church at Wicacoa, in the German language, by the resident Lutheran pastors, Rud- man, Biorck, and Sandel, assisted by Kelpius and the Brotherhood. This was the first regular ordination of an orthodox Lutheran clergyman in the /^ Western Hemisphere. The full record of his ^ ^t y^___^ unselfish labors, godly life and un ^ ^^^ ^"^"^^CT?/ exampled piety still exists and NX^^XX^TnOAX^^ bears witness to the character of his ^^^'^^\ Z '^ ^^ =^^ associates. The changed condition ^ ^1^ of affairs in the Province, however, did not affect the ^ -^ educational efforts that had been originally introduced by Kelpius, but increased their scope and usefulness among the Germans, who were now flocking thither in great numbers. But these efforts were not enough to counteract the general conditions, both civil and religious, as they affected the peculiar institution on the Wissahickon. From month to month it became more apparent that the state of affairs since the Church party became more dominant was inimical to the permanent growth of such a Community. Great were the changes within the decade since Kelpius' arrival. Where ten years ago the southeastern part of Pennsylvania was but sparsely settled, the settlers were Return of George Keith. 159 now iiuiiibered by tliousands ; whereas formerly there were no houses of worship, except those of the Friends, there were now a number of fine churches and different con<^re- gations in Philadelphia, while throughout the rural districts were scattered churches with organized congregations of various denominations, — Episcopal, Baptist, Sabbatarian, German Lutheran, Mennonite, and Dunker. Stranger than all, George Keith, who had fomented the great schism in the Province among the Quakers from 1690 to 1694, now, in 1 702,""" returned to Pennsylvania as a full-fledged mis- sionary of the English Church.-'^" He had but little sym- pathy with his former adherents who had gone out with him from the Society of Friends a decade before, except with such as had renewed their fealty to the Established Church. The only record of intercourse between Keith and the Sab- batarian conereoations that Heinrich Bernhard Koster had been partly instrumental in establishing in the Prov- ince is an occasional notice of the Philadelphia Church, under Thomas Rutter, and the feud that broke out be- tween Keith and William Davis of the Pennepack Church. This ended in a victory for the former, and ^reat sem. of the province (obverse). the Sabbatarians lost their church, which henceforth was known as Trinity Church, Oxford.-""^ The latter during his ^"^ Keith landed at Boston, June 11, 1702, ^"' See "The Sabbath- Keepers," a series of papers by the writer, pub- lished in the Village Record, West Chester, Pa., March, 1888. No record whatever is known to exist of any meeting or even acquaintance between Kelpius and Keith. 2»8 Ibid. i6o TJie Pietists of Provincial Pennsyli'ania. sojourn in Pennsylvania was accompanied by Rev. John Talbot and supported by the local minister, Rev. Evan Evans. He paid most attention to the Welsh, as it was thought that they, who were restive under the Quaker supremacy, were ready to throw off the religious as well as civil yoke and return within the fold of the Church of England. In this supposition the three churchmen were not mis- taken, as their efforts resulted in the establishment of a congregation within the Welsh tract at Radnor. This was strictly a Welsh Church, the services being held in that tongue for many }^ears. It is an interesting fact that both congregations at Oxford and Radnor were served by the Lutheran minister at Wicacoa. Further, at the laying of the corner-stone and dedication of both churches, in 171 1 and 17 14 respectively, the Swedish Lutheran pastors were prominent actors. The quaint stone church, subsequently built by the Welsh congregation at Radnor in 17 14, and commonly known as " Old St. David's," is now the oldest Episcopal church in Pennsylvania, and has become historic. An Old Germantown Relic in Possession of THE Writer. VISITS OF THE SABBATARIANS. i 'OW great the esteem was in which Kelj^ius and his fellow mystics were held by the various re- ligious separatists throughout the country is further shown by the fact that when the so- called " Rodgerines" sprang into existence in New Eng- land an attempt was made forthwith to establish a regular communication with Kelpius and his companions for the purpose of receiving advice and instruction. Several visits were made from New England to the Wissahickon at an early day by the new Separatists, but without results, as the extravagant religious notions of Rodgers and his followers were foreign to the Theosophy of Kelpius, which was based upon the fundamental doc- trines of the Christian faith. In fact, it has been stated that the only point in which they approached agreement was with regard to the keeping of the seventh day. Seal of the Colony of Connec- ticut, A.D. 1700. 1 62 The Pietists of Provincial Pennsy/rania. Toward the close of the year 1700 John Rodgers per- sonally visited the Tabernacle, npon which occasion he arranged with Reynier Jansen, the (Germantown ?) printer, for the pnblication of his differences with Saltonstall. This curious work appeared in the following year (1701) under the title, "An Impartial relation of || An Open and Publick Dispute || Agreed upon || Between Gurdon Salton- stall, Minister of the || Town of New London || and || John Rodgers of the Same place || With the Circumstances leading thereto, and the Consequences thereof || as also a Relation of the said Gurdon Saltonstall's Recovering a || Judgment of Court of Six hundred Pounds, and Cost of Court II against said John Rodgers, for saying, the said Saltonstall went to wave, shun, or shift the said Dispute agreed upon. || The Truth of || which waving, shunning or shifting is here also evidently demonstrated. || By John Rodgers. || Printed [by Reynier Jansen] for the author in the year 1701." This work is a small 4to, and consists of twenty pages, of which the title forms one; "To the reader," four; and the "Relation" proper, fifteen. -"- There still exists in Connecticut a traditional, if not documentary, account of another visit made by the same religious enthusiasts to Kelpius in the year 1702, and, further, that upon his return Rodgers stopped at New York to consult with a public Friend, then suffering im- prisonment there for conscience sake. This account the writer has been unable to secure in the original ; but there is, nevertheless, a strong probability of its authenticity, as Samuel Bownas, the public Friend in ^°* " Issues of the American Press in Pennsj'lvania," by Charles R. Hildeburn, No. 86. Original in library of Devonshire House Meeting, London, England. The RJiodc Island Records. 163 question, was imprisoned in New York at that time, and mentions a visit from John Rodgers in his joiu'nal. "An II account || of the || Life, Travels || and Christian Experiences || in the || work of the Ministry 1 1 of Samuel Bownas || Stanford || reprinted by Daniel Lawrence || MDCCC, Page 135 et seq^ Another evidence of the great esteem in which Kelpius and his companions were held throughout the provinces is shown by the action of the Rhode Island Sabbatarian Churches, which, in 1703, appointed two brethren, William Hiscox and Joseph Crandall, as a committee to journey to Wissahickon, and then, with the aid of Kelpius, to adjust if possible the differences which had been fomented by William Davis between the Philadelphia and Pennepack churches (Seventh-day Baptist). The records of these interviews and negotiations, as well as the resulting corres- pondence, the writer has good reason to believe is still in existence among the musty records of the Sabbatarian brethren in Rhode Island or Connecticut. The following interesting extracts from the old Westerly, R. L, church records bear upon this intercourse, viz., — " The church met at Newport the 3d Sabbath in June 1703, being the 19th day; and the day before, on which some considerations were proposed, upon the request of our friends in Pennsylvania, relating to some differences between them, and the matter deferred until the First-day following. " And on the First-day, accordingly, the church met, and appointed Bro. Hiscox and Bro. Clarke, Sen., if Providence should so order, to go to Pennsylvania soon after the first Sabbath in the 7th month. "The church met the ist of the 7tli month, at Westerly, and Bro. Clark, judging himself incapable to perform the journey to Pennsylvania, Bro. Joseph Crandall was ap- pointed to go with Bro. Hiscox [on the] said journey. 164 The Pietists of Provincial Pennsylvania. " At a church meeting at Westerly the last Sabbath in the 8th month, 1703, the letters sent to the church from Bro. William Davis were read and acted upon. "Westerly, the 20th of the 8th month, 1704, the church met at Bro. Maxson's, Sen., to confer with the Pennsylvania Brethren, William Davis and Abraham " -"^ [William Davis was a native of Wales. He was sent to Oxford, but, becoming a Quaker, was forced to leave that institution. He came to Philadelphia in 1684, being then in his twenty-first year. He was at once recognized as a preacher of the Society. When Keith separated he be- came one of his staunch supporters, and was one of the forty-eight signers to the reasons for separation. After the decline of the Keithian meetings, when their leaders returned to England, Davis became an attendant of the services held by Koster, and soon became one of his most active supporters. He was baptized by the German evangelist, as related in a subsequent chapter,""' and became pastor of the Sabbatarian congregation on the Pennepack, in Oxford township, a short distance from Gemiantown. It was while stationed here that he published a book in vindication of his peculiar doctrine, viz., — "Jesus || The Crucified Man, || the || Eternal Son of God, || or, an || An- swer II to II An Anathema or Paper of || Excommunication, of John Wats, en || tituled. Points of Doctrine preached & || asserted by William Davis. || Wherein the Mystry of Christs Descen- II tion, Incarnation and Crucifixion is || Unfolded, || By William Davis. Philadelphia Printed for the Author [by Reynier Jansen] in the Year 1700."^" ''■^^ Name illegible. ^'^ It appears that William Davis was also baptized by the Rev. Thomas Killings worth, a First-day Baptist preacher, in 1697. ■^" No. 72 Hildeburn, i6mo. The title of this unique book is repro- duced in facsimile. William Davis. 165 JESUS The Crucifyed Man, THE Eternal Son of God, O R, A W ANSWER T O An ^Anathema or Paper of h^kZommumcAUOWf o{ John Wat i ca- tiru'cd, Point f of Do^rinf prcahcdCk sfferfedkjf William Davis. "Wherein the Myftry of ChriH-sDcfcen- tion, Ijicarnacion and Crucifixion h Unfolded. By WillUm Davu, [Printed by Reynier Jansen. Philadelphia, 1700.] 1 66 The Pietists of Provincial Pennsylvania. Davis was naturally an agitator and disturber, and, by airing his own doctrinal views, he subsequently became involved not only with the regular Baptists and the Revs. Keith, Evans, and Talbot, of the Established Church, but with the members of his own congregation as well. It was to heal these internal differences in the Sabba- tarian congregation at Oxford that the New England churches took the above-recited action. The differences between Davis, on the one hand, and Keith and Evans on the other, also produced pamphlet and counter-pamphlet. After the loss of their meeting-house they met for ser- vices in the different houses, under the leadership of Davis, until 17 lo, when he left to take charge of a church at Westerly, Rhode Island. Here he remained until 1727, when he returned to Pennsylvania. In 1734 he again went to Rhode Island, whence ten years later he led a party of Seventh-day Baptists to establish a settlement at Squan, New Jersey, of which he became pastor. He died there in 1745, at the advanced age of eighty-two years, honored and respected as a Christian clergyman. ]^'^ The fame of Johann Kelpius's piety and learning also extended to other parts of the country, and his corres- pondence must, for that day, have been quite extensive, and it included various conditions of people. An instance of this is shown by his letter written, " 10 8ber 1704," to ]\Iaria Elizabeth Gerber, in Virginia. It was in reply to a communication from her in which she asks Kelpius's opin- ion of the Quakers. His reply is quite lengthy, and he takes the occasion to give his opinions rather fully, and emphasizes that he belongs to no special denomination, but to the elect of Jerusalem. (Gal. iv, 9, 10.-'^) ■^^■^ Mde Sabbath-keepers before quoted. ■213 jjg might also have added verse 26 : " The Jerusalem that is above is free, which is our mother." ATTORNEY AND BAILIFF. 5 Arms of Frankfort on THK MaYN. F the papers of the old Frank- fort Land Compan) were still in existence and accessible, the correspondence would no doubt show that for some reasons there was great dissatisfaction upon their part with Pastorius and his administra- tion of the company's affairs in Pennsylvania. This feeling may have been augmented by Daniel Falkuer during his visits to Frankfort in 1 699-1 700. Whatever the true cause may have been, it is certain that Daniel Falker had the entire confidence of all members of the Land Company, as well as of William Penn and Ben- jamin Furley, his Rotterdam agent. It will be seen that the original power of attorney granted to Kelpius, Falkner and Jawert was signed and sealed by all members of the company, viz. : " We subscribed do manifest & confess herewith, Whereas we joiningly have bought five & twenty thousand acres of unseparated land in Penn- silvania, according to the documents & indentures thereof, with peculiar Privileges & Rights, And therefore in virtue thereof the 12th of Novem- ber, 1686, by a peculiar writing having formed a Society, & for the culti- 1 68 Tlie Pietists of Provincial Pennsylvania. vation & administration of the sd land have Impowred Mr. Francis Daniel Pastorius, J. U. L. according to the letter of attorney bearing date the 1 2th of April 1683. And yet because of the death of some heads of the sd Company, & the between Irruption of the French War, as also chiefly because of the absence of the Governor, & the unableness of the sd our Factor, these our affairs in the sd Province are come to a Stop, the more mentioned Mr. Pastorius having also desired by & in several of his Letters to be discharged of his administration. That we for such end do Conferr full Power & special Authority on Mr. Daniel Falkner & Johanes Kelpius as Inhabitants for the present in Pensilvania, And also on Mr. Johanes Jawert the Son of one of our Principals, nominally Mr. Balthasar Jawert of Lubeck, who hath resolved to transport himself thither, thus and in such wise that these our three Plenipotentiaries Joiningly or incase of death of one or the Other, they or he who remains shall have in the best form the Administration of all our goods we have there of the lands in the former where they are joiningly or separately assigned unto us, or shall be assigned, surveyed & set out, and of the City- Lots by reason of the five & twenty thoiisand acres being Competent to us, viz., the 4 or 6 Places in the City of Philadelphia, and of the 300 acres situated in the Right & Liberty of the City before & about Phila- delphia, And of the land bought by the Scullkill for a Brick-kiln, And of all tS: every erected Building & other meliorations, and of what hath been sent thither or bought there or otherwise got of Victuals, Comodities, Cattels, houshold-stuff, tools, Servants, Tenants & of other Persons, &c. , and therefore to call to an account in Our name the sd Mr. Pastorius, who hitherto hath been our Plenipotentiary, and to take of him herewith all such Our Estates & effects, and in Case any of them shoiild be alienated without our knowledge, above all things to vindicate them. So then in general or Special, as it can be done best, to dispose, exchange, sell & receive the money for them, and hereupon to quit, transact, make indent- ures & documents, assurances, & in sum to do & leave everything what we Ourselves could or might do or leave if we were then & there per- sonally present. Cum potestate, Substituendi, et Substitutioneni toties quoties revocandi cumq clausulis rati grati, omnibusq, alijs illius loci & fori necessarijs et consuetis. And in Case our aforementioned Plenipo- tentiaries should want any larger Power then [^/V] herein is contained, the same we advisedly do grant herewith unto them, & do decently Implore the Governour in Chief and Magistrates of the sd Province to regard them as such, and to grant them upon their request their magisterial aid, in case they should want the same. On the other hand our Plenipoten- tiaries Joinedly & Separately are directed to the two Principals in Franc- fort on the river of Main, viz. , the heirs of Jacob van de Walle & Daniel Behagel both deceased, to acquaint & give an acccunt unto them timel}' Bailiff Falkner. 169 of every one of their transactions, and to address unto them moneys or Comodities, to Correspond within and to expect, if need, further Orders ik. Instructions of them in the name of the whole Company, wherewith they shall further in this Case Communicate and get their Consent. Lastly we grant unto them herewith special Power to appropriate fifty acres of Our land in Germantown for the benefit of a Schoolmaster, that the Youth in reading, writing & in good manners & education, without partial admonition to God & Christ may be brought up and Instructed. All faithfully and without Fraud, In true witness whereof we have with our own hands Subscribed & Sealed this Letter of Attorney, and caused the same to be made under & by publick Authority. Done in Frankfort on the River of Mayn, the 24th day of January 1700. [l.s.] " Catharina Elizabetha Schutzin, Widow. [l.s. ] " the Widow of Jacob van de Wallen, deceased. [l.s.] " the heirs of Daniel Behagel, deceased. [l.s. ] "Johannes Kemler. [ L. S. ] " Bathasar Jawerl . [i-.s.] "Johan Wilhelm Petersen, d. [i,.s.] " Gerhard van Mastricht. [l.s.] "Johanes Le Brun. [L.S.] " Maria van de Walle, widow of Doctor Thomas van Willigh with her Copartners." When, upon Falkiier's return, Pastorius was informed of the new state of affairs he did not take kindly to the situa- tion : the recollection of the virulent attack upon him by Koster and his adherents was yet fresh in his memory. Therefore, it excites but little wonder that Pastorius, as well as his friends and followers, protested vigorously against Falkner's action in demanding an immediate ac- count from him as to the company's property. The new agent, however, was firm in his demands, and, having the support of both Council and Proprietary, was well able to enforce his position. That Daniel Falkner was by far the abler politician of the two is shown at the next general election at German- town in the fall of the year 1700, when Daniel Falkner was chosen bailiff; his brother, Justus Falkner, a burgess; 170 The Pietists of Provincial Pennsylvania. Johaiin Jawert, recorder ; and Daniel Geissler, crier of the court. History is silent as to how this resnlt was brought about : whether there was a general dissatisfaction with the old officials among the German residents, or whether Falkner anticipated the tactics of modern local politicians by voting the Community of Mystics "solid," and thus securing a victory, is a question hard to decide at this late da}-. Indi- cations, however, are that the election of Falkner's party to civil office was due rather to sharp tactics than to any personal animosity against Pastorius on the part of the older settlers. Magister Kelpius was entirely innocent of any collusion or sympathy with this movement on the part of Falkner and others to obtain a hold upon the civil powder. So far as the Community property was involved, he naturally .seconded Daniel Falkner's efforts to maintain their rights. When he first learned that, together with Falkner and Jawert, he had been made joint-attorney of the Frankfort Land Company, he was perhaps even more surprised than Pastorius was of his deposition. Kelpius refused to act as attorney or take any part what- ever in civil or political matters, and eventually renounced all claim to the appointment. To do this in a legal manner he executed the following renunciation : " Whereas, iipon recommendation of Mr. Daniel Falkner, the Frankfort Society hath made me ye subscribed their Plenipotentiary, together with the said Mr. Falkner & John Jewart, But my Circumstances not permiting to entangle myself in the like affairs I do confess herewith that I do deliver all the authority, which is given unto me in the Letter of Attorney, to the said Society & him who did recomend me to the .same, towit, Mr. Daniel Falkner, for The Board of Property. 171 to act and prosecute the Case of the said Society without ine with Johann Jewart upon their account according to the letter of Attorney who attributes to one or two as nnich power as to three in case of a natural or civil death." This unique document was witnessed by Johann (lott- fried, Seelig, and Johann Hendrick Sprogel.^" That there was evidenth' some understanding and inter- course between William Penn and the Falkner brothers during the former's second visit to the Province, is shown by several entries in Minute-book G of the Board of Prop- erty of the Province of Pennsylvania, where, in a dispute about some land, the Proprietary steps in and issues an order in favor of Daniel Falkner."'" The next entry in the same book, made 12th of nth Month, 1701, shows that Penn's interest in Falkner continued during the former's stay in the Province. One of Penn's last official acts prior to his departure was the letter quoted in these proceedings before the Land Commission : "James " Prepare a War't for 4,000 acres for Benjamin Fnrley, out of which 3 Wart's for 500 acres Each for Falkner and Brother and Dorthy and Brother and Sister, which recom- mend to the Commiss'rs of Propriety if not done before I goe . 25th 8ber., 1701. "Will'm Penn." The following interesting entries appear in the old Ger- mantown Court Records, now deposited with the Historical ^'* No date is appended to the transcript by Pastoriiis, from which this copy is made. Johann Heinrich Sprogel came to America either with Falkner, in August, 1700, or else shortly after. His name appears upon the official records as early as .8th iinio. , 1702. See Pennsylvania Archives, Second Series, vol. xix, p. 351. •ii5 Pennsylvania Archives, Second Series, vol. xix, p. 219. 172 The Pietists of Provincial Pennsylvania. Societ}'of Pennsylvania. Unfortunate!}-, being fragmentary, they give but little insight into the official doings of the few Mystics who temporarily preferred the excitement of political life to the quiet of the cloister on the Wissahickon. The first entry after the election held subsequent to Falkner's return sets forth, — " At a court of record held at Germantown the 7th day of the 9th month, 1700-r, before Daniel Falkner, Bailiff, Cornelius Swert, Justus Falkner, and Dennis Kunders, 3 eldest Burgesses, and Johannes J. Jawert, Recorder. " F. D. Pastorius being Clerk and Jones Potts, Sheriff, it was ordered that the overseers of the fences in every quarter of the town shall go round some days before the next following Courts of Record, and thereupon acquaint the said Courts how they find the fences in their respective quarters and those who neglect to make them good. May be fined according to their circumstances and the harm done. Abraham op de Graef and Peter Keurlis were sent for to answer the complaints made against their children by Daniel Falkner and Johann Jawert. But the Sd Abra- ham not being well, and Peter Keurlis gone to Phila- delphia, this matter was left to the next session. Daniel Geissler refused to be Crier of the Court, which is likewise left to the general Court. ''28th 4th Mo. 1701. Johann Henry Mehls was chosen (Recorder) in place of J. Jawert." At the next general election, held a year later, it appears from the entry that none of the old officials, except Pas- torius and the sheriff, were re-elected, — "9th of December 1701, Aret Klinken Bailiff. Paul Wulfif, Peter Schumacher and William Strepers three Bur- gesses. John Conrad Cotweis Recorder, D. F, Pastorius Clerk. Jones Potts Sheriff" Falktier as Attorney. 173 Evidently one of the causes for Falkner's defeat for re- election was the determined effort made by him as attorne}' to obtain the lands and rights due the Frankfort Land Compan)-, the affairs of which had been either neglected or overlooked by Pastorins. The first effort in this direc- tion appears in an entry in the before-quoted Minute-book G, under date 17th of the loth month, 1701. He did not confine his efforts to the land office. Again referring to the court record, we find, — "4th day of the 6th month 1702. Daniel Falkner and Joliann Jawert, as attorne)-s for the Frankfort Land Com- pany, requested in writing the consent of this Court for to call or summon this companies tennants in the companies houses, there to make up their accounts and pay. But this Court thought it needless to give such consent." Successive appearances before both local courts and land commissioners attest Falkner's activity in fostering the trusts, with which he was charged by the principals in Europe, as well as by his own Community. In the court records, under date of i6th of 12th month, 1 702 1 3, it appears, — " By order of this Court the letter of Attorney -'*' from Catherina Elizabeth vSchultzin to Daniel Falkner and Arn- old Stork was compared with the copy which Hans Henry Meels hath delivered to the said Daniel Falkner and were both found agreeing word for word. In witness whereof the said Copy by the said Courts order was signed b\- I). F. Pastorins." On 5th of 2nd month, 1703, Daniel and Justus went before the land commissioners, and produced a return of a warrant for fifty acres of Liberty Lands surveyed to Ben- jamin Furley. They also pressed a claim for a High Street lot of 132-foot front. This was evidently the deed of j^ift recited on page 146. 1/4 T^^^^ Pietists of Provincial Pennsylvania. 24th of 3d month, 1703, both brothers again appear and ask for patents for snndry tracts of 1000, 1900, and 50 acres respectively. On the 30th of 6th month, 1703, Jnstns Falkner appears as attorney for Benjamin Fnrley in reference to a tract of 1000 acres of land in Chester County, which either joined or overlapped the Welsh tract. This claim led to some complication with David Llo}d and Isaac Norris. On the 3d of October, 1704, Daniel Falkner came into court and " desired that an explanation of a certain letter of attorney from Catherina Elizabeth Schultzin to him the said Daniel Falkner and Arnold Storchen should be read in this Court, which being done, He further desired that the Sd explanation should be recorded. Which the Court consented to." 28th loth month, 1703. The case of Mathew Smith vs. Daniel Falkner being called, the plaintiff by reason of con- science, viz., — " That this was the day wherein Herod slew the Innocents, as also that his witnesses were and would for the same reason not be here, desired a continuance to the next term of court of Record. To be held for this Corporation, which is allowed to, provided the Sd Daniel Falkner do then appear and stand Tryal." 8th 12 mo., 1703I4. "Proclamation being made the action of iMatthew Smith against Daniel Falkner was brought before the Court, and being wrong laid was quasht. " "d 3M0. 1704 Daniel Falkner request to this Court, was read and answered to the first of his desires, that Mathew Smith hath paid the Court's fees already and departed out of this County (Township). To the second, that Johannes Umstadt hath all the money which he is to receive for the land in the hands of Humphry Edwards where it may be attached." Pas/on'iis i's. Falkucr. 175 111 the year 1704 there appear three entries that concern the elder Falkner. According to one dated 13th of 4nio. , 1704, he was chosen as a burgess in place of Peter Keyser. October 14, 1704, he was fined six shillings for having bad fences. The next entry does not appear in the remaining part of the original manuscript record-book. It is taken from the "Collections of the Historical Society" for 1853, p. 256. "The 28th day of November, 1704. Daniel Falkner coming into this Court behaved himself very ill, like one that was last night drunk, and not yet having recovered his witts. He railed most greviously on the Recorder, Simon Andrews, and the Bailiff, Aret Klincken, as persons not fit to sit in a Court ; he challenged Peter Shoemaker one of the Judges on the bench, to come forth, and more the like enormities. The Sheriff, William de Wees, telling him that he would not do so at Philadelphia, the said Falkner himself, answered no, not for a hundred pounds ; and after abundance of foul language, when the Court bid the said Sheriff and the Constable bring him out, he went himself, crying you are all fools! But afterwards coming again, the Court ordered him to pa}' his fine for having of late been extreme drunk, and convicted before Hans Gerry Meels, a Magistrate or Justice of the Peace, as also to find securit)' for his appearance and answering for the many abuses ofi'ered to this Court. He said he would pay the said fine before going out of the house, but concerning security, the Frankfort Company was security enough for him, offering also paper of his to this Court, which the Clerk begun to read, but the Court having heard a few lines of it was not willing to hear it all over, and com- mitted him, the said Daniel Falkner, to appear at the next Court of Record to be held for this corporation and answer for the abuses above expressed." ~ T]^ THE DECLINE OF THE COMMUNITY y^|i^HE gleam of encourage- f^^ ment that enlivened the hopes of the leaders of the Community toward the close of the first decade of the Theosophical experiment on the Wissahickon, when the mystic number, owing to the Arms ok swkdkn, a.d. 1700. acccssious froui Europc, was once, more complete, was but like the burst of light that often precedes the d}ing flame. While to all outward ap- pearances, in the minds of the leading spirits, stability was now assured, it was in reality the turning-point where dis- integration began. Many of the new members were imbued with entirely different motives from those that had insti- gated the original party ; and as soon as they commenced to feel the yoke of restraint, resulting from a communal life and discipline, they were the first to return to the free- dom of the world. Another matter that hastened the final dismemberment of the Community was the marriage of Daniel Falkner-'' and the course pursued by him and others in taking an active part in the civil and political affairs of the German township. -'' Frankfort, Pastorius papers, Pennsylvania Historical Society. Falkiier'^s Sivamp. 177 While Kelpius and a few others refused all honors and riches, the majority, owing to the continual increase in the population and the demand for men of their capabilities, again entered the world and assumed their previous occu- pations or other congenial employment. In consequence of this internal condition of the Frater- nity, the vigils in the stei'nwarte were abandoned, and the watch that had been kept so faithfully during so many nights to announce the first sign of the appearance of the harbinger of the Deliverer was kept no more. Then, as the new century increased in years, the expectation of an immediate millennium gradually grew less and less in the minds of many. The strict devotional exercises in the Tabernacle also became fewer in number, while the general discipline relaxed, and the mystical researches and Theo- sophical speculations were either altogether neglected or left to the leaders and such of the older or more enthu- siastic members as proved to be above the allurements of the surrounding temptations. Daniel Falkner soon found that, by virtue of his new duties as agent for the Frankfort Company and his family cares, he could not give the same attention as formerh' to these recondite things. Then, in addition, the landed interests of the Community, as well as those of Benjamin Furley, required his personal attention and occupied much of his time. When the Manatawany tract was finally located and patented, a settlement was projected under his auspices upon the fertile stretch of well-watered meadow- land that is still known as " Falkner's Swamp." Coinci- dent with the earliest settlement of this tract, Daniel Falkner, and not his brother Justus, as has been errone- ously stated, organized an orthodox Lutheran congregation, of which he became the first pastor. This congregation, 23 178 The Pietists of Pi'ovincial Pennsylvania. the oldest German Lutheran one in Pennsylvania, is still in existence and in a flourishing condition. The departure of Justus Falkner for New York imme- diately upon his ordination at Wicacoa, November 24, 1703, to take charge of the German and Dutch Lutheran con- gregations scattered along the Hudson and in East Jersey, in connection with the Dutch Lutheran Church of New York City, was another severe blow to the permanency of the Fraternity as originally constituted. The explanation of the withdrawal of these two brothers, both prominent members of the Fraternity, is that they were men of strong character, and, in view of the changed condition of the German residents of the Province, brought about by the constantly increasing population, felt that the proper field for their activity lay among the populace, who needed spiritual guidance : they could no longer waste their talents and learning in seclusion in the expectation of an immediate approach of the millennium. To make the situation even more precarious, Kelpius, who was of a somewhat frail constitution, broke down physically under the great mental strain and the rigors of our climate. He, however, kept up his educational labors, as well as his Theosophical studies. He also continued in touch with his former associates in Europe. Letters are still in existence written by him during the summer of 1705 to Heinrich Johann Deichmann, leader of the Phila- delphiac movement in Europe, and to his former tutor, Magister Johann Jacob Fabricius of Helmstadt. It is in writing to the latter that Kelpius again refutes the reports that he had turned Quaker or had assimilated to any special denomination. In the winter of 1705 he became so ill and feeble that his companions removed him to the house of Christian Warmer, one of the original Brethren who had "y4 Loving Moan^ 179 come over in the " Sara Maria," and had since married and settled in Germantown, where he was a tailor. Hither, to the humble abode of his former follower, the Magister of the Theosophists in the New World was brought during his illness, so that he might have better care and attention than could be given him at the Tabernacle. It was while recovering from this attack, in the following spring, that Kelpius wrote the hymn, " A Loving Moan of the Disconsolate Soul in the Morning Dawn," to which he adds : " As I lay in Christian Warmer's house, very weak, in a small bed not unlike a coffin, in May, 1706." The first and last verses of this hymn will show the state of his mind at that time, — " Here lye I submissive And weak, in a shrine O'er Come and made passive With the sweetest pain I think on the blooming of that lovely May Where I my Beloved shall ever enjoy And the little hut for a nevi^ do away. 25 " So will I them set me Yet better to stand And over me let thee Have thy own free hand. Therefore kiss, or correct, come to me or go. Give presents, or take them, bring joy, or bring woe : If I can but have thee, thy will may be so." This was followed soon after by a peculiar epistle to Hester Palmer,^'^ a public Friend ^^'' from Long Island, who, ^1^ Hester Palmer was the daughter of one Joseph Palmer and his wife Sarah. The family is enumerated in the "Exact list of all Ye inhabi- tants names Wth In Ye towne of fflushing and p'cincts of old and young flfreemen & Servants, white & blacke. &C 1698." 219 Benezet MSS. i8o The Pietists of Provincial Pennsylvania. it appears, had had a personal interview with Kelpius pre- viously. On account of its peculiarity this letter is repro- duced entire. It treats of the Threefold Wilderness state : (r) The Barren ; (2) the fruitfull ; and (3) the wilderness of the Elect of God. "A. 1706 d. 25, Mayi. " My dearly beloved in our hmnanuel Jesiis the Messiah : " The Son of God our Savioitr. " Being presented lately with a letter of yours, directed to our beloved Friend M B , I found in the P S. that the remembrance of mine was not yet slipt out of your ]Minde, insomuch that you desired to see a few lines from my hand, which Desire is an evident sign to me that the said remembrance is in Love & in the Truth. " Assure yourself that it is with no less Fervency on my Side, but I finde as yet a double wall between us, which indeed seems to stop the current of this firey love-dream of which no more at present, least we should embolden our- selves to break through before the time appointed by Him, who nourisheth the Woman in the Wilderness (Rev. 12, 14). And since our Discourse broke just as we was about this matter. Viz :— THE THREEFOLD WILDERNESS STATE, I'll venture upon your Patience a few lines Con- ceriiing this subject, adding the Third State in the Wilder- ness, also having Confidence in your good Acceptance since you have in a manner bidden me to write & I finding no better Subject than to begin where we left it. " Of the first we did discourse somewhat, viz : — Of the Barren Wilderness, & as we was beginning the second, viz : — Of the Fruitfull Wilderness, we was interrupted. " The first hath a respect upon the Old Birth, like as Ye second upon the Neiv. These two run parallel until the '' Of the Fruitfidl Wilderness:' i8i First dieth, & then the Second is set at Liberty. The first is begotten in Egypt, & then arriveth to its manhood, & being led out of Egypt falls and Dieth in the Wilderness. The Second is also begotten in Egypt but is educated, and arriveth to its manhood in the Wilderness, and after the death of the First enters Caanan. The First seeth indeed the stretched out Arm of God in Egypt as well as in the Wilderness, but murmurs, provokes & tempts God & limiteth the Holy one in Israel, alwais turning back with its Heart lusting after Egypt. The Second seeth God & its life is preserved, its face alwais turned Caananwarts & its Heart with Joshua & Caleb (Joshua signifieth Aid, Sal- vation, Conservation ; Caleb, full of heart, courageous, un- daunted, faithfull) stands faithfull & seeth Ye salvation of God, being filled with the fervent & only desire of attain- ing the same. The first is in continual fear of Death, & what he feareth cometli upon him (Num. 14, 28 ; Prov. 10, 24). The Second is imdaunted & liveth (Num. 14, 30, 31) & puts his feet upon the necks of his enemies (Jos. 10, 24 ; Psal. 94, 13). The Second deriveth its origen from the First, & dying to this riseth & liveth in God : The First when He dyeth, liveth in the Second (This is a great Mystery & wants an Explanation else it may be miscon- strued, but I hope you are no Stranger to it). The Second liveth under Moses as well as the First as long as Moses liveth (Gal. 4, i ; Rom. 7), but is liidd inward ; by chance he is called the inward Man in the Tabernacle, from which He never departeth (Exod. 33, 11). But when Moses Dyeth the New Man, being arrived now to his Manhood, appears from his inward state outwardly to the Terror of his enemies (see of this coming forth Cant. 3, 6 ; & 8, 5) of Whose Land he taketh Possession (Num. 27, 15 ; Dent. 3, 21-end). I will not draw the Parallism further, since a word to the Wise is 1 82 TJie Pietists of Provincial Peiinsylvania. Allegorical Representation of all Faiths. " The Barren Jllldcruess.''^ 183 enough. And since we have orally conferred of the First state, viz : — of Ye Barren Wilderness, let us insist a little upon the Mystery of the Second. In which Fruitfull Wilderness we enjoy the leading Cloud by day, out of which so many drops of the heavenly Dew (Psal. 33, 3) as a Bap- tism of Grace upon us do fall. This is a Day of Joy & triumph, when the Holy Ghost moves & stirreth the waters in our Hearts so that this living spring diffuseth it self through the Eyes in a sweet & Joyfull Gush of Tears : O Thou blessed water-baptism, who would not desire to be Baptized with thee every day. But there followeth a night also upon this Day, wherein nevertheless the Pillar of Fire is our Guide, refining us as Gold in the Furnace, which is the Baptism of Fire of Ye Son, & is indeed terrible to the old Birth, but bright & light to the New ; for she learneth by this to be resigned & say ' Not my will, O Father ! but Thine be done.' Thus our Tears are our Meat, yea, our Manna, not only by Day but also in the darkest Night (Psal. 42, 3 ; 80, 5). The most bitter Myrrh (which con- diteth the old man in his Grave) hath the most sweetest Sweet hid in herself For the Tree of the Cross & the Yoak of the Beloved doth but sweeten the bitter water of Affliction & sufferings in Mara (Exod. 15 ; Matt. 11). The darkest sorrow contains in herself the most inward Joy & Gladness (2 Cor. 6, 10). Darkness is like the Light (Psal. 139, 12). To dye is in this pleasan Wilderness to grow lively. Poverty maketh rich. Hunger is the most desira- ble Meat, & Thirst the most refreshing Nectar (Math. 5, 6). To be nothing is to be Deified (2 Pet. i, 4). To have nothing is to enjoy all (2 Cor. 12, 10). To become weak is the greatest strength. " Disquietness is the surest Peace (2 Cor. 7, 10). No work no Pain doth tire, for the more we work the stronger 184 TJic Pietists of Provincial Pennsylvania. we grow (Gen. 32, 24), & yet we do experimentally find that the greatest weakness hath the greatest strength hid in herself (Cant. 2, 5). Oh everblessed Wilderness thou rejoyceth & blossometh as a Rose ! yea, thou blossometh abundantly & rejoyceth even with Joy and Singing. The glory of Libanon is given unto thee, the Excellency of Carmel & Sharon ! In thee we see the Glory of our Lord, & the Excellency of our God ! In thee our weak Hands are Strengthened & our feeble Knees confirmed (Esa. 35, i). Who would not desire to be a Denizon in Thee? Who would not delight to trace thy Solitary and lonesom walks ? O ! ye Inhabitants of this happy desolation, bless & kiss that gentle hand of that Divine Sophia who at the first did so wittily allure you, when she intended to bring you into this Wilderness, for to speak to your Heart, in order to search & trie the same ! Do not forsake her, untill she hath given you from hence your Possessions, & the hinder- most Valley for the opening of your understanding (Hos. 2, 14, 15, according to the LXX Achor signifying hinder- most, furthest, comp. Exod. 3, i, Syrach 4, 17-28). " This Valley of Achor, or hindermost Cavity, leads me to the consideration of a Wilderness yet of a higher (further) degree than the Second, which it exceeds by so much as the second does the First. We may call it the WILDERNESS OF THE ELECT OF GOD, as being traced but by few, & none but peculiarly chosen Vessels of Honour & Glory. " I shall bring but four Instances for this. Two out of Ye Old & Two out of the New Test. The first is Moses, that great Prophet & mediator between God & the Israel, accord- ing to the Flesh, who, as the Acts 2, 7, give us to under- stand, had a Revelation that He should deliver Israel out of Egypt, whilst He was yet in the court of Pharao ; which, THE PIETISTS OF PROVINCIAL PENNSYLVANIA. HERMIT'S GLEN ON THE WISSAHICKON. VIDE, PAGE 214. '■'■ Afoses in the Wilderness^ 185 as he would put in Execution, miscarried of the Enterprise through the fault of the People, whereupon he fled into the Wilderness, where he remained 40 years. What He did there is nowhere described, only that towards the end of the 40 years He led his Flock to the Backside (or rather to the hindermost or furthest) Desert. And there the Angel of the L(ord) appeared unto him out of a burning Bush, in order to send him in embassage to King Pharao. But so forward as Moses was at the first to go, when he had got only an Intimation or Manifestation or Revelation or In- spiration or Motion (or what we may call it) of what He now was to do, without any express Commission & Cre- dentials (Viz. Miricales & Signs). So backward was he now to go, when he got express orders & extraordinary Credentials, so that we may easily find what he had done during the 40 years in the Wilderness having the two ex- tremes, viz., his Presumption & fervent Zeal at first in which he killed the Egyptian, & his great Humility & meekness at last when God would send him, which last is Symbolically typified by his leading his Sheep by Ye Back- side or deepest of the Wilderness. Whereas formerly when his firy Quality was not yet thoroughly tinctured and Met- amorphosed into the Lamlike nature. He led his flock, but, as it were, on the Brim & foreside of the W^ilderness, of which I had more to say, but lest the Letter should exceed its bounds, I must hasten to the next Instance, which is Fleyah & runs into many things paralell to the first Wit- ness. Read the history i Kings 6, 29. He was a very zealous & had slain the Priests of Baal, as Moses had the Egyptian. They did seek his life, as the Egyptians did Moses his. He made his escape & fled into the Wilderness as Moses did. Moses his 40 years was turned to him in 40 days, He came at last into the Hindermost Wilderness to 24 1 86 The Prietists of Povincial Pennsylvania. the Mount of God Horeb, the very same where Moses saw the Vision, And here God appeared unto him, & gave him a gentle Reprimende as touching his Zeal & Presumtious. Shewing him withal, that the great and strong winde & the Earthquake & the Fire (wherein Elijah's his Ministry had consisted) did indeed go before the L(ord), but that the Lord did not dwell therein, but in the still aethereall creat- ing voice & that there were yet 7000 left besides him that had not bowed unto nor kissed Baal ; though they were hid & unknown to him, & had not ministered publiquily with storming & quaking & burning Jealousy as he had done. Thereupon being Condemned to substitute another in his Room (viz.: to edifie, whereas hitherto he had but destroyed), he was soon after taken up into Paradise, by the same ele- ment wherein he had ministered. This Eleijah leads to Ye first Wilderness in the New Testament, the Clans of the old John, the Precursor of the Messiah, who after his edu- cation was also in the Wilderness, till the day of his Shew- ing unto Israel in the Spirit & Power of Eleijah, baptizing with water to Repentance, as the first Eleijah had baptized with Fier for Destruction. What he did in the Wilderness is not described, but by that what hath been said we may safely conclude that he was gratified there for his so great a Ministry. That God appeared also unto him there ap- peareth out of what he saith himself ( Joh. i, 33). He that sent me to Baptize the same said unto me. I will not draw the Parallelism any further, lest I should prove tedious at least. That like as the accorded of him who succeeded Eleijah, raised the dead man (2 Reg. 13, 21), so He who succeeded John, by his death became the Head, the Spring, the Principle & cause of Life & Resurrection imto all that believed in Him, both for Soul «& Body. This is the last & greatest Witness I am to produce JESUS the Messiah of " The Prerogative of the Elect:' 187 God, our God & Saviour, tlie centre of all, who also in likeness of the first Lawgiver Moses was 40 days (the 40 years of Moses being thus abridged) in the Wilderness «& tempted there with all manner of Temptations (though without sin, wherein He hath the only Preogative above all, Heb. 4, 15 ; 2, 28). The Scripture indeed maketh mention of his firey trials (i Pet. 4, 12). But nowhere saith what they was or are. They cannot be described ; it is only experience which can teach them best. The three temptations that happened at the End of the 40 days (Matt. 4) centre in this : If He was the Son of God or Not ! which indeed hath more to say than is commonl}- supposed. The very Ground of the Christian Religion circling therein & is founded thereupon, as appears from Matt. 16, 16 ; Joh. II, 27; I Joh. 4, 15; 5, 5; «& is the greatest Stumbling block to the Jews (Joh. 19, 7) & to the Turks, the Latter believing that Jesus the Son of Mary (as they style him) is the word of God incarnate, & that he is anointed to the Holy Ghost above all the Prophets & above Mahomed, & that he is to be the Judge of the Quick & D.ead & of Mahomed himself; but that He is the Son of God they cannot believe, for, say they, God is a Spirit & cannot beget a man for his Son, &c. And no wonder, this being a Mystery surpassing all humane & Angeelicall under- standing ; nor is it to be found out by the same, it depend- ing solely from the Revelation of the Father, like as that of the Father depends from the Reception of the Son & M. K., is yet to answer the ? Why Jesus being God of very God, became to be Man & died ? The Prophets & Patri- archs have been tempted indeed with great Temptations, but non like this, none of the Nature of this, they being not cabable of the same, as being the Sons of God through Faith in Him, who being God, was to be made Man (Exod. 1 88 The Pietists of Provincial Pennsylvania. 3, 14, where it should have been interpeted : I Schall be, what I shall be, viz : — Man) as we through Faith in Him who was God and is made Alan. But Jesus having past this firy ordeal, He received the Almightiness from his Father, whereof he made no bragging Ostentation, as Rob- bers make of their Pray, but humbled himself unto the death even the death of the Cross, styling himself at this side of the Grave only the son of Man (or mankind, the Greek word denoting both the Sexes) though He was the son of God : Wherefore God also by the Ressurection from the Dead powerfully declared him to be his Son (Rom. i, 4; Psal. 2. Act.) exalting him above all, Lord over all worlds, visible & invisible, this & that which is to come (Eph. I, 2; Phil. 2, 6-1 1 ). " To these four I will add two more out of the Scripture, passing by the rest (Heb. 11, 38). This first is David., that man after God's own Heart, who was 10 years in the Wil- derness & exercised in continual Sufferings «& Sorrows (as his Psalms bear witness) before He was installed in the Kingdom, to which He was chosen & annointed so many years before. The second is that great Apostle of the Gen- tiles Panl, who abided seven years in the Deserts of Arabia (Gal. I, 17, & at the antient Church Records bear witness), before he went out for the Conversion of the Gentiles. I could produce a whole Cloud of such chosen Vessels out of the antient Records of the first Christians, who beeing pre- pared in the Wild's some for 10, some for 20, some for 40 years, after their coming forth converted whole Cities, wrought signs & Miracles, was to their Diciples as living Oracles, as the mouth of God through whom he fed & guided them, but having exceeded the limits of a letter allready, I must stop the Vein which so liberally would diffuse it self; I hope what hath been said manifested to " The Third State:' 189 the full, that God hath prepared alwais his most eiiiiiient Instrunients in the Wilderness. " When we consider now with a serious introversion of our minds those Three states of the Wild's, we shall find That there is no entring into the first Wild's without a going ont of Spiritual Egypt ; and so consequently no entring into the second without passing the first ; And so on, no entring into the Third without passing the second state. "We shall find in the next place, that like as there is a long Strugling & Groaning under the Egyptian Burdens before the delivery from the same ensueth, So there is a long contest between the first & second Birth in their Wil- derness-Station before the Second is set at perfect Liberty & made ready to enter & possess Caanan : But how long the Parallelism of the second & third state may run to- gether, & where the Borders of each meet together or if there be any Borders at all, I'll leave to higher graduated Souls than mine is to enquire ; by it to speak my mind : me thinks the Childhood & Manhood may both well consist with the second state, & one may arrive to the manhood in Christ without ever entering the Third Station, this being only for some chosen Vessels for a peculiar administration which requires also peculiar & extraordinary Qualifications & Endowments, which they are to acquire & make trial of in this Third Station before they appear & show themselves to the Israel of God. So that every one that is to enter the Third must of necessity be acquainted with the second & first. But not every one that hath entered the Second & after he is even with the first must also enter the Third Station. " By the consideration of the Third State we shall find what a wighty thing it is to appear & to show oneself to 190 TJie Pietists of Provi/icial Pennsylvania. the Israel of God, as iminediately called chosen & sent by the Lord. Such a being made, as Paul saith (i Cor. 4, 9) a Spectacle to the World & to Angels & to Men. And what good reason Moses had to resist so hard when he was sent, whom God having heard the crey & Prayers of his People, did force as it were & thrust or cast forth (see Matt. II, 38) where it should have been rendered thurst or forth instead of sent forth). And what a great presump- tion it is, on the other Hand, to go forth without being thus duly prepared beforehand. For though such may have inspirations, Revelations, Motions & the like Extraordinary Favours ; yea, may have arrived at the very Manhood in Christ (which truly is a high attainment), yet they will effect & build nothing, but only (if they do any thing at all) destroy, as we see in the instances of Moses & Elias, before they had been in that Wild's. Yea, there is no small Danger of loosing themselves & to bruise & grind that good seed, which was not designed for Meat but for increase, not for to be sent forth but to be kept in an honest & Good Heart. (Luc. ). Such are indeed with Child, they are in pain, but (as the common Translation saith, Esa. 26, 28, and as the common experience witt- nesseth to be so) they bring forth as it were but Winde, they make no deliverance in the earth, neither do the In- habitants of the World fall ; Wliereas if they was duly prepared & had stood the fiTey ordeal it would fare with them, not as with the common, but as the Translation the first Christians made use of hath it : Through thy Tears Lord we have conceived & have been in Pain of Birth, & have brought forth the Spirit of Salvation, which Salva- tion we have wrough on Earth ; we shall not fall, but all that dwell on Earth shall fall. " I had many Considerations more to add, as also what " TJic Wildcriiess-Time.'''' 191 the Wilderness it self is in each of these States, having- spoken only of some of the Inhabitants thereof & of some of their Qnalities & Circnmstances, & this rather nnder a veil &, as it were, bnt glancing at the Marrow & Substance. Nor have I counted the number of the Wilderness-Time, but touched only the root thereof, which is 40 Sun-Days for the New Birth & 42 Moons or Nights for the Old (which last I have not so much as mentioned). Neither have I measured from the Red-Sea of the Old Birth to the Jordan of the New, and a hundred such things more. But my beloved & esteemed Friend ! this was to write a Volume & not a Letter, And I begin allmost to fear that I have ven- tured too much upon your Patience this first time, not con- sidering also the wall between us. Oh ! that we may behold our Beloved alwais, standing behind our Wall, look- ing forth att the Window, shewing himself thorow the Lat- tesse, saying Rise up my Love, my fair one & come away (Cant. 29, 10). To whose Love-embraces leaving you, I remain, " Your sincere, though unworthy Friend, "J. K. " RocKSBORROW, 1706, d. 25, Maji. " For Hesther Pallnier, " in Long-Island in Flushing." When the bright warm weather returned Kelpius again rallied, and Midsummer eve (1706) found him once more at the Tabernacle in his beloved solitude in the forest. That his physical improvement was only of a temporary nature is shown by his next poem, " A Comfortable and Incouraging Song^ made intentionally for tivo lonesome Widows^'''' where he adds, by way of explanation, " By occasion of a great cold which seized me in July, 1706." Consumption had fastened its clutches upon the frail 192 The Pietists of Provincial Pennsylvania. form of the Transylvaiiian Theosophist, and after lingering for almost two years longer, he succumbed, having labored for fourteen years in the Community in the wilds of the New World; as a late writer"" aptly states, "working, preaching, prophesying, and, we almost may say, ruling by the right of moral and mental preeminence." The exact date of his death is unknown. All that we know to a certainty is the mention of the fact in Jawert's petition to the Provincial Council held March i, 1708 1 9, where the words occur: '•'"Johajuies Keipins nozv deceased^ F. H. Williams, in "The New World," June, 1894. THE HERMITS ON THE RIDGE. (!>■ ERHAPS one of the strangest facts in con- nection with this pe- cnliar Community on the Wissahickon is that no complete list of the mem- bership is known. Diligent search among the official records in both Europe and America failed to brine: to light any additional infor- mation as to who composed the original Chapter. The old shipping-lists of Rotterdam could not be found ; and, if not destroyed, are supposed to be stored at either The Hague or Flushing. Another curious fact is that all communications with Europe ceased soon after the death of Kelpius (except possi- bly the official communications that passed between Falk- ner and the Frankfort Company), and, on the other hand, the emigrants seem to have been forgotten by most of their former associates ; the exception being the inquiry sent from A Seal of the Ephrata Community. 25 194 The Prietists of Povincial Pennsylvania. Halle and mentioned by Muhlenberg in his reports for the year 1769.^"^ All trace has long since been lost of the astronomical and philosophical apparatus, brought over at various times and used by the Mystical Brethren in their studies and speculations ; the only possible exception being the Horo- logium Achaz, mentioned in a previous chapter. ^^^ As to their books, at least such as were of a theological character, we are more fortunate. After the disbanding of the Com- munity and the departure of Daniel Falkner from the Province, the bulk of the books, consisting of a number of folios, quartos and octavos, mostly bound in parchment, came into the possession of John Henry Sprogel, and later into that of his brother, Ludovic Christian Sprogel, who kept them until the }ear 1728, when he gave such as were theological and orthodox to the Rector"* and Vestry of Christ Church in Philadelphia. After the completion of the tower they were placed in one of the lower rooms, where they still remain. Here these musty tomes, in Latin, Greek, Hebrew and German, representing the profoundest religious thought of the XVI and XVH Centuries, have found a resting-place for the last century and a half forgotten by all. The few of late years who must now and then have noticed a vol- ume or two but little imagined whence they came, and wondered at the import of the book-plate, which vouchsafed the information that they were the gift of one Sprogel : ''Ex dono LUDOVICI CHRISTIAN! SPROGELL, ad Bibliothecam Ecclesice AnglicamF^ in Philadelphia^ Die Decembris 2^^ i']28,'''' ^^' Original ed., p. 1265. 223 Page 114. ^'■'* Rev. Archibald Cummings. A Rare Collection of Books. 195 The writer in his youth frequently heard the legend that all the books and MSS. of the Mystics had been given to Christ Church, as the intercourse between the founders of both organizations in the earliest days was of an intimate nature. Fortunate, indeed, was the day when it was found that the legend was a true one, and that a large number of these old tomes were yet in existence and in a good state of preser- vation, though yellowed by age and covered with dust. They had escaped alike the search for cartridge-paper by both Patriot and British foraging parties during the Revolution,"^ and the fate of being discarded as worthless and sold during the several alterations to the church. Another interesting legend in connection with this be- quest is that the books were given to the corporation as a nucleus for a free library. If this be true it would ante- date Franklin's efforts in the same direction by fully three years. The first of these books opened by the writer was a quarto, and bore the above-quoted legend, ^'- Ex dono^^'' etc., on the inside cover, while the title read : " Gasparis Sciopph 1 1 C(Esa7m & Regit Conselearii-Astrologia Ecclesiastica \ \ Ex officiiia Sangeo7'giaiia || Anno M.DC. XXXI Vi^'^^ Among this rare and valuable collection were the fol- lowing : Honiiliarum in Evangclia qtice diebus festis tain Jcsu Cliristi quain aliquoruni sanctorum ejus, pro condone proponuntur et explicantur. Authore Rodolpho Gualthero. [Leyden, 1^83, 2 vols.^fol. ). Homilies of Lanuza, translated from. Spanish into Latin. {Cologne, 1686, J vols.,/ol.). ^^^ So scarce was paper for cartridge-making during the Revolution that almost all the books in the Ephrata Cloister were confiscated and used for military purposes. Many of the Sauer Bibles were so used. ^''^ The Ecclesiastical Astrology of Caspar Sciopo, Imperial and Royal Councillor. 196 The Pietists of Provincial Pennsylvattia, U'altoti's Polyglott. {London, 165J, 6 vols.,fol.). Lexicon Heptaglotton ; Hebraicum, Chaldaicum, Syriacum, Samari- tanum, ALthiopiciim, Arabicuin, et Persicmn. AtUhore Edmundo Cas- tello. {London, 16S6, 2 vols.,foL) Greek and Latin Lexicon of Scec. xvi. {No date.) Osiander's Latin Bible. { Tubingen, i^gof-i^gs, ? vots.,fot.) Examinis Concitii Tridentini, per Mart. Chcinnicium scripti, Opus integrum. {Geneva, 1641,/ot.) Erasmus'' Parallel Greek and Latin Neiv Testament. {151S, 2 vols, in one, fol. ) HueVs Origen. {Cologne, i6S^,fol.) Concilioruni Quatuor Generalitcni : Niceni, Constantinopolitani , Ephe- sini et Calcedonensis : Que divus Gregorius magnus tanqz quatuor Evan- gelia colit ac veneratur. { Cologne, 1530, 2 vols., folio. ) In Mosis Genesim plenissimi Commentarii . Wolfgango Musculo Dusano autore. {Basle, 1354, fol.) Quatuor Ununi : hoc est, Concordia Evangelica. Auctore Guidone de Perpiniano Episcopo. {Cologne, 163 1, fol.) Johannes Seelig sncceeded Kelpius as Magister, but for a short time only. He soon renounced the honor, and, donning his pilgrim garb once more, retired to a hermit cell or cabin, where he spent his days in teaching and study- ing, while he supported himself by cultivating his garden, and, when the opportunity offered, working at his trade of bookbinder. Doctor Christopher Witt and Daniel Geissler also left the Tabernacle in the forest and took up their abode in Ger- mantown, where the former for many years practiced as a physician. After Seelig's retirement, Conrad Matthai became the leading spirit of the Theosophists who still remained at or about the Tabernacle ; a Community in the original sense no longer, but merely a number of devout ascetics who lived in retirement on the banks of the romantic Wissa- hickon under his leadership. Even this reduced number became less and less as the years rolled by, and settlers continued to encroach on their favorite solitude. " The Separatists.'''' 197 According to the Chronicon Ephratense., " after their leader (Kelpius) died the tempter found occasion to scatter them, as those who had been most zealous against marrying now betook themselves to women again, which brought much shame on the solitary state that the few who still held to it dared not open their mouths for shame." '^'^ Notwithstanding the radical changes which were contin- ually taking place in the vicinity, incident to the growing population, some show of an organization was kept up for many years, without, however, making any claim to com- munal life. Such as remained upon the original tract lived as did Conrad Matthai, in small houses or cabins, after the manner of the hermits of old, or the Separatists of later days. It was by the latter name that they afterwards became known. This remnant on " the Ridge" became a nucleus or rally- ing-point for the many religious enthusiasts, visionaries and separatists who, during the first half of last century, flocked to the Province noted for liberty of conscience ; to whom must be added such of the older settlers as were " awaken- ed," or felt inspired to withdraw from the world and its allurements, and live henceforth a life of seclusion. About a decade after Kelpius' death, quite an emigration of religious separatists set in from Europe. Some of these pilgrims, such as the Mennonites and Schwartzenauer Dunkers or Baptists, came over in a body, and forthwith opened communications with the remnant on the Ridge, some of their number even adopting the solitar}^ mode of life. Several of these new acquisitions remained steadfast and ended their days as recluses; Andreas Bone and Hermann Drost being prominent examples. Chron. Epb., original ed., p. 12 ; trans., p. 152. igS The Pietists of Pi^ovincial Pennsylvaiiia. In the autumn of the year following this emigration (1720), a number of men arrived in Germantown with the avowed intention of devoting the rest of their lives to religious study in the wilds of the New World far away from civilized habitations. The names of Johann Conrad Beissel, the Eckerling brothers, Michael Wohlfarth,"^ Simon Konig, Joh-ann George Stiefel, Jacob Stuntz and Isaac Van Bebber"'' are all prominent in the movement which revived Esoteric Theosophy and Rosicrucian Mysti- cism in Pennsylvania. The most trustworthy information we have regarding the subsequent career of the survivors of the original Com- munity who remained in the vicinity of Germantown is to be found among the IMoravian records at Herrnhut and Bethlehem. From these old musty documents we learn that George Bohnish, the first Moravian evangelist, who labored in Pennsylvania from 1734 to 1737, was a frequent visitor among the recluses in the vicinity of Germantown. The 22* Michael Wohlfarth (Michael Welfare). This remarkable man had been an active Pietist in Germany, and occupied later so prominent a position in the Ephrata Community, wherein he was known as Brother " Agonius." He was born in the fortress of Memel, on the Baltic Sea, in the year 1687. Just when he came to America is not known, nor is it known how long he sojourned among the Hermits on the Wissahickon. He was an active exhorter and evangelist, and first came prominently into public notice by exhorting the Quakers from the old court-house steps at Second and Market Streets, as well as in their meeting-houses. He became one of the staunchest supporters of Conrad Beissel. Wohl- farth was also a hymnologist of no mean order, and a number of his hymns are found in the Ephrata hymn-books. He died May i, 1741. His remains rest in the old "God's Acre" at Ephrata, where his tomb formerly bore this epitaph : — " Hier ruhet der Gottselige Kamfer AGONIUS, Starb Anno 1741. ' ' Seines alters 54 Jahre 4 Monate 28 Tage. ' ' No trace whatever is to be found of this grave at the present day. Ccnint Zi7izendorf. 199 Rev. August Spaugenberg, upon his first visit to Pennsyl- vania in 1736 for the purpose of ascertaining the religious condition of its German population, sought out the survi- vors of the Theosophical emigrants who almost half a cen- tury before had located on the banks of the Wissahickon. His visits to Seelig and Matthai during his stay in the Province were frequent, and the intercourse between them, it is stated, was cordial and edifying to all parties. From Spangenberg's report to Herrnhut it appears that the survivors were then living as " Separatists." In a sub- sequent letter he gives us an insight into their daily life and austere habits ; he there states that they slept on hard beds, using neither feathers, after the manner of the Ger- mans, nor straw. Their garb was of a coarse homespun material. They would neither barter, trade, nor engage in any occupation for profit or gain. In another communication Spangenberg, referring to the above, states that " where individuals had a true desire for their salvation and for the cause of Christ, he knew of no fairer land than Pennsylvania.""^ When, five years later. Count Ludwig Zinzendorf landed upon these shores, ^^" his earliest movements were directed towards the forks of the Lehigh, by way of Germantown ; and it was during this journey that the Count made the acquaintance of the surviving Separatists of the Kelpius Community. That friendly relations were established between Zinzen- dorf and Matthai at the outset is shown from the fact that the latter's name was conspicuous on the call issued for the first Pennsylvania Synod, December 26, 1741. ^^^ Leben Spangenbergs, Barby, 1794, p. 135. «3o Arrived at New York, December 2, 1741 ; Philadelphia, December loth. 200 The Pietists of Provincial Pennsylvania. It was at this meeting, which was held at the house of Theobaldt Endt in Germantown, on New Year's day, 1742 (January 12, 1742, N. S.), that the first attempt was made in America, since the unsuccessful efforts of Johannes Kel- pius, toward an evangelical alliance and unification of the German Protestants. At this meeting Conrad Matthai was prominent and active, and championed the cause of such as were adverse to being circumscribed by denominational bounds. A contemporaneous account of this meeting states that certain remarks made by Count Zinzendorf were construed as reflecting against the Mennonites and Schwenkfelders, who were not represented at the Synod. This caused Matthai to resent what he thought was an unwarranted reflection by Zinzendorf, and raised considerable discussion, resulting in a series of resolutions being adopted. Before the adjournment of the meeting a set of resolu- tions was agreed to, it is said at the instance of Matthai. The paper was signed by the representatives of nine different religious interests. The next trustworthy notice of the later period of the old Community is recorded by Fresenius (vol. iii, page 221), who there states : " Towards the end of this month [Decem- ber, 1742] came Brother Ludwig [Count Ludwig Zinzen- dorf] again towards Philadelphia ; he had secured a Lodg- ment at Rocksbury, two hours from Philadelphia, where he expected to hold a Conference. According to the testi- mony of his own followers [Unitas Fratum] the object was to gather in [to their fold] the remaining Solitary.^^' But with two they were not able to accomplish anything." '^^^ ^•'' The survivors of the old Community on the Wissahickon. ^^^ The two Separatists here alluded to were undoubtedly Seelig and Matthai. TJic Monastery on the JVissahickon. 201 Turing- once more to the Moravian records, we find that one of the last ofificial acts of Count Zinzendorf, prior to his departure from America on January 7, 1743, was to hold a deliberative meeting with the Separatists who re- mained on the banks of the Wissahickon, at which he had a long and earnest interview with Conrad Matthai. In a future chapter it will be shown how upon Conrad Matthai's advice Beissel journeyed to the wilds of Cones- toga. The same was the case with the Eckerling brothers in 1727. It was upon the advice of the old recluse that Israel Eckerling left the vicinity of Germantown for the Conestoga country, whither he was soon followed by his widowed mother and her three remaining sons, all destined to become important factors in the history of the settlement on the Cocalico. When finally Conrad Matthai was left almost alone on the old Community tract, an unbroken forest no longer, events transpired which led to a renewal of the spirit of mysticism in Pennsylvania, and subsequently took shape in a new Community, " Das Lager der Einsanien^^'' the Camp of the Solitary, known in history as Ephrata, a settlement on the banks of the Cocalico in Lancaster County, and which eventually became the most successful Theosophical communit)' of which we have any record. A branch of this new society for a time flourished in Germantown and vicinity. For the purposes of the new community a massive stone building was erected in 1738 on the Wissahickon, a short distance above the spot where the original Tabernacle was located. This structure, about which there were formerly so many gruesome tales and vague traditions current among the superstitious residents of the vicinity, is still standing, and although it is now serving the prosaic uses of a farmhouse, it is still known as "the Monastery." 26 202 TJic Pietists of Provincial Pennsylvania. All vestiges of the original " Hermits of the Ridge^' have long since passed away. A portion of their domain is now included within the bounds of Fairmount Park, the largest natural pleasure ground in the world. The straggling town of Philadelphia, as it was at the landing of Kelpius and his fellow-mystics, has extended in all directions, until it now joins and includes the whole of the German Township within its corporate limits. Palatial residences cover a part of the ground once cultivated by these Esoteric students. Over the ver}- spot where rest the remains of some of this Theosophical Community is now reared a Christian church, with pealing organ and white- robed choristers, a fitting monument to their virtue and piety. Great have been the changes wrought b}' time during the last two centuries. The metropolis of Pennsylvania is indeed no longer a churchless city. Hundreds of churches, with their tens of thousands of communicants, are now found within its corporate bounds. In approaching the great metropolis from the sea, one of the first landmarks to greet the eye of the mariner as he nears the end of his journey is the old Swedish church at Wicacoa ; and as the city proper is approached, the symme- trical spire of Christ Church becomes a prominent feature. Both of these churches, the early history of which is cotemporary with that of our band of German Pietists, are now among the most venerable historic landmarks of the great city of Philadelphia with its million of inhabitants. To return once more to the scene of the early labors of Kelpius and his followers. Of the tens of thousands of pleasure seekers who anuualh' pass along the Wissahickon, from the purse-proud aristocrat who rides behind prancing steeds and liveried servants down to the wearv and foot-sore The Eplirata Manuscript. 203 toiler who 011 a Sunday seeks after a breath of fresh air, how few of this vast niiinber know the derivation of the names " Hermit Spring'' and " Hermit Lane," or have even heard the name of Johannes Kelpius, the pious and learned Magis- ter of the Theosophical Fraternity, who settled there two centuries ago in the unbroken wilderness to connnune with the Diet}' according to the dictates of his conscience and benefit the spiritual condition of his fellowmen. The old Ephrata MS., in referring to the closing period of the original Community, and to such as remained stead- fast, states : " Dispensing religious instruction and charita- ble attentions to their neighbors who came to cultivate the adjoining wilds, they rendered their habitation the seat of piety and usefulness. Thus while years rolled on in rapid succession the few remained steadfast in their faith and patiently watched for the revelations they so fondly antici- pated. These faithful ones, however, followed each other to the shades of death and a happy eternity without accom- plishing the work of their devotion and self-denial. They were laid side by side in what was once their garden, and their requiems were sung by the remaining brethren. Their history may be closed in the language of the Apostle, — " ' These all died in faith, not having received the prom- ises, but having seem them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth." ' "" Notwithstanding that ever)- vestige of these earh- religi- ous pioneers has passed away, the effects of the truths they taught is yet felt, not only among the German element in Eastern Pennsylvania, but throughout the whole State and country wherever the slightest trace of the Pennsylvania- German is to be found. 233 Heb. xi, 13. 204 TJie Pietists of Provincial Peiuisylvatiia. The benign influence exercised by the various Pietistic sects of Provincial Pennsylvania upon the rude pioneers of various nations and races that were attracted to the Province in the early days of our existence will endure for ages to come. Though the personalit)- of the actors themselves may be lost in oblivion, and even their names be forgotten iu the modern struggle for wealth and power, yet in our annals the story of these self-sacrificing enthusiasts, with their legends and traditions, will ever remain one of the brightest and most romantic episodes. The Takernacle in the Foresi, according to an old Manuscript;. THE LOCATION OF THE TABERNACLE. on The Cave of {Cei.pius, iS ORE or less uncer- tainity has thus far existed among wri- ters upon Kelpius and the Hermits on the Ridge as regards the actual location of the original settlement and the tenure by which they held their land. There are no documents whatever on record to show that this or any other land in the vicin- ity was ever held in fee-simple by either Kelpius or the Fraternity. All accounts that have come down to us agree to the fact that 175 acres were given them, shortly after their arrival, by Thomas Fairman, who was then deputy surveyor general.'" If any title was passed it does not appear to have been placed on record. It has, however, been proven beyond all reasonable doubt that the portion of the tract, once the site of the Tabernacle of the Mystic Brotherhood, is identical with the estate now known as " the Hermitage," owned by the Prowattain family. Fairman was not commissioned-surveyor general until 1702. 2o6 The Pietists of Provincial Pennsylvania. This is situated on the east side of Hermit Lane, in Roxborongh, in the Twenty-first Ward of Philadelphia, and extends down to the Wissahickon. The strip of land along the banks of the creek is now included within the bounds of Fairniount Park, having been acquired by the city under the Act of April 14th, 1868. Now the question naturally arises : How happens it that here are 175 acres of land without any record of having been either bought or sold, until about fifty years after the gift of Fairman ? Nor does this identical plantation ever appear to have been in the name of the person who is accredited with having given it to the German Theosophists. A careful search reveals to us the fact that at least a part of the land in question was contained in a grant of 200 acres made in 1689 by William Penn to Thomas B. Vic- aris,^'*^ and that Thomas Fainnan was in charge of the property, as well as the adjoining one to the eastward, which extended to the Scliuylkill, and was also supposed to contain " 200 acres," granted by William Penn to John Jennett, by patent dated January 20, 1685."^'^ Jennett, on March 18, 1698, sold to Mathew Houlgate eighty acres of this land, which adjoined the Vicaris tract. Mathew Houlgate the elder, who was for some time either a member of the Community or else intimately connected with the same, erected the first fulling-mill on the Wissa- hickon. This was in 1720, and was an undertaking in which he does not seem to have prospered. Vicaris, according to tlie records, under date of August 4, 1741,"''^^ sold to Michael Righter seventy-one acres of land 235 f jjg patent is not on record. Another account names Richard and Robert Vicaris as the original patentees. 236 Patent Book A, p. 104. Exemplication Book No. i, p. 86. 23" Deed Book F T W 103, p. 365. " The Right er Ferry ^ 207 adjoining the Hoiilj^ate or Jennett tract, whicli one Peter Righter had bought at sheriff's sale, December 6, 1728."^'^'' This grant included all the improvements erected or made by the Theosophical Community, viz., the Tabernacle, several small log cabins or houses used by the Hermits after disbanding, the cave of Kelpius, a large orchard planted by the Mystics, and other improvements, such as fencing and cleared ground. Two mouths after the above conveyance, October 27, 1 741, Peter Richter transferred his seventy-one acres to Michael Richter. ^■^'•' This gave the latter a plantation of 15 T acres, which, without doubt, included all the land once occupied both by the Community and the Hermits who succeeded them. The Righters or Richters, it is said, w^ere originally con- nected in some manner with the Brotherhood. A legend, which appears trustworthy, states that Peter Righter, the first of the fayiily in America, came over with Daniel Falk- ner in 1700, but soon after left the Community and built a stone house on the banks of the vSchuylkill a short distance above the mouth of the Wissahickon, where he also estab- lished a ferry. This was some years prior to the death of Kelpius. This ferry was kept by successive generations of the Righter families, until the building of the Manayunk bridge removed any necessity for its maintainance. The above 151 acres of land remained in possession of Michael Righter until his death, which occurred some time in 1783. His will is dated January 29, 1783, and under its provision three commissioners were appointed by the heirs to effect a division of the real estate. They apportioned ^^'^ Record Book A D B 142, p. 485. 2M Deed Book H 9, p. 367. 2o8 TJie Pietists of Provi)icial PeiDisylvania. After Tu>o Hundred Years. 209 27 2IO TJie Pietists of Provincial Pennsylvania. the above 151 acres to Peter Righter (2),'^''" March 13, 1787, and from him it passed to Daniel Righter about the year 1818. It was from Phoebe Righter, the widow of the last named, that the direct proof was obtained of the former tenure of this land by the Mystic Brotherhood. The tract remained in the Righter family until the year 1848, when a part of it, containing sixteen acres and six- teen perches, which included the site of the Tabernacle and the Kelpius cave and spring, together with one of the Her- mit's cabins, was sold by the heirs of Daniel Righter to Evan Prowattain, a merchant of Philadelphia. The new owner at once commenced a series of improve- ments so as to make the place suitable for a suburban resi- dence. A large mansion house was built near the former site of the Tabernacle, and upon its completion was called "The Hermitage." Shortly after this mansion was finished and the grounds laid out, the whole estate was leased to Col. Benjamin Chew, of Germantown, who made the place his home for a num- ber of years. The old log cabin in which Phoebe Righter had passed so many years of her life was at that time in a dilapidated condition. A gentleman with antiquated taste, who visited the Her- mitage during the first year of Col. Chew's occupancy, writes : " On the picturesque grounds of Evan Prowattain, the residence of Col. Benjamin Chew, are the old hut and the spring of Kelpius. About the hut there is some con- troversy. The settled opinion seems to be, however, that it was either the dwelling or the site of the dwelling of Kel- pius. It is built of logs, pointed or mortised at the ends. 2+0 Deed Book D 18, p. 632, deed of Daniel Thomas, Mathew Holgate and Anthony Cook to Peter Righter. The Hermitage Grounds. 211 and now rotted under the exposure of years. A rickity door and front window gave it the appearance of a tene- ment, and the cliances are that a few more years will witness 'the demolition of the old landmark. " It stands on the side of an acclivity, and in the days of Kelpius the foxes burrowed in the cellar. It is now used as a tool-house and a chicken-coop. A few rods from this, - farther down the hill, is the spring. It lies at the foot of an old cedar tree. The water is black and cold. Just below the spring is a stone cave, which looks like an old spring- dairy or milk-house. It is said that Kelpius hollowed this out and built it with his own hands. " Below the hill the glen lies still and always shadowy. Here in [time past] these Magi and Hermits wandered with thoughts of another world. From the Hermitage, as far up the creek as the red bridge, a deep glen or gorge fol- lows the north side of the Wissahickon. This was of old a favorite spot with the Hermits, the scene of their wanderings." A visit to the Hermitage grounds by the present writer, in June, 1894, just two hundred years after the arrival of the German Theosophists in Pennsylvania, reveals the fact that a few salient features of interest are still in almost the same primitive condition as they were when Kelpius and his associates first trod upon its virgin soil. Other features may still be traced by vestiges and traditions. The object of this visit was to go over the ground care- fully, make a critical examination of whatever was thought to bear upon the former occupancy of the Mystics, and sift as far as possible such of the legends and traditions as hover about the place. Arrangements were also made to photo- graph such relics as should prove of historic value or interest as illustrations to this work. 212 The Pietists of Provincia/ Pennsylvania. The most important relic found was the ruin of the sub- terranean cell or cave once occupied by Magister Kelpius. This anchorite cell, as before stated, is not a natural forma- tion, but was built against the hillside with an arched roof, which was covered with about three feet of soil and then sodded. Upon it there is now quite a growth of timber of considerable girth. This cell or " Einsiedler-hi'ttie^'' has now caved in, and is partially filled in with stones and soil. Originally it formed a room sixteen feet long b>- nine feet wide in the clear, and eight feet high. Entrance to the cave was had by an arched doorway, which faced towards the south. This entrance is now partly choked up with dirt and dtbris. Reared on either side of the old doorway are two jamb- stones, which were placed against the cave during the tenure of Col. Chew, for the purpose of hanging a door so as to bar the access to the old retreat. This became necessary on account of the frequent visitors who came to view the spot. Upon either side of the opening two large trees have grown, and now stand like silent sentinels to guard the scene. A few yards from the entrance to the cell, just beyond the fence shown in the accompanying photographic repro- duction, is the crystal spring, which in Kelpius' time gushed forth from amid the roots of an ancient cedar tree. The water is still as clear and cold as of yore, and invites the thirsty pilgrim of to-day to quench his thirst out of its rock-bound basin. It is still known as " the Hermit's Spring.'' -^' The old hut, as described in the account above quoted^ wasi repaired and enlarged, shortly after the sketch was written, by another room and an additional stor\'. It now '"' Or " Kelpius' Spring." TJie (rloi in iJie Forest. 213 serves as a comfortable " tenant" lionse for the hired help or " farmer" of the estate. The size of the original cabin may, however, easily be traced from the dimensions of the cellar or basement beneath the honse. This cabin, similar to the anchorite cell, was bnilt against the hillside, and faced towards the sonth. There is bnt little to impress the chance visitor with the fact that any part of this structure ever served as the soli- tary habitation of the recluse philosopher or Theosophical student who here passed his days in voluntary seclusion and exile for the purpose of perfecting himself in spiritual holiness and aiding his fellow-countrymen, who had jour- neyed so far from the Fatherland, to better their condition and enjoy the promised religious liberty. Of the Tabernacle no trace whatever could be found. There is a vague tradition that the present mansion, now temporarily deserted and tenantless, stands upon the former site. This has some show of probability, as from the porch, when the trees are leafless, may be seen the former camping- ground of the Hessian troops, beyond the Wissaliickon, during the British occupation in 1777-78; a fact which appears to agree with the Hessian letter, written at camp about the time of the battle of Germantown, wherein the writer states that the former " Kloster'''' of Kelpius was visible from their camp.^*^ But by far the most interesting spot within the bounds of the Hermitage estate is the level wooded glen a few yards west of the Kelpius cave, wdiich tradition points out as the spot where the public gatherings and open-air ser- vices were held during the favorable .seasons. This spot, now after the lapse of two centuries, is as secluded, romantic and beautiful as it was when the Theosophical Mystics Ephrata MSS. 214 The Pietists of Provincial Pennsylvania. wandered among its shadows, enjoying the breezes and quenching their thirst from the springs that bubble forth here and there and unite in rills to feed the Wissahickon. One such rill is known even to the present day as " Hermit Run." Except that some of the primitive forest trees are now replaced by those of second growth, little or no change has taken place in this romantic spot. The hand of modern art has not yet defaced any of its prominent features. The same wealth of wild flowers covers the ground during the spring and summer, while an occasional bird sings his song high up amid the verdant branches. Thus it presents almost the same vast, silent and unmolested solitude as when Kelpius, Falkner, Seelig and Matthai, here in one of God's first temples, wandered among the trees and sought spiritual inspiration amidst the beauties of primeval nature. The photographic reproduction will give some faint idea of the beauty of the glen. Could the stones and older trees but speak, they might tell of many a mystic incantation and magical exorcism here performed during the hours when graveyards were supposed to yawn. Perchance they could give reports of questions in occult philosophy and alchemy once argued and mysteries of unwritten Cabbala communicated by word of mouth from magister to neophyte under obligations of secrecy. The steep hillsides that extend from the glen and plateau down to the Wissahickon are still covered with trees of a primitive growth. But few thus far have fallen victims to the axe of the wood-cutter, except for a stretch directly in front of the Prowattain house, where the owner had a vista cut, so that from his porch he could see the park drive. As to the burial-place of Kelpius and Matthai nothing definite was to be ascertained. Several records state that Moravian Records. 215 the former was buried within the garden of the Community. Two direct records state that Matthai was buried at the feet of his former M agister. From the Moravian records the writer is inclined to believe that the above traditions are true, and that both philosophers were buried in the large orchard, planted under the direction of Kelpius and Falkner on the plateau north or west of the present Hermit Lane. The strip of land bordering on the Wissahickon and originally a part of the Hermitage property, was taken some years ago for public purposes, and is now included within Fairmount Park. It includes the gorge at the base of the hill, and extends up as far as the red bridge. This glen or gorge on the north bank of the stream is now a favorite resort for family picnics and children's parties, coming during the hot season from the built-up parts of the great city to enjoy the cool and rustic retreats afforded by the shady shore. Few among the tens of thousands are aware of the legends hidden in the signs erected by the Park Commission : Her- mit Glen, Hermit Bridge, Hermit Lane. PART II. THE HERMITS ON THE WISSAHICKON, 1 708 1 748. 28 MAGISTER JOHANNES KELPIUS. OHANNES KELPIUS will always remain one of the most picturesque characters of our early history ; the more so on ac- count of a certain air of mys- tery and romance which has thus far enshrouded his per- sonality. But few of his labors in Kelp von Sternberg. America hflVC bcCU reCOUUtcd in these pages. Unfortunately, in his modesty, he left but little written record of the great work performed by him during the fourteen long years that he lived on the banks of the romantic Wissahickon. How earnestly he soiight to improve the morals and spiritual condition of the rude and heterogeneous population that was then scattered through Eastern Pennsylvania, is shown by the many traditions and legends that have survived for two centuries. By reason of his scholarly attainments, devout life, inde- pendent bearing, and, it may be said, broad humanity, together with his repeated refusals of worldly honors and civil power, that were at various times thrust upon him. Autograph of Kelpius, from Muniford letter, p. 129-136. 220 TJie Pietists of Provincial Pennsyli'aiiia. the Magister on the Wissahickon stands ont in bold relief as a prominent example of piety and disinterestedness. There can be bnt little donbt that this devont scholar, who thus volnntarily banished himself from the Fatherland, home and friends had many difficnlties to contend with, both within and without the Community, and that his posi- tion at the head of such a Fraternit}- was anything but a sinecure. There were conflicting interests to equalize and, upon more than one occasion, stubborn minds to combat. When internal dissensions threatened the Fraternity it was always left to Kelpius to use the olive branch. Thus far but little was known of the Magister^s antece- dents, except that he was a native of Transylvania {Siehen- biirgen). Now, after the lapse of two hundred years, it has been the good fortune of the writer, during a late visit to Europe, to gain at least a slight insight into his history. After considerable inquiry it was learned that a book on Transylvanian sai'aiis had been published sometime during the last centur)-. Diligent inquiry, however, failed to obtain either a copy of the coveted volume or any informa- tion of value. It was during the wear}- search for this work that the writer strolled into an antiguarint in the ancient city of Halle.'^'' Turning over man\- volumes, almost ready to give up the search, he found an old book, not catalogued and apparently much the worse for wear. It proved to be the one so long sought for."" From this book it is learned that our Alagister was the son of Pfarrer George Kelp, of Halwegen, who at the time of his death, February 25, 1685, was the incumbent at "» F. W. Schmidt, Halle, a vS. '^^* Sievert's Nachrichten, von Siebenburgischen Gelehrten uiid ihreii Schriften. Pressbiirg, 1785. The Antecedents of Kelpiits. 22 1 Denndorf, a town in the district of vSchassljnrg {Segesvar) in Transylvania. Pfarrer Kelp had three sons : Martin (i 659-1 694), George and Johannes, the subject of our sketch, who was born in 1673. The exact birthplace of Johannes is not known to a certainty, but it was probably Halwegen, a town in the same district as Denndorf At the time of Martin's birth the father was resident pfarrer at the former place. Shortly after Pfarrer Kelp's death, Johannes, who was of a studious nature, received an offer of assistance from three of his father's friends."^' The young orphan then deter- mined to continue his studies, but away from his native heath, and selected the high school at Tubingen. But on account of the warlike movements in that vicinity and the troublesome times it was concluded to send the )oung stu- dent to the renowned High-School or Universit}- at Altdorf, a town near Niiremberg, in Bavaria, then at the height of its fame. Here the young student received a thorough scientific and religious education. He graduated in 1689, at the youthful age of sixteen, and was honored with the title of Magister, or, as it is stated in the old records of the former University, ^^ der freien Kitnste und W^eltiveisJieit Doctor^'^ doctor of philosophy and the liberal arts. His thesis upon this occasion was a treatise on natural theology : " T/ieologice Natiiralis^ sen Metaphysicce MetaniorpJwsin^ silt) Dioderamine l^iri-M. Dan. Guilh. Afo/Ier?\ pro snniniis /lonoi-i/nis^ Cf privileoiis philosophicis legitime ohtinendis, die i^ Jiin.^ f68cf. A/tdorfii.'' This thesis was published in several editions, both quarto ''*^ Count Valentine Franck, Burgomaster Michael Deli, and Notarius Johann Zabanius. 222 TJie Pietists of Provincial Pennsylvania. and octavo. It was while a student at x\ltdorf that the young philosopher attracted the attention of the principal tutor of the institution, the Reverend Johannes Fabricius [Altdorfinus], and in the year following his graduation (1690) a book was printed bearing upon the title-page the names of both master and scholar, which at that day was an almost unheard-of honor to a student. The title of this work, which is divided into eighteen chapters, is " Scylla Theologica^ aliquot exciiiplis Patruni & Doctornm Ecclesicr qui cum alios rcfutare laborarent.^ fcj^'vore disputa- tionis abrepti.^ in cont7'arios o^rores niiscre inciderujit.^ ostensa^ atque in materiam disputationis proposita^ a JoJi. Fahricio^ S. TJieol. P.P. Cf M. Joh. Kelpio. Altdorfii., i6go^ octavo. This work is divided into sixteen chapters and a sum- mary. The former treat on Tertullian, Pope Stephen I, Gregory Thaumaturgus, Arius, Marcellus, Jovian, Jerome, Augustine, Pelagius, Faustus, Bishop of Riez, Eutyches, Berengarius, Amsdorf, Stancar of Illyricum, Flacius and Huber. The concluding chapter or summary deals with the royal road between Scylla and Charybdis. This work was followed in the same year (1690) by a third book. It was an essay on the question whether heathen ethics [meaning the Aristotelian] were fit for the instruction of Christian youth. Printed at both Nurem- berg and Altdorf, entitled : " Inquisitio., an EtJiicus Ethnicus., aptus sit Christiance Juventutis Hodegus? sive : Anjuvenis christianus sit idoneus auditor Ethices Aristoielicae? Resp. Bait has. Blosio.^ Norimb. This valuable treatise, to which is added the poetic con- gratulations sent to him upon the attainment of the degree of Magister, went through several editions, octavo and Magisfer' Liidivig Brnniiqiiell. 223 quarto. Some of them are dedicated to his patrons who sent him to the University, viz., Count Valentine Franck, a noble of the Saxon nation ; Michael Deli, Burgomaster of Schassburg ; and Magister Johann Zabanius, provincial notarius at Hermannstadt. Other editions have a some- what different preface, and are dedicated to his Niiremberg patrons — Paul Baumgartner, Karl Welser von Neunhoflf, J. Paul Ebner von Eschenbach, and Joh. Christoph Tucher. Among the learned men then in Nuremberg whose atten- tion was attracted to the young philosopher's writings was one Magister Johann Jacob Zimmerman, late Diaconus at Bietigheim, in Wiirtemberg, a pupil and follower of the noted M. Ludwig Brunnquell, and who in addition to his sacred calling was one of the best mathematicians and astronomers in Europe. So great was the esteem in which Magister Zimmerman held the young Transylvanian, that when he subsequently organized a Chapter of Perfection or Col- legium Pietatis for the purpose of emigrating to the New World, there to meet the great Deliverer, we find Johannes Kelpius, as we will now call him, the second in command, or Deputy Master ; and upon Zimmerman's untimely death at Rotterdam on the eve of embarkation (1693) he became Magister of the Chapter. It was under the guidance of Kelpius that the journey to the New World was safely accomp- lished, where they expected to witness the Millennium, which, according to Zimmennan's astronomical calculations, was to take place in the fall of the year of grace 1694.^*'' Martin Kelp, our Magister's elder ^*^ Hartmann, Magister-buch, 1477-1700, MS. folio, 499, Konigliche Bibliothek, Stuttgart. 224 The Pietists of Provincial Pennsylvania. brother, also became known for his learning."^" He finished his edncation nnder the patronage of Elias Ladiver and Magister Schnitzler, and studied at Hamburg and Leipzig, where he received the degree of Magister. He too died at an early age, the year after his brother left the Fatherland for Pennsylvania. The remaining brother, George Kelp,"^'' also received a liberal education, and subsequently became Burgomaster of Schassburg, the chief city of his native district. He mar- ried into the noble Sternberg family, and afterwards, together with his sons, was knighted, since which time the family has been known as Kelp von Sternberg. It is from this fact that Johannes Kelpius, the Magister on the Wissa- hickon, in the later Moravian records is alluded to as " Baron Kelpio." For some reasons unknown, Kelpius, after he came to Philadelphia, failed to keep in touch with his family in Germany, The Transylvanian chronicler, in closing his '-'*' Rector Martin Kelp was the author of the celebrated work, — '' Natales Saxoiuini Transylvanicr^ Aposciasiitatf Historico collustrati. Resp. Joacii. C/iristiano. li'rstphal, \i'o-/\'upiit-d!e 22 Mart., /6S4. Lipsicr. ^to. '^*'' Uffenbach in his Memoirs gives the following interesting information about George Kelp, the brother of our Magister, who then seems to have been living at Liineburg, in Hanover : "January 28, 17 10, I learned from a resident pastor that a certain person here, named Kelp, had purchased the library of Herr Horn, and then sold the books at Auction. The sale of the Manuscripts, however, had been forbidden by the Magistrates, as there were many of local interest among them. My informant further assured me that Kelp, who had married a daughter of the " Stern" family, was wont to gather together many good things, but afterwards sold them dear enough. "January 30, 17 10. — Called again on the above Herr Kelp and pur- chased from him, at a high price, various books and manuscripts. He is a young, pleasant but capricious man, and notwithstanding the poor ap- pearance of his house, acts big and does not urge one to purchase from him. — Uffenbach Reisen, vol. 1, 4S3, 506. THE PIETISTS OF PROVINCIAL PENNSYLVANIA. . T^J^'^^^^^^^^t^ /Ce^^^ V FROM THE ORIGINAL CANVASS BY DR. CHRISTOPHER WITT, NOW IN THE HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF PENNSYLVANIA. VU^ The Diary of Kelpius. 225 biographical sketch, adds : " Afterwards he journeyed to Pennsylvania, and his Fatherland heard nothinj^ more of him." This statement may be true so far as his immediate family is concerned, for a regular correspondence was main- tained between Kelpius and the leading representatives of similar convictions to his own in England and Germany. This is shown by copies of a number of letters entered in the back of his Journal — one of the two manuscript books in his handwriting that have come down to us. This Journal, as it is usually called, contains loi closely written pages, in addition there is a note upon two of the fly leaves. The first is apparently a quotation from Seneca, and is headed '■''Seneca de reform [Translation.] — "I cannot go beyond my country: it is the one of all ; no one can be banished outside of this. My country is not forbidden to me, but only a locality. Into whatever land I come, I come into my own : none is exile, but on-ly another country. My country is wherever it is well ; for if one is wise he is a traveller ; if foolish an exile. The great principle of virtue is, as he said, a mind gradu- ally trained first to barter visible and transitory things, that it may afterwards be able to give them up. He is delicate to whom his country is sweet ; but he is strong to whom every single thing is his country ; indeed he is perfect to whom every single thing is his countr}- ; indeed he is perfect to whom the world is exile." The next leaf may be called a title, and sets forth that the following are " Literal copies of letters to friends in and out of Pennsylvania, sent from the Wilderness b}- Johanno Kelpio, Transylvania. 1 694-1703-4-5-6-7." The first seventeen pages of the book proper contain a Latin diariuJH of his journey to America. It represents 29 226 TJie Pietists of Provincial Pennsylvania. however, but a small portion of the voluminous correspon- dence which he is known to have maintained with the Theosophical Fraternity in Europe. The contents of this Journal are as follows : Diarium, 17 pages ; ^^^ German letter to Heinrich Johann Deichmann in London, dated September 24, 1697, four pages ; another to the same, dated May 12, 1699, 13 pages; with a seven- page postscript by Seelig. Then follows the well-known English missive to Stephen Mumford, December 11, 1699, seven pages; a Latin letter to Rev. Tobias Eric Biorck, 13 pages ; a twenty-two-page German letter to Maria Elizabeth Gerber in Virginia, dated October 10, 1704 ; one in German of five pages, dated July i, 1705, to his old tutor. Prof. Fabricius, who was then at Helmstadt ; another to Deich- mann, of two and a half pages, dated July 23, 1705 ; and, lastly, the English missive of eleven pages to Hester Pal- mer, in which he describes the " Threefold Wilderness State." -'' The Latin missive addressed to Rev. Tobias Eric Biorck unfortunately bears no date, but as it is inserted between the Mumford letter (December 11, 1699) and the Gerber missive (October 10, 1704) it was undoubtedly written during the period when Rudman and Justus Falkner were active in New York, and appealed to Kelpius and his party for pecuniary assistance. The allusion to money evidently relates to the repayment of a loan made to either the strug-orlino- Dutch congreration in New York or the Swedish churches on the Delaware. The first page of this letter is reproduced in facsimile.^ together with a translation. A spirit of the true religion ''^'^ The first page of this diary is reproduced in facsimile on page 14 of this work. ■^^^ Letter in full, pp. 1S0-191, ibid. Greeting to Didrck. 227 pervades the whole letter, and the allusion to the pious Rudiiian illustrates the intimacy between the mystical Pietists and the Orthodox clergymen in the Province. [TRANSLATION.] "TO REV. MAGISTER ERIC BIORCK, " PASTOR AT CHRISTIANNA. "IMMANUEL. " May Jehovah remember thee, that thon mayest see the good things of his elect ; may he remember thee for the sake of his favor toward his people, that thou mayest rejoice in the joy of his nation. May he visit thee in his salvation, that thou mayest glory in his inheritance. Amen! " Psalm cvi. 4 and 5. " Very reverend Sir and Friend^ Master and friend in Jesus our Sa7)ionr^ ever to be regarded by me zaith fraternal love : " In your beloved letter, written on January 10, and received on January 17, through Mr. Jonas B , I got a twofold proof of your fraternal love, the epistle and the money. Would to God I were truly such as you have out- lined, or such as you have judged me with my most beloved Rudman. By day and by night I attend, indeed, that I ma}' cleanse nn-self from every blemish both of bod}- and of soul, and I perform my rites in the fear of the Lord, and that I may obtain, by grace alone, that which is my pattern by nature, through sincere imitation of Him ; to wit, the adoption as a son, the redemption of our body (Rom. viii, 23. Compare i John iii, 1-2; Phil, iii, 11-15; Gal. iv, 5; Apoc. xix, 8 ; 2 Tim. iv, 8). How many parasangs ""' as yet ^^' Parasang is a Persian measure of length, which, according to Hero- dotus is thirty stadia, or nearly four English miles. But, in different times and places, it has been 30, 40 or 60 stadia. 2 28 TJie Pietists of Provincial Pennsylvania. •r Letter to Magister Fabricius. 229 I mdy be distant from the scope (aim) prefixed for myself, becometh known to the fellow-soldiers (Associates) of those crucified and buried with (in) Christ (Gal, ii, 20), and whom God, rich in mercy through Christ, kept secret (in silence) and awakened and placed in the heavenly [places] in Christ Jesus (Eph. i, 20). Better than myself no one knows [my shortcomings] save alone the searcher of hearts and minds ; for that which our beloved Rudman bore witness concern- ing me, is to be attributed rather to himself (Rudman) and to divine charity, wherewithal his heart was affected : these things also, Paul being a witness (I Cor., xiii). He en- dureth all, believeth all, hopeth all, sustaineth all." [End of the first page.] Another interesting missive in this old diary, and one of the most important, is the German letter written by Kel- pius to his former tutor, Magister Fabricius, then at the head of the Helmstadt University. It runs thus, — [TRANSLATION.] "July 23d, 1705. " To Dr. Fabricius.^ P>'of. TJieol. at Helmstadt : Your Magnificence : — The joy your letter afforded me I am unable, at present, to describe. I did behold in it, as in a mirror, the sincerity & uprightness of my good old mastor, Dr. Fabricius. What dear Mr. Ingelstatter, ex- rettore dei Falkein.^ reported, is true, so far as appertaineth to the principal point, namely, that I have not become a Quaker. Such an idea hath never come into my mind, albeit I love them from my inmost soul, even as I do all other sects that approach & call themselves Christ's, the Paptists even not excluded, &, with Peter, I have found out, in deed & truth, that God regarded not the person, 230 The Pietists of Provi7icial Pennsylvania. but in all sorts of work & religion. He that feareth Him, & doeth what is right, is agreeable to Him. I could report of magnalities (if space permitted) which this great God hath wrought even amongst the Indians, whereof there is some printed notice in the Memoirs of the Phil. Soc. in London, & how they are brought to grief now & then by blind-mouthed Christians. Yet one instance I will report, as abashed Sir W. Penn, when he was here last. Anno 1701 (if I remember rightly) when he wanted to preach to them of faith in the God of Heaven & Earth, at their Kintika (thus they call their festivity). After having listened to him with great patience, they answered : ' You bid us be- lieve in the Creator & Preserver of Heaven & Earth, though you do not believe in Him yourself, nor trust in Him. For you have now made 3^our own the land we held in common amongst ourselves & our friends. You now take heed, night and da}^, how you may keep it, so that no one may take it from you. Indeed, you are anxious even be- yond your span of life, and divide it among your children. This manor for this child, that manor for that child. But we have faith in God the Creator & Preserver of Heaven & Earth. He preserveth the sun, He hath preserved our fathers so many moons (for they count not by years). He preserveth us, and we believe & are sure that He will also preserve our children after us, & provide for them, & be- cause we believe this, we bequeath them not a foot of land.' Whenever we shall be made worthy to see the many and varied dwellings in our Father's house (for who would be so simple, to say these dwellings were all of one sort), it is my belief we shall then see that the same Architect cared little about our common formula & systematic architecture. And, I trow, many disciples of IMoses & Christ, when in want or dying, might be glad if they shall be received in '•'• Restitution of all Tiling s^ 231 any of the liuts, described above, by him, whom they per- haps accused of heresy in this life. I hope that God, who maketh happy both man and beast, & hath mercy on all his children, will, at last, make all men, as died in Adam, alive in the other. But life & death are further distinguished from change, so that those that have been made to live in Christ, must be delivered from the second death. I know that some cranks, spiriti Divines^^ trouble & crucify themselves con- cerning this Lexion theologies (as they call it), but espe- cially the Reprobratites, because these (Restitution of all things) '^^ cancel & crucify their dogmas so very frequently. Meseems, however, their little faith hath its origin in the misunderstanding of the word Eternity^ which neither in Greek nor in Hebrew denoteth a time but an end, but rather the contrary as they have both singular & plural numbers, & Paul even speaketh of the birth of Eternities. But just as the luminaries of the firmament are the dimen- sions of our time, so it seemeth that the Eternities have, also, their dimensions, which, however, those (sensual Man's having not the spirit) cannot well see, wherefore allowance must be made, if they, perchance, judge hereof as the blind do of colors. But if the Lord from out His infinite plentitude should give them the spiritual mind, they will, no doubt, judge otherwise. How wroth I for- merly would wax toward those who would not accept the sayings of Schertzer or Calov"''^ as Oracles. And I trust in ''■'"''■ The doctrine of "Restitution of all Things" is still adhered to by the German Seventh-day Baptist Church in Pennsylvania, and who are the direct descendants of the secular congregation of the Ephrata Com- munity. They believe in " The full restoration of all things to the prime- val condition, as it v^as before the fall, by Christ, that they may be one as we are. ' ' This is based on the following passages in the Holy Scriptures : John xvii, 2 ; I Cor. xv, 28 ; Eph. i, 10. 232 TJie Pietists of Provijicial Pennsylvania. the infinite mercy of God (& your Magnificence also had great patience with nie & to me, indeed, publicly, whereof I have since often been ashamed, but admired }-our Mag- nificence's humility & prudence), why should I then look with evil eye upon my blind neighbor, because God hath, perchance, showed me beforehand the abundance of His Mercy, by opening mine eyes before theirs ? Not to speak of, that I see but little fragments of the fragmentary work & the men of the creation as trees ! But, especially, because I hope to become one in God through Christ both with those who do not yet see as I do, and with those that see much better and farther than I. " Although I proffer this common love in the brotherly love, yet the brotherly love, the Philadelphiac, remains with me on a firm foundation ; whence I was wronged, if I have been called a Quaker on account of the former (common love), or even furthermore, a Papist, as has been done by the Quakers in this country, as I was unwilling to enter the married state, however advantageous the connection, wherefore I was either a Jesuit or an Indian Deitist, although, by the grace of God, it is easy for me to be judged from a human standpoint. Nevertheless I have mercy on such untimely judges and condemners, who are oblivious of the express prohibition of Christ & Paul, though professing to be his disciples ; therefore I can har- monize as little with the canon of the Anglical Church (Confession), as with the anathema of the Council of Trent, '^^■' Abraham Calovius (Kalau), born April 16, 1612, was one of the most celebrated divines of the 17th century, and a native of Morungen, in East Prussia; died February 25, 1686, while General Superintendent and Pro- fessor of Divinity at Wittenberg. He was one of the leading controver- sional writers of the period, and as the representative of the scholastic and zelotic Lutherdom opposed the union of the Protestant Church, in consequence of which his followers were called Calovians. THE PIETISTS OF PROVINCIAL PENNSYLVANIA. PORTRAIT OF MAGISTER FABRICIUS, TUTOR AND FRIEND OF KELPIUS. THOM AN OLD COPPERPLATE AT HELMSTADT. The Anglican Faith. 233 tlioiigh having no part in the errors mentioned. To the honor of the Anglical Church, I must confess, that they practice the Doctrine of universal grace much better than the Lutherans. " Their 39 Theses, or Articles (I had almost said 40 less one) are so mild and general, that they can be accepted by any one, who is not too narrowminded and of too little faith. If any one amongst them have but a private view, as, for instance, concerning the universal restitution, the Millennium, the Metemptosis,^''"' etc., he is, on that account, not excommunicated forthwith, especially, if he make them but serviceable to the practice of piety, not for the instituting of Sects, although they deem the Quaker Sect the last, «& that the Lord would now soon come to His Temple, forasmuch as the opinion concerning the Millen- nium is quite correct both amongst them and the Presby- terians, or Calvinists, both in Old and New England, as well as here, and even amongst the Quakers themselves a few years ago. It is consequently wrong to place all these into one category. The majority of them are just as worldly in their opinions, as any of the great divisions may be, & if all their members should be subjected to a particular examination on some points of Religion — the result would be, as amongst others — so many heads, so many opinions, as I have found out in mine own experience." [Here the letter ends abruptly.] Most of the letters in this volume are somewhat rhapso- dical, and filled with obscure illusions to mystical subjects and scriptural quotations. A vein of true piety, however, pervades every missive, the whole being an evidence of the survival of superstition at that late day, strangely mingled with the observed facts 30 234 ^^^^ Pietisi's of Provincial Pennsylvania. of science, which, as a late writer states,^'* is one of the cnriosities of spiritnal development in all times. This unique book is now in the possession of Mr. Charles J. Wistar, of Germantown. Well-founded traditions state that some years after Kelpius' death the book was given to Johannes Wiister, an ancestor of the present owner, either by Seelig or by Matthai ; most probably the latter, as Wiister cared for the old recluse in his declining years. The other book contains a number of hymns, written both in German and English, and in most cases the musical score of the melody is neatly written at the commencement of the hymn, showing that Kelpius was a practical musician as well as a poet and philosopher. This hymn-book is about 5x7^ inches in size, and is a specimen of Seelig's proficiency in the bookbinder's art. It was for many years in possession of the Warmer family of Germantown, and eventually passed successively into the hands of William W. Leibert, who gave it to A. H. Cassel, of Harleyville, Montgomery County, from whom it finally came into the collection of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, where it has now found a permanent resting place. This unique volume of seventy pages contains twelve hymns and melodies. It is evidently a duplicate of a simi- lar manuscript collection, or else it is a compilation from loose sheets upon which were originalh' written such hymns as were in common use in the services at the Tabernacle. The hymns are written in German on the left hand pages, while on the opposite pages is an attempt at a metrical translation in English. The musical score as well as the hymns are all in the peculiar handwriting of Kelpius, and, like his diary, the book affords us an insight into his relieious fervor. ^^* Francis Howard Williams. K>iorr vou RoscnrotJi. 235 Most of the hymns are written somewhat after the style of the celebrated Christian Knorr, Baron von Rosenroth,-'^' whose name is qnoted in connection with the melody of several of the compositions. Kelpius became acquainted with Knorr during his so- journ at the university, and it is supposed that he first intro- duced the youthful student into the secrets of Cabbalistic philosophy. The title, together with a specimen page of the Kelpius hymn book, in both German and English, is reproduced in facsimile. An additional value is imparted to this quaint little book from the falct that it is evidently the first book of hymnology or German poetry and music that was com- posed and written in the western world. It is, however, just to state that Kelpius was not the only poet and com- poser among the original party of Theosophical emigrants ; Koster, as well as the Falkner brothers, also composed hymns that have survived until the present time, as will be shown in a future chapter. The English translations are mere paraphases, and fail to convey the full fervor and meaning of the German original. ^^^ Christian Knorr, Baron v. Rosenroth, was born at Altrauden, in Silesia, July 15, 1636. After studying at the universities of Leipzig and Wittenberg, he made an extended tour through France, England and Holland. At Amsterdam he became acquainted with an Armenian prince ; with the chief Rabbi, Meir Stern, from Frankfort ; a M. Dr. John Light- foot, Dr. Henry More, and others, and as a result devoted himself to the study of Oriental languages, of chemistry and of occult and Cabbalistic philosophy. He edited various Rabbinical writings, published several Cabbalistical works, notably his Kabbala Denudata ( 2 vols. Sulzbach, 1677). He, however, is chiefly known by his hymns, published in Nurem- berg, 1684, under the title " Neuer Helicon Mil Seitier Neun Musen ; das its, Geistliche Siiten Lieder, &r." A number of these hymns were incor- porated in the Halle Hymnal, 1704 {Geistreicher Lieder), since when they have been translated into difl'erent languages, and are now used by nearly all Protestant denominations throughout the world. 236 The Pietists of Provincial Pennsylvania. of the at the itine ^ j- . . t^ceii fke fay in IH/er^ ^f^'^^'' Oftd cpre^^y ^/^^ mufhtiid^ ^ Mr S^^f'^'^^ Xeio(/ce. not su^tfj/f nil C mineCneMiy^tJl^ y;/c^7f/J.c^ a^, (oA en f/it //< d^Jte^, Hi^ Jtd^/i^twfi 0/ ^^^^^j B^aii/d fAaUeycMMd f^