in musical practice, under the
direction of a superintendant. The walls of the large hall, where the
society dine, are adorned with paintings, chiefly Scripture pieces,
executed by members. Various branches of trade and manufacture are
carried on, the profits of which go to the general stock; and, from
this, all are supplied with the necessaries of life. Their whole time
is spent in labour, and in prayer; except an hour in the evening, which
is allotted for a concert. Among the Moravians marriage is contracted in
a singular manner. If a young man has an inclination to marry, he makes
application to the priest, who presents a young woman, designated by the
superintendant as the next in rotation for marriage. Having left the
parties together for an hour, the priest returns, and, if they consent
to live together, they are married the next day; if otherwise, each is
put at the bottom of the list, containing perhaps sixty or seventy
names; and, on the part of the girl, there is no chance of marriage,
unless the same young man should again feel disposed for matrimony. When
united, a neat habitation, with a pleasant garden, is provided; and
their children, at the age of six years, are placed in the seminary. If
either of the parties die, the other returns to the apartment of the
single people. In the Moravian establishment at Bethlehem, there is a
tavern, with extensive and excellent accommodations.]

Madame de Stael, in describing the Moravians, says, "Their houses and
streets are peculiarly neat. The women all dress in the same manner,
conceal their hair, and surround their heads with a ribbon, the colour
of which indicates whether they are single, married, or widows. The men
dress in brown, somewhat like quakers. A mercantile industry occupies
nearly the whole community; and all their labours are performed with
peculiar regularity and tranquillity." Mr. Hall attended one of the
meetings which the inhabitants of Bethlehem commonly hold every evening,
for the joint purposes of amusement and devotion. The women were ranged
at one end of the room, and the men at the other. Their bishop presided:
he was an old man, dressed in the plainest manner, and possessed a
countenance singularly mild and placid. He gave out a psalm, and led the
choir; and the singing was alternately in German and English.

There is another Moravian settlement about a mile and a half from
Nazareth. This, though small, exceeds both the others, in the calm an