Page:The Homes of the New World- Vol. II.djvu/185

Rh In the midst of our conversation young Lowell came bounding up the stairs and into the room where I sate with the Shaker company, and his handsome, fresh, and animated countenance, beaming with life and cordiality, shone like a May sun in upon that pale, although kind assembly. He and Maria were just arrived, and we had a cordial meeting in the midst of the Shaker sisters, who smiled gently and watched us, not without sympathy. They now invited us all to come and take supper with them, but the Lowells were going to the Lebanon Wells, because Maria required rest. The S.'s and I, therefore, went down with our Shaker friends into a hall, where a table was spread for us, with tea, milk, bread and butter, cakes, and preserves, and of all a great abundance. We were waited upon by the sisters; two of the brothers sate down to table with us, but without partaking of anything. Rebecca S. said to one of the sisters who waited upon us as she bent down to offer her something, “You look so good that I must kiss you!” Many sisters came in to see us. I observed some middle-aged women with remarkably good and noble countenances. A calm and mild gravity distinguished them all. They made me feel as during a mild but dull September day in Sweden. The air is then pure, the fields still green, it is agreeable, and it is calm, but a certain air of melancholy rests upon the landscape; it is wanting in sun, flowers, and the song of the birds; nothing grows, all stands still, and it by chance a bird utters a little twittering song, it is soon at an end. That mild, calm, September atmosphere suits me very well nevertheless, and the Shaker sisters seemed to see with satisfaction the evident interest which we felt for them and their society. They were heartily kind and agreeable, much more so than I could have believed as I saw them during the occurrences of the forenoon.

When we took leave of them I said, “I salute you all