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condescending manners could not, indeed, prevent the disputes and misunderstandings which sometimes occurred in their religious conferences. On account of these contentions, Zinzendorf sometimes kneeling alone before the Saviour, poured out bitter

tears.

The conferences, in which, from time to time, other persons participated, were at a later period, greatly extended, and were not without a living influence on the community. Still, Zinzendorf's zeal did not content itself with such manifestations, but multiplied channels for active exertion. As occasion offered he composed extempore spiritual hymns and odes in the freest measure, often adorned with the boldest and most startling figures. These effusions were indeed more remarkable for emotion than for judgment or taste. Still, they greatly promoted his own spiritual edification and that of many others. He possessed, also, a popular style of speaking, sometimes diversifying the religious meetings with dialogues and animated conversations. He thus became a kind of deacon or catechist to the pastor Rothe. In the afternoon of the Sabbath, he held a meeting in a hall in his own house, and went over the morning discourse which had been preached in the church, interspersing free remarks and sometimes correcting the opinions that Rothe had advanced. In consequence of these repeated services of the four individuals alluded to, in addition to the zealous coöperation of Heitz and Christian David, many persons were awakened to a deeper sense of the importance of religion and became zealous adherents of their spiritual guides. Pious people from the vicinity also resorted to Herrnhut, to share in its religious privileges, while new exiles from Moravia here found a quiet home.

Organization of the Community at Herrnhut.

Among other wants, Zinzendorf discovered a great lack of practical works on religion. With the aid of the countess of Gersdorf, he established a printing office in order to supply the poor people in the vicinity with cheap religious works, as well as with the Bible. On account of some serious obstacles, this press was removed from Lusatia to Ebersdorf, where it was usefully employed for several years. Not less zeal was manifested in favor of a project for establishing a school for poor children. A noble lady, Zetzwitsch by name, who was subsequently married to one of the Wattevilles, removed to Bertholdsdorf, and took charge of poor girls, and thus laid the foundation of the girls'

school afterwards set up at Herrnhut. A school for children of higher rank was also contemplated. The resemblance of these establishments to those at Halle is obvious. The people at Herrnhut soon received a new accession of pilgrims from Moravia, some of whom had been a long time imprisoned and otherwise grievously persecuted. Christian David visited Moravia and sought out the villages where the descendants of the Brethren of ancient times lived. By his exhortations and those of two intrepid men, David and Melchior Nitschmann, the people were much excited, and came together at night by hundreds, in secret places, to sing and pray. These movements could not be long concealed. The civil authorities interfered, some were cast into prison and were menaced with the loss of life. In these extremities, five young men, threatened with a new imprisonment, fled in the silence of the night, fell down on their knees, on a spot in front of their native place, implored for themselves and their brethren the protection of the Almighty, and then went on their way through the wildest mountains, singing:

"O happy day when I must leave," etc.,

which had been sung in like circumstances, centuries before. They came to the house of Schwedler at Niederwiese, who commended them in a letter to Zinzendorf at Herrnhut. There they arrived on the 12th of May, 1724, at the moment that Watteville was laying the foundation stone of a building for a hall or chapel. Here they listened to a fervent dedicatory discourse from Zinzendorf, who prayed that God would suffer the building to stand no longer than it should be an abode of love and peace to the glory of the Saviour. Still, the circumstances of the new community were not those of unmingled prosperity. Men of various mental peculiarities and religious sentiments had here found an asylum. The conflicting opinions of the Lutherans and the Reformed in respect to the Lord's Supper, occasioned not a little difficulty. Hetz, a zealous member of the Reformed communion, left the service of the count; still the Lutheran view was far from being predominant. Enthusiastic or fanatical opinions also crept in. Some of the poor mechanics and day-laborers, inflamed with sectarian zeal, came out in direct opposition to their learned pastors and noble patron. The first settlers at Herrnhut were men of a fervent spirit, but scarcely instructed in the doctrines of salvation. On the other hand the five brethren, who had just come from Moravia, were genuine descendants of the ancient Moravi

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In

an Brethren, and held fast to the church-organization of their ancestors. The commingling of men of various opinions at Herrnhut, seemed to them to preclude all hope of reviving the usages to which they were so much attached. When they zealously spoke of the necessity of reëstablishing the discipline and order of the Moravian Brethren, no one seemed to understand or approve their design. The consequences, as might be expected, were irritating remarks, strifes and danger of an open rupture. These events were a source of the deepest grief to the count, who began to doubt of the expediency of admitting any more exiles from Moravia. Still, he did not withdraw his protection from those who were already there. His compassion triumphed over his displeasure, and in spite of indignant feelings which would sometimes break forth, he manifested, on the whole, towards his numerous dependants such forbearance, that his moderation became itself an occasion of finding fault with him. reference to this unhappy state of things, Zinzendorf wrote: "My best apology in respect to this matter is, that many persons of the description that we have here, the Saviour has already taken home as the trophy of his long-suffering. In the garden of the Lord there are trees which one must let stand this year and the next, in hope that in the following year some little fruit will ap. pear." He sought not to disgrace them, or embitter their feel. ings; on the contrary, he watched for every trace of a better mind, and when anything faulty had disappeared, he thought nothing further of it. In this way alone, by the power of a friendly heart and by his genuine piety, he held his little community together in a manner truly wonderful. His Sabbath exercises in Bertholdsdorf often lasted from six o'clock, A. M. till midnight. The people of Herrnhut often brought a piece of bread in their pockets, and on no account were the religious services omitted for the sake of eating. With much pains, Zinzendorf succeeded in uniting those to the church communion who had withdrawn ; and, finally, May 12, 1725, after three days' conference which extended into the night, a plan of agreement in respect to religious doctrine was happily adopted.

Zinzendorf's civil duties did not interfere in the least with these pious labors. Often when he went to Dresden, it was chiefly or wholly to promote the enterprise on which his heart was set. At that fashionable capital, he experienced much opposition, not only from the enemies and revilers of the gospel, but from well meaning friends who misunderstood his motives.

Still he went on his course unterrified. "I belong to the number of those," he writes, "whom the Lord has called from darkness into light. Therefore I must testify of the light. I am called one of the nobles of this world; I must enjoy the privileges of one. I am consequently bound, more than others, to bear witness of the light." The opposition of the people of rank to his views led him to mingle more and more with the middling and lower classes, among which he found not a few of the excellent of the earth. He continued the religious service at his own house, where many assembled, some of whom made no pretensions to piety. The count was also actively employed in preparing and circulating religious books and tracts. He translated Arndt's four books on "True Christianity" into French, dedicated the book to the Cardinal Noailles, and sent it by Watteville to Paris. About this time the establishment at Herrnhut received a fresh accession of strength from Silesia. These persons were devout in feeling yet but little instructed in doctrine. Zinzendorf sought rather to lead them to the Saviour than proselyte them to the Lutheran creed. At the same time, his missionary zeal led him to undertake the evangelization of some of the Wendish tribes who dwelt in the vicinity. In these toils his venerable grand-mother coöperated, bearing her part with him in the expense of an edition of the Bible in the Wendish dialect. This excellent lady died in 1726. For twelve years, on account of age and weakness, she rarely left her house. But when she saw her end drawing near, she went to Herrnhut, there to bestow her last blessing. In the meanwhile, the count labored with great diligence in favor of the persecuted brethren in Moravia. David Nitschmann who had gone home to visit his father, was seized and cast into prison. In order to liberate him Zinzendorf journeyed to Moravia, but without success. On his return he held interesting religious services with his friends in Silesia, in Ebersdorf, Leipsic, Halle, in Lusatia and in Dresden. At Halle he had much interesting conversation with the well-known Christian Thomasius, who entertained some doubts in respect to the utility of Zinzendorf's labors at Herrnhut. On his return the count devoted special attention to an edition of the Bible to which he prefixed a preface, and which was accompanied with notes by Rothe and others. Meanwhile, a lawyer of Voigtland, who had become disaffected with his clergy at home, went to Herrnhut, and though kindly received by the count, employed his whole time to sow dissensions in the community. His zeal at length terminated in insanity. He left

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Herrnhut and after some time died. But his works of evil followed him. The Moravian brethren, with few exceptions, left the church and communion at Bertholdsdorf. Some of them were mean enough to spread the most infamous reports in relation to the count. They called him the beast who had given his power to Rothe, the false prophet. The affair excited no little commotion and made in all quarters a bad impression. Herrnhut had become a nest of sectaries. Zinzendorf, though not wanting in confidence and courage, seemed to be somewhat deficient in the means of forming a sound judgment in the emergency. He had not that acquaintance with the doctrines of religion and the history of the church which would have enabled him to extricate himself from these embarrassments. Something more was wanted than kind feelings and warm-hearted piety. At the same juncture a violent outcry was raised against him at Dresden. His religious meetings were broken up, and there were not a few other indications of his unpopularity, even with the court and the clergy. In these circumstances, he concluded, with the assent of his mother and other friends, to resign his office at Dresden and take up his permanent abode at Herrnhut. His first endeavor was to effect such an arrangement of duties as would promise harmony to the community. He formed a fraternal agreement with the pastor Rothe, by which the rights and duties of the church patron and of the pastor were respectively determined. Rothe was to assume the entire pastoral care at Bertholdsdorf, while the count, as the unordained catechist of Rothe, was to proceed, according to his own discretion at Herrnhut. The members of the community were made fully acquainted with the plan and offered no objection. The count, so as to be free from secular cares, now fully committed to his wife and to Frederic von Watteville all the domestic and financial arrangements of the establishment. Watteville also took part in the spiritual duties, and devoted himself to his work zealously and with an excellent spirit. Zinzendorf, also, now felt that he could gratify the single desire of his heart and labor only for his Saviour, undisturbed by court intrigues and the scorn of an ungodly generation. Still, he found the Moravians quite refractory. They pertinaciously clung to the ancient usages of their church, and declared that they would seek a new asylum rather than adopt any other church organization. In this exigency, the count, after he had thoroughly examined the ground of their religious feelings and opinions, and found them evangelical, and after he had laid