course of life, yet his mother, grandmother and aunts seemed unwilling to relax their authority or to look upon him in any other light than as a darling and dependent child. He at length yielded to their wishes with many tears and took up his abode in the court. Still, as might have been expected, he did not find himself at home in his new employment, and during the five years he passed at Dresden, he scarcely put his hand to any civil employment. The only exceptions were cases in which his advice and aid could be of service to the poor and friendless. His delight was in religious conversation, in social prayer-meetings, (in which he found a coädjutor in Dr. Löscher, church superintendent at Dresden,) and in efforts to promote the spiritual good of all, both high and low, with whom he came in contact. Noblemen and courtiers shared in his friendly counsels and warnings, as well as the poorest artisan and peasant. In Dresden I held every Sunday," he writes, "without any opposition from my civil or ecclesiastical superiors, a public religious service with open doors for every one who wished to attend. The wonder was only this, that I was a preacher, who in obedience to his parents, wore a sword and became a member of the government, but whose whole heart, at the same time, was on the preaching of the gospel." " In the meantime, the situation of the two religious parties in Germany had somewhat changed. The old orthodox or Lutheran party had acquired more zeal and warmth in their religious services, while the Halle pietists were nearly stationary. This circumstance, among other facts, induced Zinzendorf to refrain from giving his allegiance to either party. At the same time he determined to assemble from men of all shades of opinion the genuine friends of the Redeemer, the true children of God, and in this higher communion to overlook all outward distinctions. This plan took entire possession of his soul and spread over the future an indescribable interest. His grandmother, in pursuance of his design, purchased for him the estate of Bertholdsdorf, adjoining Grosshennersdorf. The building of a house had been before commenced. Here he now contemplated founding a community composed of his numerous dependents, and in accordance with his own ideas. As an assistant he selected Andrew Rothe, a preacher whose piety and intellectual gifts were held in high esteem. After providing for the spiritual necessities of the community, Zinzendorf sought for a companion of like mind with himself who would give her attention to the secular affairs. His 1846.] The Character of his Wife. 555 choice, after much deliberation, fell upon the countess Erdmuth Dorothea von Reuss, sister of his friend at Ebersdorf. He had fully ascertained, before the connection was formed, that she was prepared, like himself, to leave home and country, at the command of the Lord, and with staff in hand, to go to the heathen. In order to free himself from worldly care, he put into her hands, at the same time, all his estate. In 1732, he gave her complete possession of it. In one of his works he describes her as, "a virtuous, well-educated countess, who had already given up those vanities, which both in respect to words and actions present so formidable an obstacle to the progress of the gospel. She still exhibited in herself the happy traces of that beautiful communion which Spener had held with her grandmother, Benigna. That her husband might not be troubled, she assumed alone, from the first day of her marriage, the entire administration of household matters, and though the property which she had to manage was only moderate, still the simple foundation for our undertakings required more than a million of thalers; this trust, for twenty-six years, she so executed, that neither in the house nor on the estates nor in the community, was there any complaint. For those who know her and her labors, it is not necessary to say that she devoted herself as a nursing mother to the Lord and his church." In another place he writes: "I have found from twenty-five years' experience, that the help-meet whom I had, was the only one who could have fitted in to all the ends and corners of my vocaWho had so perfect an acquaintance in my household? Who lived so unblamably before the world? Who stood by me so intelligently in renouncing a dry morality? Who comprehended so fundamentally the Phariseeism which had forced its way down through all these years? Who had so perfect an insight into those erring spirits who from time to time had mixed themselves with us? Who could have provided so prudently and abundantly for my household needs for so many years? Who could live so economically and still so generously? Who at the fitting times could be so lowly and yet so lofty? Who could so represent the character now of a servant, now of a mistress, without affecting, either any peculiar spirituality or worldly-mindedness? Who could undertake and endure such astonishing journeys by land and sea? Who knew how so well both to honor and despise the world?" "With a weak body," says Müller, "she had a well-balanced and cultivated mind, a manly courage, and the softest, sweetest and kindest heart." "She was not made," remarks Spangenberg, " to be a copy; she was an original, and though she cordially loved and honored her husband, yet she reflected on, all subjects with so much judgment that she might be regarded in a degree rather as a sister and friend." After the death of her darling son, Christian Renatus, in 1752, which deeply afflicted her, she lost more and more her inclination for business. Weary of life and of its many hard labors and heavy cares, this noble woman at length entered into the joy of her Lord, June 19, 1756, after a sickness which was attended with little pain. She was greatly bewailed by all the members of the community, who had familiarly called and known her as "the mother." She had six sons and six daughters, most of whom died early. Three daughters only survived their father: Benigna, who was married to John von Watteville; Maria Agnes, married to the count Maurice von Dohna, likewise a member of the brotherhood at Herrnhut; and Elizabeth, whose husband was the baron Frederic von Watteville. These daughters followed in the steps of their parents with great zeal and fidelity, remained in the community and are now remembered with much honor. Settlement at Herrnhut. Christianity was first planted in Bohemia and Moravia by missionaries of the Greek church. When the Latin church obtained the ascendancy in those countries, a great part of the people continued true to their earlier faith, esteeming it as the most pure. With these the Waldenses were connected; John Huss and his followers contended for them with the Bible and with the sword, and the subject of religion became with them the great national question. But the exertions of the Moravians and Bohemians proved abortive; their church, persecuted and oppressed by the Roman Catholic, and cut off from the Greek communion, was compelled to seek in obscurity the means for its further existence and advancement. Deprived of outward resources, its adherents were compelled to cultivate inward affection, and thus became more like the primitive Christians, than any religious community of modern times. They were in fact and in name UNITED BRETHREN. Luther's Reformation awakened them to new life; their belief essentially coincided with his. The same fate which befel all the evangelical communions in those regions, during and after the Thirty Years' War, abolished all remaining differences. Many, in consequence of cruel per 1846.] Origin of the Settlement at Herrnhut. 557 secutions, had wandered to other lands, for example to Poland, Prussia and Saxony, where they founded churches. In Bohemia and Moravia, being wholly deprived of freedom, they were compelled to conceal their faith, as they were their books, and retain it only in the deepest silence. In the beginning of the eighteenth century, the terms which the terrible approach of Charles XII. of Sweden extorted from the emperor Joseph I., in favor of the Protestants in Silesia, awakened considerable hope; but it expired with the retreat and fall of that warrior. Among the Protestants in some districts of Moravia and Bohemia, persecuted anew about the year 1720, there was a revival of religious zeal. Many now satisfied the desire which they had long cherished of freedom in religious worship, and joined their brethren in foreign lands. A carpenter, Christian David by name, was particularly helpful in this emergency. He had before left his abode, Senftleben in Moravia, reached Berlin, and was there living in communion with the evangelical church. Eight years earlier, he had earnestly sought the Saviour. In Görlitz, where he practised his trade and constantly attended upon the awakening sermons of Schäfer and Schwedler, he first attained true peace of mind. He here became acquainted with the candidate Rothe, and through him with Zinzendorf, who had just before returned from his travels. To the latter he made known the melancholy condition of some of his brethren in Moravia. Zinzendorf immediately engaged to receive the oppressed families and to provide a place of refuge for them. He at first thought of Ebersdorf; but as obstacles thwarted him in this direction, he determined to find an asylum at Bertholdsdorf, which about this time came into his possession. Meanwhile, three Moravian families, accompanied by the zealous Christian David, came, in the spring of 1822, to Upper Lusatia, first visiting Schwedler in Niederwiese, then Schäfer in Gorlitz, by whom they were recommended to Grosshennersdorf. Thence they repaired to Bertholdsdorf. The poor exiles were not able, as they greatly desired, to take up their abode in the village. A place was selected in a forest, protected by a hill, on the Zittau road. The spot seems not to have had anything inviting, for the company counted less on external advantages than the aid of the Almighty. In the meantime, they depended on what was given or lent to them. The countess of Gersdorf sent them a cow which supplied milk for the small children. She also assigned them the necessary timber for building. Christian David struck his axe into a tree, with the words, VOL. III. No. 11. 49 "Here has the swallow found his house and the sparrow her nest, even thine altars, O Lord of hosts!" On the 17th of June, 1722, they felled the first tree for the first house built in what was afterwards HERRNHUT. They prosecuted the work with so much zeal, that the house was ready to be occupied in the beginning of October. Heitz, the pious domestic tutor, made a speech at its dedication. He gave occasion to the name by which the place was afterwards known, in a letter then written to Zinzendorf, in which he expressed the wish that the dwelling might always remain under the protection of the Lord (unter des Herrn Hut), and its inmates always rely on the protection of the Lord. Hitherto, Marche (domestic tutor at Grosshennersdorf) and Heitz had prosecuted the undertaking with the aid of the countess of Gersdorf, and with the cognizance and from the means of Zinzendorf, but without his particular knowledge or coöperation. On the 22d of December, when he was on the road, with his bride, to Grosshennersdorf, he was surprised to perceive a house newly built in a forest. Still, he heartily rejoiced when he learned that it was the dwelling of the poor Moravian exiles. He at once went to them, welcomed them to the spot, knelt down and gave thanks to the Saviour, whose blessing on the undertaking he earnestly implored. He exhorted the people to have good courage, to keep up their trust in God; and then went on his way. It was important above all things, in the view of Zinzendorf, to lead all his people at Bertholdsdorf in the path of true piety. Yet, in accordance with Spener's suggestion, he intended to found only small churches to be in communion with the established Lutheran communion. He had not yet conceived of more extensive plans. The office, which he held as landlord, led him to administer the secular affairs of the establishment. These he did not mix with his spiritual duties, for he believed that the civil arm had no authority over the conscience; in like manner he believed that a true pastor would not call in the aid of the secular power in order to extend the faith; either would occasion only detestable hypocrisy and utter ruin. His preacher, Rothe, whose discourses were very impressive, lent him the most necessary assistance. Schäfer of Gorlitz also took an active part in the enterprise. These three together with Frederic von Watteville, (Zinzendorf's friend from the time of his abode at Halle,) regarded themselves as brothers closely united, whose whole life was set apart to promote the kingdom of God. Watteville was a man of fervent piety and of a noble heart. His gentle nature and |