THE MENNONITE BROTHERHOOD IN RUSSIA (1789 - 1910), P. M. Friesen, 1911

in the home of the old Dirks. Dirks is a farmer of handsome, indeed noble stature, with blue eyes. His total outward appearance speaks of wealth. The love and brotherly affection of the nearly gray-haired farmer have deep roots in Christianity. He is also a minister, as they say here, an ‘admonisher’ (Vermahner) f?!_l of the congregation. His stepson, Peter Bartel, is also a minister. We were soon at Dirks’ house, where his son-in-law, both farmer and song leader [Vorsaenger] of the congregation, is now farming. He was standing in front of the long clean building dressed in festive attire, i.e., in shirt sleeves; next to him stood his wife with their nine month old daughter, Mariechen, in her arms. The lovely young wife is the very picture of rustic simplicity and Christian innocence. She kissed the hand 65 of the famous stranger and led him into the house. First they passed through the large living room where a great deal of pewter stood along the wall, then through the bedroom with its two beds which had a small bedspread on top in order, it seemed, to accentuate the white sheets underneath even more. In the center of the bedspread one could see the initials of the married couple’s first names sewn in in red satin. The wife was very happy that I liked it. Finally we came to the ‘end room,’ which can be found in all the larger farm houses here, a kind of extension of the main building . 68 A person is ‘hosted’ in this room, i.e., is put up here; it is intended for strangers and Mends alike. Here the table was set and the hostess made her appearance to serve us. The men, with the exception of the host, took their seats around the table and immediately began lively conversations concerning the church and the kingdom of God, which I directed as much as possible to their congregation. Later I also learned to know all of their ‘ admonisher s,” first and foremost the vigorous Kopper, who is called the ‘head’ [?] and elder of the congregation; he is the leader of all and the dispenser of the sacraments. They all made an indelible impression upon me. The seriousness, the love and wisdom, which are solely fruits of the Gospel, all of which was combined with the greatest unpretentiousness, shamed me deeply. If you wish to remind me of this some Sunday evening in the winter, I will tell you more; now I do not have the time. After an hour we drove further into the Vistula lowlands. The land is productive and is cultivated in the manner of the ‘Vierlaender. ^Incredible suffering is brought upon this region by the Vistula’s constant flooding; the water rises four, five, indeed up to seven feet in the houses. When this happens Customs and Character 83 everything is moved up into the loft, even the animals, cows, horses and pigs. I have inspected a few such houses more closely. It is peculiar that the farmer, who still builds houses in the old style, has everything under one roof 68 which makes things very hand