When vespers were given upon noteworthy occasions a decided tone of elegance was given to the affair. Ancestral silver was brought out; the finest and heaviest of linens, handwoven, with crests or initials of the owner in the corners; Old Meissen or Spode china; and the Baron Stiegel glass in some families. The every-day sugar cake gave way to sponge, or "baba" cakes... White grape jelly was also considered a very great dainty to serve at vesper. -from "A Tranquil Community" In December 1740, a small group of German pilgrims arrived in the British colony of Pennsylvania, intent on founding a settlement of the Moravian Church in the New World. By the era of the Civil War, more than a century later, a vigorous and lively society of active women-driven by faith and the desire to go good-had significantly influenced the lives of their neighbors and the community around them. This delightful 1918 work traces the history of these capable women, in a gentle but puissant reminder of the dramatic impact the work of women has had on the shaping of America. American writer ELIZABETH LEHMAN MYERS (1869-1936) authored numerous papers on local Pennsylvania history.