A branch or colony from the parent society, under the pastoral care of Rev. Wm. Metcalfe, consisting of only eight members, came in 1817 and established itself in Philadelphia. They were incorporated as a society in 1830. In 1846 the number of their church members was about seventy, besides thirty who adhered to their abstemious habits, but were not in full communion. During the thirty years ending in 1846, twelve of their number died--four children and eight adults. The average age of the latter was fifty-seven years. Of the seventy now belonging to the society, nineteen are between forty and eighty years of age; and forty, in all, over twenty-five. Of the whole number, twelve have abstained from animal food thirty-seven years, seven from twenty to thirty years, and fifty-one never tasted animal food or drank intoxicating drinks. And yet they are all--if we except Mr. Metcalfe, their minister--of the laboring class, and hard laborers, too. Their strength and power of endurance is fully equal to their neighbors in similar circumstances, and in several instances considerably superior. Mr. Fowler, the phrenologist, testifies, concerning one of them, that he is regarded as the strongest man in Philadelphia. I have long had acquaintance with this sect, through Mr. M., of Philadelphia, and Mr. Simpson, one of their leading men in England, and have not a doubt of the truth of what has been publicly stated concerning them. They are a modest people, and make few pretensions; and yet they are a very meritorious people. One thing very much to their advantage, as it shows the health-giving, health-preserving tendency of their practice and principles, remains to be related. When the yellow fever prevailed in Philadelphia, in 1818 and 1819, the infection seemed specially rife in the immediate vicinity of the Bible Christians. So, also, in 1832, with the cholera. And yet none of them fled. There they remained during the whole period of suffering, and afforded their sick neighbors all the relief in their power. Their minister, in particular, was unwearied in his efforts to do good. Yet not one of their little number ever sickened or died of either yellow fever or cholera. Till within a few years, they have been governed solely by regard to religious principle, having known little of Physiology or any other science bearing on health. Of late, however, they have turned their attention to the subject, and have among them a respectable Physiological society, which holds its regular meetings, and is said to be flourishing. From one of their publications, entitled "Vegetable Cookery," I have extracted the following very brief summary of their views concerning the use of animals for sustenance.