lenities

No talking or whispering when passing through the tasteful courts to their work, their school, their meetings, or their meals; a still, soft walk on tiptoe, and an indistinct closing of doors in the house; a gentle, yet a more brisk movement in the shops; a free and jovial conversation when by themselves in the fields; but not a word, unless when spoken to, when other brethren than their care-takers were present -- such were the orders we saw rigorously enforced, and the lenities we freely granted.

The Communistic Societies of the United States From Personal Visit and Observation Charles Nordhoff 1865