The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1843-11-19
Lowell.
Correspondence of the Herald

LOWELL, Nov. 10, 1S43.
Fatory- girl Literatwe-hs reality-,ts beauty-it,
trnth-Charms Of the Factory Girls-their prettv
dtn,pes and rosy cheeks-Hayriet Fariv, the mis-
tress spirit of the girls.
To THE EDITOR THE New YORK HERALD
In your paper of the 10th instant there is an az
tack upon the Lowell Offering, to which nv atten.
ton was directed yesterday afternoon, and which
1t seems was written by spy in Lowell Who
| tins spy Is, what may be his motives in making
| assertions, which, supposng they were true, he
could not know to be facts--I know moi, But his
| undeniable facts, relative to the Offering, | can
| prove to be false.
He says, In the first place, that the Offering has
been issued under the patronage of the companies
| have never known that the companies as s,ch
ever had any thing to do with it. But do know
that the two former proprietors Of the Offering did
not receive from them that patronage 10 which
| they thought it entitled The superintendants of
! the mills have usually subscribed for two
| three, or more representatives ten. The veal
thiest man IN The city has responded more ge-
nerously than this, TO our personal appeal the pre-
sent year. But the Offering has never been a com
| pany concern. II was not established or written.
for the subservlence of their interests. They have
| with few exceptions, looked favoraby ,ipon il
and should be truly displrlted If we were Obliged
to contend against them, in addition to our other
warfare. Your correspondent says, that for two
years. II has been issued professedlv under the sole
editorials charge of the females who work in the
| mills. The two first volumes made no such profess
| slon-they were edited by the proprietor, and the
editorial distinguished from the contributions by
difference OF type. and by being placed upon the
cover. The last volume was edited by myself and
with no assistance or oversight from any one else
The name of factory GIRL" think fairly won by
almost unremtng labor, in the mills for the half
| dozen previous years. My time for the last year,
| has been divided between my mill labors and edi-
| torial duties; for the care of a magazine would
have been heavy addition TO twelve thirteen, or
lahn diap,
In addition TO editorial labors. shall, i'm the en-
suing volume, add those of publication or rather
the latter duties, responsibilities, &c, will be shared
with friend, who has also abored here for years.
| There is something very ungenerous in attacks
| upon "A magazine published by young female opera
| tlves-taking from them their character, by
| representing them impostors, and endeavornC
| to ruin the character of the work upon which more
| than their all is rlsked.
| Your correspondent says, that 'not more than a
dozen of the factory girls ever wrote a line for the
Offerng, and that nearly all the original articles
were written by three four" and that ''this is an
| undeniable truth"
will prove his assertions false. Our female fac
tory population bears strong analogy TO female So
cety elsewhere. IL has its bellies, and It's bleus-
Its models of every female virtue, and perhaps its
examples of female Deficiencies in virtue. NAV
perhaps--tor every means are used, 10 keep from
us the vile, consistent with that customary lberali-
ty, which supposes every woman virtuous until she
has done something TO draw upon herself suspicion
The lnslnuatlon of your correspondent that they
not unfrequently leave behind. them Cat their homes)
all that was valuable OF character ITSELF is as cruel
as II Is unjust.
But with regard to our writer's they, Of course,
form small proportion of the factory population
Is it not everywhere Do not Irving, BRYANT
Claiming, Longfellow, Cooper and some others,
| form an American hterati7 Or, to speak more to
the purpose, do not the writings of Sedgwick,
| Gould, Slgourney, Embury, with n few others,
| create a female American literature Are not their
productions referred to as evidence that cultivated
| talent exists IN this country-are not proud and
h...t,
| ers 10 suppose that all American females can write
| thus or even a maiority7 You, sir, | trust, will
pardon my seeming vanity in the assertion that the
writers for the Offering merely consider themselves
the Sedgwicks, Goulds, Sigourncys Emburys &c
| of Lowell factories.
Miss Lydia 5. Hull and Miss Lucy Luscom, have
been our rst poets, and we consider them our ST.
Courtney and Gould and think if you consult all
the back volumes ofthe Offering, you will acknow-
ledge that they have written poems which would do
no dishonor even TO those distinguished ladies'
Mrs Betsey Chamberlain, Miss Sarah Jane Cate,
Mrs Harriet Curtis, Harriet Lees, and Harriet Far
ley, have been the most frequenpr contributors.
Miss Cate has published a little book which has
been highly euoglzed, entitled Lights and Shadows
of Factory Life; and Miss Curtis has recently had
one published in your city, which was stereotyped
IN three months, and OF which $1,000 copies have
been sold IL IL Kate IN Search OF Husband -
These principal writers have formed a nucleus sim
liar 10 the regular contributors of all such maya
zines. Among our other frequent writers, have
been Hannah johnson, Elizabeth Sweet, Ann san
derson. Joanna Carroll, Sarah G.. Bugey,, Eliza
Dodge, Mirion B. Klmball, Jane :. Walsh, Louisa
Carrier, Maria Carrier, Lara Carrier, Ellzaoetn U.
Turner, Abby d. Turner, Lucy. Ann Baker, Line
line Luscom, Sophia F. Lyon, &c, &c, out cam
not occupy more of my paper with names have
the difsreyni mannscr,pts of many of the writers,
now in my possession, and can exhibit them, as well
as most of the writers themselves, 10 the Spy IN
Lowell >, I should Judge that about 20 OF the mill
girls had written for the Offering from its COM
mencement. - - -
| These statements rest now upon my own asser-
Ia. ,,J | am willing that my character truth
sbould be tested by any one but anonymous Spy.
The nsnuation against the former editor can be
answered by himself. He is near you but the
heart must be black indeed which can conceive OF
no impulsive motive but a love of speculation.
should like to say more, but have no room, ana
HARRIET FARLEY,