Wheeling times and advertiser. [volume] (Wheeling, Va. [W. Va.]) 1839-1849, 1845-05-23
" MIND AMONG THE SPINDI.Es. /"

MIND AMONG THE SPlNDLES." |,
, SELECTION PROM "TuE LOWELL OFFERING"
Most of our readers are, no doubt, aware
that miscellany pholly composed 6y the fac
tory girls of Lowell, in Massachusetts,, has
been published at that place since October,
1910. The publication arose out of the meet
ings of an association of young women, call
ed the Mutual Improvement Society,"" Two
volumes of this interesting work were COM
pleted i'll December, 1912, and, from the con-
tents of these volumes, an English publisher,
MIR. CHARLES KNIGHT, has selected the mate
rails for publication under the title of Mind
Among the Spindles." Respecting the Low
ell Offering, the North American Review says
" Many of the articles are such as to satisfy |
the reader at once that If he has only taken up |
the Offering as phenomenon, and not as
what may bear criticism and reward perusal, |
he has but To own his error and dismiss his
condesccnsion as soon as may be. The editor
of the volume before us says: We must
honestly confess that we looked at the perusal
of these closely printed eight hundred pages
(the two volumes of The Offering as some
thingof task. We felt that all literary pro-
auctions, and, indeed, all works of art, should
in great degree be judged without reference
to the condition of the producer. 1t was
duty TO read the Lowell Offering. The day
that saw us begin the first paper was witness
to our continued reading till night found us
busy at the last page not for duty but real
pleasure"
Mr. KNIGHT thus states his opinion of the
Offering"
"The qualities which most struck us i'm these
volumes were chiefly these. First, there is
| an entire absence of all pretension in the wri-
tiers to be what they are not. They are facto-
ry girls; they always call themselves girls ;
| they have no affectGtion Of gentility, and by a
natural consequence, they are essentially free
from all vulgarity. They describe the scenes
among which they live, their labors, and their
pleasures; the little follies of some of their
number, the pure tastes and inexpensive en-
joyments of others. They feel and constant
ly proclaim without an effort that they think Il
an honor to labor irith their hands; they re-
cognise the real dignity Of all useful employ
mcntS. They know that there is no occupa-
ton really unworthy of men or women but the
selfish pursuit of what is called pleasure, with
out the desire to promote the good of others by
physical, intellectual, or moral exertions. Sc
,condly, many OF these papers clearly show UNI
der what influences these young women have
been brought up. An earnest feeling of pict,
pervades their recollections of the past and
their hopes for the future. The thoughts oil
home, too, lie deep in their hearts. Thirdly
there is a genuine patriotism in the tone OF
many of these productions, which is worthy
the descendants of the stern freemen who in
the New England solitudes looked tearfully
back upon their fatherland. Fourthly, like
all writers of good natural taste who have no,
been perverted into mere imitators of Other
writers, they perceive that there is a great
source OF interest in describing simply and
correctly what they have witnessed with
their own eyes. Lastly, although there are
necessarily in these volumes, as in every mis-
cellany, some things which are tedious and
some puerile, mock sentimentalities, and la
bored efforts at fine writing, we think it would
be difficult upon the whole for large body OF
contributors, writing under great indulgence
to produce so much matter with so little OF
bad taste. Of pedantry there is literally none.
The writers are familiar with good models OF
composition, they know something of ancient
and modern history; but there is never any
n attempt to parade what they know, and we
see that they have been readers only, as we
discover the same thing in the best educated
persons, not in display of their reading, bu
in general tone, which shows that cultiva
ton has made them wiser and better"
All this is high praise to which we add a
: few words from the pen of Mr.. DICKENS. He
says: brought away from Lowell four hun
dred good solid pages, (the first volume of the
Offering which have rad from beginning
ths @sEts # the PT Snly 6 oBssiSs
putting entirely out of sight the fact of the
, articles having been written by these girl:
after the arduous labors OF the day, that it will
t compare adpaatageoHsly with great many
English ANNALS"
The publication before us consists of thirty
seven articles, the production of twenty-nins
individual contributors. Mr.. KNIGHT adds
in his introduction to this selection, the fol.
lowing kind expression OF his feelings towards
the writers of the Lowell Offering:
''May the love ofletters which they enioy.
and the power OF composition which they have
attained, shed their charms over their domes-
tic lives when their days of mill-seryice are
ended The efforts which they have made to
acquire the practice OF writing have had their
own reward. In dwelling upon the thoughts
OF Others, i'll fixing their own thoughts upon
+ some definite object, they have lifted them
selves up into higher region than is attained
by those, whatever be their rank whose minds
are not filled by images of what is natural and
beautiful, and true"
TO the people of the United States, this
I publication is an absolute demonstration that
the employment of human beings i'm manufac-
turing establishments does not necessarily
impair their understandings, degrade theil
moral feelings, diminish their possession. O,
deprive them OF the exercise Of any of the
higher powers Of their nature. We advocate
none OF the expressions nor the wrongs, none
OF the systems of long days work and short
wages, none of the abuses which we are told
are part and parcel of the manufacturing sys.
TENS oil other countries. We advocate the en-.
couragement and the protection of american
manufactures, and we are warm friends to a
system which, whilst it is productive ofgreat
national and social advantages need not be
and is not (as established in the United States)
associated with the debasing and cruel effects
which its opponents have charged uponit The
Lowell Offering" is a triumphant reply to
this allegation. There is very interesting
letter from Miss MARTINEAU to Mr.. KNIeH1
IN the volum before us, dated May 20, 1874
In winch she describes her visit to Lowell.
She says that whilst sitting in the lyceum there
during, lecture delivered by Mr.. EMERSON tc
the factory girls, and seeing them "listeninp
to their lecturer, all wakef1l and ;nte,as,od