The Emporia news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1859-1881, 1869-10-08
From Lecture in San Francisco.
ANNA DICKINSON VISITS MORMON
HAREM.

In Salt Lake City went to the house
of a Mormon Elder. l was told before
hand he had two wives, and that they
had both lived together some fifteen
years, and were perfectly happy and
contented-they lived together in their
house and were perfectly contented with
their lot, and would not change it if they
could. / was not q man. i did not be-
lieve word of it, and so 1 went to see
for myself 1 went into their house,
and it was magnificent one. Here in
San francisco it would be a fine one,
and there in Salt Lake it was splendid
one. Magnificent furniture, fine rooms,
fine gardens, and numerous servants. /
aud my friends sat down in the parlor,
and in came one of this mans wives.
She was fine, good-looking, healthy
Engaishwoman, who could not speak
ten words of grammatical English to
save her life. l talked freely to her !;
there was no hindrance to that. l asked
her how long she had been married.
Seventeen years" married here ?"
"No." "Where were you married,
then ~ ''In st. Joseph" Her husband
began to fidget, and sent her out to get
piece of gold, or quartz, or something
of that kind. understood it all. She
came back, and couldn't find it, of
course. l knew that. / tried to COM
mence where we had broken off, and
her husband wanted something on the
top of the house. When she got back
again, tried to commence again where
we had left of, and he broke in, ''Miss
Dickinson came to eat straw berries and
cream; now, Maria, go off and see they
are ready" l understood it all. Yes,
every word of it. By and by came in
another sad looking but handsome wo-
mau. l looked at her. Said at once
Madam, you are the second wife :" and
so it turned out. She also was an Eng
lish woman, and two of them were the
handsomest women / saw at Salt Lake.
But she appeared sad and worn. There
was no Joyous happiness of married
life" about her. There was piano in
the room, and in came the girl of the
house, and at once the father said some
thing about music, and was evidently
very proud of his daughters capabilities
in that line, SO | asked her to play, and
she did, and made horrid din, and un.
der cover of the noise and din / had my
conversation with the wife. She had
not understood their doctrines. l ask.
/ ed her, did you know when you mar
ried your husband that he could, if he
would, marry another woman ?" ''No.'
"Did he not tell you so at the time ?
| mo, he Qlu not. Our missionaries aQC
preachers when they go out never preach
that" $50 you know nothing of it ?
Nothing at ALL" "But when you came
here and saw it was so, were you no
greatly disappointed and chagrined P
mo, 1 was not; l was sure my husband
would never marry again." "But h
did," said I. Eyes," she answered, ant
sad, narrowed look came over he
countenance. eyes, only year after
ward he married again" "And do yol
like that! do you like him to have NOR,
wives than one?" ''Oh, yes I do!
1 wish he had six or seven" 1 saw
through ii all in a minute. 1 under
stood the state of that woman's mind a
once. But was not surprised. Hook
ed blank and went back on the old tack
I commenced and questioned her abou
her English life, and painted the pic
ture of the little cottage at home and tn
courtship, and at last the marriage t.
one whole souied, honest husband: an,
how they would live together, and sh
would wait at the door of their HON
and watch for his coming in the even
ing, and L asked her if she could not b
happy there. And she put her hand
some hand to her face and bowed he
head and cried. "Oh, my God couldn'
" And then it was plain, it was cas-
to see, how that woman really though
and felt