The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1869-11-20
/" WHlTED sEPULCHRES..
Lecture by Miss Anna L. Dickinson.

lecture was delivered at the Brooklyn Academy
OF Music last night by Miss Anna +. Dickinson. The
audience was not large, and consisted Tor the most
part of Me,hodists and the friends OF Methodsm,
the profits OF the lecture being In aid of the Green
point Methodist Society.
The lecture, though 1t bore the engmatical title
of .whited Sepuichres,m was only lecture about
Miss Dickinsons recent experiences in Utah, used
as an illustrative wall about women's degradation
and blinded condition to their rights and posi-
plities and reorganization OF the stock arguments
as TO the claims OF women for social, political and
domestic advancement put into the glowing,
earnest feverish pathetic, soulinspring eioqaence
OF which Miss Dickinson is so great mistress.
At the outset OF her lecture Miss Dickinson refer
red to the teachings OF nature as to work in the
world and to the lessons it eoquently gave that
bud and rruitage did not come from virgin SOIL but
from properly directed effort and that the word
was not what Charles the monarch thought Flor
ence-too pleasantlto look upon. As she trod the
city q the plains and saw the people there, pom
dered upon the society and its government and
remembered that the days were going on and on
ana that the measure of the condemnation OF each
was more and more, and tn at shortly thar measure
would be filled she felt compelled to CRY 30 her God
to let her die; but then better spirit rose within
her and she remembered that 1t was her duty TO do
all that her to aid in the reformation and the
1t was near the close OF day In June that she first
saw the city OF the plains the midst Of which
! this whted sepulchre. There were pleasant, wide
streets with running brooks to fertiize, refreshing
| and fragrant, ana used for the enrichment OF the
alpine SOIL and there were wildernesses OF trees and
1 bushes burdened with wild and uxuriaDt fruitage.
| There were no drinking saloons there, gambling
! saloons and an undefended woman might walk
| tn rough the streets there at night wish more
|
citiesnearer home. At that city there was
greater de ,s than any other place
the despotlsm OF Brigham Young, who was
the seer the prophet and the inspired head of the
Church. Utah was not under the government OF
the United states, It was Brigham Young's special
| property aud domain. Men voted there with the
ballot, but with the worst features OF open voting
! Brigham Young had used this power for his own
| personal ends; he went to that country poor man,
he Is now the second largest depositor IN the Bank
Of England. or the 100 900 people there there
very lew Americans by birth athat number was made
Of n wssn anS ahe ans
people in Europe. There was nothing COM
| parable to them In America. 1t was
the men; the sexes were pretty equal IN number,
II anything In favor OF the men. Some men had
Instance inst there was man with 200 wives II they
judged OF this system by its fruits they would md
! in the country school system. no free public
schools, no free library, no reading room no mental
life. The soul must have no place TO develop 10 the
system Of Brigham Young There were no home me
| family child scarcely knew Its own fatherf The
| man spent his tHne among half dozen women,
| each one OF them trying TO suppant the
other his affections and the means used resulting
! in the ruin OF body and SOUL She saw the houses
| in which these women lived; heard the man. point
/ ing with an impudent gesture, style them as my
| women.n these women having sunk to be simply
the slaves OF their One woman said she bad
! had twelve children, buried ten; another ten chill
dren buried eight, and the two that remained were
| poor, weak, miserable creatures. She went into
hair farnn
Johnson who had four sisters and his own niece for
| his wives. There was another great light OF the
| Church who had his mother and daughter for his
wives. Now for this there was not one word OF con-
demnation neither were the men ostracised. Miss
| vice In another form was found elsewhere
| aud IN European cities. She did not
say that adultery and polyRamy were found
there as in titan, but the spirit that provoked and
underay all this was found in these cities. Rever-
! end uivnes ike Horace Bushnell said that women
| were subordinate TO somebody else and that she
| was created for putting goodness into man; that
her destiny was to be wife and mother and II she
did not fulfil her duty here In that respect she would
have bad time OF IL In the world TO Accord.
/ ing to that, II one woman put certain amount OF
| goodness into man twenty would certainly make
| him SAINT (Cheers.) There was however, the
argument that women were coutented with their con-
| dition. That was the result of woman's ignorance.
| The women or Persia ofTurkey, or Germany iwbere
many OF them were harnessed TO cart with dog OF
/ emma were contented.
In the afternoon OF this nineieanth century women
! were found everywhere TO be content with this
degradation. Miss Dickinson then gave an account
| oil Hef Conversations WIN many VI the WVlhcu va
| Utah, who on a searching conversation admitted
they were not content. Tnelr belief, however, was
j that by some means they were TO save their souis
! by this degrading obedience aud contentment
! Passing from ths TO inquire what was tue spirit
| and tendency OF the age III giving to young women
the expectations the future OF their womany life
! Miss Dickinson said she was told 1t was to be wife
and mother Tue lecturer then gave succession or
/ very bold and fanciiu sketches or the hum
| drum dowdy wife and mother, whom this
imaginary girl saw, and she MISS Dicxin
som proceeded 10 say that when men get
INTO the prime OF their lle about forty years OF age
tney learn to have another love, brilliant being
VINO was all soul who looked with level front into
their own eyes aud Tor whom they neglected their
own commonplace wife. That was what the young
girl saw actual life. and she reflected and acted
upon what she sa
MISS Dickinson concluded by resume OF the argu-
ments for the greater freedom and development OF
man, and contended in glowing, eloquent language
that this want on the part OF woman was not to sep
arate herself from man, but was the prompting OF a
desire to get nearer 10 him. and urged women to see
to 10 That no one TOOK tsm them that which wss
their crown.