The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1869-10-21
Dickinson at Salt Lake
TfS I44{ CITY.

A4 5.stttt5 84i CiJs ts3fBt3ss ~ yas4
In Salt Lake City went to the house of a
Mormon elder. 1 was told beforehand he had
two wives, and that they had both lived to-
gether some fifteen years. and were perfectly
happy and contented-they lived together in
their honse and were perfectly contented with
their lot, and would not change it if they
could. I was not man. did not believe a
word of it, and SO I went to see for myself =
I went into their house, and it was q magnif
cent one In San Francisco it would be a
fine house, and there in Salt Lake it was a
splendid one. Magnificent furniture, fine
rooms, fine gardens, and numerous servants.
and my friends sat down in the parlor and
in came one Of this mans wives. She was a
fine, good looking, healthy Englishwoman,
who could not speak ten words Of grammati-
cal English to save herllife I talked freely
to her there was no hindrance to that I
asked her how long she had been married,
"Seyenteen years. !" Married here p "No."
"Married in England ?" "No." "Where
were you married, then r s'In St. Joseph"
Her husband began to fdgct, and sent her
out to get piece Of gold, or quartz, or some
thing Of that kind / understood it all.
She came back, and couldn't find it of
course I knew that. I tried to commence
where we had broken off, and her husband
Immediately wanted something on the top Of
the house. When she got back again, l
tried to commence again where we had left
off, and he broke in, Miss Dickinson came
to eat Strawberries and cream; now, Maria,
60 off and see if they are ready" I, under
stood it all. Yes, every word Of it BY and
by in came another sad looking but handsome
woman. I looked at her; said I at once,
MADAM, you are the second wife, and so it
turned out. She, also, was an Englishwo-i
man, and the two of them the handsomest
women saw at Salt Lake But she appeared
sad and worn. There was no Joyous hap
piness of married life" about her. u
There was piano in the room, and in
came the little girl Of the house, and at
once the father said something about music,
and was evidently proud of his daughters
capabilities in that line. So asked her to
play, and she did, and made horrid din.
and under cover of the noise and din, I had
my conversation with the wife. She had
not understood their doctrines. [ asked her:
Ibid you know when you married your hus-
bandsthat he could, if he would, marry an
other woman? 2" "No'' "Did he not tell
you SO at the time ?" ssNo he did not
Our missionaries and preachers when they go
out never preach that" $50 you knew
nothing of it?" "Nothing at all" "But
when you came here and saw it was SO, were
you not greatly disappointed and chagrined p
SNo, was not; l was sure my husband
would never marry again" "But he did, ;"
said [. eyes," she answered, and a sad,
narrowed look came over her countenance
'.Yes, only a year after he married again. =
''And do you like that? do you like him to
have more wives than one 2" On, yes, | do
I wish he had six or seven"
saw through it all in minute. [ un-
derstood the state of that woman's mind at
once But 1 was not surprised. looked
blank and / went back on the old track
I commenced aud questioned her about her
English life, and 1 painted the picture Of
the little cottage at home, and the courtship,
and at last the marriage to the one whole
souled honest husband and how they would
live together, and how she would wait at
the door of their home and watch for his
coming in the evening; and asked her if
she could not be happy there. And she put
her handsome hand to her face, and bowed
her head and cried, "Oh, my God ! conldn't
IW And then it was plain, it was easy to
see, how that woman really thought and felt.