Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1879-01-27
s. Miss BrOvVn's,' Com 9liMents to "a
Mormon WONnaN.,,

Ny Dear Star:-If did not have the cOnSOll-
tion of saying told you so. left, should, after
being crushed In the true Spencerian style,
borrow one of the traditional unloaded pistols
to play with, and escape all polygamous thun-
der in that way. AS that comfort Is left me,
however, I'll try to exist little longer, and
even beg leave to say that, instead of having
'.never talked five minutes with live Mormon
woman all my information, on the strength of
which l wrote, has come from precisely that
quarter.
Years ago, there lived near my parents. in
PennSy lVania. good, piOuS farmer. whose name
was Bernbeisel. This mans brother had, some
how, dr1fted into Mormondom, and was then its
representative, or delegate, in the House. Well,
he visited his brother, and /, being very young
and enthusiastic, was intensely interested In
and, consequently, took unusual pains to learn
all could concerning them. Some years later
l was thrown into the society OF about as .'live'
a Mormon as one can wish to see, land who
lives in Utah today; with her talked, not for
minutes only, but day after day, for more than han
Root yGaf Of Mermon nd what siekly buresnus
of the Old Testamentit isr, until knew, proba-
bly,, more of its contents than many full
ftedged disciple of the faith. Had she been the
wife or daughter OF 1.-THE gathering saint with
wealth, power and every advantage they give,
at her command, the coloring of the picture
might have been different; but being of the
poorer order She had seen the dark side In all
its hideousneSS, and could not hide the anguish
and disappointment OF her life.
Far be it from me to sit In judgment on any
that; but the actions Of people, in so far as they
have bearing upon others, concern every one;
and this right only exercise, when say that
no one has right to live in direct opposition to
the laws Of country by simply calling such Op-
position religious faith. The Indian thug be-
lieyes that his goddess demands the strangling
of as many people as possible; but If such a
dusky devOtee endeavored to serve his deity by
StraDglpg even one OF the shining lights of
Mcrmondom, 1t Is hardly probable that that
plea would save his neck from being unpleas-
antly diSlOcated.
That bigamy is a crime, punishable by con-
nnement In the states prison, every man in the
United States knows, or ought to know; conse-
quently, II he commits the crime he should be
punished according to the law, no matter whe-
ther 1t happens in Boston or Salt Lake City
AIdif woman lives with man, knowing him
to have wife already, she has no rights of
Wlfehood to defend under the law, that |
know OF.
If men and women desire to live in polygany,
Asia, for instance, Will welcome them kindly:
and TO that Mecca OF their peculiar views they
should shape their course; taking with them all
their Vaunted purity lthe article being eXtiact
therel, and leaving Washington to suffer the
penalty OF its own sins, as best it may
AS to our ladies reading the Psalms of David.
the Songs OF Solomon and other records OF peo-
pie who lived when the intelligence of mankind
was In its swaddling cloths-well, yes, guess
they are guilty of that The fact Is, they 90
back even farther, clear to the beginning where
there Is the account of marriage which to)k
place when ''the morning stars sang together"
and as that is about the only one on record where
COO himself issued the license and performed
the ceremony, it is to be presumed that it was
thing of the kind could be. Had polygamy en-
tered into the divine plan there were enough
ribs, where the first came from. to set up quite
ares respectable ENC Mormon rn family; only, how would
simple backbone? But enough; have said my
say. miss BROWN"