The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1881-04-07

Panied by the sight of his own child at play
The penslve father asked himself: "Alackl
What have I in the bottom Of my sack n"
-Osoen Meredith, in st. lanes Gazette.
LIFE AMONG the M0RMoNS.
A lady who has lived many years in
the Mormon Territory gave New York
Sun reporter the benefit of her observa-
tions while in Salt Lake City and other
places in Utah. She said:
"a GENTLE myself, I never lost curl
osity regarding the peculiar institution.
Off and on I have lived twenty years
among the Mormons. I like the people
and like their religion, for polygamy is
arellglon with them. lido not, of course,
like this form of their belief. They are
a cheerful, jolly set of folks, their wor-
ship more nearl y resembling that of the
Metbodlsts than any religion known to
us. They do not scare you cut of your
senses with threats of eternal damnation
and hell fire. Even in church, if any.
thing funny is said, you are at liberty to
laugh, and are not considered to have
offended the proprieties. They are gen.
erous, open-handed and whole-souled. as
general thing, and nowhere on earth
for I have travelled far and observed
much, and know whereof I speak-ilo
women uphold each other SO much as
the Mormon women do. They have a
sympathy and charity for each other
that women elsewhere would do we'll to
emulate.
Although woman work in the Terri
tory, their work is seldom of a character
to increase wealth, and, as each wife
must have her separate rooms or house
and stipulated allowance to live upon,
it can readily be seen that polygamy was
an ingenious device to keep men from
amassing wealth. I remember we'll a
case in point. The editor of certain
paper was allowed to live in peace and
happiness with his only wife until the
growing influence of the journal and the
emoluments therefrom attracted Brig
hams attention. The editor was in
formed one day that he had too long
neglected the religious rites of the
church-that he must take another wife,
The editor did not want to, and, as may
be supposed, neither was his wife anx-
lous that he should. But there was no
resisting Brigham. It must be done.
The wife and the husband were tenderly
attached. They desired to keep their
means for the education and future main
tenance of their only son, but their pri-
waite wishes availed nothing. A young
girl was selected as the second wife, and
wing was built to their house. The
wife fell sick with grieving and with
Jealous torture. As she lay for weeks
on her bed she could hear the hammer
ing going on, and listened with the same
feelings that a condemned man hears the
erection of the sccffold on which he is to
he executed. But being true Mormon,
and believing like her husband that he
was only performing q religious duty,
she prayed for resignation and submis.
sion. She succeeded so we'll that she
was able to attend the wedding, and give
the bride away, as it were, but after that
matters did not work we'll. Although
the first wife tried hard to keep the
peace, the second wife was virago, and
Jealous of the love that the husband had
evidently not transferred.
For some time the two wives lived.
one in one wing of the house, the other
in the other. They would meet in the
back yard, common to both, but without
speaking. After the birth of a son to
the second wife,, her temper, because
she could not entirely supplant the first
wife, became so unbearable that the I'M
lucky editor implored Young to grant
him divorce. After that the second
= wife went to what is popularity known as
the bad. The husband induced her to
give the child into the keeping of the
first wife. The two boys have been
reared as brothers, and no other wife
has since disturbed the harmony of the
little household.
"One singular thing in Mormon fam
lies is the perfect good feeling which in
varlably exists among the children.
They never quarrel. as step. sisters and
brothers do in the States, for they are
early taught that their rights are equal
and respect them, their common father
taking care to show no more favoritism
among his children than among his wives.
l was often amused at these same Nor
mon children. They would come in
and say Mother, Polly So-and-so is
going to be married to Mr.. What's-his
name. She's going in fifth, or ninth, or
eleventh. as the case might be.
"Another thing that struck me as
strange was that all Brigham's daughters
are lovely and most pronounced blondes,
With golden-tinted hair, heavenly-blue
eyes. and cream-and-roses compilations,
all tall, we'll built girls, vhile their vari-
GUS mothers were of all shapes, all sizes
and complexions, and had every shade OF
hair and ewes.
"The Mormons believe that those who
do not practice polygamy are wrong,
and not taey; and they, especially the