Woodstown register. [volume] (Woodstown, N.J.) 187?-1892, 1883-10-16
THE RECORDS OF A FAMILY
By CHRIsTIEN REID.

BY CHRTsTIEN REID.
It fell to my LOT, some little time ago,
to look over some old papers. They were
family records and correspondence, pre-
served alter the fashion of the time, as
having cost too much labor to be lightly
destroyed
There would be sheet of foolscap, and
our young people hardly know what that
is, closely written on three sides; then
the two ends were folded down, and the
/ portion turned in also filed; and then
when folded again in letter form, the part
under the flap, by The seal, was also writ
ten over. In one or two cases the seal
tore out some words, in the opening that
were not 50 easily supplied. The postage
IN those days was len and eighteen and
twenty five cents, according to the dis
lance. The law also read "for each piece
paper" so that a conscientious man. in
sending law paper, would not put on the
paper seals. unless ne paid the extra pos.
tage on them.
Nov adays, il you wish to write anything
private or that you do not wish preserved.
you can write it on a slip of paper and
have it burned, even if the letter is kept
Then it must come into The body of the
letter. for no second piece of paper could
be allowed.
The family to whom these papers be-
longed was rather exceptionally good, up
right and prosperous. They were Chris
tan people, educated, cultivated there
were no "black sheep" among their sons /;
! afl did well and served God and their
country in their time. And the daughters
were honorable women" You would
seldom find fairer family record.
But the letters! They only proved the
truth, which none Of US who have lived
long can doubt, that the world is full of
| trouble,
Man Is born to trouble.
1t was evident they did not all think alike.
There was one letter from sister to an
absent one, telling her experience on ar
irving home from visit, She had ven
tured to make some purchases, and it
seem that it was the habit of the family
to talk over any such plan and TO approve
the making Of any purchases before a
daughter ventured upon it, So she tells
how the mother blamed her the older sis
ter blamed her, she records some tears that
she shed, th@n some exchanges were pro-
| posed, and some other member of the
family took the garment which she had
chosen, and 50 on. In the end, having
borne all the blame and made all the sac
rilees, she writes cheerfully that her broth
er took her part and all Is quiet and se-
rene.
| The sons seem 10 have had some stormy
times; nothing wrong, but differences OF
opinion. And, when people are all con-
scientious and differ, who shall set them
right One Of them, apparently, did not
marry to suit his family, but the thing was
done. They had, apparently, not learned
the important lesson 40 submit TO the In
evitable." 1t did not turn out badly in
the end. Much good came of it, and APP
parently they learned to make the best of
| it. for in the letters there is no fu Their COM
plants and he is not in dislavor.
There are curious records of long Jour-
neys, taking days where now we need on
| ly hours. "Calied at three O'Clock In tie
morning" and long stage-coach ride be-
fore they stopped for breakfast. Detained
by floods, bridges washed away, wheels
| buried IN mud-in some places not even
stage-coachee. No wonder there was
long consultation over and preparation for
a journey.
| have said that the course of life in
this Christian family was not ali complete
bliss and happiness. Perhaps they grew
better as they grew older-many things
are softened by time; at any rate, they
wrote, perhaps. less freely. But, aside
from the fact that there was nothing elys-
ian In their family estate, another fact
Was very striking.
This was, the continued dependence of
the daughters Of the family who remained
at home unmarried. The sons were educat-
ed, had their portions and departed. The
many daughters who married were amply
provided for. Those who staid were ut
terly dependent, until death gave them
their inheritance.
Now, there is no reason in the nature
OF things why daughter should not have
her portion and have control of it. In a
few rare instances this has been done; but
many could echo the words Of a woman
Of middle age: "Td give anything If l
had little, even a small portion that was
my very own, to do as pleased with, and
SO that, if chose not 10 deny myself, 1
should be able to do So"
Perhaps some day, In these days of pro-
gress, this right or claim will be recogniz-
ed by men. If they could be made to try
the asking for money every time they
might happen to want it, and that only as
boys, but when they have come to the
years Of discretion, they might understand
the sort of slow, intermittent martyrdom to
which some woiaen are subjected.
The story is told of high-casle woman
IN Bengal, whose clothes took FIRE and
she slowly burned to death, because sthe
laws OF caste did not permit her to call to
her help some men who were ia the next
room. And women's paper adds :
"And here women quietly submit to dis
reimbursement and the wrong of unequal
laws" We might add: To the slow tor
ture OF the want Of money, to which she
knows she has an undoubted rightly.
Y. independent.
l.
1 THE ART AMATEUR for October is a
/ treasure for home workers. Its designs in
clude three fog China painting. three for
embroidery, charming hawthorn panel for
wood-carving, dozen pleasing figures for
sketch linen, multiplicity of monograms
and jewelry designs. examples in crayon
work, etc. There are valuable articles in