The Montgomery advertiser., 1908-05-31
AA CalIlff.

AA
 Interesting old memoirs give us am other view of early American times, in discoursing entertainingiy of Abigail Adams, the daughter of a country par son, who became the wife of one Pres ident. the mother of another and not ably represented the womanhood of the new Republic at the Courts of st. James and versailles
 h her day girls received scant schooling, for she writes. T was never sent to any school--femaie education went no further than writing and arlth- metic~-in rare instances. music and dancing. It was the fashion to ridl- cule female learning. But good Par son Snithss household was bookish and young Abigail found opportunity to cultivate her sprightly mind to enlin- ene degree, 60 that her letters auaintly depicting the scenes of that stirring time. live today in freshness and charm
 At Baintree. where the young wife retired with her little brood. while the brilliant stetesman was about his coun- try's business. Abigail Adams faced the dangers of war, much after the way of q Roman matron. vet found time and spirit to pen letters that sparkled In fun. wrapped everyday interests in aust dignity or rang nobly with patFtqtle seiitffnent. Cnco she degcfibed the al- lent march Of two hundred patriots who passed. hsr house on their pay to- save the powder from & threatezted Tory aefxure. and she tells how th eg. captur- ed la :sKfnG' man bearing warrants in imfcable 10 the Commonwealth. These New Englanders, far from restoring to mob violence. resolved themselvess into a public meeting. voted to burn the fateful papers and then called q vote as to whether they should huzza. but 1t being the Sabbath. this passed in the negative. Only in Puritan New England could this have happened.
 When victory brought a framing of new laws for the young Republic, and Mrs Adams learned that her husband would have much to do in the matter. her clear visioned judgment prompted her to urge upon him a more favor aBle consideration for woman:
 'tI3o not" she wrote, put such unlim- ited power into the hands of the bus bands Remember all men would be tyrants if they could" In the next naragrsoh. the versatile scribe sets down sage observations upon the use Of salt petra In soap making and she goes on to tell of her preoccupation fin misunderstanding clothes for her family she considers the extracting or moldsses from cofnstalks, the new rem edv Of inoculation. tax rates, town elections, tlle higher education of wo- men and the securing Of enough home spun for Mir Adams's new suit.
 In one letter she bewails the increas- ing cost of necessities A bundle Of pins formerly to be had at dollar 1 being now 50 shillings, while linens are priced at 320 a yard. calico at sso or s4o. and broadcloth at $40, Mo ] lasses reaches the mark of SEQ gallon, butchers meat ls or 8 shillings a pound and board runs as high as $50 and 46e a week. Evidently Abigail Adams looked well to the ways of her Frarso oha ment when she went abroad with her husband. the American Ambassador. On the contrary. # required the l thrifitest manaHement on her part to maintain the American establ lishrnent in proper style. 'We are compelled to keep seven servants. she writes, ana l some entertainment we must make 1 lis no unusual thing for them to amount to 50 or ep guineas each. But fhe policy of our country has been. ! and still Is, to be penny wise and pound foolish l will mention one more ex- | pense There is now court mornings, and every foreign minister and his family must put on black Tor prince 8 years old
 As if in contrast to the niggard | American provislon Mrs. Adams de- scrlbes the resplendent menage of the | Swedish Ambassadors his priceless ta- pestries. magnificent plate, marvelous china. his army of gorgeously liveried
 From this radiant palace the simple American went to call upon the aris- tocratic old mother of the Duke de l Rochefoucauld. proudly enthroned n d circle of Academicians and very l rrandly attired--her withered throat enveioped in wonderful laces, black | velvet lbodice clasped over her nne silk cbensire and great sleeves falling about | t,sy. s.s,tnt arnns The New England woman notes with commendatien that 1 fhfa venerable grande dame. contrary i to fhe universal custom. wore no paint. and the opportunity is taken here for a sharp scathing of the intquitous ! French fashion of the time that de- manded a child of to be Jalnte1, powdered. laced and hooped exactly as a woman of 20.
 In London. Mrs. Adams is pleased to
 ind La Mode of milder ways. though ! she writes to her sister: They paint | here as much as in France, but with l more art The American ladies are much admired here by the gentlemen, I am told and fin truth, wonder not at all Which statement may be con- strued as unconscious prophecy or present day conquests achieved by our
 American heiresses. who now repre-
 sent us, more or less gloriously. at
 foreign courts.
 Good hard republican sense tinctures the discussion the Ambassadress gives
 to her representation costume. for she
 writes: You cannot 80 twice the same
 season in the same dress. and court
 dress you cannot make use Of any
 where else directed by mantua maker to les my dress be elegant but