Sarah M. H. Gardner

“ We are bidden to strive with all the might which the Lord vouchsafes against the things of this world. To purify the heart through the working of the Holy Spirit, this is the highest good.”
“I think I do not understand thee, mother. Is the rose blushing for its sin in not being made like snowdrops?”
“Dorcas, restrain thy tongue; and, Lucretia, perhaps we are in error not to take the child more persistently to meeting. That she is restless and disturbing to the meditations of others must not be allowed to have too much weight.” ”

“ Could I have given my life into the hand of an utter stranger, a [Pg 205] foreigner of whose race I know no good? Would my father and mother have blessed me and bade me go to my husband’s arms with joy? No, it could not have been, and I could not have done it without. Should Henri return tomorrow for the fulfillment of such a desire, I should bid him leave me. Is it right to marry George Townsend with this secret in my heart? ”

“ Plum had married the younger son of a titled English gentleman.
Nothing of the regret from which she must have suffered ever passed her lips, and her patient smile sweetened the loaf which she so generously shared with the woman whose only claim was the name she bore.
Mrs. Mountain’s past, on the contrary, was delightful to contemplate. A happy marriage in early life shed a halo over even the long illness and death of a beloved husband ”

“ The boy looked out at the sweet stars paling under the tropical moon, then he bent his eyes upon the beautiful girl, and slowly said:
“I am going now. Remember, I never did it, and keep yourself just as you are until that day when the white cap string shall come home again.” He was gone, and Dorcas sat silent for a moment; then the painful consciousness forced itself upon her that her father’s voice was calling. She dropped her head upon the pillow, wrapped the sheet about her throat, and closed her eyes. The voice came nearer. “Dorcas, Dorcas,” it said; but she did not stir. ”

“ It seems to me now as if I had seen Boston, for the people who were at the Fair were the very people I have heard about, and read about all my life—the people indeed, whom I supposed constituted Boston, and yet outside their own circle, few know or care whether they exist. ”

“ Among the chief of her trials was to make the honest confession that she was not averse to looking at her own image, and from this constant sense of the enormity of the transgression grew an absolute intolerance of her beauty. She would have become morbid over it, but for the thoroughly healthful nature which reveled in outdoor exercise, and was of no mean assistance to the busy father in his lesser tasks. Dorcas was unselfish, too, and her mind turned readily into other channels than that of self-consciousness. ”

“ Martha paused in the doorway to stroke the shining curls of a pretty child, whose gentle mother had failed in her efforts to subdue Dame Nature. And Cassy, sweet Cassy, who was no longer very young, felt the color rise, and modestly dropped her eyes, as she noticed the pleased observance of her entrance depicted on the face of George Evans, already occupying a seat on the “men’s side” of the meeting-house. ”

“ Lucretia had chosen to teach the little maiden at home; perhaps the staid father had hesitated to send the worldling into the midst of temptations such as lurk behind the schoolroom door. His pride in her ready insight must have been great for he did not scorn knowledge, although he scorned honors, and Dorcas displayed a [Pg 185] marvelous aptitude for study. Even this bore a cross to him. “She is more like a boy than a girl at books,” he thought, and cherished the memory of every gentle womanly exhibition.
Daniel dearly loved Lucretia. ”

“ Next morning I was out in the garden marveling over the wondrous beauty of their surroundings, when Uncle Joseph came to look for me. His is a very sweet spirit, and I may be wrong, but there is pity in my heart for him. [Pg 92] Not that Aunt Élise (as she calls it, although I should pronounce it Eliza) does not try to do her duty by him, but that her education has given her false standards. ”

“ Her beauty as a matron surpassed that of her girlhood, [Pg 207] and it became a matter of merrymaking in the household that a stranger never passed her without turning to look a second time. Her sweet spirit was overflowing with thankfulness for the great blessing of fervid affection from so manly and upright a companion as George Townsend. Indeed, if ever the taint of pride clung to Dorcas it was when she thought of her husband. ”

“ Toward evening aunt invited me to drive into the city with her and bring Uncle Joseph home. They do not have dinner until seven o’clock, which seems very late to me; but about one, or a little before, we have a nice meal which I thought was dinner, until I was told to call it lunch. Aunt herself says it is breakfast.
The roads are so pretty, fine houses on every hand. It only [Pg 94] seems to me that there is an air of extravagance, which I deprecate, for there seem to be no small and unpretentious homes, until the city is reached, and there everything is so dreary! ”

“ I am sure I should get lost very easily, for Boston’s streets are as crooked as Philadelphia’s are straight. I said to aunt that I should hardly dare for some time to come to town alone, and she answered:
“Never, I trust. It is highly improper for a pretty young girl to go out without an attendant.”
I am sure thee never thought thus. Perhaps she was but trying to play upon my vanity.
I think the neighborhood must be a pleasant one just about Uncle Joseph, for yesterday a number of persons called, and spoke kindly to me. ”

“ I expected the H. and A. families were as eager for the abolition of slavery as their forefathers were to found a “free and independent nation,” and behold! they jeer at Garrison and Phillips and hesitate to do any thing that will hurt Southern pride.
Thee has ever taught me to “judge not,” yet I would that the [Pg 152] youth of distinguished patriot families now enjoying every educational advantage at the great seat of learning—Harvard College—might also feel the throb of sympathy for the oppressed. But we must turn back to the terrible slave trial. ”

“ Why is it to do right sometimes costs so much trouble to others? I think thee would say: We cannot solve all the problems of life; this is one that must rest with a higher intelligence than our own.
Uncle Joseph has just brought me a card of invitation to a party at the house of John B.’s mother. A queer little dark woman full of learning! With the card was a penciled note: “Our liberal entertainment will not take place until the week following Thanksgiving.” I suppose uncle wrote this, rather than talk about it before my aunt. ”

“ Are the summer mornings longer in Philadelphia than elsewhere, or is it the admirable Quaker custom of breaking the fast at the usual hour on Sunday that gives such delightful leisure before the calm walk to meeting at half past ten?
Certain it is that the Sabbath of June 11 was no exception to the general rule, and when John and Martha Wilson, with their daughter Cassy, passed beyond [Pg 4] the brick wall which separates the sanctuary from the street, there were groups of Friends kindly inquiring after the welfare of each other, and offering greeting to such as were unaccustomed to the place. ”

“ So the heavy silken bands that graced the brows of both sisters were closely covered with beribboned caps, and bordered with “false fronts” of dusky hair, coiled on each side over two small combs, forming stiff and ungainly puffs that did not seem to belong to the little women, but to which they were so much attached that one never admitted the other to her chamber until the structure was erected, or a huge nightcap entirely concealed the absence of it. ”

“ Search out the hidden places! Let the light stream in and your sins shall be wiped away. Fear not man; that which it is impressed upon you to reveal, dare not to keep secret.”
She resumed her seat and her bonnet, but the seed she had sown took deep root in Cassy’s heart. All through the remaining [Pg 12] hour she revolved its teaching in her soul. It was clear the meaning for her was a stronger and heartier purification of her thoughts. Not that George Evans was an unholy object, nor that his affection was to be despised, but that the meeting-house was not the place for human admiration. ”

“ Just as the carryall came in sight of the Colonel’s homestead, the first twitter of awakening birds brought a new sense of life and activity into the world. The dark forest behind the house sent forth a thousand notes of welcome to the day, and the clear spring, where the old horse turned to drink, added its gentle murmur.
Mrs. Mountain was touched, her eyes moistened.
“Alas!” she said, noting the movement of the old gray, “the world never stops for any of us. ”

“ It was quite dark when we got to Uncle Joseph’s house, and I think I had a little fear of meeting his wife, whom I can scarcely call “Aunt” without an effort, so different is she from the simple women that I love. Her very first greeting disturbed me, it was so extravagant, and as full of embraces as if she had always known me; but she was very kind when she learned that my head ached, and supported me tenderly to my chamber, where she helped me undress, and then with her own [Pg 91] hands, although they have several domestics, brought me a bit of toast and tea. ”

“ Almost a hundred years ago, there was born into a staid Quaker household a child whose very physique set at defiance all the rules of the orderly family.
The father, Daniel, and the mother, Lucretia Chester, were fair, colorless persons, and the brown hair of the latter was severely banded beneath her clear muslin cap. One can imagine the tinge of dismay that must have clouded the fatherly affection for his firstborn, when Daniel perceived that the babe was a dimpled, dark-eyed daughter, whose wealth of raven locks [Pg 178] fell into soft rings about her brow. ”

“ The wrath of man, like the wrath of God, was to be known and feared; the evil-doer was beaten into the path of the righteous, not led by the law of love. Too much of this spirit exists at the present time, but seventy-five years ago the force of public opinion tended in that direction. ”

“ They have been raised up for a holy purpose, and if, as it seems, the busy mart is deaf to their entreaties for universal liberty, unconditional emancipation, the sin will lie at its own door should bloodshed follow.
I am afraid this meeting with [Pg 138] those in whom I am so much interested will rather spoil me for our everyday routine. It is pleasant enough, but it seems selfish to devote so large a share of time to one’s entertainment. I sometimes long for active work; but aunt says it spoils the domestics (servants is her word) to help them, and it spoils a “lady’s hands”! ”

“ Jane Spencer was always very meek under reproof, and I felt glad that others sustained her desire that Uncle Joseph should be a little less deliberate in his action.
“I can hardly think that he realizes Sarah’s worth,” said a late comer.
“On the contrary,” it was Rhoda Longstreet’s voice, “I am sometimes inclined to believe that his doubt rests upon his own [Pg 169] merit. If he were one of the world’s people I should say he was bashful. As it is, I shall call him slow in perceiving his adaptation to any peculiar calling.” ”

“ A little maiden had for eight years walked beside her. A faithful representative of the Chester household. Truly, if Daniel had regretted his own daughter’s alien features, he was content now in the miniature Lucretia whose demure air was a marked contrast to the flashing wit of her dark-eyed mother.
The village, too, was changed. Through George Townsend’s exertions [Pg 208] manufacturing interests flourished, and although wealth was pouring into his coffers, the comfort of a thousand lesser households told of just dealing between man and man. ”

“ I am not certain that I can trust my pride, which gets the better of poor mortals so soon, but thee told me to do as nearly as possible without troubling my conscience, as aunt desires, therefore I shall wear the expensive garments with less thought of the unnecessary outlay than I otherwise could. Uncle Joseph says the color of the fur is the only thing that reconciles me to the purchase. ”

“ At times, toward dawn especially, when the men grew weary, I suppose, the pistols were flourished as if they were harmless things. I drew very near to dear aunt once, but she quietly pointed to Lucretia Mott, whose age required rest, but whose motion betrayed neither her weariness nor deep concern. ”

“ The passer-by winced as he heard the loud laugh or the fearful curse; and the faces that pressed against the iron casement were faces of the young and the old, of women as well as men, and gathered from the ranks of first offenders as well as those of the hardened criminals.
One morning, while yet Dorcas sat at the head of the breakfast table, dispensing as much of cheer [Pg 209] by her sunny face as from the viands, a message was brought requesting her presence at the county jail. ”