menu_book Chapter 20

CHAPTER XX. THE WIVES OF BRIGGMJONG. THEIR HISTORY AND THEIR DAILY LIFE. The wives of Brigmmjong have always been subjects of interest to Gentiles who visited Zion, and having spoken of their husband, I think it is only fair that I should say a few words about them.

For many years I have known personally all the prophets' wives who reside in Salt Lake City, and I wish to speak of them with kindness and respect. They are women whom anyone would esteem, conscientious, good, earnest women, faithful, true-hearted wives who have devoted their lives to the carrying out of what they believe is the revealed will of God. When I first knew Brother Brigmm, poor man, he had only sixteen living with him in Salt Lake City,

and even now he has no more than nineteen. Perhaps I ought to say eighteen, since Eliza Anne has run away from him and left the poor old gentleman desolate and forlorn. The three whom he took after I came to Utah were Amelia Folsom, Mary Van Cot Cobb, and Eliza Anne. But the reader will perhaps be interested in hearing about them all, and so I will state the names and order of the ladies as they at present stand according to the date of their marriage,

making mention of the proxy wives last of all for the sake of convenience and without reference to date. Of course Brother Brigmm has had many more than nineteen wives, but the following are the living ladies. Others are dead or have strayed away. No one knew with her, and perhaps as Brother Heber once said to me, nobody cared. Allow me to introduce the Mrs. Young. Number one. First in order is Mrs. Mary Anne Angel Young, but she is not the first wife that Brother Brigmm ever

had. Once upon a time Brother Brigmm was a Methodist, but after listening to the preaching of the Mormon missionaries he became a vile apostate, as he loves to call those who leave his present faith, and he forsook Methodism. In those days before he apostatized, and long before he ever dreamed of polygamy, he had but one wife, one only. It must seem strange to the prophet to look back to that period of solitary existence. His second wife was Mrs. Angel Young, and I call her

his first wife, because she is the first of those living now. As she was married to him after the death of his first wife, she is of course his legal wife, and would be recognized as such in any civilized country. She is a very fine looking old lady, and very much devoted to her unfaithful lord and master, firmly believing in his divine mission. She lives by herself, and is seldom troubled with a visit from her affectionate spouse. Once in a while, Brigmm brings her out to a party,

when he has invited any Gentiles, just for appearance's sake. Quite a number of persons in Utah believe that she is dead, so very little is seen and known of her. She lives in the White House, Brigmm's first residence in Salt Lake City, and is much thought of by those who do know her. Her children are greatly attached to her, and show her a great deal of attention, making up in this way to a certain extent for her husband's neglect. Her three sons, Joseph A., Brigmm, who it is

expected will succeed his father as the president of the church, and John W., as well as her two daughters, Alice and Luna, are all in polygamy. Each of the sons has three wives, and each of the daughters has a half-sister as a partner in her husband's affections. Brigmm has not the slightest objection to giving two of his daughters to the same husband. Lucy Decker Sealy Young, number two. Lucy Decker Sealy Young was his first wife in polygamy. Her former husband was a Mr. Sealy.

She is short and stout, a very excellent mother and a devoted wife. Her son, Brigmm Heber, is now one of the cadets at West Point. The sending of this young man to West Point to be educated, when it was noticed in the public papers, excited some little interest, and the faith of many good Mormons was very much shaken by it. They had believed that Brigmm really meant what he taught when he told the people not to allow their children to associate with the Gentiles, as it would cause them to lose

the spirit. But they were still further shocked when they learned that several other sons of Brigmm were to go to the Eastern states to be educated. They have yet to learn that the prophet does not intend them to do as he does, but rather as he tells them. My own opinion is that Brother Brigmm has advocated one course of conduct for the people while he pursued another himself. Clara Decker Young is the third wife. She is a sister of Lucy Sealy and like her is short and

stout, but otherwise good-looking. She is more than 20 years younger than her lord, with whom she was once quite a favorite. But like many others, she has had her day, to use Brigmm's own expression, and is now, as a matter of course, neglected. Number four. Harriet Cooke Young is tall with light hair and blue eyes, and is an intelligent, but not at all a refined woman. She is said to have given a great deal of trouble to Brother Brigmm, of whom she has frequently said very hard

things. In times past, she had the reputation of being a good deal more than a match for her husband when she had any cause of offense against him. But in her quiet moments, she is a very sincere Mormon. She has only one son, Oscar Young, now about 25 years of age. When he was born, Brigmm kindly announced to her that because she was not obedient, she should have no more children, and during more than a quarter of a century, he has kept his word. Why she has remained with him so long is a mystery,

for she makes no secret of her feelings towards him. Number five. Lucy Bigelow Young is quite a fine-looking woman, tall and fair and still quite young. She has three pretty daughters. Brigmm has recently sent her to live in southern Utah. Mrs. Twist Young. Mrs. Twist Young has no children, but she is a very good housewife, and Brigmm appreciates her accordingly, and has given her the position of housekeeper in the Lion House. Women have two great privileges in the Mormon

Church. They may ask a man to marry them if they chance to fancy him, and if they don't like him afterwards, they are able to obtain a divorce for the moderate sum of ten dollars, which sum the husband is expected to pay. Mrs. Twist exercised the first privilege in reference to Brother Brigmm, but has not yet availed herself of the last. There are other ladies who thought it would be a great honor to be called the wives of the prophet, and they have requested him to allow them

to be called by his name. This he has done, but he has never troubled them with his society. Number seven. Martha Boucher Young is a quiet little body with piercing dark eyes and very retiring. Brother Brigmm acts towards her as if he had quite forgotten that he had ever married her, and she lives in all the loneliness of married spinsterhood. Number eight. Harriet Barney Seegers Young, the eighth wife, is a tall, fine-looking woman. She was another man's wife when Brigmm made

love to her. It is not supposed to be the correct thing for a saint to court his neighbor's wife, but the prophet did so in the case of Harriet Barney, and in several other cases, too. Harriet was married to a respectable young Mormon gentleman, but after she had lived with him some time and had borne three children to him, the prophet persuaded her to join his ranks, and she did so believing that the word of the prophet was the revelation of the Lord to her.

But she has since had bitter cause to repent of her folly. To a gentile mind, such an infatuation must appear very strange, but the Mormon people personally understand the powerful influence which their religion exercises over them, and to them there is nothing very singular in all this. Number nine. Eliza Burgess Young is the only English wife that Brigmm has. She fell in love with the prophet, wanted him to marry her, and even offered to wait, like Jacob, for seven years

if she might be his at last. So she served in the family of her lord for the appointed time, and he finally took her to wife as a recompense for her faithfulness. She has added one son to the prophet's kingdom. The tenth wife on my list is Susan Snively Young. She is a German woman, smart, active, and industrious. She has no children, but has been quite a help-meet to her husband in making butter and cheese,

in which she excels. Smart Mormons always had an eye to business, and while living up to their privileges, have not invariably sought for wives who were only fair and pleasant to look upon, but have frequently taken them for their own intrinsic worth, one as a good dairy maid, another as a good cook, a third as a good laundress, and a fourth as a lady to grace the parlor. Perhaps even two or three of this last kind, if the saint were wealthy.

There is a good deal of practical wisdom in this. Brother Brigham has gathered all sorts into his net, and has then sorted them out, placing each lady in the place where he considered she would be the most useful and profitable to himself. Number 11. Margaret Pierce Young is very ladylike, tall and genteel. She has the appearance of being very unhappy, and it is certain that she has been very much neglected, but not more so than many of

the other wives. She has one son. Number 12. When I first went to Utah, Emmeline Free Young was the reigning favorite, and she was really the handsomest of Brigham's wives, tall and graceful with curling hair, beautiful eyes, and fair complexion. Brigham was as fond of her at the time as a man of his nature with such a low estimate of woman could be. But a younger, though not a handsomer, rival soon captivated his fickle

heart, and he left poor Emmeline to mourn in sorrow. She has never been herself since then, and probably never will be. She is a broken-hearted woman. She is the mother of quite a numerous family, as she had been the favorite for so long a time. She was a very good-natured woman, and she has always been the favorite of many of her most famous family. She had come to believe that her husband would never seek another love. But if this was so, she sadly miscalculated Brigham,

for when his licentious fancy was attracted to another object of affection, he cast off Emmeline as ruthlessly as he would an old garment. What decent person could refrain from loathing such a man! How often has my heart gone out in sympathy towards that poor wrecked woman whom he has forsaken! What a pity I deemed it that so much love should be wasted upon a creature who could never understand or appreciate it! And yet, Emmeline's fate has been no worse than that of

the others. But I was more with her, and saw how keenly she suffered, and I sympathized with her when her sorrows brought her nearly to the point of death. Number Thirteen Amelia Falsom Young is now the favorite, and it is supposed that she will continue to be so, for at last poor Brother Brigham has found a woman of whom he stands in dread. It is doubtful whether

he loves her, but nobody in Zion doubts that he fears her. It is said that the prophet has confided so many of his secrets to Amelia that he is obliged to submit to her tyranny for fear of her leaving him and exposing some of his little ways which would not bear the light. Be that as it may, it is generally believed that after all his matrimonial alliances he has found at last his master in the person of Amelia. Even good saints, friends of the prophet, secretly enjoy

the idea of him being at last brought under petticoat government, for it is believed that Brigham used unfair means to obtain her, and that at last he only gained his object by diluting her into the belief that the Lord had revealed to him that it was her duty to become his wife. One thing is very certain, he was as crazy over her as a silly boy over his first love. Much to the disgust of his more sober brethren who felt rather ashamed of the folly of their leader.

At the theater a seat was reserved for her at his side, and in the ballroom the same special attention was shown to her. He would open the ball and after dancing with each of his other wives, who might be present, simply for appearance sake, the remainder of the evening was devoted to her. For all that his inconstant heart could not remain faithful to her, and old habits and feelings, to all appearance, have come over him again, and he has gone astray.

Julia Dean, the actress, was the first to draw him from Amelia's side, and it would have been a sorry day for Amelia if Julia had favored the prophet's suit. Then the charms of Mary Van Cot touched his sensitive heart, to say nothing of Eliza Anne, his last, but yet not his best beloved. With all this experience, and the constant evidences of the fickleness of brother Brigham's heart before her eyes, there is no wonder that poor Amelia feels compelled to hold tight the reins

now that they are in her own hands. For if it is not much to be known as Brigham's wife, it is a great deal to be known as his favorite. As for the future, it is whispered that brother Brigham has lately been setting his house in order, and in the ordinary course of nature, Amelia is almost certain to outlive for many years her aged lord. She therefore can afford to wait for the good time coming. But Amelia knows that she would sink into oblivion if he were to

cast her off for another before his death. Number fourteen. Mary Van Cot Cobb Young, who became Brigham's wife after his marriage to Amelia, is a very handsome woman about 28 years of age. She is tall, slender, and graceful, and has been married to the prophet about six years. At first he appeared to be very devoted to her, but Amelia soon put a stop to that. Nevertheless, she has since her marriage presented a little daughter to her lord, greatly to the annoyance

of Amelia, who has no children, and who is reported to have said some naughty things about the matter, which was very wrong of her, for Mary Van Cot is known by everyone to be beyond reproach or suspicion. She is said to be very unhappy, and though Brigham has provided her with a fine house and every comfort, yet she seldom sees him. Not perhaps more than once in three months or so, though it is generally believed that his spirit is willing, but Amelia won't allow it.

Number fifteen. Eliza Anne Webb D. Young, whose separation from Brigham Young has attracted so much public attention, has told her own story in her own words, which as it forms an interesting page in the biography of the prophet, I shall now present exactly as it was written to the reader. I was living on my father's farm in Little Cottonwood when in the summer of 1867 Brigham Young informed my father that he wanted me for a wife. Brigham, with a number of the

apostles and elders from this city, was visiting Cottonwood on a Sunday and held two meetings for preaching. It was at the close of the four noon service, on that occasion, that he walked up to me and said, Had I not better accompany you home? I said, Certainly, if you wish to. On the way to my father's house, Brigham asked me if I had had any proposals of marriage, since I had obtained a divorce from my first husband. I answered him, Yes, that I had had several proposals.

He then asked if there was any one of them that I wished to accept. I said, No, on which he said that he would like to give me a little advice. He advised me not to wait to marry a person whom I loved, but to marry some good man whom I could respect and look up to and receive good counsel from. I thanked him for his counsel, and as my home was so near to the place of meeting, the conversation abruptly terminated. I thought nothing further of it. His brother Joseph and

George Q. Cannon joined us at the dinner table, and while there Brigham and the others remarked how youthful I had grown since I had got out of my former troubles. As I had much improved in every way, I did not regard his observations as any intended compliment or any indication of what afterwards I learned to be passing in his mind. At the close of the afternoon service, he went up to my father, took him aside, and talked for at least two hours to him about me, and told him how

he had watched me from my infancy, saw me grow up to womanhood, had always loved me and intended to marry me. But having taken Amelia just after the law was passed in Congress, prohibiting polygamy, he feared to take another wife soon after, lest it should make trouble, or he would have taken me then. My marriage with the young man was unlooked for to him, and when he was made acquainted with it he did not just like to stop it, he said, and so he let it go on, but always hoped that the time would

come when he would have me. He wanted father and mother to use all their influence with me, and it would be the best thing I could do. He asked father if a good house well furnished, and one thousand a year pocket money would be enough for me, and added that if it was not sufficient I should have more. Father answered that he thought it would be sufficient. Brigham stood two hours or more with father, and kept the whole of the carriages that conveyed the party

standing, waiting till after sundown, and little did I think that I was the object of interest. When father came home he told mother by herself, and then they told me. I cannot describe my feelings, I was frightened, the thought of it was a perfect horror. I thought father had gone crazy, and I would not believe his statement for hours. When I realized that it was a fact, I could do nothing but cry. The idea of an old man, sixty-seven years of age, the husband of about

twenty wives living, asking me at twenty-two to be added to the number, filled me with the utmost abhorrence, and when I saw that my parents were under his influence and sustained his proposition, I was ready to die in despair. Oh, the horrible hours that I spent in crying, and moaning, no tongue can picture. When father saw that I took it so badly, he told me that I would not be forced into it, but if I could bring my feelings to it, and accept Brigham, it would be pleasing to him,

and mother favored it in the same way. About a month after this I was in the city with an intimate lady friend, and as we were walking near to Brigham's house, he came to the gate and waited for our arrival. When I saw him I thought that I would get up courage to tell him that I would not marry him, but I could not say it. That peculiar influence that he throws over everybody when he has a purpose to effect completely overcame me. He did not allude to the subject at all. I shook

hands and passed on. He became very kind to my parents and saw father frequently. He sent for me to come to the city on several occasions, and met me at my father's city residence and talked to me about marriage, told me how pure his feelings were, and that his only motive was to do me good, save me in the kingdom, and make me a queen. All that had no effect upon me. It only disgusted me the more, and the fear that I dared not resist him never left me. This continued for nearly a year.

My eldest brother had had some business transactions with Brigham and one of his sons, which resulted in trouble and ultimately in financial injury to my brother. Brigham had been very angry with him and threatened to cut him off from the church. I heard of those threats and, believing at that time in Mormonism, I heard them with deep sorrow, and confessed that in hopes of turning Brigham's anger away from my brother, I began to entertain the thought that

I would yield to his request. I argued, as many inexperienced persons do, that as I had had a sorrowful life and my heart was crushed, my future life was nothing, and if I could sacrifice myself for my brother's interest and please my parents, I would at last submit. Finally, Brigham named the marriage day and informed me, through my father, that what I required in preparation for my marriage he would furnish. But I would accept nothing.

A day before my marriage he brought me three dress patterns, one silk and two merino, and handed to me a purse with a fifty dollar bill. On the blank April, 1868, I was married to him in the endowment house by Heber C. Kimball, his first counselor. My father and mother were present with others. Brigham's brother, Joseph, also took to himself a wife at the same time. After the ceremony I walked over with him to the

conference, and in the evening I returned to my father's house and remained there for a month. For the first few months I had considerable of his attention. His visits were frequent. After that his business cares so occupied him, he said, that he could only call about once in three months. After that he came just as it happened. When I was married he wanted my mother to live with me in the city, and a year from the marriage he sent us to take charge of his farm,

where we remained till last August, and I removed again into the city. While I was at the farm he came very seldom to see me, and often times while he would visit and look round at the farm he never came into the house. I had caused him no trouble. Indeed, he had said, I was the best wife he had, for I had never given him a cross word or look. But for that good temper I take no credit, for my silence was all through fear. I never loved him and never said to him that

I loved him. I looked upon him as a heartless despot. From the very beginning of my married association with Brigham Young his manner of providing for me was of the meanest character. I had to come up even from the farm four miles distant to the commissary of his family, and was glad when I could get five pounds of sugar, one quarter of a pound of tea, a bar of soap, and a pound of candles. That I would get about once a month. About a year ago I complained to him that

I had not sugar enough, and he allowed me what I required. When I returned to the city he furnished me a house in a very ordinary way, and I continued to live in the best manner I could. But it was the same stingy way. When a beef was killed I got some fresh meat, but I was frequently months without seeing it. Tired with this manner of existence I asked his permission to keep borders, with the view of aiding myself and procuring for one of my sons a musical instrument, as he was passionately fond

of music. The permission was granted, and I kept borders from last March. My house was small, and the business was not very lucrative. I consequently went to him six weeks ago, and asked him to aid me, to give me some assistance to make life tolerable. He seemed angry, and complained that he had so many expenses, and that he wanted me to keep myself, to take the money that I had saved to buy an organ for my son, and keep myself and family with it. I got a stove out of him, but that was all.

During the last year I obtained from him two calico dresses. This interview made me sick, and I was in bed for a week with heart sickness. One of the boarders who was a lawyer, and his wife, asked what ailed me, and I told the story of my troubles, and inquired if there was no redress. He said that he thought that there was, and he would consult with other lawyers and see what could be done. During all my sickness while I was his wife, he showed the utmost indifference. He would hear what

I had to say, but make almost no answer. Last fall I was attacked with pleurisy, and I managed to get to his office to see him, to tell him how ill I was, and that I needed some few things. He appeared to comprehend something, and finally called John, the commissary for the family, and told him to get me two bits worth of fresh meat. He has not been inside my house for nearly a year. While I was feeling bad, I read Mrs. Stenhouse's book, and that showed me things in a clearer light than I had seen

them before. I knew every word was true from my own sad experience, and it encouraged me to leave the hateful polygamic life, and I am glad I have done it. About five weeks ago I got very weak. I don't know what was the matter with me, probably general debility from grief and mental suffering. My borders, seeing my condition, aided me freely, and were very kind to me. I resolved to leave his house, packed up my clothes, and instructed an auctioneer two weeks ago to take away the furniture

and sell it, as a part of it was my own, and I thought it was entitled to the rest. The suit commenced has been instituted by my attorneys, who have every confidence that I can obtain alimony. But whether I do or not, I think the world should know Brigham Young as he is, and my story is a page of his biography. This is the story of Eliza Anne told in her own words. She is the only wife whom Brigham has not

supported, but she has been allowed to keep Gentile borders. I suppose Brother Young had some reason when he made this exception. Miss Eliza R. Snow, number sixteen. Miss Eliza R. Snow, I mention here, as I have not followed the order of date. She and the three ladies whose names I shall presently give, are the proxy wives of Brigham living with him. Eliza Anne, who has become notorious of late, is popularly known as his nineteenth wife. She is his nineteenth living

wife, and the last wedded according to date. But if the deceased wives were taken into consideration, she might perhaps be about the thirtieth. In this list I have put all the living wives who are sealed to Brigham for eternity first, and thus I count Eliza Anne, number fifteen. But had I placed the proxy wives, who are only Brigham's for time, in the list, she would, of course, be the nineteenth. The newspapers which have written her into notoriety know nothing of proxy and spiritual wives.

All are alike to them. Eliza Roxy Snow is always spoken of among the saints as Miss Eliza R. Snow. I have already mentioned her, and need therefore only add that Eliza is the high priestess and poet general of the Church. She is highly thought of by the saints, and the year before last was one of a company of Mormon missionaries who visited the Holy Land for the purpose of consecrating it to the Lord. Last summer she traveled through the settlements in Utah, urging women to enter

into the celestial order. She is only a proxy wife to Brigham, and will belong to Joseph Smith in the resurrection. Number seventeen. Zina D. Huntington Jacobs Young is another proxy wife, and a widow of the Prophet Joseph. She too will have to be handed over in the day of reckoning. She has one grown-up daughter of whom I shall presently speak under rather interesting circumstances. Number eighteen. Emily Partridge Young is a tall, dark-eyed, handsome woman,

and she also is a proxy wife, a relict of Joseph. When Joseph died, Brigham told his wives that they were at liberty to choose whom they would for husbands, and some of them showed their appreciation of his generosity by choosing him himself. Thus it was that Emily Partridge became Brigham's wife. The Prophet has dealt kindly to his brother Joseph Smith through her, for she has quite a family of children to be handed over with her. She was young and handsome when the Prophet died, but perhaps it

would be wrong to suppose that that had anything to do with Brigham's generosity to his brother, for it is generally believed that he took all those wives of Joseph from pure principle. Number nineteen. Augusta Cobb Young is a very fine-looking woman, and must have been quite handsome in her youthful days. As I before stated, she formerly lived in Boston, but hearing Brigham preach, she fell in love with him, abandoned her home, children, and husband, and taking her

youngest child with her went to Salt Lake City and was married to the Prophet. It was she who, when Brigham began to neglect her, wanted to be sealed to Christ, but was ultimately added to the kingdom of Joseph Smith. Now these are the Prophet's wives, his real, living wives, nineteen in all. How many spiritual wives he has had, it would be impossible to say. Probably he himself does not know their number. Lately I believe he has been making his will, and if so, I suppose he

has taken count of all. He has, besides in various parts of Utah, many other wives who are all more or less provided for, but they are of little account, and he seldom or never sees them. The nineteen whom I have named form his family at home, as I may say, are all under his own roof, or at least they live in Salt Lake City and are known to everyone as his wives. The number of his children it would be very difficult to estimate.

I can count up by name between forty and fifty, and I think the Prophet's living children are rather under the latter figure. His family has, however, been much diminished by death, though since I went to Utah this has not been the case so much as I believe it was formerly. One Mormon writer, a very reliable and trustworthy man, says that the children that the Prophet has lost would fill a fair-sized graveyard. This very probably may be true, as in the early days of the

settlement in Utah, privation and the lack of proper medical attendance must have constantly proved fatal to the young children of the Saints, but it was before my time, and therefore I cannot speak from personal experience. A Mormon gentleman one day told me a very funny story in reference to the Prophet and his little family. He said that he had just had occasion to call in at a store in Main Street to make some purchases when Brigham himself came in and entered into conversation with

him. A smart-looking clever little boy entered the store a few minutes after and handed a note to the proprietor. Brother Brigham seemed to be greatly interested in the child and asked him several questions in a playful way. Turning at length to my informant he said, That's a nice boy, brother blank. Whose child is it? This was a very awkward question, for the gentleman was aware that the child was one of Brigham's own. He did not like to

tell him so, so he replied indirectly, He's one of Mrs. Young's children, President. The Prophet looked somewhat amused, but did not utter a word in reply. I give this story only for what it is worth and no more. The gentleman who told it doubtless expected to be believed, but knowing the Prophet and his family as I do, I consider the statement exaggerated, to say the least. It is a heavy responsibility to have five and forty children,

most of them girls too, without being accused of forgetting their personality altogether. In his habits and mode of living, Brigham Young is very simple, or at least was so until recently. When I first knew him, he was dressed in plain homespun, homemade and every article about his person and his houses was as plain and unostentatious as could possibly be. But the importation of gentiles and gentile goods since the opening of the railway has worked a great change.

His wives, who once carried simplicity of dress almost to the verge of dowdyism, have now acquired a taste for Eastern fashions. And I think if Brigham were a younger man, and were likely to live another ten years, he would find that wives were more expensive luxuries now than they were in the era of dugouts and sunbonnets. The Prophet's first home in Utah was a little cottage, which is now known as the White House.

The same house, I believe, which was valued at sixty thousand dollars, and which Brother Tennant supposed he bought. A more scandalous and barefaced robbery never was perpetrated. This on the hillside, north of the Eagle Gate, and is now the residence of his first wife, Mrs. Angel Young. The Beehive House is the official residence of Brother Brigham. There he used to reign supreme as Governor Young, and thence he now issues secular and ecclesiastical

edicts to all who acknowledge his sway. There is one lady resident in this house, Mrs. Lucy Decker Young, and no one else is permitted to intrude upon its privacy. Here the Prophet has his own private bedroom, and here he breakfasts when he has been home overnight. The Lion House is what ought to be the home of the Prophet, for here nearly all his wives reside. He has, however, many other houses in the city. On the basement floor, the dining room, kitchen,

pantry, and other general offices. The first floor is divided by a long passage with doors on each side. On the right hand about a half dozen wives with small families find accommodation. On the left, at the entrance, is the parlor, and the other rooms on that side are occupied by mothers with larger families and ladies who have a little more than ordinary attention. The upper floor is divided into twenty square bedrooms. There is no extravagance in the

furniture or apparel of these wives, but they are comfortable and kept neat and clean. Again and again the Prophet has declared that the ten dollar fees which are obtained from the divorces provide his wives with pin money. I do not believe a word of this, as the amount thus obtained is far more than the avaricious soul of the Prophet would allow to pass out of his hands for feminine vanities, but I know of another source of income which is open to the wives.

They are allowed all the fruit, peaches especially, which they or their children can gather or dry. This in fact is pretty nearly their only pin money. Their Lord is not a generous man, and they have to make the most of trifles. The Prophet usually dines in the Lion House at three in the afternoon. Mrs. Twisyoung, as I mentioned before, acts the part of housekeeper, and she acts it well. At three, punctually, the bell rings and the mothers with their children

move down to the dining room. They are all seated at a very long table, which is lengthened by turning round at the end of the room. Each mother has her children around her. Brigham sits at the head of the table with his favorite when at home, vis-à-vis, or on his left, and if a visitor is present he sits at the Prophet's right hand. The repast is frugal but ample, for Brigham is a sober and exceedingly economical man. This is the first time he sees his family. In the evening at seven

o'clock, the bell again rings and the mothers and the children again fill the sides and end of the parlor. When they are all seated, the Patriarch enters, takes his seat at the table, and chats quietly with those who chance to go in with him to prayers. When all the members of the family are assembled, the door is closed. All kneel down and the Prophet prays, invoking special blessings upon Zion and the Kingdom. This is the last that his family will see of him for the day, unless they

have occasion to seek him privately. With his family, Brother Brigham is said to be kind, but it is supposed to be more the awe which his position as Prophet inspires than the love which they bear him as a man, which renders him successful in managing them. At the same time, that sweet familiarity is destroyed, which should exist between husband and wife, father and children. With such a number of wives, he cannot possibly wait upon them in visiting and in the ballroom

and other places of amusement. With the exception of his reigning favorite, whoever for the time she may happen to be, no one expects his attentions. At the theater, a full number of seats are reserved, and his wives attend or remain at home as they please. They sit in the body of the parquet among the rest of the people, but one of the two proscenium boxes is reserved for him and beside him is a chair for the favorite, Amelia. When he goes to the ball, the same attention is shown. He dances first with

the favorite, and if half dozen more of his wives have accompanied them, he will dance with each of them once in the course of the evening. But with the favorite, he dances as frequently as any youth in the ballroom with his first maiden love. The apostles and leading men of the community, who dance attendance on him and desire his favor, are sure to seek the pleasure of her hand and place her in the same cotillion with Brigham, who is thus able all the evening to enjoy her company.

Some of the apostles and elders look with pain upon this boyishness of the prophet and deplore it. Many of them are attached to their first wives and have shown them consideration and attention, which has not always pleased Brother Brigham. I have heard more than one of them express a wish that the prophet had been a little more attentive to his own first wife. It is only fair to Amelia, the reigning favorite, to state that she has always been kind and

respectful to Mrs. Angel Young. Up to within the last few years, the community heard nothing of the prophet's family but what was strictly decorous and creditable. If there was any wrongdoing, it must have been very effectively hidden from the knowledge of outside observers. His wives are kind and faithful mothers seeking to live their religion and ambitious to increase the glory of their lord. I know them all personally, some of them intimately, and while I have heard

from some with heavy hearts of their difficulties in bearing the cross which all Mormon women have to sustain, they have tried, I know, to be submissive and I think it due to them that I should make this present recognition of their goodness of disposition and purity of soul. End of chapter 20