Tabitha Dreams of a Better Society, 1841

From The Lowell Offering; A Repository of Original Articles Written Exclusively by Females Actively Employed in the Mills. Vol. I. Lowell, Mass.: Powers & Bagley, 1841, p. 191-92.

A NEW SOCIETY.

"Dreams are but interludes which fancy makes;
When monarch reason sleeps, this mimic wakes:
Compounds a medley of disjointed things,
A court of cobblers, and a mob of kings.
Light fumes are merry, grosser fumes are sad;
Both are the reasonable soul run mad:--
And many forms and things in sleep we see,
That neither were, nor are&151;but haply yet may be."

It was Saturday night. The toils of the week were at an end; and, seated at the table with my book, I was feasting upon the treasures of knowledge which it contained. One by one my companions had left me, until I was alone. How long I continued to read I know not; but I had closed my book, and sat ruminating upon the many changes and events which are continually taking place in this transitory world of ours. My reverie was disturbed by the opening of the door, and a little boy entered the room, who, handing me a paper, retired without speaking. I unfolded the paper, and the first article which caught my eye was headed, "Annual Meeting of the Society for the promotion of Industry, Virtue and Knowledge." It read as follows: "At the annual meeting of this society, the following resolutions were unanimously adopted:

"1.Resolved, That every father of a family who neglects to give his daughters the same advantages for an education which he gives his sons, shall be expelled from this society, and be considered a heathen."

"2.Resolved, That no member of this society shall exact more than eight hours of labour, out of every twenty-four, of any person in his or her employment."

"3.Resolved, That, as the laborer is worthy of his hire, the price for labor shall be sufficient to enable the working-people to pay a proper attention to scientific and literary pursuits."

"4.Resolved, That the wages of females shall be equal to the wages of males, that they may be enabled to maintain proper independence of character, and virtuous deportment."

"5.Resolved, That no young gentleman of this society shall be allowed to be of age, or to transact business for himself, until he shall have a good knowledge of the English language, understand book-keeping, both by single and double entry, and be capable of transacting all town business."

"6.Resolved, That no young lady belonging to this society shall be considered marriageable, who does not understand how to manage the affairs of the kitchen, and who does not, each month, write at least enough to fill one page of imperial octavo."

"7.Resolved, That we will not patronize the writings of any person who does not spend at least three hours in each day, when health will permit, either in manual labor, or in some employment which will be a public benefit, and which shall not appertain to literary pursuits."

"8.Resolved, That each member of this society shall spend three hours in each day in the cultivation of the mental faculties, or forfeit membership, extraordinaries excepted."

"9.Resolved, That industry, virtue and knowledge, (not wealth and titles,) shall be the standard of respectability for this society."

I stopped at the ninth resolution, to ponder upon what I had read; and I thought it was remarkably strange that I had not before heard of this society. There was a gentle tap at the door, and a gentleman entered the room, with a modest request for subscribers to a new periodical which was about to be issued from the press. I showed him what I had been reading. He glanced his eyes upon it, and exclaimed, "Oh happy America! Thrice happy land of Freedom! Thy example shall yet free all nations from the galling chains of mental bondage; and teach to earth's remotest ends, in what true happiness consists!"

By reading the remainder of the article, I learned that this society, and its auxiliaries, already numbered more than two-thirds of the population of the United States, and was rapidly increasing; but the date puzzled me extremely; it was April 1, 1860.

The agent for the new periodical reminded me of his business. I ran up stairs to ascertain if any of our girls would become subscribers; but before reaching the chambers, I stumbled, and awoke.

TABITHA.