A Gentile Account of Life in Utah's Dixie, 1872-73

Gentile Account, page 068

opened the door for me, but it was not the Mrs. Lange I meant to visit. My Mrs. Lange was in the sitting room, and this wife had come to her house to look over their joint husband's clothes, and to put them in order before he went on a mission. They were engaged at the moment in mending his great-coat, an occupation in which they continued with grave simplicity. I could not summon courage to introduce my question and instead, we talked of their husband's coming departure. This man had had a fine education, had taken honours at college, spoke and wrote well in several modern languages, and was the son of a rich gentleman-farmer in Massachusetts. He had lost about twenty thousand dollars through becoming a Mormon, and I must say I respected him for that patched great coat. He knew enough of the old "Gentile" society in which he had moved, to feel how much caste he lost by wearing it. Yet he went tran- quilly off to London, and I daresay thought affectionately of Mary's patch, and Julia's darn, when he was far away! After K. and the boys had rested a little, we went to dine at Mrs. Artemisia Snow's. This was the lady to whom I had paid my visit declining to dine there, when she had not given the invi- tation. It was her turn now. We found several of the leading people of the place assembled to meet us. The dinner; well cooked and well served; had nothing remarkable about it, except that the second wife, who had come over from her own house, helped the widowed daughter of the first to wait upon us. Fancy a first wifes' tranquilly permitting a second to rummage her closets and inspect her housekeeping; and a second wifes' being willing to stand behind the first wife's chair; here, too in Utah, where the husband's wife, and sometimes, wives! sit next to him! To 68