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Show W O M AN' 8 EX rO sma tliofa frfim MnecnnVmaptta SCENES IN NAUVOO. , W E fl T . ffllA was a beloved bv the oreatlv xrnr ' I J J wj scholars and finally by all who became acquainted with her. After we came to Nauvoo she was married to Brother Israel Barlow, who. vas among the first "Mormons," and they are now living in Bountiful, Utah. The school-hous- e was a large, fine building, with an entry, which the Saints had built on the outskirts of the town. When the mobbers came fn they passed by the schoolhouse, and at the sound of their bugle the excitement was so great that we were allowed to go to the windows to see them pass. Soon after this the school had to be closed, in consequence of the mobbing. During a portion of the next winter we attended one taught by William Huntington in-- a privatedwelling house in the central part of me ciiy- 4 never realized any danger, out, fired by "the spirit of war, my eldest brother, with my assistance, prepared for it by making wooden guns, swords and flags, and the latter were hoisted to the topmost part of our .ence or cabin, where they cquld be seen fluttering in the breeze, and at the martial sound of fife and drum we would start to our feet and march with a3 much enthusiasm as though we beVe realized longed to a regiment of soldiers. no danger, were probably too young; besides, we were at headquarters. Many of the Saints had fled to Far West for protection; not even when the city was surrounded by the mob we never knew that we were conquered, nor that there were such fiends in a land that boasted of freedom, professing Christianity, but no consideration of justice or mercy could move their stony hearts. Polygamy did not cause that, as it had not been revealed. After many of the Saints had been massacred, and others died through want and sickness occasioned by their brutal course in the dead of winter, the rest fled for their lives to the then hospitiable State of Illinois, where for a little season they enjoyed peace and the privilege of organizing their men into a LeIfldv mul jawppt ' w BY ftELEN MAS WHITNEY. - Soon after the return of President Brigbam Young and my fatEer from Europe, they were appointed ' chaplains to the Nauvoo Legion. Their uniform was t of black cloth, with and plumes of the same clor. After .the Prophet s assassraation, President Brigham Young was appointed in his stead as Lieut.-Gener. cha-pea- us al of the Legion. We were living but a little distance from the training ground, where we witnessed many grand displays, as well as on the prairie, where they went to hold a three days' muster. I can call to mind manv a Dleasinfr reminis- cence in the midst of our journeyings, while vjvuvia uvc giunu uim m me lapse 01 years, that have brought their various and trying changes to all, more particularly to the Latter-da- y Saints, who have been driven and scourged for many years. The Lord has various ways of bringing His children to repentance, and in having to drink deep of the bitter cup, we know better than any other people how to sympathize with others when they are called to ufferin a similar manner; and it has also taught us how to enjoy the sweetsas they come, anal believe that we have been and are still the happiest people living, for the Holy Spirit has assisted us, and that with a clear conscience is of more worth than the whole world without it. - ' - . In dwelling upon the early scenes in Nauvoo, my mind reveTta back to a time in KirtlanJ when our brethren were in the habit of train- ing every Saturday, and I can remember with what joy and childish delight we would e that day, and I remember too how I used to love to hear the old patriotic songs, and. to read or listen to the tales rehearsed con- ! wel-&tn- cerning what was then called "the late war" with Great Britain, and also the revolutionary war, where1 our liberty was bought with the blood of our patriots. We were believers in an unpopular religion; 'the founder was quite a young, man, but was called an old gold digger. Our claims to the privileges guaranteed us by the Constitution, though 'rained through long years of hard- inips, sutlenn? and privation, and the death of many of our heroic sires, were denied us, and my lather and his brethren were obliged to arm themselves, and for weeks were not per- mitted to take off their clothes, and laid on the ground with their firelocks night after night to preserve the lives of the Prophet and their families fronr those wicked traitors who were threatening destruction upon them. auc piaw wnere mey uany mustered was in large meadow just behind our house, belonging to Brother Ira Bond, and oh! how much I enjoyed the training and music of their martial band; it seemed one continual holiday for us child ren, who.had very little idea of the meaning of it was restored for a little season, but we had been in Far West just three weeks when the brethren had to again rally together to defend themselves from the mobbers of Missouri. We had moved into a portion of the public storehouse, where we remained until father built a small cabin, which he had intended for a stable when our dwelling house was finished. The etorehouse stood on one side of the where the Saints had dug the foundationsquare for a Temple. This was the gathering place, where the brethren mustered; they often came to our door for a refreshing draught of water and to rest ,111 the shade of the house, a the weather was extremely 'warm. .J1 well remember the. morning whe.n the first M. Mm, mobbers ientereithe: city; we were at- -. leading school, which waa taught by, Brother Jesse Haven and his sister, who a4 JaUly ; . 1 ; ' -- gion, Once more we could celebrate the glorious j and day of our nation's the Fourth of July, which was Independence, ushered in ' by the welcoma peals of artillery, and our martial and brass bands playing the airs that will never rvnsr tn in. the heart of every true son and daughter spire never-to-be-forgott- en soul-thrilli- ne of freedom. Every act of our people from their first doctrine, and we revive it as coming from the Almighty, who sanctioned and honored it by bringing forth our Savior through polygamous lineage, and He declared that He was "the root and the offspring of David." If people calling themselves Christians wii persist in denying this part of the Scriptures they had better burn up the whole. Before my father ever heard that such a principle had been revealed to Joseph Smith he said to some friends in my hearing that if "all things were to be restored again as they were in the beginning," as the Scriptures declare them, the principle ol a plurality of wives must also be restored; and he was heard to repeat the same when on his second mission to Europe, but he said he hardly expected it would come in his day. And when he heard it taught by Joseph Smith, he said the shock wa3 similar to that of an earthquake; and when he commanded him to take another wife, if it had been his death sentence he could not have felt worse, and there were others who felt similar; and if it could have been just as acceptable in the sight of God, they would have chosen death. The few humble Saints who heard the principle from the Prophet's lips knew that he was a true Prophet of God, for the Holy Spirit bore witness to them that the principle was from Him, and they knew too that Joseph Smith would never have had the courage to introduce such a doctrine, much less to command men to enter into it whose traditions made it so obnoxious to their natural feelings, if it had not been commanded by the Almighty, for he was fully aware of the jeopardy in which he placed his own life by doing it, and I know that life was very dear to him, as much so as to any man living, and that he was a devoted husband to his first wife, Emma; and a more affectionate father never lived; hut. he also knew that if he disobeyed that command that he would be destroyed, and would also forfeit his eternal salvation. If the few who believe this principle to be a righteous one can afford to endure it, certainly the stranger, ought to leave us to ourselves to work out the "problem," for we know that with God's help we shall do it in spite of them. We realize the greatness of the undertaking, and also that many sad mistakes have been made because of the foolishness of fallen man, but that does not prove the principle to be in- - j correct. We have "'been commanded to "try all things and to hold fart that which is good," and we are trying to obey as far as it is pqssi- - j ble in our weak and sinful states, and if it af- j fords any pleasure to our enemies to huil their . I i i wicjted darts, and continue to waste their ammunition upon us they are at liberty to do so. f We have learned long ago to keep cool, which is the most aggravating of all, and I believe that sensible people will in time become disgusted. If those who call themselves Christians would come to us with a spirit more in accordance with their profession, if we could not all see alike, we might at least be friends; but the unrighteous and inhuman course taken to root out what they please to call 'The Twin Relic," only arouses in our hearts a more determined spirit of opposition, and fills virtuous and sincere "Mormon" woman every with indignation, and we tell them with the same spirit that inspired the heroic defenders of liberty Bunker Hill, when they said to the infatuated monarch of England, "We have chosen (religious) war in preference to voluntary slarery" to their false ideas and the achurabuggeries of knowledged Mormon-ealcr- a and virtue and 1$ j or- ganization until the present time although they have been so cruelly persecuted and driven from their homes, and many sealed their testimony with their blood, and finally were driven from out the United States has proven our loyalty to the Constitution, though opportunities for forming other ties were not which any other community under likewanting, circumstances would have accepted; but we had brought with us the beloved stars and stripes, which we had never deserted, up, not even when Governor J. W. Shseffer, to gratify his spleen, prohibited the mustering of the Nauvoo Legion. Our people considered it nothing more nor less than a silly farce, which was gracefully submitted to, as all other similar requirements have been, thereby taking their own weapons from out their hands; but when required to give up our right to "serve God according to the dictates of our own conand to accept of others' notions and sciences, ideas of virtue and morality, that is quite another thing; and though howl and they continue to heap upon us theirmay contemptible falsehoods, and call us bad names, they need not flatter themselves that the "Mormon" women are- so ignorant of the law, or s weak and simple-minde- d as to be hoodwinked by any man,- not even a "Mormon." Our enemies know is well aa we do that we. have broken no Uw m practising Polygamy, it being a Bible - L - 1 . -- , destroyers. A lady candidate is for the office running of county superintendent of schools on the democratic ticket in low County, Wis. |