My Opinions and Betsey Bobbet's: Designed as a Beacon Light to Guide Women to Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness, But Which May Be Read by Members of the Sterner Sect, without Injury to Themselves or the BookHolley, Marietta
General
My Opinions and Betsey Bobbet's: Designed as a Beacon Light to Guide Women to Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness, But Which May Be Read by Members of the Sterner Sect, without Injury to Themselves or the Book
Holley, Marietta
Feminism -- Fiction; United States -- Social life and customs -- 19th century -- Fiction; Women -- Suffrage -- United States -- Fiction; Women's rights -- Fiction
But still it kept a sayin’ inside of my mind, “Josiah Allen’s wife write
a book about your life, as it passes in front of you and Josiah, daily,
and your views on Wimmen’s Rites. The great publick wheel is a rollin’
on slowly, drawin’ the Femail Race into liberty; Josiah Allen’s wife, put
your shoulder blades to the wheel.”
And so that almost hauntin’ voice inside of me kept a ’swaidin me, and
finally I spoke out in a loud clear voice and answered it--
“I _will_ put my shoulder blades to the wheel.”
I well remember the time I said it, for it skairt Josiah almost to death.
It was night and we was both settin’ by the fire relapsted into silence
and he--not knowin’ the conversation goin’ on inside of my mind, thought
I was crazy, and jumped up as if he was shot, and says he, in tremblin’
tones,
“What is the matter Samantha?”
Says I, “Josiah I am goin’ to write a book.”
This skairt him worse than ever--I could see, by his ghastly
countenance--and he started off on the run for the camfire bottle.
Says I, in firm but gentle axcents, “camfire can’t stop me Josiah, the
book will be wrote.”
He see by my pale but calm countenance, that I was not delirious any, and
(by experience) he knows that when my mind is made up, I have got a firm
and almost cast iron resolution. He said no more, but he sot down and
sithed hevily; finally he spoke out in a despairin’ tone, he is pretty
close (but honest),
“Who will read the book Samantha? Remember if you write it you have got
to stand the brunt of it yourself--I haint no money to hire folks with
to read it.” And again he sithed two or three times. And he hadn’t much
more than got through sithein’ when he asked me again in a tone of almost
agony--
“Who will read the book Samantha after you write it?”
The same question was fillin’ me with agonizin’ apprehension, but I
concealed it and answered with almost marble calm,
“I don’t know Josiah, but I am determined to put my shoulder blades to
the wheel and write it.”
Josiah didn’t say no more then, but it wore on him--for that night in the
ded of night he spoke out in his sleep in a kind of a wild way,
“Who will read the book?”
I hunched him with my elbo’ to wake him up, and he muttered--“I won’t pay
out one cent of my money to hire any body to read it.”
I pitied him, for I was afraid it would end in the Night Mair, and I
waked him up, and promised him then and there, that I never would ask
him to pay out one cent to hire any body to read it. He has perfect
confidence in me and he brightened up and haint never said a word sense
against the idea, and that is the way this book come to be wrote.
WHAT IS IN THE BOOK.
MARRIED TO JOSIAH ALLEN.
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