Margaret Pierce Young is very lady-like, 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.
EMMELINE FREE YOUNG.
[Number Twelve.]
When first I went to Utah, Emmeline Free Young was the reigning favourite, 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, and doubtless, as she had been the favourite for so long a time, 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 had 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.
AMELIA FOLSOM YOUNG.
[Number Thirteen.]
Amelia Folsom Young is now the favourite, 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 at last found 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 deluding 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 theatre a seat was reserved for her at his side, and in the ball-room 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 favoured the Prophet’s suit. Then the charms of Mary Van Cott touched his sensitive heart, to say nothing of Eliza-Ann, 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 favourite. 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.
MARY VAN COTT COBB YOUNG.
[Number Fourteen.]
Mary Van Cott Cobb—who became Brigham’s wife after his marriage to Amelia—is a very handsome woman, about twenty-eight 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. 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.