September 18, 1849
Well, Sunday I offered my resignation in due form. Most expected
something of the sort, though some old ladies did go home in tears declaring
that “they didn't expect this” and “somebody ought to have told
them.” I tried to soften all and not exasperate, and succeeded; . . . It
produced a very favorable effect all round, and some have taken occasion to
declare themselves my friends of whom I did not expect it, especially Mr.
Morss, the editor and thinker-general for Newburyport, who has always fought my
views vigorously, though cherishing a “sneaking kindness” for me personally.
Indeed, now that it is settled, there are symptoms of a sort of reaction, and
the murmur of previous discontent is drowned by the chorus of female wailing. .
. .
The state of sentiment among the ladies of the Pleasant Street Society,
wedded and single, is peculiar, unanimous, and need not be dwelt upon. Let Anna1
imagine herself in their situation — what would you say or do to the men, my
dear? Husbands and fathers have to hold their tongues at home, I fancy, and go
and let it out at the Reading-Room.
_______________
1 His sister.
SOURCE: Mary Potter Thacher Higginson, Editor, Letters
and Journals of Thomas Wentworth Higginson, 1846-1906, p. 21-2
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